agentlelog | open | like a B- for effort

Entry tags:

open | like a B- for effort

Who: ya boy emil and you
When: now, later, etc
Where: queen's residence, around town, a farm somewhere
What: some influence jobs and a general prompt
Warnings: he may cry eventually

loren's lament

[Let the record show: Emil and any kind of paperwork have never gotten along swimmingly. He barely scraped through school and has a personal vendetta against reading for work, so this? This is honestly his worst idea to date, letting himself get roped into reading for work!!! for this Loren person. What's in it for him, he mumbles mostly to himself, but he's still doing it.

Like, not very well. But he's sitting behind a messy stack of papers, now mumbling mostly to himself about how "sort by severity" is completely subjective? For example, he has no vested interest in the rippling effects of recent upheavals on local businesses, but apparently a lot of people do! Wow! Amazing!

For the third time in an hour, he sighs loudly. Hi, you're here, so please give his woes your attention.]

This is dreadful. Does he really read all of these when no one else is here?

[Who READS??]

shock it 2 me

[The only reason Emil is even trying to help with the livestock problem is because... well. Honestly, it's because the thought of sad farm animals made him deeply upset and he was compelled to come help. What this means for the job, however, is that an overly-emotional tiny dude has become attached to at least one farm animal (like, a cute baby goat, probably) in between complaining about how the animals seem to want to follow him around and chew on various bits of his clothing.

And then, tragedy of tragedies, his favorite baby goat goes missing and he is deeply distraught. Now, at last, he is inspired to take action.

Of course, he's terrible at Craft, so his misguided attempts to do anything resembling an electric fence keep ending with him giving himself a huge dose of static electricity. Is nothing easy?]

stylish yet irresponsible use of stipend

[Or: who blew their whole stipend on clothes instead of budgeting for food? This guy. On the one hand, he can dress like a local on a whim now! That's exciting! The clothes aren't incredibly great, but they're not terrible. He's managing.

He's also incredibly hungry, which is starting to get embarrassing hours and hours after breakfast. Please feed him, or at least humor him when he very abruptly begins a Casual Conversation (hint: he's bad at this one):]

How do people get jobs here? Just wondering.

misc

[hello what do you want to do? i'm probably on board with it. you can send me a pm or pp to jojoveller with ideas or just tag wildly!! dark knights is the only job emil won't do... and for my own sake i'd like to limit job threads to 2 per job so i can handle them!! thank you

feel free to find him being terrible at magic practice or whining about morning training, etc, i am really open.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Doing Lalli's work for him grumble mumble this guy... Emil is deftly handling this, barely giving the papers a glance before setting them down on the sorted piles and immediately forgetting about them. He trusts Lalli's judgment, which is obviously his fatal flaw, but never mind! It's boards time.

But, ah-?]

Noooo...? That's what I have you for.

[Congratulations, Lalli, now you do have to work! Scout for boards! Emil holds up the fence repair paper and wiggles it at him significantly; here you go! Do your thing!!]

You can find a good place with free boards in no time, yes? I believe in you!

[...Well, scavenging for useful stuff is a thing Lalli can do, especially when Emil makes it sound less like a favor for Loren and more like an actual scouting assignment. Of course Emil believes in him? Relies on him? He's the absolute best at what he does, so...]

Aha.

[So. Stop waving that paper around and follow him out into the street, where a sizable crowd is apparently waiting for Loren to show his face. They submitted complaints days ago, you see! Their complains are important! Someone needs to assist them at once!

...Yeah, no. Lalli takes one look at that (loud) mess and turns right away from it. Time to jog over to one of the many abandoned, rundown parts of this city—until Emil, like, passes out on the sidewalk and/or gets captured by that crowd of complainers, but whatever! Lalli's on a mission.]

[Emil has learned the secret to get Lalli to do things: praise and reducing it to running around. Like, he means all of his dopey praise - of course he relies on Lalli, and believes in him, and all of that sappy junk!! But also: neat.

So here they go!! Emil is indeed set upon by people in the crowd, if only because he makes eye contact for more than a few seconds, but somehow he manages to duck under enough arms to get out of there and follow Lalli. ...At a distance, but in his defense, that's only partly because he's slow.]

Lalli— [man you know what, he will puff along at his own pace, he's earned this] I'll catch up! In- in a minute!

[It Would Be Several Minutes Actually]

[In a minute, he yells, even though Lalli turns, like, two whole corners before he realizes that Emil is somewhere far, far behind him. Jeez. He could keep hurrying along at his current pace and wait for Emil to find him on his own, but... aw, who is he kidding. Emil would definitely wind up standing in an alley somewhere, so it's time for Emil's favorite form of communication.]

Right at the fork. Then go left. [A beat, and then, because he just can't help himself:] You're slow.

[Stuuuupid. There's the slightest hint of exasperation in that mental voice of his, and yet, when Emil finally closes some distance—here's Lalli, standing on the corner of another street as he waits for Emil to catch the fuck up. The things he does for this friendship!!]

[Lalli is the worst friend ever, Emil's changed his mind. Somewhere lagging behind, he makes a stupid noise out of nowhere in public, surprised as usual by the mental communication. God!!

...It's good to have directions, but god! He makes only a paltry effort to speed up, so when he rounds the corner at that fateful left, he has to stop and take a breath for a moment. He can see Lalli from here, at least, and so...

Really, it's completely unbidden, he is not trying to do this at all, so when a return mental nudge comes from Emil for the first time ever, it's not really words - just a few seconds of Tired and a push at the end that inelegantly conveys "RUDE" without actually saying it. He's imprecise; a passerby blinks and looks at him, and he hurries to catch up. Woops!!

Be proud of him despite his many failings.]

[Lalli isn't the least bit surprised to watch Emil pop into view... and then immediately pause to take a quick breather, but—oh? Oh. He most certainly is surprised to receive a rather, hmm, muddled mental transmission; it's why he remains right where he is instead of, like, sallying forth once more when Emil finally starts moving his way. First of all, nothing he said was rude?? Second of all, was that... an actual effort...

...Hmm. He can pick up the board trail (and work on earning some well-deserved praise) in a minute; for now, Emil can deal with Lalli studying him like he's something new and startling.]

You did it. This. [Well—] ...Almost.

[He's not being very clear at ALL, because he's #Lalli, but. He's pressing forward, anyway.]

Were you trying?

[It's so nice of Lalli to wait for him this time, what a fine change— which apparently is really waiting around to stare at him funny and keep bothering his brain, so never mind that, perhaps... Emil looks at him, brow furrowed, clearly confused for a good five seconds there—

And they're off again! Boy oh boy.]

Was I... nnnnot really, no. I don't think I did it right, anyway.

[Please don't confirm these suspicions, he already felt the judgment from that "almost." After they trot along a bit further,] Should I try it again?

[He knows Lalli's opinions on his trying magic, but he wants to be asked. Do not shame him for this.]

[Lalli does indeed set off once more, but at a considerably slower pace. He's thinking, okay! It's the only reason he doesn't flat-out say that Emil totally messed up his unconscious attempt at telepathy, although he does hum in what is obvious agreement. No, Emil, you definitely didn't do it right, but...

...Well, it's a start? Like, Lalli doesn't reward semi-successes—thank the Hotakainen clan for that one—but he's almost... pleased... that even the tiniest bit of progress has been (accidentally) made. Maybe Emil isn't completely hopeless after all! Maybe. Maybe he just needs to be thrown into some deep, deep water...]

Yes. [DUH.] Don't talk? Just think.

[He'll just, you know, be here. Watching. Waiting.]

[Look, he's delicate and he responds to failure with never trying again. He needs to be handled with kid gloves, or at least not made fun of for his poor magic performance... This will have to be good enough.]

Think about what?

[He says, out loud, immediately. Hold on.] Wait—

[HOLD... ON... Third time's the charm; he finally just shuts his mouth and looks like he's concentrating, at least. Thinking very hard for a good minute-ish here... there's still no words, but rather the mental sensation of being poked in the head.

Yes, this is definitely the magic he should know. Good call.]

[Even though Emil being an absolute dingus is met with a rather unimpressed huff, Lalli still expects big things here! An entire word, perhaps! Surely that's why this otherwise simple process is taking so lo—

Um, wow? It's not that it hurts; the sensation is just, um, wholly unexpected, which is why he flinches away before shooting Emil the Look to end all Looks. Hey!!]

Psh!

[An actual noise of warning instead of a telepathically conveyed one, but don't worry—it only takes him a second or so to settle back down, and then it's right back to the mental group chat. Was that progress? Well, yes, but still.]

Why would you do that? It's stupid! Use words.

[Which is ironic, coming from him, but whatever. Don't poke him again!!!!!]

[Oh? He did it? Who knew magic could be fun and easy to bother someone with, instead of universally something Big and Intense and Not For Him. Truly, irritating Lalli with a mental poke is the turning point in Emil's magical career.

Or: he's pleased with himself, but he tries not to look it, holding his hands up placatingly. No talking either, see! Appreciate his effort.]

...

[Well, give him another moment to get his focus back. Magic is just fine, magic is not mysterious and mildly frightening, he can Do This... But maybe he's got "things that get a reaction out of Lalli" on his mind, because the word he comes up with iiiis:]

Blueberries.

[Dumped! Dumped, dumped, dumped, because of all the words to choose for Baby's First Telepathic Message... well. Of course it catches Lalli completely off guard; of course he blinks over at Emil, momentarily taken aback, before things click into place—and he sends Emil an accidental pulse of sheer annoyance. Like, yes, he literally just told Emil to use his words, but... this boy? This boy! Being frustrating on purpose... making Lalli feel some type of way...

...Hmph! This is the breakthrough he's been waiting for, and yet, after making sure that Emil catches sight of his scowl, Lalli promptly speeds the heck up. Goodbye, Emil. You may stare at his back for the remainder of this journey, because Lalli is a petty baby.]

[That's for leaving him behind before, and making him do all the reading work, and being a gremlin, generally speaking...!! Emil is even more pleased with himself, giving Lalli a Look like he's completely innocent. What did he do!

Ah, and there goes the boy. Emil doesn't even try to speed up himself; now that he can do this thing, he doesn't even need to shout after Lalli anymore. He almost does, to be fair, but wait! He can use magic instead!

It will take him a moment, again; the mental equivalent of hunt-and-pecking.]

Sorry, sorry! I couldn't resist!

[Come back here, don't be a baby. 3... 2...] How much further?

[But Lalli is a baby, so while that apology is a start, the speed-walking... continues. He can keep this pace up all day, Emil, and he's determined to do so—even though it's surprisingly hard to stay righteously angry when Emil keeps sending complete sentences(!) his way. This is what he's been waiting for since, what, the second day? Despite the stupidity, there's a not-so-small part of him that's genuinely... happy that Emil has finally made this tiny bit of headway.

...Still! Blueberries! He's going to subject Emil to another minute or so of well-deserved silence, thanks, before he finally deigns to (telepathically) speak.]

It's not far.

[Because it's only, like, three streets up. They're there soon enough, with there being... a row of old, crumbling buildings. Homes, perhaps, but it's clear that no one has lived here in a very, very long time; everything is either broken or in the process of breaking, from the front doors, to the roofs, to the fence that's kind-of-sort-of marking the perimeter of a small, shared space. A tiny park full of nothing but dirt.

Anyway, catch Lalli standing beside the front gate to said fence, silently watching Emil approach. Is he as annoyed as he was? Not really, no, but he found a wooden fence to tear apart and he's waiting for something in particular.]

Edited (i don't want to hear it) 2019-03-06 05:20 (UTC)

[Appreciate him for the dingus he is, Lalli. Emil doesn't rush to catch up with him, especially since he knows it's going to be his job to carry all the boards, thanks to Lalli's twig arms - he is owed this leisurely pace both for that reason, and because he did a whole magic thing successfully. So there.

The crumbling homes aren't anything new to run across, in general, but he's a little surprised they barely had to leave the main part of the city to find them. Can't these people clean up their abandoned buildings and put up new ones...? Talk about a lack of efficient city planning, and without a horrible mutant disease to fall back on as an excuse.

But, okay: fence. He made it, he's here.]

You know, it's occurring to me now that we should have brought tools or something.

[Could they rip this apart with magic? Sure, but Emil will most definitely nail his own foot to the ground.]

[Emil should spend more time running around the city with his friend... and also, like, learning how to read the room, because hey! That is not the praise Lalli deserves for finding all of this free lumber! Is it any wonder that Lalli watches him for a moment, eyes narrowing, before turning toward the fence in a decidedly huffy manner. He'll put telepathy on hold for the time being to talk like a loser...]

Pft. It's already falling apart.

[This is true, and yet when Lalli reaches out to give one of the slats a sharp tug—hmm. So maybe the nails are in better shape than one would expect, but... he's here, in this spot he found because he's an amazing scout, and he's determined to make this work.

So it's... the wheelbarrow all over again? Just with pulling instead of pushing.]

[Is he really going to be a baby about this, too? Please. Emil has praised him plenty today, enough that he doesn't even notice Lalli is now in a mood about the fence, too. That's probably about his blueberry episode, he figures, and he already apologized for that, so there's nothing left to do about it! Oh well.

God, look at this skinny idiot try to move basic objects. Emil watches this, and for a moment is still convinced that they might need tools, before he reaches over himself and pulls sharply, which gets him the top half of a board almost entirely un-stuck from the rest of the fence. Hmm!]

Oh. [It is truly a wonder Lalli can lift food to his mouth without collapsing under the strain, goddamn--] You could try kicking from the other side, maybe?

[He! Just wants! To hear! "Good job!" But thanks for that unasked-for assistance, Emil. Lalli blinks down at at the board that was going to take him, like, a solid five minutes of pulling to yank free, wondering how Emil managed to make it look so easy. That guy...

...Hmph. Kicking the bottom half free is halfway decent advice, he supposes, which is why he lets go of it and shrugs. Sure, fine, whatever.]

Mhm. [Over to the other side he goes, brushing right past his punk of a friend.] Start pulling more.

[How many boards will Emil loosen while Lalli is over there kicking at this first board? He's going to get it... eventually... but we all know who's the stronger person here. Pity this twig.]

[Get a whole board out of this fence and Emil will think about delivering a "good job!" Sulking isn't a good job at all, so this praise is going to crash and burn before it even takes off...]

Sure, sure.

[Is he going to give himself splinters doing this with his bare hands, like an idiot? Yes, for sure, but not yet. He'll at least have time to loosen a decent number of boards before one of them splits in the middle and ruins his day with a splinter. They have time yet before the universe ends from Emil's dramatics.]

I know we're going to need tools to fix the other fence.

[He's not sulking, he's just, you know... glowering down at this piece of wood until it does exactly what he wants it to? And it does! Eventually. It's a teeny tiny victory, even though his big toe is definitely smarting a bit after that last kick...]

They should have tools. [The... complainers, he means. Anyway, as he moves on to the next board—] And they should fix it.

[Yes, he's back on this point. At least he's kicking somewhat enthusiastically... this isn't the smart approach, but you know what? It's cathartic.]

I guess so. I kind of thought helping them through to the end was implied.

[But maybe it isn't? It probably is, but he's not going to want to, not really... look at all this work they're doing now! This is practically all of it. Plus, he really knows nothing about fixing a fence.

For right now, he's way ahead of Lalli in the board department, and chugging along almost contentedly until The Splinter, at which point he ruins the relative quiet with abrupt yelping and clutching his Wound with his other hand, looking tragic. New plan: burn the fence!!]

Do you think this horrible wood is full of disease?

[Is he serious?? Yes, completely. Go on without him.]

[Stop being so empathetic, Emil, and let people sort out their own issues. Lalli makes a quiet little noise as he continues kicking, one that implies that he isn't thrilled with the idea of seeing this thing through... but if Emil insists upon it, will he do it? Yes. Yes, he will.

But maybe they won't even have to worry about that, seeing as how Emil is dying over there. What a loud noise?? It catches Lalli completely by surprise, causing him to start a bit as he looks over Emil's way to see what in the world is going on. Ah... a splinter...]

...No?

[What a silly question from a silly boy! Lalli could leave him to suffer, but—with a sigh, he temporarily abandons his fence-kicking in order to walk over Emil's way.]

Let me see. [He holds out his hand over the fence, motioning for this baby to bring that hand closer.] And be quiet.

[Have pity, he's dying, he could lose this hand at any moment! Emil considers - he doesn't think Lalli has, like, any medical expertise beyond something absolutely wild like digging splinters out with his fingers (it seems on brand?), but then again Mikkel wouldn't be any better, so.

Congratulations, Lalli is a trained medical professional now. Emil huffs as he holds his hand out, clearly not satisfied with the severe lack of injured person pity he's getting here. Where is the sympathy? The shoulder pat?]

I was quiet until this stupid, moldy old fence broke like that.

[Did you really think that Lalli was going to do anything besides glance down at this incredibly tiny splinter before giving Emil a Look? Because that is, of course, exactly how this goes down. It's... such a puny thing to whine about...]

You were pulling too hard.

[Said like it's the most obvious thing in the world, right as he releases his hold on Emil's wrist. Control your STRENGTH, Emil. Jeez.]

It's not deep? Just scratch it out.

[He's pulled glass out of his arm without making a fuss about it? This is nothing???]

[He deserves sympathy! Look at all these boards he's pulled loose, only to be betrayed like this by the fence and Lalli giving him looks.

Anyway he's definitely not scratching the splinter out, that sounds horrible. In the grand scheme of his life this is probably the fifth or so time he's ever had a splinter, so at least he knows what they are, but everything else is covered in a spoiled rich baby haze.]

I'm not going to do that. Maybe it will come out by itself.

open | like a B- for effort

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