[EP] your game is weak

[st_ratagem]

Loki had bolted almost the moment he heard about a door opening to a new world. Yes, he knew it was temporary, that on previous such openings there was no more chance of escape than there was from the Inn. It was a new place, that was enough to disappear in for... as it turned out, roughly two minutes. It wasn't exactly small, but it was certainly limited.

Fortunately, the festival-like atmosphere was entertaining enough to walk through, and the various games were... interesting. About half of them, he thought, were very clumsily rigged to bilk players. It was obvious enough that Loki rather thought people expected the cheating, that it was meant to be part of the experience. Still, the clumsiness was offensive when there were any number of ways to get the same result without being so obvious.

Naturally, he un-rigged a few of those in passing, and on a couple of the un-rigged games he set a few spells to ensure a higher winning percentage for players than they might otherwise have. Subtly, of course.

He paused briefly at a sort of shoot-the-duck game, pondering what if anything to do to it.

Comments

[st_everybodylives]

River was a very good shot. And a very good thief and con artist. As such it only took a few rounds with the rifle at the duck shoot game to confirm that it did in fact have real ammunition and then to adjust her aim to the way the sights had been misaligned.

Then she laid down enough money to play for a while and by the time Loki got there had amassed a tidy pile of stuffed animals which she was systematically trading in as she had enough of them to get larger stuffed animals. She set another medium sized stuffed animal on the pile, and noticing Loki she winked and turned back to the ducks.

There was a truly massive bear to be won.

[st_ratagem]

He nodded a return greeting. River was charming, and seemed to be doing well enough at this... well, the ducks themselves seemed to be working well enough. If there was rigging, it was on the firearm.

Just for fun, and because he was in the habit of messing with the games by now, he traced a subtle isa behind his back and chilled time around the ducks, slowing them on their track and making them even easier targets.

[st_everybodylives]

She didn’t exactly feel the way time shifted, actually if she had to describe it, it was almost like she caught the scent of it. The way that pocket of time space was slightly out of sync.

Time lord DNA, the gift that never stopped giving.

She smiled, and picked off the entire row winning another medium stuffed animal, then handed over three more of that size to upgrade to a large stuffed animal and while it was being retrieved she turned to Loki and tilted her head.

“Thank you,” she had zero issue with cheating in this instance, or really ever.

[st_ratagem]

"I have no knowledge of the incident to which you refer." In this context, that was as good as a 'you're welcome'. Loki moved closer while the stuffed animal shenanigans were taking place and gestured at the rifle. "May I? Just for a moment."

[st_everybodylives]

“Going to fix it?” She asked soto voce as she handed the gun over. “I was just getting used to how it’s rifled to pull left.”

She didn’t mind if he did fix it, she’d had her fun confounding and annoying the man running the game now there was just the goal to be met.

“I never had a stuffed animal as a child. At least I don’t think I did.” She said toying with one of the large stuffed animals she’d already amassed. Large parts of her life were, hazy and not altogether something she fully remembered.

[st_ratagem]

"I actually just wanted to see if it was, in fact, nonstandard." Loki took aim and... yes, very slightly, the weight and feel of it was off. Repairs were a simple matter: the alteration counted as being broken for the purposes of simple mending.

He handed the gun back to River with a smile. "I never did, either. Stuffed animals aren't an Asgardian thing, so much. Or at least weren't a me thing."

[st_everybodylives]

“They’re an earth thing, my mother had a raggedy doll she’d made herself that looked like her imaginary friend.” Sort of. In the right light.

She slid the right money across the wooden counter, then tested her aim with the gun before taking out another row of ducks, paused then did a second, then a third.

“One more set and I should be able to trade all the way up.” The man running the game took her money with a sigh and she did it all again.

Soon she was being presented with a bear that was taller than she was.

“I don’t think I had a plan for transporting it back to the inn,” she told Loki with a laugh as she hefted the thing in a massive plastic bag to test the weight. Luckily she was stronger than she looked even if both hearts might get a workout.

A Great Catch

[st_allionofdoom]

"I remember Midgardians enjoying their fishing, but this is excessive." Valkyrie piped up from a few feet behind Loki, adorned with thick bags of golden fish as accessories orbiting her waist. Since she hadn't bothered to dress in proper pants--fancying the white jacket and black leggings ensemble she'd sported around the inn so often--she had to haggle for a tacky belt studded in false diamonds just to keep her hands free with her prizes.

"And ridiculous--these get bigger, don't they?" She turned her hips this way and that, gesturing at the little fish in their tomato-sized homes.

Re: A Great Catch

[st_ratagem]

Loki had stashed one or two (or four) goldfish containers over there because they had seemed like better options than toys. (Winning the ridiculous little games was an unavoidable result of breaking them.)

He almost laughed at the spectacle of Valkyrie in an offensively sparkly belt adorned with her own goldfish, but restrained it to a brief grin. She'd know he was laughing, anyway. "I don't think so. They're essentially pets."

Re: A Great Catch

[st_allionofdoom]

"I don't buy it." Valkyrie plucked the as-of-yet-claimed up, gesturing again at her 'pets' with the butt of it. "I'm taking them back. Giving them a proper home to swim about. I'll see them grow properly. Plenty of room in yours, right?"

Re: A Great Catch

[st_ratagem]

"Apparently I'm collecting goldfish." Loki produced two of his from over there and sent them back to show that he already had some pets on his own recognizance. "So I imagine I'll be willing to take in your refugees as well."

Re: A Great Catch

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie smirked, clearly pleased as she took aim. It hadn't been a request, though she had a sense he'd acquiesce. Keeping fish in her room was a recipe--literally, if her ghost was in a cooking mood--for disaster. "Honestly. Asgard can breed wolves the size of mountains and I'm to believe that these fish don't have it in them to grow beyond an inch."

One shot--one down. She didn't wait for instructions because why bother? Toddlers could grasp it. "Though, given that pitiful size Stark was reduced to..."

Re: A Great Catch

[st_ratagem]

"His own fault," Loki disclaimed immediately. "He didn't request a particular kind of dog, so he ended up as the most appropriate breed for his personality." Total lie, but a decent one. "I don't think the fish will grow, but it'll be interesting to see. Also I look forward to seeing if they war amongst themselves."

[st_udieshard]

Samirah was happy to have discovered the "otherworld" had some halal options in the food stands. Since she still didn't know about the food back at the inn, she took the opportunity in this theme park to eat the meet that was available to her. They had shawarma and falafel and while she dug in, she missed Magnus and her friends. She deeply missed Amir.

As she munched away, she felt some sort of sudden pull as she neared the midway games. She paused in her walking and looked around. She was trying to pinpoint where the feeling was originating from.

[st_ratagem]

This particular game was actually almost clever in the way it was rigged. Toss a small beanbag, get it into holes, earn points... but there was an almost well hidden pneumatic system that would blast enough air just to nudge the beanbag.

Difficult, but not impossible to break. Loki was considering whether almost well hidden was still offensive enough to ruin when something prickled his senses. Familiar, but not danger. Or not quite danger? It was difficult to define, but very decided.

With a polite and empty smile at the bored-looking woman running the beanbag game, he stepped back to look around... and found a young woman in a green headscarf also looking around. Since he didn't believe in coincidence and curiosity was worth indulging, he waved slightly to see if that did anything.

[st_udieshard]

When he waved, Sam instinctively tensed. She focused on the stranger for half a second and the familiarity seemed to intensify. He did not look like a Thor, but he did look like he could be a Loki. Tentatively, she walked toward him. She didn't bring her axe with her and she suddenly felt as if this was a major oversight. She wrapped the half of the shawarma and deposited it into a small bag by her hip. As she drew closer, she seemed to find herself more certain of who he was.

She half bowed politely when she was close enough for polite conversation. She forced herself to be polite when she felt the urge to run the other way.

"Lord Loki."

Sam hoped she was right. If she wasn't, she was prepared to be scolded for the mistake.

[st_ratagem]

"Half correct." As the girl approached, she seemed more familiar, but Loki was equally increasingly sure that if he'd ever seen her before it was in passing only, at the Inn. How odd.

Less odd was her tension as she approached. If he'd been inclined to bet or had anyone nearby to bet with, he'd have put money (or goldfish) down on 'powerfully suppressing flight reflex after it dropkicked fight'. That was, in Loki's view, an entirely appropriate response to him, even if she'd used the wrong title twice over. "Just Loki, though. I'm not inclined to fight formality from more than one person at a time, and you're too late to be that person."

[st_udieshard]

Years of dealing with her father meant that Samirah couldn't help but to try and see the ploy in every statement Loki made. While he may not be directly her father, she knew there had to be many similarities. Of course, she had yet to meet Thor to test out this theory.

"Alright... Loki."

She wondered what Alex would do right now. Sam thought Alex would probably not give him any benefit of the doubt. She pressed her lips and then soldiered on.

"I... come from a different world where the Nine Realms exist. And where I serve Lord Odin as one of his Valkyries."

She watched him to see what sort of reaction that would garner.

[st_ratagem]

Loki tsked. "My condolences. That must be awful." His tone was light, but as usual when Odin was the topic, if one listened hard enough the hate and bitterness was discernible. "Assuming, of course, that he's anything like the Odin I had the misfortune of... dealing with." That was the safest way of defining the relationship, at the moment.

[st_ranger]

Bucky wandered along, glancing at the different games. These types of places sure did seem much more elaborate than the ones he remembered going to with Steve fifty plus years ago. Games being rigged wasn't new, he remembered them being rigged back then too. Still, he had no problem plunking down all his money to try to win a stuffed animal for a girl, to the point that he and Steve had to walk home when he'd failed.

Better times back then. The memory made him smile. He was tempted to try to win something for Steve, but he didn't know how well that would go. Walking up to one of the games where you shot at things with a gun, he hesitated. He was a good shot, but would he be able to counterbalance for a rigged game?

With a sigh, he stood there, staring in contemplation. He wondered if anyone else he knew had won something.

[st_ratagem]

Loki had gone, and now on returning to the area saw Bucky surveying the rifle and ducks game. Because he was who and what he was, he used a hair of magic to let himself sneak up on his friend so he could murmur almost directly into the man's ear. "It was rifled to pull left. I 'fixed' it, but I've no idea if it's been broken again since then."

[st_ranger]

Bucky blinked, tensing up a little at the voice behind him until he recognized who it was. His smile widened and he gave the tiniest nod of his head, otherwise not moving. "Hmm, only one way to find out," he murmured right back."

Turning, he raised an eyebrow at Loki. He had not seen the man in a while and had wondered if the ghost thing had affected him. His head tilted, eyeing Loki up and down. Seeing Howard had sure messed him up and he'd almost not wanted to leave his room. "How are you? Haven't seen you in a while..."

[st_ratagem]

"As well as can be expected." Which was, honestly, better than it probably should have been. The period immediately after Yule had been difficult, but Loki had managed to reach a certain level of peaceful equilibrium, albeit a peace occasionally interrupted by Thor obviously resisting the urge to argue with him about it. "You?"

[st_ranger]

"About the same..." Loki doesn't say it, which makes Bucky think that he probably saw someone. He nods, leaning back against the counter of the game, relaxing a little. Steve doesn't annoy him nearly as much as Thor annoys Loki. Still, he would bet that Thor didn't annoy Loki as much as the man seemed to imply that his brother did. "Glad the holidays are gone. Trying to get back into the swing of things. Wondering about this... world. Why they opened it for us. What the implications are... Hard to trust things." He shrugged. "I'm sure Steve would say I'm worrying too much."

[st_ratagem]

"I imagine it's exercise. You want to make sure prisoners get a certain amount of exercise." Loki tilted his head slightly, considering. "Also, the illusion of freedom is a powerful control. Nothing like real freedom, but it takes up the attention."