deadtention | CATCH-ALL 1: December-January-February

CATCH-ALL 1: December-January-February

[The world continues. By now, everyone will have settled in to the places they've made themselves, whether they've truly become like a home or not. It may seem like a lot of time has passed or none. But wherever you've found yourself by now, a reminder that life yet continues graces your morning.

The sky above the simulation is programmed for weather. And now, it's snowing... the first snow falls delicately in the night, and by the time the sun rises, the evergreens in the tree city are all glittering from the white covers sticking to their branches. At first there's only thin layers on everything, but as the month of December begins and goes on, you can be sure there will be more snow to come.

So, are you thinking about the holidays? It may be a good time to start... Not like there's much else to do in the simulation, talks with the outside nonwithstanding.]

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[Yoosung and Mishima are dedicated to their town's upkeep as well as its MMO aesthetic, and that obviously means Christmas Event. Of course, this is a seriously huge space to decorate so they're mainly editing things into existence for the sake of expedience and not breaking their necks climbing. For starters, the trunks of the enormous trees supporting the city are wrapped around with twinkling lights, snaking across the boughs from which over-sized baubles also hang. The tallest tree hosting the observation tower has a bright star at the top like you might expect from a certain blonde guild leader. Festive garlands line the railings around the edges of the platforms, adding extra color to them with things like ornaments, ribbons and poinsettias. Carpets are also slung along key areas of the walkways to lessen the potential of slipping on ice and snow, although that's more of a precaution than a decoration.

These are the basics, but they may bat more ideas around after this. Are candles a good idea for the indoors areas? What if we re-skinned the buildings to look like gingerbread houses? Do we want any giant candy canes? And other such questions that arise when you have total control over an environment. Incidentally, there are a TON of trees around here for free decorating and so they'd have no problem letting some of these be customized by others in the area. Have you ever wanted to decorate a freaking enormous Christmas tree, here is your chance.]

Edited 2018-11-30 08:38 (UTC)

[The Guild Hall is the same as ever - its wooden structures only look all the better when decked with literal boughs of holly (okay, as garlands, but still). Their sense of humor is incredible, isn't it?

The sitting area where the big TV, video games and movie collection is has some updated holiday decorations on the tables next to all the armchairs that will be good for movie snacking - there's a Santa nutcracker with the accompanying nut variety, as well as those big tins of danish butter cookies that may have always seemed to materialize on their own, but here they literally do. Once "defeated" the cookies have respawn times to simulate your relatives bringing them or at least allow you to be lazy during your movie marathons this month.

Seasonal music wafts across the hall, originating by the tavern, where there's a Christmas tree bearing ornaments symbolic for every person in the simulation, likewise presents wrapped in shiny paper beneath it. Anyone can leave something here to be opened on Christmas day, but for now there is the reassurance that everyone gets at least one!!]

Edited 2018-11-30 18:57 (UTC)

[The usual cafeteria-restaurant, with its food free to grab from a service counter, is still manned by Yoosung regularly for breakfast, lunch and dinner for whoever wants it. He's also still open to requests, so you can pretty much assume whatever you want is served here (albeit with a learning curve in quality if it's something Yoosung didn't know how to cook, he is still not a pro chef at all.) Left to his own devices, his usual favorite foods to eat are egg dishes, spicy rice cakes, and fried wings... he also makes American food like burgers and pasta with enough frequency, and is often trying to branch out.

Though of course, for the season he's started including more things like baesuk or hot cocoa with whipped cream. Sometimes the whipped cream is a puppy ... very rarely, most of his attempts at this turn out unrecognizable.]

Edited 2018-11-30 09:56 (UTC)

[Mitarai might as well branch out too. He's here poking away at pasta with a plastic fork, enjoying a thin layer of butter and the lack of loud metallic clanging noise or splintering wood. The utensil is in his left hand, because in his right hand he's holding a pencil. The sketchpad is spread out on the table. Spotless, at least so far. It's probably not good for Mitarai's eyes to squint at the small lights, but he's an AI, and what he's drawing turns out to be precisely the shadows among the thin hanging wires.]

[Mitarai's pencil against paper is always kind of loud, so Yoosung's aware of his presence as he's grabbing his own plate at last.... and it's because of that that he comes right up to him, taking the other seat at his booth without really asking. Like friends, you know.]

Wow, you can draw while you eat pasta?

[Anything with long noodles at least can get kind of messy, even if you twirl it around your fork. To him this definitely seems to be a feat like rubbing your belly and patting your head.]

[Mitarai's heart jolts at the sound of Yoosung's voice. He hadn't previously noticed much of anyone else in the cafeteria, and he just picked out an empty booth because it was easier on his prominent bones than a chair... Is Yoosung coming over a subtle indication that he's supposed to leave for some reason?

He'd uncomfortably chomped on his fork at first, but the pencil just came to a stop with no loose marks.]

It's actually more like the other way around.

[On the first of December, network user anchor starts pushing out several lines of text, what even are these...]

.....__....__..... ..../_/./\.\_\.... ...__.\.\/./.__... ...\_\_\/\/_/_/... ./\___\_\/_/___/\. .\/.__/_/\_\__.\/. .../_/./\/\.\_\... ....__/./\.\__.... ....\_\.\/./_/.... It's a snowflake! Snow has actually started falling in the simulation, and it's really beautiful The flakes are harder to catch in motion than I anticipated so I decided to just draw this one to show you guys for now We've been decorating the simulation for the winter holiday season, it looks like we'll be spending Christmas here... That's really the kind of initiative we have the luxury of prioritizing given how peaceful everything has been, I want to reassure everyone that we're in good condition right now as much as we look forward to escape and so on I wish I could send you guys Christmas gifts too, even NOT THAT I mean to exclude anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas though!!!!!! Actually, that's what I'd like to ask everyone! Do you have any winter holiday traditions? Particularly any narratives or characters unique to your culture or personal experience would be very interesting to me!! Thank you

Edited (can't believe I left his username the other way for an entire month) 2018-12-26 07:49 (UTC)

[There's some ice skating going on here. Mitarai has been getting better and better at it over time. He can just barely form a figure eight when completely focusing, or else keep going in a circle while having a conversation.]

...re people involved in such a Valentine's day celebration. It would just be wonderful to have someone who could really understand me here.

[Ice skating with Mitarai had become somewhat of a past time for Gogol; it had great significance in their relationship, after all. It was no surprise that they'd made it into a thing, though he respected his independence to go off on his own and practice in his own time too. He also, of course, felt some flush of paternal pride seeing just how much progress he'd made since those awkward earlier days.

Arriving on the scene in some number of furs - a mixture of black and white, fox probably - he's just in time to catch a crucial part of that conversation.]

Someone who could...really understand you?

[He parrots back the words uselessly, with tone that's just the right amount of hollow beneath cautious curiosity to suggest that he's been wounded, deeply.]

[Yoosung has a big jacket. He knew a little bit about ice skating from his childhood so he's trying to help Mitarai out. This statement makes him skid a little more slowly in confusion, and with Gogol showing up, he can only turn to him and see if he shares in it!! Is he missing something obvious here?? His instinct is honestly to Will Smith pose at the other man but for now he'll just look back at Mitarai and say]

What???

......

[Mitarai skids to a stop. After this much practice, standing still on the ice is just barely within his capabilities, though not in a cool looking way. He is wearing a knitted cap and scarf over a brown coat. His eyes are wide.]

No, no! It's completely different! I mean understand here... Wait, not even "in this place"—Just a particular... Um...

[He's realizing that he still admitted to some sense of deprivation. His brow furrows.]

[True to form, Gogol doesn't let his face betray the level of hurt that he's feeling right now. But, he's been wearing his masks more loosely nowadays, and a familiar or observant eye would be able to pick up on the emotion behind that pained smile.]

Ah, Ahaha! [He idly dusts his jacket, though no snow has fallen on it.] I see how it is! Every bird leaves the nest, doesn't it? Or, in the case of the cuckoo, wasn't meant to be there at all.

[They call that a brood parasite. He felt a fool for being a gullible species, but that's just what clowns were.]

Edited 2019-01-29 00:53 (UTC)

Ah... Gogol?

[It doesn't really matter whether he lets his face betray it or not - Yoosung's super analysis can't help but notice the sudden discordant activity in his code. It's a bit of a red flag... so the glance he was already giving in his direction grows a bit more concerned. He's just gonna skate a little closer to him! Whoosh!]

I was surprised he said that too, but I'm pretty sure he didn't mean that!

Ghk! [Mitarai is similarly legible, looking and sounding like he's been sliced in the heart. A metaphor that plays on species mismatch itself as bad practice cuts him deep - but he knew he was relying on a bird with a sharp beak, so it's what he deserves, isn't it?

He raises both his gloved fists in agreement with Yoosung's words.] Of course not!

[The motion forward throws off his center of gravity; when Mitarai digs his toes in, the blades of his skates draw sparks.] I, I love the home we have and trust you more than anyone, so if that changed, I would tell you!

[His shoulders sink.] Is it really so wrong to consider discussing one or two things with someone else first? [It must be. His long face shows his resignation.]

[Perhaps Gogol would have otherwise insisted it was a lie; he'd heard what he'd heard, and everyone was a liar to themselves and others, but that admission of trust knocks him off course. He might have had an idea, but hearing those words spoken made it real, and he finds himself stunned once again. Putting trust in a clown was a terrible idea, but...things were different now, weren't they?

Thinking on it for too long would be a trip down a winding path, so he returns to the matter on the surface. If Mitarai trusted him, so would he in his claims.

Such a misunderstanding made him look silly, but what else could he do but laugh?]

Hahaha! [He bends over, then back, touching his hand to his forehead.] I see what we have on our hands! The answer...a comedy of errors!

[How classic! He bounces on his heels, amusement and curiosity taking over. He looks to Yoosung, closest to him for his valiant whooshing.]

Now, my question is: what's this all really about?

Comedy! Right!

[Yoosung is relieved that this didn't escalate, but he double takes a bit when it seems like he's being asked personally what Mitarai was on about. He couldn't answer that without reading into it too hard, so instead he decides to go back a few steps.]

Um... I dunno. We were just talking about Valentine's Day before this. And how more people who don't know about it could join in and stuff. We're still talking about that, right?

[And now he is putting the ball back in Mitarai's court. He did mean something to do with that, right. Probably.]

Yeah, Valentine's Day... And all the rest of us who hang out lately have a Valentine, except... You know...? It would be inappropriate to look for a Valentine, but even someone else without one, just—I'm really sorry I put it that way! When I know how much you've both been through...

[This is enough facing his feelings for one day, ahaha! Mitarai turns to skate a little circle until he ends up on Yoosung's other flank, mirroring Gogol's conspiratorial posture in his own shier way.]

That's what most comedies are about in the end, huh? Kim-kun, you're better than I realized at the Tragicomedy Game.

Haha, right you are! There's no romance without heartache, no fun without pain!

[With all this being about Valentine's, Gogol is much more at ease. It's nothing that puts his standing with Mitarai in jeopardy, and the exact kind of thing he's happy to sit back and watch as an agent of chaos.

At Mitarai's extra comment, he gets a glint in his eye.]

Say, he is, isn't he?

[He leans over to Yoosung with such an unnatural movement it'd be more in place on a doll that had a ball-joint at the waist.]

Well, would you like to give it a try?

...now.

[The lights go out in the office, and the film turns on. Even though it's digital, there is a sound effect similar to an old-fashioned projector. The curtains go up. They seem to be physical curtains that were manually pulled, and this was the very first stop-motion effect that Mitarai tried, obviously the choppiest. Behind the curtain lies the shoebox diorama. The background has properties associated with hand-drawn animation, like the thickness of the lines and roundness of the snow, yet the rotation is unmistakable 3D CGI, in the precision of the angles depicting the room's corners through the dynamic lens of the camera. Dialogue is occasionally shown through cards like a silent movie but a preexisting adapted medley of The Nutcracker does the lion's share of sound work.]

FADE IN: EXT. SANTA'S WORKSHOP - DUSK In the endless snowfall of the Arctic tundra, one beacon stands out. A cozy little cottage with perpindicular candy canes for windowpanes. NATURAL TRANSITION TO: INT. SANTA'S WORKSHOP - DUSK The cabin is one large room under the gabled roof. A roll of wrapping paper suspended from the ceiling serves as a curtain rod separating a bed and other simple necessities from the rest of the building. This was clearly constructed with a purpose as the wall space is dominated by bookshelves and filing cabinets for the purpose of research. Photographs on the walls suggest a family of SANTAS. Despite the spaciousness of the room, there are no chairs for visitors; just letter trays on-- THE DESK Primary workplace of our hero, addressed formally by just his surname of SANTA. Like all the main characters he is represented by a stop-motion doll with a blank face that has 2D large anime eyes and other features drawn on. A twelve year old boy who has not yet grown into his britches, his red suit looks more like a blazer uniform, and the curly white hair under the red cap does not even reach his neck, let alone form a beard. His rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes are unmistakable, though. Santa is writing out some kind of list. He checks it once. Then he starts to check twice, faster this time, but stops at something near the bottom. He puts down his pen and holds up the paper with both hands to squint. LIST 10th toy from 34th workshop, nurse, missing. Santa puts the list back down, sits for a moment, and then begins to pack up his things into the SLEIGH. EXT. ELVES' WORKSHOP - MOONRISE The sleigh is flown by exactly one reindeer and lands in front of a moderately sized building similar to a lumberjacks' dormitory. When Santa disembarks and knocks on the door, someone opens it for him, timed to the score's tinkle of bells. INT. ELVES' WORKSHOP Bright flame lamps on the ceiling illuminate an extremely tidy workshop. Several elves are waiting lined up in the back, played by stop-motion dolls with preexisting static faces. The elf who has opened the door for him is PRISCILLA, who wears lip gloss and stands taller than Santa but in the end has simply been first to look "grown up" and is also 12 years old. PRISCILLA Merry Christmas, Santa! SANTA We still have one day, Priscilla. PRISCILLA You never change. Priscilla introduces her contribution as one of the first five elves. They have worked together on the population of a dollhouse: papa, mama, son, daughter, and baby. Elves eleven through fifteen then present their stuffed animals: Bear, bunny, cat, dog, horse. Then right in the middle are a series of occupation oriented dolls: a librarian, a teacher, a secretary, a baker... SANTA But the tenth one is missing. PRISCILLA Typical Gerard. SCORE CUTS OUT. On the wall behind the two youths is a vent. Cover falls off the vents and a tangled black mass falls out. Cut to all the other elves coughing. While Priscilla stands in the background putting one hand to her temples as if she has a migraine, Santa kneels and extends a hand, as if to go "are you okay?" Close up on the inky lump that MOVES - it's alive - it's a boy! Twelve years old, just incredibly gangly. He is obviously an elf yet most of his hues are black, complete with smoky-eye makeup. Rearranging himself to lay on his stomach with his chin in his hands and his ankles folded in the air behind him, he offers an extremely cheeky grin and laugh, obviously the scolded GERARD. GERARD You rang? Score resumes, lively. The other elves make various expressions of displeasure. Priscilla has launched into some kind of rant. Santa is quite overwhelmed and trying to actually talk to Gerard, but Gerard makes a "look at the time" gesture, fingerguns, and moonwalks into some kind of CHUTE. INTERCUT Santa torn between all his options until finally he dives into the chute too-- HURTLING DOWN Falls into... A pile of stuffed animal stuffing? ELVES' BASEMENT - MIDNIGHT Obviously Santa's POV as we peer through a number of dolls. Some are smaller, others "life size" relative to the main characters, all broken in multiple ways, for example a grim reaper doll that also has a fractured skull, and most importantly, very still to the point where it's creepy... Santa begins walking closer. One of the life-size dolls is... an elf in black...? GERARD goes "Boo!" SANTA goes "Aaaaaaaaah!" GERARD laughs uproariously, clutching his stomach. SANTA put out a bit. GERARD continues to laugh in close-up, wipes single tear from his eye. SANTA reaches over to get a hold of his shoulder... SANTA'S HAND comes away with coal smudge? GERARD'S COSTUME is actually a deep pine green underneath some layer of black grime? SANTA'S FACE calculating again... Is even that color explainable by only one layer of coal dust? GERALD'S HANDS sneak into frame, clap clap. Since he's down here, Gerald might as well show him SOMETHING-- Scale equivalent of 18-inches, a NURSE DOLL. She has squishy latex gloves for hands and is holding what gleams like an evidently real HYPODERMIC NEEDLE. Santa looks back and forth between the doll and something else. SANTA Didn't you break this? Gerard's melancholy smile as he taps the side of his head: GERARD The only thing I've broken is this. Santa has never heard anything sadder in his life. He looks around, finally understanding that the dolls were all made by Gerard, broken by the others, and fixed in secret here. He looks DETERMINED, picks up the nurse doll in his arms, and returns upstairs somehow. INT. ELVES' WORKSHOP - 3AM Santa is gathering all the toys into his sack, including the nurse doll. Priscilla struts out and seems distraught at this - "just what do you think you're doing?" SANTA If you hadn't broken it, the quota would never-- PRISCILLA It's dangerous! That wasn't a joke, you know? She pulls down her sleeve and reveals an angry red needle mark on the inside of her wrist. Santa's face goes through several stages of grief. SANTA But it should be safe for kids over-- Priscilla takes the doll from him and puts it on a workshop table out of frame. PRISCILLA I'll just put in a fake needle instead, OK? Santa nods glumly and stands there until Priscilla presents him with a little sack. EXT. ELVES' WORKSHOP - 4:30 AM Santa loading items into his sleigh. Checking the items. Then checking them twice. Finally he checks inside the sack. A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NURSE DOLL. Nine inches, earrings, no gloves, wearing a stethoscope that obviously doesn't do anything. SANTA'S FACE twisting in disgust. TIMESKIP - SUN JUST BARELY RISING The workshop door opens. Priscilla walks out in great excitement, makes eye contact with Santa; "you're really sure?" Santa extends his hand towards the sleigh "by all means". Priscilla takes the reins. CUT TO Gerard poking head out of vent - "Is it safe to come out now?" INT. SANTA'S WORKSHOP - BACK Gerard is in here, fixing the kettle. He brings out two piping mugs of real hot cocoa, one for Santa sitting cross-legged on the bed, who receives it eagerly despite a drop spilling out onto his hand during the incredibly delicate motion. Gerard is worried but Santa offers a reassuring smile. ARCTIC TUNDRA - DAWN Priscilla flying the sleigh but looking increasingly unsure until finally the reindeer rebels and she's thrown out of the sleigh into-- ARCTIC OCEAN - DAWN Bobbing upright here. Seems to be just CGI water. SANTA'S WORKSHOP - BACK Santa and Gerard are watching through the window, sipping their hot cocoa, and sitting together cozy as two bugs in a rug. FADE OUT

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CATCH-ALL 1: December-January-February

Decorating the Tree City [OTA, Mingle]

Guild Hall [OTA]

Restaurant [OTA, Mingle]

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Superman ★ (Text Chat w/ Yoosung, general inbox)

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you know what this is. it's in January

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Christmas Present [Closed]

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