Loki: Worst Matchmaker Ever?

[coldsong]

Loki has a peculiar way of preparing to speak: he does not clear his throat or straighten his clothes or loosen his collar, but merely takes long, slow strides into an open spot. There are no stages in the area of the Nexus in which he finds himself, but the way he stands and opens his arms--all grace and hubris--seems to make the flat plain ground around him into his personal catwalk, the diffuse light around him his own personal spotlight.

You may not take him seriously, but you'd be hard-pressed not to notice his presence.

"Nexus, if I may bend your collective ears for a moment? I have a simple, if heartfelt, request."

I would like to see if my big brother is capable of feeling embarrassment.

"I am the younger sibling of Thor Odinson, a man--nay, a god--of great power, courage, and nobility. There are few who equal him in battle, and until now I would say few who equal him in the realm of the heart. Alas, it seems that at this time in his life, events in our world have wounded his confidence greatly. I wish to build him back up, so to speak, but my best efforts thus far have fallen flat."

"Frankly, I feel that his alteration in hairstyle, clumsy and poorly-planned though it may be, suits the peculiar shape of his head far better than his previous, doll-like golden tresses. There is a certain simplicity to his change of outfit that matches with the simplicity characteristic of his thought patterns. A change for the better, certainly, and moreover it shows his true mettle, the way he has no fear of appearing as the leader and representative of our people with his cape tattered at the hem and unmended, as if he has of late escaped from the engine of our borrowed space vessel."

"Nexus, friends, what more can I tell him to restore his pride? You will find him nearby, I think, if you wish to get a look at him, or if he finds himself too shy to observe this conversation I am certainly capable of producing images to show what he looks like. All compliments directed at him will be accepted with gratitude, and perhaps one of you will even find it in your heart to court him, however temporarily. I cannot guarantee he will be amenable, as he is so very timid of late, but I think it would do his heart well to experience a flirtation once more."

Comments

[anticdispossession]

Geoffrey noticed Loki almost instantly, alert to the theatrical. He leaned against a nearby wall to watch the little show.

When it was over, he gave Loki a few slow, loud claps. Quite a performance.

[coldsong]

Loki does not consider himself a thespian by any stretch of the imagination, but there's no denying he's a performer. He always has been.

He seems mildly surprised to be applauded nonetheless. In earlier, more misbegotten days, he might have immediately demanded his audience kneel. But now, he has nothing to lose and nothing to gain except a few moments of incredulous annoyance from Thor, so he merely bows to Geoffrey, choosing to accept the accolades. Really, he feels he deserves them, anyway.

[anticdispossession]

Geoffrey tossed Loki a small salute and then pushed away from the wall, smiling to himself. He had no need to get involved in the scene any more than he already had, but the interlude in all its theatricality had cheered him up.

[smartass_captain]

Well, this sure is something to walk in on.

Jim Kirk is no stranger to Little Brothers and their natures. He's one himself and that says nothing about the people he surrounds himself with but the artistry and sheer duplicity in this self proclaimed younger sibling to a god is a sight to behold. Does that make him also a god? Thor, like the old Earth mythology? Interesting namesake, and doubly interesting if the real thing. This is the Nexus after all, and meeting gods isn't off the table.

What's most important in this moment however is that this is a Professional Little Brother Stunt.

Jim almost wants to applaud. But there is a question here and he feels like it's probably unfair to the elder brother in this tale not to at least try to say something nice about him. The trouble is...

"I don't know who your brother is sad to say. At least he has a devoted next of kin." Devoted to what Jim doesn't say but his smile says he can guess.

[coldsong]

Loki will be happy to tell all and sundry how much of a god he is, himself, though he prefers not to elucidate what his version of godhood entails. Certainly not immortality, nor invulnerability, but it would be nice to let the Nexus think so.

Thor will probably ruin that game before it starts, unfortunately. Loki, therefore, will consider this fair retaliation before the fact.

"How gracious of you to notice," he tells Jim with a faint incline of his head to acknowledge the compliment. "I am indeed my brother's keeper; I am sure he will be the first to admit his life would be very different were it not for my influence. If the opportunity arises to introduce you to him, I would be happy to do so."

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley was returning to her Nexus apartment after helping her new teammates with a tough job. So she was wearing the outfit that works the best for fighting -- the short glittery red shorts, the fishnet stockings, the torn T-shirt, the leather jacket, and a pair of high-heeled boots. A bat swings at her side (with blood splatters on it).

Loki's speech makes her stop and listen. She laughs when he mentions Thor. She just met the God of Thunder -- but she doesn't think that Thor had asked Loki to do this. So he must be making mischief.

Perfect. She loves mischief.

And should return the favor. She strides forward with a bright smile. "Trust me sweetheart, I would not worry about anyone not flirting with your brother."

[coldsong]

He can't help but give the glittery outfit a skeptical look, finding himself reminded of the party aesthetic of Sakaar. The look of Asgard always tended toward elaborate armor, flowing lines, bronze and gold and dark jewel tones. Sakaar was garish by comparison, bright and colorful and in-your-face. He had begun getting used to it, though, by the time things went pear-shaped.

The bloodied bat is an additional noteworthy feature, an incentive to be civil, not that he was planning to be otherwise right now. Until he has a plan, he'll put his best face forward. "You have met him already, then? Shall I pass along your opinion?"

Oh, please say yes...

[gorogorogoro_chan]

A steady haze of tobacco smoke drifts over as Majima takes leisurely drags from his cigarette, listening to the flowery speech with piqued interest. A god? Great in a fight? Hmm.

He tosses his cigarette on the ground and grinds it out before approaching Loki with a self-confident swagger. "Oi, oi. Let's see those pics of the big bro, huh?"

[coldsong]

"Pics? Ah, I see I have not been clear. I have no photograph or portrait. What I can offer is this--"

Damn, but it's good to be a shapeshifter. There's a momentary shimmer of light that creeps across Loki's body, and as if a page has been turned, a moment later the man that stands before Majima is taller, broader, and blonder than before. It's an almost flawless facsimile of Thor that Loki has produced, battered armor, torn cape, right-sided eyepatch and all. Weirdly, though, Loki's voice issues from his mouth.

(He's perfectly capable of mimicking Thor's voice and speech patterns, but that's not the point right now.)

"There. This is his current look." He turns in a circle with a little, un-Thorlike smirk.

[pirateangelbaby]

It's not been terribly often that Thor's been the butt of a joke quite so public. The way Loki speaks of him, you'd think maybe he would have quit the field and retreated to save his ego, but there he is, off to the side, arms crossed firmly over his chest, his expression a cross between aghast and wounded pride as his eye stays fixed on Loki.

The hair is one thing. As are the clothes, as they were hardly his choice, and they hardly had a chance to pack anything before Asgard became an asteroid field. But his love life? Low blow, brother. Downright scandalous. "It was a mutual dumping!"


[[OOC: Anyone who does not mind Thor crashing your threads to defend himself, let me know! :D]]

[coldsong]

Okay, so Loki is being awful and knows he's being awful, but if Thor take a moment to reflect, he may take note that his brother has made no mention of his missing eye. In point of fact, Loki is more bothered by that wounding than he cares to admit. Perhaps it's mostly because it does make Thor a younger reflection of their father, but there is also an element of 'no one maims my brother but me' in Loki's psyche.

In any case, he gives Thor an innocent smile (or as close as he can get to innocent, anyway), bright-eyed and friendly. "So you have said, and I do not question your story."

Not this time, anyway. Not publicly. "I simply think a rebound flirtation would be good for you."

[[Yesssss. As far as I am concerned, you have carte blanche to threadhop here, as long as the other party doesn't mind!]]

[websnextdoor]

"I..I don't think he wants me to flirt with him."

Not that Peter wouldn't at least a little bit. Guy is built like the ultimate man's power fantasy and even with his new aesthetics he's better looking objectively speaking than about 99.5% of the population on the good old planet Earth. But look at him, Loki. He's a twig of a man--boy really--in a hand me down shirt and patched jeans.

He's not exactly the kind of person someone like the God of Thunder would take notice of. Or potentially villainy inclined siblings to the god either, one would hope. For no reason, obviously.

"Does he know you're doing this?"

[coldsong]

"Ahh...no, perhaps not." You're a little on the young side, Peter. Even for an Asgardian who has previously dated a mortal and is therefore used to tremendous age gaps. "Were you a decade or so older it might be worth considering."

He gives an almost apologetic shrug. "Still, I would be content to receive your recommendations and pass them along. Platonic adulation is valuable, as well."

He didn't know there were kids here, okay?

"...mm? Well. He knows now."

[chiron_survivor]

Far be it from Adia to turn down a heartfelt request. She stops to listen, interest further piqued when he mentions Thor, whom she had only recently met.

Unfortunately, the rest of his eloquent words fall on deaf ears, as she is too busy suffering some sort of mortification, her hands twisting at the strap of her messenger bag as if she might tear it in half.

"He's a god?!" she blurts out. She thought he was an alien! Oh, no. Oh, no no no. "A god of what?"

[coldsong]

Oh, dear. This one seems to have missed the meat of his speech, the litany of backhanded compliments he's been delivering. And that's a shame because more so than date-auctioning his brother, they're what Loki meant to broadcast to the Nexus at large.

That's all right, though. This girl looks so terribly embarrassed; he feels no sympathy at all, but curiosity? Yep.

He could absolutely make something up here, but truth is sometimes better than fiction. "Thunder, last I checked," he informs her. "Which is to say Thunder and Lightning and a few other elements of the storm as the occasion calls for it. I take it you have met him already?"

[contrivings]

"I remain faithful to my husband, thank you very much," Penelope replies, mildly impressed by the man's verbiage nonetheless. "Also, gods and mortals? That never ends well."

She's intrigued to hear what else he has to say, to see if he can continue sounding so eloquent.

[coldsong]

There is something in this woman's no-nonsense response that Loki very much likes, something that stings, as well, as he realizes he is reminded of Frigga. That's unexpected, and not particularly appreciated. For half a second, the laughter in his eyes is replaced by something more introspective, but he recovers quickly.

He puts a hand over his heart and bows gracefully. "Of course. My brother is no homewrecker, nor am I."

The last part isn't strictly true. Loki is perfectly willing to cause marital strife if there's a reason for it or it looks like fun, but that's hardly necessary here. "Your point with respect to gods and mortals is well-taken, indeed. A wise observation, and something which I had mentioned to him once, not long ago. In Thor's case, the heart wants what it wants, I think. But we shall see."

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

She looks up from where she's making her Supplies to Get list raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to the right inquisitively in a rather canine manner. Listening to see if there's something she can help with has become second nature by now.

The name perks her ears up, even more, they fur a little the color blending with her hair. Uh oh, was he the Thor she met or someone else's Brother?..wait wasn't there..er a Balder too? She slightly twitches her nose slightly. Hmm she should probably investigate..carefully. She tucks her mini notebook and pen into her pocket and folds her hands in front of her and lace her fingers as she mulls over words to say and his.

She listens and furls her brows a little and both of her eyebrows shoot up toward her hair. Yeaaah she doubted Balder would talk about Thor like that..even if he was only teasing. She softly clears her throat. "I could..hmm help mend and find him some material and such if he likes." She offers softly but warmly. "Though um I'm not sure how much a match there might be... There are all sorts of things that end up hereabouts." She infroms him in a friendly civil tone.

[coldsong]

Oh, well, that's just a sweet offer. Almost too sweet for Loki to put up with, in fact. He can't deny that some repair to Thor's clothing would be appreciated, although it might be difficult to pry the cape away from him for long enough to get it worked on. He really likes the silly thing for some reason.

Loki probably can't criticize. He's not wearing his helmet right now, but it's a bit over the top, too.

"Are you a tailor?" He asks mildly enough. "I must warn you, he is built like a brick...wall. And therefore somewhat difficult to fit, or so I imagine."

[hybriddino]

The Indoraptor isn't sure what to make of the strange twoleg's little show. He's honestly kind of impressed, although he's also lost - the stranger's vocabulary and big words confuse him. He really needs to learn more of the twoleg tongue.

He tilts his head and gives an admiring chirrup from the back of the room, where he stands. He may be a dinosaur, but he knows the value of putting on a good act. Good job!

Even though he doesn't understand half of what the twoleg is saying, the words sound pretty.

[coldsong]

Okay, so, at a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, Loki sees the scaly pattern and at first thinks there's a bilgesnipe here. That would be unwelcome and he'd have to insist Thor remove it if it were--but no, a second look tells him this is something different. For one thing, it's a much cleaner, sleeker creature. Deadly, he judges from the teeth and claws, if it wants to be. Draconic, but without wings.

How interesting. He definitely does not think this creature wishes to court his elder brother, nor would that end well if it did, but obviously he has its attention.

He'd be a poor trickster if he couldn't imitate sounds, and so after a moment's pause to let the creature know he sees it, he echoes the chirp back at it, as if he was a recording. If this is a language, it may take a while for the Allspeech to catch up to the new tongue, but even if not, Loki isn't too stuck-up to try and make a friend of an interesting reptile.

[callmetrace]

Trace knows a few things about looking different, or sudden changes. Wounds in confidence. He's been roaming around and sticks his hands in his pockets. He was written to be a certain way. He prefers the company of women. Still, when it comes to men he'd be remiss in admitting that Jason was attractive. Same with a few of the other thought forms. Kyle too.

He's thought about that a lot but he dismisses it out of hand. Now's not the time to go exploring.

"Just get the guy a gift card."

[coldsong]

Loki is actually not certain whether Thor welcomes the company of men, when it comes down to it--at least, romantically speaking. Thor delights in friendship with other warriors or the male persuasion, certainly. He figures it doesn't matter what Thor wants in this context, though; he's suggesting people ask him out, not promising his hand in marriage. Realistically, he doesn't expect Thor to take anyone up on a date even if they try.

It's all a bit of fun.

Besides, in a shapeshifter's mind, lines of gender and sexuality tend to blur easily, anyway.

"A gift card?" Look, he's surprisingly savvy where modern human culture is concerned, considering how brief his visits to Midgard have been. This is a suggestion he's not sure how to parse. "How would such a thing work, pray tell, and where would one obtain such a thing?"

What're you talking about, stranger?

[houmaprotector]

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that." There might be a vague edge to Alec's voice. He's carefully supervising the growth of a collection of large ferns. Watching them and the newcomer with a slightly amused expression on his face, "...Such a concerned brother and such. Any gesture you make however small will be appreciated."

[coldsong]

Is ice and darkness the antithesis of green and growing? Something within Loki is quick to recognize the alien-ness of the being that addresses him. He has seen far more alarming, however, and while he thinks it may be wise to keep a safe physical distance, he can't help but be intrigued.

"I hope," he says, "that you will tell him as much when he comes by to chastise me for playing my games. In addition to his other faults, he does take himself too seriously."