Glada Vappen!

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne hadn't celebrated holidays properly in over a year which left him feeling disconnected. Giant bonfires in the streets and rampant reindeer were frowned upon in most civilized cities, unless of course the punks were involved, then that was arson not celebrations.. ok, well for the punks it was a celebration but not for a Saami.

In the Nexus though, oh here he could do whatever he wanted, or that was what he had learned in his few visits. He had been planning and cooking and collecting. The gods probably don't even know where he stirred up reindeer from in the Nexus but he has and Mouka was happy to have a job keeping them corralled. His usual rock gear is augmented with his family necklace and oddly doesn't look too out of place with rest of his wildness.

He didn't have a lot but parties always started this way. The host had some things and then people came and brought more booze and food, ordering all kinds of things. Aarne did bring Mead, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and a a bunch of lemon tippaleipä batter. He had cooked some but this was something he could show visitors how to make on their own. The honey mead based sugar in a large bowl. Strips of dried reindeer meat and juustoleipä, a Finnish reindeer milk cheese, are out on the table too. There are fruits; strawberries, apples, and nuts which were common as well as a cream from reindeer milk traditional to the culture and nearly like unfermented yogurt.

That all done he looked to the huge pile of logs that he had gotten from various people around the Nexus. The Sami added leaves to it to create smoke at first to attract others. Before lighting it he put up a banner of hide dedicated to the Akka, the female fertility spirits, decorated with the same imagery as his traditional drum. It was sentimental, the first drum he ever learned to play.

Drum in hand he poured kerosene on the log pile and lit it. The reindeer spooked at the sudden fire but soon calmed, especially when the tall Fin went among them.

Comments

[coldsong]

Loki caught wind of this celebration ahead of time, but with limited background information on the host, and a keen awareness that these sorts of parties can get a bit crazy, he opted to come alone. The turn of the seasons is important to acknowledge and celebrate, though; even more for him than for beings less connected to myth and magic. He has tended to neglect spring and summer holidays in favor of fall and winter, but--

Well. It's time to rebalance.

He's dressed unusually simply, in a loose dusty-green tunic over black trousers, but his hair is braided back intricately and threaded with sprigs of evergreen. He does come bearing gifts: the cake he carries is store-bought, just plain angelfood, but it's covered with candied flowers. Rose petals, lilacs, violets, and golden-colored violas are scattered on the cake and in the box. They were sugared by the children, as a fun afternoon project which got out of hand, and there are so many more candied flowers back at home.

It's a token, really, but he's glad he brought something once he sees what's already there. Cream and berries, reindeer milk cheese, and mead are all too appealing to his taste for sweets and fats to resist.

He manages to hold off for a moment, though, pausing to admire the banner with eyes absolutely shining with pleasure.

[suomi_thunder]

Inspecting the banner Loki may well identify it as Skolt Saami by the symbolism on the banner, and the oval drum Aarne has with him. Mouka approaches him first, though she keeps her distance with her head down. The typical posture of a curious herding dog.

Aarne follows now that the reindeer are calmly grazing. On Earth, Aarne notoriously throws mixed gender signals. Obviously male bodied judging by the prominent Adam's apple, every thing else about him is feminine. attire and the big hair; even his walk is a exaggerated feminine strut presenting confident or perhaps arrogant. The type of woman that steps into a room and controls the attention. Aarne has a huge personality but his smile is friendly, perhaps fueled by the smell of akvavit lingering around him. He's been drinking already.

Mouka comes to his side without command when he approaches Loki and looks up at the banner, the matching image in red on his drum. The person looks interested so Aarne speaks up. "It symbolizes the interconnectedness of man, animals and the land as the seasons change."

[itdruid]

Beltane is traditionally a day of celebration for those of Mordred's heritage and faith. It's one that has a lot meaning and assumptions about it as well, but that's never bothered him. Those who want to believe the changing of seasons is about unbridled passions and purely for the sake of old rights are only somewhat wrong, and it's never been the young man's place to teach someone otherwise unless they shared his faith.

But now.... Now it's different. As a newly minted envoy to the Triple Goddess of his world, Mordred's understanding of the holiday and traditions go so much deeper. He could wax on poetically about the true need to further the cycle of nature by bringing love into the world. Sex and children were always preferred, but there's more to love than those two physical representations. There were acts of service, caring for loved ones, worshiping the person one's soul longs for most in a million different ways. Sharing that desire was his goal now, and after a day of wandering the parks and crowded spaces of the city he lived in on his world, Mordred intends to share all of that with the Nexus as well.

From a distance, one might assume Mordred was just another human checking out the party; He's dressed simply in dark brown slacks and a loose fitting forest green shirt, and not at all like spiritual being he's recently become aside from having ivy woven into his dark curls. Those who approach will feel a small tug at the back of their minds, a subtle drive to go forth and spread love in whatever way makes them happiest and most fulfilled. If they get close enough, they'll also notice a small bee buzzing about the ivy in his hair, giving a hint to the magical nature of the young man.

His influence in the Nexus feels less than it does on his world, but that doesn't bother him at all. With a confident smile on his face and the ivy in his hair properly flowered for the occasion, Mordred approaches the roaring fire without hesitation. There are many offerings to look at more closely, but he has a duty to do first. He stops a few feet back from the flames and bows his head, offering a silent prayer for the bounty presented here now that winter has fully withdrawn. When he stands tall again, he exhales an excited breath and then turns to get a better look at everything going on at this gathering. He'll need to find the host to thank them, too, and it will all come in good time.

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne noticed people were appearing but he doesn't need to be told what the man at the fire is doing. It is almost an instinct when he starts to play the drum. Saami always accompanied speaking to the spiritual with drumming.

The host isn't hard to find. At 6'3" and dressed in flamboyant, feminine attire he is really hard to miss. Not that the drumming wouldn't have cued another animist in to who is the host. Mouka is prancing beside him once he stops playing and walks over to get something to drink.

[empathicenvoy]

As someone with an awareness of different gods and the origins surrounding them, Galeas knows about Beltane. It's a Pagan holiday celebrated around the world, and something that brings humanity great joy and purpose. Despite it being important to humans, though, Beltane has never held much significance to the envoy's existence-- until now. Being married to Mordred means having a front row seat to the Goddess' influence over humans around this time of year. (It's been a very interesting Spring, to say the least.)

Accordingly, he gives Mordred the time and space to pay respects as envoy to the Triple Goddess. It's easy and entertaining enough, when there are so many new things around to experience in the meantime. Better yet, everyone around the fires and talking to one another are buzzing with energy, and the combined sensation of so many eager souls coming together is enough to leave Galeas feeling excited and brimming with excess energy. Positive and neutral feelings are the easiest to connect with, and as he wanders through the crowd the emotions of passersby flow through him, mingling with his own. It's a heady and slightly overwhelming experience, but not one he's ready to part from yet.

But a swimming head and slight dizziness from being surrounded by so many intense emotions means he's finding Mordred sooner rather than later. When Galeas finds the envoy, he reaches out to take the other man's hand, seeking out the stability of Mordred's spiritual presence to ground himself in it. The comforting influence, now greater than ever thanks to Mordred's new powers and connection to the divine, comes over him immediately. He breathes out a sigh as he pulls himself back together, and then turns a smile on Mordred.

"Did you offer your prayers?"

[coldsong]

It's a bit later in the evening before Loki takes the opportunity to greet Mordred, and by that point he's had quite a bit of fun and is feeling a touch whimsical. Thus, when he approaches, it's with one of the candied lilac blossoms his children prepared, and he's put a drop of honey in the center.

"I thought your friend might want a drink," he greets with a straight face and a gentle nod at the bee. He noticed!

"But if not, you can eat the flower yourself. They were fresh picked this morning."

[tieflingtarot]

Molly wasn't one to miss a good party. And when he'd heard of this one, it hadn't taken too many questions to get what was being celebrated. The calendar here wasn't the same, had more days in a year than the tiefling was used to, but this certainly sounded like a Zenith celebration and a Wild's Grace celebration mashed together and both could be great fun.

So he'd picked something new to wear and split the difference on what to bring, given that no festival ever suffered from the presence of a couple more bottles of wine, and who didn't enjoy fireworks? He'd been utterly thrilled at the variety on offer in the markets and happily bought an admittedly worrying amount, stacked in boxes in a wagon he usually used for carting flowers or potting soil home, but it served well enough here. The sight of the festivities already in swing just had him grinning, tail flicking behind him as he dropped the bottles under an arm off on one of the tables already groaning with food and drink, found somewhere safely away from the flames for his little cart to sit for the moment, and turned his attention instead to the party at large.

And he'd been absolutely intending to wander over to greet whatever the nearest person was, but his focus? Utterly caught when he spotted the fruit on offer red eyes widening as he spotted the strawberries, a delighted sound slipping from him as he plucked one up to bring with him. The first friendly smooch to a cheek or hand from him might just be fruit-flavored this evening!

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne was just pouring a glass of Akvavit at the table when he noticed the cart and then the person walking toward him. His eyes getting wider as he tried to figure out exactly what they were. Whatever they were his eyes dropped to the boots, his own not dissimilar, aside from his heels.

The way he treated the fruit was interesting and it produced a giggle from Aarne. "Nice boots."

It's not the best conversation starter but the similarities in their attire was amusing, even if the horns and red eyes were unnerving for the moment.

[coldsong]

"A vision of loveliness!" Loki isn't there at first, and then, suddenly, he is--and greeting Molly with a gentle arm around his shoulder. "You look like you're settling in well."

"These sorts of parties tend to last the entire night long. I hope you're braced for a late night and possibly a hangover tomorrow."

[hybriddino]

The Indoraptor is quiet for something so big, partly because he was made for stealth and tracking. He would be a terrible ambush hunter if he couldn't sneak up on his targets. While he doesn't hunt humans for food, he's happy to play tricks on them. Especially strangers, and Molly's definitely a stranger. He creeps in, sniffing out the food in the mix of smells that have caught his attention. The big black dinosaur is distinctive.

He approaches the stranger and gives a chuff of greeting - the way a dinosaur says hello. He's a large dinosaur, ten feet tall when he stands upright on two legs. He must have been drawn by the warmth. While Indo is warm-blooded, he appreciates heat on his scales.

[helland_damnation]

Joe didn't even know how it happened. It just did. He was now in this strange Nexus place just looking around rather lost until he smelt smoke and just followed the acrid smell. A fire? Was it Viktor blowing shit up again? Even in this new place Joe's eyes were just taking it all in. He had a bottle of Jack clutched in his right hand as he took large gulps while walking to what looked like some sort of festival. A party? Hell yeah!

"A party? Looks like I turned up at the right time. Hey? What's going on here?"

He may already be partly on the way to drunk but he's sober enough for a decent conversation at least. Also, reindeer? Was this Aarne? It looked quite Scandinavian and there was food and drink. Popping a strawberry into his mouth, the bassist just span around wondering if there was anyone here he knew.

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne saw Joe before he was spotted and ran up behind him, almost falling into him as he tried to cover the bassist's eyes from behind while carrying a bottle of Akvavit in one hand. The Brit always had his attention but today, something about him was excessively attractive, above and beyond usual. He nuzzle into his hair laughing.

"Are you lost, honey?" The Fin is hyper, maybe too much sugar while making the tippaleipä, and partially drunk. He's out of control as usual. "Let's Drink!!!"

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben came in part out of curiosity and in part because he could smell the food as he walked by. He tries to keep a low profile as he searches for it, but he wants to greet the host of the party just to be polite. He's picked up enough to figure out that it's not anybody he's met before, so he wants to exchange a few words before digging in.

He's not hard to spot if anyone else wants to speak with him.

[coldsong]

Oh, look, a Loki! He wanders up to Ben casually and places a napkin with a slice of cake on it in his hands. There are sugared flowers all over it. "I brought it," he explains. "The children made the decorations. They'd be sad if I told them I'd seen you and hadn't given you some."

"Probably excellent with mead drizzled over it."

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne is watching people come and go. One person catches his attention because it is rare for him to ever see someone who matches his height, or his height sans the heels he is wearing today. He approaches the stranger, strutting like a confident woman though Aarne is also obviously physically male.

Ben could have eaten and that is the first thing Aarne offers. "I can make you a drink or tippaleipä?"

[viridienne]

It's a smol green Ravage!

Viridian recognises Ben from pictures and because he's wearing a badge. She trills to get his attention and sends him a message:

You must be Ben, I'm Viridian!

[midnight_devil]

The Fin had hounded him relentlessly to come along, of course he had. Like his bandmate Vars didn't have the opportunity or space usually to celebrate how he wanted. Usually he turned to rebellious and destructive things to celebrate rather than anything as positive as this celebration had the potential to be.

He's more of a watcher and has sat down at one of the tables off to the side with his boots kicked up on the edge of it, casually drinking vodka. He's definitely a punk from the black leather to the spikey white hair but anyone who knows the symbolism can see he wears a fairly large twisted metal Fenrir collar and a matching Norse dragon bracelet among all the other metal and spikes in his attire. He's not quite anti-social. He's just not as brazenly social as his bandmate.

[coldsong]

It is impossible for Loki to get tipsy on human liquors, so there's no way the little bit of mead he's consumed should be affecting him. He's in an elated mood, though, probably because of the general celebratory atmosphere. And he looks relatively ordinary, except for the elaborate braided hairstyle he wears, but there is something smooth and sleek and graceful about the way he moves around the assembly, like a fish through water. He's very much at home.

When he spies Vars, he wanders over and sits on the table he's got his boots propped on, as if to one-up him.

"Poor Fenrisúlfr," he says, nodding at the collar. "Really got a raw deal in the stories, no matter how you slice it."

[itmeanstruth]

Eventually, after having savored the various forms of sugary goodness, Minoru made his way to one of the familiar faces from Ziggy’s tour. (Though, this face he wasn’t as familiar with compared to the more talkative ones.)

“Hey! Enjoying the break from being on the road?” He waved and sat down next to Vars.

[angelic_asshole]

Balthazar was always one to seek out a party or any kind of festival, whether it be a Winter one or a spring one like the one he was attending now. Humans and their traditions had always caught the angel's eyes over the millennia in how they celebrated their gods and seasons. It was fascinating. Right now he was walking up to the food table, inhaling the smoke from the fire burning and beaming. Onyx, his now large Alaskan Malamute was bounding around, sniffing at the floor and rolling around obviously happy his owner had brought him to meet new people. He loved this.

"Oh, mean, how wonderful! I do love a good fruity beverage now and then."

Glancing around, he offered anyone close a beaming smile, as he filled a glass and began mingling a little. Onyx, just going up to people, sniffing their hands then running around, barking a little but not near the reindeer. Balthazar called out to his dog and Onyx came up obediently sitting by his master's leg. His large head now looking up with his tongue lolling out.

"Good boy."

[suomi_thunder]

Mouka comes running at the other dog, head down and drops to laying down about five feet away before she gives a howling bark. It's a warning and instinct. The Laphunds didn't let strange dogs near the herds because wolves were common enough, though Mouka had never been around wolves. The barking draws Aarne's attention and soon the tall Fin is walking toward his dog. She runs to him and then stares at the man with the dog.

"Mouka." He laughs and bends down to pet her vigorously. "He ovat vieraita. Ei ole mukavaa haukkua."

Standing back up he walks over toward the man with Mouka trotting happily beside him. Her master is going to check the danger and that is what she wanted.

"Sorry she's barking at you." He offers with a smile and will definitely pet Onyx if the dog comes to him. Aarne loves dogs.

[rockin_thehousedown]

The portal was a strange thing but once Hunter stepped into the new world and read some of the pamphlet he was well on his way to understanding more about this Nexus world. How fun it was! He decided to branch out a little bit and walk towards where he could hear quite a few voices and he could smell smoke and see flames licking up towards the sky. Oh, he had to find out what was going on. Walking in, he was greeted with a sight that made him smile. Oh, a festival! A May Day one? This was in line with what he was brought up with back at home in Sweden. Food, drink, fire and friends. He was dressed in a leopard print suit which was a signature ensemble for the glam rock star.

"I didn't expect to find this here. Det är underbart! Precis som hemma."

He slipped into his native tongue just taking it all in. The reindeer? Hunter smiled and thought of Aarne. This was the Fin all over. Was he here? It would seem to point to that since there were reindeer and Finnish beverages and food.

[celestialpeacock]

Of course a celebration of the change from spring to summer would bring Rota out, besides it was a party and he could sense Seth here even if he had no idea if the angel was present or not. His attire today is purple and cream with beaded embroidery down the front of the vest. The colors clashing with the greens of his wings just the way he liked it.

The leopard print gets a smile as he walks up beside the human. "Du är en man från de nordliga stammarna?"

He can easily speak other languages and why not? This man seemed more comfortable in his own language.

[itmeanstruth]

The Uchiwa twins certainly weren’t Scandinavian, and they had no idea what this particular festival was about. The closest holiday they knew happened around this time of year was Children’s Day. (Despite growing up in the States, the family still hung koinobori decorations and made tasty kashiwa mochi. Isamu loved to gloat that he got the higher karp because he was a few minutes older.)

The party had definitely already started by the time they arrived, so there were a lot of friends to greet. Many of which were likely in various states of inebriation. But soon enough, they’d make their way back to the bonfire.

“Hey, people are making funnel cakes! Come on, let’s try it out!” Minoru nudged his brother.

Isamu immediately agreed. “That does sound, and most certainly smell, delightful.”

[suomi_thunder]

"Tippaleipä." Aarne corrects as he comes up to talk to Stardust's boyfriend. They all knew he had a couple floating around though the Fin remembers this one from parts of the tour too, though between his work on stage and Minoru in the rigging there wasn't much time to have a serious conversation. "It's similar."

The tall Fin is happy to see him where things were more relaxed and quickly assumes the other is his twin. Minoru is known enough though that there is an offered hug as soon as the drummer is close enough. He's physically affectionate by nature but not offended if he doesn't want one.

"I'll make you some." He offers.

[riff_razor]

Rik came later to the party, in part because he was carrying one of his smaller harps. The Dane was also private, didn't like too many strangers and had a number of reasons for avoiding but Aarne would never let him hear the end of it. He spread out the blanket by the fire, well back a distance from it because it was hot and too much heat would be bad for the harp. Set down the cushion and pulled the harp out of its cover.

He had a bottle of mead and a glass which he was sipping from. The Dane is getting close to being a world class harpist in his own world, though he's mostly known for playing a 18 string guitar in the public eye. Despite keeping his spiritual practices quiet, this is a celebration and he sings one of the few traditional pieces he's learned while accompanying it on the harp.


Idun’s fair locks fall on his shoulder
As she adjusts the strap of his harp,
Kisses him as if it were every day, which is
Not so false. He is often away, and she tends
Hearth and garden, orchard and gate
Until he wends his way back home again.

[shutyour_frettingmouth]

Billy just followed everyone in through the portal because it seemed a cool thing to do. Was it Hunter he followed? Whatever it was, he was now within the Nexus and sitting down listening to Rik play his harp at this Scandinavian festival. He knew The Hammers were Norse men at heart and had their own culture just like the Brit bands did. Sighing, the blond guitarist just loved hearing and seeing his Dane playing the strings, whether it be on his 18 stringed beast or the subdued melodic harp.

He loved all of it and couldn't just let Rik delve into this new land without him. There were people to prank and places to go. This evening though? This was about Aarne and his traditions, yet Rik was also involved so this made it even better. Billy thought he saw Hunter around somewhere and his younger brother clinging to him.

"So beautiful. I don't know your people's traditions, mate, but I love this."

it's part of a soundfamily!

[dontpetmeibite]

Ravage walks up to the bonfire, accompanied by Soundwave--and a smaller version of herself with a bright green finish. She was nervous about bringing Viridian, but she wanted Ziggy's friends to meet her daughter first in her own company, so that everyone would understand Viridian wasn't full-grown. Having heard a lot of wild stories about Ziggy's band's parties, she hadn't been sure what to expect--anything from toasts around a bonfire to a rager that would make the old Decepticon Conclave parties look tame.

But this seemed...nice.

Soundwave for his own part was very amused. Ravage's disinterest in some of the people he'd mentored had been legendary (and completely understandable, in more than a few of those instances) but watching her parent and mentor for the first time, he began to remember that Ravage did nothing halfway, and that she was far more insistent on being Involved in everhting her daughter did than he had been with any of his minis, ever.

Then again...none of them had been put through the kind of treatment that Viridian had suffered.

Viridian's big golden eyes are wide with excitement as she sniffs the air and smells all the people, the organic food, the fire, and everything and everyone else.

Aunt Howlback is carefully watching as well, and Glit is there with them also, the party having been deemed to be "Glit-safe".

[suomi_thunder]

Parties could definitely get wild and the Scandinavians that were here often started the bigger portion of the chaos, however, this is spiritually important to all four of them. While they might drink a little too much the serious chaos will be absent tonight. Mouka, Aarne's dog, starts her howling barks of something being wrong when they come toward the fire. While Aarne might be able to tell what they are the dog has never seen anything like them. Even the reindeer spook and move off a ways, watching with their ears erect and bodies tense.

The commotion gets the host turning to look, he's drunk and boisterous by now. "COUGARAIDERS!"

He just yells it across the area where the people are gathered. The Fin has a lot in common with Ziggy on the outside; the mix of masculine and feminine as well as the height, though Aarne is more muscular than the half Anthean. He's making his way toward them. As he gets closer it is not hard to smell the almost medicinal herbal of Akvavit and the honey of the Mead. He's been drinking for awhile.

Even though he's seen a picture of Howlback the size is bigger than he imagined. It doesn't stop him from walking right up to them though.