"One-track mind, I guess. Though I'm leaning toward it being a good idea to talk to him, after someone else mentions to him incidentally that I have so much sexual trauma if hit on I will have a panic attack."

"I'll warn him for you if you like."

"More because I want him to know it's off the table and that's not because I find a fault in him than because it'd actually be a problem; I have wholly internal panic attacks."

...that still seems kind of problem-ish to Elspeth but she can also convey this clarification if he likes.

"But it's my problem, and I shouldn't like to make it his. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Where are they?"

He sends it.

Elspeth bounces it to Loki, who shuffles her along since not even the vampire has read the entire teleportation spell yet.

Hi Findekános?

They got him a nice room and an eidetic memory necklace and Delight is teaching him how to use a computer.

"Hello, Elspeth," Findekano says.

"Hi!" Elentári Maitimo is not evil (she likes him! he is nice) and would like to talk but Evil Arda Findekáno definitely definitely shouldn't hit on him for reasons.

"...okay." He is not sure what else Elentári Maitimo wants with him, and sends this.

Well, she's not sure exactly, but presumably he thinks the interaction would benefit Findekáno in some way at least more than going and murdering his alt would.

"Is he considering doing that?"

He's thinking about it pretty intensely! He is upset about the evilness of Evil Maitimo. He does not plan on doing it in at least the next ten years though.

"Please have him come and talk to me." Though he doesn't have any idea how to talk Maitimo down from murder without - maybe the new Maitimo just means that he prefers to initiate - 

Well, he certainly didn't intimate that via Elspeth, who thinks he probably is eliding over a list of hangups a mile long that even alts of his husband are not going to be equipped to navigate. She goes and bounces the content of this interaction to Elentári Maitimo.

"Thank you."

And he pops out. "Delight, can you give us a minute -"

"No."

"Okay," he says, "fair enough." Findekáno?

Yes?

I asked Elspeth to bounce me all her memories of you so I could figure out what's going on, and I think I've got it, and I want to run my understanding by you. So, you have gotten ridiculously good at the skill of 'effecting your goals in the world through Maitimo'. And not much else. And so even though it'd be deeply unhealthy for you to date any of us, it's also probably not particularly helpful for you to hear 'we won't give you any avenue to do things that anyone else couldn't do just as well'. And even though that was the opposite of anybody's intent it probably leaves you feeling powerless. Is that pretty much the picture?

Yes, he says warily. Why do you think it would be unhealthy for us to date?

...um, me particularly because it took my husband and I a decade to get to the point where we could and going through that with someone who didn't love me sounds terrible. Versions of me in general because if you didn't feel like it one night would you say no.

I asked Maitimo to leave me be, sometimes.

Maitimo does not flinch at all. And if they wanted your hair short -

- I'd try to figure out how badly they wanted that and how to get something I wanted.

What sort of things did you usually want?

More compassionate policy, better laws, more personal freedoms - 

Maitimo nods slowly. So here, where we mostly agree with you about policy and will not refuse you any personal freedoms -

He wouldn't have leverage to get me to cut my hair. Unless it occurred to him to become eviller for more bargaining power with me, is that what you're worried about?

No. None of us would do that. I just am having trouble envisioning a relationship where you and your boyfriend had the same power and same goals in the first place.

You're right. I'm specialized for my Maitimo and should just go back to him.

If that happens everyone is going to decide that he can't be permitted to live without hurting other people and then we'll kill him.

Well, Findekáno says, in that case I know what I want to use my leverage for. 

You want to win over one of us to the cause of keeping your rapist happy? By trading us sexual favors? You do realize that trading us sexual favors will not make us more charitably inclined toward your rapist?

I'm not you, can't find the best angle on people the minute I meet them, but I bet I could figure it out.

The way my Findekáno helps me is by bailing me out when I'm occasionally stupid and loving me unconditionally and not being seduceable into mistakes by his love for me.

I don't think I'm seduceable into mistakes and I will definitely rescue you from being stupid and I would need to have oaths back but -

-that is very much not an acceptable outcome, no.

What is an acceptable outcome.

You stay here and I use you for projects, since that's what you're used to, and introduce you to non-me pretty boys if you're sexually frustrated, and you know that I'll protect you just as fiercely as my evil alt would have, and you avoid distressing anyone by speaking the way he apparently likes you to speak -

-you don't like it?

If it were a voluntary kink thing in the right context - my husband, for my birthday, biting his lip to refrain from bursting into laughter the whole time - I would be fantastically aroused. From you it is disturbing. 

So it's not that you're different, it's that -

We are definitely different!

Sorry, he says softly, cowed.

It's completely different! I want you to see the difference!

Look, sometimes Maitimo tied me down and I told him he was a monster and he fucked me anyway. But sometimes he brought me presents and we talked policy until I realized I could get ahead by talking him into bed, and those aren't the same thing, and it wasn't clear to me if you'd enjoy the second kind just because you're all upset by the first kind.

Yes. Someone would very much enjoy playing inappropriate power games with you. But when you played them, you didn't have the option of refusing him, that matters a lot.

To you.

Doesn't matter to you?

Knowing I could leave is the main thing that matters. Now that there are lots of Maitimos I could more meaningfully leave.

Maitimo buries his face in his hands. The Space ones spent several decades apart and were just fine! I am sure there's a 'verse that has one but not the other of us and I bet we're fine there, too!

Yes. But as you observed, the thing I am really good at is you. When Maitimo shows no signs of doing anything other than having his face in his hands, your plan sounds good. But I'd be just as happy with it if you said you might want me in bed sometimes. 

Okay. I won't.

He tries not to feel hurt. It wouldn't escape Maitimo.

I do want you to be around my husband and I a fair bit, to see what a functional relationship between us looks like.

Okay.

I am not going to be comfortable in your presence until I've told you I want things and you've said no a few times.

You should want less reasonable things, then.

Come over here.

Findekáno springs gratefully to his feet and walks over.

Oh, for fuck's sake, Maitimo says miserably.

That wasn't unreasonable!

Stand on your head.

He grins. No.

Okay. I think I'm going to call that a day's work and go cry into my husband's shoulder. See you later.

He looks unhappy. Maitimo'll figure out why.

Oh, get competent with computers, get an Allspeak installation, and sit through all of Loki's spells. Please.

Thank you, he says, relieved. 

That would have been another good candidate for a 'no' -

- but it was reasonable...

Maitimo pops out.

Elspeth goes and talks to the Elentári Valar. Do they want to know more or less the same things as the Evil Arda ones did?

They do! Less 'why did the civil war' more 'why did the Noldor depart', but the same general idea.

She is happy to help when she has the story to the point where she can interpret it.

And then she goes to Space Arda and visits their Valar! Same deal?

Plus, you know, Cam fed Valinor to a black hole, how could that have been averted. Because it was awful and traumatizing.