AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

[asgardmods]

Who: EVERYONE
What: the August intro log and first god house competition, More Than Meets the Eye
When: August 8
Where: Gladsheim Palace for breakfast, around Asgard for the game/curse
Rating: PG-13; please take anything higher than this to a private log!

morning: a warm invitation

Everyone wakes up to a friendly invitation to breakfast at the castle with the gods. For most of you, this comes as a message on your bracelet, reading:

Join us at the castle today to welcome some new Wanderers into our midst. Breakfast will be served and a lively game will be available to all of our guests, both new and old.

New Wanderers are curious on their own, and this is the first there's ever been mention of a game. Perhaps it's enough for you to make the trek to the castle, to see what all the fuss is about, or maybe even to see if there's someone you know. Perhaps you want to learn more about the game, or maybe you just want the food.

For our new guests, this comes as a bit more of a surprise. Wherever you were before in your world, without even realizing it, you wake up in a strange new place. No time or space inbetween, just an awareness of There and then Here. A matronly figure tries to explain your circumstances with a sympathetic smile, but ultimately invites you meet them all for yourselves: the Gods of Asgard, and the Wanderers that arrived before you.



The sight that greets you on the castle grounds is a rather festive one, regardless of where you're coming from. Colorful streamers and flags are draped above large tables with room for several guests. Natives bustle about, cheerfully offering food and drinks to anyone that wants some. Everyone is welcomed to mingle and greet the new Wanderers on this bright summer morning.

the game: a friendly competition

Among the brightly decorated tables are ones highlighted in a specific color for a specific god house, and most of the gods themselves can be found sitting behind it with a few of their district's natives. They are here to welcome the new Wanderers into Asgard - but they're also here to explain the rules of today's game. There are coins hidden throughout the city and disguised as mundane items, and the god house that returns the most of their coins will win an upgrade to their god housing! No hints will be given, but the natives are excited to help facilitate the activity and happily invite you to wander through their districts to find what you can.

But you don't have to know about the rules to be playing the game! The coins are already hidden throughout the city, and no one knows what they are until they've been picked up. Whether you're banding together with friends to find as many coins as you can or blindly stumbling over an unpleasant surprise, the game and the curse are in full swing!

evening: a fair prize

At sundown, all of the coins in the city disappear at once, whether they're in your pocket or still disguised as a bowl. Points will be tallied and a winner will be announced (OOCly, on August 17) - but Asgardians are keen to celebrate regardless of who wins a rather inconsequential game. The same colorful display of tables and chairs is still spread across the castle grounds, although now they twinkle with fairy lights haphazardly blinking throughout the air. Snacks and drinks are made available, as well as more dinner-shaped meals for those that request it. Mostly the natives simply want to bask in the strangeness of these Wanderers from other worlds for a moment longer - but they're also eagerly listening to any stories from the day's mischievous game. Relax, enjoy yourself, or again, just stock up on some freely served food. Whatever suits your needs today. Welcome to Asgard, dear Wanderers.

[ OOC NOTE: This is the intro log for August, as well as our first god house competition/curse: More Than Meets the Eye. You are free to play with the curse prompts and searching the city in any way you want! If you would like to submit a map to earn points for your god house, please check out the rules to learn what to do. We will accept maps until August 17, at which point a winner will be announced and members of that god house will be allowed to vote for an upgrade to their god housing. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or need any help on the mod contact page. Enjoy, friends! ]

Comments

Vanitas // The Case Study of Vanitas // OTA

[unakin]

// morning: a warm invitation;

[ Even in a place like Asgard, there's a corner dedicated to party-poopers and those of dubious social skills.

Vanitas will stay in his corner for the most part, attempting the near-comical feat of feeding himself without removing his gloves. That might be amusing to watch for a second or two but, really, the object of interest will be the unfamiliar sight of a rather peculiar looking cat.

People might notice that the cat won't stray too far from Vanitas without ever circling closer.

In fact, it appears that the cat and Vanitas are engaging in a staring competition of all things. Seems someone is Unsure about their newfound powers... ]

// the game: a friendly competition;

[ So Vanitas might have been quite vocal about the fact that the game was a fool's errand. That doesn't seem to stop him from partaking though.

He'll be quick-footed about it and pick up both mundane and unusual items alike. A piece of fruit, someone's belongings, the chair someone is sitting on might be tipped back. That grin on his face? Likely a bit maniacal.

He hasn't been forced to disclose any truths yet, but it's likely that one of the following things happens when he's approached:

a) A Frigg coin will lead him to gift away an unnecessarily detailed anatomy book with its last 10 pages rambling on about poisons.

b) A Sigyn coin will lead to rather stilted compliments - the beauty of someone's shoelaces, the vampire-like whiteness of someone's teeth. The only... normal compliments will be fairly flirty.  And, yeah, he's oddly sincere about all of this. ]

// the game: idiotic vampire (doctor) remix;

[ A vampire doctor, a vampiric vampire hunter, and a normal (?) Vampire walk into a bar....

Now, imagine: the bar is all of Asgard and Vanitas' eyebrow, by now, has developed a nervous tick.

So far, he's righted Noé's collar, his coat, has pulled out his chair, and has, with mixed satisfaction and horror, recited a dirty limerick about - Jeanne's earlobes?

There might or might not have been a group hug at which point he'll try to get the other two to pick up potential coins. ]

// wildcard: open to anything;

Competition and Idiocy

[mindseer]

Heya!

[She had no idea who she'd bumped into just now. Why? Because she was wearing that blasted blindfold for the umpteenth hundred inappropriate time in a row. She grinned in the direction of Vanitas, shrugging away and brandishing what appeared to be a plunger with great aplomb.

...it was not turning into a coin.]

You find any coins yet?

[...sigh.]

(OOC: If you have any silliness you want her to get into if she finds a coin, feel free to let me know. I'm good with A or B. Whichever you prefer.)

[unakin]

[ Yeah, okay, so that blindfold? It's bringing Vanitas up short.

Same with the question really. There's the sound of two heavy objects being put down before his heels click closer towards Terezi. ]

Yes to the coins [ Even if one of them has just dissolved into nothingness. He's not worried about that. Not at all. ] Care to explain what you're attempting to achieve here?

[ And then, sounding rather bemused: ] Has anyone mentioned that the colour of your blindfold suits your skin tone perfectly?

[ And that's the sinking feeling of dread right there. ]

[ sorry about that my internet died on me! Just to confirm, Terezi still has her horns??]

[mindseer]

(OOC: Hayup. She does still have her horns and gray skin.)

[She snickered softly when he said that first part, grinning a yellow fanged grin while her hand went up to brush past one of her short, sharp little horns. She was clearly amused that anyone would ask.]

Have fun and find coins of course. What else would I be doing?

[And then he said... wait, what did he say? Uhhh, that was weird. Blink blink. She cocked her head and scratched behind an ear while her eyebrow climbed.]

Nah, nobody's ever actually said that. I mean you're not wrong, but nobody's ever said that. What brings that on?

[unakin]

You seem do be doing well at the former [ For reasons that currently escape him, really. He's met Terezi before, of course, but had thought the blindfold to be a temporary accessoir. He humms, curiosity and bafflement in his voice. ]

Found anything of interest so far?

That compliment... I guess you could call it divine punishment. I picked up a - wrong coin. [ He pauses here ] You do know about the rules of this game, yes? [ there's that realisation that it would take a very unique mindset for someone to willingly take part in a treasure hunt while handicapped. A rather ridiculous mindset even ]

[mindseer]

[Nope. It was definitely not a phase with her.]

I found a porcelain throne pumper earlier!

[She'd put the plunger back where it belonged thankfully. Tilting her head over at Vanitas, she cocked it and raised an eyebrow. Oh, the rules, right. Something was supposed to happen if you got the wrong coin. So it made him say something? Weird.]

So, wait. You grab the wrong coin and it makes you say something? So it forced you to be truthful about it? [She leaned in and sniffed at him dubiously.] Do I need to smell you to tell if you're lying right now?

[...she was being totally serious there.]

(OOC: Which, if you don't mind her using her powers, she totally will sniff him to try and see if he's being honest.)

[unakin]

I did see you brandishing it like a weapon, yes. An interesting choice if not exactly a sanitary one.

[ He shrugs, and his clothes rustle with the gesture. Plumbing really is too boring a concept to deal with. Boring enough, in fact, to make him yawn. ]

Miss, you will never need to sniff me. [ he's leaning back but not yet stepping away; he's taking the time to stare at Terezi. She's - interesting, certainly. Random, but quite entertaining.

He's tense though, as if he doesn't feel fully comfortable with someone in his personal space. ]

You'd know the rules if you'd spoken with the gods. Might have made them realise that their game isn't fair.

[ooc; go ahead friend! he'll be conflicted but it will be fun]

[mindseer]

Nope, absolutely need to sniff you right now.

[She was leaning in real close to that personal space and taking a good, long whiff. There was something different about the way that she was doing it, too that might have had a slightly invasive feel. It was like she was smelling for something...

And the more that she sniffed, the more she cocked her head, a bit of curiosity there.]

Nope don't bother talking to those idiots too much. Nice folks, but not a brain among them except the old man and he's cranky. [She grunted.] You're telling the truth, though I think. Sure don't smell any lies on you. So, you like my blindfold do you?

idiot vampire doctor remix;;

[loyalchevalier]

[ This whole thing is a ridiculous mess and she wishes almost that she hadn't been dragged into it but here she was. Having had to endure listening to Vanitas give a very inappropriate limerick about her, even if it was about something as something as mundane as just her earlobes.

Not even gonna talk about the group hug either because y e a h.

She's just going to be nearby and making to reach for something she honestly hopes is a coin but freezes up when the item she grabbed seemed to disappear. To which she rounded on Vanitas, storming up and grabbing him by the collar... only to kiss him. This lasting for a couple seconds before her cheeks turned hot and she shoved him away. ]

T-This game is absolutely r-ridiculous! You are also to never mention what just happened!!

[ She hadn't been able to control herself just then so... um... yeah. Totally blaming that. ]

[unakin]

[ The joke is, really, that neither Jeanne nor Vanitas set out to take part in this game. In fact, Vanitas is a bit hazy when it comes to details of how he went from a spectator to a participant.

There's that vague notion that it's Noé's fault and it's a notion he'll stick with. Blaming foolish vampires brightens his mood if nothing else.

Another thing that brightens his mood? Teasing a certain hellfire witch: ]

You must admit that your earlobes are rather delightful. I wasn't off the mark in that regard.

[ It's an odd mood he's in, enough so that even Vanitas recognises it as peculiar. He's intermittently aggravated, then lethargic. This game with its opportunies for blackmail would normally be enougg tonif it would only take place in Paris.

Might be that Vanitas is a bit distracted by his grievances but he expects violence when Jeanne goes for his throat.

The kiss, well the kiss is the first thing to make him smile all day.

If that vaguely threatening twist to his mouth could be called a smile. ]

You know you don't have to hide behind excuses if you want to be intimate with me, Jeanne. I do wish your master was here to share our joy.[ talk about pointed remarks...]

[loyalchevalier]

That is NOT the point! I did not enjoy receiving such... such an inappropriate thing from you!!

[ It's the best she can muster at this point, and his reaction following the unexpected kiss. She hates herself for her involuntary actions brought on by whatever power's imbued into those not!coins, and part of why she can't even remotely make herself look at him now.

More focused on trying to find coins instead of looking at his stupid smug face. Yep.

Then Vanitas says that and the entire mood just shifts, ever so subtly. Maybe it's just the tense way she froze up briefly, or the positively venomous look she shot him that could have melted through solid metal. ]

Say something like that again and I may have to wring your neck! There's absolutely nothing to share that's between us, understood?

[unakin]

Oh? I apologise for misunderstanding you then. [ the smile he's giving Jeanne is that of someone who isn't very sorry at all. Someone who isn't very keen on pretending to be, either. The tone and the smile both, they're sharp-edged hollow things. ]

Yes, yes, I understand. [ he moves to pick up a flower and holds it against the light. He holds onto it ecen if it's clearly not part of the game. ]Don't forget though, there are better things to do with my neck.

Unless you found someone else to - help you? [ as if to illustrate: his free hand pulling down his collar to bare his throat. ]

a warm invitation

[tealeafs]

[ Sorry, Vanitas, but it's definitely not you who Chizuru is noticing first here. Her eye falls on the cat first, since it really is pretty unique-looking - she's never seen any like that back where she comes from.

But more importantly, it's cute. So cute. Chizuru instinctively smiles at the very sight of the creature.

It takes a moment or two more to realise the cat is staring really intensely at something.. no, at someone? A person?

She's curious enough to make her way over to where Vanitas and the cat are, speaking up to the former: ]

Excuse me, but is this your cat?

[unakin]

[ Chizuru's question probably doesn't warrant the befuddled look Vanitas shoots her. It's the kind of expression one normally associates with complex and arcane questions, not feline posession ]

It definitely wasn't my cat before I arrived here. [ The summon looks familiar though, looks like Noé's stupid cat in fact. Isn't Noé's stupid cat though because Vanitas himself had called it forth, thanks to his newfound powers. ]

I have honestly no idea what I'm meant to do with it.

[tealeafs]

.. ah, so.. [ Her voice trails off for a moment as Chizuru tries to connect the dots in her head. It wasn't his cat before he came here, and even now he seems unsure of it, so then it could only be one thing, right? ]

Is it a stray? I haven't seen a cat like that around here before, I think..

[ But it's not exactly as if she keeps an eye on everything in the city, so she'd believe it if a cat like that hung around here all this time and she never noticed. ]

[unakin]

I don't believe that cats were originally part of the local fauna.

[ He's quirking his eyebrows at that and sounding, well, as tired as he feels actually. Doesn't mean he'll elaborate on magical cats, magical gods, or his (unfavourable) opinion regarding both of these things.

Instead, he'll try to catch Chizuru's eyes. ]

It looks friendly enough doesn't it? I'm sure you could touch it even...[ he grins ] Not to mention that it's unlikely to turn into a coin.

[ If approached the cat will act like an independent creature, it can be touched, and it will definately excel at the feline art of judgmental staring. Doesn't mean that Vanitas isn't using Chizuru as a guinea pig to confirm just how his powers work. Apologies about that ]

[tealeafs]

[ It's a good thing - for Vanitas, anyway - that Chizuru is generally trusting. Maybe even too trusting, considering she's had plenty of experiences that should have taught her better than to always just trust people, but alas. She doesn't think the suggestion is anything but innocent, so all she does is curiously glance over at the cat again. ]

Ah, you think so? As long as the cat doesn't mind..

[ She carefully moves a bit closer to it, and then the young woman moves down so she's sitting on her knees and holding out a hand towards the cat. ]

Here, kitty.. Do you want some pets? [ She's not reaching out to fully touch it herself yet, instead giving the cat a choice. Because apparently she feels the need to be polite even to cats. ]

[unakin]

Someone once told me that a cat's first instinct is to make itself happy. Which would mean that you don't have anything to worry about.

[ Unless the cat implodes of course, which could be considered a distinct possibility. Vanitas, for all that he summoned the cat, has no clear idea what will happen.

Which means that his face reflects a quite genuine curiosity when the summon ambles over to Chizuru and

Putting a furry paw on top of her hand. It looks quite majestic as far as cravat-wearings cats go. A little bit as if it's giving orders ]

Well! That involved less bloodshed than expected.

[tealeafs]

[ At first she doesn't even seem to realise what he's saying. No, Chizuru is way too busy being enamored by the way this (odd, but cute) cat is putting a paw on her hand. Is she being trusted by a cat? Is this what true joy feels like? It sure seems like it - there are almost stars in her eyes as she stares at said cat with a smile.

Until her brains slowly catch up with what the other person present is saying. Her gaze immediately moves from the cat to Vanitas, Chizuru's eyes wide. ]

You.. mean that metaphorically, right? [ Please tell her it's just an odd quirky way of speaking. ] I wouldn't really call a cat scratching someone "bloodshed".. [ That's the worst case scenario she imagined for this scenario, anyway! ]

friendly competition

[draumstafir]

[ reynir might not have hesitated to team up with onni and tuuri when the coin hunt was announced, but in order to get the most out of their team up they'd been forced to split up which means that reynir's been wandering around asgard picking things up at random and meeting new and interesting people along the way.

another coin has just gone and disappeared from his fingers when he spots someone new approaching and pushes the matter swiftly from his mind, turning to smile sweetly at this new person. ]

Hello. Have you been enjoying the game so far?

[unakin]

[ Reynir gets a long look instead of a regular greeting. Vanitas' eyes are a sharp shade of blue as they fall to Reynir's face, drop to his feet, only to cut up again.

His eyebrows and the corners of his mouth quirk in tandem. Quirk a bit more sharply when the object in his hands turns to smoke. ]

Fun? Oh well, I managed to hassle two vampires so it was quite enjoyable. [ he blinks - slowly, like a confused cat. ] That wasn't quite what I'd meant to say.

[draumstafir]

[ well the stare is certainly a bit new, and reynir's expression turns just a shade confused at it though his smile still remains a slightly crooked upward sketch as his head tilts curiously to one side. ]

No? What did you want to say then?

[ and what on earth is a vampire? aside from something fun to tease, apparently. ]

[unakin]

Well, something along the lines of hello would have made more sense. Even if it would have been rather trite.

Appears the coins also make us - chatty. [ his face, right now, looks like he's bitten into something sour. They make a bit of a contrasting picture; Reynir with his smile and Vanitas, grimacing.

There's a bit of a sulk there, too. ]

You seem very blasé when it comes to vampires.

[draumstafir]

Oh, I don't mind. [ reynir hurries to reassure him. goodness knows reynir himself sometimes got exctied enough about something that he accidentally skipped passed the introductions. he hardly needs the coin's help being chatty, after all.

he's pretty used to people grimacing at him too, so it doesn't do much to diminish his friendly, cheerful demeanor. his last comment does prompt a small, shy look of confusion though. ]

That might be... because I'm not sure I know what a vampire is?

[unakin]

[ vanitas' eyebrows tilt at an angle that fairly shouts 'sacrilege'. As far as eyebrows are able to shout in any case. ]

Congratulations. [ dry. ] This is the most horrible thing I've heard since I've arrived here.

You don't know anything about blood-sucking monsters who have a preference for virgins?