sakura_no_miko | Fic rec - Until We Move On

Fandom: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Part 1: Phantom Blood)

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Jonathan/Dio

Warnings: canon character death, canonical animal death, body horror/gore, person buried alive, explicit sex (gay), psuedo-incest (adopted siblings)

Other notes: villain PoV, ghosts/haunting, body sharing, character study,

Length: 20k

Summary: A century spent alone at the bottom of the ocean is a long time, even for a creature like Dio. It’s a lucky thing that Jonathan keeps him company.

…so, you know how I keep saying I don’t like rival shipping? I don’t dig archenemy shipping all that much either. I dunno. I don’t get excited by people trying to kill each other. I guess I tend to take it at face value that they, you know, genuinely hate each other, and it’s not actually a cover-up for intense UST.

But I clicked on this one, and, man… I think I need to find more villain PoV stories.

I was trying to kill some time a few days ago, and browsing Netflix, and I went, oh, yeah, Jojo’s is in my queue, and I know they’ve translated at least the first 3 story arcs. But the first story arc is a short 13 episodes, so why not watch it. I’m vaguely familiar with the story. It’s an old classic anime.

It’s always a bit odd, going into to watch a show where you already know some of the plot? Like — well, it’s not a spoiler that Dio is a major villain across multiple story arcs. I didn’t expect him to go 100% evil in the first episode, though. I read some discussion a bit ago where someone said, you know, having all these morally ambiguous, potentially redeemable villains is good and all, but don’t you ever crave just seeing someone who is unrepentantly evil get their butt whooped by the heroes?

Dio is kind of that character. I mean, I understand why he wants power, but I don’t even for a moment believe he’s gonna get swayed by love or justice or anything like that. He’s just a complete dick. That’s pretty much it. Dio is a dick. Which is why he’s a fun antagonist — he’s just gleefully evil.

I suppose the bigger example recently is Broly in Dragon Ball. Broly in the old Dragon Ball Z films is more-or-less a berserker, an unstoppable ball of rage who’s terrifying because he’s relentless and can’t be reasoned with. The reboot of Broly in Dragon Ball Super is also prone to rage, but we see that it’s because he’s been isolated, controlled, and never had an opportunity to learn anything beyond survival. Both versions are interesting in their own way.

But, yeah. Beyond being sadistic and manipulative, do I think Dio cares one whit about sex, let alone romance or companionship?

I would have said, no.

But this fic makes some interesting arguments.

After all, Dio is still, erm, human. Mostly. Humans need companionship to keep their sanity. So Dio spends his hundred years of entombment arguing with the ghost? hallucination? of his hated/begrudgingly respected adopted brother, Jonathan. Even Dio is confused by this:

It’s a silly little thing, talking about rugby matches, of old victories and losses. On the scale of all things, they weigh so little. It’s an innocent thing really and as such so unfitting Dio, the lord of the darkness he’d become. Yet he indulges, and even enjoys recalling these rare harmless episodes of the past.

This fic is so much about watch Dio try and make sense of everything. In an odd way, Dio is kind of a black-and-white character, in that he decides something and sticks to it. He’s capable of arguing, he’s capable of seeing other people’s point of view — in fact, he’s quite good at manipulating people’s thoughts and actions — but for Dio, himself, it seems as if there’s never any hesitation or doubt. He needs to do something and he does it, and it’s only when other people interfere that he gives it any additional thought. And Dio is also incredibly self-aware:

“So why don’t you go?” he asks with contempt in his voice to disguise it. “Go to your father, your stupid mutt, your wife. I’m not holding you back.”
Jonathan doesn’t seem to be angered any more. He was always like this, his temper flaring up for a fight, but then settling back to his usual amicability quickly. Dio used to take it for weakness, and his readiness to forgive as stupidity. Since that night in the castle where Jojo defeated him, he knows better. He learned to respect this man then - like he never respected anyone else and is sure will never do so again either. But he said that once to him, on the ship, and he’s not going to repeat himself.

Which is really what makes him infuriating, that self-awareness with no inclination towards change. A, erm, “normal” person might see such a change as a revelation — that Dio, for all his smarts, had such a wrong image of Jonathan this entire time. Some people might take that as a shock, a reason to re-evaluate everything. Dio just rolls with it. Welp, I won’t make that mistake again, he thinks, and keeps on his stupid straight, narrow path.

He doesn’t even understand his own chess metaphor when he loses. A series of small losses indeed.

And — well, spoilers. Spoilers in that this fic is canon-compliant.

You know the idea of the hero’s call? Part of what changes an ordinary character into a hero is that, when he or she is faced with that crucial moment, that choice of going or staying, fighting or fleeing — the hero takes that hard choice, takes the first steps towards a journey. Even if it means giving up a quiet, peaceful life, or a lover, or a chance to be happy, they make the hard choice, the hero’s choice.

Dio ends up doing that here. He solidifies his villainy in the exact same way — by giving up a chance to die peacefully, give up his plans for world conquest and his ill-gained powers. I suppose he’s taking the villain’s choice, the hard choice to embrace a life of evil and destruction when he could find some amount of peace. And that’s fascinating. There were so many opportunities for him to change, but, ultimately — no, no there weren’t, because Dio was never going to change, really. You get a brief moment of surprise, because you think, oh, maybe… But, no. Like I said, Dio is a villain through and through, and there wasn’t really any hope of change.

Ah.

Though, that said —

I can recommend another fic where that’s not quite true.

Also, if you need a pick-me-up after this fic, I’d recommend Enigma, which is somewhat similar X-Men fic where Erik/Magneto faces, ah, a choice rather similar to Dio here, but… well, it’s a pick-me-up fic, so you can probably guess there’s a happier outcome.

Man, I just keep going back to that last speech Jonathan makes — all his hopes and optimism and he throws it in Dio’s face, so even, for a moment, Dio is moved.

Then it passes.

Agh, and then there’s fanart. Gotta hit me in the gut with those pretty guys saying goodbye.

I’m just utterly infuriated and captivated by Dio, so much, man. He is such a dick. Even when he’s potentially redeemable he is such a dick.

PS: Actually, I may have to consider my thoughts on Dio not caring about sex, because this fic and this fic are quite persuasive (though both of them are also full of power imbalances, so I guess my idea of Dio not wanting sex so much as power still stands.)

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Crossposted to pillowfort