ohmyarceus | JANUARY - FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

Oh-

There's someone there.

Jonathan turns, starting to answer- "Hold on...you also woke within that house? I can't have been outside for more than a few hours!" he exclaims in shock. "Just what manner of an afterlife-"

He doesn't get to finish his statement, instead blinking owlishly at the young man before him. That helmet- "...Di...o..?" It. It isn't him, that much is obvious. That's a different face, and a very different height (you're so small, sir,). But...

...Right the map. "I've been studying the map in the backpack presented as I made my way out of the house," he explains, gesturing behind him. Blake, meanwhile, is hesitantly moving over to sniff at the new fellow. "There appear to be two ways out from here, but both of them take a small number of days before one reaches the next settlement. I can't be certain of anything edible here, given the strangeness of it all as well...proper planning will be key, there is no doubt."

....

"If I may ask... ...what is your name?" That helmet is going to bug him.

"I unfortunately woke there, yes." He said with a huff, before the rest of the other's statement reached him and he stared at the large man in confusion. "Wh-what do you mean, afterlife?" He asks, giving a sharp, acidic laugh. He'd triumphed over the piece of filth that called itself a president, he had come out the victor, there was no way this was the afterlife.

But then, why did he suddenly wake up here? What was going on?

"I am Diego Brando, though most call me Dio, the genius racer." He said, offering a self-assured smile to the dark haired man.

Three days would be a while with no additional supplies, though he'd faced worse odds on the race. Still, traveling it alone in such a strange place was probably unadvisable. "Personally I would much prefer to go by foot, at least until I am sure of what this landscape has to face."

Uh. Well. "Oh- my apologies for assuming, it's merely..." How does he put this gently. "...Between the chance in location, and what I was doing last, it seemed the most logical conclusion- as illogical as it may seem in itself. I simply could not find any other reason to appear in such a place after undoubtedly meeting my end in a burning ship. Even my wounds have healed," he goes on, hand over his throat briefly.

As he steps aside- if Diego wants to look at the map for himself, he can now after all- he only barely manages to hold back a choke.

Instead- "...Is it really?" Goodness- "My goodness...I wonder if I knew a relative of yours then," he mutters, frowning. Right, he probably shouldn't. Erm. "I can hardly justify asking more without giving any answers in turn myself," he determines instead. "It is hardly a polite misstep after all...my name is Jonathan Joestar however," Jonathan introduces. "It is a pleasure to meet you despite all circumstance." The circumstance being. Uh.

Whatever is going on. "For myself, I've been considering foot to be the better option as well- I do not believe I am quite ready to be taking boats again for a while..."

"Growf!" The growlithe barks, albeit unaware of what he's agreeing with.

Before his waking up? He found he didn't want to even consider thinking about that any further, no, he'd won and this was his victory. Somehow. Right?

"I honestly would not be able to tell you if you did or did not. I'm not particularly close with my family." Better to avoid questions about family from the start, the last the he wanted was anyone poking at his history.

"Joestar? If that isn't a familiar name." He looks Jonathan up and down a moment before he smirks to himself, thinking that the American part of the family must be runts. "Well you are far more agreeable company than Johnny, that is for certain."

He moves closer then to look over the map with a judgemental eye. "Wouldn't take long on horseback, but Silver Bullet here is to small still to carry even me. I wouldn't risk the damage of riding her too young if at all avoidable." He admits. "But if you are amicable to teaming up for travel needs... I would not object to that myself."

"Another Joestar as well?" Well then! "I never even realized I had family elsewhere!" What a surprise! "I cannot say I'm surprised to hear there was no closeness however- from what I heard of Dio's father, he was an unpleasant person to be around..." Hard to say whether or not it could be said for Dio himself. He's of very mixed feelings on that, what with a good 8 years of their growing up having been spent in an odd sort of limbo before everything crashed down. Was any of it real?

It hurts his head to think about, so he focuses on the upsides. "I shall take that as a compliment," he chuckles. "I cannot say I mind your company either." There's a roughness, but at the very least if Diego seems to be anything it's honest in the roughness. Jonathan's far from the sort to think about being stabbed in the back, but at the very least it feels like he can Expect any insults that do arise, and there's an odd comfort in that after all of it.

"If I were to wager a guess I would say Silver Bullet is whoever you found while within that house- I myself found this fellow here..."

"Rff!"

"...They seem to have curious abilities despite their size; his fire is the very reason this table is even usable with the weather." With that in mind- "Keeping close to what is familiar is an idea that I would certainly be fool to ignore. Combining our own skills as well should undoubtedly make the trek much easier." He nods, and goes so far as to hold out a hand to shake on it if the other so desires. "You shall find no objection from me, Diego."

"Yes, well... I have nothing good to say of my own. But there other things more worth discussing." He said with a bit of a nod.

Between the hand outstretched toward him, and the comment about not minding his company Diego pauses a moment, before reaching out to take the hand offered. His grin has an eerie look to it as that crack running from the corner of his lips to nearly his jaw hinge opened as well. "I am glad to hear it, Jonathan... Or do you go by JoJo? Johnny never seemed fond of it, though he always was a bit odd."

The Blitzle paws at the ground with a good, her mane flickering at a cheerful pace. "Yes, while she doesn't look like Silver Bullet the first, I felt it best to remember my good racehorse to her." He admitted, with a small bit of tenderness for the equine. "I would hazard a guess that she has some affinity for electricity, or in the least, static."

"Of course." Oh, if only they knew.

Still- they shake on it, and soon Jonathan is being introduced to-

"Oh! You weren't putting it lightly when you said young...I haven't seen many horses and their kin in life, but this is smaller than any foal I've ever seen..." And what a cute thing it is! "With markings like those it's as good a guess as any... ...Actually I had almost named Blake after my childhood dog- though I am now relieved that I decided otherwise. To be renamed through a fire dog feels fairly cruel to their own memory."

Doesn't take much guess to say the dog was killed by fire. Ah, but nicknames!

"Joj- Hah!" He seems amused, if anything. "That was a nickname in my youth actually...though more than a few use it even now," he admits with continued cheer. "It would be rather silly to simply refuse that now." Much as Dio used it, so did more than a few of his fellows after all so...

"She is quite small, but I'm inclined to think she may be a zebra, rather than a true horse. Either way, with four legs and hooves I expect she will grow to be a proper size to ride. Though I wouldn't put her to race with me riding... or without me riding. I wouldn't trust another to ride her properly, but I'm just a few inches to big, unless she grows a spectacular amount." He says, a certain fondness for the equine animal showing on his face.

He decides to not call any attention to the idea of what was most likely to have happened to the dog Jonathan was talking about. "Blake if a fine name for such a loyal seeming beast." He said instead, nodding in a kind of approval, though his wasn't really needed.

"It's at your discretion. If you would like me not to, I will refrain... as best I can. But if you are fine with me using it, I will most likely use it as much as needed." He admits.

"I'm inclined to agree," Jonathan notes with a nod. From there, he has to remnisce a bit. "I'm finding myself reminded of when horse-back riding was broached as a topic in my teenage ears...it was ultimately determined that the only beast which could likely carry someone of my size would be a draft's horse," he sighs, at least sounding somewhat amused by the matter. "It seems that foot-travel is my sorry destiny."

Blake is now getting another friendly rub on the head, before he goes back to sniffing around Silver Bullet. "I'm glad you think so! And truly, if Jojo feels more familiar for you, then I won't tell you not to. I don't believe I have the right to insist otherwise, having carved it into a tree as a boy," he adds with a warm smile.

"Draft would be best for a man of your stature." He agrees, looking the massive man up and down for a long moment. "Though you could likely get away with a well bred mix, or thoroughbred, provided the stock is a fine, large dam and sire. Ideally with a good feel for it's own limitations, so when it has reached those it will stop." He said gently. "Though most the time the sires big enough for that tend to be unruly and handlers won't take the time on them."

He could handle those ones though, he could handle any horse. "That said we can both ravel by foot for as long as needed." he adds, the smile parting the odd extension of his mouth back his cheeks, though he is genuinely smiling.

Silver Bullet leans down to sniff at the puppy in return, and using her lips to lightly catch some of Blake's fur in a playful tug.

He almost insisted that Jonathan always had a right, he was the last person to take that from someone else. But then he hears about the heart and his words are out before he can even consider how they sound. "Do tell me it wasn't JoJo alone inside that heart, that kind of pathetic action sounds far more at home for Johnny."

"I won't make so bold a claim to say that I could tame what the experienced struggle with," he replies rather easily. "But I shall have to see what the world presents now at this point." A friendly nod to the matter of travelling by foot, before he finds himself genuinely choked with shock and laughter. "Al- It most certainly was not, I can assure you that!" he manages, calming down from there. He has to arch a brow. "You certainly aren't short on ill remarks for this 'Johnny' fellow, are you?" Ahhh...well. Rather than pry into that he'll explain the heart. "It was only when we were children, but I carved the name of a girl I played with at the time. I could perhaps say it was even fate- despite never seeing her for 8 years afterward, we married a short time after re-meeting." It's said happily. It sounds happy.

But there's a sadness to the expression, as the reality of where they are (or at least, think they are) sets in.

Blake, at least, is enjoying play 'bows' with the blitzle. "We should sort out what supplies we'll need for the trek ahead," he determines, changing the subject. "Three days in a foreign land will most certainly not lend well to what plants could be recognizably edible, and I suspect the same will be said even for any creatures that could be caught for food. There are a few necessities in the pack, but the most vital of them all is undoubtedly absent."

Whatever comment he'd about to say melted at the other's sudden shift of mood, and while he doesn't posess the same level of smell he used to, he doesn't need it to tell something is upsetting about the subject. Then it hit's him, Jonathan had been talking about being here as an afterlife, surely if he was missing his bride.

Diego Brando was not accused of sensitivity, in fact he knew many stories in the news painted him as a heartless man who only sought his own gain in all things. He knew the stories and he knew the truths behind them. He wasn't overly friendly, no, and he was not often sympathetic. But the truth was he preferred to reserve his energy for people he genuinely liked, rather than offering fake platitudes or disingenuous niceties.

He likes this JoJo, quite sincerely, and he understood that he should be tactful about such a subject. So he decided to mark that subject off limits unless the large man brought it up, and didn't question or object to the subject change instead.

"Yes... surely this is not an uncommon occurrence or that woman would have been startled by either of us waking up there... perhaps there is something of a guide in the stuff we received?" He suggests instead. Bringing his bag over to look through the items of. Silver Bullet pawed the ground with one hoof again and gave a small whinny before prancing in a circle, bobbing her head up and down as she does, encouraging the pup to play. "SB, careful not to step on Blake..." Diego cautions, knowing the damage a horse can do to a dog and basing his thoughts off of that much. "They certainly seem to get along famously."

If there is anything Jonathan tends to be now-a-days, it's 'easily liked'. Something about his presence, perhaps.

Though it most certainly helps that he hasn't been rude alongside any competence. "Quite likely..." As most of his things are already on the table, he points to them. "We should compare what we've been given perhaps. If the creatures with us differed, so too may our possessions. There is of course, the map of the country- 'Joe-toe' and 'Can-toe', it seems to be- and that in itself came from within this book here...thus far from reading a few pages, it seems to be a guide on local plants and animals.

"I also had this notepad and pen- it functions strangely well, I suspect they found a way to store the ink within it- a second book concerning the creatures here, as well as a number of household supplies...ah, and some clothing, I should add. I'm actually wearing what came with it right now- what I arrived in was far from suitable for the weather."

He moves to look into the bag. "There also seemed to be some food, and... ...Honestly I have no idea what this is," he admits, pulling out a sleeping bag. "The closest thing I can consider is those 'euklisia rugs'..." Which, go figure, were the forerunners to the sleeping bag...but also Very different looking,

Diego nods and opens his own pack, starting to sort through things he had, setting aside what he could see that Jonathan also had. He frowned for a moment as he pulled out his own sleeping bag, and even giving it a sniff. "I'd almost call it a bedroll with an oil canvas cover... except it is far too light for that, and smells nothing like one." He admits. "But I think we can both agree it appears to be some kind of bedding." Setting the bag aside with some gentleness he reached back into his bag and pulls out an odd looking thing... his PokéGear.

"What do you think this item is?" he asks, looking to Jonathan as he turns it over in his hands, looking for any sign of what it was or did. He manages to press one of the buttons and receive a cheerful sound in response, which makes him hold it further at arms length, as if it might suddenly become dangerous. "What in heaven's name-?"

"Indeed." The bag is getting shoved back in...and oh.

"...Oh- hold on, it seems something fell into mine...ah." It's...another PokéGear? He blinks, holding it up. "It appears we have the same d-"

NOPE!

He's not dropping it, but he IS widening his eyes. "Just what manner of sound is that? I can't think of a single device capable of it!" WHAT THE HEEEEEECK-

He stares at his own and while it's tempting to just drop the thing and leave it there, if it could be useful, he didn't want to waste it. "I am perplexed as you are JoJo... I wonder if any of the locals would answer us, if we asked about them?" he suggested, looking around at the snow and cold blanketed town. "Somewhere. If not... well I intend to tuck mine away for now and see if someone with answers is willing to talk sooner or later."

"Perhaps..." Jonathan frowns, and looks back to the map, squinting at some of the finer print near the village they seem to be in. "...According to the map, there should be some sort of laboratory here- given the alternative of knocking upon the doors of other residents here, we stand a far greater chance of information at a place of study."

....

"Though tucking it away may be wise for the time being regardless." It's. Concerning. Concerning device. Hrmmmm.

"That sounds to be a solid plan." He says in agreement, before stuffing his inside of the sleeping bag from his stuff, in hopes that it was a safe place to keep it for the time being. "A man of science may be our best hope to get a through understanding of what those things are, and maybe even a bit more of what's brought us here, now." He says in agreement.

Even with an explanation it would likely take him time to trust such a strange thing, but that was not even a consideration right now.

"Indeed." ....

He's still got all these things on the table though... "...After I clean up after myself, then," he coughs, getting to that immediately.

JANUARY - FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

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I'd say this is a good wrap point uwu