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

[sockswithsandals]

[It's almost as bad as the kid in the library who wouldn't shut up about manga. Why hasn't the lobby proven itself a safe haven...

Yotsuya has already lost interest in--something about girls? as now he's disappointed that this place is attracting people who are much too weird. Pot, kettle, the point being: he has already taken a step back from the kid, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to ignore his babbling.

It is difficult.]

Stop! Stop it, stop talking. You ruined the whole atmosphere, I can't believe this... [no this literally NEVER HAPPENS WHY AREN'T YOU A SCREAMING SCHOOLGIRL?? he's half turned away, muttering to himself, before he feels like he should add, just to clarify--]

I'm not trying to make friends.

[minus]

『Oh. I just thought a sexual offender like you would appreciate the appeal of Zettai Ryouiki.』

( Yeah, they're from the same canon, it happens. Nothing is safe anymore. Two of them spell Trouble, any more, and it's all-out chaos.

He's told to stop, in tones that are very, very irate and he clams up for long enough to draw breath, as if he hadn't bothered to breathe for that entire spiel about girl's sock lengths and how much bare thigh would be shown below the hem of their skirt. It's a classic, and it appeals to him just as much as hand-bra jeans or naked aprons. )

『That's not what your note says. What if I genuinely was hoping to find a friend in a fellow like you?』

[sockswithsandals]

I'm not a sexual offender.

[Not only does this kid not scream when he's supposed to, he doesn't shut up and let Yotsuya mumble nonsense to himself in peace, either. Offensive. Is it so much to ask for people to just play the part assigned to them? By him, without telling, because that would ruin it, too...

It's a delicate process and now it's ruined. He looks at the note on the wall, as if he is mad at it, as if he did not put it there himself.

Kids these days.]

Do you believe everything you read?

[minus]

『Well, you are offensive. You can be a mere offender, in that case.』

( He follows the other's line of sight to the note. The poor little note that so valiantly attempted to seduce the eye, and who was not at fault for Kumagawa's creeptacular reaction. He narrowed his eyes, just a little. Enough to resemble an entirely different sort of person, if only for a moment. It's a placid expression, but it's flat. It's flat enough for someone to realize that the Minus may not actually have complex emotions, not like others. )

『I believe in Shounen Jump Weekly, without a doubt. Perhaps I just wanted to believe in your words for a moment, and see where the experience led.』

[sockswithsandals]

[Offensive isn't frightening--this detour isn't going to go as well as he thought if he's going to be labeled offensive and disgusting but not actually inspiring of fear. He'll be bored, for a start, let alone uninspired when he finally leaves. It's a rocky start, certainly, although he's looked at this kid enough to feel something is decidedly off about him, so--it's someone else's defect if he can't frighten them, surely.

That will do. He presses a hand over his eyes for a moment, scowling, then pulls the hand down his face and takes a deep breath, collecting himself.]

Jump-- [do we have to talk about manga...] As an avid reader, you ought to understand the importance of letting the plot run its course, shouldn't you? You can't just change it in the middle, without resolution.

[minus]

( And fear isn't really something the teen feels. Sure, he inspires it, and does so without mercy, but feeling it is something he's just not hardwired to do. He carries on through Yotsuya's irritation as well, it doesn't faze him much - he seems to just accept that the taller man is generally displeased and continues their conversation in what might be considered an amiable way--

--save for the fact that he's just really fucking creepy, the way he's staring at yoyo without blinking or anything y'know NORMAL.......... )

『That's a loaded question, and one that personal experience has taught me is not easy to answer. In a fictional setting, it would be proper to allow the plot to keep calm and carry on, because that is what makes the story enjoyable. However, as this is reality, it's much less satisfying to sit back and be passive.

I prefer passive-aggressive, if anything. And while I understand the important of plot, in this sort of situation -- I couldn't care less!』

( And he laughs. It's a terrible sound. It's not happy, it's not anything but FUCKING CREEPY AS FUCK )

[sockswithsandals]

[The creepiness registers, the Something Off is quite clear- but Yotsuya is either too distracted or just doesn't care, from the way his features retain their deep set irritation. He wants plot, he wants situations to play out the way they should play out, even for something as simple (and, admittedly, fruitless) as this. It's been a stressful day. This is supposed to be relaxing.

For him, anyway. Now he's tensed, and staring dully at the kid, and trying not to be too offended about how he doesn't care about plot.

The laugh makes his whole face twitch, a sort of one-second grimace. He holds up fingers as he counts off his next points:]

Some situations aren't yours to control. Passive-aggression has nothing to do with this. Do you like horror stories?

[sockswithsandals]

Your character? You were just talking about how this isn't fiction.

[Pick a story and stick to it, is the unsaid conclusion to that line. At the very least, the kid likes horror stories. It could be worse. Yotsuya gives him an even stare, as if trying to size him up properly, and nods.]

I had a feeling.

[sockswithsandals]

Wrong.

[Is that a surprise, being wrong? He points, for emphasis and a little bit of theatrics. Don't just assess what he's all about so presumptuously.

He completely ignores that "except not at all" and keeps on going,]

I don't want to be part of a fictional world. Each story is its own creation and it starts with reality; a grain of truth nestled within the exhilarating tale. I have no intention of participating in the plot or escaping the real world, I just want to create the story.