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

Varian | Pyrotechnics Squad | strider Cloverleaf

Varian nodded a little, brightening at the idea. He wanted to take one apart. He wanted to see how it worked. Maybe if they let him, he’d be able to take a few back to his lab/basement. He didn’t know how many he needed. One of every kind would be best, but he didn’t want to deprive anyone of the opportunity to shoot them into the sky. He didn’t want to deprive himself of that either, to be fair.
He looked at Wylan, searching the other boy’s face as he explained. His entire face lit up as he realized what Wylan was saying, and he focused on him, bouncing just a little bit on his heels.
“Are you a criminal?” He asked eagerly. “Ever heard of Flynn Rider? He’s a thief! He’s only like, the coolest person ever! I am his biggest fan ever, he’s the best. Do you know him at all?”

| Loki | Pyrotechnics Squad | Wylan, Varian |

"You're terrible at keeping secrets, aren't you?" Loki observed as Wylan talked. For someone who was supposedly part of a criminal gang, he talked about it pretty openly and also probably stammered and blushed when he lied. Although he did that when he was seemingly telling the truth as well...

"Who's Flynn Ryder? We're all from different realms, so I doubt that anyone here would know some petty criminal from whatever place you're from?" Loki told Varian.

They left the firework they'd set up for the multiple fireworks at once idea, then rummaged around in the first box they'd opened for another roman candle. There were plenty of fireworks, and only two had been set off, which was a shame. They lit the firework with sparks from their hand, sending a trail of blue sparks arcing into the sky with a loud pop.

Orpheus glanced up at the sky, surprised as a firework exploded there. They hadn’t seen it coming, and it was louder than they had expected, but they had to admit that it was beautiful. They wished that there was something like this in their world, but they thanked the House mentally one more time for everything it had given them that they wouldn’t have been able to experience without it. This was… well, this was certainly worth a thank you.
“Oh!” Orpheus replied, immediately casting their eyes towards the ground. It took them a few moments before a soft “Ah-ha!” issued from their lips and they stood up with the golf pencil pinched between their fingers.
“Is this your golf pencil?” they asked, tilting their head. It was rather small… it was cutem, they had never seen a pencil like this before. They had a feeling their version of ‘pencil’ was slightly different than Victoria’s.

“What?” Wylan asked, eyes wide as he turned to look at Loki. “I mean… I can keep secrets in my world just fine! I haven’t been caught and killed yet, so that’s a pretty good sign. And it’s not like I told you anything important about the Dregs, at least not anything important. If I die, they just get a new demolitions expert. I would just really rather not die!” He crossed his arms over his chest, brow raising a little bit as he looked at Varian. He wasn’t really sure that being a criminal was ‘cool,’ it was just what he had to do in order to survive after leaving his father. He didn’t think there was any glory in it, just that it kept him alive and ensured he would have enough food to eat every night.
Wylan was about to say something when Loki lit the firework and his eyes shot up, catching on the brilliant blue sparks.
“It’s amazing,” he gasped, the light from the explosive reflected in his eyes. He eagerly picked up one himself, ferrying it to where they were going to explode multiple at once. Excitement bloomed in his chest and he pulled out a match before looking to Loki to see if they would give him the go-ahead. He didn’t want to make a mistake and light it too early.

Varian | Pyrotechnics Squad | strider Cloverleaf

Varian didn’t mind that Loki wasn’t quite as much of a criminal as Wylan was. As far as he was concerned, it was cool that anyone could break the law. He broke rules all the time, but not rules that the king had given him. Just…like bedtime rules and such.
He nodded, mentally dismissing the title, then looked at Wylan, watching as they both began to light the fireworks. He bounced a little, clapping his hands in his excitement, then going quiet and watching the blue flames. He liked them…Loki was fascinating, he decided. He loved to watch them do their magic…he was even tempted to ask if they could teach him, but he decided against it for the moment, in favor of fireworks.
They were beautiful. Every firework he’d seen so far was beautiful. He couldn’t wait for more.

| Loki | Pyrotechnic Squad | Wylan, Varian |

Loki stood back and watched the fireworks explode into the sky, scattering the colorful sparks against the black canvas of the sky. These ones had a louder boom, that kind that you could feel thudding in your chest. It was exciting. Varian looked like a kid in a candy store, totally enamored by the colorful sparks.

Loki paused as Wylan softly voiced his question. Something in the way he asked was... searching, hopeful. Oh, Loki thought, tilting their head slightly as Wylan asked.

"Mr., Ms., any of that- it's too constraining, too decisive." Loki shook their head. "I'm not either, fully. Sort of both, but also other. Depending on the day." They flashed a smile, one that was probably the most genuine yet. They lied about a lot. But never about who they were.

"And you?" They asked, offering a space for Wylan to say anything, if he wanted to.

“Oh,” Wylan whispered, freezing as he looked up at the sky. He didn’t think he could quite look at Loki, though he did catch their smile out of the corner of his eye. There weren’t very many people that he knew of that were… well, like him. People who looked at gender and felt like the way society defined it wasn’t quite right. People who wanted to be more or different than what they were told they ought to be. There was something about finding someone similar – Loki’s experience wasn’t exact, but it was close enough – that gave Wylan a warm feeling in the center of his chest. It was like there were fireworks going off inside of him instead of just outside.
“Depending on the day?” Wylan asked, forcing his gaze down. It wasn’t something he had ever heard before, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t disrespect Loki’s version of their own gender.
“I guess… I like ‘Mr.’” Wylan said tentatively, biting his lip and looking up at Loki to make sure it was okay for him to continue. “Which wouldn’t be an issue except that the whole world seems determined to use ‘Ms.’” He glanced over at Varian, giving a thumbs up so the other boy didn’t feel excluded or anything. “I’ve never met anyone else who isn’t what other people assume. At least when it comes to gender.”

Wylan’s first impression of the House was that it was strange. There were people and things he didn’t understand, and it seemed like things changed themselves around all the time. It was as uncertain as Ketterdam, but at least in the city you always had a vague idea of who was in charge. Here, that was the biggest mystery. Wylan tried not to let it bother him – it was how it was, but it was frustrating. Perhaps Wylan was a bit of a scientist at heart, because he hated the idea of these answers eluding him.
Either way, it seemed that his experience here had been monumentally different from Xander’s. It seemed that the people he had met had been just a little bit nicer. Maybe… maybe he could be the one to prove to Xander that not everyone who ‘blinked’ was mean.
“I was about to go into a room last time,” Wylan replied with a small shrug. “I disappeared before I could, though. I guess I understand the pull. Even if it’s dangerous to go into rooms, out here is pretty boring. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a little bit of adventure, even if that adventure means going somewhere dangerous.” If there was one thing that Wylan had learned over the past several months, it was that you never really lived if you never did anything dangerous. You never came to appreciate your life until it had been at risk.

Zuko beaded one more trans flag onto Ronan’s bracelet, then glanced at it for a long moment. He looked up at Ronan, then, to avoid looking at him for any longer, he wound it around his own wrist to determine if it was big enough. It seemed to fit around without being too snug or too likely to fall off, and it seemed to him that Ronan had a similar size wrist to him. Not that he was going to get a tape measure and actually figure it out, but… he put one more charm on – something that looked vaguely like a girl, except with cloven hooves – before deciding that would be good enough. He didn’t want to hear Ronan say things about the Fire Nation. They were all things that Zuko had thought, but that he had forced himself to stop thinking. The Fire Nation was his home, and what they were doing was good. What they were doing had to be good, otherwise it didn’t make sense. Otherwise, his home had no honor. His father had no honor. And if his father had no honor, then how was Zuko supposed to get his own back? It was frustrating, and it was easier to just believe that the Fire Nation was doing a good thing. That he was doing his best to return because it deserved to be fought for. At the very least, its citizens were worth leading.
“Romulus?” Zuko asked, raising his eyes to meet Ronan’s as he finished tying the bracelet off. He didn’t understand the reference. It was easier to ask about that than it was to respond to anything else. He couldn’t say the Fire Nation sucked. He could say a lot of things, but that would be treason, and he wasn’t a traitor. He had to go home. He had to believe they were right.

Kid | Forest Room | w/l @ hawkpath

There was a moment where Kid opened his mouth, as if to protest. And then he closed his mouth again.
Yes. Yes, that made sense. What L was saying was along the lines that he felt and it was true. He had lost his goal. Or rather, his goal had quite literally become him. Perhaps his immortality was more of a scapegoat.
And the rest of what L said? It caused Kid to wince. It made him look down at his hands again and think about that. For a long time.
"You're right," he said after a long time. It made sense and it was how he was feeling.
"That doesn't change that I don't know what to do about it though," he said, with a sigh that he found hard to hold in. "What do you think? If you lost the ability to be a detective, how would you find a new goal or purpose? What's holding you up?"

Sam | for Samuel room | ®Hawkpath® strider

Samuel wanted to help Kelsier, he really did. But he didn't know how to. And he didn't want to leave Kelsier either, but maybe it would encourage him to leave along with them, leaving Hades behind. But he didn't think that that was going to work. Not from Nico's hesitation as well. So Sam kept close to Nico, swallowing hard and trying to take his words to heart.
"It's hard," he whispered. It was hard when Hades was looking at him with such eyes, seeing the monster in Sam despite the boy's best efforts.
And then Kelsier was turning toward Nico, saying things which Sam didn't understand. Not in the least. None of it made sense and he was half opened his mouth to ask what allomancy was. He'd never heard the word before. But then Sam glanced at Hades again and just edged closer to Nico.
"Why does he have to make this his fight?" he whispered to himself. It seemed so wrong that he was doing these things, that he wanted this much power. But that was exactly it, wasn't it. It was the power which was driving Hades along. He might have the best interests of Nico in mind - or so he thought - but in the end he also wanted control over Nico's life.
He clutched at his necklace and thought of Nico. He'd just given him encouragement and love which Sam didn't think he deserved. But it was good. He wanted to be able to hold onto it, like a physical way that he held at his necklace. But he couldn't. His hand half reached toward Nico's. He wanted to pull him away - pull him away from Hades and everything which he was threatening. Just by knowing. He wanted to show Nico he was there.

Hades thought he might hate Kelsier. It took a lot for him to hate a mortal. It took a lot for him to hate anybody, actually. He usually let the actions of others blow over him. They didn’t impact him, and any disrespect done by mortals would be over quickly enough that it didn’t matter. They would die, and Hades would punish them. He didn’t forgive easily, but he rarely remembered small quarrels mortals had with him. He had lived long enough to know that they didn’t matter. It was just that mortals hated facing their own mortality. They thought Death was unfair and blamed Hades for it. There was nothing he could do about that. People had to die. It was the order of things. It was just… how it all worked. People lived, they changed the world, and then they died and whatever changes they made were slowly worn away until nobody remembered their names anymore. There were few mortals that Hades paid particular attention to, but one of those was his son.
This man in front of him clearly thought he was somebody. He clearly believed himself to be capable of being superior to a god, in spite of his measly life span and the frailty of his body. He would die just like all of the others, the only difference was, Hades had no say in his afterlife. He had no way to ensure that Kelsier was punished for this. So the best he could do was punish him now for it.
“I have an eternity under my belt,” he said, eyes narrowing as he stepped just a little bit closer to Kelsier, emphasizing his superior height. His eyes narrowed as he stared at him, saying nothing. He was appraising him. Judging how good he might be in a fight. Trying to determine if this man was really worth the time of day. He was, it seemed. He was annoying enough to be, at least. The fact that Hades was willing to take him seriously was a compliment in and of itself. It wasn’t that he thought that Kelsier could beat him, but he clearly saw him as a genuine threat. If not to himself, then at least to his son. What could Nico do if this man were to poison his ears? What would he do if he were to be turned against his own father by a man who clearly had no idea what he was talking about?
“Innocence matters not,” Hades said, arms crossing as he regarded Kelsier. “Though if that is what you choose to focus on, you are far too familiar with violence for me to believe that you are innocent yourself. The world is in a delicate balance. Fairness doesn’t come into it. Those who live good lives get good afterlives. Those who trifle where they shouldn’t – and I believe you are a prime example – are punished. People that choose to cheat death to become monsters… they die like monsters. That is the way of the world. It wasn’t an excuse. It was just… the truth.
Hades’ eyes flashed as Kelsier treated him like a child. As he turned to look at Nico, asking permission for… something? His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Nico would make the right decision, and if he didn’t… he sent his son a look that communicated everything that needed to be said. If he allowed Kelsier to attack, there would be punishment. If this continued, if Kelsier died, as Hades anticipated, his blood would be on Nico’s hands. Kelsier may not have been inclined to listen, but Nico certainly would.

Nico looked down at Sam, trying to make sure he was okay. He couldn’t undo all of the damage, especially since Hades had just picked at a wound that was surely already there, but he could try. He could, at the very least, clean out the wound and offer a bandaid. He just had to hope that was enough for right now. Sam deserved more, but Nico didn’t have the time to give him that now. They needed to get out. They needed to make sure they were beyond Hades’ reach. He took in a deep breath, squeezing Sam’s hand in an effort to prove that he was here. To prove that he wasn’t going to leave, no matter what Hades said.
“You know you’re my friend, right?” Nico whispered, voice low. “That’s not going to change. I promise. And I don’t break my promises.” He didn’t know if Sam knew how special promises were to him, but he tried to put all of his intensity into the words. He glanced back at Kelsier, feeling Sam’s question rock through him.
“He’s a dad,” he answered after a long moment, then looked back at Sam. “He took responsibility for me, and I think since we’re close… he wants to protect you, too. And he’s… in his world, nobody stands up for children against people like Hades. He’s a hero. It’s in his blood, and… gods I hate it sometimes, but… there’s no getting him to back down.” He gave a sort of amused chuckle at that. Somehow, Nico always got mixed up with the hero types. He, too, was a hero type, though he didn’t realize it. He thought he was disqualified from that after what he had done to get information about his mother.
Then Kelsier’s gaze pierced him, and his words hit like a punch. What? He was going to… something twisted in Nico’s stomach, and he lifted his gaze to meet Hades’. It was clear that Hades didn’t know what was going on, but he was relying on Nico to put a stop to this fight. He didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t… this wasn’t a fair decision to ask him to make.
“Go ahead,” Nico said, voice weak. He could feel Hades’ eyes piercing him, could feel his wrath spreading through the room. He would deal with it later. He had chosen his side, now he needed to get Sam to safety.

It was possibly just the way that Archie said his name that rubbed Percival the wrong way. Or maybe it was the whole personality of this very quirky man. Eventually though, he said, "I'm a firefighter." Essentially correct, though there were a lot more details to it than just that. He couldn't say that he had the full grasp of what was going on, when it came to things like this man.
"And you? What is it that you do? A clown, perhaps? Or maybe a slightly demonic librarian?" He wasn't serious, but considering his deadpan expression, that was something which was quite hard to tell. It just seemed to be something that was completely unique to Percival's expression. He seemed completely willing to just stare at Archie as if he was a particularly 'interesting' slideshow.

Cricket | Living Room | strider

(Since it’s been.... a long while, I’ll bring in someone new ^^ Get back into the swing of things before trying to rp someone who should know their way around lol)

There was a clatter of hooves on wooden floorboards as a girl appeared. She looked rather similar to a centaur, but instead of a horse, her bottom half was that of a deer. She managed to keep her footing despite the sudden shift and came to a stop in the middle of the room before turning to look in all directions with wide brown eyes. Her gaze eventually landed on Noah, but she didn’t seem able to get her thoughts in order enough to speak... so instead she simply stared.