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

[wintershepherd]

Oh no, time out, me making decisions about anything business-like is a really bad idea.

Ehhhh... close enough, sort of. But yes, actual winter.

[manofiron]

Yeah, so? That never stopped anyone from trying to make me do it. Theoretically, it gets easier with practice.

So me not being able to see you is because...?

[wintershepherd]

Because where I'm from, spirits have to be believed to be seen. Kind of a reverse seeing-is-believing. So once you stop thinking I'm a crazy guy who's hiding off screen, who knows?

[manofiron]

That's it? Just like that? Believe you're the spirit of winter and I'll be able to see you?

[wintershepherd]

Mhm. Theoretically, it gets easier with practice.

[manofiron]

Very funny. I know magic's real. Does that count?

[wintershepherd]

That's probably why you could hear me right off the bat and I didn't have to text at you. Kyle once thought it might have something to do with how open people were to ideas like this in their own worlds, how it translates here.

[manofiron]

Who's Kyle? The resident expert of interdimensional metaphysics?

Real magic's actually a pretty new thing where I'm from. It used to be just rabbits in hats and pretending to saw people in half. Illusion. Sleight of hand. The real deal is something we're all still adjusting to.

[wintershepherd]

Kyle Rayner, one of the Green Lanterns here. I'm sure he'll introduce himself before too long.

[ There's a faint undercurrent of something there, something that doesn't quite fit with the light banter but it's not directed at Tony. ]

It takes most people a little while for it to click in, even here.

[manofiron]

[ He mouths the words Green Lanterns, forehead wrinkling with something like confused disbelief. What kind of name is that? ]

That's stupid. And impractical. Who thought that up?

[ Probably the leader of the spirits or whatever. Tony rolls his eyes. ]

Look, why don't we just fix it? You're obviously there. You can touch the console. There's got to be a way cut through the superstitious red tape.

[wintershepherd]

[ That part, he agrees with you on. ]

Thaaaat's a whole other kettle of fish, Tony. Trust me, it'll be easier to take it in small steps.

Belief is... belief. Sorry, but you can't fake it.

[manofiron]

[ He's not really all that great with belief. He'd rather just avoid it entirely. ]

Belief implies the lack of knowledge. I don't need to believe you're there. I know you're there. So it's not really believing in you. It's believing in the system that you're part of.

[wintershepherd]

Belief isn't a lack of--!

[ his voice abruptly has clear frustration in it, as this is both a touchy subject and evidence of emotions not so far below the surface ]

... fine, whatever. Think of it however you want, let me know how that works out for you.

[manofiron]

[ He hears that frustration, recognizes that he's blundered into a touchy subject. ]

Look, I'm not trying to insult you. I'm a scientist. This isn't really my area of expertise.

[wintershepherd]

[ it's tamed away again quickly; not wanting to derail things already ]

That's fine, there's others here that... use that method.

[manofiron]

I'll work on it. In the meantime, I'll see if I can calibrate my equipment to see your energy signature. I know it's not the same, but it'll be a start if I can manage to do it.

[wintershepherd]

Sure, that sounds great.

[ not even a little bit great. ]

[manofiron]

[ He's made enough comments like that to know when it's insincere. Part of him wants to make a snide comment about inferior models, but he has the wherewithal to keep his cutting remarks to himself. No sense tainting the guy's memory of that other guy by revealing himself as a petty jerk. ]

If you don't already have one, tell Bruce you want office space at the company. I hear he's in charge now. Give him some work to do.

[wintershepherd]

[ Jack opens his mouth to reply, what would I need with office space? that would like the opposite of fun! but he closes it again. If that's what Tony wants... ]

Yeah, I can do that but I don't think he's in charge. Wouldn't that be Pepper?

[manofiron]

[ When he'd actually had an office back home, he'd filled it with toys. His equivalent of toys, anyway. Made it a lot of fun. ]

I don't know. Is it? I heard he's the one making personnel decisions. That sounds like the boss to me.

[ And it bugs him. So Tony's made it his mission to refer to him as the boss as often as possible. ]

[wintershepherd]

I can ask both of them, I guess.

[manofiron]

Part of the fun of owning a part of something means that you don't have to ask permission. Relax. It's fine. You know them, right? You know they're good people. You don't have to worry about tiptoeing around them.

[wintershepherd]

[ quiet, fond ] They're very good people, that's why you fit in with them. Seems to be a Tony-specific thing.

[manofiron]

It's not really a fit. They just have more patience than most people do. I'm glad you found them.

[wintershepherd]

[ a pause and then: ]

You're gonna need a whole new thing on not putting yourself down, huh?