returnjourneynet | text | UN: waver.v || & action || forward-dated to Feb. 07

I suppose I should give an introduction as well, since I've just arrived, though I'll admit right out I'm not much for talking about myself. I'm a new Warden, my name is Waver Velvet. I'm from London, which I hope is a recognizable name to people out there. I know that we're all meeting here from different corners of the universe.

Ice breakers do seem a bit awkward in a situation like this, don't they. It feels out of place to say something like "I can't wait to get to work" or "I'm glad to be here". So I'll just say that I'm here to help in whatever way I can. Back home, I'm a professor, and I'd rather handle this position as a teacher rather than an actual warden. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and doing whatever I'm able to.

WARDEN FILTER
I'd rather meet my new coworkers face to face than over this, so I'll be in the lounge going over my materials at Warden Command if anyone cares to chat. But over this is fine as well. I'm not picky.

[Action tags welcome for any Warden who cares to meet. Waver will be sitting at one of the open-air tables looking over his communicator with a cup of coffee. He has a lot of reading to do, so better get that caffeine flowing. Right now, he's going over any inmate information he can access, and is taking some notes. He's planning to hit up the library later to check out books from and about their homelands, to get a better idea of where these people are coming from.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You don’t shy away from a challenge, I’ll give you that. Respect.

[ Whether that decision winds up being a good one, for either Waver or Volk, remains to be seen. But that he’s willing to jump in and try, it impresses Lucifer.

He pulls his CommLink out of his jacket, poking around on it. ]

I’ll send it to you. It’s quite long. And much of it makes very little sense to me. I’m sure partly because I’m new here, because I’m not human and don’t really know what humans need to thrive, and some of it is undoubtedly Volk’s own deep-seated denial.

[ He sends it to Waver, nonetheless. He is and remains, a Devil of his word. ]

Thanks. It's a serious job, I just want to treat it as such.

[He takes his comm to look over the posts, and Lucifer isn't kidding when he says it's long. And there's video in here too... He's going to have to go through this more thoroughly later. He can't help but look a little bit heart broken reading it. Volk had him concerned already, and now there's this.]

He's... not wrong. Not entirely. But, he maintains over and over again that he didn't know why he's here. It might be denial, but either way, he believes it. He really doesn't know.

Indeed. People mired in denial often firmly believe what they say. I speak from long and intimate personal experience.

[ Yes hello, guess who spent thousands of years wallowing in denial? Oh yeah, this guy! ]

We have to make sure he doesn't find out what's in his file yet, he's in a too... [Delicate? Mentally unstable?] ... precarious state currently to have that all dropped on him. But without knowing, it's hard to get anyone to aim for a graduation goal of they don't know why they're here.

[Waver gives in, teaching into his inside jacket pocket and taking out a small cigarette case and a pack of matches. He didn't want to light up so soon after arriving, since he didn't know how long it would be until he got more, but he needs it now.]

I suppose it'll be on me. Talk it out until something in him clicks.

In my experience, there’s often a wide gulf between one’s actions and the root cause of them, anyway. For instance, I knew why my Father cast me out of Heaven. That was never in question. My failed rebellion wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t really why I was in Hell for so long, trapped in a cycle of self-sabotage.

[ Lucifer shrugs. ]

Figuring that out took me a very long time indeed.

[Waver can't help but chuckle good-naturedly at that example, and this whole absurd situation. How did his life get this way?]

Not the most relatable story, but I get what you're saying. Suppose I'm going to be in the library a lot here. Some things don't change. Hope I have the time to pick through their collection on magic while I'm picking up things on psychological counselling.

[While he's still a bit skeptical on this whole Lucifer thing, Waver's curious about something now. He looks at him, thinking a moment.]

What caused the change of heart?

[ Which is weird because Lucifer's story is one of the most relatable, generally. The original teenage rebellion? Kicked out of the house by his authoritative, overbearing father? Rejected by his family? Years spent desperately trying to get out of their shadow?

He's discovered it's actually quite relatable, for a lot of humans. ]

Mostly I credit the over five years of therapy.

[Maybe it was the scale. Nothing here as consequential comparatively.

Waver wasn't sure what he was expecting to hear, but that wasn't it.]

...Therapy? Had you decided to try that on your own?

[Are there demon therapists in Hell?!]

It was a whim. I did everything on a whim back then.

[ Lucifer leans against the minibar casually, prepared to tell a story. He's come a long way, but he still likes talking about himself and he's good at spinning a yarn. All that natural magnetism and charisma is still there, after all. ]

I moved to Earth, you see. Gave up ruling Hell, because, well. It was Hell. I'd been living on Earth for a few years, and then - [ he smiles faintly because he knows what a cliche this is. ] I met a girl. And this girl, well. She wasn't like anyone else I'd ever met. For one thing, she wouldn't have sex with me, which was about all I was interested in back then. And she made me feel things I hadn't felt before. Things I didn't understand, that had me confused. We'd happened to run into a therapist while investigating a murder - the girl was a homicide detective - and I thought, well, why not? Couldn't hurt, to clear up some of that confusion.

[ By the end of this tale, his smile has softened a bit, and he sort of looks into the middle distance for a moment. ]

Anyway, one of the best on-a-whim decisions I ever made.

[Waver can't help but be compelled. The Devil, being relatable. Who's have thought?]

That's... great. Honestly. I uh, it's just surprising to hear.

[He exhales a cloud of smoke, smiling to himself.]

Even the Devil can't outrun the power of love. It's very poetic.

And even the Devil can be redeemed. I know. It still surprises me, sometimes.

[ And here he is. Building a rapport with his fellow wardens, even! ]

So, I don’t see why I can’t pass along what I’ve learned to others.

I wish you luck with that. [Cuz he's really going to need it.]

It's fine if you don't want to answer this, but... why not just use a pseudonym? You have to know how people are going to react when you give them that name.

I don’t lie. It’s been a point of pride for me since, well, ever. So many people lie about me, slander me, spread ridiculous stories and propaganda. Let’s just say I prefer the straightforward approach.

[The devil prefers honesty. Who'd have guessed? Not this guy.]

I see. But I suppose you're up for the challenge. Easier to be up front about it now than need to explain it later.

[Waver shakes his head a little, like he's still trying to process this and he needs to make the parts fall into place in his brain.]

Well. I have to say, my first day has been... eventful. Very, very [taking a sip of that drink now, thanks]. Eventful.

Pretending to be something I'm not, in a situation where trust will have to be established in order to accomplish anything, would just be counterproductive. As wardens, we have to prove we're trustworthy. Why should any inmate trust me if I start out by lying to them? Why should any of my fellow wardens trust me, for that matter?

[ It's as simple as that. ]

I suspect this won't even be the half of it, as eventful days go.

text | UN: waver.v || & action || forward-dated to Feb. 07

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

sorry for those random typos, i phone tag too much

oh same

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject