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

[hangfire]

[He doesn't move, merely flicking his eyes to follow Venti's finger...

...

His voice flattens.]

Is this a joke? It's just strays. You're fine.

[How sad, this poor brat is blind as well as a delinquent.

Maybe he SHOULD snitch. The cart owner's right there. Hm.]

[extinctive]

[ stealthy as he likes, huh... unfortunately figaro can't access all of his powers for the time being, but he's sure to keep that in mind.

he trails after venti, his doctor's coat flapping in the wind behind him. ]

Is it, now? I'd probably be the least likely person to ask this, but are you even of age to step into a place like that?

[fiddlestick]

In that case, anytime you're ready- I'm all ears!

[Oh right- he should probably introduce himself]

I'm Elliot. A musician from Erebonia.

i have a permit here and it says i can do whatever i want :)

[eolja]

[you know what's really unnecessary lucas, bullying a SMALL CHILD!!! if Hwi were here then he'd immediately square up, but Seonho only raises an eyebrow. he can at least tell from Lucas's warning that he isn't some petty bully-type who's looking to take advantage of a child for no reason,

he's just weirdly menacing instead??? and Seonho can sense that like dueling him for this child's honor won't exactly work.]

Is that really necessary? It'll go back to him once the week passes, and he won't even remember your words of advice.

[also brian is about to CRY!!!]

[eolja]

[ANA SINCE WHEN WERE THEY ARM-LINKING FRIENDS but you know what, he'll allow it (like he'd even try and push her off anyway smh). he might be a tad flustered though, but the question helps ground him.]

I have run into a few people I remember meeting in South Sister, but they do not recall the town, much less me.

[his brow furrows for moment, but you know what, it's fine!!! he's fine!!!]

It does make me wonder why it is that only we remember though.

[pragmatism]

[ Nothing can be accomplished without rules or standards. No matter if it is mortals or adepti, everyone has their place. Contracts keep Liyue in peace. ]

As you wish.

[ Zhongli walks a few paces closer, crouching down so Venti can see. He rolls up his right sleeve. In his human form, he lacks the coloured skin patterns of his Archon form, but his skin is covered instead with strange black marks that shift and move in irregular patterns. The alphabet is not of Celestia, or any known language on Teyvat. They are devoid of any elemental alignment - devoid of pretty much anything, draining whatever they come into contact with. ]

Do you make anything of it?

[cecilias]

[ WOW??? So fickle! Such a swift betrayal!

His voice rises a little, and all three cat heads swivel in unison. ]

Noooo, no, you don't get it-- ah!!!

[ THE CATS HAVE ACQUIRED THEIR TARGET AND ARE BARRELING IN ]

[eolja]

[don't u just want to go ape shit figaro? aren't u tired of being nice?

honestly, Figaro's reaction makes sense. god knows that Seonho would not have been as friendly if their situations were reversed. He hesitates for a moment, wondering if it'd be best just to leave (figaro on read) now, and avoid making things more awkward for the other man.

He can at least tell him his name though.]

I am Nam Seonho. Seonho is my given name. It is a pleasure to make your acquintance, even under these circumstances. [we're breaking up now figaro good bye] Feel free to ask me any questions as well, if you happen to have any.

[like when rutile spills the beans]

[cecilias]

Hmph! Age is just a number, you know. It tells you nothing about the age of a soul . . .

[ He didn't answer the question but it's fine ]

[cecilias]

A world I've never heard of before . . . you'll have to tell me more once our business is concluded~

[ Business aka music nerd TURF WAR ]

Why don't we have a battle of the bards at one of the taverns? Then unbiased third parties can weigh in!

[cecilias]

[ His brows knit together as he eyes the runes, trying and failing to make sense of their meaning or origin. ]

It's more telling what I can't make of it.

[ If it was something borne of Celestia, he would know it. And if it was something borne of some lesser god, living outside of Celestia's purview -- would it really be this powerful? ]

Morax . . . you've gotten in over your head this time, haven't you?

[eolja]

[zhongli..... ur being nice to him and that makes him feel things and now he's confused.... hello....

It's a good thing he closed his eyes during that part, so he can't see Seonho's expression of "what happens when someone you respect compliments you" and "the moment he finds out my true nature he will be very disappointed in me haha". He does at least get himself back under control by the time Zhongli opens them,]

...They say that half of your fate is determined by your birth back in my country. [and seonho and hwi had been unfortunate to be dealt with losing hands,] But that only means we can change the other half with our own hands.

[perhaps if he relied on his own kindness rather than his willingness to stain his hands with blood, then he'd be in a different position now. but to answer the question,]

I do not believe that one's life is predetermined. [even if they were summoned here against their will, closes eyes] Do the skies of Teyvat have so much power, that they can even control the fates of those not from this world?

[fiddlestick]

Mm! I'll be glad to tell you things later.

[After THE TURF WAR]

Sounds fine with me. It'll be great to see how I'll hold up against your homefield advantage.

[extinctive]

[ he just laughs it off. ] Don't worry about it! I'd say that you must've been around for quite a while, then.

[ they reach angel's share, and figaro swings open the door and heads straight to the first empty barstool he sees ]

[eolja]

[they do know better, but they're experts at not acknowledging that, hah!!!

Seonho hears that unspoken question, and shakes his head -- to both of those things.]

...You know how the people here are. They haven't even noticed that we've just arrived.

[it's a skin-crawling feeling to be treated as if he's always been around, honestly.]

I don't remember. I was under the impression that it was impossible to leave, unless you accomplished certain conditions beforehand. [wow... we're so evasive] But even those were uncertain. I think I was taken, the same as you.

[eolja]

[can't believe rean and seonho's good intentions will not save these puppies... but at least Rean has good intentions?? Seonho's mostly been using this opportunity to practice.]

...We have nothing to lose by trying.

[REALLY?? ARE WE SURE, FELLAS?? Seonho scoots closer to the dish too, placing his hand over it near Rean's, and concentrates. he gets maybe half a cupful in before he has to stop, SOMETIMES ONE... DOES NOT HAVE MAGICAL STAMINA,

how's rean doing though, his shards are probably much better than seonho's]

[unnecessities]

[Sandalphon side-eyes him the whole time, giving the abyss mage a once-over before gesturing to leave. It doesn't look like he killed it, at any rate.]

...Not that I don't understand wanting to protect humans, but...

[He shifts the chicken slightly in his arms.]

...If you distance yourself from them too much, it'll be hard to live with them. You're fortunate you ended up partnered with me this time, if that's how you handle this sort of thing. That's...the sort of behavior that humans need to be protected from, more often than not.

[Maybe that advice isn't his to give, but...well. He was that thing humans needed to be protected from, once.]

[pragmatism]

[ Zhongli closes his eyes, smoothing his sleeve back over his arm. His clothing cover the marks completely - none would be able to sense the black seal's existence, save for those that are his equal. ]

None can deceive me when it comes to a contract. [ He has always been pragmatic, rational, reasonable. The God of Contracts would never agree to something that wasn't beneficial. ] I choose to trust my own judgement.

[ He's willing to wait and see. Even if the contract entailed that he temporarily forgot something, it would come back to him eventually. ]

[cecilias]

[ This idiot is always gonna be like this, huh.

Venti sighs again, slouching back against the tree and running a frustrated hand through his bangs. ]

There's one important factor you've overlooked this time.

[pragmatism]

[ Its not surprising that Zhongli doesn't change his mind. It's impossible to change his mind without good reason. His belief in his own self is a great part of what let's him endure all these years.

It also meant that any failure on his part would have severe effects. But he hasn't failed yet. ]

And what would that be?

[cecilias]

[ He gestures with one hand, as if to say "well you see you dumb asshole," ]

There's no way for me to render you aid when you yourself don't remember any of the terms of your contract.

[vayuda]

It isn't possible to steal something given freely.

[ But if Barbatos doesn't want to accept...it's not like Xiao's going to force the matter. ]

Neither of you is very good with this sort of thing, huh...

[vayuda]

[ He's the math lady meme right now. What is...rest? Xiao's war may be in Liyue, but when you don't relax for a few thousand years sometimes you just flat out forget how that even works.

He's not one to contradict Rex Lapis, but... ]

Surely there is something I can do as you plan.

[ Any task is better than No task. ]

[pragmatism]

[ ...


Zhongli chuckles. ]

I suppose you are right.

[ Though, his expression soon returns to his usual thoughtfulness. He's too used to taking on all the important things for himself, delegating to others only the tasks that he knew they could finish. ]

As you can see, the price I offered is entirely personal. I must bear this alone.

[ There has to be a reason why he decided to not involve Venti in such a thing, especially when the anomaly is localized to Mondstadt. Even without knowing the exact terms of his contract, he could work backwards and guess at what it could entail. For one, Venti is the weakest of the Seven. If he were to receive even a fraction of the black seal, it would put his life in danger. ]

[magicdrain]

[ Nothing glamorous, huh... What a shame considering Lucas just came from a comfortable life of glamour at the palace. It used to be he could laze about on expensive furniture and call for whatever he needed to be brought to him by the palace servants.

He's going to miss that... He's going to miss that a lot. ]

It doesn't sound suitable for someone like me.

[ He says it with a slight huff, making it clear he thinks the idea of performing menial tasks is way below him, and once he's seated, even glancing at the menu shows what a stark difference this new place is compared to where he'd been. What is this... A fried egg? Toast? People live like this?? ]

Ugh... [ He is so displeased!! ] The chicken-mushroom skewer will do.

[ At least that sounds marginally appetizing. ]