Last time, Cascada and Jotaro were ambushed by Noriaki Kakyoin and his Stand Hierophant Green on behalf of Dio. We proceeded to punch him across the room and cover his entire body in third degree burns. Now, we're taking him in to pump him for information.
Holly: Just now... Jotaro was thinking about me at school! I felt it! It's the bond between mother and son! ♡
Jotaro: I wasn't thinking about you.
The Kujo household is one of those big, fancy Japanese homes that Rich People in anime have. They got one of those bamboo water clonkers and everything.
I have not bothered to verify this at all so take it with a grain of salt, but I've heard that Japanese property tax increases based on the age of the building, so landowners are incentivized to fully renovate every 15-20 years or so; having an old house is an even greater status symbol than simply being a homeowner.
Kakyoin: N... nngh...
Holly: He's... He's bleeding... Did you do this!? Jotaro: It's none of your business. ...I'm looking for Gramps. It's such a pain to find anyone in a house this big... is he in the tea room? Holly: Yeah... I think Abdul's there, too...
Jotaro: You're annoying. Cascada:Better than being an asshole.
Holly: (I know that you're a nice boy deep down...) Jotaro: Hey! ...You don't look like your usual self. ...Are you feeling okay? Holly: ...........
Holly: (...He really does care! ♡)
Answering "Yes" increases our Friendship Points with Jotaro, so no real reason not to do so. Even if he is a dick.
Cascada:We nearly killed a guy together, so... I GUESS....... Holly: Eeeeee! I knew it!! Oh! Since you're going to the tearoom anyway... I'll bring a first-aid kit and some snacks! ♡
If she were born 40 years later, Holly would be putting "uwu" at the end of her sentences. Guaranteed.
Even in the manga, I always found this an incredibly funny cut. Jotaro punches the ever-living shit out of a dude, drags the bloody body home, and Joseph is just like, "wellp, he's a goner."
Joseph: Jotaro... It isn't your fault... Look... This man has already pledged his loyalty to Dio. And do you know why? It's because... of this!
Jotaro: What is this thing? It looks like a spider... Cascada: I-it almost looks alive... Abdul: That's a "flesh bud", forged from Dio's cells! It's burrowed its way into that boy's forehead. Tiny as it may be, it's reached deep enough into his brain to influence his thoughts and feelings!
In Part 1, Dio used his vampire powers to make a bunch of gross human sculptures and chimeras and shit. This is pretty par for the course when it comes to him.
Cascada: So... in other words, he's brainwashed him!
You know how in Kingdom Hearts, half the time when you go to a Disney world, it's just Sora-Donald-Goofy standing off to the side and going "whoa! gawrsh!" as the plot of the movie happens in front of them? Most of Cascada's dialogue is going to be kinda like that. It is what it is.
Joseph: Yes, I suppose you could say that. Joseph:By the way, who are you? Cascada:Don't get me started or we'll be here all day. Jotaro: Why not just operate on him?
Joseph: ...He'll suffer permanent brain damage.
Around here is when anyone who's read Part 2 starts asking questions like, "Joseph can shoot magic sun energy out of his body, wouldn't that wipe out a vampiric flesh bud no problem?" and the series is content to look you in the eye and answer, "that was last season, dude."
Joseph:The Cairo story AGAIN? Abdul, please... Abdul:It is very important exposition, Mr. Joestar. Every detail.
!Abdul: ......When I met him... Dio!
Abdul: Then, I saw him, quietly observing me from atop the stairs.
The Berserk references truly are everywhere.
(Ed. Note: JoJo Part 3 started before Berserk did and ended about six months after Griffith's first appearance)
Joseph:At least 80% of that is because of my grandfather's body, you know. Abdul:Madam Erina had impeccable taste, Mr. Joestar.
Dio: You... You're no run-of-the-mill human, are you? I can sense that you possess a 'special power...' I'd be very happy... If you were to demonstrate it for me.
Dio's hair transforms into a mass of tentacles that grasp at Abdul!
Abdul: Uooooooohhhhhhh! Cascada:You could have just said you screamed in fear, you didn't have to ACTUALLY scream. Joseph:-Sigh- Both:EVERY detail.
Abdul: I thanked my lucky stars that I had recognized him as Dio, and as quickly as I could, I escaped through the window! I knew my way around the labyrinthine bazaar, so I had the good fortune to evade him... Abdul: ...If I hadn't... I'd have ended up just like this boy. I would use my Stand to betray my friends, at his beck and call!
Jotaro: Not so fast! Kakyoin's not dead yet!
hey that's my podcast sign-on you can't use it
Cascada: What are you doing, Jotaro...?
Okay I think we're learning that Jotaro just has a thing for pulling it out. This is already twice in one day.
Joseph: Stop! Look at the part of the flesh bud that's outside the brain! There's a reason why even the world's most skilled surgeon can't remove it!
Abdul: Damn! It's gotten into your arm! Hurry, Jojo! Let go of him! Cascada: T-the tentacle...! At that speed, it'll reach his brain in seconds! Kakyoin: You... bas... tard...
Abdul: Let go, Jojo! It's already reached your face!!
Cascada:Hey, there's only room for one Machine around here and you're lookin' at her. Cascada: So this is what Jotaro's Stand is capable of...?
There is no reason given for why Joseph couldn't have done this in the first place. It's especially galling because in a later chapter he does remove one by simply channeling Ripple through his body. It's just one of those things.
Ed. Note: I double-checked and the event I'm referring to only happens in the 2014 anime adaptation, which came out after this game. Oops.
We fade back in on what appears to be a guest bedroom.
Cascada:I... live two blocks away and I have a Heat Ray. Joseph:We have a complimentary continental breakfast. Cascada:I guess I AM pretty tired...
Joseph: That dream you were talking about, with Abdul and that strange voice... Seems pretty hard to believe. But you don't seem like one of Dio's minions, so I'm not too worried. It seems that, for whatever reason, Stand users are popping up everywhere... Cascada:Yeah, have you gone outside? Killer floating dolls every half-block.
Insert your favorite inn sleep jingle here. I'm partial to Wild Arms.
In the morning, Cascada is given free rein of the Kujo household. There's quite a few big rooms with a handful of tutorial/tip messages on the bookshelves. It's basic stuff like "save often!" and "if you don't level up, the enemies will get tougher!" faff.
There's probably an interesting conversation to be had (that has already been had, more like) about assuming what a player does or doesn't know. Like, I've played enough games to understand the basic mechanics of 7SU purely from its aesthetics, but what if someone who never played video games downloaded it because they like JoJo? Would they even know to click on bookshelves for hints? Would they understand leveling up?
My uncle had a huge DLP TV like this one that he bought right around when plasma was starting to take off. Took up an entire corner of his living room.
It's possible that this whole second floor with Kakyoin was always here, but I certainly don't remember it from when I played the game previously. It's got some of the tutorial books, so it must have been??
Joseph: By the way, have you seen Holly? I've been looking for her all morning!
As we navigate the hallways towards the exit, we run into Abdul.
Cascada:Are you seriously flirting with a high schooler? Abdul:No. I merely find the situation bemusing. Cascada:We're good then.
Something shatters in the kitchen! Is it one of Dio's assassins?
Joseph and Jotaro come running in.
Abdul: This is...!! It can't be... Pardon me!!
I do like the continuity here where because Joseph's Stand is made of thorns and vines, Holly's is as well. There are even implications that Jonathan's Stand would have had a similar motif. ...We have no explanation for Jotaro whatsoever.
Abdul: I can't believe it... My hand passes right through it... This is definitely... A Stand!! Holly's Stand has awakened as well! But... this fever... The Stand is harming her... I'd thought that Mr. Joestar and Jojo were the only ones affected by Dio's curse... Abdul: Thinking Holly was the exception, I relaxed... N-no... I only thought I could relax! It seems that all those with Joestar blood flowing through their veins are susceptible! Stands are manipulated by the user's fighting spirit... but Holly doesn't have an ounce of aggression in her entire body! Abdul: She's so sweet and gentle... She can't control it! That's why it's hurting her! This is terrible... If this continues... she'll... It'll kill her!
Joseph: I knew that she wouldn't have the power to fight Dio's curse...
They are making all this hullaballoo that Holly has no Fighting Spirit or Killing Intent or whatever but I dunno, I feel like her ability to remain utterly unflapped and unconditionally loving while her son calls her a bitch to her face requires some pretty fucking powerful inner strength. My brother called me emotionally controlling for asking him to get a covid vaccine and it still kinda stings.
Jotaro: Say it already! Say you have a plan! Joseph: Nngh... urgh... There's one way.
Joseph: ...But I can't determine his location just from my spirit photography... Shit!!
It doesn't necessarily come through in this medium, but whenever Joseph says a swear word, he's almost always saying it in English (with all of the rest of the dialogue being in Japanese). In the manga, the English words sometimes get full-on drawn into the speech bubbles; the anime naturally has his voice actor (the late great Unsho Ishizuka, aka Professor Oak) just shout the words. It's a hoot every time.
Cascada: He has to have left SOME kind of trail...!!
Abdul: We've tried analyzing the photo with all kinds of high-tech gadgets, but to no effect. Cascada:You said you met him in Cairo, right? We could start there? Abdul:I categorically refuse to entertain the notion that Dio may still be in Egypt. Surely he has moved elsewhere, such as the American Gulf Coast. Jotaro: Hey. I just might know a way... Just maybe, I might know a way to figure out where he's hiding!
Jojo summons his Stand, which proceeds to stare real hard at the photo. Its eyes are sticking way out right now, like a horny cartoon wolf or possibly Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
Jotaro:Enhance.
Jotaro:Enhance!
Jotaro:ENHANCE!!
Jotaro's Stand: also extremely good at drawing. He'd make a killing as a courtroom artist.
Abdul: It's a fly! A fly was buzzing in the air behind him! Wait... I... I recognize this fly!
Luckily, the Kujo household has the Global Encyclopedia of Insects as their coffee table book.
I do not believe this is a real fly. Subsequent versions of Part 3 have referred to it as a "tsetse fly", which is real and also a huge fucking problem in sub-Saharan Africa due to its role in transmitting parasites. "Preys on livestock" kind of undersells it.
Cascada:IS he now? Abdul:.............
Kakyoin: For whatever reason, he must be reluctant to leave Egypt. Cascada:Fascinating. Isn't it, Abdul? Abdul:......Skilled though I am, my fortune-telling is perhaps not... one-hundred percent accurate... Jotaro: ...Why do you want to come with us? Kakyoin: Hmm... I'm not so sure myself either.... I wouldn't be here now if not for you. That's really all there is to it.
Cascada:Oh so you aren't going to ask HIM a dozen probing questions about how he behaves in social situations? Real fair. Kakyoin:...there's only one card in that deck. Abdul:My fortune-telling requires SILENCE!
In the original magazine version, it was called Star Silver. This is better.
Abdul: Now... we must go! For Holly's sake! Abdul: Cascada... This isn't your fight, and I don't intend to coerce you into going with us. But we could use your power... The power of a Stand-user with the courage to help those in need! Abdul:Even if your Quicksilver's Heat Ray kind of overlaps with my Magician's Red... Abdul: ...I think it may be destiny that you met with us. What do you say, Cascada? Will you lend us your strength?
The top option increases your FP with the entire party. Refusing lowers it. And Cascada is a Champion of Justice (When It Suits Her), so...
Abdul: I had a feeling you'd say that! Cascada:You're the one who made me come up with a catchphrase! Joseph: I can't thank you enough, Cascada. Abdul: I look forward to getting to know you from here on out. Kakyoin: I'm sorry for everything that happened earlier. Maybe I can make it up to you somewhere down the line. Jotaro: ...Sorry. I didn't think you'd end up getting wrapped up in all this. If things get nasty out there, then you're free to go back.
chill the fuck out jojo
We scene transition into a side room of the Kujo house.
Robert Edward O. Speedwagon from Part 1 (and the first update) founded some kind of huge nonprofit conglomerate that's just a front for assisting the Joestar family with whatever paranormal bullshit they're up to this decade, so deep was his love for the late Jonathan.
Abdul: I've watched countless people die by their own Stands in the past. But for Holly, there's hope! As long as we can get to Dio and take him out within 50 days... her Stand will disappear! She'll be saved!
Okay, but what if we just taught her kung-fu or something, and then she'd have the minimum required amount of Fighting Spirit. I'm just saying.
Holly: To think I collapsed with a fever... But now that I've taken medicine, I feel so much better! Joseph: You startled me, Holly! Try not to give me a heart attack! Holly: Hmhm... Right, sorry, Papa! Now where were we... Right! Jotaro... what do you want for dinner? Jotaro: Don't move! Just go back to sleep!!
Holly: ...Heehee... you're right! Everyone's so nice to me when I'm sick... I guess a flu every now and then isn't too bad!
My own mother never used to get flu shots until she caught the flu in a foreign country and passed out alone in her hotel room. Now it's ASAP, every year.
Joseph: She... even with that high fever, she tried to reassure us that things were fine... She definitely knows what's going on... She didn't say it, but she noticed the Stand on her back! She's hiding it from us! My kind, beautiful daughter... She didn't want to make us worry about her!
I think it would be pretty hard to not notice spectral thorns growing out of your spine and stabbing into you.
Kakyoin: If I were ever to fall in love, I'd want it to be with a woman like her. I want to protect her... If only to see her smile again. Abdul: Hm... we should get going. Abdul:After we defeat Dio, I will introduce you to Mr. Joestar's mother. She is quite the woman, if that is your preference. Kakyoin:Why, thank you. That sounds excellent.
If my teenage daughter wanted to vacation in a foreign country with the mega-rich delinquent next door, I would probably not be okay with it. If she had a Stand, then we could at least discuss it.
Joseph: Come back here when you're ready. Cascada: Got it.
We get booted back to the Japan map, and if we talk to Steel now...
Steel: What pitiable circumstances... Destiny can be mercilessly cruel. It seems that if you don't defeat Dio within 50 days, Holly's life will be at risk. You must hurry... Also... Do keep in mind that resting at the hotel or in your bedroom at home will cause time to pass. It's a long way to Egypt from here, so there's little time to waste. Think carefully before you rest and use your days prudently.
Which means no more free heals, unfortunately. Glad we stocked up on 99 bottles of water yesterday.
These assholes are still running around town, but starting the Holly timer causes another change. Delinquents now have a chance to drop a rare item.
Once this is in our inventory, we can go back to see that strange fortune-teller (not that one, I meant the one in the arcade).
oh shit
A whole gang descends upon Cascada, but we book it over to the fortune-teller before they get ahold of us.
Rainbow: I am called Rainbow. My job is to rid this city of you Stand users. I didn't think you'd find me here, but now I can take care of business...
Cascada:Woah oh, bitch.
See you next time, when we finally (for real this time) hit the road!
