[Just as a warning, though he surely already guessed that. And despite suggesting this whole thing, Lance hesitates a moment; he'd had time to choose an easy, completely benign memory to share since their discussion the day before, but he still needs to take a brief moment to center himself mentally in preparation.
And, he should probably add--]
I know it's easier said than done, but try focusing on the here and now for the moment; if you're thinking about other memories and experience you may still share them by accident.
[Which is what Lance had done when he first used this power, though thankfully it had been an experience he didn't mind another person seeing.
And that warning given, and stalling accomplished, Lance reaches out to take Jack's offered hand. The empathy bond activates immediately, along with the glow, although the latter is hidden under Lance's hoodie.
From Lance's side, the empathy bond conveys some nervousness, curiosity, concern, and determination; he's focused on this whole task at hand, and it's drowning out any other emotions he might normally be feeling in the background. Right now this is all business, and so he isn't having to put too much effort into hiding anything he wouldn't want coming across.
And, a moment later, the memory starts. It's a brief experience and one that isn't particularly interesting, but that's the point of this practice session; Lance is at a store playing with a virtual keyboard that they have for sale. The sound is, of course, excellent--it's virtual, so craftsmanship of the instrument doesn't come into play too much--and it's responsive, the virtual keys acting just like physical ones even if the sensation of pressing only air is very different. The lack of delay between a key press and the resulting sound causes an adjustment of timing to be necessary, but Lance accounts for it in a second or two and is soon playing a simple piece, trying to get the hang of adding in the virtual foot pedal.
It's very weird, and although there's a faint undercurrent of frustrating at having to make adjustments--his skill in piano and physical keyboards isn't quite translating to this new virtual setup to the extent he might like with his perfectionism--he's still overall pretty pleased, the calming feeling of playing music combined with the little rush of being successful and the fun of the challenge all combine for a good memory.
Once it's done Lance breaks the connection so as to avoid any accidentally further memory transfers, and gives Jack a moment to process the whole experience.]
no subject
[Just as a warning, though he surely already guessed that. And despite suggesting this whole thing, Lance hesitates a moment; he'd had time to choose an easy, completely benign memory to share since their discussion the day before, but he still needs to take a brief moment to center himself mentally in preparation.
And, he should probably add--]
I know it's easier said than done, but try focusing on the here and now for the moment; if you're thinking about other memories and experience you may still share them by accident.
[Which is what Lance had done when he first used this power, though thankfully it had been an experience he didn't mind another person seeing.
And that warning given, and stalling accomplished, Lance reaches out to take Jack's offered hand. The empathy bond activates immediately, along with the glow, although the latter is hidden under Lance's hoodie.
From Lance's side, the empathy bond conveys some nervousness, curiosity, concern, and determination; he's focused on this whole task at hand, and it's drowning out any other emotions he might normally be feeling in the background. Right now this is all business, and so he isn't having to put too much effort into hiding anything he wouldn't want coming across.
And, a moment later, the memory starts. It's a brief experience and one that isn't particularly interesting, but that's the point of this practice session; Lance is at a store playing with a virtual keyboard that they have for sale. The sound is, of course, excellent--it's virtual, so craftsmanship of the instrument doesn't come into play too much--and it's responsive, the virtual keys acting just like physical ones even if the sensation of pressing only air is very different. The lack of delay between a key press and the resulting sound causes an adjustment of timing to be necessary, but Lance accounts for it in a second or two and is soon playing a simple piece, trying to get the hang of adding in the virtual foot pedal.
It's very weird, and although there's a faint undercurrent of frustrating at having to make adjustments--his skill in piano and physical keyboards isn't quite translating to this new virtual setup to the extent he might like with his perfectionism--he's still overall pretty pleased, the calming feeling of playing music combined with the little rush of being successful and the fun of the challenge all combine for a good memory.
Once it's done Lance breaks the connection so as to avoid any accidentally further memory transfers, and gives Jack a moment to process the whole experience.]