I've never been to oovoo javer.

[wrathfulkhan]

Characters: Gene, Jackie, Miles, Aly, and yoooouuuu!
Date: Februrururururuary
Location: Throughout Aifaran
Situation: So, this is new.
Warnings/Rating: Will be added as necessary! Also, stupidity, probably.

A. [Gene] | throughout Aifaran | early February | open
Adjusting back to somewhere he's not actively being hunted is harder than Gene would like to admit. Almost the exact length of time spent in Aifaran as he'd spent at home, and he's still looking over his shoulder and tensing at sudden noises. He'd gone back to face the music, after all, and SHIELD had come to collect.

God, but he hates this. He hates that so little time spent back there has made him so paranoid about a world that he'd called home, mere weeks ago, the only place he'd genuinely called home since he was a child. The Sentry actively trying to recruit him doesn't help, either. He'd been with the Police Department back in Keeliai, but law enforcement had hunted him back in his own world.

The viral attention he's gotten on Xa Xa with the few photos he's posted has been uncomfortable. But at the same time...it's nice to be recognized for something benign. Here, nobody cares who he is, what he's done. Maybe he can start acting like it.

(Maybe some fun selfies with Tony and Pepper will help.)

And Kalliel is here, but he can't talk to the turtle he'd once protected, and that hurts, too. Sometimes he goes out and sits down on the shell, staring out at the sea.

I'm here.

Do you know that I'm here?

I didn't want to leave you.

I'm sorry.

B. [Jackie] | Aisling Tower | early February | open
Jackie's a little flummoxed by the invitation extended to him to visit the Aisling Tower, but he accepts. He'd chosen to stay, after all, and he'd had some experience with the Dreaming besides. Especially back in the days of Mali--

--he still can barely even think the name.
Still, he wants to be as helpful as he can. This place has given him everything. A second chance at life.


C. [Miles] | throughout Aifaran | throughout February | open
Journalism! Journalism with film! With cameras!!! Miles is so happy he could burst. Finally, finally, his niche is here. Time to get his ass a job!

And to walk around filming absolutely everything, so he is bound to trip over something and/or someone. And/or barrel into someone. It's a risk he must take. Ah, the price we pay for knowledge.

Additionally - later in the month - Miles is invited to a political event. And they want his Opinions on things. Even if they're blunt. 'Miles Upshur' may as well be a synonym for 'blunt', and his Opinions are probably not going to be welcome. Probably because they begin with 'eat the rich'.

D. [Aly] | throughout Aifaran | throughout February | Kaito
Crash.

"Oh, for--!" Aly bends down to pick up the glass she'd dropped, mumbling to herself about being an idiot. Then, the mark on her wrist glows and the glass pieces form back together.

"Uh. Uh!" She raises her voice. "Guys! I did a thing!"

E. [Aly] | throughout Aifaran | throughout February | open
"Look, I didn't do it!"

Aly is extremely huffy about this. She wouldn't dare destroy a spirit house! "I know how spirits are, okay! I wouldn't risk angering them!"

She takes a deep breath and looks at the offended kedan. "If you want...I can rebuild it for you. Or I can help. I dunno. That's...kinda what I do?" She rolls up her sleeve to show off the Restoration mark on her left wrist.

F. [Aly] | the Dreaming Bridge | February 2 | Devin
For once - for once - Aly is nervous. She'd admitted to wanting advice, from Devin of all people, and that stung, but, well...apparently he'd ended up in a situation that might await her, if things went wrong in the best way possible. And anyway, his advice would help. Doesn't mean she has to like it, though.

G. [Miles] | a cafe in Aifaran | February 1 | Pepper
Well, at least tea is the same, even if nothing else is.

Aifaran is more like New York than Keeliai had been, though smaller - a larger city than Keeliai, more bustling, filled with more people and more types of people. It's almost like being in a sci-fi movie. (Not like he doesn't practically already live in one, anyway.) Or that one show he can't remember the name of.

And at least Pepper is here - Pepper, who he'd menaced when the Red Mist had been in his system during the cultist attack, who'd talked him down, who understood. He'd made progress back home. He was pretty sure she'd be interested to hear about it.

H. [Jackie] | a restaurant in Aifaran | February 5 | Brigid
He's overjoyed to have her back. She's different, but still Brigid, and Jackie honestly hadn't thought he'd ever see her again. He'd braced himself for losing her. He'd accepted it. He'd lost Jiu Mei, and that had been his fault. He'd lost Brigid, too. But now she was back, and that was cause for celebration.

He'd found the one set of nice clothes he'd been able to take through his Dreaming stasis, and knocks on her door, grinning like a fool. She's back. She's really back.

Comments

C-journalism!!!!!!!!

[iseeall]

Guess who else was going around the city, taking pictures of absolutely everything?? It was Leo, with one of his bibiru along for the ride. Michella had gotten very good at balancing on his shoulder as he looked up and around for better pictures to take.

He was already happy that his photography was getting a large following on Xa Xa, which was absolutely going to help with finding a journalism job (he was already getting some freelance oppurtunities from the locals), but he wasn't expecting to run directly into someone else doing the exact same thing as him.

Leo got knocked back on his butt, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Miles Upshur in real life for the first time. Holy fuck, that thing is even more terrifying in real life!!

"Hey! Ah. Sorry, I guess I got distracted by my camera. But this is the first time we've met in person, isn't it?"

YE

[upshore]

Oops. Sometimes Miles being so single-minded was a bad thing, because it often meant he blocked out the world around him. In this case, he knocked someone over.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said, putting his camera down, and smiled a little ruefully when he saw who it was. "I guess I did, too. Leo, right? Here, let me help you up." He held out his hand. "Looks like you've got a passenger."

[iseeall]

"Ah, thanks." Said passenger had fallen off and was now squeaking unhappily on the ground, but when Leo rushed to scoop her up, she snuffled into his hand and seemed to be okay other than some mussed up fur. "Michella! Michella, I'm sorry about that. I need to get you a little bag!"

Don't mind him Miles, he was just going to pet the bibiru a bit before turning his face up towards his new friend companion. "This is one of my bibirus-I don't know if you've seen them."

He's. Taken a lot of pictures. "Oh, also, you said you were a journalist, right? Do you do photographs or more video type stuff?"

H.

[bostonhowler]

She'd had to go out and buy clothes, and they didn't really have anything in her style, but she'd managed. She has put her hair up as well. She'd despaired of ever seeing Jackie again, and after Rune had told her that he wouldn't marry her off.... well, seeing Jackie had been even more important.

Hearing the knock at the door, she practically bounces out of the bedroom and opens the door. "Hi." She says, a little breathlessly.

[jinzhong]

"Hi," he says, just as breathlessly, grinning at her like a lovestruck fool. (Which, to be fair, he was.)

"You look amazing," he says, and means it. It hadn't been any time at all for him, but he'd known she'd be gone. And he'd done a lot of pre-missing her in the meantime.

[bostonhowler]

It's good he's lovestruck, they can be ridiculous together.

She smiles at the compliment, color dusting her cheeks. "You look rather wonderful yourself, sir." She says, still standing in the doorway like an idiot.

"Shall we go?" She asks, slipping her fingers into his.

G

[lasergrenades]

Pepper had been happy that Miles was still around, and it seemed like the trip home had been mostly good for him. It doesn't entirely assuage her concerns about the Walrider, although she wasn't about to say anything over the network. She doesn't want that cloud of nanites to be the only thing she and Miles talk about, either, but it's probably a smart idea to see how things are going.

Meeting people for tea to discuss troublesome things has long since become a habit, and Pepper finds the cafe without too much trouble. "This seat taken?" she asks as she approaches, offering a broad smile and insisting on a hug.

[upshore]

To be fair, tea and hard discussions was a combination that Miles knew well. So when they'd agreed to meet for tea, something seemed weirdly normal in this brave new world.

"It's all yours," he says, standing up with a smile and returning the insisted-upon hug. "How're you doing?"

[lasergrenades]

"Pretty good! Getting used to the whole roommate thing, but I knew one of them from Keeliai and the other one - her name is Eve - is awesome."

Pepper settles comfortably across from him. "How about you?"

She sounds a shade more serious than a moment ago. He'd mentioned being in the hospital, which wasn't surprising but didn't evade being a subject of concern.

F

[annihilist]

Devin is not nervous, per se, but he's not entirely comfortable with being the type of person sought out for advice. Still, Aly has never struck him as someone who would reach out without good cause, particularly given what she knows of him. He's really not sure what he can offer her, but he supposes he'll find out.

The cafeteria is always open even when it's not serving a particular meal, and this might be one of those talks where a hot drink is in order. "The doctor is in," he announces dryly, settling across from Aly at a table. "How's your room?" She'd been trashing it last they spoke.

[wolfishflame]

When Devin shows up, Aly had been poking listlessly at a bowl of something pudding-like. It wasn't bad, but she didn't really have the stomach to eat much of anything.

"It's fine," she says, glancing at him. "I fixed it." She un-broke it, is what she means, but she's going to keep that under her hat a little while.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you here today," she says in a mock-evil overlord voice, but it falls flat, and she knows it. So to play that off, she just makes a face, and stirs the pudding.

C - That Political Event

[choseanidiot]

It's amazing (or depressing, who knows) how similar politics can be across worlds and while this isn't court, there's definitely... a similar feeling to the whole thing. A lot of self-important people with opinions they think are the Right Ones, and a handful few who are actually willing to work and want to do it well.

He's had more than a few ask him what he thinks, and whether they like his loudly insisting that everyone needs to be treated the same and had a right to food and shelter and that's the only thing a government should be for, no one had kicked him out for it yet. And while he wasn't, maybe that blunt, he'd heard something similar from someone else who didn't seem to be native. So when he gets a chance, Rokuta goes wandering through the neatly dressed crowd in search for--- there.

"You think they'll kick us out or let us stay until it's finished?" Shooting a quick grin at the man, Rokuta jumps up to perch on the edge of a nearby table, somehow managing not to knock over any of the glasses.

[upshore]

Miles, meanwhile, has been spending the evening decrying the evils of capitalism and its creation of a stratified society by its very nature. He's no political scientist, but he's seen enough of the world and enough evil done by large corporations - life-saving medical treatments, or water? pick one - that if someone's willing to listen to him, he is damn well going to speak.

"I'm surprised they haven't kicked me out yet," Miles says, looking at the guy perching on the table, "but honestly, not for lack of trying. This kind of event weirds me out."

B

[driverslicense]

Chase isn't headed to the Tower himself, but he does spot Jackie on the way.

"Where are you going?"

Call it curiosity. But more importantly, he figures he should know a little about his roommate.

[jinzhong]

"Huh?" He turns to see the guy. Oh, yeah, his roommate.

"There's this thing at the Aisling Tower. You know, that big academic-type place? They want some information about the Dreaming. I was here for a while, back when Tu Vishan was around, so I guess they want me to tell them some stuff I know." He shrugs.

"I don't think we ever got introduced right, I've been running around a lot. Name's Jackie."

E

[powertotearer]

Eiji hasn't been here long, but for some reason, the local religious sects like him. Or at the very least, they pray for him a lot.

He doesn't recognize any of the kedan arguing with Aly, but he does recognize the spirit houses and he runs over, bowing apologetically.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll help fix it!"

No, he didn't do anything. But if it gets Aly out of trouble, he'll gladly take the blame.

[wolfishflame]

Aly looks back at the guy running up, saying that he'll help fix it. If it gets the heat off her, she'll take it. "See? He'll help, it's fine. Really. He can, uh, supervise." She doesn't know this guy from Adam, but she's not one to turn down assistance in a time of crisis.

E

[watchmewhippersnapper]

"What's going on here?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Oldbag glanced back and forth between the kedan and the young woman. Eyes narrowing when she caught sight of the mark on her arm. Normally, she would have scoffed at the thought of someone willingly inking themselves...except she bore a similar mark of her own on the small of her back. Which had taken her far longer than she cared to admit to find, and had promptly pissed her off even more.

...anyways, long story short, she at least recognized the mark for what it was, though that didn't mean she automatically believed the girl's story.

[wolfishflame]

Oh, boy. At least now there was someone she could try and explain her side of the story to?

"I was minding my own business, right, when the spirit house just fell off and broke! I tried to catch it, but everyone ran outside to see and when they saw me with my hands all over the broken spirit house...it's not a good look."

To put it mildly. Caught red-handed...well, red-handed trying to fix something, which isn't usually her modus operandi.

D, early February

[no_light]

It just so happens to be that Kylo is passing by Aly and the kedan she has irritated, inwardly seething to see one of his least favorite people from Keeliai is here... only for her yell to make him stop and pay proper attention.

She can't... Rage seethes in him at this blatant display of new power from her, when he hasn't had a peep of anything yet.

"So you can destroy the things you break. That's useful for someone as destructive as you."

[wolfishflame]

Huh?

"Oh. Hi, Kyle. You're one to talk, really." Unfortunately for her, what he'd said hadn't really helped. (Probably his point.) "No, I only break my own things! I didn't do anything here!"

She glared back at Kylo in-between being yelled at. "Who pissed in your cheerios?"

C That political event

[spoilsfun]

You know who else got invited to that political event? Conan. He is sitting near Miles, silently judging the officials that thought inviting a kid , for all they knew, to an event like this was a good idea.

[upshore]

Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom, or something.

That might have been the rationale, and inviting Conan was certainly a better idea than inviting Miles had been, because he was explaining, in-depth, the evils of a society run by events just like this one.

"If this were more of a town hall sort of event, say, I would get it, but donation-based political events are far too open to the capacity for abuse by lobbying. And a society that has its politics shaped by the people with the deepest pockets isn't a free society at all."

Sheesh, Upshur, read the room.

A

[lasergrenades]

The situation back home has gotten a lot more present recently than when they were in Keeliai, fresh in all of their minds. Pepper's been inclined to just pick up where they left off and make a new life here in Aifaran, but she's also aware it's not that simple. Gene's reaction to her arrival, to Tony arriving later, and the way he's been on edge since they got here makes it even clearer that they have more work to do together.

She's been giving him space, but at the same time she's not inclined to leave him alone for too long, so she goes to join him outside the city one day. "We should make another beach party day," Pepper announces without preamble, settling beside him. "Build more sandcastles. Do you think people here know how to surf?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene's been trying, he really has. He wants to keep going on like things had been in Keeliai before everything happened and they'd gone home, but he knows that's impossible, and that it'd be irresponsible, too.

Things had changed. He'd accepted that they would when they'd left and never expected to return, but now that they had returned...now, he wasn't sure what to do.

"I don't know," he says, looking at her, utterly unsurprised. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Castians could."