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

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"...something the matter?"

An ethereal egg sat at the table beside her half-drained coffee cup. The cinders of her cigarette raining down upon it.

"I'm sure you can see it." Vivian replied before trailing off, eyes glued to the egg. Though she continued to mutter under her breath. "Never be free of it, I guess. At least... not for long. Sure as dying it seems." The ashen rain petered off, as she took a final drag.

"Ah well... How's the toast?" A weakly executed subject change if there ever was one. "More jam than bread though, from the look... Defeats the purpose, mm?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Unfortunately, I didn't see it. Maybe Jamie or Jinny picked it up? Or perhaps one of the staff"

" I see," Boris said. Boris then goes to look for Jinny.

[KingofPie]

"You remember Johannes..." A hundred small questions came to mind and just as swiftly stuffed away before they left her tongue. It was just as much a mystery to Miguel as to the rest of them. "Can't imagine what he wanted, one end of the world to the next."

Pressing a mash of pear preserve compote onto the surface, the texture of mottled, oven-baked flour on her plate swelled slowly disappeared under a soggy fruit layer without a blemish.

"...speaking of which, what was he missing, stepping around that life? What were you doing before all this came about?"

"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to become a magician," Miguel answered. "Stage magician...for clarification.," he added, glancing aside at Vivian for a second. "I knew one who taught me the ropes of stage magic back home. Just the basics, I had to figure out the rest on my own, form my own style. Dude was more of a dad to me than Johannes ever was," Miguel sighed. "And it turns out he taught me the tools, I needed to succeed. My act was gettin' pretty hot back in my home town. But conveniently as the bills started pilin' up and I started thinking about expanding my act and taking it worldwide..."

With a flick of his wrist, appeared the letter, the same one that he and all of his half-siblings had received. "Guess fate had other plans. Not a bad plan on paper, of course. Go to a funeral, get your inheritance. But then you start throwing atravesado bus drivers into mix, penguins, these Stand things? Now, I'm not so sure what we've all got wrapped up into," he said, shaking his head before he returned to his meal.

[grampagen]

An ethereal egg sat at the table beside her half-drained coffee cup. The cinders of her cigarette raining down upon it.

"I'm sure you can see it." Vivian replied before trailing off, eyes glued to the egg. Though she continued to mutter under her breath. "Never be free of it, I guess. At least... not for long. Sure as dying it seems." The ashen rain petered off, as she took a final drag.

"Ah well... How's the toast?" A weakly executed subject change if there ever was one. "More jam than bread though, from the look... Defeats the purpose, mm?"

So that's how you were able to see「Jigsaw Feeling」...

Yet it was, contrary to Vivian's rather animated spirit, curiously inert. It was, indeed...an egg. "Not exactly a puppy, now is it? Does it...does it do anything?"

The fruit preserves on Suzie's by now flattened to a pasty compote on a soggy flatbread. She scratched it with a tine of her fork, and a long, clotty blackberry scar bled down the middle like an open pustule.

"Force of habit, I suppose. When I let my mind wander, it always seems to drifts back to work," she smiled faintly and her black eyes lit up.

"There are all sorts of things things a camera or a willing audience pick up on in the moment which would normally be glossed over. A bit of off lighting, a shadow out of place, or an unfortunate stress pimple," she mused. "Both stage and film tend to leave a very stark impression, yeah? The kind that you'd never hear the end of."

Picking at the bits on her plate, the gash spread wider, and the seedy corpuscles stained the ceramic surface, yet stayed set in a syrupy sheen.

"I'd been assisting as a stylist at an effects workshop for a few years now. Some...obscure productions, like, on the BBC, or Titus at the Globe. Most of the FX credit goes to the computers and ping-pong ball suits, but those can also cost an awful lot."

Popping the greenish flesh of a blueberry into the reddish concoction, its shade slipped a tone darker in an instant.

"It's like Tom Savini on those old Romero flicks, yeah? Some things just need practical touch. Even the most gruesome shots on Day of the Dead were stained corn syrup and a touch of dish soap. The seedy texture of this jam though...pluck out a bit here and there makes it right scabby..."

"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to become a magician," Miguel answered. "Stage magician...for clarification.," he added, glancing aside at Vivian for a second. "I knew one who taught me the ropes of stage magic back home. Just the basics, I had to figure out the rest on my own, form my own style. Dude was more of a dad to me than Johannes ever was," Miguel sighed. "And it turns out he taught me the tools, I needed to succeed. My act was gettin' pretty hot back in my home town. But conveniently as the bills started pilin' up and I started thinking about expanding my act and taking it worldwide..."

With a flick of his wrist, appeared the letter, the same one that he and all of his half-siblings had received. "Guess fate had other plans. Not a bad plan on paper, of course. Go to a funeral, get your inheritance. But then you start throwing atravesado bus drivers into mix, penguins, these Stand things? Now, I'm not so sure what we've all got wrapped up into," he said, shaking his head before he returned to his meal.

Suzie blinked as Miguel made the letter appear out of thin air.

"Brilliant. How did...the envelope is wider than your forearm, where-" she chuckled, "what am I saying? A magician's got to keep his secrets, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a show...though what would you say was your signature trick?"

Of course the flash of the Joestar seal was a solemn reminder of why they were all here.

"Yesterday, Hironobu-san mentioned we'd hear from the man himself at the wake. Suppose it's a video will?" Suzie shrugged, and took a thin sip of lentil soup. "...where is he, anyway?"

Given the strong emphasis of punctuality from the chimes to the rollout of events in this place, no doubt the apparent taskmaster of the Speedwagon Foundation was up to...something.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Sandra stepped into the dining room, bleary eyed and carrying a bottle of whisky in one hand. She sat down quietly.

It hadn't been a long night. When her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. All the stress from a near-death experience, plus the sheer stupidity of the entire ordeal she found herself in made sleep very easy to come by. Which was a shame because she wanted to figure out how her stupid Stand was supposed to work. It wasn't anything that would help her fend off another killer like whats-his-face, that was for damn sure. The pages were blank, so she could only assume she was supposed to write something on them; or, maybe think and the book would automatically write it all down itself, like some kind of magic diary.

Probably not. She had done plenty of thinking and those pages were as blank then as they were when she first got it.

I don't fucking know. I'll figure it out one day. Hopefully before I really have to.

Picking up a plate, she stacked random foods on it and started eating. Every so often, she stopped to take a swig from her bottle.

"Buenas dias."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Boris eventually bumps into Jinny." There you are. There's something I need to ask you. I had a book with me the last night called Empress Milica and Dragon from Jastrepca and Other Tales that I took from the library," Boris said.

" Did you happen to pick up by any chance?" Boris said.

[Tami]

Boris eventually bumps into Jinny." There you are. There's something I need to ask you. I had a book with me the last night called Empress Milica and Dragon from Jastrepca and Other Tales that I took from the library," Boris said.

" Did you happen to pick up by any chance?" Boris said.

Jinny was still a little distracted, still standing outside Jamie's room and waiting for her, so she kept it simple, "No, sorry. I'm sure this place has cleaning staff. You should ask one of them, or go back to the Library after breakfast and look there. You go on, I'll meet you in the dinning room soon."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Jinny was still a little distracted, still standing outside Jamie's room and waiting for her, so she kept it simple, "No, sorry. I'm sure this place has cleaning staff. You should ask one of them, or go back to the Library after breakfast and look there. You go on, I'll meet you in the dinning room soon."

" Right, I'll look around for the cleaning staff. I need that book for a theory I need verifying. You see, the book I read features Zimy, which are Slavic dragons. In eastern Slavic folktales," Boris said.

" Slavic dragons were shapeshifters and well versed in magic. There's a well know Eastern Slavic mythical figure. Koschei The Deathless, a shapeshifting wizard. I heard and read stories about this mythical figure," Boris said.

" Anyone who grew up in Ukraine has. He's one of the Big three antagonists in Eastern Slavic folklore. The other two are Baba Yaga and Chernobog. My theory is a connection between Koschei The Deathless and Slavic dragons," Boris said.

Boris then heads off to find a member of the cleaning staff.

[Tami]

" Right, I'll look around for the cleaning staff. I need that book for a theory I need verifying. You see, the book I read features Zimy, which are Slavic dragons. In eastern Slavic folktales," Boris said.

" Slavic dragons were shapeshifters and well versed in magic. There's a well know Eastern Slavic mythical figure. Koschei The Deathless, a shapeshifting wizard. I heard and read stories about this mythical figure," Boris said.

" Anyone who grew up in Ukraine has. He's one of the Big three antagonists in Eastern Slavic folklore. The other two are Baba Yaga and Chernobog. My theory is a connection between Koschei The Deathless and Slavic dragons," Boris said.

Boris then heads off to find a member of the cleaning staff.

Jinny looks at him as he walks away, then finds herself smiling and suppressing a small laugh. "He really should consider a career change. He'd make a great fiction writer." she thought to herself.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" Well, maybe I'll bump into someone who has knowledge in Eastern Slavic mythology. I know stuff about Eastern Slavic mythology myself. Having grown up reading and hearing stories from grand uncle. I know eastern Slavic mythical figures like Koschei The Deathless, Baba Yaga, Chernobog, Ivan Tsarevich, Vasilisa The Beautiful, and Belobog," Boris said.

" However, I'm not an expert. I know I said all that stuff out loud, but I don't care," Boris said,"

[The Dog]

Jinny was still a little distracted, still standing outside Jamie's room and waiting for her, so she kept it simple, "No, sorry. I'm sure this place has cleaning staff. You should ask one of them, or go back to the Library after breakfast and look there. You go on, I'll meet you in the dinning room soon."

Jamie sat in the bed, staring at the door deep in thought. As she did so, she felt something begin poking her cheek with just enough force to be annoying. After several moments, she turned to the source, and saw Holy Diver floating next to her. Without missing a beat, he began poking her nose.

"What are you doing?" Jamie asked, the Stand answered "Since the useless artist decided to give you the chance to bitch out of leaving the bed, and I've recently learned you have a stunning lack the ability to resist prodding, I've decided to annoy you until you leave this bed." All while still poking her nose.

"How long are you willing to do this?" Jamie questioned, and Holy Diver answered "Oh, I can keep this up as long as possible, and this is just Step One. And each Step gets progressively more annoying. And just to warn you, you don't want me to get to Step Four."

Jamie frowned as the small Stand kept poking her nose, and after several moments she groaned and threw her feet over the side of the bed and stood up. As she did so, the Stand laughed victoriously before vanishing once more.

Rubbing her face, the woman quickly changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers before exiting the guest room to find Jinny and Boris standing in the hall outside the door.

"Hello." Jamie said to both of them.

[Tami]

Jamie sat in the bed, staring at the door deep in thought. As she did so, she felt something begin poking her cheek with just enough force to be annoying. After several moments, she turned to the source, and saw Holy Diver floating next to her. Without missing a beat, he began poking her nose.

"What are you doing?" Jamie asked, the Stand answered "Since the useless artist decided to give you the chance to bitch out of leaving the bed, and I've recently learned you have a stunning lack the ability to resist prodding, I've decided to annoy you until you leave this bed." All while still poking her nose.

"How long are you willing to do this?" Jamie questioned, and Holy Diver answered "Oh, I can keep this up as long as possible, and this is just Step One. And each Step gets progressively more annoying. And just to warn you, you don't want me to get to Step Four."

Jamie frowned as the small Stand kept poking her nose, and after several moments she groaned and threw her feet over the side of the bed and stood up. As she did so, the Stand laughed victoriously before vanishing once more.

Rubbing her face, the woman quickly changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers before exiting the guest room to find Jinny and Boris standing in the hall outside the door.

"Hello." Jamie said to both of them.

"Good morning, glad to see that you decided to join us for Breakfast. Come on," Jinny motioned towards the stairway down, "Let's get some food, you'll feel better after you eat."

[The Dog]

"Good morning, glad to see that you decided to join us for Breakfast. Come on," Jinny motioned towards the stairway down, "Let's get some food, you'll feel better after you eat."

"Yeah, maybe." Jamie replied with a tired smile, not feeling like telling her she was only out of bed because otherwise her Stand would torment her until she did so. Instead she walked toward the stairs, hoping that Vivian hadn't eaten everything before she got there.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"Yeah, maybe." Jamie replied with a tired smile, not feeling like telling her she was only out of bed because otherwise her Stand would torment her until she did so. Instead she walked toward the stairs, hoping that Vivian hadn't eaten everything before she got there.

Boris turns back around and looks at Jamie " Oh hi there Jamie. So you two didn't hear me talking to myself just now?" Boris said.

[Tami]

"Yeah, maybe." Jamie replied with a tired smile, not feeling like telling her she was only out of bed because otherwise her Stand would torment her until she did so. Instead she walked toward the stairs, hoping that Vivian hadn't eaten everything before she got there.

Following just behind Jamie, they headed for the stairs and down towards the dining room. As they did, they passed Boris.

Boris turns back around and looks at Jamie " Oh hi there Jamie. So you two didn't hear me talking to myself just now?" Boris said.

Jinny looked at him, "I thought you'd be at the dining room by now, or are you waiting for us here? I don't know about you, but I could use some food. Didn't eat much last night."

With that, she continued walking, catching up to Jamie just as they reached the doorway and entered inside.

Grabbing a plate, Jinny scanned the offerings on the buffet table, finally settling on an omelet, a bagel with vegetable cream cheese, bacon, a small cup of mixed fruit, and orange juice. She considered the coffee or tea but decided to save that for later.

As she did, she looked around at the others already there. Finding a seat, she listened to what was being talked about as she began eating.