#mpyanluo

[mpxesther]

Broken Reprieve

@mpyanluo

Esther heard from a coworker about a slightly hidden gazebo that the god, Apollo, had constructed. From their words, it was stunning, holding up to the wintry mess that had been outside. While she ignored the rumors they had regarding it, she knew that she wanted to see it, and Esther had waited until she finally had a day off to make the trip up to see it.

When she did arrive, she sat down the bag she had carried all the way up that contained some food and drink in an insulated box. Esther, despite feeling the effects of the cold at a higher elevation, understood the praise the other gave. As the gazebo mirrored early Greek architecture with statues of their gods, the platform over look a field that gave way to the far-away sights of the city. Esther gazed fondly at the site. She could tell by the construction that much love went into the creation of such a location.

Having just been there for a few minutes, her peace broke at the crunch of snow. Tilting her head behind her, the sight made her gasp, clutching her chest. The god appeared once again before her, though hair short and dressed even closely to what he wore. In doing so, he appeared even more like her once husband, and it hurt her soul. But, Esther could see much better this time, and it was merely a mere shock despite wiping the smile from her face.

"I am sorry. That was rude." She apologized, dipping her head. "We meet again."

[mpxdavina]

龙年大吉!

a very special delivery to a special person. on the morning of february 10th, davina would find a gift at her door from wang yanluo. one is a delicate box filled with delicious pu-erh tea cakes (called tuo cha), as a wink to their first meeting. tuo cha pu-erh is a traditional type of tea. davina can expect woody base notes and smoky characteristics in the shou pu-erh while sheng pu-erh emanates a subtle floral fragrance with hints of chestnut. accompanying the tea gift box is a thick red envelope, which upon opening, will show davina wads of cash that will count the equivalent of $2000. an additional note written personally by yanluo with a brush wishes davina a happy new year of the dragon, and that they may meet each other again soon.

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Having left early in the morning to get her hair done for the feast, Davina hadn’t expected to come home to several gifts at her door. Moving everything to her table, she took the time to open each gift. She had not expected a gift from the god, loving each piece of it. The tea would get good use, and she could not wait to be able to share it with her friends when they visited her.  Though she reasoned she may have left a good image, this far surpassed anything she thought she deserved. Giggling to herself, she could only reason that it was due to her mother. From the way he explained them, it seemed being the queen mother’s daughter had several benefits. 

Texting the god, she send him a message. “I got your gifts. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! 🥰 Happy new year! I will see you tonight, sir!”

[mpxesther]

龙年大吉!

the rosy cheeked woman with a melancholy smile had been on yanluo’s mind before the new year festivities as well, and the god hoped the new year would be kind on her gentle soul. for esther, he had prepared the delivery of two gifts - one was a shang xia tea aroma gift set. it included two cannisters, one with yunnan pu-erh tea leaves and the other with yunnan black tea leaves. additionally, the set came with a chinese luck knot white glazed porcelain cup and saucer. the aromatic tea leaves coupled with the auspicious luck knot symbol brings good fortune, wellness and tranquillity - all things yanluo wished for esther. the second gift were strawberry flavoured lucky candy from the hong kong confectionery company, the garden company. a note with those gifts written by yanluo himself wishes esther a happy new year of the dragon, and lucky new memories in the upcoming year.

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Esther felt odd to be away from her family with the approaching lunar new year. However, she had plans made with her friend to attend queen mother’s feast, and in truth, she did not dare show her face back home anytime soon. Everything was still a bit too fresh and painful, added thanks to the hateful Aphrodite demigoddess. So, she had let the festival distract her from her homesickness. 

Having come home to a delivery, she was rather surprised that Yanluo had sent her something for the holidays. For a god to think of her despite his busy schedule, she immediately felt grateful, and even more, the gifts were to her liking, especially those sweet candies. Strawberry had always been her favorite flavor, smell. It was as if the god could tell, or he just had good taste. Touched by his kindness, she sent him a quick text message. “Thank you! Your gift was too sweet. Have a happy new year!”

[queenmothermp]

龙年大吉!

wang yanluo was exceptionally thankful to xiwangmu, whom he was now used to calling by the nickname mumu. she had been there at his lowest and was pleasant company in happier times. she cared for him in ways that yanluo hadn’t yet been cared for, and thus when the god thought of a gift for the goddess, he found himself struggling. the two of them, with how long they’d been alive, had received many a gift in their lives. but it was the thought that counted, and yanluo had to keep that in mind. if he could, he would give xiwangmu the world. because she deserved it. however, yanluo had to think smaller and less dramatically. he knew that she enjoyed his hobby as well, and that her favourite tea was dragon well tea. thus, yanluo had decided to pair up with the best tea artisan he knew and created a special blend of longjing tea that no one could buy. just for xiwangmu. additionally, he had prepared a ceramic tea set to go with the tea but it was quite unusual. it was a tea set in the form and colour of persimmons, a fruit not as often gifted as oranges or tangerines but which was a fruit associated with the new year as well. and it symbolises good luck and longevity. this tea set was once again one of a kind, as yanluo had imbued some of energies into the bottom of the tea pot, where they would be stuck for at least a 1000 years. these energies would keep the tea inside the pot magically warm, so the goddess would be able to take the set everywhere without needing a heat source. the bottom of the tea pot would remain cold to the touch. both gifts were humble but they showed yanluo’s true intent which was love and care for his counterpart. a note written with a calligraphy brush wished xiwangmu a happy new year of the dragon, and expressed yanluo’s gratitude for her care and friendship.

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        If Wang Yanluo had struggled with thinking of a gift for her, then the empress was none the wiser.  The thoughtfulness, the mindfulness that went into such a gift had left Xiwangmu speechless.  Not only had he remembered her favorite tea, but her counterpart had gone above and beyond to cultivate and craft a unique blend just for her.  And that tea set...oh, that beautiful tea set, it melted her heart.  It was so beautiful!  And to learn of his own special ‘touch’ to ensure the perfectly heated cup each and every time, oh, it had her brimming with excitement and she could not wait to partake in both tea and ceramics--but alas!  Tea alone would not do it justice!  Tea tastes best when shared, after all.  And so, after ‘seasoning’ the set, she extended the invitation to the Lord of Diyu to join her for a lovely cup of longjing following the night of the feast.  At his convenience, of course.  It was only fitting that he be the first to join her in a cup.

[vitasmp]

龙年大吉!

even though their encounter had been relatively brief, it had been impactful to both the god and vitas. both had gone their ways after their meeting with food for thought and thus vitas was definitely on yanluo’s mind when he made his run of new year gifts. for vitas, yanluo had prepared a book set on the art of war. with vitas having a keen mind and being the son of odin, yanluo thought it would be an appropriate gift, and was sure vitas would be interested in the ancient chinese strategies of war in seven military classics. additionally, yanluo gifted vitas a vintage pen & pencil case, which was covered with a soft red silk on the inside. the outside was made of soft polished cherry red wood and on top, in the centre of the lid, was a delicately carved yin and yang design made of mother of pearl stone. a note that came with the gifts, handwritten by yanluo, said ’always remember, yin cannot be without yang, and yang cannot be without yin. happy new year of the dragon.’

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        Yet again, Vitas did not expect to receive a gift for a holiday that was not his own; let alone would he ever think to receive anything from a god from a different pantheon, so when he noticed the gift from Wang Yanluo, there was a brief widening of his eyes.  This...was for him, wasn’t it?  It hadn’t been sent to the wrong apartment complex, had it?  No, no it was addressed to him. 

        Ohhhhh, the BOOKS.  He did like them and, yes, he had read most of them before--but not these specific editions; though he need only read them once and they would forever be in his memory, it had also been decades since he had been gifted a book; even Adelheid had avoided giving him any form of literature as a present because he was finished reading it within minutes and never needed to touch it again, thus the books just ended up taking up space, being more aesthetic than anything.  But these books?  They had been given to him by a god; on he respected; and though he may finish the set in under half an hour, he would still hold onto it, displaying it on the shelf of his living room, joining a single decorative mug to provide a tiny a splash of color amid a sea of monochrome black, white, and grey.

        The pen box, however, he found himself cradling in his lap as he sat in his chair, having tucked the deity’s note inside among the cool silk lining.  His fingertips were then fixated upon the mother of pearl motif in the center of the lid, slowly grazing skin over the smooth surface of the iridescent stone, letting the finger gradually trace the edge where smooth of mineral met the slight grain of wood, over and over again as he reflected on the god’s words.

[mpapollo]

New Years Truce

@mpyanluo

Despite some Yanluo's and his rather complicated past, Apollo would never dare to step on the other's culture or the beauty of their celebrations. So, when he heard the deplorable god's tea shop had stepped up to be a part of the lunar new year celebrations, Apollo felt he had a responsibility to pay his respects. A show of support for the Chinese pantheon and not necessarily the god himself, even if he came bearing gifts.

Upon the god's rules for their tea shop, Apollo had obliged to wear his traditional attire of his pantheon. In tradition of the new year, he opted for a white chiton with a red chlamys. Fastening his cap with a gold sun, the god had decorated his oiled arms with gold bands of laurel. Apollo knew he looked good, and despite the still frozen landscape, the sun god did not hold a shiver as he had entered the shop and was seated at the tea shop.

Having spotted the god out the corner of his eyes, he had only sat long enough to place an order before he came to the counter where Yanluo seemed to have a break in writing. Clicking his tongue, Apollo tried to grab the god's attention before speaking in Mandarin. "Every new year needs a blessing. A gift in exchange for yours." He spoke. And Apollo pulled from out a small box that contained his pantheon's prized ambrosia that he likened in the shape of multiple, smaller Nian Gao.

[erlangmp]

Shades of Justice

Closed starter for a kindred spirit @mpyanluo

Upon arriving at the island, his very first order of business had been reconnecting with his son and, now that this important task had been accomplished, he had several other important tasks to undertake. New dwelling, new job, and instill ORDER on this island. Of the latter, there was one matter of island security he knew he had to investigate, an immediate level of concern, and that task would begin soon enough.

He had just finished carrying in the last trunk of his things and setting them inside the apartment door--he could unpack later--for now, however, Quan had poked his head out the door upon hearing something in the hall. This, of course, garnered Erlang's attention, particularly when he noticed the massive hound's tail give a slight wag.

Something clearly had the howling celestial dog's attention, and this caused the police chief to pull on his coat and step to the door, taking note of a figure approaching from the other end of the corridor. Quan moved into the hall, pacing between the walls as he kept an eye on the stranger and a small smile came to Erlang's lips as he recognized the figure in the distance.

"Wang Xiansheng," he greeted with a respectful nod.

[vitasmp]

The Bronze Gate

Closed starter for the benevolent and enigmatic death god @mpyanluo

Vitas considered it a great honor to restore and preserve priceless historical materials--not just documents, but art and artifacts as well. At this hour, the museum was not particularly busy, which made his work less of an inconvenience to patrons as he finished setting up one exhibit in particular within a large glass case meant to protect it from prying fingers of nosy patrons. He meticulously and delicately arranged the ancient set of ritualistic bronzes, each piece well over three thousand years old and handled with the utmost care by steady hands covered with gloves of white that fit their form perfectly. Description labels and diagrams had already been placed around the edges, explaining the purpose and use of each of the thirteen wine vessels.

Aside from the other works on display throughout the room, it had been only Vitas in the exhibit for the past half hour; though that changed in an instant when a new presence entered the room. Instantly, the demigod sensed the strong aura of the stranger, immediate 'divine' senses tingling in the back of his mind and prompting his hands to pause as they had started to drift away from the last piece he had placed. There it was, a subtle turn of his head to the right so that his eye may briefly capture the image of the god that had entered, making a mental note, and then promptly returning to his work, taking the final piece from the fabric of the cart and carefully placing it upon its predetermined spot.