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! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, I'm the ultimate investigator. A regular bloodhound for untruths. Lies smell like the worst farts imaginable to these nostrils and I can weasel them out until I whittle away at the truth.

Little trick Mimir gave me.

[Slight exaggeration there. She could sniff out lies five times per day before she risked exhaustion or outright killing herself by smelling for that shit, so it had limited uses in actual interrogation, especially if her judgment was off, but it did have its uses.]

My nose is better than a polygraph, I tell you. Can't wait to see if I can make it better one of these days.

[Definitely not a figure of speech.]

You do like going off on a tangent, Miss. [ and he, well, he relaxes a bit. Removes his hand from her arm and figets with his gloves, eyebrows pinched. ]

So you can - smell lies? Anything else your olfactory senses tell you? When it will rain, for instance?

I believe there should be tests [ he laughs. ] for science. I feel like I can't believe you just yet.

[She snickered and shrugged at him.] From time to time. I don't like to tie my think-pan down too much.

But you want to know more about my amazing nose do you? Well, I can smell all kinds of colors. Have been doing that for years. As for the rain, smell it yourself.

Whattaya wanna test? How good of a liar you are?

Are you saying that think-pans shouldn't be tied down? [ It's not like the tone is excessively dry or anything. Nah, not at all. Clearly, Vanitas fully understands what a think-pan signifies. ]

Frankly, I don't see why you'd be keen on smelling colours. Wouldn't you want to see - more?

[ He cracks a grin though. Theres is, after all, a challenge in what she's said and he likes those. ] I never called myself a liar. I wouldn't mind trying my hand at that challenge though.

Any restrictions to that gift of yours?

Some probably should be, but not mine. [She snickered.] Gotta be sure someone can handle a free one, after all.

As for seeing? You'd think that, but I make a lot better judgments when I'm not relying on my eyes. Might sound weird, but it is what it is.

Not that I know of. I can pick up lies, but it's not like I actually know what they're lying about, only that it's true or false, as they understand it. The rest's the job of a proper investigation.

Frankly, I have no idea what that even means. [ the tone might just hint that this is Terezi's fault. ] I'm not even sure I still want to know...

It's a choice then, that blindfold of yours? [ he's intrigued and a bit disbelieving. For him it seems like that certainly can't be the only reason. Like there must be something else, hiding behind that shallow reasoning. >]You would see me if I were to pull it down?

I do appreciate your frankness. [ it makes him laugh in fact. ]If it's genuine, that is. Would you be up for an investigation then or..?

You probably don't, hehehe. One other thing to keep in mind. I think we can only use it a few time before we get winded, with any of the powers. I'm still only able to do this about five times in a day or it's too much for me.

And yeah, pretty much a choice. If I pull it down, I'll see you once I'm done squinting. As for an investigation? Oh, I'm in! What're we investigating?

Are you going to explain everything except the free think-pan then..? Not that I don't appreciate the other piecess of information. [ Praise from Vanitas is rare and not what you'd call effusive. The tone, instead, is more reserved than what's normal for him. ] There's too much ignorance at the moment.

The question is if you can maintain your sniff for some time? Does it tire you out? I assume it takes up a good deal of your attention?

You chose blindness despite your thirst for excitement? You've either lived a quiet life or you have the luck of the devil.

[ he humm, clearly in his element. ] I guess I'd need to confirm that you can smell lies after they've been spoken? You've got no clue if someone has the intent to lie?

Hehe, that's something for you to figure out as you free your own. [She snickered and shrugged as she said it, evading the fact that she wasn't actually being that serious with it.]

I can maintain it long enough to get through what a person's saying, so it's not just a sentence, but yeah. Bit of attention. Not all of it, but quite a bit.

[She snorted and laughed.] Back home, I could see just fine by smelling distances, shades and colors. My sense of smell was amazing there. Here? Just truth and lies.

...but on that? I'd say I can tell you the intent. I only know lies that are the ones a person is intending to be lies. Lies where they don't know the truth? Where they think they're telling the truth? I'd probably miss them, though I haven't tested that yet.

[ Another rustle of cloth, a sound to show that Vanitas is carding a hand through his hair in annoyance. The sound and the gesture both are non too gentle. ] I'll make a note of that. [ or not because he already sounds bored. ]

Did other people rely on olfactory clues to navigate the world? Or were you the exception? [ he sighs and it's a hard sound sliding past his teeth. ] It's a bad trade-off that the gods have subjected us to. I used to have access to The Book of Vanitas. [ the capitalisation is audible ] It allowed me to heal vampires who'd lost their sense of self. I don't have access to it here and I'm not convinced it would work as it ought to.

A complete waste if you ask me. The book, you know, it's important enough that some would commit murder for it.

[ he saying all of this in the same tone - as if he's talking about the weather, dinner, someone's new job. ] Ah yes, one of the things I said just now was a lie.

Think you can sniff that out? [ the hint is in the details: the only untruth here is Vanitas saying he'd been lying at all. The rest is as true as it comes. ]

[She was definitely figuring out a test was going on about a sentence into his description, and the way she sort of focused on him made it pretty obvious that she was gauging his collected statement for when the falsehood came into the picture.

She got in closer and sniffed. Did she need to be that close? Not exactly, but Terezi had an alarming lack of concern for the comfort zones people had about physical closeness and contact. She snuffled about like a pig hunting for a truffle, grinning towards the end.]

I mean, the book sounds interesting, though I try not to associate with too many rainbow drinkers personally. One's more than enough for a lifetime and a half. But hey, if you are, then you do you. Book'd be handy, but like you said we don't get any real tricks from home. Kind of annoying and no clue why.

...

Eh? [She snickered.] The only time you smell like a bad fart's when you're telling me it's a lie, so I'm gooooonnna guess that's the hoofbeast shit.

[ There's something unnatural about Vanitas' stillness when Terezi approaches. His breathing is even, his shoulders straight, but his hands move behind his back.

He's not doing anything with them but there might just be a weapon belt and he might just be cautious enough to aim for easy access. ]

Congratulations! [ and that? That's an enthusiastic pat on Terezi's shoulders

And, quite possibly, a move to navigate her out of his personal space ] Your god-given abilities are rather more useful than expected.

Maybe you can tell me now what universities smell like? [ he waits for a moment ] Rainbow drinkers?

[She did, at least, lean back when he nudged. The girl was prone to not caring about personal space, but she wasn't going to force the issue unless it was all kinds of fun. And she was currently having plenty of that.]

Aheh, yeah. It'll come in handy next time there's a crime to solve at the very least, which is one of the reasons I like having ...

...

What's a university? [Pause.] Oh, our word for vampires. Different colored blood, so they drink the rainbow. Get it?

[ who knew that all they needed for happiness was some unscheduled experiments? The gods should be proud ]

Next time... [ skeptical tone of voice here ] Do you really think this will be a hotspot for crime?

Are you implying that you know of vampires who drink, what, seven-shaded blood?

(OOC: Got a tiny update on her powers. Each use lasts 5 minutes, but no real change other than that.)

Give it long enough and enough people, and it's bound to happen eventually. Might take a while, but we've got us, and I betcha there's some criminals among our ranks.

...

Yeah, actually. They've drunk all the troll blood colors so they definitely drank the rainbow. but it'd be rude to say their name. They were always embarrassed about that.

You'd want a motive when it comes to crime though. There's not much to fight over in this place.

[ he shrugs, the big ribbon around his neck rustling with the.motion. ] It could always be a crime of passion I guess. Or a slow descend into madness.

Also [ and that's a raised eyebrow as he goes and picks up more items. ] I've heard of different blood types, but - colours? [ There's a nudge for more information in the tone if his voice. ]

Right... only when we start to see a lot of shortages, or there's pressure, or crimes of passion, will we see much of it. It'll happen eventually, but not yet unless one of us finds an angle.

Which I'm not suggesting, mind you. [She could smell her own lie like sour cherries. She would totally suggest this to a criminal mastermind just to give herself shit to do.

Reaching a hand up, she pricked it on one of her fangs to show him a single drop of teal-colored blood. There it was for him to see, plain as day.]

Hemospectrum. All the colors of the rainbow and some shades between. We used to use it to order our society. Red for the lowest cast, Fuschia and Purple at the top.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

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