IC CONTACT for ximilia.

[shadysided]

// ziggy

TEXT • AUDIO • VIDEO

XIMILIA

Comments

special delivery

[bossily]

[On the evening of the 24th, there will be a knock at Ziggy's door. Clara runs off before it's answered, but there's a gift left behind. There's a bundle of wrapped books. One is a new, pristine copy of a random YA novel where there's absolutely no romance and the female lead is kicking ass and taking names. She figured that Ziggy deserves something better than just classical literature to occupy her time with.

There's also a handmade leather bound journal, one with blank pages. Written on the first page is a note from Clara.

Ziggy,
I've learned that the best stories are those we write for ourselves. Never be afraid to dig deep inside the darkest, scariest parts of yourself and pull out every little detail. Let the words find their way onto the page, guided by your hand and your experiences. And one day, whenever your story's complete, I'd love to be the first one to read everything.

Happy Christmas,
Clara]

[shadysided]

[What the hell, Clara.

Don't make her cry in secret!]

12/24

[ruinously]

[ A little basket of cupcakes appears at the door Christmas Eve.

There's a note attached that says:

Yeah, I made these, yeah, they're cute as hell. Eat the heads first, that's what I do. Enjoy.

And stay safe, please.

-Dean ]

Christmas Eve

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's gift to Ziggy comes wrapped in dark blue paper, and tied with a silver ribbon. Inside there is a dagger, washed in silver with Charter marks that seem to slide over and through the metal. There is also a sheath for it, fastened to a sturdy leather belt that has several leather pouches attached to it.

There is also a silver charm, of braided wire and also shining with Charter Magic.

There is also a small handwritten note attached.]

I hope you won't need this, but it's better to be safe

-Sabriel

delivery; 2/15

[homeostatic]

( If Ziggy's intending to lock herself away again, she's not doing so without food so, he's brought her a covered tray with half a sandwich, a cup of soup, apple slices and something to drink.

Knock, knock. )

[shadysided]

[Ziggy doesn't respond at first; McCoy will have to do another series of knocks before she relents, opening the door a crack to peer out from the dimly lit space behind her. Wariness morphs into exasperation the moment she locks eyes with him.]

I don't need room service. Shouldn't you be in bed resting?

[Defensive teenaged responses are a-go.]

text. first day in taeum

[construing]

Still with us, Lady Stardust?

text.

[shadysided]

Still around.

Still kind of shocked I'm here of all places, but I guess it's probably more random than that.

This library I found is insane.

text - un; nightmoves

[ruinously]

kid - you okay? this is dean

text

[shadysided]

Right, like anyone else would have 'nightmoves' as their user name.

[... yeah she's ok]

text — un: the.doctor ; immediately after comms are fixed

[lateness]

it works!

brilliant all right yes hello

hello ziggy! it's the doctor, just checking in

are you all right?

text

[shadysided]

Hey, doctor! Nice to hear the comms are back up.
I was thinking we'd be cut off the entire mission, so that's nice.



And I'm alright, I just hate this place and want to go to hell.

[Text] Backdated to the day they return from Vrefesea

[singlelogbridge]

Hey, didn't get any bites taken out of you did you?

[It's easier to ask a teasing question than to reveal the real actual worry he's feeling having not spoken to her throughout all of the chaos that went down.]

[Text]

[shadysided]

Some of my hair got singed, but other than that, I think I actually made it out of one of these stupid missions without bonus damage.

How about you? You doing okay?

un: 10-54; surprise text shortly after network post

[construing]

What's this I hear about you becoming the Ximilia's ambassador to the Fables?
Leave 'em alone for two minutes and they trade superhero-ing for politics, kids of the 70s, I swear.

[shadysided]

You surprised? I'm only one of the most competent, most powerful, most magical members of the crew.

But hey, someone had to get their foot in the Fables' door, right?

[farr]

[ one morning on the station, on each orber's door, the following hand-written note (in fancy calligraphy) will be taped:


the orber can choose to attend or simply listen in to the meeting when it occurs, or they may ignore it altogether. ]

[farr]

[ yet another flyer ends up on every orber's door, evidently by the same culprit as last time, except now it's a more colorful display:


the back of the flyer features more details about the play and its characters, and soon enough, an announcement from rita herself goes public, giving more context about the event, which all can sign up for. ]

[ Action ]

[spacedisaster]

[ He told her he was leaving in person first but it doesn't hurt to leave her with an extra present. And so, Before Peter goes back home for good, he leaves a wrapped package Ziggy's door. Inside she will find Peter's jetpack, and the cool gun he got as a reward in their last mission, cleaned and ready for her to use. It also comes with a note:]

I’ll miss you until we meet again. Keep being awesome, Ziggy. And in the words of the most famous teddy bear in history, "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard".

-P.Q.⭐

[deaddrop]

Delivered to Ziggy's door without a note, a Christmas stocking.

The contents include:

• A travel mug.
  
• Hot chocolate mix.
  
• Marshmallows.
  
• A self-defense keychain.
  

Action, pre DND mission

[singlelogbridge]

[There is, apropos of nothing, a knock at Ziggy's door! When she answers it, Wei Wuxian is standing there will a pleased smile.]

I promise I'm not here to assign more copying. [A smirk.] Do you have a moment?

Action

[shadysided]

[She pokes her head out of her door and pretends she wasn't totally in the middle of binge-watching High School Musical 1 through 3 in her pajamas. Ehem!]

... Well, as long as it isn't more copying...

[The relief in that is not sarcastic, just so we're clear.]

I wasn't exactly doing anything important. What's up, teach?

text - un; nightmoves

[venatoris]

[ after his theft - ]

where the hell are you?!

text

[shadysided]

I found a dwarf palace place, and then I almost fell off a bridge, and now some hot tiefling lady has me on a mountain.



You?

January 22nd

[singlelogbridge]

[On the morning of January 22nd, Ziggy will find a bright red envelope slipped under the door of her room in the house that she and Wei Wuxian are sharing. On top of the red envelope is a scribbled note that reads:

Good morning, a-xing! You have to read this note before you open the envelope, okay?

This is a hongbao (紅包) In my culture, it's traditional for adults to gift them to their juniors on certain holidays, and today is Lunar New Year day. It's the day that marks the completion of another year and it is just slightly more accurate than the new year that was celebrated earlier in the month. I know because I checked!

Lunar New Year is meant to be celebrated with close family, and since you are my VERY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER (and just as importantly, my wonderful and precious student) I hope you'll enjoy this hongbao in celebration. Don't spend it all in one place. Or do! I'm not the boss of you!

-your Laoshi, Wei Wuxian

[Inside of the envelope, Ziggy will find a not insignificant amount of extra funds that Viveca had supplied Wei Wuxian upon request for this purpose. Enjoy!!]

[shadysided]

[... Oh, man.

She's gonna have to buy Wei Wuxian something now. Discreetly! And she'll have to gift it in the following weeks so that he's not objecting to a junior gifting their seniors. See, she can be strategic. Sometime before the next leg of their mission, Wei Wuxian will find the following on his bed, unwrapped but propped up very intentionally — a gold and red spool of ornate ribbon, and a holder with a few pretty arrows with red feathers.



She appreciated the sweet message, okay?

Don't worry, she bought so many sweets with the rest of what he'd given her.]

text; un: raddude5000

[heroooic]

[A lot had to happen in the few days after their return. Injured orbers needed stabilizing and the doctors at work needed gofers to wash linens and fetch stock. These were tasks Finn occupied himself with in totality those first 48 hours back aboard the Ximilia. There were moments of quiet scattered in-between -- a much needed shower, a couple quick naps -- but Finn avoids them as a rule. With the adrenaline of the fight still pumping through him in fits an starts, moments of quiet could be dangerous.

Case in point, it is in one of those moments of quiet (laying awake, trying to sleep) that Finn remembers with guilty suddenness that he hadn't texted Ziggy once since they got back.

The message comes through after midnight; a sure fire sign of someone being Normal On Main.]

Ziggy, hey! I keep meaning to send you a brain-text and then I keep forgetting like an idiot. Are you okay? How's your back?

text;

[shadysided]

[It's okay, buddy. Life is complicated, and Ziggy's somewhat aware that Finn's had it a little rough. What with the whole... betrayal of someone heroic and all of that, and the big fight that had ensued. Honestly, it was way cleaner a retrieval than they've had in the past, but that didn't make it any less mentally taxing. She's busied herself lying around and feeling stiff and sore like she's just been in a car crash when she gets that text.]

Wow, brain-text sounds extra weird, when you put it that way.

But don't worry about it, I'm used to dealing with post-mission stuff. I'm still alive, shockingly. Mostly been stealing bags of peas out of the freezer for my back until it doesn't feel like someone's thrown me off a roof.

I guess being young doesn't always mean you're quick on recovery.

action-ish; sometime after the return.

[kovach]

[ kovacs is still gradually in the process of getting better about proper check-in's. since it usually involves offering to share a drink (or something else stashed in his bag), he can't really go about it his usual way with ziggy. so he goes with leaving a different kind of gift for her.

in front of her door are two origami-crafted foxes, a little more detailed than the ones they originally worked on together, along with a scribbled note: ]

If you want to learn how to make these, find me in the mess hall sometime.

action;

[shadysided]

[Hah. Look at you, being social. This place really brings out the sliver of extrovert any of us grumpy buzzkills have, doesn't it? At such a thought, she can't very well leave him on a metaphorical read✓, so she ditches the ice pack she'd chucked onto her back for the afternoon and stiffly makes her way over to the mess hall. Just in case he's lingering there now.

If not, she'll just make herself a sandwich.

I Spy, but Kovacs edition. When she catches sight of him, she sighs to herself and says loudly:]

Man, I really wish I had something to do right about now.

text; during ziggy's ciraiwei search request

[heroooic]

[ The message comes during the final days of their mission here. Finn had his earpiece removed for a while now, focusing instead of the comfort of physical labor. One of the local Hivawei needed her roof rethatched and Finn was an hour into gathering reeds in the woods, willfully ignoring the pointlessness of the task.

It was hard work even without the oppressive heat of "Mother Light's" approach. Finn slumps down against a tree to take a break, reinserting his earpiece. It was nice to take a mental break from the arguments polluting the network, now and then, but. There were still some people worth talking to.

It takes Finn several tries to get a selfie the right mixture of 'pulling an exaggeratedly goofy sexy-face' and 'you can still tell I work out.' ]

[cringe.png]
is it hot out here or is it just me? :P

anyway haha what's up? i was gonna head back to the village soon if you wanted to grab a little grub. you close by?

text;

[shadysided]

[Just know that it's not in vain, Finn; for all the cringe you're putting out into the world right now, it's at least summoning a ghost of a smile to Ziggy's lips while she's slumped against a tree and bawling her eyes out. Small things, little mercies, though it can't quite ease the ache of what she'd told Melis and Criv. While she can't say she regrets it, there's some great weight on her chest right now at the idea of what it all means. Facing the potential extinction of these people, or, pending a miracle, the complete loss of their planet regardless.

Wiping at her eyes, she struggles to cry and mentally send messages.

You can imagine what that ends up doing.]

nothing doing (translationerror) thing i'm fine (translationerror) hic (translationerror)

audio | un; mal

[tochnyy]

[ it's a few days after they're back and everyone's had some time to process. ] Did you come back in one piece? Physically. If not emotionally.

More importantly [ insert dramatic pause here?? ] — Do you like honey cakes?

audio

[shadysided]

... Physically, never been better. Emotionally? Constipated, and waiting to see what that evolves into. I guess I'm just kind of going through the motions...

[... Oh.]

I'm assuming that's something sweet and made out of bread.

So I can safely say yes. Are you offering me 'condolence desserts'?

Audio | UN: Wei Wuxian

[singlelogbridge]

Ziggy, I need to speak with you. [It's not how he usually starts chatting with her, his voice thick with some unnamed emotion. He'd have gone in person, but he's still in the infirmary, resting at Finn's side. Jake isn't there at the moment and Finn is still out cold which gives him the opportunity he needs to make this call.]

Audio

[shadysided]

Wei Wuxian?

[She'd been in the middle of some of her more routine lesson practices when the message had come in — and something in the man's voice had immediately set her on edge. What could have possibly happened? She wracks her mind for something she could have done wrong; some reason her teacher would be upset with her. She hasn't stolen anything? Gotten into any fights with anyone on board recently—

'... Chill out, Ziggy, this isn't a principal's office.']

What's going on? Is everything okay?

Letter, CW: Some references to suicidal ideation

[singlelogbridge]

[How does this letter make it into her things? Who knows, it's a mystery. Anyway, she'll find it among her things rolled and tied with a string. The handwriting is of course immediately familiar to her.]

To the girl made from stardust, my dearest little sister,

I know, I know, this is already extremely sentimental and gross. I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with it this time, a-Xing. My goal on this mission is to send sentimental letters, but I’ll admit that the thought might have crossed my mind regardless. Fair warning, it’s going to get much worse from here.

I don’t know how this mission will end, but I know it will end, and with it our time aboard the Ximilia will end or change in some fashion. Whatever that ends up looking like, there are things I need to say to you. Things I want you to know.

Back home, I had an elder sister and a younger brother, as you already know. They were not my siblings by blood, as you are not my sister by blood, but Ziggy, you are mine just as truly as they were mine and I love you the same as if the same blood ran through our veins.

When I came aboard the Ximilia, I was lost. I was angry and grieving and so empty, so broken, I believed the only way out for me was death. The thought of being able to right even a little of my past is the only thing that kept me from finding a way out. A way to sleep forever. I’m sorry to speak of such heavy things, but I want you to know this was my state of mind at the beginning.

Living here was a matter of going through the motions. A means to an end.

I did not expect that to change. I didn’t expect the people here to change me. But they did. You did. You with your spitfire anger and your brightness. You with your teasing and your sass. You with your whole heart and a pain that was shared between us. I’ll admit it didn’t take very long for me to love you Ziggy. I was doomed from the moment we broke those dishes in Giva.

I have been so lucky to be on the Ximilia. I have been so lucky to have met and loved you, my little sister. No matter where we go from here, no matter if we remain or part, your soul is a part of mine. It will linger beyond death, beyond reincarnation as a handprint. I hope that in another life in another world, we get to be siblings again, but know that even when Wei Wuxian and Ziggy are no more, the echo of this bond will always remain.

I’m so proud of everything you’ve become. You are brilliant, you’re strong, you’re kind, and you are so good, it hurts my heart in all the best ways. Thank you for being my meimei. Thank you for reminding me what it is to be a brother.

Love forever,
Your brother and laoshi, Wei Wuxian, Wei Ying