[ 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

[hands4healing]

It sounds like a lot of fun! [Oh, but wait. It's the wrong time of year for peaches.] I guess I'll have to wait for the peaches to come ripe again. [She'd seen them being hauled around in the back of pick up trucks, parked on the side of the road with signs reading, 'Fresh GA Peaches!', whatever 'GA' meant.]

I'd have to get a cooker...that wouldn't be too hard. I'd need to see the recipe.

[infomodder]

[His brow furrows; for a moment, his first thought goes into suggesting finding peaches elsewhere. Some far off island where they are grown year-round and are twice as big as usual. But that is 1) expensive and 2) goes back to certain people he'd rather not think about, so it gets canned.

It shows, though. Mouth opening to say something, closing when he thinks better of it.]

Season's not too far away. [He opts for instead. Apparently, to Will, several months isn't too far away. He's been here long enough to know that people can go at any time, certainly, but...he's been here long enough to expect he's not going anywhere for a while. He has nowhere to go. Nothing wrong with setting up the potential for peach cider in that case, right?] You want me to pass it along when I get it written up? Give you time to get everything you'd need?

[Look, Ma, he's helping.]

[hands4healing]

[Not too far away? Five months? Six? Winry smiles, though, understanding Will's trying to help.]

I'd love that, thank you!

[Though whatever she'd need, Ed could probably make for her, if she couldn't make it herself.]

[infomodder]

[He's been here for eight months, what's another five or six? He's pretty sure he'd get in a hell of a lot of trouble if he disappeared again anyway, no reason to act like he's going anywhere. He doesn't intend to. Nowhere to go.

Infectious, contagious, enthusiastic kid. How does she maintain it? How does anyone maintain it? Hell if Will knows.]

That's what I'll do, then. [After he takes a long nap to recover from the social-ness of this entire evening.] Did you put yourself for bidding?

[Will, who so frequently does whatever the hell it takes to stay away from all situations involving people, finds throwing out a name to go out on a mystery "date" an extreme punishment if done without the other party knowing it. Anyone who puts themselves in that ringer, for whatever reason...well, it's somewhat impressive.]

[hands4healing]

[It's in her nature. She's just a happy young woman, Will.] Great!

[And then at his question, Winry glances sideways, her smile a bit awkward for the first time, and she shrugs. Because she was hoping someone in particular would bid for her, but he seems awfully dense, and not getting the idea.]

It's for a good cause.

[Yeah, right. Until the scary dude from back home wins her.]

[infomodder]

[Being happy seems so exhausting, though!

He follows that glance, tries to see what or who she might be looking at, one eyebrow cocked up when the answer finally comes. For a good cause. Is that the motivation behind most of those names up there, a good cause? Is that Winry being sincere or falling back on the easiest thing to parrot? He's not sure, but it's rude to ask, imply that there's some sort of lie going on. That's very rude and speaks more to Will than it does to her; projection isn't exactly something people quite enjoy, is it?]

Seems to be. [He hadn't done a damn lick of research into what the charity was about, just popped in to take care of his own business. That's Will parroting the easiest thing to fall back on, shrugging.] Kind of nice to see all these charity events lately. Maybe it'll keep up.

[And everyone can have a blind date with everyone else in six months' time, what's wrong with that.

...oh wait.]

[hands4healing]

And I thought it'd be a good way to meet people. [Look, she met you, didn't she? So, it works.] And ask questions, like...have you seen a seven-foot tall suit of armor?

[She sounds hopeful, though not really.]

My best friend, Ed. He and his brother came here together, but Al vanished. We hope he went back home, but it's.

[Her mouth crimps for an instant, but her expression smooths out.]

Well. We hope he's back home!

[infomodder]

[A seven-foot tall suit of armor? No, Will hasn't ever seen one, his face makes that obvious. But that soon ceases to be the focal point, even someone who pretends to be as socially inept as Will Graham can see that. While he's not the most joyous or comforting person around, perhaps recent experience can combat that. Perhaps it's less about how he says it and more what he says.]

I went home. [Quiet, his steps slowing. Not standing still but significantly slower than they'd bee before.] I was here for...over six months. One day I woke up back where I belong without any memory of being here, and then...I was here again. [He knows people don't always believe that it happens, though he's not sure why. The two from his world who experienced the same thing, well. They came back in a different physical state. So did Will. He might point to them if it ever became too contested.] Don't see why he wouldn't be back home.

[It can be a comforting thought at the same time it can be a horrifying one—at least, in Will's world, that's rather the case. But mightn't it be better for those who leave to be thought of, at least, back where they belong, even if where they belong isn't...the kindest?]

[hands4healing]

That's good to know. [Said soberly. But she reaches out to Will, laying her hand on his forearm. And smiles.] Thank you for telling me! I'll share it with Ed, if you don't...if it's all right with you.

Al back home... [Her expression is distant. Her 'home' is here, now. With Ed, and her dog, Zoey. And the people she meets here. At least until she finds out if she's dead or not.] I like to think that he's all right. And not worried about us!

[Whether she notices Will's slowed down, she doesn't say anything, just ambles along beside him.]

[infomodder]

[Her hand on his forearm gets a look—not upset by it, just a second's glance to acknowledge it's there. That's not something he's used to, either, but it's nothing truly alarming. Some people like to make physical connection, so be it.

Ambling doesn't last too much longer on his end; Will slows to a stop, looking down at his feet for a second as though checking to make sure the ground exists. Good to be grounded by something that can be seen for exactly what it is.]

It's all right with me. I'm not the—not the only one who's had experiences going home and coming back. [Awkward. Maybe that's all on his end, maybe it should stay that way, which is why he drops it there, doesn't offer a strained I'm sure he's fine and not worried about you at all. The smile is strained, but that's par for the course.] So...next time. You, me, and the dogs. Yeah?

[He's not good at making exits, he'll fall back on dogs. Again.]

[hands4healing]

Thank you, Will. You...it'll help. I can't explain how. But it will!

[Ed might be more relieved. Or something. To hear this.]

I hadn't met anyone else who'd gone and come back here.

[She smiles.] Yes, of course! I'll bring Zoey. Soon. So you can meet her.

[infomodder]

[Perhaps Will notices it more considering it happened to the only two he knew from home within mere weeks of his arrival, but he's not about to go giving out those names. She seems complacent to take him at his word instead of ask for more, he'll gladly go along with it.]

I'm moving back to Heropa after this [one elbow nudges out—this meaning here, no] so I'll be around all the time instead of just for work.

[As if Will needed any reason to hang out other than a dog, but hey. He can pretend while giving something of a standing invitation.]

[hands4healing]

With your...print shop? [Didn't you make t-shirts or something?]

Great. I'll give you a call in the next week or so, so you and Zoey can meet.

[She thinks maybe Will needs a chance to be by himself for a little bit, and she ought to go check and make sure Ed hasn't done something stupid.]

[infomodder]

[That gets a short laugh along the lines of a bark. He could see how that mistake would be made, and it's not wholly wrong—no one else has come to that conclusion to his face yet, though.]

Bait shop. [No scolding in his correction, too amused for that.] And I'll keep an ear out for it. [As if he's ever without his communicator in the first place.] Hope you have a good evening.

[One last look at the strap of her dress nearest him should indicate he's thinking more about having a warm evening than anything else, but no need to go jinxing the weather as it is. No need for everything to have been fine until a conversation about snow started and wouldn't quite go away. That's just testing fate, and Winry's arms don't deserve it.]

[hands4healing]

Bait shop. [Winry grins back.] And I'll let you know how the evening goes when I bring Zoey over!