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]

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Why?"

[sagramore]

"Because you sound like you're making a concerted effort to be cheerful, and it's not particularly convincing, mainly. I assume it's not all down to new motherhood."

[summerdude]

Sagramore really is unique among all adult-shaped adults that Magnus knows -- nobody else would call him out this directly! Magnus gives him an appreciative sort of look and, for a really brief and weird moment, has a particular pang of missing his mom. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says, a little more calmly. Why is he feeling weird, actually? He misses Alex, obviously, but he's been missing Alex pretty much this whole time. It's almost like he's going through another adjustment period to being here, but why? He really is fine!

Well, at least there's one obvious answer he can give. "It's just, like, winter, you know?"

[sagramore]

"Because you're a demigod of summer?"

[summerdude]

"Yeah! This is my, like, slow season."

[sagramore]

"Is there anything that helps you feel better? Other than going home and seeing your Alex, obviously."

[summerdude]

"Oh, I can never go home again," Magnus says; this is the most genuinely cheerful he's sounded in at least ten minutes (he's committed to his path, and thus accepted it). "I think I just gotta figure out a new, like, destiny or whatever. You know?"

[sagramore]

"Ah, a minuscule sort of undertaking, of course." Szarka whines and he picks her up, bouncing her gently in his arms.

[summerdude]

"Maybe 'calling' is a better word for it," Magnus muses. "There's so much free time here." There was a lot of free time at Valhalla, too, but at least being temporarily dead for a little while every day ate into it. "Can I pet her?"

[sagramore]

"You may absolutely pet her. And yes, the amount of free time does occasionally present a problem."

[summerdude]

"Sure beats dying, though," Magnus says, reaching for Szarka so that she can sniff his hand again and get used to his smell. Or, well, his recently-held-Drosera smell.

[sagramore]

This time she doesn't bark, though she sniffs eagerly. "Well, yes. Generally speaking. I just mean, if there's something I can do to help you feel less at loose ends, I'm more than happy. I'm always at some project or other."

[summerdude]

After a moment or two, Magnus moves to gently scritch behind Szarka's ears. "What projects do you have going on right now?"

[sagramore]

"Ah, well, right now it's mainly her. But Grantaire and I were thinking of working out how to distill alcohol, and -- this is still only in the idle thought stage, but there are so many people here I worry about. Laertes likes drawing people into his orbit, but it's not realistic for him to make supper for everyone here day after day. I think I've talked to at least one person about communal meals, and I keep coming back around to it, but it takes organizational skills, of which I have none."

[summerdude]

Magnus brightens at the thought. "I was talking to Claudius about that a few weeks ago!" he says. "Valhalla had feasts every night, which is, like, a lot if you don't have a kitchen duty rotation, but the vibes -- it's just really nice to come together for a big family meal. So maybe a potluck dealio could be fun? Or a rotation? Lan Wangji and Gu Xiang are both great cooks, too. And Galahad. I... made toast without burning it last week?" He sighs then. "Something I've been thinking about a lot ever since I rebuilt my camp is that, it's nice to do things with my hands, you know? Like, it's cool that this place gives you basically whatever you need, but that just starts to feel lazy, you know? Alex is really into crafting and has a lot of opinions about how that's a lot better than mass production, and I've always mostly agreed, but here, I'm starting to really get that."

[sagramore]

"A potluck? Is that taking turns? I think that would be better, Laertes was rather spent at the end of all that cooking." He pauses, to let the rest of Magnus' words sink in. "Ah, yes, I do agree. There really is a satisfaction to making something oneself. I think the benefit of this place is that because it attends to our needs it gives us time to work out what we want, what we like. There's plenty of time to perfect a skill without the interference of having to survive. And then if course sometimes it's too much time, but generally-- what have you been making?"

[summerdude]

"A potluck is where everyone contributes part of the meal," Magnus says. "But I bet it might be easiest to have, like, a rotation of groups of maybe three or four people to make elements of a shared meal every few days? It would probably be easier if there's just a couple of dishes every time, too." He can deal with the second part of Sagramore's question in a minute -- what has he been making, lately? What counts?

[sagramore]

"I think a potluck would be an excellent idea, in that case. Perhaps if anyone wants lessons with cooking I can offer those. I'm already teaching Nina a bit."

[summerdude]

"I want to learn, too," Magnus says, immediately. "I've been learning a little from everyone I can but I would still only classify myself as an expert in camp cooking."

[sagramore]

"Well, in that case. I did win Laertes by making him a fried egg, so I suppose that dovetails nicely with your project of learning how to make love to Alex."

[summerdude]

"Hanguang-jun has been learning how to make Mexican food so he can teach me to make it for Alex," Magnus admits, blushing a little at the thought of the look on Alex's face, if she ever comes back here and gets to find out that he's learned it for her.

[sagramore]

"That is extraordinarily charming. Have we had Mexican food yet? Was there any at Wanderers Gather? I'm unfamiliar with the country."

[summerdude]

"I don't think there was anything from any of the Americas," Magnus says, trying to remember. "Mexico is the country directly south of the one I come from. Alex's family is from there. Great food. Lots of corn, lots of chiles. Have you ever heard of tamales?"

[sagramore]

"No, I don't know tamales. If I beg Laertes to try his hand at them, will I be usurping Lan Wangji? If he's learning to cook something special for you I don't want to steal any thunder."

[summerdude]

"Oh dude, I'm not gonna gatekeep Mexican food," Magnus says. "I can actually fill and tie tamales like a pro, too, so I can even help Laertes out with that part. I can't make the masa or the filling very well, and I'd probably screw up actually steaming them, but it's like folding dumplings. Give me something to stuff and wrap and I can do it for hours." Something occurs to him, and he grins. "Or maybe we could get Hanguang-jun in on it, too, and start practicing for round-robin potlucks."