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The video opens on Virgil, who is fidgeting in front of the camera. He is nine years old and clearly camera shy, but he waves awkwardly at the camera.
"Uh, hey Remus! I already came to visit if you're watching this, so um. Sorry, I guess. But I talked to the nice receptionist lady and she said I could bring you presents? I'll send other videos and stuff, but um. These are gonna be different from the family home films, okay?"
Virgil fiddles with the drawstring of his hood.
"Um, I was looking through your old stuff in the attic to see if there was anything I could send you that might help, um. Make your new place feel more like home! And, uh, I found this box."
Virgil bends out of frame of the camera and comes back up with a large box he is straining to carry. He places it on a surface that is out of shot and pulls some tapes and discs from the box.
"It's labeled 'storytime'? I watched a couple, and uh... I don't know why no one ever said Patton did this for us? There's videos of him doing it up until- up until he left, I guess, I'm in some. Uh. And thanks I guess?"
Virgil picks up a cd case and waves it a little to the camera.
"This one is just you and Roman trying to do storytime for me after Patton stopped. I kinda vaguely remember, but... it was only once, I guess. Real fuzzy. Um, well anyway, ignoring that, I uh- I thought I could do that for you too!"
Virgil moves the box out of the camera and smiles shyly.
"Um, I'm not good at making up stories like you guys or Patton are, though. But I've been reading, um, mythology!"
Virgil picks up a book on Egyptian myths and shows it off to the camera.
"Isn't it cool? I saved up my allowance to get it for your birthday! So I could do storytime for you. So, uh, I'm gonna start now..."
Virgil puts the book down and clears his throat. He smiles awkwardly at the camera and does nervous jazz hands by his head.
"It's Storytime!"
There's the sound of moving paper as the book is opened offscreen. Virgil flips through some pages.
"This is the story of how Ra retired, I thought it would be a pretty cool first storytime, since it's kinda about the sun cycle and a fresh start and all that...."
The video opens on Virgil again, he's eleven and looking gloomy.
"Hey, Remus. Roman's moving out this year, he's going to some theater school in New York. It's just gonna be me, Mom, and Dad now. Kinda quiet, but I can deal."
Virgil coughs and scratches the back of his neck.
"I miss you, sometimes. A lot. I see you every week, but like. I just miss you. It's quiet when you aren't around. It's gonna be even more quiet when Roman's gone."
Virgil stares off camera quietly for a minute, then he looks directly into the lense and smiles awkwardly.
"Sorry, it's Storytime, isn't it?"
Virgil does some late jazz hands, then lifts up a book with gold leafing.
"Today's storytime is gonna be my favorite Cinderella story! Yours too, Remus, it's the one where the stepsisters get their eyes pecked out."
Virgil flips the book open and rifles through the pages.
"Aha! Here we are! Before we get started though, happy early eighteenth, Remus. I'm gonna come by with another birthday care package on the day of, but I really hope you're going to be okay soon!"
Virgil lifts up the book.
"Alright, here we go...."
The video opens on another Virgil, he's twelve now, and he looks incredibly grumpy.
"Hey, Remus! I'm mad at you! I've been doing Storytime for you for three years and you never told me even once you were showing them to everybody else! I found out because Nancy, she's the new receptionist, she recognized me!"
Virgil pouts at the camera and folds his arms.
"Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a stranger say 'oh, what are you gonna read for storytime?' I was mortified!"
Virgil spins around in his chair.
"I told her I read the gory version of Little Red, 'cause you like it so much. She said she'd have to skip out on storytime that day. No one told me you were sharing my storytime videos!?"
Virgil huffs and leans forward on what is probably a desk out of frame.
"Whatever, it's fine, I guess. Janus sent me some of Hans Christen Anderson's work, though, so today I thought I'd tell you the original Snow Queen story."
Virgil shows off his new book.
"I keep telling them they don't need to buy me books for storytime. I'm trying to make this a gift, not like. A hobby."
Virgil opens the book and flips through the pages to the right part.
"I read this one and couldn't help but think about you and Roman. I hope you like it! Here goes...."
The camera opens on Virgil, still twelve.
"Remus, I don't care that you blew up at me over last week's storytime- ugh, that's dumb, stop."
Virgil turns off the camera.
The camera opens on Virgil, it's a brand new day, a different video. A few months have passed.
"Remus, I'm really sorry I compared you and Roman to the Snow Queen. I know real life isn't a fairytale, and things don't just get fixed- ugh, this is ridiculous."
Virgil turns off the camera again.
Another video opens on twelve year old Virgil, he's bundled up in several blankets.
"Hey, Re.... I miss you.... I miss storytime.... fuck, nevermind."
Virgil turns off the camera.
Another video, Virgil is freshly thirteen, he has a cupcake in hand and is picking at the wrapping.
"It's my birthday.... Janus and Logan both sent me more storybooks. Logan gave me a book on African folklore, I found a myth about this spider god named Anansi. And Janus' was about Japanese cautionary tales, I found a spider demon called the Jorogumo. I don't know.... this is stupid."
Virgil turns off the camera.
A brand new video, Virgil is fourteen, he's smiling big and wide.
"Hey, Remy! It's me, Virgil, I've babysat you a couple times, I thought I might share a family tradition with you! It's called Storytime, and- okay, that's actually a thing loads of people do, but this storytime is special, and I'll tell you about it someday."
Virgil is still grinning as he picks up his old Grimm fairy tales book.
"Basically, I tell stories and video tape them so you can watch whenever you want! I'm gonna read you one right now, and when I see you next, you can tell me if you wanna keep doing this!"
Virgil flips to a page in his book. "Here we go...."
The camera opens on sixteen year old Virgil. He looks at the camera and sighs. Then he smiles awkwardly and waves.
"Hey, I know after the snow queen story time we kinda stopped doing these... I remember you got pissed about me telling you that one. But, uh, I've been really missing you a lot more than I thought I would, so um. Here I am?"
Virgil groans and drops his head onto his desk. He comes back up after a minute and reaches for the camera.
"No, that's stupid, I might as well just stop."
Virgil reaches to shut off the camera, then halts. He sighs and spins around in his desk chair.
"Okay, here's the thing. I talked to Patton. He's.... he's just like in those old Storytime videos, you know? I guess you do know, you grew up for eleven years with him."
Virgil moves from side to side, staring blankly at the desk.
"I guess I just wish I remembered him. Most of my early memories are from after he left. I remember remembering him, but I don't remember him."
Virgil lets out a heavy sigh.
"So, um. Storytime?"
Virgil gives half hearted jazz hands.
"Once upon a time, there was a little boy with five older brothers. The eldest of those five disappeared and went off to live a new life without younger brothers to bother him. That's what it felt like anyway."
Virgil blinks at the camera, then looks down at the desk, probably picking at the wood.
"The boy knew his other brothers were sad, but he didn't know what to do about it. He didn't even know where to start."
Virgil scratched his nose.
"So he started nagging them. Don't pick your scars, he'd say. Don't make a mess, he'd say. Don't stay up all night studying, he'd say. At one point the boy felt like less and less a boy and more and more a worrywart."
Virgil's eyes watered.
"But the boy was still just a boy, so he didn't notice his family cracking all around him. And it's all Patton's fault, I know it! God, why did he have to leave you guys behind!?"
Virgil is crying now, tears streaming down his face. He leans back in his seat and sniffles, grabbing a tissue from offscreen.
"Don't share this storytime with anyone, Re."
Virgil turns off the camera.