Folkmore App

[seacub]

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Emporio Alniño
Character Age: 12 (Presumed; it's probably accurate?)
Character Species: Human
Current Health: Largely in shock. Minor bleeding from the eyes, broken nose. Scarring on the arms. Emporio is canonically the average height for his age, so it can be assumed he successfully avoided becoming malnourished despite circumstance.
Outfit: A baseball uniform- it appears to be a ghost object, making it relatively impossible to destroy. (It cannot, however, act as armor- it's simply that the clothing restores itself after a moment.)

Character Canon: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Link to History: Located here
Canon Point: 'Fading to Black' after Pucci's defeat.
Canon Iteration: Original Canon
Canon Iteration Explanation: I'm making use of this section to make a note about the...unique situation Stone Ocean presents. On the one hand, Emporio's canon has been completed for 20 years. On the other, the anime adaptation is so recent that the final episodes won't air until December 1st. To that end, I've taken pains to avoid referring to any details on late series matters in threads, and would like it known that there's going to be an Opt-In post so that no one encounters spoilers. ...Ultimately though it's all very 'imagine playing a book character, and oh, suddenly a movie was announced. Uh oh!'

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:

• Relatively high general intelligence; appears to have picked up quickly on...about anything he could ever read.
  
• Capable of driving a car, and piloting a helicopter
  
• Capable of firing at minimum, a revolver handgun
  
• Capable of getting a computer from 1984 at best, to function with the internet of 2011
  
• Stealth
  
• Adaptability/Quick thinking

Canon Abilities: Emporio has two Stands due to the events of Stone Ocean's plot.

The Stand 'Weather Report' is located Here- however, due to its nature as a seemingly sentient Stand, Emporio himself will have a lot to learn about how to 'control' them, as the Stand itself will primarily act in response to his sub-conscious rather than his conscious actions. AS WELL: 'Heavy Weather' is a highly situational, and frankly nonsense extension of the Stand, that we will not be making use of, or even reference to (Emporio slept through it)! So. Don't worry about that section.

The Stand 'Burning Down the House' has an unfortunately inadequate page- an in universe explanation is given here, but essentially BDtH is Emporio's primary Stand, manifesting as an Innate Power. It allows him to interact with 'ghost objects/locations'- when a location is destroyed, the world remembers what was there. When something is constructed over that place, its ghost can thus manifest. Ghost Locations appear as what they were before destruction began. Power, water, temperature, all exist within ghost rooms- albeit as extensions of their frozen state in time. To this end, a Ghost Computer from 1984 was capable of being made to connect to the internet in 2012. Ghost Objects cannot have lasting presence- food and drink can be tasted, but not consumed. Weapons, such as guns, cannot interact with the 'living', and thus pass through any object that isn't similarly 'Made of Ghost'.

And yes, apparently, they are 'Made of Ghost'. No we do not know what this means. Araki is killing us.

Role: Myth
Role Qualities/Attributes: Shortly after coming into Folkmore, Emporio will develop fangs- a very minor feature, but one that depending on, will be joined by others over time. It's tempting to lean on JJBA's vampires, but owing to the nature of Folkmore itself, the addition of further features/traits are a matter I'd rather pin down near the events that spark their growth, to better reflect Emporio's own personal growth and potentially shifting role.
Role Reasoning: So this was very difficult to determine; obviously much of Emporio's role in the series is an assist, something that you would declare a familiar. From there, his ultimate role in taking Pucci down would presumably make one a shoe-in Legend. ...But the thing is, Pucci forced that to happen early.

The choice of Myth ultimately is a twofold deal- in one sense it represents that forced push of destiny, the role of the 'hero' driven out entirely from a place of Fear, Desperation, Rage, and sheer, unfathomable misery. In the other, Emporio's role as 'Myth' draws directly to his role in the world as a whole. Myths represent the 'bad' in the universe, but in this case what is 'bad' isn't so overt as violence or greed. Rather it's hesitance, fear, isolation. Avoiding for one's own health the big picture, focusing on the small. Indeed, Emporio is a kind, sweet person- but he's also an incredibly broken child, doing whatever he can to protect himself.

★ Personality ★

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5):

What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?
It is no exaggeration to say that the most traumatic experience Emporio has had, is that of what occurs directly before his current canon point. Even with what little time there is remaining after that canon point, this remains the case. Emporio is given no time to comprehend, let alone recover, from what occurs- he is given no time to change beyond the immediate. Terror, Shock, and utter, numb exhaustion. In the moments beyond his canon point, he is afforded an instant to break down in tears- a response that will no doubt happen in RP as well.

But then, if this is how he's (un)changed, what was the experience? ...In short, it was a complete cast wipe.

In the final confrontation with Pucci, the situation is already immediately dire. Days before, a strong ally and friend named Foo Fighters was killed fighting Pucci- moments before, and the closest thing to a father figure in Emporio's life was also killed in a fight with Pucci, leaving his Stand to the party to inherit. And at last as they corner the foul priest, everything they do seems to be countered back against them. Not even the final hour addition of Jotaro, and his Stand's ability to stop Time, can help them- Pucci successfully attains the power they had been trying to keep him from, and begins to move impossibly fast. Initially they attempt escape- then, they attempt to fight back.

And in the blink of an eye, nearly everyone is torn through by Pucci's hands in front of Emporio. The priest then taunts the boy, proposing he become a 'martyr' by attempting to kill him in repayment- not only for what has happened now, but for the mother that died at Pucci's own hands as well. Instead, Emporio is pulled away to seeming safety by a dolphin...as Jolyne survived long enough to tie him to it with her Stand ability, before turning back to hold Pucci off. Emporio watches as she is literally torn apart- before time moves rapidly forward, and stops in a repeated reality. Specifically, Pucci has restarted history, intending to do so until all within it will know and accept their 'destined path' in life without question- but hypocritically, he declares that Emporio's role in events make him destined to escape, grow older, and then return to defeat Pucci...and has thus brought them to a moment before that in order to corner and kill him. More than that- he chose the moment Emporio would have met Jolyne, so that the boy could see what became of her in this new world.

Or rather, see that Pucci removed her, and everyone else he'd killed, from that new reality instead. Pucci chases the boy relentlessly on a 'doomed path'- it is a God against a child, still reeling over the sight of everyone he's cared for dying. All his resources, to his knowledge, are gone- except, notably, the Stand Disk entrusted to him by Weather.

Ultimately Emporio successfully tricks Pucci into installing that disk, using its power to kill Pucci; but this too plays into the 'most traumatic' experience. Pucci is unique as a villain- he wholeheartedly believes everything he chased after, and did. To that end, all of his dying moments amount to snapping that Emporio stop; not because Pucci wishes to live, but instead because, in his words, 'Emporio will ruin the heaven that the world was about to attain' if he kills the priest here. Because, in his eyes, Emporio must simply...die.

So...A Cast Wipe. A brutal murder of literally everyone Emporio came to know and love- followed by a pursuit that drove him farther and farther into a corner until there was only way out.

And not an ounce of time to let him really let it sink in.

What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not?
Emporio has a surprisingly firm moral code for someone who grew up in prison- or in fact, perhaps because of the fact that he grew up in prison. On the one hand, we never see him speaking against the fact that everyone in the room has undoubtedly stolen in their lives, and the boy definitely doesn't have any problem when they're stealing an entire helicopter. Or conning Jolyne's ex-boyfriend to get it. Or stealing his phone. ...You get the picture.

Ultimately however, this is because Emporio's moral core sits in the personal- because here's a key point in the above: Jolyne's ex-boyfriend was the one that caused her to end up wrongly imprisoned to begin with. And as for theft in a prison? These guards have tried time and time again for excuses to shoot to kill! They don't treat them like people! In other words...It's all fair play. At heart he knows certain things are just bad- he takes great lengths to warn F.F. of the fact that Anasui is in prison for murder when she seeks the man's aid in helping Jolyne, which proves that Emporio absolutely recognizes the dangers and crimes of those on his own home team. Though that, too, could have been far more about keeping FF alive than about any morality attributed with the matter. It's something that will undoubtedly make it a mess coming to terms with what he himself has now done- on the one hand, it was Pucci or Him, and everyone he knew was gone. It was a man who gladly would and did sacrifice countless innocent lives as a means to an end without a shred of remorse, a man who, the entire battle, taunted and tormented the boy over what he'd lost. On the other, he...still killed someone. He did that. The majority of his thoughts will be 'it's for the best he's gone', but it's a hard matter to come to terms with.

As it stands; Emporio's a good kid. He seeks to be kind first and foremost, and the entire reason he reaches out to others in the series to begin with is because he sees his own pain within them, and wants to avoid that happening. In that regard, Emporio's moral code is...mmm. Barely there in the sense of any chart of true law, but what IS there is impressively strong; what he deals out to Pucci is in his words, Justice.

Mercilessly kill and destroy for the sake of one's means, and expect a fight back- thus, if you don't want it to come back to you, best not start anything. And likewise...He doesn't want to start anything. Why would he, when he knows just how much so much can hurt already? With no reason to commit those kinds of acts, his outlook is ultimately that there's no justification. It would only be cruel- sickening. No one should experience that pain for no reason.

He just wants to live.

What is your character's safespace? When do they feel the most settled and comfortable? When do they feel confident and relaxed?
Very literally, we see Emporio's 'safespace' as a physical refuge for the cast, a location referred to as a 'Ghost Room'- made visible through Emporio's Stand, 'Burning Down the House'. And the room is indeed, a refuge- removed from time by its nature, it is the form of the prison as it existed in 1984, prior a massive fire that required complete rebuilding. Compared to the rest of the prison, this room however looks anything but prisonlike; it is formed in warm colors, with paintings on the wall, windows displaying what had been a clear and sunny day, with food and drink still on the break room tables. It's in this room, that Emporio was at his most peaceful- by the nature of his existence, Emporio's an incredibly nervous, and anxious child. There is no safe place he can be, outside of that room. In the strictly literal sense, the reason such a shift can be experienced is because no one he hasn't already allowed inside can see the ghost room itself. No one he hasn't come to reach out and trust, in other words. But undoubtedly, a massive part of the ease obtained in this place is not just the casual nature of the room's layout, and the hidden state it exists in, but that there are ever people inside it. He can be something other than 'alone'. He can be allowed to forget where, truly, they are- and perhaps be the kid he actually is.

To the core, Emporio's 'safespace' is any place he can make his own- not only in the sense of who can, or cannot enter, but in the sense of close company he loves. It's people who he can relate to and find company in, people who make him smile, that in turn he wants to make smile.

What would your character sacrifice to get what they want or to reach their potential? What have they sacrificed already?

Emporio is a boy of very few wants. This is largely because he hasn't been allowed to 'want'- how could anyone dare to dream beyond their means, if it only meant more misery? There isn't a lot that Emporio can call his own. What he had even before the series has been already reduced to so little. All that remains of his mother is a bone, and the knowledge that he can never leave. What Emporio wants, is a chance to see the world beyond the prison, to live, and live a life with more in it. To be free of the place maintained by the exact man who killed his mother- and as time passes, that wish changes. It's about more than him; it's about Jolyne, her determination despite life threatening circumstance, her refusal to take the easy option of leaving the prison in exchange for suffering stand fight after stand fight to save her father. Once, Emporio wanted nothing more than to leave- then, he wanted nothing more than to see Jolyne succeed.

But Emporio cannot bear to sacrifice what is around him for this. That he hid so long in the prison as is is testament to that dedication; play it safe. Play cautiously. Don't get caught. When Jolyne suggests a break out to chase after Pucci and take him down, Emporio is the one suggesting they wait. That they delay, and get the Speedwagon Foundation for help. Jolyne pushes forward- and ultimately, emboldened by this, and determined to help her further despite any fear, they do indeed break out not long after.

....Ultimately...

Emporio has succeeded in what he 'wanted'. He has left the prison. For good. The man who would have ended the world, who brought Jolyne and her family to misery, has been stopped.

Permanently.

Despite what Emporio never wanted to sacrifice however, it has cost him- by no exaggeration- Everything.

If you could give your character a Taylor Swift playlist, which songs would be on it and what would they represent about your character? // Which Taylor Swift era is your character going through right now and why?

You're getting both of these, as a bonus, because I am infamously terrible at making playlists but also entirely incapable of seeing the words 'if you could give your character a Taylor Swift playlist' and simply ignoring it.

(Essentially this is a less weighty bonus on the app, hence why it's down here with both TSwift Questions in one. The Fox can get TWO TSwift answers. As a treat)

(And then maybe cry with me idk, anyway carrying on,)

Despite only so many listed songs below being from the Folklore and Evermore albums, Emporio is sitting pretty in the Folklore/Evermore era and has always been here. ...Mostly the Evermore end, tragically. Take the isolation that Taylor Swift herself dealt with in the pandemic- enhance that, enhance it a thousand-fold, and you might just have what Emporio's life was. Sad, melancholic at best, drifting by like the notes so many of the songs featured in Evermore specifically play- ghostly slow and bittersweet at best, the kid could only ever dream of safely escaping Green Dolphin for good. Yet impossibly in that isolated state, he'd made himself a small home- a small refuge, a place of safety, with people he could call family. There's some bounce, a spark of escapism he can hold- there's some life made there, despite all the clinging sadness that keeps him from stepping out and forward...at least until it's Gone.

Right now, right upon entry, those memories are tainted; much of Evermore carries this mood and tone despite the actual intent and meaning of many songs within the album; this sadness for the past 'now ruined', either in the form of an individual or in precise events. All the people he loved, are gone. All the things he had that mattered, gone. He's escaped the isolation, but is now more isolated than ever before. Existing on its own had been the primary goal- and then for a brief window, he had more than that.

And then, before he could treasure it, it was Gone.

Soon You'll Get Better

But who am I supposed to talk to?
What am I supposed to do, if there's no you?
~★~
This won't go back to normal, if it ever was
It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because

The inevitable decline of his mother's health; a child's desperate pleas until the end. Emporio's mother wasted away while he could do nothing; empty of spirit, eaten by acid.

You're On Your Own Kid

I didn't choose this town
I dream of getting out
~★~
You're on your own, kid
You always have been

The reality of solitude in a prison he's too afraid to flee; a lack of true caretakers, with one the apathetic Anasui, the other the amnesiac 'Weather Report'- who knew less than even Emporio.

Dear Reader

Dear reader, if it feels like a trap
You're already in one
~★~
Dear reader, when you aim at the devil
Make sure you don't miss

Emporio's choice to warn and aid Jolyne as best he can- and his choice to keep helping despite the risks, when she stays to fight Pucci and save her father rather than escaping.

Sweet Nothing

They said the end is coming
Everyone's up to something
I find myself running home to your Sweet nothings
~★~
And the voices that implore
"You should be doing more"
To you I can admit
That I'm just too soft for all of it

An Illusion of Peace; Moments in the Ghost Room where the fight outside never existed. Moments guiltily savored, while he could.

The Great War

Tears on the letter
I vowed not to cry anymore
If we survived the Great War
~★~
I vowed not to fight anymore
If we survived the Great War
It turned into something bigger
Somewhere in the haze got a sense I'd been betrayed

The increasing tensions as Pucci targets Jolyne more actively- resulting in FF's death in a hazy, foggy swamp. Pucci has obtained the next step toward his goals- even leaving the prison. What seemed hard before, just became 'impossible'.

Long Story Short

Fatefully - I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery - Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
~★~
Long story short, it was a bad time
Pushed from the precipice
Climbed right back up the cliff
Long story short, I survived

Despite what was desired, Emporio was pulled into Jailhouse Lock's fight regardless. Despite what was forgotten, he did his part to fight back. Despite everything, they got Out.

Out of the Woods

Remember when you hit the brakes too soon?
Twenty stitches in a hospital room
When you started crying, baby, I did too
But when the sun came up, I was looking at you
~★~
Remember when we couldn't take the heat?
I walked out, I said "I'm setting you free"

The chase after Pucci is riddled with intense fights; if they keep pulling through, the can make it. Of this, Emporio can be Certain, with his 'Hermana' Jolyne's contagious confidence as they leave the prison.

Bigger Than the Whole Sky

No words appear before me in the aftermath
Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears
Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness
'Cause it's all over now, out to sea
~★~
I've got a lot to live without
I'm never gonna meet [...] What should've been you

At the shore of Cape Canaveral, they make a plan to fight back. They take a stand to stop the Priest. ...They die before Emporio's eyes, people he knew for weeks and months, and can never know again.

The Archer

I've been the archer
I've been the prey
Screaming, who could ever leave me darling?
But who could stay?
~★~
And all of my heroes die all alone
Help me hold onto you

Pucci taunts Emporio, goading him to attack; but Jolyne lives long enough to force his escape. Even as he screams for her to come with, she dies. Even as he 'escapes', Pucci forces their fight to occur.

Marjorie

And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, you're alive in my head

He is Kind, but he is Clever; the will of his friends remains, and with what he has, he can bring their power to reality for one last Strike against Pucci. They are, Literally, 'In [his] head.'

Mad Woman

What did you think I'd say to that?
Does a Scorpion sting when fighting back?
They strike to kill and you know I will.
You know I will

Pucci claimed it Emporio's destiny to bring about his end- he chased him down with all he had to avoid it. Pucci's death, truly, was a death of his own making.

Epiphany

And some things you just can't speak about
Only 20 minutes to sleep
But you dream of some epiphany
Just one single glimpse of relief

The battle is over. All he ever had, is gone. He could never have predicted it; he doesn't know, how to live with it.

Note: if the code for the above breaks, a direct image version is located here.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Usagi
Pronouns: She/They
Are you over 18?: Yes. Soon I shall hit the big 30. Oh boy.
Contact(s): usagisquared
Who Invited You?: Chris
Current Characters: N/A
Permissions: Here- this also doubles as an Opt-In for any details regarding later Stone Ocean episodes.
Writing Samples: TDM Top-level - TDM w. Vil - Arrival's Thread @ Ryslig