Illusions
- Location
- Ottawa
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Whatever
- in person. Hello."
You're sitting in a comfortable, oversized, overstuffed chair of some description, in a finely-decorated and incredibly alien room. Things are made of marble and wood polished so fine its almost mirror-like, instruments of brass and gold all around on the desks and shelves, and the books. The place is overflowing with books, some new, some old, some very old, and you don't even come close to recognizing all of them. Despite that, it was cozy, comfortable, a roaring fireplace giving everything a warm orange glow.
A small set of DVDs, VHS tapes, and vinyl figures occupies a portion of one shelf.
Behind a desk covered in papers, books, and devices beyond your comprehension is Loki, neither man nor woman at the moment as best you can tell, seeming somehow smaller and less imposing than usual, like their guard was down, the glamour faded. That lasted only a moment; as they sat up in their chair, they became very much a she, the presence back, the grace, the smirk.
It takes you a second, then, to recognize that you are here, in a body, one that feels like Liv's. You stared at your hands in disbelief... one organic, normal, the other seemingly carved from what you can only describe as living wood. You're wearing a dress, too, blue and brown and white, in a style you don't recognize from anywhere.
"Just a little conjuring trick, dear." she says, smiling. "So. Let's talk."
You nodded stiffly, the shock of the sudden change in location giving way again to despair. Deeper and more real this time, your eyes watering, a hot tear running down your cheek.
"Liv... Liv told her girlfriend about... about Arachne, about her powers, about everything. And I tried to stay calm and be supportive and get through it and I almost did, bu-but then she... she invited her to... to help. With Arachne. With everything. With-"
You couldn't think of any more to say, the sound just sort of dying out.
"Oh... I see." Loki said. "You're scared that this represents an unmanageable and continuous security breach, not just her identity but her continued activities in specifics, right?"
"Y-yes. And, and it... if May is doing things she might get caught, she doesn't have the ability to manipulate recording devices or purge logs, she just has to say the wrong thing or take the wrong path or being in the wrong photo and... and they'll come for Liv. They'll come for her with guns and drones and they'll k-kill her. They've already tried once and that was... that was incidental, almost an accident, and they still almost did. They'll kill her. They will. I can't stop it. I can't help."
"... remembering I'm not reading your mind... is there perhaps an aspect of jealousy here too, of being replace-"
"No!" you shout, the loudest sound you think you've ever made audibly. "No, no, I'm just scared. I want her to be happy and safe and to be Arachne and she can't. She can't do all three."
"Not all the time, sure." Loki said. She leaned back, crossing her legs as she settled into her chair, a goblet of some kind in her hand. She didn't make it appear, but she didn't pick it up either, it was sort of like she was always holding it even though she wasn't. "Drink, this'll help you calm down, alright?"
There was a mug in your hand, the real one. You raised it mechanically to your lips and the hot liquid inside felt instantly soothing, the tension draining out of you, and you set it down lightly. You watched as the level of the liquid simply raised again in the glass, filled from some unknown source.
"How do you do that? I thought creating matter was supposed to be r-really hard, from the book-" you started, and she waved her hand dismissively.
"How much of any of this do you think is real?" she asked, "An illusion is a comprehensive thing, you know, it doesn't end at sight or sound or even touch. Remember, the world around you isn't really the way you see it, none of it is, all the information you mortals get is second hand, trapped within the small equations that make up the world. Fourth hand really... sight is light, then reception, then processing, then awareness, none of it is the real shape of reality. An illusion can interject at any of those points. Or all of them."
"O-of course." you said, a bit overwhelmed.
"I'll give the game away, none of this is real. I didn't physically take you anywhere, all of this is happening inside your cute little processors. This room doesn't exist anywhere, nor does your body, nor the tea, and I don't look like this on my side of the rainbow bridge. It's something we affect, if you understand."
The fear you had for Liv was, somehow, giving way to a more general terror. Just who the hell were you asking for help, really?
"I... I..." you started, and she shook her head sadly.
"Look, I understand your fear, really, I do. And... I do want to help, but my options are limited. Magic is powerful, especially wielded from this realm through a willing conduit like yourself, but it is not... always elegant, if you will. For instance, I could rip the memories out of May's head, and Liv's, and implant the suggestion that they should part and never again speak, as easy as breathing." she said simply, swirling a finger above her cup, trailing motes of something which was hard to look at. "Well, as easy as breathing is for her, considering neither of us need it. Or I could probably lay a curse on May which would kill her if she were to betray the secret, the instant before. Would you like that?"
"N-no." you said.
"I figured not. A few centuries ago, I think I would have just sprung one of those on you, but I am learning. Getting better, every day..." she said, sighing. "I had something of a perspective shift, made me value mortal life a lot more. It was very easy to see you as... toys, to be played with and discarded, you understand? Or to pity you, oh, the poor mortals, so powerless and short-lived. It was so... condescending. At best, paternalistic."
"What changed?" you asked, too nervous to meet her eyes. You settled on staring at the very interesting looking sword laying across Loki's desk.
"I met my wife." she said simply, "Oh, like the sword? It'll rend your soul if you touch it, so... don't."
"... souls are real?" you asked, your lowest possible priority right now.
"In a manner of speaking. No spoilers." she said, a finger to her lips. "Now... I'm going to offer to you what I think is the least-disruptive, most useful thing I can do, with the knowledge it may still be too much. You can refuse, and I won't hold it against you, I promise. But it's all I can offer. I can't really do less and I don't wish to do more, you understand?"
"I do." you said, nodding.
"What I can do is safeguard Olivia's identity as Arachne from anyone else learning of it. Everyone who already knows will continue to know, but nobody else ever will. I can make this utterly foolproof. She could pull her mask off in front of a bank of cameras and some extraordinary event would prevent her from being identified. She would have no idea it was happening."
"I'll-"
"Wait, I'm not finished. This effect will be absolute. If she wants to tell any person, anyone, she can't. Either something will get in the way, or she will think better of it, because her mind and perception will be manipulated by the spell. If you want to tell anyone, if you need to tell somebody, you won't be able to. May won't be able to. I won't be able to. Nobody. Ever." Loki said, voice utterly serious. "I need you to understand that."
"C-can it be undone, if we do it?" you asked, and she looked at you with such utter pity.
"Any spell can be dispelled, any curse lifted, and spell broken, though it always costs more than what you put in. Further, I'll warn you that dispelling illusions always involves revealing the truth." she explained, her voice softening. "But it cannot be undone. Athena... nothing can ever be undone. It's the one cruel, unchangeable, universal rule of our collective realities... you can't take it back."
"... okay." you said, "I want to talk to h-"
"She can't know. It won't work if she does." Loki said sadly. "You have to make this choice. I know it's hard, but remember: she made you to keep her safe, and she trusts you."
---
[ ] Do it.
[ ] Don't.
