Sunshine Challenge
Jul. 10th, 2022 07:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tellshannon815Prompt 3: Moonstone
Prized for its blue to white adularescence—a billowy, moonlight-like sheen—Moonstone has been closely associated with the Moon. The ancient Romans believed it was frozen moonlight, a gift from the goddess, Luna. Therefore, some consider it an alternative birthstone for those born on Monday, the “Moon’s day”. Due to this lunar association, as well as its calming influence, this gem is considered an excellent aid for those with trouble sleeping. Moonstone is a stone of inner growth and strength; it soothes emotional instability and stress and stabilizes the emotions, providing calmness. Because of all this, Moonstone is often associated with wisdom and dreams.
As fate would have it, something I was working on anyway was something I was easily able to incorporate the moon into, so here is a Legacies fic about Jed experiencing his first full moon with Ben after his werewolf curse was untriggered. Spoilers for series finale.
It’s going to be weird for Jed, leaving the Salvatore School, the one place he’d ever really thought of as home since he left his pack (and possibly even before that, since if he’s honest with himself, he was never entirely comfortable there under his father’s dictatorial rule). Everyone’s said to him, from Dr Saltzman to Wade, that there will always be a home for him and Ben there, but Jed wonders whether, now he’s no longer a werewolf, he can really stay there.
He knows the pack will be in good hands with Finch, possibly even better than his own; Finch has all the qualities required to lead the pack. If anything, she’s probably more leadership material than Jed ever was; he still cringes now to think back to his bullying behaviour when he first became the pack’s alpha. Now, he thinks he’s become a better person, and falling for Ben has played a big part in that; Jed thinks back to the old him, who would push around his pack in behaviours learned from his father, who had stolen Alyssa Chang from MG just because he could, even though he wasn’t really that interested in her. It had taken weeks before MG and Kaleb would speak to him again after that, and they were two of the best friends he had; Jed knows he never wants to be that guy again, and if not being a werewolf any more helps him with that, well, he’s good with it.
But he wonders who he’ll be without the werewolf curse. Jed knows it’s not unprecedented; Lizzie had told him, right before Jed and Ben left the school, about some friend of her parents who’d triggered his curse, then been made a hybrid by Hope’s dad, and then been brought back as a human again. She’d been a little fuzzy on the details; that had happened before she was born, and then the family friend had died while she was still very young and she didn’t remember him that well. But Jed kind of wished he could have had the opportunity to get to meet this Tyler Lockwood guy, because he had experienced something so similar to Jed and would have been someone who could have helped him understand it. The closest other person he can think of is Rafael, trapped in the prison world to save his life, living the same day over and over again; since the day he was reliving hadn’t been a full moon, Rafael was now safe from transforming again. Part of Jed also wishes he could talk to Rafael, but he knows that while Hope had managed it once, it wouldn’t be that easy.
Some werewolves could go through their lives without ever triggering their curse; Jed had grown up knowing that he was always expected to trigger his, or face excommunication by his father. Since he’d made the choice to kill his father and spare the life of his best friend Trey, then turned and fled from the pack anyway, he’s since wondered what would have happened if he’d stayed; would they all have turned their backs on him as he believed at the time, or were there some in the pack at the time who had had enough of his father’s rule and were actually quite pleased it had come to an end? The pack at the Salvatore School had talked about it among themselves, about the circumstances that had led to their triggering of the curse. Some among them had made the choice for themselves, others, like Rafael, hadn’t been aware of it until the moment they actually triggered it, or Finch, who didn’t know the outcome of her grandfather’s request in the moment he made it. Jed wasn’t the only one who’d always known it was their destiny to trigger their curse, but was the only one who had it forced upon them in quite that way.
Ben asks him at one point, not long after leaving the school, whether there’s anything in particular Jed wants to do, that he now can now that he’s no longer a werewolf, for example track down his old pack. That is something that Jed has thought more seriously about since meeting Ben and confiding in him about his history, his relationship with his father, the feelings he thought he may have had for his friend Trey; he still may do it, and he thinks Ben may understand that, after the time Ben was tempted by the idea of finding a way to bring back Ashur, but he won’t pursue that right now unless he and Ben have had a proper discussion about it first. The other thing that worries him about the idea is the thought of his old pack’s reaction to the fact that he’s no longer a werewolf, and the rejection he feels he may face. If the current alpha is anything like his father, they might even try to force Jed to trigger his curse again (he knows that’s technically possible; Dr Saltzman’s friend had triggered his again, although Jed doesn’t know much about that, the Mystic Falls Red Wedding being a topic of conversation that was generally avoided at the Salvatore School.)
“There is something,” he begins, “and this might sound a little crazy, but what I really want to do is sit up and experience a full moon. It’s gonna be the first one in a long time where I don’t have to transform, and I want to be able to experience it as a human.”
Jed sits with Ben watching the moon rise, telling him about the full moons when he was a child, before he ever triggered his curse. “A part of me found it easier on those nights,” he explains, “because my father was out of the house hunting with the pack. None of that shutting himself away in a cage for my father; he didn’t give a crap who he might attack. He was always worse in the days right before the full moon, but for those few hours, he wasn’t on my back about stupid shit, and I could breathe again.” Ben nods; Jed knows he’s thinking about his own experience of Ken, but he says nothing, lets Jed continue. “But at the same time, I was nervous about the time I was going to have to trigger my curse, to change along with them. I was afraid of who I’d be. I used to wonder whether my father had been an okay guy before he triggered his curse, and became an asshole after that, but there was no one I could really ask, because they’d have gone to him and told him what I said. Now I know that isn’t the case and that the anger issues are there for those who haven’t triggered their curse, but I didn’t understand that as a kid. So the full moon had always been something I feared.”
“And what about afterwards?” Ben asks.
“Well, you saw me once,” Jed points out. “I had no idea at the time that that was going to be my last one,” (because he’s determined, he’s not going to trigger his curse again, he’s got a choice in the matter this time around and he’s going to use it), “and I would say it got easier over time. Hope told me once her dad said he found it easier to embrace his transformations, and that helped him. I did try, but I don’t know…I didn’t find it as easy as she did. Maybe that’s because she’s the tribrid. But I’d say my first one was the hardest, because I didn’t fully know what to expect at the time, and after a while, although I still hated it, it got easier to prepare for it.”
He gestures towards the moon. “I’ve spent my whole life living in fear of that thing, you know? And now, sat out here with you, knowing I never have to turn again, I can appreciate the beauty of it, knowing there’s nothing it can do to hurt me any more. I can see it as a symbol of hope now for our future.”
Prized for its blue to white adularescence—a billowy, moonlight-like sheen—Moonstone has been closely associated with the Moon. The ancient Romans believed it was frozen moonlight, a gift from the goddess, Luna. Therefore, some consider it an alternative birthstone for those born on Monday, the “Moon’s day”. Due to this lunar association, as well as its calming influence, this gem is considered an excellent aid for those with trouble sleeping. Moonstone is a stone of inner growth and strength; it soothes emotional instability and stress and stabilizes the emotions, providing calmness. Because of all this, Moonstone is often associated with wisdom and dreams.
As fate would have it, something I was working on anyway was something I was easily able to incorporate the moon into, so here is a Legacies fic about Jed experiencing his first full moon with Ben after his werewolf curse was untriggered. Spoilers for series finale.
It’s going to be weird for Jed, leaving the Salvatore School, the one place he’d ever really thought of as home since he left his pack (and possibly even before that, since if he’s honest with himself, he was never entirely comfortable there under his father’s dictatorial rule). Everyone’s said to him, from Dr Saltzman to Wade, that there will always be a home for him and Ben there, but Jed wonders whether, now he’s no longer a werewolf, he can really stay there.
He knows the pack will be in good hands with Finch, possibly even better than his own; Finch has all the qualities required to lead the pack. If anything, she’s probably more leadership material than Jed ever was; he still cringes now to think back to his bullying behaviour when he first became the pack’s alpha. Now, he thinks he’s become a better person, and falling for Ben has played a big part in that; Jed thinks back to the old him, who would push around his pack in behaviours learned from his father, who had stolen Alyssa Chang from MG just because he could, even though he wasn’t really that interested in her. It had taken weeks before MG and Kaleb would speak to him again after that, and they were two of the best friends he had; Jed knows he never wants to be that guy again, and if not being a werewolf any more helps him with that, well, he’s good with it.
But he wonders who he’ll be without the werewolf curse. Jed knows it’s not unprecedented; Lizzie had told him, right before Jed and Ben left the school, about some friend of her parents who’d triggered his curse, then been made a hybrid by Hope’s dad, and then been brought back as a human again. She’d been a little fuzzy on the details; that had happened before she was born, and then the family friend had died while she was still very young and she didn’t remember him that well. But Jed kind of wished he could have had the opportunity to get to meet this Tyler Lockwood guy, because he had experienced something so similar to Jed and would have been someone who could have helped him understand it. The closest other person he can think of is Rafael, trapped in the prison world to save his life, living the same day over and over again; since the day he was reliving hadn’t been a full moon, Rafael was now safe from transforming again. Part of Jed also wishes he could talk to Rafael, but he knows that while Hope had managed it once, it wouldn’t be that easy.
Some werewolves could go through their lives without ever triggering their curse; Jed had grown up knowing that he was always expected to trigger his, or face excommunication by his father. Since he’d made the choice to kill his father and spare the life of his best friend Trey, then turned and fled from the pack anyway, he’s since wondered what would have happened if he’d stayed; would they all have turned their backs on him as he believed at the time, or were there some in the pack at the time who had had enough of his father’s rule and were actually quite pleased it had come to an end? The pack at the Salvatore School had talked about it among themselves, about the circumstances that had led to their triggering of the curse. Some among them had made the choice for themselves, others, like Rafael, hadn’t been aware of it until the moment they actually triggered it, or Finch, who didn’t know the outcome of her grandfather’s request in the moment he made it. Jed wasn’t the only one who’d always known it was their destiny to trigger their curse, but was the only one who had it forced upon them in quite that way.
Ben asks him at one point, not long after leaving the school, whether there’s anything in particular Jed wants to do, that he now can now that he’s no longer a werewolf, for example track down his old pack. That is something that Jed has thought more seriously about since meeting Ben and confiding in him about his history, his relationship with his father, the feelings he thought he may have had for his friend Trey; he still may do it, and he thinks Ben may understand that, after the time Ben was tempted by the idea of finding a way to bring back Ashur, but he won’t pursue that right now unless he and Ben have had a proper discussion about it first. The other thing that worries him about the idea is the thought of his old pack’s reaction to the fact that he’s no longer a werewolf, and the rejection he feels he may face. If the current alpha is anything like his father, they might even try to force Jed to trigger his curse again (he knows that’s technically possible; Dr Saltzman’s friend had triggered his again, although Jed doesn’t know much about that, the Mystic Falls Red Wedding being a topic of conversation that was generally avoided at the Salvatore School.)
“There is something,” he begins, “and this might sound a little crazy, but what I really want to do is sit up and experience a full moon. It’s gonna be the first one in a long time where I don’t have to transform, and I want to be able to experience it as a human.”
Jed sits with Ben watching the moon rise, telling him about the full moons when he was a child, before he ever triggered his curse. “A part of me found it easier on those nights,” he explains, “because my father was out of the house hunting with the pack. None of that shutting himself away in a cage for my father; he didn’t give a crap who he might attack. He was always worse in the days right before the full moon, but for those few hours, he wasn’t on my back about stupid shit, and I could breathe again.” Ben nods; Jed knows he’s thinking about his own experience of Ken, but he says nothing, lets Jed continue. “But at the same time, I was nervous about the time I was going to have to trigger my curse, to change along with them. I was afraid of who I’d be. I used to wonder whether my father had been an okay guy before he triggered his curse, and became an asshole after that, but there was no one I could really ask, because they’d have gone to him and told him what I said. Now I know that isn’t the case and that the anger issues are there for those who haven’t triggered their curse, but I didn’t understand that as a kid. So the full moon had always been something I feared.”
“And what about afterwards?” Ben asks.
“Well, you saw me once,” Jed points out. “I had no idea at the time that that was going to be my last one,” (because he’s determined, he’s not going to trigger his curse again, he’s got a choice in the matter this time around and he’s going to use it), “and I would say it got easier over time. Hope told me once her dad said he found it easier to embrace his transformations, and that helped him. I did try, but I don’t know…I didn’t find it as easy as she did. Maybe that’s because she’s the tribrid. But I’d say my first one was the hardest, because I didn’t fully know what to expect at the time, and after a while, although I still hated it, it got easier to prepare for it.”
He gestures towards the moon. “I’ve spent my whole life living in fear of that thing, you know? And now, sat out here with you, knowing I never have to turn again, I can appreciate the beauty of it, knowing there’s nothing it can do to hurt me any more. I can see it as a symbol of hope now for our future.”
no subject
Date: 2022-07-12 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-07-13 12:15 am (UTC)It wasn't always that simple - the character this one is about always knew his father was going to force him to turn one day, while one of his friends, who had grown up in foster care and didn't know who his birth parents were at the time, had no clue until he accidentally triggered his. Only two are known to have lost their curse. But to some extent a lot of them did have some choice.