Up to Speed
Feb. 17th, 2026 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Stardust Legacy)
Summary: Kakyoin manages to cajole Jotaro into giving some answers.
Word Count: 1501
Rating: Teen
Breakfast with Jotaro turns out to be a strangely domestic affair, with Jotaro appearing almost relaxed, aside from Star Platinum continuing to pace within eyesight. Occasionally Star will do something like carefully, gently pick up the picture or the DVDs or whatever else seems to catch the Stand’s attention. Jotaro hadn’t previously needed help expressing the fact that he’s really awkward sometimes, but it’s incredibly endearing to see anyway.
He’s not talking, though. That isn’t altogether unusual. Jotaro and words tend to be strangers on the best of days. But it’s not like he doesn’t talk at all, particularly when he has something to say, and Kakyoin is starting to think that while he has actually processed that yes, this is Kakyoin and yes, he’s real, not an illusion or the work of an enemy Stand or a dream, but he has absolutely no idea what to actually do with that fact and hasn’t necessarily gotten that much better at figuring out how to proceed under such circumstances. It is somewhat amusing to learn that Jotaro largely wears what looks like a white version of his original modified gakuran, complete with a hat, though he has different pins on it, too.
Well, it’s not like this is an unusual situation, even if it’s been some time since he’s had to deal with this. Once he’d learned to not be (too) intimidated by Jotaro, he’d been the one keeping most of their conversations going, anyway, and he’d only had to perfect the art of small talk in his position with the Speedwagon Foundation. “So, you got a PhD in marine biology, but what do you actually do with it?”
Jotaro perks up despite himself, as Kakyoin suspected he would. He does like talking about things that interest him, if he doesn’t think he’s being a bother. “Work at an aquarium, now, but back when I was traveling more for the Speedwagon Foundation it was more field work. I miss it sometimes.”
Kakyoin’s heart was really not prepared for this, because it has to be at least in part nostalgia. As traumatizing as the trip had been, it had also been incredible. To go his whole life thinking that no one could ever understand him to suddenly having several companions who could not only see Hierophant but had Stands of their own was like a dream come true, even if it’d had to come after a nightmare. And while Jotaro’s experience hadn’t been exactly the same, having only developed a Stand recently at the time, he’d still clearly been lonely and felt like an outsider. “While I became a mangaka. I assume you took a position to be closer to your kids?” Kakyoin guesses. It turns out Jotaro still looks away like emotions are something shameful, to be hidden.
“Yeah, after…” Jotaro trails off, then utters a signature “...yare yare daze. Dawn mentioned some of it, probably, but we thought Stands and vampires were bizarre enough.”
“Yes, she mentioned demons?” Kakyoin finds the concept fascinating, in an existential crisis sort of way, and Jotaro’s smirk says that he either was expecting that reaction or agrees.
“If you want to read about all of it, knock yourself out. Giles-san actually has a lot of data. Of course, I’m not too sure all of it is accurate; they’re not as benevolent as the Speedwagon Foundation.” Jotaro pauses, obviously trying to work out how to go about explaining that and looking a little frustrated. “I’m telling this all out of order.”
Kakyoin laughs airily, waving that off easily. “No worries, Jotaro; I’m still following you so far, and it’s all very interesting. So, what would you consider the beginning, anyway?”
Jotaro takes the opportunity to thoughtfully chew on a pancake before nodding decisively. “Well, Giles-san always starts with the Slayers. So I can, too. Used to be demons ruled the earth. You’d think it’d be the kind of place DIO would love, but he’s nothing compared to some of the things out there. He probably would’ve become a smear without a second thought.”
“And the Slayers were meant to fight them?” Kakyoin guesses, cutting his own pancakes carefully.
Jotaro nods, but there’s a sudden tension in the way he’s gripping the fork and the light cry of ora from Star betray that that’s not the neutral answer it appears. “Teenage girls, most of whom die before they’re twenty. Their powers develop one at a time, usually, after the last one dies, and they’re taught to fight alone.”
Jotaro flinches slightly when Kakyoin calls out Hierophant, though relaxes when all Kakyoin does with it is to run a reassuring tendril over Star’s gloves. Truth be told, it’s mostly a way for him to vent his own anger beginning to curl unpleasantly in his gut. ‘Not as benevolent’, huh? Jotaro continues to understate things somewhat. “That probably has something to do with the life expectancy, doesn’t it?”
“It’s easier to keep them in line and prevent uprisings if you bring them up on a bunch of damn noble sacrifice brainwashed bullshit,” Jotaro confirms, jaw clenched. “And they should be scared,” he continues, getting the slightest of smirks. “Because Slayers are like one of jiji’s comics. Superstrength, superspeed, superhealing. Buffy could probably cave in one of their skulls without a Stand if she wanted to—and she’s definitely been tempted. Thing is, that order’s been messed up. There are three now—Buffy and Kendra died briefly, but were revived. Like the old man.”
Kakyoin considers this, willing his hands not to turn into fists, and then smiles. “If you haven’t been planning a revolution with your daughter, I’m very disappointed in you.”
Jotaro straight up grins, the sort of grin that bodes nothing but danger and bad times to anyone who happens to get caught on the other side of his wrath. “Well, she already scared the shit out of them the last time they came to Sunnydale for her girlfriend and told them she was done taking orders unless they bothered to explain them, but we’re both…” He pauses and considers his choice of words. “You’re the one that specializes in breaking the enemy’s morale. We just intimidate them.”
“That’s my Jojo,” Kakyoin responds, Jotaro’s face turning a little pink as he immediately hides behind his hat. Which...he should probably address, shouldn’t he. “We did...decide we were together on the trip, didn’t we?”
Jotaro lets out a relieved sigh, like that’s also something he’d been concerned about. “Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate, but it’s enough.
“Well, it’s good that we have that experience in common. But you’re single now, right?” He’s partially teasing again, trying to see if he has a chance, and Jotaro pulls his hat down further.
“It’s...complicated. Divorced and now widower. Joyce kicked me out of her life and then her new husband cheated with his secretary. And Buffy needed help after a vampire encounter, so that’s how I ended up back in her life.” It...hurts, a little, to hear that someone got to see more of Jotaro than he had, but at the same time he’d hardly wish for Jotaro to have been alone for all these years, not when the man has a tendency to get caught up in his own head. That kind of genuine grief only comes from having experienced good times.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Jotaro,” Kakyoin responds, nothing but sincere, and Jotaro nods wordlessly.
He does figure out where to continue from there, however. “I survived because Star can stop time, like The World could.”
Kakyoin nods. “We’d...considered that possibility, but obviously never had proof. DIO seemed to be able to at least manipulate the results of Hermit Purple, and there had also been indications of him using your mother’s vine Stand. Stopping time might have been Star Platinum’s power first, with the man only parasitically taking from your bloodline.”
Jotaro, it seems, had never considered that possibility, staring a little blankly. Star Platinum joins the conversation with a hopeful “Ora?”
“I, meanwhile, survived thanks to learning hamon. We think DIO avoided a killing punch last minute when he realized I was using it.” It’s gruesome and unfortunate to think about these things, but while they’re on the topic, he might as well assuage Jotaro’s curiosity. “I suppose that leaves one last question: who were the ones that kidnapped me and your daughter?”
Jotaro’s exhale is nothing but annoyed, this time. “Demons, but we haven’t tracked them down yet. They were smart enough to abandon the base once you escaped. Josuke and Willow are out looking right now, but they haven’t found anything or they’d have called.”
“Well, I’ll be more than happy to help.” It’s not as if it’s that far from his normal duties anyway.
Jotaro snorts. “Finish your breakfast first,” he insists, digging in himself.
“Yes, dear,” Kakyoin replies and does just that, enjoying the slight flush on Jotaro’s cheeks as much as his efforts in cooking; he really has improved with age.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Stardust Legacy)
Summary: Kakyoin manages to cajole Jotaro into giving some answers.
Word Count: 1501
Rating: Teen
Breakfast with Jotaro turns out to be a strangely domestic affair, with Jotaro appearing almost relaxed, aside from Star Platinum continuing to pace within eyesight. Occasionally Star will do something like carefully, gently pick up the picture or the DVDs or whatever else seems to catch the Stand’s attention. Jotaro hadn’t previously needed help expressing the fact that he’s really awkward sometimes, but it’s incredibly endearing to see anyway.
He’s not talking, though. That isn’t altogether unusual. Jotaro and words tend to be strangers on the best of days. But it’s not like he doesn’t talk at all, particularly when he has something to say, and Kakyoin is starting to think that while he has actually processed that yes, this is Kakyoin and yes, he’s real, not an illusion or the work of an enemy Stand or a dream, but he has absolutely no idea what to actually do with that fact and hasn’t necessarily gotten that much better at figuring out how to proceed under such circumstances. It is somewhat amusing to learn that Jotaro largely wears what looks like a white version of his original modified gakuran, complete with a hat, though he has different pins on it, too.
Well, it’s not like this is an unusual situation, even if it’s been some time since he’s had to deal with this. Once he’d learned to not be (too) intimidated by Jotaro, he’d been the one keeping most of their conversations going, anyway, and he’d only had to perfect the art of small talk in his position with the Speedwagon Foundation. “So, you got a PhD in marine biology, but what do you actually do with it?”
Jotaro perks up despite himself, as Kakyoin suspected he would. He does like talking about things that interest him, if he doesn’t think he’s being a bother. “Work at an aquarium, now, but back when I was traveling more for the Speedwagon Foundation it was more field work. I miss it sometimes.”
Kakyoin’s heart was really not prepared for this, because it has to be at least in part nostalgia. As traumatizing as the trip had been, it had also been incredible. To go his whole life thinking that no one could ever understand him to suddenly having several companions who could not only see Hierophant but had Stands of their own was like a dream come true, even if it’d had to come after a nightmare. And while Jotaro’s experience hadn’t been exactly the same, having only developed a Stand recently at the time, he’d still clearly been lonely and felt like an outsider. “While I became a mangaka. I assume you took a position to be closer to your kids?” Kakyoin guesses. It turns out Jotaro still looks away like emotions are something shameful, to be hidden.
“Yeah, after…” Jotaro trails off, then utters a signature “...yare yare daze. Dawn mentioned some of it, probably, but we thought Stands and vampires were bizarre enough.”
“Yes, she mentioned demons?” Kakyoin finds the concept fascinating, in an existential crisis sort of way, and Jotaro’s smirk says that he either was expecting that reaction or agrees.
“If you want to read about all of it, knock yourself out. Giles-san actually has a lot of data. Of course, I’m not too sure all of it is accurate; they’re not as benevolent as the Speedwagon Foundation.” Jotaro pauses, obviously trying to work out how to go about explaining that and looking a little frustrated. “I’m telling this all out of order.”
Kakyoin laughs airily, waving that off easily. “No worries, Jotaro; I’m still following you so far, and it’s all very interesting. So, what would you consider the beginning, anyway?”
Jotaro takes the opportunity to thoughtfully chew on a pancake before nodding decisively. “Well, Giles-san always starts with the Slayers. So I can, too. Used to be demons ruled the earth. You’d think it’d be the kind of place DIO would love, but he’s nothing compared to some of the things out there. He probably would’ve become a smear without a second thought.”
“And the Slayers were meant to fight them?” Kakyoin guesses, cutting his own pancakes carefully.
Jotaro nods, but there’s a sudden tension in the way he’s gripping the fork and the light cry of ora from Star betray that that’s not the neutral answer it appears. “Teenage girls, most of whom die before they’re twenty. Their powers develop one at a time, usually, after the last one dies, and they’re taught to fight alone.”
Jotaro flinches slightly when Kakyoin calls out Hierophant, though relaxes when all Kakyoin does with it is to run a reassuring tendril over Star’s gloves. Truth be told, it’s mostly a way for him to vent his own anger beginning to curl unpleasantly in his gut. ‘Not as benevolent’, huh? Jotaro continues to understate things somewhat. “That probably has something to do with the life expectancy, doesn’t it?”
“It’s easier to keep them in line and prevent uprisings if you bring them up on a bunch of damn noble sacrifice brainwashed bullshit,” Jotaro confirms, jaw clenched. “And they should be scared,” he continues, getting the slightest of smirks. “Because Slayers are like one of jiji’s comics. Superstrength, superspeed, superhealing. Buffy could probably cave in one of their skulls without a Stand if she wanted to—and she’s definitely been tempted. Thing is, that order’s been messed up. There are three now—Buffy and Kendra died briefly, but were revived. Like the old man.”
Kakyoin considers this, willing his hands not to turn into fists, and then smiles. “If you haven’t been planning a revolution with your daughter, I’m very disappointed in you.”
Jotaro straight up grins, the sort of grin that bodes nothing but danger and bad times to anyone who happens to get caught on the other side of his wrath. “Well, she already scared the shit out of them the last time they came to Sunnydale for her girlfriend and told them she was done taking orders unless they bothered to explain them, but we’re both…” He pauses and considers his choice of words. “You’re the one that specializes in breaking the enemy’s morale. We just intimidate them.”
“That’s my Jojo,” Kakyoin responds, Jotaro’s face turning a little pink as he immediately hides behind his hat. Which...he should probably address, shouldn’t he. “We did...decide we were together on the trip, didn’t we?”
Jotaro lets out a relieved sigh, like that’s also something he’d been concerned about. “Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate, but it’s enough.
“Well, it’s good that we have that experience in common. But you’re single now, right?” He’s partially teasing again, trying to see if he has a chance, and Jotaro pulls his hat down further.
“It’s...complicated. Divorced and now widower. Joyce kicked me out of her life and then her new husband cheated with his secretary. And Buffy needed help after a vampire encounter, so that’s how I ended up back in her life.” It...hurts, a little, to hear that someone got to see more of Jotaro than he had, but at the same time he’d hardly wish for Jotaro to have been alone for all these years, not when the man has a tendency to get caught up in his own head. That kind of genuine grief only comes from having experienced good times.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Jotaro,” Kakyoin responds, nothing but sincere, and Jotaro nods wordlessly.
He does figure out where to continue from there, however. “I survived because Star can stop time, like The World could.”
Kakyoin nods. “We’d...considered that possibility, but obviously never had proof. DIO seemed to be able to at least manipulate the results of Hermit Purple, and there had also been indications of him using your mother’s vine Stand. Stopping time might have been Star Platinum’s power first, with the man only parasitically taking from your bloodline.”
Jotaro, it seems, had never considered that possibility, staring a little blankly. Star Platinum joins the conversation with a hopeful “Ora?”
“I, meanwhile, survived thanks to learning hamon. We think DIO avoided a killing punch last minute when he realized I was using it.” It’s gruesome and unfortunate to think about these things, but while they’re on the topic, he might as well assuage Jotaro’s curiosity. “I suppose that leaves one last question: who were the ones that kidnapped me and your daughter?”
Jotaro’s exhale is nothing but annoyed, this time. “Demons, but we haven’t tracked them down yet. They were smart enough to abandon the base once you escaped. Josuke and Willow are out looking right now, but they haven’t found anything or they’d have called.”
“Well, I’ll be more than happy to help.” It’s not as if it’s that far from his normal duties anyway.
Jotaro snorts. “Finish your breakfast first,” he insists, digging in himself.
“Yes, dear,” Kakyoin replies and does just that, enjoying the slight flush on Jotaro’s cheeks as much as his efforts in cooking; he really has improved with age.
