Luke's, Thursday

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was very quiet at the diner today. He'd set himself up in a corner with some paperwork and wasn't even grumbling about having to do payroll. His staff gave him a wide berth, except to occasionally drop off a cup of coffee or offer him a sandwich. It seemed like everyone was hyperaware of his situation and mood, and handling him with kid gloves.

It kinda pissed him off.

"Shouldn't some of you be arguing about something stupid?" he finally asked. "Or writing weird messages on the specials board or building a fort out of frozen beef or something?"

The staff was sure they had no idea what he was talking about.

Today's special
Catch of the day!
Cajun-style blackened red snapper

Luke's was open and OCD free.

Comments

[magnusrushesin]

Magnus was cat-less after his class, but that was just a reminder of his conversation with Octavia before she went off an disappeared on them. Probably for plot related reasons.

That was Magnus' totally logical assumption.

"Hey, so I'm supposed to give you a hug."

[betterthanaplan]

“. . . According to who?”

Duke totally needed a hug. And would have absolutely no idea what to do with one.

[magnusrushesin]

"Well, Octavia. Ya know. Before." So just let him hug you with those good, good hug modifiers.

[betterthanaplan]

"Before." Duke sighed. "What, did she tell you to look out for me if something happened to her or something?"

[magnusrushesin]

"Oh no, it was about you getting arrested and locked up in the pokey, but this is a much better reason for the huggin'. You know. Now that you're no longer a hardened criminal from the inside."

Magnus had interesting ideas of what jail was like on this island.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . What makes you think I'm not a hardened criminal?"

Duke.

[magnusrushesin]

Magnus gave him A Look for that. "Well, I've met you," he ventured.

[betterthanaplan]

RUDE, MAGNUS.

"Fandom's jail definitely didn't make me any harder than I already was."

[magnusrushesin]

WELL.

"Yeeeeah," Magnus agreed like he was totally humoring Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

Hey, it was true! There'd been no hardening in Fandom Jail.

Duke sighed. "If I let you hug me, will you leave me alone?"

[magnusrushesin]

"That's the plan," he said brightly. "Now, I want you to understand that I'm trained in this. The modifier is off the charts."

Also he cheated on every roll that involved a hug.

[betterthanaplan]

"I don't know what a modifier is," Duke said. "Why would you train to hug?"

[magnusrushesin]

"I mean, you train at anything you wanna be good at!" Like hugging and dealing with animals. And driving vehicles.

[betterthanaplan]

"You literally just -- wrap your arms around someone. What's to train at?"

Duke was terrible at hugs. It usually took him a second to even recognize when one was happening.

[magnusrushesin]

"Ah!" Magnus held his arms out for that hug, going in for the kill.

[betterthanaplan]

And thusly was Duke hugged. Even with warning, it still took him by surprise. His hands kind of fluttered in the air for a moment before he remembered what you were supposed to do with them when hugging.

Yeah, someone had clearly never been trained in hugging at all.

[magnusrushesin]

And Magnus was a motherfucking pro at hugging. Like, somehow rolled a straight of 40 at the check. That wasn't even physically possible with a D20, but there they were.

"You're really bad at these," Magnus informed him, totally giving Duke the best hug of his life.

[betterthanaplan]

“Yeah, yeah.” Duke was finding it incredibly difficult not to cling and/or cry. “Shut up.”

His canon didn’t do dice rolls, but he was absolutely failing whatever check was required for not crying. Willpower? Whatever. It wasn’t important.

[magnusrushesin]

"Hey, I got you buddy," Magnus said, adding in a little soothing sway.

[betterthanaplan]

“Oh my god, please shut up.”

Duke was trying to just stand here and be hugged like a man, dammit!

How was Magnus so good at this?

[magnusrushesin]

Magnus.

"I'm going my best here!"

[betterthanaplan]

“Octavia really told you to do this?”

[magnusrushesin]

"Well, I offered." Because he hugged her too.

[betterthanaplan]

"Still," Duke muttered.

And there went the clinging. Magnus was just going to get Octavia's hug by proxy for a bit.

[magnusrushesin]

Awww yeah he was. You dirty bird, you.

"Hugs are therapeutic, you know."

[betterthanaplan]

“I’ll take your word for it,” Duke said, like this wasn’t a welcome shot of serotonin right here.

[magnusrushesin]

"I'll make sure to do this more often," Magnus assured him. "Put that alarm right on in my stone of far-speech."

At least until Octavia came back to take up the hug mantle. But then she'd need the hugs too!

[betterthanaplan]

She would need so many hugs.

"Never change, Magnus," Duke said. "But if you hug me without warning I will punch you."

[magnusrushesin]

"Ooo, a challenge."

And Magnus was, luckily, the sort of person who could forgive being shanked. So there was that going for him when Octavia got back.

[betterthanaplan]

"No," Duke said firmly, as though talking to a small child. Or a puppy. "Magnus, no."

He was regularly armed, Magnus! Sneak-attack hugs were not a good idea!

[magnusrushesin]

Pff. Like that would deter this goober.

"Okay, okay. Fully consensual, warned hugs," he agreed with a grin. "You feeling a little better? Because I'm a great listener too."

Even if he might go on weird tangents about Cheerwine or how they should get matching prison tattoos or something equally ridiculous.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . Actually, yeah. Weirdly." Duke pulled away from the hug and very firmly didn't wipe his eyes. "How are you so -- upbeat? Octavia's your friend."

[magnusrushesin]

"Because I've been separated from my friends before and managed to find them in spite of everything," Magnus said with absolute sincerity and conviction. Which was a little jarring because it was as serious as he got.

Joke podcast and all.

"You just have to trust that they'll make it through whatever is going on and be there for them when you see them again."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah, that's . . . not been my experience."

Horror tv show and all.

"But I hope you're right. I know she can deal with a lot, but. . . ."

[magnusrushesin]

"If she can't, we'll be there to help her." JUST LET HIS SOOTHING, FOUND FAMILY, GOOFY WAYS HELP.

[betterthanaplan]

"Be where, man? We don't know where she is! And if she's where I think she is, we can't get to her!"

[magnusrushesin]

"Why not?" Did they need magic for it? They could totally get some magic for it.

[betterthanaplan]

"Because Portalocity doesn't go there. And even if they did, we'd die immediately of radiation poisoning."

Small factors.

[magnusrushesin]

"Ohhhh." Magnus considered it for a moment. "Well farts. That's a pretty big plot roadblock."

What?

[betterthanaplan]

"A what roadblock?"

Duke just couldn't help himself.

[magnusrushesin]

At least he was aware of it.

"You know, when there's a thing that the DM really wants you to do--it's not important. What's important is that we'll get through this!"

[betterthanaplan]

"Right," Duke said on a sigh. "Sure."

That hug was wearing off. For plot reasons.

[magnusrushesin]

"Okay, round two on that hug," Magnus said, getting that feeling. His arms were open for it, giving you that out, Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

"Um." Duke leaned back a little. "No thanks."

Sometimes the bad feelings were comforting.

[magnusrushesin]

"Still putting it on my calendar," he warned Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

"Go for it." Duke was a big fan of people making their own choices. "I'll . . . probably be somewhere you can find me."

[magnusrushesin]

"Hide and seek. Got it." Don't make this a challenge, Duke. It would end in tears and probably someone getting stabbed.

[betterthanaplan]

"It's not --" Duke gave up with a sigh. "Yeah. Fine. Hide and seek. "