maskormenacelogs | ۞ Like What's Up Neighbour

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۞ Like What's Up Neighbour

WHO: Stephen Strange and MF #005 roomies/you?
WHERE: Maurtia Falls and around
WHEN: November, before the world ends
WHAT: Stephen, getting settled in
WARNINGS: Nothing so far.

Closed to Maurtia Falls #005

For most people, arriving somewhere at the end of the world would be a pretty bad day, all in all. But Stephen's seen a lot of stuff lately that there's something almost refreshing about appearing in another world's End Game. At least he's in the right mindset for it.

What is evident to Stephen is that he needs to get to work. There's a lot of ground to cover in a very short space of linear real-time.

When he arrives at the apartment he's been delegated, Stephen (and his cloak) take a brief glance around just to get a general sense of the layout, but after that Stephen makes short work of settling himself on the floor, cross-legged with his device and Time Stone, to get to work, creating a steady loop of time to enable him to go through the network in 15 minute bursts of reading. It's jolting work and each time it takes him longer to get back to the point he started reading from.

Anyone wandering in while he's in the middle of his work is likely to catch him looking a bit like a two frame looping gif, very slight twitching every fraction of a second.

Finally, Stephen doesn't have enough time in his loop to catch up to his mental network bookmark and breaks the effect, slumping with a deep sigh as he rubs his eyes. Some decent headway has been made, but he'll need to start the loop over.

Oh. There's someone there.

"Hi," he offers mildly, dropping his hand to look up, "Guess you'd be one of my roomies, huh?"

Wildcard.

[Come at me with something random, or hit me up on my OOC intro /

Kralkatorrik if there's a specific place you'd like to meet Stephen and we can hash out some ideas for a starter :) ]

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Well, yes. This world may be ending, as some of the residents liked to be claiming all over the network, but that doesn't mean that Loki necessarily cares about that. He hasn't come here by choice and doesn't much enjoy his stay so far. Neither can he leave. The end of this realm might very well open opportunities for him to do just that and potentially head to some other planet, so... No. He isn't exactly bothered by that idea. Or planning to assist in any way with any of the endeavors planned to prevent this planet's allegedly upcoming doom.

He's still around, however. Around and for the most part minding his own business and avoiding social interaction as much as possible. Which has become a lot easier by moving out of the place he initially has been assigned to and quitting his ridiculous job. He doesn't need that job - Or the company of pesky strangers. Or of anyone, for the matter.

Despite all that he still doesn't spend a lot of time alone in his new apartment, but rather roams Mauritia Falls and sometimes De Chima. Today it's the first of the two cities. But the Asgardian is less roaming around rather than simply sitting cross-legged on a wall not too far from his new living space. A cup of coffee sits next to him on the wall and his attention is every once in a while drifting to the various beings passing by. For the most part his attention is stuck to a small, colorful cube that he fidgets with, quite intent on solving the little puzzle.

Though despite how captivating the small toy may be, even Loki can't help but take note of the oddly dressed man appearing from between two buildings. Clearly an imPort. Potentially another hero set out to save this planet. Such short-sighted goals...

Loki returns his attention to his cube, head tilting slightly to one side and going back to working on its solution.

Yes, the world may be ending, but even Stephen knows in the midst of all the time-sensitive research he's doing, that breaks to decompress and digest the information is vital. The mind and body work together, so if he is stretching the limits of the former, then he needs to also stretch the latter.

Plus, if all goes well, there might be some of this universe left at the end of it all, and if that's the case then it can't hurt to familiarise himself with the local area. It's probably not the sort of city he'd directly opt for himself, very much the New Yorker at heart, but beggars and the interdimensionally kidnapped can't be choosers.

Sweeping down the streets of Maurtia Falls, Stephen is admittedly mostly just moving as he processes the information he currently has, not terribly focused on his overall surroundings. Until something pings Stephen's attention.

Sensing magical beings isn't like something on the wind or a mental buzzing sensation, it's far more ephemeral than that, pinging a difficult to identify place that initially took Stephen some time to get used to.

Turning his head toward the source of the feeling, Stephen's frown turns to mild surprise as he stops short to stare at the Asgardian and his toy.

"Loki of Asgard," he remarks evenly, without judgement, like he's commenting on the weather, "I'd say it's a small multi-verse, but--"

But it's more nuanced than that.

One final turn and a click seals the fate of the colorful cube, its mystery solved and the chaotic mess it has been not too long ago brought back in order. For now, at least.

Loki contemplates the solved puzzle when his name catches his attention and he looks up, or rather down at the same human he has noticed shortly before. The man is a stranger, as many here are. A stranger that knows his name. Which also isn't entirely odd. But what now, that the man has gotten closer, is much more eye catching, is how he parades decorated around with ancient magical relics only briefly mentioned in some of the scrolls and books Asgard's vast library houses.

"And what are you." Loki responds, mildly interested, yet not enough to turn his words into a proper question.

He does lean forward a little however, earning himself a slightly better look, which results in a bit of a frown. His little cube still in hand, the Asgardian points down at the human - Or rather at what he is wearing around his neck.

"Also I direly hope this is but a rather peculiar fashion accessory.

Up, down, future, past, it's all relative and doesn't necessarily matter to Stephen and Loki is fully capable of looking down on him even if they're standing on level ground and eye to eye.

What are you. Interest almost-question, one that makes Stephen pause as his brow creases with initial confusion.

No rage. No indication of wounded pride. No lunged attempt to stab or strangle him.

Odd.

But it's also not fully a question, so Loki doesn't fully get an answer.

"Doctor Strange."

The who, rather than the what.

Then, the Asgardian comments on the item Stephen has vowed to defend to the death. Beyond, even. But instead of feeling a prickle of fear, the magician smiles as he glances down briefly.

"What, this?" He lifts his attention to Loki once again, "I always thought of it as rounding off the whole look. Everything works better with a nice time piece."

Time piece. So this man knows precisely what he is carrying around. Another doctor, another stone. And Loki can't help but wonder just how close they have come to having four of the stones assembled in this realm. He simply raises a brow at the thought and decides for himself that fewer may be better than the opposite.

He simply nods once in understanding, yet opts not to pursue that detail at this very moment.

"A strange doctor, indeed." Is what Loki settles with in response at last, and even this is rather a comment than anything else.

He shifts enough to sit at the edge of his wall, hands in his lap and idly toying with the colorful piece of plastic while he observes the man below for another moment. There is an air of confidence about him. Maybe it's arrogance. Not that this is something Loki cares about. Other details are of more interest to him.

"You know of me." He says, simply stating that fact to set his base "But when do you fit in?"

A pause follows those words before the Asgardian rolls his eyes for a moment "And do you crave retribution for New York as well?"

Any conversation with Loki should be handled with caution and Stephen knows it and yet there's almost a compulsive response when it comes to issues and jokes that relate to his name. It's like a twitch in a nerve.

"No. Stephen. Doctor Stephen Strange."

It's a predictable stumble, dangerous even as it shows a brand of weakness, but immediately after Stephen sort of rolls his eyes with a small shake of his head.

There are more pressing matters. Like the confirmation that Loki, indeed, doesn't know him.

"I do know you, but New York was some years ago. For me."

"Stephen?"

Well, that's a surprisingly strong reaction and even the Asgardian can't entirely hide that surprise. And there is that part at the back of his mind that perks up and immediately wishes to pick up on this opening. That odd pile of leftovers of that very part of him that just recently got stirred awake after being torn to pieces just knows what to do with such a reaction and the revelation of a vulnerability of this sort.

Loki considers ignoring it. Mostly because acknowledging it would mean to acknowledge that something is there. Something broken.

"So Stephen it is." Loki says just in time to not appear surprised for too long. He permits something to have some input.

"Stephen from the future." Giving that detail away won't harm him. This man has already admitted to being a future acquaintance of some sort or another.

The Asgardian inclines his head, raising a single brow "What do I have to expect from you? So far you have not punched me and your apparel of choice is not of the sort that depicts the Avengers in heroic poses." The last part comes with a faint shrug.

With his cube-shaped puzzle vanishing from his hand, Loki pushes himself off the wall to join the human on actual ground and uses his finger to point directly at Stephen's necklace "And then there is still this, of course."

Of course, Stephen now regrets having let himself get pulled into correction game because that is how Loki will probably continue to address him from here on until a follow-up correction is deployed. For now, he just has to weather it: he asked for it.

He's quiet as Loki muses through things aloud, calm and steady in spite of his earlier emotional uptick.

"I'm not an Avenger," he clarifies first, "But our work overlaps at times."

So far, the work has not actually included Loki. And, perhaps, never will. It's a strange kind of awareness to have, that the person standing in front of you is going to be a casualty of war in the future. And equally strange that this Loki isn't the one Stephen met and will change over time. And, most importantly, if the time period quoted is anything to go by, this is a Loki who is potentially really quite dangerous.

"Oh that?" he looks down at Loki's probing finger, knowing that if he makes contact or tries to take it that there will be a nasty little magic searing for his trouble. "I picked this up a little while ago from some shack out in Kathmandu when I went backpacking to find myself. Like it?"

Oh, this is certainly what Loki will be calling the other man from now on. Italics and everything. Unbeknownst to even him, this decision will help the part of him that is still shattered recover from the damage.

But as far as consciously acquired knowledge goes, Loki nods briefly at the first bit of information. An associate of the Avengers. Which means Stephen has either been told of him or, like Peter and Quentin, has drawn his information from the various Midgardian news sources. Depending on however his impending punishment on Asgard will be, it’s unlikely that the human has actually met him in person. For all he knows, Odin might just do away with the rabid Frost Giant entirely.

He rolls his eyes mildly at Stephen’s words.

“You are toying with something dangerous, and I believe you know well what I mean by that, Stephen.” He says, withdrawing his hand without ever touching the amulet. It’s too obviously a trap, the guarding magic too clear of a warning.

"Guarding something dangerous. And accepting all the responsibilities that come with it."

In a way, Loki is right: Stephen is also toying with dangerous things, but that's not something he needs to discuss with an Asgardian trickster, especially not at the time like this.

You still think there will be no consequences, Strange? No price to pay? The bill comes due. Always.

Stephen remembers Mordo's words, his warning, his outrage. It's a ticking clock Stephen has on his back and can't see. Until the day it finally arrives, Stephen will continue.

"You don't seem to have your own trinket. That must put your marginally closer to the point in time where we meet."

Of course Stephen would prefer to shift focus from his hypocrisies to another topic, one Loki will find hard to resist: himself.

Edited 2019-11-11 13:34 (UTC)

Dangerous, indeed. Loki can't exactly see how this man would successfully guard the stone in his possession against the Titan seeking them. And according to what else he has learned about the future from both Peter as well as Quentin... Well. He won't exactly be successful.

But the Asgardian isn't getting to mention any of that, seeing that his attention is rather successfully directed elsewhere.

"Really." He says, blinking once "Is this one of those occasions where your work overlaps with that of the Avengers? No one mentioned yet that I get to return to Midgard in the future."

Loki pauses for a moment, then tilts his head back "Or are you perhaps yet another mortal Thor drags to Asgard. Brought in to bear witness my execution for touching his precious Earth." A thin layer of venom creeps into his tone "I hope it's bloody."

The information moves through Stephen on several levels of filtration.

No-one has mentioned a return to Earth, but someone has clearly mentioned something to Loki. What the nature of that something is remains a bit ambiguous but...

So, Loki knows about New York, but doesn't know that he's returned to Earth. 'Another mortal' to Asgard probably refers to Jane Foster and the Reality Stone. Whether that means Loki has lived through that or just been told of it is another matter.

In another, less world-ending context, Stephen would probably enjoy a brand of risky teasing, though here he has the distinct sense there should be some cutting to the chase.

"So you're from somewhere between 2012 and 2017? That's potentially a lot to be in the dark about."

He keeps his expression studiously unreadable, not even a twitch at Loki's war-lusty fantasies for earth, nor a display of displeasure at the bitter tones. Loki is not a safe person to play with, it's just that Stephen doesn't have much qualms in handling a murderous god of mischief like a tantruming toddler.

"But no, sorry to disappoint, but your little jaunt back to Earth down the line is a decidedly muted affair. Just a few broken glass displays, and that wasn't even your doing."

Damn it, Thor.

Stephen lowers his eyes to where Loki's rubix cube had been rolling back and forth between the trickster's fingers.

"It's good to see you've been keeping busy though. Puzzles and what have you. Familiar objects. That kind of thing. Keeps those idle hands busy and all."

It's that persistent calm draped way too firmly over the other man that irritates the Asgardian the most. That frustratingly unchanging expression that gives nothing away. This man is well guarded and knows to be cautious. By far not an easy game like Mysterio, but closed off and sealed away.

A challenge. A puzzle in its own right.

Fine. He has solved the silly cube, he might as well figure this one out.

"My dear brother has just been about to return me to Asgard, if you must know." Loki opts to lay this detail out "But instead of arriving there..." He trails off with a gesture around him and a faint smirk "And I can not say I am even mad that my meeting with the Allfather has been postponed."

Just a bit of truth. But one that hasn't really been a secret anyway. Most of those familiar with their universe are well aware that Loki has just stepped out of the mess that is New York before being pulled here. Though at the very least Loki can now conclude that Odin will not take his head after all. He goes over his own mental notes for a moment and frowns as his smirk slips away.

In the end, Loki asks a cautious question "Why 2017? What happens that year?"

He has heard of many events, but most of them with no acute year attached to them. Mostly because Peter doesn't know all those details and Peter is still one of Loki's main sources.

So, very much Loki as he was in the immediate aftermath of New York. A Loki that Stephen only had the vaguest sense of in terms of overt danger, and a Loki who had not yet undergone the evident life shifts that he had by the time he was dumped on the floor of the Sanctum.

"You're probably not mad about it now, no."

Will he be in the future? That's a complicated and personal question, one Stephen isn't about to speculate on beyond that comment.

Stephen feels the trepidation of Loki's question, like he's stepping out onto an iced lake that he's not sure will hold his weight. And Stephen's no sadist, just careful. There's no reason to withhold that answer, at least in part.

"2017 is when we met, briefly. Your brother and I had a little chat, and then I sent you both on your way."

It's the truth, just... with some details avoided.

"But you don't need to worry about that for a while yet, it seems like."

"I do not make it a habit to worry." Loki says. Which isn't entirely true, but Stephen does not need to know that. This sort of insight does not belong known to anyone as far as he's concerned.

And yet at times it may be painfully obvious anyway.

He decides to ask the one detail he currently deems the most important: "Is this before or after New Asgard comes to be?"

Peter couldn't tell him when exactly this is to happen, only that New Asgard is there and that the actual Asgard gets destroyed. So filling that gap in his gathered information of course is of interest to Loki. Whatever dealings his brother has with this mortal does not rank very high on his list of priorities in comparison.

Much rather does he wish to know why Thor brings him to Earth in the first place. Though that is something Stephen may not be able to tell him.

There's no surprise to Stephen now that Loki is from a different time stream, but the more and more that's said, the closer and closer they get to pin-pointing when Loki is from.

The comment about New Asgard makes Stephen's eyebrow arch. They're playing chicken, clearly, each closing the gap a little bit to see what the other will do. If Loki knows that Asgard is destroyed, that makes some of this easier.

"Before. Before Asgard's destruction, before Thanos,"

Stephen gives a short shake of his head as he adds, "But it's established after my current time, so I understand. Or it will be. Should be. I don't technically exist when that happens."

"Thanos." Loki repeats the name with a tone that's impossible to place anywhere and a forced half-grin that breaks away half a moment later and he turns away with a dismissive gesture. A gesture mostly meant for himself.

He takes a few steps away from the caped man "I assume it makes sense. Thor taking the Tesseract to Asgard, you sitting on that." He turns around in one fluid motion to point at Stephen's pendant with a single finger "How can either possibly remain in existence if he succeeds at the end."

The Asgardian's hand drops back to his side. It's a logical conclusion. He has met Thanos. He might as well be the cause for Asgard's destruction if the Tesseract ends up being kept there.

A shrug.

"At least your Avengers fix that mess. You may well come back to life like everyone else." Though that far point in the future has not been of too much interest to Loki. He has been able to fill a few more holes of his future understanding. And as far as he can guess, he won't make it to Thanos' defeat himself.

As Loki talks and walks his way through the logic, Stephen folds his hands in front of his with irritating serenity. There's not much to deny in Loki's speculation, as much of it is largely true, or at least gets close to the end point of it all.

He should perhaps have more of a reaction to Loki's pointing finger heading in the direction of the Time Stone, though Stephen merely cants his head ever so slightly to one side as he watches the pacing Asgardian draw up his conclusions.

"My Avengers?" It's a light turn of phrase that's not really worth pausing on at all, but it still sounds a little odd to Stephen's ears. He's not an Avenger. The Avengers haven't taken him on. This would be a point he and Beck would draw and erase lines in the sand over in the very near future, in fact. Stephen's own echo of the phrase is rhetorical though as he gives a short shake of his head.

"But you're right. If they manage it, yes, many of us will return."

Many, not all. His expression remains impartial as he watches Loki's face.

"If we do indeed all sit in that very same timeline."

Loki pauses briefly at the echo, then shrugs "Why, yes. Your Avengers. You are Midgardian, are you not?" He makes a single handed gesture that might be considered to be on the presenting side "Consider that little group of heroes my most generous gift to Midgard and all Midgardians. They are yours as well. You're welcome, Stephen."

There's sarcasm in his voice. Not necessarily of the venomous kind, but more dismissive.

He takes two steps backwards, shaking his head and raising a single finger as a humorless smirk finds its way onto his face "Now you're the first one to go into timelines. But unless you can prove a different outcome, Peter's future remains the one we are facing. You may want to ask him if he wrote fanfiction about you as well."

Just a suggestion. And maybe an attempt to direct Stephen's focus elsewhere while Loki slowly but surely steps away. This man is irritatingly calm. And while the Asgardian normally would be more inclined to figure out more, right there and then his patience for dealing with anyone has run low.

"So incredibly benevolent and considerate of you," Stephen returns with equal dryness, keeping whatever thoughts he has about the relative probability of the Avengers forming without Loki's involvement aside because hypotheticals in this case don't really matter--the history is what it is and in a way, Loki is right.

Admittedly, Stephen is not always as calm as he is, nor anywhere near as emotional devoid as he appears, it's just all about what he is and isn't expecting to get under his skin and how effectively he can guard against it. Granted, he's gotten comparatively better since the whole Master of the Mystic Art thing.

Though when Loki hones in on Peter a little more, it does snag on Stephen, makes him narrow his eyes with a mild frown from a few areas. But it catches on one point more than the others, arguably the least important one and probably exactly what Loki is hoping for.

"... Fanfiction?"

He doesn't mean 'what is fanfiction,' so much as he's skipped the part of the question that contains 'Peter wrote.'

Edited 2019-12-03 15:31 (UTC)

“Fanfiction.” Loki confirms, a sense of victory settling in at the successful detour he has managed to set Stephen’s mind on.

“Tales written about famous figures by their admirers and published for the world to read.” He gives a brief explanation before adding a little detail “Peter admitted to have written those in past years. Mostly about Stark.” Here, he pauses a moment “And myself.”

Truth be told, if the internet on this world would be the same than the one back on the Earth familiar to them, Loki would have looked those stories up. As it is, he can only attempt to draw parallels from the stories he can unearth here and paint a mental picture from that. Though for the most part he entertains himself by causing further unrest in the ongoing shipping wars.

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۞ Like What's Up Neighbour

Around Mauritia Falls - Let me know if this works~

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