~ Tнє Pαяα∂σχ Hσυѕє ~ now back to regularly scheduled chaos

L | Pride Room | strider

L gave a small nod, unperturbed by the comment. He didn’t see it in any sort of negative way. He had called himself paranoid, too, it was a fact, nothing more. It was troublesome at times, though...he had to be careful with it, had to make sure he wasn’t being unreasonable, as he tended to be if he let it go too far.
“It seemed to take traits and make them stronger,” he mused, giving a small shrug. “Which may have been why Czeslaw reacted that way, as well. I don’t know him very well, so it’s hard to say.”
He knew that Orpheus had probably never seen him that way before. That vulnerable, that scared...there were very few people who had seen him that way, and he hoped to keep it that way. He didn’t like it. And even though he trusted Orpheus not to use it against him, he was uncomfortable that it had happened in the first place. He could never predict this things.
He looked at the flags again. It felt...not cruel if the House. Morally dubious, but as it had probably known he wouldn’t object to telling Orpheus, not as bad as it could have been.
He focused on Orpheus as the other person spoke, and gave a small nod. “That makes sense. Language isn’t difficult for you, in this context. It’s already fairly neutral, at least, pronouns are.”
He was glad to hear that, since he wasn’t sure he believed for even a moment that his crew would be at all respectful.
“Does it bother you at all?” He added, frowning a little. “That’s the wrong question, actually. It doesn’t matter whether it bothers you, it matters what you would prefer regardless. It’s also not hard to change what I call you. There aren’t even any more syllables in ‘they’ as opposed to ‘he’ or ‘she’. There is no more energy expended. It costs me nothing, and I would be pleased to be able to do anything that helps you be more comfortable.”

Zach - Living Room - Madoka

“What you sleep in??” Zacharie was aghast. Incredible. He had seen her in a variety of outfits, but for him, only one was ever necessary. Clothes were mostly for looks anyway. So what was the need for style if you were asleep?

“Your world continues to impress me,” he asserted. He was pleased to see that what he had to sell caught her interest, but didn’t bother to push anything on her. He only did that to people he didn’t know, or didn’t like. And he usually didn’t like people when they simply had bad taste. Zacharie could trust Madoka to know what she wanted.
“And that’s quite all right. But you know, discounts are available to you!” He pointed his index finger upward in that moment, a grin audible behind his mask.
“Well, it’s a bit odd for this place to bring you in when you’re in the middle of sleep. But I hope it is a good sleep.” That was what people said, right? “In the meantime, would you care to explore? I personally don’t care if it’s merely around this room, but this place is full of new hidden wonders every time I check.”

Zacharie - Living Room - Madoka

"Ah, sleepy is fine. Sleepy is just fine. Aren't we all a little sleepy, all the time?" The merchant was already zipping up his backpack and hoisting it onto his back when Madoka gave the go-ahead to explore. "If we weren't, then everything would be crystal clear. We would know everything, and everyone's intentions. But alas, life is something like a dream."
He seemed to be letting his gaze drift away the entire time, perhaps marvelling at the Paradox House, or perhaps just letting his thoughts wander on the topic of sleepiness.
"Yes! Let us go into the hallway!" It wasn't as big of a task as he made it out to be. He marched with legs outstretched fully, until he arrived at the door and swung it open. It wasn't much like a video game character to hold the door for someone else. Instead he did what he usually would and simply waited on the other side. Then he whistled at the distance of it. "I'm so excited to walk through the same thing over and over." Was he serious?

"Well now, I'd like to hear about what is happening in your world. As one of the few constant individuals I've come across here, you're probably along my path for a reason. Care to share? The good, the bad, the troubles?"

Watari | Zombie room | ®Hawkpath® strider |

"Ah, I see," said Watari mildly, taking the information that was presented to him in perfect stride despite the bits that didn't quite fit together very well.

The reason for this, of course, had to do with the fact that he had been working in orphanages for over ten years now. The child he'd been on his way to pick up from the police station was, of course, his first ward to be welcomed into the newly christened Wammy's House, but he was no stranger to social work and neurodivergence. The fact that he didn't grasp what was being communicated did not make it inherently nonsensical. It simply meant he needed to expand his mind to fit into it.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, as they neared the top of the flight of stairs. It was faint - but there was an eerie groaning sound carried on the air now - along with a shuffle of feet.

They were not alone.

Zacharie - hallway - Madoka

Zacharie listened with a pep in his step at the first part, often looking both ways in case one of the doors looked particularly interesting.
"Ah..." he murmured solemnly when she mentioned the witch. "My my, that certainly sounds like trouble." He couldn't help but feel like he had heard about this before. And he remembered others from Madoka's world appearing here, too. But he didn't want to alarm her by jumping into that. Instead he simply lended her a listening ear.
"But I'm sure you'll prove to be an excellent... 'magical girl'?" He said the words with emphasis, slightly stilted, as though it was an unfamiliar language.
Zacharie stopped in front of a perfectly ordinary door, having a good feeling about this one. He tapped his chin--well, the chin area of his mask--and nodded. "Ah yes... I think I want to go in here. What do you think?"

Starling | Living Room | --cato phoenix

“Wait, you were the FIRST?” Starling’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That must have been super confusing,” he laughed, wondering how she’d managed. Honestly, if he had to get trapped in a multiverse roadstop, the best thing that could have happened was running into someone who’d been blinking for ten years. That was a hell of a lot of experience. “Oh, really?” Starling responded to her next comment, considering it for a minute. When Arlo mentioned multiple people coming from the same--or similar?--worlds, he couldn’t help wondering if he was the only one here who knew about the Spectra at all.

After hearing Arlo's explanation of Xaphorda, Starling found himself struggling to find words. “Wow. Wow,” he replied in awe. “It really sounds like something I would hear in a tall tale.” He smiled sheepishly. “A continent of magic… I wish I could see something like that.” The most “magical” thing that had happened where he was from was probably-- Well, he couldn’t even think of anything. That was how mundane life was in the Burrows. Training, eating, sleeping, reading the old texts… rinse and repeat. It wasn’t much of a life, but it was all he knew.

(Until now, anyway. Now, he was moving aboveground.)

But the shades, those sure sounded ominous from what he'd heard--And the group of humans hunting the magic users and non-humans. "Why are the humans coming after the--the ra'Seirri?" he asked, pretty certain he was pronouncing it wrong. "And the shades... they feed on humans, right? Are there people hunting them, too?" People on Earth had given up on "Hunting" the Spectra, at least in the open. But everyone had this... this HOPE, that the Governors had some kind of master plan. A plan that would get the humans back aboveground, but safe this time.

Starling’s attention was drawn back as Arlo began to remove the wrappings on her hands. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he watched the green energy sparking over her fingers. It was magic--REAL magic. The kind you heard about in whispered stories, told from one mouth to another. He was completely dumbfounded.

“Whoa,” was all Starling could say for a moment, feeling like the gravity of the situation was finally starting to hit him. This is either the craziest dream I’ve ever had--or it’s real. Which is even more insane. “That…. That is--” He paused for a moment to catch his breath, which had somehow escaped him. “Sorry,” he said finally, looking embarrassed. “I just. I’ve never seen anything like that before. It’s like I’m dreaming or something.” But he had a feeling, sooner rather than later, he was going to find out just how real this all was. His eyes drifted to the hallway again, just for a second.

Starling’s hopes sank a little when Arlo said she hadn’t noticed any other blinkers knowing about the Spectra. But at least there were other people from EARTH. Maybe their Earths were a little bit different, but hopefully they would have SOME common ground. (Hopefully, hopefully…) He wondered if there were other people from Xaphorda in the Paradox House, or if Arlo was alone. The thought was a little lonely, so he hoped there were. "Are there any other people from your world that come here?" he eventually decided to ask, hoping it wasn't too prying.

When she brought up the possibility of entering the hallway--one of those dangerous rooms she had mentioned--Star felt a rush of adrenaline from the tips of his fingers. He pursed his lips in thought, hesitating for just a second. How would he fare in a room that was dangerous even to people with magic, like Arlo? But he tried to smile, and half-jokingly stretched his arms above his head to loosen up. “You know, I probably should just get it over with,” he said in mock resignation, nodding his head firmly. “Lead the way, Captain.” Starling took a step to follow her, but paused for a second as he thought of something. He dug around in the pockets of his uniform until he pulled out a small object--

Just a pocket knife, which he flipped open and held out in front of him with a nervous grin. “No powers, here, so this will have to do,” he joked, but he was sure she could see the way his hands had started to shake. Dammit, embarrassing.

L | Pride Room | strider

“Mm. That’s exactly what I was thinking,” L replied, expression pleased. “You wanted to give Hook another chance, and you haven’t given up on the House. You’re not prone to the sort of anger or hate that causes it to be dangerous to come out, in my world. The only thing I was really concerned about was a lack of understanding...and, perhaps, sadness on your part. Regret, perhaps, that I wasn’t who you’d thought I was. The need for distance while you process it...these are all reactions that aren’t uncommon in my world, unfortunately.”
It wasn’t difficult for him to change how he spoke, the gendered language he had been using falling away immediately. It didn’t apply to Orpheus, and he hated being incorrect. Even if it wasn’t a matter of respect, it would have been a matter of accuracy.
He was enjoying this. Even if it hadn't been easy. At first, even if he’d been anxious...this was going better than he could have imagined. Orpheus trusted him to tell him how they identified, and L trusted them back, even with the context of his world, even with the things he’d seen and the things he’d been through...well. He thought he’d have been very, very injured if Orpheus had surprised him, here.
But everything was alright. Orpheus was no different than they had been before, aside from the updates made to their file in L’s head. Which didn’t change who they were as a person.
He met Orpheus’ eyes, his own widening just a little in surprise. “Oh…” he breathed, almost puzzled. “Well...your identity and comfort is important to me. Your reaction to gender neutral language was...well, even if the other way doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t make you feel incredible, does it? There is a certain term...gender euphoria...which is what it reminds me of. You may not have been uncomfortable, but that’s not a good enough reason not to adjust language that isn’t correct.”
He glanced at the cookies again, and nodded. He knew precisely what Orpheus meant. “Yes...the House continues to give me food I can’t safely eat.” He replied, tone almost as mournful as the look he was giving the sweets. “I’m also hungry. Which makes it even more annoying.”

L | Hallway | mintedstar/fur

Well, Kid was certainly being evasive. He seemed determined not to talk about this, and L considered trying to see why, before he let go as best he could and followed Kid into the hall.
“Oh, nothing too specific:” he replied, eyeing the doors. He considered choosing one at random, which was the only real way to choose one at all, since there was no way of telling what might be behind them. “Merely trying to tell what you’ve been doing lately. I haven’t seen you in a while, after all.”
He stopped at a door raising an eyebrow. It was as good as any other. He opened it and stepped through, trusting Kid to follow.

L | Pride Room | strider

L nodded, a slightly more serious expression coming over his features at the comment. Orpheus was right, of course. L would much, much prefer to deal with someone being angry with him than someone being close enough to be genuinely disappointed in him. There weren’t a lot of people who could have been, but Orpheus was one of them. He would have hated it if Orpheus had had that disappointed expression people wore when someone close to them did something negatively unexpected.
There were a lot of labels. L didn’t know whether they were helpful or not, he jusr knew they were there because people did identify with them. He didn’t think it was fair to shove anyone in a box. But...the labels themselves, those weren’t bad, nor necessarily. As long as no one felt forced into them.
It was just language. Intended to describe, not dictate. If a synonym didn’t fit, you found a better one, you didn’t get angry with it.
He couldn’t help being grateful for Orpheus. They were clearly more than fine with L’s identity - and their own, too - not to mention understanding of how he’d felt. L tried to be as understanding, but he struggled sometimes to completely understand where other people were coming from, even if he tried.
“Thank you,” he replied quietly, dipping his head. “Even if you didn’t see any reason to react badly, thank you for accepting me.”
He looked up again, eyeing the cookies for a long moment before glancing at the flags again, taking them in. “I’d like a distraction. And that is a good one,” he decided, stepping away from the table and beginning to walk around the room instead. He stopped, pointing at the flag. “This is the bisexual or biromantic flag,” he explained, gesturing. “For people who are attracted to two or more genders. And this…” he moved on and paused again. “This is the pansexual or panromantic flag. It’s an attraction to all genders. This is the genderqueer flag, meaning people who don’t identify with the gender assigned at birth...this is the non-binary flag, which is similar, but more specific. You can be genderqueer without being non-binary. You can’t really be non-binary without being genderqueer. And that...is the transgender flag.”
He hesitated, touching it. “Similar to genderqueer, in fact. Very much so. Not always a binary difference, either...you can be non-binary and transgender.”

L | Pride Room | strider

L wasn’t exactly starving, but he wasn’t sure when the last time he’d eaten was, either. He had enough trouble with time when things were normal.
Now? He’d blinked in too many times in the last five minutes. He’d been through too many things. He was on the run, he was hiding, he didn’t know what time it was, he couldn’t be sure whether it was dark or light outside, only that he was cold. And, yes, he was hungry. Though that seemed low enough on his list of concerns to be safely ignored for the moment.
The truth was, he didn’t know what happened now. He thought he’d be able to get to Watari safely, but he also thought he might now. He just wasn’t sure which was more likely. His chances of survival were loud in his head - over 50%! - but there was still so much he didn’t know
He met their eyes, searching them. “I do need to thank you,” he murmured back, tone serious. “For all you’ve done. I’ve had friends, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a best friend. And you know how little I trust others.”
He tilted his head to look at his fingertips. “I haven’t helped you as much as I’d have liked…” he admitted, frowning a little. He’d need to think of more he could do for them, in the future. He wanted to make sure their relationship wasn’t one sided...he knew that he was selfish sometimes. This seemed like a good way to ensure he didn’t hurt them with that. Especially given how selfless they were naturally.
He watched them move, unsure what they were doing, but not worried. His eyes widened a little as he took the flag down, and he tilted his head, stepping closer.
What are you -
And then there was a flag wrapped around him and he looked down at it, surprised. “Oh…” he whispered. It was flimsy and clearly not meant to be a blanket, but he hugged it closer anyway, as if it could possibly provide him with any warmth.
It could. Just not the kind his body used.
He loved this flag.
He looked back at Orpheus.
Was it possible to love a friend?
He asked his heart.
His heart said yes. Yes it was.
“Safety,” he repeated, voice small and fragile. Like he couldn’t quite imagine what they might mean, but he wanted to try,

Orpheus didn’t know how likely it was that L would get to safety in the near future. They didn’t know how long it would take Watari to find him, they didn’t know how much more L had to worry. But here, in the House, the two of them were safe. Well, mostly. This room seemed pretty safe, and now that they had done what it had asked, it seemed as good a time as any to learn about L’s world and the community he was describing. A community that Orpheus knew they would be part of, if they had lived at the same time as L. There were a great many things that were preferable about the time they were living in… there was very little danger for identifying as they did, for loving more than one gender, for being something that wasn’t quite male and wasn’t quite female. But that lack of danger meant that they didn’t feel much camaraderie with people who identified similarly. There was no sense of a community that had fought together as there seemed to be in L’s world. Orpheus hated the stigma and the hate that L had to face, but they were a little bit jealous of the community. Of the flags. Maybe they could be a part of it, if only tangentially.
They looked up at L, a tiny smile touching their face at the sight of L pulling the flag closer. It was something important and beautiful, and even if they could have claimed the flag for themself as well, it seemed right around L’s shoulders. Besides, the one they had chosen for themself seemed more specific anyway. They tied a knot just tight enough that it hung around their neck, just a little bit looser than the ever-present bandana.
“I think this all is… is amazing,” Orpheus admitted, looking up at the countless flags, the ones that L hadn’t explained yet… there were some that L wouldn’t be able to explain, some that weren’t as common but that rung with truth for the people who made them, the people who claimed them as they own. Orpheus didn’t know what it was like to belong. They had never really belonged anywhere… they travelled with Hermes, so they had never had a constant home, they had never really had any friends… but this, knowing that there were enough people in L’s world that felt as they did, that had made a word and a flag and a symbol… that felt an awful lot like belonging.

Nico listened to Sam’s story, eyebrows raising at the description of some of the places Sam had been. Nico was fascinated by history. He knew a lot about the time he had grown up, and he knew even more about Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. That knowledge had kept him alive. He didn’t know that much about the times Sam was describing, which was perhaps why he was so interested in hearing more. He wanted to hear what people were like around the time the pyramids were built. He wanted to hear about British history, because he had never given it much thought. The gods had made their home in England, once. Nico just hadn’t paid that much mind.
“That sounds amusing,” Nico replied softly, letting his mind wander as he wondered distantly what would happen if someone accidentally invented the fan several centuries too early. “I bet the people who lived there would have thought it an absolutely brilliant invention if they had seen it. It’s hard to believe they weren’t overheating at all… I’ve heard Egypt is pretty hot.” He shifted his gaze away from Sam and back towards the sky, wondering at the platforms for a few moments before he forced himself back to a seated position.
“Why not,” he replied, dusting himself up and hopping to his feet. “Guess we better see what the House wants this time.”