[ MOSTLY OPEN ] shoppingshoppingshopping

[componere]

Who: Joshua [OU] (componere), Kairi [AU3] (princessofheart), and YOU
Where: The Pisces and Libra Apartments, then a LOT of shops in Virgo, then to the library in Aquarius, then back home. P MUCH ALL DAY SATURDAY (04/13)
Summary: Joshua continues his mission of doing nothing productive with regards to anything he's supposed to do in the city (or is he)
Warnings: Joshua Kiryuu is a fiend and a curse and plague etc etc etc


[ OPTION 1 ]

[ Joshua is rooting around the plants on all floors of the Pisces apartment, especially the ones on the top floor, noting the varieties and species and writing them down in a small notepad. He'll also hit up the Libra apartments a little later in the morning.

If a very busy fifteen year old doesn't catch your character's interest, there's always the option of yours catching his - negatively. If you happen to be in his way, smelling the roses, he'll aim a bit of an annoyed look at you. ]

You mind? I'm on a tight schedule today.

[ OPTION 2 ]

[ - whoa hey where did all the urgency from earlier in the day go? Now that he's made it to the Virgo district, his mood seems to have improved enormously. If you want Joshua in a darn right happy-go-lucky mood, he'll be waltzing through the shops in 104, people-watching and people-judging. Does anyone here know how to dress themselves?

Alternatively, you can also find him in a local flower shop and laugh as he looks around, looking decidedly closed off and out of place, i.e. oh god what am I even doing here ]

[ OPTION KAIRI THIS IS KAIRI'S OPTION ]

[ dong ding where da ladies at

No, actually, this is shop three on his list and he's looking remarkably put out by now. Ugh... this errand is the farthest thing from worth his time ever. He knows that he's ~*supposed*~ to be doing this because Upstairs says so but oh my god this is so mundane and stupid and definitely irrelevant to his Shibuya, can he go now? Sorry, Kairi, he'll be passing right by the register, lost in his own thought.

btw, he has an bag over his shoulder with something heavy and not clothing shaped inside. What in Lapin Angelique's winter collection 2008 are you doing, Yoshiya Kiryuu??? ]

[ OPTION 4]

[ Late that evening, he's so done with today. Joshua is in the library with a book in one hand and a guitar case under his other elbow. He seems to be looking up guitar tabs, migrating slowly to the nearest lines of study rooms to play. If he ends up giving you a love-tap with the case, he'll grandly and elegantly refuse to give a shit. However, the right kind of person doing something interesting could give him pause. Right now, he definitely needs a distraction. ]

Comments

[otakuro]

Oh. You were around for that.

[A few blinks. It had almost sounded like he hadn't known about the previous month's events at all.]

Right. I'd say we were gone for the better part of the month, but it wasn't until the very last day that he showed himself.

[Probably because him showing himself was directly connected with them getting kicked out of Animus.]

In the meantime, we just... kept an eye out for clues. I don't think Animus itself is directly related, so I won't get into the details.

[The less time spent thinking about that place, the better.]

But Nyarlathotep... He created a maze to... lure us in. Or something. I'm a little foggy on the details, but it definitely wasn't because of anything we did that he decided to show himself. ...Maybe it's just his nature to toy with his prey.

As far as I know, it was me and a few others who reached him first. He showed himself as one of the 'administrators' of the Tower, but it was pretty clear what he was.

[componere]

Hmm... Like I said, I've heard stories. [ read: he got here in the middle of march and has been inhaling information since.

thanks to meetra, joshua is fairly sure he's up to speed on everything he'd want to know about the tower anyway, so he'll just settle back for the story. ]

So it was a game of cat and mouse, ultimately... A game that could have started from the discovery of the Trapezohedron, if you'd like to go that far.

[otakuro]

...Right.

[He nods in agreement with Joshua's words.]

It's no coincidence that it showed up when it did. I thought about it, too - If he was baiting us to come find him. ...But it didn't work out so well for him in the end, and... it doesn't seem to... fit, exactly.

[He couldn't explain it exactly, but the nature of the Trapezohedron... Perhaps it had acted as a tool of Nyarlathotep, but at the same time, it had seemed to exhibit a will of its own as well.]

It's still around, you know. And still functional.

...Anyway. Nyarlathotep... I still don't know what he was trying to do. Rob us of hope? Show us how worthless it all was? ...But he knew all of our insecurities, and he honed in on them, hoping we would break.

[componere]

Doesn't he sound like a keeper. [ rhetorical statement, said facetiously. ] Between him and the Trapezohedron, I wonder who wears the pants? So to speak.

Do you know where it is now? I don't suppose they'd keep it on public display. Gateway into the fathomless abyss of eternity and so forth, you know?

[otakuro]

...Nyarly probably has too many tentacles for pants. And the Shining Trapezohedron is too trapezohedronic to fit in pants.

[Atsuro is a helper.]

It's probably in the labs somewhere - the basic idea seems to be that you can access other worlds through it. We had some people pulled in when we first discovered it.

[componere]

As long as he thinks he's got it, he should flaunt it. First rule of fashion. [ joshua pushes some of his hair back with a casual flip of his hand. ] Who knows? Maybe he could work a pair of corduroys.

[ joshua shivers theatrically. ] My, don't I feel safe, mm? Living in a post-apocalyptic Japan with a school of scientists experimenting with space-time somewhere in the next district. Lovely.

[otakuro]

[...Atsuro politely declines to comment about neither corduroys nor hair-flips.]

You forgot the demons running around. And the human terrorists. ...And the barrier that supposedly protects us from the apocalyptic monsters roaming around outside.

[Atsuro gives a shrug.]

Anyway... We ended up rallying a Power of Friendship kind of thing. That put him off long enough for him to go and pick a fight with one of the real Tower administrators, who unceremoniously decided to kick us all out.

So now Nyarly's probably running around in the city or something.

[componere]

[ :( but :( :( :( why :( :( :( ]

Point taken. There will always be monsters, after all. [ joshua smirks. ]

How very animé, Gainax ending and all. Don't suppose he gave a speech about his next dastardly plan to ambush us, did he?

[otakuro]

No, he just looked a little grumpy.

[Atsuro gives a shrug.]

But... There've been a few people already who've let it get to them. The things he said. ...Maybe it wasn't a total loss on his side, either.

It was only the first blow.

[componere]

Aw... That's cute.

Was that all he wanted to do, then? Get us to despair? [ joshua taps his fist against his chin... nah, he'll pass on that. ] These tedious games they play... If he wanted us to destroy ourselves, he could try being a little more proactive about it.

[otakuro]

It's psychological manipulation. Just when we think he's gone, he'll come back to whisper dark secrets in our ears.

You were adopted and your parents never loved you.

...Don't question his methods; he's gotta be the master of psychic warfare.

[Lightheartedness was Atsuro's go-to strategy for most crises. It had served him fairly well thus far, though naturally, he had succumbed to terror or panic on occasion as well.]

[componere]

[ joshua chuckles to himself. ] Well, it's a good thing I was the apple of my parents' eyes. And if he's a master of psychic warfare, I'd love to see his repertoire. [ ahem! joshua is certain that he's the master psychic up in these parts thank yooooooooou

either way, it should be obvious from his relaxed mannerisms and speech that he's not taking nyarlathotep as seriously as he really ought to be.]

[otakuro]

[He wasn't quite sure where that had come from, but in hindsight, Atsuro could probably be accused of not having his parents' love pretty fairly.]

...Anyway.

That's about all I've got on Nyarly. He's lain low since then, so... about a month and a half. He might have escaped into another world already, but there's no doubt he has a special connection to this one.

He's probably the reason we're here in the first place. Defeat him, and maybe this world will be 'saved' and we'll go home.

[componere]

Can an aspect of humanity truly be defeated, though? [ that's a question joshua's been mulling over for a while, now. ] As I've heard through the grapevine, Nyarlathotep represents and is humanity's urge to destroy, correct?

[otakuro]

...That's fair. It's not exactly part of his origin in Lovecraft, but I've heard the same thing.

[Atsuro grudgingly accedes Joshua's point.]

But if we can't defeat him for good, we can at least suppress him, right?

[componere]

[ Joshua's head leans to the side on that question, studying this kid. Young, hopeful, certainly intelligent... well. ]

That's a lot of faith in your fellow man, isn't it? There are those in the world who just want the world to burn, you know? There really is no stopping them. Why trust that everyone will want what's best for everyone else?

[otakuro]

[Atsuro gives a small smile in response to that.]

You think it's naive, right? ...You don't have to worry. I probably understand better than you might think about people.

Humans can be terrible, but... let's just say that we don't need everyone to want what's best for everyone else. That's impossible. And if it were possible... it would mean we've lost what it meant to be human. Being human means you get to make choices - and if you want to choose to be selfish, that's on you.

But for as many people who choose that path, there are gonna be three times the number who choose to be selfless. I don't have to believe that - I've seen it. Happens every time. So if I don't believe in a man, individually... I believe in humanity, as a collective.

[componere]

[ -- whoa, hang on, atsuro actually surprised joshua with that. watch as the ever present cheshire grin drops off his face - it's faint, but noticeable.

he picks himself up and puts himself back together hastily. classic hipster mentality, here - you didn't phase him, that was a temporary surprise!!!! - but still. it's rather significant. ]

Pretty bold of you to say. I won't bother you with the theoretical - way passé - but I'll just remind you that for all of your sweeping generalizations, you'll deal with the individual for the rest of your life. [ and there's always a possibility that they will wear you down. it's just a thought... a harsh one. joshua doesn't believe in nice, sorry. ]

That doesn't solve the problem, either. If Nyarlathotep can't be defeated, or permanently suppressed, then this sort of thing can happen over and over again. Humanity will always end up hamstringing themselves. All Nyarlathotep has to do is wait.

[otakuro]

You know, you're asking a lot of the same questions he did when we confronted him. Sure you're not him in disguise?

[If Joshua knew him any better, he would recognize that this was Atsuro's go-to method of keeping himself from being too bogged down by his doubts or fears.]

If I've learned anything from gaming, it's that if there's a dragon that has to be resealed every hundred years, there's always gonna be someone around who can do the job. If you look at it one way, it's a hopeless task, but... who says destroying the dragon is any good, either? We'd just... keep on going forever without remembering what it is we're fighting against.

...

It doesn't really matter what I think, anyway. You've got to decide these things for yourself, right?

[componere]

[ joshua smirks, finally. ] If I am, then more's the pity... traditional corduroys do nothing for me. Wash me out, actually.

[ joshua giggles a little to himself. ] Aw... We're an optimist. [ he shrugs. ] I wasn't under any illusion your opinion mattered, of course, but I appreciate the thought.

[otakuro]

[Atsuro gives a sigh.]

...Anyway. Curiosity satisfied yet?

What are you doing wandering around in the library with a guitar, anyway?

[componere]

[ Joshua shrugs a shoulder. ] I guess, if you're done.

Do I need a reason? [ Joshua rises from his chair, sticking a hand into his back pocket. ] As much as I'd love to congratulate you for refraining from drawing the most obvious conclusion... Be honest, can you think of any alternative uses for a guitar?

[otakuro]

...To be fair, I can think of plenty of alternative uses for a guitar case, which is the only thing I've seen so far.

[Atsuro gives a shrug.]

[componere]

[ shruuuug. ] Then pick the most interesting explanation! I'm not going to do all the work for you, you know.

[otakuro]

...If you're going to hold up the circulation desk, don't do it!

Library books are free to check out.