the13tharcana | IC contact post for Adstringendum

[He had almost expected something along those lines. Admittedly, that had been somewhat part of the reason why he had said it in the first place - just to see if Ryoji was as predictable as he thought.

But the comment about his hair...

Sorry, Ryoji, but Joshua couldn't help but laugh. More of a chuckle, really, but a laugh nonetheless. No one had ever questioned his hair color before. He really hasn't thought it was that difficult to tell.]

Ash blond, actually. A blond so pale it nearly looks silver sometimes. You weren't too far off.

[And along with that? You get a very amused little smile.]

Ash blond...

[Was that how this kind of color was called? Well, at least now he knew. And hearing Joshua laugh like that? All of a sudden, Ryoji couldn't help smiling himself, staring at the other boy almost as if he were some kind of fascinating creature. It was kind of amazing, really. How simply seeing the other happy could make him feel so happy himself...

Joshua could most likely feel how the hold on him was suddenly a bit tighter than before. And Ryoji seriously needed to resist the urge to start kissing him all over again... But then something else crossed his mind entirely, distracting him from the thought for the time being. Since they were already talking about hair color, anyway...]

Ah, which reminds me...

[He was mostly being curious, but...]

Both your hair and eye color were different when we've gotten younger during that last event... and you even seemed to be a bit older during it than you are now...

[...Yeah, have an unasked question there, Josh.]

[He could tell. But somehow... it didn't even bother him. Only moments before, a hug had made him tense up. Joshua was honestly surprised at how quickly he'd come to find it somewhat comfortable.

Of course, he'd expected questions about that. So it came as no surprise when Ryoji asked. Humming in thought, he tilted his head just a little bit. He knew how to explain it, but having Ryoji actually understand it...]

My hair and eyes changed color when I became Composer. It's hard to say why... I've always just attributed it to the power of the position.

As for how I looked in general... Mm. It's a bit difficult, honestly. I died shortly after turning nineteen. How you saw me then, I was eighteen. I hadn't even caught the illness yet.

[He glances up at the sky for a moment, measuring how to explain it to where it makes sense.]

I can shift my Frequency to travel between the planes. Basically, in this world, I'm trapped on the equivalent of the RG. [Remember your terminology, Ryoji?] I reside on the UG, though... so, since the RG is at a lower frequency than the UG, traveling to that plane makes me appear a bit younger than normal.

[So Joshua didn't look like this all the time... And for a moment there, Ryoji had to wonder if the other looked the way he looked, simply because he chose to look the way he looked all on his own...

In a sense, that would also make them kind of similar in the whole regard, wouldn't it?]

So originally... you had dark hair and eye color, and you had it for a fair amount of time, too? ...It was probably a bit hard getting used to after you changed at first, huh?

[And what Josh just explained there... Ryoji paused for a moment to try to understand that properly. And the thing that stood out the most for him...]

So you look different whenever you're in the UG?

[And what was that about Frequencies? Did that mean that the lower he shifted with those, the younger he looked? And the higher, the older...?]

[If that's what Ryoji was wondering, he would be partially correct! This form was very similar to how he'd appeared at fifteen when he'd been alive. Different hair and eyes, of course, but regardless. It was... something comfortable.]

My whole life~ And about forty years after it. [A little shrug.] It was a drastic change, but it grew on me fairly quickly.

[But it seemed that Ryoji understood his explanation. Which was good, because he didn't really feel like having the headache he knew would come with trying to explain further.]

That's right. I was capable of it here for a brief time, but that's unfortunately been taken from me.

Well, you looked and look handsome both ways~

[And you honestly didn't expect him to say anything different to this, did you, Josh?]

And oh, were you? ...I can't remember seeing you like that, though. Did you look that much different from the way you look right now?

...Did the Animus take it away from you once they found out that you were able to change, or something?

[The moment Ryoji asked that, his smile faltered altogether, though. Because something didn't add up. Even if the Animus were to overlook that kind of ability at first, they... wouldn't take it away from Josh out of the blue like that sometime afterwards, right? He's never heard of something like that happening for all the time he's been here, at least... And the other still seemed to be able to change into his true form here, so it couldn't have been an issue of being too powerful, could it...

All of a sudden, Ryoji was also remembering how Joshua was actually the one who gave him the idea to go and make that deal with the Animus in the first place...]

...Joshua-senpai, did you make some kind of deal with the Animus yourself?

There you go stroking my ego again~

[Remember what he said about that, Ryoji? Taking responsibility and all?]

It wasn't easily recognizable as being me. If you saw it, it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't recognize it. Though I've got a recording on the PCD, if you're interested.

[... and goodness, Ryoji picked up on that quickly. Joshua had to give him some credit, he was very much smarter than he seemed to be sometimes. Perhaps it was all just a clever ruse. He was silent for a moment, closing his eyes and tilting his head down just a bit.]

I was unable to access the full extent of my abilities when I came here. We were looking for a way out. ... we needed all the help we could get.

[Of course he remembered~ And he was willing to take every single bit of it.]

Ah... [Ryoji was interested, actually. He was interested a whole lot. Or curious, more like it. And it honestly made him wonder whether he's seen it before while simply being unaware of it or not.] ...from when is it, exactly?

[And oh... Ryoji's face expression grew only more concerned and serious when it turned out that it was true, after all. So Joshua pretty much asked them for the ability to change into his UG form? But the Animus apparently gave him a time limit for his side of the deal... Just like in his case...]

...What did they want from you in return?

[Joshua might possibly be up for that challenge~]

From last January, when the city caught on fire. [A little smile, and he opened his eyes.] One of my officers and I decided to stop for a moment and roast marshmallows~

[He had caught hell for it from the rest of the household, too. Well, except for Sanae - he actually knew that it was nothing but a break. But Neku, Beat, Rhyme... they had all assumed he'd been doing nothing but goofing off the entire time.

For just a moment as he considered it, the place on his shoulder where the scar from Teleos' mark remained began to itch, just a little bit. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to be noticed. He wasn't moving, though - he was comfortable.]

They wanted us to find a way out that not only we could use, but that they could use as well. ... I'm sure you can guess how far we ended up getting.

Oh... I think I might have been too busy trying to keep our house intact to pay that much attention to the network back then...

[That also included Ryoji saving all the alcohol they had stored at the attic while their roof caught on fire back at the time. The one Morgana had offered to fix with her magic shortly after, too. Granted, that was one hell of a week. Just thinking back to it...]

One of your officers, though? Could you mean that Sho person? [Because that's the only one Ryoji knew about appearing here, anyway.] ...Didn't you mention that you guys weren't on very good terms before?

[And this... was actually the very first time Ryoji heard about the Animus asking for help in regards to anything from anyone. Just trust the amazing person before him to pull something like that off.]

So it was actually more of an alliance than a deal in your case? Meaning that... they didn't take away from you anything besides what they already returned to you beforehand, right?

I sort of figured that might be the case. It's a good thing that these things save such things for us~

[Sorry, Ryoji, but if he's going to show you, he's going to have to pull away. It was done with a little bit of reluctance, though. Ryoji was warm, and Joshua didn't want to leave the comfort of his own little personal heater.

The PCD slid from his pocket, and he began going back through the months of posts to the network. This could take a moment.]

That was him, yes. He does want my position, but surprisingly, his sense of humor is rather impressively similar to mine in a few ways.

[If it weren't for the unfortunate matter of Sho wanting to Erase him, they might even - gasp! - get along.]

More or less, yes. Don't get me wrong - there was a punishment for not being able to hold up our end of the bargain. But nothing more was taken from us than was given in the first place.

[--aha. There it is. Without any hesitation, Joshua cues up the video post, and turns the PCD to where Ryoji can see it.]

[Oh, Josh was intending to show it to him right now? He was definitely looking forward to that! ... Although the moment the other shifted, Ryoji found himself missing the contact and the whole warmth as well. But he wasn't about to stop him, considering they'd have a hard time watching this together otherwise.

And staying shoulder-to-shoulder was also kind of nice. Ryoji just watched as Josh fumbled with the PCD, continuing with his questions in the meantime.]

It was a temporary truce, then?

[A small smile, before - yet again - it faltered the moment the topic of the Animus was brought up further. It was probably no surprise that what Joshua said there made him worried.]

...Punishment? ...What kind of punishment? Also, you've been speaking in plural form this whole time. I imagine Sanae-san was with you on this?

[And then the other found the post, and somehow... all of a sudden, Ryoji got a better idea how to watch it. He just hoped that Josh wouldn't mind too much... and possibly plant an elbow to his gut or something. Or do something even worse that that.

Well, Ryoji supposed he might simply take his chances with this. And with a small sound that was apparently a way of telling Josh to wait, he slipped behind the other. Then, wrapping his arms around Joshua's waist again, he gently pulled him closer. Ryoji lowered his head a bit, too, so that he was more or less on eye-level with Josh while at it.

...Hopefully he wasn't being too forward with this. ... At least it was warm again, right?]

[Shoulder-to-shoulder was at least warmer than standing completely apart. Not to mention, it gave him a bit of freedom to move. That was never a bad thing. After all, this was still very new. As much as he might like the warmth of it... there was a limit, somewhere.]

Something like that, yes.

[Joshua turned his head, glancing up at Ryoji with a slight smile.]

He was. Unfortunately, even with the two of us, we still weren't able to find a way out. [A pause.] The punishment wasn't anything severe. Small annoyances, really. It only lasted a month or two. Food tasting off, limbs unable to work when they need to...

[It hadn't been all that bad, of course. It could have been much worse. Despite a few embarrassing falls while walking through the house and a couple of broken mugs, having a limb suddenly stop responding in mid-use hadn't been so bad, either. At least he hadn't needed to run for his life from anything.

The sound from Ryoji made him hesitate in starting the video. Ryoji had wanted to see this - why was he stopping him?

... and suddenly, those arms were wrapping around his waist from behind and Ryoji what did you think you were doing.

Contact on his own terms was alright. Contact that he agreed with was alright. But somehow, having Ryoji doing this... not to mention just how he was holding him... Joshua tensed up, fingers stilling on the PCD, expression hardening even though Ryoji probably couldn't see very much of it at all.]

What are you doing.

Edited 2012-10-19 00:54 (UTC)

[So it wasn't anything serious. What a relief.

...So Ryoji thought at first, but then he could feel the other getting all tense the moment he's made his move. Only that this time, the whole tension didn't seem to fade. And all of a sudden, Ryoji knew that he's crossed the line this time.

Then there was Joshua's question - which sounded more like a warning than an actual question, considering - and it didn't leave any room for doubt anymore.]

...Uh. ...Trying to make things a bit more comfortable for the both of us?

[And in turn, it was more of a question directed at Josh than an actual answer on his part. Because all of a sudden Ryoji was unsure of what he was even doing himself.

That said, the hold lasted for a mere few seconds more. After that, Ryoji pulled his hands away, giving Josh back the space he clearly needed.

This was another thing, actually. Because as much as Ryoji knew that something like need for 'personal space' existed, and as much he was trying to be considerate of it when it came to other people... Ryoji himself had actually no idea what it felt like to have something like that. It sometimes made him wonder if he even had something like need for personal space to begin with.]

...Sorry. T-That was a bit too forward right now, wasn't it?

[...And back to Joshua's side it was. Although this time, Ryoji found it too hard of a task to turn his head back in the other's direction, never mind the PCD he was holding. And the blush on his face? It was practically spreading past his ears.]

... Feel free to hit me or something if I ever end up trying to do anything uncalled for from now on... alright?

[A warning would be much, much closer to being correct. Mostly it was in the tone of voice he used, that slight audible bristling. He probably didn't even need to address Ryoji's question in order for Ryoji to have his answer.

At least he didn't hold on too much longer after that. The moment that Joshua felt those arms pulling away, he visibly relaxed, letting out a little breath.

Good to know that some things were still very uncomfortable. He was still sane.]

A bit.

[Rather than look at Ryoji, he opted to frown down at the PCD, at the post that was waiting to be played. Suddenly, he found himself rather wanting to go back to the house and confine himself to his room for a bit.

Ryoji's suggestion, of course, made Joshua sigh. A sort of long-suffering kind of thing.]

... please. That would be like kicking a puppy.

[He'd just freeze you in place instead. It would work just as well.]

[Yeah, he's just... ruined the whole mood there, didn't he. While Josh was taking everything so well until now, too... He couldn't help getting mad at himself for it.

And now Joshua didn't even look like he wanted to watch that recording anymore... Which made Ryoji a bit sad, considering, but it kind of was his fault to begin with. ...What was that about not wanting to push things again? Should he suggest that they do it some other time, after all?

He was just about to do that, but then Joshua's comment...]

...Puppy?

[No, okay, that... honestly wasn't what Ryoji expected to hear. What did you even mean by that just now, Josh? That he was as harmless? Or that your heart would break if you did that or something? And if he was the puppy, did that make you the cat? ...It was kind of amusing, actually. Could he still try and turn the tables with this?]

Come now, I know I'm not what I used to be anymore, but I'd still like to think I'm a bit tougher than that!

[Have a pout while at it, Josh. It was mostly a playful kind of pout, because despite everything, Ryoji wasn't actually irritated by any of it, but... All of a sudden, he was laughing, because he couldn't help himself anymore.]

Besides... I don't bite. In case you're still worried about that.

[Good job, Ryoji. But it's alright that this mood was ruined - to be perfectly honest, Joshua was approaching his limit anyway.

That playful sort of pout resulted in quite the interesting expression on Joshua; something that just visually screamed the question "Exactly what are you on?" Though it probably was to be expected, considering Ryoji... And Joshua wasn't all that annoyed.]

I'm quite aware that you don't. Otherwise, I'm sure I would already have been bitten~

[Two can play at that game, Ryoji. Hope you're up for a bit of teasing in return.

Joshua glanced down at his PCD once more, though. May as well do this now. If he didn't, it would end up being buried again.]

Did you want to watch this or not?

[Well, as long as Josh wasn't mad with him for going on ahead of himself and ruining things like that, Ryoji could probably deal with anything. And if Joshua was even being playful right now, it had to mean that he wasn't really annoyed, so that alone in itself was a big relief already.

He'd gladly play that game again, Josh. And considering how many times he's been teased during his stay here by now, one might think he could slowly start getting used to it.]

Here's to hope that the Animus don't decide to turn us all into vampires at some point or something...

[...Wait, he probably shouldn't joke about something like that, should he.

--No matter! The next moment Ryoji was standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to Josh once again, staring at the PCD excitedly.]

Yes, please!

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