C: Loki - Blog Posts

Mantis listened intently to Loki's revelations, completely understanding the complexities of his familial dynamics, having come from a similar background. She nodded sympathetically as he spoke of his father's disapproval and the challenges he faced in embracing his magical abilities. "It must have been difficult, living with your family not fully embracing who you truly are," she remarked softly, her voice tinged with empathy. "But it is good to hear that you are striving to embrace your abilities for the sake of your daughter. Hopefully she'll never have to feel what you did."

"Impressive enough to shut down an entire city and put country's government on alarm," he smirked, before shaking his head at her question. "It's not an ability that's looked upon highly back home." Loki paused at that, adding, "My father wanted that part of me suppressed." Until it was the right moment for him to reveal it and use it for his own gain, but he left that unsaid. "But my daughter has the same magic, so I've been trying to use it more for her sake."

Mantis listened attentively as Loki explained his hesitance, her empathic senses attuned to the nuances of his emotions underlying his words, though she didn't push for more details. She nodded understandingly, offering him a warm smile of reassurance. "It's perfectly alright, Loki," she murmured softly, her gentle voice a calming presence in the room. He'd been patient with her opening up regarding her past, the least she could do was offer him the same kindness and not pry. Though as he elaborated on his abilities, Mantis's eyes sparkled with interest. "Your mastery over magic is truly impressive," she remarked, genuine admiration coloring her tone. When he mentioned his ability to manipulate ice, she tilted her head curiously. "Is there a reason you aren't as well versed in that magic?"

"Oh, it's not you, darling," he shook his head, seeing her reaction. "It's just a weird thing for me." Loki leaned back in his seat and continued, "It's a long story." He tilted his head to the side, humming at her response, "That's a useful skill, though." With a shrug, he replied, "My mother was raised by witches, so she's very skilled in magic and taught me what she knew. Shape-shifting, spell-casting, telekinesis, that sort of thing." He paused for a moment, before adding, "I can conjure and manipulate ice too, but I haven't really expanded much on that ability."

Mantis withdrew her hand respectfully as Loki reassured her, a hint of embarrassment washing over her. Had she overstepped? Pulling her hand back, she tucked her hair behind her ear, nodding at his explanation. "Oh, I see... well, please let me know if I can help in any way. As for my powers," she began, her gaze shifting momentarily as she contemplated how best to articulate her abilities. "To put it simply, I'm an empath, I can sense and to an extant manipulate the emotions of others." Mantis knew how that sounded, her face skewed slightly as she searched for a better explanation. "I can feel what others feel, understand their innermost thoughts and desires, and in some cases influence their emotions. Like with Ego, he would often ask me to clear his mind, make it to where he could sleep." Mantis paused, her eyes meeting Loki's with a gentle intensity, glad to finally have the sort of connection she'd been craving her entire life. "And what of you, Loki? What abilities do you possess?"

"Hm?" Loki glanced up when he saw her reach up. "Oh. No." But he put a gentle, genuine smile on his face a moment later. Loki did like her and it wasn't her. He'd been weird with anything like that ever since Thanos. "I'm fine, darling. I think it's going to be ever present, unfortunately. Thanks to the vast majority of people in this tower." He smirked and reached over for his coffee. "What are your powers exactly? I never asked and now I'm curious."

"Your emotions say otherwise," Mantis murmured softly, her empathic abilities picking up on his turmoil. "I can alleviate some of your discomfort, if you'd like?" She gently reached out a hand towards Loki's forehead, intending to use her empathic touch to ease his headache. "As for the idiocy of others, unfortunately my powers can't help with that."

Loki didn't realize his hand was on his head until he caught the other looking. "I'm fine. Headache." he dropped it, nodding to the case in front of them. "Because apparently everyone collectively decided to be idiots this week."

Mantis was thankful that Loki didn't ask more about her history with Ego; eventually she would open up about it all. But at that point in time it was just too fresh of a wound to go and reopen. She uttered a soft thanks before her smile of appreciation turned into amused laughter as Loki described the happenings of home. "How lucky that she can communicate with them though! At least you'll never have to guess what the animals are thinking? There's probably a lot of people who'd be jealous of that ability. As someone who's thinking of fostering, I am one of those people."

"My father used me as a political pawn. Found out a few years ago." Loki looked up at her. "I get it. I promise. It sucks beyond reason to talk about, so we don't have to." His expression was softer when he said it, but didn't say anything else about it. At the shift in conversation, he scrunched his nose. "Do I not like it? Eh. I don't mind it. But my fiancé enables it, so there's a difference." He smirked, but then shook his head. "I think she can actually talk to animals, funnily enough. Which would make a lot of sense. Apparently her magical abilities manifested in nature, so I'm guessing that's why she's attracting them."

Mantis shifted uncomfortably, her large, expressive eyes blinking slowly. "It's just… complicated. My father had dark intentions, and I was a pawn in his grand plan." She hesitated, reliving memories she'd rather forget. "Well, if one ever does, make sure to record it. People seem to really love the videos of the animals pretending to talk, think about how popular your video would be if they were actually talking!" Mantis offered a reassuring smile, hoping to ease the tension that lingered in the air. "A personal zoo sounds fun, though. Do you not like that idea?"

Loki caught the slight hesitation and looked up. "Is the past a no-no subject?" He questioned, head tilted. "Your father sounds delightful. And like he'd be best friends with mine. I get it." He gave her a small smirk, before shaking his head and switching the subject off of that, "But the talking animals thing? You described my daughter's heaven. She's apparently made it her mission to create her own personal zoo and I'm waiting for one of them to start talking or something at this point."

Mantis had known she'd have to talk about her home at some point, although truth be told she would have rather waited a bit longer before the topic had come up. But she was comfortable with Loki, at least, so it wasn't as difficult to open up to him about her life before the Avengers. "I lived with Ego before I came here. It was just me and the Living Planet my entire life. No animals, talking or otherwise, no other living being besides me and my father," she paused a moment, a breathy laugh on her lip as she forced a small smile. "If you've never met Ego, you should be happy about it. He's not exactly what I'd call a 'people person.'"

"Oh. Well, thank the gods," he said under his breath, vanishing the file with a wave of his hand. "If animals here on Earth could talk, I'd be in trouble." Loki looked at her for a moment, before asking, "Where are you from again?"

She shook her head, wishing that were the case. However on her homeworld, the one she'd known anyway, there had only been her and Ego. "Not where I'm from, but I've seen a dog while I was traveling. I never got to actually meet them, but they did speak! So I was just shocked that the creatures here look remarkably similar to the one I saw, but they don't."

"Of course you have." Loki reached over and closed his laptop, not missing the look on her face. He wasn't going to question her on it because he had a feeling she'd tell him anyway. But what she said made him stop. "Wait, what? What do you mean do they not talk on this planet?" Loki just looked at her for a second. "Wait, do you mean puppies talk wherever you're from or all animals in general?"

Her lip rolled between her teeth, impatiently waiting for him to finish his report with stifled giggles. "It's so cute!" she exclaimed when he finally looked up at the screen, bouncing as the video continued to play. The animals were probably her favorite part of this planet, though there was still a lot she hadn't experienced. Her eyes flicked up from the phone at his question, giving her head a quick nod. "I have! We had a training session together." Mantis explained, clicking the videos off for the moment with a slightly disappointed expression on her face. "You know, I've watched a lot of videos since I got here, but not a single one of them talking. Do they not talk on this planet?"

"Good morning to you, too. I guess we're doing this again?" Loki waited a beat to finish the case report in front of him, before he looked up at the screen. "And we've graduated from cats to puppies. Congratulations." He leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a moment. "We should go find my brother sometime. Have you met him? You two would honestly get along so well."