callada | [ITN] IC Inbox

A small bouquet of paper Soldier Kisses that have been coloured a brilliant shade of blue. They’re tied with a sea blue ribbon and the tag ‘For the stalwart.’ attached to it. It comes with a polished red stone - One that, perhaps, Rosinante will recognise though that event with memories and tributes now seems so long ago. The stone now happens to sport a strange symbol carefully etched into it - A swirling circle, with a starburst in the middle.

The stone comes with a note that briefly explains what this is all about: Returning a part of a given gift with this charm is meant to respect and to honour whoever is receiving it; it's also meant to be a protection charm to ward off danger and ill-omens.

[WHAT IS GOING ON WHAT DID HE MISS? Was everyone just extremely inspired by Eleven's game? Does this have something to do with the dreidels?]

This is really thoughtful, thank you.
But why is everyone giving gifts suddenly?

I’m glad you like the gift! :D!!!

And it’s because it’s December! Where I’m from, it marks the winter holidays which starts on the 25th and ends on the 1st as we usher in a new year. We celebrate the winter holidays on Earth but giving items and charms meant to protect or encourage those you care for in the coming year and the dangers it may hide.

I think the others have something similar to my holidays but it seems to be called 'Christmas' and has things like 'Santa' and stuff. It’s really cool to learn some things stay the same, but come in different ways!

I see. We celebrate the new year at home on 1 January. We don't do gifts though.

I like the idea of the charms. And sorry if this sounds insensitive - where you're from are the superstition or do they actually work?

Not a problem! I get that this is kinda weird? To answer your question - It depends on what you give, really. Sometimes it's an actual thing to help them out so it works Sometimes it's more of a gesture and a hope so that's up in the air.

I would have liked to give you and some others a shield charge, even a one use one, but I don't think we have the technology for force fields here. Let alone one that could be powered by my arc energy without blowing up or something.

Got it. Well, thank you.

I wasn't expecting anything. It means a lot to me that you thought of me.

Of course I'll think of you! You're my friend and you've been, like, one of the big pillars of the gang since we all got here.

I think its only fair to get you a gift to show my appreciation for you. :D

"The gang", huh? If you say so.

How have your efforts with the spirits been going?

[ after spending (a lot of) time with nightbreak and dialup and emer in moments like these, day has a ready answer-question for that: ]

Do you want the honest assessment or the optimistic assessment?

Honest, always. Accuracy is more important than feeling good if we're going to decide which steps to take next.

[ a few minutes will pass before a reply pops up from daylight, surprisingly detailed and almost (almost) professional. ]

In the progress of studying the spirits' language - I'm doing great. By a few weeks, I'll have a handful of new phrases to share with you guys. Nothing mindblowing or anything. Just enough to get a semi-proper conversation going. After that, I want to practice with my friends and figure out what musical instruments we have here so I can begin on the transcription process.

In the progress of trying to better build relations with the spirits - I'm kind of at a lost now. It's clear the green-eyed spirits are the bosses but we can't directly communicate with them. Soldat and I both tried - in normal speech and morse - and all I can say now is that they're interested if we're around, that’s for sure.

Glad to hear translation is going so well. Better than I would have hoped for. If more people can learn to speak with them proficiently, we'll be able to try more things. Robin's tablet app with those musical translations makes me think maybe we can get a long list of words that can be strung together within the tablet and then, say, once you have a sentence, you could press a button and it would play the translation for the spirits. Something to talk to Dr. Ingram about once you've gotten farther, maybe. Easier than ocarinas.

As for the green-eyed spirits, you tried and, what? They don't understand? They don't reply? Why can't you communicate with them?

[ daylight is excited by the idea and makes note of it on the side, wanting to remind himself to ask about this venture on a later date.

but he doesn't return a message to rosinante just yet - the question about the green-eyed spirits has daylight falling quiet, trying to figure out how to summarise it without leaning too far on either side of optimism or pessimism. it.... could have gone worse, all things considered. ]

It's hard to explain. I know that's a lame thing but it is.

I guess the best way to explain it is that they have a bad case of having a one-track mind? Once they latch onto an idea, they can't seem to let it go and need to see it through for some reason?

This is because I think they had an idea of what to do with Soldat and me when we came across them in the forests. But I don't think that idea would have ended well for either of us though since they wanted specific parts of us.

Hard to change their minds, but not impossible, I hope. It sounds like you didn't let them get what they wanted?

We sure didn't let them. We made that super clear that we had to turn it down.

[ cutting off arms and forcing others into timeout shields tends to sour possible any relationship-building attempts one will make. the only one he thinks could have salvaged that situation was his mom and.

well- he's here and not here. so. ]

But something I noticed that could be of note in the future: They only spoke when I spoke in their language. Even then it was just my words being parrotted back a lot, because they kept using the same phrases or words I used in that moment.

I didn't realise it during the whole escape thing but, looking back, that could be something to note of in the future for any future encounters?

Strange. Like the message on the network made up of the words and voices of people here, right? That must have been them also.

I don't know how to use that but I'm sure someone will. Thank you for taking the risk to learn all of this.

Definitely thank Soldat when you get the time to talk with him, too?

He was the real MVP at the final leg of our jaunt in the woods. I think if I was alone, I would have been in a lot more trouble since they had grabbed a hold of us. I don't know why but they seemed really fixated with our metal bits.

[ and since daylight is metal(ish) everything... yeah. ]

I will.

Strange they'd go for metal parts. Like they wanted them, or just wanted to remove them from you as if they didn't belong? I wonder.

Good thing they didn't succeed, anyway. Glad you made it back safely.

[ oddly enough, daylight stops speculating at this point. maybe the idea the attempt to remove the metal because they didn't belong doesn't sit right with him?

huh. ]

Me too. For a second, I really thought we were toast. I'd like to see the rest of the colours that I can still see.

If anything new happens, I'll let you and the others know ASAP. Whether it's the spirit or something else.

Thanks.

... What's this about colors?

[ oh.

did he...

not tell rosinante?

... no. no, he did not.

whoops. ]

Um. I ended up passing away at the party. During the Lighthouse expedition, the one you and the others took.

When I came back thanks to the help of our Friend, I found myself unable to see the colour yellow. Even when I recall stuff from my memories, I can't see it. Only shades of grey.

Sorry to hear that.

Take care of yourself, all right? I'd hate for anything else to happen. We need you around.

[ ... ]

Thank you.

[ for both the apology and the well-wishes. it really does mean a lot to him. ]

You too! Avoid getting into perilous situations and stuff if you can, okay? Otherwise, I'll send you a bajillion messages to your inbox like last time and you'll never be able to find anything.

Ha. I believe that. I'll do my best.

[ITN] IC Inbox

A GIFT FOR THE HOLIDAYS. (THE 25TH.)

@silent

@daylit.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject