Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks @thisisjoshuayates - Tumblr Blog

arthur-gustin

“I think the word you’re looking for is naive,” he supplies blankly. “What should I do about it, then?”

Josh shrugs. “Be careful I guess. But I still trust your judgment.”

arthur-gustin

Arthur leans back in his chair, closes his eyes, and rubs at his eyes with the heels of his hands tiredly. “Okay,” he sighs. “Sorry.”

“I don’t know anything about what you and Spencer do but if anyone would be tempted to manipulate someone for sex it’d be him and...” He huffs. “Frankly Arthur, I think you’d be a good target. You’re way too trusting and... Optimistic. You-- There’s a word for it but I can’t remember it.”

#con #con:arthur

arthur-gustin

“So anyone who wants something sexual from you is manipulating you?” he clarifies.

“No. But sometimes people that want anything from you could be manipulating you. It just so happens that what you’re accusing Hatchman of is sexual.”

#con #con:arthur

arthur-gustin

“What if you only feel that way about Dr. Hatchman because he’s manipulating you?” Arthur counters. “What if you’re manipulating me? How am I supposed to know?”

“Well me and Hatchman haven’t done anything even close to sexual. Neither have we,” he notes. “I’ve never asked anything of you, have I?”

#con #con:arthur

arthur-gustin

“Oh, okay. Well… Spencer doesn’t take advantage of me,” he tells him. “Maybe he did when I first got here, but he doesn’t anymore and I know he feels bad about doing it because we’ve talked about it before. A lot. But he’s not now. He’s nicer to me than I am to myself a lot of the time. And Jack? Yeah, he maybe took advantage of Jack a few times, too. But he knows that was bad too, and he knows not to do it anymore. I think. Spencer’s-. He’s-. He’s learned to do things a certain way to get what he needed, and I know it’s not an excuse, but now he’s learning how to not do that so I think we owe him some grace.”

“What if you only feel that way because you’re being manipulated?” Josh shrugs. “Most people are nice to me than I am myself, it doesn’t make them nice people. Sometimes people do that on purpose even. They’re called predators.”

#con #con:arthur #Josh thinking he's introducing Arthur to new words because he's only just learning them lol

arthur-gustin

“I can tell you why you’re wrong about what, exactly?”

“About Spencer taking advantage of you and Jack and whoever else.”

#con #con:arthur #Me causing beef for my own character

jack-croft

Jack doesn’t say anything for a while. His eyes had been fixed on Josh as he spoke, but they now flick back down to his lap, hoping that the lack of eye contact will make him feel less vulnerable. “I never want you to look at me and feel hurt.” He tells him. “I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you when I needed to sort my shit out first.”

“I think we both might have expected too much from ourselves and each other.”

#con #con:jack

arthur-gustin

“Are you gonna quiz me about him to make yourself feel better or am I just supposed to defend him?”

“You can tell me why I’m wrong and I can decide if I believe you.”

#I'm sure I replied to this where did it go #con:arthur #chat

jack-croft:

“Have you found closure, then?”

“I’m getting there,” he says. “When I get out of here, I wanna get as far away from this place as I can--” Literally and figuratively. “--but if I meet up with anyone I want it to be because we went through this together, not because we still have making up to do. I think we both deserve better than that. I don’t wanna look at you and feel hurt anymore - now or then.”

#con #con:josh #Josh got me slow nodding

jack-croft:

“You’re right, it has been a long time. Things are going to be weird, we can’t tip-toe around each other.”

“Exactly. If anything, that’d make it worse. Closure is important; Hatchman always told me that.” He’s not wary of saying the man’s name anymore -- if he was conscious of it at all, he’d see it as a good sign.

#con #con:jack