mission 02: voice, action

[unspangled]

Who: Steve Rogers (AU)
Broadcast: Fleet
Action: Heron or Iskaulit; Work, Art Therapy, Gym
When: During drift

broadcast
If you could have any name, would you keep your own or pick something new?


action
[ If you're looking for this former star-spangled menace, he can generally be found one of two places. On the Heron, attending to his ship responsibilities, or on the Iskaulit, tentatively settling in with newer responsibilities. He can often be found in the gym, preferably at odd hours, and it's not inconceivable he might wander into the art therapy room to see what it's all about. ]

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

[ a name he’s fond of? loki hums under his breath. ]

Erland in my tongue. It means outsider. Or an old variant of my name, Luka.

[unspangled]

[ He pronounces both, as carefully as he can. ]

I like Erland. There's something quietly mythic about it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ his lips curve at that. ]

You are welcome to it, if you want.

[unspangled]

For you, I mean. I don't think it suits me.

[ Which isn't a comment on Loki's taste in names. It just doesn't. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ that's fair. ]

No, you seem more like Vidarr. Warrior in the forest.

[unspangled]

[ He blinks in surprise. ]

In the forest, huh. Do I give that sort of impression?

[ warrior, sure. he's a trained killer. but ... woodsy? ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki hums, soft. ]

The forest can be like a mask. It clouds your vision but also hides you from others.

[unspangled]

Camouflage. [ Steve eyes the god. ] Never really considered myself a forest kind of fella.

Urban jungle, maybe. Not the real thing.

[dothelokimotion]

[ his lips twitch slightly. ]

Think of it as more of a metaphorical forest then.

[unspangled]

[ Steve gives him a long look. Then, dryly: ]

You're a fan of crossword puzzles, aren't you.

[dothelokimotion]

I have no idea what those are.

[unspangled]

[ huh. ]

It's a word game.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki tries to suss it out from context. ]

Words that . . . cross each other?

[unspangled]

Words laid out on a grid pattern... gimme a moment.

[ he turns away from the feed long enough to find a scrap of paper and a pencil, in order to sketch out a facsimile of what the puzzles look like. ]

They come with clues for each numbered word, and you have to guess them.

[dothelokimotion]

[ fascinating. loki enjoys puzzles and hasn't seen anything quite like this. he's more used to riddles. ]

Interesting. And people do this frequently?

[unspangled]

Most of the major English papers used to carry one of those in the Sunday edition. I think you can buy little books of them now, though. Probably in dozens of languages.

[ It's a good way to learn a cultural tongue. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ huh. loki absorbs this. ]

I never knew that mortals cared for wordplay. I thought they no longer bothered with the archaic forms like this.

[unspangled]

Some do, some don't. It was more prevalent when I was a kid, I think. But I have seen the little books, so it's definitely not a lost art.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki runs a hand through his hair. ]

Perhaps Earth is salvageable after all.

[unspangled]

[ wryly: ]

It better be salvageable. I live there.

[dothelokimotion]

I have not spent much time on Earth.

[ just briefly, during intervals. he rarely lingers there and he professes no real love for the place. ]

But Thor wishes for Asgard to reside there.

[unspangled]

... Why?

[ Doesn't Asgard, whatever the hell that is, have it's own place? ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki blinks, surprised at the question. ]

Asgard was destroyed. We are naught but refugees now.

[unspangled]

Oh.

[ His face falls a little, in sympathy. Even if Loki doesn't want it. ]

Do you have a different place in mind?

[dothelokimotion]

There are other realms, but our position might be more precarious in those. Still it is a large universe.