"And it was funny, right, it's so funny how Clay did all that--"

"You thought that was funny, you thought--you thought that was funny? I've--I've cried for weeks on end every night, I wake up screaming--"

"...What?"

"I never wake up, Alex, I never wake up from the nightmare."

Snort. Okay, kid's gotten edgy. "Yeah, life is a nightmare. But with my gifts and my incredible IQ we can make things a lot better."

"I've lost all the pep in my step. I'm not old, I'm just, uh, weak."

"Yeah, you're a bag of bones, buddy, and your fucking clothes are--" Alex starts laughing. "What does Clay say about your clothes, it looks like you've got fucking poo on them--"

"I will just kill myself."

"What? No no no no no, Tommy Tommy Tommy, they're really good clothes, it's like, it's what they're selling at Forever 21, all ripped up like that, the teenagers love it, the, uh, the adults love it too, alright, Tommy, uh--what have you been doing recently! I'm sure you've been doing interesting things!"

Huh, he had kind of wondered whether saying it out loud would help at all. Apparently not. He doesn't feel much of anything about it, really. 

"Not really.

I have, uh, some new mana storage. Well, not really new. New to you. Clay helped me make them. He also, uh, gave me this" --he tugs on his cross necklace-- "and, uh, some other stuff. Y'know, set up a better alarm at my room, all that."

"He gives you handouts?"

"Yeah, I mean, he’s actually-- he’s sort of my-- he’s borderline my owner, Alex, so I don't..."

"What, is he, like, your long-lost dad? Is it some sort of weird sex thing? I don't--c'mon, man."

"No! Ew!!!! Why would that be a sex thing!"

"Hey, I dunno, man, some people..." He puts his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying, man, Clay's a dick."

"Well, he-- why don't we be a little less mean to him? He's-- the reason I’m so, uh... I’ve not been looking too hot. Ah, no, I still look hot. But the reason I’ve not been looking too hot is because of him."

"What, you can't repair your own clothes anymore, need daddy to do it for you?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

"Sure. I'll stop being mean to Clay, especially if he's open to being a sugar daddy."

"There's one thing you should know about me and it's that I love girls. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay! But I am not. I love women."

"When was the last time you even talked to a woman."

"Weeeeeeell I don't-- I don't see what that has to do with it. I meet my ladies on discord, in, in #general-2."

"What if they're the moderator?"

"Ohhhh, that's--I mean, that's when you know. She won't give you any warns. She'll say mee6? mee6? pardon this one."

"She'll give you roles without the owner's permission, that's how you'll know she loves you."