unlivinglegend | Ryslig inbox

[A small pile of packages will be left at the WEWYhaus door. There seems to be a bit of something there for everyone, but there’s a stocking labeled “NEKU”.

Inside is some candy, stickers, a free burger coupon for Sonic’s favorite diner in Bavan, and a few small toys (including a sticky hand from the arcade!!). A handwritten note on festive paper is also included.

“HI NEKU

Happy Nattenwhatever and Chrismas and all that stuff. I don’t think we’ve met, but I’m a friend of Beat’s! Since you just got here I got you a coupon for the most bangin’ burger in Bavan. Enjoy it before you can’t anymore :( Sorry you have to be here but I hope we can be friends.

SONIC”]

you me hittin the town i got the day off yo lets go round

[It's actually nice to be home after the party, collapsing on the couch and stretching out his legs. He didn't really get much down time, going from person to person and place to place to make sure it was all going smoothly. Wiggling his toes, cracking them with a sigh, he twists his head around until he picks up the tracking on Neku to locate him, then call in his direction.]

What's a night cap anyways, yo?

Just letting you know, if Beat hasn't already. I'm currently in the clinic at [address here] and likely won't be home for a few days. Our attempt to vacuum the fog got a bit messy.

[With a search party apparently forming to go find Beat, Joshua knows that Neku would want to go, too. The gargoyle has been worried in his own way. Joshua isn't that blind. Still, he's waffled hard on whether he wants to ask Neku to go or not - there's always something that seems to happen around mid-month, and all things considered, he doesn't want Neku or Shoka to be caught out in Lager Woods when it happens, especially if it's something particularly awful.

It also makes him a horrible hypocrite, since he's willing to be out there himself under the same conditions, but that's ultimately what makes him sigh and walk up the stairs anyway. He's going soft.

There's a quick knock on Neku's door, followed by the door opening just a crack, enough for him to call through.]

Neku?

[Just like with Shoka, Joshua has a running roster of birthdays, so of course he knows that Neku's has been steadily approaching. And, just like Shoka, he's sure that Neku may not even think to celebrate it. Three years stuck in a dead district probably doesn't lend well to things like that, after all.

When Neku comes home after his shift at Sparkling's bar that morning, something in his room is noticeably different. It isn't just the brand new floor lamp in the corner - there's also a table sitting pre-placed in the upright position, with a note taped to the surface in an elegant, handwritten script, simply reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'.]

Feel up to taking a little trip with me?

[Neku will wake up one day after the temp changes have hit to find a very familiar pin waiting for him, and a note in Beats familiar scribble.]

"Mana's sense of humor, yo. Whatever. Keep this pin on you! If you need me simply thinka me and the pin will summon me!"

Where are you?

i got somethin for you!

lemme know when you wake up babe

Ho ho ho! Your Secret Santa giftee is IANTHE TRIDENTARIUS. I don't have a lot more info to give you, but she's "sanctumreverentia" on the network and she seems... fun?

Buy or make Ianthe a gift by December 26, or Santa will come down your chimney and box your ears.

If you need more information, contact me C/O Hawkeye Pierce at Crowe Clinic, and I'll delegate him to tell you to do your own research.

[ Neku will receive a small collection of neat rocks, sourced from all over the peninsula - the bottom of Lake Dala, Merain, Dyster, Plaga's Peak, and more besides. ]

[In a crisply-wrapped series of stacked boxes, Neku will find the following:

1. A set of headphones in a color scheme that calls back to Neku and Beat's recent graffiti shirt venture. The headphones are carefully crafted to fit snugly while leaving space for horns and larger-than-normal ears. This makes them look a little like Mickey Mouse ears, but it's fine.

2. A matching Walkman, scavenged from March's tech rain, upgraded to match the headphones, and retrofitted with larger buttons for big clumsy claws.

3. Never while he breathes will Giorno admit that it's a snuggie, but: there's also a snuggie. Fire-resistant, with optional heating throughout, massive to cover the wings, and most importantly, purple for matchies.

4. Just an absolute fuckton of cookies.

Underneath all of these is a note that reads, Buon Natale, or Ryslig equivalent. I hope this winter keeps you happy, warm, and full. —Giorno Giovanna]

[New year, new month, new-old form. For Neku, at any rate. Joshua still seems to be stuck in Pooka mode for another month, and that's just fine for him, but the chillness of Neku's own Pooka form the month before had made him think. It might not have been anywhere near the level of his Waldgeist form from back over the summer, but it still carried a similar enough note that he found himself feeling... concerned.

He's never really felt any level of regret for what he did. If it wasn't for the events he set in motion, Neku would still be cold and withdrawn. He never would have grown as he did during his time in the Game. Shibuya wouldn't be the way it is today without Neku. But it isn't about that. It isn't about Neku's time in the Game anymore.

New year, new him, he supposes.

So, whenever the New Year's Day festivities around the house have died down a little, Joshua goes to find his fiance, looping his arms around one of Neku's while keeping the wing membrane in mind.]

Have time to talk?

[Beat promised and though he might not be a Pooka anymore, it doesn't stop the new permanent werewolf from tracking his fiance down, sniffing the air to pick up the scent of him. Heat, the tang of metal, warm flesh, the soap and shampoo Neku prefers. Licking his chops a little, he makes no secret of his approach when he tracks the other down, tail wagging.]

Yoooo, Phooones~

[After encountering the Void and the Truth, Joshua isn't sure how to handle the revelation he's had laid out before him. Two sets of memories conflict in his head, and it's hard, sometimes, to keep track of what is real and what isn't. Clinging to what the Truth has said is the easiest way to do so, but it's hard. It's a lot to have to accept. And he has, to some extent - it's how he got out of there in the first place - but that doesn't make it easier.

Something else that doesn't make it easier is knowing that Neku lied to him.

Beat had tried to tell him, but he'd so thoroughly dismissed it then. And then later, Neku had said the same thing. He had almost said the truth. Almost. But then he played it off as a joke, and now, Joshua is left battling with these conflicting memories. If only he'd listened to Beat, who he knows wouldn't lie to him. If only he'd suspected Neku, who he trusted not to lie at all.

All of this is going through his head as he knocks on the doorframe of Neku's studio.]

Hey. Can we... talk?

[Finally the fucking rain has stopped, and Beat proceeds to run to find Neku, looking excited. Date! Date!]

Babe! Babe! Baby! Babe! Where you are! Babe!

continued from here

[neku snorts and rolls his eyes.]

It's MY birthday and you're being bossy. Fine, fine.

[he has no real qualms leaning over Beat to meet Josh though. Perfect front row seat]

[Just after it gets well and truly dark and Neku has had plenty of time to wake up tends to be the perfect time to catch him. Still, Joshua waits until he knows that Neku has gone off to his studio for a bit before heading up the stairs himself. Once he arrives, he cocks his hip against the doorframe, folding his arms.]

Hey, handsome. Up to anything fun?

Season's greetings! Kris Kringle's assistant here, reporting to you in his stead, as he is a very busy man this time of year. Your Secret Santa recipient is Lup Taaco, network username: < HotterTwin >.

Get Lup a present by December 26, and if you can't figure out how to deliver it, you can drop it off (clearly labelled, please!) at Crowe Clinic up until the 24th.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT LUP:
- I assume her username is accurate and she is a twin.
- I hear she likes to party.

If you need more information, I'm afraid I cannot be of assistance. Maybe attempt something generic, or do some detective work? Should be a good challenge.

Happy Nattensfest holidays.

[ Foo Fighters left a package at the TWEWY house when she came by to pick up the free pin-launchers Joshua was advertising - a package for Neku! It's carefully wrapped in the gaudiest wrapping paper Foo could find, with a note saying FROM YOUR SECRET SANTA :D.

Inside the package are two nice quality sketchpads, and this sweater. ]

[another year, another gift from Sonic! He'd feel bad giving someone so creative and skilled one of his handmade gifts, so instead, Neku gets a bunch of high quality paints and brushes!]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, NEKU SAKURABA. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55

MERR CRISIS

<soundsurfer>

the night of the party, after everythings done

<Composing> Early evening on 4/4, since he knows Neku sleeps during the day

Just before the April event

Early morning on 4/21, before sunrise