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

She seems very pleasant. Very formal. Very royal. The times I've met her, that kind of feels like what she was all about. It was like she'd grown out of her young girl phase pretty early and thoroughly.

[She actually missed feferi when she talked to Dany. Fef was royal, but still pretty easy going, all things considered. Following along with Naminé, she made her way up the path, looking around curiously. The place was actually kind of nice.]

Who else lives around here?

[ Naminé looked to be considering Terezi's assessment as she stepped off of the ladder and moved to the side, out of the troll's way so that she could comfortably ascend as well. As promised there was a bedroom up here, four beds and all. Two of them looked unused, but it was a cozy enough space. The one belonging to Naminé was probably obvious; pictures were scattered around it, sketch after sketch taking up space in neat but numerous groupings. ]

That's a good way to describe her. She does seem very... practical.

[ Mature, perhaps, would be the word, if Naminé were one to think it. She'd done her own growing up too soon, however, and rarely gave any consideration to that kind of definition. Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned once she saw Terezi was safely up the ladder to go and seek out some of her own dresses. They were stored neatly, and though there was not a large number of them Naminé, began to sort through them carefully, considering each one. ]

Mm... not very many people do, these days. I think it's only an older man and a young woman, now. I see them sometimes, but...

[ Naminé wasn't exactly very aggressive about introducing herself. ]

[She flopped down next to Naminé's bed and settled in there, grinning up at her and nodding. Yeah, Dany always seemed to be very hyper focused, laser focused on whatever task was in front of her, and extremely practical and cool at all times. She sort of screamed the 'royal' thing with her every motion. It even felt a little 'forced,' but like a mask, but one always worn so much that you got used to it. But she wasn't going to question it. not her business.]

Yeah, I'm... sort of the same way. Turgon's in mine, and we chat once in a while, but I couldn't tell you any of the others personally. Usually too busy with my own antics.

More fun to meet people out of the houses if you ask me.

[ The blonde cast a look over her shoulder to see Terezi settled, smiling back with a more gentle curve of her mouth. They were of the same mind about Daenerys; Naminé saw fit to offer the woman as much privacy as possible, herself, inasmuch as one could when one shared a room with the other party. ]

Oh? I don't think I've ever met them.

[ Filing that away, she returned to thumbing through her small wardrobe. One dress got pulled out, followed closely by a second, and she held them up to consider them side by side. Then, blinking, she realized her foolishness and turned to lift them so that they were on either side of Terezi in Naminé's vision. Much smarter to use the model one has at hand, rather than attempting to imagine them. ]

… Which one do you think you'd like to wear?

[ Perhaps deliberately she'd chosen a blue dress and a pale yellow one, both light and both a little higher than knee length. Terezi did seem to like colors, after all; it seemed that would suit her better than Naminé's more typical white. To the troll's comment, ]

And-- why is that? That you prefer to meet people from other houses, I mean.

He's a little boring, which surprised me. Would have thought an actual elf would have been... I don't know, more spritely? But he's got a good think pan between the hear ducts, so if you need advice like you might ask from a ruler? He's a good one to talk to.

[She sniffed at the both of them. Nice colors. Not her favorites, but they were nice. And, after a moment she pointed towards the blue one and smiled.]

I think the blue would be good. Thanks.

It's not that I don't want to meet people in the hous, but I prefer to meet them outside of the house house, if that makes more sense? Not in the hive.

Huh. [ Naminé was... possibly loosely familiar at best (if she was familiar at all) with the concept of an elf as it was, so reasons for which they should have been expected not to be boring were in short supply in her recollection. ] I'll... keep that in mind. The-- advice part, that is. Is he a king? Or some kind of prince?

[ The girl nodded at Terezi's decision, stepping closer to hold the dress out for her to take. ]

Here. In that case, I'll wear the other one.

[ Lips pressing together thoughtfully at Terezi's description, she paused. ]

It makes sense. But why is meeting them there so different? It's important to know the people who share the house with you, too.

[ If it's all... one house, and not a bunch of separate cabins. Although honestly she should probably try to be more friendly with her neighbors, herself, but old habits die hard. The old mansion in the woods didn't exactly provide much opportunity for a housewarming party, especially when they were hiding there to begin with. ]

I think he's a king of some sort, but not a very powerful one? He's in some sort of exiled situation with his people in a small kingdom. There's a lot of details I didn't understand exactly.

[She considered that while she tried to find a little spot where she could start changing into Naminé's dress, turning around so she could give her some privacy in the process. Hmmm, that was a bit of a good question, wasn't it? As the sounds of fabric shifting could be heard, she murmured a little.]

Maybe because my house is my personal space? So I like to have only people I trust in it?

Oh, [ she said, in an uncertain sort of tone that indicated she wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, bad news of someone else's that it was. ] Is it... a touchy subject? For him, that is.

[ It seemed prudent to know, in case she should ever run across that fellow. Better to be aware in advance of anything she oughtn't bring up. Her eyes followed the troll for a second before she realized Terezi's intent, and with polite aversion of her gaze she made to tuck herself into her own space, for their own mutual privacy. (Surely something had been worked out by now, considering how long she'd been sharing a room. It wasn't much trouble to change from one dress to the next, really, so the process didn't take long. In the midst of it, ]

Well-- yes, of course. But if they're going to be there anyway, I'd rather know what they're like than not be sure.

He gets a little sad sometimes, but no. I'd say he's pretty free with the details. Thing is there's a lot of them. Whole lotta history if that makes sense. Hard to take it all in. But he doesn't seem to mind chatting it up.

[She certainly hadn't found Turgon to clam up much at all. He could be very open about his past, even more than she would have expected. Either way, she'd wait until she didn't hear cloth shifting on the other side before turning around again, now decked out in a dress that would have pleased Vris certainly.]

I suppose. But I guess I just like meeting them outside of the space. I know it's a little weird.

Hm. [ A soft hum, under her breath; it sounded a bit sad itself, although truthfully that possibility was the better outcome - that this fellow could talk about it without being too burdened by the memory. The tone of her voice was more amused when she spoke again after a beat, thoughts clearly having shifted. ] That's alright. It'd be just like when you tell me about what happened in your worlds.

[ Because that? That was pretty complex in and of itself, so she could officially she had practice listening to long histories. Fully dressed, Naminé didn't make the turn back to where she knew Terezi was until after she heard the troll shift first. Her eyes fell immediately to the dress, appraising it on her friend. ]

… It looks good on you, [ she says, a little proudly. Her own dress suits her well enough - though she's more sunshine than vanilla at the moment. ] We can hang our wet clothes up to dry downstairs, if you like.

Yeah, tell me about it. I already know how much crap went on mine that doesn't make any real sense to humans. Trying to get into simple stuff gets 'em confused since we don't say things the way they do. But you get the idea.

[Yeah, seriously? Ancient tolkein elf history was like one long string of sad stories of stupidity and unexpected consequences. Was it any surprise that their songs were so often sad laments?]

Eheh, thanks. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, and we can hang out until it's getting close to time for me to get out of here before I have problems... you know, I might think of getting an actual house one of these days. Kind of sucks nt being able to hang out overnight.

I think so, yes. [ That she got the idea, that was. ] I'm sure if I tried to explain more of what's happened in my worlds, it'd be confusing for you, too. Things can just be so complicated sometimes.

[ Especially to hear about, rather than experience. Nodding to Terezi's agreement, Naminé went to collect her own discarded, wet clothing and then made for the ladder, listening as she went. Pausing next to it, she turned back to give a curious, ]

Really? I can see why that would be nice, but-- it can be pretty tough to do that here. I know somebody who's been building his house for... [ A beat, as her mouth worked itself into a thoughtful little shape. Then she concluded, ] … Forever, it seems like.

The whole heartless thing wasn't the easiest to understand, no. So your history might be kind of difficult to piece together. One of those 'had to be there' things, isn't it?

[She laughed a little and nodded.]

It could take months to make a proper hive, but in the end wouldn't it be worth it? I totally think it would. And either way, I wouldn't have to worry about how long people stayed over, would I?

I guess it is pretty... involved, [ she mused as she began to descend the ladder. Stepping out of the way so as to provide Terezi room to do the same, ] Actually, there were scientists in one of my worlds who spent quite a lot of time studying hearts, and I'm sure even they would have a hard time explaining some of what happened.

[ Naminé herself was something of enigma with respect to the true nature of her being, and that wasn't even getting into her personal history. Smiling slightly, ]

No - you wouldn't. But if you had to build it all yourself, you might be too tired to have anyone over for a very long time.

[ She was joking, of course - but the notion was a funny one. ]

And that's just the stuff with hearts. History is its own ball of wax, isn't it? Kind of a funny phrase... ball of wax. Wonder why humans use it. But basically? Yeah, different worlds have to be a little complicated, and some ore than others.

[She snickered a little and considered for a minute.]

Well, if you want, you can help build it with me.

'Ball of wax'? [ She only barely got it out without laughing around it. ] I don't think I've heard that one - but that does sound like something humans would say.

[ There were lots of weird sayings, she was finding, and only some of them made sense. Stepping a bit farther out into the main floor of her cabin, she took a moment to consider what they'd do to entertain themselves, only to pause at Terezi's suggestion. Turning, the blonde regarded her along one shoulder, lips parting slightly. ]

Me? [ The questioning lilt of her voice was more contemplative than anything. ] … I'd be happy to. Only-- I don't know the first thing about building a house...!

[ And it was hard to picture her lugging around heavy wooden beams, or some such. ]

Yeah, they've got all these weird sayings. I still don't get it. Then again, nobody really seems to understand troll things quite as easily. [She laughed.] We tend to use more words to clear up what we're talking about.

[It was weirdly like German, actually. Where descriptive words were combined into phrases (instead of single long words) to net a functional term. Of course, when you heard someone talking about protein chutes, it wasn't exactly clear.]

I don't know much either, so I might look up some books first?

That - does sound like it could make things either much easier or much harder to understand. [ Depending on the context. ] But I do wonder sometimes where people come up with the things they say.

[ And so many different ways to do so, often redundant. As for the house issue, ]

Seems like a good idea. [ Fingertips lacing together, ] It would be pretty bad if something weren't built right. It could get really dangerous...!

You know, there's probably a lot of learned folks who spend their lives coming up with the answers to those sorts of questions. I mean, I'm not really one of them, but it sounds like the sort of thing a person would fill a bookhive with if they really wanted to.

[Something she'd had to come to terms with after dealing with humans as long as she had. They spoke so very differently from her.]

Yeah. Wouldn't want it crashing to the ground from where I'd put it, now would we?

[Oh wait, did she mention wanting to do this as a treehouse? Because she totally should have mentioned that.]

Oh, probably. People seem to spend a lot of time trying to figure out all kinds of things, even things you wouldn't think anyone would need to study.

[ She knew enough scientists in the earlier part of her life to realize that some people's curiosity had no bounds. But speaking of words and their usage, at first Naminé didn't find much amiss in Terezi's statement, naturally almost overwriting the actual grammar with, 'down,' rather than, 'to the ground.' Except after a beat it clicked instead, and with a blink Naminé raised her head slightly, fixing Terezi with a confused look. ]

'Put it?' What do you mean? You aren't thinking of building on a cliff, are you?

Oh maaaaan, yeah. Some of the brainy sorts kind of like to think themselves into a corner of some sort. So many ways to spend your days studying. Eheh. Not for me.

[She shook her head and sounded more than a little amused at their antics. It was silly, if you asked her. But, then Terezi asked and she cocked her head.]

Oh! My hive was a treehive back home. Was thinking of maybe doing the same here.

A treeh-- oh!

[ Her puzzling was only momentary; treehouses were something of a fixture on the Destiny Islands, or at least on the play island. She took a second to parse it as such, picturing one that could be lived in. ]

That does seem... precarious. It might be even harder than building a regular house...! [ Assuming one wanted it to be up to the same standards, anyway. ] But it could be fun, if you can find a tree that's the right size.

It can be, but like you said, the real trick's finding a tree good enough. If I can't do that, I'll have to settle for a hive on the ground level. Not as good, but it'd still be my own hive, the sort of thing I could share with someone.

[In all likelihood, she'd have to settle. The trees here were big, but not that big. To have a place big enough for a proper housing situation, you needed a truly massive tree like she'd had back home.]

Mm. I know of some pretty impressive trees, but none of them are around here.

[ Just in other worlds that were inaccessible to them at the moment, unfortunately. Perhaps it was the sort of thing one ought to ask the gods about - maybe Sigyn - but for the moment Naminé refrained from mentioning as much. It was worth looking around first, at least, and in any case she was more interested in, ]

What would make it better than a normal hou-- hive?

You know... I actually haven't thought about that little detail. I definitely want to do the paint job myself somehow. You know, so I can express myself... [Translation. A home that looked like an explosion of paint and graffiti.] And it'd be nice to enjoy a really open space to just crash, relax.

I really just want a relaxed place, something comfortable to live in.

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