OPEN: Smile Like You Mean It

[lonelysmiles]

Who: Alastor, OPEN
Which: Log and Interactive Dream opportunities, OPEN
Where: Depends on the prompt
What: Open post for anyone who wants to interact with Alastor this month based on ideas from the February Plot With Me post.
Warnings: It's Alastor. He's a literal demon straight from actual Hell which is not a nice place.



Dream Exploration

Alastor didn't need to sleep that often, but Reverein wasn't like Hell: Hell never truly slept. Always plenty of demons going about their business, trying to get in one last thrill before their afterlives were cut short one way or another. At least when Yoshiya had still been about, Alastor had had company during those long nights. Now on his own once more, he'd decided to expand his skill with dreamwalking.

He was getting quite good at it if he said so himself. The action was starting to become effortless, slipping into the dreaming world as easily as he'd pass through a shadow. And he was never disappointed in what he saw as he meandered the dreamscape. The people of Reverein were so creative with their dreams.

As he stepped into the latest dreamscape, he looked eagerly about. His ears twitched with excitement. What grand little world would he see this time?

Rising Crime

Reverein was having a crimewave. How quaint!

Alastor wasn't too concerned about it. Criminal activity was practiced openly in Hell. Still, it was amusing to see these people attempt to show their "darker sides". It was all dreadfully petty: a bit of vandalism here, a smalltime robbery there --

"Give me whatever you've got on you, weirdo, or I'll have to rough you up."

-- even an idiot mugger! How delightful!

Alastor turned his head and grinned down at the little Reverein native. "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening.

"Y̶̢̤̖͖̤͍̾̅ô̶̲͉̱ù̶͈̱͕̼͎̓̉͛̽͠ ̷̡̥̈̈w̵̡̛̗͖̬̩͗̅̋͠e̷̠̹̦͚̞͠r̸͎͇̿͋͆͛̉͝ẻ̴̹͕̯̄͌̈́̚ ̶̡͚̟̇̅s̶̙̻͍̤͍̋̏͜ȃ̶̦̣̣y̴̲͈͇̣̌i̷̛̼̎̃n̷̢͕͖̎̃̈̃̈̆g̴̩̜̗̦͇̍̏͆̅.̴̡̡͆.̵͈͉͎͈̻͗̿ͅ.̵̒͋̃͆̑͜?̷̢̨̎"

The would-be mugger screeched an apology as he immediately turned and ran.

The Radio Demon clicked his tongue in disappointment. "One scary voice was all it took? Honestly."

He folded his hands behind his back and resumed his stroll. Perhaps someone else would be more entertaining.

Bleeding Hearts - Study

To say Alastor had a keen interest in shadow magic was an understatement. He and the shadows were more or less one in his version of Hell, after all.

However, this world had such interesting shadows from the Noctaere to this new "Bleeding Heart" creature. He watched from a distance as one person produced one while another person ended up possessed. He tilted his head to one side, watching the drama play out.

Quite interesting...

Bleeding Hearts - Production

Watching others help each other through the pain of the Bleeding Hearts...It'd be a lie to claim it made Alastor feel nothing at all. People eagerly reaching out to their loved ones, trying to call them back from the creatures that stole away whatever warmth could be found in their chests...

He envied them.

He shook his head, trying to force away the thought. He wasn't made for such things anyway. Always the outsider, the observer, the commentator. Smile and put on a show but never let the audience too close or it'll ruin the magic of the performance! And when walking the streets of Hell, pretend you don't care that suddenly every demon has somewhere else to be.

Embrace the loneliness, learn to love it...or at least learn to fool others into believing you love it.

Unseen by Alastor, a second shadow formed behind him before it rose from the ground as a Bleeding Heart. It was lonely, so very lonely. It was hollow, empty...If only it could find a way to have some connection, any connection with someone who might care. It smiled even as it wept bitter tears in its solitary torment.

It flew away from Alastor, seeking a target.

Bleeding Hearts - Possession

Alastor gasped as the Bleeding Heart plunged into him, causing him to stagger back. He clutched at his chest. It hurt. Why oh why did it hurt?

He kept smiling but it was such a struggle to hang onto it as he continued stumbling backwards. His back hit the wall of a building as his chest started to pulse with red light.

Dream Board - Witch's Brew Apothecary

Being a practitioner of voodoo, Alastor was very familiar with rootwork. Still, it would be interesting to learn a few new tricks or, at the very least, have an inroad with the local apothecary should he require something more difficult to come by in the future.

Tucking a modest lunch into the corner of his basket, he set out towards the woods. He hummed merrily to himself. Everyone would be choosing the plants relatively close to town. He was heading farther afield.

Dream Board - Cupid's Arrow

Call Alastor a hypocrite but he found playing with someone's emotions by essentially magically drugging them to feel something was awful. At least when he toyed with someone's emotions, he did it by presenting something that person actually wanted enough to take a risk. Besides, sometimes things turned out well for the other person which could prove entertaining in its own right.

But a magic arrow? Now that was rigging the game, and that was no fun at all.

Alastor probably should have just stayed home as an arrow whizzed through the air. Whether it would hit Alastor himself or someone close by? Well, that remained to be seen.

Dream Board - Spider Thread Traps

"Now now, my dear. It's all right. Just calm down, and it'll be over with momentarily."

A sharp crack accompanied Alastor dispatching the poor doe that had been choking to death from the tether cutting into her throat. His ears pinned back and his ambient static seethed. This was revolting. Who knew how long the elegant creature had been suffering before he'd found her?

The venison would make a fine jambalaya, but at this rate the amount of meat he was collecting was far too much even for his not-inconsiderable appetite. These vile traps were everywhere, and the one who'd set them had been lazy in checking them.

One thing Alastor had always prided himself on was responsible hunting. After all, overhunting screwed everyone over. As he began dismantling the vile threads, his eyes turned to radio dials. If the hunter responsible for this showed up, he was going to give them a taste of this.

Comments

dream exploration

[photographists]

( It's raining in Basil's dream.

He has no umbrella himself, but despite standing in the rain - it doesn't seem like he himself is getting wet. He's standing off into the distance in a yard to someone's house in a rather normal peaceful-looking neighborhood. In the distance, a younger-looking version of himself is running to meet up with a friend, though he looks far happier in the memory than he does now.

He has yet to notice anyone else in his dream. )

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor tilts his head to one side. A rather bland little dream to start off with, but seeing two different versions of the same person could make this a dream of a memory.]

[He walks closer but pauses about a foot away from the less-cheerful young man. He doesn't say anything, just continuing to observe for the moment.]

[photographists]

( It's when Alastor walks next to him that he stops -- and immediately, he can't help but stiffen, looking rather alarmed at the appearance of:
a) someone he doesn't recognize in his dreams
b) someone almost rather frightening to see. )

Uhm.... Hello....

( They're... a bit intimidating-looking, to say the least. )

[lonelysmiles]

[He turns his head to look down at the child. His smile likely did little to offset the boy's current nervousness.]

Hello! What seems to be going on here?

[photographists]

It.... It's a memory...

( There's something incredibly unsettling about this person... Basil knows this is just a dream, but he can't help but feel on edge. Still, he continues anyways, despite not meeting his gaze. )

... Of people who used to be my friends.

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor's ear flicks.]

"Used to be"? How ominous!

Bleeding Hearts - I'll let you pick the stage!

[lethechained]

[ This is all quite the mess. Despite happening upon one incident by chance the first time, Naminé took rather especial interest in the Bleeding Heart matter for reasons very different from Alastor's. Her magic rarely sees much use these days - or at least, the type related to that one specific part of a human hasn't. But when people are having their hearts taken over, how can someone like her possibly stand by and watch? A witch with her experience ought to see to it that no one comes to any more harm than is unavoidable.

That's the only reason she's still outside at a time like this, making her hurried way down the street until a flash of red out of the corner of her eye arrests her attention. At first she expects another Bleeding Heart, but when a sharp turn of her head informs her otherwise, of course the first thing she does is call a worried, ]

Alastor--?

How about we start with Study and see where it leads? :3

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor turns his head towards her voice, wide grin in place.]

Hello, Miss Namine! Lovely day, isn't it?

[As if there aren't Bleeding Hearts drifting about.]

Alright! Sounds good.

[lethechained]

[ Expression crumpled in concern, the lass heads toward him without delay. Though she sees his smile - and her eyes switch searchingly between sides of his face - the girl herself wears a frown she's not quite as conscious of as she might otherwise be as she approaches. Only late does she think to return his, ]

H-- Hello.

[ He really is always smiling, isn't he? But that's just Alastor, so she tells herself not to think anything of it. ]

But it's not exactly-- [ A lovely day; hesitating, Naminé shakes her head half as if to clear it and half to banish her other thoughts. ]

Even if the weather's not bad, it's really dangerous out here, Alastor...! Haven't you seen what's going on?

[lonelysmiles]

[A smile to Alastor is a sign of dominance, control. Any other expression is an admission of weakness.]

[He tilts his head curiously to one side. His smile turns a bit cheeky and playful.]

Whatever do you mean? Seems like the usual nonsense of an emotion-powered town to me!

[lethechained]

[ Fingers curling, Naminé nearly bristles at his tone - although it's surprise that wins out. Surely he can't-- ]

Even if it is nonsense, you could still get hurt...!

[ Or hurt someone else by accident, but that's not the part of it she wants to picture, any more than the rest of it is. ]

People aren't acting like themselves, and if one of them sees you, they might not leave you alone.

[ Clearly this is something to worry about!! ]

[lonelysmiles]

[Alastor reaches out to pat her on the head. A little condescending maybe, but he's frankly amused by her concern.]

I'm quite visible no matter what I do, my dear: The price of being so tall and brightly-colored, I'm afraid!

But don't worry about me. I'm more than capable of defending myself!

[His grin widens as an ear twitches backwards to track someone who isn't themselves and might think to attack tries to stealthily approach. He turns his head just enough to see the stranger in his periphery, his grin extra maniacal as he adjusts his voice and his ambient static increases.]

It̛͖͍̼̃̒͌ͅ'̻̰͉̄͌̇ś͜ ̣̩̫̂̑̉r̛̳̱̈u͈͓̇̓̂͢d͖̝̓͐̀̈́͢͜e̠̝̿́ ̰́t̖̖̦̊̊̑̚͢ó̗̜̗̺̥́͒̓̒ ̧͕̻̣̈̾̚͠i̭͊ṋ̭̲͛̀̾ẗ͇́e̗͕͋͘r̜͎͛͛rȗ̢̨̞̠̀́̊̚͟p̞̠̌̅t ͈̝̤̎͐͑p̨̈́ę̗̯̲̈̉̒̌ó̻͎̕ṕ͈̤̬̏̈́l͉̿e̲̳͂͠ ͕́ẅ̠́h͈͎̃͝e͋͢n̛̖̖̒̋͢ ̦̬̘̏̏̀t̤̫̓͌h̥̋ę̘̲́̓͑y̫͚͇̲̤̿̂̽͌͠'̮̞̩̭̖͊͂̌͒̿r͖͔̿͋̕͢e͈͇̜͊́̈́ ̢̛̞̻̽̉͜͡ť̨̢̼̘́̉͋̑͟a̲̜̘͗̑̓l̜̥͆͒k͕̰͖̈̾̿í̧ń͍̝̱̻̃̾̈͘͢g̭͆.̍͟

[And suddenly the possessed man has somewhere else to be in quite a hurry.]

[lethechained]

[ Although her shoulders rise and her brow scrunches under the pat, Naminé's pouting face has nothing to do with the gesture itself; if anything, her expression is a little softer for it, whether it was condescending or otherwise. Having seen a few of his tricks by now, Naminé does hesitantly admit, ]

I'm sure that you can...

[ Before another 'but' can reach her lips, Naminé blinks in surprise as she comes to a similar realization about an unwelcome individual approaching them, more easily seen from her angle. Face serious, she glances the fellow's way just in time for Alastor's voice to startle both of them simultaneously, her eyes rounding as she nearly jumps out of her skin. That's another new one, and Naminé does a pretty good impression of an owl as she looks up again, neck craning to angle that look Alastor's way, and then back once more as the possessed man dashes off.

Huffing out a concerned breath, Naminé curls a hand against her chest. ]

Oh. You really did scare him off...!

[ Not that she doubted Alastor, she might say if she were more inclined to defend the truth of her own statements; but the fact of the matter is that she'd worry over her friend no matter what. And worry about a lot of other things besides, it seems - because after a moment of shifting in place, she notes aloud, albeit with a hint of reluctance, ]

I should probably make certain that he doesn't bother anyone else.

[ Which surely sounds strange, coming from a tiny toothpick of a girl like her. ]

[lonelysmiles]

I'm a demon, my dear. Of course I'm frightening.

[His voice is once more normal as he chuckles.]

[He also raises an amused eyebrow at her.]

And what will you do if he does?

[lethechained]

Well, of course that makes sense, but that kind of thing doesn't work on everyone, you know?

[ Wait, what? She's-- she's actually completely aware that he's supposed to be frightening? And yet it clearly doesn't work on her either - although she does open her mouth and then shut it once before responding to the question, at which point her lips work themselves into a subtle, funny little pout. ]

Make him stop, I suppose. Or find someone else who knows him and can help.

[ Not much of a plan, there, Naminé... ]

[lonelysmiles]

Hmm...true. Fortunately, I have other tricks up my sleeve for if a simple scare won't work. [He gives a somewhat feral grin.] Though honestly I'm trying to refrain from those. I'd rather not get run right out of town.

[He chuckles at her response to his question.]

And you'd make him stop by doing what precisely?

Cupid's Arrow- victim is dealer's choice.

[songbird_slayer]

She always liked to check in on people she recognized. The moon going missing was one thing and she kept a sharp eye on the environment to see what the lack of Nhaama would inflict upon it, but it's another thing entirely when it seemed the holiday was being treated like a fiasco. That's not right. What would Madam Valentione think?

Ah. There's a victim pal. After being such a gentleman with the groceries, she couldn't help but shake the heebie-jeebies and continue to consider giving him a poke when she saw him.

"Looks like rain, doesn't it?" She pursed her lips thoughtfully and held out a hand for the dangerous drops, more of the enchanted shafts sailing through the air.

"Very sloppy rain."

I flipped a coin, and Madhuri lost. Enjoy being in love with Alastor...?

[lonelysmiles]

"Very annoying rain but not as bad as it is in Hell! Save that one time it rained blood. That was actually quite refreshing!" Alastor looked down at the young woman. "And how are you this fine day?"

It's that smile. That damned smile.

[songbird_slayer]

"As well as can be. I think a few lost lambs will do just fine with the things I've taught them."

She paused, and propped a hand on a hip with a smirk. "You know what? I'm told by enough of my adversaries that I should take a trip down there. How's the climate aside from sanguine sprinkles? Real estate decent enough in Hell?"

Everybody falls for that smile...if they're not running away, that is.

[lonelysmiles]

"Very warm! I'd make sure to pack light clothing if you can!" Alastor answered cheerfully. "Though as far as real estate goes, it depends on where you fall -- no pun intended this time -- as far as power and ruthlessness goes. You could be living in wealth and prosperity for whatever time you have left of existence or you could be living on the street!"

Ironically, Alastor fell into both camps: Incredibly powerful and ruthless but, as the worn edges of his own clothing could attest, he tended to wander about. He held the title of "overlord" by technicality, not because he actually gave a damn about it.

[songbird_slayer]

Well, she'd be a fool to bring her furs and winter gear to Hell, but she had heard of particular circles of Hell being bitterly cold. Then again, the gent himself didn't seem dressed for cold.

"Just show me where I can open up a very sinful bakery and I'm set. I need no opulence but I've slept on streets enough to have a lifetime's fill. The fates know I'm not suited for anywhere up there." A half-hearted jerk of a thumb upward. She hadn't heard it, but there was a brief buzz of something from the street corner.

"But that's neither here nor-" Thunk. Something struck her back. She knew the feeling of an arrow, and save for the force of the impact sending her a half-step forward, her eyes burned a bright violet of rage as her tail snapped around the shaft of the embedded arrow, but it dissipated into a little pink mist before she could yank it out in some fashion.

She hadn't the heart to turn and figure out who fired. Who cared? As her eyes faded to normal, her hands went to her cheeks. What had she come here to talk about? Did she have a plan?

Or did she just want to be close to him?

[lonelysmiles]

Alastor reached out a hand to steady her as she took a step forward, not realizing what had happened right away. Oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere, he picked up the sudden slack in the conversation.

"You're more than welcome to open a bakery if you can get the space for it! No need to worry about that! Depending on where you decide to set up shop, you might even have one with a quaint little apartment above it. Cannibal Colony in particular enjoys that manner of shop so long as you're willing to follow the local aesthetic. Otherwise they'll eat you alive. Literally."

Still, Alastor did have quite a bit of pull in that neighborhood: The local ladies adored him.

[songbird_slayer]

Cannibals... well, that was Hell for you. She lowered her hands and nodded. "Right... put my sweat and blood into my work, as it were."

But she closed the gap between them. He'd helped her in her ever-so-dull grocery tasks and even offered a hand. Perhaps they were signs. Her radar wasn't usually far off.

"What fortune I have that someone like you would give me such recommendations." She neatly smoothed down his lapels.

"You'd keep an eye out for me, would you...? Should you ever happen by the Colony, or even walking down the street here in Reverein. Like a dash of chili in the honey jar: Always a welcome stir-up."

[lonelysmiles]

"Absolute...ly?"

The last part was asked with a bit of a squeak in his voice as she smoothed his lapels. Oh...oh dear.

"Miss Madhuri, are you feeling all right?"

[songbird_slayer]

She hadn't entirely pulled away, hands settled against his chest as best as she could. Standing on the tips of her flats, she had to do what she could to compensate for the height difference. It hadn't stopped her from the warm smile she offered, topped with a rather smoky gaze.

Her thoughtful hum was coupled with the gentle flick of the tip of her tail, like the cat that had finally caught her prey.

"Alright? I feel fantastic now that you're here. You left quite the hole in my heart when last we parted, you know..."