(Untitled)

[istoppedtime]

Characters: Jotaro Kujo (istoppedtime), Kurotsuchi Mayuri (law_of_reason)
When: Say the 25h, evening?
Where: Kurotsuchi's scary lab
Rating: PG-13 for possible Vivisection Talk
Summary: Jotaro and Mayuri do Adstring Mythbusters.

Comments

[law_of_reason]

He'd been expecting Jotaro, for all that he wasn't entirely sure why. Kurotsuchi certainly didn't mind working with him - for all that the scientist wasn't the best at reading people, he'd dissected Jotaro in the past, had fought with or against him several times before, so he was fairly sure what sort of person he was. He knew, roughly, what to expect from him.

Which was the only reason he wasn't entirely surprised that Jotaro was willing to work with him. The man was realistic; even if he didn't remember their history, it didn't prevent him from taking the practical option. And while Kurotsuchi never much understood why most people didn't act the same way, he was used to it; someone choosing differently was always a pleasant surprise.

Jotaro showing up with books was more of an odd one, and when he opened the door, he looked between them with a flicker of confusion before ushering him inside. That there was anything to be repaid for Jotaro ending up in his mind- it didn't occur to him. The event wasn't something anyone had control over, there was no one to blame for it, and Jotaro was at least less annoying than a lot of people who could've wandered in.

"Intending to read while you're here?" Kurotsuchi pretty much never greeted anyone.

[istoppedtime]

"Give them a look." Jotaro didn't expect a greeting, and did somewhat expect to be met with needling of this sort instead. That was part of it, he thought - there was something about Kurotsuchi that was steady, that could be anticipated, which made him a very convenient partner. Jotaro never quite got along with people, never got the hang of them; he'd made his peace with that and pretty much incorporated it into his identity years ago. Working with a man as reliable as a machine was comfortable.

There was something wrong with that, of course. There ought to be something wrong with that. But he didn't have time for that kind of philosophy.

He all but dumped the books into the scientist's hands and walked in. They were good books, at least in theory - two academic volumes on brain anatomy and a somewhat more out-there one on psychological conditioning. The library wasn't exactly a scholarly treasure trove, after all, and he did what he could. "It's all new to me, but this isn't my field. Maybe you can use them, maybe not."

[law_of_reason]

Getting the books practically forced at him earned Jotaro a slight frown, but didn't keep him from looking down at them. Things that he probably already knew, but- well, there was no harm in reviewing them later, when he had a free moment. Occasionally there was something new to be found.

"I'll find something to do with them, I suppose," he walked back inside, heading towards the stairs to the basement. There wasn't much of an upstairs at all, the lab and everything else was downstairs. And if Kurotsuchi wasn't completely unguarded as he headed down there, expecting Jotaro to follow- he was less suspicious than he'd be with a lot of people.

[istoppedtime]

This time, Jotaro was no longer concerned about following Kurotsuchi down, to the business end of the lab - business, so it was. Briefly, looking at the scientist's back, he wondered what Unohana would have said, no, what she almost definitely will say when she finds out. But it didn't matter. This was his business, and it wasn't that she and Kurotsuchi had a good relationship that the discovery might sour. As far as he understood, Kurotsuchi didn't have a good relationship with anyone.

"You ever try this track of investigation before?" he asked as they came into the lab. The truth was that, with the idea on the table, he hadn't much of an inkling of where to go next. If the Animus were truly watching them at all times and capable of manipulating all their perceptions, then the entire thing was pretty much doomed to begin with. But if there was the very slightest chances that they weren't, that their intervention was limited in time or scope, then that was a prize worth almost any effort.

He'd be damned if anyone was going to mess with memories of his family again.

[law_of_reason]

"I've had ideas of it, now and then. Usually I get caught up in something else, or another event happens, and I have other things to be concerned with." It didn't strike him as too strange that Jotaro followed along without prompting, without hesitation. It was what people should do, and as Jotaro was a reasonable enough sort, it only made sense that he'd be reasonable.

It wasn't as though he was planning on dissecting him, which tended to be a sticking point for most. But then, he'd already done so.

"If the Animus are controlling our perceptions at all times- and there's no way of us telling otherwise- then there's a limited amount we can do. Any kind of results will take a great deal of regular tests, and over time."

[istoppedtime]

"The events are a problem." A bland obvious statement - he was mostly thinking out loud. There were so many problems, so many things to think about. Events. equipment, the uncertain nature of most of the city's residents (damn that Hitsugaya). Where to even begin? Probably with a checklist. He had never had any problems with large-scale operations before. This didn't have to be different.

"If they're controlling us all the time then we're wasting our effort," he said dryly. "But if not then it's worth a try." He glanced around him at the lab, taking note of any changes from his last visit, new projects, new specimen. "You're the expert. I'm here as a sounding board and if you need a handy brain. Where do we start?"

[OOC: Do we want to coordinate a post? ^^]

[law_of_reason]

"If they're controlling us all the time we'll never know, it almost doesn't matter." Kurotsuchi wasn't sure if that was fatalistic or realistic; maybe that didn't matter either.

"If they're not, we'll eventually get results that mean something. If they are, we won't, and it'll never make a difference."

Alright, probably fatalistic. The shinigami turned to him.

"There's an event now. I'm not affected- are you? The more readings I can take of as many people - though you and myself is a start - of both affected and unaffected individuals, inside and out of events- the more data we have to go over. To find something that's controlling the changes. And I'm already familiar with your data in general."

((OOC: I am all for coordinating post. :3 Do you want to work it out over PM? ...Also sorry about delay. D: /kicks all of the things ))

[istoppedtime]

Ah yes - the event. Briefly Jotaro hesitated. He wasn't afraid of being poked and prodded, he had entered this agreement with full knowledge of what it could entail, that much more so after his visit to Kurotsuchi's mind. This one specific thing, though... well, now was not the time to back down, and it should not be this of all things that broke his firmly entrenched stoicism. That was letting the city get to him.

With a very quiet sigh, he unfastened his collar and slipped off the scarf knotted under it. The thin, delicate slits of gills lined his throat from under the ears and down, moving slowly as he breathed. Others in the city had complained or were openly thrilled about their new animal parts, but Jotaro treasured his own change in private, silent satisfaction. It was a change he'd keep, if he could. One change he didn't want meddled with.

"You can have a look. But watch out, they're delicate." He was going to endure it quietly, but he couldn't make absolute promises about Star Platinum.