jojoceanman | ic contact [maskormenace]

[He silently appraises Giorno as the boy slumps, perhaps the lack of sleep finally getting a hold of him. Maybe something else too. To carry the world on one's shoulders is an exhausting effort. He personally can't stand it, which is why he works so hard to live normally. If you don't want normal though, you need to accept a certain burden. Giorno is too young for such a burden in Jotaro's eyes.]

...Wait here. I'll be back in a few.

[With that, he leaves the bar. While Giorno waits, the last remnants of people begin to pay their tabs, leave tips with the front and depart for the evening. The elderly man who brought Giorno in comes back out and bids him a good evening, before going back toward the front and preparing his own leave for the night. Not long after, Jotaro returns.]

You know how to play poker? I'm a little rusty myself.

Sure. It's late, I won't hold that against you.

[ more importantly, he knows how to cheat in it.

terrible. he's fond of the club now. this should be a lot more alarming to giorno, but then he remembers that in the span of a few weeks he was ready to kill for his newfound friends. sometimes a person can be so lonely that attaching yourself to the first thing that gives away heat and warmth seems like a strategy for survival. certain things are habitual. it's difficult to shake that off -

The weakness of others is inevitable. All humans have their weaknesses. Whether it's being too Good, wanting too much, hoping too hard. Needing something, wanting something, searching for safety and security. There is no guarantee.

- his father, apparently, does a good job of lingering in the back of his mind, and giorno just smiles to himself. ]

Good.

[He steps over toward the seating area and takes a seat at an empty table, inviting Giorno with a wave to sit across from him. It's been a while since he's done this, but shuffling doesn't take more than skillful handy work to it. Though he's not really interested in fancy tricks as the cards hit against each other in the mixing.]

Do you feel like wagering anything, or should we play without any stakes?

No stakes. I want to be able to sleep, Jotaro. Not stay up late planning for revenge.

[ is being petty a joestar trait, or a brando trait? who knows. seems like more of the latter.

he takes his seat across him, and takes the cards dealt for him. this is soothing, in a way. just playing cards with no stakes and both of them finally coming to the point where small talk is awkward late this time when all of the heavy stuff has finally been unloaded on the table. giorno feels lighter, oddly enough; but that could also be some sort of exhaustion, mental or emotional or otherwise, creeping in. ]

Good grief. You shouldn't have such ill thoughts.

[ "Revenge" as a concept sounds utterly exhausting. A bitter cycle where no one wins, someone just loses a little more than before. Jotaro takes a look at his cards and picks out two to trade, placing them face down and drawing from the top of the deck. His face betrays nothing. ]

How old are you, 64?

[ 'ill thoughts' my ass. a fifteen year old can afford 3 seasons and an OVA's worth of a vengeance storyline if ever. and giorno's face is just as inscrutable, too, if only because he's a lot more peaceful now that they're just playing.

he makes several timely calls and bluffs, and he wins it easily, revealing a good hand as he slides the cards across the table. ]

28.

[Though his hand wasn't up to par, that doesn't discourage him. He takes Giorno's cards and his, banishing them to the bottom of the deck before dealing out the next set. He takes a look at his hand and this time discards and takes three in exchange. Once more, his face is stone.]

[ a decade older. and he feels so much older than giorno can imagine him to be. maybe when he's 28 he'll have that kind of look on his face, too; though giorno is now more aware of the fact that jotaro is a lot kinder to others than giorno will ever be. a tragic fact of life.

giorno takes his cards, reads, determines they could be better. there's a slight movement where he briefly covers his other fingers and he adds and takes a card into his sleeve. and then he plays on. ]

--!

[In the second between the movement, a large arm storms to life in stardust and grabs Giorno's wrist with a sharp grip strong enough to break a wrist. The arm isn't Jotaro's however. It's a ghostly specter, shades of purple and blue, a white glove emblazoned with large golden studs. There's no body attached to it, but tracing from the hand to the arm shows it coming out from Jotaro's right shoulder.]

...Tsk, tsk. [He waves a finger with his free hand, slamming the cards in his other faced down.] You cheated.

[And the hand around Giorno's wrist tightens a little harder.]

[ so this is jotaro's stand. how powerful. giorno gets caught unawares, the cards slipping from his hands - and more cards slipping from his sleeves should splat start shaking him - down onto the table. he looks - not guilty. just annoyed that he was caught.

giorno sighs. taps on the big purple hand holding his wrist with a finger. ]

So I did. I'm so sorry, Mr. Kujo. It won't happen again. [ friendly reminder that giorno giovanna is a shit. ]

Are you gonna let me post bail, Mr. Kujo? Or do I need to call a lawyer?

[The arm vanishes in the same burst of star, freeing Giorno, but Jotaro continues to look unamused.]

Why did you cheat?

[ now giorno just looks confused. ]

Are you seriously asking that?

I do it all the time. You're not the first.

[Jotaro, in turn, looks exasperated.]

We aren't playing with stakes, you have nothing to gain out of it. So why cheat?

Because I can.

[ he returns the cards to the deck and shuffles it easily. he places it back onto the table, where a single tap of the finger can easily dissolve it into ants, or bees. as it stands, giorno just taps it with his index finger thoughtfully. ] Because I'm not kind.

Good evening, Jotaro. Or should I say good morning? ... well, it doesn't matter now.

[ gonna leave now. he yawns, finally giving up and conceding to being tired. ]

...

You should really consider school. [He grabs the deck, holding it full in his hand.] I think you would find something beneficial out of it.

[ "i'm a mafia boss, for fuck's sake." ]

Noted. Thank you for your company.

ic contact [maskormenace]

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