Dividing Lines

Chapter 11 of Dividing Lines is up!! Co-written with the talented @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

In which Mobius, Verity and Casey try to cheer Loki up with a visit to the Founder’s Museum. Also featuring an unexpected encounter with the Temporal Engineering & Design Department.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61967617/chapters/165027058

No name, no memories, and an overabundance of corporate jargon that would drive anyone insane.
Loki is trapped inside a sinister bureaucratic nightmare, and he’s desperate to wake up.
The TVA – whatever that is – claims he opted to undergo the “Severance Procedure,” splitting his consciousness into two distinct chronologies: one living freely in the outside world, the other eternally bound within the confines of the TVA. The only light in the darkness is a man named Mobius, who also happens to be his team leader.
If Loki has imprisoned himself on purpose, he wants to know why – and if he can’t escape, that only leaves one option: burn it all down.

Sharing a snippet from Chapter 11 of Dividing Lines, co-authored with the superlative @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚 In which the Chronodata Analytics team goes on an excursion to the Founder’s Museum.

Thanks @distracteddream, @blackbirdofasgard and @mobiusismycomfortcharacter for the tags!

Loki’s sceptical expression softened. Maybe Mobius was imagining it, but his smile looked almost fond.

“Very well – lead the way.”

It was all Mobius could do to stop himself from grabbing Loki’s hand as he led him through the rooms, explaining the displays as best he could while Loki supplied sarcastic commentary and complained about the inferior quality of the snacks (which didn’t prevent him from surreptitiously reaching over to sneak handfuls of Mobius’ popcorn when he thought he wasn’t looking).

They slipped easily into their familiar banter, disagreeing over the placement of objects and the literary merit of the label text (Loki pedantically pointed out the typos, while Mobius dared to wonder aloud if there was a separate department dedicated to caring for the displays and producing the factsheets).

After some cajoling, Loki even deigned to try on a top hat in the props room. It suited him almost too well, drawing attention to his impossibly sharp cheekbones. Mobius chose a brown bowler hat and they posed together for a photograph inside a red-curtained booth, bickering about which buttons to press.

Mobius hadn’t been this happy in weeks.

Tagging @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @wolfpup026 @devilbearingtrouuble @silentxsymphony @thosegayoldmen @mirilyawrites and anyone else who sees this, for this week or next! 💚

Tagged by @in-my-loki-feels, thank you! 💚 Sharing a snippet from Chapter 10 of Dividing Lines, co-authored with the inimitable @insert-witty-user-name-here

We’re back with our “innies” inside the TVA this week, and for the next few chapters.

–

“Do you ever wonder what kind of person you are? In the real world.” 

When Loki finally spoke, his voice was low and ragged. He didn’t look up.

“Sure,” Mobius shrugged. “We all wonder that sometimes. It’s natural to be curious.”

“I don’t mean what your hobbies are, what you like for dinner, or your favourite colour – I mean the choices you made. Why you decided to work at the TVA.”

“Knowing the reason why wouldn’t change anything.”

Loki hugged his knees closer, clasping his hands so tightly the knuckles turned white. “Only a monster could put someone in place like this.”

Mobius’ heart sank.

“Maybe they didn’t know what it would be like? It’s gotta be hard to imagine. It’s not as though outsiders are allowed to do a tour of the Severed Floor before signing up.”

“So you admit this place is a living nightmare?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Loki drew a shaky breath. “You didn’t have to.”

–

Tagging @wolfpup026 @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @blackbirdofasgard @silentxsymphony @devilbearingtrouuble @distracteddream @andthekitchensinkao3 and anyone else who sees this and wants to join 💚

Chapter 9 of Dividing Lines is up! In which we catch up with Loki & Sylvie and learn a bit more about “outie” Loki’s motivations. Co-authored with the wonderful @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61967617

No name, no memories, and an overabundance of corporate jargon that would drive anyone insane.
Loki is trapped inside a sinister bureaucratic nightmare, and he’s desperate to wake up.
The TVA – whatever that is – claims he opted to undergo the “Severance Procedure,” splitting his consciousness into two distinct chronologies: one living freely in the outside world, the other eternally bound within the confines of the TVA. The only light in the darkness is a man named Mobius, who also happens to be his team leader.
If Loki has imprisoned himself on purpose, he wants to know why – and if he can’t escape, that only leaves one option: burn it all down.

Tagged by @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @andthekitchensinkao3, @mobiusismycomfortcharacter, thank you! 💚

Sharing a snippet from Chapter 9 of the Severance AU Dividing Lines, co-written with the brilliant @insert-witty-user-name-here

As he stared across the table at Sylvie, a memory flashed through his mind with startling clarity: sitting opposite Mobius in the TVA’s automat, identical slices of suspicious-looking green pie on their plates, Mobius’ eyes crinkling with such unbearable fondness that Loki had felt almost lightheaded with joy, despite the imminent threat of temporal meltdown…

Did the TVA still have a pie room? Did he and Mobius still eat lunch together? 

For that matter, had his counterpart even found Mobius? Loki had ticked all the relevant boxes in the TVA’s new starter survey, careful to select “data analytics” as his primary interest, but he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure of anything. However hard he pushed against the barrier inside his mind, his memories of the forty hours per week he spent inside the TVA remained frustratingly out of reach.

Tagging @wolfpup026, @silentxsymphony, @devilbearingtrouuble, @thosegayoldmen, @blackbirdofasgard, @boredintjqueen and anyone else who who’d like to join, for this week or next 💚

It’s that time of the week again! Sharing a snippet from Chapter 8 of Dividing Lines, co-authored with the amazing @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

“Should we—” 

Mobius clamped a hand over Loki’s mouth and pressed him against the shelves before he could finish speaking. Loki was too surprised to react, let alone try to break free. 

Instead of receding, the footsteps stopped abruptly. Loki’s heart thumped almost painfully inside his chest, though he wasn’t sure whether his racing pulse was due to the risk of getting caught or the distracting warmth of Mobius’ slightly calloused palm over his lips.

“I told you, I need to speak to him.” Ravonna’s voice sounded from the other side of the door, tense and impatient. “With all due respect, Miss Minutes, it’s imperative that he hears this directly from me.” 

“And I told you, he doesn’t like to be interrupted during his Vision Time,” Miss Minutes argued, no doubt with an exaggerated cartoon glare.

Thanks for @devilbearingtrouuble for the tag! Tagging @wolfpup026, @distracteddream, @silentxsymphony, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @blackbirdofasgard, @thosegayoldmen, @mobiusismycomfortcharacter, @boredintjqueen and - as always! - anyone else who’d like to join 💚

Dividing Lines

Chapter Seven of Dividing Lines is up!! Featuring not one but two Lokius dates! Complete with flirting and philosophical conversations (and food).

A Lokius fic inspired by Severance, co-authored with the superlative @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61967617/chapters/162829516

No name, no memories, and an overabundance of corporate jargon that would drive anyone insane.
Loki is trapped inside a sinister bureaucratic nightmare, and he’s desperate to wake up.
The TVA – whatever that is – claims he opted to undergo the “Severance Procedure,” splitting his consciousness into two distinct chronologies: one living freely in the outside world, the other eternally bound within the confines of the TVA. The only light in the darkness is a man named Mobius, who also happens to be his team leader.
If Loki has imprisoned himself on purpose, he wants to know why – and if he can’t escape, that only leaves one option: burn it all down.

Sharing a snippet from Chapter Seven of Dividing Lines, co-authored with the brilliant @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

—

“Well?” Loki asked mischievously. “Do you intend to make a move anytime soon?”

“I…” Mobius trailed off, feeling his face grow warm. It took him a split second to process that by “make a move”, Loki was referring to the in-progress game of Scrabble. “I’m still thinking,” he finished, cursing the blush that he was quite sure hadn’t escaped Loki’s attention. “We’ve got another twelve minutes, we don’t need to rush.”

“Twelve minutes,” Loki repeated dryly. “A luxury.”

Mobius carefully rearranged his tiles to spell “LEAVE” minus the second “E”, conscious of Loki’s eyes on him. The back of his neck prickled. Loki’s penetrating gaze made him feel seen in a way he’d never experienced before, despite the TVA’s constant surveillance; it was unsettling and exhilarating in roughly equal measure. Sometimes he felt like Loki was looking right through him, past the TVA uniform and the carefully constructed facade of professionalism, reading his thoughts. 

The knowledge that Loki was sizing him up, searching for points of weakness he could exploit in his efforts to escape the TVA, didn’t stop Mobius’ heart from beating faster. 

—

Tagging @wolfpup026, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @distracteddream, @silentxsymphony, @devilbearingtrouuble, @mobiusismycomfortcharacter, @blackbirdofasgard, @thosegayoldmen and anyone else who sees this and wants to join - always love seeing what people are working on!! 💚

Sharing a snippet from Chapter Six of Dividing Lines, the Lokius Severance AU co-authored with the brilliant @insert-witty-user-name-here 💚

—

“Can we please talk about something else?” Don asked, massaging his temple. Anything else.

“Fine.” Sylvie leaned back and grabbed a handful of peanuts from the cup in front of them. After a moment her expression brightened. “You seeing anyone new?” 

Don rolled his eyes. Naturally Sylvie would move the conversation from one topic he didn’t want to discuss to another. 

“What?” she pressed. “I’m just curious. You never know when someone might blow into your life and sweep you off your feet.” 

Don’s face heated up at the thought of Loki.

“So you have met someone?” Sylvie remarked with a wide smile. “Go on, tell me. Who is it?” 

Don shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. It was a long time since he’d done this – any of it. Dating. Talking casually about crushes with a friend. Truth be told, his feelings for Loki were anything but casual, and that was a problem, because Sylvie would definitely be able to tell, and she wasn’t likely to let the matter drop in a hurry. 

“It’s nobody,” he stammered. “Just someone I ran into after work.” 

“And…” 

“And he’s a little outta my league”

Sylvie scoffed. “I doubt that. You’re quite a catch.” 

—

Tagging @wolfpup026 @distracteddream @devilbearingtrouble @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @blackbirdofasgard @thosegayoldmen @silentxsymphony and anyone else who sees this and wants to join! I love reading these fun snippets 💚