Please post
Time is the prompt
This is from my phone. I’ll do better.
Okay so
Unlimited budget
Special effects
All take place in the time of one kiss
Go!
*************
I've been working with the
previous posts for Duncan and Jeffrey in order to hack them into scenes, along
with a bunch of new material to tie it all together, with an actual arc for
their relationship and Jeffrey's induction into more responsible paganism. Here's part one of the three...
*************
The wiccan supply store.
DUNCAN finishes his last phone call.
DUNCAN
OK,
none of the other stores in town have this one thing either.
JEFFREY
Special
order then?
DUNCAN
I
got one last thing I can try before be have to go straight to the manufacturer.
JEFFREY
Which
is - ?
DUNCAN
Stores
in nearby cities. We all have a kind of
informal network. Help each other out
when things like this come up.
JEFFREY
So
there's more places you can call?
DUNCAN
Handful
of 'em yeah. Maybe we'll get lucky.
DUNCAN starts getting his directory.
JEFFREY
Thank
you so much.
DUNCAN
You're
lucky it's a slow day so far.
And
that you're cute.
JEFFREY
Never
realized I had that as part of my arsenal.
DUNCAN
I
find that hard to believe.
JEFFREY
You're
sweet.
DUNCAN
You
need to think more of yourself.
JEFFREY
Duly
noted.
So
are they places you can call now?
DUNCAN
We
open a little earlier than most places.
JEFFREY
Part
of why I came here.
DUNCAN
Part
of why.
JEFFREY
You're
cute, too.
DUNCAN
Early
start time means the stores in the other cities aren't open just yet for me to
call.
JEFFREY
But
you called the other local places.
DUNCAN
I
know most of those folks personally. I
used some cell numbers rather than waiting on the stores to open.
JEFFREY
Thanks.
DUNCAN
Well,
you're cute.
JEFFREY
Really
cute, apparently.
DUNCAN
I
can give you a call later when I'm done checking with the other stores.
JEFFREY
Can
I hang out here?
DUNCAN
Sure.
JEFFREY
You're
cute, too.
DUNCAN
So
you said.
They smile at each other.
DUNCAN (cont'd)
Your
situation? This is why I worry about
solo practitioners striking out on their own.
JEFFREY
We
screw up.
DUNCAN
Well,
you got the spell right but yeah, you still screwed up. There are stages of training with a coven or
at least a decent mentor. A year and a
day.
JEFFREY
A
year and a day?
DUNCAN
Yeah,
because it normally takes at least that long to fully understand what you're
screwing around with.
JEFFREY
People's
hearts, and relationships.
DUNCAN
All
that, yes. But worse, actually. Free will.
JEFFREY
Pagans
are very big on free will.
DUNCAN
Well,
think about it. You ditched the
traditional church you grew up in -
JEFFREY
It
ditched me, actually.
DUNCAN
OK
then. You got yourself out from under a
restrictive orthodoxy that was trying to tell you what to do so you can better
exercise your own free will to live and worship as you choose and then -
JEFFREY
And then I concoct a potion that takes away someone else's free will.
And then I concoct a potion that takes away someone else's free will.
DUNCAN
Exactly.
JEFFREY
But
why is there a spell if you're not supposed to use it?
DUNCAN
It's
the way you use it. I mean dress
designers use scissors. But they use
them to cut fabric, they don't use them to stab people.
JEFFREY
So,
are love spells ever a good idea?
DUNCAN
Not
really. There are two basic categories,
and one is less horrible and invasive than the other, but they've both got
their problems.
JEFFREY
And
the one I gave to Micah, who gave it to Auggie -
DUNCAN
Was
the horrible, invasive one, yeah.
I
mean, you see why, now, right?
JEFFREY
Yeah?
DUNCAN
OK,
so with an attraction spell, where Micah gets Auggie to fall in love with him,
Micah's hurting Auggie, and himself, and everyone in their immediate social
circle, for starters. I mean, at least
he's not keeping it a secret, and he's trying to undo - or rather he's got you
trying to undo it for him, but -
JEFFREY
He's
messing with Auggie's free will.
DUNCAN
Yes,
exactly. And he's messing with Auggie's
wife Sarah, and their unborn child.
Auggie already made a decision to build a life with someone, and it
wasn't Micah. Say we didn't undo things
- how do you explain this mess to a kid?
JEFFREY
But
these two guys have always been close.
DUNCAN
Well,
you've screwed that up now, too.
By
encouraging this delusion, Micah's screwing with a serious friendship, he's
cutting himself off from other potential guys, most of whom one would hope
actually have the advantage of being gay and possibly being interested in him
JEFFREY
-
without the need for mind-altering chemicals being used.
DUNCAN
But
instead, he's turning himself into something Auggie wants instead, with the
added downside of now being the kind of person who would do something stupid,
thoughtless and selfish like this. When
the dust settles, you and he and Auggie and Sarah all have to find a way to
live with that less than flattering information.
JEFFREY
Setting
aside being Auggie-specific for a second, what if a person just cast a spell to
attract "the right person" to them?
DUNCAN
We
still talking about Micah?
JEFFREY
Let's
say we are.
DUNCAN
That's
slightly less problematic, but only slightly.
You need to be super specific - because you also want to be sure that
the spell means that you'll recognize that "right person" if they do
cross your path - and of course, there's no guarantee they'll cross your path
right away. I mean, if they were already
in your orbit, you might have met them and have no need for an attraction spell
in the first place. And if you wouldn't normally
meet such a person in your day to day life, well, I mean, if you meet the right
person twenty years from now, that doesn't do you a ton of good, but the spell
still technically worked.
JEFFREY
So
it's not much more useful than a gay dating app.
DUNCAN
Not
really, not unless you're extremely lucky.
JEFFREY
And
if you're extremely lucky, what do you need a spell for?
DUNCAN
Now,
a self-love spell that you cast on yourself, that could be useful.
JEFFREY
Confidence
builder?
DUNCAN
Absolutely,
helps make you more aware of the romantic possibilities that come your way, AND
makes you feel more worthy of being a potential catch when love comes
calling. Plus you may be having so much
fun getting to know yourself better, you may not feel so pressed to spend all
your time looking for a partner. You can
hang out with yourself and let the other guys find you.
JEFFREY
So
when you say self-love -
DUNCAN
I
didn't mean masturbation, no. Not that
there's anything wrong with that.
JEFFREY
So
casting the love spell inward, rather than outward, that's OK.
DUNCAN
That
kind of self-love spell we just talked about, yes. The other kind, not so much.
JEFFREY
The
other kind?
DUNCAN
It's
the same kind of ill-considered life hack as the spell Micah inflicted on
Auggie, just in reverse. It's basically
designed to "make me the kind of person this other guy would love."
JEFFREY
Changing
yourself for another person.
DUNCAN
Never
a good idea, with or without magic.
JEFFREY
Because
if it works -
DUNCAN
Then
you're either stuck pretending to be something that you're not for the length
of your "relationship" or you revert to your true self at some point
because you just can't stand it anymore, and then your beloved thinks you've
pulled a bait and switch on 'em. Why would
you want to do that to yourself, or them?
JEFFREY
Once
again, nobody's happy.
DUNCAN
Nope,
not really.
JEFFREY
Love's
hard enough -
DUNCAN
-
without needlessly complicating things.
Micah's
your friend. Don't you think he deserves
better?
Don't
you?
JEFFREY
Yeah. I guess.
DUNCAN
You're
feeling like crap now. I get that. It's good that you're bothered by it. Means you won't do it again.
JEFFREY
Absolutely
not. No.
(pause)
Time
to call yet?
DUNCAN
Not
quite yet, no.
DUNCAN smiles, hopefully.
DUNCAN (cont'd)
Still
feel like waiting.
JEFFREY smiles, shyly.
JEFFREY
Yeah.
(to be continued)
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