week 3

[jinglehellmods]

WEEK 3

Another week gone and it's still Christmas! Or is it? The paint on the walls is beginning to crack and fade, with especially large chunks in character's bedrooms revealing scratched words like "cantgetoutcantgetout" and "god help me i just want to go home i miss my home i miss my mother i miss" etc. Yikes! The locations page might be updated throughout the week as characters discover more. Seems like now's the perfect time to investigate and hope you'll get closer to finding out what's going on here. There's always more places to look and more things to find!

As a reminder that this week's activity check is now live! And as usual, it's never a bad time to submit threads for regains! Have you been naughty or nice? Naughty children still get presents too, don't worry. And if you'd like to check-in on Thursday night, you always can! You never know what fun you might run into.

So go exploring, find something new and pay no mind to the creepy writing on the walls. We're sure everything will be fine! After all, nothing ever goes wrong on Christmas, right?

sunday | monday | tuesday | wednesday | thursday

Comments

[commemoration]

[With the death of Lena, Yumemi is now down a roommate, and perhaps that's why she doesn't linger too long in her room and instead makes herself busy. First, she checks the Christmas tree and actually finds two presents with her name. Afterwards, she busies herself with sliding a note under everyone's doors or pushing it into their hands when she walks by. It says the following:

Special Activity in the Arts and Crafts Room! Please stop by at 3pm if you'd like to take part! There will be hot chocolate, papercrafts, and a special presentation hosted by yours truly. It will make me very happy if you attend.

-- Yumemi Hoshino

Those who decide to see what this is will find that Yumemi has pushed a bunch of tables together so that everyone can sit together for this bonding activity she's put together, with stacks of bright construction paper, markers, and safety craft scissors (so that no one gets hurt!) as she smiles.]

I have been thinking, and I have come up with an idea for all of us to get to know one another better and form stronger friendships. I think it would be nice if we all sat together and made something each of us like that we want to share about ourselves? For example, I crafted this.

[And here, she holds up some origami stars she made.]

I also attempted to draw some constellations! If anyone is interested, I would be happy to show them to you and provide information about them, as well as many other stories about the heavenly bodies of the universe in a special presentation that I've put together to pass the time here.

[... She misses being at the planetarium and doing presentations with the projector, but this is the best that she can do for now.]

[theothermrgray]

...Constellations, you say?

[He's not sure about messing with the art stuff too much, but the stars are nicer.]

I suppose we could do to listen to your presentation.

[commemoration]

I am pleased that you are interested in seeing what we have set up for today.

[she adjusts some cards in front of her before she speaks]

How familiar are you with the stars, if you don't mind my asking?

[theothermrgray]

[He'll walk up closer to the cards to get a better look.]

I'll admit, I'm not much of an astronomer, but I have heard of such things as horoscopes and such.

[commemoration]

I see! There are certainly many things that can be gleaned from the stars, and for many, horoscopes provide knowledge, or even a method of stability that can benefit a person based on the current position of the stars.

... Though, because I am a robot, I am not entirely certain whether or not the same would apply for me. Even so, I find myself interested and looking up what they might have to say when I'm able to.

[theothermrgray]

Ah, yes... SO you are?

[Dorian still isn't sure what a robot is, but perhaps Shintaro was right...]

Perhaps you could use the day you were... Erm, created as a birthdate and go from there?

[commemoration]

Indeed, I am. I was created with the purpose of serving customers of the rooftop planetarium located at the Flowercrest Department Store.

That said, I am an earlier model of robot, so there are some things I cannot do that the newer models can.

[theothermrgray]

[Department stores were a thing in the 1800's but department stores with robot workers? Unheard of!]

I see... But then what were the newer models capable of?

arts and crafts

[acherontiastyx]

[holy shit mother fucking hot chocolate that he didn't make. it tastes so much sweeter like that...]

Lay some star stories on me, Yumemi.

[commemoration]

[Sadly, Yumemi can't drink it herself, but the least she can do is try making things for other people, right?]

As you wish, Mr. Guzma!

[And here, Yumemi adopts a more professional tone as she speaks.]

When it comes to the stars in the night skies, there each have their own individual name, and over the years, many storytellers have identified patterns that those stars can form. Let us start with, perhaps, the ones that many are first introduced to when they gaze into the cosmos.

[She then holds up a placard with, at first, what appears to be randomly located stars, each labeled with names. Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phad, Merak, Dubhe, so on and so forth...]

On a clear night, the stars you see depicted here are often the most commonly spotted in the northern sky. At first glance, one might not think much of their placement, but if you form a line and connect the stars together into a pattern...

[And thus, she moves the next card into place, showing the constellation being formed.]

... We are able to find the constellation known as "Ursa Major", or "the great bear", which is the largest constellation that can be found in the northern sky, and is the third largest constellation overall!

[acherontiastyx]

Oh, snap, it's just like home!

[HE LOOKS KIND OF STUPID EXCITED...]

So, like, what's the story behind this bear, then?

[commemoration]

Ursa Major is well-known in most world cultures and associated with a number of myths. In Greek mythology, to be more specific, it is associated with Callisto, a beautiful nymph who was turned into a bear by Zeus’ jealous wife Hera. This came as a result of the nymph breaking it's vow of chastity made to the goddess Artemis, in favor of having a son with Zeus, the god that presided over all others.

Hurt by this betrayal, Hera turned Callisto into a bear, who spent the next fifteen years living in hiding until Callisto would one day come face to face with her own son, Arcas. Not recognizing the bear as it's mother, Arcas drew a spear to attack. However, witnessing this scene was Zeus, who intervened by creating a whirlwind that would carry both mother and son into the heavens so that they could be together again forever.

[acherontiastyx]

...

There's a lot going on there, man. So like... are these gods supposed to be people or something?

[commemoration]

Hmm... a lot of artwork depicts them looking similar to humans, but there are also some artistic liberties that will have the gods depicted as a mythological creature depending on where you choose to look?

[acherontiastyx]

Huh. Well, that's kinda weird, but whatever. I guess gods are jerks wherever you have them.

[starblessed]

[Oh, Lunafreya will absolutely join Yumemi in the arts and crafts room! There's a small smile that comes to her face when she sees the origami stars that have been made, and it's certainly not fading as Yumemi makes her offer.]

I would be delighted if you would show us your presentation, Yumemi. The cosmos have always been a source of great interest for me as well.

[commemoration]

Really? I am delighted to hear that!

[A slight pause, as she considers the cards she has ready in her hands here.]

... Ah, but I hope I don't bore you too much, if I end up repeating any information you may already know or not...

[starblessed]

[She's so cute...]

I could never be bored, I assure you. After all, it seems as though some of us are not even from the same world--how exciting would it be to hear about the stars of another planet?

[commemoration]

Oh, that's right! You may know of stars that even I am not familiar with...

[Just look at her, her eyes are near sparkling with excitement just thinking about it.]

[starblessed]

[Her excitement is contagious! Luna can't help but smile in return.]

That may very well be.

Why don't you tell me of your stars, and then I will tell you of ours?

arts and crafts;

[thatdarkmage]

[ Henry will start to take some of the construction paper, and seems to be folding it, carefully folding it to try to make something out of it. ]

So, why do you think we should form stronger friendships?

[commemoration]

I believe that less death would occur if all of us are better friends here. No one would kill someone that they know well and care for, would they?

[thatdarkmage]

That's not true, you know. Friends and lovers kill each other all the time!

[commemoration]

Were they really that close though, if they would kill one another like that?

[thatdarkmage]

Hmmmm it depends. Sometimes it can even happen by an accident, if you know what I mean.

Or in a fit of rage...even if they're super close.