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

[sufferean]

Yeah. Some things you just need to work out for yourself. And it's not like he ever truly gave up on m—

[Ahem.]

Gave up on any of us. It was just a matter of waiting until we were ready to move on.

[Nailed it. Probably.]

But thank you. I still have plenty of learning to do before I'm anywhere close to the level of some of his other students, not to mention him, but I don't intend to give up my training any time soon. Maybe one day I'll see that dream through.

[whiteshroud]

[So in other words, Rean was one of those students that this master dropped. That's an interesting little tidbit to know. Jun will make a note of it, but file it away. It's not really his business to pry. ]

I see... [Rean takes his swordsmanship seriously, it seems. ]

Well, I'm not back at my full power yet, but if you ever want to test your skill level by seeing how long you'd last against me, let me know.

[Yes, he sure did say how long you'd last]

[sufferean]

[Oh? That bit of wording doesn't go unnoticed. Rean can't help but smile.]

How long I'd last? Well, that sounds like a challenge I can't pass up.

It never hurts to spar against someone with a different style, anyway. There's always something new to be learned.

[Said like a true teacher.]

[whiteshroud]

[He gives a slight unconvinced look]

Mm. The style Seal Knights use was developed for combating monsters rather than fighting humans. As such, it's become known for its "unbridled lethality" and isn't typically used for sparring for that reason.

So, if you're sure, I recommend checking with Forneus to make sure he's still able to revive us, just in case.

[Please sign the waiver with the time god before fighting, in other words]

[sufferean]

["Unbridled lethality?"

...

Sounds cool tbh]

Haha. I should probably be concerned by that, but honestly... that just makes me more intrigued.

I'll check with Forneus first, though. Better to be safe than sorry.

[whiteshroud]

[Well.

Can't say he didn't warn him.]

Alright, let me know!

[sufferean]

Will do!

[RIP, Rean. Cause of death: yolo.]

But hey, seems like that lantern's coming along now!

[...Please don't snap it now that he pointed out you're doing well.]

[whiteshroud]

[ !

Jun will look a little surprised to see sure enough, the lantern is nearly done. Guess talking did help stop him from focusing too hard]

Oh! It really is!

[sufferean]

[Aww, the surprise is kind of cute. Good job, Jun! You're doing the thing! Sensei is proud.]

Just had to lessen the tension a bit. [Rean smiles.] Both with you and the sticks, I guess.

[whiteshroud]

...Aha, perhaps so.

[He won't deny it. He knows sometimes he tries a little too hard. But now that it looks like an actual lantern now, Jun looks at it with some more fondness]

It is really quite pretty. It reminds me a little of making a jack-o-lantern during Morimiya's Autumn festival...though, that was easier than this.

[the main skill with jack-o-lanterns is stabbing things, and boy is jun good at that!]

[sufferean]

[It's okay— Rean's not judging. He knows that exact pain pretty well. But it's his job now to try to guide.]

Ah... yeah, I can kind of see the similarities. Once they're done, both of them glow from within, after all. There's something kinda comforting about that, I think.

I can understand why it'd be easier with the gourds, too. Once you figure out the design, it's less finesse and more just brute force. [He laughs a little.] We're both swordsman, we're naturally going to be better at that.

[whiteshroud]

Mm, something like that.

[Not only those similarities, but for Jun, it was also one of the only times he'd done an activity like this. Do an art and craft for a festival. Done for no reason beyond to celebrate a holiday. It was a nostalgic feeling.]

Basically, yeah. I just copied off my friend's design, so all I really had to do was gut and carve.

[sufferean]

[Rean is blessed in a lot of ways he doesn't realize. Festivals and holidays aren't an everyday occurrence for him, sure, but he's definitely more than familiar with them.

It doesn't even cross his mind that Jun would have missed out on things like that.]

Haha, yeah. Definitely makes things a lot easier!

Man. It sounds kinda gruesome when you think about it, though, doesn't it?

[whiteshroud]

[....]

Yeah, it does. It's a good thing the gourds probably can't feel it.

[sufferean]

...Probably.

[Rean just gives Jun a look.]

Thanks. If I have nightmares tonight, I know who I'm blaming.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun smiles. You know, one of his attempts at an innocent smile that is blatantly anything but]

Haha, well it's not like I can ask gourds if they feel pain to know for sure.

But it's probably okay!

[sufferean]

[Oh, he knows smiles like those well.]

Yup, definitely having nightmares. I'm sure the bags under my eyes will appreciate this.

[whiteshroud]

Whoops. Sorry. [Is he tho?]

I hope pumpkins screaming in agony don't enter your dreams tonight!

[sufferean]

[Not even a LITTLE!]

Maybe I should just plan on an all-nighter...

[whiteshroud]

Haha. If you need any coffee to pull it off, let me know.

[...There's a real good chance Jun has been doing all-nighters almost every night. NO ONE CAN STOP HIM!!!!]

[sufferean]

[Sloooowly connecting the dots to that in his head...]

I mean, I can make my own, but... that sounds a bit like you have experience with that sort of thing?

[(concerned and slightly judgmental dad noises)]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun meanwhile is naive thanks to not having parents, thus does not realize what that tone means

And so he speaks without any sense of shame.]

Haha, well my missions back home would often take place at night, so yeah. You could say I do.

[sufferean]

[Oh, this boy gonna learn today.]

Well, yeah, but it's not like we have a whole ton of night missions nowadays. So there's no reason for you to have stocked up on coffee here, unless you're either sending yourself out on solo night missions— which is not something I can recommend— or you're just staying up all night for the sake of it.

So. Care to elaborate?

[whiteshroud]

Uh...

[Oh. Oh no. He walked himself into this one. He considers lying, but he also remembers that really backfiring last time he tried on Rean. So maybe...being vague and acting innocent]

Well ... it's not like I have school to attend here, right? And the city's pretty at night.

[Translation: this kid is wandering the city at night. ]

[sufferean]

[Siiigh.

Rean can't... actually judge too much? Sure, he's usually pretty good about getting to bed on time, but he can't say he hasn't pulled plenty of late nights, too. Especially back in his first year at Thors, before everything went to hell...

Well, he could just as easily blame that on a certain silver-haired idiot or even Elliot, but really, if he'd wanted to turn in, he could have.

It's a natural urge for someone Jun's age. Despite how Rean tries, it's not like he's that much older than Jun. He remembers damn well what it's like. So he's not going to be too harsh, but...]

...Listen. That's true enough, and I know you can defend yourself just fine at least within the city. [They just don't know enough about what could be out there to say anything else for sure.] But even so.

If you have to drink coffee to keep yourself up later, isn't it better to just... go to bed when you're tired? You can still sleep in, or you can just enjoy the daylight hours that much more.