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

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.

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Magnus grimaces. "That's -- that's really rough, Tally. I'm sorry."

"Maybe the mansion will hear us and send me home and not you, and it'll be fine," Tally says unconvincingly.

"Maybe!" Magnus hesitates again. "What will you do if you can't ever go back?" Wait, that sounds like too confrontational a question. He shakes his head. "Are you going to try to get a message back, at least?"

"I don't know how. I asked Lan Wangji, and he just said you needed cultivation, and no way I have the patience for that. Plus no one in my world is magic at all, so how would they even get a message? Like, would it just appear as a ping?" She snorts. "Hi, Zane-la, I'm trapped in a bogus Rusty dimension forever, don't wait up!"

"I mean, it's worth a shot?"

"I guess it is," Tally frowns. "But, like, is there anyone who could teach me cultivation besides Lan Wangji? I'd really rather not have him as my teacher."

"Why wouldn't you want Lan Wangji to teach you? He's the best," Magnus enthuses, but he's considering the question. "Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe and Wei Wuxian can also cultivate, I think. And Gu Xiang has qi, but I don't think she's a cultivator."

"I don't think he likes me. Maybe I'll ask Luo Binghe instead. He seems nice."

"He's fine, but Lan Wangji and Shen Yuan have, like, had students before," says Magnus. "But what if there's a way to do it without cultivation?"

"I'd love to do it without learning a skill that you're supposed to start as a littlie."

"That sounds like a fun sort of purpose," Magnus say. "Figuring out how to, like, phone home." He does ET hands in emphasis

Tally does the ET finger back. "Yeah, sure. Totally."

Magnus tilts his head. "Any chance that, instead of chopping off your hand, you could jury-rig the evil spy bracelet into, like, a backdoor that would let you contact people back home?"

"SecUnit-la seemed to think no, but maybe," Tally says uncertainly.

He slumps. "I guess SecUnit would know about that kind of thing," he says.

"Yeah, they've obviously had an operation, too," Tally says. "No brain damage, though, they're so not pretty-minded. Which is great, honestly."

"I think SecUnit uses 'it,' not 'they,'" Magnus says, thoughtfully. "It had an operation?"

"I've never heard of someone doing that," Tally says with surprise. "But I think so, yeah. It's definitely not just an ugly, even though it--well, it doesn't have a pretty face. But it's like a Special from my time, someone who's augmented for power and stuff."

"Huh," Magnus says. "I guess it does control a bunch of drones with its mind." He hesitates as something -- borne of the the meandering direction their conversation has gone -- occurs to him. "Do you know any genderfluid people where you come from?"

"Um... no," Tally admits, feeling a little uncool. She has read the term somewhere, probably in a glossary of Rusty words. "People generally pick a gender and stick with it. Like I said, the wardrobe options would get totally dizzy-making."

"Have I told you about Alex?"

"No, who is that?"

A goofy smile crosses Magnus's face, because Magnus can't think about Alex without smiling. Even when he's going through a period of intermittent temper tantrums because he's worried he'll never see him again. "Alex is my girlfriend," he says. "Most of time. Sometimes Alex is my boyfriend instead."

"Oh, you have it bad, huh," Tally giggles. "Okay, genderfluid, I see. Bubbly!" It makes her feel like butch does, like everything she knows is expanding at a head-spinning rate. It's complicated and confusing, and she feels like if there was a test she'd never be able to pass it, but she likes the rebelliousness of it.

"Oh, yeah," Magnus says, totally unselfconscious. "I sure do. He's not here right now, and I don't know if --" he'll ever be able to come back. He shakes his head sharply -- "but if she does come back for another visit, I want to be sure people know to respect the gender, you know? So she doesn't have to spend a lot of time explaining it."

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