YOU Get A Big Banana, and YOU Get A Big Banana, and YOU Get A Big Banana! [closed post]

[summerdude]

"Okay, just another minute," Magnus says.

It's a hot day out, so holding Galahad's hand is a sweaty affair... and Magnus's current use of his alf seidr isn't making matters any more comfortable. The grass is tickling at Magnus's back -- his shirt has ridden up while he lies, spread-eagle, in the middle of the lawn. Galahad is always so smart about his clothes, Magnus bets he's not getting the grass itches at all.

But he can put all that aside. Grass tickles are good tickles, and the heat of the sun is -- to Magnus -- always more refreshing than it is annoying. There's a trickle of sweat at the side of his neck, but even though it's hot out it's not really a temperature extreme, so as usual he feels regular about it.

All his attention is on the plants around them. Feverfew and milkweed, black-eyed susan and queen anne's lace, aster and boneset and flowering spurge and yarrow and tickseed and teasel and wild thyme and forget-me-nots and poppies and and and -- well. He's not sure what else is in the mix. He's been trying to get better at plant identification with Claudius's guidance, but the package he found earlier that morning only said FIELD SEEDS. He's doing his best! Right now, his 'best' is less focused on identification and more focused on growing them to flower, high enough that some of them are providing shade to both him and Galahad, in a very neat outline of the grass they've politely crushed between the two of them.

Eventually, he's done all he can without overtaxing the plants. "There," he tells Galahad. "Summer snow angels, check."

Comments

[summerdude]

"I told you I don't come off great in this story," Magnus says, sounding a little grim about it.

[onthewillowsthere]

"I'm angry that they made you leave."

[summerdude]

"Those kinds of places have rules," Magnus says, with a half-shrug. "For a reason, I guess. I broke 'em. I knew the consequences." ...ish. The Chase Space has different rules. If a kid breaks something, Hearth or Blitz take them aside for a conversation. It's only if the bad behavior is persistent, without changing in some way or another over time, that it becomes a problem.

[onthewillowsthere]

"Not all rules are just."

[summerdude]

"They sure aren't," Magnus says. "I mean, at least my extreme temperature tolerance was one of the things I had, like, pre-death, but the shelter didn't know that." He'd also, at the time, maybe kicked a hole in the wall on his way out.

[onthewillowsthere]

His lips press even thinner. "I hate it," he tells Magnus.

[summerdude]

"We can blame the Little Drummer Boy for these atrocities," says Magnus, realizing as he says it that it's not a good joke. But the only way out is through! "Pa rum pa pum pum."

[onthewillowsthere]

He tilts his head slightly; he might as well say Explain like Lan Wangji.

[summerdude]

"It was the carol that broke this camel's back," Magnus says. "It's really obnoxious and it plays like two million times a day in December."

[onthewillowsthere]

"It's a modern hymn?"

[summerdude]

"I... don't know that I'd call carols hymns," says Magnus, thoughtfully. "What makes a hymn a hymn?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"A hymn is a song of prayer. Usually there is rhyme, unlike the Psalms, and many verses and a chorus."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, I don't think a lot of carols have a lot to do with prayer."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad draws his brows together. "What else is the point?"

[summerdude]

"Annoying the shit out of me?" Magnus guesses. "Like, they're about Christmas, but most of them aren't about, like, god or the christ my-- story, either. Lots of stuff about Santa Claus"

[onthewillowsthere]

"Santa Claus?"

[summerdude]

"Yeah. He, like, brings presents for every good kid. Allegedly."

[onthewillowsthere]

"The three wise men bring gifts to honor the Christ child. Is it because of that?"

[summerdude]

Magnus shrugs. "Heck if I know," he says, apologetic. "I think I'm probably the worst person here to ask besides, like, Sunny," who is a Jewish baby, "and the people who aren't from Earth."

[onthewillowsthere]

"What else is done for Christmas in the future?"

[summerdude]

"Well," says Magnus, as they reach the edge of the beach, "Mom and I would always get Korean food from the place downstairs and watch movies, and she'd usually get me a present or two so I wouldn't feel left out when the kids at school all bragged about theirs. Or sometimes, if the weather was right, we'd go snow-camping. Most people would do, like, a tree though. With lights. And I think stockings? They're supposed to be by the chimney so Santa can fill them. I guess some people go to church. Maybe a lot? Some kids would talk about going to church for Christmas and Easter and I think that's it. And there's the songs, obviously. Lots of people decorate the outside of their houses with, like, twinkling lights."

[onthewillowsthere]

In Camelot, the end of Advent and the beginning of Christmastide was a cause for endless celebration. Twelve days of feasting, of a shocking amount of drinking, of singing, of mumming, of pagan frivolity.

A time to remember that he was unlike everyone else -- that he was not permitted to feast, or drink, or be frivolous. Even Percival would join in, because he was allowed, because God was not sitting on his shoulder and speaking into his ear to remind him of his glorious purpose. Galahad would try not to be envious, and he would fail, and have as much to repent of as any drunken reveler.

He can barely remember Percival's face; he only remembers his long red-gold hair, and how when he was drunk on Christmas wine he would hug Galahad tighter and longer, as if he never meant to let go of him.

It barely sounds like Magnus' Christmastide, with gifts and lights.

Most of the time now he doesn't miss Percival. He's become so accustomed to his new life, and all the people in it, and sometimes there are whole days where he doesn't think about Percival. When he does, it's to hope that he's given up the Grail, that he spends his days riding the cliffs to look for seabirds. But right now he feels Percival's absence like a keen-edge ache. For so long Percival was there for everything that happened to him; he was never alone. Everything about the world Percival would understand, because he lived the same way. He would have to explain anything, because Percival would know.

It's not fair to Magnus, and he knows that. With an effort, Galahad nods and pushes away his feelings. They're not what he wants right now.

[summerdude]

But Magnus notices the slight, soft change in Galahad -- of course he notices; Galahad is his best friend, and often quiet, but also extremely expressive if you know how to look, and so Magnus pays attention. He doesn't want to miss anything. Plus there's been a little weirdness to the vibe, which Magnus doesn't fully understand and mostly assumes comes down to the fact that Galahad is married now, which is a whole different category of life that Magnus has never had interest in being part of even though his relationship is the longest-lasting one here, or maybe because of the adoption thing, or maybe because Magnus keeps meaning to swing by training and participate one of these days, but he still has weird nerves about it and so hasn't done that yet. But it's fine, if he studies Galahad long enough without asking, surely he'll be able to read between the lines.

All this to say: Galahad is having an emotion that he doesn't want to talk about. So Magnus pulls him in for a hug, and says, "Maybe we can ask everyone about their traditions and think of something nice to do when it's time?" in a way that means, I especially want to make sure to do nice things for you.

[onthewillowsthere]

"I don't know," quietly. "It won't be the right time of year. I don't think it will feel right."

[summerdude]

Magnus considers this. "Do you think," he ventures, one hand curled over Galahad's shoulder, "it's more important to keep the days and calendar from, like, earth, or should we set up something here that's based on this calendar? Like... make winter start with a Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year/... I guess Muslim holidays follow more of a lunar calendar. Anyway, that kind of thing. And ending Dark with an Easter/Purim/Passover/maybe-Eid sort of thing. D--Sagramore and Laertes did that Wanderers Gather at the start of last winter..."

Frankly, he doesn't care either way. He just wants Galahad to have what he needs.