[van Zieks almost stumbles at that assessment, for how strikingly perceptive it is, and for how... strange it feels to think that no one ever expressed that sentiment to him before.]
I... [He looks away. Does he dislike being feared? He's always played the role. It was just as well people be afraid of him, it kept them at arms length. If he remained a solitary figure, no one else could be harmed by the tragedy of the van Zieks family. He couldn't lose anyone else if he had no one. That, and the fear of the Reaper reducing crime had always been why he'd maintained the act. But... Does that mean he liked it?
No, no of course it didn't. He hated it. He was miserable. Still.]
no subject
I...
[He looks away. Does he dislike being feared? He's always played the role. It was just as well people be afraid of him, it kept them at arms length. If he remained a solitary figure, no one else could be harmed by the tragedy of the van Zieks family. He couldn't lose anyone else if he had no one. That, and the fear of the Reaper reducing crime had always been why he'd maintained the act. But... Does that mean he liked it?
No, no of course it didn't. He hated it. He was miserable. Still.]
I'm used to it.