#tonpety

[earthbovndmisfit]

It took a while, but it’s finally here! An extensive timeline of the events in and about Phantom Blood for further reference on this part.

This covers the events on both anime and manga as well additional info from the artbooks and stuff that was implied/inferred or that can be deduced going by all the info available in the story and, occasionally (namely, some of the info around Jack The Ripper), from real life events too.

(full timeline under the cut for length reasons)

16th century (no dates given, but it can be speculated was somewhere in the late 1530s-early 1540s), the Dark Knights: Tarkus and Bruford are born.

Windknight's Lot is an active training ground/site for knights in this period. This is where Tarkus and Bruford do his entire training.

1563, Tarkus and Bruford become two of the only five men in history who have defeated the "77 Rings" training method.

At some point in this period, both become Queen Mary Stuart's faithful retainers.

1565. Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart fight for the throne.

Also in 1565, Queen Mary Stuart's husband, Darnley dies. Queen Elizabeth the 1st takes advantage of that and charges Mary Stuart with having killed him.

It's inferred that, still over the course of that year, Mary Stuart's armies (one of them being led by Tarkus and Bruford) were under attack as the nobles of the land revolted against Mary Stuart. Mary Stuart's side was defeated, resulting in her imprisonment, however, the army led by Tarkus and Bruford was still undefeated. Ultimately, they got tricked by Queen Elizabeth and were executed shortly after Mary Stuart had suffered the same fate.

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1827, Dario Brando was born.

1838, January 19th, Will Zeppeli was born.

1858, the “first” incident with the Stone Mask takes place. Will’s father becomes a vampire and kills his entire crew and, almost, his son as well.

There is no info on the matter but it could be inferred that Mario Zeppeli was born around this period of time --somewhere in the mid-to-late 1850s and the early 1860s, or up to the 1870s at most-- as Will Zeppeli mentions he’s a married man and that he has a son back in Italy (assuming Will started his family before he went to Tibet). It’s also very likely that Will visited his family a few times throughout the years as Mario not only got to know about Will’s eventual fate and about the Stone Mask, but he also learned about Hamon and some of those techniques (which were only known in Tibet, so the easiest way he could have learned about them was from Will himself).

1860. Zeppeli goes to Tibet and starts training with Master Tonpetty and becomes very close friends with Dire since, forming a friendship that would last for nearly three decades.

1863. Zeppeli finishes his training and starts his one-man search for the Stone Mask around the world.

Also in 1863, (no month/day specified), Straizo was born.

Still in 1863, October 16th, Robert E. O. Speedwagon was born.

No specific date is given,although it’s often speculated it was in December of either 1867 or 1868, Dio Brando was born.

1868, April 4th, Jonathan Joestar was born.

Also in 1868. The carriage accident in which Mary Joestar dies takes place as the Joestars were making their way back to Liverpool. Jonathan is only weeks/months old around this time, meaning that the accident took place somewhere after April 4th of that year.

It’s not entirely clear, but it’s possible that it is around this same year (1869 at most) that Dario gets caught trying to sell the wedding ring he stole from the Joestars.

1869 (no month/day specified), Erina Pendleton was born.

It’s also not specified when, but it’s possible that Dio’s mother died around these years (1868-69, and before 1880).

1873. George gets Jonathan a pet that would soon become Jonathan's only friend growing up: Danny.

1880. Dario Brando dies at some point in this year.

1881, Dio Brando is legally/officially adopted by the Joestars and starts living with them. Jojo’s happy (and a bit spoiled, too) life begins to crumble.

Also in 1881, Jonathan and Erina meet.

Still in 1881, Dio kills Danny.

1881 still, Dio assaults Erina.

It’s in this same year (1881) that Jojo starts showing interest for the first time in the stone mask after finding out it reacts to blood touching its surface.

Still in 1881, the Pendletons move to India due to Mister Pendleton’s job.

We are told that Jonathan spent the next 7 years in almost absolute solitude as a result of Dio basically isolating him in his attempt to destroy Jona and become the sole heir of the Joestar fortune. It is also through these seven years that we can see George and Dio often bonding as father and son.

It’s also at some point during these 7 years that Jonathan starts studying archaeology while Dio pursues a law career (could be inferred it was part of his plan to get the Joestars’ fortune, but that’s never truly mentioned).

1888 comes. At some point in this year, Dio visits Wang Chen’s shop located in Ogre Street to buy the poison he would later use on his adoptive father, George.

1888, still: George Joestar falls “ill” at some point here. We are also told about Jack The Ripper's activity being at it's peak around this time. Based on the info available about the period of activity of real life's Ripper as well as other info given later on in PB, George’s “illness” should have happened somewhere between early-to-mid September (or late-ish September at most).

Days later, Jonathan finds Dario Brando’s letter in the library of the Joestars, which seems to incriminate Dio in regards to George’s “illness”.

Going mainly by some of the actual dates given later on, it can be inferred that Jojo’s trip to London (Ogre Street) take place somewhere in early to mid October, 1888.

After leaving the Joestar estate, it takes Jonathan at least 3-ish days to get to Ogre Street.

October, 1888, Jonathan and Speedwagon meet for the first time. Worried about Jojo, Speedwagon resolves to follow and help him. They both go to Wang Chen’s shop, get the antidote Jojo was looking for, they capture Wang Chen and start travelling back to Liverpool, all likely in the same night/day.

It takes another 3 days for Jonathan, now along with Speedwagon and a captured Wang Chen, to get back to Liverpool. Basically, Jonathan was away from his home for about 7 or 8 days.

Around a day or two shy from Jojo coming back home is when we see Dio getting drunk by the docks in Liverpool, where he ends up killing a drunkard and turning the man’s companion into a vampire.

It is implied that the timeframe between the sunrise that kills the vampire and the moment Dio gets back to the Joestar estate is of at least a whole day. It’s possible that it could have been 2 days even, considering that Dio comes back home clean, with his injuries (which included a broken collarbone and a serious blood loss) bandaged and patched, meaning that he most likely took the time to get his injuries properly treated. This idea could also be supported by the fact that George seems to be doing much better now compared to days prior. As effective as an antidote can be, it’s very unlikely for it to give such considerable results in less than 24 hours. There’s also the fact that the place is ‘packed’ with policemen and everything is set up and ready by the time Dio gets back.

Later on on the night Dio gets back, George Joestar gets killed along with all the policemen there and Dio becomes a vampire.

The fight and eventual fire at the Joestar mansion takes place over the course of that same night.

Still on that same night (seemingly before dawn), after the fight has ended and despite his own heavy injuries, Speedwagon manages to carry an unconscious Jonathan to a hospital.

Given Speedwagon's nature and behavior towards Jonathan, it could be inferred that he is forced to leave the hospital over the course of the following day to Jonathan’s admission into the hospital, most likely due to his backgrounds and ‘seedy’ looks (as hinted later on). This paired up with the fact that he most likely used whatever money and goods he had on him to cover at the very least Jojo’s admittance to the hospital, its very likely that Spw ended up with no means to pay for proper healthcare for himself and had to go get his own injuries and broken bones treated somewhere else, coming back 3 days later. Considering we see his Ogre Street friends tagging along when he comes to visit, it’s very likely that they all met somewhere halfway between London and Liverpool, or even somewhere within Liverpool (given the 3 day window we have here, as well as Spw showing up bandaged).

That day when Speedwagon comes back is also the day him and Erina meet for the first time in a less than savory way, Speedwagon is once again forced to leave.

That same night, past midnight, Speedwagon breaks into the hospital where he witnesses Jonathan regain consciousness and, also, learns a little bit about the background between the Jojo and Erina.

It is implied that it is until the following day that Speedwagon finally gets to see a now conscious Jonathan.

It can be inferred that Jojo’s stay at the hospital was about a week or a couple weeks long at least considering the degree of his injuries (burns, broken bones, cuts/stab wounds, traumas, etc) and the fact that he wasn’t a hamon user by then, meaning that his healing process was the same to that of any other average human.

It’s also very likely that Jojo meets Zeppeli (and learns that Dio is still alive) about a month/month and a half after the fire at the mansion, as we can see Jojo has mostly recovered by the time they meet, being his arm the only part that seems to have not reached a full recovery yet (broken bones usually take about a month or a little more to fully heal on average). All of this is also supported by the fact that the next time we see Speedwagon, his own injuries (which also included broken bones) are completely healed as well.

This same day that Jojo and Will meet, Jojo becomes a hamon user and heals completely. By this point, it should be around mid-November already.

It’s somewhere around those weeks/month that Jojo was recovering that a now zombified Wang Chen took a heavily injured Dio to London, where they met Jack The Ripper and "recruited" him, before the three went to hide in Windknight’s Lot. It’s also very likely that the three of them began “kidnapping” townspeople from Windknight’s Lot around this time as well, giving Dio plenty of time to heal almost completely by the time we see him again.

Zeppeli begins to train with Jonathan as soon as they meet. The intensive training by the river lasts 2 weeks only.

It’s by the end of the second week of training that Wang Chen shows up and is allowed to escape as a part of Zeppeli's plan. During the last days of the training as well, Speedwagon sets off to gather information from his sources in the crime world about Dio’s possible whereabouts and the group heads out to Windknight’s Lot right away. It's late November already by this point.

It’s also vaguely implied that Jonathan has moved and has been living in London for a bit, and so it takes a whole day for the group to get to Windknight’s Lot (it’s stated that Windknight’s is a day-ride away from London, going to the South).

During the morning of November 30th/December 1st (1888 still), the group reaches the entrance tunnel to Windknight’s Lot.

The reason behind this not having a clear date is because the fight between Jonathan and Dio at the castle takes place on Dec 1st, but it’s possible that it happened either during the first hours of Dec 1st (meaning that the group reached Windknight’s on the morning of Nov 30th and that the fight against Dio took place after midnight), or that they arrived to Windknight’s on the morning of Dec 1st and that the fight took place around the late part of the day and before Dec 1st’s midnight. Either way, most of the events we see in this arc (the encounter with Poco, the battles against Bruford and Tarkus, Zeppeli’s death, the arrival of the monks from Tibet, the encounters with Dio and so on), all of them happen in less than 24 hours, as pointed out by Speedwagon to Poco by the end of the final battle at Dio’s castle, as Spw cradles and takes care of an exhausted Jonathan, but let’s break it down a little:

The group is intercepted in the tunnel by Jack The Ripper at some point in the morning, shortly after the group’s arrival.

The fight against Jack The Ripper probably takes at the very least about an hour or so. Then add whatever time it took Jonathan to continue training and also heal his and Speedwagon’s wounds from the fight (Zeppeli and Speedwagon were hostile towards each other by this point, plus Jona was still training his hamon in every way he could, so it’s a given that Jojo healed Speedwagon). Also add the time it took them to get out of the tunnel by foot and finally reach the actual town.

By the time we meet Poco, the sun is about to set. Nights are particularly long in England during Autumn/Winter, with the Sun starting to set around 4pm, so that could more or less be an estimate of the time of the day here at this point.

By the time the group crosses the lake and Dio finally shows up it’s dark already. He then ‘awakens’ Bruford and Tarkus. Bruford is defeated after what it’s assumed to have been a long fight, however, Tarkus manages to strike the first loss for the Joestar group...

There’s no date set in stone (as it could be either Nov 30th or Dec 1st as stated before) but, on this same day, Will Zeppeli dies.

Just hours later, after the also long chase and battle against Tarkus, on the same day too, Dire also dies. A trivia of sorts that no one mentions is how Zeppeli and Dire were close friends for more than two decades and how they coincidentally shared a similar fate, dying a cruel death and on the same day, just a few hours apart from each other.

Also, December 1st, 1888: Dio is defeated and assumed dead.

The official report of the missing persons in Windknight’s is dated December 1st, although it is documented and made public until December 4th.

By December 15th, over two weeks after Dio's "death", we are told that Jonathan, Speedwagon, Straizo and Tonpety haven’t left Windknight’s Lot yet. This is also the day when the stone mask that the Joestars kept in their home for years was finally destroyed. There is no official date set for the group’s return to London, but it could be assumed they left Windknight’s in the following days after this.

December, 1888 (no specific day set): Lisa Lisa was born.

February 2nd, 1889, Jonathan and Erina get married.

The scene at the docks, when everyone comes to say their goodbyes to the newlyweds as they prepare for their honeymoon, takes place on February 3rd.

The last days of peace after the battle in Windkight’s Lot go by, during the cruise (Feb 3rd to Feb 7th). Then, that day, Dio strikes again and...

February 7th, Jonathan Joestar dies.

Also Feb 7th, both of Lisa Lisa’s biological parents die along with almost every other passenger on the cruise.

On February 9th, after two days in the open sea, Erina and the baby are rescued in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is unclear when she got back to England, though, but it most likely happened days later, shortly after a brief stay at a local hospital to make sure the baby and her were in good condition to be sent back home.

And that’s pretty much it as far as PB goes! After this point (and before Part 2 takes place), we can also add:

May 22nd, 1889, the group photo that we see later on of Straizo, Speedwagon, baby Lisa Lisa, and Erina got taken on this date.

1889 -no day/month specified-, George Joestar II is born (around the second half of the year).

There’s no specific date/year set, but according to the Jojo Magazine, Speedwagon travels to America in the early 20th century (somewhere between 1900 and 1905-ish, most likely) where he finds oil in the Texas desert and creates his oil company.

1910, using the financial power and wealth amassed through his oil company, the Speedwagon Foundation is created.

Stuff from this point and on falls under the Battle Tendency timeline, so I’m leaving it here.

Please let me know if you notice any mistakes at any point or if you see I missed something so I can add or fix stuff accordingly. I re-read this whole thing god-knows-how-many-times but its still possible I missed some stuff!

[tossawary]

Seeing your post about Speedwagon, I saw you say "He's generally a liability once any fight starts." and no??? The anime cut out a lot of his and Jonathan's background and scenes from the manga, but even in the anime Speedwagon is shown fighting and actually killing zombies along with Jonathan and Zeppeli (and later on Dire, Straits and Tonpeti) using his sledgehammer and despite him not being able to use the ripple and this can be seen throughout the entirety of the Windknight's Lot arc. Speedwagon shows some self-deprecation at times especially when he's genuinely unable to help even more than he actually does due to him not being able to use the ripple (i.e. the part where Jonathan gets trapped inside Tarkus' chamber and the rest of the group can't get to him right away), but that doesn't mean Speedwagon is genuinely a liability nor that he doesn't fight at all or whatever, as some people wrongly assume. Part of what makes Speedwagon so effective as a support character is the fact that he can and does carry his own weight most of time, finding ways to compensate for his short-comings, and all without getting in the way. A lot of the details in Part 1 are implied, briefly mentioned, or we just get told about them, so it's easy to miss some, but it's all there.

Oh, I was talking mostly about the fights against Dio and those undead knights! I should have been more specific: he has very little to do in the "[Character] versus [Character]" matches besides stand on the sidelines. (Zeppeli stands on the sidelines a lot too! It's a genre thing and also he's kind of suicidal, but when so many lives are on the line, it is a little weird.) I don't think Speedwagon is useless at all. He's very helpful against run-of-the-mill zombies, sure! I like him a lot! I think he does really well! He's obviously contributing to the party in a practical way as a support character and I enjoyed his presence. (Also: I didn't watch the anime; I was reading the manga.)

He just ends up getting left behind once the power escalation typical of battle shounen starts going. And I think that the narrative was purposefully shaped in such a way that the more powerful opponents left him alone in favor of focusing on Jonathan and Zeppeli, and that he COULD have been more of a liability if any of the absurdly powerful villains who are practically invulnerable in many ways had simply targeted him specifically more sincerely. He does stay out of the way because he understands his limits after that first confrontation with Vampire Dio! He knows he WOULD be a liability to Jonathan or Zeppeli if he threw himself forward thoughtlessly into some of the more superpowered battles, so he doesn't.

But everything could have been a lot worse for Speedwagon if the story wasn't generally structured in the "one fighting match happens at a time" format typical of shounen manga.

Dio could have ripped into Speedwagon at almost any point while Jonathan was busy fighting someone else if he had bothered. Basically, when Jonathan was fighting that first undead knight, I was like, "Wow, it would be really bad if the other one and/or Dio targeted Zeppeli and Speedwagon right now." And then the villains generally didn't? There are notable moments where everyone is just... watching Jonathan. I was expecting the villains to try to take more hostages (like that hypnotized kid), especially since Jonathan is a good man who wouldn't want to see his friends or even bystanders hurt. Speedwagon is a vulnerable point in the party, knows it, and endeavors to keep out of the way and contribute where he can, and he does a good job, but he was also kind of lucky that Dio is so obsessive and arrogant (and that the author simply decided not to pursue that direction for events).

It's also that narratively, in terms of pushing the plot forward in the Windknight's Lot arc, Speedwagon doesn't have much to do besides be a supportive friend and an extra hand. Which is a good role! There are many great characters who serve backup roles and relieve the protagonist's burden in very significant small ways. But there's still nothing he does specifically that couldn't potentially be accomplished by another support character, if necessary, and he has no significant character development arc of his own in this contained arc. This doesn't mean I think he shouldn't be there (the fact that he was on these adventures does shape his entire life as a person and significantly contributes to his later role in Part 2). He contributes strongly to the overall emotional heart of the story in Part 1, which is extremely necessary when everything is as ridiculous as it. The fact that he can't do things, and that this frustrates him, plays an important narrative role in making things feel dire for Jonathan and more impressive when Jonathan succeeds. He's a necessary grounding point for the audience.

I just think it's funny that his main role as a character (as a narrative element within the story, rather than a person living in this world) seemed to be reacting to the fights rather than participating in them. I was mainly making a joke about how he stands on the sidelines and narrates so much of what's going on like some kind of sports commentator. I did read all of Part 1. I did not miss the things that you describe. I don't need the story explained to me again, though I do respect that you felt the need to defend him as a person. He seems like a nice guy. I like him.

~

EDIT: Adding to this post under the readmore because this is getting too long to be on my very much not-JJBA blog and having this in my drafts somehow made me unable to answer this privately.

rottengummybox asked:

Technically, Dio's initial plan during the fire was to end Speedwagon once he got rid of Jonathan, as he saw Jonathan as a bigger threat to his plans (and which didn't end up happening anyway due to how that one fight turned out in the end). There was also a moment where Tarkus, the dark knight who was kind of in the background during the fight against Bruford, kind of targeted Zeppeli and Speedwagon (and Poco), but yeah, I see what you mean with the way the fighting seems to be structured. It also kinda makes sense within the context of the plot as Dio's plan and direct orders to his zombies were to end Jonathan (which includes his companions as a secondary target), and also makes sense from the author's point of view and how it tends to be the MC who stands out in fights and whatnot. The author has made it clear he wanted his main character and antagonist to stand out as Part 1 sets the base of the overall story and plot of Jojo of "good vs evil".

As for Speedwagon's role in the Windknight's Lot arc, I have to disagree a bit there. He does have a "supportive friend" role there, but it isn't one that any other support character could fill, at least not to the extent that Speedwagon does. By this point in the story, it has already been stablished and it is heavily implied that Jonathan and Speedwagon have developed a close connection offscreen. They know about each other's backgrounds and stories, they know the struggles the other is dealing with, and they stick close together, helping each other out and supporting the other as much as they can. Little details such as them casually handing over the sword by tossing it to the other right before the fight in Dio's chamber shows there is some kind of non-verbal communicaton there that came as a result of that connection they have. While Zeppeli and Jonathan do develop a connection too, it doesn't seem to be as deep as that Jonathan has with Speedwagon.

It is also mentioned through different official Jojo media and can also be noted through subtext in the story that Speedwagon has been the one in charge of providing "heart" to Jonathan from the start and throughout all of the ordeal inside and outside of the battlefield. Erina also fulfills this role to an extent, however, the story makes it clear plenty of times that, unlike Speedwagon, she doesn't know anything about what's going on with the Stone Mask, which is also part of the reason why she understandably just stands and watches as Dio kills Jonathan by the end of Part 1 instead of trying to do something to save him (and its also why its strongly believed by some people that, had Speedwagon been there when the last arc happens, Jonathan's chances at survival would have been higher). In very general terms, at least during the Windknight's Lot arc, it is Speedwagon who has the deepest connection with Jonathan in pretty much every aspect and who he doesn't have to hide anything from. He's the first real and meaningful connection Jonathan has had with anyone in the last 7 years.

There is also some character development for Speedwagon in the Windknight's Lot arc, or at least we're shown plenty of new information and sides about him, like him using his resources as a criminal to track Dio down. This is also the arc where we see him do for the first time something he would do again later on in Part 2: Teaming up with someone he doesn't like or agree with to achieve a greater good, or, in this case, to save someone he genuinely cares about. Apparently, plenty of translations often ommit that Speedwagon and Zeppeli didn't like each other at first and were often being rude to each other all the time. Despite it being often taken completely out of context to death, the scene where Speedwagon melts Zeppeli's frozen arm shows that Speedwagon is the type of man who can momentarily put his differences with others aside in order to achieve a greater good as it was clear by then that the only one who could save Jonathan was Zeppeli and, to achieve that, he needed to use his ripple first. All this among other details that escape my mind right now.

Guess I just wanted to say that he's way more than "narrator guy", which seems to be a rather common take among the fandom overall. He does take that role and which was a necessity in the beginning considering all the stuff that's happening in the story and JJBA as a whole being new at the time, but people often completely overlook his personality and his actions and impact on the story due to that that I simply felt like pointing that out. Sorry for the super long ask!

Response:

It's cool that you feel strongly about these characters and I appreciate your insight! However, I did JUST read the manga. I did not forget everything that happens. I know all of this and did not need the story's plot beats and relationships explained to me again. Please stop reciting the story at me. Please assume that I am capable of both making a quick joke (most of my followers have not read JJBA and I don't want to spoil anything for them) and understanding that these characters are much more than a joke.

I was largely talking about the character of Speedwagon as a narrative element, rather than who he is as a person, and about the way that the author chose for things to happen. From a Watsonian lens, Dio is focusing on Jonathan because Jonathan is the bigger threat; Dio has already fought Speedwagon and has dismissed him as inconsequential, because Dio is an incredibly arrogant and powerful person. From a Doylist lens, the fight is happening this way because the author has decided that there's going to be a bunch of 1v1 fights one after the next. The author could have chosen to pursue the fact that Speedwagon is the most vulnerable companion, a potential liability in a fight against a vampire, and chose not to because that's not the story that he wanted to tell.

To be clear: I do not think Speedwagon should not be there or that Speedwagon is entirely replaceable, especially not by any one single character. But I am not talking about him as a person or a friend to Jonathan or a contributing member of the party. I am talking about him as a construct within the overall story.

From a Watsonian lens, Speedwagon helps Zeppeli with the frozen arm because Jonathan has inspired him to help in this dire situation. From a Doylist lens, this is all just happening to temporarily take Zeppeli out of the fight, and while it shows off that Speedwagon is a good man and solid friend, his help could probably be replaced by the author coming up with some other magical trick, inventing some way for Zeppeli or Jonathan to get around this, or just claiming they need to wait a certain amount of time. The author could have just written something different. The magic system within JJBA is extremely arbitrary and required high suspension of disbelief. The story, like all stories, is entirely manufactured.

Because Speedwagon has no special supernatural abilities and is a more minor character, it would be relatively simple for the author to hand off his pushes on the narrative to other characters, including even some random villager. Someone like Erina, who is a nurse, could in theory have also helped Zeppeli (although we know that Jonathan was desperate not to involve her and I do think that Dio would have targeted Erina to use her against Jonathan here, so I understand why she's not here). The fact that Speedwagon is present, doing everything that he does without special powers, instead of leaving his actions to be divided among other characters (Jonathan and Zeppeli are both already carrying a lot of weight), makes him an incredibly brave person and a great friend.

After Zeppeli has taught Jonathan the basics of these powers, the author could have likewise chosen to kill Zeppeli off earlier, and could have come up with ways for the pushes that Zeppeli has on the plot to be given to other characters. The author could have chosen for Tonpetty and crew to have shown up earlier and take over Zeppeli's contributions to the fights. I don't think the author should have done this (it would weaken Zeppeli as a character and the effect of his sacrifice on Jonathan), I just know that he could have.

Speedwagon is a minor enough character that it would be relevantly easy to make simple minor changes to remove him completely from this arc, with little to no effect on the main plot beats - the most basic summary of the Jonathan versus Dio conflict. I think that the story would be lesser for this, of course. It would change the tone of the story immediately. Like playing the same song on a different instrument; while the song might be more or less the "same", the vibe is going to be different if you take out one character and have others fill in.

As you note, Speedwagon and Jonathan have a good friendship. The story is richer for the fact that Jonathan is a character who attracts and inspires loyal friends who strive to help him even when they are desperately outmatched. The major plot beats of an arc might be able to do without certain minor characters, but the minor details contribute to the dramatic struggle that draws an audience in and the emotional heart of the story. (Their friendship as shown now also becomes an important launch point for the next story. Speedwagon simply existing through this arc is important. He doesn't have to do anything here to be significant.)

I do think that a lot of weight is put on the reader to infer the strength of this friendship, to assume what has happened off-screen, and I would have liked to actually see more direct emotional support between Jonathan and Speedwagon in a quiet moment, especially given that Jonathan has lost his father and his home, but I understand that it's not the typical style of the genre. What IS shown on-screen are the fights. And Speedwagon simply hasn't got a lot to do during these specific fights that couldn't be theoretically accomplished by someone else, especially compared to characters like Jonathan and Zeppeli, who get pretty much all of the really big moments. Although, again, the fact that Speedwagon DOES do what he does, all these actions that in theory could be done by someone else but weren't, is significant and admirable. His collective actions belong to him in this story.

Someone else could take over the announcer and cheerleader role as well! I don't think it's Speedwagon's defining trait as a person within this universe, and it sucks if people are reducing him to someone who contributes nothing to Jonathan when that is very obviously not the case. He is absolutely not just a liability. As a narrative element, however, the fight narration is just one of the big roles that he's given that's actually shown on the page. And it honestly serves to show just how much he cares about Jonathan, how much he worries about him, and how much he's trying to help despite his personal limitations. I don't think that him being "the commentator" is a bad thing. It tells the story. It's what the author chose to do with him instead of making him a main fighter.

If we say that everything that makes up a story is a tower, then removing the piece of Jonathan from the story makes the entire building collapse immediately. Removing Zeppeli makes the entire following arc collapse immediately because he is the instrument through which Jonathan gains powers, and major changes would be needed for Jonathan to learn about these powers and the history of the Stone Mask another way. If we remove Speedwagon after he has helped Jonathan find the poison-seller, then I think that the tower becomes shaky, minor fixes are needed to keep it from falling apart during Windknight's Lot, but the overall structure of the Jojo vs. Dio story can remain intact without this supporting minor character.

Erina is another character who is easy to replace in the main plot beats around this part of the plot. She helps to heal Jonathan after the mansion burns down, so it could be argued she helped to save Jonathan's life (preventing infection, etc.) which of course has a huge impact on the plot, but her nursing could have been easily replaced by Speedwagon or Zeppeli (showing up earlier) serving a similar function. She just doesn't have very much to do here, action-wise. She doesn't push the narrative along in the same direct way that Jonathan or Zeppeli do, not having the drive to destroy the Stone Mask or defeat Dio in battle. But removing Erina from the story in these specific parts, just because her individual actions don't require special powers and are frankly quite small in the overall plot, would tear out an emotional heart of the narrative and interfere with her later critical role in the story. Removing Erina's nursing role just because someone else could do it would be really bad! Removing Speedwagon would ultimately be bad and it cannot be done without making minor changes to the story. A character can have not much to do at certain points and nevertheless be key to the overall story that the author chose to tell.

[z-paladin]

(this shitpost made my computer hate me...)

[coollyinterferes]

Character Interview || Repost, don't Reblog

NAME  :   Robert Edward Orville Speedwagon

NICKNAME  :  Boss, aniki, “bastard!”/"that son of a bitch!” (usually from rival gang members, so the insult varies sometimes lol), Rob (used by a few friends), derivatives of his last name −Speebs, Speeds, Speeb, Speedy, etc− but these he will only accept them from certain people, otherwise he will do his best not to cringe on the spot or will do it inwardly. Uncle Speedy and etc later on (as in once George and the rest of the children come into his life, more specifically~).

AGE  :   25 in the main verse (may vary depending on the verse)

SPECIES  :  Human/Stand user in the main/time-travel verse | Vampire in the vamp!verse | Werefox in the monster!verse

—— Personal! ♡

MORALITY  :      lawful   /   chaotic /   good   /   neutral   /   evil  /   true .

RELIGION  :   Non-practising catholic (was raised as Catholic, like most other Victorians, believes in God, but that’s pretty much about it)

SINS   :     greed   /   gluttony   /   sloth   /   lust   /   pride  /   envy   /   wrath  .

VIRTUES :     chastity   /   charity   /   diligence   /   humility   /   kindness   /  patience  / justice.

KNOWN LANGUAGES :   English is his first language. Conversational Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German and some more. Some conversational Mandarin Chinese as well (this one thanks to Li −canonly known as Kenpo, his Ogre Street friend−) and bits of Irish (this one thanks to Tattoo, his other Ogre Street friend). He can read and understand some Japanese (kana and some okurigana/kanji) but can’t really speak or write it. Same case for some other languages that he can also recognize and more or less understand bits of them but can’t really speak them. As you probably guessed, he’s learned most of these through his many journeys around the world.

SECRETS  :  All of the stuff in regards to the stone mask and all the events and incidents that came out from that (it was stated that the only ones who know everything about it from start to end are Jonathan and Speedwagon, the others who might know a great deal of it would be Straizo and Master Tonpety). He also tries to keep a low profile in regards to his homosexuality whenever he’s out of the slums to save himself some trouble due to the stigma at the time and the potential legal consequences, going only for the gay codes of the time (long hair, cleanly shaven face, colorful accessories, etc) so I guess that could count? Other than that, and in the verses that it applies, his stand mayhaps?? That’s what allows him to leap through timelines in the time travel verses (it possesses other abilities and skills but, since Robert doesn’t even know about his stand’s existence yet, he hasn’t trained with it and thus he doesn’t know about any of it’s abilities, not even about the time travel oof).

—— Physical! ♡

BUILD :     scrawny   /   bony   /   slender   /   fit   /   athletic   /   curvy   /   herculean   /  pudgy  /   average   .

HEIGHT  :   5’11”, close to the 6’ mark (181 cms)

SCARS   /   BIRTHMARKS  :    The most recognizable one is the scar marring the left side of his face (going from the top of his nose to his jaw), but he has plenty more scattered all over his body, some more visible than others, some larger than others. Most of them come from fights and his general criminal lifestyle, some of them even come from some of the torture sessions he’s endured as part of that (so it isn’t surprising that they were either caused by knives, gunshots, burns, shards of glass and etc). Most of his scars are located on his chest and arms, some more on his hands/wrists and fingers (hands/wrists and fingers mainly from when he was learning to use his buzzsaw hat), though he has a few more on his legs/thighs, lower abdomen, and a couple more on his back. In the main verse (usually set in the late stages of PB), he will have a few more from the events in PB −burn scars on his hands from the fire at the Joestar mansion, one on his shoulder from the attack he received from Jack the Ripper, an ice burn across his abdomen from thawing Zeppeli’s arm, and a couple more and not so visible ones on his arms from minor injuries (cuts) he got while fighting and fending off zombies−. Most of the “PB scars” aren’t too visible thanks to Jonathan (he used his hamon to heal Speedwagon’s injuries shortly after).

ABILITIES   /   POWERS  :  He’s able to tell an evil person from a good one by their smell alone. He’s a resilient man and quite a strong one, too (stronger than the average guy, as he was shown killing zombies using his brute force only and a sledgehammer). He's good at hand to hand combat, he’s also good at using knives and guns, and at wrecking shit with a sledgehammer. I also hc that he's capable of creating veeeeeery small amounts of hamon (this as a result of Zepp's "accidental" slip) if he really puts his mind into it. Due to his current limitations with it, his hamon can’t be used for fighting, but it does enhance his healing process, making it slightly faster than that of an average human (with some proper training, chances are he might be able to do more with it, tho). His stand, in the verses where he has it, can perform time travel, which happens at random at first (he gradually gains control on his stand once he learns about it and starts training with it). Due to stands being a reflection of sorts of their user and their fighting spirit, and as an extension of Robert’s own hamon healing abilities, his stand also possesses healing abilities that can be used both on himself and on others, though this requires some training prior, as the healing relies entirely on Speedwagon’s own life force and can be fatal for him if used carelessly at first (once properly trained, it won’t represent a real danger for him to use). Much like Robert himself, his stand is also capable of packing some punches and causing serious damage on it’s opponent despite his stand being more of a “support” stand rather than a fully combat based one.

RESTRICTIONS  :  He's mostly a regular human in the main verse, so he’s at a great disadvantage against stronger supernatural beings such as vampires and pillarmen, for example. As stated above, the amounts of hamon he can currently create are small and, thus are difficult −almost impossible− to use for combat (again, this can change if he gets some proper training). His lack of knowledge on his stand’s existence can also count as a restriction for the time being, as he doesn’t know about it or it’s abilities and, thus, can’t use it at his will for now (it operates mostly in an “unconscious” level at first, usually after getting triggered). He also tends to wear his heart in his sleeve when it comes to the few people he truly holds dear and considers special to him, so that can be used against him if he’s not careful enough.

—— Likes / Scents! ♡

FOOD  :    He isn’t really picky with food since he grew up in absolute poverty and sometimes went for days without a single bite of food or eating stale (sometimes even moldy) food so like… he’s cool with pretty much anything nowadays. He’s also an adventurous man, so he’s always open to trying new and even “exotic” stuff. Other than that, pastries are one of his top fave things ever (creamy ones mainly but not exclusively).

DRINK  :   Tea −citrusy/fresh types mainly like lemongrass, same with berry teas−. He doesn’t mind sweeter teas but, since he usually has them with the pastries, he prefers something more “sour” to balance things out. He also likes coffee, liking it strong, kind of sweet, and hot (just how he likes his men lol). As for alcoholic drinks, he’s all for beer and gin. He also enjoys some of the sweeter ‘posh’ wines Jonathan normally has at his home.

PIZZA TOPPING  :  As far as I know, pizza toppings weren’t as creative and “crazy” in the 19th century as they have been over the last few decades, so he’s only used to more ‘traditional’ stuff like variants of Pizza Margherita, for example. However, in the time travel verses/modern!AUs he will definitely try all kinds of pizza toppings (yes, this includes pineapple pizza as well as entirely sweet pizza toppings and so on) and actually likes some of them.

COLOUR  :    Purple (shades like those of his waistcoats i.e.), pink, greeeeeeenvert, black.

MUSIC GENRE  :    More than a genre itself, he enjoys and appreciates music that can make him feel something. Toss some pub songs there for obvious reasons lol.

BOOK GENRE  :     General fiction mostly. He also enjoys reading some romance novels every now and then whenever he gets the chance to get his hands on a gay romance one, either featuring two males or two females (he doesn’t find the appeal in “traditional” ones for a variety of reasons).

MOVIE GENRE  :    Non-applicable in the main verse. Time travel verses −if he even gets the chance to watch a movie− and even in a modern!AU, his go to genres would probs be similar to his book genres, lol, just add some comedy there but like, not the ‘cheapest’ and cringey kind of comedy.

SEASON  :     Autumn and Winter (harsh winters are a pain in the ass in Ogre Street, but he can handle them fairly well overall)

CURSE WORD :   Fuck / Shit / Bloody and variants of it (like Bloody Hell) / Arsehole / Wanker / Damnit / Bollocks, Ballocks and all of it’s variants / Bastard / Motherfucker / Zounderkite (victorian for “idiot” but with even harsher and ruder connotations than just using “idiot” lol) / Beardsplitter (one of the victorian words for “penis” xd). There are plenty, plenty, more but those are the ones I can think of rn. He comes from the darkest pits of the slums after all, so yeah... Lots of cussing can be expected.

SCENT ( S )  :    Sweet and masculine musky scent, mainly, with an occasional subtle note of gunpowder and/or tobacco depending on whatever tf he’s been doing. Maybe a vague note of blood if he just got out of a fight. Some vague vanilla too but that one only around the time when he lands a temporary job in a bakery in London.

—— Fun Facts! ♡

BOTTOM OR TOP  :   Top leaning verse. He only bottoms occasionally for serious/long term boyfriends that he genuinely trusts, partly due to how being a bottom was (wrongly) perceived as being submissive by most people, and how dangerous being seen as such can be in a place like Ogre Street if the word gets out (not to mention that there’s been people there who have given him shit just for being gay), and partly because he also prefers to top and likes it better, lol.

SINGS IN THE SHOWER  :   Yeah. He started doing it as a child as a way to keep his mind distracted from how cold as fuck the water he’d wash himself with was (he usually bathed in rivers or washed himself with buckets of water some maid forgot outside of a household and that he managed to steal). He’s become a lot more used to cold baths over the years so a distraction is not necessary anymore, however, he still sings or hums sometimes whenever he has a song stuck in his head or if he’s particularly happy about something (this continues later on in life as well,even after cold baths are no longer part of his life, so it’s a habit that he never actually leaves).

LIKES PUNS  :    He loves them! Lame ones, good ones, cheesy ones, silly ones, witty ones, dirty/vulgar ones, etc. Heck, even dad jokes can be found in his repertoire! Chances are that, if you come to him with a pun or joke, he will give you one or two (maybe even more) in return.

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Tagged by: @le-princesse-chevalier​​ (( thank you so much for the tag!!! ♡♡ ))

Tagging: @historias-multorum @jojoingjoseph @gazelessmenagerie @usfv @featherchan @kindersturm @iiguess @storiedocs @quirofiliac @rotrioted @breatheflcra @emcraldsxchcrrics @arrhythmiiia @mechahero @voltagecrow @promiseled @joesrparchive (tagged your main but the tag applies to any and all of your muses that you might want to fill this for >:D) @rzrbite​ @mistymiddiana (if you’re up for it) & also tagging anyone and everyone who wants to give this a shot! Just take it and say i tagged you~ Multis and peeps with 2+ muses, feel free to do this for as many of your muses as you wish!

[jojosdankass]

I’m digging all these musician pun-names (how petty of me)

[jenatwork]

My mother is watching JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and enjoying it. Proof that we are living in strange times.

So yes, I’m staying with my parents for lockdown: the sequel. Yesterday I put the first ep of JJBA on Netflix, mostly for background noise while I was crocheting. My mother was in the room, reading, but by the end of the episode she’d put her book down and was watching intently. We ended up watching three eps, then this evening she handed me the remote and said, “You can put your anime on again, if you want.” Now we’re up to ep7 and she was disappointed when I said I was done watching for the day.

I guess it makes sense? It’s like a wackier version of David Caradine’s ‘Kung Fu’, which she’s a big fan of. I’ve tried to watch other anime with her but nothing seemed to hold her interest. I thought she’d like Jeweller Richard, since she likes a lot of mystery shows, but I think ep2 was just too gay for her. She’s watched a couple of Ghibli films, but seemed indifferent. But for some reason, she’s really into JoJo.

I’m looking forward to seeing how she reacts to Battle Tendency. Joseph is my favourite JoJo (and Sugita-san is a terrific seiyuu), but also that’s when the musical references really become noticeable - Tonpeti was enough to make her laugh out loud today.

[thatdesusa]

Sad news - Tamio Ōki has passed away T_T

Mausu Production, Ōki's talent agency of many years, announced the news yesterday, stating that the 89 year old voice actor had succumbed to illness and died on the 14th of December

An active seiyuu since 1968, Tamio Ōki's many roles included Dr. Tenma (Astro Boy - 1980), Gouhei Oigawa (Ashita no Joe - 1970), Daisuke Aramaki (Ghost in the Shell - 1995), Yamaoka (Wolf Children - 2012), Kengo Kuzemi (Eureka Seven - 2005), King Alberto (Nichijou - 2011), King (Berserk - 1997), Tonpeti (Jojo's Bizarre Adventures - 2012) and Albert (Golgo 13 - 2008), to name a few

He'll be sorely missed by family and friends alike T_T

[coollyinterferes]

//gonna add my two cents here cause gOD it pisses me off to no end when people make such claims and they need to stop. Speedwagon was never useless, not even in part 1 (as some ppl like to claim) and here is why:

He saved Jonathan’s life 3 times at least (one in Ogre Street, by telling his men to leave him be, another one when he shot Dio in the face when he had more than clear intentions to kill him, and another one when the fight was over and he took Jona to the hospital, completely on his own and despite the serious injuries he was holding himself –broken arm and ribs and a punctured lung, and possibly some burns from the fire as well–)

He helped him get the antidote he needed for his father as well as the evidence he needed to prove Dio was the one poisoning George.

He unveiled Dio’s evil nature, which could also count as one more instance where he saved Jonathan’s life, since Dio was only waiting for Jona to come closer so he could stab and kill him.

He got the info the Joestar group needed to find where Dio’s whereabouts, saving them a lot of precious time and, indirectly, saving lots of innocent lives in the process.

He helped Zeppeli to be able to use hamon once more by thawing his frozen arm (also, indirectly saving his life, if only for a while, when Tarkus nearly squashes him with a piece of Bruford’s armor). All this also allowed Zeppeli to be able to pass down his hamon to Jonathan.

He also protected Poco during some of the fights and when he was injured from when Tarkus kicked him.

He was always able to see his weaknesses and still find ways to work around them and be of help as much as a powerless and regular human in his current situation could without getting in the way, and even more so, since he is seen fending off and actually killing zombies using nothing but his sledge hammer and pure brute force, something very few non-hamon users could have achieved, and helping the Joestar group with these actions.

Add one more “saved his ass” to the count if you take into consideration that he also helped Tonpeti and Straizo take Jonathan all the way back to safety after the “final” battle with Dio was over.

And I’m pretty sure I’m missing a couple things more from part 1, and from part 2 and on there’s everything the Speedwagon Foundation did for the Joestars as well as on it’s own in regards of medical research and environmental conservation. Not to mention that Speedwagon himself helped Erina raise both George and Joseph, and also helped Lisa Lisa avoid facing the law for killing George’s murderer, and so on.

In short, without him there wouldn’t be any jjba to begin with. So, yeah, to those who still think that he’s “””useless”””, please stop believing what the “funni meemz” tell you and go re-watch/re-read PB and BT instead and cut all that nonsense.

Don't come telling me Speedwagon was useless!

Speedwagon founded and funded the largest scientific organization that studies stands and possibly one of the top scientific organizations period in the JoJoverse.

Any insights on stands can advance human understanding of sentience and maybe provide new forms of energy.

A JoJo has been as useful as his JoJo-part, perhaps 3 parts if we count Jotaro. Speedwagon will be useful forever in the JoJoverse because of the Speedwagon Foundation.