ᚪ • video

[mischiefsmith]

[Behold, Loki, hunched over a desk looking uncharacteristically introspective while performing dexterous feats of incredible skill with an inking pen. The mellifluous tones of Daft Punk can be heard coming from somewhere in the background as he opts to ignore the video for a moment more in favor of his deep contemplation.

And once the moment has passed, he stops with the finger tricks and fixes his gaze directly on the camera.]

Contrary to my usual M.O. I may require some help with a pressing quandary. Set-backs are usually temporary for me, granted some set-backs are walls while others are hurdles, but this one has me boxed. A boxed Loki never bodes well…oh, if I didn’t introduce myself last time? [Because there was another him, was there not? He looks vaguely sour for a moment.] Loki Laufeyson, though I’m under the impression that some of you have already met me before.

[For what it’s worth he’ll do a flourishing bow for the sake of theatrics.]

Back to the dilemma at hand. Your help will require the ability to tap into a time when you were below the legal age of majority. Your inner child. Sadly, my inner child and I had a disagreement, we're no longer speaking. [siiiiiigh] If you can get in touch with yours, or if you’ve never been one, but you possess a vivid imagination and are able to relate, or if you are, in fact, a child then here’s your mission--

[He’s getting to his point, patience is, after all a virtue. The question you should really be asking yourself is “what is Loki’s newfound preoccupation with the inner child?” Is he having a Freudian moment?]

Our exercise is this. I’m going to show you three pictures, yes the pictures have words, just ignore the words. I want to know, from the perspective of children, which picture would they most identify with and why.

[He’ll hold up picture number one. Take a minute to process that.

Picture number two.

And finally number three.]

Just in case you’re curious, this is the Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology, and these are the nine realms that are presented. There were ten, but a war happened, a baby was involved, Odin flipped his Skittles, and he disowned Heven completely. Cut it clean from the rest of the realms!

Thoughts? Feelings? Expressions of outrage?

Comments

video

[dendarii]

[ Miles squints dutifully at the pictures, but finds himself completely lost. He doesn't know shit about Norse mythology. (He is not, in fact, a child, though one could be for mistaking him as one; he is very short. Not that that is apparent over the video feed.) ]

I don't feel especially treelike?

video

[mischiefsmith]

[That's it! He'd cutting you out of the tree! Not really, but he's feeling somewhat Odin-like.]

Technically the Yggdrasil is an energy field that connects the nine realms, but how do you represent an energy field in any sort of way that would make sense to a child? We represent this as a tree. If you were to lay our universe out flat and draw an outline around the nine realms, it looks treelike with roots and branches.

[dendarii]

Well. That's an interesting way to view it, I suppose. You could lay out the maps of my world similarly too, but you'd get very strange looks if you started talking about realms.

[ Like the look Miles is giving Loki now. ]

( video )

[sidequestings]

Well, I don't know that it matters, but I think Dalish children would be more drawn to the first image. [ a beat. ] On the other hand, I expect you mean children.. here? So I've no idea.

[ a longer pause, brows lifting. ] So in your beliefs, a tree is what connects your worlds?

( video )

[mischiefsmith]

Children are children, no matter the world they are from, so if you think children from your world would relate to the first one I'll take your word on that.

It isn't a belief, this is the universe where I am from, there are worlds for gods, worlds for elves, worlds for dwarves and giants, demons, the dead and humans. [That's sort of a nutshell explanation, but it is quite a bit to take in and spit out, he knows this.] Technically it is an energy field represented by a tree...but I think an energy field would be rather difficult to present on paper and difficult to relate to.

[Video]

[tacticianing]

[Bingo. Kidou selects video; at 14 he's a teenager, but child was defined as 'below legal age' so he'll assume he applies. He dutifully inspects each picture, even rewinding the video to look at them long and hard. He still can't find a way to look at this in a way that reflects him.]

Identify with?

[Clarify, please.]

If you mean relate to, the first image reminds me most of a picture out of a children's book.

[Video]

[mischiefsmith]

Identify with, relate to, makes sense to you...or rather would make sense to a child. [And as Loki is old, oh so old, most anyone would qualify as a child, but he's leaving this wide open.] The first seems popular so far.

video;

[alcheregis]

Why the first one is the prettiest of the bunch, of course! Also the most treelike of the bunch, if that's the motif that you were going for. Also I think that whichever one you end up choosing, you should add that tenth realm back into the picture! I mean, good guanines, how arrogant does this Odin have to be to just take something of a map because he doesn't like it? If I were someone from Heven, I'd march right over there and give him quite a piece of my mind.

video;

[mischiefsmith]

The first one does seem to be the popular choice. As for the tenth realm, adding it back in would be inaccurate, though I would probably discuss it. It's fair to say that Odin is arrogant, that is a suiting adjective, but in this case it was anger and not arrogance that made him sever Heven from the Yggdrasil. Asgard and Heven were at war, the ruler of Heven kidnapped his first born and, allegedly, killed the infant. Too gruesome for what I'm trying to project, but there you have it.

[airshow]

I'm always in touch with my inner child. Makes the world a more interesting place to live.

[ then again, when he was an actual child, he decided his role model was a wild west outlaw, so his perspective might be the slightest bit questionable. ]

I'm gonna go with option number one, not just because there's a rainbow, but it sure does help.

[mischiefsmith]

You being in touch with your inner child is also a boon to my cause.

[Well if he is choosing option number one he seems to be on the same page with most people, perhaps the wild west outlaw didn't damage him too much.]

Rainbows always make things better, don't they? Like bacon, you can put bacon on anything and the flavor is instantly amplified!

[unguibusetrostro]

those are shit trees.

[mischiefsmith]

[ruuuuuuuuuuudeeeeeee.]

I have plenty of materials if you think you could do a better Yggdrasil.

video;

[mirrordarkly]

[enjoy a wide, white, unabashed grin from a stranger.

It's anyone's guess whether it's friendly or not.]

Loki. You have changed since I last saw you, trickster.

video;

[mischiefsmith]

[If this is a creepy grin competition, Loki refuses to lose.

He could know this stranger, or an iteration of him might, but much of his past life is...muddled.]

I've gotten much better looking? [he kids, it's a thing he does.] Change is good, though, I fully support the idea of change, don't you?

[khajidont]

Uh, I guess kids would probably like the first one 'cause it's got a rainbow on it? Kids like colours. Usually.

So why do you wanna show pictures of trees to kids, anyway?

[mischiefsmith]

The rainbow does seem to tie it all together and the Bifrost is an important part of the Yggdrasil. Makes sense.

I'm putting a book together, for children.

Video

[caduceusvalkyrie]

I think the first image is better for children.

I prefer the second one, but that's from my own adult perspective though.

[There's a pause.]

What are you doing with the information?

Video

[mischiefsmith]

Just let me jot down another tally for number one then. Seems to be the popular choice.

[Give him just a second.]

Writing a book for children, children like pictures yes?

video;

[flowerette]

[ Is it possible to look simultaneously overjoyed and devastated? Because those are the conflicted emotions Raina feels. ]

You don't remember.

[ And she doesn't care that he doesn't remember his time here or the things he had accomplished. Her care is far more selfish than that. You don't remember me. ]

video;

[mischiefsmith]

If I was here once before, I've no memory of it.

[Sorry?]

voice;

[slightlyoffchilt]

It almost sounds like you're working a therapeutic angle.

voice;

[mischiefsmith]

The whole "getting in touch with your inner child" bit? Why not. We should all color, take naps, and build things out of little blocks! It might just do something to lighten some individuals up, don't you think?

video.

[glowsferatu]

[ The feed opens on a weird, bug-like face, white with big black eyes and lips, tapping little legs against the screen, before Kanaya pulls the grub away from the camera. She wags her finger with a frown before returning her attention to the comm. ]

I think my inner child died well before I became a teenager, but luckily I have my daughter to consult. She likes the first one. [ Ashiah looks up at her, chirping enthusiastically. ] Yes, yes, I was getting to that!

She likes that it has a rainbow. She likes rainbows, which is understandable. Who doesn't?

What is this for?

video.

[mischiefsmith]

[Loki has seen stranger things, given birth to stranger things, and fathered stranger things...that's not going to stop him from blinking owlishly at the buggy little creature and waving his hand slowly.]

I can see where she gets her stunning good looks...and if she likes the first one then that cinches it, the first one is the winner. [The first one seems to be getting the most votes anyway.] And the rainbow bridge seems to be the reason why, children like rainbows...something to keep in mind...rainbows it is!

It's for a book, a book of mythology for children.