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(no subject)

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.

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[Gabriel flinches at the touch before whirling at her and - relaxing. He nods mutely.]

Jane. Yes, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. I was in the anomaly and I don't- I didn't expect us to win. Human beings did it.

[He saw things too and that's beside the point. His hands move, trying to decide what he wants to do with them, before he looks at her and manages a tone of shock and awe.]

...They did it. I've planned apocalypses for millennia. Human beings keep facing the end and they keep surviving. And what's more? They helped me. I helped them and we fought together and I-

[His features slide into mania and then back out again.]

...Are you okay?

Oh, me? Yes... yes, I'm quite well.

[She has a lot of questions, all of a sudden. Why was he there if he really didn't think that they could win? Why does he look like he's been put through the wringer not once but several times, and then pushed down the side of a cliff? Why does he sound very much like he's about to have some kind of emotional breakdown?

The last one is what concerns her the most at this moment in time. She slips her arm through his and squeezes his forearm very gently.]

Let's go and sit down somewhere. Does that sound all right?

...Yes.

[Gabriel leans into her and smiles weakly. When they find a spot to sit, somewhere near the festivities but also not too far away - he studies her before looking back at where the storm was.]

I've planned apocalypses for years. Everything has to have an end you know? But this...

I've only ever seen worlds born. This one. They tried to tear the world apart.

[Oh, he's a hard personality to pin down, but Jane thinks she's slowly getting the measure of what kind of a person Gabriel is. She isn't without religious knowledge, she knows how terrible the angels in the Bible could be and what they could do, and though she winces slightly when he talks of 'planning' an apocalypse she can't say she's entirely surprised by the fact.]

I've had to accept a lot of things since I've been here. [She says, sitting down beside him and smoothing the thick fabric of her skirt over her knees. The fabric of her scarf is pulled a little more snugly up around her ears.]

And the Greek Fates being world-destroying aliens of some kind truly is not the strangest. [Jane shoots a quick, gentle smile his way.]

It must be hard for you, Gabriel. Being here like this?

[The memory of their first encounter is very real in his mind and he does not want to - explain that his fervor went more then that. That said, to explain it is to explain about Aziraphale and how much Aziraphale truly pissed him off but Aziraphale had saved her life.

It was a dilemma. When she asks he nearly collapses.]

You have no idea I-

[There is a thought in his mind however and that thought is honesty. He's lied before. He's lied a lot to human beings but he is supposed to be an honest and good creature and this is a human who has been kind to him.

What was it that Marco had said? It's possible to hate someone and still love them? Did that apply to more then just mothers?

Something twists in his stomach and his chest. He had no illusions about this but he was alone here and

He liked humans when they were kind.

That split second realization made his eyes go wide. He liked them when they were helpful. He liked them when they were willing to fight and praising him and they had done that for years but he liked it and maybe...maybe that was a two way street.

like he should give something back.]

It's even harder because Aziraphale is here. He is...we have a lot of history and it's not good history. He makes me - extremely angry but we're not our dimension and it doesn't seem right to feud here. He and Crowley can take care of themselves.

[It's an involuntary motion when he lowers his head and mutters]

And do it better then I can.

Oh...

[And suddenly, she feels quite sorry for him. Like any good girl of her era, Jane has read the Bible, and although she had never really thought about angels as individuals... now that she has one in front of her she has to wonder if it's really a glorious kind of existence, or just...]

... Is it terribly lonely, to be an angel?

[A daring question, perhaps, but she blurts it out as the thought comes into her mind as if she can't help it. Aziraphale doesn't seem lonely, but Aziraphale has Crowley... and his 'people-skills' are clearly more well-developed.

But Gabriel... well...

She reaches out to touch his hand.]

Do you have friends?

[In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the thing about omnipotent power of any sort is - well. It creates co-dependency. Even to the most powerful of beings, by default even if they're not co-dependent and totally secure, there will always be a default sense of need. There has to be, that's at the root of all worship.

It's either that or pure sociopathy, and truth be told, God - in any sort of form - could go either way. Existence is callous and cruel, but it's also joyful and loving and...that sense of loving. Well.

Maybe Gabriel was addicted to that. Being loved and being needed.]

Oh no.

[But it is not the same sort of connection he's observed here.]

I mean I'm always aware of her. That's never lonely-

[His eyes go glassy at that before her hand touches his and he stares blankly - features very confused before he looks at her.]

...Yes? I mean-

[His hand withdraws.] I do. But it's not enough for Crowley and Aziraphale and apparently it's not enough for humans either. Almost all of you have these deep complex ways of looking at it when in reality it's...just...two bodies with the same number of particles and living or dead you're all the same but...

[He glares at her, angry, because how dare she make him feel things.

How dare all of them do that and then prove themselves decent...

He lowers his head and looks away.]

I want to care. And that's not fair.

[She shrinks, just a little, under that fiery look he gives her. But a moment later he's looking away and he's saying he wants to care, and... he's a very complicated person.]

You know, you can be lonely without being alone.

[Jane pulls her hand back into her lap when he moves his, clasping her hands together.]

But why isn't it fair? It's good to care about things.

Because ....Because now I want people to succeed. I want human beings to...to exist. To live.

[The noise he makes, ignoring her for a moment. It's one of sad confusion. The noise of an animal that's been locked out of a room. It dissolves into a real sob, a shaking shoulders sob before he stares at her - eyes red rimmed.

He breathes, three shaky breathes before he wipes his hands over his eyes.]

I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry I just-

It's just fucking confusing. I should have wanted the world to end but I want human beings to live. I want to see what comes next.

[He's a mess.] ...I'm not...I'm not that kind of being. I was made to be a soldier. To do her will and now that I - I care. I've never cared before. You were all so small but then you just...

I'm sorry. I just.

[he drops his head in hands and he shakes his head. Ignoring her.]

[Oh, now she's so confused... and-- distressed, why is he crying? Was she needling at wounds she didn't even know existed? It's been too easy to think that all angels would be just like Aziraphale, but Gabriel is different, and this hasn't been a simple transition, and... oh, dear.]

Gabriel-- oh, don't be upset... [She slides off her seat to crouch in front of him, keeping her balance with one hand braced very lightly against his knee. Men showing this kind of vulnerability isn't something she has often seen, but... this isn't a man, is it. This is an angel, and she has no idea what's normal for them.]

There, now... it's going to be alright.

[And maybe it's not what he'll expect now, but she puts both arms around his shoulders in a gentle embrace.]

It's alright.

[Gabriel freezes at the touch. It feels nice. He wants to lean into it and he has never felt like this before.

And it's so strange because there is a twinge of something he recognizes in the motion, in the emotion - her. It feels like her and he presses his lips together and-

And he hates it. There is nothing but her. There can never be anything but her. So he withdraws and pulls back heedless of her touch. Heedless of her. He stares at her, angry and furious before he reaches for her hands again. Like an addict.]

It's not because how can I care about all these things after what I've done? I'm not supposed to feel these things for you all. How can I do her will if I'm sad if you die?

Edited 2019-12-09 01:41 (UTC)

[He's working through something here... and that's fine. She lets him take her hands and rubs her thumbs across his knuckles, giving him a warm and reassuring smile.]

Sometimes... sometimes we have to do things that are difficult. We make a choice about what's right... or wrong... and we have to live with the consequences of those choices.

[Jane huffs out a soft breath and, without letting go of his hands, moves to sit next to him again.]

We've all been taken away from where we came from. You don't have to answer to anyone here, do you? [No... not if what Crowley and Aziraphale have said to her is right.]

So, I think you have some decisions to make for yourself. About the kind of person you want to be while you're here. I think... that you care a great deal. And I think that's a wonderful thing, even if it's a little frightening.

[I think you have some decisions to make for yourself. she says it like it's easy. This test is so confusing because if it's his punishment for what he did to Aziraphale...

It's cruel.

It's painfully cruel. It's the cruelest thing because all of these humans are saying nice things and he didn't know they could do that. And if they find out what he did to Aziraphale...

his mouth works and he wants to reach for her again.]

...What was that thing? That physical contact thing?

I just- I'm curious.

Ah? Oh, well, it's... [Oblivious to his internal turmoil, Jane places her hands palms up on her knees, an offer to let him take hold of them if he feels the need to. She isn't to know how much he wants to.]

You mean when I hugged you? It's something that some people do to be comforting, or to show affection.

[She smiles again, that same gently reassuring smile.]

How much do you really know about humans?

[he just stares]

...How you all work physically.

The mental stuff is new. How you all interact with the world. That's new. With each other beyond physical acts intended for your survival.

[It's said so nonchalantly. He stares intently at her hands before tentatively reaching fingers for them and then withdrawing.]

Hmmmn.

[She smiles again, though there's a faintly sympathetic edge to it. He talks about humans like they're some kind of science project, something he's only ever observed but never really tried to interact with. In Jane's opinion, he's missed out on a lot.

Is he trying to make up for it now because he wants to? Or is he just stumbling through because he has to?

Jane leaves her hands where they are.]

You mean to say, you've been around for thousands of years and never thought you might like to see what humans are like?

[He nods.]

Aziraphale was on guard. He knew Adam and Eve -

[he assumes. Maybe. That had been part of the motivation for sending him to experience human history.]

It made sense to send him. The rest of us, I mean yeah we do it but ...when you've known heaven why would you want to be anywhere else?

[It's a fact. Even if as he says it he's watching humans celebrating nearby and ignores her before they set off a sparkler. He jumps, leaning backward like a nervous cat but his gaze doesn't leave them.]

...Everyone's so happy.

Oh, I don't know... curiosity?

[She looks around quickly when the sparkler is set off, and places a hand lightly on Gabriel's arm as if to calm him.]

Of course everyone's happy. [Why would they not be? Is there really that much he doesn't understand..?]

We thought you were all dead.

[There is something he wants to do here. It's an instinct in his body and he reaches for her hand and squeezes her fingers. It's so warm.

It's nice.]

...When I tried to end my world, I was just doing it because it was business. It feels strange to have people celebrating it not ending. It's like I failed. And succeeded.

And I...regret.

...I just regret.

[He likes it. He wants more. His hands squeeze hers one last time before looking at her.]

Can we see more of the celebration? And look at the fireworks? They remind me of when the stars were born.

[Jane smiles brightly, nods, and gets to her feet.]

Come along, then.

[And she holds out her hand again. He can keep hold of it if he likes, while she shows him around everything.]

What do you want to go and see first?

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