[audio]

[sahin]

If this year is any indication, does it seem petty to worry about more mundane things? Or would one consider it a breath of fresh air, as it were?

To think, there are parts of the country where the school year is already over. Divine luck, it seems.

[Commiserate with him.]

Though, on the other hand, I wouldn't be in academia, with all that that entails, if I didn't like it.

In any case, whether you take my whining with a grain of salt or not, the poet was wrong. May is the cruelest month.

Comments

audio

[youngestone]

Not gonna lie, I think I'd go nuts if I didn't have stupid shit to worry over instead of you know. Murder and death and aliens.

audio

[sahin]

Good evening to you as well, Mister Ryan.

And what, if I may, constitutes stupid shit?

audio

[youngestone]

I think your cousin invited me to dinner.

[He thinks]

You know, work, friends, my dad being embarrassing.

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Mundane is good. Better than worry about the world ending or something like that.

audio

[sahin]

Did he now? That's good to hear.

And embarrassing, you say? Dare I ask?

audio

[youngestone]

He's my dad. There's a million ways he can be embarrassing.

[sahin]

Much less stressful, that's for sure.

audio

[sahin]

[Sorry, Killian. He laughed.]

Effortlessly, it seems. It's almost enough to make one swear away children of their own.

audio

[youngestone]

Nah, if I'm going to swear off having kids it'll be for other reasons first. What was that about May, though?

audio

[sahin]

April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.

It's the opening of Eliot's The Waste Land. Highly recommend it.

audio

[youngestone]

It sounds like poetry.

audio

[sahin]

It is. Not too long, though. You can read it in ten minutes, fifteen at the most.

audio

[youngestone]

It also sounds boring.

audio

[sahin]

It's fun. There's sex, war, and the world gets destroyed.

audio

[youngestone]

Okay one, if I wanted any of that the television or the internet would be happy to provide. Two, poetry is confusing because nothing is ever straightforward in it.

audio

[sahin]

The Waste Land is more straightforward than most. By that token, less infuriating than most.

audio

[youngestone]

Nah, I'm good.

audio

[sahin]

Fine, fine. I'll just have to kidnap you, tie you to a chair, and read it to you. Harry Potter as well, while I'm at it.

audio

[youngestone]

Uh-huh, and have I mentioned that I have a full family of Numbered people, half of which are turning into deadly fighters? Do you really wanna?

[He's clearly joking, though]

audio

[sahin]

And all I have is a cousin. Dreadfully outnumbered. I suppose I have to find some more relatives.

You're your own army now, are you? Fascinating.

audio

[youngestone]

Dude, we're a fucking armory. Weapon pulses out the ass, I swear to god.

audio

[sahin]

I presume I would know this if I paid more attention to the network, but that makes no difference now.

Given the circumstances, those must be useful Echoes. Have you extended services to other Numbered - and on that subject, found any spears in the bathtub, or some such?

audio

[youngestone]

Yeah, we've had a training day or two. And no spears in the bathtub, but I did find a sword in my suitcase.

audio

[sahin]

That must have been exciting.

I assume those weapon Echoes came with the requisite skill. Have you worked on coordinating fighting styles at all, or just individual proficiency?

audio

[youngestone]

Pain in the ass, really.

[Hm]

We haven't, but maybe we should...couldn't hurt, at any rate.