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]

[ Maybe you haven't been deprived of physical things, Jack thinks, but there's definitely some stuff you've been missing out on, whether you recognize it or not.

So Jack just keeps smiling at him, head tilted slightly as though to convey "so?". He'll profess that he thinks Damian is spoiled if that's what the younger one really feels like he needs to hear, but somehow he thinks reverse psychology is a little too simplified for someone like the boy. ]

[demon_brat]

[Not much. Damian just glares back. Because...]

[Because he knows exactly how hard his Father exploded, that one time. How harsh his behavior was - at almost all times - to Pennyworth. He knows. And it is not amusing. Only he'd usually smirk at the thought...]

[Somehow, not just now.]

[wintershepherd]

[ Well, Jack will just move on from that topic... for now. ]

Do you like your book?

[demon_brat]

It is...

[He hesitates for a moment, trying to come up with appropriate (truthful) comment.]

... a curious thing to learn about. Thank you.

[It's also not completely discardable, at least not immediately, so that's a yes?]

[wintershepherd]

You're welcome. I thought of you when I saw it.

[demon_brat]

[Yes, that just begs the question...]

... why me?

[wintershepherd]

Because I think you'd be a great storyteller if you gave it a chance.

[demon_brat]

[Damian blinks, then looks down.]

I believe we have been through this. I can tell stories well, but I do not have good stories to tell. Not... for most audiences, to begin with.

[wintershepherd]

Hence the book... a chance to create a story that wouldn't fit with Grimm's, if you wanted. But it's your gift, so do with it whatever you want.

[demon_brat]

If they come from a book, they would not be my stories, however, would they?

But they might give me some ... ideas.

The Grimm brothers had some interesting concepts, of course.

[wintershepherd]

The book is just a frame... you're the one building the story. You like building things, remember?

They were a good pair, those brothers. They were really close.

[demon_brat]

I do like building things.

[The next bit is quieter. An admission, because he knows Jack is trying to do something for him. That is - still difficult to comprehend, let alone accept and reciprocate. Interactions are hard!]

I am... less likely to share what I have created. Not many - I have not been raised to see many people worthy of what I make.

[Which is - another reason why so few of his works were in the gallery.]

But, with children, it's different. I learned to appreciate what they are - recently. To really understand it. And I am too unlike them to bring them to the upsetting - for them - things that I share. They should not learn from me, not the things that I would teach without being aware of it.

[wintershepherd]

[ He knows that you do, Damian. And also that this isn't a destination that someone can arrive at... but something that has to be worked towards, and that Damian is not afraid of working for something. ]

Just don't underestimate them.

[demon_brat]

[ Damian tilts his head slightly. Curious. ]

Would that not mean that I expect things of them?

[ ... because he doesn't. ]

[wintershepherd]

[ counters: ] Would that be all bad, if you did?

[demon_brat]

I have not thought about it, because I do not.

[ Expect. He doesn't expect much from most people. ]

[wintershepherd]

Well... I guess I should have seen that one coming.

[demon_brat]

[ ... what. Damian blinks, slightly, and shoots out the question that he'd ask Kyle, without thinking that it probably won't work. ]

What did I say wrong?

[wintershepherd]

Not wrong, just... different. We just think of people very differently.

[demon_brat]

... I did not think that would be surprising to you, by this point.

[Because Damian think of people differently from most people outside the League of Assassins. And, by now, differently from them, too, for that matter.]

[wintershepherd]

Right? Slow as molasses in the winter.

[demon_brat]

>Tt.<

I'd say, rather, far too optimistic.

[Still criticism, but not that much of an insult?]

[wintershepherd]

Would you prefer me the other way?

[ A genuine question... Jack actually found it ironic that he was far more jaded than most people realized, thrown off by his amiable attitude and easygoing nature. ]

[demon_brat]

>Tt.< My preferences do not seem to make any difference to how people are.

[ So he more or less doesn't have them, other than 'don't be stupid' and, occasionally, 'don't die.' Ones that Jack knows already. ]

Once upon a time, I would have scoffed at is as weakness. [ Before he knew Grayson. And Rayner, for that matter. And Brown. And even Frost himself. ]

Now... I would point out that it upset you when you were disappointed.

[wintershepherd]

[ quietly: ] Your preferences make more difference than you're giving them credit for.

Lots of things upset people. It's part of getting along with others.