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madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Josie decides to confront Giles.
Word Count: 1121
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
She’s had a bad feeling since they got rid of Incognito’s Stamp. Since Papa saved her.
Her age had effectively doubled, and she’d barely experienced any of it, and she’d wished it away and practically gotten said wish because physically she looks exactly like she had when she was in her twenties, when Sarde caught her. But it was just an illusion, because distant-seeming or not, those memories had happened, and the feeling might suck but if she got it fully fulfilled she’d wish Johan right out of existence, and as uncomfortable as it is she doesn’t want that, so she’d better be careful about what she says out loud because apparently wish demons exist.
So yeah, it’d be easy to explain that bad feeling away. To say it’s just a lingering effect from losing her best friend, assuming she’s not just Incognito Stamped away too, that she isn’t quite comfortable with her position here yet, and the fact that her son’s friends have that same strange feeling, still aren’t quite sure what to do with her, doesn’t help.
But she’s pretty sure it’s not. She hasn’t told anyone so as not to worry them. Well, that, and they still see her as the baby of the family even though she obviously isn’t, not anymore, so seriously, overprotective much? She’d think about telling ‘Uncle Kakyoin’, since he’d take her seriously and not cause a big fuss, but he’s asleep. Not too pleasantly, either, by the look of it, but he needs the sleep to prepare for the fight ahead. She probably should be sleeping, too, but she’s too keyed up, so she’s bugging one of the last pilots the ISWC has at their disposal (and hey, they had pilots, it’s like the Speedwagon Foundation; too bad the last group of Watchers were too stuck-up and posh to do their damn jobs) and then, very quickly, Giles, because she doesn’t actually want to cause a plane crash and given that Joestars are on board that’s a real possibility she doesn’t want to contribute to, like, at all.
She’d practice Hamon. Buffy’s doing that, in the back, glow wrapped around her. She’d tease, except she’s pretty sure she knows exactly how the Slayer feels, because hey, shiny new weapon, gotta master it. But it’s the same thing all over again. The Ripple requires patience and sitting still and she’s terrible at both. She’s also somehow gotten her hands on the fabled sword of Luck and Pluck, which is sitting at her side. She’s pretty sure Papa hasn’t noticed, and Shizuka already tried making a fuss, but they didn’t really have time to be fussing about family heirlooms, anyway. Good for her! She’s definitely the sort Jonathan would have been proud to have inherit it, and it’s not like the most of them really use medieval weaponry anyway.
They’re bringing what feels like the entire arsenal, which is amazing and Josephine had promptly claimed a boot-knife she was prepared to defend from all comers. Because that just made her borrowed boots that much better. Buffy had winked at her. But practicing with shiny, pointy objects in this particular enclosed space is just asking for the Joestar Family Curse to strike, so, reluctantly, she’s not swinging anything around.
She’d had this kind of feeling before the Cherry Incident at school. And the instant she’d met Sarde. And before that film festival on campus. And before Russia. And before Sarde had chased them into another dimension.
So the second she knew Johan was missing. The second she heard he wasn’t coming back, not immediately; he needed to do something. The second she heard about this Ascension thing.
And no, she’s pretty sure it’s not this chalice thing Giles insisted was causing all this suspicion. She’s half certain that’s not even a real thing, just something the guy whipped out as an excuse because he was being cornered and needed some reason he wasn’t just some gullible arse, but hey, maybe that’s just her cynicism talking.
“So, you said you needed some more time to look into things. That time help any?” she asks, overly cheerful.
He glares over the top of his glasses. Too bad for him, Higashikata Josephine doesn’t do intimidation.
“Well?” she asks again, raising an eyebrow, and the bloke breaks out one of those long-suffering sighs he’s probably practiced a thousand times.
“If you want to insinuate that we’ve been thoroughly played by Wolfram & Hart, be my guest,” he states quietly, glancing in Buffy’s direction as if trying not to be overheard.
“Have you, then?” she asks, towering over him. Score one for height. It’d made her stand out even more as a kid, and to be fair that wasn’t exactly hard, with her heritage, but it wasn’t too bad when she’d moved to the UK for schooling, and when it comes to interrogations it’s downright useful.
“Most likely.” He sets the papers he’d been reading down and begins cleaning his glasses meticulously, probably to avoid meeting her eyes. “I am—my apologies—used to ignoring much of what Xander—or Johan—says. On some occasions, he’d even probably thank me for this decision. The teenage years were not kind to the boy, and it took some time for his brain to mature. If I took every misguided and rude thing that came out of his mouth seriously, I’m afraid I would hate him.”
“You’re not too fond of him now.” He’s still trying to paint a better picture of himself than he deserves. He’s not going to get away with that.
He places his glasses back on carefully and to her surprise meets her eyes with a wry smile. “On the contrary, Miss Higashikata...though probably despite us both. I have many regrets. Like you, I should have been there for him, because goodness knows he deserved more. But none of us can change the past, not without consequences in all likelihood far worse than the original.” To some extent, she needed to hear that, to hear that it’s not her fault. She loves her grandfather—her namesake—very much, but he’s not without flaw. It’s impossible to know how things would have gone, and circumstances being what they are, neither her father nor Johan would probably have even existed, if not for those circumstances. But it wasn’t her choice, her fault for getting caught by Incognito, and she needed to hear that.
At the same time, she’s tired of watching her p’s and q’s and just wants to start some chaos, and this is as good a cause as any.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Josie decides to confront Giles.
Word Count: 1121
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
Josie has a bad feeling and she hates that. Because it’s almost always well-founded, and that’s the last thing they need.
She’s had a bad feeling since they got rid of Incognito’s Stamp. Since Papa saved her.
Her age had effectively doubled, and she’d barely experienced any of it, and she’d wished it away and practically gotten said wish because physically she looks exactly like she had when she was in her twenties, when Sarde caught her. But it was just an illusion, because distant-seeming or not, those memories had happened, and the feeling might suck but if she got it fully fulfilled she’d wish Johan right out of existence, and as uncomfortable as it is she doesn’t want that, so she’d better be careful about what she says out loud because apparently wish demons exist.
So yeah, it’d be easy to explain that bad feeling away. To say it’s just a lingering effect from losing her best friend, assuming she’s not just Incognito Stamped away too, that she isn’t quite comfortable with her position here yet, and the fact that her son’s friends have that same strange feeling, still aren’t quite sure what to do with her, doesn’t help.
But she’s pretty sure it’s not. She hasn’t told anyone so as not to worry them. Well, that, and they still see her as the baby of the family even though she obviously isn’t, not anymore, so seriously, overprotective much? She’d think about telling ‘Uncle Kakyoin’, since he’d take her seriously and not cause a big fuss, but he’s asleep. Not too pleasantly, either, by the look of it, but he needs the sleep to prepare for the fight ahead. She probably should be sleeping, too, but she’s too keyed up, so she’s bugging one of the last pilots the ISWC has at their disposal (and hey, they had pilots, it’s like the Speedwagon Foundation; too bad the last group of Watchers were too stuck-up and posh to do their damn jobs) and then, very quickly, Giles, because she doesn’t actually want to cause a plane crash and given that Joestars are on board that’s a real possibility she doesn’t want to contribute to, like, at all.
She’d practice Hamon. Buffy’s doing that, in the back, glow wrapped around her. She’d tease, except she’s pretty sure she knows exactly how the Slayer feels, because hey, shiny new weapon, gotta master it. But it’s the same thing all over again. The Ripple requires patience and sitting still and she’s terrible at both. She’s also somehow gotten her hands on the fabled sword of Luck and Pluck, which is sitting at her side. She’s pretty sure Papa hasn’t noticed, and Shizuka already tried making a fuss, but they didn’t really have time to be fussing about family heirlooms, anyway. Good for her! She’s definitely the sort Jonathan would have been proud to have inherit it, and it’s not like the most of them really use medieval weaponry anyway.
They’re bringing what feels like the entire arsenal, which is amazing and Josephine had promptly claimed a boot-knife she was prepared to defend from all comers. Because that just made her borrowed boots that much better. Buffy had winked at her. But practicing with shiny, pointy objects in this particular enclosed space is just asking for the Joestar Family Curse to strike, so, reluctantly, she’s not swinging anything around.
She’d had this kind of feeling before the Cherry Incident at school. And the instant she’d met Sarde. And before that film festival on campus. And before Russia. And before Sarde had chased them into another dimension.
So the second she knew Johan was missing. The second she heard he wasn’t coming back, not immediately; he needed to do something. The second she heard about this Ascension thing.
And no, she’s pretty sure it’s not this chalice thing Giles insisted was causing all this suspicion. She’s half certain that’s not even a real thing, just something the guy whipped out as an excuse because he was being cornered and needed some reason he wasn’t just some gullible arse, but hey, maybe that’s just her cynicism talking.
“So, you said you needed some more time to look into things. That time help any?” she asks, overly cheerful.
He glares over the top of his glasses. Too bad for him, Higashikata Josephine doesn’t do intimidation.
“Well?” she asks again, raising an eyebrow, and the bloke breaks out one of those long-suffering sighs he’s probably practiced a thousand times.
“If you want to insinuate that we’ve been thoroughly played by Wolfram & Hart, be my guest,” he states quietly, glancing in Buffy’s direction as if trying not to be overheard.
“Have you, then?” she asks, towering over him. Score one for height. It’d made her stand out even more as a kid, and to be fair that wasn’t exactly hard, with her heritage, but it wasn’t too bad when she’d moved to the UK for schooling, and when it comes to interrogations it’s downright useful.
“Most likely.” He sets the papers he’d been reading down and begins cleaning his glasses meticulously, probably to avoid meeting her eyes. “I am—my apologies—used to ignoring much of what Xander—or Johan—says. On some occasions, he’d even probably thank me for this decision. The teenage years were not kind to the boy, and it took some time for his brain to mature. If I took every misguided and rude thing that came out of his mouth seriously, I’m afraid I would hate him.”
“You’re not too fond of him now.” He’s still trying to paint a better picture of himself than he deserves. He’s not going to get away with that.
He places his glasses back on carefully and to her surprise meets her eyes with a wry smile. “On the contrary, Miss Higashikata...though probably despite us both. I have many regrets. Like you, I should have been there for him, because goodness knows he deserved more. But none of us can change the past, not without consequences in all likelihood far worse than the original.” To some extent, she needed to hear that, to hear that it’s not her fault. She loves her grandfather—her namesake—very much, but he’s not without flaw. It’s impossible to know how things would have gone, and circumstances being what they are, neither her father nor Johan would probably have even existed, if not for those circumstances. But it wasn’t her choice, her fault for getting caught by Incognito, and she needed to hear that.
At the same time, she’s tired of watching her p’s and q’s and just wants to start some chaos, and this is as good a cause as any.
