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

[LOOK HE WOULD NEVER PRESUME unless they have it in writing and in capital letters]

'Seonho' is fine. I have grown used to a more informal term of address. [he's smiling, though he does look curious that apparently this happens enough that Ochako's tired of it?? hm??] May I call you Ochako in return?

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?

[THIS TIME??? OCHAKO???

Seonho nods, then turns his head a little so she can see the blue jewel hanging from his hair... look, he didn't pick that on purpose]

I suppose so, though I am not used to having such -- abilities. [it's a good thing Seonho's a hydro and not a pyro, otherwise he'll end up setting himself on fire...] What about you, Ochako? Would you say that your... Quirk is similar to a Vision?

Hmm, sort of? Mine's not really... elementally aligned, you know? Unless you count space as an element. But it is a special ability like the Visions are!

SPACE.................................?

[okay he knows planets and stars all exist, this is the 1390s astronomy is around?? BUT ALSO???]

...Your special ability is related to the heavens?

[ochako are you

a fairy maiden......... from the fairy and the woodcutter]

[ the heavens...? she's laughing ]

Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but I guess it isn't totally wrong?

[ space is sort of like that she guesses? SHRUGS. ]

I can show you if I ever get it back, but basically my quirk just means that I can make things float. It's pretty useful for support and rescue missions!

[SUPPORT? RESCUE?]

...Do you work for the police bureau, Ochako?

[OCHAKO UR LIKE A BABY GIRL? WHO IS RECRUITING YOUNG GIRLS TO BE POLICEWOMAN -- he thinks this, before remembering there are plenty of young girls who work at the station but like

in the capacity of damo??? or servants???

suddenly, Seonho's long-since suppressed protective instincts are flaring to life??]

[ snorts ]

Nope! I’m still in school, so the most extra work I can do is my internship. And - I’m not going to work for the police, anyway? I’m going to be a hero.

[ this is normal ]

[OCHAKO WHY IS IT THAT EVERY SINGLE WORD YOU SAY CONFUSES SEONHO FURTHER

but oh hey Ochako goes to school? the fact that she's allowed to makes him happy... even if he's still confused,]

Hero? [JUST A HERO?] Are you planning on joining the army?

[OCHAKO DON'T GO TO WAR AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH]

[ okay no, now she is just laughing like this is the funniest thing he could have said. seonho is hilarious? wow, no wonder they were friends! ]

You don't have to join the army to be a hero! It's just another kind of job, like a firefighter or the police, you know?

[NO HE DOES NOT, though he does try to calm down a little -- or at least stop looking so SURPRISED,]

...Is it very different from being a firefighter or a policeman then? [heroes....] Is it an occupation where you do not have to answer to the government?

[like... robin hood..... hong gil dong...... ochako.... explain...]

Ahaha… no, we do. You have to be registered in order to do official hero work, and all. I guess it’s kind of similar to those, though?

[ taps her chin! how to explain it… ]

I guess you could say we’re emergency workers, like firefighters. If villains are attacking or someone needs rescue - even if it’s from something normal like an earthquake - then that’s when heroes get called in. We don’t really investigate things like the police unless they need our help, or vice versa. We just kind of go where we’re needed, if that makes sense?

[you know what.... it kind of does.... Seonho can at least tell that being a "hero" must be a special occupation, if it's something Ochako is striving for, instead of being unfairly thrust into.

He takes a moment to absorb her words, and nods slowly.]

I have not heard of anything like it before, but it sounds interesting. [a force separate from soldiers and policemen, beholden to themselves? but more importantly,

an occupation that anyone can aim for? Seonho's sure that there are caveats -- like for any job, but if young girls like Ochako have a chance, then it's already better than most back in his home.]

You must be very committed to your goal, Ochako, to attend a school for it.

[ochako... ur a hard-working gal and he immediately respects that]

[ ah… she turns sheepish at that. ]

Well, yeah. I have to be, if I’m going to be able to help my family. Becoming a good hero who can help everyone... it isn’t going to be easy.

JANUARY MINGLE

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