accidental video -> text; backdated to wednesday night

[paterelohim]

[The NV is spinning in the air, the image incredibly confused before the thing hitting the edge of a couch and landing at an odd angle. The video shows legs- feet, a pair of sock-clad feet vanishing into jeans and another pair with shoes on, gathered around what looks like a coffee table, though the table itself is out of the frame.

After a moment something drops into the frame from above: a slender, lifeless hand, obviously dangling off the table above, with blood running down the smooth skin. There's a sob off-screen and someone pulls it away again.

The sound is muffled and terrible quality, but some things can be heard.]

Stop it goddamn it just stop- haven't you done enough? STOP IT.

[Chuck's voice, sounding panicked and desperate. Someone kicks the NV and the sound muffles- a riot of noise, of yelling, and the picture starts flashing, distorting, static and terrible noisy feedback- and then yelling that crescendos into a scream. It's garbled but the NV picks up just a little-]

-THE FUCK OUT NOW-

[Before it distorts again and goes dead.]

[Text post, about 30 minutes later.]

Sorry about that. It's fine. It's taken care of.

Okay, that's a lie. Not that it's anyone's business.

Someone from Purgatory cover my shift tomorrow. And the next day.

[ OOC: This is open to action to anyone at the HoA. Chuck's in one of the common areas, sitting like a trauma patient on a couch next to a bloody coffee table. Fred is dead, was killed by Angelus, but her body's already vanished by the time of the text post.

The static and feedback was Chuck's grip on His powers kind of slipping a lot and Him accidentally making lights explode.]

Comments

[Action]

[thelittlestbub]

[Well, that makes her run downstairs. She has to stop to cough, but to hell with it, she's still running. She slams open the door, fingers sparking.]

Chuck?

[Her voice is a little raw and she clears her throat.]

Chuck? What the hell?

[paterelohim]

[He's just. Sitting. Staring at the coffee table that still has a faint red smear, his arms wrapped around his knees.]

She's dead.

[Fred. His girlfriend, his beautiful shining happy girlfriend, who hung around the HoA a lot and could often be seen making coffee in the kitchen. Who's been staying here nonstop since the two vampires went crazy last week and started killing. It's not hard to guess who he means.]

[ Video | Private ]

[ella_of_frell]

... Chuck? What happened?

[ Video | Private ]

[paterelohim]

[He answers in video automatically, but doesn't seem to realize it's video instead of voice. He's staring off into space, and has obviously been crying but tried to cover it up.]

Someone I love is. She's.

[He presses a hand to his face, clearly trying to keep his shit together despite having so spectacularly lost it before, and when he pulls it away there's a streak of blood on his cheek.]

[text/private]

[kal_el]

[ There's nothing he can do that those closer to Chuck can, or he'd be there--to late, but he'd be there. Instead he sends a wary text message. It's signed with a super S, just in case it's unclear who it's from. ]

I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but we're here for you, whatever happens.

[text/private/unhackable]

[paterelohim]

thanks, clark. it means a lot.

[because chuck is... a little too out of it to remember things like secrets. and his brain saw "private" and a tighter filter happened. also, the toaster blew up. it's a weird day for His powers.]

voice;

[showbizpanache]

Wh-what--

Chuck?

voice;

[paterelohim]

Hi.

Action HOA

[the_dead_pool2]

[He'd been given the night off at Fangtasia, a little odd, but daytime was when he'd be ultimately more useful there these days. He'd been doing extra shifts, and even he was beginning to get a little worn down. He'd be back there in the morning, with coffee and bagels as per usual. Thankfully things hadn't been too active, and any security threats had been dealt with quickly. He actually could have gone for a little more ass kicking, but you took what you got. He has grabbed a beer from the common fridge, and is about to head up when he peeks in and sees Chuck]

Whoa, dude... once again... you look like shit.

[paterelohim]

[Chuck will just be sitting over here, staring at a spot on the coffee table and quietly having a BSoD.]

Thanks.

video;

[tinderfoot]

[Did he see what he think he saw...]

What the hell was that?

video;

[paterelohim]

Nothing.

[text]

[failedparenting]

[It was only a matter of time, unfortunately. John told Fred, up front, she was going to get herself killed if she didn't slow the hell down. And, even though he was royally pissed, he still liked. A nice girl like that doesn't deserve to die.

He waits several hours before he sends Chuck a message. Sending condolences literally moments after would be cruel.]

i'm sorry.

[text/private]

[paterelohim]

[It's the first message he gets that means anything. There are other condolences, other messages of sympathy, but this- this is from one of his. Not just one of his characters (those tortured souls whose heads he got inside, whose pain he knows, whose lives and triumphs and downfalls he knew and felt and dreamed) but one of His. Chuck knows exactly how sincere it is.]

Thank you. It means a lot coming from you.

[action]

[mediumdrip]

Chuck? What-- what happened?

[action]

[paterelohim]

[Chuck is just. Sitting there. There's a blanket kind of where he is, but it's not around him or anything, he seems to have forgotten about it. There's still blood caked into little cracks in the wood table where scrubbing couldn't clean it.]

Fred.

[One word. That's all it takes.]

PRIVATE;

[uberboned]

What happened? [...In... Both cases.]

PRIVATE;

[paterelohim]

Lucifer got my fucking girlfriend killed because he has a boner for fucking with vampire souls. That's goddamn what.

[Chuck is unwell. Obviously.]

[Voice]

[integrity]

[Wow. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. And Crowley almost laughs, but he keeps the bitter noise to himself, because ah, look, more senseless destruction and idiocy because Lucifer is a fool.

It. Will. Never. Stop.]

I do believe the wording in these types of situations is 'I told you so', but I'm having the difficulty finding the room to give half a damn enough to say it.

So, cheers. Reap the spoils of being a naive idiot.

[Crowley is far more interested in the noises. The disruption of feed. The static. Vampires don't do that.

But he'll keep that to himself, for now. Just file it away for later.]

[Voice/private]

[paterelohim]

Fuck you, what do you think I've been doing for the past five fucking days?

[Congratulations, Crowley, you're the first one to make the hate and fury really rise in his throat the way Lucifer did.]

I'm not naive. This doesn't change anything except the fact that it's even more personal now.

Angelus is still running wild, no thanks to you, so before you go making this into my fault why don't you work up the balls to yell at the guy who's actually responsible? Assuming you aren't too scared of him to say it to his face.

I trapped the dick in holy fire, what about that says naive to you?

[text]

[ibreakrules]

[Frau's not going to ask. There just doesn't seem to be any point, and he doesn't want to intrude. That doesn't mean he's just going to leave Chuck high and dry though.]

Hey. If you need some distraction from anything or just someone to listen, let me know.

[text]

[paterelohim]

Distractions are good. That sounds awesome.

action;

[axemeaquestion]

[It takes about all of .5 seconds for Ro to bolt out of her room. She flies down the stairs and skids to the halt in the common area. Her abilities hadn't alerted her to anyone else there but him, but she had her magnum, unhidden and strapped to her hip, just in case.

A couple of inhales and exhales got her caught up with her breath (she practically ran a marathon during the Infection back home) and she surveyed the bloody coffee table. And Chuck. Shit. Slowly, she approached him.]

Chuck...?

[paterelohim]

[He's still sitting there by the time she gets there- Lucifer's gone, Magneto is taking care of some legal horseshit or something, and Chuck is staring at where Fred's body used to be. There's signs of mysterious shenanigans around them- lights exploded, shards of bulb glass strewn far and wide, and the TV is stuck on some staticky non-channel for some reason. The radio in the other room is freaking out.

If Rochelle has ever seen an incautious angel or demon come or go, this might seem familiar. Otherwise, it's just weird. Like an electrical surge.]

private;

[athermercy]

[She knows, of course, and she warned Lucifer when all this started. It's like watching domino pieces falling and she could only just stares helplessly.]

I'm sorry.

private;

[paterelohim]

Nothing's changed. He hasn't changed at all.

text || private || unhackable;

[servingfather]

[Several hours after this post goes up Michael's finally ready to respond to this. He's not going to make excuses for Lucifer. Or even apologize on his brother's behalf. Oh, and they're in hiding together.]

What will you do now, Chuck?

text || private || unhackable;

[paterelohim]

That depends. Where is he?

[Assumptions. Wild shots in the dark. He's feeling just irrational enough to wonder, truth be told. Gabriel responded a lot quicker than Michael did, and why would that be?]