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#asoiaf gift exchange
sansansecretsanta2023 · 5 months
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SanSan Secret Santa 2023 Masterlist
🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
“Sleigh Ride” by @asa-do-your-thing
“Snowed In” by @britnyintheskywithatardis
“Snow Day” by @fanofbooks49
“Step Into Christmas With Me” by @gefionne
“The Magic We Give” by @kaellecappuccino
Thank you to all participants for completing this year’s gift exchange! Happy Holidays!
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spookysansan · 8 months
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Happy Autumn!
This October I will be hosting a SanSan Halloween Gift Exchange. Similar to the secret santa gift exchange every year, fics will be short and Halloween themed.
Please DM or submit an ask to express interest in the gift exchange.
Happy spooky writing!
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lttlewing · 5 months
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daemyra holiday gift exchange 2023 for @black-dread!
surprise! may this bring a touch of happiness to your day. happy holidays!
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zetaaa · 9 months
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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth Characters: Jaime Lannister, Brienne of Tarth, Tyrion Lannister (mentioned), Galladon Tarth (mentioned) Additional Tags: Rain, Pining, Mutual Pining, Riverlands (A Song of Ice and Fire), Legends, Book 3: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire), During Canon Summary:
“Do you enjoy lovely things?” The question seemed to surprise her, and even more his genuineness- a red blush crept its way from her cheeks down her neck, visible even in the gray light.
 “I… I suppose I do,”
or; jb flirts in a thunderstorm
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Thank you, dear wlwchiaki, this drawing’s for you  💙💙💙 And a  huge thank you to our organizers @firesign23  and @jaime-brienne-fic-exchange
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lycorim-ao3 · 5 months
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Hello, Old Ghost
New fic on AO3!
"Theon gets a call from a number he could have sworn he deleted a decade ago. Sometimes, there's nowhere for two broken ends to fit but back together."
My gift for @oceaniads for the 2023 @theonficexchange! I had such a fun time writing this, and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect giftee! You have great taste, Maya ;) I hope you love it, and I hope 2024 is good to you!
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JB Festive Fest 3: Fest With a Vengeance
You asked and we answered...
Signups are open for the JB Festive Fest!
Now in its third year, the JB Festive Fest is an opportunity for Jaime x Brienne fans to close out the year with some lovely gifts. It's a low-key, inclusive exchange meant to celebrate our favourite knights! All fanworks are welcomed (and encouraged!)--art, fic, fanvids, any creative endevour!
Already convinced?
Sign up here!
Need more information? Read on!
Important Dates
Signups: November 23rd - November 30th Assignments out: December 1st Posting Window: December 23rd - January 1st Stocking Stuffer Prompts Released: December 23rd Last date to check in: December 28th NEW THIS YEAR. In order to simplify the knight writing process, you must begin posting or check in with us by this date, or we will assign a knight writer. If this happens, you can still post, we just want to ensure everyone gets a gift!
Rules
1. You create one (1) fanwork, and receive one (1) fanwork. 2. If you can't complete your gift on time, please let us know as soon as you do! Life happens, but the sooner we know the easier it is to deal with. 3. For recipients: no specific, detailed scenario prompts, only a list of general likes/tropes/vibes and your squicks and triggers. For gifters, any detail you want from your recipient you’ll need to sleuth on your own, or guess. 4. Have fun! 2022 was hard for a lot of us, and this is meant to round out the year with a little extra joy.
FAQ
Who can participate? Anyone! Artists, writers, vidders, poets, interpretive dancers! This is an inclusive exchange – whether it’s your first or hundredth, you are welcome!
What do I need to do? When you sign up, you’ll provide three general ideas of what you like--tropes, vibes, nothing too specific!--for your creator to work from. Once sign ups close, you’ll be assigned someone and you’ll need to create a fanwork for them based off the information they provided. It could be a short fic, a piece of art, a poem, a vid, an interpretive dance, whatever you like! There are no minimum requirements, but as a rough guideline, think of it as something that would brighten your day if you received it.
When do sign-ups open? They’re open now, and will close on November 30, at the end of the day for you, anywhere in the world.  
What if I can’t finish something in time? Please send us an email at [email protected] to let us know and we’ll do what we can to either let your recipient know you’ll be a little late, or organize someone else to backfill.
Does my fanwork have to be festive themed? Definitely not. You’ll just be sharing it between December 23rd and New Year’s Day.
Will my prompts be private? No, they will be released to everyone on December 23rd to allow for the Stocking Stuffer exchange (details coming later in the month). This will be open for anyone to contribute to, not just the people who participate in the main exchange.
When is the posting window again? Between December 23 and January 1. If you have not begun posting by December 28 and have not contacted us, the prompts will go to a knight writer to make sure that everyone receives a gift by New Year’s.
Important Notes:
You must have an AO3 account to participate. If you do not have an AO3 account, you can either request one via the AO3 website or email us at jbficexchange @ gmail.com
If you have any questions, please email us at jbficexchange @ gmail.com. This will be a tight turnaround for signups–about a week–so get in quick if you’re interested!
Click here to sign up!
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darksvster · 1 year
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temptations high tonight — ➥ e, 6/6, 29785 words 23 years ago, Daemon was exiled from King's Landing after the birth of Viserys Targaryen's firstborn. Rhaenyra grows up groomed and shaped as the heir to Targaryen Dynamic Enterprises, one of the world's top weapons manufacturers and military tech firms. But when her father dies after losing her mother, Daemon returns to reclaim what was taken from him. Nothing goes to plan when he intrudes on a board meeting and catches the scent of his estranged niece. He should hate her — she is his rival. But her intoxicating scent seeps into his soul and he must wrangle with the fact that he's found his mate in the exact person who usurped him.
aka 
a modern a/b/o au where daemon and rhaenyra are mates but have been pitted against each other.
ao3 link
"Rhaenyra, Daemon still holds a large percentage of the shares of the company. He is just short of a board seat, but we believed that his experience with Bar-Vel and his own consulting agency would —"
"Spit it out, Harrold," she demands, interrupting the man in his explanation.
"You are still young, Rhaenyra," and it's Lyonel Strong who speaks, with his rotund belly and red face. "But with Daemon by your side, you two can make this company stronger than before."
What? Daemon shifts in his seat, leaning forward to get clarity before Rhaenyra beats him to the punch.
"I'm sorry, what? By my side? What does that mean, Lyonel?"
"Well, marriage has—"
But he can feel the wave of irritation roll off of Rhaenyra and now he's sure that everyone else can too because the people in the room shift in their seats uncomfortably. "I've been working here for the last four years, and two before that unofficially. This company is what I live and breathe. What need do I have for a man who hasn't even been in the country for years? A man my own father exiled." She rounds on him, "Do you even know the state of my company?"
"Our company," he corrects and enjoys the way her cheeks flush in anger at him. He takes distinct satisfaction in his advantage over her. "And I've been in this industry about as long as you've been alive. Are you sure you don't need a guiding hand?" His age and experience overshadow hers and the thought of his guiding hands on Rhaenyra cause another riotous upheaval inside of him. Her scent is so faint when she's this far away, but it's still there, like a virus in the back of his mind. It influences and pollutes his every thought.
She tilts her head up proudly, every inch the bratty, spoiled girl he suspects her to be. "Then stay with us as an advisor. I don't need a husband," she says crossly. He wants to roll his eyes again and tell her that, of course, she needs one. She needs a mate, right now she's a child in a room full of men. What will happen when she's in heat? God, the thought actually awakens his cock.
But Harrold speaks up again. "Rhaenyra, our stocks have plummeted since your father died. Investors have been calling and we have contract renewals coming up. A betrothal to Daemon could offer us some reprieve and reassurances to stakeholders."
She looks unconvinced, but the rest of the board is nodding in agreement. And that part of him is in agreement as well. Grasping and eager, it reaches out from within him, as if to crawl across the table to her so it can bury itself in her scent. Mine.
"I'll do it," he says, and the table turns to him in surprise. Rhaenyra almost looks betrayed. "But, it must be a long engagement. You can float rumors to bring up stock prices but no public announcements." He gestures to Rhaenyra, trying to seem unaffected. "I barely know this girl, and I don't know what's happening with this company. Remember, you called me. I can just as easily go back to Bar-Vel or Dark Sister." He tells himself he's keeping his friends close and his enemies closer.
"Then go back, Daemon," Otto snidely retorts. "Rhaenyra is capable of handling this on her own." Ambitious and oily Otto Hightower. It seems now that Viserys is gone, he can sink his teeth into Rhaenyra. Once a leech, always a leech.
There's a moment of silence as he waits for Rheanyra's decision, she seems unaffected by Otto's flattery. Finally, she turns to a third man in the room, an old man with rheumatic eyes and a quavering voice. "Beesbury, what do you think?"
Beesbury is a relic, he was old when Daemon was still the heir to the company, and he was ancient now. The old man looks at Daemon and he feels like he's being examined from the inside out. "Your father treasured this company, and he wanted you as his heir, this is true. But with Daemon at your side, you could become even more powerful than Viserys." Sighing, he strokes his chin in contemplation. "It's worth the consideration, to continue the legacy of your family, which I know is important to you."
He can read the conflict painted on her face, she wants an opposing point of view but none exists in the room. She's being cornered and she doesn't like it. But finally, flipping her hair over her shoulder, she nods curtly. She's trying so hard to look gracious in defeat. "A long engagement," she tells the table, before looking straight at him. "And I will break it if I need to."
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musing-and-music · 2 years
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When you want to know how an event could turn out in canon, but canon hasn't reached that point yet, you turn to fanfictions. Since I liked the idea of Jaime react with a proposal of his own when he learns about Hyle's proposal to Brienne, and that there was a JB fic exchange coming, I decided to make it one of my prompts!
And it's @aviss who chose to write about it for the @jaime-brienne-fic-exchange, gifting me this amazing fic!
Great Golden Fool
Summary: He remembered with blinding clarity, remembered following Brienne of Tarth, the honourable godsdamned liar, into a trap. He had not suspected a thing, too concerned with the sorry state of her and the guilt of being the one who sent her on that inane quest instead of returning her to her father the way he should have. His last chance for honour, what a jest. He really was a great golden fool.
Canon - Book, Post LSH, Angst with a Happy Ending, Accidental Proposal, golden bitchslap tm
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theragethatisdesire · 21 days
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perzītsos - bakugou katsuki x afab!reader, 18+!!
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uh....surprise! i really love asoiaf, and i've seen so many posts about barbarian!katsuki, but i wasn't really successful in writing him, so here's my take on a fantasy au with katsuki. this takes place pre-fire and blood, really in the "medieval" days of the targaryen dynasty, with a targaryen heir!reader. i took some creative liberties with targaryen marriage customs, but i think they're sorta fun.
this is a beast of a one-shot, but there's lots of lore preceding this (do i smell a prequel?), including that reader asked for katsuki's hand in marriage, and neither of them were really expecting to wind up in a marriage bed together. i normally don't write virginity loss, but i made an exception for these two, i really do love them!!! fair warning, there's lots of high valyrian in here, which i don't speak fluently either, so i'm going to add some translations at the end :)
"perzītsos" - "little flame"
enjoy <3
pairing: bakugou katsuki x fem!reader
wc: 13.5k (told ya it's a beast)
DISCLAIMER: this post contains MATURE CONTENT that is intended only for those over 18. if you are a minor, please do not read below the cut. bakugou is roughly twenty-eight in this fic.
cws: virginity loss, aged-up characters, fingering, oral sex (fem!receiving, male!receiving mentioned), reader has female anatomy, smut, pretentious amounts of high valyrian pet names
𖤓
Leaving the raucous merriment of the great hall behind, its stone walls bursting at the seams with the raunchy, jeering calls of Bakugou’s soldiers and the titters of the ladies of the court, only seems to emphasize the echoing silence of your chambers. The servants had completed the arduous job of transferring your things into your new apartments today; you recognize the tapestries that had decorated your walls since you were a child, now dwarfed by the massive dimensions of your new quarters, and the candelabra you’d been gifted by a nobleman at your seventh name day sits upon a newly constructed ebony desk.
Nearly every hard surface in the room—desks, tables, even small areas of the floor—has been covered in the fat, yellow beeswax candles crafted in the kitchens many stories below your feet, flames dancing and casting shadows this way and that over the stone walls. Many a night have you forgone sleep in favor of losing yourself in the waltz of a small fire on a wick, the sometimes-frantic, sometimes-untroubled rhythm of the flame in the breeze of an open window. Tonight, though, not even the hundreds of flames, these little extensions of the hot, ancient blood that flows through your veins, can distract you from your fate.
“I remember these rooms,” you say offhandedly, bringing one hand to the fine curtains that hang around the tapestry bed, “they were my mother’s.”
Bakugou stays stock still where he stands, letting you examine the marriage bed. The wood was brought into these chambers several weeks ago, alongside a handful of master carpenters. The bed is enormous, easily large enough for three people to get a full night’s sleep without touching each other. It had been built inside of the room so that the intended dimensions could be fulfilled without the worry of actually fitting it through the door, which it would not. The sight of it makes an apprehensive shiver rock through your frame.
“You were born here,” Bakugou says gruffly, catching you by surprise. “I remember.”
You turn to face him, eyebrows raised cautiously at his decision to speak. Considering what lies before you both, the breach in his silence is appreciated, if unexpected. He’s hardly said two words to you all night; two words besides the lengthy wedding vows you’d exchanged before gods and men alike, speaking them practically into each other’s mouths in the purring, labyrinthine cadence of the Old Tongue. The metallic taste of his blood, brushed onto your tongue by his own thumb, is still nestled between your teeth, worryingly permanent.
“You remember?”
“Hardly.” Bakugou diverts his gaze from you to where your marriage bed lies, squinting his eyes as if he’s trying to remember what it had looked like more than twenty years past. “I was three.”
It shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it is, given that you’d practically been raised alongside Bakugou, taken your first steps, tasted your first victories, had your first stumbles under his watchful crimson gaze. The required distance had been there, as you’d always been more of an heir than a little girl, and Bakugou had been busy with his training anyhow, but he was a steadfast part of your memories, even if he had been mostly in the blurry peripherals until the most recent years. This confession, that he had stood in the same room as your howling, bloodied form had been brought into the world, makes you feel more exposed than you already do in your thin gown.
Bakugou must take notice of how your shoulders unintentionally tense up, because his lips pull into a small frown, not one of anger, but seemingly guilt. You sigh, rolling your shoulders back and squaring yourself to face him, trying not to let your cheeks burn hot as your nipples peak under the singular layer of fabric hiding the finer details of your body from him. He’s intimidating, and both of you know it, but considering that you’re the reason you two find yourselves in this room, you think that maybe you should be the one to guide him along.
Bakugou approaches you slowly, making a noticeable effort to dull down the soldier’s swagger he normally walks with, holding your gaze with what you surmise is his best attempt to look open and mild-tempered. You notice how he pointedly avoids looking at your body, how it’s silhouetted by the candlelight and showing itself as a dark, shapely shadow in the white fabric of your gown. He’s close enough to touch now, toes only inches from yours. You’re reminded of how close you stood during the ceremony, how he had sworn to give his life for you, to you. Ānogar ānograro.
“They’re waiting,” you say quietly, eyes darting to the four servants in each corner of the room. Bakugou follows your gaze, and his frown grows deeper.
“May I speak freely?” It’s a laughable question coming from him, but it’s a kindhearted gesture, so you bite into your lip and nod your acquiesce.
“You’re my husband,” you say, trying not to feel discouraged at the pink tinge that rises to his cheeks, “I always want you to speak freely.”
Through a stiff nod of understanding, Bakugou lets a deep breath exhale through his nose before pinning you in place with a scrutinizing gaze. “Have you been…kissed, before?”
“Of course I have, Bakugou.” You can’t hide the breathless chuckle that comes fluttering from your lips, the dangerous hint of a relieved smile that begins to carve into your cheeks.
“Katsuki,” he says, the corner of his own mouth curling when his simple request for familiarity wipes the glimmer of smugness straight away from your face. “Your husband, remember?”
“Katsuki,” you repeat, letting the letters make a home for themselves on your tongue. Something flashes in his eyes, and he clears his throat. You can’t make out the shape of what’s flickered across his face, but you can feel the heat thrumming from his eyes to yours.
“What else?”
“What do you mean?” Your nose wrinkles in confusion, entirely lost on what point he’s trying to make. Katsuki narrows his eyes, clears his throat uncomfortably.
“What else do you have…experience with?”
Oh. He wants to know if you’ve been touched, where you’ve been touched, possibly even by whom. It’s your turn to shuffle your bare feet on the cold stone floor, to look solidly ahead at the v in the collar of his loose tunic, the slope of his neck, anywhere but his eyes. Your stomach begins to roil at the implication of this, of baring yourself to him wholly. It won’t be the first time you do it tonight, and certainly not the last.
“I’ve– um, done most things.” You somehow summon the courage to meet his gaze again, staring up defiantly. “I hope that’s not a disappointment to you.”
“You had no obligation to me before today.” Katsuki shakes his head, as if to dispel the very notion that you even have something to refuse to apologize for. It brings a spark of warmth to your heart, a hum of satisfaction pulsing through you that you’d chosen your husband well, at least in this regard. “But you are a virgin?”
You can’t control the way your eyes go wide, blinking hurriedly at him when he asks the question. Your fingertips grow hot, and you aren’t sure which potential answer would be the least mortifying, so you opt to stick with the truth.
“Yes,” you say, so lowly it’s near a whisper, “I’m a virgin.”
Katsuki swears quietly in the Old Tongue, and though you’re more focused on your feet than his face, you can see the awkward repositioning of his feet, how his hands clench and unclench at your confession. He’s your husband, you scold yourself, you have no need for fear. You jerk your head up to look unflinchingly at his face, unapologetic in your stance. Despite the way he had voiced his indifference to your prior experiences, you can see some strange mixture of relief, nerves, and that same undefinable heat rising to his face, coloring his features and darkening his eyes.
His eyes run over your consummation gown, long, loose, and traditional as they come, lovingly hand-stitched by your longest serving lady-in-waiting. Your handmaidens had taken the liberty of freshening you up after the feast, scrubbing most of the heavy, ash-black ceremony makeup from the bridge of your nose, wiping the kohl from your eyes until you were bare. Your elaborate wedding hairstyle had been let down and reworked into a long, singular braid down your back, loosely secured by a knot of cowhide. That, amongst other things, is for him, and only him.
“After this,” Katsuki wets his lips with his tongue, “we won’t share a bed again–”
“Katsuki–”
“Not until you’re ready,” he amends. His fingers twitch by his sides, a boyish gesture for a man of his massive stature.
“I’m your wife,” you say, puzzled and looking up at him, “I may be a virgin now, but I’m no stranger to what that entails.”
A heavy breath shakes through Katsuki’s frame, and his brows knit together in an expression of comfortingly familiar exasperation. You almost want to smile back at him.
“I expected as much,” he says, one hand reaching forward ever so slowly to brush tentatively through your fingers dangling at your side, to pinch at the thin fabric of your gown and rub it between his fingers, “but that’s a matter for the morning.”
You catch the implication in his tone, in the way he’s holding the sheet separating you from him. There’s something to be taken care of. Your palms turn clammy, fingers beginning to tremble by your sides. It takes everything in you to set your jaw and look up at him, shoulders rolled back and expression carefully schooled into something that you can only pray approaches a warm neutrality.
“Would you like to take it off?” Your eyes flit from your gown to his face.
Katsuki considers you, dragging his eyes over your frame at an agonizingly slow rate, still maddeningly rubbing that fabric between his fingers. Suddenly, his face crumples into a scowl.
“You’re shaking,” he says matter-of-factly. Your cheeks warm, wishing he wouldn’t have brought it up. “Are you nervous?”
“Not of you,” you answer him truthfully, willing the tension in your spine to melt into pleasurable anticipation. Katsuki catches your meaning instantly, the concern in his eyes glittering into something more akin to the anger that settles so comfortably into the frown lines on his face, that strikes his sharp features so suddenly and beautifully you almost gasp.
“Turn around,” he barks suddenly, his posture straightening into that of the formidable general you’ve known him as all your life, not the surprisingly gentle husband he’s shown himself to be in the last few minutes. You start in his arms, beginning to spin on your heels to follow his command when his hands catch you by the shoulders, an apology writing its way into the fine features of his face.
“But you said–”
“Them.” Katsuki jerks his head towards the servants posted in each corner who are, miraculously, turned away from the two of you, heads down and poised towards the corner. You look up to Katsuki in amazement, and his eyes soften. “I wouldn’t speak to you that way.”
“Oh.” It’s light and not enough when it falls from your mouth, and you want to apologize, but Katsuki’s already loosening his grip on your shoulders, urging you to spin.
“Now you,” he says gently, “turn around.”
Too stunned by the duality of him to argue, the whetted and wartorn angles of him contrasting with this unbearable softness, you turn your back to him, urging yourself to relax under the weight of his hands. Katsuki’s hands subtly squeeze your shoulders, as if to warn you of their departure, and the next time you feel his touch, it’s on the end of your long braid, his scarred fingers fumbling with the cowhide tie.
You hold your breath as you feel the tension along your scalp go slack; he’s gotten the tie off of your braid. Katsuki’s fingers begin to methodically comb through your long hair, starting at the bottom and working his way up, deftly avoiding knots and keeping the lightly-oiled strands from tangling themselves as he undoes your braid. He’s surprisingly good at it, and an unexpected pang of pain accompanies your curious thought as to whether he’s had much practice undoing a woman’s hair, something so sacred. Before you can ruminate on the hurt beginning to come to a simmer in your chest, Katsuki’s spinning you back around, causing the calming perfume of your hair oil to cloud around your head as your hair fans out. It centers you, gives you the wherewithal to look up into his eyes.
Katsuki’s face is candid, beautifully so, in the way he regards you. Crimson eyes dart over every feature you have to offer him, now so wild and unbidden compared to your usual state of being, and he reaches a tentative hand towards your hair, before flinching and pulling back. You shake your head, bringing a hand out to catch his and pull it back towards the part of you he so clearly wants to touch before you can think better of it. Katsuki’s eyes widen, only momentarily, before his face settles into an expression of quiet approval, and he runs his fingers through your hair again, less purposeful this time and more for the simple pleasure of memorizing the feel of you under his hands. You blink up at him, waiting.
“Gevie,” he mumbles under his breath, watching how his fingers card through your unruly hair. He mistakenly brushes your nipple, still peaked under your consummation gown, and realizes what he’s done when you gasp lightly. 
“It’s okay,” you say hurriedly, surprising yourself when you realize that you mean it. Your back has already begun to arch unwittingly towards him, as if your body has accepted him as your husband while your mind is still trying to wrap itself around the idea. “Touch me.”
You can see the thought cross Katsuki’s face before he even reaches for your gown, pinching it at the hips on either side of you.
“Do you want to take it off, or would you like me to?” Katsuki says, hardly louder than a whisper. You blink, still trying to marry this man with the outspoken, ruthless general you’d invited to the altar with you.
“Traditionally, the man–”
“I know,” Katsuki says, a bit of an agonized bite behind his words. You bite your lip, worried that you’ve finally overstepped, but he sighs, heavy and surrendered. “I know what happens traditionally. I don’t care. We’re doing this on your terms.”
“My terms,” you repeat slowly, trying to gather his meaning.
“Yes,” Katsuki affirms, “your terms. Now, do you want to take your gown off, or do you want me to?”
You want to run to the washroom to realign your expectations, is what you want to do. This is supposed to be quick, you remember your handmaidens preparing you with monstrous stories of being unceremoniously bent over the bed, gown ripped to shreds or simply shoved above your hips instead of carefully pulled between a considerate thumb and finger. You study him, study that freshly sincere affection on his face, his willingness to bring you through this unscathed and…dare you say it, satisfied. Your hand, which, so lost in your thoughts, you hadn’t even noticed drifting, comes up to cup his sharp jaw, plush palm giving against the angle of his face.
“I want you to,” you say, nodding when his eyebrows raise in surprise. “I want you to take it off of me, please.”
Katsuki only answers you with a curt nod of his own, schooling his momentarily bewildered expression back into one of careful concentration, more for your benefit than his, you think. You can feel a slight tremor in his hands when he brings them to the strings that suffice for your gown’s sleeves, little more than strips of fabric tied in loose bows over your shoulder. Despite the painstakingly beautiful embroidery in the stiff linen, curling flames and stars rising from the hem of your gown, everything else about the design of the garment reveals its purpose: to be removed.
You hold your breath while he works at the tied strings, partly because you feel like you should and partly because the slightest brush of his fingers over your skin feels so climactic that you feel that it should make a sound, maybe that of pottery breaking or lightning clapping across a dark sky. It’s silent, the slip of the linen through itself, three cautious pulls and your gown is sagging on one side, the collar falling until your nipple is almost exposed. You gulp and try to look up to Katsuki, but his jaw is set, even grinding a bit in concentration as he keeps his gaze centered firmly on the bow he’s set upon on your right shoulder. You study him, looking for any indication that he’s anxious, or pleased, or disinterested, but he’s an unreadable mask of focus as his large fingers tug on the bow. It slides loose as easily as the first one had, and your gown slips from your body and crumples around your feet on the floor.
Katsuki sucks in a sharp inhale, forced to take in the sight of your naked body now that he’s finished his task. You watch intently as his eyes drag over every part of you, slow and savory, nostrils flaring and pupils dilating. You’re so exhilarated by his wild eyes taking you in, you almost forget to be insecure, to be nervous. This is something you might grow to enjoy, you think; Katsuki’s carefully concealed appetite.
“Am I alright?” You feel your mouth form the words, hear them float into the charged air. You don’t think you meant to ask, but once it’s out, you’re glad you did. It may be a politically-made marriage bed, but as fate would have it, your crown sits upon the head of a young woman, a young woman looking into the eyes of the man that would have her for his own, wanting to be thought of as a thing to be admired. Katsuki’s eyes flicker back to yours, and his brows knit together.
“Alright?” Katsuki’s eyes leave yours once more, and he meets his own gaze with a bold hand on your hip, thumb rubbing circles over your hipbone. “You’re more than alright, but you already know that.”
You feel so small, so silly when you tell him: “I was hoping you’d be the one to remind me.”
Katsuki understands then, meets your fixed look upon his face and lets that molten desire cool into something more digestible, easier to hold, and then he speaks. “Iksā gevie, ñuha ābrazȳrys.”
When you’d learned the Old Tongue as a child, you’d been taught to purr the sounds, to run them together like the slow, controlled flow of ink from the end of a feather. You learned to curl the consonants behind your teeth and let them breathe the same air for a beat, to birth the sounds into the world off of your tongue instead of simply pushing the air out. But when Katsuki speaks the Old Tongue it’s…a growl, forceful and quaking with restrained power. Raw and godlike, the words sound like they were written with his low rasp in mind.
Wife. His beautiful wife. Your breath hitches in your throat at the same time as a vicious swell of desire rips through you, mouth beginning to hang ajar. Katsuki frowns slightly, tilts his head.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Take me, then,” you say, breathless from your own courage. Katsuki’s eyes widen, and if you could see clearly through your own sudden lust, you’d see the corner of his mouth twitching. “Make me your wife.”
“I will,” Katsuki comes closer, speaking not smugly, but matter-of-factly. He slides one hand around your waist, thumbs at your chin with the other. “But there’s an order to these things.”
No sooner have you opened your mouth to protest Katsuki’s condescension than he’s closing the wide gap between his height and your plush, open lips, pressing his mouth to yours, and your mind goes quiet. You’ve been kissed upwards of a dozen times at this point, something you were proud to remind your ladies-in-waiting of this morning while they giggled and squealed about your big night with the general. A few princes, a handful of noblemen’s sons, the expected suspects. All your ladies had said in return was “Those are boys. The general is a man. You’ll see the difference.”
There’s nothing demanding or unkind in the way his fingers are pressing into the plush curve of your hip, but it’s firm, steady in a way you’ve never dreamed about being held. His hand spreads across your jawline, keeping you tilted up and open for him to move his mouth against. There’s none of the hurried pecking, no errant tongue forcing its way between your teeth before you can even offer– Katsuki’s a man. You understand now, understand your handmaidens’ flushed cheeks and the way they fanned themselves theorizing about whether your new husband was as ruthless in bed as he was on the battlefield. Katsuki makes a fire catch behind your ribs, a desperate urge to impress, to keep your now horrifyingly-apparent lack of experience under wraps.
You bring a hand to the back of his neck, willing yourself not to tremble, and card your fingers through the close-cropped hair, smiling when Katsuki’s lips stutter against your own. His grip on you tightens, one big hand slipping to the nape of your neck and pulling you flush against him. His tongue slips into your mouth, tasting like ceremonial wine and something mannish and mature; you’re hardly able to swallow the gasp that threatens to reveal how the pit of your stomach is beginning to curl in on itself. Your breasts are pressed tight against his chest, only separated from his skin by his linen tunic. The fabric kisses your sensitive nipples, brushing against the untouched skin, and despite yourself, you whimper pathetically into his waiting mouth, cheeks warming.
Katsuki pulls back, to your disappointment, and you begin to chew at your lip, frantically thinking through the last several minutes to wonder what you’ve done wrong. Had you been too forward, touching him back so quickly? Your fretting dies down quickly when you see that Katsuki’s only stepped back to finger the hem of his tunic, ripping it over his head. You only have a moment to catch a blurry flash of honed muscle and scarred skin before he’s back on you, calloused hands wrapping around your hips. It only takes a few moments of him kissing you, of your fingers dragging absentmindedly up his veiny forearm, before you ask him for what you want, palms pressed flat against his chest and pushing lightly.
His brows knit together, and his eyes flicker over your face, searching for any sign of discomfort. You take a deep inhale, hoping to hide how rapidly you’ve lost your breath to him, steeling yourself to look him in the eye.
“I want to see you.”
Katsuki’s face screws up almost comically, and he tilts his head.
“See me?”
“See you.”
You take a step back, keeping your hands on his arms, holding him just where you want him and– is it a sight. He’s sharper than you would have imagined, deep grooves carving into his skin where his muscles bulge beneath it. You suck in a sharp breath as you let your eyes move slowly from his hardened stomach to his broad chest, little nicks dotting his skin where a stray swordtip had punctured armor, and a particularly nasty gash cutting across his front, stretching from his shoulder to his ribcage. It looks like it should have been fatal. Katsuki crosses his arms over his chest, maybe in an attempt to stop you from ogling him like you are, but it’s counterproductive; all he’s done is give you a golden opportunity to watch the skin of his arms stretch to accommodate the way his biceps swell and shrink with the movement, the twitching and flexing of each individual muscle laid bare for you to see clearly.
When your gaze finally returns to his face, you almost want to snort at his expression: pink cheeks, a scrunched nose, and eyebrows lifted to indicate just how entirely unimpressed he is with your drooling.
“Done ‘seeing’ me?” Katsuki asks, mouth lifting in just the smallest hint at a smile. Your heart flutters lightly in your chest; it’s the first attempt either of you have made at humor since your betrothal, and it’s hugely relieving to have something to smile about.
“It was only fair that I take my turn,” you say, gesturing down at your bare skin. Katsuki’s lips lift a little more until his gaze lowers; his eyes darken as he lets himself take you in. You can see the same thought crossing his mind just as it occurs to you: you belong to each other now, every bit of skin, muscle, heart that you’re bearing to each other isn’t just your own anymore. That scrunch in his nose, the scar across his chest, the way he narrows his eyes to study you. It all belongs to you now.
Katsuki steps forward, letting his hand interlace with yours, fingers hanging in the spaces between your own.
“Are you ready?” His question is no more than a puff of air against your forehead, both of you mercifully standing so close that you aren’t forced to look in his eyes when he asks.
“Yes.” Your voice shakes despite your attempt to be resolute in your answer, and you tighten your fingers around his in apology. It’s all new.
Katsuki kisses you again, slower and warmer than last time. It’s not desperate or hurried, but it is sensual, a promise of what awaits you when he lays you down on your bed. You sigh into his mouth, growing comfortable now with the feel of him on you; so comfortable, even, that you don’t notice he’s been backing you up until your back hits the poster of the bed, effectively pinning you between the hard, ebony wood, and Katsuki’s strong chest.
Your confinement does something to him. It’s immeasurably minute, the way his breath seems to puff out a bit heavier, the sudden jerk of his fingers into your hips, but it’s there.
“When you said you had experience…” Katsuki says, voice gravelly and dangerously close to a pant, “what did you mean by that?”
“I–” you pause, swallowing thickly around the growing lump in your throat, “I’ve been kissed, and I’ve…been touched.” You settle on that, hoping he grasps what you’re suddenly too shy to say.
“Did he make you cum?” He asks it so quietly, you almost wonder if you’ve heard him correctly, but you do hear him, and your chest caves in on itself as the breath leaves your lungs. You’ve snickered over such things with trusted girl friends, your ladies in waiting, but to hear it so gruffly, from the lips of a man—your new husband, no less—is a shock to your system.
“I think so,” you murmur, hardly able to form the words. You can’t see him, his head hunched over your shoulder and his lips ghosting over the shell of your ear, but you can practically feel him frown.
“If he had, you would know so.” Katsuki presses a soft kiss on the cartilage of your ear, travels down to bring your earlobe between his lips. He moves farther down, kissing gently down the slope of your neck, so slowly as if not to scare you.
“How would I know?” You can’t believe you’ve even dared to ask the question, not entirely sure you’ve prepared yourself well enough to hear his answer. Katsuki sucks in a sharp breath against your collarbone, pausing his ministrations where he’d begun to lick and suckle at the prominent angle of it. Your face warms as you realize how deeply his faint touches have begun to affect you, how your chest is beginning to swell and sink with heavy breaths, how your skin tingles and sparks in anticipation of the next absentminded swipe of his knuckles, of the light pressure of his mouth.
“I can show you,” he whispers, and the world stops turning for a moment, “if you’d like.”
“Yes,” you breathe out before you can think better of yourself. You trust his hands, the steady way that they graze the curve of your hip and splay out against the small of your back. He’s stable and unwavering, keeping you afloat.
Katsuki nods against your shoulder, almost imperceptibly, and brings one of those strong hands up between your shoulderblades. He spreads his fingers out, forcing your back to arch for him, and brings his free hand up to your chest, pausing when he’s only a hair’s breadth from your breast. His eyes meet yours, a concentrated divot appearing between his eyebrows as he searches your face for any signs of discomfort. You arch into his touch, surprising even yourself with your boldness, and your jaw drops a bit at the sensation of his rough palms on your soft, supple breast.
Your eagerness spurs him to action, and he bends at the waist, scattering a litter of kisses across the top of your chest. You hold your breath as he dips lower, but your attempt to remain silent fails entirely when he closes his lips around your peaked nipple. A horribly broken whimper slips from your lips, and you squirm, though whether your body’s trying to push you into or away from the wet heat of his mouth you can’t tell.
Katsuki’s mouth stretches into a ghost of a smile around your flesh, or so you think, until his teeth graze your nipple properly and a quiet cry bursts from you. He smiles fully with your breast still between his teeth. His hand holds your back firmly in its bowed position as he moves to your other breast, twisting his tongue around your nipple there and kissing gently along the fat curve of the underside. He continues his descent, grazing his lips over your stomach, and you don’t realize he’s on his knees until he’s suckling softly on your hipbone, one hand now sprawled over your stomach. Katsuki rubs his thumb over the top of the thatch of hair between your legs, almost reverently, and it makes you regain your bearings, gulping.
“W-what are you doing?” You nearly cringe at the sound of your own voice, words syrupy and thick on your tongue.
Katsuki raises a cautious eyebrow, pulling back from the slight bruise he’s begun to place upon your hipbone. He’s still moving carefully, ghosting over where he wants to touch you as a warning before pressing his skin fully to yours, unwilling to spook you just yet, but something’s quickly changing in him. His jaw ticks as he considers you, looking down on where he kneels between your legs with wide eyes.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Katsuki asks back, looking genuinely confused. Your cheeks are aflame.
“You’re on your knees.” It sounds too simple as it leaves your mouth, an insult to your own intelligence, and you scowl in frustration, looking off to the side. The quiet chuckle between your legs snaps your attention back to Katsuki.
“I’m on my knees,” Katsuki agrees, leaning in and brushing his lips against your inner thigh, sending a full-body shudder racking through you, “for you. Do you…not like it?”
Your mind, foggy in the places you’re accustomed to using and glaringly sharp in useless departments like, for example, the way Katsuki’s eyes are glinting dangerously in the low light, struggles to find an answer for his question. You do like it, seeing this hulking, powerful man kneeling before you, tucking his chin up to the supple flesh of your thigh and blinking up at you curiously, but not for any reason that you can put your finger on.
“I didn’t say that,” you say carefully, willing your senses to come back to you. “I just…you look like you’re planning something.”
Another cutting half-smirk flashes across his face, gone as soon as it appears. “You’ve never been tasted before, have you?”
“Tasted?” You try to keep your face from showing your shock and confusion; surely he’s not about to do what you think he is. Katsuki hums an affirmative, placing another kiss to the clammy crease of your thigh and your cunt, a gasp ripping from your throat before you can stop it.
“Do you not want me to?” Katsuki tilts his head, expressionless. You try to find the answer to his question on his face, but he’s blank, leaving the decision entirely up to you. “It’ll help with the pain.”
The pain, that’s right. Soon, he would be taking you for his own, stretching your body in a new way that you’d heard the whispers about: bloody bedsheets, sore between the legs, pleading for the end. You chew into your bottom lip, considering your options.
“Do you want to?”
“I do,” Katsuki says, eyes dark and unreadable, “I want to make you feel good. But we’re doing this on–”
“My terms,” you finish for him, nodding, “I remember.”
“Good.” Katsuki nods, and you try desperately to ignore the heat that thrums through you. “So, if you don’t want it, I won’t. Simple as that.”
You think for a brief moment. Katsuki’s admitted to wanting something of you, of your body, perhaps for the first time since you’d gotten him wrapped up with you. You repeat his words over and over in your head, trying to make sense of them. I want to make you feel good.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Katsuki knits his brows.
“I want to try it,” you say, and add with a shaky exhale, “being tasted.”
If you’re not mistaken, Katsuki’s shoulders shiver between your legs, his eyes glazing over a little at your words. You feel pride ringing in your chest, seeing him uncoil, even if it’s only the slightest bit. You’d chosen correctly. Much as he did when you asked him to undress you, Katsuki nods tensely, and he moves deeper between your legs, nudging your knees apart for himself.
“It’ll feel good,” he murmurs quietly, picking up one of your legs and draping it over his shoulder, “but if you want me to stop, tell me, alright?”
You nod down at him, knowing that every bit of your nerves at being so exposed is showing all over your face. Katsuki flits his gaze down to your cunt, glistening in the candlelight and humiliatingly wet from his touch, and you can see him bite into the inside of his cheek, see his eyes flutter closed. Despite your embarrassment, you’re keen on watching, learning from him. Katsuki leans in, and his tongue slides between your wet folds, but even over your choked noise of surprise, one thing rings clear in your mind at the startling new sensation.
Katsuki groans, louder than you’ve ever heard, languid and gratified, face pressed so firmly into your center that you can already feel his shadow of stubble scratching the insides of your thighs. His hand, wrapped around the thigh over his shoulder, suddenly tightens, fingers digging into the meat of your leg much harder than he’s touched you yet. You focus on the muscles of his jaw, tensing and straining on the side of his face, while he licks into you like a man starved.
The way he eats you is such a deviation from his feather-light touches that you almost can’t believe it’s the same man, lewd noises echoing throughout the room as he suckles on something between your legs that you hadn’t even discovered properly for yourself, only swiping at it blindly in the darkest hours in your chambers. Your back curves viciously, breathy moans spilling from your lips, fingernails clawing into the ornately-carved posts of your marriage bed. Katsuki holds you tight against him, eyes hooded in bliss and mouth moving ceaselessly against you.
You’ve snuck a hand down between your legs before, rubbed shyly at the growing wetness, at the swollen skin, and experienced maybe a glimmer of the feeling that’s now glowing hot in the pit of your stomach. You would almost feel panicked at the spiraling, swooping sensation; that is, if you weren’t so wholly consumed by the white-hot pleasure coursing through your veins.
“Katsuki– I, it’s so– oh,” you trail off, losing your words as Katsuki establishes a rhythm of flicking his tongue between your legs right on that damned spot that you wish you’d known about before, maybe you could have prepared– “Oh, Katsuki, it’s– so good.”
Katsuki elicits a sound that’s closer to a snarl than anything else you can think of, tightening his iron grip into your skin. One of your hands absentmindedly fists in his hair, and before you can find the presence of mind to rip it away, he moans, openly and unashamedly, eyes screwing shut. He likes it, your foggy mind realizes, and you dig your fingers in harder, anchoring what’s left of you to the earth using the straight, sandy locks.
The heat, the sparks that are flying around every nerve ending in your body, begins to pick up an overwhelming speed, and all of the sudden, you feel like you need to kick out, to curl in on yourself, to scream so loud the windows blow out.
“Katsuki,” you say desperately, making watery, scared eyes at him. Katsuki’s brow furrows, and he only holds his pace, red eyes glaring into yours. You’re trying to warn him, but no words will form, and you can’t catch your breath, panting and clawing at his hair and almost sobbing until–
Everything peaks. A broken cry comes shooting out of your throat, your standing leg threatening to give out under you, and you writhe and twitch on Katsuki’s face, shamelessly surrendering to the most intense tidal wave of pleasure you’ve experienced in your life. From the fuzzy peripherals of your consciousness, you can hear Katsuki groaning encouragingly into your wet cunt, still dutifully moving his tongue against you and smearing the evidence of your arousal all over his cheeks. When the world comes back into focus, it’s dazzlingly harsh, your muscles weakening as soon as Katsuki’s face clears into its typical arrangement of sharp angles and hard lines.
“Oh–” you gasp, your one good knee finally buckling underneath you. Luckily, Katsuki has already begun to stand, and one of his strong arms darts out, catching you around the waist. You wish he wouldn’t look so smug.
“How do you feel?” Katsuki asks innocently enough, but even in the aftermath of that,  you don’t miss the twitching at the corner of his shining mouth, the expectant arch of his eyebrow.
“Good,” you pant, willing your cheeks to lose even a portion of their heat, “it was– fine.”
“Fine?” Katsuki’s eyebrow raises fully, disbelievingly.
“It was good,” you reaffirm, glaring at him. Katsuki grins brightly, the most light you think you’ve ever seen enter his face. It makes you blush almost as hard as the orgasm he dragged you through. Something wild and wicked flickers in your mind, and you look up at him curiously. “Do you…do you want me to do that to you?”
Katsuki’s smile drops as quickly as it came, and his cheekbones darken, a deep flush spreading over his face. You almost wonder if you’ve misstepped, upset him in some way, until you catch him palming over his pants. Your throat tightens.
“No,” he says, all the mirth drained from his face, “no, you don’t have to– no.”
“Alright,” you acquiesce, transferring your weight from Katsuki’s firm grip around your waist back to your feet, finding your legs weak and shaky beneath you. Your gaze floats over your shoulder, back to the plush sheets of your marriage bed, and Katsuki clears his throat, backing away a step so you have the room to climb into the bed, lay yourself down.
You’d expected to feel shyer, but there’s surprisingly no urge to curl in on yourself, not even Katsuki’s eyes take you in, darkening in the candlelight. The aftershocks of pleasure— white-hot, addictive pleasure he’d introduced you to— are still echoing through your limbs, and you’re just curious enough to bite back your initial trepidation. You want to know what else he has to teach you.
Katsuki begins tugging at the laces keeping his pants snug around his waist, loosening them and shooting you one final look, one last assurance. His eyebrow is cocked questioningly, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think he looks a little nervous. You nod, holding a breath deep enough in your lungs that it aches, and his pants hit the floor.
You’ve seen naked men, here and there, over the course of your life, and your ladies had described enough of the act before you that you can’t find yourself shocked at the sight, but more so at the wanton aching that ricochets through your limbs, chill bumps erupting over your arms and shoulders rolling of their own accord. You don’t have much to go by, but you’re fairly sure he’s big comparatively, so hard that the tip is an angry shade of red. Katsuki climbs over you before you have much chance to look further, but the damage is done; a fresh wave of arousal courses through you, and you widen your knees to let him situate himself.
“I’m going to get you ready,” Katsuki says between chaste kisses to your lips. “Is that alright?”
“But you already–,” you feel frustrated at your own inexperience, knitting your brow at him, “I’m ready.”
“You’re not,” Katsuki assures you, and before you can bite back another retort, his battle-scarred fingers are rubbing softly through the mess between your legs, and your jaw falls slack. Katsuki’s monitoring you for any signs of unease, eyes bright and focused on your face. You’re wet enough that he’s sliding through your folds easily, meeting little resistance as he rubs tight, concentrated circles into that spot that he’d used to make you see stars earlier. “Do you trust me?”
“Mhm.” It’s all you can manage to hum an affirmative, biting back the breathy noises trying to break free of your throat. It’s a wonder, how so little effort from him has your blood molten in your veins, limbs pliant and muscles twitching.
Katsuki’s fierce gaze doesn’t let up, but you understand why when you feel it: a finger, presumably, stretching you in a new, uncomfortable way. You’re unable to contain the gasp that bleats out of you, eyes flying wide, and Katsuki’s hand stills, eyes squinting as he tries to determine the nuances of your reaction. It’s novel, and admittedly, makes you a bit restless, but it isn’t unpleasant, and embarrassingly, your hips cant up into his hand, answering for you. Katsuki works slowly, never ceasing the small circles he’s rubbing into you, letting the discomfort align with the deliberate, savory pleasure that’s now ever-present in your core. When he begins to move his finger in and out of you, working you open, you realize it feels good, more than good, even.
“Alright?” Katsuki asks, distrusting of the whimpers and shaky moans beginning to fall from your lips. “Talk to me.”
“It’s strange,” you admit, words fragile and breathy in the space between your lips, “but I like it, it feels good. Really good.”
Katsuki hums approvingly, teases your entrance with the rough pad of a second finger. He arches his eyebrow at you, the question hanging silent, but clear between you. The prospect is daunting, but you welcome it; he’s already shown you so much, made you feel so much. You trust him, nodding eagerly.
“Please.”
Katsuki works his second finger in, grinding his jaw when you choke on a moan, rolling your hips into his palm. He nods, letting you wriggle your hips around as you need to, to ease the stretch of him inside of you. You can feel the power behind the lightness of his touch, eyes flitting down to the strained, corded muscle of his forearm as he pumps his fingers in and out of you. He’s holding back, and when you think wildly of what might happen the day he doesn’t have to anymore, your body clenches around him.
Katsuki pulls a face at you, amused. “What is it?”
“What?” You pant, feeling that knot begin to tie in on itself tighter and tighter behind your bellybutton.
“Y’liked something, thought of something,” Katsuki studies you, mouth quirking up into a little half-smile, “I could feel it.”
If you were any more present, you’d be mortified, but all you can do is reach a hand to stroke along the bulge of his bicep, dig your teeth into your bottom lip.
“Was thinking about you,” you admit shyly, trying to force your words to come out a little less broken than you know you sound, “you’re strong.”
“I am strong,” Katsuki agrees, curling his fingers against something inside of you that makes you jerk, makes him smirk at you.
“You’re holding back on me.”
“I am,” he says, placing a kiss to your shoulder, “you’re not ready for it. Need to go slow this time.”
“One day you won’t,” you say, mustering all the strength your hazy mind has to offer to look him squarely in the eye, watch his reaction. Katsuki inhales sharply, eyes widening at your boldness, only to narrow at you, predatory and curious. His fingers have stilled momentarily, and you pull your stomach muscles, jerking your hips up against his hand, frustrated. Katsuki only glares down at you, jaw ticking.
“One day I won’t,” he finally answers you, pulling his fingers from where you’re throbbing and needy. You almost whine, but bite into your lip before the admission of desperation flies from you. “If that’s what you want.”
You don’t have the chance to answer before Katsuki’s sucking his own fingers into his mouth, sucking you off of them. Your jaw stutters, and you gape at him as his eyelids flutter, a low groan rumbling in his strong chest.
“Taste good,” Katsuki says, as if it’s the most casual thing in the world, “sweet.”
“Can I try?” The question flies from your lips before you can even think to contain it, and your eyes grow even larger, shocked at your own debauchery. You’re seconds away from stuttering out an apology when Katsuki’s massive hand appears in front of your face, fingers glistening in the candlelight.
“Here.” Katsuki offers his fingers to you, eyes dark and hungry. You only stare at him for a moment, trying to discern if you’ve done something horribly wrong, but he’s completely sincere, brushing his wet fingers along your bottom lip. You open your mouth, suck him in. It’s more viscous than you would have imagined, sticky and thick on your tongue, but it’s pleasantly gamey; a little bitter, a little sweet. You don’t realize that you’re suckling on Katsuki’s fingers until he groans again, deep in his throat, gritting his teeth.
“Sorry,” you say sheepishly, pulling his hand free from your lips.
“What’d you think?” Katsuki regains his composure quickly, tilting his head at you with something impish sparkling in his eye.
You’d chosen your new husband due to his unwavering dedication to the kingdom that he’d sworn his life to protect, his kingly attributes that had set him so far apart from your other, softer suitors. You hadn’t even thought to consider what other sides to him might be lurking beneath the formidable exterior of decorated general; could it be so that the red-cheeked, boyish creature above you, so intent on helping you explore your body, was the fierce warrior that had supposedly cut down over a hundred enemy soldiers entirely on his own?
“I liked it,” you say, biting into the smile starting to grow on your face. The way his eyes light up makes you feel like a vixen, like somehow, you can be a woman after all. “Everything is…it feels good.”
Something virile glints in Katsuki’s eyes, but you don’t shy away, holding his gaze. “Good.”
“I want to…I want you to have me. I want to have you.” You’re not even sure if you’re making sense, tongue heavy and useless in your mouth. Katsuki’s hand has wandered back down between your legs, rubbing lazily at the wetness there, and it’s got that steady heat creeping back through your limbs, setting your nerves on fire.
“You’re sure?” Katsuki asks, raising his eyebrow at you. All the mischief has drained from his face as he examines you, and while you appreciate his caution, the craving for something more is growing uncomfortable.
“Please,” you say, tilting your chin up to press your lips gently to his in reassurance. Katsuki is finally convinced, it seems, because he rolls off of you and settles his back against the headboard, reaching an errant arm over to tug you on top of him.
You hadn’t anticipated this; Katsuki’s set you right on top of his hips, your dripping cunt placed firmly against his hard cock, back ramrod straight from the sudden exposure, nipples peaked in the charged air. The feel of him pressing insistently against where your body needs him most makes your head spin; you hadn’t expected it to be so distinct, hard and thick beneath you.
“What are you–”
“It’ll be easier this way,” Katsuki says, looking very much like he’s putting all his effort into appearing unaffected, but only a moment ago, you felt his hips twitch upwards into yours, “you can control it.”
“I don’t– I don’t know how to do it. Not the right way, I mean.” You’re burning in your humiliation, hot in so many different ways now you aren’t sure if you could even count them, but you’re bared completely to him, and you figure your dignity was left somewhere crumpled on the floor with your consummation gown.
“Don’t worry about that,” Katsuki says sternly, looking so unbelievably flustered that if you were any less preoccupied, it would make you giggle, “not yet. You need to get used to having something inside you, first.”
Something inside you; him, thick and hard and drooling wetness onto his bellybutton. That’s right. You take a deep breath to steady yourself, doing everything in your power to ride the wave of exhilaration going through you. You roll your hips experimentally, once, twice, swallowing the gasp that aches to leave your jaw.
“Just like that,” Katsuki mumbles, so quietly you almost think you hadn’t heard him, “take your time.”
You take his advice, bracing your clammy hands on his neck. You grind down on him again, feeling sparks of pleasure shoot up your body. With each swipe of your hips, you can feel your cunt grow wetter, feel that bottomless want in your stomach open a little more. The growing hunger in you is primordial, some hidden part of your mind directing you. The urge to have something inside of you, to feel full in a way you can’t begin to imagine, is causing you to grow restless, fingers drumming anxiously on Katsuki’s shoulders. When you meet his eyes, a muscle feathers in his jaw, but he stays silent, hands placed gently on your hips as he watches you grow accustomed to his girth, the weight of him between your legs.
“I think I’m ready. Can I?”
Katsuki stays silent, only nods sagely in assent. His grip on your hips grows tighter as you lift yourself up, reaching down blindly to grip him. He sucks in a breath when your fingers wrap around the length of him, and your eyes flit to his in alarm, but he only shakes his head, brow furrowing.
“Go ahead.”
You nod back, wincing at the anticipatory trembling of your thighs on either side of his hips, pulling his cock up from his stomach. You rather like the smooth feel of the skin in your hands, and you think briefly that maybe this will be something to revisit later, having him needy and in the palm of your hand. The swollen head catches, and you almost gasp at the surprise of it, how a dull thud of satisfaction rings through your body. You inhale deeply, and begin to sink down.
Katsuki’s fingers dig into your hips even harder, but you hardly feel it over the incomparable stretch between your legs. You’re sure now that he’s big; he has to be, the way it feels like your very insides are moving to accommodate him. You’re trying not to huff at the feeling, but a whine escapes you, and Katsuki’s tight grip stops you just as you’re nearing the halfway point.
“Okay?” He’s tense, coiled like a snake, all the muscles in his strong body locked, but his eyes are concerned.
“Uh huh,” you manage, wiggling your hips around and dropping yourself down a couple more inches, making you both gasp, “s’just big.”
“Fuck,” Katsuki hisses, throwing his head back. You pause, body contracting around him in your attempt to take him wholly, only a short distance from the blonde hair at the base of his cock.
“Is everything alright?”
“Can’t say shit like that,” Katsuki grits out, voice hoarse. You realize with a slow, muggy blink that you haven’t yet heard him swear, not in the Common Tongue, haven’t yet seen him become so unraveled and yet, at the same time, so rigid. It’s affecting him, that instinctual part of your brain supplies, it feels good for him.
If you were any less dazed, you’d smile. Katsuki Bakugou, High Commander of the fiercest army the world has seen in over a century, famed warrior an ocean over, is practically twitching trying to bite back his own pleasure as you take him inside of you. The rush of adrenaline that thought sends through you gives you the motivation to let yourself go, nestling the entirety of him deep inside yourself and meeting his hips. You choke on a moan, eyes prickling with tears.
“Oh,” you pant, lifting yourself just a bit, trying to squirm away from the discomfort.
“Does it hurt?” Katsuki grunts, eyes running over every bit of your body.
“No, it’s just,” you keen again, interrupting yourself with breathy, whiny little noises, “full.”
Katuski makes a noise that you think was meant to be a hum of agreement, but only comes out as a growl. If the white in his knuckles and the sharp, tense bone of his jaw is anything to go by, his arousal is only barely being held back, restricted to a tight leash. You’re not his first, not the only wet warmth he’s buried himself in, and this isn’t at all the first time he’s experienced this white-hot, carnal pleasure that’s licking up your veins. You find the strength to blink back the budding tears in your eyes, to really look at him.
He’s holding it together well, fingers grounded where they dig into your fleshy hips, crimson eyes looking you up and down, taking you in, but like the quiet snap of embers in the background, ruining the illusion of the room’s heat emanating from you and Katsuki, his body betrays him. His muscles are jumping under his skin, twitching involuntarily like the hide of one of the cavalry’s prize stallions, ready to run. Katsuki’s fucking a princess in his mind, you think, a future queen, and he’s proceeding accordingly, trying to keep his caresses light and his infamous temper in check.
You blink at him, vision watery, and realize suddenly that, for the first time in your life,  you want to be a hot-blooded, wild, mortal. You want only to be a woman with a man inside of her, and you want to be regarded as such.
“Still doin’ alri–” Katsuki cuts himself off with a grunt when you roll your hips, biting back a wince at the unfathomable pressure in your stomach, the depth of him snug inside you. “Wait–”
“I’m fine,” you say, surprising even yourself at your sharpness. Confidence swells in your chest as he squirms under you, kissing away the burn of how he’s worked you open.
“But–”
“Eminna skoros iksis ñuhon,” you say down to him, looking upon your new husband with hooded eyes as you grind your hips down into him, adjusting to the strange stretch that accompanies his body inside of yours. Each movement of your hips into his makes it easier, soothes the slow throb of your body trying to make room for him. Pleasure begins to ignite again along your fingertips, and when you scoot forward a bit, pushing your hips back, his cock nudges something inside of you that makes your jaw drop.
Katsuki’s eyes widen momentarily, but you can see the moment he loosens the leash, succumbs to his baser instincts. His grip on your hips loosens, shoulders slackening, and his eyes darken, lids dropping a bit just to cover the tops of those crimson irises. He’s beautiful, godlike even, planes of hardened muscle at your command, the flames from the candles reflected in his eyes. Katsuki drags his gaze over you, nostrils flaring, bringing one hand up to the back of your neck and pulling you to him, pressing your foreheads together. The shift in him makes you gasp; the calm force with which he chooses to exert his strength.
“Lo emilā nyke, emagon nyke,” Katsuki says against your lips, all trepidation gone. You shudder in his arms, letting pleasure wrack down your spine like fire catching. “Yn eminna ao, hae sȳrī, dārilaros.”
Your blood sings at the low purr of the Old Tongue, poured into your mouth like a fine wine, but you curdle at Dārilaros. Princess. “Eman daor pāletilla skori iksā iemnȳ yno. Iksan iā ābra, iksan aōha ābrazȳrys.”
Katsuki nearly snarls, swears under his breath. “What did I tell you about saying shit like that?”
“You call me your wife,” you say, thoroughly pleased with yourself at his rapid unraveling. It’s never been like you not to have the upper hand. “Treat me as your wife.”
Even a hair’s breadth away from his face, you can see Katsuki’s last shreds of honor, that warrior’s heart, dying out. His eyes flicker over your face as you fruitlessly roll your hips, not able to get to the full extent of your pleasure with him gripping you so tightly. For the first time, you can feel his hands tremble against your skin. He’s only steps away from joining you in your damning mortality, finding the raw, primal humanity deep down inside of him. You rut your hips at him again, useless against his resolute grasp.
“Please,” you sigh against him, not even thinking to be ashamed of the breathy, needy plea you let out, not even wholly sure of what you’re begging him for, “make me feel good again.”
Katsuki groans, low in his chest, and nods, a covenant you’re building in the hot air between your mouths. His hands grab into your hips more fully, and he lifts you, only part of the way, before sliding you back down the length of him. You gasp into his mouth, caught off guard by the punch of him back up into the space he’s carved out for himself. It feels like he’s in your lungs, your breath coming out labored and pinched.
“Move,” Katsuki commands, settling back a bit and forcing you to sit up straight, hands on your ribcage. You’re bared completely to him again, and it’s still horrible, but the arousal dims any humiliation that threatens to rise. “Move.”
You wiggle your hips again, moving shakily along his cock, but Katsuki’s not pleased, evidently, as he digs his hands back into your hips.
“Like this,” he says, using his iron grip on you to correct your movements. Katsuki drags you up and down his cock in smooth, fluid motions, and despite the slowly-easing discomfort, your nerve endings come alight, the molten want finding a new peak as he rips a moan out of your throat.
“Oh–”
“Better?” Katsuki huffs, a vicious grin cutting across his face. Your arms flail a bit as he moves you, rolling you along his length as if you’re nothing more than a doll to him. Katsuki notices your awkwardness, takes one of your hands and places it firmly on your breast. You follow his lead, thumbing gently over one hard nipple, and, at the jolt of pleasure, you quickly bring your free hand to match on the other side, letting your head fall back.
“Katsuki,” you pant, quickly losing your composure and falling victim to the sensations devouring you, “it’s– that’s so good.”
“I know,” Katsuki breathes, still pulling you this way and that, “you’re perfect, so soft around me.”
You’ve never gotten to be soft; iron princess on the iron throne, made of embers and scalding steam, but for him? You bloom, pretty as a petal, letting your body meld into his like it was always supposed to be here. You’re not soft like silk, you let yourself be soft like candlelight, like magma, like the crashing of the ocean when you’re far enough away that the waves won’t get you, drag you under. Soft like doom.
“I feel– fuck, I think I– I need more.”
Katsuki’s lips twist at the breathless curse that flies from your lips, so foreign and funny-sounding in your regal mouth. You want to tease him right back, but he slides you off of him, and the loss is so devastating, your bottom lip nearly juts out as it did when you were a child. Before you can protest too much, Katsuki’s laying you on your back, hands sliding along your thighs, and you follow your instincts and bring your legs up to wrap around his waist.
“If it’s too much…” Katsuki trails off, losing his words when he goes to brush your bottom lip with his thumb and you suck him in voraciously, nibbling on his finger.
“I’ll tell you,” you promise, spitting him out and letting your own hand flutter across his cheekbone. He’s almost glaring down at you; so intense is the desire in his eyes that a small part of you wants to shy away, but you don’t. You wiggle your legs that much wider, arch your back, lean into the burn of him. You were born for the heat.
Katuski’s mouth quirks up in a little smile, already so fond it makes your chest ache, and he slides back into you, groaning when your cunt sucks him in greedily. You try to embrace the novelty of it, the dull throb of his cock splitting you wide, digging your nails into his arm by mistake. Katsuki swears in surprise, and you jerk your hand away, until he looks down at you admonishingly.
“Go ahead, perzītsos,” he hums, leaning down and pressing a kiss to your hairline, “I won’t break.”
He pulls back and thrusts back into you, harder than you’d expected, and your nails return to his wrist beside your head, digging half-moons into the pale skin. He’s different from this angle, not so agonizingly deep in you, but nudging against something inside you that renders you incapacitated, fuzzy-minded and pliant in his arms. Katsuki’s not faring any better than you, eyes hooded and little grunts slipping from his lips each time his hips connect with yours.
“What does it feel like?” Katsuki asks, beginning to look out of his mind with need. “Ivestragon nyke.”
“Deep,” you choke out, letting your jaw drop when he leans down to lick into your mouth, “full, I feel– full.”
“Good,” Katsuki mumbles, “good. Doesn’t hurt?”
“No.”
In answer, Katsuki moves his hips faster, snapping them against you with brute force. He’s keeping that ever-cognizant eye on you, monitoring you for any indication of pain or panic, but even through the haze of the tightening knot in the pit of your stomach, you can see him tumbling over the same edge that you have, lost to your baser instincts. You’re soft to him, your warm walls hugging him snug as he chases an end for you both, but sharp in the way your fingers claw into his skin, your teeth nip into his shoulder. Mine. Mine. Ñuhon.
“Katsuki,” you warn him, the balloon of pressure welling in your belly, growing so large you feel as though you might choke on it.
“I know,” he says, leaning down to press his forehead to yours. His voice is broken and ragged and tastes like hot coals, like copper and bronze and prophecy. You drink him down eagerly, so out of your mind with want that you’ve transformed. You’d entered the room as a blushing virgin of the highest, most noble bloodline, and here you are, twisting and keening under him, all molten limbs and whorish pants. Sweat dapples your forehead, drool smeared over your chin, and you’ve never felt more beautiful.
“I’m so– it’s the, the same,” you gasp, familiar words devolving into nonsense, “but it’s not enough, I don’t, I–”
“Here,” Katsuki growls, closing one strong fist around your wrist and sliding your arm between your writhing bodies, “just like I did it, remember?”
You find the same sensitive spot that Katsuki had shown you quickly, swollen and raw with pleasure, and try rubbing shaky circles over it, try to maintain some semblance of a rhythm and imitate his earlier movements. It’s uneven and inconsistent, but the added stimulation rockets through you, and your back pulls taut as a bow, arching off the featherbed.
“Close?”
“Yes,” you gasp, still not grasping what you’re close to, but feeling very much as though you’re teetering on the edge of a cliff, that same rushing building in your ears. You somehow had the presence of mind to register that what’s building inside of you now is different than it was with his mouth between your legs; it’s faster, wetter, fuller, and it feels like it’s choking you.
“Come on,” Katsuki urges you, bordering on a snarl as he pants desperately into your mouth, “want to feel you cum around me, feel this little cunt milkin’ my cock.”
“Kat–” you try to call out for him, so overwhelmed the edges of your vision are going dark. He’s grinding his hips into you forcefully, pinning your fingers to the apex of your cunt, forcing you to rub yourself harder. 
“You can do it, raqiarzy, come on–”
You cut him off with a loud sob of his name, thighs caging him in and the innermost walls of your body clamping down on him. Light bursts behind your eyelids, the white-hot flames of dragonfire and the embers of a burning forest exploding as your body is racked with wave after wave of bliss. Katsuki’s skin breaks under your fingernails, the slight dampness of tearing flesh familiar even in the haze of your orgasm. He works you through it, driving his hips into you despite the vicious tightening of your cunt around him, whispering affirmations into the pallid skin of your shoulder. Every muscle in your body contracts painfully, and you’d feel ashamed of the sounds escaping you if you could find enough wherewithal to care.
“Close,” Katsuki grits out, rolling his hips into your still-contracting cunt as your high begins to dwindle, “you ready for me?”
“Uh-huh, please, I– yes,” you babble nonsensically, interlocked ankles bouncing at the small of his back. As your orgasm drains from your veins, your muscles go lax, zapped of the fervent energy that had overtaken you. You find your body to be pliant and receptive, but your mind solely focused on watching that same ethereal pleasure that had possessed you wash over Katsuki. “Yes, I w-want you to cum.”
“Fuck,” Katsuki swears, hips stuttering, “take it, take it all–”
A guttural groan accompanies a sticky warmth flooding your insides; you squirm in his tight grip and moan at the sensation of being filled, feeling a fresh rush of arousal flow through you as you feel his cock twitching inside of you. You bite deep into his shoulder to muffle the pathetic mewls slipping from you at the feel of both his and your cum leaking out of your body, pooling in a little puddle underneath you. Everything is so earthy and musky; Katsuki’s salty skin between your teeth, his bruising grip into your hips, the stink of sex and sweat permeating the bedsheets.
Katsuki’s chest heaves against yours as his hips rock into you one last time, the thatch of blond hair at the base of him pressing against where you’re swollen and achy hard enough to make you whimper. When you wriggle around underneath him, he seems to snap back into himself, propping his upper body up on his elbows and bringing a hand to your face, thumbing over the arch of your cheekbone.
“Y’alright?” His carmine eyes are still glazed over, words gummy between his teeth, but the tenderness of his hand as he strokes your cheek lets you know he’s there.
“I’m alright,” you say, and you mean it. Something so deep in you that you don’t even have a name for is throbbing, and your body is still clenching and fluttering around where he’s softening inside of you, but your limbs are heavy and your head is in the clouds.
He’s a sight to see, a sight you commit to memory; sweat glistens on his pale skin, his eyes are hooded and sleepy, and a contented, lazy grin is starting to tug at the corner of his mouth. Katsuki pulls his hips back, pressing his lips to your temple in apology when you murmur something unintelligible, but hinting at discontent. You feel empty in a way you had never known you were supposed to, not until you’d learned what it meant to be fulfilled.
“Anything hurt?”
You shake your head, not sure how to verbalize that you’re not feeling any pain, but a deep-seated satiation that hints to the fact that you might never be able to lift yourself from the bed again. Katsuki’s still caging you in, heavy body crushing yours, when a jarringly unwelcome sound floats over his shoulder.
“Ah, um– Princess? I need to confirm–”
“I know,” Katsuki, sliding back into the skin of a general with ease, growls over his shoulder, “that you’re not daring to speak to my wife while she’s naked underneath me.”
Even given everything, your cheeks flare, and you shove at Katsuki weakly, making apologetic eyes at the attendant despite your humiliation. “It’s his job, Katsuki–”
“They can’t send a woman for this shit?” Katsuki cages you in even further, glaring at the servant who’s nearly shaking in his slippers. “Well?”
“I–I can fetch a female servant to confirm the consummation of the–”
“Do that, then.” The attendant’s soft footsteps as he scuttles away are hardly overshadowed by your breathy, tired giggles.
“You didn’t have to terrorize the poor man,” you swat lightly at Katsuki’s chest, “it’s his duty to confirm that the marriage has been consummated. The priests won’t have it any other way.”
“I’m sure he heard enough,” Katsuki grumbles, flopping onto his back beside you. He opens one eye, notices the sheet dragging dangerously close to your nipple, and tugs it up to your chin, closing his eye again and humming contentedly. His arm pauses for a moment, like he wants to stretch it over your shoulders, but he pulls it back by his own side, thinking better of it. You aren’t sure if you want to be held, if the intimacy outside of your duty as his new wife will be too grating against your already-raw nerves.
“My ladies will be here soon,” you say quietly, “to bathe me and help me prepare for bed.”
“Figured,” Katsuki grumbles, sounding entirely displeased at more people disrupting your peace. Something about it warms your heart, some small part of your mind hoping that his displeasure is rooted in a desire to keep you all to himself, hidden beneath the sheets.
“Your own attendants shouldn’t be far behind.”
“My what?” Katsuki sits up on one elbow again, looks down at you disbelievingly. “I don’t need any…ladies.”
“You’ll get used to them,” you tell him offhandedly, wondering if you’re being truthful. You’re just beginning to get acquainted with the intricacies of the man behind the title, but the general seems fiercely independent to you, and the image of him getting his hair scrubbed by a flock of servants is enough to make you chuckle to yourself.
“What?”
“Nothing,” you assure him, “I’m sure you’ll be a perfect royal specimen.”
Katsuki’s eyes narrow in irritation. “You didn’t inform me that ladies would be a part of my duties.”
“We can get men!”
“That’s worse.” Katsuki’s face screws up in an ugly scowl that makes you laugh outright. The lightness of your laughter makes his face fall a little, the hardened exterior giving way to the same man that had kissed reverently up the inside of your thigh, had been so achingly gentle with you when you weren’t sure what you would need to get through the night. A man you think you could love.
You look into each other’s eyes, something like starlight, like candlelight, like true, gods-given warmth buzzing between you, when the door creaks open, a gaggle of ladies and one priestess entering the room. Katsuki groans, tugs the blankets even further up your chests, the moment broken.
Ignoring his grumbles of protest, you pull yourself from the blankets with ease, baring your nude body to your ladies. There’s no shame in front of these women who have raised you, much to Katsuki’s astonishment. You don’t miss the way their eyes catch on the purple blooms on your hipbones, the way they squeal with excitement when you lay back and spread your legs for the priestess, displaying the thin trickle of Katsuki’s seed still steadily leaking from you. The priestess nods solemnly and leaves in the same manner; at least that’s done.
Your ladies do an absolutely dismal job of trying to appear subtle as they stare at Katsuki’s still-heaving chest, his narrowed eyes darting around the room suspiciously, his round biceps– your closest lady, Alanna, whisper-squeals in your ear about how huge your new husband’s arms are, and you have to pinch her cheek harshly to get her to stop, sensing Katsuki’s tangible discomfort from across the room. He behaves well as they bathe you, sitting up in bed and watching silently as you’re preened and fawned over, as your tangled hair has a brush torn through it and is twisted neatly into your nighttime braid.
A group of women hovering silently by the door, eyeing Katsuki nervously, appear to be his newly-appointed handmaids. You do both Katsuki and the women the favor of dismissing them for the night, unsure of how Katsuki, who is still gripping the sheets to his chest like a young, blushing maiden, will react to being pampered and scrubbed by foreign hands. 
“You can dismiss those serving girls for good,” Katsuki says gruffly, clean and ambling over to a looking glass to swipe a brush through his hair. “‘M not a boy, I don’t need any help getting myself to bed.”
You conveniently slide past the omission on the tip of your tongue– before Katsuki’s anxious staff had left, you had requested them to bring a hot bath, all of Katsuki’s bathing things from his old chamber, a freshly-dried sponge from the Narrow Sea for him to wash himself with. It’s enough to keep it to yourself, seeing how content he is in his new living space now, that you could do something for him amongst the chaos you’ve now thrown his life into.
“We’ll see,” you hum, picking at a stray cuticle over the covers and trying not to ogle him too obviously.
He’s still blessedly nude, unabashed in his swagger around the room as he dries himself with the strips of soft, woven cloth your ladies had left behind per your request. When he approaches the bed you’re laying in, you stiffen, unaccustomed still to these small intimacies. Royalty has proven to be a lengthy and lonely existence in your experience, and sharing it with someone is foreign to your solitary nature. Your own parents had had their own separate chambers, as every monarch before them. It was Katsuki’s one condition to accepting your proposal; you were to share bedchambers, like a common husband and wife.
“Princess?” Katsuki is hesitant when he approaches you, as if he already senses your trepidation. You will yourself to unclench your muscles, to relax your shoulders. You have no right to make him feel unwelcome in his own bed– the bed you now share.
“I told you I don’t want you to call me that.” You try to offer him a playful smile, but it only glimmers across your face. This is yet another bridge you need his guidance over.
“You did,” Katsuki nods sagely, the corner of his mouth twitching as he remembers the circumstance of that particular conversation, “I’m sorry, perzītsos.”
“Come to bed.”
“Are you sure?” Katsuki cocks an eyebrow at you, looking down at the huge bed warily.
“It was what you wanted.”
“Only if you want it.” Katsuki sighs deeply at your look of not-quite-belief and sits on the bed a respectable distance away from you. He reaches for your hand, a question, not a demand, and you slide your fingers into his calloused palm, humming contentedly when he runs his large thumb over your knuckles. He stays like that for a moment, contemplative and looking at your hand, bare of all of its usual finery and rings. “What did I say earlier?”
“When?”
“Before.” Katsuki raises his eyebrows enough that you catch his meaning.
“That we were doing things on my terms.” Something in your chest, warm and wet and laden with flowers, swells big and tight enough to pop.
“That didn’t just apply to, ah, earlier,” Katsuki coughs uncomfortably, flicking his eyes up to you, “that’s for all of this. Our…our lives are…the same now, and I don’t want you to think I need you– seven hells, that’s not what I meant–”
“You’re not very good at this, are you?” You interrupt him suddenly, a saccharine smile curling the corner of your lips. Katsuki flushes a vicious red, frowns and shakes his head in confirmation. “Neither am I.”
“No?”
“I haven’t suddenly found myself married before, so no.” It feels silly, all of the sudden, to have guarded yourself at all. Katsuki is many things, but above all, he is steady, a resolute rock against an angry ocean. “But while I feel many things about our…unexpected union, one thing I do not feel is alone. We can do this on our terms, not just mine.”
Katsuki nods again, looks back down to your hand in his, and cracks a wry smile. “This is why you’re the politician.”
“I’m a princess,” you deadpan, “not a politician.”
“But I can’t call you that,” Katsuki scoffs, rolling his eyes. The lightheartedness lifts the atmosphere in your bedchamber, oppressive with marital expectations and the stuffy heat of candles left burning too long, and it gives you the needed weightlessness to have your eyes slowly blinking closed.
“Exactly,” you agree matter-of-factly, stifling a yawn. “Will you call someone in to dispose of the candles?”
Katsuki snorts, pushing himself off the bed without answer. Before you can protest or feel hurt by his sudden abandonment, he crosses the room and bends at the waist, blowing out one of over two dozen candles. You can only watch in growing fondness and amusement as he huffs at each little flame, the room growing darker by the moment. By the time he’s finished, your eyes are hardly open, drifting shut as you sink into the pillows. A satisfied throb echoes through your body as you wriggle down beneath the sheets, the lingering evidence of Katsuki’s presence on and in you bringing a warmth to your cheeks even in the now-dark room.
The last thing you register as you slip into the beginnings of a heavy sleep is the dip of the bed behind you, and a thick, muscled forearm creeping stealthily over your waist.
“This alright?”
All you can muster is a tired mumble of acquiesce, nuzzling into the firm chest behind you. Katsuki chuckles quietly into your hair, a dark, soothing sound that has your mind careening towards sleep, eager to melt into this world of warmth and comfort in his arms.
“Ēdrū sȳrī, ñuha perzītsos.”
───── ⋆⋅ 𖤓 ⋅⋆ ─────
as promised, high valyrian translations here :)
Ānogar ānograro = "Blood of my blood."
Gevie = "Beautiful"
Iksā gevie, ñuha ābrazȳrys. = "You are beautiful, my wife."
Eminna skoros iksis ñuhon. = "I will have what is mine."
Lo emilā nyke, emagon nyke, yn eminna ao, hae sȳrī, dārilaros. = "If you will have me, then have me, but I will have you as well, princess."
Eman daor pāletilla skori iksā iemnȳ yno. Iksan iā ābra, iksan aōha ābrazȳrys. = "I have no crown when you are inside me. I am a woman, I am your wife."
Perzītsos = "Little flame"
Ivestragon nyke. = "Tell me."
Raqiarzy = "Beloved"
Ēdrū sȳrī, ñuha perzītsos. = "Sleep tight, my little flame."
306 notes · View notes
misguidedasgardian · 7 months
Text
The Hour of the Wolf (5)
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V. Fire & Ice
MASTERLIST
Summary: You are settling in your throne 
Pairing: Cregan Stark x Targaryen!Reader
Warnings: Cursing, war, death, mentions of killings, genocide and war, threats, arranged marriage, SPOILERS for ASOIAF, and Fire & Blood, also, might spoil House of the Dragon, smut! finally, I’m calling dub-con, because its their first time and we are nervous, loss of virginity, a bit of blood, and all that comes with it… nothing too extreme
+18, MINORS DNI
Wordcount: 4.3 k 
Notes: uffff things are getting heated
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“I want my hair loose”, you said faintly, as the maids nodded with shy smiles, as they brushes your silver strands 
Your dress was magnificent
A black background with red and golden intricate designs, open sleeves from your shoulders that had a beautiful drop, a low neckline.
The jewelry was exquisite, your neck was decorated with a golden dragon that curled around you, your wrists and fingers with gold as well, in your heart finger, you had a ring that belonged to your mother. 
“Your grace”, called in Ser Erryk, “the Lord hand and Lord Celtigar, both want to see you”, you barely nodded.
Both men entered the room and you watched them through the mirror, as they saw you they stopped in their tracks, their mouths open, but they regained their composure quickly
“In this day your grace, we have something for you”, said Lord Celtigar, who had brought a beautifully decorated box with him. You turned around in your chair, to be presented with said gift.
Cregan stood behind him, giving him space, as Celtigar theatrically bowed, and opened the box and showed you the insides
You gasped when you saw it, tears threatening to fall as you covered your mouth
“How? Where did you find it?”, you asked, your throat in a knot
“A low-life was trying to sell it in the docks of Claw Island”, he said softly
Your mother’s… and well… Jahaerys’ crown
When your mother rebels and traitors swarmed the capital and threatened the life of your mother, she had to flee and hide all over the Crownlands… and to be able to return to Dragonstone, she had to sell the crown
A sad tale… but in the end…
They had brought it back to you
“You will be crowned with the crown of the conciliator”, said Cregan, “with your mother’s crown, and King Viserys and King Jahaerys before her”
“Thank you”, you murmured, a single tear scaping you
“You look gorgeous, your grace”, said Reysen
“Thank you”
“I’ll give the crown to the master of ceremonies”, muttered Cregan, and you only nodded
They left once more, and the maids kept brushing your hair 
“More reason to have my hair loose”, you said softly and they nodded with wide smile on their faces
You were nervous, to say the least, it had been a long, nerve-wrecking week, in which you had met so many people you barely remember their faces, they had asked much things from you
And now you were getting crowned 
Once you were ready, you asked the maids to leave, and they did
You watched yourself in the mirror, as tears started pouring down your cheeks
“Gods!”, you cried, falling to your arms folded over the dresser
You would give all of this in a heartbeat to have them back… at least one of them… only one… luke…. or Jace… or your mama
The door opened but you didn’t want to see who it was, you waiting for whoever it was to leave, but that didn’t happen
You felt two strong hands grab you and turn you, and in a second your face was against a soft velvet vest, a hand in your hair
“Shhh, everything is alright”, you whined when you heard it was cregan, hugging you tightly, “it’s all alright, I’m right here, with you…”
“I wish they were here”, you whined like a little girl
“I know, I know”, he whispered against the top of your hair
“I would give everything”, you insisted, like he was the god of death capable of doing such exchange 
“I know”, he repeated softly, “they are ready for you, my sweet queen, it’s time… to make everyone proud up there, to shout to all corners of the seven kingdoms, that you, the last dragon, are still here, in honor of your mother, and your older brother”, you barely nodded, finally raising your head to look at him
“To tell all those sons of bitches that the blacks won. and you are alive and well, and they lost…”, you smiled as you wiped your tears. “I’m going to be there, by your side, or behind you, wherever you need me, i’m here…”
You needed him, Cregan realized, and not only to help you rule the kingdom, no, you needed him in a more intimate way… you were only a young woman, who lost everything, he had agreed to marry you, appealing to the power both of you held, but he could tell, that was not enough, in the intimacy you were both going to have, you were going to need more
So he leaned in, and kissed you
Just a peck, on the lips, as he held you softly by the face, caressing your cheeks with his thumbs, you leaned in gently, softly, and when you parted, he could see it in your eyes
In your still innocent eyes
You needed more from him…
You needed a husband, and a protector, a defender, a champion, a knight in shining armor…
And he was going to pick up that mantel
When Cregan stood up and give his back to you to open the door and start the procession, you touched your lips that were still warm, and smiled gently
Your first kiss… your first real kiss…
Cregan turned back to you and offered you his hand, you took it without thinking.
He had proved once again you could lean on him with ease, he was not going to turn on you, or judge you, or tell anyone… from this day forwards, he was in this with you, by your side… as your partner, as your King consort and Hand, as your husband in a few weeks, as your everything
The very thought frightened and excited you at the same time
He released you as soon as you came into the hallway, but you walked side by side, in complete silence, towards the throne room
The great doors were closed, and he looked at you intently
“I will take place by the throne, you will enter alone”, you barely nodded, “are you alright?”
“Yes”, you said shortly, he only nodded in turn, and he left you to enter the ceremony through one of the side passageways.
You just looked at the detail of the large wooden doors, playing with your fingers ahead of you
You were getting crowned, you were getting married soon, you were ruling a country because you were already of age… It was so many things… and you were alone at the top, with no senior to guide you, nobody you completely trusted… no… father or mother figure 
Only Cregan
You took a long breath
You weren’t even nervous… you were longing to get this over with, your hands were sweaty and your feet already hurt for the shoes even though beautiful 
Soon the music started, and the doors opened slowly, to reveal you to the room, people gasped and cheered for you, as you started walking slowly towards the end… towards…
The Iron throne
It was there, surrounded by spikes, melted swords of the enemies oft he house of the dragon
The cause of such bloodshed 
The cause of the annihilation of your family.
All those plots… from the greens, all that coin and gold, armies, and at the end
You smiled widely
The blacks had won, you had won, your mother’s blood will sit on the iron Throne
Screw them
If you could, you would dance over his graves… if only there were enough remains of them to bury…
You climbed both steps of stone before the throne, as discussed, and you turned to the people, a golden cape moving behind you
“Our new Queen!”, chanted Erryk
Your small council was there, the Grand maester brought, in a red velvet cushion, the golden crown of Jaehaerys The Old King
“With the crown of the conciliator, we crown you”, chanted the master of ceremonies, he took the crown, raised it for everyone to see, and then he turned to you and he placed it gently atop your head. It felt… good… the weight rather than bother you, it felt like it grounded you 
“Queen (Y/N) of house Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the realm, the last dragon, the unkillable, and like your ancestor before you… the conciliator”, he said firmly 
People applauded, cheered for you, as Cregan Stark moved forwards and took your hand softly, helping you up the treacherous steps until you sat on the Iron throne 
The throne was cold and uncomfortable under you, but you sat straight, holding onto the arm rests softly 
“Long live the Queen!”, he demanded of everyone, and again, they cheered and chanted your name for long minutes you thought were never going to end
After that was done, they paraded you to greet the people of Kinglanding that were gathered at the gates, with chants of your name, and everyone wanted to reach out to you…
There were so many people there, in the throne room, lords from houses you haven’t even heard of before, and the streets were packed, so packed, so many people screaming, reaching for you.
It came out of nowhere, you lost your footing, but before you could collapse, Creganw as there to grab you from your waist.
“The Queen, and future King consort of the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Cregan Stark!”, presented Eryk and then the people really lost it, screaming in delight, as the lords gasped behind you inside the walls of the Red Keep
Soon the doors to the exterior closed, and you were again inside the safety of the castle, With Cregan by your side, grabbing you by the waist.
“The marriage will take place in a week”, said Cregan to the new founded court, and everyone clapped once again, some of themes haring looks of concern amongst one another
Then he looked at you
You haven't discussed this, not at all
He had made that decision for you 
You didn’t know what to think or feel 
“So soon?”, you asked when you had him by your side, in the banquet for the celebration of your coronation
“Yes, everyone is here”, he said gently, “there had been rumors… of me… of us, gathering at late hours, I think is better to do it as soon as possible”, he said gently, you barely nodded
You had barely turn ten and eight a few moons ago, alone, trapped in your room
You took a shaky breath
Yes, you needed to get married, but you never thought it was going to be this soon! You talked about it, you understand the need, and that night when you summoned Cregan to your rooms, you knew it was happening
But one week?
You only stole looks at Cregan and you nodded, you then turn to your left, to your baby brother, who smiled softly at you, but the smile, just like yours, didn’t quite reach his eyes
He had seen so much
You too
Aegon didn’t even let you cover his eyes when he had his dragon eat your mother alive before your very eyes, and his eyes
Your brother was traumatized for life and there was nothing you could do to help him
One time, a few days ago, you tried to take him flying with you…
You had to hide the claw marks he left in your arms. He had scratch you to release him, in the midst of screeches and cries as soon as he saw your dragon in the distance
He was terrified of them now
“What’s on your mind?”, you heard Cregan ask beside you, you barely looked at him
“My baby brother”, you confessed, there was no point in lying 
You looked around the room and you found all of the great houses dining and feasting, all of them but two
The Hightowers and the Velaryons
You took a long breath
Corlys as Baela had requested audiences with you, and you had denied them
You didn’t hate Baela, nor Rhaena, she had a dragon egg now… but…
It was bitter
You had lived with them since you were about ten, when your mother married Daemon, they were, for some time, your step-sisters, and even that, they were… your aunts? you didn’t even know… 
But seeing them got you a bittersweet sentiment, perhaps because they were the survivors of all this madness, alongside with you… but the truth you would admit to yourself late at night… is that you would have traded them for your brothers anyday
You were resentful, that they were the ones to survive and not your siblings…
They had a life ahead of them, a grandfather that literally killed a King for them, to guide them and protect them
A man that betrayed your mother
She had grown resentful and paranoid, yes, but he turned his back on her when she needed him the most
You didn’t believe you could forgive him.
You were not a Velaryon, not by blood, and now, that you become Queen, not by name either… he never treated you as one, so that was it
You wanted to keep him at arm’s length 
But you didn’t even realized… that there was another house absent front he festivities
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You were glad to see the capital boasting with life, like the days of old, like when you wee young and you were living in the good days of your grandfather King Viserys
A tourney had been organized, as competitions and festivities, and even though you found it dreadful, there you were… granting so many favoors you had your ladies and even servants braiding new ones each hour….
Perhaps all the knights in there, at least, most of them, asked for your crown of red roses and dark green leaves and golden feathers.
At the end, you were crowned the Lady of Love and Beauty by the winner, a Knight from the Vale. You watched your small council closely, and they all seemed pleased
Telling constantly how much the people were taking to you, how much they loved you even
Their new, young, beautiful Queen
The bards were singing songs about your beauty and your strength, no doubt they had been paid handsomely to do so
You felt… powerful
You sat in the most dangerous yet important seat of the realm, you had the last grown dragon on earth. 
You felt good, in control… until…
Until the day of your wedding.
Cregan had not accepted a marriage in the Sept, he did not follow the faith of the seven, and neither did you, so you accepted to be married in the godswood, by the heartree
It was going to create controversy, the small council said
But fuck the faith, the seven pointed star, and the heraldry that replaced all the dragons in the capital thanks to Alicent fucking HIghtower, and that you had already commanded to replace back to the likeness of your own dragon, and the three headed dragon of your house 
You were waiting for one word, one revolt, one bad new from the citadel to burn it to a crisp… luckily, it had been none
You thought they knew it as well, that you were looking for an excuse to do the same thing Maegor the cruel did
So the day of your wedding came quickly.
And as the maids braided your hair in a Northerner style, then, you felt nervous. Truly, nerve wrecking nervousness makes your hands shake.
You were about to be married… to Cregan Stark
A rough, authoritative man,a handsome and strong man, a man who was going to go back and forth and leave you for months at a time, perhaps years, but…
“Everything is going to be alright”, murmured the sweet maid, one that had served you since you were a child, manage to survive the Greens, she smiled at you through the mirror
“Thank you”, you whispered
“He is a kind man, and I have no doubt he will care for you”, she said with a complacent smile, and you only smiled widely 
“I know he will”
“If you’d allow me, your grace… your mother would have been proud”, she said then, and that brought tears to your eyes
“Thank you”, you cried with a smile on your face
You had married an entire continent last week, promising to give your life in service to the crown and the countries that were under your reign, and now… you were going to give your body… to another
To a man
Septas had taught you what you needed to know -according to them- about marriage, of how a woman must serve her husband, about you had to lay on your shared bed and let him do what he needed to do, bed you, breed you, how it was a woman’s job to have his husband’s children and heirs…
Of course you were nine at the time, your mother when she found out dismissed the Septa, fought hard with Alicent, saying that over her dead body she was going to allow the Old Queen to take charge of your education ever again
That was fun to watch, scary, but fun, to see your mother so protective and angry
And then you discovered “how babies were made”, by not by your mother in a nice chat or anything really, you discovered it the funny way, with your brothers and stepsisters, sneaking off the Castle in Dragonstone and going to the town, following soldiers to pleasure houses, then you were thirteen 
And then stealing racy books from the library 
But this was no time to think about that
You stood up, already dressed, your hair done, no much jewelry, only a nice beautiful white dress, yes it was the wedding of the Queen, but you had been celebrating your coronation for a week now, the Kingdoms had just been through a gruesome war, it was not fair, for them, for you to spend so much
Your wedding, a banquet afterwards, and baskets filled with food that were to be distributed through the streets of King’s Landing
And Cregan… well
He was nervous as well, more like, getting it over with already…
The sooner you settled in, with the throne and in your marriage, the better 
He fixed the silver velvet vest on him, and the large gold chain they had made him wear, it was a warm day, and his pants, he felt them too tight, as he was waiting for you in the Godswood. Was he doing the right thing?
He was going to be in the depths of one of the things he hated the most…
Politics
When he gathered his army and marched south in search of “justice”, this was not what he expected, to the the second most powerful person in all the realms
It was a constant thought, he never, in a million years, would hope he was going to end up here, waiting for…
He raised his head when they announced you
There you were
All his doubts disappeared
You looked… breathtakingly beautiful, positively godly
Not intimidating, like an empress of an old dynasty on the day of your coronation, now… you looked like the embodiment of a god of the waters or snow itself, made flesh… Dressed in a beautiful white dress, no much finery but only you, your hair arranged in a 
Northerner way that made him smile. Now his pants were truly tight
Tyland Lannister was escorting you
As soon as he had you within grasp, he grabbed your hands and accommodated you by his side, facing his commander of his army, an old man from house Mormont. 
“Who comes before the old Gods on this day?”, asked the tall man
“(Y/N), of House Targaryen”, presented Tyland, with his deep voice, summoning complete silence from everyone present. “She comes here to be wed. A woman grown, trueborn, and noble. She comes to beg for the blessing of the Gods, who is here to claim her?”, he asked almost defiantly, looking at Cregan, who took a step forward
“I Cregan Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, I come here this day before the gods, to claim this lady, who gives her away?”, he asked
“I, Tyland Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, and Warden of the West”, he said firmly, releasing you right next to Cregan, you both looked at him and smiled, and then turned to the man presiding the ceremony
“My lady, (Y/N) of House Targaryen, do you take this man?”, he asked
“Yes”, you answered, it came more gently than you expected, “I take this man”, you said loudly and almost enthusiastically, and you felt people chuckling, and bit your lip, embarrassed. But the man presiding the ceremony smiled at you, and your now husband, grabbed your hand in his big one
“So Cregan Stark, take your wife, Lady (Y/N) now, of House Stark”, he said, and Cregan was on you in a second, he cradled your face in one of his hands, you looked up at him and your eyes met his, just for a second before you closed them since he leaned in and trapped your lips into his. You tried to relax into the kiss, your second kiss ever, with now your husband
Those closest, members of courts and Lords and Ladies from the noblest houses applauded, the gardens filled with all of them, you separated from Cregan and greeted them 
“My beautiful lady wife”, he whispered in your ear, making you smile at him
Gods he was handsome, especially with hat devilish smile
And you were married to him
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Despite your secret wishes, the day went incredibly fast, and before you knew it, you were being led to your chambers… not the King’s… meaning yours, but others… Cregan’s… tonight, you were not a Queen, but a lady wife, the way it was supposed to be
The small council, and others Lords and Ladies followed you closely, but as soon as you were inside the room, Cregan stood up, shielding you from them 
“Out”, he demanded, surprising you
“But my lord… the bedding ceremony…”, stammered Tyland
“I don’t care”, he said, and you then stepped out…
“No bedding ceremony”, you said firmly, and that was enough for them to leave you alone
Alone with your husband…
You looked at him nervously, he turned softly, to look at you.
You looked around in turn, recognizing these rooms immediately, these were the rooms Cregan was using now, but before they belonged to…
He moved slowly, his eyes on you, you looked back at him
“If this marriage is going to work, I need to make something very clear”, he said seriously, he came at you quickly, and grabbed you, his hand was so big against you that with only one he placed it at the side of your neck and face, he grabbed you softly but decisively, and make you look at him, “out there, you are the Queen, but here? inside this room? as soon as you step inside, you are mine”, he growled, and he smirked when he saw your pupils enlarged, “you are my dutiful lady wife, mine to command, mine to guide, mine to bed, mine to breed, am I clear?”, he asked with an authoritative voice that made your legs shake, you nodded, your eyes not leaving his, but they betrayed you. You were a bit scared of his words. He caressed your cheek, “mine”, he said, this time more softly, “mine to cherish, mine to care for, mine to love, mine to make love to…”, your eyes shined with excitement then and you smiled brightly at him 
“Love?”, you asked as you were a little girl
“Would you like all those things?” He asked, his playfulness and rough eyes returning to him as he made you tilt your head back slightly. You managed to nod
 “Your words, my love”
“Yes Cregan”, you whispered 
“Inside this room, I’m your Lord husband”, he commanded severely
“Yes my lord husband”, you corrected quickly 
“Good girl”, he leaned on and trapped your lips on his on a fervent kiss, you were barely able to catch up, the third time you had kissed Cregan… this time was different, this time, there was nothing to prevent you from… escalating the kiss
“Do you want to consummate the marriage now?”, he asked, and you barely nodded, “your words wife”
“yes husband”, you barely said, looking into his eyes, he only smile, but didn’t kiss you again, his lips instead, traveled south 
You moaned softly, feeling his lips suck on a very tender spot in your neck
“In this room, we are husband and wife only, only us, two people, joined for life”
“Only us”, you whispered, with expert hands, he undoed your dress, letting it fall to the floor, he even undressed himself, as you didn’t even know where to start. He didn’t push you, he did all the work, as you were so nervous, terribly nervous.
He laid you on the bed covering you with his large body.
He kissed everywhere he could reach, he caressed your skin, making you shiver, moan, and spread your legs even further for him… You didn’t even know someone else could make you feel like this…
You tried to caress him in turn, his upper arms, his shoulders, his side, his mouth returned to yours, as his fingers worked you open for him…
The voice of the septa wouldn’t stop resounding in your head… you laid there, let him do his things, you wouldn’t know what to do anyways… and in turn… he made you feel the most exquisite pleasure… that you had never felt before…
When he entered you, you dropped a few tears from the sudden and sharp pain, but then, after he soothed you and gave you time to adjust to his size… he fucked you slowly, delicately, gently, holding you in his arms, and kissing all over your face and neck
You could tell he was holding up… from doing more things to you… but if only that night, he was exactly what you needed.
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taglist!
@lyannesworld @tremendouswolfsaladranch @unlesshouse @mimsie95 @ostricx @amelia262006 @marihoneywk @ahristata @happinessinthebeing @dd122004dd
@lyannesworld @aestmilky @lightdragonrayne @delaynew @mxtokko @stargaryenx @lightdragonrayne @delaynew @mxtokko @good-night-starlight @yentroucnagol @beebeechaos @brakingboundaries
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agentrouka-blog · 7 months
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Why do most of the people in asoiaf fandom think that 'lyanna clutching blue rose even during her last hour as a symbol of r&l love'. For me blue rose signify as the only thing that reminded of her home in a faraway foreign land and how much she's missing her home and family ?
I feel the same, sort of. Within the books, it's a symbol linked to the North and to Winterfell and to Stark maidens, to the children that result from their stealing, to the violence inherent in it, and to the absolutely doubtful nature of their consent.
"No. They had been in Winterfell all the time, hiding with the dead beneath the castle. The maid loved Bael so dearly she bore him a son, the song says . . . though if truth be told, all the maids love Bael in them songs he wrote. Be that as it may, what's certain is that Bael left the child in payment for the rose he'd plucked unasked, and that the boy grew to be the next Lord Stark. So there it is—you have Bael's blood in you, same as me." (ACOK, Jon VI)
The maid's love and consent is entirely optional and in question and it is utterly highlighted here by GRRM. He did not have to do that. He could have just let Ygritte (who herself is not picky when it comes to consent) tell that story without the insert. But he put it there. He put it there with the Ellipses of Significance, no less. The uncertainty is deeply intentional. Why would he do that?
But also significant in that exchange is that the maid is the rose. The rose is a symbol of the northern maid. They are dead as she lays dying.
Promise me, she had cried, in a room that smelled of blood and roses. Promise me, Ned. The fever had taken her strength and her voice had been faint as a whisper, but when he gave her his word, the fear had gone out of his sister's eyes. Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black. After that he remembered nothing.  (AGOT, Eddard I)
She wasn't clutching the roses. She was cluthing his hands. The spilling rose petals were dead and black. This is supposed to be romantic imagery?
He was walking through the crypts beneath Winterfell, as he had walked a thousand times before. The Kings of Winter watched him pass with eyes of ice, and the direwolves at their feet turned their great stone heads and snarled. Last of all, he came to the tomb where his father slept, with Brandon and Lyanna beside him. "Promise me, Ned," Lyanna's statue whispered. She wore a garland of pale blue roses, and her eyes wept blood. (AGOT, Eddard XIII)
Her eyes weep blood. Is this supposed to be romantic imagery?
Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost. Ned Stark reached out his hand to grasp the flowery crown, but beneath the pale blue petals the thorns lay hidden. He felt them clawing at his skin, sharp and cruel, saw the slow trickle of blood run down his fingers, and woke, trembling, in the dark. Promise me, Ned, his sister had whispered from her bed of blood. She had loved the scent of winter roses. (AGOT, Eddard XV)
In Ned's dream, the flower crown is aggressively attacking his hands - the very hands that Lyanna clutched in her dying - and it is ironically juxtaposed with her former love of this scent. The flower was turned into a weapon, subverted into nothing but agony. A poisoned gift.
Is this supposed to be romantic imagery?
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sansansecretsanta2023 · 6 months
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SanSan Secret Santa 2023
By now all Santas will have received their giftees for this year’s exchange. If you are participating and have not heard from me, then please get in touch ASAP.
Otherwise, now you can go ahead and send your first ask to your giftees! Make sure your asks are anonymous so as not to spoil the surprise!
Happy writing! Do get in touch with any questions or to ask for any advice.
🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
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theonficexchange · 7 months
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💛LAST DAY TO SIGN UP🖤
This, November 10, 2023, is the last day to sign up for the Theon Exchange!*
*(Timezones are weird, so check the form! If it’s open, you can sign up!)
If you’ve been undecided about whether or not to sign up, today is the day! Come write (or draw) something for a fellow Theon fan with a ship (or gen relationship) you both love, and receive a gift in return!
Please read the RULES before signing up.
Sign-up form is HERE!
All ships and gen relationships involving Theon, from either ASOIAF or  GoT, are welcome!
Minimum: 500 words. There is also an option to offer and request art if that’s something you’re interested in!
If you complete your assignment you are guaranteed a gift!
Follow this blog or join our Discord to receive updates. (And/or join the discord just for fun and chatting with other Theon fans!)
Sign-ups accepted through the 11th worldwide. This might mean they will end in the morning or afternoon of the 12th for you, depending on timezone. Check the form - it might still be open ❤
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sansaficexchange · 3 months
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1 DAY LEFT TO SIGN UP!
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Today, February 23, 2024, is the last day to sign up for the Sansa Exchange!*
*(Timezones are weird, so check the form! If it’s open, you can sign up!)
If you’ve been undecided about whether or not to sign up, today is the day! Come write (or draw) something for a fellow Sansa fan with a ship (or gen relationship) you both love, and receive a gift in return!
Come here for more specific rules
Sign-up Form is HERE.
All ships and gen relationships involving Sansa, from either ASOIAF or  GoT, are welcome!
Minimum: 500 words. There is also an option to offer and request art if that’s something you’re interested in!
If you complete your assignment you are guaranteed a gift!
Come here for our discord server.
Signups close in around 24 hours from this post. This might mean they will end in the morning or afternoon of the 24th for you, depending on timezone. Check the form - it might still be open ���
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Announcing the first book only Jaime x Brienne gift exchange: 'A Little Island of Light'
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We are pleased to announce the first A Little Island of Light, an ASOIAF Jaime/Brienne themed gift exchange set to happen on the 21st of December, to celebrate the Winter’s Solstice – the Long Night!
This exchange will be dedicated to stories that explore their book characterization and relationship dynamics. So as long as you love their book versions, we'd love to have you join us! We are so excited to see what everyone comes up with.
This exchange is open for all kinds of artistic expressions: Fanfics, Fanarts and Gif/Photo edits.
Here's how it works:
First, click here for our Event Rules and Guidelines. It's important that you read it carefully.
Please click here to sign up for the gift exchange.
For the participants, below is the work that we are looking for:
𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
500 word minimum fanfic.
Upload it on Tumblr so it can be added to the ALIOL event page
Upload it on AO3 so it can be added to the collection.
If you require a beta, feel free to contact us and we can try to set one up for you.
Likewise, if you are interested in being a beta for somebody, you can fill out this form and we’ll put you down in the list. 
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬
One fully completed and coloured illustration
Upload it on Tumblr so it can be added to the ALIOL event page
Upload it on AO3 so it can be added to the collection.
If you need help uploading images in AO3, we have a tutorial for you here. You can also reach out to us!
𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬
At least two graphic/edit/gifset based on your match’s prompts.
Upload it on Tumblr so it can be added to the ALIOL event page
Upload it on AO3 so it can be added to the collection.
If you need help uploading images in AO3, we have a tutorial for you here. You can also reach out to us!
Deadline
The event will end on the 21 December 2022 CST, when every work will be published here and on AO3.
For more information, please read our Event Rules and Guidelines here, where we have tutorials, important check-in dates and more!
Contact
If you have any questions f you’d like to discuss something with us, you can contact us either here on tumblr or send us an e-mail on [email protected].
We hope that you all have as much fun participating in this exchange as we had putting it together. We can't wait to read all of your amazing stories!
image cred. - The Fountain of Love, Jean Honoré Fragonard
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swordmaid · 2 years
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bc @na-bruma-leve and I are starved for jb content and grrm doesn’t look like he’s gonna give us winds anytime soon , would anyone be interested in joining a possible book/asoiaf jb themed gift exchanging event? 😳👀🫶 we’re thinking that the exchange will be held around the end of december and it’ll be open to any kinds of content (edit/art/fic etc.).
we’re still ironing out all the details and stuff but if that sounds like something that you’d be interested in, please let us know hehe ❤️
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