Llewellyn Watts (
gadaboutdetective) wrote in
thesphererp2020-11-16 01:11 am
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Un: DetWatts | Memory Share | When Boredom Sets In
Llewellyn was bored...
Yes, he knew he was lucky to have a place here at all. They technically didn’t even have room for another detective at station house 4, especially one who’d been dismissed from his prior station. Even if Station House 1 was the way it was.
But it didn’t mean he liked sitting around at a desk (not even one he could call his own, just one that was randomly free that day) while everyone else had things to do. There were even constables that had more to do than Llewellyn did currently. He almost wished the Inspector would yell at him to get on his feet and go look into some small incident. Anything to have something to do...
He got up a few minutes later, stretching his legs a bit and slouching over to the water cooler to grab a drink. Letting out a small sigh, he took the cup back to his desk.
Or at least he had been doing that until something in Detective Murdoch’s office caught his eye.
Sure, Llewellyn knew the Detective didn’t like when he messed with things. It wasn’t his office (he’d lost his office, though he didn’t miss the other station), and a lot of the man’s personal projects were a bit finicky (sometimes vaguely explosive he’d been told) if you messed with them the wrong way.
... But it was big, and had lots of wires, and appeared to have eye pieces. What was this contraption for? “Mm...” He hesitated, looking at the cup of water, then at the device. Ever since the case with the wine, Murdoch had been warming up to him... Maybe he wouldn’t mind a little peek?
And if he did, the man’s expressions were often quite hilarious. It would be worth a light scolding.
Putting the cup down, Llewellyn moved quietly into the office and picked up the device (oof it was heavy, very unwieldy) to carry back to his desk to fuss about with. At least this would occupy him for a bit!
Twenty minutes passed, and Llewellyn still had no idea what this thing was. It was so peculiar! Slouched over the desk, he tugged at a couple wires and turned it one way or another... When, he was surprised to find the thing’s creator walking in to address him. “Detective Watts, are you occupied?”
“In terms of police work— no.” He responded, looking up as the man brusquely rounded the desk to stop in front of him.
3... 2... 1... “Are those...?”
Oh, his expression was so befuddled today! That was kind of funny, considering how confused Llewellyn felt himself. “I borrowed these from your desk.”
The befuddlement shifted to something a little more... long-suffering. Like an elder sibling who was trying very hard to have patience with their younger brother who wanted to mess with all his stuff... Without asking. “In the future, I would appreciate—”
Oh... Llewellyn’s attention span is cringing at the idea of a long lecture already. He hefted the large item up and looks through the eye holes at the other detective. “You can’t see out of them.” The interruption is both to avoid being scolded further, and genuine curiosity. Detective Murdoch was brilliant, even if he was a little boring. It was interesting to learn about some of these things, and it was so rare that he had the man’s attention to ask about them. He did love to talk at length about science and invention... right? So surely this was a good way to get to know the man a little better?
“They’re meant to see heat. Eventually... More work is required.”
Llewellyn could see it, there was just a slight inclination of the man’s head and a small grin creeping onto his face. Murdoch wanted to talk about this thing. Putting the device down, he looked up at the older detective expectantly with a tilt of his head. Brows furrowed and intent on learning more, even if he knew he’d probably lose track of the conversation or get bored with all the scientific terms after a while. “Perhaps you might explain why heat needs to be seen?”
Murdoch nodded, though stared a little as the device was set down, perhaps not as gently as it should have been. Llewellyn was a tad clumsy at times... “I will, on the way to the storage shed.”
An explanation, and a chance to help? His day was turning around! He got up from his chair, leaning forward curiously. “What’s the task at hand?”
Murdoch’s expression shifted a little, a half wince. “A messy one, I’m afraid.”
Messy or not, it was undoubtedly important. So with a little fumbling as Murdoch moved to get his invention off the desk and Llewellyn moved to grab his hat off the lamp at the same time bumping into the man, they left the station behind...
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[So it wouldn’t surprise him if Kell had some idea, it was just a matter of if Llewellyn would ever been approached about it or not. Either way, he hoped to prove himself to be well intentioned.]
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He is. Like a blade. One forged by my father and placed in my hands. We both hate it.
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He frowned, a small sympathetic expression on his face.]
I can imagine... That can’t have been easy for either of you growing up. I was expected to watch out for Hubert and Daniel, but... The extent of which was my own choice.
[As if Llewellyn would have ever had it in him to not do his best to protect the boys.]
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[He hated it. He loved Kell as his brother, not as his vassal.]
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And family— true family, protects one another, whether they’re raised to or not. At least... that’s my own experience. I did anything I could to protect Hubert and Daniel, and they did what they could for me...
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I would do what I can to give my brother everything that I never had. The world. Love. Happiness. Freedom.
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[Llewellyn wished for a lot of things, that he could have been a good brother as well... but he’d failed at that in the worst ways. So his smile turned a little sad at the thought. ]
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He deserved more.
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[His response is quiet, almost like he’d like to say more for once... but can’t quite bring himself to. It’s easier to talk about Rhy, to encourage him about his brother...
Better to be helpful than to dwell on something that can’t be changed, right?]
But... Your brother is still around, he’s even here. You still can be there for him, can still find ways to help and improve things. Here or at home. I believe you can. You clearly care enough to, you’re a good man, dear.
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Thank you, beloved.
Now... tell me about this detective of yours.
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Detective Murdoch? Mm... He’s a fascinating man. As I mentioned, he’s very clever at putting things together and developing interesting machines to accomplish tasks ranging from mundane to rather fantastic?
[He smiled a little,]
We have a very different way of approaching things at times, he gets very caught up in mm... experiments and the science behind things. But! That also means when one of us hits a metaphorical wall, we can move in another direction easily enough? Of course, it uh— also took us a while to get to that point. I’m afraid my methods were a little more scattered to him than his, and he thought me a fool at first.
[For all the others thought he hadn’t noticed, he had... Llewellyn had been used to being thought of as such, and back then he also had been rather difficult on purpose. He was too used to being dismissed; it felt safer to keep people at a distance... He’s been working on that.]
We’ve gotten better at understanding one another though... And honestly, I probably wouldn’t even still be able to be a detective if it weren’t for him.
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When we get to work together, I think so...? Him and George Crabtree are probably closer to being proper partners on a case. But when a case is large enough to need assistance, or he thinks I could provide useful insight I do get to work with them more often than not.
Or uh— as was the case with the memory, I was a convenient extra set of hands for a job he needed a hand with.
[Llewellyn paused before realizing he probably should explain a little better...]
You see, there’s usually only one Detective per station house... I’m not really necessary for the place to continue running smoothly.
But when mine dismissed me? He allowed me to continue my casework at his station house, and I guess I proved myself to be worth keeping around? At least, I suspect he’s vouched for my continued presence. He’s more open minded than the Inspector in some ways.
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[But he is intrigued.]
Would it not be valuable for there to be additional detectives? Because it strikes me that you could assist each other with developing ideas.
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[He was just glad that at least he could keep helping people, and that he had someone who was a little less close-minded to work with sometimes.]
Well, I can’t deny that there are many cases that we’ve had come in that probably wouldn’t have been solved without more than one of us involved... But I admit uh... many of the cases I pursue tend to be those overlooked. It’s frustrating, but I don’t believe they prioritize things outside murder particularly well. Even some murders...
[Yes, he sounds very frustrated.]
So those in charge may not see the need for it, and that it would be more valuable to increase the amount of detectives available to take cases. The role is one of the newer ones though; I hope one day someone sees the sense in it as you have, dear.
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[He sighed, a frown in his voice as he thinks.]
My stubbornness on the matter doesn’t make me popular, but I’ve um... been on the other side of it, so I push.
[Rarely thinking first, but he was reasonably sure that even if he did stop to think... he’d still make the same decision.]
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People would be much better off if things were like that, dear. My youth would have been quite different... And my job less frustrating. I wish I could see it.
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Hard to say... I guess that I might not? I never really thought about it before. It would depend on a lot of different factors though, and I’m not really sure what else I would do either... Not many opportunities were available to someone uh— with my background or social status.
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[He shook his head a little,]
It doesn’t make much sense to me, how anyone could ignore such things. The fact that you understand? I appreciate it, dear. So much...
ftb soon?
[Rhy can't keep the tenderness from his voice.]
You are too good for the people around you.
Sure!
Re: Sure!
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