welcome to Silently Into The Night
Hello and welcome! We are a modern-day reincarnation AU of the novel/donghua/drama Mó Dào Zǔ Shī, also known as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Chén Qíng Lìng, or The Untamed. The characters have been reincarnated into modern day, where some have regained their memories of their cultivation days, while others have not yet. Original characters are accepted, but please have a good story for them if they were a cultivator in their past life. The RP takes place in Palo Alto, California, and is set in the current year.
Modern Reincarnation AU
silently into the night redeim
Blueprint is a premade Proboards v5 theme designed and built by punki of Adoxography and Pixel Perfect. SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT is the work of REDEIM. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. Mó Dào Zǔ Shī is copyright Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. All images belong to their original owners.
updates
JULY 07, 2020
And we're officially open! Feel free to leave questions or chat with us in the cbox. :)
JULY 06, 2020
Soft opening of the site!
Best Laid Plans (Zixuan) [COMPLETED]
Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 21:49:23 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 21:49:23 GMT -8
Zixuan nodded and said, "Yeah, but I look more like my mom's side of the family, so it's not that strange, I guess."
He was vaguely pleased that he wasn't the only one who had noticed that. It was nice though that Meng Yao pointed out at least a bit of a similarity. It was comforting to know that there probably was one there at least.
Zixuan nodded relieved to be able to keep moving, and to watch Meng Yao at more of an angle as they strolled and talked. There was a decent walking path, and it made this easier. When Meng Yao asked why he wanted the money to get taken, he said, "There are literally two things that he cares about enough to maybe make him feel some of the responsibility or pain for what he's done to others, and those are his money and his social standing. I don't work for the company, and I don't want to, and there's a pretty good chance he's going to make my cousin the company heir. I'm not exactly his favorite right now, and I don't regret it. I'm not going to be wanting for money no matter what he does, even if he completely cut me out his inheritance. And I know that means that I am in a place of incredible privilege."
Zixuan had no college debt, and he had a good job that he wouldn't be able to have without that degree. And Yanli also had a good job that she loved, and the apartment was officially in their name. He added, "Nothing that I personally do could make him care enough to take responsibility for his actions, but maybe enough financial and social pressure will."
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 21:59:53 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 21:59:53 GMT -8
Meng Yao carefully cataloged all the information Zixuan told him. "We both take after our mothers I guess. Mine is short and fair which is where I think I get my stature from."
"I appreciate you wanting your siblings to get their fair share," he said though Zixuan hadn't mentioned that at all. In Meng Yao's opinion, Zixuan was closer to his own motives than he had expected. Zixuan seemed to want revenge on his father and though it happened to involve getting his half siblings money in a legal settlement, the siblings were a means to an end and not the point.
"Why are there only two things he cares about? What about you? or your mom?" He asked, knowing it would be a touchy subject, but it might give him an opportunity to commiserate and share his own story to garner sympathy.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 22:10:27 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 22:10:27 GMT -8
Zixuan snorted and said, "He married mom for family connections and social standing, and I think that it's telling that I'm the only kid they ever had together. I didn't even know what he looked like up close until I was seven or eight, but I guess at least he tried to keep me relatively happy by buying me things? In retrospect, I'm probably better off not having had him be an up close and personal parent, but it was confusing and upsetting as a kid."
He shrugged and said, "And whatever care he might have had for me, it was contingent on me doing things that weren't right, and I wasn't going to cover up his bad behavior. If the only thing he's good for is money, then that money should go to the people who it should rightfully belong to. It's not fair what he did to any of his kids, and he doesn't care, and that sucks."
Zixuan knew that he was ranting, and that Meng Yao had almost certainly had it worse than him. He knew for sure that a few of the others had. Meng Yao didn't seem to need the money now at least, but it only seemed fair that he get it.
He toyed with his keys, trying to not get too worked up. He didn't know Meng Yao, for all that they had this giant thing in common.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 22:21:35 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 22:21:35 GMT -8
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Meng Yao said. "Are you at least close with your mother, how is she holding up through all of this?"
He could hear Zixuan jingling his keys. He was using that as a mood gauge. The earlier jingling had seemed to be nerves, this seemed like a calming tool.
"I met him once, our father," Meng Yao said. "When I was sixteen I went to find him. My mother had just overdosed for her third time and I was at the end of my wits. He laughed in my face, called me the son of a whore and sent me away." He kept his tone somber, letting Zixuan be the flame in this situation while he simply stoked the fire.
"Ever since then I wanted to be self sufficient and I've worked hard to become that way. Self-sufficient and self-reliant... but that gets lonely," he said, trailing off.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 22:36:56 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 22:36:56 GMT -8
Zixuan nodded and said, "I am close to my mom. She was a very attentive parent, and she made sure that I had connections to that side of my family. She's holding up alright, though she threatened to divorce him over part of it, which I never thought I'd hear her do. It's 'not the sort of thing women in her family do.'"
He was pretty sure that it was audible from the way he said it that he was quoting her, but he shook his head and made a little grumbly noise.
When Meng Yao explained meeting their father, Zixuan scowled and said, "That sounds like something he'd say. And while I'm not responsible for his actions, I'm sorry that he would treat you like that. I wish that I'd known I had siblings sooner so that I could have done something sooner. I'm not sure that there was a lot I could have done, but it would have been nice to know you existed."
He smiled a little bit as Meng Yao explained his desire to be self-sufficient. He said voice gentler, "I'm glad you were able to achieve that. I know it's something that a lot of the kids that the place I work works with hope for, and it makes me hopeful for them seeing people who have managed it. I can see how it would be lonely though, but you can be self-reliant and still have friends and maybe siblings if you want?"
He hoped that Meng Yao wouldn't think that he was being too forward in their acquaintance by offering that, but Zixuan really wanted some sort of connection there.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 22:44:43 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 22:44:43 GMT -8
"I'm glad to hear you and your mother get along so well. Based on what you said, I take it she didn't go through with the divorce?" Meng Yao asked.
"It's probably better we didn't meet earlier. I think if I had met you when I was younger I wouldn't have been able to mentally separate you from him. I wasn't mature enough for that," he admitted, shaking his head at himself.
"You work with kids? What do you do?" He asked, already knowing the general job title but unsure what it actually entailed.
"Yes, friends are helping me be less lonely, and a sibling would probably do that too," he offered Zixuan a smile.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 22:53:35 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 22:53:35 GMT -8
Zixuan nodded at Meng Yao's explanation. He could see that, and he wasn't entirely sure himself how he would have reacted to learning about his half siblings much younger, though he'd had suspicions for a long time. He sighed and said, "Yeah, she's not gone through with it, at least not yet, but she maybe should have."
He was pleased to talk about his job though, that was a topic that he liked. His entire frame relaxed a little bit, and he said, "I don't work with the kids super closely, but it's a small office, so everyone helps out, and some of the teens really like hanging out with people in the offices more than the areas where the younger kids are. I help with math homework sometimes too. But the place that I work is a non-profit that supports homeless and at risk youth and their families throughout the Bay Area. We have a lot of LGBTQ+ teens that come through at least for a while, and we work with making sure that kids getting foster placement and are at risk for that to turn out to be a bad situation get good placements that are well monitored. I'm just an accountant, but the work that the company does is important, and at least I'm doing something useful with the degree that my father was willing to settle on that I could actually do."
He glanced over at Meng Yao, realizing that he'd been rambling, and fiddled with his keys again, trying to figure out what Meng Yao thought.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 23:03:35 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 23:03:35 GMT -8
"You light up when you talk about your job. Don't say you're just an accountant, you're doing great things for these people who need help. That's admirable," Meng Yao said.
"Tell me about yourself then. Sorry to put you on the spot," he laughed a little, "why accounting?"
Meng Yao wanted to keep the conversation going. This was a long game, nothing would get accomplished today other than building the foundation of a relationship with his brother. So he had to keep him talking and listening and being comfortable. He was glad he'd chosen a park, this would have been a lot messier in a cafe where it was the two of them face to face. He'd have to keep such things in mind for future meetings.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 23:10:59 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 23:10:59 GMT -8
Zixuan shrugged and said, "Process of elimination between what I could do, what my college offered, and what our father was willing to keep paying for after I failed a core class in the business program, which had never occurred to me as a way out of something I really hated. Accounting wasn't a bad choice though, numbers are easy, they don't give me anxiety, and I can at least do something useful with it."
He realized that Meng Yao kept asking more and more questions about him, and he asked tentatively, "What about you? I know you're a year younger than me, I believe exactly? Are you in school? Doing something else?"
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 23:19:22 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 23:19:22 GMT -8
"Anxiety? You have bad anxiety? Where do you think that comes from?" Meng Yao asked.
"Sorry for asking. I'm a psychology major at Stanford. I've got one more year, but I work as well. I pay my own way through school and I bought my place in Los Altos Hills a little while ago." He played with some of his hair, "sorry, that sounded like bragging. I wasn't trying to, it's that whole self-sufficient streak in me."
"Wait, exactly? Do we have the same birthday?" he asked.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 23:30:07 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 23:30:07 GMT -8
Zixuan answered the easy part of all that first, "I believe so from what I saw of documents. I'm February 20, 1998."
He sighed and said, "Congratulations on the place in Los Altos Hills, it's got to feel good to have your own place."
He continued, "I've always had bad anxiety, like super nervous little kid. Spent my entire childhood hiding behind Mianmian, um, my cousin on my mom's side and best friend, though it stopped working so well once I got taller than her. It got worse in my teens, and I've been doing better with it since I moved out, so at least some of the stressors must have been environmental."
He wanted to move the conversation away from anxiety if he could, so he asked, "Do you know what you're planning to pursue after you graduate?"
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 23:37:11 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 23:37:11 GMT -8
Meng Yao's eyes widened, "why yes, we do have the same birthday," he said, feigning his surprise well.
"Thank you. Having my own place really made me feel a lot better. Kind of like how you said moving out helped you, being independent really helped me find myself." He explained.
"I'm glad you had someone you age to grow up with, Mianmian must be very special to you," he smiled. He thought back to his own childhood where his only companions were rats, drug addicts and prostitutes, most who were two of the three. "How are you managing your anxiety nowadays?"
He shook his head at himself, "sorry, it's a habit." He chewed on his lip, shy about what he was going to say, "I plan to become a specialized therapist," he said vaguely.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 6, 2020 23:46:13 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 6, 2020 23:46:13 GMT -8
Zixuan nodded and said, "Yeah, Mianmian's great, though I do sometimes have to stop her from punching people who are being jerks reflexively now that we're not in high school anymore. Though I almost didn't stop her the time she almost punched my dad. It would have been very satisfying. It also would have caused her more trouble than the satisfaction probably would have been worth."
Zixuan seemed a bit nervous, but honest, as he answered, "I see a therapist some, have for a long time, after I flunked that class in college was when I started, and I probably should have earlier, but well unsurprisingly, our dad isn't big on that sort of thing being allowed."
He added, more brightly, "Honestly though, living with Yanli and having my own schedule has really helped. It's nice living with someone who's calm and also likes a structured environment."
He wasn't going to talk about the rough start to it, or what their mothers had tried to pull. That was not a first interaction kind of conversation.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Aug 6, 2020 23:57:15 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Aug 6, 2020 23:57:15 GMT -8
"Mianmian sounds like my kind of person," Meng Yao said with a big grin. "Someone who stands up for what's right. Did she help you decide to start the lawsuit or was that all you?"
"Yes, figures he wouldn't believe in therapy. He probably just doesn't want to have to look at himself. I know I find it unpleasant at times, but necessary." He mused.
"Who's Yanli?" this was the first time he'd heard that name from Zixuan.
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Jin Zixuan
MDZS Character
no
bisexual (prefers women)
engaged (but confused)
Etienne
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Aug 7, 2020 0:05:42 GMT -8
Post by Jin Zixuan on Aug 7, 2020 0:05:42 GMT -8
Zixuan rolled his eyes and said, "He'd not be very good at therapy. He thinks that the world revolves around his needs, and the rest of us just need to follow along. But he doesn't admit to any of his own mistakes, so how could he possibly need to self examine ever."
He focused on the question though, brightening noticeably from talking about his father. He said, "Yanli's my fiancée. She's wonderful."
He wasn't sure how to explain their engagement to Meng Yao, and how they were very slowly figuring it out on their own terms, but he could be genuinely happy to talk about her.
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