eachdraidh | 1st Circuit - Text for Both Courts, Video-locked for Unseelie

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1st Circuit - Text for Both Courts, Video-locked for Unseelie

[There's probably a better way to do this, but at least he can put out feelers and see what he's working with. Since the decimation of Caer Scima Hiro's been a little more than bitter toward the Seelie and while he doesn't want to have anything to do with any of them, he realizes that as a scientist he needs to gather as much information as possible.]

It's been a long month, hasn't it? I'm not used to any of this. Monsters? Destroying people's castles? It's weird. I was getting ready for class one day and the next I came here and then the fighting started. I think I'm going to fall really, really behind in my homework. Makes me wonder…what do you miss most about home? I can't be the only one who really misses advanced tech (computers, video games, even the old stuff like VCRs would be okay at this point.) And I know, I know, the Station exists but it's not the same. So, what about you guys?

[If he can figure out what people value? Maybe they can use that to their advantage, too.]

[Unseelie Locked]

[Now comes the hard part. With that out of the way the video function of the locket clicks on and it's obvious that the locket's hanging from something in front of Hiro. He's in a room at the Station, ever-recognizable blue hoodie hanging loosely on his frame but the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. More importantly than that? He looks a little nervous.]

…hi. My name is Hiro Hamada. I don't know most of you, but I hope you're listening anyway.

[He pauses and looks to the side, evidently looking at someone else who's in the room with him. Deep breath, Hiro.]

It's not a secret that we lost this battle pretty bad. That's a fact, but I think there's something we can do about it to help recover. I know there are other people that don't know how to really fight, or there are people who can only fight with weapons. What if we could do something more than that?

[Give him a second and he's holding up his hand. It looks as though he might completely freeze up but after a short moment a small fireball appears in the palm of his hand. He wants to put it out immediately, but he pauses long enough to at least look at the locket again.]

I couldn't do this when I first got here. [And the fireball vanishes.] Think about how much stronger we'd be as a court if everybody could wield a couple of spells. Even if it's not something you want to use for offense even picking up a few for defense is better than nothing. I know there're a lot of magic users here but…well, Lemina and I have been working on something pretty cool.

[He's going to lean forward and pick up what looks like a piece of paper with a class list and a list of elemental spells written on it to show the camera.]

The Guild's designed to not only teach people how to unlock their own magic ability but hone it and build up to becoming a better magician. We have a few ideas how to use it to help our side of this war. We're going to start classes soon for anybody who's even kinda curious. [A pause.] Look, I didn't even really believe in magic before I got here and knowing the little bit I learned saved me back there. It'd be really cool if you guys considered it and you can always ask Lemina or me if you have questions.

[Actually…he looks off screen toward where Lemina's sitting.] Maybe we should do that now?

[ooc: This is actually going to be open to both Seelie and Unseelie because of the mage university being started by Tzilan just outside of Redgate. Lemina's been putting up flyers around the Station and Hiro just doesn't realize it and has a very strong bias against the Seelie. You can check out more about said-Guild in the class link above, and you can sign up your character here. As an aside, Lemina will also be teaching classes at said-university on her own, but will be keeping the Guild as something separate. edit: also Lemina might pop into some threads as well!]

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[It's not noticeable, but Nico's free hand tightens into a fist. It's released quickly, but...well. A shadow of his pain does haunt him whenever he thinks about it.]

Saved some demigods she went on a quest with. Electrocution or she got...crushed. She'd been in a metal, prototype version of Talos, so either was likely. Her body was never found, but, even though I could talk to her ghost...it wasn't the same.

[He takes a very deep breath and lets it out slowly.]

And then she chose to be reborn, so I'll never see her again in my lifetime.

[Oh god okay. That was more complicated than he thought and he's making a mental note that this might be the son of Hades Leo mentioned. He doesn't speak again for a moment before he chooses to continue.

He's gotta say to it somebody. Even if it's just the most brief allusion to it.]

They never found Tadashi's body after the fire either.

[Please please please understand what he's saying, Nico. Stupid older siblings who just had to go and save people.]

But what about in the next lifetime? [How does rebirth work?]

[Oh, yes. Yes, he gets that very well. Oddly, it sets him a little more at ease with this conversation.]

Seems like a typical older sibling thing to do. I can only hope I don't end up doing the same for Hazel.

[There's a sad sigh.]

When a soul's reborn into another life, they have to bathe in the River Lethe. It completely wipes their memories, I think so it doesn't interfere with their decisions in the next life. Achieving Elysium or paradise three times means going to the Isles of the Blest, the ultimate paradise, after all. I don't know if that's what Bianca was planning on doing, but....

[But it was perhaps better than the existence she'd been forced into.]

Lucky me, I don't have anybody else I can do the same for. [Sarcasm is his best defense and while Nico might be at ease with the conversation, it just puts Hiro on edge. It's obvious in his tone and he's doing what he can to steer the conversation away from Tadashi. No, never mind, maybe he's not as ready as he thought.]

But it means that even if you did find her again you'd never know. [That's…that's horrible.] How do you achieve Elysium?

With luck, you'll never have to. [But Nico recognizes when a conversation is getting uncomfortable. Gods know he'd been a wreck in the wake of Bianca's death.]

Exactly right. [And it hurts a lot, but he's trying not to be selfish about it. It's hard, though. It's hard to not be bitter about it.] Heroes automatically go to Elysium. Regular mortals can go there by doing more good than bad, but if they did something horrific, such as murder, then they get sent to the Fields of Punishment, Tartarus, or, if you seriously messed up, then there were worse punishments that my dad would personally create.

[…well that definitely confirms the son of Hades thing. That also explains the undead army that attacked Lumina, but he's a little too out of touch with the conversation now to think about that just yet. Nico's completely off the radar as an enemy. Right now he's somebody with answers.]

…what if. [Okay. Maybe it's worth asking since Joshua didn't give him a good answer.] What if a regular mortal risked his life and died trying to save somebody else even though he didn't have to? Would that be something worth Elysium?

[Welp. Good thing he didn't go through with killing the man in the mask.] If your dad's the god of death though why can't he just bring your sister back? Couldn't he do that?

Definitely. [There's absolutely no hesitation in Nico's voice when he answers the question.] Whether he succeeded or not, his intention was to save someone in danger, and that's considered an act of heroism. Whatever else he did in his life, all the good he'd done, would've only made his case for Elysium stronger.

[There's a bitter, humorless bark of a laugh.]

Oh, I tried to talk him into it or to trade my own soul for Bianca's, but he couldn't bring my mom back to life when she died, either. Of all the gods, Hades has to uphold that kind of order, no matter what the personal cost is. [And it took a long time to really understand that.] He did make an...exception once. Hazel had been killed about 70 years ago, but I brought her back and dad gave it a pass. Death or Thanatos had been missing at the time, so a lot of good and evil souls were escaping from the Underworld. My plan had been to get Bianca out during the confusion, but then I found Hazel. I couldn't just leave her there after that.

[So Tadashi could, in theory, be somewhere safe and try for rebirth. But if he did, Hiro would never know. Would that be better or worse? That's the complication.] And the guy he tried to save...he didn't do anything to help Tadashi. He just let him die and he tried hurting someone else. [A beat.] What would happen to him?

How did you find somebody who was dead for seventy years? [And better yet, how did he know she was his half-sister?] What happened to all of the other souls that were escaping?

He'd go to Punishment or Asphodel. Asphodel is the place souls go where they don't do enough bad for Punishment, but not enough good for Elysium. The spirits forget their whole life and stand in the field for all eternity.

I went to the Underworld personally. [He says it about as casually as someone saying they'd been to the supermarket.] It depends. The ones that were good, Hades generally gave a free pass to. The ones that escaped Punishment or Tartarus, though...those souls are in the process of being rounded up by Thanatos. Let's just say that normally, if a soul escapes the Underworld, they get a seriously bad punishment.

[But...Hades is fair. Fairer by far than most gods would be about it.]

That almost sounds worse. You live a whole life and suddenly it's wasted because you made a bad choice. [But Callaghan? Maybe he deserves that. He doesn't want him dead anymore but...he doesn't think he can fully forgive him either.]

Oh, why didn't I think of that. [Do you hear the skepticism, Nico?] So a lot of dead people are up and walking again and the rest are in for an afterlife of suffering. Sounds about right for the god of death.

[Maybe. He doesn't know much about the gods beyond the little bit of reading he's done.]

If Bianca was here once, who knows. Maybe she'll come back again.

It's also for people who just...lived and didn't do anything to warrant either area.

I thought I mentioned my father was Hades. [His tone is so dry for that statement.] They're not dead. Technically. They're fully alive with a physical, healthy body and everything. I'd rather a hero like my sister get a free pass and not get a severe punishment for technically escaping the Underworld, which may as well be considered treason in mortal terms, than a serial killer getting a free pass for escaping.

[Nico's had that thought before, too. A hope that maybe he'll see her again in the Drabwurld, maybe she'll stay longer than last time. But, in truth, he's of two minds about it.]

I want her to, mostly because I want her and Hazel to meet. But if the war's going to kick off to something more extreme than what it's been from here on out, then...I don't think I want her here. I don't think I could handle losing her like that for a second time.

Who makes the final call anyway, your dad?

[A small huff.] Yeah but still, most people don't just walk into the underworld. [He pauses on that thought.] I don't think anybody would disagree with that.

[...point.] I don't know if I could take losing Tadashi again either. Not so soon. [Among other things. But he doesn't want to touch on it so give him a second to think of how to change the subject.]

Sooo...is the son of Hades thing the reason you can raise an entire zombie army?

No, he doesn't get personally involved unless the person had done something seriously bad in their life. The final call is made by three judges, and each one represents one of the three fields you can go to.

Not unless you have good reason to or you happen to be Hades or Pluto's child.

[It's hard to find it scary when you know how to keep from getting into trouble. Not to mention the fact that the ghosts and everything in the Underworld tend to fear/respect the Lord of the Dead's children.

Nico will be more than happy to change the subject from that.]

...It's one of my abilities, yeah. Anything the Greeks related to death is something I have some power over. Ghosts, for example. I can move through shadows as well. Probably the one downside to all I've got is that you're treated like an outcast, and the ability to feel when someone dies or is about to die.

Rough break. Having to make that kinda call for everybody who's ever died? Not a job I'd want.

[…goo gadget subject change.]

Dude. That's kind of awesome. [It's probably not the reaction Nico's expecting but it's genuine.] I mean that you can control the dead and shadow travel. [A beat.] Knowing when somebody dies or somebody's about to die doesn't sound like a fair trade though. Neither does being an outcast. Guess it's true what they say. People fear what they don't get.

It's a necessary evil, though. Actually, the three of them consider it an honor.

[Although Minos is the biggest jackass ever. Who even likes that guy?

He definitely doesn't expect that as Hiro's reaction, so...Nico's kinda quiet for a moment. How does one even take that? Nico doesn't even knooooow!]

Yeah...well.... [What does he even say? What does he even do? Because that simple statement is way more true than Hiro knows with regards to Nico.] After a while, you kind of just expect it to happen. Whether you tell them you're related to the god of the dead or just...use the powers you were born with.

I think out of everything you've said so far that's the weirdest thing I've heard.

[He doesn't mind waiting for Nico to respond because he sort of had a feeling nobody's ever said such to him. He gets it. He was kind of the outcast too but not for the same reasons, obviously. But he gets it. He gets the idea of people judging you just because they don't get it and if he's honest? Meeting the nerds and gaining friends was probably the best thing for him.

Nico's Seelie...but that doesn't mean Hiro can't keep talking to him. Right?]

I'm not related to the god of anything, but brain power used to be the thing people avoided. [A shrug even if Nico can't see it. It's meant to be a joke but it sorta falls flat because he gets it. And he doesn't like that he gets it.] It's one of those things that does and doesn't bother you the more people do it, right? Just seems kinda weird that those are the powers people avoid when there's a bunch of other gods in Greek history alone.

That's only the tip of the iceberg, if you can believe it.

[Hiro gets it. Maybe not exactly what Nico went through, but...there's enough that they can understand each other about it. How people avoid him or how much easier it is to just push people away rather than get his hopes up in finding a friend, a person who'll accept all the weird stuff and won't be scared of him. A person who won't reject him outright. It hurts less that way. Reject them before they can reject him.

Although, he's starting to change his mind on that. This past year and the war with Gaea has been making him reconsider it very strongly.]

For the most part, mortals don't know know the Greek myths are real. They forgot how to see the truth, I guess. Some see it, but not all and sometimes not for very long. So...for the most part, it's from other demigods. [Who should know better.] Not even most animals like me just because they sense my heritage. The more intelligent ones, like parrots, seem okay with me.

[Probably because they can reason a little bit better than, say, a cat.]

I think I can believe it. You should tell me more about it sometime.

[Because he's heard Leo's story a bit. Learning from another demigod would help his research, too, maybe figure out how people are really chosen for this place. But currently he's also trying to view Nico as something not a variable in a greater experiment because it's hard to ignore the fact that they both seem to have that understanding.]

Pretty sure that doesn't make it much better. [Actually that makes it worse...it'd be like if all of the nerds thought he was an oddity. That's harsh. That's actually sort of really startling because as far as he understands a lot of the demigods have weird freaky powers thanks to their parents.] And I wouldn't call parrots that intelligent. [But that's because he's biased and he likes more common pets. You know. Like cats.

That raises the question though...] What about the people here? ["How do they treat you?"]

...I think I can do that.

[There may have been a hint of a smile when he says that. It's been a while since he's told any stories that are more lighthearted than serious.]

It's not, especially when demigods in general get treated poorly for our dyslexia and ADHD, not to mention the random monster attacks that usually end in us being framed for criminal activity or something. [Society can be pretty pitiless that way.]

I try not to let the native people know. They're scared enough of us as it is. People from other worlds, though...it's been...different. They're not always comfortable with my heritage and what I can do with my powers, but.... [But he's got people who accept and love him despite that here. At least discomfort he can deal with better, and maybe over time it'll turn into something they're comfortable with.]

Sweet. [Good. Relax, Nico. He just likes epic stories. He has a few of his own, too.]

That doesn't make any sense either. [Hiro there are a lot of things that don't make sense, just stop talking.] You guys really get attacked by monsters that much?

[He lets Nico trail off but he doesn't pause long before he finishes that sentence.] But people tolerate it more than you'd think. You're be surprised what kind of people show up here.

[People like Lemina, Loki, Jason? Thrall? So many people have shaped him differently and most of them don't even question him. It's…nice. It's like having his own friends back though he only had them for a very short time. He should ask Nico not to use skeletons on his friends. But…]

Besides. I think it's really cool you have that much control over your powers. Our world doesn't have magic or anything.

It depends. Children of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades get attacked more often 'cause our aura's stronger than the other demigods. It's the same with our Roman counterparts.

[There's a huff of a dry chuckle.] No kidding. Honestly...it's an eye-opening experience. I've changed a lot since arriving in April thanks to them.

[And thanks to Hermione's dreamless sleep draught, he's been sleeping so much better. The bags under his eyes are nearly gone.]

It's...mostly self-taught. I had a ghost as a mentor once to help me get the basics, but after that, I taught myself. [There's a frown even though Hiro can't see it.] For the most part, loss of control happens only when I feel a strong negative emotion, like anger.

Which are...Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, right? [The planet gods.] And you don't know what makes your aura stronger? You know, besides just being that lucky.

[April? Nico's been here almost a year? It's close to the amount of time Ariadne's been here and he still can't believe it.] I'm still not sure I wanna stay here that long between you and me. I have stuff I need to do back home. But at the same time I've met a lot of people here, too, that I wouldn't have if I stayed in San Fransokyo. The whole thing's kind of a catch-22.

[Self-teaching the art of summoning the dead. He shouldn't say it, but--] Yeah, I noticed. [He's not telling him how he's seen Nico's powers. Not yet.] Just means you might have a good grip on your emotions most of the time though.

Right. Well, we know what makes it stronger, and it's just because we're children of the three most powerful Olympian gods. It gets even more dangerous when there's a group of demigods together.

Yeah, no kidding. Maybe if there was a way we could travel to each other's worlds, it wouldn't be so bad.

[Nico's pretty sure that won't be possible, though. The universe never likes heroes who try stuff like that.]

Sometimes...it's not good enough. Or it's fine until someone decides to push you to your limit. [Yeah, he's still bitter about Cupid, even if it got him three good friends out of it and a chance to make amends with Percy and Annabeth.]

Like a flare. [He has to wonder what would happen if it was a group of only children from the most powerful gods versus a group made up of kids from different parents. He'll turn off his science-brain soon, but it's not every day you meet these kind of people.] Do the monsters here chase you guys down too?

There's gotta be a way to do it. If they can open channels or whatever to bring us here, then they can make it so we can travel to other worlds instead of going back to our own. It just doesn't make sense otherwise.

[Yeah...he hears ya there, buddy.] Then you just work on getting better, just like everything else. It's all we can do.

Exactly, and no, we haven't had any monster attacks. It's been like a nice vacation for us.

[Super nice, to be quite honest. A shame that it's still a "save the world" type thing. Honestly, he wants a short break from being asked to do the impossible...but, at the same time, Nico's aware that he just will never be like that. It's a demigod's life to do the impossible and fight against the worst odds the Fates can give you.]

As far as I know, it's the Monarchs who have that kind of power. I don't know if asking them about it will be smart, all things considered.

[Some things might be best not knowing about.]

Sometimes, it's all we've got to keep on going.

[After all, it had been the only way he hadn't gotten totally lost in grief and mixed feelings in the wake of Bianca's death. "Be better, learn to control it, find a way to save whoever you can, don't let them die like Bianca had."]

1st Circuit - Text for Both Courts, Video-locked for Unseelie

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