[Darcy had questions and wasn't having any luck finding answers on her own. She had been screwing around with the bracelet and figured out how stream a video to the network. The feed opens to Darcy smiling triumphantly at her small success.] Ha! 'Sup Asgard! My name's Darcy and I'll try and keep this as short and sweet as possible. I've got questions and, hopefully, you've got answers:

Question 1 - I'm guessing the emotional heebie jeebies I've been picking up from people watching is my power saying hello - is there any training or a telepathy for dummies book I can have?

Question 2 - Is there like, an Asgard craigslist for work or does anyone need an intern? Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my organizational skills are off the hook.

Question 3 - Is there anything fun to do around here or is this one of those full-time doom and gloom, sucks the life out of you places?

Thanks for your time and help - toodles. [She gives a small wave and cuts the feed.]

[ when the feed clicks on, loki is sat — lounging — in a not-immediately-identifiable place, his attention — bored, disinterested, a mixture of self-satisfaction and contemplation — focussed on one of his hands, which he furls and unfurls briefly before speaking. ]

I do believe that at one point it was writ that there would be a glorious battle in which Odin would fall and with his death, Asgard would burn. Instead of rising from the ashes as one might hope, the realm would instead be submerged in water, and from there it would rise anew, fertile and fresh, ready again to bear life. [ a pause, and the disinterest fades for a moment, and loki redirects his attention to the bracelet, lips spreading into a momentary smile. ] The truth is debatable, of course — words are ever so malleable, and Asgard has always been fond of [ beat. ] magnitude. I must admit, I'm a little disappointed. I've heard tell of war, battles held before we arrived, and battles to come, but what has there truly been? [ pause. ] A puddle. I fear tales of Asgard's demise — if you do indeed believe this realm to be Asgard — have been greatly exaggerated.

The All-Father himself does not speak with his subjects, with his people, and what king is there that, in his realm's time of need, neglects them? Refuses to console them with tales of what has been done and what will be done, promises that whilst he is above all in status, in this they are together. I do wonder, has he not thought that perhaps if the gods themselves were to show a little [ the corners of his lips quirk. ] heart, the process of restoration would be far quicker?

[ loki falls silent for a moment, apparent hesitation tinged with regret and remorse gracing his expression. he sighs audibly, heavily, before continuing. ] Of course, I may be wrong. This may only be the beginning. We have been divided into houses — separated from one another — and few have seen their gods. The Norn predicted that alongside the death of Odin, Thor would fall. Freyr would fall, and Balder— [ he pauses, eyebrows arching briefly. ], it is said that it is his death by the hand of Loki that brings about the end of days.

Do you not fear that you have been brought here for chaos and chaos alone? What greater delight would there be to one claiming the god of mischief's name than to watch the Nine Realms be cast into discord by his hand? [ he leans forward slightly, the humour briefly fading from his expression. ] I don't doubt there's a war coming, Asgard, but I do doubt for whose honour it'll be fought. I do hope, for all your sakes, that there aren't too many inter-house friendships being formed.

The longer I stay the more unbelievable things are getting.

[She's decided to work through her language barrier by throwing herself in head first onto the network speaking what fragmented parts she knows, sans euphemisms and references. She still doesn't understand those.]

There have been many floods over centuries but during this one I learned to glide on ice!

[Ice skating. She was horrible at it to start with but natural litheness made it easier to get the hang of it once she truly understood.]

These gods here. They are varying but their cause is understandable, if only they did not kidnap to accomplish it.

The deities where I come from have long since left or were lost.

Divinian, my language, is one of the last things passed down, known by very few, before they vanished.

What are they like where you're from? What are the stories and legends that you know of?

I am curious.

Well, it looks like the water's gone now. I hope no one's lost anything too valuable to it--did anyone figure out what caused it?

[A small shake of his head like he's clearing his thoughts. Merlin's definitely more distracted, or nervous, than he usually is while making these announcements.]

That's not what I wanted to talk about, though. I know some of you saw the information Conan put together not too long ago, which included the group we've been putting together for a while: the Teacher's Council. Instead of discussing the powers like we usually do, the meetings will be for practicing now. Whether it's sparring with someone, learning how to combine different abilities, or even learning how to resist some of them.

[He loses some of the seriousness about then to add: ] People new to the city are welcome, of course. Helping new Travelers learn about their abilities is half the reason why we started this group.

Anyway, I know some of you have other things to do, so I've made two things on the bracelet that might be useful for everyone in the city--not just the Teacher's Council members.

First, I thought it might help if there was a better way of finding someone to practice your ability with, even if you can't attend the meetings. There's a--I think it's called a messageboard?--here now for that purpose. And also...my friends and I have been experimenting with ways to combine our abilities. I've started keeping a log of those experiments here in case anyone finds it useful. It's--it's something that's open to the people of the city, so it'd be great if any of you could contribute your own experiences. You know that finding you have new abilities here can be overwhelming, we all were there, and these are just places where people can start.

There's also--I know many of you had some kind of power in your world that doesn't work here anymore, and you miss it. [He pauses, clearing his throat.] You're not the only ones. Two other Travelers have started a club about magic. You can share what you know about the magic from your worlds, and maybe find something in common with the other members.

I guess, what I wanted to say was... [There's a moment where it looks like he might just cut himself off and end the video, but he straightens and continues.] If you're willing to learn about magic, the kind here or the kind back home, there's a safe place for you to learn no matter what your circumstances were in your world. That's all.

Uh ... excuse me?

What is ... what is going on here? Why is there water everywhere? This can't be Asgard. I mean, this isn't... [ ... ] If this is Asgard, where is he?

Sorry, I -- I probably should have taken some time to adjust before posting on this network. Or whatever this is. I -- my name is Jane Foster. I'm from Earth, if that means anything to anyone. The United States, 2012. I really -- really want to know what the deal with this place is. Are the ... uh, gods really here? ... is ... it possible to talk to them? [ Very, deeply uncertain. ]

Anyway, uh... I guess I'd like to know who else might be from -- where I'm from. Specifically. Since I sort of get the feeling we're not all from the same planet. Or time. Or even universe. I mean, I'm just an astrophysicist, but -- sorta got this feeling. So... [ How else could she have gotten here but...? The secret she's been seeking. It doesn't just cross spacetime. It can cross universes, too. ]

... does the name "Avengers" ring any bells for anyone? [ Muttered: ] I mean, if anything would do it, that would. They were seriously hard to miss.

[ She's making her slow and vaguely annoyed way from the palace to ... well, she doesn't know where she's going, really. With her pants rolled up to the knee, not that it helps much, and her shoes in hand. The water makes it slow, tiring going, especially for someone who's lost. Help a girl out? ]

[One lonesome college student is sloshing her way through the Freya district, jaw pretty much perpetually wide open as she gawks at the otherworldly city she's just landed in. Asgard, huh? That's not terribly unfamiliar, so she's not freaking out as much as she might normally, but she's still pretty jumpy and doesn't really make an effort to conceal that when she dares to operate her bracelet to broadcast a video message.]

Okay, so basically? Kiiind of not really sure what I'm doing here, explanations from kind-of-creepy maids aside. Still kind of working on actually, you know, believing that. But this bracelet thing? Umm...it's pretty cool. Simple, yet fancy. I like it. Can I take it home with me? Maybe I can sell it to Google. This thing is totally right up their alley.

[Right. Stuck in a magic city. She should do something about that.] Anyway...if this is Asgard, can someone direct me towards Thor? He's kind of my buddy. From way back when. Tall, muscle-bound, godly-golden-locks-type guy? You can't miss him, really.

[She pauses to look around again, before looking down at her submerged feet. On top of this being really, really bizarre? She's kind of wet right now. Her shoes are completely squishy. And you know how bad squishy shoes are.]

--Or a dry pair a shoes. Thor or a dry pair of shoes. I'm not really going to be picky right now.