video; backdated to the 9th

[112ounces]

[ Carl originally thought to make this text, and maybe to individual inboxes to make the matter more private.

He decided against this because 1) text is impersonal and shooting bullets into one's home is definitely a personal matter 2) Carl has been so bad at interacting with his roommates outside Death the Kidd that he doesn't even know the names of his other roommate's. So open post it is. ]


Um. People have been disappearing and reappearing and new people showing up, and me working longer hours at the magazine stand and taking summer courses, I didn't pay much attention to people who are my roommates, besides Kidd. I'm sorry about that.

So to anyone living in Apartment 2 in Maurita Falls, I am really sorry if seeing bullet holes in the walls scared you. That was me and somebody else. Got into a misunderstanding. It's fine now, no one was hurt, so it's nothing to worry about.

[ He can already tell people are going to freak out, more so from people who didn't live in the apartment. ]

Comments

[tucky]

Shit. Who had the gun, you or the other guy?

[No freaking out here; children with gun access isn't exactly a foreign concept to her.]

[112ounces]

Both of us, actually.

[tucky]

And nobody was hurt? Y'all must be bad shots.

[112ounces]

No, just good at taking cover.

[tucky]

Oh.

... Didn't know you could get guns that easy here. What kinds were they? Shotguns?

[nohalfway]

[ Ellie can't help but laugh a little. ]

Just the nature of the beast with us, huh?

I'm glad no one was hurt. Hope that doesn't make things awkward with the roommate.

[112ounces]

I'll try to see if I can cover up the bullet holes. Least I could do.

[ He can only lift his hands, as if trying to shrug the incident away. ]

Anyway, my dad is here.

[nohalfway]

Woah, hey.

That's great.

... Isn't it?

[112ounces]

Oh it is! Though I think we need some catching up to do. He looked a lot different than last time I saw him.

[ The last time he saw Dad home was when he was cutting up the man who held Carl down while watching Dad ripping a man's throat out with his teeth.

Yes, a lot different. It's no wonder Carl shot him in his apartment. ]

Private

[ he switched to private because it becomes a little more personal. ]

It's why I nearly shot him in my apartment. I didn't recognize him. Not at first. His back was to me, and he was stealing my stuff.

video;

[biteouttagrimes]

[ Oh. This communicator thing. Rick was content to ignore it until he hears Carl's voice coming off of it. It had been in his pocket so he hadn't really heard what was said, just the familiar voice. So when he appears on screen, it's an upside down view. Rick is holding the communicator the wrong way. What are smartphones? ]

Carl? You tryin'a get in touch with me?

video;

[112ounces]

[ Carl can just tell he's gotta help Dad readjust living here. It's surreal. ]

Dad, I'm seeing you upside down.

And no, just making an open post on the network. Lots of people moving in and out in my apartment over the months I've pretty much lost track of the current ones.

video --> voice;

[biteouttagrimes]

Huh.

[ Rick looks down at the communicator and then taps a few buttons until the video cuts out and it's just audio. ]

That better?

[ A pause. Open post. Network. ]

So you can get in touch with everyone through this thing? Everyone who's got one of 'em?

voice;

[112ounces]

Pretty much. You can look back in previous posts, I think. You can text as well.

[ He doubts Dad will do any texting. ]

How are you holding up?

video;

[grimreaping]

[ Kid feels oddly pleased to be singled out, as if that somehow makes up for the bullet holes which he is sure are not symmetrical. ]

... do you need help patching the walls?

[ Priorities. ]

However, I'm glad you weren't hurt.

[ There we go. ]

video;

[112ounces]

[ God, no, Kidd would have to put another bullet in Carl's mattress to make it perfectly symmetrical. The walls are a lost cause. ]

I probably need the help. I don't know how to even patch it up.

Re: video;

[grimreaping]

[ Kid would have absolutely started adding holds until things balanced. ]

It's not especially hard, but it takes practice. I'll bring home some plaster. Don't worry, we'll get the room back to rights.

video;

[112ounces]

Yeah, it's the den place that got hit the worse.

video

[aggressiveapathy]

Wow. I thought that was a west coast thing.

Cool.

video

[112ounces]

If you say so.

[ Carl nearly had a heart attack when he realized the burglar he nearly killed was his dad. ]

[aggressiveapathy]

So. Was someone's honor satisfied?

[112ounces]

No. It was just mistaken identity.

voice;

[shittybirthday]

You alright, kid? Someone tryin'a hurt you?

[ Such a dad. ]

voice;

[112ounces]

No, I'm fine. It was just a mix-up, that's all.

[shittybirthday]

Helluva mix up.

[ With guns being fired and all. Not that that's anything unusual to Joel, but. ]

[112ounces]

Tell me about it.

It was someone I didn't recognize off the bat and I thought he was stealing my stuff.

[ Except Dad was. But he doesn't feel that comfortable in talking about getting into a shoot-out with his father in public. ]