[text]

[giveuponyourself]

It seems we're all stuck here together like one big happy family, aren't we? Since that's the case... how about we play a little game to get to know each other?

What is most important to you in your entire life? What would you be willing to do anything for? And I do mean anything~

And please, nothing like 'friendship' or 'world peace.' Really dig down deep; we should all be honest with each other, don't you think? ❤

[feel free to answer the question or not, Joshua seems to just be very bored. what a chatty nerd!]

Comments

[soundsurfing]

no way yo aint playin no more games of yours

[giveuponyourself]

It's just a harmless question~

[soundsurfing]

nuhuh dude no way is any game harmless wid you

[giveuponyourself]

Come on now Beat, what harm could I possibly cause with an innocent question? It's just for fun.

Then again, I already know what your answer would be.

[soundsurfing]

no you dont!!

[ yes he does ]

[giveuponyourself]

Of course I do.

Did you already forget you played one of my games?

Just because I wasn't around doesn't mean I didn't know what was going on. You're lucky I was able to restore your entry fee after the mess Megumi made. ❤

[soundsurfing]

[ UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH ]

dont you go round telling anyone! and see this is why playing games with you is bad!!

[ you can thank jake for the proper spelling of with ]

[giveuponyourself]

Now now, no need to worry. I'm sure your sister's safe and sound from all the weirdos around here.

And I assure you, I'm not out to collect any entry fee from you. I'm simply engaging with the community.

[soundsurfing]

she better be safe dude or ima have words with astrochick.

yeah aight yo, i guess i believe you. not like you can do much, right. why this question tho?

[giveuponyourself]

Trust me, if the time comes when we may need to have a word with Astoria, I'll be right behind you.

Why not this question? My life's work was predicated on the answer to it for quite some time, after all.

Like I said, I just wanted to get to know each other.

[soundsurfing]

yeah but what about, you know, just sayin hi my name is josh yo whaddup hows everyone

not 'tell me ur deepest secrets' like some sorta villain dude.

[giveuponyourself]

It doesn't have to be one's deepest secret.

People are always going on about what matters to them, and what they like better than this or that, but I wonder how many of them actually stop and think about what matters most?



Well, I suppose you don't.

[soundsurfing]

pft course i don't yo!

[ yup. ]

most peeps prolly don't bro. what matters most aint something you can think bout really, aint it?

it like, gotta be felt with alla you, not just yer brain. so you can think and be like yeah in the end that matters most but then if shit comes down to it, what really get yer fire goin might be something else! so what the fuck goods thinkin bout it gonna do?

[giveuponyourself]

True self-reflection-- examining yourself with a critical eye, and thinking about it honestly, can help you find that answer to what truly matters without the situation forcing an answer. It can save you a lot of pain along the road, when you've truly thought about it, and know the answer. If you haven't, you may accidentally lead yourself along the wrong path because you're simply trusting your gut.

The human heart can be quite a fickle mistress. Don't you think there may have been a time where your feelings led you astray, even though you were following what you thought was right?

[a h e m]

[soundsurfing]

[ holy ... that's a lot of big words.

just going to block some of those out with his finger. ]

okay yo you kinda lost me there but i think i get what you mean and yeah aight i regret some of the shit i did but i also dont

if i hadnt done what i did even if it prolly werent right, phones'd be fucked and we'd all be dead.

but i guess for whatchu mean then yeah, maybe gut aint the way to go all the time.

[ ugh that hurt to say ]

[giveuponyourself]

[sighs!! why does he even talk to beat!!!!]

Actually, if Neku had lost the game you rescued him in, I would've lost and Shibuya would've lived.

Of course, you'd both be dead and everyone in Shibuya would've been a Red Pin Zombie, but, you know. To each his own.

I'm sure it must have taken you a lot to admit that I was right, so I'll go easy on you for that one.

[soundsurfing]

[ because josh has an impressively deep well of self loathing and likes his brain cells being systematically destroyed?? ]

yeah yo gonna have to give a big pass to that 'perfect future'. dunno what the hell shades was thinking making everyone all droney. that aint no way to live!

yeah yeah, listen i can admit when i'm wrong!

[ he just doesn't like to ]

hey why'd you get sick of shibuya in the first place?

[giveuponyourself]

[S I G H S!!]

He had an interesting idea. But I have to say, we're of the same mind in that regard. It's no way to live.

[It's easier to say he agrees with that, and also to roundaboutly make fun of Megumi, than it is to actually deal with addressing Beat's actual question. The first message is sent easily, but the second one that comes next takes a moment, as it's given him pause.]



I'm sure you wouldn't understand if I told you. Don't concern yourself with it.

[soundsurfing]

[ wow josh agreeing with him almost takes his mind off the fact he asked a question ]

try me dude, i wanna know since, ya know, ida been erased along with everyone else if you had gone through with it

[text][aggressively private all of the sudden]

[giveuponyourself]

[uuuuggggh. Would it be too much to hope he could continue saying no and Beat would let it go?




Yeah it probably was.]

I'll make it simple enough so even you can understand.

I got tired of dealing with all the selfish and self-centered desires of people. I got tired of people who mindlessly follow the latest fashion trends and social fads to fill the void in their empty lives. Shibuya brought out the worst in people like that.

[He says as much, but... he's not sure if he still feels that way. He'd seen Shibuya from the ground during his week with Neku, and as much as he still wants to believe that falsehood... some part of him knows that not everyone's like that. Why else would he have bothered to restore Neku and his friends?]

[soundsurfing]

[ wow that was not what beat was expecting at all. he was honestly expecting some megalomaniac power trip.

this was actually... human. ]

dude not sayin i agree with yer idea that it needed to be wiped out but uh... i can get where yer coming from? it prolly gets real tirin hearin all the same shit day in and day out.

you ever get vacations or somethin? so you dont go crazy and try to erase everything?

[giveuponyourself]

You spent so long trying to get my job and you still don't know anything about it? What a state our education is in!

[...That's a joke. He makes jokes!]

The Composer's job is to shape the UG, run the game and administer the Reapers through the Conductor. It's too important of a job to simply take a vacation from. If I did, it means people like your friend Shiki can't come back to life at the end of the week.

[he should think the issue of not-going-crazy-wanting-to-erase-everything was kind of... obvious.]

[soundsurfing]

sorry yo werent enough time to sign up for composer school!

yeah dude but like... even ceo's skip off work sometimes and let their minions do all the work! you did for three weeks! dint you think to maybe do that before everythin started to eat away at you?

where you at?

[giveuponyourself]

What?

I'm outside the kitchen.

[Hanging out in one of the trees nearby, to be more precise. He'd be more cagey about it, but it wasn't like it wouldn't be extremely hard to find him. This place was pretty minuscule.]

Business CEOs are usually just stingy old men who care about living comfortably and doing what they want. Their business is certainly not going to fall apart just because they skip lunch one day.

[Besides, he became Composer because it'd been what he wanted. At the time, at least.]

text > offline

[soundsurfing]

[ Beat doesn't even answer the next text, already on the move. Considering he's a teenager and eats like a ravenous beast, he already knows where the kitchen's at and it doesn't take him long at all to get there.

Takes him a moment to find Josh though, as he's not expecting to have to look up. In fact, enjoy watching Beat pass below the tree more than once as he wanders around, scratching his head and looking confused.

Only to turn and finally catch Josh in the tree, strangling a surprised noise out of Beat that sounds like a cross between what and heck. ]

Dude! The hell you doin' up there, yo?!