11 ❄ ( VIDEO )

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack looks better than he has in months and the combination of his newly cooled 3-A treehouse and the wearable unit Jack kept under his hoodie for when he went out meant he was back to his usual good (ahem) spirits. He was busy during the Yard Sale and may have borrowed some of his "allowance" from his shares of SI to fund a few of the things, but he thinks they'll be well worth it. All gifts are delivered overnight with no excess fanfare, just his initials in the corner of each simple folded card. ]

So, someone should catch me up on what kind of summer holiday things should be happening around here. Not that they'll be nearly as good as winter activities, but I'm gonna be gracious and give them a chance.

[ private to Tony Stark (MCU) / basic encryption; ]

[ There's no evident trace of Jack's consternation from a few days ago in Jack's voice -- nor his expression, though he doubts the man has acquired the ability to see him yet. ]

So I wanted to apologize for the mix-up when you arrived and introduce myself properly. My name's Jack, it's nice to meet you. Don't worry about the whole not-seeing thing, that'll probably wear off, it's kind of part of the spirit thing. Also, please don't mind the bed that's in the Stark Building freezer if you go in there, kind of a long story. Anyway, it sounds like Pepper and Bruce have got you settled in, so maybe we'll run into each other at SI some time! Catch you later, Tony.

---

((OOC: Since we have lots of new people, don't forget to check out Jack's permissions post for whether your character can see/hear him or whether they will view an empty feed/audio only/etc. ))


Bean: A small study book of beginner's Greek and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Bruce B: A little fountain for meditating that moves fire as a liquid, similar to the ones in Fire Sector.
Clark: An audio file sent to his console with approximately 30 min of basic sentences first by the Wind, then translated by Jack.
Costigan: A pair of baseball gloves and a ball.
Damian: A fill in the blanks book for creating your own story and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Finnick: Rent in full on the fishing shop paid for a month and dinner at Finnick's favourite place to get food.
Henry: An (according to the kedan, at least!) endless-ink pen.
Ivy: A simple music box shaped like a bird.
Kara: Tickets to a local kedanese play.
Korra: A note for a prepaid outfit of her choice from a seamstress in the Earth Sector willing to match Water Tribe style and a coupon book for "10 free bedtime stories".
Leonardo (2012): Directions to a restaurant where he can get damn-near-accurate-pizza free for a month.
Midii: A book on string games and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Pepper: A large coffee mug with cute sayings like "remember that you make someone smile!" painted in rings on the inside, so the more coffee drank the more of them are revealed.
Percy: Reservations for him and Annabeth at a high-end kedan restaurant where tables are impossible to get and a note marking their dinner paid for in advance.
Renly: Another bottle of the wine he purchased during their conversation at the Yard Sale.
Rose: A paid visit to a local spa.
Santo: A series of hyper-buoyant belts and rings made from a special kedan "foam" that can keep even Santo's weight afloat so he can go swimming if he wants.
Traci: A paid visit to a local spa.
Vanessa: One of the recipe books she had been eyeing at the Yard Sale when they spoke.
Victor: A crate of every sports ball and accessory Jack could think of.
Victoria: A jenga tower and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Zatanna: A new tin of her favourite tea and tickets to (basically) kedanese opera, complete with formal wear required.

Comments

action

[backwordscompatible]

[She knew who the gifts were from without even having to see the card. The tea was a pretty dead giveaway.]

[As soon as she caught a glimpse of him on the Network, Zatanna knew what she had to do. Grabbing a light jacket from her closet, she threw it on and immediately headed across the way to his door, knocking loudly.]

Re: action

[wintershepherd]

[ The new metal door echoed when she knocked but Jack's voice still carried through it. ]

It's open!

[ He was impossibly balanced on the top of his staff, affixing what looked like long strings of seashells from the branches that knitted together to form the ceiling. ]

private;

[manofiron]

[ The first rule of not letting people know that there's anything wrong is to act normal and Tony's had a few days to figure out how to do that. So he smiles like it isn't weird to talk about a company with his name on it that isn't his and shrugs with careless negligence. ]

You own part of the company, right? Think that means you've got a right to sleep there if you want to.

[ Even if it was his, he wouldn't care who slept there. That's a level of micromanaging that Tony doesn't bother with. ]

What do you mean, spirit thing?

Re: private;

[wintershepherd]

Nah, I'm just renting it for a while. Like investing, or something. I'm not sure how that works.

Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter.

video;

[kelpful]

Dude, you didn't--

[Sigh but he knows Jack, and knows that he'll just wave him off, so he smiles instead. It's a legitimately grateful expression] Thanks, Jack.

Re: video;

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack returns the smile, nodding wisely at Percy. ]

You guys have a great time, okay?

[Video]

[alpha_squad_leader]

[Victor's looking much better too. Completely healed. He's spinning a ball on his finger too. Tossing it in the air, he catches it and flashes a grin towards Jack.]

There weren't too many summer holidays back home for me. Just the Fourth of July and that's pretty much it. We had end of summer parties too, one last thing before going back to school and all that.

And Jack, thanks for all this stuff. You didn't have to get any of this for me.

Re: [Video]

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack whistles approvingly at Victor's skills. ]

Well, maybe we should plan an end of summer party then!

I know... I wanted to though.

[skybluejeep]

[PEERING AT YOU]

Well, it depends. How into sports are you? Because half the stuff I think of for summer time is sports-related.

[wintershepherd]

I've never actually played any, only watched... but I can learn?

audio; encrypted 97% -- next morning

[lostundercover]

I told you to save your money, kid.

Re: audio; encrypted 97% -- next morning

[wintershepherd]

Guess you'll have to ground me.

action?

[demon_brat]

[And maybe Jack will catch Damian in the early evening, treating the kedan children to those sweet treats? He's tried some, but he doesn't have the kind of craving for sweets that. He's probably expected to have.]

At least the playgrounds are full again.

[... that's kind of like a greeting, considering a few of their most recent encounters.]

Re: action!

[wintershepherd]

[ They're Damian's treats, he can do with them as he likes. But Jack hopes he found at least a couple in the box for himself that were enjoyed. ]

Best part of summer, right there.

[Video]

[tactile_telekinesis]

Can't believe I'm saying this, but screw the summer, when's the next snow day? That was amazing!

[He's smiling because seriously, that was one of the best days and he could really do with some fun for once. And a distraction. That would be nice.]

Dude, you're lookin' good. We should have like another beach party and you could play volleyball. [He's quiet for a moment and then shrugs.] Every day was kind of summer for me unless I was kicking someones butt so...I dunno what things there are to do.

Thought summer would have been a no deal thing for you?

Re: [Video]

[wintershepherd]

[ Kon you are a real bro and he likes you. ]

I'll put one on order for you, all right? Believe me, I'd be happy with flurries 365 days a year but, I think that might offend some people.

I've never played any sports, but I've seen beach volleyball on TV. [ he mostly watched it for the pretty girls because lbr, he's permanently 17 ]

I thought so too but I've gotten some help from a few really good friends.

Private | audio

[epigrammatical]

My dear fellow, thank you! What is the occasion, may I ask?

Re: Private | audio

[wintershepherd]

No occasion, Mr Henry. I just wanted to surprise you.

video

[justlittle]

That was unnecessary of you.

[But still.]

Σας ευχαριστώ.

Re: video

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack whistles, impressed. ]

Wow, look at you go with that already!

video;

[pandoricas]

Can you even do summer in this place?

[After all, giant turtle, hello.]

Re: video;

[wintershepherd]

There's still seasons here, they're just less distinct than most of the places I hang out normally.

[video]

[backinakidflash]

When people say 'summer holidays', they usually mean vacation. I've picked up that much. There aren't a lot of cool holidays like there are in the winter.

Er. No pun intended there. But seriously, winter has Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day... technically, even St. Patrick's Day is in the wintertime. And spring has Easter, and Thanksgiving is in the autumn. Except that one's not all that universal.

Summer just has. A lot of excuses to go the beach and have a barbecue. Not that that's a bad thing. It's way less exciting though.

Re: [video]

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack beams as Bart names off all the winter holidays. ]

Don't let the May Queen hear you say all of that, she might swallow a snapdragon or something.

Video; 100% Starkryption

[alphatar]

[It had been a few minutes of just staring at her note for the clothing before Korra remembered to blink. That was actually something she had been wanting for quite a while since all she had were her clothes from home that she to wash constantly and very few modem clothes that she wore very rarely and only when she was alone. They just felt too awkward to wear publicly.

Then the coupon book fell into her lap and she flipped through it. A giggle escaped her and for some reason she felt the need to hide them, as if someone would be in her suite looking over her shoulder to ask that they were. A few weeks ago when everyone was depowered, that would have been Toph. When the video feed came up on the network, she quickly turned on the encryption Tony had set up for her and tried her hardest not to sound too giddy.]

I don’t know many summer holidays. But back home there’s the Glacial Spirits Festival we have in the Water Tribe that would be coming up soon. [She smiled at how fitting the name of it was considering who she was talking to.]

But what brought these on? [It wasn’t often Korra received gifts, let alone ones that she actually wanted, so she was still excited at the sudden surprise.]

Re: Video; 100% Starkryption

[wintershepherd]

Glacial Spirits Festival? Sign me up!

Nothing in particular, I just felt like it.

video;

[notdreaming]

[ Jack has chosen well, because Kara is delighted by the tickets. It's been ages since she's seen a play, and although she wouldn't brag about it to her friends on Krypton she rather enjoyed the experience. It's just a bit high brow for most teenagers, you know?

So when she turns on the video she's wearing a bright grin, holding the tickets behind her back. ]

I think going to see a play is pretty festive. Would you like to go with me, or are you trying to set me up on a date? [ Yes, she knows what those are now! ]

Re: video;

[wintershepherd]

[ He's glad! He was worried you wouldn't like them. He laughs a little at the remark about a date, teasing kindly. ]

They're for whoever you want to take with you, Kara. Maybe you should set yourself up on a date~

[zerotoawesome]

Dude, it's summer! The whole season is one big freakin' holiday. It's basically a three month party.

[And a beat]

And we're so going swimming now... Can you even swim? Or, you know, get in water?

[wintershepherd]

That's cheating, there has to be something specific!

[ he's laughing at the questions, well-intentioned though they are ]

Yeah, I can swim... I mostly float though. You don't mind if we don't go out too deep, right?

video:

[victoria_stay]

[So. The Jenga blocks? They're still in the box and they're sitting next to Victoria. The treats are being nibbled on slowly. She wants those to last. And she recognized the initials enough to hazard a guess as to who gave them to her. So all she has to say is;]

Thank you.

[And there's an almost-smile on her face.]

I don't know what to do with the blocks.

Re: video:

[wintershepherd]

[ She can eat the treats at any pace she wants, it's not like he won't keep up the supply. ]

You're welcome, Victoria.

It's a game for two or more people, you set up the blocks in a tower and then pull them out one at a time. Whoever takes the last block before the one who makes the tower fall is the winner.

video;

[fatedchaos]

Jack! [Oh man, this is nice. Really nice. She smiles at him.] Thanks for the book, but I didn't get you anything in return.

Re: video;

[wintershepherd]

That's fine, I didn't intend it to be a trade. You just looked like you were wanting one of them.

video;

[insecrets]

[Money and free food. Best business partner.] In the giving mood today?

Re: video;

[wintershepherd]

Pretty much!

video; private

[urbanmagic]

[There weren't a lot of JFs in her list of people, after all, and none that left traces of who they were on the gifts. So it was easy enough to tell who it was from.]

Special occasion? By the way, the gift is lovely. Thanks!

Re: video; private

[wintershepherd]

I hoped you'd like it! And no reason, just felt like it.

video; late tag whoops

[loveandloyalty]

[Honestly Renly was a bit surprised by the gift, and more so by the recipient, but it... was thoughtful, certainly. More thoughtful even than most of the name day gifts given to him by his brothers out of obligation over his childhood, and perhaps that's a little sad to think of. Still, he's pleased, for more reasons than one. So he flips on the video, and he's wearing a smile, as usual.]

Thank you, for the wine, though it is not my name day. [Said a little teasingly, but it's a sincere thank you.] Perhaps you would like to come to dinner and enjoy it with my sworn sword and me? A fine vintage should be shared amongst friends.

Re: video; never late!

[wintershepherd]

Is a name day like a birthday?

[ Renly stop having such a cool sounding world. jeez. ]

I, um, yeah-- sure, that's... really nice of you to offer.

[ excuse him he's just flabbergasted ]

video; 100% encrypted;

[constants]

[ There is a tiny, aaaaaaalmost smile on her face. And she sounds warmer than usual too. She's holding the music box in her hands like she's never going to let it go. ]

Thank you, Jack. I love it.

[ SHE IS SO OVERWHELMED BY THIS FEELING OF JOY OF HAVING BEEN GIVEN HER FIRST GIFT BY A FRIEND THAT SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO BE SMART AND SAY THE "RIGHT" THING. And she used the word "love" and it is the first time in a very long time that she has ever talked about feeling something more than "liking." Jack has officially won a spot in her heart. ]

Re: video; 100% encrypted;

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack gives her a kindly smile across the video feed. ]

You're welcome, Archive. I'm glad that you like it.