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.

Comments

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.]