a_cute_batata | IC Inbox @ Labyrinthum

From:

[ One morning, as your character steps out of their home, they are greeted by an owl messenger, bearing a letter. The letter tells them that they have been selected to participate in a gift exchange, and they are to deliver a gift to Li Lanhua by the end of the month. The letter says nothing more, and once the letter is read, the owl will fly away. ]

From:

snuffboxes

[ A bag of sherbet lemons is delivered to Luz sometime on the 24th. Attached is a hand-written note:

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this treat, and have a fine holiday with your friends.

Sincerely,

A.Z. Fell ]

From:

doctor_uhh

[A few days after a mysterious package arrived on someone's doorstep, Luz will find a small wooden box in front of her own. Inside, there are a handful of unlabelled flower seeds and bulbs, as well as a letter.]

Kind Santa (though Secret no longer),

your efforts in acquiring and delivering a gift to one Li Lianhua were as unexpected as they were appreciated. Still, you need not have troubled yourself so, for such a precious gift naturally must be returned in kind, yet I find myself unable to live up to such heroic (and sneaky!) hardships as you undertook for my lowly sake.

In its stead, please accept this humble offering. The first, you may keep safe through winter, then plant in fresh soil come spring. Look after them with steady patience, to delight yourself and your friends in that which grows. The second, I hope will delight you a little sooner.

The wine is excellent. Let's not owe each other further.

With fond regards,

Li Lianhua

[On a second page, nothing but a poem is written.]

Lady White Snake, clothed in human form,
on the half-moon bridge across the West Lake,
fell in the water and fell in love.

Her chosen husband, a kind-hearted scholar,
knew not of the creature he wed.
Should a snake learn to love as humans do?

Laying claim to the wisdom of Heaven,
Fahai the monk swore to save the human, banish the spirit,
he tricked the scholar and revealed the snake.

As the shock claimed her beloved's life,
Lady White Snake braved a thousand tribulations, unyielding loyalty saw her succeed,
in returning her lover's lost soul to him.

Pear blossoms fell on the half-moon bridge,
upon their reunion and their parting anew,
for Fahai imprisoned the scholar and battled the snake.

Vicious and wild she became,
a great flood was summoned by her fury,
the spirit's heart thus tested, ravaged the temple and drowned all the monks.

To this day on the banks of the West Lake,
In Leifeng Pagoda the white maiden is locked to repent.
Should a snake have learned to love as humans do?

From:

a_cute_batata

[You now have a friend, Li Lianhua! Luz loved the bulbs and vowed to plant them once it was the right season. As for the OTHER gift, Luz actually cries when she reads the poem, amazed someone knew to get her a gift she never knew she wanted.

She is framing the poem and keeping it in her room, thank you]!

From:

theheartofahero

[ Sent Christmas Eve because I've been so slow! I hope this is okay based on what he's learned in their thread so far! I look forward to having Izuku get to know Luz better!

Luz said she liked to paint so Izuku has gotten her a metallic acrylic paint set! It comes with 10 brushes and 30 different colors so he hopes she'll have enough to make plenty of paintings before the colors run out! He thought she might like the shiny metallic colors over the regular ones...! It comes with a note that says "Happy holidays! :) Please enjoy making many wonderful paintings!" ]

From:

gordonratsay

[A variety of delicious Christmas cookies show up at Luz's home, along with a message.]

Merry Christmas, kid! Hope it's a good one!

From:

anything_grows

[ When Luz wakes up, she'll find a box with her name on it, wrapped in red and green paper. Inside the box she'll find a simple dried flower bracelet, and a note. ]

Merry Christmas, Luz!

- Willow

From:

avatar_state

[The mice will make a surprise delivery to Luz over the holidays, a nicely-wrapped box! Inside of it, she will find a small, handwritten book, and a note.]

Dear Luz,

I know you like to hear my stories, and I'm not great at telling them in person. So I wrote down a couple stories of some of the previous Avatars - here you'll meet some of my predecessors: Roku, Kiyoshi, and Yangchen. I hope you enjoy these, it was fun to remember a lot of this and write it all down. Happy Holiday!

-Korra

From:

justdontgiveame

Hello Luz, meet me at my cottage in an hour's time. Loki will be attending and this concerns both of you.

From:

a_cute_batata

Heya Puck! Oh, sure. I'll be right there!

From:

doctor_uhh

[On a particular day in early February, the mail mice will deliver a red envelope to Luz. It's folded to resemble a little pouch, and inside are found eight flower seeds and two lines of calligraphy.]

May the waning year have planted the seeds for good fortune,
And the coming year see flowers bloom all around you.

Edited Date: 2024-02-10 12:02 pm (UTC)

From:

headhooligan

[One morning Luz would find a box with her mail, tied with a bow & note attached. On the note paper, there was a wonky little glyph-doodle in one corner; after which the artist seems to have given up, filling the rest of the border with random little swirls instead.]

Thanks for being my friend. –Aubrey

[The actual box contained an otter plush, loosely posed with forearms outstretched. Perfect for cuddles.]

(ooc: Not expecting a thread here, just a little in-between bonus!)

From:

a_cute_batata

[Luz is overcome with emotion, happy to add a new plushie to her collection (she doesn't have as many as you'd think since stuffed animals were in short supply, a thing Luz still did not understand.

But a few days later, Aubrey would similarly also find a mahogany box, with a note that had Luz drawing herself SD with a smile that had her tongue sticking out.

Thanks Aubrey, I loved it! Don't know if you'll like this, but I hope it brightens your day!

[In the box are several different types of teas, a big lavender pouch for the house, some pretty stationary with quills and the thing that took the longest: a painting of the sea at dusk].

From:

toph_luck

[ A message comes through, spurred on by a spontaneous decision to catch up.
]

Hey! I'm in town, come find me when you're ready.

From:

a_cute_batata

Hey Toph! Cool, you got it!

[Luz immediately clicks off her com, finds Stringbean and her companion turns into a staff, so Luz is in town in a matter of minutes, looking for Toph].