[ Open ] A Home for the Holidays

[maddeninghatter]

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.

Comments

1 & 3

[timehalt]

[1) She was just coming to take a peek! Just a quick little visit to make sure everything was all right, that the castle was actually there and no one had gotten duped, maybe see if there really were enough rooms and she could let others know of the opportunity.

She didn't expect to get lost with only a strange torch to light her way, trying not to look at the paintings around her because oh my god and why and fervently wishing she'd never, ever come.

There's a shuffle ahead of her in the dark; a patter of footsteps, and only the sure knowledge that screaming will draw it to her faster keeps her from making a sound. She backpedals immediately, quite certain that whatever is on its way is not something she ever wants to meet and slams into something else. She lets out a helpless squeak of surprise and promptly clamps her hands over her mouth, the strange light clattering to the floor.

Oh no...!


3) Miranda's finally found her way to the kitchen where she's hoping to be able relax after one of the most traumatizing and harrowing experiences of her life. It's one thing to fight mutated monsters for a living, quite another to run away from penguins in a castle reminiscent of ever other horror available.

Back in the light, she lets out a long, exhausted sigh. Please let there not be anything horrifying or panic-inducing for five minutes. Five minutes is all she asks. Actually, forever. Forever would be the best, but she'll accept five if only to give her heart a chance to settle. ]

1

[maddeninghatter]

Jinglejinglejinglejinglejingle

[ Bells, big ones and little ones, ring out in the darkness, accompanied by irregular whump-whump whump! noises. ]

[timehalt]

[ Oh god, not bells. What has bells? Surely whatever monsters wait in the dark ahead of her, ready to kill her and eat her or eat her as they kill her or torture her slowly and then eat her, and she can't run away because she dropped her light like an idiot and really how is she always this stupid?

She flattens herself against the nearest surface, hoping against hope that this thing can't see in the dark. Or can pick up the light. Or exists at all outside of her hallucinations. Honestly, whichever means she won't die horribly tonight. ]

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ Eventually the bells stop. There's a bit of movement and scuffling and then —

...

...

...nothing. ]

[maddeninghatter]

HI HIIIIII~!

[ There's a chin on your shoulder; and if horrible grins made noises, this one would be deafening. ]

[timehalt]

[ Hope you enjoy that foot-high jump into the air and accompanying scream of terror, because not only does she manage to reach octaves that should never be heard, she also shoves herself away from whatever it is as hard as she possibly can.

Then she bolts down the hall as fast as fast as her legs can take her. NOPE NOPE NOPE. ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Because of the disturbing, intimidating architecture and design of this place, not to mention manga logic, Miranda's mad dash will lead her right back around to where Break is still standing, rubbing his ear. ]

[timehalt]

[Unluckily for Miranda, she forgot her light in the mad dash to safety, so all she catches is the silhouette of a man ahead of her. She lets out a squeak and stumbles to a halt as quickly as she can; reversing back into the nearest surface.

God why. ]

1 i'm sorry

[velveteened]

( slamming into something else?

or


someone else, that's the question. easy enough mistake to make perhaps when the vertically challenged are involved, but let's not dwell on that. oz's work is usually a bit more sophisticated, but at the moment she'll just find herself faced with a — )

Boo!

are not!!

[timehalt]

[ Her reaction is quite simple really; Miranda screams loud enough to wake the dead. It goes on for almost a minute. ]

MAYBE A LITTLE

[velveteened]

( WELL that tells him who it is, anyway.

PATS HER BACK??? )

Ah — Miranda, it's just me.

[timehalt]

[ You may as well have given her a heart attack. She's heaving and out of breath and still practically terrified out of her wits. ]

Wh-who?

[ PLEASE BE SOMEONE SAFE. ]

[velveteened]

Oz! ( helpfully, he hopes: ) Lenalee's friend. It's been a while.

[timehalt]

Oz? [ Who the hell--? ] Oh! Um, yes! Hi! Ah, hello. How are you?

[ PLEASE DON'T DO THAT AGAIN. Also where are you? ]

1

[soul_sister]

[Not having expected to see anyone else in this massive, twisting passages, creepy exhibits and odd, weird smelling machines, the flood of another flashlight was enough to pause Rosette.

It was a dangerous hesitation as the brute force of Miranda and Miranda's panic is a formidable force. Her own flashlight goes skittering off.]

OW!!

[timehalt]

[ Miranda screams; an automatic response to anything at this point, even if what she's stumbled into feels like another person. Possbily because it feels like another person. For all she knows it could be a murderer--or a zombie. ]

Please don't hurt me!

[soul_sister]

[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!!!

[timehalt]

[ The screaming continues, picked up again by Miranda realizing she's getting a response which just serves to terrify her more. ]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please don't hurt me, I don't want to die!

[soul_sister]

[CLEARLY THIS GHOST IS...... ... was very solid?


Rosette drops her arms and peeks over them, squinting in the darkness...]

Who...?

[timehalt]

[ Miranda has her face shielded, trying desperately not to antagonize the monster further. ]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to interrupt you! I--I wasn't trying to exorcise you or anything! I--I'm not qualified for that! So--so please don't hurt me! I promise I'll leave right away!

3

[retraced]

[Poor Miranda will come across a very pleasant, calming scene when she finally makes it to the kitchen. The air smells like fresh baked bread and cinnamon, and the room is bright and warm. A table and several chairs have been wiped down and polished, plates of free food and tea served on freshly cleaned kitchenware.

There's also a young man teetering on his feet near the counter, looking like he's about to fall over headfirst into a bowl of - whatever it is he's mixing. He might be falling asleep standing up.]

[timehalt]

[ OH MY GOSH. She rushes to his side before she realizes she has, grabbing onto his arm and shoulder to steady him and trying not to panic. ]

Are you okay? Please don't die! I don't know what to do if you die! Stay with me, okay? Don't go into the light!

[retraced]

W-wha-?!

[He's immediately startled back awake, and the whisk in his hand goes flying off the opposite direction where it connects with the wall. Better a wall than a stack of dishes, though. He blinks uselessly as he watches it connect, slowly steadying himself back onto his own feet.]

[timehalt]

[ Miranda's still got two fists holding him and she begins to shake him a little (perhaps more than 'a little') to keep him conscious. Please don't die!! ]

Stay with me! I--I'm sure you have so much to live for! Don't you want to see it? You can't die! You have to stay here!

[retraced]

[Oh no, is he dying? Had he finally made a terrible cooking error? Left the stove on? Is he trapped in the fire right now?! Cautiously, he tests his breathing only to find his lungs as clear as the fresh snow, but the few gasps of solid air help him to shake the rest of the sudden sleep from his brain. Or maybe it's her "gentle" push towards consciousness there.]

I-I-I'm not dying! [He stutters in between her violent shakes.]

I promise! R-really!