Nie Mingjue

Nie Mingjue

the basics

full name • Nie Mingjue
nicknames • Da-ge (almost exclusively by Huaisang)
age • twenty-seven
birthday • June 5, 1993
occupation • bouncer; returning undergrad student, major: Civil Engineering
relationship status • no
gender • male, he/him
sexuality • gray ace, so far has only ever had any interest in other men, but that's insufficient data
has memories • no (except for a few vivid recurring nightmares that feel like memories of Huaisang falling off a cliff that make him even more protective than he already would be)

the appearance

face claim • Wang Yizhou
height and weight • 191 cm (6' 3") and 90 kg (200 lbs)
identifying features • He has dozens of scars on his hands and arms from having dealt with bar fights while bouncing. He also has one rather distinctive one that cuts across his nose. It's not super noticeable unless someone is looking, but he doesn't love it.
overall appearance • Mingjue is tall and solid. He looks like he could pick someone up and remove them from a bar bodily (he can). He keeps his hair short and cropped closer on the sides than the top. He doesn't smile super easily, but he does have a smile that seems to take over his face when he does. He goes back and forth on having facial hair, but it's not uncommon to see him with a mustache and a bit of a beard, they're always well groomed though.

the personality

likes • Taking care of people, Building things, Being a big brother, His friends
dislikes • Drunk drivers, People being cruel, Inequality and unfairness, His little brother being sad
strengths • Loyalty, Protectiveness, Determination
weaknesses • Temper, Difficulty trusting, Lack of self worth
dreams • To make sure that his brother is able to live a happy life, and to have a comfortable existence for himself that he can support his brother from
fears • Anything hurting his brother, Emotional intimacy, Abandonment
overall personality • Mingjue is very bad at emotions other than protectiveness. He doesn't get close to people easily, and he's generally rather distrusting of people for a long time. He especially doesn't trust people not to leave if he lets himself need them. He's mostly a kind, caring person, who helps others and gives more of himself than he's really able to some of the time, while also not showing his personal self to most people. He does have a temper though, and it takes him a while to cool off when he gets really mad.

the history

father • Nie Dahong, deceased, electrical engineer
mother • Ma Faling, deceased, nurse
step-mother • Han Baixia, deceased, artist
younger brother • Nie Huaisang, 20*, student, major: art*
best friend • Lan Xichen, 24*, graduate student*
hometown • Palo Alto, CA
overall history • Nie Mingjue was born to Chinese immigrants in Palo Alto very shortly after they arrived in the US. His parents worked long hours, and Mingjue spent a lot of time alone as a small child. He was taught to be hardworking and to achieve his best. When he was five years old, his mother divorced his father and returned to China. While she passed away when he was twelve, he didn't find that out until he was nearly an adult. Mingjue's father remarried about a year later, and Mingjue got a younger brother when he was seven years old. Immediately (and ever since), Huaisang has been the absolute most precious thing in Mingjue's entire life. He would sacrifice just about anything for his little brother to be safe and happy.

A lot of Huaisang's care throughout Mingjue's middle and high school years ended up in Mingjue's hands because Mingjue's step-mother was sickly after Huaisang was born. She ended up passing away when Mingjue was 15 (and Huaisang was 8). Huaisang and Mingjue's father were both disconsolate after her passing, and Mingjue did his best to hold everything together at home while still earning good grades. It was during this time that he met Lan Xichen in high school (a freshman to his junior), and they became friends. Xichen was the first of his approximate peers who got the whole being deeply attached to caring for his younger brother and taking care of his family. Xichen was also the first, and to date only, crush that he acknowledges having, not that he'd ever actually tell Xichen that.

Mingjue was relieved when he got into Stanford for undergrad (the first time) because it meant that he could stay at home and keep helping take care of the household. However, when he was 19 (and Huaisang was 11), his father died in a collision with a drunk driver. He was not able to finish his undergrad degree and ended up working as a bouncer and supporting his younger brother. He did everything in his power to help make sure that Huaisang had all the opportunities possible available to him. They did manage to hold onto the family home (fortunately their father had fully owned it), but it was a near thing. He was incredibly thrilled when Huaisang was able to get into Stanford on a full arts scholarship, and after Huaisang's first two years, he applied to be readmitted on a grant for returning students that Lan Xichen suggested to him. He still works as a bouncer, and he's mildly embarrassed that he and Huaisang are technically the same year in undergrad now, but he's quietly thrilled to be finally getting the chance to go back and finish his degree. He doesn't mind being a bouncer, and he's incredibly glad for the job that paid his bills for all these years, but he also actually wants to get his civil engineering degree.

His experiences with repeated loss of parents and the amount that he's had to sacrifice to keep things good for Huaisang has left him very shy of relationships and people in general. Most of his friends from college and high school completely dropped him when he dropped out of undergrad to take care of his younger brother, so he pretty much only has Lan Xichen as a friend. He's friendly with some of the women who dance at the bar he bounces for, but he wouldn't consider them close friends to be sure.

the role player

alias • Etienne
age • 30
pronouns • he/him
code • chenqing
which version did you see • novel/drama
other characters • Lan Wangji, Lan Jingyi