[homily ?? ] I don't wanna lose anymore love

[asipofbride]

WHO: Father Nicholas D. Wolfwood and you!
WHERE: ???
WHEN: After Vergil's insurance claim documentation
WHAT: Wolfwood always said he wasn't a priest, but would you look at that. Turns out he knows how to testify in the name of the Angels after all.
WARNINGS: crucifixion and general bastardized religious themes

in His name we pray
amen.

[ The night after Wolfwood's disappearance, the broadcast comes through to do what it does best.

There's a public access quality to the image--a sort of Gaussian granularity to the screen, everything just a little fuzzy and haloed in its own light. Rows upon rows of a church's pews are filled with masked, uniformed people, staring ramrod straight up the aisle to where Nicholas D. Wolfwood looks... different than usual.

For one, he's not smoking. For two, he's traded his more relaxed all-black look for more of a formal suit, pressed white collared shirt with wide lapels standing in stark contrast to the black he's wearing as he towers in front of a pulpit, a strange book in hand as he looks over the congregation, eyes glittering golden and bright as his usual sunglasses are also nowhere in sight. He breathes in--and speaks in a dry, dispassionate drawl, thumb running up and down the spine of his bible as he recalls its teachings from memory. the wall behind him is stone and stained glass, windows depicting angels diving from heaven with halos made of glowing radiance and hands curled around swords as people reach up to them, pleading. the middle of the wall, where a crucifix would normally hang in this sort of set up, is covered with a white sheet. ]

Suffering is a necessity, brothers and sisters of the Faith--it is the only form of redemption that we sinners have left, the only contribution we can truly offer after a lifetime of hedonistic greed, of unquenchable gluttony. We have devoured the Holy Body of the Lord and his Angels without offering gratitude; we covet and we destroy and we malign what was sacrificed for us, and so the time has come for a sacrifice to be provided in kind.

Sin is agony, and there is nothing left to us but our sinful nature--therefore, we breed our own discontent, our own suffering, and we will never know peace until we learn of the nature of freely given sacrifice. It is our duty, brothers and sisters, to surrender ourselves to the will of the Divine, to raise up our agony with penitent gratitude and allow ourselves to become instruments of God and His Angels of Salvation. They will raise paradise on this barren wasteland that we have so thoroughly destroyed as a result of our detestable, yet inevitable nature, and They will bring us the sweet relief of Rapture, of repentance, and of the rewards promised to us once upon a time, before we broke our first covenants with God and turned from Him in our arrogant, unquenchable thirst for more than we have ever been due.

Praise be to the Angels.

[ Father Wolfwood prowls before his pulpit like the wolf in his namesake, staring down on his flock with hard, unhappy eyes, and the Faithful call back to him in unison when he pauses to breathe, to look at them full of disappointed admonishment for the sin of their existence.

Eventually, as his preaching--as his ranting--comes to a stop, he half-turns to look behind him. he takes a breath, big and theatrical, and rolls his neck as he gazes back out over his flock, fingers drumming on the spine of his bible. ]

And the road to pious service is difficult, brothers and sisters--it is painful, and asks everything of us, but we are never asked for more than is necessary. We must give what is called for in order to earn our peace, our Paradise--one cannot be given the grace of forgiveness and the reprieve of Eternity without certain sacrifices. [ he moves away from the front of his pulpit, the front of his dais, reaching up to take hold of the corner of the white sheet. ]

It is painful to see one of the flock fall to the wayside--to see them give into selfishness and sin, to stray from the path illuminated for us by the Divine, but we must acknowledge them for their triumphs, correct their failures, and... if they cannot be reformed and brought back to the fold, to cull them before they spread the disease of their weakness through our Divine Body. Our work cannot be impeded--and we must trim as many branches as necessary to keep the tree healthy and hale.

[ He flicks his wrist, tugging the sheet down, and Nicholas D. Wolfwood is having a very bad time from where he's nailed upside-down on the cross. His clothing is dirty and ragged and one of his shoes has gone missing. He's breathing hard, trying to fold himself up to get some of the blood out of his head as Father Wolfwood returns to the front of his platform, dismissing Nicholas as if he were only a passing oddity. ]

In accordance with our bylaws, anyone found to stray from his duty by the superior body will be punished--and all the members of his family will receive the same treatment in time, so that they might be cleared of their brother's weakness.

[ Wolfwood unfurls in the middle of the rambling, taking a deep breath and lurching forward, suddenly--straining and ripping himself free of the massive metal rods staking him to the cross, falling to the ground out of sight.

and then a moment later he pops back up, ripping the pulpit up despite the blood on his arms and his general ragged and raw appearance, swinging the wooden stand at Father Wolfwood as the congregation surges up to swallow them both as Wolfwood lunges for Wolfwood, screaming. ]

You can't do this to me again! I played my part, I did the work, you can't--

[ The image cuts on a tableau of Wolfwood trying to get his hands around Wolfwood's neck as the Faithful mob around them, crawling over one other with their hands outstretched as they swallow the two men like a faceless wave. ]

Comments

video: un: ♡☮STAMPEDE

[doubledollar]

[ it makes his gut feel weird to see Wolfwood like this; dressed in a manner that's more recognisable to the one from 'his own' timeline. But it's so far gone from the 'Wolfwood' he knows--it's like he's looking not at Wolfwood, but rather, Chapel the Evergreen.

It makes his teeth feel like shards of glass in his mouth, set to shatter if he applies any more pressure.
His hand touches the handle of his gun without thinking about it. ]

We'll get you out, Wolfwood.

No matter the cost.

[ he's going to cut his own video feed after a moment, not wanting to continue to show the network That expression. ]

text; un: kesitakame

[hoshikiri]

[Damn it all. Damn it all to the Seventh Hell. Takame owed Vash so much even if Wolfwood is only someone he's spoken with a little. But Rose was still recovering and even if Veldora was here as well.

Vash was his friend. And this was one of his loves that was taken.]

I am with Rose. But if there is anything I may do. Please tell me.

voice; un: silverrose

[fionnuisce]

It seems like you've got a solid group with you, so I'm not going to intrude unless you want me to. Diarmuid and I are going to help find a way through the rest of Tartarus, and I'm wagering good money that's where we'll find the rat bastards behind this whole thing.

...Please just stay safe, Vash.

UN: Hikari-Vi | Voice

[whiteshroud]

[Jun had honestly shut off the feed halfway through the sermon. It had infuriated him too much to listen, and it doesn't change what must be done]

I'm coming with this time.

action.

[advivo]

[ vash cuts the feed but dante is there immediately pulling vash his chest, holding him as tightly as he possibly can. they will get him out, of course they will, but they have to sit and wait for the gate to appear and neither of them are good at that. ]

We'll get him out.

[ dante exhales heavily, repeating the words a couple of times as he moves to bury his face into the crook of vash's neck. ]

We will.

Video: UN: hotgoss

[bebest]

[Well. That's concerning. UNDERSTANDABLE but concerning.]

We WILL, Babe. We did this last year and we are gonna do it again. There's a whole lot of us. We're gonna get him back and kick his whole shadow-self's butt while we do it.

text: un: Vergil

[kowase]

And there it is.

As I said before.
Those responsible: Your days are numbered. Start counting them.

private; un: fortuneclovers

[medicgunner]

I already told Dante, but once I track his Gate down with POKEGO's tech you lot'll be the first to know.

voice | un: kni

[ornamentals]

[white knuckled grip on his phone as he watches the video, kni feels some sense of responsibility rise up. from the preacher's words to the ugly, pious displays of worship to a god of his own future creation, kni is acutely aware that whatever hell this is, it takes after his influence. wolfwood is the man he is today because of kni, after all.]

I'm sorry. [kni speaks quietly, half knowing whatever he says probably won't reach wolfwood, but he needs to say it regardless.] I haven't told you that yet, but... I will. I will find a way to you and- and I'll make this right.

[he knows he can't make empty promises, but he'll do everything he can to keep this one. he has to, somehow.]

Damn it...

-> action

[doubledollar]

[ ...well, hearing this made his chest feel awful. honestly. He takes a deep, quiet breath and he considers responding, but instead he'll just.

Go find kni. Wherever it is the kid is hiding.

And he's going to sit behind him, burying his face into the top of Kni's head. sorry about your hair, kni. ]

action

[playtag]

[Eve does not focus as closely to the video when it shows up, mind churning over the next steps from last year. Soon Wolfwood's dungeon will appear, their opening to getting him back. She hasn't yet asked Vash if she can join, but she fully intends to. They have a lot of preparation to do.]

[But then she hears Kni softly over the network and goes seeking him out. Once located, she sits next to him. A silent yet steady presence.]

[She does not know why he's apologizing, so for now she'll focus on reassurance.]

He's still alive. [If there's life, there's still hope.] We'll get him back.

voice | un: blackbirdtarot

[drewthetower]

Guess it's time to see how badly a half-demon can fuck up a church. Or whatever the hell you think you're imitating.

[areal_hisname]

[Shoe's fallen off, hasn't it? Dickson’s begun to get impatient and these insolent as hell app users just responded to Douman with a bunch of memes.

So the feed clicks on to one Alaric Dickson, a scowl on his face of sheer disgust. In the background, the sound of bells could be heard. As for Dickson, he just took a long drag of a cigar and looked down at the camera as if doing just that on the app users at large. Meddling mortals, the lot of them. Worthless like the world these outworlders invaded.

It’s time to remind them who makes the fucking rules.]

How many times do we have to tell you people?

Give us the name of Teresa's killer and this'll stop. Until then, you lot can’t save everyone. Fancy yourselves heroes all you want, you're not gonna get through to all the idiots we take and you’re all gonna fall to the Metaverse’s Shadows anyway. It’s pointless, you’re all fuckin' worthless.

You'll bend to the will o' the Black Order whether you want to or not. And we'll be glad to use you as examples for everyone else as to why you don't have a choice.

[And the feed cuts. No replies will come.]

text: un: ANON

[loupmorque]

...And finally, we have an answer behind the questions.

Human beings are all people with things they love and cherish. We do cruel things as well as kind things to protect, spare, or save people who we care about. Doing what was 'right' or 'wrong' in the situation where Teresa became too much of a dangerous entity was a grey area and sometimes, people have to die to spare the lives of others.

This? What you're doing? Trying to destroy peoples' spirits by taking away their freedoms, taking hostages and putting even more lives at risk for the sake of a woman who'd crossed a line and sealed her own fate?
And then saying this is the consequence? It's what we deserve?

That we have no choice?

You'll be the ones 'made an example'.

There won't be anyone making an argument for your survival.
And I certainly don't need an excuse to keep from joining the mob that'll soon be at your door.

video; un: silverrose

[fionnuisce]

Fuck you, fuck the horse you rode in on, and fuck that piece of shit clown you came with.

You'll get your name when you ask Teresa yourselves.

not quite here?

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose has since gotten given Takame’s phone back to him. She’s trying to busy her mind. It isn’t working, but she tries her best.]

[She doesn’t recognize the voice over the network, but she does understand what he’s saying. Douman’s colleague, then.]

[It makes her sick to her stomach.]

[And that’s before the bells register.]

[the bells the bells the bells the bells]

[In the background, anyone who listens closely will hear:]

This? This is why you kidnapped us? This is why you made us live through hell?

text | un: anon

[drewthetower]

man the fact you people think you're winning? hilarious. please, you two aren't the scariest thing we've seen this year. hell, this WEEK

i mean unless you're afraid of clowns.

un: anon; text

[infezione]

With bodies and minds and hearts that are sore
Listening to your ilk has become a chore
You keep making noise, your demands unmet
You must realize we grow tired of your threat
Hurt those we love, cut a bloody path
And you will find you'll face our wrath
We are resolute, our solemn vow:
We of Kaisou will not bow

video, un: devilhunter

[advivo]

[ the feed flicks on and dante, the legendary demon hunter, just laughs. it is bitter and filled with anger, everything that he had pushed down yesterday coming back with a vengeance. ]

Oh you're funny. You're real funny.

[ blue eyes flash red and the whites of his eyes vanish replaced by an inky blackness, the demon begs to be released. ]

You've got bigger problems than finding the name of that psycho's killer. You're not the first religious zealots I've taken down a few notches and you sure as shit won't be the blast. I mean it when I said you and your demon friend ain't leaving the city alive.

You'll be the example as to why you're never getting your hands into this city.

Video

[ampersand_me]

There were many, many things Knuckles was not good at. Being a judge of character was one of them. However, once things were sufficiently spelled out for him, it did not take him long to jump to the correct conclusion.

And he was pissed.

"Betrayer!!!"

text; un: anon

[rubicund]

You're not very good at this, are you?

I am sure they were supposed to handle this like a crusade, but what they sent was Cardinal Biggles and Fang of the Spanish Inquisition.

Voice | UN: makeitaventi

[venti_late]

[There's a sound of a lyre being plucked as the bard boldly sings:]

If someone plucks out your tongue, you can still sing with your eyes.
If someone blinds you in both eyes, you can still see with your ears.
But if anyone dares to steal your song, the freedom you yearn for,
— That alone, that alone shall never do!

video | un: lastlullaby

[end_singer]

[Yeah, about that "meddling mortals" thing...

Le Mort has decided now is the time to meddle.]

I find it curious that those who prefer violence as a means of exerting their authority seem so fond of claiming they are an inevitability. Particularly when they are so clearly struggling.

But no matter. Inevitability knows your names, and we shall see each other soon enough.

video: un: Kore

[aslowburn]

[Well. Persephone's here now and she speaks with the icy coldness that can only come with presiding over the dead for many millennia. This? This is not allowed.]

You have made a grave error. You have overstretched into my domain, you have brought harm to one of mine and I will not tolerate this. Congratulations, you have my attention - something only the insane or suicidal wish to have put upon them. I suppose I shall see which one you are once I tear your heart out of your chest so you can watch it beat its last.

voice; un: captainkenway

[jackdawvision]

[That sounds—a lot like Templar talk. Far too close to Templar talk for Edward’s comfort.]

Wolfwood, we’re coming to get you. Stay alive, mate.