( how the dinosaurs died )

[dothelokimotion]

Who: Loki + You
Broadcast: Video
Action: Planetside
When: Right here, right now

[ the feed turns on, though it seems to start with a burst of static and a blurry screen before it finally seems to straighten itself out. though the scene you might be seeing seems a little . . . hard to take in. mostly because it looks like everything has been frozen. plants, grass and giant dinosaurs like T-Rexs that were in mid-lunge to bite on . . . a huddled lump who has a quilt over their head and cocooned deep within the covers. And also happens to be sneezing a lot. ]

This — [ loki sneezes, looking pale, harried and a little . . . blue. ] — Is the worst. Why is everything so — [ another loud sneeze. ] — uncomfortable?! And how do you make it stop?!

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

[ his eyes widen at that. warm. he has been many things, but warm has never been one of them. a frost giant. warm. something akin to humour or champagne joy bubbles up in him like a fountain. no, perhaps it is not a bubbling, but a melting, snowflakes on a tongue.

he steps closer, their hands still in the space between. ]

Say it again.

[sinistral]

Say what?

[He’s not quite sure what thoughts run through Loki’s head, not sure what lies hidden behind those red eyes. It feels like a shifting point, but the problem is that he doesn’t know what it’s shifting towards.]

Warm?

[dothelokimotion]

[ a flicker of a smile appears on his face. ]

Yes.

You make me warm.

[sinistral]

It’s a good thing to be.

[Good enough to lace their fingers maybe, to see silver metal alternating with blue skin. It’s curious and exploratory more than flirtatious.]

[dothelokimotion]

You are a good thing to be.

[ which . . . okay, that may have been a bit much and loki ducks his head a little at that. ]

[sinistral]

[It is maybe a bit much. Sansa has told him something similar (though it didn’t have the same feeling as this and he thinks he needs to explore the differences) but it still doesn’t all come together in a way that makes sense.]

I’m an assassin. A weapon. I don’t have a name and I don’t really remember anything of what I was before this. I don’t know if that’s a good thing to be.

[dothelokimotion]

[ yeah. good was a strong word and not one loki particularly subscribes to anyway. loki exhales, trying to collect his thoughts. ]

It does not . . . need to be good. In society, in the way people draw lines in the sand. In the things you've done. In your past.

Perhaps to be, neither of us are that. I know I am not. I never truly will be. But you . . . feel good to me. That is what I mean. What I care for.

[sinistral]

[Another surprise: another person who doesn’t dismiss the Winter Soldier into his past but seems willing to accept it as a very big part of what he is. It’s not at all what he expected in coming out here to help Loki.]

I don’t know what to say to that except thank you. Truly.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki wished he could do more. but in this form, it's too dangerous. he doesn't know what a frost giant could do to a human, even a slightly more powerful one. but he restrains himself. don't scare him off, don't be too much. ]

I mean it.

[sinistral]

So do I. [He squeezes their joined hands to accent his words.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ he doesn't want to let go, but . . . ]

We should head to the shuttle. Before I sneeze on you.

[sinistral]

And before this place throws something new and horrible on top of the sneezing. That’s not the kind of fate I think I want to tempt today.

[Instead of separating their hands, why not use his grip to give a slight tug as he takes a step?]

[dothelokimotion]

Indeed.

[ this is good. loki keeps their hands twined as they reach the shuttle. once they're inside, loki takes a deep, shaky breath, trying to force the blue from his skin, bleaching it. ]

[sinistral]

[Fortunately it’s an uneventful walk; no dinosaurs or freaky large bugs or anything like that. But the shuttle brings a new fascination, namely the way Loki’s appearance melts back to that which he more readily recognizes.]

Better?

[dothelokimotion]

Yes, much. I feel like myself.

[ and no longer sneezing or awkward in his skin. his own skin, though loki rarely considers it as such. he briefly wipes at his face. ]

The blurriness has left me.

[sinistral]

I’m glad.

[Though it probably means he should let go of Loki’s hand. He does, though not without a brief squeeze.]

It’s got to be something in the air, something that the shuttle’s systems can flush out.

[dothelokimotion]

[ ah. loki feels a brief pang of loss at that. ]

Most likely. I never knew anything that could do that to me.

I never felt that sort of . . . loss of control.

[sinistral]

[Loss of control, being a literal prisoner in his own body and mind, is something he knows all too well. He forcibly suppresses the shiver that wants to work its way down his spine.]

It’s not fun. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

[dothelokimotion]

No. I imagine you know what it's like.

[ loki has felt it before, long ago. this was nothing, of course, just a slight loss in his usual control but it was uncomfortable all the same. ]

[sinistral]

Intimately, [he says, and can’t stop the shiver this time.] And I know I can be brought right back to that without warning.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he frowns, before he replies, tentative and careful. ]

Can it be . . . blocked?

[sinistral]

No. [He looks down at his left hand, curling the fingers into a fist, uncurling them slowly. Metal plates shift smoothly with the movements.]

They were very thorough in creating me.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki pauses once more, then replies, gentle. ]

Maybe so. But you stand here, proof of the cracks in the mold.

. . . I could help. I have some ability with the mind.

[sinistral]

It's part of why they keep me in storage when they don't need me. [He shrugs.] I haven't been wiped in a while.

[Which is really just talking to distract while he tries to consider that offer, what it means and what it could potentially mean.]

No. I don't know. I need to think about it. [Then, quickly, as if he has to get the words out before they die in his throat:] It's not that the offer isn't generous; it is, more so than I deserve. But I need time. I need to think.

[dothelokimotion]

[ his lips twitch slightly. ]

I wasn't expecting you to accede to it immediately. After all, it is an offer that needs consideration.

[ he doesn't expect bucky to jump right in or want it. after all, it is the mind they're discussing here and people would want to protect it at all costs. ]

No offense was heard.