I'm not at all sure which one I like best this time! I think I don't understand the phrase well enough to know which ones are funny, or maybe I just don't know what bliss and birthday and brother are getting at.

Would you like me to explain?

Yes please!

Alright, for bliss. I don't have a clear image in mind for what it would mean. If I were to make one up it's getting the most out of relaxing. Which is a bit of a silly idea in some ways.

For brother there's two ways to take it. Either getting more bang in exchange for your brother's efforts or in the more exaggerated version in trade for having a brother at all. The other way is getting more bang to give to your brother. The second one is why Tom was asking if it was a joke about his sex life since sometimes people call having sex banging.

For Birthday, Tom was referencing fireworks as something that literally bangs but it could also be interpreted as getting a bigger celebration or more gifts for someone's birthday, the anniversary of their birth which is something we celebrate in our culture.

Does that help?

I think so... but it's still pretty hard to decide which one's funniest. What do you two think?

Hmm, if I intentionally don't vote for mine in the interests of neutrality I think I'm favoring birthday. Bollard feels a little too specific.

If I let myself be biased I think the pseudo-contradiction of optimizing for maximum relaxation is the most amusing to me.

I think I'm currently favoring Brother just because of how many different possible ways to interpret it there are.

What happens if we can't all decide on which one was funniest?

Then nobody gets a point. The score isn't really important it's mostly a way to have fun with friends and laugh together.

That makes sense! I think I still can't decide, so I guess nobody gets a point this time.

They can play a few more rounds like this and eventually come to a stopping point.

Thanks for playing with us. We're going to go get lunch now.

Before we go here's a poem for you.

When we care
we forget
our beloved can
and must
make mistakes.

Hold too tightly 
and love
withers.

Offer a touch
and love
surges.

Aww, that's pretty!

Through mutual agreement the siblings try to avoid the topic of the notebook and instead try to discuss the latest episode in the cartoon they're watching. The weight of the avoided discussion is a little too great though and they settle for a companionable silence.

After they clear away the dishes Sapphire redirects them into Tom's room and they cuddle up together.

"Am I approaching this wrong?"

Tom presses a kiss to her forehead. "I don't know. I think you had staying here in mind as you picked between your options. If that's the right choice for you that's fine but I don't think you really thought about it."

"Yeah, that's true. I just... I know we might end up moving apart at some point but going to another world is a lot more extreme than moving across the country."

"It is. It's a big decision, you have time to think about it."

"I'll miss you if you go. And I know you'll miss me. But I think we would both be okay."

"You're probably right. It's not just you I would miss though: Lily and Tara and Mo and" she trails off, "it would be a lot."

"It would."

She squeezes him tighter for a moment and takes a deep breath. "I see why people would take the option to leave if they wanted a fresh start. I think another reason might be that people want to explore and see things that they can't find here in this world. Hmm, I wonder if I'm still missing something What was it the Notebook said at the very beginning... something about making people beautiful and powerful?"

"I think it also said special."

"Right, beautiful and powerful and special. I think If you combine that with the talk about stories and metanarrative... it's about making yourself the protagonist... and probably not just of your personal story but of a lot of the stories around you. And if you take that framing... I think probably at least some people want to save the world. And they think the powers the Notebook offers aren't enough to do that so they have to go out and get more."

"The Notebook might be able to tell you if your guess is right. I think the important question that raises though is whether you want to save the world and whether you think you need to go elsewhere to do it."

"If I can... could I live with myself if I chose not to?" She sighs. "I don't know. I don't even know if the world needs that kind of saving. I can't really picture how one person saves the world. There's no sky beam that needs to be shut down to fix things. It's all just people. People with their own reasons for doing things that hurt the people around them and usually themselves. People doing what the world told them to do."