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(no subject)

Who: Everyone
What: The open July log.
When: The month of July.
Where: All over.
Notes: N/A

July Open Log

Time to shine, sparkle and become renewed.

So the fighting has finished, the filtering system is turned back on and the water has retreated. Of course, all that water rushing in and having been there for so long means that there is a giant mess in most parts of the Sphere, where water alternated between coming up to one’s ankles, all the way to one’s knees. Even the smaller private domes were affected with lesser amounts of water, leaving dirt and sediment and kelp behind along with an assortment of other sea life.

Now we all remember what happened last time something grew inside the Sphere right? Thankfully, there’s been a fair amount of supplies that have been accrued, and it involves gloves, face masks and a good damn amount of bleach to go with those large scrub brushes. There’s also huge pails of soapy water that are used to clean up things from the bleach. Everything is wet and it smells a bit like an indoor swimming pool, but it’s definitely safer to be safe than sorry.

So pick up a brush and pitch in. Those who do may find a little extra something from the Council delivered to their homes in a basket. Those who don’t may find themselves a little bit on the Council’s unofficial shitlist. And given that Max runs the Black Market, it’s not a great place to find yourself. Maybe you were sort of shoved towards this and were doing it haphazardly. Maybe you give a damn. Either way, food and water will come to you, and everyone will be better once this place is cleaned up.

Or so people keep telling ya anyway.

about that bucket of water that you’re wearing.

Of course, if there’s one thing that history and eighties movies have taught us, it’s that where there’s giant buckets of soapy water around, and hoses, and big sponges, then there’s bound to be one thing that happens: a water fight. And a big one at that. Kids (or kids at heart) have been not so subtlety wandering around with buckets filled with cold water, or sponges dipped in them and a few of them have hoses. There’s no bleach in them thankfully (because it’s all fun and games until someone gets a chemical burn) but the water fight is a good way to let off some of the tension that the folks in the Sphere have been getting up too.

So are you a victim, or are you a perpetrator. Do you care either way? But it doesn’t matter because this fight is huge and when there’s this much water flying around, there really isn’t any space for anyone to be a bystander here. Sorry.

with a suitcase full of summertime

Do y’all know what we happened to miss while we were underwater?! The summer solstice. And once things are all cleaned and cleared up, your resident summertime goddess ain’t gonna let it pass without knowing it, and it’s something the inhabitants of the Sphere take to like ducks to water. Wine and dancing is flowing all around and there’s a few fiddlers and jazz musicians dancing around. Because when the queen of the underworld prods ya gently, you get up and do it.

As the night and people’s alcohol levels rise, people start to become more daring with the fire. After all, everything is all cleaned but probably still slightly damp from what had happened, so there’s no problem with people swinging poi around, or using hula hoops set alight. There are even some among us who happen to be going out and jumping over bonfires in order to create good luck for the new year to great cheers of the people around them.

and baby you should see me in a (flower) crown

Do you know what else is a thing during this? Flower crowns. There are tons of flower crowns and various people are sitting around and teaching people how to make their own. The materials, including fresh flowers of all varieties are scattered around the field in the agricultural dome, and people are sitting criss-cross applesauce in order to add ribbons to the stems. For those people who are loathe to wear them, it almost becomes a game for other people to plant them on those resilient folks heads. People use magic or guile or just plain old tossing them in order to make it so that they land on people’s heads. More than that, a group of people will audibly cheer each time one lands. (And of course jeer when they lose one.)

exploration: teeth and bones.

After what had happened, there really is no putting back the seals on the doors to the places that were opened up, even though the council has tried with some of them. There are some doors that are deemed too dangerous to let anyone go inside of (lava and ghosts are not good things to let loose inside the Sphere, no matter how fun it would be at the time) but the door in the infirmary (in the morgue) needs to be open for practical purposes. Which may not be great for people who work in the infirmary, but there it is.

Once people drop through a hatched hole in the floor of the morgue, there’s tunnels extended out for several hundred yards, into the dark. If you have a flashlight, it’s clear to see that here and there the walls are etched with Latin, carved into the stone of the tunnels themselves in what looks more than a little bit like scratches rather than anything that resembles tool marks. The words are repeated at first, over and over: ”cave veniunt!" And "ossa et dentibus illius ruminandum!" Along with the repeated: “cave.”

The skeletons inside are supposed to have been all taken care of, but you can’t help the uneasy feeling that moves down your neck in the darkness, or the way that you can swear you can hear more than a little bit of a hiss of bone. There are things discarded here on the floor of the hallway, gathering more value with the deeper that you go, but is it worth being down here in the dark with the dead for that?

let's go to the movies, let's go see the stars

So, Alex made a post, and then she went and badgered Max into giving them the money to do it, so in the middle of the merchant dome, a large screen has been set up, and there’s space for people to have blankets or chairs from home set up in front of the screen. Various vendors have set up carts or stalls here and there, selling the sort of foods that one would expect at the movies (popcorn, homemade candies, soda, juice, wine and beer, nachos and that sort of thing) along with some that one may not expect: (full curry dinners, burgers, basically a bit like a food truck festival. If you can imagine it it’s there.)

Before the movie, there’s cartoons running, some familiar, and some not, and this is an event that people have seemed to have taken to well. Children run around here taken with the idea for the movie, and it’s a fun, summery festive sort of atmosphere with a community vibe, despite the wine and beer for sale.

we're heckling! it's good to be heckling again!

Well, at least until the movie starts anyway. Groundhog Day has a fair bit wrong with it honestly, and people are taking notice of that. After all, it was from the 80s, a period that wasn’t exactly known for its political correctness or sensitivity. And there’s the small fact that Bill Murry is kind of the worst as well. So, there are some people who have taken issue with the movie that has been chosen. Those people are definitely taking the Mystery Science Theatre approach to this movie, while others are taking issue with them doing that.

So which crowd do you join? Are you watching the movie quietly? Are you joining in the hecklers? Either way, it definitely seems like a fun night out.

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[Asgard? Asgard. Oh. Oh he gets it now. And Tommy darts back just beyond easy reach. Just in case.]

Loki. Well fuck, that’s a thing. Wasn’t expecting you here.

[He's vaguely certain the boy had been much closer not a second before. This one should be watched...if he could.

Oh, he'd find a way.]

Surprised? [He smiles slightly.] That makes two of us.

[Good luck keeping an eye on him.]

Which version are you? Too many fucking versions of Loki. You died yet?

[His question throws Loki off for a moment and he just narrows his eyes at this newcomer before responding.]

Tales of my death were greatly exaggerated. [By me.] Other than that, I can only say I am me. Why? Is there one you'd rather miss?

Nope. You make enough problems on Earth on your own. Young, old, doesn’t matter

[He grins before laughing and shaking his head.]

Oh, come now. It was only the once...well, twice, I suppose.

Maybe in your world or time. Not mine.

[There is a dark sort of look in his eyes that says he knows people personally screwed by Loki. Sure, he wasn’t there for it, but he’d heard about what Loki did to his team, to his brother. Throwing a kick ass New Year’s Eve party didn’t make up for that. Probably.]

You... ever see a movie before?

[Still, of all heroes, none believe in second chances quite like Tommy does. He had to, given his history and his family. Not a single member of the previous generations of his family were without sin, except maybe for the Van Dynes, and Janet got marks off for even dating Hank and that was a whole thing.]

[Loki merely smirked at Tommy's retort. He was quite accustomed to be judged before he ever opened his mouth. He'd grown up that way, with all 'his' friends actually being Thor's friends, always assuming the worst, always having to handle things himself. Let Tommy think what he wanted. It wouldn't bother him. At least...not openly.] Fair.

[And he shook his head.] Not like this. Most galactic civilizations defer to holographic projections which result in a more immersive experience.

[In Tommy's defense, he did just find out that a version of Loki basically tried to steal all of his twin brother's magic so he could rewrite the laws of magic in Loki's favor. And almost got said twin killed. So yeah, mostly judging based on what he's heard about people immediately in his life.]

I think I'd prefer holograms. Seen them some. Less headaches. Still, you take the good with the bad. You Asgardians even do movies?

I'm not Asgardian. [It's said off-handedly, and almost teasing, as though there were some sort of in-joke on he knew the punchline to.] But they prefer theater. Art is a seamless addition to their culture. Rather than a pre-produced and carefully scripted spectacle such as this, [He gestures toward the area on which the movie was to be projected.] one is more likely to find small popup productions in plazas and social gatherings. Stories are very important to Asgardians, they tell them often, and just as often with minor changes or embellishments. Accuracy is second to entertainment, after all. [It's, its clear he enjoys Asgardian theater.]

Dude, frost giants are completely uncultured, but you lived with Asgardians so really, you count for purposes of the question.

[What? Tommy doesn't see a point to quibbling over race. He's not human, but he'll respond to it. And frankly, back home, Loki is actually a god. Not the playing at gods over humans that Asgardians from Loki's part of the multiverse do. Actual, bonafide, divine fucking powers, god. In fact, Loki becomes god of stories at one point, so of course he'd enjoy this. After another moment of thought he finally moves to sit by Loki.]

Yeah, that sounds like American movies too. Especially ones that 'really happened.' Beware the words 'based on a true story' because that means they took like insane liberties with fucking everything.

They aren't without civility. [He shrugs. He didn't really care, of course. He felt no kinship to them. They did abandon him to die, after all.]

Everyone loves a good story. [He nods.] What sorts do you prefer?

Things with explosions?

[With him sitting he can finally move things to the ground around him so he can just free up a hand and start downing popcorn. That works.]

Thing is, it hurts my head. The way they do it, projectors? They hurt. Too much flashing light.

And nothing else. It is a recording, after all, and always the same. [He smiles.] One of the things I love about the theater is its changeability. One can be sure never to see the same show twice.

[Changeability. Huh, that actually sounds sorta cool. Or would if Tommy had any sort of patience for that. Probably wouldn't hurt his eyes. Pros and cons, man. Pros and cons.]

I mean, those are sorta good points. But are you really going to go to the same play a lot of times?

With the knowledge it won't be the same, and the curiosity of what will have been altered? I certainly would and have.

[He smiles.]

Asgardians enjoy tales, of heroism, of tragedy and love, and the feelings far outweigh the need for accuracy. Histories are for facts. Tales are for feeling, for memory, for honor, and for shared revelry.

Shouldn't tales have some truth?

[Okay, no, Shakespeare. But whatever. There is a lot of things to process from that specific mess of a writer. He downs a handful of popcorn and ignores the movie. Loki's more interesting.]

Like what? You've given me general.

Of course. The best stories are based on real occurrences. Let's see...back home, there's the Fall of the Jotun King, which tells the tale of Odin and his armies besting King Laufey of Jotunheim and his army as they attempted to conquer Midgard. Very little of that one was ever accurate, but it is entertaining. It also served as a means to make young Asgardians fear the frost giants. Useful to keep us from traveling to Jotunheim and learning the truth, but that is another story altogether.

[He smiles proudly then.]

The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard sings the songs of the heroic young prince as he sacrifices all to save Asgard from the invasion of Malekith and the dark elves, courageously avenging his mother's death and sealing them away forever at the cost [He places a hand over his heart dramatically, though that smile never wavers.] of his own life.

[Wait, a play about Loki's adoptive father kicking his birth father's ass? Isn't that... uncomfortable? As for the second? Tommy would put money on Loki having paid for that one.]

You're alive, and clearly were if you know that. How much did you bribe someone for the Tragedy of Loki of Asgard? Or shouldn't it be Jotunheim?

I've never been of Jotunheim. I may be their prince, but you've never seen the place...or the people. [He shakes his head.] No. I am of Asgard. As for bribery, no one. They all wanted to honor their fallen prince and I, King Odin Allfather, was more than happy to provide. It was an innocent ruse, honestly, and I did play a pivotal role in the battle. I simply...didn't die there. The play even includes several things that were actually spoken.

Wait...

[Loki posed as Odin? Tommy doesn't know whether to laugh or frown at this. I mean, it's beautiful. Pose as a powerful being? Great choice. However, someone had to have seen through it.]

You pretended to be Odin? Thor couldn't have been happy with that.

I...stripped Odin of his power, set him up rather nicely in a retirement community in New York, and took his place, yes, and it lasted for four years before Thor even came home.

...but no. No, he was not pleased, but here I still stand, figuratively speaking, and so he wasn't too angry. [He...did nearly smash my head in with his hammer, and he was going to kill me on a cliff in Norway, but then our sister showed up, and we had bigger problems. Okay, I was lucky.] Well, circumstances helped, I'm sure, but- [He waves a hand, as though it's not very important.] It was fine.

Well, maybe you deserve something for what you did, but it isn't exactly my place to fucking judge a god.

[Asgardian politics are their own concern. Tommy doesn't give any fucks.]

Were you a good king?

I rescued our people from Ragnarok, and Asgard was perfectly fine under my rule.

[He pauses.]

Do you really think I'd say otherwise?

[Ragnarok really happened? Wow, that's super cool. Tommy grins.]

Nope. But I'd love to hear that story. Sounds like a perfect fantasy.