Multimuse RP blog | Sporadic replies

Eyes following each little tick and mind cataloguing them, she sat in her seat, feeling far more interested than she'd expected to be when he first showed up. Now, she wasn't draining him right now; she was too smart to do such a thing. What she was doing, was allowing herself to sort of "scan" the room to see what she could pick up on. It was intriguing - she didn't know the how's, the why's, or any specifics. But what she did know, was there seemed to be some form of an emotional blockage that she could sense. One similar to her own, she supposed. But..not as strong, perhaps? Hm. Rather than mention it right now, she held onto this bit of perceived information and kept it to herself. After all, she could be wrong in what she thought she could be sensing.

"Perhaps we do not have to be so polite, no. After all, these are no hallowed halls we sit in." Lyssa digressed carefully. She listened to each name, her eyebrow raising. "The Morningstars.." the way she said the name was almost as if one were politely spitting venom. She was calm enough, but the slightest shift in her voice, surmised Lyssa had a history of some kind with them; not the ones in Hell, but in general. "Now.. why, exactly, should the ones in power garner your good will? I should think, you'd have some beef to pick with them, just as anyone else in Hell does, Alastor." she turned her head, looking at him squarely. Silently asking, probing, moreso - wondering just why he'd ask her not to target them.

"The little angel-stabbing maid of yours.." she trailed off. her lips quirked up slightly, as if she savored the mental image of Niffty slaying angels. "I have no qualms with keeping her off of my 'hitlist.' Asked, or not, by my clients." Anyone who killed angels - that which Lyssa despised most - had her respect. Wheels turned in her head, with the remaining words he spoke. She was silent for a time; Alastor had gall, she'd admit. To as much as accuse her of being what she had once been on the very first meeting with her? It was either very ballsy, or it was very very unsmart.

A calculator through and through, she was not unprepared for this. Angels weren't going to be popular in Hell no matter whether they were fallen, or not. Lyssa knew this, which was why she had taken steps to avoid detection. Drinking tea with blood dye in it did wonders. It upset the stomach beyond reason, but it ensured that if she bled, the color would be tainted - so long as she kept it up. Leaning forward, she kept her eyes locked with his.

"I think you will find, my dear fellow Overlord, that there is not a single soul in this wretched abyss who hates those which bleed golden, more than I do. To imply that I may be one of them?" she shook her head slowly, tutting her tongue. "I could say 'how dare you'...but I believe I would rather return to the reason for our meeting. Business, wasn't it, you said? Not to discuss the color of blood, no matter what it may or may not be." Her tone sharply edged, she feigned a tiny smile and withdrew to her own seat once more.

"With my disdain for angels voiced, friend, I shall need something more important and precious than your assurance that the secrets you divulge are true. That, and," she held up her finger, quoting how he had seemingly just offered to be her 'friend' on his own. "As you have already asked me to spare one angel and one who shares his bloodline...that is my limit. I will not spare the Princess' girlfriend my power, unless given an additional reason to do so. Given you did not mention her, I shall suppose that means she is not considered 'off-limits' to you?" Lyssa asked, slowly pouring more tea into her cup. A pause.

"You yourself.. I will spare, on the condition of my own, that whatever deal we come to.. we shake on it. A deal of words is easily broken - I am not going to be making that mistake again." This was a slip, most likely, giving insight into her past that she didn't mean to give. Unless, of course, she did - and she was toying with his suspicions about what she may be.

"So, what will it be? Are you willing to finalize this deal with me properly, once we iron out the fine details? I think you may find it beneficial to yourself to do so, Alastor. As perceptive as you may be, you forget. You are not the only one who can see into the dark the way you do. There are others who can discover the unknowable." Letting the 'helpful hint' hang for a moment, she drew out a piece of paper and a pen. Archaic, both of them. One a scroll, the other, a feather.

"My reasons for wanting The Morningstars unharmed are my own, furthermore I think that anyone who has umbrage with them without first examining them closely isn't thinking strategically. Say what you want about the king, but Charlie Morningstar does have Hell's best interests at heart. This is her home, after all. She was born here," he said simply, expression becoming easier as he talked of Hell's princess, and similarly he seemed cozier in his chair over talk of Niffty. "Niffty is quite the little warrior, yes. Glad to hear she's made an impression on you, she deserves her accolades."

Ever the one to need control, she mused internally. Her own feather quill appearing to not be enough, she calmly set it aside. Very well, his would do.

"Amendments? Oh my, I thoughts we would be making a deal and sticking to it." Lyssa rose her eyebrow as if amused, though she was also calculating. Most that she made deals with weren't aware enough to bring up such things. She'd had a case or two, whom she'd talked out of it, much to their of later detriment. Alastor, she was sure she would not be able to do this with - it was as interesting, as it was slightly irritating. "I suppose.. I could make an exception. One," she held up her finger. "We are each allowed to make one change, at any time. Fair enough, yes?" Attempting to skirt the question, she waited. Most Sinners would drop something if she kept doing that. Lyssa was sure this was not going to be the case here, though.

However, he was agreeing to make a deal with her. She reminded herself of this throughout their conversation; it was something special, and momentous enough to her, that it aided in keeping the irritations from building up. That, and all those carefully-constructed walls of hers.

"Let us not give away everything in our first meeting, Alastor." Lyssa stated instead, having shifted her mood once more. Gesturing to the paper, she indicated she'd rather return to the matter at hand: their deal. "I am a lady, after all! And a lady would never allow for herself to be considered 'easy'!" She placed a hand on her chest, shaking her head. Your curiosity will have to wait to be piqued - let us not forget, you are in my territory. You first.

"Now, our deal. We can scrutinize who is what at a later date, and perhaps share secrets over tea, some other time. Right now, what is important is what will be put to page, hm? So far, you have indicated that, for whatever reason, it suits you not to have the two remaining royals of Hell exempt from being turned into emotional husks, as well as your little angel-killing maid, Niffty. You labeled it a pity for the Princess' girlfriend to be targeted, yet did not ask for her safety, and so she is off the table. Is there anyone else you wish to list, aside from the obvious point of yourself?"

Now, how could she be disgruntled when she had never been here and had arrived less than a few minutes ago? Only Daisy could know for sure; her present irritation was more than likely their lack of shoes to look at in her size, however. Her feet were very tiny, after all.

"Hmm...yuck." she mumbled, turning a can in her hands. She wasn't sure what she was even looking at, but a simple sniff of it made her gag. Ears pinned back and nose wrinkled, she shoved it back on the shelf and stuck her tongue out. "No no no, no. Just no." Daisy gagged again, then looked up. Ears lifting, she tilted her head.

"Hm? Oh, yes. Yes, that's me! The one and only, at your service!" She grinned, the crime against her nose forgotten in an instant as she perked up, then held her thin acrobat-style skirt out to the side in a polite little bow. To whom she was speaking, it clearly had escaped her notice. In her mind, she assumed she was simply speaking to an ordinary Sinner who had apparently, just enough courage to speak to her.

Vox just about short-circuited. She didn't know his name?

She didn't know his name!

"I- I- Uh, I..." His tongue ran across his teeth. "Vance."

Yeah, good enough.

Red eyes darted to the queen's tail and then back to her face. Vox couldn't fathom why someone like her would be lurking around a place like this (it was hardly a place for him, let alone actual royalty) but he figured, hey, this afterlife was full of weird surprises.

This one just happened to be that they were both doing something extremely mundane.

Vox stood tip-toe, and leaned to the side, searching the end of the aisle for anyone else.

"Is Lucifer here with you?"

He didn't bother being smooth or showy; this woman did not know him, and he wanted to keep it that way. He was not Vox, no-- he was Vance, a nobody.

That suited him just fine.

"Well, Vance," Daisy began, withdrawing her hand when it wasn't taken. "I am a grown woman. I do not need my husband to hold my hand when I go out. And Charlie...she is busy, as per usual. hotel business, and all of that." She stated, then laughed faintly. "That is, no. I decided to come out on my own today." Her eyes scanned the store again, and she sighed, her smile falling somewhat.

"Although, I am coming to...question...my decision. Coming to this particular store, that is. It doesn't seem to have very many.." Daisy moved her hand as she spoke, as if searching for the word that she wanted. "..Interesting things." She settled, bringing her eyes to land on Vance again. Truth be told, the only thing to catch her interest here, had been this peculiar Sinner demon in front of her, who seemed to be..skittish, in public settings? No matter.

Okay um. I'm sure some or most of you know about what's going on in the courts right now with the laws that might be passed. The KIDS Act ( which we know isn't really about protecting kids) passed the House. This is going to affect the entire internet if it passes the Senate.. I think we should seriously start discussion about what we will do if the outcome isn't bright. This isn't me fear-mongering or trying to scare anyone. The vote can only go two ways. It's the flip of a coin. If we have to give up our actual legal identities to use this site, I imagine half or more of us are going to split.

So I think a discussion about where we should go if we want to stick together as a community is just logical. Gathering information about how we can continue and where we can continue is definitely essential right now. And doing so calmly as a group would be the best idea. The more brains the better. Nobody can do all of that alone, but as a community it would be possible.

I'm not saying I personally have an answer. I don't. But as a community maybe we should all start talking instead of ignoring it and just hoping for the best? I think a discussion would be great. And the first step would be figuring out where we could talk about it? Idk, just throwing out ideas.

Discussing which sites/places are best should maybe be the first and main concern. Maybe making free forum, or even a server on discord or stoat about discussing this would be a great way to start? Also, looking into reddit & similar to see if people are already talking about this? I imagine they must be! I'm just throwing out ideas. I do NOT want to lose you guys. Many of you are more than RP Partners.

You are my FRIENDS. And I am not going to lose you without a fight. So I have to say this.

Let's make tags just for this issue to organize?

Look around the internet to see if this is already in motion (reddit? twitter/x, blsky?)

Consider alternative places for our rp's (pillowfort, dreamwidth, stoat?)

Find places to discuss this (free temporary forums, reddit, discord, stoat, other messengers, etc)?

And I'm broken record with this but also, call your rep's. Send letters. Spread the word.

"...Yeah, and I thought that marriage meant one person asked the other. I wasn't under the impression that you asked either of us - unless it was done behind my back that you asked her, you worthless sack of over-paid, over-hyped deer me--"

A knock on the door stopped Lucifer in his insult track, the familiar beat causing him to look to the door suddenly, then shrink back and try to at least feign good behavior again. He coughed, then started messing with the coffee stain on his clothes again.

"Come in," Lucifer called, the smile on his face straining.

"Oh, hey, dad! And uh..Alastor?" Charlie asked as she came in, looking like she still wasn't too sure what he wanted her to call him. "I came by because I wanted to let you both know.. the wall has finally finished being fixed!" She smiled and looked at her dad, then at Alastor in the way that said she was really, really hoping they would know which one she meant without having to come out and say it. It was a wall on the eastern side of the hotel, that the repairs of had been put off for awhile - one that had been caught in the crossfire of a 'disagreement' by the two.

His attention snagged on a splotch of red among the yellow revealed by their fellow ducks’ sudden migration. He plucked it free, turning the striped duck this way and that, head tilting at the crosshair painted dead center on its head. How quaint.

His eyes flicked back up to Lucifer, catching the tail end of his tirade as it devolved into insults. His grin stretched wider with each one, sharp teeth glinting beneath. A sickly green flame sparked to life in the hand holding the duck. He remained unblinking, smile locked in a rictus as the plastic began to melt and drip down his fingers, pooling onto the table below.

A knock at the door.

Oh, deer.

Alastor rose quickly, clasping his hands behind his back in an effort not to be caught quite literally red-handed.

“Come in.”

“Oh—hey, Dad! And, uh… Alastor?”

He turned, offering Charlie a bright, toothy grin.

“That’s great news!” he chirped, with no idea which incident she was referring to. He knew the wall, of course...that particular stretch served as collateral damage in nearly every dispute in the hotel. But as for the most recent cause of its destruction? Well, who could say.

“Mm, we really ought to reinforce it, considering how often it’s destroyed.”

He started to raise a hand as though to dismiss her concern, then caught himself. “Not a clue!” he chirped instead, already edging toward the end of the sofa where his staff waited. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry your pretty head about, my dear. But if it’ll put your mind at ease, I suppose I can go see what all the fuss is about, hm?”

Careful to keep his back turned, he leaned back just enough to retrieve his staff, slipping it neatly into his clasped hands.

"Ah, yeahhh.. it really..probably SHOULD be reinforced." Charlie nodded, then, looking a bit more relieved. "Oh! Well, if you're sure you don't mind to do that, that'd be great!" She didn't have the energy for more right now; she'd look into it if she had to, but she didn't want to. That much was easy enough to tell.

"Great.." Lucifer grumbled under his breath. "That's not something I'd ever associate with.." as he'd began, still suppressing the eye twitch he'd gained from the noisy slurping not long before. When Charlie looked at him, he pretended to yawn and stretch like he'd not done anything. "Oh, hm? What? Sorry, I've been realllyyyy tired today." He lied, badly. Quick to redirect, he waved to Alastor.

"Way, way too tired to go and see what's going on right now. You should definitely go and do that." He made a shooing motion towards Alastor, with just enough feigned decency to pass Charlie's scrutiny. "I'm much, much, muchhhh too tired." Lucifer gave an exaggerated stretch and fake yawn again, peeking from one eyes to see if anyone was buying it.

"I'm sure Daisy'll appreciate it."

{ I am all for Alastor having as many mugs with phrases aimed at Lucifer as he pleases! Lu's going to level up his own pettiness the second he notices, though! XD

{ Plotted starter for @countlessrealities! }

Her first job - first real one, anyway, where she was getting paid.

Felicity could hardly believe it. She was incredibly nervous, and almost shaking as she stood with the papers she was carrying. One would think that the way she'd finally stuck up for herself with her adopted parents would have gained her some self-confidence, but she'd actually found that that was not always the case. Or, not not always - more like hardly ever.

A tiny little smile pressed on her lips as she carried the papers she had in her arms from one person to the next; her first day here, she'd been assigned the duty of handing out notes and work to the other employees of the station. So far, she'd gotten at least two of them mixed up, been bumped into several times, and overheard more than one person talking about how pale she was. It was hard to hear that kind of thing again after having finally liberated herself from her adopted parents, but she made do the best she could.

Her carefully pinned up bun was coming loose by the time that she reached Alastor. She looked a little bit frazzled, but was doing her best to retain the polite and at least mostly put together appearance she'd been presenting to the rest of the station. Quietly, she cleared her throat in attempt to get Alastor's attention.

"I..um.. good morning, sir!" Felicity's smile wavered as she took the papers she'd been clutching to her chest, and held them out to him. After how she'd been treated by most of the other people here, she wasn't sure what to expect. A soft swallow was given, before she added "These are, uh..ahem, these are for you. The notes for your radio show today, I believe?"

Alastor hummed under his breath, as he attentively skimmed through the transcripts of the segments he would have to record that day. A mug of coffee set next to him on the desk, a hint of smoke rising from it and its strong aroma filling the room. Those tasteless, bland lines weren't a part of his job he took pleasure in, not in the least. They were tremendously lacking in flavour and charm, and he wouldn't have been boasted if he had said that his voice was the only reason why those dry sentences managed to catch the attention of their audience.

He had considered offering to write them himself, but he knew too well that his producers wouldn't have allowed it. For some foolish reason, they were convinced that those lines had an appeal, even when it was remarkably obvious that they did not.

Oh well, their loss! In his eyes, they would remain just a boring task he willingly fulfilled each day so that he could keep freely handling his own personal broadcasts. A small price to pay, mildly annoying but easy enough.

Slim fingers wrapped around the handle of the mug, nimble and elegant, and Alastor brought it to his lips, taking a slow, pensive sip of coffee. For whoever had worked at the broadcasting station for long enough, the sight would have been an extremely familiar one. It was no secret that the radio host liked his routines as tidy and well staged as his clothes and mannerisms, and he never missed to show a polite hint of vexation whenever something disturbed them.

Not because he couldn't handle it, of course. The young man was nothing if not adaptable. He had always been, since a tender age, and nowadays it was an essential skill for him to have, to properly balance his work and hobbies. Especially the most private ones.

The woman's presence on the threshold was sensed much before she could find the courage to make a sound, but he pretended not to have noticed her until her voice rang in the room in greeting. Only then sharp, dark eyes left the lines they had been scanning, to land on her.

Alastor's gaze took in her form from head to toe, quickly and discreetly, absorbing as many hints and information he could. The way her hair had started to get a little messy, the nervous quivering of her mouth and light trembling of her fingers, the tension in her shoulders. She was obviously struggling, desperate to please, to look like she belonged in her role.

It was obvious that her rounds hadn't gone as she had hoped for so far and that made him feel obliged to offer her some kindness. He knew far too well what it meant to be judged for the hue of your skin. Or lack of, in her case.

Also, that hopefully would have also dissuaded her from keeping on staring at him as she was doing. Alastor was very well aware that his looks were considered appealing, despite the darker shade of his flesh, and he had often been on the receiving end of unwanted compliments and attention, much to his chagrin, from both women and men. In his eyes, it was almost as distasteful as the scorn and belittlement his complexion earned him on a daily basis.

And he would have rather not deal with that so early in the morning.

"Thank you kindly, my dear," he answered, his ever-present smile not betraying any of the thoughts that were circulating in his mind. "Ah, a new face, I see! First day on the job, isn't it? My, my. I remember the jitters I experienced when I was in your shoes!"

He took the papers from her, careful to avoid any sort of accidental contact, and set them down on the desk. He would have looked at them later and then promptly discarded them, as per usual. He still hadn't decided if he found the persistence of the station writers to keep shoving them on him, when they knew perfectly that he wouldn't be using them, more obnoxious or more entertaining.

"A-..I..um, y-yes, you're quite welcome," Felicity pressed a tiny smile, internally fearing that she'd just made yet one more co-worker think her to be completely inept and incapable of functioning. He had, however, been far nicer to her than the others here - this was a plus, in her mind. However stupid she'd made herself feel thus far into their first encounter.

Not to mention, he was the first person she could think of to actually ask her for her name, rather than demand it or completely overlook that she had one. As she started to speak again, the thought came to mind; she wasn't sure how someone who seemed so confident from her point of view, ever could have felt the level of nerves that she was feeling now. This was kept to herself, however, and left unvoiced.

"Oh, yes..of course, you are correct! I..honestly, I should have lead with that! I am so sorry," she coughed. "..And thank you, sir.. for actually asking." she'd added more quietly, just before answering the question of her name. "My name is Felicity," Nervous as she seemed to be, she was trying. Most likely too hard, but the effort was there nonetheless. "May I ask you your name, as well..?" Felicity had began to inquire, though not long before someone was calling for her from outside the booth. Not by her name, but by what they'd deemed to call her. 'Radio girl.'

An easy, jumpy, and nervous target, the others there assumed that the mousy little woman would be effortless to mistreat and pick on. What they didn't know, was that even Felicity had a breaking point - the flicker of something in those doe-like eyes of hers when she tensed up whispered that something darker may be hiding within her; it vanished almost as soon as it flared to life, though, and somewhat defiantly, she remained long enough to see if Alastor would give her his name, before choosing to go and see what it was that she was so needed for.

“Remind me,” he muttered, draping an arm across his eyes, “to find a more efficient means of keeping unwanted visitors out of my tower.”

Daisy sat up and stretched slowly, her joints popping. A smile is given in return, though she senses that something may be up. Raising her eyebrow, Daisy propped her elbow on the arm of her chair and looked over at Alastor curiously.

"Hmm.." she mused, before speaking again. "Dare I guess that I may already know who, or what, this has to do with?" She inquired with a 'correct me if I'm wrong' sort of tone, falling quiet again as she observed him. Most people may not know what to look for, but she was not most people. Following her question, she added

However, the very suggestion of offing Lucifer brought an amused chuckle from her.

"No, no, I'm afraid that killing the king of hell isn't an option on the menu tonight." She sighed in mock disappointment, knowing very well he didn't mean it. "Is there anything else I can offer you, that might bring you some solace instead?" Daisy turned herself upside down as she was prone to doing, but kept her attention on Alastor just in case he may answer.

He waved her back down as she went to right herself. A brief flicker of irritation passed through him, as it always did when he was reminded of the finer details of Daisy’s creation. He buried it quickly.

"Hmm.." Daisy settled again, looking as comfortable as she had been when sitting the correct way in her seat. As she watched the shadow flick off to do his bidding, however, her interest was piqued.

"Yes, I think I will." Daisy nodded, looking over at Alastor as she began to sit up again, this time because she had the thought that she may want a drink as well. She paused for a moment, then continued with, "..How is it that you get your shadows to actually return with items?"

“My, my…” he chuckled, quirking a brow knowingly. “Should we be hanging up missing shadow posters around the pentagram?”

"At this rate, I do believe that would definitely be in order. Then again, I suppose I could always take up the new mantle of being the 'shadowless queen' or something," she laughed again, this time with less embarrassment behind it, and more amusement. "How long did it take you to get used to working with your shadows, Alastor? I don't believe you've told me about that yet. As quick a learner as you are, I would venture to guess it didn't take long?"

“Why, even mine has a habit of slipping its leash if I’m not paying it proper attention.” He took a slow sip of his whiskey, then set the glass back on the side table. “Our shadows are reflections of ourselves. They respond to what we feel… to what we desire… spoken and unspoken.”

His grin sharpened, eyes glinting with faint amusement. “So tell me… where do you suppose yours has gotten off to?”

"Mm..you do make a good point." Daisy nodded, her eyes flicking to his shadow, which she saw seemed to be interested in their conversation. Looking behind herself, Daisy tapped her chin as she contemplated. What was it that she wanted? Would that help her figure out where her shadow had gone?

"I am not quite certain where--" her ears perked up. From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar shadow. Flitting around in the darkness, apparently calling to Alastor's shadow and trying to get it to come somewhere with it. As soon as Daisy's shadow had appeared, it left with a silent giggle. "....If I had to guess, it seems like my shadow wishes to play some sort of game with yours?" Daisy mused, reaching for the whiskey bottle to pour herself more. While she had it, she offered it to Alastor as well.

“I usually do,” he said, straightening in his chair. “Though it is a point I should have made much sooner. I do apo—” He broke off mid-word, catching the sudden perk of Daisy’s ears.

His own ears angled subtly, listening.

Let it be Niffty… or even Vox returning with the first of the many death threats he had promised. Anyone but Lucifer.

A faint, impish giggle echoed from the shadowed recesses of the room, and Alastor released the breath he’d been holding. “Ah… it seems we won’t be needing the posters after all.”

At his feet, his shadow gave a quiet chitter, stretching inquisitively toward Daisy’s before snapping back into place like a scolded hound. Alastor’s gaze dipped, head tilting slightly as he considered, weighing his curiosity about what Daisy’s shadow had in store for his own against the inevitable headache it was sure to cause him.

“Very well,” he relented at last, curiosity seeming to win out as he loosed his shadow from its tether.

It peeled away at once, darting across the room before slipping beneath the door in pursuit of Daisy’s.

Now, technically, she could try to tap into her shadow just enough to see what it wanted to do. However, it might also cause her shadow to be recalled...and, Daisy being Daisy, she didn't necessarily want to do that.

"What do you think they're going to do..." she began to ask him as she filled his glass, only to be cut off herself, by an ear-shattering shriek. In an instant, she dropped the bottle, and her hands flew up to her ears - which had flattened. "OW! Fuck!" Daisy hissed, frowning and closing her eyes tightly. The string of curses that she could hear following the embarrassingly feminine sounding shriek was one she recognized even with her ears ringing. Before Daisy could try to say anything else, or apologize for getting the whiskey on the floor, and Alastor's shoes as well as her leg, the door flew open.

There stood Lucifer, looking VERY upset, in just a towel. Drenched to the bone, a little sudsy, and holding a now sadly deflated duckie, the frown he had took up most of his face.

"Anybody wanna tell me WHY the FUCK my shower was just interrupted by.. by.. whatever those were, that looked like you two??" He waved his arms, his hair moving enough to show he'd been startled into his horns starting to pop out - as well as his wings, and tail. Both of which, were soaked and dragging the floor. "And how the HELL there was even.. even water that fucking cold down here??"

And..yet again...before too much more could be said...

The lights began to flicker in the hotel. Right before they went out entirely - prompting Daisy to sigh and grumble.

While simultaneously being glad that her and Alastor's husband seemed to still have retained his ability to glow in the dark. There was that, at least.

It had been an itch at the back of his mind—persistent, irritating.

How, exactly, had Vox found his way into his radio tower?

It wasn’t like he could simply waltz through the hotel without anyone noticing…

And Alastor certainly didn’t have any of the spyware Vox peddled lying about.

No, that much he could be sure of. They had always been sensitive to each other’s signals.

Though, with the recent influx of new guests—most of whom were definitely in possession of such devices—was it possible he had grown so accustomed to tuning out the incessant interference that he had simply missed one… in his own quarters?

Why… such a device did not even need to be in his own quarters at all.

The Overlord could easily have slipped into a nearby room and made his way in from there.

Surely that was it.

After all, it wasn’t like he had summoned him.

Why’d you make me do this, Al? Fucking weirdo.

Alastor’s smile twitched.

He hadn’t… had he?

━━━━━━♠━━━━━━

The door flew open, slamming into the wall with enough force to jolt Alastor from his spiraling thoughts. Whiskey sloshed over the rim of his glass, spilling onto his hand, still curled around it. He released it, pulling a pocket square from his suit and meticulously wiping the sticky droplets away as he turned toward the source of his annoyance.

His nose wrinkled in distaste.

Lucifer stood in the doorway, completely drenched, a bath towel secured around his waist. Alastor’s gaze dropped to the puddle of soapy water spreading across the wooden floorboards. Another mess for someone else to clean. How wonderful.

A hiss of static slipped from Alastor as his lips parted, words like acid gathering at the tip of his tongue—

The lights flickered.

Then died.

“…Splendid,” he said, swallowing the acidic words instead.

With a snap, his fingertips ignited with sickly green flame. A flick of his wrist sent it arcing neatly into the fireplace, bathing the room in an eerie glow.

What were the chances this little outage was confined to the hotel and entirely unrelated to a certain Media Overlord with a habit of shorting out entire power grids?

He rose from his chair and summoned his staff, his eyes flicking down to where his shadow should have been, had he not so foolishly let it off its leash.

He’d say they weren’t great.

“Well, my dear, thank you for your company, but it seems I am needed elsewhere.”

He gave Daisy’s hand a light pat as he passed the table, already making his way out of the room.

"Alright, dear." She acknowledged, watching Alastor leave for a few moments longer before she turned her attention to the sudsy king who'd burst in yelling like a lunatic. I love him, I must remind myself. I love him.

"Lucifer.. was that truly necessary, love? I do not think you absolutely needed to yell like that, now, did you?" Daisy asked, her attention now on him instead of on Alastor, or on what their shadows were up to right now.

The shadows in question, however, had since fled the hotel. The goal of messing with Lucifer having been completed, their next 'task' in mind, was to seek out the very Media Overlord that Alastor himself had been thinking about not that long ago. Daisy's shadow was the lead instigator, thinking it amusing to lead Alastor's shadow on a trouble-making excursion. Given that they were free to move on their own, it would not take long to reach the Vee Tower - in fact, half the journey there had already been completed.