deut32_35 | (no subject)

[how to go from hot temper and blood pumping from adrenaline in a fight to icy temper and a lead weight in your stomach: knowing you succeeded in summoning a Prince of Hell.

attempt to whirl around to fight said prince of hell sure is going to be made. ya came to the call of a scrappy hooligan, my dude.]

[ when he whirls about what's behind him is an entirely different room. Anubis and 99 are gone now.

Asmodeus's tastes haven't changed. It's not one of the rooms in the mansion, but it looks a lot like it could be. ]

About time. I had been waiting for one of you to be sensible.

[... well that throws him off just long enough that he hesitates. ah ha. right. demon prince.

clenches fists.]

You really didn't give me much choice.

Oh, I don't know about that. You just didn't like the other options and decided to do something exciting instead.

[ His gaze strays down to Boss's clenched fists and he presses himself away from the wall he had been leaning on, circling closer. ]

Are you planning on exciting me more? Because so far the floor show's been disappointing.

[really should have gotten that last ability... assuming they even work on this guy.

watching him, tense and wary.]

We got your message loud and clear. So make the monochroming virus stop.

Gladly. [ flicks his hands outward as if shaking water from the tips. He's annoyed by the statement but not greatly— more the exasperation that a teacher gets calling on a pupil who has to ask what page they're on in the reading. So you haven't even figured out this much. ]

If it were a virus, that would be an easy fix.

Didn't have a quicker way of saying "devolving into a shadow audience of hell because our production's being cancelled by the big wigs upstairs--or I guess it's downstairs in this place".

[but thanks for the peptalk.

time to go for his knife again and try to stab an asshole in the face]

[ the knife seems it ought to be driving into his skin except when the blade makes contact Boss feels the sharp edge of the metal drive into and part his own skin, digging in. Asmodeus, for his part, is unharmed as the knife doesn't seem to do anything.

He also can feel Asmodeus reaching out and fisting his fingers in Boss's hair to slam his head into the wall. ]

Proactive. Angry, a few weeks more and maybe you would be on the mark.

[ He drives a knee against Boss's back to hold him in place against the wall, his head still pressured there by Asmodeus's unmoving arm. ]

However, we don't have a few weeks, so you'll have to do. You want to fix this?

Edited 2018-12-03 09:41 (UTC)

[the moment he feels the blade dig at his skin, he freezes, and of course, that's exactly when his head's slammed into the wall.

he manages to bite back the cry of pain right up until the knee to the back. knife dropped somewhere and he grits his teeth as he tries to look back to Asmodeus.]

Thought you wanted some excitement.

[spitting out because it's better than being terrified of the implications of "a few weeks more" would put him "on the mark". and also... nigh literally being between a rock and a hard place. because that question is really the crux of the matter.]

--yes. I want it fixed.

Unfortunate. Because if you want this fixed, you need to fix it.

[ At the emphasis he jerks Boss's head back so he can meet his eyes, looming above his head and looking down. ]

A Prince's violence is no surprise. Never going to win them back, that way.

[welp. that's definitely lead in his stomach. the look in his eye is definitely a level of understanding because after the betrayal house, that was when there was the most attention on them, wasn't it. still a little ptsd'd about the whole sexy torture thing.]

... that's the angle? That's the game? Do the dirty work for you and everything will get fixed?

Like hell I believe that's all it is.

[but he doesn't really have very many options and he fucking hates this, says the glare he manages]

Sure, there's more to it. I want a good set of demons at the end of this shit, not yet more of the goddamned Damned.

[ Not information he has to give, but information he doesn't mind giving. ]

Take my offer, boss.

[wow, the intense want to fucking kill you and all your demon brethren right now. peak.

rivals the intense feeling of being caught and the weight of knowing he really can't think of another way to stop this shit feels like chains pinning him down.]

... fine. I'll take it.

[ You can guess he can feel that from the expression on his face, close to yours and hard to miss as is it is. ]

Remember, this isn't permanent.

[ Before you can question what, well. Your frame of mind shifts, and your knowledge of the situation slides around in your head, rearranging.

He lets Boss go, stepping back and straightening up his suit. Belatedly, he realizes what Boss has on is his or in his style, at least. ]

But who knows? You could grow into it.

[there's never a time "this isn't permanent" isn't alarming but the alarm seems to die down as things shift around and he had to do this, right? he had to do this. it's really a shame he had to make this harder because the solution is really just that simple.

he stays against the wall for a moment after being let go, letting things settle in his mind, feeling maybe a bit dizzy? but then he shifts, so his back against the wall and he can look to Asmodeus without hurting his neck. the anger from before is still there, but it's an anger he knows he can't act on--not just yet, anyway. the demon prince isn't wrong about it being a bit soon for him...]

Guess we'll have to see about that.

[ Now that he's feeling more sensible— tractable, Asmodeus claps him on the back. ]

That's the spirit. Any requests for the road?

[hums a bit, clearly considering it for a moment. in no rush now that he knows things will resolve themselves--because he'll resolve them.]

--so is there actually a Heaven and a Hell divide here? Or is that one side feeding us a ton of bullshit?

Though I can't say I'd be that happy with Heaven over this, either.

Oh, the divide is real. It's just Heaven that's not.

That could be just as much of a lie.

Why're you in such a rush to get more demons, then? Conquering Hell?

Surprisingly off the mark.

[ His voice is surprisingly laissez faire for someone who only recently demonstrated a very obvious tendency towards force, seething beneath the surface. ]

Strike one, I'll call it. Half-credit for your first swing.

Dare I ask what happens at strike three?

[said kind of dryly because fully expecting some kind of demon bullshit torture or just booting him out without intel.]

... are you just lonely?

You need to be sent home at some point. You're no good to me here.

[ He laughs: a sort of chuffing noise, amusement-surprise that Boss would chance it. He does not give him a strike. ]

The Damned are a waste. That's what our whole game between us is based on— you've got enough knowledge sitting in your head now. You ought to be able to guess at why a whole faction would pose as working for a dead god. As for me, if the rest of hell thinks humans are beneath their notice and attention that's all the more for my taking.

[ Which doesn't quite sound in line with vengeance, but. ]

[mulls this over a bit, lifting a hand to chew on the pad of a finger...]

... so. Are you trying to see if the damned can be reverse-engineered into humans? And from there... into demons? For yourself?

You'd have quite the numbers if that worked out.

Doing it is simple, if you have the patience for one at a time. It was fine as a pleasant diversion.

[ the corner of his mouth lifts in some private thought. If he's spent time doing this one at a time, he's probably thinking of someone in particular. ]

But that's no model for business.

Edited 2018-12-04 04:14 (UTC)

[don't you have a sympathetic backstory, i'm still wanting to murder you, you asshole.]

So this whole arrangement isn't your design.

Who designed it?

[ Assuming it's sympathetic is certainly an assumption. ]

Strike two.

[well, ok. still plenty of murder feels, then.]

Is there actually an option to get out of this place without signing up with a demon?

The terms of graduation are this: a wish for whatever your heart desires and agreement to become a demon, or you leave in the good graces of the Liar's imaginary heaven.

They have nothing to offer you but if you don't take the terms willingly, neither do I.

In other words, no graduation option without a catch of some kind.

... were we all Damned before we woke up here? Or did you bring us down here from where we come from?

Asking if you're dead? Some of you.

So we're a mixed bag.

... are you likely to answer a call from me again or am I not entertaining enough for you? And if you do answer... are you expecting something from me?

Let's call them hopes. Expectations goes a shade too far.

[ He drops his hands into his pocket, and continues. ]

In the future, if you want an audience you'll have to pander. Can't count on a crisis with a whole batch of you on the line.

[ Not as in the Damned, but an audience with him. ]

So... offerings? Are we talking stabbing someone and offering the blood or are you hoping for something more solid?

[you want bodies or body parts or something?]

You're the Revengers of Wickedness type, right?

Vengeance victorious, these are the glorious days.

[ He says, dryly. He really doesn't seem like a showtunes kind of guy, but he must have picked up the phrase somewhere. ]

I prefer you mean it.

[in other words, when he's "on the mark"...?]

Why this group? What dictates who ends up getting pulled in? Is it just completely random? Or is there something tying us together?

I know you're all about wanting us to fight it out among the units, but part of figuring out divisiveness is finding out where the similarities begin and end, right?

Mostly by chance. The game is best played if we maintain the illusion of an equal playing field. If we need specific representatives, we reserve the right to hand-pick.

[ He rolls his shoulders— the bespoke suit is tailored for his movements and doesn't bunch or pull when he does— and he checks his watch. ]

You'll notice those.

[cutting it close yeah, so:]

What about ones like me and Mars--Warden. That just a coincidence?

... do you even keep track of the idols, actually?

If it's not, Pythia chose a very trivial point to break terms on.

[ Raises an eyebrow ]

Are you feeling neglected?

So neglected, my face just stopped feeling like it was getting shoved into the wall.

[sarcastic as fuck]

I was just asking because I doubt demons recognize the differences between one idol over another, let alone bother with names. Since we're basically just commodities to you.

Edited 2018-12-05 03:10 (UTC)

I could happily reintroduce the two, if you were feeling lonely.

[ Smooth, as if it was an actual offer ]

For most, you'd be correct. But once you catch my eye, the trick isn't keeping it.

Should I ask who has caught your eye so far?

You've seen him around.

[YOU'RE NOT FUNNY]

... is there any advantages to catching your eye before graduation is an option, is the real question.

I'm willing to make it worth the while.

[huffs at that]

Vague. Too soon to ask for a phone number?

Quality as your drunk texts must be, I'm not in the habit.

[rolls his eyes]

Guess I'm still not quite on the mark to think of anything myself.

Any final words of wisdom?

Strike three.

[ you must have been expecting that, really.

and there's a boot on Boss's backside, kicking him out the door that's materialized in the wall ]

Edited 2018-12-05 05:10 (UTC)