[Open] Survival Skill: Level 10

[ziedrich_bearer]

WHO: Gladiolus Amicitia, You
WHERE: The Warrens
WHAT: Volcano Event Catch All
WHEN: August 10th to Event End
WARNINGS: N/A

I. Base Camp Set Up | Backdated to August 10th/11th

This? This was something Gladio was frustratingly used to. The end of the world, refugee efforts, trying to help people get settled in and make sure they're okay, it's all something he's unfortunately used to. That had been all that he'd been doing in Lestallum in the start, before Ignis had started them all on an alternate path.

It means that Gladio's really good at this stuff. Good at coming up to someone and carefully moving into take some of the weight of their things with one hand while his fingers pull at the air in that way that he would normally do for a potion. Except in his hand blue light and crystals formed into a bottle of water from the reserves he'd shoved into the Arminger in the past.

"Here," he says, his voice soft. "Take a drink while I hold this. You figured out where you're going to set up yet?"

II. Emotional Support Muscles

Once things are settled... Well, physical things can be settled without the mind and heart being so. Not that Gladio's really the best at knowing what to do to make all of that better. So, a few days in, he contrives something. It's probably silly, but hey, sometimes you need that edge of chuckles, right?

He gets some paper and a marker from someone (he'll have to repay them for this some day), grabs some string from the Lark lady, and writes out his little message. Puts it on a string, hangs it around his chest, and then sits himself down in a common walkway. Now to pass the time, which he does by pulling a book from the Arminger, one he's read several times already but that never stopped him, and got to reading, waiting to see if the sign was taken seriously.

Free Ear to Listen. Or Hugs. Always Free Hugs

III. Workout Through The Stress

When in doubt, lift it out. There was one way to deal with an overwhelming abundance of frustration and all of the other stuff. And for Gladio, there was this. And hey, he probably wasn't the only one that was dealing with things like this. Though he was probably the only one doing his work out completely shirtless with a variety of one handed push-ups, tons of sit ups, and of course squats and lunges.

Dude knows how to take care of his body.

"Hey," he says, between one push-up and the next, "wanna join? As ballast if nothing else?"

Comments

III

[playingtough]

After finally getting down to where they were supposed to live until whatever happened next... happened, Billy made a space for himself. It was away from people like he had originally intended with the plan to move to the cabin. He still doesn't understand why Harrington really wanted him to stay, but those were thoughts for when he was trying to sleep. Not now, not when he's found that guy that helped him and Tae out doing a variety of exercises.

Billy looks... interested. In the workout at least, but the tattoos get a good once-over. Suddenly his little smoking skull on his arm doesn't seem like much.

At least this explained why the guy was so ripped. "I remember you. Amubulance, when that doctor bit--... when that doctor was trying to fix me up."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Ah! The bitchy kid. Gladio looks at the kid before going into another push-up. Since he's shirtless it absolutely does a lot to show off the massive eagle tattoo that covered the better part of his back, his arms, and even disappeared onto his chest and below his pants.

Though none of this explains just why Gladio's ripped. There aren't even weights here. Oh well.

"Right. The kid with the mouth. Seems the blood transfusion helped."

Because yeah he remembered giving the kid blood.

[playingtough]

Look, he was in PAIN and on the verge of death - he was allowed to be a little bitchy. Eyes keep on Gladio was he continues doing push-ups. If asked what the hell he was doing, Billy could simply say he was admiring the tattoo.

"Yeah, it did." This would be the part where he thanks Gladio. Instead, he matches the older man's push-up form and starts to do them at the same pace. He wasn't as big or muscular like Ambulance, but what he had as a good base for growing them.

A little grunt as he gets into the motions. "Maybe someone should've brought a weight set."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Good news is Gladio is beyond used to being ogled. So he’s not really all that impacted or concerned by it now. Is what it is. He’s beautiful, he’s muscular, he’s prone to no shirts and has an insanely large piece of ink. People will always look.

But he does look pleased to see the kid get down and start with him. Not bad form either. Doesn’t even feel the need to correct it for the chance that the kid might hurt himself.

“Left it in the civics center. Some blue-skinned space warrior lady, bigger than me in just about every metric if you can believe it, left them when she went home. But the thing is, lives and food matter a lot more than weights.”

So they would do without. It’s a far more practical decision.

[playingtough]

Billy is also accustomed to it, but mostly by women. Gladio just gives him a look to strive for if he gets old enough in this world.

Either way, he keeps up with Gladio's pace, feeling a little more at home doing something like this. It wasn't his weights but it was something. Something to keep his mind off of being trapped down here. It's the bunker all over again with a new setting. There's a roll of his eyes.

"No shit. It's a joke. Obviously this is working out, isn't it?" Puns aside. Or maybe Billy shouldn't joke about a serious ordeal like this. "It's what I did at home. Lift weights I mean."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Dude, don’t need to aim for his look unless you’re going to have to handle weapons like his on the regular. And without throwing yourself off balance. He’s meant to be a wall, at the end of the day.

Hey! Don’t put the puns aside. Gladio loves puns. Of course, Billy doesn’t know that yet.

He smirks and shifts to doing one-handed push-ups. Not to challenge the kid, but because it’s where he is in his reps.

“Yeah, used to do that a lot in the training room. Weight training is important when you swing around a sword that weighs about as much as a middle schooler.”

[playingtough]

He does a few more pushups, looking at ease. And then Gladio switches up to a one-handed form. Of course Billy Hargrove takes this as a challenge and attempts to mimic it.

He gets about five before he has to get his other arm back down to balance out. "Fuck," he swears under his breath, but goes back to the original form.

A glance at Gladio. "The fuck do you need a sword for, Ambulance?"

II

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve's actually looking for Gladio when he finds him. It's been a few days and the bruise on his cheek is finally starting to fade out even if the emotions it brought up still burble away inside him. It's been a weird time, honestly, between everything with Billy, Eddie and he saying they loved each other, and Robin and he bonding both high and not. Gladio is a good person to bounce some of those thoughts and feelings off of. Also, Steve just generally wants to check in on him and make sure he's doing alright.

When he sees the sign, he smiles wide and chuckles.

"I heard Richie does group therapy with drinks. This probably is a lot more effective."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Gladio looks up from his book and grins. Steve. The kiddo with the weird ass shit going on back home. Enjoyer of that ramen they’d absolutely had after coming out of the Calibrations shit. It was good. And hey, he was glad to see him anyway.

“Known enough war vets with PTSD who found out the answers aren’t at the bottom of the bottle to see drinking as anything but recreational,” Gladio said quite honestly. “This and monster killing are a lot more effective in my experience.”

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve chuckles and nods his agreement before sitting down next to the bigger man. "Sort of wish there were some monsters to kill right about now. Small, easy ones at least."

No demogorgons but maybe like an imp or something from Eddie's game? Something easy to step on that could still be a solid distraction. That would be nice.

"How've you been doing? And Noctis', without fishing?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

Gladio clearly had different metrics for easy to step on. Imps in his world were speedy and troublesome daemons indeed.

"No such thing as easy monsters. When you look at them like then you don't take them serious and people get hurt. Battles are always serious."

Still, he has to smile at the question.

"I've been fine enough. Staying fit. Teaching some scamps like you. When you can't fight, getting fit is decent enough. Though it looks like you were in one a few days back."

He was good at gauging the age of wounds.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve nods. Yeah, Gladio is right about that. He should know.

At the mention of his cheek, Steve touches it with his fingertips and then gives a shrug. "Someone here is from home and we have... history."

He's been aching for some advice outside of the group of Hawkins folk. Steve pauses a moment and then in a softer voice, "Have you ever been beaten in a fight?" He can't imagine it.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Ah. Home and history. Ain't that always a thing. Gladio knew people he could refer to in such a way.

With that he pushes to his feet and tilts his head. This clearly wasn't a public conversation and he could get them somewhere else for it.

"No one who lives their life like I do can say they have won every fight they have been in. Just not possible. Anyone who can is either lying, has only been in one fight, or just hasn't fought at all."

III

[supercub]

Gladio was, quite obviously, not talking to tiny nine years old Daniel Dìaz. And yet:

"What the fuck is a ballast?" he groans.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Means weight. Sorta," he says, still doing his pushups. "Basically 'wanna sit on my back to make this harder'?"

[supercub]

"Sure! That sounds cool."

That's gotta look very badass. Though Daniel himself has an even cooler way of lifting weights.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Yeah, that's not going to help Gladio be a strong guy. He stops with his back all the way up, arms almost locked.

"Climb on then."

[supercub]

Daniel sits on his back with legs crossed.

"Is this okay?"

He weights like 30 kilograms at max.

[ziedrich_bearer]

"You're really light compared to the people I'm used to doing this," he says. But it's something. And something is better than nothing.

i

[tempredmental]

Keith shook his head at the question.

"Not yet," he said. He looked around. "I guess it doesn't really matter right away... we'll figure that out along the way." He looked around at the various tunnels and other things branching away from where they'd gathered.

"Looks like this place is pretty big, though."

Re: i

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Yeah it does," Gladio agrees. "Imagine you're going to need more space than most."

Because of his pet, and of course because of Lance. They'd need plenty of space to account for their needs.

"Want me to help you look?"

[tempredmental]

Pets. Plural. Keith and Lance had a veritable menagerie, it seemed. A cow, an otter, a wolf, a snow leopard... a fish...

And, yes... Lance himself. Five pets, two adults. A bigger cavern was probably a good idea.

"I'd appreciate that, actually," Keith said. "It'll be better to have someone with me. We don't know how maze-like this place is, yet." Granted, Keith had a really good sense of direction, and an excellent memory for things he's seen. He probably wouldn't really get super lost. But, it never hurt to have backup, someone else to bounce ideas off of and confirm things with in case he doubted himself.

[ziedrich_bearer]

At least the metal corridors left them with plenty of space to consider.

"Well, the good news is that I've got a great sense of direction. And a pencil."

It might not mark the metal walls well, but he would try.

[tempredmental]

Keith nodded.

"That's definitely a start."

In an effort to save things, though, Keith had actually brought some paper with him, too. He had notes on things he'd been through since arriving that first day in the fountain so long ago, and he'd felt the need to save that from turning into ash. Thankfully, the notebook (it was a kid's book for writing sheet music he'd gotten a long time ago... don't ask) was of a decent size to easily fit into the bag he'd managed to pack with survival basics during the evacuation process.

"I've got paper."

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Not sure we need paper for right now. Just mark the walls," Gladio says. He doesn't have time for full on mapping a the moment.