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madimpossibledreamerJojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Jotaro and Beefheart check out the center of Paxil.
Word Count: 1054
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
On getting close, Jotaro can see why the locals would be convinced this was the World Tree, and that’s even ignoring the possibility of magic. Jotaro isn’t particularly happy about the possibility of an entirely new set of natural rules for the world that he knows nothing about, but he can’t just pretend they doesn’t exist like he would have when he’d first gotten out of jail. He’s seen sufficient evidence that they do exist, and thankfully Star Platinum is capable of speed reading, meaning that he’s not entirely unfamiliar with the basics thanks to what remained of the Council’s library that they were able to retrieve, either. Most were suspected to not exist in this world, but in some other plane of existence. This one obviously doesn’t, unless the city itself could be entered from reality but wasn’t actually there, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t just manifest it here, rather than it naturally existing here.
It’s huge. If it ever fell, it’d flatten the whole town. Could definitely be why it’s cordoned off, but that doesn’t seem likely. Not a single person had had anything but praise for the tree. Any concern had been focused on the well beneath. A healthy respect, but also fear. They didn’t want people approaching the well. It’s not as clean a separation as that description makes out, like how complicated actually defining a species is when you actually start trying to classify them. The tree and the well are connected, in the eyes of the people here. It’s just that the people focus most of their anxiety on the well, even as they practically worship both and consider them the heart of the town.
If it even marginally follows normal rules, there’s a very good reason for this. The well probably feeds into the tree. The question is whether it just serves as a source of water, or if there’s other non-tangible nutrients, too. Jotaro can’t particularly see from here, even with the Captain’s binoculars, but then, he wouldn’t even necessarily know what he’s looking for. At least his guess is partially right. He does see some roots trailing down into the dark. There is a path, too, it looks like. The actual protection isn’t much; it’s really easy for people to trespass without a second thought, which seems like an odd oversight.
“Do you want to take a closer look?” the Captain asks, and it’s a sensible enough next step, but Jotaro finds himself hesitating.
The owner had explained the custom. A flimsy piece of cloth could never ensure privacy or keep out a determined intruder, and as such a warning could easily be taken as merely informational, but...perhaps it wasn’t quite so simple. In which case, that could easily be the answer as to what had happened to Kakyoin, who had started to investigate using Hierophant before they’d even been told (and whose nature, Jotaro suspects, would be resistant to actually obeying such warnings anyway).
The paranoia might be meant as a deterrent, something to dissuade from a course of action—and, interestingly, perhaps to prevent others from getting involved and disrupting the town’s harmony, as well. Even if you’d otherwise be likely to help out, if you’re suddenly being treated like the enemy you might reconsider.
“Do you sense any movement down there using radar?” he asks. It’s likely Panzermensch could summon some sort of equipment that could do the job. If it’s also a custom to stay far away from the well, the only one likely to break that rule would be Rush.
He considers another next step while she does that. Simply telling Kakyoin or apologizing at this point would probably be useless. In this state he’d probably regard that as just one more threat. Instead...he pulls out Star Platinum, who spots something in the air and moves faster than the creature can dodge. Once the locust is trapped in a grip only gentle enough not to crush it, Jotaro takes a picture before closing Star’s fingers and wincing at the phantom sensation of bug guts. ‘You were right,’ he types slowly, attaching the picture and emailing both to Kakyoin’s phone. At least that should get him to think, if not snap him out of it. There’s no immediate reply, but Jotaro hadn’t expected one. In a way, it’d be worse to get that reply, because it would mean that Kakyoin would be trying to placate rather than actually thinking things through.
“It’s fortunate that Freya is smaller than the comparative models in other countries at the time, or maneuvering it would have been more difficult,” the Captain announces, returning from where she’d used a particularly large rock outcrop as the ‘frame’ for Panzermensch to make the radar. “Other than the usual movement of water that one would expect, I did not find any sign of anything moving around down there.”
“I don’t think he’ll try it until he’s ready to make his move.” Rush has likely figured out at least part of this, too, so he won’t risk anything until he’s ready. He’s not adverse to risk, but he is the type to be inclined to try to minimize it. It won’t stop him from seeking his goals, but he will try to ensure he is still as clear-headed as he can be, knowing that once he takes that step he’ll have limited time before they’re on him and he’ll have to fight. For a man who likes to hedge all of his bets, fighting at a disadvantage because his mind is clouded would be abhorrent. And as much as Jotaro dislikes that idea, it’s probably going to be good for them. The longer Rush takes to set up his plans, the longer they have to prepare, too.
Jotaro finds himself hoping that Johan’s taking a nap. He can synthesize their unique experiences and maybe make some connections of his own without them having to spend a whole lot of time actually talking about it. Time might be of the essence. They’re not hurried now, but they also need to complete everything before an unknown time limit, like preparing a home before a typhoon. “Let’s go to the clock tower next.”
“I can use the radar to potentially determine the size of the swarm,” the Captain offers, and Jotaro nods.
Chapter Summary: Jotaro and Beefheart check out the center of Paxil.
Word Count: 1054
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
On getting close, Jotaro can see why the locals would be convinced this was the World Tree, and that’s even ignoring the possibility of magic. Jotaro isn’t particularly happy about the possibility of an entirely new set of natural rules for the world that he knows nothing about, but he can’t just pretend they doesn’t exist like he would have when he’d first gotten out of jail. He’s seen sufficient evidence that they do exist, and thankfully Star Platinum is capable of speed reading, meaning that he’s not entirely unfamiliar with the basics thanks to what remained of the Council’s library that they were able to retrieve, either. Most were suspected to not exist in this world, but in some other plane of existence. This one obviously doesn’t, unless the city itself could be entered from reality but wasn’t actually there, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t just manifest it here, rather than it naturally existing here.
It’s huge. If it ever fell, it’d flatten the whole town. Could definitely be why it’s cordoned off, but that doesn’t seem likely. Not a single person had had anything but praise for the tree. Any concern had been focused on the well beneath. A healthy respect, but also fear. They didn’t want people approaching the well. It’s not as clean a separation as that description makes out, like how complicated actually defining a species is when you actually start trying to classify them. The tree and the well are connected, in the eyes of the people here. It’s just that the people focus most of their anxiety on the well, even as they practically worship both and consider them the heart of the town.
If it even marginally follows normal rules, there’s a very good reason for this. The well probably feeds into the tree. The question is whether it just serves as a source of water, or if there’s other non-tangible nutrients, too. Jotaro can’t particularly see from here, even with the Captain’s binoculars, but then, he wouldn’t even necessarily know what he’s looking for. At least his guess is partially right. He does see some roots trailing down into the dark. There is a path, too, it looks like. The actual protection isn’t much; it’s really easy for people to trespass without a second thought, which seems like an odd oversight.
“Do you want to take a closer look?” the Captain asks, and it’s a sensible enough next step, but Jotaro finds himself hesitating.
The owner had explained the custom. A flimsy piece of cloth could never ensure privacy or keep out a determined intruder, and as such a warning could easily be taken as merely informational, but...perhaps it wasn’t quite so simple. In which case, that could easily be the answer as to what had happened to Kakyoin, who had started to investigate using Hierophant before they’d even been told (and whose nature, Jotaro suspects, would be resistant to actually obeying such warnings anyway).
The paranoia might be meant as a deterrent, something to dissuade from a course of action—and, interestingly, perhaps to prevent others from getting involved and disrupting the town’s harmony, as well. Even if you’d otherwise be likely to help out, if you’re suddenly being treated like the enemy you might reconsider.
“Do you sense any movement down there using radar?” he asks. It’s likely Panzermensch could summon some sort of equipment that could do the job. If it’s also a custom to stay far away from the well, the only one likely to break that rule would be Rush.
He considers another next step while she does that. Simply telling Kakyoin or apologizing at this point would probably be useless. In this state he’d probably regard that as just one more threat. Instead...he pulls out Star Platinum, who spots something in the air and moves faster than the creature can dodge. Once the locust is trapped in a grip only gentle enough not to crush it, Jotaro takes a picture before closing Star’s fingers and wincing at the phantom sensation of bug guts. ‘You were right,’ he types slowly, attaching the picture and emailing both to Kakyoin’s phone. At least that should get him to think, if not snap him out of it. There’s no immediate reply, but Jotaro hadn’t expected one. In a way, it’d be worse to get that reply, because it would mean that Kakyoin would be trying to placate rather than actually thinking things through.
“It’s fortunate that Freya is smaller than the comparative models in other countries at the time, or maneuvering it would have been more difficult,” the Captain announces, returning from where she’d used a particularly large rock outcrop as the ‘frame’ for Panzermensch to make the radar. “Other than the usual movement of water that one would expect, I did not find any sign of anything moving around down there.”
“I don’t think he’ll try it until he’s ready to make his move.” Rush has likely figured out at least part of this, too, so he won’t risk anything until he’s ready. He’s not adverse to risk, but he is the type to be inclined to try to minimize it. It won’t stop him from seeking his goals, but he will try to ensure he is still as clear-headed as he can be, knowing that once he takes that step he’ll have limited time before they’re on him and he’ll have to fight. For a man who likes to hedge all of his bets, fighting at a disadvantage because his mind is clouded would be abhorrent. And as much as Jotaro dislikes that idea, it’s probably going to be good for them. The longer Rush takes to set up his plans, the longer they have to prepare, too.
Jotaro finds himself hoping that Johan’s taking a nap. He can synthesize their unique experiences and maybe make some connections of his own without them having to spend a whole lot of time actually talking about it. Time might be of the essence. They’re not hurried now, but they also need to complete everything before an unknown time limit, like preparing a home before a typhoon. “Let’s go to the clock tower next.”
“I can use the radar to potentially determine the size of the swarm,” the Captain offers, and Jotaro nods.
