baxiasprice | Erku

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» Age: 22
» Species: Human Cultivator
» A5 Card: Open
» Seeking: Allies and those with interesting martial powers to spar with.
» Preferences: N/A
» Interests: Saber cultivation. Military strategy.
» Bio: Sect leader of the Qinghe Nie and one of the primary generals of the Sunshot campaign. Thrust into leadership young, he has had very little life outside of that for the past three years. His seize-the-day approach applies to everything and everyone, particularly when there are mutual sparks. He especially loves to get worked up and worked out.

base code by photosynthesis

NIE MINGJUE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

taintedpeony

Oh!

Yes, I feel much better. Well, there are several options, we can test out some of the restaurants, the safer bet may be to meet at a park, I'll get together the food for a picnic. We can go to the botanical gardens, if you like, and catch up.

[Somewhere nice and neutral, not the beach or Koi tower, or the Unclean Realms.]

From:

baxiasprice

[Mingjue snorts in amusement at the length of the text. After some thought, he decides:]

Park with a picnic. Then gardens. Much to catch up on, I bet.

From:

taintedpeony

Most certainly so. I have missed talking to you Mingjue, it will be good to see you, again.

So noon, in front of the park gate? Bring yourself and I have everything else taken care of.

From:

baxiasprice

I missed you too. Noon. Meet you there.

From:

taintedpeony

Meet you there, fly safe.

[Ziyao laughed at the curt responses, smiling at the memory of the time he was let loose upon the network.

He really did poor Nie Mingjue through a lot, through his own trauma and selfish actions. He had been a good friend and even lover through all of that. And even though their relationship was intrinsically different now, he still wanted to show him his gratitude.

These were the thoughts he was musing over as he got a picnic together, Char Siu, fresh vegetables, spicy fried chicken, and rice. Some of Persephone's baklava for dessert.

With tea in a thermos and two bottles of the very fancy liquor he had bought for this occasion, he was off on Hensheng.

With his new core, he was much faster than he had been in the past and it would barely take any time at all to glide over to the park gate.]

From:

baxiasprice

[Mingjue does fly safe, if a bit fast. And he brings himself and little else. The island has become...predictable in its unpredictability. So he drops down into the park to scout around for any of the island nonsense before he circles back around to meet up with A-Yao.

He spots him at the gate to the park and, sheathing Baxia on his back, strides toward him with one hand lifted in greeting.]

A-Yao.

[His greeting is booming, called over probably more of the gap between them than was really necessary, but he closes in quickly after that. As he does, he appraises A-Yao with sharp eyes. He looks better in person, too, not just through video.]

Your retirement has been treating you well.

[He halts with a comfortable armspan between them and offers a rueful smile. Mingjue's smile come a little easier this many months after he'd been pull from the war, but he's well aware that he hasn't truly settled here.]

From:

taintedpeony

Da-ge!

[Ziyao offered the large man a smile as well as he approached him, waving with his free hand. The other held a large picnic basket.]

Thank you, It isn't just my retirement though. I...recently managed my goal of getting a proper core as well. I'll be much more formidable in our next spar match. [he smiled with a saucy little wink. It may be fun to actually fight sometime and test things out.] I promise not to cry next time...

You're looking well yourself. I take it running the Unclean Realms has been a bit easier these days?

[Probably quieter at least.]

Here, let's find a nice shady spot to have lunch.

From:

baxiasprice

Some. It's boring.

[He holds his hand out for the basket and makes a 'gimme' gesture. It's large enough that it looks like Mingjue's job to carry it. Even as he does, though, he can't help the surprise on his face or how high his eyebrows have decided to wing upward.]

Give over and pick someplace nice.

[His bemusement deepens a little.]

If we do spar, I won't go easy on you, but I think I need all of your news before we even try. Core?

From:

taintedpeony

I can imagine it would be without any disciples to train or war to fight.

But you've been at this for so very long, I imagine you would need a little bit of break as well. [He offers the basket with a grateful smile.]

Perhaps there are projects or something you can help with if you get too bored. People are doing all kinds of amazing things out there.

You can check out the community pantry that Peter Quill is running. I've been cooking ready-made meals for it. It is so that newcomers can have some non-aphro foods. It is a valiant effort. Perhaps they would need some help procuring meat.

[It was lovely today, being the day of the sun. There was a large tree inside. He settled down in front of it and set a blanket he had brought with him.]

Well, yes of course. I don't expect you to go easy on me. It won't be fun at all if you did. Please pass me the basket so I can set this up.

I do have a lot of news. I got my core at eighteen and that was a weak one since I developed it so late in my life. Recently I managed to fill an entire line on my card and requested the Diety for a proper one. Da-ge.

Feel my meridians. It's stronger than I have ever felt in my life, the small wrinkles I had by my eyes are gone. I can move faster and fly higher than I ever did. I'm so happy.

From:

baxiasprice

[Relieving A-Yao of the basket, Mingjue hums a low agreement.]

I might. The Unclean Realm only needs so much meat. Could work. [A conflicted shadow dims his expression for a moment as he furrows his brow.] I'm not good at being idle.

[But the comment is shaded with a hint of...relief, maybe, that he has been.

Once they're at the chosen tree, he passes the basket back and tries not to be too obviously gobsmacked by A-Yao's news. That's...a lot of very significant news. He'd known that Meng Yao hadn't really had a chance to cultivate, and he'd been so young. But a proper core—]

Show me when we sit.

From:

taintedpeony

Thank you.

[Ziyao shook his head. There was a sad expression that flitted across his face. Mingjue always had a harder time during peacetime than he did during the war. It didn't help that the war took so much from him.

He looked at him sympathetically.]

You never were.

However, If I am being honest, neither am I. If you ever need to find things to do let me know and I'll be happy to help connect you to some projects. I keep getting scolded for taking on too many things.

Alright.

[He laughed softly, Jiang Yanli has been taking him to task and he knew better than to argue with a woman of Yunmeng.

He knelt on the grass and set the food and plates out, serving Mingue first, making sure there was a healthy amount of meat there. He then set up the tea and offered him the bottle of very fancy alcohol.]

This is a gift for you. I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the sheer amount of stuff you had to deal with from me. You didn't have to but you gave me stability when I didn't have it.

I'm grateful for our friendship.

From:

baxiasprice

Yes. [His immediate agreement is to the offer of helping him connect with tasks that'll keep him busy. Couldn't hurt.] Do. I can probably help you, anyway.

[He also seats himself after a snort at the idea of A-Yao taking on too much. It's a trait that Mingjue remembers from Meng Yao, and it's curious to see in this person and in this situtation. After letting A-Yao serve him, however, he takes the bottle of alcohol in hand and considers it for a moment. His brow creases as he gathers his words until he's frowning quite seriously at the bottle. Then he turns the serious gaze on A-Yao.]

And I'm sorry. That I haven't been here for you this last little while. We both know why, and I don't regret that part of it, but.

[A moments pause.]

I missed all of these large doings, and I missed you. I don't like it. I don't like leave you alone in hostile territory.

From:

taintedpeony

I would like that.

[At his words, however, there was a naked look of vulnerability on his face. Xichen sat between them like a ghost. The words from his last conversation with his second brother echoing in the back of his head. At the time when he fled from Koi Tower, he did feel like not only was he running but he was trying to tourniquet that bleeding wound by himself, as he always had.

It did hurt deeply at the end of it. It made sense. Even with this time gap Mingjue and Xichen had more mileage, who was he in that aside from the person who ruined their lives?

The crueler part of his mind whispered that no one chooses him and he shook it away. It wasn't true. He had proof of that now.

Ziyao had a hard time meeting his eyes, his smile sad.]

I... know.

It isn't the first time I've been alone in hostile territory and it isn't as if I do not have support. My brother and his wife live with me, as well as Kore...It isn't as hostile as some of the other battlefields, I've survived in. [He said quietly.]

He needed you more.

[His smile was soft and kind. His expression softening somewhat.]

I do appreciate the sentiment, however, I missed you as well. I need to tell you something important though.

[He took a breath and let it go, along with the old pain. The path he wanted to walk with his eldest brother was a different one than what he wanted before.]

I am seeing someone. It is serious even though we have been trying to take it slow.

Edited Date: 2021-09-02 05:07 am (UTC)

From:

baxiasprice

[If Mingjue knew the right words to say, he'd be saying them and with emphasis. As it is, he can only set his jaw and glower back down at the alcohol he's not entirely sure he deserves. He is sure of one thing, though.]

You deserve support.

[If that comes out mulish, then so be it. Because he can't argue that Xichen had. Still, Mingjue (the wrong Mingjue, maybe, considering...everything) is going to be standing in his older self's shadow until he can fight his way past it.

At the comment, however, Mingjue lets out a hard breath and takes the subject change as the deflected blow it is. He raises his eyebrows. Not bothering to hide his incredulity, he asks:]

Here? You're seeing someone here?

From:

taintedpeony

As do you, my friend. We can support one another now and in the future. We are connected, right? This goes both ways.

[His eyes were soft. This younger Nie Mingjue had to deal with more things than any one of them did, with the scars from the future he hadn't lived yet. It was a lot to ask of anyone, and yet he mad met it with a resolute grace.

This made Jin Ziyao respect him all the more. And if he ever needed him, he was determined to fight for this man as much as he did when he was only Meng Yao. Even if the only one he was fighting was his older self's shadow.

They can explore this later, more of course.]

Of course here. You already know my sordid relationship history anywhere else.

[He gave a small laugh, anxiously wringing his hands together.]

I hadn't expected it to happen. Not after the previous mess. But it did, I'm afraid it seemed the gods have a sense of humor. I've known him for a long time. Nearly twenty years, can you believe it?

[Okay he was beating around it when Nie Mingjue preferred directness. Okay A-Yao, you can do it. Just be direct.

He sat straight up. His shoulders square and tilting up his chin to meet his eyes. Fuck, why was he nervous? Of course, he was nervous.]

Nie Huaisang and I are seeing one another. It has been this for almost two months. Did you want to hear the bizarre story? Because I am still incredulous that this happened.

From:

baxiasprice

[Baffled, even more incredulous (if that were possible) silence meets A-Yao's announcement that he's dating Huaisang and it's apparently serious.]

You're what.

[His confusion routes half to anger and he can feel himself puffing up with it. Because Huaisang. Huaisang.

Who is. Not his Huaisang just like A-Yao isn't his Meng Yao. That doesn't seem to matter to his hindbrain, which is warbling at him that he needs to do something, anything, about this. He tenses, fingers clutching the bottle of booze in his hand in an involuntary twitch toward a weapon. It's not blind fury, though, which means that he can see A-Yao sitting there with a confessional anxiety in his every fiber and see him as A-Yao.

Thus the confusion wins.]

Huaisang?! [Huaisang's name is a demand and a question.] You both—he called you the enemy. You both cried on me. You—

[He yanks back a moment. Because if there would be anything the two of them were aware of it would be the ridiculous history that Mingjue had never lived. He changes tack and holds out a palm, alos demanding.]

Give me your wrist.

From:

taintedpeony

He did.

And I did. Our history is complicated. And because of this, we can only know one another, because of the unique path we have walked.

[It was the reaction he was expecting, though he was grateful he didn't pull out Baxia right then and there. He let a breath in and then out. The truth was always best, even if it is hardest. Truth is what he was committing to as Jin Ziyao. It was the only way he could have moved past fears that Jin Guangyao wasn't able to.

He trusted Nie Mingjue. This was a solid foundation they had built together.

He knew that Huaisang was anxious about telling his brother, and thought it best if he talks to him]

My wrist?

[He blinked a few times before holding out a small thin wrist, pushing his sleeve back as he did so.]

From:

baxiasprice

Your wrist.

[Mingjue's doesn't consider A-Yao delicate, per se, but his wrist in Mingjue's hand is delicate by comparison. He treats it gently, though, if firmly. It's a simple matter to test his qi and his core and get a feel for the thing, how it was different and new and strong. Despite himself, Mingjue grunts over it in satisfaction.

By way of explanation, he offers:]

We're going to spar.

[And then he sits there for a moment, holding A-Yao's wrist, not tight but not loose, as waves of emotion wash over him. Anger, yes, but after having made sure to watch himself for these past months, knowing what he did about how he could end up, of what A-Yao had been afraid of at the very first, he can see where the cracks in his anger are. He's angry but it's...concern and confusion and frustration and annoyance and fear and a burning desire to force this news into something orderly and understood. He tries to put into words his impulse.]

We were already going to spar, but now I need to spar with you.

Edited (missed an important conjuction) Date: 2021-09-02 10:53 pm (UTC)

From:

taintedpeony

[he watched as he felt the probing Qi, and his own ebbed and flowed in response. The Augur was generous in what he was given, it was more than he had even thought he would get which was a pleasant surprise. He looked up at him attempting to read his expression.]

I understand. [His eyes fixed on Mingjue, as he spoke. He did understand him, better than he used in their odd journey here. This was a huge thing he was sharing. There was a decision in it and it went a different way than even he had anticipated.

He continued.]

Where I communicate with words and the nuances within, you need to communicate on the field. I will help you parse this on the field. May I take a moment to cover our food from the bugs and critters before we start?

From:

baxiasprice

[Mingjue offers a sharp, decisive nod as A-Yao speaks. Communicate on the field? More or less. When he speaks his agreement, however, it's to the last question asked, the 'take a moment to cover the food' one.]

Of course.

[He drops A-Yao's wrist, then, a tangle of 'the pleasure of being known' adding to the condensed ball in his chest.]

It's a good core.

[Is the first thing, which he considers very important. The second, as he shoves himself up from the ground, tightly-coiled with a need to act:]

We're not destroying the park.

From:

taintedpeony

[Ziyao had decided it was better to put the food away in its basket for the time being. If they were going to fight. They were both going to be hungry afterward after all. After his wrist was dropped he put the food away and setting the blanket on top of it.]

I love it. My core I mean.

[He pushed himself up, dusting off his clothing. And fixing the Jin styled ponytail in his hair.]

Where would you like to fight? There is a colosseum that has a nice fighting arena, We do not have to worry about destroying anything if we spar there.

From:

baxiasprice

[Mingjue snorted.]

I'm glad you have a good one, then. And the colosseum would be better than here. I've fought there once. Not bad.

[He's a little terse, but the initial wave of emotion is already starting to pass now that he's not focused on The Thing that's currently in contention. Before A-Yao could do anything silly like pick up the basket himself, Mingjue did it for him, plucking it from the ground and settling it under one arm.]

Let's go.

From:

taintedpeony

I have never been there only passed by it a few times.

[He was indeed about to pick up the basket but apparently Mingjue wanted to be a brat about it. He hid his small fond smile and tossed Hensheng down a foot above the ground and then stepped onto her.

He had been training both with Master Shen as well as Jin Zixuan, learning the Jin style properly now, He was excited to show it. He had another power now as well but didn't know if he wanted to reveal his hands so early on.]

Please lead the way.

From:

baxiasprice

[Following suit by unsheathing Baxia and mounting the blade, Mingjue eyes A-Yao thoughtfully. Now that he knows that A-Yao's core has been...augmented by the Augur, he pays more attention to the way A-Yao handles his sword, and his flight, as Mingjue lifts off and starts heading for the coliseum.

The small, ridiculous part of him that has been indulging in nonsense since he'd come to this place snaps out a simple:]

Race you.