wildestlands | Denizen of the Underworld

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Denizen of the Underworld

[Crowley is sitting in the afternoon sun in a casual sprawl outside, with a rock to his back. He's mostly healed and cleaned up. The little cut on his neck is almost gone. His voice is still a little bit hoarse but not as bad as it was. He had to trash his little gray scarf. No way was he getting the blood stains out. Fortunately his jacket and shirt are darker so it helps hide the blood stains.]

[He's definitely trying to cultivate a cucumber cool look, because vulnerability just isn't his thing.]

[He doesn't know how many people happened to be on their mirrors during the...incident. But at least one of his two attackers walked away angry, yelling about how he'd set the place on fire. The Easter Bunny is also awfully suspicious of him.]

[And word gets around.]

[He's got to control the narrative, especially since Aziraphale would absolutely get between him and a mob. He's not used to there needing to being any narrative at all since humans never pick up on what he is, so he's not sure how to go about this.]

Alright. I don't actually know how many of you saw me exposed for what I am on these things, but I know at least a few people know now. And people talk. At this point, it's best if I'm just up front about it.

My name is Crowley and I'm a demon.

That probably means all different things in all different worlds. In mine it means a former servant of the Lord, fallen from grace, now an infernal being from the Pit, tempter of souls, et cetera et cetera.

And I was good at it. I was the serpent who talked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. [He looks into the distance and juts out his jaw a little.] My boss took credit for that one. Bosses for you, am I right?

[The cavalier attitude fades a little.]

Look, I didn't ask to be here and I'm not going to cause any trouble. I just want to stay alive, carry my weight, and then take my best friend and go home when it's all over. Back home, I'm not even working for Hell anymore anyway. I got fired.

So how about I continue leaving everyone be and everyone leaves me be, and we leave it at that?

[He raises a finger.]

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if people would stop poisoning the food with blessed substances. You don't see me going around putting cyanide in everything or something, do you? The only time I've ever messed with a human food supply was the time I exchanged a truck load of communion wafers with stale cream crackers.

It was mostly just for a giggle. Nobody even noticed the difference anyway.

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Oh, we had a little bit of that, too. Both sides were keen on fighting the final battle and didn't care that humanity would be destroyed in the process.

Destroying humanity was the goal, not a side effect. But I admittedly have less sympathy for your version – that careless destruction strikes me as crueler than those simply fighting for their right to the Earth.

The worst thing of all is that angels are supposed to be beings of love. They're supposed to care about creation, nurture and protect it. They're supposed to love humanity the way God always intended.

Demons, of course they're going to destroy it all. They're angry. Rebellious. But angels are supposed to thwart demons at every turn.

But no, they wanted a fight, too. Only one angel tried to do right by humanity during it all.

[For someone that tries so hard to seem so flippant, that concern for humanity feels very sincere. It's interesting.]

Why did you fall?

[Who just asks that??]

That's nobody's business but my own.

[Master of segues right here.]

That's alright. But it does seem significant. You're someone who's switched sides and betrayed both.

[He might be following every conversation here.]

It says something, either about you or the sides in question. That you have a friend who was so quick to rush to your aid suggests it's the latter.

Displeasing Her wasn't the same as betrayal.

[He does not want to be talking about this.]

The one time wasn't a choice, the other was.

Do you regret it? Whatever caused you to fall.

Hey, man, I'm not trying to be rude or anything but... these are really personal questions that people may not feel comfortable answering, especially in a public form like this.

I get that you probably mean well and are curious, but this seems to be upsetting him. I just wanted to let you know, in case you didn't pick that up.

[She really doesn't want to shame Kaworu for not being able to read social cues, but also holy shit dude please back off.]

[It's less a struggle to read the cues and more just a total lack of shame. Luckily, he does only push so much.]

He doesn't have to share anything he doesn't want to. It's his choice. But it's kind of you to worry about him.

Like I said: That's nobody's business but my own.

Asking more than once would be cruel, I think. But asking at all can be a kindness. How else can others show an interest and an openness to listening? Some people only need the opportunity.

But I won't ask anymore if you're uncomfortable.

You should probably make that clear in your conversations in the future. It's hard to tell if someone is going to let you say 'I don't want to talk about' or not. It's a good thing to establish up-front.

[She suggests, not unkindly. She's gotten the impression that this kid is something distinctly inhuman, so she doesn't want to hold his lack of knowledge, experience, or understanding against him. She does want to help make sure the people he interacts with aren't made super uncomfortable, though.]

[She can't see it with his preference for text, but he's giving the mirror a curious, head-tilting look.]

Are you worried about me?

Not necessarily. Should I be?

[That's an interesting thing to assume based on her response.]

It's more a way to circumvent potential miscommunication and discomfort in the future. Some people can be emotional and have extreme reactions to questions like that-- especially if they feel trapped or put on the spot by them. By prefacing those kinds of questions you can avoid conflicts or accidentally putting someone in a shitty place.

[Not that it's on him to regulate other people's emotional responses, but Elle is all about social optimization. This is her bread and butter, her thing. She knows people, and she knows how to interact with them.]

Edited 2021-11-28 04:25 (UTC)

Nothing obligates you to care about other people. Choosing to do so anyway is what's significant. You're choosing to concern yourself with everyone's emotional wellbeing.

[That's the fascinating thing. The instinct to help others exists simultaneously alongside mankind's natural tendency to hurt each other even in small, accidental ways.]

I could just be trying to make my own life easier by preventing interpersonal conflict.

[She's obviously not, but the point still stands.]

You don't want others to think of you as a sincere, thoughtful person. Does it make you feel vulnerable?

[ kaworu we were just talking about this shit ]

[No. No no no, he's not allowed to turn this weird psychoanalyzing strangers thing around on someone that just defended Crowley. Fair's fair, right? He can't just sit back and not tell him to back off. It's not that Elle is a very nice young lady who was nice to him or anything.]

Oi, wh-what's with this whole thing? [He gestures vaguely and flippantly with a hand.] You know, with you. Being the way you are.

Tell me, in your upbringing, were wolves involved? Because I have a few critiques about their parenting.

I haven't run into this much hit-and-run-and-leave-no-survivors un-asked for psychoanalysis since I knew Freud. Man knew how to make a social situation awkward, bringing that many phalluses into things.

[What a nice demon. So quick to jump to the defense of others. Hopefully everyone is paying attention to this and willing to see the truth through their preconceptions.]

It's true that openness is frightening to some people. Lilim are fragile, and sincerity can feel like a weakness. It's only natural to protect one's most delicate parts. Even the warmth of being known doesn't erase the fear of exposing the heart to scorn or dismissal.

Still, it doesn't usually go over this poorly.

[Ish. Some people definitely have not enjoyed him. But he's only ever concerned himself with Shinji, who was usually receptive to it, so it hasn't been this much of an issue for a long time.

At least he's in good humor regardless. Though, maybe it doesn't translate clearly through the text.]

If it matters, there's no one else to blame for the way I am. But you can tell me if I'm doing something wrong. I won't mind.

Lilim. You referring to the humans, though.

And you mentioned angels.

[Attacking humanity. Very in-character.]

[He squints at him, thinks about it.]

Are you an angel? I ask because most of them are insufferable pricks with no social graces, emotionally removed from humanity to the nth degree, so while you seem slightly nicer than most, and more curious than anything else, you'd still fit right in.

Edited 2021-11-30 06:45 (UTC)

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I wasn't being serious. I'm just saying that there could have been perfectly selfish reasons, not that those are my reasons.

It's easier to deflect with hypotheticals than it is to openly claim to care, isn't it?

We all have our stuff like that. You shouldn't feel like you have to air yours.

[Elle is determined to help this awkward, lanky demon learn how to have friends.]

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