(Malik-mun is dumb and accidently bahleeted the first line and didn't notice until after this log was already saved, durhurhur D:)
ph33r my rod: Malik gave a short wave.
Omega19x: Ryou nodded, sitting down. He put his crutches next to the chair.
Omega19x: "What happened?" she asked.
Omega19x: "I tripped on a pecan, and hurt my knee yesterday."
ph33r my rod: Malik reached over to gently squeeze his shoulder. "We don't think it's broken, but it's still pretty gross."
Omega19x: "... and still pretty swollen. But it'll be all right."
Omega19x: "I'm sorry to hear that. Have you two been working on the assignment I gave you last week?"
ph33r my rod: Malik looked a little bit tense. "Mhm."
Omega19x: Ryou nodded too.
Omega19x: Dr. Roth remembered that this was a difficult topic for Malik in their last session, so she decided to begin slowly. "You mentioned a little bit about your parents' style of discipline last week. Malik, would you be comfortable talking a little bit more about your parents and your home? What did you answer for question number 3?"
ph33r my rod: "Well..." He shifted a bit. "Assuming it was asking the differences between my parents and Ryou's, there's really too many to list. From what Ryou's told me about his parents, they were... y'know, loving and caring and supportive... and mine? I never knew my mom since she died when I was born, but my sister says that she was really great, if a little... submissive, I guess." Malik shrugged. "So the only parent I grew up with was my dad. And he was... strict, to put it lightly. So yeah, pretty different from Ryou's."
Omega19x: "I am sorry to hear that you never knew your mother." Dr. Roth commented. "Your sister must have filled that role as you grew."
ph33r my rod: "Yeah. She still does, pretty much."
Omega19x: "Tell me a little more about your family background. Was it just you, your father, and your sister, then?"
ph33r my rod: "Well, we had our adopted brother, too. Although dad treated him more like a servant than anything else."
Omega19x: "Ryou, what was your family like?"
Omega19x: "... It... it was me, my father, my mother, and my sister Amane..."
Omega19x: "Malik felt that your families are very different. Do you feel that they are?"
Omega19x: "... in a lot of ways, they're very different." he nodded to Malik. "um..." he wasn't sure if he should say some of the ways that they were different. He knew all of what Malik had to go through.
ph33r my rod: Malik gave his shoulder another squeeze. "It's okay... tell whatever you need to..."
Omega19x: Dr. Roth looked between the two of them. They were both answering very very little, as though there were many things they didn't want to answer.
Omega19x: "Perhaps we should take a step back. Question 1 - Do your parents know that you're planning to marry?"
ph33r my rod: "...if they did, I'd be kind of freaked out, because both of mine are dead."
Omega19x: "... Oh..."
Omega19x: "... Both of mine are dead too... And so is my sister... They... they died a long time ago..."
Omega19x: "Oh..." That certainly explained it. "I was hoping to lead you to some similarities between your families, as differences within one's in-laws can be a common source of stress in a marriage, but this was not the common ground I hoped to find."
ph33r my rod: "Well, I know my dad would probably lose his mind if he knew about it. Then again, if he were still alive today, then I'd be sitting in a hole in the ground instead of this chair."
Omega19x: "Excuse me?"
ph33r my rod: "That's pretty much where I lived when I was a kid. My childhood home wasn't some cute little house with a white picket fence or anything like that... it was literally a hole in the ground. Like a tomb."
ph33r my rod: (( Somewhere, daddy Ishtar is turning in his grave right now. ))
Omega19x: "You lived in a hole in the ground?"
ph33r my rod: "Pretty much. It was this underground complex of tunnels and rooms and stuff."
Omega19x: "... It's true. That's something that's really different..."
Omega19x: Dr. Roth made no comments about the psychological damage they likely caused Malik. She was still mystified.
ph33r my rod: "And we weren't allowed outside. I didn't see the sun until I was ten years old."
Omega19x: "Oh my..."
Omega19x: "I can certainly understand why one of your biggest goals is to travel." she tried to turn the discussion around a little, to a more positive light.
ph33r my rod: "Mhm... I want to see everything I was deprived of for so long."
Omega19x: "And I want to show you everything..."
Omega19x: "Let's focus, then, on the family that is still here. Malik, you mentioned an adoptive brother and a sister. Ryou, are there any family members that you are close to? It doesn't have to be an immediate family member. Maybe an uncle, an aunt, or a grandparent?"
Omega19x: "... um... there's my yami. Malik has a yami too. That's something we have in common!"
Omega19x: "A yami?"
Omega19x: "... um... yeah... Kind of like a... a brother... but not quite?" Ryou answered. "We're really close. He took care of me and protected me... after my parents died."
ph33r my rod: "Mine... well. He's eight. Really cute and hyper, but I don't get to see him often 'cause he lives elsewhere."
Omega19x: "All right." Dr. Roth tried to follow. "How well do you know each other's current families? Do they know and approve of your marriage?"
Omega19x: "We both used to live with Isis... so she knows both of us really well... She's very supportive."
ph33r my rod: Malik nodded. "Yeah, she already considers Ryou family. And Rishid - my brother - I... haven't seen him in a really long time. But last I heard from him, he was pretty supportive too."
Omega19x: "And my yami... he's going to be my Yami of Honor!"
Omega19x: "I am glad that of the family you have now, that they are supportive of your decision to marry. A lot of couples, especially homosexual couples, don't have that kind of support."
Omega19x: "Do you plan to live close to these family members?"
ph33r my rod: Malik shrugged. "I guess. I think Isis would worry her head off if we didn't." He laughed a little.
Omega19x: "She... she can be a mother hen at times... probably from trying to raise Malik..."
Omega19x: "I see."
Omega19x: She looked up at the clock. "Oh my. We've been talking so long about your families, we didn't make it through the questions. But that's all right. It's important to remember what makes our families similar as well as what makes them different. It's through that common ground that you can prevent trouble with in-laws."
Omega19x: "I'll leave the other questions as part of your discussion homework - to set up some clear rules that your other family members have when in your home. What rights do they have? What can they do? When and how often can they visit? Talking about these things now will help allieviate problems in the future."
ph33r my rod: Malik nodded. "Alright."
Omega19x: Ryou nodded too.
Omega19x: "The next section of your homework questions revolve around spiritual values. Can you complete that section before next time?"
ph33r my rod: "Of course."
Omega19x: "We'll have them done."
Omega19x: "Good. That too, can be a topic of contention among couples when it's not openly communicated up front."
Omega19x: "I'll see you both next week!"
ph33r my rod: "Okay." Malik helped Ryou out of his chair.
Omega19x: "See you next week." Ryou crutched out of the office, with Malik holding the door.
ph33r my rod: "See you."
Omega19x: (end)
Omega19x: night!
ph33r my rod: Night~