EVENT: SCAVENGER HUNT

[asgardmods]

It's that time! The riddles are up and your characters can get to ICly figuring them out and bringing in the items. Regardless of whether your character "won" a question or not, or whether you even submitted an answer, or even if you submitted a wrong one -- you can have your characters figure out or not figure out whatever you want in the log. The wins only count for who figures it out first.

Found items should be brought to the altar in the yard of each Welcome Hall. When one of the "winners" (a.k.a. the first person from each house to guess right) brings an item to an altar, a light in the colour of their house will pop up. It's just a hovering ball of light and any touches will pass through it. After that, there's no effect in bringing the same item to the same altar, but people are welcome to do so as much as they wish. Characters are welcome to keep any of the items they find, or leave them at the altar, in which case they'll disappear.

And now for the correct answers:

ODIN: A crown. Very pretty, sparkly crowns can be found in various places throughout Odin's district -- hanging from trees, sitting on benches, just about anywhere! Some of them are cheap wire and glass beads, but some of them are true gold or silver and jewels. Either counts for the scavenger hunt, but the real ones are worth more if you keep them!

THOR: A plasma lamp/lightning ball. You'll find these plugged in inside a lot of various shops and public buildings in Thor district, with postits saying "free!" stuck to them. No one will complain if you take them, so have at! They're also in all different shapes, sizes, and colours, so feel free to imagine!

LOKI: A vial of snake's venom, similar to that said to drip on the face of the imprisoned Loki in Earth's myths. These can be found lying around Loki district, attached to silver chains (so it can be worn as a necklace). If the vial is opened and the venom is touched, it'll burn the skin like an acid, leaving blisters that'll take a few days to heal. All of the vials contain no more than an ounce of venom, so no one will be finding big bottles!

SIGYN: Golden apples! These will actually be in the form of small potted plants -- tiny bonsai-sized apple trees, even! They'll mostly be found in green areas, beside other full-sized trees. The apples are about grape-sized and golden-skinned but they are edible, and in fact taste like the best apples you've ever eaten! They're seedless too, and new apples will grow about once a week if the tree is kept and watered properly!

HEL: Plastic/rubber bats! They'll be hanging in groups of ten or so from trees or the eaves of buildings, and they'll seem like boring rubber -- until you grab the string that they're hanging from. Once you do that, they'll suddenly "wake up" and start to fly! They're still rubber, but they seem to be alive anyway. Maybe if you can hold onto the string long enough to get it to the altar, it'll decide to stick around as a pet?

HEIMDALL: Golden teeth, a famous trait of the original Norse Heimdall! There are sets of gold teeth (some plastic like a kid's toy, some real "grill" jewelry) just lying here and there in places where they'd catch the sun. There may even be some of those wind-up walking tooth toys! Any quality of "teeth" will apply for the scavenger hunt!

FREYR: A pig (a live one. Really, Allen. You'll make Freyr cry.) His pet pig gullinbursti to be specific, but it isn't a special boar you'll be finding. Instead, there are pigs of all sizes and breeds both possible and impossible (from giant wild boars to tiny potbellies that'll fit in your hand) loose around the district. They'll run if you try to catch them, so good luck herding one to the altar! You could even try riding the big ones if you're a brave soul.

FREYA: A necklace. Specifically Brisinger/Brisingamen, the necklace that, in the original myths, she had to bed several dwarves to obtain and which ended in quite a mess for her! Our Freya hasn't has such an adventure, but the beautiful necklace is still the item for this district. Both fake and real golden necklaces will be found around the necks of various statuary throughout the district.

BALDR: Mistletoe. Plenty of the plant that was this god's demise in the Norse myths has sprouted in Gefion park. Break or cut off a twig and bring it to the altar to win this district's hunt. To make it a worthy prize, a sprig of mistletoe kept can be sold to any NPC-run apothecary for quite a high price, as it normally doesn't grow in the city.


And as for the winners, here's the list of who "won" each question, sorted by house! This means that the characters listed under "ODIN" are members of Odin house. The houses listed with the names are the questions they were awarded. Therefore, Hanbei Takenaka is in Odin house and "won" Baldr's question. We gave some wins for "close enough" answers when no one else in the house got that question right. :) People are listed in chronological order within their house.

ODIN:
Hanbei Takenaka: BALDR
Iceland: FREYA
Tony Stark: ODIN
Nathan Drake: HEIMDALL
Arion Rosemariné: THOR

THOR:
Chie Satonaka: BALDR
Varon: THOR

LOKI:
L: FREYA
Hazama: HEIMDALL
Mami Futami: LOKI
Lucille: FREYR
Harry Flynn: BALDR
Near: THOR

SIGYN:
Merlin: LOKI
Hibiki: FREYR
Laurent: SIGYN
Gau Meguro: BALDR
Shion: ODIN
Aether Brandier: FREYA

HEL:
Ramirez: ODIN
Conan Edogawa: BALDR
Reiichirou Shiba: THOR
Enma Kozato: HEL

HEIMDALL:
Disciple: BALDR
Castiel: LOKI
Minato Arisato: SIGYN
Cloud Strife: HEIMDALL
Spike: HEL
Alibaba: FREYR
Cheriour: ODIN

FREYR:
Ayumi Shinozaki: BALDR
Takane Shijou: FREYR
Apple Bloom: FREYA

FREYA:
Rikku: FREYA
Freyjadour Falenas: BALDR

BALDR:
Gilgamesh: BALDR
Norway: LOKI
Germany: HEIMDALL

NOW! As you can see, not one house "won" every single question. However, since Heimdall House was the closest, they'll be awarded the big prize! Starting on Feb 4, the Welcome Hall will have a big spiral slide inside, next to the elevator shaft! There are openings on every floor, so characters can hop in and slide right down to wherever they want to go! They'll also find a new room on the main floor, containing, wait for it... a giant ball pit with climbable netting on the walls and ceiling! Still, since no one really won and everyone put in a big effort, every single house will have the slides installed. ;) Have fun with those!

In addition everyone who "won" a question will recieve a cute gift certificate for a free child's entree at a chain pizza restaurant that has a location somewhere in each district. Edit for clarification: This certificate will appear on the character's person when they cause the light to come on, so they'll get it immediately! Clearly, this is a very grown-up event!

Now that the "winners" and answers have been announced, let's have fun! Please wait for the mods to get a thread up for each district, then reply and mingle and do whatever you'd like. Threads don't have to stay in the district they start in, so feel free to have whatever kinds of shenanigans you'd like, and thanks for playing!

Comments

[whatagoodgirl]

[Of course he knows about gods. He knows about everything.]

It's stupid. Even Koyemshi wasn't this irresponsible, and he hid way more important things from us. [Her chopping is starting to look a little dangerous by this point.] I won't play their games anymore. If they think they can lie to us and deny us information and then watch us run around playing fetch... not me. Not me.

[By the way, did I see him mention that he knows all human languages, or was that someone else? Because if he did, when she said Koyemshi, it'll sound a lot like she just addressed someone by the name Dung Beetle in translation.]

[ofthursday]

[Almost everything. Humans are still totally confusing.]

Good. Far too many are simply accepting this.

[He knows how easy it can be to give into threats, when trapped somewhere and at the whims of others. But it's never the right decision.]

[[ooc: He does; thanks! <3]]

[whatagoodgirl]

I'm fighting, though.

[With a cool look over her shoulder.]

I'm still not ready to use my world as a test to see if someone's telling the truth.

[ofthursday]

Of course.

[Not and unexpected or unreasonable choice, considering what he knows of her and what most people would choose. Most people don't come from a world that they wonder if might be better off reset. Most didn't cause it to be that way.]

Do you believe the gods, regardless?

[Not taking a risk is different from actual belief, after all.]

[whatagoodgirl]

[She softens a bit at that, and realizes that she's just been hitting the empty cutting board with her knife for a long time. With a blush, she scrapes the cubed tofu into her miso broth, then turns to face him completely.]

I don't know what to believe anymore. But... I think once you know what you have to do, that's not as important. The people I care about here, the grey people who need to be able to live properly again, the people I left behind back home... they're what I believe in.

[ofthursday]

[Castiel doesn't notice her issue with the cutting board, his mind drifting a bit and only half in the present for a moment. But then he returns, nodding slightly at her words.]

Fighting for something you believe in is worthwhile. But how to do so is what is called into question.

[He learned this the hard way. And he's concerned everyone else here will too.]

There is a chance that this is not so simple a decision to make as it seems. Choosing to fight on the chance our worlds are in danger is not wrong, but it has been considered by few what the consequences may be if there is a reason beyond preservation of this world that the gods desire us to fight for.

[whatagoodgirl]

Like what? [Her brow furrows.] I know every war has an enemy, so we have to defeat someone, but... that's better than the universe being reset, isn't it?

[ofthursday]

Of course. Unless it is a lie that the universes will be reset, and choosing to fight is what actually prompts a catastrophe.

[He's a beacon of optimism, always.]

[whatagoodgirl]

But that still means taking the chance and threatening our worlds by not fighting. I can't do that. I don't know who could. What's your answer?

[ofthursday]

Fighting takes the same chance.

[He shakes his head slightly, looking uncertain for a moment.]

I don't know. I have experienced both situations.

[He doesn't know what to do. He knows that taking the risk not to fight isn't a good one, but the last time some great power told him to fight it ended up being all a ploy to bring about exactly what he'd thought they were trying to prevent. And then later, in a different fight, he himself had destroyed everything trying to save it.]

[whatagoodgirl]

So there's no answer. [She turns back to stirring her soup to hide her steadily returning anger.] Both ways are dangerous, and there's no way to know for sure which choice to take. What would you have us do, then?

[ofthursday]

The decision is yours to make.

[He leans back against the counter, in one of his most human gestures.]

I am simply attempting to present possibilities that may not have been considered.

[He's holding off on making a decision, himself. There seems to be time, the way this has all been presented; the gods would have made this clear much earlier if time were extremely limited.]

[whatagoodgirl]

Don't you get it? [A bit desperately.] Don't you understand... how people feel? If you give someone too many possibilities, they can't act. All those ways that things could go wrong, they paralyze someone. It doesn't help at all.

[She sighs and sets down her stirring spoon, turning to face him again.] I don't get you at all.

[ofthursday]

I understand this perfectly.

[It's serious--even more serious than he has been--and holding an edge of intensity instead of his usual neutral tone.]

Making a decision blind is no better.

[When she turns toward him and makes her statement, he just sighs quietly, looking up at the ceiling.]

It is not expected for you to.

[whatagoodgirl]

What do you mean? The last part, I mean?

[ofthursday]

[He's quiet at that, considering what to say. He doubts Nakama is really a threat, so there's not much risk, but he's still not about to reveal what he is. He eventually decides on a half answer.]

I am not human. I find humans as difficult to understand as you find me.

[whatagoodgirl]

Oh. [And she stares down at her feet, feeling ashamed of all the arguments they've had.] I didn't... you look just like... I didn't know. I'm sorry I've yelled at you so much.

[ofthursday]

[He look at her and shakes his head slightly, surprised by the response and the apology.]

It's unnecessary. I didn't expect for you to know.

[He's been actively hiding it anyway, so. He's quiet again for a few moments, glancing up at the ceiling again.]

I am not insensitive intentionally.

[whatagoodgirl]

Of course not... [It all makes sense now. His wording (in text) and tone (in voice or in person) were never antagonizing. She know he wasn't a bully. Now everything makes sense.]

I can't assume anything here. [A bit wearily.] I have to be more careful.

[ofthursday]

Caution is exactly why I have not been revealing this to everyone.

[He's calm, voice even and nonjudgemental at her words. He's been learning quickly that the worlds represented here are vastly different, many of which requiring less wariness and distrust than his does.]

[whatagoodgirl]

Are you... in danger, where you're from? Your kind?

[ofthursday]

[He's quiet a moment, considering that. He's dead, at home, but if he weren't...]

Yes. From each other.

Some of those here might be a risk, as well.

['Fallen angel' probably wouldn't go over well with everyone.]

[whatagoodgirl]

Is it a war? [Very quiet now. So many people torn away from wars...]

[ofthursday]

Yes.

[His war is over, the civil war done and ended with his opponent's death and Castiel's own death as well. But there's another war beginning in his absence; he knows that.

He ponders for a moment which truth to go with, and eventually settles for what it had been like when he'd been alive; what he'd been involved in himself.]

Civil war. I am one of the commanding generals.

[whatagoodgirl]

I'm sorry. I know how hard it is to be away when there's fighting going on. [She turns back to her soup, which is almost finished, and stirs it one last time.] Even if my battle is done, if I'm not supposed to be there... I wish I could be.