#Green Cheeked Gastropod

[mdzs-is-rotting-my-brain]

For @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess

🎁 🐚✉️ (comfort, fluff)

I"m not convinced I nailed the 'comfort' or fluff on this one. But let me know, I'm open to criticism,

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"I'd be worried about these if you didn't say they were harmless."

Wen Qing held up the small blue and white gift box that had become the only regular occurrence in Wei Wuxian's life.

He sat up too fast, the heart monitor spiked, pain rushed from his stomach to his shoulder in a eye-blinding spike of pain. Clutching the well bandaged wound, he gasped for breath through the pain. White noise filled his ears for a solid minute before it faded back into Wen Qing' lecture, she wasn't talking to him but rather about his morphine drip, and the amount he was supposed to be on.

He fell into meditation breathing by habit, pushing the residual pain away and getting his breath and shaky limbs back under control.

"You good?" Wen Qing asked when he opened his eyes.

"Yeah. Shouldn't have done that "

She rolled her eyes, scoffing, “You’ve been awake for less than two hours following major surgery. You’re not used to it yet.” She handed him the box, “I’m gonna go find your doctor and talk to them.” She swept out of the room with all the fury of a patients rights violation behind her.

Wei Wuxian eased himself up slowly, crossing his legs and easing his posture until the strain of his stitches eased to a mild pain he could live with.

The box was smaller than the last one, he had to assume the contents would be smaller as well.

He smiled, running his hand over the plain blue box, and bow tied as neat and as perfect as every other box before it.

He wondered sometimes, the kind of man that pouty child in his blue overall shorts with the bunnies and carrots along the hem, and his pristine white shirt at the beach turned into. Besides a man that had found him and proceeded to mail back every single seashell Yu-furen told him he could not keep.

The kind of man that packed them all neatly into appropriate boxes and perfectly tied bows.

The kind of man that, no matter where Wei Wuxian went, from Lotus Pier, to Yi City, to Yiling, and finally to Gusu, found him and kept sending him seashells.

Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure he had actually gathered that many seashells, they’d been arriving one a week since he turned eighteen, no return address, no notes, nothing to give Wei Wuxian it was anything other than a creepy stalker.

But who else could it have been? Who else had Wei Wuxian ever dumped as many seashells and pretty rocks his ten-year-old arms could carry on? Who else had he met that wore blue and white? Someone from the Gusu Lan Sect? Sure, and that chubby cheeked child from thiriteen years ago maybe have been, or still was, a part of the Gusu Lan Sect. But if he knew Wei Wuxian had been living in Caiyi for two months, after taking all of the trouble to track him down through thirteen years and three moves, several upheavals, why would he not take the opportunity to come and see him?

The ribbon was silk, like all the others, sliding out of the perfect knot with ease, he wrapped it around his wrist, using his teeth to tie it off.

Nestled inside white silk lining was a gastropod seashell, a common turritella, mostly brown fading to white at the tip.

Yuan-er called them ‘unicorn horns’ and had glued several of them to the heads of his horse toys or the hoods of his cars, or two to a doll to make horns.

It felt more fragile now then it had when he was ten, he knew now how they were made, and how they washed up on the shore. But when he had been ten the world had been wide open. There was something new around every corner, if even exploring it came with bitter recriminations from behind him. The beach that one summer he was allowed to go had been once such place.

He’d never seen a body of water so big. The river in Yiling had been narrow, cold, and meandering, the water was always some form of green or gray, rotting piles of trash, bodies,, and waste the only smell for miles around the river. It took days to filter, and the poor people who lived around it were sick for weeks at a time if they had to drink before cleaning. The local government, despite years of effort, had done little to do anything about it by the time Jiang Fiengmen brought into the Jiang Sect as a ward.

In southern Gusu though, the water was a deep and brilliant blue, sparkling so bright it hurt his eyes to stare at the ocean stretching until it met the sky.

The sand was hot, rocks and shells biting into the touch callouses of his feet. Jiang Fiengmen showed little interest in his every discovery, and Yu-furen told him he could only take one home.

Not far from where they were, was another family, a woman and her two children, one of whom was politely reading while the other, with his chubby cheeks, and white-and-blue clothes, stared at Wei Wuxian like this was a private beach and he was intruding with his loud proclamations of every little new thing he found.

Ten-year-old Wei Ying didn’t understand why the boy was sitting under the umbrella, or why they weren’t dressed for the beach, and he hadn’t cared either. It’d only been a week since Jiang Fiengmen brought him in as a ward. Social skills would come later.

So, not only was it surprising that the boy that glared at Wei Wuxian like he was everything wrong with the world at that particlular moment, had not only kept all the shells, and rocks Wei Wuxian had dumped in his lap, and kept giving him as the day wore on until Jiang Yanli called him back for sunscreen where he passed out and woke up to find the boy and his mother gone, but now he was giving them back to him. Having gone through the trouble of tracking Wei Wuxian down and returning each shell one-by-one.

“This is why I don’t trust your care to anyone.” Wen Qing dropped into the chair beside his bed, flipping through his medical chart.

At least, Wei Wuxian assumed it was his medical chart, it’d be odd if she had someone else's.

“What’s happened?”

She snorted, “They brought someone down from the Lan sect to play Cleansing for you to purge your system of your guidao cultivation. Not bothering to check your golden core first. It’s no wonder your wounds became infected.”

He did wonder why they hurt so much when he woke up two days ago.

“That explains so much. How bad is my core?”

“Bad. The damage has spread to seventy percent now because it overcompensated trying to keep you alive during the Cleansing.” She looked at him, eyes flat and hard. He never liked that look on her. That banked anger, she was holding back for him, but she would be talking to doctors, nurses, and the board of directors and if any of them came out with their medical licenses, reputations, and egos intact, Wen Qing had lost her touch.

“You flatlined twice. The Cultivator should have stopped there, and the doctors did try to stop him. But he insisted on getting it all out.”

Wei Wuxian’s stomach turned, it felt like ice had ben poured down his back, he shivered, pulling the thin medical sweater tighter around him.

“The…boys?”

She put a hand on his arm without even looking, “You took care of your will last year, they’ll pass into mine and A-Ning’s custody.” She squeezed his arm.

“Oh good, they did list the cultivator here, now I know who we’re suing.”

“We’re…suing them?”

“Wuxian. There is a advanced directive in your medical file. Commanding any doctors that unless your life is in immeadite danger, you are to be treated by me or any of the Dafen Wen. Needless to say, while your injuries from the-” She waved her hand around, brows scrunching in thought.

“Crab yao.” He supplied.

“Yes, that. It wasn’t in danger until Su Minshin thought he knew better. They should have treated your injuries, stopped the bleeding and called me before anything else was done or medical decisions. Violating that, the hospital has made itself liable, and the Gusu Lan Sect for not ensuring they had the medical right to continue treatment after their ‘client’ flatlined twice in their cultivators care.” She snapped the file shut, squeezing his arm again, “I’m going to go talk to the board of directors, and the Gusu Sect leader. A-Ning is downstairs getting food with Yuan-er and Yu-er, they’ll be up here shortly.”

Wei Wuxian caught her hand before she left.

Family didn’t say thank you.

Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing taught him that. There was no need, they were family. Saying thank you was for strangers.

“Wear your white suit with the red flowers, you look like you could kill and not get it bloody.”

She smiled at him, “I’ll have A-Ning run home and grab it.”

Wei Wuxian held the shell in his free hand, watching her go. He reached under the medical gown to pull out the small blue pearl he’d threaded onto a leather cord.

The little boy with eyes as gold as every sunset Wei Wuxian had seen, had given it to him the last time he delivered an armful of shells.

It was the one thing he took home.

The hospital where he stayed had also been owned and operated by the Gusu Lan Sect. He wasn’t sure if they wanted to sweep the situation under the rug or were actually trying to make amends for his botched medical care, either way they were offered an extended stay at the Caiyi Cultivation Rehab Resort, also owned and run by the Lan Sect, but this one was owned by the main family, Zewu-jun and his relations.

A sprawling resort on the eastern shore overlooking expansive ornamental gardens, meditation gazebos, outdoor areas for relaxation and recovery, a private gym, indoor pool, heated jaccuzzi, and even a kids area though he had no intention of living his sons in anyone's care but Wen Qing or Wen Ning.

The receptionist was a polite young man, he had similar refined beauty as all the other Gusu Lan Sect Cultivators he encountered had. Fine, sharp, features with either wide or fine eyes, either dark or slightly lighter. They wore pristine white robes, and their sacred ribbons. None of them had the eyes of a sunset, or the magnetic pull of a child hiding from the sun.

They got the honeymoon suite, three bedrooms, a main room and a large balcony over looking one of the ornamental gardens and the ocean.

Wei Wuxian, Yuan-er and Yu-er would get the room with the biggest bed, Wen Ning and Wen Qing each got their own.

“I am supposed to tell you that Zewu-jun’s younger brother, Hanguang-jun, is also within the resort.” The Sect member that walked them up said, Wei Wuxian hadn’t caught his name, too busy trying to stop Yuan-er from pulling the fish out of the fountian in the foyer, “He is the only other guest at the moment, he is to be left alone.”

Wen Qing rolled her eyes, “Be sure he knows that we’re to be left alone as well. Don’t need anymore Lan hand’s fucking up my patient.”

The poor boy looked scandalized for a moment before he saluted them, leaving so fast he forgot to shut the door.

“Will I ever not be your patient when we’re in company?” Wei Wuxian asked, pushing the door shut behind the poor Lan.

“Yes, when people stop trying to kill you, and other people stop making it easy. You and A-Ning take the boys out for a walk, let them run off some energy after the car ride. I’ll order us some dinner.”

“Yuan-er, Yu-er, lets get out of Qing-ayi’s hair for a bit.” He called to the boys on the balcony with Wen Ning, “A-Ning you better come too, Qingqing is in a mood.”

He felt Wen Qing roll her eyes, he knew she was going to make him pay for that, probably ‘forget’ to order the chili oil, or something similar.

“Diedie, did you see the ocean? It’s so big. Can we go? Please can we go” Yu-er grabbed his pant leg with wide eyes. Xuanyu had the biggest doe eyes Wei Wuxian had ever seen on a child, he drank the sight of everything in like he wasn’t going to see it twice.”

“Not today little sunflower.” Folding his legs, he sat on the floor, holding both of Yu-er’s hands, “Its late, and during this time of the year the water gets cold at night. When you have your first impression of the ocean I want you to love it. We’ll go tomorrow, as soon as the sun warms the water, okay?”

Yu-er considered that with all the gravitas a nine-year-old was capable of. He nodded, said, “Okay!” Before running off to find his brother.

During the adoption proceedings, Wei Xuanyu, at that time Mo Xuanyu, hadn’t wanted anything to do with Wei Wuxian, the idea of adoption, or a younger brother. Until Yuan-er, and his perfectly timed flu, threw up all over Xuanyu’s atrocious aunt. They’d practically been inseparable ever since, forcing Wei Wuxian to move Yu-er’s bed into Yuan-er’s room so he could watch over his brother.

“Take it easy.” Wen Qing said as they stood at the door, “Nothing extraneous, no running, no lifting the boys up, and definitely no holding them. You still have two-hundred and fifty stitches in your chest. The last thing your core needs right now is more damage to try and fix.”

Wei Wuxian smiled at her, “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“I’ll watch over him jiejie.” Wen Ning said.

“See, I have the boys to keep me distracted, and A-Ning to babysit me. I’m all set.” He kissed her cheek, then ducked out of the room before she could threw something at him.

“Gross! Wei Wuxian!” He heard her all but scream before the door swung shut.

The ornamental gardens was manicured lawns and hedges with some purple leafed trees Wei Wuxian hoped were native to the area. Well-maintained moss grew artfully over recreations of historical gates, obelisks, or guardian dragons. a pavilion was built in the middle of the large lake with no walkway, only narrow stepping stones. The boys wanted to attempt the crossing, but he was pretty sure Wen Qing’s ‘nothing extraneous’ included fishing a nine-year-old and a four-year-old out of the lake. And it was occupied. Too far away to make out details, but he could see pristine white robes, a long curtain of black hair, and skin as white as mutton fat jade.

Remembering that the Second Jade of Gusu Lan was also at the resort, Wei Wuxian quickly herded the boys towards the Chang’e courtyard, tempting them with the idea of jade rabbits and a history lesson.

The Moon Courtyard was everything he expected. A monument to Chang’e on one side of the courtyard holding two jars of the famed elixer of immortality, and her husband Houyi on the other looking up at his wife, between them a moon of gentian blossoms sat in the center with four rabbits around the moon.

The boys fell silent upon enter the courtyard. Wei Wuxian couldn’t blame them, there was something about this place that felt more reverent that the rest of the garden. More…personal. It felt like an homage. an honoring. Similar to how he felt in family shrines, or at funerals.

It felt holy.

Keeping the boys respectful as they saluted to both Houyi and Chang’e before they crossed the courtyard and into the hedgemaze on the other side.

“Tag.” Yuan-er shouted, breaking whatever spell had fallen over them in the Moon Courtyard. He slapped Yu-er’s shoulder, “You’re it.” He took off running before Wei Wuxian could even found the words to stop him.

“No, wait. We shouldn’t play that game.” A-Ning said, catching Yu-er's shoulder, “Your die is still hurt. Go, I’ve got him.”

Wei Wuxian walked faster then Wen Qing would have probably been happier with, and walked faster still when he heard tiny sniffles, and a quiet voice.

Rounding the corner he saw a Lan Sect member kneeling in front of Yuan-er, holding a handkerchief to his chin.

Wei Wuxian never minded blood, he could shake off his own injuries as fast as anything, a strong golden core and guidao cultivation ensure, was his delicate balance not screwed up, he could heal from most injuries within hours or days.

Seeing blood on his son however, twisted his stomach unpleasantly. Squeezing his heart, filling his head with white noise.

“Yuan-er?” he was patting his son down, looking for the stab wound, the gunshot, the yao injury, anything that would make the blood on the white silk and Yuan-er’s tears make sense.

“I’m okay diedie.” Yuan-er said, he didn’t look okay. His eyes were wide, red and puffy, fat tears trailed down his cheeks.

Wei Wuxian pulled him into his arms, squeezing him tight, “Are you sure? We can go back to gugu.”

“He fell.” The voice beside him rumbled, polite yet oddly strained, “Scrapped his chin. I believe he is just in shock.”

“Thank you, I-”

Eyes. As gold as at the sunset. Set in a face as beautiful as every lotus blooming, mountain range covered in snow, or one his son's laughter of pure delight. Skin as pure as mutton fat jade.

He knew him, all at once, from seashells returned in ornately wrapped boxes, and caring so gently for a child that was not his.

“Zhan-er. Ah, Lan…Zhan?”

His face lightened as if Wei Wuxian had said a password only the two of them knew, easing from guarded wariness to calm, warm and accepting.

“Wei Ying.”

There was so much warmth in that simple address. The way his eyes roamed across Wei Wuxian’s face like it had been something he had been wanting to see for decades.

His gaze locked onto something at the base of his throat.

Wei Wuxian smiled, touching the pearl, “You kept mine as well…well kind of, you have been giving them back.”

“You said your Furen would not allow you to have them. I believed when you became an adult she could no longer tell you what you were and were not allowed.”

He wasn’t wrong, mostly because when he turned fifteen, an adult by cultivation standerds, she kicked him out of the sect. Something she’d been promising to do since Jiang Fiengmen’s death.

The tiniest sniffle brought both of their attention to Yuan-er.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should take him back to his aunt, get him looked over. Make sure he’s fine.”

He found a hand on his elbow, gently helping him stand,

“I want to see you again.” His cheeks warmed at the sudden, bold, declaration, he buried his face in Yuan-er’s hair, letting out a mortified groan.

A huff, something like a chuckle, or a gentle laugh, “I want to see you again as well.”

He jerked his head up, noting adorably pink ears, smiling at the still beautiful face in front of him.

“Don’t laugh, we’re in the honeymoon suite, I came with my…sister and brother, and my sons, so we needed the extra room.”

It was unfair that he even frowned beautifully,

“Your wife?”

Wei Wuxian scoffed, “Would I be flirting with the second-most eligible bachelor if I were married? Not to mention I am the fourth eligible bachelor on that list. If I were married, you’d have known.” He bent closer, sandalwood drifted across his nose, it was a fitting fragrance for someone so refined and otherworldly beautiful,

“And here I thought were you paying attention to me. You knew when and where I moved within weeks of me getting there, and yet you thought I was married.”

“Diedie, Yuanyuan!”

In the cinamatic history of perfect timings, Yu-er and Wen Ning came around the corner, clamping onto Wei Wuxian’s leg, tugging at them so he could see his brother.

“What happened? Is he okay? Does he need the hosptial like you did?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Wei Wuxian stroked his head slowly, “He just fell and is a little shaken up.”

“I will walk you back.” Lan Zhan said, folding his arms in his voluminous sleeves, “I am staying a few rooms down from yours.”

The warning about not disturbing Zewu-jun’s younger brother now made sense.

“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” He added a teasing lilt so Lan Zhan knew not to take him seriously, “You see, we were warned not to disturb Zewu-jun’s younger brother. And if you come up to my room well…” he let his eyes drift up and down Lan Zhan, “...we’d disturb the whole floor I feel like.”

Wei Wuxian smiled, unable to stop the urge to tease even if he had better control over himself.

Really, if Lan Zhan didn’t want to be teased, he shouldn’t have been so pretty and refined and understanding and kind.

It’s his own fault really.

“Shameless.” Lan Zhan retorted, his ears darkening.

Wei Wuxian laughed, long and loud, like he hadn’t since the Chang Clan and Xue Yang disaster.

“I can’t yet anyways. I’m here to recover and I feel like you would be the ‘extraneous’ activity jiejie warned me to avoid.”

“Do you flirt with everyone like this?” Lan Zhan asked, turning to offer a hand to help Wei Wuxian down the stairs into the Moon Courtyard.

“Only the really pretty Lan’s that return seashells.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He didn’t let go as they crossed the courtyard, pausing long enough for Lan Zhan to make his own bows to Chang’e and Houyi before wondering back through the winding paths they took before.

The pavilion was empty now, of course it was. Wei Wuxian if Lan Zhan had seized the opportunity to arrange a meeting in the hedge maze when he heard them talking the boys out of going to the pavilion.

Wen Qing was waiting for them by the door, she stubbed the cigarette out before Wen Ning saw, her eyes darting between Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan and their joined hands and immediately decided she didn’t want to know a single thing about it.

“Yuan-er fell, I think he just scraped his chin, but could you look at him for me?”

Yuan-er was reluctant to be released, and he settled for leaning against Wei Wuxian while Wen Qing looked over his chin and hands.

“I’ll apply some antiseptic when we get back to the room.” She frowned at him, “You should have put sunscreen on before you went out. I don’t care that it’s spring, the sun is still cancerous.”

“Yes Jiejie.” Wei Wuxian suffered under her care, he really did. No spicy foods, no alcohol, no sex-she didn’t specifically say ‘no sex’ just nothing strenuous. Which is the same thing really-no fun.

Aside from Jiang Yanli, she was the best sister anyone could ask for.

“I am beside you, I will walk you to your rooms. Please disregard the staffs instructions not to disturb me.” Lan Zhan offered Wen Qing the appropriate salute, “I would like the opportunity to know you all further in the coming days.”

“He’s one of the good Lan’s” Wei Wuxian said, putting a hand on Wen Qing’s arm when he saw her stiffen and frown, “I doubt seriously he knows what Su Minshin did, or the Lan sects participation.”

“Su Minshin?” Lan Zhan brows furrowed, he looked at Wei Wuxian sharply “What has happened?” It was a question, but it felt like a demand.

Wen Qing sighed, “Why don’t you…come around for dinner. I can explain everything then. Does the Lan sect still eat at six?”

Lan Zhan nodded, “We do.”

“We’ll see you in an hour. Come one Yu-er, didi, Wuxian.”

Wei Wuxian stood, holding Yuan-er.

He stared at Lan Zhan, pristine features staring after Wen Qing.

“She’s making it sound far worse than what it was, really.” He kissed Lan Zhan’s cheek, he wished he flushed as subtly as Lan Zhan, cause right now he was sure his face was as red as tomato, and he couldn’t blame it on the sun.

“See you at dinner.”

He got two steps before he was pulled to a stop. Lan Zhan hadn’t let go of his hand yet.

Lan Zhan stepped up to meet him, his free hand drifting to Wei Wuxian’s cheek. His eyes searching his.

“I…have wanted to give you this for a long time.” He pulled a white envelope out of his sleeve.

Like the boxes it was plain envelope and no fancy seal. Even in its simplicity there was a subtle extravagance in the embossed paper and textured cloud design.

“Do not open it now. And you do not have to answer now, or soon. Just to know it is an option.”

It took every ounce of Wei Wuxian’s self control to not rip open the envelope until after Lan Zhan-apparently forgetting he was walking him back to the room-vanished around the corner.

Wei Wuxian walked over to the stone bench beside the door, slid his nail under the seal and opened it.

The paper was light blue, with a subtle pattern of seashells in hues of cream and blue.

Wei Ying,

If you remember me, I am a friend you once made thirteen years ago. I am Lan Wangji of Gusu Lan. I am a friend still.

If you want, would you join me in Gusu?

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That concludes the final three emoji prompt.

thanks to everyone that participated and sent in requests.

A special thanks to Moma (Mdzs-owns-my-ass) for waiting two days longer.

While doing research for this prompt, I noticed the similarities between Chang'e and Wei Wuxian.

Legends vary about when, and why Chang'e ascended to the moon, but there was always the constant theme of rabbits and two bottles of immortality elixer and her husband was an archer.

Wei Wuxian climbed "ascended" the Gusu Sect walls at night, during a full moon with two bottles of Emperor's Smile, later he gave Lan Wangji two rabbits and the Lan Sect uses jade entrace tokens. The Archer is represented both in Wen Ning and Lan Wangji.

MXTX is Chinese, it makes sense that similarities from Mythology and Lore would be in her books, I just thought it was fun to notice it.

Anyway, I'm off to practice writing short oneshots.

[jojo-reader-hell]

👀👀👀 will you please bless us with some Kars/ reader? Maybe Valentine's day themed for today?💕💕

Um, hell to the YES I WILL BLESS US WITH SOME KARS DADDY! PALEOLITHIC HUSBANDO FOR THE WIN!!!!

Kars x Pillar Man!Reader: Matrimonal

By Pillar Men standards, your mating wasn’t extravagant by any stretch of the imagination. The ceremony where you would be bound to your lover lasted four days, as was customary, during which Kars would essentially barter with your mother for bride price, exchanging things of his that held as much emotional and monetary value as she deemed. Of all the members of the tribe, his bride price pleased your mother the most. The intensity of his desires, the refusal to back down even when your father tried to intimidate him, and the willingness to lay everything he possessed at your mother’s feet proved his intentions were sincere.

“You look well.” Your mother commented, her large hands dwarfing your head as she ran a fine tooth bone comb through your hair. “Normally a pillar woman’s mate is incapable of reciprocating the intensity of the exchange.”

“It’s as you said mother, he is a fine match.”

“He did not hold back his life force during the exchange?”

“No mother, in fact it was I that became overwhelmed during the process.”

It was the truth. The most intimate aspect of the ceremony was the exchange of life force, feeding off of one another during the most intense part of the daylight hours in a special chamber meant for the prospective pair to sustain one another during a period of intense stress. Kars naturally sustained you even though the slivers of sunlight burned your skin and made you cry out in fear. You tapped out your reserves for him, refusing to yield and pull away because you knew he was in just as much pain, although he did not show it very well.

“I felt it mother.” You insisted, rubbing your clean hands along your burning cheeks. “I felt in that singular moment when I surrendered the last of my strength to him, his very being permeated and mixed with mine. There was no longer a separation of life force, we truly are connected now. To feed from him, and in turn feed him... it was... I cannot explain the exhilaration, the ecstasy...”

You couldn’t tell from her actions alone if she was smiling. She only continued to comb out the snarls in your wet hair, arranging it in the traditional way and adding various ornaments your father had created for his only child. Your talisman was placed around your neck as soon as she was done arranging your sarong, within it you could feel the various stones and fetishes your parents gathered. You knew well what was in them: to name a few the green amber to ground you back to the ancestral lineage of your bloodline, a fossilized cast of a gastropod your father had meticulously cleaned to remind you of your role as one of the artists of the tribe, and within easy reach was a smooth worry stone created from animal bone.

When Kars marked your horns with the sacred paint of red ochre, you were to give him the painted worry stone in return. Painted with the sacred blood of the earth, the marks would stain your horns and the bone a deep maroon, binding you to him for all eternity in this life, and in the next.

It was an effortless job for your mother to pick you up and carry you in her arms, for once you were completely purified for the last step of the ritual you could not touch the ground until she set you gently on the dais where Kars waited patiently. A simplistic bronze cup was held in his large hands, his own body decorated with vibrant red geometric symbols that he would paint on your body to match his.

Of all the Pillar Men in the tribe who were by no stretch of the imagination considered tiny, Kars dwarfed them all including you. Yet you did not tremble when you approached him. His massive stature did nothing more than remind you of why you fell in love with him in the first place, the way his orchid colored curls draped over his shoulders, the way the light of the full moon glinted in his garnet eyes, and especially the way he smiled at you. Proud to have such a comely mate, and proud to claim her with the sacred red of the earth.

“Kneel for me.” He instructed. “Kneel for the holder of your essence, my beautiful mate.”

You obeyed without question. Legs nearly melting when you heard his deep voice. It was soft, baritone, and filled with the intense love you knew he carried for you.

Kars began by dipping his smallest finger into the bronze bowl, and he drew a line from your forehead down the bridge of your nose, a symbolic separation of the child of your parents and the mate of the Pillar Man before you. The face was always marked first, customary, because of the horns. One must never touch the horns before anything below the neck. To do so would be taboo, bringing misfortune upon your mating.

Next were the corners of your eyes, lining down to your jaw, tears you would inevitably shed for leaving your childhood home where you spent numerous years, far too many to count. Next he dotted the apples of your cheeks, bride’s blush, for the happiness he intended to give you so long as he walked the earth.

Finally, with a hungry look in his eyes, he dipped his thumb and pointer fingers into the mixture, reaching for the horns which protruded proudly out of the arrangement of your hair. He began at the base, stroking upwards gently, allowing the mixture to soak deep into the ridges and reapplying generous portions. The feeling of his fingers stroking you in such an intimate way made your eyes roll into the back of your head, a warm sensation building inside of you as he touched you so intimately.

The painting of your horns lasted what seemed an eternity, and when you opened your eyes you saw how awestruck your mate, for you could call him that now that your horns were marked red, looked in the light of the moon peeking through the dark clouds.

His pupils were dilated, his pale skin flushed with red, and his large muscular chest was heaving raggedly with breath.

“You’re beautiful this way.” He murmured. A low rumble. Almost so soft you missed it.

“I love you.” You replied simply, reaching into the pouch around your neck. In offering, your delicate hands held out the pure white worry stone.

“And I you, my darling mate.”

To hear those words spoken from his lips, it nearly made you purr in delight, and you shivered when you felt his fingers overtake your hands, beginning to paint them and the stone with the earth’s blood.

[ainawgsd]

The surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) is a large sea duck native to North America. Adult males are entirely black with characteristic white patches on the forehead and the nape and adult females are slightly smaller and browner. Surf scoters breed in Northern Canada and Alaska and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. These diving ducks mainly feed on benthic invertebrates, mussels representing an important part of their diet.

The adult male is on average 1,050 g (2.31 lb) and 19 inches in length while the adult female averages about 900 g (2.0 lb) and 17 inches in length, making this the smallest species of scoter on average.

The male is completely velvety black except for white patches on the forehead and the nape. It has a swollen bill, appearing orange at a distance but patterned with white, red and yellow, and a black spot near the base. The female is browner than the male, with a fairly uniform plumage, slightly darker above than below. Indistinct paler patches are present on the cheeks below the eye and sometimes a whitish patch is on the nape, a unique trait among scoters. The bill is black with green or blue colorations The juvenile has a plumage similar to the female, but mainly paler and browner, and the breast and belly are whitish.

Like all sea ducks, the surf scoter becomes flightless during the simultaneous molt of its flight feathers. This vulnerable period happens usually in late July through early August and lasts for about four weeks. Before molting the flight feathers, all waterfowl undergo a complete body molt, replacing the bright colors of the basic plumage of males by the duller alternate or eclipse plumage.

This migratory species breeds in the boreal forests near northern freshwater lakes. Very few nests have been observed but they tend to be near spruce cover, slightly upland to wetland areas. To complete its molt before migration, the surf scoter travels to a molting site, which differ from the wintering or the nesting site. Because of the vulnerable state of the ducks in those periods, molting sites are assumed to have profitable food and lower predation risks and they are located in bays, inlets or estuaries. The surf scoter winters in marine habitats near the shore.

Surf scoters form pairs on wintering and staging grounds. Most pairs are formed before the arrival on the breeding grounds. Studies showed a strong fidelity in the nesting areas of surf scoters over the years. Females dig a bowl-shaped nest in the ground and line it with nearby ground debris and down. About 5 to 9 eggs are laid. The incubation lasts for about 28 to 30 days and is provided by the female only. The female usually chooses a feeding area less than 2 meters deep and protected from strong winds for the ducklings. When they reach those food-rich wetlands, they begin feeding on their own. The mother abandons its young before they reach the flight age, at about 55 days.

Adult scoters of this species dive for crustaceans and molluscs, while the ducklings live off any variety of freshwater invertebrates. Important foods include crustaceans, herring spawn, gastropods and small bivalves such as mussels. Surf scoter usually captures its food underwater and consumes it whole. They have been observed to select smaller bivalves than those available, probably because of the energy cost of processing shell matter. They also seem to select slow-swimming epifaunal crustaceans. 

The extremely large range and population size of the surf scoter assures it a status of Least Concerned, according to the IUCN. The global population is estimated to be between 250,000 and 1,300,000 individuals. The populations have been apparently decreasing over the last years, but this small decline is not rapid enough to consider moving the species in the Vulnerable category. 

[oaken-evenshade]

Tanaris Part IV: The Storm

They ducked into a cavity where the stillness of the air felt thick, tangible even. Oaken hunched over to keep from scraping his scalp against the ceiling. Rose looked over her shoulder to study the tall Kaldorei.

The light from her torch cast a soft glow across the stone walls and illuminated his face. His eyes travelled around the small cavern curiously before settling on hers. 

Rose tilted her head, watched him a moment longer, then looked away. “Feels different in here, doesn’t it?” 

“Feels...still and quiet, yet alive. There is a presence of magic here?”

Oaken watched as Rose fixed a smile on him. She raised her eyebrows as she bent down to scoop up sand. Lifting her hand high above her head, Rose tipped it over and opened her palm. 

Grains of sand stalled in the air for several seconds before falling to the ground.

“This cavity is nestled near the Caverns of Time.” Rose said in answer to the bewilderment etched across Oaken’s face. “Look, there’s a fissure. Follow it.  Eventually it will open up into a greater chamber with three tunnels. Take the middle one. You’ll find a tear in time that leads into the Battle of Mount Hyjal.”

Frustration tugged at Rose’s chest as the elf stared at her with blank eyes. 

“You could see her, you could see Akenna! “She blurted. “You couldn’t change anything but...but you could see her.” 

Akenna. Moments passed before Oaken found his voice. “Why are you doing this?”

Rose stepped in closer and reached up to hold his face. “You’re always asking questions. Always the ‘why’s’ with you. I care about you Oaken. I see that you need to find your peace. So I am letting you go.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “So...do what you have to do.” 

Turning quickly on her heels, Rose made for the way they had entered. Damn, I’m going to be in trouble, she thought to herself. As she was exiting she heard the elf whisper “Thank you, truly.”

“Just make sure you’re looking for that peace in the right place and the right time.” She called over her shoulder as she disappeared around a corner. 

Hours passed. No, maybe minutes.

Time seemed to have different rules in this cavity tucked  near the Caverns. 

Oaken danced with a thousand different thoughts. He paced around the tiny chamber and etched sketches in the sand with his bare toes; a harpy and a toad sharing a flower. A tear rolled down his cheek and spattered onto the toad. 

He closed his eyes tightly as fierce tears spilled out leaving hot trails down his cheeks. Nodding firmly to himself, Oaken opened his eyes and charged for the fissure. Akenna.

Footsteps echoed throughout the tunnels as Oaken ran. He ran until sandy ground gave way to rich soil.

 Ahead, a shimmering light spilled over a small green grove. Trees native to Mount Hyjal stood as sentinels before the portal. 

It was impossible that such life could dwell deep underground hidden from the sun. Yet, the hairs on Oaken’s arms rose with the sense of life coursing through the trees and bushels. 

The rip in time swirled in an array of light blinding colors. The brilliant colors reminded Oaken of a time, long ago, when his father took him and Akenna out to sea for a fishing venture. 

They had been coasting not far from the shore for several hours when Akenna let out a small gasp and pulled Oaken to her side. Her little hand pointed at a  school of silver mackerels weaving in and around one another. Their silver scales caught the glint of the sun and revealed dazzling blues, yellows, greens, purples, and pinks. 

“Oaken!” She had said with delight. “I think those fish are hiding all the colors of the world!”

“Hold on Akenna, they aren’t hiding the colors. It’s more about the structure of their scales and how the light ref-”

“Shh! No, none of that. These fish are magic and we have stumbled upon the very rarest of discoveries!”

“...alright Akenna.”

Oaken breathed in deeply as the tips of his fingers brushed through the light. He smiled at the memory and stepped in closer to the portal. 

But then...something very small and very slow caught the corner of his eye.

A snail inched its way to the cap of a mushroom. Sensing eyes on it, the gastropod turned its head to gaze upon the Kaldorei. Its eyestalks jabbed out in odd directions. 

Oaken and the snail stared at one another for several moments. Friendly faces formed in Oaken’s mind like ghosts taking shape. 

For a moment he could envision Jerimoth passing out pumpkin and cucumber on tiny plates to an escargatoire of trusting snails. Where did he even come across plates on such a micro scale? Oaken snorted.

He thought of Kyndolin tromping through some forest on a mad shan’do’s quest. She’d be scowling at the bizarreness of the venture but deep down inside she was probably ecstatic to be outside and under the moon. Someday she might become the Shan’do leading poor students on strange adventures. 

Ellnara charged into his mind. Perhaps she was in the shop working into the late hours. She’d be be putting attention and care into every stitch as if that stitch held the greatest role of them all. She always gave that same type of attention and care to the beings around her. 

And finally, he thought of Braden the dwarf. The one eyed cobbler in Dwarven District who- wait, why am I thinking of Braden?

“Bleeding thumbs.” Unable to bear the snail’s gaze. Oaken pulled his hand from the portal and headed for the creature.

He plucked it up, turned it around and plopped it on the mushroom with its back  facing him. Charging back to the portal, Oaken squared his shoulders and moved to step through. He glanced back at the snail. It stared back at him with trembling eyestalks.

“What-how! Stop! Stop it!”

Pulling back from the portal once more, Oaken stood to face the snail. 

“You don’t understand! You’re a snail!” He shouted. “I wasn’t there for her. I wasn’t there for Akenna when she needed me most! This is my chance. I can be with her. I can stand by her side until the end. I can find that peace!” He shouted angrily. 

An eyestalk wiggled.

“Ha! The nerve! How dare you!”

In a moment, Oaken was suddenly thinking of snails, eyepatches, nice dirt, needles and thread. Things he had come to treasure. 

A pocket of breath caught in his throat as he stared through the snail. 

Maybe peace cannot be sought by searching the past, or waiting for a better future. But by being present in the present.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Oaken turned back to the portal. He pulled the brown feather from his hair and twirled it between two fingers.

“I wasn’t there for you Akenna and that hurts. Elune knows, I wish I could have been.” He pressed the feather through the portal. The tear in time seemed to slowly pull it in, away from his hand. 

“But there are those now, that I can be there for. And...I think I’d like to be.” In a flash of light, the feather was gone. 

Oaken closed the gap between him and the mollusk.

“Come on snail. The time has come to return home. Listen though, the thing is, you really need to learn how to mind your tongue if you’re to get along with the other snails.” 

Plucking up the little creature, he tucked it behind his ear and turned his back on the portal. 

Four Hours Later

Wind whipped green wisps of hair from Oaken’s face as he exited the cavern. 

The wind turned violent. To the east a colossus wave of sand  raged across the dunes. But more disturbing than the oncoming sandstorm was a flash of light that rippled through the sky, leaving small tears in its wake. 

“Something has been made broken.” Oaken muttered reverently to the snail behind his ear before being swallowed by a wall of sand.

                                   [The Shadowlands Approach]

(Mentions: @everyone-just-calls-me-jeri @kyndolin​ too many adventures impossible to walk away from)

[namekkin]

I felt for Cargo, who'd suffered as much as Dende and Nail. I also admired him, because despite it all, he'd grown into a wise and empathic community leader. In many ways, the young mage served in a similar role as healer for Namek's warriors as Dende did for Earth's.

Before I could greet him and Caraca, a short, stout figure shot out from behind Cargo's leg - it was Mouri's eldest Esca, tearing past me and nearly colliding with Sulug in his haste to get to his father.

"Esca!" Cargo tried to scold the boy but only succeeded in upsetting Caraca.

"It's OK." I rolled my eyes in the direction of the Grand Elder's chamber for Cargo's benefit as I reached for the fussing baby. "Was on my way out anyway."

Cargo's left antennae flickered quickly in reply as he transferred squirming Caraca to my arms. It was the Namekian equivalent of a raised eyebrow, and the safest way to critique the leader of a race with supersonic hearing when he was in the next room.

I frowned deeply, furrowing my brow and imitating the dour leader. Cargo smirked and stifled a giggle.

"Everything OK? I can't imagine what could come between this tiny green bean and her beloved Uncle Cargo." I stepped past him and outside Mouri's home, confident that Esca and Sulug would occupy the old man's attention for the moment. Outside, I led Cargo to the picnic bench and took a seat at the presently unoccupied 'village square'. "Sulug said you were looking for me?" I tried to settle Caraca onto my lap, but it was a lost cause.

"Sorry." Cargo gave me an apologetic look, then settled into the seat beside me. "I wouldn't have brought her back so early, but we're low on milk, and two extra water bottles weren't enough." His gaze dropped to the tiny alien, who was now pushing her face insistently into my gi top - universal baby for 'I'm hungry'.

"It's fine." I pulled off my cowl - a traditional white Namek-style one, of course - and set it aside before making to loosen my gi. Caraca was momentarily distracted, screeching and trying to reach for it as I set it on the table behind me. "No, no, little one," I scolded gently, then brought my face close up to hers and kissed her between her stubby little antennae. "Thought you were hungry, my little slug bug!" The attention made Caraca squeal in delight, finally settling down once I shifted her little body into the familiar nursing position.

"She's an adorable little slug, that's for sure. And I think I know why now, too."

I couldn't read Cargo's tone, but didn't lift my gaze from the bundle in my arms. "Oh? Any idea why her clan lineage is so unclear? What about being bio female?"

"You know about Namekian fusion?"

"I know of it. I know Piccolo has done it, but he says he wasn't supposed to."

"He's right. Fusion is only ever to be used as a last resort , and only to selfless ends - typically involving protection of Namekku-sei." Cargo paused and glanced towards the Grand Elder's home. "So, in the case of Nail and Piccolo, it passes muster."

"I'd hope."

"I've been researching the sacred texts for more information about fusion. Most references to it appear in the context of catastrophic circumstances like Frieza, and Piccolo and Nail are the first I'm aware of who actually survived a threat like that following a fusion."

"Maybe fusion evolved as adaptive trait and behaviour as a result of constant attempts to conquer Namek for the Dragon Balls? Ow! Caraca!" The milk had stopped flowing, so Caraca got my attention with a bite. "Careful not to hurt Maimai with those fangs," I murmured while shifting to give her access to the other breast.

Cargo went on. "The earliest references to fusion suggest it was known and adapted from another domain of Namekian life into defense - not that it evolved in response to danger."

Namekian fusion didn't evolve as a response to threats? But, that was the only reason it was ever permitted. So why did they start practicing fusion in the first place?

Caraca cooed and snuffled against my chest. Before I could stop it, a free association flashed through my mind. She's just like her-

I turned to face away from Cargo, hoping he didn't see my cheeks redden. “On earth the only imperative for any sort of fusion-type behaviour is sexual reproduction."

Cargo inhaled sharply and I sensed his posture stiffen. "That's exactly where I think it evolved from. Namekian history and legend from both the Dragon and Warrior clans make numerous references to bondmates in the lore of the ancestral Grand Elders - even some that could represent hybrid offspring of Nameks and other races. The sources that Dende provided about Earth slugs and gastropods really clarified that sexual reproduction is how our people have been able to survive and adapt from atrocity and adversity." Now it was Cargo's turn to blush.

"Is that why Caraca is special? The first assigned-female-at-birth Namek born in living memory?"

"That's part of the reason." Cargo looked down again at the baby in my arms. "And it does make her special, but I was also able to get a read on her Ki signature, at last."

Something wasn't right. Caraca's ki signature had been unclear from the start, which didn't concern me much in and of itself. Piccolo was more anxious to figure it out. So was Moori. It was the one thing they agreed on.

"What is it?"

Cargo glanced up at me, then looked anxiously past the Elder's house and towards mine. "Where is Majunia right now?"

[itsholymoley]

Congrats!!!!! I'm not sure if you have ever listened to dodie clark. ( if you haven't, you have to) I love her music and recently when I've been listening to her music I daydream. I think you should listen to some of her stuff and try and write for Tom/Peter. Which ever you feel would flow the best.

I really liked her song Would You Be So Kind so this is (loosely) based on that! Thanks for requesting love xx

Would You Be So Kind - Dodie Clark

- - -

“No! Tom, you don’t get it, they’re-”, you devolved into giggles before you could finish your sentence, Tom spared a glance at you, making sure not to keep his eyes off the road for too long and grinning so hard his cheeks hurt, “they’re cousins!”

“Spongebob and Patrick?” He really wasn’t following what you were saying but the sound of your laughter was infectious.

“No no no, Patrick and-” Your hand clapped against his shoulder and you leant your forehead against it, shaking with laughter, “Patrick and Gary, the pet snail!”

“They’re cousins?” Tom couldn’t help himself from bursting into laughter along with you, thankful you were stopped at a red light and hyper-aware of the flutter in his chest from your hand against him.

“Their dads are brothers!” You wheezed out, making vaguely inhuman noises as you tried to catch your breath, sinking lower in your seat.

“Patrick and the snail?” The corner of his eyes crinkled as he grinned wider, watching you folding in on yourself in laughter.

“Yeah…” You sighed, finally getting yourself under control, the light turned green and a car honked behind you.

“That’s so fucking funny.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh my god! Tom! Tom! Tom!” you slapped his arm repeatedly, sitting straight up in your seat as you spot the sign: Los Angeles Zoo - Next Left Turn

“What? Oh my god! What?” He flinched away from your onslaught, mostly due to his silly mood than any actual pain.

“Can we go to the zoo? Pleeeease? I haven’t been in so long!” It took him a moment to register what you’d said, throwing his head back in laughter when he did. There was a happy warmth resting in his stomach, he was full of pancakes from the breakfast you’d just had and there was a familiar giddy haze hovering around him.

“Sure thing, darling.” The term rolled off his tongue easily, but using it with you always made his stomach flip nervously.

He pulled the car into the zoo’s parking lot, you were out the door before he’d even put the car in park, already bouncing up and down in line when he locked the car. As soon as you had your tickets you were dragging him by the arm to see the giraffes.

“But why are we seeing the giraffes first? They’re on the other side of the zoo.”

“Because they’re my favourite and we have to see them first. Come on!”

You spent the afternoon wandering around the zoo, Tom watching in mild amusement as you gushed over the various animals. He was mostly lost in his thoughts, caught up in the way the sunlight shines against your skin, the way your eyes sparkle when you see something exciting, the sound of your laughter running through his veins. You were off ogling some tropical fish in the aquarium section and Tom was absentmindedly watching some automated presentation on starfish when something peaked his interest.

“Y/N! Y/N! Come here you’ve gotta see this!” He found you around the corner and pulled you over to the display he’d been watching.

“There are many types of creatures in the sea. From tiny fish to huge sea stars, giant whales to microscopic krill.” The automated voice began as the video looped again.

“Tom, what are you-?”

“No wait, just listen ok?”

“-recent research has uncovered a common ancestor between the marine gastropod, commonly known as sea snail, and Asteroidea, otherwise known as-”

“Starfish!” You cut the voice off with a shriek, “motherfucking Spongebob!” Your laughter rang out, echoing in the confined space.

Tom watched you with a smile as you threw your head back, bathed in soft blue light, your hand flew out to clutch at his shirt for stability. His hand absentmindedly came up to settle over yours as your laughter trailed off, his heart thudded under your touch. Your eyes fell on his and he pulled you to wrap his arms around you.

“I think I really like you,” His skin was electric, he felt you stiffen in his arms, “I thought that would be enough but…”

“Tom…” You spoke so softly he barely heard the word over his racing heart.

“Please, fall in love with me.”  

“I think I can do that.” You pulled back, smile soft and eyes alight with happiness, Tom felt the wave of relief wash over him, warmth overtaking his body.

“Do you want to go and find the butterflies?” You took his hand, moving to leave the aquarium with Tom in tow.

“No thanks, I’ve already got plenty.” He turned to look at you, a cheeky grin lighting up his face as you gaped for a moment.

“That… was terrible!” You burst into laughter and Tom couldn’t be happier.

💯 celebration is closed

500 celebration