Chapter 248. So, Don't Stop
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"Whoo, it's finally over!"
"I never thought there'd come a day when I found taking pictures this exhausting..."
Polnareff stretched his arms with all his might, almost as if he could hear the sound of his bones clicking back into place under his muscles. He sighed with deep emotion.
As a romantic Frenchman, taking pictures—especially with enthusiastic women on the streets—had always been second nature to him.
But now, to think he had developed a strong aversion to the very idea of "photoshoot"?
Of course, that might also have something to do with the fact that all his photo partners had been men.
And those sailor uniforms that Pucci had used for his pranks...
Just the thought of those images—those ridiculous photos—possibly being broadcasted worldwide as some sort of public humiliation gave Polnareff chills.
How did Pucci even talk him into taking those pictures? Especially those absurd ones?
And why did he think acting would be fun, leading him to come here with Kujo Jotaro and the others to the Green Dolphin Studio?
"Speaking of which, Jotaro, what's wrong with you?"
As memories he had tried to bury came rushing back, threatening to overwhelm him, Polnareff quickly turned to Kujo Jotaro, hoping to distract himself. "You've been frowning the whole time. Did something happen with Jolyne-chan?"
"…That's not the case."
Jotaro was taken aback by the question but quickly replied, "Although, compared to Pucci as a director, Jolyne isn't exactly qualified for the role."
"But maybe because most of the crew is experienced, and the actors she chose aren't bad either, things have been running smoothly even if Jolyne does nothing at all. The only issue is the overly tight schedule..."
As he said this, Jotaro let out a sigh.
Since the filming of "Diamond Is Unbreakable" had started, it had become clear that it wouldn't follow the pattern of "Battle Tendency" and "Stardust Crusaders", which were set almost fifty years apart.
That meant they couldn't recreate the clever casting trick where Sakata Gintoki played a young Joseph in "Battle Tendency", and the older Joseph played himself in "Stardust Crusaders".
They couldn't exploit that timeline loophole to fulfill Cujoh Jolyne's ambitious goal for the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" series—to make it a weekly show akin to "Kamen Rider" or "Super Sentai".
A non-stop, continuous series—episode after episode, season after season—was Jolyne's vision.
Although achieving this grand plan was still a long way off, Jotaro could somewhat understand why "Kamen Rider" always seemed to collapse under the weight of its anniversary specials.
Lately, juggling between the "Stardust Crusaders" and "Diamond Is Unbreakable" filming schedules, his body had visibly thinned.
If Jolyne weren't his actual daughter and if he weren't such a deeply hidden doting father who couldn't refuse her unreasonable requests, he probably wouldn't have lasted under this kind of strain.
Still, these were just minor inconveniences.
Moments like this—when their photography antics had eased some of his accumulated fatigue—helped balance things out.
Especially since Pucci was gradually adjusting the filming schedule to align with Jolyne's, which might solve these issues by the next series.
So rather than worrying about his daughter's ambitions, Jotaro found himself more concerned about something else:
"Polnareff, what do you think of the future depicted in that photo from "Stardust Crusaders"?"
"What do I think? Just look at it." Polnareff shrugged indifferently. "At first, I was like you, thinking the photo Pucci directed us to take was some kind of Easter egg or a spoiler about our future."
"But aside from Kakyoin and the others who haven't changed much, the rest of us look completely different now!"
"Also, didn't we take a bunch of other photos? You're not seriously saying we'll wear those outfits in the future, are you?"
...Wait a minute!
Wasn't he trying to distract himself from those cursed sailor uniforms and their "Sailor Moon" parody photos? How did he circle back to "that"?
Polnareff shook his head violently to rid himself of those thoughts, then continued with an empty mind:
"In short, it's just this—humans create their own futures."
"Whether we choose the future in that first photo or another one, like how Master Tonpetty's prophecy in "Phantom Blood" inspired Zeppeli to shine despite knowing his fate, or to sink into despair, that's the real message behind these bonus features."
"Every special bonus item comes with a different destiny. Whether people accept it, exchange it, or buy another to change it—that's their choice."
Polnareff paused before adding, "Although, to be fair, that's just the excuse Pucci gave us to trick us into taking those pictures. But hey, it does make sense."
"Besides, as long as we "ora ora" our enemies into oblivion, those photos will never define our future!"
"..."
At first frowning, Jotaro finally broke into a smile.
"Yeah. Even if the future is set, our efforts will never be in vain!"
And the full-dive scripts can be rewritten by actors in full dive-mode, then as the first step, he'd start by punching DIO to death!
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