eyemind | really sad devil guy; open;

Entry tags:

really sad devil guy; open;

WHO: Lucifer and whoever wants to deal with his sad ass.
WHAT: His girlfriend's in cryo.
WHERE: The... cryo... area...
WHEN: Now.
WARNINGS: Will add if necessary. Mostly he's just Really Sad Devil Guy.

When he wakes, he knows immediately something is wrong.

Chloe isn't in the bed next to him - which might not necessarily be a bad sign, but she didn't leave a note. If she gets up for something that would take longer than a couple of minutes, she leaves him a note. Went to grab a snack, be back soon. That sort of thing. There is no note, the bed is rumpled a bit as if she got up in a hurry.

He goes searching. He could just ask Navi, but he doesn't want to know what the answer will be, not yet, not yet.

After about an hour of wandering around the ship in boxers and a robe, his hair mussed and his eyes red-rimmed, he caves and asks. And it's like his heart is being stomped on.

He finds her, in the cryo bay. He paces back and forth in front of her pod for a bit, then stands in front of it, studying her, wanting to reassure himself that at least she's here, she's - alive???? She must be alive, right, that's what all the beeping means and whatnot. But he can't reach her, he can't touch her or talk to her.

Eventually he sinks down to the floor, leaning his shoulder against the pod where Chloe now sleeps. The metal is cool against him, and he lets out a sigh.

"Wake up," he mutters, to her, or to himself.

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Despite the irritating chaos at hand, Murmur had still fallen into his old habits of making rounds. Part of that generally involved checking in on those in cryo, only this time he found more than the peacefully sleeping. It didn't take psychic powers to deduce exactly what's happening finding Lucifer in this state, he knew.

And went to go get some alcohol before coming back to make his presence known.

It took longer, not being able to fly, but it wasn't long before he returned with bottle and glasses in hand. He's fairly certain this was one he'd seen Lucifer drinking before, so hopefully the offered gift wouldn't cause offense. Aware of his current vulnerabilities he stood back, just in case.

"I am sorry, Lucifer." The words probably sound exceptionally strange coming out of what looks like Richard Strand, yet carries the monotone inflection of Murmur. Shit's weird, don't worry about it, it's probably fine?

Lucifer isn't always the most observant guy, and even less so now. He doesn't even seem to notice anyone's here until he speaks, and he certainly isn't sharp enough to clock that Richard Strand is acting more like Murmur than Richard.

He just looks up rather blearily at him, holding out a hand to accept a glass of whatever it is he's brought. Yes, that's what he needs. Alcohol.

"Thanks," he mutters, taking a drink. No, he didn't even check the type or brand.

And then, "She should've been sent home."

Under normal circumstances Murmur would have brushed off Lucifer's obliviousness with mild exasperation, now at least he had a very good excuse. It wasn't like it mattered all that much, he'll clarify eventually.

He hands over the glass and the bottle, something tells him it's going to take more than a few to dull the edge of this pain. If it even can be dulled.

"Would you prefer that she had?" It's an honest question. He can't imagine how much this hurts, nor can he fathom which might be better in a situation like this. Locked in slumber for who knows how long, or returned entirely.

No, is his first thought, but then he shakes his head a little.

"She's got a life. A child, a career. If the options are locked in a tube or making the world better by being in it, then the latter. Always the latter."

Having to try to guess at emotions by reading physical signs is a lot harder than anyone ever explained. He just frowns faintly. There isn't much he can offer in the way of consolation.

"Yes, of course. A foolish question in retrospect. If... if it is any consolation they are merely asleep. Coma, I believe Jon called it."

He's real bad at this.

Lucifer just makes a vague sort of grunt, and plonks his head against the glass of Chloe's cryo tube as he refills his glass from the bottle.

"The thing about comas," he mutters, "is you don't know when they'll wake up. Could be in an hour. A week. A year. Could be never."

That was a less helpful statement than he thought. Even worse he can't actually do anything right now, human limitations and all. This helpless thing is deeply unpleasant. Again he can only imagine how much worse it is for Lucifer right now.

"Is there any assistance I can offer? More alcohol?" That solves problems, right?

"Sure," Lucifer mutters, "why not?"

No, alcohol will not solve this problem, but drinking is at least doing something. Right?

"How do you humans do it?" he asks vaguely after a moment.

He tends to solve problems with shady plots and murders personally, so alcohol might be the less terrible method of distraction.

Oh. He lets out something of a nervous laugh. "Ah, forgive me, I forget that you do not see souls the way I usually do. I'm afraid there's something of a mishap occurring on the ship, one that mercifully did not further inconvenience your current situation. This is not my vessel, and I do not know the answer to your question."

Murmur that's a terrible way to explain who you are, but maybe with the weird wording and awkwardness his identity won't be that hard to discern.

That is so many words for the state Lucifer is currently in. Not drunk, just shellshocked, and grieving, and -

"Oh, I didn't realize it was you, Mur. What are you doing in Strand's body? Wait, nevermind, it's probably just Navi's shenanigans again," he mutters. Navi's shenanigans don't seem nearly as funny and harmless as they usually do. He sighs.

"They do all this - the emotional connections, caring for each other, loving each other, knowing they're - well. Not knowing how it'll end," he finally says.

He's good at too many words and not quite having the right ones. It's a thing.

"Struggling to adapt to mortal and despising every moment of it," He's going to complain a little. Just a little. Anyway. "That said, it is precisely as you assume. Another one of those anomalies we encounter every so often." He's not liking this one very much, he knows Navi doesn't do it on purpose but he does wish they'd avoid the nebula more. This is very inconvenient.

He nods solemnly, frowning. "What choice do they have? Granted, I do not understand any more than you how they endure. Eternity is as beyond their comprehension as an end is to ours."

"Mm," Lucifer says. He closes his eyes for a moment, taking another drink.

"I'm not sure which would be worse," he eventually adds. "Maybe not knowing is the blessing. I know exactly how this will end."

He tilts his head to the side faintly. "Do you?" Something tells him he's not going to like this answer.

"I can say that knowing... is no comfort. What is inevitable remains regardless."

"Well, no matter what happens, no matter what I do, sooner or later she'll die," Lucifer says matter-of-factly. "Then she'll go to Heaven, and I'll never see her again."

That was perhaps the greatest cruelty of it all, wasn't it? How short the lives of mortals were, and in Lucifer's case that he was so barred from them after the fact.

"She will," He murmurs quietly. There's no avoiding that, and yet... "Is there no possibility for something different, after?" He doesn't entirely know how strict the borders are in Lucifer's universe. For souls or Celestials.

Humans, at least, have the hope of meeting again in the afterlife. Even if they don't know it. Lucifer stops bothering with the glass, and takes a swig directly from the bottle.

"Humans only go to Hell when they feel extreme guilt about something," he explains. "She has nothing to feel guilty about. And as for me..." He gets a wry, bitter sort of smile on his face. "If I ever try to go to Heaven again, I'll give new meaning to the term lightbringer." He makes a little gesture and a poof sound.

"Thousands of years, I never cared. Never wanted to go back."

As expected. Murmur makes a mental note to bring him some more later, and perhaps a blanket. He doubts Lucifer will be leaving any time soon.

"Yes, your exile does parallel that of my universe. Though the function of your Hell differs," At least somewhat, it has aspects. "I am certain she would not be thrilled by your experiencing that fate, afterlife or no. Though I must ask, do the souls of humans have the ability to choose?" It's the only option he can think of, and given their attachment he can't imagine Chloe would give up on Lucifer so easily.

"Technically, they all choose," Lucifer says with a snort. That's the secret, Cap. They're the ones who decide where they go. "Just not like that. And anyway -"

He can't look at her again. He sort of half tilts his head up, then back down, thunk against the glass. "I'd never want her to have to make that choice. Like some bloody Hades and Persephone crap -" He has to laugh a little because Persephone is actually fucking here - "except so much worse because she'd never see anyone she loved ever again. Just me, the demons, and the countless tormented souls of guilty humans."

"Technically," He agrees. Free will and choice and all that is the dictator... usually. It wasn't always so simple.

Murmur winces slightly at the thunk, he knows Lucifer's fine but he worries anyway. This is different from his past malaise. This one might not pass. He doesn't know what, if anything, he could do to help. Persephone is there, and Murmur finds it unnecessary to say as much. She might have some choice words on the topic if she knew they were discussing her. Better to keep it polite.

"...There is no ideal outcome to this, is there?" Sorry, Luce, Murmur isn't good at platitudes and gave up quick.

"Nope," he says flatly. "Another of Dad's sick... mind games. Fall in love with the kindest, the most incredible human, and know we'll be separated for eternity. Why'd He..." He takes a long draw from the bottle. "Why'd He do this to me?"

There's no heat there. He doesn't even really believe the words he says anymore, it's just the thing he always says when something bad happens in his life.

He's tempted to rise to the bait and join in on bemoaning their Father's cruelty but... it lacks the vitriol this time. If it is His Plan, it's sick, but they don't necessarily know that. Even Lucifer for a change seems to have lost his fire on the subject.

So instead he just moves over to stand beside Lucifer, choosing to lean on the cryopod across from Chloe's. Lucifer needs company more than he needs to vent.

"I believe that is also a question many have asked, with nary a satisfactory answer. This is living, isn't it? This pain?"

Lucifer sighs. "I thought I was living with it. I left her, after all. Went back to Hell. I thought I was never going to see her again." Another swig from the bottle. "It was - okay, it was fucking awful, is what it was, but at least I had a job to do, so I didn't think about her constantly."

There isn't any advice, nor words of comfort Murmur can offer that would make this situation any easier. Lucifer's already lived it once, and while one could say it wasn't Hell it probably doesn't feel a whole lot different at the moment. Especially with all the idleness in between the chaos. No work to do, just plenty of time to sit and think.

"Were that I had some grand wisdom to offer. Or even lesser wisdom that you could tell me to stick somewhere unmentionable," He's trying for a joke. It's not great. "Is there anything I can offer? If you've more to say, I am willing to listen."

"I could use liquor more than wisdom right now," Lucifer says with a heavy sigh. "I just... need to be here. In case she wakes up. I don't want her to wake up not knowing where she is, all alone."

He glances at Murmur - oh right, he's in Strand's body. Weird. He glances away again.

"Don't waste your bloody chance, all right? If you've got a good thing going, make sure to take advantage. Make sure they know how you feel."

"I'll bring some more." He's not about to argue against Lucifer staying, it is the most obvious course of action for the moment. Murmur doubts she'll be waking soon, all those who have fallen into cryo have at least taken a few months to return. Still, that's probably not comforting information so he will keep it to himself. "Anything else? Blankets, perhaps I could send Ella your way?" If he can find her given the mix-ups happening right now.

It's very weird please don't mention it he hates it.

He looks surprised at the sudden advice from Lucifer, mouth opening to respond before he decides against it and just shuts it again, instead offering a nod. It is good advice, and this moment does just drive home the stark reminder of just how fleeting and fragile human lives are. "I will. Thank you."

Lucifer just makes a vague noise - he's not about to turn down the offer of more company, but he's not going to beg for it, either. Booze. Booze is what he needs. And just... to be here.

In case Chloe wakes up.

"Thanks," he manages to say, finally.

Murmur will make an effort to locate and send Ella his way. Lucifer needs a friend right now and she is a much better candidate than himself. Still, he'll do as promised and drop off a stockpile of alcohol and some blankets.

"Of course. Should you require anything further do reach out." He'll try to check in again another time. For now he'll dismiss himself to go do those errands.

Murmur had found Ella and had told her what was going on with both Lucifer and Chloe. She'd come almost immediately, only taking the time to stop and find Persephone and to talk the Goddess into borrowing her flask. Well, talking her into it wasn't something that was really needed considering the Goddess was in a human body and didn't require much of it; all she'd needed to do was to mention Lucifer and the round silver flask had been shoved into her hand. One thing that she was worried about was if her hugging magic would work in a body that wasn't quite her own--given the way that her brain worked, Ella knew she would spin out as she started thinking about identity and all of that and Lucifer needed her to be present.

So she was, even if when Ella walked into the tubes she couldn't help but to gasp to see Chloe there, floating in the nothingness. Without saying anything, Ella launched into the arms of her best friend and squeezed him as tightly as she could in her borrowed body. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

When Murmur leaves, Lucifer falls back into whatever fugue state he's been in since he woke to find Chloe gone. Just - leaning rather mournfully against her cryo tank, not really aware of his surroundings, or of the passage of time.

So it could be minutes, or hours, or even days when the next person looks in on him. He wouldn't know. All he knows is that one minute, he's still sitting there, silently willing the thing to open so Chloe will wake up, and the next - the next, someone who is only vaguely familiar to him is wrapping him up in a big, friendly bear hug.

It takes him a moment, frozen in surprise, before he remembers - right, everyone seems to have switched bodies.

"Oh - Miss Lopez," he finally mutters, realizing who this must be. It couldn't be anyone else. "Er - yes. I'm sorry, too."

"Sorry I'm not you know all in the right body. I don't think my hugs are quite right. But like I'll fix that as soon as I get my own back." For all that Ella may look different, she's definitely still talking like her normal self, even if it's in a masculine tone. Giving him another squeeze anyway, Ella drew back slowly before she dug her hand into the pocket of her jeans which were actually having real pockets and now more than ever Ella hates the idea of women's clothing not having them. Which is neither here nor there. Ella herself has never been down her before, and she's fighting her natural urge to look at them and poke but the sight of Chloe's body and her wellbeing keep Ella from prodding too much against Navi's system.

Drawing Persephone's flask from her pocket, she offered it to him quickly. "I thought you might need this." Then her gaze dragged along his jawline, noticing the stubble there, and it caused her eyes to move lower to notice that the normally fastidious devil is decidedly not at the moment. A line appears in Ella's brow and her frown almost has sound effects with it. "How long have you been down here for?"

“‘S all right,” Lucifer mutters. Honestly, he barely even notices a change. A hug is a hug, right? And an Ella hug is recognizable in any situation.

He takes the flask with an offhanded, “thanks,” taking a swig automatically as he sits back down, leaning against whatever machinery keeps the pods running and the inhabitants alive, but asleep. Her question gets him to look at her for a moment, then he just shrugs.

“Not sure. Woke up and she was gone, went looking and found her here.” He’s been here ever since. He hasn’t consulted a clock or anything. He couldn’t even say what day it is (though that’s not unusual, for Lucifer).

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really sad devil guy; open;

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