CPSS8: Imperishable Gift

[Raikaria]

Oh, cool. Thanks Hele.

Also as I was attempting to find the patterns in the blocks; I managed to find a 4. That turned out to NOT be a hint. I was basically connecting blocks in a way which made a continuous line.

Still working on the strange message I didn't post that says 'Hot HEET ATSU sicAk' I'm assuming the mix between the capitals and the lower case means something... but I'm pretty sure otsick doesn't anagram into something meaningful in English; Japanese or Dutch. Same with HHEETATSUA.

I mean; even if I was spoilt; a mystery is a mystery; no? Although to be fair; it's kinda hard to tell if the S; C and U are lower or upper case and I'm guessing purely on the size of the letters around them.

[Nietz]

the south requires no trashing it is trash
Now free my fuggin gift from customs already thanks

You will regret those words, boy. :matsuriscowl:


Anyway, got a chance to up the pics and write the report, so here it is.


The mysterious package, which Buffy The Box Slayer tried to open by herself as soon as I brought out in the living room.


Upon opening it, it was clear why she attacked it, as a mysterious white creature exuding malignancy laid dormant inside.

A note explained that my SS appeared to be no one other than the exiled Moon Princess herself! Furthermore:

Being the kind and generous Santa that I am, I got you your very own 「Five Treasures 」.

Oh my gods, I'm getting five Lunarian treasures as a gift? Even Yukari only got one even after 21 chapters of SSiB!

1. Delicious Fudge.

Looks delicious indeed, especially since it's seasoned with what I can assume is Sea of Tranquility salt.

2. A joyful moment projected upon cloth

Oh boy, this is joyfully gorgeous indeed. I had to hang it outside along with some Christmas lights just to properly capture it in its entirety. Suika and Aya is an unusual combination, but it works very well here. I'll have to find some place inside the house to hang it where it is visible but safe from feline attack.

3. Hand sewn 「Rabbit thing」 Plushie

Yes, it sure is a rabbit... thing. It definitely looks like a cute and innocent rabbit, with its fluffy white fur and its red eyes...


...its deep red, unblinking eyes.


...err, let's go to the next treasure then.

4. Hand carved stone stamp with my name on it

Oh, that's very well crafted, and certainly has an "ancient aristocracy" feel to it. And sure enough, it says "Teruyo" in it. =P
(It's written right-to-left though. I wonder if it's because of the archaic Japanese writing order.)

5. My face on a sticker

That?s very, um, narcissistic, I guess. But it's also very cute, so who cares?

Basically, I got five amazing gifts, and I'm very happy to get not one but two hand-crafted ones (the Rabbit Thing was probably my favorite). So, thanks a lot, Kags!
But also, I don't think they have direct postal service from Gensokyo, so I assume the package must have been sent via someone here on Earth. The package had no return address, but it came from the Royal Mail (furthermore, it had a picture of British royalty emblazoned on the side). Narrowing it down required some high-level divination spells, but my answer would be

Spoiler:

Puffy

. Thanks for all your work!

PS.: Oh, an I also got a bonus gift:

AS a bonus, have this lunarian coin as well.

OMG, lunarian currency!? I'm rich! There's nothing stopping me now!


Wait, what is... AAAAHHH!!!

[Spotty Len]

Sorry for being a bit late, I had some stuff to do and I also had to recover. Anyway, here we go.


The package came from Norwalk. And while I know Norwalk for their spectacular Melee scene, I am very bad at remember who is from where around here, and there is very little chance it was mentionned anyway. I'm in a pickle, but I'll still open it.


Oh goodie, lots of Pok?mon stuff! As well as some all white enveloppe, though if my instinct (and the things written on the package) are right, it might contain cards.



Oh man, that's really too bad about the beer, because I would have loved trying stuff from other places. But it's all right, my fridge is packed anyway, I won't be done any time soon.

Some closeup.


Anyway, let's see what's in that white enveloppe.


Now, that is neat, since Salamence, Excadrill and Gardevoir are indeed my favorite 3 Pok?mon. I didn't play the TCG for ages now, so I'll most likely keep them in their sleeves and put them in a nice place for all to see.


Anyway, thank you very much. I was in full force in Gen 6, and I am still in full force in Gen 7 now, I hope I can host our first local tournament soon.
And no DVD this time around, what a nice Chritsmas!

[triangles]

oops I had started writing this but then left for family festivities yesterday before I finished  :V


a shoebox from Canadaland has appeared!


snazzy wrapping paper!


also a card whoops I'll read that later


can't read French but I can read arrows and happy triangles!


inside was my precious bb Alola Vulpix (plus bonus precious bb Ceci)
gonna pop a magnet strip on the back and Vulpix can hang out on my fridge with my other perler bead nerd stuff


lots of snax - choco-orange goodies and homemade cookies!  Ceci is very interested in the chocolate chip cookies as was my sister, we all split one soon after taking this photo mmmmm 


Another shot of the full spread + cat


Inside the spoiler note the cookies were A+++
(yes I did bop Reddyne and his response was "it's like 45 degrees here but tell him I did wear it a week ago when it was 5 degrees stupid cold!")

Thanks Drake!

~*~bonus~*~

Reddyne probably won't get to post his update until sometime tomorrow so here's a teaser photo also again with cat

[Rin Kagamine]

Raikaria/Helepolis: was the puzzle ever posted? Or the correct combination? I can't seem to find either in the pictures but wasn't the solution

Spoiler:

8901 which is HAKUREI

?

[Raikaria]

Raikaria/Helepolis: was the puzzle ever posted? Or the correct combination? I can't seem to find either in the pictures but wasn't the solution

Spoiler:

8901 which is HAKUREI

?

I know the solution; thanks to my old man peeling off the spoiler.

I'm trying to find the road.

[HakureiSM]

Hello! If you are still waiting on your gift, please PM me and I will give you the tracking information. If you have your gift but haven't posted it yet then do so already!

You should just write a script to send it to me every year lol

[Santa Hakurei]

I know the solution; thanks to my old man peeling off the spoiler.

I'm trying to find the road.

I just want to make sure that my life isn't so bizarre that I dreamt the solution to a Helepolis secret santa puzzle

[Helepolis]

Raikaria/Helepolis: was the puzzle ever posted? Or the correct combination? I can't seem to find either in the pictures but wasn't the solution

Spoiler:

8901 which is HAKUREI

?

He never solved it legit :V  Note to self: Don't send any more the "I give up" option. But then again, Raikaria's dad would've just picked up a chain link cutter and crack it open. Or even blow up the box.

I'm trying to find the road.

Share the paper clue with the rest of the festive people here for help. The lego is a bit tough. I was hoping you would take at least 40 years in solving it.

[Rin Kagamine]

I just want to make sure that my life isn't so bizarre that I dreamt the solution to a Helepolis secret santa puzzle

Good job using the wrong account, maybe living two lives is why you're so confused?

[Raikaria]

He never solved it legit :V  Note to self: Don't send any more the "I give up" option. But then again, Raikaria's dad would've just picked up a chain link cutter and crack it open. Or even blow up the box.
Share the paper clue with the rest of the festive people here for help. The lego is a bit tough. I was hoping you would take at least 40 years in solving it.

Here's the mysterious paper

Also chain link cutter is totally plausible. My Dad's a boiler/gas engineer. He has a lot of various metal/pipe working tools. If he really wanted to he could have just destroyed the lock.

He wanted to open his presents. He wanted my turn to not last forever. I TOLD THEM TO DO MY BOX LAST

[Carrot Parfait]

I got a package in the mail! What could it be? The classiest secret santa gift I've ever gotten!





I love it a ton! Thank you whoever it was!

Note: the figurine was mine, the cross-stitch was the gift.

It also had some delicious food in it, but I accidentally ate that before taking a photo! OOPS

Spoiler:

Note: I accidentally saw who I got because they sent a PM to Moogs, which ends up in our shared email, so I won't be guessing.

[Chaore]

After checking, whoops it appears the package was delivered right after I left for christmas nonsense. :v

I'll not be able to post for a few days regardless, as I have a lot of post-christmas to wrap up.

[Reddyne]

Sorry for the previous placeholder post. Things have genuinely been busy and efficient posting via phone isn't really a thing yet.

I got a box from Amazon early in the month. Considering how many things I bought for others from Amazon and the regularity with which I have received secret Santa gifts just prior to Christmas over the years, I inadvertently tore into the box just to find the contents wrapped. WHOOPS.



Three weeks later, I have Santa's Little Helper to assist me again! Here's the note attached:



Ah. I've seen this movie before.



Sure enough, inside is a copy of Pokemon Moon! I actually have a preference for whatever seems to be the less popular of the two. I was given Blue as a kid, played through Sapphire a long time ago, bought Y, and now this. This trend seems like it's going to continue regardless of my input.



Okay EO:U. You'll have to rest for now, but I'll be back soon enough to AGH I HATE floor 20 and its dozen-plus FOEs that respawn whenever you're spotted by anything that rrrrrrggghh-Okay yeah time for a break.



Listen here, Wakka, you gotta remember that I was catching 'em all when you were still taking AP Bio.



So maybe I should name my character something Hawaiian? Here's an idea.



I think this is a bit closer to the truth but this is a bit too easy.



Aha! That'll do.



Also per tradition, I choose a starter based primarily on lack of popularity and typing on my previous choices. With fire type Fennekin being my previous choice, dopey forgotten Popplio is the obvious answer.

Man, I really would catch 'em all if I had the time and resources. IV, nature, and that sorta thing never mattered much to me. I just liked collecting all the pokeys. Way back when, my neighborhood friends and I pooled our time and resources to fill out the 150 spots in the pokedex in my copy of Blue. If I were to do that now it'd be far more complex and take a whole lot more effort. Still, I could fill out Alola's 'dex and have one of each pokey with some patience, tenacity, and a lot of begging for assistance...

Bonus cat pics as an apology for taking so long:

[N-Forza]

Either Christmas came late for a lot of people or they're just lazy.

[Hello Purvis]

Mine was dispatched to the US on the 9th, and that's the last this tracking number has to tell me.

[Chaore]

Either Christmas came late for a lot of people or they're just lazy.

It's christmas man. They'll get to it, but family comes first and the holidays don't always end on the day itself.

Cut 'em some slack.

[pasu]

maybe they forgot posting was required :getdown:

[Tengukami]

Well this was a very lovely surprise, and is my new work mug. I also received a Momiji mug, which Yulia now owns. There was also some candy, which isn't featured because it was immediately eaten, again by Yulia.

Thank you Secret Santa! This was a warm and pleasant surprise.

[Edible]

There's something pretty great about you having an aya mug, and yulia having a momiji mug.

[Tengukami]

There's something pretty great about you having an aya mug, and yulia having a momiji mug.

She can awoo with the best of them, that's for sure.

[Rin Kagamine]

She can awoo with the best of them, that's for sure.

Any shots of the Momiji mug?

[HakureiSM]

There's something pretty great about you having an aya mug, and yulia having a momiji mug.

It's really adorable

[Labuto]

Sorry for taking so long, just came back home from a 2 week long trip, my parcel should be arriving tomorrow.

[Tengukami]

Any shots of the Momiji mug?

As a matter of fact, we'll do a tandem pose with our respective mugs in a couple hours. I'll post it then.

EDIT: dozo

[triangles]

aaaaaa the cute is too much for the mere mortal I am

[Helepolis]

Christmas is all about booze milk! Cheers!

Edit: 23/36 reports. We're still missing many (excluding the lost packages and people who responded they were delayed)

[Raikaria]

Yeah I think in general this is the slowest reporting of all the CPSS I am aware of.

I'm sure there's reasons.

[triangles]

I think it's called "customs hell"  :V

[Rin Kagamine]

Mine arrived and the recipient posted that they got it but HAVEN'T OPENED IT YET!!!!!! >=|