[Mini Event] I and love and you

there is always hope

Ronin had to bite his bottom lip hard not to laugh at Remi's quip about berries - it seemed as though both of them in a situation that required any sort of decorum resulted in an insufferable case of the giggles. Reminding himself to apologise profusely to Amalia when this was done, the hunter rose to his feet and accepted the matches to light the brazier. Or... not, as it turned out.

Two "dud" matches later had Ronin squinting suspiciously at the alchemist, and he waited patiently for Remi to be done teasing him so he could light the brazier properly. And as he straightened up to listen... he really would seem to glow brighter, as if he were lit from within by a core of starlight.

Unfortunately Ronin was far too enamored with Remi to notice or care, and he reached out to brush an errant curl out of his lover's face. "You'd probably walk into some horrible trouble without me, so it makes sense for me to stick with you and keep you safe." He winked, though the warmth in his eyes (and the light literally radiating out of him) would belie his true feelings.

Still, when the raccoon suddenly flopped into his chest and spread out its arms, he snorted out a laugh. Turning and holding Remi out in much more of a Simba-on-Pride-Rock gesture, Ronin leapt over the fire.

she didn't want to love
she wanted to b e l o v e d
and that was entirely different

Amalia cannot help it: she laughs aloud at their antics, a level of mirth unbefitting someone in her role, but what is she to do? She has never seen a wedding so foolish, but she has never seen one so perfect, either, the pair of them enjoying each step, their adoration obvious in words an looks and literal glowing light.

She waits until they have finished leaping over flames, Ronin looking to all the world as though he might drop Remi in, before clearing her throat in mock-consternation, her grin betraying any real indignation. "If I may?"

“Next, Remi and Ronin would like to thank Ludo, the herald of Mort and guide of souls. It is by Mort’s love that our souls live on from this world and into the next, and it is by Ludo’s guidance that they find their way. In life, Remi and Ronin will guide one another, that their souls remain pure and noble, worthy to be held by Ludo’s love. In death, they ask their love to be allowed to continue to flourish. They say these vows into a lantern made for Ludo, that it might see how their souls are joined, and never let them part.”

Amalia picks up the lantern and holds it before the men, waiting for them each to ignite one of the two candles inside while making their third vow. She flashes Ronin a reassuring grin, mouthing one more, her own impatience and excitement bubbling beneath her breast.

Amalia

we are all b r o k e n
that's how the l i g h t gets in

REMI

Sucking in a breath as Ronin cleared the flames (and Remi too, by extension), the raccoon wriggled about in Ronin's grip, shifting back into his own body as gracefully as he could. It was then of course he noticed the glow. Raising a brow and tilting his head mischievously, Remi leaned in towards Ronin's ear, sliding his cheek along his partner's as he went and relishing the closeness. "Not to..make things awkward. But...you are glowing. And not just with love and all that. But quite literally glowing." Remi whispered, his voice a soft laugh against the hollow of Ronin's ear before he pulled back.

Whether it was Remi's eyesight that made the ex-captain glow, or another star-thing, the alchemist didn't know, but accepted it easily in stride. Whichever it was, it certainly wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened to them.

The mention of Ludo had Remi's smile faltering slightly. If all the gods, Ludo had been the most adamant about making Remi's life difficult, both when he did and did not deserve it. "Given that you have already died once, I think we can safely waive the till death do us part requirement." Remi said, his smile both widening and growing crooked at the same time. Though thoughts of empty beds and hours spent locked away in a boarded-up guildhall flooded his mind, it all seemed so unimportant now. And why shouldn't it? Second chances were not to be wasted, and certainly not overshadowed by memories of first-go-rounds.

Casually, Remi nudges Ronin's candle with his, his face entirely solemn and near-angelic in the firelight despite the obvious visual innuendo.

Table by sky!

there is always hope

Ronin grinned back at Amalia, and though one more was incredibly reassurring, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying himself. And as Remi shifted back and leaned in close, he had to fight the urge to grab the other man by the front of the shirt and pull him in for a kiss. He managed it - barely - and that was only because Remi pointed out his rather embarrassing... er, condition. "I'm what?"

Gazing down at himself, he was thoroughly amused to find that it wasn't an exaggeration, Ronin laughing softly and raising an eyebrow. "Whatever," he said. "You set my heart aglow, or something." Winking at Remi, he joined the other man to make their next vow.

This was sobering for Ronin as well, and for a moment his eyes were not upon the lantern at all. His gaze went skyward, lingering on the star that twinkled down upon them from somewhere so far away he would never reach her. A lump formed in his throat, and he had to force himself past it and lit the candle within the lantern.

"I will never leave you," he vowed to Remi, his voice quiet and solemn and for his ears only.

The sound of bells tinkling somewhere far away heralded the arrival of the goddess before whose shrine all this was taking place. As she had last time, Safrin appeared without her usual fanfare. Though for the wedding of her beloved star-man, she would do what she could. A warm breeze would cause the candles to flicker (as if Safrin was jealousy trying to take away from the Ludo-portion of the ceremony), but remained lit. All around the ceremony the light dropped, so that the illumination come solely from the candles, the hanging globes of light, Ronin, and the sea of stars over head. A warm breeze rushed towards Ronin like some tangible thing; fingers trailing softly through his hair as words pressed against his ear. Love him as well as you loved me. Vanya's voice, carried on a current of starlight and brought down from the heavens by Safrin. Simultaneously Remi would feel the same, but would hear: Thank you. Somewhere far away was the sound of laughter, of waves crashing on a beach, and the call of a sea-bird. Behind Amalia Safrin would sit, wrapped up in robes of darkest midnight, her eyes like pinpoints of galactic energy that pulsed with far less vivacity than they normally did. Still, her smile was sweet as she nodded emphatically for Amalia to continue. Safrin

she didn't want to love
she wanted to b e l o v e d
and that was entirely different

The lantern is always a solemn act, the reminder of mortality somewhat of a damper on an otherwise joyous ceremony. Amalia's grandmother would explain it in eloquence the girl could not hope to meet: Life and death are a cycle, beti. You cannot love one without the other, and to deny death is to deny life. Amalia hopes the men understand this, and why she included Ludo in the ceremony. Hardships and triumphs, trials and strength: they all matter, they are all important. They have all led to this moment, and they will carry them forward, though joy and strife.

As they resettle the girl opens her mouth, ready to carry on to the final ceremony, the last of their four vows. The arrival which interrupts her is a welcome one indeed: Amalia gazes with reverence and adoration as the starlit goddess manifests, her beautiful figure still weakened and faded but her majesty ever intent. She bows her head as the being sits, swallowing the lump in her throat, trying to quell the fluttering anxiety of having a goddess - her goddess - watch.

"Finally, Ronin and Remi would like to thank Caido, who first birthed the world. So, too, are Remi and Ronin building something new, a marriage, a family, a home. Let their love be just as infinite, eternal, persisting on through life and death. And to symbolize this let them exchange rings and words."

She smiles, indicating that they should exchange their rings and make their final vows. Stepping aside so Safrin can bear witness, Amalia regards the goddess, the men, the people who have gathered here for them. Will her own wedding one day be so blessed? She glances at Deimos then quickly away, a vibrant flush darkening her cheeks.

She has never thought about it before.

Amalia

we are all b r o k e n
that's how the l i g h t gets in

REMI

"Or something." The alchemist agreed with an affectionate laugh.

The sudden breeze made Remi's expression grow a touch more serious. The darkness and increase of starshine was at first the only indication that it was Safrin who would appear, rather than any of the other gods. Drawing in a surprised breath as Vanya's words trickled by him, Remi shivered slightly and raised a hand to his ear as if he might cup the words and hold onto them forever. Immediately his gaze turned to Ronin, searching his lover's expression and seeing therein that he too had heard something. Surely not the same words, but likely a message from the sea-bird as well. Swallowing down a lump in his throat, Remi exhaled a shaky breath wrought with emotion as his arms trembled for a moment. Glancing up to the sky, his shattered-gaze searching for the one star he knew above all others, Remi closed his eyes. Thank you He whispered into the heavens, knowing just what it was that Vanya had sacrificed, by sending Ronin down instead of herself. He'd not live the life she might have had with the hunter in vain.

With still-trembling hands, Remi reached into the box that held Ronin's ring. It looked nearly black in the dim light, but beneath the glow of Ronin's emotional aura flecks of colours would appear as if the stars were viewed through a prism. "Ronin.." Remi began, his voice thick at first as he dragged his eyes up from the ring he held to the man before him. At once his expression wilted, love and eternity making the alchemist's sense of gravity entirely dissolve such that it felt like the world had started to spin. "The first day I met you, you quite literally took my breath away." He tried again, smiling almost nervously and blushing slightly, knowing the context of that particular memory. "And you have every day since. You were the friend I never knew I needed, a travelling companion across worlds. You have been with me through everything. Curses, betrayals...wars, blindness, stabbings.." This latter memory was met with a wink, Remi still feeling a boyish tremble at the thought of how nervous he'd been to hold Ronin, even when it was in an effort to keep the ex-captain alive.

"I did not tell you before you died how much I love you. To have a second chance.." Tears fogged over the alchemist's shattered stare as he turned to Safrin. There was no amount of fealty or gratitude he could ever offer the goddess for what she had helped do. Looking back to Ronin, he held out his hand for Ronin to fill with his own. "..I will never take it for granted. Or you."

So saying he slid the ring over Ronin's finger, and as he did so, the guildmaster would feel the steady thrum of Remi's heart echoing softly against his skin. "It is you for me, Ronin. Only you."

Always you. Forever you.

Table by sky!

there is always hope

The world plunged into a darkness that Ronin had begun to find comfortable - but then perhaps that was because it wasn't really, truly dark to begin with. The whisper of a breeze against his shoulders and hair seemed familiar - but not nearly as familiar as the lips that pressed to his ear. Ronin's breath hitched in his throat, and he pressed his eyes shut as if to savour the sound of Vanya's voice.

I will, he vowed, and though he meant it, he still went looking for the sea-bird as her presence faded from around them. With misty eyes he glanced back at Remi, more surprised than anything to notice that, if he wasn't mistaken, Vanya had spoken with him as well.

Gazing across the gathering - and pausing to offer Safrin a respectful nod and a bashful smile at her presence - he turned and found his hand captured by Remi. His words reached deep within Ronin to pluck at his heart strings, and it was a wobbly sort of smile with only a fraction of its usual charm that he shot back at Remi. "You expect me to follow that?" he half whispered, gazing in awe down at his hand and the heartbeat he now held within it.

"You did tell me before I died," he objected gently. "Right before. And through some miracle, I got put back down here so I'd have a chance to say it back." As he spoke he removed the matching ring from its box, gently slipping it onto Remi's finger. (The alchemist would feel Ronin's heart skip a beat as he did so).

"So here it is: I love you, Remi. Only you."

she didn't want to love
she wanted to b e l o v e d
and that was entirely different

Their words are pledges, earnest and ardent, and Amalia watches with tears in her eyes. The rings are beautiful - a fascinating touch from their original world, more permanent than the usual strings the girl is accustomed to. She watches and wonders and loves and aches, because it is a relief, an inspiration, to know that through all the hardships they have faced Remi and Ronin have bloomed and found love. It makes her feel that there is hope. For them. For the world.

For her.

"Friends, family, Lady of Stars. Tonight, before you and before the gods, Remi and Ronin have made four vows. They have promised to nurture and grow their love, that it may thrive and bloom. They have promised to cherish the lives they share, no matter what hardships they may face, to lift each other every day with love and support. They have bound themselves together in life and death, and have promised to keep each other even until the afterlife, while cherishing every minute before. And they have promised to hold these promises forever.

"Let all who have witnessed express their blessing of this union by calling yea!" She waits for the cheering to crescendo and fade, her own voice roaring among the rest, a vibrant smile on her face. There are tears in her eyes, happiness, adoration; she had not expected to enjoy this process as much as she has.

Amalia's reverent, pious heart squeezes as she says the last words, glancing once again at Safrin before making the proclamation. "With your blessing and with the grace of the Old Gods, it is my honor and delight to present to you all the married couple - Remi and Ronin! Remi, Ronin, you are invited to seal your love with a kiss- and just a kiss!" she tacks on, grinning, her cheeks glowing a little at the joke. "Save something for the honeymoon, eh?"

Stepping away from the newlyweds, Amalia ducks out from beneath the canopy, leaning over to speak to Safrin. "Thank you for coming," she murmurs, adoring. "I hope... I hope the ceremony was adequate. They deserve every blessing."

---

And with that, Remi and Ronin are officially married! Feel free to post <3

Amalia

we are all b r o k e n
that's how the l i g h t gets in

REXANNA

paint my spirit gold

The ceremony is beautiful, and throughout it, Rexanna squeezes Bastien’s hand gently with each and every vow Amalia speaks of. She wonders what kind of vows would come from an Ascended wedding, but the thought drifts from her mind as Safrin appears to join them all. The woman’s never seen the goddess of the stars, but she glances to Bastien with a curious brow as if to share a joke of “ah so she’s the one that turned you into an old man” with nothing but amusement in her eyes. She slips away, however, as quietly and unnoticed as she can, before the final announcement is made by Amalia, and moves toward the other side of the hill they stand upon where they’d shared their vows.

Rexanna places the box of fireworks she received from Ianto’s wagon, finding no better time to use them than now, and sets them up easily before moving a fair distance away to make room for her own fireworks to join them. But she waits, for the right moment to hit (when Ronin and Remi lean in for a kiss) before she shoots up two of her own fireworks — large and beautiful with flecks of gold that shower down from the skies above. It’s a safe distance away, and no harm will come to any of them (goddess included), but it makes for a beautiful view from where the happy couple’s onlookers sit.

Then, when her own fireworks fade, she sets Ianto’s box off, eyes lifting toward the sky to see what kind of magic they wield. Only it isn’t exactly magic and wonderful pictures that appear in the darkened sky, but a blooming of dicks that alight the sky in hues of purples, greens, and blues. Rexanna’s mouth drops wide open and she gapes at the fireworks with both horror and laughter simmering beneath her skin, unsure that if she leaves now perhaps nobody will know it was her that lit that particular box off. She’s hoping she hasn’t ruined anything either, one hand reaching to cover her mouth.

there is always hope

Ronin didn't need to be told twice - no sooner had the words left Amalia's lips, he had leant in to claim a kiss from Remi. At last, his arms slid around his husband (something that was infinitely fun and strange to say), drawing him close and letting the rest of the world disappear, if but only for a moment. Smiling warmly as they parted, he heard the thunder of fireworks above them and glanced up, enthralled, to see a sky full of...

Of...

"Dicks," he said cheerfully, the laughter on the tip of his tongue as he watched the various forms and shapes take place. "Look, Remi. A sky full of dicks."

ASHE    The ceremony was exactly as it should have been. Ashe couldn’t stop smiling, couldn’t stop the well of silver gathering in her eyes as she choked out laughter and watched her family become just a little more whole. She shifted Aoife in her arms, cooing gently to the girl and pointing up at Remi and Ronin as Safrin appeared. ”Look at that,” she whispered against her ear with a grin. ”You see Safrin behind your dads?”    Ashe held Aoife close, her nose pressed against her dark hair. Her eyes followed the sight of fireworks into the sky, and for a moment.. Just a moment, the world stilled and dropped silent. She almost looked to her side, to smile up at crystalline blue eyes that she knew weren’t there. The weight of Aoife in her arms was almost enough for her to pretend. This was a moment that should have been shared with him. With them.    Fireworks faded, and Ashe dropped her eyes down her niece. She hadn’t lost everything. This moment could still be shared with people she loved. She looked up her mother, back to Aoife and the fireworks reflected in her star-filled eyes and…    Wha? She looked back up the sky, and an incredulous laugh burst from her chest. ”You’re too young for that,” she said, moving every which way to keep inquisitive eyes from the sky absolutely full of sparkling dicks. but no one really sleeps alone when you are loved.

BASTIEN

Bastien found himself wrapped up in the ceremony once he sat, responding to Rexanna's squeezes of his hand with his own, but his eyes were very much focused on the couple before them and the vows being said. They were beautiful; not the same words as weddings from his home, but more than sufficient. It would be worthy of a painting, the first wedding he'd seen on Caido - and indeed, the first Outlander wedding in Caido ever; perhaps it would make a good gift.

As Safrin herself appeared, he sunk a little lower in his seat and looked off to the side; he was sure she wouldn't have any words for him at an occasion for Remi and Ronin, but it was better to be safe. Rexanna left shortly after and he watched after her with not a little amount of sulking in his eyes, feeling rather exposed.

But then...there was a noise, and the sky filled with...rather penile energy. He couldn't help the snort, but managed to keep clapping regardless. Then, he saw Rexanna, hand over her mouth, and put two and two together. The snort became full blown laughter (and surrounding attendants would be surprised to learn that when the artist really laughed, it was not the dignified chuckle he normally let out, but a rather high pitched wheeze) and he tried to catch her eye so he could make a face at her.

We're aware they're trying to take away our dreams

Samuel

Sam cried. It was an inevitability.

He was crying partly because it was beautiful, because he was happy, because Remi looked so in love and Ronin would look after him. Because after everything that had happened this felt like a breath of fresh air, a ribbon to tie in a bow around all of it and call it done.

He was also crying because Remi looked so happy, and he had missed the chance to be the one to give that to him. Now, he was scared he would never have anyone look at him the way the newlyweds looked at each other.

Wiping his eyes with his handkercheif, he didn't even notice the lude fireworks in the sky, clapping and smiling as they kissed and wishing his heart wasn't quite as complicated. Still, the overriding emotion was happiness and pride for Remi and Ronin and it showed in his face.

And it's hard to write about being happy
'Cause the older I get

I find that happiness is an extremely uneventful subject