revivalproject | [Open] Survival Skill: Level 10

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[Open] Survival Skill: Level 10

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?"

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Steve is pale as he listens to it. He shakes his head, horrified by some of the details he has to take in. Betrayal is a hard pill to swallow specifically. He nods that he understands but is quiet, letting Gladio keep talking.

"Niflheim, from what I learned later, wasn't exactly friendly to him. Ravus was seen as a traitor to his own people, licking the boots of his oppressors as he climbed up through the military. He was used for propaganda, and meanwhile was frequently harassed and probably abused. Ravus was definitely not the sort of guy to tell me honestly about that later."

IT was just hard anyway. To have Ravus, someone that should have been their ally, stand against him.

"He grew to hate Lucis. Blamed us for the fall of his country, for his mother's death. I think that, and the constant barrage of propaganda may have not helped with that. Plus the needing to behave to protect Luna. To give her freedom. In the end he actually climbed the ranks to being a highly placed military leader in Niflheim. Actually was apparently a major planning force on the attack that toppled the capital in Insomnia and killed the king. Killed my father, Noctis's too. Not directly, but he sure caused the chance for it to happen. We were out of the city at the time, set to meet Lunafreya. A political marriage and all of that."

Gladio sighs and shakes his head. Lunafreya was dead now, and so was Noctis. And both of them lost, breaking Ravus in Noctis's world probably.

Steve is quiet and heartbroken listening to all of this. Gladio always seems so strong and so unshakeable. With all of this in his history, it's nothing short of miraculous that he keeps going with a smile.

"Ravus... Shit. Do you hate him? For...God. Everything?"

"That isn't even the whole thing," Gladio points out. "People I love died, my home was destroyed, the city was in ruins. But Steve? I was raised to protect people. The chief guard of the Prince. And the first time I ever met Ravus in person since I was a child, he ambushed us. Put a blade to my throat and threatened my charge."

Noctis had been so ready to throw down. Gladio's fingers come up to his throat and touch where he had been hurt.

"He threw me into the side of our car so hard it almost dented, and I couldn't stand. My charge had to protect me, only to ultimately have the villain that puppeted all the suffering of our lives save us. We didn't understand until later. It..."

He sighs.

"I had every reason to hate Ravus with all of my soul. It got worse later, when we finally got to where we were going to meet with Ravus's sister. She was killed there, by said puppet master. Who nearly killed Noctis. And Ravus... I heard later Ravus was partially helping that attack too. Until my friend Ignis convinced him to work together ot protect Lunafreya. Which didn't matter. She died."

It all sounds horrible. Steve nods solemnly. So much death and so much pain. But Gladio said that he had every reason to hate Ravus. Not that he did hate him. But how could he not?

"So he helped at the end but that doesn't undo all the shit he did before, right? Did you forgive him for all of that? Killing so many people you loved?"

Oh Steve. Oh Steve you don't even know.

"He almost killed Noctis," Gladio says. "That day, when his sister died. In his grief and fury, he almost killed Noctis. And one of my best friends, Ignis. That's how angry and tainted by that anger it was. Yet when Ignis made a choice, risked himself to save everything..."

Fuck. Gladio rubs at his temples again. Remembers just what happened after. When Ignis had gone with Ardyn and Ravus had been so shocked that he'd just... waited there. Wasn't even arrested by the Imperials because Ardyn had left him behind.

"Ignis was kidnapped by said puppet master, and Ravus chose to help us. He leveraged what remained of his authority and got us an airship to chase after our friend to save him. If we hadn't done that, if Ravus hadn't done that, Ignis would have died. I saw Noctis holding Ignis in his arms, nearly dead, and Ravus... Stood back. Kept all the monsters off of us which was no small feat. Did it even though every time he used his magic he was more and more tainted by his illness."

And then Gladio had lost Noctis for ten years. To the crystal, to his burdens, to his responsibility.

"Afterward things got bad. Really bad. End of the world bad. And Ravus... He got us out of there. With a lot of supplies. Evacuated who he could. And then there was distance for a while, where Ignis was the only one to talk to Ravus, because we learned... some messed up shit about the gods and prophecy and fate back home. But Ravus? When challenged with the ability to help save my King and the world? He didn't back down. Even though we still snapped at him, fought with him. Fuck."

It was hard. He'd had such a hard time with it.

"I hated him so much. We fought a few times. Took listening to Ignis and others, learning just what shit Ravus had gone through. Took years of tense conversations and being forced to work together. To understand his suffering and his pain and his lashing out. He'd helped kill multiple gods to try and spare his sister's life from her responsibilities. Thought maybe if he could find a way to take the burden of fate onto himself, even if it killed him, it would save his sister. All of his anger, his violence, all the crimes I knew he was responsible for and hated him for, they had a reason. Did it excuse the crimes? No. But did I understand them?"

Yes. And that meant he understood more of the man, gave Ravus more of a chance to show he wouldn't be that man ever again. And so for ten years Ravus had been a noble and kind king and leader to his people, even as he grieved his failures. Even as he loathed himself.

"By the end of it, he was almost a confidant for me, for things I couldn't share with the others. Almost a friend. And just before I arrived here? Noct and I met him on the stairs up to the final battle. When I get home, he's going to be there, standing, and fighting, at my side. At all of our sides. Even though we have so many reasons to hate him."

So Gladio sighs, shaking his head. Ravus had killed so many. Hurt so many. Had the blood of the Astrals on his hands even. And yet many lives were saved thanks to him. The Noctis of Gladio's world would live thanks to him. Ignis would live thanks to him. Gladio wouldn't have withered away in self-loathing thanks to him.

"Whether you forgive someone or not, it's a personal thing. And more than that, it's not always something you choose. Sometimes it's a thing you grow into without even realizing it."

Steve's own issues seem so minor in comparison. So childish. He can't bring himself to get over what Billy did and the helplessness he made him feel. The pain it brought to the kids. To Max. The stories he heard not only of what happened to him but also what he then did to others.

But Ravus. That was so much more. Steve couldn't manage to get over a fight? It seemed stupid to even bring this to Gladio in the first place. And yet...nothing really changed from the beginning of the story to now about how Steve felt regarding Billy. Nothing.

"Billy...he..." Steve exhales. "He wasn't half as bad as Ravus. I should just let it go. You forgave someone who killed your fucking father and...Billy didn't kill anyone. Tried, maybe, but didn't. That should be easy to just forgive."

There's nothing minor about them, or childish. Just like Gladio said about the horrors of Steve's world. Experience is deeply personal and emotions are something that don't have to be earned.

"Hey," Gladio says, reaching out to touch the guy's shoulder. "Not saying that. Your feelings are legitimate, man. Your trauma and pain too. And he... He didn't directly kill my father. Just caused it."

Which isn't better. Gladio knows that. But shit. It's all complicated. Stupidly so.

"Forgiveness isn't always easy. Being worthy of forgiveness is harder. Ravus made himself worthy of it. He earned it."

Steve nods lightly, giving Gladio a bloodless smile. "I guess maybe that is what I am waiting for. I don't want to be a block to him...you know. Being better or whatever. But he's still pushing my buttons and I mean, he just punched me a few days ago. Let me know he beat Eddie up too and was just so smug about it..."

Steve groans.

"Wish this shit was easier."

Yeah, that probably explained the state that he had seen the kid in. Which was a whole thing. And while one might think that would make him rethink his choice to educate Hargrove, it wasn't. The guy needed discipline, and sometimes learning to fight gave that.

"Connections between people are always hard."

He reaches out to put a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"You've got no responsibility to the guy. None. But if you need help, you come and tell me, okay? And hey, if nothing else, I now know not to spring him on you."

"Spring him on me?" Steve isn't sure what that means but he's not overly bothered. Gladio is a safe person for him; he wouldn't worry even if he did bring Billy around. Dude could probably benchpress Billy into next year.

"I promise I'll come to you before I go get the nail bat. Mostly I am just gonna stay out of his way."

"I'm a combat instructor at times," Gladio says. "Don't want to put my students that might get too violent into the same class."

Because then he'd have to knock their heads together and that wasn't pleasant. Not for anyone. Not even for him. Because it would mean a failure of discipline, and Billy was clearly nowhere near ready for uninvited touches from an older and stronger man. Which... Worried Gladio in other ways.

"You better, or I'm never going to upgrade you to a proper mace," he says. Because Gladio would definitely do any needed grovelling to Tony to get this kid properly armed. The nails might help, but wood was wood and wood could break.

Steve's whole face brightens at that.

"A real mace? Seriously? That would be so fucking cool! The bat is awesome and all but a mace?" That is more than enough incentive to be good. Also enough to have Steve ignore the idea that Billy is a student of combat with Gladio. That can only end well, surely.

Damn, the kid is definitely excited for it and Gladio laughs.

"You better start kissing up to Stark, so he's going to be excited to help make something for you," Gladio says. "And a bad with nails in it is just a rudimentary mace."

So yeah, he'd happily work them down that path.

"Stark..." Steve doesn't think he's talked to the guy yet but he's heard the name. Maybe when they're stuck here he can start the sucking up process. Older adults usually like him; he's got that kind of face.

"Yeah. I can do that! And then mace lessons. Hell yeah. That'll be awesome."

Yeah, Tony might well like Steve more than he liked some other people. Time would tell. Time always told.

"Oh, we can start lessons before that. But first we have to work on other things. Which is basic stance and strength training.

Steve looks down at himself as though he could see his stance sitting here. "My stance? Like how I just...stand? I have to stand different to use the mace?"

He was in baseball, he knew that how you stood made a difference in the swing. That was why he used it the way he did against demogorgans. But that was a bat. Maybe the mace was gonna be a completely different balance of weight.

"This is awesome. I'm gonna be so fucking good at this crap by the time we're done."

"Exactly," Gladio says. "Hell, you have a number of stances while using it. How you stand affects how you hit and block. IT's just how combat is."

And most people failed to take that into account. But he laughs at Steve's enthusiasm.

"Then let's get started with your legs. You been on a run yet today?"

Steve frowns a little, looking around them as though he'll find what he's looking for. "Is there like... a track or something around here to run on?" He was never a runner, really, but it's not something he's opposed to. He had to do a few laps for all of his sports, after all.

"Down here? No clue. But I guess we can look into that, right? If nothing else, we can run around here too."

And Gladio actually proceeds to stand up and stretch. "I could use one, after all that emotional sharing stuff.

"Oh yeah. Need to go and get some of that emotion out," he says with a smile. Steve stands up too and starts leading the way out for them to find someplace to run. "Hopefully we find something more interesting than running in circles."

"Hopefully we do. And if not, well, we'll just have to make do."

Which reminds Gladio, he should check in to see if Billy was actually doing his exercises.

"Come on. And try to keep up."

Edited 2023-09-19 01:04 (UTC)

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[Open] Survival Skill: Level 10

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Scene?

Indeed