Crash Day/New Years

Article written by Angel

In Year 3 we had worked out how long a year is, exactly, on this planet and decided to make a calendar. It's 345 days long, which isn't that far off from the Human home world! And the day we crashed seemed as good a day as any to start our new year. We retroactively decided that the day we actually crashed was the beginning of Year 1 and counted everything after that point. It's Year 6 today and things are going pretty alright, I think.

Anyway, a new year needs a celebration! At least, I thought so, and Mina and Nico agreed. I think that Jude and Jay mostly went along with it at first because of their wives. Crystal didn't see the point of it at first, but I think she'd come around. She's kind of like that, not wanting to have fun at first, but she always joins is when the rest of us are having a good time.

Crystal: How is any of this relevant?

Angel: It's backstory! And context!

Jay: Provide all the backstory you want.

Mina: Noticing an interesting double standard here about things being "relevant" or "not relevant" in articles and how you, Jay, react to such things.

Jay: I don't know what you're talking about.

There are these really delicious, sweet berries that grow around Crash Day, so in the two days leading up to it, we gather a bunch of them. Nico and Jay have figured out how to mill this sort of grain thing into flour and I keep some egg laying and milk producing animals, so we have the supplies we need for a pie! Jude is usually the one to actually bake the pie, he's the best at that sort of thing, though Crystal and Nico can help out too if he needs extra hands. Mina takes some of the berries and turns them into a sort of wine. We can't drink that for Crash Day, since it needs to age for seven months before she decides it's ready. It's a nice treat for the middle of winter, though!
During Crash Day itself, we'll spend the day with each other. We play games, we eat the pie and whatever other treats Jude's made for us, and we talk about how our year has been, as well as our hopes for the next year. Ember loves Crash Day nearly as much as she loves her birthday, though I think that might partly be because we let her stay up until midnight, if she wants to. So far, she's kept away that long only once.
It's a good tradition to have, I think. Gives us hope, reminds us of all we've managed to do to make our lives better here. This place, this planet, this is our home now. We are family. It doesn't hurt to celebrate that, I think.

Jay: Well said.

Mina: Aw, Angel! This was nearly as sweet as the berries themselves!

Jude: Agreed. Life here isn't the easiest, and it's not something any of us would have chosen, but we've made a home and a family here. I cannot imagine my life being anything else, now.

Nico: I love you guys, too!

Crystal: Gods, you're all sappy. Still, I don't exactly regret that we're stuck together.

Angel: You're all so sweet! Thank you!