video; un: otoproxy [backdated to August 22, before the rainfall]

[ends]

[ as tempting as simply using text would be to send out what amounts to little more than an advertisement, Otonashi comes to the inevitable conclusion that the subject requires more care than a faceless message. despite sporting the “perpetually exhausted” look, the redhead on the video feed offers a warm, weary smile. ]

Right, hey... I figured this is as good a time as any. I pitched an idea a while back about an informal, survival support group. I know for some people, this place is a respite... for other people, it’s hell.

[ those parameters, too, are subject to change from month to month. taking a deep, steadying breath, Otonashi forces himself to maintain focus on the video. ]

No matter how you see it, one thing is true for everyone: you have to connect to survive. That’s easy for some of us, but all of us have stories from home, and not all of them ... make this whole “hey, go touch other people” thing very easy.

I want to hold meetings around the 20th of each month in the Level 2 community center, after the moons’ effects are gone and before anything else starts up, since... that seems to be the trend. There are no requirements to join. This is a way for people to look out for each other... either as friends or as a mutual way to get needed chroma, no strings attached if you’d prefer that.

[ brushing at one of his eyes, he glances over to a small, paper enclosure with a few origami animals in it, deliberately placed in the feed: a paper bunny, a frog, a cat, and a few others that are more difficult to distinguish. ]

But I want everyone to know that they don’t have to fight alone. We’re all sharing this world whether we like it or not. I’ll be offering “SSR club patches” for anyone who wants them, and... origami animals in honor of someone who isn’t with us anymore. And food! A season’s end meet-and-greet picnic, maybe with marshmallow toasting and campfire stories. Something easy to start. I’m open to having one this month if people are interested, even if it’s a bit last-minute...

So, please consider it. If you’re alone and you’re feeling lost, then... come, and don’t be for a while.

Comments

[suspecteverything]

Mine end pretty similarly. Either "oh yeah, and then someone died," "oh yeah, and then I killed someone," or "oh yeah, and then someone tried to kill me."

[He's not exactly the most liked person in the universe. In fact, he's the second most hated being by actual fact. They really took a poll.]

I'm better at listening than telling.

[ends]

Oh, you too, huh.

[ he hadn’t ever intentionally killed someone, but otherwise he gets it. ]

Well, at least you wouldn’t give me a dumbfounded look if I brought up getting pierced through the chest or watching a guy get crushed, or drown, or... that sort of thing. I hate to say that it becomes routine, but...

[ anything can become normalized. ]

[suspecteverything]

[Oh, Jules has most certainly intentionally killed people. In his last mental meltdown he had nearly two dozen bodies in various... states... in cold storage on his ship when his wife found him. Not all of those guys had come at him first either.]

Not dumbfounded, no. Just... sad, I guess. That you ever needed to experience all of that.

[ends]

I could say the same thing for you. I... don’t think it’s something anyone is meant to live with.

[ but the same is true for the stories of so many: many burdens aren’t meant to be shouldered, and yet they are, they must be. or they aren’t, and what is granted instead is a bitter end.

Otonashi shakes his head, forcing himself to straighten up. ]

But that’s why we should support each other. Remind people that they’re not alone. You don’t have to stop by, but if you want to peek in and take home one of my origami animals, then come by tomorrow.

( just if you’d like, I did toss up a quick log post this way if Jules wants to grab some food/adopt a weird earth paper animal and peace out or anything like that! no pressure, of course! )

[suspecteverything]

Right, so I should get to live with sunshine and rainbows and all that shit. Pretty sure the entire world would end if that ever happened. Either because it's so ridiculously impossible or because I'd blow the damn place up in protest.

I'll keep it in mind though.

[Otonashi is much more likely to find a few plates of cookies anonymously left for those who do show up, and they'll be pretty amazing ones too.]