[ well! well, this is all quite strange. having suddenly been transplanted into a strange place after a quite nice post-revenge-scheme-completion-cry-then-nap-then-have-a-nightmare-then-paint-until-sunrise cycle, nie huaisang is quite sure this is some kind of hallucination. somehow he'd gotten himself mixed up in the crowd of people cawing over LMAO (in reality, he was scoping the place out a bit, but that's neither here nor there), and in the process, was invited into playing the game itself.

and what a good thing, because nie huaisang has always loved birds, and this is

well, it's kind of a bird?

his little veggie lure skates across the ground, bouncing in front of a griffin like it's taunting it. the griffin is watching him with careful, beady little eyes, and huasiang mutters to himself - ] A little more, a little more... come on....

[ the griffin jumps forward and huaisang yelps a noise that's half scared to death and half thrilled, because the griffin picks up the pie and gobbles it whole. he looks positively thrilled with himself once he realizes he's not going to be eaten, and scurries up to the beast to pat it on the head. this is a man who loves his bird beast. he looks around as the bird nudges into his hand, albeit grumpily. ] Now... how to get back where I came from?

[ it's a game honey you can't take your new neopet offline. ]

[ ...well, nie huaisang is absolutely not going to take his griffin bird running. that's for sure. if you play LMAO and come across him, you will find this well dressed chinese man in a set of light gray robes sitting on the ground with his griffin and hand feeding it. the griffin is sprawled across his lap, beak wide open, it's wings spread, plumage having taken on a lovely green and gold scheme that seems to please the young master nie. he's petting it like it's an overgrown cat, and consistently feeding it some sort of berries from a nearby bush that he's gathered next to him...along with a couple of those vegetable pies he somehow got his hands on again.

the griffin is starting to look at a little chubby in the stomach, though its coat looks clean and shiny. it's absolutely being spoiled--what truly terrible attack stats this thing must have! completely ignorant of this, nie huaisang rubs at it's chest and gives it a ruffle, as they sit and watch other hopefuls run and run and run around the track. ]

What a terrible waste of a lovely afternoon, Little Fortune. [ he says to the griffin, which chirrups and rolls over in his lap, opening its beak for more berries, please. it seems he's won his beast over one way or another.

ridiculous. ]

[ having said goodbye to his new, beloved griffin friend (with the promise of being able to see his precious little fortune whenever he liked through this game), nie huaisang returns to his wanderings, and the rest of the anxiety starts to settle in. having now been here for a few hours, it seems he's entirely alone. in a way, it's wish fulfillment -- he's away from the responsibilities of qinghe nie that he's now truly in charge of, able to frolic as he pleases--but the ghosts of the past are not far behind him at any given time. he feels uneasy like he always does, and when he's offered a glass of champagne, he is absolutely not about to say no, especially not to a drink with a kick.

this was a great idea. because after two sips of that champagne -- and really, he's not a lightweight, not as bad as some people, and when was the last time he totally let lose and drank, gusu-lan? unless he was alone and sad, but that's maybe besides the point-- nie huaisang is, as the kids say, totally blitzed. he's never been this drunk in his life, even when wei wuxian was making trouble back in the old days.

nie huaisang giggles to himself behind a paper fan that seems to have come from nowhere, watching people come in and out of the magical booth. whatever that is looks fun, and upon seeing someone that he deems completely acceptable by some unknown standard (attractive? unlikely to murder him?), nie huaisang makes his way over. a small arm loops through yours, and then you've got the head of the qinghe nie sect on your arm, no matter who you are. he's smiling, tapping his fan against his cheek, pink and pleased and chatty. ] Are you thinking about going in? Are you? I'd like that. I don't know what they're doing in there, I really don't, I re~ally don't know. Let's go together.

[ it's the first time in a long time he's lost control of anything. at least here, it should be harmless. ]

[ voice testing!!! pm me if you'd like to try anything not listed here, or just come at me. i am super nervous so be gentle with me! also i'm undecided on moonblessings. deeply considering sanguis. ]