ic inbox.

[potentialman]

Comments

[potentialman]

How long for what?

[opheliac]

A death of a worm. Its been talking to me for an entire day.

[potentialman]

What are the conditions for it to...take ten years?

[opheliac]

It told me it depends on mother nature. And Sleep too, I guess.

[potentialman]

I suppose we're all just subject to Sleep's whims, as long as we're here.

[ Even the worms. ]

[opheliac]

Do you think there are green worms out there? I wanted to ask my new friend, but he went away. POOF!

[potentialman]

There's at least one species of green worms where I'm from. I don't think they live in America, but considering America also isn't supposed to have dogs with extra legs or giant fungal pigeons, I wouldn't be surprised to find one.

[opheliac]

Next question! This one is important. would you eat a worm if it was a killer worm?

[potentialman]

[ jinx r u okay... ]

I'd rather not eat a worm, at all, but if I were desperate and lacking in food sources, I won't rule it out.

[opheliac]

[ she is having yet another mental break but it twitched to the comedic side of things...somehow. ]

You know, Ivan is a big killer lug of a guy. I bet he could bait just about anything out of their little hidey-holes and keep the food source going.

[potentialman]

He probably could...but with his size, he probably needs to eat more himself, too.

[ Things he has not discussed with Ivan: the metabolic needs of a twenty foot centipede body. There's a thought experiment for you... ]

[opheliac]

You think he might be starving here a lot more than the rest of us?

[ now thinking about it, it must be really rough on her bug friend to find food when things are so scarce already... ]

[potentialman]

I...hope not.

[ He's not sure Ivan would complain too obviously, though, even if he were. ]

[opheliac]

... Maybe I oughta ask him sometime. I haven't been a great friend to anyone lately. You know, with. Checking up on 'em and junk. Maybe that's why everyone hates me now.

[potentialman]

I don't think people hate you.

[ Megumi has hated people, and he's also told people he hates them when his heart isn't actually in it, and the main thing he's taken out of the experience is: really hating someone is hard work, and it's honestly something most people aren't prepared to actually invest the emotional energy into. ]

[opheliac]

How do you know?

[potentialman]

I don't know for sure, because I can't read minds. But I've seen a lot of negative emotions. [ Comes with the territory, when you hunt curses. ] And...I think a lot of people mistake other things for hate. Anger, frustration. Things that don't last as long, or run as deep.

I've made that mistake myself, even. And then I learned the hard way that I wasn't feeling hate at all.

[opheliac]

Whaddya mean? Who did you hate or... thought you hated?

[potentialman]

My sister and I used to fight a lot.

...mostly my fault.

[opheliac]

[ she finds herself laughing; maybe it's inappropriate to, but to think that megumi has a sister... ]

Wooooooah! You just blew my mind. Big or little?

[potentialman]

[ Why are people always so surprised by it?

(Because you don't tell people things, Megumi.) ]

Older than me, just by a year.

[opheliac]

Hmm.

[ which seems as though that's all she will say until: ]

I have a big sister, too. Four years older than me.

[potentialman]

...do you get along?

[opheliac]

We did... then we didn't. Then we did again, but now? Probably not.

[potentialman]

That sounds like you two have a chance to patch things up.