Participants:
| Scene Title | A Muse of Selfishness |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes lacks ambition and seeks to find it via a day in the life of Daphne. She's not having any of it. |
| Date | February 23, 2010 |
Magnes' Apartment
Initially Magnes called Daphne over just to hang out and talk for a bit. It's only been around ten minutes or so, later in the afternoon, and he's under his snuggie on the bed, reading a beat-up copy of The Art of War again. "It's nice to not have to worry about all the stupid stuff I've been worrying about anymore. Now I can finally focus." he says before sitting the book down, and picking up a Batman paperback. "I was wondering, what criminals are you affiliated with, and which would you rather not screw over? And are you affiliated with Linderman at all?" he casually asks, peering over at her from behind his book. "You don't have to tell me, but I will keep it all a secret."
Daphne is sitting on the bean bag with nail polish remover and cotton balls, getting rid of the boring pinkish color she was wearing the night before. A bottle of cobalt blue sits at her feet, ready to take the place of the pastel hue. Her head drops to one side and she shoots him an exasperated glance, before straightening her head again to continue removing the polish of her thumb nail.
"I really hope you're not considering becoming a criminal, Magnes, because you'd suck at it. You're too honest and you're too open and everyone would look at you and know exactly what you were thinking. You can't do that in this line of work. And no, I'm not going got tell you who I work for, but no, I don't work for Linderman. I was just at the party. Nothing business related." Well, she does have a new painting in her living room taken from one of the artfully decorated lounges, but that's not really business.
"No, it's nothing like that. But now that I'm focusing on this new life thing, I really need to buckle down. College aside, whenever I figure out what to do in it, it's time I started thinking of how to make an impact on the world. I certainly can't get rid of Linderman, that'd create criminal anarchy, but I'd like to create some sort of relationship with him. Not as a criminal, but, something… He does have people who don't believe he's a criminal, I can use that." Magnes crosses his legs, sitting up to watch her with the polish remover, more out of curiosity than anything else. "Can I ask you a question? If you could be doing anything with your life right now, what would it be?"
Finished with the removal of the girly pink color, Daphne has moved on to painting her nails. It's odd to see her so still — speed is not a forte in this instance, though she is still faster than the average amateur manicurist. She glances up, brows knit in confusion as to what he's talking about. "Crime isn't the biggest problem in this world. The government's more screwed up than the criminals, kid." To his question, she shakes her head. "I'm doing it. Well, maybe not this specific second, because while you're a nice kid and all, you're not like, the top of my bucket list. No offense. I'm not the top of yours either, so it's even." She shrugs. "I've gone pretty much everywhere I want to go. And there isn't a job I want that I couldn't get if I tried."
"See, I want that, what you have. I could probably even have that, but I've learned an interesting thing about myself; I'm not ambitious, at all. Sure, I'd love to save the world and all, but if you take that away, there's nothing really there. I have things I like doing, but…" Magnes shrugs, grabbing his book again, though he still keeps peeking over to watch her paint. "My parents raised me with one goal in mind, and that goal wasn't my goal. I need a dream, one I can pursue, other than the whole save the world thing. Um… you think I can hang out with you and see how you live one day? Maybe it'll inspire me."
Daphne gives a snort of a laugh, capping her nail polish. "I'm not a muse, G-Force. And I don't have ambition either. Or goals. I take a job because it either sounds like fun or a challenge or because the money is good. I take something I like because it's pretty or I think it'll go with my couch. It's not ambition. I just like my power and I use it for selfish means. That isn't you."
"I don't know, Daphne. I've always tried hard to be altruistic, saving the world, always doing nice things for everyone, rarely thinking of myself. And, look at me, altruism kicked the crap out of me. I'm not saying I'm gonna be this big bad evil criminal, but…" Magnes sits his book aside, removing his snuggie to reveal his jeans and t-shirt. "Let's do it. I mean, a job, not, it, er, well you know what I mean. Let me help you steal something, just once. Think of it as therapy, I wanna see how it feels, to do something just… purely selfish, just once."
Dark eyes narrow and she gives a shake of her head, the white-blond locks a mess of ringlets from last night — obviously, she hasn't washed her hair yet. "You wanna steal something and be a criminal, you need to do it on your own, G-Force. I work alone and I don't need a little Robin to my Batman. I'm not going to corrupt you. And you can be mad at me for it, but I have my reasons, and they're actually for once not selfish."
"I'm not mad at you, Daphne. You don't want me to be a thief, I can't get angry at that. You're the most dependable person I know. I don't know if you'll suddenly betray me or something one day, but I do know I can depend on you, and I wouldn't take you for granted by expecting you to never say no." Magnes stands, stretching for a moment, then heads for the bookcase next to his television. He pushes it to the side, revealing a hidden door, then heads into it. From her position, all she sees are lots of long bags hanging up, so it's either a meat locker, or a very large closet.
Once he's in there, he calls back, "I made something for you, Daphne. Been meaning to give it to you."
"He even has Batman's hidden lair," Daphne says to herself with a shake of her head. "I really hope you didn't murder anyone for little ol' me," she calls a little louder, though she waits from the bean bag.
"I'm known for dumb grand romantic gestures, but if I had a thing for a woman like you, I'd just go in for a kiss… while we're falling off the side of a building." Magnes laughs, and when he comes out, he's holding what looks like a long-sleeved cotton shirt, but with a hood and two pull-strings coming down the sides. It's like he took the concept of a hoodie, but made it out of a regular shirt. It's completely red, and there's a yellow lightning symbol on the front, like The Flash. "Took me a while to make, this is the first thing I've ever made like this. I added the hood with the strings because I figure your hair gets messed up a lot, being a speedster and all. It's thin, so you can wear it under things and just pull the hood out." He put a lot of thought into it!
The gift makes her smile and give a shake of her head at the thought and effort. It's sweet, and she gets up to accept the shift. "Aw, thanks, G-Force!" she takes the shirt, and gives him a quick hug. "Look. You're just having an identity crisis. But you're a good person. You don't have to be a criminal to go be selfish. You can be selfish without stealing something. Go spend a bundle of money on yourself. Go on a trip without telling anyone. Go egg someone's house. Okay, that's criminal, but it's vandalism — that doesn't really count. Draw a big Batman logo on the Pentagon or something — wait, that might get you shot. Never mind. But you get the idea."
"I have a great idea. It's something I did with Claire once, it was pretty fun. Might be right up your alley too." Magnes smiles when she approves of the gift, then he closes the door, and pulls the bookcase back in place. "Let's dress up, sneak on a cruise ship, and pretend to be rich people. You've probably already done that, but, it's fun, a vacation. And we could make a game of trying to get a seat at the captain's table."
"I'm kinda tired of rich people after last night. All I like is the stuff they buy," Daphne says with a little bit of a yawn. "Another time, maybe. I have a job tonight and I better go get some sleep before hand. You can go though. It's more selfish if you go all by yourself and do the things you want without regard for someone else, see? If I went you'd be all worried about if I was liking it. Defeats the purpose." She stands, blowing her now-cobalt-blue nails. Not like they won't be dry in three seconds when she's at top speed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should learn to be independent and enjoy things by myself, well, other than the stuff I already like." Magnes heads to the door, opening it for her. "I'll see you later, Daphne. And uh, if you happen to see beta copies of Final Fantasy Thirteen laying around, pick one up for me."
"I'll see what I can do," Daphne says with a laugh, and as usual, her solid form is replaced with a rustle of wind and a blur zooming away in the opposite direction.