elemancy: (pic#10957010)
noctis "cover yourself in sombreros" lucis caelum ([personal profile] elemancy) wrote2017-02-04 09:30 pm

week 3; someone get this kid a punching bag.

[they fucked up. they fucked up so bad, and noctis knows...

well, he's partially responsible this time.

it's a heavy, weighted sickening feeling. what the hell kind of prince—kind of king can he be? he didn't save anyone back home; not his family, nor his betrothed, not even his friends could escape getting wounded at his hand. and then this place comes along, and the carnage is so raw. people close to his friends—

people who are innocent.

how many more people are going to get hurt or killed while he's like this, helpless to defend them?

it all starts to spill over. it's been weeks upon weeks of loss and pain, and while he's kept so much of that muted to try and do a better job—so he could go home to eos and save everyone there from the troubles that come with a certain empire STEALING!!! THE CRYSTAL!!!! but he's not fully equipped for this, and without the chocobros there to give him some sense of reason, he loses his cool. that's why he bolts from the building the moment he's able to. and he makes it a bit away, to another nearby building before.]


Dammit, why!? [he's yelling it to no one as he just... slams his fist into the building. which hurts like fucking hell, because noctis is definitely not strong enough to defeat a load-bearing wall. that's. probably going to bruise later, honestly.]
moraled: (Awww doggos :'()

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Barnham is quiet for a long moment, eyebrow slowly arching as Noct continues. There's something to this, something far beyond even this game. Because the game... is obviously deplorable, horrible and terrible...

But this goes beyond that.

He's quiet for a long moment, thoughtful as he inspects Noct, and then:]


That is where the cruelties of the world must be stopped.

[Innocents being harmed or killed, people being forced into this sick game... it's all wrong, and all needs to be stopped. Barnham knows that better than anyone as inquisitor. That was why he was so determined when it came to hunting down witches, even if that was wrong too. Usually, witchcraft harmed innocent people going about their business.]

That is a matter where duty and passion intersect, Young Noct.

[Looks like he still gets that nickname despite being a prince. Oh well.]

The passion to save others, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, shall serve you well in your time as king. However...

[...He frowns.]

You cannot save everyone. [Not alone. Nobody can do that, even if Barnham wishes that weren't so.]

You cannot do so here...and you cannot do so in your own world as well, regardless of the title you hold.
moraled: (the food giver is trapped!)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[He hadn't intended to make Noct snap, but if all it took was that little push, this is probably something that's been pent up for awhile, then. Something that is only going to cause him more woe if he leaves it for now, and thus something that he needs to get out now while he can.

Their trials are far from over here, so Noct will need to be able to keep his head. Funnily enough, Barnham has faith that he will be able to do just that--if he can relieve some of this strain from whatever else is causing him so much grief.

And there it is, isn't it? The single word, a single name breathed out in a pained voice--that's what it is. There's more to it, of course. There's the matter of his knights, and his need to ascend as king (which means the previous king, clearly, is out of the picture; Barnham is familiar enough with the proceedings to gather that much).

But this...

This, it seems, is something Noct has yet to come to terms with.]


...And who, then, is this person you were unable to protect, who clearly meant so much to you?

[The time for delicacy, it seems, is gone.

Time to just ask flat out. If anything, he seems as calm as ever, even in the face of Noct's pretty inevitable break down--this is just...something that he feels he has to do.]
moraled: (rippy bits!!)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
[... Ouch.

It's definitely not fine.

Marriage is...a topic Barnham is admittedly not sure how to scratch. He's always been a little married to his duty, and aside from that, he had Constantine. He's never thought about such a thing, but one thing is very clear--marriage or not, Noct was fond of this Luna, and to have this taken from him in some terrible way is...

...Cruel.

It's cruel, and Barnham can't even begin to imagine the circumstances, and yet to go straight from that to here...

He's quiet for a moment. And then, rather than ask the circumstances, he asks... the question that he feels really, truly, more than anything, needs to be asked.]


Have you mourned?

[Has Noct gotten that time? Or was it one thing after another, until he ended up here? Has he been trying to be strong all this time about this, rather than mourn her passing?]
moraled: (the food giver is trapped!)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
[That doesn't really make Barnham feel any better about this situation. If Noct doesn't know the answer to that question...

He'll be a little merciless about it, honestly, because he feels this is something that must be done. Regardless of the situation, regardless of how inopportune it might seem...

Noct lost someone he cared about, and hasn't really been able to come to terms with that.

But to begin the grieving process, he has to admit to himself that he hasn't, doesn't he?]


I asked you a question, Noctis.

[He lifts his chin.]

Have you mourned? You left flowers at the grave of Miss Tiara--were you able to do something similar for your lady? Were you able to think of what has happened, beyond simply now? Or have you shirked away from the very thought, the very concept of coming to terms with what has happened?

[...And, a little gentler:]

Have you allowed yourself the time to grieve?

[Because from where he's standing?

It doesn't really look like it at all.]
moraled: (cat needs to learn some manners)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
[It's heavy stuff, and Barnham can't even pretend to understand everything Noct is going through. But even so, he's seen grief in so very many forms, and this sort of thing... this is the sort of thing that Noct has kept pent up for far too long. If talking about it will help, even just a little, even just by taking the edge off of the pain and making Noct feel a little less like he has to bear everything on his own... then Barnham will consider this worthwhile.

(And, of course, there's the fact that he understands Noctis even better now, though he's always been a refreshingly straightforward person, he thinks.)

He nods, quietly. Flowers, to leave on a grave that doesn't exist.

And more encouragement, so that Noctis doesn't think he can clam up again.]


We are not in a forgiving situation.

[He can acknowledge that much. It's obvious.

And yet--]


However...that does not mean you do not have the right to grieve. Tomorrow, we shall likely have to face this irreparable game once again--but tonight, there is time to grieve.

[For the people who died today. For the people who died throughout the weeks leading up to this.

For Luna, for his knights, for everyone he's lost along the way, because it isn't healthy to keep it all pent up like this, because in the end, Noct will end up exploding, and there is too much at stake for that.]


...Tell me of sylleblossoms. What do they look like? [Just keep talking, keep going--until Noct has exhausted these thoughts that he's been keeping pent up for so long.

Because he doesn't have to bear all of this on his own.]
moraled: (You don a good thing)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Barnham has no frame of reference for any of this, of course. Different royalty, different worlds, different customs. He knows nothing of flowers, or anything of the sort, because the Storyteller does not use them or have them.

But.

That does not mean he doesn't understand the significance, and how much they mean to Noct. It's a shame, honestly, that they're out in this desert like this. Finding any sort of blue flower would be entirely impossible, and he knows it.

(But grief has its own ways of showing.

This is a start, and he can only encourage it.)]


I see. It takes a very patient soul to raise flowers such as that, I would imagine.

[Tell him more about Luna--as much as Noct can handle talking about, as much as he needs to say until he feels less like he's been holding it in all on his own.]
moraled: (imgur: expert level)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-06 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's good to hear. It may be difficult for him to talk about, and embarrassing (Barnham at least understands that very well, feelings are embarrassing and hard to talk about, okay... he gets it...), but he still thinks it's good that he does. That Noct can think of her in this way despite her death, and remember her for the things that he admired about her.

That he can think so fondly of her, despite the clearly tragic circumstances surrounding her death.

This is a delicate matter, and admittedly, Barnham isn't great with delicacy. He's honest and straightforward, and he's been trying his best this entire time to get Noct to open up--now that he has, though, he's honestly not sure where to go from here.

There's a quiet nod, and then, simply, he speaks from the heart, as honestly and honorably as ever, and hopes that that's enough.

He presses a fist over his chest, a knightly salute, and says:]


Then I shall remember her just as this. Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the oracle who was admired far and wide for her devotion to her duties and her cause. Who was gentle enough to raise flowers, and fierce enough to stay true to herself.

[He takes a slow breath in, and nods.]

For what it is worth, in a game such as this--she shall be remembered.

[By Noct, of course--but now Noct isn't alone here in remembering her. Barnham will as well, for as long as he lives.]
moraled: (I'd smash (out of respect))

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-07 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
[At that thanks, there's a faint smile on Barnham's face, even as he shakes his head as well. Noctis... is a good soul. A good soul who has been through a lot, but that is the lot of those in power. Now, removed from the situation as he is, Barnham can see the position the Storyteller was in a little more clearly, though Darklaw is still something that pains him.

He doesn't think too hard on it.

Instead, he focuses on this, and shifts to dump the melting ice from the cloth away to grab more.]


...Do not forget to take the times that you can to grieve for what you have lost.

[Because the lot of those in power, too, is that they can't in the public eye. There are always those counting on them, always those depending on them, and thus they cannot crumble.

But.

That means it's all the more pressing.]


For you shall have to be strong the remainder of the time. I am well aware you have no desire to shirk that duty, and that is as it should be.

[He returns, placing the ice more gently then on Noct's knuckles, and nods.]

But though that duty rests upon you...that does not mean you should not also take care of yourself--mind and body alike.

[...]

I believe you know this--but occasionally, a reminder cannot do too much harm.
moraled: (Proceed to customer service with)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-07 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, probably avoid punching walls in the future, Noct. Barnham would approve of that plan of action. For now, though, he inclines his head, acknowledging. Honestly, it only commends Noct to Barnham more. He was just trying to help the people here who needed it most.

But even so--]


You have done nothing wrong, Young Noctis.

[Wanting to save people, wanting to help people--trying to get people through this, and help them, and stay strong through all of this suffering.]

This has simply been a reminder--you cannot protect others if you cannot protect yourself.

[Emotionally and physically, Noctis has to look to himself first. It's harder to do in the chaos of this place--so he'll just remind him when things have finally quietened down just enough for that to be the case.]

The others shall need you again soon enough.
moraled: (animal dumps are by far the best)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-08 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
But remember--you are not alone.

[Even if it feels like he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders and that he has to do so much to try to save people who aren't necessarily willing to be saved--

Noct isn't alone. There are others with the same goal, and quite honestly:]


Should you require support, others shall be there for you.

[Barnham will be there for him.]

I swear that to be true.
moraled: (Doggos and snow)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-09 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Indeed it is not.

[So ultimately...they have to depend on each other, even if he knows that trust isn't exactly easy in a place like this. But still--]

They intend to remove all trust we may have in each other through this game.

I shall not allow for it.

[Or at least... he'll try....]
moraled: (Proceed to customer service with)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-10 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
... They may be those who we wish to suspect least of all.

[Which is a frightening thought, but--]

Nonetheless, a life jumping at shadows is hardly a life at all. Yes, we must be wary, and yes, we must find those traitors who would cause us harm... but that does not mean we must spend our time here doubting every last situation we face, either.

[They have to do their best, after all.]

Be cautious, but do not despair. We are not alone in this place, and that is a strength, not a weakness.
moraled: (everyone knows the earth is flat)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-10 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
... Indeed. It certainly is.

[he can't deny that much; even if Barnham would give his life willingly in the defense of his city or innocents, he can't blame people for not being willing to make that same sacrifice. He became a knight solely because he was prepared for that fate, should it ever come.]

There is little room for mercy in this game, which, I believe...is all the more reason we must remember to hold to our mercy, and our empathy.
moraled: (Try to stay calm when a fucking shark)

[personal profile] moraled 2017-02-11 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
I believe you are right.

[Except that the pressure is going to get worse and worse as they go.

Welp. IT'S PROBABLY FINE.]


Keeping your head held high... is the best that can be done at a time like this. They shall not break you.

[It's a good thing--he's proud.]