livestudioaudience | R4 Viewing Party - no crying til the end (if you can help it)

[ It's bad enough that he's worried sick about Prompto.

And then...

Not unlike the trial episode, Noctis gets up and leaves the room. Between his best friend going to pieces and seeing Luna, radiant in her wedding gown, it's too goddamn much.

He goes to his ship and contemplates flying the fucking thing to the network headquarters. He won't do it, but it's so, so tempting. ]

[So all this stuff is happening today. And...well, who can be blamed for needing to distance yourself from it all? Breaks are totally things that are allowed from self-induced trauma replay.

So while you're out near your ship, Noct, there is a set of footfalls approaching you in the grass. They stop, about...a yard and a half away, before Jane clears her throat, just to not catch him totally off guard.]

...Hi.

[ He'd told himself he'd see it through, that he'd be there for everyone. Because he's far from the only one who's hurt now.

Noctis turns to her, and he just looks so tired. ]

... Hey, Jane.

[It's okay. She looks tired, too.]

...I feel like...I ought to thank you. In lieu of...certain people not being with us at the moment, for...

[She's skirting around saying "dead" or a certain soft boy's name in case that's going to make it worse, but...]

...For being so good. To Roxy.

[ ... oh.

Noctis actually manages a smile, and he lifts a shoulder in a shrug. ]

Hey... now that you mention it, I should be doing the same. [ He runs his fingers along the outside of the ship. ] ... Having a friend like Roxy, it'll help him a lot. Already is.

And she's pretty great, too. I see why she's your best friend.

[She'll just. Come a little closer to stand next to him, if that's cool, friend-in-law.]

...She was always like that. Always able to pick herself up and help us...I know she's really sad right now? But trust me, Jake and Dirk and I were an absolute mess. And...and I'm so proud of her. She isn't drinking, she's doing her best, she's reaching out to people...

[Jane knows it won't end well. But let her pretend, for a little while.]

I can definitely see why he's your best friend, though. He's...he is a good bean.

[ Totally cool, girl. ]

... She's really strong. [ Ah, drinking. Noctis assumes there's a huge story there but it's not the time. ] I can tell you're proud of her. Anyone would be, the way she's been.

[ Noctis laughs a little. ]

"Good bean," huh... never heard that, but I agree. He's the only bean I'll ever like.

[It's not particularly Jane's to tell, but yeah, there's quite a tale behind it.]

...We'll get them back. Somehow. If everyone's showing up in Florida, then...I know I need to believe it can be done, or else...mm. [She shakes her head.] I don't know.

[ He's quiet for a little while before he reaches over to ruffle her hair. ]

We'll get them back, Jane. I promise you that.

I won't rest until you've got Roxy, and Max has Chloe, and everyone is back where they belong. Alive, and with us.

[asdfghjkl okay fine, Noct can do that, he's officially the cousin-friend-in-law.]

Mm...neither will I. They've been getting away with this for too long.

Yeah. It ends with us, right?

[A firm nod.] It ends with us.

We'll make sure of it.

[ ... ]

I... dunno if you're up for it, but you know what helps me feel a little better? A cake baked with a lot of love.

I bet the others'd appreciate it, too.

[Awww. For that, she can try to manage a smile.]

It's very rarely that I'm not in the mood to bake something with an absurd amount of love in it. Even if that love is...expressed with a lot of passion and perhaps a couple of too-quick fumbles.

[A couple burns from the oven and picking out eggshells from batter is worth seeing people happy with a nice slice of cake.]

I could give you a hand. I'm not the best cook or baker, but I used to help Ignis here and there.

I'd appreciate that, thank you! And then you could learn a thing or two, if you'd like.

[There are way too many Ignis-like teenage girls in your life, Noctis, how did this happen.]

[ As much as Yuuri likes her newly extended space family, she's eternally grateful that they'd turned up here with their own accommodation. Because she spent enough time on the Temerity to know that it's very hard to make yourself fond of someone when you spend nearly every waking moment of the day in each other's pockets. The only problem is that it almost feels like it's off limits -- none of them ever have or would say that but she still feels like they deserve that bit of privacy.

But when she sees Noctis make his way over to where the ships are kept, she can guess just why he might be going. She's made herself stop watching now, after that execution but she's been keeping up, second hand. Even if she wasn't, though... Prompto is in there. Lunafreya's in there. It'd been awful enough to watch Kurumi and Miki go through this but she can't even imagine what it'd be like to sit helplessly and watch this all happen to Junpei. She literally can't; her mind just jolts to a violent stop when she tries, like the idea itself is abhorrent enough.

So what must it be like for Noctis to actually have to sit back and watch it happen?

It's a little after he heads onto the ship that there's a knock. It's quiet, just quiet ignore if he needs to be alone -- the telltale sign of Yuuri Wakasa announcing her intent to fuss. ]

[ It could, honestly, be anyone.

Any of his crew. Some of the others from previous seasons. He can't know for sure, but Noctis has never been one to stand being alone for a very long time. He'd had ten years of isolation and loneliness, and willingly secluding himself after that, it's... ]

Yeah?

[ His voice is a little cracked at the edges. ]

[ And there's her okay. She's got a worn threadbare smile on her face and a mug of tea in her hand when she finally comes in, looking a bit like she's not quite sure what to do with herself. ]

... I know a hot drink is a bit of a cliche, but it's just sort of what I ended up defaulting to. Or um, what I always end up going with whenever I think I'm going to have a talk with someone.

[ A beat. ]

Oh but-- well, that makes that sound a little terrifying and like I'm about to lecture you on something but I-- should I just give you the tea and stop talking now? Yes. Yes, I'll do that.

[ Handing over the tea it is. Smooth, Rii-san. ]

Yuuri.

[ He shakes his head, and for her, he manages a small smile. He's so tired... but even if it's by just a little bit, seeing the others helps. And bless her, she has a cup of tea.

He wonders if Ardyn picked up that habit from her, or the other way around, or if it was always there for both of them. ]

Nah, I appreciate it. [ He takes the cup and a sip, and he nods in approval. It's good. ] If you wanna talk, we can do that. There's... a lot to talk about, huh.

Mmhm. I don't want to... I mean, if you'd rather not, I'm not going to-- to force you. [ She came this close to saying 'hold you hostage' but given Current Events that might seem a bit tasteless. ] But I know it can help.

[ Look at all this character development. ]

Of course, if you want me to leave you alone, that's fine too. I just couldn't let myself pretend I hadn't seen you come in here.

I don't mind.

[ He shrugs a little. ]

... Not much else I'm doing, anyway. Besides, I don't mind talking to you.

About Airlocked or about anything but Airlocked?

[ Ah, that was surprisingly direct. Her smile is gentle and a touch apologetic, at least. ]

I thought I might as well ask that first before I went in with the wrong question.

R4 Viewing Party - no crying til the end (if you can help it)

week 3 lmao

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comes back from the future to stab you in the liver

ah, this is fine

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