[Balin] Wrapped in red

[BalinTheDwarf]

Gorbachev receives a gift from a friend which both annoys and amuses him. The gift is designed to be used once. Yet Gorbachev carries it with him for months afterward. Why?

Gorbachev = H/A/M, but not that Gorbachev

[WiZ]

Is the gift consumable? Does G use it after carrying it around? Is he saving it for a predetermined time?

Is it tangible? Is it something like a voucher or sports tickets that gets 'spent' at a particular time?

Is it a Christmas gift? Birthday? Some other occasion? Relevant?

Are people generally happy to receive this gift? Is it considered annoying? Cumbersome? Controversial? Loud? Smelly?

[GalFisk]

Is it a firework? Something else involving fire? Does he carry it around before using it? After? Is it possible to use it more than once? Does he carry it as a prank? For fun? Amusement? Joy? As a reminder? Something that makes him happy? Unhappy? Angry? Is getting revenge on the friend relevant? Does this happen in Russia? Relevant?

[trebor2]

Is G's ethnicity relevant? His friends'? Red being linked to communism relevant?

Is the gift something that would normally be worn?

Is it a table-top escape room game? (Probably not. Asking because I'm playing one now. I would feel ridiculous if I didn't ask, and it turned out to be the case.)

Does G actually use the gift the once, and then continue to carry it with him? Is it a gift that you make into something? Paint-by-numbers? Some sort of craft?

[Sundowner64]

Is the gift ever being used? by Gorbachev? after being carried around?
Did Gorbachev carry it around consciously? (as opposed to putting it in the pocket and forgetting about it)
Is it small? like a piece of paper? would it fit in a matchbox? in a breadbox?
Is Gorbachev's name relevant? Does the gift refer to his name? to the famous Gorbachev? to some other Gorbachev? Gorbachev Vodka relevant?
Was the gift indeed wrapped in red?

[BalinTheDwarf]

Is the gift consumable? No Does G use it after carrying it around? Yes Is he saving it for a predetermined time? No

Is it tangible? Yes Is it something like a voucher or sports tickets that gets 'spent' at a particular time? No

Is it a Christmas gift? Birthday? Some other occasion? Relevant? I had Christmas in mind, but Irrel

Are people generally happy to receive this gift? Depends on the person Is it considered annoying? Depends on the person Cumbersome? No Controversial? Yes Loud? No Smelly? No

Is G's ethnicity relevant? No His friends'? No Red being linked to communism relevant? No, but not a bad guess

Is the gift something that would normally be worn? No

Is it a table-top escape room game? Afraid it ain't (Probably not. Asking because I'm playing one now. I would feel ridiculous if I didn't ask, and it turned out to be the case.) I've never played a tabletop escape room and I'm extremely jealous right now...

Does G actually use the gift the once, and then continue to carry it with him? No, but he does use it
Is it a gift that you make into something? Paint-by-numbers? Some sort of craft? None of these

Is the gift ever being used? by Gorbachev? after being carried around? Yes to all
Did Gorbachev carry it around consciously? Yes (as opposed to putting it in the pocket and forgetting about it) Good point - he does carry this around consciously
Is it small? No like a piece of paper? Paper is involved would it fit in a matchbox? No in a breadbox? Yes
Is Gorbachev's name relevant? Not at all - I was trying to come up with a name for the protagonist and for some reason the only thing I could think of was "Gorbachev" Does the gift refer to his name? to the famous Gorbachev? to some other Gorbachev? Gorbachev Vodka relevant? No to all
Was the gift indeed wrapped in red? Irrel

[Sundowner64]

Did he carry the item around at home? when going out?
Was it visible when he carried it around? did he carry it with his hand(s)? in some sort of bag or backpack? attached to his clothes, hat or shoes? in a pocket?
Is it an electronic device? a tool of some sorts?
Would it be used up when used? become unusable? disappear? get destroyed? lose its value?
Did he carry it around in order to show it? or rather because he never knew whether there would be a good moment to use it?
Did he need to use it after some months latest? because it would lose its power, its value, expire? Would the use of this item become illegal after some months?
Was Gorbachev alone when he used the item? was his friend present? was his friend involved in using it?

[GalFisk]

Did you forget my questions?

[trebor2]

Does this take place in modern times? Is Gorbachev's location relevant? His job? A hobby of his? His relationship status?

Was the gift intended to annoy Gorbachev? To amuse him? Is the gift a book? (Heh heh heh. Is it a book of lateral thinking puzzles, which have been known to, at the very least, amuse and confound?) Is it a map?

[JenBurdoo1]

Is it a game of any sort? A legacy game?
A gag gift?
Was it given with intent that Gorbachev would use it? Did Gorbachev intend to use it?
Did G carry it on his person? At all times? Out of amusement, or intent to use it at some point?
Could it be regarded as an emergency item?

[BalinTheDwarf]

Did you forget my questions? Yes - I've got them now. My apologies.

Is it a firework? No Something else involving fire? No
Does he carry it around before using it? After? Both Is it possible to use it more than once? Yes
Does he carry it as a prank? For fun? Amusement? Joy? As a reminder? Something that makes him happy? Unhappy? Angry? Wouldn't really say any of these
Is getting revenge on the friend relevant? No
Does this happen in Russia? No Relevant? Location will help a bit, Yes

Did he carry the item around at home? No when going out? In certain situations, Yes
Was it visible when he carried it around? Not necessarily did he carry it with his hand(s)? in some sort of bag or backpack? Yes attached to his clothes, hat or shoes? in a pocket?
Is it an electronic device? a tool of some sorts? Neither
Would it be used up when used? become unusable? disappear? get destroyed? lose its value? None of these
Did he carry it around in order to show it? or rather because he never knew whether there would be a good moment to use it? Neither
Did he need to use it after some months latest? No because it would lose its power, its value, expire? None of these Would the use of this item become illegal after some months? No
Was Gorbachev alone when he used the item? No was his friend present? No was his friend involved in using it? No

Does this take place in modern times? Yes Is Gorbachev's location relevant? Yes His job? For svv of "job" A hobby of his? No His relationship status? No

Was the gift intended to annoy Gorbachev? This To amuse him?
Is the gift a book? Yes
(Heh heh heh. Is it a book of lateral thinking puzzles, which have been known to, at the very least, amuse and confound?) But not this
Is it a map? No

Is it a game of any sort? No A legacy game? No
A gag gift? Yes
Was it given with intent that Gorbachev would use it? No Did Gorbachev intend to use it? Yes
Did G carry it on his person? See above At all times? No Out of amusement, or intent to use it at some point? The latter
Could it be regarded as an emergency item? No

[Sundowner64]

Is Gorbachov famous? Is he a celebrity/politician/artist/scientist/athlete? Is he a writer?
As per the "svv of job": Does he have a job or relevant occupation? or does he belong to the people who do not actually need to work for a living? Is he a member of a royal family? of a wealthy family?
When Gorbachev takes the book with him when going out, does he do it then with the intention to read it while out? or just to have it with him? not to get separated from it? if not: did he eventually read the book? at home? not when out? did he make use of the book in any other way than reading it?
Is Gorbachev in prison?

[GalFisk]

Gag gift: blank book? Book with a misleading cover? Hollowed-out book? Book with useless content? Was the book itself a gag? Or was it a gag when given to him? Such as giving "computers for dummies" to a computer engineer? Does using it mean reading it? Opening it? Giving it to someone else? Does it have electronics inside? Mechanical parts (except for the spine, if you could call that mechanical)? Was it unusually heavy? Big? Small? Light?

[BalinTheDwarf]

Is Gorbachev famous? No Is he a celebrity/politician/artist/scientist/athlete? No Is he a writer? No
As per the "svv of job": Does he have a job or relevant occupation? Yes, the svv is as to whether this is considered a "job" or does he belong to the people who do not actually need to work for a living? No Is he a member of a royal family? of a wealthy family? No to both
When Gorbachev takes the book with him when going out, does he do it then with the intention to read it while out? No or just to have it with him? No not to get separated from it? He doesn't want to lose it, No, but that's not his main reason
if not: did he eventually read the book? FA, see below at home? not when out? did he make use of the book in any other way than reading it? Yes, same FA, see below
Is Gorbachev in prison? No, I like the guess though

Gag gift: blank book? Yep Book with a misleading cover? Hollowed-out book? Book with useless content?
Was the book itself a gag? Or was it a gag when given to him? Both Such as giving "computers for dummies" to a computer engineer? Along these lines, Yes
Does using it mean reading it? Opening it? Giving it to someone else? None of these
Does it have electronics inside? Mechanical parts (except for the spine, if you could call that mechanical)? No to both
Was it unusually heavy? Big? Small? Light? Not particularly, it's the size of an ordinary paperback

[doriana_]

Is the book completely blank? Or is it a "Wreck this journal" type of book with prompts for what to do with the pages?

[GalFisk]

When he uses it, does he: write in it? Draw in it? Otherwise mark it? Show it to someone? Open it? Pretend to read it? Use it as a prop? Could he have used a non-blank book for this purpose? A notebook?

[BalinTheDwarf]

Is the book completely blank? Yes Or is it a "Wreck this journal" type of book with prompts for what to do with the pages?

When he uses it, does he: write in it? Yes Draw in it? Otherwise mark it? Show it to someone? Open it? Pretend to read it? Use it as a prop? Could he have used a non-blank book for this purpose? A notebook? This, therefore...

[doriana_]

Was the book in fact a notebook?

Had the friend altered the notebook in any way before giving it to Gorbachev to make it funny? E.g. by writing something like "Gorbachev's funniest jokes" or "Gorbachev's greatest ideas" on the cover?

[BalinTheDwarf]

Was the book in fact a notebook? No, but...

Had the friend altered the notebook in any way before giving it to Gorbachev to make it funny? No E.g. by writing something like "Gorbachev's funniest jokes" or "Gorbachev's greatest ideas" on the cover? Good idea, but No

[doriana_]

You said that location is relevant. By that, do you mean continent? country? region? city? Is the climate or weather at this location relevant? Politics or government at this location relevant?

Is anything illegal going on? Is Gorbachev a criminal? Is his friend?

Is the cover of the book relevant? Does it have anything written on it at all?

Relevant what he writes in the book? Does he write in it once? repeatedly? on one page? on multiple pages? on all pages?

[BalinTheDwarf]

You said that location is relevant. By that, do you mean continent? country? region? city? I had meant country, but that was meant to lead to the blank book. It's US. However, there is another way "location" is relevant, but not referencing the country Is the climate or weather at this location relevant? No Politics or government at this location relevant? Only insofar as the blank book, but you've got that

Is anything illegal going on? Is Gorbachev a criminal? Is his friend? No to all

Is the cover of the book relevant? Not anymore Does it have anything written on it at all? Yes, the title, author, design, etc. Irrel though

Relevant what he writes in the book? Not specifically, but... Does he write in it once? repeatedly? on one page? on multiple pages? on all pages? Repeatedly, multiple (possibly all) pages

[GalFisk]

When the book is used once as designed, is it written in? Opened? Leafed through? Laughed at? Is the cover relevant to the intended use? Is the title, author etc humorous when the book turns out to be blank? Does he write in it simply because it's effectively a free notebook? For some other reason?

[BalinTheDwarf]

When the book is used once as designed, is it written in? Opened? Leafed through? Laughed at? The latter two Is the cover relevant to the intended use? No Is the title, author etc humorous when the book turns out to be blank? Only to a certain group Does he write in it simply because it's effectively a free notebook? This is it. For some other reason?

****SPOILER****

Gorbachev is a college student and a Democrat. Gorbachev's friend, a Republican, gifts him the book Reasons to Vote for Democrats (which is blank) as a joke. Initially annoyed, Gorbachev realizes he can use the book as a notebook and takes notes in it for his classes.