I get a little warm in my heart [mingle log]

[hellawrath]

Who: anyone looking for some wintery fun!
What: admiring mysterious icy artwork, warming up by campfires, making a fool of yourself while ice skating, snowball fights?? it's a snow party!
When: Jan 14 and on
Where: Enso, in and around the temple ruins
Warnings: snow-based violence

When you've had to deal with a literal apocalypse every single year for a hundred years, a little battle for the sun isn't really gonna grind your gears that much. Sure, the elf twins are still nobly doing their part every day. Lup is keeping several small campfires going inside the temple ruins, as well as periodically blasting two large stone slabs in the main chamber with a Fireball - those babies radiate heat for hours afterwards. And Taako is graciously handing out truly delicious soup from a huge bowl to anyone who asks nicely. Island Walmart is still a thing too, the large scrawled sign declaring this month's name to be The Hot Spot. Looks like it was Lup's turn on the naming.

But they're also just kinda bored of the whole thing? Like, everyone's so focused on preparing, on gathering and planning and training. There's a place for that, and Lup is pretty psyched for the actual fighting, but this pall of doom and purpose that's fallen over the islands as heavily as the snow? Neither of them is here for that.

So anyone who makes their way up to the temple will not only find the usual warm respite from the freezing temperatures, but also - a ten foot tall ice sculpture of a majestic as fuck unicorn rearing on its hind legs. And a smaller one of a figure with long ears hiding its face in the crook of its elbow, arms pointing upwards do we have a single modern day character who knows what dabbing is. Off to the side in a clearing, there's a twenty foot circle of clear ice that's just begging to be skated on. Just don't admire the artwork for too long, or you're gonna get noscoped with a snowball by a pair of horrible winter goblins.

Comments

[prettypurpleparlor]

Somehow, I'm getting that impression, yes. A shame, really- polite people might get dessert, after a meal.

[She feels better about teasing him now that he's looking well enough to smirk back at her, showing a bit more of her sense of humor.]

[ungrieved]

[Eyes narrow. All right, lady. You have his attention.]

What kind of dessert?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[With the calm confidence of one who knows her baked goods:]

Blackberry pastry.

[She's... kind of been saving that one for a while, busy as she has been making more practical food lately. But she gets the feeling he needs it more than she does.]

[ungrieved]

Never had one.

[Is he playing the pity card? Absolutely. He’s terrible. Please destroy him.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

Well, do you want to change that?

[What's the magic word, Gabe.]

[ungrieved]

Maybe.

[Magic shmagic he does what he wants. In theory.]

Maybe I can’t really miss something I’ve never had.

[prettypurpleparlor]

I suppose it's up to you whether that state of affairs continues, isn't it.

[ungrieved]

Not really.

[A sparkle to his eyes that dims in the same moment it forms, lapsing as he abruptly sits back, one hand dropping to his side to quest about for something to hold. There's nothing. Nothing but dirt floor, and he rakes at a fistful of the stuff in a woefully inadequate means of anchoring himself down.]

[Doesn't work.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet's amusement fades as she sees him lose spirit again, and she reaches out, gently putting one of her hands on top of his:]

You can, you know. All you have to do is ask.

[ungrieved]

[The contact still disrupts his equilibrium, pulls him free of the patina of self-imposed isolation that he really doesn't have any reason to persist in, now that he's flesh and blood. Still, he regards the point of contact with an atypically intense amount of focus.]

Does it matter?

...asking.

[prettypurpleparlor]

I think it does, yes.

[She keeps her tone light and conversational, but doesn't pull away, letting him try to anchor himself.]

Asking for something is making yourself clear and direct- it's saying that you want this thing, specifically, and making sure that other people know that. And asking permission instead of just trying to take something shows that you're considering other people's wants, too, which makes them more inclined to think of yours.

[ungrieved]

But what do I care what other people want? They're just gonna take what they want anyway.

[That's a genuine question, Muffet. Can I get a #yikes for a kid who's still learning what empathy is and why one should have it?]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[You can indeed. She briefly considers pointing out the moral factors involved, but decides that if he doesn't already understand those it's probably better to start with the practical aspects:]

Well, ideally you can find a way to make it so that both you and they get what you want. That way, they're working with you and making getting it easier instead of making it all that much more difficult by acting against you.

[Another thing he missed out on, unfortunately: all those children's cartoons that would've cheerfully informed him about the importance of teamwork.]

If people are going to keep trying to keep trying to take what they want anyway, you might as well find a way to make that benefit you, yes? Making things a bargain instead of a competition is a good way to get a great deal more than you can manage by brute force- you're making yourself relevant to them as a person, instead of simply another obstacle.

[ungrieved]

[Make it a bargain, instead of a competition. His brow furrows as he digests that, slowly - perhaps ponderously.]

So's that what everyone does? [It doesn't feel like it. That's not what Dad did. That's not what Natalie did.]

[...Mom?]

[It doesn't feel much like what she did either.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

That's what most people try to do, at least- sometimes they just aren't very good at it.

[Well, at least she's honest.]

And sometimes people just don't bother, but in the end they wind up being unable to do very much, because there are some things you simply can't accomplish without working with others.

[ungrieved]

[He's never needed to work with others before - never had to. It's always ever been him. Alone, quartered off in someone else's head, living in the boundaries of memory and the simmering resentment of a family at constant war across streams.]

People don't like me.

[People don't want to work with him; they want to cut him out. Shear him away. Erase him.]

[Forget he was ever there.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

I'm rather fond of you thus far, dearie.

[She's a people, last she checked.]

[ungrieved]

So was Mom.

[But they got rid of him, so she wouldn't have to worry anymore. And even once she started to remember, once that stroke of memory slid into her skull, it wasn't as easy as sliding back into the easy, well-worn paths of earlier times.]

[It's never that easy, it turns out.]

Was.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[There is undoubtably a sad and compelling story there, but Muffet suspects it would be unkind to ask. Instead, she offers:]

Well, that shows that you're certainly capable of making a connection, now we just need to work on maintaining it.

[ungrieved]

We?

[Wary. Suspicious. She’s been earnest enough, helpful enough, for now, but how long is that liable to last until she, too, learns to forget him?]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She smiles at him warmly.]

Well, I won't make you take my help if you don't want it, but it's always an option if you do. After all, I did say I was fond of you.

[ungrieved]

Well, I am very charming.

[Nice recovery. He can use this, can’t je? Certainly. He can. He can and he will.]

...all right. Fine. You can “help” me.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Welp, that seals it- monsters get attached easily enough even without express permission. Ghost boy's gonna have a hell of a time getting rid of her now.]

Why thank you, dearie.

[A thought occurs to her:]

Speaking of help, would you mind if I did make you a scarf and a hat, at least? I'm not certain how long this cold weather will last, but it'd be better to dress warmly while it does.

[See for example how he got here in the first place.]

[ungrieved]

[And he gets free stuff too. Not a bad idea, if he does say so himself.]

If you really want to, I guess. [But it’s said with just enough mock exasperation to ensure that it’s an exaggeration - a joke, even.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

Then I will.

[She smiles cheerfully, unashamed.]

It might take me a few days to make something to fit your size, but you can keep the scarf I already gave you. That way you'll have at least one thing warming you up in the meantime, and you can layer it with the rest.