asgardstricks: (and i hate somebody too)
♦ L O K I ♦ ([personal profile] asgardstricks) wrote in [community profile] asgardeventide2013-01-13 12:47 am

NPC POST - LOKI - VIDEO

[This time, the bracelet will flicker on regardless of what you're doing. It's an important announcement, though Loki's sitting cross-legged on the top of his desk as if it's nothing big.]

Hey, kids. You might want to sit down, 'cause today we've got major news for you.

We're going to have Story Time With Uncle Loki, how great! Pay close attention, because this is your chance to make a big decision. You've been insisting on having input for a long time now, so we're giving you a chance. Try not to fuck it up.

[A pause, and deep breath, and he continues, eyes closed as if reciting something from memory.]

Once upon a time a world was born out of void. Whether it grew quickly or slowly doesn't matter, because "time" means nothing with nothing to keep it. Either way it grew, bigger and bigger until it was a nice, stable plane. The world was made up of magic -- so much it couldn't be contained in the stone and soil and sand. And so the world made life. Grass sprouted, trees grew, and all sorts of birds and beasts and other things came to inhabit it. But the world was still too full, and after some time the pressure led magic to burst out of the world in little fragments. The body of the world left only a few fragments, large and deeply connected to the land. These fragments took form and became the chief Giants. The soul of the world left more, smaller but brighter fragments, attuned to the spirit of the world and all the things living on it. These fragments became the first gods. The tiny splinters that showered on the world became the sapient peoples, elves and men and all their cousins under the stars.

It was given to gods and giants to care for the spirit and the body of the world, but from the beginning the two couldn't act together. The pressure that created them also splintered the world itself, and soon it began to grow many other, smaller worlds on its back. Soon it was becoming too big to support on a cracked foundation, and it was apparent that the world would eventually cease to function, leaking magic into the void until it dissolved away. But the world, for it was a living thing itself, with a broad, warm mind of its own, didn't want to die, and didn't want to see its people die with it. And so, in those very earliest days, it told its future.

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. But there was something else in that future. Time, it seemed, did not run straight. It twisted, curved and altered things. And so, after quite awhile, the world began to whisper:

"Perhaps," it said, "there can be healing."

And so began the true war. The Giants, long settled in the superiority of their prophesied victory, began to work to speed the foretold future. The Gods, desiring to save themselves and their people, began to work to find a cure. But a sickness came to the center of the land. Perhaps it was an illness of the world itself, perhaps it was something more sinister, but the result was the same: the land began to wither, and the magic began to seep away. The Queen of the Oldest City faded with it, and in his mourning the King began to despair. And so he went to the depths of the world, to look upon the countless child-worlds and search for answers. Perhaps, he reasoned, some of the life given to those children could be brought back to the mother. And so he and those Gods who followed him opened their very souls, binding people from the child-worlds to them and themselves to those people. The cure, it seemed, worked. It seemed that maybe, with effort, the very mother world herself could be healed.

Of course, the giants moved. Many lives were stolen from the world, among them the god whose heart desired peace more than anyone's. And so the rest mourned, as that shining essence faded to return to the world. Only something wasn't right. It was felt deep in the beings of all Gods and, surely, all Giants, but most in the soul that mirrored his. She fled, swearing vengeance on the City if she could not find her peace. And so the Gods looked again in the depths of the world, and found there the evidence of something fouler than Ragnarok itself. The Queen of Frost, it seemed, had gathered that Immortal essence. For what reasons, no one but she could possibly know. The Queen was a patient, clever being, and one who cared for her power above anything else. Then again, she was born of the world, and perhaps had her own plans to save it.

There was a choice to be made, then. To set out against the Queen and reclaim the Lost God, or to accept her plan and neutralize the Mad Goddess. The way to do either was hard, secret, and locked away in a place unreachable by the Gods, deep under the sea. Anything born of the Mother World was rejected from that place, though it held knowledge untold in all the millennia of the world. Fortunately, the Gods had on hand those born of the child-worlds, who could, for just a short time, access the Root of all Knowledge. It would be risky, and would only come at the aid of the Lady of the Sea, but it could be done. And so the Gods set this choice before their allies, and prayed that all would be well.

[He loosens his shoulders after that, suddenly all casual smiles.]

So. Will you save him, destroy her, or do nothing? This time it's up to you.
dreamspinning: (Breathe in only 'til you get it)

[personal profile] dreamspinning 2013-01-13 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
[since he arrived, ushahin has been searching for the lore of this place, and who has laid it all out so pleasingly for him but his patron god?]

Ah, so this is the story. And your mirrored gods, the Mad and the Lost, what are they to us, little children of the child worlds?

[you'll have to forgive him, that arrival was quite recent]
ofthursday: (Do you know the price I paid [Focused])

[Video]

[personal profile] ofthursday 2013-01-13 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Castiel is quiet through the entire story, listening intently, and though he doesn't look impressed he's also not as irritated as he usually is when the gods speak. He likes Loki well enough, and being given the choice of what to do is nice even if he doesn't believe all the of the story.]

Do you believe there is truly a chance to return Freyr?
veneficus: (pic#5353143)

video.

[personal profile] veneficus 2013-01-13 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
If the Travelers succeed in this risky task, even then, war would come swiftly to the city; I don't imagine the Queen of Frost would take kindly to those who stole from her.
tigers: (That was the question I'd never answer.)

video;

[personal profile] tigers 2013-01-13 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that was long-winded indeed. Has your tongue run off without you yet?

[ Moran don't curr. ]
bloodypocket: (♭ | capo.)

audio;

[personal profile] bloodypocket 2013-01-13 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
The Queen is aware of exactly what you intend to do with this, or is this really there is all to it?
key_illusion: (pic#3014107)

[Filtered Audio]

[personal profile] key_illusion 2013-01-13 08:05 am (UTC)(link)
[As much as he's been shoving away his feelings from his recent curse, ??? can wait a little longer. This is important? And yet--]

Why make us choose? Don't you want Freyr back?
magnifique: (I might as well not care less)

video

[personal profile] magnifique 2013-01-13 08:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ "neutralize"? France has a bad feeling, but... ]

-- Is it not possible to save both?
tracings: (did it bleed)

video;

[personal profile] tracings 2013-01-13 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
[And so the first true signs of war rear its head. Archer cannot say he finds the premise of the tale or the choice presented surprising, necessarily, and while he personally questions the decision to allow the gods' guests to decide, he knows they see the people here as valuable. Somehow.

He considers Loki's story, even stops to make a note or two on the whole matter. It's strange, having more than a split second to make what is apparently an important decision, and Archer takes a wry sort of enjoyment in savoring that fact.

But then there's the choice - save one or eliminate the other. To "save" would preserve more lives, or so it seemed, and yet what havoc would a fractured mind left unchecked wreak? If the sacrifice of one (they say one, but it's never just one, and he knows this too well) would ensure safety from the hands of the other, then surely that would--

This again. Always this again, wasn't it? When he appears on camera, he's only barely biting back a mildly irate expression. He had taken being summoned into a more peaceful world perhaps too much to heart - to think he'd escape this sort of thing for long was careless.]


Have you considered an abridged version of this for those among us less quick on the uptake?
likethelight: (165)

[video]

[personal profile] likethelight 2013-01-13 08:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... ]

Just because someone's grieving a loss so strongly, it doesn't make them an enemy. And I believe if there's a way to save someone that makes the risk worth it.

But reviving the dead, what that can do to a soul --

[ Pressing his lips together a little. ] That's not saving them or anyone.

Just what sort of deal is this? The thing that will save him -- is that related to what you're saying is worse than Ragnorak itself?
holmes_fanatic: (In the Teeth of the Evidence.)

[video]

[personal profile] holmes_fanatic 2013-01-13 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
To me, Odin-sama's logic is flawed. Taking life from the children to return to the mother -- no mother would sacrifice her children for her own sake. She would do the opposite. It's possible this world itself has accepted her demise and the whispers you hear are simply your own fears. To ones promised immortality death would be pretty scary, but death is a fact for us. It's hard to accept, but it is a fact nonetheless. Denying that only creates misery and pain.

I can't condone the gods of Asgard's actions in this struggle.

Freyr-san is a different story however. Leaving aside the war between gods and giants, Freyr-san should be allowed his freedom. He has been honest and open with the Travellers when other gods were not. Leaving him trapped doesn't sit right with me -- despite the fact that freeing him will give the gods more power. For that reason I'm voting to save him -- and volunteering to take part in the effort to free him.
unhappymeal: (065)

anon text;

[personal profile] unhappymeal 2013-01-13 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
Are you sure that it's possible to heal the world at all?

If it's not, then you'll be condemning all of it to death rather than just most of it.
saving_sound: (This is getting serious!)

[personal profile] saving_sound 2013-01-13 11:52 am (UTC)(link)
[There were a lot of complicated bits to that story, and Hibiki is not so certain she understands it all, but...

She does understand the most important part.
]

Of course we should try to save him-!
sworntovalor: (a knight must swear he will obey)

video;

[personal profile] sworntovalor 2013-01-13 01:07 pm (UTC)(link)
If we can act to save not one life, but two, then surely that is what we must do. We may have lost many things, but we cannot lose our humanity.
whatagoodgirl: ([sick] and tired.)

[personal profile] whatagoodgirl 2013-01-13 02:08 pm (UTC)(link)
You -

[She doesn't even know what to say. This feels as horribly cruel as ever, placing such huge choices and risks in their hands as "punishment" for wanting more input, but she can't help but feel that the question is more important than the reason right now. And it only has one possible answer.

The initial flare of anger dies away, leaving behind weary resignation.]


- you can't use words like 'destroy' and 'neutralize' and expect us to forget that it all means killing. [A soft sigh.] If Freyr can be saved, that's what we have to do.
hououji: [smile] [color] [alt costume] (Thinking ♪ All of the love we gained)

[personal profile] hououji 2013-01-13 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I've only just arrived, so maybe my opinion will hold no sway, but as you've posed the question to everyone, I hope I am not out of place.

What you've done to us is unfair, and even cruel, despite whatever intentions you may have had. No one should have to give up their happiness to save a world. You came to us for help, without a care for how we would feel and you ask us to give up what we love in order to assist you. Now you ask us to risk our health and possibly our lives, perhaps the last things we have, in order to save someone you care for.

This seems less of a choice than it sounds. Destruction begets more destruction, and ignoring the possible suffering of another would be terrible. Regardless of what anyone feels, the only path that might bring any desirable outcome is to save him.
seventeenpills: (Pensive)

[personal profile] seventeenpills 2013-01-13 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think there's that much to chose from. Save him, of course. He gave everything he had to help and it would be absolutely ungrateful and unforgivable not to help him if it's possible to do so.
gandrtails: she's a rebel - green day (rage ✝ of destruction)

voice;

[personal profile] gandrtails 2013-01-13 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, well, well. Seems like it's come to this. You're giving us a choice between saving a god or sitting back and letting another one die. [ Clap, clap, clap. ] you actually do care what we have to say.

Really, you're all pretty stupid for a bunch of gods. First off, dragging people against their will was your first mistake. You drag people in without giving them much information and tell them they have to bring colour to this land because their gods can't. On top of that, you expect them to fight when some of them can't even fight to begin with.

[ She's referring to them dragging Sakura here. She's still pretty bitter about that. ] Oh, but I believe I'm getting a tad bit off topic. My apologies, you haven't made me happy ever since I got here. [ Besides reviving Archer, that kind of made her happy. ]

But I guess I'll give you brownie points for giving us a choice. The only logical answer would be to save him since Freya will return to her senses and both gods will be back, so everyone wins.
yamagishi: ((unsure))

[Voice]

[personal profile] yamagishi 2013-01-13 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
The more that I read this, the more it seems that everyone else has made their choice in saving Freyr-san in order to save his sister. I agree with saving him even...if it means bringing destruction.

Are you sure that there's no other way we can avoid war?
darkbreak: (pic#3654319)

[personal profile] darkbreak 2013-01-13 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
["Allies". Screw this ally nonsense.]

I doubt that is was what people meant by having a choice in the matter.

[Sigh, you guys. Big, giant sigh.]
hullo_sweetie: (Default)

[personal profile] hullo_sweetie 2013-01-13 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I say we should try to save them both.
occulthymns: (I'm feeling alone)

(frozen comment) [Audio]

[personal profile] occulthymns 2013-01-13 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
That story could have a better ending. One that doesn't involve the sea.

[She is just going NOPE NOPE NOPE over here.]
faints: (so do not want)

[video]

[personal profile] faints 2013-01-13 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
There's no way we could kill Freya! I know she's angry and upset but...she was really kind to me when I got here. There has to be something we can do to help her.
missbarrow: (❀ one more word)

[ video ]

[personal profile] missbarrow 2013-01-13 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ If he has going to flicker onto her wrist without warning, then she's going to attempt to return the favor. Leonie's feed clicks on with a soft hum to find her brows drawn in concentration, her words quiet, but determined as she murmurs into the tiny gem. ]

I'm a little under qualified to make this decision, because I don't have all the information, but if we have the chance to save someone, then we should. We're all here, regardless of whether or not we want to be, so shouldn't we take advantage of the chance?

This isn't the time to be selfish. If there's even a small chance, it would be stupid not to seize it.
secondborn: (thinking about it)

[Video]

[personal profile] secondborn 2013-01-13 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
...and you really could not have given us this story from the beginning?

[He sighs.]

Never mind, it doesn't matter. You've told us now, and for that I thank you.

I don't see that there is a choice, really. We have to save them both. If anything it will restore your Balance, not to mention Freya's. You don't realign a Balance by destroying it further.

[He shakes his head.]

There might not be a Balance here like there is at home, but I can see the patterns of one anyway. And... there... there really can't be true peace unless the Balance is righted.

I know what a broken Balance does to a world. I'll help however I can.

video

[personal profile] holyfight 2013-01-13 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Freyr-san gave his life to save us, so it's only right that we try to save him.

[also, trying to kill Freya doesn't sit right with her - she's got friends in that god's house, not to mention she knows she used to be there, too. Even if she can't remember it]

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