2022-01-18: A Demon in My Safest Haven

Log: 2022-01-18: The Garbage Man

Cast: Akane Shinjo, Shota Hebikura

Where: Akane Shinjo's Room, Tsutsujidai

Date: January 18, 2022

Summary: The Illusion Demon Jugglus Juggler presents himself to Tsutsujidai's Lord Monster.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

It's been a surprisingly less-than-rough day at school, for once. Akane is, despite two small intrusions into her world, feeling pretty good. Her interactions haven't been perfect but they've mostly gone well, and things are -- proceeding.

And she has a specific, actionable plan to kill Gridman! And who knows -- maybe he's the destabilizing influence that's making it so easy for other people to Intrude. Alexis certainly seems to think so.

She opens the door to her room, and carefully shuts it. If left totally to her own devices, she'll go through her usual routine -- slip out of her shoes, slip out of her stockings, put on her blue blocker glasses, and have a seat.

... She probably won't be, but hey! Let's see how far she gets.

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

Akane gets through the rest of her day without interruption. She opens her door, and the lights are as she left them. The items are as she left them. The gentleness of it all is comforting. Just like every other day.

Slipping out of socks and into her chair, not even to ominous music. No rattle. Nothing, except her chair keeping on spinning when it should have stopped at facing her computer.

Around, to the glass cases.

Around, to the alien spikey, sprawled out on her garbage, settled entirely on tied bags, green slit-eyes glowing. As she turns, he waves.

"Do you not get garbage service here?" He asks, simply. She might expect a lifting bit of 'uhuhuhu', but none comes. Perhaps it's implied?

Really, he just asks. Don't overthink it, or the spikey sprawled out on the garbage. He's not even really propped up, because the garbage makes that difficult.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane's expression reaches irritated almost immediately. She doesn't even address the alien before her -- she glances back and to one side, toward the monitor. "Alexis?! Who is this?" she demands. She receives no response. It seems Alexis has better things to do than dote on her, for the moment, which means she will simply have to extract information on the situation on her own.

Okay, she thinks to herself. You can do this. Besides -- it's not even a human! That makes it easier by half, at least. The fact that normal humans haven't fallen out of reality and into her lap is some small relief, at least.

She takes a breath, and engages more casually. Her expression softens a *little*. "Eh. No need," she says, with a vague gesture. "I don't need the bed 'cuz I don't sleep, and usually I only have to cross it once a day. No big deal, right?" She gives an insincere little smirk. "What about you? Do you just look for the biggest pile of garbage to lie in wherever you go?"

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

Sitting up, the Alien Spikey leaves its arms limp in its lap as the crescent moon shape in glowing red rights and shows itself as more than a 'weird C'. There's no suggestion of a mouth, either - just eyes, and the bobbing at the neck.

Now, the 'uhuhuhu' comes, at a rather amusing answer. "Do you only do the things you need? As the Lord Monster of this place? Or..." A hand comes up, with an outcurling of indicative fingers. "Whatever it is you do."

'What about you? Do you just look for the biggest pile of garbage to lie in wherever you go?'

The 'uhuhuhuhuuuu!' returns, now with greater amusement, at the little smirk and everything. All but a clapping enjoyment at the barb.

"Yes!" Like he's revealing a grand trick. Leaning forward and touching the air, he makes that ill giggle again. "It's why I started here by infiltrating the Earth Federal Forces. The largest garbage pile I could find."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Being referred to immediately as Tsutsujidai's Lord Monster is -- actually really really flattering! There are few faster paths to Akane Shinjo's heart for a non-human outsider than engaging her as if she isn't human, at least in Tsutsujidai. Tremendous relief of expectation.

The mysterious spikey alien following up with good-naturedly rolling with her barb -- and then saying something *extremely* funny that gets to the heart of at least one of the many, many frustrations she carries about a bigger world -- manages to substantially disarm her.

"Infiltrating?" she asks, canting her head slightly to one side and bringing a finger to just below her lip. "It seems like it'd be kinda hard to infiltrate much of anything for you. The cosplay excuse only goes so far, and only with people who are, like, REALLY checked out." She giggles, noting, "Sometimes it doesn't even fly *here*, and the people here don't look very hard!"

Eventually, though, she gets back around to being serious. "So if you're busy infiltrating the Earth Federation, outside, why come here?" She doesn't press on 'why my room specifically,' though she leaves the question open-ended. "We don't have any of that stuff here. It's just me, Alexis, our obnoxious guest, my people, and the people that started showing up since *he* showed up." The emphasis on 'my' is particularly pointed.

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

On some level, it's true! On another, Alien Spikey has personal experience in handling Lord Monsters both roughly and gently.

"Infiltrating." Agrees Alien Spikey, nodding again, jovial. "Have you been within this space with or without awareness of the outside?" Honest, for a moment, then dropping to the dripping 'uuuhuhuhu'. "There were these... 'Titans', who did such things. One of them had this face like a shelf had been added to his jaw, and his brow was..."

Spikey brushes the top of his crest preeningly, once one side. "Prominent as well. I thought if they accepted someone like that, then there might be a place for me."

Bringing the hand down to sweep at his seated waist, the sitting Spikey returns to his 'straight' tone. "Jugglus Juggler. At your..." A quick 'uhu'. "... well, perhaps we'll think of something?"

Again, straight-toned. "A new arrival told me this place was interesting." Leaning in, bubbly. "Is it?"

'Why MY room?'

"It had the best refuse. I thought I answered that one. Do you also like hearing the same answer multiple times? It'll make our conversations... rather circular."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Oh, I've only been here..." Akane does some quick mental math. "Eleven months now?" She looks a little unhappy to hear about the Titans, but only for a moment. "I know all about the Titans. Uh, fair warning -- no one else here does. If you bring up stuff that happened after the One Year War it's gonna get weird. They'll probably just shrug it off, but, you know. Heads up!"

Akane thinks for a moment about a 'new arrival.' That's a short list -- but it makes sense, and does a little to disarm her further. Of their outside guests, one liked it because it was boring and one found it interesting. Akane makes the inference. "Jugglus Juggler, huh? Akane Shinjo." She swivels her chair a little to put her feet up on the least uncomfortable garbage she has available. Absently, she runs her foot along her opposite leg.

"So you're buddies with Kaworu, huh," she reflects. "That means you probably know Alexis, too. Yeesh, he doesn't seem like the kinda guy who has buddies! Well, whatever. His business!" She laughs it off, and finally approaches the final question. "As for here... 'interesting' is kinda a weird one! I don't really... *want* it to be interesting. Outside is interesting. Outside sucks."

Faint exasperation enters her voice as she admits, "Lately, though, outside keeps creeping in. We have an outside visitor *making* it interesting! Wish he wouldn't." The emphasis on these statements feels subtly flipped from where it should be, in a lot of ways; Akane seems more excited about the outside visitor, and less interested in her own preference. She doesn't give off the sense from her body language that *she* thinks she's lying, though.

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

The information about the Titans - and the 'framing' of the world within Tokyo - does not visibly move Juggler, but - he's a crescent-moon alien. The timing - and then the rejection - grants high clarity. The fact patterns are common, so dialing in the contexts and excluding the outliers...

Jugglus Juggler is momentarily pleased with himself - emitting a meaningless laugh simply because of the felt pleasure - around the time Akane finishes her 'Heads up!'. Aiming for a bit earlier in the time-range, and not simply showing up just-in-time, but early, had given him even more advantages.

"Lord Monsters don't exist in uninteresting places. And it would take a Lord Monster - or a greater power - " Juggler pauses for effect and insinuation. " - to bring so many kaiju to a stand-still. Cyber-Kaiju. . ."

Juggler's head turns away, looking towards a recollective middle distance. "Ultraman Orb had those powers, from another. . . It was. . . X. Ultraman X." Nodding, the green-slit eyes return. "The Crusader of Light, Ultraman Orb is someone I've..." He makes an ill laugh, that goes for a bit too long, a bit TOO much, to something that feels like the surface of an iceberg, real emotion rising out of the night mists to be swerved around, avoided, confro--

He stops.

"... sworn to overcome. For that purpose, I'd like to offer you something."

Reaching behind his 'back' - and with the distinct sense of the inherent Elsewhere Space of 'things produced from behind the back', he draws up a thin, rounded-edged card with a sort of shimmering oilslick-rainbow laminate over it that catches and reflects light. Upon it is...

"A... card. Not mine - but a calling card. Show this to your Alexis-Kerib, and he'll know which one I am."

Maga-Orochi The Giga-Lord Monster.

Holding the card out, face-up, Juggler makes no sounds beyond the shifting of his form. Arm outstreched, he makes no noise at all: except the gentle impression of his chest rising and falling, and plates shifting.

"And if you did not have the power greater than a Lord Monster before. . ."

Uhu. "Happy Birthday!"

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Flattery will get you everywhere! Everywhere enough for Akane to have now decided to fully overlook the intrusion in her room. She lets herself flop a little further back into her chair and recline.

"Wow, someone's on the ball," Akane muses, when Juggler explains his reasons for thinking this place is interesting. "Oh, yeah. I made all of those, actually. Alexis gave me a template for the first ones but, like..." She absently reaches behind herself, to the side of her L-desk, retrieving a boxcutter. She gives it a lazy twirl before explaining, "Not my style, you know? I dig the look but it's kinda," vague gesture with the boxcutter, "Zentie generation." She giggles mean-spiritedly before noting, "I bet the dude who made it first hasn't seen a Tarabaman past, like. 60."

She breezes along, switching which leg is on top in the half-cross on top of the garbage bag in front of her -- then has to rotate her chair slightly anyway to snag the offered card. She flips it over -- one side, then the other, giving it a look. "Oooh, fancy," she says. She can feel the power behind it, of course. "Nice birthday gift! You're only like a week and a half late. Good stuff." She sets it aside for now, returning her full attention to Juggler himself.

"'Ultraman,' huh... I think our guest might be named Gridman. Sounds like we've got something in common!" Her expression brightens. She seems *genuinely* excited by that swirl of emotion around the 'Crusader of Light.' "I don't know how much longer it's gonna take *me* to overcome *my* weirdo hero, though. My next kaiju's pretty unstoppable. I may not even need your card! ... Even if it is really cool."

Musing, she finishes, "Well, for what it's worth, I *do* share. If your Crusader shows up and you want dibs, dibs it is! I'll help, but I can stay out of your way if you want." She shifts from a reclining posture to a full, genuine, face-on sit for a moment, looking at Juggler with sudden seriousness.

"But you better actually do it. If you track a *second* would-be savior into my world and don't clean up his mess, we're gonna have a problem." And right back to the recline, and the smile, and another pleasant little twirl of the boxcutter. "I'll let Alexis know you came by, too! Wonder where he got off to... usually he keeps in touch on the monitor over there." A vague gesture toward one of the two monitors on her L-desk.

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

Someone is on the ball.

"Griddo-mann?" Juggler slurs, like a particularly phonetic Japanese speaker. "Well that certainly makes sense. Then, I will tell you something else good:"

Akane's offers, her words, is 'appreciated' in its turn, given space, and then moved on from.

"The Giant of Light, Ultraman, is a powerful warrior from M78. You may have heard of him, but --" A light laugh. "Since I am offering cards, let us call this 'Juggler Monster Tarot'. The foe I have come to tell you about: is Ultraman, and those like him."

Hikari no Kyojin. The other. 'Heroes'.

"In another world, Ultraman joined his energy to a human host, and despite appearances of defeat, came back many times as a resilient foe. With many special techniques, I'd say you should look out most for the:"

Juggler strikes a quick, loose pose. "Specium Beam. From the hand, like this." He gestures with the blade of his hand. "Better to avoid - it's costly for him. If you have to take it..." Juggler considers. "Use powers like Bemstar's absorption." He nods.

'But you better actually do it'.

Juggler leans back, not offended, but more 'oi, ey'. "Akane Shinjo. If Ultraman arrives to defeat you at the last minute, blame the cries of those that call for his aid."

He disappears, in a sparse handful of dark motes, leaning spikey chin past Akane's shoulder from 'over it'. His hand, almost tenderly, pats Akane on the upper left bicep, his articulated fingers simply pat-patting there.

"They hear the cries for help. If you wish to avoid heroes, make no sounds at all. Then, only the interested will arrive." Juggler's voice purrs, low.

He steps around her, towards the door and away from her personal wingspan. "However, should you desire attention, know that Ultraman will come. Let me make you a different offer, and you may see if it to your liking.

Turning, to look over his shoulder, his hand lifts two more cards, these fanned out like a poker hole hand.

Zetton. And Pandon.

"The Combined Lord Monster, Zeppandon. If it shows itself - it is your ally, Akane Shinjo."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

The walkthrough on how to defeat Ultraman gets Akane's attention. She nods along with each step of it, and says, "Okay, that makes sense. Sounds like Gridman might have Ultraman beat, though -- beam absorption was the first thing I gave a shot to!" With a cross of her arms and a 'hmph,' she notes, "He pulled out a sword. Can you believe the nerve? Just, bam, sword out on the spot! Absorption strats are a total no-go now! ... but I'll pull 'em back out if Ultraman shows up."

Juggler touches her. The brief disappearance and reappearance is actually fine -- she does that, too, if not so theatrically. The touching, though. She doesn't like it. Akane's whole body tenses. She doesn't disallow it -- Juggler has shown deference to her, in this place, in *her* place, has made it clear he appreciates her power. The touch is fairly light. And the interaction has otherwise been good, despite a couple missteps. She'll -- swallow it, and let it go.

She doesn't actually say anything. She's being given valuable information, valuable tools, and an ally. "... If guys like this are so interested in helping people, why show up here? *My* people," she huffs, "don't need to ask for help." She doesn't think through the full implications of any of this, because... well, frankly -- she's new to this. The logic leaps, right now, are a hair too distant.

The idea of an ally, though... *that* brings a smile to her face. "Zeppandon, huh. Sounds great! Like -- not crying for help, here, but I'd take it from another kaiju enjoyer and his kaiju, at this point," she agrees, as Juggler glances back.

"At least come to school next time, though," she requests. "Don't meet me in my room again."

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

Juggler, at the door, lowers his cards and makes a loud, assured 'heh'.

"If a monster - a Lord Monster, or stronger, stepped into your presence when you were already spoiling for a fight..."

"Tell me. Shiiinjo-san." He leans forward with his tone, and the whole world leans in conspiratorially with him. "Would you accept the help then? From -me-?"

He tilts back and laughs again. "No. I waited until you had settled in, and approached you as a guest. There is a way you wanted to see me, wasn't there?"

Juggler turns to the door, waving. "If you look inside yourself, you'll find that this was always the way that it needed to be."

His hand moves to the doorhandle, and he presses through. It's only a little bit awkward to fit through the door of a Japanese girl's room when you're a dark suitman.

As the door snaps closed meaningfully, there's just enough time for Akane to watch him go, turn back to her computer...

... and turn back around to the garbage. There is only one bag left. Juggler sits atop it.

"I didn't finish my Tarot. Let's finish today with this one."

He places his hand on his chest. "Jugglus Juggler. The Illusion Demon. User of the Jashin Blade Style. I've claimed your garbage as my own, Akane Shinjo."

He laughs, patting the bag under him. "You can take this one out yourself."

He 'springs' upwards, and disappears into a crackling-red energetic jump, and disappears.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Juggler talks Akane in a circle that she's sure has a point, but it's a point that she's either unwilling or unable to put together. "Yeah, okay, fair. You coulda done a lot worse here," she says, though her investment in the statement one way or the other is low. Akane gives him a nod, and says, "Bye," before turning forward again...

... and turning back to a mostly-empty room. She blinks. She has no idea how to engage this. She blinks in what appears to be genuine confusion -- she doesn't even reach exasperated, as Juggler properly and fully explains himself.

"..."

He is allowed to leave. (Akane could, potentially, *dis*allow him from leaving, or maybe more pointedly, move the space with him; it's within her power. But she's really not interested.) She, meanwhile, stares at the garbage bag in utter confusion.

She decides to turn back around again. She'll figure out how to feel later.