[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 should, huh... Apparently Minako threw me a funeral, so I have to pay her back. If I buy out every lottery ticket in Recollé, I'll have to win, right? Do you think the winnings will offset the cost?

[thesettingsun]

I don't think she's going to be thinking about the cost of the funeral right now...

[DON'T ACTUALLY DO THAT]

[appraiser]

[ He's going to do it. It's easy money and he's one of those suckers who will 100% get sucked into the lottery trap. ]

That's all the more reason to pay her back, before something comes up and she needs the money. I'll take care of it, so thanks for the suggestion!

[thesettingsun]

Don't actually buy all the tickets? Maybe one or two?

[RYOJI NO]

[appraiser]

My luck isn't that good, Shuji. Look at-

[ gestures to himself. basically everything that's ever happened to him, he's a walking disaster. ]

Maybe I'll buy everything except one or two. All of them might be overkill.

[thesettingsun]

If you only buy a couple, it's not that much of a loss if you don't win. If you buy a ton, you'll have wasted a lot more money.

[appraiser]

Aren't lottery tickets only a dollar apiece? A dollar isn't very much.

[thesettingsun]

How many tickets do you think there are, if you buy all of them?

[appraiser]

I think if I pull all my savings out of the bank, I can afford a couple hundred thousand. Would that be enough?

[thesettingsun]

If you buy a hundred thousand lottery tickets I'm going to take away your allowance.

[appraiser]

No! I need that money to buy lotto tickets!

[thesettingsun]

Spend your money responsibly or not at all.

[...he doesn't even give Ryoji an allowance.]

[appraiser]

Fine. Only one thousand lottery tickets. And coffees every other day. Is that responsible enough?

[ Shuji might not give Ryoji an allowance but he probably should be the one in charge of it ]

[thesettingsun]

Ten lottery tickets maximum. Coffees are allowed without restriction.

[appraiser]

Coffees cost more than tickets...

[ And he can only drink maybe two coffees a day. How else is he supposed to waste all his money? ]

[thesettingsun]

Coffees are more useful than non-winning lottery tickets.

[Maybe he could save his money instead!!]

[appraiser]

The non-winning lottery tickets are there to raise the odds of me having a winning ticket. Every one is just as important as the others, we're all working together to get rich quick!

[thesettingsun]

That isn't how math works, or how responsible spending works.

[appraiser]

[ DEEP SIGH ]

I don't like math and finance... Life science major all the way.

[thesettingsun]

I'm an English lit major. If I'm telling you to think about math more, it's bad.

[He's bad at it too!]

[appraiser]

[ Is it really that bad...? Yeah, he thinks, but that's why people buy lottery tickets, because the super rich don't have to worry about math. ]

...I guess I could look into getting another job. And or hope I haven't gotten fired from my last one yet. Then I can use the extra money to buy what I want, right?

[thesettingsun]

...Just don't go overboard with it.

[Dying is bad enough without a financial crisis.]

[appraiser]

I won't! There's this cat cafe that I sent an application to a while ago— my resume is sort of a mess, but I'm hoping to hear back about an interview someday.

[thesettingsun]

That's a job you'd be really good at.

[He can absolutely see Ryoji working at a cat cafe, or anywhere similarly cute.]

[appraiser]

You think so? When I get the job, I hope you'll come visit me sometimes. You can pretend they're your pets too, while you can't have them in the dorms.