Gestalt Problems (Sean)

Gestalt pairs were not one of the more common powers in existence, which, Sean knew, thrilled his partner with joy. It was understandable, given his trauma. For the psychiatrist’s part, while he knew that most gestalt pairs became perfectly well-adjusted – friends and partners and co-workers demonstrated that readily enough – it remained difficult to watch the slow process of synchronization among students. Cross-gender gestalt pairs were even rarer, and their synchronization was often more difficult.

As a result, Sean paid special attention to student gestalt pairs, particularly to the Stewart siblings. He always made time for them.

The psychiatrist had just finished a session with another student, when he felt and heard their arrival. He quickly jotted down the last of the notes he required from the previous session, before he shut the file, and called out, “Orion, Naomi, please come in.”

They had been in his office before, and they knew how he operated. While they were welcome to take the two chairs in front of his desk, they were also free to choose some of the more comfortable furniture at the back of his office, such as the sofa. The psychiatrist certainly wouldn’t fault them for wanting to make themselves more comfortable.

Sean waited for the two to get settled. With most dyads or larger groups, he expected them to sit near one another, in a central location from which he could position himself accordingly. However, the psychiatrist was long-familiar with Orion and Naomi’s habits and individual quirks, which was why he didn’t comment when they split up to sit.

He did, however, notice that this time, Naomi chose to remain by his desk, while Orion had taken a position far from him, in an area he could call his own.

That was curious.

As was typical when the Stewarts were in his office, Sean remained behind his desk. He waited for the explanation of what had brought them to his office today, and then nodded when they provided that explanation.

Aside from psychic powers and psychiatry, intimate relationships was an area where the psychiatrist was regarded as an expert at Hammel. His personal life aside, two decades of giving the annual sexual education seminar was enough to create that impression of expertise. Candidly, Sean didn’t think it was undeserved, and he was always willing to speak openly and honestly about this subject with students.

This was why, instead of shying away or seeking any sort of segue, he met the blunt topic introduction with a similarly candid reply. “It probably will be, somewhat, although not out of the realm of probability.” Not possibility, which carried the connotation of unlikeliness, but probability, which meant more likely than not. “Is this about mechanics or about maintaining a relationship? Or both?”

“There are a lot of bisexual-identified people,” Sean replied. Far more than typical statistics displayed, since there were so many different descriptive terms, and other people rejected labels altogether. “If you date within the meta-human community, you also increase your chances of meeting people who are already familiar with gestalt pairs, so you don’t have to explain yourselves.”

Yourselves, as opposed to yourself, because they were not yet fully synchronized.

The psychiatrist would focus on mechanics as the starting proposition. He could always segue into the more emotional aspects of dating, as well as the typical pitfalls that presented themselves when gestalt pairs and singletons were involved.

The mechanics were easy.

Sean looked over at Orion briefly before settling his gaze on Naomi, as she was closer to where he sat. “There is a lot that three bodies can do in bed together. I think that what often gets lost is that not everything has to be parallel at all times. Then again, I also think that our culture places too much emphasis on intercourse to the exclusion of all other intimate acts.”

If Sean’s only accomplishments in this life were to teach students to use protection and to expand their mental definitions of “sex” to include more than intercourse, he would be content with that.

“Mechanically, your limits are the bounds of your imagination. It will differ a bit depending on your partner’s interests, but you will have the benefit of dual sensation. Even if only one of you is being kissed, you’ll both enjoy the sensation."

“Yes, it is.” Sean considered that with a single nod. He had no intention of conflating the two, since they were different aspects of orientation, but it was a starting point. “However, you’re more likely to meet compatible partners if those people are bisexual or otherwise don’t identify as at the poles of the sexual orientation scale.”

The gestalt pair that the psychiatrist had dated years ago had been a same-gendered pair. However, he was among the population that would not hesitate to date a cross-gendered gestalt pair, all factors equal. He knew for a fact that he was not the only one.

“Yes, imagination. A lot of mechanics involve imagination, particularly if more than two bodies are involved.” Since one couldn’t default to the standard, heteronormative position if more than two people were involved, irrespective of gender.

He paused for a moment, before he said, “I hope that you haven’t been watching mainstream pornography. It’s inaccurate and teaches all of the wrong lessons.” The psychiatrist didn’t object to the notion of pornography or erotica; he certainly expected that most teenagers would look for erotic outlets, and he didn’t judge them for that. However, until culture was able to teach the right lessons, he felt it necessary to offer commentary.

Sean shook his head. “The mind is what processes all sensation. You can’t feel without a mind, and a mind with two bodies feels from both rather than just one at a time.”

Sean nodded in confirmation; yes, he meant gay or straight. He also did think it made sense, and not merely because of how he classified his own sexual orientation. In an ideal relationship with a gestalt pair, the non-gestalt partner acknowledged that they were one entity spread over two bodies and thus understood that they had the same personality, while simultaneously acknowledging both bodies. Someone wholly closed off to one experience or the other would engage in shunning behaviors, consciously or unconsciously, and Orion and Naomi did not need that in a future partner or spouse.

The psychiatrist’s personal experience was not an appropriate topic to discuss with students. He maintained personal boundaries, and thus, even if Naomi hadn’t expressed her clear discomfort, he still wouldn’t have answered that question. Instead, he replied, “I’ve taught sex and relationships to meta students for over twenty years. It would be unfair and wrong of me not to learn enough to teach gestalt pairs in their unique situations. That type of exclusion runs counter to everything I believe in.” And ran counter to everything for which Hammel had been founded. “I’m also a telepath,” he added, as though they required the reminder. Most people didn’t give enough thought to the broad implications of decades-worth of telepathic experience.

The psychiatrist nodded again, since he knew that both aspects of that were true. Due to his partner, he had more experience with twin-based erotic media than he otherwise would have sought out himself. He knew of the gestalt pair sub-genre. He knew how they were cast, which was problematic before adding in the typical misogynistic culture of mainstream pornography coupled with the fetishizing of lesbian identities and the ever-present straight male gaze irrespective of who actually consumed the materials. “There’s a book, I can get you, if you’d like.”

As someone who was not a gestalt, nor related to one, this was what he could offer.

“It isn’t really odd. You don’t give a great amount of thought to walking or any number of other functions, and so that automatic sense applies to both bodies. You’ll get used to it.” He then gestured between the two of them. “That’s why so many adult gestalt pairs move and speak in tandem.”

Sean nodded in confirmation that there had been students like them in the past, and that there would be more in the future. They were hardly the only gestalt pair to pass through Hammel’s halls; they weren’t even the only mixed-gender gestalt pair. That gave him some authority to cite when describing what awaited them. “There have been, and there will be more as the years go on. You aren’t alone.”

The psychiatrist nodded again, hardly surprised by their reaction. He hadn’t had the luxury of remaining sheltered by their age; years of telepathy had already whittled away his naiveté. But if he hadn’t had Robert, and if he had managed to maintain any of that wide-eyed surprised, then he would have reacted similarly to any books about telepaths and relationships.

It was easier than learning on his own, even if he wouldn’t trade any of those experiences.

“There is. It’s a little academic, but it’s something.” While it was academic, the use of jargon was relatively limited, and thus he thought that the twins would be able to follow along. Even if the writing style was dry, their personal connection to the subject matter could make up for that.

Sean wasn’t surprised to hear that there were struggles. He hadn’t intended to imply that there would be no concerns to synchronization, but his larger point was that individuals didn’t worry about basic functions. So too would it be once they had fully synchronized.

“I would get used to it,” he confirmed, because he had confidence in Hammel training and in the human ability to adapt. “I got used to telepathy, after all. You two can do it.”

There was more to not being alone than the realities of being a gestalt pair. The fact that they shared that kinship was the single most important aspect of being a gestalt pair, but there was little comfort to be gained from that alone. The experience of others’, the existence of mixed-gender pairs and people who had come before them and lived happy, fulfilling lives, those were the experiences that Sean thought were more positive for Naomi and Orion.

“Naomi is correct,” the psychiatrist remarked, as he handed the book over to Orion, since the boy was the one who, ultimately, got to reach for it. “Particularly in the field of meta-human studies, every power is worth study, although some warrant more interest than others.” At the end of the day, for instance, bioluminescence was more straightforward and had less literature than psychic powers.

Sean was sympathetic to the matter regarding their living situation. As their senses of perception continued to merge, the dual feedback would become overwhelming, and the distance between them would prove increasingly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in charge of housing. “I can speak to Missus Morgenstern and Missus Wilson,” the psychiatrist promised. It was typically against policy for anyone to share a bedroom within a dormitory quadruple, particularly different genders. However, given the situation – the fact that Orion and Naomi would leave Hammel as one person – he thought it only fair to break policy.

However, that was ultimately out of his hands. “I would think that they’d be sympathetic, but I can’t make promises before I speak with them.”