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Litmus Test 2

Remember how I have a friend who I have dubbed "The Litmus Test?" The story behind this was amusing enough to write about; basically, every time she's met one of the Mild Ex'es, I've gotten into a big fight with said Mild Ex shortly thereafter. And I hate to say it, but she may now have some company. There is now a second friend who can lay claim to the title of "Litmus Test."

The first time it happened, I just figured it was a random coincidence. I was about to take off on a vacation with a buddy of mine, and I got in to a fight with the now-Mild Ex pretty much the day before I left. The next couple of days were not pleasant, and the fact that I wasn't around to try to work through it all made things even worse. Now, when you're traveling with people, you tend to talk about anything and everything, so this came up at some point. He was a good friend about it all, and he gave some words of encouragement and all that. When I got back, the Mild Ex and I made up, and things were back to normal. All was right in the world.

A couple of years later, an eerily similar scenario popped up. I had made travel plans, and this friend happened to be on the same trip. Sure enough, the day before I left, I found myself in a fight with the Mild Ex. Mind you, this was a different woman, and the circumstances that led to the fight were also far different. Regardless of the differences, though, the same basic principle applied: if I went on a trip with this friend, I ended up in a non-trivial fight with the Mild Ex the day before.

Now, this guy didn't actually meet either of the two women I was dating, so the fact that he was able to channel his powers of discord is all the more impressive. That's some impressive, long distance, somehow-kicks-in-at-just-the-right-moment voodoo. Interestingly enough, both of those relationships did end within a couple of months of said trips and fights. It's not like those trips were the straws that broke the camel's back, but I wouldn't entirely disagree if you said they marked the beginning of the end in both of those cases. Like I said, he's got a definite claim to "Litmus Test."

That's all well and good, but a thought occurred to me that prompted me to write about this: what would happen if the two Litmus Tests met each other? Would they somehow manage to use their powers on each other? Would their powers negate each other? Would they do double the damage? Or would they somehow create the absolute opposite effect? Part of me is really curious about this. I'm going to have to find a way to get those two in the same room, and bring a date. Either way, I suspect I'd end up with one heck of a story.

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