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

[iustise]

John maintains the same bemused look on his face, though he doesn't press the issue. Perhaps those really are all the people she knows, in which case he dare not rub the fact in her face. If she is -- or was, he supposes, considering their current surroundings -- happy with a rather tight inner circle, by the sounds of things, then let her be happy.

"I spent a great deal of time away from home, myself," Lord John explains. "I suppose it is odd to consider the idea of it when letters were very much a fact of my life. My brother and his wife, my mother and her husband, and all of my friends... It was a comfort, to receive a letter from each and every one of them. To hear about their daily goings-on and to know that they were well."

He smiles wryly at the thought of it. Would he ever receive such a note from any one of them again? Would he ever see them, he wonders?

[demonicbeauty]

What could Ariadne say? Her family was more or less decimated. But it was always better not to let her own sadness get in the way. And she thought she could detect a small trace of sadness in him.

Well, that wouldn't do.

"How about this?" she said, injecting good cheer into her voice. "If I ever need to contact you, while I'm staying here, I could write you a letter. Instead of the bracelet, I mean. My penmanship is excellent. That it could be fun!"

[iustise]

His smile brightens at the suggestion, tilting his head to the side as he considers it (and her). The city is not so big that they should need to do such a thing, and there really isn't such a thing as a post or messenger service to speak of, what with the bracelets and the state of magic such as they are. However.

"I think that will do quite nicely," Lord John replies. "Though perhaps I should write you myself, to start. You did say you had never received a letter after all, did you not?" He presses his free hand to his chest, offering her the dip of a little bow as he continues on to ask, "Would you allow me the pleasure of sending you your first?"

[demonicbeauty]

For a moment, Ariadne had the hysterical idea that she had suddenly started living someone else's life. Gentlemen, as a rule, didn't offer her bows. She felt terribly important in that moment. Before she laughed off the whole thing and gave him another bouncy curtsy in return, realizing that it was only for pretend. "I would be delighted," she said. Just like a lady who'd been asked for a dance.

Dancing! Yes! That's what the party was missing. The entire morning, she'd been contemplating why it didn't feel quite like a proper court affair. Now she realized, it was because there was no music.

She'd have to see about that later.

"You can reach me at Sigyn's cottage," she said. Apparently, that's where she'd be staying for the foreseeable future. With Josie, which pleased her, because Josie didn't seem to care about her green skin or candy floss hair.

Ariadne couldn't help but wonder if John would so quickly offer to write to her, if he knew the truth...