2.22 Week

Sunday.

Newton doesn't know what to think of the painting of Junpei.

"Is he thinking, or is he shushing us?"

Monday. The cooking channel is much improved if The Red Baron launches a surprise attack.

Tuesday. As soon as he walks into this room, Newton's attention is captured by a single object. "What is that?"

"That? Oh, that's dangerous," Reve says casually, as if the floating rock isn't exactly what he wanted to see a reaction to.

"Yeah right. Is it a toy?"

"No. It's a long story. I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

"Should we be in here?"

"Probably not."

Wednesday. Junpei follows exercise instructions from the TV.

The snow has sent his poor garden into a hibernation state, and made traipsing through the woods to find space rocks dangerous and unwise, so he's feeling restless and cooped up.

Junpei managed to save a single plant.

He shares his worries with it.

Thursday. Finley decides to check out this winter festival thing.

Mab teaches Finley how to make a snowman.

Junpei has gotten the hang of skating. Elven ancestry, +5 agility.

Finley is distracted by Minzo Cho snowboarding.

She must try it herself.

Finley is allowed a turn.

Minzi Cho is Newton's mother. Minzi's marriage to Jag Alto only lasted long enough for one pregnancy, and now she's back to her maiden name. Minzi and Finley are workplace acquaintances, not friends. Minzi graduated from high school well before Finley and Reisa were there, and she's not terribly fond of all these young coworkers and their perfect hair and revealing outfits and slim bodies.

Roscoe was right. This is fun!

Higher! Higher!

Mab gets creative with the snowman.

Junpei doesn't like it...

Mab takes this opportunity to teach Junpei how to deal with the Grim Reaper.

Come on, Junpei, lighten up.

The sun is setting, and it's time to get home. Reve will already be there, working on his homework and eating leftover curry.

"I know you don't seriously think you can sneak up on me with that snowball," Finley warns.

Oh, he can't seriously be...

!!!

"Aaiiee! You're dead!" It's a laugh, a gasp, and an angry yell, all in one. "I'll kill you for real!"

Friday. Why is this place so dead on a Friday?

Finley dances alone.

Saturday. Junpei shares his mother's snowman-crafting techniques with Reve.

"You should make up a spell to bring these to life," Reve suggests.

"Very dangerous," Junpei says. "I don't want to trifle with that sort of thing."

'Booooriiiing," Reve complains. His uncle is unmoved.

The snowman is given dead branches for arms, a carrot nose, and a smile made out of rocks.


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Etc.: The narrator cannot decide how many agility points are appropriate.

2.21 Rainbows

"Here we are!" Mab announces. "The best view in town."

Reve knows why rainbows appear. Therefore he knows they have no true geographical location, and searching for the end of one is foolish. Still, he hops up to one of the telescopes to search, and to use his imagination. What IF he could find the end?

Junpei is melancholy today, as he tends to be when Finley spends days researching for her articles to explain their world, the weather, the grid. Her mood always affects him. "I look at the rainbow and I think about light going through water. Our ancestors looked at it and thought it was their creator... or a snake that ate children... or a bridge."

"Or the bow of a great archer," Finley says, after some silence.

"Yes, it is a shame Mom lost those giant multicolored arrows to go with it," Junpei pokes fun at his mother's preferred color schemes.

Reve points to indicate a structure in the distance. "That house looks kind of like a castle."

"It does, doesn't it?" Mab isn't even looking.

"You know a story." Reve perks up and glances at her expectantly.

"I know many stories," his grandmother answers.

"Did you catch any ghosts there?" Reve pries.

"I did." She caught Junpei there, and brought him home. Memories bubble to the surface of her mind and are allowed to drift back to sleep without being dwelt upon. Mab has to wonder how successful she is in hiding such jarring thoughts and mental images from her little grandson. Watching him frown, confusion spreading across his face, she suspects she isn't successful at all. "I will tell you the story one day," she promises. "But not today."

12°F outside, and Finley is found doing laundry in her swimwear.

We're left to assume that's all that was clean at the time.

Finley has been promoted to the brand new title of Weather Woman.

"Snow again. What. A. Surprise."

...Days later...

"Okay, seriously, I'd like to report on something else for a change! Please!"

"SPAAAACE CHANNEL FIVE!"

"What the... my job is nothing like that!"

Finley may not fight aliens and save pop stars in space while trying to boost ratings, but Reve still thinks his mom's job is kinda neat.

"I can help you take pictures," he offers.

"That's sweet, Reve, but photography is only a tiny aspect of my job." And usually someone else is taking the pictures.

Undeterred by his mother's response, Reve often 'borrows' her camera to play with, and that gets annoying, so Finley buys him a camera of his own.

"A Hikon QX series!" he shrieks, before he's even unwrapped it. "Just like yours!"

"Wrapping paper is wasted on you, isn't it?" Finley chuckles.

"No, I like the box," Reve assures her. "Thank you!"

Cameras, paints...

Reve's artistic trait manifests in several ways.

When the mayor has a house party, you show up, even if you weren't invited.
(Finley was invited, though.)

Finley and Vanderburg discuss politics while Minzi Cho attacks her adopted brother, Davy, with random criticisms.

Reve escapes from the boring adults and hangs out with Vanderburg's daughter, Thisbe. Her bedroom is very pink.

Thisbe tries to get Reve to go along with a complex game of make-believe.

Reve plays her game for a little while, then breaks continuity and the fourth wall by bringing up all the features on his new camera.

Smalltalk with Rusty Menon.

The cold. It's always about the cold. He's smiling so warmly, making so light of it, but deep down he wonders if the snow will ever stop, if countermeasures will fail, if they'll be buried and freeze to death.

...Wait what. Is Tommy saying something about her?

Finley checks on the children. They've migrated to another part of house.

"Do you see the opposing castle's army?" Thisbe asks.

Newton is much simpler to please than the others. True to Reve's words, they've become friends.

Newton has no siblings, and since his grandparents passed away his household is just him and his mother, so he's happy to come to the Archers' house to have someone to play with.

Though Archer can be a little strange sometimes.

"What do you mean," Reve widens his eyes scarily, "you don't think Nessie would be a horse's natural predator?"

Newton panics. "Uh... uhm..."

"Just kidding." Reve's expression brightens up again.

As for Dexter Abbot...

"Hey, Archer! Your hair is PINK!"

Reve blinks. "Yeah, so? Anyway, my Mom's thinking about traveling for her job again. But she wants to leave me with my Gran-Gran, and that's terrible."

"Why?" Newton only asks because it's the best way to prove they're ignoring Dexter.

"Other cities sound neat. I want to see them."

"Oh," Newton says. Of course. How obvious.







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Etc.: I'd like to point out how EA failed at rainbows.

The colors are upside down.