when you walk away I count the steps that you take

My neko lad must delight in tormenting me. He brings me to the precipice of saying goodbye, and then...hesitates. Reaffirms that love is important. Validates my choices. Brings me back from the brink before....pushing me near off the edge at speed, saying all would be well if I'd just leave all others I love.

I have been here before, but never with one I've held in such high regard. We have been a year together, on the rich-ragged grid, a year of ups and downs, discoveries and losses, confusion and adoration, pain and joy. One year. One year when most relationships on the grid last two months.

And we are on the shakiest of ground now, after that year. It's daunting, on more than one level.



I took him to Svarga, because we could easily hide amidst the towering alien foliage, the overgrown fungus soft enough to sit upon. We discussed our love, potential loss, decisions, fear, doubt...all whilst I was being struck repeatedly by the tour UFO.

Apparently the orange mushroom? Is directly in the path of the tour tram.



We talked for a long time.

He sought to sit with me when the conversation wound down, and something in the mechanics of his moving sent me flying from the spongy mushroom surface, whereupon I--surprised enough not to hover--fell like a rock into the small pond, the sharp outcropping of rock therein piercing through my ribcage.



It took me a bit to pull off. That was distressing. And hurt a great deal, but nothing like his leaving-but-not-quite speeches. He left in good cheer, and I remained...confused and hurt.

And cranky.

Thus, when my friends were accosted, and I was not there...well, I thought the least I could do was help these two unfortunates to be less of a drain on all thinking beings. That, or get killed much more often.

Let me bring to your attention Miss Chanelle Vuckovic, and Miss Alanah Bailey. Yes, they are newbies, and fairly egregious examples at that.



These are the...gentle ladies in question. Note the intense belly bling on Miss Vuckovic.

"You", in this instance, refers to Mr. Fawkes Allen. They had, my loves, decided to wear minimal attire to better see the muscle movements in the poses they were testing. (This is not the worst idea--I may go pose-shopping in minimal attire from now on myself.) And thereupon, were accosted, for no clear reason.

[2:10] Chanelle Vuckovic: bitch stop running
[2:10] Chanelle Vuckovic: lol
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: looooooooooooool
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: i cant
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: lol
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: fuk
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: lol
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: wtf is wrong wit me
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: lol
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: gear
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: thtas wat
[2:11] Alanah Bailey: phew
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: hahaaaaaaaa
[2:11] Chanelle Vuckovic: gimi sum lol
[2:12] Alanah Bailey: i think these guys have fallen asleep
[2:12] Chanelle Vuckovic: think so
[2:12] Chanelle Vuckovic: lol
[2:12] Fawkes Allen laughs.
[2:12] You: It's such a relaxing pose.
[2:12] You: Wouldn't you?
[2:12] Alanah Bailey: deadset they were doin the same thing like 20mins ago
[2:12] Alanah Bailey: no
[2:12] Chanelle Vuckovic: loooooooooooool
[2:12] Alanah Bailey: if it was that gr8 i would do it in RL

So....right off the bat, they have established themselves as troglodytes who cannot spell, and whose main force of commentary is to devalue others. What a lovely way to make a first impression.

[2:12] You: If you need them we can get up I think.
[2:12] Chanelle Vuckovic: girl
[2:13] Chanelle Vuckovic: wat u wearing
[2:13] Chanelle Vuckovic: where u get that frm
[2:13] Alanah Bailey: sticky tape
[2:13] Alanah Bailey: or duct tape
[2:13] Chanelle Vuckovic: lol
[2:13] Neome Graves: Me? A combination of straps from Dark Eden and Chains from Nico
[2:13] Alanah Bailey: somethin out of edward scissorhands wardrobe
[2:13] Neome Graves smirks.
[2:14] Alanah Bailey: LOL somethin wrong wit yo leg
[2:14] Neome Graves: It's this walk. It is just odd. =P

Some poses are. Not everything works out. And everyone is entitled to judge, based on movements, how attractive or unattractive someone is. But--pardon--is it the norm to walk up to someone one has never previously met and start lambasting not only their attire, but their preferences, their appearance, their choice of costume?

They went on.

[2:14] Chanelle Vuckovic: loooooooooool
[2:14] Alanah Bailey: u guys have to walk
[2:14] Alanah Bailey: ur master just IMed me
[2:14] Chanelle Vuckovic: twitch bitch rofl
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: tellin me u guys need to lose weight
[2:15] Neome Graves smirks.
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: packn some junk in yo trunk if u catchn my drift
[2:15] Chanelle Vuckovic: who needs to loose weight
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: yeh and ur not allowde to talk either
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: or u get beat
[2:15] Neome Graves: Well, since I'm not actually a submissive... =P
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: both of them
[2:15] Alanah Bailey: well u are now
[2:15] You: Oh of course.

Now they're taking on, in order:

* spelling, proper punctuation and grammar
* minimal attire
* long-term pose testing (and be honest, sometimes it takes four to ten minutes of watching the walk, the stand, the fly, whatever, from all angles to really decide if it's "you" or not)
* Tim Burton
* physical appearance of others
* those who choose (whether or not Miss Neome or Mr. Allen are in this category, but simply from the way they looked) to engage in dominance or submission as a chosen lifestyle

But wait. They're not done.

[2:15] Alanah Bailey: LOL
[2:16] Alanah Bailey: gurl u need a tan
[2:16] Alanah Bailey: u whiter then caspar
[2:17] Alanah Bailey: neome
[2:17] Alanah Bailey: do u need money?
[2:17] Chanelle Vuckovic: this one needs to check himself/herself
[2:17] Neome Graves: Nope, *this* is hwiter than casper. =P
[2:17] Neome Graves: Whiter, even.
[2:17] You: Check what?

Now? Add the entirety of the gothic community on the grid. And, by extension, most of the Dark Victorians group, since we tend to favor dark clothes and pallor.

And they're still not done.

[2:17] Alanah Bailey: cant u afford clothes is that why ur wearing tape>?
[2:18] Chanelle Vuckovic: wardrobe malfunction
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: or u waiting for a removalist/
[2:18] Chanelle Vuckovic: looool
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: to pack ur ass up outta here/
[2:18] Neome Graves: Oh, it's very comfortable. I think everyone will be doing so in the future.
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: yeh the future of fukness
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: thats fukd
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: i cant even tell if u male or female
[2:18] Chanelle Vuckovic: girl u look bad seriously
[2:18] Alanah Bailey: or human for that matter
[2:19] Alanah Bailey: lol with a pimp AO
[2:19] Alanah Bailey: LMFAO
[2:19] Chanelle Vuckovic: loooooooooooooool
[2:19] Chanelle Vuckovic: rofl
2:19] Alanah Bailey: lol

I mean, do I even need to go on? It used to be on the grid, you would see a new friend, and by and large they would be, at the very least, civil. I still carry a folder with several newbie links, items of usefulness, and the like to give out to folks.

But these two..."ladies"...from the moment they came into view, they were aggressive, argumentative, insulting, and deeply stupid. Who raised these idiots?

[2:19] Alanah Bailey: theres a freebie place they have clothes there
[2:19] Alanah Bailey: LMAO
[2:19] Chanelle Vuckovic: rofllllll
[2:20] Alanah Bailey: LOL the pimp AO is funny as hell
[2:20] Alanah Bailey: have u got a leahs for that collar
[2:20] Alanah Bailey: ?
[2:20] Alanah Bailey: leash*
[2:21] Chanelle Vuckovic: omg lmfao
[2:21] Neome Graves raises an eyebrow. Are you asking?
[2:21] Alanah Bailey: ahhh yeh
[2:22] Neome Graves: I have a leash, but it's not for *my* collar.
[2:22] Chanelle Vuckovic: her master here
[2:22] Chanelle Vuckovic: ron lol
[2:22] Neome Graves: And thanks. ~_^
[2:22] Alanah Bailey: thanks for what?
[2:22] You: It's a bit hard to take fashion tips seriously when even your uterus has bling.
[2:22] Alanah Bailey: oh the freebie thingy
[2:22] Alanah Bailey: yeh its iight
[2:22] Neome Graves nods.
[2:22] Alanah Bailey: u need to go there like 10mins ago

I'm still not entirely convinced I shouldn't track them down and light them on fire, but....I think it's the crankiness speaking. Lambasting them in public will have to do. And I do believe this has adequately reinforced why my usual locales of choice are Caledon, Steelhead and my home sim of Rivula. Because this sort of thing? Is rare in those places.

One wonders what sort of upbringing such..."gentle souls" receive, that the first action upon seeing anyone who challenges any slight misconception in their heads receives this ill-structured diatribe. What would have happened if religion had come into it? Sexual preference? Choice of employment?

Not that it is in any way comparable, but there are faint bells of accord ringing from earlier conversations in Caledon chat. I am not normally the sort to baldly state what I do, but I felt compelled to do so last night, in response to a certain damsel who seems, from all surface perception, to be quite anti-sexuality, anti-male, and decidedly anti-fun. So, even though it was quite bolder than I am in Caledon at large, and somewhat inappropriate for proper Caledonian society...

...well, I was cranky already. And I had had more than enough. So yes, I flung what I do and have done in her face, and she fainted.

I'll do my best to behave better from now on. It just irked me. The entire evening.

If the universe is trying to tell me not to date...they're doing a very good job and I may well take their advice.