[Lucy has spent enough time in Heropa that she mostly knows her way around by now. She likes this city, and she's come to know a few people here; most importantly, it has the best library in any of the porter cities, in her opinion, so she spends a fair amount of time here per week.]
[That being said, she still gets lost sometimes. Modern cities are built on a much grander scale than the cities she's used to, never mind the small town she grew up on the outskirts of. She's fiercely certain that she'll get the hang of it someday, but that day is not today.]
[No, today is the day that Lucy Steel, absorbed in planning, takes a left instead of a right and ends up walking to an arcade. And then into it. Walking in is not an accident, of course. She wouldn't have normally, but even as thoroughly steeped in The Past as she is, the noise and colors make her curious.]
[This quickly reveals itself to be a mistake. The building isn't that big, but she gets lost anyway, walking in a daze up one row of games and down another. There are so many, and they all look the same but somehow different, and it's very noisy. She stops by a crane machine, her expression hovering between concerned and mystified. What . . . the hell is this . . .]
[What America was lacking in Pachinko parlors, it made up for with its numerous arcades. Josuke had heard tell of better ones in Nonah, but as unfamiliar with the Porter cities as he was, and currently Unsettled to boot, it was easier for him to spend his time around the city where he lived.
Heropa had a lot going for it, too. There was a beach not too far from the town, and the weather was great! But the downside was Florida. Reptiles everywhere meant that even spending most of his time indoors didn't guarantee an escape from creepy lizards and other cold-blooded beasts.
They didn't like the arcades, though. Too full of noise and people, and there wasn't ever enough food left for them to want to risk adventuring into a human fun-zone. It was the perfect retreat for Josuke...who had maybe skipped class that day to spend time playing tournament-style games and racers all afternoon. Only the annoyed pleading of other arcade patrons to let them have a turn finally made him migrate away from those machines and in the direction of the crane game. On his way in, he was pretty sure he'd seen an LED plush star in there...
As he drew up to the machine, however, it seemed he wasn't the only one interested in playing. Except the girl in front was doing a lot more gawking than anything else. It was almost as if she hadn't seen the thing before.
Tapping her shoulder, Josuke asked...]
Um, excuse me...are you going to play this machine?
[Lucy's reaction to being tapped on the shoulder is to jump about in the foot in the air and squeak.]
[Which, okay: is a huge overreaction, and even Lucy knows it. She claps her hand over her mouth and turns to the look at the person tapping her, who--oh. He's not very old? Not much older than her. Most of the people in here aren't that much older than her, but none of the others have tapped her. Or talked to her.]
[Right, he did say something. Is she going to play . . .]
Oh! No, no. No, I'm not--
[How do you play a machine? Her brow furrows briefly before she scoots to the side, leaving Josuke a direct line to the game.]
I don't even know what this is, I'm definitely not playing it! I'm sorry if I was in your way!
[Girls jumping in surprise and emitting high-pitched, ear-piercing sounds weren't uncommon reactions to receiving Josuke's attention back home, and it seemed nothing had changed here, either. Nevertheless, he still found himself vaguely taken aback by Lucy's response to his very gentle tap.
Or maybe it was more by what she said?
Yeah, that was definitely it. Had to be. Because who in the world didn't know what a crane game was?]
Don't sweat it, you're not in the way.
[Beaming, he pointed helpfully at the machine before heading over to it.]
You must be from someplace really small if you've never seen one of these before, but I can show you how it works if you want. They're a lot of fun!
[More like complete ripoffs, but leave it to Josuke to overlook that glaring flaw in favor of focusing on the prizes.]
But it was really hard not to stare. Josuke had seen some strange things in his life, and he'd heard stranger upon arriving here, but time travel on that level was still something he had a hard time wrapping his head around.
Then again, it was probably worse for her, wasn't it?
He smiled after a moment and waved a hand.]
You get used to how loud it is. Just try and drown out the rest, yeah?
[Popping his money into the machine, he settled in at the controls before seeming to remember his manners and chirping up...]
Oh yeah, I'm Higashikata Josuke.
THIS COMMENT IS NOT REAL, I AM JUST SAVING EVERYONE FROM FUTURE SCROLLING
[This is...unexpected. To say the least. The very least. But Josuke has never been one to turn down a party, and he and Dr Crane used to know each other. Apparently.]
hey, thanks for the invite, i'll be there idk about the +1 but i'll ask around and see if one of my friends will wanna come along
oh and... this is a little awkward. see, i don't really remember... what i mean is, uh... what should i bring as a gift? can't really show up empty handed or anything, wouldn't be too cool.
few days after jotaro disappeared, and at an ungodly hour
[ this is so awkward since he barely even knows him, but he's still feeling the rather abrupt disappearance of jotaro and so he's not quite happy about a lot of things. in any case that's a lot to convey in a text, so maybe the best way to start this is by a question. ]
I suppose one gets used to disappearances here all the time, but I missed it when Jotaro let me whine at him at 3 in the morning while serving me cappucino so I'd shut up in between.
Are you awake? Did I wake you up? Sorry if I did. I was thinking I could probably hit up a cafe since I can't sleep, then I realized my favourite place was gone. Or, it's still there, but it won't be the same without him.
[When Josuke's communicator sounds off next to his bed, its electronic chirrup as ungodly as the hour in which some offending message arrives, he thinks about rolling over and going back to sleep. He thinks about it long and hard, tempted by the silent underside of his pillow which would be perfect for muffling any further assault on his ears...
...and then he surrenders to his curiosity, blindly reaching over in the dark of his room for the device.
He doesn't expect the light of the interface to be so blinding when it's jogged from sleep, but he expects less to see Giorno's name attached to the communication.
There's a brief moment where Josuke thinks to himself that the other teen sounds like someone who's just been dumped by his crush, but that thought is gone again as quickly as it bubbled up, replaced instead by sleepy sympathy. After all, he misses Jotaro, too.
With a life of their own his fingers tap out a reply...]
aren't cafes closed right now anyway? there's truck stop coffee but don't drink that shit it's gross
And they are, but I bugged Jotaro to let me stay in his club and play cards with me while I interrogated him. So he decided I get one free drink per visit, probably because I annoyed him. He told me off for skipping class often, and then kicked me out of the bar when it got too late.
yea like gas station convenience store coffee, the stuff people buy in the mdidle of the night? it's gross and burned and trust me you don't want it it's jusg garbage watr
[He may have had some shortly after arriving in Heropa when, like Giorno, he'd had trouble sleeping. Probably, that's what prompted getting a cheap coffee pot and some nice coffee for the house.]
heropa 16
i'll brew some ad see you in a few
[And then Giorno can tell him what's keeping him up. It can't only be Jotaro being exPorted, can it? Or if it is, then...Josuke's not sure how he can fill those shoes or if he should even try. But he can be a friend. That's something, right?]
[ and off he goes. it's not that far of a walk from where he is, but it's cold out and it's making him pull his jacket closer to himself as he takes a walk. he brings with him a couple of cinnamon buns that he bought earlier; he and josuke can share them together while giorno tries to figure out how to sleep in regular hours.
and really, it's more or less his fault. the late night hours were mostly confined to working with dio's schedule and then reporting to jotaro what he'd learned about dio. jotaro was the one person he could ask about his father and could talk about him freely, for however much he hated him. it was soothing, in a way.
he knocks outside of his door sharply, taking a bite out of one of the cinnamon buns as he waits. ]
[Dio. That was someone Josuke knew very little about. Jotaro had explained some things, but Giorno's connection to the vampire — as well as any connection to their family — had been left out. It was up to Giorno to divulge those things, Jotaro had figured.
Thus, Josuke never would have guessed the boy he'd met in the costume shop a couple weeks ago was spending time with, much less related to someone else who was the source of so much misery in his and his family's lives.
Not that it mattered if he was. They'd only spoken a handful of times, but Josuke felt comfortable with his assessment that Giorno was smart and capable. Probably, he knew what he was doing and he'd ask for help if he needed it. Or reach out. Like he'd done by texting...
When he answered the door in his pajamas — a pair of dark, loose-fitting track pants, and a lime green t-shirt — his hair was disheveled from sleep, only haphazardly combed back by his fingers to be more presentable for company. The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted out past him into the chilled night air and, as Josuke stepped aside to let the other boy in he said...]
Of course. I'm rude, not disrespectful. [ said rather lightly, but there's a certain truth in it.
compared to josuke's slightly disheveled presence, giorno looks more or less the same as he usually does. he sets the dessert on the table and hangs his jacket behind a chair, inhaling the smell of coffee.
there's a nice quiet atmosphere when one goes into places in the dead of the night and as much as it exhausts him he kind of enjoys it too. giorno glances around his apartment - which is more or less the same as his own, anyhow - and decides to break off a piece of the cinnamon bun. ] Anyway, thanks.
[With a chuckle, Josuke left Giorno to his shoes and went ahead to the kitchen. He was aware of the other cinnamon bun set on the table, in the way that all teenagers who liked food were aware of delicious treats in their vicinity, but he wouldn't ask about it unless it was offered. Instead, he busied himself with fetching some mugs from the cupboard while Giorno got settled, and went about preparing their coffees.
His with milk and sugar, and Giorno's with...actually he didn't know.]
Milk and sugar. And grab some of the cinnamon buns here, I can't eat them myself.
[ he grabs some napkins because of how sticky they are. ] Do you want them warmed up, by the way? I don't care either way, but I'm not sure how you want to eat them.
Sorry for missing this! Gmail was being weird with filters.
[Josuke's quick whipping up the coffees, fairly used to making them for his mom and him when she doesn't take the initiative herself. A bit of milk and sugar for both, a good stir, and the cups are set on the table, one in front of Giorno and the other one in front of Josuke's own spot. He doesn't need to be told twice to help himself to the desserts, barely getting out a 'thank you!' before he's cramming a sweet cinnamon delight into his face.
What was that about warming them up? ...too late now.]
They're good!
[And appreciated if Josuke's grateful smile is any indication. But it's a smile that sobers after he swallows that first mouthful and washes it down with a sip of his coffee. Giorno's not here just to hang out. Or if he is, something's brought him here. Normal people aren't buzzing around at this hour!
Unlike Jotaro, Josuke's goal wasn't to keep the other boy quiet at all...]
You said something before about not being able to sleep, right? So...what's up?
It's an ongoing thing. Nothing specific at the moment. It used to be that I can stop by Jotaro's bar and play cards with him until I get tired.
[ the other option is to cave in and actually do school, but giorno being himself hasn't actually been to school in a while and has been doing fine just skipping and passing the courses to the level they need to be. none of that seems important when he's become ... the don of naples. and none of that seems real when for the past couple of days, up to the point he was imported here, giorno had been worried about burying his friends. or what's left of them.
anyway, he's just happy that josuke is rather grateful with his company. ]
You can imagine how terrible at small talk Jotaro was.
Yeah, I guess he's sort of the strong and silent type, huh?
[Even when Jotaro had spent the summer in Morioh he hadn't been one for unnecessary conversation, but Josuke had taken it in stride the way he did all his friends' quirks. He was accepting that way. Except when someone was being a complete and utter asshole. He was happy to call them on that bullshit.]
I don't got a bar, but there's probably cards around here somewhere if you wanna play, or some dice or the console in the living room.
[In short...his residence wasn't lacking for 'games' of any kind.]
But you know...whether it's something this time or a lot of nothing...whatever's causing it isn't just gonna go away.
[He waved his bitten cinnamon bun in Giorno's direction.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
10/9 ish?? lmk if i should tweak this!
[That being said, she still gets lost sometimes. Modern cities are built on a much grander scale than the cities she's used to, never mind the small town she grew up on the outskirts of. She's fiercely certain that she'll get the hang of it someday, but that day is not today.]
[No, today is the day that Lucy Steel, absorbed in planning, takes a left instead of a right and ends up walking to an arcade. And then into it. Walking in is not an accident, of course. She wouldn't have normally, but even as thoroughly steeped in The Past as she is, the noise and colors make her curious.]
[This quickly reveals itself to be a mistake. The building isn't that big, but she gets lost anyway, walking in a daze up one row of games and down another. There are so many, and they all look the same but somehow different, and it's very noisy. She stops by a crane machine, her expression hovering between concerned and mystified. What . . . the hell is this . . .]
No need, it's great!
Heropa had a lot going for it, too. There was a beach not too far from the town, and the weather was great! But the downside was Florida. Reptiles everywhere meant that even spending most of his time indoors didn't guarantee an escape from creepy lizards and other cold-blooded beasts.
They didn't like the arcades, though. Too full of noise and people, and there wasn't ever enough food left for them to want to risk adventuring into a human fun-zone. It was the perfect retreat for Josuke...who had maybe skipped class that day to spend time playing tournament-style games and racers all afternoon. Only the annoyed pleading of other arcade patrons to let them have a turn finally made him migrate away from those machines and in the direction of the crane game. On his way in, he was pretty sure he'd seen an LED plush star in there...
As he drew up to the machine, however, it seemed he wasn't the only one interested in playing. Except the girl in front was doing a lot more gawking than anything else. It was almost as if she hadn't seen the thing before.
Tapping her shoulder, Josuke asked...]
Um, excuse me...are you going to play this machine?
no subject
[Which, okay: is a huge overreaction, and even Lucy knows it. She claps her hand over her mouth and turns to the look at the person tapping her, who--oh. He's not very old? Not much older than her. Most of the people in here aren't that much older than her, but none of the others have tapped her. Or talked to her.]
[Right, he did say something. Is she going to play . . .]
Oh! No, no. No, I'm not--
[How do you play a machine? Her brow furrows briefly before she scoots to the side, leaving Josuke a direct line to the game.]
I don't even know what this is, I'm definitely not playing it! I'm sorry if I was in your way!
no subject
Or maybe it was more by what she said?
Yeah, that was definitely it. Had to be. Because who in the world didn't know what a crane game was?]
Don't sweat it, you're not in the way.
[Beaming, he pointed helpfully at the machine before heading over to it.]
You must be from someplace really small if you've never seen one of these before, but I can show you how it works if you want. They're a lot of fun!
[More like complete ripoffs, but leave it to Josuke to overlook that glaring flaw in favor of focusing on the prizes.]
no subject
I'm from 1891.
[Which is a real inconvenience around here, tell you what.]
I'd like to know, though. I don't know what anything is in here, really, except loud.
[It's so loud. And bright, but also dark? What even is an arcade, Josuke, please explain.]
no subject
Don't stare, don't stare!
But it was really hard not to stare. Josuke had seen some strange things in his life, and he'd heard stranger upon arriving here, but time travel on that level was still something he had a hard time wrapping his head around.
Then again, it was probably worse for her, wasn't it?
He smiled after a moment and waved a hand.]
You get used to how loud it is. Just try and drown out the rest, yeah?
[Popping his money into the machine, he settled in at the controls before seeming to remember his manners and chirping up...]
Oh yeah, I'm Higashikata Josuke.
THIS COMMENT IS NOT REAL, I AM JUST SAVING EVERYONE FROM FUTURE SCROLLING
text; sorry about the gifs (not sorry)
YOU'RE INVITED!!
to a ~*~*~SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY~*~*~
for DR. JONATHAN CRANE!!
October 20th
Wayne Enterprises Conference Room
7PM - ?????
BORING CONVERSATIONS!
OLD MUSIC NOBODY CAN DANCE TO!
PRETENTIOUS JUDGMENT OF OTHERS!
BOOKS??? (no cats)(maybe a witch)
SNACKS!
C U THERE ;)
text;
hey, thanks for the invite, i'll be there
idk about the +1 but i'll ask around and see if one of my friends will wanna come along
oh and...
this is a little awkward. see, i don't really remember...
what i mean is, uh... what should i bring as a gift?
can't really show up empty handed or anything, wouldn't be too cool.
few days after jotaro disappeared, and at an ungodly hour
I suppose one gets used to disappearances here all the time, but I missed it when Jotaro let me whine at him at 3 in the morning while serving me cappucino so I'd shut up in between.
Are you awake? Did I wake you up? Sorry if I did. I was thinking I could probably hit up a cafe since I can't sleep, then I realized my favourite place was gone. Or, it's still there, but it won't be the same without him.
no subject
...and then he surrenders to his curiosity, blindly reaching over in the dark of his room for the device.
He doesn't expect the light of the interface to be so blinding when it's jogged from sleep, but he expects less to see Giorno's name attached to the communication.
There's a brief moment where Josuke thinks to himself that the other teen sounds like someone who's just been dumped by his crush, but that thought is gone again as quickly as it bubbled up, replaced instead by sleepy sympathy. After all, he misses Jotaro, too.
With a life of their own his fingers tap out a reply...]
aren't cafes closed right now anyway? there's truck stop coffee but don't drink that shit it's gross
i got some here i think
no subject
And they are, but I bugged Jotaro to let me stay in his club and play cards with me while I interrogated him. So he decided I get one free drink per visit, probably because I annoyed him. He told me off for skipping class often, and then kicked me out of the bar when it got too late.
Do you? I'm coming over.
no subject
[He may have had some shortly after arriving in Heropa when, like Giorno, he'd had trouble sleeping. Probably, that's what prompted getting a cheap coffee pot and some nice coffee for the house.]
heropa 16
i'll brew some ad see you in a few
[And then Giorno can tell him what's keeping him up. It can't only be Jotaro being exPorted, can it? Or if it is, then...Josuke's not sure how he can fill those shoes or if he should even try. But he can be a friend. That's something, right?]
text > action
[ and off he goes. it's not that far of a walk from where he is, but it's cold out and it's making him pull his jacket closer to himself as he takes a walk. he brings with him a couple of cinnamon buns that he bought earlier; he and josuke can share them together while giorno tries to figure out how to sleep in regular hours.
and really, it's more or less his fault. the late night hours were mostly confined to working with dio's schedule and then reporting to jotaro what he'd learned about dio. jotaro was the one person he could ask about his father and could talk about him freely, for however much he hated him. it was soothing, in a way.
he knocks outside of his door sharply, taking a bite out of one of the cinnamon buns as he waits. ]
action
Thus, Josuke never would have guessed the boy he'd met in the costume shop a couple weeks ago was spending time with, much less related to someone else who was the source of so much misery in his and his family's lives.
Not that it mattered if he was. They'd only spoken a handful of times, but Josuke felt comfortable with his assessment that Giorno was smart and capable. Probably, he knew what he was doing and he'd ask for help if he needed it. Or reach out. Like he'd done by texting...
When he answered the door in his pajamas — a pair of dark, loose-fitting track pants, and a lime green t-shirt — his hair was disheveled from sleep, only haphazardly combed back by his fingers to be more presentable for company. The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted out past him into the chilled night air and, as Josuke stepped aside to let the other boy in he said...]
Great timing. Don't forget your shoes.
no subject
compared to josuke's slightly disheveled presence, giorno looks more or less the same as he usually does. he sets the dessert on the table and hangs his jacket behind a chair, inhaling the smell of coffee.
there's a nice quiet atmosphere when one goes into places in the dead of the night and as much as it exhausts him he kind of enjoys it too. giorno glances around his apartment - which is more or less the same as his own, anyhow - and decides to break off a piece of the cinnamon bun. ] Anyway, thanks.
no subject
His with milk and sugar, and Giorno's with...actually he didn't know.]
How do you take it?
no subject
[ he grabs some napkins because of how sticky they are. ] Do you want them warmed up, by the way? I don't care either way, but I'm not sure how you want to eat them.
Sorry for missing this! Gmail was being weird with filters.
What was that about warming them up? ...too late now.]
They're good!
[And appreciated if Josuke's grateful smile is any indication. But it's a smile that sobers after he swallows that first mouthful and washes it down with a sip of his coffee. Giorno's not here just to hang out. Or if he is, something's brought him here. Normal people aren't buzzing around at this hour!
Unlike Jotaro, Josuke's goal wasn't to keep the other boy quiet at all...]
You said something before about not being able to sleep, right? So...what's up?
no prob
[ the other option is to cave in and actually do school, but giorno being himself hasn't actually been to school in a while and has been doing fine just skipping and passing the courses to the level they need to be. none of that seems important when he's become ... the don of naples. and none of that seems real when for the past couple of days, up to the point he was imported here, giorno had been worried about burying his friends. or what's left of them.
anyway, he's just happy that josuke is rather grateful with his company. ]
You can imagine how terrible at small talk Jotaro was.
no subject
[Even when Jotaro had spent the summer in Morioh he hadn't been one for unnecessary conversation, but Josuke had taken it in stride the way he did all his friends' quirks. He was accepting that way. Except when someone was being a complete and utter asshole. He was happy to call them on that bullshit.]
I don't got a bar, but there's probably cards around here somewhere if you wanna play, or some dice or the console in the living room.
[In short...his residence wasn't lacking for 'games' of any kind.]
But you know...whether it's something this time or a lot of nothing...whatever's causing it isn't just gonna go away.
[He waved his bitten cinnamon bun in Giorno's direction.]
You ever need help with shit, just ask, bro.