video; @fromTV (with bonus Loki)

[spellslots]

[The scene: the central room of the ice maze, cleared of gifts and drinks, replaced by an oversized throne that looks as though it belongs in some nightmare castle. On the throne sits Loki, in full Asgardian regalia, while Taako has managed to find a perch on the side of the throne, legs dangling off the side lazily, with an arm draped around Loki’s shoulders. He has no regalia to fall back on, so he’s gone for something black and striking, to match the theme of this little spectacle and to not clash horribly with Loki; his hair is braided tightly and his long nails are tipped with silver jewellery that he likely stole from Rin. In the background, there are faint sounds of panic; no screams yet, but questioning, worried voices, the sounds of people who are just starting to realize they should be afraid.]

Citizens of Riverview, [ Loki speaks in a low, lazy drawl that does nothing to hide the menace and power in his voice. ] We have lost our patience with you. So we will be taking over your charming little city. Freedom, after all, is life’s great lie. We will bring order to your messy lives.

[In contrast to Loki’s almost lazy indifference, Taako’s grin is sharp, a slight manic edge to his tone.]

Let’s not be too generous, calling it charming is a stretch and we could do so much better for ourselves, like say, the Capital World. We’re fucking sick and tired of playing nice with a bunch of idiots who wouldn’t know magical power if it bit them in the ass, but maybe the rest of this universe will have some more sense. Which is where-- [In the background, someone screams something about being let out, and Taako sighs deeply.] I wasn’t fucking finished.

[He raises a hand and what looks like black lightning seems to crackle over his fingers, spreading out across the ice and off screen as the background sounds fall deathly silent.]

I know they say to never work with children or animals, but honestly, it’s people that really get to you. [He pauses, lifts a shoulder in a lazy what can you do? sort of shrug] As I was saying, what we need from you is a shuttle to get off this shithole once we're done here.

Comply with our demands . . . or else the rest of you will suffer the same fate that befall those who rebel against us. Succumb to your natural state, your desire for subjugation.

[ As if on cue, a few sparrows fly past them, frost already spreading on their wings. ]

Comments

video | un: c.andor

[evasives]

[taako you are ridiculous can you tell how seriously cassian is taking this.]

There are far better ways to orchestrate a coup.

[just saying]

video

[spellslots]

[Very seriously!]

I'm open to constructive criticism, if you have tips.

video

[evasives]

Your first mistake was announcing it before laying any sort of groundwork.

[spellslots]

Hey, we've got minions, that's groundwork.

[His sister and his boyfriend don't count.]

[evasives]

Only if they are effective at their jobs.

[spellslots]

[Rin is great at murder and Lup is great at setting stuff on fire so..]

I've got the utmost faith in them to do cool shit and show me up.

[Considering Lup's cool outfit!!]

[evasives]

It's not about the show. You need to convince the populace, or at least a significant number of them, to see the best in your intentions.

[or the best in a different leader, like new, pro-rebellion leaders!]

[spellslots]

I think the point was that we don't have very good intentions.

[If he was trying to like, beningly get control it would have been a different speech.]

[evasives]

Obviously. It does not mean you would not try to convince them otherwise.

[it's like you have no experience with shitty empires who pretend to be the good guys.]

[spellslots]

That sounds like a whole lotta work.

[and this is Taako they're talking about.]

[evasives]

Why do you think I saw through it straight away?

[ok there were several reasons bUT he can make fun of taako here so.]

[spellslots]

Are you calling me lazy?

[rude???]

[evasives]

You called yourself lazy two seconds ago.

[ video ]

[dothelokimotion]

Yes, but we don't have a high estimate of the people's intelligence here.

[ video ]

[evasives]

[cassian knows this was entirely meant to just get a rise out of people and yet!]

Aren't you supposed to use that against them?

[dothelokimotion]

Are we not?

[ Loki gestures loosely. ]

Fear is easy. People succumb to it so quickly that they fail to look beyond.

[evasives]

Fear only works if there is real threat behind it, not performance.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He chuckles softly. ]

Fear works because people believe in appearances. They quantify and leap beyond what is done. Even a performance can infuse an audience with fear. It works. It simply has a shorter life-span than the actual deeds.

[evasives]

I would say it still depends on the audience.

[fear of the empire crushed a lot of people, but on the flipside, it helped inspire others in the rebellion in to fight back. take ur intimidation and shove it palpatine.]

[dothelokimotion]

Thankfully, our audience is Riverview then.

[ Which speaks for itself. ]

[evasives]

[that's. kind of fair. cassian is staring at this and wondering how people can take it seriously when it's the most overdramatic thing he's ever seen.]

Even if it is not strictly out of fear, no one does seem to be thinking it through very well.

[dothelokimotion]

People take an easy life for granted. Personally, I've never been a fan of that.

[ Paranoia all the way. ]

[evasives]

[paranoia is what all the cool kids do.]

Maybe they have never seen a real threat.

[dothelokimotion]

Or they simply do not know the true nature of threats.

[ He shrugs. ]

Either way. This is merely a show. No substance.

[evasives]

[he shrugs too.]

It could not have more obviously been a show. Maybe people were looking for a fight.