(no subject)

[allegorical]

Yes. I have doubts. Can you blame me?

I will wait, if that is what you want. But I find it difficult to believe you can find a place for us. Forgive me if I don't get too comfortable with your plans just yet.

Comments

[godsending]

Y-You... should have faith.

( Shyly, the little magical girl looked up at the God with big, exurbanite pink eyes, a weak smile on her lips. )

[allegorical]

Should I?

[He speaks softly. No reason to be afraid of him.]

[godsending]

Faith and hope is all we have in this world. Don't abuse it or take advantage of it.

( she smile, reaching to take his hand and cup it in both her more small palms. )

[allegorical]

Faith in human beings sometimes feels like a waste. After all, they tend to waste it themselves.

[godsending]

Well, is it okay to say... I am not human?

[allegorical]

Then what are you?

[godsending]

A concept. I... I was once human. But I gave up my life for hope. Hope...

( she leaned forward and buried her head into her gloved hands. she wanted to cry after all she has been through. but why cry when no friend can ever hear your sobs? )

I am a God.

[allegorical]

Do not cry.

[His voice is quiet, but firm. Thor leans down so he's more level with the girl.]

You are important to others, and it is important that you do not cry no matter how hard it gets.

[godsending]

I-I know... its hard, sir. It is so... hard.

( she just leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed loudly. )

I've always had to depend on others. Now, everyone has to depend on me for once... I hope, and hope so much.

[allegorical]

[He hesitates, but puts an arm around her.]

I'm sure your friends will feel your power. Do not give up, and the answer will find you.

[godsending]

... You are too kind. What's your name? I'm... Kaname Madoka! But you can just call me Madoka.

( she relaxes, allowing a weak smile to grace her features again. this man reminded her oddly of mami - it was a nice reminder. )

I am truly hopeful.

[allegorical]

My name is Thor. [He almost hesitates as he says that, but not quite. ]

Keep hoping. It will get better.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

I think you're forgiven.

[allegorical]

Well, you have my thanks.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Someone's thanks is better than no one's thanks. Though I don't know what I'm being thanked for.

[allegorical]

I suppose someone's forgiveness is better than none. And acknowledgment is at least something.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

There is that. Though sometimes no recognition is the best.

[allegorical]

It is better than being forgotten.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Perhaps that is also true.

[allegorical]

It isn't right for a god to be called to do nothing.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

And it's not right to invoke a god either.

[allegorical]

No, but that part can hardly be helped. I am here, whether I wish it or not.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Are you calling yourself a god?

[allegorical]

I was. Surely it would not be strange to meet a god in this place?

[likes_metal]

Hey, look at this way: isn't a plan they take a while to formulate better than an impulse throw at some random-ass place?

I mean, yeah, I made the arc reactor pretty much on adrenaline and impulse, but. Ideally you shouldn't live life like it's always a life or death crisis.

[allegorical]

It is good to have a plan. [Just ignore the doubt in his voice.]

If this plan of theirs amounts to anything. There is no crisis, but I would appreciate some urgency. Or perhaps merely an answer for once.

[likes_metal]

Well, what problem are they having finding a game for you? Too much on your mun's plate, or not the right game? My mun and I can fix the latter. Well, I call it fixing. She calls it 'enabling', but hey, to-may-to, to-mah-to.

[allegorical]

Apparently finding a "home" is not as easy as it should be. I don't know how you would be able to fix that. Even one as clever as you.

[Enabling doesn't sound like fixing. Surely he and his mun are thinking different things...]

[likes_metal]

Simple: I have a lot of information I made my mun bookmark and I live to help muses who will actually see some action while I lounge around on memes getting in and out of weird romances.

So, what's your mun looking for in a game? [Tony's smile should probably be a warning sign that he's about to lock onto this and not stop until it's done. Hope you have some energy drinks on you, Thor. His motto is 'go big or go home' at this point.] Also, what does your mun not want in a game? Let's make this happen.

[allegorical]

[Well, that audacious answer actually makes him smile. It reminds Thor of Tony--the one he knows who is a good friend. It's reassuring to know that high spirit doesn't change in other worlds. And... that drive to help is just moving, okay?]

I simply do not wish to remain idle. "Slice of life" as my player calls it. It does not suit me. But she seems to like it well enough. As long as there is a challenge. You would understand that, I think.

[likes_metal]

I get that completely. The only one of us who would rejoice in 'slice of life' stuff is Steve, but that's because his life pre-serum didn't let him actually have slice of life stuff, so to him that's the challenge in and of itself.

Right. So. My first suggestion is you and your mun sit down and go through app_this_plz in detail. My definition of challenge is not the same as yours, so while I have some ideas based on test drive memes my mun's been on with other people, let's not go to that right away. Always have a back up plan. That's why I have multiple suits of armor.

Although if you see my universe's Pepper around I have absolutely quit making new suits and I was nowhere near Dubai last week. [The incredibly specific combination of denials there is very Tony Stark.]

[allegorical]

There's nothing wrong with wanting something better.

[Thor almost laughs at the energy Tony goes into this problem with. He's enthusiastic and clever in the same way his friend is, only younger and a little more playful about it.]

I believe we are currently exploring our options. She is convinced that there is more to be found in these games than war, but that is yet to be seen.

[The last part earns Tony a raised eyebrow.]

Perhaps I am not the only one who gets bored without battle.

[likes_metal]

Well, there's one where you can become a magical pony. And one where your willpower shapes the city and you can kinda do whatever you want.

[Tony has the decency to look at least a little bashful, and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.] There aren't any laws in Dubai regarding testing, and I don't work with my universe's SHIELD, so I have to kind of go out of the way to test things with unorthodox materials or things that might skirt too close to 'immoral' for some people.

So. I've been working on the stuff I always swore I'd get to when I wasn't, you know, nearly dying in battle on a day to day basis.

[allegorical]

I...do not think I would be as useful if I were a pony. [He's torn between a look of amusement and a large amount of questioning.] But perhaps some place more free would be better.

[He doesn't look too concerned about it. At the very least, he's getting to talk again and that is nice.]

It sounds like you are getting yourself into trouble. [But who is Tony Stark if he's not getting himself into trouble?] Although, I suppose if anyone could pull that off, it would be you.

[likes_metal]

Muns love ponies. I don't understand it, and I don't try to. Anyway, if you want to eventually go fix and save multiple universes and get some of the 'slice of life' stuff your mun wants squeezed in enough to keep the internal peace, I suggest looking at thewake.

Only if I get caught and I fail. The reality is that a lot of things are illegal because they fix problems. You sell a cure or solution to something once, you sell temporary appeasements again and again to continually desperate people. SHIELD is great at nodding their heads and maintaining status quo. I'm not going to use my second chance at life to make sure things are as bad as they've always been.

But. You don't want the detailed lecture on transhumanic sciences and internal corruption that I could go into.

Just don't trust my universe's Nick Fury.

[allegorical]

We will have to look at it. I don't understand this writer's need to take me places, but I suppose it is better than the alternative.

[He's amused at young Tony's confidence. It is strangely encouraging to talk to him when he's talking with conviction about what he does. And Thor can't disagree with his approach to Fury and the government.]

I am familiar with corruption. Nicholas Fury believes he can force his own desires for the world on others in any universe. But he forgets that there are heroes who do not always agree with his methods. And the government he serves that the people won't be controlled as easily as they expect.

[likes_metal]

By 'alternative', do you mean the pony thing or not doing anything at all?

[Tony's not so much confident as he is just actively, willfully refusing to accept the reality of the situation. Yeah, SHIELD has him outgunned and outnumbered, but Tony is just too thoroughly angry with the system in place to care. He has the brain and the people have the numbers.]

Yeah, well. He's losing support in my universe, but not fast enough in my opinion. The good news is that at this point the United States is a nation that roots for superheros and not for the government. There's been enough near-end-of-the-world scenarios that people are pretty much completely removed from the government.

Things are going to get interesting in my universe's future.

[allegorical]

The alternative is nothing. Endless nothing, but perhaps that is merely fate.

[Being lost in a void isn't the greatest way to end, but hey. Gods have weird lives? He doesn't seem too concerned, at least.]

You fight a noble battle. I am sure your universe will be better for what you do there. At least there are those who do still fight for the people. Where I am from, the superheroes are the government. Or at least in part. There has been much that we have lost.

[likes_metal]

Wouldn't be so bad. Any mind that's wired to receive information, sensory or otherwise, can't comprehend zero input. You'd go into something more blank than a coma.

[Tony facepalms. He just has to. Your universe is so messed up, Thor.]

...there are so many things wrong with the concept of superheroes being the government I can't even go into it. All I have to say is, if that's a thing in your world, I get why your world's me drinks.

[allegorical]

Is disappearing that much better?

[Tony plz.]

Becoming blank, forgetting everything that has happened? Is that really such a blessing when we have so much to lose?

[His universe left him in the Negative Zone, so... yeah, it isn't the best place. But Thor stands by it anyway. Home is home even when it sucks.]

In that we agree. The power of those who lead is not always the wisest, but it is powerful. It could not be avoided. And there are still those who can do some good for the world.

[likes_metal]

Actually, since the parts of your mind that govern intelligence and that govern personality are unrelated to your memory, being reset video game style wouldn't disable your ability to be a hero. You might need an explanation of what you were doing before, but the core parts that made you a hero would remain intact enough you could go right back into the fight provided you had some people you could trust guiding you. Muscle memory is also something that's pretty much impossible to wipe, so you'd know how to use the hammer, I'd remember the suit's intricacies on instinct, and so on. So while it's not the world's best plan, I can see a controlled memory wipe being a good way to hit the reset button on yourself if you were, say, captured and about to be subjected to enough truth serum to drop a bull elephant. You can't reveal anything crucial you don't remember.

Besides, I already have myself backed up in one suit. I have it on auto-sync with the nanites in my bloodstream. All my memories and feelings and personal experiences are in there, in case I get shot or something and the world still needs Iron Man. [He says it almost casually, like he's informing Thor he's gotten a new fridge. No one will ever accuse Tony of an excess amount of social competence.]

If people would just invest in transhumanic sciences and really devote themselves to an equal society with no barriers, then this kind of thing could be avoided. But like I said before, there's more money to be made in keeping that at bay. I guess it was a little optimistic to hope that there'd be a world that didn't apply to.

[allegorical]

[Well, that's something to swallow. Thor isn't stupid by any means, but considering how much of memory is in identity is a question he struggles with. Sometimes literally, since for a long time he wasn't sure who he really was.

And what Tony says isn't wrong. He's always Thor, even if he doesn't remember it, but it's still not a great idea.]

If you forget yourself, you still lose something, Tony. Don't take memories lightly.

[He does smile at the complaint about money and the government regulating his progress, though. Yeah, that sounds like his friend too in a way. Never wanting to listen to anyone else's rules.]

Mm. Perhaps one day we will see that world come to be. If we work toward it, there is still hope.

[likes_metal]

If I were taking them lightly I wouldn't have had mine backed up. But there's something in people that all the science in the world can't deny, some little thing that just makes them them. Have faith in the ability of things to work for you, not against you. That's what my mom used to say.

[Tony smiles slightly at him.] Well, considering that my world's Avengers haven't even found and thawed Cap yet, I think at the moment it's still more of a bunch of individual efforts instead of a united front. But that'll change. We just need time to come together.

And, um. We might possibly also need a lawyer because I'm pretty sure none of us are playing by the rules, but in all fairness when a law is unjust I just discount it. Wisdom from my father, there. Did I mention we manage to kind of bring him back to life? It's complicated and weird, but yeah. I... get my dad back.

Clearly, anything is possible at this point if that is a verified, canonical thing.

[allegorical]

Your world is an incredible place. I am sure that there will be a time you will all come together. You are good at finding solutions to what seems to be impossible, if I'm not mistaken.

[He smiles quietly, probably at his own private joke. Sorry, Tony. He's a little reserved like that.]

Also at finding trouble. The law of man is not perfect, but you should not test your luck too far, or you may find yourself with more than you bargained for.

...Take that from me. [Okay, that one was a little wry.]

[likes_metal]

That's the Stark family motto: skip dinner and do the impossible. Pepper's not a fan of that first part. You should see her attempt to mother my dad. It's one of the most beautiful things in existence.

[Tony looks at him seriously.] I get it. I'm not an idiot, but I've been at a point in my life where I calculated the cost-benefit analysis and risks of every possible action. I nearly drove myself crazy that way trying to take everything on so that no one else would have to take a hit to their newly forged reputations. I tried to calculate how few laws I could break and still get things done and things ended up taking longer and risking more and more civilian lives. Everything became twice the stress and danger.

And you know what? It didn't help our team dynamic, it didn't help my mental health and it really didn't do any good in saving the planet. We all have to just accept some laws are going to get broken and split the responsibility.

[allegorical]

I did not imply that you were an idiot.

[Because that's the important part of their conversation. Yeah. Thor knows how to key in on the best points.

But on the serious side, he isn't sure whether to admire Tony or feel bad that the world he comes from left him with that conclusion. He's a genius and he has decided that the risks he puts himself through are the only answer. Not that Thor disagrees, but... it is sad.]

Just be sure you do not find yourself with something too heavy to split between you.

Original Sin spoilers ok?

[hevenly]

What doubts plague you, Odin's son?

[ She spits out the name like poison, still not come to terms with the "truth," as it were. ]

Sure, no problem!

[allegorical]

[He takes note of that tone. It's not friendly, and Thor is prepared for conflict more than peace in this case.]

Concern for a mortal dabbling in something beyond their grasp. It's not an unusual worry in this place.

But I am not the only one with a weight to carry it seems.