The Most Unconventional Of Therapies.

[lovesuwithknives]

Looking for Azwel? Does he owe you ten bucks? Have you got questions you need to ask him, like What was the 1500s like, or Hey, what's up with the gauntlets? or even just WHY?! he can be found in any number of places.

Maybe he's at the Crossroads Cafe, having a bite to eat on the off chance he remembers food is a thing he needs to put in his face once in a while.

Maybe he's wandering the Plaza, checking out everyone's booths and shops.

Maybe he's out in a wide open space, training his pokemon. Or training on his own, creating a blue-and-red light show of weapons made of energy whirling through the air.

Maybe he's in the library, reading whatever caught his eye that day.

Something's in the air, some kind of anticipation, and Azwel has grown restless, so he's working that out of his system in his own unconventional manner. And while his energy is nearly indefatigable even he needs a rest now and again. That's why, eventually he's sat on one of the Plaza's many sofas at some point.

He has a thoughtful look on his face for several beats before he speaks:

"I must admit to some obliviousness, but I've noticed a general feeling of heightened emotion around this time of year, completely different to what I've seen before. Is it typical?

Also, does anyone else have a restless feeling, like something's on the horizon but you don't know what it is?"

((OOC: Feel free to hit any of the prompts for some non-question-related stuff if you like!))

Comments

[lovesuwithknives]

He has Azwel's full and complete attention, but it's not the typical entranced reaction--no, this man's curiosity simply builds and builds upon itself. Azwel is one who will never be satisfied with what he's learnt, who will always want more. Need more.

As the story progresses, as his mind processes and extrapolates and imagines, emotions play across his face. Really, he's the perfect audience, reacting with the broad unfilteredness of an empath who's chosen long ago not to bother hiding said reactions.

"Overkill it may be," he says, "but what else could one do with such a revelation? Shrug and move on with life? Oh, no, it is clear you've been dealt a grave injustice," he continues earnestly. "And while attempting to destroy an entire realm would have drastic repercussions, they must be laid, at least in part, at the feet of one such as Odin, who lacked such consideration for the individual, who thought only of the surface concerns."

He knows little about the Old Norse, but it's something he's definitely going to research, now.

[coldsong]

Okay.

Okay, this is unexpected. Literally no one has ever taken Loki's side in this. No one other than Thor has ever offered him an apology for his hurt, even, and when he did so, it was before he actually knew what was happening, a desperate "I don't know why you're doing this, but whatever I did, I'm sorry--please don't kill my friends!" Which he accepted, in his own way, but it was more of a grasping at straws than an attempt to reach out. Or so Loki thought at the time.

(But Mjölnir thought differently, didn't it? Was it Thor's willingness to self-sacrifice that won his hammer back, or an honest attempt to reach out to an enemy and make peace?)

What Frigga and Odin may have said to one another regarding Loki behind closed doors, he will never know. And thus far his attempts to explain himself have been met with derision, accusations of insanity or melodrama and overreaction, and one 'I believe you' which he has no idea how to react to. Never once has any one indicated his breakdown might not be entirely Loki's own fault.

He looks at Azwel blankly for a long moment, genuinely trying to parse whether this is real empathy or some kind of mockery. Possibly the man is not entirely sane, himself. And yet, he seems genuine, and Loki's past experience with him suggests he is not particularly prone to mindgames.

"...no one's ever said that to me before," he says, and can't help but sound a little forlorn in the saying. He clears his throat after, pulling his dignity back together a bit, and adds, "Mind you, it does get worse. I fell in with a bad crowd after that, so to speak. Which I'm sure still does nothing to justify my actions to the victims of them, but..."

Shrug. He's leaning toward Azwel a but now, unconsciously, uncertain of his sympathy and seeking it anyway. "Truth is comforting to no one. That's why I spend so much time lying."

"Tell me, you come from a world with some magic, do you not?"

[lovesuwithknives]

Oh, Azwel is definitely a few lines short of a sonnet, but he's also quite, quite lucid. He says what he means, and all that.

"These things so often do get worse," Azwel muses with the air of a man who's been there. Maybe he'll tell the story.

At the question he nods. "I do, indeed, though everyone's idea of magick is different and, in my world, there are those who have managed to make it co-exist with science." For... a given value of 'science,' anyway.

[coldsong]

"Mmm. My brother has said they are one and the same. Indeed, there seems to be some overlap, but it has long been my feeling that to know too much about magic is to break it. It is unknowable and difficult to define by its sheer nature. And often overwhelming."

He folds his hands on his lap, fingers fidgeting nervously. "What do you know about...mn, artifacts with the capability to alter emotions or memory?"

[lovesuwithknives]

Oh, what are the odds? Lucky you, Loki, you've stumbled upon one who has created such an artefact.

Azwel gives a rueful smile. "I know rather a lot about such artefacts." He reaches down and unclips the gauntlets from his belt, placing them on the table. "These bear shards of what are called the Spirit Sword and the Cursed Sword," he says, indicating the vaguely crystalline things in the triangular settings. "Taken from before the weapons re-formed themselves from being shattered in a fight. The Cursed Sword holds the essence of Chaos, whereas the Spirit Sword holds the essence of Order. In my world, the Cursed Sword had the ability to cause something called 'Malfestation'--it would twist and mutate a certain kind of person in body and mind, bringing out rage and hatred before leaving them a mindless killer.

There is no cure for Malfestation save for one thing--" he taps the left gauntlet and its blue crystal. "The Spirit Sword. At least that's the legend. In the hands of the right bearer, its energies could merge with theirs and reverse the effects. The right bearer, however, is a rare individual, indeed,"

"Rest assured, though, bound as these shards are, they cannot work any transformations unless I will it. They are part of a... a circuit, now, for which I've made myself a catalyst."

[coldsong]

Loki wants to protest that the essence of Chaos should not be rage and hatred. Chaos is just...itself. There is rage and joy in it in equal measures. Or maybe Loki is biased because it's very much his element. In any case, he listens to Azwel's explanation with his elbows on his knees, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Where I come from there were elements at the beginning of time. Elements or entities, or things that were both. After creation began, these elements became condensed into gems. The Infinity Stones. Each seems to have its own limited sentience, its own ability and power over some aspect of existence. One of them is the Mind Stone."

"I held it, for a short while. And I used it, at the behest of...an unpleasant employer. At the time I felt its power, felt it nipping at my psyche. I did not realize how deeply it had altered my memories until it was taken from me."

"The nature of these things, the sheer power, is both fascinating and abhorrent. To feel yourself being bent into the wrong shape over and over again, and yet to be unable to question the contortion. If you use yours without such ill effects, you are very fortunate."

[lovesuwithknives]

Take that up with Soul Edge, Loki. Azwel's is not the most well-thought-out of canons....

He nods. "I suspect another reason these have less effect is because they're pieces, not the entirety. Still, they aren't the most pleasant things to use." A beat. "You had the entirety of an artefact--I can but imagine the strain. Yet people blame you for what you did under its influence?" He shakes his head.

As to any ill effects from the shards, well, that remains to be seen. It can't be good for a person to route those kinds of energies through themselves.

[coldsong]

Inconsistencies are what make a fandom go around.

"Two, actually," he says, with a lilt in his voice, almost cheerful. "For a short while, I held the Space Stone, as well."

"I am not sure whether I would rather be seen as villain or victim, friend. I was not myself. But that is of little comfort to those that suffered from my actions. It is in the nature of most sentient beings, when disaster befalls, to seek someone to blame."

"I don't...I do not object to anger and recrimination. I did what I did. People died. I cannot pretend I am not a killer. I only object to the dismissal of my point of view on the matter. I would be heard, and not have my torment be dismissed as a temper tantrum."