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

[coldsong]

Aaaaand zip! There is a Loki next to him in a matter of seconds after he shows interest in the song list. It's not even subtle. But that's because Loki himself is well and truly drunk by this point.

"If I may make a suggestion?" He leans his elbows on the nearest table like he's not sure he can be comfortably upright just now. "This one?"

He taps at the page, right next to the entry that reads Thunderstruck, AC/DC. It's an objectively appropriate choice, but damn would it be hard to sing.

[pirateangelbaby]

Thor's laugh is unrestrained, unburdened by the weight of the crown and all the baggage that's come along with it. As it happens, he knows this one - thanks to Stark providing the soundtrack to several battles - and rather doubts he has the right voice for it. "Come on, brother, you can't let me sing it alone." He throws an arm around Loki's shoulder, hugging him close to his side so he can't squirm away.

It only takes a few tries to find the menu that lists duets, and his grin broadens when he sees one of the titles on offer. "Here," he says, stabbing the entry called Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better), Irving Berlin. "If there is a more fitting song here, I dare you to find it."

[coldsong]

Oh, good Norns. He hasn't heard Thor laugh like that for years. Loki can't help but smile back, although that smile dissolves into a small yowl of surprise and outrage when Thor drags him into a side-hug.

"You're an oaf," he says, but the laughter in his eyes says he doesn't exactly mean it, and when he grabs at the front of Thor's tunic, it's for balance, not a move of aggression. "Right, then, what madness is this?"

He peers at the song title, opens his mouth, and closes it again, because when you're right, you're right, and Thor is right. His chuckles starts out low in his chest, and he claps a hand to his forehead for a moment in exaggerated dismay.

"Oh, Thor. You should never make dares with me. But you're right. This does look like a fitting choice." He scrolls through the lyrics briefly, then asks, "Fine. But who is Frank and who is Annie?"

When it comes right down to it, he's pretty sure he can hit a higher note than Thor, but then he's also pretty sure Thor can hold out a note for longer. So either way should be equally disastrous amazing.

[pirateangelbaby]

Throwing down a challenge to a trickster is like playing with fire, Loki moreso than most. Does Thor care? Not at the moment. Because he has Loki dead to rights, and what a glorious feeling it is. If he had the focus to do so, he might write down the date for posterity. For now he'll just revel in it, delighted that his brother is laughing right along with him, the warm haze of the alcohol softening the sharp edges of recent years.

"I'll be Frank, of course. Unless you want to duel me for it. I choose Rock Paper Scissors." And he holds out his fist, ready to throw down Midgardian style. That he hasn't let go of Loki with his other arm doesn't seem to be stopping him.

[coldsong]

"I suppose you have always been the more frank of the two of us," Loki tells him, and then giggles like a loon at his own pun.

But he's never going to turn down a duel with Thor, either. At least not one he has a fair chance of winning and that won't result in serious injury for anyone. (Theoretically, between the two of them, with both drunk, they could make Rock, Paper, Scissors catastrophically destructive, but that probably won't happen here.) Loki holds out a fist, thinks better of it, does a clumsily elaborate fist-bump procedure with Thor whether he wants him to or not, and then dissolves into laughter again for a moment.

What was in that faery wine?

"Sorry. Right. On three?" He gets himself under control after a moment, but now he may be dependent on Thor's arm holding him up. "One, two, three--"

And paper!

[pirateangelbaby]

Loki's amusement is infectious, and Thor laughs too, both times, in a manner that probably isn't nearly as regal as his titles would suggest. It's all so ridiculous and wonderful, the warm glow of alcohol sending the world off-kilter in the best possible way. His brother must feel it too, if the way he's leaning into Thor's grasp is any indication.

Thor barely remembers to shake his fist on the count, his reactions half a breath behind at first, before he pulls his focus together enough to throw the sign for scissors. "Ha! Better luck next time, Annie. You can have the next one." Does this mean Thor might sing more than one song? Signs point to Yes.

[coldsong]

"I beg your pardon?" He laughs. "What makes you think Frank was the role I'd have preferred? Perhaps I wanted to be Annie."

He knows next to nothing about the characters themselves, but the songbook says the song comes from the musical 'Annie, Get Your Gun' so obviously she's the more important of the two voices. This suits him fine! "But since you won the scissor rock game, you do get first choice."

He gives Thor a squeeze, then straightens and shoves him toward the stage. "Get up there, and don't make us look bad."

He's following! He really is. Although he's halfway considering shapeshifting into his comfortable feminine form for the purposes of this song. It would make it easier to sing, but would it be more or less funny that way? These considerations matter.

[pirateangelbaby]

Thor's already damn near forgotten why they were quibbling over who gets to be who anyway. He doesn't know anything about the characters either, but Loki plays a far more convincing woman than he ever will, and no, that time with the wedding does not count because they were both in dresses, thank you very much.

He staggers a little at the shove, stumbling in the direction of the stage, and throws a hand out behind him in an attempt to grab at Loki and pull him along, whether he's following or not. This is exciting! When was the last time they had this much fun at a party? It's probably been centuries. Maybe Asgard could have benefited from more karaoke and less mindnumbingly boring speeches. (Sorry, Father.)

"Me, look bad? Impossible," he laughs. "Any way you can sing, I'll sing it better." What? Loki wasn't the only one skimming the lyrics just now.

[coldsong]

Loki begs to differ. The time with the wedding dress absolutely counts. Although even at that rate, Loki probably fit a traditional feminine ideal better, dolled up as Thor's handmaiden.

He was already following Thor to the stage, but when he's grabbed he doesn't resist or even grumble, caught up in Thor's mood. He's laughing a little, needing a moment to steady himself on stage. It's a good thing there are two microphones, or they might end up tussling over possession of the one, even if objectively neither needs one to be heard. Thor can be way louder, but Loki is not incapable of projecting.

And his musical education has been well-managed by Frigga. It behooves a prince to have some courtly manners, particularly a prince that's better built for diplomacy than battle. He was taught extensively, and wasn't shy of using his skill and charm at diplomatic functions. Someone no doubt had some sort of amusing comment about him allowing himself to be paraded around like a trained pet, but that joke would not have been uttered around any of the royal family themselves.

"Oh, really? I can sing anything better than you," he fires back at Thor with sparkling eyes. One would almost think they planned that as a segue from the way the music starts up right after.

No one performs improv like the sons of Odin?