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

[infreefall]

Seonho, then. [ it’s still odd being so informal with others, but at least the realm got her more used to it. ] And yea, I don’t mind! Especially if that’s what you called me before.

Kinda nice that they gave us extra abilities this time, huh?

[ gestures at the vision attached to her belt! ]

You got one, too, right?

[unfriendliest]

[ remember when i said that kara might like figaro? well, this is me, eating my words.

he’s just going to ignore the wine out of spite i guess? i hate ookurikara so much. i am sorry to both figaro and blair. ]

[infreefall]

...Eyes?

[ hm. what a weird thing to say? why not just say he likes meat?

the bow, though… she gives a small, slightly embarrassed laugh. ]

You don’t need to get all formal with me. I don’t mind.

[infreefall]

Mmhm. Do you not have those in your world?

[ her smile turns a little sheepish. ]

Mostly just a bunch of constellations I don’t recognize - and that floating island, I guess. I was wondering if there was a way up there, but maybe it’s too far to reach.

Was it the slimes you saw? They’re kind of cute when they’re not attacking you, aren’t they?

[whiteshroud]

[Aw fuck. That's right. He was talking to someone wasn't he? It's much easier to go quiet when you're in a group.

He really doesn't want to say what he was thinking about, so he'll fall back on his age old tactic - REPRESSING THE HELL OUT OF STUFF AND FAKING IT TILL HE MAKES IT]

Ah- y-yeah, sorry! I just got a little lost in thought there. That was a good point you made.

[N-Nailed it]

[unfriendliest]

There aren’t enough of us to fight the others.

[ his frown deepens. the last thing he wants is to fight another kebiishi without even a full team...

but he brushes the thought aside, unwilling to dwell on it for long, and fixes tsuru with a flat look. ]

That means you’d have to cool off with the “surprises” for a while.

[infreefall]

Why wouldn’t it be? You’re right that I need to find someone to train with. And if you’re out here carrying two swords, then you either know how to use them, or you’re some kind of nerd, right?

[ besides, if he’s going to lecture her, he might as well back it up! she smiles sweetly at him. ]

So is that a yes?

[infreefall]

[ she stares at him for a long moment - long enough that it's probably obvious she isn't convinced.

but then ochako smiles, as if she absolutely did buy it. ]

Right! But I guess to make it happen, we'd have to talk to someone in charge, huh...? I wonder who that would even be.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun has a great poker face so he keeps up like nothing wrong, but Jun on the inside]

Oh, I heard it's Acting Grand Master Jean. Not sure how you get an audience with her though.

[eolja]

[Seonho leans in to look more closely at the seal, but he doesn't have nearly enough experience to make any educated guesses about it, besides the conclusion Zhongli has already come to. He does look worried though, at the idea that their summoner has power to suppress Zhongi, of all people, and that Zhongli has to adapt himself to this restriction. So even if Zhongli isn't exposed to whatever danger Celestia might inflict, he has to contend with the dangers he wouldn't have had to deal with if he had his full power...

Seonho sits back, brows still furrowed with concern. but he manages to make his voice sound light.]

Any assistance you decide to provide is invaluable, Zhongli. Just this conversation alone has told me more than what I could have discovered on my own. ...You have my thanks.

[no matter if Zhongli decides to keep other things to himself -- Seonho knows that in some situations, more information is not necessarily a good thing. Also, since Zhongli has been so transparent with him...]

...I would also like to be honest with you. Shortly after I arrived here, I met someone from my world. [he pauses. it's hard to speak of Hwi, after Seonho's trained himself so well not to back in South Sister.] He was not in South Sister with the rest of us, and he was not aware of my disappearance from our world when I asked. ...His name is Hwi. If you ever require assistance, then he would be happy to help. He's a skilled hunter and smith, and his capacity for kindness is far greater than mine.

[no matter if Hwi's mostly focused on getting to return home, Seonho knows that he's the last person to refuse anyone else in need of his help.]

[extinctive]

[ i keep telling you, ray!!!

figaro merely shakes his head and just goes about his merry way, tbh. he does tell charles to put aside a glass on him in case kara changes his mind but... no pressure. ]

[extinctive]

Right, might as well stay safe. But you know, you don't have to shackle yourself to a certain kind of fate if you don't want to. Knowing your future has its perks, but it does take the fun out of some things sometimes.

[ a shrug. he's just spouting bullshit here at this point. ]

Anyway, I'm still safe to talk to, so don't be afraid to lean on me if you need it.

[extinctive]

That's the plan. Still, feel free to approach me for tips anyway, from teacher to teacher. I'm a doctor, but I'm currently teaching my fellow wizards how to do magic.

[ he pops open the bottle of wine and pours two glasses, handing one to rean. ]

Let's toast to it.

a fabulous trashfire indeed. also 1/2

[sufferean]

Hey—! Ow!

[Listen, it's not like Rean's a fragile little baby or anything, but being grabbed and manhandled and pushed into a chair is still, uh, not fun? At all?

Seriously, what did he do to deserve this today?

Once again, he wrenches himself out of the other man's grasp, and he means to look angry at him...]

2/2

[sufferean]

[But oh. That's not the expression he really expected to see in return. That's fear, that's horror.

Over rain? Rean really doesn't get it, but he does speak up to try to make some sense of what's going on.]

...Listen. Is... is rain different where you're from? Because where I'm from, and here, it's just water. Like, the kind that you drink and wash with.

[sufferean]

Of course. Just happy to see these little guys doing a little better.

[And indeed, he's definitely smiling down at the puppies before Seonho's introduction snaps him out of it.]

Ah? Oh, no, don't worry about it. I'm Rean Schwarzer - given name first.

[So there are places where the family name is stated first? Interesting!

Rean's studying Seonho as inconspicuously as he can, as well. He's definitely Eastern, although what that means from Seonho's world is a mystery to him. Still, he's definitely fascinated by it.]

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. Here's hoping the next time we happen to work together, it'll be a little less sweltering, yeah?

[redbellion]

In.

[ Thinking that this place is the afterlife is such a mood, Minako. But Keith wastes no time in looking at the locked door...and immediately seeing if he can pick the lock with

his knife. ]

[sufferean]

...Right, that makes sense.

[Rean seems a little embarrassed to be corrected, but he knows well enough that one never really stops learning. He'll just be sure to file that information away for the future!

As for heading toward the dummies, Rean nods and follows dutifully behind Albedo. Thankfully, Rean's definitely got stamina, so a couple of flights of stairs are nothing to him.]

Fair warning, I doubt my usage of my Vision will be particularly impressive.

[sufferean]

[That response just earns a more earnest smile.]

Especially if they think they're ill-suited to the idea of friendship. We have the opportunity to grow and change here, after all.

[sufferean]

[Hm! This is an unexpected problem!]

Hm... looks like we're gonna need a way to better trap them. Wonder if there's a smaller area we could try to lure them to? Then maybe make some kind of ice barrier to keep them trapped in that smaller area?

[Rean's freshly-bought fishing rod is offended right now, honestly.]

[sufferean]

[Hey, Rean's happy for any acknowledgment he gets.]

Glad to hear it.

[He listens to her explanation, and nods as if to say it makes sense.]

Ah, I see... well, I wouldn't say they're weak. They were certainly helpful in giving me the openings I needed. [Read: "No, you're useful! Really!"] And I'm sure, if you're given time to hone your craft, it'll grow even more powerful.

[...He might sound a little bit like someone trying to encourage a student, here. Rean, stop. You can turn off the teacher mode at any time.]

[sufferean]

[Rean looks up, seeming to mull over that.]

...Yeah, I suppose I can understand that, when you put it that way. Even where I'm from, that's true enough. I've just always been the "outsider," at least in the sense I'm thinking, so I guess... it didn't really occur to me to even consider that.

[When it's just been a reality for him every day of his life that no, he'll never be a real noble and the upper echelons of society will always think less of him... well, at this point, he's made his choice in career and cut himself out of that. He tries not to think about it too much at all anymore.

And of course, there's a little thought nagging at the back of his mind that that's just been what it's been like for him, a native Erebonian. For someone like Gaius, Rean has no idea what it must have been like outside of Class VII...

Rean turns his attention back to Claude.]

You do have a point, though. A ton of people from other worlds show up and they open their doors to us like we're just one of them. It's definitely nice to not have to worry about that.

[sufferean]

[Rean tries not to let it show, but there's definitely a slight flinch at the word "enlisted."]

Well... it's a bit complicated. ...I suppose technically everyone at the branch campus is considered a soldier, in a sense, even the students. [Which definitely doesn't sit well with him, and it's still something he's trying to come to grips with, but it's not anything he can change.] For me specifically though... yes, I suppose that's the right term.

["We retain the right to rip you out of your life and make you our attack dog at any time" totally counts as enlisted, right? Right? Rean hates his entire life.]

Ah, I see... that must be hard on you. [A sympathetic smile.] Just got to settling back in and now all this?

[sufferean]

[...is this really Rean's life right now. Okay, he's just... going to answer like this is serious and hope that he's not being punked.]

Because... because it's confusing otherwise. And it'll make people like me stop you to ask, and then have this whole conversation. If you had just explained it to begin with, then I could have just taken the sandwich and you could be on your merry way.

[sufferean]

I can't say that I know the term, no. What is it in your world?

[As for what all's up there — and out there — he nods.]

It's probably impossible with anything I know of right now... but we are dealing with a whole new world with magic most of us don't quite understand yet. If we keep working, it might not be impossible to get up there forever.

Haha, yeah, the slimes are pretty cute from a distance. I've also seen some other creatures... I think I heard them called "hilichurls?"