[Bruno's not even going to comment on the set of photos. That doesn't mean he doesn't stare long and hard at them, and make a face, but he's not going to comment.]
Bruno Buccellati. [He looks away from the photos finally, but he still wants to know how the hell Carlos got them from Dio.] B-u-c-c-e-l-l-a-t-i. September 27th, 1980. Would you like death dates as well?
[Carlos dutifully copies the information, mouthing each letter as he writes the name down, as to not make a mistake. He's still admiring his correct spelling when Bruno asks about the death date, and his hand stalls in the middle of the word "September". While he doesn't visibly react, the pattern of his shirt shifts, as if startled by something.]
...Yeah, that'd be good, I guess.
[And then, out of force of habit of having to apologize for any slight inconvenience:]
[People always have varying degrees of reaction to the mention of Bruno's death and Bruno's learned to accept them in whatever form they take. But his shirt changing its pattern a little is certainly a new one, so that Bruno hesitates a moment before speaking again.]
No need to apologize, [he says with a small shake of his head. Because there truly isn't when he's long since made his peace with it.] I died on April 2nd, 2001 the first time. Gold Experience gave my body enough life to last four more days beyond that, so I died again on April 6th, 2001.
[Which is both true and somewhat an over-simplification of how he died the second time. But he asked for dates, not the specifics of his deaths, so.]
[His pen stalls on this, and it takes him a bit longer to process what he's been told. However, he manages to at least write down the information before going into full question mode.]
Can you clarify on the, um, Gold Experience thing? I wasn't aware he could do something like...that. That's very interesting.
[Almost immediately, he backtracks, sitting up a little straighter out of some kind of nagging anxiety.]
If you don't mind, I mean. Um. I could see how that could bring up traumatic memories?
I don't mind. [Bruno shakes his head a little.] Part of what Giorno is able to do with Gold Experience is accelerate the healing process, but by the time he reached me, I was already dead. Honestly, I'm not sure even Giorno knows exactly how he did it, but in healing my body, he bound my soul to it for a little while longer.
But he didn't bring me back to life. My body was still dead. My heart didn't beat, and I didn't need to breathe, sleep, or eat. So it was only a temporary state of being and I was still... [How should he put it?] ...disconnecting with my body as time went on. Immediately after coming back, my body temperature was low and I was already losing my sense of touch.
[If Bruno doesn't seem particularly bothered by what he's saying and even a little nonchalant in his elaboration, it's because it's really not that big of a deal to Bruno to talk about it.]
After that, my hearing started to go, but I destroyed most of what I had left of that in a fight. [It wasn't like he had a reason to preserve it at that point, anyway.] My vision started to fade quickly once my hearing went.
I don't think my body would have lasted more than a handful of hours at the most once my vision got to that point. [There's a beat and then Bruno adds,] I was fortunate to have lasted just long enough to see things most of the way to the end.
[Of all that he says, it's that last thing that has a subtle touch of emotion attached to it.]
[As Bruno talks, Carlos seems to grow visibly unsettled, though he still makes an effort to write down every word. It's not like he's seen anything close to what Buccellati...or, rather, he hasn't seen anything done willingly by another person that fits the bill of what Giorno allegedly did. In fact, the entire experience sounds unsettlingly similar to the condos, but he's repressed most of that, thankfully.
After he assesses that Bruno is done talking, he lets his pen linger on the page for a few moments, creating an ever-spreading blotch of red next to the word "DETERIORATION", a visual representation of a complicated idea that Carlos, for all his insight, couldn't voice.
So, he settles for a shaky smile, refocusing on the conversation.]
Did you witness...any...hallucinations? Visions of dead relatives, maybe, or a visual representation of death, like the Grim Reaper, or, say...a dark planet lit by no sun, an invisible titan, all thick black forests and jagged mountains and turbulent oceans, so close that you could reach out and touch it, if you wanted...
[The word is upside down from Bruno's perspective, so it takes a second or two to flip the letters around in their proper places.]
No, I never hallucinated anything.
[He could talk about the way that people changed for him. He could still see them because there was a light inside them that made their features just visible in an otherwise darkening world. But Bruno keeps it to himself after noticing how uneasy the conversation seems to be making Carlos.]
[Carlos sets aside a few mental notes: one, to talk to Giorno about this whole resurrection business, and two, to figure out exactly the nature of death as he personally percieved it all those years ago. Also, three, remember to put some water on the stove for pasta, but that can wait until the science has concluded, as science takes precedence over everything else.
He steels himself yet again, forcing a smile.]
So, Bruno--can I call you Bruno? Um, anyways, how long has your Stand been...present?
Bruno is fine, [he acknowledges with a small nod. Bruno's never been picky about what people address him as, having always left it as a choice to the person addressing him.] Sticky Fingers has been with me since I was around 12 years old. I can't give you a more exact time than that.
I see. Was there anything to trigger his appearance, or was it wholly random? From what I've heard, there can sometimes be extenuating circumstances that trigger this ability.
[You know, like getting shot with a Stone Arrow. Stuff like that, totally arbitrary.]
Sticky Fingers didn't take a form until after Polpo had me take his test to prove I could survive in Passione.
[It might not be fair to assume that Giorno mentioned the test to Carlos, but he doesn't see why it wouldn't have come up at some point if he knows to ask about the various ways in which Sticky Fingers could have come into being.]
I think he's always been there to some extent though.
[Yeah, at some point, he just has to admit he doesn't know much about...well, anything regarding typical Stands. Sure, he's done a fair amount of research, but this isn't something that's come up in any of his interviews. Giorno never talked about it, anyways.]
Can you go a little more in detail about this...test? Passione's your, ah, employer, right?
[Should he say former? Is that polite? He's unsure about his death etiquette.]
Oh, has Giorno never explained how he joined Passione or its structure to you before?
[Bruno seems genuinely surprised by this. He'd think that would have come up at some point, but then again, it's best to leave much of what Passione used to be in the past where it belongs.]
no subject
Bruno Buccellati. [He looks away from the photos finally, but he still wants to know how the hell Carlos got them from Dio.] B-u-c-c-e-l-l-a-t-i. September 27th, 1980. Would you like death dates as well?
no subject
...Yeah, that'd be good, I guess.
[And then, out of force of habit of having to apologize for any slight inconvenience:]
Sorry.
no subject
No need to apologize, [he says with a small shake of his head. Because there truly isn't when he's long since made his peace with it.] I died on April 2nd, 2001 the first time. Gold Experience gave my body enough life to last four more days beyond that, so I died again on April 6th, 2001.
[Which is both true and somewhat an over-simplification of how he died the second time. But he asked for dates, not the specifics of his deaths, so.]
no subject
Can you clarify on the, um, Gold Experience thing? I wasn't aware he could do something like...that. That's very interesting.
[Almost immediately, he backtracks, sitting up a little straighter out of some kind of nagging anxiety.]
If you don't mind, I mean. Um. I could see how that could bring up traumatic memories?
no subject
But he didn't bring me back to life. My body was still dead. My heart didn't beat, and I didn't need to breathe, sleep, or eat. So it was only a temporary state of being and I was still... [How should he put it?] ...disconnecting with my body as time went on. Immediately after coming back, my body temperature was low and I was already losing my sense of touch.
[If Bruno doesn't seem particularly bothered by what he's saying and even a little nonchalant in his elaboration, it's because it's really not that big of a deal to Bruno to talk about it.]
After that, my hearing started to go, but I destroyed most of what I had left of that in a fight. [It wasn't like he had a reason to preserve it at that point, anyway.] My vision started to fade quickly once my hearing went.
I don't think my body would have lasted more than a handful of hours at the most once my vision got to that point. [There's a beat and then Bruno adds,] I was fortunate to have lasted just long enough to see things most of the way to the end.
[Of all that he says, it's that last thing that has a subtle touch of emotion attached to it.]
no subject
After he assesses that Bruno is done talking, he lets his pen linger on the page for a few moments, creating an ever-spreading blotch of red next to the word "DETERIORATION", a visual representation of a complicated idea that Carlos, for all his insight, couldn't voice.
So, he settles for a shaky smile, refocusing on the conversation.]
Did you witness...any...hallucinations? Visions of dead relatives, maybe, or a visual representation of death, like the Grim Reaper, or, say...a dark planet lit by no sun, an invisible titan, all thick black forests and jagged mountains and turbulent oceans, so close that you could reach out and touch it, if you wanted...
[Crisply, he underlines "DETERIORATION".]
You know, just the usual.
no subject
No, I never hallucinated anything.
[He could talk about the way that people changed for him. He could still see them because there was a light inside them that made their features just visible in an otherwise darkening world. But Bruno keeps it to himself after noticing how uneasy the conversation seems to be making Carlos.]
Things just went dark when it was time.
no subject
[Carlos sets aside a few mental notes: one, to talk to Giorno about this whole resurrection business, and two, to figure out exactly the nature of death as he personally percieved it all those years ago. Also, three, remember to put some water on the stove for pasta, but that can wait until the science has concluded, as science takes precedence over everything else.
He steels himself yet again, forcing a smile.]
So, Bruno--can I call you Bruno? Um, anyways, how long has your Stand been...present?
no subject
no subject
[You know, like getting shot with a Stone Arrow. Stuff like that, totally arbitrary.]
I'm just trying to see if there's any patterns.
no subject
[It might not be fair to assume that Giorno mentioned the test to Carlos, but he doesn't see why it wouldn't have come up at some point if he knows to ask about the various ways in which Sticky Fingers could have come into being.]
I think he's always been there to some extent though.
no subject
[Yeah, at some point, he just has to admit he doesn't know much about...well, anything regarding typical Stands. Sure, he's done a fair amount of research, but this isn't something that's come up in any of his interviews. Giorno never talked about it, anyways.]
Can you go a little more in detail about this...test? Passione's your, ah, employer, right?
[Should he say former? Is that polite? He's unsure about his death etiquette.]
no subject
[Bruno seems genuinely surprised by this. He'd think that would have come up at some point, but then again, it's best to leave much of what Passione used to be in the past where it belongs.]