[So before Joseph starts talking, he's messing around with a pair of clacker balls - the gift he was given after the funeral. It was kinda nice to have them back, though with his artificial hand, it is a bit more difficult to use them - he doesn't seem as dexterous as he would be, though it would probably be hard to tell considering that he's kept his artificial hand under a glove at all times when in public anyway.]

So apparently this is the place for the important questions. [He cracks a bit of a grin - obviously how important varied according to each person, but that was neither here or there.]

Alright, I got one.

So we got people asking about abilities we had back home and what we got here now and all that good stuff. What I'm wondering is a bit different.

Hobbies. Fun stuff. What are you guys doing when you're not partying it up with the locals or getting ready for a fight? [While he's asking, he does a bit of a flourish, and the balls themselves seem to vanish for a few moments until he pulls them back out from behind him - good to know that he still had it.] Like me? I like reading comics. Y'know, superhero stuff. Doing little things like this - [He demonstrates another quick flourish with the clackers - this time switching which hand had them in midair] too. Dunno if that'd be enough to pique anyone's interest, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

[ the woman on the video is smiling, though anyone who knows her can tell you that's a pretty scary thing to be happening. still, this isn't for people who know her; it's for the general population, and she's doing her best to not be scary. for the most part, there aren't many in asgard who know who she is - at least, not by sight. she's a nobody. and she likes it that way. ]

Everyone should come to the bar I work at.

[ straight to the point, blunt. ]

You get a nice drink, I get tips, we both go home happy. I've recommended it before, but things tend to be a bit slow after mayhem.. and honestly, I'd hate to see this place close.

[ mostly because it's a cover for her to pick up all the happening gossip in the city. but if the travelers don't come, then she doesn't have anything to listen to but natives. still, she doesn't seem untrustworthy from the video, and that's the entire point. ]

Whatever you want to drink, I can make it. Or at least, something extremely similar; this place doesn't have everything you'd expect by way of alcohol. So, give it a shot.

[ attached to her message is a map to the bar and a menu. ]

locked to the avengers: tony stark, bruce banner, thor, jane foster, sif

( +++ )

[He doesn't want to talk to anyone. He doesn't want to see anyone at the moment either. His brother is gone, his other best friend is gone... Soubi is gone. While he knows he'll see Youji again when he gets home... however long... But Soubi and Seimei? He doesn't know. Like so much in his life, he doesn't know if he'll see them again.]

How often do people return after they leave? Is there... some sort of rate of possibility?

[Because if he can have it in numbers, have it in some sort of concrete fact, he can rationalize it better. He can handle the possibility of percentage about seeing his brother again. At home he has no idea when he might see Seimei again, but here, here couldn't there just be something... concrete?

He knew there wasn't. He knew that it was as unpredictable as anything else.

He was just in denial, it was something he was good at.]

[Seimei had actually slipped away from most of the activity. One might have seen this strange guy with cat ears and a tail, just like Ritsuka and his friends, roaming about the city. But he was busy chatting up the greyest locals, bugging them in various ways and with apparently intent curiosity. He was quite persistent, in fact, and showed no interest in the network! At least, it seemed that way...]

It's too bad there's no internet! It's so strange to not have the world's collective knowledge and curiosity at your fingertips. At least there's some video games that function well enough without the internet, even if I miss MMORPGs. Are there other video game fans? I'd love someone to play against - I need a good challenge. Hah, and those of you who are from worlds without video games... you should play them. They're good for you! They increase your brain's plasticity, or put more simply, they make you smarter.

[He's been skimming through the help wanted signs to decide where to get himself a little job. He'd like to buy himself some games, after all, and get at least one game that he can play with Ritsuka. Speaking of his little brother,]

Also, if anyone is a friend of Ritsuka's, I'd like to get to know them. I want to thank you personally for spending time with him while I wasn't.

[Petra is in one of the stores, near something she considers very, very strange--a CD. She picks it up, staring at the case, and then attempting to open it.]

"Christmas Music"....? This doesn't look like a record...[Afraid to break it, she groans, looking around for the shopkeeper. At that point, music started to play--Jingle Bell Rock, to be exact. And clearly, Petra gets into it, swaying slightly with the music. It was different than what she was used to, yes, but it was nice. She picks up the tune after a minute or two, then starts humming....

Until she remembers she had the camera on. She stops, shakes her head, and tries to look as if she could regain composure.]

So...what is this, exactly? [She holds up the CD case again.]

[Ritsuka has moved to just a light tank top and his ears are pressed to his head. He looks like a miserable melting cat. Turns out heat makes him more docile than usually.]

This.... this place isn't actually like this for winter, right? There's snow, isn't there? And preferably not what feels like fur-melting heat? [Don't take the one thing he likes about winter away!]