|| video | @ciscodelamancha | feb 10 ||

[franciscoramon]

[ The video starts off shaky, clearly taken using the front-facing camera on a phone being wielded by a deeply intoxicated Cisco Ramon. He is pink-cheeked and bright-eyed and giggling so much he has difficulty speaking. ]

Heyooo Quarantine! Sup! Guess what?! It's my birthday today! That means I'm twenty fuckin' five, which means I'm totally old, and wise, and stuff. So I thought it'd be fun if y'all sent me, like, questions! For advice! You know, like Dear Abby, only instead it's Dear Cisco. I've been around a whole quarter of a century now so you best believe I've got plenty of knowledge I can drop on ya like that!

[ He lifts the hand not holding the phone, clearly meaning to snap, but realizes belatedly he's still holding a glass. He turns away from the screen, muttering a quick Babe, babe hold this for me- before handing off the drink to someone outside the shot. Then he looks at the camera once more and snaps, not loudly enough to be heard and late enough that it is unintentionally very comical. ]

It's cool if you send them anonymous or not, anything goes. Lemme help you make some good-ass choices in your life! Or if you're not feeling the advice game you could just like do some shout outs and holler at your loved ones.

Comments

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco leans in a little closer, saying in a theatrical whisper: ]

Are they gonna be... magic mimosas?!

[umbrastaff]

Duh!

[franciscoramon]

Are they gonna be like those drinks at other Magnus's party? 'Cause those were dopeeee.

[ A few moments later, unprompted, because Cisco just happens to be one of those types of people who, when drunk, urgently needs to express affection for his friends. ]

Hey Lup? Lup? Hey, Lup, guess what? You're the best.

[umbrastaff]

I wish, that's probably more Taako's deal. Nah, these are just gonna be magic in your mouth!

[She beams at him, winking.]

Right back at you, sweetface.

[franciscoramon]

Magically delicious?

[ He says it without even thinking, and then gasps, theatrically, asks: ]

Oh my god, do you two know about Lucky Charms? Please tell me you've heard about Lucky Charms.

[ It would be a crime if people who did as much magic and as much cooking as Taako and Lup do hadn't heard the phrase 'magically delicious' before, didn't understand its full context and hilarity. ]

[umbrastaff]

Cha'girl's been around, I sure do! It's like... the worst and the best.

[Cereal isn't food ok? Barry's fantasy poptarts are bad enough.]

I'll show you some real magically delicious shit.

[franciscoramon]

Good! Seriously, I lived on that shit in college. To this day, those little chemical-tasting marshmallows make me feel like I oughta be cramming for an exam right. 's like, a permanent association now. Just hearts, stars, and horseshoes and a buttload of stress.

[ But there an obvious fondness in his voice that comes across despite the words themselves. ]

Damn, now I want Lucky Charms.

[ Gotta love those drunk cravings. But instead of going in search of Earth cereal, Cisco instead turns contemplative, asks abruptly: ]

You don't think it's silly to be excited for my birthday, do you? Taako said he got kinda bored of 'em after a while.

[umbrastaff]

I definitely get you, I used to eat these fucking dumplings Taako made back at the IPRE Academy days, they still make me feel like I'm preparing for battle... more commonly known as proving the instructor wrong.

[She laughs and shakes her head.]

We've had almost two hundred of them, Cisco. It's waaaay different.

[franciscoramon]

Oh snap. Been there, too. Lotta low expectations to correct.

[ He might be wrong about what she was implying - maybe her instructors just got facts wrong and she knew better? - but he's pretty confident he's not. Just based on what he knows about Lup and Taako's background, how unconventionally they'd taught themselves and one another magic, he can see how a certain kind of instructor who was more used to institutional settings might predict failure from them. So that makes it all the tastier that Lup had become such a competent badass. ]

Yeah, but does that mean I look stupid for still caring?

[ There is more that Cisco is trying to articulate, that he doesn't know how to. Most of the time he just tries not to think about how much older than him Lup and Taako and even Magnus and Lucretia are. How much more they've seen and done in the world than he ever will, most likely. But occasionally he can't help thinking about it. ]

I mean... what I mean is... does it make me seem, I don't know. Small?

[umbrastaff]

[He's right on the money on that one.]

I know, right? I fucking love watching them squirm when you ace every test.

[Lup wink at him again, but then looks a little softer at Cisco.]

Hey, fuck no. You should be excited. It's a day for you, where it's socially acceptable to celebrate how fucking dope you are. Live the dream, Cisco.

Make it fucking shine.

[franciscoramon]

Oh yeah, that's pretty much the best feeling ever. No, actually, you know what was the best? Scoring a sweet job after you graduate and knowing, just knowing at least one of those assholes definitely heard about it. Like, hell yeah, success is the best - what's the phrase? Success is the best... is the best 'fuck you' to your haters.

[ He imagines Lup must have had a moment like that, getting the placement she did at IPRE and then on the Starblaster. Impossible as it is to imagine, she must have had her fair share of haters, burning with jealousy, watching her living her best life. ]

See that must be why you don't care about birthdays anymore. 'Cause... you're so dope every day. And every day of being friends with you's like... celebrating that dopeness.

[ Cheesy? Yes. But he seems to really mean it. ]

[umbrastaff]

Hell yeaaaah, I wish I could have seen some of their faces when I got a place in the Starblaster crew. Must have made them really eat their fucking words.

[She got to prove everyone wrong. It was the best part, followed by the worst part since everyone died.

Lup makes an amused huff as Cisco mentions how rad she is - because of course?]

Damn Cisco, that was quesadilla levels of cheese. I love it. It's pretty fucking dope to be your friend to, my man... but it also means I gotta get you an even doper gift!

What's on your wish list?

[franciscoramon]

[ He laughs when she calls it quesadilla levels of cheese, because she's super right, and considers the gift question carefully. There's not a whole lot he needs, really. He's about to tell her her friendship is the best gift of all and insist she doesn't need to get him something when an idea occurs to him: ]

You can make magic stuff, right? Like... what's the word? It's got art in it. Art... iculating? No. Dammit!

[ He's really struggling here, then abruptly give it up, throwing his hands into the air. ]

I don't remember the world for making magic stuff but could you make me a magic blowtorch to use when I'm building stuff? I've gone through like three of them since I got to this moon and they keep crapping out on me.

[umbrastaff]

Oh, you mean artificing? Sure, I could give that a whirl.

[She grins at him, a little excited to get to work with magical items again.]

Taako's gonna have to help me with it, and I think I'm gonna need a blow torch to start with unless you want like... a fire stick.

[franciscoramon]

Artificing! Yes! That's it!

[ He had been pretty close to getting it right! Almost! ]

I can give you the blowtorch I've got right now, or a fire stick's cool. Just - a fire thingy! Any fire thingy! But if you want it you can come by my workshop tomorrow morning.

[ On second thought... ]

Actually uhhhh probably tomorrow afternoon. Pretty sure I'm gonna still be drunk when the sun comes up.

[umbrastaff]

You might not get it back in a while, so better in you just give me the specs on what you need from a blowtorch and we'll go from there.

[Fingerguns!]

Aww, birthday hangovers. Good memories.

[franciscoramon]

Okay, okay, specs. I can do specs. I love specs!

[ He clearly means every word of that. You can take the boy out of the workshop... ]

Lup, I love you, but you crazy! I cannot think of a single hangover I've had in my life that was a good memory!

[ Seriously, who thinks of a hangover with fondness? The wild nights that cause them, sure, but not the hangover itself! ]

[umbrastaff]

You're awesome, send them on my phone and we'll see what kind of fun shit we can do.

[He's such a dork, she loves it.

His next words makes her laugh, though, and she tries her best to not lose her phone.]

Hey, it's a reminder of what a good time you had! Plus it means you can have Taako's hangover cure, and I love the taste of that mess.