VIDEO. UN: LOKI

[selfimage]

[ the sound of the wind storm hollows dully against the cave walls. Loki's squidge, Bacon, can half be seen crawling in the confines of his tacky green jacket and over his knee from where he sits, sometimes ducking and squeaking when a particularly large gust hits. to keep it from screaming, Loki offers his fingers absently, which the little squidge pulls on with its pudgy arms before ducking low again. ]

Hello there, it seems like we'll be waiting this out for some time considering the weather-type circumstances. While we're all rotting away, etcetera etcetera, I thought we could amuse ourselves with a game. A little bit of team bonding funtimes, so to say. [ he twists a dark nailed hand in the air, gesturing. ]

Soo—oo ... it's called Two Truths and a Lie. How do you play? Glad you asked, it's simple! Give two true statements about yourself and add a lie to the mix, shake it up then toss it out there and see if your team members know you well enough to spot the lie.

Usually this is done with copious amounts of alcohol, but we're lacking at the moment. [ pause. ] But—ah—you could always enjoy the satisfaction of being right. It's not like we're doing much else.

NOTE | Feel free to threadjack if that's your thing!! :****

Comments

[longtempered]

Yeah, I guess? Never played this sort of thing with anybody myself before, but...

[Shizuo tilts his head slightly, partially at this easy guess and partially due to Aki shifting its position on his head about now. A stubby squidge leg pokes into the top of the feed this time, but the squidge itself doesn't fall off just yet.]

You'd be right, it's the third. I actually don't know how anybody hates milk. [His mouth quirks a little.] Guess it must have been pretty obvious?

[selfimage]

[ Bacon tugs, and Loki doesn't look entirely fazed. ]

There are patterns to these things, if you look hard enough. Find out what they are, and the lie is easy to pick out.

[longtempered]

[The stubby leg starts kicking around a little; similarly unfazed, Shizuo merely closes an eye.]

Huh, guess that's one way to look at it...didn't really have much to say about the milk one. [Unlike the other ones, in retrospect...] Well, it makes sense if it was pretty easy to spot, though. I'm no good at lying about things anyway.

[selfimage]

It was the sore thumb of the group.

[ he says with an easy candace. ]

Lying is an art, much like storytelling. The best lies are the ones you believe yourself.

[longtempered]

I might have been running out of ideas for things to say, at that point. I was sort of in a hurry to get them all out at the same time...

[Shizuo scratches at his jaw a little, frowning vaguely now.]

Is that how most people do it? Ah, it's no wonder I'm terrible at it, then. I'm bad at art too...don't have the patience for it. [Well, that, and how do you guys put so much work into something that isn't even real when you could just tell the truth and be done with it?? He'll never understand it....] Are you speaking from experience? You kind of sound like it.

[selfimage]

[ curious, Loki tips back his head and watching each little movement. ]

Aye; I'm the god of lies. [ it comes out easy, like he was saying he was the god of milkshakes and bacon. ] Among other things, of course.

[ but none of those very palatable: chaos, lies, and fire, depending on who asked who and who told the story. ]

[longtempered]

God of lies... [Repeating this...about as unimpressed as Loki is casual about it, all things considered. He could have said god of milkshakes and bacon and it would probably garner about the same reaction. But Shizuo's peering more properly into the feed now, vague frown deepening somewhat.] Didn't know there needed to be a whole god for lies. Ah, and how do I know you're not lying about that, either?

[selfimage]

If I didn't announce myself that wouldn't be a question needing an answer, would it?

[ there's a little curious hm that comes in his voice, as if he's testing the thought for himself. ]

So, if I wasn't the god of lies then it would most definitely be a lie, yet if I am ... the statement is still a lie? There's a breach in logic if I ever heard one.

[longtempered]

Well, I mean, you don't need to be a god of lies to lie all the time, so I actually probably would have asked that anyway.

[After all, Orihara Izaya is a person that exists and practically breathes lies out of every pore despite being very much not a god of any sort. Although...all these turns of logic Loki's trying to run through here are also starting to sound kind of unpleasantly familiar already, if the grimace that crosses Shizuo's features about now is anything to go by.]

But I don't--really have any idea what you're talking about now, so whatever. Doesn't matter if you're a god or not, I get a feeling like I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you about whether it's true either way...

[selfimage]

[ Loki doesn't seem all that concerned about the god thing. it usually works as a slip-up, and he seems somewhat satisfied that he won. ]

Being a god doesn't really have much to do with getting a straight answer. You were the one that made the assumption I was lying. I could take offense to that.

[longtempered]

[Wow hey it's not like they were playing a game anyway so whatever!!! Congrats on winning your nonexistent game, you jerk...have fun with your nonexistent prize......

On the whole, Shizuo's regarding the feed in pretty deadpan fashion at this point, even if this face is repeatedly undermined by his squidge continuing to adjust positions on his head every now and then.]

That was because you'd just said you were good at lies. Maybe I tend to jump to conclusions like that a lot. [At around this point, Aki actually pokes its face into the top of Shizuo's feed itself, just over his forehead, blinking wide eyes at Loki and his squidge on the other side. Oblivious to this, Shizuo shrugs.] You can be offended if you want, I'm not stopping you.

[selfimage]

[ HE'S UNFORTUNATELY VERY PROUD OF HIMSELF FOR WINNING THIS GAME THAT PROBABLY MEANS NOTHING gj there Loki. ]

I'll keep that in mind when the offense is too much to bear!

[ and he puts his hand over his forehead in a blatant show of dramatics. ]

[longtempered]

[THIS GUY........

Thoroughly unmoved by these theatrics:] That's good, then. You do that. Whenever that happens. [What are they even talking about anymore, god....] Anyway, have you got a name or something? I'm not about to start calling you 'god of lies' all the time, that's too much of a mouthful.

casually threadjacks

[strictdiscipline]

I know of one person who would be very keen on disproving all of milk's merits to you.

[Shame he isn't here.]

whoa a val appears

[longtempered]

What, seriously? Obviously that guy must not have any tastebuds, whoever it is.

[Like wow what kind of heathen????]

i'm here when you least expect me...!!

[strictdiscipline]

He's one of the most talented alchemists there is where I'm from.

[Also like...16 but you know.]

[longtempered]

[Ah.......this means nothing to him. Distinctly unimpressed:]

Sounds to me like that hasn't done much good for his sense of taste, then. Did he have to give up milk to be one of those, or something?

[strictdiscipline]

You don't have to do anything to become a State Alchemist, other than swear your fealty to the government.

[Nothing like signing away your soul to a corrupt organization, amirite.]

I believe he hates the taste.

[longtempered]

[ARE YOU SURE THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE CLEAR MILK-HATING DEFICIENCY IN THIS GUY THOUGH RIZA...]

Well, that's a loss for him, either way. His bones aren't going to turn out very well if he avoids it like that. [Like how do you think he healed up those fifty plus bones up there?? The power of milk, that's what. And so, this is intoned almost sagely...before said sageness promptly vanishes again.] 'Alchemist'...a government position, huh? Don't think I've ever heard of it before. But it sort of sounds like science. ...Like chemistry or something?

[strictdiscipline]

[WELL SHE LIKES MILK AND SHE'S INVOLVED WITH THE GOVERNMENT......overthrowing the government but you know. Technicalities.

She doesn't mention the fact that he's got decidedly fewer bones in his body to benefit from the good nutrition present in milk, electing instead to pick up on this new lead in the conversation.]

Most people who've never seen alchemy before consider it akin to magic but yes, it's a type of advanced science.

[longtempered]

[IT COULD BE A CONSPIRACY....

The fact that the person in question is already missing two limbs does kind of put a damper on the bone health front, that said...though really, that just means he should reinforce his remaining bones with plenty of milk anyway!! But yes, that's neither here nor there, and probably for the better. Shizuo blinks slowly as this new topic sinks in.]

Ah, okay. So he's a pretty smart guy, then...well, apart from the milk thing. [He is still not letting this go sorry...anyway--] Hah, 'technology is magic' and that sort of saying, right? But yeah, that's a new term to me. Might even be around in my world, but I wouldn't know...I'm not a very scientific sort of person. What's alchemy do?

[strictdiscipline]

He's smart when he wants to be. As most teenagers are.

[Smart 1% of the time and then just reckless and hotheaded the remaining 99% of the time. (Though she supposes that holds true for most adults as well...) For all that the descriptor doesn't sound very positive though, there's affection in her voice.

But! Moving on.]

Alchemy can do a number of different things, depending on what your aim is. It can reshape organic material into something else, heal wounds and injuries, completely decimate a building....all in a matter of seconds.

[longtempered]

[Oh, a teenager...he'd been working under the impression they were talking about some adult guy all this time. And he's already part of the government?? ...Well, different places must have different standards, then...

And Riza does sound rather affectionate there, so Shizuo opts not to accidentally burst that somehow. Instead:]

Wow, that fast? Definitely must not be a thing in my world, then...haven't seen anything like it yet, at least. [No wonder some people think it's magic, actually? Huh.] Hey, can you do any?

[strictdiscipline]

[Don't judge.....

But sadly for Shizuo, there'll be no alchemy demonstrations today, Riza shaking her head at the question.]

I can't. My father was an alchemist and I tried to learn when I was a child, but it wasn't something I was naturally gifted at.

[longtempered]

[Judges.....

But ah well, asking for a demonstration might have been sort of presumptuous anyway. Not that it matters in the end, apparently.]

Oh, okay. So it's something you sort of need a knack for...like art or something, right? [Shizuo no that's...not really the same......whatever--] Well, if everybody could do it I guess it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it sounds either. There's plenty other things to be good at too, anyway.