ic; salt inbox

[ripher]

WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK

USERNAME: GILES

text ❖ audio ❖ video

note: this inbox is a choose not to warn experience and may contain nsfw threads

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text 🔫 un: finn

[advertising]

( in the interest of comparing notes. )

Riley Finn reporting for duty to compare notes.

But, really, vampires. They're everywhere, right? Like, unabashedly everywhere. It's like vampirism's catching? Although, the hen apparently lived in a pumpkin with a face (a jack-o-lantern?) which is weird enough to type anyway.

[ripher]

Yes, I have heard some very alarming rumours. It would be wise to be cautious.

text: un: koby

[kobes]

I have a question about library restoration. If you have a moment.

[ripher]

Of course, ask away.

✉️ text — un: astarion.

[thirsted]

[ Delivered the evening after Giles' offering is received:

First, written in Astarion's neat script:

For your effort.

And then, attached to the note, a single pale feather, almost pearly when it catches the light. ]

✨ INBOX FOR JUNE ✨

[ripher]

GUEST AU INBOX CAN BE FOUND HERE

💌

[bronze]

( a note, as posted via pink sticky note on the bathroom side on giles’ door — )

giles 💕

anis HERE ok i think youre asleep so thats why the note

ok!!!! ❤️❤️ say hi in morning!!!!!!!!

@goodsir

[mygoodsir]

Dear Mr. Giles,

I am writing to you today to offer my sincerest apologies for the behaviour of my other self throughout the past month. Although I don't recall insulting you directly, I was close enough to your social circle that I fear my very existence was grating enough.

I assure you that I am now what I was previously: a (I hope) relatively stable Englishman from 1848 and not a bitter drunkard who will text you at some ungodly hour to discuss 'twinks.'

Yours most humbly,
Harry D.S. Goodsir

[ripher]

Harry,

Please don't worry about it. You at least gave me some good advice. And I did enjoy watching you bait Stephen. I trust you're well, despite everything?

Rupert

✉️ text — un: ev.

[volkarin]

If I may — you're aware I share a connection with one of the beings in this place, yes?

[ripher]

I've read somewhat online. Was there an incident with the undead?

text — un: BUFFY

[bronze]

question for you
what do you know about sentient houses? like, if a house was living and breathing. if it had a heart. is that anything? maybe there's some ancient tome somewhere — voltaire's guide to stubborn house decorating?

[ripher]

[ Not exactly a text he was expecting to get. Still, he has some downtime in the library tent. ]

As in truly alive, not just a case of a malignant spirit or a trans-dimensional echo? I've never heard of anything besides rumours that it's possible. It would require an extraordinary amount of power.

Do you think that's happening here?

text @shadowheart

[nightsung]

We missed you.

I missed you. I’m glad you’re back with us, Rupert.

[ripher]

[ It feels as though it's been months -- longer, maybe. As if he's rediscovering the world all over again. Perhaps he is. Seeing her name brings back a wash of memory, like colour infusing a blank canvas. ]

I'm glad to be back. I think. It's rather difficult to tell what I'm feeling in the present moment.

Are you well? I hope you haven't been hurt.

text @SPIKE

[chipped]

Gonna trust you with something now that you’re back with us, Rupert, and I assume someone’s filled you in on rules of the game. Don’t let me regret it, all right?

[ripher]

[ Hmm. He has indeed been filled in, but that doesn't mean he's going to trust Spike right off the bat. ]

Go ahead.

@goodsir (local yapper yapping)

[mygoodsir]

Giles,

I trust you will forgive me for my lack of niceties, but time is very short indeed.

The list of victims:

PAUL ATREIDES, methodically drained of blood. found in cold storage.
many cuts, no bites

WILL GRAHAM, stabbed in the stomach.
sharp blade, caught by surprise, unremarkable footprints at the scene

HOMELANDER, bisected. one blow.
definitely a bladed weapon used
addition: he says it was an axe, now that he is alive.

PEONY, throat slit.
missing hair, sloppily buried

RUPERT GILES, throat ripped out and blood drained.
attack indicative of bestial traits. diamond collar spotted fleeing the scene.
(I'm afraid yours was one of the nastier deaths.)

CASTIEL, nailed to a slab of wood and stabbed under the ribs
struggled, alive when crucified. other wounds match those of the saviour as well. diamond collar spotted again.


The last round, the accused were by and large lacking in evidence. My vote would have gone to August Moreau as he apparently has access to demons; it seemed a good fit for the murder of Castiel. Due to the need for strategic voting, I changed mine to Saber Tooth, against whom there was great evidence for the attack of Jake Seresin.

Misty Quigley is suspected of having poisoned young Ren for threatening the Yellowjackets. This is not public knowledge; Ren has no idea and most think it was a case of food poisoning. Misty also has the role of Necromancer, so she herself cannot be a wolf.


This round, I've a list of the pumpkins associated with each corpse:

HEART EYES PUMPKIN — Mr. Melville
SCARED PUMPKIN — Koby
SAD PUMPKIN — Miss Scatorccio
ANGRY PUMPKIN — Set
GRINNING PUMPKIN — Mr. Kent

I believe the pumpkin faces are a commentary on either the temperament of the victim, or how they saw their killer.

All of the severed heads found in the pumpkin patch were missing a lock of hair, according to Mr. Wyatt. Last round each of the football girls submitted to a search, and none of them were found to have Miss Peony's hair.

I am currently about to investigate Sarah's death.

I am not a wolf. This I know to be true. I cannot be so certain of even those I care for most; at present, it seems likely Shauna Shipman may be one of our killers.

I fear I've forgotten things, but I am confident your own close friends will catch you up. You've a history with these sorts of things and I think it is to everyone's advantage that you have access to as much information as possible.

[ripher]

[ Well. This is.. a lot. He's going to try not to think too much about how nasty his own death was, compared to someone apparently being crucified. ]

Thank you, Harry. This is very concise.

If I can ask, what makes you so sure you cannot be a wolf?

@t.laughlin

[holyposition]

I didn't get a chance to welcome you back. There was so much going on.

It is good to see you, though.

I died here in April. And I was attacked during last year's "game". So I get it. I know you've got other people, but if you need anything, I can be there, okay?

[ripher]

[ It's touching, both the message and the spirit behind it -- being thought of, worried about. Giles is still somewhat getting used to the concept. ]

Thank you, Timothy. I appreciate the concern. I've been well taken care of so far.

[ He sends that, thinks for a moment, then adds: ]

Though I have been wondering if I should expect any side effects? From what I've read, this process of [ ... ] resurrection doesn't necessarily end with the restoration of life. So far I seem to be quite unscathed. Besides the obvious.

text, un: dom

[wicka]

Hey
I get it if u never wanted to hear from me again
But I just wanted to say I'm sorry

[ripher]

[ It's not a name he expected to see in his inbox so soon, but Giles is glad to see it nevertheless. He doesn't need long to think of a response -- he's been thinking about it since waking up in the commune. ]

On the contrary, I'm glad to hear from you. I've been meaning to reach out. Is it all right to say that I'm pleased that you're back?

text — un: BUFFY

[bronze]

i need you to taste test recipes for thanksgiving
no you don't get a choice

[ripher]

[ Oh. ]

Of course. With everything that's happened I quite forgot that it was coming up.

Who have you invited?

day after the full moon, text

[wicka]

Did it happen?

[ripher]

I think so. Though I don't believe I transformed in the traditional sense.

It seemed more [ .... ] specific.

💌 letter.

[begot]

[ Delivered to Giles' door — an envelope containing a piece of fine, off-white card stock (smelling faintly of sandalwood and fig), upon which has been written, in fluid script: ]

Hi, handsome.

I don't know how Thanksgiving works in a place like this, but I like writing letters, and a holiday seemed like as good an excuse as any.
So: thanks for a nice time. A few nice times, really. I'd suggest the planetarium next, but you already make me see stars.

🩷 Amy

[ripher]

[ He lingers over it, bringing the letter to his nose to sniff the paper, smiling gently over the memory.

In return, his own letter, penned carefully on slightly more boring paper. ]

Amy,

I'm afraid I'm not much for Thanksgiving, usually — except when Buffy is involved, which reminds me that I meant to invite you to our little celebration tomorrow night, if you're free? Forgive me if you have plans, but I would very much like to see you again. And as often as possible, really. I'm afraid I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.

I'm doubly glad to receive your letter, since it not only gives me a chance to think about you some more, but also to apologise for not writing to you sooner. I'm afraid that I'm rather out of practice with any of this. It's been a few years since I was involved with anyone at all, so I find myself feeling my way through it — and all of the associated chaos that's arrived with us in this place — rather haphazardly. I fear that means that I may be making mistakes, irrevocable ones, without knowing it. So I hope you will be able to forgive me if I seem to be catching up when I ought to know where I'm going.

I digress — a thing I seem to do all too easily around you, since you have made me feel so welcome and so comfortable so quickly, as well as a great deal of rather adolescent excitement over the thought of seeing you again, in any capacity. I think I should tell you that exchanging a smile with you over breakfast or at the gym between sessions has become quite the highlight of my day — my week, in fact.

If you would like to visit the planetarium then I think that's an excellent idea, but I have to confess I think I might say that to anywhere you suggest, if it only means getting to be near you, and hearing you laugh, and perhaps being allowed to kiss you again.

I hope my rambling hasn't put you off. I will stop myself here now before I go on too long!

Yours,
Rupert

@hyperion

[redeems]

Rupert.

[ripher]

[ ???? ]

Who is this?

cumFULLer21

[homosexuals]

I mean, the guy looks like he can barely bench press 50. I'm supposed to believe he bent Tim in half and made him forget his own name? Fat chance.

[ripher]

[ Hmmm. Perhaps he's talking about someone else. Harry? ]

I don't believe Mr Laughlin quite deserves this kind of gossip.

✉️ text — un: xAMAZINGAMYx (misfire).

[begot]

i took a few but i haven't sent any yet. he seems, i don't know, too cool for stuff like this? is that a thing?

jury's still out on whether or not i go through with it, but, hypothetically, door a or door b?

ATTACHMENT: VIDEO.MP4
ATTACHMENT: VIDEO.MP4

[ripher]

[ A brief rollercoaster of emotions: unexpected happiness, to see her name and a message turn up on his phone. Confusion, once he reads the message itself. And the videos --

His mouth goes dry as he watches them. And then again. He belatedly remembers to check if anyone else is close by in the library -- thankfully, he's alone -- and returns to them again, pausing the first one to gaze at the screen. Of course, it's not his first time seeing Amy like this -- both a pleasure and a privilege for him -- but the footage feels more private. More intimate, and an odd kind of thrill, seeing the way she looks at herself and puts herself on display for -- someone. While talking about another man. Someone else she's seeing?

He lingers for some time over a response, wondering if he should just delete them and pretend he hasn't seen them. Wondering if he has the right to question her. If they're even in that position yet -- it's not as though they've made any specific commitments to each other.

In the end, nervous, he opts for something simple -- and hopeful: ]

Well, I rather like the first one.

text — un: jellybean456 (misfire)

[rationalism]

he's not exactly making it easy for me to deny having daddy issues, you know what i'm sayin?????

[ripher]

[ He doesn't recognise the username, but the subject matter is familiar -- ]

I'm sorry, I think I've received this by mistake.

@faith — misfire

[stake]

fine, i'm putting my pussy where my mouth is
told u it's not that cold

[ IMG_755.JPEG ]

[ripher]

[ Cue Giles almost throwing his phone across the room once the picture loads. He manages to rescue it at the last second, juggling it briefly before he gets himself back under control. Then he's left just.. looking at it.

He shouldn't look.

He can't stop himself.

Eventually, he manages to write out a message: ]

Faith, I assume you didn't mean to send this to me?

@t.laughlin; misfire...unless...

[holyposition]

You should show me your feet

[ripher]

[ Not unusual to get a text from Tim -- though this is a little confusing. ]

My feet? Are you sure?

🎁 delivery (dated 12/25).

[begot]

[ Given on Christmas morning, a series of gifts wrapped neatly in shiny gold paper:

— a dark blue silk dressing robe,
— a leather-bound blue notebook with his initials embossed in gold on the front,
— a brown and navy cashmere scarf,
— a sandalwood-scented candle, and
— a pair of sparklers.

Pressed between the gifts is a simple piece of off-white card stock, upon which has been written: ]

Rupert,

It's very difficult, it turns out, to do Christmas shopping when everything I look at reminds me of you. And it's even harder to wait until Christmas when I want to tell you positively everything. I'd say I've been staying on my best behavior in the interest of staying on the Nice List, but between you and me, the Naughty List doesn't scare me so much anymore. Who cares if I get coal from Santa? I already have the most incredible gift of all: you.

Adoringly yours,
❤️ Amy

P.S. I included a couple of must-haves for New Year's Eve, too.

text — un: BUFFY

[bronze]

hi!
i was just thinking i never text you in the morning because i'm always worried you'll be asleep and i'll wake you up. i have a lot of a good thoughts in the morning fyi. i dreamed of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cake last night and i would really like to get your insight on that — is the frosting peanut butter or jelly or cake frosting, like cream cheese frosting? do you put in a banana layer just for giggles? dawn likes peanut butter and marshmallow fluff banana sandwiches, but that seems like the kind of thing to put an englishman in a coma. lots to think about.

anyway spike left. that's what i was texting to say.
i'm good, before you start worrying. just might not be back at our room for a little while so don't wait up for me. i'll get back into slayer training tomorrow which i know you'll probably say i shouldn't slack on, but lets be honest, i haven't really slayed anyone in a minute so i don't think a one day pause will set me back much. if it does you can scold me later. anyway you can have a day off! sleep in or take amy out. unless i woke you up with this, in which case you can have some tea and plan your day. do a crossword puzzle! you love crossword puzzles.
that's it. talk later!

[ripher]

[ It starts off how her text messages usually start when they land in his inbox at all hours of the day -- and night -- but, unfortunately, it doesn't stay that way.

Giles rereads it a few times, listening to the words between the words, the flippant announcement that her world has just become that much smaller. He knows her too well to be fooled, can too easily see the heartbroken girl trying her best to keep her head above water. Trying to distract herself from the pain. He knows he can't -- shouldn't -- stop her, no matter his own feelings. This is something she has to do on her own, as she's done too many times before. ]

Buffy, I'm truly sorry to hear that. We may have had our differences, but he was good for you. Good to you. That's all I've ever wanted.

I'll be here when you get back. No matter how late.

@t.laughlin

[holyposition]

Harry says I can get the boot off as early as next week, if I take it easy and everything looks good.

So you might see me back in the gym soon, Professor :)

[ripher]

Good. I'll be glad to see you again. I've missed spotting you around the place.

[ Ahem. ]

And of course, you'll have to work on your form to make up for all of this sitting around.