[closed] can i roll a friendship check?

[ohhmrburnsides]

who: magnus + others (hmu!)
what: catch-all for september (and the last few days of august)
when: post-fire event thru september
where: wherever the fun is!
warnings: will update as necessary

feel free to catch me on plurk for plotting!

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

He came to me for help over his sister's umbrella.

[ Months ago. Around the time Loki first started his work in Riverview. It's almost hard to recall. Time moves differently for him after all. ]

We have . . . "hung" together since.

[ohhmrburnsides]

[His demeanor softens now that he's finally getting a straight answer out of Loki. The umbrella, huh. If Taako trusted Loki with something like that, he probably isn't that bad after all.]

Oh, I gotcha. That checks out.

[Then, he asks (just for clarification, really):]

... You're just friends, right?

[dothelokimotion]

[ His expression narrows slightly. ]

Is there something else we should be?

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Vigorously, he shakes his head in denial.]

No, no, no. I was just, uh, checkin'.

[Aaaaaawkward. There's a pause, and then Magnus attempts to remedy the situation.]

You wanna sit and chill until he gets back?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Hmm. Loki dislikes remaining in a place where he might not be wanted. It gives rise to doubts he does not like to address. He ruthlessly stems the flow of paranoia, trying to appear as normal as possible. ]

For a while, I suppose. I will not overstay my welcome.

[ohhmrburnsides]

[He shrugs.] Okay, sure. He just had to go buy something or... something. Shouldn't take him more than a few minutes.

[Nonchalant, he takes another bite of his cake. Then he realizes that, technically, he doesn't actually live here. It still feels so natural to be in Taako and Lup's space that he forgets he needs to explain his own presence. Before he explains himself, he makes a point to swallow his food first.]

Oh—Right, okay, so. I'm like, a family friend. I kinda used to live with the twins before we came to Riverview so I tend to just chill out here a lot.

[Hopefully that takes some of the pressure off of the situation.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ If anything, the pressure in his shoulders tightens further. Loki is an outsider. He is always the outsider. He has no claim to family or his hold on friendships are tentative. Thankfully, Loki is a superlative actor and not many can sense the flickers of strong emotion that pass through his form like a storm. ]

I am vaguely familiar. He has spoken of you.

[ He frowns. ]

Though I cannot recall if it was you or Barry that had designs on unicorn dicks.

[ohhmrburnsides]

[This is a reference to Magnus's future that he wouldn't know about—so he furrows his brows in confusion. That's... Um.]

... I don't know what you're talking about there, but I have absolutely no history with unicorn dicks. And I don't think Barry does, either.

[...yeeeeeesh, Barry.]

[dothelokimotion]

Hmm. Perhaps I have been mistaken.

[ He shrugs loosely, watching Magnus' confusion with bemusement. ]

No matter. Taako will clarify it for me.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Hopefully he clarifies it for me, too... [He's saying this to himself as much as he is to Loki.]

So, Loki, what's up in your life? What do you do?

[Is it smart to try to make small talk with this dude? He'll at least give it a try.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki blinks, slightly caught off guard by the interest. ]

I . . . am a magical researcher and advisor at the Gramarye institute.

[ohhmrburnsides]

[Hey, the small talk is working somehow!]

Neat! I know some people over there. Do you have a specialty?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki weighs his words before speaking. ]

Illusionary magic. Though I am capable of other feats.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Ooh, illusions. [He waves his fingers in front of his face as if that's supposed to represent illusions.] I dig illusions.

[With some hesitation, he says,] Show me one!

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki pointedly rolls his eyes but with a flick of his fingers, materializes a thousand nude Magnus figures standing around, posing and batting their eyelashes. ]

[ohhmrburnsides]

[So that was a bad idea.]

O... okay, you can make it stop now.

[Please.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki snaps his fingers and they all vanish without fanfare. ]

Does that meet your criteria?

[ohhmrburnsides]

Uh, yep, I'd say so.

[That's what ya get for asking, Magnus. Good job.]

Sorry, should I not have asked?

[dothelokimotion]

As a rule, most mages do not like to display their talents as parlor tricks.

[ But Loki was not annoyed. Perhaps it was the tone or the genuine feeling behind it. Far too much like the Thor of old, jostling Loki and asking him to show what he can do. Back when Thor felt pride and elation at his smart younger brother.

Loki extinguishes the feeling. It does him no favors. ]

[ohhmrburnsides]

Yeah... Sorry about that.

[There are moments when Magnus is aware of his tactlessness. They're rare, but they exist.]

Magic is just... cool. All my friends can do it and I can't and—I just think it's cool.

[He stops himself there. He's not let himself gonna get all weird in front of Loki.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki stares a little before he huffs, not sure if he's annoyed or endeared. ]

Not many feel that way.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Yeah, I get that impression. Apparently there are a lot of people around here who aren't used to being around magic.

[He shrugs.] I'm like, in the middle. Not a magic user, but I also, like, magic is A Thing where I'm from.

[dothelokimotion]

Mm. Taako has told me a few things of your travels. My magic follows different rules, so to speak.

[ Well. More like no rules. Who even knows what marvel magic is. ]

But what I meant was people from my . . . world were not fond of magic. Even though they were familiar with it.

[ohhmrburnsides]

Huh. That's... weird.

[Magic didn't necessarily exist in every world he'd been to, but even when it didn't, no one seemed particularly averse to it.]

I don't know why anyone would dislike magic. Seems like kind of a weird fight to pick, huh? It's not like technology's any better.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki runs his fingers over his palm, an old habit. ]

There is not clear distinction between science and magic on my world. They have similar origins and principles. But people have never been rational about what is different.