If Alex Came Back We'd DEFINITELY Be The Local Power Couple [open post]

[summerdude]

Magnus has come to realize that nobody else in this entire place is presently in a relationship that has lasted nearly as long as his and Alex's. Shen Yuan's concept of "communication" "with" "Luo Binghe" is continuing to horrify him every time he thinks about it. What if there are other people who could use the advice of a sixteen-year-old twenty-five-year-old virgin who has been in a committed relationship for nearly seven years with someone to who he is probably widely known to have never verbally declared the undying depths of his love? (Gods, he hopes Alex figures out a way to do another little visit for their rapidly-approaching anniversary)

To that end, he posts an announcement sign over the welcome table, in the café, and on the door to the kitchen. It reads:

NEED RELATIONSHIP ADVICE OR FEEDBACK? Local Long-Term Relationship Expert Magnus Chase Offers His Aid.

He even lists office hours — an inoffensive parlor (meaning he can tolerate hanging out in it, and the door can close if people want privacy for their conversations) every other day for an hour, immediately following his Drosera hand-off to Galahad.

Comments

[summerdude]

"Oh," Magnus says, and then "Oh. Sagramore has depression?"

[sporesprouter]

She nods. "Charlie and Hoid both ended up getting their curses reversed and the Sorceress left our world, hopefully to go back where she came from."

[summerdude]

Magnus smiles. "That seems a lot more efficient than flyting her into a walnut shell," he says. "That's what I had to do with Alex's mom."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Lan Wangji gives Magnus a sidelong glance, almost sheepish. "Wei Ying was the one to speak first."

[summerdude]

"He couldn't tell from all your extremely evocative facial expressions?" Magnus is only 15% teasing, and it's mostly based on his broader point about the importance of clear communication. He thinks he can read Hanguang-jun pretty well, and so surely everyone else can, too?

[tallyyoungblood]

"Yeah. And I didn't stop them." Cops is a funny archaic word, but it's definitely appropriate.

[summerdude]

"Because they lied about how the tracker worked, you mean?"

[lightbearinglord]

Essentially illustrating Magnus' point, Lan Wangji makes a fairly subtle little dubious face at him, one side of his mouth quirking and his eyebrows twitching up for less than a moment. "I believed my intentions were obvious. I should not have."

[sporesprouter]

She laughs a little. "I summarized it a little. There were a few more steps. But the walnut shell thing sounds impressive."

[timebethine]

Laertes dips his head. "I know not what to do," he says. "For although his temperament is as sanguine as they come, there lies beneath it a deep, black melancholy, thick as pitch."

[wickedwit]

“Yes, you mentioned it before taking care of my arm.” When his head was full of thoughts of kissing Galahad.

[sagramore]

She cocks her head in a manner that is, honestly, very reminiscent of the way Sagramore does it. Cat is new to her. So many things are new to her.

[summerdude]

Magnus says, "They've disproven the humors, you know? I think depression is about, like, serotonin actually."

[summerdude]

"This is why, even if it's someone you understand really well and can communicate without saying anything, you still gotta say words sometimes," Magnus says, wisely.

[summerdude]

"I have a policy of not telling anyone's memories to anyone else unless it's, like, a matter of life or death," Magnus says. "And this isn't life or death. But I did heal Lancelot that same day. And I guess... talking in generalities is okay."

[timebethine]

"Ay, Claudius has spoken to me of the new humors," says Laertes. "The mechanism of it, the chemistry of the body, is as yet beyond my ability to grasp. But I need not grasp it to stand beside him when he hates himself, and offer succor. I need only know what kind of succor would be most needful, for a husband."

[summerdude]

"Cats are the other main kind of pet," Magnus explains. "They have long tails and whiskers and most of them have ears that always stick up. There's one here named Mothwing -- me and her are clanmates, okay? She's really nice, so be sure to be polite to her and not chase her or attack her or anything." Then he remembers Angus. "And there's another one named Angus. He's probably a little more playful, but you should ask first. And if you, uh, don't speak the same language, let me know and I can help you out, okay?"

[summerdude]

Magnus laughs, too. "I think it would've been more impressive if that could have stopped Loki in a meaningful way."

[summerdude]

"What's 'succor?'" Magnus is picturing, like, depression meals.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji learned that lesson vividly, as they have just discussed, so he nods in acceptance of Magnus' wisdom. "I will remember that over the next six years."

[sagramore]

Szarka is definitely interested to meet these cats, which are probably another kind of dog?? But Magnus is nice and so she will try to be polite, even though her impulse control is quite bad.

[timebethine]

Laertes sits back, glancing up at the ceiling as though the answer will be written there. "It's care," he says at last. "The kind of care that eases hurts."

[sporesprouter]

"Maybe, but little steps count too. Stopping him even in a small way probably did some good, right?"

[wickedwit]

Claudius was already serious, but his expression shifts even moreso. "Speak in generalities, then. Or speak on thine own feelings, and share only what context thou must. It may be my current project, but Lancelot's feelings hardly matter to me as much as thine." Now if you asked Claudius if he wanted to hear every memory glimpsed by Magnus in the greatest detail, he'd say yes, of course. He wants to hear -- and to know -- everything. But Magnus's feelings on that matter more, too.

[tallyyoungblood]

"Yeah... but I threw it into a fire. It seems sort of obvious in retrospect that might set it off."