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

[theprezident]

[ He's sure they'll be fine too.

He lifts a hand and finger guns. ]

That's what it's for.

[mindseer]

So, scalding bean juice drinker. What's in the works, since you're all energized or about to get there?

[theprezident]

We're getting somewhere on that database I was talking about. Bringing technology to Asgard slowly and surely.

[mindseer]

Hey, now that's something. And Peter's bringing power... bit by bit, we're gonna drag this into something close to the last hundred sweeps!

...well maybe not that far. We kind of have space flight, and I'm not expecting that anytime soon.

[theprezident]

Yeahhh, that's probably a long time away.

[mindseer]

You never know. they might have some magic hoofbeast manure to throw out there one of these days. Not banking on it, but they could.

[theprezident]

[ It takes him a moment to figure out what 'hoofbeast manure' means in this context. He knows what hoofbeast is to her, and what manure is, and tries to figure out what the crap from cows have to do with this.

Then he realises she means 'magic bullshit'. ]

I mean, considering that the showers and fridges and all of that function on magic hoofbeast manure, they just might.

[mindseer]

[Someone's learning how to speak trollian, slowly but surely...]

Yuuup. Pretty much everything here somehow runs on it, unless we can get other stuff in here that doesn't. Kind of appreciate the efforts to get some decent tech in. I'm better with that than the magic.

[theprezident]

Yeah, me too. Seems kind of freaky to me to rely completely on magic too but, I guess if that's what you're used to ...

[ He shrugs. ]

[mindseer]

Hey, now, I've got at least a little in the old think pan. I don't need to rely on the magic... just helps.

The locals on the other hand? Who knows.

[theprezident]

Definitely talking about the locals. But I will hand it to them: They've been pretty enthusiastic about helping me with the library computer.

[mindseer]

They're enthusiastic about everything maaan! It's like grublings in a candy store!

[theprezident]

I might regret asking this, but what are grublings?

[mindseer]

Uh, well... I mentioned us being kind of insect-like before, right? That's what our young look like in first stages. Our little kids are grublings.

[For once? It wasn't as awful as it could have been.]

We grow out of it eventually obviously.

[theprezident]

Wow. Okay. That's pretty weird.

[ From his experience, insect-like creatures usually keep looking like insects. ]

[mindseer]

Maybe for you mammals. Hah, we're used to it. We look more or less like ourselves after the pupal stages and what not.

[theprezident]

I don't know, I'm pretty sure most things keep their general shape even after ... pupaling. Whatever that word would be.

[mindseer]

Well, not trolls anyway. We turn into what you see. After we stop being grublings, we just get taller and more mature is all. It's not that important though. You won't ever run into too many grublings around here. No mother grub to hatch em.

[theprezident]

[ He opens his mouth, and stands there without a sound coming out for a second or two. Then he decides, firmly: ]

I'm just gonna stop asking.

[ He wants to know nothing about mother grubs. There's no curiosity nagging in the back of his head. Nope. ]

[mindseer]

Hehehe, hoofbeast manure. I'll believe it when I see it. You have a knack for getting curious at the worst times.

Just be glad you don't ask some of the questions other folks do. It'd blow your think pan sky high.

[Not that she was offering, but dude should be glad he never asked about buckets. That would end badly for everyone.]

[theprezident]

Nope. Done asking questions to you forever.

[ SO THERE. ]

[mindseer]

Suuuuure, we'll see how long that lasts there. I'll say something one of these days, and bam. Your curiosity will get the better of you.

[theprezident]

I have self-control.

[ Or something. ]

[mindseer]

Surrre. Well, whatever. I'll see you around, big guy.