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#his choice to die is not a choice at all. suffer some more or get it over with. either way his death is certain.
zarvasace · 2 days
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And here are Dire and Madness, dark Twilight and dark Four!
Rambling and more art beneath the cut as has been standard :) only two more left to do and guys I love them
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Dire
Dire is dark Twilight. 
He and Twilight share one major trait: they are protectors. Not even a process that bastardized Sky’s kindness could take that away. By no means is Dire nice, however. He is a Twilight that has lost all control and doesn't care to regain it, because that would mean facing all he's done. Some part of Dire is aware and suffering, but he purposely buries that part.  
But on the surface that he presents and identifies with, Dire lashes out at everything that causes him pain—which is a lot of things. Dire is no different from the other Darks, in that he can't stand the light and gets annoyed quickly. He doesn't often speak, and nobody is really sure how much he really understands of what's around him. He acts more like an animal than a human in a lot of ways, and is often a little more cruel than he has to be. He's unnaturally strong and quick, and his weapons of choice are his nails and teeth. He indulges his brutal urges because the alternative is thinking.
For plans that require destruction and fighting, the Darks let Dire run out first. He could probably fight an army on his own, provided that he has plenty of darkness and an enemy without too much strategy. He's powerful and extremely dangerous. Due to that, the Darks don't let him run free. They use the shackles around his wrists and neck to keep him nearby and out of maiming range. When they do let him out though (to hunt or fight or exercise or whatever), he always comes back…
Because Dire is a protector. He leans more offensive than Twilight, but Dire too knows friend from foe. He doesn't always care, but Dire has sorted the other Darks as “friend” in his head, and he won't let anything hurt them except for themselves, if he can. He's particularly fond of Madness and Nothing, and has been known to grab them and not let them go, even when they start biting. 
Dire’s design pulls a lot from the fever dream in Twilight Princess: gray skin, blank eyes. He has longer, more matted hair than Twilight. His claws are wicked sharp, and he wears tattered clothes without shoes. His wolf pelt is the softest thing about him, and it really should be washed. His markings are a bit more dramatic than Twilight’s, extending down his cheeks and arms and legs. 
Despite the markings, Dire does not have an alternate form like Twilight. Well, he might, but he was never cursed the same way, and this technically is his dark world form. Some combination of magic might give him the ability to shapeshift, but he doesn't need it. He's bestial as it is. 
Madness
Madness is dark Four! There is one big question here: is Madness the same person as Shadow from the manga?
Yes and no! Madness and Shadow do not exist at the same time as separate individuals. They were both made from Four’s darkness, but for different purposes. Shadow really did die when he smashed the mirror, and this isn't exactly a second chance… but it might be. Think of it like this: that body is a computer. Shadow was an operating system there, logging away memories and performing programs. Madness is on the same computer, but is a different operating system (a weaker one, really). However, those memories and personality from Shadow still exist, buried and only subconsciously influencing Madness’s behavior. They act eerily alike sometimes, not that anyone but Four would notice. Perhaps someday, Shadow’s OS will break through and become dominant, but even if he did, he wouldn't be the same. Madness would still be there. 
“Still rivers run deep”—to me, this is very much Four. One body, four colors; a deep knowledge of his chosen trade; a rather serious demeanor with a lot of variety and thoughts; plans and ideas backed up with a combination of emotion and logic. He's balanced. In contrast, Madness is a “fast river running shallowly,” an unbalanced amalgamation of too much, all at once, a broad variety with little substance. 
Madness is a little… unhinged. He's clearly smart, but he speaks in roundabout ways, making connections that don't exist or are too convoluted for anyone to follow. He stares into the distance a lot, and can be quite unnerving if you try to notice how often he blinks (rarely). Nobody can really decide how much of his behavior is on purpose or just how he is. When let loose, Madness shows unparalleled capacity for complex plans, but he doesn't always know how to hold back and often goes overboard. He'll beat that dead horse, and bomb those charred ruins, and smash that fallen vase… You get the picture. 
A lot of these Darks have an odd magical power, and Madness’s is one of the more prominent ones. With a touch, he can attempt to bury a bit of his power in the mind of a sentient being (human, Rito, Zora, Minish, etc) and turn them into a thrall. While a being is a thrall, their eyes turn red and their consciousness goes to sleep. Madness can give them mental commands, and they technically work under his processing power and not their own, so no matter how vague the commands are, they do what he means them to do. Madness can also jump into thralls’ heads to pilot them specifically, seeing from their eyes and speaking from their mouth. He doesn't magically know everything about the thrall, though, so he still has to try to impersonate, and that doesn't usually work well. While he pilots, Madness is still technically in his body, so he will say out loud anything he's commanding the thrall to say, which limits his opportunities to trick the others. 
Without commands, the thralls sit in still silence, which means that over extended periods of time, Madness does have to worry about food and rest for them. The more thralls he has, the less effective he is, because his focus is split, even if he isn't directly piloting more than one person at a time. If he lets someone go even for a moment, the connection is severed entirely. He absolutely refuses to use any thralls in a combat scenario, because he feels their pain, even though it's fainter when he isn’t directly piloting. He uses thralls instead to gather information, start rumors, purchase/steal supplies, and often just cause chaos. 
Madness is actually rather genre-aware. He knows that their schemes are destined to ultimately fail, because the Darks are the “bad guys” and they will lose. As such, he's hedging his bets and logging away information for an inevitable betrayal to the Lights. He does not intend to be on the losing side when it gets down to it. He has half-baked plans to snatch a few of the other Darks and take them with him, too. Madness absolutely does not take any sort of leadership role, which means that he doesn't feel any responsibility to rein in Nothing, making him Nothing’s favorite. Madness also spends time hanging out with Dire, who he thinks understands more than he lets on. Those two would be his first choices, and he thinks Nothing might know that. (This is not at all related to the fact that Shadow’s memories of betrayal are both sweet and bitter.) 
Madness does not get along well with Agony—Madness prefers chaos and mind games over Agony’s stab-first approach. He purposely annoys everyone else. Along with Depth and Shackle, Madness is one of the few Darks who can pass as human, so he's been on a few excursions into towns or groups, and he likes emphasizing his unnerving traits. He'll use a sword if he has to, but prefers bombs and words. He doesn't have any powers from Shadow (shapeshifting, stretchiness, whatever else), but he is very sensitive to light, like most of the Darks. 
Madness casts a wide net, putting on an air of randomness with a sprinkle of insanity for flavor. He connects more dots than he appears to, though, and has a few unexpected urges toward the light. Make no mistake, though, he is a Dark, and he has no intention of doing good just to do good. His ultimate goal is to survive the Dark Chain’s fall, and beyond that… traveling? Therapy? Living at home with people he doesn't hate? (Why does he feel an emotional connection to his Light? Why does he want to protect him? Why does he want to exercise his freedom? Why does it feel like he's running out of time until—)
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moth-mart · 2 months
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"I need them to die in eachothers arms and for it to mean something" then proceeded to make a terrible. horrible punch to the gut
#o.#ow?????????#its. coming off the future alt but sona's afflictions go from being chronic to terminal#and because of the mutations to his vampirism the only way to survive is to feed off of gods#which they find out the hard way when he gets *really* sick and nothing's helping so they panic and Stylus kills a god#as a last 'out of options' resort and he feeds off it and it *works*#and they come to that realization and Sona refuses to continue like that because he says hes not going to live off of other people's-#suffering anymore. and so he makes his choice and at some point they go to visit Will who's completely cut ties with them because she#blames god's death on them being cowards who didnt try hard enough to stop her#which she isnt happy to see that and doesnt take the news well at all and states that theyre just throwing god's sacrifice away by#letting him die which makes the situation even more conflicting for sona who muses on how even beyond the grave#god's putting him in shitty situations. of either living selfishly off of others' deaths or seemingly having let her die for nothing#and will storms off and Caraway [who she's living with now] tells them to stay the night so they do#but it doesnt even matter cause Sona gently wakes Stylus up in the middle of the night and tells him hes dying and so#they sit with eachother and just talk softly and reminisce about meeting the other and they both agree they wouldnt trade it for anything#then he dies very peacefully in Stylus' arms#and will wakes up the next morning and comes downstairs and Caraway gently informs her and she runs into the other room#and Stylus is still sitting there in the same spot just. holding whats left of him. unmoved for hours#AND THEN I HAD TO STOP BRUSHING MY TEETH. CAUSE WTF. MAN???#the emotional damage may entirely be dependent on the emotional attachment level to these guys#and nothing otherwise but. if youre me. yknow. [shatters like glass]#MHMMH#cool#character death#I GUESS#sonaverse#delete tag#lore dump#very much a noncanon thing but. mmgnmgmg [wiggly sheet of metal noise]
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noscio · 11 months
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so i just got TGCF 6
#tgcf#heaven official's blessing#my god#mxtx really went 'what if i made this man suffer more than jesus'#like at least jesus got to fucking die you know#at least jesus got some time in a garden to prepare himself#pookie's entire life just went to shit one day and keeps getting exponentially worse every. single. day.#at every turn xie lian is like 'im not that great im not worth believing in'#and every time hua cheng (in any manifestation of himself) takes that personally#hua cheng has been running after xie lian even in death#which makes me so giddy because he doesn't HAVE to but every time he chooses to follow Xie Lian and watch over him#like that's what it's all about. when love IS a choice that you keep choosing#also very funny that hua cheng was like 'hey can i kill those people for you- i mean my beloved'#and xie lian literally responds by stabbing himself that would be a suicide attempt if he wasn't cursed to live#and also Hua Cheng keeps choosing violence#you hurt Xie Lian?? you SHIT TALK his highness the crown prince??#OHHHHH WRAITH BUTTERFLIES!! A THOUSAND WRAITH BUTTERFLIES BE UPON YE#XL could fold any fucker over his knee except for literal SUPREMES and he just chooses not to because he's given up#who's going to be the hua cheng to my xie lian??#or who's gonna be my xie lian?? i want someone to spoil#also i'm glad we're finally getting to see XL go apeshit#ever since learning that XL most suppresses bloodlust the most i have been WAITING for this man to start cussing someone out and get mad#XL has finally said fuck everybody.
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gearslips · 2 years
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really thought the way people talk about nacho's death would get less romanticized as time goes on but instead there's this retroactive decision that he never did anything wrong, was the most moral character in the show, and that shooting himself in the head so he wouldn't be violently tortured to death was a heroic act of love.
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hypewinter · 7 months
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The clone was dying. The others didn't realize this but Danny did. After all the dealings with clones he's had over the years, namely his own, how could he not recognize the signs?
Danny had first discovered the clone a month back when he was so tired, he tripped through the floor at Cadmus. That's how he had found a whole other base under the lab. Danny could kick himself for all the secret experiments going on under his nose. Some of which, he soon discovered, were even using his own research. Research that was meant to help grow new organs for dying patients. Now it was being put towards a process he never wanted to deal with again, cloning. In this case, specifically a Superman clone.
When Danny first saw the clone designation "Superboy" asleep in his pod, the first emotion he felt was overwhelming sorrow. Sorrow for the countless clones that had no doubt died before this one. Sorrow that he hadn't done his due diligence to make sure Cadmus was completely above board. And sorrow for Superboy, who would not doubt be used as a pawn at best.
Which is why when Danny realized he was destabilizing, he almost wanted to let him. A death the child wasn't even aware of would most likely be better than a life of suffering. But Danny couldn't bring himself to standby and watch this boy die. For one, if Ellie ever found out, he'd probably face his final death. But mainly, if there was a chance, a chance that the kid could have a good life, filled with loved ones, he had to take it.
So Danny did the one thing he thought he would never do, he gave his own blood. He had made sure to keep his DNA away from others for obvious reasons but he had no other choice. He knew the ectoplasm inside him would be enough to stabilize the clone or more accurately to say he hoped it would be. So each day, after everyone had left the lab, he would sneak in and transfer some of his own blood to Superboy. All the while he would talk to him. He'd tell him about his day, about his friends. He'd tell him how excited Ellie would be to find out about him and the hopes he had for the boy's future. Danny wasn't even sure that Superboy could hear him but it didn't matter, he talked to him anyway.
Finally the day came when the clone was fully stabilized. Danny felt overwhelming relief and joy in that moment but there was still one thing left to take care of. He had to get the clone out of here. He wouldn't risk the boy being used as a weapon. He couldn't. Danny had planned to come back for him the next day, after he had finished destroying all of his research, but he never got the chance. When he came back the next day, the building was destroyed, and the clone was gone.
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somerandomdudelmao · 9 months
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I think the thing I keep coming back to is not the enormity of their love it's the mmmm. Consistency maybe? I'm not sure that's the right word.
It's the way it manifests, right? Because of course they love each other, they're family, they're each others whole heart. Of course Mikey will sacrifice his youth to burn the kraang out of Casey. Of course Raph would give the generator at his heart to keep Leo and Mikey and Casey safe. Of course Leo would stay behind with Mikey in a ruined world. Of course Donnie would walk onto a battlefield half dead and fight the kraang off for his brothers. Of course Casey would break the laws of the universe to bring the four of them back.
Of course they would. Because they're each other's whole world. There's no ask that's too large. There's no task too impossible. There's no fight that's too dangerous. Of course they'd hand out these actions, these definitive declarations of love.
Because what other choice is there? When the options are do it or let your family suffer the answer is obvious. The answer is easy.
And those are wonderful ploy points, they're wonderful dynamics and moments and declarations. But they're not what I keep coming back to.
I keep coming back to Leo giving Mikey his hoodie when Mikey wants comfort. To Casey wrapping baby Leo in blankets. To April finding the Jupiter Jim movie and bringing it to watch with Donnie. To Donnie making Mikey young again. To Leo giving Casey piggyback rides, and swinging him around for fun. To Mikey letting Leo's scarf and tassels float with magic. To Donnie letting Casey lay on him. To Raph commiserating with Leo that Casey doesn't remember him. To Mikey comforting Raph when he lost his eye.
To Donnie showing Casey the rain.
Because when you love someone it's easy to give everything for them. To sacrifice yourself, your safety, your life. When the problem is "do something or watch them suffer, watch them die" there's no question to be asked. There's no alternative action to be taken.
But it's harder to remember to do the hundreds of insignificant things that are the actually important bits. The things that you dont have to do. Because no one will die if Mikey doesn't get Leo's hoodie. No one will be in danger if Leo's scarf doesn't blow in magical wind. No one would worry if Casey never saw the rain.
But they're love isn't just about saving each other or protecting each other. It's not about the sacrifice, it never has been.
It's about waking up each day, and spending each moment caring for someone so deeply that you take the time to find your old hoodie wherever it thrown last. Trusting someone so wholly that you share the ways you feel, even when you know there's nothing to be done about it.
Because in the end Casey wouldn't have known to miss the rain. He couldn't have cared either way about it. But Donnie wanted Casey to experience what he viewed as a small joy.
And I think that's what I've been circling for the last 500 or so words. The small joy. And the constant, consistent, never ending effort of creating that small joy for the ones you love. For comforting them. For making them smile.
And what I come back to, over and over, is that the huge moments, where it's all or nothing, when it's time to put everything on the line for those you love, means absolutely nothing unless it's backed by hundreds of thousands of moments where you sacrifice nothing more than a bit of time, or a bit of effort, or a bit of convenience. If you haven't spent your whole life doing the things that aren't a given, and aren't necessary.
Ohhh, it does things to my brain.
One thing I keep reminding myself of throughout the creation of a comic is consistency. I often want to twist some situation so that it's something new and surprising for the characters. You know, in terms of emotions and dynamics.
When Raph bot came home alive and Leo cried. A little voice inside me was saying "what if this is the first time Casey sees Leo cry? Show his reaction! Show how surprised he is!"
Or when Mikey levitates someone. "Come on, draw a surprised face. Levitation is surprising!"
All those little family moments. I keep reminding myself that they are not a group of strangers who become family. They are family. The family family. The familiest family ever jfjfbfhdksk
So instead of
"oh wow did he do that??"
it's
"well of course he did that."
It's about caring and giving and loving to the point where it's something naturally subconscious.
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carpe-mamilia · 6 months
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Ghosts’ Larry Rickard Explains Why They Chose the Captain’s First Name
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Photo: Monumental,Guido Mandozzi
It couldn’t be a joke. That was one rule laid down by the Ghosts creators when it came to choosing a first name for Willbond’s character. Until series five, the WWII ghost had been known only as The Captain – a mystery seized upon by fans of the show.
“It was the question we got asked more than anything. His name,” actor and writer Larry Rickard tells Den of Geek. “Once we got to series three, you could see that we were deliberately cutting away and deliberately avoiding it. We were fuelling the fire because we knew at some point we’d tell them.”
In “Carpe Diem”, the episode written by Rickard and Ben Willbond that finally reveals The Captain’s death story, they did tell us. After years of guessing, clue-spotting and debate, Ghosts revealed that The Captain’s first name is James. At the same time, we also learned that James’ colleague Lieutenant Havers’ first name was Anthony.
The ordinariness of those two names, says Rickard, is the point.
“The only thing we were really clear about is that we didn’t want one of those names that only exists in tellyland. It shouldn’t be ‘Cormoran’ or ‘Endeavour’. They should just be some men’s names and they’re important to them. The point was that they were everyday.”
Choosing first names for The Captain and Havers was a long process not unlike naming a baby, Rickard agrees. “It almost comes down to looking at the faces of the characters and saying, what’s right?”
“We talked for ages. For a long time I kept thinking ‘Duncan and James’, and then I was like ah no! That would have turned it into a gag and been awful!” Inescapably in the minds of a certain generation, Duncan James is a member of noughties boyband Blue. “Maybe with Anthony I was thinking of Anthony Costa!” Rickard says in mock horror, referencing another member of the band.
Lieutenant Havers wasn’t just The Captain’s second in command while stationed at Button House; he was also the man James loved. Because homosexuality was criminalised in England during James’ lifetime, he was forced to hide his feelings for Anthony from society, and to some extent even from himself.
In “Carpe Diem”, the ghosts (mistakenly) prepare for the last day of their afterlives, prompting The Captain to finally tell his story. Though not explicit about his sexual identity, the others understand and accept what he tells them – and led by Lady Button, all agree that he’s a brave man.
Getting the balance right of what The Captain does and doesn’t say was key to the episode. “It wasn’t just a personal choice of his to go ‘I’m going to remain in the closet’,” explains Rickard. “There wasn’t an option there to explore the things that either of them felt. That couldn’t be done back then – there are so many stories which have come out since the War about the dangers of doing that.
“We wanted to tell his personal story but also try to ensure that there was a level at which you understood why they couldn’t be open, that even in this moment where he’s finally telling the other ghosts his story, he never comes out and says it overtly because that would be too much for him as a character from that time.
“He says enough for them to know, and enough for him to feel unburdened but it’s in the fact that they’re using their first names which militarily they would never have done, and in the literal passing of the baton”.
The baton is a bonus reveal when fans learned that The Captain’s military stick wasn’t a memento of his career, but of Havers. As James suffers a fatal heart attack during a VE day celebration at Button House, Anthony rushes to his side and the stick passes from one to the other as they share a moment of tragic understanding.
“From really early on, we had the idea that anything you’re holding [when you die] stays with you. So it wasn’t just your clothes you were wearing, we had the stuff with Thomas’ letter reappearing in his pocket and so on. And the assumption being that it was something The Captain couldn’t put down, it felt so nice to be able to say it was something he didn’t want to put down.”
Rickard lists “Carpe Diem”, co-written with Ben Willbond, among his series five highlights. He’s pleased with the end result, praises Willbond’s performance, and loved being on set to see Button House dressed for the 1940s. He’s particularly pleased that a checklist of moments they wanted to land with the audience all managed to be included. “Normally something’s fallen by the wayside just because of the way TV’s made, it’s always imperfect or it’s slightly rushed, but it feels like it’s all there.”
Rickard and Willbond also knew by this point in the show’s lifetime, that they could trust Ghosts fans to pick up on small details. “Nothing is missed,” he says. “Early on, you’re always thinking, is that going to get across? But once we got to series five, there are little tiny things within corners of shots and you know that’s going to be spotted. Particularly in that very short exchange between Havers and the Captain. We worried less about the minutiae of it because you go, that’s going to be rewound and rewatched, nothing will be missed.”
The team were also grateful they’d resisted the temptation to tell The Captain’s story sooner. “We’d talked about it every series since series two, whether or not now was the time, but because he’s such a hard and starchy character in a lot of ways you needed the time to understand his softer side I think before you had that final honest beat from him.”
“What a ridiculously normal name to have so much weight put on it for five years,” laughs Rickard fondly. “Good old James.”
From Den of Geek
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battlekidx2 · 2 months
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I'm making this post purely to shout out some incredibly talented fanfic writers from the Hazbin Hotel fandom and my favorite works of theirs.
Did anyone ask me for this? No. Will I post it anyway? Absolutely. The writers in this fandom are too good.
The first fanfic writer I want to shout out is @prince-liest (ao3 link)
I absolutely love their get cared for idiot (Alastor) series (not the official name but they called it that in one of their asks jokingly so it's now the default in my head).
Knock, Knock! It's Your Worst Fucking Nightmare! (this fic gets it!!!! This is what I meant when I said Alastor is growing a heart and part of him is raging against it. He still has ulterior motives and a massive amount of pride and part of him feels like that growing fondness is getting in the way, but he can't stop it. I need to stop before this becomes a long ramble. I've written a couple thousand words on this idea, but this fic is just a better use of your time than any meta I could ever write and way more entertaining :D )
Happily Ever After, and Other Shit Nepotism Can't Buy
The Last Bus Stop in Hell, Now Boarding (Please look at the tags for content warning. Angel and Alastor body swap story.)
They're amazing at balancing on that razor's edge with Alastor where there's a heart in there (really deep) and he's unintentionally growing attached to the hazbin crew, but he doesn't lose his edge. He's still manipulative and an asshole and can easily be the scariest guy in any room. He's in hell for a reason. A+ characterization at all times.
They're so good at writing the complicated dynamics he has with the residents, especially Charlie, and I enjoy how they expand on Alastor's potential dynamic with Angel Dust.
Anything they write from Lucifer's POV is gold too! My favorites are:
Take Two and Leave a Voicemail!
The Care and Keeping of Homo Angelus
I am also 100% here for their Aro!Alastor agenda and I'm enjoying their fic I Love Her, I Love Her Not so far!
The second person I want to shout out is @grayintogreen (ao3 link)
Their series Red Roses and Dead Things consistently gut punches me.
Just like Princeliest, they are also fantastic at balancing on that razor's edge with Alastor. A+ characterization for everyone and I love how they write HuskerDust. It's so soft, especially in the aftermath fic for Learn that Even Death May Die called If My Love Is Tomorrow, I've Forgotten Yesterday (that fic hurt in the best way).
The way they explore the aftermath of Learn that Even Death May Die is incredibly impactful. They capture the unique grief that comes from the reality that there are some things you won't get closure for so well that it's painful.
I can't say enough good things about their series. Genuinely go read it.
I found @lediz-watches (ao3 link) before the first season of Hazbin Hotel dropped (I've been a fan of the hellaverse for a few years now and have been enthralled with the Hazbin Hotel pilot since I first watched it in 2020) and I really enjoy their fics.
My favorite is Suffering Kindness. I love the Charlie and Alastor dynamic they explore in this story. I think I'm just a sucker for the Charlie and Alastor dynamic in general, but this fic hits all the right notes for me. (written pre-season 1 but man is it good. 100% recommend)
LeDiz also has a lot of one-shots/collections of one-shots that are very fun.
The Cure for Inexorable Boredom
Dollface (one-shots about Alastor theories. My favorite is the 3rd one. So fascinating!)
Choice Words (one of the few explorations of Alastor and Vaggie's dynamic that I've found in the fandom)
Don't Say It
I have to shout out @ckret2 (ao3 link) and their phenomenal fic You’ve Got a Face for Radio. This is such an amazing aroace!Alastor fic. (Embarrassingly it was this fic that made me realize I was most likely aroace myself. I’d had fleeting moments of suspecting it but it wasn’t until I saw my experiences laid out in a character explicitly written to be aroace that I put the puzzle pieces together. -_- some of these passages were too relatable.) I cannot express how much I love this fic.
I also like their fics Dumpster Baby and Bitter Grapes.
I have one last writer I want to mention because this is getting really long (whoops). The last one is tiredoflofteranditsshit and their Assume He Has a Heart series (because my favorite character and how I interpret them was not obvious enough already with the fics/authors I've recommended. I had to make it more obvious).
These fics are massive (17k and 26k words) and so much fun. Definitely worth the read. Yet another series that follows up season 1 and explores Alastor’s growing connections and how he lies to himself and pushes against it. Love this series and there’s a lot to sink your teeth into :D
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fluffyfantasticducky · 6 months
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How to Cure Pains and Heartaches
☆ Pairing: Loki x Reader
☆ Synopsis: After such a bitter end, Loki has no choice but to fade away. To his surprise he awakens in bed where he will be taken care of. Why? What do they want of him? Who's that lovely mortal?
☆ Word Count: 6,266
☆ Notes: Loki being a swooning darling, he's recovering from injuries in a fix it AU where he survives the attack on the Statesman and he gets to live on earth.
☆ Warnings: Mention of Loki's trauma and torture courtesy of the Mad Titan, fuck you Thanos. Mention of gaining weight (but it isn't given a negative conotation).
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No one could deny Loki had gone through a lot of stuff, simply his Asgardian nature and the amount of exposure he had had with war from a young age would (rightfully) horrify most Midgardians, plus the pressure of being royalty and the responsibility it demanded with him.
In retrospect, Loki always knew his amount of responsibility were no way near as high as Thor’s, which allowed Loki to get some relief by following his nature as God of Mischief. But still: meetings, war council, royal balls, and in general trying to keep an image of perfection to most of Asgard other than Thor’s group and his parents who truly knew of Loki’s more playful nature, it was quite draining.
And that was before the true horrors.
That one trip to Jotunheim had been the source of over a decade of disgrace. Knowing all that battle would cause, he never would’ve let those three other Jotuns into the vaults of Valaskjalf.
After that, it was tragedy after tragedy. And the worst of them happened in the Sanctuary II.
At first, he thought some bounty hunters had recognized him, given they seem to know who he was, and the only reason they spared his life was because it would be about a matter of time until they’d bargain his life with Odin.
But after several months where he was starved, and his only contact was to be tortured, where the Black Order tore his body apart bit by bit, breaking bones, tearing skin only to throw him back into an isolation cell, where all that kept him together was his pride and the thought that Heimdall could see him and start a rescue mission, thing he learned years later couldn’t be done.
And when he didn’t cave in, they shattered his mind as well, using the Mind Stone on his scepter, giving him no choice but to submit. Everything bad in his life prior to that point seemed to be blissful field trip.
And for many years later he thought he would spend the rest of his life suffering to atone to the horrors he unleashed onto Jotunheim and New York. And by the time the Sanctuary II intercepted the Asgardian escape ship on its way to Earth, and he felt himself fading from reality… nothing had proved him otherwise.
At least he had protected his brother…
Who would’ve thought that the next time he opened his eyes he would be laying in a hospital bed, flowers by his ankles and a cervical collar? He had a thousand questions. Where was he? Who brought him there? Why had he been saved? Why couldn’t they let him just die?
Just when he thought it was another round of the same type of torture the Black Order inflicted on him, the door opened… Only about a few hours after waking up, and just in time when his stomach started growling.
The first time he saw you, you felt like a vision. Beautiful and most of it all, kind.
“Loki how are you feeling?” you smiled at him, as you stepped inside the room with a tray of warm food. The smell made his mouth water. “Were you waiting for long? Sorry, I didn’t hear you wake up.”
Loki was quietly staring at you. Not only because his throat was dry, but because he had no idea who you were or what were your intentions.
But you didn’t seem bothered by his silence. You just let out a little chuckle.
“You seem more active today” you smiled, “Usually you can only stay awake for a few seconds. Are you hungry?”
Loki wanted to be proud and say nothing, but his body’s needs were stronger, and a rather loud growl of his stomach gave it away how hungry he was, making his cheeks flare up in embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, I would be hungry too if I hadn’t eaten anything in 5 years” you spoke compassionately, but with a hint of humor.
5 years?!?
“How long have I been here?” he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse beyond recognition, and it hurt to speak.
“Oh, you poor thing, you must be thirsty” you said as you reached his food tray and grabbed a cup of water with a straw and placed it just before his lips. “About your question, a few weeks, a Stark satellite detected a faint life signal and Thor went to find you.”
You spoke in such a humane manner that Loki couldn’t help but lower his guard a bit, and he opened his mouth as you helped him drink.
The water was cold and fresh, it felt so relieving that he couldn’t hold back a sigh when he finished drinking, that only happened when the cup was empty.
You let out a soft giggle at the sight of him. It was then that he recognized you, sort of.
He vaguely remembered your laugh, it was faint, but if he pushed himself to think about it, it was there. He never saw your face, but the sound was familiar, so he concluded it must have been previous visits while he was still unconscious.
It was a pretty sound… innocent, pure.
“You mentioned my brother…” Loki asked. “Is he…?”
As he made his question, you set a table before him and the tray on top of it. It was a huge bowl of soup, and one of mashed potatoes. His stomach growled once again.
“Thor has been visiting you every day practically without exception” you told him. “He talks to you, keeps you updated about his life. Last week he came with Doctor Foster, it seems they started seeing each other again. But we’ve notified him you’re finally awake.”
You sat beside him on the edge of the bed and grabbed the spoon on the tray and started feeding him the soup. It was so warm, and the flavor was rich, that his eyes started watering. What cruel trick was all this kindness? When would this all go South?
His forming tears didn’t go unnoticed, and you cupped his face, your soft fingers caressing his cheeks to clean his tears.
“You don’t have a fever, does it hurt anywhere?” you asked.
“No… I feel per—” he choked on his words, “I feel perfectly fine… all things considered.”
“I’ll monitor your reflex later, but first focus on eating” you said gently. “You need to regain your strength.”
You didn’t have to tell him twice, he was so hungry that if he had had more strength, he would just hold the bowl and chug it all down. By the time he was onto the mashed potatoes he was a lot stronger, the second meal was just as tasty, seasoned just right to make him want to keep eating until his stomach popped.
He even let out a soft little breathy burp, which made you giggle again.
“Don’t eat so fast!” you scolded him with a happy tone.
He found it in himself to laugh softly along with you.
“5 years without food, I remind you” he joked back. “I’ll eat as fast as I can.”
“You were blipped 5 years... you didn’t age a day.”
“Blipped?”
You spent the next few minutes filling him in what had happened. Thanos won, and half of the universal population vanished, for them it was only a few minutes at most… while the rest of the universe aged 5 years. Five years, where everyone thought he was dead, where he was dead.
Now, Loki wanted to cry. The amount of relief that washed over him made him rest back.
“Finally… I’m free…” he sighed. “It’s over… he’s gone…”
He tried covering his eyes when he noticed the sting coming from his left arm, he noticed a cast neatly wrapped around it.
“Your neck injury was the most concerning, but your arm and ankle were badly wounded as well” you explained, and he noticed another cast covering his foot from arch to his ankle. “Although your foot is mostly healed by now.”
He put some attention to his bandaged foot and wiggled his toes, which thank the gods responded perfectly.
“It’s a bit itchy” Loki pointed out.
“I’m pretty sure that’s normal” you chuckled and grabbed a pencil from your pocket, and sneaked it in his cast, and scratched his sole. “Here.”
But the touch, while it somewhat alleviated the itch, it had an unexpected tickly feeling that caused Loki to yelp and jerked his foot back.
“Hehe-hey!” he giggled.
“I’m sorry” you apologized with a soft chuckle.
“You’re lucky I’m too weakened to put a dagger to your throat” Loki spoke, but he noticed he couldn’t get rid of the amusement in his voice.
“Perhaps I should take the chance to really make you laugh then.” You smiled, twirling the pencil on your fingers. “Given you can’t do anything to stop me.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Loki blurted out, “If you even dare to… to…”
He felt his cheeks flush. It had been so long since he had been tickled, it felt silly, plus he was quite vulnerable right now.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to upset you” you assured him, “…yet.”
You let out another soft laugh at the indignation in his face.
“Do you not know the consequences of crossing me?” Loki asked, “Are you that ignorant of the capabilities of the God of Mischief? I have terrorized this realm, Midgard bows before my power! I could finish you with a single hand.”
“What would you get out of it?” you asked bluntly. “You live here now; you would only lose.”
He looked at you and opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Not only was he too weak right now to even keep that threat, but truly besides that little tickle you had been nothing to but kind to him, and even that had been with the intention to help him.
“Do you truly not fear me?” Loki asked after another moment of silence.
“Should I?” you asked with a happy smile.
Perhaps he found that little grin of yours to be too charming, it could be the fact that you had his food and water at your mercy, or it could be the fact that you were a purely friendly presence, which he hadn’t had in… he couldn’t remember for how long. But he truly didn’t want you to be scared of him.
“I suppose not” he finally said.
“Predictable.”
Loki let out a laugh.
“You’re a funny little one” Loki smiled.
Just then a loud noise came in as if something huge was stomping their way through the hall. Which proved to be not far off because soon a large blond figure tumbled onto the door frame.
“Brother…” both Asgardians said in unison.
The older brother’s eyes filled with tears as he rushed to the bed, and with the last self-control he possessed, Thor didn’t tackle the raven haired into a bear hug. Just… collapsed on his knees by the side of his bed.
“You’re awake…” the God of Thunder burst into messy sobs. “…Alive.”
In other times, Loki would’ve found Thor’s reaction ridiculous, mockable, or annoying… but after all they had been through and seeing the streak of his own hair tangled in one of Thor’s braids… he let out a soft sob as he gently reached to place his hand on Thor’s head.
“Ahem!” you cleared your throat to make yourself present. “As long as you’re careful with his neck, you two can hug.”
You smiled and left the room to give them space. Both brothers let out a laugh and Thor cradled his little brother in his arms, supporting his head as if he was a baby as his other hand was squeezing Loki.
“I told you the sun would shine on us again” Loki spoke softly.
“You idiotic, insincere, irresponsible, impulsive, inconsiderate fool!” Thor scolded him, sounding more relieved than anything.
“Oh, good, you ran out of insults that started with an I” Loki laughed.
“I beg you, brother. Never give me a scare like that again” Thor begged.
“In my defense, I didn’t fake it this time” he whispered.
There was an awkward silence as none of the princes knew what to say to each other, there was so much to say, but… where to start?
“I… heard you started seeing Doctor Foster again.”
That made Thor smile as started telling Loki what he had done with his life, how Asgard was doing, which was what finally broke Loki, hearing Asgard managed to live on was that finally burst into tears as he hugged his brother again.
The two brothers talked for hours, and for the first time in years, if not ever, Loki felt the conversation with his brother be purely lighthearted. He was so lost in the chat that it took him hours to notice…
“You’ve gained weight” Loki pointed out.
“Quiet, you imp…” Thor snorted. “It’s been tough these last 5 years.”
“I… did not mean to be judgmental” Loki assured him. “It just… I’ve been out for so long…”
“Well, don’t get used to this, I’m already exercising again, and I’m renouncing to beer… aside from social events” Thor said happily.
“Oh? I didn’t know you drank” Loki tilted his head. “But… good for you.”
Thor’s face darkened, making Loki immediately regret his comment.
“It was… Very rough five years…” Thor said again. “I suppose time wasn’t kind on me.”
Loki felt a pang of guilt settle on his chest, after Ragnarök he truly had no intention to pull another stunt like that. For once, he had every intention to stick by Thor’s side.
But at the time the Sanctuary II intercepted their ship, all Loki could think was protecting Thor. Because he knew that if anything happened to his brother, no one else would’ve had a fighting chance against the Mad Titan. But he had been reckless.
“I— I’m sorry brother…” Loki apologized, and Thor smiled at him. “How’s Asgard?”
“It’s been difficult as you may imagine… but, you know… us Asgardians are stubborn, we’ve managed.” Thor smile. “Little Asgard is thriving!”
“Oh, I’m painfully aware, you’re all a nightmare” Loki joked, making Thor laugh again.
Despite his sarcasm, something in the way Thor said us Asgardians made Loki smile, by now Thor knew very well his true nature, and yet he still treated him as one of his own, like his brother, maybe not bound by blood, but by something stronger.
The conversation kept going until Loki’s stomach growled in hunger, but by then the sun had set a while ago. And it didn’t take long after when you had stepped in the room with a tray of food and Thor excused himself for the night.
The meals were simple and soft for a good while, porridge, broths and soups, sauce-less pastas, yogurts, Jello, but having a pretty mortal such as yourself literally feeding him and tending to his every whim made his recovery quite pleasant. Especially when he started eating solid foods again and the meals were a lot tastier.
“You’re healing quite fast,” you told him as you checked monitored his ribs for any soreness. “I’ve heard injuries usually take maybe 3 or 4 times longer to heal. …In the best of circumstances, but Stephen said your bones are practically all healed now.”
“If someone can pull out a miracle like that, a god should be the right place to go” he joked as he kept holding his shirt up so you could.
“That’s fair, also having the best doctors and technology at our disposal helps, doesn’t it?” you quipped.
“Do not underestimate my divinity, mortal” he said dramatically.
“Oh, yes, forgive me, your godly-ness…” you bowed just as dramatically.
“You’ve been gaining weight” you said as you prodded your stomach.
He let out a yelp.
“Rude” he said cheekily.
“No, I mean, you were practically nothing but skin and bones when we found you” you assured him, “I mean you seem healthier now. You must be in your healthy weight again by now.”
“Do not flatter me” Loki smirked.
“Flatter you?” you gasped out a laugh. “Nonsense, it’s been my care the reason you no longer look like a malnourished cat!”
He did not expect you to start prodding and squeezing his belly, instantly causing him to burst out laughing. Curse his gut for being this vulnerable to your playful fingers.
“Nohohohoho! Don’t!” he whined between cackles. “Stohohohop!”
“Oh my god!” you laughed and gave him a small breather “I didn’t even have to do anything… But if you insist…”
“W-What…? Insist…?”
“I won’t stop…”
“W-What? N-No! PLEHEHEHEASE! NO! STOP!” Loki begged despite his pride, but the way you kept squeezing his belly, giving his skin soft pinches made him wheeze out shaky laughter was too much. “NOT MY— NOHOHOHOHOHO!”
You started focusing on the patch of skin around his belly button, which surprisingly enough was even more ticklish than his navel itself. He started digging his heels onto the mattress as he arched and squirmed on the bed.
“Okay, okay!” you squeaked out as you grabbed his ankle, forgetting your playful attack, to settle him back on bed. “Easy there… you’ll hurt your foot again.”
He was more focused on catching breath, but he still felt you helping him stretch and move his ankle to check if he hadn’t hurt himself in the middle of his squirming.
“You’re… huff… huff… the worst nurse…” he groaned.
“Ask for another nurse who can deal with you” you chuckled as you gently tickled his sole making him let out a giggle.
You weren’t exactly part of the medical team, but after everything that had happened, the Avengers were understaffed, and every task that Tony’s technology couldn’t fill in were done by the Avengers themselves, his brother and Maximoff twins helped with cleaning, Bruce and Clint cooked, Tony handled the finances (in more than just been the Compound’s sponsor), and so and so.
You were a lab assistant, although, not in the medical field. Yet, given your friendly nature and bond with the God of Thunder, Thor himself had entrusted you to look after his most precious thing, his little brother. But under normal circumstances, you’d be working with chemicals or mechanics by the side of your mentors and the Spiderling.
Although now, you had been tasked solely to look after Loki, given no one else was capacitated to deal with him and you seemed to understand each other, and Loki even had friendly interactions with you. Or well, friendly for Loki.
“Get up!” you whined pulling him by his healthy arm.
“I don’t want to” Loki protested.
“Why not?” you huffed defeatedly as you let go of him.
“I don’t exactly feel excited to be sat on a cold table to be prodded and squeezed and all to get stabbed.”
“Injections aren’t the same as getting stabbed, you big baby” you laughed, as you poked his sides, causing Loki to jump and swat your hand away.
“It’s a sharp metal piercing my skin, isn’t it?” he defended himself as he crossed his arm across his chest. “Call me a baby if you please, but it doesn’t excite me being pierced by your tiny blades.”
“L-Loki… are you afraid of needles?” you asked with an amused smile, he could tell by your tone that you were holding back laughter.
“I am not!” he scoffed.
“Oh! You are!” you smiled immensely.
“Is this funny to you?”
“N-No… Don’t worry, it’s cute. I used to fear needles too, you know, when I was five.” You grinned.
Loki’s ears perked up.
“That was a lie” he smiled cockily.
“What?”
“That’s a lie” he repeated himself. “You either still fear them or just recently stopped doing so.”
“Wha— that’s…” your cheeks turning pink were the last tell.
“God of Lies, don’t bother denying it. I can tell when some lies to me” he grinned triumphantly. “Don’t worry, it’s cute.”
You huffed as you smacked the back of his hand.
“And here I was going to tell you my trick to control my nerves” you huffed.
“Which is…?” Loki asked, partly to tease you, but deep down actually wanting to know.
You shuffled through your bag and pull-out headphones and handed them to him. Loki forced himself to ignore the way your hand brushed against his when you handed them to him.
“Just close your eyes and listen to some music” you smiled, “it helps with a lot of things. But if you need to you can hold my hand and squeeze it if you get scared.”
He smiled at you. “Thank you.”
“Tell you what, if you’re brave, I’ll make sure you have your favorite ice cream for dessert today. How does that sound?” you offered.
“I’m not a child you can’t bribe like that” Loki rolled his eyes, “… Two bowls.”
You nodded and helped him get up and walk to get his check up and vaccine. Given how long he had been in bed, he was still doing some rehab and needed help to walk longer distances.
And he did take your word and held your hand all the time, although he did notice it was you who squeezed his hand when the needle came out. He had even forgotten to put on the headphones by the time the needle was out. And you did keep your word of spoiling him with his favorite ice cream.
“The second bowl is gonna melt, so you might as well eat it with me…” he mumbled between bites.
In a few months Loki was practically fully recovered and soon he was starting his rehab trainings. And of course, he had already picked a sparring partner.
“Do not go easy on me” Loki stated the first time.
“Oh, you like it rough then?” you grinned as you two circled around each other on the sparring mat. “Duly noted.”
He was not one new to flirtatious exchanges. He had been alive for over a millennium, and he had had plenty lovers before. But for some reason your banter made him flustered and tied his tongue into a knot.
“If I wanted it rough, I’d pick literally anyone else, agent” Loki excused himself. “You couldn’t take me if you tried.”
“Couldn’t I?” you grinned, noticing his cheeks flare up.
Damn you, you tenacious and annoyingly perceptive little thing.
“In a fight, you pest” Loki huffed.
“Ah, bummer” you smiled cheekily.
And while it was true that your human strength wasn’t a match for his regular god-like standards, you actually provided an interesting challenge. Besides, he was still recovering so using his full strength wasn’t an option anyway. You were fast, and you jumped around him like a rabbit and landed the softest blows as he spun around you trying to follow or even read your patterns.
“What’s wrong, is the mighty God of Mischief unable to catch up?” you smiled as you poked his ribs lightly before sneaking away.
You didn’t expect Loki to yelp.
“D-Don’t!”
Your face was puzzled for just a second, but as soon as it had happened, you had put two and two together and grinned in an almost cartoonish way.
“I think this training just became more fun” you smile as you poked him again.
“Do not even think about it!” he huffed, as a nervous smile twitched its way into his lips.
“What happened to not go easy on you? I’m just obeying.” you grinned and started chasing him after.
The way you wiggled your fingers with a mischievous in his direction awoke something primally playful. And as a bright smile appeared on his face, he started running away from you.
“You will never catch me!” he called as he ran.
You laughed and ran after him.
He would never admit it out loud, but the way he felt in that moment was rejuvenating, he hadn’t done something so silly and non-transcendent purely for the sake that it was fun. But you were ditching training to chase him around under the threat of tickling him if you caught him. All for the sake of playing with him like a kid despite both of you being young adults. And even more surprising is that Loki found himself eager to play along, even if the idea of getting tickled made him nervous.
Which… eventually did happen, curse his weakened stamina and aching ankle. That day he also learned to fear when you threatened him with tickles, you were devastating when you wanted to be.
“Nohohoho!” he laughed as your fingers dug onto his stomach. “This is ehehehe cruel!”
By the time you had caught up with him you had already reached the living room and he had tumbled onto the couch.
“Oh my gosh, you’re so ticklish!” you giggle, your finger swirling around his navel.
“Ehehehehe! Get away from there!” he laughed.  “Oh Norns! Stop it!”
“C’mon, Loki, you’re a big guy, you can take it!” you giggled and kneaded his belly sides with your fingers with terrifying skill.
But you were kind enough to give him a break.
“Gods abohohohohove, I’m begging you, dove!” he whined. “Don’t torturehehehehe me like this!”
But it somehow served to strengthen your bond. Loki already had a good concept of you, you were a kind and generous person. You were one of the few people he could’ve called a friend. But seeing you weren’t completely disciplined and were willing to break schedule to have mindless fun was relieving. He feared that living in a S.H.I.E.L.D. building would mean they expected him to become a soldier.
So, he started looking for you out of the designated times you had together. He had come to really like to come and annoy you when you were working, playing with your pencils, hiding your stuff, and of course tickling you to distract you when he was craving your attention… which happened pretty often.
“Lohohohoki!” you whined. “I’m wohohorking!”
“I’m not saying you should stop” he grinned as he skittered his fingers along your ribs and sides, just gently scratching over your thin shirt. “Take this as a test of your focus.”
“Nohohohoho, Loki!” you wheezed. “Ihihihit’s so bahahahad! Stohohohop ihihit!”
“Mm~ I’m not sure” he purred in your ear, knowing damn well how much it made you curl up in a ball. “I kinda like hearing the noises you make, they’re… what’s the word? Cute~”
You screeched as you hid your face with your hands, muffling your laughter. Norns, you were so precious. He may have been teasing you when he said you were cute, but he meant it.
You were a lovely company, helping him heal by doing his routines and rehabilitation regimes, while he reviewed the files regarding New Asgard. You massaged his healing ankle while Loki read the documents that were handed to him.
“This is absolutely atrocious!” Loki scoffed smacking the files. “What is this, Infinity Conez? Who approved this? Look at this! Thanos getting the Infinity Stones is a universal tragedy, but to my people more than anyone!”
“Well, that’s why Thor created the New Asgard Council” you reminded him. “He gets help ruling Asgard, and Asgard gets a group of capable people leading them. You have voice and vote.”
“They will hear about this” Loki said firmly. “I will not allow my people to see that when they go to the market! That’s just disrespectful and heartless!”
“I agree with that” you nodded. “I’d be hurt to see something that traumatic turned into an attraction, there must be a better way to make an ice cream store. What about B-Ice Frost?”
“B-Ice Frost?” Loki asked.
“Yeah! A rainbow bridge themed ice cream store that actually gives a nod to your culture” you suggested. “The logo could an ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles.”
“Hmm, I’ll notify that suggestion,” Loki nodded as he wrote it down. “Thank you.”
Months into knowing each other and spending a ridiculous amount of time together, and Loki started noticing how being around you boosted his mood, he couldn’t stop thinking about certain details about you, like the way you played with your hands when you were nervous, or how you scrunched up your nose slightly when you smiled at him, how your eyes sparkled when you were assigned a new project you had been excited for, the butterflies in his belly when you placed your hands on him even to greet him or help him stretch before training. And…
Oh Gods… he was falling in love with you.
For a while he didn’t know what to do with himself. He tried carrying himself normally. But it was overwhelming the way he felt about you, it took one look in your direction, and he felt his heart racing. Trying to avoid you didn’t work either, because his entire being craved being around you, so that didn’t last too long. So, at some point, he stopped fighting it. He knew there was no way a being as good as you would even look in his direction, he was a monster, who had done unforgivable things to your planet.
Surely, your kindness had a limit. Surely, once he was fully healed, you’d forget about him. In fact, Loki feared the day he’d be considered fully recovered and you’d abandon him.
“C’mon, lazybones. We’re late for training” you grinned as you pulled him from the couch.
“I do not feel like training today” Loki yawned as he stretched out his arms to you as an invitation to hug him. “Why don’t we watch a movie? You can choose.”
The way your resolve faltered was beyond endearing. Even if you two weren’t anything, it was common knowledge you were what they called a cuddle bug.
“Loki… it’s important you do your rehab exercises” you said softly.
“I am not in the mood for training” Loki repeated.
“Oh, is that how it is?” you said in a playful yet menacing tone. “I’ll have to persuade you then.”
“What? N-No! D-dohohon’t!” Loki burst out laughing when he felt your fingers over his belly. “Nohohoho! Not thehehehehere!”
“Get up!” you teased him as your fingers pinched the sides of his stomach.
“I don’t wahahahant to!” Loki laughed as he kicked the cushions with his heels. “I’m comfortable hehehehere!”
“It’s important you do your exercises, it’s part of your rehab!” you insisted. “C’mon, doctor’s orders.”
“I dohohohon’t follow a mortal’s— ahaha orders!” he wheezed when you found that damned spot below his navel.
“Then I’m not stopping, you’ll spend the evening as a giggly wiggly worm.”
He had to give you something, you knew exactly how to make him squirm. His hips were bucking trying to stop you and his hands were pushing your wrist, but he wasn’t used to dealing with a normal human’s strength, so he didn’t want to risk hurting you.
“Pleahahahase! Cut it— OW!”
Immediately you jolted and stop everything you were doing, cupping your hands over your mouth and looking at him horrified.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” you asked.
“Yes, I’m quite alright. My back aches… that is all.” He assured you as he sat back up.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve been more careful, you’re still recovering.”
“Oh no, the back pain has been with me for quite a few years already” he said, wanting to ease your conscious.
“What…?”
“Well, yes. The Black Order aren’t exactly kind when they force you into their lines.” Loki said simply. “The pain comes back every so often.”
“I’m sorry…” you look at him. “Can I help?”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you could d—”  
You surprised him by sitting behind him and started rubbing his shoulders, softly at first, feeling him.
“No wonder you are sore, you’re stiff like a board” you said feeling around his spine, soon starting to add more pressure.
He let out a few groans, it hurt a bit at first as you undid the knots of stress of his shoulders. He sighed as he soon felt himself slipping away.
“C’mere” you spoke with utmost softness, as you helped Loki rest on his stomach just to keep massaging his back. “Hehe, you take up most of the couch, I kinda forget how tall you are sometimes.”
“Sorry…” he yawned no even filtering his thoughts.
“It’s okay” you said amusedly, “it’s not a bad thing.”
Your hands rubbed his back with gentle and caring touch. You were so kind and meticulous. Your skill might be up for debate, you were good, but someone much pickier could argue there were professional masseuse that were much better. Perhaps that was true, but no one else had touched him so lovingly, so selflessly. You took your time, and he even noticed every so often you stopped to stretch your fingers that grew tired, but you didn’t complain, you didn’t stop.
He didn’t know when or for how long, but when he woke up you were still massaging your back.
“You snore when you sleep” you spoke in the softest voice, he didn’t want to get his hopes up, but you seemed endeared. “Had a nice nap?”
“Probably the best nap I’ve had since I was maybe 150 years old.” He said, letting out a chuckle at your confusion. “I was still a toddler by then.”
“I’m glad… you really seemed like you needed it” you said softly. “Do you feel better?”
He let out a yawn and stretch, rolling over on his back to look at you.
“Much better, thank you” he smiled politely.
“No problem…” you said with a shyness that was unfamiliar for him, he even got to see the pleasure to see a lovely blush adorning your cheeks. “Um… w-well… I’ll go to… you know…”
“Ah, of course…” he muttered as he saw you run off.
He was a little bit disappointed, but he tried not to think too much about your attitude for the sake of his sanity. Of course, he failed. It was the only thing he could think about
It made him build up the courage to go out for town and buy a bouquet. He thought about red roses, but he saw a bouquet of violets and purple sweet peas and white roses, he just knew that was the one.
He even used his phone for a change to ask you to meet him in the compounds garden, he hated using his cellphone. He had asked Banner to let him use his therapy flower greenhouse. He calculated the hour for the prettiest sky colors to ensure a romantic setting for his love declarations.
Minutes earlier his heart was thumping so loud it was drumming in his ears. He felt his mouth dry, and he was sweaty.
“Loki?” he finally heard your voice as you walked in.
“Over here!” he called as he set his bouquet, behind him, barely hiding it behind himself. “H-Hi… Thanks for coming.”
“No problem” you smiled. “I didn’t know you wanted to try Bruce’s gardening therapy. That’s really good.”
“N-No… I— Uh… I just wanted to… have some privacy.”
“Oh?” you asked as you sat behind him.
“I just… wanted to uh, give you this… as a thank you” Loki said, handing you the bouquet. “You’ve been exceedingly kind to me for months, helping me heal, keeping me in check, and that massage the other day… it really helped me feel better.”
“It’s been my pleasure. You’ve been a lovely patient” you said sweetly as you smelled the flowers.
“T-That’s not the only reason why I wanted to… see you here…” Loki barely spoke out, his mouth felt dry, and he felt lightheaded. “You’ve been a delightful company and a wonderful friend… I can’t say that about a lot of people, and probably even less can say the same thing about myself…”
“That’s not true.” You cut him off. “You’re funny, well-mannered, smart, educated, charmingly stubborn, and a stimulating company. There’s not a boring moment with you around.”
Loki’s cheeks flushed at your sweet words, you weren’t even trying to, but his heart fluttered.
“T-That’s why I mean, you are… a— uh… this is ah— not easy to say… but you… um… I appreciate you.”
“I like you too, you’re a lovely friend” you said sweetly.
“N-No… I am not trying to be friendly” Loki said in a quick gasp of courage. “I-I would like to f-formally court you.”
“Court me…?”
“I think here on Midgard it’s addressed as dating…” Loki said, bracing himself for rejection.
“I’d love to.”
“What…?” Loki asked.
“I’d love to go out with you” you said, gently kissing his cheek.
Loki grinned happily.
“Tomorrow at 8?” Loki offered, “I— we could go to a nice restaurant, I’ll take you there. I could ask for a chauffeur to take us… we— we could…”
You surprised him with a little poke on the ribs, that cut him off with the urge to giggle.
“8 is perfect, I’ll drive us to wherever you like” you smiled, “Just pick a restaurant. But, how about tonight I take you for a nice dinner inside and a movie on the lounge room?”
“I’d like that, very much” Loki smiled softly as he pressed his forehead against yours.
He saw you intertwine your fingers with his own, causing him to smile. You lovely thing. It was a lovely sensation. As you pulled him up to his feet, so he’d follow you inside. Which he did with a bright smile.
What a lovely life he had found on Earth.
| MASTERPOST |
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lychniis · 2 months
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⚘ ― EVENFALL ! ( valentines day event ).
( # )ㅤ evenfallㅤ —ㅤ twilight ; dusk. the period or the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night.
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syn. a valentines day / white day event inspired by hozier lyrics ( and also seconding as my 1000 follower event i suppose XD ). feel free to drop by and select a prompt from the list below alongside a flower / genre. you could always opt for more flowers. however please note that minors are not allowed to request for / interact with nsfw works. please note that the maximum character limit is three.
this was more of a last minute bout of silliness, but i'd love to write some requests for you guys after supporting me and my bs for nearly two years now XD. so hey hey, my inbox is open to be raided! i'm currently taking this event for genshin impact and honkai star rail!
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prompts. the prompts and flowers available are listed below. you can request a single prompt + one of more flowers of your choice! you could also add some additional suggestions if you'd like, say a setting or an au or a scenario! requests close by the 20th of febuary. i'll start posting on white day, march 14th.
daisy — fluff.
hyacinth — angst.
tulip — crack / humor.
orchid — smut.
i. ❛ there’s nothing sweeter than my baby. ❜
ii. ❛ no grave can hold my body down, i’ll crawl home to her. ❜
iii. ❛ you knew who i was with every step that i ran to you. ❜
iv. ❛ some like to imagine. the dark caress of someone else. i guess any thrill will do. ❜
v. ❛ honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes. i feel like a person for a moment of my life. ❜
vi. ❛ i’d suffer hell if you’d tell me what you’d do to me tonight. ❜
vii. ❛ honey please, try to love me. my love will never die. ❜
viii. ❛ know that i would gladly be the icarus to your certainty, oh my sunlight. ❜
ix. ❛ you don’t understand, you should never know, how easy you are to need. ❜
x. ❛ idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword. ❜
xi. ❛ honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips. ❜
xii. ❛ i'm so full of love I could barely eat. ❜
xiii. ❛ honey you're familiar, like my mirror years ago. ❜
xiv. ❛ i know who i am when i’m alone. i’m something else when i see you. ❜
xv. ❛ there’s something tragic about you. ❜
xvi. ❛ there’s nothing sweeter than my baby. ❜
xvii. ❛ still my heart is heavy with the hate of some other man’s beliefs. ❜
xviii. ❛ i’ve known the warmth of your doorways. through the cold, i’ll find my way back to you. ❜
xix. ❛ screaming the name of a foreigner's god, the purest expression of grief. ❜
xx. ❛ i couldn’t utter my love when it counted, but i’m singing like a bird about it now.
xxi. ❛ the only heaven i’ll be sent to is when i’m alone with you. ❜
xxii. ❛ i’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies. ❜
xxiii. ❛ i have never known peace like the damp grass that yields to me. ❜
xxiv. ❛ honey please, try to love me. my love will never die. ❜
xxv. ❛ i had been lost to you, sunlight, and flew like a moth to you. ❜
xxvi. ❛ it’s not my arms that will fail me, but this world takes more strength than it gave me. ❜
xxvii. ❛ i need you to run to me, run until you feel your lungs bleeding. ❜
xxviii. ❛ i will not ask where you came from. i will not ask and neither should you. ❜
xxix. ❛ be still, my foolish heart. don't ruin this on me. ❜
xxx. ❛ honey, i wanna race you to the table, if you hesitate, the getting is gone. ❜
( all the dialog prompts presented here are taken from songs by hozier. i own none of them. )
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EVENT WORKSㅤ •ㅤ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN
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david-talks-sw · 11 months
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More George Lucas debunking misconceptions about the Prequel Jedi:
"Anakin killed the Jedi in retaliation. They failed him, betrayed him and didn't allow him to have a relationship, so he killed them all."
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"[In Revenge of the Sith] The controversy is going to be that people expect some horrible, horrific thing to happen to [Anakin] that caused him to [become Darth Vader]. It's much subtler. It's something that everybody faces— when you're looking at yourself, you can see your good and your bad, and say, "Is this a selfish choice or is this a compassionate choice? And once I get something, what would I do to keep from losing it? Would I make a pact with the devil to keep it?" - Entertainment Weekly #785, 2004
"… some of the people had a hard time with the reason that Anakin goes bad. [...] They wanted a real betrayal, such as, "You tried to kill me so now I'm going to try and kill you." They didn't seem to understand the fact that Anakin is simply greedy. There is no revenge." - The Making of Revenge of The Sith, page 188
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"The rest of the Jedi have dogmatically forgotten how to love out of fear of having attachments, Qui-Gon is the only one who knows that you can love people selflessly, without getting possessive."
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"The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he can't hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn't willing to accept emotionally and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he'd have been taken in his first year and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn't have this particular connection as strong as it is and he'd have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them. But he has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padmé and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation." - Attack of the Clones, Director’s Commentary, 2002
"Obviously, it’s a progression. But in [Attack of the Clones], you begin to see that he has a fear of losing things, fear of losing his mother. And as a result, he wants to begin to control things, he wants to become more powerful. And these are not Jedi traits. And part of this is because he started to be trained so late in life, that he had already formed these attachments. And for a Jedi, attachment is forbidden. You can love people, but you have to love them unconditionally, in terms that you can’t hold on to them." - CNN, “Countdown to the Clones”, 2002
"The Jedi are trained to let go. They're trained from birth. They’re not supposed to form attachments. They can love people - in fact, they should love everybody. They should love their enemies; they should love the Sith. But they can't form attachments. So what all these movies are about is: greed. Greed is a source of pain and suffering for everybody. And the ultimate state of greed is the desire to cheat death." - The Making of Revenge of The Sith, page 213
"Ultimately for a Jedi Knight, it’s very easy to give up. One of the things they give up is marriage. They can still love people. But they can’t possess them. They can’t own them. They can’t demand that they do things. They have to be able to accept the fact, one, their mortality, that they are going to die. And not worry about it. That the loved ones they have, everything they love is going to die and they can’t do anything about it." - Celebration V, Main Event, 2010
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"The Jedi in The High Republic are the Jedi in their prime/heyday. By the time of the Prequels, they've become political and dispassionate/prohibitive."
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"[In Phantom Menace] you see the heyday of the Jedi, when they are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, sort of like the old marshals out West. And there's thousands of them." - Vanity Fair, 1999
"We've actually never seen real Jedi at work, we've only seen crippled half-droid half-men, and young boys that had learned from these old people. So to see a Jedi in his prime fighting in the prime of the Jedi, I want it to be a much more energetic and faster version of what we've been doing." - The Phantom Menace, “Fights”, 2001
"Jedi Knights aren't celibate - the thing that is forbidden is attachments - and possessive relationships." - BBC News, 2002
"[When Obi-Wan talks to Anakin about politicians, we learn about] the Jedi’s disenchantment with the political process, due to the corruption and the ineffectiveness of the Senate." - Attack of the Clones, Director’s Commentary, 2002
"The Jedi aren't really allowed to be involved in the political process. They're [present in the Senate when Palpatine is given emergency powers], but they can't suddenly step up and say, "No, no. You can't do that." They have to let the political process go." - Attack of the Clones, Commentary Track #2, 2002
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𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞
Summary: Captured by Danes as a young child, you never thought you'd escape...until you were saved by a certain baby monk.
Warnings: triggering content (past sexual assault), PTSD, flashbacks, angst, Osferth being a sweetie (aka fluff), crisis of faith, and religious talks
word count | 5.3k🤙🏻
part 1 | part 2
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You didn’t remember much before you were captured by the Danes.
You were just a little thing, barely even old enough to take care of yourself. So when your family was killed in front of you, you had no choice but to be subjected to the wills of your captors. You couldn’t run, you couldn’t fight, you couldn’t scream. It was a hellish existence, demons always right behind you, breathing down your neck.
You were forced to grow up with these savages, watching them pillage and murder like they didn’t know how to do anything else. They tried to make you like them, but even as a child, your family instilled such a strong faith in you that to become like a Dane was unthinkable. And they tried to break you, so many times, almost allowing the demons following your every move get closer and closer. But as you made your way into womanhood with still no cracks in your convictions, they decided you were no good for anything but work and…other things.
Getting used almost every day by your captors was the only thing that threatened to break your spirit. They were callous, uncaring about your pain, further proof that Danes were the source of all evil and that you’d eventually die by their hands.
You were always numb; unmoving. To anyone else, you may have looked lifeless if not for the man above you using your body like you were his own personal toy.
Sometimes, you wish to be killed, even thinking about disobeying or fighting back just to have your wishes fulfilled. Most of all, you wished death upon your master. You wished to be the one to kill him. But you were only a woman, inferior, weak. But your spirit was strong, it must’ve been to survive every single torturous exchange by the hands of your master. And that was something no one would ever be able to take away from you, or so you hoped.
One day, you snapped. You actually tried to fight back, but that only got you punished so severely, you didn’t wake for days. After that, you started to wonder, if God did exist, why did He let all this happen to you? Why did He let one of his children be violated each and every day, let you be beaten and forced to do the Danes’ bidding? It didn’t make any sense. You hated Him…you fucking hated Him. You couldn't devote your life to some being that seemed indifferent to suffering. But ironically, it made your existence as a Dane’s slave much worse, now that you had nothing to hope for. No warrior of God would come to save you, no reward at the end of your life, no “well done, my good and faithful servant,” once you got to Heaven.
You completely gave in to your fate, not even bothering to fight back or argue with your masters anymore, thus, allowing your demons to take over.
As the days went on after your loss of faith, the idea of staying in the company of the Danes got more and more unbearable. As your master was using you for his own pleasure for the umpteenth time, you decided that you wouldn’t take it anymore. Taking your own life was thought to be a sin in your religion, but then you remembered, you didn’t follow it anymore. So really, you had nothing to lose.
But then, your master was suddenly pulled away and turned around, blocking the view of the culprit. Perhaps it was another man who was tired of waiting his turn.
Then you felt a splash of something wet. It was red, it stained your dress and skin. Blood. Your master’s blood, you were covered in it. A sword had been pushed through his stomach, all the way until it stuck out his back. Only when he fell to the ground could you see who killed him.
It was a young man, no older than you were. He was wide eyed in panic, his blue irises piercing even in the dim lighting of the room. His eyebrows were furrowed in a way that expressed concern that was directed towards your frozen form. He looked as though he did not know whether to help you or run away, or to cry really. “Are you alright, miss?” He asked as soft as his voice, but you didn’t know how to respond. No, you weren’t but yes, you were, now that your evil master was dead. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise. You’re safe now.” 
Safe? What did safe even mean? You’ve never known what it was like to be safe, why would following this man be any different?
“My lord will keep you safe, he is an honorable man.” You looked down from the young man’s face to his chest, seeing a wooden cross hanging loosely from his neck. You could have laughed, the irony was not lost on you, of course. “You don’t have to, of course. But…you’re bleeding. Please, let me help clean your wounds, at least.” He was…giving you a choice? You’ve never been allowed a choice before. He cautiously held out his larger hand towards you, his innocent pleading eyes almost mirroring yours from a long time ago, whereas now yours were blank and cold from years of torture. But seeing his seemingly caring expression, you figured it couldn’t get much worse. Everything horrible that life had to offer had already been done to you.
You were surprised how warm his hand was as you shakingly reached out to it, every other hand that has touched you always so rough and cold, but his weren’t. “It’s okay…” He spoke so softly, you almost had to strain to hear him. You were like a baby deer, him being so afraid to spook you, but he just didn’t know you still had a death wish.
When the Coccham squad came across your little village, it was chaos. Danes, killing and assaulting each other, they had only heard horror stories about places like these villages. Danes weren’t normally like this, Uhtred could attest to that. Danes took care of each other, they never would kill one of their own without reason. At least, that’s how Uhtred saw it. This village you were in, there was no saving them. They had encountered a few Danes from your village on the road, and friendly they were not. They had killed one of Uhtred’s men, and he wouldn’t let that slide.
There were many slaves in the village, you being one of them. Uhtred and his team snuck in and killed every Dane they could find, freeing every slave in the process. Osferth had grown more confident in his fighting skills, didn’t cry every time he killed someone, and the thought he’d be helping people in the process made it easier. Uhtred didn’t feel he needed to be babysat anymore, he trusted that he could take care of himself. So everyone split up throughout the village to cover more ground, and it must’ve been some sort of luck or divine intervention that Osferth found you.
Osferth wasn’t completely naïve anymore, having more experiences with Uhtred’s team in the couple years spent with him than his whole life of being a monk. But when he came upon you being violated by your master, the first thought that went through his head was how could someone do that to someone else? Anger coursed through his veins, an anger that he’d never felt before, a dangerous anger that scared him. For the first time, he felt pleasure in taking someone’s life. The filth that was rutting against you deserved the most painful death anyone could possibly imagine, but Osferth just wanted to save you as quickly as he could, thrusting his sword into the creature’s chest. He didn’t even have time to savor the moment, wanting to make sure you were okay.
You were bleeding, wounds and bruises all over your body. But what was most concerning for Osferth, was the fact that you didn’t seem bothered at all. There was no light behind your eyes, like you were alive but not really living. Which makes sense considering all you must’ve gone through over the years. He didn’t want to scare you, speaking as softly as he could without being inaudible. But you didn’t flinch, not even when he reached out to you. You took his hand without question, and Osferth didn’t know if he should’ve been relieved or even more worried.
Osferth brought you to a secluded part of the village, where no dead bodies could be seen. You’ve probably seen worse, but he didn’t want to subject you to any horrors, even if those dead bodies brought you just as much harm as the man he killed himself. He sat you down gently, near a water well, using the cool water to wash away your master’s blood that mixed with yours.
You didn’t speak as he helped soothe some of your wounds, and he started to wonder if you were mute or simply too traumatized. “I am Osferth. What’s your name, miss?” He asked, breaking the tense silence. But you didn’t answer, staring ahead despondently. Osferth smiled weakly, slightly shaking his head. “That’s alright. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to. Whenever you’re ready.” If you were ever ready, that was.
Osferth led you to where they set up camp just outside your village, sitting you down outside his tent next to a fire to warm you. You looked slightly worried at the man that was cleaning blood off his weapons, but seeing a similar cross around his neck, you didn’t feel you needed to run or fight. “This is Finan, he also helped free your village.”
“Why’d you bring her here?” Finan asked.
Osferth blushed. “I thought…she could travel with us, if she has nowhere else to go. Or if she wants to.”
Finan scoffed a laugh. “Did she tell you she wanted to?” But Osferth stayed quiet. “Uhtred will not be happy about another mouth to feed.”
“Uhtred will understand.” Osferth insisted, not leaving any room for argument, forcing Finan into a begrudging silence.
Suddenly, Osferth heard you let out a panicked gasp, whimpering and pulling out of his delicate grasp. He looked behind himself where you were staring, seeing his lord Uhtred. “A Dane…” You trembled fearfully.
“No, no, no, that’s my lord, Uhtred. He’s not gonna hurt you. He’s a good man.” Osferth tried to reassure you, but your fearful expression didn’t change.
“Osferth?” Uhtred spoke, looking back at you in curiosity.
Osferth placed you inside of his tent and went to Uhtred to push him away to speak with him. “I’m sorry, my lord. But I feel it is best if you don’t let her see you. She’s terrified of Danes.”
“You know I’d never hurt a woman.” Uhtred hissed, offended.
“She…her master was assaulting her when I saved her.” He whispered, Uhtred’s expression darkening. “Please just, let me take care of her.”
“Osferth, I’m sorry, but she’s not our concern. We have to travel back to Coccham and-”
“In all respect, my lord, I don’t care. I wanna help her…okay?”
Uhtred sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Alright, Osferth, fine. But she’s your responsibility.”
“...thank you, lord.”
Osferth grimaced when he saw you flinch when he entered his tent, carrying a bowl of hot soup. “My lady,” He kneeled down beside you, holding out the bowl, “you must be hungry? It’s not much, but it’ll push the hunger pains away for a little while.”
You took the bowl wordlessly, closing your eyes in contentment at the taste. “Thank you…” You whispered, trying your best to give him a weak smile. “For saving me.”
Osferth couldn’t help but blush under your grateful gaze, a bashful smile gracing his own face. “I was only doing the right thing, miss.”
You didn’t speak much throughout the journey back to Coccham, only thanking Osferth whenever he brought you food and drink. Nobody pushed you to talk, knowing only what Osferth told them was enough to try to give you your space. But in the rare times you did speak, you never spoke to anyone except Osferth. He figured it was because he was possibly the first friendly face you had encountered. He saved your life, perhaps it formed some sort of attachment.
Osferth could tell him getting you to join them was a bit of an annoyance to the rest of the group, and the fact you only ever responded to him didn’t make matters any better. But he wanted to make sure you were okay, he wouldn’t be a good man if he just left you back at the village. Though, he felt ashamed, but he kind of liked that he was the only one you spoke to. He decided you just needed some time to get adjusted to a new free life, and maybe a few weeks in Coccham would give you some comfort.
You never expected you’d get to share a little home, having been used to just sleeping on a dirt ridden blanket on the floor, or even having been forced to sleep in a barn with the animals. So that fact that you had your own bed, it brought tears to your eyes, reminding you of a time when you were with people who actually cared about you. Perhaps Osferth was trying to be that for you again, though you didn’t know how you felt about sharing a house with him, even if for a time until your own house was made should you choose to stay.
Even though you didn’t have much, you found yourself unpacking what little you had and placed the various things around your new room just to distract yourself. You never had a room to decorate before, you immediately thought of plants, flowers that could survive in the winter. Pansies, which you remembered being your mother’s favorite. 
You looked down at your hand, clutching the only thing you had left of your family; a small amber gemstone. You had done everything you could to keep this with you over the years, hiding it from your masters where they would never find it. But now that you’re free of them, you have no use to hide it anymore. You thought it would look nice on your own small mantel in your room. Turning around towards your mantel, you froze when you saw Osferth standing in your doorframe, leaning against the wall. “Settling in okay?”
You nodded meekly. “Yes.” You whispered, ignoring the nerves in your gut and walking to place the amber on the mantel, unwanted tears coming to your eyes at the sight, wiping them away before they even had a chance to fall.
“May I ask what happened to you, miss?” Osferth asked softly, but immediately regretted it when your face fell. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Please, forgive me.”
You shook your head. “It’s alright…it’s natural to be curious, I suppose.” You paused, clearly contemplating the right action before a pained expression came over your visage. “I’d prefer not to speak of it…” You sighed heavily.
“Of course…I’ll leave you to it then.”
You didn’t know why you had a pang of disappointment when Osferth left, his presence somehow more comforting than when you were alone. You chose to ignore it. Though, it seems like Osferth himself had trouble staying away from you. Whether it was just checking up on you or simply wanting to be in your company, he was practically attached to you from the hip. You still had issues talking to anyone else, Osferth would help you get your point across whenever you needed. Despite his lack of personal space, you were thankful for him. He never let anyone push you to speak, or even try to talk to you without your permission for that matter. He was a bit overprotective, but you’d never experienced it before, or at least haven’t in a long, long time. It was nice to feel cared for, even if you still had difficulty trusting said kindness.
For Osferth, he fell for you pretty quickly. Despite having matured much in Uhtred’s company, his heart was still prone to a sort of childlike wonder and optimism, certain traits like those often getting him picked on by his friends. Though, Osferth never wanted his heart to harden like the company he kept. He never wanted to be a brooding pessimist like his lord, nor use sarcasm as a defense mechanism like he’s seen Finan or Sihtric do so often. He was always taught to be kind to others, not to judge as that’s the Lord’s business to judge. Those traits instilled in him from birth, it was no wonder he always fell fast and hard. 
Osferth thought he had been in love several times, from women he had one night stands with to women who politely smiled in his direction…another thing he got picked on about. You were no exception. As soon as he laid his eyes on you, even with the circumstances, he thought you were the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. And that opinion never seemed to lessen in its sincerity, in fact, it seemed to deepen the more he spent time with you.
The more time you stayed in Coccham, the more your true personality started to show. Now that you weren’t fearing for your life constantly, Osferth noticed you had a decent sense of humor. You would understand his jokes and chuckle at them, still too shy to allow yourself a full belly laugh, but he was more than content with what you managed to give him. Every giggle you made always caused blood to rush to his cheeks…and a little other places, though he felt guilty every time it happened. He never wanted to make you uncomfortable in any way.
Osferth attempted to hide his shock when one day you approached him, asking him to teach you how to defend yourself, but his eyes widened despite his attempts, causing you to shy away but he didn’t let you. He was elated that you wanted to learn, and in all honesty, Osferth would feel a lot more at ease if he knew you could defend yourself.
Osferth still wasn’t the most skilled at combat, everything he learned from Finan, so he figured the Irishman would be the most qualified for the job. But soon into the session, he realized it was the worst idea he had ever had. Finan was serious about combat, never taking it easy when teaching Osferth, he didn’t know why he thought he would be gentle with you. He seemed to overwhelm you pretty quickly, knocking your training sword out of your hands with ease, just to tease you, which you obviously didn’t appreciate. Finan was prone to being a bit aggressively playful, which is tolerated and even enjoyed by some, but it was not what you needed at that moment. Every parry by Finan, who had a constant smirk on his face, seemed to upset you more and more…until something seemed to snap in you.
The dull sword shook in your hands, a feeling of overwhelming panic washing over you. You couldn’t tell why, you were in a safe environment where you knew no one would intentionally hurt you, but as you watched Finan attempt to strike at you with his own sword, you only saw your former master.
You blocked Finan’s blow out of pure instinct and fear, but he only saw it as that you were learning, earning praise from him. “Good.” But it wasn’t his voice, there was no accent that resembled Finan’s at all, nor pitch. It was him. Could you never escape?
Fearfully, like a cornered animal, you swung at the man wildly. No technique or thought behind the blows, all you wanted was your sight to be rid of him. You sobbed and screamed, desperate to escape, desperate to kill. But the man kept evading your blows with ease, mocking laughter filling your ears, spurring you on further in a rage. You felt your blade hit something, and an almost feeling of relief washed over you, but it wasn’t enough. You barely could sense your surroundings, up until you felt a pair of arms wrap around you.
Osferth was frozen as he watched the interactions, unsure of the best decision and terrified of making the wrong one. It was clear you weren’t there anymore, not really, your mind forced back into the state you were before you were rescued, but no one else clued in on it. Not even Finan, who he figured was just playfully excited that you were being more aggressive, making the training session all the more worthwhile. But Osferth saw the frightened look on your face, immediately telling him that something was wrong. He finally made a move when you had almost connected your blade to his neck, if it had been a non-training sword, would have the capacity to cut Finan’s head clean off. 
Finally, Finan seemed to sense something was wrong too. His laughter stopped and his expression fell, realizing that you were actually trying to hurt him. He hesitated for the briefest moment, but that was enough for your sword to actually connect to his body. The dull blade hit his shoulder, your fear seemingly amplifying your strength, making Finan fall on the cold ground. “Hey, hey, hey-!” Finan started to shout in a panic as you surged forward, your sword raised above your head, prepared to strike. But Osferth came to Finan’s rescue, and yours too.
Osferth wrapped his arms around you, ripping the sword from your hands quickly to prevent further injuries. You flailed about, screaming to the top of your lungs, demanding he let you go. But he knew he couldn’t, not when you were like this, a danger to others but most of all, yourself. All he thought to do in the moment was whisk you away, back to your shared home. “I thought this was only supposed to be training, lass, not an actual fight!” Finan called out angrily.
“Don’t.” Osferth called out sternly, shocking the Irishman and the rest of his friends.
Osferth tried his very best to use soothing words to calm you down as he walked you back to your home, guiding you to your bed and repeating that you were safe. Whatever you think you saw wasn’t real. Once you realized you were indeed safe, you clinged onto Osferth, your arms tightening around his shoulders, not allowing him to leave your side, not that he ever wanted to. He’d stay by your side forever if he could. But you settled, slowly releasing him from your grip, your expression bashful and ashamed; Osferth could already tell where your mind was at.
“I don’t know what happened…” You whispered, your voice cracking. “I-I was fine one moment and then…” You whimpered, huffing angrily, willing yourself not to burst into tears again. You relaxed again slightly when Osferth ran a soothing hand up and down your back, his presence more than comforting. He started to feel…like a safe space. “I kept seeing him…in my mind’s eye. The image wouldn’t go away and I felt like I was back in that village, back in his house and forced to-” You quickly cut yourself off, not sure if you were even ready to say the words out loud.
Osferth shook his head, grabbing a hold of your hand and squeezing gently. “You don’t have to say any more.” he reassured. “You’re safe here. No one's ever gonna hurt you again, not while I’m still breathing. One day, all those memories will become so distant they’ll be like a dream. It won’t hurt as much anymore. Time heals all. You’ll see.” Your gaze was so transfixed onto him, Osferth thought the skin of his cheeks would burst from all the blood that rushed to them. His own gaze fleeted from your eyes to your lips, over and over again on a loop, his own lips tingling with the thought of how easy it would be to just…lean forward and make that connection.
But no, Osferth respected you too much. He’d never push your boundaries, nor with anyone, but especially not with you. He tried to ignore your confused expression as he quietly excused himself, stating that you should find rest, leaving your bedroom in a hurry, retreating to his own room to steady his rapidly beating heart. Maybe it was a mistake to have you living with him…
Even after your first lesson not going the way you planned, you still wanted to learn to fight. Finan, unsurprisingly, was more than hesitant to teach you again, so it was up to Osferth, not that he minded. He let you take a couple days to gather yourself, recover, for it was best to train with a clear head. Unlike Finan, Osferth went more easy on you, giving you a fair challenge but not babying you. You seemed to have more fun with Osferth’s training style, a determined smile on your face never falling during that first lesson. He figured you appreciated his style, but you just loved being around him regardless of the situation, not that you’d ever admit this. Not yet, at least. And slowly but surely, over the course of a couple weeks, you felt you’d be able to handle yourself with a sword. The feeling was empowering, knowing you’d be able to fight and hold your own. All thanks to Osferth.
You still had much to learn, but you just had to thank Osferth for all he had done for you. After a training session, he looked so…pretty. Sweat beaded his brow, his chest expanding with each deep breath he took, a proud smile on his face at your progress. You didn’t think before you kissed his cheek, a shocked expression coming over your face as well as his. You almost regretted it until he grinned widely, his eyes sparkling with pure joy, making your heart warm. “Thank you, sweet Osferth, for everything.”
You had finally started to find some semblance of peace with your life in Coccham, mostly because of Osferth. Most of the time, you were content, spending time training with the baby monk being the highlights of the day. You just wished it was always day. You wished the sun never set and the world was never covered in darkness, you started to despise it. You realized that nights were the worst.
Every shadow you might’ve seen, or any twig that snapped under the pressure of various wildlife that were roaming their woods, it always startled you, pushing you to the verge of a panic attack. You felt so vulnerable in the darkness. Constantly. It didn’t help that the company you kept didn’t even try to keep themselves out of trouble, if anything they went out of their way to find trouble. While that might not have been exactly true, your traumatized mind found the extreme in everything.
You could scarcely find sleep with tossing and turning in fear and paranoia that your master would rise from the grave to steal you away again. You’d always finally find sleep once the sun had already started to rise. It was frustrating, you were angry that your mind still tormented you so. You were free now, so why couldn’t your mind comprehend it?
You knew you were fitful in your sleep, whenever you managed to find it. But no one had ever mentioned you making much noise when traveling back to Coccham, until one night. 
Even after staying in this new town for over a month now, you still had such bad nightmares in the form of embellished memories, your subconscious making them seem even worse. One particular nightmare had you gasping awake, a scream escaping your mouth as you sat straight up in your bed in a cold sweat, your heart beating so fast you thought it would stop.
Osferth had heard you from across the little house, immediately brandishing his sword to frighten away or kill whatever or whoever dared to hurt you. But unfortunately, Osferth’s sword couldn’t scare away your own mind. “My lady?” He asked, panicking at your state.
You were hysterical, unable to even say more than stuttering apologies. Osferth went straight to you, ignoring the boundaries he set for himself just for you, bringing your shaking frame into his arms to try to soothe you, cooing comforting words in your ears. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s okay now, sweet girl. You’re okay, you’re safe.”
“Osferth…” You spoke in broken sobs, leaning into his touch while your body heaved with the pain of your memories.
“I’m here, love. I’m here.” Osferth’s heart broke for you, just imagining what you might’ve gone through to have nightmares that elicited such reactions from you. It also brought back that similar dangerous anger that rooted itself deep in his heart, making him hold you tighter, his expression hardening and willed anyone who was curious to keep away lest they wanted to be up close and personal with his fists.
After a few minutes of crying onto Osferth’s chest, your body finally started to stop shaking. “I’m sorry…bad dreams.” You stuttered, even though they weren’t just dreams.
“You have nothing to apologize for, my lady. I can’t imagine…” Osferth sighed, choosing not to finish that sentence. “I hate that you are troubled so. Is there anything I can do to make it better?” He moved to pull away, to fetch you water or whatever you so wished, but he was surprised to find you didn’t want to let him go.
“Can you…stay with me?” You asked timidly. “I’ve learned I don’t like sleeping by myself.”
Osferth’s expression softened, settling himself back beside you, placing an arm over your shoulders to pull you to him gently. “Of course, my lady. I’ll always stay with you, if that’s what you desire. Now, try to get more sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake. I’ll have no harm come to you ever again. I swear on the cross.”
You looked up at him, your eyes heavy with exhaustion, but no sleep could come to you when you had so many questions. “Why are you so kind to me? You don’t have to be, but you are.”
Osferth blushed, smiling bashfully. “It’s the Godly thing to do, miss. Treat others that way you’d want to be treated.”
You frowned. “I’ve never been treated with much kindness throughout my life.”
“It shouldn’t have been that way. You deserved kindness and respect, much like anyone else. But the fact that you yourself are still kind and respectful, despite all you’ve been through, is a testament to how strong you truly are, my lady.” Now it was your turn to blush, hiding your face from his view by cuddling into his chest.
“I don’t feel very strong most days, not with my mind so…shattered.” You sighed, fiddling with the cross necklace he wore. “How do you keep your faith, Osferth, when you’ve seen so much death and cruelty in the world?”
Osferth frowned. “I will not say it isn’t difficult, my lady. But all of this has to have some meaning, doesn’t it? If there is no reward after death for our good deeds, why do we bother at all? My faith remains strong because of all the good I’ve seen, in spite of the bad. The ability to be kind towards others, to show empathy, to protect the ones you love…those are all Godly things, innit?” 
Osferth shifted, moving to sit up, you moving with him with a curious expression decorating your features as he removed his cross. “Here,” He placed the cross around your neck, the feeling of rough callousness of his fingers along the sensitive skin making gooseflesh rise along your body, “I want you to have this, my lady. Perhaps, let it be a reminder that there is good in this world, even if some days it doesn’t feel like it.”
You didn’t realize it until right then, but you were in love with Osferth.
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Don't worry, there's gonna be a part 2. I wouldn't do that to y'all🥰 next part is gonna be even more angst and some smutty smut, so if anyone wants to be tagged for that, just let me know💕
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sunnycanvas · 1 year
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Baldwin iv x Reader Smut
Throne Sex
Warning: Exhibition sex, slight lactation kink, breeding kink and voyeurism
Baldwin iv had felt like happiest man alive. He always wanted to marry someone and have children. He adored his nephew and wished he had his own but sadly Baldwin iv doubted if he is capable of having children. Also not to mention leprosy was thought to be sexually transmitted disease. A punishment from god but that was ridiculous! He never had sexual intercourse with women, he had also never fallen in love before! All his time he dedicated were to his studies, horse riding and swordmanship. How he wished to have a companion. Since he knew he couldn't have children he atleast wanted a wife. No noble man was willing to give their daughters and no woman wanted to marry him also his ministers warned him that it won't be socially acceptable for him to marry since leaporsy was thought to be sexually transmitted. He vowed to live in chastity. He didn't have much of choice anyways. Until he met you. You accepted him . You were aware that his condition won't make it possible to have children with him You were aware of it and accepted him as he is, how rare was it to find someone who genuinely loved him for who he is and didn't judge him as a person who had been cursed by God. Meanwhile you were a person who believed that God loved everyone no matter how they were, you never believed what others told you and made your own judgement, when you learned about leaper king. Your heart pained thinking about poor boy who had to suffer and was harshly being judged. You prayed for the holy land and you prayed for him. When you learned about how he won against saladin in a battle and how much despite his struggle was able to boost morale for his knights you grew to admire him but as you learned more about him you started to fall in love with him. Oh! How you wanted to be his bride and take care of him and be a nice a queen of Jerusalem. Someone who could stay with him and some one whom he could depend on, you requested your father that you wanted to marry the king of Jerusalem.
Your father was shocked "But don't you have ample suitors already some of them king themselves, why would you want to marry a leaper" "God has already shown his divine judgement on him" "He would die anyways within short period of time also you wouldn't have children with him what would be the point in marrying him" you didn't listen but kept pleading your father. Your father was stubborn in his decision so were your other family members. You tried getting help from close relatives but in vain. In desperation you tried contacting distant relatives but alas! The result was same. Except for one ambitious distant relative named Reynold de chatillon who wanted more power decided to use his political power and ended up convincing the king in marrying you. Baldwin iv was beyond enthralled to finally have a wife. To finally have some one whom he could spend his life with he quickly demanded your potrait and when he saw your potrait he was spellbounded . You were beyond beautiful. "A god's gift" he thought . That day he went to church and thanked the gods for giving him support and love. He ensured to get married to you as quickly as possible. He was caught often daydreaming of you. People close to him noticed and started to tease him but he didn't care. He was finally going to have some one as his wife. Before the wedding day he hardly slept. On the wedding day he was happy to finally to marry you. He was shy and you giggled at his shyness. He wanted to break the silence and asked"Where are your parents and siblings my love?" "Also I can't seem to find your relatives here" after hearing this you chocked back your tears and Baldwin iv immediately felt bad. "Nobody came since they don't support this marriage" "My only relative who supported this union couldn't show up". "He said he had his reasons." Baldwin iv internally chewed his cheeks since he suspected he knew what the reason was, Reynold de chatillon was probably at home drinking and celebrating his new found power. Baldwin iv decided not to think of it.
It's not like you are interested in power or throne you are only interested him. Someone who genuinely loves him. He was feeling shy under your gaze and excused himself for drink. He was happily drinking until he overheard his nobles gossiping "Isn't it obvious that this was a power grab move by Reynold de chatillon" "I am suprised that king couldn't realise it" another noble said that "leprosy is probably effecting him badly" "It must have reached his brain as well, he barely pays attention these days" third noble who joined their conversation added "Let's not forget that the king is so weak that he is going to be dominated by his wife" all three of them laughed at this and added how the king was unable to unite barons ever since his sister Sybilla married Guy of Lusignan. Also there were rumours how Raymond iii always secretly wanted the throne but the weak king who banished him knew he needed him so he welcomed him back to court. Baldwin iv was hurt after hearing this conversation. He also felt that about Raymond and banished him from court but remembered that he was only one capable to fend off guy until Baldwin v came of age so he made him regent for his nephew. He once again fell into his insecurity and thought "who would love him" internally. Perhaps you were forced to marry him by his ambitious relative.
He had few more drinks until his face flushed.He was walking staggeringly towards you. Before he reached you his tutor William of tyre stopped him. "You must remember to do your duties tonight" Baldwin iv after hearing this looked at him shocked and said "who would want to perform their duties with a decaying rotten body" his tutored looked at him furious and said "Your grace, you must try to understand that their are no suitable candidates for your crown" "Guy of Lusignan is can't help, your nephew is too young and also you don't have suitable relatives to take your crown as well as a result it is important to do your duty as quickly and effectively and possible or else we will loose this kingdom to your enemies as a result all of us present here will witness you consummate your marriage, by any miracle if your bride happens to be pregnant we will know for sure that it is yours" by now Baldwin iv had tears in his eyes being aware enough about the implication of those words. His tutor realising he made a mistake was about to apologise but he held up his hand to silence him. Immediately his shut his mouth and gave his king congratulations and left. Now Baldwin iv continued walking towards you staggeringly hoping no one would interrupt him this time. He still had hope that you would be different. He also wanted to do his duties as the rightful king of Jerusalem. He loved his country and wanted to retire early but alas! Nobody was capable enough to rule in his place which forced him to remain on throne. He desperately walked towards you seeking your warmth while reminding himself to fulfill his duties as king tonight and try to get you pregnant
You were happily chatting with some noble ladies until you realised that your husband was walking towards you with difficulty. He nearly fell before he reached towards you but quickly grabbed him before he hit the floor. You looked at him worried that made Baldwin iv happy to have some one care for him. Until he heard other nobles mocking and laughing at king for being weak and being dependent on his wife. Baldwin iv was furious. Meanwhile you having no idea what was going decided to check the temperature of king seeing how flushed he was, before you could touch his forehead the king grabbed your hand and stood up. You were confused by his behaviour, suddenly he pulled you closer by waist by another arm and the king started to kiss on front of everyone. Your heart thundered with joy and you forgot about everyone else in room. Baldwin iv noticed his tutor looking at him dissaprovingly but he said "I am the king" "I get to do what I want" "I will rail my bride in front of everyone and you will watch" Some nobles tried to flee the room but he ordered them in low voice"Stay" every one gulped and watched their king. Baldwin iv again started to kiss you but this time roughly and pushed you against the wall. He continued kissing you until he realised that you no longer can breath. Consumed in his drunk lust for you. His hands slowly went down and began playing with your breast you were both shocked and aroused to be fondled by your husband in front of everyone, for some reason you enjoyed it. While playing with your breast your husband whispered "Soon they will be filled with milk and you will be nurturing our babies" "I will watch you while you feed our baby knowing that I was the one who made you give birth to our children". He pulled your gown down enough for your nipples to exposed and started sucking on your nipples. "I wonder what it taste like" you chocked on your moan hearing this. You suddenly came out of your trance and noticed everyone staring at you
You were consumed with embarrassment and Baldwin iv noticed. Feeling jealous that others have you attention he stood up to gaze in your eyes grabbed your jaw. Making you look at him. "Don't you dare pay attention to other men while you are with your lord husband" . He said this time while playing with your pusssy over your clothes. You started moan his name out until you soon realised you were in public and started staring at other men. Baldwin iv hated when you looked at other men while he pleasured you. You were supposed to look at him! He hated loosing control of you in this situation. "Weak king" suddenly a voice echoed in his mind. He was no weak king, he thought. He grabbed you by arms and pulled you towards his throne. He threw you on his lap your ass on lap and making you lay like todder. You sqeaked and Baldwin iv said "this is your punishment for being disobedient to your lord husband" he continued spanking you while others watched astonished at their king. After he was soon done with your spanking he asked "Will you again be disobedient to your lord husband" after hearing this you replied both aroused and embarassed"No my lord". "If you disobey again you will regret it". You swallowed down your moan and replied "Yes my lord". Baldwin iv smilled at you and said "good girl". "Now strip facing me " you were embarrassed to do it in front of everyone but you had no choice and stripped. You were stripping slowly. "Faster we don't have all night" replied Baldwin iv. You quickly stripped in front of him now you were as naked as day you were born. Baldwin iv satisfied commanded "Come closer" you quickly walked towards him so that you don't anger the king. Baldwin iv was satisfied with your obedience. It has been so long he was finally feeling in power again. "Now strip me" your entire body felt heated up at suggestion but since you didn't want to anger the king you started stripping him with your trembling hands. You quickly removed his top.
You were at awe at his beautiful milky white skin. "He is well built man" you thought after seeing his muscles. You wanted to touch him but since you didn't want to anger the king so you decided to go against your wishes. You worked at his pants next and pulled his pants down. Now the king of Jerusalem sat in front of you nude in his throne. You were badly aroused at this point. Your legs trembled and you were leaking at the sight of the nude king sitting in front of you in his throne. Soon your legs gave out and you fell on ground on all fours. "Suck your king" he commanded. Without much hesitance you started you suck his cock. Baldwin iv was grateful that he could feel your mouth and started moaning. Meanwhile the nobles look at them with embarrassment while some women commented how their husband never make them moan like this. Some noble men were embarrassed at hearing their wife's comment. While some were green in envy knowing full were that their wives were lusting after king. Baldwin iv looked at scene in front of him with pride. He truly felt like a king at that moment. It truly felt good to be in control of the situation after so long. He soon moaned and came in your mouth. You happily drank his cum. Baldwin iv adorned how you drank all his cum without wasting a single drop. You truly wanted him. His heart filled with joy when he came to realisation. "Sit on my lap while facing me" he commanded. You quickly sat on his lap with his penis slowly gliding inside your vagina. Without a second warning he started thrusting inside you. He was going so rough! You loved every second of it. He kept on pounding inside your pusssy until he soon came. You moaned Baldwin iv named loudly for the whole whole to hear. You could feel is seeds getting inside your womb. Without giving you time to rest he turned you while sitting on his lap so that you were staring a nobles. He started thrusting you from behind. You moaned and arched your body.
Exposing your breast and vagina stuffed with Baldwin iv's cock. Baldwin iv enjoyed knowing he claimed you in front of everyone and continued thrusting inside of you in front of everyone. He penetrated you with his cock again. You slumped with your back forward and head down showcasing you were tired but Baldwin iv wasn't he soon started thrusting inside you with same position. You wanted to protest but couldn't dare to since you didn't want to disobey your king. After an hour of having sex on throne and cumming several times. You finally had courage to ask "My lord, please show me some mercy it has been an hour" Baldwin iv hearing this he replied "I am sorry love but I can't feel any sensation in penis" you both knew it was a lie. You also knew that Baldwin iv was getting hard again after cumming inside of you every time . "My married life is going to be so fun" Baldwin iv thought while thrusting inside you making you cum again and you begging him for mercy. "This is going to be long night" you all in hall thought as the night continued....
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secretfandomrambles · 11 months
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Not sure if this would be amusing or horrifying. But I’m imagining a Trials of Apollo AU where Apollo is sent down to Earth in the same physical form that he was in when he fought Python the first time. Which in my mind, for whatever the reason, makes him appear about 7-8 years old.
Most things end up happening the same but no one takes Apollo seriously because he looks like a second-grader. (However, Apollo doesn’t get beat up by Cade and Mikey, and Diana spends a few minutes cuddling Apollo because that’s HER baby brother and she misses him.) Plus, Cabin Seven has more than one moment where they are holding back hysterics and the urge to wrap their Father up in bubble wrap because Apollo is a tiny fragile mortal who supremely overestimates what he’s capable of doing in child-form (and don’t get him started on talking about their mortal parents, this situation is already too weird). Chiron is also despairing because he already dealt with young Apollo being weirdly paternal once before, and now he has to deal with it again (Dionysus is outwardly laughing but inwardly panicking because he’s seen far too many children die and he knows what Zeus is like when it comes to letting other gods try to help someone he’s decided to punish)
Meg is suffering from cognitive disonnance because she was half-joking when she claimed Apollo’s service and is now stuck with a child-like ex-god who has a bunch of children of his own.
Bonus: Zeus is questioning his life-choices because child!Apollo keeps getting himself almost adopted by random strangers for some reason (and a part of him is furious and intending to strike them all down because Apollo is HIS son, not THEIRS) and this was not the punishment the king of the gods intended for him (and all the other gods are quietly side-eyeing him nervously). Leto is furious because that’s her baby and she wants him safe and not to go fighting that evil snake again (at least he isn’t a four-day old baby this time) but Zeus refuses to listen to her.
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misedejem · 1 year
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I hope the game continues to deny Emet-Selch his rest after he died because something new keeps cropping up every time he tries, I think that would be quite funny
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You’re one of the last surviving members of your people, and for 12000 years you and the other survivors have been trying to bring them all back. It has been so long and you have considered giving up more than you care to admit. One of the three survivors has died, another has lost himself, and you’re so exhausted. And what is left of one of the people you loved more than anything has just killed you. Your soul returns to the Sea, and you think 'at least now I can rest’.
But no, suddenly you remember all the things from your life you had forgotten, because the aetherial sea really is like that, and you realise that awful work trip you had completely forgotten about? Turns out the memories you lost then told you exactly how the apocalypse that destroyed your people happened and also how to stop it (you couldn’t).
So you can’t rest because you’re processing that, and you should also be on standby because it looks like the Emissary is making his last stand, and you know it’s futile and you’ve lost, so by now you just want his suffering to end. You gain brief respite when he has been defeated, but the person you kind of abandoned as a Sin Eater for a century has now returned to the Sea and likely has a few choice words for you.
Then the last person in existence that you could possibly want to talk to at that point turns up and tells you to join Her on an inter-shard trip back to the Source, and you know you can’t refuse, because those memories you regained told you that you couldn’t. You know what happens for a while from here, and you know there is no point in resting now, so you resign yourself to watching the person who killed you and hoping their journey will be short. 
At which point, your coworker - who you now know kind of caused the apocalypse because of those regained memories of the terrible work trip - kills your God.
And you cannot rest, because killing your God did free the souls who were sacrificed to summon Him, and they are returning to the Star. Coworkers, relatives, acquaintences, all joining you in the Sea. Among them is the other person you love more than anything, and this reunion is more important than any rest you could ever want. But you also know that person was very good at denying you sleep when you were alive, and he surely has not changed so much that he will not do the same now that you are dead. 
You watch the destruction that befell your home so long ago devastate the Source, and the Warrior of Light returns to the First to make a journey you know will lead them to your younger self twelve millenia in the past, bringing the events you recalled full circle. You think, perhaps, you may finally be able to get some sleep. But this tale has not ended yet, and the Warrior of Light is now in the aetherial sea, making a lot of noise in heated battle with their God, and you and your beloved can do nothing else but watch your dear friend’s soul forge ahead to the end of their journey. 
At which point they drag you both out of the aetherial sea to the edge of the bloody universe to help them. And you do, because deep down you know you wouldn’t have it any other way, and you make a very immutable point of saying goodbye because surely, surely this is the end of your role in their story. You will wait and sleep in the aetherial sea until their soul joins you, and the three of you will return to the Star together. Surely this annoyingly undefeatable force of nature won’t die for some time yet, and you’ll have a good few decades of rest. 
And for a time, you do get that. A few months, a year maybe, of nothing of note happening that would concern you beyond perhaps some idle curiosities that Hythlodaeus insists you should see. And you think this is how it will be from now on.
Until the Ancient’s Extremely Dangerous and Fucked Up Monster Facility that should have been destroyed twelve thousand years ago appears on the Dead Person equivalent of your back doorstep, and you realise your suffering is never actually going to end
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maidenvault · 1 year
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RotJ makes a point of letting us know that Leia is Luke's sister, they've known this on some level for a long time, and he probably cares more about her than anyone in the world because this gives so much more weight to his conflict at the end of the movie, and I think this is a huge thing people overlook when they argue that him redeeming his father represents a rejection of the old Jedi ways of non-attachment. Because in the moment he has to let go of Leia and his friends to be able to actually save Anakin.
When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke that he has to kill Vader and there's no other way, he doesn’t really discuss it as an issue of Luke having an attachment to him. I think he knows this isn't really the Jedi way but just like in the previous war, they don't seem to be faced with any good choices. Obi-Wan believes what Luke wants is truly impossible and, having failed to stop Vader when he could have before, of course he's trying to stop Luke from making the same mistake.
But it's significant that in the same conversation, Obi-Wan does warn him that his love for his sister could be made a liability if he's not careful. When Luke learns he has a twin and reveals how strong a connection he feels with Leia because he doesn't even have to be told who it is, Obi-Wan's response sets up how this will play into the climax of the film:
"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."
Then when Luke is brought to Sidious, he reveals to Luke that the Rebellion is walking right into a trap as a way to torment and provoke him. Luke gets angrier and angrier while helplessly watching the fleet get ambushed and finally does just what Sidious wants and tries to attack him. But it's Vader specifically threatening Leia that makes Luke totally lose control of his feelings and fight him in a rage.
Luke is basically facing the same kind of test he failed so badly in ESB by running off to help his friends. When Yoda is trying to make him see he's not ready to face Vader and keep him from going to Bespin, he says something that I think is such an underrated quote in its importance to Luke's whole journey:
"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."
Luke is really lucky he doesn't get killed in Cloud City (or captured, which I think at this point could have resulted in him being turned). Yoda knows Luke is the one person with a chance of defeating the Emperor and Luke just about throws that away.
But at the end of RotJ when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, he surely is reminded of his failure at Bespin and sees the path he's starting down by succumbing to his fears like that again. He stops because he sees he's betraying his loved ones and everything he is. He can only throw away his weapon and confidently tell the Emperor to eat shit then because he's no longer afraid of dying or of those he loves dying. He's done what his father couldn't do and kept his soul intact, which is what Leia would want. Because real love isn't selfishly trying to save someone by betraying what they believe in like Anakin did with Padme. And it obviously has to be an incredibly powerful thing for Vader to see his own son able to do this, even comparing himself to the man he once was ("I am a Jedi, like my father before me").
We remember everything working out okay so it's easy sometimes to forget that Luke gives this triumphant speech when the rebel fleet is getting pulverized outside and things overall still look pretty hopeless. He probably expects he could die at this point. But like Obi-Wan in his own death scene, he knows nothing can destroy him now. And it's the love he feels for his family that gives him the strength to let go.
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