EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

[futurologists]

DEEPER Following the marked path near the lake leads Audentes (and George) further into the maze, closer to the goal found at the center. Some other inmates (including Zymandis agent Mavahari) and correctional officers follow along, having picked up on the organized manner of Audentes and figuring it’s their best bet on getting out of here alive. Unlike the dry stone and sand in the outer ring of the maze, this next section is overflowing with flora. Jungle vines cling to the walls to the point where seeing the stone underneath is a difficult task; trees sprout from between cracked tiles, bearing alien-looking fruit; branches and brambles cross certain parts of the maze, and will need to be hacked through unless you want to find another way around. Water is more plentiful now as well, since obviously the plants need it to flourish. For the first time since setting foot in the labyrinth, a rain begins to fall, drizzling and gentle. This can be a respite or an annoyance, depending on how you look at it: while it’s soothing and can make collection of fresh, clean water easier, walking around in wet clothes is probably not that pleasant. Your fellow ALASTAIR recruit George has inexplicably struck up a friendship with the Zymandis agent Mavahari, and they can often be found exploring the maze together, with Mavahari helping him due to his broken arm. They seem to be getting along well enough, but maybe checking in with George is in order. Otherwise, survival is the name of the game; though the center of the labyrinth is closer, it’s impossible to tell how close, and how long to expect to be here. Collecting water is simple enough, but food is growing scarce. The tree fruits may be a good solution, but it seems as though some have unfortunate reactions to them, ranging from stomach cramps to rashes to fever and temporary blindness. But an allergic reaction may just be the least of your worries. LOVE ME LIKE A REPTILE The monsters seen so infrequently in the outer ring of the maze are now a common nuisance. Giant insects and rats scurry about, hungry for whatever flesh they can find, but they’re easily defeated, particularly if encountered as a group. But with new terrain comes new, adaptive animals, and the labyrinth is no different. Lizards are now the main threat: enormous and camouflaged, they stalk their prey and take their time, looking for the perfect opportunity to ambush. The lizards are three-headed, with each head containing fangs dripping with venom, capable of rendering its victims paralyzed within five seconds flat. Their blood is also poisonous, capable of burning through metal, not to mention flesh. If a head is severed, the lizard will retreat back into the jungle, presumably to nurse its wounds but possibly to grow another head -- no lizard will ever be encountered with less than three heads, so it’s possible they have regenerative abilities. The best way to defeat one is to remove all three heads at once, or simply kill it in whatever way possible. The lizards are quick and mean, but not invincible. Now more than ever, it’s important to take care in exploring the maze. Stray too far from the group or try to make it alone, and you might not survive. OOC NOTES Once again, we have a plotting post here and search requests for the next ring of the maze. Please note: during the labyrinth event, all drops are ICly delayed. What this means is that characters who drop will be handwaved to still be around on auto-pilot until connection with Oska is resumed, at which point they will be transferred to a different team as usual. If you have any questions about the labyrinth that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier. If you have questions for any NPCs, please direct them there as well! Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Comments

[deemed]

[The tone at first sets Odinson's back up. He's trying to be polite, to find something to talk about as they find themselves both the only ones awake. Having his brother reply so smugly really doesn't help-




If they were sitting closer, Odinson would reach over and smack Loki upside the head. He lobs a stick at his direction instead, not really minding if it hits or not.]

You're looking at it upside down. [He will not conceed, despite his grin revealing that he does agree and that Loki has already won.]

[selfimage]

There's hardly a difference between a boner and a reverse boner.

[ Loki leans back as the stick grazes him, and looks lazily over at Thor as if he found that last exchange offensive. his lips purse down into something of an exaggerated frown. ]

If you're upside down it's the same thing.

[deemed]

[The grin isn't fading yet. Dick jokes are just too funny.]

A reverse boner is not the same as one upside down.

[selfimage]

What is a reverse boner then, oh master of the cock?

[ someone stop him he's on a roll. ]

[deemed]

Not a problem for a virile god in his prime.

[It's like he doesn't even care if anyone is listening.

(it's almost like the old Thor, except he hasn't immediately launched into a tale of his own greatness or described what he'd like to do to some attractive woman on the team... He's just enjoying the joke.)]

[selfimage]

[ it's almost there. it's close enough, anyway. slowly, but surely, the larger gaps between them seem to shorten. Loki's not sure how he feels about that, there are still deep wounds between them, ones he wonder could be healed at all. ]

So it goes inside-out?

[deemed]

It certainly isn't hard.

[Get it. A dick that isn't a boner isn't hard. It isn't hard to figure that out. He's inordinately pleased with his double entendre, Loki. ]

[selfimage]

[ that's really funny and Loki has to stop himself from laughing, but the corners of his lips twitch up into something that hints at a smile. he lowers his head and hisses out a breathy chuckle that sounds like he just stole the golden plunger from their father's toilet. ]

Ah—good, you can still tell a joke. I thought you lost that ability.

[deemed]

There have been few opportunities lately. [In prison, fighting robots, even back home...

He looks back up at the night sky, wondering if there is an Asgard out there among the stars. A Thor wielding his hammer worthily and with daily reason to smile.

(perhaps one with a brother to make him when he grows too serious)]

[selfimage]

This isn't unlike some of our own jaunts across the Ten Realms. [ he's not the child Loki that Thor had tried to protect, but it's also a reminder of who he had been: the other child that gallivanted the realms with Thor. ] We always used to find some humor in our travels, even if it was reckless and stupid.

[deemed]

Especially if it was reckless and stupid. [The grin fades as he recollects. He thinks of the child, which hurts- but he thinks of his own childhood with Loki. Thor had had no complaints, he'd enjoyed dragging his brother on adventures and assumed that his brother had loved them too.

When had that become a lie? When had Loki turned against him? Why had he never seen it?

Could he see evil hiding behind those green eyes now if it were there?]

We were never trapped in a labyrinth. That would have made a fine tale.

[selfimage]

[ it had been apparent to everyone but Thor. it had never been a lie, but a process. was Loki a product of his environment, or was he born as he was? no one could provide that answer to him, and he found he liked it better to carve his own purpose, even if it meant holding the weight of another life's evils. ]

No—we never did the labyrinth thing, but we never did the "save the multiverse" thing together, either. I suppose there's a time and a place for everything.

[deemed]

We've saved other things. [It was together they'd fought Surtur, after all.

Odinson isn't sure that a time and place for everything is a good thing in their case. Everything contains a lot of possibilities. It includes failure, for one.]

I'd have preferred it didn't entail time in prison, but that's over and done with now, thank the Norns.

[selfimage]

[ Loki's eyebrows go up a little bit as he considers him, then he goes into his jacket, producing the flask. the long sip he takes after he unscrews the cap says: yes, they have saved other things.

in a fraternal gesture, he offers Thor a sip. ]

Though some things may stay with us. I heard that you were quite mouthy and downright offensive in your little stint spent in solitary.

You kiss our mother with that mouth, Thor.

[deemed]

[The fraternal gesture is appreciated, but before he can partake-

He frowns, forehead creasing thunderously at the accusation. But he doesn't object.

He flask is lowered undrunk while he frowns into the fire.] Ahad.

[selfimage]

[ Loki measures Thor's expression as he takes the flask. ]

If you're wondering ... [ he starts, holding out a hand. ] He didn't tattle on you. I was fairly tenacious in my efforts, as I tend to be.

Though I had thought for certain that I had exorcized you of that brand of boorish behavior.

[deemed]

[He hadn't been wondering.]

I- [was not myself, but it isn't true. Even caught up in his anger as he'd been in prison, he'd known that what he'd said to Ahad had been representative of the worst of him. He'd had the choice to hold his tongue and bear his imprisonment and he'd chosen poorly.


It is an ugly truth to confront.] Not wholly, it seems.

[selfimage]

Ah.

[ it comes out a simple answer and Loki sits back with a long sigh. he doesn't sound upset, no, but it was always difficult to tell what Loki harbored as ill feelings. the concern came from the treatment of Ahad on Loki's behalf, and if Thor would have even fathomed uttering those words unless he had already known Ahad to be his lover. ]

It seems so.

[ he holds himself by the flat palm of his hands, and cranes his neck back. ]

There's a lot that you've been made to face, but don't allow it to turn you into something that you're not, Thor. Don't let your anger pervert you into something you're not.

[deemed]

[Eyes hooded, Odinson stares into the fire.

He wants to correct his brother for calling him Thor. It feels like a slap in the face, given the topic. This was not something Thor would have done.

Anger has always been his weakness, it has always led to regret and shame. It has always been with him. (He thinks of their father. That anger has always been with him too).

The words come slowly.] It is something I'd rather not be, but that is also who I am.

[selfimage]

[ but he is Thor, and he cannot escape himself. Loki had tried, so many times, and it had never worked. he was always left with himself, and the same self-hate that haunted him.

green eyes slide to look at him, bright and aware.

now they were getting somewhere. ]

Not all you are.

[deemed]

Sometimes I wonder.

[Anger had spurred him even when he was worthy; anger that suffering existed when he could alleviate it.

His eyes stay on the fire, dark with contemplation.]

[selfimage]

Aye, sometimes I wonder too.

[ it had not been so long ago that he was beaten and tossed out the window, only for Thor to decide that he couldn't kill him. going back to that day, he almost wished that Thor had. it would have been a better end.

yet, here he was. ]

But you're still here to prove it wrong.