Cursed: Jacinda Johnson

I can't say this is the anniversary of Jacinda as a character concept, as a fanfiction was the original form, but this is the anniversary of them becoming a playable character (i.e. when I created a LiveJournal for them). It's been thirteen years... and I never finished the fanfiction. Oops!

But I'm thinking maybe I want to play Jacinda further along on their timeline -- the one involving the multiverse and all -- for a little bit, just for fun. Or at least engage in a thought exercise of where this character might be at age... thirty-seven instead of twenty-four.

Dawn and Jacinda trade off asking questions to do with dating, romance, and sex.

[ Thread Here ]

Jacinda's mouth outpaces zir brain, though, and zie ends up saying something that maybe should've been kept private.

Tony Stark sends out the text:
I'll stop working when the fever hits 105. Until then stop nagging, I'm fine, I'm mostly coherent, and I have deadlines.

And Jacinda responds:
Boss, NO. Your genius brain is already cooking and not making good decisions, so GO LIE DOWN.

[ Thread here ]

Sure, Tony told the security team not to let anyone into the laboratory -- because he knows that most people will try to make him stop working -- but it's kind of hard to keep Jacinda from going where zie wants to go. And zie has decided that zie needs to get in and check on Tony.

Because he's the boss. And "boss" means something very specific in Jacinda's mind.

[ Overflow thread ]

The gym doesn't have a lot of people in it. It's never been the most popular of settings in this place, and the folks who pass through the Hub -- or even make it a home for however long -- are more the type to set up a home gym.

But that's part of why Jacinda likes it -- quiet, but not entirely lonely, and something zie doesn't have to maintain on zir own time. Show up, work out, go.

Zie is currently fiddling with the setup on the lat pulldown machine, increasing the number of weight plates that will be engaged.

Jacinda stops a mugging, but gets pretty roughed up in the process. Albtraum appears to zir, thanks to the head trauma making zir pass out.

Going deeper into the dreamworld leads to consulting with Death, who has just enough time to give Jason a clue to Aine.

Jacinda wakes slowly, for once, blinks up at the pale blue tiles of the hospital ceiling and then looks over to the left and to the right. Zir bed is the only one in the room, and to the left Cassandra is leaning on the doorframe, gazing out into the hallway. She looks enough like a regular college student, waiting for bad news, that it's probably what most people see. But her eyes scan over everyone who passes the hospital room door, wary and alert.

To the right, Bruce sits in the single chair at Jacinda's bedside. He's holding on to zir right hand, worry etched in every line of his face. Some resentful part of Jacinda labels it as just an act -- Brucie will play the concerned socialite for anyone, right? -- but that gets cut off by an unbidden, unwanted thought.

'You might have woken up to this if he'd made it on time.'

That's a knife in the gut, and even at zir most hateful and bitter, Jacinda will never, ever say that aloud. Instead, zie turns zir hand over and grips Bruce's hand in return.

The motion pulls Bruce out of whatever private thoughts he'd been stewing in, and his eyes focus back on Jacinda's face. "You're awake."

Jacinda can't resist the urge to smirk, and croaks out, "Brilliant deduction..."

Cassandra approaches the bed, and Bruce busies himself with grabbing the glass of water (with straw) that is sitting on the tray nearby. A press of a button brings the top half of the bed up so that Jacinda is in a sitting position, and Bruce brings the straw close to Jacinda's mouth.

"Drink before we talk," he says, and since zir throat feels like sandpaper, Jacinda complies.

Cassandra lays a hand on Jacinda's left shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Jacinda glances her way, but Bruce isn't moving the straw to let Jacinda speak yet, so zie rolls zir eyes in silence. Cassandra smiles.

"I'm glad you're awake," Cassandra says. "We both are."

Bruce gets a pained look on his face at Cassandra's words, and Jacinda figures that must be the truth. When he finally takes the glass away, Jacinda says,

"Passing out really wasn't the plan. Did lead to something interesting, though." After checking zir hands, and realizing that there is a mark on zir left palm, Jacinda holds it up to show Bruce and Cassandra. "Had a really weird dream, and got a clue burned into my hand. Here it is."

The sigil (or map or whatever it is) is unfamiliar to Jacinda, and the confused look on Bruce's face shows that he doesn't recognize it either. Cassandra gives a little shrug.

"It does look like a burn," she says. "Will it heal over?"

"If it's magical, it might heal quickly," Bruce points out. "We'll need to get a picture taken."

"The twerp probably has a camera on hand," Jacinda mutters. Bruce sends zir a censorious look that Jacinda completely ignores, because zie is right on both counts -- Tim is a twerp, and he's big into photography.

"You told Dick you'd call the Manor when Jacinda woke up," Cass reminds Bruce. "Tell him to bring a camera when he comes."

Bruce nods, but he doesn't leave the room right away. He takes some time to just... look at Jacinda. After letting it go on for maybe half a minute, Jacinda pulls a goofy face and makes a shooing motion with zir right hand.

Cassandra giggles, but Bruce just pulls a face of his own -- haughty high society boy -- and marches out without comment. Jacinda knows that was as close to joking back with zir as Bruce is going to get in public.

When the door closes behind him, Jacinda sighs and looks to Cassandra. "How mad are you that I fucked up your training and got hurt?"

"Not mad," Cassandra replies. "Injuries happen."

"It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't like this," Jacinda says bitterly.

"You never got hurt before?" Cassandra asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, but you're wrong."

After some messages exchanged with Lady Blackhawk, preparations for a new mission commenced. Maybe it was a little silly to get excited about it, and to get one's hopes up, but the target seemed promising.

Sebastian Faust -- magic practitioner, British national, currently located in Markovia. Given his skill in magic -- both the practice known as black magic and the sorcery known as soul magic -- he has plenty of options for obscuring his location. In fact, the only reason that Jacinda knows he's in Markovia is because the Batcomputer listed the British embassy in that country as the place to contact Faust for non-emergency matters.

Aside from Faust's magical skills, the Justice League will often ask the man for help in translating ancient texts. Given Jacinda's current troubles are all tied up in the whims of an ancient Goddess of Faerie, Sebastian Faust seems like the most likely candidate for "knows what the actual fuck is going on".

Jacinda Johnson hurries across the airfield toward the small airplane, wearing the same men's leather jacket that zie did when active as the Red Hood. It was only two months ago, really, but it seems like so much longer. Going by zir real name of "Jason" would draw odd stares, since that's 'a guy's name' and zie doesn't look like a guy anymore. And Jacinda needs to get into the habit of answering to the new name, so zie doesn't slip up and draw attention to zirself.

Zie looks around for Zinda Blake when zie gets closer. The airplane is being prepared for takeoff by the groundcrew, and Jacinda isn't sure where the pilot would be at this time, exactly.

Aodhan Fincher asks Am I The Asshole? for taking over the life of his alternate reality self, when that self is dead.
Jacinda decides to get some more information

****

Lucky thing that Jacinda opted to get a more modern cell phone upon arriving in the Hub, because Texts From Last Night started blowing up zir texting app.

Chrissy Cunningham: Let's say hypothetically if you were going to put icing on a penis and then lick it clean...what would you ice it with? Not a knife right?
Jacinda: Knives do NOT go near teh dangly bits!!!

Daniel LaRusso: All I know is that I woke up with glitter all over me and blood on my shoes. It wasn't my blood.
Jacinda: ...that partially explains why I am sparkly and missing a tooth

Bucky Barnes: Why did I wake up with "How to masturbate" on my youtube search bar?
Jacinda: Did you maybe wake up with a strange new set of intimate parts? It's been known to happen.

Elia Martell: I called him my big strong man today. It's all downhill from here. Matching Christmas sweaters, here we come
Jacinda: Embrace your fate. Become one of those sickeningly sweet couples who annoy everyone with how cute they are, but do so knowingly. Like when adults use teenage slang wrong just to make the kids cringe.

Ariel (The Tempest): Wait, it's your birthday? Those keep happening?
Jacinda: No. But also yes. >:)

Barbara Gordon (nu52): I'm wearing a cape at the laundromat. I really can't say shit
Jacinda: The only time it'd be a problem is if you were wearing ONLY a cape at the laundromat

****

Jacinda asks Guin Davies If you had to date one of your friends, colleagues or co-workers, who would you choose?

Jacinda asks Anna of Arendelle What kind of gift would you give the person you love? ...and then gives some suggestions

Jacinda wonders if Claire Bennet ever fantasizes about being swept off her feet

****

Usagi and Jacinda discuss the importance of friends and the support they offer.

****

A version of Oliver Queen who doesn't jump at the chance to protest a rich fat-cat? Say it ain't so!

Jacinda has wandered into a different liminal space, accessible since the Dreamwide Shift -- a place called the Nexus. A nightmare walks into the same tavern in the Nexus.

"Good evening," a heavily accented voice, deep baritone smooth and piercing as aged whiskey. Eyes look outward and head tips up toward nowhere in particular. "What brings you back to a feeling of home?"

Currently, Jacinda is sipping at a single bottle of beer and watching the other patrons of the tavern. Maybe zie is looking for someone that zie won't find here.

In any case, the question draws Jacinda's attention. "I've had a lot of homes," zie answers, "but they never last."

Or... Jason Todd is a nerd who quotes poetry at a nightmare, and ends up making a friend.

[IMPORTED ENTRY]

If you're here from Dreamwidth, hi! This muse is weird, so maybe you're wondering what's going on. They started as an off-the-wall fanfic idea, and when the DCU Six Word Stories comm on LJ started up, said muse was tossed into the fray.

I play them as... half AU muse, half OC. The pronouns shift around a lot, though I try to keep to one set per thread (i.e. Jason/he/they, Jacinda/zie/they). Generally, they don't get into their whole complicated backstory during play, though I definitely have an affinity for tagging DC Comics muses. I might sprinkle in little details, but avoid name-drops ("my grandfather" rather than Alfred, et cetera.)

Short story is this: Jason Todd, born male. General preboot timeline that ignores "Battle for the Cowl". Cursed into a female body because he pissed off a goddess. Gender exploration ensues -- now goes by the name "Jacinda Johnson" and usually uses gender neutral pronouns.

Awareness of the multiverse has always been a thing, and Jacinda is low-key searching for an alternate world to settle in that'll be better about medical transition now that the curse is permanent and there's no magical solution.

JUST FOR FUN:
VISUAL ||| AUDIO