etraya | un: Jay.T

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un: Jay.T | Video

[Today’s video feed is of a fit man in his early twenties and wearing his usual brown leather jacket over a red hoodie. He’s standing in front of a large auto repair shop. The shop’s front sign is also visible and says Grease Lightning! Next to the shop’s name is a black and white totally cool mascot.

For those who are especially observant, you may also notice a red-wing blackbird hanging around and making a nest near the shop’s sign]

Hey, so I don’t know how many of you need to know this but I run the auto shop now.

[Jason then walks and moves the camera to show the shop’s interior. It’s spacious and there’s a variety of equipment and basic spare parts needed to fix vehicles. Tucked in one corner of the shop is a books shelf already filled to capacity, a desk, and a chair.

The camera then switches back to Jason]

Not much else is gonna change. Feel free to drop by if you need repairs or wanna mod something. The place is big enough that you can do it yourself or if you want me to help, just let me know.

[The red-wing blackbird then suddenly zooms above Jason and lands near his bookshelf. Jason looks back at his pet mildly annoyed before turning back to the camera]

And don’t mind Steinbeak if you drop by. He likes his spaces.

Action Prompt:

[If you do decide to visit Grease Lightning, you can indeed find Jason and Steinbeak around. Jason’s either doing maintenance work on his motorcycle or he’s reading one of his books in the corner of the shop.

Meanwhile his pet bird Steinbeak is either just outside of the shop or has settled himself indoors and looking at any visitors]

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I know, but I wanted to. We're right in between your one-year anniversary and mine, and I want to thank you for helping me muddle through this all.

[She pulls out a round tin and a wrapped parcel. It is, of course, book-shaped.]

Plus since I've been traveling, I've always made cookies for the holidays. I'm not going to stop in Etraya. Wait...

[She pauses, then pulls out a second tin.]

Check that those are the cookies. I forgot to label them.

[Oooh, cookies. Jason can't turn those down so he opens that tin first, as Mayuko suggested]

You made these?

[Inside are some snickerdoodles, cubes of what resemble Rocky Road candy, peppermint snowballs and lemon shortbread.]

I did! It was a bit of a time crunch, so sadly the gingerbread got the boot. Maybe I'll make some after Christmas.

[With the tin for Jason sorted, Mayuko nods and opens the second tin, which contains a quartet of birdseed-and-dried-berry ornaments.]

And these are for Steinbeak! I know he's the sort to peck along the ground to feed, but I figure these'll be a novelty for him in the winter.

[Sure enough, Steinbeak flies down and looks at the ornaments with interest. Jason holds one up for the bird to peck at]

Wow. This is pretty great. Seriously.

[Jason uses his remaining hand to take a snickerdoodle and eats]

You really didn't have to.

... does that mean it's good or it's bad?

Wellll... No one can beat the homemade cookies from my home but this is still pretty good too.

[Judging by his teasing tone, he's certainly not objecting]

[Mayuko can't help but give a dramatic gasp in return. Not amazing? Not terrific??However, she knows there would be no way she could outdo Alfred's baking, so at that assessment, she follows it up with a half-shrug and headshake.]

I'll take a "pretty good." Shows I'm not out of practice!

[Gifts distributed, she glances around the shop.]

Did the garage come stocked up with all this? Or were trips to the junkyard in order?

[Jason eats another cookie as he looks for a spot to hang one of Steinbeak's ornaments]

Both. The garage already came with plenty of the basics but I had to do some junkyard trips to restock some stuff. It helps that Gorgug was a good owner before I got the place.

Ah, this was Gorgug's. I'm not surprised by him keeping this up, he's very conscientious.

[Her smile gets a touch sad. It has been a while since she last saw him. That's the worst thing about Etraya, the way people get spirited back home without a word to those left behind. Leaving them to worry and reminisce.]

But you'll put it to good use, as well. Vehicles from home are a popular ask, given the set-up we've been working with.

[Jason also smiles back in a slight sad manner. He's also not a fan of how people can just leave Etraya without a word. It feels almost like they were never around in the first place]

Yeah, it's why it's better that I take over instead of just letting the place collect dust.

... Just don't get too wrapped up in it that you miss the holidays. The festivities should make for a nice reprieve from the missions. Whatever they turn out to be.

[It would be a damn shame if Etraya brought all these bats-and-birds in and nothing happened. No matter how her heart ached at the winter holidays, being around her friends and students from home had eased that pain.

She brusquely shakes her head, dismissing the thought. It's a blessing no-one else from her soft world is here. Especially not one fresh from home. It gives her the leeway to act as she sees fit.]

Does your family do anything in particular to celebrate?

[At that question, Jason’s slightly melancholic smile turns into a smirk]

Annual snowball fight right after the first snowfall of the season happens. It’s always all of us kids against the old man.

[Sure, they each like to do charity and volunteer work during the holidays too but in terms of pure fun, it’s easily the BatFamily snowball fight]

[Mayuko looks surprised for a moment, before laughing at the mental picture crossing her mind.]

Really! I can imagine the chaos, there, if you're all trying to get one person. How often has he won?

[If it's the Batman, it's got to be a non-zero chance.]

Not often enough have us feeling hopeless. It's a good time and the manor grounds are big enough to hold all of us.

[Though maybe next time they should ban certain Batsuits during their game]

[She can't help but scoff. A manor, mentioned just like that.

Although it does make sense. Where else better to put a vigilante cave?]

Are they, really? All my cousins and I had was the orchard and the woods for ours.

Sounds like plenty of space to me.

[Or maybe that's just the cityslicker in him talking, used to concrete jungles and narrow streets]

You live out in the country?

No, I live in Tokyo.

[That's the easiest way to describe it. Everyone has an idea of Tokyo, but few people have heard of Kaibara.]

My grandfather's orchard is in Nagano prefecture. You know, where the Olympics were? That homestead is where we all meet up for the holidays.

[Jason nods. He understands everyone coming back to the family home for special occasions at least. It's what his family does at times]

An orchard sounds nice. What kind?

Plums! They're used for wine, more than for eating raw. But my grandmother always saves some to make preserves.

[She chuckles to herself.]

When the kids from the two closest families came over, she'd stuff mochi with the jam and--oh, the squabbles we all had over them! Heated enough, we'd dash right out to start on snowballs.

[Funnily enough, it goes a way to explain how jumpy Mayuko is setting up a shot. If her most formative experience with ranged combat was pelting her peers while trying to dodge in return, no wonder her instinct is to run and gun.]

[Jason snorts, though not to mock her]

Listen, good treats are always worth a fight. You should see me and my siblings when it comes to the homemade cookies.

Is that so? Who is the biggest cookie fiend out of the bunch, then?

[As they talk, Genji has flipped up the lid of his compartment and hopped onto the table, looking around. Knowing these two, they could gab all day. He can amuse himself.]

Personally, I'd say I have a decent record but at last count, it's been a near tie with everyone. It depends on how often someone's back home at the manor too.

[Meanwhile, Steinbeak takes a break from snacking and stares at Genji]

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un: Jay.T | Video

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