SWELTERING FIRELIGHT

CHRYSALIS keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground seon ho ryu. xxvii. street performer. worker. he got no money but he got heart.

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naurarose:

When Seon Ho put it in those terms, it made perfect sense to Naura, but Leanaura would have slapped herself for using words such as ‘publicist’ and ‘social media consultant’ in a real sentence.

“This thirteen year old is working you hard. I might have to ask for her contact info–but I would have to disagree and say that double chin selfies are the best type of selfies to take. Everyone has a double chin; it just takes a special angle. You and I will take a double chin selfie together one day.”

Naura swung her legs gently, taking her time to build up momentum, as she searched her mind for a time she saw him perform. “It was probably a fleeting moment, but I was right. I knew it was something. I can’t sing at all. And please, please don’t ask me to sing anything. The last time I performed a song was at a talent show. I sang a Celine Dion song and let’s just say it wasn’t my finest moment in life. How about you sing something for me?”

"We have only seen each other a few times and you are already wanting to capture my worst side?” Seon Ho teased, not self-conscious enough to be afraid of being seen less than perfect. He had been working manual labor for over a decade now. He was accustomed to not being prim and perfect. 

“Celine Dion? See, that’s your problem right there. You reached for the moon right from the very beginning. No one can hit Celine’s high notes perfectly and I bet that you are better than you think. But I’ll respect your wishes and not make a request of you. What about some dramatic improv? You up for that?” 

The problem with being a musical artist on the side, one with eclectic taste, was that he couldn’t just belt out a song on the spot. “I think I could manage to sample a little something for you. You’ll have to give me a starting point on a song to choose though. You have a genre preference?”

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callanbrightley:

Fish market, Callan noted. Sounded terribly boring. But a job was a job and he couldn’t look down on the other for that. “Uh, neither. I guess I’m a night wanderer type.” He put out the end of his cigarette on the metal support of the swing set and then tossed the cigarette in at nearby trash can. He wasn’t done with the cigarette, but he knew smoking in people’s faces was rude. “Why do you have to start so early at the fish market?” he asked.

Seon Ho wasn’t a smoker. Smoking ruined one’s throat, and he quite valued his for his singing. But he was courteous enough to not ask Callan to extinguish his, yet the other went ahead and did so. “Well, the fish don’t catch themselves and we have crazy early hours. So I help out on the boat first to bring ‘em in before I work to sell them. So, needless to say, I’m a mix of a night wanderer myself, along with an early bird by necessity.” 

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giocaston:

Gio let out an embarrassed laugh and pressed her forehead to the plastic above the slide’s opening. At least her scrambling up the slide was described as an Olympian feat. “Thank you, now I’m glad it’s a skill I never outgrew.” After deliberating for a moment, she slid down the slide and walked towards the swings. “Are you feeling indulgent enough to see who can swing higher?” Might as well go all the way, right?

Resituating himself in the swing’s seat, Seon Ho considered the challenge for a moment before he gave an affirmative nod. “Okay, yeah. You’re on. But it’s not a real contest unless we’re daring enough to jump off at the end and stick our landing. We have to keep our reflexes sharp in our old age, right?” he joked lighteartedly, inviting her to take a seat in the swing beside him. Some days, he felt antiquated. Others, he didn’t feel like he had learned anything at all since the days where being on the playground was a regular occurrence. 

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camilabeaumont:

“Yeah, that’s the thing! So, pandas are cute right? Well, when people stated talking about how they were about to disappear, everyone cared because they’re cute! Then, when people talk about how bees are dying and we really need them not to or we’ll die as well everyone suddenly pretends they didn’t hear anything!“

“Me too. And uh, yeah, you’re right.“ She nodded, understanding that she couldn’t exactly feed dogs fast food unless she wanted them to get sick. “I’ll try to buy some dog food or something and keep it in my bag just in case. Like, I feel it could be useful you know? To have stuff I can give to animals in case I run into them. I know that like, burritos and stuff aren’t good for them but the dog told me she really liked it. I’m like… Dr Dolittle, I totally understand animals.“

"I see your point. We’re really in trouble if we don’t start paying better care to the Earth in general, right? But bees pollinate and all that. Kinda need them for oxygen. Kinda need oxygen to live.” Or he was pretty certain that it was something like that, anyway. He wasn’t all that great at biology. 

“Do you? Wouldn’t you be a bit more like...” Seon Ho searched the archives of his brain for the nostalgic name he was looking for. “Like Eliza Thornberry, from that Nickelodeon show? Carrying dog food around couldn’t hurt, but you may also attract animals that you may not want approaching you that way.”

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callanbrightley:

Callan flicked ashes off the end of his cigarette as he approached the person on the swings. He had seen him before while he was people-watching or taking a walk. (Callan had too much time on his hands.) He didn’t really want to bother this person in what seemed to be a moment of peace, but he was too curious and a little lonely. People often had stories to tell, and as a storyteller, he like hearing them. “Hi, uh, I’ve seen you around a few times. Do you work around here?”

Seon Ho wasn’t the type to overly pry, but he was naturally sociable. He’d had multiple run-ins with the male. All in a recent timeline. He hadn’t learned much about him, not even a name. Perhaps he was new to the area. “Yeah, I work down by the docks. At the fish market. We start bright and early. You just getting off or heading to work too --” In Seon Ho’s case, he was technically doing both. “Or are you the night wanderer type?” 

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naurarose:

Naura nodded as she took the seat beside him. “That’s me, all right. In the flesh,” she grinned, flattered that she was recognized at all; it was a feeling she was never used to but accepted in its best. Naura remembered the day she was verified on Instagram and Twitter vividly, just thinking it was one step closer to being an A-List actress. 

“As interesting as that would be, don’t be fooled; it’s all in the filters and the angles. It’s something I learned from my social media consultant–” she stopped mid-sentence, face flush and eyes screwed tight, “–that must be the most pretentious statement you’ve ever heard in your entire life. God, like, pinch me if I say something like that again.”

She looked to him again, eyes squinted as if she were scrutinizing his appearance, but in fact she was just thinking. “But I know you from somewhere else. Do you act on the side, too? I mean, beside working at Tangaroa I could have sworn I’ve seen you somewhere else. And please don’t think I’ve been stalking you or anything. You see, I have a thing with faces and I’ve seen the name tag and you guys give the best portions.”

Seon Ho couldn’t help the laugh, boisterous and vibrating. “It’s a part of being in the industry. Not the pretentious bit -- I don’t think you’re being that way -- but having multiple people as part of your team that assist you with the different facets of the business.” At least, that’s what it meant when you quote unquote made it in the entertainment industry. 

“I have a social media consultant of sorts myself. She’s thirteen and accepts a minimal weekly allowance as payment.” His sister was a social media expert. She had been trying to show him how Tumblr worked the other day, but he got lost in the frustrating and malfunctioning platform. “She had to drill into my head how important it is to not have a double chin in a selfie. Your consultant is probably a lot nicer about it than mine.” 

His didn’t know his way around a camera or a phone the way that he did musical equipment. "With that kind of recall, it’s no wonder that you’re making it in Hollywood. Nah, I’ve never acted. When I’m not selling the highest quality of fish, you might have seen me around as a security guard. Someone’s gotta make sure that nudists aren’t streaking their way through the beach.” Seon Ho kicked at the dirt beneath his feet, tapping the ground rhythmically. “I dabble in music a little too. Not in the big leagues or anything like that, just something I do on the side, but maybe you’ve been unfortunate enough to witness one of my performances.” 

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giocaston:

She wasn’t quite sure what drove her to the park that night, but after closing up for the night, going home to her small apartment just didn’t feel right. She wandered around until she saw the slide come into view. It was a pure instinctual decision to start running up the slide until she reached the top. Her shoes weren’t the best for running up plastic, so she took them off before making her way up. It only took a few steps, and when she plopped down on the top of the slide, both sides pressing against her thighs, she realized how much harder that had seemed as a child. It wasn’t until she’d been sitting there for a minute that she saw another person on the swings, just a few feet away. Her face heated, hoping they hadn’t been there when she first climbed up. After pausing for a few seconds, she called out, “Uh, you didn’t see that, right?”

Now, why hadn’t he thought of  doing that? As Seon Ho watched the newest park goer barrel her way up the slide with ease, he bit back his grin as best he could. Maybe the street lights wouldn’t offer enough illumination to give his amusement at the display away, considering the woman was obviously embarrassed by the prospect that she had an audience. Unfortunately, he wasn’t an expert liar, especially not on the spot, the admission tumbling out of his mouth before he could press pause, “What, you mean that Olympian feat? Think of it this way: you didn’t fall flat on your face on your way up there, so I think you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. And it’s not like I’m in a position to say much of anything,” he gestured to the swing chains that he was grasping. “Everyone has to indulge their inner child every now and again, right?” 

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camilabeaumont:

“Yeah, I am totally right! People only like, care about pandas and stuff because they’re cute but when it comes to bees, they pretend they don’t know we need them more than we need pandas!“ Thinking about the time she got into a fight with someone that killed a bee in front of her, Camila huffed out and started swinging herself, ready to talk about something else.

“Yeah, it totally is.“ She giggled, thinking of what he’d say once he figured out that was her name. “Yeah! I had a burrito in my bag so I offered her a bite. Apparently, dogs really like Chipotle! Anyway, I think we’re friends now. She had to leave, but she’s been coming back. I’m waiting so I can take her with me and ask my roommates if I can keep her.“

"Even pandas were considered endangered for awhile though. So it seems that people don’t even care about the cute animals. And it’s not too surprising, is it? We humans, as a species, aren’t known for caring much about each other, let alone the rest of earth’s inhabits. Or the earth itself.” Seon Ho wasn’t the most educated nor was he marching in protests every weekend -- more because he didn’t have the time rather than him not having the interest -- but he knew that much. 

When he heard her mention that she had fed the dog a burrito, Seon Ho had to wonder how well the dog wound up digesting the food in reality. He doubted it went down very well. “Oh. Well. Uh, I hope she comes back and you’re able to take her home with you. Maybe feed her some dog food instead of Chipotle. She’s probably a bit tired of fast food, yeah?” 

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ezraxddams:

If ya let him, if ya let him….

Ezra hummed the tune and muttered the words under his breath, the music blaring in his ears making him nearly oblivious to the world that was going on around him in the grocery store. His gaze darted from shelf to shelf, scanning and desperately trying to remember what was on the shopping list he’d totally forgotten to take out with him. Again. Thank-you, chronic disorganisation.

Why does he always do this to himself.

As the beat picks up and moves into the chorus, Ezra slightly loses himself and starts bopping around, a spring in his step as he half-dances through the cereal aisle. There was only like a couple of other people around, who cares, right?

If ya let him touch ya, touch ya, touch ya, touch ya, touch ya, yeah! The way I used to used to used to used to used to, yeah!

Crap, did Scout want Cap’n Crunch, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch? He looked sideways for just a second, and as a result didn’t quite see the stranger… right in front of him. That he’d just danced into. And made them drop the bag of chips they’d been holding.

“Ahhh, hi! Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Lemme just…” he choked out in surprise, bending down to pick them up before he even got a proper look at who the person was.

He really needed to start writing down an actual, proper grocery list. Half the time, his siblings would mention in passing what they were wanting from the store, and Seon Ho continually relied on his memory to recall the items once he actually stopped by the market. He knew for sure that Sonja was having a girls’ night with her friends soon, and there were no snacks to speak of in the house. 

Headphones situated and his designated shopping playlist selected, he’d swung by the snacks aisle, piling up on chips and popcorn before making his way to the cereal aisle. Expecting his siblings to get up early to eat a proper breakfast was out of the question, after all. And it’s not like he set a good example when he was happy to scarf down an entire box of Frosted Flakes in one setting. 

He was just contemplating the fact that he probably should have grabbed a cart instead of a hand basket, having to begin reorganizing his selections, potato chips in one hand before they were flying onto the ground. 

Seon Ho barely had time to blink in reaction before the man was picking up the bag, Seon Ho pulling at his headphones so that he could hear the stranger apologize, brushing off the incident with his now free hand. “Hey, don’t worry about it. No harm done.” He noted with curiosity that the other male was listening to music too, the notes traveling from the earbuds to Seon Ho’s ears that were trained at picking up musical tunes. 

“Hayley Kiyoko, right? Good choice. I can understand why you’d lose yourself in the beat.” 

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Seon Ho Ryu + Instagram

[ravenclairee]

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kelseydrvke:

Kelsey loved cosy environments. The feeling of familiarity that came with being a regular at a certain place was something she didn’t have while growing up so, in a way, by having a favourite place she was filling that void — or attempting too. As she dug into her pancakes (most would argue it was a weird snack to have but when munchies attack, you have to fight fire with fire), she saw the waitress putting another plate in front of her. Swallowing the half-chewed piece of pancake in a hurry, Kelsey turned to the waitress. “Excuse me, I didn’t order this!” she tried to say, before the man behind the counter told her it was on the house; pretty rad but she wasn’t that hungry. Looking at the person walking right next to her table, Kelsey made them an offer. “Hey, want some free pancakes? I swear, there’s no catch.” The pink haired girl spoke, taking another piece of her snack.

There was never a bad time for breakfast food, Seon Ho would argue. He knew that breakfast was considered the most important meal of the day because it kickstarted the brain, but he told himself that it was because bacon was a food that could cure all ailments. Especially really crispy bacon. With a side of hashbrowns. Potatoes were great in all of their various forms, but there was something particularly magical about hashbrowns. When he was on his way home and needed the pick me up, stopping at the neighborhood diner was a quick and cheap way to lift his spirits. He had put in a to-go order and was considering if he wanted to sleep or hit up his studio after he ate when he was beckoned. “Free food with no catch? That seems really hard to believe.” 

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naurarose:

“You don’t have to be model material to exude a beautiful presence. You see, just you sitting there gives off a sense of nostalgia that’s so hard to convey without it coming off as too intentional.” She would know, she did star in the remake of Freaks & Geeks. 

Before the light could fade, she snapped the photo. Once. Twice. Five more times, to make sure she got the best of the best. “It’s @naurarose​. It’s public so no worry about my accepting your request.” She skipped over to him and showed him one of the photos, capturing the way the street lights hit his cheek bones and the ominous shadow of his figure creeping by. “Do you mind?” She gestured to the second set of swings beside him.

"Ah. Candid shots are more authentic. Which works in my favor in this case.” Seon Ho wasn’t sure if he could pose to save his life. He kept his fingers curled around the chain of the swings while she snapped the photos. Glancing at her screen, he hummed lowly in approval before reaching for his own phone, pulling up his Instagram app to search for her profile. 

“Not at all. Go ahead.” He waved a hand towards the opposite swing with an encouraging upturn of his lips. “So you’re Naura Rose. Verified and all.” He referred to the blue check next to her name on her profile. “You know, you seem to have a talent behind the camera and not just in front of it. You should start a sort of Humans of Venice Beach side project. I bet it’d be a hit.”

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camilabeaumont:

“Oh, me too! I like all kinds of dogs actually. A lot of people only care about cutesy dogs and ignore the ugly ones, and I think that is really mean. I’ts really dumb how like, people only care about animals when they’re cute, even when ugly animals do a lot for the environment and stuff!“ Camila could rant about this, and pretty much anything. She had a knack for talking way too much. “I’ve studied aliens a lot, so I feel like I have the authority to say that they’re not fluffy. I think there’s like, different kinds of aliens. Some look like us, and others are more like… Amphibians and stuff!”

“Oh, it totally is. A week ago I am pretty sure I saw an alien behind those bushes over there, but then I also saw a dog.“  Popping her lollipop into her mouth again, Camila took a moment to let the sweetness flood her mouth before she resumed speaking. “Then, the dog saw me and she started barking so the alien left. I decided to name the dog Camila because it’s a real nice name. And yeah, I see them sometimes. They usually show up late at night or when people decide to have lunch here.“

"You have a point. The way it is, we don’t even take care of all the cats and dogs. Strays roam around the streets yet people still continue to buy from breeders.” Seon Ho had a few pets at home himself, all of them rescues. He didn’t see the point in spending a lot of money buying a pet that was Certified Purebreed when there were already plenty of animals that needed shelter and love. He could say a great deal about the subject, but he had far less commentary on aliens. Sure. he’d seen E.T. and a couple of films from the Alien franchise but that knowledge wouldn’t get him very far. 

“Camila, huh? That’s a pretty good name. Were you able to get her to stop barking and warm up to you?” His heart always bled for homeless animals, to the point where he typically sent his siblings to the pet store to pick up food and the like so that he wasn’t tempted by any of the adoptions that took place on the weekends. 

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naurarose:

Naura recognized Seon from the fish market she bought her groceries from when she craved some of that homemade catfish sinigang. It was difficult to find an authentic Asian market to fulfill that craving. His image on that set of swings was so aesthetically pleasing, she couldn’t not post it on Instagram for her followers to see. “Do you mind?” She showed the screen of her phone to show the picture app. “You just look so peaceful. Just wanna capture that.”

Naura’s face was familiar, though Seon Ho found her difficult to place. Whether he’d seen her down at the strip or if she was a face from the screen. Or both. His younger sister would binge watch Hallmark movies, the ones that were available on Netflix, now that she had grown tired of Harry Potter weekends on Freeform and made her way through the rest of her watchlist. He would sometimes watch them with her, finding it more difficult these days to tear her away from the screen. 

“Mind? I’m flattered. Don’t exactly see myself as model material, but if you think so, by all means.” He gave his nod of approval toward her phone screen. “I’d love to see what else you post, if you’re open to sharing your user.” 

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leahxthompson:

It was a surprise, really, that even after all the years that had passed with sleepless nights and rolling from one side of her bed to the other, Leah still wasn’t used to it. She still found herself horribly frustrated with it, getting angrier and angrier at herself with each minute that passed in a waking state. Perhaps not sleeping was the better option for her, considering the amount of times that nightmares woke her up, but all Leah wanted in that very moment was to get some peace.

Thirty minutes later, she still wasn’t asleep but instead on her way to the park. She hadn’t really expected seeing anybody else up at this time, yet figured that it’d give her a chance to talk to someone which seemed like a better idea than dwelling on the things that bothered her all by herself.

Walking over to the swings, Leah gave a simple nod of her head as a greeting before she sat down on the swing next to him. She let a few minutes pass before she cleared her throat and said, “You alright?”

Seon Ho welcomed the company, accustomed to building rapport with strangers, even if it was temporary. So much of the Venice Beach experience was meant to exist only in the moment. It was part of what made the location so exciting and why it appealed to many types of people. Some who sought the adrenaline rush, some who sought escape. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.” He could understand why she would ask. Here he was, well into his twenties, hanging out in the park  by himself, hours before sunrise, gazing pensively up at the sky as if he could reach the stars. 

He could appreciate the concern. “Completely sober and everything, promise. ‘M just killing some time before I go off to my job down at the fish market.” There was never enough time between his shifts to justify going back home. “And you? Are you often up and about at this time or did you just suddenly wake up with a desire to revisit your youth?” 

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camilabeaumont:

Camila had the sleeping schedule of a vampire sometimes. Since he didn’t have job she needed to wake up for, or even went to school, she usually did whatever she wanted. So, she was now wide awake while most people were sleeping. There were a lot of things she could do. Look for an open diner and order a massive order of fries, play video games, try to sleep, anything. She decided she didn’t want to be home, so she packed her things and headed straight to a park she usually walked by on her way to her favorite candy store.

The girl thought she’d be the only there. Well, the only human at least. She was hoping she’d find a cute dog or cat she could try to adopt, but instead,she found someone sitting on her favorite swing. This made her frown to herself, but she then figure that she could live with this. It was just a swing. Pulling a lollipop out of her pocket, she made her way towards the playground and occupied the free swing. “Are you here for the aliens, or for the dogs?” One time, Camila had swore she had seen an UFO near this park so she was certain that aliens frequented this place at night.

Living in California for nearly a decade now, Seon Ho was accustomed to encountering all sorts of colorful characters. Even still, aliens were not a common subject in his daily conversations. But he decided to indulge the female, greeting her kindly with a smile. “Uh, for the swings, mostly, actually, just to pass some time. But if there are dogs around, I’d pick them for sure. I like fluffy dogs, y’know, and I can’t say I’ve ever seen a fluffy alien.” 

He swung his legs lightly. “Didn’t know this was a common spot for alien sightings .” He learned something new every day. Or he tried to, at any rate. There were still plenty of things that he did not know, after all.  “Or dogs either. Do you see them often? Stray dogs, I mean.” If he knew any were around, he could plan to bring some scraps by every now and then.