un: ulysses | video

[restingstitchface]

[On the latest feed: a man with combed hair, a clean face, a mismatched suit and a pair of rimless glasses. Video is streaming from an office where one might spot a painting of an anguished man. He closes his eyes and fixes his lenses on his nose, looking away while leaning forward. His preference is for messaging, but today he is showing his face. He inhales in a calm and controlled manner. Facial cues encourage trust. He prefers to remain unobserved, but this should encourage a positive impression.

Unless you’re Batman, apparently.]

Well, that was a terrible couple of weeks.

In any case, my apologies for the intrusion. I was managing the aftermath and hesitant to reach out until today. I have nothing further to add except that I understand you might feel nervous. But if you resist those feelings, you will have to face them again, and when they catch you…

[He swallows his sentence and focuses on his reason for posting, grounding himself in the present moment by inhaling.]

Back home I treat people for support with their mental health. I had excellent resources there but here I can offer nothing but a listening ear. Perhaps you would like to take me up on that? It’s not like you need insurance and sometimes it’s good to talk.

Feel free to contact me. I'm here to help.

Comments

Text: Username: LaFleurDeParis

[repaintress]

[ Ignoring his entire actual message. ]

Is that The Scream?

[restingstitchface]

The one and only.

Text; un: f.s. (private as fuck)

[fortitudosalutis]

Got anything for ptsd

[ There is no part of Carver that wants to do this. Why talk about your brain's problems when you can violently suppress them? But he's not an idiot. Eventually, there's a bleed over for his bullshit. He has a growing sense that people are getting tired of it. ]

(private af all the way down)

[restingstitchface]

[He switches to text because might help this man feel comfortable]

Of course. But it would be irresponsible to begin treatment without learning about your circumstances and symptoms. That sadly requires time. Plus you would need to be comfortable with regular appointments and monitoring. Which usually isn't the case for most at first, I'm afraid.

[repaintress]

There are several.

I would like to see it.

text | un: batman | private

[theknightshift]

Business must be booming after that mission. Fear is always a reliable export, isn't it?

[restingstitchface]

Of course. But I do enjoy a little wordplay.

In any case, this is a painted version. From the National Museum of Oslo, I believe. You are welcome to schedule a viewing.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Carver makes a face nobody at all can see. There's a reason he's doing this with text so he doesn't have to play nice with tone modulating and body language, all this shit he learned how to do in the Army and resents doing now, all these years later. ]

how much talking, exactly?

[ He's aware he's being difficult right off the bat and has no one to blame for that except himself. ]

[repaintress]

[ It was not wordplay. He was just wrong. ]

I would like to, yes.

un: ulysses | private

[restingstitchface]

Well, I would not be volunteering should I believe otherwise. Sadly, fear is something too many believe can be cast aside.

[theknightshift]

But not you, Dr. Crane. Never you.

un: 102802

[nottheboss]

Isn't talk therapy pretty much a sham? Drugs are where it's really at.

[restingstitchface]

[Reluctance to talk is a given. He begins penciling notes with his mind. Body language, speech and tone. Avoidance. Distance.]

Only what is appropriate. I hardly intend on dragging you through conversations without reason, nor for hours at a time. But surely a man like you understands professionalism?

[restingstitchface]

I'm a psychiatrist. Drugs are one tool of the trade.

[And he makes his own! And they're fantastic.]

private

[nottheboss]

Well, doc. I'm a veteran. I need something to help me sleep. Last time I tried it, it made me sleepwalk and I pushed someone down the stairs.

[restingstitchface]

[Hmm.]

You speak like fear is a choice. That I can be afraid or not. But it's not like that.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Urg. This is going to be super fun, he can just tell. But that's what happens when you fuck up, Carver tells himself. You make an account of your soul. You do better so you won't fuck up again. And these days he's supposed to be a good example for Bossie. ]

I understand it just fine. I've got some psychological war training, I know how it works.

[ It just hasn't been the most useful in trying to unfuck himself, is the thing. ]

[restingstitchface]

[Stubborn is as stubborn does, Clea.]

My schedule is busy for the rest of today. Does tomorrow suit?

[theknightshift]

Then tell me what it's like.

[restingstitchface]

[Ah, he was a soldier? He remembers crossing paths once or twice before.]

How was your experience of army psychiatry? Some benefit, others don't. It's a personal question, but it's good to know what we're working with.

[fortitudosalutis]

Some guys in another unit got drummed out for bitching. We didn't talk to psychiatrists. And it's not hard to memorize the right answers to make them fuck off.

[restingstitchface]

Biologically, there are standard rules - humans mostly experience tachycardia and catecholamine synthesis - but our experience is personal. There's no single definition that fits everyone.

private | all the way down

[restingstitchface]

That's unfortunate. Do you remember the name?

[Of the drug.]

[nottheboss]

Uh... Amber? Amble? Ambien? Ambien.

[restingstitchface]

Not at all. People prefer to love what they heard than fear what they hear.

Plus who hasn't wanted to tell a psychiatrist to do one once or twice? Especially the kind who sees you as easy work.

[Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss your staff, right?]