Difference between revisions of "2017-05-09 - Venom's Prisoner"

Siiiiigh. Thank God this apartment has a tub. Josuke's a pretty big guy for his age, but he can fit, just barely. Since he's kind of stuck here in NeoTokyo, the first thing he thought about doing was, of course, finding a job. Thankfully there are people around here who... at least sort of understand Crazy Diamond, so he's been able to make a decent living repairing things for people in the city. But there's still a lot of heavy lifting involved -- not everything people bring in to be repaired is small. Thankfully it's usually a pretty immediate process, so there's that.

But Josuke is not completely unaware, even though he's relaxing. It's for this reason he happens to see the glint at the window. He pauses, shifts forward to look up at the high window...

One broken window and a loud shriek later, and a half-dressed Josuke is running down the hall, having grabbed the clothes he'd laid out on his way out of the apartment. He pauses just long enough to hop into his pants (oh geez, somebody is so totally gonna report him for streaking... but HEY he had a towel wrapped around him!). Instead of aiming for the stairs, though, Josuke aims right for the far wall. It looks like he's going to run right into it... but then the blue-armored pink figure appears...

"DORARARARARARA!"

The wall explodes, and Josuke leaps out the hole in the wall, pulling a tank top on. The wall fixes itself behind him. Hopefully that'll buy him some time. He lands in a roll, dust sticking to his still-wet arms, panting slightly. "Geeeez, that was scary," he mutters. "Weirdos aren't supposed to break into guys' apartments, are they?"

Well, this is one weirdo who is not only breaking into the apartment, but right through it, smashing down wall after wall as he chases Josuke outside. Even the wall Crazy Diamond just fixed is no match for this intruder's might, as he simply plows through it like it wasn't there!

"Waaaaiiiit! Come back, cutie, I escaped from prison just to see you~ <3" the hulking monster of a man calls after the teen, his feet leaving deep imprints in the floor with every step. And if Josuke turns to look, sure enough, this thing -- it's too huge to be an ordinary man! -- is definitely wearing prisoner garb, including an iron ball chained to his ankle that isn't slowing him down in the slightest!

"That beautiful star-shaped birthmark on the back of your neck... it's just like Dio-sama said! But I don't want to kill you, I just want to keep you forever and ever~"

Josuke's eye twitches when the man just plows through every wall in his way... and then again when the weird guy calls him 'cutie'. So apparently weirdos do break into guys' apartments too. And for all the same reasons! Then something is said that makes Josuke freeze utterly.

'Dio'.

Weird situation forgotten, Josuke hedges, "D-did you say 'Dio'?"

Dio. Josuke remembered that name. Dio had been the reason for Josuke's fever, when he was four. Dio's developing a Stand... it made him sick. Almost killed him...

That strange, enormous man never slows down even a bit! Doesn't he ever get tired!?

"Yes! Dio-sama, the loveliest man in all the world, brought me back to life after I received the death sentence! But no matter how beautiful, one man is never enough to satisfy me!" the... yeah, it's definitely a zombie, explains. And then...

BAM!

He takes a flying leap, crushing a crater into the floor with the force of it, quickly crossing the distance between himself and Josuke at impossible speeds! "And that's why I, Venom Prisoner, have chosen yooooouuuuu to be my next lover~!"

<3

Walls may not offer too much resistance to Venom Prisoner's advances, but how about a wall of arm and fist? If Venom Prisoner's in the air, it's going to be hard to dodge, Josuke figures. So as soon as the oddly insistent man gets in range, before he actually hits the floor, Josuke calls Crazy Diamond.

"DORARARARA!"

Those fists really hurt -- Jotaro's Star Platinum can (eventually) break through diamond-hard substances, and even he was impressed at the power of Josuke's Stand. So it's not likely to feel great if Venom Prisoner does get hit while he's falling.

Hit or miss, Josuke is getting the hell out of the way! He jumps back, just staying out of arm's reach. He knows that V.P.'s leaping is going to make anywhere in the immediate area 'in range', technically, but he just wants to stay out of immediate grabbing range.

"Sorry, that's gotta be two-sided, and I don't swing that way," Josuke replies. But, his tone's actually not mean at all. Despite the barrage of punches from Crazy Diamond -- could Venom Prisoner even see them? -- Josuke's actually... still trying to be nice?! Yes, he is. Maybe he can dissuade this guy...

"WWWWWWRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYY!" the zombie prisoner screeches as he descends upon Josuke, mouth full of fangs bared as his massive arms reach out, grabbing at the youth like the claws of a predator pouncing upon its prey!

BAM! POW! KABOOM!

Those, however, are the sounds of steely-hard fists crashing into the zombie's body, dozens of times in an instant! Hard enough to break solid stone, they make short work of the giant's bones as well, pulverizing them into paste and sending Venom Prisoner flying!

CRASH!

That was the sound of Venom Prisoner's body hitting a nearby wall, breaking through the bricks and leaving him buried in rubble! They say that Diamond is Unbreakable, and this Crazy Diamond is making an ironclad case!

"Waaauuuugh... t-that's what they all say..." Venom Prisoner grunts as he pulls himself back up to his feet, his twisted limbs setting themselves back in place, his nose and jaw straightening out again despite the blood spurting from them... but it's not Crazy Diamond's power. This... is a zombie's regeneration!

"That's what they all say, but when I get my hands on them, their objections turn to squeals of delight! It's like music to my ears~" the monster declares, his mouth opening wide... too wide! Josuke may notice that the iron ball from around Venom Prisoner's leg is missing... just before it fires from his mouth like a cannon, the chain aiming to wrap around Josuke's legs!

Good, Josuke thinks as the Prisoner ends up buried in rubble. Maybe now the weirdo would calm down and talk. Though no, Josuke would know if Crazy Diamond was trying to fix the zombie. When Venom Prisoner starts pulling himself out of the rubble and his limbs start re-setting themselves, Josuke knows that's not his doing. His eyes go wide as he sees this. "W-what the...?"

Unfortunately, his statement gets cut off when that iron ball ends up playing the part of cannonball! He realizes a second too late that it's not aimed to hit him... a second too late to avoid getting his legs wrapped up by the chain. "...Agh!" He falls back, legs tangled in the chain. "L-let go!" he demands, fingers clawing at the ground, trying to pull himself free.

Josuke, however, has an idea. And if he can't get loose, if he can get close....

Venom Prisoner's jaw cracks as it sets itself back in place, his grin wider than a snake's, those fangs glistening even here in the shade!

"There, now you can't run away from my love anymore~" he says, his voice filled with menace! Even the air seems to be resounding with the terrifying aura he gives off! Surely, any ordinary person would be paralyzed with fear in such a situation!

But Josuke is no ordinary person, he is a Joestar! Even though his name is different, that very same blood courses through his veins! The blood of courage! The blood of determination! The blood of a family who stares Death in the eye and says 'Hit me with your best shot!'

So, as Venom Prisoner closes in on the downed teen, what will his would-be victim do!? Josuke, just what are you planning!?

"Heheheh... I'm gonna have lots of fun with you, sweetie~ <3" the zombie says, his words filled with triumph! This is the chance Josuke is waiting for, as those clawed hands reach for him once more!

What does someone with the blood of someone who stares Death in the face and asks for its best shot do? Honestly that might be hard to tell at this point. Because what it looks like is a terrified teen scrabbling uselessly to get away from what is surely going to be his death. Or if not his death, a really bad time in the immediate future. But as the clawed hands reach for him, the terror on Josuke's face melts away, and a determined expression replaces it, his brows drawing down.

Things never go well for those who oppose a Joestar when that expression appears.

And sure enough, this time it's going to be another bad time. It starts simply enough. Josuke calls forth Crazy Diamond again, for a barrage of punches.

"DORARARARARARARARA!"

But something is different this time. Crazy Diamond doesn't stop. At all. It just keeps pummelling at Venom Prisoner. Josuke is hoping that the damage will just utterly break the zombie. Why? So he can fix it, of course. Fix it wrong!

"CRAZY DIAMOND!"

Josuke is in no shape mentally to concentrate on fixing the zombie's broken body properly. He is angry, and more than a little freaked out. Hopefully the zombie won't be able to regeneration parts that aren't actually 'broken' anymore, even if they're 'fixed' in the wrong places...

This!

This is the moment!

The moment... that Josuke's Joestar legacy shines through!

"W-what!? I thought you couldn't fight back anymore!" Venom Prisoner cries out in shock, even as his body is battered and broken in a million places by the barrage of punches Crazy Diamond throws at him! "B-but... I'll just heal up again, your attack was useless! Useless! Useless!"

However! This is the moment Venom Prisoner realizes his folly! His body... has already healed!

"How can this beeeeeeee!?" he squeals not in delight, but in terror, realizing the tables have turned! His body... a twisted mess! Hands sticking from his face! Eyes on his chest! Feet poking from his back! Nothing is in the right place!

"W-what did you do!? I can't fix myself! Uwaaaaauuuuugh!"

Josuke frees himself from the chain, though he needs to have Crazy Diamond break it to do so. He gets some distance between himself and the zombie Prisoner. Then he reaches in his pocket... and pulls out a comb. Yes, his hair's a mess from the fight, and because he had been trying to take a bath when all this started. So yes, he's fixing his hair.

But he has an answer for Venom Prisoner. "You can't regenerate what's not damaged," he replies flatly. It's that tone he took with Angelo. "After my Crazy Diamond broke you, he fixed you again." And here he smirks. With a falsely innocent tone, he adds, "But see, when someone gets me all upset like that, I just can't concentrate on fixing things right. I never know where things are gonna reattach themselves..."

Yes, that was totally his plan all along.

"Y-you little piece of shiiiiiiit!" Venom Prisoner whines, desperately trying to move, to fix his body, to do anything! But waggle and wave as he likes, he cannot so much as roll over! This... is what complete defeat looks like!

...Or does it?

"Aaaaargh! You were so cute, too! All I wanted to do was take you home and cuddle you like a teddy bear and violate your tight little bottom!" the zombie rants, but it is his next words that will truly decide his fate! "And now you're putting your hair back in that stupid pompadour? Ugh! That's so outdated! Uncool! Uuuuugly!"

Meanwhile, another mysterious observer watches from the shadows! Friend or foe, he is about to see something extraordinary... and terrifying! More horrible than even zombies or vampires!

Believe it or not, Josuke can actually listen without much of a flinch at what the now-Twisted Prisoner had in mind for him. He turns his back to the wriggling zombie, just combing his hair. "I told you. I don't swing that way. And it's gotta be two-sided." Still, ew.

But then... Josuke freezes. Believe it or not, it's not the talk of what the Prisoner had planned. The insults aimed at his hair. That. That really ignites anger deep down inside Josuke, a near-primal, existential fury. Silly, maybe. But still...

The comb goes back into his pocket. "Hey. You." He turns. Slowly. "...What did you say about my hair?" A violet aura springs to life around him, and Crazy Diamond appears again. But this time his colors are different. Where he had the silvery-blue armor, that armor is now a deep, dark burgundy color.

Himself, Josuke is suddenly enraged. "I won't let you get away with that!" he declares. Crazy Diamond looms over the Twisted Prisoner, rearing back a fist.

"DOOOORRRA!"

The pavement beneath the Prisoner is broken. Once. Twice. Again and again. Only then does the Stand turn its attention to Venom Prisoner, pummeling the broken zombie with all the fury Josuke can muster. The punching continues, until a final strike sends pieces of the pavement -- and of the Prisoner! -- into the air with an explosion.

But something 'catches' them. An orange-gold aura catches the pieces of everything, holding them floating in the air. Josuke, with the Joestar's determined expression, stands nearby. "So you wanted to walk all over what I wanted, did you? Well, now people are gonna walk all over you. For good."

The pieces start to come together again, Venom Prisoner and the roadway, merging into a single entity. Just as he'd done with Angelo. It's fitting, Josuke thinks. Let someone who liked to trample on others be part of the road.

"Eh? Eeeeeeeeh!?" Venom Prisoner screams as he is punched some more, a barrage even fiercer than the one he suffered earlier! But that is not the true horror of what Josuke is up to... no, it's the pavement!

"N-nooooo! Anything but that! Pleeeeeaaaaase!" the zombie begs for his life as his body is thrown up into the air, but comes back down with the pieces of pavement to seal him within the road! Even when the sun comes out, it will not be enough to kill him, left forever trapped as part of the roadway!

This is the true horror of Josuke Higashikata!

"Oh, bravo, bravissimo!" comes another voice from the shadows, but the origin soon becomes clear as a white-suited man in a checkered hat steps forth, applauding! "I was about to step in, but I thought you might have a plan. That birthmark of yours... you really are of the Joestar bloodline, aren't you?"

Josuke has that look to him. That stance. It's hard to describe, but it radiates confidence. And he retrieves his comb again, to finish fixing his hair. It's dried a bit, so it's wanting to go in a different direction than he wants it.

However, he pauses as he hears the voice. As luck would have it, Josuke's left shoulderblade had been facing the direction that the man in white had been in, and Josuke turns to face the voice. "What?" Pause, blink. The man mentions the birthmark, and Josuke turns his head to the left a bit, as if he could see it. He can't, of course.

And then the mention of the Joestar line. his eyes go a bit wide. "Uh... yeah, I guess. My old man is a Joestar." No sense hiding it, right? The birthmark is a identifying trait, and he's just in a tank top and pants, so it's not hard to see it.

"I see, I see. So it's true, then, that there are others living in this city..." the stranger in the strange hat remarks, twirling one end of his snazzy moustache as he gives Josuke a friendly smile. "I am a friend of the Joestar family. I don't know who your father is, but perhaps the name 'Jonathan' rings a bell? I was his mentor, back in the day."

Then, with a flourishing bow, the man introduces himself properly. "Baron William Antonio Zeppeli, at your service. I have been fighting Dio and his underlings for quite some time, and finding more and more allies in my struggle. Another Joestar would be an invaluable ally."

As he straightens up, Zeppeli pulls a sandwich out of his pocket along with a salt shaker, sprinkling some salt on his lunch before taking a bite out of one corner.

Josuke hasn't really done much research on his father's side of the family, sadly. Knowing that Joseph Joestar had an affair was enough for him to know to distance himself, and he hadn't really met anyone from the Speedwagon Foundation besides Jotaro. "...Well, uh. I've kind of been trying to keep my distance from the Joestars, Mister Zeppeli."

The confidence fades, and there is a sad, nervous teen there. Josuke raises a hand to his face, scratching t his cheek nervously. "I don't want to cause them any trouble, you see. Because... well, my father... I was the result of an affair, so..." He doesn't care who knows he's illegitimate. But that should definitely tell Zeppeli that Jonathan was not this boy's father.

Though at the mention of Dio, a little of that confidence comes back. Josuke frowns. "...Dio... I almost died when I was four, because of him. I don't know much about him. Just that my father and some of his friends had to go kill him to save my half-sister. We both got sick when he got a Stand..."

Zeppeli raises an eyebrow. "Keep your distance?" he asks, but Josuke is already answering the question for him. "Hm. That's definitely not Jonathan. He was a true gentleman, the sort who would never do anything that could break his wife's heart. That kindness is why I chose to teach him to begin with."

Taking another bite of his sandwich, the salt shaker having since returned to his pocket, the eccentric Italian glances down at the patch of pavement where Venom Prisoner now lays, unable to break free. "By the way, I was meaning to ask... just how did you do that? Even in all my years using Hamon, I've never seen such a strange feat. You didn't even touch that zombie once..."

That's... actually a relief. Josuke's experience with the Joestar line has been Jotaro -- who's... kind of a dick, honestly, even if he IS knowledgeable about a lot of stuff -- and the father he hadn't met, and he doesn't like the idea that his father would do that to his wife. Hearing that there is, or was, at least one 'good' Joestar makes him breathe a sigh of relief. "That's... good," he says quietly.

Josuke blinks, though, at the question. "Huh? You didn't see it?" There's a pause, his aura reappears, and Crazy Diamond reappears at his side. The Stand is back to bubblegum pink and silvery-blue armor now; perhaps his mood influences the look of the Stand? "I used my Stand, Crazy Diamond."

Oh, speaking of which... there's some damage that needs fixed. Josuke steps over to the wall that was destroyed -- yes, Venom Prisoner, take that bare foot right over your nose! -- with the Stand following. Crazy Diamond places a hand on the wall, and the pieces start to knit back together. Now that he's calmer, he can concentrate on not botching the job.

He's unaware that even users of Hamon can't see Stands. Then again, he has no idea what 'Hamon' is, anyway. Once the wall's repaired, he looks at Zeppeli again. "You said, Ha...mon?" he asks, making sure he's got the pronounciation correct.

"See what?" Zeppeli asks, looking rather perplexed as Josuke seems to act like there's something he should be seeing. He certainly doesn't react to the appearance of Crazy Diamond at all, though when the wall starts to fix itself, he says, "Ah, that aura? It's very faint, but it seems like a similar kind of energy to my Hamon. Come to think of it, I think I heard someone mention these 'Stands' before, but I still don't know what they are."

Stepping over to join Josuke's side, and making sure to stamp right down on Venom Prisoner's nose on the way, the Italian man closely inspects the wall, feeling it with one hand as he looks for any cracks. "Spectacular... whatever your 'Stand' is, it truly has an amazing ability. Very different from Hamon, however..."

Glancing aside at Josuke, he then explains, "Yes, Hamon, or the Ripple. In the ancient Tibetan art of Sendou, they teach practitioners how to use the power of their own vital essence for many purposes. Primarily healing, but as it turns out, it's also quite effective at destroying the undead. Zombies, like the one you just fought, and vampires like Dio."

Josuke nods. "Jotaro said only other Stand users can see them," he remembers, as he calls Crazy Diamond back into himself. Further recalling, "He called it a 'physical manifestation of my psychological energy'." That can be taken a lot of ways, though. But at least he remembered, despite wanting to punch Jotaro in the face for the insult to his hair.

Zeppeli's mention of the Stand's abilities gets a half-smile. "Crazy Diamond can fix things, too. He kept regenerating, so I had Crazy Diamond 'fix' him again. I figured he couldn't regenerate the damage if there technically was nothing broken." Joestar ingenuity -- crazy, but it seems to have worked!

Zeppeli explains Hamon/Ripple then, and Josuke blinks. "Life force? You mean like ki?" Yes, Josuke has played Street Fighter. Or some equivalent thereof. Besides, that's like a fallback explanation for every weird anime ability that isn't handwaved as magic! But the mention of healing? He's reminded of one problem with Crazy Diamond. "...Can a user of Hamon heal himself?" Since that's a major problem...

Zeppeli nods at the explanation of Stands. "I see, that may be why I didn't see anything..." he says, then nods again at Josuke's questions. "Something similar to ki, yes. However, while ki is a neutral energy, Hamon is much closer to the energy given off by the sun. You can think of it as something like a positive electrical charge, which cancels out the negative energy of vampires and zombies, leaving their bodies to wither away into dust. This is also why it heals the living: It is adding your vitality to theirs!"

As a demonstration, he takes a deeeeeeep breath through his nose, golden energy crackling like lightning down his arm and around his hand as he kneels and reaches for Josuke's leg, gently touching it. "That iron ball and chain must have hurt, even if you put on a brave face. It almost certainly bruised your legs, if nothing else. However!"

As Zeppeli's fingers make contact with Josuke's leg, a gentle tingling spreads through the teenager's body! If there was indeed any pain, it's gone now, like the ripples in a pond bringing a sense of peace and calm as they break against the shore, before becoming still once again.

Standing again, Zeppeli exhales, giving Josuke another small smile. "Go ahead, check if you like. You feel good as new, don't you?"

In the meantime, among the bystanders walking down the street is a certain red-head that perhaps Zeppeli would recognize is he were to look. Once the fight ended, of course, the citizens of Neotokyo have all gone on their way, and the fact that something had happened is now mostly forgotten. As such, the red-haired teenage girl is unaware of anything going on, and in fact is looking mostly downward as she continues on her quite possibly aimless walk.

As she gets close to walking past the two, however, she suddenly looks like she perhaps just remembered something and looks straight on at Zeppeli, recognition in her eyes before she even really looks at him. "Huh," she says a little quietly. "Haven't seen you in a while." She glances as Josuke and then back at the ground, apparently ready to just continue her walk onward.

"...Makes sense," Josuke replies, at the postive/negative energy explanation. Surprisingly easy to understand. He watches Zeppeli take that breath, though pauses when he kneels so. A wince, then, as the chain is mentioned. It did hurt, yeah. The squeezing of the chain around his legs bruised it, the sudden yank hurt his hips, and the falling over hurt his back. "...A little, yeah. But there wasn't time -- huh?"

He trails off as the pain just... fades away. "Wow..." he marvels, lifting one leg. And yes, he kneels to pull up one leg, to check where he was sure there were going to be bruises tomorrow. Nothing. "Yeah, it's... totally gone." He seems utterly flabbergasted at this, and stands up.

And then he blinks, as someone speaks up. He still a little jumpy, and tenses, but he soon relaxes when it doesn't look like the woman's going to attack. So he offers a nod in her direction. "Hello." Then he suddenly gets a bit embarrassed, realizing he's just wearing pants and a tank top. "Eesh... I should get dressed." A mean look at the weird patch of road. "That idiot broke in while I was taking a bath."

Zeppeli smiles again, finishing off his sandwich. "You see for yourself now, how Hamon can be used for healing. What I did was use my own vital energy to add to yours, supercharging your body's natural healing process. And to answer your other question..."

Pulling a knife from his other pocket, he suddenly slices the palm of his own hand open! As the blood streams down to the ground, he simply takes another few breaths, that same energy from before crackling around his hand, the wound closing up, seeming to stitch itself back together and barely even leaving a scar! "As you can see, this same 'supercharging' effect can be applied to your own wounds as well. However! You must be able to breathe unrestricted in order to harness this power! I assume you wish for me to teach you, and it's true that your family are genetically predisposed toward using Hamon, but you must understand that there are weaknesses and limitations."

But then, a familiar face appears! Brightening up a bit as he notices Ponset, Zeppeli gives the girl a friendly wave in return. "Ah, good evening! True, I haven't seen you since the incident at your school! How have you been, young lady?"

Ponset stops again at the friendly manner of Zeppeli's greeting to her and summons a smile as she looks back at him again, though avoiding looking at the clearly not wanting to draw attention due to his state of dress Josuke. "Oh, eh... I've been... okay. Work and school are... work and school. Found out my world is in an anime and got a boyfriend somehow in the same day..." She frowns again, wondering to herself why she's giving that much information away. "But... yeah... not run into any zombie vampires or anything. Just a giant dinosaur."

The appearance of the knife makes Josuke tense again, in case it's about to get used on him. Some opponents want the honor of defeating a fully-healed opponent, after all. But he seems even more disturbed when Zeppeli cuts himself. "H-hey, don't --!" he begins, reaching a hand up as if to try and stop the man in white from cutting himself. He pauses then, as he notes the wound healing.

Teach him? Josuke blinks. "...Can you?" he asks. "If it works better against those zombies, it might be a good idea." Though, he does wonder if it will replace his Stand, or make him not able to use it.

Ponset's words get a confused look. Anime? Dinosaurs? But yes. Let's not be half-dressed in front of a lady! "Um. I'll, uh, be right back," he notes, and heads into the apartment building again. And as he does, broken and destroyed walls are fixed in his wake!

"Yes, of course. As I said, another Joestar would make for an incredible ally, and if we were to combine Hamon with your Stand, then you could potentially be an invaluable healer!" Zeppeli says, but he understands when Josuke decides to run off. It's quite indecent to be running around in your underwear like that, after all!

But as Ponset explains what's been going on in her life, he turns to her again and nods. "I see, I see. I discovered much the same, though it has had little impact on my life here. Even in the 'real world' there are still plenty of things to do, plenty of people to protect! And there's also the matter of Dio, who has come here as well..."

Ponset gives a slight glance as Josuke runs off, but of course she understands why he's running off. She'd be a bit more upset than him if she was in his situation, afterall! "Um, yeah, well... Apparently the anime is about my great-grandfather, not me... thankfully. I now get how hard it can be on people who the animes are about now, though... I mean... well, maybe if they want attention, but..." She struggles for words, them never having been her strong suit by a long shot.

Zeppeli gives Ponset an encouraging grin! "Don't let it drag you down, Miss Ponset! It only means that you would be recognized as a friend and ally of the people, a friendly face willing to help! And they, in kind, will help you!" he says, gripping the brim of his hat between his thumb and forefinger to give it a slight tip. "By the way, I do not believe I ever thanked you properly for taking care of those zombies back then. So... thank you very much!"

It doesn't take long for Josuke to get dressed, even with all that bling. Yes, there's a lot of bling on Josuke's jacket. He's fixing his hair as he comes back out of the building. He looks much more distinguished now, though it's not hard to identify a personalized school uniform! "There," he declares, pocketing the comb again once he's satisfied with his hair. To both Zeppeli and Ponset, he notes, "Sorry about that. Standing around half-naked in public is a little weird."

He catches the tail end of Ponset's words, and nods. "You're telling me. I mean, I don't mind the attention, but nobody calls me 'Jojo' unless they don't know me." A big switch from the previous Joestars, to whom 'Jojo' was an affectionate nickname that his closest friends would use. In fact, he doesn't really seem to like the nickname at all!

And then he looks to Zeppeli. "You said my father's side were predisposed to being able to do this Hamon? Have any of them shown Stands, that you know of? I'm not sure how it'll interact with Crazy Diamond. I'm not backing out, just wondering if you know."

Ponset shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. Fighting's the thing I'm best at, so... it really was nothing." There's a flash of a genuine grin there. It's gone, replaced by the polite smile quickly enough as Josuke makes his comment about being half-naked in public. "Oh, uh, yeah... I can imagine, but I'll try to avoid it, myself..." If she recognizes Josuke from an anime, though, she's certainly hiding it well. Then again, she managed to go for nearly half a year without noticing anything related to Dragonball, so it's a safe bet she's not noticed many other Anime, either. She perks up ever so slightly at the mention of Hamon.... From what Zeppeli said last time she ran into him, it sounded to her to be a type of ki.

As Josuke returns, Zeppeli gives him a respectful nod. "Ah, you're back. Excellent! You look marvelous, by the way. The hair is a style I haven't seen before, but it suits you!" he greets the teen, then laughs a bit at Ponset's response. "Even so, you saved me a fair bit of trouble! Now..."

After Josuke asks about Stands and Hamon, the eccentric scratches his chin, thinking about it for a while. Finally, however, he nods and says, "Hmm, yes. I seem to recall the first time I ever heard about these 'Stands' was when someone mentioned Joseph Joestar. It's not a name I'm familiar with, so I'm assuming he is one of Jonathan's descendants, but I seem to recall he was able to combine his Hamon with his Stand. Unfortunately, I don't know any further details."

If Ponset hiding it or just unaware, whichever way, Josuke is thankful. So he returns that polite smile with a friendly one of his own. He's a happy-go-lucky kind, after all, as long as no one's trying to kill him!

Zeppeli's comment about his hair gets a pleased grin. "Thanks!" he says. "It's called a 'regent'." In Japan, anyway. Other countries would call it a 'pompadour'. Maybe an old style, but yes. Josuke's chin is kind of narrow, and his nose is kind of flat. The hairstyle brings the attention up, to accent his eyes.

Though then that name -- Joseph Joestar. Josuke seems a bit shocked, just a moment. "Joseph is... my father, yeah," he admits. "Jotaro said he had a Stand... he didn't tell me about the Hamon." He brightens a little then. "But that means it shouldn't do anything weird with Crazy Diamond, so that's good."