thoughtformed | (no subject)

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"Oh Hel," is what he says to himself as he runs. Not much later, there's a number of text messages sent out. He's become good at typing and running.

He was out of time.

-

TO: Kate, Billy, Scott, Homura
FROM: Loki

It may be for the best if you don't let him know that you're affiliated with me. He may not like it, and he doesn't take well to things he doesn't like.

TO: Aradia
FROM: Loki

You spoke briefly of your powers that control the stream of Time. Tell me of them. In summary. A very concise summary.

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[ah! there's a glance of surprise again, but he keeps pace with her this time, keeping his mind from imagining all the terrible possibilities now that he was stuck on an island with himself.]

Your Evil-Self was also a magpie? [there's a quirk of his lips.] Or a frog, perhaps.

No no, all mes were frog, at some point in their timelines.

[She's more than happy to do anything to distract him, even though trolls have never been quite so touchy; the point is to put him at ease so she can catch him off guard again and interrogate him later.]

But I know the feeling, of seeing someone you'd never want to see again, with the power to make your life very difficult. I have a Doc Scratch.

[he's a bit stiff, though it's hard to tell if it's because of his awkwardness with physical affection or the surprise arrival of the other Loki. it's hard to get his thoughts together. the touching is helping, because he keeps focusing on it.]

Yes, the gentleman with the spherical head. I've seen him.

[Stiff or no stiff, she's dragging him into the theater anyway for tickets. They probably stand out a little bit, but they're short enough to blend in with some of the crowd, or get lost anyway.]

Yes, that's Scratch. Don't ever speak to him.

[oh, whoops. there's no change in his expression.]

Then he must also be evil. This island likes to collect them and not let them go.

[he waits with her patiently, trying to figure out how exactly to hold his arm. he hasn't quite figured it out yet.]

[And the only contact she's had since she died was with Equius, who couldn't touch her properly. They're both going to have to be content with slight awkwardness with this.

Paying, paying.]

He could be much much worse. What do you want to see?

That's of some comfort.

[oh, Midgardian film. he hadn't really ever seen one in the theatre—and instead he spent most of his time downloading whatever suited his fancy onto his pad of I. most of the time his brother did not approve.]

We could see something with a happy ending.

[There's a long list of movies, but with the titles so short it's hard for Aradia to know exactly what the movies are all about. Anything that looks like it has a colorful poster should be happy, though, right? This is logical.

And its late, for movies like that, so they'll probably end up with a theater all to themselves to talk in.]

Probably for the best. I don't see any obvious con movies anyway. Do those count as happy endings for you?

[And she hustles him in with tickets to go get snacks.]

[a movie really wouldn't distract him, as much as he would've liked it too. there was a lot on his mind—many questions that remained unanswered, and many emotions that he didn't wish to deal with in such a foreign place. it was scary, he was scared, and what Loki could do scared him.

he follows her to get food, and brightens considerably at the selection. he does eat like the god that he is, so it was a large soda and a popcorn that he could hardly fit his arms around. they were now far away from the prying eyes of a camera, and far from those who would suspect that they would be having any kind of interesting conversation.

of course, everything in the New Moore movie theatre had to be at least ten, fifteen years old... but both of them were none-the-wiser.]

I can't really muster the strength to argue. It's too hard.

[Aradia wouldn't know how old the movies were, or care. Sometimes even just pretending to have a distraction helps, and she's pretty sure she can get him to open up somehow or other. That's the whole goal, and she kind of bullies him and his snacks along to find seats in the empty theater.]

I'm sorry to say that if you tried I would just override you anyway. It's my date. You kind of owe me a bit!

[an odd way to replay someone, but he has no complaints. he sinks back in the seat and lets his shoulders slump, tugging his hood over his face.]

I'm aware. It seems that I owe quite a few people a bit now.

[She lets him sit for awhile, silent. And then she gently reaches out and pulls his hood back down, off his head.]

That's what friends do, Loki.

[there had always been someone who wanted something from him. with those he aligned himself with, there was always an uneasy tension—save two. Thor, who had never asked anything of him, and Leah, who had been his BFF, though their alliance was forced by the hand of Hela. having someone do something for him without asking anything for return, even if their consequence of that action was the satisfaction of doing the right thing, was not something that he was used to.]

Not all of them are so easily sated by my company, m'lady. ...Though...

...

Thank you.

[Aradia smiles gently, getting ready to strike while the iron is hot. Maybe it's a little cruel, to get to him this way, but she means well by it, and her intentions are good, and it never occurs to Aradia to doubt that what she does is wrong.]

You're welcome. You do think we're friends, though, don't you?

[when he looks at her he looks relatively innocent, as if he hadn't just composed a plan last minute to expose his Evil-Self to all of New Moore.]

Of course, it's like you said. Do not doubt it.

[his emotions ran deeply, and he was able to think of many things to get him out of tough situations. he was far less calculating than his Evil-Self, and it made him versatile. it also made him emotionally gullible. where his Other-Self is fiercely guarded, he's open. it could have been the accumulation of bitterness throughout the ages, or simply something that he had unintentionally resigned himself to.]

I don't doubt it. You trusted me to save your life when you thought you would be in danger. That means a lot to me.

[That's not even a lie, either.]

You also promised me once that you would never do anything to harm me and mine. I believe that. But your other self is a different story, isn't he?

[he puts a hand to his head and breaths again.]

I haven't exactly earned the best reputation through the ages, no. He's a murderer, a being consumed by bitterness. Where there is no bitterness, there is selfishness. He lives and dies only for himself and nothing else. And in the void of his emptiness, he wishes nothing but to destroy.

[he regards her for a moment, and then says:]

But here, there is no where for him to go. He won't do well being confined, especially not to Midgard.

[She looks back at him seriously in the darkness, with big dark alien eyes and the light from the screen flickering across her face.]

Then by helping you, I've put myself in danger, haven't I?

[And she tightens the noose of emotional manipulation.]

[he brings his knees up, his arms hanging over them. he looks forward at the screen, though he doesn't look like he's paying much attention to the movie. it's just background noise.]

I placed you where he would not know. With your abilities, I was certain that he would not see you at all. I'm sorry, but I ... don't wish to die yet.

[It's a little bit cruel, what she does next. More than a little bit cruel.]

I put myself and everyone I knew at risk, if he could find out. If you trust me, if you want me to protect you- the way I want to protect you- you need to tell me what's going on. The whole story, from you. I already know most of it now anyway. [She pauses.] I don't want you to die either. I don't want anyone to die. I don't want to die, but I would die to prevent that.

Then we are not far from the same.

[there was a lot she didn't know—but there were things he didn't want to tell her. they were things he didn't want to face himself, either, not yet. Loki was very good at running, and if he could do so in the way where the extremity of the circumstances would not crush him under their weight. so each time he wiggled free and ran.

he stops, just for a moment, to collect his thoughts.]

I am Loki, God of Chaos. He is the same. Before I came to be, there was him, and his hatred for everything. And so he devised an evil plan to destroy Asgard. Of course, destroying the realm of the gods is no easy task, so there were many nefarious details that had to be set into motion. He struck a deal with Hela, whose duty was to the realm of the dead, and destroyed his soul's path to Valhalla. He unleashed a force so destructive upon the realm, that it tore it from its very roots, but in the end he sacrificed himself to save it.

And so the story goes that his soul found its way to Earth, and was reborn as a boy who lived as a street rat in the bowels of Paris. It's as I heard, anyway.

[She struggles with what to do, with how far she should push or how much of his attention she can rightfully command. Of course he'll keep secrets; she wouldn't tell him everything if she were in his position either. But it's dangerous. She can't risk him holding out too much, either.

Psychically she pushes his legs down, pins him back in the seat as she flips the cup holder between them up, and settles herself on his knees. It feels weird to her, considering the last person she had this kind of contact with was Equius (poor Equius), and it must feel weird to him, but she wants his full, undivided attention.]

And you don't remember any of this, do you?

[he hadn't really expected this, though he had been in this position before. it was demanding of him, but he wasn't entirely sure what to offer in response. his breath stops and he studies her face. if she had meant to throw him for a loop, she got her wish.]

My Evil-Self had a millennia to consider how people had slighted him. I've had less than two years.

[She blocks out the screen, with the large swell of her horns and her hair, expression purposely obscured in shadows with the barely there glimmer of the smallest of psychic exertion, holding this position. He'll have to listen to read her, he'll have to pay attention.]

What does that mean? It doesn't answer my question.

It means that I do not. That if I do, I may fall into the same spiral.

[though he sounds tired at the end of those last words, but he doesn't look away, even if saying them makes him uncomfortable.]