[ open ] jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock

[lyingheart]

WHO: OPEN.
WHERE: De Chima.
WHEN: Saturday, December 13th, 2014.
WHAT: Earlier in the afternoon, there will be base-jumping in elf costumes. Later on is the charity silent date auction and different performances by USA celebrities fundraising for charity this holiday season. OOC information post here.
WARNINGS: None now, will update later. To avoid seeing all the silent auction threads, simply press on the (Hide ## comments) under the header comment for the auction section!

[ BASE JUMPING from TARTARUS TOWER ]
For those imPorts who volunteered to jump from Tartarus Tower, arrivals for fittings into their costumes begins at 2:00 PM sharp. Each costume comes with a name-tag attached, and make-up artists are on hand to help affix elf ears to participants and work on their eye make-up for the ease of the cameras catching all this live.

The jumps will start at 4:00 PM, and after all imPort elves have jumped and successfully reached the ground, they'll join the bus transporting presents and Malik to the De Chima children's hospital to deliver gifts to the children in the cancer ward (and elsewhere). ImPorts will then be transported over to the main facilities for the fundraiser event as a whole, invited to attend the Silent Date Auction as well as listen to any of the various performances occurring over the course of the evening.

[ CHARITY SILENT DATE AUCTION in DE CHIMA ]
Starting at 4:00 PM, the doors to the conference hall made available for the ImPort Charity Silent Date Auction will open. Live music will be provided, along with refreshments and catered hor d'oeuvres, and televisons displaying both the news stories and live coverage of the fundraiser events occurring over the course of the evening. ImPorts will be encouraged to attend any of these performances in person, but will not be required to leave the conference hall unless they wish to do so.

There is lounge seating available, and free wireless throughout the building. Different conference halls are hosting different events in this event center, and the largest productions are happening on a built stage outside. There's a massive lit tree in the central front courtyard of the event center, and many small stands selling hot drinks, good foods, and wares outside by the stage and surrounding streets, all with a portion of proceeds going to various named charities.

Please comment to this log with your own starters! Only the Auction Thread will be set-up under its own sub-thread, for ease of tracking. Auction Threads can be threaded in, but initial comments to those threads should be the bids that a character is placing on someone else (or themselves). Bidding will close OOCly by this time next week (or when a player states bidding is closed on their character - send me a PM to close that thread, or comment to close it on your own). ICly, all bids close at the end of the night.

Comments

[lyingheart]

There is, to prevent you from causing unnecessary harm. You deal in absolutes, Ken. The world doesn't work that way.

[ She's told him before her thoughts on him flirting with that edge of hunger, and she will, again, should that flirtation end in tears. Not just his, but anyone else's. The tearing apart at the seams he feels all the time when it comes to his dual natures is unfortunate, and immense, but it's part of him. One day or another he'll have to accept that, or accept the consequence for being unable to accept what he needs to do in order to live.

Annie hesitates, reaching out with one hand in a subtle motion, resting two fingers on his arm. She's not a touchy feely person, and this is more of a check in than it is a clasped shoulder or companionable sort of action. ]

Do what you musts. Remember that while you may be alone in some things... you're not truly alone.

[ Unintentionally or otherwise, he's made that much true as well. ]

[anthropophagite]

Annie, if I feed too much I will drown. [ he will forget the value of life. Be like Rize. because it's feels so good to eat. ] I deal in absolutes because I only have absolutes. If I feed to much, I'll get addicted to it and become like Rize - if I don't eat enough, I will feel like I'm dying over and over again until I just let instinct take over. I'm not good at being... this. I don't know how to be this.

[ he can't just feed more. he doesn't have that self control, his kagune is incredibly unruly and seems to have a life on his own, his hunger far too crazy and he is plagued by Rize as he fights to keep his humanity.

He wishes it was simple. he wishes he wasn't half ghoul. But this is how he deals, and he still hasn't found any other way to deal. he will find it, after he gets tortured

The hand that reaches for him causes Kaneki to go silent, though, looking back at Annie before his eyes fall to the ground ]

... I do regret bringing you into this. [ but she'd get it, she'd find out things by herself and it'd be so much worse ]

... thank you. [ for still talking to him. ]

[lyingheart]

[ She remembers how much it'd meant to her, over a month and a half ago, to have some sort of human contact. Reiner is a lot better for these kinds of things. He's a more comforting presence in general, and if and when she realizes she's taking a cue from Houka Inumuta instead, she should probably laugh. She lets the hand she has touching his arm move to find his hand, not really concerned with if he's holding anything or not. The contact's all about brevity, but best as she can, she'll give his hand a short squeeze. Her fingers are cold, her palm a warmer contrast.

She lets her hand fall away soon after. It's just a small reassurance. ]

You're welcome. Ah... and Ken. Don't stop trying to swim... but reach out for help before you lose the will to keep your head above the surface on your own. Most people drown because they lose energy and the will to fight.

[ And swallow water and disappear beneath the surface, but this wasn't a perfect metaphor from the start. ]

That doesn't have to be you, too.

[anthropophagite]

[ it's really weird. he hasn't had any sort of contact with another person in a long time; Hide was the one who always hugged him and was all over his personal space, but other than that, not really. Of course this is excluding the dance lessons, since that contact is meant with a purpose of dancing and not really sharing warmth.

He smiles a little as he thinks once again how much he misses Hide, but also how he is glad there is someone.

Even if Annie can't really go deeper into the whole ghoul subject, even if Annie is also pretty awkward about comforting and touching. It's fine, he is glad she is there, even if he tried to avoid her for a week or so.

He nods softly as he hears her words. He is tired, it's true, but... he can't. He can't bring her into this; because said water is full of sharks.

See, the metaphor is good enough to make use of it. ]

Thank you. [ he is repeating himself. And his hand reaches to touch his own chin because Kaneki knows he won't call for her help. It's fine. He is the one who will be hurt, not her. ]

Uhm- did you jump? with the parachute? [ changing subjects is a go ]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie knows it too. And she does, for what it's worth, think he's an idiot, if one trying to be that way for better reasons than most.

Still, she's not going to bring that up. She's made her thoughts clear. Beating a dead horse has never accomplished anything in the long or short term. ]

Yes. I was asked... given the relationship it has with where I work in Nonah, it made more sense to go along with it. Besides, what they paid as an incentive is what I can turn around to use here.

[ That's... exactly what she's doing, actually. Welcome to how Annie spends money: she had to do one act for a corporation to pay her for compliance, and she'll dump those funds back into charity, letting it funnel through here because this whole thing was a PR set-up in the first place. Image is, undoubtedly, key. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ yes, he is an idiot. But his life is also quite difficult because the universe hates Ken Kaneki, no matter what universe we are talking about. And everything around him is flipped up-side down and he can't bring anyone along with him. It'd break him if anyone was dragged because of him and it will break him, later on, when he eats Hide

Kaneki nods softly ]

What is your job, exactly? [ he never got to ask her, not really ]

And giving money to charity like that... it's very kind of you, Annie.

[lyingheart]

[ his life of incessant suffering looms before him it's a hard knock life, and ain't nobody out to adopt them into something infinitely better, even if one of them is named Annie.

she looks away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. [

It's not kindness. Or not about kindness... [ she adds ] ... before you correct me on that. I don't need the extra money on hand right now, and it amuses me to take anything from one of these large companies and see it be used to help with a problem we all knew back home. What's the real cost to me?

[ nothing. so she can donate, "selfishly," because it doesn't harm herself or anyone (and anything) she cares about. ]

As for what I do... test outdoors equipment for various sports and hobbies.

[anthropophagite]

[ if he thinks is life is bad right now, he's going to have a surprise

Kaneki tilts his head as he hears the explanation, but he still smiles gently while he touches his own chin ]

even if you say that, the charity and the people needing it will certainly thank you, regardless. Even if you do not consider it kindness, they have a chance to live better and that is a good thing.

[ as for the answer, he chuckles softly ] I'm not sure if that fits you or not.

[lyingheart]

I'm well aware of that.

[ The lack of suitability in her "job," along with how these donations help people beyond herself. They also help imPort image all around. There's an awareness of politics as they move around all of them... but not an isolated awareness. ]

You do realize you could bid on yourself, Ken, don't you?

[ If he's too worried. Or, like she had made that offer earlier, but she doesn't bring it up again. She just shifts topics once more, not wanting to discuss suitabilities - she's using her job to help herself, and that's that.

That's so often simply that. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ kaneki pauses, blinking ]

... I can? [ what. He can? This is news to him???? ] They won't mind?

[lyingheart]

'They' are more concerned with the money raised than the source.

[ Not that they'll announce Ken won himself, if he does do that, but in the end it's about earning what one can for charity. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ well, that's true, he just thought there were rules about that sort of thing. ] Aha- I guess I should have a look on my auction. [ no, he still hasn't seen it ]

This is a charity event and I do have money to spare, anyway. Why not? [ YEAH let's bid on himself, he has like 50$ to give. Except Kaneki is actually poor because he spends all his money on books oops. ]

[lyingheart]

[ Ken you're terrible with your funds.

But hey, you can go bid on Nishi, he's totally in your price range.

So is Reggie Mantle.




And the dinosaur. Either way, Annie waves him off toward the bidding tables. ]

Good luck.

[ Not that luck is something she thinks you can wish any one way, but it doesn't hurt to wish better luck his way, when he's been this worked up over what... well, she can understand from the past, but that's the past.

The future may be muddled, but it doesn't have to be horrific. ]