My Momma Didn't Raise... [November Open]

[somebodychildofanyone]

Who: River la Croix and YOU + 1 Closed
What: Obligatory forge prompt, gay gardening, coping
When: Early November (before the event)
Where: Places. Locations even. Possibly: spaces
Warnings: Discussion of the carnival quite possibly, and anything you bring in with you



And With The Other, Buy Hyacinths [Closed to Annabel]

The land for the flower garden still hasn't quite been cleared, but it doesn't need to be cleared to build the flower boxes, including some smaller ones for under windows. River's going to add some to her own home as well.

Flowers would be good to have, after a long day before fire and steel.

Though the wood and many other supplies had to be bought, River made a point of forging as much of the tools as she could herself. Even the nails, and gods in Arcadia, how she fucking hates making nails. It felt...right. River's leaning back to get a better look at what she's doing when one of the local crows swoops down and deposits an acorn in her lap.

Sorry Annabel, River will be back after these messages: extended laughter.

100% Asbestos Free [Infernal Arms And Armor]

Hey Vox is there gonna be a forge prompt every month YOU BET YOUR ASS THERE WILL BE. This month brings two new additions to the sign, though, hanging by short chains beneath the original INFERNAL ARMS AND ARMOR sign.

NOW OFFERING ENCHANTING SERVICES - INQUIRE WITHIN

&

NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOCAL DEMONS

I Could Use A Distraction [Oak & Iron, Social Visits]

River's sunk more than she has been to date into her grocery budget this month, and a lot of that upgrade is, I'll be real, liquor - more to have it if she wants it later than to tear through it now. Wanna invite her to a social function or like, out to dinner? She'll go. Looking to drop by? She'll host a guest. Or catch her at the Oak & Iron of an evening, shuffling an odd-looking deck of cards with a thoughtful expression and making a single glass of whiskey last more than an hour before even thinking about ordering another one.

Someone get her out of her own head, yeah?

Wildcard

Come at me I'm fucking jacked bro

Comments

[somebodychildofanyone]

River sticks her tongue out. "I can plant a tree for me and be as the cat is. But point taken."

She takes up her hammer again to carefully get these nails in completely straight. "You know, I've never actually gardened? Hope like hell the public library has some information on it, it'd be nice if we could figure out how to keep flowers year-round. Which, while I'm on this, public libraries? Wild to me as a concept. Books being that cheap is wild to me."

[witheredpeonies]

"And with Gerry working on printing and bookbinding, they'll stay affordable, too. I actually have a journal he made me, in exchange for some embroidery work." Annabel holds the boards that River is hammering steady, because she's a helpful trophy girlfriend.

[somebodychildofanyone]

What if River wants to be the trophy Annabel? She can pose! In sleeveless shirts!

"Gods, yeah. Unsung community hero, that guy. If I ever make the morally questionable choice of writing down my magical knowledge he's gonna get such an order." Tap-tap-tap-tap. "...You given any thought to the hangin' question of where you want this?"

[witheredpeonies]

"Some. No final decisions. I like the idea of window boxes on my shop, draw people in. Perhaps embroider curtains to match the flowers growing?"

There's a sense that she knows the question is layered. But she can't see all the layers, yet.

[somebodychildofanyone]

Alright River. We've been over this. There are many reasons not to propose moving in together, not least being that having Erik over in that situation will be awkward as hell bordering on an open insult until some things get resolved. Alright? Okay.

"That sounds beautiful," River murmurs. "It's been so nice working with you on this. The blacksmith in me's like, hey, invite her to help on the cloth components of armor." There's a guilty grin there. It's somewhat a joke.

Somewhat.

[witheredpeonies]

Behold, someone who has never worn armor: "Cloth components? Like...cloaks and things?"

Look, that is an invitation to infodump, honestly it is.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Well, that's not unrelated," River muses. "But there's layers to the job - padding, under-armor, cloth components that help bind the suit together and form like, the structure of it. There's a remarkable amount of cloth in even the heaviest armor 'cause you've gotta like...move in it...and not get heat stroke."

[witheredpeonies]

"And those cloth components need pretty embroidery?" A pause. "Actually, padding, quilting it makes sense."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Mmhm. And I think it'd be easier for you to learn this kind of tailoring than it would be for me to start learning it." River wiggles the box with a satisfied look; that's steady, it'll hold up. "But it's just a vague thought right now. I've had a whooping zero armor orders."

[witheredpeonies]

"I really do need to learn proper tailoring. Maybe I'll spend time with the local artisans who know cloth for a while."

But that's an upgrade for the near future.

[somebodychildofanyone]

A friendly nudge with an arm. "It's a goal to aim at, sure, but you won't catch me hounding you about it. Actually got the idea from back at home. Elf smiths, dwarf smiths, they're always in pissing contests, but in the name of our father I swear to you: they got us beat on armor...but their textile industries are garbage. Everyone pretends not to notice that dwarf armors got elf cloth in 'em and in return we all pretend not to notice elf weapons use dwarf steel."

[witheredpeonies]

"Well, when I learn, you'll be the first to see the fruits of my labor." Annabel leans in to brush a kiss on River's cheek gently.

[somebodychildofanyone]

River's head does its best to take off via rapid ear twitching; trying not to blush only makes her blush harder. "Hey um...change of topic but what do you usually do in winter? Y'all feast over the solstice at home? Gifts?"

[witheredpeonies]

"We have a holiday called Christmas. It's..."

...does she even want to try?

"...a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who walked the earth in the form of a man for thirty years before being sacrificed to save us all from sin. We have a large family meal and exchange presents and bring a pine tree into our home to decorate with strands of popcorn and tin ornaments and ribbons."

That sounds silly, in places, in retrospect.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...Y'all...only have the one god?" River's not sure she heard that right. "No siblings, creative peers, rival gods, nothing? A god without a family?"

[witheredpeonies]

“Well, yes, at least in the religion I was raised in. There are others with more, in less civilized parts of the world.”

Pause. Assess.

“I feel like this might be a dangerous conversation, somehow.”

[somebodychildofanyone]

"You did just implicitly accuse this place, as well as my home, and all of their cultures including by my count no less than nine separate gods, of being uncivilized." There is a Very Patient Raised Eyebrow.

[witheredpeonies]

"It's not like that, it's just that the places that haven't been civilized tend to have more gods, on average."

No, she hasn't thought through the effects of colonization and forced conversion as part of 'civilizing' the world. Not yet, at least.

By tradition I declare: damn OCs and their one-liners

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...Annabel. When you say 'civilized' where is this falling in terms of troop movements?"

[witheredpeonies]

“Ah…” The question seems to startle her. “I mean. It’s for their own good.”

Sometimes, writing for someone with unexamined biases like this is really embarrassing, for the record.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"It is wild to me hearing this since I grew up in and around the corpse of an empire that was getting real fuckin' frisky by the end there, dearest. Like. Real frisky. 'Giving orphans who died on the streets to the necromancers for more troops' frisky. Don't get me wrong, the successor states that grew out of the ashes aren't always great but like, in my experience the kinds of folks who can pay for armies don't have morally great problems they're solving. If the culture being spread is so self-evidently good you wouldn't need to spread it at swordpoint, yeah?"

Beat.

"For the record, not accusing you of personally raising armies."

[witheredpeonies]

"It'd be a silly accusation, considering women can't even serve in the armies in question." She smiles an empty smile, a placeholder expression. "If I'm honest, I don't know if the god my people worship is real, not in the same way the gods and demons here are."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...That sounds very lonely," River murmurs. "Mine never shut the fuck up, but even when it gets annoying it means we always know they're there, and they love us."

[witheredpeonies]

"We're told that the one God we believe in loved us so much that he gave his son, who died to absolve us--but only those of use who believe in him--from sin. And that's why it's so important that we spread the gospel, so others learn about him before they die and don't go to Hell."

Earth is a hellworld in so many ways.

[somebodychildofanyone]

Annabel, you are being Hugged. It is a spontaneous and concerned Hug, tight, with River's cheek nestled into your shoulder; her arms are, as always, so very warm.

There's no comment. Only Hug.