Ah! Megami-Sama! questions

[Suikie]

Where exactly does "Ah! Megami-Sama!" take place? I prefer to be politcally correct in my fanfics *even though I don't have anything good released*. I am currently working on a Ranma x AMG xover and would like to try to keep it as accurate as possible. Some links would be helpful. Yes, I've seen the entire series and I have the entire manga but haven't gotten around to reading it. I need info on the goddess rank and class system as well, titles such as Goddess class 1 catagory 1 unlimited don't make sense to everyone and I'd like to be able to break it down in the fic so if anyone has canon or fanon breakdowns of the system that would be helpful. Lastly, does anyone have any info on Skuld and her age? I know she looks young but shes a goddess, is she really young or is there some reason she is staying young? Fanon or Canon info again would be helpful. Links are great as they help answer future questions I may have.

[EdenB]

A!MS takes place in Nekomi, which according to Wikipedia* is a fictional place in the Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo and inside Greater Tokyo.

Some places are described in the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekomi

Some information about Skuld is in the following link, but it only gives estimates for the age at different points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skuld_(Oh_My_Goddess!)

* = Wikipedia is often accurate, but sometimes is wrong or slightly off so don't take it as absolutely correct.

[Suikie]

I have read the wiki stuff for AMG. Nothing really useful there. The Nekomi stuff is helpful as I didn't realize Nekomi was the name of the city, merely thought that was in reference to NIT, and I figures it was in the Tokyo area, Chiba makes plenty of sense. I'm really looking for more fanon type stuff in regards to Skuld as the canon is mostly useless. Is there any agreed upon fanon regarding goddesses and age? Or about the ranking systems? I mean the wiki stuff is good but norse mythology has been around for a very long time so I'm rather certain those particular goddesses are much older than they appear.

[Spokavriel]

Cloud Dreamer wrote a fic where Skuld let go of her (at that point his) hold on her age so she could grow up. Making it still take time but be a choice. More often than not looking at Norse Greek and other Diety fictions they chose their age appearance at will.

[Suikie]

Yea, I've read it. Good fic . Suprisingly, my fic is coming along nicely and first chapter will be ready for C&C soon! It just seems to flow. Still need to research a few things. I have some ideas for waht I want to do regarding the ages but I could use some suggestions. Also need to figure out what I want to call Heavenly magics to differentiate from Earthly magics.

[pspinler]

A half decent reference site is "Gateway to the Goddesses" at http://gateway.cjb.net/

-- Pat

[Hazard]

I can help you a little with the Licenses. As for canon goes, they are ways to refer to a Goddess authorisation level, not power. Urd is said to be actually more powerfull than Belldandy is, but due to her rather impulsive nature, she's either unable or unwilling to take the responsibilities inherent in being a Class 1 deity.

A Class 3 deity is nor actually filed as a Deity but as a Spirit. Basically responsible an area on a planet rather than Yggdrasil as a whole, or atleast, that's how I understand a Class 1 License works. The Licenses are apparently structured similarily to the Japanese system for obtaining Driver's licenses, but I am not certain about that.

Back to the power levels and authorisation, a good way to consider them would be by taking a look at the access levels someone has with computers. Yggdrasil itself is after a computer in the Canon universe. God would thus have Root access, the most basic and farthest going of access levels possible. A God 1st class would then be an Administrator, while a 2nd class would become a moderator. 3th Class and lower I know nothing of.

As Yggdrasil is the computer that keeps reality running, someone with a higher level of access can do a lot more than someone lacking it, no matter ones own power. Urd needs to go through a rather lengthy incantation to fire off a rather impressive lightning bolt spell in the movie, Belldandy could probably do the same with a shorter incantation, despite Urd's power advantage.

As I don't know what the Cathegories refer to in their titles, I'll skip that. Fannon seems to infer it has something to do with their job, but that's all I shall say about that.

The last part of a license is wheter or not their power Limited. The only difference I can imagine between a Limited and an Unlimited deity with the same License is that an Unlimited would be granted more leeway to operate on their own.

And the very last part is this: A deity always wears a Limiter when they are on the Earth for a very simple and very good reason: Belldandy, as a Class 1 Unlimited, is more than capable of accidentally cracking the Earth like an eggshell merely by sneezing. If someone takes their Limiter off, whatever is happening, it's about to get serious.

Now as for the Norse Gods rankings you asked about, I can't tell you much beyond what you already know: The Gods are divided between Odin, King of the Aesir (a pantheon of War Gods, or atleast, Warrior Gods) and the Vanir under the reign of Freya are a group of Fertility Gods. Do note that the same rule as with the Aesir are under effect: The pantheon itself maybe be aligned with either fertility or war, but those two are not absolute.
However, belonging to neither the Aesir nor the Vanir are the Norns (AKA the Fates, or in the Norse pantheon: Urthr, Verthandi and Skuld) and the Valkyries. The Valkyries job is well known, to select the worthies of those who died, they may then be allowed entrance to the Heavens (There was an agreement between Odin and Freya, both would get one half of the numbers, those Odin got where sent to Valhalla, to train for Ragnarok, where the ones chosen by Freya would go to I don't know and am too lazy to find out.)

The Norns however, are an oddity. They are relatively new to the Norse Myths and their only relation to the other Norse gods is that they are grouped with the Valkyries as Disir.
Their names are quite meaningfull in Old Norse: Urthr, anglicized as Urd, roughly translates as 'that wich has come before', referring to the past. However, it also refers to Fate in the meaning of Fate being the result of things done in the past. The English language once referred to this concept as 'Wyrd'or 'Weird'.
Verthandi, (note that given the language constraints, the Old Norse letter used for the same sound as 'th'is, is replaced, as it is with Urthr) anglicized as Verdandi, though both are right. Her name is literally the present tense of 'to be', and is usually taken to mean 'what is now being shaped', she thus refers mostly to the Present.
Skuld, anglicized the same, literally means 'necessity', and relates to should and scold (interesting tidbit, that, but off-topic if I were to continue on it.) Because she isn't actually associated with anything else than that she is also usually considered to be the Future, if only to fill this last post. It's not that far a leap of faith though, to consider that this is because what is necessary now will most likely not arrive before tomorrow, however much you need it.

Hmm, I'm mistaken on Skuld not being associated with anything else, for some reason, Skuld is also the name of one of the Valkyries, unknown is if it refers to the Norn Skuld as well, though it is assumed so.

And last but not least are the relations between Norse Gods and contracts and promises: 1: the Gods always stuck closely together, no matter how right or wrong one of their number is, this is because of Scandinavia's harsh climate and rugged, barely tamed at the time, land. The Norsemen could not afford not to stick together and their Gods reflect that. 2: The Norsemen were a very honourable and well governed society, their laws covering far more than those of other European peoples of the time. The laws only applied however, when you were a part of the people, if you didn't you were there to be conquered, or raided or well, anything the laws would forbid them from doing to other Norsemen. 3: Because of the laws, or the other way around, promises are kept, the idea that an AMG god can't lie (or rather, is not allowed to on threat of punishment) is probably an extension of this. 4: No promise however was so important that a Norsemen wouldn't break it to safe his family, except one. A promise sworn on someone's blood, a Blood Oath, is the only exception to the rule.

[seraphm2005]

Class refers to Presision and power for the goddesses, but along with the class level comes the responiblity. the limited and unlimited portions refer to restrictions placed on their powers. and the catagory is where the drivers license thing comes into affect.

the descriptions in the manga were along these lines:
Urd class:2 limited (really didn't give a catagory)
lots of power (more than Belldany) not much precision

Belldandy Class:1 Catagory:2(commercial license) unlimited
(can sneeze and blow up Tokyo by accident if not for the limiter earring)

Skuld class:2 catagory:1 limited
has so little power hardly rates restrictions

anyway that's what the manga says about it so hope it helps

[Suikie]

Nice info there Hazard, unfortunately you sorta wasted your time as the link above you had all that and more XD. But, nonetheless, thanks for the info . That is a very nice link pspinler and answers most of the questions I could probably come up with