time isn't real and the party is always } network + action

[sisterswitch]

[hey, it’s a jack video! and she is grinning with excitement, because she has something cool to show you.]

So. Time is a construct, right? But it’s a pretty important one to a lot of us. We mark the passage of time in cycles, with celebrations, and I’m guessing most of us have missed at least one birthday, favorite holiday, or anniversary since we’ve been on this long, strange trip. For me, it’s been four birthdays since I was home. Not that I did a whole lot for my birthday, but it was still nice to take myself out for ice cream and check the box for surviving another year.

[the video feed flips around to show the observation room/lucifer’s bar, tastefully decorated with sparkly silver streamers and balloons. as jack slowly pans the camera across the room, you’ll see tables have been brought in and are loaded up with a variety of foods, an assortment of drinks, and of course a nice big cake.]

Anyway, whatever it is you’ve missed, we’re celebrating it - right now. So get thee to the observation room! If nothing else, you can celebrate an unbirthday with the rest of us.

[have a party mingle! or you can talk to jack on network, if you really want. feel free to assume your involvement with party setup, making food, etc. and have a good time!]

Comments

[dealwiththe]

[ Well, there's a fly in the ointment of this little get-together. Of course, there are worse people who could show up on this sentient space-carnival ride, Lucifer supposes. He glances up, plastering a fake grin on his face as John approaches. ]

As I live and breathe, John Constantine, in the flesh. [ He actually does plonk out a few bars of "God Save the Queen", just to poke fun at him. ] And here I thought Navi was only picking the really fun people to go on this space vacation.

[laughing_magician]

[John might be the fly in the ointment, but if nothing else he's a happier one. One might think that Lucifer is someone to be feared. And maybe, to some, he is. To John, he's open season to bother and John has no small amount of delight in doing so.]

Good to see you again too. [The few bars bring a more real smile to John's face.] That's what I was thinking too, and then I saw you here. So who knows how the guest list is chosen. [He tilts his head, thinking.] Not bad. So just how far does your repertoire go?

[dealwiththe]

My repertoire is extensive, of course. I taught all the greats. Centuries of music, at my fingertips.

[ His smile takes on a challenging gleam. ]

Try me.

[laughing_magician]

Oh, all the greats? Surely someone put in the work for themselves. I'll be heartbroken if all my favorites had to rely on you for their skills.

[He won't be, and honestly he wouldn't be surprised if literally every musician of real acclaim had to make a deal for their record contracts. That's just how things go.

John does love a challenge. He thinks he can trip him up, there's got to be something he doesn't know or that doesn't translate well.] So let's start off easy. Some Black Sabbath perhaps? Iron Man. Or Mr. Crowley. Your choice.

[dealwiththe]

I may be a narcissist, but even my ego isn’t that big. I just teach them some tricks, really. Maybe help some of them out, boost their careers. The talent isn’t me, though.

[ He scoffs a bit. ]

Cliche much? But fine.

[ He easily transitions into the opening bars of “Mr Crowley”, making it appropriately baroque and dramatic. ]

You’re not nearly as clever as you think, John.

[laughing_magician]

Good to know that you're reasonably humble when it suits you.

[John just grins at the scoffing, he's having a good time now and he doesn't care if he's judged. He's also impressed enough to nod in approval, not everything works out when shifted to piano keys.] Not bad. It translates well enough.

I'm just getting started. Camille Saint-Saëns if you will. Can't imagine Danse Macabre sounding right with just one instrument.

[dealwiththe]

I’ve always been an honest Devil.

[ He slides easily into Danse Macabre. Yet another cliche, John! Shame. But he’s smiling nonetheless. ]

Camille at least knew how to build an effective harmony.

[laughing_magician]

Where did the whole father of lies business come from anyway?

[John could make a whole list of things he dislikes about Lucifer. But being a liar really can't fit on it. The First Of The Fallen back home is another issue entirely, but Lucifer doesn't fit a lot of the stereotypes that The First embodies.

John is smiling now, enjoying this thoroughly. He never had the touch for piano, it's just not his talent. Lucifer really is good at this.] Not bad at all. How about some Meatloaf, Paradise By The Dashboard Lights?

[dealwiththe]

[ Lucifer slides easily into it, even humming for a bit. Oh it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night… ]

I don’t know. Humans have been slandering me for millennia. Though - [ he pauses, a furrow in his brow. ] Now that I think about it, I do happen to have a brother who is both an inveterate liar and who unfortunately shares my face. Up until very recently I would’ve said Michael would never leave the Silver City, it’d be beneath him - literally. But apparently it’s not. Or at least, it won’t be in the very near future, based on what Miss Lopez and the Detective have told me.

[ If Michael tried to wreck his life on Earth, who’s to say he hasn’t visited in the past just to smear his brother’s name? ]

[laughing_magician]

Oh, that's good. [John's voice is just a little quieter than usual, there's something that almost sounds like admiration in it. John won't swoon over Lucifer or beg for his favor, he doesn't see him as nearly as charming as others do, but music is something that holds power over John even now. And Lucifer certainly knows how to handle the keys.

John was a failure in the music world, Mucous Membrane was a shitshow that never had a chance. John has gotten much better at singing over the years, but he just doesn't have a voice for the sort of music he'd want to perform. So it's all a lost cause anyway.]

So that nasty bit of brother business, combined with how humans feel about you to begin with could explain the whole thing. [It's possible. Probable, even. There's a lot of room for motive too, John isn't even sure there'd have to be a good reason behind the smear campaign.] So you've got company here from your Earth?

[dealwiththe]

It explains most things, really.

[ The stuff that he’s not responsible for - which is most of it!

But he’s more than happy for the change of subject. Gushing about his human friends is one of his favorite things to do. ]

Oh! Yes. Miss Ella Lopez, genius forensic scientist and beloved colleague, who’s brain was somehow not melted when she arrived here and saw me in my full Devilish glory for the first time.

[ He points out the petite, jaunty ponytail across the room. ]

And then there’s the Detective. Er - Detective Chloe Decker, that is. LA’s finest, in every possible way. My partner and girlfriend. She hasn’t made an - oh, there she is!

[ When he spots Chloe, his smile changes from something sharp and almost sardonic to something warm, soft, affectionate. It’s highly unlikely John has ever seen such an expression on Lucifer’s face before. He’s completely besotted with the woman he so proudly points out. ]

[laughing_magician]

[John can see the very real and very surprising emotion on Lucifer's face. The man in is love, poor bastard. It's the biggest trap there is, and John knows how hard it is for beings like him to hold long term relationships with humans. They're fragile, they don't live long either. Not compared to the lifespan of someone like Lucifer Morningstar. And there's usually at least some conflict of interest to be had.

John's not going to voice those things, though.] I didn't think you were the type to get tangled up with a human long term. Don't you fancy yourself to be above us? [John genuinely didn't think that Lucifer was the commitment type. But the detective seems pretty enough, she's most likely got a good head on her shoulders, she'd have to if she's dealing with Luci long term.]

I suppose congratulations is in order. Good for you, mate. Hope you're happy together. [His mind wanders back to the music, however.] Give us another song, will you? Dead Kennedys would be nice.

[dealwiththe]

[ Lucifer, for all that he is immortal and is well aware that Chloe isn’t, is simply not the sort to think in the long term. If it ever does cross his mind, he mentally shoves it aside as a problem for Future Lucifer to deal with. Easy enough, when his soul mate is around, and alive, and amazing.

He glances up at Constantine for a moment, considering. ]

I suppose I’ve changed. And anything is possible.

[ Even the Dead Kennedys on piano. Of course, it doesn’t sound great, but Lucifer manages. ]

Even I can’t make everything suitable. You want a miracle, well, Dad doesn’t usually hand those out anymore.

[ Only sometimes. Case in point: his gaze falls back on the lovely detective. ]

[laughing_magician]

Oh, you've got it bad. She's got to be something special to get that sort of look from you.

[John's been there, he's had a small amount of people in the past that he truly felt were the one, most of them dead or worse now. It's a nice feeling, when love twists around a cold dead-feeling heart and breathes a little life into it. It's the cruelest pain when it ends, though.

At least Chloe has the benefit of having one hell of a protector, it'd be a bad day for whoever might choose to lay a hand on her.]

You're right about the song, doesn't translate. Not everything is suited for piano. [He tilts his head.] There's got to be a song that I know that you don't. There's differences between the Earths, surely that counts for the music too.

[dealwiththe]

She's incredible.

[ He says that with an earnestness that he doesn't usually offer to John Constantine. Which also goes a long way to proving how right the other man is - about how bad Lucifer's got it.

John has another leg up on Lucifer in this regard - Chloe is his first love. If pressed, he'd say she'll be his only, as well. He can't imagine ever feeling something like this for anyone else, ever again.

But he shakes himself out of it after a moment, and shrugs. ]

Some worlds have a lot in common. There probably are some minor differences, but what are the odds you or I are aware of them?

[laughing_magician]

Good for you, then. Were you together before embarking? Or is it something that happened onboard?

[He's glad for Lucifer, he decides. Good for him indeed, he can take the good of it and the misery too. Love is something John would rather not experience again. He's better alone, it's safer on his partners and his own heart to keep his connections to easily detached from one night stands. But Lucifer seems happy, and genuinely so. Which is good enough for John as far as the subject of Lucifer's lovelife goes. They're barely casual friends, if even that. Not quite enemies either. It's an odd place that they fill together so this level of investment in Lucifer's happiness is a bit surprising.

It's easier to think about music, though. Music is always easier. Especially when he really wants to trip Lucifer up somehow.] Hmm. What about Warsaw Pakt?

[dealwiththe]

Ah, you've stumped me there. I'd say the next round's on me, but all the drinks are free here.

[ He waves a hand vaguely towards the stock of liquor, then idly begins playing an almost-melancholy tune on the piano. ]

And... yes? Let's just say there are some weird timeline shenanigans going on, so that the answer to your question is both.

[laughing_magician]

A useless victory, sounds about right.

[John tilts his head, focused in on this. He doesn't like the implications of any of this, and he's not sure how much he trusts the spiel he was given. There's just too much risk involved with things like this, he's found that when time and space are messed with, it's hardly ever accidental. And it's usually done for a really stupid, selfish reason.

He doesn't like any of this, really.

But still, he's here. He might as well make the best of it for now. And he can figure out how much of the story is real or not along the way.] Timeline nonsense is a pain in the arse. Same with any of this reality altering bullshit. Still, all's well that ends well I suppose. You've got her with you, that's got to make this unplanned vacation a sweeter one.

[dealwiththe]

It's pretty par for the course, for us.

[ Lucifer smiles a little, over the piano. ]

She's from - well, further in the future than I am. The point she's from, we'd already gotten together back home. Apparently. We hadn't yet, when I left.