Resolutions 13: Lyntael and Eternalis

Welcome! Thank you for participating in the Donation Drive by offering your resolutions. I hope you two will encourage each other to be your best in times to come!

-Holly.EXE

((Post here only if your navi's name is in the title. To be eligible for FXP once the event's over, you will need to post at least twice: once to set up your navi's resolution and an example this year that shows they need to make this resolution, and then a second with your navi's encouragement to their BBS partner. The threads will remain open until around January 15th. You're free to back and forth as much as you'd like until that time! Note also that this is a BBS thread, so your navis are not going to be physically meeting. You may have them connect with video or such if you want, but they're not actually meeting in person.

For any questions, ask Aim. And have fun!))
Hello! Eternalis.EXE here, I'll be posting in this thread with my partner support, Aurora, since she was pretty insistent on it for some reason. Aurora.EXE! Don't leave out my type extension when you said your own!

Er, right, sorry. Anyway, we've gone through a lot of trouble this year, what with me being infected by a near-fatal glitch and Aurora here having to save me from pretty much the brink of deletion. We managed to pull through, though, and now we'll be kicking ass again! Though there was a bit of a falling-out at the end because of what happened... but that didn't come out too badly, I think. I sure hope so, I don't want you jolting me in my sleep-- Ow!

So our resolution for the moment is just to understand each other a bit more. Not just each other, but other people too, like our friends. It sounds so cheesy, though... Heh, speaking of understanding, remember that time when your memory was still kind of jumbled up and we met that Lucia girl in Hades? That was a heck of a misunderstanding. Ahaha, she really did think I was the Navi, didn't she? We might have to clear up that misunderstanding if we come across her in the area again. It's kind of funny to just leave it as it is, though.

Well, uh, back to the topic, that's one New Years' resolution we've come up on. That's enough from our side, though, what's your resolution for next year?

- Eternalis.EXE/Aurora.EXE
The response communication comes in the form of an artifact identifying itself with an '.ides' file extension. As soon as it is inspected, however, it checks its environment and resolves the best method of display. In this particular case, this turns out to be what appears to be a video feed, more or less. It shows Lyntael, sitting with her legs crossed, presumably facing an interface of her own. She is dressed in her default yellow vest and skirt, with bare feet and seems to be sitting on the ground; the background behind her is bland, metallic and nondescript. When she talks, it's with an attempt at brightness and good spirits, even though some parts of her message obviously cause her difficulty.

"Hello! My name's Lyntael, but I guess you know that already. It sounds like you've both had a very rough time of things, but I'm glad to hear it worked out alright in the end for you. I don't think trying to understand each other and other people sounds cheesy at all... I think it's a really important dedication! I really wish more people would try that first, instead of... um, anyway, sorry, this is supposed to be positive, so I'll try and keep it that way.

I think for my part, I want to try and be braver. I'm not very good at fighting, and I really wish I never had to; I get frightened, and sometimes even too scared to go on, and I feel like I'm always letting my operator down when he needs me to do things for him, but I can't, because I'm just to scared. I don't like being afraid, but I know... I know he's going to keep sending me into these kind of dangerous situations alone, and he needs me to be stronger, and to take care of myself, and I really just want to be able to do as he needs of me without feeling like I'm going to burst into tears or hide in a corner from worry.

We're supposed to share a time where we failed, too, aren't we? ... I'd, um, I'd rather not, to be honest, but, this is for a good cause, and I guess it wouldn't be much of a resolution if I was too afraid to do my part, right? So, um... the worst time, I think, when I was too much of a coward to help my operator was just recently. I was helping him search a network for something important, but when I got to the place where it was, there was another navi waiting there. I'd met him before, and he had... um... It was... Sorry. I'll say, I got hurt, very badly, and if my operator hadn't pulled me out and saved me, I think he would have done some very bad things to me before he killed me.

But anyway... when I found out it was him waiting there, I fell to pieces, really, really badly. I could barely speak, I couldn't stop sobbing, I wasn't really able to do much at all beyond hiding in a corner and trying to pretend I was anywhere else... and I really just let my operator down completely. I want to be better than that.

I think a part of me really likes your resolution because... I guess I feel like my operator wouldn't keep putting me in these situations if he tried to understand me a little better, or, um, well, at all, I guess... So, I think it's a really great thing for you both to work towards."

Despite her best efforts, the girl's attempt at an upbeat attitude is obviously shaky by the time she finishes talking, and she takes a moment to take along breath and press fingertips to her eyes briefly, before continuing with a fresh effort at levity.

"So, anyway, you mentioned that you'd met a friend who was confused about which of you was the navigator and which wasn't, but you're both using the same extension... how does that work? I'm sorry if that's rude, I'm really not very versed in that sort of thing."
Wow, sounds like you had a rough time... I know there are some Navis that aren't very well built for battling purposes. Were you like that originally? I can't imagine it being great to be dropped from a non-combat routine into beating up viruses or whatnot. That said, though, I didn't know this event could send video feeds! Would be nice if we could send something to you, too, but we're currently in the middle of nowhere, and it wouldn't be too good if we opened a video feed right now. I mean, for one it'd be hard to see much of anything with all this snow, so there wouldn't be much of a point to it in the first place... Ah, sorry, I kind of trailed off. Um, I think Aurora can explain the extension change thing, she's the one that went through it after all.

Oh my god, that all sounds terrible! I'm here for you, Lyntael. At least, as much as I can on a BBS, anyhow. Geez, I'd like to give your operator a piece of my mind. Huh? What? Oh, the extension thing. Um, yeah, the first time, we just met our friend in Hades on a coincidence. Apparently Eternalis here looked so monster-like that she mistook him for the SP, since she had a big dog, like a huge wolf kind of thing, for her support. If only she could see him now, haha. About the extension, though, I used to be a Navi myself, but I got myself in a bit of an incident with my previous operator, and I wasn't able to continue doing what I was supposed to be doing. Went through a lot of abuse for the job, but it was worth the price. Kind of went downhill after said incident, though. I didn't get hurt physically or anything, it was just... well, kind of like your incident, I suppose? When your mind doesn't want to do anything, your body just goes along for the ride and shuts up for the rest of it.

So my data got frozen for a few years until I got restored as this numbskull's support for a little while. Then he got into a whole heap of trouble, and I had to get back into the whole Navi thing to pull him out of doo-doo creek. Didn't feel like going back into the SP container again, so I got to keep the extension. And here we are now! Sorry if it's a bit long, but I tried to make it brief. If you'd like to talk a bit more, you're quite welcome, I'll be here to lend you an ear. I can kind of assume that you're not too predisposed to actually meeting face-to-face right now, so I'll just attach our email address here.


Wow, you talked more than I did! Geez, you never told me any of that. I was going to after this! Jeez... well. Again, like Aurora just said, we'll be very much willing to hear you out if you'd like. And if you want to go around the networks, I'm the best escort this side of Electopia! Nobody drops a single hitpoint while I'm around. Even though I kind of look like... well, I'm not sure, actually. Some monster out of a horror movie sounds pretty accurate. I thought you were supposed to be my partner, this horror movie monster has feelings too!

Er, haha, sorry. We kind of really trailed off from the topic... Um, let's see. Right, trying to understand your operator a bit more. Have you tried making him anything, by any chance? I'm not sure if you have any access to any material data or whatnot, but I'm sure that if you showed him something that you made by yourself, like, a custom boot message or something, it'd be a really good gesture. Sorry if that's a little vague. Not really sure what kind of operator you have, but if anything, at least he cares about you enough that he didn't leave you behind when you made a mistake. I know some operators would.
"That's true... I do have that to be thankful for at least, I know. There were plenty of times when he could have just abandoned me, I guess, but he doesn't." She glances to the side, a little nervous, then back again, rubbing at her arm slowly. "I mean, he explains it away, says that he can't leave me there because I'm traceable evidence, and things like that... But I want to believe that there's more to it than that. I have to, you know?"

"I can't really make anything new for him, not really. I don't have a lot of resources or permissions here, but I do try. I like to design outfits! Even if I can't really make any that I can use myself, because of the permission locks, I can still design them, and make them for other people too. It's difficult though... My operator is, well, he's very um, self-sufficient, I guess. Before he got me, he never used a navi for anything that he couldn't do himself; he didn't even own a personal terminal of his own because he claimed it was more tractable liability than it was worth. Sometimes I think he only really uses me because his brother asked him to. Mostly, I try to look after him, or make sure he's looking after himself. I talk, when he's willing to listen, and I try to show an interest in what he does, and to be as helpful to him as I can... but he's a very private man, and he doesn't really view talking to a navigator as a worthwhile use of time. So, it's difficult, but I am trying!" She takes another extra moment to settle her expression again, visibly making an effort to relax her pose from the defensive self-hug she had slipped into while talking.

"I am always interested in making new friends if I can though, so if you wanted to meet up and take a walk some time, I think I'd like that! You both seem very nice. It's a bit difficult with my current situation, though. I don't really have anything like personal time, you know? and if he needs me for something, and I'm not there, that might be a problem. I can slip out sometimes, for a few hours, when I know he'll be working and won't call on me, but it can be a bit hard to arrange sometimes."

"I am really sorry to hear you went through some nasty things, Aurora, but you sound like you're doing well now, at least. I guess it seems like you're doing far better dealing with whatever you've been through than I have been for my part. Maybe that's something I should make a resolution on as well. The things that have happened, happened, but they aren't here, and they aren't now, and I can move forward... that kind of idea, right? I used to be so terrified of physical pain, but after... well, now, I should say, when I think about what nearly happened to me, I find myself thinking that I'd rather get hurt again, to any degree, than experience something like that again... so maybe that's an improvement, right? It sounds like you're really very much in charge of your own life, and what you want to do with it, Aurora, and it makes me want to be more like that too, one day."

"Eternalis you asked... No, I wasn't made for combat. I'm not actually all that old really. I know I look like I'm grown young woman" This part of the statement was spoiled by the image which showed, quite clearly, the girl's physical appearance being somewhere between fourteen to sixteen at best. "But I've only really be about for a handful of months. I... I'm with my operator now because he needs someone to be there with him, and his brother, the man who designed me, knew that. I'm supposed to be a friend, and a companion... Eric never made me to fight, or do other shady network stuff for him, but that's what my operator uses me for, mostly. I am doing my best though."

"Oh! I should let you know how to contact me as well, that way, if you do want to chat more, we can... it's a bit trickier with me, and I can't just give you a contact address directly, because it won't work like that... but if you grab this response file and import it to email later, it should read as an ".ides", and just respond to it as though it were one, it'll get to me. It'll give you an error on the address, but don't worry. It's a masking feature, to make sure my operator stays untraceable, but it's completely safe, I promise." There's a moment when the girl sits up straighter, her eyes widening briefly, and she looks away to the side, as though hearing something. "Ah! I think I may not have much time to chat, sorry! If you want to send anything back before I go, I'll see it, but I think I'm out of time for writing back! Hope you stay well, and take care of each other! It was nice talking to you!" The display fades a moment later, reverting back to blank text format as Lyntael signs away.


((Lyn and Eternalis get 7 FXP!))