for as long as stars do shine

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

Response: Yes. He was trying to get rid of them, and I want rocks.

There are way more pebbles than you need for your experiments - and really, if they were just for experimenting you wouldn't be keeping them. But you want them, and Allan looked so glad to get rid of them, so you're doing him a favour, really.

Maybe they'll make some nice decor around the front yard, too, and you can ask the neighbours about setting something up for them.

On the way to the garden, you mentally turn over the puzzle of breaking the sigils once they're installed - definitely ruling out only a couple of differently coloured rocks, because who wouldn't want to pick out the single differently coloured rock (many people, maybe) but you also would like to use some colour because you don't like the idea of trying to break the sigil without being able to use visual cues.

The solution that makes the most sense to you is to make at least the outer circle out of similarly coloured pebbles, and hoping they don't prove to be alluring enough to pick out.

You reach the community garden and relay your thoughts to Stan. He agrees that a separate colour for the outer circle will be the way to go.

'I'll organise a time to overhaul the paths.'

'Oh - I'm sure we don't need a full overhaul -'

He waves your protests away. 'We're in need of a renovation. This is a perfect excuse. You working with any deadlines?'

You give him about two weeks before the witch meet, just to stay on the safe side.

'We'll reach out when we need you,' he says.

--

A few days later Dessa's reply comes in the mail. You crack open the seal and read through it without bothering to come inside first. She's written about the hot winds Deema described, complete with calculations and sketches of air moving through different points in the Great Dividing Range (they're fascinating but she's much, much smarter than you - maybe Deema would appreciate them).

I'm sure you know why I can't give you an exact date on the hot winds, but if you're keen, come by when the season starts in early autumn.

You consider the options - gambling on the possibility of a heatwave in the south west, interfering with whatever the wizard has going on in the south east, and a predictable phenomenon with a local guide (who you'd have to sneak around, unless she's cool).

The choice seems obvious, and can be done after the meet.

You come inside and show Deema the letter.

'That looks like what we're after?'

She nods stiffly.

'In early autumn,' you say.

'Early autumn.'

'It all feels so painfully real,' you murmur as you take the letter back.