Yunlan nods, knocks back the last mouthful of his tea, and sets the empty cup down on the coffee table. The picture of careless and casual, he stretches one leg out enough for a sock-clad foot to land companionably next to Jedao's knee.
"Understood. Last question -- any topics you want me to stay the hell away from, at least for now? I think it'll be easier for both of us if I don't find those by putting my foot right in it, and--"
He nods at the file.
"--I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of things to bring up."
"Like I said, I don't want to be coddled. And I'm in a better place than I used to be. There are still plenty of things that would be hard to talk about, but those are the ones I probably need to. I want to give you tools to succeed, but I don't want to control this. I need other perspectives. Or - if not that, then I don't know what I need. But I want to - try things. Do things. Make progress. I'd rather be a little bruised and learn something than be comfortable and stall out. Poke away."
He runs a fingertip over the cup's rim.
"If you're worried about it, give me space to deflect in, or - a more limited choice of topics. Maybe do some advance recon with people who aren't me. But do ask. Do push. It's - I hate feeling like, like I'm giving things away for free. Things you didn't even ask for. All this wide-open stuff - ask the questions. And then some of them will even be the right ones. Or that's my theory, anyway."
"All right then," Yunlan says with an inclination of his head. "I'll consider the entire territory open."
And he'll have to earn his giveaways from now on. He quirks a smile, and gathers himself back to his feet, scooping up the empty teacup to carry it back to the cluster of dirty dishes left of the sink it had so recently vacated. He may be able to do this, after all; there's a lot of reading to do, but with the ground rules set he's feeling a bit better. Every good improvisation needed a place to start, after all.
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no subject
"Understood. Last question -- any topics you want me to stay the hell away from, at least for now? I think it'll be easier for both of us if I don't find those by putting my foot right in it, and--"
He nods at the file.
"--I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of things to bring up."
no subject
"Like I said, I don't want to be coddled. And I'm in a better place than I used to be. There are still plenty of things that would be hard to talk about, but those are the ones I probably need to. I want to give you tools to succeed, but I don't want to control this. I need other perspectives. Or - if not that, then I don't know what I need. But I want to - try things. Do things. Make progress. I'd rather be a little bruised and learn something than be comfortable and stall out. Poke away."
He runs a fingertip over the cup's rim.
"If you're worried about it, give me space to deflect in, or - a more limited choice of topics. Maybe do some advance recon with people who aren't me. But do ask. Do push. It's - I hate feeling like, like I'm giving things away for free. Things you didn't even ask for. All this wide-open stuff - ask the questions. And then some of them will even be the right ones. Or that's my theory, anyway."
no subject
And he'll have to earn his giveaways from now on. He quirks a smile, and gathers himself back to his feet, scooping up the empty teacup to carry it back to the cluster of dirty dishes left of the sink it had so recently vacated. He may be able to do this, after all; there's a lot of reading to do, but with the ground rules set he's feeling a bit better. Every good improvisation needed a place to start, after all.