kingofwaste | 14th Short - [Video/Written/Action]

[Oswald has placed himself strategically in front of the camera. The strum of a harp, then he begins to sing.]

Ladies and gents, boys and girls,
Lend me all your ear!
Ladies and gents, boys and girls,
The next Hydra Social list is heeere!~

[The song picks up speed as more instruments join in. A drum, a trumpet, an upbeat piano to bring more cheer into the tune… Where is the music coming from? It’s impossible to tell.]

Hydra Social, Hydra Social, our very own penpal project!
Hydra Social, Hydra Social, a way for everyone to connect!
Are you looking for new buddies?
No need to sweat, no need to fret!
With a little correspondence,
A pal’s exactly what you’ll get!

[The tune slows again as Oswald explains the principle of the project.]

Everyone’s partnered up at random!
The rest is easy, ‘cause you see,
You can just use the journals,
To send your letter, one two three!
Make pals with total strangers!
Spreading friendship through Luceti is an easy feat!
Just check this list to find your partner,
Then pick up your pen to meet and greet!

[The following list is shoved into the journal’s view. Usernames are not actually included in the list, of course.]

Walter Delques (

blackteriques) + Utena Tenjou (

revolutionarygirl)
Leon (

fellpool) + Ayumu (

sundead)
Yotsuba Koiwai (

rollypolyclover) + James Norrington (

abidinglaw)
Yukio Okumura (

sharpness) + Fattycakes (

puubuu)
Kotarou Inugami (

dontforget) + Ling Yao (

avaricious)
Fuuko Ibuki (

starfishlovesyou) + Pao-lin (

i_am_not_cute)
Cyborg (

cannoneer) + Yoh Asakura (

mikanphones)
Asbel Lhant (

drawnbythesword) + Rudy Roughnight (

ofwesternwinds)
Roku (

flameoroku) + Hiccup (

dragoneer)
Kazuma Kval (

moezama) + Gracia Hughes (

contentedly)
Ikki (

breezing) + Gilbert Nightray (

chainedraven)
Orphen (

trollkiller) + Caius Qualls (

accepted)
Claude C. Kenny (

mirrorblade) + Ami Mizuno (

geniustheveil)
Precis F. Neumann (

rocketpunch) + Isamu (

musubi)
Cecilia (

teardropshaman) + Frey Falenas (

falenandawn)
Scully (

poorqueequeg) + Major Richard Sharpe (

greenjacketed)
Reimu Hakurei (

illusionarymoon) + Tear Grants (

seleniahymn)
Kratos Aurion (

shiningbinds) + Aang (

savedtheworld)
Jeb Parmalee (

sketchingideals) + Leonardo (

fearless_leader)
Kain Highwind (

dragoon_pride) + Atsuro Kihara (

ctrlaltdemons)
Vincent Valentine (

thenightmarebegins) + Vivi Nefertari (

alabastajewel)
Jay The Unseen (

unseenspy) + Usagi Tsukino (

lunas)
Saleh (

mountain_sage) + Molly Carpenter (

talentsgirl)
Asch the Bloody (

dissonates) + Grune (

lostinmyway)
Edward Elric (

automailed) + Emil (

snowwhiteproject)
Winry Rockbell (

installing) + Luke (

hisapprentice)
Shiemi Moriyama (

shamelessness) + Kyon (

menial)
Haruhi Suzumiya (

godbent) + Hugo (

luredbypower)
Elicia Hughes (

asobouyo) + Raven (

crisisrain)
Sayo (

memoryboxes) + Minato Arisato (

emp3thy)
Rin Okumura (

rashness) + Molly Hooper (

thenoonewhosees)
Henry Wellard (

bravelad) + Leonhardt (

eyesofstrength)
Keiichi Maebara (

breaks_destiny) + Sokka (

markofthewise)
Phoenix Ikki (

uccellodifuoco) + Greg Bleakman (

vor)
Anise Tatlin (

failguardian) + Beast (

tailasoldastime)
Amelia (

thedicearecast) + Robert Hastings (

semper_cogitans)
Yuan (

fortunefail) + Kaname Tanuma (

kindaqueer)
Dhaos (

whatdeheckisthat) + Nagisa Furukawa (

cherishedmiracle)
Helios (

folklorist) + Princess Celestia (

herroyalsunrise)
Yun (

tolivefortoday) + Silver (

tsunsandsteals)
Hayate Ayasaki (

whimsicalwinds) + Hiro Kageyama (

everyonesconfidant)
Giovanni (

oftheland) + Len Drale (

hidingworks)
Rapunzel (

gleamed) + Luce (

inheavenslight)
Eiko (

tiearibbon) + Patty Fleur (

ps3pirate)

[Then it’s back to Oswald, as the music continues on a very slow pace.]

And while I’ve still got your attention,
There’s one more thing to saahaaay!~

[The clash of symbals, an odd ‘whoop’ sound and the song picks up speed yet again for an overly cheerful finale.]

That is, you folks should not forget
Upcoming Oswald Day!
With parades, balloons and fire works,
It’s gonna be a blast!
Stay tuned for more info ‘cause
September fifth’s approaching faahaast!~

[And then the music cuts off, as Oswald takes a deep bow. The faint sound of applause is heard, but this one is clearly just a pre-recorded tape.]

[Written / Filtered to certain characters]

[Very shortly afterwards, several residents will receive a private note in their journals. It’s clearly directed to them and no other characters can see it, but the message will read the same for everyone.]

Dear Hydra Social participant,

It has come to my attention that you have not gotten in touch with your penpal yet. Either that, or you haven’t been convincing enough to get your pal to return your letters. This is your first warning. Kindly get to that as soon as possible, or there will be consequences. I am not bluffing. Don’t think I won’t hunt you down, because I will. You’ll never see me coming, either. You won’t know I’m hassling you until it’s too late. Besides, you are hurting your pal’s feelings. Shame on you.

Kind regards,
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Unofficial Second Senior Undersecretary of the S.O.S. Brigade.
Most Famous Cartoon Rabbit.

[The characters who received this message are: Ling, Amelia, Hiccup, Asch, Edward Elric, Phoenix Ikki and Yuan. It was supposed to go to “Greg Bleakman” as well, but the filter didn’t work for some odd reason.]

[Action]

[And so, Oswald has once again entered the grocery store in order to await the repeat offenders and call them out in person. This time, he's hoping to corner Saleh, Leonhardt and Greg. Instead of hiding between the apples, he's perched on top of a high shelf containing boxes of cereal and other breakfast foods.

Feel free to wonder why there's a cartoon rabbit watching you as you shop.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Saleh wanders through the grocery shop, collecting his groceries for the week. He comes across the breakfast section, looking over the cereals. There have been a lot of interesting ones since he's been here, so he's studying each kind carefully to see what he can try next. Unfortunately, he's so focused on his inspection of the cereal boxes that he doesn't even notice the cartoon rabbit perched on top of the shelf.]

[Gregor sees the note with the broken filter, but shrugs it off, seeing no evidence it is directed at him. Later, he does turn up at the grocery store, picking up herbal tea and honey for a pretty bad cough.]

[As Saleh approaches, Oswald makes himself a little smaller and hides further back. This is it. Time to put all his skills to good use. He waits for Saleh to get close enough and then, without notice...

He pulls out a little whistle and blows it with all his might, before jumping down from the shelf.]

Surprise surprise! The Hydra Social squad is here!

[Perfect. When the filter broke, he wondered whether Greg had been sent home, but this proves it. The guy must've messed with the journals somehow to avoid being scolded by Oswald, but he'll have to get up earlier to trick this lucky rabbit!

Unfortunately, Oswald's confidence is short-lived. Just as he tries to jump out of his hiding place, his foot snags behind a box of Frosties. He shouts in alarm and falls face-first to the ground, taking several kinds of cereal down with him as he goes.]

[He gets a man at his side pretty quickly, hand reaching for his elbow to help him up.]

Bloody hell, are you okay?

[The voice is rough and hoarse and the speech is lightly accented with something Russian-sounding. Hazel eyes dart just a bit upon seeing the weird creature, as if trying to place a familiar face, but his expression is controlled.]

Edited 2012-08-05 15:27 (UTC)

[Aang walked through the grocery stone, feeling a little woozy. All that tea he had during the last week wasn't really agreeing with him. But he was still able to keep up with his daily activities. He grabbed a bunch of apples carefully for the house, Appa and the precious granddaughters.

And he looked at the cereals as he walked past. He only ate them every now and then, but he found entertainment value just in looking at the colorful boxes and cartoon characters featured. One cartoon character, who might have actually been standing in front of a cereal box as opposed to being part of the box, looked oddly familiar.]

Wow, I didn't know that Oswald had his own cereal.

[Surprise surprise, Aang! The rabbit's expression brightens and he pipes up a reply.]

Hey, I should have my own cereal! That's not a bad idea! I'll call them Oswald's Lucky Charms! [... Oh wait, that's already trademarked by some leprechaun.] Or Rabbit Loops!

'M fine, 'm fine! Nothin' I can't handle! [He lets Greg pull him to his feet before wrenching his arm out of the man's hold, dusting himself off.]

And here I could've sworn rabbits always land on their feet.

Cats.

[Aang blinks and laughs. That's no talking cereal box. That's actual Oswald.]

That sounds like it'd be great, Oswald! I wonder if there are any cereal makers here who can make them for you.

[Okay so his journal reformed this morning and he's paired with... someone new?! His last one must have vanished. Awkward. Okay whatever yukio's name and-]

Paahahahaha?! Fattycakes?! Yukio got paired with-?! Oh man, that's great, Rabbit-man!

[Still laughing]

[That unfamiliar shrill noise startles the sage, as he drops the cereal box he was holding and jumps back. He stares at Oswald incredulously as he appears.]

Who...? What...?

Sergeant General Lucky Rabbit of the Penpal Division, reporting for duty! [He gives a short salute. Also, he totally made that title up on the spot, just now.]

It has come to my attention that you have still not contacted your penpal!

[Oswald completely misinterprets that comment, thinking that it's a heartfelt compliment. Finally, someone who appreciates his hard work and genius.]

Heh, thanks. I try my best to make all the pairings fair for the sake of socializin'.

Shouldn't be too hard, I reckon. [If all else fails, he can take the cereal from all these other boxes and mix it up a bit. The real problem would be producing enough new boxes to put it in.]

You'd eat it if it appeared in the stores, right?

Cats, rabbits... I don't see why there should be a difference. [This coming from the rabbit who will firmly insist that he is not a mouse.]

... Wait, why am I even discussin' this with you? I came here to corner you for a reason!

Penpal...? You mean that...?

[That penpal thing that they write letters to? He'd thought about it, but then he'd forgotten about it.]

Oh...

Of course I would! I'd give it the official Avatar approval.

Perfect! I'll see if I can make it happen, then! [With that, he hops down from the shelf, makes a perfect landing on the floor and hitches his pants up.]

So, how've ya been, Aang?

That's all you've got to say? "Oh"? Your penpal was waiting for you! How're you two gonna be pals if you don't write to them?

I'm...I'm sorry...I just don't have time for this. And this penpal...were they not supposed to write to me as well?

Oh, well, uh... [He rubs the back of his head. Okay, so maybe his research is not that thorough.]

Yeah. Yeah, they are. And I'll get to them while I'm at it, too. [As soon as he... remembers who Saleh's partner was. Eh, he'll just check the list later.]

[Of course, Saleh will have to ask.]

Um...who was my partner again...?

[... Uhoh. Quick, evasive bluff manouvers!]

What, ya don't even know? That just proves how little you've been payin' attention. How 'bout you open your journal? I announced the updated list today- there was a musical number and everything!

I'm alright. I had a really weird last week, and I've been feeling kinda sick, but... I think I'm okay right now.

[He tries not to think about something he remembered hearing from a tree. "Oswald's girlfriend was turned into a lifeless statue when she tried to save his life. Did you know?.]

And how are you, Oswald?

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14th Short - [Video/Written/Action]

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