Scene #8735: On The Brink ft. Stan, Charlotte and Touta

Owner	Pose
Touta Konoe	In truth, the messages that had brought upon this impromptu encounter weren't anything intricate in nature. Touta had attempted to reach out to Stanley out of the blue, at first just checking in on the situation. A casual exchange of texts following. An 'Are you okay?' A 'Lamport been alright?' Some 'What have you been up to?' and then a few more texts that had been a bit more directed than that. Though it was those more focused texts, those ones that felt intentional, or perhaps just off-handedly being said about his future and what was coming, Touta found himself offering to invite Stanley and Charlotte alike to Fairyland Hall. His excuse for bringing him was that he wanted their advice on something, which to be fair he actually did. Though that was certainly being put on the back burner for the time being. For now though...It would have been the first time that Charlotte and Stanley would have been in Touta's world, correct? Had they even known much about it? One way or the other it seemed they were going to be learning today. The moment the two enter through the Warpgate they find themselves in what feels like a reception area one might find in a hotel. At the end of the hall opposite to the warpgate one can see what appears like a check-in area and a set of elevators. Two women that were behind the stand adorned in traditional Japanese kimono, one appearing a regular human while the other seemed more puppet-like in her features. The puppet-like one would speak in a tone that had no strain to it whatsoever. A voice that if you picked up the phone would have made one think nothing of it as she requested their names. Once they'd been provided the two would be guided to one of the nearby elevators to reach the actual resort levels. The two explained that this area was simply to guide Elites from the Warpgate. The elevator ride is smooth. In fact, when they push the button they don't feel any sort of lifting or raising of the elevator before the door opens again to reveal...Another lobby? Well, this one was exceedingly larger than the one before, clearly meant to take in an influx of guests, and unlike the one from the other floor there were windows and doors. Speaking of which, one could see from the windows outside that the resort they were on clearly was near some sort of beach perhaps? As they could take in the sights of the crashing waves, of palm trees lingering, the sand tumbling in the wind, and the smell of ocean air. "Ah, looks like you two made it just fine, glad to see. Welcome to Fairyland Hall." A voice calls out to the two Lamport residents from the corner of their gaze. A figure stepping familiar enough. Touta Konoe arrives on the scene, his older appearance in use making him seem like the proper twenty-something that he would be. Though unlike the more casual attire he usually found himself wandering the Multiverse in, the two would find the immortal Elite in strange attire...A uniform? Dressed down in a collared shirt, and black work pants, a tie around his neck, and a black vest making him seem like he could have been a server at some sort of high-end restaurant. Even the black waist-apron he had around his waist as part of the uniform truly made him seem less like an Elite of the Multiverse who was swinging a blade around all the time, and someone that should be telling them about the vintage of the wine they were about to drink. "Hopefully the trip wasn't long. Did you two eat yet? I can look into getting us something prepped, otherwise, I can maybe offer you guys a bit of a tour of the place?" He had called them overhear for a question, right? Yet...He still seemed rather inclined to let them explore and attend to them if they felt the need.
Stanley Padgett	Let it never be said that STANLEY PADGETT doesn't know how to take a hint. A hint to try and find help. To talk with people. To not let things just fester inside and eat him up and then it all comes out at once and.... yeah no. Though, this wasn't what he was expecting when called to the home of his acquaintance, Mr. Vampire Touta. He'd be dressed down, but unfortunately he's just a Shirt And Tie sort of fellow. Though at least the tie was festive today. Snowflakes and candy canes. Maybe a little out of season, precisely. His hair, though? A lovely blonde, crisped up by Charlotte, likely. It looks... well not quite plain, but plainer than usual for Stanley. "Happy to be here, actually, Mr. Konoe. This is... not what I was expecting, but it's really fancy." There's a nervous laugh there, though. These days 'not what I was expecting' was happening more and more, as he was taking his strides out into the wider world. "I suppose we could use the time away from Lampport ahead of... tomorrow."
Charlotte Newman	Given the season, Charlotte's in the process of pulling off her winter jacket when the elevator doors open again, faster than she was apparently expecting. She hurridly pries herself free of it and drapes the garment over one arm, stepping out. Her eyes wander up and about, taking in the resort's ostantatious decor-- at last settling on Touta in what is obviously a work uniform. Her expression flattens in a bemused fashion. "Direct advertising? Are you that hard up for customers?" Closing her eyes, the girl shifts how she holds her jacket, holding it with one hand and dangling it over her shoulder, "Well, seat us and get the menu. What's the chef's special tonight?" While not dressed up for a fancy formal occasion, Charlotte's usual fashion sense in pinks, whites, and blacks is at least presentable enough. "I thought you were going to ask us something. Using that to surprise us with a fancy dinner is unexpected of you."
Touta Konoe	There was certainly the notice of Stanley's change in wardrobe. Even if perhaps it was a bit more 'plain' the attention to detail still comes out all the same with the blonde to it. Even nodding approvingly of the festive tie in question as Stanley made his way in. "Ehehe, yeah, when you think of a vampire you don't exactly think of an island resort. But, it does make for a good secluded hideaway. And I promise, no advertising, just busy for the holidays from New Years still." As Charlotte begins to take off the jacket, he does offer to take it still, still admittedly in work mode, though if she was keen on keeping it at her shoulder he wasn't offended either way. "Here we can walk and talk." He'd begin walking them out of the main lobby and into a smaller hallway as he'd start speaking up again, "Well, truth be told I was going to ask something...but..." His eyes peer back to Stanley again. "Asking for an opinion on something right now is a bit hard given what's coming up..." The group ends up making it past the hall where he finds them all in the dining room. A large dining room area of a restaurant with several white-cloth tables. Though no one yet has been seated. "Dinner doesn't start for the guests another thirty minutes so we have a bit of time to chat among ourselves." He'd pull out seats for the both of them before finally looking at Charlotte again as she asks about the specials. "Right, so that's going to be A wagyu steak done with sauteed mushrooms and a creamy mashed potatoes, freshly caught swordfish grilled with a lemon risotto and asparagus, also for a vegetarian option we have a portobello mushroom steak with roasted vegetables and a balsamic glaze..." He starts looking at Stan again feeling a bit like he really is laying it on a little thicker than he intended. As he waits for the order he actually feeling a bit too formal in all this decides to take a seat himself, only instead turning the chair around so he sits on it with his arms on the backrest. There's a long pause he has, like he's still contemplating whether it's good to ask the question outright, but instead he finds himself compromising...At the very least, figuring it's a good way to pull away from that topic. If it came up again that was certainly fine, but they had come all the way for him, so he should have at least alluded to what he had in mind. But first... "Stanley, you mind telling me again your background with the arts? I know a little bit, but I'm curious what your experience is."
Charlotte Newman	When Touta offers to take her coat, Charlotte surrenders it. It's just how things go in places like this. It's a medium weight black affair with bright pink accents along the seams and pockets. Wool with a water-repelling outer layer, by the feel, more of a peacoat than a more typical down-filled vinyl thing. She keeps one hand on her purse, the other on her hip, as she follows into the dining hall. This positioning only changes when she takes her seat; resting her hands on the table in front of herself, "Oh, the swordfish sounds lovely. I think I'll have that." Eyes closing, she hums lightly, "I'm not too interested in-- or old enough for-- wine, so a sparkling apple cider should be fine with that." It even looks like 'white wine', so she wouldn't commit a dining etiquette faux pas of red 'wine' with fish. She just assumes the establishment will have that on hand. When Touta asks Stanley about his theater experience, Charlotte's eyes open to glance at him. After a moment, she shifts her focus to Stanley. His experiences are always something she'd enjoyed hearing about, after all.
Stanley Padgett	<B-anter> Lilian Rook says, "Older generations from harder times try to pass down all of their baggage to their children. Some amount of it, slim to enormous, slides off of them, and they pass what remains on to the next. And so on." <B-anter> Lilian Rook says, "I wouldn't want the world a hundred years from now to be filled with people exactly like my parents. Would you?" Stanley snaps his phone closed and puts it down, setting his jaw as he listens to the menu, and then to Touta. "Honestly, that sounds..." He sighs, and smiles as best he can. "That sounds like it will have been the best meal I've had in months. Something... sumptuous. Extravagant." Stanley's head dangles a bit from his spot, in the manner that only the young and boneless can pull off. "My... background in the arts?" A look to Charlotte, and then back to Touta, as Stanley rights himself and then fixes the vampire with his gaze. Straight at the man. "I bounced from school to school, while I was being passed around in the last... 6 years. Before I graduated. And each time I moved... one of my classes would be doing Shakespeare." He ticks his fingers. "History. English Lit. Drama. English Lit again. So... yeah, I got a lot of The Bard. And then I was always... a theatre kid, I suppose. It was something I could do after school and just... try and meet people. I was never quite in time to actually try out for plays, until I got to Silver Springs, but by that point I'd already become..." He waves down at himself. "Brave Fencer Padgett, I suppose. So trying out for the play was again, pointless. or at least, I didn't... want to cause people trouble." A shrug. "The fact that my Inner Self decided to portray itself as Mercutio... I can't explain."
Touta Konoe	As Charlotte passed him his coat another staff member steps up and he passes it to her. He lowers his head in a nod to the woman as she looks to the two guests before stepping away, clearly planning to put it away. Though easily brought back if needed. By the time they're seated though, hearing Charlotte's request Touta simply nods. "Sure sounds good. Hopefully you won't mind me if I'm being a bit unprofessional with friends though?" He pulls out his phone looking like he's sending out a message in a similar manner to Stanley, so it's not like he minds if he ends up pulling out his phone himself. This was a casual outing afterall. Still, seeing the look on Stan's face felt like it betrayed the excitement for the meal he seemed so eager to indulge in. "We got more than just the specials too. We got fried karage for comfort food, can get you guys a pizza if you want...So whether you want something fancy, or something greasy, or whatever...Don't sweat it alright?" Touta carefully offers to give Stanley a pat on the shoulder. A smile that's bright enough that he can only hope that it lets Stanley know he doesn't have to hold back one way or the other. Which in a way it seems he doesn't as he begins to tell his tale. A young man constantly stuck in a loop of adolescence, of trying to find belonging. It's something that he can understand to some extent, or at least...Up to the point he begins to wave it off. At that point it starts to blur into assumption. "Mmm...It's nothing you have to explain for my sake. No reason for me to pry on it either. Still, for someone who didn't want to cause others trouble...You've gone a long way to get people out of it, haven't you? Both of you in fact..." His gaze that had been linked with Stanley looks to Charlotte as well. "I can't say I'm the one that can give the best pep speeches but I think that someone needs to say it to you both. In the time with what's been going on in Lamport you two have been through it. Even without knowing everything, you guys have had to go through a lot...You guys have done an incredible job toughing it out, and you made it out on the other side stronger than you did before. Than the year you were before." There's a silence that fills the air for a moment before he speaks up, "Even if you're still going to be facing hardships this year, I think it's important for you both to remember that you're both wiser than you were before. Even if only the smallest steps. You're not stuck in that stagnant place anymore...You're not stuck in the loop. You've both progressed. Enough that you can fall back on your success and your failures for insight to prepare you for what comes next...And even start to offer it to others. Even if it's only in the smaller doses." He tries to sound genuine cause it's what he believes. But he also knows that one's greatest enemy when it comes to one's progress is oneself. Still, he can hope they take his words in heart. And if anything, maybe see if what he says has any weight in this moment. "So speaking theatre kid...How comfortable do you think you'd be about offering advice on something more on a directing front? It's not a play, and if anything it's more asking for a question on the angles of how best to uh...Frame a performance if that makes sense? Basically, I'm trying to make sure to garner one response from an audience versus another. I know that's not working with lines or anything like that, but I was hoping maybe with your experience you'd be a bit more familiar on how to direct yourself in front of a camera, or how to look to the audience to invoke a certain response?"
Charlotte Newman	"Oh, no, it's fine," Charlotte waves off Touta's more casual behavior, "We know each other, it feels more proper to act more familiar in that case." She's confident in her order even when less extravagant things are listed as choices, waving it off with a flick of wrist and fingers. Of course she wouldn't judge Stanley if he went for those options instead. She never had before. The Big Touta Pep Talk gives Charlotte pause, though. Pensively, she glances down at her hands, visibly embarassed by the praise. A single fingernail scratches at the back of the other hand's knuckle while he talks, waiting patiently for the vampire to say his piece. Only when he's done does the girl speak up, "That's very nice of you to say, thank you. Frustratingly, it feels like all my growth only happened in the past month or so... But I can tell I'm much better off than I was before." Lifting her eyes, she adds, "And I feel like I-- like we-- can take on anything, now." The subject shifts back to theater and she goes quiet again. Listening intently, not even pulling out her phone to research the topic or anything. Charlotte has admitted several times that she doesn't know much about how Theater stuff works. Being something Stanley knows a lot about, and even at times has shown he's passionate about, she'd rather hear it from him than some website.
Stanley Padgett	"No no no, if there's one thing I've learned so far, its to take advantage of what's being offered to you, and I would never in a million years have the audacity to order Very Fancy Dinner on my own. Maybe now, aftr all this..." Stanley sighs and rumbles a thought around in his chest a bit at the end of that. "And thanks, I think, about the growing. I gotta say this is... we're..." Hands rub at his eyes, as if that will work the thoughts around in his noggin better. "I'd want to say we're closer to the end of this, but tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day an-" Touta offers up something else to think about. Stanley takes a breath, rubs his hands on his slacks, and hmmmm. "I mean, I can like... talk about theater production and how to put on a show, but I guess I'd need the context of what it is you're trying to get out of people before I get too far into what it is I'm offering help on." A beat. "Not- not that I'm trying to... you know, game the system, but if YOU'RE going to try and game the system and get the response you want, you gotta be sure you know what it is you're trying to ay to people, to get out of people, the like..." At some point, Stanley has started talking with his hands. Lets' see how long it takes him to notice. "You've got to know your crowd, cater to it, and show them something they expect, something they don't expect, and something you want them to want once you've shown it to 'em."
Touta Konoe	"In my experience there's two types of change. The small kinds that you barely notice happen over a long period of time. Could be the effect of a person that's been around you just making you a better...Or a worse person. Then there's the stuff that hits you all at once. The loss of someone close, a life-changing decision, just anything impactful. And you /both/ clearly have ended up dealing with something more impactful than most people have to go through, let alone your age. It's understandable to be frustrated, but I think that's also good that you're seeing it like that. Means you're not just satisfied with what you were, or where you're at. I know it's easier said than done, but if you two can channel that into something positive. Whatever you both do going into the future, I really hope I'll be around to see it." In due time food would start to arrive for the both once the orders were placed. The plate for the swordfish, one of the wagyu steaks, and then a couple of apps as well for the table. "You guys dig in. It's like you said tomorrow's going to be a hell of a day. So make sure you have a proper meal, maybe indulge yourself a bit because you do deserve it..." Stanley raises a very reasonable amount of points. With it there's a mix between a smile and a bit of a perplexed expression. "I want you both to close your eyes for a second...Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the darkness again. Now...Take a deep breath. Brace yourself...And Imagine you're back in the Reversal." His tone as he speaks seems a bit more direct now than he has. Like he's trying to give the guiding commands but at the same time being wary of it as well. "Do you remember it? When we were there...? Even when they weren't, that feeling like everyone's eyes were on you? Like the looks of the people around you could turn you to stone with a gaze? As if the very world, from every conceivable angle was looking at you with those questioning eyes? The sensation of those looks felt at your back even if you can't see it...? Now.../STOP/." He tries to call them both to attention, as if trying to break them from a trance. "Open your eyes for a second, get accustomed to the light again..." As he'd speak to them, he'd make sure to look to both of them with a look of concern, of reassurance, of validation. "Now...I want you to close your eyes again. Only this time...Imagine the opposite. I want you both to think of the faces in your life that bring you comfort. The smiles you trust...The eyes you look into for comfort...It can be all the people you know, or it can just be one person that you see in so many ways...But I want you to try and recreate that world...But instead with those stares, I want you to imagine it with smiles, with eyes of the people you trust..." As he says that, he begins to slowly move a nearby candle towards them. It's light, it's warmth beginning to bathe over them as he tries to garner their expression with that. "Can you see it...? Is it something you can picture...? A world of /honest/ smiles?"
Charlotte Newman	Charlotte listens, nodding along at points in clear agreement. When her dish arrives, she leans back and lifts her hands out of the way, offering a quiet thanks to the server. Once she settles in with her utensils, the girl speaks up, "I agree. It was more..." Shaking her head, she dismisses it, "I got there in the end, but I feel like it could've been a smoother ride if I didn't dig in so much. It's something to work on." Prompted to recall Lampport during the time freeze-- Charlotte closes her eyes and recalls it. The isolating, crushing judgement. Every movement, a violation. Every breath a rotting reminder that she didn't belong there. Ishirou had tried to share his direct experience in a similar way. When prompted to shift it to something similar but more positive, she frowns. All the people she cares for and trusts. Trying to remember more than a few starts filling her mind with static. The warmth of the candle nearing her face snaps her out of it with a startled gasp and a jolt back in her seat with enough force to rattle the tableware. She doesn't notice the wispy blue embers that, very briefly, flitter off her eyelashes. "...I-I'm sorry," the girl murmurs, collecting herself, "I... I have some, issues. With my memory. I can only think of two or three."
Stanley Padgett	The food is... absurd. Unlike anything Stanley's ever had, frankly. even while living in Japan, he'd never dreamed of splurging on something like this. The young man has to stop himself several times from eating too fast. Old habits die hard. That said, Touta's suggestion gets him to put down his fork and knife and just... "...yeah sure." He brushes off his hands on his napkin, and closes his eyes... and lets Touta's words drag him around in his own thoughts and memories for a bit. The first one, that idea, everyone looking at him, staring through him, seeing what angry ideas and thoughts lie behind people's minds for him, that one is easy. There's a look of frustration in Stanley's face as the thought-train slides around and- STOP. Stanley's eyes snap open, and it's clear he's about to sputter an apology for... some reason, before Touta continues. "...this one... I..." But he'll close his eyes. Stanley... this one's going to take more doing, but... well. Yeah, there are people who want to see him do well. Want to see him succeed and grow and prosper. Woz and Sougo. Touta. Ishirou. Kukuru. Charlotte. Myriad other faces, drift on the edges of that, though, as Stanley's mental blocks just... keep trying to force people into this that maybe shouldn't be here. His eyes slide open. "...that one's hard, Touta." He wilts a bit, like he's done something wrong here.
Touta Konoe	Charlotte once again shares her experience of her change and the route that was taken to reach it, and through it he nods, listens as best he can and eventually adds some input of his own once more. Though, even he's not sure if it'll be received as kindly as before. "But you found it, it was hard but you found it, and that's what made it worth finding that path. That said...I don't think you were wrong though, not entirely. What you believed might have needed introspection, it might have needed to change as it was. And perhaps at the time, digging your heels in backfired. At the same time though...I might be giving you questionable advice this time but... It's important to have some sort of grounding. There's a balance of being flexible enough to take in the voices of others, but sturdy enough to know when its your voice that needs to be the one that's not spoken over. It's not something I'm the best at but that discernment...I think you've been especially getting better at it. Especially from what I've heard on the radio." He hints to Charlotte that he's heard the smack talk she's been giving Petra ever now and again, though still taking other voices in stride. What he asks of the two of them ends up being an even greater challenge than using that discernment though. He watches as the two find themselves experiencing those thoughts, and their expressions as they close their eyes are likely more earnest than they want to admit. Even now a part of him feels like he'd failed to use his own discernment in asking them to do such a thing. But Stanley asked what he was going for, and he wanted to make sure that he understood the gravity of his request, and why he felt the need to do it... He calls for the stop, and already the two of them look exhausted from the experience. In fact, the effects are so palpable that even attempting to do the next task well...It's clear that both of them end up struggling with the task. It's them that he shakes his head to both of them. "That's my bad guys. It's a lot to ask for isn't it...?" He places a hand on both of their shoulders, trying to reassure the both of them that this was not their fault. That what just happened, was not something they did wrong or failed to imagine. "If you're okay with it...I want to try one more time...But with eyes open...But first..." Touta begins to step out from his seat. "You know, people really have to do their best sometimes to get through their hardships. Telling themselves what they need to hear, or just having to assume that people care for them...Even if it's true though...There are burdens that words and thoughts alone don't suffice to fix."
Touta Konoe	Stanley finds that his chair is completely readjusted. He's pulled from sitting on one side of the table, or the other corner to be seated right in front of Charlotte. The two could practically stare into each other's eyes. "I think there's a big difference though. Between knowing that someone cares, and hearing it from them. To have them vocalize it is a power of making something that was just thought, into something real. Sometimes, it's not enough to just think someone loves you...It's important to see it, to hear it. To recognize it exists...So this time...Without closing your eyes, I want you to try again. Together." He looks to Charlotte as if calling her out on her statement a moment before. And I feel like I-- like we-- can take on anything, now. He starts stepping away from the table. "This time, don't imagine a world of /honest/ smiles. /Be/ a world of honest smiles...Be the smile that erases the very thought of that darkness." In truth, he's asking something of a tall order. A very tall order in fact. But something about them, about what they experienced, that could allow them to succeed in this challenge. And if they could... Regardless, he falls silent, waiting to see the world that the two create.
Charlotte Newman	Charlotte lets out a long, low breath, centering herself. Reaching, she fruitlessly tries to steady her drink; the glass is already settled, the liquid inside just keeps moving gently from side to side after she bumped the table. She's focused inward so much that she doesn't realize Stanley's being moved until he's already there; glancing up to see the boy across from her like this is some romantic date. She freezes up and squares her shoulders with a jolt of posture for just a moment. The flash of surprise fades quickly, ending ultimately with an incredulous glance towards Touta. This, too, lasts only a second or so before she fixes her gaze on Stanley. A lock of eye contact, though hardly a staring contest when it comes to intensity. After a few moments, the awkwardness starts to fade. Charlotte visibly relaxes. A little smile finally returns to her face. Eventually she tilts her head a bit, propping her chin on the back of one hand. The other picks up her drink-- nonalcholic as it is-- and lifts it with a broader, genuine smile.
Stanley Padgett	Stanley's face drops a bit as he fails out of 'think happy thoughts' challenge. He will never fly or pilot a Gummi Ship. He will never work for The Mouse. But he will once again close his eyes, and once again make an attempt, to do the thing, to imagine a world of- Charlotte. He opens his eyes and he's looking at his friend. His partner. Stanley blinks a few times, as Touta's words sink in, and then... there's a look of panic in his face. Hands grip at his pants and he starts to look Touta. "...h-hey... th-that's not fair." Why isn't it fair, Stanley? He can't actually pull his look from Charlotte though, as she smiles back at him.
Touta Konoe	"Don't lose focus...Find that look..." In the moment that Charlotte attempts to give her incredulous gaze to him, in the instance that Stanley attempts to turn his gaze towards him, his voice goes stern. Much more stern than it has before. If the gaze they had given each other had been his attempt to see if they could think to offer an expression to one another that was meant to be that light, a world of honest smiles...Then what was next was a test to see if what the two offered to one another was the real deal. For in the end, what he was looking for wasn't just a look that imitated a certain expression. But an expression so genuine that it could bring comfort to the one that received it and thus... Around the two, the world slowly begins to envelope into black, the only things still visible are the table to which they sit at, and the two of each other. Nothing can be seen past that as it encompasses the two. Within the darkness, there are eyes. Gazes that are stared into the back of their heads, was it an illusion or not? Were there actually such in the darkness, were they truly beaming with that familiar discomfort? If there was...Did it bother them? Did they dare look away to confirm? It's as this sensation runs over them both, do a single question get asked to the both of them. "Are you afraid...?"
Charlotte Newman	"Afraid?" Charlotte doesn't pull her eyes off Stanley for an instant. She lifts her drink to her lips, tasting the cider with a thoughtful noise, "Why should I be? These people don't matter. That's something I had to learn the hard way." Shifting from addressing Touta to the boy across from her, she lowers her voice a bit. More thoughtful, "Back when I first joined the watch, so many of the other girls there thought we were an item, Stanley." letting out a breath, she sets her drink down, rubbing her fingertip along the rim, her eyes focusing on that for a moment, "I don't know if we were-- or if we are now..." "But..." Without shifting her head, she looks back up at him, "Whatever it means to feel invincible around you? Like I can do anything if it means supporting you and being supported by you? If that makes us more than just partners...well..."
Stanley Padgett	Stanley Marigold Padgett takes a long breath, and then a longer one as the room around the two of them sinks into darkness. His mouth is dry. His eyes ache. There's a... something... jabbing him in his brain. Something he ought to remember, something... something... Charlotte goes first and he bites his lip, his eyes flickering... You stupid child. You have no business, no right, no decency! You are going to end up like your father, ruin another lady's life! Aunt Rachel's screeching voice slams into his brain. Stanley visibly flinches, and he has to tamp down two years worth of panic in an instant. "...I have to put on a good front, right? What sort of theatre kid doesn't know how to talk to girls?" Stanley and Charlotte, staring at a ceiling fan at Detective Stuart's house. The dancing lights of a forgotten tokusatsu show mingling on the dull paint. stantheman2005: were not dating r we? ud tell me if we were dating??????? Frantic texting at Charlotte after more speculation over the broadband. "Petra, when I go home tonight from the gym I am going to go to a warm house where a friend is waiting for me, and we are going to eat cold chicken and we are going to talk about our day. And we are going to look at houses and figure out how to move forward after you set fire to our house. And be happy." "...I'm pretty sure Charlotte's heard all of my... dumb speeches about the strengths of true bonds. Of people forming... lasting connections." His jaw works, as he tries to find words. It all comes out so easy when he's got an audience. Why not... with an audience of one?
Touta Konoe	Charlotte's the first to respond again and her response is...An interesting answer. Though before even saying anything he waits to hear what Stanley has to say on the matter as well. After everything that was said now, he's sure that after the two say their piece, that there wouldn't be much room for him to say much till the two had finished their own conversation. In the meanwhile... The darkness around them, the black fog that had all but encompassed them begins to fade and with it, the stares(?) that lingered within it began to fade as well. The only thing to come into sight once more should they have bothered is the sight of the room as it was. Touta standing where he was before arms crossed as he looked from Charlotte back to Stanley. "Alright, that should be enough..." With those words he claps his hands together once as if to break their gazes so as they might focus back on him. There's a pleased look on his face, as if he got what he wanted out of this. "I think you both know what kind of expression I'm looking for now, and the reason it's important. It was easy for you both to imagine those first thoughts, they were not as painful as they were the first time, but you felt them...When it came to finding thoughts for strength though, not as easy...Even blaming yourselves a little. But, when you two found strength in each other...That look you both had. Could rely on the smile of the other... That was tangible, even when you were experiencing something similar to that time, that tangible strength was more genuine than tangible discomfort. That's the kind of expression I'll be looking for...At least...That's the type I think it is. You two might have done /too/ good of a job with the looks actually... But, for what I'm looking for, you both should be able to spot it now on your own. Which is why...When you've used everything you've both learned up to this point for tomorrow, and you both do what you got to do... I'll ask you both to help me with putting together a potentially over-the-top request. For now though...You two should just need to focus on each other, and the one task you have to handle ahead of you. Everything else can wait." In truth, he wanted to tell them what he had in mind when he saw they were able to see what he was looking for. Though, this way felt better. Letting things end this way before the big day for them...Even he felt more at ease seeing them this way. He can't say if that's right or not, but he'd like to believe if there's even a small chance for once he's doing a proper job of trying to help others...Then this should be where it concludes. "But yeah, it's gotten seriously late. I imagine a good night's sleep back in Lamport might be nice, but if you're exhausted enough don't feel shy to take a room here. I'll handle it, so you two just make sure you take care of yourselves...And I'll be making sure to keep an eye on you both for tomorrow too if you need it."
Stanley Padgett	"....they just turned it all back on, Touta." Stanley takes a breath, and reaches a hand out over to Charlotte, to find one of hers. He can't say the words. But he might not have to. "And all that power they were putting into the Wish Box? They're just dumping it willy nilly into Neon City without..." He wilts. ""...it's bad and we have to do something."
Charlotte Newman	When Stanley's hand seeks out hers, Charlotte removes her hand from her glass and reaches out in turn. Like that the two teens just sort of hold hands on their dinner table. Her head tilts a little more, that smile growing a touch more appreciative. Just the gentle warmth of palm in palm. That unique, tangible connection no one can take from them. "They turned it back on, not knowing what it would do," Charlotte appends, "Not realizing until it was too late we pulled the most important piece out." The wish box comes up again. Charlotte's eyes flitter downward in thought, a soft noise escaping. After a few quiet moments, she glances up towards Touta. A light seems to go off behind her eyes and she jolts her gaze back to Stanley-- excitement dancing in those crimson eyes of hers. "Stanley... Those people got where they are by lying, cheating, and stealing from everyone. They've done it so much that they're used to always getting their way, right?" Her other hand lowers from her chin, tapping the tabletop lightly, "We already stole from them..." Her smile turns from excited to mischevious, "How about we do a little lying and cheating of our own, too?"
Touta Konoe	He can't help but look a bit surprised as he hears Stanley's words, the thought of them attempting to turn that machine back on leaves an unsavory taste to his lips. "Those guys are really a piece of work..." It's all he can say on the matter, at this point what else was there to say. With everything they'd all gone through at this point one would had hoped enough would have been enough but... "Whatever they think they're gonna do they got another thin--" He acts as though he's just about ready to add in to remark on the ensuing reprimanding of these elites (note Elites) that were going to need to be addressed. THough as he does he finds himself raising a brow to Charlotte's remark. "Hey now, if you got something cooking don't leave me hanging. If I can help you know I'll throw my hat in. I've been here since the beginning and I plan to see it through."