[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

[frostythehitman]

I meant stork baby like the stork delivered you, not that you're the actual--ugh whatever

So after dying you just...disappeared? Like the monsters we fought all month?

[appraiser]

babies don't come from storks...
i suppose so, yeah
i bleed black and everything

...
did you guys ever figure out what was up with those monsters?
am *i* one of those monsters??

[frostythehitman]

Well none of them bled black, I can say that right now. And all we figured out about them is that they're part of those reality twists that people got sucked into. They probably disintegrated because they don't belong here in this reality.

But seriously, bleeding BLACK??? Please tell me you went to a doctor.

[appraiser]

i can list so many things that don't belong here in this reality
and yet they're still here...
but i'm glad the monsters are gone at least

i saw a doctor back in may
i'm ok

[frostythehitman]

...have you been bleeding black since May?

[appraiser]

um
i mean, i'm assuming so
i didn't get stabbed until june to know for sure
so since then at least

[frostythehitman]

How the hell did you get STABBED??

What else have you not been mentioning?

[appraiser]

with a sword
look! i'm sorry! these aren't things that i could just... bring up in casual conversation

[frostythehitman]

[ a SWORD? what in fresh hell ]

At this point I'm just amazed you didn't die earlier.

[appraiser]

honestly, me too
i thought i would have died many times over by now
but i guess i'm just lucky?
or immortal
i don't know

[frostythehitman]

So exactly how dead/immortal/stabbed were you when I was teaching you how to throw a football?

[appraiser]

those seem to me like all-or-nothing qualifiers, but
i would say not dead, possibly immortal, and stabbing was in the past

but i was really happy to learn from you
i had a lot of fun back then

[frostythehitman]

[ God. He was throwing a football at a possibly immortal kid who'd gotten stabbed. Why is this his life now. He wants to freak out about it more but Ryoji just seems to want to move away from that. ]

Why the hell are you so calm about all this?

[appraiser]

[ He was having FUN with a possibly immortal kid who'd gotten stabbed! ]

um
it's a coping mechanism

[frostythehitman]

[ ...yeah okay

There's nothing he can really say in response to that, honestly. ]

So what now?

Please tell me your mom didn't die of a heart attack when she saw you again or something.

[appraiser]

...no
she died of a heart attack before she got the chance to see me again

[frostythehitman]

....are you kidding me right now?

[ HE GENUINELY CAN'T TELL... ]

[appraiser]

that's what i heard from the nurses

[ IT'S TRUE............. ]

[frostythehitman]

Oh my god. I'm sorry.

[ He has no idea how to respond to that, and the apology almost sounds like a joke. But it's what people usually say in these situations, right? ]

What are you going to do now?

[appraiser]

it's alright
i'm probably going to take the time to cry for a bit
and then go out to see people who asked to see me
or the other way around i don't know

[frostythehitman]

Okay, well. Good luck. I'll help out with anything if you need it.

[ This is how you help someone who's mourning, right? ]