#event || post

[yunmeng-pride]

p r o x y || unknowing imposter --✘ @xiasini​

The sun was starting to set on his first day in this strange place, and Jiang Cheng hadn’t gotten any closer to answers. While relatively self-sufficient, he’d never faced something this vexing so alone, and the weight of that loneliness was starting to weigh on his shoulders. He knew he had a place to stay--the place he’d woken up in, and had clearly been living in for some time despite his lack of recollection. Having nowhere else to go that he could think of, he intended to head back there for the night.

A flutter of white robes caught his eye on his way past a cross-street. Jiang Cheng paused, watching the figure move away from him. While not who he would have liked to solve this mystery with, a familiar presence was better than having nothing at all. 

〝 Lan Wangji-- 〞he addressed, taking hurried steps forward to touch the man’s sleeve. As he approached, however, it became quickly apparent that the man he had spotted wasn’t at all the man he’d thought. He quickly fell into a bow and took a step back.

〝 Forgive me, from behind you look like someone else. 〞

[yunmeng-pride]

p r o x y || forgotten allies --✘ @wayefinder

The sharp jolt to his shoulder broke Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts. He’d been focused on trying to remember just how he’d come to Spirale. Everything he’d been able to find indicated he’d been here for a while, but he had no memory of this place, nor the people in it. If not for the sting from the impact, he was starting to wonder if this was some strange hallucination.

〝 Watch where you’re going!  〞 he instructed sharply, turning to look at whoever had bumped into him. There was, very briefly, a moment where he felt like he should recognize the girl, but it was gone before he could grab it. She looked, honestly, terrified; and just as out of place as himself. Quickly backpedaling his aggressive approach, he offered her a short bow and mumble of apology.

[yunmeng-pride]

p r o x y || chasing the sun --✘ @sunips​

When Jiang Cheng told himself things couldn’t get weirder, he was very clearly wrong. The deeper he ventured into the city, the stranger things got. He wasn’t about to admit to himself that he’d gotten himself lost in all this. Thankfully, he didn’t have to dwell on that thought long as the sight of golden fur attracted his attention. He turned his head, expecting a dog, or some sort of animal, but instead saw the tail end in a person, who was on his way around a corner.

The entire situation read “demon” to Jiang Cheng, so he darted and weaved around the other people on the street to follow the unusual person. In the back of his mind, he reminded himself to handle the situation with tact and care. Not only was he alone, but he was in public; he didn’t want innocent people to get hurt if there was a conflict.

〝 Hey, you--  〞 Jiang Cheng reached out with the wooden sword in his hand, catching the stranger’s arm with the handle to alert him that he was being spoken to. Tact, Jiang Cheng. Tact. 〝 What are you?  〞

Nailed it.

[yunmeng-pride]

p r o x y || lost disciples --✘ @fandandy​

The purple ring spun around his finger easily as Jiang Cheng fidgeted with it. He still hadn’t put together why he’d woken up with his mother’s ring on his finger, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Namely, where was he? The city and technology all seemed familiar in some way, but he was entirely out of his element on the bustling street.

Looking both ways, Jiang Cheng did a double-take when he saw someone he recognized between the shoulders of the crowd. His hands balled into fists and he pushed through, calling for the other boy.

〝 Nie Huaisang! 〞When he was sure he’d alerted his fellow disciple, Jiang Cheng hurried quicker to meet at the boy’s side.  〝 Nie Huaisang--do you know what’s going on? 〞 Some might have considered that a foolish question to ask the young master Nie, but Jiang Cheng knew better. Despite the facade, Nie Huaisang always knew what was going on. Unless it was relevant to their studies.

[yunmeng-pride]

Security Breach (part 2): Shadows of the Past || transition from this thread with @wayefinder​ 

Aqua had called them “heartless,” but to Jiang Cheng, they were just nuisances. Every time Zidian flashed, leagues of them vanished into thin air. Perhaps it was just his luck that he wielded a weapon that lit up every time it moved. After hoards of corpses, creatures, beasts, and other ferocious monstrosities, these “heartless” were a welcome break.

〝 How are you holding up? 〞 he asked over his shoulder to the keyblade wielder near by. He sounded almost like he was enjoying himself. He liked a good fight, after all.

[yunmeng-pride]

Security Breach (part 2): The Enemy of My Enemy || Continued from this tread with @xueyuu​

There is a chill that creeps up Jiang Cheng’s arms as the butterflies light around them. The steel against his throat is a stark and deadly reminder that he is, in fact, outmatched. His grip on the wire loosens, ready to retreat and come back strong when he better knows how to navigate this world without access to his spiritual energies, or his weapons. 

The world goes dark.

It’s startling, but Jiang Cheng uses the distraction of darkness to pull away. Escape into the rubble of the district and put what remained of a wall between him and Hua Cheng. He presses his back against it, waiting in the stillness for what feels like hours in the tense minutes.

When the light returns, he watches the great island descend from his hiding spot. He braces himself for the impact that never comes before seeing why. The outpouring of monstrous creatures. Hua Cheng is no longer the only worry on his mind. 

‘--a gift!’

There are no screens in the area for Jiang Cheng to know where the voice speaks from, but a familiar and comforting swell of energy originating in his chest. He feels sparks flicker between his fingers. Powerless no more, he spins out of his cover, revealing himself again to Hua Cheng. Only this time, a coil of silver unfurls from his right hand and purple lighting cracks around him.

〝 I understand that you’ve done yourself in by wasting time. 〞

First, to finish off this demon. Then--whatever the rest of those creatures were.   

[yunmeng-pride]

Security Breach! @trashgege​ liked for a starter.

The water came in quicker than he expected. He’d been ankle deep only minutes ago, and now he was atop a light fixture as the dangerous flood water swept below him. He gripped the wooden sword he’d been given and looked up and down the street to get his bearings.

Unusual movement caught his attention. A flash of white, and--was that an arm?

Jumping on the flat of the wooden sword, Jiang Cheng zipped over the of the flood waters. He didn’t need anything more than a hover for this, skimming the surface and crouching down to try to see clearer.

The swirling white under the water was certainly attached to someone, who looked to be caught on something. His childhood at Lotus Pier had taught Jiang Cheng to be a good swimmer. He jumped off the sword and into the water without another thought. Navigating about the struggling man, he found the culprit: the man’s ankle was wedged into a bench at a bus stop. It only took a little bit of prying to that part of the bench loose and free the trapped stranger.

Jiang Cheng hooked an arm around the man’s back and resurfaced, looking for a place to climb up to for safety.