#prose tag

[gansyeonfire]

Hanif Abdurraqib, Lessons for the End of the World

[mxnordberg]

but hey, at least you’re not alone

[Image ID: A digital illustration of a church sitting at an upwards three point perspective. The windows glow with a warm yellow light, a barbed wire fence sits in front of it. Behind the church is the bright red sky, a yellow sun and stars, dark clouds obscure the shape of an angel looking down, only allowing you to see part of an enormous eye and pieces of her multiple wings. Text in white rectangles over the image reads “You can see her watching you from the corners of her eyes, she wants to tell you it’ll all be ok, but it won’t be.” End ID]

[lokiofnone]

“You cheated. And not even in a respectable way.” The image of Mephisto fumed, smoke rising from his form and curling out of sight.

Loki pretended to look offended. “I most certainly did not! If you didn’t want me to tell people about our game, you should have established that as a rule.”

Mephisto snorted and puffed, searching for a way to refute that. Finally, he just said “A pity play, though?”

“If it helps at all, he didn’t seem to pity me all that much.”

Loki took a sip from her daiquiri, then reached out and turned her crystal ball upside down. Mephisto glared at her from the other end.

“Oh, fine,” She gave a dramatic sigh, “If you’re going to be such a sore loser about it, I guess we can say...best two out of three?”

He considered that for a moment. “Agreeable. I suppose you have someone in mind already? Someone less prone to stabbing, I hope.”

A wide grin spread across Loki’s face. “No stabbing at all, I should think. And I do hope you can come up with something a little more challenging.”

“Gladly,” Mephisto snapped before abruptly ending the call.

[mxnordberg]

DOG TEETH

(are you lost?)

[Image ID: A digital illustration of the masked man, his body a single red silhouette shape with only the black details of his mask visible. The eyes bleed off in a repetitive pattern to the right side of the frame, and his head sits as the pupil for a large yellow eye in the background. The eye is framed by a rectangle surrounded with small crosses, blue trees and gray grass sit in the far back. Two black rectangles filled with text sit in the corners, the one in the top left reads “You are waiting for someone to come tell you how to do things right. There is no one coming. You’re not sure but you think your teeth don’t fit right in your mouth. Your hands are shaking. You are always shaking. Your teeth are too sharp. You think you might be something wrong. Your teeth are too sharp. People stare at you when you go outside. You think they can tell. Can you tell? you can’t quite tell. Your teeth are too sharp”. The one in the bottom right reads, “You don’t belong here”. End ID]

[mxnordberg]

do you accept the differences?

[Image ID: A gouache painting of a person with neon pink skin staring off to the left with bright blue stylized eyes. Multicolored bandaids cover their visible arm. Text in the top right corner reads “Call now” above a white halo shape that cuts through the multicolored rectangles in the background, with branching radiant lines to the left. Text in the bottom left rectangle reads “The body always holds a burning feeling. Your teeth ache low in your jaw. Your head is full of a hollow hurt. They can tell you aren’t quite right. You are a creature known to none, least of all yourself”. End ID]

[mxnordberg]

can you hear it howl?

[Image ID: A gouache painting of several overlapping rectangular designs. A woman with shoulder length hair sits in the center one that looks like a computer pop-up, a phone obscures her face, the wolf design on the case almost seems to be in line with where her face would be. Two of the other rectangles hold eye designs, one with several trees pointing up at the moon, and another with simple line shapes. An eyeball sits in the left corner, and stars overlap the rectangles. Text in the top left reads “Are you Ok?”. A speech bubble coming from the pop-up window reads “Find out more!!”. The rectangle in the bottom right reads “There is something that aches inside of you and you can’t see yourself escaping it. There is something holy inside of you and you can feel it burning you from the inside out. There is something longing inside of you and you can’t figure out what it wants. There is rot in your core that bleeds out into your eyes and out through your pores. There is something lost inside of you that just wants to go home. There is something watching you (x4)”. End ID]

[lokiofnone]

“I thought we were friends.”

Loki would have rolled their eyes at that, had they not emotionally checked out several hours ago.

“I understand betrayal,” Mephisto continued, “You and I practically invented betrayal. I admired that about you. But you had to expect some kind of reprisal.”

Mephisto had sent his little pet, the Grim Reaper (the supervillain, not the actual personification of death), to catch Loki, and they were ashamed to say that it took much less chase than it should have. Maybe they were out of practice. Maybe they spent too much time sitting at home.

Bound with chains forged in hell itself, mouth clamped, they had been dragged to Las Vegas and strung up from the ceiling, where they would be tortured - again. It was far from the first time, but they could securely say they were just about over it. Unfortunately, the aforementioned bindings did more than just keep them from making clever retorts. Without words to say, with hellfire burning their wrists, it would be hard to manifest enough magic to get out of here. They could have done that maybe an hour ago, though. There was another problem here that needed solving.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Mephisto sighed. “If we were in hell, I could contain your magic another way, but as you can see -” He gestured to the dimly lit office space, “I’ve been downgraded.”

Loki watched him stroll over to the wet bar to pour himself a drink. “Usurped by my own employee. Cast out of my realm. Slumming it on earth. And it all started with you. First, you took my Disir.”

“And you ruined my chance with that mutant girl. Then you had to go and kill the kid just so you could take away my crown. You cheated me out of yet another Asgardian soul. And to top it all off, you freed Peter Parker from a binding contract. And that one didn’t have anything to do with you. What gives you the right? What gives you the right to take my things?” Fire plumed around him, and he spun on his heel to lob the now empty glass towards Loki, narrowly missing their head. Though, they thought, likely on purpose.

My Disir, Loki thought.

Smoke rose from his head and shoulders for a moment before he smoothed it away. “You know a devil’s toys are his power. You had to know that by taking mine, you’d be destabilizing me. Was that the plan from the beginning? Don’t you dare try to tell me it was incidental.”

He stoppered the bottle of bourbon and rearranged the glasses on the bar. “You know, when you approached me with your plan to change, I thought it was cute. I gave it three years before you came back to me. The kid - and yes, I did notice he wasn’t you - was fun to watch, for a while. But you can’t change yourself, not for good. You’re not made that way.”

He walked a few leisurely paces back toward Loki so that he could press his hands against their bare torso. His palms heated, causing their skin to sizzle and blister. They squirmed, feeling their insides start to boil - bad for anyone, but especially bad for a frost giant.

“I do like this body, though.” Mephisto was almost bemused as he removed his hands, “It’s some of your best work. And what a clever choice, rebuilding it atom by atom. Although I think we both know, deep down, your sins still live in that flesh.”

“Maybe so,” Came a voice from across the room. The Devil and the Reaper both spun to see, sitting on the desk with their feet dangling above the floor, a young Loki. The young Loki, actually. The one who had died. He smiled at them both, a glint of mischief in his eye.

Mephisto looked between the two Lokis, a wry smirk spreading across his face. “That’s a new trick.”

“Not really,” Kid Loki swung their feet back and forth a few times, “It’s more like an old trick, with a new and improved flavor.”

“Interesting…” The devil seemed pleased, despite himself. “Why not free yourself, if you can?”

“Because then you’d just capture me again. Better to settle this now.”

“Of course,” Mephisto trailed a finger across Loki’s collar bone (the real one, who was tied up, of course,) “What do you have in mind?”

“I propose a game. You like your contracts, don’t you?” The illusion of kid Loki gestured to the Grim Reaper, who was standing nearby with a confused expression. “And I’ve been known to form similar bonds with unwitting mortals. The rules are simple. We each pick a human to make offers to. Whomever strikes a deal first, wins. We have no time limit, and the terms of the deal can be whatever we please. Although I assume you’ll go for something like a soul, because you’re rather predictable.”

Ignoring the jab, or maybe not noticing it, Mephisto curled a finger through his goatee in an act of contemplation. “You’ve become more beloved on Earth. What’s to stop you from making a deal with one of your disgusting friends?”

“We can choose each other’s targets, if you like.”

The two exchanged a look, understanding in an instant. Neither of them would pass up the opportunity to sabotage the other.

“And what are the stakes?” Mephisto asked.

Kid Loki hopped down from the desk. “Me, of course. If I win, I go free. If you win, you can have me forever. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

Mephisto considered both Lokis in turn. He paced the room slowly for long moments while the Reaper poked at the illusion, clearly bewildered. Finally, he turned back to kid Loki. “Sly as ever, old friend. You know I can’t resist a wager.” He held out his right hand, and the illusion shook it. “It’s a deal.”

Kid Loki grinned, “Perfect. I’ll give you a day to think of a good target...and I do expect it to be good. Don’t let me down.”

The illusion seemed almost to dissolve in Mephisto’s hand, returning to its master, who also disappeared shortly after.

[lokiofnone]

Dario Agger was not a patient man. He liked to do things his own way, in his own time, while ignoring the needs of those around him. And why should he not? He was one of the wealthiest men on the planet. He was the chief executive of ROXXON oil. Whose needs were more important than his?

Thusly, he did not appreciate being called in to a surprise meeting with his board of directors. He did not appreciate being called anywhere, in fact, and especially not so soon after resuming his position. He wondered if his recent stint in the Raft had made his investors lose faith - or fear - in him. He had already dealt with the legal team for taking so long to get him out. Reminding a few more people why they shouldn’t question him might be in order.

He stepped into his boardroom with all the confidence of a man who believed himself untouchable. Gathered around the table were the collection of mere humans called the board of directors. As if they could direct anything, huddled into their chairs like overstuffed turkeys waiting to be served. He was already deciding how he would deal with them.

“This better be good, gentlemen,” He stated while taking his seat at the head of the table. “I need to review our policies on a certain town in Oklahoma.”

The other men looked at each other as if silently signalling who should speak.

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about, Dario - Mr. Agger.”

“Your obsession with Thor puts this company and all of us at risk.” A second man piped in.

“-yes.” Continued the first one, “Between the insurance liability, and the losses in Broxton, we can’t continue funding your personal vendetta. And then the business in New York with the giants just -”

“Get to the point.” Agger interrupted, his icy tone strongly at odds with the fire burning behind his sunglasses.

“We’ve...accepted a buyout.”

Dario pounded his fist on the table, sending long cracks down its entire surface. “A buyout?! From who?? Who could possibly afford -”

“Please understand,” Came an unknown voice, seemingly from nowhere. “This isn’t about money.”

Dario cast his gaze around the room, searching for the dead meat who had dared interrupt him. His eyes flicked back to the other end of the table to see them, suddenly there and seated with a...staff? In their hand, and a strange head piece. Definitely Asgardian, but not one he could put his finger on.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” The figure said with a sly grin, as if reading his thoughts (which he knew was impossible because he had the finest anti-telepath implant that money could buy.) “Forgive my rudeness. I am Loki, scion of Asgardia and rightful ruler of Jotunheim.”

Loki. Of course. Dario smiled wryly. “That’s not the way I hear it. Did Thor send you?”

“Thor?” Loki chuckled, releasing their staff, which seemed to stay perfectly upright as if waiting for them to grab it again. “Surely the great Dario Agger of ROXXON is smarter than that.”

“So, what? You enchanted my board so they’d sell to you? That won’t hold up. I’ve had some experience with Asgardian magic and-”

“No, you haven’t,” Loki interrupted again. Dario was getting tired of them doing that. “You’ve experienced elf magic. And dark elf, at that. As for these men, I’m afraid they remain in sole possession of their faculties.”

“Then why -”

“Why did they betray you? Convincing them was actually quite easy. I’d like to take the credit for that, but as it turns out, they all hate you quite a lot. Most were willing to strike a bargain with me simply for the opportunity to see you ousted. And the protection and whatnot, of course, because we all know that no ordinary person could take anything of yours. How many of your employees have you murdered? Personally, with your own hands, of course. I’m certain the list of those you killed by proxy would be much larger.”

Dario stared at that impish smile for a long moment. “Well, this is sad. The rest of you I can replace, but this suit is one of a kind.”

His skin rippled and tore. His muscles bulged. His nose elongated into a snout, and he - remained seated. More bemused than panicked that his rampage could not commence, he looked down to find a thin silvery cord wrapped around his entire body, binding him not just to the chair but against himself. He pulled against it, but felt it grow only tighter.

“You didn’t think I would account for your inevitable temper tantrum?” Loki asked with a delighted glimmer in their eye, “Or you just thought I didn’t know that you’re a minotaur? Oh, don’t trouble yourself with struggling. Those chains were made to hold something much larger than you. They’re quite impregnable.”

Dario strained in his seat, heavy breaths escaping his mouth like steam, but ultimately found this to be the truth. Slowly, he slumped back, though the rage swirling in his chest was too much to allow him to take human form again.

Still, he thought. There had to be a way out of this. There was no way a man as powerful as him was going down.

“If you’re not here for Thor,” He said in a voice that made gravel seem soft as feathers, “Then why?”

“I’ll tell you why.” Loki grabbed their spear and stood abruptly, causing the chair they had been seated in to roll backward into a wall. “Because you made the same mistake that everyone makes when dealing with my brother.” They took a fluid step up onto the table and began to walk across it with a slow and precise gait. The board of directors looked on, feeling by now that they had made some kind of mistake. “You assume that because Thor is the strongest, because he wields some silly hammer, because he commands the lightning...because of all these things, you assume that he is your greatest threat. And it is true, he made an enemy of you first. It is also true that the other Asgardians refused to raise a hand against you. That’s the problem with them, you see. They’re rather self centered. But then...so am I. And I guess, really, the problem is…”

They stopped in front of Agger, poking the tip of Gungnir into his shoulder. They looked down at him, almost bemused. “You destroyed my favorite diner.”

“Are you fucking -” Before Dario could finish, Loki snapped their fingers, and his mouth was suddenly stitched shut with a thick twine.

The god standing atop the table spun on their heels to gaze at the humans in the room, a wide grin on their face. “Now, let’s discuss some changes that I’d like to make, shall we?”