asgardgenesis | Video; Where's The Laughter in Slaughter?

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Video; Where's The Laughter in Slaughter?

[When the camera gets turned on, the first thing to note is that Ivar's face is streaked in blood that has only just started to dry in places. Someone's been out worshiping with the natives in a fashion very familiar to a Viking. If y'all hadn't gotten the impression Ivar was a bloodthirsty barbarian from a bygone era, the imagery is definitely reinforced with the dripping red streaks on his face. Also is that some around his lips as well? Has he been drinking the stuff too? Honestly, though, he seems quite pleased by what's been going on even if everyone else might be disturbed by the casual slaughter of the cows. His tone starts off very serious, since worship is important where he's from.]

About time this place started getting some proper worship going. I know most of you all are from soft places-- [The scorn in his tone is obvious.] --but blood sacrifices are always the best when giving due diligence to these gods where I am from. Blood demands blood, especially if you want them to be on your side in battle, or to favor you at all. It's really not all that different then slaughtering animals for food, just with more rituals and rites to it.

[Then he switches back to his usual tone that ranges somewhere between insanity and half-truths end tends to indulge in.]

It's a good thing we finally got the right sort of animals around here. Otherwise, I might have had to resort to sacrificing one of you. [He muses for a moment before laughing.] I'm joking of course! [Beat.] Human sacrifices only work if they're willing participants.

[OOC: This post is for a general discussion, so feel free to have threads amongst all the characters and thread-jacking rather then just talking with Ivar. Do let me know if you do want a specific thread with him! He has rather...strong opinions about this.]

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just don't include me in your murderous rituals, i've had enough of that in a past and present life.

[And here lies the problem now: the excuses. If she stabbed a man, it wasn't her problem if he bled out and died, it was his. If he couldn't figure out how to help himself, such a shame, what a loss, but it wasn't her fault.

But that all turned on its head, and violently at that. Her aim is the same, her methods had to change.]

the living have more use to me than the dead. we work together? the blood is minimal and necessary. including for all of this. i've yet to decide if i can trust you but i trust you enough to curb the bloodlust.

Yeahhhh, it's that or eating people because there's nothing else to eat. So you know. Vomit or slow descent into madness.

You tried asking one of the Gods yet? Honir's pretty helpful, think the others wouldn't be that annoyed either as long as it was practical.

[ Awww, it's so cute. ]

I mean sure. If you can convince them. Good luck with that one.

[Good. Don't give him any ammo and Ivar can't respond in turn. He'll just be forced to be civil instead.]

A bull or several goats is sufficient. The only time many animals are sacrificed at once is every nine years. But that's so far off we can deal with it when we get there.

I.....never knew that about him.

[The idea of Ragnar being that open-minded is an eye-opener to Ivar. They'd never really gotten to talk much about what they believed about other cultures, and in some ways, Ragnar had deliberately made sure he'd seen the absolute worst in the presence of Prince Aethelwulf and his soldiers.]

I didn't know you still believed in the Christian god.

[He's not nearly surprised or judgmental as he would have been when he'd first met Athelstan. He can see now why the man would be that open-minded.]

I shall round up all the little natives who want to continue doing this and show them how to do it properly and away from all the chicken-hearted Wanderers. I figure out of sight should be enough to calm people down at the sight of so much blood.

[Now that he's had enough talks with people, he figures such a way should be enough to soothe the alarmed populace.]

Contrary to what some people think of me around here, I'm not some unhinged hothead barbarian. I have a brain and it works too.

[Even if he did make a lot of impulsive decisions, there was always a method to Ivar's madness. Very rarely, such as when he killed his brother, did he do something completely without considering the consequences. Sometimes he even played up the crazy a little to get people off their guard.]

If you are the sort to figure people out, then you know why it's a good idea to have someone around who can do the messy and dirty work. One keeps their hands clean and the other to do what needs to be done.

Thanks but don't worry, I'm sure I'll find something that works. I'll refrain to ask anything to the locals until things calm down. [ For obvious reasons. ] But if you want to come over again and keep us company, I won't say no.

[ Aka, if Jim's still upset about the state the city is in, they can meet and distract themselves somehow. ]

[Ivar of course doesn't recognize the guy who had been the fluffy sheepdog he'd run into some time ago.]

What, did you never eat meat ever back home?

[Always a possibility. Some people were just natural rabbits.]

"strife specibus"

Safer as that would be, we’d be called cowards if that was found out.

[It’s a fair point, and she responds to it seriously. What she did was not straightforwardly wise. Nevertheless, Wen Qing believes in her reasoning- for now. ]

Besides, he and his kind ought to know that not all Wanderers are pushovers.

[Chizuru is welcome to argue, though.]

[ That laugh makes Chizuru quiet for a moment. Seeing all of this hasn't exactly been fun either, despite having seen a lot of bloodshed back home. But that's exactly the problem - it just made her think of all the terrible situations she's been in before.

She wonders how much bloodshed there is out in space, where Rhys lives. Hopefully less, but she has no idea what all of this could have made him think or feel. So after a moment she just ends up softly asking-- ]

.. Are you feeling alright? [ Maybe she's just the one being way too sensitive that she feels so bad about this situation, but she might as well ask, just in case he isn't alright. ]

I think there is a lot you do not know about Ragnar.

[ Athelstan is quiet a moment. ]

I never stopped believing in him. My agony has come from that I believe in Ragnar's gods as well.

Considering the number of animals sacrificed this time around, I'd say we have about nine other years before we have to worry about it again.

[ He presses his lips in, shifting on his seat. ] This kind of thing, these sacrifices... I understand it's part of your culture, your way of life. It might be the same for other people, or it might not. It does disturb me, I'll admit it. It's been over a thousand years since religious sacrifices stopped being a practice on my Earth, for me it's just... pointless bloodshed. Even if I were religious, which I'm not, I couldn't take part in it.

However-- if there's one thing we aim for where I'm from is acceptance and tolerance. Finding a compromise, like you said, even when it comes to customs that may seem pointless and messy to us. Provided that the gods won't stop you, then compromise is where we should begin. Finding an appropriate place for this, choose a set date for it. Agree on where to find said animals, pay for them if you must. As you can imagine, it won't help anyone if the locals start breaking into farms and homes, and stealing animals for their ritual sacrifices.

Thanks. I'd like that a lot, actually.

[ Not that he dislikes his housing arrangement, it is pretty nice to get a room for himself after all. But Peter's ship is pretty cool, and he likes hanging out with the guy. ]

Don't mention it, my friend.

[ His sip is always open for JIm, and thankfully there won't always be chickens and pigs inside it. ]

"Preferred Method of Culling Things"
Fancy, technical term for your preferred weapon where I come from.
I like staff-kinds and sword canes especially.
Nice and elegant.

[ Oh, she's definitely not going to argue with that. Chizuru knows how to pick her fights - she usually doesn't go for it unless she's really passionate about something. And rather than passion, that remark was more just fueled by concern for the other.

But as long as Wen Qing seems confident in it.. well, she seems smart enough to be able to have calculated the potential risk, so Chizuru just slightly nods. ]

That is important. [ Even if it's dangerous. But that means.. ] .. you're really brave.

You don't think I'm weird? [ That actually shocks Mike. ]

I don't think I could punch anyone hard enough to break their nose... [ Looks like he'll need lessons in that too. ] How come grown ups say to ignore insults if that doesn't actually work?

I'll never be sold on animal sacrifices, but I think it will be tolerable if it is controlled and we try to be able to use the meat so that it is not wasted.

Right. Yes, I'm willing to help. Doing the books for farms has been my life for the past few years.

Tell me more about him. I knew him for so short a time.

[If there's one way to mellow Ivar out, it's telling him about his father or mother.]

You are a strange man. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you.

[Someone with kindness and strength, open-mindedness and tolerance, a balance between two very different cultures.]

There is much to tell. Where would you like me to start, Ivar?

[ There is a lifetime between Athelstan and Ragnar to share after all. ]

You would usually kill someone like me too quickly to actually meet me.

[Ivar normally would be tuning Kirk out about the time he starts getting into the territory of acceptance and tolerance. Those are two things which are not generally in Ivar's nature, for he was raised to believe the Norse were better then any other culture. But after talking with everyone here, he's calmed down to the point of actually listening rather then being immediately dismissive of what everyone else might believe in regarding religion and morals.]

Then we are in agreement. I suppose since I started all this talk, I shall have to take over organization regarding this all. Going by the calendar, the next time to sacrifice will be at Yule. So there shall be plenty of time to plan and make sure that everything goes off smoothly.

[Ivar is curious rather then defensive regarding this particular kind of disapproval.]

Well, blood is what my gods demand as well. It is not always a bad thing. What is this Enemy of which you refer to?

[There's a clapping at the end of that video from Ivar and it's not entirely sarcastic either. He's glad there's someone of intelligence in his corner. Everyone else is just an uncultured swine.]

Well put and far better then I ever could say. You have such an eloquence to describing it all so clearly.

No. Should I? [Maybe if Ivar experienced more teens from the modern era, he'd have a better litmus test, but maybe not. Ivar was always going to be the type of person who stuffed the bullies that picked on weaker kids in the trash can after what he'd experienced in life.]

We'll need to work on that. [Poor, scrawny noodle. At least there's nowhere to go but up!] Because most adults are so far removed from being a child that they forget what dealing with actual assholes is like. How they tend not give up and just push harder unless you flatten them for good. So they just make shit up that sounds like it will work.

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Video; Where's The Laughter in Slaughter?

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That moment you realize a tag or two got lost in the inbox shuffle.....

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