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. |
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asgardchrysalis2020-02-16 10:08 pm
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Oh, no..! I mean, yes, but I'll surely be able to see it once there's less people anyway. [ Especially since she's way too polite to force herself to the front of the crowd. ] I was just curious since I don't think I've ever seen you here around the city. I hope arriving here wasn't too confusing for you..
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[Keith pauses awkwardly then says carefully,] I'm Keith. I chose Heimdall because the locals just wouldn't let me leave the Palace until I chose a god.
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I'm Chizuru, Chizuru Yukimura. Um, I'm not a native here, I'm just like you.. except I ended up here a long time ago. [ She glances back, as if to try and look at the Palace. ] Did they really force you to hurry?
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How long ago did you end up here? [There's no way to frame the question that isn't direct. He doesn't even try but he tries to make his tone politer.] But, I figured you weren't a native.
...you have the bracelets too. [Keith lifts up one arm the silver bracelet glinting in the light.]
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[ She's had it for so long now that she barely even thinks about it anymore. But it's true, Chizuru is wearing one as well. The realisation he could have figured it out by himself easily makes her cheeks grow a bit rosy, but at least she doesn't seem too flustered. ]
As for me.. It's been a long while now. [ Long enough to have been gone from home to Chizuru, anyway. ] Ever since back when it felt like summer? And we've already had the worst of winter by now, so it must've been more than half a year.
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What did the gods ask of you before this board came up recently?
[It feels recent. If it isn't he'll evaluate it differently. But if it isn't...that's. He tips his head slightly to the side.] ...The balloons felt like some kind of unveiling.
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They actually announced a while ago that they felt bad they hadn't given us something to do most of the time while we were stuck in the city. So that's why they put up that board with jobs for people to take if they want to have something to do. [ She knows it might kind of sound weird to new people, so she quickly adds-- ] Trust me.. You get really bored of just doing nothing around here if you end up staying for so long.
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Sounds a bit like they don't entirely relate to us and our quicker lives. [It doesn't up his opinion of the gods even Heimdall who he has a tentative respect for his wishes. Maybe that can change.]
Just have to fix that a little bit. Anything threaten this city in that time?
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[ She hasn't spoken to many gods, but the ones she did talk to seemed sweet enough that Chizuru wouldn't dare say anything bad about them.
.. but then there's the latter question, and that makes her grow more quiet for a second. Even if she wasn't there for most of the battles, they're still unpleasant things to think about. ]
And.. um, yes. Sometimes people go fight threats outside of the city.. There have been several, most of them really dangerous. [ You know. Dragons. Ice zombie armies. Demons from hell. ] I know this must be tough news to hear on your first day, but people have even died fighting them. So.. please be careful, okay?
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I'll be as careful as the situation allows. [He says, quietly calmer than he had been this entire conversation. Battles, exchanging intelligence. It's all grounding.] I understand if it's difficult to talk about the details of the battles. But, it will help me out if you can.
The more I know the better prepared I can be and more I can pass on to other new people. But if you can't that's okay. Just tell me if you know anyone who can or records I can read.
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I'm not too sure who would be willing to talk about it.. [ She knows some people who went out to fight, but since a lot of them seem to have bad memories of it, she'd rather not force them to recall it, even if it's for a useful purpose. ] But I can at least talk you about the specific threats people here have faced in the past, if that would help. Even though I don't have any firsthand experience with the battles themselves.
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[Even if he didn't get on the guard he will guard this city the best he can. He's here and he'll come to their defense even if things seem so weird. He nods once.]
Thanks for this.
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[ Especially so soon after showing up, when most people are still just confused or even angry or annoyed with the situation. It makes her wonder if he did something similar back home, and this is just his way of coping with the situation. ]
The first time the city was threatened, it was by a dragon. I'm not too sure where it came from.. It was almost as if it came straight up out of the ground, as strange as that must sound.
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[Any one of those on their own is worrying. And he hopes deep down it’s none of them.]
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I.. don't think so. [ But she's frowning, like she isn't entirely sure of her answer as she says it. ] I don't remember anything like that, at least. But maybe the people who actually witnessed the dragon would know more about it. All I know is that it came from the ground, rather than from the sky, like you would expect. But it was very dangerous all the same.