002 ✪ [Video -- thoroughly accidental video]

[notmyfirstrodeo]

[Coulson is staring intently at the computer screen. Very intently. In fact, this may be the most serious that he's ever looked -- which is saying something. The man doesn't do much that isn't serious.]

Almost...

[The word is muttered to himself, brow furrowed.] Just about... There!

[And now, seriousness is replaced with absolute triumph. A kid who just got exactly what he asked for from Santa. Fiddling and a sheet prints. It's an order confirmation, straight off of eBay, winning bid. As he holds it up to the light read it's quite visible: Complete series: Captain America trading cards, original printing, near mint condition.

There's a bit of a grin starting on his face as he suddenly realizes he's sharing this. The expression fades entirely, and he pauses.]

...this is research. [And then he hurries to turn the video off.]

Comments

[trickstering]

He only recently went to actually fight, so that must happen in his future.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

Sounds about right, yes, considering.

Which is strange to say.

[trickstering]

There are many strange things with the network - I suppose time differences are no more strange than interdemensional technology.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

I have less trouble with the latter myself. Less chance of having to try and puzzle through a paradox -- especially with a place like this where it's so easy to acquire information one shouldn't have, temporally speaking.

[trickstering]

Fate doesn't really like to be messed with, it is just as likely that the information was required to make things happen as they did as not.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. Actually, that's sort of comforting.

[trickstering]

The only difficult part is deciding which came first, but one could think on that forever and still not know, I would imagine.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

Yeah, it's a chicken and the egg sort of situation.

[trickstering]

Exactly.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

So then you haven't witnessed any trouble arising from an unusual exchange of information over this network?

[trickstering]

[...

you don't

understand

asgardian

do you

son of coul]

Trouble wouldn't necessarily be mutually exclusive to fate.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

[Goodness no, not him. But boy howdy does SHIELD employ all sorts of linguists.]

I suppose that's true. Difficult to separate the cause sometimes. What was going to happen anyway. What was inevitable.

[trickstering]

[if we were writing pseudo-prose tags there would be so many feelings here]

One can never understand inevitability until the finish for certain.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

[C'mon, Loki. You know you and he are destined to be BFFs]

I suppose that's true. Hindsight is the only really clear vision in that regard. Funny what you realize after the fact though.

[trickstering]

[Yeah I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same thing except the opposite.]

Is there something you're trying to get at here, Agent Coulson?

[notmyfirstrodeo]

[ToMAYto toMAHto.]

Not at all. Just puzzling through the implications of being a part of this community.

[trickstering]

Of course.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

Personally, I haven't encountered any difficult situations of that nature yet. I've witnessed what I imagine might be a couple, but as of yet...

Then again, I have tried to watch myself with Captain Rogers and not discussing his exploits with him.

[trickstering]

That is an issue of time, rather than an issue of space.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

I suppose it is.

[trickstering]

It would be unfortunate to comment on that which you cannot understand.

[notmyfirstrodeo]

I expect it would be.

[trickstering]

Of course.