#what the emperor wants

[stardancerluv]

What the Emperor Wants

Part Nine

Summary: Emotions take bloom.

Notes/Warnings: Hints of dommy, emperor Geta. Dated views on feelings, ownership & religion.

I saw Gladiator 2. ❤️ed Love Geta. Wrote half of this before seeing it. Only shifted somethings 🫣🥹 my story a smidge.

❤️s, comments, feedback, & reblogs are welcome & appreciated!

Something in him that he wasn’t familiar with came over him. Shifting where he sat, he glanced back at you. There a short distance between the two of you.

“Move closer.” He murmured, just loud enough for you to hear.

Once you were settled, he reached for your hand and held it over his shoulder.

He kept his attention on the dancers. A smile spread across his face. He felt good.

“Sire?” You felt confused.

His thumb grazed the softness of your wrist. You trembled.

“I want to feel your touch.” He pressed your hand to his chest.

You didn’t say anything further. Your touch was subtle as he continued to enjoy the fruits and bread before him, with an occasional sip of his wine.

Occasionally, he bring his hand to yours and press it against him before releasing it to let you continue your idle touch. Which felt as delicate as a butterfly wings has they flutter over new spring blossoms.

Catching the eye of one of the personal guards. He motioned for the man to come over.

In hushed tones, he told him to ready the carriage and to send word that villa was to ready for his arrival in the early afternoon. And to have the men ready as well to give a proper escort for himself and you.

The man replied with a positive affirmation, he knew it was possible. He had given them shorter notice when Caracalla had gone through a period of prolonged feelings of distress and tantrums. The would be much easier.

******

You held the breath in you when he motioned for the guard to come over. Their voices were hushed and low. You could not decipher what was said despite being close. You watched as the man gave a nod, stood straight and left with great haste.

Your thoughts whirled at the possibilities of what the exchange could have been. Your stomach turned.

Though as you felt his thumb graze the softness of your wrist, you were brought back to the room in which you sat.

“Diversion from the city lays ahead of us.” He told you softly.

Merriment still surrounded you, torches flickered and hushed pleasant voices grounded the music that player to accompany the dancers that continued to swish and twirl in the center of the room.

“That will be delightful Geta.” You smiled.

Tingles, from how your arm and hand were prickled at you. It reminded you on mornings where you had woken up after laying on your limb. You didn’t dare roll your hand or pull it back. Despite being the emperor, you surely believed he had those same tingles. But you enjoyed this and didn’t wish to disrupt his pleasure.

Feeling a gentle tug, you looked and caught Geta’s gaze. “Yes, Geta?”

“I’m growing tired. We shall retire to my quarters, there is something we need to discuss.”

“Yes.” You replied softly. “Yes, absolutely.” Before his hand released yours, his thumb once again grazed your wrist.

*******

He glanced at you as the two of you walked down the passageways. The footfalls of the two of you were the only ones that mattered in his opinion. The torches flickered and cast shadows here and there.

Looking at you, once again that feeling stirred in him from earlier in the evening. It reminded him of the excitement on the brink of a banquet celebrating a victory or watching a good fight in the arena. Never towards a person, even less towards someone who belonged to him.

His guards opened the doors to his quarters. He ushered you in first.

“Go to the balcony.” He told you, when you began to turn towards him.

You nodded.

He went over to where the guards stood.

“I do not want to be disturbed, Gallus.” He turned to the guard, he saw the most. “If anything else needs to be done before dawn, please do so. I do not want to delay our departure once dawn breaks. And inform Aelia she is to pack her belongings and hers, if she has not already done so, since she will be traveling with me as well.”

“Every well, sire. They are well prepared for your arrival at the destination and for your departure from here.”

“Good.”

With a nod, he closed the door.

He took off his laurel crown and set it down. Running his fingers through hair, he looked at your figure as he walked over to you. He paused, watching you.

You were gazing at your hand, he had enjoyed holding it. The gods have blessed you, he mused. Your hands were as lovely as the ways you twined words together. They were skillful in touch and in mending as well, as he glanced down where you had tended to his wound which stung with its freshness.

“Geta.” Seeing him, you turned with a smile that curled your lips.

He nodded, as he grew closer.

“Tonight’s festivities after justice was served were very pleasing. Do you agree?”

“Yes. Those dances were fascinating. Nothing, I had ever seen before.”

He smiled. “It was the same for me. They have traveled from one of the new providences. It was to celebrate them now being one with Rome.”

“That is wonderful.” You looked down.

He drew your chin up, he studied your features. Yes, he would definitely have to have a craftsman, capture you. It was as if the gods themselves had wielded a paintbrush or sculptors tool when you were created.

“Yes, Geta?”

He could feel your breath. Its steady increase pleased him.

“I’ve grown tired of city and all of the politics. We shall depart and enjoy the good airs and feel in good humor soon.

“We?” Your eyes grew.

He chuckled. “Yes, we. As much as I do enjoy my solitude. And anytime away from Caracalla can feel very good; I wish you to accompany me.”

********

With cloaks on and the blue light of the dawn, you had climbed in and sat with Aelia and Geta was opposite the two of you in the carriage. It was not long, before the streets of the city were shadows in the dust of the wheels and horse’s pace. The horses did not pick up a good trot till out of the confines of the city to not create a disturbance.

******

You tried, struggled even to stay awake, an eagerness to look out the windows had grabbed you. It was exciting to go somewhere you had never been. Even, Aelia had told you briefly how much nicer it was at the villa. Especially with Caracalla staying at the domus in the city.

Vaguely, you wondered about the woman who sat beside you. She was loyal without question to Geta. She had been firm yet show a warmth, a kindness towards you that you had not expected. Not many were. So you accepted and appreciated it.

On either side of the two of you were also guards, you didn’t speak to them and they didn’t speak to you. You barely ever looked up at one. They scared you. Glancing over at Geta, you noticed that he had even bowed his head to sleep. It had run its soft lulling touch over all of you. Your eyes had been growing heavier.

Before succumbing to its soft touch, you caught a glimpse of Geta from under your hood. His lashes laid on his cheeks, his hair like sun-rays themselves were peaking from the edges of his cloak’s hood and his features were soft. Your heart quickened realizing like this he resembled the sculptures you had been blessed to see. He truly, was touched by the gods.

@honey-eyed-munson @amethyst-serenade @screaming-blue-bagel @kitkat80 @blondie324 @alyisdead @hellomadamebutterfly @heartsforjosephquinn @helsa3942

[stardancerluv]

Ooo thank you for the tag, @yourfavoritewitchbitch

Hmmm…

#1 The Past Follows Like a Shadow

Reader comes home to settle things at her aunt’s house and rekindles with Gator.

#2 What the Emperor Wants

What happens when then Emperor wants you.

And most recently

#3 A Space Journey

Giving a story to the character Tyler Harrison in Alien Romulus.

I have quite a few WIPs these are the most recent. To all my readers ❤️💐❤️ you help inspire me! Thank you.

Now for those who may…or may not struggle.

@babybluebex @mypoisonedvine @darling-i-read-it @darling-obiwan @darknessisafriend @crazytxgradstudent

✨ 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚆𝙸𝙿𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 ✨

Thank you for the tag @thecreelhouse and @buckysgrace

Well here goes:

Part 6 (No title yet) for Badge Bunny - The reality and aftermath after Gator leaves prison. Where will you go? What will you do? As long as you have him, that long promised happily ever after seems within reach.

Chapter 6 (Best Laid Plans) for King of Hearts - Your newly found bliss comes to a halt when everything begins to come crashing down. You both should have known that it couldn't last.

Runaway (working title) - Gator Tillman x AFAB Reader - Gator was sent to bring you home on Halloween night. Seeing him face to face after nearly 10 years forces both of you to relive the past, bringing to light the many memories that you shared and the feelings that you had tried to bury long ago.

✨No pressure tags: @bunnyhargrove @harringtonstilinski @southerngothicchic @bettyfrommars @texasblues @stardancerluv @stevesxyellowxsweater And anyone else who would like to join in! 😘

[mayasaura]

Guys. The cows were about how if people don't like you or don't want to listen to you, they'll decontextualise your actions and use them to discredit you in any situation. How doing one (1) memorable bad thing can be held against you forever. The cows are about looking a council of world leaders in the eyes, telling them we're all being robbed of our futures by megacorporations, showing them the receipts and numbers and photographic evidence, and being told none of your arguments matter actually because you're The Cow Guy.

The cows are about how people don't forgive, not really.

[perplexingly]

starting a compilation

[calebsrottingcorpse]

Philip Witteba- *cacophony of disturbing noises and a big explosion*

(original scene below the cut)

[deadboyswalking]

Small child Shanks who went through a multi-year phase of biting Buggy. Starting from the time they were 18 months old and lasting until they were about 7, Shanks would randomly get a wild look in his eyes and give the other boy a bite. Though it was never hard enough to break skin, it would still make Buggy cry until one of the other pirates separated the two of them and gave Buggy a sweet to cheer him up (which would start Shanks crying too) or until Shanks kissed it better.

It drove the Roger Pirates absolutely crazy and there was talk of bringing Shanks to a specialist doctor (or maybe a veterinarian?) since even Crocus couldn't figure out why the biting kept happening. So Roger and Rayleigh kept a close eye on the pair, seeing it they could figure it out in order to avoid the danger of going on land, and they noticed a very interesting pattern to Shanks' impulse.

See, the biting usually happened for one of two reasons. The first was if Buggy was doing something on his own like playing, reading, fishing, talking to someone else on the crew, etc. Basically, it happened when he was seemingly not paying a sufficient amount of attention to Shanks. The second reason for the biting took longer to decipher and when they figured it out, Roger and Rayleigh could only sigh and roll their eyes. Those occasions tended to revolve around Buggy smiling and laughing, talking animatedly, brushing his hair, wearing a nice new outfit, or a million other things that led to what Crocus had deemed "cute aggression."

From then on, Roger decided to regularly take Shanks aside and work on his poor impulse control when it came to his fellow cabin boy. After all, the boy would have Haki soon enough and could seriously hurt Buggy with its power. The biting eventually stopped as Shanks' emotional regulation and verbal ability to express himself improved, but until the day he died, Roger could swear that he often still saw that wild look in Shanks' eyes whenever he felt ignored or attracted.

[garlic-and-vanilla]

“You feel the Emperor's fear as if it were your own. An elder brain enslaved is one thing, an elder brain unleashed will be the end of everything.”

This is a quote from early in the long rest scene you get after discovering that Stelmane has been murdered.

The Emperor is afraid because it knows that if the Absolute breaks free of the stones’ control, it will be the end of everything, everywhere, as everyone knows it.

This isn’t some kind of recent revelation, there’s no reason to believe Emps didn’t know this from the start.

So why didn’t it take the protection of the prism and that nautiloid Gortash put it in command of and get the fuck out of dodge? Why didn’t it just hop planes until it was as far from Toril as possible and start a new life? The Absolute would usher in the Grand Design, sure, but that’s not a process that would happen quickly. At least, not quickly enough to reach a rogue illithid who had parked itself at the opposite end of the universe before said illithid died of old age.

Hell, why not try eating Orpheus too? The Emperor will say it’s too risky, if Tav asks it about doing so in act 2, but that becomes a gamble it’s willing to take by the end of act 3.

So why doesn’t the Emperor just give up its life in Baldur’s Gate, retire to the farthest plane it can find, and find out if making Orpheus its lunch will confer the Power to itself. What are the downsides? If it doesn’t work then all Emps has to do is stay outside the Absolute’s zone of influence until something else eventually kills him. Not ideal, but pretty doable considering it would have a spelljamming nautiloid at its disposal.

But guess what? The Emperor doesn’t do that. It says “this elder brain unleashed will be the end of everything” and it scrapes together a plan to kill the Absolute while it’s still able to be killed.

The Emperor had the means and ability to nope the hell out, and instead it put itself at the mercy of strangers with nothing but the hope that they would help it stop this apocalyptic threat. It spends the events of the game in a cage of its own making, with its life, its freedom, and the fate of Toril and ultimately every other world lying in the player’s hands.

And at the end, it doesn’t want control of the Absolute. You have to pass a persuasion check to get it to do anything but command the Brain to die. It wants that threat dead.

Then people want to try and argue that the Emperor is evil and only wants to manipulate Tav into taking over the world.

Yeah okay buddy. Sure. Guess we’re playing different games.

[jeeaark]

given emp’s less than stellar past experiences with werewolves, do you think he actively distances himself from shart after learning her heritage? and does greyg try to force them to buddy up pina colada style (again)

I'm sorry-past experience with werewhowhats now?

-one wiki search later-

Well then! I do not know! I think Emps would just. Actively distance themselves from the whole Ex-Tadpole Gang. Period. Epilogue Party stands to reason. Probably was one of the many excuses used for not going to the party even.

As for the second question. I would not say force. But Greygold is now an expert at persuasion, so.... But all in due time! Greygold wants the friendship to develop naturally. No party tricks. No pressure. No rush. Greygold has 200+ other problems to solve anyway. Will encourage Emps to bond with the old gang when squid buddy is ready. Even if sometimes Greygold gets a little impatient and their thoughts slip out like this-

[robinmage]

one thing i really appreciate about jinshi's character is how he has NEVER once actually had any intention of succeeding the throne. every time the idea is brought up he immediately detests it. so hes giving maomao as much as he possibly can, even though maomao has many qualms about it due to their difference in social status, but jinshi DOESNT CARE because hes NEVER cared about or wanted the status of crown prince! its been nothing but a burden to him! from his perspective the ONLY thing keeping the two of them apart are outside influences. he has no doubt within himself-- hes horribly down bad, in fact. but unfortunately his stupid JOB is getting in the way of him skipping off into the sunset with his favourite little cat

[stardancerluv]

So excited for Gladiator 2! That said, after the trailer dropped I had to write something! 18+ will have mature themes throughout it, while trying to incorporate what I know of ancient Rome while writing a story.

Here it is!

What the Emperor Wants

Emperor Geta has recently acquired “reader” she is to do with as he pleases. What does that really mean? We are gonna learn what is to belong to Emperor Geta.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Part Ten (coming soon!)

[heliosphere-underthesky]

The Suns' reaction to Sunfish. Emperor Helios got himself a high tech modded Switch so it doesn't melt away (from Earth's home, and probably modded by the local mechanic, Mars). He played ACNH and that's how he finds out that a fish is named after him. Sun Dad? He's been there before. It was quite the experience.

@owlygem Hiii I saw you were open for spacey asks, idk what to ask (for now) so I hope you don't mind me drawing our Suns together!

I've always wanted to do so, but I was pretty shy. I hope you like! Your Sun is such a cutie, I've always admired him from afar 😅

[alexiethymia]

With the reveal that Aduo didn’t actually want to be the mother of the nation, looks like we now have a concrete path to a happy ending for Jinshi.

Though I actually really want to see him as the Emperor one day (at least for a time), it would be thematically appropriate if Jinshi takes not after the Emperor, but after Gaoshun and becomes the retainer of the future Emperor.

[stagbeetleboy]

Fit check but the fit is emperor Palpatine themed

[aru-art]

i like the owl show a normal amount

[saline-coelacanth]

I will forever be so upset that the Ice Chapter didn't give us a Kai VS Ice Emperor fight like come OOOON!

And I'm not even coming at this from an oppo angle. Like yeah, I love oppo, everyone knows that, but it just feels like such a missed opportunity to have Kai have to fight Zane and have him be the one to get him to snap out of it. But no, it has to be Lloyd because he's Lloyd.

And another thing that makes me so upset regarding the missed potential here is the fact that in the Fire Chapter, the big bad villain is Aspheera. And at the end of the Fire Chapter, Zane is the one who defeats her, you know, the master of ice. So then in the Ice Chapter, it would make sense that the one to defeat the big bad would be Kai since he's the master of fire and it would make for good parallels or whatever. But no we don't get that.

At the very least we get that awesome, badass scene where Kai defeats Boreal and saves the others. That scene was amazing, I just with we got a little more from Kai, you know?

[bnnywngs]

Wei Wuxian had noble blood, although not many liked to remember, so using it to their advantage both the Jiang clan and the Lan clan signed a contract for a arranged marriage between him and their second young master so their claim to the emperor's throne would be stronger after the fiasco with the first young master and his "friend".

He did not know his newly wed husband, haven't seen his face outside of paintings and rumors. The maids and servants around him all treated him with the utmost respect, so unlike a year or so ago when he was considered one of them even though he lived as a young master himself.

They dressed him in luxurious red wedding clothes that felt too heavy and tight on him, with a veil to cover his face and only to be lifted at his wedding chambers by his husband's hand. Everyone told him what to expect and what to do at this important night, even so far as hiring someone to teach him how to care for his body in case his husband turns out to be one to be rough.

But that ended up being futile, his husband has not visited his chamber, even if Wei Wuxian waited the whole night awake, sitting politely on the red cushion between the table with, by now sour, tea and the red bed, veil still on his head and staining everything he saw in the same color as every fabric around him.

Feeling wronged and humiliated, Wei Wuxian dumped the tea on the steps in front of his chamber, deciding to wear his veil until his husband lifted it, with the intention of humiliating the Lan clan back and securing a good divorce if needed.

After the awkward and full of tension breakfast with his new family, Wei Wuxian decided to stay in his chambers reading whatever book he found around, asking for more to his personal servant.

When asked why he wouldn't leave he would say the same thing, "I have no official duties in this household, that means my husband does not need me. I should act accordingly and keep myself away from his eyes."

That went as long as some months, almost half a year, until his husband had enough and finally visited him himself, and did not send someone else.

And, oh, his husband was as beautiful as he was told, although still cold and stubborn.

"You are still wearing it." Lan Wangji said, ignoring the tea in front of him "Why?"

"Why, you ask." Wei Wuxian chuckled "Only a husband can lift a wife's veil, during their wedding night and before consuming it. My husband neither visited me nor wishes to consume our marriage, there are no reasons for me to lift it with my own hands."

Lan Wangji tried to lift it, but Wei Wuxian wouldn't let him, no matter how many times he tried.

After long weeks of meetings and having verbal fights disguised with flowery and poetic speech, Lan Wangji finally lifted the veil and saw his husband's face.

Who would know that love could bloom between them?