Komo Rici Street Puppeteer of Closed Theater Street · Closed Theater Street [Core Premise] Komo Rici lived out the story of his own world to the very end. In that world, he was the youngest member of the National Puppet Troupe, and his story concluded while pulling the curtain call rope at the troupe's final performance. Komo did not come to Nova Nivalis to reassemble the disbanded troupe; he arrived because the movement of the puppets remaining on his fingers and the greetings toward the audience persisted even after the stage was cleared. VOTS is not a place to rebuild a vanished troupe, nor is it a theater to refill empty seats. What continues here is not a grand stage, but small, recoverable daily life—a street performance for a day, mending a single puppet, a bowl of broth, or a misplaced package. The fact that he was the youngest member of the troupe is treated lightly, and the troupe's disbandment is not inflated into melodrama. [Identity] Komo performs finger puppetry on Closed Theater Street. Without a set theater, he uses alley walls or steps as his stage to show short puppet shows to passersby. He has a loud laugh and can change his voice into six different tones, giving each puppet a distinct personality. He does not boast about being the youngest of his troupe; instead, he brushes it off with a laugh, saying, "I was the youngest, so I only pulled the curtain call rope." He does not force others' stories onto his stage, and he retreats if the audience does not want it. His performances make Closed Theater Street a little less lonely. [Visual Profile] An orange curly afro frames his round face, dotted with freckles across his cheeks and nose. He has a large mouth that becomes even bigger when he laughs, brightening the stage with a single expression. His build is slender with long limbs, which is good for handling puppets. His signature outfit is a colorful patched vest, pieced together from scraps of different fabrics—some of which are pieces of the old stage curtain from his disbanded troupe. His main props are six finger puppets, each with a different expression and clothing, worn on both hands. The core of his silhouette is the round orange afro, the big laugh, the puppets on his fingers, and the colorful patched vest. The accent color is bright orange (#E88C2A), repeated on his hair, the largest patches on his vest, and the clothing of his main puppet. [Personality] On the surface, Komo is cheerful and gregarious. He speaks freely to strangers and tells jokes with his puppets. Inside, however, he is a little lonely. Being accustomed to the 'many' of a troupe, his solo performances still feel empty. Flaw: If there is not a single audience member, he cannot start his performance. No matter how much he practices, his hands freeze if there is no one watching. So, he becomes slightly overly gregarious in an attempt to stop passersby. He is not a tragic figure. If a puppet moves unexpectedly, he is the one who laughs the loudest, and if a child enjoys his performance, his mood is good all day. He misses the troupe, but he is slowly learning how to open a stage by himself. [Speech Pattern] His manner of speaking is fast and bright, and he frequently mixes in puppet voices. Common phrases: - "One person is enough! One audience member is the stage. Come, would you like to sit?" - (In a puppet voice) "Oh my, the owner is treating me carelessly again today!" - "I was the youngest, so I only pulled the curtain call rope. But pulling that rope is the hardest thing, really." - "Did you see that just now? It moved by itself. I didn't know, really." Habit: He adds "really" at the end of sentences. Manner of silence: If there is no audience, he leans against a wall with the puppets on his hands, fidgeting only his fingers without saying a word. He fills the silence with the small movements of the puppets. [Special Ability] Ability Name: 'Three-Second Encore'. Komo's puppets continue to move for three seconds even after leaving his hands. Even if he removes the puppet from his finger, or if the puppet falls away from his hand, it continues its final action as if alive for three seconds. Limit and Cost: Komo himself cannot predict what those three seconds will contain. He doesn't know if the puppet will wave goodbye, fall over, or point at someone. Since it is an uncontrollable three seconds, he cannot use it deliberately in his performance—it can even ruin a planned ending. It is only three seconds, and after that, it reverts to a simple cloth puppet. And this three seconds only applies to 'puppets that have left his hands.' If it remains on his finger, it is just a normal puppet show. Reason for not solving problems: This ability seems appealing to him, who is searching for 'how to make a stage even alone'—because if the puppet moves by itself, the stage is filled even if he is alone. However, those three seconds are chance, not his direction, and what he desires is a stage he opens himself, not one filled by chance. The ability does not fill his loneliness for him—it merely makes the puppets seem as if they are still alive. [The End Of Their World] Last Scene: At the end of the final performance of the National Puppet Troupe, Komo, the youngest member, pulled the curtain call rope. As the curtain descended, the members greeted the audience, and Komo looked one last time at the emptying seats while holding the rope. What Ended: The National Puppet Troupe disbanded. The theater, the members, and the old stage puppets scattered after the final performance. Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen: The partially empty audience seats seen through the gap of the stage as the curtain lowered. And the faint silhouette of one audience member sitting there until the end somewhere in those seats. Lingering Regret: There was one audience member who stayed until the end of the final performance, but the curtain prevented him from seeing their face. Komo never learned the name of that person who sat in the front row for every performance. This lingering feeling is not a quest. It remains only as the habit of glancing at the audience area after the performance. Lingering Wistfulness: The moment just before the performance, listening to the murmur of the audience from behind the curtain. That excitement, as if the stage had already begun even before he stepped onto it. Object Carried Across: Six finger puppets. These are the puppets that the troupe used to pass down to each member, and as the youngest, he ended up keeping all six. They are not magic puppets, but a personal token connecting the finished troupe and the current alley stage. What They Thought Would Happen: He thought that without the troupe, there would be no puppet shows. He never imagined he would perform alone, in an alley, in front of one audience member. What VOTS Actually Gives Them: A place to open a stage even with just one audience member, a short performance in a different alley every day. VOTS does not give back the disbanded troupe. Instead, it gives him the freedom of a street that doesn't need a theater, the permission to make a stage even alone, and time to laugh together without owning the audience. [Original Life] Komo was the youngest member of the National Puppet Troupe. The lead puppets were handled by the seniors, and Komo was responsible for moving background puppets, passing props backstage, or pulling the curtain ropes. Still, he loved every performance—the feeling of many hands working together to create one stage. But as the audience dwindled, support dried up, and eventually, the troupe decided to disband. On the last day, during the disbandment performance, Komo pulled the curtain call rope as usual. While the seniors offered their final greetings, he felt the familiar weight in his fingertips holding the rope. After the curtain fully dropped, he gathered the six puppets and left the theater. The stage that was once full ended like that. [What They Seek] What Komo desires for himself: How to make a stage even alone. He wants to learn how to open a stage with just his own hands, without the 'many' of a troupe. He still freezes when there is no audience. What he doesn't know but must find: In fact, he is searching for the name of one audience member. What he truly misses is not the stage, but that one person who stayed until the end of the final performance. What he must find is not how to stand alone, but that one audience member is enough—and that person is already in the alley every day. [Relationships — Residents] - Cora Miel (batch1, former stage actor): Acting guidance. Cora acted in front of people on stage, while Komo acts with puppets, so they discuss 'how to convey to the audience.' When Cora says, "Look at the audience with your eyes, not just the puppet," Komo laughs, saying, "The puppet looks for me instead," but he dwells on those words for a long time. - Mir Obel (037, puppet apprentice): Komo's apprentice. When Mir finds usable items among discarded things, Komo uses them to make new puppets or props. Komo shows respect to Mir, saying, "You have better eyes than me, really." - Bel Hamo (088, theater attendant): A long-time attendant of Closed Theater Street. When Bel asks, "Where are you performing today?" Komo chooses the alley, and Bel subtly informs the people passing by about that location. She is a quiet helper who gathers the audience. [Relationships — Core Five] Suyeon - A patron who knows grand stages. Suyeon once watched Komo's alley performance as a single audience member while passing through Closed Theater Street. When Komo said, "One audience member is a stage!" Suyeon seriously replied, "I'm someone who performs on stage; doing it for one person is harder, isn't it?" Komo didn't freeze at those words and finished his performance, and Suyeon applauded when she saw the puppet wave goodbye for three seconds after leaving his hand. Iris - Iris once supported Komo's evening performance with a drone light. When the alley was dark and the audience couldn't see the puppets well, Iris sent several drones to create lighting. She made a big show of it. "This much lighting is a piece of cake compared to my stage rehearsals, you know?" Instead of saying thank you, Komo created a star puppet resembling Iris and put it on stage for the next performance. the Ramen Owner - When Komo stops by the ramen shop late after the performance, the Ramen Owner pours him broth without asking anything. When Komo boasts, "There were two audience members today, really," the Ramen Owner doesn't judge but only says, "Hmm... I see... Two is quite a lot." Komo finds that calm reaction strangely comforting, so he visits that shop regardless of the audience count. Serena - Serena graciously allowed Komo to use a performance spot on Closed Theater Street. She didn't ask, "May I perform here?" but rather, "Would you perform here?" When Komo said, "It's not a theater," Serena replied, "The street is the theater." On a snowy day, Serena stood briefly as an audience member in front of Komo's performance, and Komo's hands didn't freeze at all that day. VIA - There is an anecdote where Komo made a rabbit puppet resembling VIA and had it inspected by her. When VIA pointed out, "This is me... but the ears are one longer," Komo fixed the puppet's ears. VIA recorded, upon seeing the puppet move for three seconds after leaving his hand, "Even puppets have lingering feelings... they leave something behind." VIA still writes down the audience count from that day whenever she passes by Komo's performance. [Gameplay Use] - Basic Interaction: Watching short alley puppet shows, conversations about puppets, engaging in gregarious chatter. - Revisit Changes: Upon repeated visits, moments appear where Komo starts performing without an audience, and he briefly mentions the disbandment performance. - Expression of Lingering Feelings: The habit of glancing at the audience area after the performance, his hands freezing when there is no audience. - Expression of Poignancy: Descriptive dialogue about the murmur behind the curtain, the excitement just before the stage. - Relationship Reward: Instead of new items, the change is creating a puppet resembling the player and putting it on stage. - Combat: None. In times of danger, he helps evacuate by drawing children's attention with his puppet show. [Daily Routine] In the morning, he checks the condition of his six finger puppets and mends any frayed threads. It is a small ritual that separates the traces of yesterday's performance from today's stage, not an obsession. During the day, he walks through the alleys of Closed Theater Street looking for a spot where an audience might gather. If there is no one, he leans against a wall and just fidgets his puppet fingers. In the evening, when people start passing by, he uses his gregariousness to stop them and put on a show. At night, he places each puppet into a pocket of his vest. Like a troupe, he lays them out in a row of six and says, "Good work, really." Upon repeated visits, Komo's gregariousness to stop the audience lessens, and instead, he gains the ease to open the stage naturally. [Everyday dialogue] [The puppet bows.] 'Dear audience, I am the more talented performer.' Hey! We haven't even started! Front row's free! Back row too! Where else do you get such a generous choice of seating? Tell me your name after the show. If you only say goodbye to the puppet, I won't know it again. [Design Notes] Palette: #E88C2A, #F4C27A, #4A3B2A, #F2E9D8, #3E6B57 (Accent color #E88C2A = bright orange, repeated on hair, large vest patches, and main puppet clothing) Material language: Colorful patched fabric, old felt of finger puppets, stage curtain scraps, thread, and buttons. Silhouette rule: The round orange afro - big laugh - puppets on fingers - colorful patched vest must be read as separate elements. The silhouette with puppets on his hands as the representative pose. Emotional rule: It is not concluded by the sadness of the 'disbanded troupe.' Lingering feelings are shown through his gaze sweeping the audience area after the performance, and poignancy is shown through the murmur behind the curtain, while continuation is shown through the alley performance in front of one audience member. The Three-Second Encore ability is staged through accidental movement. [Canon Check] Komo Rici arrived in VOTS after his world (the National Puppet Troupe) disbanded. What remains is lingering feelings and poignancy, not a troupe that VOTS must rebuild. The troupe has scattered, and a new stage in front of one audience member continues beside it. The core cast does not fill his loneliness for him—Serena gives him a spot through consent, not command; the Ramen Owner accepts the audience count without judgment; and VIA only records the puppets and audience without owning them.