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bloededhoine · 3 years

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world building cause twn doesn't part 8: nonhumans

this is easily the geekiest part of the series. and it's a Very geeky series. because sapkowski's worldbuilding is waaay more extensive than i have the time, ability, or desire to convey, i'm sticking with races both sentient and important

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

series masterpost

dopplers

dopplers, also known as vexlings, shifters, mimics, doubles, imitators, or pavrats, are a nonhuman race that can take on the appearance of nearly anyone they encounter

before mass migrations of humans, dopplers primarily inhabited the forests and plateaus around the city of novigrad, where they would transform into wolves and pack animals to hunt

their abilities are pretty impressive, dopplers can not only mimic appearance but also voice, personality, skills, behaviours, and knowledge. dopplers can even turn parts of their bodies into pieces of clothing or other objects

however, there are some limitations

dopplers can't transform into someone/thing with dramatically more mass than they have, are burned by silver, and can't drop anything they created (if they did it would kind of turn into a fleshy goop)

we've already met a doppler in twn, this sexy sexy man

BUT

it is important to note that this doppler is a huge deviation from sapkowski's lore. dopplers are pretty much always exceptionally kind and gentle. a lot of times they use their abilities to appear threatening (big teeth, sharp claws etc) because they really don't want to hurt anyone.

when dopplers aren't mimicking another form, they aren't exactly pretty. they're bald, short, have beady yellow eyes, and kinda look like they're made from soft clay

here's the hexer doppler

the most notable doppler is dudu biberveldt, who i mentioned as the halfling dainty biberveldt's fake cousin. dudu's actual name is tellico lunngrevink letorte, but dainty decided to help dudu live in novigrad by adopting him as his fake cousin.

dragons

dragons are fucking awesome. you know it, i know it, and zerrikanians know it. witcher dragons are especially awesome

they are the only being, other than cats, that can naturally harness and absorb the force of chaos

there are multiple subtypes, but most dragons fall into one of four: black dragons, green dragons, red dragons, and white dragons.

black dragons are the largest, and primarily live in swamps and wetlands where they bathe in mud. they have extremely hard scales and don't breathe fire, but an acid that causes burns similar to those from mustard gas.

green dragons (right there) are the most prominent yet smallest species of dragon, mainly living in forested areas and breathe highly flammable chlorine gas.

red dragons mainly live in hills and mountain caves and can breathe fire hot enough to melt metal

white dragons are one of the rarest species and live in the far north, and can breathe frost

however, if you watched the witcher netflix as i assume you did, you may remember golden dragons. these dragons are so rare and exceptional that they are not usually included with other species. they breathe steam and fire and can shapeshift into any living being

all dragons communicate through telepathy, although golden dragons can speak when they are in the form of a species that can speak

humans are pretty divided on the topic of dragons, with zerrikanians worshiping them and nordlings hating them.

because they are incredibly intelligent and emotional, witchers (generally) refuse to hunt them

borkh three jackdaws, also known as villentrenmerth, is the only golden dragon we know. there he is right there.

ASSASSINS OF KINGS SPOILERS NEXT TWO BULLET POINTS

the other dragon from twn was a green dragon named myrgtabrakke, borkh's mate. their daughter is named saesenthessis, also known as saskia the dragonslayer (an alias she took to explain her extensive knowledge of dragons) and the virgin of aedirn

because saskia is part golden dragon, she can shapeshift, although is much more limited than her father. she can basically only be a human looking woman with blonde hair or a huge dragon.

cut because this part is getting REALLY long

godlings

ah godlings. i love them so much. they're adorable and precious. they usually look somewhat like a human child, but with blue skin and large amber or green eyes. they don't wear much clothes, their focus is in accessories like jewelry, flowers, or tattoos

that's johnny, a holding in wild hunt.

godlings are incredibly rare, and are easily confused with young goblins. they primarily live in swamps near drowners, but aren't afraid of them.

they're quite mischievous but kind hearted, many have happy go lucky personalities and love just having fun. i adore godlings. i've said it once and i'll say it again.

higher vampires

definitely the most important group on this list, higher vampires are incredibly powerful and intelligent. they can shapeshift within certain limits, generally either looking like a human or a large terrifying bat. they also have some telepathic abilities - they can basically make you fall asleep and forget stuff

scary wooo

higher vampires do not need to drink blood to survive. some don't drink blood at all. when they do, it's like a human drinking alcohol. on full moons, groups of higher vampires go out partying and get white girl wasted

although all higher vampires have the same basic abilities, each individual has one skill they are exceptional in.

most find humans harmless but annoying, like mosquitos. they don't really like interacting with humans, which works out pretty well as higher vampires can blend in very well, even a witcher's medallion can't detect one

higher vampires also have three distinct cultures, the tdet in the far east, the ammurun across the great sea, and the gharasham in the northern realms

they are really really hard (or impossible, depending on canon) to kill. based on the books, you basically need to disintegrate them. based on the games, only higher vampires can kill other higher vampires, but humans can get close

we only meet one in the books, emiel regis rohellec terzieff-godefroy. he goes by regis for short. regis was an "alcoholic" in his youth, and has since abstained from blood or any other substance. he's incredibly old, by the end of twn season 1 he'd be 425 years old. as for regis' "special ability", he's just kind. he's an incredibly gentle and loving person. that's it. i love him.

merpeople

probably one you're already familiar with! merpeople are intelligent humanoids that inhabit the great sea. mermaids are notably gorgeous, having green hair and tails, and their scales are prized alchemy ingredients

sapkowski's mermaids can breathe above water, but the sun burns their skin so they don't stay at the surface for very long.

merpeople are incredibly powerful, they can summon krakens and the sea-dragon like race of vodyanoy respect their authority

they use their own language that's quite similar to hen llinge, but more lyrical sounding.

nymphs

nymphs are a humanoid race primarily based around nature. they have 5 subspecies, dryads (including hamadryads), leimoniad, naiad, nereid, and oread.

dryads, called eerie wives by humans and aen woedbeanna by elves, are the most prevalent, primarily living in the brokilon forest. some have human skin with olive undertones, but others are green. they usually have dark brown or green hair which is usually worn in dreadlocks (breaking my promise of not being overtly and annoyingly political in this series yet again - the dryads, especially in the netflix adaptation, are classic magical n*gress stereotypes. but more on that later.)

this is a lore-accurate one that i LOVE

dryads have incredibly strong connections with nature and magic, although it is really rare for a dryad to be a source. dryads are able to draw energy from trees, but rarely do because they don't want to hurt the trees. support dryads and take the bus.

all dryads are women. all of them. they make babies by basically luring men into the forest and doing the adult hokey pokey. also why dryads aren't really a fan of witchers, who don't make the baby butter (i am so sorry)

however, dryads can also turn a girl of another race into one of their own through the use of magic. the water of brokilon has some mutating quality that makes young girls forget their human past and physically turn into dryads, although it is less effective as the girls are older. the dryads tried to do this to ciri, but given that she's a source, nothing happened. generally, this process is done to girls who wander into brokilon, but some dryads will abduct peasants from outside the forest if they need more dryads.

here's twn dryads... yikes

this is where i think the whole racism thing becomes a bit too obvious. "uncivilized" women who live in the forest and have dreadlocks and abduct young girls from "civilized" areas?? in twn they leaned even further into this, having one of the two black women they cast be a dryad and replacing the usual bows and arrows with spears, a less sophisticated weapon. again, this series is about the lore, not the political implications of it, but it is important to keep in mind

dryads are excellent at archery, shooting anyone who comes within 80 metres of the forest. through their connection with nature, they have highly advanced medicine and use glowing fungi as a source of light.

hamadryads are a specific type of dryad that is incredibly connected with her tree. because of this connection they have exceptionally strong magical and healing capabilities, but will also go insane and die if their tree dies.

like merpeople, dryads use a more melodic dialect of hen llinge

leimoniads are a type of nymph that lived exclusively in meadows, but are practically extinct due to wars with humans

naiads, also called rusalki, are nymphs that live in lakes and rivers, although a few live with the dryads in brokilon. naiads are very similar to dryads, although they tend to have very light skin with very dark hair, webbed hands, and can dry out on land

naiads rarely speak common, live in small groups, and have highly developed telepathic abilities

nereids are nymphs that inhabit the great sea, often living closely with merpeople. they usually have blueish skin with either blue or white hair and have some telepathic abilities, though not to the extent of naiads.

oreads are nymphs of the mountains, which, like leimoniads, are nearly extinct due to human conquests.

succubi/incubi

succubi (female) and incubi (male) are creatures which look like incredibly attractive humans but with horns and goat legs. they seduce humans, first in dreams and then physically, using their prey's energy to sustain themselves, often to the point of the human's exhaustion or death

our man eskel has a soft spot for them...

sylvans

sylvans, another race we already met, are exceptionally rare. like, practically extinct. they live mainly in the woodlands of the northern realms and have goat-like faces with yellow eyes, horns, cloven hooves, and tails

my man torque is quite possibly one of the last sylvans on the continent

they are distantly related to elves, and the two races tend to coexist quite well

generally quite mischievous and merry, highly enjoying pranks and parties. they can use simple spells and are mainly herbivores

sylvans live around 100 years and are highly sought after by dryads for their... ahem... reproductive capabilities

unicorns

yep, we got unicorns! i fucking love unicorns and still kinda think they're real. camels are real and those lumpy fuckers are way weirder than a horse with a spike on its head.

anyways

unicorns are highly advanced beings, they can travel between worlds and use telepathy. they don't really like the "less advanced" races, mostly staying around to observe them. they have distinct societies led by a council of elders and tend to avoid evil

these unicorns are badasses

unicorns strongly despise the use of the force but encourage the power of destiny. in the context of pavetta's betrothal feast, a unicorn would not be happy with pavetta's little source hurricane thing, but would encourage geralt to follow the law of surprise

in of the witcher, unicorns are very important because of their world-hopping capabilities. the aen elle, unfortunately, realized this and began enslaving unicorns to help them plunder other worlds. this turned into a massive conflict between the unicorns and elves.

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pangolin-404 · 3 years

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the property of hate chapter 9 + 10 liveblog/thoughttime/somethingsomething I like the character design of this comic a lot

ALSO I’ve noticed a couple people rb-ing or replying to some earlier stuff so for uuuh this onward please don’t spoil anything, don’t explain anything at all even if you think it’s nothing, try not to tag characters whose names haven’t been revealed at that point (or wait a day before going back to it? so my notifs cycle through? idk if that’s too much to ask), and please keep memeing abt chars to a minimum, I like having no idea what’s going on lol (edit: I’ve finished reading wooo)

While this is a late thought, the time between readings made me start to wonder what ability Hero has to bring things to life. I’m assuming she brought Assok to life, based on how RGB worded it, and given his surprise, he’s surprised by her ability. I wonder what about Hero revived the tree.

I worry greatly for TOby; they’re way too close to the edge of that place for my liking. I also like the dead-eyed thousand yard stare they have 90% of the time

more rambling about designs here: The longer I look at Melody’s design the more it hurts my brain; the way she’s put together out of a million instruments, it’s taking me a while to get a visual on what’s analogous to a mouth, eyes, etc., it’s so cool. Also I realized RGB has never fully “shut” his “mouth” yet; there’s always at least some of the color bars showing. I wonder if he even can

I’m endeared by how, despite Hero’s conflicted feelings towards RGB, she still puts his hat back on. he keeps loosing his hat. do not separate them (both RGB and his hat and RGB and Hero)

I wonder how many people RGB’s gotten attached to who convinced him to try taking them home. I doubt anything good happened on those attempts.

I wish I knew what sheet music symbols meant so I can get a vibe on Melody’s tone on things. All I know is that f is Loud

melting over how RGB is knelt to speak at Hero’s level. ik it could be because the “ball and chain” brought him down but let me have this

going feral over this worldbuilding. the tree. the roots and flowers. the market??

Hero.., untying RGB because she’s worried,,,, AUAUAUAUAAAAA WAA

The force of the tone shift in this comic is so powerful. everything’s all happy and lighthearted and I Do Not Like how the waves or whatever swept Julienne and Melody away in pure silence

gonna set that weird little butterfly moth thing on fire. I don’t trust it. it can turn invisible apparently. Unsure if Hero knows it’s there or if it being close made her think about being wise and such. but while she doesn’t trust RGB (or fears Evil Twisted Twin RGB), she trusts everyone else. and she feels they trust him, even if RGB himself doesn’t believe that. her believing this ticks off the butterfly YEEAAAHH. brb catch me crying in the club

I just had a thought. I wonder if the butterfly moth thing is this “her” or an agent/familiar of hers. Hm.

Any critical thinking has gone out of the window RGB GLOWS RGB GLOWS RGB GLOWS UEAAUYAYEYEA YYAAAAEEAAAHH

love this logic where by making the area darker, she can see things in a new way. Hero can hear her own heartbeat so loudly. I don’t think RGB can do this same thing; he doesn’t glow like her (doesn’t even have ears!); and is one of the dullest things there. love her face in this scene. going :D at everything

the way RGB appears in this is so odd. In some panels it looks like there’s a whitish glow in his chest, and in others he seems scratchier, darker. He knows something about Assok; starting to think he didn’t just deduct that when figuring out the tree (or if I knew all that beforehand).

So: A burning light masks itself to protect the world. A voice reveals the world would hate and fear it without the mask. The light shatters its mask. Here, RGB says the sun broke - is the sun the mask? Whichever, 5 trees fell: one fell into a wasteland, one drowned, one sank into a mire, one turned to ice, and the fifth was lost forever.

Tied together by darkness, the forests lifted the sea up to extinguish the fire. The sea of Limen is still there, in case the sky ever catches blaze again, to provide shelter and safety.

Hero, upon hearing of what sounds a lot like a prophecy/start up to a hero’s journey: So we go free the other 4 trees, right? RGB: HA. YOU FOOLISH CHILD, WE ARE SO WEAK COMPARED TO THE TREES. WE COULD NEVER HOPE TO DO SUCH THING. In fact whatever powerful force trapped it in the first place freed it with intent to set us on fire! Hero: oh

I’m going to lose my mind. staring at this image so hard. osmosing the raw power these characters give off they are all perfect in every way. that snake, that bird in the corner, that wiggle giraffe amargasaur thing, that boney bird-fear lookin thing back there, the thing with the snazzy tassels, I am losing it

I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not loose my mind over another object head I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not lose me mind over another object h

all of these character designs are right up my alley.

amazing. incredible. I’ve been staring at these panels for 8 hours now

anyways

uuuh right ending thoughts time: that story is definitely going to return later; I think the other trees have a good chance of showing up, as is that creepy butterfly moth thing, uuuUUUuuh gonna stare at these panels some more goodbye

#thoughts #the property of hate #tpoh liveblog #tpoh posting #ven VEN YOU ARE RIGHT THE MARKET IS SO SO GOOD

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cuttlefishkitch · 4 years

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WOOO BOY did this piece take forever!! Say hello to an illustration I did for @gerrydelano‘s INCREDIBLE fic, Two Ships Passing!! It was so much fun to work on and the process was so wild I might end up doing a Making Of post about it. Anyway, enjoy and GO READ TSP!!!

image ID under the cut cause it’s LONG

[Image Description: A one-point perspective shot of a bookshelf, cluttered with memorabilia. There are three shelves visible, with a focus on the center. The image is composed of mostly de saturated blues and greys, with brighter instances of pink and purple scattered throughout.

Each item in the image is a direct reference to elements of two ships passing, some symbolic and some literal.

From left to right, there is a small, pink conch shell sitting on the shelf. Beside it is a blue mechanical pencil. Behind them is a mason jar, half-filled with seashells and with two pink carnations stuck inside, and a half-open box of glow-in-the-dark stars with a faded label written on a piece of tape. There are twelve of the stars stuck to the back of the center shelf.

Next is a beige hourglass. Inside the bottom half is a green triceratops, slowly being buried by sand. Leaning against the hourglass is a black, spiral-bound notebook. Balanced against that is a bottle cap with a duck carved into the top, and a safety pin hot-glued into the back. In front of that, there is another pink carnation, lying down on the shelf.

Next to the flower is a ship in a bottle, with pink and purple sails. Wound around the cork is a silver dragon claw necklace, clutching a purple stone.

Behind this, a paper book is propped up against the back of the shelf. The title reads TIME and PLACE, written above a drawing of Jon and Gerry as children, sitting behind the frill of a green triceratops. Taped to the wall next to the book, visible above the top of the ship in the bottle, is flash art of a traditional swallow tattoo, with a blue body and red wings.

Partially underneath the ship in a bottle, there is an indistinct Polaroid lying down on the shelf. In front of it is a diya, which is helping to keep another Polaroid balanced. This one is specifically a photo of Gerry as a child, lying on his back in the sand at the beach. One leg of his pants is wet from being splashed by the ocean, and he's holding a kite string, grinning with his eyes closed.

Taped to the bottom of the shelf are four photographs.

The first is of Tim, sitting on the ground with his hand on Ophelia's back. He's wearing a purple tank top that shows his arm band tattoos and worm scars. Batman sits behind him on the couch. Gerry's hand is visible in the bottom corner of the frame, his nails painted black and Absynthe wrapped around his wrist.

The second is of Gerry and Jon posing for a selfie. Portia stands behind Gerry doing bunny ears over his head, while Bridget is causing problems in the background. Gerry is wearing fishnet over a purple bralette, and Jon is wearing a pink collared shirt.

The third is a closer shot of Gerry and Jon, clearly a second try at taking that same selfie. Gerry's eyes are closed as he kisses Jon's temple, and Jon looks a little bashful.

The fourth is a photo of Gerry and Jon peering over the back of a laptop, which is set up to be on video call with Kira and Basil, Gerry's roommates from America. Kira has short, curly hair and has their eyes crossed, tongue sticking out. Basil has longer, green hair, compression gloves, and is voguing.

The bottom shelf is full of books in various colors, a few in the middle fallen over to lean against others. The top shelf more uniform, the books held in place by a purple agate bookend.

In the far left corner beside the bookend, a cobweb can be seen.

End ID]

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thecandywrites · 3 years

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Blood For Gold Chapter 23

Wooo! The wedding. And yes I am lowkey obsessed with Indian weddings because they are just gorgeous and to me, mouras in general have a more Middle East/Indian aestetic choices in clothes and food. Oh and the song that Audra walks down the aisle to that I was listening to repeat while writing it is this. Elila Farh

@punkhorse96 Thank you so much for your feedback and reviews. I hope you’ll enjoy this.

Blood For Gold

Chapter 23

You slept in, to a gloriously extravagant hour on your wedding day. Your wedding wouldn’t be until the evening and you had all day to prepare. Sure there were traditions to uphold, things to do. But you woke up to a house full of women as they feasted like the queens they were as all the women in your family, but Myra’s, Yalin’s and the Voyambis as they all cheered when you appeared in the dining room in nothing but a silk robe as you were shown the head of the table and immediately given a tray of figs along with generous helpings of other foods that your mother and grandmother had urged your cooks to make and had been sent from Masai Temple as you gasped at the thoughtfulness and oohed at the delicious flavors blooming in your mouth from all the dishes that the temple sent for your breakfast. When Demsey had said for everyone at Masai Temple to make this extra special for you, this was it, you felt special alright.

You missed a lot of these dishes from the different quarters of Dorierra.

After what was essentially brunch, your mother and your grandmother both explained and performed the different traditions throughout the day before everyone met up at the Temple and got ready for the procession.

The temple provided the canopy’s frame but you already had your own Lari - a sheer fabric that had been heavily embroidered and had many aplicays and special components sewn into it so that it dazzled in any light and put over the frame so that you and both of your parents were “boxed in” by the Lari on the frame.

“You still sure about this?” You father asked.

“As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.” You answered happily and confidently as everyone got into position.

Demsey stood in the main auditorium and felt like this place should be bursting at the seams with people, all of England should be here to see this, to hopefully see you in all your Dorierran glory but at the same time, he was grateful that there was only his family and yours and Myra and her family and of course the Raymonds, all of them sitting on the “bride’s side” as they traded compliments on their beautiful clothes as they waited for the auspicious time to approach. He was relived because this was a precious moment and you had spent almost all your life being judged. This one day, you shouldn’t have to feel that way. If anything, you should feel free from anyone’s judgement or criticisms. You had wanted only friends and family here, and thats who was here. Close friends and family.

Everything was just so beautiful. There were so many flowers, so many bright colors in all the inlay in the walls, in the ceiling, in everything, even the benches for the pews had gorgeous inlay in them covered in soft cushions. His family sat on what they were told was the groom’s side as Javyn stood next to him and then his brothers forming a row after him because that’s what the director told them to do as the priest, dressed in wonderful splendor themselves simply held his extraordinary copy of the tomb of all the holy books sewn together on gilded pages.

Then the moment came and your grandmother started things off with a really high pitched yell like call that was soon echoed by all the women in your party including yourself, your voices harmonizing and echoing the large dome and filling the whole place with song as Yalin beamed excitedly and nearly was bouncing out of her seat as she started making the same sound and clapping excitedly to the beat of the music that the band that was off the side instantly started to play as Demsey couldn’t help it, he laughed as his family took Yalin’s cue as did her own family all clapped with her along with Myra and her family started clapping in the same rhythm that Yalin was clapping in as Demsey’s family did the same as the procession came down the aisle all dancing to the beat in the same synchronized dance to the song as all the guys in your family were chanting away in answer to all the girls doing the same high pitched yell that even Yalin couldn’t help but call out which your bridal party all beamed happily at her and did the same as Demsey and the rest of them just clapped along too and watched on happily as Demsey tried looking around the bridal party to see this large golden canopy being held by the attendants from the temple that was being was being bounced with the music, so that the whole thing shimmered and danced with the beat too as he could almost make out three figures inside of it.

You stood in between your parents, all three of you dancing inside of it as all three of you seemed to move as one.

Even though you were wearing the whole bridal dress set and what felt like 30 pounds of gold and jewels, your spirit felt weightless and your whole body practically glowed with happiness as your moura marks on your skin went off like fireworks constantly as your parents watched them and smiled to each other because only when a moura was truly in love and purely happy, did their marks light up like yours were doing in this moment which made their own marks light up happily.

The closer Demsey tried to look, the harder it was to see inside the canopy, all he could make out was outlines but he still recognized the lights from the moura marks and recalled that only when you were really happy and in a state of euphoria had he seen them “go off” like this which made him happy that you were so happy.

He was practically overwhelmed already, the music was like an explosion of excitement and happiness and everyone’s bright smiles as even the other moura’s marks were lighting up, like it was almost contagious as he realized- it was like a wave, a pulse, like heartbeats that were the frequency of the way they were lighting up before the whole procession came and he was put face to face with the canopy before the song ended and then your father untied one of the corners and exited the canopy dressed in his own splendor and pulled out a sword and simply let the blade rest on Demsey’s shoulder but the edge of the blade still gently touched Demsey’s neck as your father proceeded to carry on “the questioning” in marinai which was the traditional way as the priest acted as a translator and translated the words your father was saying as it was basically a request to make an oath, to love, honor, dignify, protect and provide as a husband to you- his wife, his most beloved in all of the universe. It sounded gorgeous in marinai and it even rhymed.

In English however it didn’t rhyme so much as some of the words the priest had to translate and explain some of the terms so that Demsey could completely understand them and that at any point, he had the choice to either back out of the wedding and leave with his head on his shoulders, or if there any doubt that he could not hold up these terms, to move his body into the blade or else a curse worse than death would befall him and all his relation as his parents looked at each other meaningfully, because when Jodhaa and the others had told them about this part, they made it sound like it was no big deal but in reality, this was life or death, either spend your life loving the other person as wholly and completely as you could, or die.

Demsey however wasn’t intimidated or put off or affronted by any of this, in fact he was all too happy to swear and pledge his life and agreed to the vows and live up to it every day for the rest of his life as your father simply smiled happily and nodded but kept his sword there before it was your mother’s turn to leave the canopy and have her own oath to make Demsey swear by as your mother actually pulled out a list and unfolded which made everyone else in your family snicker a laugh because she was very, very thorough as she took a dagger and quickly put it under Demsey’s chin and all she would have to do is move her other hand in an upward motion to actually decapitate him as your father’s sword was on the other side of his neck.

Your mother’s vows were not only just a repeat of what your father had said but actually included much, much more, and not just Demsey, but his whole family and household so that you almost asked for a stool so you could sit down for the duration as your mother went through every conceivable scenario where a man might become upset with his wife or inlaws might be upset with a daughter in law as Demsey could only smile appreciatively at your mother, who he could tell was doing her best to make sure that your past, would never, ever repeat itself and was more than happy and ready and willing to agree to every tiny stipulation she was giving him before she finally reached the end of her list as everyone seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief when your mother removed the dagger from his neck and your father, his sword and put them away before they both came back over to the canopy and lifted the front to reveal you before Demsey came forward and lifted your golden veil up to reveal your face as Demsey audibly gasped which got everyone to softly laugh at his reaction.

“You have never been more beautiful, than you are right now.” Demsey readily professed which nearly got you to cry but you were just so happy that he felt that way, almost fearing that he would look at all of this and not recognize you in it or think this was too extravagant or unnecessary.

“And you have never looked more handsome.” You professed as you readily took the veil and put it into position over the borla of the tikka to keep the veil in place as the band then played the more traditional hymns for the ceremony.

But just the look in his eyes told you that all he saw, was you, the whole, real you- in this moment before he offered his hand out to you as you reached out and held it as the priest invited you up onto the platform as Demsey helped you sit down first before he sat next to you in the center set of seats as your parents sat on one side while his parents were invited up to sit in the other as the priest then went through the very lavish ceremony as flower garlands were put over your neck and his that were united together as you just could not let go of Demsey’s hand. You wanted to pinch yourself. This was all you had ever dreamed of as a little girl. Granted it wasn’t in the temple in the Hanging Garden Quarter but Masai Temple was the next best thing and you were still getting married with Calla, Lody and Jenni as your bridesmaids. And your parents blessing and of course Demsey’s parent’s blessing too as you could see Sierge and Javyn being torn between looking at you and Demsey and looking at Lody and Jenni respectively as Jenni and Lody were all bright, eager and happy smiles.

After the ceremony and after everyone signed the marriage certificate, you and Demsey were then walked back to the canopy as the attendants lifted the veil and you both stood in it as the band started up again as you both were escorted to the banquet hall to the head table before the canopy was put over the large sitting booth and the front was lifted and pulled over the back so that it was now open to everyone before everyone got their seats a massive feast was brought out as you walked Demsey through how to eat it and how to feed each other as you went through each dish and excitedly told him about each component of each dish as your family did the same for everyone else in Demsey’s family since the feast, didn’t need to be separated by sides but everyone could mingle together along the long lines around the center that was reserved for the dancing later on where the band followed and set up on a little platform for them to continue to play the lighthearted and happy music.

“Thank you,” you thanked Demsey after you chewed and swallowed the bite he had so delicately and affectionately put into your mouth.

“You’re welcome. This is really awesome, I had no idea Dorierran weddings were so beautiful. It makes English weddings feel like funerals.” Demsey confessed as you couldn’t help but laugh at the comparison and nodded your agreement.

“Oh just wait, when the sun goes down and the cloud lights come on, then the real fun begins.” You hinted with an excited giggle.

And sure enough, the moment it was dark, the cloud lights were shown in before the black light cloud was turned on and soon everyone glowed which caused a chorus of cheers and laughter as the music changed too as Demsey and yourself danced the night away. Javyn and Jenni were dancing awfully close and wouldn’t dance with anyone else other than each other as Sierge was acting the same way with Lody.

“I want to court you.” Sierge confessed to Lody as they swayed to the music as Sierge used Lody’s own rhythm to set his own as his body felt glued to hers as most of the guests by this point and started to remove the veils leaving the women in their little tops that showed off their upper chests, arms and bellies while the men were free to take their shirts off to showcase the designs painted on them as now under the black light the true beauty of all the designs could be appreciated.

“Then you must do something for me.” Lody began as she turned and pressed her front to his so she could reach his ear as she pulled him towards her as he happily let his arms loop around her and hold her close as he was dying to kiss her.

“I want you to realize that right now, you’re under the influence of the henna and you’re probably feeling like you’re half in love with me and really deep into a love drunk haze, right?” Lody questioned as she looked up into his eyes firmly but she wasn’t smiling. If anything she looked upset which made him frown to see her react that way.

“Right?” She repeated as she held his face in her hands as he nodded and all she could do was give him an apologetic smile.

“Sierge, I need you to know that what you’re feeling, it’s not real and tomorrow, you’re going to wake up and feel different. You’ve only known me for a few days, not even a whole week and we are barely aquaintances, I’m just a friend of your now sister in law and barely friends with you. And while there is an attraction between us, right now, that’s all it is. Give yourself a month maybe even two months, after all of this henna fades, and all the hair I removed from you grows back full force. If your attraction to me is still with you at that point, then reach out to the stables and we’ll see where that leads. But if your attraction and affection for me fades with the henna, do not begrudge yourself or me. Jenni enhanced the henna you’re wearing, she added extra aphrodisiac to the mix so that her own attraction to Javyn and his attraction to her would be enhanced as well. And she has her own reasons for doing so and she will get to deal with the consequences of that, good or bad. I tried refilling the henna tubes from the mix on the outside of the bowl, the bits that weren’t so enhanced so that you wouldn’t fall prey to it but you still are. You need to be done being the victim, either intentionally or unintentionally. The quick fix doesn’t always solve your problems but usually causes two new ones. Don’t do anything too quickly unless you’ve thought it through and weighed and measured all the variables, including your own true feelings without anyone or anything manipulating you. We are at a wedding and we’re both wearing wedding henna, so of course we feel this way about each other right now. But tonight, after the wedding. I’m not going home with you. I’m not sleeping with you and I’m definetely not going to have any kind of sex with you either. If you really want me, you’re going to have to work for me and earn me the old fashioned way. And I need you to know, that I’m similar to Benny in a lot of ways, but nothing like her in a lot of others. And the last thing I want is for my mate- whoever he is, to look at me and think of her. It’s not fair to either of us. So after this dance, dance with anyone else, other than me. Please. For your own good.” Lody pleaded with Sierge who both had to respect but secretly resent her choice becuase it was the opposite of his wants.

“Please Sierge, if you like me at all, respect me and my stance on this and don’t turn a deaf ear to this.” Lody pressed and while her words broke his heart all over again, he could find nothing to argue with and instead took her hands off his face and instead kissed her knuckles.

“OK, I submit.” Sierge professed.

“Your future self, thanks you, as does mine.” Lody offered before she kissed his cheek sweetly before she left and put as much space and distance between them as she could because she was this close to saying ‘to hell with it’ and throwing propriety and her own self control out and fucking him against the closest private wall. She had never felt that drawn to anyone that strongly before and she felt like she was fighting for her life.

“Lody, it’s just the henna, it’s just the henna.” She insisted to herself as she drank down a full glass of wine and got a second as Siege had gone to the other end of the place and was doing the same as he was inwardly cursing himself and Benny for fucking up a perfectly good romance with a wonderful young woman who had so much wisdom beyond her years and he was already seeing her face every time he closed his eyes but his soul was still stining and aching from the damage Benny had done as Sierge simply sat down and didn’t sulk persay, but he definitely sat down in a spot that gave him a clear view of Lody who was also seated and eating more of the sultan cake that made up the wedding cake. It was completely different than anything any of the Voyambis or the Bellafonts had ever had. Yalin hadn’t even gotten a chance to have it since her youth as even she and Gregori had chipped in for the wedding, wanting to add something even more special to the celebration of your wedding.

Javyn and Jenni were practically in their own little world on the dance floor, dancing chest to chest and literally nose to nose when they weren’t cheek to cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he had his arms wrapped around her back as they swayed in place as all the other couples were in a similar state, including yourself, except for your grandmothers who were now seated on either side of Lody, keeping her company.

“You did the best thing you could have done.” Your grandmother Anavia encouraged Lody.

“Then why does it feel like a kick in the chest?” Lody asked as she ate what was left on her plate before getting thirds of her favorites.

“Because your pride is wounded too. Every other victim that has come to Dorierra angry, hurt and upset, you were removed from them and strangers to them. This time it feels personal because of your own attraction to him which he is obviously returning because even now he is refusing to dance with anyone but you, which is a good sign actually. Sierge strikes me as someone who has always had things handed to him and now, he must actually put forth effort and work. If he succeeds, a good, stable match can be made.” Loreiris predicted as she stared Sierge down from across the room, studying him.

“How long did you say you gave him?” Anavia asked.

“A month after the henna fades and his hair grows back.” Lody answered.

“So three months, that should be more than enough time for him to heal and learn his lessons.” Anavia grinned.

“Well, that’s if he doesn’t scrub his skin raw trying to scrape it off this week.” Lody murmured as her eyes moved back to Jenni and Javyn.

“How long do you give them?” Lody asked Anavia.

“Before intimacy? Tonight. For marriage? Weeks. She’ll fly back and start preparations the moment she lands. It will be rushed, but happy but because they are not taking time now, they will have their fair share of misunderstandings and differences. But if Sierge follows your advice and you follow your own, you’ll have far less, which will be good. The Voyambis won’t know what to do with themselves, because they’ll practically have all moura inlaws and all sweethearts.” Anavia reassured her.

“But what if Benny’s own damage is too far for any of us to understand and he goes English?” Lody murmured worriedly.

“Once anyone gets a taste of what a good moura woman is, no other can compare. English ladies, from what I’ve seen are white blanks of paper, you and all other moura women are masterpieces. It is true that the reason English ladies are bred to be that way is so that their male counterparts may draw on them and arrange them to how they want them to be and what they want to see. But moura women already come fully colored and fully realized pieces of art and therefore don’t need anything else from a mate, plus most men are shit artists.” Loreiris appraised which got Lody to snort a laugh.

“That’s true.” Lody had to agree.

“But Sierge has realized he’s made a mess of a work of art that was already fraying at the edges. The next work of art, he will be much more careful with.” Anavia ventured.

“Let’s hope so.” Lody sighed.

“Time for the finale! We have arranged a firework show for you!” Yalin announced as people started to stop dancing and wear themselves out before you all happily left the room and made your way to the roof where a series of beds were laid out as you and Demsey reclined on the most lavish one since they were the bride and groom as others took on the others as Sierge requested for Lody to join him on one in particular and Lody could not refuse him as they laid down, the soft cushy pillows and mattresses a great comfort as the blankets set out were unfolded and put over them to keep them from the chill in the air before they were given the signal to light them as everyone happily laid back comfortably and watched the show that practically all of London got to see.

You cuddled into Demsey’s side, the blanket covering up to your chin as he happily laid with you into his side as you both watched in amazement as the most beautiful fireworks started to light up the sky as you felt your love for Demsey do the same in your heart. Exploding in size and color as Demsey put his other hand protectively over your belly.

“Protecting them from the booms of the fireworks are you?” You murmured to Demsey between all the explosions.

“Perhaps.” Demsey smiled.

“Moura’s have been bred to have extra strong wombs, if the baby has survived mourkatili. Surely it’s strong enough to survive the booms from fireworks. But you’re free to try to protect them anyway.” You gently reassured him.

“I swear on my life, to do everything in my power to protect them and you, for you are all that I hold dear.” Demsey swore before he kissed you sweetly before the next explosion lit up the sky and pulled your attention back.

“Are you happy with your wedding?” Demsey asked.

“Very, but I’m most happy with my groom.” You reassured him.

“And I, with my bride.” Demsey mirrored.

Meanwhile Javyn and Jenni were in a similar state while Sierge laid down and gradually scooted closer and closer to Lody before their arms were touching before he oh so carefully reached down and over to her, letting his forefinger gently graze the outside of her hand before she turned her head to look over at him and gave him a peculiar look before she gave in and intertwined her fingers with his, holding his hand over the blanket as they watched the fireworks.

“When will you go?” Sierge asked Lody.

“Probably the day after tomorrow. My mother informed me that my price got settled on but won’t tell me what it is. But don’t worry, it’s not like grooms are lining up for me, waiting on me to come home. The process to even get to see potential grooms is exhausting for both parties. It could be a year or two before I ever got to be introduced to any potential grooms. So you have plenty of time to think it over and weigh and measure to see if it’s really worth the trouble and the hassle. Audra’s grandmother made the point that English ladies are a bit like blank canvases. Built to be durable and blameless, but blank. So that their male counterparts may paint them up and build onto them whatever they want and whatever they need. Moura ladies are all together different. We are no blank canvas or a sculpture made of pure white marble. We are masterpieces of our own. Some of us like to use color to impress and intrigue the eye and with some, the paint is not yet dry and the final coat of lacquer isn’t applied yet and are ever changing to suit the eye of the beholder. Others are so strict about technique that they don’t bother to notice that the artwork is rather boring, even if the techniques are flawless. Others like big bold messy and sloppy strokes but so much color it’s almost overwhelming. Some are big and grand and take up a whole room. Others barely take up a pocket in coat. I want you to heal, and then think long and hard about what you really want and what you really need before you try to appraise any more art.” Lody insisted.

“Even when a priceless masterpiece such as yourself is before me?” Sierge returned.

“Yes. Clean the paint off of you from the last artwork you appraised before you look at any other, some paints stain harder than others and paint from one painting may stain another if you go from one to another too quickly and I would hate to see you feel you had a hand in ruining any other artwork or to feel that an artwork has ruined you either.” Lody advised.

“Make sure you’re clean, hands, body, clothes and all. And do your research and homework to make sure that what you’re looking at and dealing with is an actual masterpiece, not just smears of paint on a canvas by a toddler fingerpainting, or even the work of a con, trying to sell a fake and sketching that looks more like scribbles as if it were a masterpiece and trying to pass off the work of a degenerate as the work of a true artisan and genius.” Lody continued as they stayed side by side, staring up the fireworks lighting up the sky.

“Not all the works in a gallery are priceless treasures. And not all masterpieces are big or have fancy frames with loud bright colors. A proper masterpiece has balance between light and shadow, shape, form and composition. And sometimes the more subdued coloring helps you focus on the focal point, instead of overwhelming you with chaos. The eye grows tired and fatigued quickly when faced with such works. But the truly pleasant artwork, with subtle intricacies. The kind that you can spend hours looking at and still feel like you could spend hours more and still have another new detail to appreciate, and the kind of painting you’re happy to own that brings you peace in not just your mind, but in your heart and your soul too? That is truly priceless.” Lody insisted.

“Because no matter how pretty the picture, or how well the execution of techniques may be or how bright the colors are, no work of art is worth your dignity, integrity or honor and do not put a price on things that should never have had a price to begin with. The truth is what matters, as does faithfulness. Because colors fade, paint cracks with age and time, and dim lighting can’t help you see it or remember it as it once was and poor care can deteriorate it to the point that you no longer want it in your house and so it loses value over time. When you put a price on the priceless all you do is cheapen yourself, and your house. And while it doesn’t make sense that a priceless work of art would be found in a dilapidated shed by the sea. That isn’t to say the painter who lives in the shed can’t paint it either. Just as a painter will let their work speak for them and itself, don’t think that because one work of art by an artist is one way, that all the works by them will be that way too. Everyone starts somewhere. No one is born a master, it takes time and patience and perseverance and practice. And I’m still young, I’m still learning to master even the basics, my masterpiece is not yet done and who knows, in a month or two, three or even six, or even a year or two or five, who knows what I’ll be then and you may not like what you see then.” Lody advised.

“How old are you again?” Sierge asked.

“Twenty,” Lody answered.

“You speak as if you’re five times that age.” Sierge praised.

“Well, my grandmother tells me that there is a fine line to be walked. There is a balance between wanting to be the smartest person in the room and needing to see others as they are and deciphering their intentions and thinking and to correctly predict their moves so that you can counter successfully instead of just reacting to others reactions, like playing chess. And there is always a need to surround yourself with people wiser than yourself, because if you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to get into another room. And if you surround yourself with people more stupid than yourself for the purpose of feeling like the smartest in the room, then you’ve made a mistake because stupid has a tendancy to rub off on others and even a wiseman arguing with an idiot, to the passerby’s, you can’t easily distinguish between the two.” Lody paraphrased from all the wise principles she had been taught by her elders.

“And a truly wise person will have the humility to know that they don’t have all the answers. Nor do they have all the knowledge or the wisdom but they will be hungry for it just like food or water.” Lody recounted, grateful she had been listening and paying attention to such wisdom from her grandmother just as the finale of the fireworks show lit up the sky as Lody gave Sierge’s hand a good squeeze before she let go of his hand only to roll over to her side to kiss him on the cheek sweetly only to be surprised when Sierge did the same and met her lips with his own and kissed her earnestly and was delighted when she kissed back and just as the kiss deepened and it was very evident that both of them wanted this to progress, Lody put on the breaks and pulled away and gave him an apologetic smile as she pulled herself away from him, leaving him scrambling to get up with her as she quickly picked up the blanket and put it between them as she folded it.

“Good night Sierge Voyambi, it was a pleasure to spend the evening with you. Please remember my advice.” Lody requested before she curtsied respectfully and put the now folded blanket back down on the bed and quickly left, leaving Sierge rather bewildered and aching from her loss as he tried to give chase but she was swifter and almost vanished as attendants came and escorted you and Demsey to the honeymoon suite that was in the inn just next door while the others said their goodbyes and began to depart while Jenni and Javyn discretely got a room at the inn themselves.

Once your family returned to your home they found Lody packing up and already wearing her riding leathers.

“Why are you leaving so soon? Is everything ok?” Loreiris asked.

“Did you ever meet someone that made you question everything and make you want to throw out all the principles and everything you stand for and you knew if you stayed, you were going to lose all your self control and make the same mistake others did and turn into the biggest hypocrite?” Lody asked as she carried her now packed bag out to the stables and started to saddle her own griffin who was excited to get out of the stable and stretch their wings out.

“Yes, I see it scares you as much as it did me the first time I felt it.” Loreiris noted as Lody laughed mirthlessly, almost mockingly at herself.

“All he did was kiss me and somehow it was as if it was my first real kiss all over again and it was like he set me on fire and even now my heart and soul are still ablaze and it’s as torturous as it is pleasurable. Now I can no longer find fault with Benny taking advantage of him because right now I want the same thing, and that makes me no better than her and my own pride and dignity is incensed by that and there is war going on within me and if I stay I’m going to make the same mistakes she did and I can’t do that to Sierge, he just had his heart and soul ripped from his body and mauled and ripped apart and as much as I can sympothize with that and want to fix it, I know it’s not my job to clean up my cousin’s messes, and it’s not my place to do so either and as much as I want to blame my feelings and my instincts on this stupid henna, I know it has nothing to do with it and it’s a sad, cheap scape goat. I spent all night practically quoting every principle from every holy book I’ve read and as much as I wanted to tell myself that I did it for Sierge’s benefit, I also did it for my own, to remind myself that I’m just as raw as he is and it’s not Sierge’s place to fix me either and not his job to fix Finn’s messes in me. My mother told me this morning that my price got settled just this morning and I know she is already hard at work trying to orchestrate potentials for me and I know Sierge won’t pass her tests just based on Benny’s past with him. I tried to tell him that he had plenty of time to work on himself and to heal but...I don’t know if that will be true when I get home.” Lody confessed as she tried to keep her composure and not cry but she was failing as tears escaped her eyes and ran her eye makeup.

“So now you think flying a thousand miles will put out the flames?” Loreiris posed.

“No, but it will hopefully die them down to embers because if I stay I’ll be consumed as will he and I can’t imagine the damage this blaze will inflict, and then he really will swear off mouras forever and make things difficult for Audra and Calla and I can’t do that to them, I love them too much to even chance that their soon to be home life will be endangered, especially on my account.” Lody confessed.

“So tomorrow, when Sierge comes looking for you, what do you want me to tell him?” Loreiris asked as she handed Lody her bridal.

“Tell him the truth. He has been lied to enough. The truth is all I can offer him and if he can’t be satisfied with that, then there is nothing that can be done.” Lody answered.

“Good. Do yourself the favor by writing down all that you told him and live by your own advice.” Loreiris advised.

“Will do.” Lody nodded as she wiped her eyes before she hugged Loreiris tightly.

“I’ll see you soon, fly safe Lody.” Loreiris offered.

“Thank you.” Lody whispered.

“And of course give my apologies to Audra for leaving without saying goodbye.” Lody requested.

“Of course.” Loreiris readily agreed as Lody pulled away and then hoisted herself up into the saddle and took off into the night, using the stars to orientate her as she flew home.

Meanwhile Demsey had finally taken off all the jewelry and clothes from your body and had taken several long moments appreciate every inch of skin and it’s decoration, with his mouth and his hands before me made love you slowly and sensually. Almost overwhelming you with pleasure as he practically worshiped your body with his own as he murmured the sweetest most wonderful things to you as you did the same.

Meanwhile only a few rooms down Jenniverre and Javyn were giving into the effects of the extra strong and potent henna and throwing all caution to the wind as Javyn was having the single greatest sexual encounter of his life because Jenni was practically a fantasy brought to life.

She was sexy and sultry without being vulgar. She was innocent without being too prudish, she was clever without being cold, warm and affectionate without being too forward, she was the perfect balance of everything. She was so much more than he had ever dreamed of wanting. She was a vision, a complete and flawless work of art and all his. He had no idea that such an exquisite woman existed, much less would be interested in him, much less would return his attentions and affections and suddenly it was like she was the only woman in the world and the only other being in the universe that mattered.

And Javyn swore that he would make her his wife come hell or high water. He would be traveling to Dorrierra as soon as he could liquidate as many assets as he had because her current price was more than he had but by the gods, he would take out a loan or do payments with the stables if he had to. She needed to be his. Because he needed her like air in his lungs. She was his missing puzzle piece. She was his world. When at first he had thought that Demsey had been rather reckless to move so quickly but now, with his very own moura, he understood. Time was a factor that didn’t necessarily matter in such a case as this. Only two weeks ago he would laughed such a thing off as ridiculous but now, it made so much sense. Just like knowing when was a good moment to buy something valuable before it would be lost forever or go to another buyer. Like getting a preview of the goods before an auction. But he would aghast to have any other having Jenni. He knew an excellent thing when he saw it and he was going to claim it before it could be claimed by another.

Meanwhile Sierge sat at his desk at his London home and tried to write down every little thing that happened, every word Lody spoke to him as his memory was only too happy to replay it all for him. He had never been more determined in his life. He was going to prove himself worthy of such a wonder. Kissing Lody was like feeling fireworks in his soul and not just seeing them with his eyes. She had tasted addictively good and while he wished he could be proving the validity and earnestness of his affections, he was so impressed that she had so much self control to withdraw before things progressed any farther.

It only spoke to her exquisite character. And he was adamant that he was going to earn every inch of respect and admiration from her. He was going to take her words to heart and live by them from now on and his instincts were screaming at him that he would only benefit by living by them. His heart and soul were on fire but instead of the disastrous forrest fire that Benny seemed to ignite, this was altogether different. It was like she set off a firework inside of him and he was going to light up her life with delight. He was going to do everything she asked him to, he was going to make her proud of him. He needed to prove that he was more than what Benny made him out to be as he even wrote down what her last words to him were because if that was the benchmark, he could surpass it. He had to, if it was the last thing he ever did.

#Blood For Gold #Blood for Gold Chapter 23 #regency era orc period drama #regency orcs #moura #And now we shift the focus.

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irrlicht-writes · 3 years

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the path we choose to walk on pt.4

So this is it. Part 4, everyone. The last part! We made it to the end! Wooo! (now I have to focus on my bang again) Thank you for being with me. I hope you enjoyed the ride. Tell me what you thought! Tell me what you liked! Tell me what you hated! (be nice though) @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @cass-said-i-love-you @professorerudite @insertdeeplyrics anyone else want on the tag list?

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Ao3

Part 4: let the good times roll

Sam and Eileen gift a painting set to Castiel one day. Dean isn’t sure why but they say it’s because he saved their baby. Later Cas admits to Dean that he barely remembers what happened.

As it turns out, Castiel sees the world vastly different than Dean. Dean’s no art critic, nor could he detect a masterpiece in the making but to him, Cas’ pieces feel alive. There is a certain aspect to them.

Castiel paints mostly with his fingers and the faces of the people are wonky at best but still, they stare right into Dean’s heart.

“They are dead,” Cas says, “but with this, they’re alive. There was a world people cannot understand today. You have changed so much in so little time and yet it remains – you will always look at the world with wonder in your eyes.”

Charlie helps them sell Cas’ art online. They sell somewhat well and Dean thinks that Cas is happy that he gets to help. Cas had said that he would’ve like to take a real job, but Dean shut him down very quickly.

Nobody would want to hire Cas – first, Cas didn’t even properly exist. And second; there would be too many days where Cas would have to stay at home. Any employer would only allow so many sick days and Dean is afraid of sending Cas to a therapist.

Even though he knows that they all probably need one, how would you even start explaining?

“Yeah, roughly 15 years ago I set off with my brother to find our dad and now our son turned into God. Oh and also we picked up this literal angel as our best friend and all of us – our son concluded who by the way was fathered by Lucifer – have died several times and then we just kind of went going.”

Yeah. No.

Not to mention all the additional bullshit Castiel would have to unpack. Dean’s been in a mental constitution once; he doesn’t really have to go there again. And he certainly doesn’t want Cas to go there – also, again.

The bees are still on Dean’s mind. He doesn’t need a repeat of that.

And anyway, the paintings are selling. And in time, they might even be able to ask for more money. Dean doesn’t really hold out hope but who knows?

Two years after Maria is born, Sam and Eileen get married. Dean knows that they’ve been discussing marriage for a long time and have never been able to decide whether it was for them or not. But then Eileen proposed and here they are.

“She asked me to accompany her with the ring shopping. I think she just wanted to use me for my fingers,” Cas says to Dean and Dean smirks.

“Do you think Jack’ll show up?”

“I don’t know. I’ve told him; and I’m sure he knows but whether or not he’ll actually show up... it would be good to see him again. But even if he can’t make it here, he’ll be watching over these two.”

They are about to begin the ceremony and Dean’s excited to be the Best Man. He’s never thought he’d get to be that for real so it feels like a dream. Maria’s supposed to be the Flower Girl but she hasn’t shown up yet.

“Cas,” Charlie rushes over to them. Cas blinks up at her, tilting his head.

“Maria doesn’t want to walk, she’s embarrassed. Do you think you can help her out?”

Maria has gotten overly attached to Cas in these past two years and Dean believes it’s just infatuation. After all, who could look into these big blue eyes and not fall for them? Dean, however, is a little bit upset over the fact that she likes Cas better than him. But he’ll just wait until Maria will appreciate cars. And that’s when Dean will win.

“Of course,” Cas replies, “come on, Miracle.”

Miracle has essentially become Castiel’s therapy dog. She follows him everywhere and makes sure he eats and drinks enough. She loves Cas to pieces and anyone who even looks at the angel wrong gets growled at.

Dean watches them walk away and gets his phone out. He knows that there is a photographer here that films things but he wants that piece for himself. And he has to go up there anyway, so he might just go now anyway.

It takes five more minutes before Cas was apparently able to convince Maria to come out – and even then, she’s getting carried. She’s holding the flower basket close to her chest and Cas encourages her to throw the petals down. Dean’s heart melts at the sight of them.

Cas stops next to the pew where Claire and Kaia are sitting and basically tells Maria to throw flowers on them. Claire laughs and playfully shoves Cas away from them. Jody and Donna are also getting petals thrown in their face. Everybody is smiling and Dean’s happy that he’s filming this.

Maria is giggling and throwing petals all over the place. “She was so stiff before,” Charlie whispers in his direction.

“She wasn’t even looking at me and now look at that. How is Cas’ gayness softer than mine?”

“You’re just intimidating.”

“Cas is an angel!”

Eileen is beautiful when she walks down the aisle. Sam next to him exhales and has the biggest smile on his stupid face.

“Mama so pretty!” Maria proclaims loudly while clapping her hands.

“Yes, she is,” Cas replies a little quieter. He has her sitting on his lap and he has a flower in his hair. Apparently Maria was supposed to give that to her mom but she had decided that it was for Cas, so now he was wearing the flower. It does fit him, Dean thinks.

The ceremony itself goes over without a hitch even though Sam almost breaks down crying twice. Dean was expecting more, if he’s honest. Maybe Sammy practised with Cas – apparently Cas is the solution to every problem.

Later, at the party, Dean holds an embarrassing speech about Sam and after, Sam dunks his head into a pie. This is fair, because Dean definitely deserves that. It’s all good, though. Cas laughs and wipes Dean’s face clean and Maria – still in Cas’ lap – giggles like it’s Christmas.

Dean dances with Eileen and Sam dances with Cas and Maria. Charlie’s taking pictures and Dean loves it. Cas can’t dance for very long and he leans heavily onto Sam but he tries his best for Sam and Maria both.

Dean loves him.

And someday, he’ll man up enough to actually say these words. He just needs a little bit longer. And Cas is here to stay. Dean’ll work up the courage he needs and then it’ll be alright.

Charlie is dancing with Maria and Eileen is sitting next to Cas. She’s taken her shoes off and is likely complaining to the angel that her feet hurt. Cas is holding the wedding bouquet now and Dean knows that Eileen will insist he keep it.

“I wish she would’ve thrown it,” Claire says and Dean wiggles his eyebrows.

“You were hoping to catch it, weren’t you?”

“Shut up.”

At the end, Jack didn’t show. The party had ended a while ago, but Dean and Castiel are still sitting on a bench outside. It’s a nice night, and Dean doesn’t want to drive home yet. There are no clouds in the sky and the stars are shining bright. Dean reckons that that’s Jack’s doing. He still wishes he would’ve shown his face.

“Don’t be mad at him,” Castiel says while leaning on Dean’s shoulder. “You know he doesn’t do that well with a lot of people.”

Yes. That is true but still – he hadn’t even come to congratulate Sam? He also still hadn’t come to meet Maria yet. Dean wonders what work a God has to do. Didn’t Jack say he wanted to be hands off?

“Don’t you miss him?” Dean asks.

“Every day,” Castiel replies.

Castiel raises a hand towards the sky and Dean sees a shooting star. But the star stops after it passes Cas’ hand.

Castiel retracts his hand and there’s a golden orb floating above his palm.

“What’s that?”

It glows brightly and it’s almost too much for Dean to look at. It compels him in the same way it tells him to stay away from it. Where did it come from? Why is it here? What’s it going to do?

“Divinity,” Castiel quietly replies and closes his hand, making the orb disappear.

“Dean, really?”

Dean sighs. He knew it was a mistake to talk to Sam about this. But he knows that Charlie would’ve squealed in his ear and honestly, Claire is still a bit too young for this to talk about it. And yeah sure, Eileen would’ve been an option but even after all this time, Dean still hasn’t improved on his signing skills.

“I know it’s stupid.”

“I didn’t say that. But have you even choked up an I love you?”

Dean is quiet.

“Oh my god, I knew it. Dean, you can’t just propose like that!”

“...shut up.”

He pockets the box inside his jacket. He doesn’t want to propose right now anyway. It’s more like a promise to himself, that one day he might be worthy of this. If – when he’ll find the words one day, he’ll be good enough for Cas. He can be.

He will be.

For Cas, the best thing that ever happened to him.

For Cas, who still thinks he’s barely tolerated.

For Cas, who sees the world as more than it is.

For Cas, who loves so much and has never been loved in return.

Their first kiss doesn’t quite happen as Dean would’ve imagined it – not that he had ever been imagining it in the first place.

Cas is watching Dancing With The Stars and he’s really fascinated. Apparently, he’s never danced before. Dean’s never told him about Garth and Bess dancing in front of the window. He wonders how they’re doing now. Maybe they’re dancing right at this moment, while Sam and Castiel are finally asleep?

“Dean, please?” Castiel’s blue eyes are pleading and Dean has a hard time saying no. Cas always asks for so little and Dean’s always liked dancing when he got a chance to do it – which sadly is not often. So he sighs and stands up from the couch, offering his hand up to Cas.

“Might I have this dance, milady?”

Cas blinks at him in question, and then looks at the outstretched hand. At last, there’s a smile stealing itself across Castiel’s face and he gently takes Dean’s hand and hauls himself up.

“Of course, my lord.”

Dean chuckles and pulls Cas flush against him. It’s been a while since they were this close together without one of them on literal death’s door. Cas is alive and warm under his hands and Dean starts swaying. He’s never danced a real dance, much less so with another man. But it’s not like Cas could dance at all, so it’s okay. And besides – it’s not about the skill, it’s about the experience. And Cas –

Cas is laughing. It’s a happy laugh and he enjoys himself. It’s truly a sight to see. It’s rare to see Cas so relaxed and Dean feels more than privileged to witness this much less be the cause of it. Dean swirls Cas on the spot and as the swirl ends, Cas stumbles forward against Dean’s chest. Dean holds him tight and it’s a good feeling.

Cas’ hair is brushing against Dean’s chin and he feels calm. He gently puts one hand on Castiel’s cheek and Cas nuzzles into it. Castiel’s hand is loosely laying on Dean’s chest and the volume of the TV playing in the background is already fading away.

Dean’s in love.

He’s in love with Castiel.

He gently directs Castiel’s face upwards and looks at the big, blue, blinking eyes.

He doesn’t understand how he got to be so lucky.

Dean bends down, just a little, and ever so gently presses his lips against Castiel’s mouth.

It’s a quiet kiss, one that doesn’t require anything.

“Dean,” is all that Cas says afterwards but Dean quietly hushes him.

“Shh,” he replies and kisses him again.

It’s easier than anything else he’s ever done.

He doesn’t remember why he was ever afraid of this.

This, right here, is where he’s meant to be.

With the TV running in the background, in his shitty apartment, in worn-out clothes, with a dog sleeping in her bed, kissing Castiel.

Sometimes things are just easy.

Dean holds Castiel tight and thankfully, Castiel doesn’t speak.

It’s the most comforting silence and Dean cherishes it.

He’s in love.

It’s a soft thing, after. Nothing changes and yet, so much is different.

He kisses Cas in the morning before he goes to work; in the afternoon when he returns; when they make dinner; when they watch TV.

It’s the easiest thing in the world.

And yet, Dean knows that Cas wonders.

I know you don’t love me.

But Dean does. He just can’t say it. If he did, then – then what would John say? Dad would judge him for this. Dad would call him a girl; and a fairy; and tell Dean that Dad hadn’t raised a gay son.

He’s still thinking about this in bed. Next to him, Cas is fast asleep, holding onto Dean’s arm. Miracle is snoring in her own doggy bed.

“I love Cas,” Dean says toneless into the dark room and is instantly overcome by anxiety. Somehow, even after all these years, he expects John to bust through the door and expose him and nail him to the cross or something.

He turns to his side and looks at Cas. The angel looks so relaxed in his sleep and Dean gently pats his hair. Cas mumbles a bit and burrows closer to Dean as if to seek warmth. Dean puts his free arm around him and pulls him as close as possible, tucking the angel under his chin.

He doesn’t know what to do. Cas deserves to be told. But whenever Dean thinks it might be the right time for it – then there’s John standing in the distance, observing and judging him. Dean knows he just has to do it, that he just has to push through. Dad is dead and nothing can happen anymore. But this fear is far too ingrained inside his brain. Maybe writing a letter would help? But somehow it doesn’t feel like enough.

Dean needs to say it.

He has to say it.

But he can’t.

He can’t.

For all his bravery, for all his courage – he can’t.

“A bird learns to fly when it falls.”

Cas is not in bed when Dean wakes up.

“Water will whittle away the mountain.”

Cas is nowhere to be found inside the apartment. Miracle is quiet.

“A flower will break through the concrete.”

Dean panics. In his panic, he runs outside.

“Long after its death, a star will remain in the sky.”

Outside it’s foggy.

But there is Cas.

Cas is standing outside, barefooted, and Dean is rooted to the spot.

There are golden orbs floating around Castiel.

Divinity, Cas had called them.

“Cas,” Dean breathes and the angel turns around.

“Hello, Dean.”

“What are those?”

“I’ve told you. Divinity.”

“Yes, I know, but what are they?”

“A burden shared is a burden lifted. Ever since I woke all the way back before time existed, a great many stars have died. And still, some remain in the sky. Did you never wonder where they go?

Their physical form shall burn from velocity, but what about the stars? What about them? Who catches them? Where do they go? Shall they forever be lost in space?

I was lost too, you know. I was lost ever since the start. Sometimes I think I remember. Sometimes I think I remember an all consuming light in the dark. Sometimes I think I remember the beginning before it ever began. Sometimes I think I remember the void, the naught.

And then, just as quickly, I lose it again.

Why did Father abandon us?

Why did He create so many of us, if none of us mattered?

Come with us, the stars whispered to me, we have no answers but mayhap we shall find them.

Why did the stars exist, if only to die? I didn’t want them to be lost and so I collected them. I found them in the void and I took them with me for I thought I might find a purpose within them. And in time, they started finding me. I became their haven, their destination.

But still, I was lost. Each time a star would find me, I think I can see the light in the void again, the end after the end. But soon these memories are gone, too, and I can only hold on to scraps. And I wonder.

What if I don’t remember at all? What if what I see are just fragments from the stars, showing me what they saw in their last moments?

Dean, you must know: time is not linear. What happens before will happen after. The end happens before the start and sometimes the beginning happens in the middle. This time, this life is just one stream amongst them all.

Some stars tell me of the end; and others tell me of the start. Maybe some tell me of the middle. And maybe some tell me of all, and all I get is the light in the void at the start.

I’ve wondered.

Why am I broken?

Why am I, of all the angels, the only one that’s cracked?

What went wrong?

Why was it only ever me? Why wasn’t perfect like the others? Why weren’t others cracked as I was?

Why was I the only one that’s ever looked to the stars and collected them?

What if Father never made me?

What if – what if I was created by something else?

And if so, what was it? And why? And why did Father allow me to continue existing? Did He perhaps just not notice? Did He perhaps just not care? Did He perhaps just think me merely another insignificant angel that He needn’t pay attention to?

What broke the connection?

Why am I the only angel to love you?

Was I whole before, perhaps, but if that was so – what shattered me? What put me back together? Where did the missing pieces go?

The light I remember in the naught – what is it? Where does it come from? Why does it matter at all, why do I care if it lights up the void or not?

Why do I cling to a light that does not matter?

I –

I’m lost, Dean.

Amidst the stars, I am lost.

From here on out, where do I go?”

Dean reaches out.

Castiel is standing there all alone, surrounded by what remains of the stars – surrounded by divinity.

He takes Castiel’s hand.

“Go with me,” he says.

“I love you,” he says.

Amidst the stars, Castiel smiles.

Dean thinks he can see the light that Castiel spoke about.

It’s a soft, shining light and it’s free.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a big thing, Cas, you know? What if I fail?”

“Then we’ll fail together.”

Dean buys a corner lot. It’s very expensive. But he has a dream. He doesn’t want to work construction forever. He deserves to be happy. And Cas is here. Cas is here, and Sam is here, and Eileen is here – and everyone is here.

He’s not alone and he can rely on all these people. They want to help him; they want him to be happy. He can do this. For the first time in his life, he can do something solely for himself.

For the first time in his life, he doesn’t have to depend only on himself.

Sam hoists Maria out of the car seat. He wants to go and help Eileen out of the car but if he did, she’d kick him in the shin.

“Are there no balloons?” Maria wants to know. Sam looks up. True, there are no balloons outside.

“I’m sure Uncle Dean’s got some inside, sweetheart.”

Maria grins from ear to ear and hugs her monkey toy harder. Cas had given it to her just a few years ago. It hadn’t even been her birthday; he had just wanted to give something to his niece. Sam is glad that they get along so well. But sometimes he debates: should they tell her that Cas is an angel? It’s not a problem right now, but he and Dean and Eileen will start aging one day while Cas will not.

But, ah well, it might be best to cross that bridge when they’d get there.

“Hunter’s Rest is a nice name,” Eileen says when she finally steps next to Sam. Sam just nods. It’s true. Sam had kept suggesting Roadhouse, in Ellen’s and Ash’s and Jo’s legacy but Dean had always refused. Dean hadn’t wanted to be a copy-cat of what they’ve been.

Dean wants something that’s his own.

And Sam couldn’t be happier for him.

It was a long road, getting here, and even now he could scarcely believe it.

But the Hunter’s Rest is officially opening today.

He smiles at Eileen, takes both his girl’s hands and enters Dean’s bar.

“Uncle Dean!”

Maria yells as soon as she spots her uncle and throws herself at his middle from across the room. Dean laughs and catches her. He lifts her up and holds her on his hip.

“How’s my favourite tornado?”

She giggles and hugs him tight.

“Where’s Uncle Cas?”

“He’s still in the back, sweetheart. Be nice to him today, okay? It’s not a good day. But I know he’ll be happy to see you, so why don’t you go say hello?”

Maria nods with a solemn expression on her face. She knows about Uncle Cas’ bad days. She shouldn’t be too loud on these and she has to understand that he might not want to play as much with her. She loves Uncle Cas. She wouldn’t tell this to anyone because she knows Uncle Dean would be upset, but Uncle Cas is her favourite. There’s a glow about him that she can’t explain to anyone, but it draws her to him.

Uncle Dean puts her on the ground and she goes to find Uncle Cas. When she finds him, he smiles at her. He looks tired and sick, but he glows so brightly today.

“Hello, Maria,” he greets her.

She steps closer and climbs into his lap.

“I love you,” she says and Uncle Cas hugs her tight.

“Looks good, Dean,” Sam says to Dean in the meantime. Dean grins and pulls his brother close. He nods at Eileen who waves back.

“How are we coming along?” he asks her and she rubs her stomach.

“Good,” she replies, “the doctor says it’s two.”

“Two, huh? Man, Sammy, you dog!”

Sam laughs and Dean slaps him on the shoulder.

“Maria was really hoping for some balloons,” Sam says and Dean shrugs.

“I have some in the back, but I don’t know if I should hang them up. It’s gonna be a few hours still until official opening, you know?”

“Are Charlie and Stevie coming?”

“Yeah, Charlie’s gonna help me set up the music. The others are coming too, but Donna can’t make it. Some important thing came up but she’s gonna drop by in the coming days.”

Sam nods.

“There should be balloons,” Eileen pipes up and Dean sighs deeply.

“Fine,” he says then, “but y’all are helping me with that. I ain’t the only one blowing these things up.”

“I overheard,” Cas says as he’s rolling out of the back in his wheelchair. On his lap, there are Maria and a big load of balloons.

Dean sighs. “Why am I being set up?”

Castiel smiles at Dean. “Because balloons make everything better. We should’ve gotten glitter, too, you know? We’ll help, Dean.”

“Bad day, huh?” Sam asks him while they are placing the balloons. Dean nods.

“Last couple days actually. Yesterday was the worst; he wouldn’t even get out of bed. The day before that, he spent almost all day puking into the toilet. But he’s getting better now, I think. It’s just – I know that he’s sick. I know that these days happen and that they’ll happen again, it just – it just fucking scares me, y’know? Knowing that there’s nothing I can do, no spell to find to cure him or anything – it just makes me feel so helpless.”

Sam puts his hand on Dean’s shoulder.

“Dean, you’re doing great. What you’re going through – what you both are going through – is extremely stressful. I can’t even imagine. I can’t imagine all the hurdles you had to go through to get here. How scary it has to be to wake at night and see Cas being sick again. I’m proud of you, Dean. I really am. You’re holding it together so well and if – if you ever have to break, I’m here for you. We’re all here for you. You’re not alone. You’re never alone, Dean.”

Dean huffs out a laugh and turns to hug his brother.

It’s true.

Their lone journey is over.

They started with just the two of them.

But they’re never going to be alone again.

“I love you,” Dean whispers into dark hair.

“I don’t know when I fell in love. I don’t know when I realised. But I love you. I love all of you.

We’ve endured a great many things, you and I. We fell and rose together, we burned and crashed together. And in all this time, you weren’t even supposed to be there. But you were. You fought and clawed your way back to me every single time, and I’ve never even said thank you. I never once appreciated all the pain and misery you had to endure just to get back to me.

No matter what, you were there. You were there for me and Sam when nobody else was. You stayed by your side since the very beginning and you overturned everything you believed in because you started to believe in me. You had faith in me, the man without faith. And through you – you became my faith. I believed in nothing, I had faith in nothing – except you. I had faith in you. When you were gone, so was my faith gone. And when you returned, you brought it back with you.

When we met, you told me that good things do happen.

For so long, I didn’t believe you. But you were right. And know what? That good thing that would happen to me was right in front of me. And we didn’t know. Neither of us knew. Who could’ve imagined?

A man afraid of flying and an angel afraid of falling.

We really did meet in the middle, huh?

I’m sorry, Cas. I never did right by you. All your life you thought you were wrong because you weren’t like the others. You always believed that you needed to atone for your sins someway. And I – I didn’t help you. I made you think that you were expendable, that you weren’t worth anything. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, because I was wrong.

You’re worth everything. You matter so much, Cas – to me, to Sam, to the world. I’m sorry that all of us have fallen short. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll make it up to you for all eternity, because I love you. If you’ll have me for whatever reason, then I’m yours. And I’m never going to let go. If I lose you, I will stop at nothing to find you again.

It’s you and me. Now and forever.”

“Look for the light,” Castiel whispers into the darkness.

“Look for the light and you’ll always find me there.”

At the end of a long, long life, Dean opens his eyes.

Above him, there’s nothing but endless stretches of blue sky.

Dean sits up and looks around.

He’s in an onion field and he stands up.

He turns to the side and sees him there.

There’s a trench-coat angel standing in the onion field, surrounded by the golden orbs of stars.

The wings behind him are magnificent and have the colour of a rainbow.

Dean starts approaching him.

Behind the angel, there is a massive tree.

“Hey, Cas.”

“Hello, Dean.”

#supernatural #Destiel #castiel #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #eileen leahy #writing #spn fix it #spn 15x20 #fanfiction #hurt #hurt/comfort #dean x castiel #userpris

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ccsthemovie2 · 4 years

Text

hi there i couldnt stop wondering about if the clow cards, like, actually NEEDED manufactured danger to be properly transformed into sakura cards. so i went to the wiki and counted. it gets a bit long so it’s under a cut. whoever runs the ccs wiki, thank you so much. TL;DR - in the anime, arguably twenty four cards were transformed with no dangerous situation needed, which is NEARLY HALF OF THEM.

just saying.

CARDS THAT WERE TRANSFORMED IN IMMEDIATE DANGER:

(firey song sword jump fly erase float freeze mist watery time wood thunder snow light dark)

CARDS THAT MIGHT COUNT AS DANGER TRANSFORMATIONS:

(shadow - tomoyo was trapped but not necessarily about to be Struck Down with something.

maze, illusion - done to prevent students from walking INTO danger.

cloud, shot, rain, fight, storm, silent - wiki says they were transformed in the final vs eriol confrontation, i dont remember how that went down exactly offhand but im sure there was Pressure.

through, twin - unknown time of transformation but the wiki suspects it was during when sakura walks into her house like "wooo that prank was a FOUR CARDER")

CARDS CHANGED IN NO IMMEDIATE DANGER, BUT HAD TO DO WITH ERIOL’S INVOLVEMENT

(power dash windy loop big little shield dream glow)

i want to point out that eriol literally just asked her if she could please transform the dream card. and she just, did it, and it was transformed. i just want to point out that that is a thing you can ask to get someone to transform cards.

CARDS POSSIBLY CHANGED IN NO IMMEDIATE DANGER, AS SUSPECTED BY THE WIKI

(mirror - its seen being used but not the moment of transformation, but it was probably just for hidings.

earthy - wiki suspects it filled the hole under king penguin after eriol filled it with sheep.)

CARDS CHANGED WHERE MAYBE I GUESS ERIOL WAS DOING STUFF BUT IT WAS REALLY SAKURAS IDEA IMO

(move, create - there’s a short where sakura uses these to prank kero with a fake cake after eriol lets kero out to get at her real one she’s baking. so there technically is his involvement going on, but sakura’s actions were her own?)

CARDS CHANGED PURELY BC SAKURA DECIDED TO CHANGE THEM!!!!

(sweet voice lock libra sand change wave flower sleep bubbles return)

UNKNOWN ENTIRELY

(arrow)

#talky #cardcaptor sakura #ccs #i guess TEEEECHNICALLY sleep could b eriol involvement #bc hes the one who made spinny get sugardrunk #but thats too many steps removed imo. spinel acted on his own n kero asked sakura to use sleep on his own #god i hope my math is right #hfvjhfjh minor edit flipped a panel in the last image just for better flow

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aweebwrites · 4 years

Text

A Day Away (Ship Olympics Entry #2)

Kai was up before the sun was - a feat in itself. In fact, not only was he up, he was dressed and ready to face a day he has been anticipating for over two weeks now. He almost couldn’t find it in him to sleep but today was a day he wanted to be well-rested for. He made sure to pick out comfortable clothes, nothing too restricting at all and certainly not his gi. Today was a day when he was off duty. Ninjago could be coming to an end - again- and he would not be interrupted. He looked over himself in the bathroom mirror, then nodded and headed back to their shared room to wake Jay - only to find him already up and ready in comfortable clothes like he had told him to. He spotted Kai then and grinned, walking over to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“I knew you were excited for today but to be up this early?” Jay huffed and Kai shrugged with a grin, wrapping his arms around Jay’s waist.

“Of course. We get a whole day to ourselves, unbothered by whatever villain may show their ugly faces. I want a head start before Wu changes his mind.” Kai told him, then kissed his freckled cheek and Jay laughs, the sound of music to Kai’s ears. “You ready?” He asked Jay who nodded.

“Where are we going?” He asked Kai curiously.

He hadn’t uttered a single word about it since the day he started thinking up both of them taking a whole day for themselves.

“I dunno.” Kai shrugged as he began leading him out and Jay sputtered, following behind Kai out to the deck of the Bounty.

“You don’t? Bu- how- that doesn’t make any sense. Are we really gonna wander around Ninjago for the day?” Jay asked him as he came to a stop in the middle of the deck, cold air nipping at their exposed arms and legs.

“Is that such a bad thing?” Kai asked him, tilting his head to the side. “Let’s get lost for a little bit, away from everything. It’ll be like it’s just you and me in the whole world. Just for today. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Kai asked him softly and Jay chewed on his bottom lip.

It does sound nice when Kai puts it that way… He sighed then nodded, giving him a half-hearted smile.

“Well, as long as I’m with you, I’m sure it’ll be nice.” Jay says and Kai grinned at him, all bright and radiant, just like the sun.

Jay’s sun.

“That’s the spirit! Now, wrap your arms around my waist.” Kai says, turning away from him and Jay looked at his boyfriend confused but does as he asked.

Jay yelped when he was suddenly hoisted off the ground, Kai’s elemental dragon suddenly appeared under them. Kai laughed as he held onto the chains of his dragon then urged it forward and they were airborne, his dragon flying ahead, climbing above the clouds covering the dawn sky. Jay looked around at the clouds stained with pinks and yellows as the sun began to rise, awing at the picture it made below them. The wind ruffling through his hair, sky above, before, and behind him in bright oranges, pinks, purples and blues… He grinned, nuzzling into Kai’s back. This was already perfect. Kai glanced over his shoulder at Jay once he felt him nuzzle his back, spotting his wide smile and finding his own heart melting. This was the right choice. No fancy date, no walks through the parks, none of that. Just them and the world before them.

“Wooo!” Kai yelled, urging his dragon to fly faster.

Jay whooped with him, a wide grin on his face as he did, his arms still firmly around Kai’s waist as the world passed them by quickly, the sun’s light bathing them in its glow not too long after, turning Kai’s red-brown eyes to deep gold and Jay’s eyes to bright, sparkling sapphires.

“Hold on tight!” Kai yelled over the rushing wind and Jay does so, squeezing his arms around Kai’s toned torso tightly, unable to stop a laugh as Kai urged his dragon higher and higher until they were flying straight up.

Jay looked at the darker sky ahead, seeing the last shine of the morning star further east as the sun’s brightness overpowered it. The air was even colder up here, goose bumps forming on Jay’s skin from the icy winds. His eyes widened once he realised that Kai’s elemental dragon was sputtering out, the air thinner this far up.

“Kai!” He yelled over the wind and he only laughed, his dragon vanishing from under them.

They remained suspended mid air for a moment and in his shock, Jay let go of Kai. They started plummeting them and fear grasped Jay as he looked down at the clouds, at the bit of Ninjago he could see past them rushing up to meet them.

“Kai-!” He looked across at Kai to find him falling nearby, his eyes on him, a wide grin on his face.

How can he remain cool in a situation like this?! Kai reached a hand out towards him and he blinked at it then back at him. He must have lost it for a bubble of laughter to escape his lips. His heart was pounding, his limbs were shaking. They were falling for hecks sake! But he was smiling at Kai as he grinned at him, his hand waiting for his. Jay shook his head then reached for him, their fingers just an inch too far apart. He reached harder as Kai did the same and they grasped each others' hands, relief filling Jay as he did. It wasn’t so scary when he had someone to hold onto. When he had Kai to hold onto. He reached his other hand and they held onto each other, their fingers laced together as they plummeted still. There was a moment of thick fog as they passed through the clouds then there they were again. Kai pulled him closer and Jay willingly went along, releasing his hands to grasp his cheeks as Kai’s arms came around his waist.

Their falling positions changed, Kai below him with Jay on top of him. Jay brushed their noses together, before leaning in, kissing his boyfriend deeply as they fell together. Flames flickered over Jay’s skin as electricity made Kai’s hair stand on edge. That was the only warning they had before they suddenly stopped falling, a purple dragon carrying them now, leaving a trail of purple fire and lightning as it flew. Jay pulled back from where they were laying on its back, looking over it with surprise.

“Did we…” Jay whispered then held onto Kai’s shoulders as he sat up, leaving himself seated in his boyfriend’s lap.

“Yeah. We did.” Kai says with awe of their fusion dragon. “What do we call it?” Kai asked, looking up at Jay and the lightning ninja rubbed Kai’s shoulder as he thought.

“Well… It’s made out of lightning and electricity so… Plasma Dragon.” Jay decided and Kai hummed.

“Not bad. Better than what I was thinking.” He shrugged and Jay arched a brow.

“What were you thinking?” He asked and Kai rubbed the back of his head.

“Firelight,” Kai told Jay, who blinked.

It… Wasn’t a bad name actually.

“You know, because it’s apart of us..? Together...” Kai continued with a shrug and a smile pulled the corner of Jay’s lips.

For all Kai liked acting as if he was cooler than Zane’s ice, he was really just a big sap. Jay loved that about him.

“... Firelight it is.” Jay says, leaning his forehead against Kai’s. “What’s next, Mr. Adventurer? Where do we go next?” He asked him and Kai chuckled, sliding his arms around Jay’s waist.

“Wherever the wind takes us.”

_________

Jay hopped off their dragon before it fully landed, feeling a lot more optimistic about their trip than ever. Kai chuckled then hopped off too, the purple dragon vanishing once he did.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many wildflowers in one place before…” Jay says as he walked through the opening of the thick forests down south of Ninjago.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Kai said as he followed behind, following Jay’s steps so he wouldn’t trample any of the colourful flowers.

“The flowers I’ve seen before that are planted out in the open are usually in those fancy gardens but you aren’t allowed to even touch them.” Jay says then found a nice vacant spot to kneel down, looking over the flowers then picked a red bell-shaped one that reminded him of Kai.

“Well that’s different here. They’ll grow back.” Kai says as he walked over, then bent down and took the flower from his hand and slid it behind his ear instead.

Jay felt his cheeks heat as he glanced down, a flush on his face. He spotted a blue flower with wide petals then picked it and slid it behind his ear too. He then grinned and pulled Kai down, the sudden offset of his balance leaving Kai to tumble over with a yelp, face planting in the grass and flowers. Jay snickered then laughed, allowing himself to fall back against the flowers, their scents rising up as he did. Kai sat up with a growl then glanced over at his laughing boyfriend, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He then pounced on him, a squeak of surprise escaping Jay before he dissolved into even more laughter, wiggling and writhing as Kai tickled his sides, a grin on his face as Jay began to turn red from laughing so much.

“K-Kai! Sto- staph!” He got out, trying and failing to push his hands away.

“Not until you say ‘Kai, my totally hot boyfriend is super smart and is the sexiest guy in all of Ninjago’.” Kai says then wiggled his fingers deeper into Jay’s side, and the freckled brunette howled in laughter, tears streaming down the sides of his face.

“S-staph! A-already!” Jay laughed out, trying to shift away from his fingers but Kai was persistent.

“Nope. Not until you agree to say it.” Kai says with a grin, unmoving against Jay’s hand trying to swat his away.

“Al-alright! Alright! I w-will so st-stop!” Jay laughed out and Kai grinned then pulled away, leaving Jay to pant heavily, face red but his smile from laughing still there.

He then gave a relieved sigh once he caught his breath and Kai looked down at him from his place kneeling just before him.

“Well?” Kai prompted and Jay glanced at him, his smile turning into a cheeky grin.

“Yeah I’m not saying that.” He says and Kai gave him a betrayed look. “But!” He says quickly before Kai can resume tickling him.

“Only because I already know that.” Jay says, then sat up, trailing his hand up Kai’s sleeveless shirt. “And… I’d rather do this instead.” He whispered then pulled Kai closer by the front of his shirt, pressing their lips together.

Kai returned the kiss, lacing his fingers into Jay’s soft, curly hair as he gently set him down against the grass and flowers. This consolation prize was way better anyways…

_______

“That one looks like… A dragon!” Jay says, pointing out the cloud passing by from where they were still laying down in the clearing full of flowers.

“Looks like like a bunny to me.” Kai says, tilting his head a little where he laid next to Jay.

“But there are no ears- and a bunny tail isn’t that long! How’d you explain the part on its back?” Jay asked him and Kai hummed, looking at it more closely.

“Oh yeah. It does look like a dragon now that you’ve mentioned it.” Kai says, rubbing his chin and Jay gave a huff of laughter.

He blinked once an orange butterfly fluttered in his field of vision then grinned once it landed on Kai’s nose.

“Looks like you’ve made a friend.” Jay says, turning onto his side as Kai looked at the butterfly cross-eyed.

“To think the little guy would head for a flower. Why my nose of all places?” Kai says, watching as it slowly opened and closed its wings.

“I don’t know… It’s a pretty attractive nose.” Jay hummed, resting his cheek in his palm.

Kai laughed at that and the butterfly flew off further into the clearing.

“You know, one thing would have been great to bring along on this trip.” Jay says as he sat up.

“What would that be?” Kai says as he sat up too.

“Some food.” Jay says, rubbing his empty stomach as hunger pangs turned into growls of hunger,

“That’s no prob.” Kai says as he got to his feet then stretched a hand down for Jay. “I spotted a river while we were landing. We can cool off and catch some fish.” He says as as Jay took his hand and he pulled him up.

“Alright.” Jay says, brushing off the back of his shorts. “If your ‘fishing skills’ fail, I can always stun the fish with my lightning.” He says, grinning at Kai’s offended expression.

“Excuse you, I can fish perfectly fine, thank you very much.” Kai huffed as he took Jay’s hand and began leading him towards where he saw the river.

“Riiiight. Sure. Definitely.” Jay continued to tease but laced their fingers together, giving his a light squeeze. “What are the chances that we’ll find some fruit trees here though?” He asked as he looked around and Kai hummed in thought.

“Pretty low considering there’s no nearby villages.” Kai says as he glanced over at Jay who was looking around.

“Well… What if there was an abandoned orchard?” Jay suggested and Kai tilted his head to the side at the oddly specific scenario.

“Then yeah I guess. The trees can adapt to not having as much care as they used to.” Kai told him, remembering what little he learned about farming back in Ignacia. “Why so specific?” He asked and Jay grinned up at him cheekily.

“Because there’s a lot of peach trees over there that suggests it was an orchard.” Jay says, pointing towards the east and Kai blinked as he came to a stop, spotting the red-orange fruit after a moment.

“You’ve got a sharp eye babe.” Kai says with a grin and they changed their direction towards the large gathering of peach trees, most of them grown in straight lines with a few breaking the pattern.

A lot of birds seemed to have made this area their home if the multitudes of bird calls weren’t enough evidence of that.

“The birds might have gotten to them before we have.” Kai murmured as he looked around at the trees, seeing many birds in their nests.

“I doubt they’ve gotten to them all. Let’s pick a few and bring them with us to the river.” Jay says as he looked through the trees filled with fruit to see if there was any that looked unbothered by the birds. “The lower ones looked alright.” He pointed out and Kai agreed.

Even their nests were situated higher. He decided to test that theory by picking the closest one, looking it over for any holes or abrasions and finding none.

“This one’s alright.” Kai says, handing it to Jay who looked it over then nodded.

“Let's look for some more.” Jay spoke as he looked around then picked another.

They picked enough to fill Kai’s shirt they used as a sort of bag before moving onto the river, Jay rubbing one into his shirt then taking a bite as Kai carried the rest in his shirt that was thrown over his shoulder.

“Mmmh! Sweet! That’s a nice surprise.” Jay says then licked his lips and offered Kai a bite.

He took it and hummed at the sweet juices filling his mouth.

“It really is sweet. Let’s hope the rest are the same. With this much, we might not need to fish after all.” Kai says as they walked along, their hands held.

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to fail at fishing.” Jay teased and Kai sputtered.

“I won’t fail! I’ll catch a fish no problem. You’ll see.” He huffed, puffing his chest out and Jay laughed.

“Whatever you say Mr. Jungle Man.” Jay says lightly then glanced ahead once the trees finally gave way to the shallow river.

“Oh look. A waterfall.” Kai says and Jay looked up the river to see it there. It wasn’t anything significantly huge.

It looked as tall as Jay himself.

“Let’s go for a swim while we’re at it.” Jay says as he tugged him towards the waterfall, his eyes on the pool of water below the waterfall that held some depth.

“Good thing we found that orchard. If not then whatever scrawny fish we would have found here would never be enough to serve as a meal.” Kai says as he set his shirt filled with fruit down safely on the bank as Jay pulled his shirt off.

“Yeah. Those peaches should hold us over until we get back to the Bounty.” Jay says then shucked his shorts and set both it and his shirt next to where Kai set the peaches down. “Come on Mr. Jungle Man.” He says, poking at Kai’s chest and he huffed then shucked his shorts too.

Jay yelped once Kai swept him off his feet, holding onto him tight with a laugh as he rushed towards the water with him in arms. A loud splash followed then a yelp of ‘Cold!’ from Jay. He resurfaced from the surprisingly deep pool of water with a shiver, then yelped once Kai grabbed him by the waist on the way up, startling him.

“You scared the heck out of me…” Jay breathed as Kai smirked at him, his soaked hair flat now, brushing his shoulders.

“Oh? Too much for you to give your Jungle Man a kiss?” He asked and Jay gave a coy smirk that turned into a sappy smile.

“Never too much.” Jay murmured as he pressed a kiss against Kai’s lips, wrapping his arms around his neck.

No need to spoil the first time Kai’s fully comfortable in water with teasing.

_____

They didn’t stick around for very long. Kai did catch that fish he promised, despite the poor thing barely even bigger than his pinky finger. They did swim around for a bit, breaking to eat and talk and air dry before they took off again via Firelight. By then, the sun was starting to lower.

“Should we head back?” Jay asked as Kai rested his chin on his head from where they were flying on Firelight’s back, his hands on Jay’s stomach with his smaller hands over his larger ones.

Firelight was a smooth flyer and seemed to prefer gliding rather than actually flapping his wings. Whenever he did however, it was as smooth as his gliding. One would think anything made from them both would be chaotic but Firelight was quite peaceful.

“Not yet.” Kai said after a moment of thought. “There’s a perfectly good sunset waiting for us.” He grinned and Jay smiled as he relaxed further into Kai’s embrace.

The sap.

“So then where to?” Jay asked him and Kai hummed in thought as he looked around.

Firelight gave a quiet growl before banking left, both elemental masters curious to his spontaneous change in direction. They soon spotted Ninjago’s far southern coat, the rough seas turning high lands into steep cliffs. He landed on the top of the cliffs then lowered himself so they could get off. Kai slid off first then helped Jay down before they walked towards the edge of the large cliff towards where the sun was setting.

“Not bad Firelight.” Kai says as their dragon lifted his head, both of them stroking its snout before finding a comfortable seat close to the edge.

Firelight walked closer too then laid curled around where they sat, his head facing the sunset too as his tail hung off the edge of the cliff.

“He’s something else, isn’t he?” Jay says with a smile as he rubbed along the neck of his glowing purple body, laughing lightly at his low purrs that sounded.

“Yeah…” Kai whispered softly, watching Jay interact with their dragon, the wind from the sea ruffling his curly hair as the fading rays of sun bathed him in golden light. “He really is…” He says with feeling, and Jay looked at him, confused about the almost in-love tone he used for the dragon - only for his eyes to widen and a flush to fill his cheeks once he realised Kai meant him.

“... You know, today was better than anything I ever imagined we would do…” Jay says softly, looking down at his lap as he absentmindedly stroked Firelight’s scales. “I was worried when you said that you didn’t have any plans but having no plans was your best plan yet.” He says with a small smile as he glanced at Kai through his lashes then shifted, resting his head against Kai’s shoulder.

His smile widened once Kai wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer and burying his nose into his hair, taking in his scent.

“Yeah? I’m glad.” Kai murmured into his hair and Jay giggled, wrapping his arms around Kai’s waist. “You know I love you, right? More than anything.” He says softly and Jay lifted his head to look at him, his heart soaring.

“I love you too Kai. More than all the skies, flowers, peaches, waterfalls and sunsets Ninjago has to offer.” Jay whispered, reaching up to tap his nose, melting once Kai’s lips spread into a smile.

Kai leaned down, brushing their noses together and light laughter escaped Jay’s lips, Kai’s own chuckles joining his. Kai leaned down for a full kiss- when Firelight’s grunt interrupted them. They looked to him then out at the sunset once he nudged his head in that direction. The sun had finally started to disappear below the sea. They watched as the sky bled with reds, golds, oranges, blues, pinks and purples, creating a sight out of fiction. It was breathtaking. The colours faded slowly as more and more of the sun disappeared below the horizon. When the last of the sun disappeared below the horizon, it was with a green flash that had Jay gasping in awe.

“Did you see that?! That green flash?! It’s super rare! I can’t believe we witnessed it!” Jay says in excitement and Kai looked at his large, excitement filled eyes, at his wide smile, at the radiating happiness he gave off- then pulled him close, kissing him deeply.

Jay made a surprised sound but was quick to get with the program. It was a perfect ending to an even more perfect day.

______

Jay looked at the sparse clouds in the sky as the moonlit them up with awe then leaned back against the warmth of Kai’s chest, giggling as the fire ninja wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing a warm kiss against the side of his neck as Firelight flew towards home, his purple glow making the clouds looking like tufts of cotton candy as he flew by. They were looking forward to home. Dinner, a hot bath and then a well-deserved sleep was in order. That is, until Jay spotted something as Firelight floated closer to the ground.

“Kai look!” Jay says, tapping his hand then pointing out a clearing up ahead that was filled with fireflies.

Kai huffed at the sight.

“Looks like a short detour is in order, huh Firelight?” Kai says and the dragon gave a confirming grunt, circling the area before landing.

Ka noticed immediately that this was the clearing they were at before, only now it was being overrun with a huge amount of fireflies. Jay quickly slid out of his arms and off Firelight’s back, walking out into the opening and reaching a hand out so a firefly could land on it. He looked over the blinking rear end of the insect as it shifted its wings against its back before taking off again.

“There’s so many of them! I don’t think I’ve seen this much before...” Jay says as he spun around in a full circle to take them all in.

Kai slid off Firelight’s back as he looked at them too. Walking through the packed opening as they were, it felt as if he was walking through a sea of flickering stars. And Jay, standing amidst it all with wonder in his eyes… He was his Sun, the center of his universe. He walked towards Jay, his heart, mind and soul focused on him. Always him.

“Jay…” Kai says softly and Jay turned around curiously, his smile widening as he looked at him with those large blue eyes that reflected the glow of the fireflies around them.

Basking in moonlight and the light of fireflies as he was, he looked ethereal. It was as if nature, Ninjago itself was pointing to Jay, making it clear that he was the one for him. But… Kai took Jay by the hand as he stepped closer. He didn’t need anyone or anything to point out what he already knew. Kai reached out, cupping Jay’s cheek and the freckled brunette leaned into his touch, holding onto his hand to keep it in place.

“You know…” Kai began and Jay looked up at Kai curiously, still keeping his cheek against the warmth of his palm. “I’d like to think that you and me… We make a great pair…” He says, brushing his thumb against Jay’s freckled cheek and he grinned at Kai.

“The best pair is what I know.” Jay says and Kai chuckled at his confidence though he does agree.

“I’m glad you know so.” He smiled then tilted his chin up now, Jay’s smile fading a bit as curiosity took over his expression again, sensing that there was more behind Kai’s words. “I’ve been thinking for a while now…” Kai began and Jay had to bite at his bottom lip to not make a quip at that.

He wanted to let him finish without any more of his teasing interruptions.

“We’ve been dating for almost two years now. Don’t get me wrong at all, it’s been great. Truly.” Kai says and all of Jay’s amusement disappeared as fear settled in his heart.

He didn’t want to break up... Did he?

“It’s just…” Jay held his breath. “I think it’s time we take the next step..” Wait- what?

“I think we’re ready to make this - us - official. So…” Jay’s eyes widened comically once he saw Kai kneel before him, reaching into his pocket for something.

No. No, wait. No way. Was he- Was he really-?

“Will you be my Yang?” Kai asked, holding out the gold and black pendant that held a gold and black dragon on each side.

Jay’s eyes shone with tears as he covered his mouth with trembling hands, looking down at Kai’s open, hopeful expression, at the pendant gleaming in the light of the moon and he couldn’t stop a sob from escaping from behind his hands as the hot tears spilled down his cheeks. Kai… He wanted to be with him… Forever? Wanted to marry him? Jay felt his entire body shake with his suppressed sobs before he manages to nod once. Kai who was anxiously awaiting Jay’s answer perked up at the nod Jay gave him.

“I- Is that a yes?” Kai asked him hopefully and Jay got out a watery laugh of happiness, a sob following immediately after.

“Yes!” He yells, smile so wide his cheeks hurt, tears pouring down them all the same.

Kai positively beamed and Jay released squealing laughter once Kai picked him right up off his feet and spun him around, their laughter echoing through the quiet of night. He set Jay down moments after, splitting the pendant in two and offering the Yang side to Jay. He smiled even wider somehow and accepted it, pinning it to his shirt and taking a moment to awe at its gleam. He then looked across at Kai, seeing him adjust the pendant before meeting his eyes again. Jay couldn’t stop smiling, couldn't stop the happy tears from falling as he did. Kai stepped closer to Jay, taking his hand and Jay stepped close too, lacing their fingers together. He let Kai cup his cheek, leaning into his touch as he always does then leaned up as he leaned down. Their lips met and lightning passed through them on contact, heat following right after as they kissed deeply and reverently. Today begins a new chapter of their lives and neither of them could wait to see it through.

________

“You guys are back! Give us a heads up next time. We were starting to get worried.” Lloyd says once Firelight set both Jay and Kai down on the deck of the Bounty, close to midnight,

“Sorry. We just…” Jay looked across at Kai with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes, the same was mirrored by Kai looking at him. “... Got caught up a little.” He says with a smile and Kai chuckled, pulling him closer by the waist as the others came out to greet them.

“Kai-” Nya cut herself off, seeing the gleaming pendants on their chests before grinning widely.

“Finally! Took you long enough you idiot!” Nya congratulated and Kai huffed at her.

“I had to wait for the right moment. I couldn’t afford to half ass this.” Kai defended himself.

“You could have barged into the bathroom and asked me and I would have said yes but whatever floats your boat Kai.” Jay hummed and Kai wrinkled his nose at that.

“I see there's reason to celebrate.” Zane says as he and Cole came up on deck too, neither missing the pendants on their chests.

“As much as a party sounds rad, I’d rather grab some food, a bath and some Z’s if you know what I mean.” Kai says, yawning after.

“Yeah. It’s been an amazing day but a long one. You did save us dinner, right?” Jay asked and Zane nodded his confirmation.

“Your dragons fused?” Lloyd asked with awe and they glanced back at Firelight who was allowing Lloyd to stroke his muzzle.

“Yeah. Meet Firelight. He’ll be around a lot more often I’m sure.” Kai says and Firelight grunted then allowed himself to disappear now that he was no longer needed. “Come on. I smell pie.” He says and Zane lead the way back inside the ship.

Kai and Jay shared a secret smile, fingers clasped together. A day away from it all every once in a while doesn’t hurt… Especially when they were together.

_______________________________________

(S-sof,,,,)

#ninjago #ninjago kai #kai ninjago #Kai Smith #jay walker #ninjago jay #jay ninjago #plasmashipping #aweebwrites' work

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