open | i hit the bottom but I'm on the mend

[abeautifulgame]

Who: Damien Brenks + You
What: Prompts below.
Where: All over the place
When: Throughout the month of October.
Content Warnings: Implied nudity? Nothing graphic, though.

Comments

wall market / bathhouse

[abeautifulgame]

[eventually, Damien remembers that he wanted some time alone, to get his head back on straight, and so he ends up heading for the caves in Mount Silver. sure there will probably be people working, but look, don't question his logic]

[(maybe he's not looking to be alone so much as looking to spend time with one of the people, here, he actually likes. namely Kaiba)]

[as it turns out, though, there doesn't seem to be anyone working, and as he meanders along the paths, definitely not looking for people doing his bidding, he gets further and further into the mountain until he's all the way in Wall Market. holy shit, the walkways are done]

[all at once excited and throwing his need to be an introvert to the wind for awhile, he's everywhere at once. shopping! Korean BBQ! drinks! eventually, though, he ends up in the bathhouse, which was probably the biggest draw, from what he'd heard of Wall Market. he's not sure how he feels about the 'no towels in the bathwater' rule, for all that there's not many people here he'd like to see him naked, but -- whatever. he'll play along, if only to soak his legs]

[it takes him some time to actually get to the water, once he's undressed, his movement speed even slower without his brace, his limp more pronounced, his bare legs a roadmap of surgical scars, but eventually he does make it. sinking into the water with a sigh, he closes his eyes and just relaxes. it's probably a good thing that 'sleep' isn't really something this place understands, yet]

['scaring the shit out of the guy who doesn't realize he's not alone' is absolutely a thing, however, and someone should do that]

[king_in_dreams]

[The fact that this place doesn't seem to understand a concept of "tired" is probably most of the reason Noct's back hasn't been bothering him, considering Gladio would definitely be surprised by how active he's been. It's less fun just loafing around when he doesn't have King's Knight to play or stupid videos to watch, though, and so, he's been spending a fair bit of time wandering around and hauling furniture up to his apartment.]

[It doesn't mean his back is great, though, and this wouldn't be the first time he's been up to the bathhouse to soak. He stops when he sees Damien there - and then heads for the opposite side of the bath, to give the other man room.]

[If he did startle him, he'll apologize in a second.]

[abeautifulgame]

[someone getting into the water with him is a surprise, maybe, yes, but to his credit, he doesn't jump. he does, however, open his eyes, to see who's joined him]

[oh, it's that boy he gave the grand tour to]

So, are we still in the honeymoon period?

[do you still find this place charming, like he did when he first arrived, Noct? he might again, for however long, now that there are new things for him to do]

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct sits up a little when Damien speaks so he doesn't have to crane his neck.]

Uh... well. Maybe.

[Very decisive, Noct.]

Still need to figure out a way to get back home, but now I'm kinda trying to figure out what's going on.

[Because yeah, stuff just keeps appearing and changing and he would very much like to know who's doing all this, if it's not all a dream.]

[abeautifulgame]

[he snorts, mood souring a little]

I wouldn't spend too much time on that. So far, I've got nothing. No one does. [it's fucking frustrating. it won't be long, he thinks, before he goes back to wishing this place would throw him a clue to this puzzle it's put in front of him]

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct makes a face, shaking his head a little.]

Yeah, kinda getting that.

[He sighs.]

Thing is... the stuff that happened at home before I got here? I don't know if this is... supposed to happen?

[He knows he got pulled into the Crystal, but as far as he knows, there's no precedent for that sort of thing. For all he knows, this is some weird alternate dimension and the logical place for him to have ended up? Especially since Tifa's world has some similarities to his.]

[abeautifulgame]

Supposed to happen, how?

[because he's pretty sure, at least in his case, this absolutely wasn't supposed to happen. he was, he imagines, supposed to get killed by Aiden in the next half an hour or so. so, what the hell was Noct doing that this might have been a natural progression of events?]

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct makes a face.]

Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but. My magic comes from this huge crystal that's kind of a... royal heirloom or whatever? And it got taken by the empire that we've been at war with for, like... ever. When we got to where they were keeping it, I touched it and got, like... sucked into it. And then I was here.

[Yeah, his life is weird.]

[abeautifulgame]

[that is, in fact, bizarre, but Damien's just going to take it in stride. it's not any crazier than anything else he's heard, seen around here, and Noct has no reason to lie, as far as he's aware]

Well, I'm pretty sure this wasn't supposed to happen, for me. [a beat] Some of us are mere mortals. There's no magic, where I come from. [and boy, is he bitter about that. he's the only person here without power, as far as he's aware. at least no one here can use theirs]

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct wouldn't lie about that, anyway. So far, the only lying he's been doing has been trying to keep from admitting that he's royalty - though he's even relaxing on that.]

Yeah, I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense for a lot of people if they're from somewhere like that.

[He frowns, thinking.]

Do you remember, like... I know most people just wake up here.

[abeautifulgame]

My experience was ...

[he pauses, frowning as he squints into some middle distance. after a beat, he shakes his head, and returns his attentions to Noct, shrugging]

I was on top of a lighthouse, in the middle of blackout, and then I was here, in the nothing. [a beat] There was literally nothing here, when some of us first got here. [and another] It was like it is out past the shrine. [where the setting gives way to the Void]

[king_in_dreams]

So you didn't, like... fall asleep or something.

[His other theory is that this is all a dream somehow - though he doesn't know how much sense that makes considering no one here is anyone he recognizes -- unless it's some kind of weird communal dream, but there's still the alternate dimension thing, considering how few of them do know each other, and...]

[Oh, he's just going to give himself a headache.]

[abeautifulgame]

Sorry to disappoint.

[a beat]

I take it your other prevailing theory is that this is all a dream? [it's not his take on what's going on here, but it's one he's heard before]

[starshower]

[Before Damien can get to the bathhouses, Tifa spots him wandering through the streets of the tiny Sector, his face recognizable even in the wash of coloured lights that glow around them. She's manning the Korean barbecue stand alone today while Cloud is on the ground floor of the Void helping Aerith with her flowers, humming to herself while she wipes down the counters, looking just as at home as she did back at Heavenly Blanc.

Despite how lively Wall Market looks like it should be, it's quiet enough that Tifa's voice calling out to him could be heard several blocks down.]

You finally made it down here!

[Her head is poking out from behind the walls of the stand, hair draping over the counter while she waves him down.]

[abeautifulgame]

[Damien head snaps in the direction of the sound of her voice, the suddenness of it in the quiet enough to be startling. he relaxes again the second that he registers who it is, though, the second that he sees her, and he changes direction then, limping in her direction]

Finally. [he's not going to blame Kaiba for taking as long as he did, because he did in the first place, but] It's nice to see something other than the bar and the beach, for once.

[starshower]

I can imagine! Well, welcome to Wall Market!

[She gestures wide with her arms as she slides over the counter to the other side, and meets Damien halfway, and to urge him back to the stand with her.]

It's definitely a... different sight from the bar and the beach. [It isn't much, considering it's stuck down here in the caves, but maybe that's for the best. It always did look better at night... it's harder to see all the dirt and garbage when it's dark.] And welcome to Sector Six of Midgar, too! Not sure if anyone told you that.

[abeautifulgame]

They hadn't. [he glances up at the lights again, as Tifa leads him back to the stand, taking them in again, that in mind] Someone -- Ren, I think -- mentioned you had some new pet project, taking up most of your time, but ...

[but he didn't realize it was this. he didn't realize it was another piece of home and, potentially, one that hurts less, for what he knows happened to Sector Seven, how]

[rather than bring that up, however, when he returns his attentions to her, he leads with:] It sort of reminds me of Navy Pier, at night.

[starshower]

Yeah. Been spending a lot of time down here trying to get it off the ground...

[The closer they get to the stand, the more it starts to smell like barbecued meat. Even without anything cooking on the grill, the scent still lingers around the area with nowhere else to go. Not that she minds... especially with an endless supply of it to go around.]

The Navy Pier? [Her voice goes up with curiosity.] Doesn't sound like an entertainment district to me...?

[Once they arrive back at the booth, she pats a stool on one side of the counter. Take a seat, she's going to cook you a meal before you go to the bathhouse, Damien.]

[abeautifulgame]

Well, it definitely smells good.

[to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if his hunger went from zero to sixty, like he does here, at the smell. thankfully, after a few seconds, it becomes clear that the smell isn't going to turn out to be tempting fate, and a little relieved, he sits down at the counter, as ordered. he'll still eat, even if he's not stupidly suddenly starving]

As far as Navy Pier goes, though ... I don't think it was, originally. [he knows it wasn't. it was, as the name implies, originally used by the Navy] But at some point, someone bought it out, and now there's a few dozen restaurants and shops, a Ferris wheel, boat tours of Lake Michigan, the works.

It's all ...

[kind of magical, at night, all lit up, like Wall Market seems to him to be, now. rather than finish that statement, however, he simply shrugs]

[starshower]

[Firing up the grill, Tifa tries to imagine that in her head. Wall Market doesn't have the Ferris Wheel or boat tours, and to the outside eye, it looks completely harmless, so she can where he's made the connections—lots of restaurants, shops, and it looks like the kind of place that would be filled with people at night, which it is.]

I'd rather go there than Wall Market, to be honest. Sounds way more fun...! Wall Market might look nice, but they walled off the Sector for a reason. Pretty dangerous for women to go alone at night—outside of Shinra's influence, there's no one to keep an eye on it.

[But not wanting to turn this into another downer conversation about Shinra, she steers the topic by pulling some sliced meat from the fridge.]

Any preferences? I've got any kinda meat you can think of, and some veggies too.

[abeautifulgame]

More like the Wards, then, than the Mad Mile.

[there's a few good shops in the Wards, like Aiello's Bakery, still standing today -- a miracle, consider its sordid history with Capone in the 30s. but the Wards are also dangerous. lots of drive-bys, an astronomical chance of coming back to find your car on cinderblocks if you leave it unattended for too long, and so on. and then there's Rossi-Freemont at the heart of it -- a public housing project that's been taking over by one of the Club's affiliate gangs, the Black Viceroys -- and it, too, was outside Blume's influence, outside ctOS]

[the Mad Mile, on the other hand, is much nicer, but beyond that throwaway comment, he's not going to get into it. they definitely don't need another downer conversation, no, so instead, he's going to ask:] Something beef, maybe?

[a beat]

Chef's choice as to what kind.

[he trusts her discretion]

[starshower]

[Tifa considers his many, many options for a moment, and she disappears behind the counter while she rummages through the wide variety of sauces this world has provided her with, the only indication of activity being the clinking of glass bottles. When she rises again, her hands are full with a different bottle held between each finger.]

What do we do when the chef can't pick?

[He gets to try all of them!

She makes quick work of slapping different cuts of beef onto the grill, and the pieces sizzle happily when she drizzles the different sauces on, while the powerful scent of cooking meat fills the stall again.]

Sorry I dragged you all the way back here. You looked like you were heading somewhere.

[abeautifulgame]

[he barks out a laugh at that, but otherwise doesn't respond, content to watch her work. at the question, he leans forward a little, before finally:] I was looking for the bath house I've been told is here, somewhere. I imagine it'll still be there in -- however long, though.

[which is to say that he doesn't mind having been dragged over here]

[starshower]

What better way to top off a nice bath than with a homecooked meal!?

["Homecooked". It's as close as it's going to get, but this is what Tifa thrives at the most: providing for others, whether it's cooking for them, mixing drinks, or taking care of them. She's practically glowing as she lays on a thin coating of sauce on the thin strips of steak.]

That part wasn't there in Midgar. It's a lot cleaner than what I imagine one in Wall Market would look like, though.

[And skillfully, she takes a skewer stick and slides it through the pieces of meat as easily as sliding a hot knife through butter. She's clearly done this many times before.]

[abeautifulgame]

[he nods]

I'll definitely take it.

[he's been dreaming of the Korean BBQ he heard was here almost as long as he has the bath house. the fact that it's Tifa's just makes it all that much sweeter -- as does the fact that she's willing to cook for him, because clearly she knows what she's doing and is good at it. not to mention the fact that, secretly more selfish than he lets on, he enjoys being waited on]

[but anyway]

I've never been to a bath house, period. [a beat] The closest we have, I think, would be finding a hot tub at a hotel somewhere in the city. [somewhere other than the Merlaut. barring its appearance here, he hasn't gotten close to that place since Aiden botched that job]