IC Inbox | ryslig

[starmark]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, THIS IS JOTARO. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.20.118.16 *** THIS IS JOTARO has joined 019.20.118.16 <THIS IS JOTARO> okay i'm typing now what <THIS IS JOTARO> delete what i just said <THIS IS JOTARO> delete what i just said <THIS IS JOTARO> delete everything i just said <THIS IS JOTARO> make this an automated messa <AUTOMATED REPLY, DO NOT RETURN> This is Jotaro. Whatever you want, hurry up and tell me already.

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[starmark]

[Unsurprisingly, his claws make quick work of the paper, slitting through it like a knife through butter. The instant the book is revealed, though, his whole demeanor seems to change, and there's nowhere it shows stronger than on his expression. The bewilderment evaporates, replaced purely by interest and a sort of boyish excitement, and as soon as he sees the Olde Tyme Speling of the gold-embossed cover, he's hooked beyond escape.

He's a sucker, of course, and utterly predictable, but he looks like he's trying to devour the book with nothing but his eyes and every movement of his fingers is reverent as he eases open the cover and starts to look through the pages — and, ultimately, finds the key.

(Star Platinum appears to retrieve it for him, because what good is having a Stand if you can't use it irresponsibly to do menial tasks for you?)

Shifting the book to one hand, he turns the key over and over again in his other hand's fingers, glancing up at Josuke for an explanation.]

...This is pretty forward of you, Josuke. You know I'm taken, right?

[...

did he just make a joke

JOTARO KUJO JUST MADE A JOKE ON THE FLY OH MY GOD IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE]

[pomaded]

[It's strange how Jotaro doesn't even need to smile to get it across. Something about his entire demeanour changes, simultaneously subtly and overtly, and washes away whatever it was that made him look so composed beyond his years. It's so easy for Josuke to forget sometimes that he's talking to someone his own age but there's no mistaking it now; there's a bright, childlike spark in his eyes and in the tentative way he turns the pages, as though handling something of great value. Even when Star Platinum appears, it almost feels like Jotaro's brought him out just to avoid tearing his eyes away from the book.

It's endearing as hell.

And that little joke? That just pushes him over the edge. Josuke's smile widens and then, in spite of himself, a chuckle escapes, turning into a warm chorus of laughter before he has a chance to get it under control.]

Jotaro Kujo, you're such a dweeb sometimes...!

[and he promptly reaches out and pushes his hat into his face take that nerd]

[starmark]

The hell —

[Oomph. There goes his hat, right into his face. And suddenly the book has betrayed him instead of assisting him, because he can't swat peevishly at Josuke's hands with his own while he's busy holding a book.]

Do that again and I'll bite it off!

[There is absolutely no foundation to that threat, as it comes born of tsun and not of seriousness.]

[pomaded]

[It's all he can do not to push the cap even further into his face and, even then, he can't hold back a bright, clear laugh, face lighting up. It feels good to relax like this. Being here, around Jotaro and Rohan, puts him at ease in a way that nothing else does; a part of him wonders whether he should have accepted Rohan's offer in its entirety but he had his reasons.]

My bad, dude. [and he flicks the brim of his hat back up is that better or worse] Anyway, I figured you should have a spare, just in case. Do you like the book? I found it in this old shop in Bavan. It has some maps in the back too, which is pretty cool.

[starmark]

It has maps?

[All right, all right, he will forgive the hat thing but only because apparently there are maps and that's absolutely something he's gonna need to look into, thank you very much.

But he reaches out, giving Josuke's shoulder a light punch anyway, and figures that's approximately even.]

You're gonna have to show me where this shop is. This is...yeah. It's...I like it. I mean I — love it. It's a great gift.

[pomaded]

[yeah, that's about even]

What a relief! [He gives an exaggerated sigh and rubs the back of his neck, as though picking out a book was the hardest decision he's made in his life.] You're kind of a pain in the ass to buy for, you know that?

[There is something else he had to give him though but he waits until he snaps the book shut to do it.

hello is that a hug have a hug jotaro he's feeling sentimental today ok]

[starmark]

You're kind of a pain in the ass in general, you know that?

[A statement that comes accompanied by an affectionate cuff to the back of the head, carefully calculated to give him the feeling of impact without running the risk of messing up his pompadour.]

I have something for you, too. It's nothing like this. But I figured you might appreciate it.

[What a thing to say, while hugging it out with your weird teen uncle.]

[pomaded]

Takes one to know one.

[That was weak but it's muffled enough that Jotaro hopefully won't notice.]

Yeah? [Trying his best not to look like he was reluctant to let go and doing a mediocre job at it, Josuke steps back and tilts his head at the gargoyle.] Don't leave me in suspense here, bro.

[starmark]

I know it's not really much. Like I said, nothing like this. But.

[He dispatches Star Platinum with a thought, sending his Stand off to retrieve...something, and when he returns it ends up being a piece of sketchbook paper that was almost certainly torn surreptitiously out of one of Rohan's sketchbooks, carefully folded in half.

Inside, once Josuke takes it and opens it up, he'll find a somewhat rough pencil sketch of two people, done in scribbly lines with a sharp-pointed pencil, in a hand that's probably attributable to Star and not his user.]

I thought...I dunno. I was trying to think of something...you couldn't get anywhere else.

[Something special, that only Jotaro could really give.]

how dare you

[pomaded]

[A drawing? Or a photograph? No, wait, on closer inspection, those lines, as startlingly accurate as they are, have been created in pencil rather than in any dark room. But it's the subject that really makes him pause.

His father. Joseph Joestar. Looking younger than the person he knew at home but considerably older than the one he knew here. Irregardless of age, he has that undeniably warmth and those bright, playful eyes. Is this the man his mother knew? More importantly, is that...?]

... is that my sister? Holly? [It comes out a little thicker than he thought it might. For a moment, he seems genuinely lost for words, brow knitting together with a mixture of emotion and pensiveness as he tries to bring together the mess of words in his head.] ... Jotaro, I...

you're welcome

[starmark]

...Yeah. That's Mom. — Holly, your sister. Yeah.

[Strange, sort of, to think of her as anybody else's anything, when that title and role of Mom is so pervasive that it seems to eclipse anything else that might be applied to her. She's someone's daughter, someone's granddaughter, someone's sister, someone's wife. But she's Mom, who got sick. Mom, who he still sometimes prays is alive right now, because he's made himself stop worrying about it but the truth of the matter is that he still doesn't know, and won't for as long as he's here.

It's not so bad to share this with Josuke, though. That part of it does feel good. He wouldn't wish the Joestar legacy on anyone, of course — but then, he's not a Joestar, and technically neither is Josuke.]

Star Platinum...he's better at reproducing what he can see. Like a copier, more than an artist. So it's sort of...he did the best he could, with what I could give him.

[pomaded]

[It must be strange, knowing two people who can tell you that your mother is still alive but never being able to quite trust it. Not knowing whether, through all the twists and turns and timelines this place seems to snatch people from, you came from another branch altogether, one where she wasn't so fortunate. Where you couldn't do it. Where all those sacrifices were made in vain. Josuke's spent a lot of time thinking about it himself, which is maybe why he can sense a little of Jotaro's apprehension.

So, he smiles and puts one hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.]

I bet Rohan loves him. [Well, he's another part of Jotaro. Of course he does.] Thank you. This... I... it means a lot. Maybe when we get back home, I'll be able to meet her in person.

[starmark]

...When we get back home, don't let me say no. Because I probably will.

[Future or not, no matter the circumstances, he knows himself well enough to know what's likely to happen if someone ever does ask him to meet his mom, of course. Might as well just take some precautions against that tendency in advance.]

Make me find a way. And I will. Okay?

rub salt in the wound why don't you omg my heart

[pomaded]

... got it. You'll probably think I'm totally nuts but I'll give it a go anyway- one of us'll have to give in sooner or later, right? [He flashes Jotaro a grin, obviously trying to cover up how emotional this whole exchange has made him.] Stubbornness runs in the family.

[And he gets it from both sides of his, which should give him a little helping hand.]