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So, one night, you found a creepy old mask in an old toy box in the attic. And I would always go to bed before you.

[Gives Ingo a moment to process what he might have done.]

Oh. I see!

Grandma found it hilarious, Grandpa was worried we would have to take you to the hospital for a broken nose.

Emmet!

[Ingo sounds indignant, but also clearly amused. He obviously brought that one on himself, after all!]

Well, feel free to do that again if you must! It will all heal!

I will if you ever set that up again.

[He dares you.]

...really, though. If anything like the red fog happens again, do whatever you need to do. My - well, you have seen what my venom can do.

[He's never tested it against another monster. But it kills humans quickly. That month would have gone so, so much worse if he had been transformed then.]

Only if you do the same with me. It would suck to have to follow through on so many threats without you trying to win.

[Ingo grimaces, but...oh dear, he's already said it.]

I suppose it would make you feel worse if I did not and got hurt for it...

Absolutely. And we both remember it's the Fog's fault or something. Because wow, hate it.

Let's cross that bridge when we get to it.

[In a tone that very plainly says that he will absolutely blame himself, but he's trying very hard not to blame himself for something that hasn't even happened right now.]

...may I ask you a personal question?

Ask away.

...as long as I can remember, I have had these - passing fits. When things get too stressful, I tend to...stop, for a little while. Warden Calaba said that it was because my brain had been rattled so badly when I arrived.

[Again, Ingo doesn't mind. Even if it was a misdiagnosis - no one ever really looked too askance at him again once she made that pronouncement. Lasting injuries, of one sort or another, were common enough that no one would make too much of one.]

But, ah, just now...

[Well. He isn't sure how he looks from the outside. He doesn't think it's really like whatever happened with Emmet. If they hadn't just had their talk about their shared autism he probably wouldn't have said anything at all, but they really did just have that talk.]

[Emmet cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what the question was.]

[Ingo doesn't entirely know how to ask directly!]

Well, you did not seem entirely - well?

[Ah- that- it was embarrassing to think of happening.]

When things get too much I kind of stop working?

[Emmet was trying to figure out how to explain it.]

Too many programs running at once, system meltdown.

[Again, it came with sensations Emmet could not explain, so he tried to visualize it and explain it, forgetting Ingo might not know the lingo!]

[He doesn't know what that means! But the first sentence was enough.]

We have that in common? Did I always do things like that?

Yup, but a lot of people don't notice it with you.

[Not that he could tell earlier, but Emmet had other things to worry about!]

[He considers this! People have said that he mostly just sits there and stares at nothing for a while. He thinks he'd have noticed eventually if Emmet were just doing that too, but the crying was certainly much more obvious. Anyway, he's usually not around people...though no one has mentioned the few times recently that he failed to retreat to his room.

Ingo gives a one-sided shrug.]

My Pokemon do. That is what matters! It could be a safety issue otherwise!

Pokemon are great at that, Eelektross is the perfect weight.

Alakazam hasn't been with me for so long, but she is good at helping! She can help me put it off for a little while, if need be. It isn't terribly pleasant, and the fit afterwards is usually worse...but there are times when that is still better.

[For safety reasons, generally! Ingo is not around crowds often enough to worry as much about appearances - at least, in Hisui.]

And Tangrowth's vines are like that. Heavy.

It just feels nice to have a 170-pound elefish lay on you.

That does sound nice.

[...should he ask if Emmet's noticed how frequently he's been doing that of late, or would that be giving himself away?]

Well, it is nice to know it's not likely to turn into a seizure, then! That was a concern early on!

Oh yeah, they don't. I do act ridgid and stuff simply because too much stuff touching me.

For a while, someone was always with me in case that did happen! I - well, in my earliest days in Hisui, it happened quite a bit more often. Everything was new, then.

[And he'd been continually distressed by his lost memories, and the uncertainty about what was going to happen to him. He evened out a lot once the clan adopted him, and he had a steady place to be.

He wants to say he's doing better now. He sort of isn't. So he just shrugs again.]

You got to familiarize yourself with things and start a new schedule.

[A sigh.]

It is hard when a lot changes at once.

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cw: antiquated mental health terms???

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