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

[hey, a snort is something and it's better than what klaus had been expecting. his own lips quirk slightly at the edges, features softening and hand withdrawing once the bandages are taken.

at first, he just watches jet while he wraps, engrossed in the steady motion, though the question jostles him enough from the daze that he glances up.]

Yeah... [he's sorry, klaus'd never make someone uncomfortable like that on purpose but since he has technically already seen them—] Is— is it okay to ask about? You don't gotta tell me shit, obviously, but if...it helps...? [shit, this is awkward.]

I'll tell you mine, too. [since that'd only be fair.]

[Is it okay to ask about? It feels like the worst of it is already out there. It's strange - the context of it is violent in such a way that it's fucking with him just by thinking about it. To go from a place wherein his notoriety was so immense that entering the most densely populated area was a death wish to a place where no one knows so much as his name is a shift he hadn't expected to jar him as deeply as it has.]

Had a kid.

Lost her.

[He shrugs one shoulder, like that even remotely sums up what happened. He says it shortly, so fast that he doesn't have to dwell on the pressure in the back of his throat. He says it like emotional evisceration can be done as casually and simply as that: in five words or less.]

[the moment jet says, ‘had a kid,’ his eyes widen with surprise, even without hearing the second remark. that only makes him shrink down a little further into himself, a fleeting amount of guilt settling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach.]

Shit, man, I'm sorry. [because what else does one say? and when jet said that he'd lost her, it's presumptuous of him to do so, but he can't help assuming she's, uh, no longer among the living. ironic, keeping in mind what mark klaus had shown him in return.]

I lost someone, too. [a few someones. a beat during which he decides to add,] Funny thing about Asgard, they don't discriminate on who comes here, so...

[maybe he can see her again?]

[Who hasn't lost someone? That's one of the foundations of living. It'll hurt. It'll hurt no matter what but the longer you last the more names you'll start to stack into the shelf of your soul.]

[He doesn't want to instill a sense of false hope within himself, not even if there is a chance. She wasn't the only one they all lost. They did everything for her, but if any of them were to show up - what would that mean for him?]

[It's safer not to think about it. Not to pretend it'll happen unless it does.]

...anyone from your home show up?

[Just trying to gauge the likelihood here.]

[for klaus, it was pictures – so many of them – when he'd made contact with reginald hargreeves in the afterlife. some that weren't supposed to be there, even. those are what bothered him the most, made him wonder if shit didn't change, would their deaths inevitably be the outcome?

it's honestly one of the reasons why he's glad at least two of his siblings have shown up here. one more than once, too! so, that's something else to consider.]

A few times, actually. Couple of my brothers showed up, one of which made the trip twice.

[both five and ben are gone now, though. such an unfortunate circumstance.]

[Brothers. He's got family.]

[Most people have family. And family's who you stick with, who you live with, who you trust. Seeing them again means - ]

[Well. He can read between the lines.]

They didn't stay.

[It means that would be the risk. The risk that they could disappear just as easily. Whatever force deposited any of them here in the first place, apparently it's just as randomized as the possibility that they could be returned to wherever they came. Returned to death.]

[But if it were the Girl, if it were any of his brothers - he'd see them again. And he'd know that they were safe, and...]

[Is that something he's willing to shoulder?]

[Ultimately, it's not his choice. And he doesn't have to confront that if it never happens.]

[sisters too, although he hasn't seen either of them around asgard.

the confirmation makes klaus lift his shoulders in a shrug. he's honestly just glad he didn't have to say it when revelation stings each and every time.] No, [he confirms through a sigh,] but it was nice seeing them again, knowing they're okay.

[regardless of how painful it was any time they came and went, klaus appreciated that. whether they went back to their actual timeline or not, he hasn't considered, mostly doesn't want to in case five's time-jump fucked everything up even worse.]

Don't hold your breath, obviously, we never know who's going to come through next. You'll turn blue before then but I'm just saying: have an open mind.

[having another chance to see them, no matter who comes through, that should be worth it, right?]

[Knowing they're okay.]

[But if any of them were to come back - they'd be returning to their deaths, wouldn't they? Even the Girl, whose fate he doesn't know because he managed to get her out of the building but it was a shot to the chest that laid him out on top of the Trans Am so he has no idea if their suicide mission to get her out worked. If it was worth it. If any of it mattered.]

[If any of them appeared, he'd fight like hell to keep them here.]

[Whatever it took.]

Okay.

[There's no reason to expect any of them might appear. It might be more generous to hope that they don't. That they stay where they are, with the Witch to guide them - that might be better than ending up here. For his part, Jet knows which of those he'd prefer.]

No guessing who leaves either. Or when.

[possibly? nobody knows what happens when one goes home and comes back.

rhys looked different and that's all klaus really remembers, the few things he described to him aside. all stuff he wouldn't be sure about sharing and even if he did, who would understand except people from the same world? he doesn't get what opening a vault even means besides that it's super important. bringing someone back from the dead like the gods did with ben is a whole other ballpark and if it meant having him alive, he would have kept him here.

much to his dismay, he got sent back and klaus didn't really have a choice in the matter.

he nods agreeingly, pleased they've at least squared that part away. people come, people go; sometimes they stay, other times they... don't. but that's fine.]

Nope, they're just kinda... not there anymore one day. Nobody can really explain it.

[which he's alright with because he, too, has considered where his siblings could end up after leaving asgard. if it's somewhere they're always separate or never quite whole again, then maybe it is best they do not come here. (just ignore the fiery apocalyptic end and everything's a-okay.)

maybe, selfishly, klaus wishes they hadn't left, though.]

Hm.

[It's hard to say what Jet thinks about that. His expression's returned to its characteristic stony default. All of it comes down to a lack of control, which isn't exactly new to him. Being stuck in a world where things so much bigger than yourself, that's normal shit where he comes from. Probably where most people come from.]

[It's just that it's his instinct to fight back against those systems. But when no one knows the cause of something like this, how the hell do you fight that?]

Hope they're not dead.

[i hope so, too, is his next immediate thought and should be what he says aloud but instead:] It'd really suck if you died coming to and leaving Asgard.

[not the most reassuring thing, taking their conversation into account, but klaus's assumptions are only that: they're speculation. people might appear perfectly fine now, he hasn't witnessed anyone else blowing up since the one time— and that isn't an okay thing to remember at the moment.

but it's fine, he's totally got this!] If I'm being honest, I try not to think about it too much. We're here for whatever reason, right? Might as well make the best of the circumstances.

[always with one eye on the gods, though.]

[Well, when you've only got the one eye to begin with, looking anywhere else gets a bit tough.]

[That being said, the morbidity doesn't bother him overmuch. Jet's inclined to agree, but he figures anyone would. He's already died once, and he's not terribly keen on dying again. Especially since, here, it's...vague how much influence the Phoenix Witch might have, and how much power she might wield in drawing his soul back where it needs to go. Assuming she has any power here at all.]

[He's not about to put carbons on that.]

Guess so.

[Even if death would be simpler. But if the Witch hasn't closed his curtain just yet, then he's still kicking.]

[Why him and none of the rest?]

Could be worse.

[...that is an absolutely fair point.

oh good, someone who can handle the actual facts here; doesn't matter when the death happens, just matters that it does— or did? again, klaus isn't certain and hasn't been trying to find out who's exploding by witnessing it another time. his friend, emil, died during the wight war but came back seemingly alright? no explosion there, only disintegration. from what he's experienced though, the asgardian gods are the ones who have control, over anything and everything.

could be worse. well, ain't that the truth? at least death isn't permanent around these parts.]

True, but I don't wanna imagine that, either.

[he snorts, momentarily drops his face into his hand, shakes his head then straightens back up.] So, uh. [may be time for a subject change.] How're you settling in?

["Settling in" is making it sound like more of a work in progress than it actually is. All things considered, he's done very little to actually settle in. Mostly because Jet doesn't currently live anywhere in particular. He's too skittish about housing anywhere permanent. At least for now.]

Does it matter?

[The question is relatively toneless, almost delivered with the air of a joke - but coupled with Jet's deadpan, unsmiling delivery and his direct stare, it might be hard to say if it is one, or if it's just...him being direct per the norm.]

[didn't take much for klaus, let's be honest. the roof over his head, somewhere warm and dry, a bed— helps that (most of) his roomies weren't the worst, too. he's rather easy to please after having lived out on the streets for so long and enjoys the little things, like being able to shower whenever he wants. having an actual house now is a lot easier, though.

without missing a beat,] Yeah? Kinda sucks if you're uncomfortable where you're staying.

[he's assuming with jet it's the serious, most direct route here because despite everything being provided to them, sleep wouldn't come easy the first couple of weeks. so, klaus'd somewhat understand in the sense of being high-strung about ‘settling’ somewhere completely unfamiliar as it were.]

I can deal.

[Uncomfortable covers most living situations in the Zones, and right now comfort is a pretty low priority. Always has been - now more than ever. He'll take uncomfortable over being ghosted. He'll take uncomfortable over letting his guard down.]

Comfort's not my priority.

[This was probably...obvious...given Jet's absolute lack of hesitation in hacking off a strip of his fucking skin.]

And I believe you. [it doesn't mean he isn't going to worry a little. they may not know each other all that well yet, though it won't keep him from at least trying to help jet get used to the place; something he would've liked whenever he showed up here without anyone he knew.

and yes, that was quite indicative, too.]

Well, if you ever need a place to crash... I've got the extra room.

[While that kind of generosity isn't unheard of, it's a little curious that Klaus is offering despite the whole...you know, situation that they just went through. Jet's standard for what's "normal" might be pretty off considering the fact that he's operating on Zone morality, but even he's aware that not everyone would be down to offer a spare room to a stranger, considering that said stranger nearly skinned his own arm right in front of him.]

God housing?

[His interest doesn't manage to outweigh his paranoia, naturally.]

[listen, he knows how roughing it is; maybe jet star won't stay in the god housing that's been provided for him, but if klaus has the room, why shouldn't he offer? situation aside because it isn't as big a deal as it could've been. (jet could have finished flaying himself, after all.) hell, if jet's not feeling the house then he's got the icecream truck in city limits to suggest, too— something that isn't considering how he might be homeless.]

Sort of... but it's different? My friends and I built it, so we can leave whenever we want.

[despite it being in a god's district.]

Built it?

[That gets his attention. That's already more trustworthy than the god housing, and...damn. He's not actually sure he's ever had a day where he's known without question where he's going to be sleeping. He's used to this. That's so familiar a hardship that it doesn't even register as a hardship anymore.]

Must've taken a while.

Yep!

[since he's already close enough while being knelt beside jet star, klaus brings the arm between them up, activates the cuff and begins flipping through some pictures that he brings up. most are of him and his friends in the house, obviously taken throughout the different rooms, but it gives a good idea how big it is.]

I think it took... five? Six months? Before it was done and, like, completely furnished. [he shrugs.] Or something close to it.

[Huh. Jet hadn't been expecting that someone would go to all that trouble, but if the plan was to stay here long-term, why wouldn't they? He can't imagine being stuck in one place for that long. Maybe that's just him.]

You all live there together?

[keeping in mind how long klaus has been here, helping build a house for him and his friends isn't the least unexpected thing anymore. maybe when he'd first arrived, but as time went on, it became more and more apparent they weren't going home anytime soon.]

Whatever's left of us.

Left of you.

[It's a question and not a question, both at the same time. Jet lifts his eyebrows very faintly. Fortunately, he's aware that this is...something that's common, apparently. People disappearing. Coming back, and then...not.]

There a lot of you when you started?

Because people leave.

[in case jet's forgotten already— not that klaus thinks he has, just... reinforcement behind the idea: people come, people go, some stay and others don't. if they expectantly hold their breath, they'll turn blue and whatnot.]

Six of us before. Now we're down to... four, I do believe? Not including the animals, that is.

INTRO LOG + SKADI CURSE.

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