Ninth Trick: Permavideo (earlier in the day~)

[doeswhathewants]

[The NV feed shows Loki in profile, backlit by a bonfire in the middle of a street in Sector 3. Focus shifts in as an impromptu altar set before the bonfire, carved with runes and decorated with a slaughtered ram comes into view.

Vikings loiter around the fire with piles of suspiciously modern goods, hoisting drinking horns and distributing wares, singing traditional songs of praise for battles won and companions lost in heroic sacrifice- no flyting, not with Loki around to best them all. Behind the whole scene are a few storefronts with suspiciously smashed windows.

Loki turns to the NV and his grin is all even white teeth, predatory]

To whom it may concern, I've contained the Vikings.

[He raises his own drinking horn at them and calls out] Mein Skol, Dein Skol, Alle Vakkera Flikka Skol! [They raise their own horns and call a hearty response before drinking.

Loki throws back his head laughing and drinks from his own horn, eyes glowing the green of bale fires.]

I'd forgotten how fun mortals were.

Comments

[allucinator]

I'm flattered, kid. What the hell do they even speak-- you know what, never mind, I don't care. Do that mean you can speak any language?

[doeswhathewants]

Norrœnt Mál - ah - old Norse. Yes, speak and understand any language. One of the very few boons from the All Father.

text;

[allucinator]

[Briefly, he switches to text. In Latin:]

If you can do it in writing too, I'll be very impressed.

Re: text;

[doeswhathewants]

[Switches to text as well. In Latin.]

Will you slaughter a ram in my name?

[allucinator]

[He laughs, startled, and keeps it up. It's been a while since he's written any Latin; this'll be good practice.]

No. It would upset my children/dogs/rats, they get really worried when things die in the house. But I will make you dinner sometime.

[doeswhathewants]

You have children?

Mm. You make dinner and I shall bring the mead.

[allucinator]

Agreed. And in a way-- we have dogs. Sirius and I call them our children. Do not ask me why, we simply do.

[doeswhathewants]

Which one of you sired and which one of you bore them? There is no shame in recognizing your children, even if their appearance is not -ah - traditional.

[Legit, he's serious.]

[allucinator]

[It's a pity it's text; Jack doesn't take that seriously at all.]

Depends which child.

[doeswhathewants]

Ah, I suppose it makes the most sense taking turns carrying them.

[He'll have to bring it up later.]

[allucinator]

Sirius is better at it, to be honest.

[But Latin is tiring, and anyway, Jack likes talking better than typing. He switches back to video, grinning.]

You're the weirdest person I ever known, you know that?

permavideo

[doeswhathewants]

Weird? I'm not weird.

-well, perhaps to humans.

[allucinator]

To humans, yeah, and guess what I am? It ain't an insult, don't take it wrong. I'm just sayin', you are.

[doeswhathewants]

Weird denotes difference outside the acceptable means.

That is an insult.

Besides, I am only interested in how a human managed a birth such as that. Unless it was due to Sirius being a wizard. Only one of my children was canine- though a wolf, not a dog.

[allucinator]

[He was about to go off on how it's not an insult because he didn't mean it as an insult-- except then Loki kept going and ohhhh this is not going in a direction Jack wants. He hesitates-- opens his mouth-- and then holds up one finger.]

All right, first off, what. You have-- how did you have a wolf as a kid? And second off, we didn't-- I was kiddin', we adopted them from the store-- Loki, I don't-- we don't-- we're just friends.

[doeswhathewants]

[Blinks]

To this day I am not entirely sure. Aside Sleipnir, obviously he was going to be a horse. Adoption is fine, just treat them well and no worse than your natural children.

Oh. I thought you and Alice and Sirius all had some sort of ... odd open relationship. I saw a television show about that sort of thing once.

[allucinator]

Were you watchin' Maury? Anyway, no, we don't. We're just friends. All o' us. [A tiny pause.] Cept me and Alice, obviously. Anyway, why the-- how many children do you have? And what exactly are you matin' with?

[doeswhathewants]

Maury is quite entertaining! I find it a decent gateway into understanding the modern world.

There is nothing wrong with a polyandrous relationship... or is there here?

Quite a few, most of them are half mortal and live in Midgard, never knowing that I am their true father. Ah- but six that I have mostly raised. Only Sleipnir was sired by a beast, though quite a fine beast, I must say. Angrboda was Jotun and Sigyn Aesir, mothers of the rest.

[allucinator]

Right. You, uh, you might not want to spread that around, that you go round, uh, matin' with animals. Bit weird round here.

[He sucks in a soft breath and lies back on his couch-- partially for comfort, partially to give himself an excuse to collect himself. Weird, and that's definitely an insult this time, but he doesn't want to show that.]

Anyway. Ain't nothin' wrong with a, a buncha partners, but we don't do that. And next time you wanna learn about the modern world, ask me. Then watch Maury, that shit ain't normal.

[doeswhathewants]

I was a horse at the time, too. Does that count?

[He thought that part was obvious. HUFF.]

How is Maury not normal?

[allucinator]

Did you think like a human?

And because it's full o' trash. It's . . .

[He waves his hand, trying to explain.]

It's the worst o' people. It's fun, yeah, but it ain't a good guide to humans.

[doeswhathewants]

No. When I am an animal, I think as the animal, I speak as the animal.

[Considers that]

But what is the difference between a trash human and a non trash human?

[allucinator]

How do you manage to change back?

[He pauses, trying to think.]

Well . . . I dunno, the people who go on there, for one. But just . . . I don't know. It's hard to explain. Maybe trash weren't the right word, maybe . . . I dunno. Just remember most people ain't like that.

[doeswhathewants]

Magic.

[Looks petulant]

Then what are most people like? And what is the right word?

[allucinator]

[Right, okay, this is getting weird and he's talking to a child about this and honestly, Jack is just going to drop this. And try not to think about this.

Instead, he gives Loki a little grin.]

That's like me askin' what most gods are like. They're all different, ain't they?