Application for Aoi/The Laughing Man (Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex)

[catcherandrye]

The door to the Sorting Room creaked open, and a dark haired young adolescent peaked around the corner. He paused, blinked, waited a while, then stepped in and closed the door behind him

Comments

[mello_n_choco]

"An internet connection takes an act of a god," I tell him. I pull out a chocolate bar and unwrap it. "You'll have to figure out which one, though, as there seem to be a few here."

[catcherandrye]

Aoi looked at the chocolate bar, then up to the blond. He didn't look him in the eyes however, it was almost as if he was looking over Mello's shoulder, though he was obviously talking to Mello and Mello alone. He waited, then eventually he asked, "Then, this would be a black out spot? I've never heard of a place that has a lack of internet connection."

His eyes drifted off to the side too survey the walls of the sorting room. "Although, the architecture of this place is ancient."

He decided to ignore the comments about god and/or gods. He hated them all.

[mello_n_choco]

It's a little strange not being looked at directly, though L is prone to that, when he bothers talking to me. "The fluctuations caused by the magic here cause a disruption to electrically based signals," I say blandly. "Some seem exempt by design, some by special effort, but not freely available."

[catcherandrye]

Not-looking at Mello again, he raised an eyebrow. "Magic?"

Aoi wasn't as shocked as another would have been. He supposed that magic was really nothing more and extremely advanced science and left it at that. Attempting to figure out why and how wasn't something he was interested in anyway.

"Is there a library within this place then?" he asked, because if separated from the internet, he would rather immerse himself in books. He enjoyed being surrounded by information, whether it was physical or virtual.

[kingbandit]

This was one of the more interesting people that Jing had seen. The stillness, the pauses, everything, seemed rather unnatural. Even Vermouth had seemed more alive and she was only a doll. "Have you heard of Reviva?" he asked, curious, though this boy didn't look old enough to have been there and he didn't recall seeing anyone there other than the old King and his creations.

[catcherandrye]

He thought back, and came to the conclusion that he had not. "No," he said simply, blinking and returning to stillness. "Should I have?" he asks after a long pause. There is a hint of curiosity in his tone.

[kingbandit]

Jing shrugged. "Most people haven't heard of the things and places I know, so I guess not." He paused a moment. "It's a place where the water of eternal life existed. I was declared king there by the old king." A wry smile twisted his lips. "I prefer to shine for a moment, though."

[catcherandrye]

It sounded like a place of faerie tales. Aoi smiled. "I wish I did know of it." He sounded a little forlorn. "Mundane reality is forced on young ones far too quickly."

He considered mentioning the next part for a while, dropping his gaze from Jing's neck to his chest. "I have had my time in the spotlight," he scowled, "it was perverted by copycats who made the message of my actions obsolete."

[12panelwonder]

Matt eyed the newcomer. Boy, did he remind Matt of...well, any one of the Alphabet gang. A composite, if you will.

His bribe caught Matt's eye. "What things?"

[catcherandrye]

He stirred a little and raised his eyebrows at him. "Numbers, dates, files." He had a slight hobby of reading other people's emails, but that was child play compared to what he could do. "Anything hidden, I can find."

He could also deliver an rather amusing amount of pizza to a random house who had certainly not ordered them, among other things. But again; child's play.

[12panelwonder]

"Ah, I see, another hacker. Glad to actually meet one, though I wonder if we're even the same time period."

[catcherandrye]

"If this architecture is anything to go by, and the fact that those that I have met so far lack as much as a cybercom let alone a cyberbrain, then yes, I would say we're certainly from different time periods. I come from 2030."

He didn't think too hard about it, tried to maintain his childish acceptance of extraordinary things.

[callmewednesday]

Anger against the gods? Far more appealing and promising than apathy toward the gods. Anger meant emotion. Emotion was far closer to belief.

"What'd the gods do to you?" asked the affable gentleman in the Armani suit. He took a sip of Irish coffee as he waited for the angry young man to answer.

The mug's side bore the legend #1 Grandpa.

[catcherandrye]

Something Mello had said earlier made Aoi go still and voiceless. Not because of shock, or anger, but because he simply didn't want to talk to him. He'd play deaf-mute once again to avoid talking to those he had issues with. That sick bastard of a god, or any god, was one of them.

As such he merely glared at him. Shouldn't he be able to know this kind of shit?

[callmewednesday]

Wednesday raised an eyebrow. A twinkle in his good eye gave away his amusement. "Going to hold your breath until your face turns blue? Or stick your thumbs in your ears and sing the Star-Spangled Banner?"

[catcherandrye]

He quoted, since it wasn't technically talking to him, "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life."

He knew every passage of Catcher in the Rye off by heart. It was his favourite book. He tended to incorporate it into his speech more often than not.

[cardarchitect]

In deference to allowing Mello space to walk in and out of their shared room, Near had chosen a corner of the sorting room to stack rows and spirals of dominos. Woe betide the fool who toppled them before he was finished.

"Odd. I have heard of this 'internet' you mention. I even have ventured there myself. Perhaps I do not need your bribe."

[catcherandrye]

Aoi crouched down and inspected the dominos. "Quite impressive," he said, referring to the structure.

"Would you like to test my skill before I fulfil my 'bribe' then?" he asked, raising his head and looking at Near without actually meeting his eyes.

[cardarchitect]

The averted gazes were mutual; Near's glance never lifted from his task. A scarcely perceptible shrug was the only acknowledgement of the complement.

"I need no such assistance currently."

[catcherandrye]

He placed his arms on his knees and rested his chin on his thumb. He went silent as he thought of something else he could perhaps offer Near. He didn't quite know what a squib was, but it sounded like it was something to avoid.

"Something else then?"