rekindleme | Save Our Parks! (OPEN)

Entry tags:

Save Our Parks! (OPEN)

Who: Everyone
Where: Mostly Districts 2 and 3
When: 20th September
Summary: In light of the new district reopening, there's still a lot to do! This log is open to everyone if they want to see what else is going on in the city, or help with some important tasks.
Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. SOME NPC RESPONSES WILL BE SLOW UNTIL THE ONE WHO PLAYS THEM IS PRESENT.

I'm only happy when it rains...

Some of the natives have been busy. There's a little stand set up in the plaza that wasn't there before. They have minions, too: people with clipboards are assaulting recent arrivals on the street with requests. It seems that most of the employees are helping with the district reopening, and that means everyone else is incredibly understaffed.

But wait! Don't walk away! If your character helps with some of the chores around the city, they'll get a little money added to their stipend, as well as a coupon to the new store opening today in District 3.

District 2
Residents will be asked to help hang up tiny twinkling lights in the trees lining the streets, nothing so fancy as during the summer festival but something with lasting power throughout the oncoming rainfall. There are water fountains that need to be insulated, gigantic mountains of leaves that should be disposed of, and plants requiring trimming.

District 3
In addition to the winterization chores going on in the second district, the shopping district has their own problems to take care of. Large potted plants need to be moved inside-- that's a job for physically fit characters-- and little tents need to be taken down. Oh, and they need lights in the trees here, too.

New Store
There is a lot of excitable chattering surrounding the new store on the main shopping street. The sign is currently covered in plastic and unreadable.

Boxes
Near the water, groups of trees, or small parks, characters might stumble upon a group of canvas-covered boxes and someone desperately looking for help with them. There are a lot, after all.

YOU MAY NOW REPLY. Thank you for your patience!

NPCs will pop into the last two sections. Otherwise, comment and threadjack at will.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Let gravity be our mistress.

[He tumbles back into a standing position, and makes a mock diver's pose-- obviously not gonna go head down to the actual ground, no matter how many leaves, but he likes the posing anyway.]

That means no telekinesis. No cheating.

"I wouldn't-!"

[...Well, okay. Maybe she would. Being able to float is equal parts reflexive and security for her. And knowing that she can't use it makes her look at that leaf pile in a different perspective; is it REALLY big or soft enough to support falling into? M'gann walks up to it and runs a hand through the leaves, testing how they feel.]

"...I can do this, though."

[She says out loud, mostly to reassure herself.]

"I've seen it on TV..."

[She starts to back up as she speaks, and lets her skirt lengthen out a little bit more and grow a little heavier.

Right. One more deep breath, and then she takes a running LEAP at the leaf pile.]

[It's on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he's seen her cheat with telekinesis, with the trapeze... but she doesn't know that yet, does she?

But he puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles when she makes her jump.]

Perfect 10!

[He grins, taking a few steps back for his own run.]

[M'gann rolls out of the way as she watches him, though she's still half in most of the leaves; they surprise her with how they feel on her skin, a little scratchy, but also ticklish. It's enough to coax a giggle out of her, as she tries (unsuccessfully) to pick them out of her clothing and hair.]

"Okay, you're right. This is a lot of fun. There's not anything really like it on Mars...Which is kind of a shame."

[He gets as much air as he can, somersaults, and scatters quite a few leaves with his crash.

And he waits until they settle again before answering, okay.]

You have to live in a particular climate for it.

[You have to be there during autumn, too. And have a yard for the leaves to collect in. Wayne Manor had huge trees and Bruce paid a lot of money for people to rake their leaves up but... he'd stared out his window once or twice.]

Yeah, this is my first time trying it, too. You would be surprised just how uncommon that kind of stuff, you know, White Christmases and all, are.

"No way!"

[M'gann twists around from her spot, staring at him in disbelief.]

"I thought this was something you did all the time; along with the White Christmases," [Amazing how she can say that without flinching, but the mental images of snow are far more appealing and easy to focus on than...Other things.] "And building snowmen and snow forts decorating trees. Isn't that what people do on Earth...At least our section of it?"

Well, I decorate trees.

[He hesitates before saying any more. On the one hand, this gets a little too close to personal. But on the other... well. If he thinks M'gann should be honest about herself, shouldn't he at least make the effort?

And this is a valuable object lesson. Life, even on Earth, is not all cheerful theme songs and laugh tracks. Sure, she knows this, but does really apply it to her worldview?]

If you mean New England, uh, sometimes?

[He's familiar with the trappings of a New England Christmas, but he gets them in small doses, for parties, when Bruce needs to put on a show.]

You're assuming I've lived in Gotham City my entire life, aren't you?

"New England and...Well, most of North America? That's what I was thinking."

[Actually Hello, Megan! was never all that specific with locations, so M'gann had settled on Somewhere, America whenever she watched or imagined where it was. She shifts, wondering if she can sink any deeper into the leaves after giving that answer.

As to the other question, she gives a cautious nod.]

"Since that's where Batman is, I...Sort of guessed you'd also live there, most of the time? I know that sometimes people move between houses,"

[It's been the plot of several TV episodes, after all.]

"But I thought you lived there with your family most of the time?"

[She says the F-word and he abruptly stands up. The leaves around him scatter and a few more crunch harshly beneath his feet as he climbs back up to the roof, deliberately refusing to look at M'gann.

He'd sort of asked for it. He'd sort of asked for it and usually Wally's there to redirect everyone's attention when he gets stung like that, but this isn't usually, is it?]

I do now. [He says it as neutrally as he can, because it'll be a minute before he can pull off his usual demeanor, and because Bruce and Alfred are his family, too.]

But not always.

[He closes his eyes and psychs himself up. Time's up.

When he speaks again, it's like nothing happened.]

Global warming kind of messes with that. Droughts, too, most of the Southern U.S. is in a drought right now.

[M'gann stares from her spot, and suddenly isn't not about sinking into the leaves but getting free of them as she jumps skyward to hover in the air and watch him with growing concern.]

"I-I'm sorry? I didn't mean to-"

[...Do something, clearly. She's not entirely sure WHAT she just caused, save that it wasn't a good reaction. Those sunglasses do a lot to obscure exactly what he's experiencing and expressing, and as M'gann watches there's that desire to just brush at his thoughts in order to understand. Just a brief glimpse so she can figure things out-

'Don't.' She has to tell herself, and settle for words as she flies up after him. She listens to him change the subject, and floats in the air, unable to shake the fretfulness from her thoughts or her expression.]

"I...I guess I don't know if it'll snow here, either?"

[That's a weak attempt at continuing the conversation, M'gann knows. But at least it's better than nothing.]

[Dick's nose wrinkles as he looks up at her. The shape is right, but suddenly, all he can see is how alien M'gann is. It's not just the green skin. That much he knows is fake. It's also not just the way she holds herself off the ground telekinetically.

It's the way she can't sort fact from fiction reliably. She's probably tried to dial a number that starts with 555-.

The thought makes him smile -- he'll have to try that back home, it could be hilarious -- and the smile softens those wrinkles back out.

What makes M'gann so alien is her lack of context. She can see the shape of a human body, she can use television as a rubric of how they act, but she can't make that shape or those actions make sense.

It strikes him, suddenly, how much alike they are in that regard. He spent the first nine years of his life interacting mostly with adults. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd played with other, actual children before Bruce sent him to school. And even then, Bruce had always sent him to expensive charter or private schools. Dick hadn't known how to act around other kids, either. He'd spent a lot of time mimicking, acting, trying to figure out the code.

With practiced nonchalance, he tips his head forward, easing the sunglasses down his nose. Just enough that she can see him looking at her, and that his eyes are a dark blue.]

It's not you. [You cannot argue him on that point.] It's me.

Maybe... I'm still trying to figure this place out. But those Batgirls both know who I am, know why I am who I am, and maybe... maybe, just while we're here, you should, too.

I mean, now that you're not three states over half the time. Honesty shouldn't be able to hurt us here.

[HINT HINT.]

Edited 2013-09-30 07:18 (UTC)

"They- They know?"

[And also WOW, are those his eyes? She's kind of surprised at how blue they are, even if it's not quite the same as Conner's. M'gann tries not to stare at them, or at least not be obvious about it.] "Although...I guess maybe they would? Alternate dimensions, and them maybe being part of the Bat Team. That-"

[Of course that's when she catches the hint.

She's an alien alright...Though that alarm that shoots across her face at the direction this conversation goes LOOKS pretty human. Or at least share a lot in common with the Earth emotion. While she wasn't enjoying their talk before, she can't say this is a pleasant change. It takes focus to keep herself floating in the air, instead of darting around and matching that sudden rush to her pulse.]

"M-me? Well, you know about me already; J'onn's niece,"

[Which isn't a lie.]

"And his apprentice,"

[Which also isn't a lie.]

"And how I got to Earth."

[Which she wishes with everything she is that it wasn't a lie. That story she spun at the campfire is so much better than the reality on Mars, and she desperately wants to stay in that reality for a little while longer. Better than thinking about what Psimon dredged up, certainly.]

Relax. I said it was me, not you.

[Little eager to volunteer all that, huh? He'll pretend not to realize he made that hint at all, with a charming cipher smile.]

Something like that, yeah. It's... unnerving, since I'm not the one who told them. I don't like losing that control, so I guess the natural solution is to

[He bites his lip, and reaches out for the psychic link.]

Take it back. On my terms. It shouldn't... I don't want to be just Robin while I'm here. I want to be normal, too.

Which is silly, I guess. All that stuff about jumping into leaves and New England Christmases and living in one city all my life-- pretty much nothing about me is normal. At all.

[He's rambling. She can probably feel how disorganized his thoughts are, how random a decision this. He needs to stop that and buckle down.]

Sorry. This is... hard to talk about. I guess I should just be direct?

[Deep breath, and he twitches his nose, putting the sunglasses back in place, back where they can help disguise his expression.]

My parents were murdered when I was nine. My aunt and cousin, too. My uncle survived, but he was... injured.

Edited 2013-09-30 08:40 (UTC)

"I didn't-"

[She's spared having to come up with an excuse on why she volunteered that information, once she feels that familiar nudge from a teammate. It's easy to spring the psychic link out from hibernating into full activity, as she watches Robin carefully.

And as she listens? Her eyes manage to get wider and wider as he lays out some of his own story. She can't pick out vivid details from his thoughts, of course; and prying for them sounds both rude and painful...But she can get glimpses. The feeling of breath getting sucked out of a space, and the numbing ache all sticks with her.]

"H-"

[She can't even think of a Martian oath to express how much that hurts, or what she's getting glimpses of.]

"I didn't think...I'm so sorry. That's when Bruce-?"

[She cuts off, shaking her head as an alarmed look replaces that hurt one. She didn't MEAN to pick that up, per say, but she caught an echo of the name after that whirlwind of emotion in his head.]

Of course you didn't. What was there to think about?

[His head bows. He can feel her there, at a respectful distance, and it's taking all of his self-control not to jerk back. He's not... he's not used to sharing this. Bruce Wayne is well-known around the world for his business and charity work, but he's famous in Gotham City, for those things and for his own loss. Dick is not famous -- Bruce ensured as much -- but he's just well-known enough within Gotham that anyone who exerts the effort can find out who he is.

The only person he's ever told is Wally. He pushes that fact towards the link, and with it goes a little bit of the trepidation at making that decision to go behind Bruce's back, to directly disobey him, and then the relief, when Wally understood, empathized, and swore never to tell.]

Y-yeah. He just... happened to be there. [Never mind where 'there' was.] And thought that if no one else c-could take care of me, maybe he should.

[There's all sorts of speculation M'gann could launch into as she hears that; his and Wally's friendship, and maybe even conjecture on what this might mean about Bruce Wayne as his adopted parent-

But right now, that doesn't feel important at all. Not compared to what Robin is going through and all the other emotions she can pick up through their link. It's those chokes and stutters that decide her, as M'gann lands on the roof and lets the link go on the quiet side. Instead she shifts her focus to her arms, as she stretches them out and tries to wrap him up in a hug, wanting it to be comforting, strong, and stable]

If we were anywhere else right now, I would not let you do this.

[It's clear from his voice that he doesn't mean it, it's said with a weak laugh and only to save face. This isn't the kind of situation Robin the Boy Wonder likes to be seen in. But he hugs her back, although she's definitely the one holding him.

He gives it about half a minute before he speaks again, and it's normal, now. Serious, but normal.]

I notice you got my foster dad's name out of that. Did you get mine, too?

Edited 2013-10-01 06:16 (UTC)

"Of course not. Good thing for rooftops, right?"

[M'gann doesn't fully buy what he says, at the moment...But she'll also humor him as well as she can. This is a lot better than old emotional scars, and M'gann is more than happy to keep her hug up for a little longer. Once he speaks normally, she convinces her arms that it's okay to relax and give him a little breathing space.]

"N...Not really. I only heard that by accident, and I didn't want to pry any deeper."

It's Dick.

[That he can say without affectation. Still a little wary, but again, both of the Batgirls know. This is... he's not sure if it's the right thing to do, but it's the fair one. It's the one that puts him back in control of the flow of information, and it's the one that'll allow them to interact with others more easily in a group.]

Well, Richard, actually, but that's for official formalities only. I sign it, that's about it. I don't mind if you use it. I mean, I have to introduce myself to people in civvies, too.

[That sudden, second introduction to his civilian ID takes her by surprise, though thankfully it doesn't leave her completely speechless.]

"I-I think it's a nice name,"

[It's not QUITE up there with Megan and Conner as far as Earth names go, but still nice. M'gann is sincere enough when she gives that compliment, and when she continues.]

"And I won't tell anyone, not unless you tell them first. It's your call, after all."

[It was right about at that moment that Piper happened by- not on the rooftop of course, but at ground level. She had her hands in her pockets and she was walking slowly, in part because she was lost in thought and in part because of the initial stages of her withdrawal. She was and is totally oblivious of the discussion taking place somewhere overhead, but does stop by the pile of leaves long enough to look around.

Who just piled up a bunch of leaves and left them here, and why does she feel the sudden urge to jump into them?

Can't remember the last time she did something that silly, at least not since leaving camp for the quest. Sure would be easy to get the drop on her right then...]

[Peripheral vision is a wonderful thing, and he's about to thank M'gann when movement in it catches his attention. Dagger girl.

He smirks slowly, and glances at M'gann over his glasses again. He looks even more diabolical with his eyes able to convey the barely-suppressed glee.]

Looks like someone needs a push to, uh, relive -- or even just live, like us -- their childhoods.

Maybe use a little telekinesis to... help them along?

[He nods towards Piper.]

"Help-? Oh! Right, right."

[She's got this, after a moment of confusion. M'gann stands on the edge of the roof, glancing down and then smiling when she realizes who it is.]

"Hey, I know her! I'd love to help her out."

[And M'gann does seem to think she's doing a favor as she raises a hand, and motions to the leaves below. They give a soft rustle before a few of them lift up, and in a scene that looks like it belongs in an animated family film start to move around Piper in a whirlwind. (Granted, one without a lot of wind, which might look and feel a bit odd.) There's a look of intense concentration on M'gann's face as she does that, before trying to give the leaves, and maybe Piper by extension, the gentlest nudge towards the leaves.

...Or at least she tries to make it gentle. But controlling that many components isn't easy, and she might make it a harsher push than she originally intended.]

[The rustling caught her attention fast, though she spared the leaves a glance and not much more. Some animal hiding in the leaves maybe (never mind that she hadn't really seen any yet though... huh...)? She had this feeling, like a tingle at the back of her mind that she almost wasn't sure was there. Her demigod heritage left her with a tendency to be a little on edge at times and she couldn't help but feel her muscles tighten a bit as inborn battle reflex tried to surface.

Relax, Piper, they're just leaves.

And then there was that whole Disney Pocahontas moment going on there, and at first she was surprised, taking a step back and turning-]

What in the gods na-?!

[And then she was really surprised and, well, what happened next wasn't much of a surprise itself. She was feeling a little weak to start with and then the force of M'gann's nudge sent her stumbling. Backwards, into the leaf pile with an undignified yelp.

At least she didn't go flailing like a mad woman, but she DID go for her dagger, expecting a malicious wind nymph to pop up at any moment. Though it was a little hard to hit something that wasn't there. Gods this would be embarrassing, being taken down by a leaf monster in some weird cuddle prison, of all places.]

Edited 2013-10-02 06:34 (UTC)

Mm.. ahaha...

[ohgodohgodohgod

Dick's hands both slam over his mouth, but it's futile. He tries to hold it in for just a brief second but he's weak, and he just bubbles up, almost a groan of giggles, before coalescing into actual hysterics.]

Should... see your face...

Edited 2013-10-02 06:36 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject