stellafortunalogs | APRIL MINGLE

APRIL MINGLE

April Mingle: Song of the Dragon and Freedom
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
As time continues to reset itself, a certain restlessness and sense of anticipation begins to build up in Mondstadt, as if the whole world itself is waiting with bated breath. At last, the final light barrier unlocks itself, and Dvalin awaits the outlanders amidst a vortex of howling winds. All that remains is to remove the poisonous spikes that torments him, and his tears shoudl fall no more...

With the passages of long years and amid boudless darkness, even the purest gem will become dulled by dust, and even the noble dragon might be corrupted and cankered by hatred. But never forget that dust can be wiped away, and the power of doubt and poison can be shattered. These are the thoughts that Venti sends off with the outlanders - should any of them fall from the tower, he'll be there to give them a quick hand back up.

Dvalin is a powerful and ancient dragon, but it soon becomes evident that he doesn't have the heart to kill the people who have come to see him. However, a team effort is still necessary to distract him so that others can snipe at the toxic spines stuck through his body. Once the last thorn is pulled free, the curse is violently ejected from Dvalin's body and the howling winds finally cease.

The next five days are a blur - when you wake up, the city has decorated itself in a celebration of love, friendship, and freedom - a perfect conclusion for a rather harrowing period in Mondstadt's history. As repayment for your help in solving the Stormterror crisis, the games and food stalls put up for the festival will not charge anything for participation.

Music, gift exchanges, shooting and gliding competitions are just seeral of the various activities organized by the Knights of Favonius. With the peace returned to Mondstadt, your trip to Teyvat now seems poised to become a vacation - but the job of a hero is never done, and a little nocturnal bird leads you to a mysterious glowing door beyond which answers await.

State of the World

On August 31st, the last barrier in Stormterror's Lair dissipates, allowing characters to ascend to the top of the tower and confront the dragon Dvalin. Battle is inevitable, though the goal is not to kill the dragon, but to remove all the toxic spikes that Abyss Mages have embedded into his body. After liberating Dvalin from his grief and poison, characters return to Mondstadt lauded as heroes - just in time for the Windblume Festival! It's time for a short but well-earned vacation... and it seems your mysterious host has a message for you too.

For all questions regarding April's mingle and events, please head over to our OOC post.

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[There's a little bit of commotion behind the door before it's opened, and when it is, Rean looks just a bit disheveled. It's not too hard to figure out he was probably trying to make himself mildly presentable before he opened the door and that was the cause of all the noise. It... kind of worked? Give him half a point.]

Oh, Jun! No, it's fine— I was just winding down. What can I help you with?

[MMMM WERE YOU DOING SOMETHING SINFUL REAN-- no just kidding. Jun is innocent and nothing like that would cross his mind]

Haha, sorry I interrupted your chill time.

[Teens and their slang. He offers the pouch to Rean. It is full of mora- easily 20 times more than what an average commission pays. ]

Reimbursement pay for all the work you've done since your arrival, courtesy of the one who brought us here.

[WHY YES, ACTUALLY! HE WAS ROLLING AROUND ON HIS BED TRYING TO GET COMFORTABLE AS HE PERUSED A BOOK FROM THE RESTRICTED SECTION!

Okay, no. But he was reading. If Jun looks past him, he'll even see the book open and face down on the table. Take better care of your books, Rean!]

Haha... no worries. It's nothing I can't pick back up another time—

[...That. That is a bag of money? That is a large bag of money???]

...Eh?

[Sorry, Rean.exe has stopped working. It takes a moment for him to reboot from his blue screen and make sense of what Jun is saying.]

I— I couldn't possibly— [...Wait.] ...Wait, did you seriously go and ask the God of Time to pay all of us?!

Something like that?

[Jun shrugs as he continues holding out the bag. TAKE IT]

It's the Orden policy that anyone who wishes to commission a Seal Knight needs to pay for our services and covers related expenses. You're not Orden, but you've helped me out enough that it only feels fair you receive compensation as well.

[In other words. Yes. Yes he did exactly that.]

[Rean really wants to argue that he does not deserve all of this, but... given what all Jun says, he's pretty sure Jun has at least this much himself. That, and he doesn't really think Jun's going to take no for an answer, so he just takes the bag, dumbfounded.

...At least he can probably split this with Elliot. And extras... well, there are donations that can be made.]

I...

[He's at a loss for words, honestly, but eventually he just laughs.]

...You're really something else, you know that? But I'm glad to know you can stand up for yourself where it matters. [Makes one of them, at least!] Thank you. I'll be sure to spend it mostly wisely.

[Yeah that's right gopher. You take the bag and accept having fair wages for the first time in your life. ]

Somehow I'm not surprised you feel that way...but thank you? [Yeah...he called it. He just knew in his bones Rean wouldn't advocate for himself. Dammit Rean]

Haha, spend it how you like! Though if I could make one suggest, I'd say invest in some nice cold weather and mountain gear.

[THIS IS WEIRD? He never gets paid fairly! What is this???]

...Oh, did our new patron give you some hints as to where we're going next? [Siiigh. He's not sure he likes the sound of that.] Thanks for the heads up, though. I'll look into that, and I'll make sure my friend is outfitted, too.

[tfw the cult has better working conditions than the high school]

Mm...the mountain south of here, Dragonspine. Apparently we're to climb to the peak of it.

I've never actually gone mountainclimbing before, so it should be...an experience.

[In like, the worst way possible]

[His job also legitimately tried to kill him and his students on day 1. This shouldn't be a surprise.]

I lived close to a mountain range when I was young, but I've never done much in the way of serious climbing myself. And I'm positive Elliot hasn't.

[Sigh.]

Just... try to find safe places to shelter and if you see signs of an avalanche, try to get to the edges of it if you can. That's all the info I know to share.

[he puts a hand on his hip, nodding as he heeds Rean's advice.]

Avalanches...I didn't think about those. I'll keep that in mind.

[It hasn't even started and this is already sounding like a shitty mission. Ugh.]

Whatever's at the peak better be worth it...

Things you learn living just outside a mountain range. I wouldn't expect it to be foremost in anyone else's mind.

[Rean sighs, crossing his arms. This does sound decidedly Unfun, but it is what it is. All he can do now is prepare. At least it's better than his usual terrible missions, because he doubts the plan is to conquer this mountain.]

I sure hope so, because climbing is going to take a lot more energy than I think any of us really want to expend.

...Good news, though, we can probably use our gliders to get most of the way back down.

Mm. Japan is mountainous, but I spent most of my time in the city.

[And then before that he lived in a convent so there really wasn't a lot of rockclimbing there.

But oh. That catches Jun's attention. His eyes have a spark of interest]

...That sounds fun.

[Teenager Adneraline junkie alert ✨ ]

Yeah... I went into the mountain range for my training, of course, but it's not like there was any real reason to venture out that way for average daily life in Ymir. The valley was the farthest we'd go. Still, even that was enough to teach the basics.

[As for that little glint in Jun's eyes... Rean just laughs.]

Yeah, well, don't get too risky, all right? It takes a lot of stamina to stay up there, and the last thing you want is to get exhausted with no safe place to land.

You seriously went into the mountains for training...? Haha, that sounds like a trope out of a story.

[The swordsmen going to the mountain to train his skills...he could almost picture it. He wonders if there was a waterfall- there's always a waterfall in that?

-- He's getting ahead of himself. He gives a little shrug at the concern]

Don't worry, I'll be alright. I can always teleport if I need to get to the ground quickly.

[Jun that's not a normal thing that people can do]

Haha, yeah. It's pretty much exactly like that. [A beat.] ...Down to the waterfall, if you're wondering. I don't exactly recommend that part.

[But as for FREAKING TELEPORTATION:]

...Huh. Knights sure have an interesting set of powers.

[...Yeah, he's not that shocked. Listen, he's a giant robot pilot who's now employed by a god. At this point, he doesn't really have it in him to ask questions.]

[He gives a blink of surprise at Rean basically reading his mind, before he gives a light laugh and scratches his jaw.]

Haha, you read my mind. I'll keep that recommendation in mind, but it's still cool!

[Rean you really are an anime character even in your normal life. Amazing. But it is appreciated that Rean isn't making a big fuss over it. Enough that he'll even joke a little]

Well, we do try to keep a low profile and taking the train to a mission location in our uniform would make us stick out a little.

[It's a shame Rean has no idea what anime is, because he really is just the most anime character one can get without being from an anime. But it is what it is.]

Haha, you definitely have a point, there. It's definitely useful... I kind of wish Valimar had those kinds of powers. Would make getting him around a lot easier.

Although, I have to say, the idea of someone popping out of the shadows in your uniform with a weapon like you've got is both awesome and enough to send chills down my spine.

Valimar?

[What dat he's not in the magical girl alisa. But...welp. Jun gives a slightly awkward laugh as he scratches his jaw]

Y-Yeah...so I've heard. How I come off to people while on duty is apparently something I need to work on...

[Because apparently impressions of him lean more towards TERRIFYING]

Oh, right, I haven't told everyone about him here... [Rean reaches behind his head to scratch at it a bit, nervously.] Um, he's my partner, back home. He's a really big mechanical knight that I pilot. He has a mind of his own, though. And when I say really big, I mean, like... maybe not the size of the tree out in Windrise, but getting up there, you know?

[Read: He's a fucking mecha pilot. His life gets more anime by the second.]

So you can imagine how transporting him around gets pretty difficult.

[You don't say.

As for the last comment... oh, dear, it seems he's struck a nerve.]

Ahaha... well, you know, you have plenty of time, you know? You're still young. It's just another part of your training.

Besides, I more meant that it sounds cool. Even if it's kind of in a scary way, that just adds to the atmosphere, doesn't it?

[Like Batman! If he knew who that was!!]

[So in other words...it's a mech.]

Haha, really? That sounds cool! The military back home has something like that called Valiant Gears, but none of them have minds of their own.

[So having a mech who is also your friend?? Very cool man.

But ah...that's what he means. Nothing bad. He eases up a little. ]

...Well then, thanks. I hope it's as cool as you're imagining.

[It is absolutely a mech.]

Oh, really? Our military has those, too - Panzer Soldats. They're based off of the Knights, but they don't have the same intelligent capabilities or power. There's only so much the average engineer can do in the face of, well, magic, though.

[Jun easing up puts a smile back on Rean's face. Oh, good, he fixed it!]

Haha, I bet it is. I hope I get to see it sometime. You were already pretty cool up there with Dvalin, after all.

I see. So in other words, your Knight is a special one.

[Rean sure has quite the life. Maybe the anime was the duller version of things]

Haha, you were pretty cool during that fight yourself, you know.

[What is just accepting praise...never.]

Yeah. I'm sure there are others, [Even if the other one he knows of is... well... he's not going to think about it,] but they're still few and far between. Knowing him is a rare blessing, that's for sure.

[Despite everything, he does think of it as a blessing. He hates the titles that the world has given to him, but none of that reflects back on Valimar himself. It's been an honor to fight with him and to watch him grow as he has. Rean truly couldn't ask for a better partner and friend.]

Oh, please. I nearly fell out of the air! But... ha, if we keep going like this, we could be here forever.

[What is accepting praise, indeed? But at least Rean knows a potential infinite loop of deflection when he sees one.]

Haha, I'm sure. As I understand, there's nothing quite like the bond between a special mech and its pilot.

[That's what anime told him, so it must be true.]

Yeah, but it was your first time gliding so it's understandable! [ACCEPT THE PRAISE] ...Haha, you're probably right. I should probably get going anyway, I got other people I have to pay.

Haha, yeah. ...Gotta wonder where you came to understand that, but I guess that's a question for a later time. If you can answer it, anyway.

[WHAT IS ANIME???]

Still...! [Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever. He'll give up this time.] Yeah, okay. Thanks again, Jun. Have a good rest of your day.

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whiteshroud - 2021-04-29 00:22 (UTC) - Expand

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