𝓫𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭

Hahaha! Had to! This takes places before the events of ‘Licorice/Funny Moments’ in the sns~ Continued from here with @mpryul

🌊

    Oh this was a mess and a half. Heather’s brows wrinkle closer together the more he listens to the well spring of words that seem to erupt from the other man like a dam that’s been broken. Growing more and more confused by the second Heather realizes very keenly two things: 1.) that him saying ‘don’t be cute’ may have been taken entirely too literally and 2.) That in the myriad of tangled explanations he’s getting none of them correlate to the situation that made him say anything in the first place. But there he is just listening to the stream of things that come from the other until it seems he stops on his own.

   Heather blinks a few times at him. Whaaaaaat?????? Visibly he shakes his head before he replies, “You are a cacophony of confusion.”

  He lets out a breath that billows some of his hair up and away from his face before it drops right back where it was. “I meant don’t try to be ‘cute’ and act like you didn’t almost just walk into oncoming traffic just now.”

   The professor motions to the phone the other has. “What’s on there that has you so glued that you didn’t see all of us waiting to cross?”

he gestured grandly, with an almost shit-eating grin.

"couldn't i just have wanted to brave the roads and see if i could get past before the next car arrived?" he huffed, before falling back into a tight sigh, not wanting to divulge all the things that had been on his mind.

"It was only to take a few pictures..." She protested as she tried to turn back towards the house when he let her go only to stop short as a sharp scream pierced the night.

quickly, he pretended as though he hadn't quite slipped up, only to be foiled even further by a sudden scream in the night.

instantly, ahri took off in the direction of the haunted house, and ryul growled to himself furiously under his breath, stomping his foot as he narrowed his eyes, all the more determined to keep ahri right where she was with his powers.

thank fuck he was an earth demigod.

sometimes.

the ground rumbled beneath his feet as he felt the animosity of the creature within the haunted house grow at his actions, clearly displeased at how he was intruding into their domain and territory by manipulating the earth bound to it.

fuck it.

ryul snarled to himself, sending a thread of his will deep into the earth beneath ahri's feet, manipulating it silently with a twist of his will as he moulded that small fraction of earth into a sluggish mess beneath the other demigod's feet.

it was a small section of earth, but the slush acted much like a mix of quicksand and mud, sinking deep into ahri's shoes and anchoring her into the ground. by the time he was done, she was at least calves deep in the earthy slush.

for @mpryul takes place during the lny feast at the golden palace / 10feb

she knew he was here. of course, she would. she was a mother after all. abandoned but never forgotten, this child was always felt within houtu's heart. there was a possibility she may meet him tonight but houtu didn't spend her hours thinking about it. whether she would or not was left up to fate and houtu didn't much care for pondering about destiny and the like. she lived in the moment.

in fact, her thoughts were currently preoccupied by a dilemma she normally cared not for but since she had been invited to her best friend's prestigious feast, houtu found herself caring a little bit more about what she had to wear. she loved lunar new year. the festivities were always fun, and the celebrations very grand. houtu would eat until her belly was full and her cheeks rosy. though secretly, the best celebration was of course her own worshipping ceremonies which were held by mortals annually on march 18th of the lunar calendar.

the feast had been underway for about an hour or so already. the sound of people animatedly chatting, glasses clinking and feet moving - whether in walk or dance - could be heard a little ways from xiwangmu's home, where tonight's special celebration was held. the goddess of earth walked slowly but with purpose towards the open doors through which light shone, illuminating houtu's path. dressed in gold and red, houtu was the picture of otherworldly beauty. she had tamed her unruly hair just for tonight, donned graceful makeup and adorned herself with a elegant headpiece.

however, the only thing she refused to wear were shoes. staying true to herself, the empress goddess of the earth walked gracefully - and barefooted - up to the entrance of the golden palace, entering swiftly. her dress was long enough to hide her feet, gliding along the tiled floors. the edges of houtu's robes were stained with dirt and mud - with earth. as houtu walked, her feet dragged mud with them as well, and the occasional random leaf or two. but they didn't stain. as soon as houtu had moved a couple steps, the mud disappeared like it had never been there in the first place.

finally, she entered the dining hall where the lunar new year dinner was hosted, and houtu's eyes fell upon the large table at the head of the room. a pleased yet secretive smile curled her lips upwards at who she saw there. of course he would. and of course she would. houtu stifled a giggle and swiftly turned her head, curls bouncing as her observant gaze moved all across the room, taking in the decorations and the invited guests. she didn't recognise some of them but a couple had familiar faces - definitely gods. there was even a little lady whose divine energies sparked a sense of familiarity - xiwangmu's daughter.

the goddess now smiled brightly, her entrance definitely having been noticed and she winked at a demigod nearby who was staring before she glided across the floor, further into the room. houtu inclined her head towards everyone who greeted her, and waved at some of the women present. the fact that she was quite the eccentric figure amidst impeccably dressed people didn't bother houtu at all. she would never change for anyone, not even xiwangmu - and that's what the empress of kunlun loved about her. houtu turned around, following her nose as it picked up the scent of fresh dumplings.

now--while his godly mother was an absent mother through and through, ryul often considered the goddess far above that in terms of both morals and values than that of the human family he had lived with for...the majority of his childhood.

and that was saying quite a lot, considering the fact that he hadn't seen houtu at all ever since she decisively plopped his ass right into mount phoenix back when he was a gangly child edging right on the brink of sad puberty. (it really wasn't a classy look to drop into mount phoenix with, really, mud on his feet, messy hair and a voice just on the brink of cracking)

but in comparison to his human family, ryul often felt that houtu was in a rather good sense--more like an angel than any of his human family were to him. either way, that thought alone had cheered him up considerably to the point that he did actually look forward to meeting houtu at the lunar new year's feast at the golden palace.

he had heard that she would attend anyway. considering that his mother had entered mount phoenix whilst he was...preferably dealing with his own emotional issues through the perfected art of avoidance, ryul had missed out on the opportunity to meet her when she had first made an appearance on the godly island.

that was both a pity and something that he felt specifically he was to blame for. (damn his stubbornness and his...emo self, truly, even though he really didn't want to admit that)

the momentary upwards glance that he gives the moment he steps into the golden palace is all it honestly takes to distract the demigod from his brooding internal commentary. championing avoidance in face of emotional problems meant that he lived very much like a god-forbidden hermit, and that meant that he hadn't seen much of what other apartments around mount phoenix had looked like...until he step foot into the golden palace.

"well, god-fuckin-damn." the uttered sound of grudging admiration like reluctant praise from his lips, a brief scratch of his hand to the back of his head showing how awkward he had felt.

"shit." he muttered to himself eyes darting around as he took in the ridiculous amounts of splendor (that almost had his jaw dropping).

suddenly, he felt quite inadequate with the red hoodie (hey, even he knew that wearing black on a day like lunar new year would probably get him hung upside down and probably skewered for trying to curse everyone, okay?) and simple jeans that he had worn for the feast.

stuffing his hands deep into his pockets, ryul slinked forward, adamant on staying unseen behind the throngs of people coming to attend the feast.

surely...surely that was something he could do.

or at least, that was what he thought before he spied a a familiar goddess gliding through the doors. truthfully, she looked as impeccable as any other gods would have been, but there was something about her that felt almost akin to someone walking over his own personal grave in earth that instantly made him realize that the beautiful lady (who looked no less older than her mid-twenties) was none other than houtu--his mother.

ryul almost felt the impending wave of a personal mid-life crisis hit him like a punch to his gut as he blatantly stared at his mother, who was aglow with both vitality and youthfulness that he never thought she would have. somehow, each time that he thought about houtu, he had envisioned her as...some kind of old crone, but only because he felt almost ancient himself.

it was all a matter of perception, and a very wrong perception that he had, especially since most, if not all the gods in mount phoenix wore their youthful skins as if they hadn't aged a single day.

"nah. that can't be" he shook his head as she drew close, muttering to himself in deepset denial as his curiousity about his godly mother made him break his fixed position near the back. "no way. nope. no way she'd be that young." he crossed his arms, unable to fight his burgeoning curiousity as he slinked as inconspicuously as he could towards her.

he had the perfect plan. he would satisfy his curiousity on finding out if she was his mother or not by observing her interactions with others. surely others would speak her name if they conversed with her.

and she wouldn't even know that he was observing her.

With the report from the bird, the Queen Mother decided well, she did have a few moments to spare to finally meet one of the demigods, one who was a child of one of her nearest and dearest colleagues, so she ventured out for this encounter.

Rather than wander about in divine robes in all her ethereal glory, she chose a more practical yet elegant approach to her outfit. Though perhaps she still seemed a bit out of place wandering about this particular area, but she was an empress and it did not matter, now, did it?

Perhaps the power of her aura preceded the sound of her footsteps, but then, the young man's attention may be captured by the sudden perch of a magpie as it landed on the opposite edge of the well with a chitter and a tilt of its head.

or even by a god from his own pantheon?

not really.

he had heard things, and naturally, been around in mount phoenix long enough to know that it was almost inevitable for him to come across someone from the Chinese pantheon (reality always seemed to love throwing curveballs in his way, even though he had made it his entire aesthetic to be as emo and lonesome as possible) one way or another.

just...he didn't expect it to come so soon.

quickly, he straightened, rubbing his nose slightly as he stepped away from the rank well, finally catching sight of the magpie that had landed on the opposite edge of the well with a chitter and tilt of its head.

making a wish?

he paused, squinting abruptly at the sound that seemingly came from the magpie.

a magpie...was talking?

he paused once again, allowing for himself to take a moment.

everything was fine, there were stranger things on the island other than a talking magpie, right?

ryul cleared his throat, wondering which god from the chinese pantheon had decided to come and visit him in their animal form purely on a single whim.

So it was a pleasant surprise to practically sense Ryul's gloomy presence. And his suspicions of just who that presence was had been confirmed the moment the guy spoke, prompting Felix to grin and spin in place to face his friend, laughing at the comment. "Bitch, I might be! You would never know! Since he, like, erased everyone's memory of him--oh shit, was that spoilers? I think that was spoilers."

He quickly rounded the counter with a bounce-bounce-bounce, grinning from ear to ear with joy--not just at seeing his friend, but from knowing Ryul had actually come without being asked, so of his own accord, which really meant a lot to someone as self-conscious as Felix. He was about to reach out for a friendly one-armed hug when he was stopped by comment about his hat. What was he wearing?

"that--is clearly not fashion." he sniffed, "it's not something that i...fancy." he tried to be as disdainful as he could possibly be, even with the corners of his lips curving upwards in a tiny grin. he shook his head as felix playfully laughed. "either way, it suits you."

he allowed that praise with a slight tilt of his head, gesturing towards felix's lanky body.

"and since you did spoil spiderman for me, i guess i'll be taking it right off our movie nights list." he shoved his hands in his pockets, mirroring felix's slight bounce as he moved round the counter and a little closer to his friend, reaching out to pat felix lightly upon the shoulder.

(  various  dialogue  prompts  to  send  to  your  worst  enemy  (affectionate).  feel  free  to  change  how  you  seem  fit.  )

❛ oh great, it's you again. ❜

❛ you? kill me? that's funny. ❜

❛ for being someone you hate, i'm sure on your mind a lot. ❜

❛ you're the last person i wanted to see, actually. ❜

❛ do us both a favor. stay away from me. ❜

❛ you really are an asshole, you know that? ❜

❛ i'm the asshole? what does that make you then? ❜

❛ sometimes i think you must hate me. ❜

❛ i thought you said you never wanted to see me again. ❜

❛ if you want me to go, then you have to tell me to leave. ❜

❛ well, someone's cranky today. ❜

❛ well, someone needs to shut the fuck up. ❜

❛ just stay out of my way. ❜

❛ of all the idiots in the world, i'm stuck with you. ❜

❛ what is it you want this time? ❜

❛ sometimes i wonder if you're in love with me. ❜

❛ do you honestly think this is easy for me? ❜

❛ why would i ever want to be friends with you? ❜

❛ can we please just talk? ❜

❛ there is nothing for us to talk about. ❜

❛ you can yell at me later. just let me help you. ❜

❛ touch me, and you're dead. ❜

❛ oh, so now you care? ❜

❛ there is something deeply wrong with you. ❜

❛ i know i'm the last person you probably want to see, but... ❜

❛ you don't think we could be friends, do you? ❜

❛ i'm tired of fighting against you. ❜

❛ don't pretend you give a shit about me. ❜

❛ you're an idiot, but... i trust you. ❜

❛ oh, don't be cute. ❜

❛ wait, did you just say that i'm cute? ❜

❛ we're not good for each other. ❜

❛ if i say yes, will you shut up? ❜

❛ don't you have to be stupid somewhere else? ❜

❛ maybe we should kiss just to break the tension. ❜

❛ i'm sorry i can't turn off my feelings as easily as you. ❜

❛ maybe there's a universe out there where we're friends. ❜

❛ how can you be so smart yet so dumb at the same time? ❜

❛ don't think this changes anything between us. ❜

❛ you look ridiculous in that outfit, by the way. ❜

❛ if you die, i'll kill you. ❜

❛ is that a challenge? ❜

❛ ah, so you're not heartless after all. ❜

❛ i don't think i've ever seen you smile. ❜

❛ you never cared about me, so why now? ❜

❛ why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? ❜

❛ i don't even remember why we started fighting. ❜

❛ i don't have time for distractions right now. ❜

❛ you're not as bad as everyone says you are. ❜

Closed starter for the Eeyore to his Tigger @mpryul

A pastel blue bubble inflated at his lips as Felix set about stocking the shelves of the prize counter with a new assortment of brightly-colored plushies. He blended right in, honestly, with that ridiculous Tigger hood-scarf-mitten ensemble draped over his red and black flannel. It was all in good fun, really; he was a silly sort of guy, playfully juggling a couple of soft green stuffed aliens as the bubble popped in its cotton-candy-flavored glory, covering his nose and mouth with goop that he easily sucked back in to continue chewing.

hell, he even wore an eeyore ear thing just to make him happy. once!

ryul scowled deeply at the thought, stuffing his hands into his pockets grouchily as he shuffled his way towards felix's new store.

but still, as apprehensive as he was, he was still a good friend. and good friends supported the endeavors of their other friends, whether they liked it or not. ryul himself rarely had any friends beyond just a bare few that he could simply with just one hand, and despite how he carried himself, the demigod didn't like failing or letting down any of his friends.

"you don't have spidey senses. what are you now, peter parker?" amusement curved the edges of his lips, vanishing away quickly as soon as the other turned around to face him in sheer horror at the ensemble that felix was wearing.

continued from here with @mpryul

Ahri felt her spine locking in faint indignation as she saw Ryul's eyes go over her spy outfit. Well it was not like she was a spy, but the black jeans and turtleneck always made her feel like some secret agent. So she almost always wore it when she was out doing footwork when traditional means didn't cut it. It's what got her into Phoenix Rises, she never saw a reason to stop.

And she still hadn't, despite Ryul's obvious disapproval. "What are you even doing here?" She murmured in a low voice, eyes squinting in suspicion. She didn't tell anybody where she was going, not after the last time she told Arwyn he got injured and Hel hadn't been impressed with either of them. So this time she figured she would go alone.

She followed his gaze and the imposing look of the house made her grip her DLSR harder, mouth set in a firm line. She wanted to get photos, how often did they actually have haunted houses on the island?

"we're going." he announced to no one in particular, a slight incline of his head towards the haunted house as discreetly as possible, half hopeful that whatever malevolent spirit within would forgive them for their transgressions and simply let them go--with their limbs more intact than most. "if you're going to drag your feet and what not, i hope you still remember that i'm an earth god kid. i'm sure that whatever's in there won't mind me borrowing the use of the earth it owns to shift your ass out of here." he arched his brow grandly. "you won't even need to walk. i can promise you that."

he narrowed his eyes as he let go of her collar and hefted her up by her arm with ease.

There was no reason to lie, owning a shop and wanting to have full involvement took up a lot of time. Though that might've been her just not wanting to be alone with her thoughts. "More like I'm not fond of the silence in it. Though I guess that's a given after you've lived in noisy places all your life. Island living is much more peaceful."

"I might get a dog or something."

Encounters like those made her realize just how used she was to different kinds of conversation - ones where it was more a game of value and importance than a simple exchange between two people. Her eyes trailed down to the floor for a second as she reminded herself that he probably didn't care. They just happened to be smoking at the same place.

ryul's jaw worked itself for a moment, dark eyes narrowing slightly as he pondered over her words carefully, fingers gliding over his chin as he took a slight step back.

"insomnia too?" he offered, hoping that he hadn't overstepped his boundaries by making quick assumptions. "you're right though, sleep is nasty sometimes." the wry smile crooks the edges of his lips upwards ever so slightly. the last embers of the joint in his hand fizzles out as he paused, smoke curling lightly from the edges of his lips as he stubbed the cigarette out quickly, flicking ash off his fingers as he turned slightly away from her and raised his brows.

"ryul." he introduced himself in what could almost be described as an awkward gait, thrusting out his hand mid-way in what seemed like a handshake before regretting and halting his movements mid-way. "my name." he pointed to himself, hands aflutter as though he didn't know where exactly to place his hands, a strange, nervous energy building in his large frame as his brows furrowed a little deeper.

"Yeah, it's... a different place. But it's not a bad thing, I'm coming to realize." He stated softly before shaking his head slightly and peering curiously at the other male remarking he hasn't been through the area since he was a teen. "I see..." He shifted a bit, also contemplating if there was more to speak about or if he should look for more bluejays before the other made his suggestion.

"Why don't we walk and talk?" He offered with a tilt of his head, half a lopsided smile upon his lips. "It can honestly just be us walking around and you pointing out stuff. Or me pointing out old stuff that I remember. If they're all still here and all." Ryul allowed a laugh to escape his lips as he shook his head. "Are there still a lot of demigods that grew up here? Or have all of you...come here only when you've...in a sense, fully grown?" He mentally winced at how awkward his words sounded. "I mean.. anyone else grew up here? Apart from the few that I know are probably still around. Like Ahri." He mentioned his boss carelessly in passing, raising his brows as he slowed down slightly.

a continuation from here ft. the dashing @mpryul

"Thank you." He was charming.

Billie couldn't help the grin drawing on her lips as he lit her cigarette, eyes taking in as much of him as they could in those brief seconds; he was tall, messy haired —which, added to the charm— and had a couple of tattoos from what she could see peek under the dim lighting and his clothes. He looked like the type of man that could wreck a life, mysterious and dangerously enticing all at once - the type of man she found exciting to hang around. Smoke filled her lungs and burned at the exhaustion of the day, pushing it away if only for that moment between two strangers.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe." She hummed, turning her back to the city lights in exhange of the sight of her mystery companion for the night. He was trying to make conversation, and had it been anywhere else, she'd ignore it, but her newness to the island had her feeling a different kind of lonely. "Honestly, yeah. I just left work but I'm in no mood to head home yet." That much was true. Nothing and no one waited for her, the only people she knew either deep asleep or lost somewhere doing their thing.

"Work?" He paused for a moment, wondering if it was considerate or even appropriate of him to ask what kind of work she was doing that would make her head home at nice, the question at the tip of his tongue before he swallows it back promptly, settling instead for a light nod of acceptance at her exaplanation.

People had their lives to live. Wasn't his duty to poke around like this either way, as much of an editor slash journalist that he was. Curiousity was always second nature for people like him, though through time, he'd taught himself through trial and error that it was not always the best pressing case.

"Not in the mood to head home? Mind if I asked why? Problems at him?" He gave a random but generic guess, treading lightly in their conversation as he leant back, taking a long draft of his own cigarette, eyes half closed as he let the smoke mildly suffocate his lungs before letting it out completely in another breath.