DECEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS + SPECIAL EVENT RUNDOWN

[asgardmods]

Hidey-ho, Asgardians!

As I'm sure you could tell, December has been (and will be!) a quiet month on purpose for the game to allow for holidays and a pause between big plot events. There's not much to say other than a few quick announcements, and please let me know if there's any questions you have or anything you would like clarification on!

Firstly: Starting this month, activity requirements will be changed to a simple check-in. Traditionally, Asgard gives a pass for all players in December to account for the busy-ness of the holiday season, and it seems silly to ask for activity the last two months of the game itself. Because of this, I ask that if you are in the game, to please make a good faith effort to be involved in some capacity!

Secondly: On Dec 31, all apps and re-apps will close. All characters, including those swept this round, will have the option to either re-app or repick from now until 11:59PM CST on the 31st.

Thirdly: Starting this month, the dates for all future events have been tentatively scheduled and will be listed on the schedule page. The actual rundown for each event will go up seven days before the event itself to allow for plotting. Please keep in mind that though I will be sticking to these dates/times as closely as possible, these events are subject to changes depending on character action and player feedback! As I finished this post and hit almost page six with the second event, I decided that maybe finding a way to keep things a little more wieldy and less overwhelming for everyone involved would be good. If you're worried about missing anything, please track the !mod post tag, since that will all be tagged with that.

SPECIAL EVENT: And A Happy New Year (Dec 14-19/Days 555-558)

DAY 555 (Dec 14-15)

As the last of the black ice is cleared from the city - and the last of its natives wake from their gray slumber - a cautious winter celebration begins. The city itself opens its doors wide to the allied forces still camped outside it and the natives invite the Travelers to observe the beginning of Winter and the approach of the end of the Asgardian year with them.

The day begins with what seems like a typical party in the streets. There is food, music, and an attitude of general warmth and hope from the Natives that hasn't been quite so present in a long time. It will be interrupted in the early afternoon by a snowball fight that starts in one sector of the city and quickly snowballs out of control. For a few hours, the city itself will become a veritable warzone, with most of the city's native children and adults alike getting in on the fight! Watch your back and take no prisoners.

DAY 556 (Dec 16-17)

Day 556 sees a brief return to old - and maybe familiar - tricks. The festivities continue on outside, but some Travelers throughout the course of the day may find themselves influenced by magical impulse… all in the name of good holiday fun, of course.

The effects of these miniature curses will last anywhere between ten minutes and an hour and happen spontaneously, and most of them are echoes of similar curses that have been laid upon the city before. Travelers may find themselves:

• Unable to lie or actively compelled to blurt truths, consequences be damned
• Only able to communicate in poetry or song
• Given a nagging urge to (sincerely!) compliment anyone they come across
• Compelled to just hold hands with whoever they're near
• Caught under sprigs of magic mistletoe that seem to appear at arbitrary times at equally arbitrary places (though they can either be kissed or just wait a few minutes for it to disappear again)

Your character can be affected by as many and as often as you'd like, but none of them are mandatory. To reward the Travelers for putting up with that silliness one final time, they will find in their rooms that night a basket of chocolate, a horrendously ugly Christmas sweater, and one item from home. The item can be anything that fits within the game's technological and magical rules! If you'd like your character to receive something, please just drop a comment HERE to get it approved.

DAY 557 (Dec 18-19)

Day 557 marks the final day of celebration. That evening, twinkling, magical fairy lights will cover the edges of buildings and the branches of trees all over the city. There are light displays of amazing proportion all over the city, and the Welcome Halls are done up in entirely their signature color. the Travelers will be invited into the castle again for a ball much like the one last year. Thor will announce the end of curfew and tell everyone to party hard, because the hunt for both Surt and a way to heal the World Tree will begin after this.

The party will last until midnight, when everyone will be shuffled out into the courtyard for a brilliant fireworks display. It represents both the victory over Thiazi and the hope that the celebration of this coming new year will not be the last.

PLOT EVENT: INTO THE FIRE (DEC 26-31/DAYS 561-563) The plot event Into the Fire is slotted for December 26-31. It is an optional event that will involve light canon-sharing and will bring both an important message from the Mother and critical information regarding Surt's location. As stated above, information on this will go up December 19 to allow for a week of plotting.

PLOT FAST FACTS

SPECIAL EVENT: AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR (Dec 14-19/Days 555-557)

• Day 555 (Dec 14-15) Party in the streets! Giant snowball fight commences.
• Day 556 (Dec 16-17): Celebrating Throwback Thursday a little early with lighthearted curses from years past and gifts from home. Get 'em approved here!
• Day 557 (Dec 18-19): Curfew is lifted, a ball happens in the palace, and fireworks go boom. Thor warns that this is the last celebration before Things Get Real again.

As always, the calendar can be found HERE, there will be top-levels for questions, discussion, & approval for items from home in this post, and feel free to use the comment section for plotting!