riverview | ε → ( 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 ) un; ghostking

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ε → ( 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 ) un; ghostking

[ nico's sitting in his customary spot atop the roof of the communal housing, but he's got a pensive look on his face. around one finger appears to be a red string, which he's frowning at, not realizing no one else can see it. in his other hand is a milkshake which he sips now and then. ]

I guess we're still out of luck in finding a way back through the portal, even after everything... Has anyone ever tried to go back through it? I've been here like... six months and am ready to go home.

[ a pause as he tugs on the string around his pinkie and then curses in latin. ]

Has anyone tried the dumb soulmates stuff yet? I don't think it works. Mine doesn't seem to lead anywhere.

[ and in fact, it doesn't. nico's soulmate isn't in riverview, as far as he knows. if he has one at all. i intend for him to be soulmate-less, but if you want the string to go to your character, hit me up at alkahestic ]

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It's the language of the gods where I come from. All demigods can read and speak it naturally. Greek, that is. Roman demigods are usually more familiar with Latin. Since I tend to float between the two camps, I can speak both.

What do you mean, more than one type? That doesn't make sense.

It's the language used for some types of magic, religious texts. Things that are important are usually in the old languages or demonic ones.

Between the two camps?

One is the romantic soulmates like everyone thinks about when you talk about soulmates. There other is someone who shares part of your self. Two bodies, one soul. Nothing except death separating the pair. [At least that's how it's supposed to work even if according to all Alec's research it rarely does.]

Right, your brother mentioned fighting demons. As for the two camps... it's a long story. Basically there are two camps where Greek and Roman demigod train, respectively.

[ a shrug and he still looks skeptical. ]

Still sounds like something romantic related. If you love someone, wouldn't you want it to be that nothing but death could separate you?

Max? [Jace sometimes calls Alec brother but since he's not referring to himself as either a Lightwood or Herondale, he's not sure if Jace would call him brother now.] We fight demons in our reality and other beings who try to hurt others.

Are there only Greek or Roman Gods?

Nothing else is supposed to separate parabatai, but it happens sometimes. [Wait, parabatai has a different meaning in the original Greek.] Parabatai are fighters but not it's not related to chariots. They're platonic soulmates.

Yeah. He's a cute kid. Maybe a little too eager to grow up, but cute.

[ he remembers being like that once. before learning he was a demigod, before meeting percy. it's why he's encouraged max to accept being a child while he can. ]

Oh, there are other gods. Norse, Egyptian. I met Anubis in New Orleans, but I'm affiliated with the Greek and Roman because my father is a god.

[ explains this like it's nbd. ]

As for the parabatai thing... Sounds like Achilles and Patroclus, though they weren't very platonic.

[ nico knows. he's met them in the underworld. ]

He doesn't understand why he shouldn't be able to do the things I had to at that age. We've been trying to give him the childhood we never had.

They're all real? [Suddenly his costume choice for the masquerade seems more sacrilegious than Alec had originally thought.]

He's a god from both the Greek and Roman pantheon?

[That should probably seem strange but considering the beings he's met, the son of a god really isn't high on the 'impossible' scale.]

They weren't? [Alec says it slowly, like this is harder to process than gods being real or talking to a demigod.] Our tutor always said that their relationship was platonic. I didn't believe it, but I always wondered if he was right and I was just looking through stories for someone like me.

They're all real, yeah. My father is Hades but his Roman incarnation is Pluto. They're basically the same, with small differences.

And Achilles and Patroclus were definitely more than platonic. I talked to them after I realized I'm gay and it was easier after that. Knowing someone as important as Achilles was in love with someone like Patroclus meant a lot to me.

So does that mean you're gay too? [ 'cause he is cute, but maybe he's into someone else. still, it'd be nice to have some friends like him. ]

Hades... [Why does Alec keep meeting people related to Hell? For a moment he simply stares while trying to figure out how all of this is connected. Princes of Hell, the Devil, the son of Hades. And of course Magnus and his 'royal' connections. He's beginning to think he's a magnet for the Infernal. ] Does that mean Hell isn't a demon dimension there?

You're lucky that you could talk to them and know it was all right. I didn't - [It should be easier to talk about. The younger Shadowhunters flock to him, asking him about coming out but the words are still difficult to find sometimes.] My kin are very strict about who you can have relationships with. There wasn't anyone we could talk to about it that would understand until recently.

I am. I'm married to my other soul mate. [And his expression proves he's still in the honeymoon phase.]

It's not really like Hell. It's just where all people go once they died. There are four sections, one which is Elysium, for heroes and those who led good lives. There is Tartarus, but... [ he shudders, eyes closing for a moment as he tries to not let the memories creep in. ] I guess you could compare that to Hell.

[ releasing a slow breath, he shakes his head. ] I only talked to them after I was forced to come out. I had a hard time accepting it, at first. But, still... It's good that you've been able to find your soulmate.

It really is like in the myths. [Which makes him wonder if all the other myths about the afterlife are true. By the Angel, he needs to quit fixating on that and hoping for things he knows won't ever come true.

Noticing Nico's reaction, Alec's voice softens to the tone he uses with his siblings when something's bothering them.] I've been to hell. I have an idea of what Tartarus might be like.

Why would anyone force someone to come out. [Alec should probably rein in his big brother tendencies but he hates the idea of someone being hurt and worse, being hurt by something that Alec had spent years being terrified of.] I had a hard time too when I realized I was attracted to someone I wasn't supposed to be.

If you have that string, you have one too. You'll find him eventually.

Yes. They're all real where I'm from. And if you've been to hell, then yeah, you'd know a fraction of what Tartarus is like. Not that I'd wish that on anyone.

As for being forced out, it's a long story. It worked out in the end, but it wasn't easy. I suppose being in love never is. That's what Cupid told me.

[ a sigh and he shifts his gaze away from the screen. ]

Maybe. I used to think I knew who was the right person for me, but now I know I was wrong.

We're told all the stories have some truth to them, but not what that truth is. Or how much of it is real.

It wasn't a trip I wanted to make but I had to save Magnus. [And stop a potential apocalypse, but Magnus had been one of the main reasons for he'd willingly gone to a hell dimension.]

It worked out for me too, but it still isn't easy. If love was easy, it wouldn't be worth trying to keep.

Why don't you think he's the right person?

Most mortals aren't supposed know the truth anyway. There are a few with Clear Sight that can see through the Mist, but most will never know.

[ a shrug. he figures this magnus person is his husband now. nico can't think of any reason why someone would willingly plunge into a place like tartarus except out of love. after all, that's what he did. ]

Magnus... is your husband? It's good that you saved him. I couldn't save the one I loved. He was able to save himself, though. And, well, his girlfriend. The girl he loves more than anything.

[ and that pretty much explains why percy isn't the right person. ]

It's the same in my world. Mundanes are oblivious to the Shadow World unless they have the Sight or get attacked by something they thought only existed in horror movies.

Magnus Bane. He runs the Quarantine bar. He's been busy getting used to being in another reality, but if you want to meet him, I'm sure he'd want to say hello to someone else who knows that the myths are real... and who had similar problems that I did before I came out.

[His husband had a soft spot for lonely, hurting boys or he'd never have let Alec into his life. Or Jace.

For a moment, Alec's expression turns sad, almost wistful despite the happiness he's found with his husband.]

It's hard not being the one to save them, especially when you think you're supposed to. I still feel guilty that I didn't save them, him, the way I intended.

I - uh - went through the same thing when I was realizing how much I loved Magnus. There was a boy I thought was the one, but as soon as I saw how much loved her, I knew it wasn't true. But that doesn't mean you won't find the one that is the one.

I think you mentioned that once. Or maybe it was Max. I'm not sure. Either way, our worlds aren't too different, it seems.

I work for a different bar, so I don't know if I should be seen around the competition. [ a slight quirk of his lips. ] But I wouldn't mind meeting him.

[ a pause then and he gets it. it seems alec gets him and it's a good feeling that makes nico feel like he's not so alone. ]

Kinda sucks, doesn't it? I hope you're right that there's someone out there for me. But I guess we'll see.

It might have been Max. I'm not sure if our worlds are different or not. I've never met a god. Just demons and Angels.

I'll talk to him and see if we can meet somewhere that isn't the competition. He'll probably ask as may questions as Max did.

It does. [Which is an understatement. One that almost causes Alec to touch the parabatai rune, but years of hiding keeps his hand away from his side.] First love is hard to let go of. I was so far in the closet I didn't know there was a way out of it. If I can find someone, then you will.

I've never met angels, so I guess there's that.

[ a shrug. ] I don't mind answering questions. As long as they don't get too personal.

[ because he has a lot he prefers to keep buried. ]

Tell me about it. Sometimes I wonder if I still have feelings for him, but I remind myself that it'll never work out. But if you did, maybe you're right.

[Alec's going to assume that Max didn't mention Nephilim in his conversation with Nico. Since it's not something that they're telling random strangers, he makes a thoughtful noise.]

I don't recommend it. They don't really like being summoned to the mortal world.

I'm glad. Max is used to most people outside the family ignoring his questions. [He'd been just as guilty of that as his parents and other Shadowhunters but he's trying to change that.] I doubt he'll ask anything personal intentionally.

I don't know if we ever completely lose those feelings. They're an important part of our lives. I don't know if I'd want to give it up completely since it helped make me who I am.

That one might not, but that doesn't mean there isn't another one. Multiple soulmates are possible. I know that's true.

I'll take your word for it. I don't think I can summon angels anyway. My skill is more the opposite.

[ there's a shadow of a smirk on his lips as he says it, but it soon disappears and he sobers as alec continues. ]

Then maybe it's the same for me. I guess that means I gotta figure out where this string goes, if it goes anywhere.

Demons or spirits? [Considering who Nico's father is and the convoluted legends about Hell he's heard lately, it could be either.]

I doubt you'd have a string if you didn't have a soul mate. It would just be a piece of twine tied around your finger if it didn't lead anywhere.

Spirits, ghosts, zombies, skeletons. You name it.

I guess I can check to see where it leads again.

[Alec almost asks about the skeletons but is animated skeletons really that weird compared to the things he's seen? Probably not.]

All things related to death?

It could lead to the portal or to someone you wouldn't have met in the reality you're from. Maybe that's why you're here.

I just can't resurrect the deceased. I can call on their spirits, but only for a short time.

[ like he'd tried and failed with his sister. his eyes go a little sad at that and he looks away. ]

I guess it could. I'm not sure if I should keep my hopes up, though.

[He shifts slightly hand going to his side to the parabatai rune beneath his shirt, thinking of Jace and Max.]

Sometimes the dead can be resurrected, but I think it takes more power than a mortal has. Or should have.

Hope is what keeps us going. I should have given up years ago. It's basically forbidden where I'm from, but I still hoped it could happen.

Yeah... Only the gods really have that power.

[ though he thinks of leo and how he seemed to have cheated death. he's still not sure how valdez managed, the very idea being seemingly impossible. ]

Hope... I kinda gave up on hope a while ago. But, if there's an answer somewhere...

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ε → ( 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 ) un; ghostking

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