#ABSTRACTREIGN. / an independent roleplaying blog for YOSHIYA “ JOSHUA ” KIRYU from The World Ends With You + NEO: The World Ends With You ( as ruled by king! ) [ * currently on break / low activity ]
[ * due to the rather heavy nature of the source material as well as the muse, this blog contains content, themes, and topics such as: death, religious imagery and references (if at least subtle), depression, suicide/suicidal ideation, firearms usage, heavy violence and possibly graphic descriptions of pain, profanity, and sexual topics (will always be tagged at the slightest reference). i will do my best to keep tabs on things needing tagging, however due to the nature of the muse and his whole canon and all, i won’t be able to tag “death” and the like specifically.
additionally, this blog is rife with major spoilers for both games, and if you haven’t yet played either or both and experienced their stories for yourself, i strongly encourage that you do so first. ]
[ — any and all non-official artwork in my icons and other graphics are made by yours truly ! ]
Reblog this if it’s okay to have people message you if you accidentally unfollowed them. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen my mutuals bringing up that the unfollowing glitch has come around again (or still). This is why it’s incredibly important to state in your rules to softblock or hardblock when breaking ties.
12 → what would you say is the most unique trait about your character?
{ though i know i won’t ever be able to settle on a definite answer for this — as my interpretation and analysis of josh’s character is always evolving — i’ll take this as an opportunity to talk about how unexpectedly (and unwittingly) genuine josh can be.
i personally feel that a large reason why the first game’s story has the impact that it has (or at least, the parts of it most heavily involving joshua) is because it gets you questioning josh’s motives from the moment you meet him— and in turn, how much of what josh says is truth, which of that is truth, and what specific goals he’s trying to accomplish by saying the things he does.
it’s certain that josh is hiding something, and hiding something important. he’s set up to be someone you don’t just take at face value, if at all.
and that’s what makes the time spent with him so compelling, because there are a lot of moments throughout where josh makes remarks and/or reveals aspects of himself that have nothing at all to do with the Game, or even neku, for that matter.
he is openly opinionated about pretty much everything (even if he isn’t completely familiar with the subject or niche at hand), and shares or discusses information that he personally finds fascinating; the most prominent example thereof being the history behind landmarks and areas in Shibuya! (another example i really want to point to is him explaining to neku what exactly a “spicy tuna roll” is.)
there aren’t… any real tactical advantages gained in him asking neku what his favorite ramen flavor is.
(and if he was trying to build a rapport with him, why does he constantly talk down to him? he’s already saved by their pact, so it’s not like he even needs to be nice enough to keep neku from throttling him—)
the only explanation i can be satisfied with is that, in these moments, josh is just… being himself.
i also believe that this exchange is the strongest example thereof:
Joshua: Hmm? What’s this, now? Neku: When we first met, you said you’d been watching me. What does that mean? Joshua: …… Ahh. So that’s what this is all about. Neku: (Rrgh…) Joshua: I’ve always been able to see the UG.
it seems as if josh is directly responding to neku, and at first he definitely is:
Neku: (This is the freaky ability Hanekoma mentioned?) Even when you were alive? → tries to bring up josh’s ability to see the UG implicitly Joshua: addresses exactly what neku’s insinuating → That’s right. Lucky me, right? I saw things others couldn’t. I knew about the Game here in Shibuya. I saw the Players. Reapers, Noise… The whole works.
then… whether he’s solely responding to neku— or also musing to himself about his past, becomes real ambiguous:
Neku: So you were watching me from the RG. → specifically brings up josh watching him during the first week Joshua: his answer is focused solely on himself → The Game intrigued me. I was following it on my own when I met Mr. H.
Neku: When was that? → merely asks when josh met hanekoma Joshua: reveals more about a past that is ultimately irrelevant to what he has planned for neku; it doesn’t nudge neku towards a confrontation with megumi, nor does it drop any other information relevant to his goal → Oh, years ago. So I became a regular at his shop, listening to his stories. The more he told me about the UG, the more I came to see its charm.
and it’s here where the conversation really drifts away from the present, and where one of my favorite lines of josh’s is spoken:
Neku: What charm? Joshua: yet again, his answer does not serve his plan in any meaningful way; it is just him recounting his life and his reason for entering the UG → People racing across the city in a life-or-death struggle? Find me another rush like that in Shibuya. Life for me was one giant bore. Just the same thing, day after day… Now THAT felt like death.
then when neku tries to steer the conversation back to the actual topic he was trying to broach in the first place, this happens:
Neku: So you… came here? Joshua: Yeah. I decided I belonged in the UG. Neku: …… And you thought I did, too?
Joshua: …Hmm?
again: josh has never needed to pretend he didn’t kill neku; as far as neku knows at this point, if he enacts vengeance against joshua before the week’s over, it’ll jeopardize his (and shiki’s) chances of survival.
so josh does not need to sidestep the topic whatsoever. this delayed, dazed response is genuine— it’s him legitimately being taken out of his own thoughts.
it’s as if he forgot he was talking to someone else for a moment. (not only is he being sincere here, he’s being emotionally vulnerable… without really being aware of it.)
and i think that this aspect of his character is what ultimately endears a lot of people to him, despite — or in combination with — the many unsavory ones.
one of the most defining traits of both games’ plots is the intrigue behind them— much of the catharsis lies in uncovering the truth and understanding more about the setting.
josh — as well as shiki and beat, neku’s other partners (!) — is a large part of that intrigue. and he’s perhaps more striking in how his manipulation and contrivances throughout the story juxtapose his otherwise highly authentic nature.
as it does with its overarching mysteries, the game has you seek out the truths of who your partners really are as a whole. it wants you to reach beyond what you can immediately discern — to go past the borders, as they say — and understand them in a more meaningful way.
“Only by allowing strangers in, can we find new ways to be ourselves.”
and only by digging out the truth buried within affectation, can we learn to understand others better.
Your friend is going to ghost you. You are not going to get the job. Your car is going to break down at the worst time. Your boss is going to have unrealistic demands and deadlines. Your basement is going to flood.
Life hurts.
No matter how recovered you are. No matter how stable you are. No matter how much you excel at using your toolbox of strategies.
Life hurts.
You are not going to go through it being a happy little bean all of the time.
So, don’t put that pressure on yourself.
If you do, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. You’ll fear that you’re slipping, experiencing a setback, losing your recovery, when the negative emotions come.
Instead, the more you heal, the better you get at coping with this all too painful thing called life, the less hard those moments will hit. Oh, they will still hit, they will still suck, but they won’t suck for as long or as much. You’ll see the other side of them and know happiness is waiting there for you again.
I needed this. Life has been painful and chaotic as hell lately 🥺
