illequipped | i make another inbox post

[I said a tad smug, not insufferably smug. Damn! But who cares about that, because, um? Um?? On the one hand, Lalli has almost certainly seen Emil's forearms before; there's nothing wild about exposing them like this, but on the other hand... well. There is, against all odds, something interesting about watching Emil do this totally normal thing, and Lalli finds himself silently watching him roll up that first sleeve. Maybe it's because Emil's fingers are making such quick work of it, or maybe it's because Emil's arm is so very different from his, or...

Mmph. Even his oblivious self realizes that he's let that question go unanswered for too long because he's doing a weird thing, which is why he shifts his attention down to his (not-so-gross) boots. He could argue about taking them off! He could!! But he's not.]

...Shields. [A BEAT.] Protecting your mind from... other people.

[Vampires, maybe? Lalli doesn't know what kind of Jewel that weirdo has.]

[Fortunately, Lalli is just weird enough on his own that Emil doesn't register this new, additional weird pausing as something new that he has to point out or question. He's busy taking his own shoes off, anyway, which is a much less exciting thing to witness. Then, and only then, will he join this dirtnasty boy on the bed. Hi.]

Oh, alright, [he says, and he tries his damnedest not to make it sound like he means "that's actually useful unlike most of these magic things." He's here, he's ready for magic school.

Speaking of, actually-] Some old man tried to tell me how to do spells for all that gardening? He was terrible at it and I didn't understand a thing.

[Lalli is the superior teacher, etc. Congrats.]

[As Lalli focuses very, very intently on kicking his last shoe across the room, of course he's pleased to hear that this mystery person was an awful teacher? Like, yes, he definitely feels a rush of pride when he thinks about being the only person who's managed to make any sort of headway with this magically inept boy, but... it's also another reminder that Emil sucks at this Craft business. He remembers just how much effort it took to teach Emil that simple heating spell last time; he certainly has his work cut out for him today.

But it's fine! He's fine! This is all fine, especially when Lalli looks back Emil's way and makes sure to keep his eyes focused on everything above the shoulders. ...Which means he has to look at this new hairstyle again, actually, and that's just. Bleh.]

Pfh. Gardening spells sound stupid, anyway.

[Lalli? Petty? Nah. He settles back against the wall, eyes finally drifting down to rest on Emil's face.]

Shields are better. You need to keep people out. [And things. Can't forget the things.] Do you remember practicing how to focus your mind? Back when...

[He shrugs, letting that trail off, because... well, Emil, you know.]

[Why! Is he kicking his shoes! Does no one value a tidy room!! Emil watches this with vague displeasure, knowing he will have to put those in a corner of their own himself later, before he trips on a shoe and dies... Why does this happen to him? He, Emil Västerström, is a good person who does not deserve this.

Anyway. The magic, and the boy. He looks back at Lalli, this time making a new face about keeping people out. He agrees! That's why he makes a face, remembering the incident— here and at home. One of those makes him more uncomfortable than the other, and of course it's the one Lalli is not quite bringing up now. Sure, they almost died a thousand times, but he can't think of anything that's terrified him quite as much as Lalli going comatose right in front of him and then hundreds of monsters trying to mind-murder him.

It's the worst! But here they're safe- more or less- and Lalli is just fine, and they can think about magic shields instead of bad memories.]

Hmm. You told me to focus on you. [Should he, uh, continue to employ this method when Lalli isn't his passenger, so to speak...?] Am I going to have to memorize your snake stories?

[ha ha jokes but really, how gay should he be about this??]

[Oh, hardy-har-har, Emil. Very funny, even though Lalli's brow wrinkles for the briefest of moments. Huh? What?]

...No?

[He's, like, ninety-nine percent sure that Lalli Tales won't help Emil out here, so take this seriously, please? But... well, at least the memories of that time are obviously fresh. Not that he expected them to have faded after such a relatively short amount of time; not that he ever expects them to fade, after everything they went though, but it's good—for both of them—that he probably doesn't need to go back over the absolute basics. This gives him, mmm, a solid sort of foundation to (hopefully) build upon.

So... a shield. A mental shield, which is both similar to and different from his basic dreamscape defense. He can totally use his actual words to explain this, which is why he straightens up the slightest bit. Lalli Hotakainen, PhD.]

You have to focus on... yourself. On the part of you that you want to protect. You build—hn. [No, that isn't the right word to use? Give him a second here to think back on what's practically second nature to him at this point, please, before he tries again.] You take magic, and you... push—

[Ah, but that still isn't correct. Words, Emil! Words are hard, especially when Lalli has to use them to explain a tricky magical concept; it's why he sinks back down, shoulders pulling inward, before he sums up that effort of his with a simple:]

Mrh. [Okay, time to a) switch over to telepathy and b) consider skipping the initial explanation altogether.] I can show you again, but this has to be stronger. The shield is... inside? In my mind? All of it is there, and you... have to be there, too. Almost.

["This" being the mental link of theirs, through which he sends a hesitant little buzz.]

[He is actually completely serious about Lalli being his go-to point for precision focusing, thanks. That's just another best friend thing, obviously— thinking solely about your best friend to stay calm and not die.

Still, it seems like this PhDweeb is having some trouble getting to the point, here... Emil doesn't interrupt; he shifts to sit up by the headboard and face Lalli at an angle, in the meantime, while Lalli does his best. Don't worry; this is what everything about magic is like, to Emil. This confusion exactly.

He's wondering if he should say something when their mental link, uh, comes to life again, so that answers that.]

Oh, um— [aha] Okay? That did work last time, so...

[So clearly, it should work again! As long as Lalli takes point on this, because Emil is, as discussed, terrible with the details. How is he supposed to be there, but only almost? What does that mean?]

Like before? [Is he going to pass out?? This thought, that he has to somehow reinforce this link into Lalli's mind without, like, fucking up in real life is pretty intimidating! He's very much uncertain about it and it shows on his face, but he still holds his hand out to Lalli anyway. If he screws up, Lalli will know how to magically scoop him up and dump him back where he should be.

Surely. He figured it out the other time. Holding his hand is just for moral support.] Show me, then.

[Is this Mental Link Experience similar to the first? In a way, but it's also more. Last time, their minds just brushed against one another; this time, it's more like their minds will be... temporarily overlapping. Last time, most of Lalli's walls were up; this time, many of Lalli's walls have to come down. To sum it all up: even though Lalli is generally confident in his own abilities, the idea of someone coming so close is rather nerve-racking, but he knows that it's necessary. Absolutely necessary, and so—a simple nod, then, before Lalli takes hold of that hand. For Emil's benefit! Obviously, although maybe tightly lacing their fingers together helps him, too. A bit.

Or maybe more than a bit, because the warmth of Emil's skin serves as a sort of anchor; it's something to kind-of-sort-of remind him where he is while he, you know, reaches out for Emil's now-familiar mind—easy!—and traces the connection back to his own. There's a metaphorical door there, something that he needs to nudge open in order to let even more things cross this link of theirs, but—hey, it's a difficult thing to figure out on the fly? He's not sure how much pressure to place on this weak point, which is why that nudge is more like a surprisingly strong push that sends that door flying wiiiiiiiiide open.

It's not... bad. It's not even overwhelming, honestly; it's just that all of Lalli's surface-level thoughts are suddenly Emil's surface-level thoughts, too. He's hungry! He would very much like a nap before dinner. He can still feel Emil's hand in his, and he should... oh, wait, this connection can't drain too much magic; everything might take a while. Is Emil paying attention? Emil needs to be paying attention. ...Aha. So he is paying attention, but—mmnh, that weird hair. Why would he wear it up like that? It's so much better when it's down... only sleeves are better when they're up...

Just... brief, stupid, unimportant things that continuously loop back around, but Lalli doesn't seem to register them; he barely registers whatever Emil's emotional response to everything is, because his main focus is clearly... well, methodically creating a mental shield. Drawing magic up and into his mind; directing it all to a single point; stemming the tide; thinking about how he wants to keep everything and everyone out; shaping it into a sort of bubble that he pushes outward to surround his... conscious self, which is something that he just feels. It's no wonder he couldn't find the proper words? This is, without a doubt, a complicated Thing that is best experienced firsthand.

But once that (purposely weak) shield is up—goodbye, surface-level thoughts. Goodbye, emotion-sharing. Goodbye, telepathy. They're separated once more, and it is... strange.]

Puh.

[A quiet huff, because Lalli is Just Like That, before he reaches up to scrub his face with his free hand. He feels oddly exposed for no real reason at all, but, like, he doesn't even think about pulling his other hand away. He's going to have to do this Thing again and again... he can sense it... Emil's hand, give him strength...]

Like that, but... with more magic. For you.

[Suffice to say, this is probably the strangest thing they've ever done, from Emil's perspective. Yeah, objectively the body-sharing thing was weirder, but that wasn't on purpose, so it's... This is different? This is a lot of Lalli thoughts suddenly bouncing around his own, which he is immediately distracted by. He'll pay attention to the magic part, he will, but how is he supposed to not poke around these surface-level thoughts when they flood into his own?

Some of these are much more interesting than the rest, mostly because they are about him and he is very invested in Other People's Thoughts about himself, especially Lalli's. He's paying attention! His hair isn't weird! It's— ah, it's think-about-that-later, when Lalli isn't doing this magic thing he's supposed to pay attention to.

He... sort of understands the concept here. Use magic to build another bubble kind of thing, but this time in the mind instead of around a rock- and not really there, intangible- he can feel(?) what Lalli is doing and comprehend it, but that's about where he stops. It is a very real problem, he knows, that his own mind is so weirdly accessible to things that want to hurt him or have no respect for his privacy, but-!

But like, couldn't he just deck anyone and everyone who tries to do that head stuff to him again? He will find a gun if it turns out there are psychic monsters in this world, too.

And then all of a sudden the wave of other thoughts is gone. Lalli is gone, in just the one sense, which is a very odd feeling to suddenly have after they've been vaguely mentally aware of each other for a decently long while now. Emil blinks, looks down at their hands and then over at Lalli, frowning... and then musters all of the magic ability he has in him to more or less knock on that shield. Donking his metaphorical face into the metaphorical glass sliding door, here.

Of course this is the thing he can do without thinking about it too much: bang on the window. Hello??]

Hmm, I guess? Let me try.

[He'll do his best? He closes his eyes for this, to Focus, and if Lalli wants to pore over Emil's surface thoughts this time, they're mostly about wanting to just do this and get it done, to keep the Creeps away... and wanting to change his goddamn dirt clothes... There is, notably, no abrupt cutoff of free reign access to Emil's mind. Hmm.]

Okay! Do... something.

[Come AT this brain!! He does not have a shield. What he does have is, possibly infuriatingly, the mental equivalent of getting hit in the face, something that is at least tempered by how he's just not good at Craft. Consider: he just does this to everyone else instead.]

[Emil, don't... knock against his shield like that? It's somewhat uncomfortable, but above all else, it's rude; the only reason Lalli doesn't, like, immediately fire something back Emil's way is because 1) it's probably a good thing for Emil to feel how a shield should feel and 2) it's not like Emil's attempt to break in is actually effective. Lalli's shield is far, far weaker than it should be, but it's still there, blocking his everything from seeping into Emil's mind.

But he does, of course, shoot Emil a Look right as Emil closes his eyes. This incredibly impatient boy! It's a wonder that Lalli puts up with him, really, especially because just watching Emil's face—while trying very, very hard not to think about his hair—is enough to tell Lalli that Emil isn't... doing this in the proper manner? He's not screwing his face up as he desperately tries to get this thing down; he looks more or less, mmm, normal, which is a sign that he's either grasped this tricky concept far faster than he has any right to, or that he's doing something entirely different and/or entirely wrong.

...Hmph. It's not a thing that Lalli appreciates, which is why it should be no surprise that he stares back at Emil for a moment before (mentally) coming for him far harder than he needs to. He wants... to pop whatever Emil has constructed as quickly as possible, you know? Just to prove a point, but—well. Charging in like that means that he's wholly unprepared for that psychic punch; it lands squarely on his metaphorical face, and that, plus Lalli's sense of shock, breaks Lalli's already weak shield into a million imaginary pieces.]

Hn—

[...Ow? Ow, ow, ow. Lalli immediately pulls away, hand instinctively going to his face even though it was, um, entirely in his head. But the most important thing here... is that all of Lalli's emotions, Lalli's thoughts, once again slam into Emil's stupid brain. Surprise! A dull pain? Mild annoyance that is quickly turning into something... more intense, but it's somewhat tempered by the barely there feeling of approval. Emil got him? Emil got him...

But hey! Still! Fuck you, buddy!]

[Aha— he wasn't actually sure that was going to work until the last moment, so- sorry, genuinely sorry about that punch in the mind-face, but also he did something. This is actual progress! Progress marked by Lalli being, ah, reasonably annoyed at him, the feeling of which sure is coming back...

Oops!!]

Sorry! I didn't think it was going to work!

[But in Emil's defense, Lalli came at him like a truck for no reason at all, which was very petty and rude. On some level, he deserves getting punched in the mental nose... Still: woops.]

You didn't have to do it like that. Let me see.

[Like... there isn't anything to see after a mental punch, but if Lalli is going to be a huge baby and hide his face and get all mad about this, Emil will grumble at him until he lets him Look. Come on, boy... Give him those points for getting a good hit in, he caught that!!, and get over it.]

[He did have to do it like that! It's what Emil deserved!! Or: Lalli stubbornly—childishly—refuses to consider that he did something wrong, because his shield wasn't the only intangible thing that took a hit there. Being caught off guard by a cheap trick...

Well, Emil should be ashamed of himself, in Lalli's opinion, and yet he still feels feels a twinge of... embarrassment? When he finally lowers his hand just enough to sharply look over Emil's way? Which is a strange thing indeed, considering that he's the one who's going to have a mild headache for the rest of the day, but—mmph. Expression: annoyed. Mood: (mostly) annoyed. Thoughts: currently oscillating between vague, "But I want Emil to think that I'm the Best"-type things and "This stupid, stupid Swede!"]

Mrr...

[He's fine, of course, but he still takes his sweet time pulling that hand away from the bottom half of his face. Just to show that he didn't appreciate that, you see! Just to prove a point that isn't really a point at all, because as long as they're like this, his quietest thoughts are going to keep on betraying him.]

That won't work! [Another flash of embarrassment, because, well—] Not... all of the time. You didn't even try.

[To... make a shield, you stupid, dumb boy! With your... stupid, dumb hair, which Lalli's eyes briefly flick over to when looking at Emil's face is Too Much. He's rarely self-conscious; the result of this tiiiiiny slip-up is really throwing him for a loop, so why not direct that bit of frustration to a thing that CLEARLY deserves it!!!]

[This boy? This picky, whiny boy. Emil gives him a look, skeptical of this unjust criticism; he did it! He got Lalli fair and square! Just because a) he got him, and b) he did something Lalli wasn't asking him to do doesn't mean it doesn't count.

He crosses his arms huffily, but still leans a little closer to peer at Lalli's face. He looks fine! Stop acting like one hit is the end of the world!]

I did fine. You know I'm not like you! I can't do all of those fancy things like it's nothing, so I improvised.

[That's what he's calling it now: improvising. Not sucker-punching at all. Now this is... odd, kind of, with Lalli complaining out loud and continuing to circle back to those more frazzled, almost softer thoughts in their mental link. Does he... does he know he's doing that? It seems like he doesn't know he's doing that.

Hmm! He sits back with a sigh, not annoyed, but more waiting it out before he gets annoyed. And maybe a little waiting for Lalli to calm down, too... They shouldn't argue about this, buuut he's already apologized and he's not going to do it again. Hmph.

—And quit being mad about his dumb ponytail!!]

My hair didn't do anything to you.

[Listen, it's hard to process both strong (and somewhat surprising?) emotions and every tiny, insignificant thought that just so happens to float to the surface. Something's gotta give, which means that Lalli obviously decides to go with... being a petty child. It's practically second nature for him!

So does he lean away when Emil leans in? Yes. Does he put more space between them when Emil finally settles back? No, but he considers it, because this lesson isn't—wasn't?—about improvisation; this lesson is—was?—all about Emil learning to create a simple mental shield, all so that he can, you know, protect himself when Lalli isn't around... when a better-prepared mental shield won't just shatter after one hit...

...But explaining that is, like, nigh impossible at this point in time, especially after Emil brings up his ridiculous hair. No, Lalli isn't about to look back over at it, but there's a clear do-not-like vibe that flickers across this mental link of theirs. Like Lalli just took a bite of something and did not enjoy it.]

It was stupid? It won't work all of the time, [he sullenly repeats, really trying to drive that point him, before he pauses for all of a second.] ...And I don't care about your weird hair.

[Obviously he does, since he felt the need to say that, but! Hmph!]

[Oh, now it was stupid!! Shut up, Lalli!!! Emil rolls his eyes, over here on his end of the bed, but he is the bigger person here and he will not descend into petty sniping like some little babies in the room.

You know, out loud. He won't descend into petty sniping out loud. That doesn't stop him from being sick of Lalli's dumb issue with his hair, though, which he does have a perfect solution for: just taking his damn hair out of the ponytail already. It's not gross and warm here in their room, so he tugs the elastic out of his hair and... shoots it lamely over at Lalli. It's soft, all it does is lightly whap into his shoulder and flop down onto the bed, but he's making a point.

The point is shut up, whiner. Emil sighs again, reaching up to shake his hair out of its residual ponytail shape as he twists and gets up off the bed.]

I'm taking a break! I'll be right back.

[He needs a bathroom mirror and 2 minutes, both to fix his hair properly and to get away from Lalli's weird hissy fit for a bit. Stay there, chill out...

He'll be back in 2 minutes, hands on hips, giving Lalli a Look.]

Are you okay now?

[It was stupid because it caught him totally off guard! Just like the ponytail holder pinging off his shoulder catches him off guard, actually, because of course he's spent the last minute or so pointedly not letting his eyes wander over in Emil's direction. He starts in surprise, automatically looking down at the makeshift missile before reaching right out to snatch it up. Rude! So rude! He's going to throw it right back at—

—the boy who is apparently leaving? Ah. Well, annoyed he may be, but that doesn't mean that Lalli is glad to see Emil (and his messy hair) walk out of the room. What is he supposed to do now... like, a contrary part of him says that he should take a break of his own, maybe go find something to gnaw on while Emil does whatever he's doing, but—fine. Fine. He will indeed just stay slumped against the wall like this, absentmindedly stretching this elastic thing between his fingers as his injured pride slowly recovers.

And you know, maybe all of this boring waiting is worth it when Emil reappears? Not that Lalli is going to say that, of course; the plan is to just glance over Emil's way before returning to this hairband-stretching exercise, but a glance turns into a lingering sort of look when he takes in the new state of Emil's hair. ...Much better! Much, much better, Emil, so catch that absurdly soft approval that Lalli is unknowingly throwing out into the mental world. That, plus... a vague sense of disappointment? Not because the hair is exactly like it should be; that's obviously a good thing, but he didn't get to exercise his Best Friend Privilege and... help fix it...

...Hmm. Well. Now he shifts his attention back down to Emil's dumb ponytail holder, trying to think solely about this tangible thing.]

I was okay. Before.

[There's still some pettiness to be found there, but there isn't nearly as much as there was, like, a few short minutes ago. Hair magic.]

Edited 2019-04-02 06:57 (UTC)

[When will Lalli learn to just admit he's petty? Emil can admit he's petty. It's such a relief! Whatever. Emil sighs and sits back down on the bed, this time scooting back up against the wall next to Lalli instead of staring at him from the other end. Hi, okay boy.

...And hi, okay boy's many fond thoughts about his hair? Again? It's good to know he didn't imagine all of that hair stuff, but hmm, maybe they need to practice shields more so that Emil doesn't feel like he's reading Lalli's private diary every time they make eye contact. The delicate balance between the admittedly very nice feeling he gets when it's, uh, evident that Lalli likes how his hair looks... and the persistent other feeling that Lalli still doesn't know that's happening.

Not that Emil is going to say anything. And break the spell? Probably upset Lalli again? No way.]

Alright, alright. Let me try for real this time, okay?

[They could hold hands again, but Emil has better ideas, namely sliding his arm around Lalli's shoulders and giving him a friendly squeeze. Okay?? Best friends?? He has principles enough not to keep apologizing out loud, but really, this is just a softer, silent apology... As Lalli's pettiness fades, so does Emil's feeling that his mind punch was totally justified. Oops.]

No more hitting! I promise!

[Lalli will admit that he's petty when he matures, so, uh. Hopefully Emil minds waiting just as much as Lalli minds Emil, like, dropping right down beside him, which is to say—not much. Not much at all, really, even when Emil goes for the classic side-hug. Is this a whole lot of unexpected contact? Yes. Does Lalli automatically tense up and unknowingly send forth a brief buzz of confusion? Yes. Does he try to pull away? No. It's... Emil; what would earn anyone else a shove only earns him a puzzled sort of look, because ah, this must mean that things are... fine again. Maybe. Hopefully.

...Hmm. That hairband is still stretched between two of his fingers, but he swiftly rolls it over his hand and up onto his wrist without even giving it so much as a glance. Don't notice it! Don't ask for it back! It was lost the second he rudely shot it Lalli's way!]

Good.

[It STUNG in more ways than one, but—okay, okay. Some effort is clearly being put forth here, and the hair is back to normal, so almost all is right with the world; therefore, Lalli knows that he, too, should... do something. Try? Actually try to do a good best friend thing? Goodness.]

...It wasn't bad. It... worked, [he reluctantly says, shifting slightly before he makes sure to add:] But a shield is always better.

[Look, he met Emil... halfway here; now he's allowed to drop his hands into his lap and watch him in what is clearly an expectant manner, because any day now, best friend. Impress him with a solid mental shield any day now.]

[Emil will be waiting for Lalli's maturity to level up for the rest of his life and he is already resigned to that fact. Tolerating his side hugs is good enough for now, anyway, leaving Emil to, uh... do this magic thing...

Like, cold? Like straight from nothing, just do this magic thing? He supposes he deserves to be left hanging after everything else he just did, but damn, this is going to be a hotter mess than usual.]

Ummmm... alright. Well, hold onto your seat, I guess.

[Because his inevitable failure will be catastrophic— no, no, but it will be a lot of watching Emil sit there with his eyes shut for some time. This time he actually tries to do what Lalli told him - focus on what he wants to protect, etc, build something? Push something—?

It's a pathetic result at first, of course, a kind of flickering along their link as Emil tries and fails to get a shield of any strength to stick. He can't feel his way through this, he's too literal-minded even without his lack of natural skill at Craft. Maybe if he just pictures something like... building some walls and shutting a door... and then pictures that again, and again more insistently— some kind of fragile shield will form and cut off their mutual awareness again. It has the structural integrity of tissue paper, but it's there after a grueling, like, ten minutes.

He opens one eye and directs this dumb expression at Lalli. Hmmmmm? Did he do it??]

[Ten minutes spent studying Emil isn't the worst thing in the world; it's not something Lalli is going to complain about, partly because he can feel that Emil is actually putting some effort forth here... and partly because staring is just, you know. His brand. He thinks nothing of allowing his eyes to idly wander over that familiar face as he tunes in to Emil's thought process. A wall? Good. A door slamming shut?

Well, almost. Not quite, but all that matters is that Emil's thoughts are now... muffled; like, there's clearly something there this time, and that's progress! Yeah! But that doesn't stop Lalli from pulling a slight face as he mentally prods that barrier.]

...Hrmh.

[It's not an ideal shield, that noise suggests, but he reaches up to gingerly pat the arm that's still around him. Weird? Kind of? Not entirely, anyway, which is why he decides against pushing it away at this point in time. If it somehow helps Emil focus on the task at hand...]

Like that, but... better. [Because it's easily poppable in this current state, a thing Lalli demonstrates by... gently popping it like a soap bubble. Ah, hello, Emil's much louder thoughts...] See?

[—So no, he didn't do it, not really. Lalli pops his shield like it's nothing and Emil sighs, letting his head thunk back against the wall in his crushing despair. No, it's disappointment; he really thought he had it! This, the first time he actually earnestly tried to do this difficult magical thing... he thought he had it.

The side hug has gone from silent apology to moral support, so bear with him in that regard for a little longer.]

Your magic rock is better than mine, anyway. [whine whine] Isn't that how it works? You can do whatever you want to me and I can't do anything about it?

[This is a... very loose, highly uninformed interpretation of Jewel Rules...]

[This whiny boy... like, Lalli only knows the bare minimum about Jewels and How They Operate, but still! This whiny boy. It's not like he casts every spell perfectly the first time, especially not in this place...

...But that isn't something he thinks to share, of course, so he settles for just... turning his head to watch Emil do what he's best at.]

Only if your shield is bad. Like that one was, [he says in a very matter-of-fact way, because boosting someone up? What?] If your shield is strong, it takes more time to break. More magic. Then other people will think they've won, and you can do... the other thing.

[Sock them—note: not him, because he would never do this—RIGHT in the mental nose when they bust down that door. Maybe it wasn't the worst tactic, Emil... maybe it wasn't, which is why Lalli looks to the side and reluctantly admits:]

...You broke my shield.

[Which was weak as fuck, but it's still the truth! Never say Lalli doesn't try to support his friend...]

...Oh. Well, I wasn't trying to.

[He won on a technicality?? Either way, this doesn't really count as encouragement, but he still appreciates it... somewhat. It's Effort, and that gets Lalli maybe three whole points. Good work, best friend.]

It would probably be faster to do the other thing from the start, but I see your point.

[No getting huffy at him for that! He's just saying, it seems more efficient for him, a dunce who can't do magic, to skip the harder, more tiring step.

Anyway, he's earned a break, so he's shutting his eyes and really committing to leaning back here. Not sleeping! But resting.]

I'll try again in five minutes. No, ten minutes.

[He didn't win anything, thank you! It was a fluke, but while Lalli could explain why it's better to start with a shield than a punch... mmph. Emil left once; does Lalli want Emil to leave again? For the rest of the day, perhaps? Not that Emil typically pulls moves like that, but Lalli does, so...

So it doesn't seem out of the question, which is why Lalli only gives him a mild Look as he makes himself comfortable. That was, like, one serious attempt...]

...Five. You're not tired.

[Buddy, he knows it wasn't that bad? He is JUST saying, even as he continues making no attempt to pull free from the surprisingly heavy arm that's still on his shoulders. What is he supposed to do for five whole minutes, huh? Continue watching Emil's annoying face?

Well, he could. Really. In fact, it's what he does until he remembers the hairband sitting snugly on his wrist. It's his now; he doesn't seriously want to give it up, for some stupid reason, and yet—hmm. Hmm. He's bored, he's oddly restless, and payback is... a bitch.

Except not really, because the hairband Lalli sends flying toward Emil's forehead hits him just as softly as it hit Lalli's shoulder earlier.]

[Wow, whiner. Emil's eyes are already closed, but he still spares a moment to frown and raise an eyebrow. This boy...]

Ten!

[Just watch him rest for ten minutes! Telling him he's not tired, please... being tired isn't the point of this well-deserved break. He's comfortable like this, which is more important, even if he doesn't really consider whether or not Lalli minds being stuck to his side. He hasn't made a fuss about it, so Emil can only assume this is... just fine! And very comfortable.

Until he gets a hairband in the face, which is somehow unexpected. He didn't realize Lalli took it, it was just forgotten to time... aha. Sadly, he's endeared by this, so Lalli's revenge plot has failed.]

You are being difficult. [Let him have his minutes!]

[Why didn't that work? That totally should have worked, but... alas. It's not like Lalli has any other great ideas up his sleeve, aside from, like, giving Emil a good shake, or slipping out from under this arm and wandering about the room.

...He's restless, but he's not that restless. Not yet, anyway. Still, he continues watching Emil for another few seconds before he expresses his frustration the best way he knows how:]

Psh.

[There! Take that as he crosses his arms and also settles back against the wall, because what else is he supposed to do! Dumb boy... Lalli will just be Here, trying to count down the remaining seconds because he's seriously that petty.]

i make another inbox post

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me? late? what?

late? never heard of her

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you know what you needed? another real gay tag

it was an onslaught and my phone was not prepared