The two experiences are different, but there are still threads of similarity in them. It's enough. [Diarmuid leans back over the table, resting his head in his hand. It's tempting to reach out and bat at the strand of hair that Kakyoin is playing with as so many people do to his own dangling bang, but for now he resists.]
Unfortunately, being kind and helpful doesn't stop bad things from happening to people, but I don't let it bother me and you shouldn't either. It is better to focus on helping people when there are bad things happening to them. That way, you are repaying the help you were given.
[When he sees how hard it is getting for Kakyoin to keep his composure again, Diarmuid reaches out to the teen and puts his hand back on his arm. A reminder he's not alone.]
I don't know Jotaro, but have you ever considered there wasn't a why? That he did it because he wanted to? Sometimes, people don't do things for a reason other than they want to. I do things all the time for that reason. I know it's kind of an old-fashioned attitude, but there doesn't always have to be a why.
The last words I exchanged with my wife before I died involved us arguing over which weapons I should take with me to the hunt, and I don't remember the last things I said to my children. Sadly, death doesn't care what you have or haven't said to someone. The best we can do now is make sure we tell people we care about here that we care about them and if any of your friends do arrive?
[He tilts his head slightly to catch Kakyoin's eyes.]
Make sure you take the time to tell them all that you didn't. We are going to fight to get you back home in a way that will allow you to avoid dying, but even so, you should not allow any opportunity to pass you by.
...You're right. I'll...if any of them do show up here, I'll be sure to tell them.
[Kakyoin offered a hesitant smile in response, like he was trying to figure out how to respond in a completely unfamiliar situation. It was surreal to actually discuss things like this at length; things he hadn't even shared with his closest friends. There hadn't really been time or opportunity for it--as long as the journey had felt, it had only lasted fifty days.]
That idiot--it'd be just like him to do something for no real reason. [Shaking his head, Kakyoin laughed to himself.] I do hesitate to say that I want any of them stuck here as well, but I think you'd fit in well with us.
[Which, coming from Noriaki 'I don't trust non-Stand users' Kakyoin, was quite the statement.]
Good. [And it is then that Diarmuid loses his battle with resisting batting at that...noodle that his hanging down in Kakyoin's face and bats at it.
Sorry, Kakyoin...]
I would be honored if you would introduce me to them. I think I would like them. If what you say is true, Jotaro sounds a lot like my best friend from back home. I called him an idiot so much for the things he did without a real reason that it might has well have been his middle name.
[Oscar and Jotaro in the same room together. The world just might end...]
[He seemed startled, but not really offended--he lightly shoved Diarmuid's hand away and tried to focus on the subject at hand.]
Jojo's kind of abrasive, to say the least. But he's not as uncaring as he likes to act. [Beat.] ...Actually, now that I think about it I guess our whole group was just a little weird.
[Diarmuid laughs and then settles back in his seat again.]
Sorry. People do it to me all the time and I just wondered why...
That actually describes my friend Oscar perfectly. It's not his fault, but he grew up basically with the expectation he would be a heartless warrior and so that is what he showed everyone. Everyone but me, that is. I knew the 'real' Oscar.
[And Diarmuid still wonders what happened to the 'real' Oscar after he lost the only person who he ever let see him.]
There is nothing wrong with weird, though. Weird people make the most interesting friends.
[Kakyoin leaned his head on his hand, distantly thoughtful for a second.]
Polnareff's a little strange, too--he makes stupid jokes all the time and almost never takes anything seriously, but that's kind of refreshing in such difficult situations. Jotaro's grandfather Joseph is kind of the same way, but at least he has a good amount of sense when it matters.
...They're...yeah. 'Interesting' is definitely the word I'd use.
One of the things my father used to say is that sometimes it is better to laugh than to cry. Joking sometimes is the only thing that keeps a person sane during troubling times.
[Diarmuid knows he uses joking that way anyway.]
I guess only time will tell if I get to meet them, but until then, how are you doing now? Going to be okay?
[That wasn't a lie--sure, it left one hell of an uncomfortable scar. And sure, his back tended to hurt from where he'd indirectly broken a water tower. But it wasn't incapacitating, and Kakyoin was far too proud to admit to it as long as he was sure it wouldn't be a hindrance.]
[Kakyoin hesitated, coming to the unsettling revelation that he wasn't certain what had transpired in stopped time.]
My assumption is that he simply punched me. His Stand was one that specialized in brute force--I'd fought a similar one before.
[Which was of course Jotaro's Star Platinum, but he certainly wasn't going to say as much.]
I put forth Hierophant's perfect and unbreakable defense...and the next thing I knew, I was being thrown backwards into a water tower. I don't think I even scratched him.
[Diarmuid frowns when he hears that. It's bad enough that Kakyoin had died so suddenly, but not to even know exactly what happened...]
It amazes me that you had enough focus to leave that clue for your friends considering how fast it happened. Do most Stands have just the one ability? It sounds like his was different and had two. [One mental and one physical. Talk about stacking the cards in your favor...]
You might not have scratched him, but revealing that special ability to your friends still did a large amount of damage.
It's hard to explain. Some of the enemy Stand users we fought had complicated powers and abilities. One was as simple as a gun with redirecting bullets, and another could challenge its victim to games, cheat by reading their souls, and then steal those souls when its user inevitably won.
[...he's still annoyed about that one.]
My friends all had Stands which specialized in one thing or another; fire, swords, sand manipulation, spirit photography, close combat like The World-...
[...]
Wait. You're...right. That is strange, isn't it? [He spoke that half to himself, visibly confused.] His Stand was short-range and seemed to be much like Star Platinum. Even with as powerful as Dio is...why did it have a secondary ability like that?
[So basically one guy's Stand made him a reject from Yu-gi-oh! Good to know...]
That is quite a variety of talents, though I suppose it makes sense since people's souls are just as varied.
[Diarmuid tilts his head slightly at Kakyoin's reaction and then nods.]
I mean, I am not Stand expert, but it seems odd to me that one Stand would have such a strong physical ability and then also have one that is such a strong mental ability. The only thing I can think of that might explain it is something to do with him being a vampire and maybe having lived a long time, but again, I know so little about how that kind of thing works on your world...
[you know ordinarily i'd argue but that's pretty much literally what went down]
No--from what the others said, Dio had only awoken to his own Stand fairly recently. Before that, he was in a coffin at the bottom of the ocean. It can't be something like a matter of time to practice.
[Something here was striking Kakyoin as atypical even when the sheer range of Stand abilities came into consideration, but it was the kind of thing he'd need to carefully consider--another time, when he was better able to focus.]
You're probably right...maybe it's just to do with the variations in someone's soul compared to any other.
[His eyebrows draw together as he thinks on what might be going on. The next thing that comes to mind he almost immediately dismisses, but after a moment decides to mention just in case...]
I suppose if someone had something of a dual nature going on, but in his case, I doubt there is much if any humanity left in him... [Diarmuid shrugs.]
Ah well, perhaps something will strike you at some point in the future. I wouldn't give up on it quite yet.
Well, on my world at least, vampires were once human, so I was thinking that if part of him still clung to his humanity after becoming a vampire, then maybe that would be a big enough divide to cause a Stand to have split power focuses like that. One power would be tie to the part of him that considered itself a vampire while the other would be tied to the part that considered itself human. [But does anyone really think Dio has any humanity left?]
Possession is another possibility and don't you mention it and then 'never mind' me. [Diarmuid laughs, leaning forward again to rest his head in his hands.]
Believe me, if you knew the kind of things I saw as a kid... I grew up in the house of a god. Extraordinary was just what I saw before breakfast.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2015-07-27 12:13 am (UTC)[Diarmuid leans back over the table, resting his head in his hand. It's tempting to reach out and bat at the strand of hair that Kakyoin is playing with as so many people do to his own dangling bang, but for now he resists.]
Unfortunately, being kind and helpful doesn't stop bad things from happening to people, but I don't let it bother me and you shouldn't either. It is better to focus on helping people when there are bad things happening to them. That way, you are repaying the help you were given.
[When he sees how hard it is getting for Kakyoin to keep his composure again, Diarmuid reaches out to the teen and puts his hand back on his arm. A reminder he's not alone.]
I don't know Jotaro, but have you ever considered there wasn't a why? That he did it because he wanted to? Sometimes, people don't do things for a reason other than they want to. I do things all the time for that reason. I know it's kind of an old-fashioned attitude, but there doesn't always have to be a why.
The last words I exchanged with my wife before I died involved us arguing over which weapons I should take with me to the hunt, and I don't remember the last things I said to my children. Sadly, death doesn't care what you have or haven't said to someone. The best we can do now is make sure we tell people we care about here that we care about them and if any of your friends do arrive?
[He tilts his head slightly to catch Kakyoin's eyes.]
Make sure you take the time to tell them all that you didn't. We are going to fight to get you back home in a way that will allow you to avoid dying, but even so, you should not allow any opportunity to pass you by.
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Date: 2015-07-27 12:31 am (UTC)[Kakyoin offered a hesitant smile in response, like he was trying to figure out how to respond in a completely unfamiliar situation. It was surreal to actually discuss things like this at length; things he hadn't even shared with his closest friends. There hadn't really been time or opportunity for it--as long as the journey had felt, it had only lasted fifty days.]
That idiot--it'd be just like him to do something for no real reason. [Shaking his head, Kakyoin laughed to himself.] I do hesitate to say that I want any of them stuck here as well, but I think you'd fit in well with us.
[Which, coming from Noriaki 'I don't trust non-Stand users' Kakyoin, was quite the statement.]
If that does happen, I'll have to introduce you.
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Date: 2015-07-27 01:42 am (UTC)[And it is then that Diarmuid loses his battle with resisting batting at that...noodle that his hanging down in Kakyoin's face and bats at it.
Sorry, Kakyoin...]
I would be honored if you would introduce me to them. I think I would like them. If what you say is true, Jotaro sounds a lot like my best friend from back home. I called him an idiot so much for the things he did without a real reason that it might has well have been his middle name.
[Oscar and Jotaro in the same room together. The world just might end...]
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Date: 2015-07-27 01:49 am (UTC)[He seemed startled, but not really offended--he lightly shoved Diarmuid's hand away and tried to focus on the subject at hand.]
Jojo's kind of abrasive, to say the least. But he's not as uncaring as he likes to act. [Beat.] ...Actually, now that I think about it I guess our whole group was just a little weird.
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Date: 2015-07-27 02:00 am (UTC)Sorry. People do it to me all the time and I just wondered why...
That actually describes my friend Oscar perfectly. It's not his fault, but he grew up basically with the expectation he would be a heartless warrior and so that is what he showed everyone. Everyone but me, that is. I knew the 'real' Oscar.
[And Diarmuid still wonders what happened to the 'real' Oscar after he lost the only person who he ever let see him.]
There is nothing wrong with weird, though. Weird people make the most interesting friends.
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Date: 2015-07-27 02:08 am (UTC)[Kakyoin leaned his head on his hand, distantly thoughtful for a second.]
Polnareff's a little strange, too--he makes stupid jokes all the time and almost never takes anything seriously, but that's kind of refreshing in such difficult situations. Jotaro's grandfather Joseph is kind of the same way, but at least he has a good amount of sense when it matters.
...They're...yeah. 'Interesting' is definitely the word I'd use.
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Date: 2015-07-28 12:08 am (UTC)[Diarmuid knows he uses joking that way anyway.]
I guess only time will tell if I get to meet them, but until then, how are you doing now? Going to be okay?
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Date: 2015-07-28 12:13 am (UTC)[He glanced away, pointedly ignoring the lingering pain in his midsection.]
I'm sorry that I snapped at you like that. I may be having trouble handling all of this, but that's still no excuse.
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Date: 2015-07-28 12:42 am (UTC)[A worried look crosses Diarmuid's face. You aren't making him very confident, Kakyoin.]
Are you sure? How is your stomach doing?
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Date: 2015-07-28 12:45 am (UTC)[That wasn't a lie--sure, it left one hell of an uncomfortable scar. And sure, his back tended to hurt from where he'd indirectly broken a water tower. But it wasn't incapacitating, and Kakyoin was far too proud to admit to it as long as he was sure it wouldn't be a hindrance.]
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Date: 2015-07-29 02:53 am (UTC)[You're a tough cookie, Kakyoin.]
However, why manage when you can do more than that? There is no reason to suffer when people can help you...
And no, it is no bother. Don't even think it.
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Date: 2015-07-29 02:23 pm (UTC)[Kakyoin hesitated, reminding himself they'd just talked about how concealing things was a bad idea.]
I don't...want anyone to know how serious it really is--or was, I guess.
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Date: 2015-07-29 10:38 pm (UTC)[Because it is really hard to tell what this city is going to throw at them next.]
You know, though, if you want to see a nasty scar...
[Diarmuid rests a hand over his stomach.]
You should see the one the boar that fatally injured me left me with. It's a nasty piece of work.
[Curious he says it like that instead of just saying 'the boar that killed me.']
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Date: 2015-07-29 10:41 pm (UTC)[...well. bit of both, really.]
Is it that bad? [Because he's having a rough time considering something worse than his.]
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Date: 2015-07-29 10:49 pm (UTC)[Diarmuid smiles and then the smile fades.]
I was eviscerated, so yeah. It's that bad. He opened me up from here to here.
[He starts on one side of his stomach and then draws a line all the way over to the other side.]
I split his skull with the handle of my sword though, so at least we came out even.
[As was Fated in the curse...]
no subject
Date: 2015-07-29 11:02 pm (UTC)[Kakyoin hesitated, coming to the unsettling revelation that he wasn't certain what had transpired in stopped time.]
My assumption is that he simply punched me. His Stand was one that specialized in brute force--I'd fought a similar one before.
[Which was of course Jotaro's Star Platinum, but he certainly wasn't going to say as much.]
I put forth Hierophant's perfect and unbreakable defense...and the next thing I knew, I was being thrown backwards into a water tower. I don't think I even scratched him.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:02 am (UTC)It amazes me that you had enough focus to leave that clue for your friends considering how fast it happened. Do most Stands have just the one ability? It sounds like his was different and had two.
[One mental and one physical. Talk about stacking the cards in your favor...]
You might not have scratched him, but revealing that special ability to your friends still did a large amount of damage.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:10 am (UTC)[...he's still annoyed about that one.]
My friends all had Stands which specialized in one thing or another; fire, swords, sand manipulation, spirit photography, close combat like The World-...
[...]
Wait. You're...right. That is strange, isn't it? [He spoke that half to himself, visibly confused.] His Stand was short-range and seemed to be much like Star Platinum. Even with as powerful as Dio is...why did it have a secondary ability like that?
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:31 am (UTC)That is quite a variety of talents, though I suppose it makes sense since people's souls are just as varied.
[Diarmuid tilts his head slightly at Kakyoin's reaction and then nods.]
I mean, I am not Stand expert, but it seems odd to me that one Stand would have such a strong physical ability and then also have one that is such a strong mental ability. The only thing I can think of that might explain it is something to do with him being a vampire and maybe having lived a long time, but again, I know so little about how that kind of thing works on your world...
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:35 am (UTC)No--from what the others said, Dio had only awoken to his own Stand fairly recently. Before that, he was in a coffin at the bottom of the ocean. It can't be something like a matter of time to practice.
[Something here was striking Kakyoin as atypical even when the sheer range of Stand abilities came into consideration, but it was the kind of thing he'd need to carefully consider--another time, when he was better able to focus.]
You're probably right...maybe it's just to do with the variations in someone's soul compared to any other.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:44 am (UTC)In that case, no time wouldn't be a factor.
[His eyebrows draw together as he thinks on what might be going on. The next thing that comes to mind he almost immediately dismisses, but after a moment decides to mention just in case...]
I suppose if someone had something of a dual nature going on, but in his case, I doubt there is much if any humanity left in him...
[Diarmuid shrugs.]
Ah well, perhaps something will strike you at some point in the future. I wouldn't give up on it quite yet.
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Date: 2015-07-30 12:46 am (UTC)...it's probably irrelevant and you won't believe me if even if I tell you. N-never mind.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 01:19 am (UTC)[But does anyone really think Dio has any humanity left?]
Possession is another possibility and don't you mention it and then 'never mind' me.
[Diarmuid laughs, leaning forward again to rest his head in his hands.]
Believe me, if you knew the kind of things I saw as a kid... I grew up in the house of a god. Extraordinary was just what I saw before breakfast.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 01:20 am (UTC)[Flatly:] Dio transplanted his head on Jotaro's great-great-grandfather's body.
[Top that shit.]
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 01:28 am (UTC)...
[Blink.]
...
Well... Dullahan carry their heads around under their arms. Does that count?
[Really? Dio? Really?]
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