Jonah Jones

Jonah Jones is in a bit of a strange spot; like his son, the player characters have never heard of him, but there seem to be leftover articles and photographs that hint at his former influence in the city.   No one seems to have memories of him, but the leftover physical records show he definitely existed at one point...which also means there was a point where he was erased.  Solving the mystery of what happened to him is a major goal of the players.

Known Backstory:

Once upon a time, the Jones family, Jonah and his son Josiah, were once close friends with the Managuchi family, Anthony, Andrea, and their daughter Anna, with Jonah in particular being Anthony's longtime best friend.  Jonah Jones was the lead detective of the city previously known as Reno, Nevada, and also an accomplished Stand user, working closely with the Speedwagon Foundation.  Anthony was never anything so fantastical, and considered himself Jonah's supportive "normal" friend on the sidelines.  However, their interconnected lives took a tragic turn once Anthony's family got in a car accident, killing Andrea and leaving Anna in a comatose state.

Jonah remained supportive of his friend after his tragic loss, but began noticing strange things about his life and his behavior.  Despite initially having a hard time with expenses related to the accident, Anthony's fortunes started turning around, as he mysteriously obtained enough finances to begin a career in property ownership.  He started hanging out with strange new friends.  Jonah originally assumed perhaps Anthony's new acquaintances were the ones assisting him...until his dead wife seemingly came back to life.  Being a detective, Jonah quickly linked these oddities back to the SPW--a Stand-granting meteorite went missing suspiciously close to when Anthony had his family tragedy.  He wanted to keep trusting his friend, but trusting his friend also meant requiring honesty from him.  One fateful night, celebrating the opening of a hotel Anthony had recently purchased, Jonah asked him directly about the meteorite and Andrea.

Anthony was surprisingly candid with him.  He did, indeed, steal the meteorite, and used it to give his daughter an incredibly powerful Stand: Endless Fantasy.  With this ability, Anna could change the reality of the city they lived in...so he used it to get his family back on its feet.  Which, to Anthony, apparently included resurrecting the dead.  Jonah was outraged; not only did Anthony steal a powerful object from Jonah's own place of work, he went behind his back about it for over a year, manipulated his child into assisting him, and is now effectively pulling the wool over everyone's eyes and committing fraud the whole way down.  Anthony appeared taken aback by this response--perhaps he expected Jonah to be more understanding of his situation?  But, alas, just as soon as Jonah was going to ask if Anthony also gave himself a Stand ability, Anthony revealed that as well...by killing him with it.

One unknown day in the past, Jonah was simply forgotten about, with people not recalling his name, or that the city even HAD a chief detective.  The city was also known by the name of "Dawn Metropolis" by that point...all the work of Endless Fantasy, and, assumedly, Anthony's own machinations.

In-Game Timeline (Act 1):

The party actually managed to find Jonah with the help of a coin enchanted by his Stand.  The coin led them to a mysterious "ghost hotel" filled to the brim of what appears to be the empty husks of the dead, unable to move on.  With part of his Stand returned to him, Jonah began to talk again, briefly being able to inform the party of "the Stand that controls the city,"「Endless Fantasy」.  Unfortunately his memories remained hazy in this state; he remembered that he was murdered over the meteorite in this very same hotel, but he couldn't remember the specifics of the assault.  His spirit has since faded, but if more of his enchanted items remain in the city, the party now has some hope of getting more information out of him.

In-Game Timeline (Act 2):

Months have passed since the party's first encounter with Jonah, but recently they came across a box of things that all appear to have his Stand's "tell" on them.  Said box was delivered to them from Daniel, by way of using his Stand ability on Anthony, who previously possessed the box.  According to Daniel, Anthony simultaneously said it was just a box of junk, but was also weirdly protective about it, even going so far as to hurt Daniel over it.

Upon the next full moon, the crew handed the items over to Jonah's husk at Hotel California, and like clockwork, the old detective came alive again.  He had clearer memories this go around, and he recalled the backstory between him and Anthony Managuchi.  His revelations have helped put a lot of things into perspective for the players, but they also serve to highlight just how deep the rabbit hole goes.  There are still things up in the air, such as what, specifically, Anthony's apparent Stand ability does, and the unknown whereabouts of Jonah's son, Josiah.  As Jonah faded away once more, he mentioned that he hadn't seen his son's ghost down there with him...so, where the hell is he?!

Ability: 「A Stand with No Name」

Range Irrelevant, Posthumous, Phenomenon

A Stand With No Name takes the appearance of a seemingly normal book.  Jonah can use this Stand to take hold of specific objects, represented by words lifting off the book and sticking to the target object.  There usually is some other "tell" such as a strange part of a photograph, incorrect imagery on a coin, etc.  When "connected" like this, ASwNN can transfer all knowledge of the object's history to Jonah.  Jonah can then use the Stand's ability to pull the objects toward him, where they're eventually shut inside the book and properly "catalogued."  Jonah can then refer to the information inside the book--or perhaps release the object outside of the book--anytime.

It appears as an unassuming hard-bound encyclopedia with no title on the cover or spine.

Other:

• He was designed by Bee.  I specifically requested a sexy older cowboy.  They did not know I was asking them to design an American West AU Joestar.
• Players were given the option at character creation to make a "Jojo" if they so desired; no one went for it, so Jonah and his son were created instead.
• His abilities were inspired by psychometry.
• The fandom terms each Jojo's best friend a "Jobro;" in this sense Anthony would be Jonah's.  (Well, SORT OF.  He's more like "What if a Jobro turned evil")
• The players went a very long time knowing Jonah's appearance but not his name, so he was referred to as "Sexy Johnson."
• There are also player jokes about him being bald under the hat.  The truth remains a mystery.
• Character art album cover background reference