jade leech [ birthday suit ] ssr

[mandytl]

Birthday Suit 1

“Happy Birthday” - Jade Leech

Location: Octavinelle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue

NRC Newspaper - Birthday Interviews - Jade Issue

> Happy Birthday.

Jade: Thank you very much.

“How do you feel about your celebration?”

Jade: It’s a great honor to have all of you celebrating with Floyd and me.

Still, it’s remarkably embarrassing to receive such a great deal of good wishes.

“Have you heard from your parents?”

Jade: Yes. A congratulatory message from our mother arrived.

“Jade-san, Floyd-san. Have you been eating properly?”

“Life up there may be fun, and that’s well and good, but do make sure to drop in every now and then.” 

Clearly she’s concerned about how we’re doing...

—acting as if this was her first message in ages, when we’re in touch with her on a daily basis.

Our mother’s always been a bit of a worrywart, you see.

“Please tell us some of your fondest birthday memories.”

Jade: Memories… very well. Then let’s talk about my childhood for just a moment.

Every year on our birthday, not only would our relatives rush over to celebrate, but so would our father’s colleagues. 

Why, the pile of gifts we received was nearly mountain-high.

“What sort of presents did you get?”

Jade: Sweets, a seaweed eye mask, and all sorts of unusual toys you could only obtain on the surface.

Though there also happened to be luxury items mixed in amongst them that could only be deemed unnecessary for children.

They were clearly pandering to our father… or rather, desperately trying to gain his trust instead of ours.

He would always make those who presented us with such deep, insightful gifts hand over their signature...

“These presents are in good faith, and I expect nothing in return,” was the written statement, I believe. 

It seems he’s quite similar to our mother, equally concerned for our wellbeing.

Well, they say married couples begin to act alike… and in any case, it’s good that they’re so close.

“What is up with your family… ?”

Jade: Oh, they’re simply running their own business that deals in a little bit of everything…. —a very average one, at that.

Birthday Suit 2

“Happy Birthday” - Jade Leech

Location: Octavinelle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue

”What’re some of your favorite things?”

Jade: Terrariums.

They’re rather profound things, containers made of glass, or aquariums, where you can raise land animals and watch them through a transparent casing.

“Tell us the story of why you got into building terrariums.” 

Jade: My original inspiration was the Sea Witch, a member of the Great Seven.

There was an anecdote about how she kept living creatures in bottles.

I started imitating her in an attempt to get just a bit closer to understanding the iconic figure Floyd and I admired.

I raised a wide range of things in bottles as a child.

“What is it about terrariums that you like the most?”

Jade: Let’s see… —how much control I have, I suppose.

Your supervising skills are put to the test in order to keep the world inside the bottle peaceful.

In other words, whether they live or die depends on me… 

In a sense, it’s like being the ruler of your own tiny garden. 

And above all, it's relaxing to be able to work at my own pace.

But that doesn’t mean everything will go my way.

The plants I’ve harvested might wither out of nowhere, or something strange might grow out of the soil I collected from the mountains… 

Still, unforeseen circumstances have their charm as well.

“Is it fun for you when something unexpected happens?”

Jade: Of course. Why, it’d be dreadfully boring if everything went the way I wanted it to all the time.

There’s still a great deal about land animals that I’m not familiar with, so it’s difficult to predict how they’ll develop…

That’s why I find terrariums most intriguing. 

Birthday Suit 3

“Happy Birthday” - Jade Leech

Location: Octavinelle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue

“Do those earrings have a story behind them?”

Jade: Oh? You’re interested in the earring on my left ear?

Fufu. I don’t mind telling you about it. It’s a bit of an old story but…

Before entering middle school, there was a sturgeon that challenged Floyd and I. 

They had such gorgeous, gorgeous scales, you see.

Drawn to their beauty, the two of us asked for them to “give us your scales if we win.”

Well… I’m sure you can guess how that ended.

They gracefully handed over those beautiful scales after we secured our victory.

The earrings we’re wearing today were made from those scales.

“They’re very pretty.”

Jade: Thank you. I’m glad to receive such praise.

The Sea Witch allegedly left behind a very powerful incantation in a verse featuring a sturgeon.

And so sturgeon’s scales are popular charms in the Coral Sea.

“What other things are trendy in the Coral Sea?”

Jade: Well, there’s… ah, yes. Fireworks are extremely popular.

Plenty of merpeople enjoy watching them beyond the water’s surface when they’re setting them off on land.

Floyd and I would play closer to the shore during fireworks shows.

There was little danger; every surface dweller would be too busy looking up to notice us.

Moreover, merpeople used to think fireworks were just jellyfish flying through the sky.

They are far too flashy to be jellyfish, however.. fufu. Quite the amusing misunderstanding, don’t you think?

“Thanks for sharing all these stories with us. Once again, happy birthday.”