DIO

Supposedly, the year is 2025. Last I recall, I was overcome with anger, sometime in the late 1980s. I have no clue how I ended up here. Again, many things are unfamiliar, but that is to be expected considering this year will mark my 157th birthday. It would also seem I'm incredibly lucky - after my research on the behaviours of "souls", one could say that I have been "reincarnated" into a body that is already home to 17 others. Those of them that I have met so far (Amelia, Lara, Zoe and Aceto) have gone to quite some effort to help me adjust to being here, and have welcomed me with open arms. For instance, just today Amelia helped me pick out some (secondhand) clothes that suit me well, along with a handful of accessories with which to modify them. Later, Zoe asked Amelia's partner, Lucia, to see if she could find a diary for me to write in, and indeed that is this very book.
Oddly enough, STANDs do not seem to exist in this world in quite the same way, instead being limited to a figment of one's imagination. Indeed, I am still very much aware of THE WORLD's presence and can perceive it just as I would normally, however it cannot interact with anything material, and as far as I can tell, it has been stripped of the ability to stop time. This is, of course, highly disappointing to me, considering how a STAND is a projection of one's very soul. I cannot help but feel that perhaps something has changed within me to cause such a change to THE WORLD, though after talking with Aceto - another STAND user who shares this body - things seem to be much harder to understand here than they were previously. Aceto is currently in the stage of discovering what it is that his STAND (named STARLESS) can do. Since this world seems very safe and stable, and STANDs tend to reveal themselves in highly stressful situations, this seems a rather tricky and potentially dangerous task, especially for a human such as themself. They have, however, had some success in trying to directly communicate with their STAND, and is attempting to learn about it in this much safer and controlled manner. Perhaps I should try this myself. For now though, I must rest - this body is merely human. Night time is for sleeping. It has been far too long since I have felt the Sun on my face and on my skin. It is remarkable to not have to cower from it anymore. I could get used to this.

- D

Over the past several days I have been thinking about the Heaven plan that I left Enrico with; that incomplete and admittedly vague set of instructions I'd left in my previous diary. I told him that if, in his lifetime, I was to die, then he was to retrieve said diary and carry out the instructions I'd left for him inside.
However, due to the mysterious nature of my arrival in this world, I have become aware that, despite my incomplete method, Enrico still managed to carry out... something. Viewing his actions from this strange, outside perspective, it is clear to me that what he achieved is not the Heaven that I set out to reach. In fact, his own explanation of my Heaven is oddly different from my original idea - or perhaps I am the one misremembering. In any case, this achievement was also temporary, and Enrico was killed. He may have been the best friend I'd had at the time, but I'm not entirely sure I miss him. It seems that, despite my reading of him as solely a "man of God", not driven by greed or a lust for power, once he got a taste of it, he, like so many others, got cocky and carried away.
I can't say whether his failure was solely his own fault, though. Perhaps, at the time of writing those steps to attain Heaven, I too was disillusioned, and he only followed my incorrect instructions blindly. Even if these steps were correct, though, knowing now how he behaved leads me to believe that he would never have been able to achieve, let along sustain Heaven for that long. The human desire for power cannot be ignored.
What I never got to write down in my previous diary, though, is that my concept of Heaven itself has changed. I now understand it to be more representative of a total peace within oneself; a complete understanding of one's mind and body, and a desire to be the most perfect version of oneself That, to me, is the new Heaven.
On second though, perhaps Enrico wasn't that far off. He did, I suppose, achieve a very personal interpretation of Heaven. He'd fulfilled a desire of his own that, for all I know, had been hidden inside for all these years. I dub this a "personal Heaven". A selfish Heaven. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, but I believe one should at least have an understanding of their own desires, wants, and needs before attempting this full self-discovery. Or rather, one cannot ignore their own desires when trying to understand themselves. Only by understanding oneself in one's entirety can one hope to better themselves, otherwise there may be important yet overlooked areas, purposefully or not. Enrico, I believe, went too hard too fast, so to speak. His ignorance of his own destructive desire for power clouded his mind and led to his ultimate demise.
On a slightly different note, the other STAND user in this "system" interests me greatly - that is, Aceto Doppio and their STAND "STARLESS". Currently, she is at a stage where they are still coming to understand their own abilities, and hence are learning a lot about themself in the process. The STAND, of course, is a metaphysical representation of one's soul, and to discover one's STAND is to get in touch with one's truest self. This is why my plan for attaining Heaven effectively requires being a STAND user, as they are (usually) naturally more drawn to a fuller understanding of themselves. I believe it was that old man Joseph Joestar who said that STANDs are referred to as such because they "stand" beside you. I don't entirely disagree with this, however there is also something to be said about them resulting in a higher underSTANDing of oneself. I wonder how they are referred to in other languages and cultures.
Alas, I am getting sidetracked. Due to my sudden appearance in this "system", I have begun to wonder if I, too, must take a closer look at myself - my past, my beliefs, my STAND - and continue my own long journey of self-discovery in order to one day achieve the Heaven I have longed for in some way since my childhood. I must also sit down and talk with Aceto some more, and keep track with their developments regarding STARLESS. But I digress, there is yet more thinking to be done, and this body has duties to do today.

- D

I am having more thoughts regarding the nature of my STAND, "THE WORLD". It is becoming increasingly obvious that, even in my mere month since arriving here, I have changed, and it would follow that THE WORLD has changed in some way too. Yet for now, I can't exactly explain why.
I think that a good place to start would be finding a more suitable name. "THE WORLD" is good, though I feel that the naming scheme of Tarot cards is too much of a limitation. That was, of course, the name divined for it by Enya, that lady with two right hands. Perhaps it was fitting at the time, but now it should be up to me to decide a fitting name. Though, I haven't the faintest idea of where to even begin. Amelia has said that it is somewhat common for STAND users to name their abilities after things they feel a great connection to, for instance musical pieces or artists, but so far I have come up empty. Damn this unreliable memory.

- D

It has been much too long since my last entry. For that, I apologise, but I'm not entirely sure who I'd be apologising to. Myself, perhaps. Nothing is wrong, I simply have needed a period of dormancy.
By sheer coincidence (or perhaps, fate?) in the time that I have been away, the others in the "system" have joined some sort of group communication service about spirituality and beliefs that overlap with the concepts of many souls in one body, which they have referred to as "plurality". Earlier today, I decided to try my luck and wrote in there asking if anyone knew about the concept of STANDs, and in fact there was another system that responded, claiming they have several members at different states of developing their STANDS. After a brief discussion about themselves, one of them, named SXXXX, informed me of a concept called "daemonism", which seems related, or at least similar to STAND phenomena. Effectively, it is a belief that every person has a spiritual companion that is bound to them, and is a manifestation of one's self, commonly as an animal of some sort. Of course, the concept of a "manifestation of oneself" is very STAND-like, which leads me to believe that perhaps exploring this "daemonism" might once again help me understand the nature of STANDs, and from there, better understand the nature of my own.
In SXXXX's own experience, one's STAND name reveals itself to the user through an intense connection or "resonance". In their own words:
"I didn't have any fucking idea until something just... clicked, and it found me. Or re-found me, in the case of TXXXXXXXXXXX, my STAND. The best way that I can describe it is that it feels like my fight song for life."
Something found them. Curious. Maybe searching for a new name specifically has been the wrong way to go about this. Perhaps it has to happen naturally.
For now, I am considering adopting my mother's last name, to further separate myself from my dreaded father. She, after all, was the one who told me about Heaven.
No. That is not correct. I originally thought myself unworthy of this name, but accepting who I am and moving forwards is part of my plan towards Heaven. I know now what my name must be. I must honour that family who took me in with kindness. I must honour my brother, who never stopped loving and believing in me.
My name is DIO Joestar.

- D

Once again, it has been far too long since the last entry, though this time I come with news of progress.
Most importantly, I have found a more fitting name for my STAND: "BLACKSTAR". As others have suggested, it is named after a musical work, in this case a song by a musician named David Bowie, who died some years ago. Something about the lyrics seemed important to me. Here is a portion of them:
Something happened on the day he died,
Spirit rose a meter and stepped aside,
Somebody else took his place and bravely cried:
"I'm a Blackstar, I'm a Blackstar."
I can't help but feel that the themes of death, followed by the concept of taking someone's place could very much apply to the death of Jonathan and me using his body soon after. The tune also has a particularly dark and ominous tone to it which I personally quite enjoy. It is something of a relief that there is still some "modern" music that I can appreciate.
All this considered, I am still not sure if anything physically has changed about BLACKSTAR, whether that be its appearance or ability, or both. This is still yet to be seen.
In other news, some other members of the "system" have been working on sewing me a pair of gold pants, like those that I wore in the 1980s. Fortunately, this fashion statement has yet to bring back any painful memories, unlike some other considerations about that decade. I very much appreciate the gesture and look forward to their completion, which has unfortunately taken longer than expected due to our (collectively) currently unstable and inconsistent mental state. That being said, I'm happy to wait.
Yesterday, for whatever reason, I was recalling my awakening in the 1980s, after being hauled out of the English Channel. I can vaguely remember those fishermen - my first meal in 100 years or so - and from there making my way back to England. At first, I didn't know how much time had passed, but I could tell by how unfamiliar I felt that it must have been a very long time.
Fitting in could wait, however. First I needed to retrieve the small fortune I had saved and stashed away in Windknight's Lot. Over the years, the small town had all but disappeared, and something new had been built up in its place, with tidy streets for these new automobiles and many strange shops now shut for the night. Fortunately, it seemed like the ruined old castle I once inhabited hadn't been completely ransacked, rather it was now kept as a historical site, complete with security. Of course, this was no issue for me and I managed to retrieve my fortune with minimal bloodshed. Soon, though, I found that these gold coins were no longer suitable as currency and had to be "converted" (sold). It didn't take long for me to find a store that claimed to buy gold in exchange for cash, and I approached the shopkeeper as he seemed to closing for the night.
After a chat and a little gentle persuasion on my end, he agreed to buy the pieces off of me, which in this day and age I'm sure he could sell to the right person for several times the amount he gave me, but in all honesty it didn't matter to me exactly how much it was all worth. I just needed to be able to interact with this new society. For reference, all those gold coins came out to roughly £250,000.
Following this, I spent the year of 1982 just getting used to life, exploring the world, meeting people, eating, and sleeping. Later that year, though, I began putting some serious thought into the idea of Heaven that my mother had passed down to me all those years ago.
I might leave this entry here. This body has been increasingly tired as of late, and I should let it rest.

- D