Game 057 [Action]

[neverplaysfair]

(( Backdated to yesterday ))

[ Normally Joshua would poll the audience on his anniversary, but this year, he gets a bit distracted. You see, a collection of spray paints has shown up in the store, so Joshua is taking the opportunity to make off with all of them.

Or, trying to. His bag sort of breaks, so at some point between the store and 39 you might find a spray paint can rolling towards you with a Joshua chasing after it. ]

Grab that for me...!

[ Alternatively later in the day you can find him adding another mural to the back of his house to accompany the ones to either side. As it slowly takes shape it reveals itself as a cityscape, viewed from a very high angle.

Four years. What he wouldn't give to be home right now... ]

Comments

[magicalesbian]

[Every since that little possession incident, Kari's been spending more time out and about as herself. It was a little strange, after being so used to just going everywhere as Hoshikyo.]

[She doesn't even really register the voice beyond what's being said, and simply bends down to pick up the can that rolled to her feet. Of course, when she goes to actually hand it to the person--]

Here you g-- ugh.

[This guy. The one she was specifically avoiding ever since the end of that little invasion thing.]

[neverplaysfair]

Hmm?

[ He finally looks up, and there's a fraction of a second where he freezes. Joshua hates anyone he doesn't trust finding anything more about him than what he lets out, and he barely even knows Kari.

But if there's one thing Joshua has learned to do, it's act like nothing is suspicious even when all evidence says otherwise. So it's only a short moment, then he's grinning again and giggles. ]

Why, hello again.

[magicalesbian]

...hello.

[He doesn't know her. Not really. And he doesn't know who she really is -- hopefully. She just needed to play this safe, and not spend any more time around him than absolutely necessary.]

[She holds out the can, notably avoiding eye contact.]

So. You dropped this. Right?

[neverplaysfair]

[ It'll probably hit him at some point when talking to Hoshikyo. But he hasn't put it together quite yet. ]

I did. Do you mind carrying it for me? I seem to have my hands full. [ See, look as he tries to keep all those cans in his arms.

He's not letting her go without talking to her first. ]

[magicalesbian]

[Is she being roped into helping him? She's being roped into helping him. Though whether or not she just sets the can on his head and walks away remains to be seen.]

...why do you even have so many of those anyway? You some kind of delinquent or something?

[Because clearly this is the only reason someone would be carrying so many cans of spray paint.]

[neverplaysfair]

... Have you never been by House 39?

[magicalesbian]

I don't make a habit of going to houses I don't live in.

[neverplaysfair]

All you'd need to do is pay a bit of attention as you walk by it. Come see.

[ He giggles, and starts walking towards his home. ]

[magicalesbian]

[Ohgod now she has to follow him? She should have just chucked that can at his head and walked away--]

[But she follows anyway, with a soft sigh. Maybe there's a small part of her that's curious okay.]

[neverplaysfair]

Do you decorate your home at all?

[ Smalltalk while we head over there. ]

[magicalesbian]

Not really? I mean, unless stacks of books that double as furniture count.

[neverplaysfair]

... You at least have a bed, right?

[magicalesbian]

Of course! But that's not really decorating. That stuff was all there when I moved into the place.

[neverplaysfair]

Just checking.

You haven't noticed that before?

[ Said as they round the corner of the convenience store and the wall of 39 with the Josh-replicates-a-CAT-mural mural on the side. ]

[magicalesbian]

[Oh, she's noticed it. She's not that unobservant.]

Wait, you're the guy who made this?

[neverplaysfair]

No, it just happens to be on my house.

[magicalesbian]

Oh come on, like I'd know where your house is...

[But now that she actually looks at it, it's pretty well done. Much better than any of the tagging done by the gangs back home, that's for sure.]

But. That's actually pretty cool! I mean, I can't draw myself out of a paper bag, so it looks pretty impressive to me.

[neverplaysfair]

Why, thank you. There's another on the opposite wall, and I thought today would be a good occasion to add a new one to the back. But the decision was rather spontaneous and spray paint isn't my preferred medium, so... restocking my supplies was in order.

[magicalesbian]

Really? [As he talks, she starts walking over to look on the other side... and it's only when she sees it from an angle that she starts to notice something rather familiar about the design. Very familiar.]

[As in, she is pretty sure she has a poster of a very similar design in her room back home, that she got at the midnight release of a certain hyped-up video game. It's enough to make her stop.]

...so this might be a shot in the dark, but are you from Tokyo?

[neverplaysfair]

[ His first thought is if she's from some version of his world. He's never heard of anything like whatever happened with her pendant in any similar world, but then again he visited a world where the Reaper's Game didn't exist at all, so... it was certainly possible.

... Also if she actually recognizes that art this has the potential to get awkward fast. ]

Indeed. Shibuya, in fact. Yourself?

[magicalesbian]

I'm from Saitama. [Shibuya, huh...]

[She turns and stares at him. Looking him up and down, arms crossed.]

...how the hell are you Japanese?

[neverplaysfair]

[ ... You know, that's not where he was expecting this conversation to go. ]

By having Japanese parents and my name in the family registry?

[ We can ignore the fact he was reported deceased at age 14. ]

[magicalesbian]

...sure, let's go with that. [...she honestly can't tell if he's being a smartass, or if he just comes from a world where weird hair and eyes are the norm.]

[But the similar style of painting is uncanny...]

But this painting. Did you have any... inspirations for it?

[neverplaysfair]

[ A little of column A... ]

That all depends. What do you mean by inspiration?

[magicalesbian]

Well, you know, like, did you base it off of something, or did you just come up with the designs yourself?

[...]

Not that I'm saying it's unoriginal or anything. It's just, I think I've seen something like it before.