seasonsrpg | [open semi-mingle]

Entry tags:

genshin impact: guizhong

[open semi-mingle]

WHO: Guizhong & OPEN
WHAT: Calling all mechanically minded, curious, or people who just want to get their hands dirty. Feel free to tag around if you like!
WHEN: Early January
WHERE: Guizhong's Teapot (in her apartment)
WARNINGS: TBC

People venturing to Guizhong's apartment following this post would find the door opens when they knock as if by some kind of automated system. In the centre of the almost eeriely tidy room is a coffee table with a large, ornately decorated teapot in the centre.

Touching the teapot would prompt an immediate sensation of being tugged and then falling, the room around the individual blurring and shifting until they are standing in the middle of a small platform of soft green grass that is slightly elevated above several far larger, also floating, platforms. Each platform is connected by a bridge of golden light marked with sigils, which are entirely solid when stepped on.

The reason for the tidiness of the apartment is fairly obvious from the outset. All of the mess is in here.

Scattered between two of the several floating islands is a veritable hoard of scrap and mechanical pieces. Some of it appears to be half-constructed into projects and then left unfinished. The airship that Guizhong spent so long trying to get her hands on takes pride of place on the first island and is halfway stripped down to its bare bones, with the inside and engine on full display.

Anyone coming in gets a cheerful wave from Guizhong herself from somewhere on said airship, as she pops her head up to see who just came in.

"Oh, uh, hello! Make yourself at home!"

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Boothill had always noticed the teapot, but never really asked about it. He just figured it was a normal teapot and Guizhong just really liked tea. So, he wasn't entirely sure what prompted him to touch it this time but the last thing he expected was to get pulled right into it.

Boothill had his gun drawn before the area fully formed around him. Just what in tarnation--

"Oh, uh, hello! Make yourself at home!"

Boothill sighed, putting the gun away with a scowl on his face. Then, he turned to Guizhong and huffed at her. "A warnin' woulda been mighty 'ppreciated, Miss Guizhong!"

Still, the place was fascinating and it was all in a teapot? Well, fork him.

[ooc: Anyone is free to approach Boothill, he'll be roaming around taking in the sights of being in a teapot. Feel free to think he's one of Guizhong's creations or something since he's like 95% mechanical lmao.]

In fairness to Boothill, Guizhong does really like tea, but perhaps she should have shown a little more diligence in explaining exactly how the teapot worked before she started inviting people into it.

When Boothill is the one who shows up, she is somehow both surprised and not. He's curious enough, she thinks, and yet she had wondered if his natural wariness would hold him back. What he says makes her laugh, though, and she hops down to the ground to run over so she can greet him properly.

"A warning? Do you think I should put up a placard?" She grins up at him. As usual with her moments of silliness, it's hard to tell if she's being serious or not. "Come now, you don't think I'd put anyone in danger, do you? At least... not without warning, and definitely not on purpose."

"I think you're overestimatin' how many people get sucked into things," Boothill replied, deadpan.

But, then he gestured to all the stuff around them. "So, what is this place? Is this where you do most of you're inventin'?"

"I may be, at that," she replies with a chuckle, but she doesn't seem to be at all ruffled up by his grousing. Then she looks around, smiles, and nods.

"It is! I would take up space outside, but the look of dismay on my dear Morax's face when he walked in to find me dismantling a microwave on the coffee table prompted me to create somewhere a little more private."

It's only natural that Boothill catches his attention. Jayce looks him over for a moment before he thinks to approach. He's curious of the man who seems to be mostly metal standing near what appears to be another project in this place (or simply a pile of junk, he's not looked close enough yet to see). He doesn't want to make assumptions, since the metal man seems to be a person, not just a project. So he'll treat him accordingly, though he's not yet encountered something quite like this.

He leans forward a little, obviously taking in Boothill's appearance now that he's closer. "You're a guest here?" It was the safest guess. The most polite one, too.

Don't think Boothill didn't sense Jayce's presence. Because he sure did and his hand was hovering just slightly near the pistol at his hip while he continued to look at all the stuff Guizhong had collected in her teapot.

"Yeah," Boothill replied, his voice had that mechanical quality to it but otherwise still sounded quite normal. "Who's askin'?"

His head tilted just slightly towards Jayce, his black eye, designed to appear like a bulls eye, could be seen locked onto the man. Anyone could be polite, at first. But Boothill wasn't one to take any of that at face value.

The hand shifting towards the gun doesn't go unnoticed. "No need for the gun, though. I don't have any weapons here." He's not bothered, really, he can't blame someone for feeling away when a random stranger approaches. He keeps his arms folded behind his back, nodding his head.

"I'm another visitor here, actually. It's the first time I've stepped into a place like this. It's pretty -- " He looks up, then his eyes shift back to Boothill. "Amazing. You could have easily been mistaken for a piece of her work. But there's something more -- " Human? Something else? He doesn't know. "Living about you."

It seems like a better word to choose. He can't really pinpoint what it is, but he'd say it's instinct. In part, it because he's put together robots, and another because the concept of metal and human isn't foreign to him.

Boothill scoffed and simply rested his hand against his hip. Right above the gun. Still, he supposed it made sense. He doubted Guizhong was dumb enough to just let anyone in, right?

"I ain't exactly what you call 'living'," Boothill turned to the man, giving him a fuller view without his hair and shawl in the way. Although the port in his back was likely visible as he had turned. "But I ain't one o' her machines, neither. Name's Boothill and I'm a cyborg."

Normally, he would say he was a Galaxy Ranger but he doubted the guy knew what that was and it also wouldn't explain what Boothill was anyway. Of course, not many know the difference between a cyborg and a mechanical person like Screwllum.

"Jayce," he offered simply in return, making note of the man's name. He doesn't really know Guizhong that well, but he knows he can trust himself to not be dangerous here. At least more than he can trust anyone else. And as long as the other's not pulling a gun on him, he's fine with it.

He hummed a little, taking in what he can tell of the cyborg body. He says he's not exactly living, but Jayce disagrees. He seems very living to him. But his familiarity with technology like him is somewhere between science and magic.

"Oh, I didn't think you were one of hers. I can see why people would make that mistake, though." He assures the other of that. "But, I can't say I've met a cyborg before. Probably not the first time you've heard that."

While not as mechanically inclined as Guizhong is, Zhongli often stays around to observe and admire the intricacies of the marvels of this place. Airships, and cars, none of which exist in Liyue but Fontaine instead. Still, he can't help but admire Guizhong as she works and will assist her in whatever fashion he is capable of. If just to lend an ear or prepare a pot of tea and some snacks for her. He simply enjoys being in her presence more than anything else.

"You've been busy I see." But of course, she would be.

Zhongli will offer a warm smile towards Guizhong and he can be found wandering through the teapot with a hand to his chin as he marvels at no small amount of things scattered about. Though he'll stand by the access point of the teapot to greet people if needed.

"If you need anything, perhaps a tour of the place, then I will happily oblige. Though it might be a bit disorienting at first, the teapot that you have been drawn into contains a realm within itself. A gadget most commonly used by adepti with its simple and yet elegant design."

[ ooc; feel free to come bother peepaw if you want he'll most likely just tell stories ghsje. ]

Guizhong, of course, does not object to Zhongli's company in any capacity. He was never much for the kinds of things she would turn her hand to but that didn't mean she didn't like having him around and many of her ideas had sprung from simply using him as a (mostly silent) sounding board.

She giggles at him when he approaches her, both bouncing up on her heels to reach him and pulling him down by the shoulder with one hand so she can kiss him.

"Am I not always busy, my love?" she asks, her voice almost a laugh. "Even with an entirely full schedule I could always find another way to keep myself more occupied."

The automated system for entry into the apartment wasn't too special, still interesting and intriguing though. What really gets Viktor's interest, however, is the strangely normal seeming teapot resting on that table in what appears to be a practically unused room. Either this is a very big ploy and he's going to get jumped or this person was telling the truth. But there was only one way to find out and as we all know science things can only be proven with trial and error.

So it's for that simple reason he will reach out with some brief trepidation and touch upon the teapot's surface. The ensuing teleportation leaves him a bit breathless as he's deposited into what seems like an alternate reality of some sort. His eyes are wide and he's just trying to take in the entirety of the situation before him. He will walk towards the main floating island and stop when he's actually on its solid ground. This is real...somehow it's real and he can't exactly wrap his head around it but he does finally speak and it's one word, "incredible".

Perhaps she should have been more specific about the teapot. Viktor is not the first person she sees deposited into the pocket realm with an expression of disoriented surprise and she moves to greet him once she notices him walking across one of the light bridges. By the time he reaches the next island of solid ground she'll be there to say hello, smiling with a cheery little wave.

"Hello, there."

Had he still been concerned about her intentions her appearance might do something to assuage his fears. She's small and slight and, it would seem, not trying to hide anything.

"Would you like a tour?"

Jayce doesn't waste much time when he enters the space. There's only one thing calling out to him here and he figures that the best way to figure out next steps is to look at it. He takes a moment, bending at the knee to look at the teapot before he reaches out to hold an examine it more. The sudden shift to being pulled was almost alarming.

When he stops, he stands, wobbling a moment. He takes a few moments to regain his composure before looking around this place. It's beautiful. Unreal.

He catches the hello, so he walks towards her voice, hands behind his back as he moves. He nods and greets her. "Hello, Miss." He's polite, but only keeps the formal politeness for a moment before he dives right in. "This is even better than I could have imagined." Not that he knew what to expect and imagine.

[ open to others, he'll be checking out all of the stuff that she has scattered around. ]

"Oh, do call me Guizhong."

She hops easily down from where she poked her head up and heads over to meet him with a cheerful smile. Though she had invited people to come and poke around however they liked, that doesn't mean she can't give them a decent hello when they first arrive.

"I'm glad you like it. It's modelled after a domain that I used to use for similar purposes back home."

Guizhong plants a hand on her hip and looks around.

"Though it isn't quite the same, I think it's a very close approximation."

"My thanks for the invitation, Guizhong. I'm Jayce." He nods his head, offering a small smile, distracted by the curiosities around him. That's where his attention is, for the most part since that's most of why he's here. Though he's glad to meet the person who put this together, who invited people into this place. Airships can't answer any questions he may have about process, so he'd be seeking her out if she'd not made an immediate appearance.

"So it's called a domain..." It's a logical name. "That uses a teapot as a method of transport? Is this done by magic? Science? Or maybe both?"

He has to ask and of course, he jumps right to the most important question and the one he's most curious in. He's watched the things that science and magic can do at home, but he is curious how it has evolved in other worlds.

"Hmm."

She does give some clear thought to his question, lifting a hand to tap a curled finger against her lower lip as she, too, looks around the domain almost as if seeing it for the first time.

"I suppose it is closer to magic. This is a form of adeptal space - I am what is called an adeptus. It need not be inside a teapot... but an old friend of mine often liked to create them inside teapots, so I thought I would do the same."

Guizhong does realise that what she said does not entirely answer the question that he asked, and in fact probably only prompted more questions. "Would you like to take a look around? I will be right here when you get back."

He considers her answer. It answers his question enough, for the time being, to satisfy his curiosity. Certainly there's hundreds more questions he could ask - the first among them is what an adeptus is. He's already learned that worlds here are going to be pretty different, but to see them so plainly in front of him.

Though if he were to translate it simply - it's Magic. It's truly a magnificent force when applied so creatively. He nods his head, accepting her answer, though more questions are starting to form.

Perhaps taking a good look around here will help him make sure he asks the right ones. "Yes, I would. I'm sure there's a lot of great things to see here. I'm always curious as to what someone is creating." He nods his head, glancing around. "I can't promise I won't find more questions to ask you, though." His tone certainly suggests he's teasing - light, a hint of a smile on his face.

She grins up at him and makes an open gesture for him to help himself, to look around and take everything in as he likes and come back to her with his questions once he's done.

"I would like very much if you did. If you came back without any I would have some doubts about just how good of a job I did with the place."

"Someone's lack curiosity should not be a reflection on your skill." He pauses, tilting his head a little as he glances between her and the work. There's no world where he wouldn't be curious about new things like this. It's a new world, new people, new ...domain. This whole place existing is a marvel, the fact that it can sustain people and projects alike is impressive.

"I appreciate your hospitality, Miss Guizhong." He falls back on his typical politeness when he speaks. He can't help himself sometimes. "I'll be back around before you know it."

Which means he's going to take the chance to leave her to her work while he takes a tour around the domain, anywhere he can reach. He's not just interested in the work, but the domain itself.It's going to be a lot longer than he anticipated before he'd even be anywhere remotely nearby again.

While he's gone, Guizhong gets back to what she was doing when he first appeared. With the domain being larger than it seems and the various nooks and crannies one might find to explore she does expect he will be gone for a while, though she has a time frame in mind at which point she would go to check that he was all right.

It's getting close to that time when she spots him on one of the nearby islands, still looking around. She watches him for a few minutes with idle curiosity before deciding to join him, making her way over with a casual approach.

"Did you find anything of particular interest?"

"Of course." His posture shifted, immediately upright, as he folds his arms behind his back. It's a habit that he's not been able to shake in his time here yet. He nods. She had a lot of interesting stuff around here. She has an impressive collection of supplies and projects that appear to be incomplete. He understands what it means to bounce between projects.

"You've amassed a lot of things. Do you have plans for everything?" He asked, curious about her process. Of course the airship was impressive, but she had a lot more than that here.

"For everything? Oh, not at all."

Even Guizhong does not think quite that far ahead. Though, she does seem fairly cheerful about it regardless.

"I've collected quite a few things I don't even fully understand the function of yet. I should like to work through that before I start attempting to utilise their components to make other things."

"That makes sense," Jayce nodded. He understood her thought process. Seeing how things worked and pulling them apart to see how the pieces interacted. He nods, appreciating her answer for it. "I can appreciate that."

He looks around for a moment. "The airship itself is particularly exciting. I haven't seen many up close. Of course, the ones here seem to have their own quirks. Have you found it's really different from home?"

That's a concern, of course. How to accomplish what he wants to while here. To understand the rules so he can do his work. It'll take time.

Her expression brightens up when he says he understands. Sure, some people do, but when they actually see the lengths she'll go to in order to understand something they tend to think she's a little too eccentric.

"From home?"

She looks over her shoulder at the half-dismantled airship.

"We never had anything like this while I was alive back home. Though I'm told such things exist in more modern times. It's a pity I had to miss it."

He can understand what she's implying by saying she's missed it. He can piece it together from what he's learned since arriving here. He would miss it, as well, if he couldn't have seen it for himself. He watched Piltover evolve thanks to the work he and Viktor did. For the curious, it's an experience to see the world change rapidly.

"It is a pity to miss progress." But people don't really get the opportunity to live forever. At least as far as he knows. "But it's great that this place is able to give people such unique opportunities."

It's not just a chance to see how the world has changed, but a chance to dismantle it.

"Thank you for sharing this with us, again. I'm excited to see what I can learn from people outside of my home." At home, he was one of the experts. So to see other people from other worlds who seem to be the same is exciting.

"Ehe, that's one of my favourite things as well."

She doesn't linger on the fact that she's dead. It simply is and no amount of moping over that will change it. The point is that she isn't dead here and she fully intends to make the most of that for as long as she is able to.

"Have you been able to learn anything interesting so far?"

Though she doesn't know how long he's been here or what he might be most curious about, her question is definitely a genuine one.

He finds her attitude about it all pretty positive. He doesn't know if he could be the same way. He lets out a thoughtful hmm. "Well, I've not even been here two whole weeks yet." Which is to say, he's still has even some of the basics of this place to get used to and learn. He's still figuring out a lot about how some of the things even work here.

"I think I'm in the stage where most things I learn here are pretty interesting. The magic, the way the teleportation crystals work - everything is a curiosity." Which is to say, he's pretty curious and interested in those parts in particular.

"We had to invent a way to make magic accessible to people at home," not that it really reached the hands of many people, "but here -- all of us can access it."

"I imagine that they had to invent ways to make parts of it accessible to people to begin with."

Never one to be discouraged, Guizhong replies brightly to him with one hand planted on her hip. "The magic and technology here comes from so many different sources, I can't see how it would have all just worked at the start."

Then, with her other hand near her mouth and one finger curled thoughtfully near her lower lip, she taps against it lightly.

"... One can only imagine the transporter mishaps."

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[open semi-mingle]

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