003; video/text

[deputychief]

[Hanging in the Odin Welcome Hall. Itsuki offers a smile and a typically composed look to the bracelet.]

Greetings, everyone. Perhaps not all of us have had a chance to go through the publicly available, ah, discussions with our resident trickster god. I thought that I'd perhaps offer a little executive summary of information which was new, at least, to me, to those who haven't been able to. It is attached as a text file to this message.

Of course, I would love to hear other thoughts on these matters. My own opinion is that Loki's argument was reasonably compelling. No matter what our true affiliation is, there is certainly no purpose to be served by not even appearing to be cooperative. For my part, I'm inclined to say that cooperation is in fact the best route for all our interests. [Though of course he'd say that either way.]

[text]

Pertaining to the gods:
- Odin's powers or resources are taxed by maintaining our presence.
- Freyr is said to be a hostage from Vanaheim and to have incurred displeasure due to his advocacy on our behalf. The same to some extent can be assumed for Freya.
- The ruler of Utgard is the "brother" of Loki, and likely hostile, certainly chaotic.
- Sigyn is the wife of Loki. Despite this, the mythological incident with the horses, which I presume refers to the story that Loki was once the mother of a horse, is not denied.
- The prospect of our rebellion is not a harmless one for them. They have repeated that we are the "chance to avoid the apocalypse."

This reinforces two points, which, of course, we knew already:
1) The gods are not a uniform entity, but represent a spectrum of views.
2) Both they and we have stakes in our presence here, despite their power over us.

Pertaining to the war:
- The expected conflict should arrive within one year.
- The war is predicted by a certain prophecy.
- Allies of these gods include elves, as well as the gods of Vanaheim.
- Enemies include the giants of both types, whose attacks on the city we have seen previously.

Finally, Sena Kashiwazaki-sama provided some excellent advice on the comportment and conduct befitting a god. I would advise anyone, and indeed, everyone, to study it carefully.

[added after this thread]

Miss Hel, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?

Comments

[Video]

[ofthursday]

Loki's argument was compelling if one believes that he said. Considering who he is, it is difficult to say he's trustworthy, and little the other gods have done gives me reason to believe they don't have at least some sort of ulterior motive in this.

However, some of his information may have indeed been correct, and gathering it is useful.

[Video]

[deputychief]

Of course, it depends on your degree of belief. I agree that it should not be immediately given.

That said, a process of excessive doubt is not productive. That seems to be the greater danger here. We can't proceed in any case without acting upon this information, as it is the only source we have at present.

[Video]

[parasiteye]

Ever thought of asking the other gods?

[Video] augh sorry for slow rl ate me

[ofthursday]

Acting on false information is just as damaging as not acting at all. While it is true that we have little else here to base a course of action on, there are some of us with relevant experience from our own worlds.

voice

[volcanoes]

If a war comes here and we're still stuck here it's not like we have a choice on whether to fight or not. Unless we want to die, I guess.

It might be worth reading about Ragnarok, though it's not going to be exact.

voice

[deputychief]

Well, there's always the hope of fleeing.

voice

[volcanoes]

The thing I'm most certain he was telling the truth about was that if we go anywhere else we're likely to get tortured or sent back here. Were you here when we got attacked? Asgard's enemies think think we're just as much of an enemy.

[ video | filtered ]

[compressed]

[Well, this is a little interesting to hear...]

There's more benefit to listen to them than not, isn't there? But I guess rebellions would be another form of emotion stuff that the gods want...

[ video | filtered ]

[deputychief]

It might be a factor, but their goal is evidently more to elicit emotion through use of their curses -- which we've already seen examples of -- or through other means that wouldn't endanger their project.

[ video | filtered ]

[compressed]

Because if it's in a more negative context like curses, there's sure to be more emotion going around... like how people are forced to do things they don't want... or stuff without their permission. [He tries hard not to roll his eyes while saying this.]

I thought it would only endanger their project if they found their way out.

video;

[integrous]

[ but Itsuki, her ideals..!! justice and all!! ]

.. You really want to work together with them?

video;

[deputychief]

I would say that... little of the evidence indicates that we can afford not to work together with them.

[integrous]

I just can't believe in an idea like that. Working together with criminals, practically just kidnappers..

[Video]

[foodshortage]

[There are some good points here, but:]

Would you say we can trust them?

[Video]

[deputychief]

I believe that there are some matters on which we can, yes. I base this on my evaluation of their conversations with each other, their clear internal disagreements, the lack of contradiction in their statements, and the lack of falsifying evidence.

That is, it's clear that their desire to defeat these enemies is genuine. It's also clear that they brought us here to do so. Finally, it's clear that the others are indeed hostile to us, whereas this society is more peaceable. So far, so good. Other truths, however, remain to be decided.

text;

[minifridge]

Is there any word on what will happen if we win?

text;

[deputychief]

There was nothing in that post, other than that the current world order would continue.

Of course, if there's some doubt about how far we should trust them in terms of participating in the conflict, it only follows logically that even more doubt should be placed on what they tell us will happen should the desired end occur.

audio;

[onceknighted]

[sena.... he's embarrassed to even be vaguely associated just by sharing a club

BUT YES on top more important and less cringe-worthy things]

This is all well and good if the conflict actually arrives, but what if it doesn't? We could be here for an entirely different reason that they refuse to divulge. Even if they are telling the truth, with the amount of opposition their actions have garnered, very few people will be prepared if a war actually occurs.

audio;

[deputychief]

[As he should be.]

Indeed. And more of us should be prepared.

As for the earlier point, if they were planning a subterfuge of that sort, one would think that they would have something more immediately compelling as their distraction. It's a decidedly complicated scheme, and if something more complicated still is behind it, it would be hard to conceal all signs.

Of course, that's hardly a certainty. The possibility you outline is real, but I believe the preponderance of the evidence doesn't support it.

[Audio]

[occulthymns]

Wow, you did a great job gathering all that information.

[Audio]

[deputychief]

Thank you, Euri-san. I hope it was of some use to you.

video;

[meatshields]

[ she's not sure if she's pleased to be mentioned or nervous because he always makes her unsure but the -sama tips it to the side of smugness bask in her wisdom asgard. or you know. make fun as you will ] W- Well, don't get cocky now that you've managed to steal a bit of my wisdom! It wasn't intended for you to read but I guess I'll let it slide for now! [ since being mentioned on a network post makes her irrationally happy. having someone she knows bring her up to unrelated people........ that's a friendishy thing to do right??? ] Not that you're being given special treatment! It's just that for once, I don't feel like scowling suspiciously at you!

[ sena no... ]

video;

[deputychief]

[Oh Sena, you just... You make Haruhi Suzumiya look reasonable. He composes himself before responding with a bow of his head.]

Special treatment? Of course not. I know I wouldn't blame anyone for grabbing on to those bits of what you say which we are lucky enough to hear.

Regardless, thank you for letting it slide.

[video]

[holmes_fanatic]

Loki might have made some good points, but for me, the inconsistencies between the gods statements and their actions are too much for me to be able to feel right accepting his argument.

((ooc: I'm very late so if your enthusiasm for this post is winding down, feel free to skip me! I'll catch you next time.))

[video]

[deputychief]

I would say that the strength of an argument isn't the same as the credibility of its speaker. But in any case: which inconsistencies might you be referring to specifically?


[ooc: don't be ridiculous! you'll catch me RIGHT NOW.]