westwhere | sa-hareth | arrival (mingle log)

There was a long pause, Mingyu trying to parse the words spoken to him. He didn't know that term he was being asked, so he wasn't quite sure how to answer. The clipped, formal tone as well, addressing him, a stranger in a jail cell as '您'. Normally he tried to match politeness levels, just good standard practice, but this situation was way too strange for that.

"我叫白明羽,是加拿大人. 你是谁? 讲话怎么呢吗怪?"

Seeing movement, he moved towards the other man only to be taken aback by the state of him. Mingyu could smell the blood from here, could make out the tatters of his clothing—

"谁死了?"

He let out a heavy breath at the questions, his eyes drooping a little as his gaze fell to the floor. "算都算不了," He murmured quietly, before taking another breath and raising his eyes to Mingyu.

"我--" He stopped, hesitating. He had given up his name, back home. Given up his position, his titles... His existence. But he hadn't yet forged new ones. And now he was far from home, and a man from an elusive kingdom called Jianada was asking who he was.

No one. Here, he was no one. His face set.

"我姓李。我叫李蒼。我不是大明人。我... 是大朝鮮國人." He introduced himself as Lee Chang, a man of Joseon. Nothing more.

'大...朝鮮'. Mingyu had no clue what that meant, but he'd figured the guy for Korean. His Korean sounded fluent enough earlier, and his Chinese was halting and stilted enough to be a second language. Mingyu thought back to the odd term the stranger had used inquiring about him as well—

Ah.

Well, shit.

"啊,不好意思— 現在是哪一年?"

Edited 2021-03-28 21:03 (UTC)

The question earned a frown, his brow pinching a little.

" ...明神宗万历二十七年," He finally answered, confused about why he was even being asked.

"我不知道我们在哪儿，也不知道这么来到这里."

Edited 2021-03-29 02:56 (UTC)

Mingyu did not begin to know what year that was supposed to be, but the phrasing of it pretty much answered his question. He felt a headache coming on, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"我来的地方早就没有皇帝国王.不是你走了很人就是我.李蒼,恐怕我们两个人都深迷路了."

Lee Chang frowned, scanning Mingyu’s face quickly as if to ascertain his honesty, before letting out a heavy breath and turning to look at his ancient cell door.

“对。我们都很迷路.” He tucked his rock into his sleeve as he leaned forward, trying to see as far as he could. He could definitely hear noises, but they were still far away and his head was still foggy.

”可是我不要停住不动。”

He checked once more down the hall and then carefully slid a hand through the bars to feel around for the hinges and lock, so that he knew how it was constructed.

Edited 2021-03-29 03:28 (UTC)

That was... fair enough, really. Mingyu wasn't interested in standing still himself, couldn't stop moving or he might never start again. So he sighed, mopped a hand over his face, and followed suit, checking his cell for weaknesses in its rotting, decrepit construction. His own bonds were only rope, which he found something sharp to snag on, working the individual fibers loose until his restraints fell away. Then, rubbing at his sore wrists, he went to check his cell door only to find that it was cracked off its hinges. The opening wasn't big enough for him to climb through, but if he tried to pry it open more, really put his weight into it—

"你的肩膀发生什么事了?" he asked as he worked, curious and trying to keep track of his companion.

His own cage was slightly more sturdy, but the hinges were old, and and the bolts were rusted. With some leverage and some force he might be able to crack them open.

The noise from the other end of the jail was getting louder, shouts he couldn't understand echoing of the walls. They may have to manage this quicker than he would like.

He didn't answer the question immediately. Didn't know how to answer, if he should, or if it would even sound sane to someone who hadn't seen it. Even his own countrymen hadn't believed until they had witnessed.

" ... 许多的怪物攻击了我和我的部队," he replied, not knowing how to explain what the monsters were in Chinese. Hoping he didn't have to.

Unfortunately, Mingyu was a curious soul fallen into the habit of digging for answers. He pushed against his cell door which creaked, groaned, and started to give way.

"怪物?什么种怪物?"

Calling them '怪物' alone piqued his interest, the description so vague and so off that it demanded more information. He recalled what Lee Chang had said to his flippant question about the blood, the 'Who died?'

'Too many to count.'

"听起来很危险.你算你自己运气好还是剑术好?"

"对不起，我不知道-- 我的汉语不好的。” It was an excuse, more than anything, but trying to describe both the plague and what became of them was beyond Lee Chang in that moment.

He let out a breath - not a laugh, exactly, and not a scoff - just a hint of an amused reaction, however dark his amusement was. He looked down the hall again, before going to the back of his cell to look for a slimmer chunk of rock.

"都不。" He found something, picked it up and rolled it in his hands to test the size, before walking back to the cell door. "水深火热" He quoted, the Chinese proverb sounding wry on his tongue. A dire situation. A helpless one. "我做了该做的事而已."

He pulled his sleeve back, sliding his arm through the bars and reaching to try to wedge the thin tapered bit of rock into the hinge.

"你学，或者你死."

Edited (i am so sorry to anyone that has this post tracked) 2021-03-30 01:13 (UTC)

"你一边说你中文不好,一边回说'水深火热'.真够神秘," Mingyu remarked, then went silent as he gave his cell door one final hard shove and tumbled out into the hall, but not without scraping his forearm raw on something. Wincing, he clutched it to his chest, checking over his tattoos for damage— But they were fine. He was barely bleeding and also thankful he'd had his last tetanus booster about two years ago when he'd dragged Fox to get his vaccinations updated by the ear. Anyway, more pressing matters.

He walked up to Lee Chang's cell door, knelt down to help.

"应该是你剑术好.你不看起来像运气好的人."

He didn't answer to the first part, since it seemed to be a statement and not a question. But he did pause to watch Mingyu effectively dismantle his own door. At least that confirmed his suspicion that this place was falling apart. He still felt a little woozy from whatever they had drugged him with to get here, but working through the haze and the pain had become a necessity a long time ago.

He actually laughed, a little, at the last part, that dark irony he had been feeling earlier slipping back into his psyche in full force. He was the Crown Prince of Joseon. Most would consider him incredibly lucky. They would be wrong.

"今天，我该是觉得我剑术会受到考验。" He said wryly, fully aware of his lack of sword. But he didn't intend for that to remain so very long.

He got the rock wedged in place, then put his foot on the bottom of the door, and gripped the bars near the top. He nodded to Mingyu for the man to grab the other side, and after the man was ready, he kicked the bottom out hard and wrenched the top toward him. The hinge gave a satisfying shuddering snap noise, and the rock clattered to the floor.

Two to go.

"你怎么样?"

Edited 2021-03-30 02:00 (UTC)

"我什么都不好," Mingyu replied with a quiet, empty laugh. He was still tired, still hazy, coping with too much in this moment to even remember why it would be better to pretend. Lee Chang seemed just as tired, at least. Here was a man who would not begrudge him this weakness.

If Mingyu got out of here, when Mingyu got out of here, he'd go back to trying. Right now, there was nothing left in him for that.

"只是命大," he added, softly. "不管别人这么样,我都会一直活下去."

He did not say this like it was a good thing. To translate '命大' as fortunate would be in error. He was 命大 only in the most literal sense of the words. His life was infinite, eclipsing all that he loved. All he could do was make sure it eclipsed all he hated as well.

Edited 2021-03-30 18:32 (UTC)

"我认识一个跟你一样的男人," Lee Chang replied after a moment, his expression still guarded though a sort of sadness sat in his eyes. He wondered what Yeong-sin was doing now. Where he was. Lee Chang had intended on asking him to come with him, but-- He put the thought firmly out of his mind as he picked up the stone again and moved to the next hinge.

"这样的命大做很能干的男人。 " And very lonely ones. Living was not always a blessing.

"如果你现在不知道任何事的话,你很快就会学到。"

He readied the next hinge, then looked at Mingyu with a raised brow. Ready?

Edited 2021-03-30 21:14 (UTC)

That made Mingyu laugh, sharp and derisive as the sound was.

"只能看着办," he remarked, then nodded at the prompt. They heaved together, were rewarded with a second harsh snap of rusted metal, and the door came free.

Dusting off his hands, Mingyu looked around the dim-lit jail, trying to discern movement in any of the other cells.

"Hey, is anyone out there?" he called out, voice still low but carrying enough to be heard in their immediate surroundings. "有人在吗?"

The door creaked and groaned shrilly as they pushed it over, hanging disjointedly. Lee Chang carefully climbed over it, his shoulder stinging a little as he did (perhaps the drug haze was wearing off.)

"那边," He said, gesturing with his left hand at the cell across the dank stone, it's interior dark and dingy. "他几分钟以前说过话, 应该还在。."

Edited 2021-03-30 22:50 (UTC)

There was some rustling from inside the cell.

Moran had kept quiet earlier, listening to the sounds that obviously sounded like jailbreak and catching bits of the half-whispered conversation. This was the man he'd spoken two earlier, and... someone else, also speaking the language.

"在," he called out as well, getting up and holding out his hand to get Winnie up as well. The shackles holding them together might prove to be a problem later.

"There are two of us in here."

Winnie had sat with her head tilted, watching and listening in silence. It’s dark enough she hadn’t minded letting the mask slip from her face a little, expression serious and cold, just sort of taking everything in and thinking.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like an escape plan from her will truly be needed, which was a relief. With a grateful smile she takes Moran’s hand and uses it to help get herself up, looking curiously in the direction of the voices and perking up at the sound of English.

“Oh! Yes, we’re here!” She turns her beaming, giddy smile on Moran, giving his hand a little squeeze of excitement and bouncing a little on the balls of her feet before she lets him go to examine the other two men closer. “Hello! It sounds like they’re having quite the party, doesn’t it? How rude of them not to invite us.” But her tone is nothing but cheerful and joking.

Wonderful, an English woman. A perky English woman. Or, as Mingyu liked to call them, colonist Karens. He addressed Moran first in Chinese, because no rights for Karens. Besides, to be that excited in this situation— There was definitely something wrong with her.

"I'm Bai Mingyu, this is Lee Chang. We've gotten free of our cells. Are you two restrained?"

And then, to Winnie—

"Are you always this cheerful?"

Lee Chang's brows furrowed slightly, not expecting a woman, let alone such a very very foreign woman speaking a very strange tongue. He wasn't sure how to respond, lips parting to ask a question, but then Mingyu spoke for him, and his mouth closed.

"She speaks your other language?" He said, surprised. "Is she also of the kingdom of Jianada?"

"Beitang Moran. Our arms are tied together but we are free to move otherwise."

He is about to spare a reassuring smile for Winnoe when the man, Bai Mingyu, addresses her in the same strange tongue she was speaking, although with slightly different inflections.

"If you understand her, may I let you explain the situation to her? our bindings are rope, but we couldn't find anything sharp to cut them off."

She looks between the three, listening to them speak-- apparently they could all understand each other at least. Winnie remains with her hands folded politely in front of her, looking like she's waiting for someone to fill her in when her gaze snaps to Mingyu.

There's a slow blink and then she smiles warmly. "It's been a few hours--I'm afraid I've gotten the crying hysterics out of my system. I suppose I'm overdue for a faint, however, if you'd like me to get back to it? It might be highly inconvenient at this time though. Perhaps a rain check?"

Winnie glances between them a gain and then sighs, some of the cheer leaving her as she shakes her head. "Besides, someone has to remain optimistic here."

Well, at least she's sarcastic too. Winnifred may have one validity, as a treat.

Don't worry, Winnie, it's not sexism that has Mingyu addressing the men in the room before you, it's his general distaste for the English. If we run into any British men he'll prove it to you.

"How fortunate that neither of you speak the young lady's tongue. Lee Chang, shall we find something to cut their bindings with? I imagine Beitang—" That's too long. His lips thin briefly. "Tang ge is getting a headache from the incessant noise."

Then, to the young lady—

"We don't have the proper surface for you to faint on anyway, so a rain check would be fine. Your friend there wants you to know you're bound with rope, and we're going to look into freeing the pair of you so we can get out of here. Unless you're having a good time? He looks pretty handsome from here, we could try removing you as-is if you'd like to be trussed up together longer."

He's not seriously offering, he just thinks it's funny. As he talks, he looks over the jail cell for openings or rusted hinges, figuring Lee Chang has finding sharp pointy objects handled.

Mingyu was speaking a little fast, but he caught the gist of it all, nodding as he was instructed to look for something sharp.

Sharp might be difficult. Sharp things were generally not welcome in prison cells, given the necessity for rope. At least Lee Chang's own foot shackles were only to himself and gave him enough space to walk, but he was going to need a way to break them open sometime soon. If he had a spare sword and a large rock -- enough. He didn't even have a first sword, let alone a spare.

He stepped back out into the hallway, glancing down the cells to see if he could spot anything of use.

[Moran is still too fuzzy and the situation to dire for him to react in any other way to 'Tang ge' but with a slightly raised eyebrow. It's not like his title matters much to him here and now, although Bai Mingyu at least should have any problem pronouncing his name... he just apparently chooses not to. Nevermind.]

"The headache I believe is more from the drugs than the young lady, I assure you."

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soulsrob - 2021-04-05 16:39 (UTC) - Expand

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descendency - 2021-04-05 22:17 (UTC) - Expand

sa-hareth | arrival (mingle log)

thats so cool and im definitely not doing that

lmfaooo CAN'T MAKE IT EASY ON ME

HOW ELSE WILL YOU LEARN

god

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