highly new, slightly improved open post

[appliances]

assorted morons

☆ @ the muselist

optional prompts/ideas

☆ caught in the rain meme ☆ little steps meme ☆ affectionate physical contact meme ☆ picture prompt also acceptable but link them so it's tidy ☆ AU ideas: soulmates AU, reincarnation AU, Bad End AU, canon divergent/roleswap AU, dorky college AU, crossover AU, super indulgent high fantasy AU ☆ melodrama is ultimate tier ★ SHIPPING AND FUCC: ☆ non-fluffy relationship types I'm down for: codependent, master/servant power imbalance type ships, "we're bad for each other but worse for anyone else," other things I am failing to think of tbh ☆ things I am not into: noncon (includes "dubcon"), incest, tsundere shit if your tsundere is just verbally abusive, gratuitous torture porn, you'll probably have to ask me about harder kinks and they will vary by character ☆ I don't have a kink list so pitch me an idea if u thirsty ☆ if you would prefer a locked post I can also make that happen

Comments

[illequipped]

It's— well, there are, um, perks.

[You know, to huddling under a rock out here together. There's really only the one perk and it's holding onto Lalli, but details. Considering what they're doing right this second, Emil thinks that this, at least, is not something he has to spell out. This is the good part. Right here.

Anyway— is he surprised that Lalli doesn't really get fun, conceptually? No, not really. He's a bit thrown for how to, like, explain basic Fun Things in a way that actually sounds fun for someone like Lalli, though... Hmm!]

...There are... things. To do. Do you like... [ehhHH] food?

[Do You Like Food --Emil Västerström, social genius]

[ilves]

[That perk is, like, the one thing Lalli understands here, which is why he remains blessedly silent as Emil spins that imaginary wheel and lands on... food. Aha. Lalli can't help but study him for a moment, brow furrowing ever so slightly as he wonders if the cold is, um, hitting this boy a bit harder than he'd thought possible. Food... huh...]

Yes? [Duh.] But not everything. Some things.

[Like what? Don't even worry about it, because of course he has to skip over that just to ask the obvious question here.]

...How is eating fun?

[You know what's easy to carry around the frozen, barren wasteland? Gross, MRE-type things. Soylent Green. Tasty meals are rarities for this stick of a cyborg.]

[illequipped]

[Don't judge him, at least he had an idea... Going out to eat is the most basic of things to do with another person, or at least, he assumes it is because he has only one friend, who is judging him presently. He's trying!!]

Uhhh, because... we spend time together?

[Lalli. Lalli, he's going to die out here, trying to make eating a meal together sound thrilling. Just come.]

Just let me buy you lunch without asking questions!

[ilves]

[He's not judging! Not really. It's just, you know, hard for him to wrap him mind around this apparently "fun" thing that's never been fun for him, because he generally eats to live; living to eat can get rather, um... expensive. But this boy wants to treat him? Apparently? And that makes this all even stranger. No one has ever bought something for him—even something as simple as a meal—just because... it's almost suspicious...

But he can see the appeal, he supposes, and the appeal is mainly... the thought of staring at Emil from across a table. Hmm. He shifts ever so slightly, wondering what Onni would say. No, probably. Don't be stupid. Buy it yourself.]

Hrmh.

[Give him a second here, just to compare what he "should" do with what he wants to do. It's complicated.]

You don't have to buy mine. [He has some money, and yet making a big deal about this when they're freezing in the wilderness seems? Stupid?] But... okay. Lunch.

[Okay! It is... a (tentative) date! Something pleasantly warm to think about at this point in time.]

[illequipped]

[—Oh! A date!! A whole... maybe-a-date, because who knows if Lalli "how is eating fun" Hotakainen considers anything date-worthy, let alone having lunch. Still, that makes Emil perk up, pleased; lesson learned: demanding no questions definitely works every time.

Regardless: hell... yes. He DID it.]

Okay, okay! I'll take you to lunch, how does that sound? You'll like it!

[Probably. They won't be freezing, and Emil will chatter about whatever, so it won't be too different from these excursions, actually.]

What do you like to do, anyway? When you're not working.

[ilves]

[Lalli has a lot to learn about the concept of fun, it's true, but there are a handful of things that he likes—and Emil just so happens to be one of them. It's why lunch with Emil sounds... nice, regardless of who foots the bill, or where they wind up eating, or how many people stare at him. He can deal with all of it.

But talking about the things he likes to do? Hmm. That's hard, because when it comes down to it, he doesn't particularly like to do anything. He works; he follows Onni around; he finds somewhere quiet to sit and watch people come and go. His life is exciting, which is why he cants his head, humming thoughtfully. This is a question he's rarely been asked, Emil. This is a question he's never really considered, so—]

...I don't know. [Not that he sounds particularly bothered by that, because he just... isn't. Hmm. He's thinkin'.] Sleep?

[He has no social life.]

[illequipped]

[Will Emil punch someone in the local canteen for staring? Maybe! Or maybe he'll just casually insist they go eat in some secret spot that is really just a spot that's, uh, not so public. Emil is a professional at avoiding people he assumes are all out to judge him, so he has spots to spare.

That said- ah, so Lalli also doesn't have any hobbies or passions... relatable. Now the impasse is not so much "will Emil like the thing Lalli wants to do?" but rather "two idiots with no ideas." He'll make it work.]

Oh. Well, we're probably not going to take a nap after lunch... I'll think of something. [...] You can think of something, too, if you want.

[Help him out, lazy boy.]

[ilves]

[What's wrong with a post-lunch nap? Emil is the one who wants to take him out to lunch; therefore, thinking of something to do after lunch should be, in Lalli's humble opinion, Emil's responsibility, but—mmph. He could be grumpy. It's in his nature to be, really, and yet something about the fact that Emil wants to spend time with him outside of work forces him to, like, take a step back and reconsider. If thinking of something extra to do means that he'll get to spend even more time with Emil, then is making an effort... a terrible thing...]

I'll... try?

[He blinks down at his knees, almost surprised that he agreed to do this thing, but... ah, well. He did it! He's stuck with it, even though he has no idea what to actually suggest. Emil letting Lalli stare at him for as long as he likes—no, no.]

What do you like to do?

[Well, Emil is... normal? That, and making sure that Emil has a pleasant time with him is... something Lalli suddenly cares about. Wild.]

[illequipped]

[Trying is enough for Emil, he decides. They could just do this, but somewhere else - sit around and talk about nothing in particular. And, hmm, maybe sit like this, all cozied up together... But that's still not a hobby, so--]

Uhhhh, go shopping, maybe? Not that there's much of that to do around here.

[They can buy... medical capsules... that's fun. Some new orange striped gear.]

[ilves]

[In what world is shopping a fun thing to do? Even if Emil is involved, it still seems... dumb. A waste of both time and money, which is why Lalli puffs out a breath. Boy! He was being serious, because he maybe-kind-of cares about Emil's dumb opinion.]

Shopping, [Lalli repeats, voice flat as he looks back over at Emil.] Hmm. For a heater.

[A... joke? Even though he definitely does not look like he's joking.]

[illequipped]

[Wow, Emil is very serious about shopping and the tragic lack of good shopping around here, thanks. He shrugs, making a face like, look, he can't help it— he has only so many brilliant ideas and he spent all of them on lunch.]

A— hmm. [A heater... please. Okay, he cracks a smile, for sure? But please.] A heater, yes. One I can carry.

[ilves]

[Thanks for appreciating his hilarious sense of humor, Emil. That's how Lalli knows this friendship is real, because ah, even the tiniest smile is... well, it's nice! It's good! Lalli is pleased that he caused that, which is why he straightens up the slightest bit as he soaks it in. This boy...]

Mm. And a hat, too.

[Because it's cold, and don't normal people lose most of their heat via their heads? Or something like that? Lalli doesn't know, really—like, what is an education—but that's what he's going with as he reaches out to idly smooth down a few flyaway strands of hair. If his hand is extraordinarily cold when it just barely grazes Emil's forehead, uh... sorry. But not really.]

[illequipped]

I look terrible in hats.

[He doesn't, of course, he always looks great, but his hair suffers for it. Hat hair? The dumb way his hair sticks out from under a winter cap, if he has to wear one? Terrible. Maybe he'll consider earmuffs.

Still, ah— jesus, that hand is cold. Emil likes Lalli, and spending time with Lalli, and if anything thinks Lalli's, uh, metal bits are pretty cool and interesting - but that doesn't mean he enjoys incredibly cold hands. Damn!!

He makes a face, is the point. For a few seconds, then takes hold of Lalli's very cold wrist with his very warm gloved hand and squishes it against his coat. Hmm. It's so his head doesn't get poked with icicle fingers again, honest.]

...You're cold, [is his lame explanation for this weird thing he's doing. Shh.]

[ilves]

[The face Emil makes is one thing, but Emil up and grabbing his wrist like this is—well, did he do something wrong? Was reaching for Emil's hair going a step too far? Lalli normally doesn't care what people think, doesn't care if he makes any sort of social faux pas, and yet the idea of making Emil smile only to, like, immediately ruin it is... mmph. Unpleasant, to say the least. Awkward, even when Emil winds up... bringing his hand closer to him instead of shoving it away entirely. Because he's cold, apparently.

Well, what is there to say about that, other than a very eloquent:]

...Aha.

[Of course he's cold? He's always cold. Being cold is his lot in life, which is why the only thing he can think to do at this point in time is, like, twist slightly closer, just to make his hand's new position a bit easier on himself as he a) adjusts to touching Emil with both hands and b) tries to think of what to say. It's obvious why his hands are cold; he doesn't feel the need to, um, apologize for it, so. Time to go for the obvious choice.]

I am. You're... warm. [Compared to him, anyway, which is why he feels the need to amend that with a quick:] Warmer.

[They are doing so great.]

[illequipped]

[Look, just accept awkward bumbling as part of Emil's whole existence as a person, because that's not going away anytime soon. He hesitates - should he apologize? Was this an insensitive thing to bring up? They both know why he's cold... nnnnh!!! It's too difficult; Emil's thought process swings the other way, say something nice, and then without actually pausing to consider his words he overcompensates—]

You can warm up with me whenever you want. [....hmm...] Uhhhhh, I mean, hmm...

Just not on my face?

[He needs that part of him to stay unmarred by the terrors of frostbite, specifically. Anyway, this clarification doesn't make what he said any less strange, so. Hmm.]

[ilves]

[...Hmm, indeed. On the one hand, it's surprising(ly nice) to hear an open invitation for this sort of closeness; on the other hand, what... a stupid way to actually say it. It's not as if he was trying to warm his hand on Emil's face in the first place! Duh!

Or: Literal Lalli strikes again, partly because he's dumb, but mostly because... he, too, is awkward. It's why Emil is soon on the receiving end of a bemused Look.]

I won't. Your face isn't warm.

[It's currently, like, the coldest part of him? Dummy. But while Lalli could point this out—while stupid is right there on the tip of his tongue—he settles for lightly pressing his trapped against Emil's chest, like he's proving some sort of point.]

It's... okay. Like this.

[It could be better, that's for sure; like, this twisted position he's currently in isn't the best, but fixing that while ensuring his hand stays right where it is requires a... shift! Moving from close to closer. Aha. Something to consider next time, he supposes, because considering it now is... well...]