[video] forward dated to 9/13

[appraiser]

Ryoji Mochizuki shared a video.
09/13 near Apprassage

[ The video starts up, dark, silent. A bedroom, if an empty desk and neatly made bed and too many cardboard boxes count as a bedroom, and then the view flips over with a soft ] Oh. [ as the user finds the front-facing camera instead of the rear that he always uses on his phone. ]

Hi... It's been a while.

[ The bottom half of the screen blurs as Ryoji draws his knees to his chest where he sits on bare floorboards, phone in his hands. He doesn't introduce himself— doesn't need to, when his name is up there for people who don't know him, his face right here for people who do: the people he's recording this video for, whispers in an empty room. ]

I'm back. I know there are probably questions as to why, or how... and I can't really explain it well myself. But I'll answer the best I can, if you want to ask, texting or in person.

[ Ryoji sits up a little straighter now, looks a little more serious. This is what he meant to say: a confession. ]

But before that, I want to say that I'm glad to be back, however it happened... a second chance like this. I also want to be more upfront about myself, and there are things I want to say to a lot of people.

There was a time in the past where I was a monster: I'd hurt a lot of people, and I ran from all of that, hid myself away, and pretended it hadn't happened. The memories I've been experiencing, I kept the good ones close, the bad even closer, pretending they weren't real and that they have nothing to do with me. I thought... that it would be better to forget about all of that and return to a simpler time. Unconsciously, I think that's what I did. I went back to before everything happened, to start over, and do better this time. But I got it wrong. I made myself forget, but I wasn't forgotten...

[ He's rambling now, a little, so he turns his eyes away from the screen, staring off at something in the distance- it's the moon reflected in his eyes, only half. ]

There's somebody I still need to say goodbye to, but after that... I want to see so many of you. I owe a lot of "thank you"s and "I'm sorry"s and "I love you"s, and I want to be with people again. I don't want to leave this world or its people ever again.

So... I'll see you guys soon.




( ooc: forward dated to 9/13 to give myself a buffer. replies can be via text, or an in-person if you want to fast-forward to ryoji showing up at your character's house/class/chance meeting at some cafe/hi roommates/he'll be finding people around town somehow. for his cr, please assume he checked up on them, whether it's handwaved or not! )

Comments

[appraiser]

I could do something like this with Minako, as Thanatos. So if you ever see her standing around, staring into space, that might be me.

[ But it's only one-sided in that he hears Noah's words without being able to read his thoughts, or see the thought bubbles at all for not being present, so. Noah will just have to stand in this empty apartment all by himself and talk to himself. ]

[redarm]

Oh. I always figured she was a daydreamer or something...

[He scratches his head. No response to his thoughts. Guess he has to sound like a crazy person]

Any idea why you can do this?

[appraiser]

It's inherent to myself as a Shadow, I think.

[ He cuts Noah some slack and reforms himself as Pharos, reappearing a little away from Noah. ]

It's something I can do to anybody while I'm in this form.

[ And in the span of a blink, he disappears, and the voice comes from behind Noah, where Pharos now sits on the top steps. ]

I can appear where I need to be in this form as well. ...This would be pretty useful, but I can't seem to do it while I'm... you know. Me. 19-year-old me.

[redarm]

A shadow...?

[But before he could get that answered, Ryoji appears as a child in front of him-as Pharos. But then- he disappears again, his voice coming from behind Noah.

He'll turn around and look surprised. At first it seems like it's directed at Pharos, but he's not actually looking at Pharos. Instead, he's looking at the creepy girl that's standing behind Pharos, smiling at Noah in a way only a creepy murderer could.]

Ryoji- behind you!

[But if he looks, there's nothing there.]

[appraiser]

What—?

[ He stands and turns on the spot— and promptly slips backwards off the stairs. But it's alright because he can do that warping thing and take himself down to the bottom again, right next to Noah as he stares up at where he'd left. ]

What is it?

[redarm]

[He winces when Pharos slips, but before he can step forward to do anything- okay Pharos warped to safety. That's cool.

As for the girl, she seems to smile and put her finger to her index lip like she's telling him a secret or something]

A girl. There's a-

[Except as soon as she came, she's gone. It's no one but Noah and Pharos in the room]

-- Fuck. Did you see her?

[appraiser]

[ ...A girl in his home that Ryoji didn't bring over would be a first, and he has to change back to Ryoji in order to ask. ]

What did she look like? Was she a ghost?

[redarm]

You didn't see her?

[That's...creepy. Yes thank you for reducing the creepy child amount in this room by 100%]

I dunno, I can't normally see the ghosts the other see...she was about 12? Spiky dark hair, yellow eyes...brown- no, grayish looking skin. And she had these weird...cross scars across her forehead. Like a crown of them. She looked creepy, honestly.

[appraiser]

[ He shakes his head, unnerved. Being Death doesn't make him any more comfortable with the thought of even more dead people hanging around his apartment, especially ones that died as young children. ]

Sounds more like a zombie than a ghost... [ Just going to... shuffle over towards the front door, where it's a little brighter. ] But creepy doesn't mean she's dangerous, necessarily. Yesterday— no, it was a month ago, wasn't it? There were undead children at the mansion, and we played together.

[redarm]

[Yeah he's going to...walk with him. Get away from the creepy dark apartment]

...Of course you played with the zombie children.

[Yeah, that seems like a Ryoji thing to do alright.]

But she didn't look rotting or anything. I dunno...could've been a vision too.

[appraiser]

It was a birthday party. There was a piñata, and we played pin the tail on the donkey.

[ Those five minutes were basically the entire highlight of hell month, so he's keen to distance himself from all of that and talk about Noah and his visions instead. He remembers... building snowmen? More confusing memories than scary ones, of the little video recordings Tim showed him so many months ago. ]

Did she do anything besides just stand there?

[redarm]

[Why would undead children have a birthday--
you know what, never mind. I'm not gonna ask.]

Mostly just stood there, and did...this gesture? [Mimicking the finger to the lips then he lowers his hand.] I dunno. Don't think I've seen her before.

[appraiser]

[ So, like a shush... That's better than Pharos miming to Minato to shoot herself in the head with the Evoker, because that's a thing. ]

Hmm. I was just wondering, because when I first got the memory of Thanatos, it was just... there. [ he waves his hand vaguely in front of his face. Not so much of a memory of an event, but an existence. And then he turned into Thanatos. Maybe he's not the only monster shifter in the city, idk. ]

[redarm]

You mean...before you turned into him?

[...]

...Well, I hope I don't turn into a creepy little girl.

[appraiser]

I hope so too.

[ But who knows, with Retrospec. ]

But there's no point in worrying about things like that until it happens. It's been... how many months, and how many visions, and I still don't know everything that went on in that over Ryoji's life.

[redarm]

Yeah, I guess you're right. Still a lot I don't know either....

[he takes a deep breath and rubs his face, taking a chance to actually wipe the tears off with his gloves]

It's...good to have you back.

[appraiser]

It's good to be back. I'm—

[ glad for it, but that's not quite the word he's looking for ]

...relieved, mostly. That I was able to come back. I thought I would never see Recollé again, and when I returned, looking and feeling like a child, I thought maybe that's for the best. Growing up here and meeting everybody again, without having to remember about Thanatos and other people's memories and unrealities and all of that.

[redarm]

...Yeah, except we'd all be a lot older than you if you stayed as a child.

[He crosses his arms]

But I get it. All this shit is pretty freaky, and you've been getting the worst of the freaky deck. Anyone would wanna bail.

[appraiser]

[ Being turned into Thanatos or a child isn't even the worst of what's going to happen. Thanatos... eventually becomes something else, for all Ryoji knows, and Minako had to fight that thing and keep it from destroying the world.

So bailing sounds like a good idea, still. ]

...Have things gotten any worse for you, Noah? I never asked how you were doing, sorry.

[redarm]

Tch- I think you get a pass for that.

[So no apology needed. There's a temptation is fine. To push him away, like he pushes so many people away.

But Ryoji didn't push him away. Ryoji opened up, even though he's sure he won't do that with many people.]

...Yeah, they have. It's been pretty fucked up.

[appraiser]

Do you want to talk in here, or do you want to go out and talk over dinner?

[ Making him talk either way ]

[redarm]

Uh...

[That's a tough choice]

Well, how's strong your stomach? Cause some of the visions have been...fucked up.

[appraiser]

Fairly strong! We have ginger tea or something as prophylaxis. Do you like Soyokaze?

[ It's fine, he'll be fine. Most of his going out to eat with people isn't for the food, but for the company, and he wants to be in Noah's when he needs him. ]

[redarm]

What's Soyokaze?

[He's too british for all this japanese stuff.........]

[appraiser]

[ GASP ]

We're going to Soyokaze! If you've never been there, then we've got to try a little bit of everything on the menu!