JANUARY MINGLE

[stellafortunamods]

January Mingle: A Ballad in Goblets
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
You open your eyes to an unfamiliar sight. A cool breeze flits through rustic buildings and sunny streets, carrying the smell of flowers and wine. The very air itself seems charged with mana, the warm pulse of the land palpable beneath your feet. This is a new world, a world where the elements compose all of reality. Before you is a bubbling fountain, and a key is entwined between your fingers. And that weight on your hip? A sparkling bauble that you've never seen before, yet it feels natural, as if it had always been there.

Asking around nets you the name of this world - Teyvat - and the name of this city - Mondstadt, blessed by the Anemo Archon, Barbatos. Your new home is accessible with the key placed in your hands, though this also brings to mind another question. How will you get money? Food isn't free, after all.

Luckily for you, there's plenty of jobs available for the enterprising Traveler. Be it taking requests from the Adventurers' Guild, or working part-time at one of Mondstadt's many food establishments, Mora is to be had when hard work is involved. The cuisine of Mondstadt is best paired with its wine, served at bars or enjoyed in private with a few friends.

And about that shining gem. locals will tell you that it is a Vision, a sign of favour from Teyvat's elemental gods. With the Vision on hand, you find yourself capable of commanding one of the seven elements. What will you do with this newfound blessing? Use it for good... or for evil?

Mondstadt's liveliness doesn't diminish when night falls. Bards sing through the wee hours of the night, and the lights of the city help keep most evildoers at bay. All seems peaceful, a pastoral idyll of a life that seems more at home in a storybook. Yet for those Travelers who venture out beyond the city's walls and into the ruins dotting the landscape, they may discover hints of a bloodier past now forgotten.

Glancing at any of the calendars in the city will tell you the current date. August 10th was the day you arrived. As soon as the last minute of August 16th slips away, the world around you changes. A blink, and time itself rewinds by seven days. Looking outside, the mown lawns have regrown, the windmill needs fixing again, and the well is once again full. Just what is happening here? It seems only you, Traveler, remembers the week that never was.

State of the World

For the first two weeks of the game, IC time will be looping from August 10th to August 16th. It's currently late summer in Mondstadt, and the trees are just beginning to turn out their autumn colours. The weather is cool and pleasant, with light showers on Tuesday (11th) and Friday (14th). It's also a good time to go out gathering berries and nature's bounty from Mondstadt's forests and valleys.

These two weeks will let us trial out our commissions and regains system and craft improvements for February onwards. There will be no activity requirements for January, so all threads started during this time period can be used for regains!

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

Comments

[dispassionatedevotion]

Even if we've been sent here to assist, it doesn't seem like anything pressing would prevent you from making your idle strolls. Not yet.

[ Speaking honestly, though he's never the one to do so himself as he's more or less pointed out a second ago. ]

When we encounter whatever's been behind the reason we were sent for help...it's likely this land will cease to be inviting.

[dispassionatedevotion]

[ He'll nod to substitute verbalizing a 'yes'. ]

...Claude.

[ It's been ages since he's spoken another one's name. Besides Ein's or Hector's. ]

Is this the first time in your life you've been called to help like this?

[whiteshroud]

[Look Grandpa Zhongli is loving but he's also lil old fashioned ok. Jun knows not to push his limits]

Well...for one, we have vehicles like trains, cars and airplanes that let you travel far quickly. You can travel across an entire country in a matter of hours.

And there's communication devices called phones! They let you have conversations with people anywhere in the world.

[extinctive]

[ ...ah. of course any self-respecting person would be too shy to share any of that savory stuff. but catching serpico off-guard and seeing that reaction makes it all worth it, figaro thinks. he could go easy on the poor guy, but where's the fun in that?

the all-too bright and mischievous smile is still plastered on figaro's face even as mr. mingle cuts in with a laugh, saying that serpico shouldn't be forced to divulge anything that he doesn't feel like sharing. "ah, but does that mean you have some level of experience yourself, doctor?" he asks curiously. ]

Mm, who could say? [ he says teasingly. ] While I'm also not obligated to tell anyone of that aspect of my life, I'm still a doctor after all. I have to ask my patients if they did this or that during examinations, but only that.

[ so he doesn't get why serpico's being bashful about it?? smh. ]

Anyway, we should start brainstorming. As I said earlier, we have to differentiate this novel from everything else in the market. To be honest, it's been a while since I sat down and read a book from start to finish myself, let alone one of erotica. But what if we focus on the more emotional aspects of sex? Something that most people can relate and ruminate upon after reading it... We could probably make the main character a herald as I suggested to Serpico earlier.

[ not as a self-insert (although it'd be very funny if it were), mind you. just throwing darts on the wall and seeing what sticks. ]

[reglaze]

[Ganyu smiles, giggling a little at the dog's enthusiasm. She crouches and scratches him under the chin before addressing Minako's concerns, voice calm yet confident.]

Don't worry, I should be able to handle anything that might come our way. I'm not a melee fighter, but I've got plenty of experience. Enough to handle slimes or hilichurls easily.

[She stands back up, offering her commission partner a smile.]

Are you ready?

[hwisal]

[ yaybangwon please don't hurt me this way closes my eyes... IT WAS MORE THAN JUST CHRISTMAS OKAY seonho suffered too........ i say, sobbing internally

this news is received with a thoughtful expression and one of a little surprise - mostly because Hwi had done some socializing himself, and this sounded similar. people came from wildly different places than the 'home' he and Seonho were accustomed to. ]

There is a girl here the same age as Yeon who works as a researcher for some kind of "technology." [ "professional," she'd said. "researcher" was not the kind of "professional" his mind immediately went to when she used that word to describe herself ] Maybe we are the strange ones, Seonho.

[ would that be so bad? imagining places where women - girls - had the same opportunities as men... where Yeon could be anything she wanted, regardless of class...

...ah, he's getting a little away from the point. ]

Then you made friends. [ that's what this really boils down to, doesn't it? Seonho was ""socializing""

it hasn't escaped his notice he only mentioned women so far, either-- ]

[extinctive]

[ please, ramble as much as you like. figaro doesn't mind other people filling in the silence for him; god knows he doesn't have a filter for certain topics sometimes. he stays still for a couple more minutes for albedo to continue sketching in more details before he pulls away from his current position and looms over the smaller boy to check out his WIP.

...huh. the kid didn't even scribble in figaro's oddly-colored eyes, but maybe albedo didn't get a close enough look at them yet. still, figaro has to smile at the intricate details he didn't know were interesting enough to the kid genius. ]

And what does me clutching this potion makes you feel? [ a light laugh. it's joke. ] Although, do you know what this potion does? I've seen and handled some back in my world, but I'm not familiar with some of these to be honest.

[ let's say he's coincidentally holding a frostshield potion. ]

[extinctive]

[ social distancing, even in mondstadt... figaro will call the attention of the bartender once he reaches the bar. ]

My good sir! Please get that man a tall glass of dandelion wine on me!

[ literally points his finger at kara because he is not letting the guy wallflower while he's around ]

slowly opens them to squint at you..........

[hwisal]

[ he's gently pulling her to her feet and giving her a once-over to make sure she was okay-- well. rip to his shirt, pour one out for it, f's in the chat etc... but as long as that was the only casualty of this little run-in, he's fine with that.

he takes it back with a sheepish sort of smile ]

No, no. [ ...wait she asked if he was okay-- ] I mean - yes, I wasn't hurt. [ ... ] Y-you don't have to do that. A little dirt isn't the end of the world.

[ not that he'll just wear dirty clothes--

--god okay whatever STOP TALKING ABOUT THE CLOTHING, HWI-- ]

Are you from town? I don't think I have seen you before. [ does he keep looking at her horns?

he keeps looking at her horns ]

[extinctive]

Hm? In what way? Hopefully none of you had gotten yourselves lost on the way here.

[ how they arrived here is still a mystery, though. ]

[beatnest]

I thought that went click-click. [ He snaps his fingers for effect. ]

[hwisal]

[ >trains
>cars
>airplanes
>cross an entire country in a matter of HOURS???
>PHONE???? ]

...

[ HOW?? how does any of this work?? ] Are you being serious...? Is this because of the magic of your world? These things all sound impossible.

[whiteshroud]

[He gives a little laugh]

No, it's not magic. Normal people like you use this stuff every day. Technology's just come a long way in my world.

[hwisal]

Then you can travel freely? [ ... ] Regardless of your class?

[ 'normal people' can use this stuff JUN WHAT?? ]

[vayuda]

You are short-lived with strange tastes.

[ He means that literally. What the fuck is most of the shit you guys eat. ]

[vayuda]

[ He has Nothing Better To Do. Where are all the demons at, Mondstadt. ]

I'm surprised they didn't put meat on that as well.

[hangfire]

Wh-- hey, fuck off with that.

[Is this kid insane on top of being a brat? Super. Great. Just what he wanted to deal with when his weapon is in pieces.

Congratulations, kiddo, look who's pulling a black-bladed knife from one of his boots as he takes a couple steps backwards. They're way too close to the market - if this boy is actually going to start a fuss with magic of all things, this could get messy fast.]

What, are you going to pitch a fit now that someone didn't like your fun? The hell did you expect?

[He swings his arm in the direction of the nearest gate, pointing at it with his weapon.]

Take your tantrum out of the fucking city or you're going to have more than some slap on the face to deal with.

[whiteshroud]

[He nods]

Mm. Some inequalities still exist, but most places in the world don't really follow class systems anymore. As long as you have the money, you can travel however you like.

[vayuda]

Then of course you will have my assistance. [ Granted, this means little. If Zhongli had said "yes, of course, it was I, Zhongli" and outlined some absurdly complex plan that bordered on being evil Xiao probably would have taken it on faith and agreed to help. It's a bit hard to fall out of the habit of serving one god after doing so willingly for thousands of years.

That said, he isn't certain how much help he can be. He's a weapon - nothing more. If they don't know what to point him at, what can he do? At least Ganyu is good with people. ]

Though my powers are...lesser. [ He assumes they share that. ]

[hangfire]

[He'll shrug dismissively.] Ookurikara, then. [Fair enough. It's not like he threw his family name around to just anyone, either.]

If that's the case, then why do you care about what a stranger does or doesn't do? If this isn't your home, then why does it matter?

You could have just ignored me.

[Really, he could have walked away at any point. So could Lutha.

But if this was another one of the handful of them that seemed to have been pulled from somewhere else... that means he might have something else at stake here. Had they all had those weird dreams?]

[hangfire]

[Oh no it's a socialite... kill him dead now, God, please.

He rolls his eyes while the other young man chatters away and smoothly gets the disgruntled author out the door. Lutha just scans back through the notes left behind, leaning over the table and only lifting his eyes back up when he hears the door close.]

You'd make someone a good jester in another life. [It's said flatly, letting his gaze settle with a cold sharpness before dropping right back to the table, fishing out some empty parchment.] If you're planning to waste time, I'll argue against your share of the pay.

[unfriendliest]

[ there's really no need for him to answer. he doesn't owe this guy anything. ookurikara should just go on his way, now that the fight seems to have gone out of him.

still, he hesitates. his eyes are trained on the path ahead of him, voice softening a little around the edges as he answers. ]

My master hated to see someone not eating well.

[hangfire]

How about you don't get to that point? You do it in moderation or you don't do it at all. No use in it if you're not going to be able to lift your sword later.

[He sounds more annoyed at the implication of her falling over in exhaustion than anything else he just said. But she makes a decent point, one that gets him to draw up a little, less angry and more serious.]

We'll see. Depends why they were taken, and how desperate this guy is. [He's thumbing through his belt pouch for his own Vision, slipping the fiery little piece of jewelry against his wrist to see just how easy this... "sight" thing worked...]

Livestock's an investment, no matter what kind. But if the birds have really been branded, then our theif can't just be trying to sell them for quick coin. He'd get caught.

[hangfire]

[what

whoa whoa whoa wait hold up TAKING ANOTHER LONG LOOK AT HIM BECAUSE EXCUSE ME?

congratulations you just shut him up for like five whole seconds. ]

...Master? You?? [Fuck that, dude, this guy could probably kill him where he stood, there's no way. But he swallows down the retort with effort, his tone stilted.]

Didn't take you for a type to be in servitude.

[unfriendliest]

[ please imagine the dialup noises in his mind because?? what else?? would a sword be??

buuuuuut he can't just tell some rando that he's a sword, so kara settles for looking mildly puzzled. ]

Does it matter?