Game 050 [Voice/Action]

[neverplaysfair]

[ While leaving out a mug of coffee, mostly-filled, might seem to be a weird thing to do in remembrance, regardless it's what Joshua does as he goes about cleaning the downstairs floor of his house, the space previously known as Kat's Kradle.

Without any real reason to keep more than the cooking area clean, he hadn't. Dust coats many of the tables and forms sometimes-impressive piles in the corners. Today, despite the rain, Joshua has the front door of House 38 wide open, and he can occasionally be seen sweeping piles of dirt outside.

It's rather cold, but Joshua doesn't seem to mind it. At least it's keeping him from working up a sweat. It's a bit late for a new year cleaning, but at least he's getting around to it at all, right?

Every so often he takes breaks to check on his journal, which he left the following question on earlier in the day: ]

How many of you learned things here that you're not looking forward to having to learn again when you go back to your own worlds? Your own death might be the obvious one, but I mean things like, say, some truth about your world, or friends, or family as well. Anything you'll need to find out again if you forget this place.

Comments

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

At this point, I probably shouldn't even be alive.

[ His tone of voice is detached. ]

Mr. H said no one had ever survived past the point where I was, and it wasn't even this bad back then.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

Well that's good right? I mean if you're still alive.

[But still, holy shit. Neku is fairly horrified right now.]

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

I'm still alive, yes. But by no means am I getting better.

[ He glances over his shoulder, as if to try to get a glance of the scars he can only see in the mirror. ]

[action]

[soundfrequency]

...what will help?

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

Going back to Shibuya.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

[...oh.]

They sent me back... maybe they'll send you back soon.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

Four months.

[ He starts to pull his shirt back on. ]

July 17th. If I haven't gone back by then, it will happen again. Most likely, it'll be even worse.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

Did... that help any? When I was there.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

...

[ Joshua finishes buttoning his shirt up, and stares off into space. ]

Yes.

[ 'If you hadn't helped, I probably would have died then.' ]

[action]

[soundfrequency]

If it comes to that again and you're not sent home, then... well. I'll do it again.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

... It might kill you the next time.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

[Okay now he's not so sure about offering. But have a very awkward joke.]

Not like that's ever stopped you before.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

True enough. [ Joshua? Isn't joking. ] But if it were between me dying and both of us dying, there's no point this time to your death.

Something changed last time before I got to the next point. At least this last one I knew was survivable in the first place.

I suppose it comes down to how much the two of us are willing to risk for the sake of hoping.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

...

[He... doesn't know. But he is still willing to help as much as he can. It's just... damnit.]

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

Are you satisfied now?

[action]

[soundfrequency]

...'scuse me?

[Please don't tell me you're going to be a dick right now.]

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

Does that answer your question?

[ Sorry, Neku. Joshua has a tendency to try to push people away when he feels vulnerable... and that was a couple very vulnerable pieces of information. ]

[action]

[soundfrequency]

Don't start.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

Start what?

[action]

[soundfrequency]

Being an ass.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

I'll act how I want, thank you.

[action]

[soundfrequency]

So you want to act like an ass. Yeah, no.

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

And why not?

[action]

[soundfrequency]

Because I'm your friend.

[And you can't just decide to be a jerk because you're feeling vulnerable. Or at least you can't get away with it.]

[action]

[neverplaysfair]

...

[ Joshua's gaze falls back to the coffee mug. He's not making any attempts to deny it. Not this time. ]

That doesn't change anything.

[ But it does. ]