etrayalogs | OPERATION: YOUTHFUL DISOBEDIENCE

Entry tags:

OPERATION: YOUTHFUL DISOBEDIENCE

WHO: Members of the grand curfew-breaking plan!
WHEN: During the Moorecroft event.
WHERE: Various Moorecroft locales.
WHAT: A bunch of youths have gotten together to break curfew in tandem to get to the bottom of the mystery at heart of this place -- but what they find leads to more questions than answers.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Probable violence, death, emotional trauma, cursing. All the fun stuff! I'll be putting the log headers for pre/during/post-curfew breaking logs in the comments, so just hang tight while I do that, though all members are of course more than welcome to post their own logs if that suits their tagging style better.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Adaine's eyes immediately go wide, and she shakes her head and waves her arms in a "no way, not me!" gesture. ]

Are you kidding? I'm not fast, I'm not sneaky, and I can't defend myself without giving away any chance at remaining hidden. The best way for me to help is to stay behind and monitor things, or relay messages between groups with Sending spells.

I hit hard. We're not supposed to be getting into fights. [ Ergo, this is why Gorgug isn't going out. But he spares a look at Fabian before continuing, ] --but Fabian's fast too, and maybe Adaine can give you both fly to help you move faster for a while?

[ He does look at her, since that's her spell and she has some idea of what spells she might be able to cast for them beforehand, but that's not what they need to wait on, or not what the point is, here. ]

We don't know how the bots will react the closer you get to whatever they're hiding out there, and if you have Fabian, you know how to watch each other's backs. And he can give you a chance to keep going if you do get found--we're supposed to take the attention so you guys can keep going.

[ They're the fighters, after all, and maybe that's why Gorgug is in Fabian's corner in this so adamantly (in his...Gorgug way). Gorgug doesn't have the speed, but Fabian certainly does, and he has the abilities to draw attention onto himself--to protect so that the others can focus on their thing.

Putting themselves in the line of danger is their purpose in their groups, and even if it's only the two of them, it sits better with Gorgug. ]

But that's the whole thing -- if I get caught, show's over. I meant it when I told everyone else that they should bounce as soon as they're caught. This is a scouting mission, not a fighting one.

[ He does truly believe that, here and now. When he's out in the field, things might be different -- as pragmatic and logical as he thinks he is (and as prone as he is to running and hiding when things go south), he can get pretty boneheaded when it comes to hunting down answers to a mystery like this one. ]

If it comes down to a fight, I wouldn't want it to be just Fabian and I either. We need all hands on-deck for that sort of thing.

[ He and Fabian make for a good team. He knows that. But he also knows that they need Adaine and Gorgug around to really complete them; Gorgug's heavy-hitting means that Riz won't just be ditching Fabian alone on the front lines while he hides, and Adaine's spellcasting helps control an area in a way the rest of them can't. ]

...I'm just worried we're more likely to get caught that way, and then all of this will be for nothing, even after dragging all these other people into things. As far as I'm concerned, distracting the guards is the really dangerous mission here.

[ Darn, actually very offensive that you somehow think a bard isn't capable of being sneaky, Riz!! Stereotypes, much!!

At least Fabian is very glad that his other friends are now also getting to see how stubborn Riz can be about this. Although he, at the same time, did not really expect them to say that he should be the one to go with Riz. Sure, it makes sense, and Fabian also really doesn't mind, but there's something a little surprisingly nice about having the others' endorsement.

He's quiet for a moment, listening to everyone, and then adds: ]

And what if you do get caught by yourself?

[ Look, it's not a very likely scenario. They all know how good Riz is at this sort of thing specifically. But this place seems pretty impressive, and it seems like these bots really are hard to get around, even if your name is Riz Gukgak. ]

Then all of this would've been for nothing too. [ And he'd have a hurt or even outright killed bestie, please!! ] I can come with you as a last line of defense. I can keep up with the sneaking since I'm relatively fast, and if the bots do find you or get past the others' distraction, I can distract them and keep them occupied for long enough for you to get away.

[ Not like Fabian means being a last line of defense. Going out in a blaze of glory is really damn cool, okay. ]

Really-- Do you all think I'm as bad at sneaking as The Ball seems to think?

[ ... Just.. answer that one kindly, friends..

Don't think too hard about the many times Fabian has fallen off tables and got driven over by the van, alright. ]

[ Adaine is going to answer kindly. Sure, Fabian has fallen off of his share of tables and under his share of motor vehicles, but the amount of times he's dexterously leaped from one perch to another during battle outweigh the times he's fallen on his face! At least, in Adaine's recollection, they do. ]

You've got the best chance of keeping up with Riz's sneakiness out of the three of us.

[ Gorgug because he's too big to easily hide behind things, and Adaine because she literally needs to make noises to cast her spells.

But Adaine gestures around the room, where the rest of the gathered youths are in various stages of planning their excursion. As she speaks, she looks directly at Riz. ]

There are a going to be a lot of moving pieces in this. And Gorgug and I can only have eyes on so many at a time. I know that I would feel better if I knew there was someone out there with you, watching your back. And who better to do that than Fabian?

[ Really, some part of Gorgug may understand where Riz is coming from, but it doesn't really matter--this is about comfort, in the end. And comfort trumps whatever reasoning Riz may be trying to put on the table, even if that reasoning also comes from its own place of worry that they all share. None of them want something to happen to any of them.

Oh, also, Gorgug nods at Adaine's reply to the question turned to the both of them, a ] Yeah [ added in agreement.

(Also, let's be real: it's Gorgug's Gorgug Aura that doesn't help him be good at hiding.)

But he doesn't feel the need to add any further to the arguments put forward. There's plenty with Adaine and Fabian speaking to him, and maybe it will be enough to make him concede--but he will say, maybe just to cement where he is with this: ]

If you two can't make it with everything we've planned, I don't see you making on some extra speed or hiding alone. Or this wouldn't be a big mystery.

[ He doesn't want Riz to take it a bad way, but he's also assuming that there are others out there who could've figured things out if this was just about stealth and speed. Right? ]

I don't think you're bad at sneaking, Fabian. It's just -- we've all got our strengths.

[ And that's the thing, isn't it? The rest of them have plenty of strengths to their name. Fabian is a dancer and a fighter, a people person, charismatic and capable, and Gorgug has somehow wormed his way into being the brawns and the brains, picking away at all sorts of incredibly machinery as though the very same hands aren't capable of crushing a man's skull, and Adaine's the smartest person he's ever met, as lightning quick with a strategic spell in the heat of battle as she is with plucking some archaic fact straight out of her head.

Riz's is stealth and deduction. Pinning those on someone else just feels wrong. ]

If I got caught, I'd leave. That's the heart of the whole plan. I'm just thinking logically here.

[ And turns out to be the exact opposite of what they wind up doing, but -- details, details. His gaze dwells on each of them, one by one, looking a little betrayed by this whole thing, like a dog who was told that he was going to the park and wound up at the vet's office instead. He sets his jaw. ]

I can do this solo. [ Even if his friends don't seem to think so, it seems important to him to repeat this, to truly cement his own faith in himself and his abilities. He needs to be the best at this, because everyone else is the best at what they do too. ]

...but you guys aren't gonna let me, are you?

[ At the end of the day, he'll concede. He doesn't want to. It sticks in his throat. But he cares more about his friends being on-board with this than he does sticking to the original plan, even if the idea of needing someone to pick up the slack in his inevitable failure stings a little. ]

[ Does Fabian feel a little bad when he sees how much Riz seems to be struggling with this? Sure. But that doesn't mean he regrets starting this conversation, or bringing Gorgug and Adaine into it. Especially when Fabian isn't so sure Riz would just back out of a dangerous situation if it felt like there was something he could still learn if he pushed himself more. Sure, Riz is a great sneaker, a great investigator, but Fabian has seen him do some utterly ridiculous and dangerous things for information.

And the stakes here aren't exactly low.

So Fabian huffs. ]

Come on, The Ball. You're acting like we're doing this because we don't believe in you. [ And Fabian knows that isn't the case. Gorgug and Adaine are total sweethearts in their own way, especially when it comes to Riz. If they agree with Fabian, then Fabian can't be on the wrong path here. ] What if I just want to come with you, huh?

It's not that we don't want to let you do this solo. [ Or that they think he couldn't. No matter what impression Riz is getting of this persuasion attempt. ] But we're a party. We work better when we're working as a team. You and Fabian in the field, Gorgug and I here, running surveillance.

[ She could probably have done what she could to monitor the distraction and infiltration teams on her own. But she's going to be better able to do it because she's pairing her own arcane abilities to the machines which Gorgug has built. She knows that they complement each other, not detract. ]

Edited 2024-09-08 13:31 (UTC)

[ Gorgug wonders if he should speak. The two have said enough, and he really doesn't want to feel like he's dumping more onto Riz. There's a balance, a hold to his words before he says anything, where he doesn't want to lay too much on the goblin at once.

...so he's just going to echo his friend's words this time, trying to offer reassuringly, if only in tone: ] We trust you. We trust the both of you.

[ Spring break, and all. ]

I mean, you did go full intervention on me, [ Riz points out, nudging Fabian. He doesn't like this stuff getting sprung on him! Come on, guys!

He still doesn't quite buy it. Not really. If it wasn't that they didn't want him doing this alone, then they wouldn't be having this conversation. It would be him stealthing ahead like he always does, staking out the place, sneaking back and reporting in so they can figure out what to do next. But this time...

It's not that the stakes are higher. They're plenty used to high stakes. But there's something about this place that's rendered them helpless, at the mercies of what's thrown with them, of powers greater than they can research or magic away or beat to death. This is less important, but it feels like it's more important in a way, their first act of actually seizing power from the guys in charge and giving them a final fuck you.

He turns to Fabian, blinking curiously. ]

...but okay, sure. [ He's not against Fabian having a more active hand in things, per se. But this month has been... well. Besides, Riz has never actually been with him on a stealth mission before. It's adding more variables to the mix. ] It's not like I'd say no if you really want to come. Just not if you feel, like... you have to.

[ He's been pushing for this. Hard. No matter the dangers. He knows that they do things as a party, but there is no life-or-death crisis happening here, no end-of-the-world disaster that will happen if they don't jump in and do the stupid thing, no grade contingent on it. The rest are on-board, of course, with Gorgug hopping right into the conspiracy with him on practically day one, and Adaine's constantly ticking mind, but Fabian? It's not like is something he'd want to do on his own. ]

Alright, alright, no need to handle me with kiddy gloves.

[ He doesn't sound fully offended, because he definitely gets where Riz's hesitance about him in particular may come from. He did kind of cry all over him only just the other week, after all. But Fabian feels awkward about the idea of that influencing the way his friends think about him when it comes to this. He doesn't think he's weaker for it - doesn't like to think he is, anyway - and so he wants to do what he can, shove aside that impression of him in Riz's mind - and Gorgug's mind, likely, considering he kind of did the same around him..

Especially when this entire thing is clearly important to Riz. Isn't that why they're all there? Fabian is pretty sure Adaine and Gorgug feel the same way regarding this as he does. ]

But that means we are all in agreement then! With all four of us in on this plan, there is absolutely no way it is going to fail!

[ They seem to be in agreement, finally. Even if Riz is a bit reluctant, still. But, Adaine is glad that they've managed to get him to see reason.

Quietly, she puts her hand in the middle and starts a chant, slowly growing louder and louder. ]

Hoot growl. Hoot growl! Hoot growl!

[ Another good discussion where Gorgug has nothing he needs to add, except-- oh shit, is this a chant? Are we doing a chant?!

Gorgug absolutely cannot let Adaine down, and so he excitedly puts his own hand in next to hers, while another is absolutely banging a fist on the table for a beat. ]

Hoot growl, hoot growl, hoot growl!!! Team Riz! Team Fabian!!

[ Maybe he should've said an 'and' instead of 'team' again there but he got caught up in the excitement!!! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OPERATION: YOUTHFUL DISOBEDIENCE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject