Werebeast Joestars Au- they have big, monstrous forms, possibly with minimal control over them, drawing a narrative parallel between the villains who reject humanity, who choose not to care for others, and the Joestars, whose monstrous forms don't give them a choice.
Fun narrative parallels between Dio becoming a monster on purpose, and Jotaro and Jonathan using the monstrous traits they were born with and trying to turn them towards good.
Parallels between Diavalo and Giorno, both marked as monstrous and other from the moment of their birth but deciding differently what to do about it.
Parallels between Joseph and the Pillarmen, inhuman beings who don't care about what happens to humanity on their path to power, and one that defends humanity ferociously.
Parallels between Josuke and Kira, an ordinary man killing for his own pleasure versus a monster doing everything he can to protect and heal
Parallels between Jolyne and Pucci, the priest and the monster, the holy and the unholy.
(plus BIG SCARY FRIGHTENING MONSTER FORMS and BODY-HORROR LADEN TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES are a blast to write)
HEHEHEEHEHEHEHE Y E S S S S S S S
oh I love this thought :>
and what if for fun, the control aspect of the werebeast comes entirely from how accepting the Joestar in question is of it. Like, they can't try and lock it away because when it does come out it will run completely rampant. However, they can't just let it run wild and free without inhibition because that will just lead to the same thing as before, just with less steps
there needs to be a mid ground. They need to guide that part of themselves, gently but still firm. They need to find a middle ground, and while it won't give them complete control, the likelihood of them completely loosing it while transformed is severely reduced
(and for even more fun, what if they can technically shift when they want. Sure, every full moon or so they'll have a forced transformation where they'll run the risk of loosing themselves, but what if when they get more comfortable with it, they can control it, to a certain extent)
((also LISTEN THE AU NAME WAS RIGHT THERE I COULDN'T NOT))
I could see each one having different beast forms, based primarily on different animals, which could be very interesting.
Jotaro would be a wolf. Intimidating, and the general image is of them being wild and vicious when they're actually super sweet with those they care about. Plus it could be argued that, just as wolves are the archetypical werebeast, Jotaro is the archetypical Jojo.
Holly is a bunny. Seems soft. Seems defenseless. And for the most part you're right, but if you give them enough motivation to fight, then you will be in a world of pain.
Joseph could be a raven. Clever and tricky, but not as outright-powerful as some beasts. On the other hand, they have mobility options the others don't have, for executing the Joestar Family Secret Technique. Plus, Wolves and Ravens do have a symbiotic relationship.
Kinsa stuck for the rest. Maybe Jolyne could be a fox? Works differently than wolves but still doubtlessly connected. IDK.
For Jonathan I'd think either a fuck-off massive sheepdog or some huge herd-based herbivore like a bison or moose. Something big, powerful, and protective, with an instinctual drive to protect all those around it, especially those smaller and more vulnerable, but capable of ABSOLUTELY FUCKING YOU UP with sheer size, strength, and determination if pushed.
Maybe mostly sheepdog traits with horns/hooves from one of those massive herbivores thrown in for extra damage.
Giorno maybe a mimic octopus/cuttlefish? Something alien that sets him apart from the other Joestars, sets him apart from everyone around him, but also something remarkably adaptable and intelligent, with the capability to be downright vicious if called for.
Ooh, and maybe when Dio takes Jonathan's body he steals some of the transformative abilities- his head can't shift to keep up with the body making it doubly painful and difficult, but adding onto his already terrifying health and healing abilities.
No ideas for Josuke or Jolyne though.
OOOOOOOOOOO THESE ARE INTERESTING THOUGHTS
If I may offer some of my own:
I REALLY like the idea of mishmashing various animals instead of sticking to just one. The combination could also add to the monstrous aspect of their transformations because they wouldn't be able to be immediately identifiable and more "unnatural" looking (plus it makes designing them more fun :3)
I love the mental image of Jonathan having the size and horns of a moose combined with the build and floof of a sheepdog. It's both the most adorable thing but also the most TERRIFYING because moose of fucking huge and can fuck. you. UP. Maybe he has the front paws of a sheep dog and the hind legs of a moose.
Jonathan would also probably have some of the worst self image issues of the lot, and be endlessly gentle and careful to overcompensate. He'd probably struggle with controlling his beast because of his fear, and Dio and his father definitely wouldn't help. But there would be soft moments later down the line with Erina and Speedwagon who'd help show him he wasn't a monstrous beast and could be trusted, which ironically would give him more control.
George...... admittedly not too many ideas, we don't know enough about him to make the decision obvious, we really could give him anything and it would work. For shits and giggles my brain said "what if you made him a platypus" just for the chaos, but who knows
I LOVE the idea of Joseph being a raven, and maybe he could also have some snake-like traits. He is a slippery little shit after all. Joseph would also probably have the most control out of all the Joestars. Erina and Speedwagon would recognize the signs, plus they'd already raised George II, so Joseph would be comfortable with his beast and probably use it fairly often, especially during fights. This is also going to add an interesting bit of chaos with the Pillarmen, especially Kars. They weren't at all ready for the Hamon User to become some strange creature thing but Kars is VERY interested
Holly deserves being allowed to kick ass ass treat ✨✨✨ but if I may also add for hybrid consideration: otter. I'm personally very attached to these little guys, and as cute as they are I know for a fact they can be rather vicious if need be, especially river otters. She also packs a mean kick when she wants
Jotaro....... definitely would have some issues, especially because of how much more "dangerous" his form is. For him big ol yes on the wolf, but I'm not fully sure for the secondary animal. Definitely something usually seen as dangerous but very protective of family. Maybe something aquatic/semi-aquatic? Maybe an alligator???
Josuke..... yeah I'm drawing a blank too. Part feline maybe?
I love the octopus idea for Giorno, and maybe to add a bit more to his slight separation from the rest of the Joestars, what if Giorno's also an insect, specifically a ladybug. He has a slight edge in the air and water, but can be almost dangerously fragile in some situations. This might result in him partially rejecting that part of himself because of how weak it makes him, leading to him being more unpredictable in beast form. He'd also have one of the smaller forms, probably small enough he could be picked up
(or who knows, maybe for the irony we could make him part bat)
Jolyne being a fox could be a really fun thing to play with, especially considering how her fighting style is more based on agility and outsmarting her opponents. Maybe similar to Joseph she could have some kind of flying half, but not specifically a bird. Heck, maybe we could make Jolyne part bat instead
(do I have any idea how half of these animal hybrids would look? not in the slightest, but that's half the fun of designing them later)
((also if anyone has any better suggestions, PLEASE share I'm super curious what other possibilities there are))
Gater Joot Gater Joot (added shark teeth too for the funzies)
Had fun trying to write from the Monster Form's head- I'd imagine they don't understand language much in that form, save for a few commands the family trained them on- the most important I'd imagine being 'no' 'get off of me' and 'shift back NOW'
(also this is definitely not how delayed drowning works I just wanted to hit specific emotional beats and uhhh executive functioning tenuous roll with it instead of more research)
(I do love writing this AU but need Specific Circumstances for a ficlet to get it going, feel free to throw Specific Moments That Would Be Cool ideas my way)
Anyways here's ficlet time:
Y E S S S S S S S S S S S S
GATER BOI DOING SILLY DEATH ROLL THINGS IN THE WATER 💖💖💖
oh I absolutely loved Jotaro's internal conflict and comparing himself to his mom and grandpa and then the stark contrast of his Gater Brain telling him how to do things, it was AWESOME. And while I wasn't quite sure how big Jotaro was mentally, you made him a B I G boi and I love it
also speaking of Big, I had a sort of idea for Joseph's other form. So you know how in some stories, dragons start off super tiny as babies but just. Don't stop growing so by the time they're hundreds of years old, they're positively massive? What if something similar happens with Joseph. When he was a baby and toddler his other form could easily be held one handed, by the time Part 2 rolled around he was a bit bigger than a boa, and in Part 3 he's FAR larger than any snake could feasibly be on Earth, and that's not even accounting for the added size his wings give him