selfhelp | [Voice/Action]

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[Today is a good day for serious business, apparently. There's a certain something he's been putting off for a while, and after one-too-many dreams interrupting his sleep, he's had enough: this morning when Billy wakes up, the first thing he does is jot out a note in the journal-]

[Private to Ben Grimm]

Hey, would it be okay if I swung by to ask you a few things?

[He'll work through his morning routine until he gets a response, after which he'll go for a visit and get a hell of a lot more than he bargained for.

After that, his mood for the day is drastically altered; he'll skip out on school, trying to sort out his feelings on the matter. Tommy's still AWOL, and he's trying not to worry Teddy, but what he's just been told has really got him thinking- about people, and heroes, and the unfairness of mankind in general. And eventually he'll just go ahead and return to his journal for it. He's kind of in over his head here.]

[Open to All]

I know Luceti's full of heroes- seems kind of a standard trait for most of us, for whatever reason. Back on my world, super-humans aren't that uncommon, and in general they're revered for everything they do for the world. Some of them were born that way, and some of them are from other planets, and some were altered to get their powers, and some have a lot of talent or skill instead of powers. But they're all considered to be super heroes. There's bad guys, too- just as diverse and unique as the heroes they fight. People fear them and celebrate their defeat.

There's another group, though... humans who got their powers because of evolution. It's much more natural, in a lot of ways. Some are heroes, some are villains. Some are just trying to get by without becoming one or the other. But regular humans fear them, and hate them for it, even if they save the world just as much as the heroes they love. They're called criminals or monsters, no matter how innocent they might be.

[He hesitates- it's probably obvious to some, what he's talking about, and he's not sure if he should lock it from the mutant population, or apologize, or something, but it relates to them even if it's not by name. Hiding it wouldn't be right.

In the end he just leaves it be.]

...Sorry for the ramble. But it's not fair, and... I just can't understand why. Why hate one and love the other, when they're basically the same?

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[Well, he wasn't really expecting a yes or no answer to that, or even a cure-all... still, he deflates a little at the lack of certainty.]

I think... something was affecting her, some outside force that made her lose control. I don't - I can't believe that it was all on her. I know you don't think as highly of the Avengers as I do, but- they wouldn't. She wouldn't. So I want to learn how to protect myself, and if I can, if I find her, protect her too.

[It's a long shot, but he won't be able to forgive himself for not trying if something goes wrong.]

Hm. This is a tricky thing. Because if you do not know the nature of the problem, the solution cannot be so precise as it needs, you see?

[Loki leans back in his chair and looks meditatively at the ceiling.] There are ways to shield oneself from telepathy, of course, many ways. But that is not the only sort of manipulation there is.

This is a problem we can work on.

Add it to the list, I guess.

[Have a small smile. It's not exactly hopeful, but he needs this right now, this sliver of chance. He has to believe that there's an alternative, a way out of this.]

We'll be busy for a while, huh?

For quite some while.

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For quite some while. <small.[He smiles slightly.]</small> But first continue your perfection of more basic things. The technique you want will be most delicate and subtle.

It's always the hard stuff that you want the most. I had that problem when I wanted to teleport before I could fly.

Difficult things are certainly the most interesting.

Well... thanks anyway. For helping me try. For teaching me still. [He knows that it's not perfect, what they've got going here, but then, what ever is?] Until I can get some real answers, I'll just try to learn everything that I can.

Of course. I don't know why I would stop. [He nods.] Even honing basic skills will make any solution easier to execute once found.

[Billy can think of a few reasons, but he's content to leave them unsaid. He's grateful nonetheless.]

At least I'm improving? I mean, I think I am. We haven't done anything really advanced.

Edited 2013-01-08 02:39 (UTC)

Yes, you are improving. [Loki smiles slightly.] The time will likely come when something... advanced... is necessary. But I haven't found practice conducive to such things. Those times tend to be unique situations.

...I hate how right you are.

[It's nerve-wracking, to be honest- how it feels like, despite all these lessons, he feels overwhelmingly under-prepared for what he could face in battle or when more serious situations come his way. Learning to manipulate little puzzles, turning invisible, even teleporting himself around- it all seems so trivial compared to the battles he's faced.]

I keep feeling like... like I need to do more. Bigger stuff, bigger spells. Because as much as I know all of this is helping, it doesn't feel like I'm doing enough to make progress.

This feeling, I understand. It is instinctive. Small things feel useless.

But great things have small beginnings. You will do yourself more good by perfecting your control and ability to react calmly, than straining yourself with great undertakings that will likely have no direct pertinence.

Mm... depressing, but probably accurate. I have been feeling a little more confident in what I can do during actual training.

[He might try the big stuff anyway - nothing huge, but beyond the training - just so he remains used to letting a larger amount of power flow freely. It's a chore just to keep everything contained sometimes.]

[He nods.] Though I think you won't find it depressing any longer if you look at it from the correct angle.

What's the correct angle?

[He smiles slightly.] That everything is built of very small things, from the ground up. [Every strategy is a thousand actions. Every bit of matter is countless atoms.

Every hatred is a wound made of a thousand cuts.]

Edited 2013-01-13 20:12 (UTC)

[...Ahaha...

He hates it when phrases like that make more sense than he's comfortable with. He's of the generation of instant gratification, made personified as a reality-bending witch. He's used to what he wants being a simple phrase away.]

Building skills, brick by brick, huh...

[He sighs quietly and presses a hand to his forehead, rubbing sorely against an imagined headache. His mind is full of cliches about patience and he really wishes they would all leave him the hell alone for a while.]

I'll try to keep that in mind.

More... building the universe, atom by atom. [Loki's smile is a surprisingly kind one, for him.] I understand the feeling you have about such things. I was young once. It's all right.

[But he also knows what works.]

That sounds to me like I'm trying to be god or something. Pretty high-and-mighty for a mortal.

[Loki snorts.] If you're concerned with being high and mighty for a mortal, you ought to stop doing magics then.

Hey, that's unfair. Not every magician has to have a big ego about it.

[The look Loki gives Billy plainly states I'm not even going to pretend to humor you.]

What? I'm serious! The greatest sorcerer ever in my world is a very humble, spiritual man.

And who would that be?

Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. He's kind of like... the upholder of balance when it comes to the mystic arts. He's a well-respected gentleman.

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