The Devil's Nest, Tuesday Night

[my_own_advocate]

It was Tuesday, and the Devil was done sleeping off the weekend. It had been an inspiring one, especially near the end, as one could tell by the music flowing from his piano right now.

Well, maybe it had been that, and 'googling how to make anaemic pop palatable'.

Either way, you could kind of tell what he was playing if you squinted.

Comments

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Is anyone making him stay in Haven?" Lucifer asked.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"Just his own, idiot self. Pretty sure he's still trying to prove something to his dad."

It always came down to dads, didn't it.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Then he's made his choice, as he's allowed to," Lucifer said, "And you can make a choice not to let him drag you down with him with a guilt-free conscience."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

". . . You don't really get how human guilt works, do you," Duke observed. "It's not like we choose what to feel guilty about."

Dr. Linda -- and Claire -- might have something to say about that. But Duke had only had two sessions so far, so.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

You really didn't want to get into the whole thorny mess of Lucifer and guilt and fathers and whatnot, Duke. That was going to get... explosive... some day.

"Yes, but you choose what you act on," Lucifer said, "And right now, apparently guilt trumps everything."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"It's not --" Duke started, then cut himself off, because Lucifer didn't deserve his lies. "It's not just about guilt. I mean, I am the reason Nathan can't feel anything anymore."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer squinted at him. "Is this another superpower of yours you haven't told me about?"

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"I really hope not. I was -- we had a fight. His trouble triggered in the middle of it." And so had Duke's. So at least they'd both been screwed?

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"... This is your fault how?" Lucifer said slowly.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"I broke a bottle over his head. If that didn't trigger it, I don't know what did."

The feeling of betrayal when Nathan decided Duke had used their friendship as a "get out of trouble free" card.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, this is the first time I've heard of magical ability by blow to the head," Lucifer said. "So there's that."

He was still having trouble parsing why this would somehow require Duke to run off back to Haven all the time.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

Because someone needed to make sure Nathan didn't get dead.

"I feel like if anywhere's going to break that pattern, it'd be Haven."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

Yes, but that was Nathan's responsibility, that was the bloody point!

"Someone should probably just torch the place and get it all over with," Lucifer sighed, bringing his glass up to his mouth.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah, probably." Duke shook his head. "Except that apparently the theory is that it's actually a haven, 27 years out of 30. Like, people who have curses in other places come there to get a break from them?" He shrugged. "I only just heard that the other week, though."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm beginning to feel like I need someone to cart in a whiteboard and a red marker and maybe some string and some mugshots to put this all together," Lucifer said.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"You're not alone in that."

Duke would eventually be doing something very similar, only with the added focus of "figuring out who is destined to kill me". So there was that.

"You know how in Fandom, everyone just acknowledges the weird and doesn't try to keep it secret? Yeah, Haven is not like that. Getting information is like pulling teeth."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Seems annoying," Lucifer said. "In LA you can't even get them to accept what you specifically told them just happened, though, so it could be worse."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh, we've got those people in Haven, too." Egged on by the local news and police. "Nathan spent most of his life convinced his trouble was a medical condition. He saw a gremlin while he was down here and remarked on how lifelike the animatronics were."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Now that's just advanced self-delusion," Lucifer said, pulling a face. "Not charming."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

Lucifer.

"Yeah, not so much. He seems to be in the know about now, though. Apparently his new partner talked him into it."

Audrey was very persuasive.

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

Yes, well, Lucifer's self-delusion was beyond advanced and into full PhD. thesis level, all right?

"I suppose that's... some kind of relief."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

"She's a pistol. And -- possibly the reincarnation of a woman who helped me out as a kid."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"Seems unlikely, but continue."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[betterthanaplan]

Duke snorted. "I'm not sure anything's actually unlikely in Haven. She looks exactly like her. Except for her hair."

Re: Talk to Lucifer

[my_own_advocate]

"They could just be related," Lucifer pointed out.