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

[turnanythingon]

What? No. It's all yours.

[ He waved his hands, as if indicating he wanted nothing to do with the plate. Anyone may have at least considered asking Billy if he were alright. Especially with a statement like what he'd said. But not Lucifer. He was too hung up on this idea that they were some how in a version of hell where people were allowed to mingle. Which just seemed strange, but at this point he was going with the theories he had. ]

What shit was that, by the way? Starvation? Neglect? or just straight torture?

[ As if those were totally normal things to conclude. ]

[driving]

None of your business. [ He sighs. He's not too keen to talk about it, but it happened, and he can't avoid it forever. ]

Giant fucking monster tried to kill everyone. Kinda ruined my appetite. [ Until now, apparently, by the way he's shoving food in his mouth. ]

[turnanythingon]

Giant monster?

[ Hell could get wildly creative sometimes, but it tended to stay rather close to reality with a few flourishes here and there. The advent of the horror movie had spiced things up a bit with the more modern souls, but giant monsters were still not exactly a daily sight. ]

That's something I need to see for myself.

[ He glanced around, as if he might some how find his way to the other's cell. But that raised the question of how they were even meeting. Hell didn't give free lunch periods. ]

[driving]

It's not here, dumbass. [ He rolls his eyes. Sorry Lucifer, he's in a grumpy mood right now. It's nothing personal. ]

It was back home. Before I got here. And you really wouldn't wanna see it. [ At least, most people aren't particularly keen on seeing giant beasts made out of melted corpses. ]

[turnanythingon]

[ If Billy knew what Lucifer actually was and what he dealt with daily, he might have a different opinion. Then again, even Lucifer might have ran from that thing. And would have claimed it was for the sake of his shoes or something. ]

Trust me, I--oh, that's right. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself while you were so rudely taking my food.

I'm Lucifer. [ He extended a hand to Billy with a bright smile. ] Morningstar.

[driving]

[ He accepts the handshake, his grip still firm despite the fact that he looks a bit like a zombie after everything he's been through. ]

Is that your real name or are you in a band or something? [ Because surely no one names their kid Lucifer Morningstar.

The thought that this might be THE Lucifer Morningstar doesn't even occur to him. ]

[turnanythingon]

[ Well there was some comfort in that. A reaction he was accustomed to. Recognizing the name and dismissing it all at once. ]

God given, I'm afraid. I do play a bit of music from time to time, but not in a band. I do get featured on a lot of album covers, though. The sort with a great deal of unbearable screaming, sadly. But that's on account of my actually being the Devil.

[ He said it all with a smile and a great deal of conviction. ]

[driving]

[ That makes him perk up, mostly because he really likes the bands that have those album covers. ]

Really? Shit, that's awesome. [ Except that does kind of make him question his current situation, given that he just died and despite his final sacrifice still has more bad than good in his past. ]

...This isn't hell or anything, is it? [ It wasn't last time he was here, but who knows. ]

[turnanythingon]

[ He was just going to bask for a moment in the fact that he was at last on solid ground with someone. Why couldn't more people around here be like this? ]

That's exactly the question I am trying to answer. But given the fact we're having this conversation, I'm going with "no."

[driving]

Is it all fire and getting stabbed with pitchforks like they say at church?

[ Billy has never willingly gone to church, but he's been dragged there a few times so he could hear some good old ranting and raving about how rock music and dungeons and dragons were sending the youth of today straight to hell. ]

[turnanythingon]

Quite the opposite, actually.

[ But now wasn't the time to get into the ridiculousness of that image when Hell was all bleak and gray. Full of stone pillars and ash falling like snow. ]

It's more of a prison, but each cell is its own reality tailored to you. I suppose there could be a few who are trapped in the stereotypical fire and brimstone scenario. Never seen it myself, though.