personavelvetroomdr | [EVENT] Memory Tapes

On the morning of November 21st, denizens in the Velvet Room will awake to a message on their phones or by their bedsides in an envelope. Perhaps even on their computer screens.

Greetings! If you've received this message, then you've been selected as a participant in a new activity to strengthen bonds within this community. In order to facilitate connections with your fellow residents, we advise you to watch this video. Watch it and return the tape to its rightful owner. If you lacked the means to watch VHS tapes before, we have provided you with the necessary equipment. Failure to do so may put your own memories at risk. Do not be selfish, lest you find yourself struggling to recall crucial moments of your life. You have no way of knowing which memories have been shared, so ask yourself if it is worth the risk to selfishly hoard another's secrets.

They will soon find a VHS tape, with a case that gives off a soft, blue glow to symbolize its importance. If they lack a TV or VCR, they will find one in their living space.

What they do is up to them, but they should heed the warning, if they value their own memories.

[For links to characters' memories, please see this post in the OOC comm. Have fun!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ren's eyes have been downcast the whole time. It's a bit hard to tell if he's been paying attention at all this whole time, or if he's been in a daze.

It doesn't help that he stays silent for a palpable several seconds before raising his head silently, and slowly shaking his head to Dove.

"...I don't mind either way."

A noncommittal answer, one that Dove seems to recognize as his smile visibly weakens in response.

Ren then looks over his shoulder slightly at Maruki, but then even more quickly he seems to shy away from it. He can't seem to meet his eyes or face him head on as easily as he wants.

"..."

The weight on his shoulders is almost visible.

Maruki heart clenches at the side of these two. Dove's politeness catches him off-guard a little but he keeps the same courtesy extended to him. His smile remains posed, even if it twitches at the ends.

His gaze does remain longer on that Ren. He looked so tired. So meek. His gaze remained fleeting, shy and just out of touch from reality in a way Maruki wasn't sure how to feel about.
He was nothing like the young man he had shaken hands with in the counselling room.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to both of you," he says- referring to both of them with a quick bow as he makes his way to one of the Leblanc stools and places the bag there. Just as practised. He simply needed to pose as the counsellor from Shujin again, he's sure he could get somewhere with this mess.

Cobwebs.

He unlatches the buckle and finds the two casette tapes carefully tucked in one of those sections. He's labelled them effectively- writing Dove's memory on one and Ren's memory on another.

"I would much rather not make it seem like I am holding your tapes hostage," he says in an unusual round of a coincidence as he places the two tapes and pushes it to their respective owners.

With that, he steps back and takes a seat on one of the stools close to the counter. He knows better than to try and push his luck by sitting next to either Dove or Ren. "...that's all I have. If you two need casette video players, I can manifest them for you right now."

Ren actually focuses on the tape this time. He's... not particularly enthused about the idea of Maruki having seen his memories, but what is there to do about it? It's not as though it can be undone, and his own Maruki has probably seen whatever it is.

There's no escape.

"My memories... You saw them, right?"

It shouldn't be hard to ask Maruki. 'Which memories'? Unfortunately, he has a sickening feeling that he doesn't want to know. He doesn't want to remember.

He turns his eyes away from the tape, struggling to look at it any more.

"..."

'I don't want mine. You can keep it. Please.' It should be easy to say, but the words won't leave his mouth no matter how hard he tries. His stomach twists around at the thought of asserting himself.

So he looks at Dove. Dove, who for some reason or other chooses to stand with the shadow of a shadow that Ren has become. Even after all that has happened, after Dove has become an entirely different person, and thinks of himself as a stranger...

...In an ironic sort of way, Dove's confidence and happiness brings him a sort of peace of mind he can't find for himself anymore.

"No, it's quite all right. At the very least we felt it necessary to speak with you, and... we couldn't leave our memories with you like that. Not with the risks of it."

He looks towards Ren, who looks so uncertain. While they were speaking before, he seems more level, but now...

"...If possible, I would like to view my own memory. I have no clue what the memory in question may be related to, and... I'd like to make certain of whether it's true or not considering my background's... questionable authenticity."

He looks back to Ren though, speaking once again. Gently so.

"...Would that be all right, Ren? If you aren't comfortable, I can view it another time."

There's a quiet pause as Ren seems to linger on it... before quietly nodding his head.

"...Go ahead. You. Need to see it."

"I did," Maruki evenly answers- his heart aching when that Ren can barely make it past the surface to look at his own tape, much less Maruki who had done his part in another world. "Though I am sure I was in no position to watch it."

And so it seemed that the person in charge here had to be Dove so he turned his attention to him. He would want to offer his own consolation, his own guidance but all he was truly left with was a hole in his stomach.

"I would agree with him," he solemnly nods with a brief smile. "The sooner you recieve your tape the easier it will be for you to get comfortable."

"Or I could be kicked out of here just as quickly but the last time we met...that conversation still lingers in my head. I don't believe the events that had happened on your tapes are related to me but considering the date was February 2nd..."

The day he lost everything.

He falls short. Quiet. His mind twists and turns in ways he wished it didn't.

"Nevermind that," A placid smile takes position instead and he snaps his fingers. There's a certain weight on his lap, courtesy of Azathoth storing away important items in its otherwise void-like inventory. Maruki had specifically packed these VHS players for the sake of this interaction. He holds out the small black box with an HDMI cable already attached to one of its ports, leaning away from his seat so that Dove can accept it. "We used to carry these around for school projects until it got replaced with the digital ones. Funny how I just found them lying around in my lab."

[EVENT] Memory Tapes

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