cuckoo-among-beasts

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Tackles Huaisang full force. It's a love tackle

@sonofshin || surprise asks

If Huaisang had been prepared for the tackle, he might still not have been able to stop them both from tumbling to the floor. As it is now, he has no chance at all. With a thud, they both fall down. It hurts a bit, but he can't help but laugh at the excited little dragon.

"Hi, Hayase. I've missed you too," he says, hugging the small, but heavy, baby dragon.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Huaisang's inbox is once again open. I will try and reply to any asks sent as soon as I can (hopefully within a few days).

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Huaisang continues making the tea, shrugging slightly at the rejection. He definitely doesn't take it personal. It's obvious that the man is highly uncomfortable with being here and probably doesn't trust Huaisang and his tea in the slightest. Smart move. Though, the tea is fine. Huaisang would never poison someone in his own office.

While brewing his drink, he listens to what his guest is saying, only looking up when asked if he deals with spirits. "Not me, personally, but my clan does, yes." A slight lie, Huaisang does, in fact, sometimes deal with spirits himself, but he prefers not to. "I'm of a way too delicate constitution for cultivation work myself. Or business. I'm more of the company's and the clan's pretty mascot." Definitely not true. "And the CEO and Clan Leader, of course," he adds with a charming, but gentle, smile.

"Please, continue. Tell me any details you can about this spirit." Huaisang's gaze is attentive, as he looks at the man, raising his cup to take a sip of tea.

‘Secondary channel.’ Shit that means nothing to him personally, overall, but implies an explanation into why this place looks like an actual business’ office building. Pretty much similar to what the fox has going on, and any comparison to him is a decent one.

Sucks that he’s gotta explain shit from the top, though.

“No and no.” He turns the offers down immediately; he hates sitting in unfamiliar places and he hates tea (well, any tea Aster had no hand in making, anyway; actually, he actually doesn’t like or trust anything that doesn’t come outta Aster’s hand first—

He once again thinks he is not the best person for any of this. This might move him to fucking pray for the first time since his childhood. “Er, nothin’ personal,” mostly, “but thanks, though.

“Anyway, my companions became aware of your company through means I wasn’t told of,” or maybe he was and forgot, but he doesn’t have the sense that he did, “but they seemed pretty convinced that you may help. Quite frankly, for once, I agree; I tried handling this on my own, ya see, but it didn’t go over all that well.”

He still doesn’t know what, exactly, they’re dealing with, but the fox had seemed convinced this guy and his group were the answer to the problem, and the little witch and Aster had agreed, which was enough for him to go along with it. He’s fine with just observing, anyway, he’d nearly got his ass kicked when he’d gone off on his own.

“I take it you’re in the business of dealing with spirits?” He’s not always the smartest drop of whiskey in the jar, but given what he’s about to say...

“Because that’s what this is about—just, it isn’t any spirit we’ve dealt with before.”

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

A part of Huaisang wants to tell him that he's not a man, not yet. He's seventeen, not twenty, but of course he doesn't. An other part of him wants to punch Wen Ruohan in the face. Then, part of him also wants to just try and flee. In the end, he does nothing, except glancing up at the man, but keeping his head slightly bowed.

Hearing Ruohan's words, a shiver goes down his spine, making his body ache even more. Huaisang can't remember having ever felt this tired, hungry and sore. He has never needed to fight in battle, food has always been there for him, even with the Lans, but now... Now he's been left alone in a cold cell, beaten up by Wen Chao, like it's his fault the others escaped, and not given a single thing to eat for who knows how long. It's not like the cell had any windows.

"Da-ge will never break," Huaisang admits. As much as Mingjue loves his younger brother, he would never sacrifice the sect for him, and Huaisang isn't sure he'd want him too either. As selfish as Huaisang sometimes might seem, he does care for the sect, even if not in the same way as his brother.

An introductory tour? Everyone knows that the Scorching Sun Palace is filled with torture chambers. Contrary what it might seem, Huaisang isn't stupid. He knows what will come and hearing those words, any colour still remaining is drained from his face. Heartbeat roaring in his ears, the world feels like it's tilting for a moment, but the guard that took him to Ruohan keeps him upright with a rough grip of his arm. It hurts, but keeps Huaisang from hitting the stone floor.

Before he can fully find his bearing again, the guard drags him along, following Wen Ruohan to give Huaisang his tour.

Elation.

It’s the only word that comes to mind, that comes close to describing, what he feels upon Huaisang’s little outburst—and really, it’s nothing but, isn’t it? Not while he’s here, not while he’s in Ruohan’s presence. With the way he flounders almost immediately, as well, it’s enough to make him laugh (the image of a child crosses his thoughts again, makes him laugh all the more).

“Come now, don’t tell me you lose your spirit so quick?” He asks, false confusion colouring his tone, as he leans forward on a knee. “A man’s ire should never leave him so quick, you know.”

Not that it wholly matters whether it does or not—the moment Ruohan finds the rebellion tasteless, finds it boring, it’ll be as if Huaisang was never in Nightless City to begin with.

(He might grant Mingjue the mercy of sending a body part back, if the entertainment prior is suitable.)

There was much he could do—much he wanted to do—but he hasn’t much of a clue on where he wants to start. To lose Huaisang too quickly would do nothing to sate him, but keeping him too long would be its own burden. And there’s still the matter of the insurgence with Chao’er, in which every other Sect was part...

“It is truly unfortunate that it was you, of all of the disciples, to have stayed behind.” In another life, this might mean something to either of them; for now, it’s just wordplay. “Your brother won’t break easy, and that fact is to your detriment.”

It’s a mercy in its own right to be telling Huaisang anything, but Ruohan does it mostly because he wants to see the young man react. Any will do, at this point. He’ll be here long enough that he can afford to take his time.

“I fear I get ahead of myself, however; your first stay in our Scorching Sun Palace is deserving of an introductory tour, isn’t it?”

Not that he has a choice; not that the tour will really happen.

“Come along, now, after me.”

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

"Got another round in you? I certainly do," Shi Qingxuan grins over the brim of their cup, face flush with alcohol and amusement. What better way to welcome the new year than with generous servings of alcohol among good company? They sway a little-- but only a little --as they reach for the wine jar. A pout quickly wipes away their self-assured grin. "Ah... it's all gone. That's no fun."

@deiscension || so, so, late new year's ask

Huaisang is always up for a good time. With that he means good company and good wine. Good food can be nice too, but it's not as important as the wine and the company. Tonight, he has both.

"I always got another round in me," the man declares, his own face flushed with the alcohol in his system. For having a weak core and being of small stature, he certainly can hold his liquor. One of the few Nie traits he seems to have.

"Allow me," he says with a chuckle and seems to almost magically produce another jar of wine. "This is Qinghe wine. Very strong." Is that a challenge? Perhaps.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

"Oh! yet you are still called immortals?" Huaisang is a smart man. A cunning man, but even for him this has all been a bit too much to take in. Very little makes sense and he can't remember the last time he felt this confused and out of his element. He dearly wished he could just sit down and paint instead, but that is currently out of the question. Yes, he does add to the dramatics, but he is truly stressed and his hands wants to fidget, wants to do something. Having unfolded his fan, and put it on the table, he picks it up once again, gracefully twirling it between slender fingers.

Huaisang breathes a sigh of relief. At least there is tea here and from the sound of it, green tea. Hopefully, it's the same to what he's used too. Or at least similar enough. He is fully aware of the different kinds of green tea and the Nie prefer a rather strong drink, but often also infused with fruits or flowers. Unlke his rather un-Nie appearance, he taste buds are very much Nie.

"Planet? Space-faring age?" What is this man talking about? "Are you talking about the sky? The sun and the moon? Commoners travel in the sky?" Huaisang has no idea how far away from regular flight travel he is. All of it concept so foreign to him that he will have difficulties grasping it. At least he understand what time travel means. "Are you telling me that your people might be my people's descendants?" Definitely not one of his own descendants considering Huaisang has no interest in women and last time he checked, two men could not create an offspring.

As the tea arrives, Huaisang looks them over and finds one that smells like green tea with jasmine. Preparing his tea, something he clearly has done many times before, he feels a little bit of that stress settling. Yes, he does take a little longer than usual to prepare it, just to give himself some extra time to process his situation.

Taking a sip from his cup, he makes a small appreciative sound. The tea tastes very similar to what he's used to. Good.

Shaking his head, he meets the man's gaze again. "No, I was doing paperwork. The bane of every sect leaders' existence. If I had the power to make myself travel places in the blink of an eye, I would use it to make my paperwork disappear, not myself."

Huaisang takes another sip of tea.

"However, since I am a Sect Leader, no matter how bad, and for one of the four major sects, I do have plenty of enemies. I cannot rule out outside interference." Although, he couldn't confirm it either.

While he was unsure how much of this man's dramatics were... just that, dramatics and how much was genuine Jing Yuan wasn't entirely sure. But suddenly appearing on a Xianzhou flagship and not being able to communicate with anyone would certainly rattle most regardless.

"Er... Xianzhou natives do have longer lifespans than most, but we can still die. We are not gods."

Long ago their ancestors essentially wanted to be, and they paid the price for it. Dearly. And their descendants were still paying the price.

The general suppressed a sigh and rubbed his temples at the response to his question to try and gauge what level of civilization the other had come from. Horseback. Lan, help him.

"....I see."

He nods at one of the nearby Cloud Knights upon Huaisang's request. "Green tea for myself, please and thank you."

With a salute, the knight hurried off.

Jing Yuan turned his attention back to the Outworlder. "From what you say, it appears either you are from a planet that has not yet developed to its space-faring age, or you have somehow traveled through time, for the Xianzhou natives have not had to rely on horses for transportation for many, many, years."

The selection of a few teas is brought before them, which the general accepts with thanks before preparing his own cup.

"As for how you could have possibly gotten here... that I am at a loss for. Other than getting dizzy all of a sudden you don't remember anything else?"

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

✏️ (Lan Xichen)

@crimson-sorrow || randomly generated incorrect quotes

Nie Huaisang: You're ignoring all your problems. Lan Xichen: I know. Nie Huaisang: You also know it's an unhealthy coping mechanism? Lan Xichen: I'm ignoring that fact as well. Nie Huaisang:

Lan Xichen: Are you alright? Nie Huaisang: Short answer or long answer? Lan Xichen: Short? Nie Huaisang: No. Lan Xichen: Long? Nie Huaisang: Nooooooo.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

What's Peculiar About Your Soul?

Your soul is… Alluring

It draws attention from every corner of the ether… People come from far and wide to marvel at it. Statues, clay figurines, portraits are made in its likeness… Songs are written of its beauty and splendor. Every day it is greeted by hoards of ceaseless, staring eyes. Every day it is treated with visits from its enamored guest. You try with all your might to communicate with them. To engage with them. To be more to them than an object on display- unthinking, unfeeling. They can not hear you.

Tagged by: @h3artf3ltint3nt

Tagging: Anyone interested.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

The first thing Huaisang had done after the practice was to take a bath. He hated feeling sweaty and filthy. Although he wasn't actually weak or even unfit, he could walk for long periods looking for birds, but he is not used to the heavy exertion of sword practice. Especially not trying to keep up with Sizhui.

Dressed in less elaborate robes than usual and his hair loose, Huaisang laid like a dead fish on his bed. A bed that had more blanket and pillows than what was considered healthy or appropriate. Not that he had ever care much about that. They were all mostly for display anyway.

"I am! Painfully so!" he continued to protest, moaning a little for added effects. "You forget that you baba isn't young anymore." Had he been a commoner, then yes, he would be considered of a somewhat older age, but as a cultivator, he was young. Even with his weak core.

Huaisang tries not to smile at his son's antics. It warms his heart to see him playful, since he is otherwise a very mature young man. "No, I simply cannot move. If you need me to eat, you will have to feed me." An exaggeration, of course, even if it was true that he ached badly

cuckoo-among-beasts asked:

Huaisang sinks down stiffly, muscles aching from training. "I'm dying! I'm in so much pain! I told you training isn't good for my health! Just look at me!" he whines, looking rather pitiful as he slumps against a pile of pillows.

A small smile graced his face as he looked at his baba. Nie Huaisang had come to the Burial Mounds and found him in a tree, he had hugged him, he thought he would take him to XianXian gege, but Huaisang had shushed him and he had either blacked out and fallen asleep since when he woke up again he was being told to eat and drink but faces that had been a blur.

Ever since, Sizhui had devoted his life to taking care of Nie Huaisang the Nie Sect and his fellow disciples but mostly Nie Huaisang , and he maybe lured him into practice, with him since he needed to learn or that had been his excuse. To get his baba to play swords with him. It was real swords and Sizhui had gone as easy on him as he could it was good for him, it gave him a work out and allowed them time together. When Sizhui himself HAD to train.

He had taken Guqin lessons with Lan Xichen because he was good enough since it had been the instrument that had drawn Sizhui. It was his favorite and he could make the strings sings, and he could tal to the spirits, though part of that was Sizhui's self. Nie Huaisang had been responsible for everything else in his life, his education, his sense of style, his clothing--his getting well.

"Baba." Sizhui protested softly "Your not dying." the protest continued as he finished toweling his hair off. He had bathed after the sparring and had come to make sure his baba ate, and was rested. "Don't die." he added "How will you eat your favorite things I had prepared for you ?" he asked giving a soft little pout, violet eyes lowered to add to the expression.

He bounced onto the bed and pillows and crawled over like he would as a toddler and rolled onto his back, to tug at his baba's sleeve imploringly.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Please please please please draw Nie Huaisang 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 thank you

Sorry this took me so long..

I feel like this might look too much like sqq, but I’m still proud of this ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Hi, a little update. Things seems to still be healing well, but I'm still more tired than usual and with some more brain fog than normal, although today it was much better in the day. My appetite has slightly returned as well, so I'm getting there.

Hopefully, I'll be back here to do those last replies and then start some plotting within a week or two.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Btw the brain fuzz is why no rping has happened yet.

Top Surgery Update

I had my top surgery on Friday (24/1) and I'm doing fine.

As is standard here, I had to stay the night at the hospital, but at ~11, the nurse removed my drain and before 14:00, I was discharged. They wanted me to stay for lunch since I had lost my appetite and wanted to make sure I ate something before my long trip home (~3h car ride). No nausea, thankfully, just hard to eat.

My pain levels are fine. Even in the morning when the painkillers have left my system, it's just soreness, rather than pain. Despite this, I've taken codeine four times a day as they recommended, but tomorrow I will start just taking paracetamol since a.) not really any pain, even when the drugs have left my system and b.) the codeine makes me dizzy and fuzzy-headed and I don't like it.

The codeine brain and having to sleep raised up and on my back are my only complains. I can do most things myself: getting dressed, eat, drink and so on. Only thing I can't do is lifting anything heavier or reach over my head, but no one should do that after a top surgery.

I'm honestly really surprised with how well I'm doing. All stories I've read have been about how they've struggled to even hold their cups, not wanting to get out of bed and so on, but thankfully, that has not been an issue for me. I don't know if I'm just lucky, the surgeon did a good job or if I have high pain tolerance. I just know I feel remarkably a lot like my usual self (besides the codeine brain) and I'm very grateful about that.

I don't even feel as gross as I thought I would, since I can't shower. But I've been wiping myself off with baby wipes and changed clothes daily, so I guess that helps.

As for what type of top surgery, it's T-anchor one. And yes, I'm wearing a post-op binder.

On Friday, it's back to the hospital to remove the dressing and see how the healing is going. Hopefully, it's going well.

Anyway, that's my update and of course, this is just how things have been for me. Everyone experiences surgery and the healing differently.

(Btw this is the first time in my life I've taken antibiotics or prescribed painkillers, which surprised the nurse.)

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

I just got the best of compliments. Posted a selfie in a server, since I cut my hair yesterday, and someone commented that my eyes made them think of Xie Lian 😭❤

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Okay, drafts has been cleared. These are the threads I'll keep (+ what's in my inbox):

@battleguqin - Post-workout "dying" Huaisang

@demcngeneral - Gifted egg.

@multeasers - An Audience (NHS & Antares, modern), Hostage (NHS & WRH), Meeting A-Qing

@shallliveoninsong - Time travelling.

The rest of my drafted threads will, unfortunately, be dropped. This is the first time I mass-drop threads and I apologise for that. A dropped thread does not signify disinterest in our muses btw.

I'm going to reply to these six threads and the three things I have in my inbox. Once that is done, I will be open for plotting and asks again.

Thank you all for your patience. I'm looking forward to rping with you all again. Huaisang has finally gotten louder once more.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Ohhh help help! I'm hurt need help...

FUCK BRIAN GET LOST...

Ohhhh I am hurttttt heeelp... 🐦

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Okay, drafts has been cleared. These are the threads I'll keep (+ what's in my inbox):

@battleguqin - Post-workout "dying" Huaisang

@demcngeneral - Gifted egg.

@multeasers - An Audience (NHS & Antares, modern), Hostage (NHS & WRH), Meeting A-Qing

@shallliveoninsong - Time travelling.

The rest of my drafted threads will, unfortunately, be dropped. This is the first time I mass-drop threads and I apologise for that. A dropped thread does not signify disinterest in our muses btw.

I'm going to reply to these six threads and the three things I have in my inbox. Once that is done, I will be open for plotting and asks again.

Thank you all for your patience. I'm looking forward to rping with you all again. Huaisang has finally gotten louder once more.