Nie "not your real dad" Mingjue (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chifeng_zun) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
middaeg2020-04-16 01:27 pm
chifeng_zun) wrote in middaeg2020-04-16 01:27 pm
Entry tags:
[open] you got me acting like the old me
Who: Nie Mingjue & OPEN
When: All month
Where: Around Aef, and in the dream
What: Full moon shenanigans, a pirate's life quest, and memory share stuff
Warnings: Memories contain violence and possibly a bit of gore.
i. Full Moons - The Apothecary
[With the twin moons of Aefenglom high in the sky at night, Nie Mingjue finds himself more irritable than usual. At first it's hard to pin on the lunar cycle - he has plenty of things to be irritable about at the moment, thank you. But eventually, the irritation grows, along with an itch beneath his skin, one that does not wholly come as a surprise after the dream of the caverns, where he had borne gunmetal scales crawling down his neck and shoulders.
His heavy robes hide the changes when he steps out one evening. The beginnings of fur and scales, coming in in patches across his shoulders, shoulder blades, sides, and the outsides of his upper arms, are a constant irritant themselves on top of everything else. Orange, black and gunmetal grey, turning his human skin something else. The first indication that he is becoming something else.
He's restless when he leaves the place he's been staying, restless and itchy and ready to snap, an all-too-familiar feeling he thought he had escaped when Baxia was fully divested of her saber spirit. Saber on his back, robes pristinely arranged to cover the impression of tiger stripes climbing up his shoulders toward his neck, Nie Mingjue finds an apothecary shop with single-minded determination. Maybe you catch him browsing the shelves, or maybe you catch him talking to the shop keep in a low, somewhat strained but still polite voice,] I require something to induce sleep, and- as well, to ease itching... No, something stronger than that, I think.
ii. Full Moons - The Bar
[After a semi-productive trip to the apothecary with a couple of vials of potions tucked into a pouch in his sleeve, he decides his next stop before returning home will be a bar. It's a nicer one, but still the atmosphere is tense when he enters, full of monsters perhaps also feeling the effects of the moons, and humans who keep giving them wary glances.
Nie Mingjue takes a seat at the bar, and orders liquor. He doesn't care what kind. The human bartender slides a bottle across the bartop along with a small cup, and when Mingjue holds out payment, his sleeve happens to ride up a bit, showing off where impressed on his skin grayish crocodile scales bleed into striped, peach-fuzz fur.
The bartender's expression changes then, and he makes a sign with his free hand, consciously and obviously, as if he's been burned, pulling away where he brushed Mingjue taking his money.
The tall man's eyes narrow as his fingers curl around the small glass cup.] What was that signal? Do we have a problem?
It's to ward off bad luck. We don't get your kind in here normally.
My kind? [Well. This could go badly.]
iii. A Pirate's Life
[A paid job, a few days outside of the city, and a threat he is legally allowed to and morally obligated to kill all sounds like a fine time to Nie Mingjue. The fact that this job is on a ship on open water is less so - he's from the north, from Qinghe and her mountainous terrain, and he's powering through seasickness from sheer determination. A battlefield is a battlefield, even if he wishes said battlefield was a little more stationary.
So during a trip over to Dorchacht on the Sappheral he can be found on the deck, at the railing, Baxia strapped to his back and glinting in the sunlight as he scans the open water, the slightest of green tinges to his face. He is resolutely ignoring another wave of seasickness in favor of searching for signs of the wild Merrow the captain had mentioned.] According to the captain's maps, this is around the spot where the attacks occur most frequently. Keep your wits about you. [It might be obvious that Nie Mingjue is itching for a fight now.]
iv. The Looking Glass House
[Another dream. It must be, because it feels similar to the caverns, except this time he recognizes the grounds as the Coven, and the pull toward the Looking Glass House. It's familiar enough - he was only here at the beginning of the month, a disastrous entry into this new world and then a short stay in the infirmary to heal. He aches a little just thinking about how sore he had been afterward. Stepping into the halls of mirrors, he finds that most of them look the same as they ever did - save for some bearing silvery glass that ripples when he reaches out to touch with calloused fingertips.
His own is easy for him to find. The frame bears the horned beast head of his clan, engravings of sabers and horses and mountains. It represents home, doesn't it? He tries not to hurt, when his fingertips trace over a single fan, engraved in the corner.]
[ooc: actual memory prompts in details tags to save length!]
[The Unclean Realm is sunny, the courtyard open and nearly empty, a crisp mountainous breeze fluttering through the space. Two children in fine robes are in the center of the courtyard, the elder methodically going through sword forms with a saber that almost seems too big for him. The smaller, in white, some distance away, giggles as he clumsily copies his older brother with a stick in his tiny hands. It doesn't take long before Huaisang runs at his brother, waving the stick, and Mingjue laughs as well, dropping his saber to play with the littler boy.
Anyone who knew him as an adult might be surprised that once upon a time, there were things he thought more important than training with his blade, than fighting for justice. Once, he wanted to play with his little brother, and make him smile.
Adult Nie Mingjue stands at the edge of the courtyard, watching the scene unfold, his hands clenched at his sides, some unreadable emotion on his face. Seeing Huaisang again, even like this, an echo of how they used to be, makes his heart tighten. It's too precious a scene; if he spots you intruding, he might move to block your view.] You should not be here.
[Nightless City. The Den of the Wen-dogs. Nie Mingjue hadn't seen this place in a while, and hovering at the outskirts of the throne room, his expression is set in a scowl. Another version of him, a little younger, but just as angry and heavily injured, is clearly being held captive, flanked by his fellow cultivators. The one who comes down to speak to him is none other than Jin Guangyao, and the confrontation is tense.
“Do you still think you’re the king of Hejian? Look carefully—this is Sun Palace.”
Another cultivator, “Sun Palace? It’s only the den of the Wen-dogs!”
Two of Nie Mingjue's men die to Meng Yao's - not yet then Jin Guangyao - sword, and Mingjue is furious, resigned, unafraid. He expects to meet his death here.
The current-day version of him is trembling slightly with remembered rage, an echo of what he felt back then, watching Meng Yao bring forth his saber, Baxia, remembering the taunts to come. The scene plays out but Nie Mingjue turns to leave - and once he spots someone else, he roars,] Get out!
[Is it any wonder that the mirror keeps showing him memories of Jin Guangyao, of Huaisang? The two people on Nie Mingjue's mind the most lately, for vastly different reasons. A slightly younger Mingjue is yelling at Huaisang, his voice a commanding, furious roar-
"Where is your saber?!"
“In… in my room. No, in the school grounds. No, let me… think…”
"You bring a dozen fans with you wherever you go, yet you don’t even know where your own saber is?!"
"I'll go find it right now!"
“There’s no need! Even if you find it you won’t get anything out of it. Go burn all of these!”
Huaisang is visibly cowering from his brother. This was about the time Mingjue's temper was just beginning to grow worse, the reason for Jin Guangyao attending him to play Song of Clarity. It was a mistake to let him, things got so much worse... Watching from the wings, current-day Mingjue can feel himself tensing when Jin Guangyao shows up in the memory again, to say that he gifted all those useless, pretty fans to Huaisang. His past self's anger turns to Jin Guangyao, taking the heat off Huaisang, who clutches, frightened, at a dozen ornate fans.
The short man in gold pleads Huaisang's case, trying to convince Mingjue that his hobbies are elegant and refined, but Nie Mingjue does not hear it.
“But sect leaders have no need for such things.”
“I’m not going to be a sect leader, though. You can be it, Brother. I’m not doing it!”
It's this line that brings tears to current-day Mingjue's eyes, frustrated and sorrowful - guilty. Not for this particular outburst, but for the ones that will happen later, when he will be so gone as to follow through with his blustery threats.]
I never told him why I was so hard on him all the time.
[If you want to do anything else, just hit me up at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
nekky
When: All month
Where: Around Aef, and in the dream
What: Full moon shenanigans, a pirate's life quest, and memory share stuff
Warnings: Memories contain violence and possibly a bit of gore.
i. Full Moons - The Apothecary
[With the twin moons of Aefenglom high in the sky at night, Nie Mingjue finds himself more irritable than usual. At first it's hard to pin on the lunar cycle - he has plenty of things to be irritable about at the moment, thank you. But eventually, the irritation grows, along with an itch beneath his skin, one that does not wholly come as a surprise after the dream of the caverns, where he had borne gunmetal scales crawling down his neck and shoulders.
His heavy robes hide the changes when he steps out one evening. The beginnings of fur and scales, coming in in patches across his shoulders, shoulder blades, sides, and the outsides of his upper arms, are a constant irritant themselves on top of everything else. Orange, black and gunmetal grey, turning his human skin something else. The first indication that he is becoming something else.
He's restless when he leaves the place he's been staying, restless and itchy and ready to snap, an all-too-familiar feeling he thought he had escaped when Baxia was fully divested of her saber spirit. Saber on his back, robes pristinely arranged to cover the impression of tiger stripes climbing up his shoulders toward his neck, Nie Mingjue finds an apothecary shop with single-minded determination. Maybe you catch him browsing the shelves, or maybe you catch him talking to the shop keep in a low, somewhat strained but still polite voice,] I require something to induce sleep, and- as well, to ease itching... No, something stronger than that, I think.
ii. Full Moons - The Bar
[After a semi-productive trip to the apothecary with a couple of vials of potions tucked into a pouch in his sleeve, he decides his next stop before returning home will be a bar. It's a nicer one, but still the atmosphere is tense when he enters, full of monsters perhaps also feeling the effects of the moons, and humans who keep giving them wary glances.
Nie Mingjue takes a seat at the bar, and orders liquor. He doesn't care what kind. The human bartender slides a bottle across the bartop along with a small cup, and when Mingjue holds out payment, his sleeve happens to ride up a bit, showing off where impressed on his skin grayish crocodile scales bleed into striped, peach-fuzz fur.
The bartender's expression changes then, and he makes a sign with his free hand, consciously and obviously, as if he's been burned, pulling away where he brushed Mingjue taking his money.
The tall man's eyes narrow as his fingers curl around the small glass cup.] What was that signal? Do we have a problem?
It's to ward off bad luck. We don't get your kind in here normally.
My kind? [Well. This could go badly.]
iii. A Pirate's Life
[A paid job, a few days outside of the city, and a threat he is legally allowed to and morally obligated to kill all sounds like a fine time to Nie Mingjue. The fact that this job is on a ship on open water is less so - he's from the north, from Qinghe and her mountainous terrain, and he's powering through seasickness from sheer determination. A battlefield is a battlefield, even if he wishes said battlefield was a little more stationary.
So during a trip over to Dorchacht on the Sappheral he can be found on the deck, at the railing, Baxia strapped to his back and glinting in the sunlight as he scans the open water, the slightest of green tinges to his face. He is resolutely ignoring another wave of seasickness in favor of searching for signs of the wild Merrow the captain had mentioned.] According to the captain's maps, this is around the spot where the attacks occur most frequently. Keep your wits about you. [It might be obvious that Nie Mingjue is itching for a fight now.]
iv. The Looking Glass House
[Another dream. It must be, because it feels similar to the caverns, except this time he recognizes the grounds as the Coven, and the pull toward the Looking Glass House. It's familiar enough - he was only here at the beginning of the month, a disastrous entry into this new world and then a short stay in the infirmary to heal. He aches a little just thinking about how sore he had been afterward. Stepping into the halls of mirrors, he finds that most of them look the same as they ever did - save for some bearing silvery glass that ripples when he reaches out to touch with calloused fingertips.
His own is easy for him to find. The frame bears the horned beast head of his clan, engravings of sabers and horses and mountains. It represents home, doesn't it? He tries not to hurt, when his fingertips trace over a single fan, engraved in the corner.]
[ooc: actual memory prompts in details tags to save length!]
a. Childhood
[The Unclean Realm is sunny, the courtyard open and nearly empty, a crisp mountainous breeze fluttering through the space. Two children in fine robes are in the center of the courtyard, the elder methodically going through sword forms with a saber that almost seems too big for him. The smaller, in white, some distance away, giggles as he clumsily copies his older brother with a stick in his tiny hands. It doesn't take long before Huaisang runs at his brother, waving the stick, and Mingjue laughs as well, dropping his saber to play with the littler boy.
Anyone who knew him as an adult might be surprised that once upon a time, there were things he thought more important than training with his blade, than fighting for justice. Once, he wanted to play with his little brother, and make him smile.
Adult Nie Mingjue stands at the edge of the courtyard, watching the scene unfold, his hands clenched at his sides, some unreadable emotion on his face. Seeing Huaisang again, even like this, an echo of how they used to be, makes his heart tighten. It's too precious a scene; if he spots you intruding, he might move to block your view.] You should not be here.
b. Nightless City (cw: violence and a bit of gore to come)
[Nightless City. The Den of the Wen-dogs. Nie Mingjue hadn't seen this place in a while, and hovering at the outskirts of the throne room, his expression is set in a scowl. Another version of him, a little younger, but just as angry and heavily injured, is clearly being held captive, flanked by his fellow cultivators. The one who comes down to speak to him is none other than Jin Guangyao, and the confrontation is tense.
“Do you still think you’re the king of Hejian? Look carefully—this is Sun Palace.”
Another cultivator, “Sun Palace? It’s only the den of the Wen-dogs!”
Two of Nie Mingjue's men die to Meng Yao's - not yet then Jin Guangyao - sword, and Mingjue is furious, resigned, unafraid. He expects to meet his death here.
The current-day version of him is trembling slightly with remembered rage, an echo of what he felt back then, watching Meng Yao bring forth his saber, Baxia, remembering the taunts to come. The scene plays out but Nie Mingjue turns to leave - and once he spots someone else, he roars,] Get out!
c. Regret
[Is it any wonder that the mirror keeps showing him memories of Jin Guangyao, of Huaisang? The two people on Nie Mingjue's mind the most lately, for vastly different reasons. A slightly younger Mingjue is yelling at Huaisang, his voice a commanding, furious roar-
"Where is your saber?!"
“In… in my room. No, in the school grounds. No, let me… think…”
"You bring a dozen fans with you wherever you go, yet you don’t even know where your own saber is?!"
"I'll go find it right now!"
“There’s no need! Even if you find it you won’t get anything out of it. Go burn all of these!”
Huaisang is visibly cowering from his brother. This was about the time Mingjue's temper was just beginning to grow worse, the reason for Jin Guangyao attending him to play Song of Clarity. It was a mistake to let him, things got so much worse... Watching from the wings, current-day Mingjue can feel himself tensing when Jin Guangyao shows up in the memory again, to say that he gifted all those useless, pretty fans to Huaisang. His past self's anger turns to Jin Guangyao, taking the heat off Huaisang, who clutches, frightened, at a dozen ornate fans.
The short man in gold pleads Huaisang's case, trying to convince Mingjue that his hobbies are elegant and refined, but Nie Mingjue does not hear it.
“But sect leaders have no need for such things.”
“I’m not going to be a sect leader, though. You can be it, Brother. I’m not doing it!”
It's this line that brings tears to current-day Mingjue's eyes, frustrated and sorrowful - guilty. Not for this particular outburst, but for the ones that will happen later, when he will be so gone as to follow through with his blustery threats.]
I never told him why I was so hard on him all the time.
[If you want to do anything else, just hit me up at