It's 5 o'clock somewhere

[deal_me_in]

WHO: Everyone and Anyone
WHERE: The Deep End
WHAT: It's always a party at the bar
WHEN: All month
WARNINGS: I take no responsibility for whatever happens in any ensuing threads


Cayde had done his best to cover up the gaping hole in the adjacent corridor. Unfortunately that consists of a large tarp that's been strung up along what was left of the top of the wall like a makeshift curtain. It barely kept the chill out, but at least most of the cold stayed in the hallway.

Inside the bar...okay, it's not that much warmer. Hard to be when you've got one whole wall of glass with water on the other side of it. But the lamps are lit and the karaoke machine playlist has been programmed to play some mood-appropriate background music when not in actual use, which is most of the time, really.

As usual the bar's open for self-service if Cayde's not in and no one else wants to play the part of bartender. There is however someone more often than not watching the bar. Whether it violates health codes of any kinds or not, a hen struts along the bar counter or around the rest of the place at times. She doesn't seem to spook very easily. If she's on a barstool preening her beautiful red-brown feathers then don't you dare move her.

Comments

[fatedsacrifice]

"Huh." Noct replied thoughtfully. Of course it wouldn't do to have Carbuncle here because no one could see him but that was okay. But he wasn't sure he'd ever see him again anyhow, so he might as well just stay wherever he was.

"They must just be lucky then."

[doubled_speed]

"I don't know that they're lucky," Tommy answered. Because what if they leave and their pets linger? That's just cruel.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king considered. "There is that. But no one knows when they're going to go home so it's not as if it's their fault if that happens."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, that sounds about right. Tommy sighs.

"A lot of people seem to go home. Some of us have been here a while, but mostly, I hope everyone goes home."

[fatedsacrifice]

He shrugged. "Maybe some people don't have anything have anything to go back to." Sure he wasn't thinking of himself when he said it because he'd done what he'd promised.

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, that... Sounds bad. Tommy sighs and shakes his head.

"You've got nothing? Not even that big boyfriend of yours?"

[fatedsacrifice]

Noct shook his head with a small smile as he thought of Gladio. "I meant back home, and I wasn't referring to myself."

Big didn't accurately describe Gladio in Noct's eyes, but then again all of the adjectives he would use were affectionate ones anyway.

[doubled_speed]

Oh, well he guessed he understood that.

"Then who were you referring to?"

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis shook his head. "I'm not referring to anyone in particular. But some people here don't really have anything to go back to. And it's them that I feel bad for."

[doubled_speed]

Nothing to go back to? Tommy has everything to go back to. And this is all he has instead.

"Yeah, maybe they can make lives here and stay when we get the Agrii back here."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis nodded and took a drink after letting out a somber sigh. "The sooner we do that, the sooner those of us who want to leave can, hopefully." Even if there was a pang of regret. He had no future to grant to Gladio who had a bright one waiting for his courageous and noble heart.

[doubled_speed]

"Alright then," Tommy said, but he does give the guy a look.

"You think you're one of the ones that wants to stay?"

Dude was way too somber to go home he thinks.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head. "I'm not supposed to be here and neither is my shield even though he showed up. In the end I don't think either of us are going to get a vote whether to stay or go."

He looked at Tommy. "And I'm pretty sure it doesn't works like that."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, he doesn't think it's going to work lie that either.

"My brother and I didn't want to come here either."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis nodded and took a sip of his drink. "I'm not sure anyone came here willingly, but I hope those that want to stay get to. And those that want to go home, can go."

[doubled_speed]

"And which are you?"

Because TOmmy really is curious about who would even want to stay in what he thought was a rather reasonable hell hole. He thinks he's qualified to judge, having been in hell.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head. "I have to go back at some point, so it doesn't really matter if I want to stay or not." Gladio had his own king to look after so they were basically on borrowed time here. Gladio had a future, and Noctis wouldn't ever try to deny his shield of that. The king had done his duty and didn't have one, but that was how it had to happen.

[doubled_speed]

Does he? Well, that's fair.

"Alright then, well, we'll try and fix things up quickly."

That made sense, right?

[fatedsacrifice]

"As fast as we know how I guess." Noctis replied. "I don't even know how time works here. The last time I remember being kidnapped..time didn't change back home."

It didn't happen under Materia's banner, nor with the Hiso aliens, or dealing with Y'jhimei and Garuda and all of that.

[doubled_speed]

Time didn't change back home? Wait, this was something that had happened to Noctis before?

"What happened to you the last time?"

[fatedsacrifice]

He looked up at Tommy and smiled. "The last time I was in another world, I was taken to a strange place. There were two sides to a conflict and their world..well it seemed like it was dying and then there was this giant dragon destroying it. So in that case I was summoned to a goddess I never heard of and met a lot of people on both sides."

[doubled_speed]

"Wait, you got to fight a dragon?" Tommy asked with a grin. Because that is cool.

[fatedsacrifice]

He smiled at hearing Tommy's enthusiasm and nodded. "Ya, really mean nasty thing. It was huge too so it took a lot to fight the damn thing."

[doubled_speed]

"Holy shit that's so cool!" Tommy said, grinning at the guy. "Dragons are super rare where I'm from. Never even seen one!"

[fatedsacrifice]

There was a smile.

"They're rare where you're from?" Now Noctis knew about people being from different worlds, but this was a thing he hadn't considered. "We had dragons back home too, they were pretty big and really mean. Not sure they'd be called cool when they're trying to kill you."