( 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

[punshots]

[ There's no denying the sunny look that shines on his face at Lance's invitation. It's been hard to find things to hope for, because as much as he's been projecting optimism to keep those around him afoot, it's...not been so easy to tell himself those very same reassurances.

This, however, gives him something to look forward. That at some point in the future, when this is all over - because it would be over, sometime, it had to be - the four of them could just...do what normal couples do. Go on a double date, go have fun in good company. It seems like such a far cry right now, but...they'll get there.

They'll get there. ]

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

[ They can have this. They can have this, even if they don't feel like they deserve it, because amazing people chose to be with them. They deserve better than this mess.

All of them do.

He take a deep breath, steeling himself. ]

You know...we haven't had a chance to talk much since the whole...Victarion thing.

[competing]

[ there is a split second in which all lance does is stare. almost deer-in-the-headlights, except this deer seems to have seen this car coming all along.

in the next, his lips twitch into something of a smile, the rest of his features easily following suit. it's there on the tip of his tongue — what are you talking about, man? we talk all the time! but it dies almost as quickly as it is summoned. he never speaks the lie, because he knows what prompto's talking about. has thought about it himself a couple of times, yet never acted on it.

his expression falls, and he looks down at the ground between their feet. ]

Yeah... I guess you're right.

[ one hand reaches up, idly rubbing at the back of his neck. ]

Sorry about that, man. I should've checked up on you sooner.

[punshots]

[ For a moment, Prompto doesn't say anything, instead just reading Lance's movements, registering just how similar the are to how he'd react if he were in the other boy's shoes. Even that smile, that almost leads into a warm deflection, gives Prompto pause, because he has to ask himself if he's being hypocritical in even trying to approach this when he's still so down on himself.

- But no. He's not only trying to lift Lance's spirits, to set him back on his feet. He's trying to do the same for himself, too. ]

Nah, it's not just you. That's on me, too.

[ He steps closer, nudging Lance's shoulder with his own. ]

I don't know about you, buuuuut I super needed some time after that. To get my head back on straight, and then all this stuff happened with the bomb and...well? It sucks really bad.

[ A sigh draws at the end of his words. Admitting even that much - the obvious - is difficult for him, but he pushes through, because how can he expect Lance to be honest about how he feels if Prompto doesn't do the same?

So there's no sugar coating it. There's no lighthearted joke that chases his words. It's just laid bare as it is - it sucks. ]

Sometimes? Things just really, really, suck. Hard.

[ Eloquent! But there's absolute emotion behind his words, his voice a little tighter. ]

[competing]

[ he is jostled by the nudge at his shoulder, but he hardly seems to even notice it. head ducking low, eyes still cast downward. lingering over the scuffs toes of his boots, along the handguard of his rifle. prompto's admission is a welcome one; though a part of him knew that situation with victarion hadn't been ideal for either of them, hearing it is much different than assuming it, and even if he would never wish such self-doubt and discouragement on anyone, let alone a good friend like prompto, it's comforting (in a strange way) to know that he is not alone in his feelings. ]

Yeah, [ he echoes quietly, voice thick around a knot in his throat. he tries to swallow around it, but it only seems to grow larger in protest. he hesitates for only just a moment, but in the end he's never been one to really keep things to himself anyway. ]

I don't know if I'm cut out for this. [ "this" he punctuates with a vague gesture at everything. the rifle, the insignia no longer pinned to his chest. ] Back home, I was a paladin of Voltron. A defender of the universe. But back home, I kind of had to be. There wasn't really anyone else around. But here...

[ here, there's so many of them with different abilities, different skills and gifts. even among his friends, he'd always been the average one. compared to everyone else here, why should he even bother? ]

The people here should be protected by someone who can actually do it, right?

[punshots]

[ Prompto doesn't make any other move to draw Lance's attention back up off his boots - he's not sure how well he'd be able to look the other boy in the eye if he did. But he does stay next to him, shoulder to shoulder, that constant contact a reminder that he's here, that he gets it, and that he's not going to judge Lance for anything that comes out of his mouth right now. ]

Hang on. [ He lifts his hand, forming them into a T. ] You mean to tell me you were a defender of the universe, and you don't think you're cut out to guard a marketplace?

[ There's incredulity in his voice, but empathy, too, but this is also another thing that he understands all too well. ]

I...know how that goes. Back home, I...I was a member of the Crownsguard. Supposed to protect the King. Wasn't exactly an easy job, and I never felt like I was the best guy to do it, but...there's no way I would have done anything else.

[ It had been more than just the promise of a fun road trip with his closet friends that saw him making the choice to join Noctis when he'd been invited to, even if he never could have fully realized what that decision would entail when they left Insomnia. It had been his chance to...do something important, for once in his life. But here...no one asked him to join the guard. No one needed him to do it. It had just been the way he'd decided to carry on. ]

It's not the same, huh? It should be easy. I was fighting monsters ten times the size of me back there. But it's...not.

[ Three months. Three months they've been here, and he still feels displaced, still feels lost, still ambling with a purpose, without Noctis's side to stick by. ]

But...guys like you and me. We don't really know when to give up.

[competing]

[ it's comforting, having someone understand. it's the same in most ways, but not in all the ways that matter; defending the universe was easy compared to this. he had a team then, he had allura and coran and guidance. he was the team's sharpshooter, the pilot of the blue lion. he had a place, and, for the most part, he had a role.

here, he finds himself floundering. who is he here? what can he contribute to a group that already excels in everything else he can only ever hope to?

but prompto's right, too. giving up... it had never really been in his blood. even when he didn't make it into the fighter class at the garrison the first time, that didn't stop him from working harder, ensuring his place at the next available slot. he's been beaten down before, and each time he made sure to spring back up.

maybe all he needs now is to spring. ]

Maybe you're right...

[ he takes in a deep, steadying breath. ]

Maybe I just need to look at this from a different angle.

[punshots]

[ Prompto is quick to chase those words with a fervent nod, his unyielding faith in his friend clear in the intensity in his eyes. Lance may doubt himself, but Prompto does not doubt Lance. Maybe that's hypocritical - okay, it's definitely hypocritical. But for all the ways he can't believe in himself, he believes in his friend, in his ability to keep moving, to do something good, to help them turn this situation around. ]

Yeah, that's the ticket! Look at it like... [ It's waaaay too cliche to say "a learning opportunity".

So...how would he look at it differently? ]

Like...there's a lot of stuff this city needs right now. And protecting people...it doesn't just mean being the guy with the gun who tracks down the baddies and brings them to justice. Like - getting the merchants in the market back on their feet. By helping them out, you're being a hero to them.

[ And making people feel like they're cared about, that their problems are worthwhile, is so meaningful. It's something Noctis had known well, for every civilian he had picked up a task for. He didn't have to do those things - many weren't even wholly related to the destiny he had to fulfill. But he'd done them all the same, and really made a difference in so many lives because of it. ]

[competing]

[ as if in echo, lance finds himself nodding along as well, albeit slightly more subdued. ]

I don't think I'd be much help on the tracking front anyway, [ he admits, in a sort of matter-of-fact way. especially when he's feeling as low about his capabilities as he is now. after all, just because he's insecure, doesn't mean he can't be pragmatic about it at the same time.

that said, helping out the vendors? talking to people? that's stuff he can definitely do. especially since he feels personally responsible for it all. ]

But I can do the other stuff.

[ not to be a hero. but because it's the least he can do. ]

[punshots]

[ Prompto nods. There were already plenty of people out there chasing down the bad guys, and for all the time he'd spent hunting monsters back home, hunting down criminals is another thing entirely. It's better left to more capable people, and while he still wants to help as much as he can, there's plenty of other things that need to be done, too. ]

Then do that stuff. And when this whole mess is cleaned up and life is back to normal...I mean, normal as it can be around here, anyway...

[ He pats the stock of Lance's rifle. ]

Then we can decide if we're still good enough to be a part of the guard.

[ Yes, that's a "we". It's less of a I'll-do-what-you-do "we", and more of a I'm-just-as-shaken-up-about-this-as-you "we". Prompto and Lance both had a lot to think about, but...that all could wait. ]

Sound like a plan, Sam?

[competing]

[ he looks up, meeting prompto's eyes. there is a smile on his lips, small but sincere. gradually widening at the face of prompto's own understanding. he can feel his chest swell, his shoulders a little less heavy. like he can start to breathe a little more, a little easier.

later, when all this is said and done (because it will be, it has to be), later he will take the time to tell prompto just how much this means to him. how much he means to him. he knows he wouldn't have been able to get through this stuff without the other boy's empathy, that in itself a comfort all on its own.

but not right now. right now, they need to focus. for both their sakes, and their loved ones. ]

It's a deal, Neil.