May Swear In

[lastofthebog]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Nonah's Fairgrounds
WHEN: May 12th
WHAT: May Swear In
WARNINGS: None expected; please warn in threads if necessary

Spring is finally beginning to fade into summer with weather starting to warm, and the trees and flowers beginning to blossom into their peak, and what better way to celebrate the welcome change in weather than with a FAIR?



The fairgrounds have been transformed overnight with a swath of rides and attractions filling the field from one edge to the other. There is, of course, a booth for imPort registration that's positioned near the entrance of the fair. Even so, imPorts with an interest in registering may have to ask a fair worker for directions. The signage on the registration booth is, for some reason, faded and easy to miss among the bright and bold banners and lights drawing attendees to the different game booths that line the paths further into the grounds. Must have just been poor planning on someone's part!

Further into the park there are a wide array of the standard carnival games. Games include from balloon pops where you can win your very own "signed" copy of imPort photographs, but does anyone actually remember signing any photos…? There's also a ring toss that no one can seem to win, but the prizes include items like a water bottle discarded by Tony Stark, or dried flowers from one of Persephone's actual vines! Or maybe you'd like to prove your sharpshooter skills by knocking milk bottles down with a pellet gun? Prizes range from cheap, poorly painted figures of popular imPorts, to a handful of detailed and poseable figurines of both imPorts and famous media characters for the very best shooters.

Past the games are the many, many different food booths. You can chow down on Fried Stuff On Sticks, offering fare ranging from deep fried cheesecake on a stick to deep fried corndogs on a stick to a variety of tempura on sticks. (It counts!!) Or perhaps you prefer a healthier roasted meat? There's no shortage of options for that: roast turkey, roast beef, roast bison, roast alligator? Strangely few, if any, of these booths offer any vegetable options, but intrepid imPorts can find a booths offering superfood smoothies, quinoa bowls, or fruit parfaits tucked away at the very end of the food court.

And don't forget the main attraction (at least, the attraction Galla is most pleased with): CAPTURE THE FLAG. A parcel of land roughly the size of two side-by-side American football fields has been fenced off, and a brightly colored banner that looks like it manifested directly from the 90s is hung across the entrance, inviting all to enjoy! Inside, there is a scattering of trees to provide some natural cover in addition to man-made structures like sections of wall, pieces of large construction pipe to crawl through or hide in, and, of course, the different flag bases:



Yes, those are inflatable dinosaur heads inside an inflatable Jurassic Adventure. The flags are located inside of the temple the top of the "mountain" which, conveniently, has a rock climbing facade just in case climbing to the top of an inflatable hill is too difficult for some players.

Capture the Flag games are held hourly, and imPorts can choose to compete against each other, against natives, or even to team up with local native attendees! When competing against or with natives, imPorts are asked to refrain from flight, mind-reading, or teleportation, but it isn't a rule being strictly enforced. In fact, apart from those requests, imPorts are encouraged to use their powers as much as they like! There are natives lined up around the perimeter to watch the games play out, so why not give them a show to remember?

Comments

[mostlyprofessional]

A few days - I'm just settling in, really.

["A while" - right, that almost makes sense with the difference in appearance.]

Is this what I have to look forward to if I end up here for longer? [A gesture encompassing Elena's face and torso.] Looks like you haven't aged a day since I met you.

[storyseeker]

[The compliment is nice—not entirely expected from Chloe, but nice—and strange for a number of reasons, but one in particular.]

That's because you only met me a few days ago. Plus time here.

[And what difference does a year and change really make? But the implication of what Chloe's words isn't lost on her. Her heads thuds heavy in her chest.]

Chloe, the last thing I remember before being ported in is Shambhala and—Flynn's grenade. Nate's here and he doesn't remember much more than I do.

[mostlyprofessional]

[For a moment, all Chloe can do is stare. Shambhala? Stupid Flynn and his grenade? Nate not remembering anything more either?]

No. No, that was years ago, that was -

[A beachside wedding ago. She lifts Elena's left hand just enough to see the lack of ring and lack of tan line for it, then lets it go in shock.

[No ring, no wedding, no Yemen assignment, no London, no Syria, no Libertalia, no Sam, no baby.]

... hell's bells.

[storyseeker]

[Elena doesn't give the hand-touch a second thought, chalking it up to an attempt at shocked connection. And yeah, it is pretty shocking to see someone you know and find they're entirely out of time with you, but that means Chloe expects them to be from the same time.]

So... [Her mouth has suddenly gone dry.] Does that mean I have more time to look forward to than I thought I might?

[mostlyprofessional]

You've got years, sunshine. Six, seven - I don't know how to count it with this place being in May and however long you've been here. [There's a big difference between "six months and a year", Naughty Dog!!!!!!] And so much to look forward to, as well.

[Some absolute crap, too, but she's going for reassuring here, not the whole truth.]

Did you think you were living on borrowed time or something?

I live \o/

[storyseeker]

Y-yeah. Pretty much.

[It was a serious concern, at least. Elena laughs a little disbelieving and turns to the side, looking around.]

I need a beer. And a place to sit down for a minute.

[Now her legs get wobbly. Of course.]

but do *I*?!

[mostlyprofessional]

[Chloe offers an arm, with a pang of melancholy as she realizes that Elena does not remember the way she'd helped her out of Shambhala very similarly to this.]

I think I saw both those things up by the deep fried Coke.

[And miraculously, the beer stand by the bench she points out with her free hand is not selling it deep fried.]

do any of us really

[storyseeker]

[Elena accepts the guiding arm and it's surprisingly nice. Solid, supporting. More than she ever would have expected from Chloe when they first met.]

C'mon, I'll buy. Free beer for the new newcomers.

[And she does, ordering two large frosty brews. She's glad that Chloe doesn't press the issue while they're being served, and she takes a long drink as soon as they sit.]

Whew. Okay, wow. So tell me again how long it's been? What happened after we got out of Shambhala?

zombie game except the zombies are the players

[mostlyprofessional]

[Of course Chloe doesn't object, not having much USD yet. Her sip is shorter, accompanied by a slow look as she contemplates how much to tell Elena, should she ask. When she's from, she's sure Elena would want to know everything; now, some of it would sound insane.

[Also, "I got your brother in law captured by a crazy warlord (yes, another one), and the woman I hired to help me find him just ran off on me because they have bad blood and I didn't tell her" is just... terrible.

[So her mind's mostly made up by the time Elena actually asks: Talk about what she knows of Elena's doings since Shambhala, go very light on details of the last few years with some of the bigger changes for her (a brother in law? going legal? getting pregnant? some days Chloe can scarcely believe it herself) and on Chloe's personal job.]

Almost seven years - I was on a job when I wound up here; I kind of lose track of time. We got you back to the village, got you a doctor. That was a bitch and a half, I don't speak Tibetan, but in the end you were too restless to finish up your bedrest.

whoaaaa

[storyseeker]

[Elena's aware that the passage of time can make it difficult to determine what should be shared and what can be left to be experienced; Chloe's confirmation that it's been a lot of time just underlines it. But still, she's ready to listen closely to every detail of this particular part of her past-future. Screw time travel rules, she wants to know.]

Good thing I do, huh? Though I doubt I was much help then. [Shock, blood loss. She doesn't have to be from the future to know to expect these things.] It must have been Tenzin, the man who helped Nate after the crash. I don't know if he was an actual doctor, but he knew what he was doing then.

[mostlyprofessional]

Yeah, that's the one. Good host, too, though that tea was a bit much.

[Alas, like Nate, Chloe was (and remains) ignorant of the Tibetan custom of constantly filling up your guest's butter tea.]

Victor came up to help out, and once you were well enough to walk around with support, I got out of there.

[She knows when she's a third wheel, particularly right after a breakup, and she had her own grieving to do for Harry. At least the next thought is a happy enough one for her to smile:]

Within the year, I got an invitation to you and Nate's wedding.

[storyseeker]

[That makes Elena smile. The tea was a bit much, even knowing the etiquette of it, but she'd gotten over her initial reaction to it during that extended backpacking trip in college. During the three days she waited for Nate to wake up or get worse, it had actually been comforting, if still an acquired taste.

So, Sully was there? She finds herself looking forward to it, even though there's who knows how much time and a lot of pain between now and then. She's missed the dirty old man, but of course their friendship wasn't something that could last beyond her and Nate's breakup. But if she...

Her train is immediately derailed when Chloe continues. Wait, what?]

What? [She stares at Chloe is as she's just sprouted a second head, or resolved to live a law-abiding life. Both options are equally improbable.] Are you serious? Me and Nate?

[She loves him, yes. But she knows commitment is still a thing for him, and marriage is the ultimate commitment.]