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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Are those common types to run into...?

[ He can't help but murmur the idle thought as he picks up a fork full of baked ziti, eyeing it curiously. ]

But you're right about that. It seems like they tried to avoid any information that might bring about protest.

[Hijikata shakes his head at that first part. Admittedly the current local batch of otherworlders is the most bloodthirsty and fighty he's encountered so far, but even so they at least keep it contained to voluntary battles! He eats some bites of his goopy meal too, miraculously managing to pick them up with chopsticks.]

Yeah... I've made good experiences so far; the worlds that call in foreigners for help are usually in legitimate trouble and repay their saviours. But that's not to say that this couldn't be a scheme or trap of some kind.

[He's heard some unsettling theories already, ranging from mind control drugs in their food and drinks - not what they're currently ingesting, but what they were offered on arrival in the briefing room - to a planned mass sacrifice. But nobody seems to have acted strangely ever since they all got here, and why would the locals bother treating future sacrifices so well when they could just throw them in some holding cells?]

...

It can't hurt to stay vigilant.

Worlds that... you sound really experienced with this kind of thing.

[ He's a bit surprised, but given this is his first time getting pulled into a situation like this, everything's new to him. ]

Have there been occurrences of concern so far?

Nothing that I know of. But yeah, this is the third world I'm visiting. The other two before Ellipsa let us all go back home in the end.

[That is reassuring, isn't it? And he didn't get bad vibes from Olwen either, but it's a little hard to judge when you only see someone as a hologram.]

I hope the leaders of this city show themselves to us soon.

[ It would be more reassuring if it sounded more like the man was a willing participate in these world adventures... ]

Well, hopefully they're just taking some time to get themselves organized. This is a lot of people to suddenly take into the city and accommodate for.

They should've anticipated it! But well, they did have the apartments and phones ready for us, so I won't complain too much.

[He drinks some more sake (having letting Thoma pour it for both of them again even though he took it along over here).]

How're you getting on with your elemental magic? Have you already managed to summon anything?

[ It's only polite to pour sake for a new friend! At least Thoma thinks so. ]

It's definitely a lot to arrange that much so far, so I'm pretty appreciative of it as well.

[ He's more than aware of just how much work goes into that kind of thing and... they must have really had their hands full with their arrival. ]

I've been experimenting a little bit with the water manipulation myself- it's the most similar to my own abilities, even if the element's opposite. It's different, but a fun challenge.

You already used to yours?

[Oh Thoma... at this rate he's going to be treated like a subordinate by Hijikata.]

Water? Your season is winter, then?

[Odd... he wouldn't have pegged him for a winter type. But what does he know?]

Mine's summer, so I've got fire magic. Is that what you brought from home?

[He doesn't really strike him as a mage type either, but there are so many worlds and so many kind of magic!]

Winter, yup.

[ He wouldn't have thought himself much of a winter person either, given the element of his vision, but a part of him wonders if it's some sort of sign to represent the family his loyalties lay with instead. ]

And you're right, my vision is pyro. So I know my way around fire a bit, though I don't know if it works the exact same way it'll work for you.

[My vision... that perks Hijikata up.]

Are you from Teyvat by any chance?

[ Oh, that takes him by surprise. ]

Oh, yes- were you?

[ How many people were from Teyvat here?? ]

No, I've never been to Teyvat. But I learned a lot about it from others.

["I saw what my life would have been like as an Inazuman samurai in a shared magical dream" would be a bit of a hard sell, he feels.]

My homeland is a lot like Inazuma. I'm a samurai back home.

[ The comparison does get him to brighten with interest at the potential familiarity there; while he'd noticed that one of the districts here was similar to Inazuma, he hadn't thought that there would be other worlds who carried the same similarities. ]

Wow, really? I didn't think that was a thing that could happen.

I've been living in Inazuma for the last few years, so a concept like samurai is completely familiar to me.

[Common ground: Found!]

Many worlds seem to be more similar than I'd have expected. Where are you from originally?

[In his AU alternate life he'd travelled to Liyue and Mondstadt on several occasions, but never to other nations (~~which definitely has nothing to do with what section of the map was available at the time~~).]

A region called Mondstadt. Some sections of the city here are fairly reminiscent of it, but it's been a long time since I was there so sometimes I wonder if my memories are as accurate as I think they are.

[ It's a bit sad to think about, but he has to admit that his brain has been filled with all things Inazuma since arriving in order to survive, so it's hard to tell if some of his memories are just glorified nostalgia or not. ]

I know Mondstadt. They've got many windmills there, right?

[He eats some more bites of his meal, not batting an eye despite it being about 70% mayonnaise.]

What's more important to you, then - freedom or eternity?

[He genuinely means this as a harmless question, not some kind of ideological trap-springing - but whether Thoma can take it as such, well.]

Right, that's one of their most stand-out features.

[ It's okay Thoma will bat his eyes- wait that's not right. He will definitely be unable to not stare for a moment at least. ]

[ The proposed question does startle him a bit in its offhandedness, but he's already settled on his answer, relaxing back at bit to break eye contact with that concerning amount of mayo and consider his plate again. ]

For me, it would be freedom, I suppose. The freedom to make my own choices, whether those be to do something like seek an eternity or not.

Good choice.

[Thinking about this makes him a little wistful. What would he choose? His homeworld fought for its freedom and ultimately lost it to the invaders from other planets, and his Shinsengumi is only able to still live as samurai as long as they serve the shogunate's (and thereby ultimately the invaders') interests. Yet within that narrow maneuvering space they still have the ability to make choices, and on several occasions they got in trouble for choosing to not kick down at undeserving people.

On Teyvat, too, he would have carried out the shogunate's orders... but only to the point he could have justified to himself. Compromises. He empties his sake cup, glad that here and now he doesn't have to deal with such a conundrum.]

It looks like many people from Teyvat got transported here, so I hope you've found some familiar faces?

So many I'm rather surprised by it.

Some people I'm particularly close to have shown up, as well as people who were from Mondstadt as well, though I didn't know too many people myself there. More heard the names and the like. But it's a pretty strange coincidence that there's so many from the same world, considering the probably numerous worlds that exist out there, huh?

[ Maybe there was something about Teyvat that was extra... kidnap worthy?? That was a weird thought to have, so he quickly shook it out. ]

But anyway, it is nice having some comforts from home around.

That is lucky.

[What is it about Teyavat... but maybe these multiverse transportations affect different worlds in cycles?]

On the first other world I visited there were a handful of people I knew from Edo, then on the second world there were only a couple, and they were transported home pretty soon. Here I seem to be the only one.

[He doesn't feel lonely, though. Hell no!! The fewer other Gintamas there are the better! Most other people are more amiable and reasonable and a lot less chaotic!]

[ Is he sure about that... ]

[ It sounds a little sad, to go from having people around that you know, to just a few, to none. ]

Well... I hope you don't feel too lonely from it. There's always new friends to make too.

[He is sure!!]

Yeah, I got the opportunity already. At least a half-dozen people here were with me on one or both of the previous worlds I visited.

[Well, a half-dozen remember that (and him). It's still a comfort to see other familiar faces from different timelines too regardless. For a few moments he just enjoys the atmosphere... a park in full bloom, filled with people getting situated in their new situation.

It doesn't take much longer for them both to be done with their meals. It's been nice to sit with Thoma, but he can imagine that he may want to serve people at the buffet again. He really looked in his element doing that, and besides it's an opportunity to follow his own suggestion and get to know some more new people! Hijikata gets up.]

Well, Thoma, it's been good to meet you. I won't keep you any longer now.

[ He really can't help his servile upbringing when it comes to events like this, it's true. But he also really liked being able to take a break in the middle of it and just relax and chat. It was nice, having someone think of him, even if that may not have been Hijikata's initial intention. But Thoma appreciated it all the same. ]

[ At the other's words he nods, glancing toward the table and oop- it does look like there's a bit of work to be done. As much as he was trying to think of himself as a guest here, he had offered to help the actual host with clean up and he wasn't keen on letting her down by allowing a big mess to build. ]

[ Climbing back onto his feet, he offers a bright smile toward Hijikata, plates to dispose of in hand. ]

It's been nice meeting you as well!

And if you wouldn't mind one more friend, please feel free to reach out to me anytime.

[Thoma is... really kind. Hijikata still keeps being surprised at how effortlessly friendly some people are. His expression, already relaxed, softens a little more.]

I'll return that offer.

[He wants to say more, but can't think of the right words, so he simply gives Thoma a polite nod and casually heads off. He made a new friend?! Damn, this is heartwarming. He wouldn't express it in words, but he's happy.

He's still going to leave all the dishes to Thoma, though. Sorry, Thoma, back home he's the Vice-Commander and used to his subordinates cleaning up after him!]

[ It's okay, cleaning up after others is almost all he knows. ]

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Potluck Mingle: Welcome Party

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