nibs | {ruby city | ic inbox}

[Hm... While it's true that Rohan hadn't exactly observed much of Jotaro and Star Platinum interacting, that does seem rather unique to Jotaro here with his given experiences. Interesting. It does lead one to wonder...]

[But another time. He'll focus on Star Platinum for now.]

Independence in what way?

He...I guess one way to say it is, he has preferences. Ones that aren't identical to mine.

We let him try eating, as an experiment. He liked that, for example.

I've never heard of a Stand being interested in food before.

[A Stand being, you know, sorta part of food? Sure. Eating it themselves? Weird.]

I've seen one that had six individual personalities over six individual parts of the same Stand. They'd bicker among themselves and liked to eat pizza.

Some are just different, I guess.

Well, that's certainly an interesting reflection of its user.

[Yes, he's just gonna throw shade at someone he's never even met. What about it?]

So would you say you've been encouraging Star Platinum's independence or simply observing it?

Mostly encouraging. Why?

There's a difference between simply observing and encouraging that would result in different behaviors.

[Duh.]

Can your Stand act on its own without your approval?

Not to the extent of Star Platinum.

That's what I mean. If I don't "encourage" him to act independently, he'll get confused about what it is I want him to do. Acting independently in combat is different from acting independently in an average situation. Battle is more like independent response.

Was it meeting the other Stand user that inspired this decision to encourage more independence?

...No. It was something else.

I'd rather not talk about what led to it. It was personal.

Fine.

[Ugh, whatever.]

Does that make you mad?

What makes you think I'd care that much?

We're on a first-name basis. It's not an unreasonable assumption that you've got some level of investment in me.

My friends don't usually like it when I'm dodgy.

I've never bothered with prying into your business. Does that somehow offend you?

No. On the contrary, I appreciate it.

I don't know what you used to talk about with the version of me you knew. I don't know if you have expectations I'm not aware of. I won't know unless I ask, so I ask. That's why.

Don't mistake me for someone who is overly sentimental like that. I don't hold over expectations from the man I know to who you are now. And even if I were so inclined, you warned me in advance that you're different.

Well, that's another thing learned. You're not overly sentimental.

I don't know the circumstances that led to you finding out about Star Platinum, obviously, but if you're willing, I'd like to ask: did it unnerve you, when you found out what he could do?