005 [Video]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance is looking a little more awake than he has been the past two weeks or so, and also in a better mood; his expression and tone are both lighter as well when he addresses the camera.]

I guess everyone is working on solving mysteries at the moment, and I actually had something I'd been meaning to ask for a little while, so this seems like a good a time as any; I'm interested anything anyone is willing to tell me about their experiences regarding being skipped over during an event. Or, similarly, if anyone was affected by one and it didn't last the entire time; I know several people began to see through the latest one while it was still going on.

[Including himself, though he doesn't know if that's something that happens often or it was kind of a special case. He does know, though, that people sometimes get skipped over completely, and why that happens seems like a mystery worth looking into.

And, for a completely different subject--]

I also wanted to ask about how someone would go about getting more bullets, because I know they aren't stocked at the armoury. I'm not out yet, but I'd prefer to solve this issue before I am.

[Thinking ahead, and whatever. He'd had to use a lot more than expected during new arrival day this month.]

I heard something about a deal with Rage, but that doesn't seem to be an option right now, so I was hoping someone else might have an idea or be willing to trade for something.

[It's worth a shot, no pun intended.]

Comments

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[lifetothefullest]

[He nods in understanding; regardless of the underlying cause trust issues can be hugely damaging, especially for children and especially if it prevents forming social bonds as it sounds like it might have for George.]

Did you want friends but couldn't bring yourself to make them, or were they not a priority, or something else?

[Because that all matters as he's figuring out more details and how to help.]

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[toiletseat_girl]

[it definitely prevented her from making social bonds, even with her own parents]

I. . . kind of wanted friends. It would've been. Nice. To not be by myself all the time. But the other kids didn't seem to like me much. So I read a lot.

[what we have here is a very awkward social turtle]

[lifetothefullest]

What made you think they didn't like you?

[It isn't asked judgmentally; this is one of those things that it gives important insight to ask about.]

[toiletseat_girl]

I had one of 'em push me into a pool when I couldn't swim. And that's one of the nicer things done to or said about me.

...actually, that was the first time I saw gravelings.

[lifetothefullest]

[Okay, yeah, that's a pretty clear sign. But he's distracted by that last part.]

Gravelings?

[toiletseat_girl]

[yuuuuup. but the distraction is understandable]

Creatures which cause death, usually in accidents. It's supposed to be impossible for the living to see 'em, but I did.

[lifetothefullest]

What are they like? Was it something obviously supernatural?

[That could have quite an impact on a kid.]

[toiletseat_girl]

They look like these little hunched-over monsters with big eyes and skinny arms and spikes coming off the backs of their heads.

[she didn't tell anyone because she assumed she wouldn't be believed]

[lifetothefullest]

[Yeah that sounds... Not great.]

How old were you at the time?

[toiletseat_girl]

[it wasn't the last time she'd see them, either]

I was six.

[lifetothefullest]

[Ugh, that's young, and what's with people here--including himself--having bad experiences around the age of six? Maybe it's just a universally bad year.]

Did you tell anyone about it? That time or any others?

[Since she'd said 'the first time' she saw them.]

[toiletseat_girl]

[definitely a universally bad year]

No. I figured my parents wouldn't believe me.

[the second time was even weirder]

[lifetothefullest]

That's understandable.

[There's an unfortunate tendency not to believe children even about things known to be real, let alone some sort of supernatural sighting.]

Did you ever talk to your parents about your problems with making friends?

[toiletseat_girl]

[yeah, she figured they wouldn't believe her. to be honest, she barely believed she saw what she saw herself]

A little bit. They said it would all get better if I smiled more, if I tried a little harder, stuff like that.

[lifetothefullest]

I'm sure you're probably aware of this, but that's not the best advice.

[It might not be the most professional way to put things, but it's true and he feels like it's important to say. It's not such an easy, simple problem to fix even for an average kid, let alone one dealing with other issues like George seems to have been.]

[toiletseat_girl]

Yeah. I mean, I tried it. I tried everything I could think of. But nothing worked.

[it does help to have the validation. she's gone through her life (and afterlife) feeling like most of her emotions weren't and it hurt. even though she always tried to bury it with layers of snark and cynicism]

[lifetothefullest]

There are a lot of reasons why you may have had difficulty making friends that are not at all your fault. Most likely there was something going on that neither you nor your parents were aware of.

[Because he can't see George as being so unlikable as to never bond with any other children despite trying to, and even kids who are considered 'weird' by classmates usually end up with at least one or two friends who are as 'weird' as they are.

So he has a few ideas already as to what the underlying cause of her social issues might've been, but it's far too early to say for sure.]

How was your relationship with your parents, aside from the issues you've already told me?

[He's wondering if there's anything more there than what seems like a distance created by lack of mutual trust. That's enough on its own to be a problem, of course, but he wants to know if it's the only thing.]

[toiletseat_girl]

I'd like to know what it is, 'cause I'm stumped

[George was a perfect storm of insecurity, much higher than normal intelligence, and physical awkwardness. so she didn't feel comfortable approaching other kids, the other kids resented her for outscoring them all the time at school, and she couldn't even excel at sports to make up for the first two things]

I dunno. My relationship with my parents used to be okay. Competed in a mother-daughter bowling tournament when I was six and came in second. And my dad and me used to have this tradition, we'd go to a diner for breakfast every Sunday morning. Then, they had Reggie and everything changed.

[lifetothefullest]

Once I'm more certain of which it might be, I'll tell you. But until then, it'd do more harm than good to speculate.

[He doesn't want to worry her, or tell her anything that will cause her more problems if it turns out he's incorrect. George's answer to his question gives a very clear thing to focus on in the meantime, though--]

Reggie?

[A younger sibling, he's guessing by context, but it's still definitely best to ask.]

[toiletseat_girl]

Okay. Well, I hope we can figure it out.

[no, she doesn't want to borrow trouble.]

Miriam Regina Lass. Little sister. She's ten, or at least was ten when I died.

[lifetothefullest]

So you're about eight years apart?

[That's not the largest gap even between siblings of course, but it's still a significant one.]

Did you get along?

[toiletseat_girl]

Yeah.

[George and Reggie's relationship was complicated even before she died]

...no. Mostly, I ignored her. So she'd do stuff like hide in my closet.

[lifetothefullest]

Was there a particular reason why you ignored her?

[Sibling relationships can be complicated, of course, and this is one of those areas where Lance has to go more by the book than based on experience; although there are people in his adult life who are very much like siblings now, he never had any growing up.]

[toiletseat_girl]

...right after Reggie was born, I found a kitten. I wanted to keep the kitten. My parents told me no 'cause of the baby. And from then on, everything was no because of the baby. So I just--pretended she didn't exist.

[lifetothefullest]

[Ah, well, that explains it, although perhaps not for it have kept up for so long; it's pretty normal for an eight year old to act that way, but a little stranger for a teenager to still be doing so.]

Did you not want a relationship with her at all?