[Lance watches the whole scene with no small amount of conflict. It's one thing to see people do things like this and know that they've been influenced by the dream or Trench… but he believes this is the very first time he's seen someone he considers a friend hurt innocent people of his own free will. And he can feel that guilt radiating off of Varian, it's so strong it makes his own throat start to close up a bit.
He would like to say he finds it extremely easy and simple to see this and brush it off as the past. But he's an imperfect person, and he needs a minute to process it. To say that his trust in people has diminished since he was brought to Deerington is a gross understatement. Maybe if he were the person he was before that and before the war with the Galra, he could just instantly turn to Varian and reassure him. That seems like something Shiro would be able to do.
But Shiro is a hero and- Lance stops his train of thought completely, heaving a breath and just making himself focus in on how Varian feels about this memory. And what he's saying. Then he turns to look at him with conflict and sympathy, trying to assess him and just put all the information he has in order and weigh it together objectively and… handle this like a good friend.
There's been a wall around his heart since the end of October. On some level, he's not found himself comfortable letting himself be open with Varian, and he hadn't really noticed until this moment when he has to really think about Varian as a person and incorporate this memory into his understanding of him. It's not comfortable, he doesn't like this feeling, it's choking him… so he buries it and focuses on the facts right in front of him. They make enough things clear that he can side-step the complications and conflict and cut right to the heart of the matter.]
Yeah, you were. [His voice is hushed and empathetic. Despite everything, he is an empath and he's felt that level of guilt before. He feels it every day.] But the important thing is you know that now… and that's not who you are anymore.
[He lets out a shuddered breath and looks down at the ground, lightly hugging himself as he continues.] What I see… is a scared kid who went off the deep end and took it out on the wrong people. It doesn't make it okay, but… I can sense how guilty you still feel all this time later. And that means you're a good person, Varian.
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He would like to say he finds it extremely easy and simple to see this and brush it off as the past. But he's an imperfect person, and he needs a minute to process it. To say that his trust in people has diminished since he was brought to Deerington is a gross understatement. Maybe if he were the person he was before that and before the war with the Galra, he could just instantly turn to Varian and reassure him. That seems like something Shiro would be able to do.
But Shiro is a hero and- Lance stops his train of thought completely, heaving a breath and just making himself focus in on how Varian feels about this memory. And what he's saying. Then he turns to look at him with conflict and sympathy, trying to assess him and just put all the information he has in order and weigh it together objectively and… handle this like a good friend.
There's been a wall around his heart since the end of October. On some level, he's not found himself comfortable letting himself be open with Varian, and he hadn't really noticed until this moment when he has to really think about Varian as a person and incorporate this memory into his understanding of him. It's not comfortable, he doesn't like this feeling, it's choking him… so he buries it and focuses on the facts right in front of him. They make enough things clear that he can side-step the complications and conflict and cut right to the heart of the matter.]
Yeah, you were. [His voice is hushed and empathetic. Despite everything, he is an empath and he's felt that level of guilt before. He feels it every day.] But the important thing is you know that now… and that's not who you are anymore.
[He lets out a shuddered breath and looks down at the ground, lightly hugging himself as he continues.] What I see… is a scared kid who went off the deep end and took it out on the wrong people. It doesn't make it okay, but… I can sense how guilty you still feel all this time later. And that means you're a good person, Varian.