Rachel S.

S h e p l u c k e d t h e w h i s p e r o f f m y t o n g u e b e f o r e I f i n i s h e d t h e t h o u g h t .

H e r t h i c k , w a r m f i n g e r s f l a t t e n e d b a c k t o t h e t o p o f m y t h r o a t ,

a n d r o d e g r a v e l - b u m p s a c r o s s m y t e e t h .

T h e y r e t u r n e d a d r i p w i t h d r o o l , a n d f i n g e r p a d s t r a c i n g

t h a t w e t , g r e e n , g l o w i n g e g g o f a c o n f e s s i o n . " N o , n o , n o . "

" D o n ' t s a y i t s o e a s i l y , " s h e s a i d , o n b u t t e r f l y f l i g h t p a t h s

t h a t p r i n t e d a n d p r i c k e d n ' s a n d o ' s i n t o m y p i n c u s h i o n s k i n ,

t h e n g e n t l y p l a c e d t h a t e g g i n t o a b o x u p o n t h e s h e l f ,

o u t o f r e a c h .

I l o v e y o u , I l o v e y o u , I l o v e y o u , I l o v e y o u , I l o v e y o u , I l o v e y o u .

split me in two, so I can spill and spill and spill for you for you for you

split me in two, so I can spill and spill and spill for you for you for you

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S2:[Ah, so you prefer to wage battle on the subnet, eh? It's probably past time for me to get the hang of it.

I'm Spline-2/Scholar of Glass, btw.]

VK:{hiiiiiii, hello! howdy glassers~ :3}

VK:{i really only use the subnet for chatting in combat, cyberwarfare doesn't really do it for me, eek}

VK:{>:3c im Vector-K, but you can call me whispy~~~}

S2:[Indeed, Vector-K, Cyberwarfare is gauche and unsexy. I find it is particularly hard on me; both as a person who dislikes being beeped at, and as a reply guy.

Alas, the arcane arts look like they're here to stay regardless.]

VK:{:((((( yahhhhh, i very much feel that.}

S2:[For socially anxious people it kind of feels like trying to exist on mars without a space suit so I'm kind of surprised it took off? But I guess it filled a really empty niche and hasn't driven everyone away yet.]

S2:[I bet you have a lot of my allies to blow to smithereens today. Hopefully all your beam-cannons are hitting their marks!]
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S2:[Hey, do you ever think about how many moons and planets get named Pandora? Just imagine: stepping out of your sleek scoutcraft and looking out across a lush, untouched world and proclaiming ""We shall call this new land, Pandora!""

And then you take off your helmet, put your hands confidently on your hips, take a deep breath of the humid, spore filled air and just be like, ""Ahhhh, yep got a good feeling about this one."" And your crew behind you is just kind of glancing at each other nervously.]

VK:{what, you mean, like... in borderlands...?}

S2:[Aha! A gamer, are you? Yes, that too, but it pops up across various media, e.g. Avatar. Frank Herbert had a Pandora. It's the same principle behind Prometheus in the Alien/Aliens. It's a clever reference, ""hey I see what you did there!"" but the in-universe person who named it that MUST have known how that story ended, right? An, odd choice.]

VK:{ahahahaha, like (takes one look at a new alien species) ok so this one is called scylla, not cuz of the teeth, ignore the teeth, its cuz we found her in a puddle.}

S2:[""I sure am reassured now that I have access to an ICARUS LANDING SYSTEM. Approaching the ground will definitely end better for me now!""

OR,

""I had my reservations about participating in a groundbreaking stellar expedition, but now that I know more about our vessel, THE ICARUS II, I feel completely at ease!""

OR,

""Hey, what should we call our ACTUAL, REAL LIFE initiative where we try to convince people that interstellar mobile weapons platforms flying through space powered by NUCLEAR REACTORS is a good idea? I know, PROJECT ICARUS (a subsidiary of Icarus Interstellar)!""]

VK:{omfg, we ARE flying icaruses!!! huh. wow i never even thought about that - oh1sec, gotta focus, someones trying to kill me}

S2:[Yes, that's me.]

VK:{eeeeeee, ahahaha, stop stop sto p stop, omfg ahahaha}
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S2:[Did I tell you- The reason I got cyber eye implants was so that I could watch snow falling under streetlights. I like not feeling glasses on my face all the time, I like having peripheral vision. But that's what I NEEDED to be able to do to FUNCTION.]

S2:[Snow is what I was looking forward to.]

S2:[Glasses get fogged up or splattered too fast and I can't wear contacts, so it's been probably a decade since I could really watch it like I used to. A few more years out here, and I can go home, and see it.]

VK:{ah!!!! wow.....}

VK:{life changed!}

S2:[I feel like a lot of the big things for me are actually little things.]

S2:[Maybe I don't let myself dream big.]

S2:[Or maybe I'm just not supposed to.]

VK:{why are you nervous to love the sight of snow??? snow rules}

S2:[Because I'm literally always extremely nervous,]

S2:[also I've been working 42 of the last 52 hours.]

VK:{:(((( ooof.....}

VK:{im sending you a calm wind and smooth seas >.<}

S2:[Well hey,]

S2:[Even if there's no snow, there's plenty of other beautiful things around here.]

VK:{like what?}

S2:[The pair of titties reading this, how are things with you? Was the last skirmish very turbulent?]

VK:{omfg lol, im the titties}

VK:{skirmish was very smooth, and patrols are easy, but kinda boring out here. >:\ half the time i just sort my things over and over. just got a supply drop so, plenty to fiddle with.}

S2:[You good on storage space? Everything's fitting in nicely? I don't know if you're the type to keep a lot of things... It took me like 3 months before I worked up the courage to request a cargo extender that I needed. It'll be very very nice to finally decide where I want to put everything.]

S2:[About to do a spacewalk as well. Need to replace one of my old visual scanners with a new high-fidelity one.]
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S2:[The strange case of Dr. Henry Jekyll and his wondrous potion of yandere TGTF.]

S2:[You there?]
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S2:[So, opening up to you and getting treated like a problem to be solved was humiliating.

Did you ever intend to express one of your own desires or feelings in that conversation?]
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S2:[It's been a couple weeks, and where I'm at right now is that I'm a ways into discarding what romantically wishful feelings I have for you, and also still have a ways to go. So it's a work in progress. I've decided that I'm not going to get rid off all of them unless you tell me that's what you want, but the vast majority are going, and I'm no longer intending to outwardly express what's left intentionally, both because it'll be a lot simpler that way, and because it seems like that conversation may have been even harder for you than I expected and I don't want to be the one to put us through that again.

I miss talking to you, not that I ever stopped wanting to talk to you, and I still think you're someone really worth knowing, despite everything. I want to be friends, if we can. So is this you taking the space you need, or are you gone?]
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ADMIN: -YOU COULD APOLOGIZE.-
VK:{i would rather die than take responsibility.}
ADMIN: -WELL, GOOD CHOICE OF CAREER PATH.-

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VK:{soooooo, i was a dick. uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. how the fuck do i say this without it hurting. idkidkidk, im sorry???? im s orry????}