open 💀 fifth recording

[stillarhino]

Sender: Beat
To: Everyone
Subject: growin' up?

there anything that happens where your from for someone whos gonna be

[It takes a little while for this next part to show up on the page if you're watching this in real time.]

an adult?
traditions or just whatever
like what do ya do for it you know

Comments

sender: link; 1/2

[skyglider]

[After a moment where he's honestly too surprised to respond--]

A battle to the death with an elder is traditional.

[No it's not. It's absolutely not.]

2/2

[skyglider]

I wasn't sure if you were still here.

1/3

[stillarhino]

[Wait...]

[stillarhino]

[Hold up!]

no wait one more

[stillarhino]

[Forget what you just said about battling an elder for now! He's probably even more surprised than you are right now.

Have a hastily scrawled reply back.]

YOU LINK WHEN DID YA

done

[stillarhino]

[And then a pause before he starts writing again, slower this time around.]

i thought yous the one that left man...

[skyglider]

[It-- takes him a moment to respond. Beat's right. He's the one who left.]

I'm sorry. It seems I did.

Can I make it up to you?

[Translation: can he bribe you with food]

[stillarhino]

[You can always bribe him with food. But you have to be clearer about these things. So instead:]

you dont gotta make up for nothing yo!
im just

[Is that a tear stain on the page?]

just glad youre back

[skyglider]

[Another quick moment before he responds. There's no simple way to put his response into words, honestly... The stain on the page doesn't go unnoticed, but rather than comment, Link takes a different approach.]

Where are you now?

Sender: Noctis Lucis Caelum

[sleepsalot]

[ His experience isn’t the norm here, so he’s going to do his best to think outside of the royal box ]

you mean like having a party or something? I don’t think people in Lucis really did anything significant…

[stillarhino]

[Crap, he didn't mean for that to happen. But he doesn't even bother to try to scrub it away. Not right now.]

you know the warehouse where we painted the commemoration stuff
im there

[stillarhino]

yeah a party or celebration or whatever
its kind of a thing back where im from
so it just kinda got me thinking

[skyglider]

[Rather than respond, he closes the journal and heads straight to the warehouse. In the present, Link is in a much better state than he first arrived, both physically and mentally, but realizing that Beat is still here, that he hadn't vanished the way Alphen did, puts some urgency in his pace. He heads inside first.]

... Hello?

Sender: Denji

[mansbestend]

in a perfect world, your first porn mags

slap down your ID like here it is fuckface you can't kick me out of the store anymore

[sleepsalot]

I didn’t have anything much when I “became an adult,” just did some stuff with my friends.

[ Conveniently leaving out the bit about royal duties, an agreement to marry Lunafreya, etc. ]

you planning something for somebody?

[stillarhino]

[When Link enters, he'll find that there are a number of slopes and ramps, that have been set up within the space. While a few things are already functional, it's obvious that the space is still a work in progress.

And up, on top of a half-built half-pipe is Beat, whose head immediately turns towards the door and the voice once he hears it. Without thinking twice, pushes himself off his seat, sliding down the inside of the slope, and makes it towards Link.

He stops a few feet from Link, looking at him up and down, as if trying to believe what it was he was seeing.]

Holy shit... You's really back.

[stillarhino]

sounds like yous already tried something like that before

[skyglider]

[He...he really is here. Goddess, he's barely changed -- for a moment, Link is too shocked to respond, trying to process it all over again. Four years doesn't feel terribly long, when you're living it every day, but in hindsight...so much has changed.

He's brought a small basket with some food, but he sets it down for now, bridging the space left between them and pulling Beat into a hug. They may not usually be hugging friends, but-- look, Beat is one of the best friends he's ever had. Four years changes very little, but being back here reminds him of how much he's missed the teen. So, for right now, he's a hugger. Deal with it.]

[stillarhino]

more if i wanna do something yo
dont really think about my birthday much

[But this seems like a special occasion this time around.]

[sleepsalot]

[ So, he’s planning a party for himself…? ]

dude, you shouldn’t have to plan your own birthday party if that’s what this is about.

[ There’s a brief pause in the writing ]

Unless this isn’t about a party and you want ideas for some way to prove yourself, like fighting a god or something…

Sender: Sephiroth

[sefirot]

You should simply be grateful you survived to live another year. Tradition isn't needed when each day brings you closer to death.

Sender: Link

[timesensitive]

I got a sword.

[Very helpful.]

[stillarhino]

[Though the action surprises him, Beat doesn't move away from the hug. Before he knows it, his own arms wrap around Link as well, holding his friend in a tight bear hug.

While it may have only been a month for him in comparison, he'd missed Link more than he realized. Before arriving in the dream world, Beat already knew what it felt like to lose someone important to him. That feeling and helplessness that accompanied it was only exacerbated while in Songerein, in knowing that he may not see his friends again.

So having someone he's considered one of his best friends return and standing right in front of him felt like letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.]

You got no idea good it is to see ya.

[stillarhino]

bwuh i aint planning a party for no one yo

[Besides he's already made an attempt to fight a god before. But wait...]

...yo you think someones hadta fight a god cause they older
cause that shits wild man

[stillarhino]

what the hell yo
someone get your panties in a bunch or something