riverview | 3 [@dodger//video]

Entry tags:

3 [@dodger//video]

Ugh, my head...

[Dodger seems like he just woke up... and like he woke up pretty roughly at that. He looks the same as normal, if a little more relaxed and sleepy. Although, those who haven't seen him lately will now be able to see that he's wearing what looks like a shock collar with a green light glowing on the buckle. A power suppressor. Also, the lights are on in his room for once, so the observant might be able to catch some less blurry shots of the somewhat invasive amounts of information kept on several people around the city, which are plastered all over his walls along with identifying pictures of them. Something which he hasn't taken the time to read through, since he doesn't remember any of it.]

I feel like I got hit by a train... shit. Hey- there's notes all over the desk here, so I know this is my place, but- fuck, I don't remember a single fuckin' thing about- here. Someone wanna tell me what's going on?

[He doesn't look any different, his scars are still there and so is his scruffy beard. But this doesn't seem... quite like Dodger. His tone is less condescending and sullen, more just... sleepy, with a morning grumpy sort of vibe. Like he'll pop back up and be a cheerful, relaxed person once he gets some coffee. And speaking of indulgent drinks...]

....Fuck, Janet's gonna kill me if she sees all the bottles in here...

[ooc: Dodger has forgotten everything past his 20th birthday, including all of his CR in Riverview. Enjoy letting your muses explain their version of events to him... or just fuck with him. He doesn't know any better.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Did you get in another fight, Dodger-kun? It seems like you hit your head. If you do have a girlfriend right now, I wonder why you've been going on so many dates?

[He's not all too surprised, honestly, but he feels like it's not simply something to explain with him having a girl on the side all along.]

Eichi Tenshouin. You have some information on me on that wall there, so why don't you take a look?

[He raises a brow. Yeah, none of that makes sense to him, but... it lines up with the amount that he's learned from the others on the network. Either he'd really taken coming here without Janet hard, or... or he lost her back home, and just doesn't remember that either. Both possibilities are overwhelming in their own way.]

Eichi. Sure.

[He hesitates, glancing back at the wall and scanning it for information on him. One of the newest photos shows him sleeping in Dodger's bed, when the sun is just barely starting to rise. He's wearing one of Dodger's shirts... one that's old enough that he recognizes it. He'd written that Eichi seemed dangerous... and there's a mark on his notes that he's seen on other parts of his wall. Every place that the word "Eluvio" shows up, this mark is there as well - a nautical star.]

...I've been dating you?

Fufu, you have. Have you forgotten already? And just when you said things had the potential to turn serious.

[He's joking, but also he just wants to see how Dodger will react...] Does your head hurt at all? I may be able to heal you if there's an injury of any kind.

[So, he's lost Janet, he's become an alcoholic psychopath, and he's dating... a man that looks like a soft little kid. If someone had told him all this when he was back home, he probably would have laughed about it.

Right now, though, the evidence is literally all around him. So he just looks down at his hands, gears turning slowly as he processes that.]

I've got a hangover from hell... wouldn't turn down a cup of coffee and some company, though.

Then why don't we meet up at a cafe? I'm out currently, so there's one nearby that I can send you the directions to.

Sure... I guess I'll find my way over there once I can handle sunlight.

[The comment is dry, but he is coming along. After meeting up with Cain, so it'll be an hour or two, but he'll find his way eventually.

And when he does, Eichi will get to see Dodger dressed in that same shirt from their date, hands in the pockets of his hoodie while he glances around as if he's trying to take in as much as possible about the area while not bringing any attention to himself. He's so far out of his element, words can't even describe it.]

[That just means that Eichi has some time to sit and relax. He's been feeling progressively worse each day, and it's impossible to ignore, but he's just become head of entertainment at the next two of his night clubs, which are very different from his own usual style. It's a huge step, and he needs to keep the momentum going...

But if he keeps doing only business, he'll collapse. So, he'd like some tea and a break, too. Once Dodger arrives, Eichi waves him over to a table he's sitting at, not wanting to stress his own body by standing up.]

You always keep me waiting, Dodger-kun. Were you hiding from the sunlight like a vampire? Look, I've chosen an indoor cafe, so you're safe here~.

[He's a little startled still, by the process of getting Reaper to follow him... he hadn't really asked questions when a sentient patch of black smoke came down from the building above, but he swears he saw some distorted face in there... ugh.

He pushes the thought from his mind as he sits next to Eichi, figuring he'll just... reciprocate whatever affection he gets to make things normal. Maybe. Not like he even remembers how courtship works.]

You know you can just call me Jamie, right? No... 'kun'... crap. [He hesitates.] ...So... how exactly did we meet?

[While Eichi normally would leave the affection to Dodger to initiate, he knows that things are different right now, and decides to hook his arm through Dodger's on his own. He's already got his own cup of tea, so someone will come by to take Dodger's order in just a moment.]

I thought you wouldn't like that, Jamie. [But he does, so okay!] Just like you've told me not to mention part of our first meeting again. You harassed me with questions, threatened me, and kicked me while I was down. It was quite rude, you know?

[He knows he could say anything, but he thinks a key to having control in this is being honest. So.]

[As Eichi speaks, Dodger's shoulders slump and guilt shows up clearly on his face. He really is a piece of shit these days... and somehow this man is sticking around him anyway. He can't even say it's not something he'd do as he currently is... if he got drunk enough he'd happily harass someone who brushed his shoulder by accident.]

How long ago?

[Like it really matters... well, he's just trying to build a timeline. Trying to piece together who he's become. So far, the answer is... a disappointment.]

A little over a month.

[He still leans against him a little, pointing out something on the menu that he helpfully thinks is the strongest coffee they have. Maybe.]

It's a little difficult to summarize everything that's happened between us since then. Have you really forgotten everything? I'm going to think that I haven't left much of an impression at all...

[Dodger glances through the menu, and... yeah, what Eichi pointed out looks like it's straight espresso, so that's what he's going with. And once he's made his order he just sort of... slumps in his chair, thinking it over.]

I don't remember anything past my 20th birthday. Far as I know that was... last week. And the earliest I've heard anything about was about three months ago.

[Finally, Eichi lets Dodger go to lean back into his own chair himself. He's been pale this entire time, coughing occasionally, but there's a louder cough that he covers with a hand now, taking a moment to will the rest of the fit away before he sighs.]

I never got your exact age, since you're such a private person, but you must be plenty older than me. I'm 19, but I would have guessed you were at least 23... Mm, you've been here for three or four months at least, even if I've only met you recently. Those fireflies in your room are from some time ago.

[Figures the age difference thing would keep its trend.. considering Janet is four years older than him. He just sort of nods slowly, filing it away as another clue toward this puzzle.]

My desk's fucking covered in instructions for taking care of them... [He'd almost caught the desk on fire checking it, before he noticed the same sort of trap set-up he used to use as a teenager.] So I guess they're pets, in some form or another.

[Which is sort of him playing innocent... but also an honest admission, because he does think they're pretty cute.

More importantly... he reaches to take Eichi's hand, and... after some hesitation,
runs his thumb affectionately over the back of it.]

...Hey- you alright? You look ready to keel over.

[He doesn't point out that he knows he uses them to make drugs, or that he'd probably seen those instructions in a quick glimpse before. He simply allows Dodger to take his hand, smiling slightly at the fond brush even as he lifts his other to cover his mouth in yet another cough.]

That's right, you've forgotten that as well, haven't you? I've been sickly since I was born, so there are times when my health might dip. Please don't mind it; I should be fine.

[He's trying to be fine, he's trying to take it easy. He's even had barely any tea to try and avoid too much caffeine per his doctor, but there's still this slowly worsening feeling that he can't make go away. Not even when he rested, when he relaxed, when he stopped everything. How irritating.]

How cute, though, worrying about me like that. Jamie has been acting a little more cute each time, but this must be because of your remembered age. Perhaps you had more of your innocence at this point in time.

I guess I must have been...

[He's starting to adjust to being.. a past self stuck in his future self's body, for lack of a better wording. But it still feels strange, thinking about what he's going to become.

His coffee comes and it downs half of it before returning his attention to Eichi, leaning forward to kiss his knuckles.]

Someone on the- network told me I'm drunk all the time here. And that's... ignoring the pictures on my wall and all. [He hesitates a moment.] Looks like I turned into a real piece of work...

Are you feeling guilt for it? Fear?

[Whatever it is, Eichi leans a little closer, letting his free hand reach up to ruffle Dodger's hair a little like he's petting a dog.] It must be quite overwhelming to lose years of your life. Imagining that seems impossible to me... So why don't you start over and tell me about yourself as of now?

[Dodger hesitates, but... the touch is nice. He leans into it, and... yeah, he can believe that they're close, with how Eichi seems to know exactly what affection speaks to him best.]

I... worked as a fisherman, back home. Been working there since I was seventeen... couldn't get through an interview with the scars on my face, never liked working indoors anyway, so this old man gave me a job on one of his boats. [He relaxes a bit while he speaks, but there's still a trace of guilt on his face.] I had a girlfriend - Janet - and... we were talking about shit like getting married and having kids. Opening up a flower shop like she always wanted, that sorta thing.

[He'll just keep petting him like this, like it's casual, though he does have to pause every now and again to cough to the side.]

...To be honest, while I wouldn't have been surprised to hear that you were dating others, I never got the impression that there was anything serious. You have no ring, you live on your own, and the only person you've mentioned is your old "master." It could be that things didn't end up very well. I'm sorry.

[He grimaces at that... it does hurt, that he would have only mentioned Benny and not Janet. What sort of person could he possibly have turned into, and how?]

Janet and I have been dating for six years... I don't know how long after my memory stops. She's the light of my life. [He feels a bit sheepish, talking to someone who he thinks is her replacement... but apparently he'd never talked about her before, and he aims to mend that.] I guess something happened to her... no one I've talked to even knows she exists.

[That's pretty sad, isn't it. Eichi honestly does feel bad for him, and the way he tries to smile through a frown is either sympathetic, hurt, or something in between or shared.]

Then, someone like me is just a stranger right now, right? [Obviously. But is he really not going to remember anything? It just reminds him of his friends from the Eluvio who never remembered, or how Yuuri came back and didn't seem to recall at all. He hasn't even had the bravery to stop the ice skater... He pulls back just a bit, and stops petting him.]

So I should stop with something like this, probably. [Another cough, harder this time, and he grips the edge of the table as he gets control of it.] There was a time when I thought I was still in my second year, and also lost some memories... I wonder if this case is similar to that.

Word is on the network, it's happening to a lot of people...

[But he looks up when Eichi stops petting him, and seems to wilt. Sure, he may not remember anything, but... that doesn't at all mean he wants to miss out on being petted. When Eichi coughs again, he moves to rub his back softly and leans closer to him, stopping himself from naturally moving to kiss his cheek. Some things never change.]

Hey... even if I'm stuck in it, the past is the past, yeah? No changing it now. Just... gotta give me some time to adjust. [He pauses.] Seriously, though, should we check into a hospital? You sound pretty bad.

[It's cute, all of this, and he wants to enjoy it further. Dodger is surprisingly pure like this, and Eichi wants to see more of it. Not in any mean way, but just out of this nosy curiosity. But Dodger might be able to tell as he leans closer that Eichi is beginning to radiate more heat than normal, looking even more pale as he recovers from his cough.]

Do I seem that bad? How unfortunate... I thought I could keep it under control, but I may have to end this date early.

[This wasn't what he had planned at all. He tries to shift, to lean forward, one hand on Dodger's shoulder for support, but he falls against him, unable to support himself even while he's sitting. Before he can even speak up again, he's coughing into his hand again, harsher. He overestimated his own health this time.]

This looks a little more serious than 'unfortunate'... [Why does he always end up hanging around people who think flirting with death is inconvenient?? Dodger gets up, forgetting what little of his coffee is left in favor of making sure Eichi stays in his seat.] Listen, stick right there and I'll call someone, yeah?

[Because fuck knows he doesn't know where the hospital is... nor does he know how to drive safely, nor does he trust a hospital unless he's seeing Scry. He pulls his phone and goes to the first username he can think of - perfect, he's got Cain in his contacts. Under 'Jake'. Go figure.]

[Eichi can only manage a short nod before he hunches over the table, half-empty tea cup pushed aside so that he can fold his arms there. It's not comfortable, Eichi keeps trying to shift to prevent the blood draining from his face, but stubbornly, he'll try to stand at one point. Hopefully it's late enough that Dodger might be back in time to catch him before he collapses to the floor. If not, he'll still be there surrounded by a couple of concerned strangers by the time he gets back.]

3 [@dodger//video]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)