The Sun Is A Jerk

Hey friends! As promised, here is my new speedpaint video for this dagger licking danger boy along with the finished piece. I do hope you’ll check out the video. I had a lot of fun picking the colors for this one <3

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(An inside joke at our apartment)

(continued from x)

“I meant what I said. I’m not going to attack you,” Jean repeated herself. She shifted to lean back on her hands, not looking at him. It was a conscious choice – a sign of trust.

“I don’t know why I’m here, but I’m not going to begrudge you just because of circumstance. How defensive you were makes perfect sense now, so I’m… I won’t say I’m not afraid, but more specifically, I’m not afraid of you right now.”

She sighed, sat forward to fold her hands in her lap and tap her thumbs together. He was cautious. She didn’t blame him, she would be too. He probably thought she’d been sent to take him out or something similar. Hah. The idea of her being any kind of actual threat made her snort.

Still, he couldn’t have known what level of threat she was. Her brow furrowed at the thought of him being stuck down here alone, with likely only a few people who knew he was there at all. If she thought her world’s Nori had been treated as if he were a freak by even his fellow Speedwagon agents, this one had it much worse. In some ways, it made her angry.

“Do people really just always assume the worst of you?” Jean winced even as she said it. That has come out more blunt than she’d meant it to.

“A-ah…I’m… Used to setting aside my feelings to worry about other people.” There was a pause as she visibly deliberated whether she should elaborate. In the end, she supposed she owed him the explanation.

“My father is ex-military. Between growing up with his PTSD and then with what my world’s Nori has been through, it’s… Almost not even conscious. I shut myself down so I can make sure someone else is okay. Not the healthiest of habits, I know, but… You look so much like him that I couldn’t help it. Seeing you so worried that I’d lash out, I… I just…” her voice trailed off and she shrugged, looking down at her hands again.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. As much as… You can be, anyway. Besides, I’m not afraid of what I understand. I was angry before because I thought you had brought me here and were playing tricks with me, but that obviously isn’t the case. So there’s no longer a reason for me to be upset. Plus, you were understandably on edge because I shouldn’t be here and I can only assume you thought I was… Some sort of assassin or something. With both misconceptions cleared up, why shouldn’t I be calm?”

(continued from x)

“I meant what I said. I’m not going to attack you,” Jean repeated herself. She shifted to lean back on her hands, not looking at him. It was a conscious choice – a sign of trust.

“I don’t know why I’m here, but I’m not going to begrudge you just because of circumstance. How defensive you were makes perfect sense now, so I’m… I won’t say I’m not afraid, but more specifically, I’m not afraid of you right now.”

She sighed, sat forward to fold her hands in her lap and tap her thumbs together. He was cautious. She didn’t blame him, she would be too. He probably thought she’d been sent to take him out or something similar. Hah. The idea of her being any kind of actual threat made her snort.

Still, he couldn’t have known what level of threat she was. Her brow furrowed at the thought of him being stuck down here alone, with likely only a few people who knew he was there at all. If she thought her world’s Nori had been treated as if he were a freak by even his fellow Speedwagon agents, this one had it much worse. In some ways, it made her angry.

“Do people really just always assume the worst of you?” Jean winced even as she said it. That has come out more blunt than she’d meant it to.

The room was cold and dark. The only hint of life was the low hum of a PC, a dimmed desk lamp, and a lukewarm, half empty cup of some sort of strong scented tea. If it weren’t for them, one may have confused the room for a crypt. A crypt lined with file cabinets and smelling of old books. The desk sat across the forest of file cabinets from the main entrance. It could be made out only because of the small lamp that sat upon it. The walkway between the entrance and the desk was unclear, only the black silhouettes of the cabinets hinted at any path.

Painted lips twitched just barely, almost a frown, and her tail shifted to curl defensively in front of Jean with a sharp golden glint of her halo.

“Champagne…?” Jean blinked, rubbing at one eye and ignoring how it smeared her makeup further. She turned an apologetic look towards the redhead. “I’m sorry, she, um, she’s… Very protective,” she mumbled, willing her Stand out of existence and frowning at how reluctant to fade away the ethereal guardian seemed. Why?

Still, at least those four eyes were gone, no longer seeming as if they were peering into his very soul. Jean’s shoulders slumped and she shivered at the lack of support. “I, I don’t.. Want you to think I’m going to try and um, attack, again,” she offered by way of explination. Her own arms were shifted to wrap around her torso as well as she could, and she leaned against the side of the bed frame.

“My, um… My Nori doesn’t like people much either. I guess it’s not that uncommon. He puts up a blank face and is so c-cold whenever we’re around other people. Except um, Jojo, of course.” A quiet sigh and she hugged her knees to her chest instead, leaning her forehead down. “I b-bet they’re both really worried. Jotaro warned me that one d-day if end up in a situation where I had to h-help myself instead of relying on Kakyoin, but I. I never… Thought…”

Her shoulders were trembling, and she bit down on the thin scab upon her lip to stifle the urge to cry again. It didn’t take much to break the tender flesh and she winced at the faint copper taste again. Dammit.

She finally lifted her head to look at him again, sucking on the inside of her lip and focusing on the pain to keep herself grounded. It was an awful habit. She didn’t care. It was that or throwing herself at the redhead across from her and praying he would wrap his arms around her and run his fingers through her hair and whisper that it would be alrig–

Kakyoin gave a slight nod in response to her brief explanation regarding her stand. He listened to her go on about her world, Jotaro, and the supposed other Kakyoin.

The pale teen chuckled. “That sounds like Jotaro… I bet he didn’t even try to be gentle when he told you that. He comes off as tough, but he is a good guy… He just wants to look out for the people he cares about.” His voice trailed off as his eyes dropped to the ground in thought, a shadow of a pained smile appeared for only a moment. He didn’t acknowledge the description she gave of her Kakyoin. He couldn’t decide if he really wanted to hear more of their life or not. Would it make him sad? Jealous?

“Wh–” Even with his preternatural grace, she could only think to describe how he moved away as ‘a scramble.’ As if somehow he were afraid of her for some sudden reason?

But then he spoke and her own eyes widened in understanding. The way he had reacted before, the way he was reacting now, they had only one thing in common. Her mind leapt back to how uneasy Champagne was the closer he got, to how those pink eyes couldn’t help but focus on how wrong his own looked behind crimson lenses.

“Yo.. You’re a vampire…” it was an almost breathless realization. Strangely, though her heart pounded with adrenaline and uncertainty, she forced herself still. A second later and she swallowed the lingering taste of blood in her mouth, wiping her lip, letting it sting and stem the bleeding (faint though it was.)

“That’s how you survived, then. Why you’re trapped… Why you live down here,” of course she was afraid, and she didn’t try to meet his gaze, but she also seemed… Relieved. Collecting herself. Calm despite her own feelings as if accustomed to pushing past them to calm or soothe someone else. She sighed softly, but it wasn’t out of exasperation, and shifted to sit cross-legged on the floor.

“Please forgive me. It must be hard for you, and I’m over here making things harder.” Perhaps the strangest thing was how her voice held no pity. Her tone was matter-of-fact, apologetic for her own behavior rather than his predicament.

“Take your time to calm down. I’m not going to attack you,” she said at last, after an uncomfortable pause where hundreds of other words raced through her mind. She could have spoken of her own Kakyoin’s nightmares, of how Jotaro refused to elaborate just how he’d saved the redhead’s life. The one time she suspected he had shared that secret with Kakyoin, the two men had gotten themselves so drunk that Jotaro had accidentally– She shook her head mentally, closing the thoughts down. Tangent. Not the time. Definitely not the time.

After another steadying breath, her heart seemed to calm enough for her to push onto her knees and then up to sit upon the edge of the mattress. It was more comfortable, but also more inviting, more likely to encourage him to accept her words. She wasn’t going to judge him for this.

The room was cold and dark. The only hint of life was the low hum of a PC, a dimmed desk lamp, and a lukewarm, half empty cup of some sort of strong scented tea. If it weren’t for them, one may have confused the room for a crypt. A crypt lined with file cabinets and smelling of old books. The desk sat across the forest of file cabinets from the main entrance. It could be made out only because of the small lamp that sat upon it. The walkway between the entrance and the desk was unclear, only the black silhouettes of the cabinets hinted at any path.

Painted lips twitched just barely, almost a frown, and her tail shifted to curl defensively in front of Jean with a sharp golden glint of her halo.

“Champagne…?” Jean blinked, rubbing at one eye and ignoring how it smeared her makeup further. She turned an apologetic look towards the redhead. “I’m sorry, she, um, she’s… Very protective,” she mumbled, willing her Stand out of existence and frowning at how reluctant to fade away the ethereal guardian seemed. Why?

Still, at least those four eyes were gone, no longer seeming as if they were peering into his very soul. Jean’s shoulders slumped and she shivered at the lack of support. “I, I don’t.. Want you to think I’m going to try and um, attack, again,” she offered by way of explination. Her own arms were shifted to wrap around her torso as well as she could, and she leaned against the side of the bed frame.

“My, um… My Nori doesn’t like people much either. I guess it’s not that uncommon. He puts up a blank face and is so c-cold whenever we’re around other people. Except um, Jojo, of course.” A quiet sigh and she hugged her knees to her chest instead, leaning her forehead down. “I b-bet they’re both really worried. Jotaro warned me that one d-day if end up in a situation where I had to h-help myself instead of relying on Kakyoin, but I. I never… Thought…”

Her shoulders were trembling, and she bit down on the thin scab upon her lip to stifle the urge to cry again. It didn’t take much to break the tender flesh and she winced at the faint copper taste again. Dammit.

She finally lifted her head to look at him again, sucking on the inside of her lip and focusing on the pain to keep herself grounded. It was an awful habit. She didn’t care. It was that or throwing herself at the redhead across from her and praying he would wrap his arms around her and run his fingers through her hair and whisper that it would be alrig–

Kakyoin gave a slight nod in response to her brief explanation regarding her stand. He listened to her go on about her world, Jotaro, and the supposed other Kakyoin.

The pale teen chuckled. “That sounds like Jotaro... I bet he didn’t even try to be gentle when he told you that. He comes off as tough, but he is a good guy... He just wants to look out for the people he cares about.” His voice trailed off as his eyes dropped to the ground in thought, a shadow of a pained smile appeared for only a moment. He didn’t acknowledge the description she gave of her Kakyoin. He couldn’t decide if he really wanted to hear more of their life or not. Would it make him sad? Jealous?

The room was cold and dark. The only hint of life was the low hum of a PC, a dimmed desk lamp, and a lukewarm, half empty cup of some sort of strong scented tea. If it weren’t for them, one may have confused the room for a crypt. A crypt lined with file cabinets and smelling of old books. The desk sat across the forest of file cabinets from the main entrance. It could be made out only because of the small lamp that sat upon it. The walkway between the entrance and the desk was unclear, only the black silhouettes of the cabinets hinted at any path.

“I don’t know how I got here. I was walking out of Nori’s office, into the library, and then… Everything was wrong. I- I didn’t really mean to threaten you, I’m just.. I’m just scared.” By the time she’d finished speaking, it was almost inaudible. Her Stand reappeared, curling doll-like arms around her user’s body as if acting like a barrier. Unlike her user’s, those pink eyes didn’t blink or flinch in tracking his motion, and one set looked down as if she’d glance behind herself - all too aware of just where his own Stand was lying in wait.

“I..I wish Kakyoin were here,” Jean mumbled into her Stand’s shoulder, squeezing her own eyes closed and allowing herself to watch through the unwavering calm of Champagne’s gaze instead. “He’d be able to figure out what happened in no time, and I…” Her voice trailed off once again, porcelaine fingers smoothing through pink hair as if they were well-accustomed to soothing her user. Even with the motion, Champagne held steady her watchful eye on both the man across from her and his hidden Stand.

She dug her teeth into her lip and tensed within her Stand’s embrace. He could be a violent Stand user for all she knew. Could be toying with her, could have brought her here to attack her and– her pulse began to race once more and she trembled. Champagne tightened her grip and curled her tail defensively in front of Jean once more in response to her user’s growing fear.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she managed to croak out through the urge to cry. “I don’t know why I’m here, I-I just want to go home, please, I’ll do anything. I-I’ll cooperate, j-just please don’t kill me.”

Dammit, dammit! Jotaro would tell her she was being ridiculous and even Nori would probably chastise her for babbling like this out of fear. But she was alone! He had always been by her side to protect her. She wasn’t a fighter like he was…

She bit down harder on the inside her lip and squeezed her eyes closed once more, letting the iron tang of her own blood fill her mouth and stifle the threat of tears.

“I- I promise. I don’t- I just want to go home. Why did you bring me here? If- if you’re just… Going to treat me like an intruder?” Was it possible that he hadn’t been the one to bring her there?

But then… How?

No, she reasoned. No, he was toying with her. He had to be. Even if he was some alternate Kakyoin, somehow, he had to be toying with her. Her own Kakyoin liked to tease and play tricks until she got mad at him sometimes, so it was probably a common trait.

Her fear shifted to frustration and anger. How dare he treat her like she’d brought herself into this situation? An unhappy scoff left her as she rubbed the butt of one palm across her lip to swipe away the thin trail of blood.

“Y-you don’t scare me.” The first lie she’d told. She was terrified. “You can’t bring me here and trap me and try to play tricks on my mind, i- I won’t accept it!” It was all bravado. Trying to convince herself more than him. Stay away, he had said? It must be some sort of trap, then. She scowled and took a determined step forward, trying to mimic the steely look she’d seen on Nori or Jotaro’s faces in fights before.

Her Stand’s expression changed for the first time, from uncannily blank to undoubtably concerned, and she grabbed for her user as if to try and halt her motions. Oh yes, her Stand was sentient– and desperately trying to keep Jean from getting herself killed.

Still, even unconscious her brow seemed furrowed. He couldn’t have known about the overwhelming, genuine sense of panic that had flooded her mind in the seconds before she was knocked out. Even her own Kakyoin only recently had come to understand why she couldn’t deal with any attacks from behind. She would have been grateful for her lack of thoughts of only she could; memories of trauma flooded to the surface far too easily in these situations.

But when her eyes slowly drifted open a while later, greeted by unfamiliar surroundings and a throbbing pain in the back of her head, all pretence of peace was lost. A loud wail of distress left her scrambling to sit up despite a wave of dizziness. Her knees hit the hard floor before she was even fully cognizant, hyperventilating and crying all at once.

“N-Nori! Nori please, where are you, I’m scared, please!” she sobbed, tangling her fingers into her hair and cowering at the bedside. Champagne was around her shoulders once more, trying desperately to soothe and calm her user’s panic.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll be good, please let me go home, please…”

“…okay,” she whispered after a tense few moments of staring at him. He was too young. Too pale. She couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong about him, other than his not being ‘her’ Nori. It didn’t help how his familiar looks made her want to throw herself into his arms and beg for comfort. She shoved the urge down, reminded herself that he was a stranger.

“Okay,” she said again after another pause, her voice determined despite the unmistakeable waver. “I, I believe you. P-please don’t… Come up behind me again.” That part had nearly been inaudible. She was still scared, still reeling, still on the edge of tears once more. Ethereal, gold-tipped fingers brushed the dampness from her cheeks and Jean swallowed thickly. “I’m. I’m sorry t-too. I… My name is Jean. I’m a, um, a librarian at the Speedwagon Foundation. B-but our library isn’t like this. This looks, um, more like an… An archive.”

Okay. Okay, talking seemed to help calm her a bit. Even if she was babbling. Maybe she could sort her thoughts out. “But, um, w-why…do you live in here..?”

For only the second time, he got to see her Stand’s expression change. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him, tracing his features now that she could clearly see them in the fluorescent lights. His eyes were wrong, she realized subconsciously. Indigo shouldn’t blend so neatly behind red lenses. His skin really was too pale. Even her Nori got out in the sun once in the while. Was this one so much of a workaholic that he chose to live in the archives rather than an apartment outside of the building? Why had Jotaro let him get away with that?

Why did he look like a kid?