RYSLIG - IC INBOX
Oct. 31st, 2019 10:42![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
notpiercingsWELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, HOLYDIVER. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 346.47.668.65 *** HOLYDIVER has joined 346.47.668.65 <HOLYDIVER> Is this thing on? <HOLYDIVER> The display appears to be working... <HOLYDIVER> Are these going to stay here? <HOLYDIVER> How do I delete these? <HOLYDIVER> Wait <HOLYDIVER> shit <HOLYDIVER> fuck | ||||
<kriskringle>
Date: 2019-12-10 21:35 (UTC)Your Secret Santa is Virgil Alexandrescu. Imaginative man that he is, he goes by "Virgil" on the network. Price limit is whatever you want it to be, please gift something by December 24.
Ho, ho, ho!
DEC 25 | PRESENT TIME!
Date: 2019-12-25 05:06 (UTC)Only later will Dio be able to squirrel what is indeed his away, and aside from the bulky present, there is a sizable letter attached.]
Dio.
You left before we could do more than recognize the other, but perhaps that is for the best. You clearly felt I would have known who you were in advance- and I myself I admit was not in the sort of state that would speak to any intelligent conversation with you from there. Which is hardly fair- and while you may think it naive and perhaps even blind to think of there being any good to this place, it remains that there is some. Indeed not much- certainly not enough to outweigh the worst but it is some.
Truthfully so, I do not know what it is you would enjoy most, what good it is you would find catching your eye here. As children and thereafter it seemed you did not enjoy much at all. Not even fighting and reading, though I understand how presumptuous the statement is. After all, that is a 'you' now lost from your path.
You and He stopped being the same the moment you came here.
Despite our childhood however, I want genuinely for this device to be something you enjoy. From what Tsukikage- my employer, oddly- has said of your residence, it should hopefully make good use of this device in coming weeks.
I can only guess, however. I fear after all that you would not enjoy being asked about such things. And far more than that I am not so bold as to assume that what I gift will necessarily be a thing you enjoy. But I do hope, with time, that you come to find enjoyment in life- even if only a little, and even if it must come from here. I am not so prideful as to believe I shall have a strong- no, even a slight hand in this. I fear the rift between us is one that makes even small meetings difficult enough. But I have hope- not for any personal reasons in this regard, but instead for this reason and this reason alone.
You deserve to Live. To enjoy that life, for that matter.
Find purpose, Dio. Find meaning to life as it exists now, and do not focus your eyes so hard upon the future that the present disappears. For whatever you do along that path...
I have no doubt at all that you will be able to make the most there can be of it.
Merry Christmas
Jonathan
[The gift is a good sized sled. Dio could ride it alone, or even with friends...assuming he has them.
There are also a set of nice socks that have been hemmed to fit around those wheels of his.]
It's a package!
Date: 2019-12-25 06:15 (UTC)-A can of WD-40 and some oil for the joints, because you Do Not want to be caught with stiffness unawares
-A youth-sized clasp wallet to hold all your treasures, but mostly your money. All parentless children need a safe place for their coins. And you're a parentless child, now, aren't you, Dio?
-A soccer ball (because SPORTS! KIDS LOVE SPORTS! according to the very pushy salesperson that was entirely unhelpful in your secret Santa's endeavors)
-And, finally, a pair of brand-new shoes in Dio's size. Why? That's mysterious. But hey, they'll work very well to kick around that soccer ball. If, you know, Simulacrum even wear shoes.
There is an accompanying note that says Joyeux Noël in very neat and sharp quill script.]
FEB 4- Just before Hospital-kidnapping
Date: 2020-02-08 03:52 (UTC)Dio left quite some time ago of course- it's about two hours distance from the Hill House to the Arc-T apartment. It's also a lot of snow until one reaches the city limits themselves, and snow unfortunately means water. She'd offered to 'cheat' it, of course. She knows where the Arc-T lives, she used to live there. She could teleport to a nearby radio, open the door to the arcade, let Dio through...
He refused, saying something along the lines of it not being as meaningful that way, and then left.
So she's been checking every hour, alternating between sitting outside her closet door (open to the Arcade of course), and outside the room that's been identified as his. They're rather small, she's noted. Very very small. At least Dio doesn't need it to stay in? Well.
She's knocking again- admittedly hoping that she doesn't get an answer, and that instead she hears the sound of grumbling coming down the hall to get to her room.
At least then that would mean nothing bad happened.
i'd like to apologise for comments on this journal not having any background. it's terrible i know.
Date: 2020-02-26 03:13 (UTC)It is early morning when Dio's eyes snap open to the sound of knocking at his door. He's lying in a small (but comfortable) bed in a room that could very well be a closet. The tiny space is used as efficiently as possible, however: a desk folds up into the wall about halfway down the length of the bed, and a screen sits suspended near the foot with a console plugged into it. The carpet and wallpaper is dark, matching the aesthetic of the Arcade outside - and he knows he's in the Arcade from the sounds of the cabinets bleeding into the room.
For a moment, he doesn't react. He simply lies in bed, curling each of his fingers, each of his toes, bending and extending his joints to remove the horrible stiffness of inactivity. There's a chill that clings to his body, makes the metal in his flesh tingle and ache. The sensation is familiar; it brings him back to when he woke up at Marco's.
When Dio closes his eyes, it's like he's back on the pavement buried in piles of snow, too exhausted to move because of the tantrum he threw. God, fuck, how stupid.
He punches the air and yells in frustration, kicking the blankets off in the process.
omg
Date: 2020-02-26 03:25 (UTC)And then there's a yell.
Reira pauses, frozen at the door for a number of seconds. If he's here, he's died. If he's here, he's died a second time...
Strike three, and he'll probably not come back with everything.
The girl swallows, and her voice passes through the door.
"...Dio?"
....
"Is it alright to come in?"
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 03:37 (UTC)He exhales and throws his arms to the edges of the bed. "...yeah."
She isn't the type to 'tell him so,' so to speak, but he still isn't exactly looking forward to speaking to her. Not now, not so soon.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 03:47 (UTC)Reira is indeed not the type to 'tell him so'- if anything she seems more concerned about how he's doing now, which on the other hand might sting in it's own way.
There's not a whole lot of room in the room, and actually standing there is a bit tricky- Especially with wings. But somehow she manages and the door is closed. She doesn't really know what to say, for the moment. She can bet that Dio doesn't want to...well. Talk about it. So...
"Did I wake you up?"
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 03:54 (UTC)"...I don't think so," he responds belatedly.
There isn't much beating around the bush to be had. He may as well explain himself. He finally looks at her properly.
"...so you were right about the snow thing."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 03:59 (UTC)But then, what else to say? .... "Do you hurt anywhere?" is what she eventually says. "..Um. Are you maybe hungry, or..."
Ultimately all she can do is talk about how to fix it, without saying it's for that.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 04:07 (UTC)The physical pain, though the memory lingers, is gone by now. Some stretches and he'll be just fine. That's not the problem here.
He's troubled. Perhaps a little vulnerable still. Perhaps a little guilty still.
"...I made you worry again. I'm sorry."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 04:15 (UTC)... It would be a lie to say it was 'okay' she thinks, looking to him with maybe a hair of surprise. So instead. "...thank you." That no doubt sounds odd on it's own. She should maybe...explain? She should explain.
"...For saying sorry, I mean. ...I know going to Bavan was important. And...sometimes things matter more, or feel like they matter more, when you take the long way. I take the short way a lot, so I always forget what it's like. ...Even though it's dangerous, it can be important... ...but...thank you for that. ...and... ...I'm sorry too. For I guess...not getting it maybe?" She doesn't completely know, but she knows she feels it. That seems important to her.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 04:34 (UTC)"Your pragmatism doesn't need to be forgiven." There's plenty else he could tack onto that, plenty of self-depreciating things, or other things that just aren't important anymore. He leaves it there. "You don't need to excuse it. You did fine."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 04:48 (UTC)So.
They've traded apologies and such....and... "...It didn't go very well did it?" she eventually says, looking to him with a frown. It's hardly judging- if anything the blame in her eyes is likely directed at whoever he went to see.
But one doesn't die for no reason, and she feels like with how long it took he'd probably at least gotten there.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 15:00 (UTC)...
"...it was stupid." But he won't say he shouldn't have gone.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 15:08 (UTC)"...Why was it stupid?"
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 16:20 (UTC)He swallows.
"Ever since I found out about all the awful things my older self has done, I've done nothing but insist that it wasn't me, that I shouldn't be judged for those heinous crimes I had not committed. I thought I should be absolved of that guilt."
...
"The scars of trauma run deep. An absence of guilt does not mean an absence of pain. Their wounds are still fresh, and their lives have been changed for the worse because of me." He flops back into the pillows. "I've done some awful things myself, even; I've been such a fool to assume I should be forgiven."
The ceiling staring resumes. "I only hurt them by showing up. It was thoughtless. An unforgivable error."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 16:28 (UTC)It's not very fair to judge someone else for that- she's probably said that before though, and... Awful things.
"...I killed Tsukikage once."
That's pretty awful. She doesn't look directly at him when she says it, sort of focused on the wall as she gets it out. "...It wasn't an accident, either. I mean...I don't think it was supposed to be him, but it still happened. And I don't think saying I wasn't all me is a very good excuse. I was still mostly me, and that means it was still mostly me that did it.
"I don't think it's bad though, to want forgiveness. Even if you only realize it later, it's important. It's just hard- and...I think Tsukikage still remembers when that happened, and still gets a little scared thinking about it. And that hurts, on both sides. But...
"It wasn't 'thoughtless'. You put a lot of thought into it. Because it matters now to you, and you want it to be better. If you don't ever try, how can you make it better then? So it was important to try. And..."
She pauses. "...If it means anything, I think they'll at least realize it one day too. They just have to stop hurting a little more first."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 16:45 (UTC)"...it was JoJo's wedding anniversary. It was also the a anniversary of his death. I hated seeing him sulking on a day I felt he should be remembering fondly. If nothing else, anyone but his murderer should've been the one to tell him to chin up."
no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 16:57 (UTC)Maybe she should do that.
That's not for Now though, right Now is Dio's talk, and that means thinking over the implications of... "...You mean...the one before the murderer as well, then..."
Well. So a future Dio caused a lot of problems, and also, maybe, killed Mr. Jonathan. Definitely killed Mr. Jonathan. (Though not really on the same day as the wedding, as they're both assuming)
"...I don't think that's your fault." She'll go on, trust her, but she leaves the words on the air a bit as she looks to Dio on the bed. "...Mr. Jonathan...that's JoJo right? ...But Mr. Jonathan hasn't been here very long right? So I don't think he expected it to be that day again. It's supposed to be a happy one, but there's probably a lot of bad feelings stuck there, since it hasn't been that long. It's not something good, being stuck like that...but I don't think it's something easy to stop. ...when you did leave... ...mnh." She pauses, thinking of the right words again. "...I guess it didn't work, obviously but... ...even though I only really saw him at Christmas...I think maybe, he'll at least think about the things you said for good reasons. Not for bad ones. He was here earlier this year too right? And he wasn't mean or rude, right? So...
"...Maybe he does want to give you a chance, at least. But more than that, I think even if someone else talked to him, he'd still be sad, or whatever he was." That's a blatant guess, but ultimately she's not that wrong. After all, Speedwagon, the Best Friend, was stuck.
And wasn't Dio the one who got him to stand?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 16:12 (UTC)He had gotten Jonathan to stand, but wouldn't he have been just as well sitting? Spending the day in his own way, as he had every right to?
Dio says nothing. How JoJo regards his words isn't important, and it never will be. He had still ferried more conflict to their humble home and left them with the burden of festering anger - if not Jonathan directly then Speedwagon, whom Jonathan will have to deal with. He still failed. He still made things worse.
He's quiet for a long time, lost in his own thoughts, until finally...
"...thank you for the kind words. I do appreciate them."
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 16:16 (UTC)"...They're true words, after all," is what Reira eventually says. And in the quiet, softly-
"...Do you just want to sit for a while? ...Like this, I mean?"
no subject
Date: 2020-03-05 02:30 (UTC)"...is that okay?"
no subject
Date: 2020-03-05 02:33 (UTC)"Yeah."
They'll sit there for as long as they can.
december 24.
Date: 2020-12-17 04:20 (UTC)I was going to get you a book, but I realized I don't know anything about what kinds of books you like, or even if you like books at all, although that's my instinct. I thought I might get you a book that I like, but those don't exist here. So rather than giving you something you won't enjoy, I'd like it if you'd come to the bookshop with me when you're available. Or somewhere else.
This is a strange gift. I'm saying it so you don't have to. Merry Christmas.
— Giorno
DEC 25
Date: 2021-01-10 04:58 (UTC)Hint hint bud.]
ALSO DEC 25TH I SWEAR
Date: 2021-02-06 14:28 (UTC)Nevertheless, Dio does manage to prepare something for Reira even in his absent haze. It's a light pink scarf, one he laments isn't hand-made because knitting isn't his strong suit. It's really soft, though, so he hopes that makes up for it.
He also gives her a quiet, weak apology. For what in particular, he never says, but then, he doesn't say much of anything after that to anyone.]
DEC 25...
Date: 2021-01-10 08:32 (UTC)He did his best???]
I SWEAR THIS HAPPENS ON THE 25TH
Date: 2021-02-06 14:20 (UTC)Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dio's gifts to both Jonathan and Erina come in the same wrapped and 'FRAGILE'-scrawled box, divided only by their packaging within. There's a silver pocket watch and an empty silver locket each in their own smaller box, and each has a separate colorful chain should they feel more inclined to them over their defaults - the watch loops from silver to cyan to navy blue, and the locket alternates between silver and gold.
Underneath these smaller boxes is a larger one that takes up the majority of the whole package, upon which is scrawled a secondary 'FRAGILE' warning. The amount of tissue paper in this one is absurd even for its contents: a pair of gilded tea cups with matching saucers. Stars have been painted near the edges of each.
There's no letter. There aren't even full names, just 'J' and 'E' on the smaller things. Maybe it's still obvious.]