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

[captainmaterial]

[Nodding in agreement, but it's that word that he uses that triggers a thought in Finn.] You say 'scanned'. ...You wouldn't by chance be from somewhere more...technologically advanced than this, would you? [It'd be presumptuous to say 'maybe out among the stars' but take it as being implied.]

There was one guy who was working on powering things, I haven't heard from him in a while though. [Sadly, the Iron Man is gone.]

[winscenario]

Oh, a lot more technologically advanced. We don't have any form of magic where I'm from, but we have electricity, computers, cars, spaceships, so on.

[ This whole place is primitive by comparison, not that Jim would ever use a word like that, since it's both narrow-minded and offensive. ]

That's a thought. I'm not sure if I'd be able to help much, unfortunately. I know my way around a ship, but I'm a captain, not an engineer.

[captainmaterial]

[Nodding.] My world is the same, and there's a few others here from homes like that too. But so far I don't think a lot of us are from the same home. [Finn had a lot of folks from his home when he first arrived. Now it's just him and Luke. (At today's date, not the date of this log.)

Aaaaaa, a superior officer. Finn shakes his head.] I'm just a well-trained soldier, myself. Or...well, a former soldier. [Still heavily trained.] I know enough to do field repairs on my technology but probably not on anyone else's. [He's got a Fisher Price toy telephone as a usable rotary phone?]

[winscenario]

I've noticed that, too. Just talked to a few people, but even those from worlds with space travel, they've never heard of Starfleet before. Shot in the dark, but I bet you haven't either.

[ There's still a flicker of hope that Jim can't help. Even if he doesn't really know Finn from back home, one can still hope. ]

That's just a matter of extrapolating the knowledge. The real problem here is the magic element. That really is completely out of my wheelhouse.

[captainmaterial]

[Finn only takes a moment after the questioning statement to shake his head.] Not an organization I've heard of before. [Confused squint.] What is it that Starfleet does?

[Alas, Jim won't have heard of the First Order either.]

The magic part isn't...too bad. Not that I've noticed. Then again, my abilities are just summoning a shield.

[winscenario]

We're a deep space exploratory and defense service maintained by the United Federation of Planets. It's the principal means for conducting deep space exploration, research, defense, peacekeeping, and diplomacy. Basically, we travel around exploring new worlds, meeting new people and learning about new civilizations, offering our aid when necessary, and sometimes intervening in case of conflict within Federation space.

[ He hasn't, but then that might just be for the best. It's been a long time since anyone on Earth has seen a government even remotely resembling the First Order, and thankfully so. ]

Oh. You can do magic already? I've heard about that, but it looks like I might have to wait to see what I'll be capable of doing.

[captainmaterial]

[Finn straightens as he listens, looking kinda impressed and very interested by this Starfleet.] I kind of wish we had something like that in my home. If we do they're probably not all that popular or numerous. If anything they've probably been slowly terminated by any of the organizations trying to take control of the universe.

[A nod.] Nothing flashy, but it's pretty useful to me. I've been trained with this weapon since I was younger.

[winscenario]

That's unfortunate. No doubt a few groups would want to see Starfleet's end too, but we're too damn stubborn, I guess.

[ He shrugs, smiling lopsidedly. ]

Useful trumps flashy, if you ask me. Anything that you can actually show off a little?