#[ 001. IGAVEHIMLXFE. SUN. ]

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

Erotic evisceration? Immortals had a funny way of showing affection. Were most immortals like this? When death could not touch them, could it expand sexuality in unprecedented ways?

That was more Dr. Cizko’s area, really. It would be an interesting study though, when the Re-Agent came to its full potential.

Right there. All right then. Herbert paused his consideration of erotic evisceration to mark the spot with a marker. A tiny black ‘x’. "There we go… numbing agent, although you’ve mentioned it might not be the most efficient, a woman who gets her sternum broken for love won’t fight it the most horrible, I’d think.”

The scalpel in hand, Herbert paused over the marked spot.

“You’re certain this is the correct place?” He asked quietly. He didn’t tend to second guess himself… but Loki was his partner in this now. He should look out for her comfort.

even though it comes at her behest, the touch of the marker still makes loki twitch a little. cold ink, feather light on her skin, x marks the spot. next will be the blade, and then will be the needle, and her breath catches just a bit. anticipation, an odd kind of excitement, the particular frame of mind she has to be in to want this as bad as she does.

“yeah. right there.”

no anesthetic. it’ll be how it used to be, every single nerve ending alive and awake with sensation. slow and deliberate and wanted, wanted and therefore pleasant, the kind of pain that cannot be pain. 

a relief. a gift. and when one’s mind is bent into a certain shape, a thrill.

“okay.” she evens out again, rests her head in her arms as easily as if she might simply go to sleep. “go ahead.”

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

That gave him pause. Rationally, he shouldn’t even remotely attempt something like that without proper prep… but she was so willing, and it would probably be a long while before he could get his hands on that ultrasound… and if he couldn’t really cause her much harm anyway because of her alternate biology…

"Let’s give it a shot. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but we can try. Please remove your shirt, and lay down on your front. I think a kidney biopsy will be the easiest, given what we have available to us.”

While she did that, Herbert got the rest of his supplies ready, all lined up and ready to go.

“You’d be surprised how many people are reluctant to help, even if they can. Death can be an… intimidating opponent. I am grateful, it’s been a long time since I’ve had someone so eager to assist. And you’re signing up for a procedure that is not painless. Another request, is it all right if I don’t put a bandage on the incision after the biopsy is complete? I’d like to see your enhanced healing at work, how notably faster it is.”

loki runs a quick mental checklist, regarding the calendar and how time works, and eventually concludes that since it isn’t early winter it can’t possibly be her birthday, despite all evidence to the contrary. still, she has the decency and restraint to wait until his back’s turned before she pulls her shirt off and turns to make herself comfortable on the table, arms crossed beneath her head, a nest of her curls she can watch him in her periphery from.

the skin of her back is smooth, the lightest spattering of freckles near her shoulders, a deeply black runic tattoo etched between her shoulderblades that she’s mostly forgotten is there. most importantly, it’s so cool in the lab, and her skin and all those fine little blond hairs prickle in the almost-imperceptible sweep of chill air.

“death is intimidating. i’ve got no choice but to applaud your courage in trying to face it down.” that isn’t completely true; conquering death is very much a typical ‘mad science’ sort of move, but she has to respect the classics, right? where would anyone be without them? and getting to experience it always makes it more special. “i shouldn’t need any bandaging at all, so you’re fine. if you move quick enough, i won’t even bleed—but i’m assuming you’ll want to take your time.”

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

Herbert gave her arm a look over before nodding. “That will probably work.” he notices the juice bottle, once again appreciating her clever foresight. “I’d offer you something to eat once we were done, but I don’t know how far we’re going to get today, you might not be able to stomach anything, and… I don’t remember when I last went grocery shopping.”

He really should get on that. But other things were occupying his attention. Especially right now.

Herbert puts on his gloves before he ties off Loki’s arm. Sure enough, a few flicks and her vein was prominent enough to get the needle in. He was quiet, focused when he took his samples, three vials in total- he could get more as he needed. They were set to the side.

“I’m going to take your vitals now. Do yours differentiate much, if at all from an average human woman’s?”

“i’ll be fine. i don’t need to eat that much.”

the fluttering thought of admonishing him for not taking care of himself passes by and disappears as he takes the arm she’s offered. a needle is the last thing she’s afraid of, in the scope of everything, and she’s actually always found the sensation of getting blood drawn fairly pleasant. the needle breaking her skin doesn’t really feel like much, in and of itself, but she gives an apparently involuntary little gasp anyway.

her eyes dance between the blood rushing up into each vial, and dr. west’s face in perfect concentration. loki does genuinely admire scientists like him, always so set on their tasks, hellbent on discovery. the sort of dedication and devotion she associates with the strongest people she knows. of course she’s curious wherever she finds it.

“i run a little bit higher than average on all fronts. i think someone told me that’s common in the majority of metahumans who have regenerative healing—the body just... works faster.” she screws off the lid of her bottle as the background daze of blood loss sets in. “i couldn’t cite anything to you, though.”

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

Herbert was blown away by her thoughtfulness. Even to go as far as fasting so the bloodwork would be more accurate! Truly she understood the importance of his research. “That will be incredibly helpful- thank you,” he said, beaming as he led her inside. “Down to the basement, that’s where most of my research is done.”

The lab was certainly nicer than the house he and Dan had purchased after returning from overseas- it wasn’t as large, but it also wasn’t right bang up to a cemetery to drive down the property values. Also didn’t mean he didn’t have an easy disposal method of some of his experiments… then again, that had blown up in his face last time.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Herbert gestured to the table. “We’ll start with the blood samples, oh, just ignore the restraints. Some of my Re-Animated subjects can get rather violent.”

it’s funny to her how closed-off he had seemed when she met him at first, as opposed to now, practically buzzing with excitement. exactly the sort of attitude she wants, if not for the aforementioned ulterior motives, then simply because it’ll make his company more pleasant. 

and there are plenty of green flags aside from that, aren’t there? despite popular opinion, loki really is a woman, and she can spot a recent cleaning when she sees it. he’s made an effort for her, which is deeply flattering, and his little laboratory has that customary coolness that she’s so fond of. she does her best to set her bag out of the way, though she’s had the foresight to bring a bottle of juice that she tucks under her arm. the bloodwork’s about to take quite a bit out of her.

“so, i have, like—” she’s setting herself up on the table as casually as if she’s perching on a kitchen counter, sitting the bottle between her thighs to keep her hands free. those restraints, though... maybe later, if she misbehaves. “where is it. this super spongey vein in my left arm is usually the good stick. see?”

under the fluorescent light, the vein’s a vivid, aching sort of blue beneath her skin. 

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

@hraunwyf

Herbert couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt a rush of excitement this high. Perhaps the first time one his Re-Animations successfully spoke, although that fizzled out when it was obvious their ‘speech’ was more along the lines of a parrot, or a recording on repeat. No intelligent life present.

But tonight, tonight Herbert was going to make some real progress.

He’d made sure everything was ready- he cleaned his house, he organized the basement lab, even made sure his examination table was set for a living guest… at least living for now. He would try not to kill her, even if it didn’t 'stick’, Herbert had questions that could be answered if his subject was still able to talk.

The doorbell rang and Herbert actually skipped to the door to open it.

“Miss Laufeyson- Loki,” he corrected himself, his smile tinged with perhaps a touch of madness. “Come inside. I’m glad you decided to come.”

for her own part, loki’s excited, too—call it what you want, call it what she’d called it to his face, an investment in the furthering of his research, but really at its heart it’s indulgent. it’s far from the first time she’s willingly volunteered herself for an experiment. von doom, sinister, even bullseye’s little art pieces counted, take your pick. 

she’s well-travelled, and she’s come with practicality up front, and ulterior motives elsewhere. freshly showered and perfectly clean, well-moisturized to preserve her skin in case he needs to go poking around, her hair already pinned back so it isn’t too much of a problem. no lipstick, even! just some balm (maybe it’s tinted). 

and of course, fashion doesn’t matter on the slab, but there is a bag over her shoulder with a change of clothes and some other things. just in case.

“dr. west,” she says warmly, and she doesn’t miss the familiar flickering in his expression, which is very promising. “i wouldn’t miss it for the world. and—i know you didn’t tell me to, but i am on a 12 hour fast, in case you wanted bloodwork. i wouldn’t want to skew any of your results.”

[hraunwyf]

igavehimlxfe​:

Magic. The bane of Herbert’s existence. People just tended to hand wave things away with ‘that’s just how magic works’ and not bother to think any further on it. There had to be a logic to it, a way to explain it past 'magic’… and unfortunately, Herbert was not the kind of person to be able to solve it. Wouldn’t stop him from trying of course.

Not his main focus now though. He had more to get done.

His eyebrows did shoot up more than a little at the subject of vivisection. It had been a consideration, of course, but her to offer like that… it was fascinating. He’d have to ask Edgar how he’d managed to meet such a delightful woman, let alone sleep with her.

"I… don’t believe I have all the supplies I’d need for a full internal exploration…” Herbert trailed off, murmuring to himself what else he would need, drumming his fingers on Loki’s arm before he realized he had completely forgotten what he was doing. “Right, blood pressure.” He pumped the pressure cuff and watched as it clutched onto her arm, noting the results. “Interesting…” He took the cuff off and set it to the side before taking his stethoscope.

“Sit up straight. Take a deep breath…” He rested the chest pieces on her back. “And again, Loki.”

god, that’s so cute that she almost drops the act—how easy would it be to just pull him in close and—?

no, not yet. she needs him bought in a little bit more, and as much as loki hates to be called a manipulator, seduction is, in most cases, a harmless art, and between the two of them? loki’s the one who’s willingly subjecting herself to a little bit of pain for a lot of payoff. hard to actually feel guilty about it.

all she has to do is keep her eyes on him, keep that subtle, primal method of communication open. she can’t imagine what would be interesting about her blood pressure, really, but she’s still going to look as though nothing else in the world could pique her curiosity aside from what’s on herbert’s mind. open, hungry admiration.

she doesn’t know how she wouldn’t shiver at the touch of cool, icy metal on her back, a soft hum on her lips. she takes those deep breaths as directed, sighing out, planting small seeds of her intentions that anyone else would’ve picked up on by now, but the more oblivious he is, the more she can get away with, and it’ll hit him like a truck later if she doesn’t go ahead and do it first.

“so, are you wanting to do a biopsy?”