"Sometimes I wish I had been born an Elf in Valinor," Gloria sighs, "and then I come to my senses because Klaudia would have been miserable there, but oh!"

"What would have disagreed with her about it?"

"The time thing, mostly," she says promptly, "and the homosexuality taboo. She's the kind of person who does all her work as far ahead in advance as she can and asks for more."

"If she were born there it seems unlikely she'd have noticed the time thing. The homosexuality taboo's a problem though."

"It really is," she says, shaking her head. "Pity."

"Did you hear the part where I gave a passive-aggressive lecture?"

"...No, I did not hear that part. Do tell."

So Bella explains about the state of the reembodied and what she was able to do about that and her therapeutic ethics lecture.

Gloria is shocked and appalled. She sits down kind of abruptly.

Taboos I understand. Prejudice I understand. This is something else.

I know.

Idaia likes you and you held that lecture so I'm fairly certain you wouldn't ever but are you capable of doing that?

It is not literally outside my capabilities, but it's not a technique I actually studied at all ever.

If for some reason I ever turn up straight then someone has fucked with my head without my consent and if I appear to be okay with it they fucked with that too and I give my consent in advance for you to take whatever risks you need to to fix as much of the damage as you can. Not that I expect it to come up, but.

These are not trivial risks.

If I am straight and not okay with it then we can talk about it then. If I am okay with being straight then I am not myself.

If I fuck it up, and I might well because it's an invasive procedure I've never so much as read a book on, you may also not be yourself.

If I'm not going to be myself I'd rather it be because of something I had the chance to choose for myself.

Your consent is noted but I have the right to refuse service if it seems like a bad idea at the time.

That's fine.

Sorry.

It's probably never going to come up. I'm not an Elf.

Yeah.