>I've always thought it kind of funny that they don't ever do it voluntarily,
>though.  Urd, Skuld, and Peorth have all changed to different ages at one
>point or another, but never voluntarily.

Well, that's true.  But ask yourself this: are there ever any occassions
where their appearing to be another age would be helpful, and they STILL
don't do it?  I wonder whether their unwillingness to do so is a symptom of
disability to do so.  Maybe they just LIKE being their present ages!

>Happosai would probably get in one grab (Urd never seems to mind, at least
>for the first moment or two) and then be reduced to a pile of smoked gnome.
>I can see Urd saying "What's that you say you want? A pair of panties?
>Fine, then."  <POOF!>  "You're a pair of panties."

hehehe...you may well be right.  I would personally think Urd would take
the precautions.  But then, that assumes she KNOWS about Happy's
tendancies.  They aren't omniscient, after all...

>Given Urd's respect (or lack thereof) for the "rules," it's probably just as
>well that she considers the wish-granting business to be beneath her.
>"Answering the phones" as she calls it.

Amen, brother.

>Maybe, maybe not.  If you take (as many scholars do) the ash tree that Lif
>and Lifthrasir are hidden in at the end of the world to be Yggdrasil or an
>offshoot thereof, then the Norns may very well survive Surt's conflagration.
>After all, some of the gods survive.

Weeeeelll...personally I think that is a little cheap of a trick to be
believed.  But then, they say the best place to hide something precious is
in plain sight, so...

>Not explicitly, but the manga certainly indicates that they live very long
>lives - several centuries, probably millenia at the least.

Oh, no question...I assume this much in my further comments.  But they have
to die some time, or the need for new megami is moot!

>Ah, and therein lies a fascinating little theory of mine.

Very interesting!  Look forward to reading that fanfic when you're done.
Certainly "rebirth" would be one way to look at it - not saying that all of
the megami being born have to be unique.

>Too bad Sam isn't here, he'd take out his cricket bat and whack my inflated
>ego down to size!  Even though we hardly agree on anything, I miss the guy -
>been too quiet lately, sniff, sniff.

Hear, here.  We need to organize the usagi.org test match...that would get
him back :-)