#concubine steve

[tastes-like-coconut]

So @starspangledspandex and I went in together to commission THIS GORGEOUS PIECE OF PERFECTION from @mirthandstar. Look at them! Bask in the glory of Concubine Steve and King Tony!

[sabrecmc]

The original inspiration for The Prize. Yes, I'm working on it again.

[sabrecmc]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[sabrecmc]

Hello!!! I am a lurking reader ! Just wanted to say I love CN and read it when I’m in a sour mood. You are an amazing writer ! Also after a lot of debating I started reading The Prize and oh boy , am I glad I went for it! Now onto the all important question! Will Steve be ‘punished’ more in The Prize? Sending lots of hand wavy good vibes at you!!

Thank you for that, and thank you for giving The Prize a try.  I tried to be careful about using the tags to warn, and I think that maybe turns people off, or just the subject matter, which I get, don’t get me wrong.  Anyway, I’m glad you have enjoyed it!

As for your question, yes, Steve is a very naughty boy at one upcoming point, and will need to be disciplined a bit, lol.  Only ‘cause I want to and Steve has already sort of signaled in story that he would be interested. 

[ezdoodlesstuff]

Concubine Steve

[sabrecmc]

(1/2) hey, i was reading 'the prize' and idk if others pointed this out--if they did, then please ignore my dumb ass--but i noticed a few indian/south-asian/hindi/sanskrit elements (being a brown person myself lol). what made you decide to incorporate them? did tony originate from these people?

(2/2) also i noticed some translation stuff--again it couldve been purely intentional so ignore this if it was but--"aga dvara banavati" means "forged (like, forging a signature) by fire" and "Raj'inama" translates to "king prize"; this is probably intentional as "king's prize" would translate to "raj di inama" and raj'inama could be the shortened, less annoying version of the phrase. tbh theres a good chance you kno what youre doing and im being obnoxious but it never hurts to help out, yk?             

You are definitely not being obnoxious, and yes, that was semi-intentional.  As in, me on Google translate just trying to find a word for “King’s prize” that sounded pretty and that sounded a bit like a name, though I’ve been told the translation isn’t entirely accurate.  I did change the the letters a bit as you noted, so it wouldn’t seem like a direct translation of some kind.  Then, yes, for the Stark motto, I used the same language, since it seemed like it should be be consistent, but again, not a literal translation. 

I wish I could tell you it had a deeper meaning, but it was honestly just me scrolling through the Google translate list until I found one that worked.  Like, Bulgarian of King’s Prize, according to Google is Kralskata nagrada, and, sorry Bulgarians, that just wasn’t going to work.  Sounds like a sneeze.  So, basically, Raj’Inama sounded pretty, and truth be told, Inama reminded me of Imzadi from Star Trek, and that is how my mind works sometimes.

[sabrecmc]

Welcome back to having anons!! In The Prize snippet, did Steve turn Tony down AGAIN, or is this about the time in the last chapter, which he was already punished for? If it is something new, I'm really curious what Tony wanted that made Steve balk. Any hints?

So, at the end of the last chapter, they have their little chat and Tony basically reminds Steve that he’s a slave and ultimately, that is how Tony sees him, to which Steve, rather naturally, gets his back up about.   Tony says a lot of people would gladly trade places with Steve, which, true enough, but still.  Steve, of course, is like, well, let them, then.  This...does not make Tony happy.  Well, it hurts him, I think, because he is trying, even though he doesn’t get it and is like, well, duh, the slave doesn’t like being slave, but this isn’t bad, come on!  Meanwhile, Steve, of course, is like, this is bad, because it inherently is, but someone like Tony can’t really see why Steve won’t just let Tony make him happy, dammit. 

Which leaves where the next chapter picks up, with Tony exercising his outstanding communication skills and Not Dealing With It, basically ignoring Steve and holing up in his workshop.  Steve is fine with that at first, but then quickly starts to wonder if he really screwed the pooch on this one b/c he 1) has this whole escape plan thing that hinges on going with Tony to DefinitelyNotAfghanistan; 2) is sort of freaking out that Tony might be enjoying the company of someone else, which is confusing, because he shouldn’t care; and 3) misses Tony, and that’s weird, too, because isn’t this what he wanted?

[sabrecmc]

Mom I love you so much and I don’t wanna bother you but I crave The Prize

Here’s a quick snippet from the beginning of the next chapter to tide you over:

“It is good that you look as you do, since you are sostupid,” Cam said as he tilted the pitcher of warm water up and poured it in asteady flow over Steve’s head.  Stevecouldn’t do more than puff air out through his nose as the water cascaded down,rinsing the soap from his hair and streaming into the tub where he sat.  “Why would you deny him?  He is the King.  He is kind and generous and handsome.  And he cares for you above all others.  Even though you are stupid.   Everyone knowsthis.  Everyone sees this.  Except you.  And now, he will find another, and we will be cast aside.  Or sold. Or sent to the mines, where I willhave a bird shit on my head.”

Steve shook the water droplets from his head and scrubbedhis hands over his face, then took the small cloth Cam held out to him to blotthe rest, looking askance at the boy as he set the pitcher down.  To say that Cam was slightly annoyed with himwas probably not quite capturing the extent of the boy’s displeasure, Stevethought grimly.  Not that he could blameCam, not really.  Steve wasn’t unaware ofhow precarious their lives were, particularly this life, the one where they hadtheir own servants at their beck and call, soft, warm beds and more food thaneither of them could eat.  The one wherethey were favored and protected by Tony’s power, and not subject to theordinary perils of their status.

“You don’t know what it is to be free. What it means,” Stevesaid as he curled his hands around the edge of the bath and leaned back.  “He wants something…I don’t have it in me togive, Cam.  I’m sorry.”

“So, I could be free to be hungry anywhere in the world thatI wished?  So that I could be free tohuddle in some dirt hut out on the steppes burning donkey dung because I haveno wood?  Free to scrape together whatcoin I can come by, working all day for the kind of merchant who cannot affordslaves?  Why would I want this oh-so-wonderful freedom you speakabout?” Cam demanded, tossing the sponge into the water with enough force tosend up a splash and giving Steve a petulant frown.  It was not their first conversation on thesubject, Steve reminded himself with a sigh. The boy’s frustration and fear had only grown since Steve returned tohis room with rumors of the King’s displeasure not far on his heels.  “There is no freedom for the likes of you andme.  Only different kinds of bondage.  But, youare so stupid, you do not see!” Cam hissed through his teeth.  “Can you not just tell him what he wishes tohear?  He will believe you.  He wants to believe it, so he will!  And things may go back to the way they were.”

“It…it isn’t that simple,” Steve protested.  

“You are thatsimple,” Cam shot back. “Ugh, you think life should be fair, but it isn’t. Why must you make everything so difficult?”

With that, Cam tossed the towel he had been holding in hislap down next to the bath and stalked off to fall dramatically onto the bed,arms thrown akimbo, still muttering.  Nodoubt about Steve’s stupidity, Steve admitted to himself with a small amount offond exasperation.  He pushed himself outof the bath, stood there dripping for a moment, then stepped out and reachedfor the towel, drying off as best he could. Wrapping a robe around himself, he walked towards the bed, where Camflipped on his stomach, fisted his hands under his chin and peered out acrossthe balcony.  A few, hopeful birdsgathered on the edge of the balcony wall waiting for one of Cam’s handouts toappear.  Across the sea, the sun was abright pink fireball slipping into the dark depths below.

Steve couldn’t quite bring himself to blame Cam for hisincreasing despondency.  Ever since themorning Steve left Tony’s chambers after a fitful, sleepless night of listeningto loud bangs and low curses from Tony’s workshop, followed by an even loudersilence, they had both grown more and more ill at ease.  As the days dragged into weeks, something alot like panic started to edge Cam’s words, all of his usual ebullience slowlydrained into a wash of uncertainty, hurt and fear that was like an outwardmirror of the turmoil that wound its way through Steve’s stomach whenever hethought of that night.