I Lived, Grinch! [open post]

[summerdude]

The first thing Magnus does -- with Alex's help -- after fully healing is board up the hole in the side of the greenhouse where the cheetah ran through. The second thing, once he learns the full scope of Dark (it's different at camp; he'd already taken out a ton of camp-appropriate food for when Galahad and Laertes couldn't make it out there, and so he and Alex have been fine on the eating front) is go to the greenhouse again to figure out what plants in there yield edible produce. (Also, he tries to scrub his blood off the table. It... partially works?)

Partly it's that he's still feeling weird after the whole affair. The season doesn't help, but he does feel closer to his own mortality than pretty much any point since he died for real the first time. Being around growing plants helps that. Mostly, though, it's because he doesn't want anyone to get, like, scurvy living on bushels of rice alone.

He doesn't want to overtax any of the plants, but some can be cajoled into fruiting. Right now, he's got his hand on a kumquat tree, and he's trying to convince it that it can speed up the growth process by a few weeks. Drosera is with him, 'helping:' she's found a dead leaf, and she's chasing it down the pathway between some plants. If anyone shows up -- either because they've heard of his near-death experience and want to check in on him, or just to hang out, or even because they're drawn by the way it looks like sunlight is coming from the greenhouse itself -- he'll be glad for the company.

Comments

[sagramore]

"Oh, it's-- it's fine. I mean, I love him, so it's really-- he's worth the trouble."

[summerdude]

"Oh, sure," says Magnus. "But like... shouldn't atoning, or changing, or whatever mean working on trusting other people, too? The way I see it, the more you don't do something, the scarier it feels to do it." Not that he has any relevant and immediate experience with that sort of thing, like for example thinking about a certain event in a certain hallway that happened to a certain self not so very long ago.

[sagramore]

"Well, we haven't discussed that explicitly. I haven't really -- inquired about his social life, as it were."

[summerdude]

"Why not?"

[sagramore]

"We usually have other things to talk about."

[summerdude]

It's now Magnus's turn to say, "Hmmm."

[sagramore]

"Christ, is that what I sound like? All right, all right."

[summerdude]

Magnus laughs. "Sorry," he says. "Is it something you would feel comfortable bringing up with him?"

[sagramore]

"I don't know, if there's some way to do it without sounding as though I'm scolding him for not getting out more."

[summerdude]

"A general tone of nonjudgmental concern?" Magnus suggests. "You're pretty good at that anyway."

[sagramore]

"That's a relief."

[summerdude]

"It's a good skill for Opinions Guy to have," he say, nudging Sagramore's side.

[sagramore]

That gets an actual laugh. "You're right. Not all of my opinions are for everyone to know."

[summerdude]

"Oooh, secret opinions," Magnus says, waggling his eyebrows.

[sagramore]

"I'm a mysterious man."

[summerdude]

"I don't think I have any secret opinions, myself," Magnus says, thoughtfully. "I think all of my opinions are extremely obvious."

[sagramore]

"What's the most controversial?"

[summerdude]

"Controversy? From Middle Ground Guy?" Magnus presses a hand to his heart in fake shock. "Never!" But he's considering the question. "Um. Some people deserve to be pickpocketed, maybe?"

[sagramore]

"Hmm. I actually think that's fairly reasonable."

[summerdude]

"I know," Magnus sighs. "Most of my strong opinions are, like, no-brainers, I think."

[sagramore]

"You just need to work on it. This can be your project. Hone your opinions."

[summerdude]

"I guess it's also, like situational. Because if I was in Valhalla and was like, 'I think Sigyn is one of the least-objectionable gods' or 'Maybe we shouldn't be super excited for Ragnarok?' that would be pretty controversial, but here, I think people would be like 'yeah, of course.' Maybe here my most controversial opinion is that, like, Luo Binghe is fine? Like, I don't mind that he fucked with my dreams my first week here. I guess I missed the really bad stuff but I think he's maybe different now. Um, please don't tell Hanguang-jun I said that, though. He'd get that worried look he gets sometimes that he thinks I don't notice."

[sagramore]

"I won't tell Lan Wangji," quietly, but his own expression has shifted. He thinks of Claudius in the kitchen, saying you hurt me, and how he had no answer for that, only the profound chasm between what he should have done and what he had done, of letting someone he cherishes suffer because he still thinks he can talk his way out of it; he thinks of the hurt behind the anger in Luo Binghe's face when they parted. He's hurt both of them, and lost both of them, and perhaps that's the consequence of trying to be everything to everyone -- perhaps he's even learned his lesson.

"Luo Binghe," he says finally, "needs friends. He needs to know that he can't drive people away from him, that he'll be cared for in spite of the things he's done. But he also needs to be held accountable, and Shen Yuan can't do that for him. He loves him too much."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, I figured," Magnus admits. He makes a little face. "I don't know if I'm the best guy for the job, but my biggest strength is friendship, so." He twists to look at Sagramore. "What's one of yours?"

[sagramore]

"One of my what?" You can't just segue like that, Magnus!