open post: averageness

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally's first clue that it hadn't been a dream was that she'd woken up alone in her room.

Nowadays, she and Gideon have been sharing a room, so that Tally can protect her from ever finding a body alone again--and maybe conspicuously leave out some clothes that fit Gideon but aren't, like, ratty black pants. That day, though, she'd woken in an empty room, gasping from something that felt like a nightmare, but somehow more vivid than real life.

Without even getting dressed, she'd run for the woods to confirm what had happened. Horror had flooded her when she found the knife-mark, exactly where she remembered throwing it yesterday. It was true. She'd been Special. She'd been awful. She'd seen and felt the world with more harsh clarity than she'd ever thought possible. She'd hit Gideon.

Tally had collapsed onto the stump, gripping her own arms to make sure her familiar, average body was still there.

Over the next few days, Tally doesn't sleep well, and people getting swapped out for a second time doesn't help. People might find her wandering the mansion like a zombie, or in one of the kitchens, contemplating getting drunk. She's not as put together as usual, either, but of course on her even bedhead and sweats look beautiful.

Comments

[summerdude]

Magnus laughs. "Touche," he says. "Tell you what. We can be each other's, like, vibe check, how's that?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Deal," Tally says, sticking out her hand. It feels good to make a promise, like a tangible reminder of their friendship.

[summerdude]

Magnus takes it and shakes it firmly. "If you start acting like a huge dick," he promises, "I'll call you out. And you call me out if I start acting all, like, boring and distant and over it or whatever."

[tallyyoungblood]

"Got it. I'll be on bogusness alert."

[summerdude]

"Deal."

[tallyyoungblood]

"He wasn't all bad, though. He gave me some good advice."

[summerdude]

"Oh yeah?" Magnus asks, relieved that his alternate self might not have been the total worst. "Like what?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"He said to take you seriously and not think you're mad at me when you aren't."

[summerdude]

Okay, this takes Magnus aback! He blinks. "Why would I be mad at you?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Just because I was rude when we first met," Tally explains. "I know it was a long time ago, but I'm used to people holding way worse grudges than you."

[summerdude]

"Were you?" Magnus asks; he's forgotten on purpose since they're friends now and anyway it would be a dick move to hold something someone says on their first day against them. "Oh, you mean the ugly thing? I understand it now, it's whatever."

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally laughs a little, disbelieving. "I guess you really aren't in perma-puberty. He told me that, too."

[summerdude]

"I am twenty-five," Magnus says, bemused. "Practically a crumbly myself -- oh my gods, Tally, speaking of, did I tell you I tried to call Hanguang-jun Hanguang-jun-la, too?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Oh my god," Tally says, giggling. "As if he's in your clique, or something."

[summerdude]

"You said he hated it when you did it so I thought I'd see for myself!"

[tallyyoungblood]

"And did he?" Tally can't help but smile.

[summerdude]

"Yeah, he super hated it," Magnus laughs.

[tallyyoungblood]

"Do you try to make him mad a lot?"

[summerdude]

"No," Magnus says, and tries to explain both why he called him Hanguang-jun-la and why he doesn't try to make him mad a lot: "He's got, like, dad vibes or whatever."

[tallyyoungblood]

"Right. I guess I just never thought my dad could get mad. He just didn't care that much about a lot of stuff." Tally bites her lip. "I guess it was the lesions."

[summerdude]

"Mine either," Magnus admits. "But like, he's literally the god of peace, so."

[tallyyoungblood]

"How much of his power and stuff do you get?" Tally asks, curious. The only thing her dad had given her was his squinty eyes as an ugly, allegedly.

[summerdude]

"Um," Magnus frowns, thinking through the question. "Some?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"What's the bubbliest thing you can do?"

[summerdude]

"What, like... genre of ability is 'bubbly things?'"