Original post on twitter. Has been cleaned up significantly. Quick note on the image descriptions, unless otherwise stated screenshots have been cropped to just the subtitles to save space.
Squadra (along with Valentine & most Dios + Dio minions...) went to JoJo Heaven and in this essay I will-
Okay I'm back with evidence gimme a sec here.
So! When Abbacchio dies he meets his old cop partner in the afterlife and the dude's picking through glass shards looking for fingerprints. Abbacchio is like "why are you doing this? It's an impossible task and even if you do find prints the perpetrator could always get a good lawyer".
And Abbacchio’s partner says this:
[Image ID: “I’m not just after the result. When all you want is the result, you start to look for shortcuts. And if you take that shortcut, you might lose sight of the truth. I think the most important thing is the will to find the truth.” End ID.]
So it's not about the destination is it? It's how you get there. It's the drive to not only achieve goal but do it in a way you can feel proud of. A lot of jjba, but especially Vento Aureo, has the running theme of "don't just submit to your fate. fight back, even if it's impossible" and that's basically the most noble thing a character can do in universe.
[Image ID: Abbachio’s partner speaking as the two of them look down at the main cast from the clouds, “And your will to get to your truth… The ones left behind will get it. Because that’s what’s important.” End ID.]
Also note how Abbacchio’s partner says "your will to get to YOUR truth" not The truth. Not some universal truth. Your personal truth. Basically: stick it to your guns, guys.
Let's jump to Stardust Crusaders.
[Image ID: The Narrator speaking over Iggy’s death scene, “[Vanila] Ice said that a mere dog could not have resolve. That he could not possess a proud soul.” End ID.]
Iggy goes up to heaven with Avdol, and why? Because of his "proud soul" because he had that capital R Resolve and refused to back down.
Now we've got N'doul and he's not afraid to die, hell, he says he's not afraid of anything. This is nothing to him and he knew that, no matter how slim, there was a chance the crusaders would get him and he didn't hesitate to off himself before Jotaro could get to him.
[Image ID: N’doul’s death scene. He is bleeding out on the desert sand after fatally stabbing himself. Jotaro says, “Why are you all so loyal to DIO? So loyal that you’d die…” N’doul replies, “I have no fear of death, but..” End ID.]
But you know what he is afraid of? Disappointing lord DIO, of course.
[Image ID: The rest of N’doul’s response. “I feared that he might cast me aside and kill me.” End ID.]
And remember, N'doul actually had no reason to believe the crusaders would kill him, they just wanted info out of him. So if N'doul's so unafraid of pain that he'll Fuckin Kill himself why would he be scared of whatever torture Jotaro might’ve come up with? The answer is he's not. He definitely could’ve not only gotten out of this alive, but also started a new life for himself no problem. But living knowing he had earned DIO's disappointment? Unbearable. Dude had that Resolve he died with his morals uncompromised and his pride intact.
Wasn't there someone else who did that?
[Image ID: Risotto’s death scene. Risotto is on the rocky beach ground bleeding from several large bullet wounds across his entire body. A heavily injured Diavolo leans over him and says, “I’m sure your men who are waiting in the afterlife will be proud of you. You should die with pride as the leader.” End ID.]
One thing to remember. That's not the last thing Risotto did! Here Diavolo is trying to get Risotto to give him his iron back he's like "Bucciarati and his men are just around the corner. They're gonna show up and see you like this, a weakling bleeding out in the dirt. Give me my iron back and I'll give you an honorable death now", but Risotto doesn't! He lures Diavolo in one last time then takes control of Aerosmith in a last ditch effort. It doesn't work, but he stuck it to his guns up until the very last moment he kept his Pride, his Resolve.
[Image ID: Diavolo, speaking to Risotto’s corpse, “You died before you could lose your pride.” End ID.]
It's too late for me to go digging but if I remember correctly all of squadra died like-
- Formaggio: Snuck what little info he had at the last second.
- Illuso: Literally cut off his Fucking Hand.
- Prosciutto, Pesci, and Ghiaccio: All went down fighting.
- Melone: Was regrouping to come back from a more strategic angle.
Ghiaccio and Illuso in particular had strong themes of "who's Resolve is strongest" for the duration of their fights. It’s not surprising. They did go head to head w the king of Resolve himself, Giorno.
(I would like to go through their fights/deaths in more detail later. When I have the mental fortitude orz.)
Anyways. My thesis statement here is in order to get to JoJo Heaven you've gotta fight for what you believe in and you've gotta die uncompromised in that belief. Even if that puts you in direct opposition with the protagonist live for your Truth until the very end.