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WHO: Rusty Venture & Jotaro Kujo
WHERE: Rusty's house.
WHEN: Earlier this month, in the evening.
WHAT: After the cloneshenanigans, Rusty and Jotaro have a little chat.
WARNINGS: THE GOOD DOCTOR IS PRESENT IN THIS THREAD, and he's a horrible little goblin. TBA!

[ I won't make it awkward, my ass, Rusty thinks to himself. He doesn't have anything in particular against Jotaro (which is, frankly, a marvel; he has something against most people) and begrudgingly considers him to be one of the few decent people in this godawful place, but that doesn't mean that he wants to do any catching up. Their last interaction had been decidedly unpleasant, and whatever Jotaro wants to talk about? Rusty does not.

But he has no reason to say no, and he certainly doesn't want to turn away someone who is a tentative ally - if that is, indeed, the right word to use for him - so he invites him over anyway. He mills about in his kitchen as he waits, trying to decide between some coffee and a cocktail, and eventually decides on the best of both worlds, simply pouring hard liquor and Bailey's into his coffee as he sits at the kitchen table and waits. ]

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I wasn't going to. You know - they have a lot of nerve. Everything I made was for them in the first place, and now they're going around saying that I'm the suspicious one for having made it in the first place! What they commissioned! [ Rusty rolls his eyes dramatically, hunching his shoulders and frowning, his brow getting pinched in a way that makes him look older than he is - but then again, he always does look older than he really is. ]

Serves me right for expecting any honour out of bureaucrats. What am I supposed to do, halt all experimentation and production for the next five months while they process things?

[ That actually sounds sort of nice (nice in the way that means he'd just go on a five-month long bender, which doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world), but he simply doesn't have the cash to sustain it. That, and his bitterness over watching others outachieve him will just fester and eat him alive more than it already does if he just gives up. Ugh. Work sucks, but not working sucks more. ]

...Well, not five months, but taking some time off wouldn't be a bad idea. [He leans into the back of the chair, hands settled on his lap.] Takes you off the radar, the authorities turn their focus to elsewhere. ...And you sound stressed.

[Which, fair if he is, because that situation would be stressful for most anyone.]

[ That's an unusual thing for anyone to say, not because it's not true, but because when people see that he's stressed, they tend not to point it out; Rusty tends to have the demeanor of someone who's about one day away from a complete nervous breakdown. It's less that he's particularly stressed, and more that he's permanently stressed, even if it's for no good reason.

This particular mess just means that he has a better reason than usual. ]

Yes, well, the job of a scientist is a stressful one. [ Or at least that's the easiest thing to tell himself. ] Besides, I don't have to tell a fellow scientist that there's not much else to do besides the work.

[ It's why he's more productive here than he's ever been at home: he genuinely doesn't have a lot going for him. If he takes a break from work, what the hell is he even supposed to do? ]

Sitting around idle isn't going to make me any less stressed.

...Fair point.

[He knows Rusty is right. Despite running two clubs simultaneously, he still makes sure to find time for his research - even at the expense of his sleep, which only barely clocks in at around 4-5 hours. Even on the trip he's planning to take in a month, he plans to still do his work. Scientists are an attached bunch, married to the work.]

You don't necessarily need to stay idle though. I doubt you'd be comfortable sitting down and watching television all day, or glancing at social media feeds. Maybe just get out of town, find a different project to occupy your time? You can't let situations like this consume you.

I suppose I can work on some of my quieter projects.

[ He has his biology lab covered in the back, of course - but now he fears that this government will be a bit more leery of clones and artificial life. Those damn things put a wrench in all of his plans, didn't they? He sighs. Jotaro is, he has to admit, being considerate when he has no reason to act in such a way in the first place. He can't help but feel a little sullen that anyone thinks that he needs coddling in the first place, but it's nice anyway, he supposes. ]

I appreciate your concern nonetheless. I'm sure I can think of something to keep me occupied - although I'm sure you'll agree when I say that the less ambitious projects are always a snore.

[ Buuuuuut at least he can just copy one of his father's projects back home and claim it as his own. That's always kind of satisfying. ]

Definitely. I've been working the past few months since I came here on a publication to submit, on something outside my field.

[ he steeples his fingers, smiling a little. and then-- ]

My main focus has been in echinoderms, particularly asteroidea, but I wanted to branch out and see if I could move onto more livelier subjects. Since I began living in Heropa near the beach, I've been curious about the different species of crustaceans that make their home here. It started when I went fishing and came across a couple of them mating out of pure happenstance. Now I spend every morning making observations, drawing detailed anatomy pictures, keeping two specimens home for round the clock recording. It's an ambitious project, but I've been enjoying the labor and work involved because it keeps me easily occupied.

[ ...ahem... ]

But, that's just me. I'm sure you can find something to do that isn't weapons development.

[ that is probably the longest anyone has ever heard him talk, congratulations rusty. ]

[ Rusty's eyes almost glaze over. That's the most boring shit he's heard in his life. He's interested in biology, certainly, but he likes to make new life! Make clones! Improve and capitalize off of the human condition! Watching fish fuck sounds like watching paint dry, only slimier. ]

...right. To each their own, I suppose. Now, this study of yours - is it what you'd call lucrative? They pay you well for all this fish business?

[ maybe you shouldn't worry about making clones when there was just a clone attack, rusty my man. ]

I work in university research and teach as well, so it's a decent living. But I don't really care about how lucrative it is or not. Most people don't get to live their passion as their job. I'm grateful for that alone. [ and, really, it's normal. more than anything that's what he's happy for, after the bullshit that happened when he was seventeen. ] I suppose you do yours more for the money? Or, well, a family business given what you told me.

[ rusty, the boy adventurer. he wonders what kind of upbringing being thrust into such a limelight must have done for dr. venture. ]

Well, there's scientific curiosity in there, certainly. If I only wanted to make money, I'm sure I could do it off of franchising alone. Some of the shit we have lying around would go for a pretty penny to all the freaks who collect doodads from children's shows well into their fifties.

[ He's one to talk, considering he has made a pretty penny off of those individuals, but Rusty's all about profiting off of other people - not so much about respecting them. In truth, he's sure he could have dealt with it a little more expertly than he has, but his attachment to science isn't entirely about money. It's about his ego, too. His pride won't allow him to be known only as Rusty Venture, ex boy adventurer, coasting off of his father's coattails.

He's still coasting off of his father's coattails, sure, but at least he can plausibly deny it. ]

But yes, it's something of a family business. It'll be my boy's after I'm gone.

[ He can't help but feel an unfamiliar pang of remorse just thinking about it. Poor Dean. He's the one who'll run the company - Rusty knows for a fact that Hank won't touch the damn thing - but he buys into all of this stuff so much. The poor kid's doomed, just like Rusty was. Failure and neglect's in their blood, and it's only going to get worse.

But hell, who knows? Maybe Dean will have competent children, if he ever manages to actually get laid. ]

Your boys, hm. [ he pauses, contemplating for a brief moment. ] I have a daughter. She's young and nobody thinks about their future at six, but part of me hopes she'll be interested in the sciences some day.

[ though he won't really be part of that. he's already made his decision on that front - his life can turn from pleasant to chaotic at a dime and he doesn't trust that will change if he should return to his world again. if anything, being here is a welcomed reprieve because it's so much more normal than he could ever expect his life back home to be. ]

Dr. Venture - though our fields are different... should you need anything, know you can come to me. It was pure chance that I was there at the moment you needed help. You shouldn't just rush at danger alone.

[ says the hypocrite who always runs into danger alone, but well he actually has the muscle for that and rusty doesn't. ]

Yes. Well. I suppose I never did thank you properly for that, so... thank you.

[ Saying thank you shouldn't sound like you're dying, but Rusty's unaccustomed to saying thank you genuinely and, quite frankly, he's not fond of it. But it's only yanked out of him because it's genuine, and there doesn't appear to be any deceit in his words, for once. He is grateful to Jotaro, in a way. He's always been kind to him, in a place where very few people are, and while Rusty's not entirely sure why, he'll accept it gladly in the way that those who will feebly chase down crumbs of decency do. ]

I assure you, however, that it's not necessarily a habit of mine. At home, we have a bodyguard - for myself and the boys, you understand - but here, we have to do away with at least some luxuries.

[ the thanks aren't really necessary, but somehow he gets the feeling that might just make rusty a little more put-off. especially when it came out so... well, hard-said for rusty to begin with. the man clearly has a lot of pride, so diminishing that isn't what jotaro wants to do.

he won't say "you're welcome" but he does make a nod of recognition. perhaps that should get the point across. ]

Good grief. Your life must be exciting to have a bodyguard. [ said in a "oh god that sounds awful" type of way, and not with any actual indication of excitement. that sounds like a pain in the ass to him quite frankly. ] Well, if you ever need me - I'm not a bodyguard, but I'm pretty buff. I can handle most things.

[ he's brains and brawn, defying all stereotypes. ]

Oh, God, you have absolutely no idea. Things are downright peaceful here in comparison! Oh, people may be trying to kill us every now and then, but at least they're not trying to kill me, personally.

[ Which is honestly a little upsetting too. It's bad for his ego. Nobody really cares about him enough to target him, which is off-putting. He's a big deal! Can't they see that?

Oh, well. He supposes this sort of thing is a double-edged sword, and God knows he's not going to voice that he could possibly miss the Monarch out loud, even though there's not even another soul here that would have any context for that whatsoever. ]

Regardless, I appreciate the sentiment. It just so happens that trouble tends to find us without giving us the luxury of being able to call in for back-up first. How the hell did you get so big, anyway? What is it that you do besides hole yourself up in a lab or traipse off on... [ He waggles one hand in Jotaro's direction with the air of someone who's not fond of work that requires him to leave his lab. ] Field work.

Genetics. You wouldn't believe how ripped my grandfather was in his 60s, and he's still alive in his 90s. [ poor old man is dottering now, nowhere near in the prime shape he was before. ] But I do work out. When your only concern is "don't drop this or you will get crushed", your mind isn't able to wander.

If you ever want to try, I can gift you... a five pound dumbbell to start you off.

[ they don't really make dumbbells less than five he thinks. ]

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