[X] Fortune Favours The Brave- I mean, you're planning to jab the others anyway, why not get started early? Besides, once they figure out how to summon their Stands, that's more proof right there. Where's the downside?
-[X] But, to be on the safe side, start with Daria. You trust her more, anyway.
[X] Fortune Favours The Brave- I mean, you're planning to jab the others anyway, why not get started early? Besides, once they figure out how to summon their Stands, that's more proof right there. Where's the downside?
--[X] Just line the ones you can trust up with their shoulders exposed as if they were getting a shot and jab them as you go down the line
[X] Fortune Favours The Brave- I mean, you're planning to jab the others anyway, why not get started early? Besides, once they figure out how to summon their Stands, that's more proof right there. Where's the downside?
[X] Two Birds with One Needle- Be smart about the Needle placement. The hole sticks around so put it somewhere it'll go unnoticed when, down the line, someone inevitably starts looking for people with Stands. Aim to use the needle on either the ears, or tongue. Have earrings/gauges and your healers on hand to fill and heal the holes.
-[X] If anyone is feeling particularly brave, stab as close to the edge/tip of the earlobe/tongue as possible. Wait to make sure the Stand manifests. Then cut off and regenerate the hole-y bit so they don't have to deal with a medium-sized hole permanently on their person.
You are trying to go about this in one of the most painful and inconvenient ways you could possibly go about this.
The hole it leaves is... ok, you ever given blood before? You know that thing they use to prick your finger so they can test your iron levels, make sure you're not anaemic? That's the size of the hole it leaves. That is also, in case you haven't given blood before, not something you want anywhere near your earlobe or tongue. That little fucker aches for a while. Whether or not that's because I'm borderline anaemic is besides the point.
These things are designed to be discreet, and for good reason. 'humans with coin-sized holes on one body part or another doing weird things by human standards' is an easier set of dots to connect than 'humans setting a new standard of weirdness to expect.'
If you want my honest advice, I would say the shoulder is your best bet. It's not like anybody goes topless around here.
Anyway, the vote is closed, and only 40 minutes late, still better than my average!
Only jabbing the lady of the pair wins, an update, either quest related or Mindoir snippet related, will be up at worst tomorrow. Honest.
... Yeah, fuck it, why not. You were gonna do it anyway, eventually. Besides, you could do with the backup on this. Someone who can back you up on this as well as, hopefully, providing their own proof to the mix would be great. You look at them, and immediately, your eyes settle on Daria first.
... Ah. You immediately realise what it is you've decided to do and that giving both of them this right away would be... pretty chaotic.
The twin's ability to turn anything into a contest is almost legendary, even outside of your gang. It always starts with a silent look, and suddenly they're trying to outdo each other on something. You still have no idea what triggers it, or what caused it in the first place, but it's near pathological. Giving them both Stands right away would... definitely be a bad idea.
Stagger it. Give one of them a Stand, convince everyone else, then give the other a Stand with the others.
Ok. Yeah. That's a plan. You can work with that.
... Except you would be handing the one you decide to give it to probably one of the biggest wins they'd ever get. 'I got jabbed first.'
They could hold that over the other's head for years, it's like Daria being out the goddamn womb first like honestly it's been 15 years, let it go.
No, if you want to do this, you need to obfuscate it, somehow.
How? You could just flip a coin, except you don't have any spare change on you, just the 100k in Lire from Wallet Douche's wallet, unless one of them pinched it, in which case you're so dumping a bucket of water on them in their sleep.
... You suppose you could logically think about it, or consider which one needs the win most, but they're kind of looking at you and waiting for an answer and-
FUCK IT.
"I'm thinking of a number between one and ten." You blurt out, immediately picking one yourself.
They catch on immediately.
"Nine!" Cesare shouts immediately.
"Five!" Daria shouts a second later.
"Ha! I was faster!"
"It was two, so she was closer. Daria, you get yours first, Cesare, you wait until I do the others."
"YES!"
"DAMMIT!"
You admit, as cruel as this is on some level, the sheer difference in their faces right now is almost cute. Daria is practically dancing in her seat, grinning like a loon. Cesare, by contrast, looks like a sad clown. Well, even more like a sad clown than usual.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in his face later. C'mon, gimme your finger." You say, leaning forward and feeling incredibly light for it. Almost nothing hurts to move now, all that's left is some of the deeper injuries that should heal with time. As long as they didn't burst one of your kidneys or something, you should be alright.
Damn but these two know how to fix someone up.
She leans forward, while Cesare actually manages to drag himself out of his pit of bitterness to watch what happens next.
"So... it's a needle, right?" Daria asks.
"Yeah, but not like, a syringe. It's like that thing diabetics use to check their blood sugars." You take her hand, and rest the opening against her middle finger, like Beedle did for you, and resting your thumb against the button on the side. "Ok, on the count of three?"
She nods enthusiastically, and you can't help but smile a little.
"Alright then. One-"
Click.
Daria yelps and jerks away, and you see The Needle's done its job- blood is slowly welling up at the edge of her fingertip, just barely staining her finger before she pops it in her mouth. She shoots you a dirty look, and you snort a little. That was mean. Funny, yeah, but mean.
Even Cesare's smiling a little, now.
After a moment, Daria removes her finger from her mouth, now clean of blood, and after some breathing, it's healed up, leaving behind a barely visible mark on her fingertip. It's nothing compared to the variety show of scabs and divots on her brother's hands, but it's a start.
She stares at it for a second.
"... Is... is something meant to happen?"
"He said it takes anywhere between 3 and 24 hours to manifest unprovoked. I was, obviously, provoked, so I got mine a little early."
You move to get off your bed, at least, you presume it's your bed, you never, actually checked, you don't think. Anyway, you move to get off it and move towards the doorway. Your ankle twinges slightly, but it's more like the echoes of an ache than a sprain.
"... But?"
"But, the way I knew it worked, was because I saw his Stand. He called it Black Crown. So, if it worked, and I don't see any reason to see why it wouldn't, then you should be able to see my Stand."
"... Pearly Gates, right?"
You smile. Yeah.
「Pearly Gates.」 That's its name.
"JESU-MMPH!" She yells before Cesare manages to clamp a hand over her mouth. You can see a certain shock in her eyes, but not like fear.
"Indoor voice, sis! We don't need anyone else here right now!" He hisses at her under his breath.
When she's no longer at risk of screaming house-shaking blasphemies, she tries to look at your Stand again. This time, she actually keeps looking at it. Processing what it looks like.
"... What? It's not that bad, is it?"
"I... didn't expect a half-crystal ball, half woman, four armed... jointless, thing." She finishes lamely.
"Hey, glass houses! Yours probably isn't gonna look much better!"
Your Stand isn't that bad.
... You like it.
"Either way," you say, moving on, "I'm going to go and talk to the others, get them to gather in the dining room or something. Can you come along in, like, half an hour?"
Yes. As fun as messing with the twins is, you really should get things moving. You move out into the... foyer, you suppose. You move up to the balcony, laying your hand against the bannister for support on your ankle, and move away from your room.
"So what did it look like?"
"I genuinely have no idea how to explain it. Like, the head was..."
Well, at least they have something to talk about now.
Perhaps, I should explain your accommodations a little better. Il Casa Laguardia, as you call it to piss off Finch, is an old-ass hotel, that was abandoned... goodness knows how long ago. It's not large, only ten rooms on the first floor, with a lobby cum lounging area on the ground floor, kitchen through the back with a little dining room- really, it's a glorified bed and breakfast. It took Achille about a year to fix the place up, using the money he got from...
... You... don't, think you actually ever asked.
Before you consider how you would go about doing that, you remember that you came out here for a reason dammit Gioia focus for twenty fucking seconds-
Right! It's time to start gathering people and talk to them! About the thing! The thing you're going to be doing! The grand larceny! That thing! And Stands! Those too! Now it's just a matter of who first.
[] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[] Finch- Ugh. Ugh. As much as you hate to admit it, you should probably go and tell Finch about this. He... is a part of the gang, and will at the very worst serve as extra manpower... UGH. Come on, keep it together, Gioia. You can do this.
[] Vittoria- ... You should check on Vittoria.
Adhoc vote count started by Prok on Apr 10, 2017 at 10:52 AM, finished with 240 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
Adhoc vote count started by Prok on Apr 11, 2017 at 5:00 AM, finished with 244 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
So, included us there are...six people in the gang? That's a good starting number of (maybe?) heroic Stand Users.
Half of them will probably be dead by the time this story ends, but that is one of those things that really depends.
Four in total that you know, bar the useless fuckheads, and Finch, that make up the mass of the Rossi. Overall, there's about... 200 members, spread throughout Chiaia and a little beyond.
But Via Pontano, noIdidnthavetocheckhowtospellitshush, is your turf, within, your gang's turf, which is inside another gang's turf, probably inside another gang's turf...
The gang situation in Naples is... really incredibly chaotic.
Whether you like it or not, you will need all the help you can get with the whole, grand larceny thing that needs to happen to get your 20k.
And Finch, whether Gioia likes it or not, is part of all that help she can get.
He might be a fuckhead, but at least he's not a useless one.
Look at it as pragmatism if you must- you do this, maybe he gets something useful, maybe he doesn't, either way, he's now implicit in planning a theft, in debt to you, and thus an extra pair of hands at worst.
Besides, the idea of leaving Earth hasn't even occurred to you. You're trying to fix problems that don't even exist yet.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
[X] Achille- Daria said he was outside smoking. That was about 20 minutes ago. Achille is a creature of habit and potential lung cancer. He's probably still outside smoking. You should go talk to him.
Loner with a propensity for smoking... I sense he'll be getting some sort of power-type Stand, just because of the Jotaro parallel.
Pomp isn't lying. In fact, he's been pretty much singlehandedly responsible for this quest not grinding to a halt the moment you started using The Needle, thanks to his advice and suggestions. Between the two of us, I've got enough Stands and just general inspiration to last me a while here.
God, I forgot how good it was to have someone to bounce ideas off of while I'm writing. Especially when they know what you're talking about.
Super sneaky edit shhhh:
Votes close at 8 pm GMT, as per usual, and Achille is winning 7:3 over Vittoria.
