It's weird to think that big hollywood movies are edited on normal editing software and they have to click a little export button just like anyone else when it's done. It feels like they should be edited on a big machine with a bunch of lights and when it's time to export you have to flip a huge mechanical lever.
I think it's a sign of good media when you have to reread or rewatch it to get the full experience. First time is for getting your brain blasted by the story and being confused second time is for knowing who's who and what's what and willingly getting your brain blasted again.
changing is scary but so is staying the same changing is scary but so is staying the same changing is scary but so is staying the same changing is scary but so is staying the samechanging is scary but so is staying the same changing is scary but so is staying the same
see the introduction chapter for all contents and disclaimers - please read them!
⸻ 01
MORIOH, a place for new beginnings - or perhaps home to something far darker than anybody could ever expect from such a quaint town. but how could you? not everybody's a stand user after all. though, there is one thing for certain; stand users are always connected.
it is not uncommon for students to transfer schools after the school year has already begun. however, it is quite peculiar that five separate students all coincidentally transferred to the same high school around the same time. of course, this would ultimately lead to the spread of fabricated rumours. no bother, the new students are prepared for anything! supposedly.
"get your ass down here, emma!" the familiar voice of her mother shouted, the sound echoing throughout the predominantly bare house.
"i'm coming, geez, hold on!" she called back, rushing around her room which was, albeit, extremely empty - bar from the unopened boxes stacked high and pushed to the wall, messily scribbled labels plastered across the sides.
she was going to be late for her first day at her new school. just great. how had she already lost her uniform? she could've sworn she'd left it right- there. oh. she did.
"what took you so long? you're going to be late, you know." her elder sister, kat, chimed in as she descended the stairs, taking a bite of her breakfast.
"yeah yeah, where's mike? he said he would walk with me to school." emma replied, quickly dismissing the comment with a light smile.
"in the bathroom." her mother answered, placing different items into cupboards that were once barren, earning a disapproving look from kat.
"they don't go in there." kat stated bluntly, finishing off her breakfast before aiding her mother with her organising - which was frankly lacking.
emma huffed, dropping onto the new sofa, looking over her brand new uniform for the upteenth time. it was safe to say she was extremely anxious. fortunately, michael, her elder brother, emerged from the bathroom a moment later.
"mike! we have to leave now or i'm gonna be late! i seriously do not want to be late on my first day." emma exclaimed, jumping from her spot, already rushing to the door and grabbing the keys from the hook.
"okay, chill out! let's go." michael replied, following after his sister with a grumble about being forced to walk with her, despite her big age of seventeen.
the morning air was cool as it hit their skin, the gentle breeze sifting through the two brunettes locks. michael took the keys from emma's outstretched hand and pocketed them, giving her a sidelong glance before they began their less than leisurely stroll to the school.
"was it really necessary for me to come with?" michael asked, recieving a sharp look from his sister before they both broke out into a laugh.
"yes. you wouldn't let your dear younger sister walk all alone on her first day, would you? i could get kidnapped, you know." she replied with an exaggerated tone, raising her brows expectantly.
"yeah i would." he quipped back with a grin, earning himself an elbow to the ribs. "ow! that hurt!"
💎
first days are always the worst, jules was certain. it was all nerves and crippling anxiety, stepping into a completely new world where first impressions are everything. it really didn't help that he was transferring after the school year had already began.
fortunately, though, he wasn't entirely alone. he had his friend, neiro, who was currently slipping her bag onto her shoulder. the two had both come to japan to better their studies and what greater idea than to go together? it was better than being alone, at least, especially in an entire new country.
"ready to go?" she asked, a smile spreading across her lips, despite the nerves eating away at her.
"yep. lets go, i guess." he reluctantly replied, grabbing his own bag and slinging it over his shoulder before following her out of the hotel room.
the two headed downstairs to the front desk, almost bumping into a ridiculously broad, tall man in a white outfit that starkly contrasted with his raven hair. jules mumbled an apologetic 'sorry', having to crane his neck slightly to look up at the man. he didn't get much response besides a grunt, and then the man was already walking away.
neiro and jules shared a look, smiles crossing their faces, stifling their laughs before they made it to the front desk and asked the receptionist to call a taxi for them.
💎
a relieved sigh escaped asua's lips as she stepped off the bus, grateful that it wasn't late this time. it was only her second day at her new school and she'd already made a friend. it wasn't on purpose, actually. it was more of an accident, but it was a happy one at that!
yesterday she'd gotten lost trying to find her class in the morning when she walked straight into another person, both of them tumbling to the ground with an 'oof'. that was how she met orshu. asua had scrambled to apologise for not paying attention because she'd gone and wound up lost. orshu smiled, laughed, even. it did wonders to sever the awkward atmosphere.
"asua, hey!" orshu called out, waving her hand to the girl as she stood beside the front gate.
asua's face lit up as their gazes met and she quickly recognised her new friend, "morning!" she replied, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. orshu had been waiting for her. maybe this new school wouldn't be too bad.
"come on, let's walk together," orshu proposed, to which asua nodded. coincidentally, they both shared the same classroom, 1b.
as if on cue, the morning bell rung out, signally that the school day had begun and homeroom would be in just a few minutes.
"see? i told you that we'd make it in time!" michael huffed, crossing his arms.
"yeah yeah," emma rolled her eyes, "anyway, thanks for walking with me. seriously, i think i would've had a heart attack if i ended up getting lost." she chirped back with a defeated sigh, eyes shifting to the building she would be heading to in just a few moments.
"no problem, have a good first day!" michael grinned, giving her a reassuring thumbs up before departing, heading back the way they came. perhaps he had something to do today.
a second sigh fell from her lips, gripping the strap of her bag tighter before sucking in a sharp breath and heading towards the building. it's just school. what's the worst that could happen?
"neiro! come on, we gotta go!" jules exclaimed, hopping out of the taxi and thanking the driver whilst neiro gave them their payment.
"okay, okay i know! we need to find our classroom quick." she replied, following her friend passed the entrance gates and towards their new school.
it wasn't all that surprising that they'd ended up getting lost, walking down several hallways searching for class 1c. seriously, how is finding a singular classroom this hard? fortunately, they took note of another student who seemed to be a little older than them just down the hall. surely she would know her way around this place!
"excuse me, sorry to bother you but do you know where class 1c is?" jules asked after they approached the girl, her head turning to meet their gazes - eyes narrowing at neiro for just a moment too long.
"oh, i'm really sorry but it's actually my first day here... i'm currently trying to find my own classroom and having no luck." emma responded, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
"no way! what a coincidence, it's our first day too." neiro replied, a smile tugging at her lips. at least they weren't alone in their predicament.
"yeah! no worries, my name's jules and this is neiro." jules chimed in, pointing his thumb towards his friend with an anxious grin. "hey, you're a second year, right? i'm sure we just saw the second year classrooms back that way." he continued, turning his head to point behind them.
"ah, really? thanks, i'm emma. i can help you look for your class if you'd like?" she suggested, attempting to mirror the pair's smiles.
the two shared a momentary look, "are you sure? won't you be late?" neiro questioned, her brows furrowing in slight worry.
"its alright, i'm gonna be late anyways, i don't mind." she reassured. what does it hurt to be just a little later?
after taking a few more twists and turns around the building, the trio was finally standing outside of class 1c. the bell then tauntingly decided that now would be the perfect time to ring, echoing down the sparsely populated corridors and almost making the group jump out of their skin.
"shit, you better hurry, homeroom is starting." jules remarked, looking over to emma.
"yeah. well, it was nice meeting you guys, see you around!" she nodded, swiftly turning on her heel and retracing their steps back in the direction of the second year classrooms.
"bye!" neiro called back before meeting jules' gaze. "she seems nice." she commented.
"yeah, she does." he agreed with a confirming nod, reluctantly turning the handle to their classroom and stepping inside.
💎
michael's grin was splayed wide across his face, his excitement practically spilling out of him. of course he was ecstatic, his boyfriend had travelled over four hours from tokyo to come and visit him. now, he was on his way to meet up with him at the cafe he'd been to just a few days prior with his family.
"hey, hey, wait a minute!" a voice abruptly called out, interrupting michael's train of thought.
he turned his head in the direction of the voice, eyes landing on the figure of a guy that couldn't be that much older than himself. surprisingly, he was significantly shorter than michael had been expecting, atleast five foot. it was a tricky feat to accomplish; being shorter than michael.
"do you need something?" michael asked, raising a brow at the man and his peculiar hairstyle.
"haven't i seen you somewhere before? you look familiar." he tapped his chin thoughtfully, looking up at michael with a narrowed gaze before his eyes lit up in recognition. "i remember now! you're that michael aint'ya? the one with the cars? yeah.. yeah you are!" he continued, voicing his suspicions.
michael blinked in surprise, eyes widening as he straightened his posture. he was certainly on alert now. he hadn't been expecting to get recognised, and definitely not in morioh of all places.
"i'm.. not sure i know what you're talking about." he replied warily, steadying his voice.
"i'm sure it's you, i'd recognise that face anywhere." he commented, pointing an accusatory finger before continuing, "you're the one who beat my cousin that one time. you remember minoru don't you?"
of course michael remembered him. he was a pompous ass, spouting a load of bullshit and ranting on and on about how he'd never lost to anyone and wasn't about to lose to michael. he did, though - it certainly didn't go down well.
"yeah, i guess." michael sighed. cat's out of the bag now, no point in trying to worm his way out of this.
"you guess, huh? well, did 'ya know that you're the reason he's in a load of shit now? you ought to feel real terrible." the man barked out, taking a step forward.
michael's brows knit together in confusion, "what are you talking about?" he was always bragging about how remarkable and perfect his life was, had he finally fallen off the deep end?
"he's in a whole lot'a debt, would've been just fine if you hadn't stolen that win from him." he huffed out, pausing and crossing his arms, "you know, it'd be a real shame if the police found out about your little hobby."
what the hell was this bastard's deal? he was seriously trying to blackmail him. just great. "you're kidding, right?" michael questioned incredulously. of course this would have to happen now.
"i'd be willing to keep my mouth shut... but, you know, my cousin could really do with that cash which was rightfully his... so just hand me that one hundred thousand yen and i'll get it to him, yeah?" he extended out a hand expectantly, an impish grin on his face.
"you can fuck right off, i'm not giving you shit. tell the cops whatever you want, i'm late." michael rebuked, eye twitching in annoyance.
the man stepped back, bewildered at the response. "hah? what? i'll get you arrested for this!" he snapped, uncrossing his arms, hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"yeah, yeah. i haven't got time for this." michael turned on his heel, rolling his eyes and continuing on his journey towards rengatei cafe.
a scoff followed by an inaudible grumble sounded from behind him, something akin to 'i can't believe this!' or 'why didn't it work?' - ridiculous.
by the time michael had made it to the cafe, satoru was already sat at an outside table waiting for him. his head perked up as michael approached, a grin plastered across his face.
"you're late, that's new." he hummed, tilting his head as he drummed his fingers along the table.
"sorry, i ran into... a little trouble." michael sat down in the chair opposite the taller male, a smile tugging on his lips.
"well, did you miss me?" satoru teased, raising a brow and staring down at michael through his rectangular glasses.
michael could feel his cheeks grow a tad warmer, smile widening. he hadn't seen his idiot boyfriend for almost a month now, of course he missed him.
💎
the morning seemed to pass by relatively quickly, the lunch bell sounding throughout budogaoka high school. students began to file out of classrooms, some opting to eat their lunch indoors while others ventured off elsewhere.
it seemed that coincidences were happening a lot today, because just as neiro and jules had made it to the cafeteria, they'd spotted emma across the room - looking quite lost.
"hey, maybe we should invite her to eat lunch with us?" neiro suggested, turning to meet jules' gaze, which was already on her.
"yeah, we should, let's go over now." jules agreed.
the two crossed the distance of the bustling room, coming to a halt a few steps away from where emma stood, her eyes lighting up in recognition when she noticed the pair.
"oh, hey guys! it's nice to see you again." emma spoke up, a smile crossing her lips.
"yeah, you too! we just came over because we were wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with us?" neiro chirped with a smile of her own.
emma glanced between the pair, brows raising slightly, "really? are you sure?" she asked, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
"yeah, definitely!" jules added, giving her a confirming nod.
"of course, that would be great." emma replied, grin widening. she was just beginning to think she would be all alone for the rest of her first day!
the trio then joined the queue for lunch, talking amongst themselves and getting to know one another while they waited.
"hey, sorry for interrupting but, did you guys just say that this is your first day here?" a female voice awkwardly questioned, the two girls who were infront of them in the queue turning to face the trio.
"yeah, it is, why do you ask?" emma replied, raising a questioning brow.
"no way, really? it's my second day, and she only joined about a week ago." the girl answered, a light smile crossing her lips as she pointed to the second girl with her thumb.
"woah. this is so crazy!" jules spoke up, a bewildered expression on his face.
"i'm orshu, it's nice to meet you guys." the second girl announced, glancing between the group with a grin.
"and i'm asua." the previous girl stated.
"it's nice to meet you too! i'm emma, this is neiro and jules." emma commented, pointing towards the pair one after the other. "i just met them this morning." she added.
"yeah, this is so weird - we're all new students!" neiro chimed in. what a bizarre coincidence.
"i've got an idea, how about we all eat lunch together?" jules suggested.
"that sounds great!" orshu replied, followed by a confirming nod from asua.
and so, with everyone in agreeance, the group one by one each obtained their lunches and found an unoccupied table to sit at together. it was astounding how quickly everyone seemed to bond, getting to know eachother whilst they ate. perhaps this school year wouldn't be so bad after all.
"so, how do you two know eachother?" emma questioned, glancing between jules and neiro.
the two perked up at the question, looking at one another before smiling, "well, neiro was actually my tutor in our old school." jules explained, to which neiro nodded along.
"yup, and then we moved to japan together for our studies. we're actually staying at the grand hotel for now." neiro added, a smile on her face.
"ooh, i see." emma hummed, finishing off her lunch.
"you guys must be super close then, huh?" asua chimed in, taking a bite of her food.
neiro blinked, once, twice. her cheeks felt warmer as she looked towards asua, and then to jules - whose brows had raised almost imperceptibly.
"oh, well... i mean - yes?" neiro stammered out, earning three questioning stares.
"yeah, we've been friends for a while now!" jules continued, taking a sip from his drink for some kind of distraction, looking elsewhere.
"o-kay..?" orshu's brows knit together, glancing suspiciously between the pair.
"...anyway! what do you guys think about looking around the school? maybe we could also find a cool place to hang out?" asua interjected, dispelling the growing awkward atmosphere.
"sure, that sounds like fun. it'll also be good to know where things actually are... so we don't get lost again." emma sighed, recalling her previous lateness to homeroom.
"oh, yeah, that would be great." neiro agreed, adjusting her glasses and sitting up straighter.
"since i've been here the longest, i know where most things are by now." orshu spoke up, taking a final bite out of her food, "i can be like... your guide!" she grinned, her face lighting up.
"yeah! sounds like a plan." jules nodded, dismissing the weird interaction that had just occurred.
once the group had all finished eating, they disposed of their trash and followed after orshu who led them throughout the school, pointing out different classrooms and facilities that they would eventually find themselves in. the hallways were relatively empty, bar from a few small gatherings of students. everyone was either eating, studying or somewhere off of school grounds.
"so, what class are you two in?" emma asked, glancing between asua and orshu.
"oh, we're in class 1b, it's actually just up ahead." orshu answered, gesturing down the hallway.
"ah, alright." emma nodded, turning to chime in with the previous conversation again.
that was until she walked right into someone who practically appeared out of thin air - or maybe she just wasn't paying enough attention to her surroundings (she wasn't). in any case, the sudden impact had her entire world shifting, falling backwards towards the hard, cold floor. how embarrassing.
however, before she could even register what was happening, a hand was grasping her wrist and tugging her upright once again. she stumbled forwards, almost falling into them again but managed to catch herself, eyes falling to the hand on her wrist. she could've sworn, just for a second, that the hand was blue - or maybe it was pink? no, that was silly. grasping her wrist was a warm, calloused hand that was certainly not pink or blue.
her gaze shot up to see the person who she had just idiotically walked right into. her brain short-circuited, meeting the cerulean eyes that stared down at her, his brows knit together in momentary surprise. oh. now this was even more embarrassing! she blinked, quickly realising what had just happened, eyes widening in what could only be described as horror.
"oh, i'm - i'm really sorry, i wasn't paying attention to where i was walking." she stammered, her cheeks dusting a light pink from the sheer embarrassment overwhelming her every sense.
"it's no problem, don't worry about it - are you alright?" the male before her questioned, his hand leaving her wrist with a look of concern crossing his features.
"yeah, i'm okay thanks to you." she answered, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. what the hell had gotten into her? perhaps she was just nervous because of his deliquent-like attire, yeah, that was it. he could... beat her up or something!
she then took note of the other two males standing beside him, one of them much shorter with his hair neatly styled back, and the other with a unique scar across his face, a similar height to the one in front of her - which also looked to be a deliquent. great.
"geez, that was close!" the shorter boy chimed in, giving a small sigh of relief.
"nice catch, josuke!" the other deliquent praised, giving josuke an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"woah, emma, are you okay?" asua questioned, tapping her on the shoulder and pulling her out of her thoughts.
emma turned her head to face her friends, giving asua a nod, "yeah, i'm fine, don't worry." she smiled, eyes drifiting over to the others before pausing on neiro and jules. the two shared devilish grins plastered across their faces, jules raising his brows as neiro suspiciously looked between her and josuke. "what—"
"hey, aren't you guys those new students?" the scarred boy interrupted, earning a pointed look from the other two.
"yeah, we are." orshu answered, followed by a confirming nod from asua.
"really? well, my name's okuyasu nijimura!" he chirped, a big grin crossing his lips. he was drastically more cheerful and outgoing than any of the group had been expecting.
"we're in the same class, aren't we?" neiro pondered, gesturing towards jules.
"oh, you're right! we are." jules added, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
okuyasu looked between the pair, squinting his eyes and studying them as if he was willing himself to remember the two. it was clear he did not.
"really? i had no idea." okuyasu eventually remarked, crossing his arms.
"okuyasu!" the shorter boy chided, furrowing his brows as he looked up at okuyasu - who gave him a confused look.
"i'm josuke, and this is koichi." josuke interrupted, pointing towards the shorter boy with a light smile on his face.
emma took a step back, realising how close she had been standing before awkwardly clearing her throat, "i'm emma." she stated.
"i'm jules." he announced, his impish grin nowhere to be seen and replaced by a somewhat awkward smile.
neiro gave jules a sidelong glance, looking to josuke, then to emma, and back again, "i'm neiro, it's nice to meet you guys." she smiled.
"my name's orshu." she hummed, followed by, "and i'm asua." from the final member of the group.
"we've gotta get going, but it was cool meeting you all." josuke affirmed, his smile ever present as he glanced back at his two friends.
the group nodded in understanding, okuyasu and koichi both straightening their postures as if they had only just now remembered they had somewhere to be.
just before they turned to leave, emma spoke up, "i'm really sorry again," giving a small, nervous bow.
"hey, it's fine, really." josuke reiterated, raising his hands in assurance.
emma chanced a glance up at him, looking between his kind, genuine eyes. she nodded, biting the inside of her cheek.
the trio was gone shortly after, heading down the hall in the direction the group had just come from. it was silent for only a moment as the group glanced between eachother.
"well—" orshu started but was swiftly cut off by an overly keen jules.
"emma! what was that?" he pressed, appearing in front of her with a comically large grin playing at his lips, neiro following a second later.
"what was what?" she countered, brows furrowing. it was only when she looked back at the other two - both sharing the same pointed look - did she realise that maybe she wasn't as nonchalant as she thought.
"seriously?" asua deadpanned.
💎
the bell indicating the end of lunch rang out not too long later, students returning to classrooms for their assigned cleaning before the last two periods of the school day. fortunately for the new group of friends, the rest of the day passed swiftly on without anymore unusual occurrences. it seemed that most of their first days had gone well, excluding orshu and asua, of course.
"oh, guys! that's my older brother, michael." emma pointed out, gesturing towards the shorter male waiting outside the gates.
he was not alone, though. stood beside him was a considerably taller male with snowy white hair, eyes hidden behind dark, rectangular glasses. he was crouched down to michael's level, a smirk plastered across his face as he murmured something that had michael's cheeks flushing a light pink. his head snapped towards him, sending satoru a sharp look.
"who's that with him?" neiro asked, walking besides jules who shared an equally questioning expression.
emma huffed, rolling her eyes, "that's his dumb boyfriend." she explained.
"what? really?" orshu gaped, looking between the two.
"he looks like an old man compared to him!" asua remarked, earning a chorus of laughs from the group.
"mike!" emma called out, waving her hand to get his attention as the group approached. "these are my new friends." she smiled, gesturing behind her.
michael and satoru turned at the familiar voice, satoru rising back to his full height - his smirk seemed to be perpetually stuck on his face. "oh, cool. hi guys, i'm michael." he waved to the group, albeit, quite awkwardly.
"this is neiro, jules, orshu, and that's asua." emma introduced, pointing towards each individual who nodded or smiled in turn.
"and i'm satoru gojo!" satoru announced, gesturing towards himself with a thumb. it was almost comical, the way that you could practically see the cartoon stars bouncing off of him.
the group fell into a deafening silence, only for a moment, before it was cut short by a laugh from michael and a defeated sigh from satoru.
"it's nice to meet you two." neiro spoke up, the others nodding in agreement.
michael offered the group a light smile, satoru's hand coming up to ruffle his hair. "ready to go?" satoru questioned, looking back to emma as michael huffed, pushing away his hand to fix his hair.
"really? you're coming too?" emma sighed, pouting dramatically.
"hey! what's so bad about that?" satoru frowned roguishly, placing his hands upon his hips.
emma turned back to her friends who had been watching the interaction with mild amusement. "anyway, i'll see you all tomorrow, yeah?" she questioned, a hopeful smile crossing her lips.
"yeah, for sure!" orshu answered with a smile of her own. "i've gotta get going now, bye everyone!" she turned on her heel, giving a small wave before leaving the school premises and heading towards her aunt's fancy car, parked just down the street.
"mhm, we've gotta go before our taxi leaves." jules stated, nodding his head towards neiro.
"yep, see you tomorrow!" neiro grinned, the two walking side-by-side before getting inside their taxi, the vehicle driving off in the direction of the grand hotel a moment later.
"guess this is my cue." asua chirped, "i'll see you tomorrow aswell, bye." she smiled before also walking off, heading to the bus stop.
the trio watched the group leave one by one, emma turning to face the two males. "well, let's get going too." she said, adjusting her glasses.
💎
a/n: i hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was mostly an introduction to everyone so don't worry; future chapters will be a lot more exciting and detailed!
if my groupchat and i were in jojo's bizarre adventure, diamond is unbreakable (+gojo)
content: canon-typical violence, angst, self inserts, changes to storyline, injury detail, blood, humour, crack treated seriously, character death, stand awakenings, sensitive/mature topics, dark/horror themes, possible ooc, gacha logic, mostly follows the anime.
⸻ 00. MEET THE CAST
the groupchat:
with...
aswell as any other additional characters.
disclaimer; i do not own any of the characters from jojo's bizarre adventure, credit goes to hirohiko araki, i only own my self inserted ocs that i have created.
at this point i wish i could obliterate harry potter from cultural consciousness i hate hearing positive and even neutral references to it. find a new thing
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
jbbartram-illu
germansingergirl
kaledo-art
kianamaiart
andulkaphoto
