( -ten- )
Val most wants a rat, but he’ll find the city strays and give them pets and food.
The only person from Real Life Xander has spoken to after the Tear is Mrs. Summers and she was visibly weirded out and hasn’t been back—which sucks, because he definitely liked her as a parental figure he’d pseudo-adopted. He’s heard nothing from his parents, which doesn’t surprise him in the slightest. He’s also heard nothing from the woman he’d been dating, but then, he’s not particularly surprised. She’d already started pulling away. She was jealous about him playing games, and he assured her that it was just with friends, but she was convinced that he’d met a woman and was cheating on her. He tried to explain that he just liked playing it because he knew what he was doing, for once, that in games he felt a sense of accomplishment that he hadn’t in real life. She didn’t believe him, but hadn’t been aware she’d been subtly questioning his competence when it came to his classes.
He loves restaurants, little holes in the wall especially, because he likes getting to know them. He likes walking around. He got the latest music player and goes to concerts and stuff. He’ll also send little messages like post-it-notes to make the people he cares about smile. He hates cooking but will do it if someone’s busy and won’t have time.
Scammers tick him off. Sometimes he’ll hunt them down. They’d taken advantage of Jesse, once or twice, and he couldn’t stand that.
It’s not a complete truth to say that Xander has absolutely no contact with the outside world. There’s a research program. Some of the original devs were fired and replaced, so they suspect one of them was the cause of the code that caused the Tear. He’ll go in every now and then and they’ll scan him and run a few tests. It’s not without risk, since they’re poking at his character’s code, and they’ve made a backup but can’t be sure that’ll work if something goes wrong, so he’s given a cred stipend. He doesn’t tell Buffy or Willow (or anyone, really) about it; they talked about the program and Buffy said it was too risky, so she forbade anyone from taking part. He’s just doing it in secret.
He also keeps active in Discord. He wanted to run a youtube or twitch channel but didn’t particularly want to use his face. He’d started contemplating vtubing using Val as his face but then the Tear happened. Fans of the franchise continue to be fans of the franchise, and a lot actually are interested in helping out with research on their end, because it’s not dangerous for them. He does also have some thirsty fans, but luckily a mod keeps them in check and he’s managed to get them to be fairly respectful, even when they log in.
Xander did talk the devs out of giving players trapped in the game anything they might want. It’s still a society that needs to function, he pointed out. Instead, all trapped players get the same amount of cred deposited in their account every week, enough to cover basic cost of living + a little more. It doesn’t really reflect the capitalistic cyberpunk spirit of the game, but it does let them all breathe a little easier.
Val actually does drink at bars, but what he usually does is get one, secrete himself in a corner, people-watch all night, and nurse his drink. He sometimes hears important information this way, but also just gets to know people and know of people, which is important.
Xander didn’t used to care about other people or saving the world or anything. Helping people out, not just his friends, made him feel good. Feel happy. Like he actually mattered. Like he was a good guy. It’s mostly this that makes him think Val is a better person than Xander, even though he knows that’s slightly neurotic and they’re obviously the same person and he’s the only one that thinks of himself and his avatar as different people.
( take a second to breathe )
Bonus of corrupt Sunnydale cops for Joyce: restraining orders are easy to get, and it’s a black hole where they don’t share their info so you don’t actually ruin your ex’s life
Jotaro is definitely getting a headache from talking so much. He's mostly saying his bluntest thoughts out loud. Josuke probably insisted he get in the habit, though. Also he's definitely repeating something he's heard Holly say.
( don't hurt me )
( Come on. )
Jotaro wonders if this is how the old man felt, getting a tear-streaked phone call from family. He doesn’t utter his signature yare yare daze. He’s not afraid of upsetting most, but his sister is one of them, and anyway she’s blubbering enough. No need to encourage her.
It’s the mention of vampires that really gets his attention. He nearly hangs up already, but doesn’t want to worry her more than he has to. He does, however, cradle the phone between shoulder and ear as he books tickets online—the internet’s actually pretty useful—and tells her not to worry.
-Unfortunately, we have to fudge with dates again. Otherwise, it’s entirely plausible. (Jolyne born 1992, Buffy born 19 January 1981, Jotaro born January 20-Feb 18 1970) He had her when he was ~22, so if we go with that, he would have had to have been born 1959…nope, so pushing it forward. It’d no longer be of the 90’s. Not focusing on this much, though.
-Buffy was born Jolyne Kujo. (Divorce when she was seven (1999) (keeping the 19th January date), 1998, and very sick; Jotaro was off helping Josuke. Joyce called him, drunk, and got Josuke instead.)
-1999, while sick and half-dying from (likely) gaining a latent Stand, Buffy witnesses her cousin’s mysterious death in a hospital.
-After Joyce got the divorce, Jolyne was really sad, but Joyce distracted her with “would you like to choose a new name?” Jolyne was really excited and didn’t realize what that meant. They had her name legally changed.
-2001 Joyce re-marries. Buffy isn’t particularly approving, and in frustration, Hank tells her that Jotaro abandoned her. Coupled with Jotaro’s “Hurt her and you’ll regret it” call, Hank convinces Joyce to get a restraining order.
-Same year, Joyce shortly calls Jotaro to tell him about the restraining order and that Buffy no longer wants anything to do with him.
-Spring 2007 Buffy becomes the next Slayer.
-Summer 2007 Hank and Joyce Summers send Buffy to the mental institution. They do not tell Jotaro.
-Summer-Autumn 2007 Hank divorces Joyce and tells her that it’s Buffy’s fault. Joyce, having some gumption of her own, follows him and learns that he’s been carrying on an affair with his secretary. She tells Buffy that she was the one who divorced Hank and about the affair, feeling that her daughter might otherwise suffer a relapse into ‘insanity’. They do not tell Jotaro. Buffy feels guilty anyway.
-Autumn 2007 Welcome to the Hellmouth.
-2008 Jolyne drowns.
-2008 Joyce says that Buffy just doesn’t like Ted because she thinks that Buffy doesn’t trust her judgement anymore.
-Summer 2009, between Season 2 and 3 Joyce drunk calls Jotaro and tells him that their daughter has run away from home. She tells him about Hank leaving, about the Slayer thing, that she’s had the restraining order revoked, and begs him tearily to find Jolyne. Jotaro can’t make out much her drunken rambling, but can translate enough of it. He gets the paperwork necessary to work at several of the aquariums of Los Angeles ready but does not submit any of it. He finds his daughter.
-They talk. Buffy springs the Slayer stuff on him, certain that he’ll turn her away or tell her she’s a freak like Joyce and Hank did. He does none of those things. “You’re still my daughter. And if you want me there, I’ll be there.” She cries and hits him until she falls asleep. He takes the punches stoicly.
-Jotaro talks more than Buffy’s ever heard him talk. He tells her that he’ll stay if she wants him to and that he won’t call her mother until she’s ready, since she’ll insist they come back immediately.
-When they return, Joyce is shocked at how well he took it until they get to the ‘vampires are real’ part of the conversation. She then states that obviously, he’s where the freakiness came from. Buffy stomps right back out again.
-Josuke, now age 24-25, volunteers to take over most of the active Stand User chasing duties. After he visits his grand-niece.
-Joyce apologizes for yelling drunkenly at Josuke over the phone all those years ago and offers him hot cocoa in apology. “I was wondering, but now I know that you fell in love with her hot chocolate!” Josuke exclaims and then blushes. Jotaro smirks.
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