[open] the dating game!

[ohhmrburnsides]

who: magnus burnsides, cisco ramon and you!
what: some blind dates!
when: throughout november
where: throughout riverview
warnings: will update as needed!

[ Since his friend with benefits went and got himself a For-Real Boyfriend, Magnus has been just a little bit lonely. It’s really not a big deal; it wasn’t anything serious. However, one of his friends is taking it upon himself to remedy Magnus’s loneliness.

That friend is Cisco.

He’s making it his responsibility to make Magnus’s life a little happier… by playing matchmaker. You might get a call or a text from Cisco asking if you’re up for a blind date. He might not even tell you it’s supposed to be a date. However he convinces you to get out of the house, you’re going to find a (possibly confused) Magnus Burnsides when you arrive. Maybe you’ll have a good time. Maybe you won’t. ]

( If this is something that interests you—for good times or bad—feel free to contact Magnus mun at aldigrocery or Cisco mun at platoapproved! We’ll be happy to set up a scenario. )

Comments

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Through the grass trots Magnus, who speeds up his pace a bit when he sees Cisco. He's holding a brown paper shopping bag in one hand and starts to wave Cisco down with the other.]

Yo, Cisco! I brought some stuff!

[When he takes a seat at the blanket, he starts pulling some items out of the bag, naming each one off as he does.]

Apples, cheese plate, grapes, marshmallows—not super picknicky but I saw them and I couldn't help it—aaaaand a six pack.

[The package of beer has a bear on the side. Of course.

...Also: if Magnus had known he was showing up to a date, he would not have worn the BURNSIDES 69 jersey, but he did not know, so he is definitely wearing it.]

What've you got?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco beams and waves as Magnus hurries up to reach him. He's a little less nervous than he had been the first time; perhaps it's the sun, the fact that this is one of the last days warm enough for a picnic before winter starts to settle in. Perhaps he's just in a good mood. Regardless, he is grinning when Maganus settles down.

That grin fades ever so slightly when he sees what Magnus is wearing. Shit. Right. He had forgotten that maybe Magnus would show up for a picnic dressed more informally than he would for other occasions. But he knows that, after the stunt he'd pulled with Ed, telling Magnus to get fancy would've given him away.

Oh, well. Hopefully it won't matter too much??? ]

Marshmallows are super picnicky, are you kidding? This is awesome. I got... some chips, some guac, some sandwiches, aaaand even more beer!

[ Cisco gestures to his own basket, which contains the items he'd just listed. He's happy he left himself a little more leeway with the timing, this go-round, so he can actually talk to Magnus for a while. Cisco gets a look at the particular brand of beer Magnus has brought and laughs with delight. ]

Where did you even find that?!

[ohhmrburnsides]

Oh—what, this? [He lifts up the six pack and shows it off in a Vanna White fashion. He's very proud of this find.] Just a little somethin' I picked up on the way here. It's actually pretty close, I can bring you there later.

[He takes a beer out of the package and hands it to Cisco, then grabs another for himself and cracks it open.]

How's that science thing going?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco sets down the beer as casually as he can without opening it, like he just isn't thirsty quite yet. ]

The science thing is going great. I'm working on facial recognition tech, right now. So... a program that you could put in a pair of sunglasses, or a visor, and when I looked at you, it would take a picture of your face, and compare it to other pictures of your face that it's got in it's- in it's stored memory, and it would be able to come up with a little label that says "aha, that's Magnus!"

[ He could delve much more into the specifics, the nitty gritty details of how he is tweaking the software to be faster, more accurate in low light and despite disguises and while moving, but Magnus doesn't need to know all that. All he needs to know is the broad strokes, and why it matters. ]

Gonna use it for some visors for the cops and the Perimeter Guard, make it easier to tell who is who in a crowd, spot anyone that's out of place, make sure nobody ends up shooting a teammate or a civilian.

[ It's yet another instance of technology that Cisco knows could be misused, but he's going to put in plenty of safeguards, make it so that if any of the visors are stolen, they'll become useless almost immediately. Failsafes upon failsafes. The one silver lining to the whole catastrophe with the heat and cold guns is that he's much much more careful, now. ]

What about you, how's carpentry stuff? Any interesting projects recently?

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Magnus is very grateful that Cisco is using words he can understand to explain the science thing. Last time, Cisco had mentioned, like, atom vibration frequencies or something, and it was way beyond Magnus's grasp. At least he understands what facial recognition is.]

That's super neat, dude! You make the coolest stuff.

[He'd taken a few sips of his beer while Cisco spoke. Now, he sets it down, produces a knife from his pocket, and starts slicing up one of the apples he'd brought.]

Yeah, right now I'm helping out at one of the community centers. The facility's kinda out of date, so I'm helping, like, restructure the building. It needs some mega repairs. I might try to talk some of the higher-ups at my job to start prioritizing reconstruction around town.

[He's had a good rep with his bosses so far, so he's been able to taken on interesting projects like these. It's that rustic hospitality at work.]

[franciscoramon]

That's awesome. There's so many places that got damaged, with the man-eating plants and the acid rain and who knows what other nonsense. That must be really great - to build something you can see any time you walk by. A lot of the time with my stuff, once I hand it over to the guard or the cops or whoever, I almost never see it aga-

[ But before he can finish that thought, or ask further about Magnus's plans for urban restructuring and renewal, Cisco looks up and realizes with a jolt that Angela is heading towards them. He scrambles to his feet, dropping the unopened beer and waving her over. He pointedly doesn't look at Magnus, who he's sure will be figuring out right about now that this is yet another setup. ]

Hey, Angela! You made it!

[ Before she reaches them, Cisco turns around to Magnus, an apologetic grin on his face. He sees that jersey again and thinks that maybe he should've put a little more planning into this. But it's too late to back out, now. ]

She's an Asgardian and a total badass. You can talk about training and fighting and stuff?

[ He says it so it sounds like an apology, then turns to face Angela again: ]

I actually have to go, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind having lunch with my friend Magnus instead? He's a great dude, and there's a whole lotta food there that somebody's gotta eat.

[ Cisco checks he has his phone and keys and starts retreating from the two of them, waving and saying: ]

I'll, um, I'll see you around!

[hevenly]

[ When Cisco had invited Angela to a picnic, she was initially hesitant, but she relented after hearing Sera's voice in her head, telling her she needs to loosen up and make friends.

Her appearance is still rather severe, at six foot two with facial tattoos and everything, but her outfit is casual. She strides over to where Cisco is waving, and is... surprised and confused when he immediately excuses himself. She watches him back away before turning to the other man there. ]

Magnus, is it? Tell me you have some idea what's going on.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Cisco, w—

[Magnus stands in an attempt to go after Cisco, but by the time he's up there's too much distance between them. It would be rude to walk away at this point and leave Angela standing here. ... Technically it's rude for Cisco to ditch both of them but, of course, Magnus has to pick up the slack.]



Yeah, I know exactly what’s going on. Cisco is…

[When Magnus faces her, he’s… a little intimidated. She certainly doesn’t seem like the type of person he wants to offend. His explanation is shamefaced—hopefully she doesn’t take this super badly.]



Cisco is trying to set me up with somebody. Like, on a date. This is his… second attempt.

[hevenly]

[ At first, Angela doesn't get it. But then Magnus drops the "d" word. Suddenly Angela goes tense, her expression livid as she shoots daggers at Cisco's retreating form. ]

He what?!

[ Magnus might have to physically restrain Angela from going after Cisco. ]

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Oh shit. Magnus holds his hands up in front of her, apologetic on Cisco's behalf.]

He means well! I swear! He's just... a little misguided. [Sorry, Cisco.

He thinks maybe he can win her over with a peace offering, so he reaches down to the picnic setup and pulls up a can of beer.] Want one?

[hevenly]

[ Angela is too busy snarling her teeth at the idea of what Cisco has tricked them into to care about beer right now, but thanks anyway, Magnus.

After a moment more of glaring over Magnus' shoulder, she takes a deep breath and tears her eyes away from Cisco. ]

He was sorely mistaken in this endeavor. This-- [ She gestures to the space between herself and Magnus, to the picnic blanket, the food, everything. ] --is not a date. We are not dating. I am not interested in you, and I am taken, besides.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Yeah, no, totally, totally. I’m not interested in you either. I mean—like—not in a bad way. I mean like—anyway, yeah, definitely not a date.

[He is very quick to agree, in part because he actually does agree, and partly because he feels like he’ll get hit pretty bad if he doesn’t agree.]

But still, like… I’d hate for this picnic to go to waste.

[hevenly]

[ Angela is still angry, the magical ribbons which float about her neck twitching dangerously, but she takes a deep breath, vowing that she will confront Cisco later. She sits, grabbing a piece of fruit and biting into it ferociously. ]

I apologize. It was unfair of me to be angry with you. You, who were tricked as much as I was.