thespherelogs | Open Log - He’s a Busy Man

Entry tags:

murdoch mysteries: llewellyn watts

Open Log - He’s a Busy Man

Who: Watts and whoever you throw at him
What: Open Starters! Variety of locations! Oooooh, shiny!
When: The month of April, vague dates from early to late month. It’s up to you when!
Warnings: None to start but I will update if it comes to it, which would only happen if someone gets him to talk about his world/himself. He’s from a murder mystery canon in the Edwardian era so there’s always the possibility of the discussion of murder cases and the sensitive topics around those coming up if your character asks or reminds him of something.
Notes: I’m also down for anything you might want, you can throw something my way if the starters don’t work for you. They’re more like general interaction opportunities! I can match with action brackets if you prefer!

Starters found in the comments!

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The detective was a man who didn’t like to remain stationary for a variety of reasons, so it was hard to pin him down sometimes, harder still to pin him down and get him to spend a little time sitting around a dome. Llewellyn generated too much energy for that, all bottled up nerves and scattered attention span.

He didn’t like sitting down for long. Most chairs were uncomfortable, and he felt antsy after a time even in the most comfy seat. Being inside was hit-and-miss, especially if he was unfamiliar with the place, sometimes even when he was. Llewellyn needed to know where all the exits in a building were, needed to be positioned in a place that had a clear path to the nearest doorway, got nervous when that path was blocked. Especially if people were getting loud or annoyed about something.

The man was far happier to take his work on the road, carrying notes around, reading while he walked. Socializing was easier if you could just keep moving, more space available to put between you and a potentially bad situation, no claustrophobic atmosphere, plenty of outside distractions to focus on if a topic got boring but you needed an excuse as to why you missed part of a conversation.

As hard as he could be to find, Llewellyn could often be seen in specific areas of the Sphere. His favourite being: The food vendor area of the market, the recreational dome, and the agricultural dome. He’s probably eating in any of these locations, might be jogging in the recreational dome if it’s early in the morning, or admiring plants and picking at smaller flowers to press in his notebook if he’s in the agricultural dome.

Edited 2020-04-09 18:40 (UTC)

Llewellyn spent a few hours at the dormitory dome daily; usually just to catch up on some sleep if he could, sometimes just to check in on everyone. It was never really obvious that he was checking in on people though. He just wandered into a room, found a random surface to sit on, and either ate something or scribbled away in his notebook while making idle chatter if someone struck up a conversation. Sometimes he would speak up first if he thought of something to say, or something to ask about.

The biggest problem with having the detective as a neighbour, that may have even started to annoy his dorm-mates, was that his sleeping area tended to get over cluttered, his overstuffed pockets occasionally shed some of the scraps of paper tucked into them, or crumbs from things he’d been carrying in his pocket that escaped the odd handkerchief. He never really seemed to notice either, too caught up in whatever he was thinking about or rushing off like a man on fire.

Now, far from Haga to be a neat freak. After all, he is a teenager, and as such sometimes he might leave a stray sock there, a random book here... But for the most part he is very organized and neat, as far as teenagers go.

And almost everyone in the shared dorm he lives in seems to be quite neat. Except for this one guy who recently arrived. The area around and on his sleeping pod was always a mess, and he clearly didn't make an effort to change that, and honestly, who could live like that??

So, he decided it was time to confront this man and his untidy ways.

"Hey, would it kill you to clean up your space once in a while?" Haga approached him one day as the man idly stood around, munching on whatever next to his pod, spreading even more crumbs on the floor.

Llewellyn was thinking, as usual, deep in thought and distracted mid snack by something that had caught his attention. He had only intended to stop into the dormitory to grab something from his pod and go, to run back to his office and get back to work. At least he had until he had stopped midway to the pod to let the sudden train of thought run its way to the station.

He hadn’t expected to be approached, especially when he was minding his own business as he was. So Haga (He thought the teen’s name was Haga, but it took him a while to commit a name to memory) had surprised him into dropping the half a bagel he’d been shoving into his face. Oops. “Huh? What? Oh uh— Haga, is it? Mm... I don’t think it would kill me, that’s ridiculous. I’ve never run into a case of someone dying while they cleaned.”

Then he looked at the sleeping pod, really looked at it. Oh. “I... See what you mean though, it’s gotten away from me again.” He’s not going to apologize for the mess though, some of it was part of his system. The crumbs weren’t, and the papers on the floor weren’t, but the ones on his bed definitely were.

Grown ups sure are weird sometimes, and this one is one of the weirdest he has met so far. He really was deep in thought if someone talking to him made him just drop his bagel - now he could see it was a bagel - like that. Great, more stuff to clean up.

"It was just a way of saying..." Haga commented, looking over at the pod with the man, a little surprised that he knew his name. Did they ever talk? Haga doesn't think so. Maybe this guy overheard it.

"But honestly, your place is a mess, can you... clean it up a little?" Honestly, he was doing this for this guy's sake. If no one was going to tell him his place looked like a pigsty Haga would do the dirty job, pun non intended.

"What are people gonna think about you if they see you living like that?" Didn't this guy worry about his reputation or anything like that?

They had not spoken before, but Llewellyn had heard of Haga around the dorm. Rhy had even warned him of the teenager the day that he had arrived. Since Haga hadn’t corrected him, he was rather pleased with the knowledge that he had remembered the teens name correctly. Even if he was getting scolded by him for the state of his space.

“It’s not that bad, just... a bit cluttered. I know where everything is, and that’s uh— what matters most.” He does stoop to pick up the half a bagel, and brush up some crumbs while he was at it. No, he doesn’t eat it either. He’s a bit awkward, but he isn’t an animal! There are more bagels in the kitchen if he feels inclined to grab another. “No one else has had a problem with it thus far, so I suppose I hadn’t considered what they might think.” Llewellyn absentmindedly gestured at the rest of the room with a wave of his free hand.

He can clean it up, perhaps. At least the floor, and perhaps neaten up the notes. “If it offends you so much, you will be glad to know that I will be moving most of this to my office.” And bringing more notes back whenever he bothered to return to sleep. Sorry, Haga. Llewellyn was a very scattered and disorganized man. Neat of appearance, well groomed and stylish, but the spaces he inhabited never reflected that. Until now, he had lived alone and so it had never been a problem. He threw out the bagel before beginning to cram his confetti-like notes in his suit pockets. “I’ve just been er... Busy.”

Cluttered doesn't even begin to cover it... Haga thinks to himself, eyes rolling a bit. And it's not like the mess offends him, but it makes him a little uncomfortable to see it when everyone else's pods are somewhat neatly organized and, most importantly, clean.

"Maybe others also have a problem with it, but are too 'nice' to tell it to you straight." Haga isn't exactly nice when it comes to people he doesn't know. He's of course generally polite to adults - because his parents would kill him if he wasn't - but he isn't about to let this guy live in filth and pretend it's no big deal.

When the man picks up the bagel he's worried for a second he's gonna just eat it, but is relieved when he throws it away. OK, at least this man has some manner of self-respect.

"Look, I just don't want people from other places to come over and think we are all OK with things being dirty and messy." If he doesn't speak up about it that means he agrees with it, right? And he certainly doesn't.

"Adults... always busy with whatever..." Haga says mostly under his breath.

“If that’s the case, then perhaps they should learn to speak their mind.” He responds, with a raised brow. “I’m not able to read someone’s mind.” It’s not said in a grumpy fashion, not really... Just a statement of fact, flat and still a bit distracted. He sifts through a couple notes, squinting at the handwriting on one. It might be important, it might not be. He can’t quite make it out, and so he shoves it in a different pocket from the other notes for later.

“So you’re mm... More concerned about keeping up appearances, then? Not necessarily bothered by the state of my bed, so much as you are concerned what other people might think when they see it.” He sits down on his pod, stooping up a few larger papers to sort through. “I can’t blame you for that, image is often held above other things.” He knows this well enough, he worked hard to improve his own image over the years to varying degrees of success before he got frustrated with it. Llewellyn certainly had never needed to worry about guests seeing where he lived before. Having roommates was proving to be a new challenge.

One that he had apparently not been paying enough attention to.

And, as he reaches down to grab another wad of notes, he certainly hears Haga speaking quietly. “Are we? I’ve had my fair share of days spent idle, Haga. Well! Maybe not of late, but... At times.” And he really has, too many days without enough to do. Not enough to occupy his mind and keep him going. Things were different here, in a way. Not necessarily in a good way, not always.

Although now that he was thinking about it, Haga might have meant something else. He remembered often enough needing assistance when he was young, and the adults in his life had either been unavailable or unwilling to listen. “At least you aren’t afraid to speak your mind on the matter.”

Well, it is true that Haga considers keeping up appearances a high priority on his list, but when it's just said it out loud like that it makes it seem like he's some shallow, superficial dolt which... maybe he's a little but that's not all that matters to him.

"Aren't you bothered by how people see you? Or that people might judge you?" Haga asked, just a little curious to hear what this guy had to say on the matter. Adults are usually above caring about people's opinions.

"I really can't see how you can find so much to do in this place. I've been mostly bored ever since I got here." Save for the occasional strange happening and unusual memory share he got to see, there wasn't much to see or do in this place, at least not anything that would occupy most of his time.

Haga let out a small scoff at that last part, averting his gaze from the man rummaging through the papers. "Hmph, that's almost all I have going for me. So I might as well use it!" Even though recent happening in his life back home made him a lot less complainy, that didn't mean he wasn't going to still speak up when something bothered him.

Llewellyn shuffled the papers into what might have been some sort of order, or as near to being in order as he could guess. The only reason he took half as much care with sorting them at the moment was due to the question he was asked. He needed to think about his answer, to work out how he wanted to put it. “Am I bothered...? Of course, I am. I'm still human at the end of the day, it’s just that I’ve learned to keep my feelings on that matter to myself.” Which means he buries them, or occasionally says things to annoy the person that was judging him or expressing an opinion that is uncalled-for.

“I presume it’s the same in most worlds, but appearances are very important where I come from. There’s um... so much that a person can be judged for that you learn to correct or hide what you have to, and then deal with the judgment on the things you can’t.” He gestures with a free hand as he talks, waving it around lightly. He had done a lot to make up for his short-comings over the years. To blend with society better and be better than was expected for someone who had started out where he had in life. To be his eras idea of ‘normal.’

“As for this uh— mess. I admit I am quite unused to sharing a space, and I don’t usually have company where I’m from.” He finally moved on, tackling another cluttered pile as he responded to the next question with a slightly distracted tone. “And I can find so much to do because I’ve made work for myself in a way. I opened a private investigation office, so I’ve been busy getting it set up and working on whatever small cases people bring me.” Nothing exciting, of course. Just small petty thefts or break-ins, little minor inconveniences and matters that people had no one else to ask for assistance with.

He raised a curious brow at Haga, that comment was definitely a tad self-deprecating in his opinion. Teenagers could be dramatic, yes, but no one said things like that without a reason. It seemed to him that no one said or did anything without reason. “Is that so? I find that hard to believe, most people have more talents or abilities than they think... Regardless of that, you’re right. You should speak up.” He pauses, head tilting thoughtfully, “Of course, you should also be prepared for the possibility that the person will disagree.”

Haga turned his attention back to the man shuffling his papers. He heard in passing about Llewellyn being an investigator of sorts, but what anyone could even investigate in a place like this was a mystery to him.

He couldn't help but be a little jealous on how Llewellyn mentioned he learned how to dismiss his feelings when he was bothered. Haga's skin was certainly not as thick and angering him was far too easy when it came to how others saw him and talked about him.

"Look, I never shared a space either, unless you count living with my parents, but just because you are on your own that doesn't mean you can just be this... careless." Haga didn't know if that was the word he was looking for, but it was close enough. "More for yourself than the others really. That way you don't have to rummage through disorganized stuff trying to figure out where you put things." Haga felt that he was more or less parroting stuff his mother told him before, which he never thought he would, specially to a person way older than him.

Haga felt the urge to ask just what Llewellyn investigated anyway, but decided against it. It was none of his business after all.

And, as any teen, he was indeed way too dramatic about things that really didn't call for it, but he had a slight self-deprecating view of himself, specially as of late due to certain things that happened back in his homeworld.

"Pfft, you don't have to tell me twice people will disagree with me. That happens way more often than I would like it to." Sure, a lot of times he's on the wrong, but he's a little too proud to admit he isn't always right. The typical stubborn teenager behavior. "Can't wait to finally be an adult so people will stop dismissing what I say..." Another typical teenage line of thought.

Llewellyn’s organizational skills were haphazard at best; sometimes it made sense to him and it worked out, other times it unfortunately didn’t. He had tried to be better at it, especially after he lost the one friend who had the patience to actually attempt to keep his work neat and tidy when on a case together; but arriving here had really upset the small routine he had been building for himself. So he listened to Haga’s lecture some more, already having heard some of it before or at least variations of it.

The detective did finally speak up again once Haga expressed his eagerness to become an adult for very specific reason, “Oof...” Popped out, his face twisting into something rather complicated. Llewellyn only lied about very specific things, and he certainly wasn’t going to lie about that particular aspect of adulthood. “I’m afraid if that’s what has you excited about growing up, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Papers finally gathered up, and at least organized into an easily moved pile, he moves on to gathering up some of the random odds and ends that were left. “You’ll uh— find that regardless of age, people will always find a reason to dismiss what you say if they don't like or agree with it. At least in my experience.”

Maybe certain other occupants of the dorm might have a problem with Llewellyn's habits, but Richie, a whirlwind of mess all his own, definitely doesn't mind. He might even, on occasion, used Llewellyn's mess to, er, disguise some of his own.

Richie actually bugs him before Llewellyn even gets a chance to, wandering over to get right in his space and even sticking his head under the bed.

"Dude, what the fuck are you always munching on? Do you have a snack supply somewhere and you've been holding out on your dorm pals? Lame."

Llewellyn, of course, noticed when some of Richie’s mess bled into his own. The mess was his very specific (disorganized) organization system. He never questioned it though, assuming instead that Richie had his reasons; and really, youth wasn’t supposed to be particularly neat and organized. It wasn’t as though it was in the way, and if it were he could always ask the kid to move it.

Dude, what the fuck are you always munching on? It’s almost amusing to hear. Eddie sometimes tried to not swear around him, while Richie didn’t think twice about throwing an expletive out.

“Food, Richie.” Is his response to that particular question, brow raised slightly as the kid’s head disappeared under his bed. There were more papers, a few more scattered crumbs, stray handkerchiefs, as well as a few of his note-books that he was constantly filling up that had been accidentally dropped and kicked underneath.

“And if I had a secret stash, I don’t believe that it would still be a ‘secret stash’ if I told you, would it?” He sits down on the bed, pulling a cookie out of his pocket. He had an entire handkerchief full of them tucked away today, Llewellyn had become rather partial to these ‘oreo’ things that apparently hadn’t been invented yet in his era.

“And if you’re hungry, you could always ask me to share.” He’s always happy to share, after all. Food was a social event in his life, and most people would pass on it than try something with him where he’s from. At this point he’s operating on the assumption that Richie is either hungry or bored (possibly both), and it’s not as though he doesn’t have the time to stop for the moment, he wouldn’t be back in the dorm for a bit if he didn’t.

Llewellyn hadn’t had an office to call his own, not in his own world. Detective Murdoch had the official office at Station House 4, and that was entirely fair! He wasn’t complaining of course! He knew well enough that he was a lucky man to even have a job. They hadn’t needed another detective, and still they had let him stay. Gave him the odd case or allowed him to assist when something big happened. Let him clutter whatever desk was free for the day if he needed it, whenever he wandered in like the stray cat he was.

And for all the recent drama, all the Inspector’s... less than admirable qualities... it was still better than Station House 1. He’d put up with it until they decided to run him out as well.

Here, however, in another world he had found himself with a rather unique opportunity. The council hadn’t gone for him starting a formalized system, there was ‘No need for it’ apparently. Strange, and largely incorrect if what he’d heard was anything to go by, but he wasn’t the sort of man to just accept things and move on. Instead, he’d come at it from another angle (thanks to a little encouragement from Alex) and presented another idea, one that would make their lives easier.

A Private Investigation Office.

So Llewellyn had spent the better part of the last few weeks putting his spare time into setting up shop. Finding a small dome to turn into an office, working out the finer details, furnishing it, and offering his services if the opportunity came his way. So far he hadn’t had much of anything exciting, petty thefts and the like from the Sphere’s locals. Still, it kept him busy. It gave him something to do, and a lot to think about. That was what mattered to him, keep himself thinking about other things and focused on helping people.

And it was nice... Having a space to call his. A place that he could keep his slowly compiled collection of information, to spread it all out at a moments notice and not need to worry about people grumbling over the mess.

It was also an excellent place to hide away when things got to be... A bit much. When his mind got overloaded and socializing was difficult. When even the recreational dome or agricultural dome were too public. People didn’t generally understand when he got in this particular kind of head space, got frustrated with his lack of responsiveness and seeming disinterest, so having a place to go was best.

Needless to say, Llewellyn was either busy at work, snacking over his notes, or in one of those moods when you chose to drop in on him.

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Open Log - He’s a Busy Man

Sometimes you just need to get out of doors. - Market, Recreational Dome, Agricultural Dome

It’s not that much of a mess! - Dorm Dome 2

Dorm 2 you say?

Sure did! BD

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yessssss

8D omg yes pls

I don’t know what a workaholic is, but it sounds fake to me. - Private Investigator’s Office