maskormenacelogs | APRIL CATCH-ALL

[ As promised, Mitchell will receive a voicemail for Magnus to set up a time to grab a couple of drinks. After some phonetag - Mitchell is a much busier man than Magnus ever was, is, or will ever be - and through Magnus' bull-headed insistence, they manage to make time sooner rather than later.

Magnus suggested the venue, which means that when Mitchell enters, he'll find himself in a place that could kindly be described as a dive bar. The varnish on the wood is chipped and worn, the vinyl seats cracked, and the whole place gives off an air that after being built in the 70s, everyone involved looked around and said, "Yeah, this is how this place should look forever".

Despite that, the drinks are strong and the entire place is suffused with a sense of hominess, a sleepy sort of charm in which everyone in the building looks as though this is exactly where they belong - including Magnus, waiting at the bar for his guest to arrive. ]

[ Now that Magnus has his head screwed on a little better, he's come to terms with three facts:

1) Padme deserves a thank you for dealing with Magnus' hot mess self, which she absolutely did not have to do.
2) Padme deserves a break.
3) Magnus would, in fact, like to get to know Padme a little better.

With all of that decided, Magnus reached out to her to ask her if she'd be interested in grabbing lunch - his treat, and her choice if Magnus' admittedly humble tastes don't suit her palate. She's welcome to accompany him to his match afterwards to see what a wrestling match looks like for herself, but he at least demands to pull her away from her work long enough for her to get a good meal in.

(The woman's like a bird. She obviously needs more meals and another fifteen pounds on those bones.)

That set, Magnus arrives at her office and knocks loudly, though the cheerful timbre of it is enough of a giveaway that it's a friendly sort seeking her out instead of yet another civilian here to complain. ]

Padme! It's Magnus!

[ Mitchell doesn't look out of place, precisely, when he showed up. He doesn't turn up his nose, or look at the decor like it's something to be sneered at, but he still sticks out like a sore thumb, in his suit and now-loosened tie, something that sold the fact that yes, yes this man really did leave fucking Washington DC just for a drink or two with this guy.

And he sits down next to him, a quick once over, a quirk of his lips. He should have guessed. He had a type when it came to friends. ] Magnus, right? Mitchell Hundred, nice to -- er meet you? [ He held out a hand. It was manicured. ]

Nice to meet you, Mitch! [ Magnus shakes Mitchell's hand enthusiastically. His own hands are large and a little too warm - he's always run hot, even as a kid - and, of course, magnificently calloused from all sorts of things. ]

Can I call you Mitch? [ He's gonna call him Mitch. He glances over at the bartender, who's eyeing him down with some interest. Magnus is a regular customer here, but he very rarely brings in anyone that could be mistaken for being classy. Stylish? Yes. Classy? Absolutely not. ]

What's your poison?

Oh, er -- Yeah, I suppose. [ He rubbed at the back of his neck. Most people, afterall, called him by his title, but he hated bringing that up most times. He offered him a shy half-smile instead, and eyed the bartender. ]

Just a whisky's fine. Nothing fancy.

[ He looked around the place, only now noticing that he probably didn't fit in. ] I take it you're a regular?

[ Padme, on her part, disagrees with two out of three of those statements. She does not in any way need a break, and she may not have had to deal with Magnus but she didn't consider it something requiring a thank you.

However, she's quite in agreement on wanting to get to know him better, so when he reached out her response was fairly quick and quite in agreement, and she in fact gave him absolute permission to choose the place. In all honesty, she hasn't had food here on Earth yet that she hasn't found at least fairly decent. And after years of jumping from basic nutrition bars on space flights or visits to planets where the food couldn't be digested by humans to planets where the food was technically digestible by humans so it was polite to eat it but Force, why, it's a pleasant change to be exploring a variety of foods that she likes.

She's finishing up some work when he arrives, putting the paperwork away into a filing cabinet before turning to open the door, dressed casually in preparation for an outing. (This is her casual, Magnus, sorry.) ]

It's so good to see you again, Magnus. It was lovely to receive your invitation, I'm rather looking forward to today.

[ The smile that accompanies that is very sincere and open, and she tucks away a last pile of papers and turns to him. There. He has her full attention now, and it's very full attention, a thorough assessment of how he looks. He'd had her concerned, for a time there. ]

I'm all set. The next few hours are yours. Where are we off to?

Edited 2018-04-09 12:23 (UTC)

[ There's an open invite for any of Magnus' friends to come watch him wrestle. He's got something of an understanding with the doorman - as long as someone identifies themselves as Magnus' friends, they get to come inside and take a seat. Wrestling's a fun gig, and one Magnus enjoys, though he finds himself enjoying it a little less in the face of being able to be paid for real fighting.

Still, it's fun, and he enjoys the cheers and boos, enjoys hamming it up, enjoys the sense of community he's fostered here. His place in the community may have flagged when he stopped... well, stopped doing anything, but the point is that he's here, and he's back.

When Blue steps in, it will be to the sound of an announcer hollering, ] AND IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RING WE HAVE A FERRRRRROCIOUS BEAST, A MMMMMMONSTER OF A MAN, THE BRUTALIZING, SKULLCRUSHING MMMMMMMMMMENACE HIMSELF, IIIIIIII'MORKOOOOOOO!

[ Magnus duly springs into the ring, pumping up the crowd and clawing dutifully at the air, his faux fur cloak billowing behind him before he sheds it and flexes. There's a chorus of half-boos, half-cheers. ]

AND IN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RING, WE HAVE THE NNNNNNNNNOBLE MAJESTY OF AMMMMMERICA'S FINEST HERO, THE DARKNESS-DEFYING, EVIL-EXTINGUISHING ÁGUILAAAAA!

[ A man dressed as an eagle hurls himself into the ring to uproarious applause. The rest is more or less aligned with what wrestling is - both of them hurling themselves at each other in throws and grapples of escalating complication before Magnus is finally felled with a mighty thump, howling and really hamming it up as the crowd cheers. Magnus bares his teeth at the crowd, snarling and snapping away --

And then, upon seeing Blue in the audience, gives him the briefest of grins and winks at him before slinking out of the ring. ]

Edited 2018-04-12 04:32 (UTC)

One whiskey for my buddy Mitch here! [ Magnus says, and just like that, the place erupts back into a cozy, friendly sort of buzz. He's well known here and has managed to really insinuate himself into the community - he's got rustic hospitality dripping out of his ears - so that most simply trust his judgment. It's not as though they didn't trust Mitch in the first place. It had just been odd to see him there.

Magnus accepts their drinks (whiskey for the both of them as it turns out) before turning back to Mitch with a smile. ] Yeah, me and the boys come here a lot. I'm a wrestler - nothing better than a cold beer after a hard match, y'know? I bet it's the same for you guys. Nothing like a... whiskey after paperwork?

I have no idea what you do.

You'll see when we get there. The food ain't the prettiest in the world, but it tastes good enough for it not to matter.

[ Magnus grins back at her, as unreserved as ever. He looks better than he had been immediately after Archie's death - not as ashen, his brow no longer furrowed with barely-restrained anguish, a certain looseness having come back into his limbs. If she's a truly perceptive woman she'll be able to tell he's nowhere close to being normal again, but he's truly, honestly doing better.

Babysteps. It's always about babysteps. Magnus knows that as well as he knows anything. He leads her out of her office and onto the streets, ambling as though he owns the place. ] The food here's great, don't get me wrong. But this little place I found does it a lot like they do it at home. [ He pauses. ] Back when home didn't mean living with Taako. Remind me to invite you over for dinner another time, 'cause I live with the world's greatest cook.

[Blue has been to Pokémon competitions like this a few times before, some straight martial-arts, some with all the glamor and hype of a stage show like the Alola region's Battle Royals. Even that was shown on TV, and could be pretty exciting to watch, especially with the kinds of moves trainers came up with in an all-out 4-way battle. The Masked Royal was no joke, that guy was strong.]

[He knew that the human variety of wrestling was generally more of a show than a sporting event, but it was entertaining all the same, and Blue and Eevee got into the cheering and the excitement of the crowd just as they would at a Pokémon tournament. When Magnus catches his eye he gives an excited wave, and after the show he weaves through the crowd to get down to the entrance area for the wrestlers and staff.]

Yo, "I'morko"! [Blue calls into the dressing room with a bright grin, Eevee hopping off his shoulder to scamper inside towards him.] Nice moves out there!

[ Mitch laughed, and shook his head. ]

Nothing nearly so...boring? I mean, I write laws, but... I mostly do that in committees. A lot of my job is talking, voting, networking... and squeezing in a few hours from about midnight to three doing all of that paperwork.

[ HEY WORKAHOLIC MUCH? When the fuck does he sleep? ]

How, uh... how did you end up in wrestling? Was that the job they gave you here?

Edited 2018-04-13 02:14 (UTC)

Sounds, uh... sounds like a lot of work. Sounds like you could use a nap, honestly. [ Poor guy. Well, he chose it, so not so much poor guy as it is poor choices, but still! ]

Nah, nah, they assigned me as a private investigator. I dunno if you've noticed, but subtlety ain't exactly Magnus' go-to. I didn't wanna spend my time skulking around and spying on people, so I put some feelers out and wound up in wrestling. Can't think of anything else I'd do here - and besides, I'm damn good at it.

Eevee! Hey, little buddy!

[ Sorry, Blue. Magnus likes you - thinks the world of you, actually - but anything scampering towards him on all fours is always going to take precedent. He goes from sitting on his chair (where Steven sits right in front of him in his ball, burbling away on his vanity) to kneeling on the floor in seconds flat, cheerfully rubbing at the little guy's ears. He does look back up to Blue shortly afterwards, though, grinning. ]

Thanks! I didn't know you were coming down for a visit tonight. Was this your first time seeing one of my matches?

[Fear not, Magnus- any Pokémon trainer is going to have the same reaction. Blue doesn't even blink at Magnus ignoring him for Eevee, patiently waiting for Eevee to get his pats as he walks up after them.]

[He shrugs with a casual little grin.] Yeah, you know...! I just felt like coming out to see what the big deal was all about. I've been thinking about what we talked about with Pokémon League and sports in this world, you know? I'm still trying to think of ways that we could make League happen in this world, so I decided to come and try to get some ideas.

It sure does have the same kind of excitement in the crowd! You really get 'em going.

Yeah, uh... I'm sure you are.

[ Look, he's big, he's brawny, and he probably could crush mitch with his thighs. Wrestling sounds about right. ]

So what else is it you do around here? I assume most people aren't as lacking in an actual life as I am -- and no way, naps are for tools, I just live on coffee and spite these days. [ That's actually said with a smile. Mitchell works himself to the bone, but he wouldn't be happy if he wasn't. ]

That's my job! [ Magnus sinks down to sit on his ass, legs spread out wide in front of him, Eevee perched between them. He always looks a little funny like this, as though he's too big for the position, but he looks perfectly comfortable, perfectly content. He's too used to this to want people to come watch him every night and, over time, fewer and fewer of his friends come to his matches. That means it's a real treat whenever someone he knows does arrive. ]

Fighting's easy. Performing's the hard part. I think I've gotten the hang of it, though. [ He looks up at Blue, a spark of real happiness in his eye. ] Thanks for coming! Wish you would've told me and I would've put on an even better show, but, y'know - it was nice. I don't think you'll have much luck gettin' a League going when it's only you, Red and Archie with Pokemon around here.

[ Sometimes, life kinda sucks. Sometimes the walls you've been so meticulously maintaining around yourself for your whole life start to get eroded by a sense of family that is you are wholly unfamiliar with dominating the majority of the last year of your life. And sometimes people you get used to being around are suddenly gone and you don't know how to deal with the any feelings that brings up.

So sometimes, the only thing you can do is get lay around on a pool lounger on a surprisingly warm spring night, smoking weed and staring up at the sky, trying not to think about anything. Conveniently this is all Taako feels like doing, and so he does—his ponytail draped over the head of a neon purple inflatable raft with one long green leg in the water pushing himself idly in circles around the pool behind the house as he exhales a thick stream of smoke from an inhale off the joint he has in one hand. ]

Edited 2018-04-15 08:34 (UTC)

[Blue plops down too, cross legged next to him, and watches Eevee bask in his pets. He shrugs sheepishly,] Sorry, I kinda just did it on a whim! I'll bring Red next time. I think he'd get a kick out of it, too.

[He lets out a little sigh. Yeah, as bored as he was around here, it didn't really seem like there was much chance that he could get battles going regularly- well, outside his and Red's usual training regiment.] I... guess not, huh?

It's just, I'm worried about my Pokémon. They're getting so bored, and out of shape... They gotta let all their energy out somehow. I'm trying to think of ways they could battle, without... battling, you know?

[Eevee glances up with a similarly melancholy sigh. He sure was bored. Blue grins.] Especially this troublemaker. You wouldn't believe how much he's itching for a fight!

[ Magnus is living his best life. The original Magnus, this doppelganger knows, had wound up staying out too late with a couple of his wrestling buddies and is now crashing on Augustus the Skullcrusher's couch. It's a good gig. Skullcrusher makes a mean pancake breakfast. That leaves this Magnus free to do what he wants.

And what he wants to do is skinny dip. Dick flapping in the wind - and even if you happen to be a connoisseur of cock, that's never going to be an attractive sentence - he hurls himself into the pool, cannonballing in with a mighty splash and a joyous cry. He's still laughing to himself when he emerges from the deep end, grinning cheekily over at the man whose contemplative evening he's summarily ruined. ]

And what's a handsome guy like you doing alone at this hour? C'mon, Taako, it's too nice of a night for thinking.

You take that back! Naps are amazing. You sound like a man who's just never had a good nap. It's like finding the right partner: find the right one, and you're hooked for good.

[ Magnus naps infrequently - he likes to stay busy - but when he does, he naps like a champ. There's nobody who does it like him. It's dog cuddles and a hammock and snoring loud enough to piss off the neighbours or bust.

He decides, wisely, not to mention that he's in an illegal fighting ring for fun and profit. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing you should say to a politician. ]

Aw, I do plenty. Volunteer over the shelter, take care of my dogs - and Steven - [ Magnus unclips Steven the Goldfish from his belt and rests him on the bar, just because everyone should be able to see the glory of Steven for themselves - hang out with the kids, play guitar, uh... carve? I'm a wizard with a carving knife.

[ ... ]

Not a literal wizard. I just mean I'm good at it.

Trust me, I get the feeling! That's part of why I joined up with these guys. I didn't do well going from, you know, full-time adventuring to doing a whole lot of nothing but eating well and getting fat.

[ He's still gained weight since he's been here, but it doesn't bother him. Getting out of shape bothers him and he hasn't let his skills slip one bit since he started training again. ]

It's not real fighting, not like I'm used to, but it's good enough. It takes a different kind of muscle to do the motions without hurting anyone.

[ Mitchell actually kept his eyes on the goldfish. There's no fear, but there's a certain wariness, especially when it stirs in the sphere, a little more motion than usual -- and those big goldfish eyes are locked on the senator. ]

Shit, you're just as busy as me. [ He said, with a laugh. ] Do you, uh... Do you have any pictures of your carving?

[ He looked at the fish again. ]

You, uh, might want to put him away. I...stress animals out a little bit. [ Which is to say: they attack on sight. ]

[ Magnus isn't exactly a small dude, so the splash of his cannonball isn't exactly small, either. When he surfaces, Taako is looking not dissimilar to wet cat—drippy and annoyed. His joint is soaked too, and he looks more displeased with that than anything else. ]

Don't we have a "no splashing while someone's smoking" rule? And by "we" I mean all civilized people in the world.

[ Not that it matters, because he's using Prestidigitation to dry and relight it. ]

Hah! ...Well, that's just what I'm worried about, with them. [Blue reaches over to give Eevee a few pats of his own.] I try to take 'em out as much as I can, walk them with the dogs at work, exercise, all that stuff. But it's not the same as being battle-ready. Reflexes, strategies, moves... Remembering all that stuff isn't the same as just basic physical shape.

You said it's like acting-fighting, right? I guess it's kinda like a practice battle. I wish I could figure out a way to do the same thing for them...

Pshh, whatever, you can just relight it anyway. See? Good as new.

[ Magnus doggy-paddles over to Taako's floating device, leaning his forearms on it and mugging up at Taako as though he hasn't got a care in the world. He's lightened up a lot since January but the expression is a little foreign on his face even so; there's something sweet and guileless about it, no trace of worry or stress in his bright eyes. ]

Don't tell me all you wanted to do tonight was smoke.

APRIL CATCH-ALL

FOR MITCHELL

FOR PADME

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FOR BLUE

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DOPPELBANGING

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oh god this is going to be a DISASTER

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