[Accidental Video] ☠ A shadow fades in bright light.

[nightprince]

[ Ryoji hadn't noticed, but when he sat down on his bed, he accidentally turned his SFC on. Currently? The screen shows the little thought bubble following him around. His thoughts are vague, to an extent, at the moment, but what you'll notice is that the inside of the bubble is darker in color than most. Sort of like there's a little black mist inside it. The text on it is white. White, on black.

He's pacing in his dorm room at the moment. It's late, and he can't sleep. ]

He left.

[ A pause, a blink. A nod. It was reflecting his thoughts, huh? Yeah. But it wasn't really so bad... was it? An image of Minato--blue hair--comes up, then disappears. ]

It's my fault.

... I know.

[ Then an image of what looks like the moon, and then something big... with two sets wings, and a long sword. It's vague though, and it's hard to tell what it really is. It's only somewhat humanoid in shape. ]

Fighting it is... impossible. Maybe one day I'll just...

That won't happen...

[ This thought is a little more graphic. An image of some kids all wearing red armbands, being consumed by some sort of darkness, and then a hollow-looking, creepy white mask, eyeless, and smiling. And then lots of red blood. It flashes back as he shakes his head. ]

But how can it not, right?

I... I won't do that.

But I will. And then how will anyone stop me? You can't stop something like me. That's impossible.

It's... he did it. He still managed... it's okay. He's back now.

[ He takes a breath, getting up, and turns his back, trying to ignore that pestering, persistent, awful little bubble. He doesn't think it's so cool anymore. ]

But what if I do slip? What if they're wrong about how time passes? What then?

[ He falls silent. His biggest fears, and it was very, very right. He doesn't want to say it though. ]

I don't want to kill them. I don't want to hurt anyone. Vriska, Minato--I'm part of him but I took his life from him... because of me, his friends will never get to be with him at home. I really don't deserve to be a human, or even to feel. I never should have existed.

I... I really don't like this place right now... why does this have to happen to us? I hate these curses.

[ Eventually, Ryoji rests his head against a wall, closing his eyes, and biting his lip. The words keep going, though. Because he is, in fact, quite worried. ]

But blaming Vatheon isn't right. You wanted him to kill you because you're afraid, aren't you?

T-that isn't true. I've accepted it. It's inevitable.

[ The bubble continues heedlessly on, and Ryoji looks down at it with a defeated, pained expression. ] Without him, you don't even exist. Vriska, too! She validates your existence, but then when you're alone, what are you really? Just a shadow. A tool. Nyx's puppet. And then you don't even feel like you're real.

T-that's not true... I'm... I'm Ryoji. No one else. And I will never, ever be anything else. Minato-kun said so.

[ ... Ryoji tries to pop it as it continues on, but to no avail. After he tries to half-heartedly swat it away, he fails. So he instead returns to leaning his head against the dorm's wall, and then the feed cuts abruptly as a kitten hops onto the bed, and accidentally shuts the SFC off. ]

Comments

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[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

I haven't met him, but he sounds like a good guy.

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[derparcana.livejournal.com]

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[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

Because he doesn't treat you like his own shadow?

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[derparcana.livejournal.com]

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[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

You are.

You were part of him, but still consider him you're best friend. I don't get it.

[Video; filtered]

[derparcana.livejournal.com]

[ ... He flicks the feed over to video, but keeps it filtered. ]

... That's because Minato-kun gave me life in the first place, and he treated me like a person. When I was sealed within him, I wasn't a human at all. I wasn't even remotely like that... but after spending time with him, and seeing things through his eyes, I changed.

So I'm grateful for what he did.

[ A small, quiet smile. ]

Minato-kun... the only person he sees when he talks to me is "Ryoji". Not anything else. So no matter what I might do or be, we're friends... I could never think of him as anything else but my best friend . In fact, if anyone should hate the other, it should be him! But he doesn't hate me, even though I've caused him pain.

That's just who he is. That even when some kid appeared in his room no one else saw... he talked to this kid, and became friends with him. It's why he is who he is.

[Video; filtered]

[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

[After a minute of Rep processing what he's heard, he flicks the video feed on. The boy's thought bubble shows Riku as he is in Vatheon now - blindfold, long hair - in a side profile across from the boy himself.]

By becoming friends with who you originated from... you feel like you're... real?

[Video; filtered]

[derparcana.livejournal.com]

... Haha, I guess I sound pretty weird! But I do.

[ He can only smile. Minato has given him so much. ]

He told me to give my own life meaning, though, too. So... I'm going to do that. He wants me to be my own person. And why shouldn't I be? I'm me, not him.

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[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

You make it sound so easy, and yet just a minute ago I heard all that...

[ He shakes his head, then reaches a hand up to his forehead. ]

I'm me. [ The voice reverberates with Riku's mouth in his thought bubble. ] Heh. You are lucky - to have come so far.

[Video; filtered] 2/2

[boundbynaught.livejournal.com]

Not everyone's so lucky. [ There's an image of Riku in his yellow top & blue pants facing off against Rep in his Dark Mode attire. They clash several times with the exact same weapon. ]

[ Then he clicks off the video feed - not even sure himself if he'd answer another non-video message from Ryoji. He was just getting too worked up in his own head about everything Ryoji now believed about himself, and how much he wanted that for himself. ]