(no subject)

[maskormods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Jeopardy -> Heropa
WHEN: Nov. 19
WHAT: A resolution and a swear-in
WARNINGS: Please label threads

Somewhere, in a place that is and is not Jeopardy, time has passed. To some, it may have felt like mere hours; to others, days. For time doesn't truly touch this place. Only fate exists here, for imPorts to change or allow to proceed as it will.

Somewhere, the sisters look into the hearts of those with the power to decide the fate of this entire world and know their choice. A blinding light grows, forcing even the strongest to close their eyes, and as they do so, a vision of what could have happened appears in their minds. A world wreathed in flames, fire and screams echoing ceaselessly as they depart; a peaceful world, healed and whole and well—and a certainty that another world has paid a heavy price.

And then there's the sensation of three powerful forces leaving, two taking an unwilling third with them to wherever they are going. This world will be left as it is now, and its future will be whatever the people here make of it.

MEANWHILE, IN HEROPA

One week into the mysterious storm that has enveloped much of Jeopardy, citizens across the nation are losing hope. The government continues to monitor the situation at a safe distance, but cannot enter the affected part of the city, though one SEAL team did make an attempt, only to become lost in the wind for hours before emerging without ever making it through. While the storm hasn't grown, neither has it shown any sign of changing.

The heroes who bravely charged into the storm have not officially been given up for lost, but with no news coming from Jeopardy, few believe they will emerge unscathed. To honor their sacrifice (?) and offer sorrowful natives a means of coping, a candlelight vigil kicks off outside Heropa City Hall at 4:30 PM EST.



Speeches are given. Commemorative t-shirts are sold. It is at this point that a large portal of light opens up in front of the building and deposits all imPorts who entered the storm, as well as a confused but unharmed Layla and Sally Clapp. A stunned silence falls over the crowd — followed shortly by an eruption of cheers.

Organized chaos quickly reigns over the occasion. Medical personnel are quickly called in to aid any imPorts who might need it, and government officials quickly descend, one thing on their mind: what the heck happened, heroes?! ImPorts are asked to state, for the record, exactly what they experienced — which leaves a lot of room open for the more creative among them. Just what each imPorts is willing to confess to or lie about is up to them, but there are other imPorts at hand to refute or support all statements.

While imPorts are technically free to go, all are encouraged to enter the building for a debriefing with government officials. Those who care to share their story begin to paint a picture of what happened, and a flurry of transportation begins to move between City Hall and the local porter outpost, as Jeopardy will certainly require some aid now that it is fully accessible. Reports begin to filter back that while there have been some casualties and collateral damage to the city, it is far less of a disaster than the government anticipated during the storm, no doubt due to imPorts' efforts. Additionally, news from other porter cities begins to arrive; with the dissipation of the Jeopardy storm, all dimensional anomalies elsewhere have ceased.

Following the briefings, ImPorts may go home and get some rest, although they may have trouble shaking off the crowds — which are largely ecstatic that the people who apparently saved the world are in front of them.



While imPorts were occupied with the post-disaster debriefings, locals have used the time to launch an impromptu celebration of their defense of this world. Local restaurants, breweries and nanas have hustled their finest wares over, and free food and drink are flowing for the homecoming heroes. A local party & events organizing company has strung up some lights and tents in the park across the street from City Hall, lending a festive atmosphere to the area. T-shirts being sold to honor the assumed-fallen heroes have been 'edited' with permanent marker, going from 'FALLED HEROES' (there was an error in the print run, given the notice of less than a week) to 'RISEN HEROES' and are, regretfully, being given away for free.

For those who stay, an impromptu party breaks out, and the occasion quickly becomes the latest swear-in, albeit with a more casual emphasis on the actual swearing-in than usual; a card table is set up with the usual seals and documents, but it's a bit haphazard.

Along with tasty libations, local musicians start jamming on acoustic guitars in the park's gazebo, setting up some cheerful background music—or maybe you're not too tired to dance? A local physical therapy school has rolled in multiple portable massage tables, with free sessions for sore heroes!

The locals who haven't dispersed yet are also around, likely to seek autographs from the world savers, while podcasters, BlueTubers and regular nosy nellies might lean in with a recording device, asking for the real story of what happened. For imPorts who become too intoxicated or exhausted to porter home, many locals are offering couches to crash on — although the pillows they use may later show up on ePay.

Comments

archie / pokemons / ota

[h2no]

dazed and confused

[this isn't the first time archie's ended up in another city with a very fuzzy memory of the last day or so. like everyone else who arrived with him, he's sore, tired and kind of over all that's happened. he doesn't need medical attention beyond a couple of scrapes to be wrapped up, so he decides to get to work offering assistance with his healing power after necking a couple shots of brandy.

that lack of energy loss was a great boon; he's mentally exhausted, but able and willing to help a good few people. you might be approached by his mightyena, a pokémon that looks quite intense, but clearly has a good read on people. if they don't like dogs, it won't come anywhere near you. if you do, well... mightyena has long since mastered the puppy eyes.

would you be so lucky for archie to do the same.]

Yo, [he says gently.] I'm one of the Aegis healers. Lemme help you out there...

[he won't force anything, of course. he figures he should do what he can while he still can. archie knows quite well that the apocalypse being avoided doesn't necessarily mean you can just sit back on your laurels and given his own experience with them, he has no interested in being called a hero or receiving any thanks or glory.]

later on

[catch him sitting on the edge of a fountain-- the tall dorsal fin of his sharpedo poking out the water. archie's sitting with his legs in the water himself-- gross? it's cold and he barely bothered to roll his jeans up... gross. his muk is nearby, too, enjoying the crowd of natives who've gathered around it to throw their party trash onto its body. for muk, it's a nice meal. for them, they get to watch it bubble and hiss away in its acidic body. people are entertained by anything, right?

finally... there's crobat, who's doing nothing of note other than sitting on the top the sculpture of the fountain. not the... part that's spitting water.

archie's either watching the people playing with muk or speaking to sharpedo in an unknown language only the people from his universe will recognise, having flipped off that dang translator for the time being.]

[darkov]

[Mightyena found him first, because of course he did. and like the good boy he is, he helped shepherd Martin over to where Archie is lounging. Martin hesitates only a bit at the sight of the giant shark -- the one that screamed at him that fateful first day, the one he thought was going to eat him -- but, bravely enough, walks over anyway, looking more sleepy and bewildered than anything.]

Archie...

[h2no]

[he doesn't swing his legs out of the fountain, but he looks around and smiles lightly when he sees martin.]

Yo, lil' man! You're gettin' tall... [how hadn't he noticed that before? mightyena boofs and nuzzles martin; archie nudges sharpedo and it groans and bobs a little further back in the water, massive dark shape moving below the mini-waves.] You wanna come sit with? Sharpedo won't do anythin' to ya. He don't like the taste of people.

[darkov]

[is he? Martin blinks, distracted from thinking more on it by Mightyena's interjection. he shivers a little at the sound the shark makes, looking apprehensive again for a beat, but ultimately fixes his eyes on Archie.

he's not a liar. and all he's ever done is help him. so, if he says it's fine, then...it's fine.

he nods a little and moves over, sitting down on the grass beside the fountain, as opposed to on the stones themselves.]

[h2no]

[the only further sound from sharpedo is the noise the water makes as it rolls over. archie snorts, finally pulling his legs out the water. mistake. it's cold. oh well. at least he can sit facing martin now.]

He's just flipped over, if you're interested. Belly up. Think he's fallen asleep, actually. [anyway, enough about his beloved sharpedo.] Are your parents around?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin's been making the rounds, trying to put people in the right mood. After weeks of fear and uncertainty, more than a few people have deserved the right to cut loose and enjoy themselves.]

[But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a reverence for the things that were sacrificed. Nor does he want to belittle the cost. And if there's one person he knows he can drop the facade under...well, it's Archie.]

[So he finds the man sitting on the fountain and hands him a drink before taking a seat next to him.]

[He holds up his own drink.]

...Cheers?

[h2no]

[archie responds in his native language, having forgotten he'd turned off his own translator. to darin, it probably just sounds like nonsense with a vague sentence structure and a "shit" stuck in there somewhere. it's archie, of course there is.

a beat.

oh. right. he thumps his comm device.] Cheers. You an' Allura doin' okay?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

We're both here, ain't we?

[He taps his drink to Archie's but doesn't take a sip.]

...How you feelin', Old man?

[It's been awhile since he addressed Archie so fondly.]

Later on

[innerdragon]

Having had no idea what’s been going on the past few weeks, Lance is now finally himself again with the departure of the ultra beasts.

Still looking disheveled and like he hasn’t had a bath in... well weeks, the champion had come into the vigil/party confused and disoriented. Now that he’s managed to gather what was going on from what he could overhear, Lance was making his way out. He was tired and obviously needed to take care of himself. Something, or rather someone, caught his eye before he could leave entirely.

Walking over the the fountain where Archie sat, he then stopped some feet away. Waiting for the other man to acknowledge him.

“Hey.”

[h2no]

"Wow. You look like you crawled out a garbage dump," Archie says, raising his eyebrows at the dragon master. He holds no ill will towards Lance for what happened; he'd figured it was a power thing. Not something he'd do on purpose.

"Have you eaten? Something other than cardboard, I mean."

[innerdragon]

He remembers what happened, sort of. From a very odd and disjointed point of view. Part of it like they were his memories and actions, and some belonging to someone else. It was really strange.

So he’s glad when Archie doesn’t seem to hold a grudge, and relaxes a bit. He comes over and sits next to him on the fountain, running a hand through his hair tiredly.

“No. Not anything decent anyway.”

[by_candlelight]

[ When Ruby sees the Crobat she thinks that she's found Niko. It's only once she reaches out and feels the Crobat's feelings that she realises it's not the one she's used to. All the same she moves through the crowd to get closer to the pokemon. It wouldn't be too unrealistic to think that maybe Niko is near by anyway, right?

Shen she makes her way out of the crowd and into the open space, right near Archie. ]

Oh.

[ Her voice is small, and a little monotone. She still looks somewhat shell-shocked, never having lost it since coming back from that timeless zone where it felt like nothing ever ended. She's just as covered in dirt and grime as anyone else who had gone through it all. Truth be told she was a little injured, but it didn't exactly show through the caked on soil, and a lot dehydrated despite the clean-ish lines on her face showing she'd gone ham on water as soon as possible.

In short, she looked like shit like the rest of them, and just as out of it as one would expect. ]

That's not Niko's Crobat.

[ For what it was worth, it sounded like the same thing as asking 'have you seen Niko?' in her head. ]

[h2no]

No. This is the one that tries to mentor Niko's Crobat, to varying degrees of success...

[archie hums, leaning back.]

Niko's around, 'fore you ask. Not sure where. Equally likely to be in the middle of the crowd for attention or holed up somewhere. I left him to it when I made sure he was doin' okay. Don't wanna force anythin' after the week we've had.

[he tilts his head at her.]

You wanna sit for a moment? [looks like she hasn't sat in days.] I can let Niko know you're here.

[by_candlelight]

[ There's a bit of a pause, then she nods. She takes a seat on the edge of the fountain, and looks up to Archie. ] If I start looking like I'm going to fall, let me know. I'm just tired. [ The way she talked it was like she had just finished a day of school or something and needed a nap, rather than the reality of the situation, which was that she was exhausted to hell and back. ]

Tell Niko. [ That she's here, not that she's tired. Obviously. ]

later on

[storyseeker]

[Elena spent a lot of time during all this mess trying not to die. She'd volunteered her powers because it had been pretty clear that they either did what it took to summon those weird sisters or faced a potential end of the world, but her abilities aren't really suited for combat. So she'd dodged it and hidden and stayed alive, and that meant she hadn't had a lot of time to check on her friends.

So she comes up beside Archie and tosses her arms around him in a hug without preamble.]

I'm glad you're okay.

CUTE!!!

[h2no]

[archie makes quite the undignified response when elena catches him. he slings one arm around her back and pats her hand with his free one.]

Aye, that goes both ways. [so many imports had been called to action... he has no idea if this whole thing racked up a body count. he doesn't doubt it. he just hopes the porter still works to bring them back.] You and Nate get out okay?

who's slow? I'm slow

[storyseeker]

[Undignified is fine. That just means it was a successful hug, in her opinion. She squeezes him for a moment more before letting go.]

Yeah. I mean, the whole thing scared the shit out of me, but we're both alive. If this is what being a superhero is, I'm not sure I want to go into it full time. How about you, feeling all right?

later on

[fursleuth]

Hey, chief, how's the cancelled apocalypse treatin' you?

[Pikachu looks... fancy. Like someone may have groomed him properly at some point, given how clean and extra fluffy he looks. There's even a plaid handkerchief around his neck to match his deerstalker, and by the look on his face this whole process might have been questionably consensual.]

[h2no]

[it's nice to see. archie controls his urge to pet pikachu and is silently pleased the poor guy doesn't look like he needs a revive shoved in his face. even if pikachu seems unsure...]

Oi, oi, Electric Boogaloo. Pretty good, I reckon. How many apocalypses can we say we've lived through, now? Seems to happen every other year back home.

[not that he knows, given the timeline difference, but he's been told.]

[fursleuth]

I can't even remember. Literally. I just know there were a lot of 'em. [He hops up onto the fountain and gives Sharpedo a "'sup" nod.] This one was definitely one for the books, though.

[golisolation]

[Guess who has brought trash for the trash monster!!!

If you guessed Guzma, you're dead fucking wrong. It's actually Golisopod, who currently has a HERO RISEN shirt stretched to the seams over his fat neck, his forearms sticking out from the sleeves. He has found himself a nice heap of trash (found is a little loose when in reality he just...destroyed a full public trash can and stole its contents BUT WHO IS REALLY KEEPING RECORD), with a bunch of different leftover bits of food too! So, naturally Golisopod wants to share, and does so by dropping the heap before the other Pokémon with an affirming grunt.

And then he just plops down on his ass and starts shoving some of the shit into his big maw. His trainer is not too far off, downing a red solo full of...probably beer? Who knows at this point. He's not exactly paying attention to Golisopod, neither.]

[h2no]

[golisopod! you're such a good friend; muk values your company almost as much as it did maxie's weezing. muk grumbles a thank you to golisopod, taking a handful of the trash for himself. conversationally between monching, muk asks golisopod how he and the rest of his team are doing in the light of such a stressful adventure. did they get a chance to show their mettle? muk and the rest of archie's team had quite a lot of fun destroying the spider robots! he does hope that guzma is safe, though he doesn't doubt for a moment golisopod and his friends were successful in keeping him so! they have such impressive defense!

while muk chatters away happily to his friend, archie doesn't notice guzma just yet. he's busy climbing into the fountain to sit with sharpedo entirely, not just danging his legs in.

no alcohol was involved.

he's just weird.]

[burlyboy]

[ One moment, Magnus was in Jeopardy, fighting off the swarms of creatures flooding the streets and meandering through all of the crap that came with it. The next? He was here. He wades his way through, more puzzled than overjoyed - is that it? Is that it? Is that all they needed to do? - unable to grasp onto a thought longer than a few moments to figure out what the hell he's supposed to do and who he has to check up on. Not everyone got out of there alive, right?

He's seen better days, looking for the world like a man out of his time in his armour and weapons clinking at his side, loping about like a wounded bear. He just needs to get his head on straight, and then he'll be fine. Dazed as he is, seeing Archie is enough to make him snap out of it briefly, at least for the deep sense of relief that one of his best friends is still here, and he's okay. ]

Archie! You're alive!

[ He grabs Archie's face and gives him a big ol' smackeroo, right on the lips. It's okay, he doesn't mean anything by it. Well, he does. He means his permanent, unending love, just not in that way.

It's okay. Archie understands. ]

[h2no]

[archie laughs loudly and happily when magnus grabs him-- he's feeling much the same about seeing magnus still here and upright. not knowing who might not come back until they don't is a pretty nervewracking wait! he wraps his arms around magnus and--

yeah, look. he understands. he doesn't expect anything and he's not upset by it. sometimes you just have to express in a very big way just how happy you are that your friend is alive and...

...






...god, magnus tastes awful. maybe this was a mistake.

archie pulls back and just hugs him instead.] Aye! Just about! Where are your robot arms, huh?

[burlyboy]

Fuck if I know. Left 'em in some alleyway somewhere, I dunno. They got heavy.

[ Magnus usually isn't the type to ditch his treasures, especially out of a self-admitted lack of strength, but these aren't normal times. It was a long week! He got tired! God, all of that fucking sucked. He's ready to go home and sleep for a week. Magnus hugs Archie back, squeezing him and just holding on, just for a second. He needs to hug someone. Who better than his best buddy Archie?

He should ask how Archie's doing. Instead he just groans. It's a vaguely satisfied sounding groan? Maybe tired? A little disgruntled? Relieved? It's fine. Magnus makes a lot of noises. This is just one of them. ]