The Journal of Bashir Khatara

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 2nd

Pirouz treated me to some kuku sabzi. It was supposed to be a casual affair, but then he had to ask me one of the most difficult questions that I've ever been posed with!

"What about mashru?"

Why would you ask me that on a second date?! Obviously he knows more about textiles, since it's his job, so it's just a tiny little bit unfair to ask something like that... I'm still wondering if it was a trick question! But I just answered honestly, because that's what I do these days, I guess... I don't really like blends that much! I know that they serve a purpose, but why would I go for a cotton-silk blend, when I can just have pure silk?! I can afford it! There's nothing decadent about silk, either! It's an absolutely wonderful material, and a sheer silk is the perfect fit for my perfect skin...

So, he just nodded along as I gave my reasoning, I don't even remember half of what I said because my heart was racing and I didn't want to disappoint him... Then he just smiled vaguely when I finished, and asked me how the kuku was! It was delicious, by the way, but I do have to wonder if I gave the wrong answer... About blends, not the kuku, the deliciousness of which cannot be denied!

If I did, it wasn't wrong enough to stop third date from happening, because we're meeting again next week.

Anyhow, there was yet another Purple meeting. I don't really know if we accomplished anything. I also don't know if Nabuko just craves attention or if she genuinely cares about outdoor furniture that much... Now, granted some of the trash that people leave outside is simply dreadful, but what's wrong with someone having an absolutely delightful chaise longue on their balcony...? It's their balcony! It makes the city look better! If you want to lounge on your balcony in utter comfort, you should be allowed to do so!

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 3rd

A few more weeks and it's been half a year since I arrived in this dump... Time goes by fast when you're surrounded by a barrage of bullshit, I guess! Anyhow, this election has people really desperate, since they actually care about my vote. Which isn't very common. Some of the attempts to sway me have been pretty manipulative, which has me considering not voting at all! But I want that sticker...

There was the Assembly, which was the usual nonsense. The allotment dance had a few more steps to it than usual. Maybe I should actually dance while going between the Legates? Would get some exercise, I suppose... At least the Stele was responsive, and didn't overheat and blow up or something. People don't really know how to help those refugees...

HOW WOULD YOU AID THEM?

Me? I mean I'm not saying that I know, either... Should at least get one of the districts started without any of the stupid factionalism, which is impossible, so... At least get them some food? I'd go there and just help directly, but what can I do...? I don't know anything about medicine, and if they see a fancy boy like me there, they're going to think that they're being mocked... So, I just make donations in the hopes that the dinari isn't stolen by some greedy asshole. Which is probably impossible to avoid, too!

Anyhow... I sent Zain a letter! I love writing letters, even though picking perfumes for everyone in the Well is so difficult! I really, really hope that he's actually doing well... Magnifica delivered his reply... SHE STOLE MY SALAD! I was looking forward to eating it, too! What a greedy little hen!

Abandoned character ideas for Hardacre

Guy who's everyone's dad

Guy who really likes churning butter with other guys

Guy who won't date anyone unless they have a portrait of themselves

Guy who wants to get Stern's disease on purpose

Guy whose aspectral prism is empowered through his nightly escapades

Woman

Guy who's exceptionally feminine, yet gets incredibly offended when another man flirts with him, the absolutely confusing bastard

Guy who comes up to you at a tavern and insists on describing the vomit on his shirt in elaborate detail despite your protests

Guy who gives unwanted criticism on your tasteful doshala, the silken one in peridot with the golden floral pattern, the one that everyone with actual taste compliments, and he does this despite having the fashion sense of a brain damaged baboon, illustrated by the fecal rags that he wears, which he probably scavenged out of a trash barrel while spaced out on scorch, the absolutely audacious bitch

Woman (more complex)

[close]

A DREAM

THE HOMES OF PARASITES GRIND TO DUST. SCATTERED AMONGST THE WATERS, A RENEWED OCEAN SHIFTS TO A RUSSET BOG. DEVOURING THE GREEN GRAVEL, A TEMPEST MOLDS THE AMALGAM INTO A SABLE SLUDGE. SO DARK THAT IT SHOULD BE NOTHING, YET IN THE HANDS OF SOME IT IS EVERYTHING.

THE WIZENED CHANT THEIR WORDS, THE BLOODED THEIR ANCESTRY. NOTHING. EVERYTHING. MORE THAN BOTH.

AN ENSORCELLED SHEEN, GIVEN TO EACH. A SPARK, TO ONE AND ALL.

DIMINUTIVE WELLS, SEALED WITHIN A LARGER ONE. HOMES WITHIN A HOME.

THE WARBLER WELCOMES THEM. IT HUNTS FOR THE RAINBOW, YET RECEIVES MORE.

[close]

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 4th

Those Astronomers are always inventing stuff! However, most of it's just weaponry or stuff that looks at the stars in a bunch of different ways... So, I wanted to come up with a few more practical ideas! First, is the invention that I call the washing... barrel... It's a barrel where you put your clothes in, that stands on a wooden platform! Then, you add the water and the soap, and shut the head! On the side of the barrel, there's a crank that you turn, which makes the barrel spin! It's for washing clothes!

HOW DID YOU ENVISION SUCH A CONTRAPTION?

Well, I got the idea from the old hin tradition... Where you get into a barrel and roll down a hill... I think they call it... barrel rolling. I don't know, I didn't grow up in Luiren! Anyhow, I was always so jealous that I didn't get to do that, and I figured that the barrel spins really quickly, much faster than you can turn clothes in a basin by hand! Granted, you still need someone with strong arms to turn the crank, I guess...

FASCINATING. WHAT ARE THESE OTHER CONCEPTS?

Well, the second idea is a tinier barrel that you put some water and soap in, then you drop in your bijous, close the head and shake it by hand! Shake it brisk, shake it fast! I call it the bijou barrel! It's for washing bijous!

HOW MANY OF YOUR INVENTIONS INVOLVE BARRELS?

About eight!

DO ALL OF YOUR INVENTIONS INVOLVE BARRELS?

Yes...

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 5th

Caring...

I don't know if the worst thing about showing that you do care is the thousands of people abusing the fact by asking "you do care, don't you?" at every possible opportunity, or the fact that you actually do find yourself caring about every single minor thing to such an extent that it feels more of a burden than a virtue.

Maybe it's terrible that I even ponder these things in such a fashion. I do not

I do care.

How do you show that it's genuine, though? How do you make someone care about themselves as much as you do? Is "make" even the correct word? I do not want to force him into anything. And how do I know that he doesn't, already...? Is measuring these things by such standards inherently selfish...?

Apathy is the greatest drug of them all, and I do not know if weaning myself off it completely is worth it or not.

It probably is.

But it hurts.

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 6th

Sephidra hosted a charitable feast for the downtrodden refugees... Which was pretty confusing because all the Voiced kept eating all the food, too! Now, I'm a hungry boy, but even I could stave off my cravings for the occasion! People are so weird here! Everyone complains about me being "rich", and then they behave like affluent little pigs themselves! Do better!

Even among the refugees, there was trouble, and it came in an enormously rotund form: Big Puffin! He kept eating everything! The other refugees barely got a crumb! And then Hamdan shouted something about him eating the tables, and I asked Big Puffin not to do that, and then everyone thought that I thought that poor people eat tables... I obviously don't think that! I was poor for most of my life, and I certainly didn't eat tables!

However, Big Puffin belongs to another group that is actually suspect: fat people! I don't know what fat people eat, because I don't have any fat friends, and I'm not fat myself, and I never will be, because I actually take care of myself! So maybe fat people do eat tables! Or maybe I am simply ignorant of the ways and traditions of the fat people, but they have to be eating something strange to grow so large and corpulent... I can eat like three panfuls of shakshouka in one go without gaining any weight, so they obviously must be doing something horribly wrong!

Then the affair ended because of a double groknak or double Qa'imi drones or whatever, I don't know, there were some meetings about it and I missed all of them. Which I guess means less work for me, in the end. It's still really embarassing when people close the door on me...

Also, I did pretty good at Meadow's trivia game! It was really fun! I want there to be more trivia nights! But knowing the people here... It would be about philosophy, or maths, and it would be simply dreadful! The categories should be about fun things, like famous people, food, fashion, flowers, games... Can a trivia game have questions about other trivia games? I think that would just get confusing...

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 7th

Either yesterday was utterly uneventful, or I managed to get so zotzed that I just don't remember anything... I have someone's handkerchief, it certainly isn't mine, because it's nowhere near as decorated as it should be... Inky, do you know what I did yesterday?

BESIDES OBSERVING A FEW THRILLING GAMES OF "ROCK-IN-BOX", YOUR DAY CONSISTED MOSTLY OF REPETITIONS OF THE USUAL ROUTINE. THE LACK OF ATTENTION DURING THIS, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS YOUR "SWEET PEACH" EYESHADOW, PRODUCED SUCH A STATE OF SULKINESS IN YOU THAT YOU DEEMED IT PRUDENT TO GET EXCESSIVELY INTOXICATED.

Oh, that explains a lot! I worked so hard on that makeup... Do you know who this handkerchief belongs to...? Was it a strapping gentleman?

I CANNOT NAME THEIR IDENTITY, AS YOU ABANDONED ME HERE BEFORE RUNNING OFF... BUT FROM WHAT I COULD DECIPHER FROM THE DRUNKEN RAMBLINGS THAT YOU SPOUTED UPON YOUR RETURN, BEFORE FALLING ASLEEP ON THE SETTEE... YOU STUMBLED ONTO A CELEBRATION OF SOME SORT, WHERE YOU PROCEEDED TO JOIN A DABKE LINE, WHICH YOU STARTED LEADING, WHICH OFFENDED THE HOST, PURPORTEDLY BECAUSE YOU "DANCED FAR BETTER THAN THAT CLUMSY OAF", WHICH CAUSED YOU TO BE EJECTED FROM SAID OCCASION.

YOU SEEM TO HAVE ACQUIRED THE HANDKERCHIEF DURING THE DABKE. YOU RETURNED ALONE. YOU ARE A TERRIBLE ROOMMATE. YOU INTERRUPTED MY READING OF THE COLLECTED WORKS OF AMÉLIE TERROIS WITH YOUR INEBRIATED GIBBERISH.

I am not a terrible roommate! Besides, we aren't even roommates! You're my familiar! Which makes me your – actually the usual term for that kind of relationship is kind of weird, especially considering my past and the fact that you're sentient... Still, you live in the inkwell, I don't live there!

DOES ANYONE HAVE JUST A SINGULAR HOME?

Fine! We're roommates! At least until I come up with a more suitable way to describe our weird relationship... Anyhow! Dabke... I must've been the talk of the town! Or neighborhood. Or alley. Wherever I went. Was I even in the Well...?

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 8th

Despite our many protests, Martin keeps storing his lunch inside the office's storage cabinet... This time, some ink had spilled onto his sausage roll, which he promptly ate. Of course that gave him an upset stomach and he was gone for most of the day! Now, I get it, sausage rolls are delicious, but there was ink on it! Sometimes it's time to let go! And not of your bowels, either!

Richo's setting up a refuge for all the caravaneers... It's in that ruin near the Gate of Roses! He had obviously put in a lot of work into it, so I'm certain that people will find it useful during ash storms... I do wonder if that talking slime actually lives there, though...? If it does, it better not whisper creepy things into people's ears while they're sleeping! Creepy talking slimes should leave people alone!

WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU – OH. CONTINUE.

Among his desperate campaign promises, Domhnall had the gall to give Hamdan a stipend for his paper, even though he refuses to give me a raise! What an arsehole! If I got a raise, I'd put it towards more important things, such as the new district, a cat for Zain, a new evening robe (silk, obviously), toys for those Rose orphans, new brooms for the Nadiri because they don't have any money, another cat for the orphans, some money to the Palatial Custodial Staff lunch fund so that they can have lots of tasty food, a third cat for myself... Hamdan's just going to buy some varnish for his pegleg!

I think Domergue's dead! She said that she was never coming back, before wandering off into an ash storm! I tried looking for her stash of potent potables, so that I could donate them to the people of the Tablet, but I couldn't find it... Why did the Rose think that I was going to steal those fine vintages?! I was obviously trying to find them before Aurelio could! He'd just drink all of it down, all in the span of an hour... He'd ignore the cries of the poor Tablet dwellers, who'd have nothing to drink at all! He'd probably drink it all in front of them, too! The Balladeers do that a lot!

People are so impressed by the Starboy! Sure, he disarmed a bomb, but did he donate thousands upon thousands of worm meat to the hungry...? Not to my knowledge, but the Worm Knight did that, so... I'm rooting for the Worm Knight, instead. Maybe the Starboy and the Worm Knight can duel, or something, to decide who's the better hero. The Starboy is so schlubby that the Worm Knight would probably win, though. Unless he's schlubby too. He does work in the gutters, so it would make sense... I guess they can have a schlub-off.

And last yet most importantly... Amélie wrote a poem for me! I was so touched that I needed a moment alone for tears of joy... It's not the first time someone's written one for me, but it's one of the few times where it was actually good! I think it's the happiest I've been in months... She's so talented!  I wish I could give her something as amazingly emotional in return, but that's basically just art and I can't... do... art. Unless it's shoddy satire that nearly gets me killed! And I don't think she's the audience for that. Maybe I can find something related to Kula!

I WISH TO VIEW THIS POEM IMMEDIATELY! PLACE IT UPON THESE PAGES NOW!

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 9th

Domhnall won his re-election, which means two more months of...

    • Me not getting a raise!
    • Me not knowing whether his compliments are genuine or just manipulation!
    • Me and my colleagues having to worry whether or not his guests are going to set fire to something!
    • Him yelling obscenities at people over minor disagreements!
    • Him brandishing his gun at each and every opportunity!
    • Him having strange visions that just might save an orphan or two, or simply make you worried about his mental state!

Anyhow, judging how some of the Lilies are talking, it seems that I'm not going to be welcome in his office, anyway, so... Less work for me, I suppose. Maybe they can find another stooge like Yavuz. Who, I have to add, disappeared without a trace, so... Maybe find someone with the mental fortitude required for the job, this time?

Not that I'm naive enough to think that Sephidra winning would've been much better, everyone who runs for the Seats has their quirks... Which is the kindest way to say that someone is a tad batty. Then again I'm not sure if they're all like that before becoming Legate or if it's an occupational hazard...

I don't know, maybe I'm just being harsh, because I feel so guilty... I think my letter made Zain uncomfortable. I don't think saying that I just wanted to help will excuse any of it, because I don't really know how to help others, I guess. Which feels awful. I don't really know just how much you are supposed to do for a friend before you start overextending. But I genuinely want him to be happy... I guess I just don't know what that means for him.

I wish I did.

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 10th

Marcellus had so many bookcases to begin with, and now he has yet another! I wish I had more time to read the contents... Then again, I wish they were easier reading, as well... Something happened to his door, too, but I missed it... I am so curious! Where did his door go? Maybe it got tired of all the rude people just walking in without announcing their business after knocking, and ran off! I mean, I've seen a bunch of animated objects in the Well, so a door wouldn't really be that different...

Reduced to a waiter during Domhnall's reinauguration... How utterly demeaning. At least I didn't have to actually serve the drinks... Reminded me of the Pasha's soirees, in a way. A whole bunch of stuck up people, patting themselves on the back for all the good that they're doing, despite not doing anything towards that end. Not in meaningful ways, anyhow... It did feel satisfying, though, being one of the only two people in the Chamber to know the juiciest secret. He doesn't know either... and I'm not going to tell him.

I did tell Akna later, though. Because at least she treats me like a person...

Anyhow, the occasion was interrupted by the Tormented making a whole bunch of noise down below, again. It was so frightening! So much quaking, and the Pyramid was dark as a cave again... And like usual, dozens of people went down into the narrow passages of the gutters, all clumped together, because that's really smart.

I might not be getting that raise, but I did win a 100 dinari from Royal Dragon... So I decided to buy some knitting needles, a sewing kit, some yarn, some fabric... I'm going to learn how to knit and sew! I've just patched clothes a few times before... This will probably take a long time, but at least it'll be something to take my mind off all this irritating nonsense...

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 11th

Pirouz showed me some of his more recent stock... Cambric and fustian. I got plenty of ideas for what I want to do when I actually have a modicum of talent with handling them, but... Was that fustian ever heavy! I tried picking up a bolt and just barely managed lifting one side of it! Pirouz was cackling! It was so embarassing, I need more exercise... Granted, it was a really big bolt, but still! Now, for the cambric, I want to start simple, and make a really cute peach colored shirt, loose and short sleeves... No detailing, again, simple... I should just draw this.

The problem is that this idea alone gave me a thousand different ones, and learning a new skill at my age is going to take forever, unless a lucky coconut falls on my head, again. I just want to commit these ideas to form!

I mean, I'm not that old, but I've already lived like a... sixth of my life! That's a lot!

As for dinner... Pilaf. I love pilaf! I had mine with beans and goat meat, and it was so delicious. I guess I could try mixing it with some salad, but... That would get ridiculous. I can't just eat salad all the time...

I mean, I could, but that doesn't mean that I should.

Lovely conversation, too! I learned about one of the ways to get red dye... Kind of disgusting, really. But then again ink involves bugs, too, so... Why does everything have to involve bugs? The only bugs I like are bees, and those cute little fluffy spiders with adorably round eyes! Anyhow, he didn't just talk about mushing up bugs, so the conversation was lovely, it's just the topic that I remember the clearest... I mean, we were talking about prickly pears and how tasty they are before he just had to inform me about this. We talk a lot about food. I like talking about food!

Oh, I guess I did some work, too, but it was so boring. How would I know the names of everyone working for the Office of Announcements? They have so many people. It might be the biggest office, for all I know. I think they just toss a coin to decide who makes the announcements, anyhow. It's what I'd do. Also had to write a letter, because I got paid to do so... I don't know. I'll probably get yelled at for doing that, because people assume that I care about the subject matter. I really, really, really don't...

I just want the treasury to be full so that people can have nice things...

And I want people to stop pestering me about said subject...

And I like being paid for doing things, because then I can be the one giving people nice things! Granted, "people" does include myself, of course!

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 12th

Might as well start printing these notices under the name of my office... Maybe then people will stop asking me about the law all the time! I don't have a degree in jurisprudence! I don't have a degree in anything... But a lot of people assume that I have an education! I don't! And I can't just yell that at people, either, because then they'd try to get me fired...

Actually, a lot of people assume that I grew up wealthy, too. Why do they do that? I literally didn't own anything at all for most of my life, and it's so painful that I can't really tell them that, either. When I'm happy, I forget about all that for a while. Then someone reminds me of it, and I feel like screaming... Make no money, and they ignore you, make some money and you won't hear the end of it... Jealous dickweeds!

THIS PROSE IS CURIOUS. IT IS HIGHLY REPETITIVE, YET IT POSSESSES A CERTAIN ELUSIVE CHARACTER THAT FASCINATES ME. WITH ADJUSTMENTS, IT COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO YOUR CHEF-D'ŒUVRE.

What? That's my shopping list! Why did you take it?! And it's not repetitive! Everything in there is highly important!

IT WAS PLACED IN MY PILE. IT IS REPETITIVE. IT MAKES MENTION OF YARN A DOZEN DIFFERENT TIMES. FOOD SIX TIMES. PERFUME FOUR TIMES. COSMETICS SEVEN TIMES. NOVELETTES THREE TIMES. YET THIS REPETITION OFFERS A MOST APT COMMENTARY ON THE NATURE OF CONSUMPTION AND HOW THE SOUL OF A PERSON CANNOT HELP BUT ENGAGE IN IT.

Oh! So that's where I left it! Well... I wanted to be sure that I don't forget anything so I just listed every color of yarn seperately... It doesn't comment on anything! Other than my need for nice things, I guess...

WHILE I FOUND THE PROTAGONIST IRRITATING, THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF THE METAFICTIONAL FELINE WAS MOST APPRECIATED. IN THE FUTURE, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON THIS CHARACTER MORE.

That's just a cat that I doodled! And it's a shopping list! It doesn't have anything to do with prose!

I DESIRE MORE. MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS.

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 13th

I bought two prisms from this guy whose name I can't remember... He has worse mood swings than I do! That must be so stressful! Being more in touch with your emotions than the average person is so much work... But it's also why I have such amazing taste, because I know what is perfectly suitable for the inner workings of my tempestuous soul! And my gorgeous form! Anyhow, these prisms are weird. I think you could make a tasteful necklace, or some gorgeous earrings from them, but I'd be afraid that the aspectral energies would become erratic and explode and blow my head off or something...

I got a Double Royal Dragon! Well, I didn't get two Royal Dragons in a row... And it wasn't really just me getting it... But I got a Royal Dragon, and Slade got a Royal Dragon, too! I thought that would be just a push, but I still made a nice 60 dinari! Maybe he was just overjoyed to see such good luck at the table. I wish more people would play with me... Akna's pleasant company for gaming... Nabuko, on the other hand, has a really short temper! Some day, she's going to flip the table, and kill someone by doing so! It'll land flat on somebody's head, which is why someone will die! Because heads are really sensitive! It's why people die or go into a coma when they're struck on the head!

You shouldn't throw tables on people!

Anyhow... The election's over, the nights are darker, and everyone's so tired that there isn't much going on! So I've been working out of my room, mostly... It's nice because I get to lay on the bed a lot! I actually get more done here than at the office. Which is mostly because Martin is such a nuisance... And there's far less irritating noises! It's mostly just Inky's... squelching... as it slides along some pages. I'm glad that I don't have to do that to read! It reminds me of ice skating, though. Next time I'm in Frostport, I'm going to try it! If they sell skates...

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 14th

I saw the jungle! Bel-Ishün! I did, I did! It was easily the grandest, the most beautiful, of any place I've been here! There were so many things to see! First of all, the Edutu is home to some dolphins! Though... these ones were much weirder looking than regular dolphins. Their beaks were rather creepy, actually! I guess they're still kind of cute. They smile a lot! So many colorful birds, too! I'd like a parrot for a pet, but... Someone would probably play a prank on me and teach it to say nasty things.

And then the forest itself... There was no sand or ash anywhere to be seen! I suppose that means that there's no ash storms, either? So many trees! So many fragrant flowers! If you stood in the middle of Bel-Ishün, you would just see an abundance of plantlife and nothing else! Not even the skies! Okay, maybe some strange animals, too, I suppose... I wanted to pick some flowers to take home, but there wasn't really any time for that, and I'm actually not sure if everything there belongs to the Sultan, or something. I don't want to get arrested for plant theft!

I wish I could tell people, because they'd be so jealous if they knew... But I suppose the experience alone is satisfying enough. I suppose. I wish I could live in a jungle... In a treehouse... High above the ground... I'd have monkeys for friends, and they'd bring me fruit, and get into all sorts of mischief! The monkeys would, not me. I'm too innocent for mischief! And if one of the monkeys was a gorilla, he could lift heavy stuff for me, like furniture, in case I had to move into another treehouse, because I'd probably get bored of living in the same one after a while.

Anyhow... What's up with the figurative Bel-Ishün...? It's really there! But a lot of people speak of it metaphorically... I don't get it! I guess the Disc's gone to shit to such an extent that there really aren't many examples of paradise to point to... A lot of people want to reach Bel-Ishün, and I already did that! Just... literally... I'm really not in any sort of paradise, or in a state of eternal calm, right now... Also, I just realized that "tropical jungle" can mean two very different things... That's so weird!

Something about that place felt off, though. I don't know what it was... Maybe I'm too used to living in a barren wasteland.

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 15th

Richo asked me to write a letter to the masons of the Tablet, because he can't write... I wonder if I could teach him. Then again, I'm not sure if he really has a need for the talent, since he can just run anywhere, and just speak with people. And I do mean anywhere. Anyhow... I was ready to do this, of course, because it's Richo! But then I remembered... Most Stonefolk can't read. And I can't... really ask... if the masons do or don't...? Because that's kind of awkward and demeaning. I don't want to offend them! So, if I wrote a letter, they might be forced to ask someone else to read it for them... And placing someone in a situation like that seems wrong...?

So I'm probably not writing it... I'll have to talk to Richo, and we'll have to arrange an occasion to talk with the masons, instead. His quest for the Biggest Bee continues, too. He's wondering if it can be found in Bel-Ishün. Probably? It would make sense. But if it's there, he's going to have a hard time of finding it in such a mazelike jungle! Even if it's the absolutely humongousest bee to ever bee!

Nabuko keeps pronouncing my name wrong. I gave her the benefit of doubt, and just played it off as a particularly selective lisp... But she's doing it on purpose! She made an impossible request, the fulfilling of which would've made her stop... Also, she offered me a lifetime supply of rosewine, for some reason. I hate rosewine! Blue is so much better! Anyhow, it's so rude! I guess I could start calling her Nahbooty or something, but that would make it sound like I'm mocking her rear, and I do not make such judgments of women's behinds!

The mere thought is so disgusting that I had to wash my quill hand after writing such trash!

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

Adar 16th

Xon made me so confused... And not for the usual reasons, either! He thinks that I should make perfumes myself, instead of just buying them... But I'm already studying knitting, sewing, weaving... Should I study to be a tailor, or a perfumer...? I love fashion! I love perfume! But I can't possibly do both... Well, not beyond an adequate level, anyhow. And I want to be the best at whatever I do! Adequacy is for boring people!

WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS BEFORE. YET REPETITION SEEMS FUTILE.

Also, Xon "observes star" as a hobby. That is star, not stars. Just the one that keeps rotating around him. That seems mostly easy, but it must be hard on his neck...

Anyhow... I don't know what a sacpit is, but some drunk was yelling about them invading! It made me so wary that I thought that a weevil was a sacpit. Weevils are creepy! Nothing should have such a long schnoz! Nothing! Now, I've been trying to picture what a sacpit looks like. I think they're... fuzzy, with a striking coat of fur... their ears are really big and long... they're really good at running and leaping, thanks to their strong hindlegs... and they have big, brown eyes!

YOU HAVE DESCRIBED A HARE.

The sacpits are hares?! That's one delicious invasion! Just lead them into a giant stew pot and you can feed the entire Well!

I AM RETURNING TO MY READING.

I was sipping some wine, as usual, having a pleasant conversation with Akna, Caddy and Zauzar... And then this guy walked up to our table and told us that he was going to build a temple dedicated to the sun! Why's he going to do that?! The sun sucks! It should just hide behind the moon in shame! If the Astronomers knew what they were doing, they would buy some giant blocks of ice from Frostport, and shoot them to the sun with the Slingshot to cool it down! Then there'd be no need to find the Cup, because it'd be nice and cool, and plants would start growing again, because it wouldn't be so hot!