I don't think anyone has seriously called me Jonathan since university. Jojo is fine.

[at times it felt more like his real name than the one he'd been born with, honestly. strange as it was, he was impossibly attached to the epithet; it just felt right. it wasn't as if he'd done anything to merit being addressed any more respectfully anyway. that sort of thing was earned, not demanded upon a first meeting, even as he gave that very same courtesy away freely to those who didn't deserve it from him.

even so, he returns Giorno's hot gaze with a steady one of his own. stranger thought he may be, he has nothing to hide from the other boy. not about the ripple, and not about himself.]

No, I'd be far more talented with them by now if I had been.

[he smiles and spreads out his fingers, bringing another row of flowers back to life as he continues to speak.]

They were awakened in me by a very dear friend, perhaps a month or so ago by now. There were things that I needed to protect that I couldn't have otherwise.

[mistakes he'd made that he needed to be held accountable for.]