synflux | ( open. ) firefighter calendar mingle!

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( open. ) firefighter calendar mingle!

WHO: everyone!
WHAT: the firefighters put out a calendar every year and guess who is getting everyone involved.
WHERE: the venue for the photoshoot, somewhere in the city.
WHEN: within the first week of their arrival.
WARNINGS: nudity or partial nudity? will update warnings as they come.

The firefighters are looking for models to assist in their yearly calendar. Last year due to some mishaps, they missed the due date for this beloved tradition in the city, and so are not looking to really make sure everything is flawless this year. Since is no error for mistakes, they are even recruiting people to model as firefighters, as well as looking for people who can act as temporary photographers— in a city as busy as this one, it isn’t always easy booking a photographer for certain time slots. 

1. As a photographer they are tasked to make the calendar spicy, but also unique! They figure one of the best selling points is variety. No more poses, the more avant-garde, the weirder even, the better! Like if your thing is posing with a carton of eggs, you do you!
2. Models are incentivized and even ranked (this is arbitrary, so I leave that all to you), so maybe this can also lift the competitive spirit of some! Or maybe you just really want to make some extra kryptos!
3. Outside of photographers and models, also looking for people who can enhance the overall experience. Do coffee runs for everyone, while also hyping or judging the models! Whatever they say fit! People can even stumble into these roles thinking they were here for a completing different reason! Or go out on an errand to come back and suddenly everyone is not as they once were.
4. Just have fun and free to make up your own scenarios! Even if it's walking in like 🧍‍♂️ I thought this was a pizza party.

NOTE: hi, this is the log for the firefighter calendar!

everyone is free to put up their top levels and tag around as they see fit. you can see it as you were messaged by someone randomly on the network about an opportunity to make additional kyptos, or they could have even found an ad. whatever works!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, that's what I meant. In front of the camera. [What a compliment... He laughs, lifting one hand to rub the back of his neck. It isn't out of self-consciousness; he's just surprised.] It's not something I am practiced at myself.

From what I've heard, the more you do it the easier it gets. So perhaps you only need to acclimate. It seems they were pleased with you, regardless of how you thought you actually did.

[With a smile, he nudges her shoulder companionably. HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE, COMRADE.]

It's over with, and now we'll have money for something to drink. Hm?

[ DEEP SIGH ] I suppose...

[ she nudges his shoulder in return. still a little grumpy, but she's willing to let go a little bit of it for now. ]

I'm serious when I said I'm going to get black-out drunk tonight, by the way. You're going to have to carry me back to our rooms when that happens.

[ you're the designated driver now, childe, ]

[No... cars/mounts don't exist in Genshin Impact... don't do this to him. He can't drive.]

I think I'm strong enough for that. You're quite petite. [Well, at least compared to him.] But it may look a little strange to everyone else.

[Don't make people think he's kidnapping you. Childe turns them onto the street outside the venue, livelier now that evening has begun to set in.]

I'll make sure you don't drink so much you're unable to walk. What sort of alcohol is your preference?

[ STOP she wants to get drunk so bad....... ]

Hmm. I used to drink rum straight out of a barrel. I'm honestly not too picky, so long as they're not overly fancy.

[ like cocktails, for instance. she's a simple girl with simple needs at the end of a day.

anyway, she starts scoping out the streets they've found themselves in for a nearby bar. there are pubs, izakayas, even nightclubs -- which ishmael is pointedly avoiding. ]

You know a place where we can drink yet?

Not overly fancy? Well, I don't mind that too, as long as it gets the job done. Back home, we drink fire-water to keep ourselves warm.

[It's basically just vodka... It sounds like she's experienced, though; he would be interested to try rum from the barrel himself.

Right now, Childe isn't keen on the nightclubs himself—it has been a surprisingly long day, and he'd rather get to know his fellow teammate over a drink than go to a place with loud music and bright lights where they'll struggle to hold a conversation. Perhaps another time.]

Honestly, I haven't done much exploring outside the base yet. I have mostly spent my time training until today. [He spots a few places, one in particular that looks a little calmer and cozier than the rest: Red Queen (auto-translated by their implants from 赤の女王). The front is open and facing the street, only a couple patrons scattered inside the dim interior; likely it will get busier as the night goes on.] How about here?

[ oh, this looks nice. it's a bit fancier compared to the taverns she'd been in at marlin portship back home, but simple enough to her tastes. she smiles. ]

Looks good. Come on.

[ she leads childe inside and onto the first empty table she sees, plopping down on a stool and taking a quick glance at the nearby menu. apparently, the menus for bars like this one has barely changed since whatever cataclysmic event this world had just gone through. something something about the stubborn, indomitable human spirit prevailing. ]

I'll have a draft beer for now, and maybe I'll add some snacks later on. [ she says when a waiter arrives to take their order. ] And... do you really not do anything else besides train?

[ childe please get a life challenge ]

[Childe is quick to claim the other stool, long legs folding themselves over the rungs, elbows propped on the glossy black table between them. He spends a moment simply looking around—the environment here is so different from any in Teyvat, it's still such an adjustment.]

I'll have a glass of vodka, thank you. [He's since learned that it's equivalent to fire-water from his own nation.] ... Do I want it mixed with anything? Uh, no. It's fine on its own.

[What would they even mix it with? He thought the burn is the whole point. Once the waiter is gone, however, he faces Ishmael again.]

Well, combat is the main thing that I seek out, but of course I can do other activities. I used to do plenty of ice fishing back home when the weather allowed for it. In Snezhnaya, the lakes would freeze over so thick in the winter that you had to cut quite deeply... Did it snow, too, where you're from?

Mm, we get snow too. But the Great Lake I grew up in is more like the ocean, so it doesn't freeze up entirely like most other lakes. We do get ice floes floating into shore every now and then, though.

[ the drinks come in, and ishmael wastes no time in taking her glass mug and chugs her beer down. when she sets it down again, it's already two-thirds gone. sorry, childe. it's the sailor in her. ]

Oh, their draft beer's not so bad. Anyway... Because of that, I've never tried ice fishing before. Do you usually go out on your own?

[He laughs as she downs more than half the beer quickly; they're going to have to get her a refill soon. By comparison, he's a bit more sparing with his own drink, though it tastes good as it burns down his throat.]

Like an ocean? That's interesting... It must be quite large. But no, usually I go with my siblings. It was my father who taught me initially, too, but we don't spend as much time together lately. [His tone doesn't suggest any sadness about this fact; he's as upbeat as usual.] Do you have any family?

[ he has a family that he seems very close to... huh. that's oddly cute coming from him. it's a contrast to his seemingly bloodthirsty nature. ]

Yeah, obviously. I didn't just manifest from the ether one day. [ haha, it's joke. ] But I'm not as close with mine, honestly. As soon as I was able to get a job, I just skedaddled out of there and started living on my own.

[ that, too, is normal. maybe too normal. maybe that was why she's so massively bored prior to getting on that ship. just thinking about it makes her drain her beer down to the last drop, and she raises a finger to order another one. ]

Speaking of jobs, I don't think I ever got what yours is before coming here.

[Haha... Childe looks genuinely amused at the joke, even if things like that tend to go over his head. If she told him she manifested from the ether, he would probably believe her. He's just that kind of guy.]

Hmm. I couldn't imagine leaving my own home so easily, but I'm sure our circumstances are different.

[He leans forward, bracing elbows on the table as he takes another sip of vodka.]

Oh, I'm so used to everyone around me already knowing, not to mention the fact that it matters so much less in this world. I belong to an organization called the Fatui—a delegation of diplomats and soldiers who serve the Tsaritsa, the ruler of my homeland. And I myself am a Fatui Harbinger, eleventh in rank, seeing as I only joined a few years ago. We serve as her personal agents.

[WE'RE UHHH TERRORISTS SLASH WAR CRIMINALS]

[ a family man... how rare. but maybe he can afford to be one with a job like that. if he serves directly under the head of his homeland, that would mean insane work benefits on top of immense power and influence that come with it. in city terms, he'd be like a Big Brother of the Middle, or even one of the Arbiters of the Head.

just... wow. it actually sobers ishmael up a bit as she stares at him, the sound of another glass of beer placed on the table with a clink snapping her out of it. ]

In other words, you're kind of a big deal. [ hold up she's going to take another long swig. another reason why she wants to get drunk tonight -- ] I shouldn't be surprised, with how you fight and all. Normally, people of high ranking like you don't usually congregate with mere seadogs like me, so I'm not too used to this...

Mere seadogs? [It's an interesting term, and from context he can tell that it is meant to be diminutive, but Childe is already shaking his head.] I don't look at you like that. Here, we're all equals.

Besides, while I may have worked hard to climb the ranks of the Fatui... the way I see it, anyone else could have done the same. I do pride myself on my abilities, but I am also only human. I simply took advantage of everything I could to make myself stronger. Then even the Tsaritsa herself couldn't ignore me.

[It is possible to be both prideful and humble? Apparently...]

No one who you might consider to be a leader is there just because they are better than you. That's why I find it contemptible to treat anyone in a lower position with outright cruelty.

[ she blinks. huh, that's actually really nice of him to say. although the part about the tsaritsa's setting off some small red flags here and there, but that's just her being disapproving to authority in general. ]

That's... nice. I mean, I can totally see why you deserve to be in such high position already from watching you fight. But where I'm from, it's a strict meritocracy. The ones I'd consider to be the leader is usually because they are more powerful than me in terms of ability.

[ the powerscaling in the city is WILD, basically. she got obliterated by the same elite mook many times over, it was that bad. ]

But since this world isn't run on such a system, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. [ she takes her mug and swirls it around a little. ] I guess... I'm just not used to be surrounded by people who actually know what they're doing and are insanely good at it.

[ the bar is on the ground... ]

[He almost tells Ishmael that what she witnessed of him fighting before was nothing compared to what he can really do, but—it is beside the point. And as teammates, she'll likely witness it soon anyway. While Childe is prideful, he doesn't unnecessarily brag.]

I see what you mean. Us Harbingers are the same, but... I suppose I just refuse to let that stop me from getting stronger. [Ambition is a tool.] If you need some help, I would be happy to train with you. It isn't any different than what I would do with the recruits who were assigned to me.

[He lifts his own drink, draining the rest in one burning gulp, flagging the waiter for a refill.]

You seemed plenty good with that weapon of yours. A harpoon, wasn't it? How did you learn to fight?

[ she's going to take a couple of gulps of her drink too. still no buzz, but she's feeling quite cozy now compared to before. ]

All Whalers use harpoons to hunt down Whales. There's a difference between that and a polearm; harpoons have more barbs than your usual lance, and there's a rope attached to the end of it that acts like a fishing line used to reel your catch in. And reeling one in really isn't easy.

[ she recites it like she read it off somewhere; she's studied the ways of the harpoon like an honor student, tbh. ]

I should ask you the same thing, actually. How did you learn how to fight? And did some god really appeared in front of you to give you your Vision?

You know a lot about it. That speaks to your experience, I'm sure. [Now he's going to be daydreaming about being out at sea, catching monsters with harpoons. A beautiful fantasy... surely...] Perhaps I'll find a harpoon here and the two of us can train together. I'd like to learn from an expert.

[The way they have tolerances like alcoholics... Childe is feeling warm and comfortable, too, relaxing on the stool with long legs woven under the rungs, shrugging out of his coat to drape it across his lap.]

As for me, I had a Master. I owe most of what I've learned to her, since she found me when I was young and taught me how to be a warrior. But, no, you don't meet a god personally when you're granted a Vision. It appears before you alone—it is the manifestation of their will, supposedly. An acknowledgement of one's ambition tying them to the gods.

[And also to ~~Big Brother~~ Celestia.]

[ she drinks while he goes off, already signaling to the barkeep that she'll want another refill. she really is intending to get drunk tonight, okay...

but she catches what he said about wanting to learn how to use a harpoon, and smiles. ]

I rarely had anyone ask me for harpoon lessons, though. Sure. [ uwah, someone who's actually interested. she doesn't know why, but that cheers her up some. ] We'll have to make you one first. I wonder if there's a blacksmith around here...

[ but the other mention of ambitions and gods makes her wrinkle her nose for a sec. is all of that really necessary... ]

And is your ambition all about getting stronger? Is that it? That's pretty broad, if you ask me.

[He accepts his own refill, too, though it will likely be his last of the night. One of them should be coherent enough to navigate them back to base.]

My own personal harpoon? Now I'm excited. [Maybe, once he's familiar enough with the weapon, he'll be able to create it out of Hydro, too.] I'm looking forward to training with you.

[As for her question...]

In the context of a goal, I find that being broad is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it means I can use any means possible to achieve it, because there are no boundaries. I'll become stronger no matter the cost. [Insane person logic.] Of course, there are smaller steps to get there. Such as training with you in the technique of a harpoon. [He smiles broadly.]

[ it's... surreal, to find someone so earnest about wanting to get stronger just because he wanted to. like he's born to keep improving himself. that kind of fierce determination is admirable, yet at the same time terrifying. does he know how scary he is despite being so amicable like this?

maybe it's just ishmael thinking that. people with that much charisma scares her. she just doesn't want a repeat of last time. ]

That's... That's nice.

[ she returns his smile with a weak one of her own, before draining her entire mug in one go and raising another finger. yep, this is definitely why she needs to get drunk. by the time she drinks her... fourth? fifth mug? the buzz is beginning to set in, her head lolling slightly as she puts her drink down with a loud thud. ]

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( open. ) firefighter calendar mingle!

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