( v i d e o | day 86 | afternoon )

[freewheeling]

It's difficult to paint one's nails when you've got a camera attached to your wrist, you know. [ The brush hovers just outside of the feed, threatening to drip purple paint everywhere, and Magnus' eyes - glamoured unless you have the inherent ability to see those golden cat eyes - blink sleepily at the unfashionable wedge locked to his skin. But suddenly the mood shifts. He grins, teeth sharp and very, very white. ] I'm a little confused as to why actually. I know I'm particularly fabulous but I'm not sure we could really drum up a whole cast for the next big reality show. Some of you are clearly Mundanes and while I find you very charming it's not like you're going to burst into a shower of champagne any time soon. Unless you're dreaming - which by the way, some of you obviously need psychiatric help. If I find a couch big enough I'll open my doors. But what's the point in filming all those hours of pointless activity in between?

[ His fingers let go of the brush for a second, letting it hover long enough for him to run a hand through his thick hair. It's immediate, the illusion shifting from him like running water. To the humans he changes - Magnus Bane the High Warlock of Brooklyn is tired of pretending. And so he gives the floating brush a grin, eyes flashing like a headlight has been shone to them. This is who he is. This place is clearly a melting pot for specific creatures and he's crippling himself by pretending to be normal. His derision is a ploy after all. Pretend to be bored and the villain usually shows his hand. It's something he learnt from a number of impudent but beautiful Herondales.

And Magnus has shown himself to the Mundanes before, if they react badly he can just - well, brood fashionably he supposes. On his psychiatric couch.

His magic doesn't last long though, not with the way the brush then shudders and drops to the floor, his spark dying out. Magnus blinks and then his features shift suddenly, frustration and anger mingling on his handsome face. ] Oh for the love of Kim Kardashian why is this happening?

[ His gaze narrows as he regards the bright splash of colour on the floor. It's been on and off since he got here. He had assumed that the trauma of being kidnapped had something to do with it. And then Alec had shown up and Magnus had other things to think about. Namely the shattered pieces of his sticky-taped heart. But he's not going there. ] All right, spill. Who's messing with my mojo?

[ Another pause. ] I need a drink.

Comments

[Video - private]

[gayspider]

[Alec's tried to stay away from Magnus, it seemed easier, but this video had him worried. And no, he wasn't worried about this particular shade of nail polish, Alec barely registered that it had a colour. It was the problems with Magnus' magic that drew him out.

Magnus couldn't protect himself if the magic vanished at an inconvenient point. Alec couldn't handle that, and it worried him there was something or someone powerful enough to mess with Magnus powers.

Those blue eyes are all concern.]

Magnus. You shouldn't show the mundanes what you can do, especially when your magic gone ....weird.

[Video - private]

[freewheeling]

[ Alec.

Magnus tries to ignore the way his heart skips a beat - he's too old for this kind of thing, too broken - and regards him thoughtfully. Part of him wants to interrogate, to ask where he's been hiding, if he's been safe. But it isn't his place anymore, is it?

So he breathes out and plasters on a smile. ] I doubt they're going to storm the castle any time soon. Not all of them are human. And the ones that are seem to be pretty used to a little ... flamboyance.

Re: [Video - private]

[gayspider]

I need to talk to you about some of the non human ones. I would ask Jace but...[Alec's voice trails off. He's lost his parabatai and the warlock who he saw as a confidant and more....But he needs someone he trusts to talk to about the angels.

His shoulders tighten, it isn't getting any easier to see or hear Magnus.

Abruptly,]

How are you going to protect yourself if someone objects to your flamboyance?

[Video - private]

[freewheeling]

[ He tries not to bristle at the mention of Jace's name, he really does. But he finds it's still rather natural. They may be parabatai and he does understand that, but too much of their relationship has been focused on the other man and it makes Magnus feel oddly -

cheated. So his voice shifts, closes off. ] I'm always willing to help a Shadowhunter in need, you know that.

[ Though he softens in the next minute. He could still defend himself, he supposes. It's spotty, not gone. ] I could hit them over the head with a frying pan? I saw that in a movie once.

Re: [Video - private]

[gayspider]

[Alec plays with his fraying sleeves. The uncertainty which has plagued his life is edging back in.]

Thanks, I guess.

[He frowns.] That doesn't sound practical, frying pans don't hold any special properties.

[video]

[blackmagus]

That's a sentiment I can get behind. What makes you think it's one of us that's doing it?

[She regards him thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side.]

I'd think it was our... illustrious hosts.

[There's a staggering amount of sarcasm on those last two words.]

[video]

[freewheeling]

Well, I'm still not sold on the thought that the person bringing us here isn't you know, pulling a Trojan Horse. Those are so overdone.

[video]

[blackmagus]

Hiding out as one of us? I'd hate to get that duty.

[Worse than peeling potatoes.]

Given the rest of their experiment, I'd hope for a little more creativity.

[video]

[freewheeling]

Perhaps the well of creativity has run dry.

video

[hung_garian]

[Well, he could echo the general sentiment of concern and/or sympathy, or he could just ignore the fact that Magnus's magic is messing up at all and focus on the rest of the message. Given that the former would be entirely unhelpful and probably just infantilising, he decides to go with the latter. Besides, he's not good at sympathy.]

Well, if you're qualified I reckon we could do with a decent shrink round here. Got a whole lot of crazies running around and more combined daddy issues than the whole of ancient Greek literature.

video

[freewheeling]

How qualified is qualified? Does centuries of listening to people complain count? [ Gabriel, he likes you much better than most of the people here. You are entertaining at least.

Thoughtfully. ] Once I tried to give advice on a magic carpet and the poor fellow pitched himself off. I like to think it was more aversion to carpets than my great wisdom.

Re: video

[hung_garian]

Depends how many of 'em went and jumped off flying things after you 'helped' them. If it's less than half you're probably fine. If not, you might wanna reconsider the 'Whole New World' strategy... maybe take some singing lessons.

video

[freewheeling]

My singing is wonderful.

[ NO IT IS NOT GABRIEL, ABORT, ABORT. ] And it was only the one. I spent the next half of that century drunk to my eyeballs. And surrounded by guinea pigs.

text;

[hexappeal]

You seem to miss the irony of filming a pointless activity while complaining about it

text;

[freewheeling]

i'm in league with thousands of youtubers

text;

[hexappeal]

but do you have a cat?

text;

[freewheeling]

chariman meow is sadly back at home missing me.

video

[greenisnteasy]

Those wacky scientists who can get us to jump into each other's dreams and also sometimes swap species might have something to do with it.

[ Sorry about the dry wit... but not really. ]

Or maybe you're anemic. Have you been getting enough iron?

video

[freewheeling]

[ Everyone's a comedian in this little town. ] I'd been hoping they were mediocre little fools who got lucky, actually. They shouldn't be able to do this.

Aren't we all? Considering the food supply.

[greenisnteasy]

[ Bruce is mostly a comedian only for his own amusement. It's the little things that cheer a person up when they're in the midst of self-inflicted isolation. ]

Depends on who your friends are on the hunting team, I guess. [ Kidding, though, kidding. ]

They shouldn't be able to do a lot of things, and yet... What are you? Or is that rude to ask?

[freewheeling]

Warlock. And no, the rude thing would be to run screaming. [ But he grins like it doesn't mean anything to him. ]

Fortunately you haven't so we can be friends. [ EVERYONE WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH MAGNUS, OKAY. ]

[intelligently]

You can't simply paint your nails? [ Laziness gosh ]

[freewheeling]

Magic means I don't have to do anything the Mundane way.

[ He's been magic all his life, that's not lazy. ]

[intelligently]

And there's something wrong with that?

[freewheeling]

Imagine it this way - suddenly you can no longer use something you've had since birth. If our situations were reversed, if you had magic but you'd never used it before. How would you cope?