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madimpossibledreamerMental health is not a Scooby strong suit. He’s got PTSD and burnout, probably, but growing up with ‘not being on top of things leads to the death/turning of your best friend’ leads you to think you can’t take breaks. It’s not healthy. See also: Dean Winchester. Please get help if you need it.
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Johan wakes floating in water.
Word Count: 1266
Rating: Teen (Buffy|Jojo's level violence)+ warnings for the above author's note
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS. Specifically, kinda, for Stone Ocean.
The water feels nice. That’s a complete understatement, Xander knows. Completely inadequate. It’s like saying ‘Buffy is strong’ or ‘Babylon 5 is a good show’; the statements are technically true, but there’s so much nuance that’s just not being said. Still, he’s tired. Maybe the rest of the Scoobies were right, that he was weak enough he couldn’t keep going. The rest of them could keep going, but he was the weakest link. Broken and bent and letting the whole chain down.
But at some point, there’s no use pretending, right? He’s better off here. The rest of them can save the world just fine on their own. At least he’s done one good deed. The actually competent ones can take it from here.
So he doesn’t try to come up with a better way of saying that the water’s nice. He doesn’t try to get up or figure out where he is or how he got here. He just lets the water’s buoyancy suspend him. In the ocean, in time.
“You can’t sleep here,” a voice tells him gently, shaking him with just as much courtesy, and Xander groans. It’s comfortable here, relaxing. An effort to just open his eyes. Moving? How in the world is the voice expecting him to accomplish that?
“As much as I’d like for you to be able to rest the way you need, this is a choice you should make carefully.” It takes him a moment to recognize the voice, the touch, and when he does, his eyes pop open, because it’s one thing to be living through Jonathan’s memories, and another thing to have his ancestor actually talking to him. The man’s not even alive anymore, so it’s not like he’s just reaching out and touching the man’s dreams.
Unfortunately, when he wakes up, Jonathan’s not in sight. The world sharpens into focus, though. He’s not floating anymore. He’s washed up on some sort of beach. It takes him a minute to come to that conclusion. Water still laps at his legs, but he’s anchored and the sand’s biting into his skin.
He sits up, trying to place the, well, the feel of the place. It’s like the pond, at the mansion or whatever it’s chosen to be today. Except it’s also not, at all, and isn’t that just a weird feeling.
And then he remembers an offhand comment Giles had made, and blinks. It’s not like the guy—or philosophers, either—to be so literal. “Don’t tell me this is the sea of the unconscious.”
“I’m afraid I can’t say either way.” Xander startles a little before his conscious—or thinking, at least—mind can analyze and relay the fact that he knows this voice, too, even if he’s never heard it with his own ears.
William A. Zeppeli, founder, too, in his own right of a legacy. He looks exactly as Jonathan remembered him, sitting carefully on the sand, glass of wine in hand.
“Uh. Hi.” Could he be any more awkward if he tried?
The Baron just smiles. “A blond man told me you’d owe me thanks. I’m afraid that you can’t relay those in person, since I suspect I’ll go back to being dead soon enough.”
His memories are just out of reach, and it hurts to try, like he’s fighting gravity, and it’s not just the normal Earth variety either.
Zeppeli continues, unaware of Xander’s thoughts, because he hasn’t bothered to voice them out loud, yet. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the young Jojo he talked about. He was related to Speedwagon, wasn’t he?”
The pain hits him all at once, and the next thing he knows, he’s curled up, shaking. His throat is sore, so he was probably screaming. Make that definitely screaming, he amends, as he notices the grains of sand clinging to his face. It’s only Zepelli’s steady stream of healing hamon through a gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Putting that on the list of things to never try again,” he promises himself hoarsely. He remembers, now, and the slight breeze, which was welcoming, comforting, is suddenly cold and uninviting. Pretender had been frantic, trying everything to convince him not to do it, but he was past the point of caring. All he’d known was Fitz, seized by Dio, who had been saying something about how it was all useless, and he couldn’t help himself, images of the dead Crusaders flashing through his mind. Odd, because Kakyoin still lived, but the memories feel just as real. He’d begun stopping time before his own Stand had finished speaking, and the agony of trying to move through that stuff was, he supposed, rather like having all your atoms being pulled apart slowly and being completely aware of it the whole time.
“That’s the guy, yeah, though he goes by Fitz. What happened to Dio?” If Fitz is still in danger, he can’t afford to be goofing around here. He needs to get back.
Zeppeli takes a sip of the wine, expression appreciative. “All I found was ash, shortly before my own consciousness dissolved. The next thing I knew, I was here. I should have been able to sense him with hamon, if he was still around.”
It’d probably have been an absolute nightmare if the man had his Stand and some of his memories back, but at least, in Jonathan’s body, he’d be easy to track. Johan will probably need to see this for himself.
He needs to hold onto the chill, though. The feeling that he can’t stay here, on the beach. “Well, I assume you saved us, somehow, so, from the bottom of this Jojo’s heart, thank you.”
Zeppeli waves like the nobility he is, and Jojo knows that’s an acknowledgement of his place as a Joestar and a ‘you’re welcome’ all in one. And then he’s gone, a final golden ripple on the sand.
“Jojo!” a new voice calls, and—
Well. A glitchy hologram priest hadn’t been what he expected to see. The water feels ominous, now. A ghost had warned him that a priest had tried to drown the bloodline. Then again, Styx seemed pretty chill, for his profession.
“Ah, I’ve found you. Young Fitz was getting agitated, you see. Do you need assistance?” Jojo closes his eyes and traces the thread of the spell, bright with electricity, back to its origin. He probably wouldn’t be able to see it ordinarily, but this is, in some respects, Pretender’s domain, so it makes sense.
“Nah, I think I can get back on my own. Thanks though.” He reaches out, closes his eyes, and—
—And wakes. True to Styx’s word, Fitz is struggling to keep that stiff upper lip. The priest sits up a moment later. The blond’s eyes light up when he notices Johan move, and his tone isn’t angry as he greets his friend with a simple “You promised.” …Ouch. There’s no defense against this one, because Fitz is right, and that hurts.
Thankfully, Styx saves him with, “We’ve all been through quite the battle, and didn’t even manage to get to the refreshments last time. I think Mrs. Patel wanted to take her mind off of the zombies, because she hasn’t stopped cooking since we managed to cast the star-spell.” That sounds fascinating, but Jojo only gets a mouthed ‘I’ll tell you later’ from Fitz. “Please, it’s not as if we can eat it all, and you definitely deserve some for your part in it.”
“Like I’ll ever say no to food,” Johan accepts with a smile, and doesn’t try to shrug off Speedwagon’s more understated fussing or support.
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Johan wakes floating in water.
Word Count: 1266
Rating: Teen (Buffy|Jojo's level violence)+ warnings for the above author's note
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS. Specifically, kinda, for Stone Ocean.
The water feels nice. That’s a complete understatement, Xander knows. Completely inadequate. It’s like saying ‘Buffy is strong’ or ‘Babylon 5 is a good show’; the statements are technically true, but there’s so much nuance that’s just not being said. Still, he’s tired. Maybe the rest of the Scoobies were right, that he was weak enough he couldn’t keep going. The rest of them could keep going, but he was the weakest link. Broken and bent and letting the whole chain down.
But at some point, there’s no use pretending, right? He’s better off here. The rest of them can save the world just fine on their own. At least he’s done one good deed. The actually competent ones can take it from here.
So he doesn’t try to come up with a better way of saying that the water’s nice. He doesn’t try to get up or figure out where he is or how he got here. He just lets the water’s buoyancy suspend him. In the ocean, in time.
“You can’t sleep here,” a voice tells him gently, shaking him with just as much courtesy, and Xander groans. It’s comfortable here, relaxing. An effort to just open his eyes. Moving? How in the world is the voice expecting him to accomplish that?
“As much as I’d like for you to be able to rest the way you need, this is a choice you should make carefully.” It takes him a moment to recognize the voice, the touch, and when he does, his eyes pop open, because it’s one thing to be living through Jonathan’s memories, and another thing to have his ancestor actually talking to him. The man’s not even alive anymore, so it’s not like he’s just reaching out and touching the man’s dreams.
Unfortunately, when he wakes up, Jonathan’s not in sight. The world sharpens into focus, though. He’s not floating anymore. He’s washed up on some sort of beach. It takes him a minute to come to that conclusion. Water still laps at his legs, but he’s anchored and the sand’s biting into his skin.
He sits up, trying to place the, well, the feel of the place. It’s like the pond, at the mansion or whatever it’s chosen to be today. Except it’s also not, at all, and isn’t that just a weird feeling.
And then he remembers an offhand comment Giles had made, and blinks. It’s not like the guy—or philosophers, either—to be so literal. “Don’t tell me this is the sea of the unconscious.”
“I’m afraid I can’t say either way.” Xander startles a little before his conscious—or thinking, at least—mind can analyze and relay the fact that he knows this voice, too, even if he’s never heard it with his own ears.
William A. Zeppeli, founder, too, in his own right of a legacy. He looks exactly as Jonathan remembered him, sitting carefully on the sand, glass of wine in hand.
“Uh. Hi.” Could he be any more awkward if he tried?
The Baron just smiles. “A blond man told me you’d owe me thanks. I’m afraid that you can’t relay those in person, since I suspect I’ll go back to being dead soon enough.”
His memories are just out of reach, and it hurts to try, like he’s fighting gravity, and it’s not just the normal Earth variety either.
Zeppeli continues, unaware of Xander’s thoughts, because he hasn’t bothered to voice them out loud, yet. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the young Jojo he talked about. He was related to Speedwagon, wasn’t he?”
The pain hits him all at once, and the next thing he knows, he’s curled up, shaking. His throat is sore, so he was probably screaming. Make that definitely screaming, he amends, as he notices the grains of sand clinging to his face. It’s only Zepelli’s steady stream of healing hamon through a gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Putting that on the list of things to never try again,” he promises himself hoarsely. He remembers, now, and the slight breeze, which was welcoming, comforting, is suddenly cold and uninviting. Pretender had been frantic, trying everything to convince him not to do it, but he was past the point of caring. All he’d known was Fitz, seized by Dio, who had been saying something about how it was all useless, and he couldn’t help himself, images of the dead Crusaders flashing through his mind. Odd, because Kakyoin still lived, but the memories feel just as real. He’d begun stopping time before his own Stand had finished speaking, and the agony of trying to move through that stuff was, he supposed, rather like having all your atoms being pulled apart slowly and being completely aware of it the whole time.
“That’s the guy, yeah, though he goes by Fitz. What happened to Dio?” If Fitz is still in danger, he can’t afford to be goofing around here. He needs to get back.
Zeppeli takes a sip of the wine, expression appreciative. “All I found was ash, shortly before my own consciousness dissolved. The next thing I knew, I was here. I should have been able to sense him with hamon, if he was still around.”
It’d probably have been an absolute nightmare if the man had his Stand and some of his memories back, but at least, in Jonathan’s body, he’d be easy to track. Johan will probably need to see this for himself.
He needs to hold onto the chill, though. The feeling that he can’t stay here, on the beach. “Well, I assume you saved us, somehow, so, from the bottom of this Jojo’s heart, thank you.”
Zeppeli waves like the nobility he is, and Jojo knows that’s an acknowledgement of his place as a Joestar and a ‘you’re welcome’ all in one. And then he’s gone, a final golden ripple on the sand.
“Jojo!” a new voice calls, and—
Well. A glitchy hologram priest hadn’t been what he expected to see. The water feels ominous, now. A ghost had warned him that a priest had tried to drown the bloodline. Then again, Styx seemed pretty chill, for his profession.
“Ah, I’ve found you. Young Fitz was getting agitated, you see. Do you need assistance?” Jojo closes his eyes and traces the thread of the spell, bright with electricity, back to its origin. He probably wouldn’t be able to see it ordinarily, but this is, in some respects, Pretender’s domain, so it makes sense.
“Nah, I think I can get back on my own. Thanks though.” He reaches out, closes his eyes, and—
—And wakes. True to Styx’s word, Fitz is struggling to keep that stiff upper lip. The priest sits up a moment later. The blond’s eyes light up when he notices Johan move, and his tone isn’t angry as he greets his friend with a simple “You promised.” …Ouch. There’s no defense against this one, because Fitz is right, and that hurts.
Thankfully, Styx saves him with, “We’ve all been through quite the battle, and didn’t even manage to get to the refreshments last time. I think Mrs. Patel wanted to take her mind off of the zombies, because she hasn’t stopped cooking since we managed to cast the star-spell.” That sounds fascinating, but Jojo only gets a mouthed ‘I’ll tell you later’ from Fitz. “Please, it’s not as if we can eat it all, and you definitely deserve some for your part in it.”
“Like I’ll ever say no to food,” Johan accepts with a smile, and doesn’t try to shrug off Speedwagon’s more understated fussing or support.
