Application for Il Promenade
PLAYER
✧ NAME: Takhys
✧ LJ USERNAME: takhys
✧ CONTACT (EMAIL, AIM, MSN, PLURK, ETC.): Takhys on gmail & aim, antimeria on plurk
✧ CURRENT MUSE LIST: None in Il Promenade.
CHARACTER
✧ NAME: Loki Laufeyjarsson, Loki Liesmith, "the other brother", god of lies, god of mischief.
✧ SERIES: Thor (2011) with mythology and Marvel comics to fill in the gaps.
✧ HISTORY: Wikipedia has a pretty good summary of the main events of his canon.
✧ TIMELINE: Loki will arrive in game some time after he's fallen from the Bifrost bridge and had some time to think about what he ought to be doing with himself. This added time while falling through time and space will help calm him down, centre him, and make him considerably easier to play. However, as he's a lying liar that lies, if asked, he'll swear that he's come from a point before visiting Jötunheim.
✧ PERSONALITY: NB: Before I get into the nitty gritty of whos and whens, I think it's important to clarify how I intend to work mythology and movie canon together. First, I think it would be a bit silly to say that the Norse myths we have today are exactly the same as those in the Marvel movieverse. For example, in the actual myths, Loki's parentage is common knowledge; whereas, the revelation of Loki's Jötun heritage is a major plot point in the movie. Secondly, the movie is only two hours long and while there's an abundance (maybe an over abundance) of Marvel comics canon, I'm not overly familiar with the comics canon and will mostly be supplementing gaps in history and world-building knowledge with mythological info adapted to suit movie canon.
A little over one thousand years ago, Odin, the Allfather and king of Asgard went into battle against the Jötun (frost giants) and was victorious in battle. In the heart of their capital, he found the son of the leader of the Jötun -- a child small enough that he could pass for one born in Asgard -- and either for reasons of pity or good politics, he took the child to be raised alongside his own son.
The child, Loki, was not told of his heritage and was brought up alongside his brother Thor as a prince of Asgard. While both were raised in the same household and, at least nominally, given the same opportunities, Thor exemplified the traits Asgardians value, -- honour and physical prowess -- while Loki's own talents lay in creativity, adaptability, and intellect. In many ways, the two brothers have complimentary sets of skills: where Thor is forthright to the point of being unaware (or possibly unconcerned) with the emotional concerns of those around him, Loki is adept at reading subtle emotional cues and using those nuances to manipulate others. Mindful that he would never be able to win acceptance on the basis of his fighting skills, Loki cultivated 'soft skills' that paradoxically served both to provide him some of that recognition he desperately craved while distancing him from the other Asgardians. I think that it's reasonable to assume that from a young age Loki was acutely aware of his social standing.
The power of speech and intellect is a strong theme that runs through much of what Loki does. Just as he is able to affect the world around him through the use of incantations and sorcery, he is also able to shape reality through more mundane means -- e.g. if Thor wanted to move a boulder, he'd hit it, while Loki would sweet talk Thor into moving it for him. He has no problem lying, but prefers using half-truths or carefully worded, but technically true, responses to get the same results.
As he grew older and more aware of how he was different from others in Asgard, a central feature of Loki's personality became his attention to appearances and maintaining a strong separation between his public and private personas. While Loki did not withdraw from society on the whole, something Odin would never allow, he began to close off his real feelings and thoughts from those around him. One way this manifested was that his rooms in Asgard would appear empty of all personal effects, almost sterile. After all, it's much harder to tease him for reading too much if there's no books in sight. At his worst, he can be jealous, moody, withdrawn, vindictive, selfish, and all of this at the expense of others.
Approaching the main events of his canon, the feeling that he is different and that there is something fundamentally wrong with him has increased. The generally harmless pranks he's played for hundreds of years are still amusing to those around them and while he was occasionally rebuked for his actions, he'd begun to think that his opinion wasn't appreciated. When Odin declared that Thor was ready to ascend to the throne of Asgard, Loki put aside his usual preference for words and chose to act in a way that he felt would highlight his brother's immaturity. Much like many of Loki's early pranks, this plan worked in the short term but paved the way for unintended consequences such as Thor's banishment and Odin revealing Loki's true identity and then falling into the convenient plot device Odinsleep.
Following the disclosure of his heritage, Loki's driving emotions became anger, jealousy, and a need to prove his worth; ironically, he begins acting in the manner he was so concerned Thor would do if elevated to kingship. Loki betrays his brother and risks the safety of all nine worlds in order to lure the leader of the Jötun out into the open where he could kill his birth-parent and destroy the whole of Jötunheim. In the film, Loki states that he did this to prove he could keep Asgard safe by destroying her enemies but I believe that there's also a strong case to be made that a part of his decision is rooted in self-hatred. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't end well for him and results in a fall from the Bifrost (a techno-magical bridge between worlds) into the nothingness between planets.
Before he chose to fall from the Bifrost, Loki was aware that Thor had come into power and reversed much of the damaged he'd caused, which will make him considerably more cynical and circumspect -- yes, he engineered a great and intricate scheme, but nothing actually changed. Odin is still king (as he would've been if the plan worked), Thor is the favoured son, and Asgard continues on as it did before without his disruptive influence.
✧ ABILITIES/POWERS: Durability & Endurance: While he is not on par with a warrior from Asgard, Loki is still in the 'Batman and up' range of physical fitness; he is stronger, faster, more durable, and able to endure a good deal more punishment than your average human. Like an Asgardian, he cannot die from natural causes: age, starvation, illness, etc.
Magic: Never particularly good at traditional combat, Loki has put considerable effort into learning magic. He has a knack for elemental magics and possesses the ability to manipulate magical forces for a variety of purposes centering on hypnotism, illusion casting, and being able to move between locations through mirrors/reflections.
Shapeshifting: Loki is an adept shapeshifter and can change into animals (e.g. salmon, horse, etc.) ; however, he does not necessarily gain the abilities of whatever he turns into, although minor natural abilities such as flight in bird form tend to work. In order to learn a new form, he has to spend a considerable amount of time studying the animal.
Intellect: Loki possesses a brilliant intellect and an inquisitive mind; however, his lust for recognition and tendency to alienate others by his ignoble actions greatly impedes his ability to bring his well-laid plans to fruition. He is adaptable and able to easily blend into new societies and mimic the local customs.
✧ TIME OF ARRIVAL: Daytime
✧ MASK DESIGN: A plain beaten gold mask that he will occasionally 'decorate' with patterns to suit his mood.
✧ PLACE OF SOLACE: From the exterior, it appears to be a high-walled garden, but should anyone enter it, the 'garden' is a miniature forest complete with thick brambles, trees, a brook, and at its heart, a small clearing. Most of the forest is made of hyper-real illusion, built and layered over a neat, orderly formal garden.
SAMPLES
✧ FIRST PERSON: Good afternoon, my name is Loki Odinson and I have been quietly living among you for two weeks. I am not from Earth, as I believe many of you are, and wished to learn more about your customs and ways before I spoke.
I come before you today both to ask a favour and to offer my services. I wish to find a suitable craftsperson I may apprentice under and offer to them my skills, such as they are. I am quick to learn a trade, have steady hands, and wish to be useful.
✧ THIRD PERSON: Thor would've said it was kindness that caused Loki's combat tutor to suggest he attempt a little battle magic to give him an edge in the arena, but Loki knew better. From a young age, he could recognize the stink of pity. Still, perhaps there was something to the offer and Loki was willing to swallow his pride and accept the practical benefits of having afternoons deep in the library and far away from further painful and embarrassing weapons' training.
Days passed and he'd had a modicum of success with the most basic spells for speed and agility, but it wasn't enough to really make a difference against other warriors. The only true change that Loki saw was that the teasing from his brother and the Warriors Three increased. Being chastized that blowing the dust off some old hidebound tome wouldn't blind an attacker only served to spur him onwards in his pursuit of knowledge. Loki sought out others with talent, exhausting teachers and private libraries until, at least, he came to the great, curling gateway made of dog's bones that blocked the path to Mývatn, the home of Vör.
Vör, a reclusive and feared witch of Asgard, warned him that she could train him but that the cost would be high: even as the son of Odin himself, he would always be mocked for preferring magic to honest battle. Loki could have laughed aside her concerns and told the witch that it was already too late for that, but knowing his place, he took his time and appeared to mull over her words. Pleased by the appearance of consideration, she smiled and lead him into her study, telling Loki that it's only the rarest of his people that can control the powers of true sorcery -- most Asgardians are too hot-blooded and quick tempered to learn real magic, but that she had faith Loki might be able to overcome his nature and acquire power by patience and skill.
Weeks bled into months, as Loki learned patience co-mingled with temperance, until one night, in the earliest hours of the morning, bright, fluttering green fire blossomed open on his palm and dripped onto the floor where it hissed and spat like acid.
[*]
When Odin learned that his son had apprenticed himself to Vör, known for her gift of seeing through all illusions, he did not feel fear but could hear a change in the way Hugin and Munin called to each other. At the very root of Yggdrasil, standing around the Well of Urðr, the Well of Fate, Norns laughed and saw how the threads of fate intertwined and the ways in which the universe was becoming.
✧ NAME: Takhys
✧ LJ USERNAME: takhys
✧ CONTACT (EMAIL, AIM, MSN, PLURK, ETC.): Takhys on gmail & aim, antimeria on plurk
✧ CURRENT MUSE LIST: None in Il Promenade.
CHARACTER
✧ NAME: Loki Laufeyjarsson, Loki Liesmith, "the other brother", god of lies, god of mischief.
✧ SERIES: Thor (2011) with mythology and Marvel comics to fill in the gaps.
✧ HISTORY: Wikipedia has a pretty good summary of the main events of his canon.
✧ TIMELINE: Loki will arrive in game some time after he's fallen from the Bifrost bridge and had some time to think about what he ought to be doing with himself. This added time while falling through time and space will help calm him down, centre him, and make him considerably easier to play. However, as he's a lying liar that lies, if asked, he'll swear that he's come from a point before visiting Jötunheim.
✧ PERSONALITY: NB: Before I get into the nitty gritty of whos and whens, I think it's important to clarify how I intend to work mythology and movie canon together. First, I think it would be a bit silly to say that the Norse myths we have today are exactly the same as those in the Marvel movieverse. For example, in the actual myths, Loki's parentage is common knowledge; whereas, the revelation of Loki's Jötun heritage is a major plot point in the movie. Secondly, the movie is only two hours long and while there's an abundance (maybe an over abundance) of Marvel comics canon, I'm not overly familiar with the comics canon and will mostly be supplementing gaps in history and world-building knowledge with mythological info adapted to suit movie canon.
A little over one thousand years ago, Odin, the Allfather and king of Asgard went into battle against the Jötun (frost giants) and was victorious in battle. In the heart of their capital, he found the son of the leader of the Jötun -- a child small enough that he could pass for one born in Asgard -- and either for reasons of pity or good politics, he took the child to be raised alongside his own son.
The child, Loki, was not told of his heritage and was brought up alongside his brother Thor as a prince of Asgard. While both were raised in the same household and, at least nominally, given the same opportunities, Thor exemplified the traits Asgardians value, -- honour and physical prowess -- while Loki's own talents lay in creativity, adaptability, and intellect. In many ways, the two brothers have complimentary sets of skills: where Thor is forthright to the point of being unaware (or possibly unconcerned) with the emotional concerns of those around him, Loki is adept at reading subtle emotional cues and using those nuances to manipulate others. Mindful that he would never be able to win acceptance on the basis of his fighting skills, Loki cultivated 'soft skills' that paradoxically served both to provide him some of that recognition he desperately craved while distancing him from the other Asgardians. I think that it's reasonable to assume that from a young age Loki was acutely aware of his social standing.
The power of speech and intellect is a strong theme that runs through much of what Loki does. Just as he is able to affect the world around him through the use of incantations and sorcery, he is also able to shape reality through more mundane means -- e.g. if Thor wanted to move a boulder, he'd hit it, while Loki would sweet talk Thor into moving it for him. He has no problem lying, but prefers using half-truths or carefully worded, but technically true, responses to get the same results.
As he grew older and more aware of how he was different from others in Asgard, a central feature of Loki's personality became his attention to appearances and maintaining a strong separation between his public and private personas. While Loki did not withdraw from society on the whole, something Odin would never allow, he began to close off his real feelings and thoughts from those around him. One way this manifested was that his rooms in Asgard would appear empty of all personal effects, almost sterile. After all, it's much harder to tease him for reading too much if there's no books in sight. At his worst, he can be jealous, moody, withdrawn, vindictive, selfish, and all of this at the expense of others.
Approaching the main events of his canon, the feeling that he is different and that there is something fundamentally wrong with him has increased. The generally harmless pranks he's played for hundreds of years are still amusing to those around them and while he was occasionally rebuked for his actions, he'd begun to think that his opinion wasn't appreciated. When Odin declared that Thor was ready to ascend to the throne of Asgard, Loki put aside his usual preference for words and chose to act in a way that he felt would highlight his brother's immaturity. Much like many of Loki's early pranks, this plan worked in the short term but paved the way for unintended consequences such as Thor's banishment and Odin revealing Loki's true identity and then falling into the convenient plot device Odinsleep.
Following the disclosure of his heritage, Loki's driving emotions became anger, jealousy, and a need to prove his worth; ironically, he begins acting in the manner he was so concerned Thor would do if elevated to kingship. Loki betrays his brother and risks the safety of all nine worlds in order to lure the leader of the Jötun out into the open where he could kill his birth-parent and destroy the whole of Jötunheim. In the film, Loki states that he did this to prove he could keep Asgard safe by destroying her enemies but I believe that there's also a strong case to be made that a part of his decision is rooted in self-hatred. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't end well for him and results in a fall from the Bifrost (a techno-magical bridge between worlds) into the nothingness between planets.
Before he chose to fall from the Bifrost, Loki was aware that Thor had come into power and reversed much of the damaged he'd caused, which will make him considerably more cynical and circumspect -- yes, he engineered a great and intricate scheme, but nothing actually changed. Odin is still king (as he would've been if the plan worked), Thor is the favoured son, and Asgard continues on as it did before without his disruptive influence.
✧ ABILITIES/POWERS: Durability & Endurance: While he is not on par with a warrior from Asgard, Loki is still in the 'Batman and up' range of physical fitness; he is stronger, faster, more durable, and able to endure a good deal more punishment than your average human. Like an Asgardian, he cannot die from natural causes: age, starvation, illness, etc.
Magic: Never particularly good at traditional combat, Loki has put considerable effort into learning magic. He has a knack for elemental magics and possesses the ability to manipulate magical forces for a variety of purposes centering on hypnotism, illusion casting, and being able to move between locations through mirrors/reflections.
Shapeshifting: Loki is an adept shapeshifter and can change into animals (e.g. salmon, horse, etc.) ; however, he does not necessarily gain the abilities of whatever he turns into, although minor natural abilities such as flight in bird form tend to work. In order to learn a new form, he has to spend a considerable amount of time studying the animal.
Intellect: Loki possesses a brilliant intellect and an inquisitive mind; however, his lust for recognition and tendency to alienate others by his ignoble actions greatly impedes his ability to bring his well-laid plans to fruition. He is adaptable and able to easily blend into new societies and mimic the local customs.
✧ TIME OF ARRIVAL: Daytime
✧ MASK DESIGN: A plain beaten gold mask that he will occasionally 'decorate' with patterns to suit his mood.
✧ PLACE OF SOLACE: From the exterior, it appears to be a high-walled garden, but should anyone enter it, the 'garden' is a miniature forest complete with thick brambles, trees, a brook, and at its heart, a small clearing. Most of the forest is made of hyper-real illusion, built and layered over a neat, orderly formal garden.
SAMPLES
✧ FIRST PERSON: Good afternoon, my name is Loki Odinson and I have been quietly living among you for two weeks. I am not from Earth, as I believe many of you are, and wished to learn more about your customs and ways before I spoke.
I come before you today both to ask a favour and to offer my services. I wish to find a suitable craftsperson I may apprentice under and offer to them my skills, such as they are. I am quick to learn a trade, have steady hands, and wish to be useful.
✧ THIRD PERSON: Thor would've said it was kindness that caused Loki's combat tutor to suggest he attempt a little battle magic to give him an edge in the arena, but Loki knew better. From a young age, he could recognize the stink of pity. Still, perhaps there was something to the offer and Loki was willing to swallow his pride and accept the practical benefits of having afternoons deep in the library and far away from further painful and embarrassing weapons' training.
Days passed and he'd had a modicum of success with the most basic spells for speed and agility, but it wasn't enough to really make a difference against other warriors. The only true change that Loki saw was that the teasing from his brother and the Warriors Three increased. Being chastized that blowing the dust off some old hidebound tome wouldn't blind an attacker only served to spur him onwards in his pursuit of knowledge. Loki sought out others with talent, exhausting teachers and private libraries until, at least, he came to the great, curling gateway made of dog's bones that blocked the path to Mývatn, the home of Vör.
Vör, a reclusive and feared witch of Asgard, warned him that she could train him but that the cost would be high: even as the son of Odin himself, he would always be mocked for preferring magic to honest battle. Loki could have laughed aside her concerns and told the witch that it was already too late for that, but knowing his place, he took his time and appeared to mull over her words. Pleased by the appearance of consideration, she smiled and lead him into her study, telling Loki that it's only the rarest of his people that can control the powers of true sorcery -- most Asgardians are too hot-blooded and quick tempered to learn real magic, but that she had faith Loki might be able to overcome his nature and acquire power by patience and skill.
Weeks bled into months, as Loki learned patience co-mingled with temperance, until one night, in the earliest hours of the morning, bright, fluttering green fire blossomed open on his palm and dripped onto the floor where it hissed and spat like acid.
[*]
When Odin learned that his son had apprenticed himself to Vör, known for her gift of seeing through all illusions, he did not feel fear but could hear a change in the way Hugin and Munin called to each other. At the very root of Yggdrasil, standing around the Well of Urðr, the Well of Fate, Norns laughed and saw how the threads of fate intertwined and the ways in which the universe was becoming.