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

[skittering]

❰ that wasn't the answer that he expected. it wasn't the answer he wanted. he can't stand the notion that something that might make him hurt like this is anything but black and white, that he could go back right now and do his best to mend this and there's nothing he could do to guarantee that they'll even want him around.

onni asks him to give it a try, and all at once he wants to say 'no'. he wants to sprint off into the woods, much more quickly and carefully this time, to a place where he'll never be found. but if he does, that seals all of this, doesn't it? if he flees, it's entirely possible that he won't feel anything ever again, and sometime in the last half-year of his life that stopped being the way he wanted to be. so despite nearly every primitive part of him dragging him deeper into the woods, he finds himself asking: ❱

How do I fix it?

[scowlish]

[Knowing his cousin as he does (knowing himself as he does, too) Onni can sense how close Lalli is to simply turning tail and running away into the woods. If it hadn't been for Tuuri and Lalli, he thinks, how many times would he have wanted to do the same?

Something in him relaxes when Lalli asks how he fixes it, and Onni keeps holding his eyes, if he can, and if not, studying Lalli's face.]

Make a case for yourself. Remind them why they like you.

[A short pause.]

Did you mean it, when you said you don't have friends?

[skittering]

❰ and as avoidant as he may have been, lalli holds eye contact now like it's some sort of lifeline. like he used to fresh out of saimaa when it came too close to finding them in the landscape of their dreams. he needed onni then, more than he ever would have admitted. it's possible he needs him just as much here and now.

he shakes his head to the question, just barely, but it's followed by: ❱

I don't know.

❰ an inhale, an exhale. a moment to think. ❱

It's different.

❰ more like family than friends, if he has to describe it - but that's one more thing he's loath to admit, knowing how stupid it sounds. ❱

[scowlish]

[Onni is watching his cousin, his body language and expressions. It's almost palpable in the air between them, how vulnerable Lalli is right now, no matter how good he is at hiding it. Also how fragile, ready to fall apart at the slightest touch.

He keeps holding eye contact, reaches out and carefully squeezes Lalli's shoulder, a tenative touch, when he says that he doesn't know, that it's different.]

But you know that you want to be around them, right?

[skittering]

❰ and rather than run, lalli allows himself to be touched. squeezed, or at least a part of him is. he can't tell if it's an attempt to make sure he doesn't run off or just a point of connection.

it doesn't change his answer, regardless. ❱

Yes. ❰ spoken without a moment's hesitation. ❱

[scowlish]

[The complete lack of hesitation before Lalli says that yes, he wants to be around them, is enough to make Onni nod and say 'mhm' very quietly. He understands, and his hand gently squeezes at Lalli's shoulder again, an attempt at comfort and contact. Reassurance.]

If you want to be around them, then it's worth trying, isn't it? I think they want to be around you too.

[A pause, but he keeps holding Lalli's eyes, then offers him the slightest smile.]

What do you think makes it different than friendship? Is it more than that?

[skittering]

❰ and still lalli doesn't reject the contact, this may be a new record. nor does he break eye contact, at least not until a good second or two after the last question is asked.

he shrugs a little with the shoulder onni's not gripping, dropping his gaze off to the side. honestly, lalli doesn't even know if he can think about that when he still doesn't know if they even want him around.

what he says instead is, ❱ You should go. ❰ but it's not angry, not a verbal shove like when onni first arrived. now it's just... tired. ❱ I need to think.

[scowlish]

[It isn't surprising when Lalli doesn't answer his questions directly, just keeps holding eye contact for a few moments before shrugging. Lalli has always been easy to overwhelm with anything that dwells in the shades of grey, things that don't have a clear-cut correct answer. He'd already been pushing it just by asking that question.

So when Lalli tells him he should go and that he needs to think, without aggression, Onni nods, exhales a heavy sigh. His hands are shaking a little, so he curls them into fists for a moment, getting himself under control. It helps to do something practical, something with a concrete result, so he digs in his bag and pulls out several pieces of fruit, putting them down on the ground in front of Lalli, and then putting his bag away.]

Alright. Check in with me when you can? I want to know you're safe.

[And with that having been said, he moves forward and wraps his arms around Lalli's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Lalli is so small and narrow it's hard to believe he's already twenty, and Onni experiences a surge of protective affection that he expresses by squeezing Lalli a little tighter and then letting him go.]

[skittering]

❰ in exchange for the fruit, lalli reaches into a tunic pocket to draw out a compass. he hands it to onni, insistently if onni seems to hesitate. ❱

Always points to Honir, ❰ he says, leaving off the common sense 'this is in case you get lost in these strange, magical woods'. then, incrementally more stern, ❱ I want it back.

❰ then comes the request to check in - but before lalli has time to respond, onni's leaning in to wrap him up in an embrace. lalli doesn't hug back, but he does let his forehead drop down onto onni's shoulder for the duration of the hug and that'll have to be good enough for now.

and then onni lets go, and lalli sinks back into his spot against the tree. ❱

[scowlish]

[It is enough. Onni knows his cousin, knows that his head on Onni's shoulder is about as much as he has the capacity for right now. And so he squeezes one last time, and lets go. Glances down at the compass, and nods.]

I could follow our tracks back, but this will make it easier. I'll give it back tomorrow.

[With that, Onni gets back to his feet, wincing a bit because his legs are asleep, and looks down at the compass. One more nod, and then he turns to go, but glances over his shoulder and raises a brow.]

Don't forget to check in!

[And with that, he disappears into the forest.]