#save us o lord

[sorqpmusicmin]

Save Us, O Lord

Save us, O Lord; carry us back. Rouse your power and come. Rescue your people; show us your face. Bring us back.

O Shepherd of Israel, hear us. Return and we shall be saved. Arise, O Lord; hear our cries, O Lord: bring us back!

Save us, O Lord; carry us back. Rouse your power and come. Rescue your people; show us your face. Bring us back.

How long will you hide from your people? We long to see your face. Give ear to us. Draw near to us. Lord God of hosts!

Save us, O Lord; carry us back. Rouse your power and come. Rescue your people; show us your face. Bring us back.

Turn again; care for your vine; protect what your right hand has planted. Your vineyards are trampled, uprooted, and burned. Come to us, Father of might!

Save us, O Lord; carry us back. Rouse your power and come. Rescue your people; show us your face. Bring us back.

[fizzyquake]

O great shrimp lord save us from this living hellscape

[impish-baby]

HEAR ME OUT!!

Demon king caretaker! You are a sacrifice from the people of your village to have another decade or peace and prosperity,but instead of sending the normal sacrifice how is a adult woman/man to became one or his "partners" they send a child!

The rest is with you;)

-💫

So rot, ferment, and decompose so all the things can grow - platonic! Yandere demon x child reader

Your head hurts and your knees are scraped and there's rope burns on your wrists-

You feel pitiful whining and sniffling, but it hurts! It hurts and you're upset, you're allowed to cry! Doesn't seem that way though when a woman from the village snarls at you to be quiet. They're just idiots, the whole lot of them..

They can't whisper to save their lives either, although they're obviously trying to. Hushed utterings echo around you as the council drags your already battered body through the forest, "the changeling child, we'll be rid off it and ensure our good tidings." with a stupid smug grin on their faces!

You're a plain old human like them! Just.. just because father said you weren't doesn't make it true. You wish the demon would just wipe out the entire village for a moment before quickly dismissing the thought. There's the farm... what would happen to the animals if the village was gone? There'd be no one to take care of them! You... you aren't going to see them again...are you? Nor pet a dog or or share a loaf of bread with the birds..

Before you know it, big fat tears are rolling down your face. What were once sniffles turning into broken sobs. The woman from before is about to snap at you again, but the village cheif shakes his head. It does not matter if you cry. No one is going to save you.

The alter used to be pretty, now it only feels like it's taunting you as you're made to kneel on its steps.

"Aeron," the chief's voice booms in the night, even the crickets silencing in the wake of it. "O Mighty Lord, we have once again come to offer a gift in exchange for your blessings. Please, heed us.." There's nothing. Not a sound, not a sign, nothing.

The chief clears his throat, about to speak again before suddenly choking and dropping to his knees clutching at his neck. Whoever was holding the rope tied around your wrists drops it as the rest of the counsel rushes to his side. You.. you think there's blood, but your attention is quickly drawn away when a hand cups your face.

"Oh, poor dear.." the man looks like an angel, despite the mangled wings. "How foolish of them, giving away something so precious.."

He hums, and before you know, you're lifted into his arms. You.. weren't so tired before, you're sure. All you can do now is lie weakly in his embrace, eyes drooping even as there's screams in the distance. An adoring smile graces his face as he gently pushes your head against his shoulder, hiding anything from view. "Sleep.. you'll be safe when you awaken, little one.."

[nocreativityfornames]

Everything we know about Barbatos so far, lore wise.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ALL SEASONS

➤ He lives in the Demon Lord's Castle with Diavolo and works as his loyal butler. (swd: 2-13)

➤ He's one of the demons who share a pact with Solomon. (swd: 2-A)

➤ According to Mammon, he has a secret torture room beneath the castle from where you can hear the screaming of his victims at night. The other brothers and Diavolo were in the room when he told this to MC but none of them batted an eye or tried to deny it. (swd: 6-19)

➤ Before, citizens of the Devildom were allowed to easily travel to the Human World whenever they wished through passages placed in certain locations in the kingdom, but now those passages are blocked and the only way demons can use them is by getting permission from the few other demons who are still allowed to use them freely first. Barbatos is one of said demons. (swd: 11-4)

➤ He has the ability to time travel thanks to his powers that allow him to create a portal to any place, time and reality he wants. (swd: 15-17 and 53-11)

➤ He was the one to take MC back to the past when they made a deal with Diavolo to figure out who had opened the attic door and released Past!Belphegor in exchange for Present!Belphegor's freedom from being imprisoned for conspiring against the exchange program. (swd: 15-17)

➤ He looked into MC's bloodline under Diavolo's request once the prince realized there was something special about them, and it was then that he found out that they were Lilith's distant descendant. (swd: 16-15)

➤ In response to MC asking him if he knew everything that would happen with Belphegor getting out of the attic before it occurred Barbatos said that no, he didn't know, and even further said: "Imagine for a moment what it would be like to know everything that will happen from now until the end of time. Why nothing could possibly be more boring, wouldn't you agree?" (swd: 15-17)

➤ His main way to use his powers to "space travel" is through the many doors in his room in the Demon Lord's Castle. (swd: 15-17)

➤ He was never a child. (swd chat: The Royals, “That's What I Mean”)

➤ He met Solomon a long time ago when the sorcerer risked death to summon him (swd: 53-16), desperately needing his powers to control time for reasons that are still unknown. (swd: 49-A)

➤ He gave Solomon his grimoire out of trust and respect for him. (swd: 53-16)

➤ It's a big rumor around the kingdom that he's powerful enough to rival even the Demon King himself. (swd: 54-1)

➤ He met Diavolo when the prince was still a child and Diavolo got Barbatos to work for him by luring him into the castle with the promise of very rare tea and then telling him that he wouldn't let him leave unless he agreed to be his butler, getting to the point of even threatening to not assume his position of king in the future if the older demon refused to. And telling this story to Thirteen, Barbatos confessed to having found the whole thing very cute. (swd: 58-A and nb: 15-A)

➤ When it hit the news that he had sworn allegiance to Diavolo the whole kingdom was in shock and it was THE THING everyone was talking about. (swd: 54-1 and nb: 15-1)

➤ He has been around for a long time and shows up in historical records under multiple different names. Rumor has it he was alive even before the Devildom took shape. (nb: 15-1)

➤ When asked about Diavolo in a conversation with MC, he told them that the prince is the very reason for his current existence. (swd: 54-5)

➤ Narrated by Solomon in the Nightbringer Prologue Movie we hear the story of a certain demon, it goes: “Once upon a time, there was a demon who could see both past and future. With a flurry of trumpets from his king, the demon appeared. Finding a lost human the demon whispered: 'I can take you to where you'll be happy.' Through their tears, the human spoke: 'Thank you, o kind one. If you save me from this dark path, I will pray to you every night. Please, tell me what they call you!'" But before any reply can be said Barbatos is shown making a shushing sound, which was largely perceived as him not wanting the viewers to know that he was the demon from the story. Later, the human was revealed to be Adam, a man who came to the Devildom looking for his lover and met a demon named Nightbringer, who he immediately went to begging for help. (nb: 8-16)

➤ He was the one to give Solomon the title of “the Witty Sorcerer” when he brought him to the Fountain of Knowledge for the first time while Solomon was on the verge of death. Barbatos attended the sorcerer's wounds there and declared him the new protector of the spring. (nb: 11-10)

➤ He's to blame for how much Solomon has changed, according to Thirteen. The reaper told MC that Solomon used to be very loveably innocent when he was younger, but that Barbatos let him experience whatever he wanted and now nothing scares or fazes him anymore. (nb: 11-10)

➤ The reason he had been so irritable towards Solomon in the past was because when visiting the sorcerers' home he found a list of demons he wanted to make pacts with and noticed his name was placed 8th. (nb: 25-1)

➤ Before meeting Diavolo he used to use his powers freely to travel through time and space whenever he wanted without a care for how his actions could affect others, and they ended up terribly affecting Diavolo and Solomon, and Barbatos sees his devout servitude to the prince as a way to atone for those past actions, but Diavolo doesn't know that. (nb card: Barbatos, "Tea With You")

➤ Although he accepted to work for the prince for the sake of atonement, he ended up enjoying his time with him and found that he felt a sense of belonging working for him. (nb card: Barbatos, "Tea With You")

[all-the-fish]

Oh, you know, just the usual internet browsing experience in the year of 2024

Some links and explanations since I figured it might be useful to some people, and writing down stuff is nice.

First of all, get Firefox. Yes, it has apps for Android/iOS too. It allows more extensions and customization (except the iOS version), it tracks less, the company has a less shitty attitude about things. Currently all the other alternatives are variations of Chromium, which means no matter how degoogled they supposedly are, Google has almost a monopoly on web browsing and that's not great. Basically they can introduce extremely user unfriendly updates and there's nothing forcing them to not do it, and nowhere for people to escape to. Current examples of their suggested updates are disabling/severly limiting adblocks in June 2024, and this great suggestion to force sites to verify "web environment integrity" ("oh you don't run a version of chromium we approve, such as the one that runs working adblocks? no web for you.").

uBlockOrigin - barely needs any explanation but yes, it works. You can whitelist whatever you want to support through displaying ads. You can also easily "adblock" site elements that annoy you. "Please log in" notice that won't go away? Important news tm sidebar that gives you sensory overload? Bye.

Dark Reader - a site you use has no dark mode? Now it has. Fairly customizable, also has some basic options for visually impaired people.

SponsorBlock for YouTube - highlights/skips (you choose) sponsored bits in the videos based on user submissions, and a few other things people often skip ("pls like and subscribe!"). A bit more controversial than normal adblock since the creators get some decent money from this, but also a lot of the big sponsors are kinda scummy and offer inferior product for superior price (or try to sell you a star jpg land ownership in Scotland to become a lord), so hearing an ad for that for the 20th time is kinda annoying. But also some creators make their sponsored segments hilarious.

Privacy Badger (and Ghostery I suppose) - I'm not actually sure how needed these are with uBlock and Firefox set to block any tracking it can, but that's basically what it does. Find someone more educated on this topic than me for more info.

Https Everywhere - I... can't actually find the extension anymore, also Firefox has this as an option in its settings now, so this is probably obsolete, whoops.

Facebook Container - also comes with Firefox by default I think. Keeps FB from snooping around outside of FB. It does that a lot, even if you don't have an account.

WebP / Avif image converter - have you ever saved an image and then discovered you can't view it, because it's WebP/Avif? You can now save it as a jpg.

YouTube Search Fixer - have you noticed that youtube search has been even worse than usual lately, with inserting all those unrelated videos into your search results? This fixes that. Also has an option to force shorts to play in the normal video window.

Consent-O-Matic - automatically rejects cookies/gdpr consent forms. While automated, you might still get a second or two of flashing popups being yeeted.

XKit Rewritten - current most up to date "variation "fork" of XKit I think? Has settings in extension settings instead of an extra tumblr button. As long as you get over the new dash layout current tumblr is kinda fine tbh, so this isn't as important as in the past, but still nice. I mostly use it to hide some visual bloat and mark posts on the dash I've already seen.

YouTube NonStop - do you want to punch youtube every time it pauses a video to check if you're still there? This saves your fists.

uBlacklist - blacklists sites from your search results. Obviously has a lot of different uses, but I use it to hide ai generated stuff from image search results. Here's a site list for that.

Redirect AMP to HTML - redirects links from their amp version to the normal version. Amp link is a version of a site made faster and more accessible for phones by Bing/Google. Good in theory, but lets search engines prefer some pages to others (that don't have an amp version), and afaik takes traffic from the original page too. Here's some more reading about why it's an issue, I don't think I can make a good tl;dr on this.

Also since I used this in the tags, here's some reading about enshittification and why the current mainstream internet/services kinda suck.

[ahmedomar11]

Hello I am Ahmed

till when ?

How long will we sleep in tents? I don't know what to do, Lord, take our souls and save us from the life of humiliation we live

O Lord, take us to You. We can no longer bear it 🙏🙏

Help me and my family 💔📍

[religious-extremist]

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth Who are present everywhere and fills all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and abide in us; cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, gracious Lord.

[lalunanymph]

i. PROLOGUE

as an arranged marriage to a woman he doesn’t want looms over him, gojo satoru resolves to seize control of his destiny by marrying the very first woman he sees—a disgraced aristocrat from an enemy family who happens to be mute. as political ties unravel, will this ruse succeed or ultimately cost him his life? 

warnings: mentions of injuries, war, captives, mentions of alcohol, o/ral s/ex, mentions of death, misogyny, forced marriage, p/rostitution, MDNI

masterlist 🧵 playlist

Gojo Satoru was a Lord not in need of a wife.

Arrogant and hubristic, he led life as a fool—simple, filled with pleasure and lacking no responsibility.

As such, brothels, handmaids and ruining aristocratic ladies were all his favorite pastimes. 

In this very moment, his vices were no different. 

The scion to the Gojo clan, a man with white hair and cerulean blue eyes the exact hue of the sea from which his family’s sustenance derives from, flickered them onto the woman poised between his thighs. 

She was a whore or some other, hired for pleasure and a respite from the thoughts whirling in his mind. He barely paid her lewd suckling and theatric moans any mind, sensing that it was done with the intent to gleam a bigger tip by the end of the night.

Rather, he sank back into the paltry futon, gaze towards the ceiling while she tongued his balls.

A question bubbled in the back of his mind, tiptoeing to the edge of his tongue where he exhales it with little fanfare. 

“Do you believe in true love?”

The woman paused, and he almost laughed at the glimmer of uncertainty coruscating in her gaze. “I beg your pardon, my Lord?”

He recognized that barely-there look on her face, that one sliver of determination mingling with the throes of forced lust she made herself believe she carried for him, if not to ease her suffering for one night.

“I asked if you believed in true love?”

A beat of silence that was louder than the schlicking of her mouth bobbing up and down his length. He discovers a second too late that she wasn’t as pretty as the lighting made her out to be and waves her away. Recognizing that she was being dismissed, the whore stands and tightens her obi, bowing low to him.

“Shall I anticipate you for next week as well, Master Gojo?”

Reverent and demure. He senses it was not due to his status but the clanking of coins in his pouch which caught her attention like the darting of silverfish in a foggy lake. He removes a golden piece and tosses it to her, narrowly missing her eye as she scrambles to catch it clumsily with both hands.

“Same time,” he drawls and stands up, making himself decent once more. The whore bows low and he pulls back the den’s curtain, making his way to the front. He does not have to wander far to encounter the stench of disapproval that mingles with the heady curls of opium smoke in the air.

Right at the door, wearing a frown that gleamed as brightly as his ebony robes, was his right-hand man.

Geto Suguru eyes him with open disdain and Satoru grins, raising his hands in mock surrender. “You found me, Sugu.” Not appreciating his tone or the abbreviation of his name, Suguru snorted and motioned towards the front door.

“This is the last time I am saving you behind from your councilmen, Satoru,” he starts on his churlish tirade, one that the young lord had heard many, many times. “The gathering is in full swing. What will people say when their great Lord is missing?”

Satoru’s snort pierced through a drizzle that clung to the tips of his brilliant white locks. “Now you sound exactly like General Nanami, Sugu.” At the mention of the stoic, aloof, and often unsmiling samurai who had retired from his life of serving the Gojo clan to live safely in the hills, Suguru physically bristled.

“At least Nanami was paid to handle your foolish ass.” Geto sighs, pinching his brow with his thumb and forefinger. “Come on. Let us go or else we will be late.”

Satoru strides to his great white steed, hauling himself over the stallion’s back. 

“Now, Sugu. You are being quite the downer tonight.”

Suguru sighs. “I cannot help it. Tonight is when the great Lord Kozume will sign over his district to be under the Gojo rule, is it not?” 

Despite his reckless approach to life, Satoru remains aware of his fief’s happenings, and this is an unprecedented event which marks a new chapter into his rule.

Kicking Mumu into a trot, Satoru sighs.

“Yes. And uncle will be there, too. No doubt trying to force my hand into taking a wife tonight.” 

At the mention of the great, stoic Michizane Gojo with his blustering white beard and piercing blue eyes trying to force his nephew to marry, Suguru chuckles.

“If there’s one thing your uncle is, it is consistent.”

“And annoying,” Satoru quips, already wishing he had not stopped that whore from making him cum. Maybe he would feel more relaxed by now. 

His mind drifts, and he recalls everything that has happened to make today one for the history annals.

A messenger stumbles in, covered head to toe in blood. 

He’s unannounced, and Gojo has his katana out, ready for the first sign of danger and betrayal from any man. 

But, the grisly older warrior does not flourish his sword; he sinks to his knees, holding his bleeding abdomen and a crumpled piece of paper in his trembling hand. 

“My Lord,” he gasps and flourishes the scroll for his liege to take it. 

Gojo immediately stands, any trace of his defensiveness melting off like frost when he unravels the scroll with shaky hands. His eyes widened. The enemy camps from beyond his threshold suddenly become like toys in his hands; easy to grasp and smash. 

“They have surrendered,” he breathes out. The messenger curls his forehead to the floor, nearly sobbing. 

“Long live your rule, Gojo-sama,” he tolls, loudly enough for his generals to come rushing into his war camp. Suguru is the first to grab the scroll from Satoru’s hand, and he too, is rendered silent from the sudden shift in their fates.

“Unbelievable,” the dark-haired general swears. 

His second peers over the Lord’s great shoulders and gasps. 

“Nagamachi has fallen,” Satoru announces through trembling lips. He turns to his men, his most loyal followers and who never once doubted his ability to expand the Gojo empire.

“We can all go home.”

Puddles of liquor and puke scatter on the tatami floors, and Satoru wrinkles his nose in disgust when he approaches the dais.

The men of his army could celebrate as well as they held a fight; brazenly crying out his name in exuberance and clinking their sake glasses together. 

To Satoru! They cried. May his reign be ever long and prosperous! 

Gojo takes his position on the dais, and reclines, accepting a cup of sake from one of his generals. 

The man wears a smile so big, Gojo wonders how it doesn’t split his face.

“Your uncle is not yet here,” Suguru informs, taking a seat next to him and picking up a cup of the sweet, fermented alcohol to sip on. The fumes burn his nose and he frowns, not liking the taste. 

Suguru has always been the more uptight between the two of them; where Satoru indulges, his friend restrains. Satoru reacts, Suguru observes. 

Tonight, Suguru is his eyes and ears, peeling his attention around the room. Though merry men were no threat, the danger has not yet subsided. 

These Nagamachi warriors could turn on them anytime; the frail peace treaty ending in blood. 

Satoru leans back, and pretends to look interested in this turn of events. However, the second he hears the drums announcing his uncle’s arrival, he straightens.

Michizane Gojo is a man with a love for theatrics. His torture methods insane, his court a fester of troublemakers and violent men. Though he disagrees with his uncle’s rule, he cannot overturn it—Michizane holds an army of men three times his own and could destroy his part of the fief with a flick of his finger.

Tall, and with an imposing air that would make the harshest samurai tremble, Michizane strides into the drawing room.  And he is not alone. 

Head down, hand in cuffs and trudging behind him, the leader of the Nagamachi warriors wears a blackened eye and bruised cheeks. The gathering is free of women and children, so the men could indulge in cruelty till the morning sun rose. However, a slighter figure behind the man catches his eye, and Gojo feels a curdling disgust rising inside of his chest.

Gojo understands that in this world of wars and conquering, one has to respect whoever is at the top. But, if it were not for the fact that this man was his uncle, Satoru would have ordered his men to drag him out, respect for the elderly be damned.

Because there is nothing respectable about what he sees right in front of him now. 

A young lady with her wrists bound follows behind the man, and unlike the other captive, her head is high, features turned obstinately to the light so every man could witness her disdain. She’s the sole woman here in this room, and the sight of her rouses every man—bloodhounds seeking to tear an injured bird apart.

Satoru stands and feels Geto stiffening beside him.

“Monster,” his friend whispers under his breath. Gojo has to agree.

The woman is shoved to her knees while the men remain standing. Her yukata, once a sign of her wealth and prosperity, is torn and with mud at the hem. If he looks closer, he can see her clenching her trembling hands, turning them to fists in front of her.

“Nephew,” Michizane stretches out his arms and Gojo reluctantly steps forward, receiving his uncle with a tight hug. “You are alive and have conquered the mountains. How proud I am of you.”

Gojo grits his teeth, finding the smell of opium and sake wafting off his uncle repulsive. 

Masking on a smile, he nods. “Thank you, uncle. Your support means everything to me under these circumstances.”

Standing at close to six feet, the old, wizened man was no different from his whorehound of a brother—Satoru’s father. Women of all ages were not exempted from his list of atrocious taste, lending to his fearsome reputation. 

Michizane bellows a laugh and gestures to the captives. “Why, I had a great time speaking to Lord Kozume. Or, shall I call him Kozume from now on.” Laughing at his own joke, the rest of the room chuckles, taking a leaf from his exuberance. Following suit, Gojo exhales a small laugh. 

“It seems you have done so, uncle.”

The great lord slaps a hand to his fat belly, chuckling to himself. “Well, what shall it be tonight? An execution? A wedding? A fight?” 

Always prepared for the worst, Gojo tries to steer the situation back into safer waters. There will be no more bloodshed for the foreseeable future; he was done smelling like the rusted tang for days on end. 

“Perhaps, a discussion,” he entreats. His uncle snorts, but indulges in his nephew’s whims, signalling for his men to cut through the ropes binding Lord Kozume and the woman. She curls into a ball the second her hands are free, forehead pressed to the floor, begging for mercy.

Kozume is far more prouder than her, and sits rigid, shaking his head when a cup is offered to him.

“No. I wish to be level-headed.” His voice is deep and low; commanding yet kind. The voice of a leader. 

Gojo blinks and remembers Suguru is beside him. He gestures to the girl and his general needs no more cues. Going to her side, Geto snaps his fingers for a cup of water and receives it from a servant; pushes it into her quivering hands. She straightens, and it disturbs him how red-rimmed her eyes are, and yet, she sheds no tears. 

Kozume does not wait for his cue. He continues. “The Nagamachi lands are yours. The fiefs are now part of the great Gojo house and I humbly ask you to spare the lives of my daughter and mine.” 

Satoru slides his gaze to the girl again. 

The old man winces, as if he’s in pain, and reaches for his daughter, grabbing her by the shoulders. This close, Gojo can see the fear in her eyes, how the corners of her lips tremble. 

By no means was he a naive man to the horrors of war, but he never had to witness an innocent’s expression up close. Satoru almost feels like the walls are closing in on him, and he tries to look away. But, something about her draws his attention back and back again—like a red splash of paint on a white cloth he cannot possibly ignore.

“Fine,” Michizane seats himself on the dais, looking down on the father and daughter. “Let us resume our discussion now with the eyes of every Gojo ancestor looking down upon us.”

At his words, the girl glances up, gazing upon the tapestries depicting the heroes of his boyhood, splashing across the ceiling as they continue on their bloody conquest to raise the emperor’s mark across the southern lands. She sees the blood, the mangled bodies, and drops her gaze; too close to the truth for comfort.

“My nephew, Satoru, as you know, is the head of the Gojo clan after his father’s death two years ago. He is in need of a wife and I have picked one out for him. The great Lady Ayako from a noble family under our flag.” Michizane glances at the girl. “Though you promised me your daughter is fair of face and from great blood, that blood now comes at a cost and I will not be at peace if she is under our roof. Hence, I have decided to wed her off to Lieutenant Luaya, who is one of the most fiercely loyal men I know.”

Gojo has to stop himself from physically recoiling. Luaya is a brute and a devil. He catches sight of the mentioned man puffing his chest out, looking pleased to be bestowed a blessing by the great Lord Michizane. She will never survive a night with him, Satoru thinks. In fact, none of his wives had ever survived for long.

His uncle was sending her right to her early grave. 

As if sensing the change in the room, the young woman raises her head, and sees Luaya who’s smiling at her; the glint of his canine teeth bouncing off the light from the sconces overhead reminds him of a wolf scenting fresh meat.

Satoru does not know what overcomes him—he is barely a kind or empathetic man. But, the punishment for Lord Kozume’s rebellion is far too much. 

He would have to watch by the sidelines as his daughter gets murdered in cold blood and that is no fair compensation for a man who readily surrendered to their forces. This inhumane treatment of their subjects had to come to a stop—Gojo would no longer stand for such cruelty his father and uncle perpetuated.

“Luaya will do no such thing.” Every eye in the room is on him as Satoru stands, crossing his arms right in front of him. The cup of sake hovering close to his uncle’s lips stops in mid-motion.

Whatever trick Michizane expects his nephew to pull, it was not this. 

“I shall wed her—Lord Kozume’s daughter.”

Those piercing blue eyes land right on your shocked face, unwavering and resolute. 

“We will be wed tonight.”

a/n: 👀 i hope u guys loved this new revamp of entangled !! it came to me as inspo from my recent trip to kyoto and i had to continue the bewitched universe for my sanity's sake lol

also if u didn't know, this series was previously discontinued due to low interaction and feedback, so if u want to see how gojo and y/n's story play out, please do consider dropping some feedback or a reblog to help keep the inspo going <3

©️lalunanymph. do not copy, repost or claim as your own. do not take elements from my story without prior permission.

[forgotten-amongs-the-stars]

Orphic Hymn to Hypnos

Sleep, you are lord of all the blessed gods and mortal men, And of every living creature the broad earth nurtures, For you alone are master of all and you visit all, Binding their bodies with fetters unforged. You free us of cares, and, offering sweet respite from toil, You grant holy solace to our every sorrow. You save souls by easing them into the thought of death, Since to Death and Oblivion you are a true brother. But, O blessed one, I beseech you to come, sweet-tempered, And kindly save the initiates that they may serve the gods

[tk-duveraun]

Not Chronically Ill in first life SY enter's SQQ's body, who does have severe chronic illness as a result of his childhood and adolescence. SY is basically in constant musculoskeletal pain AND it feels like lava and or ice water to push qi through his meridians sometimes.

And he's stuck with the OOC lock like that. He goes to MQF before going to the Lingxi caves because he's honestly concerned this body is gonna have another fatal qi deviation if he does secluded cultivation in a place like that.

So after some therapy, MQF goes with him to find a spot to cultivate and therefore is there when LQG starts deviating.

All of this to say, he's in slightly better shape come the demon invasion and LQG is much better and quicker on the draw, so SY is saved w/o a cure, but he's still got everything else.

These horrible problems cause SY to push and bully the system to give him missions so he can learn SJ's actual backstory. Once he does, he understands and wants to redeem the scum villain bc he wants to see the best in everyone.

He finds a plot device flower to create a clone of himself (the wife who used it had taken in her sister's soul as teenagers and they were doing a timeshare on the body - a villain had used it to duplicate himself to try to overpower LBH)

He manages to find it before the IAC. SJ is not happy that some dumbass took over his body, but is somewhat mollified to have a much healthier body. He's less happy for the imposter, who is already on thin fucking ice, to read him the riot act about being aggro at YQY, he can't help that he was trapped i nthe Lingxi caves healing all of his broken bones

HE WAS WHAT

Uh oh, SY didn't know SJ didn't know that.

SY tries to run for it, but oh no, SJ is going to take full advantage of having an identical twin to deal with people and things he doesn't want. Imposter wanted his life? He can have it :)

LBH is ousted from the bamboo house, but SY still dotes on him.

YQY is very confused, but since SJ is a) back and b) talking to him, sure, yes, fine, Xiao Yuan has been here the whole time, he totally knew.

(They gaslight the other peak lords)

[tdoth]

W A K E U P O M E N

This place used to be Houston, now it’s something else, something dying. Titans, lords of industry and everything else left are the ones keeping it in a half-life. There’s a rot that runs so deep there’s no saving it anymore, not as it is. There’s salvation and devastation down this path, but you already knew that, Omen. Free the Hue, free yourselves, and free the future - the Titans must fall.

Titanomachy: DREAMS OF THE HUE / Demo Edition is now live, a fully playable version of the full release entering Kickstarter in late Spring of 2025. It contains the full rules, 19 classes, an example Titan and plenty 00's sensibility but-make-it-nightmare art from the incredible Jonatan Anjos and Minerva McJanda.

Built on The Wildsea's mechanical engine, TDotH is a fast and furious queer blitz of a tabletop roleplaying game, shrouded with furious revolutionary anger but cored through with hope for a better future.

Fans of Cyberpunk 2077, Spire, NorCo, Jeff VanderMeer, Neil Stephenson, Metropolis, and the work of Tom Bloom (Kill Six Billion Demons) and Wildbow (Worm, Twig, Pact) will find parallels in the broken world we've built for you to tell incredible stories in.

We hope you join us Omen, there's work to be done.

DOWNLOAD HERE

[r0-boat]

It's me again teehee~

I came with another request for headcanons because I'm thirsty for these men. So, let's imagine that the 5 kings + Belphegor are gonna do the mimir, but suddenly MC just enters into the room in flirty mode, starting to undress and they're wearing lingerie. Loved to see their reaction hehehe~✨

Aaaaahhhggggg

Going crazy for this ask!

Whb Kings+belphegor reaction to S/o in lingerie

Satan

He likes tight ribbon-like fabric that hugs your skin not too tight but just enough to show a little bit of your body pudge. Good Lord he loves pudgy thighs. If he sees just a little bit of that sweet naked body bulging through the fabric he will go Feral.

Speaking of feral you cannot have nice things with Satan. Any clothes he deems nice he will just tear it off your lingerie, especially lingerie which is not an exception. He will toy with the tight little ribbons with his claws slowly cutting it like he's unwrapping a little gift. Smiling like an idiot when he watches your chest or your thighs come free from the snug bindings.

He will still leave some of the damaged and discarded lingerie on you just so he can see you scratched up, marked your ass bruised, and the pretty little clothing now tattered and broken.

That's when he finally takes you, sliding his cock inside but not finishing inside you no... He wants to finish his masterpiece. Instead taking out his cock to stroke until he cums all over your body. If he could he would Take a photo of this you fucked out drunk and beaten scratched and bruised and save it on his phone screen.(He doesn't because you would kill him)

Mammon

One favorite? Why does he have to choose one favorite? Why can't he just buy and have you wear All of them. Yes master That's a good human, that's it, come closer, strip for him and give him a proper fashion show...

He politely asks you to show yourself turn around let him see everything, You may own him but that doesn't stop him from admiring who owns him. He is hard and he knows you're staring so he parts his robes just enough for himself to spring out. He wants you to know what You do to him.

At the end he still rock hard as he gets up to hug you from behind He asks you which one is your favorite. He likes all of them. And he really likes that you put on a show for him. He will definitely do this more often, He does have a third closet he doesn't use for anything so maybe that's where He will put all the sexy clothes and jewels he wants you to wear for him. He only wants you to wear these things because you own them everything he owns is yours.

He wonders how you would look in the fanciest get up not just lingerie He wants you to parade around your wealth in the fanciest of Tartaros parties. Well maybe you should wear the lingerie underneath,hehe

Leviathan

Wanting the tease the demons of envy you tied him up The rope you used to strangle him now tying his wrist so tightly. As a little treat you do have one of those strangulation collars around his neck just in case he gets a little too rowdy. And with a little extra treat a gag in his mouth. He glares at you if looks could kill you would be dead 20 times over snarling as he sinks his fangs into the rubber ball so hard you think it might break.

But his eyes immediately soften when you take off your clothes revealing soft white lace, He drinks you in, His heart pounding in his chest the urge the need to touch you yet not getting what he wants burning jealousy inside him. His mindswarming with thoughts of how long You have worn that underneath your clothes this whole time. You see his mind wandering giving you that look you know so well You pull on his choker.

He can't spit nasty words, He can't tell you to hang He can't break from his strangulation rope to fuck you till you can't stand. All he could do is feel the tightness in his pants tightening more as you break him down with each tug on his choker. He can't even buck his hips when you sit in his lap.

When Levi is done being difficult you finally let him go his eyes no longer filled with resistance dropping his facade to just pure want. When he finally touches you he looks as if he's in a trance.

Beelzebub

You wore that underneath your normal clothes as you went clubbing with him in Abyssos. He didn't even realize you were wearing that He didn't even know because he wasn't taking you to any of the sex clubs. It was just a normal night of fun until his hand slipped underneath your shirt his eyes widened. Now he wish he did to a sex club.

He thought his mind was playing tricks on him at first before dipping down again and... He never took you to a bathroom so fast he practically ripped off your normal clothes his breaths heavy. He has never been so hard in his life! There you are wearing this underneath your clothes The whole time no underwear no nothing just this!

He's upset that he didn't take you to a sex club so he could properly enjoy you but that will have to wait. For now he's going to take you in bathroom. He will push the Lacey clothing aside and fuck you His mouth and tongue running across the fabric.

After the quickie, which wasn't really quick because he lasted multiple rounds. Your clothes are ripped off but he didn't care He needed you back at the castle in his bed right fucking now carrying you in his arms His jacket over you.

Lucifer

You caught him off guard.... How dare you. He didn't even know you could do that. You child of Adam are full of surprises. He expected a lot of things when he turned his chair but not for you to drop your clothes. Sure he should have because you were a whore of a human being/affectionate But he did not expect what you were wearing underneath. The moment he took his eyes off the paper he was holding in his hand then unto you His eyes widened, His breath hitching. He turned around before getting up out of a seat.

You feel as though the end of your holes is near as he slowly walks up to you, He inspects you at first. Making a noise that you've never heard him make before It sounded like a hiss kind of? Or maybe a pur??

He knew the existence of lingerie but he didn't know he would see it's in person today. It is a surprise but to be honest a welcome one But he will have to punish you for your rather bold decision of showing it off in front of him. A punishment he is excited to enact.

Oh don't worry he will make you scream and rise but the lingerie will stay intact. He's having way too much fun playing and feeling the fabric as you ride and scream on his cock. You look beautiful... Like an angel, albeit a lewd one.

Belphegor

Lingerie soft fabric very comfy. Makes you look sexy makes him want to touch you 10 out of 10 would fuck you in his sleep again.

He prefers the lingerie that value comfort over sexiness. He will be obsessed with touching you when you wear that. He wants you to wear more things like that to bed. Being pretty much his teddy bear when you're wearing something He wants to make sure it's soft.

Tho no matter how much he loses sleep when he is trying to press his cock in between your flushed thighs he will not comment on that. Listen if sex helps beleth sleep that it should work on him.

He likes to play with the fabric well he drifts off. Pressing his whole body against you feeling the softness of your body and the softness of the fabric.

[10yrsyart]

(alternative music only video)

i've been inspired by this song "Knight on the Moon- John Lordwood" recently. there's just something very melancholy about it, but in a mysterious way that builds into these intense moments of battle or rescue or something (the beginning leading up to 2:50 and also 6:27 onward).

this is the story of the Gospel, but i hope it's in a way that makes you see it with fresh eyes. the God of the universe, the vast cosmos, saw our sin and our suffering, and loved us enough to come down Himself. He was born as a human and experienced the joys and sorrows that we experienced. the devil is the temporary ruler on Earth and everyone is born under his rule, whether they know it or not. but Jesus paid the ransom for us, to move us into His own Kingdom. He gave His life so that we could be freed from those chains forever.

every pain you've experienced, every sadness that feels like it will finally swallow you whole; Jesus experienced that personally. He doesn't watch sympathetically from afar, He stands and cries with you, knowing just what you're feeling. He loved you enough to give His very life to give you hope. strength can be found in Him, and freedom, and joy. He is the ONLY way to be saved, not only from the consequences of your sins, but from the doom of living in a fallen world. the fallen world won't last forever though, He will soon remake it new. decide for yourself what kingdom you want to be part of.

"Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' For sin is the thing that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

[aethien11-blog]

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS. (Also, I’m a sappy, silly, dork at times. Sorry not sorry.)

The boys reactions to learning their s/o has been kidnapped

Fem Reader x : Muzan, Gyutaro, Rengoku, Sanemi

WARNINGS: use of ‘naughty words’, mentions of blood, rape, mutilation, death, violence, and possible spoilers. 

MUZAN KIBUTSUJI

It was supposed to be your last day under the sunlight, that had been your request. Muzan had found you far too intriguing (he would never admit to actually having developed feelings for you) to leave you as a mere human, and you for your part had fallen hard for the red-eyed King of the Demons. Granting you one last day in the sunlight was a small price…or it should have been.

Muzan’s nerves were already on edge. He did not like you being away where he could not watch you and be certain of your safety, but Douma had humans with you, other humans that were to see to your every desire for the day. Muzan had ensured they would have ample funds to do so. It would be fine, at least that’s what he kept trying to tell himself all the way up until Douma appeared before him and tossed a mangled human at his feet. 

Muzan had seen Douma assume many expressions and faces over the centuries, but the death glare down at the now legless man at his feet did not help Muzan’s nerves. Before Muzan could snap at Douma that he did not require anyone else to do his hunting for him, Douma snarled at the human. “Repeat what you just said to me.”

Muzan actually took the time to look then and noticed the robes the man wore. He was a member of Douma’s cult and his face looked vaguely familiar, but the words he uttered through pain stilled the Demon Lord’s heart in his chest, before his blood raged to life through his body.

“T-took her.”

“What do you mean by that?” Muzan's quiet question that was laced with a thousand promises of pain beyond imagination if the answer received was anything but pleasing.

“S-swords. Men with swords. They,” the man coughed another pile of blood at his feet before he stopped breathing. 

“Demon slayers, my lord,” Douma answered from a prostate position.

Before he could blink, Douma’s head was snapped back, clawed hands fisted in his hair forcing the multi-colored eyes to meet the furious ruby of the Demon King. 

Slowly, as if dragging the words from the pits of his now hollow stomach, Muzan ordered, “Where…is…she?”

Douma blinked only once before he heard the familiar strum of the biwa and four other demons appeared on the floor behind him. 

*******************************************************************

You sat up, still with your hands bound before you, in front of the men gathered. There were two women but you would not look at them. All you could feel was cold fear and rage. They had been going on for hours now, asking questions that you gave only short, curt replies to… if you answered at all. 

“You don’t seem to understand just what kind of monster that man is!”

That did it. You snarled out, “You don’t get to call him a monster when you are the ones that murdered my escorts.”

“It might seem that way,” one of the women spoke up and you snapped a glare at her smiling face. Her bangs hang loose, but otherwise her hair was drawn back in a bun, behind a butterfly of all things. You silently scoff at the concept. “We were actually saving you.”

There was no keeping the scoff silent that time. 

The smile faded from her face barely before she forcibly replaced it. “We were.”

“From what? A happy life?” You didn’t wait for any of them to answer. “They were to escort me to gather the rest of my matrimonial supplies and you killed them and you expect me to believe a single lie that drips out of your open maw.”

“This poor woman.” The giant rubbed his beads between his hands again as he began crying. “He has deceived her.”

“She’ll need to remain restrained.” The heterochromatic gaze made you shiver on its own, nevermind the albino snake slithering over his shoulders. “She managed to do quite a bit of damage to slayers that rescued her.”

“Captured,” you snipe back. “Not rescued.”

“Look, sweetheart,” the large man with gems hanging from his hitai-ate on either side of his face began in a far gentler tone than the rest had used, “you’re safe now. The demons aren’t going to get you here. That’s what we call rescued. Yeah?”

You scoff and purposely turn your face from him. As if. Muzan was nothing but gentle with me and would murder any demon who tried.  Your eyes find his face and harden into (e/c) chips. “You are the only ones to cause me harm.”

“Do we know why Muzan wanted her?” the man with hair akin to living flame asked loudly. It was like he didn’t know how to talk if he wasn’t shouting and much like your lover, the noise grated your nerves. 

“Nope,” the flamboyant shinobi answered. “She still won’t say.”

“I think we should schedule a watch. Make sure no other demons come looking for her,” the scarred over man stated.

You couldn’t help the smile that crept up your lips then. You do that. Your gaze fell to the now setting evening sun. It was beautiful, the vibrant blue shifting into orange and red hues as if the sun itself knew what you did.

“It won’t matter,” you stated proudly. Your heart beat in your chest steadily and you smiled pleasantly at the fools before you whose mouths dropped at the beauty you could radiate. This view was for him, for the thought of your Lord that you knew was coming for you. “You’ll all be dead by dawn.”

Despite their pestering, you said nothing more for the remainder of the sunset, slowly watching that brilliant orb sink below the mountains with a radiant smile placed on your face. In its final glory, the sun painted the sky a vibrant vermillion that evening and you could think of nothing more than the beautiful red eyes of your Lord and the arms you wished so desperately to return to.

GYUTARO SHABANA

Gyutaro smiled his too wide smile down at the necklace. Daki had helped him select it. She didn’t understand his obsession with you but she did like that you at least caused her otherwise maudlin brother to smile once in a while so she was tolerant of you. It wasn’t like you’d ever compare with her in his heart anyway, right?

Gyutaro adored the way you would take his face in your hands and smile at him, telling him that he didn’t need to bring you things. You were just a simple farm girl after all. Such finery was for high class ladies.

“I’m just happy to see you again.”

The memory of those words made his grin go wider. His hopeful eyes met his sister’s. “Should I ask her… to become a demon like us?”

Daki smiled fondly and squeezed his shoulders in a hug. “I’m sure you’ll know that answer when it's the right time. For now, the sun has finally set. I’ll step back. Go to her.” And with that she surrendered full control to him and Gyutaro stood, gently cradling the gift for you in both hands.

************************************************************************

Gyutaro arrived at your meeting spot, in the shadows of the fields and froze. The door to your home was never left open. Cold panic sank in his stomach as he sprang across the fields. Your father always kept a single light in the window, but the house was dark and the closer he got, the more he could smell the scent he recognized immediately…blood.

Frozen in the doorway, the scene before him turned his stomach. The walls were spattered in blood, the two little bodies of your younger siblings both mutilated. There was a woman on the bed, older, must have been your mother. Gyutaro looked away. What had been done didn’t need to be guessed at. 

The man on the floor, a large pulsing gash of blood still seeping out into his garments still, mumbled and Gyutaro leaned closer.

“Sa-save…ha…Took…y/n.” It was the last wish of your dying father.

I’m not eating that, Daki echoed through their link but he barely heard her for the blood filling his ears.

His kamas appeared in his hands to a blood curdling screams that erupted from him before his feet were moving. The bandits had left obvious footprints to follow and this wasn’t the first time he pursued humans, but it was the fastest. His vision clouded in red as he saw only his target, only the patterns of feet and something heavy being dragged between them. He would get there. He would find you and save you and convince you to become a demon, so no one could do this to you ever again.

KYOJURO RENGOKU

Kyojuro hummed to himself as he opened the doors to his home one handed, balancing a load of groceries you had asked for on the other hand. His lovely wife sending him on errands first thing in the morning was nothing new. After all, you saw to the whole estate and made sure Senjuro was getting his study time in even when Kyojuro was away.

You supported your husband in everything, especially in being a Hashira and striving to improve the Corps from the top. Kyojuro chuckled to himself as he thought of your insistence that he take a Tsuguko so he could eventually retire.

“I do support you, my light. I just,” you had paused to blush that pretty blush he loved so across your cheeks back to your ears, “sometimes I want you to myself too.”

“Y/n! I’m back!” he called with a grin as he set the items down in your kitchen. 

When you didn’t immediately answer, Kyojuro’s brows furrowed and he began wandering the estate calling to you. 

Finally he stepped out into the yard and raised his arm, calling “Kaname!” 

Kaname alighted to his raised wrist and peered up at him. 

“Kaname, I cannot find y/n anywhere. Could you find her?”

“But of course.” And Kaname alighted once more. 

Kyojuro’s earlier smile failed to reappear as his instincts overrode his gleeful personality. Something was wrong. 

“Brother?” Senjuro called as he walked out onto the patio.

Kyojuro walked over. 

“Are you training, y/n again today?” Senjuro asked, glancing about for you.

Kyojuro couldn’t resist the smile that took him then. “I was actually looking for her. Have you seen her?”

Senjuro seemed almost to freeze, staring up at his brother as if he might have grown another head. “But she went into town with you…to get your steamed buns, right?”

Kyojuro laughed then. “That woman. Such a handful.” He grinned at his little brother. “I hope when you marry, that you find a more docile wife.”

“I don’t want to marry at all. Those things are trouble,” Senjuro shot back. 

Kyojuro’s hearty laugh filled the courtyard. 

“Seems the boy at least learned something useful from your wife,” Shinjuro jibed. “Probably should go after her though.”

“And why is that, father? Y/n is capable after all.”

Shinjuro glared heavily at him. “Because capable or not a woman shouldn’t be on her own. Now get going!”

Kyojuro caught the sake bottle hurled his way and set it gracefully on the porch before grinning down to Senjuro. “When I come back, we can all train.”

“Lotta good that’ll do ya,” Shinjuro grumbled and wandered off. 

**************************************************************************

Meaning to surprise your husband with his favorite steamed buns, you had slipped into town after he left. What you had not intended, was to be held up before you could leave. The men blocking your way were not on the list of things that needed handling today but it seemed, they were going to insist. 

“Please stand aside. I need to get through.”

Their sick chuckles were really answer enough but you held hope one of them would see sense and move.

“Pretty thing like you shouldn’t be wandering about alone. Why don’t we keep you company?” was followed by another round of chuckling. 

“I am never alone. My husband’s light accompanies me everywhere. As does his strength.”

“That light’s welcome to come with us too,” one sniped on a grin. 

“Yeah. Your husband’s light can shine on my cock all it likes.” Another round of chuckles as she sigh and slowly shake your head.

“How uncouth.”

SANEMI SHINAZUGAWA

Sanemi grinned as he bowed off to Muichiro and Iguro. 

“Thanks for another fun night.”

Iguro only scoffed and Muichiro cocked his head to the side. “Your standards for fun seem very different lately.”

Jumping on the chance, Iguro teasingly asked, “Is it because of y/n?”

“Pft, as if,” Sanemi snarled, turning away, though neither sparring partner missed the dusting of pink over his cheeks to the question. “Man can’t enjoy a good sparring match now or something?”

“I didn’t say that,” Muichiro started as he began walking away. “Only that you seem to have gotten stronger since you began dating-”

“We’re not dating,” Sanemi snapped quickly.

“Uh-huh,” Iguro agreed sarcastically. “You’re just training and fucking. No one calls that dating. Oh, and living together. And eating together. And -”

“Shut up, snake head, before I really give it to ya.”

“Give it to her. I’m out of here.”

Muichiro smirked before putting it away and continuing his walk. They would walk together as usual for part of the way back so he could ask after. 

And when they were nearly to Shinazugawa’s residence, he did. “Are you going to allow her to join the corps?”

Usually, Sanemi would snap at the question but this time, he didn’t get the chance.

“Lord Tokito! Lord Shinazugawa! Thank goodness!” the out of breath kakushi managed as he doubled over before them heaving breath. “Miss y/n…and mister Kanamori…have been….captured.”

Sanemi’s feet were moving before the kakushi could finish their report. YOU IDIOT!! How could you let yourself get caught?! Sanemi dodged between branches of the forest at a full run. He had trained you better than that. Even made you promise not to join the corps if he trained you personally and now…

“Dammit!”

“I don’t think expletives will help us find them any faster,” Muichiro commented from his side, keeping up with his stride nearly soundlessly. 

************************************************************************

One hand to the weapon, the other set out beside you as you spoke, though never turning from the opponents in front of you. “Stay behind me, Mister Kanamori.”

“I’m so sorry. I feel I should be the one protecting you,” Kanamori stated meekly, though he obeyed. 

You couldn’t help but smirk. “Then you don’t know my lover,” you stated as the other hand set to the hilt. “Now come at me, you bastards.”

Special thank you to Miss Vry for helping me with tags :D

[scriberye]

A Secret Held Tight (3/?)

────────── DEMETRIAN TITUS x F!READER x CATO SICARIUS ⚠️ Romance, Pregnant!Reader Weeks after a night of celebrations, you find yourself pregnant and ready to run, only to have your plans thwarted by Titus who vows to keep you safe. Now you must navigate the complexities of falling in love, and the scrutiny of Captain Cato Sicarius. a/n: Cato makes his appearance! This could probably do with another round of editing since I was writing it between dungeon queues. chp. one / chp. two

You awaken slowly, groggy and disoriented, as the events of last night come flooding back. Your body is heavy, and your spirit drained. With a weary sigh, you sit up, a sudden wave of nausea hitting you. You clutch your stomach as you fight through it. Thankfully, nothing comes up.

Taking a moment to recover, you look around at your new quarters. The room is small and barren, save for the bed you sit on. With time and care, you could make it cozier, maybe even squeeze a bassinet in for the baby. The two doors pose a challenge though — one leads to the hall, while the other likely connects your room to Titus’.

Rising carefully, you make your way to the door and knock. There’s no response. You open it cautiously, peering inside only to find Titus’ room empty. Curious, you step through.

His room mirrors your own in its simplicity. A neatly made bed pushed up against the wall, and a desk nearby with a modest collection of books stacked in the corner, their spines worn from use.

Just as you’re about to examine the books closer, Titus enters, a tray of food balanced in his hands. He’s surprised to see you up, and he smiles. It’s awkward at best, as though he’s unsure if he’s doing it right. In truth, there haven’t been many causes to warrant smiling lately.

“Good morning,” he says, placing the tray down on his desk. “How are you feeling?”

You take a moment to answer him, resting a hand on your rounding belly. It wasn’t obvious yet, but you could already feel the changes. Just last night, you had steeled yourself for a life of solitude with your child. Now you were safe in the place you tried to flee — safe under an Ultramarine’s protection.

“I’m better, thank you, my lord.”

“Titus,” he corrects softly. “Please, when we’re alone, there’s no need.”

“O-of course. Titus,” you echo, testing his name on your lips. It’s strangely intimate to address him without titles, and both of you blush like bashful teenagers.

An awkward silence follows until Titus clears his throat, gesturing toward the tray. “You slept through breakfast, so I brought you some.”

“Thank you,” you say, sitting down at the desk and looking over the contents of the tray. It’s a modest feast — bread, an array of fruits, and a jug of clean water, far more than what you were accustomed to eating before. You nibble at the bread. It seemed the safest of the options for your rolling stomach.

“I informed the kitchen it was for a pregnant woman,” Titus says, sitting on the edge of his bed, “and they insisted I bring it all. You’d think I stumbled into a nest of nids with how frenzied they were.”

You laugh quietly, and Titus’ gaze softens when he looks at you. “When you’ve had your fill, you may accompany me to battle practice.”

The meal passes in silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of pages as Titus reads through the codex astartes. You eat what you can, mindful of the persistent morning sickness that kept hounding you.

Once you’re finished, you follow Titus to the training grounds. He joins his brothers, exchanging a few words as they wait for others to join. You find a bench in a cloister that’s out of the way and settle in to watch.

The respect the other marines have for Titus is obvious, even amongst the younger brothers who look at him with open admiration. You’d heard that Titus had been demoted, though the particulars remained a mystery — details a serf wasn’t privy to. Still, losing rank did nothing to reduce their respect for him.

You brush your hand over your stomach. He’ll be a great father.

With all the brothers assembled, training begins in earnest, their first drill focusing on close-quarter combat. The sounds of power armor whirring and the grunts of exertion fill the air. And Titus is magnificent. His form, stacked with muscle and powerful, moves with grace and precision from years of training. Each swing, every punch, every move is efficient, nothing is wasted.

Every so often, his gaze drifts towards you, and when your eyes meet his, your cheeks bloom with warmth and you duck your head with an embarrassed smile. A younger brother nearly gets a hit on him while he’s distracted by you, but Titus recovers with a dodge.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a figure approaching, clad in gleaming blue armor — Cato Sicarius. It’s almost theatrical how the sun glints off his armor, casting a bright reflection. His piercing gaze is locked on you, and your heart races as he gets closer.

“Serf,” he says, his voice calm, yet the way he addresses you cuts deeper than any blade. It’s like an insult. You lower your head.

“My lord,” you murmur.

“I had heard Titus took on a pregnant serf. I’m disappointed to find it true.” His eyes narrow, his eyes boring into you with a strange, unsettling familiarity. “And who is the father?”

“I-I don’t know, my lord. It’s complicated,” you stammer.

Sicarius regards you with a mixture of frustration and annoyance. He doesn’t give you a moment to collect yourself. “Complicated? How do you not know?” he presses harder, his voice low and urgent. “You must have some idea.”

Your hands tremble, and you clasp them together to keep yourself from shaking. The world seems to close in; the accusations are heavy and crush the air from your lungs. Before you can muster a response, another marine strides purposefully towards you, his face stern — Titus.

“It doesn’t matter who the father is,” he declares. “What matters is her safety and well-being, and that of the child and I will take that responsibility.”

Sicarius jerks his head to face Titus with a frown. “Titus. Remember your duty. Do not let these personal matters interfere with that.”

Titus is unwavering, a bulwark against Sicarius. “I assure you, Captain, my duties are my priority. If you take issue with my decisions, we may take this to the Primarch.”

Sicarius glances once more between you and Titus, his lips pressed into a thin line. After a moment, he nods curtly. “Very well, brother,” he concedes, though his tone implies this matter is far from over. He turns and strides over to the group of marines, his voice rising in stern commands as he begins scolding and correcting their forms.

Titus sighs, relaxing as he looks down at you. “Are you alright?” he asks, jolting you back to reality.

You nod, clutching your hands protectively over your stomach. “I-I am, thank you. I feel like I can’t stop saying that…”

“There’s no need for thanks, I am happy to aid you.” Titus smiles, and this time, it seems more natural. “Do not dwell on his words, Cato has always been difficult. Come, midday meal is soon. I’ll see you to the kitchens.”

He holds out his hand, and you slip yours into his. Titus’ grip is steady and reassuring as he helps you to your help, and you take comfort in that — in him.

Later that night, after concluding evening prayer, Titus made his way towards the kitchens, planning to retrieve a meal for himself and you. He wonders what they’ll suggest you eat this time. How much did you need to eat, anyway? A million thoughts race through his mind as he rounds a corner.

From behind a column, a figure emerges and Titus stops, watching as the person hurries to him. It’s a serf, one he recognizes as serving Cato Sicarius. This can’t be good.

“Lord Titus,” the serf begins, his voice hushed and heavy with fear. “I have something important I must tell you, concerning your serf.”

Titus straightens, snapping to attention. “Speak.”

The serf hesitates, casting worried glances around as if someone might overhear him. Walls of the fortress had ears. “Captain Sicarius is the father,” he blurts out, eyes wide with fear. “I-I saw him leaving my chambers that night, and when I entered, I found her.”

A heavy silence falls upon them, thick and oppressive, as the revelation hangs in the air. The tension stretches into a long, suffering stillness. The serf wrings his hands in an attempt to calm his nerves, searching Titus’ face for any sign of emotion — and finds none.

Finally, Titus speaks, his voice cold and measured. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

With a hasty bow, the serf scurries away, gone as quickly as he appeared, leaving Titus alone with his turbulent thoughts. Titus breathes deep, his nostrils flaring. His fists clench at his sides, the knuckles turning white from the force.

That bastard.

🏷️ @danart501