maskormenace | ★ 001

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★ 001 | Video

[When the broadcast begins, the young man onscreen (sporting a perfect pompadour with not a single strand of hair out of place) tucks away a comb and reclines upon the front step of one of the government houses, presumably the one he's been assigned. He seems to consider for half a second more what he's going to say, one eyebrow cocking upwards, a strong indication that there's a question brewing, while his lips pucker in a vague showing of frustration.]

Alright...

[Here we go.]

So, I'm digging all the free stuff that people seem to wanna hand out in exchange for photographs with us and whatever, and the hoverboards are really, really awesome. That said, I might actually like these new phones even better, though? They're pretty great! Slim, stylish, lightweight...pocket size. Anyway, all that's nice, but something's been bothering me and I've gotta ask...

What the actual fuck is up with these glow-in-the-dark tattoos?

[His jaw sets stubbornly, blue eyes fixating on something that lies out of view of the camera. Probably the tattoo in question.]

I mean I know what they're for, or what we're being told they're for, but like...

Shit, is this even legal?

[Actually, he's a hell of a lot more concerned with the fact that he wasn't even asked if something could be done to his body, especially as he can't fix it. Talk about invasive. Makes a guy wonder what else was done without his knowing.]

And on that note...I'm kind of curious about this whole registration deal! Anyone got a solid argument for it or against it? 'Cause right now I'm right in the middle and uh...from what I hear, that means my roommates can put me out?

What kind of asshole would do that, though?

Anyway, that's it. That's all I gotta say!

[He reaches forward as if to turn the device off but stops.]

Oh, and the name's Josuke! [Best to get it out now so he's not repeating it a hundred times later.] Josuke Higashikata!

[Click!]

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[They were some damn nice suits, too. Giorno made sure he wore only the best.]

I didn't say he couldn't use it, so... that's fair enough. And I cheated him at a game of cards earlier, so I wasn't going to push my luck.

[Joseph shrugs, and sticks his hands in his pockets. Which reminds him of where he put his wallet, as Josuke seems to remind the both of them that food costs money. ...Well, he's not exactly rich himself, but he can afford this. Joseph pulls out his wallet, looking at the bills. ]

Oh, right. I got enough for... eight regular donuts, and four of the fancy donuts. And two small drinks.

[YEP LET'S JUST HAVE DONUTS FOR DINNER SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE PLAN RIGHT NOW.]

You know, that...doesn't surprise me.

[See that, Joseph? Your son doesn't think you're shit for cheating. Or maybe it's because you've actually got money on you? Donuts, here they come!]

...

[To be honest, though, Josuke was lying. He has more than yen in his wallet. It's not just registered imPorts who get the stipend, but the undecided, also. Meaning, until he's officially unsettled...he's got a small buffer to work with. It's not much, but it's something. Enough, for sure, to pay Joseph back when they're done here.

It's really just nice knowing his old man's got his back for something as unimportant as donuts.]

Alright, so... [He turns to the cashier.] We're gonna get a couple of the cream-filled ones, the powdered ones... [And he recites off a few more names that look to have caught Joseph's eye. Then he turns to his old man.] What d'ya want to drink? Just a soda for me!

[Yeah, hope you're gonna pay him back, because this is like... all the money he has on him. So yeah, he's a waiter, he gets tips. Means he has a lot of single dollars. Please don't judge your father for paying with only one dollar bills. He's not a hooker. Mostly.]

Oh, uh, a coffee. To, you know, dunk 'em.

[Yes, please order for him, he would spend like the next century picking everything out.]

Right, and one coffee! [The cashier asks how Joseph takes it, but Josuke's quick to add...] Just put the fixings on the side!

[A few seconds later everything's tallied up and as another person behind the counter goes about grabbing the donuts, the cashier indicates she's ready to take Joseph's hooker bills. I MEAN DOLLAR BILLS.

With the drinks in hand soon after, Josuke motions for one of the booth tables near the back.]

Meet you over there, alright?

Okay, sure.

[He'll wait for the donuts, and finish footing the bill. Hopefully these donuts are filling enough to cover dinner, or else he's going to need to steal restaurant food. Again. ...Cu doesn't mind, it's fine.

Bag of donuts in hand, he heads to the booth table Josuke is at. And look, no funny business! Didn't even flirt with the cashier!]

[Yeah, Josuke's noticed, don't you worry, Joseph. And he appreciates that lack of funny business, too! Don't misunderstand, though...he really does want you to be happy. He would just...prefer not having to deal with that particular element of your happiness (and all it entails) before he's ready to.

It's hard enough for him having to sit down with his dad and tell him everything he knows before he really wanted to. And speaking of his old man...there he is, sliding into the seat opposite and plunking down their snacks.

Josuke takes a deep breath...and sighs.]

I guess I should start, but uh...before I forget.

[He pushes Joseph's coffee towards him, then rips the wrapper off his straw and sticks it into his soda cup. Which isn't what he was referring to, obviously, because a second after that he's reaching into his pocket for his wallet again. He counts to himself as he rifles through the small bills he has before finally pulling them out and holding them out to his old man.]

Looks like I had more than yen after all. Thanks.

[Joseph starts working on his coffee, adding like... way too much sugar, to start, and watching Josuke pull out his wallet. So wait, the kid had money all this time?!]

You had-!

[He gets mad for all of five seconds, and then laughs loudly.]

You asshole!

[He's well-meaning in it though. Oh, maybe he shouldn't swear at his kid?]

Oh, uh, I mean... Hah. I'm not really surprised.

[Like father like son, after all. Taking one of the donuts out of the bag, he dips it into his coffee and takes a bite out of it. Wow this is so goddamn sugary. The future just put sugar in absolutely anything, didn't it? As for the offered money, Joseph waves his hand at it instead.]

Don't worry about it. It wasn't a lot, and it's not a big deal. I don't have a lot here, but you're gonna need that more than I do. If I need any money myself, I just take some from Caesar's wallet. Don't tell him though. I've got him convinced that he's just really bad with money so he'll let me hold onto his wallet more.

[It's not like you're swearing with hostility, Joseph. Your son doesn't mind. Actually, he's mirroring your grin if anything!

Evidently his little test turned into a pretty great ice-breaker. He couldn't have asked for better results.

As for the money, he decides to split it down the middle and plunk half the bills before his dad. The other half go into his wallet and...then he stops.]

I won't tell him. Actually, I haven't even spoken to him yet. Uh, but before we get to that—and I do wanna get to it, there's a lot I wanna ask you about the people here—there's something else. I only just thought of it now.

Do you...wanna see a picture of my mom?

[The one he'd put in his old man's wallet so that he could swipe it—he still has it.]

[This is... a really difficult question to ask him, man. He drops the grin and winds up becoming vastly preoccupied with his coffee mug.

On one hand, curiousity. He does want to know who it is he winds up with, even if it's just once. Did he go to her for just her looks, or personality, or was there something more? But that's all things he couldn't learn from just a photo. He can't figure out what a Joseph Joestar over forty years in the future will be thinking from something like that. He can't even make up his own mind in the here and now. If someone's his family, he'll accept them wholeheartedly regardless of circumstance. But now he's unsure if he can even trust himself. For someone who used to think themselves at the top of the world... being told the things he does in the future knocks his ego quite a bit. Even he, Joseph, is not without fault.

On the other hand... well. There were a lot of reasons to not want to see it. And those wind up winning out. While an older Joseph might have wanted that photo quite badly...]

No.

[He hopes this doesn't offend Josuke, but-]

I don't. Sorry.

Edited 2015-01-15 06:58 (UTC)

[Josuke's not offended.

Of course, he's not disappointed or satisfied, either. But then...he didn't ask the question with any expectations surrounding the answer in mind. In the end, it wasn't for his sake that he'd asked, so it's not his place to be anything with his old man's response besides accepting. And that? He is.]

Why're you sorry? If you don't want to, that's fine. You've probably got your reasons, but it didn't feel right not to at least offer, you know?

[He folds shut his wallet and tucks it away before reaching for a donut. One of the ones with apple chunks baked inside.]

Guess it was kind of unexpected, huh? Maybe I should be the one apologizing? I'm not trying to make this hard, honest...I just don't wanna leave anything out if you wanna know about it.

The more I hear about the future, the less sure I am I want to hear about it...

[Joseph sighs, leaning on his hand as he picks up a frosted donut.]

I mean-! Not with you! I just mean with... everything else, you know? Hearing about all the screw ups and wrong things you do in the future and knowing you can't do anything about them...

[No wait, that sounds like he's calling Josuke a screw up! Fuck!]

I mean-!!!

[UGH.]

... You're a good kid. Even if I'm going to get my ass beat a hundred times for this... I'm glad you exist. I just wish it wasn't so complicated.

[Josuke lets Joseph talk while he chews and swallows a mouthful of donut. His old man means well. That's enough for him. So he doesn't take those little slips personally.

Besides, he feels the same way, often finds himself wishing things weren't so complicated. Of course, he also knows the kinks will work themselves out over time. He's seen it happen, more or less, seen how they come together as a family. With enough patience, Joseph will probably feel less like a screw up and Josuke will probably be able to forget again that he was born illegitimately. Or at least...it'll come up in conversation less and they'll both be happier for it, can go on living normally again.]

For what it's worth...you're not bad, either. I mean, you weren't there when I was a kid, but it's only because you didn't know.

[He shrugs.]

I wasn't really looking forward to meeting you, but in the end I'm glad I did. You really proved you gave a damn. More than once, actually.

[And not just back home, either.]

I would have been there. Believe me, Josuke...

[If he had known any sooner than...whenever it is that he finds out. He can't imagine that he would ignore his son, no matter the circumstances of his birth. Then again, he also doesn't really know much of what a Joseph in the future is thinking, but... He can take guesses, based on how he feels right now.

He gives so many damns, kiddo.]

I know.

[And that's the truth. He does know. Joseph's proven himself before. He's even proven here that he's a decent guy, before even knowing Josuke was his kid. Meaning Josuke's got every reason to believe his old man's declaration and no reason to doubt it. Not a one.]

Anyway...I'm not really sure where you wanna begin, so I guess...if you've got questions or something, I'll answer them. And if not, well we should probably...

[He shifts in his seat.]

...you know. Set some ground rules. Because you're only two years older than I am here.

[Ahaha...ahahaha...hah. Fuck. He's already trying to weasel out of whatever future trouble he'll find himself in. Aren't you proud, Joseph.]

I got questions.

[DOES HE?? Not... not really. But he doesn't want to seem completely disinterested in Josuke's life, despite not... really wanting to know anything more about how much of a fuck-up he is for not being involved enough. So he looks pretty serious when he asks this:]

... You like comic books, right?

[...Look, it's pretty important Josuke likes comics. Jotaro didn't even know who Superman was. A failure of a grandson. His son can't be the same way.

Also, eyebrow raised at this... "ground rules" business.]

What do you mean by ground rules?

[Of all the questions to ask him...]

...y-yeah, totally.

[Don't ask him who Superman is. Because his answer will be just as disappointing as Jotaro's, probably.]

Love comic books, are you kidding me? Read 'em all the time. Like that one about the...

[He shoves a piece of donut in his mouth and mutters something unintelligible around it before swallowing, gulping down some of his soda, and then continuing on...]

Oh, and about those, well... [Shoot, not a good choice of words.] I mean, they'd be less like 'ground rules' and more like things that'll just make it easier for the both of us, you know? Because you've probably got a lot going on, and I don't wanna get in the way of any of that. There's no reason to change how you were doing things before I showed up.

[...Okay, that sounded like a sneaky 'get out of this question' kind of answer, but whatever, he'll buy it. For now. Wait for the quizzes, Josuke.]

That's not really going to cut it anymore. You already told Jonathan about you being my son, and he's definitely going to be all wound up about that, so he's going to be expecting me to be keeping an eye on you. I can't just act like I'm not responsible for you now.

[Bring it on, old man. He'll...head into town and go pick up some comics or something. Study up real hard.

Except that he won't, he'll probably get distracted when passing an arcade and go blow his money in there.]

Jeez, you make it sound like you expect me to get into trouble or something. Do I look like a delinquent to you?

[He...stabs a finger in Joseph's direction. This is all BS, but he might as well try...]

You trying to say you don't think my mom raised me right? You saying she was a bad mother?

[Sounds...

Exactly like something Joseph would do too. Whoops. Sorry you got those traits from your old man. As for the line about his mother, well... It might work a little bit on making Joseph feel guilty, but he's not going to back down on this so easily.]

What-?? That's not what I'm saying at all! Stop putting words in my mouth!

I'm not! You're the one sitting across from me saying you gotta keep an eye on me like I'm a problem.

[His feelings are so hurt, Joseph. You're so mean.

Look at him as he sits back in his seat, arms crossing, eyes shooting out the window because HE CAN'T WITH YOU RIGHT NOW. Actually, he's at his best when lying if he doesn't have to LOOK at the person. So this just makes it easier.]

Guess you really don't think I'm a good kid after all, huh? Even Jonathan didn't treat me like this.

You aren't-

[THERE'S NO WINNING HERE. HOW DOES BEING A PARENT EVEN WORK?!]

Look- I didn't mean it like that!

[You're lucky this threw him off guard and this is the first time they've met as 'father and son', or he'd pick up on how good Josuke is at bullshitting.]

Fine! What do you want, anyway?? Me to just... not acknowledge you or something??

[??????]

Wait, what?

[No don't. Don't suggest that, Joseph. Not that! If you do, it's...it's going to throw the whole facade off.

Which it does. So Josuke just sits there for a minute, glaring at his reflection in the window and thinking to himself, Don't look don't look don't look don't look at him.

But.

Fuck it. He looks. How can he not?? And he probably looks a little more worried than he'd like to admit. Because the LAST thing he wants is for his old man to NOT acknowledge him.]

That's not...what I was trying to say. Like, at all.

[He busies his hands with the straw in his cup, twisting it around. It makes some rather obnoxious sounds. And he doesn't care okay.]

I just don't want stuff to be weird. I want us to be cool.

[So he says, but there's actually a part of him that likes the way Joseph's trying to parent. It means a lot that he's trying.]

[Well, he was kind of joking... Okay, not joking, but definitely not serious. He didn't mean for Josuke to take it so... Well. He definitely feels even more guilty now that Josuke looks that upset. Joseph's expression softens.]

Good, 'cause I don't want it to be like that either.

[He means not acknowledging Josuke.]

We can be cool. You mean we like, hang out and do things together, but I'm not like "go brush your teeth and eat your vegetables," right?

[...pretty close to laughing at that suggestion, because coming from Joseph? That'd be rich.]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Seriously, I keep out of trouble. I've got a great rep back home, you know?

[For getting into fights and fusing people with boulders and burning down peoples' houses and pissing off robbers and stealing motorcycles...

Perfectly good reputation. Nothing to worry about, nope.]

So you don't gotta feel obligated to worry too much. I mean...if something happens, you'd probably be the one I'd call, anyway.

[Though whether or not he'd call Jotaro first is debatable.

WHAT. His nephew's a lot CALMER, okay. And he doesn't dress like stripper.]

[At least he's NEVER BEEN TO JAIL OR DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL so you know what, that's a great rep as far as Joseph might be concerned. Maybe less on the burning people's houses down thing, but everything else seems okay. That boulder guy totally deserved it. Let's put everyone in boulders. And then launch them into space. What a great father-son team.]

Really?

[Considering the circumstances of what he's saying, one probably shouldn't be so happy to hear "if I'm ever in deep shit, I'm calling you" but... it does mean a lot to Joseph. ...He doesn't need to know he's not the first one Josuke would call.]

Alright. That... sounds fine. I mean, I don't want to be a drag on you either, you know? It's not like it'd be fun for me to go around scolding you. But you do gotta promise me one thing, alright?

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