InsaneJournal

Who: Raven Darkholme + Loki
Where: Her room
When: Yesterdayish
What: Loki casts an illusion spell for her
Status: Completed Gdoc
Warnings: None

Ever since her arrival, Raven had barely left her room. She’d even gone so far as to cover up all the mirrors and keep the lights dimmed so that seeing her own hands wasn’t as big a shock to her, and in general she’d spent most of her time sleeping and reading in an effort to get her mind and emotions under control. She’d worry about her body later, after it looked more normal to her, less likely to scare someone - including herself. At the moment, though, she had a visitor coming over, having opted for Loki to come to her instead of meeting him in one of the more public areas of the tower. She wasn’t sure if she actually believed what Tony or Gamora had said about him being able to provide her with some kind of illusion to hide what she really looked like, but she hoped that he did. When the knock came, she took a deep breath, zipping up the hoodie she was wearing and pulling the hood itself a little lower over her hair, then walked over to the door and opened it. “Hi...Loki?” Raven waited for him to respond, before stepping back so he could enter. “Come in. Thanks for coming,” she told him honestly. Loki looked at her for a long moment, utterly silent, before he nodded and entered. Every movement was that of a prince, from the way he inclined his head to how he carried himself. But there was also something a little impish in the way his lips turned up at the corners, the way his gaze flitted around as though looking for some way to cause mischief. He didn't see anything immediately though, and noted the covered mirrors and the hood covering her head. "Make no mention of it. I'm rather familiar with such...situations." It was difficult for him to say the words: I too am blue beneath this gift of the Odinforce. He didn't like admitting it to himself, or seeing his own visage. He knew the shock of finding one's self this way, on a level that was intimate. So when Stark mentioned what was needed, he didn't hesitate and had Friday set up this meeting with this unfortunate woman. Once he was inside, he turned to face her, waiting for her to close the door. His head tilted to one side as he looked her up and down curiously. "This must be very uncomfortable for you," he noted, and not unkindly. More akin to knowing first hand what that was like. Raven shut the door and turned to face him, even as she crossed her arms over herself, obviously feeling self-conscious as he looked her over. After a moment, Raven pushed the hood back, figuring he might as well get a look at what he was working with. “Yeah, this...it isn’t me. I still don’t really feel like myself, so not seeing myself….it’s been difficult to adjust even after a few months of looking like this.” Raven held up her hands, then turned them over to study her own palms. “In...Genosha, they said that me getting hurt triggered it. My mutation. They just don’t know why it’s so visible.” And she hated it and the fact that it reminded her every second of the day that her life was never going to be the same again. Loki's lips pressed into a thin flat line and his gaze was sharp but somber. His own blue color repulsed him, and yet when it was a woman who was blue, it seemed somehow...exotic. Even so, he knew what it was like to endure such a discovery. A shock, followed by anger. At least in his case. "Ah, yes, this would be exceptionally jarring," he conceded, without divulging his own personal experience. "You remind me of one of the night lilies of Alfheim, that bloomed in a dark forest floor on the far side of that realm. The coloring is similar." After a moment of quiet contemplation, he came to a consensus. "I can cast the spell on you now," he said, tilting his head up a little proudly...as was his natural inclination when countering any feelings of self-inadequacy. "But it will not stop you from seeing your own self in mirrors. What I can offer is an illusion to make others who do not know you, see you as any other mortal on this planet. If anyone takes a photo of you, it will appear like any other mortal's countenance would. You may walk among them and none will be the wiser. We have yet to find anything to disrupt the spell, thus it should last for as long as you want it." Bright yellow eyes looked at him sharply at his words, for a moment thinking he was joking - but oddly, it sounded more like a compliment. Still, it did little to improve her feeling about how she looked now compared to how she used to look - the face she wanted so desperately to see in the mirror. As he went on, Raven bit her lip and sat on the edge of a chair as she listened closely. By the end, she was feeling less hopeful about this, and looked down at her hands as she tugged them from her pockets to study them. “I’ll still see this, but others won’t? What do you mean about - people who don’t know me? If I introduce myself to someone, what will they see? What will you see?” She hadn’t expected to be so full of questions, but she wanted to understand exactly what this would mean going forward. Loki remained standing, clasping his hands together lightly, one thumb rubbing over the top as he listened. "It allows allies to recognize you," he stated, not at all irritated by the questions. He did seem slightly aloof, in the manner someone raised as royalty assumed when dealing with intensely uncomfortable situations. There were no cracks showing. "It allows anyone on the network to see you as you are. Anyone else, those not in the know so to speak? Will see you as an average mortal living in Midgard." He tilted his head a little as though trying to look at her from a whole new angle. "Beg pardon, but do you have any photographs of what you once looked like? Social media, perhaps. Or would you prefer that I chose a face for you?" “An average mortal is exactly what I am. Or what I’m supposed to be, at least.” She looked up again at his questions, and blinked - social media had completely escaped her. “I had a Facebook page, but I haven’t thought about it…” Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she did a quick search, frowning slightly, only to let out a relieved sigh when she found her page still there, with a few public photos shown. “This. This is me,” Raven said as she slid to her feet and walked over to Loki to hold the phone out so he could scroll through the page. “Without all the primary colors.” As she thought over all he’d said, she slowly came to the conclusion that she definitely wanted the spell - at least for now, until she could figure out that other part of her powers that she’d barely managed to tap into during her escape. “I’d like to go ahead with this. Please,” she told him quietly. Loki hesitantly took the phone and scrolled through, looking over what he was shown, a beautiful young blond mortal that was depicted in the photos. He began eyeing her and the images on the screen as though he was lining up the features. They were the same, underneath the blue hue and the petal-like scales. He could unleash platitudes and silver-tongued offerings of wisdom about how embracing one's self did not make them less beautiful. But he knew all too easily that he couldn't ever fully embrace what he actually was, after being lied to for all of his life. There was no real acceptance to be found there, and this was not a situation like Nebula had, where she was blue for her entire life. At least before the Mad Titan got ahold of her, and pieced her together like a machine. They each had their own burdens. Knowing that was enough for him to hold the phone out to her again, waiting for her to take it. "Very well. I can cast the spell as you wish it," he said. "Alas, I know not what powers you were granted by the madman on that island. Perhaps in time you will learn to wield it, but I've few words that would offer comfort, I'm afraid. Only know that every other living being, who is not an ally, will see you as you once were. Not as you are now." Raven took her phone back and dropped it lightly on the chair behind her, letting out a tension she hadn’t realized he’d been using. While it wasn’t exactly what she hoped for, at least maybe this way she’d be able to go out in public without thinking she would be grabbed by the same people who’d taken her to Genosha in the first place. At least this way, she could be safe. “I’m ready,” she told him before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “And, thank you. Will I owe you anything for this?” "Oh yes. Your firstborn child and one of your limbs." A serious faced Loki let that hang there for a moment before he smiled brightly and said, "Nay, you needn't. It's part of my attempt at doing good deeds. Now hold still." He held out his hands and a greenish glow moved out from them, covering her in a ribbon that moved from head to toe. There was only a slight tingling sensation as it moved. Once it was finished, he took out his phone and took a picture, holding it out to show her that it resembled the photos she had shown him on the social media. "Ta da," he said, as though the magic trick was finished. Her lips twitched at his response, before breaking into a small grin, because even though he was being serious, she could tell he was lying about that - though he did hold it a beat longer than she would have expected, and just as she was about to question him, he smiled as well. “Good deeds, huh?” That seemed a little strange, but if he was really the guy who’d attacked New York years ago...well, she couldn’t blame him wanting to work on that. Her grin disappeared as he told her to hold still, and Raven did so, waiting. The green power made her tense a little as it drifted near and caused her skin to feel...strange..but when he finished and took a picture, Raven stepped closer to take a look, before smiling happily. Sure, she’d see the same blue countenance in the mirror herself, but at least she’d look less like some kind of underwater monster when she went out. “Thank you,” she said again as she looked up at him. “Thank you very much.”