[While going about your business on this fine, if rather cold, December afternoon, you run across a young girl. She's been sort of aimlessly wandering around the shopping district, occasionally sitting down to read, but resuming her roaming after a few minutes. Every so often, she looks around intently, before seeming satisfied by something.]

...

Ahaha, what's the matter? C'mon, smile ♪

((OOC: Happy post! Characters might be feeling happy or compelled to seem happy despite what they're actually feeling. Or not affected at all.))

Just a week left until Christmas! Aunt’s got almost all the decorations up for our staff party. We haven’t been able to buy the presents for the staff yet though; seeing as this year was quite a busy year since we’ve decided to sell seasonal treats like gingerbread cookies and cupcakes, but I’ll get onto that soon!

Hopefully it won’t be on hold until the very last day (as it usually) is or I might just go crazy wrapping all the presents, which I’ve gotten in charge of this year for buying them late last year! I’ve already gotten reminded today about it so maybe I’ll head out tomorrow to carry out the errand…

So what's your Christmas wish?

[Enjoy another "get my characters active" post.]

[Seiji is out on the flood plain, playing solo because he didn't have anything better to do today. Specifically, he's playing this and not doing too badly at it.

Zhi Lin is minding the bookstore. Unfortunately for her, the newest teen ~romance~ book in a popular series just came out. Chieko is at Junes. She is happily clutching the box set of an anime in one hand, and several fancy greeting cards in the other.]

* If you were formerly in S.E.E.S during the P3 plot, and you aren't in Inaba, you might feel a strange urge to visit. A subconscious, insistent nudge to go to Inaba.
* We're beginning organization for next year. If you've had any great plot ideas, especially those focused on civilian areas or that you're willing to run, pitch them to the mod team!
* Speaking of organization for next year... Keep an eye on the game for the next plot's start!
* The major B-plot of this year, ~for science~, has fully wrapped up! Thank you for your participation, we hope you enjoyed it.
* Those who NPC'd a character during the plot, or got permission to handwave their presence in it, can apply to play their characters in all_my_sees at any time.
* This is the bare-bones timeline only for this year's Science B-plot. Many more player-driven actions happened in posts and comments, but this is basically what the plot characters were involved in.

( Timeline (Cut for length) )

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

[Well. The guys are all home. After somehow persuading his and Tomiko's parents that they're okay, everything is fine, he leaves a voice mail message each with Chieko and Michi about him being fine, no problems. And he sounds completely shell-shocked while delivering them. He's going to be hanging out at the flood plain today, and was sure to let them know.

Meanwhile! Sayoko is at the hospital. She'll see to it that anyone that needs it gets medical attention. Other medical staff may also be standing by.]

[It's lunch time! Oh, how exciting the little white room with the carefully constructed to be useless in a fight chairs and table, the definitely not drugged and kinda tasteless food...

And of course, all your dear, beloved friends showing up for 'socalisation time'.]

((Practise post for anyone playing a rescuee from Canaan Branch!))

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

It's been a while, so just to refresh your memories, here's how it works:

- Tag with your characters.
- Other people will tag you with questions about x character's relationship with y character, x character's feelings about z subject, etc. etc.
- Answer these questions in an essay format. Doesn't necessarily have to be super ridiculously long unless you're Kai.
- Tag other people with questions!

Hey, everyone! Jean here. I'm not sure if I should have posted this earlier or not, but here goes!

I am going to be taking a trip to visit my family for two weeks. I'll be able get online and stuff, but because I plan on being busy and want to take off whenever I want without worry, I'm going to put myself on hiatus. I will be gone from December 15th through December 29th. If you really, really, really need me for something, you can drop me a message here and I'll get back to it as soon as I can.

Happy holidays!

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're tall on adventurous spirit, but short on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about bargain hotels and hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

[Did you hear? Fujioka Naoki was taken away from his house by an ambulance! this morning. The rumour mill is rife with answers, but, whatever the case, he isn't around to tell you the truth.

Speaking of rumours... There's a lot of them to discuss, isn't there?]

((Mingle madly.))

[So, it's a hot day.

A really, really hot day.

Rather than sanely been inside, preferably clinging to the air conditioning, there is one high school girl at the pavement on the flood plains.

She has chalk, and is doing chalk drawings, with a big bottle of water beside her.]

((Will be mega-slow, study interferes))

Pop quiz! Srs poll!

Do your characters have nightmares? What do they have nightmares about?

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

freeskiers
While some of us long to escape the cold, dark stretch of winter for hot tropical beaches, for others, there's nothing quite like whoooooshing down those shimmering sugar alps. If you're fond of freestyle skiing, get ready to slide down the slippery slopes in good company. This passionate, international community shares travel/gear tips, anecdotes, photos, and videos for those who can't get enough of the sweet stuff.

seasonal_icons
Need some extra twinkle to decorate your place? Check out these dazzling holiday-themed icons. If you're an artist, you can post your own creations, provided you abide by the simple rules (which is to say, all cheer and no politicking). Be sure to comment and give credit if you wish to borrow a little spirit (no direct links, please). If you're feeling a touch of humbug this season, this is an instant shot of festivity.