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!
Colleagues (Meng Yao) [complete]
Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 9, 2020 20:44:35 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 9, 2020 20:44:35 GMT -8
With a slightly better grasp on what the field meant, he nodded. He put in, "I didn't think that they did. In general it's considered unethical for therapists to have personal relationships, especially like that, with their therapists, because it messes with the therapy element, so I didn't expect that this field was any different."
He looked thoughtful for a moment and then added, "I'm sure it's a field that's very useful to some people."
He paused again, and finally decided that being relatively honest about it would probably make this the simplest, "It's a little awkward but mostly just because I don't really think about sex much at all. It's just not something that I really care about or am interested in. I know that's not the case for most people, but it means sometimes conversations about it get weird."
Xichen had told him a word for what he'd explained once, asexual, and it was something that if someone asked and he thought that it was any of their business, he'd tell them was his sexuality, but he didn't really identify with the word entirely. It was a useful word to have though.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 9, 2020 21:04:35 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 9, 2020 21:04:35 GMT -8
Meng Yao shrugged, "yeah, I've most definitely had someone ask me to "therapize" them by sleeping with them. So I always feel a little defensive about the job title."
He nodded and listened to Mingjue describe himself, surprised but genuinely happy that he was willing to open up to him. "Not everyone has strong sexual desires or even a desire to have sex and you don't have to. It's not right or wrong, it's just you and I'm me. Everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you." He shifted in his seat again, facing Mingjue, "sex therapy isn't about fixing someone. There's nothing wrong with them. It's about learning about yourself, your needs and wants and desires and doing what's right for you. Being confident in yourself."
Meng Yao faced the road again and teased, "though this does explain why I wasn't sure if you knew I was flirting with you."
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 9, 2020 21:15:12 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 9, 2020 21:15:12 GMT -8
Mingjue nodded and said, "Yeah, I've read a fair amount of thing on being asexual. My best friend helped me find those resources. I had weird conflicting feelings about it years ago, but it kind of just is what it is now."
Mingjue didn't entirely know what to say when Meng Yao said that he'd been flirting with him. People didn't flirt with Mingjue. Well, maybe they did sometimes, and he just didn't notice, but for the post part, he just intimidated people, or they thought he was too serious and boring.
He said, slightly awkward and uncertain, "No, I, uh, hadn't noticed. That sort of thing isn't really my strong suit. Most of the time Xichen or Huaisang have to tell me if someone flirted with me, though I'm pretty sure that Huaisang is just messing with most of the time."
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 9, 2020 22:55:03 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 9, 2020 22:55:03 GMT -8
"I'm glad you have someone so supportive in your corner," Meng Yao said, "your best friend seems like a good person."
He laughed softly at Mingjue's floundering regarding his flirtation, "I'm not offended and don't worry, I can stop flirting if it makes you too uncomfortable. Just tell me, otherwise, please just let me continue the harmless flirting."
Meng Yao grabbed his phone to change the music, this time he chose a song from his film score playlist.
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 3:51:54 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 3:51:54 GMT -8
Mingjue smiled just thinking about his best friend. He said, "Yeah, Xichen's great. He's been my friend since high school, and he's pretty much the only friend who stuck around when I had to drop out of college the first time so that I could take care of Huaisang after our parents passed away."
He was able to say that now without the wrenching feeling in his gut that had accompanied it for so long. Somewhere in the past seven years, it had just become a thing that had happened, a sad one, yes, but he'd come to terms with it.
When Meng Yao said that he would stop flirting if Mingjue wanted him to, he shrugged very slightly. He said, "Like I said, I probably won't notice, so you do what makes you happy. Just realize that I'm not flirting back. I'm not really sure that I know how flirting even works."
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 10, 2020 8:28:27 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 10, 2020 8:28:27 GMT -8
Meng Yao laughed, "well that's as solid as a rejection as I've ever gotten," he pitched his voice lower and imitated Mingjue, "Just realize I'm not flirting back." He laughed and flashed his dimples, "duly noted, I will not misinterpret any of your actions as flirting, but don't be surprised when Huaisang or your buddy Xichen tell you I'm flirting, because sometimes, I just gotta flirt."
He twitched his nose, debating if he should say anything else, "I'm sorry about your parents, and that you had to step in to take care of your brother, but I think you've done an admirable job." He stared forward, hoping the lack of direct eye contact would keep the channels of communication open, it seemed easier for the other man. "Thank you, though. For sharing that with me. You didn't have to, and it's usually not something people care to share, so thank you."
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 8:47:41 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 8:47:41 GMT -8
Mingjue found himself torn over Meng Yao calling it a rejection. He wouldn't mind being friends or at least friendly with the other man, but he barely knew him, and he while he didn't really understand flirting much to begin with, he really didn't understand the idea of pursuing some sort of relationship or interaction on that front with someone you didn't know at all. Finally, he settled on saying, "I think you'd probably have better luck flirting with either of them. Though, to be clear, I'm not encouraging you to flirt with my younger brother. He gets distracted easily enough without help."
Mingjue was pretty sure that Meng Yao wasn't much older than Huaisang was, probably closer to him in age than to Mingjue. He wasn't going to warn Meng Yao off his younger brother, that wasn't his choice to make, but that would have been decidedly weird. He realized a few beats too late to really add anything that the way he'd phrased it might have sounded like he was encouraging Meng Yao to flirt with Xichen. The thought sat strangely, but it seemed like too long a pause to clarify.
Mingjue shrugged a little bit again when Meng Yao thanked him for sharing about his life, clearly slightly uncomfortable with the attention being drawn to it. He said, "I'm a relatively straightforward person, and it's simpler to just explain the basic facts of what happened than deal with questions about why I left school for seven years. I expect that Huaisang would give mixed reviews on my parenting skills though."
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 10, 2020 9:01:00 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 10, 2020 9:01:00 GMT -8
Meng Yao grinned, "I'm fine with rejection, don't worry about my feelings. I am aware that no means no, and I already stripped for you today without your consent. Just consider flirting my defense mechanism and pay it no mind."
He pursed his lips at the suggestion that his flirting would be better received by his best friend or brother. Based solely on the way Mingjue spoke about him, Meng Yao was certain that he had feelings for his best friend, though he possibly didn't know it himself. As for Nie Huaisang, he'd never really given it any thought. Romantic relationships weren't his strong suit and he wasn't particularly interested in pursuing one at the moment.
"I don't think we'd get along nearly as well if I decided to have meaningless sex with either your best friend or brother, so.... I'll pass," he shook his head slightly, "as you can tell, I'm pretty straightforward too, so I appreciate your candor."
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 9:45:04 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 9:45:04 GMT -8
Mingjue's voice sounded slightly strangled when he said, "That wasn't what I was suggesting, at all. I'm not sure I was even suggesting anything."
He took a minute to pull his composure back together, now thoroughly embarrassed, and said finally, "Can we talk about something else? Please?"
He didn't really have a suggestion, and he wasn't entirely sure how they'd ended up so deep in this topic. He also wasn't sure if they had much of anything in common to talk about precisely, other than both going to Stanford. He glanced at Meng Yao while they were stopped at an intersection, trying to figure out what the other man was thinking and how he was reacting, but he found himself completely unsure of the situation. Meng Yao was certainly not what he had expected. Most of the women who worked as dancers at the club seemed relieved that Mingjue was a guy who was clearly not into them and so could be treated as non-threatening and a good person to use as cover if they were having issues with a patron. Meng Yao was clearly a different story.
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 10, 2020 10:02:28 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 10, 2020 10:02:28 GMT -8
Meng Yao held his hands up in surrender, "okay, okay. Sorry, I know topics like this usually make people uncomfortable, I'm just a little too used to them. And I know you weren't telling me to have meaningless-" he cut himself off, knowing he was going back into the topic they were trying to steer away from.
He sat forward a little and stretched his arms behind his back, a little awkward because of the seatbelt and being in a car. He was stalling for time, searching his brain for another topic. If not sex, flirting was usually what he did, and he could waste hours doing that, but it wouldn't work in this case. He needed to find something other than the weather to talk about.
"Here's a stab in the dark, what do you do in your free time? I know you go to Stanford, you study civil engineering, you dote on your younger brother, and you work as a bouncer in a night club, but what do you do for fun?"
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 16:37:33 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 16:37:33 GMT -8
Mingjue sighed in relief at Meng Yao's question. He wasn't sure how interesting his answers would be, but at least he could answer those questions while treading in less dangerous territory. He replied, "I like building things and fixing things. A lot of that impulse is used on fixing things around the house and taking care of the car, but I fix things up for other people pretty often, and sometimes I have projects that I build. I'm not really in the middle of anything right now though since I didn't want to take on any big projects my first quarter back at Stanford."
He paused and thought for a minute and then added, "And I've done martial arts most of my life. I still practice them pretty regularly, though I'm not quite as consistent about going in as I was before starting back up at Stanford."
He wasn't sure if there was anything else that he could really talk about, but at least that was something to get out there. Meng Yao seemed better at conversational skills than he was, so maybe he'd figure out what to do with the conversation. He added, curiously, "What about you?"
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 10, 2020 17:26:12 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 10, 2020 17:26:12 GMT -8
Meng Yao nodded along with Minjue's answers, "building and fixing things, that makes sense. You like to use your hands." He glanced over at the other man, I don't even have to tell him I didn't mean that in a flirting manner, he most definitely would have missed it. "Built anything in particular? Something you're proud of?"
He leaned back in his seat, "Me? I like learning. I know it sounds lame, but it's true. I've got a photographic memory so I actually get bored pretty easily. Been there, seen that and all. So I'm always looking for more input," he smiled to himself, does input mean sex? Yes, sometimes it does. Sometimes it just means grabbing random books off the shelf in the library though. I probably know more about this car's engine than you," he shook his head at his own off-topic thoughts.
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 17:41:01 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 17:41:01 GMT -8
Mingjue had to think about it for a little bit. He said, "Two things I guess. I put together a small greenhouse out in the yard a few summers ago. It lets me grow some things that I cook with that the climate's not really right for here. They'd dry out too easily outside, though they like the warm. And before Huaisang started college, I helped him build a computer for cheap that would actually keep up with his needs when it came to digital art."
He contemplated what Meng Yao had said about getting bored with things. He said, "Maybe this isn't the same for you, but sometimes people can look at things and know a lot of surface facts, but until they actually do them and take them apart or put them back together or practice, they don't deeply understand them. Cooking's like that. You can have read a bunch of recipes, but there's a lot of subtle stuff that you can't get right without practice. Same with martial arts, so I'd bet that dance is like that too?"
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Meng Yao
MDZS Character
No
Pansexual
SingleAF
Velexa
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Jul 10, 2020 19:11:50 GMT -8
Post by Meng Yao on Jul 10, 2020 19:11:50 GMT -8
Meng Yao grinned at the idea of Mingjue making a greenhouse. "Growing food and cooking," he nodded, "I can see that."
He mulled over the idea that he read a lot, but maybe didn't have the practical knowledge. "Hmm, I take your point. Unfortunately, all you're doing is making me have to ask you to teach me to work on your car so I can test out my book smarts versus your practical knowledge. And I'd like a cooking lesson too. I'd like to see how poorly I do with a recipe in my head." He was actually a little excited. It's not that he'd never done any of the things he'd read about, but they'd have to interest him enough to try and most of the time, they didn't.
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Nie Mingjue
MDZS Character
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Jul 10, 2020 21:52:21 GMT -8
Post by Nie Mingjue on Jul 10, 2020 21:52:21 GMT -8
Mingjue was thoughtful. He wasn't sure if Meng Yao was being serious about asking that or not, but Xichen did say that he needed more friends, and Xichen was normally right. He said, "You wouldn't start on this car. If I was starting a project to have someone try fixing things for the first time, I'd pick up a cheap junker of a car, and we'd see if we could get it running again. I did that a few times over the years to be able to sell them for more than I bought them for. The point of it was mostly to learn how to do things though. I didn't trust myself with the maintenance of the car that I relied on for the first few years that I was working on fixing things though, not until the mechanic that I trusted said I was doing a good job on the junkers I was fixing up. And no matter how many manuals you read about them in, there's always something that doesn't go by the book, and you have to find where it went off the book."
He was more tentative about the idea of cooking though. Meng Yao would have to come into the house for that, and he didn't know the other man well enough yet to feel comfortable with that. He'd given enough people rides over the years that having a relative stranger in the car didn't feel like an imposition on his privacy, but the idea of someone in his kitchen, where even Huaisang avoided almost everything but the refrigerator, and the only other person to really make use of it was Xichen, and that was only when they cooked together. He finally said, "Cooking, maybe. If you wanted me to help you set up a kitchen, I'd be happy to do that."
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