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Morose
Scrawl Banditta
Lucid Dreaming
Kirah
teenangstlife
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ImagineTheStars
bleedonme
Simply Not RealDanny Kingston
Location: Maeve's Office
Skills: N/A
Dr. Maeve Whitehall peered at the file in front of her as she tapped a finger on the edge of her chair. Daniel Kingston was next up. Pyrokinesis was interesting given the brief personality makeup done on him. Still, powers manifested for a reason, she believed.
This would prove interesting.
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As Danni walked into the room the walls were a light shade of lavender and the carpeted floor was white with specks of purple woven through the threads. There was a white sofa with fluffy white feather pillows and two light purple armchairs. The white wooden table in the middle had some fashion magazines on it as well as some psychology books. There was also a pitcher of water with two glasses and some sliced oranges and lemons.
On the wall there was an abstract painting with shades of red, blue, black, and pink almost thrown in a haphazard, but controlled way. There were some plants strewn about, hung from the ceiling or in pots on the side.
Maeve sat in one of the armchairs. ”Hello Daniel. Or would you prefer Danni? My name is Dr. Maeve Whitehall but you can call me Maeve or Dr. Whitehall, whichever you prefer. Please have a seat where you feel more comfortable. And let me know if the decor in here is to your liking or if I need to change anything. I want you to feel good in here.”
Danni, after all but throwing open the door, gagged at his legal name before slinging his bag on the other arm chair and collapsing onto the couch. “Pleaaaaase, never call me Daniel. T'ats like, reserved for super formal sh- stuff-can I swear ‘ere or will I get in trouble, btw?-or when I pranked t’e ‘rents or forgot ta like, turn in ‘omework and tanked my grades. Danni is fine so we can chill. But t’anks for askin' cause walkin’ in ‘ere made me wonder if was in t'e right place. Kinda looks like a showroom floor rather t'an like a person's space, ya know?” He squirmed a little to get more comfortable, half spread out on the couch. “Gives me Crystal Castle vibes, ya know? Super lonely wit’ only an ancient robot, ‘ologram t'ingy for company. Wait, you're not a…? No, t'ey wouldn't do t'at a second time.” Danni waved the idea off.
“But ‘ow do you feel 'bout nicknames? I ‘ave strong feelin's ‘bout nicknames, ya know. I like t'em a lot so if t'is is more t'an a one time th'in’ t'en I'mma ‘ave a nickname for you eventually. But no, ‘old on. You asked me about the room. Yeah, super nice, super clean, super cool but like… kinda lifeless ‘onestly. Not ta dis your style but not even a coffee cup sittin’? I'll brin’ ya some next time. Whatcha drink? Dee makes a mean cup of coffee, but I'm down ta stop by t'e cafeteria or someth’In’ if t'ats not your style. Do you ‘ave coasters? You seem like ya like coasters. Plus, everyt'in’ in ‘ere seems like it wants ta stay squeaky clean and pristine. We can get ya lilac ones ta match your vibe.” He jolted up, snapping his fingers as something clicked. “I knew I knew t'is name! Maeve was an old fashion line from like twenty years ago! Do you like t'eir stuff? A little more casual t'an what you look like ya wear, but light and stylish for a fun night out, ya know?”
Maeve took a second. Then she started laughing. ”Wow, okay. Danni it is. Quite the talker. As a therapist I cannot express how wonderful that is. I appreciate a good nickname so if you have one for me, please by all means. Also, I should note that this room is special. I asked if you liked it because I want to make this space comfortable for you. Watch.” With no motion the room would shift, two coffee cups, lilac in color, appeared on the table in front of them. ”It’s my own powers. They are tangible so go ahead and touch if you like. I try to cater each setting to the client but I only had a small file on what you like so I did my best.”
“As for the Maeve fashion line, I am afraid I have never seen their stuff nor heard of it. Maybe you can share some of that with me? I am definitely interested. The name is cultural in my family. Strong Irish heritage here.”
Maeve’s empathic senses got how excited he was. He definitely presented as such. Underneath the chatterbox surface though, was fear. Tenseness. Guilt. She didn’t want to push right away. But she made a mental note.
“Oh, t'ats so cool! T'at must come in real ‘andy. Ya know, when it comes ta decoratin’ for t'e season. How long can ya keep it up? Will it stay like t'is even if ya leave? Like, could you make Christmas lights for a whole month and t'en just snap ya fingers, no clean up needed?” Danni marveled at the cup he picked up and tossed a little. “Makes me t'ink of Maxie, t'ough sometimes ‘e makes us take down t'e stuff ‘e conjures so we don't get too used ta relyin’ on ‘im for everyt'in’.” Danni popped the cup back in its place.
“And yeah, I love talkin’! I'm also a terrible liar ‘cause when t'in's pop in my head, they're mostly comin’ right out, ya know? Plus, who wants t'e pressure of lyin’ ta people? T'en, you gotta keep up t'e lie and remember who knows what and bleg. No t'ank You. Too much work, not enough fun.” Danni waved the idea off, but quickly pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it. “Lemme see if I ‘ave anyth’In’ from t'em on ‘ere… Hm, a few pieces but not a ton. Not typically what I wear but I ‘ave been know ta try it out for a nice contrast outfit, ya know? ‘Ere, lemme show you. I picked up one of t'ere t'in's recently.” Danni pulled up a photo of the family, Danni dressed in a billowy white blouse and a knee length blue and orange skirt with gold discs on the side. “T'at skirt was part of t'e 2024 winter collection. ‘Eld up pretty nice, just needed a bit of work ta get it's shine back!”
”It’s illusion constructs. I can keep it up pretty long though if I were to leave, after a bit, the room would shift back to what it was originally.”
“And I agree about lying. Even the most experienced liars need to work overtime to maintain it. You appear very much at ease, Danni. It’s admirable, especially given recent events. Tell me, are you able to maintain this attitude all the time or are there moments where you can let your guard down and…experience what you’re actually feeling?” Maeve gave Danni a knowing look. She knew what he was feeling, but did he?
“Oof, t'at's ‘eavier t'an I like ta t'ink about, but uh, yeah. Normally, it's wit’ Princess and Dee and we ‘ave a big ol’ cuddle party and we all just kinda let it out but uh, we ‘aven't ‘ad any t'is year yet. T'ey got t'eir relationships and stuff so most of t'eir free time gets sucked up by t'at now. Which kinda sucks, but at t'e same time it makes t'em ‘appy ya know? Just gotta get t’rough t’e ‘oney moon phase and t'en t'in's will go back ta normal!” Danni shrugged, shrinking into the couch more.
“And like…” Danni was quiet, picking at the couch arm. “You're not gunna like… tell anyone anyt'in’ I say right? T'is all stay between us?”
Maeve nodded, ”Of course Danni. Everything we say in here is confidential. I won’t tell anyone unless you give me permission to. It’s perfectly natural to experience those conflicting feelings of happiness for your friends and their relationships while also balancing feeling upset or anger or fear at their now limited time with you. That’s the nature of growing up. People meet new friends or loves and relationship dynamics change. It doesn’t make what you have with them any less and if you start to feel like it is you are well within your rights to speak about it. Sometimes with new relationships its easy to blind yourself to others. As you said, the Honeymoon phase is real, but do not let it discount your emotions Danni. They are just as valid.”
“Yeah, we'll I can't really tell t'em t'at or I'll just sound selfish I t'ink. Its… just easier ta vibe, ya know? Just roll wit’ t'e flow. And ‘onestly, it's probably for t'e better right now.” Danni shifted uncomfortably in place, looking around the room for a few minutes. “T'e whole like ‘cadey t'in’ real doesn't bot'er me, ‘onestly. Like, yeah apparently we did die, but t'at time line is gone because it got purned or whatever, but t'ats whatever. ‘onestly, I'm not really smart enough ta really understand it. Kinda goes over my ‘ead, tbh. It was all good, all wrapped up, ‘rents grounded us for breakin’ curfew but also we ‘ad the best game night after so it's all cool, and t'en I ‘ad t'is nightmare where ‘Cadie ‘ad programmed t'at all into t'e framework and turned out we ‘adn't ever left and I was still trapped in t'e tank, but it was waaaaaaaaaay smaller and I don't like t'at one bit, no t'ank you, so I exploded. You know, fire everywhere. Except it really was everywhere, includin’ our ‘ouse.”
Danni paused, tearing up as he got more upset. “And like, yeah it ‘elped Dee get a new power, but I tried after too. Tried to get it back under control and I just couldn't. I ‘ad it for a second but it was so hungry and I was still scared and BOOM! It ate everyt'in’. ‘ouse gone.” Danni slumped back into his laying position. “And like, what if I do t'at ta t'em? Maybe it's good t'ey ‘ave ot'er people ta ‘ang out wit’ when I'm even worse t'en normal. ‘cause like, a ‘ouse can be replaced ya know? Sure it's missing so much and it doesn't really feel like ‘ome anymore, but like a person is even ‘arder ta fix after t'at.”
”Danni, I am going to challenge you now. First, your feelings are valid. Whatever you are feeling, it is valid. Allow yourself moments of feeling what you need to. It is not selfish nor is it fair to bottle them up because of others. Second, you are not a bad person because of what happened. It was an accident. However, I feel that’s part of why you need to allow yourself ways to vent these feelings. You better than anyone should know keeping something volcanic like fire can be dangerous.”
“As for this nightmare, dreams and nightmares oftentimes show us our internal thoughts. The ones not usually at the front of our minds. It is also not unexpected to have some lingering fear from what happened, though I am glad you all are safe.”
“So, if you would like, I am happy to help teach some coping skills to manage those feelings. We can take it slow and at your own pace. This is, of course, if you would like to keep seeing me. You do not have to. If you do not I am still available if you would like.”
Danni nodded along with Maeve. “Wow, uh, okay. T'at's a lot ta ‘ear, but t’asks I t'ink? I just feel a little uncomfortable now? Idk, but uh…” Danni chewed at his lip for a second, but eventually offered Maeve a timid smile. “Yeah, we can do t'is again. I don't know ‘ow t'is works or ‘ow often we need ta see each ot'er, but I'm down. T'ough, you're gunna ‘ave ta be chill wit’ ‘ow long it can take me ta learn somet'in’ new t'at's gunna make me uncomfy for a while. Especially if I get distracted, or really when I get distracted.”
”It’ll take as long as it takes Danni and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why don’t we set up a weekly session day and time and go from there?”
