OOC DISCUSSION POST: Putting an End to the End

[asgardmods]

About halfway through the events of the E.T. Phone Home catastrophe, the gods will push a message (which may or may not have been penned entirely by Freyr) en masse to all bracelets connected to the network. It will cut through the static and network malfunctions to read:

The World Tree is dying. You are resourceful heroes, Travelers, and you've saved this world once already from Thiazi. Now, please: help us save it from itself.

Our resources are at your disposal. Let us work together from now until the end, whenever that might be.

Currently, Asgard has a "stock" endgame in store, but how the events pan out (and what exactly those events are going to be) can be easily influenced by the Travelers interested in doing so. This is a post for OOC discussion about things to do and try, and also a place for handwaving IC research/investigation.

Think of this a little like Dungeons and Dragons: since it's not feasible to expect someone to RP "sitting in the library for two days researching X topic," HERE is an example of how the handwaving will go. Are they writing a letter to the dwarves? Pestering the dragons? Poring over books from the forbidden section of Vanaheim? Let me know, and we'll work out what they find out, and how it could be useful! There is no "right" answer, or certain "revelation" that I'm looking for in particular. If you think your character might get involved, go ahead and post under that heading! If you want to start some non-handwaved IC discussion between characters, you're welcome to do that on Mimir's post when it goes up at the end of the event to invite interested Travelers to Vanaheim. Otherwise, if you'd like to start some OOC discussion with fellow players or me about what there might even be to look into, go ahead and do it here!

Comments

HANDWAVED RESEARCH/INVESTIGATION DISCUSSION

[asgardmods]

What is your character doing specifically? Where? When? With who? Be as detailed as you can!

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - EXAMPLE THREAD

[nukeoleptic]

Jade is going to be researching the actual prophecy of Ragnarok and studying it as much as she can. She'll probably just be in Asgard's library.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - EXAMPLE THREAD

[asgardmods]

She won't find much that isn't common knowledge already:

One day, the gods and giants would go to war. They would die, and their magic would return to the place from which it came. The last to stand would be the Queen of Frost, and it was given to her to go to the heart of the world and give her life to freeze the world, keeping it safe in ice as it healed. When it melted, everything would be reborn, and the survivors chosen by the world would go on to create new life.

She will find that there is simply no literature that suggests that altering this prophecy is possible.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - SAMANTHA

[samantha_grey]

Samantha has been experimenting on the uses of runes, runically active ingredients, potions, poisons and alchemical ingredients almost since she arrived, and has basically been doing everything that every alchemical recipe told her that she shouldn't be doing, testing the full properties of herbs in ways that were potentially extremely hazardous. One of the by-products of this was the ill-fated "Silver Lotus" drug created and whose recipe she sold to Utgard-Loki, another of which was the poison that she had actually begun researching before even receiving word of Yggdrasil's plan to kill a giant.

She will...

a) Open her stocks at no cost to anyone that needs them. Any potion she's ever created she probably still has 1-2 samples of, and anything she's still selling, they're available. F rent. "Pinch of Sage" won't be there in a month. Notably, she will have stamina draughts available for those stretching their powers.

b) She will be combing every piece of her, Alladin, Merlin and Draco's collective notes for anything in alchemy and runic magic that, along with the information that she can get, assist the process.

c) On a related note, she still possesses "Vidarr," the axe used to behead Thiazi. She will be using her runes to detect any lingering magic within the axe and attempting to determine if the axe can be used as a focus in any fashion to enable the ritual as a kick-starter, or if it has any further use at this point.

[asgardmods]

Given the lengths of her research, Samantha can find the number one rule of working spell magic is this:

Magic comes from essence, and so it is that essence fuels magic. One must never give freely of their essence, lest the surge of magic grow to consume the flesh of the magus.

The common interpretation is simply that blood magic is the strongest of all magic, making blood a key ingredient in bolstering spellwork tenfold! However, this comes at great cost, and use of magic not only in creating the spell but activating it later on will drain the magus' lifeforce.

The giant-slayer will no longer carry the strength granted it by forge or fire, and so the ritual can't be performed with the same weapon twice! But it will carry a sting like a poisoned blade that can be used to cut through almost anything, including immortal skin. It won't kill them, but it'll be more effective than a common blade, and the wound untreated will fester.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - EQUIUS

[alternia_strength]

Why yes, ugly's still around believe it or not!

Equius will be looking into any information related to the disparity of technology specifically and see if there is anything that adheres specifically to Utgard's rules that can assist the process of aiding the world tree.

[asgardmods]

Equius will find that, across every kingdom, technology is seen only as a destructive force that drains the life out of the soil. The only exception is Utgard, which pays no mind to the damages done, and so there is little to no natural life within the kingdom limits. Asgard is the closest to a middle ground, with some technology but not all, and that life still thrives for knowing a boundary.

Given more research, he will come to understand that the key is balance. Technology can be used to connect the kingdoms if due respect is given to the land first and foremost; if you tear down one tree to build a road, plant another tree beside the road. The Mother has nothing against technology's existence, and even supports the idea of creating connections between the many realms, but balance must guide creation.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - LEONARDO

[true_renaissance_man]

The chance to dig around musty old formerly hidden away books can not be missed!

Leonardo has often wondered about the connections made in Asgard. The Gods have often said that coming together as a group and just doing very social ordinary things was a good way to help to heal and remove the greyness so now he wonders if something similar might help heal the world tree or at least sustain it a little longer. If he can focus on one thing long enough he would be trying to find information on how the lifeforce of travelers effects the people of Asgard and their surroundings as well as ways to combine that energy to 'fertilize' the world tree in some way, thinking that one person could do little to save the worlds on their own but a group of people might be able to create something powerful.

Related to this line of research, and being a pacifist at heart, he might also look into finding ways for the Gods and Giants to get along and help each other. Wishful thinking at this point given all that has happened probably but a man can dream! The rift between God and Giants seems to have been the cause of a lot of the trouble so maybe there is something hidden away in a text that would shine some light on what happened between them or what might bring them together again.

He doubts the end of the word would be stopped by a group hug but if anyone could use one, this is a stressful situation, and he is offering.


Also his workshop is still open if anyone's character needs something repaired, built, or to restock any kinds of supplies they might be running low on Leonardo would happily give them anything they need. He is not going to worry about payment when the end of the world is so close.

[asgardmods]

Brave and noble-hearted Leonardo will be greeted with pitying respect for his efforts, as there are many older beings that have wished for such a resolution and seen its possibility but not its fruition. The earliest account he can find of the conflict between gods and Giants will come from the dragons, and not even they themselves but their ancestors; the very first dragon was born into the world just as the immortals were finding their feet. She saw in them childlike innocence and wide-eyes wonder for the world, shared across both species, until greed and blindness soured them to each other. The fighting was nature, as children argue over simple things, and their anger fuelled nature into stone, so that the fighting might be eternal.

But stone can be carved and smoothed, so maybe the immortals can be too?

As for the connections, Leonardo will find that all natives, regardless of race or length of lifetime, claim kinship to the Mother. They are all her children, and so are the Travellers. The gods act as bridge between this world and the the children worlds, bringing children that share characteristics or philosophies, so that they might stronger connect them to the earth that is their birthplace. All things are connected through the Mother, as the Mother has given them life; it could be supposed, then, that the Mother's children might be able to give life back. Connections are two way streets!

[comeonthensexy]

The Doctor would happily join Leo in doing these things! He wants nothing but peaceful resolutions all around. There's been more than enough bloodshed.

[ka_sera_sera]

Roland would probably join the research too, because as Leonardo's his last friend remaining in the city he'd be hanging around a lot anyway.

[allpurposescarf]

Four would be glad help Leonardo in his research! A lot of the things are questions that he would have been looking into himself, and having more people looking into it couldn't hurt.

He'd also be willing to offer jelly babies to anyone who might need some cheering up and might not be as big on hugs.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - JAMIE

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie will go talk to the dragons, because they've been around forever. Surely there's been prophacies that've not come through, one way or another, and if anyone would know about those, it's them, to his way of thinking.

He'll be looking to see if that sort of thing's happened before, even on a small scale, and how that came about - what sorts of things were changed to make it not happen, if someone stepped in where they weren't supposed to, and so on. And he'd be interested in what they think about Thiazi's death and if anyone would need to step in in her place to set things right.

Also in general he will be around for running bits and pieces of research back and forth if people are trying to coordinate things and the network's not cooperating, or being a research assistant of sorts himself (as in the 'here hold this while I try to save the world Jamie' sort, because that's kinda a familiar thing for him).

[asgardmods]

A very wise place to start, and the dragons will tell them so, as they were the first beings brought into Creation after the immortals! The allies of Asgard as not hardly so old as to have been there themselves, but wisdom is shared and they will tell Jamie that the Mother has rarely deigned to speak to them through the Norn, and that to have done so with such frequency in recent years is sign enough that the World Tree is alive and changing. Prophecy does not come easy, and so there was only the first and the second, of the war and of healing, and both have come and gone like seasons.

They will, however, inform him that every time the immortals have fought, without fail, they have sought only destruction of the other, and every time, the Mother has wept with sorrow. Her tears rose the oceans and formed rivers and shifted the mountains, and as the warring continued, the earth pushed the kingdoms apart. With the recent events and the changing in the land, it might suggest that the very land itself is alive and everchanging with the moods of the Mother, so perhaps it might change again if they chose differently than only to destroy ...

Handwaved Research - Adachi

[sleight_of_hand]

Careful that no one else sees what he's up to (because heaven forbid people get the idea he cares), Adachi gets himself a pair of glasses so he can read properly and hits the library. He's looking for something that'll tell him how to actually talk to the World Tree directly.

'Cause if it's the World Tree that's dying, and it's struggling to communicate with them and tell them why, then the obvious answer is to talk to it and find out what they can do to help, right?

[asgardmods]

Throughout Adachi's research, he will find little of use in any available books or journals, as they all speak only of the Norn and a one-way whispering, until a raven very carefully places an ancient and weathered piece of parchment on the farside of Adachi's readings. The handwriting on the scroll is old and faded, but very possibly familiar ( as it is the Allfather's himself ), and speaks of a conduit between this plane of existence and the next. It is dark and consuming and the utmost of dangerous, but when taken in moderation and only from the surface, it can potentially connect one to the other side.

To further understand the meaning of this, Adachi will find that there is a bottomless reserve of obsidian water in the deepest cavern of Ginnungagap. There, in the water, lies the only open connection to the World Tree and what lays beyond the physical. Perhaps, then, one might be able to use it as a conduit for looking across the veil.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH/INVESTIGATION - SOUJI, YOSUKE, KANJI AND NAOTO

[windbreak]

The P4 kids still in the city literally call themselves the Investigation Team, they can't not get in on this! We're posting this all at once after OOC talk because although they won't all be glued to each other, they can be assumed to exchange exposition whenever something new crops up and generally have a good idea of what the other twits are doing, so for info-gathering purposes they can be treated as a unit. If that's not okay, please tell me so we can all repost like non-special snowflakes o/

After some chatter plus a lot of kissing and making up (minus the kissing), the team will come to the consensus that if it's the World Tree trying to contact them, they'd better make sure they know as much about the Tree as they can in a hurry. They also decide that with the pressing time limit, their old MO of sitting around waiting for new clues and cracking juvenile jokes about each other's sexuality isn't going to be enough besides, Souji has been demoted from leader to resident cat-whisperer, so in the interest of efficiency, they're each going to trawl for that info in their own way.

Kanji is likely staying in the city. Any natives, dwarfs, merpeople, random new pre-Ragnarok arrivals, or unfortunate gods who have a moment to spare and lore/rumours to share about what the Tree is exactly and what's happening to it? They're going to have one (1) angry-looking six-foot teenager in their face... and possibly a free plushie, because this is very subtle diplomacy by his standards, okay. He's not at all shy. (More seasoned Travellers too, but that's moving a bit outside the realm of handwaving.)

Souji believes the least they can do when the Tree tried to communicate with them first is to keep listening and talk back - but he also thinks if it was possible from within Asgard, the gods or someone else would have brought it up by now. He'll ask around and hit the library to determine if that's really true, but mainly he wants to know if there's a physical location where it would be easier (like that one time he jumped in the sea), or just some physical location close to the Tree that his friends and fellow Travellers can check for clues.

Yosuke is the likeliest to tag along to Vanaheim, because if there's new stuff there someone should, and he can always whine over the bracelets if he doesn't understand anything. He's happy to assist most anyone who seems to have more of a clue, but left to his own devices, he'll alternate between stints in the library and talking to whoever is in earshot - looking for any info at all on the Tree and how it's supposed to function, maybe getting sidetracked into how magic in this world works generally and whether it can be adapted to help out.

[asgardmods]

The Investigation Team will find much along their inquiries, and each individually will find information as follows:

Kanji

He will receive varying reports depending on whom he speaks with ( as well as varying reception to plushies! ), but whether people believe that the Mother is Her own entity or that the World Tree might be a literal actual tree, etc, the overall consensus is that Yggdrasil is life, from beginning to end. That it should be wilting now suggests it is leaning towards "end" - and it has done so before, but never so severely. The end is death, and there has never been more unnatural and concentrated death than in the years the Travellers have been here, supposing that maybe it is death that begets "end". Perhaps if they sought "beginning" instead ...

Souji

He will come across much the same findings as Adachi, and by the same messenger too as Odin sends one of his other ravens to help them along. However, where Adachi's findings will lead him to the possibility of looking through the veil, Souji's findings will lead him to the method of doing so! They'll need to work together to find the location and the process to have the whole - but in Souji's learning of the methods, he will also learn of the threats! Anyone wishing to use the obsidian water must let it consume them; that is, they have to submerge themselves in it, and to do so for longer than maybe a few seconds will not only drown them, but scatter their mental and physical beings, such that would be excruciatingly painful and also drive them mad!

If done successfully, however, the consumed will be lifted into a spiritual trance of sorts, wherein they will enter a subconscious level of being on the same frequency as the Norn. The three women, seen only as moving smoke, will speak and can be spoken to - but only briefly, and they will leave when the user is close to death. To linger after their departure is to surely be mad, and so it will be!

Yosuke

Magic is much more emphasised in Vanaheim, and so he will have a great deal to learn from those that favour education over all else! They will teach him that magic is not power, it is essence; it is in the air they breath and the sunlight on their faces and the soil beneath their toes. It is in everything, because that is what Yggdrasil gives to them! The well of magic overflows to grant life, giving essence to existence and creating the magic of life and death. To perform magic is to tap into this concept; that is, if essence is given, magic will be returned. Pour yourself and your will into the world, and and the world will deliver magic. This is the very core of Yggdrasil's existence!

HANDWAVED RESEARCH/QUESTION - ALTAIR

[pushesgently]

Altaïr will be poring over the oldest, dustiest texts he can find in the Great Library—not looking for answers, exactly, because obviously clear-cut answers regarding the world tree a prophecies would have been found already. Rather, he's looking for stories, legends—anything that is obviously not meant to be factual accounts...but that might still hold the seedling of an idea, or point him toward somewhere else he can look.

(Will he find anything?)

[comeonthensexy]

The Doctor will do the same thing as Kanji and go around asking natives of all races for lores and myths. However, he won't only ask about the world tree, but also about the people of the world, its lands, its cities, the animals ... Any old stories that people might have heard that are passed down from parents to children or grandparents to grandchildren. Those sort of things.

Anything worthy of note he might find? Particularly regarding, shockingly, the giants and why they're such meanie faces they can't play nice with the rest or the rest can't play nice with them.

And if I think of anything else I will add that but starting with this for now.

Eight's Ideas (now in the right place)

[beforethewar]

I wish I was as smart as the Doctor. I'd know exactly what questions to ask and have his plan figured out in no time. Instead, it's taking me forever.

He was going to go bug the dragons, but it looks like Jamie will be bringing him plenty of info from them as it is, so he'll focus on his other ideas.

Eight wants to confer with Sigyn, being the lovely goddess that bestowed Healing on himself and the others in her house. First, he'd like to get as detailed information she can give him on the exact nature of Yggdrasil's illness/slow collapsing/dying/whatever you want to call it. Of course, he'd remind her that he's a scientist and is looking for a more scientific explanation of what's happening.

Also he, along with (I think) Eleven (and probably others who will end up finding out what he's planning and want to join him whether he wants them to or not, the stubborn jerks) have an idea about finding a way to connect themselves to the tree spiritually/mystically/whatever. Not necessarily to completely fix what's wrong, but to use their Healing powers to heal Yggdrasil enough to buy everyone time to find a solution, and to keep the healing going as long as they possibly can. (One of the energy transfer people will probably be useful, too, but that can be figured out after he talks to Sigyn.) It would be no use if they find a solution, only to find it's too late to implement it because the tree has become too damaged.

That, too, he would confide to Sigyn. He won't, however, accept that it's too dangerous to be done. (It's a Doctor thing. "It'll kill you," never seems to be a good enough idea not to do something. XD) He'd definitely appreciate the concern, but there's no time left to be cautious.

(Hopefully that made some sense.)

HAND WAVED RESEARCH - MARIBELLE

[damselled]

Maribelle is going to be working with the investigation team, specifically Yosuke to make sure he doesn't slack off, linked here. In addition to helping him, she'll also be researching the possibility of people being able to access their powers in this place (preferably without dying), as being able to do so might be useful. She will also research diplomacy - any times a crisis has been averted without violence, as she frankly is not going to be able to do much in a fight without her normal abilities. She may as well try, right?

can you tell she won't be getting much sleep

Handwaved Research - Maglor

[bythewaves]

Welp, he's probably going to be more interested in the story aspects, being a bard. He'd be mostly stuck in Asgard's library as I doubt his family are going to be pleased about him going any further (he's better damnit Elrond let him get out of bed) BUT he'll be looking for different versions of the story, seeing what changed, what stayed the same, which versions are older (and thus possibly more accurate), what the language changes might be that might twist interpretation (like, did use of this word here once mean X when now it means Y and does that change the interpretation of what happened?) ... hi he's a linguist.

HANDWAVED RESEARCH - DON

[selfmadman]

Don will be looking into death! More specifically, what death means in Asgard--for everything from animals (...he will not be killing any animals [I mean, unless absolutely necessary]) to gods and giants to the world tree itself. When something dies, is it completely and irrevocably gone? And magic, does/can that transcend death (what happened to Thiazi's magic)? (If the world tree dies, will all magic die with it, and if not, where will it go?) How/why does resurrection work for travelers? (Are there other forms of resurrection?)

His main aim is figuring out what "death" means in the context of the prophecy - whether it's literal, figurative, or simply the closest approximation the prophet could find - but he's also interested in the subject in general, and wouldn't be opposed to wandering further afield.

He might approach Hel or Tyr (or...Freyr...tbh he might send someone else to talk to him) about it. Otherwise he'll be poking around Vanaheim, consulting people and books both. His approach won't be strictly technical (that's kind of impossible, all things considered) - he'll also be interested in myths and rituals and so forth (though he'd draw the line at rumor SORRY HOPE THE FATE OF THE WORLD DOESN'T DEPEND ON THAT).

/I am the latest to this

[allpurposescarf]

Since some of the things that Four would be looking into are already being covered by other people, he's going to be looking into the nature of the World Tree. He's fairly certain it's not an ordinary tree - or even necessarily a physical tree - and given that he's got some familiarity with things that are central to something's well-being (particularly the Eye of Harmony), he'll be looking into any and all records of what either stabilizes or destabilizes the World Tree.

As something of a back up option in case things go badly wrong, he's also going to be looking into if would be possible or feasible to maintain the world(s) on sheer force of will, in the vein of Omega and the Anti-matter universe. He doesn't expect to have a lot of luck there, though.