【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-Star Resort and Casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.
Due to unprecedented high demand we are temporarily unable to check you in to your reserved room. We apologize for the inconvenience. We have arranged for a temporary room while we work on processing your reservation as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.
As a special wedding gift from us, we have arranged for you and your new spouse to stay in one of our junior penthouses while you wait. Congratulations on your new marriage. We are so pleased you have chosen our resort for your honeymoon.
You will be notified as soon as your official reservation has been processed. Your comfort and happiness are our utmost priority. We hope you enjoy the provided amenities and lose yourself in marital bliss. 】
EVENS
EVENS: NEW CHARACTERS
Music plays. Instrumental, the tune gentle enough not to disturb peaceful rest. The sudden insistent beep of the Watch is a cutting cacophony across an otherwise sweet lullaby. Upon opening their eyes, new arrivals will quickly discover that something is wrong. The quilt snug across their body is weighty. Crystals glint in a weave of embroidery and cotton shimmers with threads of silver. Dozens of decorative pillows surround the bed. The gauzy curtains of the canopied bed are drawn, obscuring the rest of the room.
Extravagant for a kidnapping. Too extravagent. What’s more, these new guests will find something even stranger than this new diamond-studded suite tucked into bed beside them. Someone else. Who are they, what are they wearing? What happened last night?!
Guests are encouraged to explore the resort from here! There are paper maps available for those who would like and staff are happy to recommend locations if they have any preferences. Enjoy your honeymoon, you lovebirds!
ODDS
ODDS: SPECIAL RE-ARRIVAL
Never trust a hallway in the Golden peacock.
Cross the wrong threshold and time begins to slow. A short hallway becomes long, sheds its doors, only leading to turns without end. Guests too eager to explore the resort have gotten lost before. For how long always varies, dependent upon capriciousness of the resort. Hours? Yes. Years? Yes. Every guest caught in the winding hallways has reported the same thing: time is different there and too difficult to discern.
Some wayward guests have been caught in the endless hallways since the FIRST TDM. Weeks pass before a single doorway appears in the distance. It creaks upon opening before everything goes topsy-turvy. These guests have been let out of a trap door in the depths of Crane's Respite.
All water corridors will eventually lead back to the populated areas of Crane's Respite. The waters are warm, the scent of bath salts returns, and staff are wild with joy at finally finding all of you. They have been beside themselves searching ever since you vanished!
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Because we love all of the new characters premiering on this TDM, we kindly request that our Evens prompt be top level exclusive for new characters. Current characters are encouraged to tag in to these prompts with the caveat that they’ve been picked up from their assigned suite (or wherever else they were before) and dumped into the new arrival’s bed. We would like for new characters to have this prompt unique to their top level comments!
▶ Players are welcome to have their current character riff off of these prompts in the log community with the exclusion of the new arrival element. This request is just for TDM top levels.
▶ Current characters and new characters are both welcome to freely mess around with the Odds prompt with the exclusion of the arrival element. For new characters, players may participate with the idea that their character is exploring Crane’s Respite after their unique arrival in the Evens prompt. The Odds arrival element may also be utilized by current player characters who may have been on an unofficial hiatus in January and did not tag as much as they would have liked, to explain any long IC absence.
▶ Octopi may be killed. If a character decides to eat one of the octopi they may find themselves taking on some of its traits. Which traits are up to player discretion.
ELEVATORS
ELEVATORS
The house has recently ordered a full changeout of art in all high traffic areas. The elevators in particular have received special attention with many different famous artworks and portraits studded to the walls for guests to admire. These artworks are treasures of the modern world that one would typically see behind glass at a museum. Guests may even find works from their own world hanging in the elevators. Even famous works that maybe have been lost to time. So this is where they ended up. Is that Vermeer's The Concert?
Guests may find their elevator suddenly stopping without warning. The portraits on the wall stir, curiously studying them, but there are three main portraits calling the shots. The portrait that controls that particular elevator will make their demands known with the threat that, if they are not obeyed, you will be trapped forever.
Elevators will function after the portrait's demands are met. Guests that hold out and refuse may find themselves trapped upwards of twelve hours. Guests with the ability to do so may crawl out of the top emergency door, free to go wherever they want from there.
GREAT TIT!
GREAT TIT!
Great Tit! is the Golden Peacock’s popular dessert bar and cafe. With its bright pops of color and whimsical treats, guests simply can’t resist stopping in for a butt shaped cookie and hazelnut coffee. After catching wind that the resort has decided to celebrate a dessert shop's most lucrative holiday, Great Tit! is ready to impress the masses. Advertisements for limited edition drinks and desserts rain the main lobby; one can’t go three steps without slipping on a neon pink coupon for 10 percent off nipple buns. Guests that decide to pass by the cafe will find themselves assaulted with confetti cannons and eager employees ushering them inside.
Guests will find a temporary communal shower room upon exiting Great Tit! where they can wash off after a fun day of rolling around in sugar. All guests will be gifted a tee branded with a, CHOCOLATE IS MY LOVER logo.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ This portraits prompt has been triggered by several characters expressing interest in and investigating the lore of the resort paintings. This is just dipping a beginning toe in, but congrats to all for poking around!
▶ Portraits in the elevator should not be destroyed, purely for continuity’s sake. If a character would go far enough to attack one of the portraits, the portrait will slap them back with ghostly power.
▶ Characters may also figure other ways out of the elevator if they have specific abilities to do so. While the portraits can control the elevators, they cannot control your character(s). Any destruction to the elevator itself is liable to result in a rush of security dragging the culprit(s) away to the Iron Net.
▶ Great Tit! is running a massive sale! Even characters who are on the broke end of the spectrum will be able to afford to join in on the fun and indulge in sugar at these prices.
▶ Players are encouraged to make up any other elements for the Hall of Chocolate. If it’s a dessert and edible, it’s there. Enjoy your sugar coma!
▶ While the chocolate boxes are ICly limited due to Alessandro’s skills as a chocolatier, this is only an IC mechanic. There is no OOC limitation on this prompt as far as chocolate rarity goes.
THE NEST
ALICE AND THE PARROTS
Fashion boutiques are a dime a dozen in the Nest. The shopping hub is massive, lined with stores all trying to aggressively appeal to guests. A challenge in itself — but the guests of the Golden Peacock are no ordinary people. Used to being pampered and fed excitement, if these boutiques don’t bust their bottoms to appeal to the fickle nature of their patrons, they won’t be in business for much longer! One particular boutique, Alice and the Parrots, is riding winds of romantic thrill and churning out a couple of brand new fashion lines sure to draw in loads of chips.
Guests are welcome to try on clothes in Alice and the Parrots' dressing rooms. These dressing rooms are small and can only accommodate two people sharing at a time. Such is the life of a small boutique store. Sharing is no big deal, right? And there’s no way you can buy clothing this expensive without giving it a test first.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Players are encouraged to make up whatever cute outfits they would like for this prompt.
▶ Wedding clothes do not have to be cute and frilly; this section accommodates tastes of everyone.
▶ Alice and the Parrots is more expensive than Love Dove. Their clothing quality is excellent but their price tags are high. Staff may watch low ranks extra diligently to cut off any stealing. Thieves will be chased by NPC security! Anyone caught gets a day in the Iron Net.
CASINO CHAPEL
CASINO FLOOR
A Pop up Chapel has appeared in the Phoenix Casino. Guests are delighting in playing out weddings and pretending to get married — and a few guests are even tying the knot for real. They aren't worried about the sanctity of marriage; they can divorce tomorrow if they get bored of each other. And everyone knows that getting married doesn't mean you can't fuck whoever you want!
Since the resort isn't keeping track of how many marriages a guest has, all guests are encouraged to marry as many people as they would like. The more the merrier!
Wild wedding events will continue all throughout the month of February, until the guests find it's gotten stale. A divorce rush will round out the fun at the end of the month.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Weddings are not legally binding. Birdvis is not registered as a real officiant, but he does have an excellent beak and pompadour.
▶ Prizes from easy mode slot machines are automatic and do not require mod thumbs up to claim.
▶ Chip prize from difficult mode slot machines is automatic. The special prize is 5 reward points to add to your bank on rewards. Players who wish to claim the special prize should link the finished thread (the kink in question has been completed) under their rewards header with the header, Wedding Slot Machine. If you do any combination of 6/6 (finger hand lol) we ask you somehow make this sexy or involve a climax in order to claim the points.
BLANKET CW: Aphrodisiac; Compulsion; Costumes; Dubcon; Entrapment; Foodplay; Gambling; Lingerie; Matrimony; Tentacles; NSFW Images and Language; NTR; Nudity; Roleplay; Sacrilegious Themes
▶ All new characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. The house is still observing and deciding. As rank and suits are assigned upon acceptance your new character's suit will not manifest until they are accepted into the game.
▶ All TDMs are game canon. This TDM acts as the game's February event.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Please make sure to review the arrival prompt notes! Any current characters posting to the TDM should note they are current in their subject header.
▶ The top level directory is for new characters only. We want to make sure new characters are priority and receive attention!
▶ If you aren't satisfied with the prompts on this TDM please feel free to check out our LOCATIONS to explore more of the resort.
▶ Smut threads that take place on this TDM can be used for rewards. If both parties in the smut thread join the game, you may retroactively apply the character's initial card values to your 52 bank. If one character does not join the game the thread will not be applicable toward rewards (as that character would not have a card value). The character that does join would still receive a small payout for the encounter. Hopefully it was a fun thread anyway!
▶ We ask you to kindly add content warnings to your threads as appropriate.
▶ If you do not currently have permissions and kinks listed in your character’s journal we suggest leaving a note in your top level of any limits or boundaries for other players to reference.
▶ Thank you for spending Valentine's Day with us! You're our sweetheart this year. 💕
[Nie Huaisang may have changed and grown up in significant ways over the past decade since their separation but the core of who he is the same, even if it's sometimes buried under layers of filial duty, leadership expectation, and complicated emotion. Deep down, he's still a man who'd loved and looked up to his big brother more than anyone, and wanted to please him somehow, even if he could never be the type of heir or cultivator Nie Mingjue had wanted him to be.]
I haven't lost my touch. I still like fashion and accessories. Art and calligraphy. That hasn't changed over the years. I just don't have the time or energy to dedicate myself to any of it the way I used to. There's simply too much to do, to think about, to keep in mind when you're a sect leader. Even more when you're the only one left in the main branch of a clan and there aren't any others to replace you.
[As much as Nie Huaisang (and the sect elders, too, most likely) wish there had been someone, anyone, of the proper bloodline left to take over after his brother's death, he was the one they'd all gotten stuck with and the best he can do without sacrificing both his mind and body is simply never enough.]
Let's try that shop over there first. I'm sure there'll be something there that might suit your fancy. There's some simpler, tasteful styles that might flatter your frame very well here. The colors aren't quite so garish and the patterns are subtle enough to give the fabric a pleasant look and feel without being too busy.
[It wasn't all too noticeable, but for a brief moment, Mingjue stopped. His expression tightened as he looked up at the back of his brother's head with momentary confusion.
Was Huaisang... Just talking about obligation and filial responsibility? Huaisang??
It had been years.
It surprised him, and perhaps in a more innocent time, Mingjue would have been enamored to hear his younger brother talk of such things. But hearing it now just felt strange. Foreign. Nothing like the pouty, lazy, responsibility-shirking Nie Huaisang he once knew.]
Mnn.
[But how was he supposed to respond to that? There had been years of stories and differences between them now that the other did not know about. It was like speaking with a faint memory. A stranger who you merely heard stories of in passing.]
You sound like you've been shopping around these stores quite a bit.
[because that was a subject he felt familiar with talking to Huaisang about. That was something that was more like the conversations they used to have.]
[Too bad for Nie Mingjue, he doesn't prattle on about shopping trips and the things he picks up during them in quite same he used to. After all, it's been ten years since he's really had anyone in his life to have these types of conversations and one-sided conversations with the pet birds in his aviary back home only do so much.]
I've seen my share. I get out and about more than people tend to think I do. Or I plan my outings in such a way where one assumes my destination is one place when in reality it's another. I've been able to make some great deals before anyone else has a chance to compete with me for them.
[He smiles, directing Nie Mingjue into a shop where numerous hanfu and matching accessories are on display. As he'd stated, the things on display are just as he'd described them to be.]
Those strategy manuals I had to read turned out to be more interesting than I thought they'd be. So much of the knowledge inside them can be applied to so much more than a battlefield if you put your mind to it. I think you'll be able to secure some really good deals here if you're careful.
[How utterly the same and yet completely different at the same time. Mingjue had never been able to see this part of Huaisang last time, the part that was so mature. Far from the bratty little brother he constantly complained about prior.
This was probably the first time Mingjue was truly acknowledging how long the passage of time between them had been since his passing. Guangyao had been very much the same despite the years, his actions were familiar, even if he did become quite a bit more outright (all the better in his opinion)
But Huaisang showed his age in his actions. He really was no longer the sulking child he once acted as.
Perhaps Mingjue just had to accept that.]
Of all the things to use such manuals for.
[Mingjue let out a passive sigh, rolling his eyes in an all too familiar way.]
How long have you been here? You walk about like you know the local well enough, and many people seem to acknowledge you here.
[It's been a long time since he's been a child, no matter how youthful he might present himself as. The more vulnerable and inexperienced Nie Huaisang appears to others, the more likely they'll underestimate him and make the mistake of not paying him any mind. It's a tactic he's used since even before Nie Mingjue died, only honed and perfected to levels no one ever thought him intelligent enough to reach, except maybe Wei Wuxian.]
I use what I can to do what needs to be done. When expectations exceed one's limitations, it's necessary to develop a more creative, innovative approach to problem solving and learn how to think outside the box.
[While Nie Huaisang doesn't condone Wei Wuxian's mass murdering ways, he has to commend his way of thinking. In many ways, the man's become his inspiration throughout his adult life, even without knowing the full extent of it.]
And, ah, I haven't been here terribly long yet. A little more a month, maybe two, tops? There's so much to do here and so many people to meet that it's easy loose track of time, I feel.
[He doesn't sound even the slightest bit put out by this.]
[Mingjue seemed to sound genuinely intrigued with that. Even after his entire year in Reparacijia, never had he been spoken to by the other inmates with as much respect and reverence as Huaisang had been receiving here. And between the proper greetings and the way others bowed to him, how much had Huaisang accomplished in so little time!?
He was, frankly, a little impressed, if not extremely confused.]
Do you mean to say you've already learned of all the best deals and shopping locals within just that span of time?
Not all of them. I just brought a skillset with me that makes navigating this place a little easier. The politics here aren't too unlike home and it's not too difficult to use them to one's advantage so long one understands their value here. If you have rank, you're given some measure of status and influence to go with it. I haven't quite figured out how the house decides these things, however.
[Nie Huaisang hasn't been paying attention or at least, not as closely as he should be. There's bliss in ignorance and he's guilty of embracing it. For once, he's happy with the life he's leading, even if he knows there's certain expectations that'll he'll have to find a way to meet here as well. He intends to but it'll need to happen on his own terms.]
I've yet to feel a strong enough reason to get a proper feel for the lay of the land here but that is one reason I'm not in my room today. While the fortunes have been in my favor, that might not always last and I'd rather be prepared than not be.
[Despite Jin Guangyao's accusations, Nie Huaisang has gained quite a bit of perspective on life over the course of the past decade.]
So Huaisang was given everything on a silver platter and he gladly accepted it without question. That sounded about right.
Mingjues curiosity seemed to settle with that, instead looking at the clothing styles that the store provided. Not really seeming to care much in what he chose as long as they carried muted colors and accented the shoulders.]
So I take it they married you off upon arrival here as well?
Oh, no, nothing like that. I just woke up in one of the small rooms down in the basement. It was a while before I was assigned better accomodations.
[There should be plenty appropriate garments to choose from on the racks. Nie Huaisang seems content to just let his brother browse without too much inferference or guidance for the moment.]
But I did participate in this interesting little ceremony with someone. We had to write wishes and burn them in these little jars. According to the traditions here, supposedly he and I have a fated connection now.
[And with the way things have been progressing with Lorenz since then, Nie Huaisang can't help but wonder if there really was something to it, after all. Or be hopeful that his simple wish for the end might somehow come true.]
[Mingjue knows that Huaisang already answered that question, but he was just in such disbelief over the matter that he couldn't help but reiterate himself! He was even temporarily distracted from the clothing he was sorting through as he looked at Huaisang with wide-eyes and a slack jaw.]
I only needed to wake up and I was immediately betrothed to a young maiden.
[Because that's the important part of that statement. At least to him, anyway. If Nie Mingjue is alive - which he seems to be and married - which he should've been after the war had ended that's what matters the most. In Nie Huaisang's opinion, anwway.]
Do you think she's fertile? What's the state of her birthing hips? Could she safely bear your child?
[And he just starts sorting clothing on the racks.]
[The intrusive line of questioning almost got Mingjue to drop the clothing he was holding in a stupor. Not at all expecting his younger brother to take the topic into such a direct and almost matchmaker-like tone.
Did Huaisang become an aunty in his older years!?
The way Mingjue retorted was almost nostalgic, a way of speaking he often took to chastise his younger brother in days long past. His face scrunching up indignantly in hopes of hiding the red shade that was forming at the balls of his cheeks.]
I am not having a child!
[Never mind the fact that the answers were different depending on which of the many women he had woken up married to!]
Someone has to and it's not going to be me anymore, dage.
[The words flow out honestly, soft but decisive. Ever since Jin Guangyao had spoken of the relationship they'd had in the prison on the other world, Nie Huaisang's been doing some thinking. A lot of thinking. Honestly, more thinking than he's wanted to do about Jin Guangyao and what to do with him in a place like this.]
Unless you intend to inform me that the stories Jin Guangyao has been telling me about you two and time you spent together in prison are falsehoods born of insane delusions.
[Nie Huaisang doesn't even look at his brother, keeping his focus on the clothing rack and the feeling of the fabric in his hands to keep himself grounded and calm during the inevitable conversation they're going to have. Despite his extremely negative personal feelings about it, he's doing his best to put them aside in order to have a civil and productive conversation with his once-older-now-younger sibling about the unpleasant issue.]
Or we can decide on an appropriate punishment for betraying your sect by becoming lovers with its sworn enemy.
[Nie Huaisang's not even going to bother explaining or elaborating on why this is a problem. AFter the lengths Nie Mingjue had gone to avenge their father and the moral education and cultivation training he'd been so strict about insisting Nie Huaisang had, he should already have some understanding of why he's in big trouble.]
That response certainly seemed to hold an unnecessary amount of venom behind it.
Pausing momentarily, Mingjue's expression seemed to grow dower and a little more severe as he contemplated his younger brother's words. Huaisang was not going to do it? Lovers with the enemy? Prison? Huaisang knew about all that? Was this the same Huaisang he had the chance to see only briefly back then?
... It sounded like something bound to build up and escalate into an argument if he didn't start this discussion here and now.
With a deep, weary sigh, Mingjue lowered the clothes he was rummaging through back on the rack, turning to face the smaller Nie with a gloomy expression.]
Would you mind elaborating on that, Huaisang?
[It looks like shopping was going to have to wait.]
[This Nie Huaisang isn't so timid or inclined to cower in front of his brother anymore. Nie Mingjue's been dead for a decade and his little brother's grown up to have claws that he can unsheathe in the blink of an eye. He'd grown up brutally after his brother had passed on and had to learn how to protect himself and their clan in the only ways he could. What he lacks in strength of body, he makes up for with strength of mind.]
No, I haven't been to any prison.
[A beat, a long sigh.]
My last memory before arriving here was resting in Lotus Pier after Jin Guangyao tried to murder me and the rest of our clan. All the clans, actually. He'd conspired with a ally of his to seal all our spiritual powers before sending horde afer horde of fierce corpses into the cave we'd retreated into to slaughter us.
[To his credit, Nie Huaisang manages to keep his tone calm and subdued as he imparts this information. It's not his intention to break up whatever affair his brother may be having with Jin Guangyao. He simply wishes to inform him of the situation and position that he's been put in as the current leader of the Qinghe Nie Sect.]
All I know of your time in prison is what Jin Guangyao himself has told me. And he's told me quite a bit. One might say entirely too much information about his familiarity with a very specific part of your anatomy. Apparently, yours is bigger than mine, by the way.
[Nie Mingjue can make of that statement what he will.]
Regardless, that's not the core predicament. As our former leader, I'm sure that you understand. If not, I can try to spell it out for you.
[Guangyao was able to recall the prison? A hopeful part of Mingjue could not help but feel alleviated at the thought. But then Huaisang spoke about his last situation before arriving here.
Damn it, Guangyao, what did you do? If you are here, have you spent your time idly teasing and mocking his younger brother? And what did Huaisang mean you were attempting to murder all the clans?
Mingjue's brain was circling with various questions. His arms crossed and his eyes closed as he slowly contemplated each of Huaisang's words. Although his younger brother was one to push off work onto others and to lie when it was most suitable for him, Mingjue also knew that Huaisang respected him enough to tell the truth when it was of utmost importance.
He will need to speak to Guangyao about all of this.
But for now, Mingjue will focus on Huaisang and the strange implications the other probably assumed.]
It seems things have certainly gotten confusing.
[Opening his eyes, he met Huaisang's gaze.]
I know of no cave, and it seems Guangyao has deemed it necessary to omit anything about that from me. For that, I will confront him directly. That said, I will not lie nor avoid the physical relationships I have shared with him.
[His expressions softened, his hands dropping.]
Seeing as you seem to know Guangyao's responsibility over my death, I can understand how confusing and nonsensical even considering such a thing may be to you.
[And with that reassurance, Nie Huaisang finally softens. If his brother didn't know, then he didn't know. He isn't going to fault Nie Mingjue for Jin Guangyao keeping him in the dark.]
I've known about it for a long time, dage. Ten years. It wasn't long after you died that I figured it out. I could not let this matter stand. Not after what happened to Father.
[It's not Nie Huaisang's intention to ruin his brother's happiness if that's what he's found with someone unexpected. But if the three of them are to co-exist in this place without these pretty, golden halls winding up splattered with blood and innocents caught in the middle of it all, these talks need to happen. Regardless of the intense rages and volatility that Nie Huaisang's been experiencing of late, he prefers to settle matters through diplomacy rather than fighting.]
If you choose to continue your involvement with him, all I ask is that you keep it away from me. After what he did to your body after you were gone...
[Nie Huaisang still feels a chill just thinking about it but his brother needs to understand the gravity of what Jin Guangyao did and how deeply it impacted more than just himself.]
I've been searching for your remains for years, dage. On my own. It wasn't long after you passed that you went missing from your tomb. All I could find of you was your arm and it was so full of rage and resentment, I couldn't control you. I needed help but that's another topic for another time.
[His face is pale, lips trembling as he speaks, trying to push through traumatic memories that will probably haunt him for the rest of his days.]
Only recently have the rest of your remains been found. Most of you has been returned to me but I'm still missing your head. Before I was brought here, I was just about to retrieve you.
[He takes a deep breath before asking one more simple question because he's exhausted and has no idea what to do.]
If... If I wasn't talking about you or your body but Father's, what would you do in my stead?
[Mingjue took his time to listen and understand. Truthfully, he understood where Huaisang was coming from. Had it been him a year ago he would have thought much the same thing. Even with what he had heard from Huaisang now there were still moments that left him questioning, doubting.
Did he fall for all of Guangyao's sweet lies after resisting them for so long?
He watches Huaisang, despite the airs he put on only moments before, he was still just as frail as he was all those years ago. And considering all he must have been through after Mingjue's passing, it was no wonder he felt so betrayed.]
You're right.
[It wasn't often Mingjue admitted such things, especially not to Huaisang. But perhaps, now of all times, Huaisang needed to hear it.]
If it were father I would have searched the five realms over in order to retrieve him back and avenge him. I wouldn't even question it.
[He did start a war for their father after all, as much as he would state that it was for the moral good of everyone.]
And I will not defend my actions as, from what I have heard from you, there is plenty worth your hatred. And although I lay with him it does not mean I completely forgive him.
[How many times now have they spent nights upon nights arguing their points to one another only to end up in a stalemate? They had practically agreed to disagree about everything leading up to Xue Yang's verdict.]
Things are complicated Huaisang. Ridiculously so. And I do not think it will ever stop being such. But regardless--
[Taking a step closer, Mingjue slowly bowed forward, his eyes lowered to the floor in apology.]
I am merely grateful to see your face once more Huaisang. I thought--
[Man he was no good at this, admitting fault, feelings, the whole ordeal.]
I truly thought we may never see each other again.
[Nie Huaisang listens to his brother's words, letting them seep into his consciousness. That Nie Mingjue understands the situation is enough to put some of his anxieties at ease. He's not an unreasonable man, at least not when he isn't being triggered or under the influence of his suit. It's also a little nostalgic talking to his older-now-little brother like this. It reminds him of when they were both younger, back when they could be just brothers instead of a strange combination of siblings, parent, and child.
He'd forgotten it was like to feel safe and accepted around Nie Mingjue. Their final days together had been ones of full of angry words and visceral fear for Nie Huaisang. The constant tension and anxiety that he's been holding so rigidly inside himself for many years is starting to slowly but surely drain away. There's still work to be done to truly repair everything that had broken and gone awry but this is a solid start. Nie Huaisang has far too much to say to his brother after this many years of painful silence between them, made permanent by death and desecration.
Even now, he's struggling to come up with an actual verbal response. For a long moment, he just stares, eyes filling with tears as the emotional armor he's crafted to protect himself with finally begins to crack and break down in earnest. It's doesn't take very long for those genuine tears hidden away for so long to start falling at last, sliding down his cheeks, his whole body starting to tremble like a leaf about to be torn off by the wind.
His movements are a little stiff and awkward and he hesitantly steps closer and places his arms around his brother in a tentative hug. He stands there, silently crying in a way completely unlike any of the melodramatic displays he's notorious for back home. This time the emotional release is real, not theatrics.
Finally, he speaks three quiet, loaded words.]
I missed you.
Edited (fixed a thing for clarity lol) 2024-02-19 22:43 (UTC)
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peacockstop2024-02-10 11:29 am
no subject
I haven't lost my touch. I still like fashion and accessories. Art and calligraphy. That hasn't changed over the years. I just don't have the time or energy to dedicate myself to any of it the way I used to. There's simply too much to do, to think about, to keep in mind when you're a sect leader. Even more when you're the only one left in the main branch of a clan and there aren't any others to replace you.
[As much as Nie Huaisang (and the sect elders, too, most likely) wish there had been someone, anyone, of the proper bloodline left to take over after his brother's death, he was the one they'd all gotten stuck with and the best he can do without sacrificing both his mind and body is simply never enough.]
Let's try that shop over there first. I'm sure there'll be something there that might suit your fancy. There's some simpler, tasteful styles that might flatter your frame very well here. The colors aren't quite so garish and the patterns are subtle enough to give the fabric a pleasant look and feel without being too busy.
no subject
Was Huaisang... Just talking about obligation and filial responsibility? Huaisang??
It had been years.
It surprised him, and perhaps in a more innocent time, Mingjue would have been enamored to hear his younger brother talk of such things. But hearing it now just felt strange. Foreign. Nothing like the pouty, lazy, responsibility-shirking Nie Huaisang he once knew.]
Mnn.
[But how was he supposed to respond to that? There had been years of stories and differences between them now that the other did not know about. It was like speaking with a faint memory. A stranger who you merely heard stories of in passing.]
You sound like you've been shopping around these stores quite a bit.
[because that was a subject he felt familiar with talking to Huaisang about. That was something that was more like the conversations they used to have.]
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I've seen my share. I get out and about more than people tend to think I do. Or I plan my outings in such a way where one assumes my destination is one place when in reality it's another. I've been able to make some great deals before anyone else has a chance to compete with me for them.
[He smiles, directing Nie Mingjue into a shop where numerous hanfu and matching accessories are on display. As he'd stated, the things on display are just as he'd described them to be.]
Those strategy manuals I had to read turned out to be more interesting than I thought they'd be. So much of the knowledge inside them can be applied to so much more than a battlefield if you put your mind to it. I think you'll be able to secure some really good deals here if you're careful.
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This was probably the first time Mingjue was truly acknowledging how long the passage of time between them had been since his passing. Guangyao had been very much the same despite the years, his actions were familiar, even if he did become quite a bit more outright (
all the better in his opinion)But Huaisang showed his age in his actions. He really was no longer the sulking child he once acted as.
Perhaps Mingjue just had to accept that.]
Of all the things to use such manuals for.
[Mingjue let out a passive sigh, rolling his eyes in an all too familiar way.]
How long have you been here? You walk about like you know the local well enough, and many people seem to acknowledge you here.
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I use what I can to do what needs to be done. When expectations exceed one's limitations, it's necessary to develop a more creative, innovative approach to problem solving and learn how to think outside the box.
[While Nie Huaisang doesn't condone Wei Wuxian's mass murdering ways, he has to commend his way of thinking. In many ways, the man's become his inspiration throughout his adult life, even without knowing the full extent of it.]
And, ah, I haven't been here terribly long yet. A little more a month, maybe two, tops? There's so much to do here and so many people to meet that it's easy loose track of time, I feel.
[He doesn't sound even the slightest bit put out by this.]
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[Mingjue seemed to sound genuinely intrigued with that. Even after his entire year in Reparacijia, never had he been spoken to by the other inmates with as much respect and reverence as Huaisang had been receiving here. And between the proper greetings and the way others bowed to him, how much had Huaisang accomplished in so little time!?
He was, frankly, a little impressed, if not extremely confused.]
Do you mean to say you've already learned of all the best deals and shopping locals within just that span of time?
[How much have you been shopping Hauisang??????]
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[Nie Huaisang hasn't been paying attention or at least, not as closely as he should be. There's bliss in ignorance and he's guilty of embracing it. For once, he's happy with the life he's leading, even if he knows there's certain expectations that'll he'll have to find a way to meet here as well. He intends to but it'll need to happen on his own terms.]
I've yet to feel a strong enough reason to get a proper feel for the lay of the land here but that is one reason I'm not in my room today. While the fortunes have been in my favor, that might not always last and I'd rather be prepared than not be.
[Despite Jin Guangyao's accusations, Nie Huaisang has gained quite a bit of perspective on life over the course of the past decade.]
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So Huaisang was given everything on a silver platter and he gladly accepted it without question. That sounded about right.
Mingjues curiosity seemed to settle with that, instead looking at the clothing styles that the store provided. Not really seeming to care much in what he chose as long as they carried muted colors and accented the shoulders.]
So I take it they married you off upon arrival here as well?
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[There should be plenty appropriate garments to choose from on the racks. Nie Huaisang seems content to just let his brother browse without too much inferference or guidance for the moment.]
But I did participate in this interesting little ceremony with someone. We had to write wishes and burn them in these little jars. According to the traditions here, supposedly he and I have a fated connection now.
[And with the way things have been progressing with Lorenz since then, Nie Huaisang can't help but wonder if there really was something to it, after all. Or be hopeful that his simple wish for the end might somehow come true.]
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[Mingjue knows that Huaisang already answered that question, but he was just in such disbelief over the matter that he couldn't help but reiterate himself! He was even temporarily distracted from the clothing he was sorting through as he looked at Huaisang with wide-eyes and a slack jaw.]
I only needed to wake up and I was immediately betrothed to a young maiden.
[WHY HIM!?!]
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[Because that's the important part of that statement. At least to him, anyway. If Nie Mingjue is alive - which he seems to be and married - which he should've been after the war had ended that's what matters the most. In Nie Huaisang's opinion, anwway.]
Do you think she's fertile? What's the state of her birthing hips? Could she safely bear your child?
[And he just starts sorting clothing on the racks.]
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[The intrusive line of questioning almost got Mingjue to drop the clothing he was holding in a stupor. Not at all expecting his younger brother to take the topic into such a direct and almost matchmaker-like tone.
Did Huaisang become an aunty in his older years!?
The way Mingjue retorted was almost nostalgic, a way of speaking he often took to chastise his younger brother in days long past. His face scrunching up indignantly in hopes of hiding the red shade that was forming at the balls of his cheeks.]
I am not having a child!
[Never mind the fact that the answers were different depending on which of the many women he had woken up married to!]
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[The words flow out honestly, soft but decisive. Ever since Jin Guangyao had spoken of the relationship they'd had in the prison on the other world, Nie Huaisang's been doing some thinking. A lot of thinking. Honestly, more thinking than he's wanted to do about Jin Guangyao and what to do with him in a place like this.]
Unless you intend to inform me that the stories Jin Guangyao has been telling me about you two and time you spent together in prison are falsehoods born of insane delusions.
[Nie Huaisang doesn't even look at his brother, keeping his focus on the clothing rack and the feeling of the fabric in his hands to keep himself grounded and calm during the inevitable conversation they're going to have. Despite his extremely negative personal feelings about it, he's doing his best to put them aside in order to have a civil and productive conversation with his once-older-now-younger sibling about the unpleasant issue.]
Or we can decide on an appropriate punishment for betraying your sect by becoming lovers with its sworn enemy.
[Nie Huaisang's not even going to bother explaining or elaborating on why this is a problem. AFter the lengths Nie Mingjue had gone to avenge their father and the moral education and cultivation training he'd been so strict about insisting Nie Huaisang had, he should already have some understanding of why he's in big trouble.]
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That response certainly seemed to hold an unnecessary amount of venom behind it.
Pausing momentarily, Mingjue's expression seemed to grow dower and a little more severe as he contemplated his younger brother's words. Huaisang was not going to do it? Lovers with the enemy? Prison? Huaisang knew about all that? Was this the same Huaisang he had the chance to see only briefly back then?
... It sounded like something bound to build up and escalate into an argument if he didn't start this discussion here and now.
With a deep, weary sigh, Mingjue lowered the clothes he was rummaging through back on the rack, turning to face the smaller Nie with a gloomy expression.]
Would you mind elaborating on that, Huaisang?
[It looks like shopping was going to have to wait.]
Are you saying that you remember the prison?
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No, I haven't been to any prison.
[A beat, a long sigh.]
My last memory before arriving here was resting in Lotus Pier after Jin Guangyao tried to murder me and the rest of our clan. All the clans, actually. He'd conspired with a ally of his to seal all our spiritual powers before sending horde afer horde of fierce corpses into the cave we'd retreated into to slaughter us.
[To his credit, Nie Huaisang manages to keep his tone calm and subdued as he imparts this information. It's not his intention to break up whatever affair his brother may be having with Jin Guangyao. He simply wishes to inform him of the situation and position that he's been put in as the current leader of the Qinghe Nie Sect.]
All I know of your time in prison is what Jin Guangyao himself has told me. And he's told me quite a bit. One might say entirely too much information about his familiarity with a very specific part of your anatomy. Apparently, yours is bigger than mine, by the way.
[Nie Mingjue can make of that statement what he will.]
Regardless, that's not the core predicament. As our former leader, I'm sure that you understand. If not, I can try to spell it out for you.
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[Guangyao was able to recall the prison? A hopeful part of Mingjue could not help but feel alleviated at the thought. But then Huaisang spoke about his last situation before arriving here.
Damn it, Guangyao, what did you do? If you are here, have you spent your time idly teasing and mocking his younger brother? And what did Huaisang mean you were attempting to murder all the clans?
Mingjue's brain was circling with various questions. His arms crossed and his eyes closed as he slowly contemplated each of Huaisang's words. Although his younger brother was one to push off work onto others and to lie when it was most suitable for him, Mingjue also knew that Huaisang respected him enough to tell the truth when it was of utmost importance.
He will need to speak to Guangyao about all of this.
But for now, Mingjue will focus on Huaisang and the strange implications the other probably assumed.]
It seems things have certainly gotten confusing.
[Opening his eyes, he met Huaisang's gaze.]
I know of no cave, and it seems Guangyao has deemed it necessary to omit anything about that from me. For that, I will confront him directly. That said, I will not lie nor avoid the physical relationships I have shared with him.
[His expressions softened, his hands dropping.]
Seeing as you seem to know Guangyao's responsibility over my death, I can understand how confusing and nonsensical even considering such a thing may be to you.
cw: talk of dismemberment, corpse desecration
I've known about it for a long time, dage. Ten years. It wasn't long after you died that I figured it out. I could not let this matter stand. Not after what happened to Father.
[It's not Nie Huaisang's intention to ruin his brother's happiness if that's what he's found with someone unexpected. But if the three of them are to co-exist in this place without these pretty, golden halls winding up splattered with blood and innocents caught in the middle of it all, these talks need to happen. Regardless of the intense rages and volatility that Nie Huaisang's been experiencing of late, he prefers to settle matters through diplomacy rather than fighting.]
If you choose to continue your involvement with him, all I ask is that you keep it away from me. After what he did to your body after you were gone...
[Nie Huaisang still feels a chill just thinking about it but his brother needs to understand the gravity of what Jin Guangyao did and how deeply it impacted more than just himself.]
I've been searching for your remains for years, dage. On my own. It wasn't long after you passed that you went missing from your tomb. All I could find of you was your arm and it was so full of rage and resentment, I couldn't control you. I needed help but that's another topic for another time.
[His face is pale, lips trembling as he speaks, trying to push through traumatic memories that will probably haunt him for the rest of his days.]
Only recently have the rest of your remains been found. Most of you has been returned to me but I'm still missing your head. Before I was brought here, I was just about to retrieve you.
[He takes a deep breath before asking one more simple question because he's exhausted and has no idea what to do.]
If... If I wasn't talking about you or your body but Father's, what would you do in my stead?
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Did he fall for all of Guangyao's sweet lies after resisting them for so long?
He watches Huaisang, despite the airs he put on only moments before, he was still just as frail as he was all those years ago. And considering all he must have been through after Mingjue's passing, it was no wonder he felt so betrayed.]
You're right.
[It wasn't often Mingjue admitted such things, especially not to Huaisang. But perhaps, now of all times, Huaisang needed to hear it.]
If it were father I would have searched the five realms over in order to retrieve him back and avenge him. I wouldn't even question it.
[He did start a war for their father after all, as much as he would state that it was for the moral good of everyone.]
And I will not defend my actions as, from what I have heard from you, there is plenty worth your hatred. And although I lay with him it does not mean I completely forgive him.
[How many times now have they spent nights upon nights arguing their points to one another only to end up in a stalemate? They had practically agreed to disagree about everything leading up to Xue Yang's verdict.]
Things are complicated Huaisang. Ridiculously so. And I do not think it will ever stop being such. But regardless--
[Taking a step closer, Mingjue slowly bowed forward, his eyes lowered to the floor in apology.]
I am merely grateful to see your face once more Huaisang. I thought--
[Man he was no good at this, admitting fault, feelings, the whole ordeal.]
I truly thought we may never see each other again.
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He'd forgotten it was like to feel safe and accepted around Nie Mingjue. Their final days together had been ones of full of angry words and visceral fear for Nie Huaisang. The constant tension and anxiety that he's been holding so rigidly inside himself for many years is starting to slowly but surely drain away. There's still work to be done to truly repair everything that had broken and gone awry but this is a solid start. Nie Huaisang has far too much to say to his brother after this many years of painful silence between them, made permanent by death and desecration.
Even now, he's struggling to come up with an actual verbal response. For a long moment, he just stares, eyes filling with tears as the emotional armor he's crafted to protect himself with finally begins to crack and break down in earnest. It's doesn't take very long for those genuine tears hidden away for so long to start falling at last, sliding down his cheeks, his whole body starting to tremble like a leaf about to be torn off by the wind.
His movements are a little stiff and awkward and he hesitantly steps closer and places his arms around his brother in a tentative hug. He stands there, silently crying in a way completely unlike any of the melodramatic displays he's notorious for back home. This time the emotional release is real, not theatrics.
Finally, he speaks three quiet, loaded words.]
I missed you.
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