InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It was love to me."

commencing countdown ; oskar rasmussen (ballistics) wrote in steamengines,
@ 2009-12-22 12:46:00

log: oskar and lauri
who? Oskar Rasmussen & Lauri Konttila.
where? Lauri's very clean room.
when? December 8, 1899.
what? Oskar goes to visit Lauri to find out just what this new and wonderful thing is exactly.

OSKAR: He normally didn't bother himself with most of the affairs of the rest of TEACUP. Not that he didn't like them or didn't care or anything like that. He just had his mind preoccupied with more important things, such as his rockets and obsessively doing physics problems. That was why he was at TEACUP, after all.

However, all this cryptic talk from Lauri had stirred some interests and after grabbing one of his more portable notebooks, Oskar set off to find the Fin. He wasn't exactly where Lauri would be right now, which was why it took him a good twenty minutes to find the kid. "Hello Lauri!" he exclaimed as he entered the room, noting how clean is was since Oskar's room was never this clean.

LAURI: So his dad had dropped off a care package from a recent trip to the Empire. Little candied treats he called Turkish Delights and a black powder that, when steeped in hot water, made a delicious deep brown liquid. It took Lauri a couple attempts but he finally got the grounds out, added some cream, and found a new high in life: Turkish coffee.

It had given him the energy to clean his room! Normally it was as messy as Oskar's, something they could both take some pride in maybe, with all his crafts lounging about on every surface. For once, they were all neat and tidy. He sat at the edge of his bed, hair on end and eyes wide and red-rimmed. He had been awake for awhile.

"Oskar! I didn't know when you would arrive!" Finnish accent slightly noticable, but he's spend the last eleven years in England. It's a little weird sounding sometimes, but who didn't sound weird at this place?

OSKAR: His father never sent him fun things like that! Mostly it was just necessities and random sweets from the store that he knew his son liked, which could not be purchased in England. Never did he send him such fun things from such far away places like the Ottoman Empire. Lucky Lauri.

And the accent was no where near Oskar's! He had only been in England since he had started TEACUP and his accent was still quite terrible. Hell, he sometimes didn't have quite a good grasp on the English language. It was just as bad as his room and normally Lauri's, but apparently he had gone on a cleaning spree.

"I did not know where you were!" That was the truth, but he could have just tried Lauri's room in the first place. "You cleaned!"

LAURI: "Yes! Haha! I did, isn't it great!" Lauri was very proud of his work and his hands shook as he got off the bed to clap Oskar on the back. So wonderful to see his friend! So wonderful. The smile as wide as the equator on his face may display that.

Then he latched the door and ushered his friend to his bed. There was another cup already there, waiting to be brewed, with a tea strainer full of the black grounds resting inside and a pot of hot water on the fire in the corner. You know, maybe kids shouldn't have fires in their rooms. "Here, sit, hold this, let me pour you water, this stuff is very delicious I think it may replace tea. I think, no! No I know he called it Turkish coffee. Do you see the tin on the floor there? Try those! Absolutely amazing, yes."

OSKAR: If his room was so clean, how would he be able to find anything? While his room looked like a hurricane had been through it, Oskar knew where everything was at all times. Maybe. Perhaps. Well, that's what he told people.

"Replace tea?" he asked with a hint of Shock and Horror in his voice as he sat down on the nearest spot, whatever it was. How was that even possible. YOU LIE, LAURI! "Can we trust this coffee?" Was it going to take over TEACUP? You know how those Ottomans are...

LAURI: That's the edge of the bed you have placed your rear on! Clean, neat, pressed. The energy he had was astounding, off the charts. It may be a good idea to make a flow chart of it all.

"Yes, yes! It's very good, delicious in fact. My father highly suggested it but I did not heed his attention on the part about only during daylight hours---I feel like I could build a whole ship in the matter of minutes right now!"

OSKAR: This was weird. If the Twilight Zone had been invented now, he would be comparing this new, clean Lauri to it. Eerie and weird, it was and it wasn't convincing Oskar that he should be drinking this coffee from the Ottoman Empire.

"Well. I was once told one should not drink tea past dinner," he mumbled as he looked at the coffee. It didn't smell nice and sweet like the tea from the tea machine. Actually, it looked a bit like sludge... Despite his apprehensions, Oskar brought the freshly brewed cup to his lips and took a sip, making a face that bordered on disgust. "That is bitter!" Yet he took another sip.

LAURI: He nodded with vigor, "Yes, yes, but you should add more sugar! It just makes it sweeter," and picked up the container to pass over. It really did help the over all flavor.

Finally, Lauri plopped down on the bed and drew his legs up under him. Hands clasped and fingers drumming a beat on his knuckles, he looked like a right crazed person. "So I had this idea. If we combined your rockets with one of my ships, what would happen? Do you think we could go super fast?"

OSKAR: "Ohhhhh." He will take some sugar in that case! Taking the container, he dropped a few more in the cup, stirred it around and took a sip. Oh, that did help! It still wasn't as nice as tea, but it was starting to grow on him.

After another sip, he rested the cup on his leg, still holding onto the handle so he did not burn his leg. That would not be a Good Thing. "Of course it would!" Pausing, he had a thought. "Maybe it could even go to the moon!" See where he is going here, Lauri?

LAURI: Lauri saw where Oskar was going and raised him a book. Leaping from the bed, but careful enough not to disturb the other man's cup, he snatched the blue leather bound notebook of design ideas off his desk. It was smudged and ripped on the cover, a ribbon held the place for his latest idea.

Settling down, he flipped it open to the page marked and turned the book so Oskar could view. "Here, we could use this! With your rockets, and maybe some new sturdier metal, maybe it could make it, you think? What is the air composed of up there?"

OSKAR: Leaning over, he gazed over at the drawings and plans. Hmmm. Very interesting. "No one knows," he answered with another gulp of the coffee. The taste was growing on him, or at least killed enough taste buds for him to be able to taste it. "Maybe there is no air up there. That might be some problems." Pause. "My chest feels funny." They are called palpitations, Oskar.

LAURI: Lauri considered this as an option and wrote a little 'NO AIR' at the top of the page in chicken scratch. This was a new factor in their space plans. Heavy idea, need to consult with the scienceheads in the building on that. Concerned by the chest comment, Lauri looked up and analyzed Oskar's face. Then he leaned right close and pressed his ear to the man's ribcage to listen to any abnormalities in his heart. Hmmm.

OSKAR: Air would be very important in space travel and it was a shame Oskar didn't know a way to compress it down into cans. All he knew about air was how it worked with his rockets. And hmmm indeed. For a moment, he just sat there motionless as Lauri listened, but then in a matter of seconds he pulled himself back and stood up. You don't do things like that, Lauri. "I think it is the drink." Damn you Ottoman's and your coffee!

LAURI: A little perplexed, Lauri nodded his agreement. "I did notice it made my own heart beat a bit faster on occasion, more after I had my first cup. Don't worry, fragile Oskar, it eventually goes away." Fingering the page in his book, he wrote another note about lack of air and closed it with the ribbon back in place. "We should start working on this. I think we have a good plan."

OSKAR: He frowned at the fragile comment. Yes, he was tall and skinny and missing a few fingers, but he wasn't fragile! Clearly, this Turkish coffee was just bad news, though that didn't stop him from finishing it off and setting the cup down on the nearby desk. "I would very much like that!" Sticking his hands in his pockets, Oskar rocked on his feet a few times before speaking again. "I should be leaving now. My heart feels funny, but I want to do some work." Or find one of the medical people to make sure his heart wasn't about to explode.

LAURI: A little sad, Lauri nodded and picked up Oskar's mug to be rinsed out later, setting it down on the sideboard with other dirty dishes that were stacked neatly by size. "Maybe you should keep it to half a mug until your body is used to it. Be aware, Oskar, I did use the bathroom quite frequently after my first cup and I suspect you may do the same." Take a magazine, Oskar, you'll need it. Moving to his desk chair, he adjusted a couple papers and grinned. "We shall work on our moon-craft another day!"