|
>>
|
629f2e.jpg
Floating Sea
629f2e
You have no idea how Temmie comes up with half of the things she does.
Of course you agreed to take part in her gift exchange, and of course you were paired with people that didn’t exist. You’ve gotta give Temmie credit on how fleshed out she made your giftees though, the page she’d tossed at you was very well-written. You wouldn’t have expected her to write about Clone Super Soldiers of all things. Seems very off-theme for her.
It was nice of her to give you all of this to work with, but you almost wish she hadn’t. There’s a sense of Obligation weighing you down now to get something fitting for these two. It’s stupid, considering these aren’t real people, but then you consider that Temmie is real. You don’t want to make her feel like you aren’t respecting her game, do you?
Of course not. You agreed to participate, so you have to play along.
Still, you have two people to find a gift for, and you can’t even come up with something that’d make one of them happy. As much as you hate to admit it, you need help. There’s no way you’re going to make the time limit otherwise, what with you only having a day.
Luckily for you, there is someone you could ask. You older brother, Saihu!
He’s always someone you can rely on, though you tend to feel bad when you do. You’re taking up more of his time, and he’s already helped you plenty before. Even if he says you aren’t bothering him, he could just be saying that to be polite...
You nearly wear down your socks pacing around your room anxiously. You can’t waffle on the decision forever though, as you simply don’t have time. In the end, you ask for his help.
His immediate response to your giftee’s information is... predictable for him.
Saihu: “Nickel is definitely a Capricorn, and I read Astrolysis as an Aries, possibly a Saggitarius.”
Julong: “D-Does that give you any ideas on what they might like...?”
Saihu: “It tells us many things about them... but um, not that exactly.”
You sigh. He quickly pats you on the shoulder resassuringly.
Saihu: “It’s okay! We can figure something out together. There’s plenty to work with here. Temmie must have put a lot of thought into these.”
Julong: “You know her, she’s really creative... Her fortunes still give me shivers.”
Saihu: “She never did tell me her divination methods... She’s such a Pisces, and I’m sure about that one since we know her birthday is–”
Saihu: “Wait... Eureka! I had an idea!”
Julong: “You did? What!?”
Saihu: “Chew Toy!”
Julong: “...Huh?”
Without explanation, he rushes out of the room. You chase in hot pursuit, yet he’s already pulled down the attic stairs by the time you catch up. You follow him up into the musty room, as he explains his thoughts.
Saihu: “I checked some of the old boxes here last month looking for our telescope, and I remember one of them containing a bunch of old dog stuff.”
Julong: “But neither of the sheets made it sound like they had pets.”
Saihu: “True, but Astrolysis’ description made her sound like a Big Dog. Hairy, likes to roughhouse, friendly, undiscerning flavor palate, limited sight...”
Julong: “Limited sight?”
Saihu: “She’s blind, and dogs are colorblind. It connects!”
Saihu pulls over a box and flips it open. He quickly pulls out a blue cartoon-bone shaped rubbery chew toy. He squeezes it a few times, remarking on its firmness.
Julong: “I... You do have a point. Do you think Temmie will agree with that? I don’t want to misinterpret the characters and upset her.”
Saihu: “Well, what do you think? If you think it’s bad, we can try something else.”
Good question. Astrolysis is definitely more fleshed out than a simple pet, that much you’re sure about. Treating her like a dog wouldn’t be correct. However, in terms of whether or not she’d actually like the chew toy...
Julong: “...Maybe she really would. What about Nickel though? I’m supposed to get something they could both like.”
Saihu: “Hmm, she’s tougher. What does she really enjoy, besides doing her job well?”
Julong: “Well, she’s sort of friends with Astrolysis, but they have really different tastes. Still, they spend time with each other, so there has to be some common ground...”
You run your hand across your leg in circles, processing those facts. Suddenly, one thought rams to the front of your mind. You dig through the box Saihu dragged over and pull out a Collar and Leash, as well as a Tennis Ball. An idea had struck you.
Julong: “Maybe some things they could do together?”
Saihu: “That could work. Why don’t we just dump all the non-dog stuff out of this box and just wrap it up?”
Julong: “Is mom okay with that?”
Saihu: “We can ask during dinner. Before that, let’s find where she keeps the wrapping paper...”
|