le consultant;

[Hey! I don’t mind at all - psychology is a big passion of mine so any opportunity to talk about it is great lmao

I found it really, really interesting for sure - on the surface of things, it makes a lot of logical sense. Why help people just cope with pain when you can take it away completely instead? When it comes to physical pain, the goal is generally to remove it where possible, so I think it’s a nice theory to want to apply that to mental pain as well (if a little reductionistic). It’s a really good ethical dilemma, as well, and I definitely struggled with it in a new way to the other palaces. If your friends are happy, why would you want to take that away from them?

[okay okay okay

Wipe the mark of sadness from my face Show me that your love will never change

What’s gonna be left of the world If you’re not in it?

A restless heart and a beautiful soul It really doesn’t matter if I stay or go

                   there  was  no  mistaking  it  .   that  the  fool  ,  the  trickster  was  off  his  normal  kilter  ,  as  something  of  some  horrid  nature  had  shoved  him  to  the  one  side  where  he  was  left  wobbling  for  balance  instead  of  completely  composed  as  he  was  every  other  day  .  it  was  that  man’s  voice  ,  grating  but  powerful  both  in  demand  for  attention  and  in  volume  –  masayoshi  shido  ,  a  politician  who  just  didn’t  know  when  to  shut  his  stupid  mouth  ,  in  the  opinion  of  the  youth  .  it  was  high  time  someone  stapled  that  guy’s  mouth  shut  .  however  ,  there  was  no  voicing  that  matter  aloud  lest  the  adults  take  offense  –  ‘  how  could  you  say  that  about  such  a  trustworthy  man  ‘  ,  ‘  how  ungrateful  ‘  ,  so  on  and  so  forth  .  (   sheep  ,  the  lot  of  them  .   )                     “  i  hope  so  ,  i  do  look  up  to  him  after  all  ,  and  i  want  him  to  think  of  me  as  trustworthy  .   “    he  was  relaxing  his  shoulders  –  rather  ,  he  was  forcing  his  body  language  to  read  as  something  more  gentle  than  he  felt  .    “  .  .  .   please  tell  me  i’m  not  the  only  one  getting  sick  of  those  political  rallies  .   obnoxious  .  .  .  “

“I’d say you were very trustworthy.” The voice was earnest, obvious gratitude for the teenager seeping into his tone. There was a veiled sharpness to Akira’s voice, barely there to untrained ears, near-perfectly manufactured. It was unusual for politics to grab the attention of people of his age, though he was so mature that Takuto wasn’t exactly surprised that he had taken an interest.

“I’ll admit that I haven’t really been listening all that much to the specifics.” His attention had been entirely elsewhere, fixated on the research that was on the cusp of completion. With his vision so close to realisation, it was at risk of becoming obsessive - but this wasn’t something the therapist was trying to broadcast, exactly. “But it does feel a little more pervasive this year, I agree.”

His eyes tightened just slightly at the corners, looking at the face of Masayoshi Shido as he spoke passionately to a crowd on the screen. By all accounts, it would have been imperceptible to most, especially when shielded by his thick-framed glasses - but there was a hint of something like rancour in the good doctor’s expression for just a moment. As soon as it had materialised, however, it was gone - replaced by that familiar easy-going neutrality.

“Please help me.” 

Raises hands defensively.

“I’d love to, but... I feel like that would just make it worse...”

“I-- oh, no. That’s not--”

                 rain  or  shine  didn’t  often  afflict  the  barista  was  anything  he  couldn’t  handle  himself  –  even  with  someone  that  wasn’t  his  inner  friend  group  sitting  right  in  front  of  him  ,  he  was  as  calm  as  always  ,  a  face  which  didn’t  often  emote  only  hinting  that  it  could  actually  accomplish  that  task  .  rather  ,  it  would  ,  he  could  –  for  the  people  he  trusted  .  (  distrust  wasn’t  something  he  could  afford  ,  not  when  these  people  were  his  power  ,  when  he  was  already  invested  in  their  personal  stories  as  well  as  their  respective  tragedies  .  )  but  for  now  ,  for  the  time  being  ,  akira  was  tuned  in  to  the  television  that  broadcasts  off  to  the  side  ,  his  fingers  trying  to  work  in  the  meanwhile  .  (  but  it  was  difficult  ,  to  hear  that  guy’s  voice  on  the  air  …    it  made  his  head  hurt  ,  made  him  angry  .  )                   “   …  ?   “  he  glanced  up  at  the  question  ,  as  if  it  was  the  most  outlandish  thing  he’d  heard  all  day  –  but  at  least  it  was  relevant  enough  to  grab  akira’s  attention  away  from  the  dishes  he  was  doing  ,  and  stop  him  from  putting  a  plate  in  a  death  grip  .  (  he  could  have  broken  it  if  he  listened  to  any  more  of  that  political  drabble  .  )    “  oh  ,  uh  ,  sojiro  .  he’s  my  caretaker  ,  he  taught  me  .  “

The voices on the television continued in the background, debating something or other - Takuto wasn’t exactly sure what, he hadn’t been paying too much attention. It appeared, however, that it had captivated the attention of the barista. The therapist was skilled in listening out for the most subtle of inflections and changes in speech patterns. After a while, it almost became automatic, especially when he was familiar with the person who was speaking. It wasn’t intentional, exactly - actually, she’d often scolded him for accidentally reading too deep into everyday conversations.