[backdated: july 3rd] video —> text responses; un: otoproxy

[ends]

[ although the thought of reaching out via text had crossed his mind (exhausted as it is) more than once, Otonashi ultimately settles on video for the sake of consideration. if anyone had seen Ruca’s earlier message and still had lingering concern, seeing him functional and able to speak for himself should alleviate it.

he’s not quite fine given the tells of poor sleep etched into his face, but he’s not torn to pieces or missing, either. ]

Hey... I just thought showing my face would be the right thing to do after I wasn’t able to for... uh, however long. [ a pause before he continues: ] 3, 4 days? I’m... not your go-go person if you need someone keeping track of time.

[ death will do that to a person. what do days matter when they blur together in endless time? ]

With that great character flaw covered and out of the way... I’m Otonashi. Anyway, I wanted to pitch an idea to everyone for—something like a club? A support group? I haven’t been here very long, but I’m, ah, noticing a trend... [ of people with poor socialization, or who have issues making friends, or trusting people, or... hm. his point. ] ... and I think there’s a lot of strength in organized numbers. I know there are groups designed to protect, clinics, recreation, but I was thinking something a little more informal?

[ he has to workshop it a bit more, but the world certainly has enough space to accommodate wishes such as this. surely it’s feasible, and if it already exists? all the better. strength in numbers. ]

I’m going to leave this here... My roommate insisted I sleep with him, and he was pretty adamant on not taking ‘no’ for an ans— [ almost as if on cue, the sleepy, comfortable voice of Ruca cuts in for those who may be familiar, slurring Otonashi’s name. Otonashi, in turn, takes the opportunity to turn aside to yawn a little. ] —answer... Right, so, let me know what you think..? See you later, switching to text.

( so Otonashi is running on empty, getting back from a series of unfortunate events, and letting everyone know he’s fine following some choice, sleepy wording. chaos may ensue. responses may come from Otonashi or Ruca (demonicbookworm), probably text but may swap depending! disclaimer: they are not, in fact, about to go to town on each other. )

Comments

text - Video

[fractaljesus]

[YOU KNOW HOW EVERYONE GOT REALLY HORNY ABOUT A WEEK AGO?

Rather than type the answer, zaShunina quickly changes the feed over to video, as explaining this would be far easier with visual aid. Was a pale, red-eyed young man what Ruca had been envisioning? Because that's the face that greets him.]

To answer that, I must first explain Kado. [In the video, a small, flat shape appears to float beside zaShunina's head. It's perfectly square, and perfectly flat, with no depth whatsoever--resembling a hole in space more than an actual object.]

Kado is a Boundary Device and transforming mechanism that functions as an extension of myself. I used Kado to create an isolated space and placed Otonashi within this space. As it is an extension of me, his presence within it was functionally identical to moonlacing.

He was unconscious for the first hour. After this, however, he regained awareness.

>Video

[demonicbookworm]

[He knows, but let him hope that this wasn't what he thinks it was..

The face he sees does not match what he imagined, but he doesn't say anything about it or let it show in his expression.

He frowns at the explanation, but at least he knows now why Otonashi has so much chroma to spend. It still feels kind of disturbing, but it could've been worse. Or was it?]

And you never asked his name after he woke up?

[fractaljesus]

It was not a priority. [They'd both had other things on their mind than exchange names.]

[demonicbookworm]

Then what was?

[His eyes may be narrowing.]

[fractaljesus]

Yuzuru Otonashi possessed an Ostella mark during the events of the dragons' songs. Likewise, I possessed an Astella mark. It had no influence on the initial decision to place him within Kado for recovery, but it did influence our actions afterward.

[In contrast to Ruca, the white-haired man remains coolly aloof, as if discussing the weather.] Is further explanation necessary?

[demonicbookworm]

[His expression changes from some sort of shock, to deep worry and sadness, before Ruca manages to find words for it.]

So you're trying to tell me that you two...

[He feels like he was just hit with a brick. There's this heaviness in his chest, like it hard to breathe. He's pretty sure it's not because he has a problem with the idea of Otonashi sleeping with someone, even though now, being Sanguis, he doesn't like it. The bigger problem is that he heard Otonashi asking if everything was real, he saw his expression. Before all that Otonashi felt so full of energy, now he looks like he's going to break.]

And just because of that mark? That's the only reason you've done that to him?

[fractaljesus]

[And yet Yaha-kui zaShunina is only confused by this reaction, because he's unaware of how deeply it had affected Otonashi. By his account, he'd taken the human into Kado to heal and restore his chroma, and during that time their respective marks had driven them both to engage in more rigorous moonlacing. No part of this makes any sense to the anisotropic being insofar as why either Otonashi or his roommate are so upset about the incident.]

To what exactly are you referring?

[demonicbookworm]

What you've done hurt him. He asked me if everything was real. He panicked when...

[He shakes his head. His hands are curled in fists.]

In any case, I won't let anyone hurt him.

[fractaljesus]

Real? [Had constructing that artificial environment--designed to make Otonashi more comfortable--had unintended adverse effects?]

Any mental or physical strain as a result of my actions was unintended. [Everything he'd done was with the best of intentions, but there will always be a vast chasm of understanding between humanity and himself.]

[demonicbookworm]

Unintended or not, it hurt him, so you should take responsibility for your actions.

[Of course, Ruca doesn't think that a simple apology would solve anything in here, but it would be a start at least.]

[fractaljesus]

And what would you consider to be an acceptable manner of taking responsibility in this case?

[demonicbookworm]

An apology could be a start. A promise that you wouldn't do something like that again would be another thing.

[He almost wants to add "and please stay away from Otonshi" but he stops himself.]