[color=gray][table][row] [sup][h3][b] [color=2e2c2c]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ [right]▅▅▅▅▅▅[/right][/color] [/b][/h3][/sup] [/row][row][cell][right][img]https://i.imgur.com/3eNsVyW.gif[/img][/right][/cell][cell][center][color=2e2c2c]x x[/color] [color=91A88D]🇴‌🇳‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇩‌🇦‌🇾‌ 🇮‌ 🇼‌🇦‌🇸‌ 🇧‌🇴‌🇷‌🇳‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇳‌🇺‌🇷‌🇸‌🇪‌🇸‌ 🇦‌🇱‌🇱‌ 🇬‌🇦‌🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌🇷‌🇪‌🇩‌ '🇷‌🇴‌🇺‌🇳‌🇩‌ 🇦‌🇳‌🇩‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌🇾‌ 🇬‌🇦‌🇿‌🇪‌🇩‌ 🇮‌🇳‌ 🇼‌🇮‌🇩‌🇪‌ 🇼‌🇴‌🇳‌🇩‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇦‌🇹‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇯‌🇴‌🇾‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌🇾‌ 🇭‌🇦‌🇩‌ 🇫‌🇴‌🇺‌🇳‌🇩‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇭‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩‌ 🇳‌🇺‌🇷‌🇸‌🇪‌ 🇸‌🇵‌🇴‌🇰‌🇪‌ 🇺‌🇵‌ 🇦‌🇳‌🇩‌ 🇸‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇸‌🇦‌🇮‌🇩‌ "🇱‌🇪‌🇦‌🇻‌🇪‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇮‌🇸‌ 🇴‌🇳‌🇪‌ 🇦‌🇱‌🇴‌🇳‌🇪‌" 🇸‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇨‌🇴‌🇺‌🇱‌🇩‌ 🇹‌🇪‌🇱‌🇱‌ 🇷‌🇮‌🇬‌🇭‌🇹‌ 🇦‌🇼‌🇦‌🇾‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇦‌🇹‌ 🇮‌ 🇼‌🇦‌🇸‌ 🇧‌🇦‌🇩‌ 🇹‌🇴‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇧‌🇴‌🇳‌🇪‌ [h2]◉[/h2][/color][/center][/cell][/row][/table] [sub][h2][color=91A88D]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=black] [I]🇪‌🇦‌🇷‌🇱‌🇮‌🇪‌🇷‌, 🇺‌🇳‌🇩‌🇮‌🇸‌🇨‌🇱‌🇴‌🇸‌🇪‌🇩‌ 🇱‌🇴‌🇨‌🇦‌🇹‌🇮‌🇴‌🇳‌[/I][/color] [color=white]  [I]🇪‌🇦‌🇷‌🇱‌🇮‌🇪‌🇷‌, 🇺‌🇳‌🇩‌🇮‌🇸‌🇨‌🇱‌🇴‌🇸‌🇪‌🇩‌ 🇱‌🇴‌🇨‌🇦‌🇹‌🇮‌🇴‌🇳‌[/I][/color][/h2][/sub] [indent]The man before him was nervous, knuckles white from gripping the briefcase and mouth pursed into a thin line. It was thrilling, really, how much he could make a mortal squirm. Loki breathed out a plume of smoke, flicking the ashes from his Gurkha Black Dragon cigar. He wasn't much of a smoker, only really lighting one of his expensive cigars for dramatic effect in illicit meetings. Loki liked the dramatics of crime; he invested more time than he would like to admit into perfecting his intimidation. Throughout his years as a crime lord, Loki knew that placement was the ultimate deciding factor between ridiculous and scary. Burgundy chair pushed into his mahogany desk? Ridiculous. Burgundy chair tilted just enough to be perpendicular with the mahogany desk? Scary, relaxed, shows that Loki could end a man all while reclining in a comfy chair. Three bodyguards placed sporadically around the room? Ridiculous, disorganized, clumsy. Two of his henchmen perched behind him while a third guards the double doors? Scary, organized, cuts off all escape routes. Loki smiles, folding his hands across his chest. [color=91A88D]"Harry…"[/color] Loki unhooks his hands and spreads them, encompassing the room. [color=91A88D]"has come to die."[/color] The man in front of him shuffles unsurely, and scratches at the brown wispy hairs on the back of his head. [color=white]"Um, sir, my name is John."[/color] Loki's smile vanishes and he scowls, [color=91A88D]"I was doing a bit! You could tell right, Mark. I was doing a bit!"[/color] Mark, the henchman on his right, stutters before nodding, [color=white]"Of course, sir, you were doing the Harry Potter thing, right?"[/color] Loki nods, because of course Mark gets it. Mark is his favorite. [color=white]"My name is Liam, though, sir."[/color] Mark mutters awkwardly. Loki holds up a hand to shut Mark up. [color=91A88D]"I didn't ask, Mark. Did you bring the money or not, Tom?"[/color] [color=white]"John."[/color] [color=91A88D]"Whatever."[/color] So maybe Loki hasn't perfected the balance between scary and ridiculous, but he was a god and if anyone were to speak of this incident, he'd just have them killed. Unless they were praising his Voldemort impression, then they may speak of it. [color=91A88D]"Sit the money on the table and get out of my sight. I have brunch I need to get to."[/color] [color=white]"A luncheon, sir."[/color] The henchman on Loki's left says. Loki leans backwards and looks at the henchman in disbelief. [color=91A88D]"Who even [i]are[/i] you."[/color] The henchman looks sheepish, rubbing his hands together. [color=white]"I'm Lawrence, sir. I've been working for you for five years."[/color] [color=91A88D]"No you haven't. I would've remembered you if that were the case. I remember Mark over here, and he's been working here only 3 months."[/color] [color=white]"Two months, sir."[/color] Mark pipes up. [color=91A88D]"See? Two months. I am an attentive and friendly boss."[/color][/indent] [sub][h2][color=91A88D]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/color] [color=black] [I]🇳‌🇴‌🇼‌, 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇴‌🇱‌🇾‌🇲‌🇵‌🇮‌🇨‌ 🇨‌🇱‌🇺‌🇧‌[/I][/color] [color=white]  [I]🇳‌🇴‌🇼‌, 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇴‌🇱‌🇾‌🇲‌🇵‌🇮‌🇨‌ 🇨‌🇱‌🇺‌🇧‌[/I][/color][/h2][/sub] [indent]Loki whistled a tune of his own making when he skipped and hopped into the country club. He wasn't surprised by the choice of location by Hera, it was a rather prolific place where rich, old white people gathered for business meetings and that one horrendous sport. Croquet can barely be called a sport, truthfully. Now, illegal gambling — that was a sport. The country club was empty besides himself and the staff. Hera rented the entire country club for the occasion. Loki wandered through the marbled halls into the dining hall. The dining hall had ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the garden where you could play croquet among the pansies. Pansies playing croquet with the pansies, ha! Loki chuckled to himself. He wandered to the buffet table, filled with tiny snacks to hold people over. No doubt waiters would later take individual orders — it was that kind of rich establishment where they didn't lay the food out for hours and call it a day. [color=91A88D]"Darling,"[/color] Loki called to a nearby waitress, as he plucked a tiny sandwich up and ate it in two bites. Through a mouthful of food, he asked, [color=91A88D]"do you know where that lovely Hera is?"[/color] The waitress looked thrown off, eyes wide and she stuttered when she replied, [color=white]"Um, I'm not sure who Hera is, sir."[/color] Loki wrinkled his nose, [color=91A88D]"Damn, I forgot what her mortal name is. Something dull and boring, I'm sure. Don't you agree, Miss…Heather?"[/color] Heather looked shocked that he knew her name, momentarily forgetting the name tag beneath the lapel of her button up. [color=white]"Of course, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with?"[/color] Loki flicked his fingers free of bread crumbs and waved her away. He wandered back to the round tables to find name plates listing where each god should sit. That won't do at all, Loki thought to himself. He made himself busy with throwing the name plates into the trash can, and none of the staff were paid enough to stop him. Once all the name plates were discarded, he sat down at a table by the windows where he could see all the other tables. Ah, Hera might have tried to stop the bickering that would inevitably come, but chaos always reigns. And, well, maybe chaos needs a little help from little ole' Loki every now and then. [/indent] [/color]