soul_campaign | [february 22nd, video]

[well, it has been a while since he used the network like this, almost a month now, but he hasn't been feeling very social lately. it's either that he's just had very few people he'd been interested enough to bother with, or he was just enjoying the rare opportunity to be antisocial -- it wasn't really an option back home, not with his position.

but he's been lazing around for long enough that he feels like he's stagnating, and maybe he feels a bit guilty about just depending on yuuri so much, so. might as well just suck it up and do as his friend had suggested. not gonna bother with any introductions for the moment though, he's a bit tired of playing perfectly polite, and from what he's seen on the network no one really cares anyway.]

I don't suppose anyone knows what sort of jobs are available here? This place is...very different from the one I came from, and I can't really imagine what sort of work is needed. Or what I would be able to assist with, even. It's not as if I've never worked before, but my area of experience is...well, I don't know that it's of much use here.

And thank you in advance, for any help anyone is able to give.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Intrigued:]

Really? How did you manage that?

[exactly as he wants you to be. but of course, he can't make it too easy for you.]

I have my ways. And keeping such things secret allows me the element of surprise as well. But at this point, enough have tried and failed to either unseat me from my throne or use me for their own ends that most know it will be nowhere near as easy as appearances would suggest.

Ha ha, all right then, keep your secrets. I shall not pry further. A shame -- such information could have proved quite useful, if you were willing to give it to me.

Perhaps someday I'll tell you. But either way, it's not something that can be used here, so I doubt anyone could make much use of it.

Then there's not much point in keeping it secret here, is there?

There's always the chance that someone else from my world might arrive, however. I'd rather not have such things be common knowledge, just in case something like that happens and they remember it once we return home.

Besides, I've found that the very nature of the sort of things I can do is a bit disconcerting to many people. I doubt many people would trust me if I told everyone.

[Oooh, now that is interesting. It must be a special ability of some kind -- hence its loss in Death City -- that is unusual (possibly unethical?) enough to cause discomfort.

Loki squirrels this information away and just smiles an open smile.]

Should I mistrust you, then?

[extremely unethical. and certainly not the sort of thing you should tell people freely, even if one is a bit tired of keeping secrets. you do seem clever enough though, so if you happen to figure it out on your own from a few hints, he can't really complain...]

Do you really think I would say yes to that?

I wanted to see how you'd respond to it.

[His manner is lighthearted and a little impish.]

There isn't really a decent answer to a question like that, if the ony answers available are "yes" or "no".

[he shrugs, but his tone seems lighthearted enough that he doesnt appear to really care.]

I've only ever done what was necessary for my country's well-being. If others might mistrust me for that, then so be it.

On the contrary, I think that's a very good answer.

Do you? Most people I deal with aren't very fond of anything less than straightforward.

Reality is far more complicated than a simple yes or no, much as some might wish it weren't. I believe your answer gave a far better shape of the truth than a simpler one would.

You're rather perceptive. And what exactly is the shape of the truth, from what you can tell?

Your answer tells me that whether I can trust you or not depends greatly upon whether my best interests and your country's are not in conflict. You place the welfare of your country first. Personal things like trust and friendship are secondary.

[He might be showing off a little, but not quite enough to say out loud what he's thinking. You've done some immoral things for the sake of your country, have you not? But the knowledge is visible in his face.]

You are clever.

[how immoral can it be, if it meant he saved the lives of hundreds or his men that might have otherwise been sent off to war? morality is pretty subjective, when you think about it. but you seem more than smart enough to both understand it and not spread around anything that might damage his reputation.

not that he cares too much about that these days, here even less, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.]

[Loki leans forward, toward the mirror a little.]

In fact, I'd wager the rules matter to you even less. You've bent them in the past, haven't you? Maybe even broken them. At the very least, something tells me you would be more than willing to do so, should the need arise.

[He sits back now, content.]

"Yes" or "no" would have been a half-truth at best.

[he grins a little bit more than he really should be, giving how easily loki just saw through all that, but honestly it's a little thrilling to meet someone who understands that much.]

I am a king, you know. It's hard to say that I've broken any rules when I'm the one in charge of said rules.

Oh, technically, of course. But there are rules in the minds of the people that cannot be changed so quickly as a law can.

Are those the rules you failed to follow?

[He is pleased with his own deductions, but also very interested in what it was King Saralegui did. It sounds like a fascinating study in questionable morality.]

Which people? Mine would certainly never complain about anything I've ever done, and most others would agree.

The ones who mistrust you, of course.

There are very few that mistrust me that have any right to be arguing about morality.

You know your business best, of course.

Do you doubt me?

[Without a hint of irony.]

Of course not. You've given me no reason to. And in any case, what would it matter? Affairs of your kingdom are of little concern to me here.

[video]

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