revivalproject | It's 5 o'clock somewhere

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.

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"Yeah, super rare. Like, I'm aware they exist, but I've never even seen one. And I've seen a lot of shit."

They were often great, powerful, and hidden. Tommy couldn't blame them

Noctis laughed a little. "You make it sound enthusiastic to meet up with one of them."

Sometimes that was the banter that the guys tried to do. Maybe it was their way of dealing with it.

Why not? Tommy doesn't know that it isn't?

"I mean, they're rare and powerful. How is that not cool?"

Noctis canted his head to the side and sighed.

"Ya I guess I can see that. They're rare and ancient and our lives are pretty much a blink of their eye probably."

"Yep. Then again, my life span is probably a blink of Billy's eye too."

Issues when your brother is a god.

That had Noctis take a double take. Sure he himself was deceased on Eos, but Tommy's statement had him pondering.

"What do you mean?"

Oh boy, that's a whole set of baggage that isn't even his. He offers a smile.

"My brother's a god-to-be."

"A god to be?" Noctis asked in a clearly confused tone, thinking of the Six back home.

"How does that even work?"

"Fuck if I understand it," Tommy answered with a shrug. His brother was fucking complex.

Noctis looked at Tommy almost sympathetically.

"That bad?"

"That complex," Tommy agrees. He doesn't even want to try and explain it. "Ask him sometime."

Noctis wasn't sure he should do such a thing. "And what am I in for if I ever do that?" Forewarned was forearmed and he wanted to know what he'd be getting into if possible.

"Stuff that doesn't make sense, if he even chooses to talk about it," Tommy admits with a shrug. "Time is... apparently echoy? It's weird. I wasn't there for that shit."

Wasn't there. That sounded something like the situation between him and Gladio. Each was from a different time. Well what Tommy was saying made sense then.

"Kinda like people can come in from different points in time."

"Yeah. When we first got here, at the start, I was only a few days after him. Now it's really worse."

So different.

The king sighed. He himself didn't have siblings, but his guys were the closest thing. Well, except one of them who didn't like him when they were kids.

And there was the tiniest smile as he recalled reading in a book a very long time ago that 'that was how the best romances started out.' He never believed it and wouldn't have, had fate not changed things.

"So how was this place when you first got here then?"

Well cliches in stories had to exist for some reason, right? Clearly it was just to torment Noctis with romance.

"Oh, I meant more the differences between Billy and I. But this place? Ruins. Completely. No good place to sleep, little power, no water. Fuck, I used to have to water the greenhouse with these big leaves I sewed into buckets."

Noctis isn't sure what to make of what Tommy's saying because it sucks compared to what they have now.

"Sounds like a huge pain in the ass. Glad to see some things have improved around here."

There was still a lot to be done or fixed, but in a small way it reminded him of home.

"We worked hard," Tommy said with a shrug. "Back when we thought it was possible to just actually have what the Agrii wanted work out."

Noctis shook his head and went back to his vegetable work. "I don't know, I tend to think they like having us here, as scary as a thought as that is."

Almost like those Hiso aliens.

"Of course they like that. It's work they don't have to do."

But he doesn't know that they could do it.

The king didn't say anything at first in response. But he then added something after a moment of more chopping.

"Not sure we can stop what they want us to. And if we can't, I'm guessing they're still going to keep us, unless we somehow disappear."

Like others had.

Huh, that's interesting to here.

"What if we can. What if we do? What if we stop these storms? What then? Do we get to go home? Seriously, what do you think?"

Noctis shrugged.

"I don't know that they'll send us home. I think they'll find a reason to keep us here." It wasn't as clear cut as it had been under Materia's banner. And even that had been somewhat murky for a while.

It had been clear with the little white Hiso aliens though.

And deep down, a selfish part of him wanted to stay here even if he knew he had to go home.

That's dark. But, well, Tommy has hope.

"If we stop the storms then maybe those of us with powers will be back up to their strongest form. If that happens, Billy can probably send us all home," Tommy points out. Maybe not all at once, but Tommy can protect his brother while Billy works on portals over time. And wouldn't that be a good thing for them to do?

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fatedsacrifice - 2023-05-20 05:30 (UTC) - Expand

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Wrap?

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