𝐣𝐞𝐭 ★ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 (
trafficreport) wrote2020-02-08 08:08 pm
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OOC INFO;
Player Name: Zero
Contact Info:
Current Character: N/A
IC INFO;
Character Name: Jet Star
Canon: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Canon Information:
"Na Na Na" music video
SING" music video
"SING" music video (director's cut)
Comic wikipedia page
I'm very, very sorry that there is no reliable, cohesive wiki that lists All The Information. Thus, I will be supplying my own basic summary of the canon's narrative and how that pertains to Jet's personal history. Fortunately, the two have plenty of overlap.
If you remember the fourth studio album released by My Chemical Romance, you might remember that there was a loose storyline to go with the two (and a half??) music videos. This storyline was a multilayered, liquid concept. All told, the world is pieced together through blurbs, video snippets, a listening party, interactive Twitter accounts, and the music videos themselves. The last piece in this entire chaotic pyramid is the six-issue comic series, which was released in 2013 - 2014 and contextualized a lot of the universe. So, a quick rundown of what the hell this wacky world is about:
By the year 2019, a series of wars and natural disasters have ravaged chunks of the globe. Since the story is set in the U.S., that's the most information we get on how things are at. Supplementary background suggested by the characters on Twitter and some of the videos gives us the names of some of the disasters: the Helium Wars, the Fires of 2012, and the Analog Wars. The last of these turns out to be the most story-important.
You see, at this point a megacorporation known as Better Living Industries (shorthanded to "BLI" or "Bl/ind" if you like symbolism) has achieved a wealth of presumably global power. The story is set in what used to be California, large swathe of which is now a BLI-sanctioned city known as Battery City. BLI owns literally everything, and twists it all to its specific vision. Art, music, color, creativity, freedom of thought - all are deeply illegal concepts in the world of Bat City. Citizens are issued emotion-regulating medication meant to keep them docile; outbursts and instances of lawless behavior are harshly punished; citizens who break too many laws can easily be replaced by perfectly obedient automatons, programmed to follow BLI's every order. Denizens of the city are kept in line thanks to masked guards called "exterminators," and the even more inexplicable draculoids - poor suckers who got masks yanked over their head, had that mask literally suck out their soul, and now serve Better Living with mindless abandon. Near the very top of this twisted hierarchy are the scarecrows, who lead most of these groups of enforcers.
The comics specify that during the Analog Wars, a group of rebels attempted to take Better Living down. The leader of resistance was a fiery, determined woman who was capable of rallying the rebels in spite of how horribly outmatched they were. The conclusion of this conflict was, perhaps, obvious - the rebellion was crushed and the leader was turned into a draculoid.
But not all hope was lost. This woman, unknown to almost everyone, was pregnant, and all her rage and strength was channeled into her unborn infant. Following this infant's birth, this child would come to be known simply as "the Girl." Those who live outside Battery City learn of this Girl and the circumstances of her birth, and through some route or another, she ends up outside the jurisdiction of BLI.
In terms of Jet's personal history, here is what we know:
Outside Battery City, there are the Zones - the wild Californian desert populated by rebels who oppose everything that BLI represents, often colloquially known as "zonerunners" or "killjoys." Killjoys are generally characterized as vibrant anarchists, living in a world of dyed hair and loud music. While living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland of a dystopian, radiation-bombarded desert is a far cry from the comfortable life that would be allotted to them in Battery City, killjoys prefer to make do as Mad Max-esque nomads, roaming the sands in cars and motorcycles and traveling in crews and gangs. They willingly trade the safer, emotionless life of Battery City for the lawless wastelands of the desert it if means they get to remain free from BLI's harsh law enforcement and emotion-numbing drugs. BLI seeks to stamp out and suppress these killjoys whenever possible, particularly when they make names for themselves.
Easily the most famous of these killjoys are known as the "Fabulous Four," and are featured prominently in the videos linked above. Party Poison, the Kobra Kid, Jet Star, and Fun Ghoul are the four killjoys devoted to the protection and care of the Girl, who they and others regard as something of a messianic figure. They essentially serve as pseudo sibling-slash-parental figures to her as they raise and protect her. And they do need to protect her - not just from the inherent dangers of the Zones, but also from BLI. Better Living wants the Girl, and wants her badly.
The individual histories of each of the Four are not known in specifics. Since they're known as "the Four," it's probable that they were a cohesive gang before they came upon the Girl and took her in. That being said, their easy rapport with the Girl and with one another implies that they've been working as a unit with her for long enough for it to become second nature to them. They laugh as they blow up draculoids, they handle themselves well in firefights, and they're constantly on the move. BLI regards the Fabulous Four as notorious terrorists since they're so well-known, so on top of their hunt for the Girl, they also want to take down these four beacons that represent everything that BLI hates: chaos, color, freedom, and rebellion. The Fabulous Four and their young charge are seen basically always running from the scarecrows and draculoids that Better Living sends after them. They fight back on every front available to them: they shoot down their pursuers from vehicles, they hide in parts of the Zones rich in radiation, they loot BLI vending machines to vaporize their pursuers with their own battery packs. They follow the guiding voices of DJs and fight side by side with their allies and friends and do whatever it takes to stay ahead of the forces of Better Living.
But eventually their time runs out. Perhaps inevitably, BLI succeeds in capturing the Girl. They promptly hold her in Battery City as bait, and it works. The Fabulous Killjoys come thundering into BLI's immaculate white city to save their Girl from their clutches - knowing full well that this endeavor would likely end in their collective deaths. This suspicion was correct. While they succeed in freeing the Girl from BLI, all four of the Fabulous Killjoys end up dying in the attempt, one by one.
Even after their deaths, the legacy of the Fabulous Killjoys and the Girl continues to perpetuate and bleed into the fabric of the desert. In the comics, which take place some twelve or so years after the fact (timelines here are particularly prone to continuity futzes, WELCOME TO THIS CANON), the Fabulous Killjoys are regarded as idols and legendary figures for much of the desert. Other zonerunners mention owning posters and action figures of them, and their efforts to keep the Girl safe have cemented that even after their collective deaths, some part of them will always live forever.
Canon Point: After the events of "SING"
Age: Not specified; the Fabulous Four were played by dudes in their thirties but the comics imply they were teenagers so I'll tentatively say Jet Star was somewhere in the 17 - 23 range
God Houses:
HEIMDALL - Unfailingly devoted as Jet is to his ideals and to his crew, it would stand to reason that the god of loyalty and vigilance would appeal most to him. Jet gives everything to his family, and will stop at nothing to protect them, even if it means his death. He is most comfortable surrounded by them, and in knowing that they're safe. This is the house that Jet himself would choose.
HONIR - Killjoys are, by nature, wanderers. The Fabulous Four in particular could not afford to stay in one place too long, but Jet was nonetheless comfortable with being constantly on the run. To him, his home is his family, and physical location is but a backdrop.
TYR - Jet has never balked at difficult situations, whether physically or morally. He does not hesitate when it comes to killing someone to protect his family, nor does he need incentivizing if he needs to make a suicide run on a heavily fortified city because the Girl is in danger. Life in the Zones is an intense and oftentimes relentless nightmare, but this has never prevented Jet from finding joy and peace in it regardless.
Personality:
Living in the Zones means living in constant danger - it ain't called "Danger Days" for nothing. Zonerunners in this universe have to contend with rival crews, toxic fumes, acid storms, severe radiation, and the odd draculoid raiding parties that Battery City routinely sends into the desert to wipe out any killjoys they find. This is to say nothing of the more immediately recognizable dangers of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and extreme temperature shifts. Death is a commonplace occurrence in this world; there are four acceptable levels of dead in the Zones.
Jet Star, like the rest of the Fabulous Four, like many of the longtime residents of the Zones, is capable of doing what it takes to survive. Threats against Jet's crew and family are not tolerated. He can and will open fire on someone who might be a threat with very little provocation, and he will do it smoothly and without breaking a sweat. He carries out a great deal of his tasks with a certain level of stoicism. He does what it takes, and he does it exceptionally well. It's not too far out of left field to guess that this could be something of a coping mechanism; a hardened veneer to layer over any misgivings he might have, because in the Zones, to second-guess a decision could very well mean death.
Given the quality of life in the desert, it's probably not surprising that Jet is a little too comfortable with the idea of death. The morality of killing and maiming someone just to get by doesn't bother him overmuch; he's entirely too accustomed to every day being a high-stakes endeavor, where it's going to be an "us or them" situation. If he has to mow down draculoids to keep his family safe, he'll do it. If he has to shoot down a gas station attendant who may or may not be menacing one of his crew, he'll do so without a moment's hesitation or second thought.
It's worth noting that his resolve does not always match his ability. While Jet is a very good shot - he can score hits on non-stationary targets while he himself is hanging out from the open window of a moving vehicle - he kind of sucks at combat in close quarters, especially when there's more than one opponent to contend with. That doesn't stop him from fighting anyway, even if it's hopeless and he's completely outnumbered.
The Fabulous Killjoys are a family, and all four of them work extremely well with each other. They excel at nonverbal communication and oftentimes barely need to look at each other for confirmation before taking lethal action against an enemy, and Jet is no exception to this. The killjoys are intensely and unapologetically devoted to one another, an attitude which especially pertains to the Girl. Almost everything we see the Fabulous Four do and the reason they are so well-known in the Zones after their death, has to do with keeping her safe and raising her. This can feed into a very "us vs. them" mentality, with "them" being anyone who is not an immediate ally or trusted accomplice. While Jet does not appear to be innately hostile to anyone he doesn't consider trustworthy, considering his ease in gunning down neutral parties, it's safe to say that he finds it easy to draw the lines between his crew and everyone else. He obviously prioritizes his own crew first and foremost, and does not mind it if others become collateral damage if it means that he can keep his family safe. This unity is especially important to Jet; he's the only one of the four to wear the distinctive killjoy spider symbol prominently on his clothing - a symbol that represents the Fabulous Four, given that they have "eight legs" in summation.
However, it is very possible that this hardscrabble lifestyle and its equally eclectic morality bothers him, as Jet notably possesses some strings of bad luck beads. These beads are an ordinary sight in the Zones, as they're meant to shield the wearer from misfortune; they're inscribed with Japanese characters symbols of bad luck, such as black cats and broken mirrors. The beads are essentially worn to ward away bad luck - "if you always kept bad luck on your wrist, then it could never find you. You always knew where it was." Jet is notably the only one of the Four who wears more than one pair of bad luck beads, implying a superstitious demeanor and possibly a sense of spirituality for the god-like entities in the Zones (of which there are a few). This sense of spirituality is further compounded by the patch on his jacket, which both pays homage to the constant presence of death in the Zones and acknowledges Jet's superstitious nature, as the ace card can represent the dichotomy of bad and good luck. The ace of spades is also historically considered one of the most spiritually powerful cards, and fits in well with the implications to his character.
The rest of Jet's apparel is not as brazenly colorful as those of the other three, which suggests that he feels he has less to "prove." This leads me to believe that he was born in the desert, or got out of BLI's control very early in life. Most killjoys who carry that much color on them do so to fashion themselves as symbols to oppose Battery City's monochromatic ideologies, as these colors are not otherwise very pragmatic to wear in the desert. Jet simply doesn't feel the need to prove himself in that regard as much. He is less concerned with being a symbol or becoming a legend than he is with practicality, and focusing on day to day living.
On that note, while the other members of the Fab Four and the Girl are prone to...fucking around, basically, and living in the high of the moment, Jet appears to be one of the more dutiful of the four: when the rest are all sitting around and reading magazines, Jet is seen working on the car and therefore actually getting some shit done (like most people in the Zones, Jet has at least a rudimentary knowledge of vehicles and their moving parts, since those are the primary modes of transport). The idea that he might very well often play the part of the "voice of reason" within the gang is further cemented by Jet's personalized ray gun, which has the words "BECAUSE I SAID SO" written on the side.
That being said, for all his seeming stoicism, Jet still has a good sense of fun, just like any other killjoy. You have to live day to day in the Zones, and you have to live as boldly and brightly as possible, because you never know which moment will be your last. Dr. Death Defying notes that he was "spotted dancing the night away with some of the lovely companion droids at Hyper-Thrust's" with Party Poison and another friend of the gang's. He's very much content to ride thrills and relish the good things in life, because there simply aren't that very many of those in the Zones.
But for the most part, when business needs doing, Jet's often the first to lock down and do it. His patient, dedicated demeanor carries over into extremely high-stakes situations; basically, he consistently keeps his cool. When it comes to being surrounded by draculoids and exterminators and facing almost certainly insurmountable odds, not once does Jet panic. On the Fabulous Four's final mission, he brings up the rear: he watches their backs, maintains a perpetual vigilance for what's coming up behind them, and secures their escape route. He is calm and methodical as he routinely mows down each enemy with a deft efficiency. When faced with his own certain death, Jet does not relent. He's the last of his crew to die, and he has to watch as each of them falls before him. Unlike others of his number, he doesn't allow grief to overwhelm him and he doesn't waste time on trying to bring down more exterminators, even when the other three of his crew - his family and the three of the most important people in his life - all get gunned down one by one.
He doesn't hesitate. He keeps moving. He focuses on getting the Girl out instead of firing on a seemingly limitless enemy. He works to secure the Girl, and get her to safety. He and the rest of the Four consider her to be the best hope for the future of the Zones, and so her protection is far more valuable than his own life. He is determined, relentless, and completely locked-down in this effort. He's the final one of the Fabulous Four to fall, and he only stops trying to protect the Girl when he's dead.
Being a solid, unwavering, and consistent bulwark of strength for the others in his crew means that Jet doesn't necessarily focus on his own self-preservation. He's willing to run into a screaming firefight to save the Girl and ultimately dies trying. His perseverance to get the Girl to safety first and foremost (promptly before eating it spectacularly) suggests that he, like the rest of the Four, did not expect to make it out of that final run on Battery City alive - and furthermore, that this did not particularly bother him. Just as killing does not, by necessity, eat away at his soul, neither does the idea of dying for family and for the sake of giving the Zones hope.
Above all, Jet Star is faithful, unyielding, grounded, and more than willing to bleed for the cause.
Writing Sample: Jet Star on the TDM!