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[OPEN] For me, our friendship was a miracle.
WHO: Ryoji Pharos/NPCs, OTA
WHERE: Recollé Woods, Recollé General Hospital
WHEN: 8/24 - 8/27
WHAT: Ryoji's death upon returning to Recollé; he loses all his regains and memories, and after 2 days in the morgue, reincarnates into the form of a 10-year-old boy, Pharos. Pharos will not have any of Ryoji's in-game memories (both events and people), and his memories only encompass Ryoji's AU history up to age 10.
WARNINGS: death
[ It felt as if he were falling forever, the darkness overwhelming, the numbness welcoming, the cold, wet ground Ryoji finds himself on being nothing short of a blessing— mud, bugs, grass that itch his nose, but better than the fire that still singes his clothes, wisps of the dead haunting his vision as he closes his eyes and struggles to open them again.
A canopy of leaves, so thick he can't even see the moon behind it.
But he knows this place, has spent so long hidden out here on his own, and his lips part, silent words that can be read but not heard:
"I'm home." ]
A. 8/24, Recollé Woods, NPCs: civilians, paramedics
[ It's a while before he is found. A muffled shout is heard first, and then a scream pierces the air, from a person— two? three? people just trying to escape the monsters, or perhaps they chased them all the way to the woods, now staring down at where a body lies in a crumpled heap. His clothes are torn, both hands covered with blood, glass embedded into the soles of his shoes, black sludge leaking out from his chest— what once was his chest, now a gaping hole where ribs and heart should be, filling up with the black that wells and pools like old blood.
There is a ring on his finger, glowing like moonlight.
"Call an ambulance!" somebody shouts, running forward, stopping, scared to touch. The boy on the ground does not move, but his eyes seek faces, desperate and unseeing. "Hurry!"
Desperate.
An ambulance is called, a helicopter, but the hospital is far and the streets are in turmoil. ]
B. 8/24, Recollé General Hospital, NPCs: physician, nurse
[ The boy should have been pronounced dead upon arrival.
Pulse: 0
BP: 00/00
RR: 0
O2 sat: 0%
There is no heart, but a flat line would not have been unexpected with the state of his body, half gone, still falling apart. The only thing that keeps him in a hospital bed is the black miasma that fills that gaping hole, that moves uncontained like thick smoke, drips to the ground like tar, disappearing when it does and taking a part of him with it. Sometimes, he moves, a finger here, a furrow of the brow there, but they're weak, few and far— increasingly further— in between; he's not dead, but he's dying, fast.
A phone found in his pocket identifies him as Ryoji Mochizuki, and that is the name that can be given to a nurse to find his room, but only for an hour or two before the last of his will gives, and he is moved to the morgue. ]
C. 8/25 - 8/26, Crimson Crest Apartments, NPCs: neighbors, cat
(inbox messages will fail to send; to be queued until 8/27)
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
[ His apartment is empty, the door ajar and papers scattered about. One of the three pairs of slippers is missing— in her haste, his mother had gone out in them. She hasn't returned. The only sound in the entire apartment is that of a cat, weak cries from somewhere under the futon, hiding whenever somebody enters, and only sticking her nose out if they're somebody she recognizes... or has food. Please feed her. It's been three days. ]
D. 8/27, Recollé General Hospital
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER IS ONLINE
[ But is nowhere to be found, anywhere around the city. Calls and texts to his phone now go through, and Ryoji's Retrospec account is back online and shows up in his name and picture, but... nothing.
His hospital room has been cleaned out, and there is another boy sitting in it today, around 10 years of age. If you know Ryoji, he looks familiar, wide grey eyes that look up and a ready smile for anybody who walks through the door to visit. He doesn't expect many visitors, a nurse will stop you at the door and say, explaining that the boy was found playing around in the morgue, but must have hit his head because he doesn't remember how he got there.
"I'm not supposed to come back here," he keeps saying. "I don't live here anymore."
Right now, he's simply under observation, but the nurse hopes that visitors would help him remember what happened. In the meanwhile, his only other company are the nurses, and the social worker who's in a tough situation: with his mother having passed from a heart attack three days ago, and his father having passed three years ago, he has no family, no place to live, no possessions to his name aside from a pitch black ring he wears on his finger, fiddling with it when he thinks nobody is looking. ]
----
( ooc: I will reply to prompts A, B, and C with the listed NPCs instead of Ryoji, since Ryoji is kind of dead. Replies to prompt D will come from Pharos. For messages to his inbox, there will be no response until the end of the month when some kind soul gets Pharos his own phone, whereupon he'll be able to access Ryoji's Retrospec account and messages.
Pharos' powers include teleportation (he does not like being touched unless it's on his terms, and will teleport away if somebody tries), and intangibility/telepathy (essentially disappearing into thin air and speaking to your character inside their head; this is only one way, meaning he cannot read minds and your character will have to speak out loud for him to hear. I will not do this unless permission is given, so let me know if this is something you'd like to play)
For any questions or wildcard prompts, contact me via PM or at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
birdseed )
WHERE: Recollé Woods, Recollé General Hospital
WHEN: 8/24 - 8/27
WHAT: Ryoji's death upon returning to Recollé; he loses all his regains and memories, and after 2 days in the morgue, reincarnates into the form of a 10-year-old boy, Pharos. Pharos will not have any of Ryoji's in-game memories (both events and people), and his memories only encompass Ryoji's AU history up to age 10.
WARNINGS: death
[ It felt as if he were falling forever, the darkness overwhelming, the numbness welcoming, the cold, wet ground Ryoji finds himself on being nothing short of a blessing— mud, bugs, grass that itch his nose, but better than the fire that still singes his clothes, wisps of the dead haunting his vision as he closes his eyes and struggles to open them again.
A canopy of leaves, so thick he can't even see the moon behind it.
But he knows this place, has spent so long hidden out here on his own, and his lips part, silent words that can be read but not heard:
"I'm home." ]
A. 8/24, Recollé Woods, NPCs: civilians, paramedics
[ It's a while before he is found. A muffled shout is heard first, and then a scream pierces the air, from a person— two? three? people just trying to escape the monsters, or perhaps they chased them all the way to the woods, now staring down at where a body lies in a crumpled heap. His clothes are torn, both hands covered with blood, glass embedded into the soles of his shoes, black sludge leaking out from his chest— what once was his chest, now a gaping hole where ribs and heart should be, filling up with the black that wells and pools like old blood.
There is a ring on his finger, glowing like moonlight.
"Call an ambulance!" somebody shouts, running forward, stopping, scared to touch. The boy on the ground does not move, but his eyes seek faces, desperate and unseeing. "Hurry!"
Desperate.
An ambulance is called, a helicopter, but the hospital is far and the streets are in turmoil. ]
B. 8/24, Recollé General Hospital, NPCs: physician, nurse
[ The boy should have been pronounced dead upon arrival.
Pulse: 0
BP: 00/00
RR: 0
O2 sat: 0%
There is no heart, but a flat line would not have been unexpected with the state of his body, half gone, still falling apart. The only thing that keeps him in a hospital bed is the black miasma that fills that gaping hole, that moves uncontained like thick smoke, drips to the ground like tar, disappearing when it does and taking a part of him with it. Sometimes, he moves, a finger here, a furrow of the brow there, but they're weak, few and far— increasingly further— in between; he's not dead, but he's dying, fast.
A phone found in his pocket identifies him as Ryoji Mochizuki, and that is the name that can be given to a nurse to find his room, but only for an hour or two before the last of his will gives, and he is moved to the morgue. ]
C. 8/25 - 8/26, Crimson Crest Apartments, NPCs: neighbors, cat
(inbox messages will fail to send; to be queued until 8/27)
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER DOES NOT EXIST
[ His apartment is empty, the door ajar and papers scattered about. One of the three pairs of slippers is missing— in her haste, his mother had gone out in them. She hasn't returned. The only sound in the entire apartment is that of a cat, weak cries from somewhere under the futon, hiding whenever somebody enters, and only sticking her nose out if they're somebody she recognizes... or has food. Please feed her. It's been three days. ]
D. 8/27, Recollé General Hospital
> search for user Ryoji Mochizuki
USER IS ONLINE
[ But is nowhere to be found, anywhere around the city. Calls and texts to his phone now go through, and Ryoji's Retrospec account is back online and shows up in his name and picture, but... nothing.
His hospital room has been cleaned out, and there is another boy sitting in it today, around 10 years of age. If you know Ryoji, he looks familiar, wide grey eyes that look up and a ready smile for anybody who walks through the door to visit. He doesn't expect many visitors, a nurse will stop you at the door and say, explaining that the boy was found playing around in the morgue, but must have hit his head because he doesn't remember how he got there.
"I'm not supposed to come back here," he keeps saying. "I don't live here anymore."
Right now, he's simply under observation, but the nurse hopes that visitors would help him remember what happened. In the meanwhile, his only other company are the nurses, and the social worker who's in a tough situation: with his mother having passed from a heart attack three days ago, and his father having passed three years ago, he has no family, no place to live, no possessions to his name aside from a pitch black ring he wears on his finger, fiddling with it when he thinks nobody is looking. ]
----
( ooc: I will reply to prompts A, B, and C with the listed NPCs instead of Ryoji, since Ryoji is kind of dead. Replies to prompt D will come from Pharos. For messages to his inbox, there will be no response until the end of the month when some kind soul gets Pharos his own phone, whereupon he'll be able to access Ryoji's Retrospec account and messages.
Pharos' powers include teleportation (he does not like being touched unless it's on his terms, and will teleport away if somebody tries), and intangibility/telepathy (essentially disappearing into thin air and speaking to your character inside their head; this is only one way, meaning he cannot read minds and your character will have to speak out loud for him to hear. I will not do this unless permission is given, so let me know if this is something you'd like to play)
For any questions or wildcard prompts, contact me via PM or at
no subject
The trip down to the morgue is made in silence, the elevator's drop abrupt enough to make one's head feel light, and the only sound down the halls are the two sets of footfalls. It's cold down here, and when people speak, it's in hushed whispers that echo in the empty space as if of stirring ghosts. ]
no subject
There probably was something inherently wrong with how okay he was just stepping into this place full of corpses.
But maybe it's because in his eyes, some of them were still right here. Joan might find all his looking around disconcerting though. ]
no subject
"It's alright," she says. "We're here."
It's not the most comfortable room to say goodbyes in, cold corners of stainless steel, two boxes pulled out and covered in sheets aside from a familiar face, and an unfamiliar one.
Ritsu hasn't met Ryoji's mother before, has he? She wouldn't recognize him either, but there are eyes on him, sad and transparent, silent as she watches this boy approach her and her son's bodies. It would be easier to tell they were related in life, the same baby faces, the same bright blue-grey eyes, the same smile that was found all around the apartment but not here, in this room, looking down at Ritsu. ]
no subject
Miss Joan, can you give me some time to say my goodbyes? I'd feel... more comfortable about it if only they could hear so some space would be appreciated, I'm sorry...
[ She probably won't outright leave, it's fine, he can probably keep his voice down. It's not really a goodbye, but a "hello" in this scenario.
Ritsu looks back at Ryoji's mother, taking a deep breath. He didn't know where to begin. ]
no subject
It's not full privacy, but it's the most she can give as she takes her leave, closing the door quietly behind her, so that the only people left are Ritsu, and the ghost of his friend's mother.
She doesn't know where to begin either, unaware that she can be seen. The boy here must be Ryoji's friend, he reasons— her boy never had trouble making friends of any age, and her hand finds her mouth to stifle silent sobs. ]
no subject
[ He's cautious of her reaction, he has to be, if Ritsu can keep with his original intent of telling her the truth of what happened to Ryoji. Already their likeness is making this more stressful, but at this point he's just grateful she's actually here. ]
no subject
My husband was Japanese, and my son learned a little too, in order to feel a little closer to him after he passed. Unfortunately, I never studied the language.
[ There's some nostalgia in her words, some regret, all muted as if trying her best to simply state the facts. But she moves closer to Ritsu, nearly right in front of him, sitting on the edge of the box where her own body lies so that they are close enough to converse in whispers. ]
Is talking like this alright?
no subject
[ She speaks so clearly. Ritsu wonders for a moment if it's because her passing was recent. ]
I'm glad to meet you, though I'm sorry it's... like this.
[ Ritsu bows his head. ] I'm Ritsu Kageyama. Your son he's-- not here?
[ He was aware of that the second he entered, but he wanted to make sure. ]
no subject
[ In any other day in the past, in any other circumstances, she would have offered him a bright smile, clasping his hands in hers. But all she manages is a faint smile, casting her eyes from Ritsu's face down to the body next to her's. Ryoji's. She reaches over, moving to stroke his hair, but her hand simply passes through the body and she's left to hover her hand over his cheek, cupping it gently. ]
No, he isn't here. I've always been scared of losing him, but I learned to let go, so that he may have his freedom. Now, I wish I had kept him closer... I can't find him anywhere.
no subject
Inhale, exhale. ]
Miss Mochizuki. Your son... he...
[ Clasping hand to his throat, squeezing. Come out. ]
He died because of me.
no subject
That's quite a claim. Will you tell me what happened?
[ A request, rather than a demand. Tell her what happened, and why, and let her judge that confession for herself. ]
no subject
You went out to search for him correct? While we were missing... we ran into someone very dangerous. She wanted to hurt us. I had a weapon and shot--
[ A flashback to the dark, the flames, illuminating ice and its slow dripping of the water; his silhouette hanging there. Keep it together. ]
Right through your son. He wanted to protect me but. I... I--
[ He covers his mouth, voice breaking, holding his stomach. ]
I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry...
[ Nothing can make up for this. He keeps repeating his apologies, like a chant, like a prayer, to the point they no longer sound like words, as if they would. ]
no subject
She doesn't accept Ritsu's apology, but she doesn't let him continue apologizing either, shushing him gently as she can't comfort him through touch. ]
...It sounds like you were both having a hard time, and that you were trying to protect each other. Ryoji always did jump into people's problems without considering himself first... If that's how he died, then it was quick, and with the belief that he died to protect somebody important. I don't think he would regret a death like that.
no subject
My intentions don't matter! What happened in the end I...-- it shouldn't have been him... I'd give anything to change the results!
[ The unsaid implication being clear. His breath turns heavy, and he raises his voice before he realizes what he's doing. ]
Why... even when I took your only son away, are you being so kind to me. Is it because I'm a child!?
no subject
[ Ryoji had put forth his life to protect his friends- all of them. And he would protect them in death too, standing up for those he loves because he believes in those very intentions that Ritsu wishes to invalidate. He loved so many people, and he loved the world; love is what she wanted to shroud his memory in, not hate, not guilt. ]
no subject
... It would've been... better for everyone if I wasn't.
[ There was no changing her mind about this. And there was no changing his. Ritsu soaks in the quiet with shut eyes, unsure if he can face her again even when they open again. ]
What are you going to do now?
no subject
She falls quiet as well, in indecision. There are things she wanted to do, things she had to do, things she puts off an refuses. Staying here is one of the options, where she can see her son's face, even though she longs for his soul. So it really isn't an option. ]
...I can't leave this world until I know Ryoji will be alright. I want to find him, and I want him to find you.
no subject
"I want him to find you", huh? ]
I... I see.
[ This devotion to continue on her search for him, even past death. She really loved her son. ]
I'm... grateful I got to meet with you. I'm sorry I raised my voice.
no subject
no subject
[ Or well, that he was speaking with someone at all. He was never an open person, you practically had to force it out of him. Katkat got away with being in his emotional orbit by merit of being an animal. ]
Do you want to step out together? Although, I understand if you want to spend longer with him.
[ It's a strange offer, but subsequently, Ritsu doesn't know how he feels about just leaving her. It's all up to what she feels like doing. There was no rush. ]
no subject
And she would answer him the same way she does Ritsu: ]
If we keep each other in our thoughts, we'll always be together. ...I think I'll spend just a little longer with him here. Later, I might take a stroll down the streets— it feels like a lifetime since I've been able to walk freely.
[ She'll be fine, and doesn't want to take up any more of Ritsu's time, especially if it's offered for her own sake. ]
Thank you for coming today, Ritsu.
no subject
... I absolutely won't forget that we met.
[ Ritsu nods, remembering what fates had befallen some of those who were removed from Retrospec's userbase. "See you later", gets caught in his throat. Just a few times, he'd expressed he wanted to run, and was envious of the ignorant masses. Back to a dull life, where he didn't make disastrous mistakes that tore apart families. Back to when people who praised him for his insights were just blurs whose words had little meaning.
That was immature, and he now had a burden to rightfully carry through. How he'll live with it, he isn't sure. Ritsu rarely recalled how he first met most people. But he reaches far back, to how Ryoji had been there when he couldn't understand art. But then the latter lightheartedly challenged him to look at something abstract. "A life's journey, towards the sun, a bright end" Ritsu had vaguely recalled. Ryoji must have been the single most incomprehensible being there. And now he was gone. But his mother had hope.
Ritsu bows to Mrs. Mochizuki with a false smile, and a heavy heart. ]
Well, I'm off.
[ And it fades, as soon as he turns. "It should have been me," echoes in his mind when he spares a last glance towards Ryoji's corpse, before he closes the door. ]