asgardchrysalis | AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

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! ]

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Lucifer...

[ She grit her teeth as his fingers dug into her arm. Chloe said nothing, even when his grip bit in a little too hard in his show of desperation. He was beginning to lose it, she could see him coming apart right before her. He would need to be calmed before he completely lost it.

Chloe moved to stand directly in front of him, her knee bumping his. This was unsettling to watch, to hear. He was legitimately scaring her but one of them needed to keep a calm head on their shoulders. ]

I’m sorry... I don’t. I don’t remember anything.

[ Even though she didn't say what he thought he needed, he could see it in her eyes. No matter what, Hell couldn't replicate that. Or so he wanted to believe. There would always be details that were off, thinks pulled from his memory rather than reality. And this Chloe was more real than any idea he could ever hold of her.

He dragged her a little closer before his grip loosened. Resting his forehead against her stomach. ]

Then, please...just tell me that you're real.

[ There was no resisting the pull. Chloe stepped in between his legs. Though she did tense when his head lowered forward to rest against her front. She closed her eyes, shoulders dropping, and a hand slid along his nape before moving up to cup the back of his head. ]

I’m real. [ The reassurance was a soft murmur as her fingers gently combed through his hair. He was already rumpled. She would add to the look. ] I’m right here. I don’t plan on going anywhere and leaving you behind.

We’re going to be okay.

[ For a moment, he just lingered there. Breathing in her scent and knowing it was something hell could never get right. Taking comfort in the touch on his neck. The softness of her voice. Comfort. Something hell would never allow. There was a chance, then. A chance that this really was something else.

Slowly, he looked up at her. Now that he wasn't falling apart so completely, the heart of that was plain on his face. He was scared. Gut-wrenchingly terrified. Because if this wasn't hell, he didn't know what it was. And he hadn't faced such a wide expanse of unknown since he'd been cast out.

All he could do was let out an unsteady breath. ]

[ When he tilted his face up to look at her, she looked down and saw the terror. It was as plain as ever. If he was this afraid, him of all people, then something wasn’t right. Chloe swallowed, never broke eye contact. How else could she reassure him?

It came to her easily, the gestures, cupping his jaw with one hand while the other brushed his hair off his brow and smoothed it back. ]

You’re scared... [ The stubble on his cheek rasped gently under her thumb as it brushed along it. ] You aren't the only one.

[ That touch alone seemed to soothe him, visibly. Some of the tension faded from his face. But it was those words. Her admitting she was scared. That did the most. He let out a breath that came dangerously close to sounding like a sob. But the next one was a little more steady. And the one after that started to swing toward a nervous laugh. The faintest hint of a strained smile tried to edge into his expression. ]

And the worst part is...they don't even have any alcohol here.

[ It fell a little flat, but it was an attempt at humor. ]

[ Okay, that attempt at humour? It worked to crack a smile. So it fell a little flat, it did the job. Chloe gently shoved her hand against the side of his face then, closed lipped smile widening some.

All of this was strangely affectionate and might give anyone walking by the wrong impression. No, they weren’t together. But they have in the past been close. And she knew she had feelings for him, deep feelings. But then Marcus had come along and it was because Lucifer wasn’t speaking up that she’d chosen Marcus in the end. Look where that’d gotten her. ]

That should be the least of your problems right now.

[ From where Lucifer stood, and really from any point in his life since he'd known her, he had no issue with people thinking they were together. And while they weren't together, they were something. Enough of something that he wasn't running away anymore. He was willing to run toward her for once. Too bad he didn't know all that had happened to her that could complicate that further. ]

Nonsense. Because what we both need, right now, is a good, stiff drink. But instead we're stranded in what appears to be a completely dry, vegan paradise. Which should be classified as psychological and gastronomical torture.

[ Now that he'd gotten her to smile, it was easier to shove all that terror back into its little box and pretend it wasn't even there. ]

It’s not completely dry. Isn’t most alcohol vegan made? Just find some grapes, go from there.

[ As it seemed he no longer needing to be calmed, Chloe’s hands went to his shoulders to rest there. Though it had been...nice to run her fingers through his hair, to hold her hand at the back of his neck. It had been just nice having him rest against her stomach, seeking out that form of comfort himself. ]

[ With those hands on him, looking up at her in the morning light, he could sit here content until the end of time. And he could truly believe that this could never be hell, more and more with each moment of relief. ]

And in a year, we'll have something that passes roughly as wine. I don't know about you, Detective, but I don't plan on sticking around quite that long.

Lucifer, when you're dead, that's it. You're dead. We aren't going anywhere.

[ Her hands squeezed at his shoulders. It was a harsh truth even she was in denial about. But this wasn't about her. ]

[ Now that he'd recovered, he finally got to his feet. And it was his turn to put his hands on her shoulders, gripping them by the sides. ]

Detective. If this is really what they say it is. "Asgard." Think of what that means!

[ For starters, it was at the very least heaven-adjacent. Which is closer than he wanted to be. ]

[ Because she wasn't wearing her heels and he was now standing at his full height, Chloe felt like she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. Her arms crossed. ]

Think of what it means? It means garden of gods. What now?

[ That was in no way what he was thinking, so he looked at her as if that were utter nonsense. ]

What? No.

[ His hands fell from her shoulders as he stepped back. Mostly so could gesture while he spoke. ]

If we died and ended up in Asgard, the entire system is an absolute lie! If Asgard exists alongside heaven and hell, then what else is out there? Maybe we can choose where we go!

[ That logic was flimsy at best, but with all that he'd been learning lately, anything was possible. But now he's wondering if maybe cutting a hole in reality itself is what landed him here. ]

Edited 2019-08-13 18:12 (UTC)

You’re really starting to sound like one of those people who go on social media and harp on about how the justice system is a lie and judges are crooks.

Lucifer, you can’t just choose where you go when you die. It’s either up or down, there’s no in between.

[ And that made her pause. It was kind of like a little bulb had gone off as if to nudge her to the hope that maybe she wasn’t dead. Ugh. Or maybe he was right and they could choose. God, why was this such a mess? ]

God. Never mind. Are you hungry? Have you eaten anything yet?

[ Each new statement inspired a new tangent he wanted to go on. He still remembered the very first conversation they ever had, and was willing to point out just how corrupt the justice system was--current company excluded. Simply on account of how often he'd bribed and coerced many clerks, judges, beat cops, and other such officers.

The second was less of a rant and more a stating of facts that were now proven false. Based on his actual experience that she would assume was just metaphors.

So he opted to accept her shift in topic, if only because it was also his current frustration. ]

Barely, I'm absolutely starving. For an omelette or a burger or a steak. I'd even go for a bowl of cereal, but it appears we've landed in a vegan paradise. Which is to say, my own personal nightmare. I'd even risk a bit of Rakfisk, over this drivel!

[ He was only able to get away with such bribery because of whatever was going on with his presence that made them unable to resist him. And then there was her, not understanding why or how his mere presence affected people the way it did that he could almost get away with anything. Yet she was the only one unaffected and watching from the sidelines suspiciously.

Chloe nodded over to nearby table of food. ]

Let’s just grab something and mingle. And be grateful they’re even feeding us. They could be leaving us to starve or fend for ourselves.

[ He wanted to avoid informing her for as long as possible that his usual mojo wasn't exactly working here. Any of it. No one was responding to him the way they usually did. And some of the locals giggled at him when he asked about their desires, or gave him kind but dismissive answers. At least he had enough baseline charm to not get slapped, so that was something. But it still frustrated him to no end. ]

This isn't a night at the Lux, Detective. You know I love a good mingle as much as the next chap, but whether we're dead, kidnapped, exiled, or who knows what else, chatting up a bunch of weird heritage Satanists over vegan brunch is hardly the proper move. We should be searching for an exit while our jailers are distracted.

[ But the simple fact that he wasn't striding off to do just that was telling enough. He didn't have the confidence he usually had in such an idea. ]

Where do you get "Satanists" out of any of this? But since you're always claiming you're the Devil, you'd fit right in with them.

[ A gesture to one of the locals nearby. ]

Over-- [ He peered around the party. He'd just seen them, where did they go? ] somewhere. Three of them, all with silver hair. A whole family way too into Dante's Inferno. And for the record, I'm not claiming to be anything. I am. You should know that by now.

[ It was only starting to sink in that she may not believe it. Any of it. Leave it to Detective Chloe Decker to die and be faced with absolute proof of the afterlife and some form of divinity and still doubt his identity. ]

Are you talking about the guys with silver hair? I might’ve seen them around. I just haven’t had the chance to talk to them myself yet.

[ Her version of talking to someone, anyone, whether it was a suspect or not, it was a lot different from his way of handling people. Chloe asked. Lucifer demanded, depending on his mood. ]

I don’t know what to think anymore— [ And there was her stomach grumbling, cutting in to cut the conversation short. She sighed and touched a hand to it. Saved by the ... stomach growl. ] Let’s just eat. Or you can go off and do whatever you want. I’m going to go investigate the food tables.

[ He let out a breath, as if he couldn't believe that was her priority right now. ]

If you insist on subjecting yourself to what they are calling food here, then you can do it without me. I have more important things to do, like finding us a way out of this...[ He gestured vaguely. ] Nightmare.

[ If she didn't stop him, he would storm off without her. ]

[ There was no stopping him. That was because Chloe didn’t want to. Letting him storm off seemed the best way to go. He would have his time to do whatever and she would be able to grab a bite and find a bench to sit and stare down individuals. Ponder the situation they’re in. In peace.

Maybe she could try to find those silver haired Satanists. They should be her first stop. But now—food. ]

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AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

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