Outside Portalocity, Sunday, October 10, 2021 [noonish]

[heroic_jawline]

Welcome, everyone heading to Boston this week! Hopefully you've packed your cutest sweaters and knee high boots because it's Han Solo weather where we're going if we have to mod the weather EVERY DAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Gather, chat, get ready for our Portalocity portal that will take us up the East Coast and hopefully involve no weird layovers!

[OOC: OCD free, trip post will be over in fh_trips momentarily!]

Comments

[white_oleander]

Did it seem a little counterintuitive, to be sitting on her suitcase with her sketchbook already out, just drawing everyone as they gathered for the trip before even starting it?

Maybe. But beginnings were just as interesting as things in trasition, things as they were happening, and it wasn't like Astrid was worried about running out of supplies. She tended to pack more sketchbooks than clothing for these things, anyway, and it was never a bad way to pass the time until they were ready to leave.

[alwaysonguard]

Dwight arrived probably a bit earlier than he needed to, duffle bag slung over his shoulder and a cup of coffee in his hand. Setting it down, he stood watching as others started arriving, getting an idea for the first time really exactly who all was coming on the trip.

[what_the_shock]

"Hey, Dwight." Miguel grinned. "Ready for your first portal?"

[alwaysonguard]

"As ready as I can be" Dwight said, hoping the nervousness wasn't carrying too much into his voice. It was just a trans-dimensional portal. No big deal right? This nothing compared to what all he had faced as a Ranger. This shouldn't be a big deal....

[what_the_shock]

"Relax," Miguel said. "You walk through a glowing hole in reality, you end up on the other side. There's barely any transition, unless we get a weird layover."

Very reassuring, Miguel.

[alwaysonguard]

Dwight gave Miguel a look for a moment then shook his head. "Right. It's the glowing hole in reality that I'm not too sure about. Just ready to get it over with."

[what_the_shock]

Miguel shrugged. "I've been doing it for years, and look at me."

That was possibly not reassuring.

[alwaysonguard]

"Yeah, easy peasy right?" Dwight said with a nod. "I mean, it's not like anyone has ever gotten lost midway through the portal jump right?"

Tell him he was right Miguel. Lie if you had to! XD

[what_the_shock]

Miguel thought about it. "Not that I know of."

Was that reassuring?

[special_rabbit]

Amaya had almost been on the wrong side of timing thanks to a few attempts to get a few things wrapped up before taking a whole week off (always a bit of a daunting situation once she finally was looking down the barrel of it), but she was able to pull herself out of the finishing touches of this and that to make it to the rendevous with....a surprising amount of time still left over, apparently! Either that, or the scheduling was just definitely taking into account those like herself who figured 'cutting it dangerously close' was just as good as the 'if you're not five minutes early' lot...

[stykera]

Stark had one bag for the week. He didn't own that many clothes and one bag was plenty. He fully expected to be carrying someone else's bags any moment though, based on the last trip. He was happy to do it. He was happy to be going somewhere again (though hopeful his room would have fewer people this time) even with the usual vague nervousness that accompanied going somewhere other than the island.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon had a checklist of everything to do, including what he needed to pack (clothes, his phone, a toothbrush), what he needed to do (post by his flat that he'd be out and where to call him in event of an emergency), and...well, that was pretty much it.

So he was ready and waiting, curious and a bit nervous about this whole portal thing.

[alwaysonguard]

Dwight saw Jon when he arrived and recognized that mix of curious nervousness. It probably mirrored his own fairly closely.

"Hey Jon, good to see you're coming along on the trip!" he said with slight grin and a wave.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon nodded and waved back. "Dwight. You're, um. I didn't think..." Wait, there were plus-ones, too. "It's good to see you."

[alwaysonguard]

Dwight had a pretty good idea what Jon had been about to say and he grinned. "I got hooked up by Amaya as he plus-one. You got anyone coming along with you?"

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Irene," Jon answered. He looked around. "She, uh, isn't here yet, I don't think. "She wanted to go, and I didn't have anybody, and she's nice."

[alwaysonguard]

"Ah yeah, I've done a little work for Irene. She's quite nice. Glad you both were able to make it." Dwight glanced around at the crowd that was forming. "Looks like we are going to have a pretty good group too."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Apparently?" Jon was trying not to worry too much about spending time with this many people he hadn't met before. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many group activities.

[alwaysonguard]

"It'll be a good time. Chance for us both to get to know people a bit better... This is my first school trip too so we can be the awkward first timers together."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Yes, I...I suppose so," Jon allowed.

Spoiler: He would not be going out of his way to meet new people.

[died8yearsago]

As someone who was used to packing light for business trips, Rosa, who was treating this as a business trip on the down-low, kept up the tradition with just a suitcase and a backpack, shooting off a few emails from her phone while they waited.

See, she was just a multitasker. Arrange for some business while on the school trip. Send emails from her phone while waiting to leave on said trip to avoid having to talk to anyone else waiting.

Perfect plans. Flawless. Yes, she was amazing, thank you for noticing.

[what_the_shock]

"You do know most people aren't working on vacation?" Miguel said. "Not that I would ever imply you're 'most people'."

[died8yearsago]

"I usually have to foot the travel costs for these kinds of jobs," Rosa pointed out, lifting her eyes from her phone just long enough to give Tightpants a look for stating the obvious. "This is completely a win-win situation."

She'd even chaperone one a few events and maybe even do vacation-y stuff with him a few times, if he wanted! She was that confident in her ability to make this balance work.

[what_the_shock]

"Anything actually interesting there?" he asked.

[died8yearsago]

"I've already got a rendevous with an informant planned for tonight," Rosa revealed to him (and hopefully only him), "if you want to come help me be inconspicious at a nice subtle hole-in-the-wall later at ten-oh-five sharp."

And with that, she finished up an email and slipped her phone into her pocket, because talking to Tightpants worked just as well as a guard from having to talk to other people as the phone, which was definitely one of the many benefits of keeping him around, of course.

[what_the_shock]

"Jeans and t-shirt inconspicuous, or hang out on a rooftop and watch from a distance inconspicuous?" Miguel asked.

[died8yearsago]

"The first one," said Rosa, with the suggestion of a smirk, "but if you were hoping for the second, don't let me stop you."

[what_the_shock]

"Jeans and t-shirt, then change into my outfit back in the room?" Miguel suggested with his own smirk.

[notagoose]

Goose didn’t own much in terms of possessions and basically only had his Galaxy Rangers uniforms, which were not designed for Boston weather but he didn’t know that.

So everything he needed for the trip fit into one duffel bag.