stellafortunalogs | JANUARY MINGLE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Keith's not the only one looking concerned about the state of the windmill.]

...So it's not just me, then? [Rean looks over at Keith, his eyebrows furrowed.] I've been patrolling the city when I can... I guess it's possible I would have missed it, but I swore when I saw this last it had these repairs already in place.

Pretty sure it did. Unless the person who fixed it didn't do their job well, it's weird that it's already broken again.

[ On top of other things being weird, but. ]

I can't describe it well, but something feels...off.

Sure, some things might need patching, but... all of this, just a week later?

[Yeah, no, this is fishy!]

It does feel off. Almost... a sense of deja vu.

That, and I noticed that a lawn that was trimmed around a day or two ago suddenly grew back. It's like it was never cut to begin with.

[ Keith looks up and towards the windmill. Rean isn't the only one feeling the deja vu. ]

I'm gonna go talk to the guy repairing it right now. Maybe this isn't as unusual and we're making it out to be.

[ A beat, then: ] You coming?

Maybe the grass here just grows differently than what we're used to, too...

[He's not sure he buys that logic, but it's an attempt. For now, though, he just nods back at Keith.]

Yeah, I'm right behind you. Lead the way.

[To where the man repairing it will almost certainly have no idea what they're talking about.]

[ He absolutely doesn't. When Keith brings up the fix, the man raises an eyebrow at them and says he'd been working on repairs for a few days and that he has yet to actually fix the problem.

At that, Keith turns towards Rean and shoots him a look. He glances back at the man again, then back at Rean. ]

You have any questions for him?

[...Welp. That's less than reassuring.

Rean looks at the man, at Keith, and then back at the man, in turn.]

...Ah, yeah. Just one.

What's today's date?

[The man just looks confused before thinking for a second and saying that he thinks it's August 10th.

Rean, for his part, manages to contain the urge to ask what in the goddess' name is going on here and simply turns to Keith, although it's clear his pleasantness is a bit strained.]

...Yeah, I think that's everything we needed to know, thanks. Say, think we should be taking our leave?

[Read: Let's go scream somewhere else that is not directly in front of this poor man and his windmill.]

[ do you see this shit rean ]

Yeah. Let's get out of here.

[ Keith really doesn't feel like staying here any longer; something about hearing the date and having the realization that time has rewound itself makes him uneasy. At least he's not the only one who seems to realize what's going on, but it's still leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Shit. ]

Maybe this is what they meant when they said they needed help.

[he does and he HATES IT so he is more than happy to just wave the man goodbye and walk swiftly away from all of this nonsense.]

Maybe. It would make more sense than the nothing I've been seeing up until now, anyway.

[He's bringing a hand to his chin as he walks, brow furrowing. This is clearly upsetting to him, too.]

But what could be causing it? Some kind of monster or enchanted artifact...?

Beats me.

[ He hates to say it but, like. They all literally just got here!! How are they supposed to know anything. He crosses his arms over his chest. ]

Time rewound itself, everything went back to how it was before -- and nobody else seems to realize it except for us. Wonder if the others who were brought here are aware, too.

[ Because if it's just him and Rean...welp. ]

[IT'S TRUE, Rean's just constantly hoping that this will turn out like every other aspect of his life where someone else has just known everything and been hiding it from him.]

I guess there's no way to know but to ask, right? We could split up, try asking around, and meet up again to share our findings.

[That'll probably cover more ground, anyway.]

Sure. You're staying at the apartments too, right?

[ Are they actually tangentially neighbors and haven't realized it yet ]

I am. On the third floor. My room's right next to my friend's from my world... Elliot Craig, I don't know if you've met him.

[Neighbors!! Friendship!]

...Yeah, I know him.

[ BOY, does Keith know him. ]

Didn't realize you two were from the same world. Does he normally laugh at people who get made fun of?

[Rean blinks in utter confusion. Is this the same Elliot???]

...Eh? Elliot's a really nice guy. He's one of my best friends. What happened?

He thought it was funny when a bard started singing about my hair.

[ He is pointedly not using the word "mullet" here. ]

[Ohhhh.]

Ah, I see... no, he's not the type of person to go and mock someone. He probably just thought of it as a little light-hearted ribbing. I'm sure he never meant to actually hurt you!

[Rean's been the subject of laughter like that before, so he's pretty confident in his assessment here. Elliot's a sweetheart!]

JANUARY MINGLE

time rewinds

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject