eachdraidh | Memory - Seelie and Unseelie

Entry tags:

Memory - Seelie and Unseelie

[The "scene" opens up to the ruins of an ancient Roman town. The roads are being taken over by moss and other plantlife, while the buildings' remains are scattered here and there. It's silent for the most part, clearly abandoned, but there are two voices that sound like they're next to where the "cameraman" is. One voice, to those who know him, is Jason Grace's, while the other is a stranger's. The stranger sounds light and cheerful, a person who might be easygoing and easy to like. The "camera," however, doesn't look at them.

"Welcome to Salona," the stranger says, "Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid."

At 'Cupid,' it strangely echoes, as if voices are carrying the name all over the ruins of a once-big town. The voices of the stranger and Jason become almost muffled at this point, as if the person who is experiencing this isn't paying a whole lot of attention to their conversation. They chat briefly about how Cupid isn't anything like what most people think of him as. The viewer suddenly leans back, as if getting support from something solid. His gaze is at his feet, giving a perfect view of the grass at his feet, and of his badly shaking legs.

"Hey, man," Jason says, trailing off somewhat as he's waved away. The grass suddenly starts turning brown and wilting at the feet of the viewer, and it only continues moving outward.

"Ah," the stranger gets his attention for once, and is caught in the middle of nodding sympathetically. The odd thing about the appearance of this young man is the pair of wings attached to his back. "I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"

"I don't serve anyone," the viewer - Nico - mutters, "Especially not Cupid."

The stranger - Favonius or Zephyrus, the god of the West Wind - continues speaking. He tells of how he fell in love with a man named Hyacinthus, and how he'd been jealous of Apollo. So jealous, in fact, that he'd killed Hyacinthus. He'd fled from Apollo's wrath by seeking protection from Cupid - or Eros. In exchange for this protection, Cupid asked for the West Wind to serve under him for all eternity, and the West Wind had agreed.

The name 'Cupid' echoes again, this time more insistently.

"That would be my cue." Favonius stands, having sat down in the middle of the conversation. "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you...well, your fate will be even sadder than mine."

He disappears in a swirl of red and gold, leaving Jason and Nico in the ruins of the ancient Roman city. The ground shakes, obviously not Nico's doing as both demigods draw their weapons. Then, a voice speaks to them. Not a pleasant one, either. Nothing at all like what people might think of Cupid. It's deep and rich, but there's threat in it.

You come to claim the scepter.

Nico looks around, but Cupid is nowhere in sight. Jason and Cupid have a very brief exchange before the son of Jupiter is is suddenly slammed into by an invisible force. He goes down a set of stairs and sprawls on the floor of the excavated Roman basement. Nico scrambles down after Jason, asking if he's okay while helping him up to his feet.

The god of love laughs at them for thinking he'd play fair. He's never fair.

Abruptly, an arrow materializes from thin air and makes its supposedly deadly way toward Nico. Jason deflects it with his sword, and the pair rush up the steps, dodging what cupid throws at them. A second arrow explodes into white-hot flames at Nico's feet at one point, and Jason manages to get a hit on the God of Love. Jason asks if it means they can get what they've come here for - this 'scepter' - but Cupid only laughs. The only one who can wield it is a child of the Underworld, and the only one who can command those undead soldiers is an officer of Rome.

"Just leave it to us," Jason says, "Nico can summon--"

A third arrow hits its mark. Nico gasps as it sinks into his sword arm, stumbling as it dissolves into him.

"Enough games!" Nico shouts, his voice a mingling of anger and pain, "Show yourself!"

The god warns them that it's a costly thing to look upon his face, as Psyche can tell them. He tells a synopsis of her story, of how she'd beheld his face while he slept despite being warned never to do so. She'd feared he was a monster, and had been punished by Aphrodite most severely. Eventually, Psyche earned the right to be by Cupid's side, though it had come at such suffering on her part.

Suddenly, Jason thrusts his sword into the sky, and lightning lances down to blast a crater where he thinks Cupid is standing. There's silence for a pregnant moment, until Cupid taunts them and a column almost falls on Jason.

"Stop it!" Nico yells, "It's me you want. Leave him alone!"

Surprisingly, the god agrees at this, and sounds oddly disappointed at Nico. He asks what Nico has done in his name.

"I've been to Tartarus and back," the demigod snarls back, "You don't scare me."

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Things get a little hazy here. The only thing remembered clearly are the words spoken. Jason asks Nico what on earth Cupid wants from him, while Cupid urges him to tell Jason the reason he fled Camp Half-blood. Why he's always alone.

Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? The god taunts.

It gets very blurry here, as if Nico is remembering something else in this memory. Other memories that tie into this one, but can't be viewed.

"Nico," Jason manages to get out, "It's okay. I get it."

"No, you don't," he says, voice full of pain and misery, "There's no way you can understand."

And so you run away again. Cupid chides. From your friends, from yourself.

"I don't have friends!" Nico yells at Cupid, "I left Camp Half-Blood because I don't belong! I'll never belong!"

When next he speaks, his voice becomes like broken glass.

"I--I wasn't in love with Annabeth."

"You were jealous of her," Jason says, "That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around...him. It makes total sense."

The fight and denial rush out of the defeated demigod all at once.

"I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson," Nico says. Now, Cupid materializes, a young man with snow white wings, straight black hair, and wearing a simple white frock and jeans. His eyes are as red as blood, and his face is handsome and harsh. He's as difficult to look at as a spotlight.

"I had a crush on Percy," he spits, glaring at Cupid, "That's the truth. That's the big secret. Happy now?"

Now, for the first time since Cupid's arrival, he looks sympathetic. "Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy." His voice sounds much more human, now. "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."

Cupid dissolves, as does the memory.]

[For anybody trying to look for him in Caer Glaem, it's already too late. Nico is gone, along with his belongings and Clifford the Hellhound. Attempting to reach him by the locket will only get radio silence. While he might make a couple exceptions, it won't be to talk about this. Never this. He can't....]

{OOC: Dialogue and everything is from the House of Hades by Rick Riordan.}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ this is definitely a doozy. it's packed with too much — luke hasn't experienced any of this as he's dead, and he's never been quite privy to who nico di angelo is beneath the grunge and the messy mop of hair. to see something so personal broadcasted — among another lot of personal broadcasts — angers luke almost on par as the poor treatment of the gods' children. it's not necessarily right for drabwurld to release something he thinks nico kept private for a reason, this place repeating the actions done by cupid, forcing a confession that neither truly deserve to hear unless nico deems it so. ]

[ contrary to popular belief, the first words to pop into his head isn't a quip about nico jackson sounding pretty good, nor is it a laugh. luke cares very little for nico's preferences, or those he takes a fancy to — it hadn't been a concern of his when he'd met him at the feast, nor when they'd been camping, or even when they'd been battling monsters together. the words that pop into his head are nothing but his own confession, as though that'll balance out the playing field a little. perhaps its the remnants of that camp counsellor, wanting to build those kids in his cabin up with a pep-talk that has him simply not saying cupid's a dick. he'd go with text, but despite believing nico may need time to gather his wits, maybe he needs something more personal. he'd shot jason down the moment he did video, but nico's not as stubbornly stupid as luke. ]

I ran away — [ not left, as luke has never really left anything, but he has run from. ] — from camp because I didn't feel like I belonged, either.

[ there you go, nico. luke castellan doesn't give a shit if his notebook had been covered in nda ♥ pj. ]

[Nico is having a hard time believing it. That Luke will just accept him for who and what he is like Jason does. It's hard for him to accept, afraid that letting people in will only hurt him more when he loses them. Like Bianca. Like his mother. Like Bob.

Despite the fear, anger, and shame roiling inside of him like a furious storm, he does acknowledge what Luke is trying to do. At the same time, he can't answer because of those feelings. He's not in a good emotional state to respond, and he's not sure when he will be. A part of the demigod, at least, appreciates Luke's efforts, even if he doesn't respond.]

[It's not a memory that should be shared with anyone. Not one where someone's feelings have been dragged out on display for all to see. It makes her angry and sad all at once. This was not for people to see. She couldn't understand why people's most private memories were being broadcasted like this. It was wrong. Horribly wrong.

She's not sure if Nico will respond but she has to at least make sure he was okay.]

Nico? Are you there?

[He's so tempted to not talk to her, to avoid her like he is doing with everyone else. Nico can't see why she'd want to speak to him or otherwise associate with him after all of this. It's true, what Cupid said. He's afraid of getting close to people, afraid of making friends, and it's why he's always alone. Why he prefers the dead over the living.

So the son of Hades doesn't answer her. Not yet. He waits to see what she'll do after no response.]

[Nico's world is so foreign to Elincia that she doesn't truly understands the implications this memory holds; oh, the fact that Nico had feelings for some buried so deep that it was deeply wrong for Cupid--and the Drabwurld--to drag them out on display was wrong, that much, Elincia understood. Nico's shame over needing to run away, she also understood. But who Cupid was and everything else, she doesn't quite understand.

So she doesn't ask him about any of it. She just tries again]

Nico...there's nothing wrong with needing to run away. I spent a lot of my life hiding and then running. The world is frightening [how much of her life had she spent hiding from it? Seventeen years of hiding her entire existence. Of trying to be so small and unnoticeable that no one would look twice her way.] and it's hard, knowing who you can trust.

[She pauses and then gently] I wont ask you anything, if you don't want to talk. But you can use my rooms in Caer Glaem if you need a place to stay. Or you can come stay with me at the station, if you wish. I wont say a word, not even to Lord Ike. As long as you are somewhere safe, that's all I want to know.

It will be okay.

Edited 2014-07-16 05:09 (UTC)

[For a long, long time, Nico doesn't respond. He gives Elincia the benefit of the doubt because of the little he knows of her world. It's different there. Maybe they don't have any of the same "taboos," though he certainly doesn't know for sure. It's only now that he sends her a response back, though in text.]

I'm alive. I'll be safe. Not coming back for a while, though.

PS: Please don't let Jason Grace toss up every stone in Caer Glaem looking for me.

[After that, he doesn't respond. He has a lot to think about and a lot of emotions to not only sort out, but to just bleed out. The anger, the shame, and the defeat are giving his heart and soul more of a beating than he ever wants to let on, though tiny bit of his suffering had been revealed to Jason once before.]

[The tension in her shoulders does not ease at the reply though she takes some relief in receiving reply at all]

I understand. Just remember I am here for you.

[and in direct response to the postscript]

I will try but I cannot make any promises concerning that.

[shit. shit shit shit.]

[no idea if nico will even bother responding to anything, but he can't not try. besides, it gives him something to do while he rushes around, video catching him hurriedly tugging his shoes on. one guess as to where he's about to go look, whether he gets an answer or not.]

Nico, where are you?

[great job drabwurld, you've officially demolished 90% of what sympathy jason had for you. fairyworld is officially a bigger dick than cupid.]

[Nico doesn't respond. In fairness, he wouldn't have told Jason even if he did. Not only does everyone know about something he never wanted to tell anyone about, but Nico's emotions have made him dangerous to be around. His powers are fed by his emotions, like most demigods, though they don't have the same domain over death as he does. It just makes him that much more dangerous than the average demigod, even among the Big Three's children.

His room in the castle isn't missing anything, except for the boy and his dog. He'd taken Clifford, his locket, his sword, the seeds, and the star with him and not much else.]

[ This- this isn't a situation that Arthur can exactly say he has any familiarity with in this form, but he does know what it's like to fear and worry over what others might think of you, to hate yourself... Some days he still feels that way. He doesn't know Nico, and he's never been the type to comfort children much (that was always Superman), but he can at least try to imagine what someone in this position might need to hear.

But he keeps to text, simply because it's a little more impersonal and reflects the distance between them. ]

It doesn't always look like it'll get better, but if there's just one person who cares about you, you'll make it through.

[There may indeed be some truth to what Arthur's saying, but Nico isn't so sure about it. The only thing he's sure about other people is that they love to pass judgment when it isn't their place to judge.

For once, he does decide to respond to this, but only because it's text and someone he doesn't know. He's also pretty sure this guy doesn't know Jason, so that'll help keep him hidden from the annoying son of Jupiter.]

I can't even tell my sister and he hasn't known me for very long.

[Sorry, Arthur, he's a very bristly teenager.]

[ Arthur does know Jason, but he's tactful enough to not bring it up. The point of concern isn't Jason, or himself, but Nico.

He hesitates for a bit, because he can't imagine telling Orm, his brother, something like this. It's practically impossible now with Orm escaped from prison and hating him for having originally put him there. Arthur can't tell Nico that he's sorry it got out this way or that he never has to tell people until he's ready (kinda late for that). ]

You don't have to know someone for very long to care and want the best for them.

[ He's glad that this is text now, because from the sound of his voice, he doesn't quite believe it- beyond knowing that he's concerned enough for Nico. ]

[ she knows, without question, he's not going to answer right away. or if he does, he won't actually want to talk to her yet, so what would be the point? but she can't just ignore this, she can't pretend she didn't see it. ]

I'm here, if you need to talk. Um, if you want to, I mean. Only if you want to, I'm not- You don't have to do anything, obviously. Actually, we don't even have to talk, we can just sit somewhere, maybe. I'd be okay with sitting and not talking about anything at all.

[ she sighs, squeezing her eyes shut and pretending that long pause just erased all that rambling ]

I'm here for you. For whatever. Anything.

[ and sent a few hours later, because Rachel is so that friend that's like "okay maybe he just didn't get my voicemail". and also, the idea of Nico being out on his own again, after getting glimpses of the sorts of things he's gone through in visions and whatnot- no. she can't handle that. ]

I'll always consider you a friend, Nico di Angelo. I haven't been through the same things you've been through, but I do know what it's like to feel like you're never going to fit in the way everybody else does, especially at camp. So I know there's really nothing I can say that'll change that either. But I also know that you're capable of greatness in so many ways, and the fact that you're willing to ( literally ) go through hell and back for your friends, and that makes you just as much of a hero as anybody else I've met. And if somebody's ever made you feel like you're not an amazing person because of who your father is or how you feel about something or someone or anything at all, then I'm here telling you right now that they were wrong. We all have our secrets, and that's okay, this isn't completely about that. But I wanted to let you know that no matter what, you've got me. Okay? I hope to see you soon. Be safe.

[He truly, honest-to-gods has no idea how to handle the people who have told him this. Nico isn't comfortable with letting them in, so that's out of the question (for now). Right now, he just feels angry and ashamed that everyone has seen this, and more than a little scared. After all, what if someone tells Percy? Or, Elysium forbid, Hazel?

Hazel's reaction, of all of them, is the one that will truly make or break Nico, and he knows it. He can't lose his sister to something like this. He lost one to death and rebirth. The thought of losing another over who he likes...

So he runs and ignores the kind sentiments and words thrown his way, but he does keep them to look at later. It's easier this way, and it'll save these people from him lashing out at them like a wounded animal.]

[ i had a crush on percy isn't something she ever thought she'd hear leave nico di angelo's lips, and it makes her angry that it had been forced out of him like that and has now been publicly broadcasted for all to see. it's cruel, and if she tried to act as if she didn't care, she would be lying to herself. she does care, about nico, about everyone (even luke, deep down, once you trudge through all the shit, which, admittedly, she's still in the process of doing), and if clarisse is anything, it's protective of the people she cares about. she may not get what he's going through, not entirely, and especially because she grew up in the twenty-first century.

but she understands what it's like to feel vulnerable — don't they all? they've all been preyed on by the gods at some point in their lives, made to feel like they aren't worth anything. it isn't fair, but the gods don't care. they probably never will. all she can do is pick up the pieces of their mess and try not to throw the shards of broken glass in their faces, though there are days when she'd really like to. (there are days when she wonders if luke hasn't infected her with his anger, or if she was always this angry and just couldn't see it. the more time she spends in the drabwurld, the more bitter she finds herself becoming — not toward luke, but toward the gods.)

she won't try to offer him words of encouragement or reassurance, and he would be stupid to think she would. she doubts he'll even talk to her, but what kind of friend would she be if she didn't try? she still hardly knows nico, but he's heard her at her most vulnerable, and that's something more than anyone else can ever say. (she'd been a child when she'd gone crying to luke; it hardly counts.) ]

percy isn't worth it anyway

[ she knows you can do better, nico. you will. ]

[For the third time, Nico does respond to someone he knows, but only because Clarisse and he have...well. They're even, now. He saw (or more heard) Clarisse at her lowest, and she has now seen Nico at his most defeated moment. It seems that the Fates have decided to make this all come full circle.]

You're right about that. He really isn't.

[Yet, even on a platonic standpoint, he knows he'd go through Tartarus a second time alone for Percy. Nico wants to deny that he and the son of Poseidon are friends, but...he can't. Not after all they've been through in a short amount of time.]

At least he's not here to see this. Or Annabeth.

[He doesn't want them to know, and even though Annabeth isn't here anymore, he's sure that she's still alive, somewhere. Nico hasn't felt her soul leave or her mortal life fade from her body. So...she has to be alive....]

[ clarisse isn't a delicate person, so what she sends next isn't delicate in the slightest, but it's true, and sometimes you just need to hear the cold, hard truth. ]

you do know it wouldn't matter, right they'd be just as surprised as the rest of us but it wouldn't matter and if you think it would you don't know them at all especially not percy he might be an overly heroic idiot but he can't hate anyone that's what makes him so infuriating

[Clarisse only gives physical voice to the small part of him that niggles at him, telling him that Percy has never cared about something like that, at least as far as he knows. His experiences tell him this.

Except that she also reminds him of something else. Nico doesn't know Percy as well as she or Annabeth does. Percy knows everything there is to know about Nico, for the most part, but...he doesn't know much else of Percy. He knows that Percy has a mom and a step-dad, both of whom are extremely nice. He knows a lot of Percy's personality, and that his favorite color is blue (he thinks).

But what else does he know? He can't come up with anything. He doesn't know Percy's favorite subjects or his favorite music or his favorite band or what he likes to do when he has a calm moment. Perhaps that's what makes it even more frustrating. Why does he love someone he doesn't really know much about? Why can't it just leave him alone already?]

You're right. I don't know him. He knows more about me than I do of him. It's because I DON'T know for sure that I never want him to find out. Besides that, the more I keep away, the better off Percy and Annabeth are. I don't want any sort of temptation to wreck what they have. It wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be fair to them.

But to be honest, the person I'm most terrified of finding out is my sister. She's originally from the 1940's, like I was, and had been raised in New Orleans, Louisiana while I'd been raised in Venice, Italy. I don't remember much of Italy before moving to the US, but I remember enough to distrust that Southern America in the 40's was any better than Italy had been.

[ maybe if nico hadn't dropped the 40s bomb, she might try to give him more relationship advice, but as it is, she's much more interested in the fact that he wasn't born in the 90s like she assumed he had been. she's not great with this feelings crap anyway, so it's probably better they move on to a subject that doesn't have anything to do with percy. there's a lot she doesn't know about nico, after all. ]

what you're from the 40s were you separated at birth or something

[ she doesn't know about bianca and she certainly doesn't know about hazel or any of that mess, either. this is all news to her. ]

No. Bianca, my older sister, and I were put into the Lotus Casino in Las Vegas, a place where time runs differently. We were there for what felt like a month, but when we got out, 70 years past us by.

My sister from New Orleans, Hazel, is the daughter of Hades' Roman aspect, Pluto. She died at 13, and I brought her back to life from the Fields of Asphodel some time after the Titan War ended.

[ okay, well. that's trippy. no wonder nico acts like an 80-year-old man sometimes. he basically is. ]

huh i bet family reunions must be pretty awkward

[ she's trying to make him laugh here, okay, but she doesn't exactly have the humor of a hermes kid so, you know. it may not be as funny as she thinks. ]

[The more you know!]

It would, if Bianca hadn't chosen to be reborn before I got Hazel out.

[And the reasons he did so had mostly been selfish, something he'll willingly acknowledge to himself if not to anyone else. He'd wanted a sister again, and it served to help her have a second chance for Elysium and to have her curse lifted. He doesn't think Bianca would've been very proud of him for it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Memory - Seelie and Unseelie

audio » private

private

private/voice

private

private/voice

private/text

private/text

not here

video;

no subject

» text / private

» text / private (just fyi, I'm super happy about this and laughing at the irony)

» text / private (ikr, here Nico, another aquatic hero, except this one's broody)

private; voice 1/2

private; text

private; text

text » private

text » private

text » private

text » private

text » private

text » private

text » private

text » private