FFXIVWrite Day 5: Barbarous
Rating: M
Word Count: 1041
Warnings: Violence and torture
Summary: Emperor Solus deals with a rebel that made some...questionable choices.
Master Post
The Emperor stormed through the palace, and staff and military officials alike knew better than to call for his attention in this state. He stalked towards the dungeons, shoulders set, eyes alight with anger and snapping at anyone foolish enough to interrupt him.
But no matter how angry Solus appeared to be, beneath the skin, Emet-Selch was furious.
That rebels had been bold enough to steal into his home and steal away his wife was one thing. A really irritating thing to be sure, but a small inconvenience easily corrected and the rebel cell that had done so dealt with in the usual way, kept as prisoners of war until the territory could be brought to heel.
But one of them had dared lay hands on her. Burned her skin and broke her bones and the image of her shaking as she clung to him with her one good hand stoked the flames even higher.
It was foolish, Lahabrea was right, Valeria was not her and never would be and to grow so attached to but a shard of her was a dangerous game.
He stopped before the guard outside of the most secure cells, in the deepest part of the dungeon.
"You may go," he dismissed tersely. The guard hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the look on the Emperor's face, gave a brisk nod and headed off to whatever his next duties were. Once he was fully out of sight, Emet-Selch slunk inside.
He found his prisoner, the massive hrothgar that had been acting as the resistance group's torturer, not only locked in a cell but also changed by his wrists to the floor, keeping him hunched on his knees. His fur was dull and matted, suggesting rougher than necessary treatment from the guards that had escorted him. The leg Emet-Selch had shot looked swollen and inflamed.
Good.
"You!" The hrothgar's lips pulled back in a snarl as he lunged forward, straining against his restraints as he began to hurl hatred and accusations at the Emperor.
"No no," Emet-Selch snapped, and though the prisoner's mouth and throat continued to work, he fell completely silent. "I'm not here to listen to you prattle on. The only sounds I'm interested in hearing are your screams." The hrothgar's eyes widened and made quiet choking noises as he tried desperately to make some kind of noise, realizing too late that this man was no mere Garlean.
"Ah yes, where are my manners," Emet-Selch's face split in a mad grin as he flashed his glyph at the prisoner. "Emet-Selch, Ascian." The hrothgar scrambled back; whether he knew what an Ascian was or not, he was realizing quite quickly that he may have picked a fight that he really shouldn't have.
"I like to think we treat our prisoners fairly. We keep them fed and whole and they'll get to return to their families once this whole messy war is over, assuming their families don't foolishly throw their lives away on a losing war," Emet-Selch wandered closer to the bars, cold fury creeping into his expression. "But you took a woman who knew nothing and tortured her only for the crime of being my wife. So I'm sure you'll understand when I say that I'll be...returning the favor, so to speak." The prisoner let out a wordless snarl, words still lost to him, and Emet-Selch gave a cold smirk.
"Where do you think I should start, Torturer? Mayhap I shall remove every finger from your body, or burn the fur from your skin, or pluck your eyes out and smash them under my boot," he delighted in the way the anger in his prisoner's eyes gave way to fear. "Maybe we start with breaking every bone in your body the way you broke her arm, hmm?"
He snapped his fingers, and the man's arms jerked with a crack into unnatural angles. The prisoner howled in agony.
The following hours brought naught but more screams until the dungeons fell silent once more.
~¤○¤~
After making sure the cell looked as if the prisoner's death was much more mundane than it was, Emet-Selch took a moment to put his persona back into place before heading to check on his wife. She had been taken directly to the medical wing from the airship to finish treating her wounds, but should have been returned to their chambers to rest by now. Sure enough, he found her dozing amongst liberal pillows and blankets, though not quite asleep. She sleepily reached for him with her right arm, the one now encased in a cast, and he had to swallow down the anger it brought to the surface.
"How are you feeling, my dear?" He settled on the edge of their bed, gingerly taking Valeria's hand in his.
"Better. They gave m'somethin for th' pain, but's making ev'rthing kinda fuzzy," her words were a bit slurred, but she was comfortable and that was what mattered, he told himself. The medicine, the cast, all things that would pass with time and she'd be back to normal. Maybe she saw the hurting in his eyes, maybe she simply wanted closeness, but either way she gave a pat to the space next to her and looked at him expectantly. He gave a small, rueful smile before settling in next to her. She turned so that they lay nose-to-nose.
"Where were you?" She asked, a little less slurred. Emet-Selch was quiet for a moment.
"That barbarous savage will never lay a finger on you again," he decided to answer. Valeria lay quiet, and he worried he'd upset her. He knew she had not the stomach for the kind of cruelty he sometimes had to be party to.
"He's dead?" She finally asked.
"Yes." More silence, and then:
"Good."
She tucked her head down into his chest, carefully settling her casted arm between them, and it wasn't long until her breathing became slow and even with sleep. Still unsettled from the last few days, Emet-Selch chose to instead look at her soul.
Damaged it may be, but it still shone the color of sunsets, of fire, all warmth and beauty in rest. He curled around her, clinging as if to a lifeline.
I miss you, Persephone.
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𐔌 +200 FOLLOWERZ ALREADY ??!? I dont even know where to ztart ;3
﹏ I'm zo grateful for all the zupport everyone haz given me during theze 2-3 monthz ♡♡ )) I've been delaying thiz event for over a month zo it'z time to hozt it !!1!
Thiz event ztartz tomorrow ((June 2)) and endz on June 14 !! Winnerz will be announced between June 15 & June 16 ..
All info iz under the cut !
𐔌 Rulez ::
﹏ You can make anything related to editing (( ex. Layoutz ,, graphicz ,, PSDz ,, mood/ztimboardz )) and (( az long az it fitz the prompt )) coiningz and NPTz !
When pozting your entriez pleaze @ me (( @herrscherofmemories )) and tag the pozt with ' #amaru+200 ' ,, if I don't reblog it after 2 dayz feel free to re-@ me az I may mizz out zome poztz !
𐔌 Prizez ::
﹏ There will be 3 winnerz for thiz event ,, they will be choozen by a wheel . Anyone who pozted at leazt 3 dayz will have a chance of winning AND people who do all dayz will have x3 chancez of winning !
1zt prize :: 1 layout ,, 1 zet [3] of graphicz & 2 PSDz ;; 2nd prize :: 1 zet of graphicz /or/ a layout & 1 PSD ;; 3rd prize :: 1 zet of graphicz /or/ a layout .
Promptz ::
TYZM to @.whisfer & @.yuumebow for helping out !!
✦ Day 01 :: your favorite character from a media you like or a character you love with a colour you don't edit with often .
✦ Day 02 :: a character related to the sea or a character related to the space .
✦ Day 03 :: a dragonic character or an angelic character .
✦ Day 04 :: a pink character or a blue character .
✦ Day 05 :: free day !!
✦ Day 06 :: something cute you find horrifying or something horrifying you find cute .
✦ Day 07 :: a platonic duo you love or a character that reminds you of me .
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𐔌 may I requezt a promo ?
@kiochisato @rrozeta @battampria @cherryshh @meowrette @hiddencircus @lavendergalactic @c-ralique @vamp-q @necroangelz @otoripink @frillara @mischiefesse @whisfer @dollrelicz @pink-sugar @fouldays @fwus & any other being :3 )) if you want to be removed juzt zend a dm/azk !
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You Broke Me First
Part 17
Zoe had a smile on her face from the second she got that text from Cillian, all throughout the hot shower she took, picking out clothes, getting dressed, picking up coffee and driving to work.
She picked out a white sleeveless bodysuit with structured shoulders, black pleated dress pants and some mules. She put on her gold bracelets that her grandmother passed down to her when she died (they were in her jewelry box collecting dust) and put on some gold necklaces and earrings. Instead of straightening her hair or putting it in a messy bun like usual, she decided to add some product to it and let it stay wavy, blow drying it upside down and scrunching it so it had volume. Zoe's hair was naturally very wavy and normally she hated it, but she decided to embrace it today.
I look like a lion, she thought to herself as she took one final look in the mirror.
Zoe arrived at work and walked in with her head held high. She walked down the long hallway towards her office, past the cubicles of junior writers that once stared her down. She felt confident, she felt happy, she felt wanted. Cillian had transformed her entire mood. If she knew one blackout night and a sloppy facetime call to him would change everything, she would of done this a long time ago.
She closed her office door, set her bag and coffee down, and sat at her desk. First things first - music. She opened her spotify and shuffled her "liked songs" playlist.
She took out her notebook and opened to the most recent page. She always made a "to do" list for the following day at the end of her day. Since she didn't get anything done on Monday, she wanted to speed through her to do list for Monday and play catch up for today:
Monday:
schedule Emma Stone interview- get talking points and questions
try and get contact info for wardrobe assistant for Poor Things - check with Casey from accounting?? cousin was a PA on set or something??
follow up with editor for Cill article --- where is it haven't had any feedback in weeks?????
see if can get invite for new PR firm party next month - Jlo should be there with Ben
speaking of ben - see if i can get a contact for jennifer garner, want to do segment for her Pretend Cooking Show and possibly do ina Garten collab -- pitch to Donna first
Zoe didn't get a chance to get started on anything before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in-" Zoe started, but the person had walked in anyway. "Oh, hey Mia"
Mia was one of the junior writers at Zoe's job. She latched onto Zoe as a mentor and always asked her to proofread her articles and, in turn, became somewhat close to Zoe.
Mia closed the door and sat down in the chair across from Zoe.
"Something is going on and you're not telling me" Mia said.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem... happier... well no shit, you're dating a movie star, I bet you jetted off to San Tropez for the weekend and spent it on a yacht" Mia said.
"Mia, you couldn't be more wrong" Zoe said, laughing while reminiscing of her spilling out of the dive bar Sunday night. Not exactly San Tropez.
"Ugh, I hate you so much," Mia said, leaning back into the chair and looking up at the ceiling. "How does it feel to be the envy of every girl ever?"
"Oh, stop it" Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
"Zo, you're dating Tommy Shelby. Girls have wet dreams about being with Tommy Shelby."
"I'm not dating Thomas Shelby" Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
"He still has the haircut. So at least you can pretend" Mia pointed out.
"Do you need help with something?" Zoe said, half jokingly and half serious. She felt uncomfortable talking about her relationship with Cillian, mainly because she still didn't feel comfortable lying about it. She rather avoid the entire topic all together.
"Just tell me one thing, please" Mia said, leaning forward in her chair, elbows on her knees and lowering her voice, "Is the sex good at least? Tell me it's mind blowing"
Couldn't tell ya, Mia, Zoe thought.
"Its... it's indescribable" Zoe settled on. Not exactly a lie, right? You can't describe what you don't remember.
"Ugh, I bet!" Mia said, standing up. "I'll tell you one thing" She continued as she walked towards the office door, "If he ever comes to visit you and I'm alone with him the elevator, i can't make promises I won't keep my hands to myself" She said, sticking her tongue out.
"You're a creep, close my door" Zoe said, rolling her eyes.
Before the door could click shut, it swung open again.
"Hi Honey!" Donna said dramatically, walking in.
"Hey Donna" Zoe smiled sweetly.
"Listen, sweetie, about your Cillian article," Donna paused, "I think it's best if we shelf it for the time being."
Zoe was heartbroken. "What???" why? it's with the editors, I was actually going to follow up so I can get it to publishing"
"Actually, I pulled it from the editors last week and it's been with me on my desk all this time" Donna said, looking out the windows behind Zoe's desk.
"What? why?" Zoe asked again.
"I just think... We, the partners feel that with your current 'relationship' status that an article written by you about him wouldn't exactly go over well" she stated.
"So it's a dead interview?" All that work for nothing. She's in a fake relationship because of this interview! well.... not fake feelings... I think.. Zoe thought, started to spiral.
"We are thinking about how to proceed, we might shelf it, or we might re-do the piece with Cynthia conducting the interview instead"
Zoe saw red. "Donna" She started
"Oh Zoe don't start. Enough with this rivalry. You need to bury this" Donna said, walking towards the door. "Again, no decision has been met yet, I just wanted to keep you posted. Lets do lunch later this week sweetie, i'll see you later" She said, leaving just as fast as she arrived.
Zoe sat there in silence, trying to figure out how she felt about those two interactions.
On one hand, she liked that she was the envy of the females, according to Mia. Even though it's technically a contract relationship, the feelings are real... right? right.
As for the piece... that flat out pissed her off. Cynthia and Zoe got hired at the same time, but where Zoe had to show a lengthy portfolio of articles she's done, Cynthia's father "donated" new Mac computers to the entire building. Her heart wasn't in the storytelling part of journalism, she wanted to be close to celebrities and be one. Granted, Zoe was the one who was now dating one..... but Zoe didn't intend for that to happen. Cynthia tries to date everyone she interviews - what if she makes a move on Cillian??? No, she wouldn't. She knew they were in a relationship... right?
Zoe threw her pen on her desk and leaned back in her chair. This day started off so promising, so positive and happy, and now she had a knot in her chest.
Just then, her phone went off, a text.
From Cillian.
Dinner tonight? your place? unless you're sick of me xx
Zoe smiled.
-My to do list got cut in half, i'm leaving here at 4. Gonna stop at the store first, meet at my place at 5?
-sounds good love. xx
Okay, that's something to look forward to I guess. Zoe thought. She'll pick up a bottle of wine and relax with her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend.... her"boyfriend"? Her contractually obligated boyfriend?
Cillian. She'll relax with Cillian.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zoe pulled up to her apartment to Cillian sitting on the front steps. She parked and hopped out of the car carrying the bottle of wine.
"Hey you" Cillian said, standing up and immediately pulling her into a kiss. "You look absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you" Zoe smiled. She looked behind him on the steps and noticed the pizza box. "Pizza night?" She asked.
"Yea, I didn't know what to get last minute, and didn't want to show up empty handed, and I figured it's a safe bet" He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Of course pizza is a safe bet. Lets go upstairs" She said, silently thanking god that she straightened up her apartment before she left that morning.
They went up the stairs and entered the apartment, placing the pizza and wine on the counter.
Zoe turned around, half expecting Cillian to pounce on her. She knew there was sexual frustration since last night, and she wanted to continue what they started.
But, much to her dismay, Cillian began to get the wine glasses out of the cabinet and uncork wine, pouring Zoe a glass first. He carried the pizza box and his wine to the coffee table, placing them down and sitting on the couch in front of it. He opened the pizza box before yelling back to her "Hey, can you grab napkins for us?"
Hm. okay. a little bit too domesticated for me tonight, but okay, Zoe thought, grabbing some napkins. She kicked off her shoes and sat next to him on the couch, accepting a slice from him.
They made small talk about their day, and Zoe asked how the house hunting went. Cillian's mood suddenly changed.
"It's turning into a nightmare" He said, shaking his head.
"Why?"
Cillian sighed. "because now that she signed the papers, she wants this done, like yesterday. As if she wasn't the one who dragged this out for so long. She wants me out of the house in the next couple of days or else the buyer is gonna walk away. So I need to be out of the house by Thursday"
Zoe stopped chewing. "Cillian... its literally Tuesday"
"Yea, no shit" Cillian huffed. "I found a house, put in an offer, but no way it'll be ready by Thursday. It's fine. I have my assistant looking for an airb&b for me in the meantime, but I have to board Scout, which I don't like"
Zoe had an idea.
"Well... you can stay here" Zoe said.
Cillian looked at her. "I don't know, love, I don't want to be in your way-"
"This sounds like a conversation we had last yesterday, except roles were reversed" Zoe laughed. "But I'm serious. I'm assuming all of your furniture is going to storage, correct?"
Cillian nodded. "They started today actually"
"So pack a bag for a couple of days, bring Scout, and stay here. Stay for as long as you need. I know it's not much, we have ubers here, the streetlight outside flickers all night, the hot water takes a minute to get luke warm, if you want hot you gotta wait about 5 minutes, and the walls are a little thin, but it's not that bad. And you're more than welcome here" Zoe said, standing up and heading into the kitchen.
"Are you allowed to even have pets here?" Cillian said, standing up and following her.
"Yea it's fine, there are dogs here. And this way if the house falls through, you can look for another one and not have to worry about extending the airb&b or finding a new one"
Zoe was drying her hands on the dishtowel when she felt Cillian wrap his arms around her from behind, nuzzling into her neck. "But where would I sleep?" He teased.
Zoe smiled. "Scout and I already claimed the bed. You sir are getting the couch" She teased back.
"mhmmm, and I bet you'll be on the couch with me before you fall asleep" He said, starting to kiss your neck.
Zoe rolled her head to the side, making it easier for him to kiss her neck. He squeezed her tighter in his arms, making Zoe sigh and relax into him. He suddenly stopped and spun her around; she was now facing him, nose to nose, still trapped in his arms.
"Ok," He whispered. "But you gotta let me help out"
"Help with what?" Zoe laughed. "It's not hard to manage a 900 square foot apartment, I assure you"
"I could be a pain, you could end up hating me by the time this is done" He said softly, hands traveling from her back to her hips, right where the hem of her jeans sat.
"I could handle you" Zoe responded, which prompted Cillian to raise an eyebrow and smirk.
"Alright love," He said, fingertips gently dipping into her jeans, rubbing the soft flesh of her stomach.
"You wanna play house? Lets play house."
tags: @lau219 @shopgirl6us
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