lonelyalchemy

[lonelyalchemy]

"oya, i wasn't making fun of you. i thought your art was quite beautiful from what i saw." even if it doesn't sound like it, he really was being genuine about the compliment.

so prickly— but it was kind of amusing. "alright then, till! try to keep up with me, alright?" he chuckles smoothly as he looks back at the young man.

he also doesn't bother to clear up the whole misunderstanding of him being a fugitive.

no, instead he abruptly turns the corner with the expectation that till will follow.

"Tch." Till clicks his tongue, Rui's tone of voice making him immediately defensive. "Don't make fun a' me. I needed five more minutes!" The other acts like this is all a game, but Till isn't worried enough about getting caught to take any real offense to that. He's more focused on the perceived slight to his art.

Till looks at the teen critically. "A fugitive, huh?" He says with all the seriousness in the world. He stares a bit more before shrugging. "Okay, sure, you'd prob'ly know best."

There are numerous narrow alleyways to duck into and Till takes a sharp turn down one. Checking behind him, he's both relieved and annoyed to see his new companion easily keeping stride with him.

"The hell…?" He glares up at the kid as he grumbles under his breath. "Why're guys like you always so damn tall?" He quietly wonders aloud before going back to glaring at the middle distance in front of them.

"It's Till. Just Till. C'mon. There'll be plen'y of time to tell each other our life stories an' whatever else people usually do here when we lose this guy. Lead the way."

[lonelyalchemy]

anyone else hear that ominous bell tolling????

[lonelyalchemy]

rui accepts the answer pretty quickly— he was starting to become used to the bizarre nature of this city. "I see. so a yokai, then? how fascinating that they can be small like this. when i think of such creatures i usually picture something bigger and scarier. if i were to compare him to anything i would say he was quite the cute snake..." his voice trails off as he holds a finger out to the spirit, hoping to gain a little trust despite the initial impression he gave.

"i'm not going to hurt you, little one." he smiles, warm and kind— and certainly a lot calmer than his initial boisterous approach. "i was just curious about what you were, that's all."

    –  ( ❀; @lonelyalchemy ​​​​​​)

".. no, he isn't a toy of some kind-- that I can assure you of."

For Mugetsu to be picked out of a crowd certainly wasn't something unusual for Watanuki at this point-- but he had never been met with this much enthusiasm over the fox spirit before. Curled around his neck, the long creature bristled slightly; uncertain of the person who had approached them in the market, and whether or not he was safe.

"This is Mugetsu-- a kudakitsune, or pipe fox spirit. I certainly couldn't make anything like him myself.. nor have I ever seen robots that look like him. Though, I suppose automatically assuming he is a spiritual creature isn't usual for most people, either.."

[lonelyalchemy]

"sorry that i scared you, hatenna-kun. but it's good that you reunited with your owner, hm?" his gaze returns to liko. "a good mood? i wouldn't necessarily say that."

a thought crosses his mind. hatenna was quite the cute little thing— she sort of reminded him of the plushies back in sekai. "i suppose i have experience comforting little creatures like this one— and i like to do what i can to touch people's hearts."

◓ "She probably didn't mean anything by it, but she's not really used to being held by anyone but me..." The Hatenna squeaked in her hood. "She's kind of introverted, so I'm surprised she approached you..." Liko had been that way too once. And like how she was now, Hatenna had eventually evolved into a more outgoing Hattrem. She'd have to get that form back for her though.

Maybe even though she'd been returned to her prior form, some of her personality traits from her evolution had stuck? Unfortunately she couldn't ask her about it. "Were you in a particularly good mood? She avoids negative emotions, but she can be drawn to positive ones..."

[lonelyalchemy]

"oya, do i seem like the type to flatter others for the sake of such a thing...?" rui hums playfully himself. "i would never."

"what a coincidence that my specialty happens to be stage plays." he smiles without even realizing— for nothing beats meeting someone in the same field as him (even if it's formerly). "i do plays of any genre, really. as long as the story i write can make the audience smile in the end."

he shifts from left foot to the right. "i still have to reunite with my troupe here, but once i do i would be happy if you would come to see one of our shows."

' hah. ' she chuckles softly for the first time in this conversation, the irritated flicking of her tail reduced to a cautious sway. ' it sounds as though you're trying to gain my favour now. '

   flipping her hair over one shoulder, fiyero makes a bit of a show of displaying each angle of her horns. the piercings and jewelry, carefully chosen. driving her claws over her temples to make sure her updo is still firm enough, the tiefling clearly has a bit of experience in being admired. ' rightfully so. my beauty is something to behold. and in parts, you would even be correct ... i did do a bit of acting back home, though it's been quite a while since i was on stage. '

   ' a director, you say? what kind of plays have you directed? '

[lonelyalchemy]

"fufufu." he chuckles in amusement, allowing the small little "rabbit" to escape his arms without any resistance on his end. it looked to cherish its owner very much at least-- a heartwarming sight.

"no trouble at all on my part. she seemed rather happy to see me before i picked her up, actually." he speaks casually, tilting his head slightly. "is she normally a social one or do i seem to have made a special friend here...?

◓ The Hatenna went oddly quiet when she was picked up, probably because she wasn't used to being picked up by humans that weren't her trainer. Thankfully it wasn't long before she was returned to Liko.

"Hatenna! There you are!" The girl was quick to receive her Pokémon, who perked up and jumped onto Liko's shoulder and then into her hood. It was Hatenna's safe space. "Thank you! She doesn't normally run away... Strong emotions can overwhelm her, so something must have spooked her..."

[lonelyalchemy]

THEY HIT THE FUCKING PENTAGON

[lonelyalchemy]

the fairies hurriedly hide behind him at the sound of another person-- as if rui could possibly do much of anything to protect them if they were facing actual danger. he turns his head to the noise that was impossible to ignore.

hmm.... this stranger looked human enough.

rui smiles and waves.

"i'm human and i don't bite!" not quite as loud as him, but loud enough for him to hear.

All this smell is a little too strong for Oliver's taste. SURE he loves the smell of sweets and food all together, but this is like getting punched in the face rapidly. As he walks through the sweet candy forest, he swings his Jawbreaker Mace loosely.

"...huh?" there's somebody else here and based on the little glowing lights from a pretty good distance, it must be another person with those tiny fairies. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY~!!!"

Maybe it isn't a good idea to shout. Especially in a place like this, but Oliver can't help it. "Are you friiiiiiiiiiiiendly?"

[lonelyalchemy]

"i see." he pauses-- thinking on it for only a moment. "well, in that case you would just have to create the proper keyboard yourself, no?" rui hums, interest in her case growing as she speaks. what kind of repairs is she making that the technology here isn't enough...?

"i can't say the place that i come from has much like what i've seen in this city-- but i am an inventor of sorts. i've been creating robots and the like since i could remember. if something i want or need doesn't exist i usually just figure out how to create it myself."

Such a colorful human. If he wasn't involved in entertainment already, he looked like the type that would find success as a streamer.

"Repairs..." she answered, vaguely. He could have useful information, but she was still analyzing a way to get her need across without being too upfront.

"However, the technology I would be working with is beyond what I've seen present in the majority of this city. Anything I would pick up is unlikely to fix specialized issues. Like using a toy piano and hoping it would fill the role of a proper keyboard..."

There was a certain apathy in Ivy's avoidant eyes that took the place of a human's resigned sigh.

"Is this world technologically behind for you?"

[lonelyalchemy]

my potions are too strong for you, traveler. you can't handle my potions. they're too strong for you. my potions would kill you, traveler.

[lonelyalchemy]

@ostentumm event starter!

rui stands in the sweet candy forest, hand to his chin in confusion. he wasn't so stupid as to go exploring in a place completely unknown to him, which was why he'd cast one of the spells he suddenly knew for some company in case something to were happen.

and, well.....

they were quite confident leading him through the forest up until now, but all of a sudden they've stopped and refuse to go ahead any further.

"oya? what's wrong?" he's only had the sugar plum fairies for a few days and he's already talking to them like they're his friends.

[lonelyalchemy]

RANK UP!

2/16/25 NEWCOMER → DWARF

[lonelyalchemy]

"ohhh!" he nods along to tsukasa's dramatic posing— business as usual — and even claps at the flourish of his sword. "you would make for a wonderful heroic protagonist like this...!"

"ahh, i can see it now. the hero knight faces the evil demon king's army alone, and though it seems he has the fight under control the surprise appearance of a fearsome candy dragon almost takes him out...!" he smiles, voice bright as he simply speaks his raw thoughts aloud. "we could use a candy with red filling for decently realistic fake blood. then, when it seems like it's all over for him his previously thought dead allies reunite with him— helping him to defeat the demon king for good...!"

"anything?" now his curiosity is piqued. with his composure regained, he stands and brushes whatever stray candy may have stuck from his fall. "with an imagination like yours, i'd say it's a perfect match." admittedly, his mind is racing too now. if it truly means anything, then the possibilities are endless! could he even magic a candied pegasus? or a dragon?! he could practice—oh, that's right!

"hold on!! it's MY turn to share!" tsukasa grins, scrambling to reacquire his hard-candied sword and shield. "i may not have magic like you, but i think this kind of thing is better suited for me anyway!" he poses proudly, poised like the perfect knight before flaunting a dramatic swing of his sword.

"i feel like i can battle a myriad of enemies like this, and i've been practicing too!! wouldn't it be cool to bash something up against the shield and pierce it while it's staggered?? there's a lot of these gummy candies littered around that have these liquidy centers, i bet that would make a good prop for a move like that!!" there's an undeniable sparkle in his eyes as he rambles on, occasionally swinging and bracing his shield to fully realize what he speaks.

[lonelyalchemy]

which subtle way of saying "i love you" are you?

"i'll wait for you."

you're a restless person, always moving from one place to another, perpetually occupied with something or other. people call you impatient. hell, you might even call *yourself* impatient! and that's fine, that's just who you are. but you'll wait for some people. you'd sit down and wait for them if they needed you to, and the first time you do, the first time you show them you'll stretch your limited patience to something limitless for them if they need it, it feels almost like a confession. you might not be very patient with the world, but there are exceptions you're more than willing to make. you're so good at making people feel like they're not a burden.

[lonelyalchemy]

"fufufu...!" he watches in both fascination and amusement as tsukasa tumbles to the ground, the cockroaches soon disappearing afterwards. it's a shame the illusion magic doesn't seem to last very long, but still....!

what an exciting discovery! "it seems like i can create anything of my imagination-- though none of it is real and it seems all to come out like it's made of candy!" his mind is already pivoting to the kind of shows he could create using this magic-- and it shows on his face as clear as day. "what do you think, tsukasa-kun? isn't it incredible?"

"oh? you learned some magic already?" leave it rui to figure something like that out so quickly, or well, that's the typical spiel he would get into if it wasn't for what exactly ends up shooting out of the wand...

"ACK—!!!" the sheer dread that overtakes him is something to be marveled, if he weren't so terrified. sword and shield are discarded, and he topples to the ground from the shock, scrunching his face tight and refusing to open his eyes.

when they have all successfully glided past him, or vanished entirely (hopefully not to return!) he quickly tries to swallow the panic. try as he might to replace it with pride, he's still shaking.

"v-very nice, rui...!! but, please," both spoken and stressed more like a demand than a request, "PLEASE tell me that is not the only creature you can summon like that..."

[lonelyalchemy]

@staraim event starter!

"tsukasa-kun, look!" as soon as he's gotten tsukasa's attention, he twirls his new wand around and casts one of the spells he's learned.

a flurry of cockroaches is produced, thrown directly his way. of course, they're all an illusion and made out of chocolate, but they're mighty convincing from a distance....

[lonelyalchemy]

placing a starter call for specifically event/quest related threads <3 capping at 3 for now or else i'll overwhelm myself. i may go into dms for further plotting if needed!