> > From: Henry J. Cobb <hcobb@slip.net>
> > When K1 flushed Urd's potions down the drain the combination came to
life.

Not to spoil your fun, Oni-Cobb, but Urd's beastie was alive and kicking
before K1 dumped it down the drain.  The reason he dumped it was that he
freaked when the thing looked at him from out of the pot and tried to say a
friendly "Hello".  It's a tribute to Urd's skills that the beastie was able
to fulfil its purpose in life (stop Mara) even after K1's meddling.

Pierre wrote:

> The conclusion I infer from these examples is not a difference in relative
> magnitude of "divinity" as you have jokingly suggested, but rather a
> difference in relative =competence= ^_^
>
> Whenever Urd's and Skuld's stuff becomes imbued with life it's typically
> =inadvertent= which indicates they have a less than perfect control over
the
> product of their labor.

*Brian steps up onto a soap box and clears his throat, his "Defenders of
Urd" (as if!) membership badge displayed proudly*

I'd have to agree with you about Skuld (not putting down Skuld, she's more
capable than she realizes), but Urd?  I can't remember a single instance
where Urd has had a life form not come out as intended.  Remember that "food
fight" between Urd and Belldandy at the classy restaurant where Urd says
"Nobody beats me at life magic!"  Urd is certainly boastful, but there
really is nobody in AMG who has shown Urd's level of ability when it comes
to life magic.

Remember the booster demons that even Belldandy was ready to write off as
dead?  It was Urd who brought them back, and she knew very well that she
could do it when she began the job.  We (especially K1) might question
whether this was a good thing, but the fact is Urd was the only one who
could do it.  Also, remember when Belldandy cooked up a doppelganger (body
double) for K1?  Her first attempt screwed up and something like a dragon
came out of the pot.  Have we ever seen Urd do something like that?  I think
not.  Whenever Urd goes into the kitchen to cook up a beastie, it comes out
right the first time!  Cakes are another matter... ^_^;;

> One thing I've always liked tremendously about Bell-sama is that she is
> completely deserving of her station and rank. Whenever Bell-sama wields
her
> megami-powers she typically accomplishes her objective directly and with a
> minimum of fuss.

No argument there, but even Belldandy admits that she doesn't understand
Urd's potions.  Bell is the absolute best at pure magic, but Urd's skill set
is the most broad in the manga.  Remember the excorcist girl?  It was Urd
who translated her arcane symbols.  Belldandy, as good as she is, couldn't
make heads or tails out of them.  Urd may not have it in the pure heavenly
magic category, but she is indeed supreme when it comes to life magic,
potions, and the arcane.  Too bad for Urd that 1st-class goddess points
don't seem to be awarded for anything but ability with pure heavenly magic!

As an interesting bit of trivia, there is one and only one instance that I
have been able to find in which a potion of Urd's didn't work precisely as
intended.  I'm not counting the times when a potion was mis-administered or
tampered with, only the one time when a potion did not perform as Urd had
designed it to.  Can anyone remember the incident?  I'm sticking it at the
end of this message.

Brian W.





ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION:

In the early manga, Urd made an "Elixir of Love" or something like that.
Seeing Tamiya, she decided to test it on him - big mistake.  Anyway, the
potion didn't take effect immediately on him.  However, when Tamiya forced
Urd to join him in a drink of the stuff, it worked perfectly on her.
Perhaps Urd wasn't too familiar with human biology at that point in the
series?  Perhaps Tamiya isn't actually human?  (Hey, it would explain a
whoooooole lot of things about that guy! ^_^ )  For whatever reason, this
was the only instance in which one of Urd's potions didn't work exactly as
designed.  Even then, though, the effect on Tamiya was only delayed - just
long enough for him to fall in love with Ootaki!