★ 001 | Video

[unbreaker]

[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!]

Comments

[trickstar]

I'm making it called for.

[Yes. That was it. That was the joke. The first Dad Joke of many. Joseph puts away his phone and starts loudly laughing.]

[unbreaker]

[Josuke cringes and sinks back into his seat a little.]

You did not just...

[Shoulda grabbed the donuts and ran. Hindsight and all that. Ugh.]

...stop laughing like that. You sound like a horse! People are staring!

[trickstar]

[Nope, loudly laughing.]

I can't believe you fell for that! Ha ha ha!!

[This is your loud British dad, Josuke. Get used to it.]

[unbreaker]

[Nope yourself! That does it.]

I'm leaving.

[He's not doing this. It'd be one thing if they weren't in front of a whole diner full of people with cocked eyebrows and open-mouthed stares, but. There they are. And there those people are. And there Josuke does not want to be.

He pushes out of the booth, taking his soda with him, and starts for the door.]

[trickstar]

Hey! Hey!! We're not done talking, right! Josuke!!

[Joseph gets up after Josuke, trying to drink the rest of his coffee really fast and taking his half of the donuts with him in a bag.]

Come on! Don't be like that!

[unbreaker]

[Outside, Josuke turns to face his old man.]

Aren't we done? I know I am. Got a feeling if I say anything else you're just gonna spin it around and use it against me, so what's the use? Why bother?

It's not like you wanna hear about home, right? And now I'm pretty sure I can't even talk to you about Dio without you getting weird about things.

[trickstar]

I was just having fun- hey…

[Okay, maybe it was a bad time to joke. He's not exactly known for great timing with jokes…

Joseph leans in his hand as he tries to explain to himself. God, why is this so hard?]

I know we just met, but I want to make up for things I did wrong, alright? Give me a chance. I'm new at this too. If you want to talk about Dio… fine. We can talk about him.

[unbreaker]

You can't make up for shit you haven't actually done yet!

[Not that he doesn't appreciate the thought, because he does. But he thinks that trying to make amends for transgressions that haven't actually come to pass yet is just going to create tension and hard feelings in the long run. It's not...worth it.]

That's not even why I wanted us to talk! I just...I mean, I barely got to see you back home before you were gone again!

[...which is actually not easy to say, because it means coming to terms with feelings, and man. What a bother. He's glad Joseph got to go back home to Suzie Q, he's glad Jotaro went with him to look after him, but dammit, Josuke missed them as soon as they were gone. They were there for months, but it still wasn't enough time. Especially with his old man. Who was...old. Who he might not get a chance to spend more time with.

He sighs, scrubs his palm over his face and scowls at the sidewalk.]

...whatever. Let's talk about Dio. Or...you 'n Dio. What'd he mean you've been 'reasonable' about the truce?

[And why is everyone so willing to bend for that asshole?]

[trickstar]

[Joseph wants to talk more about what Josuke meant by "before he was gone again." Does he... leave? Or worse? Why wouldn't he stay with Josuke more? It's not like the other is being really explanatory with his answers either.

And then Josuke's serious. About Dio. Great. Sure, he'd offered to talk about it, but man, it's really not something he'd want to discuss... Eugh. There's no avoiding it now.]

If we're gonna talk about that, let's either go inside, or somewhere private. I don't want to talk about that bastard just on the street, you know?

[unbreaker]

I am not going back in there. Let's go somewhere else.

[Meaning lead the way, Joseph. And maybe when they're done talking about stupid vampires, Josuke will clear the air about what he meant about you leaving.

Well, if he remembers, that is.]

i forgot if they were in heropa or not and im at work so i cant check but here i am assuming

[trickstar]

...What, you want me to lead? Uh...

[Dammit, he doesn't live in Heropa anymore...]

...This way.

[HERE THEY GO TO WHO KNOWS WHERE.]

yes they're in heropa!

[unbreaker]

[Josuke arches a brow, shoving his free hand into his pocket as he follows Joseph. Takes a sip of soda. Then sighs.]

Do you have any idea where you're going?

[trickstar]

Yeah, I do!

[Look at him, walking around like he knows where he's going. They'll find ... something.]

[unbreaker]

[Well, the walk at least gives Josuke time to cool off a little and relax a lot. But at the same time, it's a bit frustrating not having a set destination in mind...if only because it's hard to tell if Joseph's doing this deliberately to buy time or because he seriously has no idea where they can go.

So, after a few minutes of wandering Josuke just says...]

Wanna go back to my place? It's not that far. Probably won't get more private than that around here anyway.

[trickstar]

... Uh. Yeah, that'll be fine.

[If he had more time... He could have found somewhere. Probably. Might have had to use Hermit Purple though.

...Lead the way, Josuke.]

[unbreaker]

...thought so.

Alright, this way.

[Josuke jerks his head to the right and starts across the street.

True to his word, his place isn't far. A block or two at the most...maybe three now since he and Joseph have walked a little out of the way, but that's about it. He's got no idea if Hime's still there, though. Or that Shade guy. But even if they are, he and Joseph can talk in his room. It'll provide enough privacy.

About ten or fifteen minutes later their at his residence and climbing up the stairs to the front porch while Josuke digs his keys out of his pocket.]

[trickstar]

[Joseph keeps quiet, following Josuke along the way. He could start up small talk, but he's not sure how appreciative Josuke would be of it. Hope you don't mind whistling instead.]

[unbreaker]

[Whistling is preferred to small talk. Or, more specifically, the kind of small talk (and bad jokes) Joseph's likely to start up.

Anyway, once they're at Josuke's place and inside...it's shoes off at the door. The construction of the home he lived in back in Morioh might not have been traditional, and neither is the one here, but his morals still tend to be, especially because Josuke knows how hard it is to keep a place as large as this one clean.

...looking at your feet expectantly, Joseph. Hope you got on decent socks.]

[trickstar]

[...What.

Alright if you want to take off your shoes dude, but come on. These are like knee-high boots.]

[unbreaker]

[omg joseph pls]

Yo, take the boots off, will you? I'm not having Hime yell at me for tracking dirt into the house!

[It'd probably turn into another conversation about "BUT SHADE'S BOOKS!!!" or something.

A conversation he'd be happier doing without.]

[trickstar]

It'll take like, five minutes to get these off. There's a lot of lace. I'll walk on my hands if you're worried about dirt.

[He'll do it. He'll fucking handstand his way out of not taking off his shoes.]

[unbreaker]

[Thinks about that a second.

Still thinking...

Then sighs and shakes his head with a small grin.]

Fine, fine. I'll just tell Hime where to find you if she complains. My room's this way.

[And he takes the lead, showing Joseph to his room which is...decidedly undecorated at this point. Stark, even. Sure, there's furniture and the bedding's decent, but there's no pictures up on the walls or desk, nothing on the shelves, nothing much even hanging in the closet...]

This is it. Sorry it's not much.

[trickstar]

Don't know who Hime is, but fine.

[Not a very threatening sounding name there...]

I mean, you just moved in. There's not gonna be a whole lot, I know. Hey, there's this cool store I go to that has a bunch of cheap stuff all the time, you can probably go there to get decorations or something.

[...It's like, a Goodwill. He frequents there a lot. Where else is he going to get all the weird shit he absolutely collects?

Also, Josuke might need to be the one to bring up Dio again. He's going to avoid saying it if he has to, maybe Josuke will be distracted and not remember...]

[unbreaker]

She's one of my roommates. Pretty nice... [He lowers his voice and mutters.] Except when she's a bit bossy.

[Girls.

Anyway, he shuts the door to his room so they've got some privacy, pulling out the chair at his desk for his old man to sit on while he drops back onto his bed himself.]

Appreciate the tip, but I'm not trying to make my room look like somebody regurgitated donations in here, you know? Style takes time to amass.

[...he's fucking serious.

And as for Dio, Joseph...don't count on him forgetting. What the hell's there in the room to distract him at this point?

He kicks his feet against the ground before he says it. Says the name.]

So...about what I asked you before. About Dio.

[trickstar]

Hey, bossy girls can be great! As long as they're not totally cold too, then it's not worth it.

[SPEAKING FROM... NO EXPERIENCE?? As much as he might flirt, he's still a big ol' virgin so. But then again, Josuke's mom was pretty bossy, so maybe he just likes bossiness...]

Style? Who cares, it's just a room.

[What do you mean "absolute chaos" isn't a type of style? It's a good thing he lives with Caesar, or there'd be junk literally everywhere. But uh oh. Looks like... this is going to be serious talk. Joseph frowns, but takes a seat on the chair Josuke pulls out for him.]

...Right. Dio. What... do you know about him, right now?