I dunno about perfect, she fed my fish to her stupid cat once . . .
[But perfect in Giorno terms, maybe. And even as he says that, he's grinning fiercely-- no matter what, he'll always want to talk about Sherry. It hurts, but when doesn't it? At least this way he can share the good parts with someone else.]
She was smart. Smarter than me, she-- we lived together, just she and I, for a bit, she was always the one going over the books. I wish I had a picture to show you, she didn't look anything like me, she took after Mama-- brown hair, all long and curly.
[He glances up at Polnareff curiously, trying to envision what his father might look like, or what parts of Polnareff's face might be hiding in Sherry's. Absently, he plays with the end of his hair and then seems to realize something.]
I sort of wondered. You don't have enough to do it yourself.
[Honestly, he's not sure how he feels about this, but . . . it's not bad? It's odd. Just odd, that's all. He looks down at his braid, like he's inspecting it for split ends.]
[He tips his head-- he can guess what Giorno might be thinking, and part of him wants to correct it, but he'll wait. He can talk more about her for a bit.]
Mm, let's see. She was a brat when we were younger, a bit, but I think . . . it was worse and better when it was just us, because all we had were each other, right? So we got closer, and she grew up more and so did I. She was always a cat person-- she had one official one when we were kids, but there were always a ton hanging around our house, because they knew she'd feed them.
Chariot liked her. I mean, of course he did, but-- I think even now he'd like her. She never could see him, of course, she thought I had an imaginary friend, but I had her thinking I was magic for years because of him.
[It is if he doesn't think about it. And if Giorno hadn't asked the question, he probably would have let it just be that.]
Not . . . always. I mean, yeah, some of the time. Sometimes it was miserable. I mean, for a while it was just me and then she came along and got the attention, so that sucked. She was always the baby, so I got all the stricter stuff and by the time she came along, our parents were way more relaxed. Sometimes we fought, and I was mean to her and she was mean to me. And sometimes never being alone isn't so great-- I mean, it was a small house.
So: not always good. And not every sibling is like that, I mean, I had friends who hated their siblings. But for me and Sherry-- it was more good than not, if that makes sense.
[...]
You and Jotaro . . . you must get annoyed with him sometimes, right? You love him, but I mean, the guy must drive you up a wall sometimes. But even when he does, he's still your brother, so even if you end up fighting you're gonna love him.
. . . Mm. It makes sense. I just wonder sometimes.
I think maybe . . . sometimes I feel like I had another brother. But I didn't know him for very long, so it feels strange to say that. He was always bossing me around, though, because he was older so he thought he should be in charge. We fought way more than I do with Jotaro. But I loved him anyway.
Well.
[He gives a soft smile.]
It's silly to pretend, I know, but I just wonder what it would have been like if things were different.
[Narancia or Abbachio, if he had to guess. Certainly not Mista, and Bruno was one of the others Giorno had listed as father-figure-like. But he doesn't know much about either boy, save for the fact they died. And while his gaze is soft, he doesn't smile-- because it's not silly. It's about the farthest thing from silly.]
[Immediately, obviously caught off guard, he glances up at Polnareff as though he t hinks he's done something wrong. They were talking about Sherry, so he shouldn't have said anything, right?]
[And Bruno had told him a lot more. Funny, isn't it-- because the way Bruno had talked about him, Polnareff had been imagining some fourteen year old, skinny and rebellious and still a child, really. But if he's older than Giorno-- god, what, sixteen, when all that shit went down?]
I want to hear about Narancia.
[An assurance, in reply to that somewhat alarmed look. But before they entirely leave the topic of Sherry--]
Y'know-- I did a bunch of girly stuff with Sherry, braiding her hair and all that. And I like doing it with you. And-- I just--
[How to say this...]
I don't do it with you just because I did it with her.
[His brows draw together in a total lack of comprehension. He doesn't understand how you can just have one thing with one person, and then with someone else, and it not be the same thing. Wouldn't that hurt?]
[He hesitates-- not because he's trying to lie, but because he wants to be sure he's telling Giorno the actual truth, not just what he wants to hear.]
I think . . . I wouldn't have started doing it if I hadn't done it with her. So maybe in part, yeah, because some things are always gonna make me think of her. But . . . I like doing it because I like spending time with you like that. It's nice to just sit with you like that and talk about nothing and end the day like that.
[It makes a lot of sense, and he's not really sure why he didn't think of that himself. But either way . . . he nods, and he shifts a little to snuggle closer.]
I understand. I didn't mean to — if I said something wrong, I'm sorry.
[There's two ways to treat a Giorno apology: briskly or with excessive love. This is a time for the former, and so he simply draws him in closer and settles down. There are still flowers on his floor, and he wonders idly if Giorno has any intention of getting rid of them.]
You didn't say anything wrong. And if you want-- I'd like to hear about Narancia.
[He nods a little, curls up close. But there is one thing.]
. . . Um. I know you wanted to know about what Gold Experience can do, and . . . there's a lot more than that. So I don't know if you want to talk about that first.
[Which he's quick to point out, and obviously sort of fidgety, because — well, he understands Jotaro's misgivings even if he didn't at first. After a short pause, he pulls away a little and straightens his shoulders.]
Mm, it's called life shot, it . . . affects the way you perceive the world around you, so it feels like you're slowing down. Or time's speeding up.
Well, no wonder Jotaro was jumpy about it. He's a little jumpy just hearing about it-- but he doesn't pull away. He trusts Giorno not to do anything but tell him about it, not unless Polnareff requests otherwise.]
Useful. You could really mess with somebody's fighting abilities that way, if they thought they were a few seconds ahead or behind.
[You could do a lot of things with an ability like that.]
[He makes a face. A little, yeah, fingers in the mouth, that's a touch more than a little scary. And he's glad for that momentary distraction, because it lets him think about Bruno instead of Giorno's time-related ability.]
I'm not sure. It's not something I've worked with a lot. I don't . . . like it as much as the growing, the healing. But the longest I've ever done is a little under a minute, I think.
[Terrifying. Nauseating. Horrifying, and it doesn't matter Giorno can't stop time; it's very nearly the same thing. Polnareff rubs his hand against the back of his neck, his eyes darting down for a few seconds.]
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[But perfect in Giorno terms, maybe. And even as he says that, he's grinning fiercely-- no matter what, he'll always want to talk about Sherry. It hurts, but when doesn't it? At least this way he can share the good parts with someone else.]
She was smart. Smarter than me, she-- we lived together, just she and I, for a bit, she was always the one going over the books. I wish I had a picture to show you, she didn't look anything like me, she took after Mama-- brown hair, all long and curly.
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[He glances up at Polnareff curiously, trying to envision what his father might look like, or what parts of Polnareff's face might be hiding in Sherry's. Absently, he plays with the end of his hair and then seems to realize something.]
Did you do her hair when she was little?
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[He doesn't miss the way Giorno touches his own braid. Polnareff offers a slight smile.]
'S why I'm actually pretty decent at doing yours.
[And why he finds the entire ritual soothing, frankly.]
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[Honestly, he's not sure how he feels about this, but . . . it's not bad? It's odd. Just odd, that's all. He looks down at his braid, like he's inspecting it for split ends.]
Do you . . . well. Tell me more about her, maybe?
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[He tips his head-- he can guess what Giorno might be thinking, and part of him wants to correct it, but he'll wait. He can talk more about her for a bit.]
Mm, let's see. She was a brat when we were younger, a bit, but I think . . . it was worse and better when it was just us, because all we had were each other, right? So we got closer, and she grew up more and so did I. She was always a cat person-- she had one official one when we were kids, but there were always a ton hanging around our house, because they knew she'd feed them.
Chariot liked her. I mean, of course he did, but-- I think even now he'd like her. She never could see him, of course, she thought I had an imaginary friend, but I had her thinking I was magic for years because of him.
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[He presses his lips together thoughtfully.]
Is that what it's like to have a sibling? Always playing games and never being alone?
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Not . . . always. I mean, yeah, some of the time. Sometimes it was miserable. I mean, for a while it was just me and then she came along and got the attention, so that sucked. She was always the baby, so I got all the stricter stuff and by the time she came along, our parents were way more relaxed. Sometimes we fought, and I was mean to her and she was mean to me. And sometimes never being alone isn't so great-- I mean, it was a small house.
So: not always good. And not every sibling is like that, I mean, I had friends who hated their siblings. But for me and Sherry-- it was more good than not, if that makes sense.
[...]
You and Jotaro . . . you must get annoyed with him sometimes, right? You love him, but I mean, the guy must drive you up a wall sometimes. But even when he does, he's still your brother, so even if you end up fighting you're gonna love him.
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I think maybe . . . sometimes I feel like I had another brother. But I didn't know him for very long, so it feels strange to say that. He was always bossing me around, though, because he was older so he thought he should be in charge. We fought way more than I do with Jotaro. But I loved him anyway.
Well.
[He gives a soft smile.]
It's silly to pretend, I know, but I just wonder what it would have been like if things were different.
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[Narancia or Abbachio, if he had to guess. Certainly not Mista, and Bruno was one of the others Giorno had listed as father-figure-like. But he doesn't know much about either boy, save for the fact they died. And while his gaze is soft, he doesn't smile-- because it's not silly. It's about the farthest thing from silly.]
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[Immediately, obviously caught off guard, he glances up at Polnareff as though he t hinks he's done something wrong. They were talking about Sherry, so he shouldn't have said anything, right?]
Narancia. You . . . I told Jotaro about him.
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[And Bruno had told him a lot more. Funny, isn't it-- because the way Bruno had talked about him, Polnareff had been imagining some fourteen year old, skinny and rebellious and still a child, really. But if he's older than Giorno-- god, what, sixteen, when all that shit went down?]
I want to hear about Narancia.
[An assurance, in reply to that somewhat alarmed look. But before they entirely leave the topic of Sherry--]
Y'know-- I did a bunch of girly stuff with Sherry, braiding her hair and all that. And I like doing it with you. And-- I just--
[How to say this...]
I don't do it with you just because I did it with her.
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[He chews his lip for a moment, before:]
But that is . . . part of the reason?
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I think . . . I wouldn't have started doing it if I hadn't done it with her. So maybe in part, yeah, because some things are always gonna make me think of her. But . . . I like doing it because I like spending time with you like that. It's nice to just sit with you like that and talk about nothing and end the day like that.
Make sense?
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[It makes a lot of sense, and he's not really sure why he didn't think of that himself. But either way . . . he nods, and he shifts a little to snuggle closer.]
I understand. I didn't mean to — if I said something wrong, I'm sorry.
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[There's two ways to treat a Giorno apology: briskly or with excessive love. This is a time for the former, and so he simply draws him in closer and settles down. There are still flowers on his floor, and he wonders idly if Giorno has any intention of getting rid of them.]
You didn't say anything wrong. And if you want-- I'd like to hear about Narancia.
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[He nods a little, curls up close. But there is one thing.]
. . . Um. I know you wanted to know about what Gold Experience can do, and . . . there's a lot more than that. So I don't know if you want to talk about that first.
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[Either direction means getting to know Giorno better-- but perhaps they've spoken of dead friends enough for the time being.]
What else can he do? Life, Requiem-- what else?
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The other thing . . . well, one of the other things. It scared Jotaro. So maybe I should just explain it?
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[What an ominous introduction.]
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[Which he's quick to point out, and obviously sort of fidgety, because — well, he understands Jotaro's misgivings even if he didn't at first. After a short pause, he pulls away a little and straightens his shoulders.]
Mm, it's called life shot, it . . . affects the way you perceive the world around you, so it feels like you're slowing down. Or time's speeding up.
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Well, no wonder Jotaro was jumpy about it. He's a little jumpy just hearing about it-- but he doesn't pull away. He trusts Giorno not to do anything but tell him about it, not unless Polnareff requests otherwise.]
Useful. You could really mess with somebody's fighting abilities that way, if they thought they were a few seconds ahead or behind.
[You could do a lot of things with an ability like that.]
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If I have to . . . but it's not — well, you know. It even scared Bruno, when we met. But he was being a little scary at the time, too.
["A LITTLE"]
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How long can you stretch it out, do you know?
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That's--
[Terrifying. Nauseating. Horrifying, and it doesn't matter Giorno can't stop time; it's very nearly the same thing. Polnareff rubs his hand against the back of his neck, his eyes darting down for a few seconds.]
Why don't you like it?
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