Loki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
complicatedliar) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
revivalproject2019-09-01 04:02 pm
complicatedliar) wrote in revivalproject2019-09-01 04:02 pm
Message in a Bottle
Who: Loki and... you?
What: Getting the lay of the land
When: 5-6 days after people started arriving
Where: Proximal to the fountain, areas nearby
Warnings: None at this time; will update if necessary
It's a sad commentary on Loki's life that this is not the first, second, or even hundredth time he's awoken in a place with no idea where he is or notion how he got there. Until the last few decades, such awakenings had normally involved Thor, Sif, Iofast, and a lot of mead. In more recent times, it had gotten distressingly less about being tricked into drinking too much and more about being kidnapped, or having his mind overtaken by something, or worse.
His first reaction on opening his eyes is to feel frantically at the back of his neck as he sorts things through. No port. And here is his magic, still hot in his blood. And this is most definitely no ruined Proles, despite any outward similarities; the lack of dome makes that abundantly clear even before he gets a good look at the buildings.
And then there's that glowing sphere...
He finds himself up on his feet and touching the thing before he's processed that it might be a bad idea, and that takes his estimate of the situation from one of concern to near-emergency. Even as information floods his brain, unasked for and unwelcome, he's tearing himself away from the thing.
No matter how angry he is, this at least answers a few questions. He has to admit that in the privacy of his own head, even if he hates it. Loki retreats to the top of one of the nearby ruined buildings, hiding in an illusion, in order to brood.
He isn't the only one here. He hears the voices of others, even observes a few from afar. But he has no way of knowing how friendly they might be. Are there others from home about? Others from Proles? He can hardly dare hope. But standing in the square and shouting Hello is most certainly not his style. And this place appears to lack the convenient internet of Earth or network of Proles, which had made anonymously testing the waters much safer. His bread and butter is paranoia, and nothing that's happened to him in recent years has done anything but strengthen that feeling.
So, best to leave a calling card and see who might pick it up.
He waits until the square is deserted and returns to the fountain. It seems the best source of fresh water, so it will no doubt be visited often by whomever is around. After some consideration, he's decided that the assumption that most of the people he's observed are some format of human seems fair, so that's the best language to address his message in.
Using a bit of magic, he leave the following emblazoned on one edge of the fountain:
~ LINGORMR
Then he retreats back to his observational post to see what happens, again cloaked and hidden. The magical effect of it is obvious to anyone who has the skill; it would do well for him to see what compatriots--or enemies--he might have around.
[ooc note: the equation is the time-dependent, one-dimensional version of Schrödinger's equation.]
What: Getting the lay of the land
When: 5-6 days after people started arriving
Where: Proximal to the fountain, areas nearby
Warnings: None at this time; will update if necessary
It's a sad commentary on Loki's life that this is not the first, second, or even hundredth time he's awoken in a place with no idea where he is or notion how he got there. Until the last few decades, such awakenings had normally involved Thor, Sif, Iofast, and a lot of mead. In more recent times, it had gotten distressingly less about being tricked into drinking too much and more about being kidnapped, or having his mind overtaken by something, or worse.
His first reaction on opening his eyes is to feel frantically at the back of his neck as he sorts things through. No port. And here is his magic, still hot in his blood. And this is most definitely no ruined Proles, despite any outward similarities; the lack of dome makes that abundantly clear even before he gets a good look at the buildings.
And then there's that glowing sphere...
He finds himself up on his feet and touching the thing before he's processed that it might be a bad idea, and that takes his estimate of the situation from one of concern to near-emergency. Even as information floods his brain, unasked for and unwelcome, he's tearing himself away from the thing.
No matter how angry he is, this at least answers a few questions. He has to admit that in the privacy of his own head, even if he hates it. Loki retreats to the top of one of the nearby ruined buildings, hiding in an illusion, in order to brood.
He isn't the only one here. He hears the voices of others, even observes a few from afar. But he has no way of knowing how friendly they might be. Are there others from home about? Others from Proles? He can hardly dare hope. But standing in the square and shouting Hello is most certainly not his style. And this place appears to lack the convenient internet of Earth or network of Proles, which had made anonymously testing the waters much safer. His bread and butter is paranoia, and nothing that's happened to him in recent years has done anything but strengthen that feeling.
So, best to leave a calling card and see who might pick it up.
He waits until the square is deserted and returns to the fountain. It seems the best source of fresh water, so it will no doubt be visited often by whomever is around. After some consideration, he's decided that the assumption that most of the people he's observed are some format of human seems fair, so that's the best language to address his message in.
Using a bit of magic, he leave the following emblazoned on one edge of the fountain:
~ LINGORMRThen he retreats back to his observational post to see what happens, again cloaked and hidden. The magical effect of it is obvious to anyone who has the skill; it would do well for him to see what compatriots--or enemies--he might have around.
[ooc note: the equation is the time-dependent, one-dimensional version of Schrödinger's equation.]
no subject
no subject
"I--I'm sorry about your world. I really am!" she adds in a softer tone, because she is nothing if not sympathetic to the pain of others. The icy formation behind her melts with a gentle slosh as Katara folds in on herself, arms crossed over her stomach, shoulders hunched, head bowed. "I just... I have to believe that the Agrii aren't all bad, or I don't think I could stand it."
no subject
Really, what the outburst has told him is very solidly what sort of person Katara is, and also how best she might be manipulated, has he a need. She's solidly the sort of self-consciously good hero that can be useful when pointed in the right direction, but is an absolute nightmare to deal with when in charge because they have no conception of expedience or ugly necessities.
Thor, he thinks, would like her. So would Steve Rogers. He might end up liking her himself, with the same sort of exasperated fondness with which he regards the previous two. People like Katara are useful for monsters to keep around, to keep themselves securely cloaked in their people-skins.
"Sometimes it's necessary to believe all sorts of things to maintain one's sanity. We each do what we must in order to survive. But I must gently point out that it is a foolish idea to depend on the goodness of people who practice kidnapping."
no subject
"I am sorry about what's happened on your world, though," she says gently, her brow furrowing. "I understand what it's like, watching your home be destroyed." The scent of burning fur and flesh is one that will never entirely leave her, after all. "I hope you're able to get back to them as soon as possible."
He's not wrong about needing to hold certain beliefs to survive, but Katara also doesn't want to let herself be fooled or misled. She thinks back to her experience with Jet, and how believing him had nearly resulted in an Earth Kingdom town being wiped out. It was only Sokka's quick thinking that had saved the people, even if the buildings were flooded. On the other hand, she knows it's possible to forgive and make amends with once-hated people. Zuko is proof of that.
"Maybe it is foolish," she agrees, accepting the lesson without further argument. "But even if that's true, and they are bad people, I do know that everyone I've met that they've brought here so far has been good and kind... or at least they've seemed that way. We don't have much right now, and we've got to stick together if we're going to survive. If helping the Agrii means helping ourselves, then I guess that's what we'll do."
With a sweeping gesture, she summons the water she'd deposited back in the fountain, making a streaming loop. "I was just about to go water the plants in the greenhouse," she says, nodding to a nearby building. "If you're hungry, you can come along and I'll show you some of the best fruits and vegetables to eat."
no subject
He nods his agreement to her point. It was similar in Proles. He offers with a brief, toothy grin, "Friendships have been founded on worse ground than a common enemy."
Loki rises to his feet, sweeping his coat gracefully back. "That would be lovely. I like plants."