#though joseph is kind of the opposite of jonathan in a way

[shoechoe]

Thinking about Jonathan some more; while I do think he isn't very interesting or particularly filled with depth compared to the other Jojos, the big thing he has going for him is that he's a dude you just can't really hate. He exudes this good vibe that makes you like him despite not being a very unique protagonist, especially when he's surrounded by nasty characters like Dio and the rest of Phantom Blood's tone is somewhat bleak as he's put into tragedy after tragedy. That's probably what makes people so quick to defend him from people calling him a bad protagonist for not being interesting enough- he's just... a likable guy.

[duhragonball]

Stardust Crusaders Liveblog JJBA ch.114-117

🇯🇵 🇮🇳 🇪🇬🤺📸👊🏼🕰️🦧Fuck it, Part 3. 🌌⌛🐓🍒🔪🔪🔪🇸🇬🇸🇦🇵🇰

I got into the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime in 2017, and gradually wound up liveblogging my experience, especially as I moved on to the manga scanlations for Parts 5-8. I always wanted to go back and revisit the earlier parts, now that I have a better handle on liveblogging, and also so I can experience the manga versions.

At this point, Parts 3 and 4 will be the only ones I haven't read yet. (Part 9 doesn't count, since it's still ongoing). So my goal for this month is to try to knock those out. I'm a little behind getting started though, so I might wind up bumping Part 4 for another time. But I am looking forward to getting this off my bucket list.

I recently wrote a thing complaining about how dull Spider-Man comics are. The short version is that very little actually seems to develop in Spider-Man comics after 1970. He'll have trouble with his job or his finances or his love life, which is what makes the character relatable, but the comics will have Spider-Man constantly ponder what to do about his problems but rarely take any concrete steps to work on them. He'll think about getting some photography training, or changing careers entirely, but then twenty issues go by and he's still thinking about it.

I tried to think of qualities that make a superhero comic fun to read, things that Spider-Man comics could do, but rarely seem to pull off. I came up with Consequences, Spectacle, Satisfaction, Payoff, Solid Villains who function as an Opposite to the Hero, and Progress. The point I'm getting at here is that I'm only three pages into Stardust Crusaders and it's already managed to tick off a bunch of those boxes. We meet the new JoJo, Jotaro Kujo, and he's shouting at his mom from the inside of a prison cell.

I mean, it's friggin' brilliant. If you're new to JJBA, the basic idea is that each new Part starts over with a new main character. There are plotlines and themes that carry over from what came before, but the idea is that we have to meet the new guy who's taking over the lead role. Part 2 introduced Joseph Joestar, the grandson of Part 1's Jonathan Joestar. He looked a lot like his grandfather, and he had the same powers, but he was kind of a goofball and a trickster. Now we jump to Part 3 to meet Joseph's grandson, and it's a delinquent shithead. He's already in jail and the story hasn't even started yet. It's a fantastic way to kick off a story, especially when it's a legacy character who's following an established tradition like this.

But there's another twist: Jotaro is actually free to go, but he refuses to leave. The cops tell his mother, Holly, that they hauled him in because he beat up some guys in a fight, but he didn't kill them or anything. Really, they just called her in because they're hoping she can convince him to go home.

Jotaro insists he's been "possessed by an evil spirit", and no one understands what he's talking about. Nevertheless, objects will show up in Jotaro's cell with no apparent explanation. It's like the "evil spirit" is fetching things for him. Only Jotaro can see the "evil spirit", so the only way he knows to demonstrate its presence is to have the "evil spirit" steal one of the cops' guns so he can shoot himself in the head. The bullet it stopped in midair. The police can't see the ghostly arm that catches the bullet, but the audience can. And Holly can see it too? Huh?

Then we flash back four years earlier, when some treasure hunters haul up a chest from a steam liner that sank about a hundred years ago. They figure it has to have some valuable stuff inside, so they hurry to open it up before the sun goes down. Later, the ship is found adrift, with the chest open and no signs of life aboard. Huh.

Back in the present day, Holly meets her father at the airport, and it's Joseph Joestar! Fuck yeah! Part 2 was the best, and one of the things that makes Part 3 rock so hard is that Joseph is still hanging around to bring that Part Two-y goodness. It's been about 48 years since the events of Battle Tendency, and Joseph has become some sort of real estate mogul. His daughter Holly married a Japanese musician and moved to Japan about 20 years ago. Now that Jotaro is dealing with this "evil spirit" business, she's hoping Joseph can get to the bottom of it.

The tension between Joseph and Jotaro is pretty awesome. This is the first time in the JoJo franchise that two JoJos have appeared in the same part. Jonathan was long dead by the time Battle Tendency began. So when I watched the anime for the first time, it seemed like they were almost competing for the lead in Part 3. I mean, Jotaro doesn't even seem to want the protagonist job. He won't come out of his cell, and he acts like a total asshole. It's like Araki wrote Joseph into the story as a last-minute substitute.

So Joseph tries to talk Joseph out, but Jotaro refuses to budge, and his "evil spirit" snatches one of the robot fingers on Joseph's artificial left hand. This surprises Joseph, but not completely. He wasn't prepared for the sheer speed of Jotaro's strange power, but he knows exactly what this is, and he has a plan to reveal it. This is a twist for the audience who read Part 2, because we know Joseph had special powers of his own, but nothing like what Jotaro is dealing with here. How'd Joseph find out about all this?

The answer lies with Joseph's pal, Mohammed Avdol, whom he brought along for this trip. Joseph met him three years ago, and when Holly called, he figured Avdol would come in handy for this. When I first saw this guy, I thought he was some kind of manservant, from the way Joseph kept snapping his fingers to summon him. Now, having become more familiar with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I understand that they just do the finger-snapping thing because Joseph and Avdol are flamboyant divas.

The point here is that Avdol has his own "evil spirit" like Jotaros, and he calls his "Magician's Red". It looks like Bobby Lashley with bird head, and it rules. Avdol's plan is simply to attack Jotaro until he begs to come out of the cell. And Magician's Red has pyrokinetic powers, so he thinks Jotaro might get hurt during this. Joseph doesn't mind.

As Jotaro resists, his own "evil spirit" emerges from his body, and becomes more fully apparent, at least for the characters who can see it. It attacks Magician's Red, and the damage is reflected on Avdol, so he has to tie Jotaro up in ropes of flame or something. As they tussle, Avdol explains that the "evil spirit" is actually a manifestation of Jotaro's own life force. Avdol calls this a "Stand", because it stands beside the person who has one. The point is that Jotaro was never possessed by the thing; it's just an extension of himself. The problem was that Jotaro had no idea what it was or how to control it.

But now Jotaro seems to have figured it out. Maybe Avdol's attack forced him to take more direct control over his Stand, or he's acting instinctively, but he uses it to rip the bars off the cell and threatens to impale Avdol... who immediately stands down. Jotaro was so focused on fighting back that he didn't realize he left the cell during his attack.

Jotaro is a little miffed about this, but he can't argue with the logic. Avdol got him to come out of the cell. He no longer has to worry about his "evil spirit" hurting anyone against his will, because he can control it. And while he was planning to study the "evil spirit" in the cell, Joseph points out there's no longer any need for that, since Avdol can tell him anything he wants to know.

So how does Joseph know anything about Stands? Well, this ties back to that old chest those treasure hunters hauled up four years ago. The ship it came from was the same ship Jonathan Joestar was on when he died. Joseph has since acquired the chest and Avdol has joined him on the hunt for the man who came out of it. Jotaro's like "Hold on, there was a person inside that chest?" and hoo-boy.

So Dio Brando, the vampire from Part 1, has returned. That would be a sensible choice by itself, but maybe a predictable one. After all, anyone who read Part 1 would have wondered what happened to Dio, since he wasn't actually killed in the shipwreck. He was just a head, and the ship exploded, but he's a vampire, so it's not impossible for him to survive all of that.

But it's not as simple as "Dio's back". To illustrate, Joseph demonstrates his own Stand, which allows him to generate psychic images. Joseph complains that he has to smash a camera every time he uses it, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have to hit it that hard to make it work. Again, he's a flamboyant diva.

While he waits for the polaroid to develop, Joseph informs Holly and Jotaro of the star-shaped birthmarks on the back of their necks. I'm not sure if he's "revealing" this information to them, or if they already knew about it and they're surprised to find out this has anything to do with Dio. I mean, they can't really see their own birthmarks, but they surely noticed each others over the decades, right? Joseph would have noticed Holly's when she was born, and they both would have noticed Jotaro's when he was a baby.

The bigger reveal is that this goes back to Joseph's father and grandfather as well. Joseph asked his mother (who's still alive?) and she confirmed that George Joestar had the same birthmark. What does that have to do with Dio?

Everything. Joseph's Stand allows him to take photos of Dio wherever he is, and the photos always show Dio with his back to the "camera", and he has the same star-shaped birthmark as the Joestars. The only possible conclusion here is that Dio grafted his vampire head onto the corpse of Jonathan Joestar.

So let me stop to appreciate this reveal. It's kind of amazing that Hirohiko Araki pulled this off. I've read Parts 1 and 2, and you never see the back of Jonathan or Joseph's neck. They always have a scarf or something on to cover it up, no matter what they're wearing. I can only assume he was setting up something like this all along, or maybe he came up with the birthmark idea and realized this was the only body part he hadn't exposed for either character.

What really sells it is Joseph's expression here. One thing I really enjoy about the manga is that Part 3 Joseph looks so much like Part 2 Joseph. I think the anime kind of dropped the ball there. They were so focused on getting his outfit right that they didn't quite capture the wild look in his eyes or his boyish smile. It matters here because Jonathan's been dead for nearly a century now, and he's passed from living memory. Joseph's mother was a baby when he died, and Joseph only knew his grandfather from stories he had heard from Granny Erina and Speedwagon. You need someone in this story who doesn't just know about Jonathan, but cares about him as a person, and Joseph has enough passion to carry the dramatic weight for two or three characters.

Like Jotaro, Joseph's Stand developed during this year, and he's convinced that Dio is somehow responsible. Avdol's had his Stand since birth, so he thinks it can't be a coincidence that Dio returns with Jonathan's body, and suddenly his descandants have Stand powers. But Jotaro isn't entirely convinced of any of this.

But one guy who needs no convincing is Dio himself. He sensed Joseph taking his picture, and he suspects that Jonathan's body is somehow sending a "spiritual signal" to his descendants. He resolves to eliminate Jonathan's descendants before they cause him any trouble.

And that goes back to what I was saying about solid villains who function as opposites to the hero. Dio being the main villain in a JoJo Part kind of speaks for itself. For a lot of fans, Dio is THE villain of the whole thing. The other bad guys only show up when he's unavailable. It only makes sense for him to be in Part 3 like this, but that isn't enough. He has to be Jotaro's enemy, not just an enemy to the humanity, or to the Joestar family.

And this is something Part 3 builds towards over the course of the story, but the groundwork is laid here. Jotaro may not believe in vampires, and he may not believe this tale of his great-great grandfather's death. He may not care enough to go after Dio, but that doesn't matter, because Dio is now after him. This is going to become Jotaro's problem whether he wants to deal with it or not.

For the moment, the good guys have no idea where to find Dio, so they go back to the Kujo home and kind of settle in. Jotaro goes back to school, but the first of Dio's agents has already set his sights on him. As Jotaro walks to school, the enemy watches from afar and... paints a picture of Jotaro. Then he paints a wound on the painting and Jotaro does a sick backflip on the stairs. Get used to this sort of thing...

[bylertruther]

If I am guessing your cryptic question right, stonathan or steddie? Which one do I prefer? See more chemistry in? Is that it?

I saw more chemistry between Steddie honestly. Maybe because Eddie was openly flirty and Steve was flustered most of the time around him.

Stonathan - I don't see the chemistry that much because Jon did beat him up for insulting his family and him. Even though Steve came to apologise, it was more like a formality rather than a stepping stone to friendship. They could have been friends, but they didn't. For Jon, Steve is an immature idiot that he fought one time.

I have read one Stonathan fic and I couldn't see the chemistry there. It was a nice fic, but the chemistry was missing, I felt. But the Steddie fics have chemistry.

Jon honestly has more chemistry with Argyle than Steve.

I would love to hear your thoughts, Denise.

mmmmmm my lawyer told me to tell you tht i can neither confirm nor deny these assumptions but tht i Can reply to u otherwise <3 so hiii, anon 👋

that's fair. s1 jonathan and steve are works in progress for sure and then they drift apart again as their connections to nancy change. i do think that jancy's talk at the end can be interpreted as a hint that they'll interact again though, allowing jonathan to see firsthand what nancy meant, so maaaaaybe smth of some sort will happen there? who knows lol.

but! i do think that the apology was more than a formality. steve was really intent on going over there and making things right, he really felt like he'd fucked up and he wasn't expecting nancy to be there. he went for jonathan and really wanted to make things right with him. there was a desperate kind of sincerity there i felt in joe's portrayal. and then he seemed really pleased when jonathan received his gift later on! so, like. yk. i think jonathan's the one holding more resentment / preconceived notions than steve rn, which is understandable considering he doesn't know him like that, and why i think they planted tht seed i mentioned at the end there. there could still be more to them and i think there likely is!

tbh though i feel like i'd need more scenes with them to be able to say anything abt their chemistry on-screen. i get more ✨⚡️ from steve for those reasons tht i mentioned than i do jonathan rn. jonathan has had his defenses up too high n been too cold thus far, n charlie really sells tht n jon's trust issues lol. maybe it'll change in s5, maybe it won't.

as for steddie... i feel like you can say some of the same things? they became kind of friends towards the end there because eddie went to go save him and they had that little bonding moment where eddie opened up to him and got in his good graces. also... i feel like eddie's actions can be taken that way, but he's also a touchy-feely invades-your-personal-space kind of dude with other characters too. and i didn't really feel any electricity or interest there from steve's side, kind of the opposite of the stonathan situation. like joe wasn't leaning into what people believe joseph was.

it felt like interactions between a heroic jock who aggravatingly really is more than what people say and a freak who's had to puff his chest up n act tougher than he really is to survive, and how they navigate that as young men. like actually tough vs pretends to be. and there's a a kind of sheepishness on eddie's side where the freak who talks abt how others are so quick to judge n be hostile is now being saved n helped n treated well by someone tht he did all of tht to, this kind of ... ingratiating n dare i say submissive mannerisms tht i think ppl read as just flirting.

and then steve's mostly just there, taking this in and occupying the same space as him, more focused on the others, but still wanting to be nice n give his thanks bc he's just that guy n does it with everyone. he's chuffed tht eddie's blowing smoke up his ass, but i don't view him as being bewitched. when did you find steve to be flustered? i'd like to go back and watch, maybe i'll see it this time :)

jargyle my beloved 💚 i think it helps tht argyle is jonathan's friend, so there's naturally going to be this easygoing flow between them tht wouldn't be present in his scenes with steve. i think they play off each other wonderfully, but.. hm. idk. there's chemistry yes bc they definitely sell that safe harbor you're my only friend ride or die kind of relationship, but it's not like ... tht Charged kind of chemistry, if tht makes sense?

thank u for answering :)

[yanderememes]

Manly Hands Anon here 💪

I just had this thought where if there's a Villain House, what would a Jojo House be like with an oblivious darling? Just as chaotic as the Villain House, or maybe a little more tame?

Y'all, I can't with you guys 😭 now we got Jojo house?!

Jojo house would be a bit complicated because they all have different tastes in a darling. Unlike villain house where they're all evil and fall for someone who's the complete opposite, everyone in Jojo house would like certain aspects of darling. More details below!

Jonathan

What he likes about darling: they're kind-hearted nature

Would be the sweetest pair in history

Both dote on each other but for very different reasons

Darling dotes on Jonathan because he's just so sweet! Darling thinks they have to return the favor to Jonathan whenever he's kind to them

Jonathan dotes on darling because darling is so receptive to him. They (unintentionally) enable his clingy and overbearing nature.

The other Jojos can't stand it. For one, Jonathan is hogging darling but also, Jonathan takes full advantage of his position as the oldest Jojo

For example, darling will be getting ready to go out. Of course, all the Jojos want to accompany them but Jonathan tells them to stay home and watch the house

"everyone, y/n doesn't need all 7 of us to go. You all can stay home and watch the house while I go with y/n. Listen to the eldest."

Why he's a threat: Jonathan is emotionally manipulative and knows how to use their feelings against them. He'd make the other Jojos feel bad for him and because they feel bad, they'll back off temporarily

The other Jojos would fight him, but he's actually scary. That menacing smile he puts on is no joke. Jonathan's smile is a oppose me and I'll make your life a living hell smile 😊

Joseph

What he likes about darling: they're fun to hang out with

It's never boring when he's around darling

He's a touchy yandere. He likes to have his hands all around them but plays it off as a joke

Definitely uses his height against darling to tease or take advantage of them

"You can't leave until you give me a kiss, y/n~"

Why he's a threat: the other Jojos forget that he's competitive because of his laid-back personality but rest assured he is 100% serious. Underestimating Joseph always bites them in the ass later

A pervert. Sometimes you'll find your underwear missing

Jotaro

What he likes about darling: they're understanding

Jotaro isn't the easiest to get along with but he means well. He's glad that darling understands that

He can be intimidating though. When he's hanging out with darling he's quiet (as usual) but when another Jojo tries to jump in, he'll give them death glares

he's like a constant bodyguard for darling. Except, darling didn't hire him. Jotaro sticks to them because he hates the idea of darling talking to someone that's not him (even though Jotaro doesn't talk at all lol)

when he's not around darling, he'll sabotage the other Jojos' chances

Why he's a threat: has one of the strongest stands but even without it, he has quick reflexes and can stop the other Jojos before they can try to take away darling

Josuke

What he likes about darling: they're open-minded

He's a very clingy and obsessive yandere

He hates that Jotaro is always around you! He wants to spend time with darling too

He's a bit insecure that darling might like Jotaro because even Josuke has to admit that Jotaro is cool

Just like his father he's touchy but not as perverted as Joseph. So he likes hugs and cuddling

He's a puppy dog who's got a bite. The easiest way to piss him off is insulting his hair or spending time with his darling

He doesn't care if darling hates his clingyness, he just wants to show his love and dedication

Why he's a threat: his childlike behavior makes him kinda cute to darling but annoying to deal with for the Jojos because he can't be reasoned with. Josuke is also a screw loose, in the sense that the Jojos can never predict what he's gonna do

He always wants to take darling out on dates and hold their hand. But his grip on them is so hard, you think he'll just break it.

"don't let go of my hand, y/n! Someone might take you away from me and I'll just have to kill them! 😁"

to many, it sounds like he's joking. If only they knew...

Giorno

What he likes about darling: they're passionate

He's a possessive yandere who wants darling all to himself. He hates living with the other Jojos because he just wants to lock darling up in a nice villa where only he can see them

But he holds back this impulse because he needs to think of a way to get rid of the other Jojos. Make it look like an "accident"

He's very charismatic and charming. He tries to win darling over with his money.

Very attentive to darling's needs and pays close attention to their likes and dislikes

He's always one step ahead of the other Jojos. Oh, darling was gonna go out with Jolyne to the amusement park? Too bad she "lost" her ticket. Luckily, Giorno has a ticket and will be more than happy to take her place

Why he's a threat: Mafia boss with the strongest stand. Do I even need to explain?

"Mista, Jolyne and y/n will be going out on a date. Ensure this doesn't happen. Y/N is mine"

Jolyne

What she likes about darling: they're warm and gentle

Jolyne would be the obsessive type

Like Josuke, she's clingy and touchy but lacks self-awareness. Josuke knows he's clingy but doesn't care. Jolyne doesn't know she's clingy

She thinks about darling ALL THE TIME

She sucks at flirting but there was an attempt

Why she's a threat: Jojo house is a sausage fest, so being the only woman there, Jolyne gets some privileges with darling

For example, Jolyne can sleep in the same bed as darling because she's totally harmless!

Doesn't understand the concept of boundaries. Probably cuz she's the youngest and lacks relationship experience

Johnny

What he likes about darling: they're calm and relaxing to be around

Slight sadistic yandere

He can be a bit insulting to darling which irks the other Jojos

He likes to get a rise from the Jojos as he messes with darling

He's obsessive and probably has lots of photos of darling in his room.

Why he's a threat: Johnny has an undying and unyielding dark determination. He's not close to anyone in Jojo house, so he doesn't care if they drop dead

"what's wrong, sweetheart? Was I too harsh? I'll be nicer if you're good for me."

[jojoboisimagines]

Club BIZARRE (Jojos 1-8 x Pimp! Reader) :: Chapter 1

Summary: You are a pimp that owns a rather popular nightclub with the Jojos as your employees competing with Club Passione. What antics will ensue?

A/n: Hope you guys enjoy the first chapter! Its moreso an introductory chapter, the next one will have more story to it! And just to be clear, the Jojos aren’t related in this fic!

.::.

If someone asked you what you thought your job would be in the future, rest assured your answer certainly would not have been ‘managing 4-5 male sex workers in a fairly popular nightclub’. 

Its a complicated story how all of you met, but all of you built this little business together. The Jojos were moreso your friends now than just guys that worked for you. If a client treated them badly or without respect, you (along with the others sometimes) would put them in their place. You wouldn’t even allow anyone to call them ‘whores’. 

When there was no work or clients, the group would chill in your personal lounging room. It had kind of become a safespace where all of you could hang out. There were purple neon lights hung around the room, with a few lava lamps to brighten it up a bit. A mini bar was on the right side of the room, the black leather couch everyone loved so much, and a TV on the wall where Josuke would usually hook his games up.

Right now, thats where all of you were. Everyone was doing their own thing, if not having a conversation. Your eyes scanned the room, looking at them one by one.

Jonathan was writing in some kind of book. He was a little shy and reserved, it made you wonder why he participated in this line of work. From the vague stuff he told you, it seemed like he came from a rather wealthy family. As long as it made him happy though.

He could also make some pretty mean drinks. His job doubled as the bartender, despite not drinking much alcohol himself. You had to admit, he looked pretty good in the uniform too.

Your eyes turned to Joseph, who was texting on his phone. He was the most wild one next to Jolyne. His crossdressing act brings in quite a few clients, though his makeup could use a bit of work. If everyone else was low energy on a given day, you could at least expect him to be annoyingly cheery (unless he was upset). Joseph does tend to complain the most about some of his clients though.

Jotaro was outside on a smoke break. You wondered if he’d ever quit, but you had faith in him. You couldn’t entirely blame him though, he is always the most requested. You didn’t really understand why, perhaps it was the cool guy act? Why he worked here was also a mystery, seeing that he complains everyday when he comes in. Everyone has the suspicion that he didn’t really mind it as much as he pretends to.

Josuke was playing the game. He didn’t take the job too seriously but he did bother to come everyday. When he’s not strapped for cash, he’s usually in this room playing games.

Giorno was watching the game while also taking some notes. He was your assistant, and perhaps the backbone of this business when you had no idea how to make a decision. Opposite to Josuke, he takes this job very seriously and tries to keep everything in order. The only time he’s ever taken a client is when a hefty price was paid by someone who spotted him in the club and thought he was attractive. 

Johnny was having a conversation with Jolyne and Gappy. It was honestly shocking the latter two were even present today. Jolyne used to show up everyday but as time went on she came here less and less. Everytime you ask whats the deal she waves it off and insists theres no reason. When she does show up these days, she’s usually mingling in the club and dancing with her friends.

Gappy only comes on weekends, thats the agreement the two of you have. You aren’t sure what he does the rest of the week, but that was none of your business.

It made you happy Johnny was actually talking to his coworkers. He stays latched to your hip so much you feared he’d never even spare a glance as someone else, even if he needed to. Everyone knew Johnny was pretty attached to you. Even when he had potential clients he always turned them down. Perhaps you had spoiled him a bit. After all there was no reason for him to come if he didn’t take any of them. Joseph had started a little rumor that he was maybe in love with you, to which the disabled man effortlessly found out and got annoyed over. 

You loved your little group. Its pretty small, but the business was still enough to compete with Passione, the nightclub that was a few blocks away. You didn’t know much about them or their boss, aside from Giorno telling you about them and how they might affect the income. 

He had gone undercover, checking out the club and what it was like. It was much bigger and extravagant than your own place, and there were more workers. From Giorno’s report, it intimidated you a little bit, but you had faith in your workers.

The blonde suggested doing some renovating (which he would be in charge of) to make your club a little more lively and appealing. It probably had a much longer way to go than you thought it did, but you trusted Giorno. Not to mention once everyone else had caught wind of the news, they wanted to pitch in and help too.

The nine of you would make Club Bizarre the best club it could be!

[thatsthetriick]

JJba characters witnessing you skinny dipping

Summary: caught in 4k characters saw u skinny dipping in the 90s after ur friends left u lol. (Joestars x Fem!Reader) Inspiration:  This was inspired by a funny and innocent scene in Now & Then(1995) where the main characters decided to prank their bullies(who were skinny dipping) by stealing their clothes and running away Disclaimer: Perverted thoughts, skinny dipping reader, characters aged up! anything else under those categories, not nsfw just fluff I suppose(Though I call it soft spice)? Header photo: Koisuru Harinezumi

Joestars Witnessing you Skinny Dipping all alone

Jonathan Joestar

↝ He’ll accidentally see you and get flustered, he’s a gentleman so he’ll probably leave you on your own, afterall there was nothing really wrong with skinny dipping. ↝ Since he’ll walk away you’ll be the one who will notice him and you’ll get his attention, “Hey Jonathan!” and he’ll have no choice but to go towards you and he’ll try to be polite by not staring at your body since its offensive. ↝ You might invite him as a friendly thing to do but he’ll decline and explain that he didn’t wanna ruin your alone time and you respected his choice and you ask him if he could get the towel on your bike and he’ll do it for you. ↝ He gets easily embarrassed and flustered so he’ll leave after saying goodbye and he would just try not to think about it and yet he still does, especially he gets flustered everytime he remembers your question of joining him for skinny dipping Joseph Joestar ↝ Ah he’ll already hear about you going with your group to skinny dip so he’ll stalk you there, this creepy pervert would watch your friends leave you alone. ↝ He would usually cover your eyes from behind and ask you to guess but you would guess that it’s him and slap off his hands and he’ll act playfully hurt ↝ You wont be the one to ask him to skinny dip he’ll ask you if you could join but you’ll jokingly tell him to please at least wear something because you honestly don’t wanna skinny dip with this weirdo. ↝ But in the end you two had fun, you two splash water and chased each other and swam to different places and went back, you had a great time and the more time you spend with him the less his perverted flirts and jokes were told, he did tell them from time to time but not frequent, that’s why you didn’t mind hanging with him at all because you get to see he was honestly a fun and kind person to be with, a funny one as well. ↝ You guys will end up in the lake/beach/any body of water for a long time until the sunsets probably, both of your hands would be wrinkly but you two wouldn’t care and coninue to just talk while in the water ↝ You two will part ways and he’ll remember he doesn’t have a towel so you two shared a towel and dried out while you two are in a nearby park or log to sit on while you two shared the towel till you are warm, you part your ways and immediately fall asleep after all that long swimming, you’ll probably ask him to swim with you again. Jotaro Kujo (Part 3) ↝ He couldn’t care if he knew your group of friends were gonna skinny dip or anything, though he’ll probably take a route where he sees you accidentally, he’ll try to go back but he’ll hear you call out his name ↝ “Oh Jotaro!” You would say and he would probably be annoyed maybe he would mumble a “tch” while adjusting his hat. ↝ You’ll ask him if he can get your towel on your bike and he would comment, “How come you don’t bring your towel with you, woman.” He would still get it though as he explains and you would apologize and laugh it off. ↝ He’ll hand it to you and you’ll thank him and innocently offer him if he’d like to join you and he would disagree, though he would still stay by your side as you skinny dip some more. ↝ You’ll wonder why is he still there but you ignored it and instead chatted to him as he either stood up with hands on his pocket or sat down on a log while watching you as if he was babysitting a baby who was in a pool. ↝ He honestly doesn’t mind your company, and it hella good at not looking at your body whenever you accidentaly reveal it everytime you accidentally get up or something. ↝ He’ll be very unpredictable with what he thinks but nevertheless you like his company more than skinny dipping alone, he would also look away at the right times when you’re gonna get out of the water. ↝ You’ll dress up and he’ll walk you home safely as you continue speaking to him, always leading your conversation. He may look grumpy but you knew deep inside he was listening and interested with your topic Old Joseph Joestar (part 3) ↝ He’ll coincidentally see you skinny dipping and wouldn’t notice you were skinny dipping at first, he’ll think you were wearing something so he’ll come up to you and hold your shoulders to scare you and you’ll get startled but the sudden touch and once you get up he’ll basically look away and apologize “AHH IM SORRY!” He’ll look away and you’ll chuckle. ↝ He’s not much of a pervert as he was when he was younger so he’s more of a mature and gentle person so he did look away and wait for you to hid your body in the water once more, you would apologize as well for standing up but you’ll just laugh and make fun of him because of his face. ↝ He’ll constantly scratch the back of his neck and apologize once you’re back to the water and you’ll just continue makeing fun of his reaction and he’ll blush in embarrassement, you’ll often tease him that he better not tell anyone what he saw and he’ll sincerely yet nervously promised he won’t tell anyone what he saw, he’s too embarrassed to talk about it anyway. ↝ You gave him more of a optional choice on joining you by saying, “You can join me but please wear some clothes I don’t wannna witness anything traumatizing”, he’ll refuse of course and say he’ll be somewhere ↝ After small you tell him that you can accompany him to whereever he was going because you’re bored so you ask him to fetch your towel and you’ll walk with him even though you’re soaking wet out in the streets. Josuke Higashikata   ↝ He will encounter you because he’ll be looking for someone and he’ll see you swimming all alone and he’ll be curious and approach you, “Hey, Y/n what are you doing all alone?” he’ll ask then eventually notice that you were skinny dipping ↝ Like young joseph he would be embarrassed and look away and pretend like he didn’t see anything while you speak to him,  he’s really uncomfortable and embarrassed since he never noticed anyone skinny dip before and you’ll just chuckle at him and offer if he wanted to join ↝ He’ll stutter since he was originally looking for someone else and yet he didn’t want to seem rude. “I-i’m sorry Y/n I’m kind of looking for someone right now.” he’ll scratch the back of his head and you just simply nodded at the flustered Joestar and ask who was he looking for. ↝ He’ll tell you who he was looking for while trying his best not to look at weird areas of you and was literally sweating since this was super hard. He really didn’t want you to think of him as a pervert no way, he’ll never forgive himself because he doesn’t want one of his friends to think that about him. ↝ He’ll find ways to leave the conversation and area immediately so he wouldn’t do something that would make Y/n uncomfortable but you on the other hand would make the conversations long so the poor Higashikata had to wait till he’ll find an exit of that conversation as he tries his best to look away. ↝ It was honestly a funny scene for you since you knew what he was trying to do. Jotaro Kujo (part 4) ↝ “Oh Y/n” he’ll say after he hears you call him out to him, unlike his part 3 self where he accidentally encountered you, you were the one who encountered him and called him. ↝ At first he thought you were swimming with some clothes or something but as he got closer he realized and he adjusted his cap and look someplace else as you spoke to him. ↝ You’ll invite him to swim with you but he’ll decline and convince you it’s a bit dangerous for you to skinny dip at hours like this (which is like mornings) just so you could get back, honestly this guy doesn’t anyone to accidentally encountered you with no clothes that would be a nightmare to him so he convinces you honestly. ↝ He’ll try super hard to convince you and after he does he’ll help you get the towel immediately and gently give it to you and not throwing it (unlike part 3 Jotaro), he’ll look away as you put the towel on and help you walk home. ↝ He’ll watch until you get through the door of your house and that’s when he leaves. Giorno Giovanna ↝ He’ll be looking for you but he’ll hear sounds so he’ll crouch under a big log or a bush as he tries to hear whats going on, once it’s been silent for too long he’ll look up just to see you skinny dipping. ↝ He will be really flustered but his face says otherwise, he’ll just look at you because of the surprise and shock till you get scared of him and fall over in the water.

↝ “Y-y/n!” He’ll stand up and look for you under the water and lake, he was honestly gonna swim in to save you but you came out with soaked hair that drips droplets of water, he’ll calm himself down but breathing in and out faintly, “You scared me.” He’ll say in his normal tone and same expression on his face. ↝ “Sorry, you scared me as well.” You’ll chuckle and then you were about to stand up till you forgot you had nothing on so you quickly sat down, he didn’t see much honestly, but he’ll look at the opposite direction on where you were, “I’m sorry.” He’ll apologize and you’ll find it cute.  ↝ His inner Jonathan side gets revealed when he was around you honestly, you ask if he wanted to join and he’ll be surprised and flustered once again but you won’t hear it in his voice or  anythingm but he’ll politely decline as he waits for you to finish. ↝ At the same time he informs you on what he needed to say in the first place and you two start a conversation afterwards and just enjoyed his accompany as well. ↝ He’ll also walk you home as you two talk and he’ll watch you till you make it back, sweet guy honestly, he’ll also be having a hard time not looking at your body while you were in the pool

Sorry folks im still only up to part 5 i’ll write the other joestars when i get to their part, im honestly in classes rn so i’ll edit later lmfaO

Check out my masterlist~

[matcha-narancia]

Romantic headcanons with shy and quiet but kind and patient s/o for Jonathan, Speedwagon, Joseph, Caesar, and Jotaro please?

A/N: Thank you for the request anon, I’ll be sectioning each request you sent up by part since they all have the same prompt! Warning(s): Some spoilers for parts 1-3 (Obviously)!

Jonathan, Speedwagon, Joseph, Caesar, and Jotaro with a Shy and Kind S/O!

Jonathan Joestar

- Jonathan is such a gentleman as we all know, so having somebody who is equally shy yet kind means you’re the perfect fit for him!

- You two take strolls together, go and have picnics, and indulge in all the luxuries of life together. And of course, you care for each other as lovers do.

- He loves you for you, treating you as his equal. He’s protective at times, but only because he would hate to have you get mixed up in his fighting with Dio!

- He appreciates that you’re always patient with him. Life often got in the way of you two, but knowing you would stay by his side and support him even still fueled him to keep going and doing his best!

- Absolutely there for you if you ever need someone to help you speak up for yourself or speak your mind. He knows that it can be hard at times, and wants to make sure you can express yourself without needing to worry.

- All in all, very very loving and compassionate, you two are such a great match!

Robert E. O. Speedwagon

- He didn’t have the best past, and you know this of course. It means the world to him that you treat him with kindness and are patient with him learning the ups and downs of living a new life away from Ogre Street.

- You’re the person he finds himself the most comfortable to be around, knowing that you won’t shun him for his less than desirable history, or anything of that sort. Your kindness touched him similarly to Jonathan, but in a romantic way!

- Definitely tries his best with taking you out on traditional dates and such, but something usually doesn’t go as planned. Either way, you two always have fun, and he always enjoys seeing you happy!

- I’d like to believe Speedwagon too has some trouble speaking, though when his voice is needed most, he’s there speaking his mind. He never pushes you to be more vocal, because he respects you. He does let you know that he’s by your side whenever you need him, though.

- He appreciates your patience more than anything. Like Jonathan, he became a busy man. His hands were very often tied with the Speedwagon Foundation, and thus he could never spend as much time with you as he would’ve liked. But you stuck with him through it all. He loves you for that.

- You were just the person for him, and you two get along so well! 

Joseph Joestar

- You two are polar opposites, and yet, you have such a strong bond! Joseph definitely needs and needed a more levelheaded and soft-spoken individual to ground him, and you just so happened to pop up in his life!

- He tries to be romantic and thinks he’s all suave. Please tell him he is, he may look all confident and headstrong but deep down he’s always trying his best around you.

- Joseph… is not great with traditional or typical dates. But that’s one of the many reasons he’s so charming. He’s bold and unpredictable, and it’s balanced by your own kindness and patience!

- He also tries his best to keep you out of danger. He knows you’re a strong person even though you’re quiet, but he had so little people in his life growing up. He really wants to keep you safe and out of his fights.

- I see him as the type to tease about your shyness, but he never does it in a mean way. It’s definitely more playful, and though he wants you to speak up a bit more for yourself, he’d never push you to.

- You two go together perfectly! And Lisa Lisa is thrilled to know her son has somebody who can be by his side and keep him logical!

Caesar A. Zeppeli

- Caesar finds your qualities to be so adorable... and it’s easy to see how head over heels in love he is!

- Unlike Joseph, this man is the king of all those traditions. Sure, he’s had his relationships, and thus all his skills come from them, but when you two met he dedicated himself to you and you alone! He’ll take you in the most romantic and thoughtful dates, and you appreciate all his efforts!

- Like the others, your patience and kindness together mean the world to him. He blamed himself for his father’s death because he lacked any patience, and so knowing you’ll be there by his side through everything makes his heart melt. He values your relationship over practically everything.

- I do see Caesar as the kind of guy who would speak for you if you ever had trouble. He means no harm in it, he just wants you to get your thoughts and feelings out! However, if you don’t want to speak or don’t want him to speak for you, he will agree of course!

- Might also tease you about your shyness, but not to the lengths of Joseph. He finds it adorable more than anything, so commenting about it all the time would be a bit overkill in his opinion. 

- In the end, you two are a match made in heaven! He’s always so happy to be with you!

Jotaro Kujo

- We all know Jotaro’s rather quiet himself, so it’s nice to have somebody who isn’t bugging him every 5 seconds (Polnareff).  - It probably took a while for you two to get together, mostly because Jotaro was worried of ruining your friendship. But when you did, he was so thankful you accepted his feelings!

- Jotaro’s a prime example of actions over words. He looks menacing and tough and all that on the outside, and so oftentimes what he says can be taken in the wrong sense, so he settled for gestures that can speak for him.

- Again like everyone else, he really appreciates your kindness and patience. You knew the crusade to Egypt would be a long while, and so whether or not you waited or went along with you, you stayed there the entire time,

- Not the greatest at dates. He’d rather just stay inside with you and watch some sort of ocean documentary, though if you ever want to go out, he’ll lovingly begrudgingly agree.

- You’re the type of person Jotaro really needed in his life, and even though he’s not the best with words, you know he loves you so!

[foopeach]

I am once more,,,,thinking about hucow au,,,,,

None of my thoughts are coherent, obviously, I’m stupid- but they are there nonetheless so have these.

Jonathan is such a sweet boy tbh

He actually tries very hard to be a good producer for the ranch

VERY hard, actually, he needs to take a break sometimes because he gets overworked

We’re gonna ignore that that means he’s coom too much

He’s actually considered best producer on the whole ranch!

Not only because he’s so easy to get along with but also because he takes pride in his work!

He often takes on lots of jobs outside of being milked. He’s big and beefy for that purpose.

Personally I think Jonathan (like most of the joestars) is a very sturdy field ox, which makes him desirable for hard labor tasks

You can often find him hauling around large deliveries or carrying construction material for the ranch

Sometimes he also heads over to the crop area and plows fields

Jonathan is a very hard working boy, but he’s also oddly sensitive

He’s always asking for reassurances in his jobs and loves it when you tell him he’s a good boy

Head pats are his weakness

I’m telling you, jsut walk up to him while he’s in the middle of some grueling task

He’s all sweaty, exhausted and ready to take his break for the day

just gently grasp his face and give him pats and a good brushing??? Maybe a smooch?

INSTANT revitalization, he’s revving up and leaning into your hand and giving you small licks ready to keep working

He’s such a simp for you it’s almost funny

Whenever he’s off duty or he’s not on schedule for being milked he’ll usually leave his stall to go find you

He uses his nose to find your scent, because he’s throughly covered you in his own by this point

“Hello my love, can I join you?” In literally any task your doing, even if you’re not lovers or doing anything

All he wants is to stay by your side always

He’ll headbutt you gently to get your attention and then he’ll gently nibble the edges of your clothing

He’ll also pick random flowers he sees in the field and then hand them to you if he doesn’t eat them first

He tried braiding them into your hair once.

It didn’t work, unfortunately

At the end of the day he just wants bring you into his stall and crush you to his chest because he lovs u sm it hurts

Joseph though, that’s a whole different story

He’s a cheeky, CHEEKY motherfucker in both work and relaxation

He’s aware that he’s got the same strength and work stamina as Jonathan and that makes him an ideal work ox but that doesn’t mean he likes it

He’s gonna avoid doing anything outside of fucking milkers and other cows as much as he possibly can

He’s sneaky about it too!

When he figures out he’s scheduled for work next week he’ll locate the timesheets for the ranch and literally change them so he’s not on schedule

He’ll also fence hop and graze around in neighboring fields when he gets bored of the ranch activities

Speaking of, he’s a very social bull

He’s traveled far enough when skipping out on duties to befriend entire neighboring ranches

He’s also caused a large breeding scandal because he couldn’t keep his hands off the cows over there

Stupid idiot is so horny all the time and he will let you know

He’s so stupidly insistent on getting laid, too

He knows he’s sexy and he knows how to use it to get your attention when he wants it

Again, he’s aware he’s got the same structure as Jonathan, except instead of using it for helpful things he just oils himself up and flaunts himself for you

He’s also really aggressive towards other people on the ranch who he thinks he might have competition with (aside from Jotaro, who he has TRIED to get into a spat with and it ended up with them needing to be pried apart forcefully and Joseph chipping a tooth)

It doesn’t matter if it’s a human coworker or it’s another animal, he always treats them with varying degrees of hostility

ESPECIALLY if it’s something in relation to you

He’s really insistent on taking up all of your time, really

He’ll flick you with his tail when you’re not giving him the attention he wants

He’ll also just straight up chew all of your clothing

Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean all the time) when he gets the urge to breed or get milked and there’s no one around he’ll intentionally seek you out to take care of his needs

He’ll latch on to you and give you long licks while he humps you

He’s just a dumb, horny, social bull

Which is funnily enough, the complete opposite of Jotaro

The only thing he has in common with the other two work bulls of his size on the farm is 1) Jonathan’s work drive and 2) Joseph’s aggression (although it’s unbiased in gender)

Jotaro makes a very strong effort to let everyone know he does not appreciate extended social interaction unless it’s someone he likes

Especially with the people who irritate him on the farm (coughjosephcough)

He’s the most likely to get into fights

He has horns and he will use them

He’s also one to fence hop when he feels like it, but only when he’s not scheduled for work

He just likes the peace that open, unmarked fields give him

He can graze peacefully for hours on end that way

When he does do work though he’s very thorough.

He rivals jonathan in terms of workload and is just as good about finishing it

To quote joot himself “if I say I’m gonna do something it gets done”

He actually quite likes the work out it gives him, he’s proud of his physique

He’s usually one of the bulls they send for shows because his pelt is the most well groomed and shiniest out of the big bulls

You wouldn’t think it but he’s actually quite interested in keeping up his appearance and hygiene

He loves the feeling of being well groomed and handsome

He is not good however, at getting milked

Piggying off of Bisky’s hucownons- Jotaro is willing to do it but he makes it as difficult as he possibly can for every party involved

He completely rejected the idea of having multiple people responsible for his milking very early on, and even then he didn’t like the single one they assigned him

So he just opted to do it himself

His resistance to the idea isn’t great for him either

He gets a really heavy swell to his balls sometimes and he doesn’t want to deal with it so he just lets himself suffer as much as possible before wanking off into the bucket provided

He doesn’t have a high sex drive but the few times he does have the urge to breed it is very intense

Which is why it’s a good thing he has an attachment to you

You’re the only person on the farm he’s even willing to consider getting milked from, let alone mount

He doesn’t show it at all but he has a very deep level of affection for you

He kind of wants to hold you in his arms all the time

He likes the idea of having you pressed against him in a non sexual circumstance

Proximity and small gestures is his love language

[twistedkarmaa]

All-Stars

HI! This piece is one I’ve written in a collab my best friend and I are doing. I don’t have ao3, so I will be posting my works here. However, they have already uploaded the first chapter here https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311690 The AU explores the characters in a more domestic, wholesome setting through a series of one-shots all centered in this universe we have created. There are emotional scenes and funny scenes. It will break your heart and mend it back together, like any good au will. I really do hope you consider checking out that chapter and giving my best friend support.

For the sake of this one-shot, some context will be necessary. In this au, Dio (adopted) and Jonathan are in their thirties and are the older brothers of twins Johnny and Joseph (19), Jotaro (17), Josuke (16), and Jolyne (14). Their parents, George and Mary Joestar, have tragically passed, so Jonathan is stepping in as a caretaker for them. Giorno (15) is Dio’s son. Diego Brando (26) is Dio’s brother from his biological mother. That being said, all of these relationships are explored and bring a fun dynamic to the AU.

SO, without further ado, here’s the GyJo you came here for.

“Hey, Gyro? I think I’m ready.”

He didn’t even have to ask what for. Gyro knew. He had been sitting back with Johnny, and the two of them were on the topic of tattoos. Gyro was showing off one he found on the internet that he was thinking about getting, but he didn’t know. He didn’t know where to put it either, so until he figured that out he was refraining. But Johnny… he had this plan since he was 15, and he’s told Gyro about it before one night when the two of them were up too late in each other’s arms knowing they had to be awake for class in just a few hours. A lot of their nights went like that.

Johnny Joestar used to dream of getting 9 stars tattooed onto the back of his right hand. One represented each of his siblings, one represented his nephew Giorno, and two represented his parents. After the accident happened, Johnny couldn’t bring himself to do it. He would always love his parents, don’t get him wrong, but even just thinking about the tattoo made him so sad. It reminded him of his life before it all went to shit. It reminded him of when his parents were still around and how he wanted to show it to them after he asked for money for his 18th birthday from everyone so he could go have the tattoo done.

His 18th birthday was long passed. His desire to get the tattoo faded along with his normal life, and up until now it rarely even crossed his mind because he forced it out so much. Thinking about it was painful. It was easier to just give up the idea until he was ready, if he  was ever ready.

Gyro made Johnny an appointment with his tattoo artist, and Johnny got to work drafting an idea. It wasn’t like he wanted anything complex, but going in blindly and completely trusting someone to permanently ink him without giving just a little example of what he wants was scary, despite how much Gyro trusted the guy. Gyro’s opinion was worth the world to Johnny, and he trusted him a lot, but this was his body they’re talking about here.

Regardless, Johnny had a draft drawn up with the size of the stars and the colors he wanted. When the day finally came around, Gyro and Johnny went to the tattoo parlor. The two waited their turn at the reception desk, and Johnny looked super pale. “You know you don’t have to do this, right? We can go home, pick up some McDonald’s on the way.” There was a McDonald’s right around the corner from Gyro’s apartment, they’d be all set.

“No, Gyro. I want to do this.” He felt… good. This was a good decision. This was something he needed to do. This was something he avoided doing because he knew it might upset him. It’s not like this will be a tattoo he regrets, though. His family will always be his family. He isn’t having a lover’s name inked onto his arm, or someone’s face on his leg. These were simple stars to represent his loved ones. And when he places his hand against his heart, they will all be there too.  

Moments later, the receptionist called them up. They got checked in, and then the artist emerged from a hallway with another client. He usually walked them out. When he saw Gyro, he gave him a small smile. “Good to see you, Gyro. This is Johnny?” He turned to the smaller man. Johnny observed the weird shape of his beard, and the hair on his head too. His barber must be a professional to get a grid-like look like that!

Gyro was pleased to see an old friend, greeting the man in a hug before stepping back. “Yeah. This is Johnny,” he introduced him, then looked toward Johnny and continued the introductions. “Johnny, this is Wekapido.” With that, Gyro made a demonstrative hand in Wekapido’s direction, as if presenting him to Johnny.

Cool. Okay. Awesome! “Good to meet you Wekapido.” Johnny said. Regardless of the lack of smile, Gyro knew he was happy.

“Likewise,” Wekapido said. “Alright, come with me.” He led the two of them down the hall. There were various rooms in the hallway, some of the doors open with artists sitting in chairs on their phones, or washing their hands. Other doors were closed. Wekapido entered one of the empty rooms with an open door, holding it for the others before gesturing to the sink. “So, Johnny, why don’t you wash your hands and then we can get started.

The room was small. There was a sink and counters where a lot of the equipment was kept, things Johnny didn’t recognize. He didn’t know what most of these things did. The room was just large enough for a bench, a stool, two chairs by the door, the sink and counter, and some wiggle room. This was a tough space. Johnny did as instructed after his sky blue eyes took in the room. He washed his hands, then dried them with a paper towel. After he finished, Wekapido invited Johnny to sit on the bench and get comfortable. While Johnny did that, Wekapido washed his hands and got some of the materials ready. Johnny handed over the little sketch outline he made.

Gyro pulled up one of the chairs from next to the door and set it down right beside Johnny. He took a seat with his chest pressed against the back of the chair, manspreading and all. Bless Gyro and his inability to sit like a normal human being. Setting his arm against the back of the chair, Gyro picked up Johnny’s left hand in his own, just rubbing his fingers before kissing his knuckles. Mwah! Some green for you, Johnny. The grin on his lips revealed the little mark he left to Johnny before Johnny even saw his hand.  “Are you nervous?”

Of course he was nervous. Gyro could tell, couldn’t he? There was nobody like Gyro. Johnny just looked over at him, taking a look at his vibrant eyes and the sweet, mischievous smile on his face, unable to fight a soft smile of his own. He reserved all of his smiles for Gyro, and recently they’ve been showing themselves more and more frequently. Only for Gyro. “Yeah, kind of. I’m excited too.” He didn’t tell anyone he was doing this, not even Joseph, so he was really eager to surprise everybody.

Nodding in response, Gyro gave Johnny his best attempt at a reassuring smile. “I’d bet. It’s going to look so pretty, Johnny.” Honestly, it was really cool that Johnny was doing this, and Gyro was honored to be selected to accompany him today. They were getting really serious. If this was the rest of  his life, with Johnny, he would be beyond satisfied. “I love you. Squeeze my hand if it hurts.” Gyro already suspected it might hurt, bad. Johnny was tough, but when Gyro was around he tended to be a bit of a baby.

“I love you too.” Turning his hand around, Johnny grabbed Gyro’s and laced their fingers up together all nice,  just in time to see Wekapido approaching, ready to go through with the inking. Oh, god. Here it goes. Johnny’s pretty blue eyes widened a little when he saw the needle. Quickly,  he looked over toward Gyro. “Why did you let me do this??” He asked in a whisper-hiss. Gyro just laughed and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He knew Johnny would be so grateful later.

He absolutely was.

A few hundred “GYROOOOOOO!!!!!!”s later, Johnny got a tattoo! His hand felt a little sore, numb for sure. The skin was red and swollen, irritated, but it would calm down with time. One of the good things about hands is that they heal faster than a lot of other parts of the body since they’re used so often. Thanks, for the fun fact, Kira.

The two of them were in the car, on the way to the Joestars’ for dinner so Johnny could show off his sick new tattoo. In the passenger’s seat, Johnny rubbed the ten stars with his opposite thumb, but stopped when Gyro took his hand. Touchy-feely Gyro was a giant teddy bear and a big snug bug. Johnny didn’t mind it one bit. He turned down the radio and looked over toward  Gyro with a smile on his face. His side profile was one to admire while he drove. Shining lime eyes illuminated by the setting sun, his patchy facial hair His skin was rich and smooth, glowing a warm tone. Long, dirty blonde hair framed his face and fell down his shoulders, to his mid-back. It was thick, luxurious, the hair of a Roman God. What a beautiful man…

“So, Johnny… What would you say if I proposed with a ring with stars on it? It would match your new tattoo so nice.” There he goes again. They were stopped at a red light, so Gyro turned to look at Johnny, waiting for his reaction.

This wasn’t the first time Gyro asked him something like this. Johnny always assumed they were some twisted, weird jokes. He had an odd sense of humor after all, wouldn’t it make sense? Although there was a small sparkle in his baby blues, Johnny rolled his eyes. “Stars on an engagement ring? The ring will be too small to even see it.” Regardless, Johnny had an appreciation for Gyro’s jokes.

Yeah. Stars on a ring was kind of a stretch. Testing the idea with Johnny wasn’t, though. Gyro just let it end there since the light changed. He was usually more on the aggressive side when driving, but kept himself in check with Johnny around. The last thing he wanted to do was make him uncomfortable, right? He was confident in his abilities to provide Johnny a safe environment, safe enough for him to realize it one of these times when Gyro brings up engagement again. The security veil of jokes was one Gyro could always fall back on when Johnny got irritated, like he did the first few times Gyro ‘joked’ about that kind of stuff. For now, he was alright with them being perceived as harmless jokes.

It wasn’t long before the two of them arrived at the Joestars. It wasn’t a birthday or a holiday or anything, more just dinner with the family. A few other cars were parked outside. Gyro recognized Caesar’s. He parked by the curb and took the keys out of the ignition, turning to look at Johnny who was already releasing his hand and getting out of the car. Gyro actually wondered what it was like to be this close to his family. Gyro was never this close, maybe with Caesar but that was it. He followed Johnny up to the door.

It was Josuke who greeted Johnny at the door; he was most likely in the living room anyway. As Johnny peered inside, he got a glimpse of Okuyasu on the couch. Yep. They were in there. Johnny conveniently lifted his right hand and waved with it. Much like a newly engaged woman in a rom-com, he was absolutely drawing attention to his hand.

“Hey guys- WOAH, Johnny?? When did you get that? Can I see it?” Josuke asked, very eagerly  as he already grabbed Johnny’s hand and held it up for closer examination. While examining that tattoo, he stepped back from the door so that Johnny and Gyro could come inside. With a reaction as strong as Josuke’s, attention was grabbed. Okuyasu was looking at the tattoo after not even a few seconds, and then in came Jolyne, Joseph, Caesar, Jotaro, Kakyoin, Giorno, Dio, Jonathan, and Robert were gathered around, looking at Johnny’s hand, fawning over his tattoo. Even Diego Brando was here looking at it. To Johnny’s surprise, he said it was cool.

“Dammit, now people can finally tell us apart,” Joseph cracked a joke, grinning before he pulled Johnny into a hug. “Damn, it looks good though.” After unhanding his twin, he looked at it again. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first tattoo of the family! Dio had none, Joseph had none, and did Jonathan really need to be mentioned? Mom and Dad didn’t have them either.

Silent approval even came from Jotaro, in the form of a nod and a small smile. Jolyne expressed her specific admiration and had to remind everybody that she too planned on getting a tattoo once she was old enough. Then, Jonathan spoke up. “It’s beautiful, Johnny. What does it mean?”

There was the question Johnny was waiting for. Admittedly, he kind of wanted to show off. He held up his hand, and with his left index finger he began to point out the different stars. “One of these represents each of my loved ones,” he said. “A star for Jonathan, Dio, Joseph, Jotaro, Josuke, Jolyne, and Giorno… And then one for Mom and one for Dad,” Johnny explained. There was one star unaccounted for. He pointed toward the star right at the base of his thumb, where his index finger connects. “And one for Gyro.” One for Gyro, of course. Gyro deserved a spot in Johnny’s Hall of Fame. Gyro didn’t even expect a star. He stood beside Johnny, a proud smile on his face before he simply turned and wrapped Johnny up in the biggest Gyro bear-hug he could manage. From the look on Johnny’s face, he was pleased. Patting Gyro’s arms, he got a look at everyone around. Dio was giving an approving nod, Jotaro too. Josuke and Jolyne were fawning over the fact that their older brother got a tattoo. Giorno was admiring the aesthetic of the tattoo, Joseph was brought to tears, and Jonathan just surged over and hugged Johnny too. Johnny was now sandwiched between two big hugs, it was really pleasant.

“That’s beautiful, Johnny.” Jonathan told him after pulling away. So easily moved to emotions as he got older… “Take it easy, though, it looks swollen.” After Johnny insisting he was fine, the emotional moment had passed. Joseph was sniffling all through dinner, though. He was so proud of Johnny. That’s his twin right there!

Dinner went well, as was expected with a Joestar family dinner. They were chaotic, and there sure as hell were a lot of people trying to fit at one large table, but it was always fun. Johnny picked up a few more belongings from his room to take with him to Gyro’s. He was doing it a little at a time, so slowly his room was becoming more and more scarce. Upon arriving home, Gyro packed away the container of leftovers he had been given to keep. Johnny put his stuff in a spot in Gyro’s bedroom. Gyro moved his stuff around to make spots for when Johnny wanted to bring his things over. It was a beautiful thing. The two were so happy together.

Gyro showered before bed, Johnny laid down and watched YouTube. He would shower in the morning. He didn’t want to deal with his tattoo right now. After Gyro got in his pajamas, just his boxers and an old OLD t-shirt that was somehow the comfiest thing in the world, he got in the bed beside Johnny, wrapping his arms around the smaller blonde. It’s CUDDLE TIME. Gyro couldn’t sleep if he wasn’t clutching something, and his giant teddy was elsewhere.

Luckily for him, Johnny settled into his chest. He made such a nice little spoon. Johnny set his phone on the nightstand so it could charge overnight, and he just settled into the comfort of Gyro, his hands against Gyro’s. Safety was best achieved in Gyro’s arms. However, Gyro soon picked up Johnny’s hand, his sensitive tattooed hand, and brought it up to his lips. Gyro pressed a single little kiss, right where his index and thumb met.

Right where his star was…

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Gyro said, Johnny’s name rolling so smoothly off of Gyro’s tongue like it always did.

Johnny could hardly take it. The smile on his face was so big, he could hardly bring himself to reply. He did, though. He couldn’t leave Gyro hanging like that. Johnny wanted him to know just how happy he was that he did that. It was the sweetest thing. “Goodnight, Gyro. I love you.” Just to solidify it, he gave Gyro’s hand a squeeze.

His Italian man practically purred, clearly pleased. “I love you too.”

[coollyinterferes]

unprompted asks 【always accepting】 @jojoingjoseph​​

“Of course I don’t mind,” The old man said, in that gentle tone he would normally use when speaking to Joseph whenever his dear nephew wasn’t causing some mischief around. The questions didn’t come as much of a surprise. After all, it was only natural that Joseph would be curious and have a lot of questions now that he knew about Caesar, and about Caesar’s grandfather, and the connection the late Zeppeli had with the Joestars and the stone masks, and all those things that had been kept a secret for so long for Jojo’s sake. Since a bunch of those cats were out of their bags already, there were no reasons not to give his nephew the answers he was looking for. He owed it to him.

“Caesar’s grandfather…” He said, leaning back into his seat, allowing himself to get more comfortable. That old man, he thought, finding it amusing in some way to refer to him in the same way he used to all those years ago, now that Speedwagon himself was an elder man. “He was… quite an eccentric old man. And I honestly don’t think ‘eccentric’ can quite describe someone like him.” He admitted, recalling not only what he had seen for himself during the couple weeks that Jonathan’s training had lasted and their subsequent trip to Windknight’s Lot but, also, what Jonathan had told him about his mentor, about their first meeting, and some of those training sessions Robert missed while he was out, back in London, searching for information on Dio’s whereabouts at the time.

“Do you remember that day we met with Caesar in Rome?” It was more of a rhetorical question really, as he was almost completely sure that most of the events from those days would be hard to forget for everyone involved, and especially for Joseph. “That… ‘seated jump’ he did before us,–” he said, doing a soft motion with his hand for added effect as he mentioned the jump. “–At the time, I was informed by your grandfather that Caesar’s grandfather did more or less the same thing when they met, followed by that old man Zeppeli punching your injured grandfather square in the gut right before your granny’s eyes.” As far as he had been told, Erina reprimanded Will for his actions that time. It was amusing in a way though, to think how the much more hardened woman Erina had become over the years would have probably reacted to that. She must likely would have tried to beat the living hell out of Will.

“He would always be carrying wine bottles with him Lord-knows-where, no matter where we were at the time, and doing weird things with them. Always speaking in analogies to explain whatever lesson he was trying to teach your grandfather, and talking about some of the things he saw while travelling, when he was younger.” Robert said, both of his hands resting on his stomach, fingers loosely intertwined together like he normally would do when he was relaxing. This was, after all, some of first free time he’d had in a while. An index finger softly tapping the back of the opposite hand as Speedwagon let himself wander through all those memories, from 50 years ago.

“He was an interesting man overall, save for the fact that he seemed to have a bit too much fun trying to take the mickey bliss out of me all the bloody time.” Of course, that was something the young Speedwagon found endlessly annoying, never taking the old man’s shit and doing the same thing in return every single time he could, usually by calling him rude names. At the time, it had been just because of Jonathan and their current quest that he hadn’t gotten (or tried to get, at least) truly aggressive or violent on the man, keeping all the hostility down to verbal stuff only –well, minus Will’s ruse of him ‘accepting’ to activate Robert’s hamon breathing, which only resulted in the Italian man punching him, and knocking all the air out of his windpipe–. Then again, Speedwagon was largely a ruthless, violent, and dangerous street thug around that time, just exactly what Zeppeli would usually mock him for, calling him names and treating him like he was nothing, and exactly what made Speedwagon want to kick his ass the most at the time. Now, however, many decades after finding out that Will’s actions had been fueled by his lack of trust in the blond, Robert was able to just laugh about that part of those memories and how silly all that shit giving had been from both ends, all things at the time considered. Although… if he was to be honest, he still felt somewhat bitter towards Will, about the whole hamon thing, and his evident refusal to teach him those techniques, regardless of whatever reason he’d had at the time. Had Robert been able to use hamon, too, and fight alongside them against Dio rather than staying on the sidelines and killing zombies, maybe, just maybe, Dio would have perished that day, in Windknight’s Lot, and maybe Jonathan…

Maybe Jonathan...

...Ah, that had always been a recurrent thought for Robert, even now, 50 years after that light, the one guiding his path, the one he would often see in his dreams, had been so violently taken away.

But this was not the time or the occasion to dwell on that specific topic. Besides, Robert knew very well that venturing further into that specific memory lane would only end up with him turning into a sobbing mess in no time. No need for any of that. At least not now, and not here, right before Joseph.

“As for your grandfather. Well, I’m pleased to say that all the stories I’ve told you so far about him, details more, details less, are true.” He then went on to talk about Jonathan, as requested, visibly ashamed of the fact that Erina and him had to keep certain things a secret from Joseph. Granted, it had all been for Joseph’s sake and his well-being, in an attempt to keep him from getting involved with the stone masks that had already taken the lives of at least three Joestars, but that didn’t mean Robert didn’t feel bad about having had to keep certain things a secret from Jojo, even lying about some others.

“He was a gentleman. A true gentleman, through and through. In all honesty, I’ve never met anyone like him. Not even now, after all these years. He was truly one of a kind.” He added; a small and fond smile softly curling upwards the corners of his lips as the memories of his many days with Jonathan began to flood his mind once more.

“He was pretty clever and intelligent. A bit naive, too, and far too kind for his own good, but he had a fire in his heart that is so rare and unique. A courageous man like no other! He could be quite a savage and ferocious man when angered despite that ‘softy’ exterior. He always put his loved ones first no matter what, always willing to do whatever it took to put them out of danger, even if it costed him his life.” Which, ultimately, it did, when he sacrificed himself, preventing Dio’s escape from that boat, and saved Erina and a baby Elizabeth (and, unknowingly, George too) that fateful day.

“He could be a bit silly at times, too. The fun and lovable kind of silly. Impressive in pretty much every possible way you could think of!” Speedwagon said, recalling that time Jonathan had been asked to join his soon-to-be-former school rugby team for a last match, some time after they had come back from Windknight’s Lot. Jonathan had invited both Erina and Robert to come to see him play, which they did. Needless to say Jojo’s ‘regular’ strength –that is, nothing that was ‘hamon aided’, just his pure physical strength– rendered them both (and everyone else watching the game, for that matter) speechless.

“He never let the many dreadful things he went through at the hands of that scum he called ‘brother’ change the compassionate, brave, and kind-hearted soul he was.” Even after all the shit he had been put through for seven whole years, Jonathan had still found it in himself to forgive his father for siding with Dio all the time no matter what, for all the countless and harsh –and sometimes unjustifiably harsher than usual– scoldings and punishments and just… for everything, going as far as to grant Lord Joestar his dying wish of forgiving Dio as well, despite all the horrible things his brother had done to both of them.

[pelikinesis]

ended up typing a lot about JJBA

finally making my way through JJBA Stardust Crusaders. On the one hand, from what I’ve seen of JJBA in general, a lot of shit happens basically for *THE DRAMA*, but due to artistic choices, clever execution, and committing to its own outlandishness, it really does work on a certain level. and if you’re down to meet it at that level, you’ll have a good time probably.

at least, that was my initial takeaway after having watched the first two seasons. But even though the whole point of JJBA is that each series creates its own paradigm (Phantom Blood is basically Great Expectations meets vampires meets sunlight kung fu, and then Battle Tendency replaces the noble and pure-hearted Jonathan with his conniving shonen Tom Sawyer-esque grandson, Joseph), I feel like Stardust Crusaders is easily the biggest change.

not just because of The Stands, but actually because the main cast broadens to including at least 4 characters early on. It’s really the only way a character as stoic and seemingly-unflappable as Jotaro can really work in a story. There always needs to be another character on-scene and similarly invested in his quest to react to all the shenanigans going on, so he can bide his time just glaring impassively at the obstacles in his way before he gives them the ora ora ora and then yare yare da ze at the right moments.

And while Jotaro is starting to grow on me, i imagine i would have been way more into his character when i was in my teens or early twenties. But these days, I’m much too aware of how the story twists and turns so that Jotaro always looks SO FREAKING COOL. Like, i couldn’t manually activate that particular section of my suspension of disbelief even if i tried. if i could do that, believe me, i would, because i can see the appeal of Jotaro at a distance. And maybe by the time Stardust Crusaders is over, that’ll change things.

but as for right now, I equally like Jonathan and Joseph, though since I relate more to Joseph i’d pick him if i had to have a favorite. Phantom Blood is really short, but since Jonathan is such a simultaneously straightforwards but also immensely likable character, it works. 

If anything, it’s the other way around: if Phantom Blood were longer, that might be a problem, because Jonathan barely changes at all as a character (because he’s already a precious cinnamon roll too pure for this world) and essentially just learns Hamon as far as development goes.

If it had gone even a few more episodes, Jonathan might have started to get stale. But since he’s taken from Erina and Speedwagon and the rest of the cast (and US) far too soon, his passing is tragic, and all the more fondly remembered for it. That’d be kind of a shitty thing to say about an actual person I think, but since this is fiction I guess that’s alright to say.

and Joseph is just...incredibly entertaining. nonstop. He reaches near Deadpool-levels of zaniness, but since he’s picking up where the almost impossibly noble and heroic Jonathan left off, it feels fresh to begin with, and then Joseph continues to grow and change throughout Battle Tendency. 

At first he seems to inherit little of Jonathan’s character, due to his cocky demeanor, but those sparks of brilliance back in Phantom Blood that added a garnish of depth to Jonathan go supernova in Joseph and never look back, because he’s all about outwitting his opponents. So as compelling as the fights get in Phantom Blood, they become absolutely fascinating in Battle Tendency as Joseph pulls gambit after gambit out of his ass while having to fight the Pillar Men who are way above his weight class.

In Stardust Crusaders, they “preserve” Jotaro’s image usually by having Polnareff or Old Joseph fall into the situations that do a number on their bodies, minds, and dignity. I’m not saying Jotaro never struggles or gets worried, it’s just that he shows it a lot less than everyone else, and since (thus far) he always comes out on top a lot quicker or at least more abruptly than the rest of  the cast, I find myself being a lot less concerned about his well-being and the possibility of his victory when he’s in danger.

And for what it’s worth, that’s completely telegraphed and likely deliberate. It’s my understanding that he’s the one that faces DIO in the end, so i would imagine there’s a payoff for him being handled relatively ‘safely’ in comparison to the rest of the main cast. I say it’s telegraphed because in the very first episode, characters comment about how powerful his Stand, Star Platinum is, and of course those attributes seem to transfer over, or at least get conflated with its user as well.

This wasn’t originally what i wanted to talk about though, precisely because i’m not yet done with the series. I actually wanted to write a bit about Hol Horse, because he’s just such a great antivillain, but I realized that what really makes JJBA so compelling, aside from its fascinating artistic direction and the fact that it’s very good at doing the main things it wants to do, is that the writers understand drama--and I said it was conspicuously, even overly-dramatic earlier, but right now I’m focusing on each episode’s ability to build and release tension.

No matter how wacky the show gets, it’s unfailingly adept at ramping up the tension. Even when I’m presented with a character so grotesquely, cartoonishly evil and unpleasant that it begs the question of how such a person could exist in the world as is. Even though I know the writers are unsubtly trying to play me so i rejoice when the bad guy gets ORAORAORA’d into the stratosphere. Even though everything at the forefront of the plot often ORAORAORAs whatever verisimilitude the setting has. I still cheer when the bad guys get obliterated. I still worry when the good guys are on the ropes.

And so I have a hard time critiquing the writing of JJBA. Maybe I’m just not qualified to form an opinion more refined than, “I enjoy it and it’s special, but not for everyone.” I guess what I would say, is that the story is extremely compelling to me as I’m watching it. But when I stop to think about it with some distance, the impact of the story beats and the characters’ fates become greatly diminished, and when it comes to other stories the opposite is true.

Because when I think about His Dark Materials, or Final Fantasy 6, or my other all time favorite stories, I feel a lot more strongly about them even if I haven’t read, watched, or played them in years. But on the other hand, maybe nostalgia has a lot to do with it. That’s probably a topic better suited for a back-and-forth discussion than as a stream-of-consciousness post though.

I wanted to return to the topic of Hol Horse for a second though, because by the third time he shows up in the story, he’s the POV character of the episode, and the main cast are positioned within the narrative of the episode as the antagonists. And it’s the weirdest thing, because I don’t know how many stories have managed to pull this off, or even try to do it.

But it works, because Hol Horse has already been established as being an ineffectual villain, but we don’t hate him because it turns out he failed to kill Avdol, and he hasn’t done anything absolutely reprehensible. He’s a bit of an everyman who is way in over his head and doesn’t want to die, and he even kinda sorta helped out the heroes once.

All that makes him sympathetic to a certain extent. And over the course of his episode, the tension comes from the question of will he or won’t he put his trust and faith in Oingo’s prophecies. It actually reminded me of the Biblical stories of Abraham and Isaac, or Job. Any time the character has their faith tested. Hol Horse gets that exact arc, and we see him struggle on whether to trust his own instincts and judgment, or entrust his life to the will of a higher power (I guess. It’s a Stand, so...).

It’s because Stardust Crusaders does stuff like this that it gets away with being structurally formulaic. It’s really just a sequence of them running into enemy Stand users, struggling to survive, figuring out how the Stand works, then coming up with a way to use their own Stands and/or the environment to overcome them. 

Except when there are other resolutions, including but not limited to using the enemy Stand’s power against their users, using their enemies’ fear of Dio against them, and Jotaro overcoming the setback of being de-aged back to 7 years old through the strategy of Jotaro being able to kick a grown man’s ass at 7 years old.

In every way, JJBA is just an explosive riot of unfettered creativity, with enough strong consistent elements to give it a unique flavor, and if nothing else, i feel like i should be taking pointers from how it creates dramatic tension.

[skystonedclouds]

So, I usually find comfort in God but I have this recurring problem where when I think about Hell and the fact that God sends people there to be tortured eternally I start to get this nagging doubt in the back of my mind about whether or not He is truly good and I'm worried this means I'm not really saved and I'm a false convert. Do you have any advice for overcoming this? I just can't wrap my head around the idea that sending ppl to hell could ever be just rather than cruel. Is this just me?

Dear anon,

A) Cruel or just.

“I just can't wrap my head around the idea that sending ppl to hell could ever be just rather than cruel. Is this just me?”

A lot of people feel this way usually it’s the unconverted who do not see the magnitude of the evil sin. A person is usually saved (not always) when they notice they are a totally depraved sinner that cannot stop sinning without divine intervention. The name “Jesus” was attributed to Christ because He promised to save His people from their sins not just from hell. In this life the freedom from sin comes gradually through sanctification. In an instant of the twinkling of an eye the saved will be made with new bodies that cannot sin. Not being able to see the reason for hell simply comes down to not being able to see the magnitude of evil in sin. 

1. Who do we sin against?

Is it worse to curse a bug or a human? Is it worse to hate bugs or people? Is it worse to kill a bug or a human. In one way the reason sin is so bad is because God’s worth is far above our worth. The angels are before Him saying “Holy, Holy, Holy” every day with their eyes covered unable to even look upon Him. We are made in the image of God while God is Himself the one we are created to look like. How about this... Is it worse to burn a picture of someone or to burn that person? Maybe if we had a better grasp of the infinite worth and honor due of God we would see the magnitude of our evil. The extend of evil can be measured by the worth of the victim (be it picture, plant, bug, human or God). 

Psalm 51:4 I have sinned against you—only against you— and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.

1 Samuel 2:25 If anyone sins against someone else, God can defend the one who is wrong; but who can defend someone who sins against the Lord?” But they would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided to kill them.

The devil likes to blind us to the worth and beauty of God. This has been his ploy since he cannot kill God. Instead it’s easier to destroy people’s perception of Him.

2. Is the punishment disproportionate?

It is normal for us to think it too severe if we have a man-centered worldview. Hell tears this humanistic down to see we are not the most important. Many have fancies the idea of aliens and the idea that we are insignificant and meaningless atomic arrangement. That drops to the opposite extreme of the supremacist of man. We are not worthless nor we are not most important. We view sin from the horizontal plane instead of both the horizontal and the vertical. In the bible Joseph did not ask “how can do do this sin against this man by sleeping with his wife?” instead he asked “how can I do this sin before God”. David was not sad he killed a man but that he sinned before God. I previously explained the way we sin against God.

Hell wakes us up to the fact it’s not all about us. We have made God into some man-centered image. So many people want to see God as a genie to see what God can do for them. They think God to be their servant who must come at their beckoning to answer prayers, make them rich, make them successful or so on. Some people literally say “pray for me I don’t think I have gotten all the blessings I can”. The mindset of so many people is how God can serve them. This is how people come up with the prosperity gospel where they think God just wants them successful, famous, rich, wealthy and healthy. The doctrine of hell it comes to the conscious to remind us that we cannot manipulate or minimize this Holy God. We can look to God for provisions but it must be done to His glory not our own.

3. What is the extend of evil?

The problem of sin goes much deeper than one might initially assume. Right now God is by His common grace restraining some of the evil in every one of us. In hell the restraints come off and people are their maximal possible evil without a conscious to keep them in check. God gave us our conscious to put a limit on human evil but once judgment day comes and we are at no risk of harming anyone all the evil will be demonstrated. In hell everything suppressed by our conscious will be unleashed and we will demonstrate the full extent of evil in our hearts. So much is the evil in the hearts of men that most people would never shown their face again if their thought life was projected from everyone to see. The sheer fact that we sin and have to battle not to think or do worse evil gives us just a taste of the evil within our hearts (and that is still restrained). The conscious is a gift from God to minimize evil on earth. This sin in the heart will only grow and last forever in hell.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 The Mysterious Wickedness is already at work, but what is going to happen will not happen until the one who holds it back is taken out of the way.

Proverbs 20:27 The Lord gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves.

Titus 3:11 You know that such people are corrupt, and their sins prove that they are wrong.

4. The cross.

We cannot even begin to comprehend “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. On the cross Christ bore the wrath of God the Father against sin. Christ wasn’t sweating drops of blood and feeling like He may die because of the roman cross. He was overwhelmed by the wrath of His own Father crushing Him. He still suffered it all on our behalf to offer salvation for anyone who will allow Him to take their place. 

B)  Is God good?

“I start to get this nagging doubt in the back of my mind about whether or not He is truly good”.

What do you mean when you say good? Jonathan Edwards wrote on hell:

I shall use only one argument, viz. that sin is heinous enough to deserve such a punishment, and such a punishment is no more than proportionable to the evil or demerit of sin. If the evil of sin be infinite, as the punishment is, then it is manifest that the punishment is no more than proportionable to the sin punished, and is no more than sin deserves. And if the obligation to love, honor, and obey God be infinite, then sin which is the violation of this obligation, is a violation of infinite obligation, and so is an infinite evil. If God be infinitely worthy of love, honor, and obedience, then our obligation to love, and honor, and obey him is infinitely great. Our obligation to love, honor, and obey God being infinitely great, sin is the violation of infinite obligation, and so is an infinite evil. Once more, sin being an infinite evil, deserves an infinite punishment. An infinite punishment is no more than it deserves. Therefore such punishment is just, which was the thing to be proved. There is no evading the force of this reasoning, but by denying that God, the sovereign of the universe, is infinitely glorious.

I am to show that it is not inconsistent with the mercy of God, to inflict an eternal punishment on wicked men. It is an unreasonable and unscriptural notion of the mercy of God, that he is merciful in such a sense that he cannot bear that penal justice should be executed. This is to conceive of the mercy of God as a passion to which his nature is so subject that God is liable to be moved, and affected, and overcome by seeing a creature in misery, so that he cannot bear to see justice executed: which is a most unworthy and absurd notion of the mercy of God, and would, if true, argue great weakness. - It would be a great defect, and not a perfection, in the sovereign and supreme Judge of the world, to be merciful in such a sense that he could not bear to have penal justice executed. The Scriptures everywhere represent the mercy of God as free, and not that the exercises of it are necessary, as if that God cannot bear justice should take place. The Scriptures abundantly speak of it as the glory of the divine attribute of mercy, that it is free in its exercises, and not that God cannot but deliver sinners from misery.

It is most absurd also as it is contrary to plain fact. For if there be any meaning in the objection, this is supposed in it, that all misery of the creature, whether just or unjust, is in itself contrary to the nature of God. For if his mercy be of such a nature that a very great degree of misery, though just, is contrary to his nature... And then a less degree of misery is contrary to his nature, and a still less degree of misery is contrary to his nature. And so the mercy of God being infinite, all misery must be contrary to his nature, which we see to be contrary to fact. Mercy would be contrary to the nature of God if justice was contrary to the nature of God.

However strong such kind of objections against the eternal misery of the wicked, may seem to the carnal, senseless hearts of men, as though it were against God's justice and mercy, yet their seeming strength arises from a want of sense of the infinite evil, odiousness, and provocation there is in sin. Hence it seems to us not suitable that any poor creature should be the subject of such misery, because we have no sense of anything abominable and provoking in any creature answerable to it. If we had, then this infinite calamity would not seem unsuitable. For one thing would but appear answerable and proportionable to another, and so the mind would rest in it as fit and suitable, and no more than what is proper to be ordered by the just, holy, and good Governor of the world.

That this is so, we may be convinced by this consideration, viz. that when we hear or read of some horrid instances of cruelty, it may be to some poor innocent child or some holy martyr - and their cruel persecutors, having no regard to their shrieks and cries, only sported themselves with their misery - we have a sense of the evil of them, and they make a deep impression on our minds. Hence it seems just, every way fit and suitable, that God should inflict a very terrible punishment on persons who have perpetrated such wickedness. It seems no way disagreeable to any perfection of the Judge of the world. We can think of it without being at all shocked. The reason is that we have a sense of the evil of their conduct, and a sense of the proportion there is between the evil or demerit and the punishment.

Just so, if we saw a proportion between the evil of sin and eternal punishment, i.e. if we saw something in wicked men that should appear just as eternal misery appears dreadful (something that should as much stir up indignation and detestation, as eternal misery does terror), all objections against this doctrine would vanish at once. Though now it seem incredible, [and] though when we hear of such a degree and duration of torments as are held forth in this doctrine and think what eternity is, it is ready to seem impossible that such torments should be inflicted on poor feeble creatures by a Creator of infinite mercy. Yet this arises principally from these two causes: 1. It is so contrary to the depraved inclinations of mankind, that they hate to believe it and cannot bear it should be true. 2. They see not the suitableness of eternal punishment to the evil of sin. They see not that it is no more than proportionable to the demerit of sin.

It is reasonable that they should be sensible of their own guilt, and should remember their former opportunities and obligations, and should see their own folly and God's justice. - If the punishment threatened be eternal annihilation, they will never know that it is inflicted. They will never know that God is just in their punishment. And how is this agreeable to the Scriptures, in which God threatens, that he will repay the wicked to his face, Deu. 7:10. And to that in Job 21:19, 20.

By the end... If you mean good as in “He is unable execute justice if people suffer and must save everyone” then he does not fit your definition. God is however “unable to” look upon sin (by His nature). 

Habakkuk 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Meanwhile... if you mean God cannot sin, He cannot lie, He cannot break a promise, He is Holy, He is just, He delights to show mercy and He does love, He is wishing for reconciliation... Yes God is good.

C) False convert or not.

“I'm worried this means I'm not really saved and I'm a false convert”. Well let’s just start with a simple fact. Whether or not you are saved or not does not matter if you turn to God now in faith. God says “also now” and that today is the day of salvation (if you are not saved).

Joel 2:12-13 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all you  heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

James 4:9-10 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

Now I cannot tell you if you are a false convert or not since I do not know you. I can just say God made all the promises listed above and that He does not lie. I have never been disappointed by the promises of God. He is the one I trust the most above anyone. I have faith in Him and every time I stepped out in faith He came through. 

The good news is you don’t need “Holy Spirit conviction” to be saved. That is you do not need to fully grasp your sin in order to be saved. One is saved by faith alone in the finished works of Christ not their level of faith or assurance. It’s who you trust not how much or how well you trust. A sturdy bridge is just as sturdy for the fearful person as the courageous one. 

You may be sad that you seem to either have little faith or assurance not knowing which one (at least right now). In that you doubted God’s trustworthiness. It’s called faith because you do not see His trustworthiness but you’re willing to “take a leap of faith”. Sometimes the assurance part comes after and you just have to step out and trust Him. My only advice can be to have faith. 

It does help to develop a relationship with God to know Him. Prayer, sermons, testimonies and the bible can all help get to know God and his trustworthy promises. It’s easier to trust someone you know more. Feel free to see more on the gospel.

Let me know if you want anything else. Such as recommended sermons, more depths, good testimonies, parables or so on.

God bless! 

[considergoldenkamuy]

forever - two

well here’s the second part, following after forever

You found yourself bound heavily to a steel chair welded into the ground, restraints wrapping around your waist and neck, arms kept constantly crossed to the opposite shoulder by a tight, white straightjacket, legs bound tightly to your metal throne.

A muzzle was attached to your face, a thick black cloth always over your eyes so you couldn’t see. They were overdoing it, and while both sides knew, some reasoned that they couldn’t be too sure. You supposed that made sense, seeing as they knew what DIO had been capable of so you, one of his kind, could be just as and maybe more dangerous than he.

The only things you could use freely were your ears, listening intently to your surroundings, never moving, never struggling, barely breathing. Always so still, never making any move or physical implication you were going to attack. They brought you food - the blood of slaughtered animals from the farms, which tasted good enough to swallow - but other than that, you didn’t as much as twitch.

That is, until you heard the door of the room right next to yours open. You were settled in a cell, brightly lit, constantly facing a plexiglass wall with a few holes for sound, a bench on the other end for anyone who felt like interrogating and verbally abusing you on a daily basis.

You never answered any of their questions, though. You sat still as stone as they shouted, screamed, threatened you. You didn’t move even on the occasion one would get so angry they would drive a knife into your leg or chest. The pain was nothing compared to the emotional turmoil you were still neck-deep in, knowing your lover was dead and gone. Forever, this time.

“Forever.” That world almost made you laugh now. It no longer meant everything to you, but it wasn’t just any other word. It stirred resentment and bitterness from within you; just hearing it within your own head stung at your chest.

tap tap tap

A short silence.

“See? She doesn’t even respond when you hit the glass,” came the voice of one of the guards, but he made a soft sound. Hushed by this other presence, she assumed. You took a subtly deeper breath, listening to the sound of low-heeled shoes clack against tiles, soon followed by a heavy form sitting on the stone bench not too far from you.

“...Jotaro,” you greeted calmly, voice still smooth and silky despite your throat not having been used in what felt like months but was likely to only have been weeks. “I’m assuming you came to ask questions.”

“She talked...!” the higher male voice panicked, but made a sound of protest a second later before footsteps reluctantly left the room.

Again, a short silence.

“Questions, yes,” he confirmed, tone just as level as your own. A tense air descended, filling both chambers for a few seconds before you heard a soft sigh leave him. “They must have been really stupid to think such thin restraints would actually hold you back.”

At this, a laugh left you, so cool despite yourself.

“No, it’s enough.”

“Don’t bullshit me,” Jotaro’s tone grew lightly irritated and you thinned your lips into a line, quieting down. He waited a few moments before asking his first question. “Why haven’t you bothered to escape yet? You can do that with minimal effort, kill all the people on the way out.”

“What would I do once I escaped?” you retorted. “You’re forgetting I’ve got no real reason to live other than try and atone for all the wrongs my fiancé committed. Getting away would be going back on that, and I’d be left with nothing. And nothing is worse than losing everything, feeling like there’s nothing left to live for, knowing that the one who meant the world to you is dead - killed, no less.”

“...did you have a family? How did you turn to DIO’s side?” You paused to think.

“I had family, but we were never close. I didn’t necessarily turn to DIO’s side; I met Dio when we were young - still kids, probably - and we became friends. We lived in the slums of London, y’see. You needed whatever help you could get to survive. I guess at some point we grew on each other and he confessed when we were in our later teens. Then we both used the mask to turn into vampires, and we swore to spend eternity together,” you briefly explained. You could tell what his next question was before he even opened your mouth:

“The Dio I loved is dead. The reason I struggled through several war-torn countries, so many decades, almost a century, was to be with him. But he’s gone now, gone in the snap of your fingers. As much as I hate you for how much pain you’ve caused me, I know DIO has wronged so many people. The only reason I ever kept any information to myself is gone. The least I can do in his memory is atone for his sins in his stead,” you said all this so passively, but from the tightness of your jaw, you guessed he knew you were still angry with him.

You sat in silence for a moment before you relaxed, rolling your head over to lean on your other shoulder. “Are your mother and grandfather doing well?”

You didn’t see, but Jotaro raised his brow at your question. “They're fine. Why do you ask? It’s not like they hold any importance to you. Just two more people who could have died during DIO’s reign.”

“...I don’t know,” you confessed, chuckling with a little self-loathing and frustration, unable to understand even yourself. “All those people whose lives DIO ruined...I barely knew any of them, if at all. The most of the ones I’d seen were the Stand users he made into soldiers and sent after you on your way to Cairo. That, and a few of the bastard children DIO had with other women.”

“Is that why you’re so willing to spill so much information?” Jotaro asked, and you heard the shuffling of cloth. He must have adjusted his position. “Because he wasn’t loyal, that is.”

“He did this to take their blood, and to sate himself. I alone wasn’t enough for him, I’d imagine. He still loved me, but I began to lose a little faith in him. I remember, a few months before you started to come here and eventually kill DIO, there was a half-Japanese child he’d conceived. The child’s mother, she never introduced herself, left him with me because she knew I was DIO’s actual lover.

“‘Haruno Shiobana, that’s his name,’ she told me.” A soft smile graced your forever-youthful face for the first time in weeks, the infant’s laughs playing in your ears. “DIO refused to acknowledge this child, but...when he was off sleeping with other women, trying to find more Stand users to stand between you and us, I took care of him. I really can’t help but wonder how he’s doing now, now that I’ve left him alone. I just hope his mother had the decency to take him back.”

“...you’re awfully kind despite being at DIO’s side for so long,” Jotaro’s tone was accusing, which made you frown, the upturned curl of your lips disappearing.

“I spent a long time without him, Jotaro. I had to learn how to make it on my own. Humans are attracted to kindness and an open heart, so I made myself possess both of those things. I suppose after seeing something so...young, so innocent, so fragile, that side just came back to me. He wasn’t even a year old, he didn’t know the harshness of the world yet. He didn’t know of all the horrible things his father did. I didn't want someone like him to suffer so young.”

“Why are you telling me about Haruno when, for all you know, I may plan to go kill him because of his relations to DIO?” he squinted, but you couldn’t tell from your gaze being completely blocked out, no light reaching your eyes.

“Because, Jotaro...”

A sly grin crept its way onto your face.

“I know you won’t.”

 Stepping out of the chamber, the Japanese male let out a breath, releasing tension in his shoulders he hadn’t even realized was there. Something about you put him off, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was.

But that kid, Haruno Shiobana. What about Haruno made him so special compared to all the other children DIO had created over the past few years? One out of the many you knew existed, one out of the many you had likely met.

“I know you won’t.”

A scowl appeared on his face, fist clenching in his pocket as he recalled your words. He hated those words, he hated that satisfied and smug look on her face. Because no matter how much he wanted to tell her she was wrong, she was right, and she knew it.

“How did it go?” Perking at the familiar voice, he gave a sidelong glance to his approaching grandfather. “Did she give any useful information?”

“...other than a short summary of how she met DIO when Jonathan was still alive, no.” He found himself withholding the news of Haruno’s existence, for reasons he couldn’t quite figure out himself. Joseph sighed at Jotaro’s response, likely disappointed.

“You’d think she’d be more compliant after what she said to you,” the older man grunted, but Jotaro shook his head subtly.

“...no. She’s compliant. Very compliant. I just wasn’t asking the right questions.” Without another world, leaving no room for Joseph to demand what he meant, he spun on his heel and briskly walked off, down the hall, ignoring the frustrated calls of his grandfather.

Forever, eternity...what strange concepts. Something without end, something that would remain with you until you ceased to exist. But that end came before yours, and he felt the smallest empathetic twinge in his chest but quickly smothered it.

You were a vampire - DIO’s lover no less - and he a descendant of the Joestar bloodline. You were meant to be his enemy, it seemed to be what fate had dictated. And yet here he was, keeping the cover over something you of all people held dear.

He reached the door and stepped outside, barely acknowledging the moon that had risen high into the sky above. After a moment of taking in the fresh air, Jotaro simply tipped down his hat with a sigh.

“Good grief...”

[dfroza]

True patience.

this is illuminated in Today’s reading with the beginning of the Letter of James:

James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, to the twelve tribes of Israel who are spread across the earth: I send you my warmest welcome!

Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing. If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.

The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything. The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.

If you are a brother of humble means, celebrate the fact that God has raised you up. If you are rich and seemingly invincible, savor the humble reality that you are a mere mortal who will vanish like a flower that withers in the field. The sun rises with a blazing heat that dries the earth and causes the flower to wither and fall to the ground and its beauty to fade and die. In the same way, the rich will fall and die in the midst of their busy lives.

Happy is the person who can hold up under the trials of life. At the right time, he’ll know God’s sweet approval and will be crowned with life. As God has promised, the crown awaits all who love Him.

No one who is tempted should ever be confused and say that God is testing him. The One who created us is free from evil and can’t be tempted, so He doesn’t tempt anyone. When a person is carried away with desire, lured by lust, and when desire becomes the focus and takes control, it gives birth to sin. When sin becomes fully grown, it produces death.

My dearly loved brothers and sisters, don’t be misled. Every good gift bestowed, every perfect gift received comes to us from above, courtesy of the Father of lights. He is consistent. He won’t change His mind or play tricks in the shadows. We have a special role in His plan. He calls us to life by His message of truth so that we will show the rest of His creatures His goodness and love.

Listen, open your ears, harness your desire to speak, and don’t get worked up into a rage so easily, my brothers and sisters. Human anger is a futile exercise that will never produce God’s kind of justice in this world. So walk out on your corrupt liaison with smut and depraved living, and humbly welcome the word of truth that will blossom like the seed of salvation planted in your souls.

Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.

If some fail to do what God requires, it’s as if they forget the word as soon as they hear it. One minute they look in the mirror, and the next they forget who they are and what they look like. However, it is possible to open your eyes and take in the beautiful, perfect truth found in God’s law of liberty and live by it. If you pursue that path and actually do what God has commanded, then you will avoid the many distractions that lead to an amnesia of all true things and you will be blessed.

If you put yourself on a pedestal, thinking you have become a role model in all things religious, but you can’t control your mouth, then think again. Your mouth exposes your heart, and your religion is useless. Real, true religion from God the Father’s perspective is about caring for the orphans and widows who suffer needlessly and resisting the evil influence of the world.

The Letter of James, Chapter 1 (The Voice)

do we think that God is not absolutely pure True nature?

and we are all made in the image of our Creator, but we’re not all children of God our heavenly Father

we have to choose to be.

and the Scriptures are a wake-up call to the heart to awaken to the eternal, to be open to welcome the entrance of the Spirit as a guarantee of sacred promises to come as seen in the True illumination of the Son

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 20th chapter of First Chronicles that documents ancient wartime in Israel:

That spring, the time when kings usually go off to war, Joab led the army out and ravaged the Ammonites. He then set siege to Rabbah. David meanwhile was back in Jerusalem. Joab hit Rabbah hard and left it in ruins. David took the crown off the head of their king. Its weight was found to be a talent of gold and set with a precious stone. It was placed on David’s head. He hauled great quantities of loot from the city and put the people to hard labor with saws and picks and axes. This is what he did to all the Ammonites. Then David and his army returned to Jerusalem.

Later war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. That was the time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai of the clan of giants. The Philistines had to eat crow. In another war with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite whose spear was like a ship’s boom. And then there was the war at Gath that featured a hulking giant who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and foot—yet another from the clan of giants. When he mocked Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These came from the clan of giants and were killed by David and his men.

The Book of 1st Chronicles, Chapter 20 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, january 19 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about knowing:

You may feel anxious about knowing God, about how to relate to him or how to understand or interpret the Scriptures, though the heart can only know the essential meaning of God in the state of its need, as its ultimate concern, and therefore unless you cry out “from the depths” of your being, you are merely intellectualizing or playing games... After all, the inner heart asks "How can I find God?" "How can I relate to God?" "How can I find hope and life?" but the answers to such questions are found by personal encounter with the reality of the Spirit of God, not by theological rationalizations.

It is one thing to say "Lord" or "Master" but quite another to say "my Lord," or "my Master..." The Torah teaches that name of God refers to that which God alone is, namely, the "I am that I am"(אהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) which is unknowable apart from the miracle of disclosure within the heart. That is why we find so many different names and titles for God in Scripture, for these are disclosures to the heart in a time of its need. For instance, to know God's name as "Savior" (מוֹשִׁיעַ) means experiencing deliverance from your struggles, pains, and fears by the agency of God’s victory, comfort, and consolation as given in Yeshua. However, unlike the experience of worldly education that might enable you accomplish certain tasks, spiritual education leads to a “dark clouds of unknowing” where you must regularly confess your weakness and your need for divine connection. God's name is therefore bound up with the basic quest within the heart for meaning, healing, and the desire of unconditional love. Knowing the name of God is an ongoing process as you struggle to accept and trust your life to be a blessing, and as you are enabled by the Holy Spirit to say "yes" and "amen" to life despite your failures, pains, fears, sorrows, and even your unanswered questions... It means opening your heart to life and believing that you are loved, that you are accepted, that you will be okay, and that God is holding you in his everlasting arms. [Hebrew for Christians]

https://hebrew4christians.com/

1.18.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

January 19, 2021

The Blindness of Israel

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” (Romans 11:7)

One of the saddest aspects of our world is the blindness of Israel. Even the Orthodox Jews, who strongly affirm their belief in the Old Testament Scriptures, seem unable to see what the Scriptures clearly show, that their Messiah has come and gone. In the first book of the Torah, we read: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). Ancient Jewish commentators agreed that Shiloh was another name for Messiah, but this very fact should prove to modern Jewish expositors that Messiah has already come, for the scepter (the symbol of national leadership) did depart from Judah, very soon after Jesus was crucified.

King David was the first descendant of Judah to attain the scepter of leadership among the tribes of Israel, and the divine promises were clear that Messiah would be in David’s lineage. That Jesus’ legal father, Joseph, and human mother, Mary, were both in that lineage was shown in the genealogies of Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38, respectively, both of which were written when the genealogical records in the Temple were still intact. No one at that time ever questioned their validity, in spite of intense opposition by the Jews to the claims of Jesus and His disciples that He was the Messiah. In 70 AD, the records and the Temple were destroyed so that no later claimant to the title could ever prove his right to the throne. Messiah had come, and was slain, so the scepter departed from Judah until He comes again. It is certain that Jesus was, indeed, the Jews’ promised Messiah, and we should pray that God will soon open their eyes to see and believe. HMM

[mahusetnews]

President Hardy: “Penalties against me are an insulting and defamatory attempt to try and curb anti-GUM sentiment”

Lazia, 31 Janaury 2020

Earlier this month, MicroWiki, an online encyclopedia, was struck by a large wave of “vandalism” in which online trolls went out of their way to create multiple accounts, with such nickname as ‘AdammiaFan44′, ‘CUCKOLDINVICTA’ and ‘Micronations.com’, in order to deface multiple articles, including the official page of the Confederation of Mahuset.

This vandalism has been falsely attributed to President Hardy and Deputy Prime Minister Çakar, both of whom had swiftly condemned the vandalism after it took place. Despite the condemnation, the MicroWiki administration, the Konmalehth and the Grand Unified Micronational still chose to go through with the false attribution, in what likely is an attempt to silence opposition to the Grand Unified Micronational.

The Courant van Lazia invited President Hardy for an interview, which can be read directly under here.

Courant van Lazia: Today, I sit down with the Honourable President Emiel Sebastiaan Hardy. We will discuss the recent accusations made against him and the Deputy Prime Minister Hasan Çakar, stating they were the perpetrators of the acts of vandalism on the micronational encyclopedia "MicroWiki". Welcome, Your Honourable President, thank you for giving us the time to interview you. Emiel Sebastiaan Hardy: Hello, it's a pleasure to be able to be interviewed by you.

CvL: Your Honourable President, I must ask you first and foremost were you or Mr. Çakar involved in the alleged vandalism on MicroWiki? ESH: Absolutely not, neither one of us had any kind of involvement in the vandalism that took place. What would I have to gain by posting propaganda in favour of the Grand Unified Micronational or the European Union? I have been incredibly critical of both in the past, so I simply see no reason why I would even be involved in the first place.

CvL: Do you have any response to claims regarding your IP being connected to the trolls? ESH: These claims are misleading, as the IP address I use comes from the VPN service I use. I even told the MicroWiki staff about this at the time.

CvL: How do you feel about the "whistleblowers" who provided the alleged evidence for the involvement of you and Mr. Çakar in the vandalism? ESH: Although I'm saddened by the fact that they chose to go and provide said information, I have no reason to doubt that the "whistleblowers" truly believed I was involved with the vandalism that happened. I have no ill will against any of the "whistleblowers" whatsoever.

CvL: Thank you for your honesty. So what are your thoughts on what had happened on the MicroWiki website? ESH: As I've said earlier, I consider it a petty pathetic joke made by a group of bored trolls. Any kind of similar "vandalism" only serves to make the experience of using MicroWiki less good and/or convenient, which I of course condemn.

CvL: Do you or any of the Mahusetan government have any information or theories regarding the culprit(s)? ESH: Yes, actually. The Mahusetan Intelligence Agency currently suspects Thomas Bainbridge, the Chair of the Grand Unified Micronational and King of "Hrafnarfjall", to be involved with or at the very least associated to the surge of "vandalism" that took place on MicroWiki.

CvL: What do you think of the harsh bans placed upon yourself and Mr. Çakar on the MicroWiki community platforms (Discord and the wiki)? ESH: In my opinion, penalties of the sort are an insulting and defamatory attempt to try and curb anti-GUM sentiment. Even if their accusations had been true, the penalties are incredibly excessive when compared to what took place. I can only hope the administrators of these platforms choose to relinquish said penalties and to stop this terrible attempt at censorship.

CvL: There has been talk about hypocrisy of the decision by the MicroWiki community, with many of the fervent critics (especially those from the older MicroWiki elite) having been known to have committed vandalism in the past. What do you think of these opinions? ESH: I'd say these opinions are completely correct. In an obviously non-serious article made by one of MicroWiki's administrators, the administrator in question being Adam Belcher, he's boasting of what he called the 2015 Wikia raids. In these "raids", several higher-ups of the MicroWiki community, notably including Jonathan Austen, Adam Belcher, Joseph Kennedy and Bradley of Dullahan, would "destroy" and "vandalise" chatrooms and articles related to MicroWikia, an alternative encyclopedia to MicroWiki.

CvL: You were a member of the MicroWikia community roughly between 2010 and 2014, did you personally experience any raids from the MicroWiki community (known informally in those days as ".org.uk")? ESH: Although I don't recall any "raids" of the sort that happened to MicroWiki this month, I do recall several different instances where people from the MicroWiki community would go out of their way to go and troll the MicroWikia community. One particularly damning example of this was Cajak, also known as Alexander Reinhardt, who went out of his way to create a new micronation mimicking another. He also threatened to doxx me to Wikia staff at several points in time, although I don't recall what it was for.

CvL: How do you feel about the fact that many previously perceived friends of Mahuset quickly turned to blame you? ESH: I can only say that I'm incredibly saddened by the current state of affairs. I believed the friendship between Mahuset and these states to be deeper than something that could've been thrown away at the drop of a hat. Sadly, it seems I was mistaken.

CvL: What will Mahuset do know that it is barred from the MicroWiki community and its services? Will the move to independent Mahusetan services, such as the Miraheze wiki, be sped up because of this? Will Mahuset interact with new communities? ESH: We don't have a fixed plan yet concerning what will happen now that we've been barred from the MicroWiki community, we will probably seek to establish some kind of new World Union with Mahuset and Hasanistan though. The move to independent Mahusetan services will absolutely be sped up because of this, although this is admittedly through necessity and not through choice. Where it's possible, Mahuset will absolutely seek to interact with new micronational communities.

CvL: How will this decision by the community affect Mahuset and Mahusetan citizens? ESH: Concerning that, I can only say that I don't know yet.

CvL: Thank you for commenting your views. Do you have any final comments you wish to make? ESH: I don't really have any further comments to make, other than that I hope the actual "vandals" will come out and admit their responsibility.

[thekeyissue]

HoX/PoX: A Narrative Breakdown

                                       ****SPOILERS for House of X/Powers of X below****

The first time I read Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 it punched me in the face. I don’t think I’ve ever met a story so disinterested in maintaining the reader’s understanding of its narrative’s linear order. Sure, there are chapters, but those mean donk-squat and the text bounces you between characters and events that haven’t been described yet while already in the middle of something brand new. Still, even at the end of that first confusing read-through, the book’s themes had cohesively built into something that gutted me.

It takes masterful story-construction and meticulous planning to pull off that style of story-telling (check out this outline Heller made), and Jonathan Hickman is on a very short list of writers I’ve discovered with the skill set to lay the groundwork for a similar effect. Heck, it’s not even that hard to draw some high-level comparisons between House of X/Powers of X and Catch 22 (both have a nonlinear story structure and a climatic reveal at the story’s end that recontextualizes what came before it, but actually occurred early in the plot’s timeline).

The comparisons between HoX/PoX and a novel more or less end there though. What HoX/PoX as a story accomplishes, despite employing two separate but interweaving series, multiple timelines, a large cast, and a nonlinear structure, is actually pretty easy to summarize: it believably gives readers the what and the why of a new status quo. In other words, it’s just the beginning of a story. Well, duh, Marvel said from the start that this was the plan – but when was the last time someone told you just the beginning of a story in a way that was satisfying, complete, and coherent. Like, if I pulled you aside and told you “Once upon a time, Tom went to the grocery store” and took a bow, you’d give me the finger and go find something interesting to do.

You know why 99% of TV show pilots are so bad? Exposition is really, really hard. But exposition is the beginning of a story and necessary, so there’s no way around it. The best story-tellers find ways to minimize the exposition they need, and dramatize the exposition that is absolutely necessary (this is why a lot of action stories start mid-action sequence – it’s an easy dramatic backdrop to explain what’s happening in an exciting way). The HoX/PoX team just pulled off a 12-issue dramatization of exposition that works! They created a mostly unprecedented and believable (by which I mean, character choices/story made sense as a whole) new status quo for mutants in the Marvel comic universe. Pulling that off is crazy-town high-level story-telling! So, how’d they do it?

                                                                     *           *           *

Understanding how HoX/PoX made interesting story-telling out of exposition requires a close look at the series’ overall narratives. Narratives always contain arcs, of which there are many types. A few examples:

Character Arcs: the growth/changes a character makes throughout a story – ex. Johnny grows up and starts taking responsibility for himself

Event Arcs: how a significant event affects those around it – ex. a movie organized around a specific event or movement, like the march from Selma to Montgomery in the “Selma”

Arcs of Understanding: an audience/reader coming to grasp the full truth of a person or situation – ex. a mystery, where our changing understanding of what’s happening drives the story forward

HoX/PoX contains two larger arcs: 

the founding of Krakoa

the reader’s understanding of the radicalization of Xavier.

There are of course many sub-plots that are not explicitly one of the two arcs mentioned above, but these are all in service of one or both of the larger arcs. HoX/PoX having two major arcs makes sense, as it’s technically two different series. If we wanted to generalize, we could call HoX primarily about the founding of Krakoa, and PoX primarily in service of our understanding of Xavier’s radicalization. It’s not a perfect split (I’m looking at you HoX #2), but it can be a helpful delineation.

The founding of Krakoa is an event arc – we get to see how it happens over the course of the series and what that means to different groups of mutants and humans alike. This arc mainly functions to define the new status quo for readers. We see:

the origins of the creation of Krakoa as a space, establishing our new setting.

the call for mutants to join Krakoa/humans to accept Krakoa, the inciting incident to tension/conflict that births the new status quo.

the political maneuvering to have Krakoa be accepted as an independent nation which establishes a new hierarchy of power between mutants and humans.

an introduction to the Orchid group and their attempt to combat the rise of mutants, which defines the current human+machine/mutant conflict within the new status quo.

groups of traditionally ideologically different mutants uniting, empowered, and successfully independent, which is the new status quo.

By the end of HoX we have a solid understanding of Krakoa as a space & nation, mutant’s new place in the world, and the opposition they may face going forward. To understand why this happened requires the larger series’ other arc, the reader’s understanding of the radicalization of Xavier.

Xavier is the key player in HoX/PoX because his traditional ideological position is in such contrast to the decisions we see him making. This is somewhat of a generalization over decades of continuity, but Xavier and the team he founded, the X-Men, traditionally fight for peaceful coexistence & equality between humans and mutants. Suddenly seeing him separate and raise he and his people above humanity seems out of character and requires explanation.

Moira’s story and timelines provide this explanation. Her ultimate truth, fully revealed only in the final issue of the HoX/PoX series, is that across every lifetime she has lived, mutants have always lost to humanity. Leading up to this final reveal, PoX is an exercise in slowly pulling the curtain back on this truth:

X^0 shows Moira meeting Xavier and sharing her experiences/lives with him for the first time (in the series’ current timeline).

X^2 portrays the short-term stakes of the potential future mutants face (bad – they’ve been driven off-Earth and almost extinct).

And X^3 ultimately shows the long-term stakes of mutant’s potential future (very bad – they’re caged up, almost extinct, and with no recollection of freedom).

The revelation of this consistent, demonstrated loss convinces Xavier to shift his ideological stance – although we don’t see his mind changing – which just points to how this series did not have or make the room for character arcs. Xavier’s ideological shift explains the radically different behavior he and the X-men demonstrate, justifying their behavior and the necessity of the new Dawn of X status quo.

While these two large arcs run throughout the HoX/PoX series, they are not shown in linear order. If the plot were ordered from beginning to end, we would never question the characters’ actions and decisions because we’d understand their motivations from issue one – HoX/PoX does the exact opposite: dropping us into the results of motivated characters having already made decisions without our having any context. This maximizes the tension between the old and new status quo and makes sure we’re questioning everything going on. The story doesn’t progress linearly, it progresses by a constantly revealing the context surrounding this shift in status quo.

HoX/PoX creates a huge breadth of potential reveals by containing a large amount of story time (thanks for all those lives you’ve had, Moira!) and by arranging this story time non-linearly. Four different timelines allow for four chances to establish settings/characters, create conflict, and reveal truths – all of which can (and do) inform one another. Juxtaposing the various timelines non-linearly creates double the amount of potential reveals. We get reveals regarding the order in which everything happens, and we get reveals about how what’s happening in one timeline relates to/informs our understanding of other timelines. Creating a structure that provides opportunities for reveal after reveal is what allows HoX/PoX to drive readers excitedly through a full 12-issue series of exposition, which in turn gives the story enough real estate to believably change the status quo so dramatically. Very, very cool.

                                                                    *           *           *

What’s really exciting is that this is just the beginning. Like, we haven’t even gotten into character driven story-telling and people are already HYPE – it should only get better, or, at least, it only has the opportunity to now that the story is ready to move past its introduction.

The creative teams behind the X-Men books have an incredible opportunity to explore the world of mutants in new and exciting ways. Mutants have always been a very vague stand-in/metaphor for oppressed minority groups in the real world. Often these real-world minority groups have various factions organized around competing beliefs regarding methods of empowerment, something somewhat reflected in past mutant vs mutant comic storylines. Because of HoX/PoX, the fictional world of mutants is set up, for the first time (at this scope), to explore the idea of an empowered and fully-united minority group successfully standing up for itself – that’s the kind of thought-provoking setting I applaud mainstream comics embracing, assuming it is done with the thoughtfulness and nuance it deserves.

Consider the film “Do the Right Thing” (and go watch it if you haven’t), which is famous for ending with the following quotes from MLK Jr. and Malcolm X: 

"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by destroying itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I think there are plenty of good people in America, but there are also plenty of bad people in America and the bad ones are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need. Because this is the situation, you and I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't even call it violence when it's self- defense, I call it intelligence."--Malcolm X

The juxtaposition of these quotes at the film’s end points out how different, even seemingly conflicting ideological standards can exist inside of humans simultaneously, and that holding oppressed groups to a single one of these standards can be an oppression in and of itself. Dawn of X feels like an evolution (lolz) in mutant-related story-telling towards representing this reality – treating mutants as complex beings (who are attempting to unite and rise despite their conflicting beliefs and ideologies) is a step towards realizing the full potential of mutants as metaphor. I am excited to see if and how the Dawn of X series creators will meet this opportunity to tell the epic, fun, meaningful stories the X-Men are known for - and if HoX/PoX is any indication, we are in good hands.

Here’s to Dawn of X, tomorrow and onwards!