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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By day three or four, definitely more people are starting to snap out of the whole illusion.

But not Madoka. The girl is still wandering around as if nothing has changed from the previous few days, completely unaware of the changes that are happening to some people around her. She's still just going through her usual routine - going to school, having fun after school with friends, going home.

.. or, you know, accidentally running into someone on the streets. Because Madoka happens to be watching one of the videos about the dangers of the Voidtreckers displayed on one of the nearby billboards rather than looking ahead of her, which is why she bumps right into Jiang Cheng.

She stumbles back a step or two, managing to trip over her own feet and fall onto her butt.

"Oh..!"

Jiang Cheng has been seeing through the illusion faster than some of the other people he's been around, which has been both a relief and a curse. The only thing he can blame it on is his knowledge that Wei Wuxian is his brother and would never allow him to wallow too deeply, the same way he hadn't when they had gone to the caves.

If they hadn't been brothers in this world too... Things might be a little more complicated for him. He can accept his luck on that front.

When someone almost literally runs into him he's snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes widening a little as he glances down. He's just as aware of the videos and articles and pamphlets - hasn't Wei Wuxian made enough of them - that they barely distract him anymore, so when he realises who is in front of him his expression tenses just a little.

There's no reason for him to believe she'd know, but...

"... Madoka?"

There was an apology already on Madoka's lips, despite the fact that she's the one who fell over upon impact.

But it dies at the sound of that name on this man's lips. It leaves her just staring up at him, her eyes wide. It's not just normal surprise though. No, this is outright shock. Because here is a person she has never seen before saying her name so casually - and it's not even like she's famous like some of the heroes around town! She's just a normal girl, so Madoka has no idea how someone would just randomly know her name. Is this one of her dad's friends or something? But then how would he recognize her, despite never having seen her before?

In the middle of her shock she totally forgets to even stand up, instead still just sitting there on the ground.

"Y.. You know me, sir..?"

Another victim of the illusions.

The knowledge doesn't settle well on Jiang Cheng's shoulders; he feels a little on edge, something sharp settling in his expression as he looks down at her. She doesn't recognise him even a little, which means she is fully victim to the strength of the illusion and deception of this world. He's gotten better at fighting it, pushed himself through it due to his core and his determination, but that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

With this illusionary world came new powers, and Jiang Cheng can feel the flood of empathy opening like a dam; there's no way Madoka won't be able to feel his sadness, the hurt, and the ever-present ache of agony and grief that hangs around him like a blanket, something he usually curtains with anger and frustration. He doesn't have enough control yet to stop anyone feeling what he feels.

Slowly, reaching out, he offers a hand to help her back to her feet.

"I think you might be a friend of the family," he admits, as if that might be true. It sort of is, isn't it, back in their normal world, with their normal understanding? "I've seen pictures of you before, that's all. I didn't mean to frighten you."

It's strange. She doesn't know this man, and maybe that 'friend of the family' thing might be true, especially since Madoka is assuming that maybe this man just somehow knows her father. That's not really the strange part when she can file it away as such.

The strange part is the aura that hangs around the man. It's so odd. Why does he somehow feel so sad? Is there something to be sad about in this situation?

Madoka accepts the hand, letting him help her back up to her feet, but she stares at him with a half-curious and half-worried expression the entire time.

Maybe it's rude to ask, but it'd feel odd to not do so when she can feel his emotions so heavily, so.. ".. Sir, are you alright..?"

This is the part that Jiang Cheng has hated thus far; the part where he feels aggravated, wanting to break through but not knowing how. Isn't she wearing her necklace? The pendant? She'd offered it to him as protection and yet it doesn't seem to have done her much good at all - that's enough to make him feel that same familiar irritation.

The fact that she asks after him, though, makes him swallow back whatever was on the tip of his tongue. That odd, twisting empathy inside of him has obviously reared it's head again, and he has to force himself to reach for it, to try and reign in back in - because there's no reason to poison her with his thoughts.

She doesn't deserve this.

"I'm fine," he says, voice a little snappish. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you. Do you need someone to walk you home?"

"Ah.." The question seems to catch the girl by surprise, especially since her thoughts were so tangled up with him that she didn't even think about her own situation. Hence why her initial reply is just a bunch of surprised, hesitant noises. "Um.."

.. She's pretty sure her dad told her to not just go along with strangers, but.. he knows her name. He's a friend of the family, so in that case it should be alright, right?

Besides.. it's odd. She's never met him before, but for some reason she feels like she can trust him, the longer she looks at him. Like an odd, instinctive feeling she doesn't quite understand..

So Madoka slowly nods.

"Maybe.. that's for the best. I mean, being outside by myself could be kind of dangerous with those scary Voidtreckers around, huh..?"

Jiang Cheng wishes he could switch this off, this strange feeling inside of him that makes him feel like he's outside of himself. He wants to go back to just being a cultivator, to being someone with a golden core and nothing else, to break free of whatever strange magic has been placed on him - but perhaps the more he adjusts the better it'll be, the more himself he'll feel and less odd he will be, the new powers fading away.

Shifting, Jiang Cheng adjusts his weight and offers something he hopes she'll find familiar. He bows, proper and low, careful.

"I am Cheng Jiang," he introduces himself with the strange, odd conventions of this world, not particularly happy with having his family name last. It feels strange on his tongue, but he manages. Maybe she'll even pick up on it, recognise it, understand that she does know him, deep down.

It hurts, terribly, to be forgotten. To feel left behind.

"Point me in the right direction. I'll make sure the... Voidtreckers don't even look at you."

There is something about that greeting. If not just because it's not customary in this city, and so it makes Madoka pause for a moment, staring at it. Thinking about it. She awkwardly lowers her own head to bow back at him, as if mirroring the gesture might help her understand it.

It does.. feel oddly familiar. But she doesn't know why. It's not like she's done it before, right?

It leaves the girl awkwardly glancing around them, but then she shakes her head, as if to snap herself back to reality. "I-It's--! Um, it's this way!" Madoka says, quickly pointing in a direction before starting to head off that way. Though she isn't going to walk in awkward silence, no. Carefully the girl pipes up again, this time with:

"Um.. Sorry sir, but.. do your powers make other people feel what you are feeling..?" It can't just be that she'd pick up on it this strongly otherwise, right? Madoka knows her own power has nothing to do with empathy.

The fact that she mirrors him clearly delights Jiang Cheng on some level; there's a softness to his features that appears for a brief moment before he schools himself, stops himself from playing the game of accepting this as it is. He doesn't want her to feel worse than she already does - her natural ability to feel guilty for things out of her control is impressive to say the least.

His arms drop down and he nods his head, beginning to walk beside her.

It feels strange, to guide her "home" when he doesn't have anything with him that he naturally recognises - there's no Sandu at his side, and while he has Zidian with him he doesn't feel the same connection he usually does. Whatever thing this place has done to them has had a long lasting effect, one that he hates.

At least, as usual, Madoka is there to fill in the void.

"... Sometimes," his expression tightens, noticeably so. "It's a new power so I don't have as much control over ita s I want. Apologies."

"Oh..!" Her eyes go wide as she lets out that noise, and it's quickly followed up by a shake of her head. "No, you don't have to apologize!"

For a moment she seems to be fretting, worrying about how many he's taking it as he saying it's bothersome or something of the sort, when that's definitely not what she was going for. Thankfully it doesn't seem like it lasts very long, so she doesn't shift into some full overly apologetic mood.

Instead she figures it's much better to explain herself as they walk.

"It's just.. um.. I was thinking that that must be hard sometimes. Since you can't really keep things to yourself.."

"Of course I don't. I don't have to do anything, but I'm going to do it anyway."

Not just because politeness dictates it - though that sort of politeness doesn't really matter here - but because he actually cares about Madoka, because he wants her to realise that he's a good man once more. She might be back to calling him sir, back to being strangers, but he still wants her to wake up back on the train knowing he had tried.

That he'd tried to be at least a little considerate.

"It's stupid," he says finally. "But I'm working on controlling it better so other people don't have to suffer."

.. so other people don't have to suffer.

It sure is one angle to look at the whole matter from. Like he isn't even thinking about the consequences for himself - that his feelings are practically always out there, ready for anyone to see - but instead just about the consequences for others.

It's kind, almost too kind, and Madoka doesn't know what to say at first in the face of a statement that impressive.

It makes her look forward as they walk, and then down at her feet when she speaks up.

"I.. um, actually, I didn't find out until really late what my powers were.. so for the longest time I thought I was the only one without any, and I was super worried about it." There's a small smile on her face, though there's something obviously sad at the edges. "But now I'm realising.. it was pretty selfish of me to worry about that, when there are people like you out there struggling with their powers. You have such a harder time.."

Jiang Cheng has never considered himself a particularly kind man, but he's learning to adjust.

Feeling all the things rushing through Madoka, the range of feelings, the sheer immensity of it makes him feel almost too overwhelmed, having to take a deep breath to force himself to calm down. He wishes he could switch it off, force himself to shrug it all away, but even after this time he's not quite managed to completely understand how his powers work.

He hovers at her side, making sure she doesn't get knocked into, doesn't get bustled around, especially with all the advertisements about the Voidtreckers around them. It would be too easy to get her knocked down.

"I don't think it matters if you have powers or not," he says finally - as if he hadn't been devastated when his core had been taken from him. "But it hasn't been that hard. You shouldn't feel bad about it."

"Why wouldn't it matter..?" It's not a sceptical question. But there is definitely some surprise to it. After all, with how closely Madoka's mind is still entangled with the illusion they've found themselves in right now, there's no way she can imagine a world where people don't all just have powers like that.

And not having a power in a world where everyone does? That sounds terrifying. It hits Madoka oh-so-perfectly right in the fear of being inadequate. Of not being able to help others, and instead only being able to rely on their help.

Maybe it's since he's an adult, she figures. So he doesn't understand small kid things, like-- "Sometimes the kids with smaller powers get bullied in school, you know. So I can't even imagine what someone without any power at all would have to go through.. I was really scared of ending up like that."

"Because you can be a good person even if you don't have powers. What do powers give you? Something extra - so what? Doesn't that mean that you just have another way to help? The idea that you need power to be good is stupid."

The hypocrisy is poison on his tongue, but he isn't talking about himself. His own self-worth is reliant only on his golden core, not on anything else he might do. Madoka is different; she's a good person in her own right, beyond any magic or power she might have.

Jiang Cheng believes that.

"I understand," he says, voice careful. "But doesn't that show that those kids are afraid of someone different being better than them? Bullies pick on people weaker than them because they're afraid of being weak themselves. They're pathetic."

This man sure is Opinionated, Madoka can't help but think. Not that it's a bad thing. If anything, something about his conviction is admirable, especially when Madoka herself absolutely can't express her feelings without being all nervous about it half of the time.

Maybe it's exactly because his own power has to do with emotions? Or maybe he's just like that?

She isn't so sure, but after remaining quiet for a moment, Madoka curiously looks in his direction while they walk.

".. You think that's why they do it..?" She never really considered the reason why herself, honestly. It's just something that happens, even though it's really sad.

"Why else would they do it? They're already stronger, they don't have any other reason to pick on people weaker than they are."

He shakes his head, looking more grouchy than he had before - because he had seen how cultivators treated others, how those with weaker, smaller cores were treated. Jiang Cheng is well aware that he hadn't exactly been kind in his own way himself, but he was trying to be better. Trying to get better.

Maybe seeing Wei Wuxian in another body had been something to change his mind. Maybe him losing his own core had reminded him of weaknesses, of being average, normal.

"Tell me. Are people bad, or worse, or lesser because they don't have powers? Do you believe that?"

"Um..."

Honestly, it's not that hard of a question. Yet Madoka hesitates. Because it's like there's something pulling on the back of her mind, something she has no idea how to place. It's not even a concrete thought, it's just.. an odd feeling she somehow gets at that question, and she doesn't know why.

(It's because she - the real Madoka - has thought that so many times about herself, has cursed herself for being so useless--)

"I.. don't think so. There are so many people here who are still really nice, even though their powers may be really small. Or they can be really good at other things, that don't require powers.. I-I wouldn't look down on someone if they didn't have powers."

"Then why should the bullies? It doesn't make sense."

Jiang Cheng turns around a corner and then pauses, realising he doesn't really know where he's going without Madoka showing him the way. Slowing, he waits for her to catch up, to point him in the right direction, and hesitates for a moment before he realises he might have gone too far.

She's still a child in many ways and she doesn't need his lecture, not right now. He feels almost a little guilty.

"But that's something that people learn when they grow up. Don't worry about it now."

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So Familiar a Gleam: Start

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