asgardchrysalis | INTRO LOG + SKADI CURSE.

INTRO LOG + SKADI CURSE.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There is a moment of tension as Ye Zun sees movement out of the corner of his eyes, his feet setting and his arm coming up to block. But then he recognizes his brother and he freezes between instinct and logic, eyes flicking to Shen Wei's and away, as he swallows. It was times like this he misses his abilities; hate the leader and his power, Ye Zun leaned on how it mapped out all the minds around him, letting him feel at least less like a target .

"Gege..." And Shen Wei has lifted the mask away, no doubt seeing the words and the cut he made on his own skin. "No. I just... scratched too hard."

Shen Wei was a warrior and knew sounds. There was no way he would mistake that for a scratch. But Ye Zun attempts a slight smile and ignores the tremble in his lips. "Stupid, isn't it?"

Edited 2020-02-21 00:49 (UTC)

Shen Wei's serious eyes travel from one cheek to the other, and then to the last word, the one not terribly obscured by blood despite Ye Zun's obvious efforts. "I thought it might be their idea of a welcome gift when I felt my own," he admits.

It seems it's been done to all of them, but why? Why have the gods done this? Shen Wei has had very little time in their presence, but none had struck him as the type to command through fear and humiliation. He lifts his hand, thumbing away the drying blood on his brother's face, feeling a frisson of anger as he does so.

"Mine is hidden beneath my shirt," he says, lifting the mask between them. It's only fair if Ye Zun wishes to hide his. "I think they must represent our worst thoughts of ourselves," he says, gaze again drifting to the scratched word. Monster.

"These? No, they wouldn't use them for welcoming."

Ye Zun lets him wipe at the blood, a corner of his mouth twitching at the thought. As much as the gods were strangers to them, they had some form of reasoning that's almost human. Almost.

But after the time spent around them and their logic, Ye Zun hasn't really considered them totally sane. After all, they did such things as throw a three day party in the middle of a snowstorm and mess the space/time up because they couldn't quite figure out how to live. They certainly had no idea that these marks are in any way harmful. Maybe they thought they were trying to help?

He took the mask and slid it back on, covering the words and his wound. "Our dark secrets, free for all to see?"

As much as he is loathe to draw undue attention to himself, Shen Wei wonders if he won't have to go to the gods and ask them himself. "Come," he says, holding lightly to Ye Zun's sleeve. "Let me find a salve so the cut doesn't fester." It isn't deep, but there are few surfaces more unclean than one's own hands.

He turns as they begin to walk, eying his brother. "What do the people here know of your life before?"

Ah? This was... new. Pleasant. Ye Zun glances down at the hand holding onto the edge of his sleeve, feeling a sliver of warmth at the motion. His gege was here. He will help take care of him just like before. He trembles, a little and then nods, glancing around before taking a step towards the clinic.

"That way." He wasn't sure if the few healers would be there but they would at least have salves that were safe.

"I told people that I'm not human," he says, thinking over the months and months of things he has mentioned. "I've told a few that I had been imprisoned for my dark energy. I haven't really spoken about the rest, save in jest."

A wry smile as he remembered Peter's reaction to his speaking about eating a world. There was a sore spot there, and one that he hasn't managed to poke at. Yet.

Shen Wei had no expectations of the answer he would receive. They might be brothers, but they've been separated for centuries, and at odds for just as long. He doesn't know what sort of man his brother is anymore, but the words cruelly etched into his skin mean he's at least aware of how his actions are perceived, by others if not fully by himself. Devourer can't be denied. Neither can Fratricide. But Monster?

Shen Wei bristles at that one himself. How many escaped Undergrounders has he shown lenience despite the laws that bound him? After all the excuses he's made for others of their kind, he couldn't possibly fail to extend understanding to his brother. After all, he's missed the boy he'd known for centuries.

"Have you made friends?"

The world had shaped Ye Zun into a broken being, lashing out in the pain that he might no longer be pushed through, but still left traces in his bones and skin. A monster for the terror he could cause, and the loyalty he could command. A devourer through the way he fed off of life itself, fueling the powers that were born by pain and fear at the hand of his tormentor. Committing fratricide because his brother kept stepping in his way, kept on denying his claims and made his madness seem far too much.

No, Shen Wei probably did not know his brother at all now. Ye Zun barely knew himself, though what pieces he did know, he quietly ignored. Unless those pieces get shoved back at him thanks to whatever was going on to make the words appear like they did.

"I... think so. I've talked to a couple cultivators and there's a spaceman and a Viking, and a queen."

"This is quite a list," says Shen Wei, smiling at him over his shoulder. Asgard is a strange place, even by his standards, with more types of people than he's seen even in the Underworld. "I suppose one could say we are spacemen as well," he muses, slowing as they approach a place that resembles a physician's.

He pauses for a moment, trying not to feel like an alien all over again as he gazes at the many tinctures and salves. In the end, he chooses one by smell, motioning Ye Zun forward, fingers hesitating over his mask. The peace between them is still so fragile - at times Shen Wei is afraid to even breathe. "May I?"

"I suppose...."

For someone who really wasn't sure what friendship means, Ye Zun listed those that he talked too and did not feel like clawing off their faces after five minutes. While that might actually be a lot more people than listed, he just couldn't be sure if those people actually liked talking back at him. All he can say positively about them was that they haven't stabbed him yet.

The natives running the little shop smiled at the two of them, the awe at seeing Wanderers still in full swing. Ye Zun blinks for a moment at his brother, before nodding quickly, curling his fingers against the sudden uncertainty.

Shen Wei nods, steering his brother slightly away from the natives' eyes before he removes his mask. The wound has barely clotted, and Shen Wei carefully smoothes the salve over it, for a moment at a loss for how to bandage it after. This land lacks the conveniently adhesive pads of home, and a head bandage would only draw more attention to what Ye Zun wishes to hide. He places the rest of the little pot in his brother's hands, then helps to put his mask back on.

"Best to reapply it twice a day, and bandage it when you're able," he says, shifting on his feet now that the concrete task has been completed. As ever when it comes to his brother, Shen Wei is uncertain as to what comes next. "Better?"

It was a kindness for them to not see the words. True that Wanderers brought with them a form of unrest, but the natives were innocent of that. They didn't need to see what was written on his face, or ask questions of something that may upset them.

He let Shen Wei smooth the salve over the wound and then put his mask back on, the care reminding him of a time before. Before the Chief and the war and the anger and the pain. He ducks his head, his mouth twisting a little against some of the thoughts roiling in his head and breathes out hard.

Gege didn't mean it. Gege never did that. It was all lies.

Raising his head, he tries to smile again. "Yes, gege."

The mask is secure once more, but Shen Wei finds himself wishing it was far from here. There's only ever been hatred for him behind this mask, one that had confused him for most of his long life, and he wants to see the man beneath it now.

"Come," he says, turning to lead them from the little hospital. He doesn't know the city yet, but he recalls that the gardens in Odinhaus had seemed quiet as he passed them. "I will show you the words scarred into my own skin."

If it wasn't for the words, he wouldn't be wearing it. There was no reason for it after all, not here, not even back home anymore. It was over. It was done with. He didn't hate so much any more. The wounds were still there, but Ye Zun hoped they will grow less and less, especially now.

"We could go to my room if you wish," he said, falling into step with him. He wondered if Shen Wei had met other people here and if they were surprised about how close they looked with one another.

Shen Wei nods with genuine interest. "I would like to see where you live," he says. "I'm afraid I chose rather poorly. All the beds in Heimdallhaus are in shared rooms." For all his usual calm, Shen Wei looks properly scandalized.

"Some are even shared by men and women together."

Ye Zun glances at his brother and then away trying not to laugh at how old fashioned his brother sounded at that moment. Sure he does tend to act like he should still be stuck in the pre-dawn of the Warring States, but Ye Zun has been around people enough to know that soldiers don't always separate the sexes when it comes to fighting groups.

"You were comfortable leading all those years ago," he says, trying to keep his amusement from his voice. No, he couldn't. He chuckles, glancing out of the corner of his eyes.

"Gege, how many people in your forces shared the same tents despite if they were men or women or both?"

Shen Wei gazes at him in astonishment. He is...laughing at him? The sight is so unexpected that Shen Wei is shocked into a smile of his own, though he does his best to defend himself. "That was thousands of years ago," he hedges.

"I have since grown used to a solitary life. And modern customs are...the humans I am used to live differently."

Nine months here has loosened him up somewhat. He has friends and he has found things to do besides brood about a past made up on lies. Sure that he still has a few issues concerning his brother, but Ye Zun will work over them. He will. Give him time.

"These gods still act as those thousands of years are little more than yesterday, gege," he says, poking him in the shoulder as he leads him into Odinhaus and towards his room.

Oh. He remembered. He did something childish to his door, didn't he. Ye Zun stopped for a moment and glanced over his shoulder at Shen Wei.

"I, ah, wrote a silly thing on my door. Don't take it to heart."

Shen Wei's brows lift, but he follows when Ye Zun starts up again, wondering what on earth it is. Whatever the message reads, it hasn't mattered enough to be removed by paint or sanding. "Why did you choose Odin?" he asks as they pass beneath the god's roof. "The gods are all so different."

"I'll... remove it now you're here," he says, even as they pass through the shared living area to the hallway leading to the rooms. His door stood out, especially since half of it was covered in a very familiar letter. At least this time it was ink instead of actually craved into stone, as it had been when he had been imprisoned.

"They explained their roles a little when we came here. Odin spoke about how he view knowledge and wisdom and I liked the idea. To learn without having to steal the knowledge through my power."

The answer is intriguing, but Shen Wei is staring at the door. "I hoped to be dead a little longer," he admits in a quiet voice. "It was the only place where we weren't fighting. I thought perhaps death might bring us both peace."

But here are those words again, written by Ye Zun's own hand into the door. Shen Wei stops just shy of touching the inky scrawl. "Foolish. We had so many centuries of acrimony."

"The only reason we were fighting was because of a lie, gege", he replies, covering half the characters with his hand as he pushes the door open.

Inside was a room like most others in Odinhaus - the desk holding an ink set and a short sword made from a dragon's tooth edged with silver and obsidian, a few hairpins and a brush sat on the table next to the bed, and on the bed was a couple overly large blankets of a fuzzy material. His clothing was all folded neatly into a wooden chest and there was a second mask sitting on top of them, a white one with a pattern like flowers drawn on it in black and red.

Ye Zun took off his mask and sets it down on the table as well as the salve. Here, in this environment, his hair shifts to the natural long white strands. He twisted them up into a half-hearted knot and pinned it in place with a hairpin of bone and goes over to the bed, kicking off his shoes and taking a seat.

"I was so mad that I couldn't listen to you even when you were telling me the truth. I was an idiot."

Despite the new scars, with his hair twisted up and away from his face, Ye Zun looks younger. Innocent, even, as he should have been had he not fallen into evil hands so early in life.

"You were manipulated," he answers, seating himself neatly at the desk. "The war chief touched your mind in every way possible." He hesitates for a moment, unsure if he's urging painful memories back to the surface of Ye Zun's mind. The chief had the power of mind control. He could have had soldiers - he could just as easily had mindless minions. "Do you remember your time with him?" he asks. "Did he allow you to?"

Innocent? Maybe. There was still a childishness to him, a wonder at the world now that he wasn't so fixated on stabbing his brother to death. Still, it was hard to let go of all of the past grievances, so Ye Zun just pulls the blankets up around himself, snuggling into them.

"Not all the time," he replies, shivering slightly, curling inwards as he tugs the blankets closer. "He would keep those he planned to use as fodder under control, throw them at the front lines. People like me were trickier. He needed us to remain intact enough that we can get what he needed, and get out. I could also shake it off after a while too. It didn't sink in as much as he wanted."

Shen Wei rises carefully, seating himself at the end of Ye Zun's bed. There is a blanket there, which he unfolds, draping it over his brother's drawn up knees. "He must have found you very valuable," he says, fussing unnecessarily with ensuring the blanket is tucked in as much as possible. "To keep you alive, when so many others were for slaughter."

"Valuable? Hardly," he says with a snort, blinking at the added blanket and the rolling anger at the memories subsiding at the care Shen Wei was giving him. Ye zun runs his hands over the soft fabric of the blanket, another reminder that he wasn't confined and wasn't hated.

It was all the Chief's fault. He pushed Ye Zun. He twisted the knife and Ye Zun let him.

"I was an amusement, a toy. Useful, but still powerless, sickly, and lacking. The fine robes, the masks... oh he twisted everything because he wanted to."

Looking up at his twin, Ye Zun smiles even though it probably looked ghastly, and holds the blanket out a little, inviting Shen Wei closer.

"I think he knew our family. He might have kept me to feed the throne if he had won."

INTRO LOG + SKADI CURSE.

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