A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[The Dog]

Jamie stared in awe as she walked through the aisles of the library portion of this room, trekking through the many towering shelves of book on a wide variety topics in many languages. Her fingers gently traced the spines of the books, taking in the name of each one as she moved.

Finally, she stopped at a book that was on the topic of Presidents of the United States, carefully pulling it from the shelf and opening it. Opening it, she flipped through the pages, each chapter chronicling a leader of the former United States, from Washington, to Jefferson, to Lincoln, before stopping on the 23rd president, Funny Valentine. A small smile crossed her face as she sat on the floor and began reading, absorbed in the information on one of her favorite presidents and personal role model, even if she'd read the information before.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Debra studied the note for some time, almost as if she understood the cryptic writing, in the end, though, she handed it back to Jinny, "Can't say I understand it. The readable portion is your father's handwriting, however."



"Not sure where the Joestar family fits in, to be honest. Your father once showed me the family tree, but I wasn't exactly paying attention at the time."



"I understand. This trip has been an exercise in figuring out who will betray you and who is authentic."

" I'm going to use this library to search for answers, But I don't know where to start. I guess I just pick out a random book," Boris said. Boris grabs a random book.

[Yun Lao]

Oh...

Oh no...

The starfish wasn't Sandra's stand. That book was.

How?

Why?

What was she supposed to do with a book? Throw it at the enemy? Yeah, that'll help a lot.

She was speechless - or rather refused to speak - as she reached out and grabbed hold of the book with one hand. A name rang in her head, over and over again. The incessant chanting was surpassed only by how hideous the creature was before her.

"「Bring Me The Horizon」?"

"Happy birthday, my star child." The creature said, pulling back its limb, "Do not fret, little one. That book shall be your guide."

A bright spot-light fell upon the two and a booming voice thundered out, "YOU-BEE-FOUR-TEE!!"

The large starfish was lifted in the air by an unseen hand, gripped by its central hub, leaving all five of its limbs dangling helplessly.

"My time has come, but please remember my dear star child; there is neither good nor evil in the truth, for there is no pure truth. It is stained by perspective and lies within you to choose which truth is worthy."

The light shut off and Sandra is left in the void.

"Sandra? Sandra!..."

Sandra would find herself back in the library, Debra gently shaking her, and although she still held the bottle of rum, she could no longer remember its taste.

Curious. Not only is it sealed it's...disgusting.

Suzie frowned as she leaned over and glossed her eyes over it. A veneer of propriety that only just held the decrepit erosion at bay. Blotting at it with a tissue, a part of it seemed to fall away, only to return just as suddenly an in exact proportion.

With her camera, she zoomed in and snapped a picture of the gritty mass, and looked at the preview in the viewfinder.

Her previews did show a bit more of the grit. From the looks of it, she could almost say that someone had simply sealed up the door with wet black sand, although that would answer little to no questions she may have.

" I'm going to use this library to search for answers, But I don't know where to start. I guess I just pick out a random book," Boris said. Boris grabs a random book.

Picking up and opening a random book, Boris would find the following:

...To expose a soucouyant, one should heap rice around the house or at the village crossroads as the creature will be obligated to gather every grain, grain by grain (a herculean task to do before dawn) so that she can be caught in the act. To destroy her, coarse salt must be placed in the mortar containing her skin so she perishes, unable to put the skin back on. Belief in soucouyants is still preserved to an extent in Guyana, Suriname, and some Caribbean islands, including Dominica, Haiti, and Trinidad...

[grampagen]

Her previews did show a bit more of the grit. From the looks of it, she could almost say that someone had simply sealed up the door with wet black sand, although that would answer little to no questions she may have.

She peered into the lit LCD screen and zoomed in.

No answers about the dark grit, save one.

It's something...conventional. If ordinary eyes can pick up on it, perhaps it isn't a「Stand」

Having had the twisted spirit hanging over her shoulder for a little less than a day hardly qualified Suzie as an expert, however.

She raised a hand up to the door. Whatever curios were left behind in the guarded legacy of Johannes Joestar?

...pull it out...why shouldn't I press through...?

Inquisitiveness, for a moment, flashed with a phantom compulsion to seize it. For a moment, she felt「Jigsaw Feeling」's long hand reach out like a shadow from her own, and Suzie was instantly filled with dread as she pulled back and relented.

Hastily, she followed Debra out from the study. She had far too many questions at the end of this long day, and not the wit to put words to them.

Besides, they were guests here.

[Tami]

"Happy birthday, my star child." The creature said, pulling back its limb, "Do not fret, little one. That book shall be your guide."

A bright spot-light fell upon the two and a boom voice thunder out, "YOU-BEE-FOUR-TEE!!"

The large starfish was lifted in the air by an unseen hand, gripped by its central hub, leaving all five of its limbs dangling helplessly.

"My time has come, but please remember my dear star child; there is neither good nor evil in the truth, for there is no pure truth. It is stained by perspective and lies within you to choose which truth is worthy."

The light shut off and Sandra is left in the void.

"Sandra? Sandra!..."

Sandra would find herself back in the library, Debra gently shaking her, and although she still held the bottle of rum, she could no longer remember its taste.

Standing not far from Debra, Jinny watched (as much as she could), and thought to herself, "What the heck just happened?" but said nothing out loud.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Happy birthday, my star child." The creature said, pulling back its limb, "Do not fret, little one. That book shall be your guide."

A bright spot-light fell upon the two and a boom voice thunder out, "YOU-BEE-FOUR-TEE!!"

The large starfish was lifted in the air by an unseen hand, gripped by its central hub, leaving all five of its limbs dangling helplessly.

"My time has come, but please remember my dear star child; there is neither good nor evil in the truth, for there is no pure truth. It is stained by perspective and lies within you to choose which truth is worthy."

The light shut off and Sandra is left in the void.

It really felt like Sandra had been through the most intense and vivid drug binge in her life; that despite the fact that she had never done any kind of drug before. If she was hallucinating, then that homebrew was the most potent shit out there.

But it wasn't. She had been encountering these stand things all fucking day without even realizing it and then she had one of her own. So many questions started running through her mind. How was she supposed to use it? What could it do? If it was destroyed, what would happen to her? Before she could ask even the first one, the starfish thing was being lifted into the air and away from her.

"Wait! Come back!" She reached up for it, but it was too high for her to stop its departure. "Son of a bitch!"

"Sandra? Sandra!..."

Sandra would find herself back in the library, Debra gently shaking her, and although she still held the bottle of rum, she could no longer remember its taste.

She snapped back to reality with a violent jolt. Her heart was racing and her eyes jerky darted from one side of the library to another. Slowly, her mind came to and realized where she was. Debra was standing directly in front of her, shaking her gently in an attempt to jolt her out of her "hallucination". "I'm... I'm okay," she said uneasily. One hand came up to sweep her hands away. "That's the last time I drink mysterious booze."

Looking at the bottle in her other hand, she found that it was empty. Empty, meaning she drank it; yet, she couldn't remember what it tasted like. She couldn't even remember general stuff, like if it tasted good or not. "Shit." She found a chair and quickly sat down. There was a lot of shit to sort through. "Pretty sure I got one of those stand things. Ugh."

[Tami]

It really felt like Sandra had been through the most intense and vivid drug binge in her life; that despite the fact that she had never done any kind of drug before. If she was hallucinating, then that homebrew was the most potent shit out there.

But it wasn't. She had been encountering these stand things all fucking day without even realizing it and then she had one of her own. So many questions started running through her mind. How was she supposed to use it? What could it do? If it was destroyed, what would happen to her? Before she could ask even the first one, the starfish thing was being lifted into the air and away from her.

"Wait! Come back!" She reached up for it, but it was too high for her to stop its departure. "Son of a bitch!"



She snapped back to reality with a violent jolt. Her heart was racing and her eyes jerky darted from one side of the library to another. Slowly, her mind came to and realized where she was. Debra was standing directly in front of her, shaking her gently in an attempt to jolt her out of her "hallucination". "I'm... I'm okay," she said uneasily. One hand came up to sweep her hands away. "That's the last time I drink mysterious booze."

Looking at the bottle in her other hand, she found that it was empty. Empty, meaning she drank it; yet, she couldn't remember what it tasted like. She couldn't even remember general stuff, like if it tasted good or not. "Shit." She found a chair and quickly sat down. There was a lot of shit to sort through. "Pretty sure I got one of those stand things. Ugh."

Hearing that only confirmed Jinny's suspicions that what she had said to Jamie was fairly accurate, that there was no one path to obtaining one of these stands. With a slight head movement, she then smiled at Sandra, "Welcome to the club."

[KingofPie]

It really felt like Sandra had been through the most intense and vivid drug binge in her life; that despite the fact that she had never done any kind of drug before. If she was hallucinating, then that homebrew was the most potent shit out there.

But it wasn't. She had been encountering these stand things all fucking day without even realizing it and then she had one of her own. So many questions started running through her mind. How was she supposed to use it? What could it do? If it was destroyed, what would happen to her? Before she could ask even the first one, the starfish thing was being lifted into the air and away from her.

"Wait! Come back!" She reached up for it, but it was too high for her to stop its departure. "Son of a bitch!"



She snapped back to reality with a violent jolt. Her heart was racing and her eyes jerky darted from one side of the library to another. Slowly, her mind came to and realized where she was. Debra was standing directly in front of her, shaking her gently in an attempt to jolt her out of her "hallucination". "I'm... I'm okay," she said uneasily. One hand came up to sweep her hands away. "That's the last time I drink mysterious booze."

Looking at the bottle in her other hand, she found that it was empty. Empty, meaning she drank it; yet, she couldn't remember what it tasted like. She couldn't even remember general stuff, like if it tasted good or not. "Shit." She found a chair and quickly sat down. There was a lot of shit to sort through. "Pretty sure I got one of those stand things. Ugh."

"Figures you'd only find your stand at the end of a bottle..." Miguel quipped, facing the book shelf as he browsed through a book on showbusiness. Quite a few titles of interest i nthis library, he was surprised to find. If he could, he wouldn't mind sticking around a few more days than intended.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Figures you'd only find your stand at the end of a bottle..." Miguel quipped, facing the book shelf as he browsed through a book on showbusiness. Quite a few titles of interest i nthis library, he was surprised to find. If he could, he wouldn't mind sticking around a few more days than intended.

Vivian tilted her head toward Miguel, and without looking at him said. "Try and find a book about not getting bamboozled by bimbos with accents."

[KingofPie]

Vivian tilted her head toward Miguel, and without looking at him said. "Try and find a book about not getting bamboozled by bimbos with accents."

Closing his eyes, Miguel smiled in irritation. "Who got bamboozled?! Couldn't be me?! Meanwhile, you're the one convinced the nice European lady is the bad guy, just 'cause she knows a little hocus pocus like you."

[Yun Lao]

The resonating chime of an unseen clock sounds, echoing down the halls as it plays the ever-enduring Westminster chime melody. Glancing down to her watch, Debra appeared to have known the significance of the bell's toll.

"I think dinner is ready," She would announce.

[Tami]

The resonating chime of an unseen clock sounds, echoing down the halls as it plays the ever-enduring Westminster chime melody. Glancing down to her watch, Debra appeared to have known the significance of the bell's toll.

"I think dinner is ready," She would announce.

"Finally." Jinny then moved quickly towards the entrance of the library then stopped, waiting for Debra and the others.

[The Dog]

The resonating chime of an unseen clock sounds, echoing down the halls as it plays the ever-enduring Westminster chime melody. Glancing down to her watch, Debra appeared to have known the significance of the bell's toll.

"I think dinner is ready," She would announce.

Jamie looked up from her book, where she was reading about another of her favorite of the presidents, Theodore Roosevelt. Honestly, the man's story read like something you would see in a movie. Working as a cowboy, a police officer, and a soldier before becoming President of the United States, all of which he did after spending his childhood sickly.

Shaking her head, Jamie closed the book, stood to her feet, dusted off her backside and carefully returned the book to its proper place before heading to join the others to head for dinner.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" Well, this is an interesting read. I never heard of a soucouyant before. Seems like folklore, say Debra does this library have books on east Slavic folklore, most notably Ukraine folklore?" Boris asked.

[Tami]

" Well, this is an interesting read. I never heard of a soucouyant before. Seems like folklore, say Debra does this library have books on east Slavic folklore, most notably Ukraine folklore?" Boris asked.

"Hey, Boris. It looks like it's time for dinner, and you don't want to be late for that." Jinny called to him as she waited for Debra to lead the way.