Profile - Mingyu Zheyuan

 PROFILE

"Being half-human, half-vampire has given me quite a perspective in life. While I'm very young from a demon and human point of view, I know one thing for certain: Both demons and humans are capable of being monsters. Yet only demons are labeled as such for merely existing." - Mingyu

Art by Nyacoii

Name: Mingyu Zheyuan

Age: 25

Country: China

Race: Dhampir (Half-Human/Half-Vampire)

HeightL 5'10

Weight: 166 Pounds 

Skin Color: Beige

Eye Color: Mulberry (Eyes glow ominously when vampiric powers are activated)

Hair Color: Black (naturally), but Mingyu has dyed a part of his hair red

Family: Yanqi (Father), Nova (Mother), Liang (Grandma)

Powers: Due to his half-demon (Vampire) lineage, Mingyu possesses all common demonic abilities such as superhuman speed, reflexes, durability, healing, and enhanced senses. Mingyu was also taught fire magic by his father. Mingyu also is able to manipulate blood in a similar fashion as his mother, Nova

Likes: His mother and grandmother, baseball, pizza, hanging out with friends, golden snub-nosed monkeys, EDM, jogging, DJing 

Dislikes: His father, people who extremely hate demons, spiders, being scolded by Zixuan, boredom

Allies: Nova, Zixuan, Brody Zhang, Jingxuan, Shanna 

Backstory

Born and raised in Fujian Province in China, Mingyu Zheyuan is the child of a human male demon hunter named Yanqi and a vampire named Nova. Upon his birth, Mingyu was primarily raised by his mother, although both parents resided in the house. Thankfully, his grandmother from his father's side, named Liang, also aided Nova in taking care of Mingyu. This was due to Yanqi having been deceived by Nova months prior after learning the true intentions of the vampire, despite the two falling in love with one another. Yanqi detested the idea of having a half demon (in this case a Dhampir, which was a half human/vampire hybrid) for a child. Despite this, Yanqi could not bring himself to hate his son. Due to his tainted lineage, Yanqi found it extremely difficult to be a proper father to his child. Years passed as Mingyu grew and started to understand that he wasn't a full-fledged human but was part vampire. Yet due to his grandmother's and mother's teaching, Mingyu behaved in a manner that was typical of most humans his age. While attending school, though many were aware of the child's half-demon blood, they were more surprised by how normal and non-threatening the young boy behaved. Mingyu would also meet his lifelong best friends Zixuan and Wei Wei.

During his teenage years, Mingyu started to grasp a better understanding of the world. He entered his rebellion phase like most teenagers, which involved Mingyu often clashing with his father, who constantly scolded him about his devil-may-care behavior. He would tell Mingyu that he's going to end up like one of the demons that he hunts down. The arguments would be so tense between the two men that it would force Liang to step in to get both her son and grandson in order. Liang even went as far as to tell Yanqi that it's his fault that Mingyu doesn't respect him, due to him being so distant from the child. She warned him that he needs to create a bond with his son before it's too late. This was especially the case since Nova has been busy with her personal affairs in the Underworld, a place Mingyu had visited with his mother about twice in his life, with both trips making him very uncomfortable. Heeding his mother's advice, Yanqi would begin to train Mingyu in self-defense and, along with teaching him fire-based techniques. Yanqi would have taught Mingyu how to create holy fire. Unfortunately, due to his son being a half-demon, holy-based abilities were out of his son's reach; thus, simple fire magic would have to be enough.

While Mingyu was painfully aware of how demons and even half-breeds like himself were perceived by other beings throughout the world, he remained a good person thanks to the guidance of his mother, grandmother, and close friends. One day, a missionary by the name of Rosalie from Mayland came to Fujian Province to do some missionary work. Upon learning about a family that consisted of a Demon Slayer, a Vampire, and their dhampir child, Rosalie first questioned Yanqi about how a man like himself could dedicate his life to slaying demons, only to fall in love and conceive a child with one. Angered, Yanqi told Rosalie, "Fuck off! His life choices are none of your business!" This did not sit well with Rosalie, which caused her to begin plotting against the family. She squarely targeted Mingyu, who she believed would become a plague to his people in due time. One day, Mingyu was heading home from school alone since Zixuan took the day off to run errands with her mother and Wei Wei had taken a day to rest after receiving medicine for his fever. Mingyu was ambushed by Rosalie, who was able to conceal her presence with a spell. Having been kidnapped by the demented holy woman, Rosalie then entered the next phase of her plan by sending a message to Yanqi that his son had gone feral and she had restrained him in a forest not too far from their home. Yanqi knew that his son was in danger and solely acted upon his fatherly instincts to rescue him. Just then, Zixuan would cross his path since she had brought a gift for Mingyu while out with her mother earlier. After learning from Yanqi that Rosalie had kidnapped his son, Zixuan immediately tagged along with him in order to save Mingyu.

Upon arriving at the spot where Rosalie had kept Mingyu hostage, Yanqi angrily berated the woman for kidnapping his son and vowed to make her pay. While Yanqi began engaging in battle with Rosalie, Zixuan focused on freeing her dear friend. Upon examining Mingyu's body, Zixuan realized Rosalie had been torturing him with holy magic, thus severely weakening him. Realizing that Mingyu could possibly die from his injuries, Zixuan placed her neck in front of Mingyu's mouth. Instinctively, Mingyu bit into her neck and began sucking her blood. Seeing this, Yanqi became distracted since he feared that his son had given in to his vampiric nature. This distraction gave Rosalie an opening to land a powerful strike against Yanqi, which temporarily knocked him out. However, Mingyu didn't drain Zixuan's blood in order to kill his friend. Even in his condition, he knew right from wrong and wouldn't allow his darker nature to get the better of him. Zixuan knew this as well and thus trusted that her friend would never kill her. Mingyu, having recovered from his injuries thanks to Zixuan's blood, was able to free himself from his restraints, and the two of them then focused their attention towards Rosalie. Despite what she had done to him, Mingyu wanted to show Rosalie mercy since he feared that by harming her, that he would prove her right. However, Zixuan was having none of that and said they needed to kill her. The two of them fought the demented Rosalie, and despite her powers, they managed to defeat her. Zixuan, without a moment of pause, took Rosalie's life. Shortly after, they ran to help Yanqi, and the three of them returned home.

That very day, Mingyu learned that other beings besides demons were capable of great evil. He felt that demons shouldn't be crucified for their existence alone, nor should other living beings be praised for not being a demon. Currently, Mingyu is a college student who still resides with his family. While Zixuan would end up starting her own guild in China, which included their friend Wei Wei and other like-minded individuals. Mingyu preferred living a simple life but aided his friends on their adventures whenever he had time. This, of course, allowed him to hone his skills using the fire magic and the blood magic taught by his father and mother, respectively. Thanks to the love and support Mingyu received throughout his childhood, even including the tough love from his father, it molded Mingyu into a fine young man who doesn't let the opinions of others dictate how he lives his life.

CHRIS LOTUS' THOUGHTS - From the moment I read Mingyu's opening quote, I thought of the character B.B, Hood from the fighting game franchise Darkstalkers/Vampire. B.B. Hood is a human character in said franchise that is feared by many Darkstalkers. She was conceptualized to embody the idea that a human can be as fearsome as any monster. Here, with Mingyu, we have a character caught between two perceived evils with one side (the demonic side) being subject to much more malign than the other. Also, I personally interpreted Mingyu's background as a representation of the life of those who are born into families involving a mixture of different races, cultures, creeds, etc. His upbringing does portray certain issues said people go through be it clashes and conflicts within the family and even prejudice from those within their proximity and community. Mingyu's internal and external battle with such prejudices, will have you taking a more thorough look at the world to see who are the real demons. 

TRIVIA

Mingyu's current occupation is being a DJ at a nightclub. 

Mingyu is a character design I came up with in 2025 and had professional artwork of him completed in the same year.

Mingyu is drawn by Nyacoii who is responsible for several other FORBIDDEN characters such as Desmond Mateo, Yara Marrella, Psyke, and Fei-Lolene.