oathshackledbird | Ruby City Mailbox/Inbox

We're kind of...having trouble dealing with that. Mostly Jojo and miss Holly--there's a huge time discrepancy that I don't think they know how to handle.

[Kakyoin sighed and paused to take a drink, thinking over the right way to say what he was thinking.]

He's barely older than Jojo or myself. I can't say that 'he's not the Joseph Joestar we know', he is--people like him don't change very much. But he's not...the same. He has no idea about anything that happened between Tokyo to Cairo, and he won't live through it for a very long time. He won't recognize his own daughter, much less his grandson.

[Kakyoin only mentions Jotaro and Holly, but Diarmuid has a feeling his friend is having trouble as well. Of course, Kakyoin is not going to mention his own troubles when those he cares about are also having trouble.]

Holly contacted me not long ago and she mentioned she was having trouble while we were talking, but what seemed to bother her just as much, if not more, was how others were worrying about her. She sounds a lot like me. She hates troubling people. I tried to talk to her about it a bit, but I don't know how much it helped.

[He's only known her a short time, after all.

It's hard because they are facing a two-fold problem. Not only are Joseph's daughter and grandson having to deal with a man they know, but don't know, there is the added issue of just how much happened during their trip. Life, death and defeating an immortal madman are not exactly things that can be forgotten. Diarmuid sighs and runs his hands through his hair.]

When Jonathan met everyone, how did you handle it?

[It's not the same because no one besides Erina really knew Jonathan before he died, but maybe it is something they can can use as a springboard for ideas.]

...That might have ended up something of a disaster, actually. [HA HA HOO BOY.] But that was different. We had a lot of much worse things to tell Jonathan, and Joseph isn't quite the same kind of person.

[A sigh.]

Miss Holly's a kind, selfless person. She won't let things trouble her if she can help others, but that doesn't mean it'll hurt any less. And Jotaro's...well, I can take care of him. I'm just worried about how to proceed with all this and make sure they get hurt as little as possible. Jotaro thinks we should step back and let things unfold for a bit, and I'm inclined to agree with him. But...I suppose I'm just not sure what comes next.

...it's weird. We all had so much to tell him, and now we just...can't.

Oh... Yes, lets try and avoid repeating that, then.

[There are enough Joestar related disasters going on as it is.]

To be honest, I think you and Jotaro are in the right about letting nature take its course for a little while. He's going to find things out on his own no matter how you try to hide them and when it comes to the kind of things you guys need to tell him, a natural course may be a better one. Plus, he is going to need time to get settled in and get used to the city as well.

[Diarmuid can't help but shake his head at Kakyoin's last statement, though.]

I don't think it's weird at all. In a way, he is very innocent and it is in our natures to want to keep the people we care about like that. Besides, it's not like you are telling him something simple like his favorite pet is going to be hit by a car. Things are just a bit more complicated than that.

['Bit' being the most massive understatement ever.]

Edited 2016-01-29 03:26 (UTC)

I thought he was right, too. We can only get a handle on so much of a given situation, so waiting and picking things up in the aftermath might be better. Caesar can deal with him better than us right now, anyway.

[Kakyoin looked to the cup of coffee his hands were wrapped loosely around, quietly thoughtful.]

...Do you remember...when I told you about how I broke the clock tower?

Right. If we pile too much on him right now, he might get angry or just downright decide not to believe us. Neither thing is the response we want. Besides, none of you should carry the full burden of telling him everything. It's something that should be shared. Information coming from the right person always makes understanding easier.

[That quiet, thoughtful tone shouldn't make Diarmuid's stomach sink like it does, but it does anyway.]

Yes, it was all you could do to try and pass on what you had figured out about how Dio's stand worked.

Of course, you're right. Even if we knew where to start right now, it's way too much for anyone to handle.

[Kakyoin took a slow, controlled breath, and let it out quietly.]

It was Joseph--Mr. Joestar who saw that. He was the only other person there when I fought Dio. And I didn't realize it until a short while ago, but...I don't think I was the first person to die for his sake like that. [He didn't know the details, but Kakyoin's suspicions rarely failed him. And he knew enough about Caesar to have several suspicions.]

I've wanted to thank him for understanding and making sure Jotaro knew what The World really did. And I wanted to apologize for things having gone how they did. Ever since I got here, the last memory I have of him is hearing him calling my name, shouting 'how dare you do that to Kakyoin' while he faced off against Dio himself. But now I just-...

[He trailed off, adjusting his glasses.]

Caesar asked me if I was going to tell him I was dead, and I said I wouldn't lie if it came up. But right now it's Jotaro and the rest of their family I'm worried about. They're dealing with a mess a hell of a lot worse than 'you were the last person to see me alive'.

Edited 2016-01-29 03:57 (UTC)

[By all Above and Below... It takes a lot of restraint for Diarmuid not to swear out loud. Instead, he focuses on taking a long drink of his coffee, at the same time wishing it was something a lot stronger. He is just getting himself back under control when the next shock hits him.

...I don't think I was the first person to die for his sake like that.

The words send his mind spinning. Thanks to talking both to Caesar himself and to Lisa Lisa, Diarmuid knows she trained both Joseph and Caesar. Considering how close Caesar and Joseph are, how high are the chances they fought together?

How high are the chances that Caesar...

Diarmuid shakes his head to push away the pieces his instincts are putting together because he doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to think about how terrible it had to be for Joseph to watch a second person die like that for him...]

Just because their worries are different from yours doesn't mean yours are any less important. I have a feeling Joseph would feel the same way.

My last memories as I died the first time were of my friend Oscar threatening and cursing his grandfather because he wasn't healing me. I always wanted to find out if he went through with it.

[Diarmuid laughs sadly.]

I always wanted to tell him how much of an idiot he was being too. It's a little different than what you want to tell Joseph, but I understand needing to do it. It needs to be done. I have a feeling you will know when the time is right too. You are better at knowing that kind of thing than you think you are.

[Caesar was too much like him. Not identical, but too similar. It didn't take a strategic genius to piece together that history had managed to repeat itself.]

I'm not as conflicted over all of this as they are. Even 'conflicted' may be putting it lightly. Right now I know what my priority is, and it isn't straightening out my own problems just yet.

[The word consigliere briefly came to mind again; someone had to be the leader's direct support. Take on what they couldn't, so they didn't collapse. And right now until further notice, that person absolutely had to be Kakyoin.]

After things settle down, once Jojo and miss Holly figure things out and he's a little more accustomed to the city...I don't know. I'll try to talk to him again, or maybe he'll end up approaching me first.

You and Jotaro are a good pair. I am sure everyone's issues will get sorted out in time.

[Mainly, because Diarmuid is sure that once Jotaro get his own feelings straightened out, he's going to make sure that his partner does the same thing. It's part of the reason that they work so well together. Neither is willing to let the other fall apart completely.]

Considering Joseph does not strike me as the kind that has a whole lot of patience or tact most of the time, I suspect it is very likely he will come to you first.

[Especially considering how much alike Kakyoin and Caeser are. Joseph may end up finding Kakyoin easier to talk to than the others.]

...Yeah, we are. [The admission came with a smile that was quickly hidden behind his cup of coffee.]

You are absolutely correct about him, at any rate. He's...I wouldn't speak poorly about my friends in any seriousness, but he could be incredibly immature at times. Did Jojo ever mention the time he insisted he could ride a camel?

[Diarmuid rolls his eyes slightly at how Kakyoin hides his smile behind the cup. Really, stop being so cute about the whole thing.]

It is not speaking poorly of someone to recognize they have faults. We all have them. But, no I have not heard anything about riding a camel. You have to tell me now because the chaos I am imagining from what I know about camels probably is not coming anywhere near what actually happened.

It wasn't chaos, just...very stupid.

[But he was openly smiling now, trying not to start laughing.]

We were about to cross the Arabian Desert, I think it must have been just before the sun tried to kill us. [The fact that that was a real sentence which made perfect sense to Kakyoin should probably have registered as weird, but oh well.] So we managed to get a group of camels and Mr. Joestar starts trying to explain how to ride them...except it wasn't cooperating and he couldn't even get on at first. He spends a few minutes trying to get onto it, until Polnareff asked if he'd ridden one before at all.

...At which point he said he'd seen a movie about it three times. And slept through half of it twice. But once he finally got onto it, he started explaining about how camels and horses move differently...then it started moving and he immediately fell off.

[~JOSEPH JOESTAR~]

It was absolutely mortifying at the time, but in hindsight I have to admit it's kind of funny.

Edited 2016-01-29 21:42 (UTC)

[Considering not long ago Kakyoin was planning on punching the sun? Diarmuid isn't going to say a word about the sun trying to kill them. He's heard about the lasers.]

He was trying so hard, wasn't he?

[Diarmuid can help but laugh himself. Why is it so easy to see his friend Oscar trying the same kind of thing?]

It's oddly endearing, especially in hindsight, isn't it? People like him mean so well and try too hard to help. At least it gives us good memories afterward.

He was certainly making an effort, I'll give him that.

[youtried.jpg]

But he did always come through when it counted. Much as Jojo complains about every plane he's in crashing, he manged to crash them all without killing us. And he helped Jotaro cheat to win against a Stand user that stole my soul. [Um. What.] Admittedly I still don't know all the details of that last one.

[Diarmuid blinks in surprise when he hears those last words.]

A Stand user who stole your soul? Is there no end to the things that Stands can do?

[Even as he asks the question, Diarmuid gets the feeling he really doesn't want to know the answer to that question.]

Of course not. [Kakyoin being Kakyoin, he sounded a little eager as he gave that answer.] Stands are just as varied as the people who have them; anything is possible. Mr. Joestar's Hermit Purple was useless in combat, but it was amazing at taking psychic photographs and discerning information through screens and cameras. Gold Experience and Star Platinum are on the other end of the scale; they have a wide range of abilities. Giorno and Jojo can use them to do nearly anything.

[Realizing he was brushing the edge of a lecture on Stands 101, Kakyoin smiled a little sheepishly and took another drink.]

That was one of the D'Arby brothers. Basically what the pair of them did was get someone to wager their soul in a game. If their victim admitted defeat in their heart and thought 'there's no way I can win', their Stands--Osiris for the older brother Daniel, and Atum for the younger brother Terence--took it. I believe the elder brother specialized in card games, I was in the hospital when the others fought him.

I bet my soul in a video game and lost. D'Arby cheated, of course--if I remember correctly, they mentioned his Stand effectively being able to read his opponent's mind.

[Sighing, he shook his head.]

...That was kind of a long day. First Pet Shop, then D'Arby, then Polnareff and the others dealt with Vanilla Ice...then the sun went down and everything was even more of a disaster.

[Fortunately for Kakyoin, Diarmuid is very interested in Stands 101. It's a topic he's wanted to know more about, but has been uneasy asking about because Stands are not just a power. They are a part of that person's soul.

His brow furrows as he listens. A theory is starting to form in his head, and he has no idea if it is true or not. Well, no better time than now to ask, right?]

Does the power focus have anything to do with range on a Stand? I already know that Hierophant Green is long ranged, but from what I have seen of Star Platinum and Gold Experience they both stay very close to their partners.

[Granted, he has only seen Gold Experience once, but he was always just over Giorno's shoulder during that time.]

Gambling, I should have guessed. So many cannot refuse a challenge. I'm guilty of it myself, though I generally don't straight out gamble. My luck is not good enough for that.

I suppose that a Stand that can steal souls would easily be able to read them. But you say Joseph helped Jotaro cheat to save you? How did he do that?

[Curiosity peaked. Diarmuid seriously wants to know how a Stand that can make psychic pictures and gather information managed to beat a Stand that could read a person's very soul.]

It was a Hell of a day. No better way than that to put it, but it is a day that is passed and you're here now.

[Diarmuid reaches out to give Kakyoin's arm a comforting squeeze.]

Want me to get you a refill?

In theory, yes. Close range ones like Star Platinum and Gold Experience often carry much more in the way of physical power. Long-range Stands tend to be much weaker on average, like Hermit Purple. I've also heard it said that Stands in general are proportionally weaker the further they move from their users, but that's never applied to me. So I don't know if we're an exception or if it only applies in certain cases.

As for how he cheated, it's not as impressive as you're thinking. Clever, but not impressive. Mr. Joestar just used Hermit Purple to play the game when it looked like Jojo was the one doing it. D'Arby was reading the wrong person the entire time.

[You do not out-cheat Joseph Joestar.]

You don't have to get up. I can reach the kitchen from here without a problem.

I was going to say, I never noticed Hierophant Green seeming weaker just because he was at a distance from you. That either means you are the exception to the rule or you are just that good.

[The grin on Diarmuid's face makes it pretty clear which explanation he favors. Maybe he is just biased because he has seen Kakyoin use his Stand the most out of the Stand users in the city, but Diarmuid very firmly believes the red head to be one of the most skilled in the city. Equal to, and maybe even better than Jotaro. Of course, he has always thought that fighting smart was more difficult than just overwhelming someone with sheer power.

The respect he has for Kakyoin and Hierophant Green might also be why it always throws him whenever his friend mentions doing something so mundane as refilling a drink with his Stand.

Diarmuid laughs.]

Ah, true, true. That you can.

I don't know. I still think the plan was a pretty impressive one. It took a quick thinker to come up with it and some pretty good teamwork not to give it away.

As I said, it was very clever. Childish as he might be, he excels at 'clever' when it counts. And as much as Jojo complains about him driving us crazy, they're not a bad team.

[Kakyoin shrugged, Hierophant reaching out like a particularly flexible snake to make its way into the kitchen and refill both coffee cups as its user continued. Respectable or not, his Stand was something he'd come to regard as an extra pair of hands--or several. Using it for mundane things was just normal.]

I certainly wouldn't complain, it put my soul back where it should be.

'Clever' can be one of those very annoying things when it is used at the wrong time. However, when used at the right time, it can't be beat.

[When his cup is returned to the table refilled, Diarmuid gives Hierophant Green a nod of thanks before taking a sip.]

I can't even begin to imagine how disorienting that was.

[Diarmuid stops and pales slightly when his mind drifts to wonder how extra horrible it had to have felt to Jotaro to have won Kakyoin's soul back only to lose his friend permanently not long after. After a moment, though, he forces those thoughts away. Hopefully, before Kakyoin notices.]

It was not, shall we say, a very comfortable sensation.

[Hurt like all holy shit, in other words. Hierophant retreated behind its user, reforming to wrap its arms loosely over Kakyoin's shoulders.]

...Diarmuid? Are you alright?

[Oops. Busted.

Diarmuid's hands tighten around the cup making it creak with the pressure. His eyes focus on it, refusing to look at Kakyoin or the Stand draped around his shoulders.]

Ever since I came back to the city my mind has had a tendency to wander down...dark paths, lets call them. Places it doesn't need to go. That was just one of those times. Sorry.

...Well, we're already talking.

[He tilted his head slightly, giving Diarmuid an encouraging smile.]

So I'm listening, if you want to say something.

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How DARE you use such a happy looking icon. HOW DARE! LOL!

ooooops

ooops...riiiight

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