network text; un: ryojikun, a day or two after the 18th!

[luneminary]

Hello everyone, my name is Ryoji Mochizuki.

Some of you must have been left bewildered or affected by the past week. I am here to apologize, because I am the one responsible for what has happened. A man named Bonedrewd did something, and as a result I ended up losing control of my powers. Please, be careful around him — he is a dangerous man. I only wish I realized it sooner.

I really am sorry!

The result is the long night known to those from my world as the ‘Dark Hour’. You might have encountered someone who looks like you during that time. They manifested from a repressed side to ourselves. They are parts that we are ashamed of showing to others, or secrets we don’t want to tell. Please do not be harsh to them — do not be harsh to yourself — as it is only natural for all humans to have such a facet to their personalities.

If anyone has questions, I will do my best to answer them.

Comments

[orphne]

Mmmm if it makes you feel better, that's okay, but it's not your fault. Don't forget that, okay? :(

Maybe I want to know so I know where not to go! :)

[luneminary]

I know. I gotta have to remind myself of that. It's just...it's rough, knowing I could have prevented this, you know?

Well, if you insist... 💦 Bonedrewd-san is a researcher, so he usually keeps to himself. But he also likes mingling with others, so he goes out to hang out in public places every now and then.

[orphne]

No, you couldn't have. Only Bonedrewd could have prevented it by not being a horrible person.

[Or maybe she could have prevented it, if she'd realized. Or if she'd told him the truth before. If she'd made sure he understood everything. If, if, if.

But that's not really something to get into over text.]

Does he have a house or research lab?

[luneminary]

[He's not going to bother saying anything against that - not when Kotone is right, anyway. If there's someone to blame for this, it's Bonedrewd. He's learned a little from the Gnosia incident.]

A lab, yes. That's where he experimented on me.

[orphne]

Send me the address later. Please.

And... no matter what anybody says, know that I believe in you, okay? No matter what happens, I'm with you.

[luneminary]

Alright.

[Not like he can say no to Kotone anyway.]

And I know. Thank you, Kotone-chan. It helps that everyone's been surprisingly nice to me so far.

[orphne]

Good!

[They'd better be--]

And... if you wanna talk about this, or if you wanna just talk about nothing, or if you just wanna hang out together and not talk at all... you just have to ask. I'll be there.

[luneminary]

I would always love to hang out with you Kotone-chan! Dark Hour or no! But there is one thing...

Can you teach me how to fight? I don't want to rely on Thanatos the next time something like this happens again.

[orphne]

[A contemplative hum.]

Maybe! Nobody really ever taught me how to fight. Mitsuru-senpai kind of just gave us weapons and told us to practice. Me and the others were able to kind of figure it out, but I don't know about teaching it.

Mikey has helped me a lot, though. He taught me how to punch! And I think some of Scott's teammates are supposed to be good at fighting. I'll ask him what he thinks.

...You don't want to fight as Thanatos?

[luneminary]

Still, you guys ended up fighting almost all day! Even if you were all self-taught, I think just watching you guys fight would help me a lot.

And well. You know how destructive Thanatos can be (；´∀｀) I don't want to scare people everytime I have to fight, do I?

[orphne]

I don't think Thanatos is scary!

[She feels a lot safer having Thanatos by her side. Whatever else happens, the Thanatos that was Ryoji before he was Ryoji had protected her and Yukari on that rooftop. As brutal as he could be, she still thinks he's just that at his core -- a guardian. Knowing what she does about Ryoji doesn't change that.]

But I'll support you in whatever you decide to do. We could try going outside the town and fighting monsters if you want!

[luneminary]

I know you don't! And even though I still think he's a monster...I'm glad that you do. But not everyone would feel the same way.

[Can you imagine? Thanatos roaming the streets like it's just a normal day? He said he's going to accept himself who he is as Death from now on but actually doing it is. So hard. Not when he's still getting used to the figure he now sees in the mirror.

He knows he will always use this power for good. Ryoji's just scared at how well he could do that.]

The practice would help me out a lot! And at least I wouldn't have to worry about the destruction I do when it's outside town.