riverviewlogs | The Yule Log

who: The Norse and everyone else in the city!
what: The Norse celebrate Yule. Gods help everyone.
when: December 22nd, Winter Solstice
where: Somewhere outside
warnings: Alcohol, drugs, animal sacrifice, blood play, rough foreplay, sex. Will update if necessary.

The Yule celebration has gotten underway on the Winter Solstice and it promises to be a most interesting night. The Norse have gone all out with this affair to make sure it's going to be a success. First thing to be spotted is a bonfire, so big that you might want to be careful not to trip around it, because you'll fall right in. There's plenty of room for dancing too, if you feel like grooving to a beat that's a little more unusual than most.

The Yule celebration shares a lot of similarities with Christmas, so it's a good time for gift giving. There's little shoes on a table, mimicking the tradition where Odin would leave presents for good children by putting them in their shoes. Claim one as your own and maybe a friend will leave a gift inside one for you. Watch it though. Any grinches will be fed to the Yule Cat.

There's a table set up to the right of the bonfire with food, mostly of the hearty kind that the Norse seem to prefer, and of course, lots of alcohol. Please remember not to get into any drinking contests with the gods. They will observe no responsibility for what happens afterward.

There are also mushrooms for consumption, provided by everyone's favorite psychotic Viking, Ivar The Boneless. These ones are directly from his home world, which means they come with a variety of side effects. They have the ability to make a person hallucinate quite a bit. But they can also make people much more horny than usual. Lastly, there's the effect that hits some people in making them extremely violent. Sometimes one effect hits, sometimes more than one. In any case, anyone who consumes some is assured to have an...interesting time.

On a lighter note, there's mistletoe scattered around, hung from the trees and tent beams. Fun fact: the Vikings were the first one to use it for the tradition of kissing. Of course, they also believed it was a plant that was powerful enough to kill a god, so the kissing was ostensibly for protection.

At the height of the night, there will be an animal sacrifice done. A goat is slaughtered and the blood from it is gathered into a couple of bowls. If you'd really like to go all out like a Viking, paint your face in the still-warm blood, or drink a little bit of it. Otherwise, enjoy freshly seared chunks of goat as it bastes over the bonfire.

Have fun, drink, fight, and remember to make your ancestors proud!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hiccup is lucky to catch Thor in a lucid phase of the evening. He smiles as he approaches, raising a brow when he realises he's being given a gift. He holds out his hands, inspecting the carving with interest.]

Thank you, I love it. [He pauses, considering.] What is it?

[Everyone is lucky Hiccup is also currently lucid, because once he tries a mushroom he's going to be useless for anything for the rest of the evening. He's a lightweight.

Hiccup smiles widely at the approval, though.] It's a Thunderdrum - a kind of dragon we have on Berk. The legends say that they get their power from Thor himself - or, yourself. [Or however that works.] Its roar is like a crack of thunder and can stun even other dragons.

No need to ask why you picked it for me, then. [He offers Hiccup a wry smile, turning the carving slowly in his hands as he inspects it.]

I would like to meet one, one day. I'm a little jealous of the connection you have with Toothless, honestly.

I wish I could show you a real one. They're incredible. My dad used to ride one named Thornado. [A badass name, right? Right??

He flushes a little and turns his head to check on Toothless, or more likely to hide his smile.] He is pretty great. Once you've bonded with a dragon... there's nothing else like it.

That is a brilliant name. [And he seems a little jealous that he didn't think of it first.

Also that he doesn't have a dragon, anyway.]

Well, I have Loki. And I think he's as volatile as a dragon can be. [Thor muses.] Your father was your chief, wasn't he? What is he like? Harsh but fair?

[He smiles wryly at that, stifling a little laugh.] I won't tell him if you want to take it for later use.

Is he? [He's not going to claim he knows Loki that well.] He's always been really nice to me. We talked about dragons, and he showed me some new metals I could use. [They only really know Loki as the god of mischief, and Loki Day is mostly about pranks, but the real Loki... he hasn't seemed like that at all. His smile turns slightly sad at the next question, though, because- well, he does miss his father.]

My dad is- He's a great chief. Strong, a born leader and warrior, you know? It comes so naturally to him. And I-... [A little quieter.] am nothing like him.

Is that so? [Thor is curious, but he won't press for more details just yet. He's happy to step back and watch Loki make his own impressions.

Even if he desperately wants to mock him.

Thor's smile softens at Hiccup's self doubt and he reaches out, patting him on the shoulder.]

I don't think that's entirely true, but it doesn't matter. If we were exactly like our fathers, we would be exactly as we were a thousand years ago. We'd never change and never grow.

[It resonates with him, right now. He doesn't think he's much like his father, but he's starting to think that's not a bad thing.]

Yeah! I've been putting together a copy of my dragon book for him. Cleaned up, of course.[This is before the night goes sideways and Hiccup and Loki really start to bond, but even now he likes the other god. They're similar in some ways. More brains than brawn, with a thirst for knowledge.

His smile brightens a little, hearing that. It's hard to discount advice from Thor himself, for a viking.] I guess you're right. That's true- change can be a really good thing, too. I just... worry I'll let them all down, you know?

You have no idea. [Thor says, casually. Probably not in a manner you would expect from a god.]

Even people like your father feel that way. I know mine did, I know he made mistakes too. It's one thing to disappoint one or two people, a whole village? [Thor sucks in a breath then exhales quickly.] It keeps you up at night.

Yeah... It does. [Hiccup smiles a little, smaller and more thoughtful. It's nice to hear, coming from Thor, that everyone in a leadership position worries about those sorts of things.]

It's hard to imagine Odin making mistakes or disappointing anyone. [Then again, what does he know about Odin besides the old stories?] Do you ever feel like that? Worried about... you know.

It is, but it happens. I don't think I've ever met a perfect person, and if I did? [Thor shrugs.] I don't think I'd like him.

[He smiles, faintly.]

I feel like that all the time.

[Hiccup laughs quietly.] Well, if someone was perfect, and you didn't like him, that would make him unlikable, and then not perfect?

[It's a relief to hear, though, and he admits, a little softer,] It's nice to know it's not just me.

Touche. [Thor says, contemplative.]

Maybe a perfect person doesn't exist, then. I don't know anyone that everyone finds likable. Tolerable, maybe. Not always likable. Not even Steve Rogers. [He pauses.]

Sorry, I'm a little drunk. [Which he punctuates by drinking a little more.]

Yes, you're in good company. I think you might have an advantage on me, though. When I was your age, I thought it would be easy.

[Hiccup just laughs at that, shaking his head slightly.] Everyone on Berk is a little bit drunk most of the time, I think. That's just the viking way. I guess we get it from somewhere. [Not him, though, he's barely touched his beer. He will wind up trying the mushrooms later but he will regret it.]

You have every reason to be more confident than me, though. Even my name basically means 'village runt'.

The Yule Log

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