05 ▸ VIDEO. ( forward-dated to tues )

[bragnificent]

[ The feed turns on, and some people may recognize the familiar face of Reggie Mantle that graces the screen-- albeit, looking slightly differently than the last time he was here. His hair is a little bit longer, and he's rocking a very classy, tasteful black-shirt-black-vest ensemble, topped off with a pair of dark, dark sunglasses and a toothpick idly perched in his mouth. ]

Yo. Don't call it a comeback or anything, but you can all relax now and stop missing me so much. It's me, Reggie-- or "Mantle the Magnificent", as some of you may know me better. Here I am. [ Whether he likes it or not, babey...! ] And apparently some of you wasted no freaking time before robbing me. You know who you are: give me my shit back. Give me my car and my dog back.

[ He's pretty sure he knows who you are, too, and so is being extremely generous by not making this a naming-names sort of call-out. But his much-emptier-than-usual apartment is probably somewhat visible behind him anyway.

Reggie's not interested in dealing with that right now, though, not after everything else he's just been through. Investigating the looting and the other messes made in his apartment can... wait, at least one night. ]

Has it really only been like, a week since I left, though? Cuz for me it was almost a year. I mean, at least I didn't miss Christmas, but suddenly I'm like, five months away from turning 18.

[ N B D. On either count; Christmas is still a few months away back home, so that would have sucked, but he's not nearly as close to his 18th birthday there as he is now. He reaches up as if to adjust his sunglasses, then catches himself, dropping his hand before he touches them and focusing instead on just opening his bedroom door. ]

The age of lap dances. Just in case anyone wants to start planning the surprise party now.

[ He sets his communicator down, moving off-screen to change into something a little more comfortable, but he doesn't switch the feed off yet-- it isn't long before he appears on-screen again, still wearing his sunglasses, but now also wearing a blue hoodie instead of (or possibly over) his other clothes, and has swapped his toothpick out for a candy cane (since of course he picked some up). Wasting no time trying to settle back in, apparently. ]

But y'know, it feels weird as hell going home and then ending up back here... and I don't mean just cuz some people will break into your place and either rob you or bleed all over it. [ He's not dealing with that right now. Moving on: ] More like how it feels like having whiplash and a hangover at the same time-- like, that can't be that good for our brains.

Comments

[bragnificent]

He kind of is, yeah. Big time. But we busted Archie out of there, so at least that's one evil scheme ruined for the time being.

[ He doesn't really want to talk about it -- there's probably some mild worry evident on his face that he can't hide completely even with the sunglasses, teeth biting at the corner of his lip -- but at the same time, Reggie probably needs to get some of it off his chest. So much has been going on, and now with the renewal of his ex-boyfriend feelings since coming back here his unease only deepens, even if there's nothing to be done about it now. ]

He'll be okay.

[ Then Reggie turns his head, too, folding his arm back underneath it. ]

What, like the Dolly Parton song?

[bragnificent]

Well, juvie. Sort of... [ Technically from a fight club not held at the juvie, but, ] But yeah, basically. Me and a few others. I'm still kind of amazed we were able to pull it off.

[ You really don't wanna know what goes down in Riverdale...

Reggie's eyebrows knit, and he tilts his head back forward to face the ceiling. ]

Sounds kind of dumb. Like, then shouldn't her name be Dolly?

[bragnificent]

Jolene isn't any better than Dolly.

[ Reggie rolls his eyes behind his glasses, smirking halfheartedly now as he plucks a toothpick from his pocket to chew on. He shakes his head. ]

No way, dude. I've done you more than enough favors already.

[bragnificent]

Ugh.

[ It's unclear what that "ugh" is in response to-- whether not wanting to drag out more of his real life drama into the open, or just not wanting to debate the nuances of a fucking country song. Or both is still a possibility. ]

I dunno, the details aren't really that important. He just didn't like that they were dating, and I guess like, there's probably more to it, but it's not really my business. [ And it feels especially awkward to talk about now. ] I think the less I know the better, anyway.

[bragnificent]

Eh, I doubt it'll be much of a problem... there was some pretty shady stuff going down that we pulled him out of, so I'm sure they'll keep looking, but probably not very hard. Not unless they wanna drag everything else out into the open, too.

[ He wets his lips idly, and uneasily. It really is complicated, and Reggie's only from right after the escape; he has yet to experience the sheriff coming by the school and trying to intimidate all of them in the middle of class. But even so. ]

I think he's gonna try and leave town for a while 'til the heat is off. [ Which sucks, because... when will Reggie see him again? It Is A Mystery. ] Why're you so curious, anyway? You never even met him.

[bragnificent]

Yeah, I know it happens. But he's been out since February-- so even if he did show up, he probably wouldn't remember being here.

[ Which is more Reggie's own determination to prepare for the worst case scenario than it is backed up by science; people have shown up again after being gone for years and got their memories back, while others lose them after disappearing for only a month. There's really no predicting it, but Reggie still doesn't want to count on the idea of Archie coming back and remembering... everything.

It just seems unrealistic.

He rolls his eyes, pushing his sunglasses up his forehead with the heel of his hand. What's it matter anyway, right? It's not like there isn't a thousand ways he can explain away a black eye. ]

Seriously, though? Who likes listening to that crap? [ Reggie does sometimes... but selectively. He has to care about the person quite a bit first. ] I swear your standards for entertainment are way too low.

[bragnificent]

If you never left the house -- which by the way, for you kind of goes without saying -- whose stories are you even listening to? Obviously not your "friends"... [ Since Tate would have needed friends for that. ] So, what, random trolls on reddit? That'd explain a lot.

[ Reggie chews idly on the inside of his cheek, then raises both eyebrows, expressing the energy of a shrug more with his face than with his shoulders. He's not quite smirking, but there's definitely wryness go his expression. ]

One I didn't see coming.

[bragnificent]

Your therapist? Isn't that supposed to work the other way around? Do you do that with Dr. Chilton, too?

[ Reggie hopes not... he likes Dr. Chilton, and whether or not he acknowledges to himself that he likes him in a "father figure" kind of way has no impact on his ability to know he still doesn't want Tate being weird at the guy.

But anyway. If anything, the segue is a bit more difficult for him; his jaw tenses slightly to one side, and he pushes his sunglasses back down. ]

Nah. What kind of loser gets into a fight with a door?

[bragnificent]

I didn't mean-- [ Squinting behind his glasses again. ] It'd be weird for him to tell you anything when it's his whole job to like, listen to your deluded ranting... and even without knowing what you would've told him, I'm not exactly surprised he wouldn't want you dating his daughter. Considering if anyone knows what all you need therapy for, it'd be him.

[ Who would willingly invite crazy into their family? What therapist would, especially? Let alone Tate's brand of it. Then again, maybe like with evil, it's better the crazy that you know...

Reggie starts chewing idly, too, but on the inside of his cheek instead of his fingers. ]

Not unless I wanted a matching set. And who would?

[bragnificent]

Sure, kind of-- especially when it'd probably be easier to just find yourself a different doctor. Not to mention way less complicated. [ Given the daughter thing... and everything else. ] Then again, I've never needed therapy, so I can't exactly relate. Why the hell would you stick around?

[ Reggie'd rather stay on the topic of Crazy Tate than his eye, but it's difficult to find a natural way to steer subjects without it being too obvious. God. ]

I guess it did. [ His tone is very dry. ] If it had been a fight. Which it wasn't. So we can stop talking about it.

[bragnificent]

[ Though he's barely maintaining a certain aloofness about it now, Reggie will be a lot more belligerently stubborn and evasive on the subject when it's Derek's turn to question him later; even so, it's maybe not terribly hard to start drawing conclusions even without his dismissiveness and defensiveness combined. ]

What, seriously? You lived somewhere that had only one therapist? Weren't you in LA, though? [ Something here isn't adding up to Reggie, but he doesn't know what or why. ] And fuck you, no I don't. Why the hell would I need therapy?

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie raises his eyebrow slowly, but then seems to connect some kind of dots. He nods in consideration, half-smirking in a vaguely patronizing sort of way. ]

House arrest, huh? That figures. What'd you do? [ Then, clicking his tongue: ] I don't have intimacy issues.

[bragnificent]

Your mother? God, you are such a cliche, dude. Who do you think you are, Norman Bates?

[ Not that Reggie is one to talk about mommy issues. But they're... different? Probably? He chews the corner of his lip idly, shifting his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. ]

How does someone like you even define "intimacy issues"? I just-- [ He exhales a little impatiently, cricking his neck. ] What's there to work out? It's not like I've been doing anything wrong.