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[littlemissfutility]

I was wondering--how long do you think you should wait until you decide that someone's really gone?

[In view: Beth, in a tank top, shorts, and a bunched-up scarf, sitting on a porch swing that moves idly to and fro. Good weather, the hints of picturesque countryside, even if the capsule-like building behind her is on the ugly side. Someplace out of view, a dog barks once or twice.]

Like, my boyfriend's been in and out for weeks at a time. And it's happened a lot--this is the third time now. Other people, though...they're gone, and that's it. Or they leave and come back, and the next time, that's it. It all seems so random. Looking for a pattern's gonna drive you crazy.

So when do you stop checking for their name on the network? How do you decide if this time's forever, or if it's just another phase? [A pause, her mouth tugging downward.] It's almost harder than really losing people--at least then, you know they're gone.

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[eloquentness]

I'd give it a couple of months. [ Just from personal experience, and also because of her own casual browsing of the Network. Iris is nothing if not thorough. ] It looks like others have said the same thing.

I know, it's hard to hold on, especially because it's so random, but... I hope your boyfriend'll come back.

[littlemissfutility]

Thanks. [It's kind of her to say.]

Do three months here feel like three months at home to you? Or does it seem like they go faster or slower? [A pause, when it occurs to her that the question might sound kind of weird.] I kind of forgot what months felt like before I got here. They seem longer than I remember, I guess.

[eloquentness]

It depends. [ she tilts her head thoughtfully, ] If it's a busy month with a lot going on, then yeah, the days slip by pretty easily. If it's one of our slower ones, then a day can often feel like an entire week.

Were things pretty crazy for you back home?

[littlemissfutility]

Yeah. [A one-shouldered shrug.] A day's a day, whether you know it's Tuesday or not, but everything else...it starts to get muddy unless you pay attention, you know?

[eloquentness]

Yeah. Even though my days are pretty rigidly blocked out, and we've all got our own internal schedules... [ some more lax than others, from the sounds of it, ] it's easy to lose track of time.

[littlemissfutility]

[She makes a little noise of agreement. There's a quiet moment, when she realizes that the last thing she wants to do is go through the whole we didn't have anything sometimes, the calendar was the least of our worries thing.] What do you do here?

[eloquentness]

[ Oh, that's a good question... Iris laughs, a little nervously, ]

So, my main job is writing for Heropa Daily. Mostly political or global news articles, and then I also manage the imPort Clinic in De Chima. [ beat ] My roommate and I also technically own a bar, but I've given the day-to-day operations to one of the managers....

Now that I'm listing it all out, it feels like a lot more than it actually is.