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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She's wondering that too, honestly, especially when he talks about the sort of things he does back home.

"You visit other planets?" Mary asks. "How?"

In her short time here, she's learned that there are all sorts of people from different times and places, people who come from magical lands and people who aren't actually human. It doesn't shock her that Jim is able to travel to other planets. She just wants to know how it's possible.

Jim's well aware that she might be from literally any point in time, and any reality out there. If she's from Earth, then she's undoubtedly from before his time, though at least the concept of planet isn't a new one for her.

"This really huge starship that can fly through space," he leans into the space between them, drawing the shape of his ship with his finger on the table. "My ship is called the Enterprise, and it holds a crew of about a thousand people. I'm her captain. It's really... just a lot of technology, I don't know how much of it would make sense to you. If you're from Earth, then I'll say I've come from the year 2263, as a frame of reference."

He's probably right that she wouldn't understand the science behind it, and not because she's stupid. She can't really imagine how it's possible. Mary watches Jim's finger as he draws on the table. If that's supposed to be a ship, it doesn't look much like one to her.

"Is it sort of like an airplane?" she asks. "2263?" Her eyebrows shoot up. "I am from 1924." Mary can't believe that she's met someone who is from so far in the future. And he seems so... normal.

"It's... close, yes," he starts, shifting on his seat while pondering how to explain it to her. "Airplanes can't leave the atmosphere. Starships, or spaceships, are capable of traveling much farther beyond that, and they're equipped with complex life support systems that allow people to be aboard for months on end. The air is breathable, we have artificial gravity, general heating, plumbing, recycling systems and various other commodities that allow us to go through our day-to-day lives comfortably. It consumes greater energy than an airplane too, but it's also a different kind of energy than what you might be used to, in your time."

His smile turns a hint softer. "Which, for the record, has always sounded fascinating to me. I'd like to hear more about it, if you'd be willing to share."

"It sounds like a science fiction novel," Mary says. It's fascinating. Who would have thought that they would really be able to travel in space someday? Mary supposes that they might not actually be that far off from it in her time though if they already have airplanes.

"Really?" she asks when he mentions being curious about when she comes from. "I'm not quite sure what to tell you." Mary furrows her brow. "Do you have any questions?"

"I'm sure it would to a lot of people," he chuckles. Especially if there are others from earlier points in time like Mary, that's sure to be a reaction he'll get often around here.

"Well... what was it like? You're a Lady, so does that mean you lived in a big house, with a lot of people? Did you have many parties? How fast do your cars go? Do you have phones? Do women wear trousers yet?"

She did ask if he had any questions.

She can't help but laugh a little when Jim asks so many questions. Mary takes a deep breath before she starts to answer them.

"I did live in a big house, called Downton Abbey, in a small town in Yorkshire. I grew up with my parents and two sisters, but we do have a rather large staff. I'd say we have a rather normal amount of parties. It depends on the occasion."

The next question gives her pause, as she's not really sure. Plus, she doesn't like cars very much. "Our cars are... faster than horses at least. Fifty miles per hour? I cannot say for sure. We do have a telephone at the house. Some ladies wear trousers quite often, though I only wear them when I am riding."

It's much more comfortable to ride astride than to ride sidesaddle. Otherwise, for everyday life, she prefers skirts.

"Fifty? Hm," he pauses, lips a bit pursed. "That's not too fast. I mean, it's not bad for your time, actually. And all that sounds really cool. So people dress up a lot for your parties, right? Are they like... super glamorous and with music and fancy cocktails and finger food?"

Oh, Jim can almost picture one of those huge, lavish, brightly lit ballrooms and he's almost swooning.

"We've had a few parties like that," she says with a nod. "I do enjoy a good frock." It seems like finding a frock here is going to be difficult, which is disappointing.

"Do they not have lavish parties in 2263?" He seems so excited about the prospect of them. Do they no longer have parties in his time or are they simply not lavish like they used to be?

"Well, we have parties. Some more elaborate than others, Starfleet holds a few more formal events too," he explains. "And some species do throw pretty impressive parties and feasts during our visits, but it's not the norm back on Earth. Parties are just... different from what they are in your time. It's all so glamorous. Well, among certain social classes-- that in itself is also very interesting to me, upper and lower classes, we don't really have that anymore either."

Mary furrows her brow at that. "You don't?" How do they not? Money will always dictate the haves from the have-nots. Unless... "Is there communism in your time?"

The communists and socialists are the ones who want to get rid of class systems, so perhaps they've finally succeeded.

Jim lets out a soft chuckle at that. "Not... strictly speaking. The United Federation of Planets is mainly a representative republic, based on the principles of democracy. However, we have no currency, aside from Federation credits which we use for certain transactions. Mostly outside of Federation space."

He can't even begin to imagine how weird that all must sound to her, so he tries to explain. "Economy is very different, in my time. I couldn't define our government by the standards that you know of in your time, but there are some features which aren't too unlike the purest, most idealistic views of communism and socialism, even though that would be too simple a way to put it."

It's kind of hard to grasp what Jim is telling her. Mary isn't stupid, but what he's saying sounds so unbelievable. "There's... no money?"

She just wants to make sure that she understands that correctly. How can there not be any money? Do people actually share things with one another? It sounds like a utopia.

"There's no money," he repeats, nodding at her with a little smile. She's not the first he meets that has that reaction, after all even in his own reality he sometimes crosses paths with species to whom the concept of an advanced society that functions with virtually no monetary currency is absolutely absurd.

"We simply share and trade what we have. There's free access to anything we might need to live a happy, comfortable life, and any added luxury can be attained through trade or, as I said, Federation credits. Starfleet officers, such as myself, usually have a pretty hefty sum at our disposal, but it's honestly more than I'd know what to do with in my entire life, and I spend it mostly on absolutely unnecessary things like antiques."

She blinks. "People share and trade and nobody hoards anything from one another?"

Mary finds that hard to believe. Humans are naturally greedy. Why would they all the sudden decide to share everything with others? She certainly wouldn't share all of her wealth with other people.

"Not really, no. Not on Earth anyway, people are... different."

He offers her a smile, from someone who has seen that skepticism before and understands it all too well. "I told you, things have changed a lot in the past 300 years."

That's honestly mind-blowing to her. Mary actually blinks and shakes her head. Truth be told, she has a hard time believing it, though she doesn't know why Jim would lie. He has nothing to gain by selling her a sugarcoated vision of the future.

"So they have," she says.

Jim offers a sympathetic smile. He might not be from her time but he can understand how weird all this must seem to her. Still, it wasn't his intention to alienate her in any way, so he tries to change the subject a little.

"Well, some things are still similar. We have music and literature, we like to spend time with our loved ones, we're still capable of telling jokes on occasion... we dance. We're not all good at it, but I enjoy it, at least. I also like to play chess, and read old books."

He gestures to Mary. "What kinds of things do you like to do?"

She shrugs slightly as Jim moves the conversation on from society in general to her hobbies. "I read as well. I also enjoy riding my horse and going shopping. None of that is terribly exciting, I suppose."

As she's told people before, the life of an Earl's daughter can be rather boring. Most of their young adult life is spent courting a husband, and then after they get married, they're expected to be a wife and raise children. There isn't a lot of time for freedom or exploration.

"I also help run my family's estate, though that's more of a job than a hobby," she says.

"I'd still say that's exciting, just a different kind of exciting," he shrugs. "To be honest with you, sometimes I wish I could just spend a good while reading, horse riding, camping and hiking. No interstellar politics, no end of the world crises."

He certainly wouldn't get bored, for one. In a way he almost envies Mary's life a little bit, even if he does love his job. It's just tiring, sometimes.

"You got a mind for business, then? Do you like it?"

"I do," she replies with another slight shrug. "I don't know if it'd matter as much to me if I wasn't personally invested." If she worked for a business other than her family's, would she care? It's hard for her to say. The farms mean everything to her because Downton means everything to her.

Mary turns to Jim, a faint smile on her face. "Perhaps you'll have some time to read or ride horses here. Surely they must have horses somewhere."

"Maybe I will," he agrees, then shrugs at the last remark. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Some people commented there aren't even animals around, at least not yet. Even if horses do show up, they might not even be tamed."

Mary furrows her brow. "How odd that there are no animals," she says. "I hadn't noticed it before, but you're right." She hasn't heard any birds sing or seen any small creatures like squirrels running about. "Unless you count familiars. Mr. Quill has an animal creature that follows him around."

Part of her kind of wants one and part of her thinks it would be annoying to have something follow her around all day.

"Does he? That's cute," he comments with a smile. "Things like pets are a little difficult to have around on a ship. I had a few potted plants, but even those were hard to keep alive. Usually I keep alien plants that don't require sunlight to survive, but that's about it."

Pets or familiars are such a distant concept to him. He's never even entertained the thought, not with the life he's led so far.

The idea of him with plants is kind of funny for some reason, and Mary gives a little laugh. She can just picture him holding and cradling a potted plant like it's a pet.

"One might imagine, being from such different times and places, that you and I would have nothing to talk about, but I think it's quite the opposite," Mary says. "Both of us are curious about the other person's home."

She imagines that it will lead to any number of interesting conversations to come.

AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

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