( OPEN )

[competing]

Who: lance (competing) & anyone!
What: catch-all for the first part of the october event
When: oct 1 - 15
Where: around
Warning(s): none at the moment! will update if necessary

market district | day of attack

[ he was along the outskirts of the market district when the explosion occurs, sidelined in his usual patrol by an overenthusiastic child regaling lance with his exploits during playtime of the previous day. one second laughing to the young child's uncanny imitation of his nanny, and the next lurching forward reflexively, protectively, when suddenly the ground shuddered and screams erupted in the air. tehro is already crying from his confusion, rushing out of lance's hold to crash into his mother's, who stood terrified nearby, eyes turned towards the sky. lance's gaze soon follows, feeling dread pool at the sight of a thick cloud of an unnatural purple waft into the air. he takes a second to swallow down his fear, before shouting for everyone around him to vacate the premises as quickly and calmly as they can. (spoilers: they only manage to do one of these things.)

he runs the opposite way, pace slowed by the throng of people eager to escape. by the time he gets to the scene, all he sees is chaos. ( 1 ) he rushes towards the nearest person on the ground, reaching out to help them back onto their feet. ]

Hey — I got you, I got you, it's alright—

[ ( 2 ) if you are one of the able-bodied, he might try to flag you down with a shout. ]

Over here! [ he's in the process of trying to lift a wooden stall that had overturned on its vendor. given his noodle body, he could definitely use some help... ]

around | days after

[ the next couple of days are kind of a blur. ridden with guilt, burdened by his dwindling confidence, lance winds up throwing himself into doing as much as he can for the people who lost the most that day. at any time during the day, you can find him doing any number of the following:

( 3 ) pushing around a wooden street cart, its sign and his wares changing from day to day. one day he could be selling produce from a local farmer, another day he could be selling questionable, ah, toys from another local business person. some days he might be accompanied by an npc (the vendor's bored child along for the ride, their grandparent out to make sure lance is marketing right, etc), but every single time he'll be out there, running that motormouth of his dry, trying to get everybody, anybody to stop and consider a purchase.

( 4 ) getting chewed out by a local, far too upset to realize he has long since stopped saying anything, and instead just stands there with his head lowered, nodding mutely to their angry accusations. this is all your fault, where were you, you should have been there, you think you can try to make up for it now, etc... he stands and listens to it all without protest. ]

shooting range/training yard | days after

[ he's stopped wearing the royal guard insignia. he's still dressed in all-black, though, but only really because it had wound up encompassing most of his attire anyway, but he hasn't actually been back near the barracks or the yard in some time. hasn't felt right, in all honesty.

but today he wanders close to the training yard, which bustles now with activity. everyone working double-time to try and find the culprits, probably, doing just about everything lance isn't — can't — which explains why he keeps his head low, avoiding any eyes.

he's got his rifle in his hands, but he doesn't seem intent on training with it. rather, it looks like he's trying to subtly turn it back in... ]

cyoa/notes

( if none of these prompts work for you, please feel free to work something else out with me! you can reach me at ellipses, PM this journal, or my plotting comment!

also, please let me know if you'd like to know about the RUMOR that lance overhears, and i can work it into our thread somehow! c: )

Comments

[ruffboi]

Standing there? Or memorizing the scene to help track down the culprits?

[Okay, he gets why Lance is saying it's okay - it's easy to feel guilty if you were at the scene, especially if you were helpless to do anything. He'd feel the same; he'd want to let anyone angry berate him. But he doesn't really think it's okay in this instance.]

You got family who were in the attack, ma'am? If anyone's scared and needs someone to walk them to the Sanctuary, we're happy to help. Best treatment in town.

[competing]

[ once more, magnus' smooth-talking ways has got both woman and lance staring at him, one a little more dumbstruck than the other. ]

W-Well, I—

[ she doesn't look like she entirely knows how to respond. truthfully, he's thrown her off her groove since he arrived, so she struggles to regain her footing, her anger. ]

Are you a guard too?

[ruffboi]

Nah. I work for the Sanctuary. But sometimes, I help train the guards.

[Yeah, that's the plan. He doesn't want to yell at someone who's just upset, but sometimes being nice and helpful can help someone else realize they're directing their anger the wrong way.]

Like this guy! Right, Lance?

[competing]

[ little by little, lance watches the fire in the woman's eyes die out. she visible flutters, deflates, and sputters out a response without really looking at either of them. ]

If you're working for the Sanctuary, you're working on the cure, right? Then... Then you should get to it! Stop wasting time here, defending people like him.

[ and with that, she turns on a heel and hurries off, determined to get the last word, to hold onto an anger she was so desperate for.

lance watches her go with a conflicted expression. ]

Thanks, Magnus... but you didn't have to do that.

[ruffboi]

[Yeesh! He's not even a doctor, so joke's on her. But he shrugs off the uncomfortable confrontation.]

Yeah, I did. She's got a right to be mad about it, but that doesn't mean she's gotta be mad in your direction. Bet you're feeling rough about what happened already, right?

[competing]

[ lance's smile in response is strained. he shrugs, but the tension in his shoulders makes the action seem more stilted than natural. ]

That's alright. It was my responsibility.

[ruffboi]

Yeah. [I mean, he's not going to patronize by telling him it wasn't, or that other people shared that responsibility. He did sign up for the guard, after all.]

But you can't stop every bad thing from happening, you know? Sometimes it just goes bad.

[competing]

No, I guess not...

[ he sighs heavily, the motion drawing his shoulders down, making it seem like the weight of the world is on them. he reaches up, rubbing a hand over his eyes. ]

I just wish I could've... done something. Anything.

[ruffboi]

Yeah, I hear you. [Clapping a hand on his shoulder.]

But you can still do stuff, right? By tracking down the baddies and making sure they don't strike again.

[competing]

[ lance quiets at that, glancing down at the ground just in front of his feet. ]

Maybe...

[ he shrugs. ]

Or maybe we'd all be better off if I just stayed out of it.

[ruffboi]

Or maybe that attitude fucking sucks!

[He says it pretty confidently and cheerfully; Magnus is the type of person who can make a pretty insensitive pronouncement like he's just commenting on the weather.]

What's gotten into your head?

[competing]

[ after getting yelled at for the past ten minutes, he kind of expects that reaction, and only flinches a little. he still doesn't meet magnus in the eyes, but he does at least sound a little more convicted when he speaks again. ]

I messed up. And not just with the bomb, too, I. Someone died on my watch. And someone could have died here again.

The people here — they deserve to be protected by the best, and that's not me.

[ruffboi]

Aww, man.

[He's not trying to be harsh. He just thinks that attitude fucking sucks.]

I'm sorry that happened, that's rough. But listen, I'm one of the best, and plenty of people have died on my watch! Sometimes entire towns. If I gave up every time an entire town was destroyed and it was partially my fault, think of how many more towns I partially saved would've been destroyed.

[competing]

[ that's... vaguely comforting? sorta? ]

...Okay...

[ lance can see what he's trying to say, anyway, but he thinks maybe the packaging could use a little work. ]

But you've been doing this for years, haven't you? [ the heroing, adventuring business. ] I'm just a kid. [ just a boy from cuba. ] What do I know about any of this?

[ it's not like he's some kind of genius, or natural at any of this... sure, he was — is? — a paladin of voltron, but had that really been fate? or was it simply a matter of needing someone, and he just happened to be there? that role, he fell into it, didn't he? but here, in olympia, surrounded by so many other more capable people, does he really have any right pretending like he can even keep up? ]

[ruffboi]

Yeah, obviously. I wasn't so good at fighting and did some pretty dumb shit when I was younger. Uh. And when I was not so younger. Let's just say I've done a lot of really, really dumb shit.

[But he's getting off topic. Maybe if he wants to cheer Lance up he shouldn't spend half of his time establishing himself as a person no one should take advice from?]

You, you pay attention and think things through, you want to fight for the right reasons, and when someone thinks you fucked up, you listen. It took me a long time to learn all of that, to the extent I ever even learned it. You're gonna be okay. I'd take someone still learning who cares about getting it right over a champion fighter who doesn't any day.

[competing]

You really think so?

[ lance grows a little quiet at that, clearly mulling over magnus' words. processing, letting them absorb. indeed, he feels a faint flare of hope at the idea... that it's something he can still grow into. that it's okay if he's not quite there yet. that he has time.

slowly but surely, he's turning a smile back to the older man, small but genuine. ]

...Thanks, Magnus. [ he hopes the man is right. ] I'll keep trying, and I'll keep doing my best. Who knows? Maybe I can be the best of both.

[ruffboi]

Yeah, of course you can!

[But he's going to ruin this sweet moment by giving him a noogie.]

[competing]

[ nOT THE DREADED NOOGIE...

though, truthfully, despite the whining and fussing he makes in response, he has to admit he definitely misses this... his older siblings would do this to him all the time.

all the time. ]