The Devil Within - (JoJo, Diavolo!SI)
It took me a while to realize who I was. Well, in this new life that is.
After all, dying in a car crash and being reborn as a babe in what appeared to be a prison is something quite unusual. Even more as I was 'reborn' with pink hair and no one raised a fuss about it. Ironically so, knowing how the sensitivity was back in the late 60s and early 70s highlighted how this 'normality' was a sign that this was not a regular world.
And that I had seen some of these places before in my life without ever visiting them. Sure, Italian I may be, but Sardinia is not Sicily, and these beautiful sights, so vividly aching within my head, couldn't help but leave me with many questions. To be fair, I thought this was some sort of twist on 'Don Matteo' since I had been adopted by a priest that knew of my mother who was 'away' for business.
I always translated that as her being dead and the priest being something of a major piece of my formation. I thought this was some slice of life story I was entering as a side character. Even the name, Davide Vino, gave me little to no clue on who I was. And I ultimately learned my true identity when I got to eavesdrope on the old man himself.
As a boy growing up in a church, I was expected to help with some chores as soon as I could speak, understand words and walk on my own. Nothing too extensive, but I was too dutiful of a child to not dosomethingrather than go in town and see how few kids my age were around. Even older kids were hardly there since schooling was entertained in major cities, such as Cagliari.
Now, it was 1974 when I learned my mother's identity as Father Ernesto got in a stern talk with the woman as she was... in jail. Virginia Vino, notorious burglar and... someone that carried me in her womb for two years. While this sounded baffling, the fact that she had been in jail for more than a year when she gave birth to me was too relevant for me to ignore.
As if this tidbit was a piece of tetris falling into a complex array of forms and completing the puzzle, I felt the world sink and I almost had a panic attack at the news. This was- this was big. I wasn't a side character- oh no, I was the damn antagonist, and one of the worst kind in anime.
I was the prelude to Diavolo, the leader of the Passione mafia group that will not only crush other mafias, but also take over Italy's government! And I was directly tied in the discovery of the Stand Arrows which then would shape the end of the world in due time. I was in Jojo, and I was in that universe where my ass may be looped if I didn't play my cards accordingly.
The first thing that came to mind is... why being so scared? After all, common sense dictated that if I didn't do anything, the Arrows would not be found and most of the issues tied with Dio and Pucci would be out of the window.
And then I remembered I was in Jojo and FATE and MISFORTUNE were a thing.
Despite what one may say about Jojo, there is a logic behind specific situations. Mostly for what entertained Part 1 to 6. FATE was a binding force that acted as a 'counterbalancer': in case an evil force was to emerge, then a hero would rise to match up with it. At least, that is true up to Part 5.
Part 6 is special because, if we wanna go hardcore Meta... then it means that MISFORTUNE (something not bound to a Stand like Wonder of U) exist. Pucci, an evil guy, was able to win to an extent. Or, at the very least, win so much that any victory made by the 'good guys' would be hollow.
After all, Pucci may have not become GOD, but his efforts had effectively ended the first half of the Jojoverse minus Emporio.
Still, why am I bringing all of this up beyond brainstorming like an utter moron? The truth is within this logic: if I was to not intervene, then fate would move to guarantee the situation in which the good guys would, eventually, beat the bad guy.
After all, Jonathan Joestar almost died in his fight against Dio and eventually perished due to an Ambush. The first known Jojo was OP to a degree, and while one could say that Joseph was similar, he was old and...
Yeah, Stands raised the bar and made DIO a beatable threat for someone like Kuujo Jotaro.
If there was to be a chance to get a 'good ending' in this damned world, then I had to allow the Stand Arrows to be found. And for me to take steps in using said power to crush anyone that could be influenced by Dio's cult to manipulate Italy and gain hold of the one heir to the vampire that Pucci would have been glad to have: Giorno Giovanna.
All of this was not within immediate reach. I was 8, the events leading up to the discovery of the Arrows would unfold in ten years from that point, and I was... well, not in any position to take steps to get a headstart. All I got was knowledge and... a drive. A personal drive to not fucking die again.
All the while without losing my shit going schizo with a potential 'second personality' and go murderous on anyone looking at me the... normal way? Definitely not the funny way.
After that brief self-discovery, I tried to grow up 'right'. As in, get into sports (football was my love), read a lot of physics that I could use to get an edge on any future foes and...
Well, not get crushed by some unexpected changes along the timeline that made me very nervous. Like, I had many things I relied upon, and my meta-knowledge was that. It was like one day waking up knowing that a finger was gone, and another may vanish for absolutely no 'logical' reason.
I was already an anxiety-prone child, this body was born to be that but worse, and as I started High School at the ripe age of 15, I ended up finding out that a specific character I was bound to have a connection with was...
Well, entering my life way earlier than it should.
"Class, today we have a transfer student. Please, introduce yourself, signorina-"
"Donatella Una, and nice to meet you all! Especially you, pinkie! I like your style"
...
I am literally wearing a too small sweater that revealed my midriff. I was the furthest thing from tasty in terms of style.
I AM LITERALLY BOCCHI, AND NO, I WILL NOT LET YOU BEFRIEND ME, FUTURE MOTHER OF MY FUTURE CHILD!
AN
Pink-haired twink-boy plots the Demise of Effeminate Vampire and his Vampire-loving Priest. Same time, brunette decides it is high time to score a pink-haired lean husbando to girl boss aggressively.
*=Davide is the closest name to 'Diavolo'. Vino is Wine.
**=Virginia is literally 'Virgin', since Diavolo's mom alleges his dad died of sickness but... yeah, I don't buy it. A virgin woman spawned DA DEVAL!