nothing like a balmy 80 degrees to make you miss the arctic circle

[skald]

Tuuri Hotakainen shared a photo. 6/7 near Recolle

WHY IS IT THIS HOT SO EARLY IN JUNE??? I'M GOING TO DIE Is it going to be this hot ALL SUMMER??? Someone please help, how do you people survive this?? 100% serious, I'm going to melt :(

[and then, not ten minutes later, once the mail arrives]

Tuuri Hotakainen shared a photo. 6/7 near Recolle

HA HA, VERY FUNNY. A THICK WINTER COAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED IN THE MAIL TODAY. THANKS JIM!

Tuuri Hotakainen PS I WAS BEING SARCASTIC, JIM IS A JERK!!!!

[ooc: pretend that she's not... wearing the coat in the picture, lol.]

Comments

[skald]

No problem, 11 sounds great! Want to meet by Freshens to start?

[flowrite]

That works for me! I'll see you then ♥

ACTION

[skald]

[And sure enough, the next day Tuuri is waiting outside Freshens for Fai, standing somewhere in the shade with a nice-sized water bottle and a lot of enthusiasm. She waves when she sees him, though her eyes grow wide.]

Wow, you're a lot taller than I expected!

[She, meanwhile, is about 5'0.]

[flowrite]

[Fai isn't particularly dressed any differently for the weather, in his usual pair of jeans and button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up (complete with his pink shoes) but he's also had several years to become accustomed to Recolle's weather patterns. His face lights up when he recognizes her, and he laughs at the comment as he gets closer.]

Ah, and you are adorably pocket-sized! I love pocket-sized friends~!

[He still has a recognizably French accent, even though it's faded over the years of living in the States.]

I might have to hug you. Do you mind hugs?

[skald]

Hee, that's a much cuter way of phrasing it than saying I'm short! [Tuuri is in awe of this outfit, though; she's wearing a tank top and shorts that used to be blue, because this is the upper limit of how much heat she can handle. Her accent is present but she makes a conscious effort to smooth it out. She is also quietly fretting over how to pronounce his name-- she's seen it written down, of course, and obviously she spent some time this morning looking up French pronunciation, but oh man, what if she gets it wrong? Better play it safe and not refer to him out loud by anything specific.] And hugs are fine! It's nice to meet you in person!

[She goes in for the hug!]

[flowrite]

No, you're not short! If anything I'm too tall! Believe me, I feel like a giraffe some days.

[The hug is slightly hilarious, given that she probably comes up to about his collarbone, but it's quick and friendly and then he steps back to eye her with his hands on his hips.]

Now, you'll have to help me pronounce your name before I make a fool of myself. Is it... Toori? Teurri?

[Great minds think alike! And thankfully some days Fai's outgoing nature actually comes in handy.]

[skald]

I am definitely short but it is sweet of you to say so!

[All of Tuuri's hugs are like this, let's be real.

But she laughs in relief.] Oh, thank god, that means I can ask you too. Too-rrri, with a rolled r! But I know that's hard for most people, so don't worry about it if you can't get it.

[flowrite]

[He tries the rolled r, but his French accent gets in the way and attempts to make the r more guttural, the way most French r's are pronounced. So in the end the r doesn't really get rolled at all and Fai laughs.]

Ah, I'm sorry, I don't think I can do it! I'll practice though, okay?

Oh, and I don't remember if I ever mentioned this on Retrospec, but you can just call me Fai! Fiacre is way too French for most people.

[skald]

No, no, it's fine! Like I said, most people can't, so I appreciate you trying! I guess it's just... way too Finnish, haha!

[She's curious enough to try it, since he just said it for her.] Fiacre. Fiacre. [The second time with an over-exaggerated French accent, or at least her best attempt at one.] Haha, and I'll stick with Fai, if you're alright with that. It sounds pretty, though! What does it mean?

[flowrite]

It's really pretty though, especially the way you say it! I'll get it right one of these days, just you wait~

[He laughs at the accent.]

I'm definitely fine with it! I made up 'Fai' so the kids in school wouldn't call me 'Fifi' after I moved to the States. The French poodle association was too strong for most of them to ignore, so I had to steer them toward something else instead! [He smiles and shrugs] It's the French form of Fiachra, which is Gaelic. Technically I guess it means 'raven' but it was the name of a saint, et cetera et cetera. I don't know that it really fits me, but it wasn't up to me! What does yours mean?

[skald]

Huh, interesting! I think Fifi is cute, by the way. [But then again, she's not an American kid in elementary school; it's probably a little different.] But so is Fai, so it all works out! Tuuri means 'luck!'

[And normally she'd leave it there, but because she's in the mood to nerd out (and because she thinks Fai wouldn't mind), she keeps going--]

There are also references to an old god named Tuuri-- it's usually a boy's name-- who was either a god of luck and the harvest or another name for Ukko, who was the god of thunder and possibly the leader of the Finnish gods-- in which case the name was probably borrowed from the Scandinavian Thor!

[Nerd.]

--Ahaha, but anyway, nowadays it means 'luck.'