Submitted for the November 2024 prompt: Aspirational Utopias

"Beezle, you terraformed a moon in the image of your ex?"

Mimsy was filing her nails while lounging on an orbital recliner circling around me. The screech against her alloy nails hurt my teeth.. #halfrobotfullannoying

 

"Zenon was never an ex," I said, stopping her chair and grabbing the file from her hands. "You have to be dating to be considered an ex." I've been a space adventurer, pizza magnate, and fourth-wall-breaking-horse-saving woman, but I've never found true love.

 

"Stalking, lusting, and stealing DNA is just as foolish as actually dating another human," said Mimsy, releasing another file from her core. "I swear, I never know what you see in these flesh puppets."

 

"Mimsy, you're half-human yourself. Don't get all judgy. It doesn't look good on you." #selfhatinghumanoids

 

"Everything looks good on me, Beezle darling!" She said, striking a pose for her all-fans page. She's a hit with all manner of appliances, but those fans are spinning for anything she posts. #richelectricwindbags

 

"Look, I'm putting in the last touches on Moontopia, so come on out next week, and I will give you the grand tour on my hoverbarge," I said after fleeing Mimsy's orbit around me. #wonitfromjabba

 

"Moontopia? You couldn't think of a better name."

 

I thought of Zenon, his warm smile, hot body, and even hotter new fiancée. Mooning over some guy wasn't the Beezle way, but the heart wants what the heart wants. #braingobyebye

 

"Well, I couldn't call it, 'Zenon-I-want-you-ditch-the-floozy-and-give-me-a-chance World,' now, could I?" 

 

"Frankly, it has a better ring to it," said Mimsy. Her recliner morphed into a small rocket, and she blasted away from me. #myrideordie 

 

Mimsy always had my back but sometimes didn't understand my hundred-percent-human ways. She hated that I fell for someone illogically and irreversibly. Dating had put a damper on many of our adventures, as I often left her hanging for members of the six-pack sex. Now, I spent most of my holidays on Moontopia, formerly Planetoid-X (also a better name, I had to admit), making it a version of Zenon that I could finally call home.

 

* * *

 

The barge, decked out in festive lighting, had snacks on every flat surface. I knew that Mimsy didn't stomach human food, but she liked to look and press her digits into the various consistencies. #fingerfoods 

 

"You went all out! Is this gelatin?" asked Mimsy, sticking her whole hand into the mold and prying out a grape. "You must really love this fool."

 

"Loved. Loved is what you meant. I have moved on. On Moontopia, I survive and thrive!"

 

"Hello, Zenon! Fancy seeing you here," said Mimsy looking over my shoulder.

 

"What, where?" I turn around frantically. My blush rose to the frosted tips of my pixie cut.

 

"Hahahahaha. Idiot!" Mimsy threw the grape, and it bounced off my forehead. "Now, let's get this tour started." She snapped her fingers, and five drones got in orbit around us.

 

"You're still working for Lonely Planet?" I asked, moving towards the bridge.

 

"Darling, any planet without me is a lonely planet. But what's more lonely than one made out of unrequited love? Every romance outlet is begging for an exclusive."

 

I sighed deeply. This was me turning garlic into a pizza empire, making mountains out of moon hills, and absolutely being over my ex. I could not wait to prove her wrong.

 

* * *

 

We traveled over lush lawns, leaving the starport. "Moontopia is known for its meticulous landscaping. Mowing drones keep everything at a serviceable length." I thought of Zenon's well-trimmed beard and chest hair and smiled, hoping Mimsy wouldn't notice.

 

"Note Moontopia's lush manscape where no human mortal can resist its follicular charms," said Mimsy to her drones. How I wish the sprinklers would turn on and soak her. #rustybitch

 

Next, we approached Mount Maximus, the glory of the southern Moontopia.

 

"I see the gorgeous ass-piration for that mountain range! My word, it's glori-ass," gasped Mimsy. 

 

Seeing them through Mimsy's eyes, I saw Maximus's rounded twin peaks as something I could ski down forever. "Well, now you've tainted the pristine image of this region."

 

"Aww, sweetie, you said 'taint,' not me." 

 

"I won't have you besmirching the beauty of this planetoid for a few hundred 'likes.'" 

 

"Billions, Beezle baby, billions." 

 

I held back my vitriol as I steered the hoverbarge through Velvet Valley. Using Zenon's DNA to infuse the planet was intentional. But I didn't expect the treeline to match his jawline, the lakes to be the color of his eyes, and the amber waves of grain to match his sexy hair. Damnit, was I still in love with my not-really-an-ex ex? Did I turn a parasocial relationship into an entire pleasure planet? Was this simply me crushing on an asexual bassist from a popular band? #aceofbassists

 

"Loch Longing," I announced after stopping the barge over its blue-green waters.

 

"Is there a monster there? Tell me you put in a monster!" Mimsy came over, each fingernail adorned with a black olive. 

 

"The only monster here is a green-eyed one." I sat at the barge's edge with my legs dangling. I had hovered us low enough to make out fish below. The shore was rimmed with trees from the Pining Pines forest.

 

"What are you jealous of, Beezle? You have everything you ever wanted: a career, adventure, and the best bestie this side of Alpha-Centauri." Mimsy placed an olive into my mouth, and I accepted it.

 

"But Zenon…"

 

"He doesn't know what he's missing. This place you made is not a monument to him. It's to you and your ingenuity and capacity for great love." #romanceyourself

 

Mimsy was right. She usually was. Her video made Moontopia a haven for scorned lovers, lonely hearts, and those wanting to make a fresh start after a breakup. Heaven-off-Earth is what the press had dubbed my planetoid.

 

As for the monster in Loch Longing that I'd denied existed, it was there, deep in the darkening gloom. I am happy to say it rises up only for me. #phallacyoflochsosolong