Event | Yard Sale!

[ironwood]

Characters: Come one, come all!
Date: July 21st - July 27th
Location: The City of Keeliai
Situation: The rationing is officially lifted and the kedan are celebrating by conducting one citywide yard sale! Think big! Think small! Think tribbles! Think all!
Warnings/Rating: Tribbles. Lots of tribbles. Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

The morning of the 21st kicks off with heralds roving about the city of Keeliai to declare that the rationing edict has been lifted and that citizens no longer have to contribute one-fifth of their productions (juulan or physical goods) to the communal stores maintained by the police force. These announcements trigger a state of celebration across the city as kedan drag months worth of hoarded items to the street to sell, steal, or trade in a wave of mercantile goodness that stretches for nearly a week. Not even the rising tide of tribbles seems to dampen their spirit, with kedan citywide finding new and inventive uses for the fuzzy paperweights.

Characters are free to do as they will during this event, with police oversight relaxed in the aftermath of the long rationing and strained relations. Impromptu sales out of suites will rarely be inspected and purchase made elsewhere are no longer monitored. Everyone is taking a breath of fresh air, so to speak, and most do not want their first fun in months to be ruined.

OOC: See the OOC announcement for details and this post for subheaders in which you may wreak havoc celebrate the lifting of the rationing. Feel free to start your own thread header if you like! <3

Fire Sector | Earth Sector | Metal Sector | Water Sector | Wood Sector | Other

Comments

Jack Frost | OPEN

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack is overjoyed to be able to be outside again (a combination of storing energy from the newly completed cooled unit in his tree house and the that he's bouncing all over the various sectors before settling down in Water. He chose a shallow canal and crisscrossed its surface back and forth, laying down layer and layer of ice until it reached the bottom and finishing it with a glassy, super slippery surface.

Predictably (and just according to keikaku-- keikaku means plan) this rather quickly attracted kedan children who went sliding across the cool surface to counter the afternoon's summer heat, whooping and laughing. The winter spirit was even more delighted when the adults took notice and started up a game of what was essentially curling with tribbles, who turned into surprisingly accurate pucks once the ice sent them into sleepy mode. Apparently this sector's PETA inclinations didn't go so far as to not using them for fun and games, as they weren't being hurt.

For Jack himself, he had taken up a shaded position under an awning overlooking the canal with a contented smile, using his staff to reach down and refreeze the icy surface when it looked like it might be getting too damp in the sun (the canal wasn't deep enough for him to worry about anyone falling through and getting anything more than a wet rump, but still. By his side was Damian's mechanical contraption that he occasionally used, drawing the cold out of its reserves so as to stay cool. ]

[cowled]

I thought that might be you, Jack.

[Bruce is leaning against that awning, overseeing Jack's little impromptu rink. He glances towards the device he'd manufactured for Jack at Damian's request and, satisfied to see it's still working, glances away. He's against the idea of helping unknown metahumans at the best of times, but he couldn't turn down Damian's request. So here he is, making sure Jack isn't abusing the boon.]

Having fun?

[wintershepherd]

[ The spirit's smile was wide he turned at the greeting. ]

Hi Mr Wayne! I'd say "guilty as charged" but it's kind of hard to be when you're a willing participant. And yeah I am, thanks! Just as long as they're having a good time too.

[ The last part was with a fond look over at the kedan children playing and then back at the billionaire. ]

Hey, I wanted to thank you too. You worked on this with Damian, right? I really appreciate it... to be honest I wasn't really looking forward to spending the next four months in an icebox.

[cowled]

I don't think they're in any danger of not having fun.

[Bruce smiles a little, at the play. It's not as hollow a smile as it might have been - he does genuinely have a soft spot for children. There's nothing he wouldn't do for the ones he protects in Gotham.]

Oh, I didn't really put any effort into it. It's much more my speed to toss money around until something sticks. I'm glad it appears to be helping.

[wintershepherd]

[ That's definitely one thing they have in common, at least. ]

I hope not, North'll revoke my Guardian status if that happens. Or he'll give me a new title, like Guardian of... I don't know, Zambonis or something. Which, don't get me wrong, Zambonis are awesome. But I really don't think they need their own spirit.

Hmm... maybe you could have said that about the new roof for the school, but helping one Winter guy out doesn't buy much in the way of great PR. Still whatever your reasons were, I owe you and he both.

[cowled]

[Bruce cants his head to one side.]

Oh, I don't know about it not being good PR. After all, the kedan seem considerably fond of you.

[And then he waves one hand, meant to dismiss Jack's scrutiny.]

You're just lucky my son has me wrapped around his finger, that's all.

[wintershepherd]

[ Bruce gets an approving nod for that, not necessarily because he thinks the kedan are fond of Jack but because Bruce is actually acknowledging what the kedan's opinions are. It's an attitude somewhat fostered in the Foreigners that the kedan are merely background figures, or else lumped together with the Emperor and her whims when in truth, Jack saw them as no less victims of her actions than any of them. ]

I'm very lucky, but I can't say I'm surprised by that. It's just something about him, you know?

[ then he utters a soft laugh ]

Well, I guess you would know, better than most.

[cowled]

[Bruce smiles, surprising himself with how genuine it is. He and Damian have their... differences, primarily ones that stem from their similar natures, but it's always a pleasant surprise to see the bonds he's forged with others.

Almost as surprising as it is when he himself does it. He laughs, shakes his head.]

I do. I care for him a great deal.

[Funny, how much easier it is to admit it to a relative stranger.]

[wintershepherd]

[ The quiet smile Jack is wearing says, Yeah me too without any of the words, but then he glances up at the taller man and rummages around in the bag he brought with him before pulling out something that looked much like rock candy and offering it to Bruce. ]

Want some? The kids already all have theirs but I brought extra just in case.

[cowled]

[Careful, Jack, you'll melt Bruce's heart yet, metahuman or no. He raises an eyebrow at the candy, and then reaches out to take it gingerly.]

I don't think I qualify as a 'kid'. What exactly should I do with this?

[wintershepherd]

I didn't say they were only for the kids, I said the kids had already gotten theirs.

... seriously? You can't tell me you've never had rock candy before.

[cowled]

No, I know what it is, I'm just not accustomed to taking candy from relative strangers.

[It's a joke, Jack. Bruce does those sometimes when he's not being Vengeance, the Night, Et Cetera.]

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack gives him a sly grin. ]

If you want to go ask your son for permission, I'll wait.

[cowled]

[Bruce laughs.]

While I trust his judgement, I don't think I'd ever manage to live down needing Damian's permission for anything.

[wintershepherd]

[ And Jack glances sidelong at Bruce, recalling briefly some of the things he'd been told by Damian as Robin, about his mother and mentions of an impossibly dark childhood and wondered how Bruce fit into all of that, or if he even did at all. He couldn't really see it, to be honest... ]

I guess so, if that's important to you.

[cowled]

[Bruce raises an eyebrow, and then breaks a piece of the candy off and tosses it in his mouth.]

Do you mind if I ask how long you've known him? It's not the sort of thing he and I really discuss.

[There's something like sadness in his tone when he says it, and it's not all feigned. There was a time when Bruce would have given up anything, would have given up everything, to be a father to that boy. Before Talia.]

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack smiles to see Bruce finally eat some of the candy. ]

He answered the first message I made, when I got here at the end of last year. I asked for kids because I thought they'd be the only ones who'd be able to see me, if anyone at all.

We run into each other around the city now and then.

[cowled]

Should people... not be able to see you?

[Bruce gives Jack a sort of skeptical look, as if he's not sure he's understanding the exact nuances of what he's saying.]

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack smiled; they'd had this conversation, at Bruce's birthday party. If anything, that solidified Jack's assumption that the man while nice and wealthy, was a bit clueless. ]

Spirits can't be seen except by children, and even then only if they're believed in.

*CREEPS ON LIKE A CREEPY MOFO*

[asouthron]

[ If he had to diagnose the entirety of Tu Vishan as he saw it at this moment in time, kedans curling tribbles, support for tribble equality, smoked tribble pies and pelts, McCoy would go for madness. Really, there was no other way to describe this entire outcome. He would have laughed if he hadn't been the one to bring this entire fiasco upon the city.

Still, even he could find the charm in watching kids playing across the ice with the tribbles--Of course how it was iced over, the doctor had no damn clue! This place boggled him in all its anachronistic glory. He would just have to chalk it up to foreign hoodoo. Worked for him.

Despite the heat of the day, he found a nice cool spot under the awning beside the canal where the children played. It was pleasant enough for now. ]

OMFG YES

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack automatically moved over when he saw someone else approach the shade of the awning, happy to share. Yet the man's gaze didn't so much as stray in his direction and it took a moment for the face to click in before Jack recognized him as the Doctor from Kirk's ship, the one who'd originally warned everyone about the tribbles. Though their conversation had gone to text, it had started in video and Jack was sure of the identification.

Which meant only one thing: stealthily (which might have been moot, as he couldn't be seen) he crept behind the man and put two very, very cold hands on the back of McCoy's neck. ]

BAHAHAHA!

[asouthron]

Jesus! [ McCoy's spine bowed like a snapped tree. It was like every part of him, legs, feet, arms, was fighting in separate spasms to escape the sudden sensation that moved him several feet to the right. ] Hey--!

[ He spun around to glare at the children playing in the canal, because obviously anything remotely bothersome would be started by a kid. They were just uncontrollable like that. But none of them were paying any attention to him, not caring whether or not their little sneak attack was successful. Huh. McCoy brought a tentative hands across his neck to wipe away the residual water, but it came back dry. ]

The hell...?

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack whooped with laughter as McCoy hopped away like a scared jerboa, thinking if he'd had fur like one it'd be puffed out like a pincushion. ]

That's twice now I could've used a camera! I'm going to put Polaroid back in business when I get home, I swear.

[ He reached over to the pole which was holding up one side of the awning and pressed his hand there, sending beautiful curls of frost up surface of it. ]

[asouthron]

[ Crossing his arms over his chest--sorely put out!--McCoy eyed the kids once more. He figured maybe they were just good at keeping their amusement to themselves until he left. But nothing about them cried bullshit. He surveyed the rest of the canal, but nothing seemed out of place. ]

--?!

[ Oh, except for that gradually freezing canopy! That was totally normal. The doctor placed his hand to it, feeling the cold frost on his bare palm. ]

[wintershepherd]

Oh, you like that huh?

[ Jack traces the frost up across the center beam and back down the other pole, leading McCoy a bit. ]