maddeninghatter: (debonair)
Xerxes Break ([personal profile] maddeninghatter) wrote in [community profile] exsiliumlogs2013-12-15 12:10 pm

[ Open ] A Home for the Holidays

Date & Time: December 10th - 21st
Location: The Museum of Old and New(ish) Art
Characters: Xerxes Break and you. Information about and a map to the castle has been left in the Transporter Facility, so anyone interested in renovating a warm and secure (if weird) place to stay is welcome.
Summary: An eccentric billionaire’s 27th century medieval-replica castle/art museum/hotel lies abandoned and half-buried in the snow. It’s going to take a lot of work to renovate, but hey it’s more kid-friendly than a brothel. Right? Right?
Warnings: None.

The 1980's ski-wear themed snow suits Break brought back from this mission proved to be a hit with the local population (so stylish!), as were Mister Cecil's ugly Christmas sweaters, so they have been able to trade for goods and some technical services, to help make this place more livable. Supplies from the DITR have also been a great help. However, a lot of work needs to be done: cleaning and vermin-smiting and clearing away snow. Come and help, or simply explore.

(ooc: feel free to start threads willy-nilly, action-spam or prose, name your time and place, threadjack and mingle.)


(1) Museum:

The stairway forces you straight down, past four floors, into the very dungeons of the castle. There are no windows; it was artificially lit, although the electricity isn't on at present. However, the old geothermal power generation system in the structure is simple and robust, so only a small amount of tweaking will be required to get it operational once more. In the meantime, the DITR has kindly supplied you with bright uber-LED flashlights and batteries with advanced energy storage, meaning they should stay lit for weeks. Should.

As soon as you emerge in the dungeons, you’ll find yourself lost in a maze of gallery after gallery. High sandstone walls rise up, towering over everything. What was once a set of opulent velvet curtains lining the art spaces hang in rags, having long since been devoured by rats.

Many of the paintings are destroyed, but most are intact, as are the sculptures and installations, preserved in the deep freeze. The subject matter is bizarre and disturbing. Take this human centipede for instance. And what on earth does this machine do? What’s that smell….

However, some of the “artworks” are playful and interactive. Try a game of ping pong on an accordion-shaped table; or jump on a trampoline in a cage with bells underneath; or find the white library, full of blank books (don’t deface the art!).

Try not to get lost.


(2) Castle/Hotel:

The upper levels of the castle were hotel rooms, long ago. Alas, all of the sheets and bedding were made into nests by rats. Here too, the lush velvet curtains hang in rags, and the wool carpets over the stone floors have lost their battle to the moths.

Yet most of the furniture remains intact, as well as the elaborate chandeliers. Compact heaters will keep the spaces at a near-comfortable temperature, and sleeping bags will do for now.

Let’s get cleaning!


(3) R&R

All that hard work has finally paid off. The geothermal power system is now providing electricity and abundant steam heat, and multiple hotel rooms are in habitable shape. Most importantly, the kitchen is functional. it's time to relax with a cup of hot spiced wine (or chocolate) and pastry. Some mischievous person has hung mistletoe over various random entranceways, so look sharp!


(4) Playing in the snow

The weak December sun makes an appearance, illuminating the ice crystals in the frigid air, creating a sun dog. The snow sparkles like white diamonds. It’s still freezing, but how can you stay inside on a day like this? Anyway, the snow needs shoveling, but perhaps there’s time to make a snowman (or snow angels).


(5) Penguins:

In addition to vermin of the four-legged, tailed and whiskered variety, this castle is home to a flock of penguins. These might be the principal reason the castle has lain abandoned all these years. They can be found anywhere in or around the structure. Approach with caution. Or better yet —



— run away.
payback: (map; plans & papers & seven seas.)

[personal profile] payback 2013-12-21 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
We should pull it all down and see if it's salvageable in any spots at all.

Hey, what's your name again?
payback: (da fuq)

[personal profile] payback 2013-12-21 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
[She rolls and tumbles over and takes his hand to be helped down. She doesn't mind being fussed over, but it does kind of just wash off her back.]

I thought this would make more noise! [She tilts her head.] Hey... you're the stooge, aren't you?
senseandcecilbility: (Content)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
[He answers her with a head shake, and doesn't seem to be particularly bothered, though he certainly realizes the irony.]

Young master does not believe in God...or Santa Claus, for that matter.
Edited 2013-12-21 09:00 (UTC)
senseandcecilbility: (Content)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
But certainly.

[He opens a compartment in the fridge, which is well supplied with mystery meat.]

senseandcecilbility: (perfect)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
[The perfect marriage, clearly.

He pours himself another glass and directs a toast at Emily.
]

That is rather inaccurate, madam. I have never suffered from hangovers in my entire life.

[Which is a lie, told by a terrible liar. As a compensation, Break gets another shortcake.]

I fear that if you take all the cake, you will end up very sick, and then what would I tell Mister Gilbert? Don't you ever eat vegetables?

[Solomon, who was raised by irresponsible demons, hates his greens, but Kevin has been trying to correct that for his own good.

He wonders what sort of irresponsible parents have raised Xerxes Break.
]
devotedtothecore: (could be a brand new start.)

[personal profile] devotedtothecore 2013-12-21 11:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ You can't be serious about this, Kevin Cecil. That's for kids. For children.

That's cheating.



Fine.

Fine. Tsun cookie eating it is. (And quite energetically, at that.)

....mumblegrumble
] s'good [ mumblegrumble. ]
senseandcecilbility: (as above so bellow)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Kevin Cecil was born before the birth of time and has been responsible for the upbringing of a little one for a decade. As far as he is concerned, everyone is a child, even the perverts.]

If you are going to fix the plumbing, the least I can do is feed you.

However, the next time you trudge into my kitchen caked on grime, I will spank you.

[Being Victorian, he means it too.]
senseandcecilbility: (So be it purple)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
You are still young. Too young to talk as if desserts were the only pleasure to live for.

[How long has Mister Break been this desperate?]

If you do not live at least one hundred years, many of us will feel terribly cheated.
soul_sister: (A little to the right. Yeah by the couch)

[personal profile] soul_sister 2013-12-21 02:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, I get the former. I mean, no offense, but the average person doesn't have a whole lot of proof. But Santa Claus SHOWS UP every year.
soul_sister: (NOT AS PLANNED!!)

[personal profile] soul_sister 2013-12-21 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's one of those situations where someone screams and the scream startles you into screaming and really. It's just SO NOISY in here for a moment.]

BACK, GHOST!!!
soul_sister: (Wouldya get a look at that)

[personal profile] soul_sister 2013-12-21 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah! I think I forgot to mention it, actually.

[She bites one of the fingers of her gloves to pull it off, and offers a bare hand to shake.] Rosette Christopher.

I bet there's enough for both of us here.
senseandcecilbility: (He made their tiny wings)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Cheerfully changing his voice to an assertive and rather annoyed baritone.]

That one is thinner. That one is taller. That one is a woman. It is impossible to deliver presents to all children in the world in a single night. If anyone tried to descend through our fireplace, the living room would be ruined by soot. Reindeer can't fly. The solstice was three days ago, anyway. No, you cannot fool me with that fake beard.
devotedtothecore: (seriously.)

[personal profile] devotedtothecore 2013-12-21 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The cookie so sweet bare seconds ago takes on the taste of cardboard, held firmly between teeth stilled.

There is a Look, piercing despite a vague cold sweat on the back of his neck (oddly familiar, and for a flitting moment he considers the possibility of Kevin being in fact an old matron in disguise.)
]

...beg your pardon?
Edited 2013-12-21 15:15 (UTC)
senseandcecilbility: (contemplation)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is an angel that has struck terror in the heart of men. So...just like a matron.]

I have no intention of repeating myself.

[But true to his word, he is making sure Chrys gets more cookies.]
devotedtothecore: (plot twist?!?!)

[personal profile] devotedtothecore 2013-12-21 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ And such is the training of the elite cadre of Corehaven's engineers, that the shaking and the keywords it's important send him rocketing from unconscious to wide-eyed alert in seconds.

EXECUTE BAGWORM SLEEPING BAG SIT-UP.
] What-- where? Report! What's happened--?!
devotedtothecore: (NOPE)

[personal profile] devotedtothecore 2013-12-21 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Albeit with a far less initially formidable countenance. Little would one suspect.

This man is absolutely 100% serious about that threat, isn't he. (For that matter, that it should be at all in any way intended to be intimidating is ridiculous.)
]

...

[ Chrys swallows his food. ]

I'll bear that in mind. [ Pause. ] Mister Cecil.
senseandcecilbility: (And ordered their estate.)

[personal profile] senseandcecilbility 2013-12-21 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Kevin submits him to a penetrating look, as if daring him to lie.

However, once satisfied with his thorough examination, he turns on his heels and walks back to the fridge, where dead yeti waits to be converted into culinary miracle.
]

Good.

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