etraya | Un: TerribleTinkerer [Text]

This air, it’s so persistently damp and cold, it actually reminds me of the deep winter back in Whitestone. That familiar chill immediately makes me think about the last true Winter's Crest we shared, which feels like a lifetime ago.

I have no idea what day it is, and I deeply miss the clarity that comes from stable environments. Instead of the calculated, predictable focus that I crave, we are all stuck navigating this persistent absurdity.

And yet, even amidst this chaos, it is a profound relief to have those closest to me nearby. Our purpose here is critical, and we will see it through. I simply yearn for the day when I can return to my own structures, when I can enjoy the spiced cakes and pastries from home that fill the air during the holiday, rather than enduring this.

The celebrations back home are how my family anchors ourselves in history and peace. They remind us that all the madness eventually leads to quiet, ordinary life.

So, fellow travelers, what are the tiny, wonderful things you're missing? What is the equivalent festival or time of quiet for you? Tell me about anything that reminds you of a place that follows basic, sensible rules.

-Keylethus Pikegratia Taryon d’Shorthalt-Grogson, Heir to the Shattered Glory.

(P.S. If anyone has a recipe for a truly strong black tea, your help would be a tremendous relief.)

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There's a few good festivals where I'm from! We have Racereach in the summer, where everyone races each other. We also have Brightfest in early spring, where we play hrazhak and sing and dance.

Ah, Harry M'Egg. A... distinct nomenclature, if I may say so. Thank you for taking the time to write. Your words about home are positively grounding in this absurd environment.

The festivals you describe, especially Racereach, sound marvelous. A competition relying purely on physical effort is quite appealing, I must say. I confess, I envy the simple clarity of a victory based on pure physical effort. I'm afraid my own professional life rarely offers a challenge where the rules are quite so... straightforward.

Brightfest, with its games and dancing, speaks to a direct, uncomplicated joy that is truly commendable. It must be a marvelous relief to find such uncomplicated joy. There is a dearth of genuine, basic focus in our current situation, so keeping one's celebrations centered on the tangible and on shared community is certainly a virtue.

Thank you for reminding us that order and sense can be found in the most basic of stable rules, whether they govern a simple footrace or, regrettably, something far more arcane.

[Percy... That's quite a lot of words to expect Dwayne to read...]

Edited 2025-12-05 16:34 (UTC)

I have no clue what you just wrote, but I'm glad you seem to enjoy reading about the festivals from my home!

Ah, Harry M'Egg. I apologize sincerely. That was the professional assessment of an exhausted man who has been without a proper workshop for far too long. After years spent with my associates, I truly should have learned to use fewer syllables.

Let me translate: "Running and shouting good. Your life simple. I want simple."

We are currently navigating a great deal of chaos where the rules refuse to remain stable. To hear of simple footraces and clear rules of community is genuinely soothing. Thank you for that brief moment of clarity.

This place is terrible. Therefore, I am certain there is an Englishman around to answer your tea query.

Oh. Yes! Running and shouting is good! Those are my favorite things! That and running through the forest. Which is still running, now that I think of it.

My esteemed colleague, I was just thinking the same thing. The sheer audacity of this place, offending our collective standards so flagrantly, is truly unbearable.

I am about to embark on the delicate mission of procuring something suitable; perhaps you would care to accompany me? Two sets of discerning eyes are certainly better for ensuring the competence of any potential tea-maker. And should that initial mission fail, I would be amenable to shifting our focus to acquiring a more robust, liquid Plan B.

Harry, I am relieved the translation was effective. And yes, I concur that running through the halls does, mathematically speaking, count as running. That is precisely why the activity is so valuable here. In this environment, where the rules of reality are fluid, it is a tremendous comfort to know that certain physical laws hold absolutely true.

On a related note, since you have such a deep appreciation for movement, I must ask for an assessment of the current structural load-bearing integrity and any perceptible static anomalies in the area's immediate vicinity. Any navigational certainty is currently worth its weight in gold.

My sincerest apologies, Harry. I let my habitual convolution run away from me.

Look: Have you noticed anything particularly strange, loud, or wobbly about the walls or floors lately?

Tea is not my preferred beverage. I am French.

My dear. Your logic is utterly unimpeachable. I must confess, I failed to anticipate the full extent of your cultural predisposition toward aesthetic imperative. The mission profile has been officially altered. Forget the boiling of leaves; we now proceed directly to the acquisition of a robust, non-negotiable liquid Plan B. I rely entirely on your "superior" knowledge of what constitutes a suitable vintage for this clandestine endeavor.

[ She has the impression he's already indulged. ]

Do you favor overwrought wines as you do words?

I assure you, my clarity of mind is utterly unimpeachable. And I find your analogy to be a palpable failure of discernment. You are comparing a perfectly calibrated mechanism of precision (my speech) to a mere failure of aesthetic ambition (an 'overwrought wine'). My vocabulary is chosen for necessity; I find it rather tiresome that you confuse essential engineering with trivial indulgence.

Now, if you are finished confusing structural soundness with simple flavor, shall we locate this liquid Plan B?

» I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you don't mean things like the Moogle Chocobo Festival or the Assassin's Festival?

» Cause you said the *last* Winter's Crest, which makes me think that's a dry holiday. Sorry if it's one of the big holidays where you're from, but I've kinda never heard of it...

» What's it all about?

It is not your clarity of mind that I find wanting. You're an intelligent man. What is slightly distasteful is that your selected mannerisms give off the impression that you're insecure about your intelligence and that you desperately want approval from others. There is a difference between using the words that most suit the occasion and so overloading yourself with syllables that you come across as insecure.

I may have brought back some of our hosts' wine from the previous excursion along with the art. It is passable, if you would like to partake.

[He's relieved when the second part comes through, since the first part completely lost him.]

No. The walls and floors seem normal to me.

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