[ JACKSON HEART ]

[socialcapital]

[ THIS HEART WILL HAVE CWS FOR:

- CANON-TYPICAL VIOLENCE
- SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE FOR CANON-TYPICAL VIOLENCE
- CHILD ABUSE
- SLAVERY
- DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE ]

Comments

[ THE PARTY ]

[socialcapital]

You step into… somewhere. A garden? The area is painstakingly manicured, like there's been a full fleet of gardeners working around the clock to make sure there isn't a single withered petal or brown leaf. The white gravel paths are spotless, without a speck of dirt out of place.

The sun is fully eclipsed in this place, a surprisingly cold dark shadow cast on the whole area. You can look directly up at it and see the corona shining out against the sky; dawn seems to be breaking on every horizon. Normally totality only lasts a few minutes at most, but no matter how long you stay here the solar eclipse does not move.

Despite the chill and the strange vibe, the area is set up for some sort of fancy garden party; a number of people none of you have ever seen before - translucent, golden apparitions - are mingling, having a silent but extremely elegant party.

Many of the spirits are barely visible, flickering in and out of view if you look at them from different angles, but one of them, sitting near the center of the party, is a bit more solid - you can still see through her, but it's a beautiful young woman who some of you may have seen in a vision - miss Harmonious Song.

In the exact middle of the setup there's an ornate gate, covered in decorative climbing vines, but you can't seem to open it; absurdly, even though it doesn't seem to go anywhere, it's locked with some sort of mechanism with four indentations…? Adventure game-ass bullshit.

Away from the party, paths head off in four directions. Two of them look extremely old - one rough dirt, one rough stone. Two of them look much more modern - one pavement, one concrete.

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[endsjustified]

[looks around uncertainly, and then heads in Harmonious Song’s direction, since she is at least a little familiar and nothing else is]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[Stands there trying to decide if this is more or less nerve-y than a waterfall. On the one hand a waterfall will just do waterfall things and a godprincess could have feelings and opinions and stuff. On the other hand he can stand here and debate this.]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[time to mingle and..... (unsure face) act natural?

is there food he wants to see what kind of food Harmonious Song serves]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[justonezero]

[Looking around in confusion??? He's the worst Aria ever he doesn't do fancy parties like this.

Also are powers on or not, because if they are there are probably numbers about everything that he can read to try to see the stats/powerlevels of things but if no powers he will simply enjoy not having his vision clouded with digits.]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[Wandering back out to the party looking for a spot to nap, having no idea how time is working in here]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[mykidisthebest]

[instead of immediately slipping off to inspect that gate, he decides to ultimately approach miss Harmonious Song first. he isn't trying to engage in conversation just yet; he's hoping to unobtrusively mingle so he can listen in on her conversation]

Re: [ THE PARTY ]

[demonicdomestic]

[It's the eclipse he sees first.

It's impossible to miss -- the cold of the missing light, the way twilight dawn rims the whole horizon. The ghostly streamers and plumes of coronal light.]

I suppose... there's no mystery in who is dreaming, this time.

[ ROUGH DIRT ]

[socialcapital]

(CWs: Child abuse, violence, blood, slavery)

Down this path is a market square in a riverside port town! Immediately you can tell this is somewhere in Creation, or at the very least, not somewhere in Estoria - the way people are dressed, the style of the buildings, the things on sale at every little pop-up stand are very different from anything you'd find in this world.

It's early early morning, but everyone is in full swing already. Merchants call for your attention from every direction, including the docks where multiple boats are tied up displaying goods, the same as any other vendor. Children scurry in groups along the street. People selling prepared foods are setting up their booths, chasing away scurrying children who look like they might be too grabby.

Oddly, just past the market is a somewhat out-of-place instalment - a massive greenhouse, easily the size of a palace. It's made of glittering, clear glass, seems to be full of lush green plants, and there's a glowing golden light visible through the glass, illuminating the whole thing against the hazy light of dawn.

Re: [ ROUGH DIRT ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[Huh, feels foreign... Recalling that Jackson says his visions are 'a lot' and kinda bracing... Gonna check if his Blessings still work too]

Re: [ ROUGH DIRT ]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[beelining for the greenhouse whee

also pickpocketing a passing rich person on the way over just in case he needs some money]

Re: [ ROUGH DIRT ]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[stalking through the market square (once again pickpocketing someone along the way, just on principle) and looking for the stall where teen Firuz was selling crappy teapots]

Re: [ ROUGH DIRT ]

[mykidisthebest]

...!

[he's drawn in the direction of the greenhouse almost immediately, tbh. but he takes his time getting there; he's curious enough to look around the street as he moves, taking in what Creation is like. he hasn't seen too much of it, just heard a few things. it's much different to experience it himself.]

Re: [ ROUGH DIRT ]

[demonicdomestic]

... a combination. Interesting.

[ STONE ]

[socialcapital]

(CWs: violence, blood)

This is a large city with architecture not common to Port Manteau. It must be somewhere in Creation, but a fairly urban area in Creation - the buildings are high and packed in tightly. The streets are filled with the poor and the hungry, people huddled up under blankets and in piles. Wanted posters are hung on buildings - most are for the Golden-Eyed Asp, and feature an artist's depiction of someone who looks a whole lot like if Jackson Umbra were extremely evil.

This is a city going Through It - even the market district you're in right now is pretty bare, despite it being midday with the sun at its zenith in the sky. There are a lot of beggars, a lot of urchins, and a few merchants unsuccessfully trying to sell goods that nobody has the money to buy. Others seem to have given up entirely - one merchant near the end of the street has abandoned trying to draw attention in favor of dozing off facedown at his little booth, for example.

One place that HAS attracted a crowd is a large tent with a banner hung over it displaying a golden sun. People are lined up all down the street waiting to get in - people are coming out with bowls of soup or rice and vegetables.

The other place that draws attention is outside of the market district - up a hill, looming over this part of town, is a temple district, where some kind of celebration seems to be going on at the temple.

Re: [ STONE ]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[if Jackson Umbra were extremely evil hot. there I fixed it for you.

well... Sparrow will drift toward the large tent first, poking his head in to see what's going on.]

Re: [ STONE ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[Hightailing it over here from the party, mentally reviewing the conversation with Harmonious Song like 'uh oh does she know everything that happens down the paths??' It didn't sound like she did when they first talked! Um... maybe this isn't fine?

--oh it's dire over here............]

Re: [ STONE ]

[demonicdomestic]

Another confluence of points.

[He stops by one of the posters... and takes a picture of it. For posterity.]

I would guess... part of the way through a famine? With public perception hanging in the balance. And that...

[He looks up to the temple.]

... it would be good if it were the cult. But more likely it's the genesis of one of these affairs. Either way, a better place to start.

[ PAVEMENT ]

[socialcapital]

(CWs: substance abuse, emotional abuse)

This area heads directly into a large, imposing building. It's sleek and modern and lit up by lights even as the sky fades into night overhead. This is an arena - one of many such buildings where any amount of performers have put on shows for crowds of thousands of people.

This entrance in particular appears to be a back door, something staff-only, as while you can hear distant murmurs of crowds, you only occasionally see a security guard walking past or guarding a door. None of them seem especially interested in keeping you out.

There are signs at every major fork in the path to direct you either towards the dressing room area by the stage or to a rest area out of the way. There's a sense of nervous anticipation in the pit of your stomach, for some reason.

Re: [ PAVEMENT ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[waowao.. totality-era jackson… gonna make his way to the rest area first]

Re: [ PAVEMENT ]

[carrionmywaywardsun]

[hahahaaaaaa I hate this... let's check the dressing room first, I guess,]

Re: [ PAVEMENT ]

[justonezero]

[Oh this is horrifying.

Going to the... dressing room? Please be safe.]

Re: [ PAVEMENT ]

[demonicdomestic]

[For some reason.

He never mingled much with Arias. This side of the world is as foreign to him as Creation -- full of its own language and rituals and customs, not the kind of thing an impoverished student of the sciences would ever have reason to learn.

He looks back and forth between the options, grateful for the lax security giving him the opportunity to choose, and heads to the quieter rest area first.]

[ CONCRETE ]

[socialcapital]

This path leads to a little apartment building that some of you might have visited! It's where Jackson Umbra currently lives. No one stops you from walking in, and the elevator won't stop at any floor except for the one he lives on.

The door isn't locked. Inside is the usual apartment, no strange warping based on emotions, but it's clearly not the apartment of someone expecting visitors. It's extremely Depressed Bachelor Chic, clutter on basically every surface (mostly textbooks and notebooks with a lot of extremely specific accountant notes on them), undecorated except for a single fern sitting on the kitchen counter.

The man the myth the legend himself is NOT hidden because this is a studio. He's asleep in sort of a depression nap on the couch, another textbook over his face. The dim light of twilight outside gives the whole area sort of a gloomy vibe.

Re: [ CONCRETE ]

[worldlyafflictions]

[oop, ducks back out when he realizes he’s there, then poking his head back in and knocking on the door frame…]

S’cuse me… ya missed an appointment so I came ta get ya.