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February 14 - Valentine’s Day
Today, I attended mass. Not that I am a devout follower of Barbatos, but because today is Valentine’s Day and I got to see my adorable idol, Barbara-sama. Due to it being mass, the other nuns were not able to question me about why I was there, letting me into the Cathedral without suspicion. Seeing Barbara-sama on such a momentous day! Truly a blessing!
Many other members of the Barbara Fan Club were also attending. At our previous meeting, we concluded that for Valentine’s Day, we would all show up at mass to give her our love and affection, being thankful for her blessings upon this world. We planned to present her with a gift. Of course, being the leader of the Barbara Fan Club, I got the honor to give it to her!
We packed the gift in a picnic basket, decorated with a lustrous, red ribbon that was intertwined between the wicker. Inside, we put in a few different Mondstadt specialties; Philanemo Mushrooms, Dandelion Seeds, and Wolfhook berries (especially the red ones). Barbara-sama uses these while healing, so we thought it would be a nice gesture to help her collect some of these ingredients. One of the knights found out she enjoys spicy drinks made of Jueyun Chilis, so we were able to obtain a few from Stone Gate. Lastly, I was able to get my hands on a special chocolate from Fontaine. Supposedly, the chocolate has a special stimulant to help invigorate the body to cause excitement and energy! I hope she enjoys the gift and I wish to witness her trying the chocolates. Hopefully, they taste good.
I was able to get a seat at the front pew, closest to Barbara-sama herself! She looked so beautiful, standing at the front of the choir, singing her heart out in that angelic, soprano voice. She looked so pure and innocent, swaying side to side. She is perfect! Inviting personality, flowing dress, soft hair, happy smile, petite stature, immaculate body, perfect everything! She was indeed blessed by the Archons! She even has a Hydro Vision, showing how even the gods cannot withstand her loveliness!
My eyes were captivated by Barbara-sama’s every move. It seemed like during the entire mass, the only thing I was looking at was Barbara-sama! She is the apple of my eye, a beacon of light in the darkness! I was so fortunate to be in her presence, especially for such a prolonged period of time! Most of the other times I have been around her, she is surrounded by other people, mostly nuns, and I am not able to get my way.
After the mass ended, I went up to Barbara-sama to give her the gift, other Barbara Fan Club members joining me at the front. Standing so close to her made my heart skip a beat. I was drowning in her big blue eyes that were looking right into mine. The sweet essence of honey that seemed to drip off of her made me swoon.
As I extended the gift out to her, I made sure to hold the basket handles with both hands, leaving only a small opening for her to grab. Also, I held it low enough to where it would be awkward for her to grab the bottom. This ensured that when she grabbed the gift’s handles, her delicate hands would brush against mine. Oh, that would have flown me to Celestia!
To my dismay, one of the other nuns stepped in, took the basket, and said that they would take the gift to her room and that she was busy and needed to leave now. So, sadly, we just had to wish Barbara-sama a Happy Valentine’s Day without seeing her reaction to the present. Hopefully, next time we are able to present Barbara-sama with a gift, we are not interrupted like today. What a shame.
March 20 - Windblume Festival
Today was such a busy day! Who knew that deconstructing a flower statue would take so much effort! I’m relieved that so many new members have joined the fan club and were able to help out.
After meeting with the bard’s assistants yesterday, we had to scrap our Wildblume gift idea for Barbara-sama. I think that traveler and his talking fairy were just overreacting. They don’t understand anything! Such fools…
I held a meeting outside of the city, in Windrise, to tell the rest of the Barbara Fan Club what happened. Many of us were upset that we had to change our gift, but it would have been a larger problem if we were escorted out of the city by the knights.
We went over other gift suggestions, all of them pretty epic sounding, but to my surprise, Huffman of the Knights of Favonius showed up and gave the idea of making a wreath out of the flowers from the statue! Sometimes, I feel that Huffman doesn’t actually care about Barbara-sama, even though he is a member of the Barbara Fan Club. I’ve seen him in the Cathedral before, getting healed, and he doesn’t even talk to Barbara-sama! I think he might just be keeping an eye on us...
At first, many of us weren’t so sure about this, mostly because it didn’t feel like a gift that would portray our everlasting love for Barbara-sama, but Huffman was able to persuade us. He said that a smaller, more tame gift would be better for Barbara-sama because then she could keep it close to her. He then added that if we were to make a smaller decoration, perhaps a wreath, she could add it to her room. To know that Barbara-sama will keep our wreath in her room, where only she can admire it, makes my heart flutter.
Also, he brought a gift box with him that he said we could use… I wonder if he was planning to use it elsewhere? The box was made of dark wood, probably pine, and had an exquisite gold design of what resembled a chalice made of stars on its lid.
Then we started making the wreath while also taking down the flower statue. The statue was made up of all different types of flowers because of all the different ideas of what a Windblume was. There were Dandelions, Sweet Flowers, Cecilias, Small Lamp Grass, Windwheel Asters, and even the occasional Wolfhook.
We first tried making a wreath out of all the windblumes, but it looked really messy and the Wolfhooks made it difficult to move around. We then started making different wreaths made of only one type of flower. After we finished, all the members voted on which one looked the best and we ended up with a Windwheel Aster wreath. Also, every single member of the Barbara Fan Club made one paper star to put inside the box, inside of each star, a small message for Barbara-sama.
When the gift was done, and our statue fully dismantled, the meeting ended and I was left to give the gift to Barbara-sama. I was honored, of course, but also very worried because I didn’t want the gift to end up like Valentine’s Day. I wanted her to receive it personally and alone.
I brainstormed different ways of getting the gift to her for over an hour. Go to the Cathedral? No. I would be questioned by the other nuns. Give it to her in town? No. She would be surrounded by other people. Invite her to my place? No. If the other members found out, they would be upset. I just didn’t know what to do!
Then it hit me! What if she didn’t accept the gift because she didn’t like the Valentine’s Day gift? That day, I went up to her to give her the gift. What if she didn’t like it? What if the chocolates were bad? If she didn’t like the gift last time, she might not take the gift if I give it to her this time!
That’s when I made the decision to give the gift anonymously. I would lure her out of the city to somewhere more secluded, but not too secluded, and leave the gift there for her to find. To lure her out, I was going to give her a surprising letter with the location of the Windblume gift. Then, in the present, I would write another letter explaining the gift and the reason for sending the first letter.
On the first letter, it said,
Dear Barbara,
I’ve stolen the thing most precious to you and buried it.
It was short and sweet. Well, more like short and a bit intimidating, but it got the message across and she was likely to follow it. I also attached the location, a place near the Statue of the Seven by Dawn Winery, to the back. I picked this place because the terrain isn’t too treacherous, there are not tons of monsters roaming around, and the gift is also not likely to be found by any random adventurers.
On the second letter, I wrote,
So sorry to get your attention this way.
Please accept this Windblume as a sign of my sincere admiration for your virtue and sweetness.
Another short, but this time, actually sweet letter. I had to apologize. It wouldn’t have sat well with me if I didn’t. Knowing that the first letter has the possibility of scaring Barbara-sama worries me a bit, but it’s all in good will. Hopefully the Windblume makes up for such an aggressive way of getting her to receive the gift.
After finishing the letters, I went out to the location, dug a hole, and cleanly put the box inside. Then, I ran back to the Cathedral and dropped the first letter off so that Barbara-sama would receive it in the morning. I really hope the gift gets to her and that she enjoys it.
Tomorrow, I plan to sit near the location where I buried the Windblume to watch her come and open it. If I am too tired, though, I will just sleep in and check on the location later.
April 4 - Hangout Event
I’m so sad that I couldn’t see Barbara-sama today. I went out of my way to go and help her, but she was nowhere to be found. Most of the time, I see her when I am being healed in the Cathedral, but even when I went for healing today, she wasn’t there! I wonder what happened?
I woke up early today to go give Barbara-sama some herbs at the Cathedral, but when I got there, Sister Victoria explained that she had already left. I remembered that on one of the previous times I went for healing, Barbara-sama said that the Church was running low on medicinal ingredients and that she needed red Wolfhook berries. I figured that this was the reason she wasn’t there today and so I went to Wolvendom. Once I got there, I picked up every red Wolfhook berry I saw. There was a good amount. I then waited to see if Barbara-sama would show up.
To think that Barbara-sama would go to such a dangerous place alone. Like, I know she has a Vision, but she uses it to heal people, not to hurt people. Also, knowing her, even if she was being attacked, she wouldn’t hurt the attacker. I think that Barbara-sama can sometimes be a little naive, but that isn’t always a bad thing and can have its advantages.
While waiting for her, I daydreamed about spending a day alone in Wolvendom together. That would have been a dream come true. To have Barbara-sama all to myself, in such a secluded place, where we wouldn’t be interrupted. Where we could learn more personal and intimate things about each other. Spending all day and all night in each other’s company, only the elements between us.
I waited for hours, hearing sounds of footsteps and rustling. It could have been the wolves or the hilichurl camp that was close by, but I would definitely know the difference between some monsters and Barbara-sama. I walked around Wolvendom, calling her name out, knowing that she would never hide from a fan, but still didn’t have any luck.
That’s when I ran into the traveler with the talking fairy, the bard’s assistants from the Windblume Festival. Supposedly, his name is Aether and the fairy’s name is Paimon. Seeing them in Wolvendom made me a bit suspicious, but they are adventurers, so I guess I’m the more suspicious one here.
They asked why I was there and I explained that because I am the leader of the Barbara Fan Club, I was making sure Barbara-sama was safe, even though I wasn’t sure if she was actually in Wolvendom. They then asked what the Barbara Fan Club was! I thought that an adventurer would have heard of it by now, traveling all over Teyvat, but I guess that’s why they were so rude during the Windblume Festival. They actually didn’t understand!
When they talked to me, it kind of felt like they were stalling or something, not actually interested in what I was saying. Maybe they saw Barbara-sama and were trying to hide her or take her away! If they did something to her, they would pay.
I left the conversion and started to call out for Barbara-sama again. Then, that fairy, Paimon, also started to call out for her. It kind of took me by surprise and then they said that they were fans of Barbara-sama too. It seemed kind of odd, almost forced, but that didn’t matter. The thing that did matter, was that they were louder than I was!
We walked around Wolvendom, calling out for Barbara-sama, seeming to almost have a yelling competition, but it was no use. Barbara-sama didn’t seem to be there, or had already left. Also, by the end of it, I couldn’t really speak anymore and was having a coughing fit. If I didn’t go for healing after, I probably wouldn’t have been able to talk for about a week!
When I went to the Cathedral to be healed, it seemed empty without Barbara-sama’s presence. I really wonder if she was in Wolvendom or not. While heading home, I thought I overheard someone talking about how she was in town, how she was seen walking with someone, drinking chili brew, and talking to a Treasure Hoarder… Everything seemed really off today. It just felt like a day full of illusions and lost time.