august mingle

[stellafortunamods]

August Mingle
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Happy new year....! In Teyvat, that is. It is now January ingame, and Liyue's people go about their disaster recovery efforts with more vigour than before. After all, Liyue's biggest festival is slated to occur in the latter half of the month - the Lantern Rite!

The Rite of Parting - Rex Lapis' funeral - passes without much incident, and Liyue collectively breathes a sigh of relief. With the Fatui being chased out of the yard, it seems that peace will finally return to the harbour city as they rebuild from the storm. You'll also get to watch three million Mora's worth of incense go up in smoke, so there's that.

Eager to focus on the future, Liyue folk have begun discussing the upcoming festival. The Lantern Rite commemorates hope for a new beginning and continued prosperity, and the construction of the festival centerpiece is currently underway. This year's Mingxiao Lantern will soar into the sky amidst thousands of smaller lanterns, and it will take the shape of a fallen Adeptus to commemorate the Adepti's contribution to Liyue's lasting peace.

Unfortunately, you're not quite out of the frying pan yet. With the Fatui gone from Liyue, the Ministry of Civil Affairs turn their attention to solving another issue that has cropped up after Osial's revival and subsequent defeat. Quite a few miners have gone missing from the Chasm, and the likelihood of finding them will only grow slimmer as the days go by. Both the Millelith and the Adventurers' Guild have pitched in to search for the kidnapped people. All clues lead to Nantianmen - and it's just your luck that Geovishaps and their hatchlings have come out of hibernation at around the same time. These lizard-like beings have shells of solid rock, and they seem especially agitated at having their territory invaded. Solving the mystery of the missing miners will take more than just a day's work.

State of the World

With the Lantern Rite set to open on January 21st, all of Liyue have come to visit the harbour to set up their stalls and pitch in to craft the Mingxiao Lantern. Hopefully the miners are found before the festival begins - the Lantern Rite is a festival of reunions, after all. Not to mention the Geovishaps' increased activity will inadvertently lead to them burrowing around in the rocky mountains. There's a small, but non-zero chance of them hitting an ancient seal somewhere and unleashing a buried threat.

Unless... that was their intention all along?

Please direct all questions to August's OOC post!

Comments

[whiteshroud]

[Jun smiles and thanks the waiter as they set down the bowl. ]

It tastes amazing too. There's fancier and more authentic restaurants in Liyue Harbor, but I'd say Wanmin Restaurant is one of the best in town.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow thanks the waiter as well, then grins at that comment. ]

In my experience, "fancier" doesn't always mean "better."

[ But with that, he's going to take a taste of the stew— and it's clear by his expression he's enjoying what he's eating. ]

[whiteshroud]

Haha, true enough.

[He'll take his own taste of it, happy to have such good food full of flavor. ]

So, any other questions?

[bad_crowmance]

I've got several but let's go with this one— just how did we meet before, anyway?

[ It's bothering him and sometimes being direct is the only way to get an answer... even if it's not his preferred strategy. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Sadly directness really is the best way with Jun. He's not one to volunteer information without prompting.

But it's an easy enough question]

It was on another mission. Another world was dealing with a corruption curse. You and I were both brought in to help.

[bad_crowmance]

A corruption curse, huh?

[ Well, doesn't that sound uncomfortably familiar and relevant? ]

Did it work?

[whiteshroud]

[Not at all!! He frowns a little and shakes his head.]

I don't know, I can't recall a resolution. [Which sure is a lil frustrating for a guy whose work hinged on completing missions]

The organization that brought us on were rather fickle and quick to wipe memories, so either it was resolved and my memories were erased of the important details, or we were removed from the mission for an unknown reason.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow's face twists into a grimace. Screwing with memories. Great. On a list of his top ten least favourite things, that one's near the top. ]

Either one's pretty unsatisfying.

[ He hates leaving things unresolved! ]

[whiteshroud]

[He makes an "mm" sound of agreement. Yeah, he wasn't fond of how that turned out either.]

So that's how we met. Memory loss is a common occurrence with supernatural incidents even without memory spells, so I already anticipated that you wouldn't remember. Usually I don't bother telling people who've forgotten that we've met before, but...

...Well, even for me it's not every day you see a dead man walking.

[So he was surprised!]

[bad_crowmance]

[ It'd definitely be a surprise if it hadn't happened to himself, to be fair. ]

Actually, now that you mentioned it... how did you know I was dead in the first place?

[whiteshroud]

[he gives a little shrug]

A friend of yours told me.

[....He also saw a memory vision of it, but really. He has NO interest in sharing that part of the story. ]

[bad_crowmance]

....A friend of mine, hmmm?

[ That only gives him more questions. ]

[whiteshroud]

Yes. Apparently you have those.

[bad_crowmance]

[ He gives Jun the most flat, unimpressed look. ]

You don't say.

[whiteshroud]

Mmhm...

[He gives a knowing nod and puts his hand to his chin. Like the little shit he is]

[bad_crowmance]

[ He's going to take a wild guess here. ]

Any of 'em here, by any chance?

[whiteshroud]

[He sighs. Damn, he was hoping to avoid answer that]

A couple, yeah.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Unfortunately, Crow is smart underneath all the layers of asshole. ]

Any chance you'll tell me which ones?

[whiteshroud]

Haha, depends. Would it really changes things if I did?

[bad_crowmance]

[ There's a brief pause before he shakes his head. ]

Not really, beyond how I'd greet 'em.

[whiteshroud]

I thought so. So I think I'll leave you in suspense. You're bound to run into them sooner or later.

[bad_crowmance]

Haha. So that's how you wanna play it, huh?

[ He's not really surprised. ]

Well, it'll give me something to look forward to.

[whiteshroud]

Mm. Being forthcoming isn't exactly my nature, I'm afraid.

[Is that really what it is or are you just trying to avoid drama ]

Yeah. I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you.

[bad_crowmance]

[ It's only fair that the State of the Rean surprises Crow as much as Crow being alive will surprise Rean. Never mind poor Elliot's surprise about timeline fuckery. ]

Don't worry, I get it. And I'm sure they'll be happy to see me.

[ He has NO idea. ]

[whiteshroud]

[He nods, glad that Crow gets it. He knows for some people, his elusiveness rubs them the wrong way..

That said]

So. What's being dead like?