[He doesn't stand when the man arrives, taking the moment to top off his glass with the bottle of whiskey he'd procured. He stops promptly when the man introduces himself. Setting the bottle down, he looks up at the newcomer, his eyes narrowing.]
"Like...Loki, Grimnir's kid?"
[To be fair, it's the only one he's ever heard of, and he'd never met him, so it's completely plausible. Of course, Grimnir's also one of the greatest fucking liars ever thought into existence, so...]
[Loki blinks, surprised. Of all of Odin's names, why that one? And if he knows the human myths, usually Odin is portrayed as a blood brother. Is it possible they're from the same reality?
[He's closes his eyes, just long enough to roll them under their lids. Sweeney inhales deeply, reining himself in from unleashing the very long-winded and expletive-filled diatribe that tempts him.]
"Bound to service by way of a fuckin' deal, course." He takes a full swig from his glass before staring at the surface of the remaining liquid. "Fuckin' cunt. Ain't his bitch anymore."
[It's clear in the moment that Sweeney isn't sure.]
"Bein' here's kinda...well, it's complicated."
[It's a little weird to start a conversation with 'I was trying to kill your not-dad and his actual son fucked me over and ran me though with you not-dad's fucking magic spear'. Yeah, that'll go over well.]
It is for most of us, yes. Not much is more complicated than potentially altering your own personal reality by coming back from the dead at least partially reformed from your former criminal ways.
[Loki orders a drink and settles in, fingers laced.]
What sort of services were you performing for Odin?
[There's a chance this man is from his own future, making it possible that he is the "Odin" in question, which he'll have a better chance of guessing at depending on the sorts of jobs he'd need done.]
[Sweeney shrugs and takes a swig. This is a topic that he really doesn't want to go into detail about. Just thinking about not wanting to think about it stabs at him. Maggots. Think of her maggoty bits all over the road and not her kinda-not-as-dead skin rubbing up on his. Fuck.]
"Just shit he couldn't be bothered with, ya know? Pickin' up shit so he didn't have ta drive outta the way. Or fuckin' drivin' him when we happened ta be goin' the same direction. Pickin' fights ta watch his fuckin' bitch of a son get his face bloodied." Murdering Sacrificing Wives by way of twisted steel and unforgiving asphalt.
[A slow sigh slumps his shoulders a touch.]
"Basic'lly an'thin' he could do ta remind me that I fuckin' owed him."
["Bitch of a son"? Probably not Thor, but then again, this would be a different Thor anyway.]
My Odin was petty, but not that petty. He was more interested in maintaining the status quo than anything else. Which I did a fairly good job of disrupting for him, whether it went my way or not.
[He tips his glass in agreement when it comes to disruption. His Odin or no, that prick surely had it coming. At least Loki would be at better liberty to get away with that shit.
The question makes Sweeney bristle. That sort of shit isn't something he wants to talk about, especially to some fucking stranger, even if he is a god who likes to be a thorn in Odin's side.
His jaw flexes and he shifts it side to side to loosen it again.]
"For my own fuckin' reasons."
[He takes a healthy swig and glares at his glass.]
"Yer father's not stuck in America then?" [That's just how stuff seems to work. He's likely from somewhere else. Maybe even trapped there instead.]
[Loki nods. Fair enough. Whatever the deal was, it's not likely to matter here.
He's about to take a drink when that question takes him off guard. He stares intently at Sweeney, wondering if there isn't more overlap in their stories after all.]
No. I last saw him in Norway. Right before he died.
[At least that's fucking something. Even if it isn't his Grimnir, there's one out there that is fucking dead. Sweeney hopes it was an especially painful death.]
"No chance he was the really real original, eh?" [Wouldn't that be grand?]
"Norway's ya'll's Earth spot, right? Or...Middlegard. Whate'er the fuck ya call it."
[He shrugs. Really, one is enough, whichever one it is.]
"The creation. The... [Sweeney shakes his head tightly as he looks for the words.] "The name made manifest, imbued with the gifts human wished him to have."
I think I see what you're saying. This is sort of a 'chicken and egg' thing, I think.
[Loki gathers that this one isn't human himself, so he doesn't bother to get annoyed about everything being about humans, for once]
Humanity didn't create Odin, in my world. Nor Thor, nor myself. We visited and they built stories out of what they saw. Whether that belief imbued us with power... [Shrug. He doesn't know, honestly.] So in that sense, yes, he was the original. But it sounds as if you're saying there were literal others, not just stories he inspired.
"Well, yeah." That is, in fact, exactly what he's saying.
Sweeney kills his whiskey and pulls a rolled cigarette from behind his ear. Nestling it between his lips, he speaks around it as he fishes in his pocket for his lighter.
"Given humans need ta fuck shit up."
Lighter successfully retrieved, he flicks it open, lights the cigarette, and snaps it shut. He pulls a long drag before expounding.
"Him bein' what he is ta the folk that came ta America. Easy ta see why that'd get watered down in the worst fuckin' ways." Sweeney rolls his eyes at the thought of that cunt.
[Ugh. Loki doesn't at all hide his distaste at the smoking, but he doesn't say or do anything to stop him either.]
Hmm. In my world, there wasn't much of an awareness of Odin in America. Thor, though. He was one of their literal heroes. Well, those who weren't just terrified of how powerful he was. But honestly there were very few people who had anything bad to say about him. Never mind the fact that he did just about the same amount of property damage, at the very least.
[He takes a drink and looks very obviously bitter.]
Sweeney gives precisely zero fucks about any distaste Loki might have in regards to him smoking. That said, he's not aggressive about making that point. He smokes casually, not intentionally blowing smoke in his direction.
"Yeah. America's Thor fuckin' offed himself in the 30s. Over a fuckin' woman. An' 'cause, well, Grimnir's a fuckin' cunt."
He rolls his eyes and presses the cigarette between his lips so he has both hands to refill his glass.
"Haven't spent time with..." Sweeney pauses in consideration before vaguely wiggling his fingers at Loki in illustration. "Their Loki. S'spect he's too clever ta spend much time with Grimnir."
Bottle set aside, he lifts his glass in faint toast. "Cause fuck that asshole."
Even as he knows that the Thor Sweeney is speaking of isn't his Thor, at least twice over, Loki feels a cold shock at the idea of him committing suicide. It's absurd to think of Thor ever getting that low, of course. Which is probably why it hits so hard to consider it.
But he does his best to conceal this reaction and keep focused as Sweeney goes on. He manages a faint smirk and a raised glass in kind.
Once he's swallowed, he muses, "I should have gotten out of there much sooner. In hindsight it seems so obviously foolish, to think I was related to any of them. And yet I let him influence so much of me." He draws his fingertip along the rim of his glass. "Perhaps someday I'll forgive him. But not anytime soon."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Loki makes his way over, spotting the (shockingly tall) fellow at a table and moving to join him.]
It's nice to meet you in person. And in a common tongue. My name is Loki, if you didn't catch that in our earlier conversation.
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"Like...Loki, Grimnir's kid?"
[To be fair, it's the only one he's ever heard of, and he'd never met him, so it's completely plausible. Of course, Grimnir's also one of the greatest fucking liars ever thought into existence, so...]
no subject
Better be cautious.]
Not exactly. Do you know him?
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"Bound to service by way of a fuckin' deal, course." He takes a full swig from his glass before staring at the surface of the remaining liquid. "Fuckin' cunt. Ain't his bitch anymore."
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He doesn't mind hearing him being cussed out like that, regardless.]
Is that because you're here, or did you manage to extricate yourself somehow?
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[It's clear in the moment that Sweeney isn't sure.]
"Bein' here's kinda...well, it's complicated."
[It's a little weird to start a conversation with 'I was trying to kill your not-dad and his actual son fucked me over and ran me though with you not-dad's fucking magic spear'. Yeah, that'll go over well.]
no subject
[Loki orders a drink and settles in, fingers laced.]
What sort of services were you performing for Odin?
[There's a chance this man is from his own future, making it possible that he is the "Odin" in question, which he'll have a better chance of guessing at depending on the sorts of jobs he'd need done.]
no subject
"Just shit he couldn't be bothered with, ya know? Pickin' up shit so he didn't have ta drive outta the way. Or fuckin' drivin' him when we happened ta be goin' the same direction. Pickin' fights ta watch his fuckin' bitch of a son get his face bloodied."
MurderingSacrificing Wives by way of twisted steel and unforgiving asphalt.[A slow sigh slumps his shoulders a touch.]
"Basic'lly an'thin' he could do ta remind me that I fuckin' owed him."
no subject
My Odin was petty, but not that petty. He was more interested in maintaining the status quo than anything else. Which I did a fairly good job of disrupting for him, whether it went my way or not.
[He peers at the man, curious.]
What did you owe him for?
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The question makes Sweeney bristle. That sort of shit isn't something he wants to talk about, especially to some fucking stranger, even if he is a god who likes to be a thorn in Odin's side.
His jaw flexes and he shifts it side to side to loosen it again.]
"For my own fuckin' reasons."
[He takes a healthy swig and glares at his glass.]
"Yer father's not stuck in America then?" [That's just how stuff seems to work. He's likely from somewhere else. Maybe even trapped there instead.]
no subject
He's about to take a drink when that question takes him off guard. He stares intently at Sweeney, wondering if there isn't more overlap in their stories after all.]
No. I last saw him in Norway. Right before he died.
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"No chance he was the really real original, eh?" [Wouldn't that be grand?]
"Norway's ya'll's Earth spot, right? Or...Middlegard. Whate'er the fuck ya call it."
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Midgard. And they're certainly the ones who remembered us, in any case.
What exactly do you mean by "original"?
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[He shrugs. Really, one is enough, whichever one it is.]
"The creation. The... [Sweeney shakes his head tightly as he looks for the words.] "The name made manifest, imbued with the gifts human wished him to have."
no subject
[Loki gathers that this one isn't human himself, so he doesn't bother to get annoyed about everything being about humans, for once]
Humanity didn't create Odin, in my world. Nor Thor, nor myself. We visited and they built stories out of what they saw. Whether that belief imbued us with power... [Shrug. He doesn't know, honestly.] So in that sense, yes, he was the original. But it sounds as if you're saying there were literal others, not just stories he inspired.
no subject
Sweeney kills his whiskey and pulls a rolled cigarette from behind his ear. Nestling it between his lips, he speaks around it as he fishes in his pocket for his lighter.
"Given humans need ta fuck shit up."
Lighter successfully retrieved, he flicks it open, lights the cigarette, and snaps it shut. He pulls a long drag before expounding.
"Him bein' what he is ta the folk that came ta America. Easy ta see why that'd get watered down in the worst fuckin' ways." Sweeney rolls his eyes at the thought of that cunt.
no subject
Hmm. In my world, there wasn't much of an awareness of Odin in America. Thor, though. He was one of their literal heroes. Well, those who weren't just terrified of how powerful he was. But honestly there were very few people who had anything bad to say about him. Never mind the fact that he did just about the same amount of property damage, at the very least.
[He takes a drink and looks very obviously bitter.]
no subject
"Yeah. America's Thor fuckin' offed himself in the 30s. Over a fuckin' woman. An' 'cause, well, Grimnir's a fuckin' cunt."
He rolls his eyes and presses the cigarette between his lips so he has both hands to refill his glass.
"Haven't spent time with..." Sweeney pauses in consideration before vaguely wiggling his fingers at Loki in illustration. "Their Loki. S'spect he's too clever ta spend much time with Grimnir."
Bottle set aside, he lifts his glass in faint toast. "Cause fuck that asshole."
cw: mention of suicide
But he does his best to conceal this reaction and keep focused as Sweeney goes on. He manages a faint smirk and a raised glass in kind.
Once he's swallowed, he muses, "I should have gotten out of there much sooner. In hindsight it seems so obviously foolish, to think I was related to any of them. And yet I let him influence so much of me." He draws his fingertip along the rim of his glass. "Perhaps someday I'll forgive him. But not anytime soon."