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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 12, 2015 23:56:54 GMT
“Or an asari as a stripper,” Daia amended to the list, with an impish grin. She sobered at the mention of Ana.
“She’s quarian,” she explained. “And we live on Illium, so that’s about as ‘minority’ as you can get.” She shrugged and moved on. “She served with the Flotilla at Rannoch, during the war - against the geth. Medical care on one of the civilian ships, but there weren’t any ‘safe’ ships when things went bad. Hers was boarded, took damage... The doctors who saved her afterwards did a miracle,” her eyes were distant, “but, there was a lot of scarring to her face. Of course as a quarian she could set her visor to opaque and nobody was really any the wiser. And I was just glad to have her back at all, given everything that happened. But, she...” The asari sighed. “It was a difficult time. Could have been a lot worse, but a sense of perspective only goes so far.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 13, 2015 3:09:55 GMT
"She is fortunate to have such a supporting bondmate. My people would have executed me as a mercy were they still alive." He looked around, eyes taking in the bustle that flowed about the,. "That was possibly the biggest joy I found in this society. The diversity, your ability to adapt and accept the new or different. True you may have a biggot or hate group, but in the end... You join together. Perhaps we would have survived had we not been so rigid in tradition and 'the greater good'."
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 13, 2015 15:35:19 GMT
“I’m glad you’ve found it so,” Daia smiled, seeming a little lifted by the mention of society’s bright side. “It’s what everyone - well, most everyone - aspires to, but it’s nice to know it’s not just words. It can be too easy to focus on the failures otherwise - the Beacon, you’d have heard of?” She sighed, then grew thoughtful.
“Who can say why some survive, though,” she mused. “It’s tempting to look for reasons, but I don’t know... they seemed like a, a force of nature. Wrong term for machines of course, but you know what I mean? Did we make it through the storm for a reason, or were we just the ones that got lucky?”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 14, 2015 5:53:33 GMT
"They were beyond machines... Sometimes I still see them as gods or demons, though perhaps that is a side effect of indoctrination. As for why we survived... Imwould say that the defeat of the Reapers was certainly through unity and sacrifice. But in the end, everyone was equally likely to have been part of the final body count."
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 16, 2015 3:06:00 GMT
“I don’t know if they were,” Daia mused. “‘Beyond machines’, I mean. I have trouble imagining any thinking being doing anything so... mindless. On such a huge scale, and the amount of preparation, the technology, the scope, just to kill.” She looked upset at the thought. “Not that people don’t do horrible things to each other, but not as a rule. They’re saying the Reapers were doing this for hundreds of thousands of years, millions - over and over.” She sighed. “None of them ever stopped and wondered, what’s the point?”
She gave a quick, mirthless smile.
“And then we made an energy wave, and now they just repair relays, and leave us alone. Honestly, no, I believe they were just machines. Broken, following corrupted instructions perhaps, never knowing it because there’s nothing inside to know anything.” She looked over at her companion. “Maybe it’s just easier to think that, though - to not have to imagine that a thing like a Reaper could understand what it was doing, and do it anyway. Machines don’t pose philosophical dilemmas, I suppose.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 16, 2015 5:31:35 GMT
"Billions," he corrected. "But perhaps they developed free will, but could never truly throw off the shackles of their programming. So they convinced themselves they acted of their own free will, that they wanted to destroy. Overtime it became the truth." He shivered, "And yet... What I saw, what I felt... No machine could give that sensation. It was like being violated on a psychological level... The closest comparison would be to be dominated by an ardat yakshi; but rather than bliss, you are crushed by overwhelming despair that saps you of any will to resist. I do not think a mere machine could do that."
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 17, 2015 4:13:03 GMT
“Perhaps so,” Daia conceded. “I can’t speak from experience - Goddess be praised. There were scares about indoctrination, after the invasion on Illium, and news came about it happening elsewhere. Defence Directorate locked down any survivors who came out of old Nos Astra once the Reapers had landed, kept them in holding facilities. One time a shuttle came in out of no-man’s-land - the authorities didn’t clear it, they blew it up on the landing pad. Things had gotten pretty ugly.” She scowled, then sighed. “I suppose though, at least it felt like the threat was being taken seriously - people were so afraid, if they’d felt the authorities weren’t protecting them, and started panicking... Could have been a lot worse.”
A thought struck her and she glanced up.
“That’s just folklore, about Ardat-Yakshi,” she noted gently. “Back before the condition was understood - tribal times - there were all sorts of stories. ‘Demons’ and all that. But there aren’t any... powers, or anything, involved, it’s just a behavioural disorder.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 17, 2015 5:11:37 GMT
"Is that a fact? I apologize for my ignorance then. I had heard that the disorder effected how they melded as well." He paused, "But we have lingered on death and destruction for too long in any case. You say your bondmate is quarian? This may seem like an odd question but I meet many quarians who ask it; can you meld through the suit, or do you require skin contact?"
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 17, 2015 23:17:34 GMT
“The misconceptions get aired a lot,” Daia said, waving away the apology with a quick smile. “It’s... there’s a lot of cultural baggage - stigma, really - so the facts don’t really get spoken about much. Honestly, Ardat-Yakshi is more likely to be discussed as a Galaxy of Fantasy character class than a medical condition.”
She seemed pleased to be moving on to brighter topics, and nodded in reply.
“It’s quite possible,” she explained. “Melding doesn’t actually require physical contact at all, proximity is enough. Although that can be quite taxing - contact creates feedback, which helps focus the meld. You can feel your partner feeling your touch, and your partner becomes aware of your awareness of their awareness of you, and so on and so forth, the recurring loops of thought help maintain synchronicity. Of course quarian suits have tactile sensors so even ‘clothed’ you get much the same effect. A completely detached meld is... it’s like the difference between walking, and piloting a vehicle you’re unfamiliar with. You can’t just do it without thinking, you have to concentrate.” She grinned. “And keep glancing at the manual, metaphorically speaking. It’s not an uncommon talent though, the need for conscious direction makes it a useful technique in teaching - get the hang of it, and what you learn can enhance the experience of regular melding a lot. Therapists use it as well - the feedback from skin contact can be distracting, and in a therapeutic setting you need to maintain objectivity.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 18, 2015 2:31:24 GMT
"Ah yes... It is quite an experience, isn't it? The disguises and deceptions we build around ourselves stripped away, revealing our core values. It's like... Going through life with a blindfold, then suddenly taking it off to look at someone. I know many quarians and Volus who would be happy to hear they can engage in an intimate relationship without risk."
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 19, 2015 4:11:42 GMT
“It is, yes,” Daia smiled, leaning forward, more animated now she was on a topic she clearly felt strongly about. “Did you know, in the tribal age it was a widespread notion that melding was the basis for empathy? Not true obviously, that was before we met anyone else - other species develop empathy just fine without melding. Some of us, too - some asari meld only very rarely. I’m, ah,” she grinned, “rather the opposite. But it’s an apt simile, the blindfold, in a lot of ways. Everything else we experience is conveyed through senses - electrical signals to the brain, and the brain constructs its idea of the outside world. Like wearing an envirosuit, we - our thoughts - are inside, and everything else is outside.”
She leaned forward, enthusiastic.
“Then you meld, and the outside is in - the mind directly touches another person, you experience something other than your own thoughts inside your mind, it’s... I love doing it, I really do.” She shrugged lightly. “Of course professionally - my profession - it’s not so much about revealing the inner self. Clients are there to enjoy themselves, not many really want to be completely exposed, mentally, in that sense. That sort of melding is actually more about fantasy and illusion, drawing on aspects of memories and imagination, mixing them into a dreamscape - takes a lot of practice, but I’m highly motivated.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 19, 2015 4:17:13 GMT
"My experience with it is more thareputic. If trust can be established it can be an excellent way to reach out to a patient and understand them. If you feel their suffering, it is much easier to heal them. Though one must be careful, it is somewhat overwealming at first, especially with those outside the species." Though he seemed far more comfortable now, he leaned back a little. If she saw under his hood now there would be a lot of screaming and possible use of biotics. He hadn't needed to use his own since the war ended, and wasnt keen on the idea of using it on this young lady.
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 23, 2015 0:37:03 GMT
Daia quirked a curious eyebrow at how her companion spoke of ‘experience’ with melding. He wasn’t asari - did he allow asari patients to meld with him? Therapy discouraged that approach, and Ana would be the first to agree it was for a good reason. Perhaps he was simply speaking in theoretical terms, studying meld therapy for background rather than to practice. She found her curiosity at what was under the hood returning, but the way he shifted away didn’t invite speculation.
“True,” she mused instead. “It’s always a challenge becoming accustomed to a new type of mind - the ability is there regardless of species, but learning the cartography...” She paused, and chuckled. “When I was young I took the term ‘mental landscape’ kind of literally. I see minds spread out like geography. And geology for that matter - strata, layers on layers. Everyone experiences a meld differently, according to their own inclinations.”
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glowytherapist
Adventurer
Name: Unpronouncable
Race: Collector
Occupation: Therapist
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Post by glowytherapist on Nov 23, 2015 4:09:34 GMT
"We all develop differently. I would assume that different species have wildly different mental landscapes? That is, assuming you have melded with others, I did mean to insinuate..." He seemed flustered, having gotten so caught up in the conversation he had forgotten that melding often MEANT something to asari, and he had accidentally suggested she had more than a little experience.
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Post by asari_promiscuity on Nov 24, 2015 0:27:55 GMT
“I have,” Daia grinned, “quite a bit. My lifelong pursuits, if you like, are melding and sexuality - not invariably at the same time, sometimes they’re quite distinct from one another, therapeutic uses for instance, or simply sharing experiences with no sexual undertones. And of course on the flip side some people just like to do what a body does without getting mind-linking involved. But there’s often a lot of interplay - so, yeah. Let’s be tactful and say I’ve done both ‘more than average’.” From the gleam in her eyes it was obvious she felt no shame about the admission.
“Mental landscapes,” she went on, “yes, very much so - as different as Thessia to Palaven, say. Or not, as well. It’s difficult to put into words. Imagine being in a place for the first time, a completely alien environment, nothing familiar - but at the same time, it’s home, you grew up there, it’s your place. Everything in a meld is part of you or your partner, and at that moment you are your partner. In a deep meld, and an open one - no detachment, complete immersion - everything, even your own personality, is new. And familiar. They become the same thing.”
She leaned back in her chair, contemplative.
“It’s very subjective, of course,” she admitted. “Not clinical at all, but that’s not what people come to me for, so that’s fine. It does make literal description a challenge though. How do you describe something when you were literally a different person when you experienced it?”
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