neverplaysfair | Game 037 [Action]

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Game 037 [Action]

[ Today you might stumble across Joshua as he's out and about. He's walking around with an alert look on his face, wandering all over the village. He doesn't seem to be searching quite so much as expecting. The particularly observant might notice the way that the light seems to fall strangely on him, as if there's another light source on him that's completely independent of the cloudy sky overhead. If you get close enough, or spend enough time near him, you may find yourself subject to a mysterious headache that will fade if you move away.

His vibe is up and he's trying to attract some sort of attention, but unless you're familiar with his world, it might be confusing as to just whose attention he's trying to grab.

After combing the village which results in a distinct lack of sudden assault by crazed mathematicians, particularly of the Taboo-infused variety, he'll head back to Kat's Kradle. ]

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[ Sanae can be found chilling downstairs when Josh returns, feet propped up on the table, a mug of coffee in one hand and his journal in the other. If Joshua is still tuned up when he comes in, he'll look up sharply, alarmed; if not, it'll just be a lazy wave of hello.

Cafe's closed for the night. It's just them. ]

[ Sharply and alarmed it is, then. When he sees the expression, Joshua's vibe drops, all the way back to nearly-RG levels. The light and pressure all completely vanish from him, leaving him almost normal as he looks levelly back at Sanae, waiting to see the others' reaction. ]

[ It earns a moment of steady silence, a raised eyebrow, and finally a book and coffee cup set down on the table. The wariness is all too clear in Sanae's face and voice. ]

What's up?

If you do anything other than what I ask, I'll never even so much as consider granting you forgiveness.

[ Because he knows that what he's about to do will make him more vulnerable to Sanae than he's ever, ever been before, and any physical threats aren't just worthless, but downright laughable. ]

[ Yeah, that wariness? It just doubled. Tripled, maybe. ]

... let's hear what it is, first.

I'm tired. [ He takes a few steps towards Sanae, no threat in his motions. ] It's not worth it to stay like this any more. I can't pass her along even if I wanted to. It's impossible.

[ That trips him up, brings in a new edge of surprise and relief. And confusion. ]

You want me to try fixing it, then? Altering you?

Make me a Composer again. [ It's a command. A command for his Producer, for the one he's trusted the whole time to do the things Joshua's needed done and couldn't do himself. ] Do anything more than what you have to do, and I'll never consider forgiving you.

Understood.

[ He doesn't bother arguing it, pointing out his lack of motive, just stands and eyes Joshua. Sizing him up, wondering what's in his head right now.

Relief is now the strongest emotion in how he speaks and holds himself. ]

I've never seen this attempted under circumstances like these -- there's a hell of a huge risk to it, you know that, don't you? That I'll need total cooperation?

I know.

[ He's trying to keep the genuine worry out of his tone, out of his body language. He knows that this can be fucked up all too easily, but if there's one thing he trusts, it's Sanae's skills. And really, this is something he probably should have done a long time ago, but broken trust is hard to rebuild. ]

That's why I'm warning you not to do anything funny.

[ He snorts at that, and it's brief and harsh with little humor to it. Sanae's still relieved, but a large part of him is very clearly anxious about this. He doubts it can be worse than manipulating his Music while bleeding heavily, but... ]

Why would I wanna make it that much trickier by trying something funny? It'll be enough of a pain to pull off right without complications.

You won't hafta worry about it.

[ And then, finally, a giggle, rather humorless though it is. ]

You can't say I didn't say anything, this way.

[ He moves closer still, and slowly, slowly the walls around his code dissolve, though it's not done without a small but visible increase in nervousness from Joshua. He doesn't like being vulnerable, even around those he trusts. That's something that's never changed. ]

Fair enough.

[ He's startled by the openness, even knowing it had to happen. It fascinates him, Joshua with his Soul bared, so exposed and vulnerable in ways he never is. With nearly the refinement of an Angel, Sanae has to admit to himself that Joshua is beautiful; he might not be someone to sleep with, definitely isn't one for a relationship, but his Soul is brilliant. ]

Should we, uh-- lock the door, move upstairs, anything? Get you sitting down? Not sure how rough this'll be to sit through, but I can guarantee it'll take a lot of energy.

[ How much energy is what he can't begin to guess. ]

You'd know better than I would. [ But he fidgets then, just a fraction, a wary glance towards the door and little more. ] Upstairs might be better if Brainy won't get in the way.

Java.

[ He smiles faintly, despite himself, but the fidgeting isn't lost on him. ]

Upstairs, then. You can have my bed again.

Brainy. [ He rolls his eyes and heads for the stairs. ] It's not as if I'm going to sleep, Sanae. [ /honestly thinks that 8D ]

This might be a lot more unpleasant than you're expecting, Josh. I'll try to make it hurt as little as possible, but getting your Soul messed with is a pretty intense thing. Even if you're not sleeping, sitting's probably for the best.

[ He follows, still obviously a little ruffled. ]

[ As if Joshua is the picture of unruffled himself? He's not comfortable with his Soul and code exposed, and is actually quite twitchy no matter how much he tries to hide it. ]

I figured. [ After all, even if it was only a superficial pulling of feathers, he's messed with Sanae's Soul and that didn't go over well for either of them.

He pauses at the top of the stairs, hesitates, and then heads to Sanae's room. ]

[ Sanae's thinking along the same lines, though with more of a focus on the Malnosso's actions than Joshua's. The feather-pulling was unpleasant, aggravating, put more of a dent in his trust towards Josh than just about anything between them so far -- but it had nothing on the damage done by their captors. Unsettled and preoccupied, he follows Josh in. ]

... d'you believe me when I say I'll do my best to keep it painless?

I don't know. [ The honest truth. He doesn't know if he believes Sanae. He wants to believe him, but he can't entirely trust that Sanae will do as much as he can to keep it painless, even if that means straining himself a ways or something similar. ]

As long as you do it right. [ As long as he does it right, as long as Joshua ends up alright and with Shibuya still intact and most of the pain gone and the Composership still his... he doesn't care how much it hurts in the meantime. ]

I will.

[ He gestures for Josh to take a seat on the bed, raises his vibe until his wings are almost showing. Sanae's already trying to plan this out, decide what to do and how to do it. Nothing occurs to him that won't be difficult as hell and probably less than comfortable. ]

[ There's a fraction of a second's pause when Sanae's vibe goes up, but Joshua sits down on the bed, regardless. He's uneasy, a bit wary, but there's an undercurrent of hopefulness hiding in his expression. He doesn't want to admit just how straining this whole ordeal has been, but it's well beyond taking its toll on him. He's ready to go back to what he was before. ]

[ Sanae gets comfortable beside him, because proximity helps, proximity makes it easier to focus. He gives Joshua a moment to register the movement, gives Joshua a moment's warning, and then Sanae's fingers are hovering by those wounds on his back and his presence is intertwined with Josh's. The contact is deep and easy when his barriers have fallen so far, and before half a second has passed, Sanae is bending and warping and changing.

Force his vibe down, force his code to change, both are simple enough to do. Unpleasant to sit through, yes, but bearable. The real trick is to alter his whole being, impair his Soul in such a way that he can't achieve Ascension. If Joshua can hold up alright through these first steps, Sanae will do some real damage in just a moment. ]

[ Joshua tenses, a choking sound catching in his throat. It's not quite so painful as unexpected: even if he knew it was coming, the feeling is still unusual. He feels himself warping, and his code pushes back against Sanae's efforts: with such a pure Soul, his code naturally resonates with that of an Angel's. It doesn't want to stay as a Composer, and his form hasn't yet reduced to that of a teenager, despite where his vibe is.

That's the painful part. ]

[ True to his word, Sanae's being careful with this, handling it as delicately as he can. It could be painful if botched, and that's one of the better ways for things to go wrong. Here, there are chances things could get a hell of a lot worse than 'painful' -- but Joshua's code won't respond much until his Soul has been altered, can't be changed with finality until that part is done.

His influence strengthens, deepens, pulling and twisting and warping everything Joshua is, and this is something he's never even come close to doing before. It's beyond twisting and suppressing; he's doing actual damage, trying to fragment Josh's Soul. There are any number of ways to corrupt a pure being, bring it down to a lower form, and not one of them is pleasant. ]

Game 037 [Action]

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