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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 30, 2020 22:38:41 GMT -8
She sat back in silence as her work was judged. Most people seemed to like her work. She didn’t get any complaints, and if she did she just looked to see if there was a small problem that could be fixed. She didn’t have the many customers but at least she did her job decently. Cause if they came back that means she didn’t do a good job. Louise clapped her hands together in excitement as she watched the ball glow. It worked! That made her happy enough, even if Luke was to spurn her now she dod what she was asked to do. “ Well thank you! I like to think I’m a decent mechanic.” There were always the disgruntled customers but she could handle those. Usually just by zoning out as they begin to rant angrily at her. At his compliment though she let out a tense breath she didn’t realize she held until she spoke. She was eager to receive some advice, any advice really. Her hands clasped together in front of her eyes wide and bright with undivided attention. Louise opened her mouth to comment a bit on his words before he stated he was not to be interrupted. Damn- that was going to be a bit hard since she really enjoys talking. Ah that was another thing she should have said- wait she already said that didn’t she? Aw man- now she isn’t sure! She quickly realizes she is going on a train of thought that was away from the conversation. Dammit! “ Really? That old? That’s really neat! I used to head to the library every day when I was a kid to get my hands on books for math and science n stuff!” They had something in common! Which- shouldn’t be all that surprising since they were in the same career. It just felt so nice to talk to another inventor was all! AW WAIT DAMMIT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO LISTEN NOT SPEAK!!! She made sure this time to try and listen quietly. She felt a twinge of envy seep into her veins when he mentioned an apprenticeship. She had managed to fuck up hers to the point of having to leave town. Could be worse though, she could have been limbless or dead. Both of which didn’t seem appealing for her and her profession. Right! Advice!!! Louise chewed on the inside of her cheek st the mention of heading to where Luke had his apprenticeship. She just- didn’t want to make those mistakes again and mess up someone else’s life. She began to rock back and forth in her heels as he talked about advertising strategies. Which meant talking to people- and she knew how well that always went. She wasn’t exactly the charismatic type after all... “ Are you sure just waltzing in on people’s business and fixing up their stuff won’t get a bad reaction from them though. Like- a total stranger offering their services suddenly wouldn’t seem a bit...weird?” Luke was probably intimidating or witty enough to not get smacked in the face or something. She was probably going to end up being reported by to the guards for harrassment. Why is she complaining? She should be grateful for this stuff. She lightly smacks herself in the forehead and sighs at her own behavior. “ Aha um- sorry just- forget what I said. I’m just being stupid...“ She gave Luke a grin in hopes she didn’t fuck this up or something. She looked to the ground as she tried to recall her rates. Honestly it depended on the job??? She didn’t tend to keep track of stuff like that- ok that may have been a problem there. “ It depends on the project. I mean I sorta go for like...t-ten an hours...? F-Five...?” She didn’t sound all too sure and she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. |
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 10:51:07 GMT -8
  [Ty][Luke]
Silence. Both from Luke, and from Ty. The two young men exchanged a look, then turned back towards Louise. They were speechless. Luke was utterly stunned. A moment passed. And then another. The young punk techy had to let her words settle in, but they had completely caught him off guard. Finally, he gathered himself up and sucked in a deep breath, exhaled, collected his thoughts. Silver eyes locked onto the pink haired girl.
"Well... there's your first problem, you're massively underselling yourself." Ty watched as Luke set his gloved hands onto his hips. Black hair swayed as the boy shook his head. "I can understand not being confident when you first enter the market, but you have to consider the value of your work. This is good quality. This is something that should be making you bank on simple jobs. The way I do it is I go by assessment. I look at the piece, it's complexity, and give an upfront cost. The cheapest I've sold my skills was for twenty gold an hour on a six hour job."
Luke shook his head, trying his best. It wasn't really an issue with her finding work, it's just that she really wasn't properly pricing herself. "You're in a niche market, practically the only one in pillar steppes. That means people don't have many choices when they need tech repaired, so regardless they'll have to go to you. You have the freedom to accurately appraise your skills. Normally I'd suggest appraising tech to determine costs, but if you're going to choose hourly rates?" Luke pulled out the light ball and shook it at her. "The lowest I'd say for you is Twenty-five an hour."
"Doing that already fixes multiple of your problems- And I know what you're going to say, I assume that you set yourself that low so you can say you're affordable- Don't do that. It shows people, customers, that you have no fucking clue what you're doing. It shows your inexperience in big neon lights, flashing above your head saying 'Look at me I've no fucking clue what the hell I'm doing!' When people think you don't know what you're doing, the only ones who care to go to you are the ones who want to take advantage of you. Not only that, but there's a cost-to-work balance that people have to consider, when someone sees cheap work, they immediately think cheap quality. You've shot yourself in both your feet and then gone for a double tap on your left one."
"When you actually price yourself properly, yeah, sure, you're going to lose some of your current customer base, but some will still remain. You'll lose some, yeah, BUT, they don't have options to go to. Who're they gonna go to. Me? In a completely different city? When I might price their shit higher instead of a standard rate? You'll have a competitive rate with more than survivable wages, they'll have no choice but to come crawling back to you until some other dumb-ass enters the scene broadcasting their inexperience. But by then, you'll already have drawn in a more loyal customer base, because they'll have more confidence in what you provide."
Gloved hands clapped down upon Louise's shoulders. Luke looked her dead in the eyes and gave the girl a little shake. "Never undersell yourself. You're hurting yourself more than you know, got it?" The young man pulled back and let out a huff. Ty had been content watching this scene, but the full development seemed satisfying. The real question now was if Louise was going to take the advice or not.
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 31, 2020 11:08:35 GMT -8
Louise blinked innocently before a sheepish grin appeared on her face and she began to twirl her hair through her fingers. A small blush of embarrassment appeared on her face as she got lectured by Luke. Man she hadn't been in this much trouble- or felt like she was in trouble in a while. She tensed up and her mouth popped open in shock at his suggestion as to how she priced herself. "T-Twenty five an hour?!" She gaped at such an idea. It seemed so expensive! Part of her felt a bit guilty and undeserving to be charging that much for something. She knew he wasn't wrong- she was super inexperienced but she didn't think her prices would actually affect her reputation in any way. That was weird to think, the cheaper the goods the worse it probably was. It made sense but it just never crossed her mind before and it felt silly that it never had. Business clearly wasn't her forte. "Ah yeah, that's why I had to make new legs," She joked.
She had to admit though she didn't like the idea of losing her customers... She felt a bit bad doing that to them if they couldn't afford it anymore... Would people really have more faith in her if she charged more? It seemed like a bit of backwards logic to her- but she knew very little about all of this and Luke clearly knew what he was doing so- who was she to argue? Louise felt herself pouting at the idea of having to change the prices around. She didn't want to seem unreasonable after all.
She was yanked out of her thoughts when she felt the weight of Luke's hands on her shoulders. She was shaken back and forth some of her hair flying into her face. "Okay, okay!" She said now crossing her arms and pouting at Luke for being shaken like that. "I mean- it all sounds a bit weird but there's no harm in trying it and seeing what comes out of it!" If she didn't try she'd never know! She had nothing to lose anyways. |
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 11:42:06 GMT -8
[Ty][Luke]
"It's never a bad thing to rate yourself based on the quality you give. This is solid quality, like I said. And yeah, it may seem a bit backwards to think that the pricier you are the more customers you get, but like I said, undervaluing yourself shows inexperience. Would you trust an inexperienced mechanic to fix your legs? You wouldn't, would you? Besides, twenty-five an hour is still vastly underselling yourself in my opinion. But, it's more than livable, so it's not like you need too much excess and you can still say you're relatively inexpensive. Instead of dirt cheap, though, you can actually say your rates are competative." Luke had years on Louise, not just in the business, but also in how long he'd been tinkering with shit. At first it was just something he did to survive, but it quickly became his life. Everyone saw that in him. Ty still did. Speaking of Ty, the young man finally stretched out and decided to enter the conversation again. "Relatively speaking, Luke's got a point. You're providing a premium service, it's not a bad thing to price yourself higher. You know?" The boy shrugged. When building your own business, one had to be aggressive. Both the young men knew that in different strokes. While Ty wasn't the master of it, he still had enough of a grasp on the set up to make it work. Luke, however, had a stranglehold on it. It was the one time his aggressive, stubborn nature worked in his favor, instead of actively against him. The guy could be really dumb, and a lot of inventions he made were just for shits and giggles, but when it came down to running a business, when it came down to his livelihood, Luke was ruthless and calculating.
The guy was a lot smarter than he let on.
With that being said, Luke gave a stretch and waited for Louise's response. Ty returned to checking out customers, most of which didn't give a rats ass about what Luke and Louise were talking about. Most of them were still in school, and what they were discussing was far off their radar. Just stupid adult bullshit for stupid weird adults. Which, you know what, valid, when Ty was younger he wouldn't have cared for this kind of thing either.
Hell, he didn't care when Luke rambled about his business shit back then. But, times have changed. They were on their own now. No one else to rely on, and lives they had to live. Ty learned pretty quick that he had to care more about business advice when he had rent to pay. But, it was surprising that the issue was that easy to fix. All Louise had to do was adjust her rates. Luke did have a point, she was the only techy in Pillar Steppes, which means she was the only one in this part of the city offering a premium product, and the only other person who offered it in the whole of the capital was Luke. Louise was being set up in a position where she couldn't lose. |
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 31, 2020 11:54:12 GMT -8
" Well that's not fair cause I wouldn't trust anyone but me to fix my legs," she said. Louise would never ever EVER go see someone to fix her limbs. The machinery was too complex and no WAY was she sharing her schematics unless it was for someone else who needed a cool new limb. Except this was pretty expensive to make so, making them for others was easier said than done. Though she'd like to someday. Guess with the higher rates it would make it easier for her to produce some more of her inventions she's been dying to get out there. She could see the points they were trying to make. Technomancy and inventing stuff wasn't easy. She had to teach herself a lot, even as a little kid. She'd always be messing with some scraps in her room. Not that she ever really showed anyone. Most she just left in a box somewhere to be buried. She lost track of her old little tinker projects a while ago. " Yeah...I...guess not..." There was still that persistent feeling of guilt at the idea but she had to swallow that down. It was either this or not having a place to live, which didn't seem super comfy. Not like she wasn't used to sleeping on streets but she'd rather not have to do that again if she could help it. Louise had to say she was grateful for the advice, even more so that Ty was able to set this meeting up. Normally social interactions go terribly but this time seemed to work out which was neat! She was pretty sure it was all thanks to Ty, if Luke and herself met under any other circumstance she doubted he would be super friendly... " I really appreciate this! Like- you have no clue how much this means to me!" She said in earnest. It was sink or swim out there in the business world and unfortunately, Louise was struggling to learn how to fucking swim. |
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 17:56:44 GMT -8
  [Refs]
With a nod, Luke turned away from Louise. "Good luck." Was all he said. He and Ty exchanged a nod, before Luke stuffed his hands back into his pockets and left Ty and Louise to their own devices. Ty watched him leave, quiet and undaunted.
"You get used to him. He's rough and really bad at socializing, but he's the most loyal person you'd ever find." The young man turned his shadowed gaze back towards the pink haired mechanic. "Anyways, as far as the job I gave you, don't stress too much about it. I'll only keep you on until your business ramps up again. That way you'll have a buffer. All you'll really be doing is just keeping the place clean and the shelves stocked. Nothing specific you have to do, no complicated routines. Just clock in, and if there's nothing to do you get to hang out until there is something to do."
Ty shifted and placed his chin into his hand. "That's what I do."
A smile played at his lips. The guy genuinely didn't give a fuck. As long as you weren't a dick and didn't try to ruin his mood or his business, he let you do whatever. The young man didn't have any expectations out of Louise besides her showing up, doing a few things, and chilling out. Which honestly was fairly in line with how he ran Gorilla Groove in the first place.
"Oh, yeah, during your tinkering you told me a bit about yourself but I didn't really do the same, did I? Kinda hard when Luke was shoving all that information down your throat, but still..." A small shrug expressed Ty's sentiments far better than his words or expressions could. He continued. "So, yeah. Full name; Tyler Dumont, just call me Ty still, of course. I like most types of music, skateboarding, baseball, and my hobbies are in line with those activities. I grew up with Luke back there and him an' I ran with a group for most of our lives. Got into trouble, picked fights, rebellious teen shit. I have an older brother named Callahan who works as an enforcement officer in the guard, and sometimes he stops by to visit. He's the one who helped me start this place up."
Ty leaned back, mulling it all over. He didn't know what else to talk about. His reserves were pretty tapped out when it came to conversational topics, given, you know, most of his existence was dedicated to the act itself. Dude just vibed, man. Don't put this kind of pressure on him. It was going to be an interesting dynamic. Talkative Louise, and mellow, restrained Tyler. Tune in next week to see what they get up to. It probably would not be a whole lot.
"Probably" being the key word there.
Hidden eyes studied Louise, then further out towards the shop itself. Patrons were still idling about, talking amongst themselves or listening to newly bought albums. "Yeah, I dunno. I don't exactly have much to talk about that isn't obvious, I suppose. Hm." Silence hung about him for a beat. "S'bout it I guess. Just like Luke, I'm in the no parents club. Not that it bothers me too much, of course. I got my brother, I got my friends. That's all I need."
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 31, 2020 18:13:24 GMT -8
She gave luck a wave goodbye bouncing excitedly as she did and giving him a bright grin. " Bye! It was super nice meeting you. I hope we can meet again!" She called out and flashed him a little peace sign as her final farewell. He seemed pretty cool if she was being honest. Talking to people always reminded her of how much she enjoyed it- well when it went well. She turned back to Ty and leaned against the counter, resisting the urge to hop up on it and use it as a seat. " I can't hold it against him. I'm not much better," she said. Though they both seemed to lack social graces in very different ways. A cold harsh exterior versus an overwhelming ball of joy that can only be administered in small doses. She directed her attention back to Ty beginning to ruffle with the edge of her skirt. It swished a lot which is why she kept doing it- so entertaining... She stood up straight and attentive when Ty mentioned the duties of her job. " So sorta just keep the place from going crazy and hang out. I can do that!" She could even have the chance to talk to customers. Though that might make them run out of the place... " You ever play any of the instruments up there? Can I play them..?" She asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with eagerness. She wouldn't be upset if he said no but she was dying to try one of them out. Maybe she could even program in some 'muscle' memory for these limbs to play an instrument. That felt a bit like cheating though... She thinks she was gonna like working at this place. Maybe she could find a way to balance her work- if it ever took off, and working here. This place was a social setting and Louise absolutely adored socializing. Even if the interactions were bound to go poorly she wanted friends so badly! Louise propped her elbows up on the counter and rested her chin in her mechanical hands as she listened to Ty speak about himself. He was a mystery man but he was willing to part the curtains for only a moment, she had to be attentive. " Having a sibling must be super neat. It sounds like fun growing up with a group of friends who have your back after all this time!" She wished she had that. The kids at the orphanage kept to themselves and most techies really didn't like social interaction so... she was alone for the most part. She had gotten used to her own company- in fact she liked to think she was alright to be around... She sort of had to be considering she was stuck with herself 24/7. " You think I'll meet your brother while working here?" She asked. It would certainly be interesting, plus she'd get a better idea of what Ty looked like under that cap. Louise looked a little surprised when he mentioned he and Luke had no parents. " You guys were orphans too?" she tilted her head curiously. Funny the parallels between herself and these guys. Well- not exactly...they had friends. They had made a little family of her own. She had Bubbles at least but- well Bubbles only understood a few commands. Not much of a friend if she was being honest.
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 19:00:44 GMT -8
[Refs]
Thinking on Louise's question, Ty gave a small nod her way. "I don't normally play with them. Normally. Sometimes though I like to fiddle around with the Bass guitars. So, as long as you don't break any of them, you can try em out all you want. Just don't wear them out either, though. Otherwise I'd have to sell them used."
Louise was far from a bad egg. Talkative, yes. Hard to pin down, certainly. Overly excited, definitely. But she had a good heart. Ty could tell. Perhaps that was one of the main reasons why he offered her the job. That and he also knew how hard it was to hit rock bottom. To struggle to keep one's head above the surface. Hell, the young man knew it because he grew up on rock bottom, suffocating beneath the waves..
Hopefully she'd be a good fit working there.
At the very least, the pink haired girl was getting her dream. She had a friend now. Ty vibed with her well enough, he didn't mind if she stuck around. You know, all things considered, this was a pretty good day for Louise. A whole bunch of things went her way. She better appreciate all that Ty has done for her in those regards. New job, new friend, new business advice. Please, shower Tyler in praise for how gracious a god he was. How generous and kind and handsome he was as a perfect lord. Or don't. It was a solid bet that the response would be a solid zero-fucks given. That, or he'd be howling in laughter. Who knows, it's a mystery. Just like him. He was a mystery. Mysterious mystery man that was pretty much giving his life story like an open book.
Man he was bad at being mysterious, wasn't he? Oh well.
"I look up to my bro. He's strong, brave, keeps people safe. He's everything a man should be, you know? Protects the weak, respects people of all kinds, kicks the asses of dumb piece of shit assholes. He's a badass!" Callahan was one of the biggest figures in Ty's life, aside from Io. Unlike the rest of the Lost Boys, he still had some sort of family. Callahan literally shed blood, sweat, and tears to raise his little brother, and to Tyler... "He's my hero, you know? He's like the definition of an immovable wall. Tough as shit and resolute in the face of tyranny. I never got to know my parents, obviously. But I'd say Cal's a good replacement." Ty gave a small shrug. "I never really needed anyone else, between him and..."
Silence. Ty thought about Io, the image of his smile. His voice. It was hard to forget. He could only shake his head and push the image out of his mind. "Anyways, yeah, Callahan comes to visit every so often, so you'll definitely get a chance to see him. I was thinking about having Luke swing by again. Let the two of them catch up. Hey, hollup a second, let me grab you something."
The capped crusader crouched beneath the counter, clicking some tool. Curious. But, Louise wouldn't have time to stew in her curiosity, as she would have her answer almost immediately, as Ty popped up and handed over a small bit of plastic, labeled with her name. A nametag, just for her. Obviously. |
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 31, 2020 19:20:21 GMT -8
She nodded resolutely. No messing with them- a ton...just...just one song! Would she have to clean them afterward? Probably...She wondered if she could repair an instrument. That would be a good service to offer- though she had a feeling fixing an instrument was a whole different ballgame compared to tech. " I wouldn't dream of breaking them!" On purpose...accidents happen. Actually- maybe it was best she stayed away from the instruments just so she didn't fuck up what she was supposed to be selling. " Oh! By the way, before I forget I just wanna say thank you for doing all this. You really didn't have to go out of your way to help me," she said giving him a sincere and gentle smile. Seriously, she hasn't experienced this much open generosity since- well even if she was being honest. She swore she was gonna be the best fucking worker he ever had! She was not gonna make him regret it. She'd feel like shit if he did end up regretting hiring her. Louise idly bounced up and down while she rested upon the counter. " Your brother sounds super cool! I can't wait to meet him!" He sounded like a superhero in the books she read or that epic knight that saves the day! Plus since he was Ty's brother she was sure he was chill. It must have been nice having someone to look up to, someone that was willing to protect you when shit got rough. She bit back a sigh of envy. The cards just fell a little different for her. But today things were beginning to look up. Maybe all that bad luck was finally coming to an end! Wait what was Ty saying? " Him and...?" She echoed tilting her head with innocent curiosity. The silence between them showed that whoever this mystery person was- they weren't to be talked about. Fair enough! " That sounds like fun. A little meet up. Oh! Maybe you could throw a little party with all your friends! Parties seem super fun and I'm sure they'd love hanging out together again," she said. She'd love to go to a party- but she wasn't gonna invite herself that was fucking weird! Besides she wasn't a part of this nostalgic friend group no way was she gonna intrude on some good times like that. Louise jumped up and down excitedly at the mention of something for her. She never got gifts! " What? What? What is it? What is iiiit?" She asked with the patience of a child, which was to say- fucking none. She was happy she didn't have to wait that long for her answer. Louise picked up the piece of plastic and held it up to the light before pinning it onto her chest. " This is awesome! Works great with my outfit!" The nametag stood out well against the baby blue halter top with pink hearts patterned on it. " When did you make this?" She asked.
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 20:56:50 GMT -8
[Refs]
"There's a little nametag maker down here with a bunch of blanks. Cal suggested I buy it in case I ever hired anyone. I didn't think I would actually need it, but here we are." Just to show, he pulled up the maker and wiggled it. It wasn't a very complicated looking device. Just a big hunk of plastic with a keyboard, almost styled like a typewriter. Neat. Ty set the nametag maker back down on one of the small shelves he had behind the counter, and turned back to Louise. She looked all bright and cheerful. Good shit. He thought, simply.
"There's really no need to thank me. Honestly, I was just thinking about it, but like, I know what it's like to be on rock bottom. I grew up there. So I know how rough it can be to get back on your feet. You came around at a perfect time too. It's a nice little string of good luck, isn't it?" Ty didn't believe in luck, but he couldn't deny that it was a really fortunate string of events. "Honestly, I would give a tour, but given you're used to this place there's really no need to do that. You know where everything is already. And then everything else I can just show you when you start on your first day."
"Oh, right, hold up." Ty held up a finger and, for the first time, slipped out from behind the counter. The young man slipped down the aisles and past patrons, leaving Louise with the sound of an internal door. Within was a tidied office. It was a generally unremarkable set up, but the thing he really needed was an assortment of paperwork. Of course, with someone being employed under him, the young man had to register it all. Thankfully, it didn't take too-too long. He was a pretty organized individual.
Soon enough, he was out, papers in hand, and slipped back behind the counter. "Here, just fill this out." He slid the form over with a pen. "It's standard shit, plus it'll have contact info so I can send you a schedule plan. Once that's filled out, you're all set."
Ty smiled and gave her a thumbs up. The guy had notably less worries than Louise did. For how cheerful and talkative she was, she had a strange amount of paranoia compare to Ty who... really didn't.... care all that much. If people left because she talked too much, good riddance, he didn't need their bad vibes. If they complained, they could get out. Everything could be dealt easily. Compared to the shit show he grew up with and all the issues he'd had to deal with and fight against in his life, her presence and how people responded towards her was such an easy fix. If anyone really, really hated it... all he had to do was punch them in the face and throw them out. See? Easy!
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on May 31, 2020 21:18:45 GMT -8
“ Oh near! Like a little baby 3D printer!” Louise eagerly examined the device, taking the time to look over each detail to see if she could determine how it ticked. All relatively simple given she knew what she should be looking for on such a device. She wondered what else it could do? That would be an experiment for another time. She’d rather not break anything after all. “ Your brother must have some craaaaazy foresight,” she said now looking away from the device and back to Ty. It still sent her mind reeling that someone was doing this much for her. Part of her felt she should make it ip to him- but being the best employee she could seemed like a good way to pay. “ Mmm I think I’m better off than when I started. When I had to wait around for these guys,” she gestured to her legs and arms. “ was when I hit rock fucking bottom.” She was lucky she got help, she would have died both from the accident and afterwards had nothing been done about her- previous condition. Her skin occasionally still felt like it was on fire and attempting to melt off some days. Fun phantom pains... “ I wouldn’t call it luck I would call it kindness.” She put her hands on her hips and nodded in an assured way. Ty was cool and kind and without him she wouldn’t be having such an awesome day! “ I’m sure there’s some place in here I haven’t explored. All in due time though! I’ll make sure to learn as quickly as possible and do my best!” She gave Ty a small saluted with a determined smile on her face. She lowered her arm when Ty told her to hold up? She watched him leave without much of an explanation. He would probably fill her in on whatever when he got back. For the minutes she was left alone she slipped behind the counter wanting to take a peak at what was back there before moving back to her original spot. Wait- was this where she was standing before? How exactly was she posing..? Aw dammit- she’ll just lean against the counter all casual like. She looked at the stacks of papers and groaned. Ugh- paperwork, her least favorite part. She grabbed the pen and got to work filling out the information...along with doodling a few things on the paper. There was a butterfly, some icecream, a cool motorcycle, a lil bird, some bubbles...She needs to fill this out. Just a few more lines. She managed to fill out the first paper after a few minutes. Oh gods there was more. Louise furrowed her brows now to focus on filling oit the rest of the forms, before she paused and looked at the pen...laser pen! Or wait no- a pen as a hidden weapon. She wrote the idea down on the note- WAIT THIS IS THE FORM. FILL IT OUT LOUISE!!! She began to quickly scribble the final papers of the form, her hand writing getting a bit sloppy towards the end. “ There we are~,” she said now handing the papers back to him. That probably took way longer than necessary. She gave him a small sheepish grin hoping he wouldn’t mind the doodles too much. |
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Post by Sparky on May 31, 2020 23:12:12 GMT -8
[Refs]
Behind the counter was... not much of anything, really. There was a mini fridge for the drinks. A small shelf with spare snacks, another little shelf where some tools were set, like the name-tag maker, a label maker, etc. Then, of course, there was his chair. Pretty standard. Set a little ways off, next to his backpack and leaning against the base of the counter was his skateboard. The board art was a splatter design of a gorilla head with the words "GO APE SHIT" in Graffiti lettering. It was single-handedly the most unique, and yet the most unsurprising item to be found behind the counter. At least until a glint of metal made itself known.
The object was partially obscured by the skateboard, the angle at which she was looking, and by the fact that it was inside the backpack itself, but upon closer inspection, a beat up metal bat could be seen. The handle was worn, but still in good quality, while the metal was scuffed to hell and back. It was obvious that some attempts had been made at both polishing and restoring it, with middling success.
Her adventure in snooping would meet and unfortunate end before long though, and Ty simply hung around as she took... far longer than she should have during the filling out process of the forms. When he got them back he looked them over... then looked back at Louise.
Silence.
Down back to the pages. Flip to the next one. Flip back to the first. Flip to the next, then look back at Louise. Then back to the first page. It took a moment for the gears to turn, and the way the young man's expression shifted showed he was caught between wanting to laugh and encourage the shenanigans, and pure unfiltered confusion at how someone could just... do that... on official documents... In the end, all that came out was,
"Nice doodles." It's not like he could make much of a comment on it. It wasn't enough of an issue to make him fire her, he could always have Luke edit the bullshit out for him for official purposes. It was just... odd. Sure, sure, Louise was an odd duck, yeah. But he expected at least a pinch of moderate professionalism on the paperwork. Ty shrugged, not his problem.
He left Louise back at the counter so he could take the paperwork back to the office, but returned less than a minute later. Not enough time for Louise to peak behind the counter again. "Anyways, even though I have your number, I'm going to give you mine anyways, so you know what to look out for when I send you the schedule. It'll also help if you have any questions or anything like that." With a hum, Ty scribbled the digits onto a slip and slid it over to the pink haired techy. "And there we go. Easy peasy. See, getting a new job ain't so bad, now is it?"
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on Jun 1, 2020 7:15:48 GMT -8
Oh, what was behind the counter was sorta boring. It needs more fun stuff back here- like comic books or maybe something she could tinker with while she worked. The glint of metal happens to catch her eye. What's that? She stands up on her tiptoes and leans closer trying not to technically go behind the counter but still get a better look. Louise recognizes it's a bat- an old one at that. Hmm...a a bat, oooh she could do something with that. Get some cool lights on it and infuse it with some crystals and it would be a force to reckon with! Or maybe she could get like- a really cool baseball that can hone in on targets and go back to the user with the bat. That would be sick! Her eyes glimmered as ideas began to fill her head. Of course, she wasn't just gonna take the bat and do whatever with it. She'd ask Ty first. That would be a good way to repay him for his help. The documents she had to fill out were easy- she just didn't like how long it took her to do that sort of stuff. She didn't know why but her brain practically begged her to focus on anything else but what she was doing. Well, unless it was working on repairs or inventions. Then she wouldn't move for hours until a project was done. So she knew she could focus- she just needed to get better at it. She started to rock on her heels and made a small pop noise as he flipped through the pages. Back and forth, and back and forth... Oh did she fill it out wrong? She'd hate to have to do it again. Were the doodles a problem? Or perhaps the many ideas she happened to scrawl down on the paper? A pen that could write in the air would be really cool and great for mobile planning. The silence just served to make her more nervous. Louise found herself smiling as he complimented her doodles. " Thank you! I think years of drawing up inventions helped my drawing skills a little I like to think." It was no professional artist's work, but it definitely wasn't bad either. Louise wasn't exactly known for being professional. Her childish attitude and excitable nature didn't help her very much in regards to getting respect from others. Most people didn't take her seriously- fuck she couldn't even take herself seriously if she was being honest. Being serious wasn't really her thing... She watched Ty leave again and went to go try and take another peak- but he came back quickly so she had to refrain. Booo... " Alrighty! I'll be sure to put you in my contacts!" This is one of the first numbers she had saved with a name to it. She didn't think she had any questions at the moment, though Ty might be bombarded at a random hour with a whole slew of them. Louise grabbed the piece of paper and tucked it into the pockets of her skirt. Yes, this skirt had pockets it would be a crime for it not to. " I guess not. Though you're definitely like- the coolest person I'm working for," she said. Ty seemed to be able to tolerate her strange personality which she was grateful for. Part of her just wondered how long it would take before he got sick of her.
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Post by Sparky on Jun 1, 2020 11:34:25 GMT -8
[Refs]
While closer inspection with such limited time was not advised, given she could be caught. But, Louise was not a woman who lived life cautiously, so as her reward for inspecting the bat closer, she would spot a small scuff mark. However, this mark was not a normal color. The texture was flaky, dry, and had a tone closer to a dark crimson or rust. It could have been considered rust, sure, however, it was layered atop the shiny, well kept metal instead of within, where rust normally settled. Could it be...? No, no a calm, levelheaded guy like Ty, there was no way, that would just be ridiculous. But, then again, people did take bounties, so perhaps it wasn't even a bad thing?
Ty did seem to have a very strong sense of justice...
Certainly it couldn't be something bad. Maybe he just got into a fight? Then again, all those dents and scuff marks... perhaps they weren't exactly all from him playing baseball? Ty did mention how he'd been raised on rock bottom. Who knew what kind of things he'd had to do down there to survive? It was hard to tell what he was thinking behind those shadowed eyes.
Well there you go Louise, there's your daily dose of paranoid ponderings, enjoy however long they last because Ty is back now, and he doesn't seem to even notice that anyone was snooping into his privacy. The young man gave a nod to Louise as the girl stuffed the card away. Skirt pockets were indeed a necessity, who the fuck would choose to go without pockets? That was just dumb. Silly. Not to mention Louise worked with tech, so pockets must have been required even more. Need places to stash tools and parts, you know!
When complimented, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, forming into a playful smirk. "Hey man, I try my best to be the coolest person in the group. I'm seven years running. Perhaps-" He struck a pose, flexing the muscles he... fucking surprisingly had what the hell? Ty where were you hiding those guns, what the fuck? "-it's my mysterious aura, or my smooth voice-" he quickly shrugged and returned to his normal stance. "-Or maybe it's just because I don't really mess with people. Live and let live and shit."
Another shrug. The dude just existed, vibed. So maybe that's why people always agreed he was cool. Because he kept a cool head. And, that was probably true. The instances in which Ty had actually lost his shit and gotten upset were few and far between. The guy was the master of inner peace. Kind of. Mostly. Again, there were outlying situations but it wasn't like the pink pioneer needed to know all of that. As long as she just thought he was cool, that was good enough for Ty. Wonder what it's going to be like, being a boss for once? Ty thought internally. I know I can't just exist like we're hanging out and being friends. I need to actually have her work... but is that something I'm able to do? Only time would answer Ty's questions. |
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Post by fluffymcsnuggles on Jun 1, 2020 12:14:13 GMT -8
Louise tilted her head as she noticed the small specks of dried something on the bat. She's seen rust enough times to know that this definitely wasn't it. Stuff was way too dark to be rust. Wait- is that blood...? Huh, wonder why that's there? There's certainly a story behind it, but Louise figured it wasn't something she should ask. Part of her was curious if at some point in his past he smashed skulls in, and what skulls? People skulls? Animals? Neither seemed very likely for Ty but she hardly knew him. He probably had a good reason anyway. She wondered to herself what that must be like. To be put into circumstances to kill. She herself had never killed a living thing- except herself nearly. Louise had to admit she was curious as to what sensations might arise when she takes the life of another. Would she feel anything at all? Was she supposed to feel anything? How would the expression of a dying man make her feel? Ok- Woah, getting a little fucking dark there Louise. She snaps out of her frankly, terrifying thoughts. Didn't know there was a psychopath up there geez. Louise found herself gasping in surprise as he flexed. Where the fuck did all that muscle come from? Does baseball put someone in that much shape? She had no clue she never actually played baseball. She feels she would be really good at it- if not for the obvious of having superior strength and precision to the average human. Eh, it would only just be a hypothetical she could play in her head. She would also think she'd look super cute in a baseball uniform with pastel pinks. Ah if only she knew how to sew. " I personally vote for the chill vibes you have. You just go with the flow," she said. Plus he didn't judge people based on first impressions- or maybe he did. Didn't seem like it though since he willingly hired her. She found herself biting back the urge to ask what was under the hat as he mentioned his mysterious aura. He certainly was a bit mysterious, but it's only because she didn't really know what he looked like under that hat. Don't fucking knock it off his head Louise. DO NOT! She got snapped out of her thoughts when her right arm lights up with a neon pink light, flashing every few seconds. " Oh! Hold on..." she mumbled raising her arm up to her ear and listening to the voice on the other side. She nodded- before realizing the caller couldn't see her. " Cool! I'll be over in a few so you can pick up your stuff. Thank you~!" The light on her arm ceased to glow and she let out a sigh. " Well, I got a customer that wants to pick up their stuff. I'll see you around? For work...?"
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