maskormenace | 010 ★ Voice

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010 ★ Voice

Alright, my birthday's in a few days! This one's a big one, too—I'm gonna be eighteen! Which means I'm either throwing a party at my place or I'm pulling out all the stops and doing something huge someplace else!

[Sounds exciting, right? But hold onto your hats, there's a catch.]

Problem is...I don't got any ideas!

[There we go, that sounds about right. Josuke, you slacker, you're supposed to plan this shit ahead of time!]

This'll be the second birthday I've celebrated here, but...a lot's different from when I first arrived.

[The faces, it's the faces that are mostly different. A lot of people that Josuke knows have come and gone, and that makes this birthday one that will be largely different from the last. Which is kind of the reason he wants it to be special in the first place, something he can do while surrounded by all the friends he's made here, the family he's got left, and maybe even some new folks, too. The other part of course having everything to do with the fact he'll finally be a legal adult and that's pretty fucking awesome! Who doesn't wanna do something exciting for that?]

So I got to thinking, maybe while I'm asking around to see if people are even gonna be free, you guys could tell me a little about what you like to do for birthdays? And let me know if you wanna come along and all, too.

More the merrier!

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I know that! But I don't know if I'll be around in twenty years to celebrate your birthday!

[It's a big deal, okay? He's still young (and probably always will be at heart) so he likes to celebrate things.]

Adult like...wait, you don't mean......? Do you?

What!?

[ no josuke no ]

Of course not! I'm not foul.

It's not like I thought you were but you were also really vague!

I became a man far too long ago to remember what I did -- but I distinctly remember there being something of a right of passage. Do you sorts still do those.

Oh, uh...sort of? I mean, back home there was a ceremony held at the start of the year for people who turned twenty, but there's not like...any special tasks or things we have to do. And I'm not sure about other places, but I have heard traveling's a big thing in most of 'em.

[A beat, and then his face lights up a little.]

Hey, once school's done, I'll be going on a trip with my great gramps! That counts, right? We're going to Peru. You ever been?

I have! I can go anywhere in the world, you know.

[ A pause. ] You could plan a big trip. It seems...like it's something you very nearly already planned.

I'm not really sure where else I'd go. Visited Italy and Japan last year, and going to Peru soon's a pretty big deal.

[Josuke scratches his cheek.]

I dunno, I mean...I'm not the kind of person who's in a hurry to get away from home, y'know? So, while traveling is pretty cool, I don't mind sticking close to what's familiar, also.

Where's your favorite place to go?

Opal. [ Said immediately. ]

But that is home, and she is not here.

Barring that, I would say Paris, I suppose. I always loved Paris.

[Whoa, whoa, whoa...back up!]

Is Opal a lady friend?

Mmm? Of course not. She's a city -- my home.

O-oh...I knew that.

[Nope, he definitely did not know that.

But it's not like it was a poor guess. After all, feeling like you're 'home' around certain people is something Josuke knows all about.]

It's got a real pretty name. What's it like there? Anything like Paris?

She has a beautiful name, yes. [ It's ok.

Shade literally talks about his city like she's the woman in his life.]

And she is beautiful. Art-deco towers, a thriving historic district that still looks like the 1800s, when I first arrived...

She's the finest city in America.

So Opal's a city with a lot of character...heh, it's no wonder you love the place so much! My home town is pretty normal looking, but it's got a lot of cool landmarks.

But...Morioh doesn't exist here, either. So I guess I can relate.

Oh?

What sorts of landmarks is she famous for? Tell me about your home.

You sure? I mean, Morioh's probably nowhere near as fancy as Opal...

That doesn't mean it can't be interesting, my boy! Come now, I'm curious!

Alright, but you asked.

[Not that Josuke really minds. Talking about home is something he enjoys and doesn't have opportunity enough to do.]

I guess Morioh was pretty normal before the summer of '99. Sometimes weird things would happen, but mostly it was pretty quiet. Which is important 'cause most of its landmarks and stuff cropped up that summer.

[Some as a result of Josuke and his friends protecting the town, and others simply because of the golden rule about Stand users being drawn to each other.]

Anyway, there's Anjuro Rock where couples like to meet up. Not sure why, to be honest. Thing's got a pretty creepy mug. [Because that mug belonged to a pretty creepy dude before he got his ass royally kicked by Josuke.] And there's Boing-Boing Cape, this cliff side near some summer homes on the edge of town. Water's pretty wild there, and there's a lot of sharp rocks, but I guess the town fishermen think some girl who was trying to kill herself bounced back up or something? Totally not how it happened, but it makes for a cool story.

There's also ghost alley, Twin Forest tunnel, an old telephone tower some guy was living in for a while, and Tonio's restaurant which is one of my favorite places to go besides the Pachinko parlor! And I guess there's some mangaka who lives in town, too. His house is like...a popular place for people to pass by sometimes or something dumb like that. Again, not sure why! Guy's an asshole.

[ Shade actually leaned forward -- interested in this. His smile said it all, the way he looked like he liked talking to Josuke about his home, the way he enjoyed hearing about it. ]

Ghost alley? [ He asked, and smiled. ] What's that like?

Your home sounds fascinating, regardless. You give her too little credit! Artists, gambling, good food? She sounds like she could be Opal, with a history like this! [ He loves landmarks, ok... ]

[It's a little embarrassing how much Josuke's enjoying being able to talk about home, especially because the more interested Shade appears, the more excited he becomes.]

Um...the alley's kind of a weird place in town. Never really walked it myself, but a friend of mine has and he told me all about it. A ghost girl named Reimi...she was there for a while with her dog, Arnold. Don't like ghosts much myself, but she was really nice!

[Josuke smiles a little.]

It's actually a bit of a dangerous place, though...but that's because it's like some kind of purgatory. Normal people don't even know it's there and walk right on by.

You really think she sounds a bit like Opal?

[...good job, Shade, you got Josuke referring to his hometown like a woman, now.]

Ghosts there too?

She's sounding more and more like my Opal.

You know, my home is a city with our own share of ghosts -- we released them from a haunted set of posters, and they've been unleashed on the entire city of Opal! Like our own little purgatory.

[ He sounds fond, now. Talking about his home, but also just from listening. He likes talking about people's homes. He likes talking to people about their homes, and their passions. ]

Anyone know why she haunted the area?

Yeah, ah...she discovered that the guy who killed her hadn't stopped with her. I guess she couldn't rest until she knew he couldn't hurt anyone like that again.

[Kira...even though he's not here anymore, Josuke doesn't divulge the killer's name. He'd made a promise to himself not to provoke the man, to give him a chance in this place, and he wasn't going to destroy that simply because Kira vanished for a time.]

But Opal had a whole set of ghosts?

[The concept is as awe-inspiring to Josuke as it is distressing. He's only ever met one ghost he wasn't afraid of. All the rest remain markedly chilling!]

Who's we? Why were the ghosts in the poster? Was releasing them an accident or did you mean to do it? And what did you do about it afterwards?

[...of course, for someone spooked by ghosts, he sure does ask a lot of questions about them.]

She did!

[ He held a hand to his limps, as he thought about how to describe it. Without...outing his friend Dorian Gray -- who was actually a friend here, instead of a man sworn to a demon like he was in his world. ]

A demon had an avatar, and was trapping them away. Myself, a policeman, and my friend Starman all went into the demon's realm.

[ It was the first time, in a long time, that he'd felt like he was a hero. ]

It wasn't right, for them to be trapped for an eternity, so we bargained for them to be released. And a bargain it was! The demon decided I looked better in white. [ Said with all the disgust that a man who mostly wore black could muster.

What a goth. ]

What kind of deal is that?

[Josuke appreciates black as much as anyone, but for fashion to be some kind of bargaining chip...well, he feels like he's missed something.]

The demon was just willing to let 'em all go if you got decked out in white threads?

Hardly. He did that because he wanted to insult me!

[ He paused, and shook his head. ]

We bargained through selflessness. The demon decided that since his avatar was...gone, he may as well cut his losses.

I'm certain he'll be back.

Well, even if he comes back, he'll have you to contend with, right? Opal's lucky to have you.

010 ★ Voice

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