"That... actually seems fair, I am more dangerous than I would be if I couldn't manage to do that."

"Though I'd then go on to guess that dath ilani women wouldn't find it all romantic to be stabbed like that.  At all.  And while it's sexy that your combat potential is so much higher than mine, I think you turning that against me - would grate against something very deep inside myself.  I think a dath ilani woman would probably feel the same about a man showing that he was willing to be dangerous at her, that it would make him much less valuable to her."

"And I doubt Civilization is old enough for us to be that much further away from - the original conditions, the early conditions, when our distant ancestors in dath ilan would have also needed to be dangerous to each other.  I'd guess that worlds with masochists have this, and worlds without masochists don't.  And so there's more to it than - the reasoning you just described that should go through anywhere dangerous."

"That... actually seems fair, I am more dangerous than I would be if I couldn't manage to do that."

"Though I'd then go on to guess that dath ilani women wouldn't find it all romantic to be stabbed like that.  At all.  And while it's sexy that your combat potential is so much higher than mine, I think you turning that against me - would grate against something very deep inside myself.  I think a dath ilani woman would probably feel the same about a man showing that he was willing to be dangerous at her, that it would make him less appealing to her."

"And I doubt Civilization is old enough for us to be that much further away from - the original conditions, the early conditions, when our distant ancestors in dath ilan would have also needed to be dangerous to each other.  I'd guess that worlds with masochists have this, and worlds without masochists don't.  And so there's more to it than - the reasoning you just described that should go through anywhere dangerous."

"That... actually seems fair, I am more dangerous than I would be if I couldn't manage to do that."

"Though I'd then go on to guess that dath ilani women wouldn't find it romantic to be stabbed like that.  At all.  And while it's sexy that your combat potential is so much higher than mine, I think you turning that against me - would grate against something very deep inside myself.  I think a dath ilani woman would probably feel the same about a man showing that he was willing to be dangerous at her, that it would make him less appealing to her."

"And I doubt Civilization is old enough for us to be that much further away from - the original conditions, the early conditions, when our distant ancestors in dath ilan would have also needed to be dangerous to each other.  I'd guess that worlds with masochists have this, and worlds without masochists don't.  And so there's more to it than - the reasoning you just described that should go through anywhere dangerous."