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The main museum needed an update badly. It was something Damien had pressed the local administration about. If they wanted to encourage locals and visitors to experience the local history, it needed to be done in a much better way. An expert in the field was hired and invited to the city for a period of time. Once he was able to get some free time, Damien dived into the scheme of modernising the museum and offering support where he could. Not just for the betterment of the city, but also to help satiate his own curiosity in the field.

Night had fallen over the Mediterranean, the sea breeze that came in was chilling, though the air was salty. The days were counting down until he would have to face their enemies. It was getting closer and closer to crunch time. And now that he had learned a little more about what they were after and its importance, it meant that training hard was his focus. Joseph could not let the Stone of Aja fall into the hands of the Pillar Men. It could be the end of humanity if it did and that wasn't something he was about to take, if he could help it. It was more than that, of course. He didn't much have a choice but to defeat them--if he wanted to live, that is. With the poisonous rings that had been implanted around his heart and throat, if for whatever reason he didn't meet his end of the deal, they would kill him within minutes. To say that he wasn't at all nervous about it would be a little bit of a lie. But the young man wasn't going to let that detour him from sharpening his skills. Again, not that he was being given much choice. The training they had him undergoing was incredibly intense, so much so that he could easily pass it off as some form of legal torture. Now that the sun had gone down, training should be over for the day. But with the days becoming more and more numbered, he wasn't ready to call it quits until his body couldn't take anymore.

(It's nearing the end of the thirty days now. If I don't work twice as hard now than I still might not be strong enough to face them.) 

The benefit of going on after the island had gone dark was that now he  didn't have to worry about the glare of the sun beating down on him. Of course, concentrating his Hamon was still no easy task. The mask that sat securely over the lower half of his face ensured that taking in air and controlling his breathing was not an easy task. It had been an annoyance when he first arrived to Air Supplena Island, but by now he had gotten used to it for the most part. On the hottest of days though, where the sun was high in the sky, it did make breathing difficult. It was those days that he found himself struggling a little more to focus on keeping his breathing even. Which meant that his instructor only made things harder for him. Something that Joseph always found to be incredibly irritating. He understood that all of it was for his own benefit and in the long run having the mask on would help him be able to control himself easier, but that was part of why he had come to hate his instructor and the training that he was putting him through. Perhaps when it came time for the final exam, he would thank him for all the hell he'd been subjected to. But on days like that, he could hardly think of anything but punching the man in his face. If the situation wasn't so serious, he might have been more inclined to do something like that. Joseph had gotten himself into trouble for less, after all. 

(At least it's quiet now, so I don't have to worry about that horrible man giving me a hard time.)

He took a deep breath, which was something of a feat through the mask he was wearing. The way it was constructed was something like a gas mask, so getting air to come through it was not an easy task. He had learned that the hard way when it was first put on his face. If he couldn't remain calm and steady his breathing, he wouldn't be able to get enough air to his lungs. That meant that he could easily pass out if he wasn't careful. Now that it had been a couple weeks though, even with the work it took for this to happen he had gotten used to the labor of the task. Standing perfectly still, he inhaled deeply. He kept his arms raised so they were positioned above his diaphragm, helping to bring the air into his lungs. What he was doing was concentrating on channeling his Hamon into his hands. Visualizing the energy surging through his body and coming out through his fingertips. It took a deep breath in to start before he released the air slowly, exhaling. At the same time this was happening the life energy rippled through his body until yellow sparks touched along his fingertips of each hand.

Joseph had decided he wasn't going to be trying any hard tasks while it was dark now. With the sun having gone down, there was a shadow that had been cast across the island. Which meant that trying to see well in his training arena may prove to be a little dangerous. The only reason for this was because there was a large, circular pit that sat at the center of the satellite island he was training on. This pit was lined in full with sharp, pointed spikes. He'd been working on crossing this pit on his feet by the use of his Hamon. And little by little he had managed to move across it without too much trouble. Although right now, he still couldn't walk very quickly across it without worrying about falling in. The loss of focus meant impaling yourself on the spikes below. Lucky enough for him, he'd been able to regain his focus in time before the sharp points could penetrate all the way through the soles of his boots. At night, where this pit was lost in the shadow of darkness, he wasn't sure it would be a good idea to try it. If he lost his focus even for a second, he wouldn't be able to clearly see all the points below to catch himself. The light of the moon reflecting off the sea and the few lights that lined the island did help to give it some light outside. But that was it for the most part, everything else was dark. 

The subtle changes in Jojo’s demeanour as the evening progressed easily gave away that the young Joestar was a little more than just tipsy already, making Robert guess the young lad was most likely a lightweight. It was an amusing thought considering the man’s powerful build, but Robert himself wasn’t sober enough by now either to entertain the idea for long. Opposite to his friend, though, he was more on the heavyweight side as he’d occasionally hit a pub with his Ogre Street mates, sometimes to celebrate something, and some other times just for the sake of it. He’d normally order drinks that were more on the stronger side, and this time, this special occasion that he was able to have some with Jonathan, was not an exception. And, by this point, he already had some on him as well...

Despite Jojo’s current state, it came as a bit of a surprise to the blond that his silly joke was working. And so, he decided to go on with it for a little longer, not really expecting it to continue working as fine as it had been so far (it was a terrible joke, to begin with, and he knew that very well). A solemn nod was offered, and his previous expression didn’t seem to change much as he spoke once more.

“Yeah, I think merman would be the most accurate term, but that’s correct.” He said in the most serious tone he could muster, trying to keep the concern in his expression as well (as much as someone in the early stages of drunkenness could, that is). His gaze then fell to his glass as it rested between his hands on the table, and he went on. “I’m under a magic spell, you see. That’s why I don’t require as much water durin’ the day as all merfolk normally do. I can also move ‘round freely all the while, but… when the night falls, I revert back t’ my original form, and so I gotta go back t’ the Thames or t’ any waterbody before it ‘appens.”

joseph bit down on his lips, mustering up all the willpower he could to stop himself from shaking, from the intense despair he felt boiling over in the pit of his stomach. no. no, no, no. fresh tears bloom at the edges of his eyes, the young man’s voice cracking, the sound of it pathetic  &&  weak, a small child crying over losing his favorite teddy at the park.

        ❝ no -- h-hamon !! i can use hamon !! ❞ he raises his quivering hands, almost ignoring whatever his grandfather had already told him, wishing he could pretend he could do something more useful than break down. he was a joestar, and joestars were the most noble of families, the most strong-willed; he could do this.  ❝ i can’t heal everything, but...if you let me, i can heal a little bit && carry you until we get to safety. uncle speedy can help us.... please. i - i don’t want to lose you too.... ❞

Funny Valentine knew this move would be risky - he knew that in order to try to be an ally to the Joestars he would have to earn their trust. Of course, there was the matter of Johnny Joestar who would have told the other Joestars that he wasn’t to be trusted. While Valentine could understand why Johnny would think such a thing he hoped that maybe he could at least convince one Joestar to help him convince the others too. The original universe first Joestar . . . Jonathan. Surely if Valentine could convince him then maybe Jonathan could convince the others as well. 

This was already risky enough considering that Valentine had to convince DIO that he was on his side, when really he wanted DIO to fail just as much as the Joestars did. What DIO was doing was transcending beyond any manmade nations ; he wanted to have control of the world and the universe itself. That was unforgivable. 

All Valentine could do now was wait in silence and hope that Jonathan would actually hear him out. The rest of the Joestars seemed quick to brush him off and Valentine could understand why, but at the same, this Valentine was much different than the one who had already gone through his story.  This Valentine seemed much kinder than the one that seemed so driven to get the corpse parts for his own selfish gain.

“It certainly seems that way. I understand why you wouldn’t believe me, I know Johnny Joestar is trying to convince you to not believe me but... Please. Is there anyway I can change your mind? My stand Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap has shown me different universes where DIO triumphs over the Joestars and this doesn’t end well for any of us. As soon as he found this universe we all were put in danger. I can’t allow this to happen, surely you can agree with me on that, can’t you?” 

At least Valentine hoped he had been convincing - maybe having DIO’s actions being the penance to pay for their sins was a bit much but even then there was still a chance to change everything. If only he could get Jonathan to trust him...

Shout out to an amazing JONATHAN JOESTAR and JOSUKE HIGASHIKATA! cannot wait to keep writing awesome  threads and stories with you! I hope your day is special and good. H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y ! 

edit is for you too :3 

“I know what I am, though, and I’m… kinda at peace with it.” He admitted. Nothing he could ever do or say would be able to change the countless questionable and wrong things he had done in the past. True, some of them he had done as a way to survive, however, there were many others he had done for a variety of reasons that didn’t have much to do with survival precisely. His hands would always be stained, but there was a reason why he’d go as far as to say what he’d just said, “It’s because of that that I got t’ meet you, after all.” And it was true. As obscure as it was to think of it, it had been because of those reckless ways of his that their paths had ended up crossing the way they did. As weird as it could be to think about it at first glance, something undeniably good had come out of it, not only for him, but for Jonathan as well.

“Y’know, I can’t ‘elp but wonder just… how would you even forgive me after… well, the horrible and disgustin’ things I just did t’ you when we met.” Speedwagon then added, not really expecting an answer to that, but merely just thinking out loud. He was visibly ashamed –and probably would forever be– as he did. A small but genuine smile was then offered, meaning his every word.

Even now, it was difficult for Robert to conceive sometimes that someone with a heart like Jojo’s even existed, someone with the courage to always do the right thing even after being wronged over and over again in such unfair ways, not to mention Robert’s poor experiences after spending so many years surrounded by the worst people imaginable, immersed in one of the worst places one could ever think of, and having nothing but hostility thrown to his face every time he crossed paths with those self proclaimed ‘nobles’.

Jonathan was truly one of a kind in every possible way, no matter how he looked at it.