32nd Recipe [Video, Goldenrod]

[cyan_maid]

[Today's video opens up on...a dollhouse.

An incredibly intricate dollhouse. Seriously, it looks like you could actually light, stoke, and carefully maintain a fire in the tiny, doll-sized fireplace. Not that there is one, because we have rules about playing with fire in the house, but if it happened, it looks like it'd be fine.

But we digress. The dollhouse is super well made, we can get that just by an offhand look, but what's remarkably sweet about the whole scene is all the smaller Pokemon that have gathered around it to...play with it. And each Pokemon has a tiny rag doll equivalent of themselves to do so. A Whismur prickles if anyone gets too close to him as his doll-self toddles back and forth in the living room, a Plusle and Minun pair sit on the dollhouse's roof (for they are small and it can hold their weight) while they hum to themselves, their doll-selves doing some impressive jumps, flips, and twirls from roof peak to chimney top. A Marill delights in leading a Buneary and a Jigglypuff in a dinner party in the dining room, acting as host while their doll-selves pretend to eat plastic food. In the house, other rag dolls are lined up, all various Pokemon Jane has in her little family whether they have hands to play with them or not, and nearby, as always, Dinah is supervising...sort of. She's actually cradling a more humanlike doll, one that's so much like a magical girl you could almost say it's an Audino cosplayer...and she adores it.]

So I...received a peculiar gift this year. [Jane pops into frame, sliding down to sit next to the Marill, whose tail bounces with glee.] Aside from the visit from two very naughty guardian birds and an egg that hasn't hatched yet, of course. Since we all seem to have been through that gambit, I thought I ought to showcase this incredible piece of handiwork. [She pauses, setting her face into an expression of resignation, of all things.] While I'm sure the fellow who made it thinks I'm being sarcastic and rude, it must be emphasized that I do sincerely find it a beautiful creation. Wildly detailed, impeccably decorated...Kelvin, sweetie, do you mind if I reach in for a moment? I won't knock your doll over, I promise.

[The Whismur looks at Jane with a scrunched up, pruny face, but he allows Jane to reach in and carefully lift the portrait that hung over the fireplace - the portrait of a doll version of Jane herself, of all things. She turns it around, and while she doesn't show the camera what she's looking at, it's enough to make her brow furrow and mouth curve into a frown.]

...And full of riddles. As if I'm surprised by that. [Her gaze snaps back to the feed.] Anyway! I just wanted to share this magnificent work of art with everyone. It doesn't feel right to keep it all to myself! As you can see, it's really delightful to the smaller Pokemon in my care. They insisted on their own dolls to play with it, too, and I swear that Penelope and Marcus have been so preoccupied with whatever they're re-enacting that they haven't caused a lick of trouble since it came. [She clears her throat.] So! Thank you kindly, please know your gift is being put to use as best as possible.

[Jane ends her video there, but...she never did say who made the dollhouse, did she?]

Comments

[cyclonely]

I could watch them play with that all day... I almost feel like we should have a live webcam like people have for kittens sometimes.

[cyan_maid]

I mean, I'd do it, but the only camera I have is my Pokegear...I suppose we could buy an actual camera for such a purpose, and a computer. Right? We'd need an actual desktop, or at least a laptop, for something like that.

[cyclonely]

I think we could probably borrow a computer from somebody's room for just a bit. Like Dave! He definitely wouldn't mind contributing to this kind of cause and we can just put it back if he comes back!

...not that I know what is in his room. I am just guessing based on Dave.

[cyan_maid]

He might have a computer, and I might have covered it with a tarp to keep it from getting dusty, but I cannot quite remember for certain.

[She can't pack everything of everyone's stuff away. There's only so much storage space in one house!]

[cyclonely]

Then maybe I'll try to set something up after work! [John is pretty regular with work. His therapist said it might give him some structure and he listens to doctors!] Depending on if I'm right, obviously.

[cyan_maid]

Oh, of course. [And she is very glad he's working and getting that therapy! It's all good things.] And if there isn't one, it's not like it's unreasonable for us to save for one.

[cyclonely]

Yeah! This will be great.

[PRIVATE - video]

[uber_marionettist]

[A pointed public exhibition. My name is omitted on purpose. This isn't about me because it's aimed at me. A message to me specifically.

That's... not what I unexpected. Not a bad thing by any means, but it does require a little care in crafting my response. Fortunately, as she noted in front of Poke-God and everyone, I am a master craftsman.

It also highlights a few things I'll have to be careful of going forward, though.

I could waste a lot of time picking it apart, breaking it down into a unified theory of meaning. For example, the fact that she gave it to her Pokemon. That's a biggie. The attendant suggestion that more dolls are required might be unintentional. The lengths she's going to to emphasise her sincerity are interesting. The fact that she's put this out in the open, though? That's intentional as hell, and I can put away the dictionary for this translation.

Like I said, I could waste a lot of time here.

Or I could get right to the point.]

Playing with all our cards above the table, I see.

Bold move.

No disrespect intended. I'd even apologise for the privacy settings I've imposed on this, but in the interest of sustaining a metaphor, I'm keeping my cards face down for now. They're all above the table, of course. Just face down.

[She didn't name me publicly, so either her intention was to lure me out into the open or she was declaring a moratorium on secret games.

Choosing to contact her via the same medium is a return gesture that communicates an interest in honesty. Acknowledging the discrepancy left by keeping things private achieves the same. A little awkwardly, I do have to sit on my bed in order to conceal any Rocket-related imagery, so my unsmiling face is presented against a backdrop of mechanical errata and a handful of berry bonsais.]

[PRIVATE - Video]

[cyan_maid]

[She huffs a little as she watches Dirk's response. Honestly, she isn't surprised by the private settng of the message, even if she wasn't sure what to expect.

Face down cards, huh? What now, if she says the wrong thing does she activate your trap card?]

I'm choosing to interpret that as your refusal to give me any clues or help in regards to unraveling your portrait riddle, which I was not going to ask for anyway. [Even if it's driving her in circles with maybes and what ifs, Jane Crocker is not a woman to ask for hints.] And I'm also choosing to interpret this largess as an important component of the riddle. Really, I don't know why you went to such extremes. We don't exactly tend to get on the right foot in any interaction.

[PRIVATE - Video]

[uber_marionettist]

[In hindsight, I wish I hadn't chosen cards for that metaphor, and not just because I've never played a card game in my life. The only part of 'go fish' I know is the part where you say "go fish."

And fishing is really what we're both doing here, isn't it? Fishing for answers. For clues. A lead. Any crumb along the trail to the other's hiding place. Is that any kind of card game? ]

And whose fault is that?

[The question is rhetorical, and framed as a joke, but I give it a beat to see if she reacts, then cut her off before she can say anything, whether or not she thinks I'm accusing her of wrongdoing. I'm not, actually, but I want to see if she believes I am. It's a cheap trick, but what can I say? My options are limited here. I learned to play this game from Jake. Or maybe I learned to play this way because of him. Either way, it's a quick returning move that gives me any kind of advancement, broadcasts what I can expect next.]

Don't worry about that for now.

You're right on two counts: I'm not giving you any clues today, at least not about that; and my 'largesse,' as you call it, is indeed an important part of this game.

But before we could even have this conversation, I needed to make sure you understood that I was serious. I made that mistake before. The act of labelling something a game could imply frivolity, or that I'm simply toying with you. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[PRIVATE - Video]

[cyan_maid]

[Realistically, Jane will not want to admit that it is probably both their faults. You know. A truth from her rational mind.]

And you're serious about...[She pauses, makes a gesture to the dollhouse. All it symbolizes, even if most of that is unknown to her. But there is one thing she'll take a guess at.]

This? This...back and forth between us?

[Is he interested in...trying to be friends again?]

Sound of Raile struggling with dialogue

[uber_marionettist]

[A single curt nod.

Which should have sufficed on its own, frankly, but 'should' doesn't cut it here. Not because I'm desperately overeager to get her to agree to this, though that is pretty much the point, but because, lacking the benefit of any kind of narrative prompting, I find myself consistently failing even simple exchanges with people who by all accounts should fucking know better.

It makes me wonder if they were ever actually understanding me, or if real communication was ever achieved with them.

The possibility that it was always like this, and I never knew because I made the mistake of trusting that they did... wouldn't be comforting, had I realised this during my misbegotten adolescence. Fortunately--or perhaps unfortunately--I didn't. And anyway, this isn't about my 'comfort.'

It's about getting results.]

Yeah.

That's the idea, anyway.

It's fine, no worries, Dirk is...Like That, I guess?

[cyan_maid]

In...what form, exactly? Do you want us to be hostile and snippy at each other? Because people who want that don't usually...you know. Build extensive dollhouses for each other.

[Or go out of their way to buy appropriate - if disgustingly ugly - winter gear to keep someone else's waterlogged Texan ass from freezing off.

For all intents and purposes, Jane is a bit hesitant to actually voice what she thinks is going on here, but obviously it has to be said, or else they're just going to dance around it awkwardly.]

Is this...you, trying to, like...did you want to try being friends again? Or am I off the mark here? It's fine if I am, but I feel like a person doesn't go into elaborate miniature construction for just anyone.

Video

[notyourgoddess]

....one person made all of that? It must have taken them a while.

[Video]

[cyan_maid]

That's what I think, too. Where he found the time or motivation for it, I honestly have no idea...

[She moves over so Kelvin the Whismur has more room to make the little doll version of himself hop up and down on a chair. Why? Only he knows.]

[Video]

[notyourgoddess]

Making incredibly detailed doll houses is a new hobby then?

[Video]

[cyan_maid]

Dollhouses specifically, yes. Incredibly detailed projects, no, that's a long-standing hobby.

[Video]

[notyourgoddess]

Other crafts?

[Video]

[cyan_maid]

Oh, yes. Crafts and mechanisms of all kind, you could say.

[Robotics and plush puppets in particular.]

[sociallychallenged]

Damn. Either someone spent a lot of time making that, or it's expensive as fucking hell.

[Seriously that's a $300 - $400 doll house in American money. And if he tried to make something like that, he'd somehow end up gluing tiny cutlery to his fingers. He knows it.]

[cyan_maid]

Yes, I can't imagine this was made particularly on the cheap.

[She's going to have to cuff a young man upside the head for such a gift. Seriously.]

But even then, it's better that I find a use for it rather than let it collect dust! And the smaller of my Pokemon have come to love it quite a bit.

[sociallychallenged]

[He almost mentions he has a Cofagrigus that'd love to join them in playing because it loves dolls. But then he realizes it wasn't his, it was Connor's, and it went with the rest of Connor's pokemon to the farm.]

[That's kind of depressing. He's still not used to it.]

[But.]

I'll have to consider getting my Floette a house. A considerably cheaper one, but a house.

[cyan_maid]

Oh my goodness! That would be perfectly adorable - Floette are quite small, if I remember correctly. She could literally fit in the house and make it a home!

[sociallychallenged]

I'm considering leaving my girl here on Goldenrod when I go on my trip, so if yours wanted someone to play with maybe it'd be a good chance. She'd just be at my house without much to do.

[cyan_maid]

I wouldn't mind bringing some of my little ones over for a playdate...the very well-behaved ones, of course.