#this is such a Look it's a crying shame historical dramas sleep on it

[garlandedspirits]

Ladies dressed en déshabillé - by Henri Gascar, c. 1670s

[mimisempai]

When you kiss me, you speak to my soul

Summary:

5 times when Loki receives an unexpected kiss and once when he gives one. (or more)

______

This story inaugurates a new series.

"Together, for all time, always"

This series is my way out in case our boys don't canonically have a happy ending.Background: After the events of the TV show, all the members of the TVA are aware of their status as variants and decide to work together on a better TVA. The main team is composed of Loki, Mobius, Sylvie and Miss Minute. The rest will come as time goes by. The stories do not necessarily follow each other.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32203465

3123 words - Rating G

1.

"Okay Loki! You know that in order to get your time travel pass, you have to prove that you know the rules perfectly."

Loki, annoyed, rolled his eyes and sighed,

"Honestly, I'm a rehabilitated variant, god of mischief, who saved the TVA from its slavery, that pass should be granted to me without going through any fucking tests!"

Miss Minutes jumped in front of Loki and pointed her little finger in the direction of Loki's nose, "Ttttt a god don't swear! And when the new TVA administration, of which you are a part, put the rules in place, you all decided to start over. With a new, admittedly less rigid, but still regulated basis that you signed up!  Come on, only two more points to validate!"

Loki grumbled, itching to send the little clock flying.

Unperturbed, Miss Minutes continued, "Tell me the basic rules of time travel? "

Loki began to recite in a bored tone, "Do not interact with yourself, do not interact with your ancestors, do not interact with historical figures. Don't interact with the big events in history even if it means not being able to save everyone. Pay attention to small details and use your time wisely.

"Perfect my little Loki!"

"Hey, a little respect Miss Mimi!"

The little clock coughed and Loki noticed a slight flush on her little cheeks.

"Well, then explain to me the three major paradoxes of time travel."

Loki, keeping the same jaded look on his face, recited again, "The Grandfather Paradox, if you go back in time to kill your grandfather, you effectively kill your father, and therefore yourself. The Predestination Paradox is simply when your past self is the very cause of your need to travel back in time. This creates an endless loop of travel, which is why it is also called a closed causal loop. Finally, the Bootstrap Paradox. It occurs when something is returned, often to the traveler himself, negating the need for its creation in the first place."

The little clock jumped all over Loki's desk, clapping!

"Yay my little Loki! You'll be allowed to get your pass validated!"

Loki, happy but irritated by the little machine, asked him, "So that means I don't need your lessons anymore, right?"

"Absolutely!"

Loki rubbed his hands together as he said, "Perfect."

He began to move his hand, thinking of a spell to cast on the annoying little clock.

A voice whispered in his ear, "Loki... what did we say about spelling those weaker than ourselves?"

Loki turned to Mobius with a pout, "but Mobiuuus, just a little spell!"

Mobius bent down and took the hand with which Loki was about to cast his spell.

He said softly, "These hands do such beautiful magic, it would be such a shame to make them cast second rate spells."

He laid a gentle kiss to the back of Loki's hand and then walked away with a quiet step.

Loki, slightly surprised, touched lightly with his other hand the place where Mobius' lips had lingered.

Then he got up quickly, knocked over his chair and ran behind him.

Miss Minute, who had witnessed the scene, raised her eyes to the sky and returned to her screen.

2.

Mobius was waiting outside the elevator.

"Mobius!"

Mobius turned around, Loki was coming towards him with a quick step. He looked at his watch and said with a slightly reproachful tone, "You'll really have to learn to be on time!"

Loki, with a cheeky grin on his face, replied, "I find I'm making progress, yesterday I was 13 minutes late and today only 11."

Mobius rolled his eyes and was about to answer him when they were interrupted by the voiceover from the elevator.

"The elevator is momentarily out of order, please use the service stairs."

Mobius walked to the door next to the elevator and held it open, waving his hand towards Loki.

"After you."

Loki walked past him and began to descend the stairs.

Almost arriving at the bottom, Mobius, on Loki's heels, put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face him.

"What's wrong?" Loki asked him, surprised.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine," Mobius replied softly before taking his face in his hands and leaning in to kiss him.

A few moments later, they separated to catch their breath.

Loki gasped slightly, asking Mobius, "I'm not complaining, but what was that for?"

As they finished descending the stairs Mobius replied, "It was the perfect opportunity to reverse the roles, for once I was the one who had to bend over to kiss you."

Loki was still smiling as they walked through the door.

As they passed by the elevator, the door opened to reveal the other members of their team.

"Huh? Is the elevator fixed yet? We took the stairs because they reported that the elevator was momentarily out of order, like... three minutes ago."

"What? But we got on it three minutes ago, four floors higher than you."

Loki looked back at Mobius with a little doubt.

Mobius replied, "Just because you're the god of mischief, doesn't mean you're the only one who can use it."

3.

"Argh, for crying out loud, dates, more dates, always dates!!!"

Loki rubbed his eyes trying to fight the fatigue that was overtaking him.

He stood up, took a few steps to stretch his legs before returning to his seat and continuing to flip through his files.

"Need a helping hand?"

Mobius put his hand on Loki's shoulder and gently squeezed it before sitting down across from him without waiting for an answer.

He continued, "I know this isn't your favorite part of the job, Loki, but it's part of it and I'm glad to see that despite your reluctance, you're not afraid to pitch in.

Loki grunted, "I just don't think it's fair, Sylvie never has to do this kind of work. She's always out there."

"Have you been traveling through time, through all kinds of apocalypses like her for that long?"

"Hmph!Always the voice of wisdom huh?"

Mobius snickered, "Me? No, of course not, but the wiser of the two of us, that I am."

"You prick!" muttered Loki.

"Hey, I heard that!"

They both immersed themselves in the files.

After two hours, Mobius saw Loki get up.

"I'm going to stretch my legs for two minutes."

"Okay."

Five minutes later he saw a small bowl of salad appear in front of his eyes.

Loki said to him as he sat down, "to make up for my bad mood of earlier."

Mobius put his hand on Loki's forearm, "Loki, there is nothing to forgive.  You are allowed to have mood swings. I'm not asking you to be someone else. But thank you for the consideration."

He ate the salad Loki had brought him while the god got back to work.

A little later, he was disturbed in his research by a light snore, he looked up at the familiar sight of Loki asleep, his head on his crossed arms.

He had a fond smile. He knew that this kind of work must seem tedious to someone like Loki and yet, even though he grumbled and acted like a drama queen on a regular basis, it didn't stop him from working seriously.

Looking at the time, he thought they had worked enough for today.

He stood up and whispered in his partner's ear, "Loki, wake up. It's late. We're done for the day."

As Loki slowly opened his eyes, Mobius placed a kiss on the top of his head before getting up and going to put the files away.

Loki straightened up and was stretching again when Mobius returned.

"Was I dreaming or did you kiss me on the head?"

"Unfortunately my sleeping beauty's lips weren't accessible so I had to settle for kissing the top of her head to get her to wake up."

Mobius winked at her and headed for the door.

He turned and said again, "Are we going home?"

Loki, who still hadn't gotten used to the warmth these few words provoked in him, quickened his pace to join him.

4.

When Mobius arrived at the cafeteria, he saw Loki concentrating at the dessert counter.

He joined him, placing his hand on his lower back to signal his presence.

"You look completely absorbed in the contemplation of these desserts. Do you have a favorite?"

Loki turned his head toward him and grumbled, "There's always so much to choose from. And every time there's a new kind. I don't even know what to choose. In Asgard there was fruit and... fruit."

Mobius was amused every time Loki was faced with this kind of problem. He made it an insurmountable challenge. This time, Mobius offered to help him.

"If you want we'll take several and share."

Loki nodded, " You choose, because I don't know what to take."

"Okay, go sit down, I'll pick and join you."

Mobius took a sample of several desserts, located the table Loki was sitting at and joined him.

They spent the next hour sharing the dessert plate. It was just the two of them left in the cafeteria. Loki was finishing the tiramisu while Mobius was bringing a last spoonful of chocolate mousse to his mouth.

"So, have you made your choice? What's your favorite?"

Loki licked his lips and replied, "Undoubtedly the tiramisu."

He put his spoon down and asked Mobius, "What about you?"

Mobius, who was sitting next to him, moved closer and looking at Loki's lips, murmured softly, "I'm hesitating between the chocolate mousse and the tiramisu."

He closed the distance between them and placed his lips on Loki's. Loki parted his lips and let Mobius explore his mouth with his skilled tongue. Mobius finished the fierce kiss with a light bite on Loki's lower lip, soothing him with a final lick. Then he moved back.

"I think in the end, tiramisu is my favorite."

5.

They had just returned from the mission and were in the locker room.

Loki was putting his things away in his locker. As always after a successful mission, he was so excited that he was talking non-stop.

Replaying the events in detail, and because he was Loki, he didn't hesitate to emphasize the moments when he and Mobius had been particularly good.

The rest of the team was used to it and listened with one ear.

Mobius smiled fondly.

Continuing to babble, Loki followed the rest of the team for the post-mission debriefing.

As he walked out the door, he felt himself being pulled back. Then a hand reached into his hair and pulled out the tie that held it together.

He looked back at Mobius who was putting the rubber band in his pocket.

"Mobius?"

Mobius walked over to him.

"Why did you do that?"

Mobius replied with a mischievous smile, "Because when you have your hair tied back, I can't do that."

He raised his hand, and pushed behind Loki's ear the strands of hair that fell over Loki's face, letting his hand linger on the god's neck.

" Neither this."

With his hand on the back of Loki's neck, he ran his fingers through Loki's hair to comb it before gently grabbing it and pulling his head back slightly.

Having cleared with this gesture the throat of Loki, he deposited a rain of butterfly kisses.

Loki sighed, his lips parted, "Mobius..."

Mobius moved back again leaving his hand in Loki's hair.

"Nor this."

He raised his second hand and joined it with the first on the back of Loki's neck, tangling his fingers in the long black strands before pressing gently, forcing the god to tilt his head forward. Their lips were so close that each could feel the other's breath. Mobius pressed his lips to Loki's, his fingers clutching his hair as the god's hands found his waist.

Their kiss was long and slow, and when Mobius pulled back, nipping at Loki's bottom lip, He saw that his eyes were clouded and his mouth wide open.

"That's exactly why I like you better with your hair loose."

With a smile, he kissed Loki briefly on the cheek and headed for the locker room door, the bouncy step of one who has just won a victory, oblivious to Loki's hungry stare.

+1

Loki had had enough.

Mobius obviously enjoyed starting fires with Loki and never extinguished them.

Loki was on edge.

Not that Loki didn't appreciate Mobius' spontaneous displays of affection and kisses, the man was extremely inventive and talented, but he felt like a ball of clay in his hands.

His pride as a god of mischief was at stake!

He had to regain the upper hand, just a little, just a few moments.

"Hoho miss Minutes, looks like someone needs to get laid!"

"Hey Syl! I'm just a pure little watch. I don't want to know anything about your sex lives!"

Sylvie sitting with her feet up on Loki's desk fluttered a paper cutter in the air and snickered back, " Which sex life Mimi?"

The watch returned to the screen and grumbled, "Never mind, Loki and Mobius's love life is none of my business! Hmph!"

Loki with his hands on his hips and a dark look in his eyes, muttered to Sylvie, "Don't you have a job to do instead of gossiping with that piece of junk clock?"

"Hey jerk! I heard you!" Shouted the little voice from the monitor.

"It's so much more interesting to watch you mope about your mustachioed prince."

Loki slumped into the other chair, a sulky look on his face.

"It's not so bad though?" asked Sylvie, studying him, her chin on her hand.

Loki told her everything, from the kiss on his hand to the fiery kiss in the locker room.

"And you dare to complain?!" Sylvie asked him, quite irritated, "You have a man who is completely devoted to you, and full of attention for you.  Do you realize how lucky you are?"

"Wait, Syl! It's not that I don't like it. On the contrary, but... argh" Loki tugged at his hair, "I don't know how to say it, before, the Loki before the TVA, I've always been a hedonist who enjoys the pleasures of life, who takes and throws, but now, even though I'm still a hedonist, I don't just want to consume anymore, I want to give too. And right now I feel like I'm the only one receiving."

"Aw, you're cute you know."

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!"

"But no, well just a little bit, but really Loki, the fact that you're thinking about this, shows how much you've evolved right? Have you even tried talking to Mobius about it?"

Loki shook his head, "You know me, I often talk a lot to mask my insecurities and also because I like to listen to myself talk, but anyway what I mean is that when it's serious I'm unable to express myself properly."

"And show him?"

"How?"

Sylvie rolled her eyes, "Loki, are you the god of mischief or not? You are capable of seducing anyone! Don't embarrass me!"

A few moments later, alone in his office, he thought back to this discussion.

How could he surprise Mobius?

Mobius who knew how to read all his tricks...

Of course! The answer was obvious!

What better way than a direct approach!

He waited for the right moment and went to Mobius' office, sure to find him there.

As he walked through the door, Mobius looked up, a smile blooming on his face as he saw Loki.

"Loki!" He wanted to stand up, Loki stopped him by waving his hand. With one hand he locked the office door and with the other, using a flick of his wrist, he turned Mobius's chair around before walking towards him.

Then, without warning his lover, he straddled Mobius' lap and framed his face with his hands before throwing himself on Mobius' mouth.

Mobius pushed him back slightly and managed to articulate, panting, "Wait, wait, wait Loki! What's the matter with you? Not that I'm against it, but I'm surprised, pleasantly surprised, that you'd take the initiative like this."

Loki with his forehead and lips against Mobius' replied, equally breathless, "The problem is that my lover has been teasing me all week, kissing me everywhere and at any time, and hasn't given me a chance to return the favor, so now you shut up and let me kiss you! It's my turn!"

As Loki resumed the interrupted kiss, Mobius decided, with the last fragment of coherent thought he possessed, that all he had to do was enjoy it. He just ran his hands over Loki's hips pressing him closer until there was no more space between them.

He tried to control the kiss, but Loki would not let him, and finally, after a brief struggle, he gave in to the kiss and the shivers of pleasure that ran down his spine.

He believed to be out of air when Loki moved back slightly and fixed him, the eyes shining with satisfaction, licking his lips like a cat which had just devoured a pot of cream.

They slowly caught their breath and Mobius couldn't help but gently tuck a lock of Loki's hair back behind his ear in a gesture that was becoming more and more familiar.

Loki leaned into Mobius' hand.

"Hey Loki, more seriously," Mobius told him softly, "does it bother you that I'm acting like this? Because you know you can tell me."

Loki sighed, "It doesn't bother me per se, it's just the lack of reciprocity, the fact that I'm receiving a lot and giving nothing."

Mobius shook his head with a smile, "Sweetheart," he couldn't help but notice that Loki seemed to appreciate the endearment, "that's not how it works. When you kissed me just now, did you feel pleasure?"

Loki, indignant, protested, "Yes, of course I-"

Mobius put a finger to his lips.

"It's the same for me, you know. I am aware that in your head the gears are spinning wildly non stop, but in such cases, don't think. Just enjoy it, there's nothing selfish about it."

Loki nodded, then passionately kissed his lover once more, until they were both out of breath again.

Then Loki traced a path of kisses from Mobius' chin to his ear and nibbled on his lobe before whispering, his breath making Mobius shudder, "The rest is for later my love..."

He stood up and headed for the door while swaying his hips, fully aware of the gaze that followed him.

Then before he walked through the door, he threw over his shoulder, with a mischievous smile, "I too can light a fire and make you burn for me."

_________

Not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[manet-boleyn]

Top 10 Characters in The Tudors

SarHello! I decided I would do a Top 10 characters in this show. I will call them characters, since they are very different from their historical counterparts. 

Honorable Mentions

Henry Percy

Bessie Blount

Mary Boleyn

Mark Smeaton

10 THOMAS CROMWELL

Why is Thomas Cromwell so low? He’s the dreamboat, he’s the Crumb Cakes. But for me, there are a lot of characters I like more than him. His acting is well done, however he does not give off Thomas Cromwell energy. At first, I kept mixing him up with Sir Thomas More, he was that bleh in Season 1. That really is not his fault though, since Season 1 is my least favorite season and many of the characters are portrayed horribly. looking at you, Henry VIII. However, he does get better in the later seasons. He was the character that help made the dryness of Season 3 a bit better, making it only my second least favorite season. James Frian played him very well and his execution scene was very difficult to watch since I started to grow some love for him. But now it has been a whole month since I watched The Tudors and I think more characters other than him. Also, I personally think Mark Rylance plays Cromwell much better than James Frian since he does have the vibe of the historical figure. 

9 KATHERINE OF ARAGON

Again, not having that energy of the real historical figure. I really liked her, however as time went on, more characters were introduced and I started to forget about her character. Plus, she is most prevalent in Season 1, so I am very biased on that. However, this Katherine does have real traits of the real Katherine. She loves her daughter and is very determined to still win Henry’s heart from Anne. Overall, I do think Maria Doyle Kennedy played her very well. It’s not the best Katherine that I have seen, however she is somewhat close. 

8 KATERYN PARR

A surprise, actually. After going through my least favorite portrayal of all time, Tazmin Merchant’s Katheryn Howard, I thought I was going to get another terrible version of Kateryn Parr, she is only queen for three or four episodes even though the real Parr was queen consort for four years. However, she was actually very enjoyable. I liked how it showed her faith to her religion and how terrified she was to it. I really loved how she bonded with Henry VIII and his children, she seems such a wonderful mother and I definitely want to be at court when she is queen. I really like how Joely Richardson portrayed her. I always really do not bring my attention to Parr and focus more on the other wives, so I was stunned how much of an interesting life Parr had. I’m putting her higher than I should since she was mostly a surprise after Katheryn Howard.

7 ANNA VON KLEVE

Anna von Kleve is my second favorite queen after Katheryn Howard, when thinking of the real historical figures. However, one grudge of her being higher on the list is that she sleeps with Henry VIII in Season 4. Nevertheless, she is portrayed very well, in my opinion. She is very anxious and shy just like the real Anna von Kleve when she met her husband. She has so much love for the children of Henry VIII, it is really exactly like her. She is not in the show that much, so it is a real shame, I wished they shown her more often in the later of Season 4, since she was friends with Henry VIII until his death. I like how they also explore her life after the annulment of their marriage how she is more confident and more at home without being the queen of England. One of the most accurate portrayals regarding personality in The Tudors. Props to Joss Stone. 

6 SIR THOMAS MORE

OK OK OK. I AM VERY BIASED ON THIS ONE. Why is he in number 6? Well, he’s really fucking hot. Like, no joke, if I had to pick any of the characters from The Tudors to marry, this is the guy. However, he will burn me on the stake though :(. Looks aside, Sir Thomas More is a very well rounded character. There are pros and cons about him. He loves his family and he has good advice when you need it. He is willing to help out his friends, too. However, he is a fanatic of burning heretics and would not accept Anne as queen instead of signing it off and going back to his family. he was one of the only enjoyable characters from Season 1 and I thank him for that. Jermey Northam is a fantasic actor and I a very happy to learn who he is. However, he is mostly high on the list because I think Sir Thomas More is really fucking hot like no joke. 

5 HENRY TUDOR, KING HENRY VIII

I have to admit. He was one of the worst characters in Season 1. He was annoying, he yelled like a child when he did not get his way, overall he was not an enjoyable character. However, time grew on, and he grew on me. He does not have King Henry VIII energy since they did make him more sympathetic, but I really honestly do not care. Jonathan Rhys Meyers started to get a hold of this character and started to make him a more interesting and amazing character around Season 3. You can really see how Meyers started to very terribly make this character a little piss cry baby and into a mad, terrible king that loves bloodshed but also still loves the people that he does not kill off or does. Henry VIII I feel like is best when he is in late Season 2 and Season 4. Season 2 he wants to take down Anne so bad and you can see the determination of it and it is so wonderful how they shown the ending of him eating a dead swan (I’m guessing it is symbolism of Anne) happily. Season 4 he kills off all the characters I really fucking hate which makes me happy. The ending with him and Kateryn Parr with his children is the most beautiful endings I have seen and when he is gazing up at Heaven with the Grim Reaper behind him on his horse is such.... wow. The end of Season 4 almost made me cry for this man. He has done so wrong, yet he is starting to understand that he fucked up big time and there is no going back and changing it at all. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry VIII I feel like had beautiful growth throughout this show. 

4 JOAN BULMER

Sometimes when I read a long book series or watch a show that has multiple seasons, I sometimes love one background character that does not show up that much. This did happen in The Tudors with Joan Bulmer. When I was suffering from the nasty portrayal of Katheryn Howard, I always had an outlet of relief for her best friend, Joan. I really love her personally how she is a bit gossipy, but she is very sweet to her best friend. I lowkey thought she was kind of gay for Katheryn at one point, since she looks up to her in such a high manner. And since I am the straight friend TM of many LGBTQ+ groups, it reminded me of them and how I could not see them in the pandemic. She was a very homely character because of that. Joan is very overlooked sadly and I wish she got more hype, since her character is so rich. I would love to be her friend honestly. Catherine Steadman is very pretty and was a great actor for such a bouncy and lovable friend. 

3 EUSATCE CHAPUYS

Chapuys grew on me. My first ever grip of the historical figure was in Allison Weir’s Katherine of Aragon in her Six Queens series, however I started to get that grip in the end. However, I finally understood Chapuys as a whole from The Tudors. When I think of the historical figure, I think of  Anthony Brophy’s portrayal of him. He is Chapuys each time I read a book with him in it. He is an amazing father figure towards the Lady Mary when she is so lost without a father to care. Their friendship is extremely sweet and I really want to write about it. How they bond over Katherine of Aragon is amazing too. He is there for her no matter what and comforts her when she is upset. It is a shame that he died before the real Chapuys passes, however i totally understand why they made that decision. It made me really upset when he started to suffer from gout and died because of it. Overall, I wished they recognized him more in the series, even putting him the title card for one episode would be enough. Very underrated in my opinion, I wish The Tudor fandom would show their love for him much more. 

2 LADY MARY TUDOR

No offense to Henry VIII’s children portrayals, but I really do not like them. It’s probably because I am not the biggest fan of children or I do not like the way Elizabeth is portrayed (I think she is very dull until when she leaves her dad to die). Lady Mary is an exception. She has so much drama in her that is so interesting and I am so glad they made her very complex and not the bloodshed Bloody Mary that everyone knows her from today. She seems very calm and collected in the inside, but however, when she is alone she breaks every time because she has struggles of marriage and the divorce of her parents. She has flaws, like how she wants to burn all these heretics and is quite nasty to Katheryn Howard (I excuse her from that though). But she still loves her siblings even though they are heretics and especially close to her sister Elizabeth. She is the best character when it comes to character growth and development from a happy little princess into a broken young woman. I love her so much, I wish to forget what happened to the real Lady Mary and how she becomes quite different, from begging to her husband to stay and wondering if she would kill her sister or not. Overall, Sarah Bolger is an amazing young actress and i cannot believed she tackled this very hard roll when she was still a teenager. I had a hard time to pick who was going to be my favorite character between her and number one, so they might change. 

1 ANNE BOLEYN 

Really? How can I not? Out of all of the queens, she was the most developed and had the most screen time. Natalie Dormer does not have the Anne Boleyn aura, however she still keeps all the points of the woman’s personality. She is shown to be caring at times, she loves her daughter and her family, and it is very sad to see that her father manipulates her to become Queen. When people think of the show The Tudors, they think of Anne Boleyn. She has so much class in the show and how they do her execution episode is very respectable. I like how they do all the timeline and symbolism with the swans. I was really upset that she died because she was the main force that drove the show on. After she died, I started to not care about many of the characters that shown up later throughout the show. I wished she was more prevalent in Season 1 because she feels somewhat of a background character in the first half. She is strong, witty, and tries to make people follow her way in a nice way at first. She does have flaws, like how she can be very nasty and how she treats her enemies, especially Jane Seymour. She was such a wel rounded character and Natalie Dormer played her wonderfully, it was very obvious that she knew who she was playing and was acting. Would the real Anne Boleyn be happy with this portrayal? Most likely. And I am happy that I watched this show to recognize the amazing acting skills of Natalie Dormer and the other actors. 

What are you favorite characters in The Tudors?

[respect-the-fae]

Things that remind me of: Aphrodite

Time for Aphrodite! I love her! She's like my mum! I work with her and Ares alot, I would go as far as to say that she's my matron, along with Hekate. She's so wonderful, but also absolutely terrifying, my favourite epithet of hers is Aphrodite Epitumbidia, which means She Upon The Graves. Anyway, I'm rambling, this will also probably be long. I'm glad you guys like my dumbass thought process so much 😂

Getting butterflies in your stomach bc your crush/partner/spouse walks in and your brain stops working and you can't stop admiring them and their aura and the wonderful personality you know they have and you only thought is "oh my god I wanna kiss them."

When kids have dolls and they make intricate love triangles and dramas with them, where Barbie number 12 wants to marry Ken number 6 and Ken number 3 wants to marry her instead so he pushes 6 down the stairs so he can have 12 all to himself. (Why was that so specific? 😂)

Doing romantic things impulsively. Seeing your partners favourite flowers, or sweets, or anything that reminds you of them and immediately buying it, just because you think it will make them smile.

Best friend necklaces/bracelets/rings, etc. Aphrodite is platonic and familial love, as well as romantic and sexual.

When your best friend gets their heart broken and you clench your fists and bite your lip so hard you draw blood, when all you see is red and your chest is heaving with rage because HOW DARE THEY. And if asked later, if you were the one who slashed their tyres, you smile and say no. No one believes it, but there isn't any evidence. You only slashed 3 of them, so their insurance won't cover it.

Safe sex. Aphrodite does not like unsafe sex. She lived through the times where it wasn't safe, when love and lust gave those she blessed and adored illnesses that she wasn't allowed to save them from. It makes her so angry and hurt when the sex isn't safe, because it's just an extra few seconds to use a condom and confirm that they got tested recently and it was negative before losing yourself to passion.

Feeding the birds in the park.

Stalking your friend's crush and scaring everyone because "holy fuck, you were like 10 minutes, why do you know his middle name, hospital of birth, and his aunt's 4 divorced husband's names?"

The Addams Family. Gomez and Morticia's marriage is awesome, and their unconditional love for anyone with quirks, and their habit of adopting everyone who they like and see needs a family is what my experience with Aphrodite is like. She and Ares saved me.

PET NAMES. Darling. Love. Honey. Angel. Princess. Kitten. Dear. Sweetheart. Little One. Sweetie. Doll. Baby. Babe. Bambi. All other variations! They all remind me of her and I LOVE THEM.

Flirting. The game, the push and pull, the drawing so close your breath catches in your throat before pulling away with red cheeks. The tease and the dare between you of who will snap first and kiss the other.

Grief and rage. Getting cheated on and wanting to tear someone apart with your bare hands. They see Dite as a peaceful goddess, a silly love goddess. She is the goddess of rage and war as much as Ares is. So many wars have been started over love. I admire the fuck out of her, and her temper scares me.

Cute date nights. Matching teddy bears. Stealing their clothes and spraying their perfume or aftershave on it so you can keep at least that with you when they go.

Dying your hair candy floss pink, and absolutely loving it because YOU LOOK LIKE A MARSHMALLOW.

Looking in the mirror and feeling sad bc you feel too masculine and wondering how she could love you when you're not even a girl (in my case lmao, I'm nonbinary, or any guys who worship her) or you feel like she won't love you because you're a trans woman. And you can almost hear her scolding you in that soft, motherly tone because "excuse the fuck out of you, how dare you insult my beloved like that. You're my beloved and I wouldn't have chosen you or blessed you if I didn't love you, and your gender has nothing to do with it. You're always enough for me, and I will always love you." And now you're smiling and grinning in the mirror and maybe crying because she loves us all so much guys. Yes, I'm a little emotional and possibly crying, I fucking love her.

Belladonna plants. They're so pretty but could kill you. Very good metaphor for her.

Legally Blonde. That whole movie (and the musical) are fucking masterpieces and they scream Aphrodite.

Cuddling your friends!!!!! Building huge nests with blankets and pillows and curling up together with snacks and cocktails and having an amazing night.

Historical romance novels. I read them out loud to her and her candle goes crazy!

Sea shells!

Piercings and tattoos.

Dancing with someone. Even if there isn't music, just swaying and leaning against them and it feels magical.

Bubble baths! Bath bombs! Putting flowers in your baths!

Rosehip tea.

Cuddling with teddy bears and being all warm and feeling safe. (Yes I am 20 and still sleep with a bear, there is no shame in it).

Champagne, cheap stuff or fancy. Bubbly wine make my brain go WOOOOOOOOOOO.

Chinchillas. Idk why.

Seeing your friends after a while of being apart and you're hugging and swaying and everyone around you is like AW OMG THEY'RE SO CUTE

Being so close with your friends that they think you're dating.

The pink and purple colours the sky goes when the sun is setting.

Not as long as I wanted but I'm a little drunk and also, exhausted. I SEE MY FRIEND TOMORROW.

Hope you like it! I'm doing Hekate next!

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

Enter the Kitsune - Chapter 2

Warnings: none really in this part. introduction to castle life.

Masterlist

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Chapter 2

I raised my groggy head from what felt like a giant pillow only to discover it was the flat mattress they gave me to sleep on. It is called a futon, right? Argh… need coffee. Defused light was seeping into the room through the large screen in front of the window. It took a few moments for my brain to catch up with everything. I guess some part of me still thinks this is a weird dream.

– Clatter –

A loud noise from outside my room made me jump. Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders I moved to the door and slid it open just enough to see that one of the servants had dropped a tray. Small plates had fallen onto the floor. Miraculously they had somehow avoided braking, which was more than could be said for the food.

A young girl with dark chocolate brown hair was bent over scooping rice and other foodstuffs back onto the tray to try to clean up the mess.

“What do you think you are doing?” A slightly older woman scuttled out of a room with a wet rag in her hand. Her sharp tone made even me jump and I felt even worse for the young girl who was being glared at as if she had intended to sully the castle floor on purpose.

“I was taking breakfast to the Princess.” The girl paused in cleaning up the mess to bow her head to her elder.

“Princess? Don’t make me laugh. Takes more than a title to make you something like that. I have no idea where Lord Oda found that stray cat but it won’t take long for him to get bored with her.” The other woman was waving around her rag like a flag as she spoke. I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms or anything but you would have thought they would at least see me or get to know me before deciding they hate me.

“We still have to treat her…” The younger servant stood back up balancing the tray with its scattered contents in her hands.

“She won’t be getting special treatment from me. You do as you like.” The other servant scoffed.

“Has anyone seen her yet?” Another female appeared carrying what looked to be bolts of fabric with one more maid walking next to her carrying a woven basket that looked to be full of linen. “I caught a glimpse of her when she arrived. She was sitting proud as you like wrapped up in Lord Masamune’s arms.”

“Who does she think she is?” The older servant was practically spitting venom in her voice at this point.

“Lord Hideyoshi doesn’t seem to like her much.” The one carrying the linen spoke in a conspiratorial tone as she joined the conversation.

“Well, that says it all. The man has taste.”

“What was her name anyway?”

“I think Lord Mitsunari said she was called Aerion Foxx.” The young servant holding the dropped tray timidly spoke up. Clearly, she was uncomfortable with the conversation but was staying put probably from fear of being dubbed an outcast in some way. Honestly, the way they are gathering there just makes it look like a bunch of people gossiping around the water cooler in the office at work.

“Fox? As in Kitsune?” The one holding the fabric nearly dropped them as they practically jumped hearing my surname. It’s not that strange of a name you know?

“Haha, that’s perfect!” There was nothing pleasant in the laughter that erupted from the lips of that older servant.

“What is?”

“Well we already have one kitsune in the castle now Lord Oda has brought in another one.” The servant holding the linen basket nodded knowing what the older woman was getting at. Kitsune? I guess that’s what they call a fox here. Why do I get the feeling its meant as an insult?

“Shh, keep your voice down what if she should hear us?”

“What does it matter? Mark my words she is nothing but a fancy stray cat from some Nanban’s boat. I give it a week before Lord Oda is bored and tired of her and she is gone.” Everything about the older servant just seemed to scream that she was not going to accept me no matter what I did. It’s not like I was planning on trying to be everyone’s friend or anything. But the fact remains I have to stay here for at least 3 months. It would have been nice if we could all just be civil with each other. I gave a silent little sigh as I imagined the drama that was sure to be coming my way in the near future.

I slid the door closed not wishing to hear any more and noticed a bundle placed next to it. It was neatly tied and there was a small note placed on top. The black ink was smooth and delicate on the paper making it almost seem inviting in some way. There was no way I had of reading it, I had been right before I might be able to somehow hear and speak this language but I can’t read it. A soft knock on my door announced the arrival of the original maid that had dropped the tray in the corridor.

“Excuse me, Princess. I have your breakfast from the kitchen.” She had her head bent low in a formal bow and was shuffling her way into my room like a graceful constricted swan. Her dark brown hair was bundled to one side at the top of her head in a kind of messy bun, small ponytail style. Her bangs were falling over her face in three sections allowing me to see her eyes that looked so warm and inviting it was like looking into two cups of rich dark espresso. She couldn’t have been older than me if anything she appeared to be in her late teens.

“What is your name?” I was still holding the bundle one hand with the unreadable note in the other.

“My name is Akito, Princess.” She continued to politely address me and placed the tray down near a floor cushion for me. She was stealing small glances at me but not actually looking at me for very long at all. Nervous? Fear? Or is that some form of manners here? Either way, I can’t take it, it’s making me feel uncomfortable just watching her.

“Ok. Well, Akito. First of all, you don’t have to bow to me. And could you please not call me by that title?” I felt like I had been repeating the same conversation over and over again to everyone recently. It’s a shame I can’t just record the message and hit a play button every time I want to say it.

“It would be highly disrespectful to do such a thing, my lady.” Akito’s head shot up from her formal bow so she was looking at me directly now. He brown eyes were wide with curiosity but also appeared to have traces of fear in them. Oh, come on I’m not that scary. What do you think I’m going to do?

“Alright I realise there is a strong sense of maintaining things like that here but whilst you are in my room with no one else here you can drop the formalities. I am just a woman the same as you.” I gave her a warm smile and kept my tone soft in an attempt to calm her. Thankfully Akito seemed to relax a little at this.

“If that is what you have ordered me to do Prin-, I’m sorry if I am not to call you Princess what am I to call you my lady?” Akito inclined her head and it reminded me of a small animal discovering something new.

“My name is Aerion.”

“Lady Aerion.” Akito nodded happily a stunning smile spreading across her face as she addressed me.

“I suppose that will do for now.” I chuckled. “Will you be the main servant I see?”

“Yes, lady Aerion I was assigned to your care by lord Mitsunari. I am your personal maid.” Akito straightened up proudly after saying this. I wonder if Mitsunari chose Akio specifically because she seems to be so kind or if it was because no one else seems to want to have anything to do with me? I mentally shook that thought from my mind not wanting to dwell on things I can’t change.

“I see. Could I ask you to read this to me?” I handed over the note to a confused looking Akito. She took it carefully in her hands and began translating it for me.

“I thought you would be needed this. I hope you find it easier to move in. Akechi Mitsuhide.”

“Mitsuhide?” The name of the last man I thought would be leaving me surprise gifts made me look suspiciously at the bundle in my hands.

“Yes, My lady.”

“Do you have any idea what this is?” I held up the folded fabric glad to see that Akito apparently recognised it. She gently took it from my hand and unfolded it holding it up for me to see that it was definitely clothing.

“That is called a hakama my lady.”

“Is it different from a Kimono?” I took a step closer to it running my fingers over the soft fabric to what looked like a pair of unfinished trousers.

“Yes, my lady. If you like I can help you get dressed after you have eaten.”

“Thank you, Akito I’d appreciate it. I tried to put on this kimono myself and made a complete mess with the obi.”

“I understand. A lot of the foreign visitors have similar issues but with practice, it does become easier.”

Breakfast was simple but delicious on my empty stomach. I tried to remember the last time I really bothered to eat a proper breakfast and failed miserably. It was always a mad rush in the morning to get the train to work so typically I would grab a Danish pastry from the coffee shop along with my morning late and suffer the impending doom of my own hunger until lunchtime when I could go out and get something decent to eat somewhere else.

Akito had helped me get dressed and I was happily surprised with how comfortable the hakama was to move in. My legs didn’t feel like they were going to be restricted at any point. It was a far cry from my usual pair of jeans it was a better historical replacement than a standard kimono. I tried to pay attention to the different layers as Akito explained how to put together the outfit on me. Under kimono, kimono, obi nothing seemed different until I slipping into the Hakama and then the very specific way she was tying it around my waist.

It felt strange to put on effectively a pair of trousers like this. After attaching the front of the hakama Akito took what looked like a wooden fastener that was at the back of the hakama and attached it to the new ties she had made when she arranged the first half of the hakama. She pulled the back portion of the hakama a little higher so it covered my original obi and then moved to do the finishing ties around my waist turning the stiffen fabric into a beautiful flattened bow on my left side. Apparently, there was a right and wrong way of doing that so I tried to follow as best I could. There is no way I’ll be perfect at this straight off the bat but I can at least attempt to try and get better at it.

After what felt like an eternity of getting dressed Akito left to return the tray to the kitchen and had some other work to attend to. I felt bad for keeping her so long so I let her go and decided I would try to make my way around the castle to see if I could figure out what I was supposed to do in my new job. I had been right on my first impression of around here it’s so easy to get lost in this labyrinth of corridors.

“Ah! There you are, Lass.” That familiar voice instantly made me freeze as I remembered the steel against my throat. Turning around slowly in case of there being a repeat performance of last night I saw Masamune walking along happily with Ieyasu by his side looking less than impressed with the other man’s company.

“Masamune. Ieyasu.” I didn’t know what else to say and as I was usually told it was better to say nothing during those times than ramble like an idiot.

“You look lost.” Masamune chuckled looking a little like a mischievous child as he got close enough to try to reach out his hand for me and I instantly sidestepped to avoid him. His blue eye twinkled seeing this and I swear I saw him lick his lips. Little early in the day for that kind of thing… down boy.

“A little.” I admitted I was in fact lost it wasn’t as if pride was going to help me change the facts.

“Takes talent to get lost walking in a straight line. You’re as bad as Mitsunari.” Ieyasu spoke up critiquing my inability to decipher the castle layout. I plastered my best smile on my face that I usually saved for meetings with difficult clients at work.

“And it takes a special kind of talent to both help someone out and insult them at the same time. Congratulations Ieyasu you really nailed it.” Ieyasu stood there slack-jawed, emerald eyes wide just staring at me dumbfounded. Masamune had a similar expression but recovered much faster and burst out laughing so loud it echoed in the hallway.

“Isn’t that great Ieyasu you got yourself a new friend?” Masamune said slapping the other guy on the shoulder with an audible thump.

“As if I’d want to be friends with a weakling like her.” Ieyasu mumbled avoiding eye contact with either of us as he spoke. Something about that sight made me start giggling which earned me a glare from Ieyasu that only served to make my laughter worse.

“So where were you trying to get to?” Masamune asked after we had both gotten our laughter under control.

“Nowhere really I was just trying to work out what I should be doing as Chatelaine but I haven’t found anyone that’s willing to tell me yet.” I felt the weight of all the emotions that hit me earlier when I had overheard the staff gossiping earlier. I had found several maids but they had all been more interested in asking if I needed anything and insisting that I didn’t need to help them. When I tried to ask about my new job, they had either fallen silent or made excuses to leave. Nothing like that classic feeling of the new kid in school.

“You should just give up and go be a good girl and play in your room.” Ieyasu huffed. Clearly, he thought that Nobunaga’s original idea of me playing dress up was what I should be doing. Just the idea of that had my skin bristling all over.

“No. I said I would work and I intend to. I can’t sit around and just do nothing I really will go crazy and what’s more why are you talking to me like I’m a child?”

“Who goes wandering around and gets lost when they are an adult?” Ieyasu met my tone matching it perfectly with his own bringing us into a stalemate just glaring at each other.

“Ignore him, Lass. If you want to know what you should be doing you had best go and ask Mitsunari. I would say Hideyoshi but when I last saw him, he looked like you could boil water on his head.” Masamune expertly cut in front of Ieyasu and broke the tension.

“What a lovely image. And how do I find Mitsunari?”

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