#Smokey Brown | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

inkpot909 · 11 months ago

Text

Little Sister Figure Headcanons: Platonic!Joseph Joestar x Reader

Fem!Reader with she/her pronouns. The Reader’s boss is written to be a jerk.

A/n: It feels great to be writing again! I took a massive break for the holidays, and in order to give myself time adjusting to a new job. Writing this was rather personal to me in a sense, as Joseph very much so reminds me of my own older brother. Hope y’all enjoy. <3

Warning(s): Joseph’s pathetic complicated relationship with women. Canon-typical swearing. Period-typical sexism.

Joseph Joestar… historically does not have a positive reputation amongst women.

It’s well earned; coming off as rude at best and downright insensitive at worst. And this behavior doesn’t exclude women he hardly knows either. In fact, his brash attitude is arguably more on display around strangers.

A whistle to an attractive passerby leading to his foot being stomped on. Talking a little too loudly about how women “doing up their faces is a sort of trap” earning him harsh glances from pretty much every woman within earshot. An older woman smacking him across the face with an umbrella after a murmur about not being surprised at the lack of a ring on her left hand. Making an unfounded claim that women can’t drive well, only to have been questioned, walk back on his claim, and ultimately cultivating in a knee harshly connecting with his stomach. The list only goes on.

For every five women that brush off his comments, there’s always one who isn’t afraid to give him an immediate reality check.

You fell into the latter category upon your first meeting.

“Out of the kindness of his heart,” Joseph helped you out one day when you needed it most. New York City can be a real rough place to live, and on that day, the sins of the city turned their attention to you.

Cornered by some thugs, they demanded anything of value be handed over. It made blood drain from your face, twisting your expression into something that didn’t do much to conceal the fear you had felt.

Regardless of your explicit nervousness, you had attempted to stand your ground. Sticking to your guns, although you wouldn’t ever regret doing so, seemingly only made things worse. The thugs took no time at all roughing you up a bit, to the point where they knocked you down to the concrete ground below you.

Looking back, it seems like a stroke of fate, that Joseph Joestar happened to be walking past at that very moment.

Seemingly without much hesitancy, he jumped to your defense. It was quite the spectacle, if you’re being completely honest. His cocky attitude was only validated by his genuine intuition and strength in the fight that inevitably unfolded. Watching him in combat for the first time is something you doubt you’ll ever forget.

His actions right after the fact is also something you’re likely to never forget:

Sparks seemed to ripple off him; beginning at his fingertips only to move beyond in crackling waves. Watching this stranger move about, picking off the three men that approached you not even ten minutes ago, your quick to understand that the energy illuminating from him is more than just what you can see on the surface.

It’s unbelievable, but there’s little reason to doubt what you’re seeing with your own eyes.

All the while a grin never once disappears from his face. When he initially inserted himself into the conflict, your stomach sank. Sure, he’s quippy, but he gave the impression of a man who’s all bark and no bite.

But by now, you’ve stumbled to your feet. Standing off to the side, your body motionless, eyes widen in subtle recognition that you’d been wrong about him.

It isn’t long before the three thugs desperately scramble away from the scene, tripping over themselves trying to do so. Not wavering one bit, the brunette closely watches them run off. The intensity of his gaze was jarring compared to his goofy and outlandish behavior. And you only find yourself relaxing after he finally relaxed.

Taking a step closer to him, you lift a brow when he doesn’t at all turn to look at you. Pausing, you once again plant your feet in the position they’re in.

Despite his almost insultingly unserious demeanor during the fight, you can’t not say something to him. Even if all that leaves your mouth is a simple “thank you,” it’s not within your own morality to just ignore or disregard the actions of someone who just saved your skin.

“Uhm…” you clear your throat. The action finally prompts him to whirl around in your direction, his eyes blinking a couple times displaying dumb recognition. You continue on to tell him, “Thank you a lot. You didn’t have to do that, but you still chose to get involved anyway. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t showed up.”

You felt internally glad that, albeit briefly, you were able to voice your appreciation for his help.

He blinks some more, before bringing up a hand to the side of his face. “Wow! You look terrible!” he blurts, saying it with his entire chest.

“What?” you respond, taken aback.

“Geez, lady, look you you!” he puts his hands on his hips, bending down at the waist. The action, whether he meant to or not, fully emphasizes the size difference between you. In the moment, you certainly felt more than a little patronized. “Did you even style your hair this morning? It looks awful!”

“Of… of course I did, you jerk!” you snap back, clenching your hands into fists and shaking them wildly at him. You were far too surprised to even think of explaining to him that getting hit and shoved doesn’t keep your appearance in pristine condition.

“Whoa, whoa…” he chuckles, taking a step backwards, “What happened to being all grateful?”

“Excuse me!?”

It was a rough first impression, to say the least.

You likely couldn’t stand Joseph Joestar after the initial meeting. Well, if anyone were to ask your opinion of him, that’s what would be your immediate response.

Despite that, his willingness to help a stranger out without even properly looking at them first intrigued you a bit.

Even more so, the fact that his little found family - a kind-hearted grandmother and his fun-loving friend, Smoky -immediately took a liking to you without much hesitation.

It’s those two who you’re likely to get along with first, not quite seeing eye-to-eye with Joseph for a good while.

So what is it exactly that leads to the two of you developing more of a genuine friendship? Fighting him.

No, seriously.

Not long after your brush up with the three thugs, you and Joseph engaged in a conversation about your own strength. He told you (rather bluntly) that “although your fiery, you can’t fight for shit.”

This eventually evolved into the two of you working out together. Then, that naturally progressed into him giving you pointers when in a fight. Then, that progressed into the two of you sparring one another from time to time.

Now, that power he displayed the first time you met (hamon, you remember him calling it), wasn’t something he was willing to teach you. But Joseph was more than happy to help teach you how to hold your own in a fight at the very least.

He went on to say how dangerous New York City can be for a young woman who doesn’t know how to protect herself, but you long learned to stop listening to him when he got in the mood to lecture. And though you certainly didn’t need him to tell you about the dangers of being a woman, you know there’s a certain degree of good will to his intent.

Despite his slightly condescending attitude at the start, this proved to do a lot for your relationship the more you spent time together. He was unafraid to speak his mind, and you were unafraid to call him out. With time, he started to genuinely appreciate that about you.

He went from purely pestering you, to doing so with a much friendlier edge that expressed a deeper understanding of your own sense of humor.

And at the end of the day, after each time he works out with you, he ruffles up the hair on the top of your head and tells you good job- from a surprisingly genuine place.

Considering how your friendship began, no one could really blame you from feeling surprised with its development. And there’s been several times now when Joseph’s truly had your back in a way that really makes you remember his care:

“This is a really stupid idea.”

“Shush! Besides, you think all my ideas are bad ideas.”

“And am I wrong...?”

“Oh- Jesus- would you just shush!?” Joseph hushes you once more, his head snaping over to your direction.

“JoJo,” you frown, eyes darting back and forth between him and the subject of your concern. The two of you are hunched over, peaking over a corner inside the building where you work. It’s early in the morning too. So early, in fact, your boss is the only person besides a janitor or two who’s bound to be in the building for at least another hour. “You know I could be fired for this if he finds out I’m the one behind it. He’s already itching to-“

“Quit your worrying, would you? I’ve got it all figured out! No one blaming you for jack shit- got it?” Joseph cuts you off, tone indicating that you really shouldn’t try pressing the matter further. Turning his attention back forwards, he adds, “Now, will you please zip it!?”

“But surely this is taking it a step too far,” you push it further, “When I told you about my boss-“

“A money-hungry and endlessly rude person,” he quotes your own words exactly.

“-I just needed to vent to someone about it. I wasn’t necessarily asking for petty revenge.”

“Don’t call my hamon traps petty!”

“You use it for petty reasons!”

“Oh? So now helping you is petty!?” Joseph raises his voice a little.

You’re quick to match the tone of his voice, “It’s fine that you want to help me, but I’m having a lot of seconds thoughts about this!”

“Well, that’s clearly obvious…”

“Please...” you groan, “Just... reconsider...”

“It’s too late to reconsider!”

“Well, you-“

A booming voice, coming from just a few feet away from the two of you, cuts off your words, “What the hell is going on over here!?”

Like two dear in headlights, you and Joseph slowly turn your heads over to the hall before you. There, your boss stands with an angry and slightly bewildered expression. Neither you nor Joseph heard his approaching footsteps over the sound of your bickering. And your boss is just moments away from looking close enough to recognize you- meaning your just seconds away from likely losing your job....

Luckily, a few seconds is all a person like Joseph needs to react.

Suddenly, he stands up straight and puts his hands triumphantly on his hips. “I-“ he announces, your boss looking up at him with wide eyes, “-harbor a grudge against this stupid establishment! Starting with-“ he dramatically turns to point at you, “-This young woman!”

Before your boss can react- hell, before you can react -Joseph grabs you by the waist and hoists you over his shoulder as if keeping you hostage. The sound you make when he does so certainly sells it.

This is his idea of having everything figured out!?

Laughing loudly, Joseph rushes past your boss cackling as if he’s trying out for a roll as a cartoonish burglar. As he moves away, he yells out, “Your next line will be, “What in the hell is this!?’”

And as you’ve come to expect, those same words almost immediately left your boss’s mouth.

The lecture that Granny Erina had in store for him after she finally found out about that stunt... oh, it was priceless.

He took the fall completely, even though you tried voicing your own involvement. Yes, you weren’t totally on board in at the end, but you still were a part of the ordeal.

Regardless, Joseph was having none of it.

And that’s exactly how he is with you. Cheekily looking after you in a profoundly brotherly way that after that specific incident, you began to refer to him as such. To your delight, he gladly returns the sentiment.

A part of you is hesitant to admit it, but you really look up to him. He’s taught you much, not just about being a fighter, but on anything that crossed his mind. Everything from his own thought process, to how to “properly” prepare an afternoon snack.

And in return, he’s always at your side and eager to listen to whatever thought crosses your mind.

Looking back, it seems like just as the two of you truly became so close, you were completely blindsided by an entire month of complete radio silence from him. It’s as if he’d just packed up and left... and it really broke your heart.

With more time passing, and one false death report later, Joseph was in for the lecture of a lifetime. He thought he’d gone through the ringer, from his grandmother alone, but nothing beats the frustrated ranting from a younger sister.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was about you!?”

“Next time someone threatens your life send me a telegram! Write me a letter for crying out loud! I would’ve went to Italy straight away to kick their asses myself!”

“Don’t you dare ever leave me out of the loop again- you hear me, Joestar!?”

Joseph’s never going to forget a single word it.

And as frustrated you were, the look on your face when he also admitted to getting married without your knowledge on top of all that... he’s very lucky you love him like family.