[closed] I promise you right now, I will never lie to you.

[valr]

WHO: Valkyrie McGrumpypants and Jerky von Trollface
WHERE: A club of Loki's choosing
WHEN: Late July, like the 29th?? Whatever
WHAT: Gossiping about Tony Stark, being disappointed in humans and their decisions
WARNINGS: These two. These two.



[Kara knows this is essentially the worst idea that she's ever had in her entire life, but for all she hates cliches, at least two apply right now. Desperate times call for desperate measures and better the devil you know.

She realizes she said that Skye could give Stark a look at the null tech if she couldn't figure it out herself, but Kara didn't expect her to hand it over without so much as a by your leave. And the more that Kara sees of Stark, the less she likes him. He's some human with a bad history with a lot of other imPorts, judging by what she's seen on the network, and according to Skye he doesn't care much for privacy. Not that Kara can throw stones about that particular point, but she can't hack everyone's damn communicators, so it's kind of different.

Regardless, she doesn't trust this Stark man as far as Skye could throw him, and she doesn't think she can talk to Skye about him, so she's going to the only other person she knows who seems to have an idea about Stark.

Which is where the bad idea part comes in, but even if she can't trust Loki, she knows the sorts of things that Loki gets up to, she knows what tricks to look for and hopefully, if she's on her game, how to avoid them. So she isn't trusting him, not really, she's just trusting the devil she knows, instead of putting faith in this Tony Stark, who means nothing to her.

At least they're meeting on neutral ground, or as neutral as any ground gets in this damn place. She doesn't think a club is the best place to talk, but she figures Loki just wants to jerk her around a little, put her off balance and out of her comfort zone before the actual talking happens. She can deal with that, it's nothing new, and she's might be more comfortable in the club than people might expect. She still isn't wearing a dress, but she has dressed up a little, trading her usual fare for heeled boots, an almost nonexistent leather skirt and a sheer white lace top over one of the few bras she actually owns, but at least it's a nice one.

She hasn't waited for Loki, having headed inside and to the bar as soon as she'd arrived, knowing that she'd need a lot to drink to handle this whole mess. It doesn't take her long to get to her fifth shot, standing by the bar, assuming that Loki will be able to find her if he needs to.

She's almost expecting him to stand her up, and she almost wouldn't be disappointed if he did.]

Comments

[valr]

[She just shrugs, deciding the best way to deal with that statement is to not respond, rather than risking giving him more to work with.]

We've got some good qualities.

[Of course she counts herself as a mortal. She might not ever die of natural causes, but she isn't anything like a god.]

[selfimage]

[ not answering is always answering to Loki in some way. it's part of what makes him dangerous. he sees what's there and he sees what isn't and he sees the gap that might be there. he doesn't say anything of it, not yet. those sorts of things are best kept for later. ]

I did say fun.

Speaking of mortals, there's one in particular you seem curious about.

i'm finally back here sorry friend

[valr]

Stark.

[This is good, really. She thought they'd have to spend half the night dancing around the topic, so it's a relief that he brings it up so easily.

That doesn't mean she expects answers will come easily, but it's a start.]

I wanna know what I've gotta watch out for with him.

[If he's going to use the tech Skye gave him against them, if he's easily bought, if he's easily controlled. She doesn't want anyone else to be able to take her abilities away.]

friend is here.

[selfimage]

[ it'll be easier than she thinks—this is not only to her benefit, but it's to Loki's, too. he wasn't one to skirt up an opportunity. the only one who'd be on the edge for their compartmentalization of information plan was Tony himself. the only part that was a little more delicate to feel for was just how obvious Kara would be about what she knew. ]

We-ee-ell ... he was supposedly in the City before it, but who's to know how much he's changed? You can talk to me and get the gist of anything, but I'm still Loki, I don't exactly present myself as someone trustworthy. I may not say so much of him. You know the type, self-absorbed, likes to talk about himself, more than a bit exploitative.

He's a man of ambition, and you know how it gets when someone entitled thinks they're right.

party time

[valr]

Figure you only lie when it serves a purpose. Ain't got much purpose lying about this.

[That's not really true, but she hopes that they're mostly on the same page here, and that it'll work to her advantage.]

He's human, isn't he? And what's the whole Registration thing people keep on him about?

[She pays attention sometimes.]

[selfimage]

Human, yes—but he likes to fly around in his suit of iron and yell about mortal science. He's quite the knack for it.

[ they're on the same page because it benefits him. also because he Loki doesn't exactly trust Skye to be discreet. ]

Dangerously so.

[ Loki almost rolls his eyes and waves a hand dismissively. ]

He's got his registration boner held high. I did say he'd do quite a lot for his ego, didn't I? He likes being right.

[valr]

Fucking-- [Flying around in a suit of iron, for Odin's sake.

She takes a long sip of her drink while she process that amount of bullshit.]

But what's it to him? He come up with the idea for the government or something, 'cause the way people talk it sounds personal?

[selfimage]

Ah, that. That goes back to our world to a very complicated time of mistrust and varying opinions that caused all sorts of terrible problems. Tony Stark's solution to the problem—or one of them, anyway—was to clone my half-brother and use him as a vehicle to drive those righteous ambitions.

[ there's a slight smile on his face, but it's a bit more bitter than one might expect. he's still quite fond of Thor right now, and even though they had worked out their differences, it still remained done. ]

Leaves a bit of a sore spot, you could say. That doppelgänger wasn't exactly poetry and daisies, from what I've heard.

[valr]

[Whatever she was expecting, it certainly didn't involve clones, and this time she polishes off her drink because she hates all this bullshit. All these superheroes and their technology, it isn't right.]

So he's a human piece of shit, is what you're saying?

[Just to summarize.]

[selfimage]

In so many words with a touch of vulgarity.

[ he takes a sip of his drink, looking at her over the rim. ]

I wouldn't say he's not without his redeeming traits, but those may not be in your favor.

[ Loki wasn't in competition with Tony, they just had different ways of dealing with things. perhaps Loki got a bit of satisfaction from this. as willing as he was to hand his DNA over to Mister Sinister, this whole thing was a whole 'nother ball game. to be quite honest, it bothered him more than he would let anyone admit, even if he remembered how it didn't exactly bother him. (it shouldn't bother him. he repeats to himself how it doesn't.) ]

[valr]

[Kara just sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose where she feels like she's getting a headache.]

Never thought Skye would just hand it over like that.

[Might as well vent a little frustration; it isn't like Loki doesn't know.]

[selfimage]

[ Loki puffs up with an indigent sigh, for a moment he looks just as frustrated as she may feel. ]

Nor did I. Do take care—as in, let's keep the one in my possession between us.

[ he leans his chin on his folded fingers, elbow on the table. ]

Things might get sticky if Stark knows.

[valr]

I will.

[She tends to learn her lessons quickly, even if this is one she should've known already. She made a mistake with Skye.]

If Stark knows which part exactly?

[selfimage]

Oh, you know, that a former supervillain is in possession of a highly questionable piece of mortal technology kind of puts a damper on things for everyone with a moral compass. I'm sure he'd have words I would rather not sit through, and I'm not entirely convinced that they wouldn't be boring words. Then I'd have to wiggle my way out of it and it'd turn into a "thing."

The more he's not focusing on it, the better.

[ he waves a hand in dismissal. the more he doesn't have to deal with the annoyance, the better. not that he wasn't sure that he couldn't, but he'd rather not face Tony and his army of "blah"s. ]

WOW SHIT WHAT HAPPENED THERE SORRY

[valr]

If they're getting their fucking panties in a twist 'cause you've got some piece of technology, they're underestimating you.

[Loki having the technology doesn't bother Kara because she's sure he could do so much worse than just taking her powers, if he wanted to.]

FJDKSlksno worries

[selfimage]

That's considered flattery, you know. It doesn't do much for my ego.

[ if he wanted to.

but a lot of his crusades against people, civilizations or ideals have ended in perpetual burning by all parties. when he destroyed himself, he found himself in the opposite position. he never wanted to be anything other than what he was, but he didn't want to see anyone else burn because of it.

too much sacrifice. ]

I know what I am. Technology or not, I'm a variable.

weeps

[valr]

Could be an insult. You're more dangerous than they're giving you credit for.

[And while Kara might be temporarily willing to ally with him, she's not going to forget what it is that Loki does, and what happens to the people around him.]

[selfimage]

It has nothing to do with being dangerous.

[ he put the drink to his lips again. ]

It has to do with preconceptions. People don't like to change, I represent change, that change will come regardless. If people resist, it comes violently.

[ he was a catalyst, he'd admit, but a catalyst to what, exactly? ]

Good or bad, things have to change.

[ that included him, too. ]

[valr]

Is that what you're telling people these days?

[Because it feels like a line to be fed to anyone who'll swallow it, and Kara hopes she knows better than that.

She's careful not to make it sound like an accusation, though, there's more amusement in her voice than anything else.]

[selfimage]

I did say that people don't like it.

[ true and not, but he was never really an evil entity. sure, they liked to paint him that way, especially after the myths got transcribed, but he was seen as chaos.

it was by a few bad decisions that he ended up heading down the road that he did. ]

But change happens, and if you don't accept it ...

It'll uproot you.

[valr]

Change is easy.

[At least in her experience, if they're going to be having this conversation.

But she doesn't want to. What she wants to know is something that's been bothering her since she met him:]

How come you've still got power if they don't believe anymore?

[Humans, she means. She's sure he's smart enough to guess.]

[selfimage]

We can talk about impacted realities. It's more of a resonance. It complicates things past believing or not believing. The stories still exist, and mortals can believe that they make as much impact as they want with their faith. It's an oversimplification of variations of perspective.

[ he purses his lips and shrugs his shoulders at her. ]

That and Thor usually makes his presence known loudly in Midgard.

He's hard to ignore.

[valr]

[She doesn't quite understand what he means about Thor making an impact, but it falls to the wayside as she considers everything else he just said.]

Why doesn't that work for my gods?

[Maybe she could do something. Change something so they can come back.]

[selfimage]

Different universal constraints, I'd imagine.

[ but he couldn't say. there's not enough there for him to work with—and even if he could, he wasn't sure he wanted to. aside from the All-Mother outright throwing him under the bus, the time of the gods had really brought him nothing but strife. while at times he missed Thor most of all (and his mom, too), he really wasn't sure what was better. having his freedom or having his newly sparkled family. ]

[valr]

Guess I shouldn't have expected a real answer.

[Despite the words, and her somewhat bitter tone, she isn't actually blaming him for that lack of knowing.

Which is why she moves on.]

You got a lot of experience with this whole... universe bullshit?

[Look at her, sort of trying to make conversation.]