selfhelp | [Voice/Action]

[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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.

How odd. I haven't heard of him.

That's because you're from the weird corner of the universe where 90% of the people I know don't even exist.

That may have something to do with it.

Anyway, don't underestimate people. We can't all be Tony Stark.

[That is to say, egomaniacs.]

[So very dryly:] Nor want to be. Though don't tell him I said that, the poor thing will feel terribly hurt.

Aha, well. Last thing I'd wanna do is make Mr. Stark cry.

[Right, he's still aged down. Weird. So weird.]

[...awkward.]

Not right now, of course. That would be rather cruel and completely unnecessary.

[...Huh. That's unexpected, though not entirely so. Loki's thing with kids, apparently.]

That's awfully nice of you, considering who we're talking about.

[Sure, he's a kid, but they kind of hate each other, don't they?]

[The eyebrow raises.]

I'm not in the habit of being enemies with nine-year-old boys.

Well, yeah, I figured that, but it's- you know, temporary.

[Loki smiles crookedly.] Everything is.

...You must be the only person I know who tries to cheer someone up with cynicism.

[Seriously, that's just depressing.]

Really, is that a cynical thing?

I'd always thought it more... hopeful. 'This too shall pass.'

True enough. But you're also immortal- everything being temporary is kind of different for people who don't get to live that long.

[But that sounds ungrateful, now that the words are out of his mouth; as usual, he's not good at saying the right thing. Sigh.]

I guess I'm just nitpicking things, now... sorry.

Yet curiously enough, that's a mortal saying. [He smiles crookedly.]

'Tis all right. When one's under a black cloud, everything tends to look rather dark, yes?

Well, nobody ever said humans were smart.

[Except the humans themselves. Whatever, though.]

I really need to stop asking questions that lead to unhappy answers. If I make myself any more depressed Teddy's gonna have me committed.

[Loki sighs, leaning forward.]

I've found that when one is under the shadow of a black mood, there isn't really such a thing as a happy answer, yes?

[This comes perilously close to admitting how often he feels deeply depressed, himself. He'd rather not quite get in to that.]

If you liked horses at all, I'd tell you to go for a ride.

I'll probably ask Teddy if he wants to go flying later or something. That usually cheers me up.

[Until then, it's mull-and-ponder time. Though despite his words, he's not sure what he'd call what he's feeling right now depressed. It's too heavy a term to associate with the flighty nature of what's going on in his head right now.]

[Loki nods.]

Do you want to be alone until then? Though I haven't anywhere to be.

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