seasonsrpg | Potluck Mingle: Welcome Party

Potluck Mingle: Welcome Party

When March 2nd Where Blossomcrown Central Park
What Potluck Mingle/Welcome Party

About.

What had started with Mami stress-baking far too much cake and offering to give some away, had lead to a number of other offers to bring food, and soon she had ended up in charge of a substantial potluck mingle. Well, she supposed it would make for a nice welcome party for everyone else who had been dragged into this strange new world with her!

And so, a number of small tables and picnic blankets had been set out with cakes, cookies, hot dogs, burgers and other sweet and savoury treats that her and others had been brought along. Mami had even taken the time to decorate the table with little flowers that she'd gathered as well, just to add to the atmosphere that the cherry blossom trees already provided.

Hopefully it would be a relaxing, pleasant afternoon.

Notes.

OOC: Feel free to make your own TLs, mingle, interact with each other and all of that stuff! I'll add a comment at the top for people to add what they're bringing along for reference (but contributions are of course not mandatory).

CODE BY MARWOOD

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It's mayonnaise, and just the right amount! I'd say you should try it, but I'm not sure yet how good the local brand is.

[He proceeds to take a bite.]

Hm... it's okay. Not as good as the kind from home, but okay.

[He's playing it cool, but he's really so happy to see Venti!! The little bard always made every room he entered on Avalon feel warmer and brighter with his smiles and laughs and his music. Ellipsa, too, immediately feels even more inviting with him in it. But saying any such things would be weird, of course, so he just... eats. Silently. While still looking at Venti.]

[ Have you, as a man, ever had another man make extended eye contact with you while he digs into an entire jar of mayonnaise?

Venti hasn't. It's rare for him to have firsts anymore. How exciting! ]

I'll have to take your word for it. It looks a little . . . sticky.

From the look on your face, though, you're having a great time!

[Hijikata could never become a perfect socialite, but it's so much harder when you meet someone you know from another world and can't tell him without making it weird!! He forces himself to do something instead of just staring, and since the jar is now empty he simply offers his plate to Venti. In fairness, the mayonnaise layer is so thick, there's a lot that's still untouched.]

See how you like it! Again, it's not the best, but it does the job.

[Did he consider if whatever food Venti has to dip in it even goes with mayonnaise? No, because in his book everything does. And he could, of course, also opt to take whatever Hijikata has buried under there.]

[ Indeed. We wouldn't want to make this interaction weird, Hijikata (affectionate).

Venti considers him and the mayo pile dubiously for a moment, then opts to just dip a finger in it and pop it into his mouth. Because frankly, excavating whatever is under the pile seems impossible, and at that point is there even anything left of its flavor?

Considers . . . wrinkles his nose . . . makes a scrunchy face. ]

Mmmmmm, I don't know about that . . .

[He doesn't seem to like it... for a split-second Hijikata's expression seems to teeter on the verge of dejection, but he catches himself so quickly, it was probably just Venti's imagination. This doesn't matter!! It's just the mediocre local mayonnaise, anyway!

More importantly, he should talk about something other than just food, but without tripping into the whole "I know who you are" confusion! Be normal about this, Toshirou!]

So, ah. What's your season?

[ Japanese mayo is far superior, it's true. ]

Ohhhh, an expert subject change!

[ Venti may have no idea what the deal actually is, but the tension in the air is palpable. So, naturally, he can't help but tease. ]

Hehe, can you guess~?

[Oh man oh God why is he making him guess?! Also is he noticing that something is off?! How?! Hijikata puts on his best pokerface.]

...

Spring?

[That's what he hopes! The version of Venti he met on Avalon missed his control over the wind - he's got an Anemo Vision back home, after all! -, and while Ellipsa apparently didn't take people's powers away upon arrival - which is distressing for a mundane human like Hijikata; where's the equality?! - it would still be nice if his affinity were somehow acknowledged by this world.]

[ And Venti was so ready to tease him if he guessed wrong!

Instead he applauds, genuinely impressed. ]

Excellent guess! You're correct!

I was planning to guess yours as well, buuuuut now I'm too afraid to follow that, hehe. ♪ Alas, the only information I have to go on is your handsome stature and singular passion for condiments.

[A second more than normal passes before Hijikata responds, but to his credit he manages not to get visibly flustered at that casually strewn-in compliment.]

Yeah. I mean, I thought spring would suit you because...

[He simply gestures at Venti with the hand that's not holding the mayonnaise-laden plate, like that explains anything. He'll helpfully supply his assigned season too so the little bard doesn't have to keep wondering.]

I'm summer.

[Wait! Actually Venti's remark was a discreet ask for an introduction, wasn't it?]

I mean-- I'm Hijikata. Toshirou Hijikata.

[Western order for the Mondstadt native!]

Summer's my season.

[ You just gestured at all of me.gif

Thankfully, in this case, it's not remotely insulting. ]

Mr. Hijikata, then! Unless you'd prefer to be called Summer~~

[ Give Venti an inch and he'll take a mile ]

You sure got the most intimidating season. Learning how to control something like fire is no laughing matter. I'd much rather learn to play with a gentle breeze~

See, that's why I think spring suits you. I like the fire, though!

[He summons a little flame in his palm. (Thank goodness he can finally focus on something he doesn't have to haphazardly fumble his way through!)]

Will you tell me your name too?

[He's almost there!! Once they've both introduced each other he can claim to know Venti, even just in the most superficial way, and then it won't be weird again when he meets him the next time!]

[ Venti holds a finger out curiously, like confirming the warmth from the flame is real -- which it is, of course. He was really never cut out for a Pyro Vision. ]

Oh! Heehee, my manners have escape me entirely!

[ Sweeping into a little bow. ]

I'm Venti, the greatest bard in all these many worlds!

[ It used to be "in Mondstadt" and then "in Teyvat" but his ego grows ]

[That bow... cute...]

I'm glad to make your acquaintance.

[Again. But it's a different version of Venti, so Hijikata wonders how that will show. And yeah, he's just taking that bold claim entirely in stride.]

I hope you'll find plenty of opportunity to practise your craft here.

[It was so nice whenever Venti's music filled a pub on Avalon!]

[ Finally, someone who doesn't '[x] doubt' at him! ]

I'll certainly be doing my best! You should come to one of my performances sometime~

I will.

[He will!! Coming back to the current situation, he briefly considers inviting Venti to find a place to sit down and eat with him, but that'd be kind of brazen, right? Venti probably wants to talk to other people too! (He wouldn't overthink this with anyone else, but alas.)]

Well, I should probably...

[He slightly lifts up his mayonnaise-drenched plate.]

I don't want to keep you!

[ Venti's just going to assume this poor fellow has crippling social anxiety, poor thing. ]

Fear not, for no one is good at keeping me somewhere I don't want to be. [ Except for like . . . multiple jamjars . . . but he's not thinking about that. ] But you should go enjoy the rest of the party~

[He kind of does, it's just very situational! Normally he's as bold and brash as they come, but that mode gets thoroughly disabled around a certain type of person.]

I will. You enjoy it, too!

[Much as he'd have loved to spend more time with Venti, he's a little relieved. He just knows that he'd have said something stupid or spilled his drink (or, worse, toppled his plate) on either of them! Still, his mood got a huge boost just from getting to see him (again).]

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Potluck Mingle: Welcome Party

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