ghost king

"Getting a second life is one thing. Making it a better life, that’s the trick." NICO DI ANGELO. affiliated with isola radiale.

[stygianking]

hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome back! i was just leaving for work when my reapp was processed, so i couldn’t immediately post, LOL. but i’m happy to be back!!

i’ll get some stuff in working order tomorrow (today?), but in the meantime, feel free to like this post if you want to plot with baby boy sometime soon! i’d also love to work some stuff out for the event when i’m not super tired.

ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH YALL 🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈🏳‍🌈

[stygianking]

hey everyone! in reflection of the recent posts on isola and the result of my life being so tumultuous the last several months, i’m reversing on my earlier decision and will be dropping all my muses for the time being. i don’t intend this to be a permanent decision, as i still have muse for my kids, but i don’t have the energy to put out the activity these characters (and the roleplay) deserve and i need time to get my life back together before i can spread myself out again.

thank you so much to the patience, and the friends i’ve made here! i’ll be back in a few months, promise. and i’m sorry to everyone who was threading & plotting with me-- hopefully once things level out, we can get back to that when i pick my boys back up. take care, everyone 💕

if you’d like to keep in touch outside of roleplay, you can catch me on my public twitter here. 

[stygianking]

@smolstabastard — starter call

“...” nico’s never been fond of watching another kid struggle to pay for things, especially shitty fast food-- mcdonalds isn’t, and will never be, the breakfast for champions, but sometimes you just get what you get. some spirale establishments aren’t the most forgiving if you don’t have enough, though-- that’s what prompts nico to pull out some of his own meager funds, pushing it toward the cashier with a look he’s trying to pass off as nonchalant. “hope that’s enough. i don’t have much more.”

he doesn’t want to like... talk about it, though, so he turns on his heel and immediately tries to make a beeline for the door. one good deed a day is enough socialization for the next month.

[stygianking]

hey everyone! life kicked me in the ass back in feb, so i had to dip out for quite awhile, but i’m back now! i’m still trying to get a solid grasp on nico again though, so i’m gonna be dropping all his active threads unless you’d like to IM me to talk about keeping anything we have going. i just want to start fresh, y’kno?

so of course, i need new interactions! i’d prefer some small stuff, so like this for some blurb starters, capped at three five. thanks for being so patient, and sorry for ghosting (heh) you all! ;w; i’m happy to be back!

[stygianking]

so i completely died because of kh3 (and my new rp blog) and haven’t done shit in a month, lol. i’m gonna get to everything i owe in the next few days-- sorry for the folks i’ve left waiting! 😭🙏🏻 thanks for being patient with me!

[stygianking]

“but your prayers, they have been heard. i am sephiroth.”

[stygianking]

one (alias / name): ignis two (birthday): may 18th three (zodiac sign): taurus four (height): docs can’t decide if i’m 5′4 or 5′5 lmao five (hobbies): games... writing... weeping... games... more crying... im bad at this seven (favorite books): i mean of course, pjo is up there. house of hades is probably my overall favorite out of the whole series, although i really love the last olympian. i’m also including manga because fuck off, so this list also includes dgm and sailor moon. after that, not sure? but i’ve read a whole lot of YA lit especially, so if it came out before like 2013, there’s a solid chance i’ve read it (with a few exceptions). eight (last song listened to): homemade heaven - marina nine (last film watched): brave of you to think i can remember that far (i think the last thing i watched was spider-verse) ten (inspiration for muse): nico’s always been a deeply loved character of mine for ages, and he’s a muse i’ve held onto for years on top of that, so he comes to me very naturally. he’s a rare muse in that my motivation and inspiration for him basically never dies, so it was easy for me to pick him back up after all this time. eleven (meaning behind your url): it’s a play on his self-given title of the ghost king, substituting ghost for stygian after the styx river and his sword, which is forged of stygian iron.

tagged by: swiped from shvon lmao tagging: @hallowboned @preyallure @amidstwalkers @lotusword @ziodie

[stygianking]

( REPOST, DON’T REBLOG. )  READ THE WORD THEN TYPE THE FIRST WORD THAT COMES TO YOUR CHARACTER’S MIND. tagged by: @amidstwalkers & @lotusword tagging: @invitedeath, @lunagony, @hallowboned, @ziodie, @preyallure :3c

ROUGH: ground

HIDE: quiet

FOOLISH: percy

SAD: sister

HATE: fate

LIGHT: sun

DARK: underworld

MOTHER: gone

FATHER: distant

CHILD: past

MARRIAGE: no

LOVE: no

SOFT: pillow

PET: mrs. oleary

DREAM: happiness

DIVORCE: strange

WATER: poseidon

LOUD: leo

ANNOUNCEMENT: prophecy

POWER: overwhelming

FIGHT: necessary

SMACK: head

WHITE: ghost

SICK: lonely

KISS: no

HUG: bianca

HURT: setback

HAPPY: unlikely

[the-meme-stash]

🎈 Send Me Some Feedback! 🎈

How is my portrayal? How is my art/writing/content? Is there anything you want to see more of? Anything you want to see less of? Anything you haven’t seen yet that you want to see? Let me know, I want to know what all of you think!

[stygianking]

“pushy salesmen keep trying to get me to buy their chocolate. listen, what little money i still have is saved for actual food-- mcdonald’s may not be much better for you, but at least it isn’t candy!”

[stygianking]

it starts like a ripple under the surface of nico’s skin. subtle, easy to ignore at first.

ever since arriving here, most of nico’s capabilities have been ripped away from his grasp, or dulled to a point of blindness-- some of it is still there, and sometimes it feels like trying to tear a deadbolt off a cage, knowing something is there but not being able to access it. but some things never truly leave you-- and it may be duller, but nico can still sense the life around him, the swirling force of life so intrinsically tied to his father’s domain.

but this is different. it is a power nico has never felt before, familiar yet foreign in the most uncomfortable ways. nico is accustomed to sensing the powers of his peers-- all demigods can do that, to some degree, depending on how powerful they are-- but this is something else in it’s entirety.

it is power, but it feels... oppressive, invasive the stronger it gets. like a budding headache, yet the ache sits at the tips of the boy’s fingers and under the base of his tongue. whatever this power is, it’s unfamiliar in the worst sense, and nico finally sets down his food to steady his breaths, casting his gaze out towards what feels like the source of it all.

something is wrong.

the son of hades abandons his precariously-bought lunch in favor of wrenching himself out of the booth and beelining for the door, intent on investigating whatever the hell that was despite the discomfort. a surge of power like that feels unnatural. something is very, very wrong.

and nico’s never been good at staying away from danger.

[stygianking]

* rank up! dwarf → subgiant!

“...it’s good to have you back, old friend.” stygian iron may be forged of one of the most lethal substances known to the gods, but that doesn’t sway nico in any way-- in fact, it’s a comfort to have his blade in his hands again, even if the normally familiar hum of it’s power is gone. it still has a wicked edge, and that combined with nico’s vast knowledge of swordplay makes it a far more suitable weapon than that damn stick he was saddled with upon arriving here.

but it’s also a reminder of home. it’s a bittersweet thing to have returned, but much of the edge nico has been on, feeling unsafe without his most trusted weapon strapped to his hip, has receded. he’ll be okay. he can defend himself, now. he doesn’t have to run anymore.

“i’m not letting you go again.”

nico is a subgiant as of 01/27! this is so late because i was waiting for a response for my second ask. but subgiant, woo! transportation nico doesn’t actually know how to use, woo! SWORD, WOO!

[stygianking]

“It’s late, sorry, but happy birthday.” Allen just knew for some reason and spent the last few days going back and forth with himself. He hopes it isn’t too strange coming from him given how odd their interactions have been so far. The gift is practical at least; in the bag he holds out are a pair of black gloves, the durable every day type. “Consider it a thank you gift as well if you want.”

after the first few initial gifts, nico was content to leave his birthday at that, as it was-- he is, after all, still an intensely private person. so it comes as a surprise not only when someone appears at his door several days after the fact, but when nico actually sees who it is.

nico... isn’t sure how to feel about allen, and although they started off on the wrong foot initially, all that business with clones and false memories has left him... confused and hesitant. what little he does retain of their past relationship makes things difficult, and nico’s made it a point to avoid the boy when he can, running from the inevitable.

“...i didn’t expect you to come, but... thank you.” hopefully, those strange memories will fade soon-- they will both be the better for it, nico believes. he clutches the bag, clearly not sure what else to say, mouth pressed into a thin line. if it wasn’t for allen, he might not be standing here now-- saving their clones was for the benefit of both of them. “survival is the name of the game. i’m just glad it helped both of us.”

someday, perhaps, nico will learn to talk to boys people. today is not that day.

[stygianking]

mechanicalaura‌:

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Nico,” Penny said pleasantly, giving him a tiny nod as she spoke. When he didn’t speak again, she stayed quiet, allowing him to decide if the conversation would continue. Despite what others might think, Penny was aware of when she made people uncomfortable, her personality burning like the sun and always eager to try striking up conversation and making friends. 

That, combined with her occasional slips on human behavior and facial expression, sometimes made people shy away from her. She was working on not pressing when others didn’t seem to want her around, even if it took a lot of self control to not force herself into his personal space and fill the silence with her excited babbling. She still wasn’t used to actually getting to talk to people.

“Ah, I have not been here long either. I have found that I really like sitting with the net pups.” He didn’t seem used to talking, or perhaps he simply didn’t want to talk, but Penny had no problem with rambling on now that he at least showed some willingness to talk to her.

“Most of the people I have met have been nice as well. I have actually found quite a few of my friends here and the new people I have met have also been nice.” She frowned briefly, brows furrowing together. “The only person who wasn’t nice was a shopkeeper. He threw me out.”

ah. a fellow lonely soul-- who is, at least in her case, trying to make connections. nico isn’t very good at that, necessarily... but she was nice enough, and nothing about her sent off his warning signals. it didn’t hurt then, to try, did it?

if there was one thing he’d learned about this island in his short time here so far, it’s that it’s definitely forcing nico to interact more with others whether he likes it or not.

but that’s part of survival, he supposes-- you have to reach out, branch out, and make connections if you want to live. and nico is good at surviving, if nothing else.

“animals don’t usually like me much,” nico admits, and as if on cue, the netpup that had been drawn to him suddenly perks it’s ears up at something off in the distance, and goes dashing off. nico almost misses it’s company, but he just folds his hands together to occupy them now that the netpup was gone. “the netpups don’t really seem to mind me much, which is nice.”

nico doesn’t really mind listening to others. if nothing else, he’s good at listening-- hazel can talk his ear off for hours and he’ll listen comfortably, although she rarely gets excited enough to do so. that implies to most people, and penny is no exception. he can’t deny his interest isn’t piqued when she mentioned being kicked out, however, and he casts her a glance. “kicked out? why?”

she seems nice enough, so he can’t fathom why. unless she’s a pickpocket in disguise or something. in that case, well... this sword may be relatively useless, but it’s better than nothing.

[stygianking]

hallowboned‌:

     The cold weather heralds bittersweet memories; Allen is always unsure how to feel during the shift between fall to winter. He likes the feel of the crisp air, the chill of each breath, the promises of spring buried beneath the snow. He hates winter too, for what it reminds him of—how he found and lost Mana around the same time of year. It makes his heart ache along with his scars.

This year, Allen is more at a loss than he has ever been; the weight of everything seems to steadily pile on his shoulders until he’s curved and crushed under so many emotions and thoughts. So much has happened in such a small amount of time and maybe that was a good thing. It meant he was able to keep moving, to force himself to look ahead, no time to think back and regret when he was constantly focused on trying to stay alive.

Now, he’s forced in one spot, has to stew in his own feelings and loneliness because he’s stuck. It makes him hate this island all the more each day—his inability to move forward with his life, his promises. Never has Allen felt so stagnant, so trapped in one place because he never allowed himself to be, was never allowed to be. From the circus, to Mana, to Cross, his life was never one for sitting still and being in one city for longer than a few weeks’ time. Even the Order scratched that wanderlust itch of his with the constant missions across the continent.

At least there are things to do, mindless as they tend to get after awhile. Allen finds himself oftentimes going back to the theatre in his wanders. It tugs at the part of him that misses street performing, the part that misses Mana. Going there are always puts him in a sullen mood, however, but he always goes back at least once a week.

He knows well that he shouldn’t be in a crowded place when his mood is this particularly sour and he finds himself more irritable than normal due to a number of things. It doesn’t help either that people keep bumping into him, so the last straw is in the form of a run in and an apology given with little care.

“ Please, watch where you’re going. ” His tone thick with annoyance and mouth pressed into a tight-lipped frown. “ You do know you’re supposed to say excuse me before running into someone, correct? ”

it’s just nico’s luck that the kid who had the misfortune of being on the bad end of nico’s clumsiness is already in what looks to be a foul mood. nico had been hoping that the victim would wave him off in their own attempt to get wherever it is they’re going, but clearly that isn’t the case-- nico finds himself blocked from continuing forward by the other male, who clearly is irritated with him.

well, shit.

“it’s not my fault this crowd is so packed, i’ve been bumped into plenty of times as it is.” nico hates crowds, anyway-- it makes him feel antsy, reminds him of the anxiety he felt navigating through the fields of asphodel in hopes of finding bianca, only to come across hazel instead. he’ll never regret saving hazel, but... he hated that feeling, moving through so many vacant ghosts and having to feel their regret and misery in short potent bursts.

it’s called, what? claustrophobia? nico wouldn’t say it’s a phobia, but he sure as hell doesn’t care for it. he prefers a much wider berth, so he isn’t a happy camper, either.

just as nico’s about to try and reason with the other boy, someone elbows nico in the back, and nico goes stumbling forward, hand swiping out to latch onto the white-haired youth’s shoulder to stabilize himself before they both go tumbling into the crowd. thank the gods for his good reflexes-- it came with the whole demigod package, sure, but it’s one of the few things he didn’t regret about being a demigod in the first place.

nico realizes he’s lingered just a bit too long once he’s recovered and snatches his hand away, however, sending allen a look somewhere between irritated and apologetic. “i really do mean it-- i’m sorry. this crowd is crazy. if you could move, i’m just trying to get to the exit, right over there...”

if the kid can’t tell nico is visibly uncomfortable at this point, this is a recipe for disaster.

[stygianking]

dreamb0rne‌:

     You decide to cut losses, and turn the Lodestar off. There’s a chime as it does so, partially muffled by your hand as you re-pocket it. It makes another muffled noise against your phone.

     Typically, you’d use its text-to-speech function to have it talk for you, but you didn’t feel like you had to (for the moment), so you leave your phone alone. Your wings flick downward as though to dust them off, then move them closer to the stranger.

     You reach out to take Nico’s hand in between your wings, and with your finger you would slowly write letters upside-down for him to “read” them the right side up.

L   O   S   T       ?

     The hand would be closed, then reopened. You’d write it a second time, this time slower, just in case you went too fast.

nico watches with a blank expression as the being closes whatever it was they had been trying to show him, eyes wide at the marvel of technology and machinery disappearing at a click. even in his world, they didn’t have anything like it-- sure, ‘ipads’ or whatever it is they’re called are pretty neat, but nothing like that.

that being said, he’s a bit relieved that it’s disappearing for the time being. nico has always worked better with actions over all else, and he’s picked up on the fact that this being doesn’t seem to speak by now. that leaves them at a bit of an impasse--

until it goes the practical route, taking nico’s hand into their wings and drawing out the letters for him. nico isn’t the best with english letters (the same as any other demigod, really), so he doesn’t pick up on the meaning until the second time, brain slowly working to put two and two together.

“...lost? is that what you’re asking me?” he says the words slowly, clearly unsure. “no... no, i’m not lost. i don’t think so.” not physically, anyway.

[stygianking]

preyallure‌:

and, oh, he’s bold!

it’s not exactly the sharpest of responses, really, but a returning snipe is more than grown men have mustered when faced with even a reflection of her true nature.

she can’t help but laugh – a giggle from between slightly-splayed fingers as she covers her smile with one hand.

her eyes travel, then, from his face to his “sword”, and she extends her talons to display their full majesty – too-long for human hands, spindly, sharp as any blade. it is both a threat and prideful preening, on her part, but her expression remains playful, amused.

“ but you’re not running, are you? ah, i do love the type that stands their ground. ”

she examines him with a disdainful sort of curiosity, noting that, in all likelihood, he has been disarmed by their hosts just as she has – but she is malleable enough to be her own weapon, beholden to no “harmless” replacement. 

they trade a fleeting, limited life for depths of emotion she can only want for herself. stalking, killing, wanting, always wanting.

– and maybe this boy will prove a fun distraction. 

she could twine his courage around her fingers and rip it away to reveal an underlying helplessness that makes itself known when they realize escape is hopeless, or test the boundaries of his determination until he broke and fled – then, and only then, would she give chase.

decisions, decisions. all to be made as she sweetly smiles, and says,

“ don’t worry. i have no plans to eat you, if that’s what you’re worried about. even if i was the type, you’d hardly be a meal. ”

when you’ve been hunted by monsters, demons, and everything in-between for as long as nico has, you get pretty tired of their selfish pride real fast. and nothing about this thing-- whatever it is-- is helping, if not making it worse. he already has a terrible enough opinion about monsters as it is, so when one waltzes up and gets a kick out of him being wary like an intelligent person-- it’s a bit annoying.

because he’s not scared. at the end of the day, nico’s never lost in a battle of wits in combat, no matter how outnumbered or disadvantaged he might be. his wooden sword might be useless, but that’s not the only skill at his disposal. and the fact that this demon doesn’t recognize that is already to his advantage.

“good. you would’ve been screwed if you tried, and didn’t have a backup plan on how to spend your night.”

maybe it’s not the smartest to provoke the demon slightly, but showing anything that could even be mistaken as fear would be worse. nico unsheathes his wooden sword, holding it at his side-- even if it’s much use for cutting, it still has a good weight to it, and he can use it to stun it if he has to, either through blunt force or throwing it somewhere critical. and the shadows still answer nico’s call, albeit far more muted than before. he isn’t in danger.

“i recommend you find someone else to toy with, monster. i’m not here to play your games.”

wooden or not, nico is still one hell of a swordsman, and no amount of handicaps imposed by their kidnappers will stop him from doing what needs to be done.