#//or they're mimics by asari or salarians

[anderwhohn]

@dutyworn asked: [ APPROACH ] our muses haven’t been intimate yet and receiver finally broaches the subject to sender. / nihlus first contact

💌 some more smutty memes [ meme - accepting ]

He knew their species' governments and the Council wouldn't stay out of their personal lives forever, though he had certainly hoped it would have been longer than a few weeks before they started asking him about the more intimate details of their bonding. Not even a full month after their ceremony, and Nihlus had been forced to endure one of the most awkward conversations to have with the Council in his entire Spectre career - and the most awkward conversation to have with Sparatus in his entire life so far.

At least they're putting the pressure on him and not Shepard, as small of a mercy as that might be. But he knows it will only be a matter of time, if he tries to give her more time to adjust to... everything, given how it was her life that was completely uprooted by this whole arrangement in the first place, before they start assuming she - and thus humanity - aren't keeping to their end of the agreement. That's the last thing she needs...

He pauses as he taps a selection of items from a menu on the datapad he holds, trying to select levo foods he knows she's tried and enjoyed, and avoid anything he knows she didn't like or care for. He had wanted to spend this evening out in the Wards, taking her to dinner and to some of the local entertainment, to continue her tour of the Citadel of where would be safest for her to go on her own whenever he's away on a mission, but his earlier meeting with the Council was forcing him to change his plans.

He was determined that she would at least have a quiet dinner to enjoy, even if nothing else went the way he had hoped to spend their evening. After all, he didn't put it past Valern in particular to send spies to follow them if they left their apartment, and if he was going to have to have this discussion tonight, he was at least going to ensure they would have complete privacy, as he'd already scanned the entire apartment for bugs, and removed and destroyed the few that had been planted while no one was home.

Looking up at the sound of the door's chime announcing it's swift opening and closing, his mandibles spread in an easy smile to see Wren returning. She looks relaxed, at least, which is hopeful, as he turns back to the menu to submit the order to be delivered.

"I just finished ordering us dinner," he offers, setting the datapad aside as he stands to greet her properly. A quiet purr rumbles deep in his chest as he moves to meet her, leaning in to lightly press his crest to her forehead affectionately. "It should be here soon."

Though the matter of 'Council business' was never going to make for polite dinner conversation, he shakes his head as he gestures further into the apartment toward the bar in the back corner. "Join me for a drink while we wait? After today's meeting I had with the Council, I think we'll both be needing one," he notes wryly.

"I wanted to allow you as much time as you could have, considering how you were clearly rushed into this arrangement with even less information than I was granted. But it seems the powers that be can't leave well enough alone for more than a few weeks before trying to raise issues..."

He sighs wearily as he pours himself a glass of brandy from the bar, taking a long drink from it before topping it off again before he continues. "There have been 'concerns', from both sides, about the 'legitimacy' of this arrangement. While it's not uncommon for turian bondmates to not rush into..."

Spirits, he's just going to get this out as clinically as he has to. Better that than risk any misunderstandings, he imagines.

"Into sexual intimacy with their partners, especially given that often one or both are still in active duty, it seems that the same leeway is being questioned given our more unique situation. I'm not certain which side decided to start complaining first, but there had to have been more than a few turians to have noted either of us lack the usual signs of being fully bonded."

A frustrated growl escapes him as he takes another drink of his brandy. "Not that it's any of their business, and I told the Council that very thing in no uncertain terms. I won't do anything without your full consent, however, so if you tell me that you're not ready, or not interested at all, then we'll figure something out. I won't let them force or coerce my bondmate into anything. I swore to protect you, and I will do just that - be it from the Alliance, the Hierarchy, or even the Council itself."

[reliquiaen]

what she says: i'm fine

what she means: even though it says 'monogendered' technically asari should be considered mono-sex and the concept of gender could therefore be something completely unknown to them. (should their reproduction be considered similar to parthenogenesis or would humans have needed an entirely new branch of reproductive learning to truly understand how it works since two parties are involved?) prior to their coming into contact with other sentient races the asari might very well have had no reason for gendered pronouns (or really any word at all). even if other fauna on their homeworld had distinct sexes they may have seen no reason to use gendered terms to differentiate as they wouldn't use them personally; their socially constructed gender concepts would be completely different to what we know. so why then are there so many instances of them using gendered terms as if that's perfectly normal? they should have no reason to even have a word for 'patriarch' in their language, instead of 'matriarch' they should have a gender neutral term for the role. the saturation of gendered terms (specifically terms associated with femininity) in how their culture is presented seems all sorts of wrong in this regard. why female? (i mean we know it's because they're there for the male gaze but in lore i want a reason why.) especially when that bachelor party conversation in ME1 on the citadel is considered; they all say they can see a different species in how the asari present (ie a turian sees blue turians, etc), so then if asari can present as any RACE why not different gender presentations? do women attracted to men see a 'typically ideal' male body? do asari present as fluid for bi/pan people? what do asexual people see? is there potential for someone to see a truly nonbinary asari? why are we not given a chance to use a character creation screen to create our "ideal" asari? what if players want all asari to look like female salarians? when asari were introduced to the concept of gendered terms (pronouns most notably) did they struggle to grasp this? did they embrace it? do some asari have preferred pronouns? how does their gender presentation differ from what humans know and understand given how asari are perceived differently by each individual they encounter? clothing would be a much bigger deal for asari when part of inter-species groups as that would be the only true constant in how they are perceived by others. why then does asari fashion not reflect this? where are my asari adopting the typical fashions of the race of their non-asari parent? what about asari who want to present as typically 'male' even if someone sees them as female so they wear headdresses to mimic the crests of turians? this would be especially interesting given that in several instances in the trilogy there are mentions by asari of how 'purebreds' are looked down on, so why do non-purebred asari not play that up more? there is so much more flexibility and potential for variety in the asari than what the playerbase has been given and this is a damn crime.