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[blyat]

@cain.fighter | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[blyat]

hey its fine, i was the one talking about it

[A response to the first one, and then the second message:]

was it longer?
itll grow out
it probably sucks right now but you can work on buying the clothes you want again. or get completely new ones, thats what i did
dont really get to pick your outfits in the military
and theyve got tons of different shit here in the city

[windowsills]

It was long. It’s strange how that sort of thing can be comforting, isn’t it? I didn’t think I was the type of person to get attached to something like that.

[ seems like Cain isn’t the only one that can’t help spilling some private thoughts ]

I’m sorry, we should change the subject. This isn’t the best topic to start a fun evening.

[blyat]

like i said, its fine
youre not the only one
did you know i used to have blue in my hair?

[windowsills]

Blue? The entire thing?

[blyat]

haha!
no no
just a few strands in the front
fuck id look so bad with all blue hair

[windowsills]

Are you sure? I think it would be striking.
If you dye it again I’d like to see it.
It’s such a nice colour, like a clear sky.

[blyat]

[That's... unexpectedly sweet.]

more like the color of a lightning storm
you ever seen one of those?

[windowsills]

A few times, yes.
It’s almost purple around the bursts of light.
People say it’s dark and stormy but it’s actually pretty. I use to sit outside on a stoop and watch it for hours.

[ nicely omitting the fact that she didn’t really have a choice at the time, but it came to be a comfort. ]

[blyat]

yeah i like em too
always felt kinda dangerous, you know? even if it was far away and couldnt hurt you
really wild and out of control

[windowsills]

I never thought of it that way. It always seemed like music.
It’s quiet and then builds and slowly fades.
Have you ever counted down between?

[blyat]

between the lightning and thunder?
sometimes
it was usually really far away though
still better than a dust storm
what do you miss most about where you came from?

[windowsills]

I’ve never seen a dust storm. Are they dangerous?

[ his question causes her much more difficulty than she was expecting. The answer is: the people, there’s nothing else worth spit in that terrible city. But he won’t be so interested in hearing the names with no faces to put to them. What did she like? ]

I
There were these bottles of carbonated water in green glass that we always had. Everyday we’d lay those out next to a brewing coffee pot while I made a meal for the evening. I miss that.

Do you have something similar?

[blyat]

not really
just gotta stay indoors or cover up
dust gets fuckin everywhere

[Her description of the green-glass bottles has a nostalgic familiarity, even if he can't relate to that specific element.]

that sounds pretty nice
we used candles sometimes at dinner
even though we didnt need to, most of the time, or the meal wasnt even that nice cause it came out of a can or whatever
still felt comfortable
they were these waxy red candles you had to shape yourself
mine always looked more like big ugly pieces of rock than a candle

[windowsills]

Yes, I can see how that would be irritating.

[ It's a shame that he can't see her. It's the first genuine laugh she's had in months. Reshaping her first impression of him as a flashy neon bad boy. ]

Small things like that are important, aren't they?
It makes something so simple feel special.

[ Maybe the canned food should be a telling comment, but that was often her reality as well, for weeks at a time. ]

Do you make them here? I feel like it would be

[ She is so embarrassed to say this ]

A good thing for protection. Or to keep those feelings with you. Comfortable, I mean.

[ she's such a sentimental sap at heart ]

[blyat]

[Excuse you, he is still a flashy neon bad boy!!]

here? i dont even know if this place has wax...
guess i could look

[It's a thought. Something he hasn't considered, just as he'd pushed those wax candles down into the back of his mind. A forgotten compartment.]

what about you? found any carbonated water that compares?
they finally lifted the rationing
shit was a pain
but i get the reason, this world was even worse off than the earth i know

[windowsills]

[ neon bad boy and a latex flight suit lad :,) ]

Oh, I thought since bugs still exist so would bees...
I’m sorry, I gave off the wrong impression, I didn’t drink the water. I usually had tea. The water was for a friend. [ never mind the fact she still feels so uneasy about calling the handymen that. Their relationship was a complicated one. ]

I am looking forward to longer showers, although I feel bad about that.
I wonder if we should still do our part to help the city and be frugal.
Since we’re going to live here

[blyat]

wax comes from bees?
uh
all that shit got imported where im from, so.

[No flowers, no bees on Mars.]

im used to short showers so its not too big a deal
unless theyre saying you gotta cut back
i dont see why you should
sounds like they know when to tell citizens to do their part

[windowsills]

Oh, sometimes, yes.
They're very sweet smelling if it's beeswax. I wonder if it does still exist.


[ "still". so depressing. ]


From the military?
I
I mean it must be nice. The difference. Was it really that strict?

[blyat]

let you know if i find any

you mean here, or the military?
military was strict yeah
only so much water to go around in space

[Those warships were built for long distance travel, stocked well for it with a hydrofarm for sustainability, but that hardly meant every soldier could take their own luxurious time.]

[windowsills]

[ she was really hoping he’d bring up space. She really hates asking questions about people’s past, never seeing it as a bonding exercise and more of prying unwantedly. But this she wants to hear. ]

I’ve met someone else from space. She hasn’t talked about it much but
What is it like?
I’ve heard radio programs describe it as cold. And stars are far away.

[blyat]

yeah, think theres a few of us
with experience up there
wasnt that cold since the temperature was regulated
on ship, i mean. cant really go outside

[No oxygen, etc etc.]

stars are far away yeah
closest one to us is the sun
next ones out are a binary pair
somethin called alpha centauri a and b
you ever heard of em?

[He remembers learning this in class, one of the few things he'd paid attention to - and he's almost excited to share.]

[windowsills]

The space ship, was it like... the Apollo?

No, I'm afraid I didn't receive much schooling. This sort of thing I've only heard about in passing.
Do they look like the sun?
I always wondered if it is as large as it looks.
Sometimes the moon hangs so low in the sky. Like it's about to dip into the Earth. Is it like that?

[blyat]

apollo? is that like... an old earth thing? huh, name sounds familiar

i didnt get much either
schooling i mean
dropped out

all stars are kinda the same in theory, just giant balls of fire and gas
but not all the same size
alpha a is bigger than our sun, b is smaller
the moons a lot closer to earth so it looks big to us, but the suns a whole 400 times bigger!

[Excitement leaks into the message. He's not that smart, he looked some of this up on The Internet with the implant -- won't confess how much time he does spend researching random information now with everything available at a thought.]

[windowsills]

Yes, I think it was the American space shuttle. Russia might have had one before, but I'm not certain.

[ you bet your bottom she's bringing up that ! ]

Ah, you really enjoy talking about this, don't you?
I'm glad you found a field that you're passionate about. As far as interests go it's a very fascinating topic.
Your job here, is it related to space too?

[blyat]

yeah its okay
didnt get to learn much about space before i went up there
besides basics

[Playing down his interest...]

its just cool we can look up whatever shit we want on the implants
but i work for a construction company
you probably dont have a job yet huh?
what do you think you wanna do?