Dionysos was both a great friend and a terrible friend at the exact same time. Certainly he had provided both the intoxication she had requested and given relatively practical advice. However, he had also embedded a rather unnecessary visual in her brain, one that they both shared a rather vigorous rut of their own out of, and Ninkasi had been quite unable to remove it from her mind since it had been mentioned. This mental visual fantasy of sorts kept appearing at the forefront of her mind at the most inopportune of times. Of course it did. That was always how those things worked out. It wasn't something that happened when she was alone and in a private enough a situation where that was a bit more acceptable and could maybe do something about it. No. Oh no.

No, it hit Ninkasi when she was doing things like wiping down the bar after someone accidentally spilled a bit of beer and she had to bend forward to reach such a bit further down. Her face would go blank, her mind would drift and in her memory she saw those hot abs and that low pelvic v and... and then someone would ask if she was alright. It was so much worse because it wasn't even as if she was just making up the image. ( She had seen it. All of it. Dammit. )

This was a bad idea.

He'd been repeating that to himself for the last week, since he'd made the decision. This was a really bad idea. There was an ache in his gut that told him that. There was a buzzing in his head that confirmed it. And there was an overwhelming sense of dread for what he was about to do.

( This was a REALLY bad idea. )

The place was packed, which was how it was supposed to be. There were costumes everywhere... also exactly how it was supposed to be. Because it was Halloween. It was also Chicago and Americans went all crazy for the holiday. On top of that, it was Thirsty Thursday, something everyone in the American Midwest was familiar with. Professional drinkers, this lot, and Ninkasi loved them for it. Most of the costumed were immortal in some way, not just gods but nymphs and the like as well, but she was clearly allowing an occasional mortal in as well. There were rules outside to her bouncers for screening them properly.

Shortly, the specialty taps would be opened and her private brews would begin to flow. Which is what, she was sure, Kratos was hoping and/or waiting for. ( Wherever he was. )

Thor wasn't certain what the issue was, but there was a middle-aged waitress staring him down like she was about to face a dragon, the pen sticking out of her salt-and-pepper hairbun almost quivering as she mentally prepared for battle. She wasn't even his waitress. His waitress was the adorable little brunette with the sprinkle of freckles across her nose that was hovering behind the affronted crusader. Thor had been happily flirting with the girl right up to the point where he'd given his order, and confirmed that he intended to eat it right there. Her eyes had grown large and she'd hurried off, ( only to return with HER. )

To anyone that truly knew Thanatos, it would come as no surprise that even when he found himself staying around mortals for a prolonged period of time, he had little interest in frequenting the homes he actually owned on Earth. There was nothing wrong with any of them, not technically. The decor fit his style, he pretty much only bought homes in areas that naturally offered a bit of rainy gloom, there wasn't a single flaw that could offend Than. But he hated these places anyway. Hate was a strong word, perhaps. No, he didn't hate the places where his junk mail was sent. ( Thanatos just viewed them as real estate, nothing more, but sometimes a great deal less. )

It had been a good day, a really good day. A great day, actually. There was little that Lottie enjoyed more than brightening somebody else's day. And she'd just managed to make a whole playground full of kids and a rather tired looking teacher extremely happy. Not to mention that she found a new home for Spike. She was pretty sure that had to be his name, because the guinea pig had one hair that stood up from the top of his head in a cowlick. Like Alfalfa, but that was too cheesy a name for a creature that ate that particular plant. So she'd been calling him Spike. Now, the kids would get to name him and learn from him, and he'd have a good home with regular meals and water.

Not that her first plan would have been a bad one either. Spike had originally been destined to go live in Asgard. ( With Idun. )

Weeks had passed since Thor had been surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of his home in Asgard.

He hadn't intended on staying away that long. Usually he was gone, at most, a week. And by then his desire to be near his children, beloved brothers, and friends was significant enough that he couldn't be absent for much more than that. Though he longed to be away from the environment itself, for all the painful memories it held; he couldn't bear being away from the people within it.
( A time would soon come where he would need to reconcile with the bitterness and the anger he carried around day after day, for events that had already come to pass )