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madimpossibledreamerExcerpt from my message to beta-senpai:
ARGH
I JUST MADE A DOLLHOUSE REFERENCE AND IT FITS
WHOOPS
I hated that show
~Dreamer~
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Buffy and Giorno confront Giles.
Word Count: 1078
Rating: Gen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS (this chapter more than usual)
“Apparently there’s a chalice Wolfram & Hart used a spell on to make us all suspicious of each other.” If that’s true, though, why had he been so dismissive the last time they visited? And if they hadn’t figured out how to get rid of the spell, why hadn’t Giles mentioned that?
The mob boss hums thoughtfully. “Either the spell is very powerful, or he wasn’t that confident in your abilities in the first place…” He starts a little, as if he’d been speaking his thoughts out loud. “My apologies; I’m probably just playing right into their hands.”
Is he doing this on purpose to isolate her? But no, she has to shrug that off. It’s probably the spell again. “How do you deal with it?” He’s had experience dealing with those who don’t trust him, it sounds like.
“You may have noticed Dr. Kujo’s reaction to me, due to my father, DIO.” That…makes perfect sense, actually. “We were able to overcome our differences by being brutally honest with each other—that, and bonding over his knowledge of marine life. Life in all its forms is truly fascinating.”
“You’re so weird,” she remarks, and gets the hint of a smile in return.
“True. There was another, Abbacchio.” There’s…sadness, not regret, in Giorno’s tone. “He guessed, correctly, that I had my own agenda upon joining Bucciarati’s team. I never earned his trust, but, perhaps, his respect.” He pauses and continues. “I put my own life in danger to force him to act, because his hesitation due to his distrust may have cost us everything. I trusted him to save all of us, and he did, even if he hated me more because of that. Trust your dreams and fears in another and they must act. In the end, he trusted me to carry on, even if I…” He pauses, clenching his fist, before he continues. “Even if we were too late.”
Despite this man’s reaction, there’s no answering dislike in Giorno’s tone or voice, only a deep sadness. She was right; this is a warrior who, like her, has tasted loss. And—wait. “Was that the reason you were being so honest with me when we met?”
The young man smiles, proud. “Of course. I had heard about Slayers, and of course there was the fact that I am probably not entirely human. I was unsure what your reaction would be, so I chose the approach with the best chance of success.”
‘Don Giovanna’ is equal parts selfish and altruistic, Buffy’s come to realize, but there’s no point in stalling, so she opens the door instead. The moment she sees Giles, she gets her words out, rather than waiting for him to start in on a lecture, because of the Moods of Giles this one is Not Happy. “You signed off on us dealing with the lawyers.”
Giles is pinching his nose, the step before cleaning his glasses. “That’s because I didn’t think you’d go off and do something so reckless. Did you really have to flood the entire building? Practically all the branches of Wolfram & Hart, I’m told, are in an uproar.”
“That wasn’t the point, obviously, but maybe they’ll stop it with the subtle things and we’ll have drawn them into the open. We might not have the forces on our own, but Don Giovanna here will lend help, as W&H are a problem for them, as well.” She could say ‘might’, but it might also be a case of ‘act confident and people will believe in you’—she’d learned that during the fight with the First, too. She gets a slight nod in confirmation from Giorno.
“Did you even have a plan when you went in?” Giles asks, and she’s had it. Enough of the distrust, enough of the second guessing, enough of being told she just isn’t good enough.
“Do you? I wouldn’t know, because you haven’t bothered to tell me. I’m not good at research but I’d gladly help with that if you’d let me. Instead you keep me in the dark, like Johan, and expect me to be happy with being treated like a good little doll in a dollhouse.” That warrants the glasses cleaning. “You gave me the title of Leader when we started all this, but am I just supposed to be a figurehead? What, exactly has changed from the last Council?” Giles opens his mouth, and she fixes him with a glare. “And don’t you dare say you’ll trust me when I earn it. I can’t earn your trust if you don’t let me do anything.”
Giles is silent, and the silence stretches. He’s not going to say anything—or he can’t?
And then Giorno interrupts. “Is this the chalice you were referring to, Signora Summers?” He’s casually holding it in his hands, like it’s not dangerous at all, and this time as they stare they’re speechless for a completely different reason.
“Should you be touching it?” Buffy asks cautiously, then turns to Giles. “Did you get rid of the spell? Do you know if that’s safe?”
“As far as I know, we did, though the magic was different than anything we’ve seen before…” the Watcher explains reluctantly.
Giovanna’s just standing there, eyes closed. Is he being possessed or something? “You didn’t,” he states abruptly, voice and everything else still the same—or is it? “But then, you don’t have the right perspective to understand this one. Like my Stand, whatever did this imbued this chalice with some sort of life energy. It feels like it did when those guards started fighting. Furthermore, it only affects your feelings toward those closest to you, those whom you trust. Even recent acquaintances whom you trust are affected, while strangers are not.” He sets it down carefully, in contrast to his casual attitude. “Fascinating. But if this is the case, why would they unleash such a weapon on themselves?”
“Infighting. Angel destroyed the leadership, so there might be some squabbling about the position of successor or trying to gain whatever power they can,” Buffy realizes. From what Angel had said, the members of Wolfram & Hart were only held in check by their contracts and power. The minute they could, they would devour each other.
“We experienced something similar in Passione, yes,” Giorno agrees.
ARGH
I JUST MADE A DOLLHOUSE REFERENCE AND IT FITS
WHOOPS
I hated that show
~Dreamer~
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Buffy and Giorno confront Giles.
Word Count: 1078
Rating: Gen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS (this chapter more than usual)
“Is there a particular reason behind Signor Giles’ distrust of your leadership?” Giorno asks idly as they make their way to the operations room, where Giles will be.
“Apparently there’s a chalice Wolfram & Hart used a spell on to make us all suspicious of each other.” If that’s true, though, why had he been so dismissive the last time they visited? And if they hadn’t figured out how to get rid of the spell, why hadn’t Giles mentioned that?
The mob boss hums thoughtfully. “Either the spell is very powerful, or he wasn’t that confident in your abilities in the first place…” He starts a little, as if he’d been speaking his thoughts out loud. “My apologies; I’m probably just playing right into their hands.”
Is he doing this on purpose to isolate her? But no, she has to shrug that off. It’s probably the spell again. “How do you deal with it?” He’s had experience dealing with those who don’t trust him, it sounds like.
“You may have noticed Dr. Kujo’s reaction to me, due to my father, DIO.” That…makes perfect sense, actually. “We were able to overcome our differences by being brutally honest with each other—that, and bonding over his knowledge of marine life. Life in all its forms is truly fascinating.”
“You’re so weird,” she remarks, and gets the hint of a smile in return.
“True. There was another, Abbacchio.” There’s…sadness, not regret, in Giorno’s tone. “He guessed, correctly, that I had my own agenda upon joining Bucciarati’s team. I never earned his trust, but, perhaps, his respect.” He pauses and continues. “I put my own life in danger to force him to act, because his hesitation due to his distrust may have cost us everything. I trusted him to save all of us, and he did, even if he hated me more because of that. Trust your dreams and fears in another and they must act. In the end, he trusted me to carry on, even if I…” He pauses, clenching his fist, before he continues. “Even if we were too late.”
Despite this man’s reaction, there’s no answering dislike in Giorno’s tone or voice, only a deep sadness. She was right; this is a warrior who, like her, has tasted loss. And—wait. “Was that the reason you were being so honest with me when we met?”
The young man smiles, proud. “Of course. I had heard about Slayers, and of course there was the fact that I am probably not entirely human. I was unsure what your reaction would be, so I chose the approach with the best chance of success.”
‘Don Giovanna’ is equal parts selfish and altruistic, Buffy’s come to realize, but there’s no point in stalling, so she opens the door instead. The moment she sees Giles, she gets her words out, rather than waiting for him to start in on a lecture, because of the Moods of Giles this one is Not Happy. “You signed off on us dealing with the lawyers.”
Giles is pinching his nose, the step before cleaning his glasses. “That’s because I didn’t think you’d go off and do something so reckless. Did you really have to flood the entire building? Practically all the branches of Wolfram & Hart, I’m told, are in an uproar.”
“That wasn’t the point, obviously, but maybe they’ll stop it with the subtle things and we’ll have drawn them into the open. We might not have the forces on our own, but Don Giovanna here will lend help, as W&H are a problem for them, as well.” She could say ‘might’, but it might also be a case of ‘act confident and people will believe in you’—she’d learned that during the fight with the First, too. She gets a slight nod in confirmation from Giorno.
“Did you even have a plan when you went in?” Giles asks, and she’s had it. Enough of the distrust, enough of the second guessing, enough of being told she just isn’t good enough.
“Do you? I wouldn’t know, because you haven’t bothered to tell me. I’m not good at research but I’d gladly help with that if you’d let me. Instead you keep me in the dark, like Johan, and expect me to be happy with being treated like a good little doll in a dollhouse.” That warrants the glasses cleaning. “You gave me the title of Leader when we started all this, but am I just supposed to be a figurehead? What, exactly has changed from the last Council?” Giles opens his mouth, and she fixes him with a glare. “And don’t you dare say you’ll trust me when I earn it. I can’t earn your trust if you don’t let me do anything.”
Giles is silent, and the silence stretches. He’s not going to say anything—or he can’t?
And then Giorno interrupts. “Is this the chalice you were referring to, Signora Summers?” He’s casually holding it in his hands, like it’s not dangerous at all, and this time as they stare they’re speechless for a completely different reason.
“Should you be touching it?” Buffy asks cautiously, then turns to Giles. “Did you get rid of the spell? Do you know if that’s safe?”
“As far as I know, we did, though the magic was different than anything we’ve seen before…” the Watcher explains reluctantly.
Giovanna’s just standing there, eyes closed. Is he being possessed or something? “You didn’t,” he states abruptly, voice and everything else still the same—or is it? “But then, you don’t have the right perspective to understand this one. Like my Stand, whatever did this imbued this chalice with some sort of life energy. It feels like it did when those guards started fighting. Furthermore, it only affects your feelings toward those closest to you, those whom you trust. Even recent acquaintances whom you trust are affected, while strangers are not.” He sets it down carefully, in contrast to his casual attitude. “Fascinating. But if this is the case, why would they unleash such a weapon on themselves?”
“Infighting. Angel destroyed the leadership, so there might be some squabbling about the position of successor or trying to gain whatever power they can,” Buffy realizes. From what Angel had said, the members of Wolfram & Hart were only held in check by their contracts and power. The minute they could, they would devour each other.
“We experienced something similar in Passione, yes,” Giorno agrees.
