middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Start

So Familiar a Gleam: Start

JINNJAR CITY

"Welcome to Jinnjar City! A city famed as the central power of all of Diagad, and where the magic happens. It has a big history: the birthplace of the first Heroes Association that led to the creation of the Interstellar Justice Alliance, the protectors of the universe. Compared to other places, Diagad's what many people call a superheroes world, but that isn't true. A lot of us don't have the crazy powers that some of the popular folks have! And people like me? We don't care about saving the world! I'm just trying to make it through school, hang out with friends. Live my life!

People tell thousands of stories about us though, and that I can be proud of. When other planets call for help, it's us that comes running to their aid. Our heroes put their lives on the line for anyone who needs a hand, and sure, I don't count myself one of them... but I want to share their story anyway.

Well, I don't need to be telling you about this city, do I? You're a part of it! Always have been, just like me. So I should talk about some funny stuff that's been going on lately instead…”

A TL;DR notes version of days/prompts: (click to show)

EVENT BASICS: Un-apped AU characters were taken 1 week before the event from their own worlds, their minds altered to believe they were always from Jinnjar, Diagad. They have a superpower because of this and a new life either living alone or with family (other NPCs or PCs). Go to the OOC post for more info.

DAYS ONE-TWO:

Strange streams of colour in the sky have appeared, and looking at them for too long causes strange headaches. At this point you’re not sure what they’re about, but you can investigate them. However, trying to get right close to them is impossible. You will never get high enough. Regardless, let us know if characters will be investigating anything!
Voidtreckers arrive, be on the lookout. People are excited about finding these infamous criminals, and may be bothering those wearing peculiar watches, or the colours of Blue, Red, Purple, or Orange. You might be one of them: the bothered, or botheree. Many games or movie criminals are some adaptation of these Voidtreckers. A lot of people are worried they’re behind the phoenonem in the sky.
Nevertheless, people will still have their own lives to deal with, regardless of worrying events. Play around with what job your character has, if they’re in school, what work they do; if they’re drawn to a night life or just hanging around wherever they like. Characters not used to technology in-canon may find themselves having trouble with this world (despite believing they’ve always lived here).
Some of the Voidtreckers who are most resistant to illusions and mind control will be breaking out by the end of the first day. They will have to lay low and plot in secret, figure out how to make contact with others. The SCA comms do not work.
Other Voidtreckers might begin having dreams about their past by day 2-3.

DAYS THREE-FOUR:

Those who have been brought to the world begin to dream of their real and past lives, if just in very small and confusing snippets. Some of those dreams may bleed into reality, and people may start to recognise absolute strangers, but don't quite always know why. This is stronger for Voidtreckers than 4th wallers.
Random electronics seem to be glitching in odd ways, particularly the training centres, which lock people in together, even random strangers. Mostly it's harmless and more of a pain. People also swear they think they see the tops of buildings 'glitching' or colouring out. People have been speaking about pets going missing on walks, though the zoos and such are mostly fine, save for some of the higher up bird sanctuaries.
More of the Voidtreckers and some of the more resilient guests will begin realising the reality of the place they find themselves in. That this is not their own world at all.
The propaganda of the city starts to escalate, warnings about the dangerous voidtreckers and reminding people of how great the city is.

DAYS ONE & TWO: SLICES OF LIFE

"This is an emergency broadcast to everyone in Jinnjar City. At 08:00 today, a breach into the city was attempted by the invading force known as the Voidtreckers, who have tried countless times before to take over Diagad for themselves.

While it's believed the group was resisted, citizen are advised to watch out for anyone acting suspiciously in the city, and to watch out for this emblem. Please call the D-F-O-R-C-E hotline if you see anyone you suspect of being an intruder!

Remember to keep low altitudes while we deal with the phenomenon above."

[ RAINBOW SKIES. ] "Everyone's been speculating about what's been going on up above. About a week ago, these long streams of twisting colours suddenly spread through the purple skies of Diagad, rainbow colours inking the clouds. They've been growing out, like merging with the sky itself, and news broadcasts have been telling people not to worry. But what even are they? They say that looking at them for too long causes headaches, while some swear up and down they've seen things in them! I've heard a couple of friends talking about investigating them, but I dunno..."

▷ Twisting streams of colour are becoming exposed in the sky, and indeed, those who look too long high up will find themselves receiving headaches and dizziness. They’ll fade once you look away, but those who do decide to investigate by getting close will experience a tug, as if something yearns to take them somewhere. There will be patrolling Heroes - this world's equivalent of police - keeping an eye on things. Maybe your character is one of them, or posing as one. Maybe your character wants to learn more about what these are. Regardless, they won’t be able to get significantly close to the streams no matter how high they aim.

[ THE VOIDTRECKERS. ] "Gossip is HOT about these Voidtreckers. I remember seeing a movie about them once, based on something that happened years ago. They tried hacking their way into taking over a dyson sphere being built - like a giant structure around a star. There's other stories about them too, but are they really the ones behind this? Who are we even meant to be on the lookout for? I don't know... I'm kinda spooked. But do they seriously ride around in a flying train?"

▷ You've heard about the Voidtreckers, whether you remember stories about them or not. Are you bothered about them? The news broadcasts say they got rid of them - then why are they asking people to look out? And what are you supposed to look out for? On top of the emblem, there's chatter going on about watching out for people wearing strange devices on their wrists, and wearing colours of Blue, Red, Purple, and Orange.

Will you defend your city from these mysterious foes? Be smart about it, or rash? Or maybe you're interested to know more for your own deeds… whether or not they’re the Voidtreckers of tale, they may have resources for furthering your own goals.

[ LIVING YOUR LIFE. ] “But nevermind all that! Life’s about having fun and hanging out with your friends too. I work part time, but I’ve got plans after my shift’s done! Doing some shopping, going to see a movie. I can’t stress out about the funny stuff going on. And I heard the new waiter in my favourite cafe is suuuper cute!”

▷ Despite the few anomalies going on, you still have a life part of Jinnjar City. You have a job filled with devices that you’ve been surrounded by all your life, or certainly longer than a week or, so you know how to work a coffee machine, right? You know how to drive an air taxi!

And where would you take one to? To anywhere: to the gym, one of the training centres, a spa, to the movies - normal things that everyone around the city have always been around. Meet up with some friends for fruit smoothies, or watch one of the shadow displays held by the Georgi’s Gang around every street, putting on shows to mesmerise and delight the kids.

Or how about buying your groceries to take back to your apartment or house? You know what all these fruits are! Right? Right?

… … maybe it’s produce from another planet.

DAYS THREE & FOUR: JUST ANOTHER NORMAL DAY

[ DREAMS. ] “Dreams are just dreams, but a lot of people have been talking about them. Like, really being disturbed by them? Not in a creepy ohhh a monster’s coming for me! way, but like, they say they see worlds they swear they’ve been to before. Or see people? I wouldn’t really think about it except, there’s this guy… not like a super cute guy, but someone I think I knew…”

▷ Talk about dreams have been popular lately, though not everyone has them - or, not right away. Sometimes people may be at work, in school, doing nothing in particular when a name (important to their real self) appears in their mind, a flash of scenery. Coming as quickly as it goes. They don’t know what it means, if it isn’t just a symptom of the latest weird gossip influencing them.

But it sticks with you, something you can’t completely dismiss. But surely it’s nothing - right?

[ ANOMALIES. ] ”Just what we need! My friend’s dog’s gotten lost! She was taking him for a walk, and then she just says he went running ahead, and poof! Disappeared! Maybe he saw a cat? He’s always been a lazy chubby thing, but even dogs can’t help themselves, I guess…”

▷ The colours in the sky seem brighter today, closer...but it’s difficult to say for some, unless you’re actively studying them. Sometimes when you look above, you might catch - if just for a second - the tops of roofs glitching out, corners or streaks erased, colours meshing with the walls. You think it might be the light or your eyes, as it never lasts long, and even standing around waiting to see it happen again won’t give you what you want.

You may have other things to worry about than tricks of the light. Animals have simply been...disappearing, and always the ones owned, or particularly birds that fly around freely. People will ask you for help, and it’s weird they need to. Most owners have a tracker chip and app, and either apps show a blank map, or show them just standing in place...a place that when you get there, is nothing, no one.

[ TRAINING CENTRE. ]
“Really though, other than the weird sky business and how jumpy the news has made everyone about the Voidtreckers, the only odd thing that’s been up is some weird stuff happening at the training gyms. Even I saw it! I was just doing my warm-ups for the day when the field I set it to, the sky...these shapes suddenly appeared, dark and looming. It seriously creeped me out. But it’s just a glitch, right?”

▷ Young or old, the training centres around the central district are a popular spot for everyone to give their powers a safe space to be unleashed. While there’s basic simulations that’s free for everyone to use, people can be personal trainers, or even run group sessions in the bigger rooms.

Sessions aren’t always linked, since getting private training is allowed. However, lately, people keep getting jumped into other’s sessions, and can’t get out until they finish the routine. Sometimes they’re simple, where you need to destroy building block-esque cubes, or superspeed through courses twenty times. But then there’s also story modes, such as…

Castle Defence: Help protect the castle of Erna from the tricky Voidtreckers! They’re trying to storm the castle, and the world needs your power to help keep them away. Difficulty is based on the amount of people present, and speed of the individual. Do you turn things green? Then turning a Voidtrecker green will make them pop! Good job!

Kama Aid: Floating spheres have been lured inside a giant 3-tiered labyrinth ball. You must help the spheres - come in optional people-shaped or even cute animals - be released back outside where the air is fresh. Use telekinesis to tilt the tiers like a ball tilting game, or use super-strength to destroy the different tiers!

Dia Mysteries: A theft, vandalism, maybe even a murder. The crime scene is locked down, and something is afoot. Use your telepathy to gain information from the suspects, sneak into a secure area under invisibility... the solution is yours to find in this investigative simulation.

[ A PSA or Six. ] ”Stay vigilant citizens of Diagad. Please report any suspicious behavior to the DFORCE force.”

Announcements blare from speakers on public transport. Adverts pop up as they scroll through Diagnet. All remind citizens to be on their guard, report strange or disturbing behaviour and keep a look out for any of the symbols or colours of the Voidtreckers.

"Heroes don't keep secrets! If you have suspicions about any dangerous people in our midst, let your local DFORCE force know. Speak the Truth. Save the World."

▷ Billboards are plastered with bold posters reminding citizens to keep an eye out for the Voidtreckers or anyone who they might have tried to sway to their side. For those beginning to glimpse that this city might not be what they once had thought, this could be dangerous especially if their families and friends believe the city truly is under threat.

credits: text box - city banner - city side - coloured sky by benjamin0000

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Jade is absolutely... feeling the effects of not having that pendant, just a little. Nothing huge, just a little nagging doubt he hasn't felt for two days now, that maybe he's wrong about things being wrong but--

It doesn't matter. Mythra's here. He wraps his arms around her and holds her tight, just... crying. He's just crying, as his fingers bury themselves in her hair. He missed her. He missed her. He missed her.

"Sorry. I didn't exactly ask to get kidnapped by a sentient train."

There's no way to make that one not sound weird, so he doesn't even bother.

She'd feel embarrassed about how quickly she'd started sobbing if this were anyone else - if Jade wasn't crying just as hard as she was. She does pull herself free enough to rest her chin on his shoulder instead, leaning her head against his.

"A sentient--"

You know what, maybe that is too much to unpack right now. She can kick its ass later for taking Jade away from her. It can wait until this is over, at least.

"Yeah, well," she says, voice thick with tears. "At least you're here."

You know what, that's fair. It's a long story. If they have time, they can get into it later. The illusion town kind of takes precedence.

"At least you're here," Jade retorts. And then. "...how did you get here, anyway?" He's worried.

Mythra hums, mulling Jade's question over, but.

"Hell if I know," she says. "I spent the last - week?" Week sounds right. "Thinking I'd always lived here, but before that..."

Before that, honestly, everything's a little hazy. The others have been doing their best, and she's trying, but - it's been hard focusing on anything much, having no idea where Jade is. She shrugs, rather than articulate that. Hopefully he won't press hard enough she has to explain.

"The hell is the endgoal of whatever asshole did this," she says. "Was that the train too?" Like, she can't be that mad, not when it brought her here. But it is kind of a dick move.

Either way Mythra's fingers are itching to do something with Jade's hair, or to let him do something with hers, and there's no reason they can't multitask, right? There's a nice big tree she can see from here, just far enough into the park that it's not on the main street.

"C'mon, let's go sit," she says, letting go just long enough to grab his hand instead.

Jade lets Mythra pull him along without any protest, waiting until they've sat down by that tree that Mythra was eyeing. Jade's a bit too distracted with his explanation to consider braiding Mythra's hair at the precise moment, but if she starts braiding his, you won't hear him complaining.

"No, this wasn't the train..." Jade begins. "I suppose you've heard the news about the 'voidtreckers'? That's us. That's the train. I can't say I'm its biggest fan, but I'll take it over the- whoever's in charge of these illusions. Person? Entity? I don't actually know."

He sighs. "All I know is we pissed it off about a month ago, and I guess this is its revenge."

Works for her. Mythra settles in behind Jade, close enough to press her ankle to his without the angle being too awkward, but it takes her a minute to let go of his hand to actually pick up and start separating his hair.

"Huh," she says, rolling Jade's words around in her head, comparing them to her memories of the last few days. ('Speak the truth,' huh. Big words from an... entity lying to everyone present.) "So, it... what, trapped you all here and then set anyone already in its snare on you?" She finger-combs Jade's hair loosely even though it doesn't need it, just for the sensation, before she finally settles on a braid style.

"Either it's a turbo asshole, or you guys must've really pissed it off." Not that the first one is hard to believe. "What did you do?"

"Last world we visited it was trying this same stunt, except then it was actively leading people to their deaths. Apparently it took great offense to us preventing that."

Jade rolls his eyes, not that Mythra can see it, but she can probably hear it.

"So, turbo asshole has my vote."

She snorts with laughter, more at Jade's tone than anything.

"That'll do it," she says. "How dare you get between an asshole and its important murder business, right?" It's dry, the kind of sarcasm that was definitely Jade's before it was her own.

Still, she frowns as she gets to braiding. It's not like either of them are strangers to the kind of murderer who doesn't see their victims as anything but an inconvenience, but - a whole city's worth? More? That's more than apathy. "...at least the train's not on its side," she jokes.

Jade doesn't quite laugh, but he grins along with her.

"I'll admit, past the kidnapping, the train hasn't done anything else sinister. It seems well intentioned... Once it realized how much trouble we were having with illusions, it took us somewhere to get those pendants made."

Truth that he might not have bothered voicing to anyone else, but it's been on his mind. Sometimes, intentions speak louder than actions, especially when your actions are limited.

Anyway, he missed this - of course he did. Talking to Mythra is always so easy, and once again something in his core settles at her fingers in his hair. He reaches for the emotion bleed... only to remember it's only Asch on the other end.

...that might be for the best.

"What about you, back home? Have you..." He can guess how she's been doing and how little she wants to talk about it, so he changes his mind to another question. "Ended up in resonance with anyone? I hope you haven't just been waiting around for me."

"You'd think it could've taken both of us, if it was going to," Mythra grumbles, not willing to give the train her full goodwill. It's not like they're not capable of way more together than they are apart, or anything.

"...Sophie," she admits, pausing as she holds one section of hair in place against his head. "And Malik, obviously. They're helping, but it's- I couldn't-" have handled it alone, when the silence in her head had given her so much room to catastrophize. (It had really only been Malik pointing out that Asch was gone, too, that someone could have gotten the drop on Jade but not on a precognitive blade even stronger than him, too, that had gotten Mythra to snap out of the worst of her fear.) "It's not the same," she finishes.

Putting that aside, though, she's not in resonance with anyone at the moment (and Architect, she hopes Malik and Sophie aren't as out of their minds with worry as she'd been), and Jade's right here. She shakes her head to drive those thoughts away.

"But I mean, no need to wait, right?" she jokes. There's something in her core that thinks that maybe they're not already back in resonance because Jade's not sure about it for some reason. Maybe it's just the oversensitivity that always seems to rear its head at the worst moments. Maybe it's nothing, but she pitches the extra question into her voice anyway. If he does think that, he'll explain.

"I know, right," Jade agrees, and then moves on to the rest of it.

He's glad Sophie and Malik are helping - Architect, he hates worrying them too, all four of them don't handle this sort of thing well after... anyway.

"I understand completely," he tells her. "I've missed you." Just that. It explains enough.

And - mostly he just forgot, briefly, about resonance, in all the other things that were going on. But also: "Fair warning, I'm currently driving Asch. I doubt he'll mind..." and if he does. Well. They can talk to him about that later. Maybe he'd like a break from Jade, anyway. "I just figured you should know."

"Sap," she accuses, the affection in her voice too obvious to mistake for anything else. "Missed you too."

She'd been figuring that Asch was with Jade, wherever they'd ended up, but it's still kind of a relief to hear it confirmed. She's just glad he hadn't been alone this whole time.

"Doesn't bug me if you think it'll be okay with him," Mythra says. She likes Asch - having anyone else in their resonance loop isn't something she's spent much time thinking about, but if it's working for Jade, she's okay with trying. Free of the illusion, Mythra's aware again of that strange quietness in her head, the kind she really doesn't know how to cope with. (Sophie and Malik hadn't filled it the same, but it had still been better than the silence.)

"Well then..."

Mythra feels like she's finished with his hair, so Jade turns to face her and gently reaches out to tap her core crystal. Ping.

Halfway done, at least - she got far enough that it holds its shape well enough as Jade moves. She's not thinking about that right now, though. Mythra shivers at the sensation of Jade's ice, untempered by resonance, against her core (her own illusory ice powers thoroughly forgotten for the moment), but the second that ice solidifies into a request she's accepting.

It's the most natural thing in the world - like a handshake, a thread of ice (warm with affection, the chill no longer bothering her) twining with her own bright light. Her awareness of Jade settles comfortably into the depths of her core, a more distant awareness of Asch settling next to it. She leaves that more or less alone, for now, not wanting to make things strange.

Mythra sighs in relief. "That's so much better," she says, love ringing loudly through the emotional bleed, and flops down across Jade's lap. She can finish his hair in a minute.

It wasn't quiet in Jade's head before, not with Asch, but Asch creates such a different noise than Mythra does. Mythra's - loud and bright and beautiful, the sun settling into his core. Jade breathes a sigh of relief.

When she collapses into his lap, Jade's grinning, love resounding to the same tune as Mythra's. The angle she's at isn't perfect for braiding, but if he leans back a bit and starts with the hair on only one side of her head, he can definitely get something out of this. He'll just have to decide later if he wants to put the rest of her hair in it or not.

"Isn't it?" Jade agrees. He already said he missed her, but like. He missed her. "I don't know why anyone would separate us - we work better as a set."

Mythra laughs softly when Jade reaches for her hair. She doesn't move, though she does tilt her head to give him a little more room to braid. Should be enough for the moment.

"Right? I'm useless without you," she says, though her tone doesn't shift into anything like self-deprecation. That's not true, and she knows it - she can handle herself just fine, thanks, even if the surprise factor of swapping from light to ice is top ten favorite options in their joint arsenal - but, well. The fact that she can't even be completely sure how long it's been she's been without Jade is probably explanation enough.

"Don't sell yourself short," Jade says, the admonishment gentle, his tone fond. And then, ribbing-- "Besides, it's not like I'm any less hopeless when I'm alone, either."

Her head's only tilted just enough that Jade can see it, but Mythra makes a face at him anyway.

"At least you weren't alone," she says. Not that she was either, but! She wasn't the one thrown into a sentient train, here. But speaking of Jade not being alone -

"Is Asch -- how's he doing?" The emotional bleed feels, like... okay? Mythra's not really sure how to read a combination like this, but surely if it wasn't working for them they wouldn't still be in resonance.

"I think he's handling this better than I am." ...provided the fallout from this town isn't too bad, anyway. "If he weren't here, I probably would never have left the spot I arrived in and buried myself under a mountain of snow."

His voice pitches it as an exaggeration for a joke, even though it's probably truer than it isn't.

"I'm glad he's here. It's really impossible to understate the comfort of knowing someone is always going to be in your corner, no matter what happens - which, now that I've said that, I suppose you understand completely."

The train has been nothing like the hellhole of a resonance with Citan, but still. Now that Jade is thinking about the similarities of how both of these resonances got started, he can't exactly unsee them.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Start

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