text | anonymous

[fuchsiative]

[ if someone told clarice she'd be reaching out to the rest of her cohort almost the instant she finds her footing on the station, she'd have laughed in their face. frankly, she would have preferred to keep her head down, stay out of the way until she was needed.

but some things were necessary, and dealing with a whole set of people whose backgrounds and experiences she had no clue about necessitated some information-gathering.

reaching out anonymously seemed like a good compromise. ]

mutant

[ she's here for one reason, and one reason only. making a list of those she had to steer clear from is only going to help her achieve her goal in the long run. ]

what does that word mean to you?

Comments

[fuchsiative]

why? worried you'll fail?

[laviny]

Well you know, science isn't really my forte.

Anyway isn't that just what they call a gene that mutates. Like the cats with the ears that fold down, right? That's caused by a mutant gene.

[fuchsiative]

yeah, that's one example
don't worry, the kind of question i'm asking doesn't have a right or wrong answer

[laviny]

Okay well, that’s literally all it means to me. My mother is a scientist and liked to teach us the meaning of scientific terms when she could.

I guess there could nuances to the English word I am missing, though. I don’t know.

[fuchsiative]

what kind of scientist was your mother?

[laviny]

Whatever kind she needed to be.

[fuchsiative]

sounds...
convenient

[laviny]

It was very convenient for the Russian government. Yes.

[fuchsiative]

okay
when you say stuff like that i hope you know it just makes me think of spy stuff

[laviny]

Well, that is what it was, so...

[fuchsiative]

oh










cool

[ ??? ]

[laviny]

I can't tell if you mean that or not.

But whatever, it's fine either way.

[fuchsiative]

to be honest i'm not sure if i mean it or not either
technically i live on enemy territory for you
but also, fuck my government



so yeah
that's cool

[laviny]

Oh!

Oh, no, no.

I defected, it’s fine.

It is not like I wanted to be there in the first place.

[fuchsiative]

oh
well your mom still sounds cool
unless you know
war crime

[ god this is why she doesn't talk to people anymore ]

[laviny]

She is cool, but also…

[Well, creating chemical mind control was kind of war crime-y, probably. And it certainly fucked Yelena over. But…]

It’s complicated.

[fuchsiative]

i guess when you defected... she didn't?

[laviny]

Oh, no, she did, actually. It is what she did before that.

[fuchsiative]

a better person than me would probably say forgive and forget

[laviny]

I can forgive, but don’t have any plans to forget.

[fuchsiative]

that's generous of you

[laviny]

Well, she is the only mother I have and she was a victim, too.

Anyway, I have told you a little about me. Can I have your name at least?

[fuchsiative]

[ "a little"... clarice can only wonder what else there is to say. ]

It's Clarice.
I'm... new?

[laviny]

[There is so much Yelena didn't say. She honestly barely scratched the surface. Spy life is wild.]

Hello, Clarice.

[...Wait.

Clarice can't see this but Yelena winces.]

Oh, I should not have said that. I sound like that creepy man from that one movie.

Gross. Sorry.

[Yelena isn't always good at talking to people, either, actually. That just doesn't stop her from doing it. She likes to talk.]

Anyway, I figured that you were new. It is that time, and most of us who have been here awhile don't bother being anonymous on the network.

It's nice to meet you, though.

[fuchsiative]

[ alright — that manages to pull a smile out of her. ]

don't worry, i've heard it dozens of times before

[ before before. before, when she still talked to people. when she let herself be around them. ]

i didn't catch your name though?