update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/mitzvot/002.md

@@ -88,4 +88,56 @@ She nodded. "I do not begin relationships as anything other than my root instanc
 
 She lifted her head to dot her nose against eir cheek. "Are you jealous, my dear?" Her voice was calm and curious. Calm enough and curious enough, some distant part of em noted, that it kept em from falling immediately into defensiveness.
 
-"I get the occasional pangs," ey said after a long minute's thought. "More so early on. When ey first getting settled in eir relationship, Codrin told me about something that Dear had told em shortly after ey'd been forked. "
+"I get the occasional pangs," ey said after a long minute's thought. "More so early on. When ey first getting settled in eir relationship, Codrin told me about something that Dear had told em shortly after ey'd been forked, "Jealousy is a sign of needs not met". Whenever I start feeling jealous, that's usually a sign for me to take a step back and think about what need that might be."
+
+"See, this is what I like about you, my dear. You feel a thing and then think about it until you understand it. Sometimes a little too much, but it has served you well."
+
+Ey tilted eir cheek to rest it atop her head, a bit of closeness that also served the purpose of stopping her ear-tip from tickling eir neck.
+
+"I feel a thing and am helpless before it. I cannot but wrap myself up in...it..." she said, pulling out her notebook again to jot down the words as they came. "Love, hatred, hunger, exhaustion. I am built for them all, and I cannot do a thing about them..."
+
+Ey shared a secret smile with emself as the skunk trailed off, continuing to write, tongue-tip peeking out from her muzzle.
+
+*I really do love her,* ey thought, then, as always, marveled that that was a thing ey could do.
+
+"Also," she said once she'd finished writing. "The answer is that I do not know how many of me are still in relationships. There are at least three, and I know of at least five that have quit, but I never made it a requirement that they keep in touch. Beyond that, I think there are...mm, seven, perhaps?"
+
+"So that makes me your sixteenth relationship?"
+
+"Something like that, yes." She slid over and swung her legs up onto the stage so that she could rest her head in eir lap. "Did my monologue really get you thinking about all this?"
+
+"It's a good monologue," ey said, petting over her ears. "Or start, at least. You said it should be five minutes, right?"
+
+She nodded. "Around that, yes. I am still working on it."
+
+"Mmhm. It's good so far, though, yeah. Got me thinking, but I'm also just fascinated by you, which helps."
+
+"Why, because I am weird? I think that is an Odist thing," she said, laughing.
+
+"What, am I not allowed to be fascinated by my partner?"
+
+"Absolutely not, no."
+
+Ey tugged on her ear. "Fascinated and annoyed."
+
+"Yes, well, too bad. You remain stuck with me, Mx. Bălan." She continued more seriously, "I did not expect this to be fascinating to you. I try to be careful talking about my other relationships."
+
+"I don't really mind," ey said after giving it due thought. "That was past May, right? It'd be like getting upset over someone having had relationships in the past, or having exes. If it were multiple partners at the same time, that'd probably be a separate conversation."
+
+She shook her head. "I could not do that. I am not built the same as Dear. I am only in multiple relationships in the sense that there are multiple mes, but only ever one me involved with one other."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because," she said, rolling onto her back so that she could smile up to em. "I am also helpless before devotion, and that takes the whole of me."
+
+Ey tapped a finger on eir nose lightly. "You're adorable."
+
+"Thank you, my dear, in all earnestness. It makes me happy to be able to have a conversation about this."
+
+"Of course, May. I figure if we're devoted to each other, it ought to be out in the open."
+
+She nodded and stretched out on the stage. "I would like to run this through once more," she said, waggling the notebook at em. "And then head home to get ready for dinner, though. Debarre is coming over and I plan on flirting with him outrageously in front of you to make you as jealous as I can."
+
+Ey laughed and pushed at her until she sat up, sliding off the stage and walking back to eir seat. "Alright. Once more, from the top."
+
+-----