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Post by skyeknight on May 18, 2017 18:18:23 GMT
"B-But you're so nice," she protested as if that were reason enough to deny it.
She had come to see Ralph as a gentle giant. He had a few issues with the police, because who in this city didn't? But he was all around a very nice, patient and kind man. He had never raised his voice to her. He hadn't lost his temper. But now that he had said something, she could perhaps see how he could accidentally hurt someone. He was a large guy. He could accidentally knock someone aside or hurt them if he didn't mind his strength. She had to mind her powers. She didn't want to let it control her, nor did she want her fear to consume her. It was a thin rope she was walking and she was only running out of space before she reached 'the end'.
"W-What did you do a-after you hurt them?" she asked.
That would be important. Sometimes a simple apology wasn't enough to fix what had been done. She could have severely hurt that boy if her mother hadn't stepped in. Her father had made a point of bringing that up a lot when he berated her. Sometimes, making the situation right was out of her hands and she didn't want that to happen. It would mean giving up some level of control of the situation.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 19, 2017 10:31:42 GMT
"Some of them I didn't do anything."
Ralph's voice, normally so loud and deep and easy to hear above the surroundings, had grown very soft. This wasn't an easy topic for him at all, and he still had some very strong feelings about certain cases, but he knew the only way he could really help Namine was if he opened up about his own past mistakes. He couldn't very well help the young woman if he kept himself completely shut off.
"There were criminals that I hurt and I never lost a wink of sleep over what I did to them. For the things they'd done to others, I felt it was a small form of payback."
As he spoke, his face fell into a frown and his massive hands balled into fists. Even now thinking about some of the scum he had caught while on the force made his blood boil. However, with a small shake of his head he reminded himself this wasn't about him but Namine.
"But other times...... I lost my temper and ended up harming people I genuinely cared for. Some of them I managed to make amends with by just talking it out with them. Others.... others I'm still trying to make up for what I did to them."
As he spoke, his mind couldn't help but turn to Elsa and that time not so long ago to their first and last date. When Frollo had run into them.....when he had said those horrible and nasty things.....he'd gotten so angry and would have hurt the man and instead he'd ended up only hurting Elsa...
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Post by skyeknight on May 22, 2017 3:25:01 GMT
Namine was quiet. She didn't want to hurt anyone. Not even her father or Vanitas. Both of them hurt her. Most people would have wanted revenge but Namine couldn't taint herself like that. Hatred didn't drive out hatred. She certainly couldn't find love in her heart for either of them but she didn't think she hated them enough to think punishment was worth it.
And Ralph was sharing something very personal. He didn't seem happy to share this with her. It wasn't something you wanted to think about often. Memories someone could do without but was better off having anyways.
"I'm so-sorry. I d-didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 22, 2017 17:47:52 GMT
"No, Namine. You didn't make me uncomfortable, I'm just trying to help you see...."
Ralph let out a sigh and ruffled his hair with one of his massive hands. He didn't seem to be doing much good for the young sketch artist but he knew he had to try and at least see this through to the end. He'd started to open up about his own issues as a way to show her it was alright to make mistakes, that everyone did in the end. Now he had to finish it by showing her you could learn from those mistakes.
"Look, I know I'm probably not the best person to be talking about feelings and all, but the truth is that its fine to mess up. We all do at some point and sometimes people we care about get hurt, but its part of being a person. No one is perfect. The only times we really end up hurting someone is when we don't try and change for the better."
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Post by skyeknight on May 23, 2017 18:56:36 GMT
"I-It does help," she said. "A little."
Except an apology didn't make magical mishaps okay. It could seriously hurt someone, but she still appreciated the fact that Ralph was being this candid with her. It only further instilled the notion that he really was a nice guy despite his big and menacing exterior. Though, talking to him did make he realize she was agonizing over something that hadn't happened yet. She had caught this problem soon enough to receive help with it. She could prevent it from happening entirely, if she stopped thinking of what could happen and started focusing on getting better control over her magic. Small things first. Maybe her roommate would help her.
"I'm not g-good at magic and I do-don't want to hurt anyone. S-So I should p-practice my magic more," she said. "T-That way I don't hurt anyone on accident."
No accidental magical outbursts. No threat of wiping someone's memories completely. If she exhausted her magical reserves, she would be too tired for big magic like memory spells. She needed to learn control, but had never had a teacher. But it was simple logic that this was the next step for her. She knew she was far from perfect. She was a broken little girl, quivering behind others who were willing to stand up for her, but for how long? Aqua and Omar were immortals. Surely, they would get bored of taking care of her when she acted like an invalid every time something bad happened to her. Jane was nice, but even she had her own life.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 28, 2017 0:01:29 GMT
Ralph could practically see the thoughts that crossed Namine's mind as she sat next to him, could tell that she still held a lot of doubt about her ability to change for the better and not harm others with her powers. Still, looking at her he could also see the smallest trace of hope starting to glow in her blue eyes. And that was a start. Hope had a way of growing and he was certain all the young woman needed was someone to support her.
"Exactly! It's just like learning how to ride a bike. You can't learn without failing a couple of times, but the more you try the better you'll get until you're riding that bike like you were born to it! You just gotta take some risks is all."
Suddenly and without thinking, Ralph reached out and clapped Namine gently on the shoulder. It was a gesture he reserved only for people he genuinely cared about and the fact that he had bestowed it upon her proved that he did care for the young woman and her well-being. The grin on his face only confirmed it.
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Post by skyeknight on May 28, 2017 3:37:26 GMT
"I-I never did learn to ride a bike e-either." she said weakly.
But she appreciated the analogy. Small steps. She might not get control of the memory thing immediately but she could strengthen herself, get better and stronger. She had to. Especially since she couldn't keep hiding behind Omar or Aqua for the rest of her life. They were great friends, but she hated burdening everyone because of her own fears.
She knew she would have flinched when Ralph touched her. But this time she didn't. Perhaps because she was expecting it? She trusted Ralph, despite the fact that if he squeezed her shoulder, he could probably break her in half. She smiled shyly up at him. Talking with Adeline had unfortunately, only sent things in a round about sort of logic of all the things that could go wrong, but talking with Ralph had led her to a good conclusion. To get control of uncontrollable magic, she needed to better her skills. It made sense.
"T-Thank you."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 29, 2017 3:52:18 GMT
Ralph merely chuckled.
"Hey, its just an expression."
Sitting next to her and looking down, the Giant had been worried that Namine would flinch away from his touch. Most people weren't very comfortable around Giants to begin with, what with their strength and a reputation for being somewhat reckless, and Namine was far more timid then the average joe. However, she didn't jerk away from his hand and it only helped to further his hope that he had helped the young woman in some way.
And when she thanked him softly, he merely gave her a very kind smile.
"Hey, no problem at all. I wouldn't be a very good P.I. if I wasn't able to help people."
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Post by skyeknight on May 29, 2017 18:00:33 GMT
"I-I know." she said.
She honestly felt better. She wasn't sure if it was because Ralph had walked her through it in a non-threatening here's-what-will-happen-if-you-fail sort of way or if he had that sort of nature about him. Adeline did help, a little, but this helped her feel a much better than she had earlier. She smiled up at him. It wasn't a cure all nor was she anywhere closer to her goal but she at least had a goal to strive for.
"A-And work has been good for you?" she asked.
She had put up his flyer in the BPD office 'community' boards. She had hoped that people who couldn't be helped by the BPD could get help from Ralph. Though she didn't know if her hopes were for nothing.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 30, 2017 3:43:26 GMT
Ralph was glad to see that he had managed to get through to Namine. True, she had a very tough road ahead of her and it would take a lot of time and patience to really change, but she had taken the first step. And really, that was the hardest part.
When she asked how things were going for him, he suddenly realized how long he had been sitting at the bench and speaking with her. He had only meant to come out and eat his lunch before returning to the cases waiting for him.
"Yeah, those flyers you put up for me really did the trick. In fact, I'm gonna have to head back pretty soon to work on them some more. Cases don't solve themselves after all."
As he said this, he began to place the remains of his lunch in the brown paper bag. He was somewhat reluctant to leave. It really was such a nice day and despite her difficulties, it had been good to run into Namine. Still, he had a job to do and a commitment to his clients.
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Post by skyeknight on May 30, 2017 14:18:32 GMT
"T-Thank you for talking with me," she said. "I-I know you're really busy."
She appreciated the time he took to talk to her. He probably had better things to do than to listen to her fear of magic. To a lot of people outside of the BPD she was a little wall flower, barely worth notice. She smiled quietly. Not entirely at ease, but certainly better off than she had been. She hadn't felt like that in a while, at least before Vanitas snatched her off the streets. She certainly wasn't going to be doing any public speaking any time soon, but it was an improvement.
"Have a g-good day!"
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 1, 2017 7:32:25 GMT
"Hey, no problem. What are friends for?"
Ralph said the words with ease, completely believing what he was saying to the young woman. He did see her as a friend, someone he enjoyed the company of and genuinely liked. Yes, she was going through so very hard times but he knew that given encouragement she could finally start to let go of the past and grow into the person she really was under all the insecurities.
"You ever need someone to just talk to, you know where to find me. Til' then, I'll see you around Namine."
The Giant then held out one of his massive fists to the young woman, waiting to see if she would recognize the gesture and reciprocate it or not.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 1, 2017 15:54:46 GMT
Friend. That made her smile a little brighter. She realized now that she had been getting better and slowly rebounding after what happened to her. Especially, if she was making friends. She had been more social since what happened to her. She felt she had to or she would go insane. She had wanted people she could trust, people that she could go to if she were in trouble, like she had been with Vanitas, but hadn't expected to actually find them. She thought she would have been too much of a burden for anyone to want to help or even to talk to after her timidness got in the way. Omar. Aqua. Jane. Adeline. Ralph. All happy accidents of friends.
"R-Right!" she confirmed. "T-Thank you. I'll remember that."
But then Ralph held out one of his massive fists. She looked up at him. It wasn't a handshake but a fist bump? She had to fight back a giggle that nearly escaped her lips. She brought her own fist up to lightly bump against his. His hand dwarfed hers. To be expected since he was a Giant after all.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Jun 2, 2017 8:43:31 GMT
When Namine smiled up at him and returned the fist bump, lightly punching her much smaller knuckles against his, he felt a deep sense of affection for the young woman.
Ralph knew that the sketch artist still had some deep troubles, that she would never be completely rid of the darker moments in her past. However, she was starting to learn to live for the present and look towards the future. She was starting to heal.
And if someone like her could do that, then surely he could do the same. He had spent enough time beating himself up for the mistakes of the past. Perhaps it was time to focus on the future.
(End Thread?)
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