[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

[fractaljesus]

Correct. [There's really no satisfactory way to define it other than that. Not kindness, not opportunism, but something in between. There's a word that feels like it should fit here, a word that zaShunina feels like he should know, should be an intrinsic part of him, yet can't put his finger on.

But no, he doesn't see the human as stupid. He may not be able to understand his reaction, but that doesn't make Otonashi stupid, it just means zaShunina doesn't understand humans as much as he'd thought.]

Names had not been a priority at the time. [Certain other things had.] I am Yaha-kui zaShunina.

awkward way*, not sure how a word just vanished there...

[ends]

Maybe not, but they should’ve been.

[ because he’s made similar mistakes before, letting himself become convinced of enemies that could have just as easily have been allies if only he had bothered to notice. every person, human or otherwise, has a story. ]

I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can explain why I’m acting like this in a way that won’t sound stupid and ridiculous... [ and maybe there simply isn’t one, meaning trying to navigate it is a fool’s errand. but it isn’t like him not to try bridging a gap. ]

Listen... Thanks for saving me. You didn’t have to, but you... probably know that already, don’t you?

No worries, I got the gist.

[fractaljesus]

I apologize. [For not prioritizing names. If Otonashi says they should have been, then he'd made a mistake, and that's unfortunate.

Yet... when Otonashi thanks him, zaShunina looks at him like what he'd said was absurd.]

I did have to. [He'd been in a position to help when he'd come across him crystallizing. To leave him like that when it was so simple to help would have... been so counter to his existence that doing so would have been inconceivable. Especially since helping him was symbiotic.]

[ends]

Okay, yeah— [ it kind of feels to him like they must be speaking different languages, and really, the only reason that they aren’t is the world they’re in. suddenly, the lack of complete thoughts ever coming funneled through their bond makes a lot more sense.

it probably would have been muddled in translation. ]

If you were a regular person, you wouldn’t have needed to do that. So, doing it anyway because had the option and you could would be an act of kindness, and so I’m thanking you for it and you can just take that thanks. [ not so unlike Otonashi trying to explain to his former abductor the intricacies of morality simply because it feels like the right thing to do. he doesn’t have to, but the option exists and the redhead has a history of misunderstanding people and their motives.

so, he ought to not make the same one here. ]

For the record, though... Abducting people isn’t something you should just do. If you have to, put out a message about it! You know when someone abducts another person, it’s usually to do something to mess them up.

[ and in a strange sort of way, this conversation—absurd as it is—visibly seems to calm him a little. his shoulders sag, the deep lines of concern partially fade. it isn’t perfect, but he’ll take “imperfect” over “actively harmful.” ]