revivalproject | [Open] The Daring, Dashing, And Dating

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[Open] The Daring, Dashing, And Dating

WHO: Gladiolus, Noctis, Any Starduck Crew (or visitors), Open
WHERE: Starduck, Ul'Dah, Limsa Lominsa, Gold Saucer, Costa del Sol Dungeon
WHAT: Shipboard Times, Questions, Gladitorial Work, Dungeon Crawl, and Dating
WHEN: During Event, from June 17th - August 10th
WARNINGS: Violence/Injuries Possible in the Dungeon Crawl
NOTES: Unless otherwise noted, assume Gladio is dressed Like This on the planet

1A - A New Star | Starduck | [Crewmates Only]

Turned out that flying a ship in atmo and in space were not quite the same. Gladio may have had some practice at the former, but fuck, the latter wasn't easy. He grit his teeth as he focused on the whole thing. After a thought he flips a switch and speaks, hoping the PA system really does work.

"This is your Captain. Feel free to come on up to get a fucking view of a glowing hole in space. And some planet with it I guess. Anyone got any Ifrit-Damned clue what's going on here? Come up to the cockpit and explain shit."

1B - Captain With The Ship | Starduck | [OTA, visitors from other ships welcome to fly over]

No one could be on the planet all of the time. Okay, maybe they could, and go and spend their money on nice restaurants or plush inns, but not Gladio. No, he had other things he should be doing, and honestly, he felt safer bunking down on the Starduck. So in the evenings it was always a touch to a crystal and being whisked back onto his ship. Once there Gladio groaned and started to shed his gear right there in the hold. Simple enough to tuck it all back into his chest and then dress in his normal gear.

"Nice place, like to visit. Fuck I wouldn't wanna stay."

He wasn't used to people being that much larger and stronger than him. The Hrothgar were getting to him.

"Time to chill.

2 - King of the Ring | Ul'Dah Coliseum | [OTA]

They had him at 'battle monsters for a purse of money'. Gladio was a monster hunting machine back home, and he was more than happy to prove it here. Granted he wouldn't be able to change his weapons on the fly in the battle, but he still didn't mind. He's doing great.

It's easy to run into him here. Gladio's often in the back prep areas, stretching and doing warm up exercises, eyes sparkling with excitement. Any might approach him then as he warmed up for a nice round of monster fighting. Of course there was always the chance that someone might want to set up a nice little spot of one on one competition, may the winner take the spoils. All it would take is someone approaching him to start a conversation for that.

But a guy couldn't be fighting all the time. And after fights even Gladio found himself up in the stands, stretched out and catching his breath as he watched the action. Maybe he might not linger as long, but hey, it was nice to see who all was a good fighter, right?

3 - Stocking Up For Later | Limsa Lominsa Markets | [OTA]

It felt it had been so damn long since Gladio had been in a bustling port down, since he could see the sun on the water and in the sky and on the beach and not see ruins along with it all. It was... Fuck, it was one of the most beautiful things ever. And so he didn't mind coming back here time and time again. First he kept stopping in to check up on Noctis (fishing, predictably). Then he moved on to gather quests for the day, intending to head out to do what he could to build up gold, earn rumors, and go seeking the secrets the Agrii needed.

He spent a lot of time moving between shops to pick up potions and other supplies, and of course he popped in and out of other ones to look over weapons and armor. But in the end the thing that gave him the most pause was any time he caught sight of someone he recognized from Temba.

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted, waving. Better to let them know he was around, and swap intel. Had to know what was going on, right? They were all in this together.

4 - Old Hand At Dungeons | Costa del Sol Dungeon | [One Thread Tony & Jon, OTA one on one otherwise]

Seek Rats, huh? Well, if Gladio knew anything, rats and all that sorta shit were in underground caves. Sure, they were other places too, but who was he to judge? Besides, they probably meant secrets, and from Gladio's experience, some of the deepest and most important secrets of his own world were in fucking caves. Sure there were daemons there too, but they'd found answers to stop the will of Bahamut in caves like this.

So, once he'd heard the cave was a thing, that it was new, well, it seemed like a place to go searching. Gladio's earlier meeting with Tony had brought him to the decision of working with others for this, and once he was pretty sure they were sufficiently geared up, he'd boarded a boat, and gone with Tony to find the entrance to the cave.

"Alright," he said, eyes casting about to make sure there was no one around before using Tony and Jon as cover to summon his sword to his hand. Better safe than sorry. "Time to go in. Your job is to stay back and be my eyes, and solve any puzzles. Keep a mental map of where we're going. And if you feel confident fighting, join in. Just make sure you get back if I order you to, okay?"

He was the experienced on in this after all.

Of course Tony and Jon weren't the only ones he went in with either. Gladio was always happy to go through places extra times, because honestly it was easier to do a thing multiple times. And hey, he was making good money from hunting these monster parts. So he didn't mind clearing the beach while he waited for additional partners to go dungeoning with. In fact, he thought he had caught sight of someone right now. Gladio stood a little taller, leaning his giant sword against his shoulder, and he nodded.

"Yo. You looking to head in? Could use another set of hands."

5 - Charm Goes Arm In Arm | Gold Saucer | [Closed to Noctis]

It had taken a week and a half before Gladio had finished the plan. He'd told Noctis he had an idea, that he'd let the guy know when it was ready. Seeing as they shared a ship, he could keep Noctis appraised at night if Noctis came back to the ship to sleep. Six knew that Gladio sure slept on the ship, liking how safe and secure it felt. And the night before Gladio had asked Noctis to make sure to reserve the day for him.

All the time had been investing in building up the Gil for this. With a heavy pouch filled with the money he'd need for the planned evening, he had awoken, dressed in an outfit he'd gotten expressly for the day, and then he had awoken Noctis. Once he had his King up and moving he guided Noctis to the crystal, and then through it, dropping them in the entrance of the Gold Saucer.

"Alright," he said, smiling as he held his hand to Noctis, "today is for us. I've got a lot of ideas, and some set plans. But you're welcome to overrule stuff."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Of course there's more. You called them!" Jon manages to snap back just as Tony pulls him out of the bug's path. The narrow miss gets a quick curse from Jon and he follows Tony's suggestion.

He may not need to pull Tony towards the hole in the wall, but doing so at least gives him the feeling of doing something productive in all this chaos.

"Yeah, seriously Stark, that's all on you," Gladio agrees, less than pleased with the guy. Someone just ground Tony to the ships, okay?

With the two of them fleeing in there, Gladio follows up last, summoning the shield again to try and protect them as he backs down the hole. Dammit, this is bad.

"Times I wish I had an elemental flask. Shit. Someone lead... You know what, Jon, can YOU lead down the tunnel? Trust you to be more cautious."

The cacophony of the buzzing was immediately muted as Tony went skipping into the tunnel, half bent over and careening in Jon's hold, still dragging the skull of the beetle with him, the sound itself bouncing off of Gladio's shield like the bug that chased them in. He finally resisted the pull to encourage Jon back and get their bearings when it was obvious Gladio wasn't so easy for the creatures to push, and twisted his arm out of the hold to give Jon's shoulder an inquisitive touch, then turn the glow of his palm up to check for any damage to Jon's face.

With a heaving sigh for their quick escape, Tony took a guess at what could possibly be the most useful here in a flask, outside of a stiff drink, and said, "On Earth, we call that a Molotov cocktail, and all you had to do was ask." He had another bracer with his reactive charge in it, after all, and moved to pry it open this time with the horn he had acquired.

Jon is a little more reluctant to stop just yet, but complies anyway, casting an inquisitive look up at Tony first before checking on Gladio as well. Tony's concern is met with a quick pat to his upper arm and a nod. He's okay. He'll be fine.

While Tony works on opening up part of his armor, Jon acknowledges Gladio's request with a less private nod than the one he has directed at Tony. "Are they following us?" He asks before moving on, though. He knows that any regular disturbed beetle would be more inclined to flee than attack, but by now he's aware enough that his knowledge and expectations regarding the local fauna doesn't necessarily adhere to Earth standards.

"You'll have to tell me about these Molotov cocktails. But I'd prefer an ice flask against insects."

He found it often quite effective. The cold could seal up the passage a bit, and bugs did not get on with the cold. But that doesn't matter. Wanting for something they can't get doesn't matter.

He keeps bracing himself as Tony works, his attention on Jon's question.

"They're bouncing off the shield. If you've got an answer, Stark, I'd appreciate it. And Jon, you see any sign that this goes anywhere?"

"An elegant solution to a dirty problem," Tony muttered in response, sensing Jon as he moved to lead them more than actually watching as he finished prying his battery out. He let Gladio know he was ready with his answer by stopping again, and rocking up on his toes to wrap an arm around Gladio's neck to coax him down and the shield a fraction lower, giving Tony the room to chuck the tube over it and into the swarm at the mouth of the cave. It gave a roar as it greedily inhaled the oxygen, a tight, hot blue ball until it crashed against the rocks and burst into a wall of fire. "I don't do ice," Tony said then, as though that wasn't obvious, "More of a fire guy." His glove threw sparks that spit up little flames as he flicked the rest of the solution off of it and onto the cavern walls, flickering wildly with the wind that rushed by them that his hot wall sucked down the tunnel. There was Jon's sign, anyway; there was at least another way out of here.

"I do." Jon replies simply, keeping his eyes directed forward while also holding them closed while trying to hold back a flinch at the detonation on the other side of the shield. He knows exactly what's happening behind him while he borrows what eyes are around them to get a better idea of the tunnel they are heading down - And the cavern awaiting at its end.

Tony's little creation eradicates quite a few of the eyes Jon can look out of, but there are more. So many more...

If they keep walking, they will emerge from the tunnel just behind the structure they have seen from above. And there, they are going to encounter more bugs. Bigger ones from what Jon can gauge by what he sees. "There's more at the end of this tunnel." Is the information he passes on.

Well that was a fucking show. Way to go Tony. Pretty damn cool. Well, hot, but still.

"More what?" Jon asked, truly clueless as to what Jon could do. Still, with the blast done and the things behind them mostly addressed, he feels safe enough to keep progressing.

It wasn't clear if Jon was just making an educated guess or was using his greater senses, but he was easier for Tony to read than a dark tunnel so Tony could answer for the hunched, attentive tension in him, "More reasons for you to flex." He threw a coquettish smile over his shoulder as they moved forward, and downward, drawing Tony's attention back thoughtfully to his feet. Down was probably good, that was toward that strange building, but he had a concern that had been nagging at him and grew with the slope; "Is there, you know, a limit to the range of this magic that Noctis does for you, or is it more of a transcends time and space soulmate thing?"

Jon nods in agreement of Tony's interpretation. "More bugs." More things to use that huge blade on.

Their little group is approaching the end of the tunnel and Jon's steps slow down. "They aren't guarding. They are just sitting down here." And yet, judging by the behavior of the other bugs, they aren't unlikely to act aggressive.

Turning to actually look between Tony and Gladio, Jon casts both a frown. "So how do we proceed?"

"Just dating, not soulmates. And I don't know that he has any elemental flasks for me to summon and use," Gladio answered with a shrug.

Granted, so long as the King lived, Gladio's bond to him did and thus he could call his weapons. But that was all the advantage they were going to get now. The news that they were not out of hot water yet made Gladio sigh, and the sword was summoned into his hand as well. He didn't like this at all.

"Could we try sneaking? I mean, if Tony doesn't decide to make it a party again."

The nonchalance of Gladio's answer made it difficult for Tony to parse, blinking at Gladio's shrug and trying to determine if this casual framing of his relationship with his magical pocket meant they did have some limits to worry about. He didn't seem worried about them himself, at least. Tangled like this in the conflict between the nature of Gladio and Noctis' relationship, and what it did for Gladio, Tony was slow to answer, probably to everyone's benefit, making step back against the wall with more deference to the blade than he had shown yet and only distantly playing in a tone so prim it leaned on Jon's accent, "The party do start when I walk in, in can't be helped."

Maybe it wasn't the best time, trying to be sneaky and let Gladio focus and all, and Tony did seem to realize that the way he let his gaze slide to Jon with his eyebrows raised as he let Gladio by, but he still asked, "What happens when you start dating someone else?"

"Sneaking here would mean something other than remaining unseen. These creatures barely rely on their eyesight." Jon begins to answer Gladio's inquiry when Tony's train of questions brings a small frown to his face. Really? This hardly is the right time, situation or place to start flirting. At least Jon is rather certain that's what's happening here. Yes, he could get himself some clarity by simply looking into Tony's head, but... He resists. If barely.

Just as he is resisting to interrupt that little interview, but he certainly observes.

Really Tony?

"Being romantically tied to Noctis is new. Month and a half. It's not related to this power, which I've had for decades now. Besides, I'm not going to date someone else."

He'd been bonded to the Prince's magic when Noctis was only a child, and since then he'd had access to the power of the crystal in some small way. So long as Noctis lived (and not even this Noctis, but the one in his home world), he would be able to call forth his weapons. Probably.

Still, the news that the creatures weren't about eye sight made Gladio sigh. He was sneaky for a big man, but the armor Tony was in wasn't going to help them at all on being quiet.

Now, with the question (hopefully) done and useless, he looks to Jon. At least this guy seemed to plan. Hopefully they could move past their earlier tension and try and figure out how to solve this. Or at least come up with a plan to last them until Tony ruined it.

"You look light on your feet. Any chance you can slip out of here and find a safe place to get some cover? Tony's probably hopeless, so I'll have to watch over his noisy ass."

Why were they both looking at him like that? Okay, it was a little late to wonder about it, but Tony hadn't entered into this situation knowing that a) Gladio's capabilities depended on someone else entirely and b) the nature of that relationship was actively, as they stood splattered in bug-guts, undergoing a development. It was a little relevant. It was possibly less relevant that they were a couple of months in, after apparently some magical lifelong bond, and Gladio was still at 'dating', but between both of their stares Tony was reduced to muttering, "I've been dating wrong, incredible."

Getting Tony to dutifully follow along was already a tenuous win for Gladio two seconds ago, so letting Tony know that he thought he needed babysitting and also that Jon should just go out there alone was a losing gamble. "You just make a lot of noise somewhere else," he cut in impatiently, already tugging at his gauntlet again, basically just heavy and hot now without the battery anyway. They could do their dumb 'plan', but Tony was pushing past them again while they wasted time on it, metal in his hand ready to throw down the cavern and make a racket on its long way down.

Unsure if he should feel hurt about that first comment or not, Jon's face fell for a moment. But not long enough to allow Tony to stomp off again as Jon takes hold of the man's arm with a firm, yet pleading: "Tony!"

There is the flash of an image being passed to Tony's mind: The cave beyond, twitching feelers, shifting legs.

Jon's grip tightens. "We all came in here together for a reason. Now let's work together to make sure we all get out of this unhurt. Including you!" He exhales. "I don't want to see you get hurt, Tony. So- Let me show you what I see in there." A quick glance over to Gladio. "Both of you." Because they all should know what they are walking in to.

Shiva's tits this man was impossible. And, what's more, he's offended on Jon's behalf. How could someone say that in front of their boyfriend? How could someone think that about someone he loved? Wow, he just wanted to punch this guy so much right now.

"I'm not sure how you're going to show it, but if you believe you can, I've got faith in you," Gladio said, stepping forward to Jon. "But I still want to see if we can keep you out of sight. If I could, it would be both of you. But Tony looks like he's got armor that will hold up to a little more."

And he doesn't think tossing a gauntlet aside will be enough.

The touch was enough to slow Tony down, a creak of leather and metal betraying his frustration that anything could slow him down as he tensed, but the tone of Jon's voice effectively had him releasing the throttle. The tension had just eased out of his hands, and he widened his eyes at Jon inquisitively and with his own plea, let's go, I can do this, only for his fists to clench tight again with a sharp gasp at this...intrusive thought. He almost jerked away but for Jon's tightening hold, and didn't relax again, looking forward toward the dark cavern with only a cautious, sidelong glance Jon's way, and a slight angle of his ear toward Gladio; he was listening, he wasn't arguing.

The tension in Tony recedes only to return a moment later, but Jon doesn’t let go. Instead, his look turns apologetic before he casts a quick glance between both men.

“It’s- A lot. You will want to brace yourself.” He takes a deep breath and focuses, picking the most informative angles to pass on as soft static begins to crackle in the air around them.

The first images that are transmitted directly to the other men’s heads are of the tunnel exit. Different angles, at least two showing part of Tony’s arm. But much more notable are the clusters of large bugs covering the wall and floor, shifting and moving and every once in a while some of them flew elsewhere. A few different images of different parts of the cave, almost every corner filled with crawling and flitting insects. The final set of images shows a particularly large creature, swarmed by the smaller ones.

“Seven-hundred-eighty-two. Not counting the queen.” Jon adds some numbers to the visuals. “I… I can disable about half of them. But we need to get rid of the queen.”

Edited (Mobile tagging without proof reading is great!) 2022-08-24 07:07 (UTC)

Brace himself. Yeah, he can do it. It can't be that bad right?

Wrong. He wasn't Noctis, or Ignis, to have had this sort of mental intrusion before. And holy fuck, just having that much input is more than he knows how to handle at first. It's... a lot.

"W-what does disable mean here?" he asks, breathing a little harder to try and get himself centered again. He thinks he can handle the queen, but he will need a plan. They need a plan. He can't do this alone.

Even being treated to the preview didn't properly prepare Tony for how much he did not like this experience, the static alone raising goosebumps along his skin despite the heat of the armour, and the hint of himself in what he could see making him step cautiously back and cover Jon's hand on his arm with his own. Why did it have to be bugs?

"It means, don't worry about them," he cut in before Gladio had any more probing questions about what exactly Jon could do or why, preferring the version of this where Gladio continued to be overly cautious in defence of Jon to the one where he started to be suspicious. "Four hundred cockroaches, that's nothing," he continued, like his hand didn't tighten just to admit they were very cockroach-like. "I'm hopeless and noisy, I'll bait them."

"What he says." Jon says, nodding in Tony's direction. "The way the minds of these creatures work I can't just smite them. But I can separate them from their hive and change their priorities. Reprogram them, in a way. They won't attack, but they will still be very much in the way." Which maybe can be abused to deal with the ones that are still willing to attack. And maybe removing a chunk of this hive will cause a certain degree of confusion in the rest.

Jon doesn't act right away, however, casting a concerned, yet stern look between both Tony and Gladio. "Can we all promise that we will avoid anything reckless and do our best to come out of this in one piece?"

This had something to do with what Gladio had seen in Calibrations. He knew it. He just didn't think he could find the answer, or that he should.

As for avoiding reckless, Gladio smiles.

"I wanna get back to see Noctis, I've got a date planned. Our first. Trust me, I wanna make it back. But, in the end, I'm a bodyguard. I'll take blows to make sure you two make it back. Now, here's the important question. Tony, you got any more of those explosive things?"

What Jon could do sounded more useful than potentially aggravating them with a bunch of dead bodies, and Tony nodded to acknowledge the caution, short and sharp still with impatience that they were still talking about this. Both of them were smiling at Jon then for his stern request, though, Tony's slanted and arch while Gladio seemed to be all unaffected. "Some of us come in pieces," he muttered, and tipped a knuckle against Jon's chest before he went probing confidently into Jon's pocket even in this outfit for the lighter that he knew must have been there. "I can make anything explosive, never ask me that again, you're on thin ice," he answered, biting his tongue with a sidelong look for that dating-but-its-our-first-date mess. Tony really didn't know how he was supposed to interpret that now, he was even worse at dating than he thought.

Edited (their names do something to my brain) 2022-08-26 05:41 (UTC)

Unfortunately, even the lighter had to stay back on the ship, but Jon well understands the gesture. Just as he understands that Tony's words are his way of avoiding having to promise being careful, which gets him a scowl.

"This piece of you demands a date when we're out of here." Jon remarks and walks over to the exit of their tunnel, his posture straight and steps confident as the air around him begins to crackle with slight static. "Ceaseless Watcher." His voice intones as he steps out of the tunnel and into the cavern itself, words heavy, echoing and layered as the static and crackling audibly rises along with Jon's voice.

"See these empty husks. These mindless creatures devoid of meaning and purpose. Make their eyes your own. Make them see for you. They are yours!" With those final words, the static splits the air and an eerie silence settles in. A silence in which one part of the bugs sits frozen in bewilderment and the other part slowly looks around, turning their attention to their brethren with what can only be considered sudden curiosity. Which at the very least should mean that Tony won't have to wrestle four hundred bugs after all as a chunk of these will have to wrestle their own kind.

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