TEXT; 001 - locked from laurent

[reticence]

[Faolan is definitely not the sort of person to use the network, not even to respond to it never mind to post to it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and certainly this is a desperate time indeed.

How do people even usually address posts on this thing? He goes through the last month or so of them before giving up and just flying by the seat of his pants.

You don't even know how many times he rewrote this thing in the first place.]


Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that there was something quite expensive that you had wanted very much, and that someone purchased that something for you when they really didn't have to. Let's say that you could never hope to come up with the money to pay them back in full, but you would like to do something comparable for them for the holidays.

What would you do in such a situation?


[Help him, Retrospec, you're his only hope he desperately needs some advice here.]

Comments

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[stagemagic]

That depends entirely on if you have a unique skill or service you could offer them as way of thanks.

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[reticence]

I suppose there is a unique skill to be shared. But I'm not sure it's very special. Especially since that skill has been offered since already.

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[stagemagic]

Unless it is a skill that is useless to the person it's offered to, then there is no reason not to offer it again.

[thebeastwithout]

marry 'em and hope they give me cool stuff every year for the rest of my life

[the problem with posting on the network is that fifteen year olds try to give advice]

or i dunno
what kinds of stuff do they like?

[reticence]

[MARRY THEM oh dear lord Faolan you did open yourself up to this by posting to the network like this though...]

They like. Books? And music, I suppose.

[Laurent has put up with far too much of his own musical exploits NOT to, never mind his penchant for putting something on in the background while he works.]

[thebeastwithout]

uh sure that's waaaay generic dude

ok make 'em a mix tape of their favorite songs or your favorite songs or like, songs that are important to both of you or symbolic or whatever

i've watched rom-coms, i'm not afraid to say it

[dulynoted]

Asking for a friend?

[ Ah, the burden of gift giving. ]

[reticence]

Something like that, yeah.

[Faolan, you are awful at this hypothetical situation business, just give it up already...]

[dulynoted]

[ Akira will give it to him. ]

Is the friend of your friend well off?

[complementing]

[Lil sis here to the rescuuuuuue! Or to make it worse, it's debatable.]

uh huh

theoretically speaking

right




anyways! If it were me, I'd give them something handmade

it's more valuable since they wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else, and it's full of your feelings

[reticence]

Minako, please.

[Look, he's not about to go asking for specific advice on a network like this. Not outright at least. There are some people, yourself included, who are going to be able to see right through him. Hell, most people are going to see right through him, but you might at least piece together a little more of this puzzle.]

Something handmade...

I don't know. I've never been very craftsy.

[He's not going to even bother trying to stay hypothetical with you okay let's just out with it.]

[mr_fancy_car]

That depends. What are you good at?

[reticence]

[Yes, alright, he will drop the hypothetical here. It's very obvious he knows that he's talking about himself.]

Well, music, I suppose. But I've already played for them before. I do quite often, really.

[Since they live together and all. A hazard of being the man's live-in bodyguard.]

[frisyr]

Um... a massage, a home-cooked meal and doing chores for them maybe?

[reticence]

[Huh. That's. Not all that bad a suggestion, actually.]

So essentially. Pampering them for the day, perhaps?

[originallutece]

Hypothetically speaking.

[reticence]

Rosalind.

Look. Fine. You know who I'm talking about, I'm not going to pretend otherwise and act a fool, alright?

[He needs help figuring this out okay, there have been developments.]

[bitemefightme]

[Wait, he needs a moment to give a proper response.]

.....Is it someone you like?

I mean.... like like.

I mean....... You know what I mean, right?

[Help him, he's a grown man of 25 and he doesn't know how to say love yet.]

[reticence]

[It's okay, Faolan himself is a grown man of 29 and here he is, asking for gift advice from teenagers across the network because he really does need this help.]

Ehm, yes. This would be a person who is. Very dear.

[He can't quite say the "L" word either, though that's possibly because he has to admit it to himself first, which is far more difficult besides. Doesn't make it any less true keeping it to himself verses speaking it aloud of course, but there it is.]

[doitrockapella]

Who's to say that the gift you give in return has to be comparable monetarily? Is there something the person might want that's valuable in a different way?

[reticence]

That's. A good question, really.

This person is. Very well off. So I'm not certain that money is really the way to their heart anyway. I guess I'm just not certain what is valuable to them besides. Something that I can offer or give myself as something special, at any rate.

[imaginex]

Does the person who paid for the item want something comparable?

I mean... if I were in that person's position, I would've bought the item because I cared and wanted to see you happy, so just verbal gratitude would mean the world.

[reticence]

[Oh no you may have just hit the nail on the head there...]

I'm not certain that they are expecting anything in return. I'm not certain that they want any more thanks than what has already been given. But...

It meant a lot to me. And I'd like to be able return the favor somehow, yeah?

[negativism]

I mean the phrase "it's the thought that counts" exists for a reason. Long as whatever you end up doing, handmade or otherwise, conveys how grateful you are - you should be fine?

[reticence]

[David have you met Laurent? Actually yes you have now. So you know just how he is.]

I don't know, it's just... This person is very. Well.

I suppose I just don't want to settle for "fine"?