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understood

username: Cst.B.Fraser

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From:

understood

...

Sex scares me.

From:

scarrystories

[ Andy meets his eyes and gives him a smile that's all mischief. ]

Well then, the obvious solution in this case is exposure therapy.

From:

understood

Andy.

From:

scarrystories

[ He takes Ben's hands to pull them away from his face. ]

Ben.

From:

understood

It's not... that.

From:

scarrystories

Then?

From:

understood

I think it's... it's related to the reason I don't drink. I think, so often, people drink in order to escape their own lives, to... to lose themselves in something external. I've never felt the need to do that. I've always thought it was that simple—never feeling the need—but perhaps it goes deeper than that. Perhaps with alcohol, or sex, or anything else that involves a... a letting go of inhibitions... I actually fear that escape. Perhaps I fear that I really will lose myself, for more than the time being. That I won't be able to find myself again. And... I mean, to escape my life, really, even the language I'm using, it's—well, the French even refer to orgasm as "a little death," and so in a sense... I think some part of me feels that letting go will result in... some kind of death of the self, so to speak. I find physical intimacy... consuming, in that way. It's difficult.

It's easier when it's... a means to an end, I suppose. An expression of care for another person. But I... I do value my inhibitions. Generally speaking. And so... when I'm reminded that I've put them aside for a time... well, in a way... inhibitions, courtesy, a sense of being... civilized, it's all of a piece. There's this sense that I've lost who I choose to be. It's not that I'm without passion, but that giving myself over to passion feels like abandoning reason and principle, and doing that purely for pleasure and escape... terrifies me.

From:

scarrystories

[ Andy doesn't interrupt at all throughout, he just listens attentively. When he's done, Andy leans in to give him a light peck on the lips. ]

That makes sense.

From:

understood

It does?

From:

scarrystories

It does. You have very clear limits for yourself, catching yourself stepping outside of them freaks you out.

Do you feel weird when you think about the sex you had after the fact?

From:

understood

Yeah.

From:

scarrystories

Do you have any leisurely activities? Things you do just for fun.

From:

understood

Just for fun?

... I listen to music. I go for hikes.

From:

scarrystories

Do you lose track of time? Forget your stressors for a bit?

From:

understood

It's very rare that I lose track of time. But I don't think I tend to dwell on stressors at any time.

From:

scarrystories

So the difference between that and sex is what? Intensity?

From:

understood

They don't make me stop thinking. There's always... a level of analysis, out in nature. If nothing else, I'll tend to catalogue flora and fauna as I go... look for signs of tracks... estimate wind speed and direction. With music, as well, there's always historical context to consider, and all the technicalities, the theory... it's not just instinct, just sensation. I'm used to relying on both of those—instinct and senses—as tools. But not losing myself in them.

From:

scarrystories

We could try making it more controlled on your end, but I think learning to let go gradually would be better.

From:

understood

I'm not sure that... I mean to say. What if I do get lost? What if this is the start of a slippery slope? What if I develop a... a sex addiction?

From:

scarrystories

I get the concern and the fear, I really do. But I don't think it's a risk, I think you could get wrapped into it for a while, like how most people who go to a casino for the first time get hooked and end up with a moral hangover.

Plus, honestly, I could see something like a sex addiction coming a mile away and I'd intervene before it got bad.