[ oh!! he brightens a little, and peers curiously through her selection...? ]
Oh, that's a good choice - it's a good theoretical. If you want any other recommendations, I might be able to lend a hand, depending on what's available.
I have a lot of theoretical knowledge, and things that I've touched on in my studies and observations in Sumeru, but I don't have access to the things I would reference anymore. So I need to be a little better about committing it all to memory.
[or it was before she started interacting more directly with the people... anyway.]
Of course. What would you like to know? ...or, I suppose... what have you heard already? I can touch on things that neither Kaveh nor Shenhe have shared with you, if you'd like. Or if there's something they mentioned that you'd like to know a little more about, I'll see what I can do.
I think... I'd like to tell you a little bit about the gods of Teyvat. When she's spoken with you about Liyue, has Shenhe told you much about the Geo Archon?
He's the oldest of the Seven, so there are a lot of stories and legends about him recorded in Teyvat's memory.
In Liyue, they call him Rex Lapis, but he's also known as Morax. He's worshipped as the God of Contracts, and of Commerce... actually, the currency we use throughout Teyvat, mora, is named after him. He was also a warrior god, though, and history is full of tales of the monsters and gods he fought against thousands of years ago.
[she smiles.]
Slightly to the northeast of Liyue Harbor lies the Guyun Stone Forest. It's an archipelago with small islands and jagged cliffs that look as though they're rising out of the sea... but Rex Lapis is the Geo Archon, the overlord of stone, and in truth, they're the remnants of the stone spears that he used to pin down Osial, an ancient god and sea monster that threatened Liyue's safety during the Archon War two thousand years ago.
It's said that travelers who spend the night in the Guyun Stone Forest will experience Osial's memories of the defeat.
anyway. fei du is listening! his emotions are very subtle, but there's a consistent, piqued interest throughout this story. it's fascinatingly different than his own world - there's no concept of gods that he could ever really believe in. it sounds like mythology, more than anything, and he looks thoughtfully interested as she continues, eyes brightening. ]
I see... [ wow. ] And that's the group that you're a part of, right? An archon. Do you know him?
A long time ago, the Seven used to stay in regular contact. I've met him and the others, but... I have no memory of that time. [she mentally gazes at the glitchy text on her profile.] I was hoping I might be able to meet with them again, but...
In the traditional sense... I'm not sure about that.
[it sure is some magic bs.]
...but, of all the archons it could have happened to, it's probably best that it was me. I have a connection with Irminsul, which records the memories of the entire world of Teyvat, so... I can sift through all of that information to figure out what happened in the past more easily than the other archons could.
I see... [ that's fascinating - the concept of the memories of the entire world, just kept in one place. his little psychology nerd heart loves it. and, it touches on a particularly special interest of his, too. ]
I'd looked through it a few times already, but... it's thousands of years worth of the world's memories. It's a lot of information to be going through.
[she smiles.]
...luckily, I can use the world's written history as a reference point. They don't always get the details right, but when I hear tales about the deeds I performed in the past, it gives me a place to start looking in Irminsul.
[ that feeling is genuine - though it is lightly muted, it's a bubbling curiosity. it takes a moment for him to digest it, but, eventually... ]
... Memory is an area I've always been particularly interested in, especially lost memories and the process of trying to get them back. It's almost hard to imagine the idea of having too much information in a case like that - the magic of, well, magic.
[ nahida truly stumbled on one of his special interests here, so. fei du makes a thoughtful noise, tilting his head back and forth. ] It depends. Most of the time, if someone's lost memories, it's because of two factors. The first is through a traumatic brain injury. Damage around the temporal lobe, if it's severe enough, can cause either anterograde or retrograde amnesia. Sometimes patients recover, and sometimes they don't, but, that's honestly not my area of expertise.
[ medical knowledge... who cares.... ]
Rather, I've always been interested in traumatic memory loss. The brain is an incredible organ, and it does its best to protect itself. When an experience is particularly traumatizing, enough that it overwhelms your internalized coping mechanisms, the body looks for a way to process the trauma, and sometimes it decides that you shouldn't relive it for your own safety. This can lead to forgetting a single event to forgetting parts, to forgetting entire years of your life, depending on how bad it is, because the brain will quite literally build a new neural pathway around the event itself in your memories. Dissociative amnesia is a direct side effect of post-traumatic stress disorder, too.
In terms of recovery; sometimes, therapy helps. Sometimes, reenacting the circumstances that led to the traumatic event will cause you to remember, but there's no real guarantee.
[this time, it's her turn to listen with interest; she's quiet as she explains, watching his face, and her fascination with the topic doesn't waver even once. rather, it only grows - her curiosity is ever-expanding.
the more she hears, the more she wants to learn.]
I see... that makes a lot of sense. Sort of a small and subtle adjustment so that the brain can adjust to properly processing the trauma, instead of sidestepping it...
[she thinks about it for a few moments longer, then nods.]
I can't say I've worked with memory loss in the same way, exactly, but there have been times where it's been necessary not to share too much information with someone at once lest it overwhelm their brain's ability to process the reality around them. Or, rather - their brain's ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. But laying small clues and hints and allowing their brain to slowly acclimate itself to the idea of it did work to help them accept the situation they were in. Would it be something like that?
[ there's a note of approval to his emotions, as faded as it is. ]
Yes, exactly like that. [ very good. ] Sometimes, the person remembers over time, slowly but surely - images might come back in dreams, but there's no controlling that. The only way to really control it is through those small clues and hints, though there's no guarantee it'll really work.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Oh, that's a good choice - it's a good theoretical. If you want any other recommendations, I might be able to lend a hand, depending on what's available.
[ his sort of career path... ]
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[she beams.]
I have a lot of theoretical knowledge, and things that I've touched on in my studies and observations in Sumeru, but I don't have access to the things I would reference anymore. So I need to be a little better about committing it all to memory.
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I'd be happy to help. Maybe you can teach me something in exchange! I'll make you a list.
[ fucking nerds ]
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[NERDS ALL THE WAY DOWN.]
What would you like to learn?
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[ teasing, light and playful. ] Maybe you could tell me a bit about your world? I'd love to hear it.
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[or it was before she started interacting more directly with the people... anyway.]
Of course. What would you like to know? ...or, I suppose... what have you heard already? I can touch on things that neither Kaveh nor Shenhe have shared with you, if you'd like. Or if there's something they mentioned that you'd like to know a little more about, I'll see what I can do.
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[ chinhands... like, literally. chinhands. he gives a little wiggle of his eyebrows like "yes, go on". ]
I know a bit from Shenhe, about Liyue. That's about it.
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[hmm. where to start...]
I think... I'd like to tell you a little bit about the gods of Teyvat. When she's spoken with you about Liyue, has Shenhe told you much about the Geo Archon?
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[ chinhands ]
Tell away.
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In Liyue, they call him Rex Lapis, but he's also known as Morax. He's worshipped as the God of Contracts, and of Commerce... actually, the currency we use throughout Teyvat, mora, is named after him. He was also a warrior god, though, and history is full of tales of the monsters and gods he fought against thousands of years ago.
[she smiles.]
Slightly to the northeast of Liyue Harbor lies the Guyun Stone Forest. It's an archipelago with small islands and jagged cliffs that look as though they're rising out of the sea... but Rex Lapis is the Geo Archon, the overlord of stone, and in truth, they're the remnants of the stone spears that he used to pin down Osial, an ancient god and sea monster that threatened Liyue's safety during the Archon War two thousand years ago.
It's said that travelers who spend the night in the Guyun Stone Forest will experience Osial's memories of the defeat.
no subject
anyway. fei du is listening! his emotions are very subtle, but there's a consistent, piqued interest throughout this story. it's fascinatingly different than his own world - there's no concept of gods that he could ever really believe in. it sounds like mythology, more than anything, and he looks thoughtfully interested as she continues, eyes brightening. ]
I see... [ wow. ] And that's the group that you're a part of, right? An archon. Do you know him?
no subject
A long time ago, the Seven used to stay in regular contact. I've met him and the others, but... I have no memory of that time. [she mentally gazes at the glitchy text on her profile.] I was hoping I might be able to meet with them again, but...
[she kinda died and ended up here.]
no subject
...I see.
[ fei du's brows knit together as he considers that. ] Do you think there's any way to recover those memories in the traditional sense, or...?
[ or is this some magic bs ]
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[it sure is some magic bs.]
...but, of all the archons it could have happened to, it's probably best that it was me. I have a connection with Irminsul, which records the memories of the entire world of Teyvat, so... I can sift through all of that information to figure out what happened in the past more easily than the other archons could.
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I see... [ that's fascinating - the concept of the memories of the entire world, just kept in one place. his little psychology nerd heart loves it. and, it touches on a particularly special interest of his, too. ]
Were you planning on doing so before all of this?
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[she smiles.]
...luckily, I can use the world's written history as a reference point. They don't always get the details right, but when I hear tales about the deeds I performed in the past, it gives me a place to start looking in Irminsul.
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Fascinating.
[ that feeling is genuine - though it is lightly muted, it's a bubbling curiosity. it takes a moment for him to digest it, but, eventually... ]
... Memory is an area I've always been particularly interested in, especially lost memories and the process of trying to get them back. It's almost hard to imagine the idea of having too much information in a case like that - the magic of, well, magic.
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...how would the process of recovering memories work in your world, Fei Du?
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[ medical knowledge... who cares.... ]
Rather, I've always been interested in traumatic memory loss. The brain is an incredible organ, and it does its best to protect itself. When an experience is particularly traumatizing, enough that it overwhelms your internalized coping mechanisms, the body looks for a way to process the trauma, and sometimes it decides that you shouldn't relive it for your own safety. This can lead to forgetting a single event to forgetting parts, to forgetting entire years of your life, depending on how bad it is, because the brain will quite literally build a new neural pathway around the event itself in your memories. Dissociative amnesia is a direct side effect of post-traumatic stress disorder, too.
In terms of recovery; sometimes, therapy helps. Sometimes, reenacting the circumstances that led to the traumatic event will cause you to remember, but there's no real guarantee.
no subject
the more she hears, the more she wants to learn.]
I see... that makes a lot of sense. Sort of a small and subtle adjustment so that the brain can adjust to properly processing the trauma, instead of sidestepping it...
[she thinks about it for a few moments longer, then nods.]
I can't say I've worked with memory loss in the same way, exactly, but there have been times where it's been necessary not to share too much information with someone at once lest it overwhelm their brain's ability to process the reality around them. Or, rather - their brain's ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. But laying small clues and hints and allowing their brain to slowly acclimate itself to the idea of it did work to help them accept the situation they were in. Would it be something like that?
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Yes, exactly like that. [ very good. ] Sometimes, the person remembers over time, slowly but surely - images might come back in dreams, but there's no controlling that. The only way to really control it is through those small clues and hints, though there's no guarantee it'll really work.
[ he says this calmly. clinically. ]
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...would it be prying too much to ask what sparked your interest in the topic, Fei Du?
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Just a passing interest. [ that's all. ] One of many, when it comes to psychology for me,
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curiosity wars with the desire to not be callous, and decency wins out, so she doesn't force the issue. instead, she nods.]
What other parts of psychology have caught your interest?
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as for the other parts! he easily moves along with the subject change, propping his chin in his hand. ]
Well. My post graduate work is in criminal psychology and profiling, so particularly that.
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