nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

Some days are better than others.

On Bad Days, the Nexus' resident schizophrenic is hardly recognizable. He's a mess of garbled and slurred speech. Delusional rantings. Unkempt clothes and wild dangerous eyes. The world he sees and hears so far different from reality. He shouts at shadows, throws rocks at the birds, claws at his hair as though he's trying to rip himself out of his own body.

Joshua tends to go somewhere by himself when he's having a Bad Day, though. He's very very used to hiding his condition and pretending to be normal. There are Good Days, too.

Days when he has a part time job, a put together appearance, and a friendly temperament. A life to his eyes that seems so small and fragile and full of hope. Joshua has a few bags with him when he comes to the Nexus today, frowning thoughtfully at the address written down he's supposed to be delivering to.

"You'd think in a meeting place between all worlds and times, prank callers would get more clever than 'Seymour Butts'." With a sigh, he dumps the address in the nearest rubbish bin and takes a seat on one of the couches. So much for his delivery.

"So, does anyone want to commit some petty identity theft for a free meal?" Hell, he'll pretend to be Seymour Butts if it means a free bowl of IceBear's soup. He's going to snag a freshly baked croissant out of the bag first though and pull off a piece of it. "Alternatively, what's the best prank you've ever pulled?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Joshua isn't the only person roaming through the Nexus with a lot of disorders, as 'Josh' happens to be walking by when the question is asked. He almost ignores the teen entirely, wanting to get home rather quickly, but stops upon getting a glance at Joshua. Most teenagers get under his nerves, but it's the comment about identity theft that causes 'Josh' to approach calmly, putting away the small ear-bud headphones he's wearing.

"Seems like a pretty good deal." He shoves his hands into the pockets of his black track jacket, staring at the bag Joshua is holding, his gaze finally resting of the croissant. Food is overly appealing after a light jog through the Nexus and he doesn't want to start begging for anything, given how desperate and sad that would look. Sociopath tendencies aside, he's trying his hardest to have a normal conversation with the person he aptly shares a name with.

"Let me guess: someone was pulling a joke on you?"

"I know the cooks here. Trust me, the food's to die for."

Josh pops the flaky pasty piece into his mouth and holds out one of the bags toward the other man. It's filled nearly to the brim of baked goods. He's pretty sure with all the free food 'get to know you' events the proprietors of this cafe put on, neither will mind if he shares this stuff rather than letting it go to waste.

"Well then 'Seymour', glad I found you. Enjoy your meal." There's a bit of a sardonic grin at the name before Joshua goes back to picking apart the buttery pastry he's selected to eat.

"Not me, nah. First, I wouldn't have fallen for something so lame. Second, I'm just the delivery guy. My boss told me to deliver this order to such and such address. Wasn't until I got most of the way there I decided to check for the name and...well." He shrugs. "I get paid either way, and now I get lunch on top of it. Pretty good deal, for me."

"Well, too much of a good thing can have consequesnces, but I'm willing to take a chance on what you're offering."

He gets to peek into the bag, carefully examining each baked treat, until he finally settles on a chocolate chip muffin. Identity theft is a wonderful thing, whether it's a simple treat or someone's Netflix password: he's always ready to play a different part for rewards. Josh gets a smile back as he takes a seat next to the teenager, carefully holding onto the newly acquired muffin.

"At least the caller didn't have you check to see if your refrigerator was running...and that's a pretty lame joke." Good to have that muffin as a distraction, as he carefully tears off a piece, popping it into his mouth. Wow. He can't even hide his pleasure towards the perfectly baked treat. "Now I wish I had a latte to go with this. You weren't joking when describing the quality of Nexus bakers."

He leans back in the sofa, shifting his gaze between the sweet chocolate muffin and Josh. "Don't really have a good answer to you other question, sadly. The closest thing I've done in comparison was getting into trouble during college. Wild parties, spring break, stuff like that."

"Eh, details. Good thing's a good thing as far as I'm concerned."

Josh that opinion is why you're a borderline alcoholic. Ah well, not everyone's coping mechanisms are healthy. It hardly matters now at any rate. For now, he's content to enjoy the pastry he's snagged from the bag.

"Do people even use that joke anymore? Oh my god that has to be older than my father." He wrinkles his nose and gives a shake of his head. "Yeah? I didn't pull too many pranks in college. But mine are always Maximum Effort."

"Are you always the optimistic one? You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to."

Josh's reaction just causes him to frown and turn away, embarrassed by what he just said mere moments ago. "Ugh. Can we act like I didn't say that?" He's never been one to blend in well with the younger crowds, as evident by his terrible jokes. "Maximum Effort? Mind filling me in on what kind of pranks you actually did?"

"Me? Fuck no. I just like what I like and too much of it's probably still pretty great."

Movies, alcohol, his best friend. All good things with no real definition of what too much would even be as far as Josh is concerned. He does back to munching on the pastry he'd snagged.

"Say what?" Sure, he's game for playing along. Lord knows Josh says a ton of shit he wishes he didn't. He can sympathize there. He thinks about the kinds of pranks he's known for, though the most recent one is nixed out as a conversation topic. he doesn't like to remember that night.

"I was always pretty good at prop making. Like, this one time my sisters and her friend wanted to go camping. And not like, hey there's a cabin in the woods with no internet but like real camping. Sleeping on the ground and shit. It was awful. And they always like to tell spoopy stories and shit around the fire.So I figure, if they want to be scared, why stop at stories? I spent a good three weeks making a realistic corpse mannequin and hid it in my duffel bag. I packed my shit in with my bros and hid the doll in there. Waited for them to go take a hike and strung it up in the tree. Then, that night? Dropped it on them at the climax of their story."

He chuckles at the memory and grins a bit.

"There is no satisfaction more great than watching the alpha make bro types scream like a bunch of girls because of a few special effects. Best camping trip ever."

Edited 2017-06-15 23:16 (UTC)

"Go for it then. You only live life once, after all."

Coming from a man who takes way too much pride in killing people, that last sentence holds a great deal of value to 'Josh'. He just smiles at the question, then turns his attention to the story at hand. Immediately the topic of camping catches his eye, and as the tale progresses, it becomes harder and harder to hide his excitement.

"That's great! To see all your hard work pay off in glorious spades makes it all worth it. But, I have to ask now...why deliveries?" He points to the bag as if to make a statement. " I mean, if you have such a knack for making props, why not find a job in the Nexus that caters to prop-making? Heck, there's bound to be some movie businesses somewhere around here."

"Right?!"

Josh snorts, glad to see someone else who understands the art of a prank. The thrill of giving excitement and scares to folks leading otherwise boring lives. He lives for that kind of thing. Giving people stories. Experiences.

Well. He used to, anyway. The question makes him withdraw slightly, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he considers how to best answer.

"I can't...hold down a full time job." He gestures to his head vaguely. "Shit's wrong with my head. Some days....I'm no good to anyone especially myself. The guy I share the house I'm in with helps run the place, so he gave me a part time job there running deliveries and working the cash register when I can."

"Exactly! Scaring people is a fun rush, seeing their true and natural reactions are simply priceless."

Ouch. He can visibly see the change in Josh's mood, causing him to sit up, holding the muffin carefully in his hands. Normally he wouldn't show any sort of sympathy to Josh's plight, but he gets it: the struggle of fitting in when people think you're crazy. Now the elaborate prank seems to make more sense, and he so desperately wants to talk more about Josh's mental issues, but he sees an opportunity at hand.

"Hear me out, but you sound like a master of the macabre, and the best way to control those feelings is to channel them into your work." He gives Josh a smile and a small nod of the head. "I've been wanting to start up a horror-themed business here in the Nexus and having the right filming set is key in getting the audience excited. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?"

"I'd..."

Is this some kind of joke? A cruel prank being set upon him? This is literally Joshua Washington's dream job being offered out on a silver platter. What's the catch? Surely there has to be one. And then he remembers. The first time he has an episode. The first time he starts talking to himself or the props...or to his sisters who aren't there.

The first time he tries to hurt someone when he loses touch of what's real.

It will all be taken away again.

"I'd love to. You gotta know that. But I mean, like I said. I'm not...okay. I'm..there's something wrong with me. I don't want to damage your business' reputation, you know? Image is everything, at least in Hollywood."

The catch is obviously not being stated: he wants to set up a dangerous game show where people are kidnapped. To have a really great show, scenery is important and Josh would fit that niche perfectly, especially with this newly announced statement of having a mental condition. The teen seems less likely to question his murderous tendencies in comparison to a normal person. So when Josh refuses the offer, he's visibly taken back.

"I think you have the perfect personality for it." He shakes his head. "Hey, I won't force you to make a decision you're not comfortable with, but the offer stands in the future."

Placing the half-eaten muffin on a nearby table, he reaches for a pen and paper which have been left behind. Writing down a phone number and address, he offers the information to Josh calmly.

"Reach out to me if you change your mind."

What Joshua doesn't know certainly can't hurt him! His hesitation comes from years of his parents telling him exactly the same thing. Just be normal for one evening, Joshua. This is a very important event so we need you to not have an incident. Think about how you're making us look, Joshua.

"Y..you're serious." Josh looks down at the paper and then back. Sinks his teeth into his bottom lip while he thinks for a moment before hesitantly holding out his right hand to shake.

"I'm...I'm Joshua Washington. By the way."

"There's no point in joking about something like this." He's a low patience kind of guy, so dragging out a needless conversation is pointless. The muffin is reclaimed while Josh has a moment to let things sink in, until a handshake is offered. It takes him a moment to respond and return the handshake, mainly because of the awkward name situation. He's been calling himself Josh, but since he's taken to doing bad things anonymously, maybe its best to come up with a second alias.

"Dave." The last victim he killed provided him with a lot of amusement, and now, an acceptable name. "It's a pleasure to meet you Josh." He's keeping up a normal smile while shaking hands, thankfully not getting too excited over this possible new recruit.

"Now that you know I'm serious: is the offer still something you need to think about?"

"Okay Dave. Yeah. Good."

Josh is very much going to scrawl the name 'Dave' on the paper he was given because it's pretty rude to forget your potential employer's name in just about any job offer situation he's ever been in. There is no real suspicion of any ulterior motives at play here. The man has been nothing but kind and understanding, so far as Josh is concerned.

He folds up the paper and sticks it into his flannel shirt pocket.

"I uh..I do? but for..other reasons. I gotta check with my housemate and work out some stuff, but I'll call you once I get my shit sorted?"

"Sure. The sooner you find out, the better."

Although he'd prefer to have an answer now, impatience and all, he's willing to give this time. It's very hard finding the right people to bring into his 'business' circle, but the payout seem worth all the effort, given how many goody-goody people exist in the Nexus. Speaking of work, there's a buzzing sound coming from his jacket pocket, followed up by a slightly audible notification song.

He doesn't even seem fazed by the interruption, quickly removing his cell phone in order to glance at the incoming message. If Josh does try to read over his shoulder, the text seems completely innocent, talking about friends coming over. In fact, he's smiling and oohing to himself, before realizing that he's actually sitting next to someone instead of being alone. Oops.

"Sorry Josh, but work calls. Have to meet with some promising clients to see if they can handle my creative ideas." He stands up, offering his hand to Josh politely. "If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only