[Emily is just fiddling with her bracelet given to her upon arrival looking a bit skeptical of the magical aspect of it making it a commonly used communication device here but she figures it is worth a shot to try and see if it even works like she was told. It takes her a moment as she debates on how she should approach the situation but as soon as she does, she tries to herself somewhat presentable before she turn it on to address whoever is listening in.

She looks concerned given the situation while to giving off the impression she is trying to stay calm]

Not sure how I got here at all but it seems like I'm pretty far from The Hamptons now, huh? I'm definitely not dressed for this either— kind of obvious, I know but the last I checked it was still summer for me. [Emily crinkles her nose only to just let out a sigh before she continues]

I have to say that I'm impressed though— this is a rather creative for a mass kidnapping. Or really whatever this is supposed to be. [Though it's obvious from her tone of voice that she isn't buying it completely despite how it is probably commonly accepted knowledge here] I heard a mention or two about gods being involved and honestly even that seems a bit out there. I know people who would be pretty worried about my sudden disappearance so I'm hoping whoever can hear this can help me out.

My name is Emily Thorne, just to get introductions out of the way and if anyone can point me in the direction of someone who is in charge or even a better explanation of this situation? I can pay you back and give you a suitable monetary reward for the your time if you prefer. [Because that typically gets people's attention, right? She has plenty of money she can write up a cheque for anyways for those who would ask something from her in return at least]

[ooc; If you'd rather run into her in person around the time of this post and wandering around, she's also on the intro mingle here along with the link to her permission post included]

[Where love might bring about sorrow, it also welcomes joy. The note hits a little close to home for him, because as glad as he is that his family is here, as glad as he is for Jon living right across the hall from him, there's still that sliver of doubt, of guilt, and that sliver's been enough to keep him up at nights, wondering if he should tell them, what he should say.

Love, he supposes, brings about both joy and sorrow, and makes fools out of kings easily enough (if not corpses). We follow our hearts wherever they take us--but right now, the only thing his heart is leading him into is more confusion and not enough sleep. He's not sure if using the network is going to help, but he has to at least try.

So, after filtering the feed away from Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow and Joffrey Baratheon (because he's just not in the mood to deal with Joffrey of all people right now nope), it opens on a very serious-looking Robb. Somebody didn't eat the chocolates. Or probably sleep that well last night, but he's no stranger to sleepless nights.]

I've two questions to ask of you, Asgard.

Say something terrible [ie a certain wedding] happened to you and your family, or someone you cared deeply about, before you came here. If they came here somehow and they didn't remember that, or they were too far away to hear any news of it quickly enough, what would you say to them? Would you even tell them, or would you keep their fates a secret from them until they do remember?

[Not that he'll take any advice telling him to keep their fates a secret. He owes his family truth about what happened, or what will happen, in some cases. They deserve to know that, at least.

He just doesn't know when and how to do it.

The rest of the video's unfiltered, and about a lighter subject matter than the first question:]

I've heard tell of something called Valentine's Day. [Look, he works at a cafe, and they've been stringing up paper hearts for the past few days to hook in Travellers. He has some very rudimentary knowledge of it.] As far as I know, it's a day set aside for those you care for. I would ask, what would you do for them for the day?

[ the feed comes to life showing a woman who hadn't shown her face much until now. There is a small smile on her lips, honest and solemn. ]

Now that it is over, you will hear our words, for you deserve them.

The curse you experienced was not our doing as I know many of you have guessed. None of us wanted this and none of us schemed to bring it into fruition.

It was not the doing of the giants either; for no giant, not even Thiazi is able to wield such power. It is thankfully entirely beyond their abilities.

[ she releases a breath and then continues. ]

We think it was Freya. She is the only one strong enough to formulate such a plan. We heard her screams, we know her heart is full of anger. We believe that in her anger, she had struck the city with this curse without much prior thought and so the results were as grave as they were.

[ a moment of silence. ]

I must ask you, find the strength in your heart and do not think of her too harshly. Whatever Freya did, she did out of grief, out of despair and out of a terrible loss. She is mad with grief and in her madness, she had done a deed that is cruel and reckless.

But I will ask you to show her compassion all the same.



[ ooc; curse closure! Q&A round with Sigyn and the others. If you want Sigyn, or any God in particular, simply address them in your comment. ]

I need to speak with whoever's in charge. These... Gods. They took something from me. Something very important, and I need to get it back.

[ She sounds nothing but resolved. Also kind of annoyed. ]

If anyone finds them, and they ask for who's looking, my name's Raven.

... Thanks.

[ elena’s not quite sure how she even managed to figure out how this works despite being told, but she supposes that’s not what matters: what matters is it is working. the last thing she remembers is bonnie, holding her above her gram’s lifeless body, her best friend’s sobs shaking into her chest.

and now this. that room, that faceless maid. she’s outside the freya house's welcome hall, more shell-shocked than panicked. it wasn’t long ago she was trapped in a hotel room and held there, but this is much different.

more dangerous, potentially. definitely leagues away and bigger from anything she knows.

she speaks, seemingly calm and firm. ] I was told I could talk to people this way. That there were... others. If anyone can tell me what they know about this place, I... [ she doesn’t know what this is, and she’s not willing or naive enough to simply believe anything she's been told besides the obvious: she's not home. with a breath, she seems to center herself better, despite the lost look in her eyes. ] I’d appreciate it. My name’s Elena, and... I’m pretty sure I was ‘living’ and ‘growing’ just fine at home. [ /wry. ]

ooc: if possible, action is also welcome!

[The screen flickers on, revealing a young man who looks more than a bit annoyed, and above all else, exhausted. His golden eyes search the screen as if it will show him something back, but…nothing.]

Some stranger told me that this allows me to speak somehow to others here, trapped with me.

[A hand slides through curly blond hair, and he purses his lips, as if he’s unsure what to say. There is rage behind his eyes, his jaw setting. He controls his anger though--what good would it do, now? To yell at a screen that shows things to people he does not know.

Rage does not bring things back. He‘s learning that every day; so he‘ll bury the hurt down, let it simmer, and take a lesson from his sister; swallow the emotion and present a more reasoned face.]

I know not what this place is, or why I was deemed to be brought here. To be taken from Kings Landing in my sleep, that is a great sorcery indeed.

I like it even less that we've been provided magic. There is no good that can come from it--only death and destruction.

[The same sort of magic that could kill a King with shadows. The fact that he has a gift now, as well...it troubles him. But first--his thoughts need to be focused, on the one thing that matters, now. The thing he has left.]

If those who have taken me are listening, hear this. I am Ser Loras of the House Tyrell; if you have my sister, Margaery, return her from whence she came. My life will be forfeit if you do.

[He has pride, but his sister matters most. He shall swallow what he must to gain her freedom if she is here at all.]

And to those who are captives, as well...

...any assistance would be appreciated.

This place is quite beyond me, I am afraid to admit.

[she wakes up on the ground, in the middle of her courtroom, soaking wet. it's not raining anymore, right now, but her hair is sticking to her face and the branch she was sleeping on is hovering above her, Pyralspite still perched haphazardly against the trunk of the tree.  her glasses and her cane are still exactly where she left them.

it's as if none of it ever happened.

except her mouth tastes like blood.
except her tongue is swollen from being bitten.
except the sole of her left foot is hot and pulsing.
except there's blood--only hers--crusted on her cheek, her arms.
except her nose stings like she's been sniffing ammonia, leaving everything blurry and dull.
except she lifts her left hand to touch her cheek and pain whites out behind her unseeing eyes and she almost loses consc--

( cw: suidical thoughts. )

the pain eventually gets to her. slowly, inch by agonizing inch, Terezi forces herself to sit up and drag herself toward the trunk of the tree, out of the rain. she fumbles blindly with the controls of the bracelet, going by memory, since her sense of smell isn't working as well as it usually does.

the video feed clicks to life.

Terezi rests her head against the back of the tree, scratches her scalp behind one damp horn.] Hello, uh... [her voice is a rasping croak. she clears her throat, bashful.]

Does anyone know how to re-set a dislocated bone? I fell... I think. [her arm is folded across her chest, wrist displaying a dark bruise and an unnatural hollow where her bones have been knocked out of place. the fingers of her other hand move to curl lightly lower down her arm, cradling it.] This may have been neglect on my part, but correcting shit like this was never something I added to my skillset! [Terezi tries to laugh. it dies in her throat. she worries at her lip with the points of her teeth, and the old scab cracks under the pressure, colouring the corner of her mouth. she doesn't seem to notice.

maybe she's going crazy. her voice drops to a murmur as she says:] I never needed to, even though I lived in a tree, dragonmom always-- [Her lips slam shut, and she squirms to sit up straighter against the tree's trunk and smears her stringy, sopping bangs out of her uncovered red eyes.] So yes, if I could obtain assistance that'd be cool. [The feed is abruptly terminated.]

[ On the screen is a girl that can only be described as sickly looking, an appearance no older than six or seven. Her hair is unkept and scraggily cut, hanging over her eyes. And if someone takes time to notice, one of her eyes is visibly blind. And the girl looks so, so scared. Where she is is undeterminable-- a corner of a building that doesn't look like housing. ]

I don't like strangers, I don't. I don't. I don't want to live... next to someone I don't know...

I don't want to go back there. I don't like gods! I miss home.

I--

[ Her tone turns into a soft mumble as the feed stays playing for a few minutes with her crumpling against the wall, holding her arms around her knees and pressing her head on top. Soft whines unintelligible as they're muffled by her tattered red dress. The kid looks like she should be generously dunked face first into a drawn bath, clothes and all, as if the gods literally picked her up off the street.

In all honesty, they picked her up from school, but given the situation, it's not all that different. The next line she says with some hesitation and difficulty, as if part of her is internally spurning the idea of trusting strangers, as if that unsettles her, but she knows she needs it. ]

H... elp me.

[ It's been a long time since this face made an appearance on the network for any sort of announcement. He's not really holding his breath for that many people to have noticed his absence, but he figures he might as well say hello, now that he's stepped out of that gods-damned castle and taken a moment to deal with all the added memories suddenly flooding into his mind. And the realisation - once again - that he has magic running through his veins.

But never mind that. Business first. ]

Good morning, Travellers.

It appears I have been gone for almost a fortnight. As such, I should like to ask for information on anything important that might have passed in that time.

[ He pauses, for quite a decent while, and clears his throat as he raises his chin. To hide uncertainty, really. ]

Arthur, Morgana, it would be good to hear from you. Princess Mithian, as well.

[ With that, he bows his head, ends the feed and starts off down the street. Best check on whatever he may have left behind. As long as he doesn't need to think about magic and everything that might be wrong with Morgana and...

The list goes on and on, really. ]

((OOC: Uther's been updated to episode 11 of season 3! So now that he's gotten a bit of a break from Asgard, he'll probably be a bit more cooperative. :|))

[Equius looks feverish as he polishes off the last of a yellow potion. He's noticed something very recently, that some of his creations seem easier to create. Downing it, he settles himself up as the screen flickers to life and begins sketching at something with an almost desperate look in his eyes. Sweat drips down his forehead, and he motions once for the audience to bear with him.

It's a minute or two, and he looks exhausted, stamina potion or no, when he is done. But in seconds, something hideous is sitting in his lap. The large, clawed, scaled and black creature lazily looks up and hissex with its fanged maw at the screen and Equius laughs in triumph.]

It works! My alchemization has achieved proper levels of potency! I... look at this! This is superb! I must continue to strive and build my stamina up. There are preparations to make!

[He is positively beaming. People... should probably be a little nervous. Equius had apparently reached the third tier of power.]

[Alice smiles as she adjusts the stuffed rabbit in her arms. She's in much higher spirits with the flower festival having gone on and just general good weather and flowers.]

How do you do? [She starts.]

I've been thinking about this quite a bit, and I thought, since it's so difficult to tell what day it is because the calendar here is different! Well, because of that, that means you can't have a birthday party! [Horror of horrors!] So I've devised the absolutely perfectly answer to this!

Unbirthday parties! [Yes, people, for Alice this is a thing.] Now! Unbirthday parties are held on every day your birthday isn't! But since we can no longer tell, I think people should pick a day they wish to have their unbirthday and that can be their unbirthday so long as they're in Asgard! [She shifts her rabbit from one arm to the other.]

Would anyone else like to celebrate an unbirthday! Because I've the perfect idea for one!

A tea party! There's a distinct lack of those here, and that simply shan't do! So I would like to hold one near the field of flowers! An outdoor tea party sounds rather lovely, wouldn't you agree?

[ Scott attempts to make this anonymous... and fails, but it is locked from the person he doesn't want to see it the most: Allison Argent. ]

Say your girlfriend's mom tries to kill you but she gets -

[ Bitten? No, too obvious. ]

- infected with something really bad and life-changing by someone who saves you from the situation.

The infected mom chooses to kill herself because she thinks it's easier on everyone to die.

If you'd stopped seeing your girlfriend like her dad told you to, you wouldn't have given her mom a reason to kill you, she wouldn't have got infected and she'd still be alive.

Or if you never got rescued... you'd be dead, but your girlfriend would still have a mom. [ And having a mom is important, right? Even if she tried to murder a sixteen year old boy whose only crime was falling in love with her daughter. ]

Is it your fault her mom is dead?

[ Because this isn't a hypothetical situation and Scott will continue to feel guilty until someone talks some sense into him. ]

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHhouuuUAAAAAAHHHHoooouuuuuaaAAAAHHHHHHooooouuuaAAAAAAHHHHHOUUAHHHOUUAHHHHHH!

[Hopefully you weren't using those eardrums for anything, Asgard. Or you weren't in the vicinity of Asgard's resident Jungle King, the dog he's adopted (currenly howling his little grey head off) or any of the myriad of animals within Asgard who are responding enthusiastically to George's call with howls, whines, whinnys or yowling. Apparently, George was leaning out the window of his room in Thor and accidentally leant on the 'broadcast' button of his bracelet.

Of course, he doesn't know that.]

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHhouuuUAAAAAAHHHHoooouuuuu EEK EEK EEK EEK OOK!

[Filtered from the HP crew]

Now how the hell did I get so lucky to be by myself for several months only to have some of the people I like the least appear? I highly doubt this is the place to put aside our differences. Tell me it isn't just me that the gods are targeting this time.

[/filtered]

I suppose there will never be a day where I approach the rest of you with a set of questions. Here's your selection for the day:

1.) Hypothetically, if one were to obtain a music player, what sort of music should one put on it?

2.) Not-so-hypothetically, I'm taking my next round of challenges. What sort of potions would you find the most useful in the city? [Not to mention he's working on some of his "special projects"…]

3.) Also hypothetically, if one were looking for new books to read, what sort of books should one locate in the library?

[Someone is a bit stircrazy thanks to winter just now going away, and he's also avoiding the entirety of the the sea mission to obtain information. He's assuming he's being dragged along, but that doesn't mean he has to focus solely on that.

And then, tentatively, added on later:]

[Filtered to Hermione Granger]

You and I have things to discuss, I wager.

so anyone got any favorite movies?
just curious.
i need some really good suggestions here.
for reasons that will probably stay unknown.


[If anyone suggests Con Air he will throw a confined temper tantrum because that movie does nothing for him anymore.]

[There is a young lady on the camera, although it's understandable if that isn't clear; there's a close-up of an eye, then some random zooming, a swish of hair… apparently the user knows little of proper technique but is freely poking and prodding at things.]

The choices are impressive, I've never seen a bracelet quite so complicated. Mirrors, and a scarf, once, but never a bracelet…

[There are several more minutes of the same, but eventually she either figures out what she's doing or (more likely) realizes that the rest of the message will probably be clearer if the feed stays in one place.]

I haven't been here for very long, but then again, I suspect that not many of us have. Thank you for having me here, although I would have preferred an invitation -- I'm well aware that spinning hobgoblins like to sweep away people in the midst of important tasks, but that doesn't make it any less inconvenient.

It's a fascinating world, though. I'd like to learn more about it now that I'm here -- and help you with your colors, of course.

[as ever, asgard, you only get to see half of ushahin's face on the video screen. behind him appears to be a shelf absolutely brimming with books]

While the influx of odd candies and lovely flowers has been quite intriguing, I would appreciate a moment of your time for a different distraction. I have recently come into possession of a bookshop, now called Darkhaven. It can be found in Loki, nearby the castle and hospital both. The books are priced quite reasonably, and if one is curious, I may have some other little baubles and gewgaws as well. There is space to read, as well, and those who care for the books are welcome to do so.

For those seeking employment, I am hoping to find two clerks. The ability to lift and carry the occasional heavy item is necessary, and those willing to travel to Utgard regularly or responsible enough to mind the shop on their own would be most welcome.

[more details about the bookstore can be foundhere.]

I really hate this place with a passion right now.

If it weren't for those stupid candies I wouldn't be in this mess.

I kissed someone that didn't know I liked them. How do I begin to fix that? This whole situation is stupid!!!