ᴋɪɴɢʟʏ

Housed in: District Zeta Carries: Wooden Sword Status: Nobody

[phantasmesque]

me: joins citta me: proceeds not to have my shit together and takes weeks to do replies BUT GUESS WHO FINALLY HAS THEIR SHIT TOGETHER!! me. i do.

This is a relationship and starter call for Nico di Angelo! I’m looking for relations of all kinds because this boy needs to talk to people. I’ll be capping this at four (4)! And please be aware that I’ll be using the chat to contact you to form a plot for said thread because i cannot deal with threads that are endless and go nowhere.

This is also my way of saying: please do not just go ‘idk im down with anything’ when i contact you bc i need feedback in my life.

[inqeradarchive]

LO AND BEHOLD, his instincts have come through for him again. The very concept of shadow travel interests him. Magic transportation circles and teleportation magic are great forces from whence he came, but this is an entirely new phenomenon. How could he, a so-called great inventor in a time just beyond him, possibly pass up an opportunity to see such a thing firsthand?

That alone is enough to land the job, but it seems Nico isn’t without proper experience. If he is to be trusted (and Sinbad is inherently trusting of those who remind him of himself at a young age), he’s hired far less qualified men to do bigger jobs than he has available here.

“I’d like to see your shadow travel firsthand, of course, so I can assign you to appropriate tasks, but I see no reason why I shouldn’t hire you on the spot.” With a smile as radiant as the sun, he ushers his newest employee further into the store. “Welcome to Sindria Trading Company. I should show you around before anything else…” But. There is hanging, unspoken but that permeates the air between them, kept silent only because Sinbad knows he is wrong before even asking.

“If I may… do you know a woman by the name of Ren Gyokuen? Your shadow travel sounds like something that certainly would have caught her interest…” Rather, it sounds like something she or another mage of Al-Thamen might have employed in the past. It’s impossible to say, but it likely won’t hurt to ask.

[phantasmesque]

Nico startles when he hears this man has no reason not to hire him immediately. Even if people don’t know who his father is, there’s always the very real chance that they deem the ways he dresses to be off-putting.

“Wow! Um. Thank you!”

But then Sinbad is trailing off, and an acidic uncomfortable feeling pools in NIco’s gut. This is the part where Sinbad regrets hiring him and changes his mind about everything.

It turns out to be a false alarm, though, because Sinbad is asking him about someone he’s definitely never heard of before. Nico shakes his head and says, “No. I’m pretty new to Hive City so....” He trails off and hopes that’s the right answer.

“Oh!” Nico goes intelligently, remembering. “But yeah, um, I could show you. Like I said it works between sectors and far distances but....” He looks around for a shadow large enough for him to sink into. He finds one easily enough.

Shadow travel is terrible for most people. It feels like running impossibly fast down an impossibly long tunnel that threatens not to let you breathe. Nico is used to it, but those times where he has had tag-a-longs have not been fun.

Nico pops out somewhere else in the shop and he holds his hands out questioningly. “Ta-da...?”

[phantasmesque]

“I know someone who’d love to take a look at it,” Nico says. “From back home.” Not that Leo will ever get to see it, though. He’s been spared the absolute joy of being thrown into Hive City. Nico hasn’t been here long enough yet to judge which of them is the lucky one.

Speaking of home, Nico still needs to find out where he’s supposed to be staying in this city.

“It’s nice to meet you Marshall Lee. I’m Nico di Angelo,” he says. He doesn’t think anyone here will understand what son of Hades means, but fear makes him hide the fact anyway. “I’m not really the smiling type and kind of lost, actually.”

[badlittleking-blog]

⌜🎸⌟ ⋯ “Heh. Well, lemme know if they ever show up here then.” It’s a joke, stated with a small laugh but he honestly was never above showing off to whoever would listen. Still, he doesn’t know whether he should make jokes about peoples’ friends being kidnapped to the city or not, then again his humour tended to be darker on most occasions whether anyone liked it or not.

“Nice to meet you too, kid. That’s a shame, though.” He shrugs. ”And the other thing’s also a shame. Weeell, colour yourself lucky, ‘cause I ain’t got nothin’ to do today. So, I guess I could try to help you out findin’ whatever. So, what’chu need to find, Nico?”

[phantasmesque]

Nico nods vaguely, making a mental note to introduce Marshall to Leo if Leo ever became unfortunate enough to warrant a visit to Hive City. He’s sure the two of them would get along great; they both have a certain way of being that Nico just doesn’t understand.

Privately he thanks whatever part of the universe that didn’t throw him to the wolves today when Marshall offers to help.

“District Zeta?” It comes out as more of a question than he means for it to be. “I was told it was where I was going to be staying while I’m here. Know anything about it?”

[badlittleking-blog]

⌜🎸⌟ ⋯ A small, genuine smile instead of his usual smirk comes to his face at the boy’s little joke about stakes and the smile he finally puts on if only for a fleeting moment. 

“Yep. A guitar made out of the family axe, made it myself actually.” The grin returns, obviously being quite proud of himself. “It’s pretty freakin’ rad. Maybe I’ll show it to you when I get it back.”

Marshall just laughs at his comment and floats again, moving to fly around the other and stand nearby. “I’ll rub whatever I want in. But what up? What happened to that smile earlier? Or are you just not the smilin’ type?” A pause. “Should prob’ly know the name of the guy who wants my fridge dead, though.” He chuckles, obviously joking around. “I’m Marshall Lee, the Vampire King.”

[phantasmesque]

“I know someone who’d love to take a look at it,” Nico says. “From back home.” Not that Leo will ever get to see it, though. He’s been spared the absolute joy of being thrown into Hive City. Nico hasn’t been here long enough yet to judge which of them is the lucky one.

Speaking of home, Nico still needs to find out where he’s supposed to be staying in this city.

“It’s nice to meet you Marshall Lee. I’m Nico di Angelo,” he says. He doesn’t think anyone here will understand what son of Hades means, but fear makes him hide the fact anyway. “I’m not really the smiling type and kind of lost, actually.”

[inqeradarchive]

THE MOMENT THEIR EYES MEET, the decision is made. He may be a bit rough around the edges, in a manner of speaking, but any boy who can look him in the eye and speak to him so plainly is worth hearing out. What’s more, what he wants is something that aligns with Sinbad’s interests as well. He’d like to keep an eye on this boy, as his curiosity has been piqued - and a delivery boy would certainly ease both his and Ja’far’s workloads.

“Nico di Angelo.” Foreign, of course, and entirely dissimilar to any name he’s heard. “I’d be happy to give you a place here, but I’d like to know more about you first. For example, I doubt you would’ve have come here looking to become a messenger if you didn’t have prior experience.”

[phantasmesque]

Nico has to resist the urge to look down at his feet and kick at nothing as that feeling of being under prepared creeps up the back of his neck. He’s got plenty experience its just not what anyone would consider traditional.

“I worked for my father,” Nico says in the same voice he uses when he acts as ambassador of Pluto for Camp Jupiter’s senate, and not bothering to mention who his father is. He doubts this man will know the name, but years of rejection make his gut instinct to hide it.

"I delivered messages and packages for him all over the world with my ability to shadow travel. It’s exactly what it sounds like; I use the shadows to travel. My ability seems to be limited here, but it would definitely speed up the delivery process.”

Nico is pretty pleased with his answer until he realized saying he worked for his father seems childish, especially given his age. Hastily he adds, “My father’s clients were all high-profile and could be at times --” he pauses trying to figure out how to word this gently, “-- temperamental.”

Understatement of the year, but it isn’t like he can say that the gods are the most immature, drama seeking bunch of wannabe reality TV stars that need to mind their own buiness he’s ever met and still expect to get the job.

[inqeradarchive]

SALESMANSHIP IS A TRAIT HE LEARNED YOUNG. Be friendly, be open , be polite. Invite them in while maintaining a dignified, professional distance. There’s a tossed salad of tips and tricks and do’s and don’t’s and how-to’s that all too often get thrown out the window when Sinbad meets someone who intrigues him.

This boy is not wholly unfamiliar. They’ve never met, yet there is familiarity found in the way he holds himself, as if… yes… The thoughts come unbidden with memories of a crimson-haired child hot on their heels. Both the child in his memories and the child in his store are alike in that they have seen more than they will say, and perhaps they hold more than they will show.

“Welcome to Sindria Trading Company. I’d ask if there’s something you’re looking for, but I can see you have a plan of sorts already.” It’s something he likes, something he appreciates, even, especially in a man as young as he is. “Go on,” he prompts. “I’m eager to hear what you have to say.”

[phantasmesque]

Nico almost startles when a tall purple-haired man greets him. Almost. He’d have died five times over if he startled that easily. He’s just not used to people being so relaxed around him.

He approaches the counter, glancing at the various wares around the shop. Some look mundane, but some are obviously specialty items.

Awkwardly he stuffs his hands in his pockets as he realizes he didn’t really think this through. He doesn’t have a resume on him, but what would it say anyway? Nico di Angelo: Messenger for the Lord of the Underworld. Yeah. He’s sure that would go over well.

“Uh,” he says intelligently. He tries again. This time he squares his shoulders and takes a silent breath as he looks the man in the eyes. “My name is Nico di Angelo and I was wondering if you needed a messenger or -- because you’re a trading company -- a delivery boy.”

[badlittleking-blog]

⌜🎸⌟ ⋯ He is well aware of the movement one makes when reaching for a weapon, and he should be scared seeing as his healing power isn’t intact. Yet years of rapid healing and being undead make him at ease more than someone should be, though he does sit up straighter, readying to take some form of action. He definitely won’t go down easily if someone decides to attack him in his home. Ultimately nothing comes, and he laughs as the other male realises his loss of weapon.

“You were gonna flippin’ pull a sword on me, kid? What the heck, man. You’re mad rude comin’ in here on me like this and then wantin’ to stab me. I was joking. I’m not gonna hurt you, promise. Well, at least I won’t if you don’t freakin’ attack me.” He’s visibly amused as he speaks and relaxes back again, sitting himself down and leaning back. “Lucky for you, a sword wouldn’t do much. Now a stake, that’s a different story. But I feel you, they took my axe guitar too.”

“I dunno about quests. It’s supposedly some social experiment or somethin’? So I guess you just gotta socialise and do junk for our evil overlord scientists and then you get ‘em back? I’m not one hundred percent sure, but my…twin, said somethin’ about gettin’ ‘em back eventually. I’m guessin’ the whole interactin’ with people thing’s gonna be real hard for you though, huh?”

[phantasmesque]

Nico ducks his head guilty. “Sorry,” he says honestly. “Habit.” He attempts to shoot the guy a quick apologetic smile as he says, “I promise I wont come at you with a stake.” The tiny unsure smile disappears as quick as it came, insecurity grabbing it back. He’s heard the whispers between this campers; kind or not, his smile is apparently very creepy.

“Axe...guitar?” He repeats. He’s seen a lot of weapons in his time, but he’s never seen an axe guitar. He’d be a liar if he said it didn’t sound, well, cool. “Hopefully you get it back soon. It sounds awesome.”

At the mention of socializing, Nico’s face pales. He doesn’t think he’s bad at the whole “talking to people” thing, but from how people react to him, he thinks he might be wrong about that. If the point of him being here is to make friends then he might as well just call up the scientists and tell them they’ve got a failed subject. Nico won’t pass their tests.

“You don’t have to rub it in,” Nico says, hiking his shoulders up around his ears.

[badlittleking-blog]

⌜🎸⌟ ⋯ The Vampire King is used to people being embarrassed around him, although he is more used to him being the cause and yet he still is amused by this incident. Very amused, though lucky he was dressed appropriately enough at the time. He was definitely going to think about staying dressed from then on in his little hut, lest he be peeped by random people appearing in his house. That would definitely be a very quick icebreaker.

He seems awkward, but who wouldn’t be in such a strange situation, though he doesn’t know this person at all so it could have been any number of things. He chooses to assume, however. “Psht, they ain’t my scientists. Gross. I hate those wads. My scientist is, like, more of a prince…princientist. Whatever. But he doesn’t have any affiliation with the ones who jacked our bizz.” He shrugs.

“Yup. Got that right. Can’t even summon one skeleton or suck one soul. Total drag.” He floats upward before leaning over to pick up his dropped guitar, strapping it to his back. “I can…fly. That’s it. For now, I guess. So, what, you teleport or somethin’? That’s pretty cool. Might have to suck your soul out for that power later.” He lets out an evil laugh before grinning. “I’m kiddin’. Maaaybe.” He is absolutely joking.

[phantasmesque]

The ice melts in his hand; he uses that as an excuse to only nod distractedly about the scientist comment and toss the half-melted cube into the sink.

Wiping his hand on his pants, leaving behind a wet smear, he says, “So, what? Do we have to go on a quest or whatever to get them back?” He really hopes not. He’s got a war to worry about back home, never mind the gods testing him.

The guy keeps talking and Nico can’t help but peg on the fact that this guy, whoever he is, can summon skeletons too. It shouldn’t be as surprising as it is, considering the whole demigod thing is all about having weird powers, but Nico’s never met someone else who can do the same kind of stuff he can.

He opens his mouth, maybe to comment on it, when the idea of soul sucking is mentioned and years of living on the battle field make his fight or fight kick in. Nico’s whole posture changes to the defensive, and he reaches for his --

“They took my sword too?”

[badlittleking-blog]

⌜🎸⌟ ⋯ As unexpected things go, he is usually on the giving end of more than a few surprises to say the least. More often than not, he is not on the receiving end and so has his guard down in his own damn home. 

“FRICK!” An actual shock sets in as some guy just walks out of his fridge, hand setting to his chest as though he has a heart to actually jump in surprise, his guitar dropping to the floor with a thud. “Gave me a heart attack, man. Oh…wait. No you didn’t. I don’t even have a pulse.” He laughs to himself, and then laughs at the other male running into the fridge. This person looks confused, though, so he takes an educated guess and speaks up again.

“Looks like you weren’t expectin’ that, huh? Got the short end of the stick as far as creepy, douchebag scientists jackin’ your powers goes? You could prob’ly just reach on in there, grab some ice for that mad fridge beatin’ you took too. Free of charge for your first time attemptin’ to murder my fridge, of course.” He snorts. “Not sure about the second time though. Ain’t never had this happen before.”

[phantasmesque]

It takes Nico a moment to orient himself, work past the stinging in his nose, and comprehend that someones talking to him.

Embarrassment creeps up the back of Nico’s neck and into his cheeks. He’d been hoping no one had seen that fiasco, but he should have known with his luck it was impossible for someone to have not seen it.

“Sorry,” Nico mumbles, ducking his head, but opening the freezer for a bit of ice. “And thanks. I wasn’t trying to murder your fridge. I was trying to leave, but I guess your, uh, scientists have something to do with that.” 

He presses the ice to his face gingerly and crosses his free arm uncomfortably around his middle. No one has ever seemed to be this comfortable around him before and Nico’s finding he doesn’t know how to hold a conversation while he steals ice from their fridge.

“So...,” he says, dragging the word on for a moment. “I guess your powers are on the fritz too?”

[phantasmesque]

@inqerad

See, the thing is, Nico should really be used to his life being shit on by some sort of higher power. Be it the gods (whom Nico really thinks should mind their own business and just stay up in Olympus eating their ambrosia), or these scientists (whoever they are) that are messing with his life, Nico should really be used to it. Hell, it doesn’t even need to be a higher power or whatever, it just needs to be someone Nico’s had vague contact with. They were probably a monster in disguise waiting to kill him anyway.

But he isn’t.

Somehow, he still finds it within himself to be surprised that his life can be further messed up. The surprise hadn’t lasted, though, replaced with a resigned sigh, and unhappy slouch of his shoulders. He might not like his home world, but he had things that needed to be done before he left. Like stopping a war. Did the gods forget about that little bit of information when they dropped him off here, or what?

Which is why Nico’s been in Hive City all of two days and completely unable to sit still. He needs something to do. Which is also why he finds himself outside a trading company of sorts. It’s weird, he thinks, looking for a job, but he did errands for his father before and it was a good distraction.

“Hello?” he calls into the store.

[phantasmesque]

@badlittleking​

Nico shadow travels a lot. It had taken him weeks to really get a handle on his ability. Since the initial learning curve, though, he’s never had a problem with it. No more running into walls, no more accidental trips to China where he passes out for five days upon arrival, and no more embarrassing encounters he really wishes he could scrub from his memory.

Which is why he’s so surprised when he walks into a shadow and out the side of someones fridge. He turns to go back, only to slam face first into the cool metal.

“Uh,” he goes, intelligently, rubbing at his sore nose. His powers seem to be on the fritz, which is weird because he can’t think of anything he’s done recently that would have made his father, ugh, ground him. “What the hell?”

[phantasmesque]

OOC; Hello! My name is Arcade and I play the human embodiment of teen angst Nico di Angelo! I’ve been at citta a handful of times but this time im here to stay i swear to god.

If you’d like to do something with Nico, please like this post which will be capped at 3! for now. I’d really like to plot and build relationships with him, versus one of those threads that just sort of keeps going and nothing ever happens and nothing get resolved and gets dropped. So if you like this post get prepared to have me asking about your character and trying to come up with something for them to do for real.

[phantasmesque]

@turntech-got-head

Nico hasn’t seen his roommate in a long time. Or, well, he supposed they’re not roommates anymore, seeing as he just got reassigned a partner. But that’s just as well considering Nico really fucked up the last time they spoke. 

“you dont know what the fuck youre talking about” flashes through Nico’s mind as he recalls that day in the restaurant. “you dont get to assume shit about people because you feel sorry for yourself”

He’s been doing his best to avoid Dave for the past couple of months. It would be for the best after all, but of course all things must come to an end. 

As Nico’s leaving the apartment complex he sees him. Same red raglan and same dark aviator shades. He’s unmistakeable. 

Dave seems to see him -- its hard to tell with those shades of him -- and Nico suddenly forgets how to do anything. He swallows the lump in his throat and ducks his head, looking pointedly at the ground.

“Uh. Hey,” he says meekly at the ground.

[phantasmesque]

@corvusisms

Nico feel like he’s been out and about doing a lot of things today, when in reality all he’s done is go to the store to get some well needed groceries. The fridge has been scarce. Usually that’s fine because Nico doesn’t eat a lot anyway, but it’s getting very bare. 

Just as he’s hoping the heavy plastic bags won’t rip on him, they do. Out spill an assortment of fruit, and Nico chases an orange a couple of feet before it stops at someones shoes.

“Sorry,” he says. “The bag ripped.”

[phantasmesque]

@prismamagical 

The thing about Nico and animals is: they don’t like him. He can’t blame them, not really. He radiates death. Of course they’re going to avoid him. But as he was leaving one of those cafes, coffee in hand, the smallest meow caught his attention.

He’s been crouched down on the sidewalk for the past half hour petting the first and only animal that has ever liked him.

He looks around and spots a young girl who seems like she might be looking his direction. He worries for a moment that maybe she wants to pet the cat and that he’s in the way, so he backs off some.

[phantasmesque]

@forseeing-exalt 

Nico hasn’t been out much in the past couple of months, falling back into his old way of thinking that it would just be better for everyone if he didn’t exist. But a guy riddled with ADHD can only spend so much time indoors without feeling like he’s going stir crazy. 

So, he’s trying this whole social thing again. Even if he’s not exactly sure were to start.

As he’s trying to think of what it is regular people do to make friends, he turns a corner and collides with another person.

“Sorry,” he breathes. “I should have been paying more attention.”

He’s pretty sure slamming into someone isn’t the way to go about it.

[seerofblight]

Rose decided to go out during the daytime, which was a big mistake. It’s too hot outside, and she should have expected this, honestly. Did that stop her from wearing all black? No. She just figured that she’s going to suffer for her fashion sense. She considered going into one of the many cafés in Koi, but she was incredibly broke. Incredibly.

But, the kid that she was talking to the other day… month?? while, ago, was walking towards her and he was friendly enough. He looked like he was in the same boat as her, with all black and an aviators jacket on.

“I see that you’re suffering just as much as I am today.”

[phantasmesque]

Nico’s honestly a little surprised that Rose even remembers him. On one hand he supposes that the all black and skulls is a good way to remember someone by, but on the other, that hasn’t kept anyone from forgetting about him before.

“Yeah,” he says, albeit a bit awkwardly. He’s been here how long and isn’t used to people talking to him, still? He needs to get out more. But that’s kind of hard to do when the first person you meet rejects you on sight. 

“Not the smartest choice I could have made today, huh?” He says gesturing vaguely to his aviator jacket. It’s too old to be worn out like this anymore, really, but what can he say? He’s attached.  

He clears his throat trying to remember what it is people do when they run into people they know on the streets in blistering heat. “I needed to get out of my apartment for a little, and uh, I’ve been looking for a cafe or something that isn’t spilling over with people.” He stuff his hands into his pockets which, frankly, is a mistake. “I don’t suppose you know where somewhere like that is?”