2 [video/text]

[othersdie]

[The video opens to show an exceedingly nice terrarium sitting on a desk, which is located in the room Justin is borrowing from Neil and Todd. A copy of "The Importance of Being Earnest" is lined up neatly to the left. Aaand zoom in.]

From the Diapheromeridae family. [The view shifts to show this beauty.] And this one's from the Phylliidae family.

[Justin, clearly behind the camera, sounds even quieter and less enthusiastic about life than usual, which is an accomplishment.]

I plan on naming one Gregor and one Mendel, but I'm not sure which should be which. I'm open to suggestions.

[The video switches off.]


[Text]
I've never been interested in entomology, but this combination--plant and animal--is interesting. Worth buying on impulse, now that I'm financially secure for the moment. The bank had an account for me. I made decent money before I left.

The network is a good place to ask open-ended questions. I'd like to ask this: What do you do when you feel as though you're missing something? Not that you've misplaced something, but that there's something fundamentally important to you as a human missing. Drink? Are there any more creative answers?

Comments

[he_who_kills]

Is bugs.

[othersdie]

Yes, they are bugs.

video;

[dignity_misery]

[Carla never texts, it's more effort than she's willing to put in to it, but that's the portion she reacts to.]

Feeling empty?

video;

[othersdie]

[And Justin avoids video like the plague, but he goes along with the format.]

Empty. That's a decent word for it.

Is it a feeling you're familiar with?

[cry_reaper]

...Shilo liked insects. She used to go out and collect them.

[othersdie]

She did. It was problematic; we shared an apartment and I had a cat. The cat thought that the insects were playthings.

[valentineluke]

...as a human?

[othersdie]

As a conscious being. I forget that not everyone here is human.

[totallyinaband]

Write music, usually. Or honestly just, you know, mope.

[othersdie]

The City would banish me if I tried anything musical, but moping--I'm good at that.

Your name's Stephen, isn't it?

[synanthrope]

Leaf and stick.

[othersdie]

I prefer Gregor and Mendel, personally.

Video

[lovelydragoon]

What do you think is missing?

Video

[othersdie]

Something important. It would be easier to find it if I knew the specifics.

[And nice ears. He's trying not to stare.]

voice;

[intheblanks]

You want to be miserable creatively.

[It's a question, but very flat, almost a shrug of a thing.]

Gregor's going to be taken for a different namesake.

voice;

[othersdie]

Exactly. I'd like it to be a special kind of misery.

[He abandons his usual monotone for genuine cluelessness.]

What other Gregors are there?

[shall_yield_us]

One's Helen, the other Clytemnestra.

[othersdie]

Why?

[mumbled_truth]

Do you mean... the kind of missing something where you aren't sure what the "something" is?

[othersdie]

Exactly. You know what I'm talking about?

[had_not_lived]

[There's a soft knock at your door, Justin. Anyone home?]

[othersdie]

[After a pause, Justin decides that yes, he is present.]

Come in.

voice;]

[beifongbandit]

What are you naming? You found pets?

voice;]

[othersdie]

Well, insects. They're almost pets.

[whitetwoguns]

Jesus Christ. Are those bugs? Never seen ones like that before.

[othersdie]

Insects, yes. They prefer not to be seen. When they don't move, it's difficult to locate them.

[video]

[deadly_legacy]

[She peers at them, thinking at first that it is in fact a stick and a leaf until one of them moves, pulling a giggle from her lips.] Oh! They are cute! I think Mendel is the one who looks like a stick.

[video]

[othersdie]

You think so?

[He looks between the insects.]

You might be right.

[zehel]

[ a long, skeptical silence. ]

Think you can tell 'em apart after you pass those names over?

[othersdie]

One looks like a leaf and one looks like a stick. I can handle that.