#nayan

[chief-mourner]

15. Portentous

"Ohh, er, yes… An ill-omen, indeed. Something…. terrible… surely will follow…" Came the solemn promise drifting up from somewhere between the lowered brim of an overly large hat and the hem of a tall collar. Long fingers ending in dark nails moved over the table performing a strange ritual. "Portentous… of a dire fate…" Jyhun continued to intone as the items he was moving around clattered and clanked.

The Xaela that wasn't covered head-to-toe in heavy black fabric sat across the table with arms folded simply stared flatly, entirely unimpressed with what was going on in front of him. The 'altar' was just an Ul'dahn cafe's street-side table and the 'ritual' tools were simply the dishes and cups that had been involved in the midday meal they had eaten while waiting for Jyhun's alleged contact to arrive. Nayan had knocked over a small dish of salt when he had slammed his fist against the table in irritation at the other's lack of urgency throughout the meal moments prior… and now the thaumaturge insisted they were going to have a terrible tragedy visited on them if he didn't perform his convoluted ritual. Which seemed to be stacking up every item on the table into a precarious tower.

"You are stalling." The Hingan hit-man warned, the words growled low on his breath. "There is no contact. You were hungry. What have I told you about wasting my time…"

Jyhun was silent, lifting his eyes only when the tower was tall enough that he had no other choice. It was missing one vital piece. One key ingredient. It arrived in the form of a pair of cups of coffee. Richly dark and enticingly aromatic served in small cups. The mage lifted his cup up and placed it at the very top of the tower. There. The final piece. "I'm… almost done…" He promised the impatient au ra, heavy fabric rustling as he gave a small nod. He took his hands away, waiting to see if it would fall. The tower stood, swaying dangerously yet upright.

That was the moment Nayan's patience ran out. He started to stand but the moment he rested his hands on the table to push his seat back, Jyhun's own hand darted out. He yanked on a fork that served as a lynchpin and with that small item removed the entire tower came toppling down towards the fist-fighter. Leading with a cup of very hot coffee that splashed onto him from the chest down. The enforcer leapt to his feat with a hiss, looking down as the burning-hot liquid soaked into his shirt and trousers.

Amidst the shattering of plates and the growling of one very annoyed xaela, there was jingling of charms and a clatter of bootheels. Jyhun had bolted to his feet as well and taken off down the street, clutching his hat to his head as he tried to flee the Enforcer with the fork still clutched in the other hand. Wheezing quietly with the effort of making his escape after fulfilling his own prophecy.

Nayan's fingers curled angrily into the fabric of his shirt as he held it away from his skin, ensuring it wouldn't burn him as it cooled. Yet still the beginnings of what may have been a smirking smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The game was on. He counted out the seconds. Knowing precisely by now how much of a head-start he could give the Thaumaturge without allowing him enough time to slip away into a convenient flow of aether and escape. Three. Two. One. Time to re-introduce Jyhun's face to the cobblestones and remind him just what he had told him about wasting his time.

@guttergodsknife

[sandraverenim]

[enbeemagical]

I need need need to know about Destiny please 🥹🥹

AIIII OKIE buckle in it's a bit of a ride

(the second one of those is them as a little kid, the other two they're more grown up)

They're human, fully an ordinary human up until they're not. Ordinary, I mean

They realized at about 13 that they were queer, and absolutely did not tell anyone and also tried to repress it bc they were raised to believe queer was Bad and Evil and blah blah blah (this is the emperor's fault and one of many reasons to hate him. he likes conformity and everyone doing what he says). That secrecy led to them also keeping their magic very very secret when it came in at 14.

Four years later they met a pretty faerie and kissed her. She was the first queer person they'd met, and they promptly ran away with her (this is when they choose the name Destiny) and got adopted into the same werewolf pack that'd taken her in. They are still keeping their magic secret, but now that they're dating a girl they start slipping more into their true self-- first a haircut, then 'pretending' to be a boy, to actually being a boy for a bit...

...to meeting a crow with no concept of human gender and figuring out they like 'they' best

Also by then they've half-accidentally revealed their magic. which is like. really fuckin powerful and also super rare bc everyone else with it gets taken away by the Emperor of the world and no one ever hears from them again

also the werewolves who adopted Destiny? are working with a network of rebels who are trying to take down the emperor. and they want Destiny's help. Des agrees, mainly bc they don't want to live in a world where they can't be true to themself, and they can help make things better

Annyyyways there is now a song about them (which I had to write, help (and then my friend is writing music for bc aaaaaa)) (in-story Vida wrote it)

their powers include: teleportation, elemental control (mainly fire bc they have a fire demon teacher, but they've also done earth and ice), transformation (another of their teachers is a werewolf), illusion, communication with their familiar, Nayan (the aforementioned crow- whose concept of gender is 'some of us lay eggs idk'), healing people, magically cleaning things (they used to always do the dishes this way), and yelling at people in power (Nayan calls this a threat display. Destiny calls it stop screwing with me Nox).

Other fun little things!

-given the language that we use, Des would probably id as nonbinary and bi/pansexual (partly depends on When storywise bc rn they're the only enby they know). as is they id as "I'm not a boy or a girl I'm a they" and "idk there are pretty people but the prettiest is Vida"

-their newest nickname for their girlfriend, Vida, is "meri jaan", or "my life". the first time they call her that is after Vida gets arrested for singing about Destiny. bc singing about how the king of the world is "a coward and a fucking fraud" and is going to get beaten by a young upstart mage is treason, who knew

-(they're so absolutely furious about this btw. it's very sweet)

-Destiny keeps being impulsive but it keeps working out so

-:)))

-I've said this before and I'll say it again: I love how Destiny was raised being told "don't give your name to strangers bc faeries can use it to steal you away" and then the first faerie they meet they try TWICE to give her their name and she says no (it's their deadname but it wasn't at that point)

-in a modern AU Des would be Indian or Indian-American and an activist, but I haven't figured out for exactly what. probably for queer rights, at least at first

-Destiny is 19 at the point I am in writing

-Nayan likes to call them "my Destiny" and when they speak out loud (as crows can do) they always choose Destiny's voice to speak with

-they like having long hair, but they do NOT like getting mistaken for a girl. After The Haircut that helps them realize some gendery stuff, they grow their hair out again even longer than before

-@plumblueflower had a part in making Des the way they are. specifically the Indian-coding bit <3

picrews

1: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/69653

2: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/186583

3: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1944831

[tripleyeeet]

OKAY, BUS NAYAN BEGGING ZAYIS TO TEACH HER HOW TO USE DAGGERS?? MY GIRL WOULD BE SUCH A MENACE, SHE WOULD NOT BE TRUSTED WITH ANYTHING SHARP AND THROWABLE!!

lmao i just know there’d initially be some sort of camp accident the first time zayis tries to teach her. then shadowheart would ban her from knives because she definitely doesn’t want to have to waste her spell slots healing whatever mess nayan ends up making.

[thepinkpie]

Found an old Gpose I did of my OC Nayan (pink viera) with his boyfriend Niro (edgy elezen)! Gotta love those funky boys ❤️

[filmgalleria]

Honeymoon vibes ✨ · · · · · #nayanthara #nayantharafan #ladysuperstar #nayantharaqueen #kollywood #ladysuperstarnayanthara #nayan #kollywoodactress #kollywoodqueen #tollywoodqueen #nayantharamass #nayantharaofficial #nayantharaa #thalaivinayanthara #nayantharathequeen #tamil #ladysupremonayanthara #queenofsouthcinema #mollywoodqueen #southindianqueen #nayantharafans #kollywoodcinema #nayantharaafb #tollywood #actress #nayantharasaree #nayanism #filmgallerianayanthara #filmgalleria https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR1mBlPQfE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[fullypics]

Nayanthara - DD Latest 💓 . . . #nayanthara #nayantharahot #nayan #nayantara #nayantharaa #nayanatara #vigneshshivan #connect #dd #divyadharshini #tamiltvshows #tamilactress #tamilcouples #tamilcinema #tamilstatus #tamilmovies #tamiltrending #tamilwhatsappstatus #kollywoodcinema #kollywoodactress #tollywoodactress #hottamilactress #hotactress #actresshot #actressgallery #vijaytvshow #vijaytelevision #fullypics https://www.instagram.com/p/CmbpbFIhmpR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cmiatamil]

Nayan- சாமி தரிசனம்    விரிவாக படியுங்கள் 👉 http://www.cmovietube.com/Nayan-Sami-vision-News-1072152349.html #Nayan | #Darshan https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce0SamfLkMU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[channelhofficial]

Happy Married life Nayan & Wiki

[x-heesy]

Miniature paper birds Nayan Shrimali and Vaishali Chudasama

𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚋𝚢 𝙱𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚢 𝙼𝚌𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗

[imgoingtofreakoutnow]

everyone falls (like i have for you)

BG3 Holiday Fluffe — prompt 2: Snow and Ice

Summary: Gale has a suprise for Nayan

Pairing: Gale x Nayan (OFC!Bard)

Words: 2.6k

Warnings: the fluffiest fluff to ever fluff, bard-like flirtation, hints of a sexual innuendo (i guess?), mentions of trauma and wounds

A/N: THE FIRST LITTLE FIC WITH MY TAV NAYAN IS HERE!!! I hope you all enjoy my lovely bard and the cuteness that she and Gale are together!!

Tagging: @tripleyeeet @elfinbloodbag @fictionobsession (if anyone wants to be added or removed, just let me know <3)

\_/

“Gale?”

“Yes, dearest?”

Nayan turns to his voice, her eyes blinded by a soft scarf. “Where are you taking me?”

“I told you it’s a surprise,” he hums — she can almost hear the grin on his face in every word he utters, “and you’re going to absolutely love it!”

She chuckles at his excitement, giving a gentle squeeze to his arm, intertwined with hers while he's carefully dragging her through the streets of Waterdeep. He had been doing that for a while now, long enough for her fingers to feel more like they were made of ice instead of flesh and blood.

“I’m sure I will, my love, but are we almost there yet?” Nayan brings her hands to her face, blowing warm air on them before rubbing them together. “Because I think my nose is about to freeze off.”

Gale stops at her side, so suddenly that she almost loses her balance on the slippery cobblestones covered in frost. Some quiet giggles pass her by, clear and light as the crisp air of a winter's day. She could hear the scattering of children running around the streets and playing in the cold like she used to do in Ostduinë when she was younger. Whenever the first snow falls, she's reminded of those days, of the afternoons spent in the snow and skating on the frozen ponds, and all the innocent fun that had been taken from her far too soon.

“Let me check your freezing nose.”

His touch brings Nayan back to the present moment. His fingertips run along the sides of her nose, inspecting it while humming thoughtfully.

“It's worse than I could've imagined,” he says with a serious tone while wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

Nayan rolls her covered eyes but still smiles at the man in front of him. “Oh, really?”

“It is unfortunate, yes…” he confirms with a sigh that makes her snort. “I believe there isn't much left for this nose. I shall have to just kiss it goodbye.”

The half-elf giggles when Gale leans forward and his lips meet the frozen tip of her nose. Once, twice and then once more before they move to leave a trail of kisses all over her freckled cheeks.

“Gale, stop!” Nayan almost screams, laughing as the wizard presses another kiss on her cheek that — together with the rest of her face — is feeling incredibly warm at the present moment.

“Bless the Gods! The nose has regained its color!”

Without warning, he spins her around and Nayan makes sure to hold tight to his shoulders not to fall to the ground. When she stops twirling, he kisses the tip of her nose once again before leaving a lingering peck on her lips. “We must celebrate.”

Nayan doesn't even have the time to completely get back on her feet that Gale's already pulling her along the road, holding her close and steadying her in every blind step she takes. She can’t stop the chuckle that bubbles in her throat, nor the warmth that quickly spreads inside her chest.

As they move forward, Nayan feels a change in the air. The bustling chatter of the streets of Waterdeep quiets down, replaced with quieter discussions and the chirping of birds that's always drowned by the noise of the city. The only thing that doesn't disappear are the excited screaming of children that seem to come from every direction around her. The ground also feels different under her feet, going from a stoney road to a more muddy and slimy pathway.

“Did you just teleport us back to the Emerald Grove?”

“Ah!” Gale exclaims, his voice tense and with a hint of sourness. “Wouldn't that be funny.”

Nayan shakes her head with a smile. “You’re still upset about that passing fancy?”

“Not at all!” — his voice is slightly high-pitched, but he quickly clears his throat — “That’s ancient history, ghosts of the past! There would be no sense in dwelling on such events!”

He goes on for a minute or so, denying your accusations with his verbose explanations, but the half-elf knows him too well. She can feel the slight tension building, in his quickened pace and in his hold, tightening ever so slightly around her arm. With a gentle smile, Nayan turns to her partner and leaves a quick peck on his shoulder before resting her chin on it.

It seems that’s all it really takes for the wizard to relax. A long exhale and the tension disappears as his lips press for a moment on Nayan’s forehead. “Pardon my senseless worrying.”

“No need to, love.”

Gale sighs softly, his warm breath lingering on her cold skin as he slowly but finally stops on his track. “We’re here.”

Nayan immediately reaches for the scarf but her hands are stopped by Gale’s. “No, no, no. Allow me.”

He leaves her side for a moment, the snow crackling under him as he moves behind Nayan. She feels his hands undoing the knot, careful not to pull any of her short hair in his maneuvers. 

“It’ll probably not meet any of your expectations,” he mutters mostly to himself as he slides the blindfold off her face. “But I do hope you’ll still appreciate this.”

When Nayan finally blinks her eyes open, she’s blinded for a moment by the whiteness that surrounds her. As her vision slowly adapts to the brightness of the place, she takes in the naked trees and bushes with their branches draped with snow and icicles while a group of children runs by, throwing around handfuls of snow and laughing.

However, not all of them are taking part in that small-scale war going on in the park. Some of them, standing nearby, aren’t running or screaming around. They’re carefully sliding on a perfectly frozen pond with what look like self-made skates, groaning as they fall down but relentlessly standing back up, trying to find balance in each other before a mistake from one brings both of them down once again.

Despite the entertainment of watching kids falling — something that has always brought her a sadistic joy, Nayan’s focus has been stolen completely by the ice surface in front of her.

“I didn’t think ponds actually froze here,” she says almost breathlessly, her breath creating swirls in the air before her.

“Well, never like this.” She turns to Gale, standing with his chest all puffed up and a proud smirk on his face. “However, nothing that a little magic couldn’t fix.”

He wiggles his fingers: a couple of glowing snowflakes appear between them, fluttering around before floating towards the pond. As soon as they touch the frozen surface, a glow pulses through the ice for a moment. The cracks that could be seen under the surface disappear immediately and all that’s left behind is a perfect block of ice. Nayan can’t look away from it: she almost doesn’t dare to even blink, terrified that the ice will melt back to water if she stops staring at it, before she’s even had the chance to touch it.

“I remember you mentioning how much you missed ice skating,” Gale adds, a hint of uncertainty in his voice as he passes a hand through his hair, “and I merely thought-”

Nayan throws her arms around his neck, cutting his breath in half. As she pulls him close, she nestles her face into his neck, nudging her nose against his warm skin. She breathes in his addicting smell, a scent of firewood that seems to always linger on his skin, as if there was a fire always burning inside him. Sometimes she wonders what it could be. His passion for the Weave and the magic connected to it. His ambition, that at times shines so bright that it almost blinds her. Now that she’s pressed against him, it feels so obvious. It’s always been there, that fire; beating inside his chest.

“This is more than perfect, Gale.” If possible, she pulls him even closer. “Thank you.”

The surprise that had left the wizard frozen, with his hands in mid-air, finally leaves him. He wraps Nayan tightly in his arms, leaving another soft kiss on top of her head. “I would take the stars, weave them together and give them all to you, if I could.”

She pulls back, loosening her arms until she can look him in the eyes. “I never needed the stars, Gale. Not when I have you.”

Gale smiles, a thankful look in his gaze before his eyes close and his forehead meets Nayan’s. They stand like that for a while, cherishing each other’s company and the gentleness of their touch, when Nayan pulls back with a serious expression.

“You did bring the skates, didn’t you?”

The wizard looks at her with his eyebrows raised before snapping his fingers. As soon as he does, two pairs of skates appear in his hands. “Of course I did, how could you even doubt me?”

—

“Is something the matter, my love?” Nayan asks as she skates around Gale who’s barely balancing himself on the sharp edges of his skating footwear.

“Not at all,” he assures, even though the mere wind created by the half-elf as she moves on the ice makes his knees wobble with uncertainty. “I’m completely fine!”

Nayan chuckles lightly while she glides on the frozen pond, so easily that anyone else watching might even think her skates aren’t actually touching the surface beneath her. As she puts one step in front of the other, Gale can’t help but stare at the way she seems to so seamlessly fly, as if she had been born with those skates on her feet. Even when she falters, there’s a certain grace in the way she uses that stumble to her own advantage, the grin on her face growing bigger and bigger the longer she slides on the ice.

“I don’t think I had quite underestimated the scale of your talent.”

Nayan stops next to him, one of the smuggest smirks he’s ever seen cutting across her reddened face. “Well, I’ve definitely overestimated yours.”

“Between my studies and research I never had much time for such frivoli-”

Gale’s quick to defend himself, as always when his pride is even jokingly questioned, but as soon as his finger starts moving in the air to highlight his words, his balance is lost once again. He shuts his mouth, taking quick and useless steps on the slippery surface as he readies himself to fall face-first into the ice. Thankfully, a couple of steady hands manage to hold him up until he finds his balance once again.

Nayan’s soft laughter is soon joined with the sneering coming from the nearby kids, who had discarded their skates to play with the snow all around the pond.

And to chuckle at anyone’s poor attempts at skating, Gale imagined with a frown, as they kept pointing at him while their whispered giggles still reached him.

“Don’t mind them.”

Gale turns to Nayan, now in front of him as she takes both his hands and slowly starts skating backwards. “Mind only me.”

As he starts sliding on the ice, dragged around by the lovely half-elf, Gale doesn’t dare to move even one single muscle. He might not be familiar with skating, however, he’s perfectly aware of how sometimes even the smallest of actions can create unfathomable consequences.

“Gale.”

Nayan’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the present — terrifying — moment. 

“Yes?”

“You know you can move, right?” Nayan chuckles lightly, giving a light squeeze to his hands. “I mean, in the worst scenario, we’ll both fall on the ice.”

Gale winces at the thought, his knees wobbling slightly under him. “That would hurt.”

“Not as much as you’d expect.” She slowly slides to a stop and Gale quite literally glides into her arms. “Just have fun, will you?”

After a moment of hesitation, the wizard can’t help but nod, especially when the half-elf is looking at him with her eyes wide with love and hopefulness. Nayan’s smile opens as a crescent moon and leaves a quick peck on his cheek. Gale can feel the blushing spread on his face as she starts skating and dragging him along once again.

After a deep breath to hopefully take in some of her courage, the wizard starts to imitate the motions of the half-elf. He carefully slides one foot and then the other, testing the ice while his hold on Nayan’s hands gets even tighter. His maneuvers start off as shaky as expected, but the more he keeps going, the less it feels like the ice is just going to give out under him.

“Quite the quick-learner,” Nayan jokes, gaining a small chuckle from Gale.

“Always have been,” he retorts, raising his gaze from his feet just to wink at her.

The smugness, however, doesn’t last long. His skate catches onto something, perhaps a bit of snow or the trails carved into the ice from prior skating, but it’s enough to completely throw off his balance. His feet stomp on the pond, finding its slippery surface with every step he takes. This time Nayan’s steady hands are no help. He starts swaying his arms in the air but that does nothing to stop him from falling on the ice.

Well, not quite on the ice.

“How come you’re never so heavy when you’re topping me?”

“Gods!”

Gale pushes himself away from Nayan's chest, barely standing with his palms planted on the cold ice. “Are you okay?”

She groans, massaging her ribs. “I’ve been worse.”

The wizard winces at her words. He had seen Nayan at many of her worse during their journey together to Baldur's Gate. He had witnessed the wounds cutting through her flesh, the weariness and the ache in her bones bending her in half. He had seen with his own eyes the empty gaze staring at the blank nothingness as she played during her family's celebration. How he hated seeing the spark in her eyes disappear that night, how terrifying to believe — even for just a minute — he had lost it forever.

“I know for certain you have,” he utters softly, “but that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Well,” she huffs, her hand still circling her chest in soothing movement, “you did elbow my boob.”

As if on cue, Gale's hands lose their grip on the slippery surface and he falls once again. His arm ends up hitting her stomach this time, cutting her breath in half and gaining another pained groan. As the wizard starts profusely apologizing, the children nearby erupt in a fit of laughter that — despite gaining a frown a muttered swearing from Gale — Nayan can't help but join.

“It’s fine,” she sighs, a soft giggle easing the pain in her chest. “Everyone falls at some point, it was bound to happen.”

Nayan rests her head on the ice, red hair spread behind her like a halo of fire. Her gaze wanders in the cloudy sky above, looking in their shape and color for any signs of snow. Then a smirk pulls on her lips.

Her eyes move back into Gale’s with a devilish spark to them. “I was just hoping that, when it happened, the positions would’ve been switched.”

The wizard stares at her, speechless for a moment, before a chuckle escapes his lips, soon mirrored by Nayan. Still laughing, he carefully slides until his face is above hers, a twin smirk pulling his lips as he gently strokes her face.

“If that’s what you want, dearest, we can most certainly work that out when we get home.”

Nayan chuckles as Gale leans down. He kisses her, slowly opening and closing his lips. His beard grazes her chin while his hands tighten on her waist, and despite the ice dampening her hair and freezing her back, the cold seems like a long forgotten dream.

[sandraverenim]

[ambar-pe-milte-hain]

tujh mein dikhta rab ka noor hai ek suroor hai, tu hai apna, yeh guroor hai...

[tripleyeeet]

Zayis and Nayan at some point:

for real every time i see this i think of zay and nayan 🥹 they would be probably the worst influences on each other.

[sheltiechicago]

Crested porcupine

A Veritable Aviary of Birds and Pollinators by The Paper Ark Are Small Enough to Perch on the Tip of a Finger

Nayan Shrimali and Venus Bird, of The Paper Ark, approach conservation and environmental activism on a tiny scale. The artists (previously) create miniature renditions of flora and fauna that harness the textured, buildable potentials of paper to showcase the beauty and singularity of threatened and endangered species.

Great egrets

Endangered pollinators

Albino ruby-throated hummingbird

[filmgalleria]

Endless love 💞 Nayanthara & Vignesh Shivan · · · · · #nayanthara #ladysuperstar #nayantharaqueen #kollywood #ladysuperstarnayanthara #nayan #kollywoodactress #kollywoodqueen #tollywoodqueen #nayantharamass #nayantharaofficial #nayantharaa #thalaivinayanthara #nayantharathequeen #tamil #ladysupremonayanthara #queenofsouthcinema #mollywoodqueen #southindianqueen #nayantharafans #kollywoodcinema #nayantharaafb #tollywood #actress #nayantharasaree #nayanism #filmgallerianayanthara #filmgalleria https://www.instagram.com/p/ChKLdstvBlO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=