[ 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

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin tries to remember one more time why he has resumed conversations with Mister Break, in spite of his lonely existence, beautiful hands and... Naturally, all thoughts are interrupted by the sight of a dusty bottle.]

I am fine, thank you. May I ask what is that in your hand?

[Needless to say that his attempt to conceal the eagerness in his voice fails miserably.]

[maddeninghatter]

Hmm? This?

[ With angelic innocence (and he knows just how innocent angels are), he holds up the hand with the cookie tin. ]

These are a sort of Christmas cookie, I believe. Would you like one?

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin gives him a suspicious look. Mister Break, are you teasing him again?

B-but the man is blind, so perhaps he really doesn't know. That innocence...it could be genuine, right?]

Ah...I-I meant the bottle you are carrying.

[maddeninghatter]

Oh, that. Dear, dear — I don't know if I should let you see it.

[ He'd found it behind the bar in the bottom floor of the subterranean art museum. Whether it is an ancient liqueur that's still drinkable or something more appropriate for degreasing surfaces, he has yet to ascertain. ]

You are, how shall I say, not yourself when you've had a few.

[ Or fifty-seven. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

N-Not myself?

[It was just fifty-seven! Still, Kevin has the good sense to sound contrite.]

The little umbrellas caught me by surprise, but I promise I will be more careful this time.

[It is only a bottle, after all. Though has Mister Break brought this for him?

If that is true. he is really touched. Really. Even if Mister Break just made him drop another one on the kitchen floor. It is the principle of the thing. ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break is, by this time, climbing the stairs up from the kitchen, still clinging tightly to his cookies and the bottle. ]

You know, I've been wondering. Why does a divine being need to drink? Or gamble, for that matter?

1/2

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin is, of course, climbing after him.

Break's question draws him to a half.]

I do not need it.

[He can stop whenever he wants, okay.]

[senseandcecilbility]

...

[After an indecisive pause, he heaves a deep sigh and stares at the back of Break's school]

...After that person passed away, I spent three thousand years searching for his soul.

[Everyone needs a hobby. Uriel, in particular, needed a hobby that reminded him of Solomon.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ He slows down and actually stops, on the stairs, and turns around. He's standing a little taller than Kevin is now; he would be looking down on Kevin, if he could see. ]

Mister —

Uriel.

[ Kevin and Gilbert had always seemed to be kindred spirits, from his point of view; but he'd had no idea how far the similarity went. Gilbert had spent a decade trying to find a way to rescue Oz. But — three thousand years.... ]

Did you find him?

[ To have lost a wing, and his most important person...

Kevin, you have issues. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[If Break could see his smile, he would know how genuine it is, though perhaps he can sense it in his voice. Somehow, the fact that Break chose to call him by his real name makes that even better, as if that Uriel had at last accomplished something he could be proud of.]

Ah, I did. Young master has his soul.

[He hesitates before continuing.]

T-the Initiative brought him back, though. Just before we left the moon. I fear he is...exploring the castle as we speak.

[He turns around, attempting to hide how embarrassed and vulnerable he is at this moment. He should have told Break about Solomon's arrival a long time ago, but he was a little too busy fretting and dealing on his own with three thousand years of feelings.]

1/?

[maddeninghatter]

[ He had been about to smile. That’s a happy ending.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Er, sort of happy, given the fact that this person is the reason Uriel lost his wing. ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ And, come to think of it, sort of creepy. Hadn’t Kevin talked about sleeping with young master? He’d thought it a bit weird at the time, but now given this additional context… ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Wait. ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ What? ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Say what? ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ He connects the dots. This person, this Solomon is who Uriel has been obsessing about for three millennia?

Well.

Gilbert had been a basket case after Oz returned. He’d been adamant about not wanting Oz to know who he was, and made them all promise not to tell. Break had actually pitied him enough to comply. Uriel must be… ]

done

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break’s mind registers the fact that Uriel hadn’t told him about this before, but then slides right over it. He keeps whole steamer trunks of secrets himself; he is in no position to judge. So he doesn’t remark upon this, but instead says pleasantly: ]

I think you’d better go down and get a couple of glasses, and then meet me in the drawing room. And then we’ll see if what’s in this bottle is actually drinkable, hm?

1/3 D'aww.

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin watches with great anxiety the impossible number of expressions cross Break's face. Is he mad because he did not tell him? Is he going to push him away?]

Re: done

[senseandcecilbility]

...

[So much fretting, only to be unexpectedly reduced to gross tears of gratitude in the end.]

M-Mister Break...

[senseandcecilbility]

[But soon enough, he straightens his back and wipe the tears off with the back of his hand.]

I will be right back.

[maddeninghatter]

[ When Kevin returns, he'll find Break upstairs, curled up on what's left of one of the sofas. While the furniture was, for the most part, preserved in the deep freeze, the upholstery deteriorated or was consumed by rats. Thus a sleeping bag has been pressed into service, until such time as the cushions can be repaired.

The bottle is open on a coffee table. The green liquid inside almost glows. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[The angel not only comes back with the Bohemian glasses, but also with sandwiches and nutty shortcakes he bargained for in the city.]

What a strange color...

[Still moved by Break's actions, he carefully sits by his side and pauses to smell the bottles contents.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ The peeling label on the bottle says:

Chartreuse
Fabriquée par les pères Chartreux

It smells richly sweet, of herbs and anise. ]

I'll let you do the honors, Mister Cecil.

[ He waves casually towards the bottle and the glasses, which he heard clinking. Kevin might also be interested to see that, at the bottom, the label also says ALC. 55% BY VOL. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[He stares at the bottle, then back at Break, then back at the bottle.

Kevin might not know that, but he has just fallen in love all over again.]

Mister Break, you are a real angel!

[With flawless expertise, he pours the green miracle for both of them.]