"Some species have oddly poetic names," Zelnick commented between bites. "The Slylandro, especially-- I suppose it makes sense to them, but 'Content to Hover' and 'Sullen Plummet' just sound strange, in a pretty way." Smiling a bit, he added, "And some names are just unpronounceable." Like the Mmrnmhrn, both as a species, and most of their personal names.
Question and answer was considerably less grim than Zelnick had half-expected, and he sighed in relief. "I've never really talked to a therapist," he admitted. "They had a few on Earth's Starbase, to try and keep everyone sane, but I was wandering around the galaxy so often that I never talked to them." Toward the end, while the Vindicator was being outfitted with the Bomb, Hayes had actually tried to get Zelnick to see them, to no avail-- "If this works, I'll have years to get therapy," he had reasoned, "and if it doesn't, I'll be dead anyway." Hayes had be unimpressed and set up appointments anyway, which Zelnick had ducked out of. I suppose I can't do that here. "And... wait, what?" Something ZEX had said finally made it from his ears to his brain. "Your therapists threatened you? When you were younger, I mean." Something about that seemed very wrong, and mildly traumatic.
Watching ZEX struggling with his fork again was somewhere between funny and pathetic, neither of which were appropriate reactions, even for someone as blunt as Zelnick could be. "Do you want help with that?" he asked, as tactfully as he could.
And human psychiatrists here, I'm sure~
Question and answer was considerably less grim than Zelnick had half-expected, and he sighed in relief. "I've never really talked to a therapist," he admitted. "They had a few on Earth's Starbase, to try and keep everyone sane, but I was wandering around the galaxy so often that I never talked to them." Toward the end, while the Vindicator was being outfitted with the Bomb, Hayes had actually tried to get Zelnick to see them, to no avail-- "If this works, I'll have years to get therapy," he had reasoned, "and if it doesn't, I'll be dead anyway." Hayes had be unimpressed and set up appointments anyway, which Zelnick had ducked out of. I suppose I can't do that here. "And... wait, what?" Something ZEX had said finally made it from his ears to his brain. "Your therapists threatened you? When you were younger, I mean." Something about that seemed very wrong, and mildly traumatic.
Watching ZEX struggling with his fork again was somewhere between funny and pathetic, neither of which were appropriate reactions, even for someone as blunt as Zelnick could be. "Do you want help with that?" he asked, as tactfully as he could.