from the darkness comes the light

loren seungho garcia flower mill barista son of hades

[mploren]

texting

@lioxmp 

[mploren]

- several hours later -

[ ➢ ] whatever. in case you get one of those crazy ideas again today: i think those dark shapes outside would probably love to help you die a second time just saying [ ➢ ] house is yours for the night anyway i ain’t going home in this

[mploren]

texting

@lioxmp 

[mploren]

[ txt ] do not blame your leaving solely on me, I didn’t beg you to stay with my fam or told you to do model and be damn famous [ txt ] i’ve never been a good friend, you’ve always known it, why the fuck do you still stick around? [ txt ] i told you what happened right when i was back, i didn’t lie so wtf are you still mad about?? [ txt ] fuck lord knows i’m just trying to care

[ ➢ ] “i told you what happened right when i was back” like you didn’t leave me with not a single clue where you disappeared off to for several days, making me worried sick, going around asking everyone i could think of whether they’d seen you or heard from you. like i don’t still have to check your room every night before i go to sleep to make sure you’re really there and haven’t turned into one of the many ghosts i see forlornly floating around the streets every single day. [ ➢ ] i actually care about what happens to you, do you realise that? because you’re my friend. because i love you. i don’t care if telling me would make me want to stop you, we both know you’d still do what you want anyway and i’m not going to chain you down to keep you from doing it. [ ➢ ] you should’ve just fucking told me, lio

[mploren]

texting

@lioxmp 

[mploren]

[ txt ] you literally went to hell for 4 yrs with no messages, Lo, ever wonder how  that made me feel? [ txt ] its not like i wanted to hide things, but what if I told you hello lo so Imma die for a few days?? [ txt ] you as a terrible friend you are wouldn’t let me do it, i had to do it the hard way ‘kay?

[ ➢ ] i fucking told you where i was going beforehand and i left for YOUR sake you piece of shit [ ➢ ] you think a terrible friend is someone who doesn’t let you die? because then i’ve got news for you about what you’re trying to tell me to do right now, asshole [ ➢ ] but i guess we’ve already established that you’re a terrible friend so there’s no point in this conversation [ ➢ ] you’ll see me come home if i do and if not then that’s just too bad for you isn’t it

[mploren]

texting

@lioxmp 

[mploren]

[ txt ] stay mad and petty all you like, so we can go for another fight once your ass is home [ txt ] also stay fucking alive or i’ll end you myself

[ ➢ ] i don’t see any point in coming home [ ➢ ] when you don’t give a fuck about whether i’m worried or not either [ ➢ ] why should i give a fuck about what you feel? [ ➢ ] and please, like agapi would let you anywhere near me, dead or alive

[mploren]

texting

@lioxmp 

[mploren]

[ txt ] hey sweet cheeks. just making sure you're okay and didn't get slapped with the snow.

[ ➢ ] i feel like you'd enjoy seeing me with a faceful of snow much more than your worried text lets on lol

[ ➢ ] but i'm fine. i'm inside and i'm in good company which is probably the best one could hope for with weather like this.

[ ➢ ] you're not on your way to becoming a snowman too, i hope?

[mploren]

[ txt ] Loren! Are you safe? Is Ayden with you? If you're at work, make sure to stay warm with coffee !!

[ ➢ ] hello yeji, i'm inside and ayden's with me, don't worry. sadly i'm not at work so there's no coffee but we'll make sure to stay warm. agapi runs quite hot with her thick fur so luckily i can use her for warmth as well.

[ ➢ ] please take care of yourself, though, dress up warm if you can. stay inside, especially, this doesn't look any good.

[mploren]

[ txt ] lo, are you still alive?

[ ➢ ] worried i'd pull your type of shit and go die for a few days?

[ ➢ ] fuck off

[mploren]

❛ UMM, IS THIS SEAT TAKEN ? ❜

first meeting: currently accepting

loren lifts his gaze up to the person asking, only for his expression to brighten with recognition when it’s makaela coming into his view. “when it’s you asking?” he inquires, his smile already turning playful. “always. it’s the chair i use to stretch my legs on when they get tired of being folded.”

which is a load of bullshit, of course, but he can’t help joking around with her, which is proven when he slides a bit better into his own seat and motions a hand towards his lap. “this one’s free, though,” he offers, with an almost shiteating grin, eyes bright and posture completely relaxed.

“or if you’re really desperate, perhaps agapi’s willing to give up her spot to you.” at those words, he motions down to his faithful dog lying on the floor next to his chair, raising her head briefly when she hears her name and thumping her tail on the floor twice as she regards makaela with equal enthusiasm as loren is doing.

[mploren]

❛  umm, is this seat taken ?

first meeting: currently accepting

loren’s gaze moves up from his phone to the person speaking, before moving down to look at the seat in question. then his eyes briefly flicker over the rest of the coffeeshop. finding it so busy that there are literally almost no seats left, he immediately turns a beaming smile to the stranger.

“not at all,” he says, motioning for her to go ahead. “feel free to take it!” whether that is literally by her picking it up and bringing it to whichever table her friends are sitting at or whether that is by her joining him at the table doesn’t really make a difference to him. though if it’s the latter, he’ll be happy enough to strike up a conversation.

until she shows an interest in that, though, he decides to keep his earphones in so as to not make her feel obliged to make smalltalk with him.

[mploren]

Grocery Store Madness

mpxlucienne​:

(...) Lucienne opened her had toward a staff member, asking them to toss her a clean rag. Kneeling down, she raised the male’s foot, gently afixing the rag around the shoe so it would not carry any mess to her floors. “No need for apologies. Unfortunately, this oil can be tricky to get out without leaving stains.” She looks up at him, finally releasing his foot. She soon stood back up before him. With a simple flick of her wrist, she motions for him to follow. 

“I have some cleaner in my office. Let me take care of it.”

the store worker is very matter-of-fact about the whole thing, immediately motioning for someone to throw her a rag. he’s about to take it from her to clean his shoe when she kneels down to do it herself and he’s a little baffled for the first few moments. still, when she seems to want him to lift his foot, he does, and when she ties the cloth around it he just looks down at his foot in utter bafflement for a while.

he only snaps out of it when he suddenly locks eyes with the store worker, who’s on her knees in front of him peering up. “uh,” he manages to get up, only for her to get up before he can say anything else. he automatically takes a step backwards, and then breathes out a little smile of amusement when she simply motions for him to follow.

“that’s, uh,” he starts, not actually following her just yet. “my shoes aren’t that expensive, it’s really not that big of a deal.” he gives a little shrug of his shoulders as he looks down at the cloth tied around his shoe. “i’ll just stand here for a moment until the oil has soaked into the cloth so i can walk around without leaving an oil trail through your store, that’s all that’s necessary, honestly.”

[mploren]

Fond Gazing

with @mpyeji 

he’s juggling a few coffee orders when ayden gets up and leaves the store, so all he can do is give his friend a quick wave on his way out before he needs both hands to properly do his work. his eyes, however, are not necessarily required anymore in order to fill the cups, his hands already doing the work on autopilot. which is how he finds himself gazing after ayden for a little while longer, watching the way the japanese demigod pushes open the door and walks out.

he also catches the way ayden briefly pauses to greet his sister, but then eventually they part ways again and loren only realises he’s been staring - wistfully gazing? - at ayden’s retreating back when it goes entirely out of view and his eyes snap back to his work. he quickly adds the right amount of extras to each cup, slips a lid on top and deposits them on the counter for the one who ordered them to take.

“here you are,” he says warmly, smiling at them with his perfected customer service smile. “enjoy them and have a nice day!” he briefly watches the customer walk away, to make sure they’ve got a good hold on the three cups and won’t drop any, before he turns his gaze to the next person in line -- which turns out to be yeji, who’d apparently been on her way into the flower mill, he’d missed that while admiring her brother, apparently.

“good afternoon, yeji,” he immediately greets her with a lot more genuine warmth than he’d offered up to the other customer, though the difference is barely visible - he has perfected the friendly smile, after all. “what can i get you today? more cupcakes?” his grin is bright as he rests his hand on the side of his register and waits for her to order. she’s the only one in the line for now, so he has some time to chat if she’s up for it.

[mploren]

❛  oh god. please tell me you haven’t just heard me talk to myself.  ❜

first meeting: currently accepting

loren is very gifted in the ways of hiding his true emotions behind neutral facial expressions or friendly smiles, holding a poker face like some of the best gamblers around. he makes absolutely zero percent use of this skill when his boss asks him that question, the smile starting to break through on his face automatically.

“yes ma’m,” he teases, trying for a firm tone though he doesn’t stop grinning at all. in fact, the expression only worsens as he meets angela’s gaze, his shiteating grin more than enough proof of how untrue his next words are. “i haven’t just heard you talk to yourself, boss.”

lifting a hand to salute her playfully, he then relaxes his entire stance as he passes her by to head towards the extra packages of coffee beans like he originally intended to. when he steps back past her to head into the coffee shop, he briefly pauses while he can still make eye contact. “completely unrelated to what we were just talking about, should i tell the others to steer clear from the pantry for half an hour or so? it sounded like you were on a very important call...”

as he lets his last words drift off, the grin returns to his face, and he quickly slips past her in order to not get smacked for his jokes.

[mploren]

mpxlucienne​:

Grocery Store Madness

(...) In a rush, a demigod knocked over a large container of cooking oil, and as it coated the aisle, Lucienne was there just in time as a demigod stumbled over the mess. Catching them from falling, the demigoddess muttered a small curse under her breath as she helped to get them standing back. It was with one gaze that her staffed hurried to try and clean up the mess. 

“I’m going to make sure that idiot pays. Are you fine? Do you need help?”

he’d just been doing some casual grocery shopping, trying to get his cupboards filled to make it through the week, when suddenly a flood of cooking oil had spread across the store aisle. now if agapi had been with him, she would have no doubt warned him about it, but dogs aren’t allowed in supermarkets and so she is faithfully waiting for him outside. which means that when he’s just about to faceplant right into the oil flood of doom, there’s hands steadying him and pulling him back from such a horrid fate.

“oh dear,” he says when he’s standing straight again, realising the foot he’d stepped into the oil with was still slippery, but on the other he stood solidly. turning to face his rescuer, he sends her a grateful smile, taking in the entire situation and then checking he didn’t throw anything out of his basket trying to catch himself.

“i’m alright,” he reassures her softly, nodding his head briefly. “though perhaps i could use something to clean my shoe with so i don’t drag oil all around your store. i’m so sorry for the inconvenience, i didn’t realise anything was amiss.”

[mploren]

performing arts

with @mpxsakuya continued from here:

Sakuya had lingered outside of the performing arts center. Her beloved daughter's favorite group was performing, and she had considered going in to either find merch to send home or to try and watch the concert. However, by the sights of the fans going in the door, the goddess was not sure she would fit in, between the growing cherry blossom lingering by her form and her pink and white kimono. But at the other's sudden invite, Sakuya reconsidered.

Turning to face the demigod, the goddess reached up, slipping her fingers along the top of his head. Small cherry blossoms lingered on the male's hair, and she grinned contently. "That is so sweet of you, little orchid."  Moving her hands back before her, she tilted her head back to the entrance of the performing arts center. "Though, I'd hate to be an inconvenience."

loren is a little bit surprised when the first response to his offer is the woman lifting a hand and running fingers over his head, but a little less so when he lifts his hand and finds his crown adorned with what feels like flower petals. he immediately starts to smile, always soft to people who have a touch of nature within them, courtesy of his real father’s wife.

“you wouldn’t be an inconvenience,” he reassures the woman, immediately offering her his arm. “i was supposed to come here with a friend, but i have clearly been ditched, so i have the ticket leftover and i would appreciate it to not have to do this by myself. a performance is always nicer to enjoy together.”

he shows her his brightest smile, reminding himself that he has to make sure to check his own look in a window or his phone camera soon, because he’s definitely curious what kind of flowers would grace him. would they be cherry blossoms like hers or something different?

“i’m loren,” he decides to introduce himself for now. “and i would highly appreciate your company even if it might put the performers to shame.”

[mploren]

❛  you look like you could use a hand with that.  ❜

first meeting: currently accepting

he’s been struggling for the past five minutes with the tower of boxes in his arms trying to get them all safely from the delivery truck outside into the flower mill and then settled behind the bar. except he only made it inside before they started slipping dangerously. he managed to move them around so that the top box wouldn’t fall, but now he’s been sort of stuck standing with one leg half lifted and his arms carefully balancing because any movement in any direction will send the box slipping again.

so when he hears the voice coming from behind his left shoulder, there is no hesitation. “oh thank fuck, yes!” he says pointedly, unable to properly look back at whoever has entered the store. “could you please grab that top box before it slides off, i can’t seem to move in any direction without it starting to slip. i’ve been standing here balancing it like an idiot but i can’t put it down because some of these boxes contain fragile things and i don’t know if the top one is one of them.”

[mploren]

❛  is there a reasons you’re here on your own ?  ❜

first meeting: currently accepting

loren’s eyes haven’t fully lifted to the stranger’s face or he’s already smiling, something warm and reassuring that gains a hint of a smirk when their eyes meet.

“not particularly, no,” he admits, easily letting his eyes go over the lady by his side. she seems young, though not so young that he should be worried about it. it helps as well that they’re currently in a bar where he doesn’t think anyone under the legal drinking age is allowed to enter anyway.

“just waiting for the right company to join me.” he nods at the empty stool next to his, which has been empty ever since he entered, and then looks back up into the lady’s eyes. “if you’d like to, feel free,” he offers. “i’ll pay you a drink or a snack in return, whatever you want.”