middleofsomewhere | 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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The scent hits him, and he nods, grabbing a cup and staring down at his gloved hands. "Do you think the powers we got still work? I'll have to wear gloves if they do." Because he's not sending someone back to the train by touching them, no.

Well, that's a direct answer.

"Mine don't," Asch says, which is an explanation for why it took him so long to get home the night before. "But it's probably not worth the risk, in your case." He looks down the throat of his mug before taking another drink of coffee.

"It's only fair to warn you," he says at length, "that blades are really stupid about siblings." Mythra's phrasing, not his, but there's not really a better one. "Mildly fanatical protective kinds of stupid."

"Maybe I'll try on a plant to check. Better it than a person."

He frowns and tilts his head at Asch. "... But we aren't actually siblings? And the only sibling I had I killed."

Well. He wasn't just his brother.

"If the plants are even really alive," Asch mutters. It's entirely possible they're just illusions, after all.

"And I killed my driver for mine," Asch says, fully aware that Otoha doesn't have the context, won't really appreciate how significant a thing that is - "It happens with adopted siblings, too, and I don't know if it's going to latch onto you or not. That's why I'm warning you."

"Who the fuck knows." And whatever a driver is, it's probably important if it's comparable in severity. "... Guess we'll see. Wouldn't be the first sibling I got in this place - already told Ryo and Rich they're my siblings. And Rich is... well."

Funny how that works out.

"Oh, so it's your fault," Asch says, blandly, but the kind of bland that's clearly a joke. "Good to know."

He takes another drink of his coffee, and then finally says, "Jade and I are in resonance, so we're sort of a package deal, but there's not really an equivalent for humans." It's only complicated when he tries to explain it to other people, from other worlds. (Well. That's not quite true - it would be complicated for another blade, too, who didn't know them, but that's because their relationship isn't traditionally blade-and-driver, not because it exists at all.)

"... Resonance." He tries to think. Music term, right? He's pretty sure. "... Yurine comes along with me, but she's more... Soldat would call her my 'handler', but she's the will of the city I'm sworn to protect. We've got a contract."

And the way he says 'contract' makes it clear there's a bunch of layers there that don't have a real equivalent, either. "She's not... human or human-like, since she's the will of an entire city."

Asch just nods. "Technically, Jade is driving me," he says, "but neither of us has any interest in the traditional blade-and-driver relationship. We're partners, not... something-like-a-weapon and something-like-a-wielder."

Neither of them has authority over the other, and they prefer it that way.

"Blades are less humanlike than we look," he says. There's an awkward breath of staring down at his own core crystal, just visibly glowing under his shirt. "Than... I look, in particular. But we think close enough to the same ways, since we're designed to be in resonance with humans."

"Yeah. She's... not. I don't know if anyone made her or - man, I guess it's a Shinto thing. Places having souls... same thing with objects having... humanlike qualities if they're old enough. Some of the yokai are like that."

Anyway. "Technically I never died, but she offered it to me on the edge of death. Don't remember signing, but I don't regret it."

Asch snorts. "I think most people wouldn't," he says.

He stares into his coffee cup for a minute, and then says, "Normally drivers are the thing that keeps a blade alive. And as much as I regret the way I did it, sometimes, actually putting my sword through his back is something I'll never regret."

And with that, he drinks the last of his coffee.

"Put my sword through a bunch of people... used to be an enforcer for the yakuza - organized crime. Ringleader of our group was my brother. ... Also my dad. Also just an awful person, so I don't regret it."

Siiiip.

"Technically, I'll never know. Normally a blade's memories reset when we die." Asch stands, putting his mug in the sink to rinse it out. "Only two that matter at this point, though, and the other was a mercy. She wasn't going to live much longer anyway."

He knows her name. He didn't then, but he does now, and thinking about that too long... He shuts the sink off.

Sitting back down at the table, Asch says instead, "Dark blades are justice blades - the kind of justice that happens when people take things into their own hands. And just from what you've said, it sounds like he deserved it."

"... Yeah. Got treated like a weapon my whole life. I was useful because I can't feel pain. What better weapon than one that won't break in the middle of a fight?" Asch has seen him not feeling pain, but it's... just part of who he is.

"One that doesn't know enough about the world around them to question being someone else's weapon," Asch says, more than a little bitterly, as he leans against the side of the sink and folds his arms.

You're not doing a lot to discourage the whole brotherly attachment thing there, Otoha.

"I wasn't exactly encouraged to do that, no. Only had one friend my whole life before the train picked me up." He'd hesitate to call anyone a friend other than Reiji, and even then he's not sure if 'friend' was all Reiji was after.

So Familiar a Gleam: Start

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cw: fratricide/patricide, brief incest mention

basically otoha warnings: the thread, but don't worry buddy, you're not the only murderer here

hooray. do they have club jackets?

like Asch is going to give up his neat coat

it's fine otoha prefers trenchcoats anwyay

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