Stand By Me (Worm/JoJo SI)

[TMTMTM]

I like where this is going, and I dig the balance changes. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Zentari2238]

Wish this didn't go the befriend Taylor route. Nice to see more of it though.

 

[Leingod]

I like where this is going, and I dig the balance changes. Can't wait to see more.

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Thanks! And I'm glad about that; I keep worrying about whether or not I'm nerfing the Stand too much or not nerfing it enough to tell the story I want to. I was also kind of worried about the reaction to the SI essentially one-shotting Taylor and was all ready to start explaining the mitigating circumstances and such.

Wish this didn't go the befriend Taylor route. Nice to see more of it though.

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Sorry to jump on a cliche, though in my defense with this fandom just about every means of using Taylor, including just omitting her entirely, has become a cliche by now. Hopefully you'll still enjoy it going forward despite that; I can at least promise this isn't going to be a "Poor Taylor" thing where the SI is always in Taylor's corner over every little thing and never has their own conflicting opinions and things to deal with. I've read a few of those and in addition to being boring, they're also reductionist and patronizing.

 

[IsaacTheAutobot1229]

This is a great start to go with a pretty realistic person being scared shitless of the deathworld known as Bet.

That may be considered cliche, but it is hard to use other characters well when almost the entire story was from her (biased) point of view.

 

[GiftofLove]

I don't like the Nerf. It makes sense, somewhat, for Taylor to be able to sense Harvest because they're little bug dudes, but I don't think she should be able to see Stands normally.

There are a lot more bullshit powers out there in Worm than invisible, invincible ghosts with powers of their own. Especially when said ghosts can't be in two places at one time.

Working around someone's power is part of JoJo AND Worm.

 

[JeckJack]

Liking where this is going! I wonder what the rules are here though, since apparently people in public can't see the true form of Stand By Me, but Taylor can see Harvest. Do Parahumans count as Stand Users, in a way?

 

[Leingod]

Incidentally, because I love using them and feel much prouder of them than I have any right to, a short look at the musical references in this chapter:

Session 2: The Insect Trust

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First, the use of "Sessions" instead of "Chapters" is borrowed from Cowboy Bebop, one of my all-time favorite shows which also uses the names of songs and such for its titles (including "My Funny Valentine"). Incidentally, the next chapter is going to break this "Session #: Musical Reference" naming scheme and instead use the typical Worm naming scheme instead. For reasons you're all probably smart enough to guess.

Also, The Insect Trust is was an American jazz band from new York, founded in 1967. They took the name from a poetry journal of the same name, which in turn took the name from William S. Burroughs's 1959 novel Naked Lunch, a very disjointed and impressionistic series of vignettes meant to be read in any order, skipping around through time and space and told through the eyes of a probably delusional junkie.

"A joke shouldn't have a kill count," I pointed out. "Hamon can't fix roadkill, so I don't think I feel like charging out on my own and getting run over by some white trash bitch on the [Mean Machine]."

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"Mean Machine" is a song from Motörhead's 1986 album Orgasmatron, whose name likely comes from a device in the 1973 film Sleeper, though the album's original working title was Ridin' With the Driver.

Also, if Wheel of Fortune is ever going to make an appearance (and it'll be damn funny if it does, since I can't drive), that's probably what it's going to be renamed. Mean Machine, that is, not Orgasmatron. I was going to use a different Motörhead song from the same album, "Built for Speed," but the Stand is more notable for its power and hardiness than its speed.

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I mostly used this song more because of its fitting title than because of the song itself. I didn't really intend to make any explicit comparison between Taylor and Caesar, though in a sense I guess you could compare the SI and Taylor's first meeting to the short fight between Joseph and Caesar now that I look at it with that in mind, since in both fights even though one side could be said to "win," in truth both parties have each other in a position where they'd be dead to rights if their opponent was playing for keeps. If Taylor was as experienced and ruthless as she eventually becomes in canon, for example, she'd probably give the SI a few stings or bites at the same time she popped the Harvest drones and hold an antivenom over him to get answers.

This is a great start to go with a pretty realistic person being scared shitless of the deathworld known as Bet.

That may be considered cliche, but it is hard to use other characters well when almost the entire story was from her (biased) point of view.

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That's my logic for it, yes. Worm being the series it is, I figured the SI should have a lot of my personal flaws, hang-ups and neuroses to fit into the world better; Stand By Me's reaction to these issues is actually symbolic of... Well, it might be too early to start outright saying that. Glad you're enjoying it so far.

I don't like the Nerf. It makes sense, somewhat, for Taylor to be able to sense Harvest because they're little bug dudes, but I don't think she should be able to see Stands normally.

There are a lot more bullshit powers out there in Worm than invisible, invincible ghosts with powers of their own. Especially when said ghosts can't be in two places at one time.

Working around someone's power is part of JoJo AND Worm.

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I don't know, the Siberian has been pretty much unstoppable for years with that exact powerset, minus the invisibility.

Liking where this is going! I wonder what the rules are here though, since apparently people in public can't see the true form of Stand By Me, but Taylor can see Harvest. Do Parahumans count as Stand Users, in a way?

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That's what the SI is wondering now. In the next chapter, he'll probably at least try to test if she can see Stand By Me in other forms and it wasn't just some fluke as a result of Harvest's insect-like appearance interacting weirdly with Bug Girl's power to control insects.

Incidentally, in an early draft of the story one of the first Stand's the SI would manifest and use in combat was Tower of Gray (under the name "Fly on the Wall"), but I quickly realized that Tower of Gray was much too lethal a Stand to whip out so early, since it's so fast and maneuverable very few capes would be able to touch it and it can insta-kill large numbers of people within seconds. If and when it does appear, there'll probably be a mitigating factor to it, most likely it being one of the Stands that has traces of its own will; in this case, it's a very violent and bloodthirsty Stand that strains against being used for nonlethal purposes.

 

[Zentari2238]

If and when it does appear, there'll probably be a mitigating factor to it, most likely it being one of the Stands that has traces of its own will; in this case, it's a very violent and bloodthirsty Stand that strains against being used for nonlethal purposes.

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...so the stand that is custom made for killing is not satisfied being used for anything else? That's not a limitation.

Personally, if it was about balance I would go with individual stands draining the user in different rates (like a stamina bar) and having to train each of them individually in order to bring said 'cost' down. Maybe add a small/medium/large cooldown or drain each time he changes a stand, also trainable. That way he has potential for absurd bullshit but doesn't allow him to pull counter after counter. Want to be Eidolon Plus? Hope you are ready to train like hell in order to git gud scrub.

 

[IsaacTheAutobot1229]

Didn't it already say in the first chapter that stronger Stands drain him faster than weaker ones and that it slowly gets easier to do with only the ones he uses?

 

[TMTMTM]

I keep worrying about whether or not I'm nerfing the Stand too much or not nerfing it enough to tell the story I want to. I was also kind of worried about the reaction to the SI essentially one-shotting Taylor and was all ready to start explaining the mitigating circumstances and such.

Click to shrink...

Honestly the whole parahumans seeing stands thing is kinda neat, and not that huge a deal concidering how being able to see stands never means that you are safe from stands. I just hope you don't nerf the actual power of the high teir stands later on though, that would be pretty goddamn dissapointing and unnecessary.
Talking about powers though, will the mc be able to teach Hamon? I feel like that could be pretty cool naratively. On a more unrelated side note, I hope we get a interlude with the POV of some other character being baffled at the Posing of the MC.

As for the second thing, don't worry too much about it. As long as you present reasonably clear cause and effect in story (or reasonably believable bullshit) people will get it for the most part. Also Harvest is actually a really powerful stand from a strategy perspective, though not as outright offensively powerful as Bad Company.

 

[Leingod]

Incidentally, here's all the names I will/would use for Part III Stands manifested through Stand By Me and the musical stuff that inspires them. Credit where it's due, the vast majority of these were thought up by people on the internet in threads asking this exact question.

Anubis: Black Blade – The name comes from the Blue Öyster Cult song "Black Blade" in the album Cultösaurus Erectus, and is a reference to Stormbringer, the malevolent living sword of the Elric Saga of fantasy novels written by Michael Moorcock (which I'm a big fan of, incidentally).

Atum: The Game – The name comes from the Motörhead song "The Game" in the album Hammered. The song was written by WWE music composer Jim Johnston as the entrance theme for Triple H and was performed live by Motorhead themselves in two of his WrestleMania appearances.

Bastet: High Voltage – The name comes from the Electric Six song "Danger! High Voltage" in the album Fire.

Dark Blue Moon: Ocean Man – The name comes from The Ween's song "Ocean Man" in the album The Mollusk. You might recognize it from an old commercial for the Honda Civic, or the end credits of the Spongebob Squarepants movie.

Death 13: The Reaper – The name comes from the Blue Oyster Cult song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" in the album Agents of Fortune.
Ebony Devil: Voodoo Child – The name comes from the Jimi Hendrix Experience's song "Voodoo Child" in the album Electric Ladyland. It's one of Hendrix's most famous songs, and as is often the case with him, the guitar and vocals are mostly improvised.

Emperor: Big Iron – The name comes from the Marty Robbins song "Big Iron" in the album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. The song tells the story of an Arizona Ranger's duel with an outlaw named Texas Red; Robbins got the idea and the name from a one-off custom handgun chambered in .45 Colt with a cut down 9 ½" Marlin rifle barrel that he saw in Andy Anderson's North Hollywood gun shop sometime in the late '50s.

Empress: Offspring – Named after the American punk rock band The Offspring.

Geb: Aquarius – The name comes from the album Aquarius by R&B artist Tinashe. This album was her debut as a solo artist after the disbanding of The Stunners.

Hanged Man: Centerfold – The names from The J. Geils Band song "Centerfold" in the album Freeze Frame. The song is about a man feeling conflicted at the sight of his old high school crush appearing as a centerfold in a dirty magazine.

Hermit Purple: Deep Purple – Named after the English rock band Deep Purple.

Hierophant Green: Green River – The name comes from Creedence Clearwater Revival's song "Green River" and the album of the same name it appears in. John Fogerty used a name he used for a river near where he lived as a child that he called Green River even though that wasn't its real name (specifically, it was Putah Creek in California).

High Priestess: Substitute – The name comes from The Who's song "Substitute," which was released as a single before appearing on the compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.

Horus: Snowblind – The name could refer to several songs named "Snowblind" (all three of which use the title to reference cocaine addiction, incidentally), but I prefer the one by Black Sabbath (though I totally recommend the one by Steppenwolf) from their album Vol. 4.

Judgment: Magic Man – The name refers to the song "Magic Man" by Heart, from their album Dreamboat Annie.

Justice: Thriller – The name comes from Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" and the album of the same name it appears in. Obviously.

Khnum: Who Do You Want to Be – The name comes from Oingo Boingo's song "Who Do You Want to Be" in the album Good for Your Soul.

Lovers: Time Out of Mind – The name comes from Steely Dan's song "Time Out of Mind" from the album Gaucho.

Magician's Red: Fire on High – The name comes from the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) song "Fire on High" in the album Face the Music. I was seriously tempted to use "Disco Inferno," but that was just too corny. I also considered "Fire of Unknown Origin," but…

Osiris: The Gambler – The name comes from a Kenny Rogers song called "The Gambler" in an album with the same name. The song is probably the origin of the "know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em" saying, or at least it popularized it.

Sethan: Forever Young – No, not the Jay-Z song, which is actually titled "Young Forever" and is a reworking of the song "Forever Young" by Alphaville. I hate that song because my mother played into the damn ground for months after it came out. Instead it's a reference to the oft-covered song "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan, from his album Planet Waves.

Silver Chariot: Quicksilver – Named after the American psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service, sometimes credited as just Quicksilver.

Star Platinum: I've actually got two ideas for this one. The first is "Starman," the famous David Bowie song that was originally released as a single before being added to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I'm actually leaning more toward the second one right now, though: Mike Oldfield released an album called Platinum, which begins with a four-part composition of the same name, the last part of which is called "North Star." "Star" and "Platinum?" I can't be positive that it's where Araki got the name, but it's cool either way, and hey, "North Star" makes for some obvious Fist of the North Star jokes. And honestly, I might just keep Star Platinum's name, since it sort of counts as a musical reference already, just a more subtle one than usual.

Strength: Meddle – The name comes from the Pink Floyd album Meddle. The name references how its powers are usually used; "meddling" with the ship to hurt and kill people. I'd have used an explicitly boat-themed name, but that was kind of too corny.

The Fool: Mr. Sandman – The name comes from the old song "Mr. Sandman," originally written by Pat Ballard and recorded by too many artists to bother naming; the most famous today, thanks to pop culture, is the version recorded by The Chordettes. I considered "Enter Sandman," but I like including one or two older songs every now and then.

The Sun: Here Comes the Sun – The name comes from the Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun" in the album Abbey Road. George Harrison wrote it based on his relief at the arrival of spring and the concurrent break he got from dealing with the band's business affairs.

The World: Could it be anything but the album and song recorded by Ronnie James Dio himself? No, surely the only name worthy of Za Warudo is [Holy Diver]! The very grandiose and dramatic nature of the album and song are very fitting of a Stand made to grasp the power of The World.

Tohth: Just Another Day – The name comes from the Oingo Boingo song "Just Another Day" on the album Dead Man's Party.

Tower of Gray: Fly on the Wall – The name comes from the AC/DC song "Fly on the Wall" and the album of the same name.

Wheel of Fortune: Mean Machine – I already gave this one.

Yellow Temperance: Nowhere Man – The name comes from the Beatles song "Nowhere Man," which is featured on the British version of their album Rubber Soul.

...so the stand that is custom made for killing is not satisfied being used for anything else? That's not a limitation.

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It is when it doesn't particularly care who it kills, and also when the SI doesn't actually want to brutally murder people, which will be most of the time, if for no other reason than to not be labeled a dangerous vigilante. Self defense and kill orders are one thing, using a Stand that constantly wants to stab through peoples' mouths and rip their tongues out as they tear through the back of the head, causing them to blood out while in horrible pain, would send a message that the SI would really prefer people not associate with him.

Personally, if it was about balance I would go with individual stands draining the user in different rates (like a stamina bar) and having to train each of them individually in order to bring said 'cost' down. Maybe add a small/medium/large cooldown or drain each time he changes a stand, also trainable. That way he has potential for absurd bullshit but doesn't allow him to pull counter after counter. Want to be Eidolon Plus? Hope you are ready to train like hell in order to git gud scrub.

Click to shrink...

Didn't it already say in the first chapter that stronger Stands drain him faster than weaker ones and that it slowly gets easier to do with only the ones he uses?

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Yes. Specifically, manifesting a Stand for the first time is a big mental/spiritual strain (and it's specifically mental/spiritual because this way you can't just make it go away with Hamon or Panacea's powers), with "stronger" Stands causing more strain to the point that, at least currently, trying to manifest the most powerful Stands would probably be fatal, and others might cause the SI to just collapse. The more a specific Stand is manifested and used, the less strain is caused by manifesting that particular Stand. And, of course, Stands that already cause similar kinds of strain will still do so, like Star Platinum: The World causing heart problems and such.

Honestly the whole para humans seeing stands thing is kinda neat, and not that huge a deal concidering how being able to see sstands never means that you are safe from stands. I just hope you don't nerf the actual power of the high teir stands later on though, that would be pretty goddamn dissapointing and unnecessary.

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Oh trust me, the fights toward the endgame will be a glorious parade of pure, unadulterated bullsh*t in true JoJo (and Worm, honestly) fashion. "Gray Boy, meet King Crimson" is an idea I've vaguely considered.

Talking about powers though, will the mc be able to teach Hamon? I feel like that could be pretty cool naratively. On a more unrelated side note, I hope we get a interlude with the POV of some other character being baffled at the Posing of the MC.

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As for the second thing, don't worry too much about it. As long as you present reasonably clear cause and effect in story (or reasonably believable bullshit) people will get it for the most part. Also Harvest is actually a really powerful stand from a strategy perspective, though not as outright offensively powerful as Bad Company.

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I actually considered not giving the SI Harvest because of just how useful it can be with even a modicum of creativity (after all, in canon it proved a big hurdle for both Crazy Diamond and The Hand and even managed to survive for quite some time in a game of Cat and Mouse with Killer Queen), but I decided the SI needed at least one Stand that can be directly dangerous as a combatant, and its use in easily collecting money meant I didn't have to focus too much on the SI's mundane troubles of having no ID and no cash in this universe.

 

[IsaacTheAutobot1229]

There is a reason cyoa stories can honestly justify choosing power manipulator, Worm is that freaking dangerous without sufficient power to back you up.

 

[Charon]

I wonder if there'll be stands from Steel Ball Run too? Mostly I just want someone shitting their pants when confronted with Scary Monsters, because 'Suddenly Raptors' has gotta be scary for most capes regardless of power level.

 

[Gawain]

Emperor: Big Iron – The name comes from the Marty Robbins song "Big Iron"

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*New Vegas flashbacks intensifying*

 

[Zentari2238]

Incidentally, here's all the names I will/would use for Part III Stands manifested through Stand By Me and the musical stuff that inspires them. Credit where it's due, the vast majority of these were thought up by people on the internet in threads asking this exact question.

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You are having way too much fun with this, aren't you?

*New Vegas flashbacks intensifying*

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"biiig iron on his hiiiipppp"

 

[Fenrir]

Anubis: Black Blade – The name comes from the Blue Öyster Cult song "Black Blade" in the album Cultösaurus Erectus, and is a reference to Stormbringer, the malevolent living sword of the Elric Saga of fantasy novels written by Michael Moorcock (which I'm a big fan of, incidentally).

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It is a good song, and Moorcock is awesome(he also wrote the song's lyrics, and the lyrics of Veteran of the Psychic Wars, and Great Sun Jester. He also was technically a member of Hawkwind at one point writing two albums for them*.) , and man am I happy that someone else thinks that if Stardust Crusaders had done the "Stand names as musical references" thing that later parts do, that Anubis would have been named Black Blade.

*The Warrior At The Edge of Time, and The Chronicle of the Black Sword.

Spoiler: Black Blade lyrics

I have this feeling that my luck is none too good
This sword here at my side don't act the way it should
Keeps calling me its master, but I feel like its slave
Hauling me faster and faster to an early early grave

I'm told it's my duty to fight against the Law
That wizardry's my trade and I was born to wad through gore
I just want to be a lover, not a red eyed screaming ghoul
I wish it picked another to be its killing tool

Black Blade! Black Blade!
Forged a billion years ago
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Killing so its power can grow(grow, grow, grow, grow...)

It's death from the beginning to the end of time
And I'm the cosmic champion and I hold a mystic sign
And the whole world's dying and the burden's mine
And the black sword keeps on killing 'til the end of time

Black Blade! Black Blade!
Bringing Chaos to the world we know
Black Blade! Black Blade!
And it's using me to kill my friends
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Getting stronger so the world will end
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Forcing my mind to bend and bend

I am the Black Blade
Forged a million billion years ago
My cosmic soul it goes on for eternity
Carving out destiny
Bringing in the Lords of Chaos
Bringing up the Beasts of Hades
Laying waste to knights and ladies
My master is my slave
Ha ha ah ha ah ha!
You poor fucking humans

 

[dnkru135]

But I thought that Stands were unable to be injured except with other Stand users due to what the wikia states.

A Stand is invulnerable to any harm except against another Stand. It usually means that the only person capable of defeating a Stand User is another Stand user.

Stands possess intangibility. It is uncommon but not unheard of for Stand Users to channel their Stands inside their bodies to protect themselves, using their Stand's superhuman durability to their advantage. It is even more uncommon for Stands to phase through objects, but the possibility exists.

As psychic projections, Users can also communicate through their Stands. Barring rare exceptions, a Stand User typically shares their consciousness with their Stand and is able to see through its eyes. Moreover, a Stand User can also speak through their Stand, enabling a form of distant communication. However, the Stand must have a mouth or otherwise be able to speak to do so.

Users possess the ability to shrink their Stands to a microscopic level, but the one time it was shown, Polnareff indicated that it was difficult to manipulate the Stand at such a subtle level, and that it was taxing to maintain the small size, making that property impractical in most cases.

Click to shrink...

 

[Leingod]

There is a reason cyoa stories can honestly justify choosing power manipulator, Worm is that freaking dangerous without sufficient power to back you up.

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Well, only when you interact with the higher level stuff (including Endbringer fights and Golden Morning). There's plenty of room for stories in this universe that never leave street level and where weaker powers thrive. It's just that the entire setting has a massive Sword of Damocles hanging over its head that makes those stories feel kind of futile and pointless because you know what lurks ahead. It's kind of why I don't like stuff like the Endbringers and Scion; I feel like they inherently limit the stories you can tell in the universe, because you're doomed to either escalate so high up you could pluck Kars out of space or your story feels ultimately meaningless because everyone knows that Zion's going to snap at some point and probably kill most of the people involved.

I wonder if there'll be stands from Steel Ball Run too? Mostly I just want someone shitting their pants when confronted with Scary Monsters, because 'Suddenly Raptors' has gotta be scary for most capes regardless of power level.

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There'll be at least a couple Stands from every part. How often they'll actually be used is up for grabs, of course.

*New Vegas flashbacks intensifying*

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Due to a bug, that song actually played twice as much as it should have. I'm really glad that didn't ruin the song for me, because it's great.

You are having way too much fun with this, aren't you?

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Damn right I am.

It is a good song, and Moorcock is awesome(he also wrote the song's lyrics, and the lyrics of Veteran of the Psychic Wars, and Great Sun Jester. He also was technically a member of Hawkwind at one point writing two albums for them*.) , and man am I happy that someone else thinks that if Stardust Crusaders had done the "Stand names as musical references" thing that later parts do, that Anubis would have been named Black Blade.

*The Warrior At The Edge of Time, and The Chronicle of the Black Sword.

Spoiler: Black Blade lyrics

I have this feeling that my luck is none too good
This sword here at my side don't act the way it should
Keeps calling me its master, but I feel like its slave
Hauling me faster and faster to an early early grave

I'm told it's my duty to fight against the Law
That wizardry's my trade and I was born to wad through gore
I just want to be a lover, not a red eyed screaming ghoul
I wish it picked another to be its killing tool

Black Blade! Black Blade!
Forged a billion years ago
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Killing so its power can grow(grow, grow, grow, grow...)

It's death from the beginning to the end of time
And I'm the cosmic champion and I hold a mystic sign
And the whole world's dying and the burden's mine
And the black sword keeps on killing 'til the end of time

Black Blade! Black Blade!
Bringing Chaos to the world we know
Black Blade! Black Blade!
And it's using me to kill my friends
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Getting stronger so the world will end
Black Blade! Black Blade!
Forcing my mind to bend and bend

I am the Black Blade
Forged a million billion years ago
My cosmic soul it goes on for eternity
Carving out destiny
Bringing in the Lords of Chaos
Bringing up the Beasts of Hades
Laying waste to knights and ladies
My master is my slave
Ha ha ah ha ah ha!
You poor fucking humans

Click to shrink...

That's actually one of the few names I came up with on my own (though of course other people have thought it up before me, case in point right here). And yeah, it fits way too well not to use it.

But I thought that Stands were unable to be injured except with other Stand users due to what the wikia states.

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That is normally the case, which is why the SI is shocked, didn't consider it happening, is wondering what the hell is going on, and is mentally speculating on how it could have happened.

 

[Leingod]

Incidentally, I'm blown away by how much positive feedback this is getting. Being honest, I only put this up on this particular subforum because I had the impression that it didn't get as much traffic as, say, SB or SV, and that if this turned out to be a steaming turd I'd at least be sure that not many people would see it.

As you might imagine, the sheer amount of people saying it had promise and giving it likes was not remotely something I expected; in fact, the OP has probably gotten more likes than anything I've ever done (except maybe one or two chapters of my old RWBY quest "ROYL," but I'd have to check on that). It's an amazing feeling, and it kinda makes me want to take this elsewhere... Kinda. Worm is one of those fandoms in particular that seems kind of intimidating to try to write for and just throw your stuff out there. But maybe I'm just being irrational.

Either way, huge thanks for reading and enjoying this so far, and let's hope I can keep it going for once!

 

[IsaacTheAutobot1229]

The first post was interesting but the second really grabbed the attention is what happened. Good job for attention getting and you followed up with a great characterization with an intriguing plot.

 

[Shinichi07]

Incidentally, I'm blown away by how much positive feedback this is getting. Being honest, I only put this up on this particular subforum because I had the impression that it didn't get as much traffic as, say, SB or SV, and that if this turned out to be a steaming turd I'd at least be sure that not many people would see it.

As you might imagine, the sheer amount of people saying it had promise and giving it likes was not remotely something I expected; in fact, the OP has probably gotten more likes than anything I've ever done (except maybe one or two chapters of my old RWBY quest "ROYL," but I'd have to check on that). It's an amazing feeling, and it kinda makes me want to take this elsewhere... Kinda. Worm is one of those fandoms in particular that seems kind of intimidating to try to write for and just throw your stuff out there. But maybe I'm just being irrational.

Either way, huge thanks for reading and enjoying this so far, and let's hope I can keep it going for once!

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Honestly I think a big part of the appeal besides your writing is the fact that the power just comes out of left field for people in worm I mean a projection based trump power isn't one I think people on Bet have ever seen before besides the fairie Queen , plus I can't wait for the interlude chapter

on a side note please tell me you're gonna have some original stands for [Stand by Me] to use cause honestly [Great Sun Jester] is too good a name not to use

 

[Leingod]

Honestly I think a big part of the appeal besides your writing is the fact that the power just comes out of left field for people in worm I mean a projection based trump power isn't one I think people on Bet have ever seen before besides the fairie Queen , plus I can't wait for the interlude chapter

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There are JoJo/Worm crossovers, incidentally, one or two are actually pretty good.

on a side note please tell me you're gonna have some original stands for [Stand by Me] to use cause honestly [Great Sun Jester] is too good a name not to use

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It is possible for Stand By Me to create "original" Stands; after all, they're all fictional as far as the SI is concerned. However, Stands that weren't created by Araki are, for some reason, even more straining to manifest than they should be. The Doylist reason is that this keeps the SI from just making up a new Stand to hard-counter every obstacle they face. The Watsonian reason is only hinted at; Stand By Me isn't sure exactly why it works out that way, but claims that it feels a little bit like the "canon" Stands are sort of "already there" in some way, which makes them easier to work with. It compares the feeling to the difference between just pressing Play on a disc that's already in a music player and having to get a new disc and swap it out before pressing Play to get the music you want.

It's funny, really; the Big Bad Stands of Parts 3-6 can be compared to a button on a TV remote: The World is the Stop button, Killer Queen: Bites the Dust is a Rewind Chapter button, King Crimson is a Skip Chapter button, and Made In Heaven is the Fast Forward button. In that vein, Stand By Me might be considered the Eject button, which lets you remove whatever was in there and replace it. Or perhaps the Play button, since it just plays whatever is "loaded into" it.

 

[Fenrir]

It's funny, really; the Big Bad Stands of Parts 3-6 can be compared to a button on a TV remote: The World is the Stop button, Killer Queen: Bites the Dust is a Rewind Chapter button, King Crimson is a Skip Chapter button, and Made In Heaven is the Fast Forward button. In that vein, Stand By Me might be considered the Eject button, which lets you remove whatever was in there and replace it. Or perhaps the Play button, since it just plays whatever is "loaded into" it.

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This also works with Part 7 since Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap could be considered the Change Channel button. No idea what the final boss Stand of Part 8 will be though.

 

[Leingod]

So in this next chapter (the interludes getting moved up a space, BTW; it wasn't quite working where it was), the SI is going to actually give a name. I'd rather not give my actual full name for obvious reasons, so I've got a few options as for how to deal with that and would like to ask your opinions (without doing a poll, because I don't know how to get rid of those):

1. Give the SI a normal-sounding name that wouldn't be out of place in Worm and has no relation to my own.

2. Give the SI a name that is a musical reference but can still pass for a normal person's name. In this case, the most likely would be Dion Belmont, after the vocal group Dion & the Belmonts, who were named after frontman Dion DiMucci and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where all of the founding members lived on or near. Incidentally, "Dion" is a diminutive of Dionysios and other Greek names with the naming element "dios," which means "of Zeus;" Belmont is a French/English version of the Italian/Spanish Belmonte, which means "beautiful mountain."

3. Give the SI a certain birthmark that recalls a significant one from JJBA, leading them to use a pseudonym related to that. And no, it's not the Joestar birthmark. There's self-indulgence and then there's that.

4. Of my three names, two of them are similar enough to names used by members of the Zeppeli family (even though I'm not Italian) that I'm tempted to just roll with that and have the SI take the pseudonym Marco (similar to Mario and a very common Italian name that doesn't call to mind a chubby plumber) Antonio (Will and Caesar's middle names, only in actual Italian form) Zeppeli. I mean, since there are no Joestars around, surely the Zeppeli Curse will never manfiest itself?

In the latter two cases, I might just handwave it away as the SI losing the memory of their name along with their metaknowledge of Worm (in which case there'll start being grounds for a case that the SI was on the wrong side of [California King Bed] before getting dumped in Earth Bet), or have the SI take a pseudonym either to disassociate himself from the things he doesn't like about himself and which aren't helpful to his chosen course of action (which always struck me as a part of the reason superheroes use "cape names" at all, really) or just make him keep the dislike of my own name I had for a long time but eventually got over.

 

[Shinichi07]

So in this next chapter (the interludes getting moved up a space, BTW; it wasn't quite working where it was), the SI is going to actually give a name. I'd rather not give my actual full name for obvious reasons, so I've got a few options as for how to deal with that and would like to ask your opinions (without doing a poll, because I don't know how to get rid of those):

1. Give the SI a normal-sounding name that wouldn't be out of place in Worm and has no relation to my own.

2. Give the SI a name that is a musical reference but can still pass for a normal person's name. In this case, the most likely would be Dion Belmont, after the vocal group Dion & the Belmonts, who were named after frontman Dion DiMucci and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where all of the founding members lived on or near. Incidentally, "Dion" is a diminutive of Dionysios and other Greek names with the naming element "dios," which means "of Zeus;" Belmont is a French/English version of the Italian/Spanish Belmonte, which means "beautiful mountain."

3. Give the SI a certain birthmark that recalls a significant one from JJBA, leading them to use a pseudonym related to that. And no, it's not the Joestar birthmark. There's self-indulgence and then there's that.

4. Of my three names, two of them are similar enough to names used by members of the Zeppeli family (even though I'm not Italian) that I'm tempted to just roll with that and have the SI take the pseudonym Marco (similar to Mario and a very common Italian name that doesn't call to mind a chubby plumber) Antonio (Will and Caesar's middle names, only in actual Italian form) Zeppeli. I mean, since there are no Joestars around, surely the Zeppeli Curse will never manfiest itself?

In the latter two cases, I might just handwave it away as the SI losing the memory of their name along with their metaknowledge of Worm (in which case there'll start being grounds for a case that the SI was on the wrong side of [California King Bed] before getting dumped in Earth Bet), or have the SI take a pseudonym either to disassociate himself from the things he doesn't like about himself and which aren't helpful to his chosen course of action (which always struck me as a part of the reason superheroes use "cape names" at all, really) or just make him keep the dislike of my own name I had for a long time but eventually got over.

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honestly I think Number 2 would be the best option and I'm not just saying that cause [The Wanderer] is one of my favorite old school songs.
Mainly it works for the exact reasons you made it an option 1)it's normal enough to pass for a regular if old fashioned name 2) it has enough of a musical reference that I have no trouble believing that it's a jojo name especially with Dio being in it 3) I feel like having the Protag have an original non-canon name will help him seem more real without having to piggyback on another names legacy

 

[Prince Charon]

So in this next chapter (the interludes getting moved up a space, BTW; it wasn't quite working where it was), the SI is going to actually give a name. I'd rather not give my actual full name for obvious reasons, so I've got a few options as for how to deal with that and would like to ask your opinions (without doing a poll, because I don't know how to get rid of those):

1. Give the SI a normal-sounding name that wouldn't be out of place in Worm and has no relation to my own.

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Well, I've no idea what your actual name is, but how about this: Joel Johnston?

 

[Mammal_man]

Dion Belmont, after the vocal group Dion & the Belmonts

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The Belmonts are a family of vampire hunters in the Castlevania series, so that's a double reference towards Dio.

 

[Leingod]

The Belmonts are a family of vampire hunters in the Castlevania series, so that's a double reference towards Dio.

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That is another part of why I have a preference for that name, yes. Though I've never actually played any games in that series.

 

[Leingod]

So, if anyone's a JoJo fan who's thinking of going to FanimeCon in San Jose or Anime Expo in Los Angeles, take a look at this:

https://realescapegame.com/jojo/

San Jose, CA: 5/25-5/28
Los Angeles, CA: 7/4-7/8

This is really awesome. Hopefully this means we'll also eventually get the Diamond is Unbreakable one, too, where you're being stalked by Kira in an amusement park after seeing him commit one of his murders.

 

[dnkru135]

2. Give the SI a name that is a musical reference but can still pass for a normal person's name. In this case, the most likely would be Dion Belmont, after the vocal group Dion & the Belmonts, who were named after frontman Dion DiMucci and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where all of the founding members lived on or near. Incidentally, "Dion" is a diminutive of Dionysios and other Greek names with the naming element "dios," which means "of Zeus;" Belmont is a French/English version of the Italian/Spanish Belmonte, which means "beautiful mountain."

3. Give the SI a certain birthmark that recalls a significant one from JJBA, leading them to use a pseudonym related to that. And no, it's not the Joestar birthmark. There's self-indulgence and then there's that.

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Can you combine 2 & 3 and have him called Dion Belmont with this on the small of his back: