[In the morning, residents of Marina will find Ukitake deep in meditation beside the koi pond. He has a slender katana resting across his lap, and his hands are draped lightly over his knees. Sitting perfectly still, he seems almost a statue, save for the faint stirring of his long white hair in concert with the movements of the air.

Later, he can be seen on the network, wearing a contented smile, the same katana sheathed at his side.]

It is always good to see an old friend after a separation. [He leaves unspoken that, for the first time since he arrived in Marina, a part of his soul feels whole again, the shard that was Sogyo no Kotowari no longer missing since the sword was returned to him.]

If there were one thing or person you could ask to be brought to this place, what would you choose?

Good morning, inmates. It is the 155th day of the third generation.

As most of you are aware, there was an incident yesterday with a number of strange robots built by a previous inmate of this facility, which some of you may recognize from previous incidents. They appear to have ceased operations for the time being, so you may go about your daily routines today without concern.

Inmates Raistlin Majere and Sollux Captor, the items you requested can be retrieved at the entrance to Sector 0.

[Tim (or Alvin to you, depending on how much you know him) is just walking around early in the morning, completely unaware of what the bots all around imply. Luckily for him he hasn't stumbled upon anybody yet, but that is surely going to change soon.

He's pretty new to this place and so far everything has been more pleasant than what he'd expect from a prison. He's got his new camera in hand, and he's taking pictures of everything that catches his attention before he heads to class. Colors, shadows, figures... he's a little out of practice with the camera so he thought he could learn to see things through it again would help before he got to the serious pics he promised for the newspaper.

Later, he'll put on his Robin costume and go around patrolling in the shadows. Crime never rest etc, not even in the prison. He has to do what he was taught to do, and that's protecting people.]


[[OOC: You can either stumble upon Tim taking pics, going to the school, walking around... ooor you can find Robin as he patrols. Tell me which one you want in the subject or on the message <3

I will also leave a thread down here for you to link me to an entry in case you'd rather have me comment to you. I'm open to anything, I swear, so don't be shy and get crazy.]]

[Lovely day for being in any open, common area of the dome, isn't it? Of course there is a chance of kissing bot, but it's always something in the underwater prison.]

(OOC: Check out the OOC post for details. Pucker up! Edit: Links for those with loading problems!)

[Sector 3 is a popular destination for entertainment! People may be interested in seeing a movie at the theater, getting a drink or singing karaoke at the club, playing games at the arcade, or dropping by the Brave Vesperia headquarters -- on business or otherwise. In addition, Sector 3 has a lot of apartments and small houses; maybe people are just coming and going on their daily routine, or you might be seeing a friend who lives here.]

[Everyone who might have passed through Sector 3 today -- morning, noon, or night -- is invited to thread out a chance encounter here, or a date, or a gathering of friends. Just tell everyone where your character is and what they're doing, and go!]

[ (But if your occasion takes place after dark, remember there was a bomb threat if that's relevant to your character.) ]

[Action - Open ]

[ Being a teenage boy, Ventus does not do well with being cooped up - either forced or voluntarily. So even though it is cold out, he would rather be outside playing in the snow than he would being inside nice and warm. Maybe at night when he's worn out, but fresh in the morning? Heck no!

So there is a Ventus out in the snow in the park, looking at a pile of it rather critically before he summons one of his Keyblades - Stroke of Midnight, which goes with the snowy landscape, he thought, with its blues and whites. Not to mention it had some fond memories attached - Jacques and Cinderella.

He stood back from the awkward pile of snow and frowned in concentration at it, pointing the Keyblade at it.]

Blizzard!

[It was the weakest spell, but knowing Acumen limited his access to his magic (and the fact a blizzaga probably would be destroyed the pile), he went with it. The little ball of ice hit the pile of snow and rolled off and away, Ventus following and grinning when he saw the nice size snowball it had made. Perfect.

He turned and repeated the process, slowly building more of them...]

[Video - locks to Akito/Agito]

Hey, how are the Air Gears coming?

[ooc: feel free to bother. He's just having fun in the snow in the park so he's open to pokes!]

[Duo was a little bored. Bouncing one of the basketballs around the gym by himself just wasn't as exciting with some friends. He remembered a few people had been interested in playing. Maybe he should set something up for people to do tomorrow. Though, they had just had the big snowball fight yesterday, so maybe not? He wasn't sure. Idly tossing and spinning the ball around in his hands, he decided to find out if anyone would be interested.]

[video]

Hey, all. I know I had put this out there a while back, and well, the winter weather always kinda makes me bored. Anyone wanna play a game of basketball tomorrow? I'll teach ya if you dunno how to play. We'd probably need like five people a team to get like a really good game going, since each team gets that many on the court at a time.

[Here's York, hanging out in the Defense Force HQ wearing a black tailored suit with a bright red shirt. Never mind that he's pretending that he can play his incredibly fancy electric guitar--he has an Important Message, which will just have to be gently serenaded by his idle, random string plucking. So basically you have a gently smug FBI agent speaking to the tune of the flat, muted "not hooked up to an amp" noise associated with electric guitars.]

Hello.

I've decided that we need to establish an investigative branch for the Force. With any luck, we won't need to solve any murder mysteries, but... well, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

So far, it's just me and Zach--FBI training, and all. If you aren't a Defense Force member, you'll have to join first, of course. Experience is preferred, but we might be able to give you some training. [Yes, you too can receive the finely-honed crime-solving skills of an imaginary friend and a man who tells his fortune with his coffee.]

[Video]
[Darn, he couldn't sleep. It wasn't like that idiot dog was around keeping him up, so that wasn't an excuse. Nor were there any enemies around to attack him. So why? It was evening time, and he felt mentally tired, but apparently his body wasn't. The feed switches on, revealing his unruly red hair, and the restless face it was attached to.]

What's the best way to force yourself to sleep when you're restless? [And the feed switches off.]

[Action]
[So, he's made his way to the Athletic Complex and begins running along the large open field, in just his winter coat since he didn't bring a hat or scarf this time. Maybe a few laps around would be just the thing to tire him out. Unfortunately, the small boy doesn't notice the small piece of frozen ground as he sprints and he slips on it, which propels him off-balance and he crashes to the ground. The impact causes his Communicator to fly off, rolling a few feet away. And now, the video function switches itself on after the button presses down when it hits the floor, so you'll see an uncouncious Yuta lying face first on the field. He's too independent to ask for help, so he'll just let his body slowly recover on its own like he usually does until he gets the strength to get up.]

((ooc: Yuta's slipped on a stray piece of frozen snow and sprained his ankle. He's in a bit of pain, and won't be getting up just yet unless someone comes by and wants to help him.))

[ Tyr hasn't used this to just talk to people as a whole in a while, so his tone is somewhat awkward. ]

Now that we're done being shuffled around...is there anywhere to stay other than this shelter? I assume there aren't a lot of empty houses around, but I'm not that picky as long as it's not as busy at this place.

Also--If Suzaku of the Defense Force is listening, I want to speak with you.

[ when the video feed comes to life, alois trancy looks like he's swallowed an entire sunbeam. that's how wide his smile is and how rosy his cheeks are. besides the usual honey-colored hair that frames his face, there's impossibly black silky strands tickling under his chin. he peers through the wave of hair at the camera (which one hand keeps in place), while a few polished fingernails card themselves through it. ]

Guess what, guess what? [ is the giddiness detectable? it should be. ] Claude has come! My Claude! My Claude came to me and while it took him a fuck of a long time, he's here now, and I've forgiven him for being so unpunctual! And, for leaving me alone for so long, of course. [ isn't he a kindly master? .... and, yeah, yeah; never mind that claude faustus has been charged with crimes just like everyone else. nope, alois likes to fancy that claude charged in to rescue him from unbearable loneliness. ]

He's really terrific! The best butler in the entire world. [ adding quickly: ] In all of them, you won't find one better and he's all mine.

Anyhow! Today Claude and I are going to bake a cake! [ the view gets a tad rocky, he's leaning back to switch his communicator's camera to the side of claude's face and ear. the entire time, he's been perched and wiggling on claude's shoulders, kicking his legs, or leaning backward—giving the trancy butler a hell of a time of keeping him steady and unscathed. ] Isn't that right, Claude? It'll be the bloody most wonderful cake you've ever seen or eaten!

[ swoop! the camera suddenly pans up to a top view of the two of them, with alois looking cheerfully upward. ] So, if you'd like, you should come and have some.



(ooc: ;w; yep. claude and alois'll be in the kitchen this afternoon baking (or, trying to teach how...) a cake and making a mess of things and herp derpin'. either one or both of us will tag those who comment in. feel free to come help them out in the kitchen, laugh at them, or eat some cake. i promise it'll be good.)

Good afternoon, Marina! It's been a few days since I've spoken to you all like this, hasn't it? I think the last time was on Halloween when the candy turned me into a diamond! [Which he still kind of thinks was a tiny bit awesome.]

It seems that Haruhi and Ranka both went home already. It's very lucky that they got to go home together so that they don't have to be alone. I'm sure that they're a lot happier being at home than they would have been here so I'm not really upset, but I wish they would have stayed for a little longer. Haruhi taught me how to make sugar cookies and I've been practicing a lot since then so that I could impress her with my skills! It would have also been nice to talk to Ranka since we got off on the wrong foot when he first got here. [Smiling through all of this, as usual, despite the fact that he is upset by their disappearance. There's no reason to make that known to everyone.]

Since they aren't here I have a lot of extra cookies so if anyone wants to try them you can come over! I don't think I have enough for everyone, but I wouldn't mind making more if I have to! It's no wonder commoners like cooking so much, it's a lot of fun! Maybe after this I can find even more recipes and try to make even more things!

Everyone who arrived yesterday are especially invited! I know that suddenly finding yourself here can be very stressful and cookies are always good for cheering people up so this might be very nice! [And suddenly his smile goes away and is replaced with a thoughtful look.] Ah, but there are cookies in the welcome basket aren't there? I guess this would be a lot of cookies to add to those... [But his smile is back right after that.]

[And one last thing before he ends the feed.] Everyone who comes over can meet my parrot, too! He's very loud and likes to sing, but he's also very friendly and I think a lot of people will like him!

[Agito's in a pretty gloomy mood today. With Akito off hanging around Tsuna, and Lind who knows where, the dark is feeling almost...lonely. Even after their split, he hasn't spent all that much time away from Akito. But now that the light is distracted and Agito doesn't want to bother him, Agito's...not sure what to do.

The teen can be found resting on the ground in the butterfly pavilion, back to a tree. One leg is drawn up up to his chest, his arms folded and resting on his knee. Golden eye stares out at nothing, lost in thought. What to do without Akito? He's not in the mood to train...being on his own in a normal situation like this is...confusing.

He ignores the butterflies that rest on him from time to time, along with anyone around unless they catch his attention somehow. A distraction would be kinda good right now]

[Well, here she was in Sector 5. She planned on trying one flavor a day just like Gear had suggested, but that was easier said than done when there were so many to choose from in the first place! Her eyes drifted from flavor to flavor as she bit her lip in concentration; she was only going to get one shot at this, after all. One self-imposed shot, but a shot nonetheless.

Still, it wasn't like she could stay here forever. It was cold, after all! Even with her coat on she still knew that much. Maybe she could ask the network...]

Hey, I want to ask all of you something! If you met someone who never had ice cream before, what flavor would you tell them to try first? I'm just curious.

[Asking for help straight out? Never. That request was still punctuated by a muffled sneeze into a handkerchief, however.]

Good morning, Marina! [Have a very smiley pink haired girl on your video feed!] For anyone I haven’t met, I’m Lacus Clyne and I’m very glad to meet you.

It seems as though we’re all going to be in the shelter today, so we should make the best of things. I was thinking that we should get together and have a big winter banquet! Anyone who wants to help cook should please feel free to come to the kitchens and assist, and if not you should still come and enjoy the food with us.

Dinner will be served at 5 in the main cafeteria, and after that maybe we could have fun playing games and watching movies together. I hope everyone has a good day, and I hope to see everyone at the feast!

[A few minutes later]

I just learned that today is also Ritsuka’s birthday! To celebrate there will be a cake and some special desserts and decorations. [as many decorations as they can find without access to the store.] Everyone please, stop by to wish him a happy birthday!

***
((OOC Notes: Mingle post, open to all! Reply to Lacus by [video] or there are several action options: [cooking] any time before 5pm ICly, [dinner] a huge buffet of almost anything you could want, or [after dinner] for card games, board games, and movies throughout the cafeteria and nearby common rooms! Your character is in no way obligated to be at all of these, but they could be if you want~

Also! A link to Ritsuka’s birthday party will be added once it goes up. There will be cake and lots of special desserts and pretty decorations in one area of the cafeteria.

If anyone wants to intentionally or unintentionally sabotage the food, please contact me OOCly before you do so. Thanks and ENJOY!))

[If you feel like wandering into the Shelter kitchens for a midnight snack, you’ll get a bit of a surprise: there are small tea lights scattered around on counters and floors, lending the dark room a soft, warm glow, and, just beyond the doorway, there’s a techpriest seated on the floor with her legs tucked underneath her. Her head is bowed towards the room’s interior, her hands are clasped in front of her face, and she’s softly reciting a prayer. A dish of incense burning close by is lending the kitchen (and even the hallway outside) a powerfully bitter scent.]

[How long has it been since she’s blessed the kitchens? Far too long, in her opinion. And with the Sanguinala approaching quickly, purifying the equipment she’d use to cook the holy meal was of paramount importance.]

Hey! Stop pushing, already. [the camera view is bouncing, but manages to show Komui being prodded by one of Acumen’s bots.] We were almost done! Just a few more adjustments.

[Gear is also being pushed, but mostly off screen] Come on, dude, we were right outside! It’s not like we were making a run to the rec center!

You’re standing in the way of scientific progress! This will not -- ow, stop that. I’m going, yeesh.

Dude, this bites. Hey--don’t poke the helmet!

It’s ridiculous is what it is -- hey, watch it! Stupid thing, who programmed you anyway? [Komui rubs at his rump, annoyed]

For real. [Gear’s glaring off in the direction of the bots, rubbing the sore spot on his back where it kept poking him] You’d think they would at least have let us turn it off.

[paaause] So... we fixed that power problem, didn’t we?

...Come on, bro, it only had enough power to last a few hours, right? [shrug. nothing too big just a foot or two.]

Well, yeah... before my adjustments... [ehehehe.... oops?] Well! There’s plenty of supplies in the shelter...

Wait. What? It can still be turned off right? [Ko, bro, you did not just say that.]

I think so! And anyway, if two feet of snow is fun, a little more would be extra fun! [who can argue with that?]

[The look on Gear’s face? They may have a problem. But he shakes it off with an uneasy laugh.] Yeah, right, it’ll turn off. It’s not like a few hours will overload it or anything. [He’s sounding a lot more confident than he is.]

((OOC: Komui’s dialogue is regular text, Gear’s dialogue is in green.

Snowed-in event is go! Starting tonight, massive amounts of heavy snow will be distributed everywhere, courtesy of Richie/Gear and Komui’s little snafoo. By the time the bots agree to let anyone out of the shelter, there’ll be between 8 and 10 feet of wet snow blocking you in. Enjoy, and don't forget to thank Komui and Gear for the lovely surprise~!))

[Jane had never believed in luck before, but she couldn't help but feel that someone or something was desperately trying to prove her wrong. She wasn't a fan of the ball and chain either, and alternating between trying to carry the iron ball and dragging it with her shackled ankle all day was wearing on her. Just a little, she told herself. Sure, she wasn't very strong to begin with, and she was already at the point of needing to stop for a moment every once in a while for the sake of her aching muscles, but she still forced a pout to her face.]

Man~! I just know that this stupid thing is going to give me a bruise...

[Jane shrugged in the most dramatic way she could manage. This was her way of coping, apparently.]