a game of thrones (prince!narumi gen x reader!)
this was going to be a short brainfart really but i think i got carried away. i might write something more about this if i get the time in the future but in the meantime i hope u guys enjoy my thoughts on prince narumi. yes this is smut. this is also not edited at all, so it might suck a bit but i miss writing so much so here it is.
prince narumi gen, the firstborn son of the king, always gets what he wants. everyone thinks it's natural for him to be afforded any and all kinds of luxuries - he is the crown prince after all - but you seem to realise a different truth.
now with some negotiations here, and more scheming there, you were made betrothed to the prince. you were made aware that during discussions for the engagement, prince narumi himself disagreed of the match. it's not even that he hates you. your father is one of the wealthiest man in the kingdom; both your families have been allied for more than a century. prince narumi of course doesn't bear a certain hatred toward you - he just doesn't want to marry someone he doesn't harbor affection for, much less a woman he barely knows.
so it has come to pass that the prince narumi gen always gets what he wants. maybe except this time.
the entire affair was lavish - thousand knights and their retainers flocking to the city to participate at the tourney to celebrate your marriage to the prince. if only you could share the joy of everyone around you in your own wedding day.
there was to be a bedding ceremony on your first night as husband and wife, and without shame you can admit that the thought excited you. prince narumi gen is every maiden's dream - and though originally you assumed that everything is handed to him because of his royal blood, upon meeting the prince you discovered that maybe even the moon and the stars in the sky, well beyond the jurisdiction of a mere human, could might as well kneel before him had he asked.
prince narumi gen is a sight to behold. you were told he was a lanky lad when he was a teenager, but as years passed by, his height just makes him look grown. he wears his hair messy, and you don't know if it is intentional that he lets his bangs crowd his forehead only for him to push away the stray strands so that he looks refreshed, the muscles of his biceps visibly flexing even through the fabric of his tunic.
"there will be no bedding ceremony," the prince announced during the banquet. everyone who mattered in the kingdom were present, and with the prince's words the loud conversations died into whispers. "i will not have my wife uncomfortable on her first night as my consort."
you should have known better than believe. there was no bedding ceremony because the prince does not intend to bed you at all.
it hurt you to think that he probably ran to someone else's that night, maybe the prince has a woman he wished to have married. the thought was torture.
for weeks and weeks after, you tried to be useful to your royal husband. the two of you don't share a bedroom but that did not stop you from wanting to be close to him. but perhaps it would have been easier if prince narumi just refuses your straightforward advances but instead he remained polite, accepting your invitations for lunch and supper, even joining you in walks at the garden in the afternoons. you chose not to take it as an insult whenever the prince tenses up when you take his arm during those walks; one time you even noticed a slight hint of a blush on his cheeks when you greeted him and called him "my love", but you were also wearing a dress with an a very low neckline so you aren't sure where to attribute his behavior that day.
your chance came a few months later, when the king and queen declared that they were to host a royal procession to visit the far places in the kingdom. prince narumi gen, the heir to the throne, was burdened of the honor of being regent while his parents are away.
"it's a test," he spoke to you casually. "my father is trying to find out if i can handle being king one day." the prince looked so serious that day and you got worried.
the royal procession left the palace one summer morning, and with the king and queen were their protectors and a hundred other people to mind them. apart from the guards in the gates, only a group of trusted knights stayed in the castle. if you think about it, it would almost seem that you and the prince has the whole place to yourselves.
that's when an idea came to you.
the prince just finished passing judgment to a matter of the state that night in the throne room. you have drank three cups of wine already by that time in an attempt to calm your nerves. as preparation, you have asked your household to not disturb you and the prince in the hall. you didn't want to risk it - it would really be embarrassing either way this thing would end up.
"my prince, your lady requests an audience," your steward advised prince narumi, still seated in the king's chair.
you entered the room, your steps echoing. "please make sure the prince and i will not be disturb for a time," you ordered.
"do you have anything to discuss, my lady?" the prince was curious, his eyes studying you.
but you didn't say anything and just continued to stride towards the elevated platform until you reached him. you had a coat on, and without a word, you stripped off it, revealing the translucent dress you were wearing.
"what are you doing?" he asked, surprised. you noted he couldn't take his eyes off you and took it as encouragement.
"doing my duty, my prince," you explained. "as you said, this is a test. but regardless if you do well as king, you will need children to secure your line. that's what i'm here for." your right hand swept the hem of your dress up - up and up until you were showing the smooth complexion of your calves; up and up some more until you were revealing the skin of your thigh.
prince narumi didn't say anything for a while. it unnerved you for a few seconds, but for you it's now or never. it's not like you could turn your back and run from this scene; you're pretty sure you won't be able to face the prince tomorrow or any other day if he says no to your proposition.
"why do you do this?" prince narumi didn't move but you can see the wheels of his brain turning. hesitating, he continued his questions. "you don't even love me, do you?"
you didn't think love would have mattered at all. love is a privilege not even the royals are given all the time. so when asked by your own husband if you love him, you came up blank. you don't even know if you understand the concept of love to begin in the first place.
and then you think about how you felt whenever you hear from your handmaidens that the prince has accepted your invitation for a meal. or what you felt in your chest when you see the prince blush for whatever reason. or how you were excited for your bedding ceremony - because that would mean that the prince will be your first kiss, your first touch, your first everything.
"i want you," you answered prince narumi. "i know i might not be the one you hoped to marry back then. but don't you want me now?" it was your turn to ask. you stepped closer to where he is, your voice so low that it's almost a whisper.
"you say you want me but i don't think you know what that means," the prince accused. there was a tone of distrust in his words, and if you were thinking straight maybe it would have offended you.
you were growing tired of the banter, so you decided to just act upon your thoughts. raising your right leg so your knee landed on the king's chair, you lifted yourself up and did the same to your left leg until you were kneeling on the throne itself, facing your prince, straddling him.
the prince was breathless as you skipped the buttons of his shirt, going straight to the buttons of his pants. the good thing was he isn't pushing you away from him. "when you become king you can sit on the throne all day like this," you told him, your hand making its way to his crotch. "and i can sit on your lap all night like this."
for the first time, it was prince narumi who initiated a move. the kiss was a shock and it knocked the breath out of you suddenly. the prince's hand, gripping the sides of the throne earlier, had seemed to find their way slowly on your hips now, steadying you on his lap. it took you a hot minute to understand that he was lowering you down on him.
prince narumi still didn't speak, even when he's pushed the left sleeve of your dress out of the way to have better access to your neck and shoulder. his mouth found the soft skin there, and started nipping lightly. you moaned, your body rocking.
"keep at it, and you'll be bearing my children in no time," he groaned.
the plan was to seduce the prince just enough for him to invite you to his bed. but prince narumi might have gotten a different idea.
you felt it poking your inner thigh, and out of the blue you sobered up, a tiny gasp coming out of you. it's not like you are new to this game; you might not have played it in the past - ladies born in nobility, especially the one who end up marrying the future king is examined before the actual engagement, to assure they're chaste - but it would be a lie to say that you are not knowledgeable to the affairs of pleasure and lust.
your breath hitched in your throat and suddenly instinct dictated that you flee the scene of the crime. you moved to get off prince narumi's royal lap, but you felt his hands resisting your movements, keeping you in place.
"not gonna see your plan through, huh." prince narumi has never been cruel to you, despite the known distance between two of you in the start of your relationship but right now you just feel like you ought to be insulted with his rhetorical question.
stuck in such a compromising position and still face to face with him, you looked at his eyes. answering him with your very own question, you spoke, "h-have you done - have you done this before? with anyone?"
the red in prince narumi's cheeks disappeared as fast as it came. "if i say yes, would you still want me?"
"you're the prince."
"and you're my wife," he replied all too quickly. "ever since, you've treated me as your lord, but you forget i'm only a man too." his face was so close to yours now and goosebumps are starting to litter on the exposed flesh of your shoulder. "if you want me to want you, you have to do better than straddle me half-naked."
that's when you kissed him. it was a boring, modest touch on the lips at first, until the prince's hand found the curve of your hips beckoning you near to him, and then it seemed that you were all of a sudden drowning in a fever of need.
prince narumi had half the mind to attempt and take his pants off and realising that he doesn't actually need to remove the entire thing off him, he sat you back on top of him. the stretch was uncomfortable to say the least, but your husband kissed you during it. you discovered too late that he was trying to distract you from the pain.
you've never felt this sensation, you told yourself. but it also feels so good. so undeniably good that it didn't take a long time for you to succumb to the feeling and collapse on prince narumi's still clothed chest.
you never believed anyone when they said time could stand still, until now. sweat was forming on your temple, and you can also tell that the prince is having a hard time hoisting you up.
he's still inside you, and as if that's not enough to drive you mad, the friction as prince narumi ends up rocking you back and forth on top of him was sure to render you incoherent. even his own skin is warm to the touch, as one of his hands pulled on your sleeve completely until your breast is exposed. there, his thumb played on your sensitive nipple.
you heard a broken moan from the prince's lips and in seconds, his two strong arms caught your body. he was sliding in and out of you earlier, and now your chest is on his too - so close that your knees bumped on the low backrest of the chair. it didn't sting, but it made you remember you and the prince are still in the throne room.
"fuckfuckfuck," prince narumi chanted, his fingers digging on your back, his leg muscles lifting you up and down on him quicker and quicker. the palms of your hands lay flat on his chest to keep your balance as your husband toppled over the edge of his ecstacy.
it took him a few seconds to recover, his forehead resting on yours.
"did you -" he began to ask but held his question. you were still dizzy. "right, you're not gonna get pregnant then." the prince's head was leaning back.
"why?"
"because you didn't -" he sucked his breath. "because you didn't cum."
"what? but i thought," you responded, surprising even yourself at how collected you sound, all things considered. "i thought only the man is required to finish for pregnancy to occur?"
"i should just touch myself then if that's the case." he looked at you, appearing to be contemplating your ignorance on the matter. you certainly didn't expect when he gave you a peck on your cheek.
"we should do it again. in bed this time," prince narumi said, his words sounding more like a promise than a suggestion.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
"You should have kept your rebreather," Damian said to the horrifyingly, terrifyingly, still figure on the cot.
They had had the city for the night. Father was away setting up yet another base for Batman Inc., and he had taken Drake with him. Good riddance, Damian had thought at the beginning of the night. They would get so much more done without the eternally meddling bastard. But Brown was also off for the night, citing having measly exams in the next morning, and Cain was… somewhere else—no, it didn't hurt Damian's pride to not be able to track her—and so it meant that when trouble showed up, as it was wont to do every night, the two of them had no backup ready.
It would have been fine. It should have been fine. The two of them had faced Scarecrow before, and the man was a coward who hid behind his gasses and tricks, not warriorly enough to face them head on. Damian knew exactly what to do when faced with him.
But tonight, Robin's rebreather had malfunctioned, and Grayson, the stupid, idiotic, self-sacrificing fool that he was, had given him his own. He had said that the fear toxin didn't affect him as much as it affected others, and so Damian had let him.
I’ve just fallen down the rabbit hole of listening repeatedly to Hadestown soundtrack. Don’t mind me, this is just the 30 quotes I found in the short time I have listened to the soundtrack. I know there is still more of these beautiful quotes in Hadestown’s book, but here’s some of them. Shout out to my friend who introduced me to Hadestown. It’s revenge for introducing you to Hamilton, isn’t it?
He could make you see how the world could be
In spite of the way that it is
(All I’ve Ever Known)
Why do we turn away when our brother's bleeding?
Why do we build the wall then call it freedom?
If we're free, tell me why
I can't look in my brother's eye
(Chant (Reprise))
Why do we turn away instead of standing with him?
Why are we digging our own graves for a living?
If we're free, tell me why
We can't even stand upright?
If we're free, tell me when
We can stand with our fellow man
(Chant (Reprise))
Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows
Our praise is not for them
But the ones who bloom in the bitter snow
We raise our cup to them
(We Raise Our Cups)
Some birds sing when the sun shines bright
Our praise is not for them
But the ones who sing in the dead of night
We raise our cups to them
(We Raise Our Cups)
Dreams are sweet until they're not
Men are kind, until they aren't
Flowers bloom, until they rot, and fall apart
(Flowers)
Is anybody listening?
I open my mouth and nothing comes out
Nothing, nothing can wake me now
(Flowers)
If you ain't six feet underground
You're living it up on top!
(Living It Up On Top)
But let me tell you something that my mama said to me
You take what you can get and you make the most of it
(Living It Up On Top)
To the world we dream about
And the world we live in now
(Living It Up On Top)
Men are fools
Oh, men are frail
Give them the rope and they'll hang themselves
(Word to the Wise)
I have no ring for your finger
I have no banquet table to lay
I have no bed of feathers
Whatever promises I made
I can't promise you fair sky above
can't promise you kind road below
But I'll walk beside you, love
Anyway the wind blows
(Promises)
Don't need a ring for my finger
Just need a steady hand to hold
Don't promise me fair sky above
Don't promise me kind road below
Just walk beside me, love
Any way the wind blows
(Promises)
I don't know where this road will end
But I will walk it with you hand in hand
I can't promise you fair sky above
Can't promise you kind road below
But I'll walk beside you, love
Any way the wind blows
(Promises)
I know you before we met
And I don't even know you yet
(All I’ve Ever Known)
Life ain't easy
Life ain't fair
A girl's gotta fight for her rightful share
(When The Chips Are Down)
You can have your principles when you've got a belly full
But hunger has a way with you
There's not telling what you're gonna do
When the chips are down
(Gone, I’m Gone)
Wait for me, I'm coming
Wait, I'm coming with you
Wait for me, I'm coming too
I'm coming too
(Wait For Me)
Wasn't it gonna be the two of us?
Weren't we birds of a feather?
(Hey Little Songbird)
Come here, brother- let me guess:
It's the little things you miss
Spring flowers
Autumn leaves
Ask me, brother, and you shall receive
(Our Lady of The Underground)
You might say he was naive-
But this boy raised up his voice
with his heart out on his sleeve
(Papers (Intro))
But who are they to say what the truth is anyway?
'Cause the ones who tell the lies are the solemnest to swear
(If It’s True)
If it's true what they say
What's the purpose of a man
Just to quit their workin'
Just to throw up both hands
What's the use of his backbone
If he never stands upright?
If he turns his back on everyone
That he could've stood beside
(If It’s True)
Just as long as I am your wife
It's true the earth must die
But then the earth comes back to life
And the sun must go on rising
(How Long)
Every coward seems courageous in the safety of a crowd
Bravery can be contagious when the band is playing loud
Nothing makes a man so bold
As a woman's smile and a hand to hold
But all alone his blood runs thin
And doubt comes- doubt comes in
(His Kiss The Riot)
The meanest dog you'll ever meet-
He ain't the hound dog in the street
He bares some teeth and tears some skin
But brother, that's the worst of him
Now the dog you really got to dread
Is the one that howls inside your head
It's him whose howling drives men mad
And a mind to its undoing
(Wait For Me (Reprise))
I'll tell you where the real road lies:
Between your ears, behind your eyes
That is the path to Paradise
Likewise, the road to ruin
(Wait For Me (Reprise))
I'm coming wait for me
I hear the walls repeating
The falling of our feet and
It sounds like drumming
And we are not alone
I hear the rocks and stones
Echoing our song
I'm coming
(Wait For Me (Reprise))
The coldest night of the coldest year comes right before the Spring
(Doubt Comes In)
‘Cause here's the thing
To know how it ends
And still begin to sing it again
As if it might turn out this time
I learned that from a friend of mine
(Road to Hell (Reprise))
keep previous robins in the know as much and as early as possible. do not wait months before doing introductions.
do introductions in a neutral place with neutral names. as much as possible introduce as something else first, like "your new brother" rather than "my new robin"
make sure to emphasize that the new robin is not intended to be a replacement for the previous robin
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Batman was something that had come from a child's vengeance. A child's fantasy about having what happened to him not happen to anyone else.
Robin had started as worse. The part about protecting other people, about not having what happened to him happen to anyone else; that came later.
People could say that Robin was the light to Batman's darkness. The hope to his vengeance. And that was true, in a sense. After they had caught Zucco, all those years ago, he had looked at Batman and then he had looked at the city around them, and he had decided that yes, he would be the light. He would be the hope. He would bring spring to the winter of Gotham, exactly as the name represents.
But that was not how it started. No, Robin had started as an act of revenge.
Maybe that's why Dick could never escape it.
Sitting on his little brother's bed, watching said little brother sleep with his head folded on his hands at the edge of the bed, Dick was so, so grateful that Damian could.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Being a disappointment to his parental figures was something that Damian was intimately familiar with.
Mother had been disappointed in him since he refused to return to her side, all those years ago. She would keep being disappointed in him until and unless he does so. Damian did not want to do that, and so Mother would always be disappointed in him.
Father had been disappointed in him since he learned that Damian's first instinct was to strike, and strike lethally. In all his years of being Robin, Father had continually shown just how much Damian was failing to meet his expectations. Robin was supposed to be faster, stronger, smarter, better, and Damian was not.
So yes, he was very familiar with it. Accustomed to letting down at least one of his parents at all times. And yet…
And yet, he had never thought that Dick Grayson would one day join the list of parental figures who are disappointed in him.
fiction writer!reader who entered a writing contest and realising that the best thing to write about might be just the most cliche topic: love. the only problem is she has never been in love - and for good reason, she is not planning to. desperate for a romantic experience that she can use as a pattern to use in the novel she is trying to write, she met songwriter!hoshina soshiro who is looking for his own muse. writing about it is one thing, but actually falling in love is another. and just when you thought your story could have a happy ending, hoshina's heartbreak songs started to be all about you.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
There was a knife lodged in his thigh.
Dick was cognizant enough to remember that he should not , under any circumstances, pull the knife out. Unfortunately, that was just about the extent of his cognitive capabilities right now.
Well, that, and holding himself up on the ledge of the building he was climbing. The kids were absolutely going to tease him about not maintaining his conditioning routine now that he was semi-retired from the field, but climbing a building whilst having a stab wound to the thigh is not something that you can train for.
Unless you or someone you trust is willing to stab you during training. And that kind of training was not something that Dick was willing to do now.
Why was he climbing this building, again?
Oh, right. Help.
He knew, he knew for certain, from some place of knowledge that his blood-loss-addled brain could not access right now, that in this building, on the fourth floor, two windows from the edge of the building, there would be help.
He just could not remember why that help would be there.
But his instincts rarely led him astray, and the fact that he knew exactly which window to aim for made him confident in his destination.
He just wished he could reach it before he bled out.
One more level, Nightwing. Come on. Don’t give more ammo for the kids to tease you with.
Half a level. Probably should start going to the right now.
A quarter of a level. His hands were almost, almost , at the ledge of the window he was aiming for.
An eight of a level. He just had to haul himself up.
He put his hands on the window and tried to open it.
Locked.
No.
No, no, no, he was so close. So close.
He had a lockpick in his belt, hadn’t he? He must have. But he didn’t know if he was able to hold his weight up with one hand.
He has to try anyways.
He lifted one hand, and panic immediately surged through him. He’s not going to make it. He’s going to fall, and he’s not going to make it.
Was the darkness there just a moment before?
Shit.
Dick had just enough time to grasp a hand that was suddenly there , before the darkness took over.
