No Ordinary Exchange

halloween on the scene

1. "There is a difference between appreciation and appropriation. Appreciation is when someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally. Appropriation on the other hand, is simply taking one aspect of a culture that is not your own and using it for your own personal interest. Appropriation could mean of purchasing a piece of jewelry or clothing that may have important cultural significance to that culture, but simply using it as a fashion statement.... Regardless, taking a part of another culture without understanding what it truly means can be harmful not only to those whose culture you are using but also to those with whom you share it." (Quoted from greenheart dot org.)

Bonjour vous-autres! Comment ça va? Moi, comme ci comme ça. J'ai des midterms dans une semaine, en septembre et octobre. Blegh.

Okay I'll stop lmao. (Tbh though it's good practice for me!) Hi everybody, hope you're doing well! This chapter is like a third laying groundwork for upcoming arcs, a third Rayllum fluff, and a third Halloween shenanigans. A healthy mixture, in my opinion. I hope you enjoy!

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Explaining Halloween to Rayla had been an... amusing conversation, as apparently there was nothing at all like it in Xadia. Callum almost wished they'd had that particular conversation in person, mostly because he would have killed to see her expressions. Claudia had informed him later that they'd been hysterical and she regretted not taking pictures.

After learning the basics of the holiday, Rayla had been intrigued, and had expressed interest to do some research of her own to see how it had evolved out of the Day of the Dead. Really, it was no surprise - to him, at least - that she was considering adding history as a second minor. He was thinking about doing the same, though he was more interested in Xadian history himself.

Rayla had been understandably disgusted to discover, however, that some 'costumes' people chose to wear on Halloween were utterly disrespectful. She'd called him and ranted for a good half hour about a 'sexy Skywing costume' she'd stumbled upon on Amazon and how Xadian culture was not a fad and shouldn't be treated that way. He let her talk as long as she needed, because he knew she needed to get it off her chest and was also aware that it wasn't his subject to have an opinion on, per se.

That said, he was pretty pissed, too. It was revolting how xenophobic Katolis could be while still fetishizing Xadian culture.

Once she'd gotten her anger out, she informed him that the original reason she'd called was because Claudia had invited them to go to a Halloween party with her, and she wanted to know if he planned to go before she made her own decision.

He definitely did not intend on going, though he didn't tell that to his girlfriend with quite so much vehemence. Callum explained that it was tradition for him and Ezran to go trick-or-treating for an hour or two and then spend the rest of the night watching cheesy horror movies; sometimes Claudia and Soren joined them for the second part.

He didn't mention that he was often uncomfortable attending big parties, not that he really felt he needed to. Especially because Rayla asked so softly if she could participate in his and Ez's tradition, as long as she wasn't intruding.

Was that love? It had to be.

Not to mention if she came with them, then he could hopefully keep her mind off the upcoming game against Neolandia, as that currently had her stressed to no end.

Callum asked Ezran's permission, too, for formality's sake if nothing else, to which his younger brother eagerly agreed. Claudia was incredibly chill about Rayla not coming to the party with her; apparently Soren would be going, so there'd be at least one person she knew there and could follow around like a lost duckling if needed.