mrglbrgl

[saynotobugs]

⭐ Who: Maki, you
⭐ When: Early February
⭐ Where: The Koubu-ya across from the DU office
⭐ What: Lunch and griping

[So it's an average day at the Dreamer Union, by which we mean there haven't been any major incidents and no one seems to be kidnapped by their own issues yet. (Give it time.) Maki heads straight to Koubu-ya as soon as the lunch bell hits, and if you come in (common enough, given how close the restaurant is to the office), she'll give a brief wave from the lunch counter in between picking at her massive bowl of shio ramen. Judging from her face, her own level of salt is at least comparable to that of the ramen.]

I swear, if it's not people thinking I can fix the lights in front of the office when they go out -- okay, yes, I probably could, but it's not in the job description -- it's opening suspicious emails. [She turns to the nearest person she knows and gestures with her chopsticks in the air.] I mean, "notavirus.exe"? Is everyone with a brain busy in the Dream Sphere?

Comments

[darcangel]

What is wrong with the lights....?

[ Jeannette is spending more time at the DU than at home these days. Not only was she away for a YEAR, she lost to a Nightmare shortly after returning....! How can she repay her angel's faith in her abilities as the future commander of the Dreamer Union army like this? She cannot. So she must change, she must improve, she must work hard.

And she must support everyone. Thus, here she is, providing a sympathetic shoulder for Maki, who had been nothing but wonderful to her when first she registered with the DU. The non-Dreamers are just as vital to the success of the Dreamer Union as those on the front lines, and their struggles touch Jeannette's heart just as much.

....Though she's probably only not fallen for that virus by sheer virtue of being so bad at electronics she doesn't know how to open an attachment. Girl has a flip phone. A FLIP phone. ]

[saynotobugs]

You know the fancy ones out front, the stepping stones that light up? Permanent art installation? Someone asked me if I fix them if it gets too cold. [She pokes at her boiled egg.] Least they asked. How about you? Things doing okay now that you're back in town, kid?

[olruggio]

[ah yes, here he comes. The main perpetrator of Maki's most recent issues. Olruggio doesn't eat ramen often but he's feeling the deadline grind from one of his frequent sponsors and he needs the junkfood. And so while he orders his own shoyu ramen, he stops when Maki waves him over.

Then nearly chokes on air when he hears the complaints]

Wha-

[he's so offended that he starts switching between Japanese and Italian, apparently upset enough to forget what some of the words are in Japanese and substituting his first language automatically]

They know I work at the DU too, right? More importantly, those lights are designed withstand all sorts of weather! If they broke down in the winter time for something as simple as the cold, I'd never be able to return to my hometown!

[saynotobugs]

Right? [She groans and pokes at her ramen.] I'm just thinking they probably didn't wanna bug you. Oh, artists are busy, let's ask the IT monkey who's definitely not busy with anything. ...At least I'm assuming that's the other half of what you said.

[Monch.]

[olruggio]

[he drops himself down into the seat next to her, one hand placed over his face with a groan]

While I appreciate the sentiment, I don't appreciate the idea that they thought something like cold weather would cause it to break down. If my works were so easily taken out of commission, I doubt I'd have repeat customers!

[professional pride and all that]

Though I ought to thank you for running interference. Unintentionally or not.

[saynotobugs]

[munch munch]

Yeah, and it's not even like it gets all that cold out here... usually. I mean, it's cold, and climate change does make stuff worse. [sigh] Hasn't been minus 50, at least. Yet.

[darcangel]

[ Jeannette doesn't immediately reply. She would never dream of lying - it is a sin! - but she also doesn't want Maki to worry about her. So admitting that she'd been expelled from the Dream Sphere while fighting a Nightmare she'd been certain her companions and she could defeat.....

....no, she needs to say something, or Maki will still fret....!

She opens her mouth. Closes it. Looks down.

Is that an answer? ]

[saynotobugs]

You... okay? You don't have to hide it if you're not, you know. Last thing we need is another Disturbance.

[like she can talk]

[darcangel]

[ Jeanne gives an apologetic smile. ]

I am sorry to make you worry.

[ What are the words for this? She puts a hand over her heart. ]

I - cannot say returning has gone well. In many ways, I have fallen behind.....as a Dreamer, and a commander.

But even so.....

[ Deep breath. Exhale. Angel.....She hasn't spoken to her angel recently. But her angel's guidance is always within her memory. ]

I am here. I am doing what I can, and every day, that will be slightly more. Until I can repay everyone's kindness properly!

[ Feel free to hallucinate a medieval knight's banner flapping in the wind behind her at the sincerity of that last sentence. She has that effect. ]

[olruggio]

One Shoyu!!

[Olruggio takes his bowl with a 'thank you' and grabs his chopsticks. Honestly, watching Maki enjoying her bowl was making him hungry by proxy]

Well, the lighting is placed inside tiles on the floor. I suppose some people might be worried the ice would get into the cracks and damage the wires. But not within the first two months of installation.

[/grumble]

[saynotobugs]

Heh. You're definitely doing your best. I get why you would worry you've fallen behind -- if you're not doing okay, you start to think maybe you're not cut out for it. But hey, you're still hanging on there.

[darcangel]

Thank you very much.

[ She takes a sip of her drink - just water, for her. ]

I hope I am able to help you, too. And soon!

[ you may have found a willing patsy for the lightbulb changing ]

[thezekeinator]

[As usual, Zeke has conned his way into making a visit to the DU part of his job -- which, okay, technically makes sense, but still -- and from there to lunch, which means he wanders on in. And then immediately drops into the bar seat right next to Maki, assuming himself invited.]

Tell me about it. We have training on this stuff twice a year, and yet every time they run a test, I've got a list of people who blew it as long as my sword.

[saynotobugs]

Even if they tried to make the training more interesting, we'd have the people who don't wanna engage with it. No one actually likes training videos, but you'd think they'd be okay with learning instead of doing work.

[saynotobugs]

People are impressed with it, though. How much work did it take? I'm guessing "a lot."

[saynotobugs]

I'll let you know if something does need doing. Actually, maybe you could remind some people about basic internet safety and not downloading obvious viruses.

[liedol]

Oh, Maki-chan! We had the same idea, huh?

[ Koubu-ya's usually a little too busy for Ai to drop by for lunch, but the weather is so miserable that she doesn't feel like going much further afield. Seems like mostly everyone else agrees, given that the place isn't heaving right now - so she feels pretty safe sidling into the empty seat next to Maki.

To the chef; ] Um - just shoyu, please! And some tea? Thanks!

[ And then, back to Maki. ]

Are people really hassling you about those new lights...?

[darcangel]

[ Jeannette nods earnestly. ] Please count on me.

[ THE DREAMER UNION IS UNDER ATTACK ELECTRONICALLY AND SHE WILL PROTECT IT

(it is VERY cruel to label a virus "not a virus", after all!) ]

[saynotobugs]

Thanks, kid. [She smiles a little and nods.] You're a good one, you know that? Not enough people work that hard.

[saynotobugs]

Just if they're paranoid. [Maki shakes her head.] The weather sucks and stuff gets wrecked, but the lights look fine so far. I think this is what they call preordering your problems.

[darcangel]

[ Jeanne blushes. ]

I am nothing so special.....

[saynotobugs]

Humble as always. I think you're doing a good job, and believe me. If you were screwing it up, I'd say so.

[liedol]

I mean, they're underground, aren't they? So how's the rain gonna do anything to them? Maybe if the street legit floods, sure, but at that point we've got way bigger problems than the lights going out.

[ though it is getting to be, uh. a worryingly close thing. ]

They know you're not, like, an engineer or something, right? I know we're always saying "Maki-chan can handle anything!" [ literally nobody but ai is saying this ] but this is maybe a little much.

[saynotobugs]

Who knows. [snrk] I do gotta say, they're impressive. Good on the artist. Everyone involved, actually.

[darcangel]

[ Okay, that teases out a little smile - she'd much rather have honesty than empty praise. ]

Then I shall rely on you to keep me successful.

[ She is so lucky to have so many people supporting her! Truly, no commander looks after their people alone. The relationship must be reciprocal to succeed. ]