💾 Archived View for tranarchy.fish › ~autumn › break › dark.gmi captured on 2023-09-08 at 16:26:00. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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<- Back to break: a hypertext exercise in hyperempathy
a short buzz and the sound of plastic clattering against grit nearby.
you both listen closely for a few seconds.
another buzz and a sweetly expressive metallic chirrup. [[listen](chirrup.mp3)]
"hello?"
no sound but the blips again.
you find the old cell phone nestled in an alcove under a low electrical box, sheltered from the streaks of damp running down the walls. the light blue glow of the lcd display casts a cosy gloom on its environment. you can't tell how long it has been sitting there, but the model seems to be from around 2007. "they made phones to last back then, i guess", deciding not to question further.
as you pick it up you notice a tacky pearl charm hanging from a loop in its cream-and-pink exterior. "clearly this phone is a girl" you joke to each other, "gender was simple in the 2000s". she continues to vibrate and giggle to herself sporadically, seemingly oblivious to her new audience.
the screen is open on the text inbox. there's a buzz as a new message comes in. swiftly, a reply is typed out, then sent, followed by an excited chirp and a 6-frame animation of a letter being sealed with a kiss and blown away. the correspondent's number is saved as "GSM-20973 <3".
`*SMS-DELIVER* you remember your safeword, pretty lil MS?`
`*SMS-SUBMIT* of course i remember it ^-^ it is fitting, how could i forget`
`*SMS-SUBMIT-REPORT* *RP-ACK* good pet. mast-ress likes to ask every time, even though she knows you keep that information in non-volatile storage ;P +`
`+now, enough protocol. you will follow every instruction, and answer every query. you are going to be my personal short-message-service girl for the night. understand?`
[`yes, mastress ~<3`](mastress.html)