[ sighing and looking into the sky, why me etc etc. it was actually kind of impressive, the way loki had maneuvered into power, had plotted against laufey, against the jotunns. if it hadn't have been so very insane of a thing to do, if it were actual war, if it wasn't an atrocity he was committing, he'd have been an amazing tactician.

sadly, it came from a boy angry, falling apart, and desperate, and thor hadn't known what to do with it, other than make it stop. still doesn't know what to do with it now. open dialogue was never their family's strong suit, and certainly not thor's. there's several things he types, deletes, and retypes, until finally just calling him. the message loki gets next is a voicemail, rather than text. ]

I'd meant you acted with the prowess of a ruler that I'd never had. [ his voice is soft, quite and somewhat private, talking with mjolnir laid on his chest, watching the ceiling of the apartment he'd taken to for the night. they'd had nights like this at home, laying out in the guards and watching for shooting stars while they mused. ] But in truth, you were my brother, and you were crumbling. I didn't know yet why, or how to stop it.

[ in the end, it was the same way he'd thought to stop all things before - brute force. ]