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| Scene Title | The Origins of MV-Opus 66 |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Sable comes to Magnes to discuss matters of time, but of course it ends on matters of friendship. |
| Date | October 8, 2010 |
She didn't mean to wait this long, but Sable has been busy with… things. Or something. She's not always sure where her time goes, to be honest. Attention flitting from object to object, issue to issue. But the crane she found on her pillow is rarely far from her mind. For all that she has adopted a strictly optimistic, philosophical attitude towards what she now must do, there may just be the slighest tinge of avoidance marking the gap of time between the crane's discovery and her arrival at Magnes' door.
But she does arrive, that we must give her credit for. Sable knocks to announce her arrival, then uses her key to slip on inside, her usual (occasional insolent) ease and (occasionally manic) good cheer not on display, but rather a sort of stolid resolution. Business-like.
"Magnes! Gotta talk t' y'! Close yer browser, stow yer dick 'n' come on out here!"
Magnes walks out from the bedroom in loose-fitting black jeans and his Green Lantern shirt, rubbing his eyes as he looks her up and down. "I was meditating, been trying to calm my mind down. It's not easy having the deep-seeded urge to join a group while also knowing that you shouldn't do it at the same time. I'm sort of wondering how long it'll be before I go completely insane."
Sable's smile is crooked. "Sure, y'all call it whatever y' like," she says, making her way to the living room couch and taking her usual perch on the arm. She'd like to stay jokey, but it can't last. Her smile slips and she nods to Magnes. "Got one 'f them paper cranes that've been goin' 'round. Long story short, boy, looks like someone's tryin' t' make more shit f'r you, 'n' I'm th' one who's gotta shovel it. I wanted y' t' know," the smile is back, but it's sardonic, "that yer in, like, safe hands, 'n' all."
"Elaine told me, she was feeling bad the other night, I had to go out and get her." Magnes walks over to the couch, but doesn't immediately sit down, instead reaching forward to wrap his arms around her waist. "I trust you, Sable, I know you'll come back, I know it'll be alright. Just don't be shocked if my father pulls a gun on someone."
Sable is initially a little taken aback by the hug, but she adapts more quickly than in the first days of their friendship. Sable wraps her own arms around Magnes, giving him a pat pat on the back. "'course I'll come back. I know how this shit works. I got an instinct." She draws back, peering at Magnes. "But, like… what? See, this is why we gotta talk. I wanna know what I'm walkin' in to. I mean… I dunno when or how or where or anythin', but if it's anythin' like what Elaine 'n' Colette had t' do f'r me… I figure I'm dealin' with a younger you, eh? So… tell me. What were y' like when y' were little?"
Magnes starts to pull back, pressing his forehead against her's for a moment, then slips down on to the couch so he can really think of a way to explain. "Everything you know about me now? You should forget. It took me a while to get to where I am now. Depending on how far back you go, I may not have ever known other children, I'm always serious, and I had no qualms about pointing out when I think someone isn't as smart as me. I was just cold and probably creepy, and I'm a little ashamed of it. I always downplay how smart I am, then I go and do something like quote the dictionary. A part of me still likes showing off."
Sable gives a huff. "Hey, I ain't judgin'. I was a little shit when I was a kid. Poor Elaine, went back thinkin' music could reach me. Back then I was all 'bout guns 'n' trouble," she grins, "now, 'course, I just keep t' th' trouble." She rolls her shoulder, cocking her head and peering at Magnes, as if trying to imagine his younger self. Trying to trace his origin. "What kinda person didja listen to, eh? Got ways y' know of that might make it easier f'r me t' get y' t' shut up 'n' do as I say, if it comes t' it?"
"I respected people who seemed smarter than me, which is, uh… a hard thing to prove to me at my younger ages. I learned the hard way that I couldn't just go around acting like I'm better than everyone else. You know what I was doing when Midtown was getting blown up?" Magnes asks while leaning over to press a few buttons on the keyboard that sits on his table. It seems he's still being paranoid about outside signals, so has the internetless computer setup in place of a television. "I was getting beat up by skaters who wanted to put me in my place."
"Shitheads," Sable says, with a scowl, "that ain't no way t' find out 'bout yerself. Change is s'pposed t' come from within y' know? Aw… well," she shrugs, "guess it ain't gonna be easy. Any way y' know I could, like, wow an earlier you? Or am I just gonna have t' go with a wing 'n' a prayer? Y' lemme know, man. This is yer life. 's only mine by, like, extension."
"I've always had this thing for comics. Occasionally I'd get them as gifts from my grandparents, or visiting adults. I usually had to hide them before my mother threw one out, she always wanted me to focus on my studies." Magnes pulls his feet up after getting a Dexter's Lab episode going. "Wait, I know what to do. Tell me that I proved loop quantum gravity in the future, and you're from MV-Opus 66, the first colonized planet, here to save me from my enemies undoing my work. It's something only I'll understand."
Sable blinks. Once. Twice. Her brow arches, slooowly. "…y'all serious?" she says, which, like, yeah, of course he is. But still… really? "yer gonna have t' write that shit down f'r me 'cause I ain't never gonna remember all that just off th' top 'f my head, y' know?"
"I've never told anyone else, not even my parents. That's what I planned to name the first colonized planet, after I became famous for proving loop quantum gravity. Of course everyone knows string theory is the better theory now, I was just a naive kid back then, y'know?" Magnes reaches for a pen and a paper on the table, writing it all down for her, even the explanation, then rips the paper off and hands it over.
"Aw, yeah," Sable says, voice hearty in a sarcastic kind of way, "what a silly little thing y' were. I mean, Jesus, how hard could it be t' figure that out." She snorts, reaching out to take the piece of paper and peering at it. "MV-Opus 66?" she looks up at him, "Tell y' what. We're gonna produce y' a solo type record, with collaboration from yers truly on top 'f it, 'n' we're gonna name it that, eh?"
"Sounds like a plan. MV stands for Magnes Varlane, and Opus 66 is Fantasie Impromptu, it's my favorite Chopin song, the one I played in the store when we first met." Magnes explains an event she probably remembers very well. Their first jam session. "But, when I was a kid, I never really faced real conflict. I don't… know how I'd react, so you're on your own there."
"It'll all come t' me in time," Sable says, pun not intended, or at least not intended as a pun, "this is th' universe stitchin' us t'gether. Just like how Colette 'n' Elaine are, like, tied t' me, so 'r' we tied t' each other, 'n' t' others still. This'll work out, just 's long 's we pay attention t' what th' universe is askin' from us. It wants things t' work out. It wants it all t' fit t'gether, f'r us t' be t'gether." She nods, firmly, "that song, this name, what I'm gonna tell y' when I meet y' way back in th' past… all that's just stars in this big ol' constellation, a destiny writtin' in th' sky."
"I've always liked your eyes, to me they always…" Magnes trails off, twirling a few fingers in the air to think of a word. "Made you seem alive, more alive than anyone else. It's like you have extra life inside of you. That always made me feel like I'm more alive, just from knowing you."
The attribution of excessive vitality, one passed to others, makes Sable just a little uncomfortable, as do all compliments that don't come in a form she's used to. Her eyes slide over to the little boy genius on the screen. Dexter has created a machine that gives him a full growth of beard. This can only end poorly.
"I got beat up a fair few times m'self, f'r th' sake 'f these peepers," Sable says, a bit gruff, a bit dismissive, "kids don't need much reason t' get all that piss and vinegar out in the open 'n' all over an easy-type target." Her gaze flicks back to Magnes. "Thanks. Y'all've been a better friend th'n I ever known m'self t' deserve. Pain in th' ass though it may be, I'm glad it's me that's called t' help y' in times passed. Hell… I know it's gotta be me. And that I gotta go."
"Other than Elaine, I don't think there's anyone I'd trust more on this mission, because you're someone I know would never try to change me, and would want to protect who I am at all costs. That's why, unlike other times when things like this happen, I know I'm safe." Magnes stands up, walking by and briefly placing a hand on her head. "I'm gonna make snacks. What do you want?"
Sable wrinkles her nose and shifts her head under his hand - though it takes the form of protest, the motion is more acknowledgement. A reaction to the touch, and not a negative one, just one that takes on aspects of negativity. Interacting with boys always comes with a boyish kind of aggression. Magnes is not like that, and so Sable is less like that than she might otherwise be, but social habits take time to change entirely.
"Dunno. Y'all pick whatever. Y' know I ain't picky. Been hungry too many nights t' care that much," Sable says. She frowns for a moment. "There's somethin' else we gotta talk 'bout, but I dunno if it oughta wait 'til I'm back from stitchin' time t'gether…"
"Go ahead and tell me what it is." Magnes says as he opens the fridge and starts taking things out, then peeks from the kitchen area to listen. "If it's important, we should talk about it now."
Sable moves to the kitchen entrance, leaning against the island pillar, expression once again quite serious. Moreso, even. "Yer, like, escapade with Quinn… didn't go so good, from what I heard. Sounds like shit got sorta, like, tense, eh?"
"Yeah, I guess I was a bit hard on her. I'm not used to being the experienced one on a mission, and then I got frustrated. I can't blame her for flinching when she gets a gun pointed at her." Magnes has nachos laid out on a planet, grating various lumps of fresh cheese over them. "Get the ground beef on that small plate in the fridge." he asks before getting a frying pan from a cabinet, then starts heating it on the stove when he's done with the cheese.
Sable arches her brow for a moment, glances to the fridge, and then does not in fact get the beef. Sorta got more important things to concentrate on. She's acting as Quinn's advocate here, after all. "Gonna be straight with you, boy. We're headin' f'r shitstorm territory, things bein' like they are. Now, y' know I'm real tolerant 'n' all. Gotta be. Y'all've done a whole lot f'r me. But Quinn ain't me. And she's pissed right now. She was scared witless out on that trip and didn't feel like no kinda comfort came from you. Now… I wasn't there, so I dunno nothin' first hand, but I'm asking y' honestly here…" Sable levels a serious gaze at Magnes, "y'all think y' treated her like a proper comrade out there?"
"No… I guess not." Magnes sighs, turning the gas off and walking over to give her his full attention. "And when we got back, I started focusing on Elaine and my compulsion problem again. I wasn't… thinking about Quinn." He leans his elbows on the counter, closing his eyes. "She'll never forgive me."
Sable gives a snort. "That ain't no way t' start things," she says, "she ain't without f'rgiveness nor understandin', but you gotta figure out what it is that gets y'all at odds, 'n' try t' figure out how t' mend that, 'stead of just tryin' t' mend th', like, odds that get gotten. If y' know what I mean." Sable pushes herself off the pillar and looks up at Magnes. "Got any ideas why she gets pissed at y'? What she got pissed at y' 'bout when y' were out there with 'er?"
"I just… I know I wasn't thinking about her, I was just thinking about the mission. I kept getting mad at her and, god, I'm sorry." Magnes walks to the fridge so he can get the beef. "I'm gonna finish making these nachos, then I'll go see Quinn. I'll leave you some before I go."
Sable wrinkles her nose. "Y'all be careful, arright?" she says, "yer walkin' int' a lion's den. Y'all did a fine job talkin' t' Elaine, that's f'r sure, but Quinn's another sorta beast. 'n', like…" she pauses, "look, this ain't easy, but I got my own concerns. Not 'bout us 'n' like our friendship 'r nothin'. I'm with y' t' th' end. But this… shit. This stuff y'all get up to. Quinn's pissed 'cause every time y' say yer done with it, yer back in it. 'n' I know it ain't yer fault, 'n' that when yer called y' gotta go, but this band ain't no hobby, dig? And this shit can't go on like it has, not f'r none of us. Hell, we've had one fuckin' gig. That won't do."
"I know, I don't want this life anymore, I just want this compulsion gone, you to come back safe, then I'm putting an end to this once and for all and telling all of these organizations to leave us the hell alone." Magnes states as if that is, in fact, his entire plan. "I'll work it out with her, somehow."
Sable gives a single nod. "I know y' mean it," she says, "'n' hopefully she will too. But it comes down t' whether 'r not meanin' 'n' bein' end up shakin' hands. The world ain't makin' it easy f'r us, but I know it wants this f'r us. F'r all 'f us. Just makin' us work for it, is all."