spellbinders | TIMELINES ARE FOR LOSERS

Entry tags:

TIMELINES ARE FOR LOSERS

Who: The JoJos.
Where: Aimintas; street-side then find a place more secluded.
When: Day 14.
Open/Closed: Closed; the kids and Caesar need to talk about some revelations. Like they're all from the same world!

[ After he rolled (tripped then rolled) down the hill, Okuyasu had to take just a small bit of time to recover from his tumble. Also, it felt like everyone's emotions were about ready to explode -- if they all met in that state, there's no telling what would happen. Or if they'd even be able to listen to one another. He isn't too smart but he understood the group reason that they needed to cool themselves down before they finally talked to each other. But who knew that in waiting to settle their emotions that they'd be spirited off to another world! A world where Stands once more were able to be called upon! Also lizard-people!

It didn't help matters that they all got a little separated. He feels like he's calmer now which means that if he's calm then everyone should be all right, too. It is about this time -- walking the city with his hands in his pockets -- that he happens to see the very people that he's looking for. There they are! He takes a confident step forward before he calls out: ]

The Hand! [ The Stand immediately manifests and he can't help but smile at seeing it once more at his side. But he doesn't notice that all the lizard-people seem to notice the sudden manifestation of the Stand. No, what he's focused on is -- scraping away the space between the people in front of him so that they can talk. What a real useful Stand! Who needs to use telepathy when a person can just pull others close? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ an ampitheatre. good lord. the only thing worse is if the palai had a replica of the Colosseum just so giorno can get full on #triggered. in any case, it's as good of a place as any, and though he'd told caesar he and jotaro would be trouble, he doubts that it'd get to the point where actual property damage will happen, if only because giorno is not too keen on attracting any more unwanted attention onto him than he already has. going into an ampitheatre to settle things, however, is exactly the opposite of what he wanted, but he can't control the outcomes any more than he control the people he's with. he's listening to okuyasu's introduction - and then he gets a message, which he just sighs about in a physical reply.

giorno makes his way to the closest row of seats near the stage, crossing his legs as he waits for everyone to settle down.

at some point they're gonna have to introduce the topic and he's talked enough, so he waits on jotaro to begin. he said he'd explain. ]

[Jotaro tugs the bill of his hat down at F.F.'s little outburst, "gimme a break" in this instance translating to "please kill me now". Is this the sort of insult they teach girls in Florida? Fortunately, the walk is brief, and then there's just the five of them in an empty, relatively quiet amphitheater. He finds a level place to stand and turns to face everybody.

Iiiit's showtime?]

My name is Jotaro Kujo. [As everyone already knows.] I'm the grandson of Joseph Joestar and the great-great-grandson of Jonathan Joestar, who was by adoption the brother of Dio Brando. [Here, he looks directly at Giorno. Good luck having two conversations at once, buddy.] Jonathan Joestar died in 1889. Dio died in 1988.

[ he has no idea who jonathan joestar is. he has no idea why the fact that he was adopted should matter. on the other hand, there's a big gap that needs to be explained. 1988 .... he was three years old when his father died, and he was in japan still. his name was something else entirely. ]

I've no interest in the Joestar legacy.

Dio is my concern here. Tell me what you know of him, please. And .... [ he wills his heart to be still. to be calm. ] tell me how you killed him.

[Right, it makes sense that nobody would've told Giorno even the basics of this, but his ignorance is still ruining Jotaro's dramatic tension. Fine! Also at some point he's put Star Platinum away, because that hasn't been mentioned yet.]

You don't get a choice in the matter, because Dio is the Joestar legacy. He used an artifact Jonathan was studying to become a vampire, and took Jonathan's body to survive for a century at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean when Jonathan had otherwise defeated him. When Dio gained a Stand, it was Jonathan's body that passed that on down the bloodline to the surviving members of my family.

[That's already a bit more talking than Jotaro's used to doing in one go, but there's still more to tell so he keeps going, fists jammed in his pockets to keep them from doing anything stupid.]

We went after him for my mother's sake. She wasn't strong enough to control her Stand, so it was killing her. Dio put a lot of Stand users in our way, who killed or hurt a lot of innocent people. Three of my friends died near the end, and he killed my grandfather in front of me-- [Sorry, Caesar.] --and I couldn't do anything, because his Stand, The World, could stop time.

[Last stretch now, and even though he was just put away a few paragraphs ago Star Platinum is back out, looking as big and fiercely determined as ever. In contrast, Jotaro's voice is weakened; reliving the memories of only a couple weeks ago is hard work.] But I have the Stand which suggests the Star card, Star Platinum, and it turned out our powers were the same. When we fought on even footing, even Dio couldn't withstand one of Star Platinum's strongest punches, and he died in one hit.

That's all the important stuff.

[ but why would they have the same stand. perhaps the greater question is: why him? giorno looks at him in - suspicion, annoyance, and maybe a bit of envy, if only because he was there and had met him in the flesh. disregarding the terrible things that his father has done - which is putting him under a mountain of guilt anyway, so heavy a burden that he felt numb - the facts are, apparently, that his father had died a well-deserved death and that jotaro had won it not just for the joestars but also for his mother.

giorno can overlook a lot of things. in fact that's exactly one of the privileges he has being a mafia boss, overlooking a lot of otherwise problematic relations and only granting himself and his people the kind of mercy or power that a boss wields. but a true act of justice is something that he can't ignore, so yes, as much as he's mourning the loss of his father and the fact that he had, of course, only ever loved the version of his father that he'd built all these years for himself, he listens to jotaro all the same.

( and listens, unfortunately, to caesar brag about his nephew, which puts a sort of embarrassed grimace on his face, though it's not exactly directed to jotaro. still, he can hardly embarrass him in front of the only supposed adult in their little motley crew. )

anyway. once jotaro is finished, giorno taps his fingers on the edge of the seat, watching, thinking, calculating just how much of his hand can he show to jotaro. until he decides, tit for tat, he can give a condensed version of his side of the events and hit jotaro with what he's got. ]

I'm sorry for your loss. And given what you and your family has been through, I see that my admiration is misguided. I apologize. I know nothing of Dio. When we first met, I told you they've taken something from me - it's his photograph. I've had it since I was a child and I keep it with me always, because -

[ he has to slow down, he's anticipating a lot of emotions right now, and he's actually having two conversations which is killing him - ]

- you must understand, I mean this with no intention to start a fight. That when I say this, I mean it for myself:

The reason why I asked for your experiences is because he is my father. [ alright, you lil shit, what else can you throw into the ring. how about - ] And I owe it to a good friend of mine, who also happens to be a good friend of yours, to know the truth, since we had so little time back home to discuss it at all.

[Jotaro's too caught up in his own ~~dramatics~~ pain to notice any signs of Giorno's distraction, so there's not really anything to soften the impact of Giorno's counter-revelation. "Surprise! I'm Dio's son!" Great. He'd noticed a resemblance, of course, but with no reason to suspect Dio even could have kids, much less that Giorno was from the same world as him, Jotaro had brushed it aside as him having one of those faces.

So yeah, that was a bad idea, but Giorno's also making apologetic noises, so... maybe it's not completely horrible? Deep breath.]

Yeah, well, I'm sorry you got stuck with a shitty dad. [Terrible phrasing, but he sounds sincere and even puts Star Platinum away again--hopefully for real this time. As for the "good friend" thing, he doesn't even know right now. Polnareff, maybe? Anyone else he hasn't met yet...]

He was the better alternative. [ um. ] Or, well. He seemed like the better alternative, because my present circumstances were already dire.

But when you're operating on survival, anything that shows an ounce of possibility and hope is better than whatever's currently on.

[ he won't elaborate on that. it's a touchy subject, his real family. giorno sighs. he stands, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches him keenly. ]

What do you want to do now? [ a pause. ] I guess, if I'm being honest, I'd like to know if you're going to finish your mission. Is this the part where we fight? I'm not sure how this goes.

[...Oh. There are at least a couple ways Giorno's brief explanation could work, so Jotaro doesn't offer another poorly-worded platitude, but since it sounds like Dio didn't have anything to do with the guy besides fathering him, the jittery nerves of the past few days are starting to ease as well. Slowly, but it's happening.]

I don't know either. [Sigh.] We can fight if you really want to, but if you're not out to take over the world or kill everyone I care about, I'd rather skip it.

.... I don't need the world. And I don't want to kill anyone. Fighting is just a waste of time. What would that achieve? We're both here, despite circumstances. I think it's safe to say we're both strong one way or another.

[ what delightful options there are for them. ] Kujo - Jotaro. Can I call you that? Or should I just stay on 'Kujo'? Either way -

We both have to return home. Or, well - most of us, I'm not really sure how it works if someone is already dead back home. We can work together to make the former a reality, at least. [ he tilts his head to the side, and then offers - ] Both of us are heirs to .... the legacy, one way or another. I can keep an eye on our crew here, same as you, and we can protect them, in any way we can.

The only thing I'd request is, should my father show his face here, that you let me talk to him before you pass judgement on him. [ he purses his lips. ] That it will be an affair both of us will decide on, and not just you and your Stand, or with you and whomever else you happen to be with at the time. A shared responsibility, in other words.

[It's a big thing for Giorno to ask of him--a big thing for anyone to ask of him--and Jotaro has to take a moment to seriously consider it.

If Giorno is lying about his goals but a man of his word as far as actual agreements go, that would be one more person looking out for all these people Jotaro finds himself connected to. If Giorno is a man of his word and also being honest about his goals, he could eventually be another friend as well as an ally.

And then there's the third possibility, that Giorno's neither honest about his goals nor a man of his word. The idea sours Jotaro's mood considerably: would it be fair to distrust Giorno, who's apparently never even known Dio, when he was so quick to accept Kakyoin who'd been actively controlled by the man?

He doesn't like the idea of leaving Dio free to do as he pleases if he joins them here, but that's still a mere possibility while Giorno's presence and potential aid are fact. And there's nothing saying he has to jump right into trusting Giorno 100%, right? Right.]

I can't promise I won't defend myself, but I'll try not to kill him again. [He's not dying so someone can ease their daddy issues. That only leaves the question of names; neither is "Jojo", which is the only one he's picky about, so:] Jotaro's fine if you want to use it. I don't care about that either way.

[ the answer is A). the consequences he's looking at are from A) and B), but of course he's not going to elaborate any further. besides, he's already revealed too much (or at least, what giorno considers as too much) and he'd already asked him too much to begin with. giorno wants to ask why defending would be an issue at all - but then he's forced to reckon with the idea that jotaro knows the man better than he does and is that much of a threat, probably, if the first thing he addresses is to defend himself. alright, that's a thing. ]

Defending is fine. I appreciate it, Jotaro. Especially since .... [ since he almost murdered every joestar he can get his hands on. but hey, let's not dwell in the past right now, especially when caesar is probably processing everything on his own, and maybe badly at that. at some point in their stay they should probably figure out how to get him back. ] Thank you.

[ there's a small pause where he doesn't really know how to end this conversation, because usually at home this'd be followed by arrivederci! and then the slow, gruelling push towards venice, but here there is nothing but silence and confusion. after a while, giorno laughs awkwardly, sounding younger than he pretends himself to be, and murmurs, ] You make me so nervous, you know.

Edited 2017-07-27 04:29 (UTC)

[It's a bigger relief than Jotaro expected to have that tension mostly sort of cleared--whatever Giorno may actually be after, he's playing along for now, which is one less thing to worry about in a whole pile of problems. He doesn't know what to do with himself now, though, so he begins the process of fishing out a cigarette. He's been trying to save them the last couple of weeks, but this seems like a good time to light up.]

Lately? [Or in general? He has his guesses, but between first, second, and third impressions there's room for uncertainty.

And, come to think of it, where did the others run off to? Thanks for leaving him to his fate, guys.]

Lately. In general.

[ he's surprised to see jotaro smoke, but he lets it slide anyway. it suits him. ]

.... will Caesar be okay? Should we go and find him?

[ he's ... family, to an extent, wasn't he? not his own, although they bonded on the basis of being italians. but caesar was close to jotaro's grandfather or something like that, last he remembered.

they're going to make their way towards where okuyasu and ff have their drinks now. ]

[Giorno won't have to look very far. Just as they're wrapping up, F.F. and Okuyasu are both re-entering the amphitheater area. And yes they do in fact have drinks of various colors and flavors, and the Palai merchant gave them a fancy little tray to hold them all. Though F.F. jumped the gun and is already sipping on her drink, which through the cup is some kind of orange slush.]

Hey, are you two done with your dramatic talk?

Hi, hi.

[ He shuffles along after F.F. and initially gives a nervous sort of look between Gio and Jotaro. His expression shifts to a more friendly one after what F.F. says -- that is sure to lighten the mood some, yeah. He takes one of the slush drinks to hold it out to Gio. ]

Here. It's peach. We thought that'd ya like peach. [ A beat. ] I got kiwi strawberry. Yer not allowed to have it. [ Even if this situation is this situation, that one is his. ]

Edited 2017-07-29 07:54 (UTC)

We're - sort of, I guess. I can't really think of anything else.

[ glances at jotaro. and then he takes the peach drink that okuyasu offers him. ] It's fine, you can keep your drink.

Thanks, really. And F.F. too. [ a pause. ] This is the weirdest introduction to people I've ever had, and I've been in some really weird ones.

[Jotaro flicks his ash--away from everyone else, he's trying not to be an asshole right now--and goes for what he presumes to be the remaining drink, given pinkish-purple isn't a color he tends to associate with either kiwis or strawberries.]

It could be weirder. Neither of us is a dog. Or an orangutan. [He sips at the drink he's called dibs on, relieved to discover some sort of mystery berry flavor as opposed to something weird that only lizards would like.] We're all settled here, though. Unless...

[Do either of you have any pressing confessions about being related to someone significant before they get back to circulating amongst the populace? Now's a good time.]

Ahaha-- a dog and an orangutan! That's funny! [How funny! To think that such simple creatures could be Stand users. Truly, truly outrageous!] Ah, well, I didn't want to say anything before since you guys were so getting intense. But I guess since you're done now--

I'm not a human. I'm a Stand.

[truly...outrageous...]

Eh? That is real weird. [ He sips his drink as he wonders if he should bring up that Joseph had an affair but again that is -- but he doesn't finish his thought when F.F. drops something way more shocking.

He sucks in fast before spitting everything out, some through his nose. Ow. ]

You're a Stand?! A Stand? Where is your user? [ So he coughs out as he looks around. ]

[ well, two stands come to mind, and both of them were pretty difficult battles that giorno had - ]

No .... it could also be that F.F. is a self-learning automatic Stand. I've fought one like that before. Once the Stand acquires a certain maturity it becomes independent, even if it starts off trying to pursue the user's goals.

There is also the possibility that you are a Stand which activates upon the user's death, though a highly sophisticated one. The one I've encountered wasn't so intelligent, and anyway it tried to kill me. [ a grin. ] So I guess we should be careful, either way!

[Huh, it sounds like Stands get really weird in the future. Jotaro looks at F.F., considering this new information alongside what he already knows about her, and decides the part where she's friends with his future daughter is still more important.

There is one thing, though.] Are you possessing that girl?

That is right!

[ He swings his arm like he is trying to catch something in the air. Turning, he points to Giorno to thank him of reminding him of something. ]

My plant back home is a Stand. Not my Stand. I didn't make him. He is called Stray Cat! And is a cat and plant and was made by a serial killer. [ A pause. ] He is ok. Just meows real loud at night. It ain't no big deal.

[ Oh? Hey! ] Jotaro, that is a good question. Why didn't I think of that one?

A plant... and a cat at the same time? [She huffs.] Well, if it can't talk then I'm still more intelligent than it is!

[Which means she wins the most intelligent Stand contest. But to get to the matter at hand again--]

I suppose self-learning automatic is the best way to categorize my existence. I am the Stand and the user all at the same time. Originally I was a colony of plankton that existed in a bog. However, I gained the ability to form my collective self into a Stand and became intelligence through that experience.

Jotaro is right - I am possessing this body. It isn't my own, but... it isn't that I'm possessing someone who could argue. The woman who this body belong to died, and I took it over afterward. I can't survive outside of a body of water without a body to attach to - I'm still plankton after all.

[ NOTORIOUS BIG!!! NOTORIOUS BIG!!!! says the alarm bells in giorno's head; giorno, ever so reasonable, decides not to listen to that background noise. the act of possession doesn't bother him as much; everything's gotta do what it can to survive, provided F.F. here doesn't suddenly choose to collect vessels or something. ]

A Stand that can govern itself, and has a fierce personality on its own. On top of that, you can move from vessel to vessel should you choose. Is that your main ability? That's quite amazing, really.

[ a good thing that, as far as giorno can see, she's on their side. (on a more serious note, he wonders where the body was found.)

he looks at okuyasu - ] I am more concerned about the fact that you, with your personality and skills, know a serial killer. From now on you're no longer allowed to have adventures on your own.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TIMELINES ARE FOR LOSERS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject