one day it could get better, maybe it could get better

[demonspawn]

WHO: Dr. Frederick Chilton & Terry Ward.
WHERE: Chilton's office.
WHEN: 07/03, late afternoon.
WHAT: Psychology and stuff!!!
WARNINGS: TBA.


[ Terry still remembers that one time Dr. Frederick Chilton tried to convince him to wear a really ugly shirt in a gym full of high school kids that all reminded him of antagonists from his early pubescent years. His impression of the man is a little mixed, but the truth is, now that he's survived a handful of months at school, he's starting to get serious about this psychology stuff -- more than that, now that he's using Mitch's "secret technique" to keep his powers in check, genuinely investing in his normalcy (his coping skills, beyond self-hatred and repression) seems like a good idea.

So he looks up the good doctor's place of business and takes the bus over after class.

There's no one in the waiting room when he gets there, so he heads over to the office door and knocks twice before letting himself in. ]

Hello?

Comments

[demonspawn]

[ If he were really being honest with himself -- accepting, maybe, of what he actually is and how much it is a part of him -- then maybe he wouldn't even describe his abilities as superpowers. It was more a side-effect of his very existence. In the same way that a human body was always breathing, always metabolizing whatever morsels of food were in its belly, he too was always sensing people's fears, always hungering for them. A biological kind of black magic.

But he struggled to acknowledge that. It was easier to think of his powers as evil. He'd hurt a lot of people. He couldn't come to terms with the fact that this was just what he was. Like any other predator in nature, compelled to hunt by evolution. People needed to be afraid. They needed their nightmares. But he didn't want that responsibility.

In the moment, he was staring hard at Dr. Chilton, eying him from across that impressive desk. The man seemed unsure. That was fair. Facing your own worst fears wasn't a small task. He'd crippled people before. Driven them insane. ]

You just have to trust that I can talk myself down. [ Not reassuring, given that Terry hardly trusted himself. ] I haven't let go in a long time, so I can't promise anything.

[ The demon had hungered for months now. But maybe they wouldn't have to rely on Terry's self-control alone. ]

Are you armed at all? Do you have a gun or something useful in this office besides all the pretentious art?