middleofsomewhere | Into the Unknown Part Two

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Into the Unknown Part Two

On day twenty-five of the month of Symphony, everyone is gathered together, at least everyone who follows the request for a meeting to be held.

One of the head scientists - named Till - stands before the group, a look of excitement on their face.

"We have found something, an anomaly in the void. We are not sure what it is exactly, but there is a lot of activity coming from its coordinates. More penitently, initial investigations have picked up readings that are constant with a void storm.

I believe from your own reports you have experienced void storms before, and you know they can be dangerous, but always fleeting, never lasting more than a few days. However, this storm seems to be static. It has not moved or changed since we first detected it.

We understand there may be people who do not want to venture into this storm, and we understand. The loops we have added to your tethers will allow you to stay on the base long enough for those investigating to return. You may experience some discomfort and disorientation during the time your craft is away, but it should only be mild and temporary.

For those investigating, we know little of what you will face. Every storm is different, and this one is already stranger than anything we have come across before."

The scientists stick around to reassure people and help them make their decisions. Those going to investigate are told to report to their craft in the morning.

INTO THE UNKNOWN: PART 2

SYMPHONY 26-29 ~ OOC POST ~ QUESTIONS ~ FIRST PART

JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN

Those willing to go will leave on the Voidtrecker Express first thing the next day, with only warnings and well-wishes to be careful to go with them. There is an estimate for how long it'll take them to reach the anomaly, about half a day's travel by the train's clock, give or take. But there's no telling the true time it'll take, nor the effects of the void that will be waiting for them. Keeping away from the windows or putting up blinds is advised as a precaution, just in case, and to monitor each other's health.

"Warning: Approaching Voidstorm, please take precautions." The train warns as they arrive on the edges, all the usual train precautions have been taken, the lab cart has been shut down, the ovens in the kitchen are disconnected. The train begins to shake as it enters the first layer.

LAYER ONE: CHANGING SHADES
They first experience changes by sight - literally. Around them, objects start emitting an aura that's unique to each passenger, colouring it to match their mood towards that particular thing. Coffee machines? Amazing, paint that gold. A boring book? Ugh, the entire thing is turning grey.

It's a small effect at the start, yet objects aren't the only things being affected - so are the people on board. Their own moods are changing their hair colour, eyes, and skin, shifting more rapidly than the furniture's paint job. And as time goes on, passengers will be able to affect one another's colouration and aura, giving away how they may feel about that person at that moment, if their feelings are strong enough. Never noticed how fondly one feels about you? Now you do.

LAYER TWO: LOOSE LIPS
Going into the next layer, there's an itch that starts to gnaw at everyone - an itch to talk. To friends, to strangers, to anyone; you have a need to chatter, and it has to get out. Attempting to isolate yourself only makes the need worse, and you won't be able to sleep it away. It doesn't matter if you don't know what to talk about - you'll find something.

A good chat will subdue the need for a while, but it will eventually return. So while listening to others talk might help keep it at bay, it won't forever.

LAYER THREE: CONFESSION - I THINK YOU'RE OK
The changes become stronger, and with them the urges. Passengers will feel compelled to tell those they know their feelings for them, whether it's as simple as finding them okay, to having stronger inclinations of friendship, dislike, or even love.

These urges can be held back on for a time, but it's easy for it to slip out; and many may still be suffering from the previous layer, where they get the sudden need to talk.

LAYER FOUR: A CAKE FOR MY BELOVED
Talking is simply not good enough in this layer: actions speak louder than words. You want to create ways of expressing your desires, regardless of how creative you actually are. Building a shrine to your loved ones, challenging rivals to duels. You can't stay idle, and your hands and brain need to be at work! What can you manage on this train?

EYE OF THE STORM

Finally, all of it stops. The colours, the emotions, the compulsion of dramatics; their minds go from being caught in the storm to completely calm (or, as calm as they ever are). It is much like waking from a dream, or going from one very noisy overwhelming place to complete silence.

A second passes, and then another, and then... there's a feeling. Fear, terror - even those who normally have no ability to feel the emotions of others can feel it, emanating from the train itself.

With it comes an invitation. Hard to describe, but a tugging at their mind. They can push it away no problem, but if they accept...

They are looking out. The familiar colours of the Void are all around them, but they can't turn to look. Ahead is a hole where space should be, nothingness curving and spiralling out from a point deep within that wound in reality, tearing and tugging at the unfortunate observer. The chaotic nimbus at the edge of their vision spins inwards to meet it, and vanishes at the edge of the hole. A void within the Void. And within that terrifying chaotic darkness there are shapes.

The train rocks as energy rushes past it, tossing the craft from side to side. It spins, lurching out of control, the connection snapping as everyone is thrown back into their own awareness as the train starts vibrating to at full speed.

But the tell-tale signs of movement isn't there, and a creaking of metal can be heard. The train shakes more as the view outside the windows shows them inching forward towards where the hole had been, and parts of the roof start to bend inward, water pipes burst and the electricity fails in multiple carriages.

Until there's a rush, a shaking and twisting, and the void flashes violently in the windows. The ever distant choral singing becomes a roar as a kaleidoscope of colours fills the interior of the train itself.

Then there is stillness. It calms, and there is no storm, no terrifying darkness. Just the void, as it ever is, ever changing.

OOC NOTES

NOTES: They will be in the storm for three days, each layer takes about half a day.

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[ It's not as if Jiang Cheng can't read his nephew like a book anyway - clearly something is bothering him, upsetting him, and he's bound to get to the reason for it eventually. It might just take a little bit of prodding and prompting to get there.

Just like questioning Jiang Cheng himself about... Anything to do with how he really feels, to be honest. ]

Then it's definitely the train making people talk. It must be something to do with what is happening outside.

[ Shaking his head, Jiang Cheng looks around for somewhere to sit and, for a lack of a better place, simply moves to sit down properly on the ground, placing Sandu gently to one side. ]

I know. [ Empathy, remember? ] But you can trust me.

[ Honestly, there's not much Jin Ling can hide from him. Even if he's tried his hardest. There's just always that special connection he has with his uncle, (outside of Jiang Cheng's empathy abilities), that is the reason why he can't seem to find a way to hide very much from Jiang Cheng. He's good with his words when he wants to be, but their current situation isn't helping him with his words.

Hence, he sort of fumbles with them, rather ungracefully at that. ]

Is it? I can't really understand what's going on from time to time. The technology here is frustrating to deal with. I hate it.

[ Technology has always been some kind of frustration from Jin Ling. Jin Ling somehow lowers himself on the ground across from his uncle, understanding that it's best to not run from the situation right now. ]

I've always trusted you, jiujiu. You're always looking out for me and taking care of me. Why would I not trust you?

[ It's different, compared to the Jin Ling of his own world - but not so different that the affection is changed, transformed into something new. It's still his a-Ling, his nephew, a child he raised shared with a man he's come to hate, and there's no part of Jiang Cheng that wants anything different, anything more than this. All he wants is to take care of what family he has left.

Shaking his head, he tries to relax, tries to settle his own warring emotions, to calm himself. A-Ling doesn't need a messy, angry uncle right now. He needs the supportive, paternal one. ]

I don't like it either. Other people are getting used to it, but it's too different. I miss home.

[ He doesn't think that's too much of an admission for him, and he sighs as he looks over at Jin Ling. ]

I'm not the uncle you know. I wouldn't be offended if you felt differently.

[ Jiang Cheng probably will know how much Jin Ling really cares about how he treats him, down to the way he scolds him and the various times they've sparred. He's becoming his better self just being able to spend time with his uncle. He can't thank him enough. Every situation he's been in, Jin Ling's never once felt that Jiang Cheng wasn't truthful to him.

He really does need a form of comfort, and that's probably the kind he might be looking for given all the things that has happened with him. ]

I want to go home. I want to really go home, not be thrown into an unfamiliar space without any warning. I don't want to be possessed by this wolf demon anymore, even if he's not a bad person. He doesn't deserve to be stuck in my body and I don't want to share it with him.

[ Jin Ling really will regret saying all of this but what can he do? His lips are loose and he's just saying what's on his mind as Jiang Cheng had encouraged him to do. ]

It doesn't matter if you're not the same jiujiu that I know or not. You still took care of me, sparred with me and scolded me! You look out for me and you have no idea! You have no idea how you made things easier for me!

[ Jin Ling honestly refutes the statement without a second breath. Jiang Cheng from his world or not, he's still his uncle and he's still someone that shared real experiences with him. Jin Ling doesn't care and frankly, he's very happy that he's being treated just the same. ]

[ There's a part of him that still wants to baby his nephew no matter how old he has now. He can imagine how his sister would have treated her eldest son, especially based on how she treated himself and Wei Wuxian when they were younger. The notion of just letting him grow up and continue to grow into adulthood makes him feel a little uncomfortable.

He doesn't want to admit all of that, however, and he bites his tongue, despite the pride and gentle happiness that rolls off him, his Empathy settling around them both like a gentle blanket. ]

It must have been difficult, going from a world to another to this one. I've only come here and I hate it enough. Being in other worlds and then coming here... [ He shakes his head, leaning back and closing his eyes for a moment. He can't even imagine sharing his body with some kind of spirit alongside it - he would lose his mind.

Looking over at his nephew again, he nods his head. ]

I'm... Glad I've made things easier for you. I know that if my a-Ling had been found with your uncle then I would want him to be taken care of. It doesn't matter - you're still Jin Ling. You're still my Jin Rulan.

[ He manages a smile, something soft and fond. ]

You're my a-Ling now.

[ Jin Ling has been trying to mature a lot since his experiences have shaped him more than he knows. He's definitely got a long way to go, but he feels like one day he'll have to stop relying on his jiujiu for everything, protection included. He can't always depend on Jiang Cheng for everything. He has to prove he can handle things on his owns.

Thus why, he really feels that Jiang Cheng has been very kind to him on that retrospect. He doesn't treat him like a child (most of the time) when they interact and Jin Ling is always happy for any efforts he's made to help him adjust and adapt. Even the strangeness of being demon possessed hadn't made Jiang Cheng blink either. How can he find another jiujiu quite like this one? Jin Ling can feel it the empathy. Those things he probably won't get from Jiang Cheng normally, he can sort of feel them know because of his uncle's special ability as well. ]

I'm tired of watching people leave and disappear without knowing what happened to them. I'm tired of the train jerking us around, asking us for help but not doing anything to help us.

[ He's right. Jin Ling is tired of it. He wants to go home just as much as anyone. He's homesick. He really hasn't seen his home, and many other people he cared about for a long. He keeps his head down and hands clenching the hems of his sweater. He never actually got his robes back. Not that it mattered here. Of course, the next set of words throws Jin Ling completely out of balance. ]

Edited 2022-09-03 21:28 (UTC)

[ He can't speak. It's like his voice has caught in his throat and words aren't coming out. Whatever negative thoughts he may have had, dissipated in the moment. He almost can't believe what he's hearing. Of course, Jin Ling knows that his jiujiu cares about him no matter the circumstances.

he's accepted him for all his differences. Jin Ling has done the same, and while Jiang Cheng never full expressed it, Jin Ling was fine with it.

He wasn't expecting those words to hit so hard, now that he's hearing them right from his jiujiu's mouth. It's earnest and it really tugs at all his emotions all at once. ]

[ Without as much of a warning, tears started to well at the corner of his eyes.

Did he feel relieved? Did he feel happy? Jin Ling doesn't know but, his vision is now fuzzy as he tries to wipe the tears from his face. All he can really do is mumble a an awkward 'thank you,' to his uncle as he tries to stop the waterworks from coming.

Maybe, he had bee more insecure about this than he thought. The relief he feels that he's accepted as he is, and nothing more or less. He doesn't know how else to express his feelings other than to cry them out once more. ]

Edited 2022-09-03 21:23 (UTC)

[ For a moment, Jiang Cheng imagines he has done something wrong.

It wouldn't necessarily wrong to call Jin Ling a cry-baby - but it is simply that he feels his emotions well, that he is wrapped up in them in the same way his mother was. Better that than the strangeness of his father, who took so long to admit to any feeling that he risked losing what he wanted altogether. Jin Ling cries when the emotions he feels are so overwhelming they cannot be contained, and thus Jiang Cheng imagines that he has stepped over a line he should never have even approached.

But then he is thanked, and the strange, melting relief he feels inspires him to move forward, to wrap his arms around his nephew and tug him close and into his lap in the middle of the corridor of the train, the dirt on the ground surely staining his robes. For this brief moment in time Jiang Cheng does not care, because his nephew is crying and needs comfort, as he has always been there to give.

Slowly, his hand begins to rub along his back and he sighs softly. ]

Of course, you idiot. Any Jiang Cheng would choose to keep you by his side. You are - [ his voice hits a low note ] - you are like a son, and always will be. Don't forget it.

[ If Jin Ling feels that he's wronged, he would have honestly said it to his jiujiu's face. However, that isn't even the reason at all. There's just a lot to process for him at the moment, and perhaps remembering those who have left and moved on, he can't help but feel emotional.

It is like a lid on his emotions suddenly overflowed. He has no control over it, nor does he know how to. Something, he'll probably have to keep trying. He's not very good at holding things in and Jiang Cheng knows him too well, down to the reasons why he suddenly started crying like his life depended on it. His content mixed with his affections for his uncle. Someone who really helped him with through many things.

Those arms wrapped around his crying form, and pulling him into his lap. The ground was unpleasant and probably not the best place to have a hear to heart, but screw it. Jin Ling doesn't care either and manages to keep his head there where he's situated with tears soaking those robes and him trying to maintain his composure once more.

Trying to form words right now is hard and he can only furiously continue to nod his head and give choked responses. ]

There's--no way I'd forget, jiujiu.

[ He knows in his heart that Jiang Cheng's words held ground. It still makes him a little insecure thinking about it. However, it's definitely something he won't forget. The small comfort, care and protection his uncle has given him to this point. Jin Ling is far beyond grateful and words can't express that. If it isn't for Jiang Cheng, and many others he's ran across, he'd be so lonely. Those last words really do mean a lot to him. He knows that his uncle isn't different from his father, but he has been closer to a father figure to Jin Ling for all this time. It's a nice feeling to have and he only nods his head to those last bit. ]

Good.

[ Perhaps he should have done more of this, he thinks. He had been so keen to raise Jin Ling to be strong, to raise him to be able to stand on his own and lead a Sect, to have the confidence that he needs without having parents. There had been some level of spoiling, he can't deny that, he can't go back and undo it all, but he had wanted for Jin Ling to have pride.

His own vice, passed on to his nephew; pride, anger, wrath. He knows that now.

Hand rubbing gently over Jin Ling's back, palm flat for a moment before he breathes out softly. ]

I will take care of you, just as he would. Nothing will ever change that. I'm glad you know.

[ While he tries to compose himself, Jin Ling wrinkles the hems of his uncle's clothes. His unkept state forgotten for a brief moment as he's being consoled. It weighed on him for a long while and having some closure on how Jiang Cheng truly feels about him, he's grateful.

Regardless, of which version of his uncle he's with, their core hadn't changed at all. It's a rare moment, where he let his barriers down and being honest about his feelings.

All he can do is nod his head furiously at those words and accepting this small moment of comfort and acceptance. He truly is very grateful to Jiang Cheng. ]

Edited 2022-09-29 01:53 (UTC)

[ For the first time in a while, Jiang Cheng simply doesn't care. He lets a-Ling do whatever he wants to his clothes, his robes, and shrugs it off and away as his arms wrap around the boy. Maybe this is what he ought to have been doing for years - it's the sort of thing his sister would've wanted.

If he was to ever have children of his own... Well, maybe.

Lifting his hand, he pets at a-Ling's hair gently, just savouring the moment. ]

[ The comfort is welcoming. He really did take those hugs in the past for granted. Even a little bit of it right now truly touched his heart.

Whatever Jiang Cheng was doing, worked. Jin Ling seemed find himself slightly calming down, while his face may have been a snotty mess, he feels a lot better. The warm hand on his hair as well gives him mixed emotions. It's very rare-- so rare that his uncle shows his this sort of comfort to him. However, it's the little things that matter the most.

After a long moment of that, he slowly pulls himself up, hands on his tear streaked face, wiping away the tears with his sleeves. ]

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Into the Unknown Part Two

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sdhghkds jiujiu don't make jin ling cry now ;w; ugh

too late!!

1/?? - YOU WENT THERE!!! HOW COULD YOU!!!!!!! TT__TT

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okay I'm done I'm sorry but not . ;W; you broke your nephew bye.

i do it with love ;3;

feel the love but also weeeps ;A;

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sorry! this is so late! I hopefully we can continue ;W;

ofc!!! ;3;

aahhh ;w;