Maybe that will teach the king a thing or two about starting a petty fight he's grossly unprepared for. )

( Oh. Did he hit a nerve? A shame. He didn't even get to wave goodbye.

Just like any other human soul in hell, there —were— some things Alastor held dear, even if he hid it better than most.

If anyone were to ask, he'd say he was simply retaliating in kind.

+

Not as poorly as your marriage.

Or what's left of your relationship with your daughter.

Oh, but you don't really have to, do you?

You can always go back to the funny little circus you came from and wait another few hundred years.

What's that? Emergency food? 😄

...

( He casually shrugs. )

Can't argue with that. I'll leave it to the expert.

Of course, his majesty would know —everything— about feeling alive.

Still alive?

That's a much shorter time than the last, your majesty.

A new record!

Like the loveliest pairs of eyes encased in a shiny little jar.

a red and black cartoon character with a can on his head and a # on his eye ALT: a red and black cartoon character with a can on his head and a # on his eye

It's not always about the screams and the splatter.

I'm quite fond of the pretty things, too.

a red and black cartoon character with a can on his head and a # on his eye ALT: a red and black cartoon character with a can on his head and a # on his eye

Before Lucifer can protest, Alastor continues,

"...But it's still a nice idea, isn't it? Struggling reminds you that you're still capable of wanting things."

a cartoon character with pink hair and red eyes ALT: a cartoon character with pink hair and red eyes

He ignores Lucifer's pitiful attempt to reassert himself.

"Blah, blah, blah." He mutters half-heartedly. "Sounds to me like you want to struggle for some shallow sense of accomplishment, or whatever nonsense you've convinced yourself makes your own existence meaningful."

+

Alastor knows that there's power behind effort. There's power in working hard toward a certain goal. When everything is possible, nothing is impressive.

Humans only have one chance to succeed at anything, and it's 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 limitation that makes success so loud. To earn victory is to deserve it.

+

playing make-believe about struggling to learn things the slow way.

It reminds him of what life was like above, for people who were like Lucifer, and people like himself.

And yet...

He understands the impulse more than he'd like to admit.

+

After all, what's the point of struggling if Lucifer had a guaranteed outcome? Why choose to fail when failure was optional?

Lucifer keeps going, and to Alastor's ears, the words are tumbling out faster. He rambles about time, about humans,

+

This entity has power more ancient than time itself. But he wants to create without magic. He wants to choose limits where absolutely none exist.

It's an interesting concept, Alastor will not lie. But he had always assumed omnipotence --- 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 --- dulled the need to try.

+

Still, Alastor stays quiet. Surprisingly enough, he just listens to the King ramble. He just watches as Lucifer's magic flares and vanishes, engraves into his mind how easily it comes to him.

When Lucifer starts talking about pencils, Alastor's brow ticks up despite himself.

+

Somewhere along the way, Alastor almost tunes him out.

Lucifer talks too much when he's nervous. He tends to fill the silence with noise, unfunny jokes, and --- for 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚 --- excessive hand gestures as a way to self-soothe. His tells couldn't be any more obvious.

+

a cartoon character with red hair and red eyes is smiling ALT: a cartoon character with red hair and red eyes is smiling

( He can't help but roll his eyes. For all of Lucifer's bravado, his obvious insecurity is almost laughable. The sin of ℙℝ𝕀𝔻𝔼, and 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 is what it looks like.

If Alastor were someone else, he might find it endearing. But as it stands, he's in 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 to indulge the King's frailties.

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a cartoon character is wearing a top hat with a red heart on it ALT: a cartoon character is wearing a top hat with a red heart on it

I— Huh? What?

( Was that a compliment? It sounded backhanded… but he didn’t exactly sense any mockery. )

… You really think they are beautiful? Truly?

@popsphoros.bsky.social

mamamo green

a cartoon character in a red suit is holding a red object ALT: a cartoon character in a red suit is holding a red object

"I beg your pardon?"

Alastor hums in mild amusement.

He's well aware of this little demon's role in Vox's defeat, but one can never be too careless.

"Are you not his employee?"

His voice is light and airy in a way that makes him sound welcoming. However, his gaze betrays no warmth.

"Do you plan to go alone?"

Short and simple.

"Because if you are, that might be your worst idea yet."

a cartoon character with red hair and black horns ALT: a cartoon character with red hair and black horns

Somehow, those words sound less like praise and more like thinly veiled resentment.

¿sɐʍ ʇı ʞuıɥʇ ʎǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ ɹǝʇʇɐɯ ʇı sǝop ʎɥʍ ʇnq

Let them believe what they want to believe. He will not ---𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩--- allow such a ridiculous notion to take root in his mind.

"Our dear princess worked 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 all on her own to get to this point. I cannot possibly take the credit."

+

He took risks. He willingly walked into his own, personal hell, but it was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Alastor straightens and brushes his coat, letting his grin grow wide. Beneath the surface, the radio hums its endless, impartial tune.

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a cartoon character with red hair and sharp teeth is smiling ALT: a cartoon character with red hair and sharp teeth is smiling

Alastor laughs.

The sound comes easily, sharp and perfectly practiced. It comes out before he can even think about it.

"Charlie's happiness is the result of her own efforts."

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