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

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.

You could paint a house on the ground just as easily, [ Naminé observed, though her tone was good-natured. Humming softly as she made an attempt to picture the paintjob in question, the girl came up with something vibrant, at the least. ]

Would it be red? [ it seemed she felt the need to inquire. ] Although I suppose whether or not red would be relaxing might be a... personal preference.

Yeah, I could definitely do that. And the outside'd probably be blue or green, like my teal. But inside? There'd be red, but there'd be all sorts of colors. I like a splash here and there, everywhere really. Just go nuts with the slathering of it all.

[Do not let this girl paint every room of the house. It would be a disaster.]

[ Ironically, Naminé was probably exactly the wrong person to try to stop her. After so long surrounded by white, she had quite an appreciation for more colorful choices. ]

That sounds exciting. [ Which she said genuinely, despite having a beat in there wherein she was struggling to choose the correct word. 'Eye-searing' was probably what someone else might have said. ]

Would you want to paint murals? Not just colors, but-- pictures.

[Well, there were far worse follies to enable. It would just be a little eye blistering is all. She bobbed her head and grinned broadly as it seemed like she got it.]

I could almost certainly do murals. I used to paint pictures, but they're always a little crude when you do them with a blindfold on. i could do so much better detail without that, couldn't I?

[ Hey, so long as Terezi was happy, it didn't matter much whether everyone else was quite as excited about her decorating choices. ]

You probably could...!

[ Or so she would assume. But of course; ]

You'd know better than I would if it would make a big difference. I'm not as familiar with how well your nose works as you are.

[ Terezi's capacity for detail even while technically blind was not exactly something Naminé was bold enough to question. ]

Not quite as well as it should, but this kind of work's more what I can do. I can smell the colors up close, so I can get a feel for it as I work. Still, my art skills are absolutely primo, so it'll turn out something great and avante garde.

[It would definitely be one of those things, definitely. Both? Was all in the eyes of the beholder.]

[ Perhaps it was a good thing Terezi spent so much time blindfolded. ]

I'd be very interested to see what you would come up with. [ Encouragingly said, as was, ]

Although now that you mention it, I realize we've known each other such a long time to not have drawn together.

[Possibly. Funny story was that, when she got her sight back, some of the places she thought smelled wonderful were WAY too bright for her tastes. Price of being a nocturnal creature, really.]

Hehe, that's true. We haven't drawn much together, have we? I do own some colored chalk if you want to do the cobblestones one of these days?

[ Naminé would be quite sympathetic, were she aware. She still found all the color and motion of places outside her familiar white rooms a bit overwhelming at times, herself. ]

We could, [ she agreed, looking as though she was considering something. ] Or-- we could use my colored pencils. On paper, that is - I've got plenty for us here, if you'd like to draw today instead...!

Hmmmm... yeah, that would be a good use of our time. I'll get the chance to paint a house eventually, after all. Why not do a little drawing right now?

... I claim the red ones, Naminé! [Duuuuuh.]

No reason. [ Not to, that was - said cheerfully. ] It might even be good practice...!

[ Though of course she had neither the desire not inclination to impugn Terezi's art skills. Hiding a laugh behind her hand, ]

Of course. I won't even ask you to share. But you'll need some other colors, won't you?

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