[ 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

[glowsferatu]

"No, sometimes it doesn't really achieve anything." Part of why she's keeping mum on that particular topic. "Still, one has to wonder just which side she rests on. I've always...it's a role that's often been expected of me, introducing sense into a situation bereft of it, but many of them will think they're doing the same thing in response."

Like all of the new arrivals who insist their first impressions must be correct, like Newt so determined that he can find a way to overcome the Porter. That the only reason no one has yet is because of complacency. Flashes of Nepeta, fighting against the fate she had waiting for her.

It's exhausting, arguing so much.

[lyingheart]

Annie doesn't respond with words - fulfilling her own role, which was often that of the quiet observer in the group, not even the one who was friends with the rest - that had been Bertholdt. There's nothing to say except in listening. One Kanaya had been expected to be the one who delivers sense. Annie's done so, in some situations... but hers was a sense that looked at a presentation of the world and called it bullshit, and went with it anyway. Hers is not firm when it comes to action.

Or hadn't been. In her way, in degrees, she's been working on that. Accepting is still a large part of what she does... but acceptance doesn't have to spell out any one response. What she does or doesn't want from this world isn't as simple as it had been by mission necessity back home.

"I don't know," she says at last. She supposes she never really will.

[glowsferatu]

"It isn't easy to answer. The most important questions rarely are, but I'm not sure the answer itself is so important as the fact that we're asking ourselves to think about it." It's a compromise, sure, because they should still be looking for those answers, as far as she's concerned. Those answers help them understand what route they should take, sometimes over which route they want to take.

Still, getting to the point where you can understand that takes a willingness to second-guess your perspective. She's probably better at talking about that than living it, though.

[lyingheart]

Something else Annie could agree with, but found she was disinclined to discuss, poised as they were for their leap out into the thin air before them. A question one of the other jumpers had asked her earlier comes to mind now, as the rest of her thoughts swirl around, circling each other like buzzards circling on thermals.

"Think you'll hit the mark in the park? After we jump." Overshooting wouldn't get them in too much trouble, but she's thinking about it, squinting and identifying the bright white circle with the red X through the center.

Annie knows it's a non-sequitor. For today, that's what she prefers.

[glowsferatu]

The topic change isn't unwelcome, the whole thing had gotten a little heavier than Kanaya had meant it. Thoughtless comments can just get away from you like that. She glances out over the expanse to spot the target.

"I'm not sure. It's been quite a while since I've had to practice a controlled descent," she thinks, at least. But there's still something nagging about that skyline. "Obviously, this won't be through that same method. It will depend on how easy the parachute is to steer."

Or rather, how quickly she gets the hang of steering it.

[lyingheart]

"Not confident the test runs they had us do downstairs will mean as much once we're in the open air?" Annie knows other factors will start mattering more at that point, but even if she ended up entirely off course, she doesn't feel concerned. She's plummeting with more support than she usually does. It's all part of an upgrade.

[glowsferatu]

"Simulations of that sort are never quite the same as reality." Not falling to her death she's confident she'll be able to manage. Hitting the target is another matter entirely.

"I suppose I could cheat, if it came to it, though gliding is supposed to require both hands. But it might make for a better show if I did."

[lyingheart]

"If there's a time to put on a "show," this probably counts as one of them." Annie won't be doing more than strictly required, herself, but she can understand why it would be beneficial for some to do a little showing off.

Though when that starts paying off in who starts traveling to handle problems overseas is a whole separate issue. (It's still in the back of her mind.)

A call from the side lets them know the jump time is about five minutes off. Annie adjusts her helmet, a little amused at how protective of the head people had gotten over the ages. Comparative to where she'd been training...

"Ready to make the leap?"

[glowsferatu]

"I suppose it would be. If they specifically hoped for imPorts, they might rather expect it." Kanaya's never made any secret about her powers, though some of the applications, especially in freefall, haven't really been exercised in a while. She's only gotten chance to give hints at best, for the most part. She may very well give them a few nice surprises. It's for the kids, isn't it?

At the call, Kanaya frowns as she fits her helmet on, not at all subtle in her distaste for the headwear. "I doubt the leap will give me much trouble. But I hate what this thing is sure to do to my hair."

[lyingheart]

Annie feels her lips turn up just the slightest at the corners. It's a very Kanaya concern to have, and nothing she's so concerned with, other than the fact her hair had to be down in a low ponytail for once. Her normal bun would simply be in the way.

"Strange. Maybe your name should have read as, "Fashionable" instead of "Diligent." Though being diligent in appearance..."

Teasing in her own quieter way as she heads toward the jump point. Kanaya is diligent in many aspects of her (un)life. She's also playing by the rules here, and it's something worth noting - even if it is going to land her with a case of mad helmet hair. Post-jump photos of all of them with helmets off will probably be worth the photo albums Annie doesn't actually think anyone keeps.

[glowsferatu]

Kanaya is not looking forward to those photos. She's not looking forward to the coming need for a good brushing, something she'll have to do before making any appearance at the auction. But that's a future diligence. First, she has a roof to jump off of.

She rests her hands on her hips, flashing a smirk. "Do I look particularly fashionable in this?" With the jumpsuit and the helmet, she certainly doesn't think so. "Just putting the thing on owes more to one than the other."

[lyingheart]

"You look offended," she says, mild enough. "One might debate if that's due to some personal consideration regarding fashion." From one person who didn't give a damn about fashion as long as she could blend in and be relatively comfortable, it doesn't mean much. Annie listens to the direction offered by one member of the company keeping them on track. It's a matter of discussion and a thumbs up for a go-ahead.

Annie looks back to Kanaya, giving her a mock salute... for her world. A curled fist that taps against her breastbone, the other arm behind her back. She's queued up to be the second, not the first, and she likes it that way.

[glowsferatu]

"One might as well debate that the sky is blue," she answers, her grin widening. Sometimes levity just makes it easier to deal with things that frustrate her, especially when she knows they should be minor concerns. So she has to redo her hair later, but at least someone will be getting a good show for it. She adds another comment, even though Annie's listening more to the instructor than her. Kanaya can't blame her, she's keeping an eye on him to. "It's an offensive garment, it seems only appropriate that I meet it accordingly."

The salute's a little interesting, but she doesn't have one of her own to offer. Instead, she just raises her eyebrows and says "Good luck" before heading to the line herself. She waits to queue until she's number six, it's always seemed like the right number for her.