Ivar "The Boneless" Ragnarsson (
ragnarsson) wrote in
riverview2017-10-08 10:14 pm
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Video @the.boneless; Days of Vikings Gone By....
[When the video starts, the memory is in the dead of night. The darkness is the kind that you can't get anymore with electric lights all over the place. This is true dark, the kind when only the moonshine can help anyone to see. There's a group of men and women sleeping soundly on the ground. The peacefulness of the scene is broken as a man creeps among them, slitting their throats with cold efficiency. As he moves between them, there's another figure to his right, crawling around doing the same thing. It's hard to tell at first who it is. Then one of the men wakes up. Spotting the figure, he derisively says, 'What do you want, cripple?' Turning to face him, it's clear this is everyone's favorite psychopathic Viking teenager.
Things turn into a blur of action as Ivar begins brutally killing the other Vikings around him. He uses whatever weapon he has at hand, everything from a knife to an axe to a sword. If anyone ever wondered how a teenage Viking who couldn't use his legs ever became a feared warrior, now you have your answer. Soon, he's killed five people in little under a minute, and only one young woman is left. He crawls towards her like something out of a nightmare. She pleads for her life. 'Ivar! Ivar! You don't need to kill me. Because...you can have this.' Offering herself to him, he seems to consider the proposition. Leaning in, it appears for a moment that he's going to kiss her. Then he stabs her in the side, instead ending her life. With all the Vikings around him dead, Ivar flops on the ground, exhausted. Peculiarly enough, there's a happy, satisfied smile on his face, the kind no one in Riverview has ever seen. He clearly enjoyed the carnage that had just taken place.
The scene fades out and comes back in. The man who had initially been slitting throats and Ivar are hunkered down behind some bushes, hiding from something or someone. It's clearly not too long after the first memory, since both are wearing the same clothes. In fact, it's the next day. Watching, whatever they're hiding from passes by. The man beside Ivar has the exact same ice-blue shade to his eyes that Ivar does. This is his father, Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson, one of the most famous kings among all Vikings.
Ragnar pulls out some dried fish and the two talk while eating. 'I bet you wish you'd never brought me along, right? And I bet you wish you would have killed me when I was born, just like you wanted to,' Ivar says. Oh yes, that was something that had happened. Viking childhoods were brutal things.
'Only when you talk,' Ragnar says back, and it's clear where part of Ivar's sense of humor comes from. Ragnar continues to talk, telling of how he thought Ivar's legs were a weakness, but that he turned out to be wrong. Something seems to soften in Ivar's face as he listens intently. 'You are special. Not in spite of your legs. But because of them.' They're the words Ivar has been waiting to hear his whole life and it shows in his eyes. This was the moment he gave his heart completely to his father, receiving the recognition no one has ever shown him. The memory fades out as Ivar says that was the first time he'd ever heard his father admit to being wrong about something. Ragnar replies it will never happen again.]
Things turn into a blur of action as Ivar begins brutally killing the other Vikings around him. He uses whatever weapon he has at hand, everything from a knife to an axe to a sword. If anyone ever wondered how a teenage Viking who couldn't use his legs ever became a feared warrior, now you have your answer. Soon, he's killed five people in little under a minute, and only one young woman is left. He crawls towards her like something out of a nightmare. She pleads for her life. 'Ivar! Ivar! You don't need to kill me. Because...you can have this.' Offering herself to him, he seems to consider the proposition. Leaning in, it appears for a moment that he's going to kiss her. Then he stabs her in the side, instead ending her life. With all the Vikings around him dead, Ivar flops on the ground, exhausted. Peculiarly enough, there's a happy, satisfied smile on his face, the kind no one in Riverview has ever seen. He clearly enjoyed the carnage that had just taken place.
The scene fades out and comes back in. The man who had initially been slitting throats and Ivar are hunkered down behind some bushes, hiding from something or someone. It's clearly not too long after the first memory, since both are wearing the same clothes. In fact, it's the next day. Watching, whatever they're hiding from passes by. The man beside Ivar has the exact same ice-blue shade to his eyes that Ivar does. This is his father, Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson, one of the most famous kings among all Vikings.
Ragnar pulls out some dried fish and the two talk while eating. 'I bet you wish you'd never brought me along, right? And I bet you wish you would have killed me when I was born, just like you wanted to,' Ivar says. Oh yes, that was something that had happened. Viking childhoods were brutal things.
'Only when you talk,' Ragnar says back, and it's clear where part of Ivar's sense of humor comes from. Ragnar continues to talk, telling of how he thought Ivar's legs were a weakness, but that he turned out to be wrong. Something seems to soften in Ivar's face as he listens intently. 'You are special. Not in spite of your legs. But because of them.' They're the words Ivar has been waiting to hear his whole life and it shows in his eyes. This was the moment he gave his heart completely to his father, receiving the recognition no one has ever shown him. The memory fades out as Ivar says that was the first time he'd ever heard his father admit to being wrong about something. Ragnar replies it will never happen again.]
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[He doesn't have to elaborate as to why. Being crippled meant watching things pass him by. As a child, he could only sit by while his brothers went off to play or spar without him. Later on, he'd learned ways to keep up, but it had been a steep learning curve.]
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I wouldn't know if I'm the oldest or youngest. I can't recall much about my family. [So yes, hello fellow orphan. She knows what it's like to be left behind in a different sort of sense. At least they had that in common.] I know...they loved me. [At least that's what she tells herself.]
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What happened? Did they die?
[The way she refers to them in past tense is what makes him think that they must be deceased.]
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I don't know. We were separated when I was younger.
[Separated sounds a lot better than abandoned, but it was hard to remember if they left her on Jakku because they were forced to or not.]
They could be alive, but I don't think that's the case anymore.
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[But it does explain a bit about Rey, how she seems so very self-sufficient. Ivar can't imagine what would have happened to him if he'd had to grow up by himself. Likely, he'd be dead without his mother during his earlier years.]
But I understand. My father abandoned my family when I was a child. He didn't come back for ten years.
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[Not 'it was hard,' or 'I got through it,' but survived. She survived while on Jakku. She didn't enjoy it, but she survived it. There wasn't really a chance for her to be a child except in the few small moments she carved out for herself, but that was only after a long day's worth of work.]
I was still waiting for my family to come back, but things changed. You had time with your father, memories--stories that you can tell other family members or friends.
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[She must have been young when her parents left. Who knew what Rey had to go through all those years without them.]
I did. I'm grateful for the time I did have, even if it never seems like it would have been enough.
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Or maybe I was too stubborn to die.
[She went through a lot, and this conversation was supposed to be more about Ivar rather than her. She wasn't used to talking about herself this much....or at all.]
I don't think it ever will be. You'll always want more time, but...guess that's natural. Do you miss any other members of your family?
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[Yes, people said this right in front of him. Vikings were never the most tactful group of people.]
I decided I just wasn't going to do it out of sheer spite.
[Her question makes grief flicker across his face again, quickly, and then replaced by something more shuttered off.]
My mother. She died around the same time he did. And some of my brothers. [Only some though. Sigurd he could have done without.] And my uncle Floki.
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I'd imagine you made a considerable effort to be a pain in the ass then? In addition to surviving out of stubbornness and spite? [In hindsight, it may not be very thoughtful to take on a joking or somewhat playful tone about surviving a hard childhood, but to Rey it's a bit funny...and perhaps a bit morbid, but not too many people could relate to a childhood like hers.
And she went from talking about a somewhat happier subject to death again.]
...I shouldn't have brought that up...I'm sorry. [Because saying 'sorry for your loss' would be overkill right now. ]
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Fortunately for Rey, Ivar's in a mood to see the more humorous side of things.]
I'm still a pain in the ass for that very reason. [Sarcasm was a good defense when he couldn't just stab someone.
He looks sad and resigned as he answers Rey.]
It's alright. You'd think after almost a year it would get easier.
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[There's a bit of a light chuckle, maybe a hint of a smile on her face.]
Dunno about that. You haven't been a pain, not with me. [Though, she maybe speaking a bit too soon on that front. She didn't know him too well, so there was always enough time for him to be a pain in her ass, and vice-versa.]
It never does. [She pauses for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully and not give away too much.] Some days, it's easier and other days, it's harder. The loss, it stays with you.
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[Ivar does his best, but so often, it's easier to be self-destructive and keep people at arm's length with harsh words, rather than allow them to get close and potentially end up hurting him.]
That it does. Nothing ever really makes it truly go away. You just have to hope it gets better with time. [Getting revenge on the people who had killed his father had also done wonders for the feeling of loss inside him.]
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]Spoken in a soft, almost teasing tone.]
Mmmhmm. [There was a soft hum of agreement. Sometimes hope was all someone had. Hope that things would get better, that tomorrow would be better.] Yeah, and you have to try your hardest to not lose that hope. Some days will be better or worse than others...
Which is why you find ways to distract yourself.
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[Not because Ivar particularly wants to push his boundaries with her. It's just in his nature to be caustic with people. Those that can handle the snark on the surface sometimes get to someone a little more vulnerable beneath.]
In my case, that involves kicking ass and plotting people's deaths. [Not a joke. These are his actual pastimes.]
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[Did Rey know he had a daughter? Not everyone here was aware, mainly because most people thought him awful young to already have a baby. He wasn't really, at least, not by Viking standards. Most Vikings got married and had children early on, for they didn't live long lives.]
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You have a daughter?
[It doesn't shock her, considering...well, to each their own. She also doesn't know how old he is, but if he's able to care for her, then who was she to say anything about it?]
I knew you have your pets...the pokemon, but I didn't know you had a child. What's her name?
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[That's basically a rhetorical question because Ivar is already wheeling into her nursery in the house. She's in her crib, bundled up like a burrito, and sleeping peacefully. He pans the video over to her, revealing a small baby with the pale white skin of an albino. Her hair and eyelashes are nearly colorless. Were her eyes open, Rey would be able to see them, as odd as her father's, pale blue irises with red pupils.]
Isn't she just amazing? [His voice sounds more gentle than at just about any other time.] Her name is Winter Istrid Regis Ivarsdottir. [Big name for a little baby.]
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[It's a question she was expecting to be thrown at her, but she didn't know if he meant in person or anything of the like. Rey was still in her room, sitting on her bed with her legs crossed.
When the camera turns on she can see the little girl all bundled up. She's nearly forgotten how small a baby can look.]
She's...all wrapped up in blankets. [Give her a moment, she's really trying to take it in. A small little girl with a big name...but the name suits her.] But, she is beautiful. [There's even a hint of a smile on her face.]
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Yes. She is.
[Ivar gazes down at her with an adoring, loving expression. She's the best thing that's ever happened to him.]
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To not disturb the young babe, Rey switches to text again.]
I don't want to wake her, but if you want to continue talking, we can.
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[He can't read, so the text-to-voice function with its robotic tones will just disturb Winter further. Ivar leaves her to slumber on, going to his room next door, shutting the door firmly behind him.]
Now we can talk better. She's wonderful. Apparently, she has powers that her mother said make her a healer. She can take life force from living things and put them in other beings, healing them from injuries.
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And learns the child, and her mother, had powers. Well...okay then.]
So your daughter... [She's trying to wrap her head around this, give her a moment.] She can take life force from other living things and just...heal someone.
[Wait a moment...]
Wouldn't that weaken the other living thing?
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[An act that had caused Letha to call her an abomination and a monster. Ivar had completely disagreed. There had been harsh words between the two of them over abandoning Winter in the woods like Ivar's father had very nearly done to him. He's quick to justify his child's actions.]
Of course, she didn't know what she was doing. And she's never done it to me, so she clearly has some control over it. Winter only does it to people now if she's upset or scared. But I'm going to teach her to do better when she's older.
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