eachdraidh | [video;]

[ Someone's chilling in boxers in a steaming hot spring he'd obviously made for himself. Problem is, everything around him is covered in an ungodly amount of snow. ]

You never actually miss the sight of hot babes in short skirts and plunging necklines until your spire gets dumped in a place so cold Satan would probably freeze his butthairs off. On the bright side, I think I might've spotted a yeti. Or that might've been someone's mother-in-law, who knows?

[ Still, Johnny looks largely unaffected by the mildly unfriendly climate. He's fishing an egg out of the hot spring, cracking it on the ice. It's hard-boiled. ]

So, anyway, Gailleann's basically stuck in Everwinter. When life gives you snowballs, make an awesome sport out of it, right? [ He bites into the egg, chews carefully, then swallows and adds: ] If you're sick of the tropical, muggy weather and want to come by, the Spire's open to you. The fires are always burning in Gaillean. Just don't try to kill anyone, and we're good.

More importantly: there's a new skating rink that my guys just worked overtime to make, and a bunch of awesome slopes I spent days creating; go nuts on it and tell me what you think! I'm always a fan of continuous improvement.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ should come with a warning: don't try this at home. ]

It's a giant hairy monster. Kinda like Bigfoot.

Frightening. You may want to dress before facing such a beast.

Why? In case my grizzled manliness scares it away?

I was thinking more that it might look at all that unarmored flesh and decide to have a taste.

Well, it's a good thing I burn going down. [ He winks at her. Oh, which reminds him -- ] I'm Johnny Storm. What's your name?

Élise de la Serre.

[No reaction to the wink—perhaps it escaped her notice. Or perhaps not.]

I'm guessing we would have been on opposing sides before...all of this. How lovely it is to speak freely again and make new acquaintances.

Elise, huh? Lovely name.

[ He tilts his head at her. ] Yeah, pretty much. You were Seelie, then?

Thank you. My father thought so.

[Suspicions confirmed.]

I was. Apparently my soul was best suited for their ways, but I don't recall anyone ever asking me.

Yeah, it sucks, huh? But we're all good if you're not looking to kill me.

So, where did you get sorted to this time around?

Garnet. It seems our hosts have a liking for shiny jewels in this era. I suppose it's preferable to war.

Garnet, huh? I'm at Citrine.

Not so good if they start fighting over shiny jewels -- let's hope none of our hosts are magpies.

I think I could cope with greedy birds better than untouchable royalty. But for the moment, I'd rather adjust to the change in circumstances than challenge authority.