#hooray for the passage of time!

[enibly]

just listened to Lorde’s Pure Heroine for the first time

where’s that post about how grown men spend their lifetimes trying to articulate feelings already expressed by teen girls?

[cathalbravecog]

"idk how long thettcc fixation will last its prolly gonna be short as the club penguin fixation.yeah.. prolly nothing major" girliepop its been 8 months and its still going strong and you're more mentally ill than ever. this obscure fangame game changed your life

[whumpster-fire]

Stan Rogers Songs Categorized By Status Of The Boat

Northwest Passage: The Boat(s) sank a long time ago.

Barrett's Privateers: The Boat sank. It was a terrible boat anyway.

The Flowers Of Bermuda: The Boat sank.

Rolling Down To Old Maui: The Boat didn't sink.

Take It From Day To Day: The Boat didn't sink.

Bluenose: The Boat didn't sink.

White Squall: The Boat didn't sink, but somebody fell off.

The Mary Ellen Carter: The Boat sank, but goddamnit we're gonna unsink it!

Man With Blue Dolphin: The Boat sank again. This poor fool is going to waste his money unsinking it again. What an idiot. This boat is a piece of junk.

The Last Watch: The Boat didn't sink, but it's being broken up for scrap.

The Wreck of the Athens Queen: The Boat sank! Hooray, free stuff for us! (Also we almost sank the boat we used to grab stuff off the boat that sank because we were all drunk)

The Idiot: There are no boats in Edmonton or wherever. This sucks.

[dawneternal]

The Benevolent | Eris x Healer OC | Six

☁︎ notes: No injury this chapter hooray! But it is the last glimpse of the Autumn Court for the next few chapters 👀

☁︎ warnings: talk of past abuse, talk of past sexual assault

☁︎ word count: 4.6k

☁︎ AO3 Link / Masterlist

☁︎ tags: @cauldronblssd @teddyhoneybear @tele86 @mybestfriendmademe @imma-too-many-fandoms @allyjoe755 @milswrites @shadowdaddies @zenkindoflove @landofpetrichor @secret-third-thing @bookwormythings

Aya stood still in the center of Edana's courtyard, silently panicking. The Lady had told her what to do if she saw a stranger at the winnow spot, but what if no one was there to meet her at all? 

She was certain she hadn't imagined the ring’s glow - it had earned her a disdainful look from a few of her classmates, even as she covered it with her other hand and tucked it under the work desk. The instructor, aware of Aya’s on-call job, quietly dismissed her and continued the lesson. 

Now Aya peeked into the windows of Edana's rooms, but the Lady was nowhere to be found. All was still, and quiet, and eerily calm. Autumn sunshine poured over the decorated walls in the pattern of the window panes. Birds chirped carefree tunes to each other in the trees. She thought about just winnowing home, but what if Eris was lying somewhere half-dead and she was supposed to help him? 

Something was pulling her, against her better judgment, to go to Eris's room and check. It was a bad idea. A terrible and potentially deadly idea. But that pull was feeling stronger by the minute, igniting the panic within her chest into a full on wildfire. 

Her feet began to move on their own, clammy hands reaching out to open the glass doors to Edana's sitting room. They had been left slightly ajar, meaning she could enter without making any noise. The door to the secret hallway was not visible, the wall seemingly empty save for a couple of postcards tacked to it. 

Either Aya's magic was stronger than she thought, or the door had been keyed to her touch, because one brush of her fingertips had the old door appearing before her eyes and slowly creaking open. Her feet continued to move of their own volition, beginning a silent trek down the hallway as she had done so many times now.

Heart hammering in her chest, she made her way down the hall toward Eris’s room. Fear crept up her throat with every turn of the passage, but she encountered nothing and no one. The quiet swallowed every thought in her mind. Finally, she stood before the familiar doorway, but something stopped her hand from making contact with the doorknob. 

Two male voices argued back and forth on the other side of the door. She could not make out what they were saying, only the sharp rise and fall of their tones, growling back and forth. One of them sounded like Eris, and the other she did not recognize. She took a step backward, that outstretched hand reaching for her throat instead, as if it could quiet the roaring beneath her skin. This was an awful idea. But now the thought of returning to the courtyard and finding someone there kept her rooted to the spot, trapped between one terrible possibility and another. 

The voices rose to a high and then stopped altogether. A slam echoed into the hallway, followed by a crash. Aya did not have the chance to decide a course of action before the door swung open and Eris stepped through into the hallway. She opened her mouth to scream out of impulse but Eris had the sense to clap a hand over her mouth before any sound could escape. 

“What the hell are you doing?” He growled, face red with anger. 

Aya could not answer with his hand still over mouth, pressing her firmly against the stone wall. She was too busy catching her breath to string together words anyways, trying to calm her spinning head. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep, shaky breath. 

Eris released her, and when she opened her eyes, his face had softened into something more recognizable. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked, the edge in his voice gone. 

“No one came to the courtyard,” She said, the anxiety in her body fading away in his presence, “I came to check on you.”

“That was a very bad idea,” He said, eyes blazing though his tone remained soft. She took in his disheveled look, shirt half-unbuttoned and hair tousled and messy. 

“What happened?” Aya's brows furrowed, “Who is hurt?”

“No one,” Eris shook his head, “There was a fight, and my mother summoned you by accident in the chaos. She had to leave for a brunch, and I was trying to get away to the courtyard to tell you everything was alright.”

“And?” Aya pressed. 

“And my brother followed me to continue what he started,” Eris ground his teeth, muscles in his jaw shifting. 

“But you're alright?” Her body felt loose and tired after holding so much tension in such a short amount of time. 

“Yes,” He gave her a small smile, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her back down the hallway, “Let's get you back home.”

She could still feel the anger rolling off his body as he led her back to the courtyard. He emanated waves of heat, golden sparks flying with every heartbeat as if his heart were molten metal being forged and hammered. An idea began to form in Aya's head as he escorted her. 

They reached the middle of Edana's courtyard. Eris opened his mouth to speak but Aya cut him off. 

“Come with me,” She blurted, watching his eyes widen. 

“What?”

“Come back to the Dawn Court with me,” She said slower, cheeks burning from her boldness, “Just until you cool off.”

“I'll be fine,” He shook his head. 

“How likely are you to punch someone or be otherwise injured if you stay here?” Aya crossed her arms. 

Eris did not answer, throat bobbing as he swallowed. 

“That's what I thought. As your healer, I must recommend you stay out of harm's way and you can do that by coming back to the Dawn Court with me and having a snack.”

“A snack?” The corners of his lips kicked up into a smile, eyes dancing with amusement at the authority in her voice. “I do not want to cause trouble if Thesan were to see me-”

“You'll be my guest. He'll understand.”

Eris was planning on saying yes, the idea of an afternoon in the Dawn Court with Aya much more appealing than another day of games and acting here. But a chorus of muffled giggling sounded somewhere outside of Edana's room, and he watched the panic rise in Aya's eyes. Before he could say anything else, she had reached for his hand and grasped it tightly, winnowing them away from the crisp autumn air of the courtyard. 

“Sorry,” She said, breathless as the world righted again, “I panicked.”

Eris chuckled as his eyes focused, the soft blue of the sky and heaps of fluffy clouds coming into view. 

“It's alright,” He chuckled, “I was going to say yes.”

“Really?” The way her eyes lit up melted his heart. 

“Where are we?” He asked, glancing around at the stone balcony where they had arrived. They were high up, the sky wrapping them in roaring silence. Only chirping birds and the distant trickling of fountains cut through it. Vines of pastel flowers hung from the trellis-covered ceiling above, ornamental carvings adorning 

“Thesan's private tower,” Aya answered. 

“I don't think I should be here,” Eris frowned, uneasy. 

“I promise it's okay,” Aya said, heading toward a set of double glass doors and beckoning him to follow, “Besides, I kind of left class to go to the Autumn Court and I don't particularly feel like going back. But if they see me in the healer's wing, they'll know I skipped class.”

Eris blinked, taken aback by her energy and how much she spoke. And he realized that this is what he had been craving. Aya, uninhibited. So against his own better judgment, he relented and followed her into the tower.

⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

Aya opened the door to her old room and stepped aside, watching as Eris entered and immediately began cataloging details. 

“This is your room?” He asked, turning in a slow circle. 

“My old room,” She said, suddenly shy. She slipped off her shoes and stood to the side, “My childhood room. Now I live in the healer's wing.”

The room held memorabilia from all seven courts, art and posters lining the walls, mobiles and figures hanging from the ceiling. Tall windows filled the room with light, glass doors leading to two separate balconies. Her bed had been built into a little nook, a faded purple canopy closing it off from the rest of the room. Eris stopped by a little tapestry of Autumn leaves and acorns, sunshine illuminating the golden threads woven through it. 

“I had a lot of dreams,” Aya said, her voice equal parts grim and wistful. Eris glanced at her, the emotion aging her eyes. For the first time, she looked her age of nearly a century old. 

“Had?” He asked softly, brushing a fingertip over the texture of the tapestry. 

Aya looked away, plucking a stuffed manatee from its basket and rubbing her thumbs over the fabric to keep her hands busy. She smoothed down one of the button eyes threatening to come loose.

“I was still figuring out a lot of things when Amarantha’s reign began,” She said, and Eris flinched at the cursed name, “But a lot of things changed after that, as you can imagine.”

“You went under the mountain?” It was an effort to get the words out, imagining kind-hearted Aya in such a horrible place. 

“I was here,” Aya murmured, clutching the stuffed manatee a little tighter, “Thesan managed to hide the fact that he had family. I hid in the healer's wing. I decided to start training so I'd have something to do. A way to help.”

The training was, in part, because her powers had emerged during that time and she had been terrified and alone. She needed the distraction, somewhere to put her energy.

A quiet settled in the room, terrible memories enveloping them both. Aya shook her head, turning her focus toward her rumbling stomach. 

“Anyways,” She murmured, crossing to one of the balconies, “Make yourself at home and I'll get some food.”

Eris furrowed his brows and followed her out onto the smaller balcony. Aya flashed him a grin in response. The view was a little dizzying, the city below tiny and fuzzy, dotted with moving people.

“The kitchens are a level below. I used to fly down and beg them for snacks in between meals. I can smell everything they cook.”

Eris turned to her in alarm, realizing she meant to jump down to the level below. Mischief danced in her eyes as he looked at her, doing strange things to his heart. This Aya was utterly different - playful, talkative, vibrant. 

“I can't imagine they'll appreciate that,” He swallowed.

“It'll be fine,” She chuckled, untucking her wings and shaking them out. Eris's mouth went dry at the sight. “They love me. And I haven't visited in a while. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be a rule breaker anyways.”

Eris scoffed. His brothers? Yes. But him? Eris did not lower himself to breaking the rules. He moved around them, maneuvering and conspiring until they bent to his will, parting beneath his hands as easily as stalks of wheat.

She did not give him time to respond before she leapt up onto the carved railing, loose pants billowing in the wind. She knew how to fly, and he knew that, but his heart still leapt into his throat. He swallowed the urge to reach for her and pull her back down to safety. 

Wings spread and ready, Aya let herself fall into the blue sky. Eris clutched the railing, peering over the edge to watch her free fall. Her wings caught the wind halfway down, sunlight streaming through her feathers and filling them with golden light. She looked exactly like an illustration of Clementia, lovely and golden and a little terrifying. 

She landed smoothly, greeting an old man in a chef's coat smoking a pipe on the balcony. Eris couldn't make out what they were saying, their words carried away on the breeze, but their easy laughter made its way to him. He wondered if this was how Aya felt in the Autumn Court. Out of place and a little overwhelmed. He was entirely out of his element here, everything lighter and breezier than he was used to, and he understood his mother's opinion of the Dawn Court a little better. But he wanted to like it here - he would like it here, he determined. He would because it was where Aya was from, and because she wanted him to like it, and because everything here seemed imbued with a bit of her. 

Aya returned, her spread wings casting a shadow over the pondering Eris. She carried a basket covered in a tea towel, a bottle of pink liquid tucked under one arm. She leapt down and sat to one side of the balcony, leaning against the railing, and gestured for him to do the same. The way Eris lowered himself to the ground was a bit inelegant as he tried to keep his back from touching the railing. The gaps were too small for him to fall through, but the idea churned his stomach all the same. He found himself feeling a little envious of the comfort Aya’s wings must offer her.

Aya revealed the food tucked carefully inside the basket, buns made of sweet potato and filled with spicy meat, crackers with a spread made of herbs, cheese, and olives, and for dessert candies made of sesame and the pastel macarons that Eris's mother loved so much. Each flavored and adorned with an edible flower. The bottle was sparkling grapefruit juice. 

“This seems a bit fancy for a snack,” Eris murmured, though he didn't protest as Aya handed him a bun. He didn't realize until he'd smelled the food that he was very hungry. He bit into it eagerly, ignoring the awkwardness he felt at eating with his hands. A practice that his father did not approve of.

Aya bit her bottom lip, a shy smile fighting to break through. 

“I asked for something for my friend and I and Stellan insisted that it must be a date,” She avoided his eyes as she explained, the apples of her cheeks warm and rosy. 

“A date?” Eris eyebrows shot upwards, his heart climbing into his throat. 

“That's sort of my fault,” She said, smile revealing her dimples as it spread, “I brought home a girlfriend a long time ago and he assumed we were just friends. Apparently it was a shock to learn that we were together. So now he assumes that every friend is something more.”

Eris smiled through the twinge of jealousy. A question snaked through his mind, but he decided he would not lower himself to asking it. But it seemed that Aya had read it, because she said, “It didn't work out between us. I think she only liked me for my wings.”

It was only a joke, he knew, but it emptied his head of all the topics he'd collected to prevent a lull. Oh, the questions he had about those wings. 

“Has anyone ever told you that your wings have the coloring of a field Sparrow?” He asked, instead of one of the normal things he'd planned to say. 

Aya's eyebrows raised and a surprised giggle bubbled out of her. 

“No,” She said, “No one's ever told me that.” 

“They're very common in Autumn,” He took a big bite of bun so that he'd shut up.

Do you think of me when you see a field sparrow? The question was on the tip of her tongue, dangerously close to spilling out. So she took a bite of her own food, and a silence settled over them. If they both stretched out their legs, they'd become a tangle of limbs. And yet, knees against chests, with the basket in the way, the space between them felt a mile long. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Aya asked, shaking away the lines of poetry that had begun to write themselves. 

“If I get one in return.”

“What were you doing in the Winter Court?” Aya cast her gaze down to her hands and the crescent-shaped bites missing from her bun. 

Her question changed the mood, all of that lightness gone in an instant. But it also dissolved some of the awkwardness. They had never met in an unserious setting, and that was what had strung the air so tightly between them. 

“My mother told you?” He asked, swallowing hard. And Aya hated that he seemed more familiar with that solemnity in his features. She nodded. 

“She should not have told you that,” He said, “I was escorting a pregnant maid to the Winter Court to request asylum.”

“Kallias helped you?” Aya asked, surprised. His court had been locked down tightly since the end of Amarantha's reign. 

“Kallias did not know,” He spoke barely above a whisper, as if someone might still overhear. “It was Vivian who helped me. The maid is safe.”

Aya swallowed, her stomach flip flopping as she began to put pieces together. “And the fight with your brother?”

“He was bragging about her,” Eris growled, “Trying to bait me into revealing where I'd taken her. That's how I ended up getting stabbed.”

“And he doesn't…she was not his lover?”

“She was no one to him,” Eris closed his eyes, blocking out the memories, trying to wipe the disgust from his face.

After a moment, Aya cleared her throat and prompted, “What is your question for me?” 

Eris kept his eyes closed a minute longer before he asked, “Where do your powers come from?”

“I don't know,” Aya said honestly, “Maybe my father? I got my wings from him.”

“They're very unique,” He opened his eyes, molten amber burning into her. The warmth was welcome in the chill breeze that swirled through the balcony. If she could wrap herself in the heat of that color, she would. 

“Yes,” She sighed, thinking of the million times that someone had told her something similar. It was always said as if Aya was holding back a secret, like she had all of the answers and kept them locked inside. Aya had no more answers than anyone else. 

Eris said nothing else, so she asked, “How does your mother pay all her bribes?” 

Eris blinked and stared at her, “You've really thought about this, haven't you?”

“A bit,” She admitted. The layers of the Autumn Court were like a puzzle that wouldn't leave her mind, despite Thesan's warnings and her own resolve. She scooted closer to the basket and started on the crackers and spread, holding one out to Eris. 

“I asked her the same thing once,” He said. He took the cracker and bit it in half, savoring the salty spread. “She wouldn't answer. But she ended up telling me later in case something happened to her. She convinced my father to set aside a dowry for their future daughter when they were first married. He forgot about it and she's been using it to pay her bribes all these years.”

Aya thought to herself that this was precisely why the Lady of Autumn both terrified and inspired her. It was unnerving to be under her thumb, bound by that ring.

“Does she have any maids or is it only the two guards on her side?”

“The guards are the only two in the palace,” Eris said, lip curling like that fact bothered him, “She can't trust any female workers because Beron pays half of them to report back to him. Because women talk.” 

Eris spat the last word, rolling his eyes. 

“He spies on you, too?” Aya frowned, a shiver of dread creeping down her spine. What if someone told Beron about her? 

“Of course. I think he hired someone new recently, and that's how he found out about the Winter Court and why he was so ruthless in his interrogation. I was out trying to find the spy the day that Juno got hurt.”

Aya's head spun, those pieces clicking together faster than she could keep up. Eris saw the dizzy look in her eyes and changed the subject. 

“Tell me about the Dawn Court traditions,” He said, voice gentle. He selected a pink macaron decorated with a pansy. Aya was quiet, choosing a cookie and shaking the Autumn Court from her mind.

“We give feathers to accept the mating bond,” She said, “And if you don't have feathers, you either have one made from metal or gemstone, or you use one saved from a relative and preserved with magic.”

“Like an heirloom ring,” He said, and Aya hummed in agreement.

From there, one question slid into the next and the topics stayed light and amiable. There were no more unnatural pauses or lulls, the conversation flowing easily. Once, Eris even laughed. It was the first time Aya heard it, and it was just as pleasant as his voice. 

He seemed to grow more comfortable as time passed, slipping off his boots and socks. They passed the bottle of juice between them and somehow it felt like the most intimate thing they'd done. A wash of light pink coated his skin underneath the swaths of freckles, pretty against the sunstone balcony and cerulean sky.

Once, the breeze lifted the wayward strands of his copper hair, and Aya’s fingers twitched with a desire to comb through them. That thought startled her. None of her thoughts had come so close to such obvious markers of a crush. But running her fingers through his hair was certainly a crush sort of thought. The air between them went silent, the breeze becoming colder as the sun sank toward the horizon. 

“Eris?” She asked after a while, hoping to squeeze one more answer out of their time together.

“Yes?” His voice was a little sleepy, like he’d been lost in daydreams.

“Why do you trust me? Why answer all my questions about the Autumn Court and your mother?”

“Aya, are you always honest and genuine?” He asked. 

“I try to be,” Her brows drew together, eyes searching his. A soft smile spread across his face. 

“That is why,” He smiled, “You wear your intentions on your sleeve.”

Aya blushed, her lips parting to protest that she was not so good and pure as all that, but she was distracted. A familiar figure ebbed into the edge of her awareness. She turned her ear to confirm her suspicion before jumping to her feet and reaching to haul Eris with her. 

“You have to go,” She cried, heart hammering.

“What?” Eris scrambled to his feet. He would have liked to have put his shoes back on first but she did not give him time. 

“Thesan is coming,” She hissed, gathering up his shoes and socks and shoving them into his arms. 

“I thought you said it was okay if I was here,” Eris whispered, eyes widening. 

“Not in my room.”

“Oh,” His face drained of color.

“You can winnow from here,” Aya tossed two macarons into a napkin and shoved them into his hand. 

“Right. Thank you very much for-”

“Yes, yes,” Aya waved a hand, clamoring to put the rest of the food and napkins back in the basket. With a snap of her fingers, the basket disappeared. 

“Aya?” Thesan's voice drifted from the other side of her door. With a gasp, Eris was gone. 

Aya whipped around just as the door opened, looking a little wind-swept but otherwise normal. 

“What are you doing up here?” Thesan furrowed his brows, eyes moving slowly through the room. 

“Looking for something I left,” She swallowed hard. 

“Was someone here? It smells like-”

“New perfume,” She gave a stiff laugh, padding over to her closet, “Did you need something? I should change for dinner.”

“No,” He said, eyes narrowing, “I just wanted to check on you. Helene said you never went back to class.”

“All good,” She kept her eyes on the colorful clothing in front of her as she flicked through the hangers, “Just had a busy afternoon.”

“Right,” Thesan skimmed over the room one more time before offering a tight smile and retreating, closing the door behind him. 

Aya huffed a sigh and let her head fall back, savoring the lingering scent of brown sugar and whiskey.

⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

Eris stood still in his mother's courtyard, mind reeling as it tried to make sense of the last few moments. He blinked, and found himself meeting the gaze of his mother. 

She sat at her garden table, hand stopped halfway to her embroidery hoop, needle poised between her fingers. She looked at him over the little readers perched at the end of her nose. They stared at each other for a long, awkward moment, Edana's expression unreadable and Eris's cheeks flushed pink as he held his boots and socks in his arms. 

"Eris," His mother said finally. It was not exactly a greeting. And it was not very happy, whatever it was. 

"Mother," He swallowed. 

"Do not tell me," She began, setting the hoop and needle down on the table, "that you used my winnow spot to sneak off to another court and meet someone."

Eris opened and closed his mouth, trying to conjure an answer. Edana took a deep breath, nostrils flaring as she breathed in the scent surrounding him, and her eyes widened in anger. 

"You were in the Dawn Court? You snuck off to the Dawn Court to have a clandestine meeting with your healer?" 

That shook Eris from his stupor. 

"Of course not," He spat, nearly dropping his boots. 

"Then please do explain why you are winnowing home half dressed." 

"I'm hardly half dressed, mother," He scoffed. 

But he knew what she meant. That he was not often so relaxed as to go around barefooted. He did not exactly blame her for thinking he had just come from someone's bed.  The look on her face told him that he had better start talking. 

"It wasn't like that," He started, freeing one hand to tug through his hair in frustration, "We just talked. And...had snacks."

"Snacks?" She repeated, her mouth now spreading into a smile. Eris thought he might prefer for her to scold him again. 

"Yes," He sighed, "She was worried I would fight Arlo if I stayed, so she convinced me to go back with her and cool off. And we talked and had snacks."

"So it was Aya?"

"Who else do I know in the Dawn Court, mother?"

"Perhaps you had snacks with Thesan," She shrugged innocently.

She was not exactly blind to the way Eris looked at Aya - with a reverence reserved for very few. And the tone he used with her was even rarer. She looked at her son, so careful with his heart, now walking around barefoot and saying words like snacks. It was probably good for him. Even as he looked at her with that exasperated expression, her heart swelled with love. 

"Go clean up," She released him from her interrogation, "Your father wants to see you. News about the High Lord's meeting."

Eris sighed again, feeling all of the loveliness of his day disappearing as his responsibilities called once again. On his way into the house, he dropped the napkin of cookies onto the table beside the spools of thread. 

“She sent these for you.” 

She said nothing, but the smile that spread on Edana's face warmed Eris’s heart. In that gift, there was a truce.

[delta-orionis]

Tuesday Again No Problem 3/19/24

Listening

I’ve been dipping back into Gunship’s Unicorn album, it’s very good music to listen to while driving.

Watching

I’ve been on a crochet kick lately (more on that later), and I’ve been re-watching a bunch of old Well There’s Your Problem episodes to keep me occupied while I work. Their episode on forestry is a good one, I love it when they have guests on who are genuinely very excited to talk about a niche topic that they’re an expert in.

Playing

I picked up Rain World again. I’m determined to finish Artificer’s campaign, and I’m getting pretty close.

I found the last echo today and managed to get the Pilgrim passage for the first time. It feels nice to have high karma (even though I know that it’s not going to last much longer…. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts).

Scavengers continue to be infuriating enemies to deal with, especially since I’ll be minding my own business eating a lizard or something and 30 of them will pile out of a hole in the wall like it was a clown car. Artificer is fun to play as, but I’m definitely not going to miss being chased around by Scavenger kill squads 24/7.

I want to play Hunter next, for more violence. Hooray!

Making

I’m putting the final touches on my Five Pebbles plush! He’s almost done; all his limbs are sewed on and all of the loose ends are weaved in. I just want to add a few more details.

Also pictured: I learned how to make granny squares recently and I found that they are a pretty good way to use up scrap yarn (ignore all the ugly loose ends… I’ll weave them in eventually). I also learned a join-as-you-go method of connecting the squares while I make them, to minimize the amount of sewing I need to do.

As a result, I’ve ended up making a whole bunch of squares, and I’m in the process of connecting them together to make a tote bag.

—

I skipped the Reading section this week because I just haven’t been in the right mood for it lately. I’ll put it back in when I start reading again, it’s a bit of an uphill battle.

I’ll check back in again next week!

[wildkitte]

Let’s talk about Creusa!

Hooray @aeneiddaily has finally reached my favouritest blorbo of the Aeneid, Aeneas’ wife Creusa. I just finished my bachelor’s thesis about her (specifically what Maurus Servius Honoratus says about her character, also comparing to R. G. Austin’s commentary) and she’s been a special little brainrot of mine for the last couple years even before last schoolyear’s deeper dive into madness.

For now I want to just talk about some basics when it comes to Creusa, and then some more text based analysis later (probably tomorrow and the day after, I suppose?). Please note that my information on the topic is still limited - I only got as far as a BA thesis can go (around 33 pages overall), and I mostly used articles written in English and whatever was accessible through my university’s library.

Let’s start with a little introduction, and once Aeneid Daily gets to the Juicy Bits (aka lines 2.768–795) I’ll get to some deeper discussions of her character and what commentators, both modern and ancient, have said about her.

(And, uh… spoilers for the ending of Book 2? If that is a concern?)

SO, Creusa! Who is Creusa? Well, she is Aeneas’ wife and the mother of their son Ascanius, and she dies at the end of the Book 2, these are the basic facts. But are they? There’s actually some interesting stuff relating to her tradition.

Aeneas’ wife appears in earlier tradition, in both art and literature. In the famous depiction of Aeneas carrying his father and the penates out of Troy, he’s occasionally accompanied by a woman (or sometimes two) depicted with him, assumedly his wife. Sometimes she tags along with Aeneas to Italy, and in some traditions, she is saved and swept away by Venus or Cybele. To my knowledge she is never captured by the Greeks (like poor Andromache and Cassandra). For some reason Vergil decided to create a version where she dies (and I will get to the possible motives of this in another post), and that became the popular tradition after Aeneid was published.

One fascinating thing about Creusa (that drives me ABSOLUTELY INSANE) is actually her name – and specifically that it might not be her name at all.

She has been called Εὐρυδίκη (Latin spelling often Eurydica), and the name later changes to Κρέουσα (lat. Creusa). It is not certain when or why this change happens exactly. Pausanias talks about this in Hellados periegesis and explain that Creusa (Κρέουσα) is “naturally Aeneas’ wife” (εἶναι γὰρ δὴ καὶ Αἰνείου τὴν Κρέουσαν γυναῖκα) but that i.e., the author Leskheos has also used the name Εὐρυδίκη (Paus. 10. 26.1-2). But suddenly in the 1st century BC, Livy, Vergil and Dionysius of Halicarnassus start using the name Creusa – I have not been able to find an explanation as to why this happened. Austin speculates that it might have been some new finding of the antiquarians of the time, or perhaps one of the authors came up with the name first and it caught on (Pausanias certainly sheds no more light on this).

But hey why is the name important at all? Well, you might have picked up on the familiar name Eurydica there and maybe even made the connection to Vergil’s Georgics – and you would be absolutely correct to do so! While Vergil is partially creating his own tradition with Creusa, he references his own passage on Orpheus and Eurydice in the 4th book of the Georgics (4.453-527), down to direct quotes pulled from this previous work. There are some pretty obvious similarities between Aeneas and Creusa and Orpheus and Eurydice, which I found to be an interesting add-on to the character of Creusa (I’ll also come back to this later – let’s talk about PARALLELS BABY). In a way Vergil’s Creusa carries with her the earlier tradition of Aeneas’ wife, and Vergil is able to connect all these versions of her into one while also reinventing her for the purposes of the epic. (I am very normal about this) (trust me)

Her being Ascanius’ mother is actually something that has been contended as well. Servius mentions that it has been called into question – there are some who think Ascanius is Lavinia’s son (he mentions Livy as one; see Serv. Aen. 1.7) rather than Creusa’s. In Vergil’s version Creusa is very explicitly Ascanius’ mother, and this actually has a deeper reasoning than just a matter of taste. I probably don’t have to explain to anyone the importance of connecting Aeneas and through him Iulus to emperor Augustus, but it is indeed connected to that. Not only is Iulus of divine origin (being the grandson of Venus) but he is also descendent from the royal family  of Troy – Creusa is Priam’s daughter, Hector’s sister, and Vergil brings this up a lot (as does Servius, he’s really into proving the point). The Trojan royal family line brings even more legitimacy to gens Julia‘s right to power. Here Vergil creates a political myth (like Tarrant (1997) puts it) to emphasize Augustus' legitimacy and Creusa being Ascanius’ mother is an integral part of that.

But hey so, Creusa’s death, what’s up with that?

Once we get to her disappearance, I’ll talk about this a bit more because there is actually a lot of interesting discourse there, both in modern research as well as Servius’ commentary (Commentarius in Vergilii Opera, from c. 4th and 5th century (I include both Servius and Servius Auctus and use them interchangeably)). It all starts from today’s entry, lines 2.675-678, but I’ll talk about it more once we have full context.

So here’s my little introduction to Creusa, I have a lot more to say (I had 33 pages to say, actually, and would’ve had more if I didn’t have to narrow my research topic down, boo).

Oh Creusa, Creusa, you mysterious creature, most loyal of wives and yet another tragic female character who must die for Aeneas’ fate to be fulfilled. She’s a wife, she’s a mother, she’s chosen by gods and even… immortal? More to come tomorrow!

(Edit: the rest of my posts on her can be found in my creusa-tag)

[brightgreendandelions]

slugcat chronicles episode 18 -- the final journey

leaving Outskirts for the last time. had to carefully sort the important items between two different shelters. carrying a pearl makes it impossible to use a squidcada, but thankfully all the jumps can be made without one!

ok those two lizards have each a noodle in their mouths, so i should be safe to just jump down there, and squeeze past them. but they are still very chonky!

remember that shelter? but this time slugcat has his beloved lantern! it might actually be marginally useful here. subterranean is dark

wow there's another shelter right after that rain deer section. that was faster then i thought!

after sneaking past a lizard hive, slugcat finds himself in this little nook, that he can't jump out of, without summoning a rain deer

say bye rain deer! bye slugcat. this was sure a scenic ride. let's never do that again

i sure am a Little Beast! you're right, Two Sprouts, Twelve Brackets! i'm a Little Beast!! rawr xd uwu :3

what a nice totally not ominous dream 0_0

the second round thru farm arrays went of without a hitch! slugcat didn't even die once!! (ignore the missing karma flower). we finally got that wanderer passage. 8 passages in total, and i haven't used a single one! hooray elixir syndrome 0_0

[canmom]

japanese progress is becoming 'noticeable', i'm catching way more lines in anime and i can see what translation decisions are being made in subs, i can parse more grammar more quickly, i can compose a slightly greater variety of simple sentences.

...i did the practice JLPT N5 questions out of curiosity and the main thing i stumbled on is vocab, which is nice, bc last time I tried i wasn't even understanding the questions at all and now i could pretty much read everything with a little effort and occasional dictionary lookups. hooray for reaching the level of about five million babies! it's slow going by 'actual student' standards, but having a daily reminder to do wanikani and this nice little set of grammar practice tools is helping with the adhd memory hole.

time for the 'reading yotsuba&' rite of passage soon.

[jefromnj]

Going Around The Circle

9/9/23

"There's no one like you."

That's what my friends told me last night while going around in a circle to say one thing we appreciated about each other (Side note: Kevin just told me I remind him of the girl from Because of Winn Dixie and my mind is blown). What they said was traditionally sweet and it's getting to me now. I imagine in this exact moment, this is what it feels like to love yourself wholly and unconditionally. To have the healthiest relationship with your self image seems something far away and mythical but I swear I could feel it then, in that moment which occurred only five minutes ago.

The crazy part, although looking at it now the answer was right under my nose this whole time, is that you can only achieve unconditional self love by surrounding yourself with the people you love and who love you back tenfold. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think I am. Love, love, love, the word alone is everywhere in this passage. And to make its presence even more obnoxious, I love my friends. And they love me, hooray!

All to say that it was revitalizing hearing those drunken words, scattered as they were. What's more is they keep residence in the back of my mind, to remind me later when I'm sober that I am uncommonly valuable and no matter the outcome everything will be okay. The answer couldn't have been more obvious.

[ladyhindsight]

After the last evening’s pasta fiasco, i.e. Luke being unable to handle water boiling over to conveniently interrupt Clary and Jocelyn’s conversation, Clary is now asleep and dreaming her prophetic dreams.

I wonder if this imagery later influenced the conception of Ash.

Independent body parts → Clary opened her eyes.

So, Clary wakes up and feels someone next to her. At this point, whenever there is anything Clary and Simon say or think about each other, it’s almost always some throwback to when they were kids and what cookie cutter stuff they used to do. Almost like their relationship now is as hollow because nothing can be said about it rather than always going back to them being kids.

AnYwAy.

It’s Jace. Hooray. The tone of the following scene is... strange. Clary already knows something is wrong for Jace to be so buddy-buddy with Sebastian, sees here that this is not how Jace normally would look at her, and yet the approach is going for sexy. What. Even.

I am uncomfortable. I don’t think I can appropriately put into words how unsettling this scene is. Clary’s attraction to Jace is so all-consuming, hot-and-heavy type of deal that any sense of danger or concern is all wiped away. Because the focus here is how, good heavens, their bodies are pressed against one another, I’d assume this is supposed to be regarded as attractive scene. Not the abhorrence it actually is.

Me. Me, me, me. Clary later does bring up Jace’s family, but the fact that she is written talking about herself first and foremost shows what Clare actually wanted to focus on: Clary’s pain in the center. If Clary would’ve been written as more considerate, the narrative less focused on romantic partners being the essential point of focus as to whatever tragedy is at hand, it might have gone something like this:

You let all of us think you were gone,” she said. “Before that. Everyone thought you—we really thought there was a chance you were—” She broke off; she couldn't say it. Dead. “It’s unforgivable. If any of us had done that to you—”

Just food for thought. Clary and Jace’s reunion then gets interrupted.

Napoleon invaded Russia in late June 1812.

Clary seeing clearer here is an excuse to once again describe Sebastian’s appearance, no matter that she already did it in the Institute library in chapter 3. Which was detailed enough as well:

So this was what her brother looked like. Really looked like, alive and moving and animated. A pale face, all angles and planes, tall and slim in black gear. His hair was silvery white, not dark as it had been when she had first seen him, dyed to match the color of the real Sebastian Verlac’s. His own pale color suited him better. His eyes were black and snapping with life and energy. The last time she’d seen him, floating in a glass coffin like Snow White, one of his hands had been a bandaged stump. Now that hand was whole again, with a silver bracelet glittering on the wrist, but nothing visible showed that it had ever been damaged—and more than damaged, had been missing.

In City of Glass, Clary describes Sebastian when first coming face to face with him:

She’d put everything she had into dreaming up her dark, romantic, shadowy prince, and here he was, standing in front of her—the same pale skin, the same tumbling hair, and eyes so dark, the pupils seemed to meld with the iris. The same high cheekbones and deep-set, shadowed eyes fringed with long lashes.

What essentially changed was his hair color. That’s it. “The differences” Clary here sees is nothing new to her, with the exception of the scar on Sebastian’s wrist Clary did not see before. She has noted everything in his appearance, so trying to justify this passage as a comparison to Clary’s memories from Idris is dumb. ↓

It was Sebastian.

His hair was paper white, his eyes black tunnels fringed by lashes as long as spider’s legs. He wore a white shirt, the sleeves pulled up, and a red scar ringing his wrist like a ridged bracelet.

Like, just get to the point without all the meandering justifications.

Also on the chapter 3, in the library scene, Clary notes that: “Now that hand was whole again, with a silver bracelet glittering on the wrist, but nothing visible showed that it had ever been damaged.” Later, like somewhere in the middle of the book, Clary notes that the bracelet hides the scar on Sebastian’s right wrist. So where is it nooooow???

Hypocritical. Clary and Jace thought they knew they were siblings also, and that didn’t stop them from pining after each other and smushing faces, at least twice, despite the fact that their knowledge turned out to be false.

So kind of you to mention them. Yet the primary focus is Clary’s feelings about Jace’s disappearance.

Implicating that Clary wanted to uncover herself in front of Jace before this point. Also “lovely predatory smile” is... something. Jace regards and regarded Clary like a prey, and her first instinct is to feel all hot about Jace’s appearance and body touching her. It truly is something.

So Sebastian stalks off. Jocelyn sees him in their kitchen and screams. She is in her yoga pants and t-shirt and her hair is in a messy bun because she’s hot like that even after waking up in the middle of the night. Clary runs to Jocely, Jace follows right behind her. A confrontation ensues, and Luke also makes his appearance.

→ Please do.

→ Is that not what Sebastian literally is? Valentine’s son. How is Luke supposed to think of him instead? 

It is true, Luke has defended Jace the most to everyone aside from Clary. But his characterization on the page has never been gentle and kind. Clary reiterates the point how Luke is gentle and kind, but whenever Luke is on the page saying stuff and doing things, he is more like incredibly serious, constantly berating the Lightwoods/the Clave, criticizing people, and acting holier-than-thou given the opportunity. No matter how many time Clary describes Luke as kind and gentle, and although how Luke has treated Jace can be considered kind, I would never in a million years call him gentle. Because he isn’t.

In this scene it is revealed that whatever happens to Sebastian, physical harm or injury, will also happen to Jace. Clary witnesses this as Jace’s chest also gets sliced open when Jocelyn attacks Sebastian. Luke ends up punching Jace.

Clary has already noted:

Beside Clary, Jace sucked in his breath. She whirled to look at him. There was a spreading red stain across the front of his shirt. He touched his hand to it; his fingertips came away bloody. We are bound. Cut him and I bleed. 

It barely needs an explanation why Sebastian’s lip might be bleeding. So: 

→ He was bleeding from a split lip. Jace swung into her field of vision, and there was blood on his mouth where Luke had hit him.

Sebastian stabs Luke. Sebastian and Jace make run for it. Jocelyn calls for aid while trying to help Luke.

Similarly to Jace prioritizing his own guilt and punishment over helping Clary in City of Fallen Angels, Clary prioritized her own guilt and punishment over helping Luke (who is actually dying) in order to score sympathy points for her. Woe is her. What about what Luke deserves? Does Luke not deserve her help, her comfort? Clary thinks about herself and not Luke and what Luke would want.

I once wrote a long-ass post about Clary and her guilt, and though it was about an entirely different matter, Clary’s guilt here is similarly incredibly disingenuous and self-centered.

[divorce-fiction]

The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms

Opening Tally

Marriages: 2 Divorces: 0

I hope we can all admit: Hatred is compelling. The Seven Day Switch thrives on this passion-in-negative, pitting Working Mom Wendy and Stay-At-Home Superhero Celeste against each other, but this not-so-cold war is only the beginning of a surprisingly non-ficitional take on a fictional bodyswap. Yes, the cliche of "I couldn't put this down!" but truly I didn't want to. This is no Morality Fiction, where the women end on a corny cryfest of how they were ~Both Wrong~ and the power of friendship makes them switch back. This is an examination of their shortcomings and justifications and public personas. This is a book that has heart AND brains.

There's also an introspective touch to the writing. Piling words high to the point of collapse, ambling setting descriptions without intent is the common technique for showing passage of time in a novel. Harms, in welcome contrast, runs the first-person film reel of Wendy and Celeste's entire thought process, with all of its rambling jumps and loose connections on full display. This makes you actually want to read through it to avoid missing out on the rich, internal world of these women.

The plot is this: After an uncommonly heavy night of drinking at a school fundraiser, Wendy and Celeste wake up the next morning in each other's bodies. There's the expected shock and stumbling, and they decide that a special, single-batch vodka Celeste ordered is to blame. They won't be able to get their hands on more until the next bottle is delivered in a week (title drop!) and, until then, entrepreneur Wendy intends to relax and homemaker Celeste plans to overhaul her neighbor's family.

I was anxious in the back of my head the entire time I was devouring this book. I expected that all of the lovely character development would result in a boring, Disney-style conclusion: Wendy would give up her productivity consulting business to make time for what was really important: Family. And Celeste would realize she was being too strict on her family and let her kids eat McDonald's once a week. Hooray!

Neither of these bland outcomes come true.

Or, perhaps that's burying the lede. Celeste's strictness is one of her greatest assets in the story, whipping Wendy's children into shape to help around the house, empowering them with responsibility, where Wendy, convinced she was the only one who could do everything correctly, had never delegated. It's shown as a true strength of her style of mothering, the militant care she puts into things like baking cupcakes for entrants to a science fair. The curse comes less as a blanket declaration about homemakers but about Celeste in specific: her husband makes all the money, and she has been pursuing absolute perfection to make up for only being a SAHM. Those science fair cupcakes might not NEED perfectly crafted DNA sugar helices made from scratch. She put herself second to everything in her life, never taking time to rest or take care of herself, to the point of ignoring a serious post-partum abdomen injury. Celeste isn't wrong in personality, she's just low in self-esteem. Her Mom of the Year act was never designed to shame the rest of the parents, but to justify her own existence.

Wendy, in contrast, is Working Mom of the Year: supporting her artist husband and over-achieving children, making feminist waves in the world of business-ownership, and still making time each day to be around her family for a whole hour. This balancing act belies an obvious truth: she isn't happy. But the solution isn't abandoning her ideals, and that's what's so comforting about this book. Neither of these women are in the wrong for how they want to live their lives, but how they've gone about it. They have mirror struggles, of never taking time for one's self. And Wendy's justification that her Excel-spreadsheet level scrambling makes her the best is undercut by the late reveal that her kids are a shameful compromise: in exchange for their birth, she agreed that her husband, Seth, would never have to lift a finger to help with them or her business or her life.

Shameful for Seth, that is. This man sucks so incredibly I don't even want to devote words to it. He's hot, yes, but also secretive and lazy and dismissive and unhelpful and resentful without intent to improve. Imagine the worst partner whose behavior you condone with "At least he's not abusive." That's Seth.

And Celeste's husband, Hugh?

“Of course,” [Hugh] says, without so much as a pause. “Whatever you need. Celeste, I don’t know what’s been going on this week, but I do know I love you, no matter what. When you’re ready to talk, I hope it’s me you talk to. Got that?” (pg. 240)

Hugh. Is. Amazing. I teared up at his devotion, his love for his wife. Taking on what most fathers would consider 'babysitting' when his wife seems to be in the midst of a mental breakdown, running interference on snobs at a gala dinner so his wife can enjoy her night out, oozing with attraction towards a woman who sees herself as 'over the hill'. I know men/husbands/fathers like this exist, but they’re so few and far between it’s often easier to pretend they don’t. He's a high-powered corporate executive who loves his wife, his kids, and his life. He's perfect. I want to run him through a cloning machine. No notes.

One last note: it’s the tiniest mention, something you’d normally blaze right past in your rush to finish a story: there’s a non-binary character in this book. Nameless, faceless, descriptionless. But with specified they/them pronouns that the characters respect. A hospital receptionist that exists for a paragraph and is intensely normalized. I like it. More of this, please.

Celeste and Hugh stay married and perfect forever.

Wendy and Seth get divorced after Seth's infidelity is discovered.

Closing Tally

Marriages: 1 Divorces: 1

Rating: ★★★★✮ (4.5/5)

[spicysucculentz]

it’s my birthday….. hooray I guess? I’m one of those bitches that gets wildly depressed about the passage of time

[dragon-heisters]

Session 26, 19 Feb 2023: "'Sleep?! You hack! For Godssakes."

We’re on on Sunday this week. Suggested talking points: finding friends asleep in ditches after parties, has Pfenig always been green (yes), now we’re nearing the end of Dragon Heist, the DM is going to start actively trying to kill us. (Hazel: “Well, what have you been doing up to now??”)

This area of the sewers counts as Primary Passage - which is good, because it has walkways and we don’t have to swim.

We are so accustomed to this place now that we no longer have to make Con saves versus throwing up. Hooray…?

The Tiny Overlord is in bed, so Hazel joins us and we’re off to the sewers! As his last act of mercy, the DM offers us a long rest and a shopping trip. We accept. Hazel haggles for potions, bartering them down to 38gp per, then 35 by fluttering her eyelashes at Fala. She is unable to barter the arrows down, however, and pays the full 4gp each for them.

Nuri wants to find a scroll of Magic Mouth. Thessalie has some stuff she wants to sell. Nuri asks Pfenig for the fake stone, saying loudly that he DOESN’T WANT THE REAL ONE. Can any of us think of a message he can make the fake stone say if it gets stolen, to convince the thieves it’s the real one?

“Thank you for stealing the Stone of Golorr. Your attunement is important to us.” We decide to have it say something like “PROVE YOUR WORTHINESS”. That should keep the thief occupied.

Nuri decides on: “PROVE YOUR WORTH! WHAT COMMON WORD HAS THREE CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE LETTERS?”

The trigger will be if someone holds the stone to their face as if examining it. This will happen every time someone does that, until dispelled.

We take long rests, Thessalie pops Aurix out and has him sit on her shoulder, and off we go. We follow the map on the ransom note - it leads north to a little cul de sac. The sewer is not locked, so we open it to a ladder and a familiar stink of sewage. We find ourselves in a small room with the symbol of the plumbers guild is on the wall. There is a door with an open padlock lying on the floor in front of it; Pfenig opens the door convinced it’s a trap.

It’s weirdly clean in the room beyond. The tunnel beyond that is rushing with sewage running out of pipes and into it. It’s about waist deep in the middle, but we’ll only get our feet wet if we stick to the edge. Pfenig goes first and gets hit with a pseudopod!

His armour hisses a bit and his AC goes down.

He Shillfglkfgkfhjjjh’s and hits the Black Pudding with his staff. 20 hits for 8 Bludgeoning damage. It fails the save and takes two necrotic damage.

“It hates you a little bit.”

“I’m comfortable with that.”

It occurs to Nuri that last time we were here and he did fire magic, we all got exploded a bit from all the farts.

(The DM remembers to make Hazel and Pfenig do Dex saves to keep from getting sewer water splashed in their faces as it lands. Hazel fails.)

Nuri does Mind Sliver, deciding against fire for now, and Thessalie Magic Missile; the thing is cracking and starting to show signs of damage. Hazel scampers away, covered in shit, and hides behind a pipe. She rolls an 11 and is not hidden, but she’ll still get sneak attack anyway because it’s in range with Pfenig. She rolls an 8 - it hits! She does 18 damage total.

As her arrow strikes it, it does more cracking damage - but her arrow sinks in and dissolves. ("I just spent four gold pieces on that!")

The pudding has another go at eating Pfenig. 15 - “That’s exactly my new armour class since the last attack!” He loses all his hit points including his favourite one and goes down. It’s his turn now so he makes a death save. 11! Yay!

Nuri makes a Perception check - a 5.

DM: “Never mind!”

Nuri Hexes it and does a point blank Fire Bolt, rolling at Disadvantage. 9 still hits - and there is no explosion. He sets fire to zero farts! Thessalie splashes across the river to see the pudding, grumbling about her boots, and accidentally steps on Pfenig; to make it up to him she uses one of her OWN potions to heal him 5HP. (He owes her a potion now, she tells him, of which fact she will remind him at a later date. On fancy stationery.)

Hazel hides, rolling a 27 and is informed that she is not hidden. A quick nature check tells her that it has Blindsight. Fuck!

A bit of the blob breaks off at her next attack, though, and falls into the water. The pudding makes an attempt to Dash - Nuri gets an Attack of Opportunity if he wants it. Can he give it a bit of distance and then shoot it with a shortbow? Yes, the DM tells him. 9 hits for 9 piercing and 5 fire/necrotic.

It’s looking ropey and another bit sloughs off and hisses into the sewer water.

Pfenig: “Right, revenge flavoured death.” He swigs a healing potion and then administers an Ice Knife, hitting for 22 and doing 6 piercing and 4 cold damage.

The DM has good news and bad - well, two bits of good and one bad. He’ll give Pfenig a shit sandwich. The blob takes the piercing, is immune to cold, how de do dis!

Right, where to now? Nuri investigates the dead body that Pfenig found before the fight. He pokes the body with a stick; the pockets seem empty. There are fewer teeth than fingers, and that doesn’t look recent. Nuri suspects this death was something to do with the gang war in the city. There are no tattoos that Nuri can see; the skin is quite rotten, black and purple, so he might be missing something. Does he want to look closer? He opens the shirt with the stick and peers - nothing he can see. He tries not to throw up in his mouth.

He makes a Perception check while standing there - 11. Never mind. Pfenig barges across the river to a door on the other side and opens it. There’s a guard there, but he says nothing as Pfenig enters.

We all follow, Thessalie complaining about having to clean her boots again. The guard, a dwarf, once we’re all in the room, stands aside from another door further in and tells us the rest are waiting for us.

“Where’s Jodd?” Pfenig demands of the individuals in the next room.

“Did you bring the Stone?”

“Where’s Jodd?” Nuri and Pfenig refuse to hand anything over until we have proof of life. Nuri takes the (fake!) Stone out of his pocket, (without cackling), and holds it up.

“We give you this and you, what, tell us where he is?”

“Leave the Stone on the crate and leave the room. We’ll take a look at it and call you back in.”

Hazel makes an Insight check to see if the thug is telling the truth about Jodd being alive. She thinks he is. We reluctantly slink out.

Back in the first room, we hear Nuri’s message go off through the door. It opens again after about a minute.

“Oi.”

We go back in; they know it’s not the real Stone. We feign ignorance; looks like we’ve all been taken for suckers. The dwarf doesn’t like being dicked around. Look, we gave you the Stone, now give us Jodd! That’s the only Stone we got!

The dwarf doesn’t believe us. He’s got his orders. He’s happy to kill us and take it off our dead bodies.

Thessalie: “Alright, let’s see how that goes.”

“Alright then.” We roll Initiative, as Pfenig reminds himself never to try and order Thessalie around.

The lead thug approaches Thessalie with a nasty grin and calling her 'sweetheart' - he hits her for a lot and gets Hellish Rebuked in return. Pfenig uses his Symbiotic Entity, and then casts Shilsfgljsfglkfhjh.

Hazel stabs him with her rapier. “Fuck you. Sweetheart.”

Thessalie casts Shatter on the backup thugs, three of the four fail and take 8 damage. She takes a potion for her bonus action. One shoots at Hazel, who failed to hide, and nat20’s her for 11 damage.

Nuri Scorching Ray’s the captain and two of the thugs, killing one and burning his shadow onto the wall. He kills the other thug too, burning his shadow on top of the other one. He blows on his finger guns and holsters them.

A remaining thug shoots him. Nuri: “I refuse.” 15 hits him good though, and he takes a cheeky little five piercing damage.

The guard comes in and pokes Nuri with his scimitar - but not before making a Con save. He fails and takes 6 points of gross from Pfenig in his lungs.

Aurix stings the captain and then flies out of reach, poisoning him. Disadvantage on ability checks and attacks for an hour, yeah!

He hits at Thessalie but misses, then at Nuri and misses again, then at Pfenig but hits. (This is definitely racially motivated, Pfenig and Nuri decide.)

It’s Pfenig’s turn, and the captain takes one portion of Shilleksfglhjh right up his gusset - and Pfenig swings at Advantage as Thessalie is within range. 19 hits for 11 damage.

Hazel hides, and these fucks don’t have Blindsight so she’s hidden, yay! She shoots a thug and thinks that ten misses - but it doesn’t. 12 damage and how de do dis!

“Ohhh, he falls down.”

Thessalie Battering Ram’s the captain for 18 damage, pushing him into the opposite wall. “Don’t call me Sweetheart.”

A thug shoots at Thessalie but she Shields and he misses.

Nuri casts Infestation - the guard fails and is Covered in Bees!

It’s the guard’s turn, so he pokes Nuri in the pudding for 4 damage.

“Ah, why?”

“Because you covered him in bees!”

Aurix bites at the captain but misses and flies away looking sheepish.

The captain makes more attacks - still at Disadvantage from Aurix’s poison. He misses all of us!

Pfenig’s turn. He will bop the captain on the head with his Shkdlfsgkdfhljh, “In a non-lethal fashion.” The captain parries, making the attack miss. Pfenig reaction-poisons him a bit. Captain fails the save and take 5 Spore damage.

Hazel does a little stabby-stabby with her rapier against the guard. 11 hits the guard and gets the how de do dis! “He is stabbed with the rapier and he gets all stabby and bleedy and he falls down. He’s very sorry for what he did.”

Thessalie non-lethally Fire Bolts the captain, who goes down. Yeah. She brushes some dust off her sleeves and sniffs disdainfully.

The last remaining thug shoots at Thessalie and misses; “I should stop while you’re behind if I were you, darling.”

A purple haze appears in the room, along with another man who’s been hiding in here the whole time!!!

Magical Ambush…

He casts Sleep, taking Aurix and Thessalie out right away.

It’s Nuri’s turn. He approaches the newcomer and Burning Handses him.

DM: “That’s rude.”

Nuri, with disgust at the mage: “‘Sleep’?! You hack! For godssakes.”

Pfenig turns his attention to the remaining thug and Shslfgdkfhjhs him and gets the how de do dis! “And stay down!” The floor is stone so instead of hammering him into the ground like a tent peg he hammers the dwarf’s head into his neck like a tent peg.

Aurix is out, so Hazel is up. She shoots the mage and gets the how de dos dis! “Do we need him alive? Non-lethal damage.”

Nuri: “We don’t need him, we got the other guy.”

Hazel, gleefully: “Lethal damage!”

We tie up the captain and loot the bodies. Nuri finds this:

We will interrogate the captain next week…

[onwriting-hrarby]

AO3 Wrapped — Hrarby Edition (3)

Last questions because I need a break from RJ but I'm ALMOST finishing people!!! Hooray! But still, this is the last part of this Wrapped, featuring *my fave works*

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year? Hard to say because I published ITS from November until March. But if I count 200 for ITS (146 from last year), it would make 1041 kudos!

22. Which work has the most comments? Rotten Judgement with 338 comments!

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year? ...I don't think I could do any collaborative work, I'm so used at working alone :')

24. Did you write any gifts this year? Noup!

25. Did you receive any gifts this year? Nein 26. What's your most common category? F/M. 27. What do you listen to while writing? oH BOY! I listen to my own playlist "Writing" which features sad, moody songs. I also listen to Grace Abrams, Valley, Finneas and Taylor Swift a lot. 28. Favorite work you wrote this year? THIS IS SO HARDDDDDD. I would say... Only a lifetime. Because I love the poetic in it and the fact that it's condensed. Sometimes RJ spills too much out of my hands. But I also love ITS... I think my preference of works would be: OAL > ITS > IDNLUT > RJ > ADN > Hopeful. Maybe because I'm hating RJ at the moment hahaha Maybe it is what's the best written since my English keeps improving, but I don't think it's the best I've written overall.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION FROM ITS LIVES RENT FREE IN MY MIND

Eren said, “Hm.” They sipped in silence. After some seconds, he confessed, “There’s something that I think I’m made to do.” Mikasa opened her eyes in surprise. Eren smiled at her reaction. “But it’s scary.”

“What is it, then?”

He put his green eyes on her. “I think I’m made to love people.”

“That’s a little bit abstract.”

“I think”, Eren kept on saying, as Mikasa smiled, “that I am this kind of people who wants to help others be happy because it will make me happy, too. I also know that, someday, I’m going to love so much, I won’t be going back. I think I will leave everything for that person. I have like a feeling.”

Mikasa pondered the words. She put a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her nails were trimmed and unbitten.

“It seems to me that you have it quite clear, so, what’s the fear?”

Eren looked down from her eyes to his own hands, to the sight of his own hands grabbing one of her mugs. “I just worry that I will fall for the wrong person at a time that seems right. Or even worse, fall for the right person at the wrong time.”

Mikasa avoided his gaze once it came back up. She smiled, but she looked outside the balcony of the apartment, seemingly distracted. She answered:

“There’s no falling for the right person at the wrong time. If it feels like a wrong time, it was never the right person, to begin with.”

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year? That people would think that because I am writing from the POV of racist characters, I might be a racist myself.

[nonaglae]

All good things come to an end

Well, it is what it is. It was time to go home. But not before one last hooray!

Monday morning Bestie, Charmer, Talia, Will, Angie and I a.k.a the Crew went for breakfast at the Outpost where we had breakfast burritos, croissants, pies, coffee, chai latte and, unfortunately, good byes also. They were emotional, which really just was a celebration of the good time we all had together and the new friendships we’d made. Thank you, Bestie and Charmer!

Talia, Will, Angie and I then made our way on our next canoeing adventure and drove to the Chattooga River. Unlike the safety tour, this was a hell of a ride with loads of white waters, I can tell you, sh*t got real. Bestie warned us about it, but in these cases ignorance truly is bliss and I decided not to think about it too much. Which wasn’t that easy and, since I did not know when the big drop would come, I wet my pants. But that’s only because we jumped into the water at some point for a nice little swim - or better, float. Life vests do that for you.

Back in the canoe, Angie and I did perfectly, navigating around trees and stones and around corners - not so much through the shallow bits of the river. We got stuck countless times and had to wiggle and push ourselves back into deeper waters more often than I would like to admit. But it was fun! Not sure how much fun it was for Talia and Will who had to wait for us, but that’s what you get when you take complete beginners on such a tour. Sorry, not sorry. The fun continued when we parked our Canoes on a river side bank and did some canyoning on the river. We sat and stuck our heads under water falls and pretended to breathe under water, took the stream line to slide down, along and between some rocks and laughed a lot.

Turns out, this was all tactics to distract us from the big fall that was still ahead of us and which we feared so much. Since there really was no way back, and no, paddling back up stream was not an option. Or at least not an option that crossed my mind - might have been helpful though. Anyway, what’s done is done. Shortly before we came up to the Big One Will told us that we would stop at the verge of the fall, get out of our canoes and have a look at the fall from the top to see where it would be best to go down - or fall down is what I thought. Being Will, he also warned us about the strong current at the top of the fall and advised us not to miss the exit point where we could park the canoes, otherwise we would just go with the flow. Which, normally seems reasonable but in this case rather dangerous. Trembling with fear, Angie and I somehow managed to escape the fall (for now) and - with the help of Will - got safely onto the rock from which we could take a glance into our doom. 

We did not dare to look, but when I eventually did I thought: good. That’s it. To be honest, it was more like: what, that’s it?! And to be completely honest, it was like: that’s it? The big fall? Cute. Admittedly, this spot had the biggest white water we’d encountered so far, but there really was no big fall or drop. I just got really excited and curious to try it out. Will showed us two options how to get through this passage of the river, and, since Angie and I did not really want to risk to crash bow first into a stone wall and then probably stick to the wall ourselves, we decided to take the line through the curly current. What seemed like the wise decision at first, turned out to probably still be the wiser decision as we did not quite conquer the fall in the end and fell ourselves - into the water (I don’t want to know what crashing into a stone wall feels like). You may see for yourselves

It was a very close one, we nearly managed. But as anywhere else in life, nearly succeeding is not good enough. So I wanted to do it again. Angie did not feel like going through this again (why wouldn’t anyone want to capsize two times in a row, I ask you?), Will said he’d join me. Said and done, we (i.e Will) dragged the canoe back up to the Inspection Rock and we went down the fall again. When I said went down, I mean it. We went down. But we didn’t drown. How much fun was that? Soooooo much fun!

The rest of the tour was a mixture of chilling, navigating (maybe getting stuck a couple more times), talking, singing, snacking and just enjoying the life. The whole tour was about three hours long but it did not feel that long. Time flies when you’re having fun. What felt like three hours, however, was the walk and canoe-drag from the river to the car. That was no fun at all, but again, there was no way back. And then it was time to go back to Camp, where we spent the last evening at the lake and at the camp fire, eating, cooking (?) smores, staring into the sky and its stars and seeing shooting stars every once in a while. We continued our game from the previous day “on a scale from 1 to 10″ and just were. If you ask me: on a scale from 1 to 10 how happy are you that you were on this adventure in the U.S? the answer would be a gazillion! I had an amazing time, am very happy that we spent this time together across the Big Pond and get to experience so many fun things along the way.

I guess, this is it for me and you as well. But who knows, maybe there is a TBC in the stars for us when I embark on my next adventure - whenever that may be.

Cheerio!

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Present from Mukami [PART 1]

ー The scene starts in Yui’s bedroom

Yui: Today’s Christmas Eve, huh...?

( When I was still living with Father, we were always extremely busy during this time of year with preparations for the Christmas Mass. )

( We would decorate the church for the Mass...or make tons of sweets to hand out to the children as gifts... )

( Somehow that feels like part of a distant past now... )

Haah...

ー Kou enters the room

Kou: Heya~! M-neko-chan~!

Yui: ...Kou-kun?

Kou: No need to act so surprised, right? What’s wrong? You seem kind of down?

Yui: Um, could you please knock on the door before entering? I’d really appreciate it...

Kou: Eh~~? Why bother going through the extra trouble?

Besides, I live here, remember? My house, my rules, no?

Yui: H-Hm...That might be the case, but...

( I have a feeling he won’t understand... )

So, why are you here? Is there anything you need from me...?

Kou: Hm~~? I only came to hang out because I was bored~

Yui: I see. Are you off from work today?

Kou: Exactly! Today’s my first free day in a long time!

Anyway, more importantly, M-neko-chan. You were talking about how it’s Christmas Eve today earlier...Right?

Yui: Yeah...I had a bit of an ‘oh, right!’ moment.

Kou: ‘Oh, right’...? You’re talking as if you only just noticed.

Yui: Yeah...But I really did recall only now. It totally slipped my mind...

Kou: To think you’d forget about such an important event! Is everything okay, M-neko-chan?

Yui: I mean, you guys don’t celebrate Christmas, do you?

Kou: Hmー Well, we’re Vampires after all. We obviously don’t feel like celebrating it, nor are we interested.

Yui: ...Figured as much. There aren’t any Christmas decorations inside the house either...

Besides, I haven’t gone out much as of late either...

Kou: Now that you mention it, you’ve just been going back and forth between here and school without making any additional stops, huh?

If you were to head out, you’d discover that the whole city is in a Christmas mood. 

There really is no way to look past it, whether you like it or not...

Yui: Yeah, but I haven’t gotten a chance to go look...So I completely forgot...

Kou: Hmー...

Ah, say, M-neko-chan? How have you spent your Christmas Eve in the past?

Yui: Eh...?

Kou: I mean, I don’t know how normal families celebrate the holidays.

Yui: Hm...Right. My personal experience might be a little different from the standard though.

Kou: Heeh? In what way?

Yui: You know that my Father works as a Priest, right?

Kou: Ahー I feel like I heard that somewhere before.

Yui: We hold a Mass at church on Christmas day, so we have to prepare for that the night before.

Kou: Prepare? Like the Christmas lights they put up in town?

Yui: Yeah. Ours weren’t quite as elaborate, of course.

On the day of the Mass, the visitors light a candle, take a seat and pray...

Then afterwards we read passages from the Bible.

At the very end, someone will play the orgle and everyone sings together.

It creates such a lovely medley of singing voices...I loved that part.

Kou: Hmm, I see...But is that actually fun?

Yui: Yeah, it is. It is an important day to me after all.

( It’s a day full of memories of the time I spent with Father as well, after all... )

Kou: Hmー So that’s how it is. I mean, I don’t really understand but...Oh, I know!

The other day, this one person at work told me that Christmas Eve is a special day you should spend with your lover. (1)

Have you ever spent Christmas Eve with a special someone before?

Yui: No...I was always helping out for the Mass at Church after all...

Kou: I see...

ー Ruki enters the room

Ruki: The two of you are making a ruckus. At least close the door when you’re talking.

Yui: Ah, Ruki-kun...Yuma-kun and Azusa-kun as well. What’s the matter?

Yuma: We just happened to run into each other in the hallway. Ya guys were talkin’ hella loud.

Yui: S-Sorry...

Azusa: Eve and Kou...The two of you seemed to be having a fun chat.

Kou: Really? It wasn’t anything special though.

Ruki: Anyway, Kou, come with me. Livestock, you stay in your room.

Yui: S-Sure...

Kou: Eh~~...? Oh well, whatever. I got to learn something new at least.

See you later, M-neko-chan~!

ー The four of them leave

Yui: They left...

( Somehow it suddenly got quiet. )

( ...Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded talking for a little longer... )

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Kou: ...Say, say, Ruki-kun. Why don’t the four of us throw a Christmas party?

Ruki: Haah...I was wondering what you would bring up all of a sudden.

Kou: I mean, M-neko-chan seemed kind of sad, you see~

She was raised at a Church, right?

So it seems like Christmas and such brings back a lot of memories for her.

Yuma: So that’s what the two of ya were talkin’ ‘bout earlier, huh?

Azusa: ...Say, what is...Christmas?

Kou: Ah, are you interested, Azusa-kun?

Christmas itself is on the 25th of December and the day before that is called ‘Christmas Eve’.

It’s the day on which they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ~

Azusa: Heeh, then...Today is the 24th so it’s...Christmas Eve...right?

Kou: Exactlyー! So I was thinking we could hold a little celebration?

Ruki: Azusa, did you not celebrate Christmas back when you were still human?

Azusa: ...We did not have that kind of celebration...

Ruki: How about you, Yuma?

Yuma: Hmー... Now that ya mention it, I do feel as if the city was a lil’ more lively ‘round this time of year...I think...?

I might have celebrated it back when I was a child, but I forgot.

Kou: I’m pretty sure my answer should be obvious but...Ah, you must have celebrated it, right, Ruki-kun?

Ruki: Well, yes.

Kou: Makes sense. You are a rich boy after all~

Azusa: Say, Ruki? How exactly do you celebrate it...?

Ruki: You decorate the inside of the house, say your prayers to God and enjoy a meal with the whole family.

There’s special foods and snacks which are only enjoyed on that particular day of year...

Also, you would exchange presents...I suppose that about sums it up.

Azusa: ...Exchanging presents...I honestly don’t care about the exchanging part. I’d much rather just be on the receiving end of all the punches...

Kou: Ahaha...Putting your wishes aside for a second...

Don’t you want to try and hold a Christmas party?

We’ve never really done something like that with the whole family, right? Come on, why not?

Ruki: Family, huh...?

Yuma: That bein’ said, Vampires celebratin’ the birth of Christ is kinda fucked up, no?

Kou: Should we not? Do you think he’ll be upset with us?

Ruki: ...Well, while I doubt he will be thrilled about it, that man has connections to the Church of his own, so he might understand in a sense.

I doubt he will condemn us if we hold a small celebration at home.

Kou: Right~? In that case, let’s get this party rolling~!

Ruki: Yuma, Azusa. What do you two think?

Yuma: ...Ahー...

Azusa: ...

Yuma: Oi, Kou. The Sow’s havin’ a rough time, right?

Kou: Yeah, she is.

Azusa: I...personally don’t care much about the party itself but...I don’t want...Eve to be sad...

Yuma: Nnー Well, it’s not really for her sake, but I don’t see any harm in doin’ this sorta stuff for once?

Ruki: ...

Kou: Fufu~ In that case, we just need permission from Ruki-kun...~!

Ruki: Haah...You’ll all be helping out, including during the clean-up, understood?

Yuma: Oh! Which means...

Ruki: Exactly...I suppose it will make for a nice change of pace.

We haven’t really spent much time together as a family up until now after all.

Furthermore, pleasing Livestock is part of our duty as her masters.

Kou: Hooray~~!!

In that case, we need to get started with all of the preparations!

Azusa: ...

Ruki: Oi, Azusa. Where are you going?

Azusa: I figured I’d go...tell Eve that we’ve decided to hold a party...

Kou: Eh!? You’re going to tell her?

Yuma: Aah? Should we not?

Kou: Hmー Don’t you think this is a perfect chance to make it a surprise?

Yuma: Surprise...? The fuck’s that?

Ruki: It means to catch them by surprise. In other words, you keep it a secret until the very second they arrive at the party...

Kou: I’m sure she’ll be ten times happier than if she already knew about the party beforehand!

I’m an idol, remember?

So I’ve had people throw a surprise birthday party for me before. 

I felt so happy back then!

Yuma: Hm. Is that how it works? Well, fine by me.

Ruki: Azusa, you’ve heard us. You don’t need to go inform her.

Azusa: Mmh. Understood...

Kou: Hmー Holding a Christmas party is fine and all but...

Yuma: The problem’s how to prepare for it. We need to decorate the place, but I have no fuckin’ clue which decorations to pick.

Azusa: I wonder what kind of...dishes we should serve...?

Kou: Let’s leave that part to Ruki-kun.

Ruki: Right. Just leave the cooking up to me. Which leaves...

ー The scene shifts to Yui’s bedroom

Yui: ( Hm...It’s a little chilly in here... )

( I’m pretty sure quite some time has passed since the others left as well. I wonder what they’re up to...? )

( Right. I suppose I’ll check up on them while I go grab myself a hot beverage. )

ー The scene shifts to the hallway

Yui: ...

Kou: Let’s leave that part to Ruki-kun.

Ruki: Right. Just leave the cooking up to me. Which leaves...

Yui: ( Ah...Kou-kun and Ruki-kun’s voices... )

( I wonder what they’re talking about...? )

Excuse meーー

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Ruki: ...Oh...

Kou: Eh? M-neko-chan!?

Yuma: ...Ya sure have the worst timin’, huh...?

Yui: Eh!? I’m sorry. Should I not have come in...?

Azusa: No, it’s fine...We were just talking about throwing you a surprise Christmas party

Yui: Eh...?

Kou: Waiーー!! Azusa-kun! What are you saying!?

Azusa: I mean...It’s not like we can still cover it up at this point. If we try and hide it...We’ll only end up making her uncomfortable. ...Right?

Ruki: Yes, Azusa, you are absolutely right. We could have always sent her back to her room, but I’m sure she would have been worried about us secretly scheming something behind her back.

If we upset her, we’re basically rendering our intentions null.

Yuma: Haah, I mean, that’s true but...We could have at least tried to keep it a secret...

Kou: Haah...Guess there’s no point now...

ーー And with that being said, we shall now commence with the preparations of the Mukami family’s very own Christmas party~!

Yui: Eh...!? We’re holding a Christmas party together!?

Yuma: That’s what we said earlier, remember? Are yer ears still workin’?

Yui: No, they are but...I’m just shocked...

I’m just wondering if it’s okay for you all to celebrate Christmas even though you’re Vampires?

Ruki: You don’t need to worry about that.

Kou: Exactly! Don’t fret over the small details~!

Are you not happy? You get to celebrate with us!

Yui: Of course I am...! I’m just surprised, that’s all.

Kou: I don’t think there’s any time to be surprised though? We have to hurry up and  prepare or Christmas will be here before we know it!

Yui: Ah, right!

Kou: Okayー! Let’s get started with these preparations right away!

Azusa: Eve...We’ve never held a proper party before...Can you tell us what we should do...?

Kou: First off, it’d be a great help if you could give us some pointers on how to decorate the house.

Yui: Well, we have to make actual decorations first...

Ruki: I assume it would be much quicker to just head to the store rather than explaining it here first.

Yuma: Good point. I doubt I’ll understand from some explanation alone.

Azusa: ...Yeah...

Ruki: There you have it. We are heading out at once.

Yui: Sure!

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the department store

Yui: ( I never thought I’d one day go shopping with all of the guys like this... )

( That alone counts as a Christmas miracle. )

Yuma: Whatcha been grinnin’ ‘bout this whole time?

Yui: Ah, right. I’m just so happy we’re all able to go shopping like this...

Yuma: Heh, you’re gonna find yerself lost ‘gain if ya keep yer head in the clouds like that. Wouldn’t be the first time after all.

Yui: I...I’ll be careful.

Kou: Fufufu, so you’re aware of it at least.

Yui: Y-Yeah...

( It’s not that I actually walk away by myself though... )

Ruki: The food’s next on the list, huh? Oi, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?

Azusa: ...I’d like something doused in plenty of red chili powder...

Ruki: ...Azusa, let’s try and stick to Christmas food this time.

Azusa: ...Fine...

But what exactly is ‘Christmas food’...?

Ruki: Hm...

Yuma: ...We don’t know if our personal preferences fit the holiday spirit after all.

So shouldn’t we just leave that choice up to the Sow?

Kou: Exactly. That’s why we called her over, so the two of you should talk it over and make a quick decision.

Ruki: ...I suppose it cannot be helped. That seems like the most time-efficient solution. 

Livestock, what did your family eat for Christmas?

Yui: Let’s see...I suppose Turkey or Roast Beef are both staples on any Christmas dinner table!

Ruki: You’re only naming meat...

Yui: Of course, we eat salad as well? Mixing in vegetables cut into cute shapes and such...

Yuma: The fuck does that mean? All veggies are the same, right?

Yui: You can use cutters to shape them like hearts or stars. I guess you’ll get an idea if we go to the deli counter...?

Yuma: Ready-made dishes?

Yui: Ah, I didn’t mean we have to buy anything, but I figured we could gather some inspiration.

Yuma: Geez, I thought ya were gonna take the easy way out. It’s a party after all.

So we’re obviously gonna make everythin’ at home from scratch, right?

Yui: Yeah! Of course.

Ruki: I suppose it’ll give us an idea of what we can make. Well then, let’s go buy the ingredients first.

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: I’m glad we got our hands on some delicious-looking meat!

Ruki: Yes. I’m looking forward to preparing it.

Yui: ( I managed to buy everything I need for the cake as well, so I’ll try my best at making it! )

( I hope they’ll like it... )

Kou: Say, let’s go pick out a tree next! The biggest one they have!

Yuma: Geez, are ya a lil’ kid or somethin’?

Yui: Fufu, you’re interested in decorating it, right?

Kou: I mean, it’s all sparkly and pretty, right? Just like me, no?

Azusa: Let’s buy lots of star-shaped decorations...

Kou: Come on, Azusa-kun. Don’t ignore me.

Azusa: Eh...? Ah, yeah...Sorry...

Yui: Do you like stars, Azusa-kun?

Azusa: Yeah...They’ve got these sharp and pointy ends...So I’m sure they’d hurt a lot...

Yui: S-So that’s why...

Ruki: Azusa, you better not think of tainting those stars with your blood.

Kou: Exactly! Today’s Christmas after all, a day you are meant to enjoy with your family!

Well then~ Which one to buy?

ー Kou runs off

Ruki: Oi, Kou. Don’t run off by yourself. 

I won’t allow for any extra purchases. We’ll only buy the necessities.

Kou: Eeeeeh~? Whaaat~? You cheapskate!

Ruki: I don’t mind being a cheapskate. This is important money we’ve received from that man.

I can’t be wasteful with it.

Kou: Well, I get where you’re coming from but...

Yui: ( Everyone seems to be having fun. )

( Like this, it almost seems like we’ve become an actual family... )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: Phew, we bought more than I anticipated.

Yuma: That’s ‘cause Kou kept on wantin’ to buy all this shit, right?

Kou: Eeh~? You’re blaming me? Fufu, I won’t deny it. However, we didn’t buy anything we didn’t need, right?

Yuma: I mean, we didn’t, I guess...

Ruki: Let’s go over everything one more time. Is this pretty much everything we need for the tree and decorations...?

Yui: Yeah! We’re all set!

Yuma: We’ve got the vegetables I grew at home as well, so this should do.

Kou: Aah~ We’re actually celebrating Christmas. I can’t wait!

Ruki: Kou, you’re being way too excited. Mind your manners.

Kou: Oh come on, let me be! I never got to experience this as a child after all!

Yuma: Well then, we’re gonna be busy once we get home~!

Yui: Speaking of which...Where did Azusa-kun...? Ah, there he is!

( I wonder why he’s just standing there? )

Azusa: Say, Ruki...

Ruki: ...? What’s the matter?

Azusa: I want this knife...

Yui: K-Knife...?

( Why is he holding a knife...? )

Kou: Hold up, Azusa-kun, where did you get that?

Azusa: ...Why not? I want this to give me pain... 

Yui: A-Azusa-kun! What are you saying...!?

Ruki: Azusa, go return it to the store.

Azusa: Please? ...The shape of this blade is so pretty, and it looks very sharp as well...

Ruki: No means no. Azusa, you have to put it back where you found it.

Azusa: No way....But I want it so badly...I can’t give up on it...

Yui: Azusa-kun...

Azusa: ...Come on, I want it, no matter what...

Kou: Azusa-kun! You don’t need a knife on a fun day like this!

Azusa: No...This is special...

Yui: ( What to do? Azusa-kun’s not giving in at all. )

Yuma: Oi, at this rate we’ll never make it back home.

Azusa: Then...Can we buy it?

Yuma: Just listen to Ruki for today. Ya can buy that crap whenever, right?

Azusa: ...

Yuma: God, listen up...

Ruki: Azusa.

Yui: ( O-Oh no...Ruki-kun started getting angry as well. )

U-Um, Azusa-kun...

Yuma: Ya stay out of this.

Yui: B-But...

Yuma: Geez, guess it can’t be helped. I’ll go bring it back with him.

Ruki: My bad, Yuma.

Yuma: Yeah. ...Come on, Azusa, let’s go.

Azusa: ...No.

*Rustle*

Yui: Ah! Yuma-kun! If you grab him by his collar like that, you’ll hurt him....

Azusa: Ah...It hurts...I can barely breathe...Haah...Amazing...Uu...

Yui: ( A-Azusa-kun is...happy? )

Ruki: Azusa, don’t cause Yuma too much trouble, okay?

Azusa: Yeah...

Yuma: Che! Ya say that but you’re already bein’ a pain in the ass! Come on, walk by yerself already!

Azusa: Nn, but...It’s suffocating...

Yuma: That’ll fix itself if ya just use yer own damn legs, no?

Azusa: It’d rather stay like this a little longer.

Yui: ( He’ll be okay, right? Yuma-kun’s with him after all... )

ー Yuma walks away with Azusa

Ruki: Let’s go. We’ll head back first and get everything ready.

ー Ruki starts walking away

Yui: Eh? Don’t we need to wait for them?

Kou: Yuma-kun may be with him, but knowing Azusa-kun...

Yui: ...?

Kou: Azusa-kun has a hard time letting go of things once they pique his interest.

Yui: I see...

( It might take a while until they get back... )

I hope it won’t turn into a fight.

Kou: Hmー I guess that’ll depend on Azusa-kun’s behavior?

Ruki: What are you two doing? Let’s go.

Kou: Roger~!

Yui: ( Yuma-kun’s actually quite good at looking after others, so we can leave this up to him, right...? )

*TIMESKIP*

 ー The scene shifts to the living room

Kou: Phew~ These were so heavyー

Ruki: Good grief, I’m exhausted...

Yui: ( We’ve got quite a lot of bags... )

Ruki: Well then, we’ve got no time to lose. Let’s start preparing.

If we procrastinate for too long, we’ll only waste time.

I’m heading towards the kitchen to get started on the food.

Kou: Gotcha~!

Guess I’ll get started with the decorations then.

Ruki: We’re counting on you.

Kou: Roger!

Yui: Ruki-kun, I’ll help out as well!

Ruki: Yeah, that would be great.

Kou: I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll make for us!

Yui: Mmh! I’ll try my best to make something delicious, okay?

*THUD*

Yuma: Honestly, I went through fuckin’ hell and back!

I’m never cleanin’ up Azusa’s mess again!

Yui: S-Sounds like they’re back. He seems really upset though. I wonder what happened...?

Ruki: I assume Azusa threw one of his stubborn tantrums. Oi, Livestock.

Yui: Y-Yes!

Ruki: Go pass on this message to them. Please tell them they should get started with their own tasks.

Yui: Yeah, sure. I’ll go tell them.

ー The scene shifts to the hallway

Yui: Welcome back, you two.

Azusa: If I don’t get that knife, I’ll...I’ll...

Yuma: Aah, let it go already! What’s so damn nice ‘bout that knife anyway!?

Azusa: ...

Yui: ( Seems like they don’t even realize I’m here. )

( That being said, if I leave them be, they’ll run late with their preparations. )

Um, you guys! Welcome back!

Azusa: ...Wah...You startled me.

Yuma: Aah? The fuck, Sow? You’ve been standin’ there this whole time? 

Yui: Yeah...Um, Ruki-kun has already started preparing everything, so he’d like the two of you to help out as well. 

Azusa: But, the knifeーー

Yuma: Ya really don’t know when to give up, huh? We’re done talkin’ ‘bout that!

Azusa: ...You blockhead.

Yuma: Speak for yerself!!

Yui: ( O-Oh no... )

( I can’t leave things like this. I have to stop them somehow... )

U-Um!!

Azusa-kun, Kou-kun has started on the decorations, so can I rely on you to help him with that?

Azusa: ...

Yui: Both me and Yuma-kun understand very well just how badly you want that knife...

But we have to get on with the Christmas preparations now, so I’d really appreciate it if you could help out...

Azusa: ...What about you?

Yui: Eh?

Azusa: What will you do?

Yui: I’m going to make the Christmas cake.

Azusa: ...Okay. I want to try your cake, so I’ll forget about the knife...For a while, at least...

Yuma: ‘For a while’, my ass! Forget ‘bout that thing forever!

Yui: Shh, calm down, Yuma-kun.

Azusa: I’ll go help Kou then.

Yui: Yeah, good luck.

ー Azusa walks away

Yuma: Heh. You’re really startin’ to get the hang of how to handle that guy, huh?

Yui: Y-You think so...?

Yuma: Well, whatever. Anyway, Ruki’s already in the kitchen, ya said?

Yui: Yeah, I think he’s getting everything ready to start cooking.

Yuma: I’ll go get some veggies from the garden then.

Yui: Ah, Yuma-kun! Could you maybe let me have some fruit to use for the cake?

Yuma: Roger. I’ll make sure to grab a few, so ya get yer ass over to the kitchen ‘kay?

Yui: Yeah, thanks!

ー Yuma walks away as well

Yui: Well then...

( I’ll try my best to bake the best cake ever as well! )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) While the holidays are often associated with family in the West, Christmas and especially Christmas Eve are strongly linked to couples in Japan. 

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