Radar O'Reilly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
incomingchoppers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ph_logs2024-10-08 08:22 pm
incomingchoppers) wrote in ph_logs2024-10-08 08:22 pm
[OPEN] city flower, wrapped around my heart
Who: Radar (incomingchoppers) & YOU
What: A rare breaking point, a new member of the O'Reilly Menagerie, and Radar's 20th birthday!
When: October through the beginning of November
Where: The Oak & Iron, Baker Ranch, and a few other spots around town
Warning(s): None yet -- will add if needed
1) you find me in the shadows and the shade
For a week or so after the gala, Radar's uncharacteristically scarce around town. He doesn't show up bright and early at Town Hall with coffee for all the filing clerks. Doesn't go to Baker Ranch for the weekend. If he pops into a store for something, he doesn't linger.
I got a lot to do at the estate, he says when asked, subdued. That's only part of it, but it's a big enough part that he doesn't wanna elaborate further.
Gradually, that changes: he begins to stop by the Oak & Iron again, making small talk here and there, though he clams up pretty quick whenever the topic turns toward Dahlia Leeds. Just because he's not talking about it doesn't mean plenty of other people aren't, though. When the gossip gets bad, it's easy to spot him scowling from across the way, visibly biting his tongue like he's listening to Major Burns spout off another boneheaded rant about the enlisted men.
What can he do, though? What they're saying might be awful, sure, but a lot of it's true. She's Aster's daughter; part-demon. She's eaten people. She never told anybody. That keeps him quiet, more or less -- until it doesn't anymore. Even a guy like Radar has to snap sometime.
So yeah, somebody comes in to the Oak & Iron talking about how they're gonna try to kick Dahlia off the town council, and Radar kinda loses his temper (a little at first but then a whole lot), and suddenly there's a real bad shouting match where he's yelling like he would when Colonel Blake wanted him to quiet down the whole mess tent -- You think she wants this?! You think anybody would if they could just be normal?!! --
Anyway. It's bad. And loud enough that it interrupts a lot of people's days -- maybe including yours.
2) the city bells ring soft in the night
He holes up at Baker Ranch for a bit after that, cycling back toward scarcity, keeping to himself when he can. Radar takes it upon himself to pick up the worst chores nobody else wants to do, like mucking out the stalls and scrubbing down the chicken coop. And he only assumes the fetal position in the hayloft once! Success!
That's where the barn cat finds him. And look, Radar had a real bad September, so when something that cute and fuzzy nuzzles up to him and starts purring, he just about bursts into tears. Even when it swipes his sending stone right out of his pocket, he can't find it in himself to be mad; he just pries it out of the cat's mouth with a weak, "Hey, c'mon, I need that."
Which is when he notices the stone's glowing like he just placed a call. Oops.
"Uh -- hello?" he says into the geode, sheepish. Radar rubs his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call, sir. Ma'am. Who's this?"
In the background, the Purrloin keeps purring smugly.
3) show me how to bloom; i promise i won't fade (forward dated to November)
Radar's mood finally begins to lighten toward the middle-end of the month. Mostly because once they turn the corner on October, it's just over a week until his birthday. He doesn't actually want a big party or anything, but if he mentions, oh so casual and offhand, that his twentieth birthday's coming up pretty soon, that's not gonna hurt anything, right?
So on November 8th, he wakes up -- and there it is. He's twenty. The big 2-0. No longer a teenager even a little bit. Maybe technically he was twenty before this, since it was September or October or maybe even November already when he died, and he's been on Marrow Isle for almost six months, but now it's official. He can do anything! He could even go to the Velvet now if he wanted!
....He doesn't actually want to, but he could.
Obviously he doesn't take off work (who do you think he is?!), but he miiiiight cut out a little early to celebrate. It'll be a quiet one -- a drink at Empty Pockets, some more time up at the ranch with all the animals, and eventually wandering toward the Leeds estate -- but if anyone wants to celebrate with him, he definitely won't say no. Hopefully it'll go a little better than Dahlia's birthday did.
4) wildcard
[find me on discord or PM me to plot!]
incomingchoppers) & YOUWhat: A rare breaking point, a new member of the O'Reilly Menagerie, and Radar's 20th birthday!
When: October through the beginning of November
Where: The Oak & Iron, Baker Ranch, and a few other spots around town
Warning(s): None yet -- will add if needed
1) you find me in the shadows and the shade
For a week or so after the gala, Radar's uncharacteristically scarce around town. He doesn't show up bright and early at Town Hall with coffee for all the filing clerks. Doesn't go to Baker Ranch for the weekend. If he pops into a store for something, he doesn't linger.
I got a lot to do at the estate, he says when asked, subdued. That's only part of it, but it's a big enough part that he doesn't wanna elaborate further.
Gradually, that changes: he begins to stop by the Oak & Iron again, making small talk here and there, though he clams up pretty quick whenever the topic turns toward Dahlia Leeds. Just because he's not talking about it doesn't mean plenty of other people aren't, though. When the gossip gets bad, it's easy to spot him scowling from across the way, visibly biting his tongue like he's listening to Major Burns spout off another boneheaded rant about the enlisted men.
What can he do, though? What they're saying might be awful, sure, but a lot of it's true. She's Aster's daughter; part-demon. She's eaten people. She never told anybody. That keeps him quiet, more or less -- until it doesn't anymore. Even a guy like Radar has to snap sometime.
So yeah, somebody comes in to the Oak & Iron talking about how they're gonna try to kick Dahlia off the town council, and Radar kinda loses his temper (a little at first but then a whole lot), and suddenly there's a real bad shouting match where he's yelling like he would when Colonel Blake wanted him to quiet down the whole mess tent -- You think she wants this?! You think anybody would if they could just be normal?!! --
Anyway. It's bad. And loud enough that it interrupts a lot of people's days -- maybe including yours.
2) the city bells ring soft in the night
He holes up at Baker Ranch for a bit after that, cycling back toward scarcity, keeping to himself when he can. Radar takes it upon himself to pick up the worst chores nobody else wants to do, like mucking out the stalls and scrubbing down the chicken coop. And he only assumes the fetal position in the hayloft once! Success!
That's where the barn cat finds him. And look, Radar had a real bad September, so when something that cute and fuzzy nuzzles up to him and starts purring, he just about bursts into tears. Even when it swipes his sending stone right out of his pocket, he can't find it in himself to be mad; he just pries it out of the cat's mouth with a weak, "Hey, c'mon, I need that."
Which is when he notices the stone's glowing like he just placed a call. Oops.
"Uh -- hello?" he says into the geode, sheepish. Radar rubs his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call, sir. Ma'am. Who's this?"
In the background, the Purrloin keeps purring smugly.
3) show me how to bloom; i promise i won't fade (forward dated to November)
Radar's mood finally begins to lighten toward the middle-end of the month. Mostly because once they turn the corner on October, it's just over a week until his birthday. He doesn't actually want a big party or anything, but if he mentions, oh so casual and offhand, that his twentieth birthday's coming up pretty soon, that's not gonna hurt anything, right?
So on November 8th, he wakes up -- and there it is. He's twenty. The big 2-0. No longer a teenager even a little bit. Maybe technically he was twenty before this, since it was September or October or maybe even November already when he died, and he's been on Marrow Isle for almost six months, but now it's official. He can do anything! He could even go to the Velvet now if he wanted!
....He doesn't actually want to, but he could.
Obviously he doesn't take off work (who do you think he is?!), but he miiiiight cut out a little early to celebrate. It'll be a quiet one -- a drink at Empty Pockets, some more time up at the ranch with all the animals, and eventually wandering toward the Leeds estate -- but if anyone wants to celebrate with him, he definitely won't say no. Hopefully it'll go a little better than Dahlia's birthday did.
4) wildcard
[find me on discord or PM me to plot!]
no subject
Radar's reaction might not be what Cesar expects: his expression twists for half a second before he buries his face in his hands.
Shaky and high-pitched, muffled against his palms, "Oh I wish people would stop saying that."
no subject
He balances something in his mind before he finally speaks again, voice low, gentle. "I didn't say it as an empty platitude. ... the laws of physics, of technology, of reality itself are malleable. I broke their code, learned how to mold reality itself. Magic and demons are a part of reality."
A pause. "... and I've seen intersectionality between what demons can do and what I discovered then developed on a team of some of the most brilliant people I've ever known. And there are people here who rival if not exceed my intelligence."
no subject
Dying is still dying. Killing is still killing. Maybe Dahlia can't be blamed for how she got made, but that's a whole different thing from not blaming her because people come back to life a day later.
no subject
"No, it doesn't. But you can't help them if they're dead." An echo, an argument if they're dead. "... dead permanently. Dying was still horrid. But I had Magne to come back to. It's the thinnest silver lining."
no subject
It's hard to tell who Radar's even arguing with at this point. Not Cesar, really. The more wound up he gets, the clearer it becomes this is something that'd been building way before Cesar's offhand remark; he just got unlucky enough to be there for Radar's breaking point.
"It matters! It does! It matters when people die and it always has and when people here start acting like it don't, how's that any better than being back home, huh? With nobody caring how many people die 'cause of some stupid police action war and -- "
His voice snaps in two, and he stops, breathing unsteadily.
(The worst of all this, which he's thought over and over and felt sick about every time: whenever he sticks up for Dahlia, does that mean he's stopped caring, too?)
no subject
César listens quietly as the words pour out of Radar's mouth. He accepts them. They come from Radar's heart and soul.
When Radar breaks off his words, César breathes himself. Then he reaches over to rest a steadying hand on Radar's shoulder. His expression and voice are both kind.
"Of course it matters. I never said it didn't. My only point is that we can comfort after the hurt. It's how Magne and I fell in love."
... Radar doesn't need to know he's using a fanfic trope to explain his view.
no subject
"Oh," he says, small and still trembly. "Right, yeah, I." He swallows. "I'm sorry, sir."
no subject
no subject
"'M Radar," he mumbles. "Thanks."
(Love. Is that what this is already, with Dahlia? So soon? He's got so little to compare it to that he doesn't know, but...)
He makes himself take a long, long breath -- steadier now -- and pulls away, just embarrassed enough to avert his eyes. What were they talking about for real before everything got scrambled? "You were saying things about, um. Physics and reality and fixing stuff?"
no subject
He only moves away when Radar is ready and doesn't draw attention to how Radar needs a break from eye contact, giving a small, lop-sided grin. "I figured out how to break physics, and then I broke physics. I don't have the tech necessary for manipulation here, but that doesn't mean we can't start figuring out how things work."
no subject
no subject
no subject
Radar considers this, rubbing his chin as he thinks hard. "I don't know a lot about that stuff either. I mean maybe a little more than some people 'cause of helping out with the Historical Society, but that's not all demons and magic. That stuff's probably something more like what..."
Oh no. Reluctantly, he finishes: "What Mr. West'd know."
Radar's never met the guy, but Dahlia has never been shy about making her feelings plain. To hear her tell it, he's beyond a jerk and nobody ever oughta be talking to him. And if she doesn't trust him, well, then Radar doesn't trust him, either.
So, quickly, he finishes, "But there's gotta be better people than him reading up on all that too, I-I wouldn't talk to him about it. Maybe Mr. Coldwood? He seemed nice and he knows a lot about magic."
no subject
he crosses his arms and leans back, thinking. "First thing's first—you'd need to ask Dahlia if she wants help. These are the cards she was dealt, after all, so it'd be best to propose the idea to her and let her lead the charge. But Coldwood sounds like a good starting point. And we could see what the library has...."
no subject
Heck, Dahlia's probably got piles of research she did herself! Maybe if someone as smart as her works with somebody as smart as Cesar, they'll dig up all sorts of new things neither of them would've found on their own.
no subject
wrap?
"I will," he says. And then, heartfelt: "Thanks, sir. I really mean it."
no subject
"You're welcome. And I mean that, too."