not_a_troll | IC Appointments [Luceti]

Yea, it is.

[He reaches out to the table and tosses the boy a lightsaber.]

Merry Life Day, Loki.

[Loki catches the lightsaber and well, god of mischief or not, he is also still a child and it shows.]

Merry Yule, Luke!

[He activates it and stares at it, eyes wide.]

Such a formidable weapon! May I keep it?

[Yes, Loki is fully aware that he is pushing it now.]

It will only work inside the simulation. But you can come here as often as you'd like. I don't have a spare.

Alas, alas.

[Loki shakes his head shortly and proceeds to take on 'epic battle poses' before swinging the lightsaber around.]

Then I shall make use of that.

[It is obvious that Loki really likes the buzzing sound the lightsaber makes. But eventually he stops, looking the other in the eye.]

But I am certain that playing around with lightsabers is not the true purpose of this gathering, right?

Or might it be an attempt to win my trust for the upcoming conversation?

No, it isn't the purpose of the meeting, no. You asked to hold a lightsaber, though, and I agreed. So, I'm honoring my agreement.

[He actually puts a tiny bit more emphasis on the last word as he speaks, and then he takes a seat.]

And no, it isn't. I know how difficult it is to trust a relative stranger. But I'd prefer it if you'd hear me out before making judgments about my intentions.

[Luke's tone remains even and calm, gesturing to another chair.]

Have a seat, and let's talk.

[Loki lowers the lightsaber he is holding. He notices the emphasis on the word 'agreement' and makes a mental note of that. For a possible conflict an agreement would be necessary, of course.

He places the lightsaber back on the table and slides into the offered chair.]

Trust is a difficult matter alltogether.

[He gestures at Luke.]

Do tell.

Very well, I'll be straightforward.

[Luke breathes out a long sigh]

Why is it that you have been telling others that your older self is evil? Surely you realize that this is going to be a source of conflict between the two of you, and that it will accomplish nothing good.

[Oh...Oh...]

Why is it that my older self sends others to reprimand me about this?

[The playful look on Loki's face has completely disappeared and he frowns now.]

It was a small slip of the tongue when talking to a fellow called Spock. I am fairly sure my dear older self refers to me as a deluded fool when talking to others.

[Frankly, Loki finds himself flabbergasted. For his older self to give himself away like that.]

Edited 2013-01-01 17:10 (UTC)

Actually, it was my idea. Your older self thought it was strange that I felt it necessary to say something.

[Luke rests his arms on the table, giving the boy a look.]

I was playing around with illusions, and I made one of you, and he reacted poorly. I felt that it would be wise to speak to both of you, in order to resolve a conflict before it escalated beyond bad feelings.

And no, he doesn't refer to you as a deluded fool.

[The look on Loki's face is rather blank but he is wary. Very wary.]

Why did you conjure an illusion of me?

[A shrug.]

And he does. But it does not matter.

[Luke felt that wariness through the Force, reading the boys emotions as easily as he'd read the older Loki's. The Force was a potent ally when it came to such talks after all.]

To gauge his reaction. He'd never spoken of you to me, though you spoke of him to me. I thought there might be tension. And there is. Clearly.

[Luke fixes the boy with a stare]

It does. Spreading rumors and staring tension is going to lead down a bad road. When anyone gets frustrated with something, very often it gets taken out on those around them. That is something we can ill-afford here.

I have not done such a thing.

[But he obviously did. The only thing is that he did not expect that his older self would take so much offense.

And something about this is quite...frustrating]

I will take Saori's words to heart and refrain from any contact with him. Send him my most sincere apologies. And of course it won't happen again, yes?

[He isn't sincere at all. More frustrated and wary.]

My older self is most definitely not evil. I hope that has been enough to undo my terrible, terrible mistake.

[Luke's eyes narrowed, he was not appreciating the lies, and he makes it plain that he can tell the boy is lying.]

Loki, you must realize that your older self is not entirely stable. And takes offense to things fairly easily. And that he is dangerous. And not only to you. He's got a lot of power, and he's got a lot of anger. You're obviously familiar with Star Wars enough to know that anger leads nowhere good. But I do not think that apologizing insincerely to him via proxy would be enough to quell that frustration. Frustration that could get our friends hurt. Loki sends time with Adele, who is like family to me. Not to mention Obi-Wan, Sabriel, and my girlfriend Ami.

[Luke pointedly emphasizes his own interest in the situation to drive home his words and vested interest in keeping peace]

What happens if some minor incident balloons into him taking it out his compounded frustration with you on them? I'd be forced to intervene then, as I am now.

No, I'd like for the two of you to sit down and speak, come to an arrangement. With a mediator. Perhaps more than one. Your older self has agreed to such a meeting.

[The look on Loki's face remains blank, eyes focused on Luke's face. On the inside he feels his anger growing.

Such a small slip of the tongue, such consequences. And of course blackmail is nothing more than one of those consequences. This village has more things in common with Asgardia than Loki would have thought.]

Blackmail does not befit a Jedi.

[And turning his back on all these people...some he knows, some he doesn't know. That is wrong. Yet, it is most unfair. It is unfair that he gets the blame.

Yet, life has been rather unfair to Loki Laufeyson in particular.]

What my older self does to others is beyond my control. How can you hold me responsible for the acts he might commit?

What if this negotiation ends up in another disagreement? What if it does not take away his frustration?

He is not me.

If you think I'm blackmailing you, then you are entirely misreading my intent. I'm asking you for your help in keeping my loved ones safe.

[Luke's eyes close for a moment. Whatever the boy might be, he is a child. And he should be more mindful of that.]

Loki. I'm not blaming you, nor do I hold you responsible. You may have made a mistake. Or it may have been intentional. I don't know your motivations. But I do know that the other Loki is hurt. He won't admit it, to anyone, but your words hurt him. He's just trying to find peace and acceptance where he can, the same as you or I. Only, with the Avengers here he has a much more difficult time doing it.

[Luke squeezes the bridge of his nose.]

I don't trust him. I've been keeping an eye on him, meeting with him to practice working our powers together. And I've done it to get to know him and keep an eye on him as much as out of my own curiosity. He's afraid of something. And he's frustrated. And adding to that is not good. I think that if you two were to talk, it might alleviate some of the trouble on his mind, and I think for you as well.

Frustration leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the Dark Side. You know this, I know you do. The right thing to do is to try and work things out. And be mindful of your words, since you know they do hurt him. I will be there, if you agree to it. Loki won't hurt anyone while I'm around, he knows better.

[Luke finally opens his eyes]

And no, he is not you. He's a man who's suffered a lot, like you. But he's let that consume him, whereas you have not. But I can feel darkness growing in you too, and if you hold onto things like this it will only lead down a dark path.

Darkness inside of me? Is there a lot?

[Loki frowns. There shouldn't be.]

Will I turn into him? You are able to tell if I will, right?

[Loki can feel his heart beating fast and suddenly he's very scared.]

Am I? I will...?

[He finally stops stammering and forces himself to think straight again. Others are in danger after all. Helping others would be 'the right thing'.]

Aye. I will talk to him.

[Luke shakes his head at the questions. He can feel the boy's fear, and he knows what's going through his head.]

Loki, I'm afraid I can't tell you that. I don't have the gift of prophetic vision on command. There's darkness in everyone, though. Even me.

But I can tell you this. The choice is entirely yours. You will choose how you grow up, and what sort of man you grow into. Helping people will only help yourself, in the end.

[Luke nods in assent]

That would mean a lot to me. Just...having the two of you talk, and maybe an apology? I don't think he's ever had many of those. I think too, that a pact where you avoid one another would be wise, don't you?

But it is growing. Is it something that is inevitable? That whatever I do, whatever path I choose, will...?

[He frowns and finally shakes his head. It is not good to listen to his fears. And it is definitely not good to let them come to the surface that way. Loki has got this.

He straightens his shoulders.]

If the meeting spawns reasons for me to apologize, then of course I shall do so. Maybe I should wrap that apology up and present this to him as...well...a present! Then he would have an apology and a present all wrapped up in one.

Yes! That sounds like an excellent idea.

Nothing is inevitable, Loki. Your choices are your own.

[Luke smiles reassuringly, but quirks an eyebrow at the odd idea.]

Loki, you hurt his feelings. Just...apologize for speaking out of turn and breaking your agreement to leave one another alone, and everything will be well.

A second. I have a small request.

[Loki slides from the chair and walks towards a small table that is situated against the wall. He takes a piece of paper and a pencil from the table and returns to sit across Luke again. After that he starts to draw onto said paper and when he is done he hands it to the other, together with the pencil.]

As you can see I have drawn a little man on this paper. Please indicate where the darkness is located inside of me and how big it currently is.

It is important.

[Luke gives the boy a knowing smile after inspecting the paper and nods. He shades in the very soles of Loki's feet. And his two big toes. Nothing more.]

Nothing serious, but if you keep acting villainous, it may spread up.

[Loki watches intently and frankly, he would've expected the darkness to be inside his head. Not his feet.

And he figures that Jedi Knights would know a lot about darkness and darksides of people since it is a recurring theme in the movies he has seen.]

Shouldn't it be inside my head? It would be a much more logic if it would be inside my head.

[He points at his head and looks at Luke. Dead serious.]

Do you deem breaking a promise an act of villany?

I don't think that. If it spreads to your mind, then...metaphorically it'd be much worse.

[He nods slowly]

Yes, generally. Unless it's an unreasonable one.

[Loki nods shortly and takes the drawing back.]

That is a ridiculous statement. You cannot compare my mere slip of the tongue with killing thousands of innocent people.

[Still, breaking that agreement has been a rather rude little move of him. Not entirely unintentionally either.]

...For instance.

No, but I did not compare it to such. They're both acts of villainy, and one is rather extreme. Which, as you might understand, makes me cautious when dealing with him. I'm watching him so that he doesn't make a move that might take the villagers by surprise.

IC Appointments [Luceti]

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