The Inquisitor

[septemberoses]

Title: The Inquisitor
Author: septemberoses
Fandom: True Blood
Rating: R for torture, hurt/comfort
Pairing: Eric/Godric
Word Count: 5300
Note:  I've created a backstory detail of Godric being an inquisitor (i.e., a torturer) for the vampires, which I've referenced in passing in several of my fics.  I am exploring the idea more fully in this one.

Comments

[devohoneybee]

Beautiful. You get Godric's deadly beauty and calm so well, and Eric's abiding loyalty.

[septemberoses]

Thanks. It was an interesting topic for me to explore.

[blissy83]

Whoa, such a nice mixture of plot, torture and tenderness!

I like so many parts that I would have to quote the entire fic :D, but here are some of my favorite bits:

"Humans had their own advantage here. There were limits on what you could do to them" This made me laugh in a very sick way.

"They're going to be questioned one way or another, Eric. All things considered, if I can get a higher quality of information and inflict less lasting damage, isn't that better for everyone involved?" Argh, he's so objective that you have to agree with him, If I were Eric I would have choked him.

"The sadness came over him then. He hadn't been able to say goodbye to Godric, who would not be following him there, going instead (if he ever went) to the gods of his own people."

"...perhaps that was the punishment - that he would have the sense of Godric, always near, and yet be unable to hear him, to see him. To touch him. He felt the tears run over from his ruined eyes at the thought of it" This is so painful, yet so beautiful ♥

"Eric thought

[septemberoses]

Yeah, those squishy humans -- so tricky to torture.

The Eric I've created in my fics -- it's this classic parent/child thing. Eric is sure 97.5% of the time that Godric loves him, and the rest of the time he's jealous or doubtful or in some way being stupid. But it felt right to me.

And I loved (okay, it was gross, but) I loved giving Eric that opportunity to express his beliefs and how much he'd miss Godric; and giving Godric a chance to show his natural, unreserved love, which is there whether Eric can see it or not.

The torture ... I went back and forth a lot on that, trying to make it horrific without being especially revolting to read. I think I struck an okay balance.

That embrace -- I so love the idea of them like that, Godric's little body on top of Eric's. It makes me happy every time I write it.

[blissy83]

Hey I was so thrilled by your fic that I forgot to thank you properly for dedicating it to me, THANK YOU! :D.

FYI today when I was checking my photobucket stats, I noticed your header (= your site) had 280 views, you do have an audience Sep :D!

[septemberoses]

ohno, thank YOU! For the awesomeness. I never would have done it on my own. As you know, I could barely upload a stock format.

Those damn lurkers! I know they're reading, and I wish they'd comment. :) I lurked forever, though .... is it possible to add a counter to the fics, or is that considered Bad Form?

I really need to write the next part of my icky Carsten porn so I can post it. I'm missing a section.

[keenoled]

Niice!
"Eric, that's disgusting." Haahahahahaha!

[septemberoses]

I see a lot of people laughed at that one! FWIW I was trying to write this tender, emotional scene where Eric just wants him to stay. And that line popped into my head and I laughed, so I left it in, even though it wasn't quite what I'd intended.

Also, fun fact: this ENTIRE fic was born from two paragraphs in the last Carsten fic (remember, Godric and Eric are in Copenhagen for business, and Eric's seeing Carsten while he's there.) So Eric and Godric got into this discussion about torture, and how Eric hates it, and the thing took on a life of its own. Eventually I just hacked it out of the Copenhagen fic and started this new one.

[keenoled]

I love it. I like how it gives a hint of Godric really being That Old, he just doesn't function very human like anymore. Eric still does, and it gives a lovely balance to their relationship.

[septemberoses]

Yes. Eric, for better and worse, has hung onto more of his humanity. And I was trying to give both arguments equal weight .... while I understand in a way why/how Godric is that way about the torture, I'm more sympathetic with Eric's emotional argument.

[gruochrua]

I can't even think of the right adjectives to use to describe my thorough enjoyment of this. You know I like to read about all the political intrigue and what-have-yous, and I love the way Godric rationalizes his inquisitorial work--it's so...Godric. Merciful (for lack of a better word) yet sort of detached at the same time. His rationality is all the more apparent when you have it side-by-side with Eric's anger and disgust. And I adored the fact that Eric was at moments angry and resentful and slightly *petulant* even when he thought he was already dead.

Oh, and "I swear I'll treat you like a brother"--ahaha. Sure, Eric.

[septemberoses]

You caught me: I admit I was laughing when I wrote bits of Eric's rescue and recovery -- he's all, WTF, WHERE IS VALHALLA?!?!?!?! And: it's not FAIR!!! Poor Eric.

But to me that's part of Eric's essential M.O. in my fics -- he's furious. He's angry or annoyed. It's what gets him through his day, particularly when times are tough.

And as you already know, having decided (in some random way) that this was Godric's sideline profession, I kept pondering why that might be so, and how Eric would feel about it. And I think I could argue their plausibility, given the personalities I've settled on in my LJ fics. Eric in many ways would appear to be the brute, and he's the warrior, but the fact that Godric treats it as a job, and fails (from Eric's perspective) to admit to the weight of what he's really doing, bugs him, even though he's hardly on the moral high ground himself.

[confused_bliss]

Ahhhh, there are no words adequate...This piece was fabulous, totally loved it!! Godric as an inquistor---just perfect. I cannot imagine anyone being more effective as such---not even Eric. And, how Eric was there for him...offering himself to be whatever Godric needed in the aftermath; no matter how Eric felt about what Godric was doing was truly beautiful and inspiring.

Eric's own torture and Godric's tending to him aftewards so deeply moving.

"You never drink enough when you're fucking me." Oh my how I laughed, and still smile. Eric holding Godric close as they both found their rest---so utterly beautiful.

Another brilliant and beautiful piece. And, now I must surrender to the call to return to my own writing desk. Seeing this story I had to take a break!!

[septemberoses]

Hey, I am all for everyone writing! Writing is such a great outlet.

I wasn't sure how the Eric-torture and the Godric-as-torturer were going to work at first, I played around with that for awhile, trying to fit it together. In the end I think it worked out fine. As I said above, I was trying to convey this sense of Eric having been tortured horrifically, and give some illustrative information, without that whole thing descending into nasty torture-porn that nobody would want to read, including me.

And yes, absolutely -- however Eric might feel about what Godric's doing (and what Godric's doing is, let's face it, creepy) he'd still be offering his unconditional love and support.