Who: EVERYONE
What: the LOCUSTS! mingle log
When: Days 431-434 ( Apr. 10-17 )
Where: all across the city
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 431 ( Apr. 10/11 )

Any early risers that head outdoors as the sun is rising will find a somewhat strange sight: hundreds of earthworms, scattered all across any available loose earth, squirming around on the ground. What caused them all to dig their way to the surface isn't clear just yet, but they aren't the only creatures behaving a bit strangely today.

Just as the sun breaks the horizon around 7AM, a single stag will come charging through the city coming from the north and heading straight through the Gate of Frost. Mere minutes after that, a whole herd of deer will follow his lead and stampede their way south without care for anyone or anything that might get in their way. Smaller animals like wolves, foxes, rabbits, and the likes will follow at their feet, birds flying overhead in great flocks - all headed the same direction. Any pets or animals within the city will be irritable and anxious, some trying to escape and follow the same path outside and away from Asgard.

In the midst of the mass exodus, the bracelet's SOS function will blare loudly as one of the gods summons the Travellers to the castle.

The Travellers will have less than an hour to get themselves to the heart of the city where natives will already be ushering people indoors with a nervous calm. The whole of the city will be rushing their way through the barrier, and it will be made obvious fairly early on that not everyone can fit inside the castle. Jockey for a safe position and keep a strong hold on your loved ones so that you don't get separated in the chaos, but be fast about it.

After that hour mark, a wave of water will come crashing through the city from the north, flooding the streets at a height of approximately 10ft / 300cm. Anyone not within the castle barrier by that point will either drown or be swept away in a violent current that will carry send their bodies into whatever solid objects might stand in their way. Those safely within the barrier will see Heimdall at the front gate with his hands raised as though pressed against an invisible wall; if they look closely, they will be able to make out all city structures glowing with a faint shimmer - either royal blue, pale green, or amber - before their view is obscured by the water pounding against the barrier. The dome over the castle will be made visible by the flood encapsulating it as it washes anything that wasn't rooted down through the streets. It will be an awesome sight, though grim enough, as nature takes its course through the city.

The flooding will continue for several hours, during which time the Travellers will be largely left to their own devices as they wait out the worst of it. Sigyn, Freyr, and Freya will be going around with castle maids to make sure that no one in harmed and to try to keep people relatively calm. Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungand will be doing their level best to intimidate people into compliance by coordinating the immediate relief efforts that will take place as soon as they are able to leave. This means that, for the few hours it takes for the flood to die down, the castle will be largely unmonitored as the gods try to minimise the damage.

After the worst of the flooding passes, the residents of Asgard will be free to return to their homes. There will still be a foot of water to wade through, but it will be slow moving and relatively harmless. Thanks to Thor, Baldr, and Loki's protection spells, all buildings will still be structurally sound, if not wholly intact. Glass panes may be shattered and wooden doors may be splintered; anything that wasn't firmly tied down may be displaced somewhere down the road or otherwise destroyed. But for the most part, the damage is minimal. Now just to do something about this pesky water ...

Day 432 ( Apr. 12/13 )

By now, the floodwater has lowered to a scant inch or two, leaving the city streets littered with debris but otherwise safe for travel. Natives will be setting up booths to help coordinate the return of lost possessions or missing pets, reporting any property damage, and recovering any bodies of those that might not've made it to the castle in time. Travellers are welcome and encouraged to assist in the relief efforts. There will be district clean-up sign-ups below, but these are not mandatory to get involved, they're more of a way to see who will be in your district to make plotting easier.

Later in the day, while everyone is still trying to rid the streets of the lingering water and put everything back to rights, the first survivors of the flood will begin trickling into the waterlogged city. Outlying villages and encampments were destroyed in the disaster and are now seeking refuge with their gods in the capitol. Despite the stress Asgard is already under with the supply shortage and the damage from the flood, the Prince Regent will not deny his citizens the aid they require and will welcome them into the city until they can revive the land to health.

Days 433-434 ( Apr. 14-17 )

Relief efforts will now be split into two different areas: recovering the city and creating space for the new arrivals. The natives will need help setting up temporary housing, like filtering families into unused housing and setting up tents for the remaining numbers. They will need to ration out food and general camping supplies, and when Asgard is currently in a supply shortage, making ends meet will be a bit of a struggle. We would really love to see some player created groups banding together to do this! Things like donation collections or fostering an NPC or anything at all, you guys should work together to help facilitate the arrival of these refugees and their temporary(?) stay within the city. There are some player projects already up here if you’d like to take a look and get involved!

On the other side of relief efforts will be cleaning up the streets, boarding up broken windows, things like that. Sigyn will be working to rebuild the wall and could use some assistance in not only construction but the magic of her barrier as well. More player coordination here will help put things back to rights, so if your character has an idea of what they can do to help, please comment below to start up some relief projects! It'll basically be two days of everyone trying to dig themselves out of the mess and get settled again.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the LOCUSTS! event. All of the gods ( except Odin and Frigg, naturally ) will be out and about during the first day of this event, so if you’d like to plot with any of them, please contact either the NPC handler or the mods and we’ll help facilitate some plotting for you. As a reminder, all deaths during this event count towards your death consequences. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] along with the time/location of your character in the title of your comment. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Who: EVERYONE
What: The Putting the "Fun" Back Into Funeral/Thistle Do Nicely Holes Event Mingle Log
When: Days 415-416 (March 9-12)
Where: all across the city!
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 415 (Mar. 9/10)

Not long after the message from the gods on the bracelets, all NPC shops in town will begin shutting down. It is late evening when the city's Natives begin heading toward Gefion Park, some alone, some clustered in small groups, but it seems like citizens of Asgard of all ages are headed that way. It is just before sunset when all of the gods and several thousand natives will stand grouped around the shore of the park's lake. Thor, looking oddly somber, will move to stand on a small podium, voice tight but magically amplified. His posture is straight, head held high, and he will cut a striking image as he speaks with a firm and magically amplified voice:

"We may be the gods of this realm, but we would be nothing without both of you: our people, and our visitors. Even in times of darkness, we mustn't allow ourselves to forget how brightly our lights can shine. In times of weakness and exhaustion, we only need cling to the memory of how strong we truly are. We will fight for the lost, and we will fight for each other. Until my father returns, I will act in his stead. We will continue to move ahead, if only because there is too much to lose if we don't. Salvation is within our grasp, and I will do everything I can to make sure we attain it."

Here Thor will clear his throat, pausing just long enough to wonder how apparent it is that Freyr wrote most of this speech.

"But now I invite you to lay your offerings into the longboats, offerings to the Natives of this world that have lost their lives in this war. Their sacrifices were not in vain, nor shall they be forgotten. In their names, we shall fight for Asgard, and for every world represented here, and for the countless that aren't."

The moment that the newly crowned Prince Regent stops speaking, Natives will place clothes and food and other trinkets inside the boat. Any Traveller with offerings will be given the chance to lay them in the boat then, before Hel sends it off to the center of the lake. It will stall there before bursting into bright flame. Smaller, match-sized flames will light all across the lake, one for every native soul that has left Asgard for Niflheim in the last two years, and they will not extinguish even in the light rainfall that begins into the evening.

After the flames are lit, however, the natives will be opening several dozen casks of different wines, meads, and ales. There will be bottles of harder liquors passed around and glasses given freely to anyone within arm's reach of a native. Time for a bonfire in the park! Anything is free game for this: there will be dancing, eating, body painting, the weaving of flowers into people's hair or into crowns, pretty much anything that is loose and vaguely intimate. The only thing that remains undisturbed is the lake, where the fires burn ceaselessly above the water. This is their farewell; they will drink, tell stories, and laugh their way all through the night.

Day 416 ( Mar. 11/12 )

The next morning, most of the natives will still be in the park, making sure none of that pesky alcohol remains in those barrels. They will take this second day to relax and clean up the park while they continue to drink, singing hymns and generally lending a hand to one another. Where yesterday was a big party, this is more like communal R&R. About halfway through the day, flowers of all types imaginable will begin to sprout from the ground. Many of them will sing along with the Native's hymns of remembrance, though they will linger after.

This is actually our Holes event for the month of March! These flowers will not just sprout at Gefion Park, however! When they first appear on Day 416, they will actually spring up just about everywhere, dirt or not. They may appear on a table, off a wall, or rooted in someone's freshly prepared sandwich. The flowers not in dirt will wilt after about a day. Following their first appearance, these flowers will continue to grow in the city anywhere flowers can grow.

Back at the party, however, everyone is on equal footing and gathered to respect their loved ones. For the time being, nothing else really matters.

They'll go back to their regularly scheduled monotony by sundown, the boat of offerings finally removed from the lake, though the candlelight flames will remain throughout the night and disappear by sunrise. In thanks for their support and continued sacrifice, the Travellers will find one gift from home in their rooms at midnight.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Putting the "Fun" Back in "Funeral" event AND for the Holes event. More information on this month's Holes event is located HERE. If you haven't had your character's GIFT FROM HOME approved yet, please make sure to do so here!

Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] in the title of your comment, along with the time and location. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Who: Newbies and anyone who wishes to greet them!
What: Getting used to the city
When: Days 397 and forward
Where: Anywhere in town!
Rating: PG-13 tops! If it gets worse, move to a private log please.

[Please include your location and the IC day (ex. Day 397 - this can be found in the schedule) in your top-level comment or your subject line when starting a thread! It can be any welcome hall, major attraction, or just out an about in any district. For newbies making a top-level thread, you may include your character's name/canon/house in your subject line if you'd like, to make housemates easy to find! :) If a God is needed or wanted, please ping the mods and depending on availability we might be able to throw them in where asked.

Also, keep an eye on the event schedule for February! If you're ICly introing during an event, make sure you take that into account. Thank you!

Have fun!]

Who: Everyone!
What: The mingle log for Wife Swap: Asgard Edition.
When: Days 395 & 396 (Jan 28-31)
Where: The cities of Asgard and Alfheim.
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 395 (Jan 28-29)

Soon after sunrise, a train from Alfheim arrives in the city packed with a few dozen elves and crates and crates of supplies for the city. After the city's natives assist them in unloading everything, they will set up camp outside the castle.

In Asgard:
During the day, they will spend their time helping to repair and reinforce the city where it is still damaged from previous attacks. Their unusual technology is built entirely around steam and clockwork, with zero waste output, and they do everything that they can to help the city in a display of gratitude for the help that they have received.

They will spend their nights sticking close to their camp, but are friendly and cautiously curious about any Travelers who approach. Overall, they are intelligent and well-mannered, and though some of them seem not to know what to make of these visitors from other worlds, their appreciation is open and sincere.

In Alfheim:
Not all of the elves who arrive will be remaining in the city, however. Soon after they arrive, they will make an offer to escort any willing Travelers back to Alfheim to assist them in rebuilding their own city. After the flames went out and the Giants went home, several of the elven homes were left in ruin but the true damage is to the forestry that is the heart of their kingdom. Those in Sigyn with Growth or those with energy sharing, healing, or other such abilities as well as anyone simply interested in helping or curious about a new corner of Yggdrasil will be escorted back to the forests for two days of some mutual benefit.

Alfheim itself will be in burnt disrepair but still very much bustling with life. Charred wood is being stripped and stacked, replaced with fresh building materials as elves work together as efficiently as they can to return their home to what it once was.

Day 396 (Jan 30-31st)

Sunrise brings another long day of hard work, but things begin to slow down and relax in both kingdoms as the sun sets. Each city will set up a feast in the courtyards of their respective castles to celebrate their victory against the fire giants, to show their gratitude to the Travelers of Asgard, and to cement their alliance in the war.

In Asgard:
The city's natives will ask the travelers to assist them in setting up dishes from their home world to serve the their Elven friends, but there will be enormous tables heaped high with food from this one as well. The courtyard itself will be lit up with long strings of softly glowing white lights that seem magical in nature. While their fuzzy light is cool to the touch, the air near them is warm, and that warmth radiates out into the courtyard to cut away the biting chill from the entire area. Round tables with modest but elegant tablecloths will provide seating for anyone at the banquet, and some of the more adventurous elves themselves can be found carefully sampling just about everything from the Travelers' worlds.

In Alfheim:
Alfheim's natives will provide food and entertainment in the courtyard of their own castle. This feast will be a little louder as the drink begins to flow alongside Elven delicacies, and the food comes accompanied by joyous song and dance. There is a lot to celebrate, and the natives here seem eager to include the Travelers here in that celebration. When the party winds to a close, they will supply Asgard's travelers with both blankets and small packages of food and drink for the late night train ride home. They will arrive back in the city early on the morning of Day 397 (February 1st), when the visiting Elves still in Asgard will board and head back home.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Wife Swap: Asgard Edition. We won't be posting headers, so feel free to simply make your own - just make sure to include your location and the IC date, and whether or not your header is open or closed. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns! ]

Who: Everyone going to Alfheim
What: The mingle log for A Friend In Need
When: Days 387-390 ( Jan. 12-19 )
Where: Asgard, Alfheim, and the train ride inbetween
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 387 ( Jan. 12/13 )

Before boarding the train around dawn, the leaders of the separate groups should run checks on everyone that's signed up. Natives will help dish out a simple weapon to those without their own that want one, medical supplies to the healers and a simple kit for everyone else, and a simple mask with strict instructions to put them on as soon as the kingdom is within sight. After everyone is geared up and boarded, Odin's spies will set out on horseback first, masks already in place, to clear the path ahead. This gives you a five hour train ride to go over strategies and coordinate with your fellow Travellers and the Asgard natives that have joined the ranks.

As the train crosses the halfway mark between Asgard and Alfheim, the dark black clouds of smoke and ash will sprawl across the horizon and thicken the air, prompting early placement of the gas masks as a precautionary measure. It's a short trip from there, and once the train has stopped, it's time to get to work. The homes and buildings of Alfheim will be in varying states of disarray and ruin, some still burning as the inhabitants and neighbours struggle to douse the flames. Others will be smouldering, successfully saved or otherwise left to burn itself out in the days since the initial attack. There will still be Fire Giants sparsely wreaking havoc amongst the living quarters, but the vast majority of the fighting will have been drawn into the treeline by the Elves to give room for relief efforts and any evacuation attempts. Homes and larger buildings still largely intact will have been turned into temporary hospital rooms or safe houses for the young and incapable of fighting, with the injured laid out anywhere there is room; the dead will be wrapped in sodden sheets in the alleys between buildings until they can be properly buried - if ever they should find the opportunity.

This leaves the Travellers to split up and jump head first into their tasks. The Elves will be pleasantly surprised and immensely grateful for the arrival of aid, but they will not spare much time to gratitude when the battle wages and every second counts. Those fighting will immediately accept the Travellers into their defence, and from there, they will begin to push back against the Giants' forces. At this point, it will be largely defensive combat, an attempt to keep the Giants from moving further into the kingdom and setting more to flames. Surt himself will be present in this, and a vast majority of those that try to stand against him will be met with a heavy hand. Move carefully, Travellers, for there is still fight left in these desperate Giants.

Day 388/389 ( Jan. 14-17 )

By early morning, just as the Sun is beginning to rise, the Travellers will receive some support from their patron deities back in Asgard. For the next two days, they will have their House Powers to give them that extra edge on the battlefield. Another surprise will arrive as well, as the trees themselves seem to move through the battlefield to push back the Giants. The Treepeople will have arrived, many of whom direct their efforts towards the support group to help control the flames while others exact their grief and anger on the enemy forces that still linger around. These beings are the oldest in Yggdrasil, second only to the immortals, and strongly resemble their respective forests, but they are strong and firmly rooted in the Mother's survival.

They will fight alongside the Travellers until they are cut down or the battle is won, which it seems it will be when the flames begin to significantly dwindle nearing sunrise on Day 389. From that point onward, those fighting for Alfheim will rise to the offence and the Giants will begin to fall back as their numbers lessen and their advantage wanes. They will begin fleeing the kingdom, leaving Surt with only his loyalists at his side - and against the might of the Travellers and the Elves emboldened by their allies' support, they few will not be enough to claim the entire kingdom.

Day 390 ( Jan. 18-19 )

The Travellers' House Powers will fade before sunrise, but between the combined strengths of them, the Elves, and the Treepeople, they will still quickly overpower Surt's remaining forces and send them scurrying back to their ruined kingdom of Muspellheim. Surt will leave weary and more furious than ever at his failure, but he knows too that to stand alone would be his downfall. The battle is won, but the damage has been great and there is little time for celebration. The Travellers will be given the most sincere gratitude from the people of Alfheim, and sent back home with packs of food and supplies to patch themselves up before they arrive back in Asgard as the loyal and true allies to Yggdrasil and her children.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the A Friend In Need plot event! Team sign-ups are over here and it is never too late to join, thought the leadership positions have already been chosen. To plot out a thread with Surt, please comment here. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns! ]

Who: Newbies and anyone who wishes to greet them!
What: Getting used to the city
When: Days 383 and forward
Where: Anywhere in town!
Rating: PG-13 tops! If it gets worse, move to a private log please.

[Please include your location and the IC day (ex. Day 383 - this can be found in the schedule) in your top-level comment or your subject line when starting a thread! It can be any welcome hall, major attraction, or just out an about in any district. For newbies making a top-level thread, you may include your character's name/canon/house in your subject line if you'd like, to make housemates easy to find! :) If a God is needed or wanted, please ping the mods and depending on availability we might be able to throw them in where asked.

Also, keep an eye on the event schedule for January! If you're ICly introing during an event, make sure you take that into account. Thank you!

Have fun!]

Who: EVERYONE
What: The Winter Holidays event mingle.
When: Days 373/374 ( Dec. 17-20 )
Where: all across the city.
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

[ With the help of the natives, a few Travellers will be decorating the entire city in various lights and ornaments that represent several different holidays on Day 373. To make it even sweeter, the Rise of the Guardians cast asked the gods to help deliver presents to all of the Travellers and will be running around delivering these gifts all night.

On Day 374, Travellers will not only wake up to find their presents but in every district, they'll find food, feasts, drinks (eggnog), decorations, caroling, each welcome house covered in lights that blink according to music, and at the end of the day, there'll be a fireworks display right over the heart of the city. It's all fun and games until someone gets a snowball in the face, and then it's all out war. Have fun celebrating each other's traditions! ]

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the player event, the Winter Holidays, going up late because we don't usually make logs for player events like these and because I just got back home for the hols, sorry about that! The OOC plotting post is here and the IC plotting post is here. If you don't want to thread out being asked to help out, feel free to say that one of the RotG cast members roped your character into helping decorate, or that they just decided to join in of their own volition at any point. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] in your comment title along with the day/location. Let us or the RotG cast know if you have any questions! ]

Who: EVERYONE
What: The End
When: Day 367 ( Dec. 5/6 )
Where: all across the city
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

[ Just before noon on what is otherwise a normal enough day, if not still graced by the unnatural heat from Muspellheim's explosion, a low rumbling will start across the city. Those that've been in Asgard for some time now might recognise it from the last two earthquakes, and may think to shrug it off as easily as those minor shakes that lasted hardly a few seconds.

But this one grows in strength near immediately, and the Holy City is not built to withstand earthquakes. In fact, by the look of panic on the native's faces as the flood to the streets, it might be safe to say they've never seen one before at all.

This quake clocks in just over a minute and would rank near a 6.0 on the Richter scale. Buildings will shift and splinter, glass panes shatter and there will be moderate to significant damage crumbling smaller structures; the Welcome Halls will not be structurally impaired but objects and appliances inside the buildings will be in varying states of disorder and/or destruction; a few slight cracks will appear in the earth around the city that aren't terribly deep but will still cause imbalances and dangerous ground in several places; etc etc.

Anyone that does not evacuate crumbling buildings or get to safe ground during the quake may receive moderate to severe injuries, but the death toll should be reserved to only a handful of Natives in poorly designed structures. Relief efforts will begin immediately following the quake, so now is a good time to get outside and lend a hand to your neighbour.

Later in the evening, after things have had some time to calm down, characters that have psychic / precognitive / telepathic / spiritual abilities in their canon will begin to hear the whispers of the Norn. Just before midnight, all Travellers will be able to hear their murmurings of 'It won't stop' until at the strike of midnight, they collectively say 'This is only the beginning' at once.

The final message and the new prophecy of Ragnarok will ring clearly throughout everyone's minds.

"The End has yet to pass as it has been told from the Beginning. The sands are slipping through the cracks left behind. The world tree is decaying.

Nurture or burn. A decision must be reached, or the mother will decide for you. It will not stop, and this is only the beginning."

Following this ominous message, everyone will be left to their own devices. For now ... ]

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for The End, which concludes Arc 3! Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] in the title of your comment along with the time and location. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Who: Newbies and anyone who wishes to greet them!
What: Getting used to the city
When: Days 365 and forward
Where: Anywhere in town!
Rating: PG-13 tops! If it gets worse, move to a private log please.

[Please include your location and the IC day (ex. Day 365 - this can be found in the schedule) in your top-level comment or your subject line when starting a thread! It can be any welcome hall, major attraction, or just out an about in any district. For newbies making a top-level thread, you may include your character's name/canon/house in your subject line if you'd like, to make housemates easy to find! :) If a God is needed or wanted, please ping the mods and depending on availability we might be able to throw them in where asked.

Also, keep an eye on the event schedule for December! If you're ICly introing during an event, make sure you take that into account. Thank you!

Have fun!]