Okay, so reactions: (I read this when it first got posted, but... procrastination.)
I turn, and among the carnage there is a very well dressed demon standing there, his eyes and smile practically glowing in the dim warehouse light. Spread across his face is a wide and glowing yellow sharp toothed smile which nearly split the demon's face in twain and reached up towards the demon's eyes. His eyes themselves have that same soft glow as his teeth, only in red. Along with his eyes, he has a red tinted monocle hovering by his left eye and connected to a chain that slides into his hair. From there I see how his hair is an unkempt mess, not at all helped by his rather large ears which blend into his hair, and the horns which are easily missed at a first glance. Likely without going to a salon down here, the way he has it pushed to the side, letting the oil in it keep it somewhat rigid is the best he could likely do as a man unskilled in hair sculpting. The snappy clothes I'd noticed before being drawn to his unnervingly large smile are the colour of very ripe strawberries, with the colour only being broken up by thin vertical red stripes that are lighter than the rest of his suit. In addition, the suit practically looked like it had padded shoulders from how it stuck outwards from him, giving him a rather exaggerated silhouette. In his gloved hands, he also holds what looks like an archaic microphone which glows with magical power. Were it not for how messy his hair was, he'd look refined rather than someone playing at being refined.
I really enjoy this story, but as a writer, this description does not work well at all. I understand wanting to introduce Alastor to readers who may only be familiar with the Worm side of the cross, but writing and visual media fundamentally work on different sets of rules. Directly copying over every detail of a drawn character design into words doesn't create the same impression as being able to see the image. In the show, you can take in all the details at a glance. In writing, it brings the entire story to a screeching halt as you try to cover all of them, and many create entirely different impressions when they're explicitly called out. (The shoulder pads and messy hair, for example, make him sound buffoonish.)
I would suggest next time focusing on what
impression you want the character to give, and then picking around three-ish details that evoke that concept. Is Alastor supposed to come across as creepy? Suave? Eccentric? If you pick a few visual elements that give and evocative place to start, the reader's imagination will do the rest in creating a mental image.
(...I hope this doesn't come off as rude, you just seem like someone who's really interested in improving at the craft of writing, and this is honestly a pretty easy fix. That said, feel free not take my unsolicited advice if you want. I'll enjoy the story either way.)
In an instant, the world shifts as the hum of radio static bombards me at full force a moment before it quickly resolves and we are suddenly sitting in rather comfy and plush seats. My antennae twitch as I feel around us while I look, seeing we are still in the warehouse. It had been… two major magical spells at work here, done with just the snap of his fingers. First he pulled out chairs and the table between us from somewhere, teleported us both to be sitting on the chairs, all in an instant.
I honestly thought she was going to be invited for a radio interview at this point.
With a wave of his staff, Alastor changes the map, shifting it from showing a small localised area to a map showing off the whole city. The map then further shifts to show various different territorial powers, with one called the demonic triumvirate being the largest colour compared to them all, even Satan has less territory than them, though his is far more centralised, and if what Adam said is true about what he could do, Satan could wipe out the whole city if the pentagram floating above our heads is the super weapon that Adam implied it was.
"You see, you're getting into the prostitution business, and what a fine business it is, a wonderful way of letting the poor rise by selling their dignity, their honour, and their body, all for a cheap buck. Yessiree! No better way for them to rise down here. Those notions are rather cheap and are not long for this fiery world I fear, with the body being the only thing left to sell of any value after they fall down to this little pit," Alastor says.
"But we all know that Valentino doesn't take kindly to those who encroach on his turf, and we are rather close to it," Alastor continues, pointing his staff towards the pink section of the map, right near the edge of it where a yellow splotch has grown to encompass where we live, the former Crimson gang's territory, and even the Raz family's territory. On the yellow I can see a little moth silhouette on there as well, obviously indicating that it was us.
...Honestly kind of disappointed Taylor didn't think to snap a picture of this version of the map with her phone like she did the original one. I mean, yeah, it would have been rude and risked annoying Alastor and probably a bad idea all around, but that kind of information seems really valuable.
"Three favours no more, no less. While I don't know exactly what I might want from you for all three, I do know of one thing you could do for me," Alastor said as the illusion changed, turning from a map, into a book, no, a grimoire. The navy blue book had gold etching all over it, with a stylised crescent moon on the front and an array of symbols in the midst of the crescent. All the while a large red gem stuck out of the spine of it, glinting as hidden lights reflected off the gem.
"There is this book that belongs to one of the nobles in Hell, I merely desire it for a day, and right now, the noble that has this book has gone and lent it out to a small group of imps. For that first favour, retrieve it for me, and after that, you can even have the book afterwards,"
It's a testament to your ability as a storyteller that I honestly though Taylor was going to take the deal for a second when it was first played out. With the meta knowledge of who Stolas is and how much trouble he can bring it would have been a very bad move, but Taylor doesn't know any of that, and it
would have moved the plot forward in a dramatic way. And making bad decisions isn't exactly unknown for her.
I do think refusing might have been a first step to eventually dealing with Alastor on a more even level, though. This is more headcanon than real analysis since we only have one episode to go on, but I suspect Alastor couldn't ever respect someone who fell for one of his bargains on the first try. I mean, obviously he
did want what he was asking for from Taylor, but seeing whether she took the bate may also been a test on some level.
The owl demon is garbed in some kind of latex suit; it perfectly hugs her figure while leaving her feathered arms free. The way the latex clings to her honestly makes me jealous of her as it hugs her in a way similar to Lisa's, accentuating every curve she has and distracting all those who gaze upon her. Her breasts perfectly framed by the suit while her thighs are almost accentuated by those thin birdlike legs. She had the kind of figure that I'd always expected to have, a tight, healthy and toned body that was pleasant on the eyes.
I wonder if Taylor will be embarrassed to realize, after, that it was her mom she was having those thoughts about. I mean she didn't
know, but still, damn.
For a moment I look up to the sky, and am able to see the white moon over the red one, the moon with a halo, and clouds orbiting it. Some might say I was cheated for not ending up in Heaven, after saving so many worlds, but could it have really been my Heaven, if none of my friends or family were there? I squeeze on Mom some more as I lower my head once more and nuzzle into Mom's feathers.
Maybe, but I doubt it.
This is the Undersiders all over again, isn't it? The choice to be a hero and alone, or to go to the dark side and have people who care about her. I'd specify what point in canon I'm talking about, but honestly it almost doesn't matter. For Taylor, having people to be close too has always meant compromising her morals or being on the wrong side of the law.
It's fitting that the same thing applies to heaven or hell. This is the girl who originally became a villain out of sheer loneliness, after all. And after the events of Worm, she's chosen pretty well which path she wants to take.
I also have the sneaking suspicion that he wants Stolas' Grimoire so he can chat with a certain time-locked omnicide-igniter.
Jack does seem like the most likely candidate, yeah. Though depending on how you interpret his interactions with Charlie in the pilot, Alastor could have a thing for leading those with noble intentions down the path to hell. So it could be he's after someone (self)rightious who's setting out to do good and desperate enough to make a deal.
It's probably
not someone with a strong power, though. Or at least not because of said power. I wondered if it might be Amy for a second before remembering that in hell she'd be just another soul without any special abilities.