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[gameplaying]

[ loki's been here long enough to have taken note of the fact that thor is here (two of him); frigga — his mother — is here; less importantly, tony stark, bruce banner, and natasha romanoff are here; and somewhere between in all: another loki is here. each presence in and of itself would be enough to influence his introduction, to play a part in how he decides to present himself, but all at once requires a touch more consideration, a careful balance between appearances and wants. different timelines — interesting — and different universes could play to his advantage, but—

there's a drawn-out silence, whilst loki's gaze runs pointedly over the console, eyes narrowing briefly; he looks very much as if he's considering something and, at length, he lets out an audible sigh punctuated by a brief raising of his shoulders in a lazy, arrogant shrug of sorts. ]

—A turtle. [ dryly, with the barest hint of amusement and the momentary curling of the corners of his lips — because really. ] I admit, it's not quite where I expected to find myself, but given the alternative, I can't really complain. Perhaps one small act of redemption can do much more than one imagines. [ or not, and he can definitely complain because he had what he wanted and now he's on a giant turtle and that is very much Not According to Plan and thus super uncool. fuck this place, man.

nevertheless, he pauses momentarily, (feigned) hesitation gracing his features before giving way to a brief twitch of a smile. ] I've heard word that my brother — Thor — is here. [ a beat; he leans slightly closer towards the camera. ] Tell me, did we win? Malekith, the Aether—. [ a loose wave of his hand and he leans back again. asking about odin would take it beyond the bounds of believability, so he falls silent, glancing away from the console for a moment. ]

If he's otherwise indisposed, please: tell him that Loki wishes to see him. [ THAT'S IT he's totally going to pretend he hasn't stalked the fuck out of finding out who's here. ]

Comments

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[mightythinice]

Which Thor? There are two of 'em here.

[She knows very little about Loki, except that she'd helped one of the Thors look for his Loki back once upon a time.]

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[gameplaying]

[ potentially, there are so many ways to answer that question, the most appealing being some version of: THE IDIOT, but thor being thor, loki is going to assume that's a universal constant, so.

you know. ]

Do both claim to be of Asgard? [ WITH MILD CURIOSITY. ]

[angermanaging]

[Wonderful. This is exactly who he wants to see. Bruce had known in the back of his head that eventually another clone of Loki would have to show up again-- that's just the way his life worked-- but this time, he had the knowledge of what had happened in New York, and he wasn't about to be duped.

He doesn't try to pretend anything, just responds with a flat, composed look.] Which act of redemption would that be? [he asks calmly.]

[gameplaying]

[ loki doesn't respond immediately to bruce — he's silent, deliberately so, for a few moments. at the first few sounds of bruce's voice, loki's lips purse momentarily, the corners twitching upwards in a quick, fleeting expression of amusement: hello, bruce.

at length, he inhales (audibly) before exhaling and fixing his gaze on bruce. ] Aiding Thor [ beat.], saving Jane Foster. [ pause; though level, there's a degree of smugness to his tone that he doesn't bother to entirely disguise. ] The All-Father desired the destruction of an entire planet and we three alone stood in his way. [ bruce do you love the smell of embellishment ]

[manofiron]

I thought the point was that he isn't your brother. You need to make up your mind.

[gameplaying]

I've had a little time to reflect.

[guiltapalooza]

[Willow, on the other hand, is much less skeptical than Bruce. She's close with the other Loki, and although she knows he has a villainous destiny, she also knows he's determined to evade that. She has no reason to think another Loki would feel differently because she's naive and trusting. Plus, she's met his mom, and Frigga is a lovely mother.

Still, this doesn't look much like the one she knows, and Willow is visibly surprised-- and curious.] Loki? I know a, another one. Who's here. I'm assuming alternative universes are pretty been there, done that for you.

Thor is here, yeah. Two of him. And your mom.

WOW I CAN READ

[gameplaying]

They're nothing I'd encountered before awakening here. [ kid loki: fantastic pr, albeit something of a blow to loki's misguided, inflated ego and general GOD belief, which is why he's just going to believe that the other thor and the other loki are namesakes and nothing more. ] Two Thors. [ beat. ] I'm impressed the city still stands.

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[alwaysmother]

Loki...

[It's going to take her a moment or two to absorb this because...yeah, color her surprised. Happy and surprised.

She didn't want her youngest rotting in a prison anyway, if she were to be honest with herself, but knowing what she knows she's also expecting tension. An explosion. A fight. Anything untoward just simmering beneath the surface just waiting to emerge.]

Your brother...Thor...he has been present on the World Turtle for some time now.

video; « spoilers for the dark world »

[gameplaying]

[ THIS WAS FOR YOU, MOTHER—

(except not. it was an entirely self-serving broadcast designed to — hopefully — draw out those familiar with thor and with himself; to gauge the lay of the land, so to speak, and for that, the illusion of composure and of acceptance in line with that which thor would believe had happened on svartalfheim was necessary, at least for the time.)

this bit, though — frigga — he thought he was ready for. prepared to see her face and hear her voice after thor and odin had failed to do their duties as protectors of asgard. if nothing else, he'd thought he'd be able to play at composure, as he had in all conversations over this device thus far.

he doesn't quite manage it: there's a moment — "loki" — he falters, when his eyes widen and narrow, when he leans in to the console (this time the movement is quick and impulsive, meant to study her image for imperfections and falsification. he wouldn't put it past thor to miss an illusion or trickery, but—). it lasts only seconds and when he sits back in the chair, when he adopts the pretence of comfort, his expression has settled back into deliberate levelness.

mother is — was — on the tip of his tongue, but he remembers their last (final) conversation, and he swallows it; equally, he wants to point out that he and thor aren't brothers, a reaction built entirely upon a desire to be contrary and to correct, because they weren't and hearing her refer to them as a lie bothers him in ways that building an illusion for all else on tu vishan to buy will never. he doesn't, though — it would do nothing for his greater goals.

so he skips entirely over the subject of thor and kinship, resists the urge to comment on how cute a family reunion it will be and how all they need is odin. ]

The World Turtle. [ repeated at length, then, with a slight lift of his chin and no small degree of mocking in his tone. a beat. ] You don't truly believe that, do you? [ any of it. all of it. ]

[6collegecredits]

[Ew. Loki. Another one. One possibly from her side of the universe, meaning the guy who kind of tried to destroy Earth a few times. This should be fun.]

And to think, Jane isn't here to meet all the in-laws.

[gameplaying]

[ THAT WAS ONLY THE ONCE OKAY the other time was just a bit of a temper tantrum and earth was in the way god. get over it, man.

NEVERTHELESS: he eyes darcy for a few moments, a smile — ostensibly amused, though a little too self-satisfied to be friendly — briefly gracing his features. ]

We've met. [ SHORT AND TO THE POINT. ] A difficult woman to forget. [ a pause, and then— ] Though I don't remember you.

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[superieure]

It's a veritable soap opera, isn't it?

[She's seated at her console, looking over him. He's older than the other Loki - the one she's met here - but younger than the one she's seen in the files, back home. It stands to reason he's from the same universe as the younger Thor. Monet likes him; even if she does think he's a bit thick.]

Unfortunately one can't quite write the usual letters of complaint - there's been a change in upper management.

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[gameplaying]

[ for his part, he regards her for the length of time it takes her to speak, although his expression remains relatively impassive bar a quick quirk of his lips at her very first remark. ]

Though no doubt the problems will remain the same.

[video]

[unconchonable]

Loki? [There's obvious detest in his voice, as if the name itself tasted foul. His expression only aids the apparent distaste.]

Can't say you look much like the Loki I know -- you're far older -- but I'm aware this place got itself a habit a bringin' in alternates. [While he hasn't interacted with the Thor duo, he does know of their existence through typical network lurking and the like.]

Hopefully you ain't such a fuckin' pan-ache inducin' pain in the flippin' ass as he is. [Surely this answers what Loki was looking for. Yes. Eridan is helpful like that.]

[video]

[gameplaying]

[ he'd prefer it if pain in the ass was directed at thor, but fine. WHATEVER ERIDAN. fwiw loki is certain that the other loki is him in nothing but name because otherwise wow, that's a blow to the ego.

NEVERTHELESS: at the evident distaste, loki's eyebrows dart up, a mixture of mild scepticism and a lot of O RLY playing at his features until eridan finishes. before loki responds, he settles back in his chair a little further, apparent comfort taking precedence over conversational courtesy. ]

Far be it for me to comment on my own flaws and merits

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[veryveryfrightening]

[Hearing his brother’s voice on the network isn’t surprising, the young trickster made use of it every now and then. Hearing his actual brother’s older voice grabbed Thor’s attention immediately, and he can only stare at his monitor. From what the younger Loki had told him of aging himself up, Thor’s immediate thought is just that. But it all gets washed away when he hears the question regarding the future he saw.

There before him, much like his mother earlier on, is someone he thought to be dead.

It’s some time before he actually answers, most of it spent reflecting on what he saw of them; Loki’s last words.]

…we did. [The words are statement, fact. Something he hesitated on because saying ‘we’ felt like a lie even though it wasn’t. There’s so much he wants to say, but these consoles are so confining to him, the network a bulky form of communication that poorly imitates speaking in person.]

Where have they placed you, brother?

Video;

[gameplaying]

[ o 'sup thor.


much like thor, loki doesn't respond immediately, although his own silence is due less to hesitance and more to the necessity to take a moment and appreciate the fact that thor uses 'we'; that there's no immediate trace of displeasure in his voice; that he refers to loki as brother; that, evidently, whilst alternate universes are a thing, they are from — it would appear — the same and that thor is unaware still that odin is no longer seated on the throne of asgard and that it is now — rightfully — loki's.

(and though he'd told thor that satisfaction wasn't in his nature, that knowledge is satisfying for the moment.)

at length, then, he lets out a breath and nods; it's a slight movement of acknowledgement and nothing more. ]

Good. [ short, simple, to the point. there will be nothing that thor can tell him that will come as a surprise; the affairs of earth are wholly uninteresting to him and now that asgard is his— meeting with thor will be a decidedly more simple affair than even he'd imagined. ] The fire district, I believe. [ a brief twitch of his lips. ] Evidently, they're not without a sense of irony.

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[knewtoomuch]

[Well, at least some of those names ring a bell. Seeing the video, he understands this one to not be the one from his own world.]

I kind of like the turtle better than the alternative myself. What's this act of redemption? Was it a heroic death?

[He hopes it is. Those made for the absolute best stories.]

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[gameplaying]

Sacrifices are rated quite highly on the scale of heroics, are they not? [ half a question, half a statement in tone; entirely self-satisfied. ]

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[parallels]

An act of redemption and you wind up in turtle land. It's not exactly poetic.

[She sounds amused but agreeable. It is probably better than a few places she could imagine coming to after death.]

Thor's here. Spoke to him once or twice. Nice enough. [And handsome.]

video

[gameplaying]

It's better than Hel. [ which is, in truth, debatable; hel would at least exist within the realms that loki is familiar with and he could imagine finding a way to escape hela's clutches, be it through words or trickery or magic. tu vishan, on the other hand, is something else entirely, exists somewhere else entirely, and leaving it, he suspects, is going to be party to its own difficulties.

regardless: his tone is relatively light and amused, and the remark is punctuated by a momentary quirk of his lips — not quite a smile, but a fleeting expression of amusement nonetheless. ] Better company, one might say. [ less violent company. and wow now that's just rude. loki is totally handsome in a thin, pale, angular and prone-to-bad-hair way....... ] One might say he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box, though — a trait I suspect isn't entirely unrelated to the ability to wield Mjölnir.

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[dow]

Greetings. I am Spock, familiar with your brother and loosely informed of the somewhat antiquated Terran tales of Asgard in Norse mythology. [ And because he's nosy and reads peoples' conversations like a good First Officer; ] Am I correct in inferring that you are Loki, a member of the same pantheon worshiped for his penchant of mischief? The so-called Trickster God.

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[gameplaying]

The one and the same — although one should be wary of believing all that they read, should they not?

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[everylittlegirl]

You must be the Loki that wants to take over the world.

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[gameplaying]

New York was something of a misunderstanding, I think I ought to say.

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[definingfuture]

Oh. Well, that just figures. [The couldn't just stick to the good guys, huh? Damn.]

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[gameplaying]

Not to your liking? [ a pause. ] Sadly, I think, satisfaction can be a little hard to come by.