OPENING LOG.

[enjoyers]

Characters: Everyone!
Date: August 11th
Rating/Warnings: Nothing as of yet. Mark anything that qualifies a warning in your subject line!
Summary: Arrivals.
You want happiness. A company called RECOVERjoy has offered it to you, so you've signed up with them. Gaining happiness can't hurt, right?

Suddenly you're in a room, an apartment, with three other beds and unfamiliar faces. This is your assigned room, and it's quite crowded. You don't get much of a chance to think as your phone beeps--it's not your phone, maybe you've never had a phone, but there's one in your hand so you check it. It's a smart phone, nothing special about it, but now you've received a text from RECOVERjoy.

Welcome to Joywick! We're so happy to have you!

You've arrived in your assigned room, we hope you like it! Don't worry, you can move out once you've collected enough joypoints. Speaking of, if you'd like to check your balance, there's a special application that tracks it for you right on your phone! Handy, right?

... Did you check? If you did, you'll notice you have no joypoints. But don't despair! We're giving you a special mission. Make three (3) friends and get 200 joypoints! Gee, that's easy! Of course, we can't put a level on something like friendship, so just get to know people. Don't miss out on these easy points! We'll give you more information about joypoints once you're done.

Wishing you happiness,
RECOVERjoy : )

You're in this for 1 million joypoints, aren't you? Might as well get started.

(AFTER THE MISSION HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED OR ONCE 24 HOURS HAVE PASSED)

You receive another text from RECOVERjoy.

Great job on the mission! Or not so great job for those who didn't do it. : (

Well, you probably want more joypoints either way. Here's how! Look for another person. I bet they look fairly happy, right? Why are they happier than you? Because they've got the joypoints you need! The only way to get those joypoints is to steal theirs. How? Take their happiness away. It's easy! Maybe a rumor here, an injury there... but if you want the big points, be creative!
You want to be happy, don't you?

Wishing you happiness,
RECOVERjoy : )

... Not quite what you expected when you signed up. You can't leave, though, you still owe RECOVERjoy 500 joypoints and, well, you came here for a reason.

Comments

[partnered]

You lied to me before, so why wouldn't you --

[ The hurt is sudden and brutal when it flares up in his chest, squeezing at his lungs and clawing its way up his throat. But Neku does his best to knuckle it back down with another controlled burst of rage; it's one thing to be angry about what Joshua did to him, but it's quite another to admit that he was stupid enough to leave himself open enough to get hurt by the betrayal. And now he's so twisted and tangled up in what he should believe, what he should be doing --

Open up your world, trust your partner and learning his lesson had cost him everything. ]

[gatto]

[He's silent for several moments, still staring up at the orange building as he puts away his camera.

Then Rin turns around to face him, breaking out into a smile and folding his arms behind his head.] Guess so!

They've gotta have some real nice stuff in there if they can really do all of that! It'd be real bad for business if someone found out just what!

[guielliotine]

...I kind of got in his face and never backed down. There was a lot of yelling involved.

_{[And flying pieces of furniture.]}

[minus]

( oh no elijah what have you gotten yourself into now. talking to strange japanese teenagers with stepford slasher smiles is not the way to adjust to your new world. kumagawa even turns real nice and slow, casting an overlarge, overzealous smile back at the other fellow. )

『It's an abilities shop. Clearly, I'm here because my abilities are here! How they got there is a mystery, but I'd really appreciate having my Minus back sometime soon.』

[plucks]

[Even if it's just a small push, Mary is soon delighted. She laughs when it continues to swing almost on its own.

Honestly, what did she expect to happen?]

No way! Why haven't I seen this in a book?

[It lulls as swings do and she looks at Elliot.] It's really fun. Do you get to do this a lot?

[noisy]

You'd think that a place that advertises happiness would have no need for such barbaric economy.

[ picture: a scrawny looking kid emerging from what seems to be the aisle for the guns.

not disconcerting at all.

but he definitely looks to be as out of place as Yagyuu seems to be. ] And you'd be wrong.

Trouble with the locals, I presume?

DONE.

[partnered]

You lied to me.

[ It comes out as a ragged exhale, a stumbling step down a path he doesn't want to take. ]

You said I -- [ He clenches his hands into trembling fists, briefly entertaining the idea of smashing one of them right into that stupid, smug little smile that his ex-partner is sporting. ] ... I don't get it!

[adieuche]

[Yagyuu bears the examination patiently. It's not so different from being sized up by an opponent across the court. At Yotsuya's actions, his smile curves into something less stiffly practiced and more genuinely amused.]

I believe that is generally how friends are made, Yotsuya-san. We were instructed to learn about each other, after all.

[He takes a moment to adjust his glasses before he continues. There's no harm in playing the good student for the moment, especially when he thinks he will need at least one real ally in this room.]

Shall I go first? I'm a third year student at Rikkaidai Fuzoko and I like playing tennis. Doubles, to be exact.

[outfoxing]

[Whoops hello stranger hope you don't mind this rather calm-looking individual quietly placing a hand on that shoulder of yours...]

[gatto]

[Paaaaaauuuuse.

Well, then.

He promptly bursts out laughing, although it's a short laugh.]

I dunno if that's gonna work for everyone. How 'bout you try just introducing yourself to people first?

1/2

[partnered]

Why the hell would I be happy?

I'm here in a strange city, trying to earn enough happiness to fix the crap that went wrong back home. And apparently it's a city full of nutcases who come up behind you and screech at you for no damn reason. [ A pointed snort. ] I don't know if that's the kind of stuff that gets you all giddy, but I'll pass.

[pneumonia]

AWW! But if Shiro can't keep it, she won't put it on.

( she stands up and frowns before jumping on him, aka hugging him. )

Something tells Shiro you're hiding sweets from her.

[partnered]

And, since I'm not you, I'll also take a pass on smiling like a moron.

[noisy]

If you're breaking in, I can procure the getaway car.

[guielliotine]

_{[Considering all the shit that went down oh so recently, getting to indulge in something so simple is somewhat of a relief. Mary's laughter is light to his ears and he finds himself smiling at her again.]}

I haven't gone on a swing in quite awhile, but I used to love it when I did.

Want another push?

[minus]

『It's not my fault!』

( The answer is immediate and emphatic, and the short little guy just sort of throws his hands up like he's surrendering. And his smile hasn't gone anywhere, even in the face of the other guy's irritation. It was a clever ploy, if it wasn't so obvious that once you drew near enough, your peripheral vision was compromised and, henceforth, you became an easy target. It's obvious by the way Kumagawa reacted so casually to someone creeping up on his ass that he suspected, or expected this.

He knows all about weaknesses, being the weakest creature on Earth. )

『Oh no, was that your grand plan? If so, it was rather lame. You come off more as a pervert than someone interested in making friends. I ought to know, I'm a pervert too. But not for men like you, I only like cute and small girls, usually under five-foot-three with petite frame. B Grade Ryouiki is my favorite, but F Grade provides the best look at a girl's legs!』

( holy fuck he's chatty what is he going on about now )

1/3

[partnered]

[ Oh no, what the hell, did he really just insult some weird orphan who doesn't know how to shop because he doesn't have parents --

. . .

He's so shocked he doesn't even bother trying to escape that sudden SHOULDER GRAB. ]

1/2

[varmint]

[wOW ELIJAH IS JUST KIND OF STANDING HERE NOW, not entirely sure how to react to such a young boy with such an underlying smile, he sort of has to force himself to keep being INTERESTED.

NEVERTHELESS.] Er-

[sockswithsandals]

[Yotsuya raises an eyebrow. He puts the phone back in his pocket, tilts his head at Yagyuu, thoughtfully, and raises his other eyebrow. There's going to be a lot of scrutinizing in the near future.

The "good student" routine, though? It's dull. At least the maniac is interesting, in a fear-for-your-life way.]

All the things to describe about yourself and you pick "I like playing tennis." Hmm.

[He pauses, rolling his head on his shoulders because he is incapable of sitting still, and also to think. He doesn't... make a habit of talking about himself, exactly. In fact, he is here to create the illusion to a bunch of unrelated high schoolers that he doesn't exist, until he feels like going home.

Hmm.]

I like horror stories.

[guielliotine]

_{[This must be a nightmare. Indecent lady hugging him. Can't deal.]}

I'M NOT HIDING SWEETS!

[ushishishi]

[Princes are well known to be mature, responsible figureheads that always approach a situation with rationality and grace. Ergo, when one is putting feet in your space, protocol must be taken to stop such a childish action.]

[In Bel's case, this meets kicking his feet over and at Yotsuya, sort of. flailing them around.]

[Mature.]

Off.

[adieuche]

[Really, Yagyuu doesn't mind a bit of arrogance in his opponents. He's learned that it makes it easier to keep their attention focused exactly where he wants it. If Belphegor wants his ego fed, well, for the moment he sees no reason not to acquiesce.]

I presume you're referring to yourself, Belphegor-san?

[varmint]

[Cough, clears throat.] They took something from you?

Well, now I have a cause to feel at least a little paranoid. I'll have to make sure nothing of mine has been taken...[And back to his original question...]

A 'minus'? Whatever could that be?

[partnered]

[ Oh, thank God, it's just an asshole. ]

Very funny. Hysterical, even. [ Swatting irritably at those hands clamped onto his shoulders, and then folding his arms tightly across his chest. ] Does everyone here think they're some kind of master prankster, or am I just getting really lucky?

why tho

[noisy]

[ please get your grubby mits off of my fancy silk shirt if you would be so kind...

anyway, there is more than an abrupt... jerk of his shoulders... a kind of clenching motion that gets obscured by the pocket his hand's currently residing in. he recovers all the same, however, turning his head to cast a bland look at the sketchy individual breathing down his neck.

... at least...

until he happens to look down. ]

... What are you wearing?