#* . ♡ . ˚ ic - meng yao ˗ˏˋ you did some bad things but i’m the worst of them ˎˊ˗

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tag dump vol. 2 . . .

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“ Mm. ” An eidetic memory served him well in his position at Mingjue's right hand, his capabilities and conduct far outweighing that of the cultivators in the Nie sect. His ambition and dedication to service exemplifying theirs ten-fold, and yet . . . it it ever enough to prove himself? There's murmuring in the ranks, in the groupings of cultivators who have earned a place above him by sheer luck of the mother they were born.

For Meng Yao, there was no such luck.

Today had been one of those days. For all the mediation skills that Meng Yao had evolved over the years, the smooth talking and silver dipped tongue, there was nothing that could put a stop to Sect Leader Nie's hot wrath. “ You do know him well. ” What could Meng Yao do if the world was offering him the opportunity to change fate and circumstance. Would he change his lineage? Would he make others rue the day they crushed his very being under the metaphorical heel of their shoes?

Or, perhaps, he wouldn't be a bastard son this time. He'd take on the role of Jin Zixuan, and become the rightful heir of the Lanling Jin Clan, rather than a stain on his father's existence. He'd be respectable, and respected, without ever needing to demand it. He'd be anything but the bastard 'son of a whore' that tarnished his reputation and weighed him down where ever he ended up.

He considered, also, the kind eyes of the few who had respected him immediately. The kindness of the Nie's, and Zewu Jun -- “ I can't say for certain what it would look like, think of it like the frog in the well who knows nothing of the sea -- we can imagine, but we can never truly understand what that change would look like. We're limited by our own understanding and experiences of the world. ”

He wonders if he'd spoken too much then, too abstractly, fussing with the hem of his robes as he pauses. The attention that had once been idly on the birds of the aviary, shifts focus toward the younger member of the Nie line, and on his splayed fan. He admires it with a wave of a hand, polite smile ( grimace ) gracing his lips; “ A'sang, is that fan new? I see you've been reaching for the paints rather than the pen . . . again. ”

they're settled in a quiet corner of huaisang's aviary, enjoying the sounds of nature together as a reprieve from da-ge's wrath. he'd had a particularly unpleasant meeting that morning with a rather stubborn local sect, and huaisang knew the moment meng yao exited the hall that it was one of those days. and so he'd taken the boy by the arm, draping over him and leading him away from the sounds of his brother losing his temper.

they hadn't a particular topic in mind for this chat, just bouncing from this and that as their thoughts flowed. huaisang loved these moments with meng yao – he felt as though he had another older brother. not that he doesn't adore his da-ge, but it's nice to have a more gentle figure around, too. he'd taken the last few moments just to vent to the other, complain about whatever inconveniences he felt were really too much. and meng yao listened, nodding thoughtfully all the while.

@wingached sent: ❝ so, what would you be? if you had to power to change all the things making you unhappy, what would your life look like? ❞

“ aiya~, i am not sure we have the time for me to sit here and fantasize -– da-ge would surely find us before i was finished! ” but he still thinks, tapping his closed fan against his chin. “ i would love to travel. i already do, i suppose, but for leisure rather than those mind-numbing discussion conferences. wouldn't that be nice? lazing about, meeting new people, painting beautiful new landscapes... yes, i'd like that very much. that's the life for me! ”

anything that let the young boy loaf around as much as he wanted would be welcome, though!

“ and what about you? a'yao works ten times harder than this one, surely there's something he'd change as well! ”

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new tag dump . . .