TIME TO CLEAN UP AFTER CRAZY PEOPLE [OPEN]

[scarabsuited]

WHO: Jaime and RESPONSIBLE CITYZENS OF ALL SORTS
WHERE: Central Park
WHEN: 8/12-8/15, all times of day before arounnnd 11pm
WARNINGS: Sweaty people? OR ILLIDAN, IF YOU STRAY TO THE WRONG PARTS OF THE PARK...
SUMMARY: Volunteer clean-up help at Central Park speeds up recovery time and the logical chance to use the park for future needs
FORMAT: No (whatever your heart desires)



Well, it was a doosie, that's for sure. But then, the City was getting pretty used to that. That didn't make it any easier on the environment, though, and even ample helping hands were going to have their work cut out for them. When the all-clear had been given, they were out in force. Central Park was important - a prominent feature locals and foreigners alike knew and came to enjoy. Or...take up residence...Jaime still thought it was weird, that magic dude and his hoard of nerds. But some things were well out of his hands.

What was in his hands, though -- er, claws, at the time, in his suit -- was a large chunk of a downed tree. The walk paths needed clearing; the sooner that happened, the fewer treads from golf carts and small-time construction equipment would leave on the green, and the sooner the park started looking more like itself again. It was going to be at least three days of hard work, and Jaime was committed to at least two of them...Keeping busy kept him from thinking too hard, and there was a lot to think about.

Besides, it was nice to work one-on-one with the citizens now that people stopped calling him the Blue Guy. It only took, what? Two-and-a-half years to get them to break the habit?

Could be worse.

In any case...Heigh-ho, heigh-ho.


[date/timestamps are your friends! tag around to everyone! THE JOYS OF HARD WORK AND A COMMON GOAL...]

Comments

saturday ; all day-ish?

[xuffasch]

_{( Damian has been sitting, perched warily, in a tree for the better part of the day. He came to survey the damage, but honestly cannot understand how he is in any way responsible for picking it up. Therefore, he isn't. He's just lounging, watching everyone and being incredibly unhelpful. )}

[scarabsuited]

[Jaime had been rather preoccupied in another section of the park for the better part of the morning, helping clear torn-up concrete and stone pathway that would need replacing. but that was all well and done for now, and someone mentioned free sub sandwiches. how can he say no?

it's during that low-flying pursuit that Scarab pings him with a familiar signal, one Jaime can't spot with his own eyes just yet. rather than spook the crap out of the source by peeking into the branches, he lands close by, stretching his arms once his feet settle on solid ground.

and he turns his head and squints upward.]

[xuffasch]

_{( Low-flying blue guys are not exactly subtle, so Damian sees him approach and is already side-eyeing him. Damian leans over his branch to be looking down at Jaime, which is a nice change. It's always nice to be looking down at people, which is probably why he prefers high ground. )}

What are you doing, Beetle?

[scarabsuited]

Whatever the guys in the orange construction vests need me to do. [his grin is very bright compared to the black on his mask.] And what about you? What, nothing good on tv at this hour?

[xuffasch]

You take orders from construction workers now?

_{( In response to Jaime's question, he just shrugs. )}

Occasionally spending time outdoors is beneficial.

[scarabsuited]

When they know more about clean-up jobs than I do, heck yeah. I don't wanna make this place more a mess.

[a slight pause. he shrugs, still grinning.] Besides, one of the sub shops nearby's feeding the workers. Food for a hard day's work? Not a bad thing, yeah? Not as bad as a little outdoorsy time, huh.

All day Saturday?

[son_of_vell]

[Teddy always did like Central Park and seeing it so wrecked up was not a pleasant sight. He was quick to volunteer to assist in the clean up. With him there, that was one less piece of heavy machinery that was needed. Carrying a downed tree on each shoulder, the big green hero smiles as he works. He's been generally friendly with everyone while they worked.]

[scarabsuited]

[it's a big place, too. easy for people to not bump into each other. but even so. Scarab knows he showed up, and so does Jaime.

and, feeling like a jerk, he steers clear for a little bit. it's still hard to cope with the fact that it is and isn't the same guy, Ted. he's still him, but. not the him that had gone through so much with Jaime. the confidant, best friend, brother-from-another-mother, etc., etc.

and that makes him worry. if that's how it was with Ted, then with Abby the way she is, was that...?

oh wow no. this is exactly the thinking he's trying to avoid with all this heavy labor. so it's back to work, doubletime, and eventually, without thinking, they're on the same task, stacking tree fodder for the machinery to chew up and haul out.]

Oh-- [grunt, dropping the branches as he hovers above it.] Hey, Ted! I didn't know you were here, too. [lies lies lies...]

[son_of_vell]

[Glancing up when he notices someone hovering around, Teddy smiles a bit wider when he sees Jaime. Dropping one of the trees he's carrying into the pile, the shapeshifter turns to face the hovering hero.]

Must be my natural camouflage. [He gestures at the green skin.]

How are things going, Jaime?

[scarabsuited]

[ha.

he shrugs, coming to land.] Well...aside from the massive fixerupper we're standing in? Not bad, I'd think.

[son_of_vell]

[Teddy takes a look around the park, a sad smile on his face for a moment. He's never liked to see the damage after a battle and it's worse in a place like Central Park. Shaking it off, the big green hero turns his attention back to Jaime.]

Too bad there's no one with plant control powers around to help out, right? I think Billy will be by later though. He's doing a magic thing right now.

Were you part of the group fighting here in the park?

[scarabsuited]

[Jaime nods a little. he didn't have to admit it aloud, but magic would make the day move faster, clean-up-wise. if it didn't go haywire first.

magic...]

Uh, nah. No, I wasn't on that. There was stuff going down near my house I had to take care of while that happened. [he flexes his fingers and lets them extended to needlepoint for the next job.] I did see a cop helicopter get punched by a fist made of crows, though. Down by City Hall.

[notniteowl.livejournal.com]

For lack of anything better to do (or maybe he's just tired of taking things apart), Ted has shown up in uniform with the Bug. She just so happens to be perfect for moving heavy objects around. In any case, it's hard to miss him because of the Bug, which he is currently navigating over a particularly large chunk of tree. Sometimes, it's nice just to be a helpful mostly-retired hero.

[scarabsuited]

Hard to miss, indeed. Scarab knew that Bug from a mile away, and Jaime got a delightful, albeit goofy fanfare in his head just for the occasion. When the Bug came into view over the trees, Jaime, hovering by a small cluster of volunteers, looked up and waved, smiling. He looked quickly back down to the civilians and exchanged a few encouraging words before his finger went to his ear, patching through to the Bug's communications.

"Hey, hey, sensei!" he called. "You here to help?

Hahah woops I forgot to date this. Let's say Saturday morning!

[notniteowl.livejournal.com]

We're pretty sure that's the first time Ted's ever gotten a fanfare! Unless it's Booster goofing around. If he knew about it, he would be honored. Ted gave him a wave back and eased the Bug into somewhere large enough to park it, for the time being.

"You know it, kiddo," he replied, grinning. "What needs doing?"

[scarabsuited]

"Only like every other thing," Jaime said with a laugh in his voice. He gave a wave to the volunteers before floating over, scoping the Bug out. "I don't think I've seen this bad boy in action here...Not since I was back home. I remember it did pretty well with lava," funny story, "but inquiring minds on the ground want to know what it can do."

[notniteowl.livejournal.com]

"It does good with lava," Ted agrees, and gives him a grin through the window. "But there's not exactly any lava here, is there?" He considers the park, frowning thoughtfully.

"I dunno, any big trees that need lifting or something like that?"

[scarabsuited]

Jaime nodded. "Lifting, shredding, replaced...but I think we'll settle for the first, if anything."

He palmed the glass of the window and pushed himself away, getting a little height as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Over this way. Follow me."

i will be a coolkid and say this happens on sunday!

[somethinglawful]

Central Park may not have been as impressive as the Alternian forest that Terezi grew up in, but she had still enjoyed spending time there. Trees made her think of home.

That sentiment explained the melancholy look on her face as she navigated a particular section of downed trees with her cane, using it to identify which pieces needed moving away from the walking path she was following. Clean up duty was lame and kind of depressing, but at least it was something to do.

you are the coolest

[scarabsuited]

There wasn't as much left by that time, given much of the heavy duty lifting had been taken care of days prior, but the park was big, and there was still a lot to do. With zones for tree shredders and construction equipment established and busy, Jaime opted to zoom ahead and sweep up some of the smaller stuff. It was pretty mindless work for the most part, making a construct plow to push things off the path and to a side, then doubling back to make piles for easier pickup. He was doing just that as he followed the winding walk path as the blind girl came into view.

"Head's up!" he called, well behind.

no you

[somethinglawful]

Terezi paused at the call, tilting her head up but not in the direction of Jaime's voice. After a moment of hesitation she stepped off of the path, waiting for the owner of the voice to get close enough for her to smell him.

"This good?" she inquired in his general direction.

[scarabsuited]

"Three more steps," he advised, still on his way with a plowful of debris. "Yeah, that's good. Thanks!"

The branches she had tapped out were shoved along with the rest until he veered yet again and pushed them into yet another pile for pickup. Only then did he land on a much cleaner path, shaking his arm loose as the construct blipped out of existence.

"Uh, the sandwich guys brought free food for everyone working," he said, looking over at the girl. Who was blind. So did he even need to look? Blind-person-protocol, he doesn't have it. "Did you get one yet?"

[somethinglawful]

"Nah, I think all that human food is pretty dubious! Heheh!"

She grinned at him, this time turning her head toward him with accuracy. His blue suit made it easy for her to "see" him with her nose--he was a big blur of blue raspberry.

"Is that some fancy tech you've got on or what? It smells delicious!"

IDK SUNDAY Afternoon sometime?

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

It was odd for Illidan to have so many people around his property. No matter whether there were ordinances saying it wasn't his, he didn't care. Public property could still be his, and after the fiasco with the black tears. It was unavoidable, and when so many were doing the work for him? It was quite enjoyable to stand back and just watch.

Besides, it gave him a chance to evaluate what the city had to offer.

[scarabsuited]

Stuff a superhero needed to do by that point was becoming little and less as Jaime flew low and surveyed. Not unless said superhero had an eye for landscaping, which Jaime didn't, that was. It suited him fine; he was getting rather bored of the whole lifting things and moving things and rearranging things...like the college dorm room move-in he never had. Maybe that was karma? For being a commuter student? The universe probably didn't see it that way, but Jaime thought it fun to entertain the idea a little, at least.

The Scarab was always abuzz (it was a Scarab), but moreso the closer they flew in the direction of Illidan's abode. He'd flown over it several occasions before, getting a dose of the creepy-crawlies and his obligatory ugh, magic moment. That seemed to be the case yet again.

Ugh. Magic.

With kindest respects to the good guys of magic, of course, but...Jaime's tech and hocus pocus? Seldom were friends. And the warped signals he got from this guy were...well. He supposed if he'd ever imagined the power readings from, like, Voldemort...

But still. If the guy was being harmless for a day, that was a good thing, right? He wasn't as compelled to fly higher, almost grazing the survivor trees with his dangling arms as he went.

Looked like the guy (if you could call him that) was just kind of standing there...