[ What do you do when another one of your friends shows up belatedly in this place compared to the rest of you and you have to catch them up on everything that's happened so far in this place?
That means it's time for a Boys Sleepover, of course. What else. It's the only way he'd actually let Riz into his room. (He's still locked the walk-in closet though. Just in case. Not that it'll stop Riz, but it might just slow him down a touch enough for Fabian to realise what he's doing before another shirt has suffered!)
He's a great host though. There's mattresses that have been dragged in, now lying across the floor. Where are they coming from? Maybe better to not ask. Or better to hope those apartments weren't actually occupied.. There's a pile of various snacks too. There's all the things one might expect from a Boys Sleepover.
Like Fabian, sitting cross-legged on top of his bed. Wearing his pyjamas. It's a sleepover, my dudes, we have to wear pyjamas!! No, The Ball, this can't just be a regular information-sharing session, it's THEMED. IT'S A SLEEPOVER!! ]
Anyway--
[ Fabian starts, already busy opening a bag of snacks.
It's goldfish. He's never had any.. It's a mystical snack.. Maybe he's hoping they're kippers or something.. ]
Where do we even start? [ ... ] With the lion? Gorgug should probably know about the lion, huh.
The mission tonight? To be normal. To win at Sleepover, which is something he thinks he'll be able to achieve. He knows that between the whole clue board debacle (which is all still valuable information, he maintains, even if the ensuing spiral wasn't altogether helpful), the horrible Kalina-plushie, and Riz's general Rizness, Fabian's had to put up with a lot. Riz is a lot, he's aware, and it's very possibly an attempt to spare his feelings that Fabian hasn't brought up the idea that maybe they should have separate apartments after all.
He's not going to go on any long rants about his hypotheses, theories, and proposed impending doomsdays. His clue boards are staying safely in his room, where nobody is allowed to step foot on account of the fact that it looks like Memento vomited in there. He's wearing PJs (really, just a pair of loose pants and an oversized T-shirt that makes him look more or less like a twelve-year-old boy who's really intense about the fact that this is what will make him look like he's a part of skater culture), he's brought snacks, he's got his game face on. It's time to Sleepover, which he is doing Normally.
To that end, he even made fresh popcorn in a pot, just like his Mom used to do it. Some pieces got a little burnt, but it's nothing that a liberal amount of butter can't hide. He shoves a handful in his mouth, then slides the bowl across to the others. ]
Oh yeah, the lion. That's probably the simplest place to start? [ Wait, where did the lion go? Did someone kill it? ] So, Fabian and I met up here day one? And while we were finding a place to stay, there was a lion in the middle of the lobby just, like, chilling? It's not so different from what's going on with the snakes.
[ He shrugss. ]
We snuck past her, and by the time we had to leave again, she was gone. Maybe the snakes will just disappear too.
[ Scene setting: Gorgug will take the popcorn, thank you.
Fortunately, getting PJs was part of his earlier adventure with Adaine in getting clothes, and said PJs for Gorgug means a short-sleeved that puts his tattoos on display, and then some simple cotton pants. We don't go for matching wear here, fellas. We just wear the plainest shit our hands land on, and go along with it.
Which, hands. Gorgug's taking a handful--a much bigger kind of handful than Riz's--of that popcorn and sticking most of it in his mouth in one go, only a few escaping it by hitting his tusk, or rolling off his palm in the motion. He's focusing on Riz right now as the speaker in the room, though does turn from his spot on the mattress floor bed to make a motion if Fabian wants some. You want some of this one out of twenty snacks we're having??
Because Gorgug will have one of every twenty snacks they're having tonight. Most likely even more than that. He's got a big stomach. ]
Did anyone say you had to sneak past the lion? [ Just- ] The lion sounds like the dragon in this equation, maybe. But more in the way.
[ There's that. But did they have to go into the lobby to find a place to stay, Gorgug wonders? Or did they pick that because life just led them in that direction than, say, a building without a lion. ]
[ Yes, there's a serious discussion going on. Yes, it's the entire point as to why they're here together in the first place.
Yet while Riz and Gorgug speak, Fabian is very focused on tasting these Goldfish, and.. he's definitely making a face, likely interrupting conversation with a: ]
Yuck, these don't taste like fish at all!
[ Top ten anime betrayals. You know what, he will gladly lean forward to grab a handful of popcorn instead when Gorgug offers, instead holding out the bag towards the half-orc. Please take these offensive crackers away from him, thanks.
But once he's gotten the popcorn, he goes silent again, listening to the other guys while he starts munching on the popcorn.
It's pretty good, actually. Good job, Riz. ]
Oh, actually-- [ He finally pipes up near the end there. ] I went back with Amy to kill the lion. So that is what happened to it.
[ MAYBE.. WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE HELPFUL IF HE SHARED THAT INFORMATION FIRST, HUH.. ]
I thought that was the entire point. See how we deal with threats lingering around and the ways in which we keep other people safe. That sort of thing, right?
What?! [ Riz squawks, immediately breaking his internal promise to be extremely Chill. ] That's what happened to her? Dude, I snuck past her like, six times to avoid killing her!
[ He leans back in a huff, looking a little put-out, lip jutting out in an unbecoming pout for about ten seconds before it registers to him that the reason he hadn't killed her obviously wasn't a factor anyway. She was technically an innocent lion, but she could also technically try to maul, maim, or eat anyone who passed by, so fair is fair. ]
I thought she could've been someone's pet, or familiar, or mount or whatever. Why else would she be hanging around an apartment building? But I guess she wasn't?
[ It's not as though they haven't collectively killed the shit out of way more animals than just a lion, so it's not really the principle of the thing. ]
So I guess it doesn't really matter. [ He considers this. ] Did she put up much of a fight?
[ Fabian, please tell him you didn't just skewer a sleeping lion. That feels bad, spiritually speaking. ]
[ Food switch? Food switch? The not-fish are being offered to Gorgug, so he'll take them with his free hand, awkwardly, if the bowl isn't actually taken from him. Takes the opportunity to plop the packet down, and bring as well the bowl back onto a surface so he can look at these biscuits and see...
Hm, yes. They are not real fish, are they. An assessment that Gorgug makes all by himself, and he's happy to continue studying this by actually tasting the goldfish for himself--one at first. Then, deciding the taste isn't offensive to himself (and not finding they have that strong of a taste with just one) takes a handful and directly deposits that into his mouth too.
He knows he can east like a trash bin around his pals. Please, friends, talk about lions. He's listening!!! ]
[ Your habits are so valid, Gorgug. It's probably telling how little of a reaction there is to Gorgug definitely eating twice the combined others' share. Fabian will only whine if it turns out Gorgug ate all of one of the good snacks, but he can have the bland fake fish. That's a sacrifice Fabian is graciously willing to make.
Besides, he's too focused on his lion story here to think too hard about the food. ]
She started to attack! Of course I was going to kill her!
[ It doesn't even sound defensive as much as it sounds like he's just explaining - given that the Bad Kids have never really needed an excuse to just jump to violence.
It's often the best solution! ]
I first got her with my sword, but it only downed her, rather than killing her. I was going to go for the killing blow, but Amy insisted that she'd take care of it. [ ...
Fabian is.. kind of realising the other two might not necessarily know who Amy is.
But he's not stopping to explain anyway. If there's any questions, he'll surely hear it. ]
Apparently she can kill things by just touching them. It didn't really look like any spell I've ever seen before. She called herself a healer, but she had no idea what clerics are.
[ It's followed up by a slight shrug of his shoulders.
The worlds represented in this place are weird, gang! He doesn't know what else to tell you two! ]
Okay, okay! I had to ask. Every time I saw her, it was just snooze-central.
[ In honour of the sleepover, Riz has switched from coffee to soda, which has roughly the same amount of caffeine but enough carbonation to make him belch enormously when he least expects it. He swigs it down with a speed that would be alarming if his competition wasn't currently shoving goldfish crackers into his mouth. ]
I've met Amy. She can just -- touch people dead? [ Which isn't unique to her, Riz supposes. But something like Power Word Kill is beyond even Adaine's capabilities. He frowns, a little discomfited by this knowledge; Amy seems perfectly nice, but the only people he really wants around with that sort of power are the Bad Kids and maybe one or two useful adults. Amy's a wildcard. ]
Maybe she absorbs their, like, life power into herself? Or else I don't see why she'd want to kill the lion herself. [ He taps his chin. ] Especially since that gives his whole deal away.
[ Weren't they supposed to be debriefing Gorgug? He's gotten immediately derailed. ]
[ You need to be doing a what now with Gorgug? Because he's just here, continuing to vibe; getting closer and closer to the bottom of that goldfish bag like you fellas wouldn't believe as this talk about the lion and some Amy girl goes on.
His contribution to this, is: ]
Dying out slowly and dying both suck.
[ Does that help come to a conclusion as to why Amy chose the method she did? No, but that's Gorgug's thoughts on the matter, as he lets himself take a break from demolishing the fish crackers for what should always be had with their company: a soda. His mouth is kinda getting chewy in there, fellas.
Please, continue on about Amy or lions, or both. ]
[ Fabian gestures in Gorgug's direction with one hand. ]
That's it, yes. Or at least-- That is the reason she told me, that she did not want it to die slowly. Even though I was totally going to finish it off! [ There's a tiny bit of offense in that, but considering it's been so long since then and they've gone through quite a few wild things too, there's no real hurt in it at all.
It's just the usual Fabian whining, really. He may not be drinking or eating even remotely as much as these other two, but it seems that he's making up for it by just being entirely unable to close his mouth to talk. Everything is in balance. As it should be. ]
Of course she could have been lying to me. [ It's not like Riz's theory is impossible either. And Fabian doesn't know enough about Amy to be able to tell which is the truth.
So he just pulls his shoulders up into a shrug, grabbing a bit more popcorn. ] Anyway, that's not the important part-- We can go over people Gorgug should maybe learn about later!
[ Especially when that is an entire mountain of information by itself. Fabian has truly met too many people, sorry, he is just too sociable.. ]
The lion is the main first thing we encountered, really, and then a little while after that we were sent into the maze.
[ Okay, let him now shove some popcorn into his mouth. So Riz can tell Gorgug about the maze. C'mon, The Ball. ]
[ And then Riz just proceeds to kind of... stare at them both for a full thirty seconds without saying anything or looking as though he's about to say anything. Sorry fellas. Just give him a second to think about what to say. In actuality, he's just sifting through all the bullshit that they'd collectively experienced, sorting them into piles of Normal Amounts Of Detail and Extraneous Facts. He doesn't want to talk Gorgug's ear off about things that don't matter, after all.
And then, abruptly, as though he'd never stopped talking in the first place, he dives into it. ]
So, the first mission we were here for was to survive this big magic maze. They told us they were gonna suck all the oxygen out of the city, so basically? They have ways of forcing you to do whatever dumb stuff they want us to. We were stuck in the maze for -- what, a week?
[ He glances over at Fabian questioningly. There had been no obvious shifts between day and night, and Riz himself hadn't really slept much, so his entire sense of time was completely off. ]
The walls moved to make sure all of us were separated and had to work with a bunch of strangers. Basically, the rooms were either puzzles that you had to figure out, monsters you had to fight, or rest stops. I've never seen magic that impressive before. Fabian even ran into a dragon.
[ Dean had filled him in on it. ]
But eventually everyone got out. I don't think anyone died. None of us did, anyway.
[ He has decided to leave out the part where he'd dined on several monsters. A guy's gotta eat. ]
[ Ah, Riz is doing... the thing. It still hypnotises Gorgug even now (after he should be more used to how this goes), watching him stay in that lagged-looking state where he might speak any second, staring at him in a bizarre form of suspense. Fortunately, while he does that, one of his hands is slowly going for another one of the snacks present: cookies.
His hand doesn't need to be reaching so slowly, but it is until the point he snatches the packet, and then leans back properly in triumph.
There are very tiny quiet crinkling sounds as Riz divulges on previous events, and Gorgug finally gets into his (his!!!) cookies. Nibble nibble nibble....
And by the time Riz comes to the end, there's...well, a frown Gorgug wears. Somehow, even while snacking on cookies. ]
It's a good way to test an individual person, [ he points out, which is fairly clear, ] but... are we meant to be doing something to save our own worlds? It doesn't sound like the kind of test you...
[ Wait, let him go back a step. ] Could you find drinks and foods? Were you pushed to choose between saving yourself or other people? --I'm just trying to see what this has to do with the big picture.
[ They're very used to Riz's thing at this point, honestly. Fabian is also just casually chewing on some snacks now, only occasionally glancing at Riz to see how long he's been stuck like that already. Mostly since he's readying himself to be able to nudge Riz with a foot in case the other sticks in that mode for too long..
But-- there he goes. No foot nudging necessary. Fabian shifts a little where he's sitting on the bed as he listens to his friends. ]
I think it was trying to make us work together. [ He points out after swallowing a mouthful of snacks. ] I, at least, ran into some challenges that no one would have been able to pull off on their own, forcing you to cooperate with whoever you got stuck with in that particular part of the maze.
[ Ah, right, since Riz didn't mention that part yet, he explains to Gorgug: ]
The maze kept shifting around us. Sometimes walls would appear between you and whoever you were with, forcing you to move on by yourself. That's actually the way we got separated. The two of us went in with Adaine, naturally, but soon enough the maze forced us to go off by ourselves. And-- [ He pauses, getting a little huffy in that dramatic way Fabian always gets huffy, and waves his hands. ] I get that it was likely about cooperating with new people and all that, but I think it's extremely stupid to not just let us stick with our party.
[ He looks from Gorgug over at Riz, pointing at him. ]
The Ball, you sent me at least thirty messages after that asking if I was okay! And I didn't even read those until it was about a day later! [ Because clearly that is Riz's fault, right. And not Fabian's. ]
No food and water, unless you got lucky and found some in the chests that were scattered around. [ Riz scratches his cheek. ] But there were monsters around for if you were in a pinch, so I just ate those.
[ Sorry, Fabian, this is absolutely the first you're hearing of it! But it's a little embarrassing how quickly he'd lost his rations, and the reactions from everyone who caught onto the fact that he was just chowing down on the monsters to keep going were less than positive. He jabs a finger at Fabian, accusingly. ]
And I wouldn't have had to send thirty of them if you'd just checked your crystal and responded to one of them! Something bad could've happened to you!
[ But Riz is, at all times, extremely concerned about something bad happening to everyone. It's okay. Gorgug gets it. He also seems very worried all the time about something happening. It's a reasonable concern. ]
Anyway, other than the criminal neglect of his crystal, Fabian's right. They clearly wanted us to cooperate with people other than those we already knew and trusted. I think they wanted to see how we'd act under pressure without our usual safety net. It's all very social experiment-y.
[ Gorgug tips his head when Riz says about eating monsters--in that 'well, you might as well' way, the small wrinkle of the nose that isn't one of disgust, but agreement. Maybe they should get better at cooking and eating monsters and animals, really.
More important is: ]
You should check your messages. [ It's Gorgug backing Riz up, looking at Fabian as he says it. Sorry, bro. :( But this is an intervention and it's how you're bad at checking on very important things!! But Gorgug falls silent between that small part about his crystal, listening as Riz continues. Cooperation does sound like a key factor in this mission, working together... ]
And no one died, so there were enough resources for everyone. [ Even if they were in chests or they had to kill monsters--it seems worth noting, saying out loud. It wasn't about pushing people to make sacrifices, or so it doesn't sound like it.
...but this is Gorgug, so he's fine with saying that much, and allowing the other two to continue.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action; (with gorgug, you two can't stop me)
That means it's time for a Boys Sleepover, of course. What else. It's the only way he'd actually let Riz into his room. (He's still locked the walk-in closet though. Just in case. Not that it'll stop Riz, but it might just slow him down a touch enough for Fabian to realise what he's doing before another shirt has suffered!)
He's a great host though. There's mattresses that have been dragged in, now lying across the floor. Where are they coming from? Maybe better to not ask. Or better to hope those apartments weren't actually occupied.. There's a pile of various snacks too. There's all the things one might expect from a Boys Sleepover.
Like Fabian, sitting cross-legged on top of his bed. Wearing his pyjamas. It's a sleepover, my dudes, we have to wear pyjamas!! No, The Ball, this can't just be a regular information-sharing session, it's THEMED. IT'S A SLEEPOVER!! ]
Anyway--
[ Fabian starts, already busy opening a bag of snacks.
It's goldfish. He's never had any.. It's a mystical snack.. Maybe he's hoping they're kippers or something.. ]
Where do we even start? [ ... ] With the lion? Gorgug should probably know about the lion, huh.
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The mission tonight? To be normal. To win at Sleepover, which is something he thinks he'll be able to achieve. He knows that between the whole clue board debacle (which is all still valuable information, he maintains, even if the ensuing spiral wasn't altogether helpful), the horrible Kalina-plushie, and Riz's general Rizness, Fabian's had to put up with a lot. Riz is a lot, he's aware, and it's very possibly an attempt to spare his feelings that Fabian hasn't brought up the idea that maybe they should have separate apartments after all.
He's not going to go on any long rants about his hypotheses, theories, and proposed impending doomsdays. His clue boards are staying safely in his room, where nobody is allowed to step foot on account of the fact that it looks like Memento vomited in there. He's wearing PJs (really, just a pair of loose pants and an oversized T-shirt that makes him look more or less like a twelve-year-old boy who's really intense about the fact that this is what will make him look like he's a part of skater culture), he's brought snacks, he's got his game face on. It's time to Sleepover, which he is doing Normally.
To that end, he even made fresh popcorn in a pot, just like his Mom used to do it. Some pieces got a little burnt, but it's nothing that a liberal amount of butter can't hide. He shoves a handful in his mouth, then slides the bowl across to the others. ]
Oh yeah, the lion. That's probably the simplest place to start? [ Wait, where did the lion go? Did someone kill it? ] So, Fabian and I met up here day one? And while we were finding a place to stay, there was a lion in the middle of the lobby just, like, chilling? It's not so different from what's going on with the snakes.
[ He shrugss. ]
We snuck past her, and by the time we had to leave again, she was gone. Maybe the snakes will just disappear too.
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Fortunately, getting PJs was part of his earlier adventure with Adaine in getting clothes, and said PJs for Gorgug means a short-sleeved that puts his tattoos on display, and then some simple cotton pants. We don't go for matching wear here, fellas. We just wear the plainest shit our hands land on, and go along with it.
Which, hands. Gorgug's taking a handful--a much bigger kind of handful than Riz's--of that popcorn and sticking most of it in his mouth in one go, only a few escaping it by hitting his tusk, or rolling off his palm in the motion. He's focusing on Riz right now as the speaker in the room, though does turn from his spot on the mattress floor bed to make a motion if Fabian wants some. You want some of this one out of twenty snacks we're having??
Because Gorgug will have one of every twenty snacks they're having tonight. Most likely even more than that. He's got a big stomach. ]
Did anyone say you had to sneak past the lion? [ Just- ] The lion sounds like the dragon in this equation, maybe. But more in the way.
[ There's that. But did they have to go into the lobby to find a place to stay, Gorgug wonders? Or did they pick that because life just led them in that direction than, say, a building without a lion. ]
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Yet while Riz and Gorgug speak, Fabian is very focused on tasting these Goldfish, and.. he's definitely making a face, likely interrupting conversation with a: ]
Yuck, these don't taste like fish at all!
[ Top ten anime betrayals. You know what, he will gladly lean forward to grab a handful of popcorn instead when Gorgug offers, instead holding out the bag towards the half-orc. Please take these offensive crackers away from him, thanks.
But once he's gotten the popcorn, he goes silent again, listening to the other guys while he starts munching on the popcorn.
It's pretty good, actually. Good job, Riz. ]
Oh, actually-- [ He finally pipes up near the end there. ] I went back with Amy to kill the lion. So that is what happened to it.
[ MAYBE.. WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE HELPFUL IF HE SHARED THAT INFORMATION FIRST, HUH.. ]
I thought that was the entire point. See how we deal with threats lingering around and the ways in which we keep other people safe. That sort of thing, right?
no subject
[ He leans back in a huff, looking a little put-out, lip jutting out in an unbecoming pout for about ten seconds before it registers to him that the reason he hadn't killed her obviously wasn't a factor anyway. She was technically an innocent lion, but she could also technically try to maul, maim, or eat anyone who passed by, so fair is fair. ]
I thought she could've been someone's pet, or familiar, or mount or whatever. Why else would she be hanging around an apartment building? But I guess she wasn't?
[ It's not as though they haven't collectively killed the shit out of way more animals than just a lion, so it's not really the principle of the thing. ]
So I guess it doesn't really matter. [ He considers this. ] Did she put up much of a fight?
[ Fabian, please tell him you didn't just skewer a sleeping lion. That feels bad, spiritually speaking. ]
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Hm, yes. They are not real fish, are they. An assessment that Gorgug makes all by himself, and he's happy to continue studying this by actually tasting the goldfish for himself--one at first. Then, deciding the taste isn't offensive to himself (and not finding they have that strong of a taste with just one) takes a handful and directly deposits that into his mouth too.
He knows he can east like a trash bin around his pals. Please, friends, talk about lions. He's listening!!! ]
no subject
Besides, he's too focused on his lion story here to think too hard about the food. ]
She started to attack! Of course I was going to kill her!
[ It doesn't even sound defensive as much as it sounds like he's just explaining - given that the Bad Kids have never really needed an excuse to just jump to violence.
It's often the best solution! ]
I first got her with my sword, but it only downed her, rather than killing her. I was going to go for the killing blow, but Amy insisted that she'd take care of it. [ ...
Fabian is.. kind of realising the other two might not necessarily know who Amy is.
But he's not stopping to explain anyway. If there's any questions, he'll surely hear it. ]
Apparently she can kill things by just touching them. It didn't really look like any spell I've ever seen before. She called herself a healer, but she had no idea what clerics are.
[ It's followed up by a slight shrug of his shoulders.
The worlds represented in this place are weird, gang! He doesn't know what else to tell you two! ]
no subject
[ In honour of the sleepover, Riz has switched from coffee to soda, which has roughly the same amount of caffeine but enough carbonation to make him belch enormously when he least expects it. He swigs it down with a speed that would be alarming if his competition wasn't currently shoving goldfish crackers into his mouth. ]
I've met Amy. She can just -- touch people dead? [ Which isn't unique to her, Riz supposes. But something like Power Word Kill is beyond even Adaine's capabilities. He frowns, a little discomfited by this knowledge; Amy seems perfectly nice, but the only people he really wants around with that sort of power are the Bad Kids and maybe one or two useful adults. Amy's a wildcard. ]
Maybe she absorbs their, like, life power into herself? Or else I don't see why she'd want to kill the lion herself. [ He taps his chin. ] Especially since that gives his whole deal away.
[ Weren't they supposed to be debriefing Gorgug? He's gotten immediately derailed. ]
no subject
His contribution to this, is: ]
Dying out slowly and dying both suck.
[ Does that help come to a conclusion as to why Amy chose the method she did? No, but that's Gorgug's thoughts on the matter, as he lets himself take a break from demolishing the fish crackers for what should always be had with their company: a soda. His mouth is kinda getting chewy in there, fellas.
Please, continue on about Amy or lions, or both. ]
no subject
That's it, yes. Or at least-- That is the reason she told me, that she did not want it to die slowly. Even though I was totally going to finish it off! [ There's a tiny bit of offense in that, but considering it's been so long since then and they've gone through quite a few wild things too, there's no real hurt in it at all.
It's just the usual Fabian whining, really. He may not be drinking or eating even remotely as much as these other two, but it seems that he's making up for it by just being entirely unable to close his mouth to talk. Everything is in balance. As it should be. ]
Of course she could have been lying to me. [ It's not like Riz's theory is impossible either. And Fabian doesn't know enough about Amy to be able to tell which is the truth.
So he just pulls his shoulders up into a shrug, grabbing a bit more popcorn. ] Anyway, that's not the important part-- We can go over people Gorgug should maybe learn about later!
[ Especially when that is an entire mountain of information by itself. Fabian has truly met too many people, sorry, he is just too sociable.. ]
The lion is the main first thing we encountered, really, and then a little while after that we were sent into the maze.
[ Okay, let him now shove some popcorn into his mouth. So Riz can tell Gorgug about the maze. C'mon, The Ball. ]
no subject
[ And then Riz just proceeds to kind of... stare at them both for a full thirty seconds without saying anything or looking as though he's about to say anything. Sorry fellas. Just give him a second to think about what to say. In actuality, he's just sifting through all the bullshit that they'd collectively experienced, sorting them into piles of Normal Amounts Of Detail and Extraneous Facts. He doesn't want to talk Gorgug's ear off about things that don't matter, after all.
And then, abruptly, as though he'd never stopped talking in the first place, he dives into it. ]
So, the first mission we were here for was to survive this big magic maze. They told us they were gonna suck all the oxygen out of the city, so basically? They have ways of forcing you to do whatever dumb stuff they want us to. We were stuck in the maze for -- what, a week?
[ He glances over at Fabian questioningly. There had been no obvious shifts between day and night, and Riz himself hadn't really slept much, so his entire sense of time was completely off. ]
The walls moved to make sure all of us were separated and had to work with a bunch of strangers. Basically, the rooms were either puzzles that you had to figure out, monsters you had to fight, or rest stops. I've never seen magic that impressive before. Fabian even ran into a dragon.
[ Dean had filled him in on it. ]
But eventually everyone got out. I don't think anyone died. None of us did, anyway.
[ He has decided to leave out the part where he'd dined on several monsters. A guy's gotta eat. ]
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His hand doesn't need to be reaching so slowly, but it is until the point he snatches the packet, and then leans back properly in triumph.
There are very tiny quiet crinkling sounds as Riz divulges on previous events, and Gorgug finally gets into his (his!!!) cookies. Nibble nibble nibble....
And by the time Riz comes to the end, there's...well, a frown Gorgug wears. Somehow, even while snacking on cookies. ]
It's a good way to test an individual person, [ he points out, which is fairly clear, ] but... are we meant to be doing something to save our own worlds? It doesn't sound like the kind of test you...
[ Wait, let him go back a step. ] Could you find drinks and foods? Were you pushed to choose between saving yourself or other people? --I'm just trying to see what this has to do with the big picture.
[ The universe saving picture. ]
no subject
But-- there he goes. No foot nudging necessary. Fabian shifts a little where he's sitting on the bed as he listens to his friends. ]
I think it was trying to make us work together. [ He points out after swallowing a mouthful of snacks. ] I, at least, ran into some challenges that no one would have been able to pull off on their own, forcing you to cooperate with whoever you got stuck with in that particular part of the maze.
[ Ah, right, since Riz didn't mention that part yet, he explains to Gorgug: ]
The maze kept shifting around us. Sometimes walls would appear between you and whoever you were with, forcing you to move on by yourself. That's actually the way we got separated. The two of us went in with Adaine, naturally, but soon enough the maze forced us to go off by ourselves. And-- [ He pauses, getting a little huffy in that dramatic way Fabian always gets huffy, and waves his hands. ] I get that it was likely about cooperating with new people and all that, but I think it's extremely stupid to not just let us stick with our party.
[ He looks from Gorgug over at Riz, pointing at him. ]
The Ball, you sent me at least thirty messages after that asking if I was okay! And I didn't even read those until it was about a day later! [ Because clearly that is Riz's fault, right. And not Fabian's. ]
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[ Sorry, Fabian, this is absolutely the first you're hearing of it! But it's a little embarrassing how quickly he'd lost his rations, and the reactions from everyone who caught onto the fact that he was just chowing down on the monsters to keep going were less than positive. He jabs a finger at Fabian, accusingly. ]
And I wouldn't have had to send thirty of them if you'd just checked your crystal and responded to one of them! Something bad could've happened to you!
[ But Riz is, at all times, extremely concerned about something bad happening to everyone. It's okay. Gorgug gets it. He also seems very worried all the time about something happening. It's a reasonable concern. ]
Anyway, other than the criminal neglect of his crystal, Fabian's right. They clearly wanted us to cooperate with people other than those we already knew and trusted. I think they wanted to see how we'd act under pressure without our usual safety net. It's all very social experiment-y.
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More important is: ]
You should check your messages. [ It's Gorgug backing Riz up, looking at Fabian as he says it. Sorry, bro. :( But this is an intervention and it's how you're bad at checking on very important things!! But Gorgug falls silent between that small part about his crystal, listening as Riz continues. Cooperation does sound like a key factor in this mission, working together... ]
And no one died, so there were enough resources for everyone. [ Even if they were in chests or they had to kill monsters--it seems worth noting, saying out loud. It wasn't about pushing people to make sacrifices, or so it doesn't sound like it.
...but this is Gorgug, so he's fine with saying that much, and allowing the other two to continue.
His hands will eventually reach for new snacks. ]