If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks...

[coldsong]

It's customary to have a Wake after the subject thereof dies. Even Loki knows that. But this is a special occasion. Ego-death is coming to his alternate, and the idea of letting him go off to perish alone, uncertain he will even be mourned, is too dark a proposition even for a flawed and callous person to contemplate.

That, and this Loki has been in a melancholy mood since speaking to the spirit of Frigga. He anticipates a dark choice of his own, sooner or later, and where the fates will send him after that, he can't know. Maybe oblivion, although even at that rate there may be worse places.

What's important right now is that no one dies unremembered. And honestly, any excuse for mischief a party. The first text rolls out to Harley, an innocent enough invitation to join them for milkshakes. Cricket is next, because it occurs to him that Cricket has plenty of liquor, which is good for a reckless celebration.

Things snowball from there.

As long as they don't destroy too much property, they'll call the night a success.

Comments

[outpostcook]

"You know..."

Kinner thinks. It's not every day a friendly talking polar bear who's also an expert cook offers to make something for him. He considers what he'd like carefully before deciding.

"I'll have a couple hamburgers, if you can do that. I'm guessing you can."

jumping in here, hope that's okay!

[conjuredskies]

Under the circumstances, Jim hasn't been abandoned as much as he might assume. Look, Felix knows he's a smart man but Jim seems to end up in trouble with powerful entities more often than not. So he reappears at about this point, having acquired drinks for them both only to find Jim's already being plied with... something.

"And here I was about to recruit you as my test subject, Ji- oh!" He's just spotted who the captain's with. And now, despite the smile he gives Loki, his eyebrows are drawn together in the faint frown of a man who's pretty certain he's just been posed a trick question. "I beg your pardon, have we met?"

[chiron_survivor]

Caspar's gaze follows Ice Bear's gesture and he raises an eyebrow. He noticed the additional security cameras, so he has a fairly good idea of what his friend is suggesting. After a moment's hesitation, he nods and lets Ice Bear lead him up the stairs.

It's not that he doesn't trust Adia to try her best at smoothing things over. But Marie is another matter entirely. And anyway, he's not doing any good standing here and glaring in her general direction. "Thanks," he says to Ice Bear quietly. "And sorry for getting you involved in this nonsense."

Up close, Adia makes note of Marie's sad appearance and frowns softly to herself. Why is she here alone? Is there trouble between her and Jeff? The thought concerns her, but one thing at a time. "It's okay, Marie. I appreciate the gesture... and I appreciate what you did to help Hunter." She taps the empty chair at the table. "Can I talk to you for a little bit? There's something I need to tell you."

[websnextdoor]

Well that's closer than he anticipated being right now, but not like in a bad way? Just, this poor teen is hopelessly awkward and lacking in physical contact that isn't his secret handshake with Ned most days.

"Okay?" Why? It is a mystery. But if the gods demand it Peter will sure as heck try! Though, it's going to end with him spitting it out after a solid half minute wearing a frown. Untied. "That's a lot harder than it sounds like it should be."

Always!

[magpiemythos]

"That's the dangerous part- it's horrifically alcoholic under all that sugar!" Loki replies in a cheery tone, clearly pleased when it seems that so far so good, his new friend isn't having a bad reaction. Whatever he was going to say beyond that was forgotten when someone new approached, and the trickster turned his smile Felix's way.

He knew Loki's drinking buddy that much was clear. And probably Loki's counterpart if that confusion was any hint.

"We haven't! You likely have come across my darling counterpart though." Loki replied, gesturing with his drink towards where his twin was mingling with some of the other partygoers.

[websnextdoor]

Look at the moment people can take their morals and cares for Peter's well being and shove them. He has free food and he's going to eat it with gusto. Extra whipped cream even! Score!

"Okay, well. Here goes nothing." It's really not as easy as it sounds like it should be and having a god stare you down while you try to do it does nothing to ease his nerves. Peter's going to pull it out (untied) of his mouth after half a minute or so, looking a bit embarrassed.

"It uh...it sounded easier when you explained it."

[courtofmurk]

Not everyone in the Cafe is supposed to be there. Certain people might be less welcome owing to their behavior the last time they got in. Well, make that the last few times.

There's a flash of black beneath the tables, a whirr of wings up to the back of an empty seat nearby. A small dark head peers over a Loki's shoulder at their table. They have a lot of small, red, glossy foods. The Knave of Rooks doesn't have to know what cherries are to decide he wants them.

Anyway, the featherless wizards are busy... pulling faces? How peculiar yet convenient. He can wait until they seem distracted. Then he dives for the edge of the table, claws digging in and wings a-flapping. He snatches as many of the shiny tidbits from the plate as he can stuff in his beak, all set to take off with them. It's daylight twilight robbery!

[magpiemythos]

Not expected in the least. Loki wasn't expecting the sudden arrival of a black, feathery thief, blinking a long moment as the corvid was bravely stuffing his beak before bursting into laughter.

"What's the rush, friend?" He asked in a cheery tone, reaching out to... nudge the plate a bit closer to the bird. Not the weirdest tablemate he's ever had, not by a longshot.

[smartass_captain]

Katsuya does have a healthy does of diecide in his resume but for tonight he's mostly here to make sure no one's trying to get the kids here drunk and to make sure nothing gets destroyed amidst all the partying. Is that a dinosaur?! Excuse him.

Jim, meanwhile, is content with his glass of something incredibly bright blue while he watches the people flitting about the cafe.

"A joke, slightly. I have to wonder if Felix would call it that. Or if it's that far off from the truth. I don't know much about magic and gods, so it all seems equally ridiculous to me sometimes."

[to_the_wolves]

Ice Bear is such a nice bear that he doesn't mind helping out. Off goes the two serious business people, leaving the women to talk in 'private'.

Marie looks over at the chair, gesturing for Adia to sit, her attention going to the glass in front of her hesitantly. It's so hard to avoid those razor sharp glares Caspar was giving her earlier and she feels bad for eating up Adia's time. Without even realizing it, she's already adding to the other woman's statement, mostly trying to jump the gun out of worry or sadness.

"Go for it. Things can't get any worse lately, so you wouldn't be ruining my night. Losing people and lovers close to me, getting asked to step back from work...It's a cascade of affairs." Taking a sip of wine, she finally manages to stare over at Adia, still wearing those concealing glasses. "What's on your mind?"

[courtofmurk]

The bird halts for a moment, hanging awkwardly off the table, beak fairly jammed with fruit as he cocks a beady eye at Loki. Clearly he understands when he's spoken to, but if he opens his mouth he's going to spill cherries everywhere.

Actually what happens is that he loses his precarious grip and tumbles beneath the table lip in a scuffle of feathers. If he does lose some (or most) of his cherries, he's not about to admit it. But it's only a minute before he lands on the table, properly this time, and gives them both a good hard look before he grabs a new cherry off the plate. It's a bit unclear how to take this, since this no longer feels like stealing and he didn't demand... hmm.

"The Court accepts your tribute, featherless." Aha! There. It makes sense retroactively. Now he can peck at the juicy not-meat to his heart's content.

[magpiemythos]

Loki just barely stifles a laugh at that undignified spill, hiding behind taking a long drink from his shake until both he is able to manage a straight face, and hte bird manages to hop back up onto the table. Tribute? Oh dear no, feathery buddy.

"Oh no my feathery friend, it's not a tribute." Better to correct the misconception right? "Merely sharing with friends old and new."

It's somewhat amusing to be the featherless one in the conversation nowadays.

[alittlehinky]

"O-oh!" Cricket seems kind of surprised to be spoken to, although whether that's because he's not used to talking bears or whether he's just a little shy sometimes, himself, is hard to say.

"No, sir, sorry! Just...I ain't never seen a white bear before. Didn't mean to stare. There was black bears where I came from but they're smaller."

Much smaller.

[alittlehinky]

"Ohhh. Almost anything with fried potatoes," he says sagely. "They're fried, right?"

No one's told him about cholesterol, and he's nineteen anyway.

He hasn't met Venom yet, actually! It might be best that he doesn't for a bit, because he'll be simultaneously unsettled by him and feel like he has to tell him off for picking on Kinner. That ought to be interesting.

"Dead man's club," he murmurs with a snort. "Palmer ain't dead, but he can be honorary, right?"

[alittlehinky]

Cricket holds onto Harley's hand kind of tight. Reminding him of Jack goes right to his heart and it's a good way of making him think hard about things. It's a different situation, though. (He doesn't know how different, but still.)

"Well. I reckon there was no point to sayin' anything to Jackie, though. He was pretty far gone for Bertha Minnix, and I think he won her over." And she was a nice girl. Smart enough to poke holes in Jack's ego when he needed it. Cricket sort of approved, as much as he could.

"What's a god want with a crippled, dead, bootlegger?" He smiles weakly. "But I guess it can't hurt none to say something. Not while we're all this drunk, anyway."

[sweetcandygirl]

"He won't see you as any of that Cricket..." Harley tells him softly.

"Don't think like that... Let him tell you how he sees you. You might be surprised."

[alittlehinky]

It's neither, honestly. It's just how Cricket approaches people. In point of fact, he's not sure whether he likes Caspar yet or not, but he assumes if Adia likes him--and she's so kind--he must be all right. And after all, Halloween was pretty intense for everyone.

"Yeah, same here. I mean, she told me your name and a little about you, but not what you look like. She's awfully kind. You're a lucky man, sir." There is something utterly innocent about this compliment. It's an old-fashioned commentary, with nothing in the way of jealousy or rivalry coloring it.

He seems pleased by his reaction to the moonshine. That it's designated 'apple pie' means there's been some cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg added to the jar, and a little simple syrup to cut it, so it's slightly sweeter than it would be fresh out of the still with no additives.

"Sure do," he nods. "I got three stills. Makin' apple and just plain sweet-feed liquor right now."

He blushes faintly at the question. It's hard to tell what Caspar means by it. "Well, sir, I had rickets as a baby pretty bad, and growin' up I couldn't get around so well. That's why I have the braces still?" He gestures at his legs.

"But I sat around and read a lot for fun, specially when the weather was bad. I read Bullfinch's Mythology, and a translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and a couple other things. Mostly from the library or the school. I didn't own no books outside the Bible and a few pulps."

[to_the_wolves]

"Well, glad to know I'm not the only one sneaking into these kind of events. Any excuse to have a drink is fine by me."

He does strike her as the overly happy villain, with his hair style and clothes. But as long as Azwel isn't trying to harm her, then whatever. He isn't going away anytime soon, so Marie gestures to the chair next to her.

"I didn't mean to offend you earlier. Socializing with new people has never been my strong suit." She extends one hand to him. "Marie. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[magpiemythos]

The alternate in question is unaware of the mischief his twin is stirring up, just far enough away that it looked like he was just helping Cricket pick a song, wasn't that sweet?

If Cricket looked his way he'd see the trickster, tipsy as he left him, offering a crooked but genuine smile when he noticed the glance.

[alittlehinky]

The version of Loki that is hosting this particular event has no clear idea how his alternate feels about the kid. And it doesn't matter that much if this is his last night alive; a little positive attention never hurt anyone. He can tell Cricket is fascinated, and teasing him comes naturally.

It's all meant in fun. Sometimes he forgets people have feelings that might come into play later.

In the meantime, Cricket does notice the younger Loki looking over, and when he first meets his eyes he looks eight kinds of flustered and disgruntled, but then it melts away into an utterly sheepish smile in response.

Oh, okay. Shit. Looks like he's doing this.

The great advantage to having karaoke in the Nexus is the ridiculously expansive list of songs available. They're not all from Earth. The ones that are from Earth are from various time periods, in a wide variety of styles, and finally Cricket finds one he knows, and that he figures he won't look like a total idiot if he sings it.

He's not much of a performer, and he's decidedly awkward and fidgety on stage, but he actually has a pretty good voice, and excellent pitch. If anyone present has ever watched a church crowd practicing Shape Note singing, the way he moves his left hand to keep the beat of the song will be familiar.

The song itself may not be. It's folksy, acoustic, almost like early bluegrass.

Big ol Buzzard sitting on a fence, watchin the chickens play
He's sitting with his best friend ol' Chicken Hawk,
Chicken Hawk jump up and say,
"Why don't we invite us a chicken home for supper today?"

And the Buzzard looks at him with a baleful eye,
takes a few seconds 'fore he give a reply,
turn his neck nearly all the way around,
points to the sky and he says with a frown:
The Lord'll provide, yes the Lord'll provide,
just be patient brother, and the Lord'll provide.

Chicken Hawk says, "but I'm hungry,
my stomach's start to rumble like a train!"
He spies a fat chicken in the barn yard,
Chicken Hawk jumps up and screams,
"I hear the Lord helps them who helps themselves, my friend!"
"No, the Lord'll provide, I said the Lord'll provide,"
that's all brother Buzzard said: "the Lord'll provide."

The song is only half over, and he's bright pink. At this point he has to close his eyes so he doesn't look at the gathering and see anyone watching him.

Don't worry, he'll be okay. He's just not good with attention.

((The song in question. But Cricket probably does not sound quite so twangy.))

[chiron_survivor]

Adia doesn't know enough about Felix's pantheon to decide if Loki would be a familiar sort of god to him or not. She doesn't get a chance to speculate, because Caspar is raising his moonshine jar in a genuine toast to Jim.

"Yes, ridiculous Thank you. I thought I was the last person in the multiverse to believe that."

"Caspar." Adia's voice has dropped dramatically in volume, her gaze darting around her. "Seriously, we are at a party thrown by gods, this isn't the place to --"

"Sorry, sorry." Caspar mollifies her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just longing for a day in the Nexus that doesn't involve curses or vengeful goddesses. I'm sure Jim agrees with me. The other Jim certainly would."

[magpiemythos]

Not like he'd be upset. It was a rare thing for Loki to feel like this about anyone, and playful teasing was the way of the pair of them.

The way Cricket's discomfiture melts to a smile when they meet eyes just makes Loki inordinately pleased, especially when the man finally seems to pick a song. Fidgety on stage, but then not everyone was comfortable in front of crowds.

And unfamiliar or not, the song choice was interesting, the beat catchy and Loki was fairly certain that poor impatient Chicken Hawk was going to have a bad time. It didn't hurt that Cricket had a nice singing voice either, the trickster sipping his drink as he watched the performance, toe idly tapping under the table.

[pirateangelbaby]

Shot glasses? Right, those incredibly tiny thimbles that Midgardians seem to enjoy using for concentrated liquors. Well, he'll just have to test the strength of this particular brew, then, and he passes the bottle to Kirk once his shot is poured.

"Always wise to seize the opportunity to make merry," Thor agrees, and sniffs at the blue ale. It has a pungent scent, tantalizing and fruity, very unlike the meads and ales he's used to. He doesn't quite throw the shot back either, unwilling to skip the actual tasting part. "I see why this is a popular choice," he says with a broad smile, and it's too bad that breaking glasses is inappropriate behavior for Earth because this drink deserves it. Well, if he can't honor it by that particular custom, he'll certainly pour a second one. Just to be certain.

[magpiemythos]

They're cuddling which this Loki is entirely happy with. And he's not going to argue the shifting, more than willing to tuck in against his chest and bask in the warmth of the fingers working through his hair.

"Keep safesearch on when you search on Google at first. Otherwise you may accidentally have a bad time."

[magpiemythos]

"You say that," Loki just holds still for those following kisses, lips curling on a pleased smile. "But you're doing just fine in my opinion."

Oh no, was Loki playing pillow? Good thing he absolutely was okay with this, letting out a delighted little hum as he wound his arms securely around Cricket, nuzzling his hair.