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
no subject
A hand against his temple and several moments of silence and his tail tapping against his leg and alas, he is still met with nothing. There's a barely audible, vaguely bothered hum towards himself.]
I confess I've... not given it much thought. [He tried to sound apologetic, but his tone is more blank, matter of fact almost.]
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What a strange concept. Wrathion disapproves. This is an important decision! Surely you should take control of your destiny, here, and decide which way to turn? Not just... allow something to happen on its own? ]
You understand there is limited time?
[ A set window to make this decision in? You know that, Takame, right? ]
no subject
You're not his dad, Wrathion.]I do... [As far as Takame was concerned, his destiny was in the hands of the gods of this realm and them alone. Who was he to argue their will? Still, he wasn't unfamiliar with the look of sheer disapproval he was getting.
Though he would also prefer not to air such thoughts to a stranger who already seems to think less of him. What would Zhian or Hina say...]
I, ah, would merely prefer not to make the decision lightly. There is much to consider. [True as a whole, but a lie to himself.]
no subject
Still, much to consider? This he agrees with. His eyebrows loft then furrow in thought. Wrathion turns back to the job board again.
He needs to consider it. Dramatically. ]
I understand, aligning yourself with a power is not without consequence. However, turning your mind from it will not delay the inevitable. I would take the chance to think things through before you lose it.
no subject
I... I am, ser. I assure you. [Liar. That said, he would take Wrathion's words to heart. It's not as if similar words weren't drilled into him in recent years.
Kami, Zhian would have his head right about now.]
no subject
[ Wrathion continues, because now you are just a sounding board new friend. ]
Should I align myself with a perceived strength, or instead with a god who represents something I am lacking in? Would they offer enough to shore up a weakness, or is it better to embrace a strength?
[ Deep thoughts, with Wrathion. Should be balance his abilities or min-max? ]
no subject
And the wrong person to know what in the hells to say considering he couldn't even make his own decision. But he can... try?]
Who... is it that approached you exactly?
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Beyond the initial introductions I went to discuss my options with each. If you are asking who I might favour, I am considering Mimir of course.
[ Of course. Wrathion considers himself a master strategist. We won't discuss the time his lengthy elaborate plan went horribly wrong. ]
no subject
Mimir... I am not very familiar with him as of yet. [Which is to say, he wasn't a fitting alignment with Takame so getting to know him has unfortunately shifted towards the lower end of his priorities.]
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Wrathion enjoys talking, and he enjoys having a sounding board for his thoughts. Takame has unwittingly volunteered himself to be that. ]
Strategy.
[ Is the reply. ]
Mimir specialises in philosophy and strategy. His request for assistance here revolves are cataloguing information.
[ Ordering it, he supposes, maintaining records. All part of a sound strategy in and of itself. ]
sorry for very late
Of course that said, Takame looked to the listed jobs and indeed, there are ones listed requesting "Wanderers" assistance for the sake of learning more of the realm. By that alone Takame has learned something of his own. That the gods themselves do not appear to be all-knowing. A strange thought.]
... I see. [... he's expecting more to be shared with him, he's literally just Waiting For It, Wrathion.]
NP!
Of course, strategy and the cataloguing of information inform tactics. This means Mimir must know a great deal about this area, about where resources are. Who can be trusted, who cannot. Yet Mimir does not represent knowledge, that is Odin. So how much overlap is there? Do they know the same amount of information, but only Mimir acts on it? Where is the line?
[ This is important to Wrathion, who does not want to unwittingly pick a god who doesn't Know The Most. ]
Surely you cannot have a strategy without first having knowledge?
[ Is that an actual question? Does he expect an answer? Who Knows. ]
no subject
He was... no strategist. A gatherer of information, perhaps, but not a strategist. That was Zhian. She would know how to answer the possible rhetorical better. Takame just... is winging it.]
I suppose...? [He doesn't know, throw him a bone here.]
no subject
[ Apparently that was an acceptable answer. ]
So we must assume they share resources, it is the only sensible option. In that case, if each god does share resources with the other -- what is the individual benefit of being aligned to each other? Is there a benefit? A distinct difference, beyond the temperament of each individual?