JoJo's Bizarre AU

[ripetuto]

Cascada: A hamon wielder who resides on Air Supplena Island. She largely isn't involved with Joseph and Caesar's training, since her focus is on the healing side of the practice. Looks up to Lisa Lisa a great deal, and treats the boys like they're her rowdy little brothers.

Zappa, Turner, Joplin, & Garcia: A quartet of Stand-users who work for the Speedwagon Foundation.

Lucrezia Stelline, Sara Canestrelli, & Natale Amaretto: A trio of back-alley doctors who work at a clinic in Naples affiliated with Passione. All three have Stands.

Lia Brooks: An American sixteen year old stuck in Italy after a vacation gone horribly wrong. Shot by some assholes, saved by Bucciarati, subsequently joined Passione and his team. Stand name is Astral Romance, which grants her some batshit durability and also shoot-em-up mechanics via flower petals.

Prompto Argentum: Another child of Dio's, he and Bucciarati meet when Bucciarati stumbles into his hideaway after a fight. Stand name is Paparazzi, a Stand that looks like a camera that allows Prompto to affect anyone shown in the picture.

"Nines": A teenager of unknown origin who seems to be anywhere and everywhere at once. Formerly a member of a group of twisted Stand users, recently left this group to wander around and learn what he can on his own. Stand name is Puppet Loosely Strung, which allows him to take over another person's actions for a time; however, the longer he stays in the more psychic backlash he feels when he leaves, and if he is in for too long, he risks losing himself.

Yuu: A transfer student who attended Giorno's school up until being stabbed by Black Sabbath's Stand arrow, and is then left with little choice but to join Passione. Stand name is Jar of Hearts, which allows for the collection and storage of others' injuries, thus healing them. These injuries cannot be stored indefinitely and have to be inflicted on something or someone within a certain amount of time or else Yuu will take the brunt of the damage themself. Has a sub-Stand ability called Heartbreaker, allowing for Yuu to weaponize their own physical and emotional pain.

Comments

Part 5 AU for Lia

[buddinghopes]

[If Lia had ever imagined a trajectory for her life, this wasn't it. Getting stuck in Italy after a vacation gone wrong was pretty damn bad. Getting wrapped up with some blatantly shady folks? Also extremely bad, but shit, she sure had to eat. Getting shot in the back after seeing something she shouldn't? Frankly, she probably should've sen that coming a mile away.

Getting rescued? By a mafioso, of all people? Didn't see that one coming.

He makes sure she's taken care of. So sue her for latching on a little.

Joining Passione is a choice she makes in secret, because she has a debt to repay and working for the man who saved her life seems like the best way to do that. She passes Polpo's test and gets an incredible power out of it. Perfect. She'll never be helpless again. The man who saved her is not terribly happy about Lia's choice, when he finds out, but he welcomes her with open arms nonetheless.

Which leads to the current scenario.

It was probably obvious real quick that Bucciarati had another stray on his hands, just from the way he'd been acting lately. He'd been a little tight-lipped on the matter, up until he'd actually brought this one back with him, a sixteen-year-old girl brimming with nervous energy. Still, despite this, she's all smiles, even if it's a little forced.

She calms down a little when Bucciarati places his hand on her upper back, and she flashes a smaller, more genuine smile up at him before she turns her attention to the rest of the group.]

Everyone, this is Lia. She's going to be working with us from now on.

Um. Hi. I hope we can get along.

[ripetuto]

[Narancia and Mista are more than excited to have a girl join them, and Fugo clearly doesn't mind. It's only Abbacchio who seems at all unhappy about this, but honestly it's just because this is a teenaged girl. An American teenaged girl. He does not want to know how and why she got stuck in Italy and wrapped up in mafia bullshit, okay? Nothing about that sounds at all good.]

You keep bringing people in, we're gonna need to find a new restaurant, Bucciarati.

[buddinghopes]

I'll start keeping an eye out.

[Sorry, Abbacchio, you know by now that Bucciarati has this habit.

... Lia glances in Abbacchio's direction, the smile faltering for a few moments as she offers an apologetic look.]

[ripetuto]

[Ah.]

It's not your fault, Lia.

[buddinghopes]

... Right.

[She's taking a seat at this point, right between Abbacchio and Narancia, slumping into the seat a bit, then wincing before sitting up properly.]

Um... Sorry in advance, I've been kind of a wreck lately. I don't know how long it's gonna take before I'm more or less-- [Faltering with a frustrated noise. In English, she mutters "what's the right word again" before she remembers.] --Recovered! More or less recovered.

[ripetuto]

[Abbacchio glances over at Fugo. He can't remember if the other speaks English and can help Lia with her Italian or not.]

It's fine.

What happened? How'd an American get involved with Passione?

[Everyone gives Narancia a Look. Things no one was going to ask: that.]

[buddinghopes]

[Fugo feels Abbacchio's eyes on him and he nods. He'll work on it with her.

Lia flinches at the question, then shifts awkwardly.]

... I don't think I'm ready to answer that, sorry.

[ripetuto]

[Mista, of course, bonks Narancia on the head for upsetting Lia, which gets Narancia to pull out a knife and it's off to the races, so to speak.

Abbacchio just lets that happen, watching Lia.]

It's fine. Bucciarati's taken you in, so there's not anyone in all of Napoli who'd fuck with you. You're safe.

[buddinghopes]

[Lia opens her mouth to say something to Narancia and Mista, but that's quickly abandoned as those two get into... whatever they're doing.

Well, whatever. She turns her attention back to Abbacchio.]

Yeah... I'm glad. It's just going to take a bit to get used to... you know. Not feeling like I have to look over my shoulder all the time.

[Fugo winces. Yeah, that doesn't exactly paint a pleasant picture, does it...]

[ripetuto]

[No, no it does not. The hand holding his wine glass tightens.]

Do you have a place to stay?

[buddinghopes]

Not yet. I was going to see about making some arrangements for her, but there was an abrupt change of plans.

[Punctuated by Bucciarati giving Lia a pointed glance. She just chuckles sheepishly.]

[ripetuto]

[. . .]

She joined on her own, didn't she?

[buddinghopes]

She did.

[Lia glances away.]

I didn't really have much in the way of other options.

I know. It's alright.

[ripetuto]

This is two for two now, Bucciarati.

[buddinghopes]

I'm realizing that.

[Fugo lets out something close to an amused huff.]

Ah, so he's just like this all the time, huh? The whole taking in strays thing.

[And that actually gets a laugh out of Fugo.]

She hasn't known you that long and she's already calling you out.

[ripetuto]

[Abbacchio chuckles.]

He helped Narancia out and told him not to join the mafia. Guess what he did maybe a year later?

[buddinghopes]

I'm gonna take a wild guess that he joined the mafia.

[Grinning like the menace she is as she answers.

But even through all of this throwing him under the bus, Bucciarati looks relieved, and it's probably obvious why--Lia seems considerably more at ease now.]

[ripetuto]

And then Bucciarati had the balls to be shocked that the kid he saved joined the mafia.

[buddinghopes]

[Lia snickers.]

At least Bucciarati and I didn't have a conversation where I got told to not join the mafia.

[Bucciarati actually laughs at that--but it's clearly at least mildly exasperated.]

You hadn't even brought it up to begin with! I would've told you not to if you'd mentioned it.

[ripetuto]

And then tried to be shocked when you joined anyway. He hasn't realized teenagers are like cats.

[buddinghopes]

Despite the quickly-increasing pile of evidence.

[Lia just giggles as Bucciarati sighs and shakes his head.]

[ripetuto]

[Good, she's relaxing. Abbacchio glances at Bucciarati as Narancia comes around to hide behind Abbacchio's chair--and Abbacchio just shoves it back enough to wind him.]

If you need a place to stay, Mista probably has room.

[No one wants to stay with Abbacchio, let's be real.]

[buddinghopes]

Ah! [Lia turns her attention towards Mista.] Would that be alright?

[ripetuto]

Yeah, sure. You don't mind the couch, do you? The bedroom is...yeah.

Trail of Broken Hearts

[nellacerniera]

[It really is amazing how quickly what seems to be a simple job can go awry.

When it came to Bucciarati's attention that members of another mafia were causing trouble for Passione--perhaps because they'd figured striking when a new boss was finding his feet would be a sound strategic option--it became clear quickly that they needed to be dealt with.

... The fact that they had Stand-users on their side probably should've been a factor he considered, but, well. Here they are. Turns out, one smug asshole with a Stand like Trail of Broken Hearts can lead to a seriously bad few minutes.

Everyone is various levels of shaken after the fight (though nobody seems seriously injured, much to Bucciarati's relief). In his checking people over, Bucciarati finally makes his way over to Abbacchio, gently placing his hand on the other's shoulder with a worried frown.]