riverviewlogs | [open]

Entry tags:

[open]

who: Taako & various/open
what: Assorted adventures
when: Late May!!
where: Oot and aboot
warnings: None at the moment!

Loki - The Gramarye

[It's not a mystery that something is Up with his umbra staff, nor is it a mystery that obviously Lup is the cause for whatever is going on with it, but it takes Taako a while to really… do anything about it, because he doesn't want to give himself false hope that maybe it's her, in some way. Kravitz sensed the presence of a lich, but he also dismissed that it was the staff causing it, so Taako is of two minds about whether Lup has, in some way, attached her soul to the umbra staff.

Regardless of the answer, he can't find it out himself, that isn't the sort of shit he can do with magic, so he reluctantly admits to himself that he needs help.

It still takes him another week to actually do anything about that, but finally he makes an appointment at Gramayre Magic Research in the off chance they might be able to tell him something about what's going on with Lup's stupid umbrella.

Taako turns up a little early, somewhere between nervous and excited, and the first guy he sees when he walks into the building is wearing a sharp suit, with dark black hair, and for a second Taako's almost thinks it's Kravitz, until the guy turns around and well, he's very obviously not Kravitz.

Still, he can be polite.]

Hail and well met, my dude. I'm here to see a guy about an umbrella.

[Taako why.]

Llŷr - the river

[It's been a couple of months since the whole thing with the witch of the river, and although Taako has reached out to her again, he still heads out into the forest sometimes to leave an offering. It just seems right, and honestly he kind of likes the routine of it, collecting little bits and pieces that he thinks will be appreciated (food, flowers, gemstones) and making the trek to the same spot in the river he always goes to. He doesn't know why he picked that particular spot, just that it had felt right the first time he'd wandered his way along the banks of the river.

Today, he has a little bowl made out of magic, that will disappear back into the ether after an hour, filled with a handful of small colorful crystals, some berries, and a sprig of rosemary, and it sets it onto the water with care, then sits on the bank to watch it make it's slow path down the river.]

Peggy - wardrobe update

[Taako has a lot of fond memories of sitting on his bed in the academy dorms, while Lup tried on outfit after outfit in preparation for a date or an interview or a presentation or like, a walk across the campus that she'd decided was Important for whatever reason.

So when Peggy asks for a little advice on updating her look, he leaps at the chance, insisting that shopping is the first step in this very important mission to make Peggy look even more awesome than she already does. There may be some bribery involved through the promise of any kind of cake she wants, and Taako goes the extra mile to turn up with two coffees (they're both sugary frappe concoctions from Riverview Starbucks).

As soon as he sees Peggy waiting near the front entrance to the mall he picked, he holds the cups up with a little shimmy.]

You want the cinnamon roll or red velvet one?

[Either will taste delicious while also filling her with a sense of shame at how much sugar is likely in them, but this is how Taako rolls.]

Illya - shooting practice

[It's a bit of a whim that has Taako asking Illya for lessons in handling a firearm, but at the end of the day magic can only do so much, and while he isn't about to start carrying around a gun, he thinks it'd be wise to at least know the basics, considering how common they seem to be with humans and in the Quarantine in general.

And Illya agrees; Taako picks a spot outside the inner barrier to avoid anyone stumbling upon their unofficial target practice, since he's pretty sure there are laws about licenses and all that boring crap. In the interest of repaying the favor, and making this more of a chill day than just shooting at stuff for however long it takes until one of them gets bored, Taako made lunch for the both of them that's currently sitting in a hidden chest, because why not.

For now, though, he's sitting on a fallen log, kicking his heels against the wood as he waits for Illya.]

open - day to day

[Taako does his best to keep busy, wanting to avoid any time spent dwelling on things that can't be changed, or getting too caught up his grief, so he throws himself into anything that comes with way, with even more gusto than he usually musters. He takes to wearing more red; his robe and jacket are both long gone, so whenever he sees something cute that's in the right shade of deep red, he can't resist buying it.]

i; swooping

[His usual bright umbrella is magicked to look dark, attempting to avoid any attention from the creatures above as he goes about his business, but he's not completely heartless and if he sees any of the pterodactyls getting too close to other people, he'll shoot off a magic missile or two to scare the creatures off.

If that doesn't deter the damn things, he'll wave the person over towards him.]

C'mon, dumbass, I got shields.

[He can play escort.]

ii; fishing

[Things that might surprise people to learn about Taako: he enjoys fishing.

He doesn't do it very often, because that kind of ruins the enjoyment for him, but he's been in Riverview for a few months now and it's a good way to kind of just - chill and reminisce without getting too caught up in it. After a) buying a rod and b) inquiring about a good spot to go, Taako heads down to a section of the river within the inner barrier that he's been told is decent. It's in a quieter part of the city, and he cuts an interesting figure sitting on the grassy shore, his purple wizard hat clashing horribly with his red jacket, but he's enjoying himself, and that's what matters.]

iii; prijata

[As it turns out, shopping for gifts is hard.

He never celebrated Candlenights until the Bureau, him and Lup didn't really do traditional gifts so much as they just stole cool shit for each other, and they didn't exactly have time for gifts while on the Starblaster. Except for when Merle made them, and that was just a whole bag of yikes.

But he's recently come to the realization that his time here is fleeting at best, that he's likely going home to die, and that maybe he should like, appreciate the people he's befriended here, and what matter way to show that than getting in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, even if he's starting to get a little tired of holidays.

That doesn't make it any easier, though, and he spends a lot of time checking out various markets and stores, meticulously going over items as he tries to find The Perfect Gift™.

Or maybe he's flopped dramatically on a bench somewhere, with too many bags at this feet and an alarming looking coffee in his hands.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Illya, who was ready to point out how that was a stupid question, bites his inner cheek and decides to give Taako a little bit more credit than that. He’s been pretty quick on the uptake every time they’ve talked, after all.]

It keeps you from shooting the gun accidentally. It’s a very important part of it and I don’t want you to learn how to shoot without learning how to use that first.

[Despite his usually flippant nature, Taako pays attention when Illya talks, giving a little nod to show he's understood it.]

Super good call on that one. [He moves a little closer, just so Illya can demonstrate.] Also super good to know if I'm on the wrong end of one.

[The proper application of a sneaky mage hand to switch the safety back on, if someone ever points a gun at him, could save his life.]

[Illya shows Taako how to work the safety of the gun by doing it himself, slowly and step by step. He never really was put in a position where he had to teach anyone, and he still thinks he won’t make a good teacher, but he can at least make sure they start this right. The comment Taako adds at the end makes him raise an eyebrow.]

You think you could put the safety on in a gun as a distance?

[Once Illya has demonstrated, Taako repeats the process with minimal difficulty, since this part isn't exactly the trickiest. He just wants to make sure he gets it right.]

For sure. [wait] Probably? If I'm wearing my trickster's glove, mage hand is invisible, and I can do the same shit with that as I'd do with my actual hand.

[To demonstrate and test his theory, Taako casts mage hand and uses the blue shimmering hand to click the safety back on his gun.

Nailed it.]

[Illya lets out a hum, which in him is basically the same as admitting he’s actually pretty excited about the prospect that little trick may bring. He took a few moments to warm up to magic, mostly because he has been raised all his life to think about things extremely logically and magic may be awesome but the whole point of it is that it defies logic. But once he got over it… well. The possibilities are pretty cool.]

The combination of guns and magic may be more powerful than what I may have considered.

But let’s practice some shooting now, yes?

Terrifying but cool prospect, I'll have a look into it.

[It's hard to remember every spell he's got, which is why he has a spell book, so he can have a look through it later and see if there's any spells that could be used alongside guns to make either the magic or the weapon more effective.]

Heck yeah, so - I've used bows before, and I know to aim with those. [Badly. He's got a proficiency with bows but rarely uses them.] But, uh, this is kinda different.

[Illya shrugs one shoulder.] It is different. But it’s probably better that you have some practice at aiming than if you had none.

[He reaches for his pocket and pulls out what seems to be red chalk out of it.] I thought we could make a target on one of these trees. Safer than pointing at cans or bottles, for now.

Spells need to be aimed!

[Admittedly it's very different, so he's not going to press the point that much, instead just lowering the gun while Illua is going to be drawing on trees.]

Way less mess, too. I'm not like, a druid or shit, but I still don't wanna leave a bunch of broken glass lying around.

[Illya, who has no idea what a druid is other than old celtic stories he’s heard here and there, just nods as if he knew exactly what Taako means. He’s not good at acknowledging something he doesn’t know.]

That’s fair. [He’s finished drawing the target in a few moments.] Good enough?

I mean, I can see it, so I'm gonna say that's a yes?

[The targets at the Bureau are usually people shaped. Or just like. Magnus. The target is Magnus.]

[Illya glances at the target once more, wondering if he made it too big... but he wants Taako to be able to shoot, not to become a sniper on his first try.]

I will shot first. You look at how I do it, then try to emulate. Yes?

Let me just... [He waves a hand, casting arcane eye, which has zero noticeable effects to Illya, but now Taako has multiple angles on this process, from his one eyes and from the invisible eye that's now chilling over Illya's shoulder.] All good, do your thing.

[Illya does get ready to shoot, but he can’t help but frown a little bit. He isn’t sure what Taako just did but whatever it was it was very obviously magic. And Illya may have grown to appreciate how useful magic can be, but that doesn’t mean he is going to start trusting it implicitly.]

What did you just do?

Got a better view. [He shrugs, but he also realises that the answer probably isn't going to compeltly satisfy Illya, so he adds:] It's an eye, over your shoulder, now I can watch from here and see what it looks like from roughly your perspective.

[Illya quickly shifts to take a look over his shoulder, like he’s expecting to see God-knows-what in there. There’s obviously nothing in there for him to see, but the description kind of rubbed him the wrong way somehow.] I didn’t notice… anything.

[He doesn’t sound miffed, mostly he just sounds kind of… worried. Because it’s already hard enough to check everything for bugs to make sure he’s not being overheard of tracked, but now he’s imagining living in a world where that kind of spells exist and… he can’t even imagine how he’d go on doing his job.]

Sorry. I suppose the idea startled me.

[He likes Illya enough that the uneasiness doesn't bother him, because Taako gets that magic is so outside his realm of experience, and that he's being a pretty good sport about it.]

It's got a pretty short range, if you're worried about me perving.

[There's a wink there, but it's more to let Illya play it off as a joke, so that he doesn't have to admit it troubled him.]

[Perving. He can guess what Taako means by that even if it isn’t a word he’s used before, so he just shakes his head.]

It’s fine. I know you would not use your powers for that. [Not that he implicitly trusts Taako, since he doesn’t trust nearly anyone, but he hasn’t given him Illya any reasons to distrust him even more than he would anyone else. So he gets the standard I’ll keep an eye on you but not obsessively kind of trust most people get.]

It just hit me that if you wanted to, nothing I did could stop me. So I appreciate you being honest to me about what you were doing. [He adopts the position he’d adopted before the… reveal.]

I shoot now, if you can see.

I mean, shooting me would work.

[If Illya is ever worried about magic that Taako is casting, getting shot is definitely the sort of thing that would break his concentration.

Not that he's expecting Illya to shoot him at any point, just, you know, that fact is out there.

But - okay, he's going to shut up and watch Illya shoot.]

[And shoot Illya does, hitting the target right in the center. He’s not showing off, he’s a good shoot but not the best. But he did paint the target rather big so hitting the center is pretty easy for him.]

Would it, though? [He motions for Taako to give it a try as he talks.] Couldn’t you make a shield or something similar?

[Alright, he can do this.

Taako steps up beside Illya, flicking off the safety as he mimics the way Illya had been standing, the way he'd been holding the gun, the way he'd looked down the barrel.]

Spells take time, and concentration, and they sure as shit just don't fucking work sometimes.

[He had tried to cast blink, when Bucky attacked him; it failed and he'd ended up with a bruised and grazed back, from where he was thrown against the wall.

Taako exhales, and curls his finger around the trigger; the recoil wasn't entirely unexpected, but the force of it catches him a little by surprise, enough to throw the shot slightly off. It still hits the target, but just barely.]

Fuck' lemme try it again.

[This time he braces himself for the recoil, and when he pulls the trigger, the shot hits closer to the center. It's hardly perfect, but he's pleased with himself.]

[Illya doesn’t laugh (that would be quite the accomplishment, since not even Gabby really manages to), but his lips do twitch into a bit of a smile when Taako seems frustrated he didn’t hit the target fully on his first try.]

I hope you weren’t expecting to be a sniper right away. [He glances at Taako’s arm.] Did that hurt? I should have warned you about the recoil. It usually gets stronger the bigger the gun is. Or the bigger the bullets are, anyway.

I mean, I'm not bad at aiming with the umbra staff!

[He knows these two things aren't even remotely comparable, so he's mostly just being fussy for the sake of it.]

And I'm all good, I knew it'd have a kick, just didn't expect that much of it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I don't need anything bigger than this.

[He's learning for the sake of his own comfort, really, he doubts he'll ever need to pick up a machine gun.]

I figure magic and ire weapons are very different. And bigger doesn’t always mean better, when it comes to weapons.

[He’s had to hide his weapons on his person plenty of times, and you can’t do that if you’re carrying around a rifle.] Now that you know what the recoil feels like it will probably be easier on you. You still look a little tense when you’re going to shoot, though- that probably won’t help you hit the target.

Just in every other way, huh?

[He adds a wink, because even if Illya hasn't been receptive to his shitty euphemisms so far, that's not going to stop him for trying for a laugh.]

Okay, so, chill the fuck out? I can do that, for sure, easy. [Which he does, breathing in and out slowly, then raising the gun again to fire. He doesn't get much closer to the center of the target, but the bullet hits close to where the last two did, so while he's a little off, at least he's consistent.]

[He should have known better than to word it like that, but he figures he can let Taako have that one. So no, he still doesn’t laugh but his lips do twitch upwards so Taako can count that one as a win.

He looks at the target, pretty satisfied. Again, he wasn’t expecting Taako to be a marksman right away (not unless he had some magic to help him, anyway) so this is pretty good.]

You’ll do fine with practice. But I still wonder what you want to shoot.

lmfao security... why do I tag when it's late at night again

sdsf it's ok i knew what you meant!!

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