INTRO LOG + SKADI CURSE.

[asgardmods]

FEBRUARY INTRO LOG( FEB 16TH & 17TH ) february 16 ↴ INTRO: NEW WANDERERS' ARRIVAL! Our batch of new Wanderers wake this morning, as all new Wanderers have before, on a plush bed with a mild but lingering sense of recent disorientation. Frigg greets them as per normal, though rather than outright escorting Wanderers to the front doors this time, she and Sigyn allow the Wanderers time and space to leave their bed, meet the pantheon, and even depart the palace at their own pace - but not without a warning. All Wanderers must choose a deity to tether to before dawn the next day, or else one of the gods will choose them. This is of grave importance, as that's precisely how long the magic giving them form is able to last untethered before the Mother's own magic overwhelms it. (Though the gods are more than willing to allow Wanderers to leave, it's worth noting that many a castle servant - natives, born in this land - might see fit to intercede and insist on the choosing of a god before Wanderers step off the Gladsheim Palace grounds.) Stepping outside, you're greeted by an almost bright and sunny day... Undermined thoroughly by a sharp, biting wind that permeates any small gap in your clothing. I bet the gods might give you a sweater, if you ask. It probably won't even look that absurd, depending on which one you ask. A trail of what seems like stringless balloons float at eye level from just outside the palace door, guiding Wanderers down the path to a notice board just outside the palace grounds. On this notice board, Wanderers find a brief handwritten guide to accessing the city map on their cuffs, specifically denoting the little colored house icons ( ⌂ ) to help Wanderers make their way to each god's housing. Also on this board appear to be a variety of job listings, for those who want to get more involved in Asgard as a whole. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? There's more than enough time for that once you've chosen a god to tether to in the first place. february 17 ↴ GOD CURSE: CHARACTER-BUILDING WITH SKADI. The storm brewing within Skadi is hardly a secret. She was impatient during the gods' supposedly unanimous address, and in the days to follow, Sigyn (with all her desperately good intentions) tried to balm the irritation but only abraded the goddess further still. She attended the Wanderers' arrival purely by the letter of her duty and swept back out the doors as soon as that duty released her, and since then she's been holed up in her temple, her pointy-faced statues positioned just outside as sentinels meant to intimidate mortals away. They dared to tell her that she does nothing. Nothing for the Wanderers, that is. Nothing to help them grow and self-actualize, as if these 'Wanderers' are so much more important than Asgard itself, which weakens by the day as her fellow gods fling their magic about to overprotect the Wanderers, or even to satisfy their whims. The consensus to draw back some of that wasteful protection would have pleased her, if she weren't so thoroughly fixated on the slight that preceded it. They want her to help the Wanderers self-actualize? So be it. There's no better way, truly, than to confront and overcome the ways in which you're flawed. So the morning after arrival day, many Wanderers wake up with a stinging, itching spot somewhere on their body. Maybe their arm, maybe their back, maybe their throat. In that spot, as it turns out, is a set of words in a deep ruddy brown (almost like old blood) under their skin as if tattooed in place. But these aren't just any words - they prey directly into the Wanderer's fears, their regrets, their insecurities, and their mistakes. They're facing down some of the worst things they've ever thought or feared about themselves. The other gods, of course, are eager and willing to try to relieve the poor Wanderers of these cursed marks... but they find that it's not quite so easy. Wanderers who seek a god's removal of the words find that not only do the words remain, but a new set appears: Flees the truth. But that's fine = For most Wanderers, these words disappear on their own in a day or two. A handful of unlucky souls find that their marks linger indefinitely, or seem to disappear but return at truly inopportune occasions down the line. MOD NOTES This is the February intro log and Skadi's curse, our mini-event for this month! Skadi's curse is is entirely opt-in - not all Wanderers are affected - and is detailed more fully in the 'This Month's Events' section of the February Bulletin, and you're welcome to direct any follow-up questions to the Bulletin's mod questions top-level. You've also likely noticed that god jobs are now live! The listings themselves can be found here (same link as within the 'arrival' prompt), with a brief FAQ featured over here.

Comments

NPC TOP-LEVEL

[asgardmods]

( under this top-level, the pantheon will be available for short-tag/summarized interactions with the wanderers. feel free to tag into any of the following as they go up, not just your own god's! )

❧ SKADI

[asgardsartist]

( during the wanderer arrival, she's present as duty compels but seems distracted, curt, pacing a deceptively casual path among the foliage. she leaves as soon as duty no longer compels her to be there, and can henceforth be found at her temple 'guarded' by pointy-faced statues. they make no move to attack or even threaten if approached - ideally, their presence en masse is enough to deter wandering mortals. if not, the ominous magical static in the air might do the trick.

during her curse, she remains in her temple. the statues have largely dispersed, as has the aforementioned ominous crackle. she's actually moderately satisfied with this particular piece of work, and with how subtly dismayed her fellow gods (disrespectful as they were to her) seem to be about it. )

❧ HONIR

[asgardsflight]

( during the wanderer arrival, honir is flitting about the palace grounds, introducing himself in a friendly but not overly pushy way (he's learned!! not too much enthusiasm, at least not yet) to each wanderer that crosses his path.

during skadi's curse, he's at first avidly intrigued by what wanderers' words actually mean, but quickly picks up on this being a sensitive subject and is henceforth kind of at a loss for what to even do to help. he might offer upset-seeming wanderers articles of clothing to help cover the words up, or alternatively, offer to add to the words so they mean the opposite ('killer' becomes 'not a killer', and so on). )

the curse

[verstoned]

[Rhus has decided to finally swallow his pride and visit one of the gods for assistance. Perhaps not his patron-- he still has a bone to pick with the man (deity?), for the simple fact of taking him on when the Miqo'te absolutely did not want any of them near him... So another god it is.

This particular god though, if Rhus is remembering correctly, he's more amiable. More personable. He's who the Miqo'te decides to approach, though not without some measure of caution, as evidenced by the stillness of his tail behind him. From the writing all over his skin ("What good is a healer that cant heal?", or "You're a primal's slave and you just don't know it yet.", or some similarly wonderful commentary), or just a wariness of gods overall?

Why not both?]

... Honir? [Guarded.] Might I have a word, or two?

[asgardsflight]

( honir is, indeed, amiable. to a fault, really. he's also not at all versed in the implications of a still tail, nor would he be all that worried if he were.

when approached, his eyes first turn amicably to the speaker, then drop to the prominent lettering (what he can see of it, anyway) and his face falls distinctly. ) Ah. You've got them, too. ( his lips curl at the edges, a sorrowful and sympathetic sort of smile. )

[verstoned]

[The Miqo'te merely gives a shrug.]

What can I say-- I'm a sinner. [With many, many regrets, and a lot of skin bared to air all of them.] But with what's here...

Have you an inkling of what is causing this?

[Because Rhus? He's heard rumour and talk, but he would rather find someone who can actually tell him with more than a little measure of certainty what is happening here. And why.]

❧ TYR

[asgardsguide]

( during the wanderer arrival, tyr upholds lively conversation in the banquet hall, where an initial meal is served for wanderers to indulge in before they depart the castle altogether. when a new wanderer arrives, he'll raise a hand and call out to greet them by name like an old friend, but otherwise allow them to approach and speak to him at their own pace (or not at all, if they choose!).

during skadi's curse, tyr is quite a bit more affronted than he anticipated being by the fruit of skadi's discontent. as it turns out, more than a handful of his own wanderers are disproportionately flawed (to compensate for their varied excellencies, of course) and he's apparently a bit more protective than he recalled becoming.

he'll be one of the gods making a solid attempt to make the words go away, to his utmost frustration. )

[momsboy]

[ Its been a long while since Peter has spoken to his house God and it seems unacceptable. Tyr is one of the first Gods he trusted here and there's something Peter wants to ask him. The guardian has been spared from Skadi's curse but his girlfriend and some other of his close friends hadn't been so lucky. He's been trying to make them feel better, either offering them a place to hide (The Benatar) or a shoulder to lean in and an ear to talk to.

It doesn't go unnoticed that Tyr is both trying to help and looking rather frustrated about the whole ordeal and Peter makes an attempt at polite conversation. When he approaches the god, his familiar Sandy is clinging to his shoulder in the shape of chubby Russian flying squirrel. ]

Never a boring day with this place, isn't it? [ Peter offers a small smile despite the current mess they're all in. ]

[asgardsguide]

( tyr seems all too ready to vent some sort of 'no, there very well isn't', but the words catch as he turns to recognize one of his own. he can afford peter quill a commiserative sort of smile instead, shaking his head with muted frustration and disgust.

then, with a flick of his chin in gesture at peter's general... self. ) Not you, too? ❰ the words of a man who isn't sure what he's going to do with the misery of another of his wanderers to seethe about. ❱

[momsboy]

Not me, no. I didn't come to ask for help.

[ He wants to make that clear first, so Tyr can relax a bit he came to check on him because it's clear that the God isn't a happy man today. Besides, he alternates between living in Tyr's district and Skadi's, and know the goddess temperament. Better not mess with her or her curse and wait for it to go away. ]

You look like you could use a break. Or a drinks. I can offer the later.

[channellings]

[quite literally exposing his throat to his patron god wasn't something klaus had expected he'd be doing today, yet here they are. no matter how much tyr tries though, the words don't disappear or fade or anything, still marring his neck in an ugly, rust-colored tattoo of words: stupid, useless junkie.

sure, klaus's irritated as all hell but he can't blame him because an attempt was made. through an exasperated sigh,] It's fine, I'll just keep my neck covered. [he readjusts the collar of his sweater, yanks it back up to his chin.] Guess I'm just gonna have to wait it out, huh? [then klaus reaches into the pocket of his coat, removes a flask he pulls a quick drink from, tucks it away again afterward.

but wait until he realizes new words will suddenly be scrawled across his midsection in just a few seconds.]

[asgardsguide]

( klaus isn't the only one exasperated by this - tyr's hands drop back to his sides, curling with an exasperated exhale through his nose as his eyes turn on... something else, something he isn't entirely seeing while he reins in his frustration enough to offer a clipped, ) She has no right. ( to do this to klaus, to any of the wanderers - and to do it in such a way to render him utterly impotent when his own wanderers come to him for assistance. )

[channellings]

Nah, she doesn't... but what exactly can we do about it? [klaus'd liked skadi, had enjoyed their conversations whenever he needed more makeup and would go to her. he'd even been doing something decent; trying to leave offerings at her temple when he would find something he thought she might like, which has to be part of the reason why he's not nearly as angry as he should be— until there's a sharp pain across his stomach that makes him glance down, eyebrows arching high once he sees the lower-half of more letters.]

What the—? [and without thinking, he reaches, yanks the hem of the shirt up and reads, ‘failure.’ okay, that one stings a little (and not because it's fresh), makes klaus's attention flicker back upward to tyr's face, silently imploring.]

❧ HEIMDALL

[asgardsloyalty]

( during the wanderer arrival, heimdall is posted inside the foyer as if standing guard, one hand grasping the opposite wrist behind his back. he speaks up to offer assistance to wanderers who seem lost or in need of assistance, or alternatively, to wanderers who seem to be looking for a god. otherwise, he mostly speaks when spoken to and allows the wanderers their peace.

during skadi's curse, he (like tyr) is moderately indignant about the wanderers' treatment. heimdall has always been an advocate for self-work, but this isn't the time nor means with which to encourage it. though he's more than willing to try his hand at word removal, he ultimately takes a more active approach. late on the 17th, he can be spotted standing outside of skadi's temple and threatening (in barely louder than a normal speaking voice) to dismantle her statue-men one by one until she reverses the curse. minutes later, frigg arrives on the scene to speak with him in quiet tones, and they both depart. )

arrival

[hoshikiri]

[How might one approach a god, Takame wondered. Of the ones that approached him, he imagined one of them would come to him again to essentially give the command to align with them. It was a shock to him seeing them act so... cordially. Enough to prompt his curiosity and explore the grounds to learn more.

He had yet to arrive at a decision as others suggested he make, even as he returned to the castle foyer and met Heimdall's gaze. Had Takame lacked a sharp stare himself (or not been used to such looks), he would have been more intimidated. Still, he was at something of a loss for what to do.

In the end it was good to bow, so he did as he always.]

... Ser. [A means of address though? He still wasn't sure.]

[asgardsloyalty]

( the faintest hint of a smile quirks heimdall's lips, and he bows politely in return. to 'ser', he shakes his head - more dismissive of the need than disapproving altogether. )

If it feels comfortable, ( he allows, ) But we are your hosts, not your lords and certainly not your creators. 'Heimdall' is fine.

[hoshikiri]

Ah. [In truth, Takame wasn't expecting to be acknowledged let alone spoken to at all. The only real indicator of his surprise is the way his mouth opened slightly, closing just as quickly.]

If you insist. Heimdall, then. [Said with a nod. It still felt odd to address him so casually.] Pray forgive any indiscretion. I confess I've not had this sort of experience in the past. [You know speaking with a god.]

❧ MIMIR

[asgardstactics]

( during the wanderer arrival, he lingers in the banquet hall not far from where tyr engages mortals in conversation, a book open in front of him. in it, he's noting the names of the wanderers who've arrived in this batch, with a few characteristic notes about each. if a wanderer approaches, however, he'll bookmark his work and offer a polite but friendly greeting.

during skadi's curse, mimir... largely keeps to himself. he's acutely aware that any action he takes will either fail and feed into skadi's vindication or succeed and frustrate her anew. if approached directly, he will attempt to remove the words, but only after warning them of the unanimously adverse consequences of similar attempts so far (which is to say, the additional words appearing). )

❧ FRIGG

[asgardsmother]

( during the wanderer arrival, frigg is, of course, greeting wanderers as they wake and guiding them as far as they'd like to be guided - whether that be to the banquet hall for food, to the library for a quiet place to think, or to the grand palace doors. along the way she'll gladly engage in conversation, warm and maternal. she's aware that some wanderers take poorly to that note of familiarity, and she does her best to temper it but often fails.

during skadi's curse, she's... honestly pretty devastated. she hides it well enough for the most part, but for the fact that she won't quite look at the words on the wanderers' skin even as she lends her magic in trying to remove them. she can also be found outside of skadi's temple quite frequently, once every couple of hours at least. hovering, torn between stepping inside to make her appeal and leaving the spurned goddess well enough alone. ultimately, she always ends up leaving with an air of quiet sorrow about her. )

Skadi's curse

[momsboy]

[ Peter's ship is in Skadi's district and living there means he's more often than not witnessed first hand the issues caused by the temperamental goddess. This time he's avoided being affected by the curse but his girlfriend didn't share his luck, and he too has come to Skadi's temple to see if he could reason with her.

When he spots Frigg leaving, he figures already that trying to appeal to Skadi's compassion would be useless. Peter has been in Asgard for some long months now but he's never really spoken with Frigg since his arrival. For some reason, it felt wrong to bother the Queen of the Gods, or at least the closest thing to one they had. But she looks so disheartened that he just can't let her be, and approaches Frigg with a polite smile on his lips and his familiar Sandy clinging to his shoulder in the shape of chubby Russian flying squirrel. ]

Good day, ma'am. I image you must be busy but...May I have a word with you, if you please?

[asgardsmother]

( disheartened though she may be, something lights up in her face as she sees that he who speaks is a wanderer. )

Of course, dearheart. ( and she smiles, quiet but welcoming. frigg is absolutely that mom of your buddy's who adopts all of her son's friends the moment she meets them, and terms of endearment come very much with the territory. ) Might we walk? I confess that I might be better company if we do. ( if skadi and her temple are a bit more out of sight and out of mind. )

[momsboy]

[ Peter smiles at the endearment and then nods as they start moving away from Skadi's domain. Sandy waves a lil paw at Frigg, as if to say 'hello', and then holds onto Peter's shoulder to make sure she doesn't fall off as he walks. ]

I imagine you're very busy and this won't take long. I was...we..my girlfriend and I got engaged a few months ago. She's in the city too...I'm explaining everything out of order, uhm.

[ Way to nail the conversation, Peter. Even the squirrel raises her ears and gives him a look. Petter just scratches her head. ] We want to get married, we're already organizing a few things but none of us knows a lot about the traditions. [ Since his mother never married and Gamora lost her family when she was very little, they only know the steps from movies and childhood memories. ]

You are the goddess of love, I figured you might want to know. You're all invited, the Gods, if you want to come of course. [ Even Skadi. Peter doesn't want to piss her off further by leaving her out of this, even if she might not be interested in a wedding at all. He only has to find a moment to talk to her without the risk of ending cursed. ] I understand a mortal wedding might not be of interests to a god but...

❧ SIGYN

[asgardsheart]

( during the wanderer arrival, sigyn is flitting about excitedly from person to person, offering the gift of a flower crown. she's already made it a point to know every new wanderer. she behaves in a much more reserved manner when she's around the elder goddess, and so being free to roam as she pleases means she's much more talkative. wanderers can request a certain colour theme or specific flower for their crown, but otherwise they're magically produced with blossoms denoting the colour of their chosen god. not tethered yet? you'll receive a crown of stark white lilies.

during skadi's curse, sigyn seems much more morose than when previously met. this isn't the worst possible outcome in the world, but she still feels partly responsible because of her previously overstep of skadi's god boundaries. she's written moppish fool on her own forehead in solidarity, gracing her skin like a tattoo. anyone who approaches her will be potentially subjected to a sob story of her regret. )

Curse!

[lethechained]

[ Strictly speaking, Naminé's not trying to approach. But since she's taken to wandering today, she's seen quite a few people with quite a few marks, usually unintentionally; it feels like poor form to examine any of them too closely, and the hard-to-miss NOTHING on her own cheek makes her a bit hesitant to meet anyone's eyes. That being the case, it's something of an accident when she happens to glance at someone she's about to pass by, spots the words, and assumes they're similarly afflicted.

Then she recognizes just who that is and can't help herself but to perform a quiet double-take, big blue eyes going round. It's one thing to see other Wanderers with writing on their skin, but entirely something else when it's one of the gods. Startled into staring, the girl gives a soft, 'oh.' Well, that's a new one on her. ]

[asgardsheart]

❰ The gesture is one that is noticed; Sigyn might be often underestimated, but she is observant, just like the other Gods. Especially when it comes to the Wanderers -- they're such a precious resource, it requires no energy at all to keep a close eye on even their slightest movement. The widened eyes and soft sound are as obvious as wild turn and an air horn.

Sigyn stops, turning with a sigh, ❱

It's fine to stare. ❰ her eyes close as she mentally accepts her fate. ❱ It's a fate I deserve.