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]

[rip the AU where lutha actually had bullets and then got Geo Smashed on his first day by god himself]

Not everyone can put rational choices first in a situation like this. Hell... some of these are just kids. They'll be capable enough to do what they have to, sure, but they need some damn time.

[Spirits know he definitely does. To be under a blue sky instead of one of mottled purple and grey, to see greenery and water instead of dead earth that had long lost the call of a caring god...

Either he'd adapt, or he'd wake up from this dream he was having. As far as he's concerned, those are his only options.

...

His voice stays low and even.]

You're level-headed enough. Do you have a name?

[pragmatism]

[ There's no need for him to confirm or deny what Lutha says. The truth is self-evident, and all Zhongli needs is time. He has plenty of it, too. ]

I am Zhongli. And you?

[ - said calmly, as if they had been having a casual conversation instead of debating philosophy and the nature of gods. ]

[hangfire]

[...]

Lutha.

[...

He gingerly reaches his hand up to tap at his right ear.]

Say something next time. You came up on my bad side. Can't hear things like the grass that well.

[pragmatism]

I will.

[ It wouldn't do to lack courtesy, after all. Zhongli accepts this gracefully. ]

Take care of yourself. If you do need assistance, you could come find me. [ How will Lutha find him? Maybe Zhongli will conveniently appear when that happens. ]

[hangfire]

[There's a breathy sound, caught between a scoff and a laugh in the back of his throat. How long was the dude planning on being in town, to offer that to a stranger he'd probably never see again?]

I've lived in worse, Zhongli. I'll manage.

...But yeah, sure. A resource is a resource. You're well-spoken enough. [You still talk to me like a person.] So long as you don't skip town, I can find a way to look for you.

[pragmatism]

[ He nods by way of acknowledgement. There's no need for excessive embellishments when speaking with Lutha. ]

Until next time.

[ On to the next task... ]