[He doesn't have to like it, though!! Once upon a time he would've thrived on the inherent unpredictability of the world; but it turns out having empathy again makes him far too tired to deal with that kind of bullshit anymore.]
...But I guess I can try. [They could take a lot of things out of him, but they sure couldn't take out the anxiety and self-esteem problems. Maybe he was so used to having to juggle his entire class, desperately trying to keep it all together while their numbers got fewer and fewer. Now that it's in the past, it's easy to think about all the ways he'd fucked up.
Still, it's kind of easier having someone to bust your chops about that in particular.] At this point I feel like I'd disappoint you if I didn't try, and I don't wanna do that. So I'll do my best.
[His expression is warm despite the japery; maybe it's not the best way to mentally frame things, but it makes improvement feel a lot easier if it's for someone else.]
no subject
[He doesn't have to like it, though!! Once upon a time he would've thrived on the inherent unpredictability of the world; but it turns out having empathy again makes him far too tired to deal with that kind of bullshit anymore.]
...But I guess I can try. [They could take a lot of things out of him, but they sure couldn't take out the anxiety and self-esteem problems. Maybe he was so used to having to juggle his entire class, desperately trying to keep it all together while their numbers got fewer and fewer. Now that it's in the past, it's easy to think about all the ways he'd fucked up.
Still, it's kind of easier having someone to bust your chops about that in particular.] At this point I feel like I'd disappoint you if I didn't try, and I don't wanna do that. So I'll do my best.
[His expression is warm despite the japery; maybe it's not the best way to mentally frame things, but it makes improvement feel a lot easier if it's for someone else.]