Anton Shudder (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gistful) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tushanshu_logs2016-03-06 02:47 pm
gistful) wrote in tushanshu_logs2016-03-06 02:47 pm
[Midnight Hotel] March catch-all
Characters: Anyone, everyone.
Date: Month of March, 2016 (2017 in-game).
Location: The Midnight Hotel.
Situation: Catch-all post! Feel free to use this post for anything that happens within the Midnight Hotel during the month, using the subject header to label specific rooms or for specific people. See also the OOC note at the bottom.
Warnings/Rating: Mark your threads if content warnings become applicable, please!
The influx of patrons from Hatal has slowed somewhat as the novelty wears off and residents are assured they won’t miss anything by not visiting the quaint hotel right away. Most Tavimbians have got it through their heads that the proprietor takes his rules seriously, and have come to the usual conclusion that it’s not worth the effort of breaking them in minor ways.
Some of those assumptions might be questioned, given that those who live at the Hotel will have gotten the opportunity to witness said proprietor going out on the town with some friends.
Other changes this month involve the addition of a ramp function to the stairs leading from the lobby and common-area to the second floor. Like the escalator function, the ramp is controlled by buttons at the height and base of the stairs; when pressed, the steps fall flat against the floor into a ramp, and revert to their previous state only once there is no more weight on them.
These changes are to account for Bisi’s chair, but some kedanese children get in on the fun by using the ramp-stairs as a slide – though not too much, as their parents or guardians will shoo them off whenever they start getting in the way.
[ooc: The Midnight Hotel’s status page is available here, with the rules at the top and ongoing status at the bottom. PLEASE POST TO THE STATUS PAGE IF YOUR CHARACTER WOULD LIKE A ROOM, JOB OR AREA IN THE GARAGE, OR ARE MOVING OUT. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out.]
Date: Month of March, 2016 (2017 in-game).
Location: The Midnight Hotel.
Situation: Catch-all post! Feel free to use this post for anything that happens within the Midnight Hotel during the month, using the subject header to label specific rooms or for specific people. See also the OOC note at the bottom.
Warnings/Rating: Mark your threads if content warnings become applicable, please!
The influx of patrons from Hatal has slowed somewhat as the novelty wears off and residents are assured they won’t miss anything by not visiting the quaint hotel right away. Most Tavimbians have got it through their heads that the proprietor takes his rules seriously, and have come to the usual conclusion that it’s not worth the effort of breaking them in minor ways.
Some of those assumptions might be questioned, given that those who live at the Hotel will have gotten the opportunity to witness said proprietor going out on the town with some friends.
Other changes this month involve the addition of a ramp function to the stairs leading from the lobby and common-area to the second floor. Like the escalator function, the ramp is controlled by buttons at the height and base of the stairs; when pressed, the steps fall flat against the floor into a ramp, and revert to their previous state only once there is no more weight on them.
These changes are to account for Bisi’s chair, but some kedanese children get in on the fun by using the ramp-stairs as a slide – though not too much, as their parents or guardians will shoo them off whenever they start getting in the way.
[ooc: The Midnight Hotel’s status page is available here, with the rules at the top and ongoing status at the bottom. PLEASE POST TO THE STATUS PAGE IF YOUR CHARACTER WOULD LIKE A ROOM, JOB OR AREA IN THE GARAGE, OR ARE MOVING OUT. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out.]
B.
If one were sensitive to magical energies, they were everywhere on the floor John and Lucifer lived on. Tiny wards hid among Shudder's powerful sigils. Traces of spells Constantine used on himself dusted places - like Lucifer, Constantine made himself seem less there via magic to pass in and out. Whether that was due to Lucifer's appearance was anyone's guess.
The Magician himself finally put in an appearance on the rooftop where Lucifer had been exiled to smoke, poking around with a thin wooden dowl into the small piles of clutter. "Come on out, Mange. I know you're around somewhere."
Let me know if you need me to change anything here!
Actually, it was quite interesting and told it's own sort of tale in the way it didn't allow anything to drop off it. Lucifer had discovered this the first time he'd field stripped one of his cigarette butts and attempted to flick it off into the night, only to have it rebound right into his chest.
The magic here really was fascinating. Take for instance, the rabbit who had gotten up here somehow. It hadn't seemed too impressed with Lucifer and Lucifer was even less impressed with it so he'd given it almost no notice.
However, as his very interesting floor mate appeared, looking for said rabbit, Lucifer's wandering attention came back to the subject at hand.
"Behind there," he remarked pointing, with the cigarette in his hand towards, a bit of building material.
no subject
"Goddamnit, Mange. I knew you were around," John said more to himself than Lucifer as he ripped the panel away to reveal absolutely nothing. If he hadn't seen the fluff of white for himself, Constantine would have thought the man was part of it or messing with him.
A shake of his head, and Constantine finally took in the man on the rooftop. Someone new. Good. He'd gotten tired of being the newest source of curiosity for the natives. Was easier to run his con games.
"I'll catch that little bastard sooner or later," he griped with a sigh. He hadn't gotten close enough to tell if it was a bit of stray magic or the actual rabbit himself. Things were strange here. "One of the new people, yeah? Welcome to the turtle. You from Earth?"
Considering the worlds John had heard about, it seemed like a logical question to ask at the start.
no subject
No, still not particularly interesting in and of itself, though Lucifer could appreciate the snark. He even chuckled at it or perhaps he was chuckling at the way the rabbit gave the blonde man the slip.
"Don't know, think I'll put my money on Bugs," he drawled out, taking a drag off his cigarette.
At the welcome and the question, Lucifer's eyebrows went up and he considered his answer carefully.
"In a manner of speaking, suppose so." He said, glancing at the cherry on the end of the cigarette and then back to Constantine. "At least for the last five years. Guess you've been here long enough to learn to ask a question like that?"
no subject
When it came to Mange, the rabbit couldn't keep his mouth shut. Of that Constantine was sure. Scowling, he flipped over a few pieces of trash near the plank to make sure the beast hadn't slipped away. It had to be a hallucination or bit of stray magic that had gotten away from him.
Or just a great way to spy on people since other than Harvey, what grown man chased after a rabbit? Dusting himself off, John tapped the wooden rod in his hand on the ground three times idly as if getting it clean too. A swirl of magic slithered up the impromptu wand disguised as a few puffs of dust from the ground. It was an old habit of John's to check for any traps nearby.
"Five years? You a fast grower?" he asked in that same careless way as he patted his pockets down for a ciggie of his own. "Mind if I get one off you, mate? Seem to have left mine behind while I was on a rabbit hunt."
The bit about himself John was quick to avoid with extra talk, a magician trying to get the audience to look at his right hand while he pulled the trick off with his left.
no subject
He would give the man props, to most beings it probably was a very discreet use of magic, the sort of slight of hand that came from years of practice. More note worthy, for the moment at least, than a talking rabbit.
At the question, the one about the cigarette rather than the comment about his growth, Lucifer considered his options. He reached up and pulled the cigarette between his teeth down, so he could turn the full force of his smile on John; the slightly unsettling smile. Pulling the silver case from his pocket, he thumbed it open and held it out towards the man.
"Don't mind in the least, but you'll owe me one." He said, silken smooth.
He was playing. Oh, not about the cigarette, he was dead serious about that but in the grand scheme of things, he was amusing himself while simultaniously looking to further educate himself.
Just how attentive was this magic user?
no subject
Another trio of idle taps from the wand accompanied John's words, patternless one might assume like the nervous tic some had with clicking a pen or tapping a pencil. That was, unless they had a magic sense or caught sight of the a few puffs of dust on the trail the rabbit had taken away from Lucifer. John's false smile fell away when he finally paid attention to Lucifer versus his little spells to see if the rabbit had been real or not.
"I can always head back to my room. Prefer to do my smoking indoors anyway. Might rain out here," he said, the magician's patter sound coming back to his voice as the smile reemerged. Charm, baby. That was the way to go. Wasn't a bad looking bloke, and he might hand over one of those cigarettes still. "Five years? You one of those world-hopper sorts like the Jedi or something else?"
That smile just... wasn't quite right. If this was another cannibal, John was demanding they get a police force around here.
no subject
Lucifer gave a small ‘your loss’ shrug and snaped the case shut, moving to tuck it back into his pocket. The continued use of magic tickled across his senses, the pattering noted and offered a less than impressed arch of dark eyebrows. At the question, he gave a dry chuckle and shook his head.
“No, no I’m not a Jedi,” Lucifer said, tapping his thumb against the cigarette to ash it, before lifting his hand and using it as a pointer towards John. “But I think the bigger curiosity here is what, precisely, are you?”
He paused and took a drag off the cigarette, blowing smoke upwards to swirl in front of his face. It did little to conceal the intent look in dark eyes as he studied Constantine.
"And I'll give you fair warning, I have a very low tolerance for liars and charlatans."
(of course the one I had been waiting for all day got redirected)
"Me? I'm John Constantine. No one special."
Again, the business card was drawn from an inner pocket and offered. Exorcist, Demonologist and Master of the Dark Arts was below his name along with a useless phone number. Magic sizzled in the bit of paper, a bit of John's essence that the majority of people would miss. It was a sharp bit of magic, the holy and unholy wrapped up together to be called when needed. Black or white magic ended up determined by how it was used.
"Depends on where you stand on an issue if the other party is lying. Sky isn't always blue. Could be purple or black or even red. I answered your question so what's this about five years?"
John's hands slid into his coat pockets. Not much to help him in there, but he had been hoping. A bluff might be needed if Mr Tall Dark Creepy Handsome was dangerous.
no subject
Lucifer's ears listened as Constantine insisted he was no one special, even as his fingers plucked up the card that was soaked in power. A curious thing, not just the strength of that power but also the way it drew down the middle between holy and unholy. A man firmly entrenched in the grey.
Flicking at the card with a thumb nail, Lucifer idly read the words though they meant little to him in comparison to the magic imbued in the card itself. Despite his current mortality stretch, Lucifer felt no concern about Constantine's power, but to be fair he didn't even concern himself with Yahweh's power either, so John was in good company.
Constantine's desire to continue the lying was noted with a flat look but for the time being, Lucifer stopped remarking upon it. Mortals were like that, from their little white lies to the much bigger sins. A mortal who spent enough time with the holy and the demonic, to have this much power, was probably as used to lying as he was to breathing.
"The 'Master of the Dark Arts' is a nice touch," Lucifer remarked, holding the card back towards John, almost as if presenting his own card in return. He smiled as he continued.
"Lucifer Morningstar. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Constantine."
no subject
"Bollocks."
Because sometimes, that's all there really was to say. Hands still stuffed into his trench pockets, John didn't lose that lazy stance that said it was just another day in Mr Constantine's Neighborhood even as he heaved a mental sigh. That look he kept getting from Lucifer wasn't helping any.
"What can I say? The bird at the stationary store was pretty and thought 'Master of the Dark Arts' sounded better than 'petty dabbler'. You wouldn't happen to be some gothy want-to-be using that name, would you? I heard the real thing went to the City of Angels and opened a bar. Hadn't gotten a chance to drop in there yet."
Meaning: Avoided it like the plague because there's stupid and stupid deserving death. Going into the lion's den to pull its tail without a good reason usually isn't his style. Get him drunk and give him a reason first.
"Thought you might be a blond for some reason."
Because he met archangels everyday, right? Right.
no subject
The last two words were drawled out in a manner that was edged with something. Whatever it was came and went quickly and never completely reached his dark eyes. Instead, Lucifer glanced back at the card.
"Seems that bird at the stationary store was more given to truths than you are, Mr. Constantine. Would it answer your inane question if I explained that I can feel your power on this card?"
The card he was still holding out towards Constantine but which he drew back towards himself and held it up as if it were a list.
"Let's see, boring, boring oh exorcisms that's nice, think I'll save you the trouble and explain now that they won't work on me, same with the sigils and wards; though I suppose that explains some of what I've been feeling around this building?
Resurrection, soul retrieval and necromancy? Well now. That last one's a nasty piece of work but the first two, I do hope you know what you're doing, they're best left to the professionals. Oh!"
Here he paused and finally turned back to John, smiling widely.
"And fire? What do you say, Mr. Constantine, want to have a little competition some time? See which one of us can burn the most marshmallows fastest?"
no subject
Not to mention that 'fiat lux' was John's favorite spell, one he rarely pulled out of his arsenal given the connotation attached to it. One didn't use what was supposedly the Morningstar's words lightly, but when Constantine did, it was a hell of a thing to behold.
He stayed silent through most of Lucifer's words. Even he knew when he was bested. Until he knew which con to try and run, speaking was useless. Magic, his at least, wouldn't do much against an archangel. This wasn't Gabriel he was tangling with but the Host's favorite.
"No, I don't think so. If you're who you say you are, and I don't doubt it much, fire first leaped from your fingertips. I'm just a poor sod making use of it. The Hotel isn't my doing, but I might have improved it some."
Meaning those were the bits and pieces that spied out, sneaked about under the cover of Anton's work like cheap whores on the same corner with choice goods. Not because they were less but because people who weren't Lucifer dismissed unpainted and unvarnished things.
Cheap things like John Constantine. Who glanced twice at a man like Constantine next to Anton Shudder or Doctor Strange? Like Charles Xavier or Fate?
"I'm a nasty piece of work, but not on your level, Lucy. What brings you down here in the dregs with my sort? As for truth, what I said to you was true from a certain point of view. Can't expect all we human sorts to blather out our darker selves just because you wink in our direction, yeah?"
Little flattery never hurt.
no subject
Turning, Lucifer made an attempt to capture John's eyes with his own.
"So, what would be that deep, dark, little secret hmm? That unspoken truth?"
Depending upon how alert Constantine was (perhaps quite alert) he might feel the weight of something pressing against his conscious awareness. A coaxing sensation, attempting to tickle those sweet, dark truths past his tongue; the desire to just spit out what he may have grown weary of carrying, silently, for so long.