Stella Fortuna Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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stellafortunalogs2021-08-03 09:46 pm
stellafortunamods) wrote in stellafortunalogs2021-08-03 09:46 pm
august mingle
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!
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[He can see it coming before it snaps, but alas, he's not quick enough on the draw to warn her. Ah, well. Mistakes are how you learn, and she's taking it well enough!]
...Yeah, it is. Better luck with the next one.
[As for her question:]
Yeah, a couple. I find these pretty fun. It's kind of meditative, but also you get to soak in the energy of everyone being excited with the festival prep.
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Mm. Just gotta be more careful- though it's good to know it's limits.
( after that, it's simple work- she doesn't glance up for more than a second so as to not risk messing up, which she's sure he'll understand. )
We don't have things like this back home- there's a boardwalk, but I've never been there. It's... nice.
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Ah, really? I mean... my hometown wasn't really big on festivals or anything either, but there's a big one every summer in the capital, and my school had the students throw one every year.
Do you have any other celebrations or anything, at least?
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( she pauses for a moment, smoothing out the cloth of the lantern carefully. )
When your mere presence makes things go horribly wrong, people don't like you being near pyrotechnics or large crowds. Also, I have a criminal record.
( JINX. )
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Ah...
[Rean's... actually not at all upset by the criminal record part of that. Sorry, he's not actually oblivious enough to not catch it.]
I can't say I don't understand where people are coming from, but it still seems unfair to me to lock you out of things like that.
Everyone deserves a second chance. And it doesn't sound like you're thrilled about any of those things, so I don't see why you'd be an exception.
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( but she does manage to at least give rean a reassuring look. )
I'm not with them anymore- my new friends are trying to make things safe for me to go to, too. It'll be my first time... both back home, and here.
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I'm glad you have your new friends, then, and that they're looking out for you.
One of my students, back home... she came from a pretty similar situation. Now that she's with me, I've been trying to get her to open up and enjoy just... you know, being a kid. It's been kind of an uphill battle.
Guess I can only hope it works out with her as well as it seems to have worked for you.
[Jinx doesn't speak entirely in terms of missions and her usefulness, so as far as Rean's concerned, she's doing pretty good on the "normal" scale.
He loves Altina entirely, but he can't help but worry.]
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( hey rean wanna go beat up brother blood and the rest of HIVE--
although, in the end, sometimes jinx wonders if anything's changed. with HIVE, with the titans, even here... she's a fighter. will she ever be anything more? and even if she's not talking entirely in terms of missions and usefulness, she's still had clear moments of disconnect with regular concepts. but the hair stick she wears- it's a nice reminder of a moment of complete normalcy.
it's nice. )
Just be patient. Validate the parts of her that are still human, without overwhelming her. Find the things that she missed out on and make them new, good memories.
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It's kind of weird, honestly, when my students aren't that much younger than me. But I'm glad you think it makes sense! I think I'm starting to adapt, as well as I can, anyway.
[Rean would absolutely go beat up HIVE if given the opportunity, for the record.
But as for Jinx's advice, he just listens.]
Thanks. I'll do my best to just keep on her, but keep it gentle.
It's even weirder with her than it is with some of my other students, honestly. She was my partner out on government missions before she was enrolled in my class.
I know everyone else has only ever seen her as a tool for battle, but I've always thought she was more than that. And I know she's just in my class to keep an eye on me, but I want her to experience more than just that.
It's going to be a long time before she sees that she deserves that for herself, I think, but... you're right. All I can do is just be patient and try to help make the best new memories for her that I can.
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That sounds... incredibly awkward. I don't think I'd be able to manage having a teacher my age.
( she respects capability, don't get her wrong. but she knows she's prideful, too, and just... socially? yikes. )
But. It sounds like you're good for her, at least. HIVE was... sneaky. Enough personhood to manipulate, but we're still put up for auction as mercenaries. Never did like that. ... But it sounds like you're on the right track with her, at least.
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[But it pays... and it's his way of giving back to Thors, even if it's just the branch campus. He'll make it work somehow.]
...I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that. [He doesn't voice it, but he makes a mental note that it's probably a good thing they're stuck here in Teyvat. Otherwise, he'd be tempted to find out more about this "HIVE" and try to take them out.] I just... can't even imagine the mindset you'd have to have, to believe it's okay to just use other people like that.
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( frankly, more people should go fuck up HIVE. HIVE sucks. but she just shrugs- jinx has accepted her lot in life long ago. the past can't be changed. )
I... ( am too. ) I dunno. People with power- it does things to their heads, you know? Might makes right, and all that. But I can still keep walking, so I'm gonna.
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[That's fair, and also true, however, Rean would probably try to do it alone or something stupid like that. More people should go fuck up HIVE, but maybe not this particular moron.]
...Yeah, it sure does. [...Rean sounds like he Knows™.] But you're right about that.
...Someone once told me something similar. To keep going forward, relentlessly; without looking back.
It's a lot easier said than done, and I'm sure you know that, too. But it's really all you can do, is to try.
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( and rean's bene very caring, in quiet ways. )
That's all anyone can do. Act, and try. So, that's what I'll have to do. Regardless of how hard it can be... ( it's all she's ever done. so... she's used to it. )
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Rean's really never thought of it that way. Or... well, perhaps he has, when it's other people caring about him, but the idea that him caring could maybe be enough...
...Food for thought. Maybe too much to digest right now, but that it even occurred to him at all is progress.]
It is hard. And it takes a lot of strength to keep moving. But... I think you're plenty strong enough to handle it.