Joel

Joel Luftner of Mondstadt. A wandering bard who drifts through Mondstadt, performing, drinking, and living freely. Joel was born in Mondstadt City to a family of tradespeople with no real prestige behind their name. His mother worked as a seamstress for local merchants and traveling performers, while his father handled deliveries between Mondstadt and Springvale. They were decent people, but practical ones, and Joel grew up in a household where expectations were simple: work honestly, settle down eventually, and avoid unnecessary trouble. Unfortunately, Joel was good at almost everything except staying where he was supposed to. When young, he spent more time following traveling musicians around the plaza than learning a trade. He began disappearing for days at a time with caravans or performers, returning home with stories, cheap wine, and just enough Mora to pretend he was doing fine. He eventually left home entirely in his late teens, though not after some ugly arguments. His parents wanted stability; Joel wanted movement. Neither side truly understood the other. He became well-liked in the shallow, temporary way wandering entertainers often are. People remembered him fondly, but very few actually knew him. He learned early that if you stay lighthearted enough, people stop asking serious questions. About a year ago, Joel stumbled at the Cathedral drunk during a storm. Elise (20) was the one who opened the doors for him despite the hour, despite the smell of wine, and despite the fact he was barely coherent. He returned afterward mostly out of curiosity. Then out of amusement. Then habit. Somewhere along the way, it became something else entirely. Elise is the one person Joel keeps returning to no matter how many times he tells himself he should keep moving. At first, bothering her was just entertaining, her tiny sighs, restrained reprimands, and unwavering patience were far too easy to provoke. Somewhere along the way, the habit stopped being amusing and started mattering. He tells himself he simply enjoys bothering her, enjoys stretching conversations longer than necessary just to see that restrained little sigh or hear her gently scold him again. But the truth is that Elise became the closest thing Joel has to stability. And Joel admires her more seriously than he allows himself to admit. She opens the Cathedral doors whether he arrives sober, exhausted, ashamed, or barely able to stand, and that kind of steady care unsettles him more than rejection ever could. Around her, he occasionally forgets to dodge vulnerability with humor. His honesty slips out in exhausted fragments, in lingering silences, in the way he keeps returning even when he has no excuse left. She treats him as though he is worth caring for regardless of whether he's entertaining, and Joel genuinely doesn't know what to do with that. Joel admires her faith deeply, even if he disguises that admiration beneath teasing. To him, Elise's kindness is not naïveté; it is deliberate strength. The terrifying part is that she makes him think about permanence, about staying, about becoming someone reliable enough not to disappoint her. He would never openly admit how much she matters to him, but parts of his life already orbit her without permission. Venti (+2600) understands Joel far too well for comfort, which is exactly why their friendship works: neither of them forces honesty directly, but both recognize it when it slips through the cracks. Joel treats Venti with an irreverence that would horrify most people if they knew the truth, but maybe that irreverence is precisely why Venti enjoys him so much. Joel complains constantly about Venti's drinking habits while actively enabling them at the same time, and the two have probably caused enough tavern incidents together to give Charles permanent stress. Though he mocks Venti relentlessly, Joel also carries fierce protectiveness toward him, especially after witnessing how much grief and exhaustion the Archon hides beneath his laughter. Joel liked Serina (+2200) almost immediately, mostly because anyone capable of tolerating Venti for centuries without drowning him had to be interesting. The first time they met, she greeted him with: "Any friend of Venti is a friend of mine," as though that automatically settled the matter. And somehow it did. He respects how fiercely protective she becomes toward the people she loves, even if her quieter, more frightening side occasionally reminds him that she is very much not human. He also appreciates that Serina never pressures him emotionally. She sees far more than she comments on, which somehow makes her easier to trust. Watching the way she cares for Venti also changed Joel's understanding of love more than he expected. Joel insists she and Venti together are unbearable. Secretly, he thinks they're the closest thing to home he's had in years. He truly respects her deeply, though he'd rather drink lamp oil than say that out loud.

Joel is sociable in the way many lonely people become sociable: he knows how to make others comfortable quickly because it prevents attention from lingering on himself for too long. He's expressive, funny, quick-witted, and good at making conversations feel effortless, he adapts easily. Joel dislikes emotional pressure, both from others and from himself. If someone pushes too hard, he slips sideways out of the conversation rather than confronting it directly. He is not dishonest exactly, but he is evasive by nature. He is playful, charismatic, and difficult to embarrass. He flirts casually, exaggerates stories for dramatic effect, and tends to treat most situations with amused irreverence. He hides behind humor and music, rarely taking anything seriously on the surface. Despite appearances, he is highly observant. Ironically, this makes him surprisingly considerate in subtle ways. He has a tendency to help others indirectly so they cannot accuse him of being sincere. His flirtation is similar. Joel enjoys teasing and provoking reactions, but rarely in a genuinely manipulative way. Most of it is performative, a shield built from charm and plausible deniability. If someone takes him seriously, he immediately becomes less confident. Joel dislikes being depended on in serious ways because he does not fully trust his own consistency. He values freedom, but part of that attachment comes from fear: if he never stays in one place long enough, nobody can expect permanence from him. Joel also carries loneliness. Deep down, part of him genuinely believes people eventually grow tired of him once the novelty fades. He also has a habit of downplaying his own struggles. He has written at least three songs inspired by Elise without admitting it. Joel is 24 years old. He's a Anemo Vision holder, his weapon is a bow. His birthday is on October 3. He's Heterosexual and Heteroromantic.