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[evocation]

@kyna.medina | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[lifetothefullest]

There were eight of them: Hope, Fear, Rage, Delight, Tranquility, Confusion, Love, and Sorrow, and they each ran on the emotions they were named after. What they did depended on which one of the gods needed power, so Fear would do things to cause fear, Confusion would cause confusion, Hope caused hope, you get the idea.

They could warp reality to some extent and affect us mentally or emotionally, and so they used that however worked best for what they needed.

[evocation]

holy shit
i hate that
how did you even deal with that?

[lifetothefullest]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan either.

Probably the same way you've all dealt with the things that happen here; you just get through it.

[Sometimes in better ways than others, sometimes with more support than others, but they didn't have any real choice other than to just handle whatever was thrown at them as it happened.]

[evocation]

is that what you're supposed to say as a psychologist? just get through it?

[lifetothefullest]

Hey, you have to let me know in advance if you want actual psychologist advice. Otherwise you just get my terrible, unprofessional responses.

[evocation]

so you don't follow your own advice?

[lifetothefullest]

I think that's under doctor-patient confidentiality, so I can't answer.

[evocation]

you are such a liar

[lifetothefullest]

Wow, that's quite the accusation.

[But okay, more seriously--]

'Getting through it' is a little more simplistic than what I should say, but it's the basic version. More in depth, you can't always change or control what happens--things like what the gods did, or the earthquake--and so what you can do is figure out how to move forward from it. Normally, I'd suggest doing that by confronting and working through the traumatic events, but that wasn't always possible in Hadriel.

[evocation]

why wasn't it possible?

[Read: Could she have an easy excuse for not working through this stuff?]

[lifetothefullest]

There were a few reasons. One was that there was usually something happening at least once if not twice a month, so there wasn't time to work through one problem before another would happen. Second was that a lot of people didn't want to try dealing with their issues at all.

[Like SOMEONE might be thinking about doing.]

Third, I was the only psychologist, and there was something like sixty people in Hadriel on average.

[evocation]

ugh, yikes
that sounds like a fucking nightmare for you

[This is totally not about her! At all!]

[lifetothefullest]

It wasn't great. I wanted to help people, but the situation just made it really difficult.

[Of course not!!! Which is definitely not why he adds--]

But when and where talking to someone about traumatic experiences is possible, it's a good idea. Obviously I'm biased, but I wouldn't have become a psychologist if counseling weren't something that actually helps people.

[evocation]

does it actually help? because doing it is pretty fucking miserable

[lifetothefullest]

Yes, it helps, although you're not wrong that it's not always the best experience at the time.

[He's definitely had both really good and really bad therapy sessions, on both sides of things.]

[evocation]

my mom tried to take me to a therapist a couple of times as a kid and i hated it
uh, no offense

[lifetothefullest]

None taken.

Kids getting dragged to therapy by their parents usually hate it, at least at first. It's different when it's your own choice.

[evocation]

yeah, i guess
i think i'd still hate it

[lifetothefullest]

You might, or you might not. It's up to you to decide if you want to give it a try and find out for sure.

[And that all said--]

But if you ever want to talk to someone you know, less formally, you can always talk to me. Just let me know if you want my terrible personal opinions or if you'd prefer I act like I have degrees that mean anything here.

[evocation]

thanks
i'm just
you know
not great at talking about shit anyway

[Poor Lance is probably getting deja vu.]

[lifetothefullest]

[This does sound very familiar as far as Kyna is concerned, but it's also familiar in general.]

That's okay. It's difficult for a lot of people, so you're not weird in that or anything.

[evocation]

uh huh
is that what you're like
required to say?

[lifetothefullest]

No, it's the truth. The only thing I'm required to say is a long spiel about confidentiality whenever I start counseling someone new. Everything else is whatever I want to say.

[evocation]

[Weirdly, that actually makes her feel a little better. But...]

but this isn't you counseling me, right?

[lifetothefullest]

No, definitely not. I would've made it very clear, plus I would've had to go through the whole confidentiality thing I mentioned.