standless | IC INBOX

I think coming here has been the first I've ever had to look up, [He jokes, and then he hears that name.

And startles- not with fear, not with anger, not with anything so negative, it's simply...shock. Shock, for a name he hadn't expected to hear.] ....He...spoke of me? [It's quiet, soft- and even hopeful, because after all he died holding that head down, he died hoping they would go out together, go out in peace, and then nothing came of it at all. But then here again as he witnessed an alternate history unfold before his eyes, how could he think of anything else but hope.

For reconciliation. For kindness. For...

Jonathan sighs- long and sad, and as he sits as well he closes his eyes in grief.] ...I had heard that he survived me by taking hold of my corpse- and from there all that could ever be gleaned from the museum here was tragedy, before one of my descendants could bring about his end...

To hear Dio passed in another era...I cannot be surprised- but I confess, I did not expect him to befriend a man of the cloth. He was...I don't wish to say he was against religion, indeed we were both brought up from later childhood by a rather scientific man, but while we knew the other he did not appear to have much if any thoughts upon the idea of any God or afterlife. ....If...I may ask...why did he speak to you?

[His attention remains focused, taking in every piece of his expression that he can. He expected anger, something of that sort, not... shock. And he blinks slowly in actual surprise at his tone. This isn't what he had expected with how Dio spoke, with how he had wanted to be rid of that family line.

It's... weird.

This man seems earnest in his emotions and in fact it's a hope and kindness? that he didn't expect from the stories. Even more when it switches to grief.]

It happened not long after I had left him to return to my studies when I was little more than a teenager. [His voice is quieter, almost softer.] It was something of a... coincidence, fate in a way. He had found himself in an ossuary in order to avoid the sun. Eventually we ended up talking and he was... a very interesting and knowledgeable person. [He goes quiet for the longest time during that, focus slipping to the kettle.]

Quite a bit happened after that, though I ended up going to visit him not long before he was killed. We spoke quite a bit about philosophy and the like and I cannot say I have ever met someone like him again. [A little gay there, Pucci. And a little vague.]

An ossuary..? [That alone is surprising in itself.] I cannot think of any reason for him to have sought shelter in such a place...and yet, this is where he was found? [He doesn't sound disbelieving. If anything, he sits stunned, in wonder perhaps, trying to piece together a puzzle he's never seen, parts mixed together, and upside down.]

I almost feel as if I am hearing about another person entirely- I don't doubt your words in the slightest, but it feels so strange, so very alien perhaps. The one I knew was...typically not interested in talking, at least not with his peers, certainly not myself. When he did it feels in hindsight as if he were placing a mask upon himself to fit some sort of mold I could not see, one I wish still that I had been able to catch sight of myself.

You say all this happened not long before his demise, as well? [...There is...an ache there. A wondering, a question. The words keep dying on the tip of his tongue, but he finally asks-]

...Did you ever speak to him as one of the church..? Before that time came?

That is where he was found, he was asleep when I stumbled over him. Quite literally. [How he doesn't miss the days of his gait being abnormal and is another thing he has to thank Dio for, but that's not important right now.]

Was it...? I believe I was the only one he spoke to like that. The others there, the people that worked for him, were only ever treated as underlings, as workers. [Which he Very Much Was Not.] I'm not... terribly sure why he decide on me of all people, but it was a bit of an honor for this centuries old being to find me worth talking to like that. [As a teenager.

A small bit of a sigh slips past his lips as he looks up at Jonathan again, rigid stance more relaxed than previous.]

I... was still in training during the time and not a fully-fledged priest. Our conversations were primarily philosophical when it came to those matters, though he did seem to very much believe that Heaven was a real place. [... In a sense.]

Literally?! And he had not a shout for you at all? [He sounds astounded- perhaps even delighted by the fact that someone might have...simply never drawn his step-brother's ire, never crossed that line.

It's good to think- 'he had a real friend', even if it mightn't be true.] I do wonder then... ...oh- I don't know that 'centuries' would be quite right though; he and I were of the same age in 1890 after all, and you say he perished some time ago for yourself..? [He seems to be giving this a fair amount of thought. Is decades better or..? Hmm.

He considers Pucci's words in silence.]

...Do you think...perhaps, he knew what was going to happen, somehow..?

[It goes without saying- the awareness of one's death changes everything, about how they interact with the world.]

Not at all, he seemed amused by it, if I were honest. [Or he had planned it. Who knows when it came to Dio, but Pucci can't recall him being terribly upset about the entire situation. Especially given what happened afterward.

... Ah, right. He did remember a tiny bit of what was said that Jonathan had some kind of history background, so of course he would be splitting hairs over the age of everything. Which Pucci is casually going to gloss over for the time being.]

It's... possible. We did have conversations about what might happen after his death. [He pauses on his words, attention returning to his hands.] He had a plan that would have reduced the suffering of the world if it were seen to completion. While I know there were many who saw him as nothing more than an evil man, a creature of destruction, I only ever saw him as a dear friend.

[More than that, but there were lines he wouldn't have crossed back then. Lines he couldn't have crossed.]

What really is good or evil but someone's perspective of a situation?

I should say that had you not started our discussion with how you had met, and what you discussed, I would have very much feared such a plan. The one I knew was quite attracted to the suffering of others, perhaps to excessive end. I spilled tears for him no matter the case, but it felt quite like each time I looked away, he would be ready with something else.

[The shade sighs, wisps of shadow blowing across his indistinct form.] ...Perhaps not even that, but instead, a mark of what is or is not necessary. We have in ourselves great capacity for any number of deeds beyond what is expected or needed to but survive, but in turn, whether we use it for the benefit of others, or the punishment instead, says so much about ourselves.

[It's almost ironic, in a way, hearing him talk like this when he knows full well the stance two of his descendants took in regards to Dio's plans. But he won't tell him that, there's... really no reason for him to do as such. Since truly, deep down, he still does believe that it was genuinely for the benefit of others and nothing else.]

Perhaps what happened was always inevitable, but it does not stop me from wondering what might have been if it hadn't happened. What would he have become if he had continued down the route it seemed he was taking... [Of course, in his mind, he's almost certain that he had some sort of positive influence on the man. But in reality, well, everyone else may know what the real answer to that was.]

I had come here expecting something far different than what I encountered, Jonathan.

Can it stop anyone from wondering? Particularly now, where we have so much evidence of moments that 'could have been'. I have seen for myself- and wondered as such, if there had been better adults in our own lives as children, what could have come of things, then? I know...my step brother was more than cruelty- no matter how often I tried to believe it for the sake of any battles we waged, or arguments borne, I could not stop caring for him, not even in death.

I think, [he chuckles to that end,] They themselves quite agree with that sentiment.

[Perhaps Pucci can realize from this then-

Jonathan knew 'Judith'.]

[Of course he had, he shouldn't be surprised in the slightest. But it doesn't stop him from the pang he can feel inside of him, something that he's... not entirely sure the meaning of. Sadness? Regret? Something he can't quite place.

In fact, he remains silent for perhaps far longer than he had intended. His thoughts racing through various what-if scenarios and the consequences of them. He shouldn't, probably, but when your mind is always going, never stopping, running from... who knows what, it's hard to fall out of habits.]

I doubt I would have been a grand example of a man of the cloth at that time.

[Jonathan of course doesn't interrupt. He barely even touches his own tea, blinking at the other slowly instead.]

What brings you to such a thought? [He finally asks, brows furrowed just slightly.]

[... Oh, he didn't catch notice of that, did he? Feathers that would have been ruffled are quickly smoothed over as he merely stares at the man in front of him.

Perhaps it's for the better that he didn't catch on, actually.]

Mm. Merely that some of the things I didn't do back then, I might have reconsidered later. [Was he... really this dense or just being polite? He's not entirely sure and it's unsure footing that he's not a fan of or knowing how to really recover from.]

[Jonathan can only nod in seeming understanding. He knows not what it is that Enrico regrets of course, but that doesn't stop the empathy and care from being genuine.]

The most we can do with such regrets, is resolve to better ourselves as we move forward. If there is something we wished we had done, even in general, it is all we can do but ask ourselves not to simply pass the moment by should it come again. I can no longer say 'we have but one life' of course, [he laughs, warmly so.]

But there is a life here, and so few things can be called wonderful- if there is something that could be that, which brings no harm to others, I think it wiser to pursue it than turn our eye away.

[... Normally that would be an answer one way or the other, but instead he's just more confused. That... could be his understanding the situation or it could be just dumb luck. He's really not sure.]

I... suppose that is a solution. The whims of the Church is certainly something that I don't have to adhere to here. Especially when it was rules that I never really understood the reasoning for and there's no formal setup here to begin with. [Of course he won't go full out just throwing everything to the side, but it does make him feel somewhat better to justify things to himself. He's allowed to live when he's not under the fear of being excommunicated and having everything torn away from him.

How odd.]

Forgive my changing the subject, but with the way things are here... [He pauses briefly, how does he even ask this?] Those that lose their loved ones here, do they... tend to move on as well or do they wait in case they come back in that rare chance? Merely curious as wedding vows certainly did not have this kind of caveat thought into them back home.

Quite a number of them have been very fascinating in their origin as well- if one looks to the history of more particular ones, there can be seen quite a number of societal and even personal reasons behind such instructions! It... [He clears his throat, looking away a bit bashfully.] ...well, perhaps not the time for a tangent upon the matter of seafood in a desert, but...

Well, a change in subject might be what we need then after all. Though as to such a question... ...mmmh. [And the shade...deflates.] I shall be honest...I do not know. I have not known of any who were married prior to this place, that met with their spouse yet again...certainly those who moved onward, found new love, and settled into such a relationship...

But perhaps it is the state of mourning, which so colors how I can answer. Erina and I retook our vows in part because, as she so stated, 'til death do we part' was a line I had yet crossed. And yet again now, I've suffered a fatal incident here, my beloved vanished from the plane of reality.

I know for myself that such things are not decided by the deities here- but such a matter only leaves me to question further, just what it could mean. Could it be happenstance? Or another entirely?

While the idea was to honor and serve God, the rules were still very much made by man and man is very much not perfect. [Of course this is absolutely his reasoning for this.] Do believe me, we will have time for that tangent at some point, I do enjoy discussing these things. The scripture, after all, was written by men. [... Pucci no.

The deflating almost has him regretting asking the question. But he remains quiet as he listens, watching closely and looking for the next words to say. If he were another priest, he may very well say that vows are for the Lord and the like, but he's... him.]

If I may be frank with you, Jonathan. The vows you have made, the ones that you make, those are your own convictions. The Lord will understand your decision no matter which way you go about it, because He can see everything that is going on and can understand the circumstances surrounding it.

The question, I think, is what you think is best for you and your happiness. Whether that is to find another, remain a widower in a sense, or something entirely different, the decision is truly your own.

I'm quite happy to hear that- there is certainly history here, but it's history of a very different beast from what any number of us will have even had the chance to study, so the opportunity for such talks is incredibly welcome!

[The cheer is short lived of course, but it's clear he has a passion for the matter- however much he seems to feel obligated to set it aside.

...He is glad that Pucci is a priest, he finds. There is something comforting about the reassurances of someone in theory bound to a particular form of objective forgiveness, and as distant as they yet are, something to be said for the reassurances that come of strangers with no reason for platitudes.

A bitter thought perhaps, but then that might be the shade in him at the moment.] ...Thank you, Enrico. I...

....I don't believe I shall be able to know for myself, what will make me happier...but indeed, the assurance that it is no crime to move onward is something that perhaps will keep me yet afloat. I-

MraaaAAAAAAAA

[Queen has arrived, and her attempt to take a lap space is of course, foiled by the source being a shadow.] Oh dear- Queen, I'm sorry, but I simply can't support anything like this...

MRAAAAAAAAAAAA..!

There certainly seems to be much to learn in this place and it ought to help keep the mind sharp. [That is his excuse, anyway, as much as he might have ulterior motives somewhere else deep down inside.

While he might be interested, himself, he does actually mean the words that he's saying. Whether it had been Jonathan or someone else that wasn't remotely catching Enrico's eye, the words would have remained the exact same. While many may focus on fire and brimstone, there is always the need to remember that their God is also a loving one and only wants for them to be happy at the core.

The human experience.]

I only speak what God has said to us, there's no need for thanks.

[... Oh, that is certainly a cat trying to find a lap and he's blinking slowly at her attempts. Animals, man. Though between the two of them, there's only one actual tangible lap here.]

I take it that she's used to your lap actually being a tangible thing? [Why is this also amusing?] I doubt that protesting is going to make him anymore solid, Queen.

I should think that even the messengers of any matters are deserving of thanks all the same, as without, who could say if the words would have been properly received?

[Queen, through this, gives a small 'mrrp' as she appears to remember that there is Someone New Here. Unlike Athena who quite happily went to distract herself with her chew toy in another room, the small cat seems to eye Pucci with a discerning eye before trotting happily over.]

Aha! Careful then, it appears you've reminded here that you are solid- indeed however, I typically have the form of a demon actually...it's been a point of confusion for quite a few, I've been told it doesn't suit me at all, though I do admit there were rather few consequences to the state compared to others...

Typically, I would actually allow her upon my shoulder in fact! Though fortunately she stopped attempting this after the first few days of this...

Mm, I suppose that is true. But it's always a strange thing to be thanked for something I should be doing.

[Oh boy, he's being eyed up by this cat. And... okay, well, he didn't actually expect her to be won over by him so quickly. Huh, well, okay.]

I wouldn't have thought a demon suited you, either, if we're meaning the Biblical definition of one. [Excuse him a second, he's just going to casually scoop Queen up and set her gingerly on his lap before lightly scratching her behind the ears. It's fine, don't question it.] Though demon has many definitions outside of that as well.

[Only after the first few days, huh?] You never know when a situation may have changed, I can't fault her for attempting it a few times if it's not your normal state of being...

I imagine it helps that I'm quite a lot more....shadow-like? I would typically be much warmer after all.

It's difficult to say, if the definition can truly be called 'biblical'. Certainly in the context of where we are at this time after all, there can be no such thing, but the appearances associated draw quite similarly, just as the local 'Naphil' do with the idea of angels. Indeed, I expect that is why the names given were given in the first place.

[A chuckle however, as he returns to that first point.] Perhaps so, but then, one can consider it a token of indication toward a job well done as well- I cannot imagine many to be thankful for a poorly performed one after all!

[Ah, right, the Naphil. Something he had recoiled away from when he'd read the definition. It would make sense that if demons were a thing that they would be...]

And yet this place does not seem to have any shade of Christianity of any form that I can find, but those definitions of both beings are fairly exclusive to the writing and branches... [At least in those capacities and appearances, of course they existed in other cultures and religions. But as far as he's aware, this is pretty accurate.

But back to the point at hand, certainly.]

No one ever thanks a Man of God for doing their job, it's what we're meant to do and meant to live by! [Clearly he's not arguing with him given the amused tone behind his words.] Though what use is a Man of God in a place such as this that does not believe in the definition of that God? It's truly a mystery.

Indeed- I've heard theories at the Historic Society that they may have once been considered tributes to the Fog's siblings, 'Day' and 'Night', but it seems like a rather impressive stretch ultimately..! Particularly given that I have absolutely no troubles walking about beneath the sun, [he laughs warmly.]

Well! It should seem then that I've defied the typical, for I could not bear to leave such vital works without thanks. And while many of the populace have no such faith, at the very least I would think there more than just you and I. And, even still, there is great merit in the teachings there would be- to be good to one another, not for any greater reward but rather instead to simply perpetuate that kindness we know, is already a vital matter in a place such as this.

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, JOJO. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 336.66.256.63 * JOJO has joined 336.66.256.63 <JOJO...?>** Technically this message doesn't exist. Jonathan doesn't actually have a laptop. I just needed an Inbox.