JUNE MINGLE

[stellafortunamods]

June Mingle: Time For A Hike
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Finally, it's time to leave Death Mountain for warmer climates. THe Travelers will begin their journey from Mondstadt to Liyue on the first of November, after packing up and saying goodbye the Mondstadt's Adventurers' Guild. But worry not - if you ever miss the City of Wind and Song, it's possible to teleport back for a brief visit.

The Travelers will head out of Mondstadt through Stone Gate, cross Dihua Marsh and then reach the Guili Plains. You'll be camping out under the stars on some days, while getting to enjoy various roadside inns on other days - including the famed Wangshu Inn, all under Forneus' bill. But it does bring up a question: where did he get all that mora from?

Speaking of Forneus, it seems that he's too busy to accompany you on this road trip. Instead, Zhongli will serve as his stand-in. For those who do not know him well, he introduces himself as an Adeptus... and also the Geo Archon, who has enlisted your help to test his nation. What will you do?

State of the World

June will be a lighter period in the game for characters to bond with each other while traveling as a group, and later while exploring and trolling Liyue to the best of their ability. Forneus will not be available for the first two weeks as he is busy; instead Zhongli is tasked with answering questions in his place. A reference of the scenery your character might see on the way can be found in this video here! Feel free to check out Liyue's music here as well.

For all questions regarding June's mingle and events, please head over to our OOC post.

Comments

[whiteshroud]

[Ah it's Shirou again. Jun glances over, with slight dismay on his face. Because yes, that is a shirtless statue of his grandpa he's staring at]

Oh yeah? So what do you think this statue says about how they feel towards Rex Lapis...?

[justicefang]

[He puts his hands into his pockets and studies the statue as if he were on a case. It's easier than he thought it would be. But then he's seen statues like this before. They rose over time as he led Beastmen again and again to safety.] They respect and reverie him. This could an artistic rendition mean to summarize their feelings towards him and his deeds. Or something he wore when appearing before them as their god.

I'm not about to ask to be sure.

[whiteshroud]

[Hmm, okay that makes a lot of sense. He nods a little...but also...]



...And the abs?

[The carefully chiseled abs. What's with those.]

[justicefang]

[Shirou blinks and looks at him. Then at the statue. His brows furrow.]

What about them?

[Is he missing something here?]

[whiteshroud]

[.... 💧

Jun's shoulder slump]

Please don't make me say it.

[justicefang]

[The confusion written on his face only grows. He opens his mouth then closes it and looks back at the statue. There's a slight widening of his eyes when he gets why he is asking the question.

Then he sighs.] ...People always draw their gods as strong no matter how peaceful that depiction. Whether they're realistic or not, I'm still not going to ask.

[whiteshroud]

Draw their gods as strong...?

[He seems to take that into consideration. Or rather, he grasps it like it's a straw]

Yeah...maybe that's it! He is strong, so maybe that's just how they decided to depict it...that's all....

[Ok this seems slightly like him going into full fledge denial mode, but look. It's better this than him having to face the fact that his grandpa is hot]

[justicefang]

I don’t have much knowledge of human religious practices. [He admits. And for a moment he can see it. The vast wolf howling to the sky.]

But Beastmen aren’t different. We reach for things to hold onto. Things to make us feel strong in turn.

[It might be a good topic change or not. He has no idea but he’s caught up in that brief moment of connection.]

Just a thought.

[whiteshroud]

Mm...that's true. Humans can be that way too.

[He'll glance the statue too] The people of Liyue really do seem to admire and love Rex Lapis a lot. Genuinely so.

[He's spent a lot of time reading stories from Liyue. When they wrote of him (and they often did), it was always with tones of respect and admiration - not fear. It wasn't hard to see why either. ]

[justicefang]

Yes they do.

[A soft smile flits across his face. Anyone who captures the hearts of their people. Truly does, can’t be too bad.]

And that’s why it’s such a carefully made statue. To properly honor that. Maybe. I’m guessing.

[whiteshroud]

...Sounds like a plausible guess to me. You're very intuitive Shirou.

[And also you defused the situation. Jun feels much better. Good job!]

[justicefang]

[That small smile remains for a moment more. Then Shirou returns to his usual neutral expression.] It’s experience.

I traveled a lot a long time ago. You pick things up as you go along.

[whiteshroud]

Oh?

Got any good stories from your travels?

[justicefang]

...nothing that's pleasant enough to tell. [Eons of defending Beastmen, righting wrongs, and before that...the hazy cloud of grief and rage. Yes, he can't find- He breathes in and says,]

But I can tell you about the founding of Anima city, if you'd like to hear it.

[whiteshroud]

[Wow that's a bummer...not a single good vision? That's rough. Though maybe Shirou isn't one to focus on the past. ]

Sure, I'd be happy to.

[This isn't the first time he's brought up the city. It must be a place he's proud of]

[justicefang]

It has been over a thousand years since Beastmen came together as one into their own city.

[Some of his usual tension eases. This is familiar territory and one he’s happy exists.] That city was Nirvasyl.

How it fell is why no one wanted or trusted to build another for so long. But our mayor believed it was time we try again. Anima city was born when she asked for leeway to establish it off the coast of Japan. It felt far enough away from most human civilizations to be mostly overlooked there.

We established the laws, building them based on what we wanted to see. It has endured for ten years. Not without problems but, that’s the case with any city.

[whiteshroud]

[He listens, his head tilting curiously. ]

What happened to Nirvasyl?

[justicefang]

[A subtle tension returns. He made a mistake. He should have guessed that would be asked. He looks away, staring down the eons back to that city. As old as the city that birthed his immortality. But they all saw Dragonspine. It seems only right to voice another ruined city's story.

He sighs.] Tragedy.

Like that town in Dragonspine. Only it wasn't a punishment from a god. An immortal saw it as a chance to try and curb all types of Beastmen coming together.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun frowns slightly, wondering if he was wrong for asking based on Shirou's reaction. He'd simply been curious, since it seemed relevant]

Oh...

[Yeah, he could see why it'd discourage some folks from trying again. ]

What's an "Immortal" exactly? I've heard you use that term before.

[justicefang]

[Better than expected. Shirou relaxes a bit and nods once. He crosses his arms over his chest and focuses on Jun as he says,] Beastmen resulted from humans who worshipped animals as gods. Humans and Beastmen split into two different sub-species over the eons.

An immortal is a beastman that has transcended. To others, they might seem like a god. But in reality, [He sighs, shaking his head.] They don't age and can't be killed.

They are more than their brethren, that's all. I know only of two but there's always the chance others exist.

[whiteshroud]

So that's how it is...

[Jun's quiet for a moment, thinking over that information. There's a lot to unpack here, about the beastman lore, but...

... ]

Are you one of the immortals?

[justicefang]

[It's so direct he is caught off guard. Shirou looks at him with wide eyes then glances out over the land.

He could deny it. But when his power returns and he might need to use it, it would be obvious. A breach of trust. And Michiru. He'd worked with her. These accepting humans aren't that different from her. It's...worth the risk.

He lets out a breath and says,]

...Instead of dying like the rest of Nirvasyl, I was changed. It's been a thousand and more years since then.

[whiteshroud]

Mm...I had a feeling.

[He sees that he surprised the guy with his observation. Though, he's probably not often called out on such things...so it's to be expected]

You act a little like Zhongli, in the way you talk and look at things.

[He explains. Since Zhongli already told the group what he was, there was no reason for him to evade the topic anymore.

In other words, you act really old dude.]

[justicefang]

[He stares at him then sighs as his form shifts to his real self. He shakes his head.] When you put it like that, it’s obvious.

[He crosses his arms over his chest and looks again to the statue of Morax. But the tension is gone and he seems different, older in ways that he no longer bothers to hide.] I was never the god of Beastmen. Legends persist of how I protected them when they needed help and they shaped that into their god Silver Wolf.

Statues they made are like this one. Crafted from an idealist image and wishes for protection and peace.

[whiteshroud]

[He glances over as his form shifts. No visible reaction, but still getting used to that a little.]

Sounds like something people would do... [Find someone to idolize, perhaps even worship if their deeds seemed to surpass those of a normal man. One of the reasons Seal Knights took such care to remain the shadows- to avoid such praise]

Perhaps you're not a god, but you certainly seem like a guardian, at least. You seem to think about their wellbeing all the time.