franciscoramon | riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

Are you kidding!? You and me conspired to rickroll an entire room full of helpless strangers, of course I had fun!

[ Well, the conspiracy had all been Taako, and the execution had all been Cisco, but he thinks of it as an act of teamwork nonetheless. He can't seem to stop smiling, and his cheeks are actually hurting a little, but he doesn't care. Cisco's throat feels a little scratchy and he finishes the beer Taako had bought him. Now that he's sitting down, he can feel much more strongly the fact that he is definitely drunk - not uncomfortably so, but unquestionably past tipsy. ]

Wait, I got an idea-

[ His idea (which is nothing more revolutionary than just the thought that they should take a selfie together, while Taako still has his little faux Britney Spears outfit on) gets put on hold, however. Cisco is about to go for his phone when there's a strange feeling, something different than the slight spinniness of the room in general. It's a dropping sensation, a lurch in his stomach, and then his face goes utterly blank, in the same way Taako has seen twice before now.

The vision is a comparatively brief one - Cisco sees himself, in his workshop, bent low over a pair of intricate-looking gauntlets, singing quietly to himself as he works. They don't look like the gauntlets he'd seen Tony wearing, or the ones from the ATOM suit.
There is no power source. Instead, from what Cisco can see through the blurred, blue-tinted haze, they look like they are meant to channel energy, maybe amplify or hone it. But before he can get more than just a glimpse, the scene is flickering out and sound comes flooding back and he is in the loud karaoke bar once more, swaying a little, looking across the table at Taako.

He blinks a few times, getting his bearings. ]

What was I saying?

[This situation is familiar enough by now that Taako doesn't worry, just waits for Cisco to ride out the vibe, though he does scoot a little closer so he can put a hand on Cisco's arm, just in case he decides to go toppling over.

But Cisco doesn't go anywhere, so once the vibe is over, Taako leans back.]

You had some great idea, which I'm gonna guess wasn't the vibe.

[He's starting to get an idea about how this works, but he wants to mull it over for a while before saying anything.]

Edited 2017-07-21 23:46 (UTC)

Oh, right. I was gonna... selfie.

[ But Cisco doesn't reach for his phone, his enthusiasm for that idea seems to have evaporated. He glances down at Taako's hand, and then quickly looks at the tables around them. Was anyone looking? Had anyone seen...?

There are no curious faces turned their direction; Cisco scans the whole room, twists almost completely in his chair just to check. Nothing. He's glad they are in the corner, that the bar isn't very brightly lit, that it is full of people and noise and distraction. It's rare, that he has had a vibe in a place this full of potential witnesses.

He returns his attention to Taako, the tension leaving his shoulders. He had been lucky. ]

Don't worry. Wasn't about you this time. Wasn't something horrible this time, either, which is a nice change.

[ And Cisco manages a very sheepish, small smile. He's not nearly as freaked out as he'd been, the last few times this had happened around Taako, but the vibe did somewhat dampen his exhilaration and glee. ]

[Even drunk and generally kind of self-centered, Taako can't miss the fact that the vibe seems to have practically leeched all excitement out of Cisco, replacing it with tension. He frowns, a little worried, as Cisco glances around to see if he got caught, and Taako makes another note to himself, this time to remember that he should toss up some kinda illusion to cover this up, if it happens again.]

Do you wanna head home, pumpkin?

[Taako doesn't sound too bothered by the idea, since he'd rather not force Cisco to stick around and be uncomfortable in the wake of the vibe, even if it wasn't a shitty one.]

What?! [ Cisco looks up at Taako quickly, seems genuinely shocked by the suggestion. He shakes his head from side to side, setting his hands flat on the table, adamant as he leans forward. ] No!

[ He is careful to speak softly enough that they won't be overheard, but there's no hesitation in his voice, and his expression is one of fierce determination. ]

No way am I gonna let these stupid powers control my life, and that absolutely includes interrupting our fun drunk karaoke night. We got a duet coming up, and we're gonna sing it, and it's gonna be dope. And after that, we're gonna go to my apartment and watch a stupid movie and probably fall asleep on the couch, and in the morning I'll have a hangover and you won't because you're a magic elf with magic powers, and we won't even remember that... that that even happened.

[ Before, the two of them hanging out and having fun here had been important because he was spending time with a friend, because he was helping Taako not to wallow in sadness and feel alone and miserable because of the situation at home. Now, though, it is important for another reason, too. It's something good, in his life. Something he doesn't want ruined. ]

[Taako's eyebrows go up, surprised at the vehemence of Cisco's response, but he's not too concerned, since it... seems like a good thing that Cisco isn't going to let his issues with his powers get in the way of having fun. He'd argue that bowing out early doesn't necessarily mean Cisco's powers are controlling his life, but that doesn't really seem like the point, so he decides to leave it.]

Okay, okay, okay. [Taako laughs as he holds up his hands in surrender, faux-contrite for having even suggested the idea.] I'm super digging the part where I don't get a hangover.

[He's the worst.]

Do you have something in mind for our grand finale?

[ And this really is one of the lovely things about being Taako's friend - one of the things that makes Cisco enjoy his company so much. He doesn't push. Doesn't insist that Cisco ought to leave, or try to pick apart Cisco's insistence that they move past this and act like the vibe hadn't happened. Taako is willing to just roll with it; not because he doesn't care, but because he lets Cisco make his own decisions.

A little of Cisco's fervor lessens, brow smoothing over again. He even laughs when Taako says he likes the part about not getting a hangover, rolling his eyes and joking back: ]

Figured you would.

[ Then Taako asks what would be a good finale, and Cisco had had a few things in mind, after their initial search through the machine. But now, the decision seems obvious, and clear. It's got a little of the humor that was so great from his solo turn, but it also seems just damn fitting, given the night they're having. ]

You know Hakuna Matata?

[ Please let that be one of the films someone has made Taako sit through. ]

It sounds familiar...

[Taako's memory is pretty good (ironic), it's something that helps with being a wizard, because there's not always time to look in a spell book to see what exactly is needed for a spell.

Still, he's consumed a lot of media in the past few months, some from Earth, but not all of it, so he has to wrack his memory for why the phrase rings a bell. After a couple of seconds, he snaps his fingers.]

The meerkat one, from uh, the lion movie.

[Meerkets aren't as cool as mongeese, but that's still what stuck out.]

Exactly the one.

[ Calling it that doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence in terms of Taako's familiarity with the song (which he should have expected, it's not like Taako grew up watching it over and over or singing along), but he has at least heard it and remembered basically what it was. Maybe that's enough? ]

Think you know it well enough to sing it?

[ Now that he's gotten his heart set on it, Cisco would be a little disappointed if he had to choose something else. ]

[Taako's quick to wave a hand, as if dismissing those unspoken concerns.]

I've got the basics, and they put the lyrics up, right? Also it's a fucking kids movie, there can't be a lot of nuance.

[Stop dragging The Lion King.]

Wow. Wow. In the interests of remaining friends, I'ma pretend I didn't even hear that heresy just now.

[ But whether intended or not (and... likely it's not), Taako's aspersions on the artistic merit of The Lion King are the final piece needed to really and properly distract Cisco from thinking about his powers. ]

I guess there's no accounting for taste.

[ Their names pop onto the 'up next' screen, and Cisco gets to his feet, sets his hand against the table to steady himself, and then once the room obliges him by not moving quite so much, he begins to make his way to the stage. As he's walking, he says over his shoulder. ]

You know just for that I'm gonna pick a kid's movie when we get home. Just for that.

Edited 2017-07-22 05:40 (UTC)

[Taako practically bounces to his feet, apparently past any wobbly-word effects of the booze, or he's just good at powering through it.

(It's the latter, he didn't really need to cuddle up to Cisco to keep from stumbling too much, he just gets affectionate when drunk.)]

You're taking this very personally.

[Why do people keep casting aspersions on his taste!!! It's a very rude thing to do and as revenge Taako is going to keep being a little bit of a shit about the movie, even if he has no real issues with kids films.

They can be more fun than movies designed for adults; Taako isn't really the type to watch a movie for a deep and interesting story, he's just there for pretty colours and jokes.]

If it's one about siblings I'll kick your ass.

[Just because those always result in too many emotions.]

Movies are very serious business.

[ Hard to make a pronouncement like that sound grave when Taako is clinging onto him like that and they're both weaving their way through a packed bar towards a stage where they're going to sing Disney karaoke. ]

No sibling stuff, got it.

[ Pretty much any other request Taako could have made right then, Cisco would've done the exactly opposite. But he knows Taako well enough to know that, jokes aside, it's just not a good idea to open that can of worms. Siblings feelings worms. Especially not when earlier in the evening Taako was so abjectly miserable.

They make their way onto the now-empty stage, and soon the song starts to play. It's been a little while since Cisco's heard the song, and Taako has only heard it once, so it takes a bit longer than the first performance for them to fall into the groove of it. But the message, at the very least, seems highly appropriate. And on the chorus in particular, the two of them shine. The whole "ignore your problems indefinitely" thing might not work in reality, but it sure is nice to pretend, for just a little while. ]

riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject