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[dothelokimotion]

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[vaerdig]

( most nights, thor wanders his way to loki's room, finding that his own is too large without anyone else to occupy it. of course, he grew up with more space than he ever knew what to do with, but he was rarely ever alone: if loki wasn't invading his rooms, then it was sif with her sword and promises of besting him; or the warriors three, always boisterous, bringing offerings of ale and tales of adventure; or a string of countless women (and on some occasions, men) tumbling in and out of his bed. so it feels almost hollow, this room, with its sterile white walls and artificial light. there's nothing of thor's life here, no trinkets or weapons, no trophies from distant planets ...

but there is someone down the corridor — and, frankly, thor's tired of visiting loki when there's plenty of room for them both here. (they haven't shared a room since they were children, but he doesn't see the point of wasting space, especially not when it's easier to fend off the nightmares with loki pressed against his chest, a warm reminder of the breath in his brother's lungs.)

so instead of getting up, thor sends loki a message. because sometimes communication between them is easier when they can't see each other and actually have the luxury of thinking about what they should say. )

You know, my quarters are larger.

( it's an invitation, should loki choose to accept. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ while loki hasn't wandered the corridors like a restless ghost, the restlessness hasn't left his veins. it hasn't been that long since he's been on a ship like this, dying on a ship like this. every sleep feels like his last and while he lacks thor's manic energy, loki feels the pull of it all the same.

but he's contrary. and loki finds it difficult to give way to his heart. sentiment, after all, got him killed. ]

Is that wise?

@senua

[senuna]

[ The message comes at an odd hour if there's such a thing as 3 a.m. in space. It is also unpreempted, almost as if she has had an earlier conversation with him that he was never made aware of. ]

Once we have the star map, you would know the way back to Asgard.

[dothelokimotion]

[ this is definitely not a conversation he wants to have late at night, sharing quarters with thor. but he rarely sleeps or sleeps well as it is. ]

No. There is no way back to Asgard.

@Ντιάνα

[monomachy]

Loki! Are you on the planet M'teri? Have you seen the plants at night? They glow! Is there anything like that where you're from?

[this is an absolutely normal way to start a conversation]

[dothelokimotion]

Not yet. I was planning on coming down on the next rotation.

And no, not on Asgard. There was a barren moon where I traveled once. The only light that could be seen came on butterfly wings.

a gift left on their doorstep

[senuna]

[ It's such a small, insignificant thing. A pebble that fits in the palm of his hands, carved by hand and dyed with blood (Of what? It's hard to tell, but her father has always said suffering is the way of the gods). The symbol is the vegvísir. She assumes he knows. If the sign is carried, one will never lose one’s way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ his fingers trace the markings. they shake but loki doesn't notice that. a wayfinder. she left him a wayfinder. he had not seen such things since asgard and for a moment, the loss of the golden halls and the shining stars punches him in the gut. what path was left for him now, alive in this place and thanos' shadow lurking behind him? for all of thor's assurances, his brother can't save loki from his fate.

wherever you go, death and destruction follow, odin's voice rings in his head.

perhaps.

the stone is light in his grasp.

perhaps not.

cradling it in his palms, loki presses it to his chest and weeps quietly, where no one can see. ]

@wlawford

[thirtythird]

Change of weather is a bit maudlin, wouldn't you say?

[dothelokimotion]

Winter tends to be blue.

[ literally and figuratively in loki's case. ]

I've never been particularly fond of it. You?

@thor.odinson

[angelpiratebaby]

[after finding this]

Unfair. You know I cannot craft as well as you can.

(Thank you.)

[dothelokimotion]

I don't see how that's unfair.

text | un: medusan

[darkart]

Might you be interested in an experiment?

[ Technically, they are co-workers, so this inquiry isn't that outlandish, if one sets aside ME NOT ASKING FIRST the fact that their department barely exists, and Severus shunning virtually all interaction prior to this. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ hmm. sus. ]

Perhaps. What are we hypothesizing?

on Sarano, via hand-delivery

[thirtythird]

[The Tragedie of Loki son of Odin is a clear success and very much deserving of plaudits. Lawford suspects, however, that there's a good deal of merit to letting the adulation of their hosts lap around Loki in the wake of its opening performance--because there's a fairly distinct sort of enjoyment to be derived from the public reception rather than the cajoling of personal friends.

William will linger among the crowd to await his turn, but a neatly-appointed young page will find Loki promptly after the curtain to offer up a bouquet of multicoloured flowers (roses, to his own mind) and a delicately scrawled note:]

Bravo, darling. Shakespeare absolutely outshone.
Yours with devotion--
W.L.

[dothelokimotion]

[ for a god, loki has a strange relationship with worship. he wants it, always. he wants those eyes on him. and yet, some parts of him are oddly shy when it came to people he actually knew.

because there is real truth with people who know you, who carry pieces of you.

but lawford's flowers are received with a delighted flush down his neck and loki presses his cheeks against the bouquet with a quiet trill. ]

voice; a.s

[facultative]

Hi. Um, It's Anakin, we met after one of your shows. You gave me your autograph.

Do you... do you have a moment?

[He could go to Obi-Wan for this, but it's too personal and he doesn't want to see the disappointment in master's eyes when he realises what he's done.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ well. this is unexpected. ]

Of course. Where would you like to meet?

cross-dimensional misfire! audio.

[mercymorn]

[ So this particular message, when it arrives in Loki's inbox, is... strange. It's something that was sent over a different communicator system in the past, in another time and another place. There's a crackle of static and a bitten-off sob, and then Mercy's voice from an entire world away, sounding wild and hysterical and perhaps a little out of her gourd: ]

It is here! The Resurrection Beast is come! The seventh colossus, brood of that which murdered Cyrus the First, packmate of that which murdered Ulysses the First, the one and the same that Cassiopeia died for! Oh, God, John, sometimes I wish I were capable of dying — I saw it! I saw it, and it is blue like Loveday's eyes! It knows what you did to its kin, and it sees—

[ And then it's cut off, rather abruptly. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ this sounds like complete nonsense. ]

The Resurrection Beast?

event misfire, un: deveny

[selection]

Would you mind terribly if I borrowed you for a moment?

[dothelokimotion]

That depends entirely on what I am being "borrowed" for.

voice | @wlawford

[thirtythird]

[when things do settle down (or, at least, settle from active battle to the quiet struggle of healing and surviving), his impulse is to return immediately to his husband's side. The problem is that Loki really ought to be resting. The secondary problem is that William ought to be resting as well.

It is, however, very very difficult to rest without the reassurance that Loki isn't quite as poorly as when they'd parted ways in the hall.]

Are you awake, mo laochain?

[dothelokimotion]

[ it takes a moment, but loki rouses himself to answer. his voice is still a little raspy, but certainly not someone close to death's door. ]

I am. Is everything all right?

( action → date night )

[scythias]

( she'd promised him a night out and andy does intend to deliver. of course, as she starts to set things up, she finds that she's not really sure what loki likes when it comes to going out and being wined and dined. they've talked, they do know each other, but this is a little different and she wants one of his first experiences with this sort of thing to be a good one.

so, she clears out the mess hall and sticks a sign on the wall beside the door to try and keep most people away. if they need to slip in and slip out, so be it, but she doesn't want anyone to come in and interrupt. she doesn't think they'll spend all their time in there but she wants it to be something close to a proper date.

with that done, she dresses up as best this ship with let her (the jeans and shirt are clean, the jacket is pressed) and arrives at loki's door, knocking on it and waiting to pick him up. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki is dressed in a well-cut black suit, white shirt and a green scarf draped around his neck. he gives her a long look, suitably impressed. ]

Not bad at all.

aftermath 3.0

[thirtythird]

[It takes time. It has to take time. There's no talking this into submission, no finding a clever way around it. There's just small steps, day by day, to hurting in a way that allows a person to smile again.

William expects there will be good days and bad days. (There would have been regardless, after all. Life and other people were never smooth.) That doesn't matter. This had all been part and parcel of the promises they'd made on Sarano--and then again and again since.

His thumb twists idly at his ring as he searches Loki out, a quiet smile twisting up the corners of his lips.] All right today, trouble?

[dothelokimotion]

[ it has been excruciating to repeat old patterns. where once was thor, snoring away in the bed next to his, now there was just silence. all the empty space that was once filled. but loki is adaptable. his grief is a phase. if he didn't survive this, what does it say about him?

he finds himself lingering near the observation deck. looking out into the blankness. but loki smiles faintly at his husband, the corners of his eyes crinkling. ]

More or less.

(yule gift)

[thirtythird]

[It isn't long after the book of sonnets has been discovered that William leaves his own small gift on Loki's pillow. It had been in the works, but paying for whims took much more planning and working here than it always had back home. The brooch is more of a complete circle than the penannular brooch he'd intended, but there's a delicacy to the piece in place of the usual utility which seems to suit. The stone, at least, has the rippling, swirling greens that remind him of home, overlaid with a delicate silver filigree not out of place with much of what he'd seen adorning his husband. There's an inscription in thin scrolling font etched along the inner rim: "And I will come again, my luve, though it were ten thousand mile."

Difficult to do anything as a surprise in a shared space, but hopefully the effect can be managed.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ oh. isn't it lovely? loki traces the filigree gently, conscious of how fragile it could be. he can't remember the last time he received a gift — no, that's not true. it had been nearly two years ago that senua had left her the little runestone, combining the old with her impressions of him.

he still carried it in his pocket. now senua is gone. thor is gone. all that they had, all they made here was gone. all loki had was a pocket full of memories in his head. loki will never understand how they can just be gone and never say goodbye.

but he has this. and his ring. william understands, loki thinks to himself as he pins the broach to his chest, the weight of us. ]