❧ Waltz of the Flowers
[the first thing the CATs--and only the CATs, not the vidscreens--will show when this staticky broadcast starts up, the faint tinny sound of music accompanying it, is the following video. how it's being shown is anyone's guess as no one speaks or in fact even appears to be there. it doesn't even say who the broadcast is from.
but what appears on the flickering screen is a box. an ordinary, unassuming box made of cherry wood sitting atop a pedestal that is soon closed off behind black curtains. the image pulls away slightly to show a cluster of pine trees in the background before it and the music ceases, leaving nothing.]
[a few moments later, however, the CATs and vidscreens click on, perfect as can be, and the friendly face of Audrey appears, a hibiscus flower tucked in her hair. she's even wearing nicer clothing than she'd normally wear in the White Rabbit.]
Afternoon, my sugar dumplings! Ohh, I know, you were expecting Mayor Cal, weren't you? Unfortunately, the poor dear has hay fever something awful right now and he asked that I fill in for him since I was finishing things up here anyway! [she laughs] Be sure to wish him well, and if you want to send him a box of kleenex, I'm sure he'll appreciate it!
Oh, before I forget, you'll notice that the weather predicting software has been removed from your CATs. Guess those silly meteorologists were sweating bullets over the thing and sabotaged the whole project so they wouldn't lose their jobs! Sorry for the inconvenience. All weather updates will instead be found on channel 40 on your vidscreens, but in exchange, we've given the CAT programming a bit of an upgrade!
Now that all the business crap is done with, I can finally announce the grand re-opening of the Luministi Botanical Gardens! Mayor Cal's had his brightest eggheads and green thumbs working round the clock on this one and isn't it beautiful? [holds her CAT up, showing part of the inside of a greenhouse] A lot of hours went into cleaning this place up and it really shows. In honor of that, we're throwing a party and someone thought I'd be the best one to cater this shindig, so all you adults can expect plenty of booze! [laughs heartily, but she turns extremely serious a split second later] But don't think any of you kiddies will get a single drop. Over my dead body.
[but then she's all smiles again] You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is down here. I could get lost wandering around here. There's so much to see! To get to our beautiful gardens and the many entrances to the palm house, just keep on walking past the southern plaza, head on over either bridge and bingo! You're there!.
So what are you all waiting for?! Come on down for some free food and drink! We even have a band playing later on today and they are fantastic. Might even see a special someone taking up the bass later on. [winks]
Hope to see you here!
❧ Plot Details: Waltz of the Flowers
but what appears on the flickering screen is a box. an ordinary, unassuming box made of cherry wood sitting atop a pedestal that is soon closed off behind black curtains. the image pulls away slightly to show a cluster of pine trees in the background before it and the music ceases, leaving nothing.]
[a few moments later, however, the CATs and vidscreens click on, perfect as can be, and the friendly face of Audrey appears, a hibiscus flower tucked in her hair. she's even wearing nicer clothing than she'd normally wear in the White Rabbit.]
Afternoon, my sugar dumplings! Ohh, I know, you were expecting Mayor Cal, weren't you? Unfortunately, the poor dear has hay fever something awful right now and he asked that I fill in for him since I was finishing things up here anyway! [she laughs] Be sure to wish him well, and if you want to send him a box of kleenex, I'm sure he'll appreciate it!
Oh, before I forget, you'll notice that the weather predicting software has been removed from your CATs. Guess those silly meteorologists were sweating bullets over the thing and sabotaged the whole project so they wouldn't lose their jobs! Sorry for the inconvenience. All weather updates will instead be found on channel 40 on your vidscreens, but in exchange, we've given the CAT programming a bit of an upgrade!
Now that all the business crap is done with, I can finally announce the grand re-opening of the Luministi Botanical Gardens! Mayor Cal's had his brightest eggheads and green thumbs working round the clock on this one and isn't it beautiful? [holds her CAT up, showing part of the inside of a greenhouse] A lot of hours went into cleaning this place up and it really shows. In honor of that, we're throwing a party and someone thought I'd be the best one to cater this shindig, so all you adults can expect plenty of booze! [laughs heartily, but she turns extremely serious a split second later] But don't think any of you kiddies will get a single drop. Over my dead body.
[but then she's all smiles again] You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is down here. I could get lost wandering around here. There's so much to see! To get to our beautiful gardens and the many entrances to the palm house, just keep on walking past the southern plaza, head on over either bridge and bingo! You're there!.
So what are you all waiting for?! Come on down for some free food and drink! We even have a band playing later on today and they are fantastic. Might even see a special someone taking up the bass later on. [winks]
Hope to see you here!
❧ Plot Details: Waltz of the Flowers
- Those of you who happened to catch sight of an odd shape in the field across from the southern shopping plaza during the weather anomalies will notice that the shape just might have looked like the palm house of the new botanical gardens! Though...Audrey said it was the re-opening, didn't she? Hmm, curious that. And what was with that box, and more importantly...what's inside?
Well, that's up to you to find out! And...you'll have plenty of time to find it.
For you see, once you decide to go to the gardens for the free food and entertainment, you'll find that you can't leave the grounds for up to an entire week. If you try to leave out of any the exits, you'll just come right back in on the opposite side of the grounds. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? At least you have enough food and drink to last you during your stay there, and there is even a little shop just outside the palm house where you can buy things to use for bedding (shirts, towels, that sort of thing), and there's even a conservatory filled with comfy couches and chairs where you can relax and rest for a spell. Nothing like a slumber party, huh?
Oddly enough, though, the older residents will find their way in and out of the gardens with ease, and like with the exits out of town, they'll profess that there's nothing wrong with the area, but may think that you really love the gardens. Audrey will be in and out from time to time as well--she is catering the event, after all--and can be available for a quick chat while she's going about her business if players let the mods know (IC comment to this post, PM, email, etc.). Audrey will, however, put you to work as she is a busy, busy woman!
There is, however, a ray of hope for the new residents. Remember that music? At some point around the gardens, you just might hear it, but the location will be different for everyone. One person might hear it start in the sunken gardens, or some might see hear it as they're traversing the Japanese gardens or any of the other areas around the gardens. If you follow the music, it will eventually lead you to the location that was shown on the CATs, containing the mysterious box. But in addition to the music starting in different places, the path everyone takes to the box's location will be different, so no one can give proper directions. How difficult or easy it is for characters to find the box is up to you. Just follow the music! By the way, more locations/pictures of the gardens can be seen in the updated Town Features page.
Once you find the black curtained pedestal sitting in the center of this gathering area, you'll have a choice. Do you reach beyond the curtains (which will only part enough to reach a hand in), open the box and take what's inside? You'll find that you can't take the box itself as it's mysteriously fused to the pedestal.
If you do open the box, a few things may happen, which are, again, up to the player's discretion: Something may snap down on your fingers like a mousetrap. Some may find that your fingers are touching something slimy, sticky and goopy, or something that just might be blood. Some might even get a shock! But if characters try to examine their fingers after putting them into the box, they'll look like nothing has happened to them even if the physical sensations remain for a few minutes.
Once you reach in and touch the contents of the box, though, the curtains will part instantly to reveal something else sitting inside instead of whatever you touched before. Inside will be a piece of candy that just so happens to be your character's most favorite type of candy ever and a burnt, folded up piece of paper. Upon opening the paper, it will look completely blank--but look closely! There are faint smudges blurring out what might have been words. There are three messages in total that players can find, the contents of which we'll reveal throughout the week in entries to the OOC comm, at which point the smudges on those papers will mysteriously become the actual message. In order to determine which message you'll receive, comment here OOCly and we'll give you a letter of A, B, or C as chosen through the use of AIM dice. Keep an eye out for the messages and let's hope your character doesn't throw it away...
Now! Once you've received your treats, you just might find the way out... But be warned that if you leave the gardens and go back in, you'll have to find the box again and retrieve its contents once more (which, yes, means you could get your fingers pinched in a non-existent mousetrap again.)
Of course...you can always just ignore the box entirely and spend your week wandering the gardens and watching plump bumblebees buzz about. The flora is the finest you'll ever find, after all, and quite exquisite and exotic. There might even be kinds that one might not find on Earth...
Oh yes, and as for those upgrades to the CATs, all holographic projections can now be viewed through any piece of clothing, so stuffing the CATs into a pocket won't get rid of the face of the person you're talking to or hide your face unless you issue a vocal command for it to switch to audio only. The audio and video option will always be the default when a conversation starts up.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them here!
EDIT: By the way, all messages can be seen here: Message A, Message B, and Message C