IC Contact

[aidreamofsenpai]

[Any form of IC contact can go here! Text, video, voice, etc.]

I missed you! I'm really sorry, but I'll contact you as soon as I can!

Comments

Text, 3/24

[scatterflower]

You know, this is kinda hilarious coming from you, Mr. "Have a random girl you talked to on the network once come over and suck you off".

Re: Text, 3/24

[aidreamofsenpai]

What do you mean? I'm not sure I see how those two things are related.

Text

[asano_san]

You're Invited!

Birthday Party for Keigo

Townhouse 16

4/3


[OOC Disclaimers: Keigo is inviting everyone he knows, which to him includes anyone he talked to recently. No obligation to attend. No, there's not a time. Keigo's bad with invitations.]

Re: Text

[aidreamofsenpai]

Should I bring a present? What do you like? I don't have much time to shop!

Text 1/3

[roundtheback]

Hey o/

Text 2/3

[roundtheback]

There's something I wanted to give you. It's way too small for me and I thought you might like it ^^

[blueskyonwhitecanvas]

[Two days felt like a lifetime. It may have been a year only to Aiichiro but the hours stretched to fill what could have been the same amount of time, torturous in its infinity.

The questions were familiar: how could he have spent even a minute on anything that wasn't shared with Aiichiro? What he would give for another minute. Not like this, wishing that he could forget, and hating himself for it.

He ought to be safe. Back home. One attempt after another to contact him failed, until Jihae finally gave up. He had seen the greyed-out names before. There was no question of their meaning.

Unable to sleep willingly his body forced it on him, with his face buried into Aiichiro's pillow to try to remember his scent before it, too, was gone. That was where he would be found when Ai was ready to come home.]

[aidreamofsenpai]

[ He did come home of course. The night of the morning that he'd arrived back in the city, he opened the door that felt both familiar and unfamiliar, walked through the house that had become more and more his own over time. He peered into Jihae's room first, and seeing nothing, came to his own. It was hardly like those things made much of a difference, after all, with how often the two shared a bed.

And when he saw that figure with his nose in his pillow, he was all the more glad that hadn't come here first. The tears that would have spilled from him if he had would have drowned them both, likely. Now, a little more settled, a little more certain of himself and what has happened, he can come to his home with a smile on his lips.

His home - this person, not this place - which right now he needs more than ever. He crawls into the bed, slides both his arms around Jihae, and whispers into his ear, not knowing if it will be enough to wake him or not. ]

I'm home.

6/29

[boundbynaught]

[When Ai comes to pick up Yurick, Ai will get a small wave from behind his roommate and a mouthed 'thank-you']

Re: 6/29

[aidreamofsenpai]

[ If he were thinking about it, he'd send a text or something to answer covertly, but he's still a little out of it himself.

So all Cadence gets is a smile in return. ]

[herplaceinthesun]

Hey. You don't know me, but I know Genesis pretty well. I missed that he had another someone special, makes me feel a bit bad.

[But she'd felt pretty bad for a good while now.]

Sorry Sephiroth's being an jerk. He's... well, he's an asshole. And my boyfriend, so I can totally apologize on his behalf and he can't do jack shit about it.

[aidreamofsenpai]

[ His voice is scratchy from crying. He rubs at his eyes as he tries to respond. ]

No, it's... I shouldn't have even said that aloud. It's... not supposed to be common knowledge that he and I... that... it's not supposed to be like that.

[ He swallows. ]

Sephiroth is... he's your boyfriend, huh? And he's from Genesis's world as well, right? So... so... do you know why... I just want to know why...

Text; 7/8? 7/9?, about three to four hours after Sephiroth's announcement

[recitings]

I want to see you.
Zexion. Aiichiro.
I need you.

[aidreamofsenpai]

Where am I going?

[ No other questions asked. No arguments. Just that. ]

7/8 audio;

[occulthymns]

[When it comes to the absolutely bizarre state of Genesis over the network Euri knows there are only a few people who would understand what's going on, and out of them Ai is the most empathetic. Zexion probably doesn't want to deal with the tornado that is her emotions and after exploding during that meeting with Genesis, Reno and Angeal the thought of contacting Angeal has left her feeling rather self-conscious.

Freaking out in front of Ai seems like the least embarrassing option.]

Ai? What the fuck is wrong with Genesis? Why is he acting like...

[Like he's all messed up on re-education and going against every damn thing he told her when he moved out of the mansion. She can't hide the disgust in her tone when she finishes her question.]

Like that?

Re: 7/8 audio;

[aidreamofsenpai]

[ There might be a bit of water sounds in the background; he's still sulking in the hot tub. His voice comes out quiet, tired. ]

He's on something, obviously. I'd guess an aphrodisiac, maybe something else too? I'm not sure. He didn't seem to be doing it against his will though.

[ He sighs. ]

I didn't know he was going to do it either, obviously.

7/8 text

[shinra_dog]

[Reno is reluctant at first. Whatever was left between him and Ai was tense, to say the least. But that video pretty much trumped it and then some. He only hesitated a few minutes before he sent the text.]

Ai, where are you?

Re: 7/8 text

[aidreamofsenpai]

[ This is not someone he expects to check on him, not at all. He doesn't know if he should say something more or not, if he should apologize, if he even wants to deal with Reno right now. But aside from that one thing... Reno was always kind to him, before that. And that one thing was dealt with, right?

Aiichiro frowns, not sure if he likes his own thought process there. There's something in it that just doesn't feel right to him.]

Ruby Room. In the hot tub. I just... needed a break.

7/7 Early Morning

[cutelilshit]

[He tries to wait for as long as possible, but he had a fitful sleep last night and so he tries a text message first, hoping that it won't rouse Aiichiro too early if he's not ready yet.]

Good morning, Ai-chan. You can call me when you wake up. I just didn't want to come over unannounced.

[aidreamofsenpai]

Come on over. I woke up really early thinking about you anyway. Do you drink coffee?

video

[otterbeswimming]

[He waits until Yamazaki is at work and then he calls Nitori. It's super important so he has a very serious expression on his face.]

Nitori-senpai. I have something I really need your help with! It's life changing!

Re: video

[aidreamofsenpai]

Huh?

[ Blink, blink. You can tell he's blinking because of the video going dark, not because he's looking in a mirror. He's not, yet. There's not much of a view; a wall? Hold on, let him get his bearings. Now it's the floor, and his feet. Oops. ]

What do you need? Sorry I was a little busy, but it's okay. Let me just get to the bathroom.

Voice

[otterbeswimming]

Nitori-senpai. I have a question.

[And sure he could ask this in person but...]

How do you know if someone is the person that your heart is supposed to go doki doki for?

Re: Voice

[aidreamofsenpai]

Hmm?

[ Strange voice messages from Momo are apparently just going to be a thing. Well, Aiichiro isn't upset about it or anything, and as for what to say... his mouth sort of does it without his brain getting involved. ]

I don't think there's a "supposed to", Momo. If your heart is going doki doki for someone, that's how you know. It might be a little hard sometimes here, where it's easy to get intimate with and care a lot about people but...

If you find yourself thinking about that person even when you're not with them a lot, that's a good clue. Or if you see something nice when you're out, and your first thought is that they'd like it? Or if you stop to think every time you learn something new - sexual or otherwise - whether it'd be something they'd enjoy, that too.

Video (8/12...day after confession) 1/? I AM SO SORRY

[otterbeswimming]

NITORI-SENPAI! NITORI-SENPAI!

[You told him to watch the volume but he can't contain himself. Sorry.]

NITORI-SENPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!

[otterbeswimming]

So, I went and told him how I feel.

8/16, Afternoon

[illicitresearch]

Aii, dear-

[ It's the first time he's called Aiichiro dear, or contacted him privately in awhile... But Zexion sounds weary and a little bit apprehensive]

I just wanted to let you know personally, before you heard it from anyone else, and to ask you to take extra care of Genesis for me tonight. I probably won't be in at work.

I've been feeling... off, since yesterday morning... and I'm checking myself into the hospital, to see if there's anything they can do to help me.

But I'm all right, really. I don't want you to worry. It's... just something that hasn't gone away, and I need to get it looked at.

[aidreamofsenpai]

Wait, what's going on? Did someone hurt you? Did something happen?

[ He'd heard about the sushi thing, but hadn't really thought much of it, and was far too busy to go by there himself. As for the aftermath, he hadn't really heard it at all, and he's just confused now, and trying to reconcile his urge to bask in that "dear" and his fear for Zexion's well-being. ]

Of course I'm going to worry!

[ He's not crying at least, he's grown that much. But his voice is cracking pretty hard.]

9/11, at Club Rapier. (a summary with Aiichiro's meta contact NPC.)

[citizensofariel]

Even though the Festival of Scylla is a time of great cheer, Mr. Proietti looks especially gloomy today. Against his wishes and basic common sense, the wastelanders have been allowed to attend the festival this year. Apparently, his superiors have decided to show them good will and invite them in, hopefully to help patch up those ongoing problems in their relations. Now that they're here, though, the wastelanders insist on insulting Scylla's memory by refusing to wear bright colors. He has a serious feeling they're up to something else, too. Something really bad. But without any proof, that's probably his self-admitted biases talking. (Sigh.)

[aidreamofsenpai]

"I don't think there's anything wrong with being careful, but I think you shouldn't lose hope," Aiichiro says very quietly. He shifts slightly, obviously a little awkward about what he wants to say. The fact of the matter is that he's rarely entirely honest with this man, for a lot of reasons, and right now he wants to be.

He sounds very young when he speaks again, and this time it's not about kink. "Even if they have some bad purpose right now, or you can't trust them, or your superiors turn out to be wrong, it doesn't mean they can never change, or it's stupid to have given them a chance."

He pauses. "What if no one had given me a chance? I was really upset when I first came here, you know. Because where I come from, our ideas of what consent is are different from here, and I felt like mine was being compromised every day. I had to learn how to look at things the same way the city does, too. So someone like those people from the wastelands, I think giving up on them doesn't do any good, because they might still learn too."

9/17

[citizensofariel]

[For once, Mr. Proietti doesn't show up at Club Rapier when he's typically expected to. Instead, via a tan-skinned courier, Aiichiro receives an old-fashioned, handwritten letter. In a society where networking brain implants are ubiquitous, letter writing is thought of as a very self-indulgent practice.

"My cute little Aiichiro," the letter reads. "I hope this letter finds you hale and whole. It's my deepest regret to say that I will be unable to meet with you today, or tomorrow, or even another few days hence. After considering the wisdom of your words, I've taken it upon myself to pay a personal visit to one of the indigenous settlements outside the City of Ariel. I worry that I might be too late to mend this bridge, that what's coming is beyond our control... but the negotiations have shown some promise already. In the meantime, listen to instructions and take care of yourself. Thinking of you, Chase Proietti."]

just a reaction, since it's not really replyable

[aidreamofsenpai]

He doesn't know how to feel, not really. The fact of the matter is that he's going to worry, and miss Mr. Proietti, for all that he has ulterior motives sometimes regarding him. Aiichiro turns the letter over in both hands for long moments after reading it, knowing that there's no way to really reply, if that's the case, short of wandering out into the wasteland himself and hoping to somehow stumble on the right place.

Regardless, there's a faint hope inside him, that something is really going to come of it, that he's actually managed something good.

[PUZZLE PIECE] During the wraith boss battle:

[xenolalia]

While being attacked by the wraith of Duo Maxwell, Aiichiro will inadvertently make eye contact with him. Aiichiro will receive a memory from the wraith via event mechanics (how mysterious). Aiichiro can share a memory with the wraith, too, but that's an optional exchange. If Aiichiro does share a memory with the wraith, please reply to this comment with a description of it.

The wraith will be temporarily stunned due to this memory transfer, but not for too long.

--

The memory that Aiichiro receives from the wraith is expressed via stream-of-consciousness and limited audio/visual feedback:

--

Dark. Dark. It's dark. Never any light in the caves. Hate the light. Dark. It's dark. It's boring. Boring boring boring. Boredom. Nothing ever changes down here. When nothing ever changes, it's so boring. I'm bored. Who am I? I'm bored. I wish I could have something to drink. A drink of what? I don't remember. I don't know. I'm bored. It's dark.

The twin thrones are empty. Why are the thrones empty? I'm in the throne room. It's dark. The throne room is dark. The caves are dark. It's boring. Andrew said he wanted to claim the throne for himself, but Naira laughed at him. I laughed at him, too. Andrew is stupid. I'm bored. Boring. Boring. The throne room is dark. Stira says we're going to have a visitor soon. Stira says they must have a death wish. Maybe they're just bored. Maybe they'd rather be bored with us. I'm bored. I am so bored that I feel like crying. What is crying? What is feeling? I don't remember. Quarantine.

Now there is light. There is light. I see the light. Everyone else can see the light. It's coming from the entrance of the throne room. The doors are opening. The doors are open and letting the light in. I'm not bored anymore. I want to know who is responsible for the light. Who is that? Smells like a human. Humans are boring. Light hurts me, but I'm not bored anymore. It's not dark anymore. Who is that? Smells like a human: blood, sweat, flesh, anxiety. Smells like dinner.

One of the thrones isn't empty anymore. The old one is sitting on the throne, speaking to the human. I'm trying to listen to what they're saying. I'm sitting in the shadows. I am what is left behind. I have seen something great and terrible. Don't inject that into me. Please. I'm sorry.

"You were forbidden from returning to this place." That is what the old one says. That is what the king says. That is my king. The wraith king. He saw something great and terrible, too.

"But our situation has taken quite a turn, so old rivalries are largely irrelevant." The human is sweating a lot. He is nervous. Sweating. Blood, sweat, flesh, anxiety. Smells like dinner. "You know that as well as I do, Wraith King. I'm here to find out what you're planning to do next."

"That sounds like you're making a demand, Chase Proietti." The king is unamused. His subjects are unamused. Hiss. Hiss. We're hissing at the human. Go away, human. You aren't wanted here. You're ruining the darkness.

I have seen something great and terrible. The human hasn't seen it yet, but he will see it one day. "I know that we're naturally prone to disagreement, but I'm willing to reopen negotiations with you and your kind. I wish to make genuine, lasting peace with you."

The king is laughing. His subjects are laughing. I'm not laughing, but I feel like laughing. What is laughing? What is feeling? "You wish to save your own hide, you mean."

"Regardless of the reasons why, you should know that I'm a man of my word."

Where is the queen? What is a queen? I don't know. Smells like dinner. I'm thirsty.

"You already know what it is I want. I want to be acknowledged again. If you refuse to acknowledge me, or my contributions, then what good are you to me?"

The human hesitates. The human stutters. "Of all possible requests, you know that's the most difficult one to--"

"I don't care about what is or isn't difficult to you!" The king is roaring at the human. His subjects are retreating into the darkness. Scary. Scary. Scary, but not boring. What is he going to do to the human? "You've stolen everything important to me, rewriting history as you see fit, assigning credit to Scylla or--or to Belenus, for stars' sake. You've turned me into little more than a ghost story that you use to frighten your tiny children into behaving. I was one of the city's core founders, Chase Proietti, and you should tell your masters that I won't be satisfied until I'm fully restored to the annals of history."

"But even speaking your name too loudly can lead to re-education--"

What is re-education? It's painful. It's pleasurable. What is pain? What is pleasure? I don't remember.

"That's a problem for you to solve, then. I eagerly await the good news." The king is standing up from the throne. "If you cannot manage such a simple thing, then I won't be so merciful this time around."

I'm hungry. Smells like dinner.

"You're willing to declare war, Wraith King?"

Quarantine. Don't inject that into me. I'm hungry.

"I'm willing to take back what is mine. By force, if necessary."

--

Including Anger, Sadness, and Confusion, there are several NPCs that would be interested in this information: Gordias, Kierra Kennedy, Mikros Beck, and others. Aiichiro can investigate Ariel's history on his own if he goes to the public library or the history museum after the storm, where he'll receive positive NPC responses. If he wants to confront Chase Proietti later on, he can do that, too. He can also share this information with other Newcomers and decide how to approach it with them.

9/28. (summary.)

[citizensofariel]

Mr. Proietti has at last returned to the City of Ariel, but he isn't in any state to visit Club Rapier himself. He does send another handwritten missive over to Aiichiro, at least. The courier delivers an elegant note that explains how Mr. Proietti is currently receiving treatment for unspecified injuries at Ariel General Hospital. ("But it's nothing to worry about," according to the note.) Mr. Proietti is located in Room 402 and will stay there for two or three more days. The visitation hours for his ward are between 10 AM and 9 PM.

If Aiichiro does decide to visit, he might notice that there are more people waiting in the front lobby than usual--far more people than there are chairs for them to sit on. They're standing around, staring at the floor or the exit, in silence. They seem tired more than anything else.

[aidreamofsenpai]

He goes right away. Well, there's a brief pause to let someone know he's taking a break, but that's it, and then he's out the door. It's early enough for visiting hours not to be over by the time he arrives, and he shows up still dressed for the club, in his cute little silk shirt, dress pants, bow tie. He looks over the people there with curiosity and some concern; whoever they are, whatever he might not agree with about their beliefs, they're people, after all.

In fact, he pauses before going to ask if he can see Mr. Proetti, looks over the group, and asks:

"Excuse me, is there anything I can do?"