Chapter 1: Coming into her own
You figure moving into a new place would be turning a new leaf in your life, well…there's a first time for everything.
Lumina is our lovely protagonist here, a plump 27 year old woman moving into her new apartment. A short cocoa skinned gal with a scruffy mop of short dark brown hair, her usual attire nowadays consists of comfortable hoodies and skirts. Always wears sneakers unless she has to go somewhere special. Lumina would usually have a bubbly and friendly demeanor that hides the inner turmoil she feels, often masking her true emotions with a facade of cheerfulness. Despite her naivety, Lumina possesses a quiet strength and resilience, determined to carve out her own path in life. Empathetic and compassionate, she harbors a deep sense of empathy for others, often putting their needs above her own. Creative and artistic, Lumina finds solace in music, channeling her emotions into her instrumental and vocal performances.
Onward with the story!
The sounds of hefty grunts could be heard as a hired moving company placed a few furniture pieces and boxes into a nice looking apartment, a few of the nosy neighbors were leering outside their doors watching as they did their work. Whispering to others or just glaring at them. After a good 30 minutes Lumina lugged her last box into the cramped apartment, her breaths coming out in short puffs as she placed it onto her coffee table.
"Ms. Beaumont you know we could've helped you with that.." Spoke one of the movers as he rested against the nearby wall, in a greenish jumpsuit and slick backed hair was Tony, the manager. His three workers were at the kitchen island happily having slices of the bundt cake that Lumina made for them.
"I know…it's not that I don't trust you. I don't even know you guys, it's just my grandparent's things. I want to keep it safe." She smiles halfheartedly. 'Mother would not let it go if something happens to it..' She says in her thoughts, her phone suddenly buzzed to life insistently in her pocket. She already knew who it was and decided to ignore it.
"Anyway, thanks for your help fellas. You've got a hefty tip in advance with the payment for your work." They had soon shuffled their way out of her apartment, letting the short woman sit down on her couch and lay back and getting much needed rest. Her phone rang again which made her eyebrows furrow in irritation, with a sigh, she answered, already bracing herself for the inevitable barrage of disapproval.
"Greetings, Mother. How do you do on this fine day?" Lumina greeted, her voice lacking its usual effervescence but dripped with sarcasm.
"Where the hell are you?! I just came back and your room is fucking empty!" Her mother's voice shrieked through the line, sharp and disdainful.
"I told you I was leaving, it's for the betterment of my health." Lumina replied with a deadpan tone while raking her hand through her hair holding back a groan of anger.
"You didn't say shit! I didn't give you permission to do anything, get your ass back home now!" Her mother yells, Lumina could hear her throwing something at one of the maids, she heard him yelp.
"Mother I-" Lumina began to say but was interrupted.
"You're an ungrateful brat! Just like your father, you forget I made you who you are today! You're going to fucking regret leaving the only person who loves you!" Her mother warned, the threat implicit in her tone.
Lumina's eyes widened slightly, she then glares at the ceiling and grumbles. "I'll take my chances, thanks."
There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line before her mother spoke again, her voice icy. "Fine! But don't come crawling back to me when you realize what a mistake you've made!"
Lumina ended the call with a heavy heart, feeling the weight of her mother's expectations bearing down on her once again. "Just as encouraging as she always is.." She huffs, taking a look around the box filled living space, a sense of liberation washing over her. "But I made it.." This was her chance to finally break free from the suffocating grip of her mother's control, to pursue her own dreams on her own terms.
The short brunette hummed to herself as she unpacked her kitchen supplies, the clatter of plates and utensils filling the air with a comforting rhythm as she played music from her bluetooth speaker. A random assortment of music in her playlist, filling up the apartment was a jazzy song. (instrumental of Beneath the Mask: Persona 5) As she took out a cake stand which made her imagine the delicious meals and decadent desserts she could create in her new space now, she loves to cook and bake but her mother diminished that talent. As she set down the plates on the kitchen island, her gaze wandered over to the living room, where the other boxes lay waiting to be unpacked. The box of her grandparent's things on the coffee table its presence tugging at the corners of her mind. With a furrowed brow, Lumina squinted at the box, her tongue poking out slightly as she pondered its contents. She remembered why she had it, the weight of her mother's expectations pressing down on her even in the midst of grief.
-Flashback-
A younger Lumina, age 18, stood at her grandfather's funeral, tears streaming down her cheeks as she mourned the loss of the man who despite being a very old-fashioned man loved his wife and granddaughter, and his own daughter as well but they were strained. But her grief was met with scorn from her mother, who chastised her for showing weakness.
"Pretty women don't cry, Lumina," Her mother whispers in an angered tone, as she looks down at her daughter.
"If they do, they get crow's feet. So cut the tears." The flashback shifted, the scene morphing into her mother dropping a box of her grandparent's belongings into Lumina's hands with a dismissive gesture.
"You're going to keep these and honor them," her mother had insisted, her tone laced with thinly veiled manipulation.
"Your grandparents were upstanding people, and your grandfather was a respectable man, unlike your father. You don't want Grandpa's spirit to be unhappy because his 'favorite' granddaughter didn't care for his special possessions, do you?" Lumina felt the familiar pang of guilt gnawing at her conscience, bearing down on her once again. It was the same cycle of manipulation and obligation that had defined their relationship for as long as she could remember.
-Flashback ends-
Lumina found herself standing at the coffee table and staring down at the box with a mixture of reluctance and curiosity, her heart ached at the memory, the sting of her mother's words still fresh even after all this time. She had never understood her mother's indifference to her grandfather's passing, the lack of empathy cutting her deeply. She actually never really cared about anyone at all unless it helped her out, she didn't even seem to love her family. It had been two years since her grandfather's passing, and yet she hadn't mustered the courage to open it, the guilt of neglecting her duty as the "favorite" granddaughter weighing heavily on her mind. She was their only grandchild anyway, so they doted on her a lot. They were actually the ones who worried about her being an outcast with other children and with her parent's turning her into a child star. Lumina gives a curt nod to no one before kneeling at the table to open up the box, there were a good couple of things in there. A chipped and slightly cracked statue of a dolphin, reminding her that the last time she saw her grandparent's her grandma got real into collecting dolphin figurines. At first it was to make the den look pretty because her husband's hunting trophies made it look gaudy. Speaking of hunting, one of the things was a taxidermy squirrel dressed in a Hawaiian shirt.
"Why though?" Lumina sneered with scrutiny, she set that down and continued rooting, her eyes soon fell upon the family photo nestled among the other items in the box. Her mother's family stared back at her from the grayscale image, frozen in time. Lumina's gaze lingered on her mother,a smug looking little girl hugging the stuffing out of a plush rabbit…poor thing, standing beside her was an older brother she had never known existed. He wore an army uniform, his expression serious and determined, hinting at a life shaped by duty and sacrifice.
"I have an uncle?" Lumina murmured in surprise, her mind racing with questions.
What really caught her gaze was an old timey radio, it was very ornate. It was definitely something gramps would have, he collected weird things or already had him. He did grow up in the early 30s, he was weirdly attached to it though, never let her near it or touch it. Lumina gingerly lifted the dusty old radio from the box, her fingers tracing the intricate designs etched into its surface. Even with its worn appearance, there was a certain charm to the vintage device, a relic from a bygone era that seemed to whisper of forgotten memories and untold stories. As she examined the radio, Lumina felt a strange sense of connection to the device, as though it held a deeper significance beyond its outward appearance.
Despite the dust and the signs of wear and tear, she couldn't shake the feeling that it still held a spark of life, waiting to be reignited. With a determined nod, Lumina decided to keep the radio, resolving to find her tools and attempt to repair it. She envisioned it sitting proudly on the top shelf of her bookshelf, a tribute to her grandfather's love of music and the simpler times he cherished. As she lifted the radio in her hands, a strange sensation washed over her, sending shivers down her spine.
Unbeknownst to her, she had just unwittingly unlocked a powerful entity, one whose influence would soon shape the course of her destiny in ways she could never have imagined.
(Within the fiery depths)
Described in the Bible Hell is a place of excruciating misery, where souls who've done bad live in agony and burn forever in the lake of fire and sulfur. Well while there is agony and misery, there's also, weirdly enough, a society. Cities and towns, anything the Living world would have is there some souls and hellborn demons live lives like Humans do, the good the bad and the ugly parts of life exist even there.
It's questionable how much singing there is though.
Hazbin Hotel is a place where Sinners can go to better themselves so they can go to Heaven, ..at least that's the goal the Princess has. Charlotte Morningstar, the Princess of Hell, who has big ideas and big dreams. An optimist with a plan to get Sinners to redeem themselves at her Hotel to get to the great cloud city in the sky, no one really knows what sends you there, could be anything really. In the vibrant communal living room of the Hazbin Hotel, the atmosphere buzzed with energy as Charlie animatedly shared her latest ideas for redeeming sinners.
"Good news everyone!" Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, her gestures grandiose as she painted a vivid picture of a brighter, better future.
"I've been thinking," Charlie began, her voice tinged with excitement, " We could create a rehabilitation program tailored to each sinner's unique needs? We could offer counseling, vocational training, even creative outlets like art and music therapy!"
Vaggie raised an eyebrow, her skepticism evident. "Sounds ambitious, Charlie. But it does sound promising."
Angel Dust lounged on the couch, twirling a strand of his hair between his fingers. "Hey, if it means more fun and less chaos, I'm all for it. But good luck getting some of those hard-headed sinners to cooperate, I can persuade them into doing it if you'd like~" He says with a waggle of his brows, having Vaggie groan and Charlie laugh, shaking her head at his words.
She turns her gaze to Husk and asks for his input, the casino patterned cat with wings looks up from cleaning the glasses for his bar grumbled from behind the counter. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my booze, do whatever you want."
Nifty, ever the creepy little optimist, clapped her hands together gleefully. "Ooh, I can give sewing lessons! Or teach them proper cleaning skills! A clean space leads to a clear mind, you know!" (Says the absolute loon)
Charlie beamed at her friends' reactions, her enthusiasm undimmed. Just as she was about to ask Alastor for his opinion, she noticed his distant expression, his gaze unfocused as if lost in thought.
"Alastor?" Charlie called out, trying to get his attention.
"Alastor?" She called again while walking over to him, she was a bit worried.
"What do you think of the programs?"
The deer demon blinked, shaken from his reverie, his smile returning to its usual wide grin. "Ah, my dear Charlie, your ideas are always a source of amusement. Quite entertaining, indeed." With that, Alastor politely excused himself, disappearing in a swirl of shadow magic. In the blink of an eye, he stood in his radio tower, the crackling static of an old summoning device filling the air.
Curiosity piqued, Alastor adjusted the device, the screen flickering to life to reveal a young woman setting up her living room, there weren't many boxes left but he figured she just moved into this place. How old was she anyway? This summoning radio is pretty old, how would she get her hands on it? He continues to watch her as she does her thing, she looks happy in this moment even humming along to the music she was playing from somewhere. The Radio Demon's smile faded, replaced by a dark, calculating gaze.
"Oh, this poor girl," Alastor mused, his thoughts tinged with a mixture of amusement and anticipation.
"I'll be taking her soul soon enough." Alastor watched the short brunette intently, she was having trouble finding something and just started to do away with the rest of the things until she found it, she was just about finished with unpacking when she found what she needed. The deer demon felt a twinge of amusement at her determination, her naivety making her an easy target for his mischief.
"Hmm, who are you, I wonder?" Alastor mused aloud, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the young woman on the screen while she started tinkering with the Radio.
"And what brings you to this forgotten relic?" He leaned back in his chair, his mind racing with possibilities. With his ability to walk upon the living world restored thanks to Lumina's prolonged contact with the radio, Alastor saw an opportunity for some lighthearted fun. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he formulated a plan. He wouldn't reveal himself just yet; instead, he'd let the crackling static of the radio drive her to the brink of frustration before making his presence known.
"Oh, this will be delightful," Alastor chuckled to himself, adjusting the dials on his end to increase the static interference.
(Back in Apartment 4B)
Meanwhile, in Lumina's new apartment, she frowned as she continued to tinker with the dusty old radio.
"Come on, just work already," She muttered to herself, her frustration mounting with each failed attempt to coax the device back to life. Until…it suddenly sparked to life, literally. A bit of a shock went through her body from the Radio and she yelps having it drop down onto the glass coffee table and shatter the damn thing almost immediately she quickly recovers and whines about her table.
"Oh no! My table, it's broken!" She glares a bit at the Radio on the ground. 'Ugh, that's another trip to Bob's Discount Furniture…' Lumina's brow furrowed in annoyance, but she does like furniture shopping. She goes to start cleaning up the glass, though as she goes to get the broom her ears pick up the sound of radio static, it was faint at first which made her think it was her tinnitus acting up again. But it was coming from the Radio, and as she went back to it the static got louder.
"What's going on with this thing?" She muttered, her gaze darting around the room as if expecting to find the source of the disturbance lurking in the shadows. She expected to fix it but not fix it so well, she wondered if it played music still. Would it be music of now or music from the past? Last time she had a Radio the song WAP was playing every other time, and that…that song is just lovely. She threw it out after that. She was about to pick it up again but got a call on her cellphone, drowning out the sounds of static for a bit, answering it she was met with.
"Wazzup, bitch!" Having her laugh.
"Wazzup, Lonnie! I'm just about done unpacking, I've got two more boxes!" The other person on the line couldn't be heard. Alastor was wondering who it was.
"Housewarming party? It's an apartment though." …
"Oh! Well of course, I can really test out my cooking skills again. Make something real exotic ha, something vegan for Fegan, that'll be hard but his needs must be accounted for. Ahh! I can't wait, it's been so long since I've seen you guys.." She gives a melancholy smile while fiddling around with the hem of her skirt as Lonnie responds.
"Don't beat yourself up, your mom was an ornery old bitch. But you're free now girl!" She cheers, their conversation fades out as Lumina moves to another room.
All The While Alastor was watching with delight as his little game unfolded, relishing in the chaos he was causing. Though a bit upset that she was distracted by that phone call, he would make sure to account for that later. He knew it was only a matter of time before he revealed himself to her, but for now, he would savor the anticipation and revel in the fear he inspired. Alastor chuckled darkly to himself, the thrill of the hunt coursing through his veins.
Oh, how he loved to play with his prey before delivering the final blow. And this unsuspecting mortal was no exception.