[ There's a very long pause there, and it is a good thing then that the crystal doesn't transmit video as Sylvie goes through a range of emotions, licking her lips and clenching and unclenching her hands before she pulls her heels back up onto her bed, hugging her knees as she lets the crystal swing from her fingers. ]
The quiet ones, where people went out like a candle snuffed, were my most frequented. The screaming and dredge of society collapsing bit by bit wears on you; and just makes everything significantly more risky.
[ He imagines that 'used to' means that she has one now. He imagines that favorite is Lamentis-1, despite all the missteps he made, and he imagines it hasn't been easy for her, to arrive here, find him living a life separate from her.
He imagines a lot of things he can't bring himself to give voice to. ]
I'm sorry that you ended up here instead of exploring the vast multiverse. [ She deserves the opportunity to have as much fun as possible, by his reckoning. ]
At least this end of the world could be prevented if Riftwatch and the Inquisition are to be believed.
I'm not sure that's what I would have been doing anyway.
[ Not with a billion boogeymen she released herself onto the multiverse. She didn't regret it, giving people free will, but at the same time she couldn't imagine a path for her out of the citadel that was one of any kind of release from running. ]
Mmm.. and believing in supposedly benevolent organizations has always gone well.
Maybe not, [ he hedges, ] but it's what you deserve.
[ There's still a lot of detail he simply doesn't have access to, doesn't know about, and Loki is unwilling to press Sylvie on the topic. But he imagines that breaking the Sacred Timeline free would have repercussions, things that he and Sylvie would have to deal with. Together, maybe? It's difficult to say, especially given how cool she'd been toward him when he first ran into her in Hightown.
He snorts a little. She has a good point. ]
Has anyone given you the "rifters are dangerous and thus politically aligned with mages, who we used to keep locked away in towers" rundown yet?
Apparently, Mages got tired of their treatment and decided to go rogue, legally. Apostacy? Because this place's majority religion was the one running things. Which meant the Templars went rogue running right after them.
So that war was well underway when the current head of the opposing forces, who claims godhood by the way, fun times that, decided to blow up the head of the religion down here during some sort of ceasefire. Now we have this war and bigger problems to handle, but that war was never resolved so it's...still a problem.
[ He takes a breath, sighs. He hates this. ]
People here are terrified of Mages. Possibly because they can become possessed by the sort of demons that were there like when you arrived, and the rest of the people can't or aren't likely to.
If they only knew how many gods were actually running about in their streets.
[ It all seems so little to her, tiny problems for tiny people stuck on their planet in their one universe- but now she is tiny and stuck on this planet and she needs to really wrap her head around that. ]
Of all the worlds we would end up in it would be the one where we can't really use our magic freely. So what? The plan is to stop the templars or put the mages back in their cages? And if the second one, why should we be helping?
I haven't exactly been shy about my status as the God of Mischief. I haven't told many people about you, though; it felt like it would be important to let you...make your own decisions about who you told what without me sticking my nose in it.
They don't have a plan exactly, at least not yet; it depends a lot on the politics. Who is in charge once this war is over. How they feel about mages and their problems.
[ He sighs a little. ]
The opposition is also interested in mages and shard-bearers, mostly for experimentation until death purposes, so I wouldn't hold out much hope of them being much more helpful in that regard.
[ There's a little amusement in her voice, and she tilts her head to the side a bit as she tries to push down a smile. The next bit though helps settle it, a frown creasing her eyebrows. ]
I suppose it's a good thing that we ended up spit out on this side then yeah?
[ Unlikely as it was, it's still a nice thought that pulls something uncomfortable in her stomach. She's never had anyone who would even suggest going through hardship to reunite with her, and even if she doesn't deserve it, it does flood her with warmth. ]
You and the entire Rift watch at your side I'm sure. Quite an endeavor for one person.
[ There’s a warm kind of silence there as she just smiles, enjoying how small the world feels right now, inside their little completely controllable hypothetical story. The reality of this being so outside of that, utterly uncontrollable down to the very bodies they found themselves in, pushed aside for at least a moment. ]
Abby probably would want to stay behind.
[ She inhales as she says it, humor lilting the name. ]
Abby is a good friend. [ Abby is like him, he thinks, a person capable of terrible things. Neither of them has discussed it, whatever looms in their respective pasts, but he knows it's there. ]
I think she could forgive it.
Alternatively, I could bribe her into coming along. She'd probably be amused by that, actually.
[ She's not sure if that's true, but Loki would know better than her. She really hasn't spent much time getting to know anyone here, and alternately Loki seems to have made some connections in the time he's been here. She takes a soft breath, her next words a bit more serious. ]
I'm still waiting for it to fall spectacuarly apart, but somehow it hasn't, yet.
[ It'll probably happen when he's least expecting it. Seems like the sort of trick fate would play on him. ]
I'm not popular, by any stretch of the imagination. The native variant wasn't either, honestly, but I'd like to think I'm doing a little better in that regard.
[ Has Loki crafted visibly thriving friendships as a big competition between himself and a version of him that doesn't even know he exists?
[ Popular enough to have kept his wife it seems, and she's quiet suddenly, musing on that. Maybe the way they felt about each other was not as similar as she had thought; and she needed to just come to terms with that. She had said it herself after all.
I am not you.
She could be happy enough that he even wanted to talk to her after what she's done couldn't she? ]
I'm sure it won't; collecting friends seems to be in your nature. Part of being the charismatic prince.
[ Unlike her, within the few days they'd been on the same path he had collected all sorts along the way. In the end, she always ended up alone. ]
I'm familiar with using people, not with having friends. You and Mobius were the first. [ And his feelings for her are so much more complicated than his feelings for Mobius. ]
At least half of being the charismatic prince is just being a good liar.
[ Comes out before he can even think better of it. Because above all else he does hope they are friends, even if his heart and body want more than that from her. ]
I hope that's not all we are, [ he admits, and there's some hesitance in his voice. ] If we're being honest.
[ She hopes so too, hopes they're friends. Hopes he can forgive her. But this Loki hadn't traveled the rift, hadn't battled Alioth, hadn't promised her that he wouldn't betray her and yet did. She hadn't betrayed him in turn by sending him away. It would eat at her, heart and soul to let this go anywhere with someone who still looks at her with fondness, still holds her in such a regard as he did. Who she's still lying to by obmission.
He doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve it. For different reasons.
[ There's a noise on the other end; Loki taking a breath and it gets caught, somewhere in the middle, before he lets it out and tries again. ]
Alright.
[ Did he say the wrong thing? Or is it more complicated than that? He hates not knowing, even on a good day, even when he isn't certain the other parties involved aren't keeping things from him, but he won't push for that information.
He knows that pushing will just move her further from him, either way. But he can't help how much it feels like rejection. ]
[ He'd moved to put the crystal away on a bedside table, but when she speaks his name...
It's obvious, he imagines, just how much he loves her. He feels as if he's been broadcasting it since her arrival and isn't sure how he feels about that in particular. If it looks as obvious as it feels to him, someone else is going to pick up on it sooner than later. ]
[ It may be overwhelmingly obvious to anyone who has had even an inkling of an even passingly consistent relationship, but all of this is so foreign to her that she knows there’s something there, knows she feels something strong for him, knows that It’s more than just simply platonic. But love? That word really doesn’t belong to or apply to her does it?
This though? She can’t just leave it like this. ]
You are my friend. [ She replies finally, a bit rushed, prodded by his reminder that he’s waiting. ] My… only… friend.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-05 09:27 pm (UTC)The quiet ones, where people went out like a candle snuffed, were my most frequented. The screaming and dredge of society collapsing bit by bit wears on you; and just makes everything significantly more risky.
But no, I never used to have a favorite.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-05 09:38 pm (UTC)He imagines a lot of things he can't bring himself to give voice to. ]
I'm sorry that you ended up here instead of exploring the vast multiverse. [ She deserves the opportunity to have as much fun as possible, by his reckoning. ]
At least this end of the world could be prevented if Riftwatch and the Inquisition are to be believed.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-06 11:22 pm (UTC)[ Not with a billion boogeymen she released herself onto the multiverse. She didn't regret it, giving people free will, but at the same time she couldn't imagine a path for her out of the citadel that was one of any kind of release from running. ]
Mmm.. and believing in supposedly benevolent organizations has always gone well.
[ But it's said with some humor at least. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-07 04:22 am (UTC)[ There's still a lot of detail he simply doesn't have access to, doesn't know about, and Loki is unwilling to press Sylvie on the topic. But he imagines that breaking the Sacred Timeline free would have repercussions, things that he and Sylvie would have to deal with. Together, maybe? It's difficult to say, especially given how cool she'd been toward him when he first ran into her in Hightown.
He snorts a little. She has a good point. ]
Has anyone given you the "rifters are dangerous and thus politically aligned with mages, who we used to keep locked away in towers" rundown yet?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-07 11:08 pm (UTC)[ Not...going to address what she deserves. Because she deserves even worse not telling him what's happened. Not being forthright. ]
I've heard worse about Mages in general though. You'd think people would appreciate magic for the boon it is.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-08 12:06 am (UTC)So that war was well underway when the current head of the opposing forces, who claims godhood by the way, fun times that, decided to blow up the head of the religion down here during some sort of ceasefire. Now we have this war and bigger problems to handle, but that war was never resolved so it's...still a problem.
[ He takes a breath, sighs. He hates this. ]
People here are terrified of Mages. Possibly because they can become possessed by the sort of demons that were there like when you arrived, and the rest of the people can't or aren't likely to.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-09 01:40 am (UTC)[ It all seems so little to her, tiny problems for tiny people stuck on their planet in their one universe- but now she is tiny and stuck on this planet and she needs to really wrap her head around that. ]
Of all the worlds we would end up in it would be the one where we can't really use our magic freely. So what? The plan is to stop the templars or put the mages back in their cages? And if the second one, why should we be helping?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-10 10:37 pm (UTC)They don't have a plan exactly, at least not yet; it depends a lot on the politics. Who is in charge once this war is over. How they feel about mages and their problems.
[ He sighs a little. ]
The opposition is also interested in mages and shard-bearers, mostly for experimentation until death purposes, so I wouldn't hold out much hope of them being much more helpful in that regard.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-12 12:38 am (UTC)[ There's a little amusement in her voice, and she tilts her head to the side a bit as she tries to push down a smile. The next bit though helps settle it, a frown creasing her eyebrows. ]
I suppose it's a good thing that we ended up spit out on this side then yeah?
[ Convenient. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-13 04:57 pm (UTC)[ He thinks she sounds pleased about it, which is better than her being displeased about it, and so some warmth enters his voice at the admittance. ]
Very. I'm not sure how I'd manage to smuggle you across a continent but I'm certain it's been done before.
[ That's presuming he'd have known she was here, which is still...not entirely likely, he knows. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-13 05:50 pm (UTC)You and the entire Rift watch at your side I'm sure. Quite an endeavor for one person.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-14 11:05 pm (UTC)[ There's warmth in his voice. She's important to him, no matter what she is or isn't telling him about his future. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-15 08:12 pm (UTC)Abby probably would want to stay behind.
[ She inhales as she says it, humor lilting the name. ]
The whole, almost beheading thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-17 04:53 am (UTC)I think she could forgive it.
Alternatively, I could bribe her into coming along. She'd probably be amused by that, actually.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-19 11:20 pm (UTC)[ She's not sure if that's true, but Loki would know better than her. She really hasn't spent much time getting to know anyone here, and alternately Loki seems to have made some connections in the time he's been here. She takes a soft breath, her next words a bit more serious. ]
I'm glad you've made some friends here.
[ That he's not been entirely alone. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-20 12:59 am (UTC)I'm still waiting for it to fall spectacuarly apart, but somehow it hasn't, yet.
[ It'll probably happen when he's least expecting it. Seems like the sort of trick fate would play on him. ]
I'm not popular, by any stretch of the imagination. The native variant wasn't either, honestly, but I'd like to think I'm doing a little better in that regard.
[ Has Loki crafted visibly thriving friendships as a big competition between himself and a version of him that doesn't even know he exists?
Maybe. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-21 01:09 am (UTC)I am not you.
She could be happy enough that he even wanted to talk to her after what she's done couldn't she? ]
I'm sure it won't; collecting friends seems to be in your nature. Part of being the charismatic prince.
[ Unlike her, within the few days they'd been on the same path he had collected all sorts along the way. In the end, she always ended up alone. ]
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 12:56 am (UTC)I'm familiar with using people, not with having friends. You and Mobius were the first. [ And his feelings for her are so much more complicated than his feelings for Mobius. ]
At least half of being the charismatic prince is just being a good liar.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 01:08 am (UTC)Is that what we are? Friends?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 01:11 am (UTC)[ Comes out before he can even think better of it. Because above all else he does hope they are friends, even if his heart and body want more than that from her. ]
I hope that's not all we are, [ he admits, and there's some hesitance in his voice. ] If we're being honest.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 01:54 am (UTC)He doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve it. For different reasons.
Sylvie swallows hard, her voice very quiet. ]
I'll talk to you later Loki.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 02:00 am (UTC)Alright.
[ Did he say the wrong thing? Or is it more complicated than that? He hates not knowing, even on a good day, even when he isn't certain the other parties involved aren't keeping things from him, but he won't push for that information.
He knows that pushing will just move her further from him, either way. But he can't help how much it feels like rejection. ]
We'll talk later.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 02:11 am (UTC)Of course.
[ She almost leaves it out there, but then winces, taking in half a breath- ]
Loki?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-23 08:00 pm (UTC)[ He'd moved to put the crystal away on a bedside table, but when she speaks his name...
It's obvious, he imagines, just how much he loves her. He feels as if he's been broadcasting it since her arrival and isn't sure how he feels about that in particular. If it looks as obvious as it feels to him, someone else is going to pick up on it sooner than later. ]
I'm here.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-24 02:50 am (UTC)This though? She can’t just leave it like this. ]
You are my friend. [ She replies finally, a bit rushed, prodded by his reminder that he’s waiting. ] My… only… friend.
Thank you… for that.
(no subject)
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