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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❰ She vaguely wonders if a Wanderer would be able to understand this discretion, that she herself didn't even have a full grasp on until the transgression had occurred. In hindsight, it's pretty obvious, but being overzealous and more apt to act instead of think, Sigyn faltered. ❱
You're all in this invasive position because of me. It's only fair I also be a spectacle.
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You're not saying... that you're the one who made these marks on us, are you?
[ The questioning, hesitant tone of her Naminé's voice suggests she doesn't believe that's the case, at least at a glance. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing Sigyn would do, anyway, considering her reaction to it - or at least not like something she'd do on purpose, and yet the whole debacle feels pretty deliberate. ]
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No, no, I would never -- not directly. Purposefully, never. ❰ The idea is waved away with a hurried huff. She responsible, but not that responsible. ❱ But I did something that set Skadi off. I don't even think she's malicious in this, but it's certainly not a...wholly positive way to utilize magic.
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Although at the confirmation of who is behind it, Naminé's face falls. It's not by much, but there's an odd mix of sadness and disappointment in it. ]
… I see. So it was her, then.
[ It's in keeping with the evidence she and others have already made note of in some of her other conversations today. Still, Naminé's not angry, or vengeful, just-- worried. Despite her serious expression, there's an undercurrent of that feeling as she presses further, ]
What exactly is it that she's upset about...?
[ Because it doesn't seem not malicious to her, but Naminé's willing to afford the benefit of the doubt. ]
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It's just a squabble among family. A God or Goddess' dominion is an important part of who they are. I'd feel a certain way if someone intruded upon what I had a strongest connection with...but wasn't so thoughtful when it came to skadi's own domain.
❰ her gaze drifts away for a moment before zeroing back in on Namine, eyebrows suddenly knitting. this little talk shouldn't be so focused on sigyn, but instead on the wanderer before her. ❱
Enough about me -- I know it must be true, but you can't think you are nothing?
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I've... never looked at it like that before.
[ Still, it's hard for her to imagine that Sigyn meant any harm. In Naminé's case, that would make all the difference in how she'd react - but not everyone is so forgiving, she supposes. She's just sorting out in her head what to ask next when she catches the goddess' abrupt look, which causes the blonde girl to stop short, straightening slightly. Eyes beginning to round, she's not quite expecting the question, and when it comes she falters visibly, chin tucking with a soft, 'um.' ]
Well...
[ She has no intention of not answering, but-- it seems to take her a moment to figure out how to. ]
I think - that it depends on who you ask. [ Despite how she's frowning, despite how she looks a bit uncertain about saying it out loud. Before Asgard, her response would have been very different. ] On-- what they call 'nothing'.
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Nothing is nothing, is it not? ❰ she holds up her hands, about six or seven inches apart, shifting them slightly. ❱ Between my hands right now is nothing.
❰ then she moves, placing her hands around naminé's head, hovering a few inches from either of her ears. ❱ And now there is certainly something between them.
no subject
It's not that--
[ --simple, she starts to say, too quietly to properly interrupt the demonstration... which she clearly doesn't anticipate the rest of, because she stops short when the goddess moves her hands. Naminé blinks at her, gaze darting toward each palm next to either side of her in turn before she pauses, looking forward again with a mildly startled expression.
It fades soon enough, however, softening into something warmer. She's amused despite herself - even lets out the ghost of a laugh that has more in common with a breathy exhale, head ducking very slightly downward. ]
I suppose you're right, [ she admits after a moment, because it really is a matter of perspective. Her tone is a touch wry, but she'll let Sigyn claim victory on this one. It smooths out anyway when Naminé adds, ] After all, you're the one who protects me here. You would know whether or not there's anything for you to look after.