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

[imaginate]

Non-interference. Got it.

[His tone suggests it goes deeper than just mere understanding of her explanation. His power works the same way as her knowledge does - they can't play favourites with this planet or the other, or take sides based on something too emotional.]

[constants]

[ She catches that understanding and studies him for a moment, trying to decide if she should ask. But she is curious and they seem to be having question hour, so. ]

Do you have a similar experience?

[imaginate]

I do. I'm pretty frequently required to act as a neutral third party during diplomatic meetings.

[He looks a little sheepish.]

Other than that, my job... well. I can't interfere or assist in a conflict unless asked to do so.

[constants]

I also function as a neutral emissary, though usually more for conflict resolution than diplomatic meetings.

[ They can be neutral third party bros!! ]

But you can assist if asked?

[imaginate]

That too, but I tend to level the playing field... literally, so there's less need for a resolution and more for a complete surrender.

[MAYBE A LITTLE TOO CHEERFUL ABOUT THIS.]

Only when asked. The question isn't always direct... like. You could say being brought here is an unspoken request for assistance, and so I'm bound by oath to give it.

[constants]

My job is usually to act as a mediator in a meeting or duel, to ensure that neither party breaks the rules of engagement.

[ And then kills whoever does. It's sort of a zero tolerance policy. ]

Do you believe that you have been brought here to give assistance?

[ She is really curious about this, partially because she is bound to not give any assistance here. To anyone. Unless it's to keep the world from being completely destroyed. ]

[imaginate]

The Emperor hasn't exactly kept it a secret that we're here to help, [he shrugs]. It saves me from searching through a treaty regarding jurisdiction and finding clauses to circumvent. Here at least I can play it by ear.

[Which he prefers. And then, curiously-]

What do you do if someone does break the rules?

[constants]

[ She nods. ]

I suppose that must make it easier.

And if someone breaks the rules, I kill them. The Unseelie Accords that the Archive and others have signed onto are very specific about that.

[ Said pretty casually. She's been doing this since about when she could walk. At this point she's gotten very good at not getting her dresses dirty. ]

[imaginate]

[He looks at her with renewed interest.]

Aos Sí?

[constants]

[ Oh look you know things!! She likes talking to people who actually know things relevant to her world. ]

That is a name for them, yes. There are faeries, and the Queen of the Winter Court created the Accords. They dictate behavior between the signatories, one of whom is the Archive.

[imaginate]

[He nods, following along. The fairies he knows are incredibly brutal and unforgiving, it's always a surprise when his fellow Leaguers thought the stories were supposed to be... cheerier.]

Who are the others? The Summer Queen, and? Our world? The human world, I mean.

[constants]

[ She shakes her head. ]

No, humans have nothing to do with the supernatural world. The wizards, specifically the White Council, are in charge of protecting the interests of humans, and they signed on. The Summer Court signed it, as well as most of the major powers in the community.

[ Like the Denarians, Donar Vadderung, the vampire courts, the wizards, Drakul, some random people, and one non-supernatural dude who weaseled his way into it. There's really no point in listing everyone. ]

[imaginate]

So humans just... don't know?

[This is a little incredulous, and maybe a little sad. It reminds him of how Annabeth and the rest of the demigods have it. Tough. No help from the outside world.]

[constants]

No, for the most part we keep humans uninvolved in our affairs. There are some who are less interested in that, but the White Council does a good job of keeping humans safe. Besides, they have seen proof of the supernatural world and find it nearly impossible to accept, for the most part.

[ Like, really. Things go down all the time in Chicago and still no one believes that Harry is a wizard. ]

[imaginate]

They would. I've met a lot of people who're fine with all sorts of weird things, but one look at magic and they refuse to believe it.

[A light shrug.]

It's not that much of a stretch.

[constants]

Not to your or I, but it is outside their realm of acceptability. It is not a problem, however. There is very little they could do even if they were able to accept it. It is better that the worlds are kept separate so that humanity can evolve without powers that are beyond them.

[ Yeah she's pretty big on the whole non-interference thing. ]

[imaginate]

There's the truth, and then there's what people want to see.

[A soft, rather sad chuckle.]

If only that was the case in my world. We're already being interfered with, and have been for a long time. It's mostly damage control to make sure the more powerful members of our universe don't swallow everything up.

[constants]

Exactly.

[ And welcome to her actual job of making sure that Cthulhu and his cohort don't return to their universe after they were banished from it. All the pretty "preserving knowledge!!@1!!" stuff is just a farce for that! Not that she'll ever say. ]

And that is why the Archive exists. In case such an event were to happen, the knowledge of humanity would not be lost.

[ But all the supernatural people pretty much have to fend for themselves. Also she wouldn't actually stop that from happening, it isn't her job (it's Harry Dresden's job). ]

[imaginate]

[He gives her a curious look, as though he's almost discerned a hidden meaning, but says nothing. She hasn't lied outright, she's just keeping a secret, and that's fine by him.]

Let's hope it doesn't. I kind of like humans, and not just because I am one.

[constants]

[ She keeps a lot of secrets by omission. ]

I don't care one way or another, though I am human too. I would prefer if they could advance mathematics faster, however. That is interesting.

[ She cares about the really important things in life, okay? ]

[imaginate]

There'd be plenty of people you could engage on an intellectual level.

[He runs into a rough patch of road simply elevates the trolley instead of directly pushing it over the ruts.]

How does it feel, being the Archive?

[constants]

[ She watches very carefully as the cart starts floating. How does this thing work??? She's pretty observant of powers to make sure that people aren't stronger than her. And if they are, how much and how to get the jump on them if possible. ]

There are plenty of people I could engage now. My knowledge is as current as theirs, and none further. But it would be difficult to explain how a fourteen year old girl could completely comprehend the leading edge of the field.

[ She has pretty much every PhD ever awarded in all of history. Centuries of knowledge and discovery, all crammed inside her little head. The Archive never expects to meet an intellectual equal, ever. Certainly people more clever, but not more knowledgeable. ]

In what way do you mean?

[ She's very reluctant to share personal information, so he'll have to be more specific to get anything. ]

[imaginate]

[He's a bit :/ at her curiosity now, if she won't ask he might have to prod.]

What, they've never heard of child prodigies?

[At her question, he tilts his head, considering.]

How does it feel having all that stuff crammed into your head?

[constants]

[ The Archive comes with built in paranoia and a boat load of survival instincts that it forces on the host. And she doesn't have a daughter to pass the Archive to, so she's really up on the whole not dying thing. She isn't going to poke things that might be dangerous. ]

The Archive is different from a child prodigy. They would see a child prodigy coming, I would simply show up without warning.

[ She considers his second question more carefully before responding. ]

Normal. I have known no other life than this. When I was born the Archive passed from my mother to me, and I have carried it since. When I lost my powers in recent events, I became what must be normal for you and it was... empty to me. That's the best way I can explain it.

[ It's not completely correct, she can remember what it was like for her predecessors to suddenly gain the knowledge of the Archive. How it drove them insane in the beginning. But really, she hasn't known another life and in some way it's a blessing. Her mother died and passed it to her when she was no more than a few days old, and that has been her ever since. ]

[imaginate]

What if the child prodigy happened to be a ninja?

[Just messing with her. He ponders her answer, growing silent and pensive. He knows the feeling of being suddenly changed: he'd been fine without his ring, but losing his connection to a cosmic force suddenly and traumatically had made him feel hollow, and helpless. For somebody who'd been the Archive all her life, it must have been horrific.]

Have you looked into alternate energy sources? Or at least, a way to keep your power?

[Concern, mostly. His tone suggests he knows exactly how she feels, in a much more personal way than he's willing to admit outright.]