deercountry | January and February Catch-All

That was my experience as well when I first started out. [ Daniel replies, reassuringly. Granted, it does seem that he and Sunny have different kinds of blood, and Daniel isn't quite sure if using the other blood types' powers is anything like his own coldblood powers, but he hopes that an adult offering up the idea that it's a relatable experience may be reassuring in its own way.

Especially since he definitely froze things on purpose. So many times. So many randomly frozen items during his first two months or so.. ]

But.. also in my experience, having focus helps a whole lot with being able to use your powers on purpose, rather than accidentally. I think Shigeo mentioned to me before that you helped him with breathing exercises?

[ It may not sound immediately relevant, but it sure helps the direction Daniel is trying to move this in. ]

[Sunny nods at that. He did indeed help Mob with some breathing exercises when he'd first arrived.]

I did. They're something I use to help me calm down when I start panicking. [Usually it works, thankfully.] I've used them to focus before, too, now that I think about it.

That would help with my powers?

[ Daniel nods in return. ]

I think so. It's what worked for me. [ Granted, Daniel thinks that's also partially due to him having experience using focus like that in the first place - like he does for karate.

But then again, if Sunny has experience using it for focus as well.. ]

It all became a lot less erratic when I learned to focus with these powers. And visualize.

[ Granted, his and Sunny's powers are different. He's not sure whether the latter is just especially convenient for conjuring forth ice, but-- ]

Do you maybe want to try an exercise in the latter? I've got a pretty good one.

Edited 2023-02-19 12:13 (UTC)

Less erratic is good. I've accidentally used them on a few people now, and I feel bad about it. [Caveat of it was because he got very sick off of the Rotten Times food and his powers went crazy, but still. He didn't want to risk it happening again at any other time.]

Yes, I would. [Nod.] I haven't done visualization.

Let's give it a try then.

[ The more Sunny can get in control of his powers, the less worried the kid has to be about them, after all. There's already enough to worry about here without having to be afraid of yourself on top of it, Daniel thinks.

So he guides Sunny to sit down now they're in the inside dojo, while Daniel himself moves to the wall where there's a bunch of small bonsai trees lined up. The man seems to linger in front of them for a moment, looking at them all, but then grabs one of them and takes it over to where Sunny is sitting.

As Daniel sits down on the ground as well, he puts down the tree on the floor between them, and puts down a pair of small clippers next to it. ]

This is the one I've done with some of the other kids here at the dojo before. [ He explains, a calm and easy smile on his face. This is supposed to be something relatively relaxing, after all, so he's trying to make sure there's very little pressure going on here. ] It's easy. Just.. close your eyes. And when you do, think only about this little tree here.

[Sunny dutifully sits down, getting himself comfortable while he watches Daniel pick up one of the bonsai trees from the wall. It reminded him of Kim and Vance's mom. She was really into them, too.

He regards the tree and clippers when they're down in front of him.]

Okay. Only think about the tree. [He repeats with a nod, before closing his eyes and doing just that. Sunny has no problems visualizing the tree in his mind, wondering if he was supposed to be snipping it into shape.]

[ For a moment the man is quiet - just to give Sunny some space to really get inside of his head, and imagine the tree there. It's not too long of a pause though, because from Daniel's experience with teens - and his own experience when he was a teenager and doing this as well - he knows that they often imagine it a little too quickly, missing the point. ]

Really make sure you've got the tree in your head. Think about all the individual little branches and leaves. Visualize all of them in your mind. [ He speaks calmly, adding: ] Take your time with it, if you need it. This isn't something we need to rush.

[ If anything, slowing down only makes it better. It is still like a form of meditation, after all. ]

[Sunny had definitely visualized it too quickly, not realizing that he had completely missed the point.

He lightly furrows his brow when Daniel tells him to think about all the little details of the tree.

So he goes back through, tracing the branches up to the leaves, trying to imagine each individual sprout of green. This time he takes a bit longer, making sure he'd considered as much of the tree as he could, down to the texture of its bark.

Eventually he nods.]

Okay, I have it.

[ This definitely seems like a better amount of time to Daniel. Enough for him to believe the boy really has listened to the instructions - and enough for Daniel to nod with a smile, even if Sunny can't see it. ]

Great. That's the first step. The next is imagining the tree the way you want it to be.

[ At least he gets it's still a little bit vague, so he elaborates: ]

You know what it looks like now, but if you could change it, what would you make it look like? What do you want the tree to look like to you? Imagine that in your head, just as thoroughly.

[What did he want the tree to look like? Sunny tilts his head slightly as he thinks about that. Considers what he might want to change about this tree.

It takes him a bit, but he thinks that he wants it to be more fluid- or wiggly, even. Not as straight of a tree, but ones with bends in it- in its trunk and its branches.

He imagines what that would look like, inspecting it carefully in his head. He likes it, he thinks. It's a nice tree.]

Alright, I have the tree.

Alright, then you can open up your eyes.

[ And when Sunny does, Daniel is picking up the set of small clippers already before putting them into the boy's hand. ]

You've visualized it in your head, so now it's time to actually make it happen. Here, you can prune the tree until it looks exactly the way you want it to.

[Sunny does so, and looks down at the clippers in his hand when they're given to him. He pushes down the feeling that clippers now gave him, after the fight he'd had with Basil.

It was time to prune the tree.

He examines the tree carefully, not entirely sure how he was going to make it work, but he was going to try. He starts by clipping the leaves on either side of each branch in an alternating pattern. Maybe he couldn't change the way the woody parts were growing yet, but this would do.

While working, Sunny looks up at Daniel once and a while to make sure he was doing okay.]

[ The moment Sunny glances at him, Daniel just smiles and nods - every single part of him approving of what's happening here. He doesn't want to say too much to accidentally steer Sunny any kind of way, but it does seem that the other has something in mind that he's working on now. ]

You know. [ It's why he starts to speak, even while Sunny may still be working on snapping off some of the branches with the clippers. ] Your powers? They're just like that bonsai.

[ There's a slight pause, but then Daniel continues. ]

It's easy for powers to happen suddenly, or accidentally.. but the way to start using them intentionally is just like that. You envision in your head what you want to do with your powers.. and then you make it happen.

[ Just like how Sunny is making his own image of the tree come to life. ]

It's all about taking a moment to slow down.

[The reassurance has Sunny continuing, trying to make the tree match the image in his head as closely as possible.

He continues to snip as Daniel speaks, but he's paying attention to him.

Taking a moment to slow down and envision what he wants to do with his powers. That made sense. It could be like this tree. He could work on using them the same way.

Eventually, the tree is as close as he thinks he's going to get it, so he stops and gently puts the clippers back down next to the tree.]

I understand. [He nods.] I can visualize how I want my powers to work and try to make that happen.

[ Daniel nods in confirmation. ]

It won't always be easy. [ Sure, that might dampen the message a little, perhaps make it slightly less optimistic.. but Daniel does want to be a touch realistic about it in this sort of place.

Trench is too dangerous to put ideas into kids' heads that might get them killed. ]

So you should always be careful. But back when I first learned how to use the powers I got here, all I did was just try really hard to envision in my head how I wanted to use them. [ He reaches out, gently brushing a hand across the tree's small branches. ] I made sure to slow down. To breathe. That's what did the trick for me, since I started to have less and less accidents with my powers over time.

I'll be careful. I won't take unnecessary risks. [No going out and fighting whatever horrible monsters were out there for no reason. If he had to defend himself or others, that was different, but avoiding the issue all together would be preferable.]

So you still have accidents sometimes? [Sorry for being a little too personal, but Sunny is curious. He stares at the little tree as he asks.]

[ It seems that the man is more than willing to believe Sunny's words there. Sure, it's not like he couldn't be lying about it, but Daniel doesn't seem to be considering that possibility at all right now.

He wants to have faith in his students, after all. So instead he just smiles, nodding approvingly.

As for that last thing-- ]

Usually not anymore with my powers, thankfully. [ It'd be a touch tempting to lie, just to make the other feel a little less worried about making mistakes, but it's not like Daniel wants to lie here either.. ] But.. I can imagine accidents can still happen sometimes. These powers aren't like anything we're used to, right? It can be a little overwhelming at times.

[ That much is at least true. ]

I don't think it's bad to worry about making mistakes when those mistakes could be so big when it comes to those powers.. but I also think it's not good to be too hard on yourself for any mistakes. Mistakes are just something we can learn from, you know?

January and February Catch-All

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