#(and loki being such an integral part of it and not even realizing like loki my son my beloved prince ur an IDIOT)

[magnusmodig]

||. i've just reread all of the mcu thor comic tie-ins again out of curiosity and i'm having so many THOUGHTS right now

[imdonnalynn]

THE MULTIVERSE SAGA

Made a new header with who I believe will be big players towards the end of the Multiverse Saga. Agatha maybe not so much but in her own way however that may be.

Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch SPECULATION -

What happened to Wanda with the collapse of Wundagore in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

Did she die in the collapse like so many would have you believe?

Did she simply put herself in some hibernation form within the rubble?

Did she transport herself elsewhere to self-isolate? An off shoot of this speculation was she banished herself to the Void.

Hear my theory, think about it, in Multiverse of Madness when Wanda finally realized the Darkhold had corrupted her, in the eyes of her children, it was only then she was able to see the monster she had become and stop her rampage.

I think Wanda realized how truly dangerous she was and in an effort to protect her children and by extension the Multiverse she brought Wundagore down on top of her in an effort to rid the Multiverse of her as a future threat.

But what I think really happened was instead of killing her she sent herself to the Void.

She absorbed some of America's power, its possible with her already powerful reality warping abilities with what little she took she was able to send herself to the Void with a thought, like she erased all mutants in the House of M storyline by stating "No more mutants..." in this case she thought "I want to be where I'm no longer a threat to anyone..." and to me that means the Void.

I think Wanda unintentionally banished herself to the Void. As evidence by her Scarlet Witch statue from Wundagore making a cameo appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine in the hideout of the resistance team against Cassandra Nova.

Wanda has likely been in the Void since Multiverse of Madness and has avoided any interaction with anyone and anything fearing she will become an unstoppable threat again. So I don't think Cassandra Nova felt any need to try and kill Wanda even if she somehow knew about her.

But once Avengers: Doomsday comes, RDJ's Doctor Doom, will very likely pull an Avengers: Infinity War and leave audiences stunned when he causes incursions of the Multiverse into one place, the Void making it BATTLEWORLD. That is a lot of populus and stuff of all kinds coming into the Void and between that and Wanda possibly running into some of her old friends from her universe 616, she will begin to realize she has to get involved if the fate of the Multiverse, the fate of her children, is at stake. Any projects that take place between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars has been heavily rumored to take place in Battleworld.

Wanda will be an integral part in restoring the Multiverse so the Mutant Saga can thrive. Loki, Doom, Wanda and maybe even Strange will all have a hand in reestablishing everything.

p.s. ...Clea may also be a big part with the other magical beings of the Multiverse.

update 9/5/24 - She could also be in some form of Hell based off the souls of the damned in Multiverse of Madness. If you count the souls that she was trapped with versus how many burst free when she did the number is short so its implied she could have been dragged to some hellish realm.

[rebellionsuite]

loki season two is starting to be promoted and here’s your reminder NOT to watch it

the loki show did damage to not only loki’s character as a whole, but to bisexual and genderfluid people as well.

for years, loki has been a comic character that is well known for their bisexuality and genderfluidity. a huge component to this was the ‘loki: agent of asgard’ series written by al ewing (a personal favorite of mine). many queer people opened up their arms to welcome this representation. had i known i was bisexual at the time that mcu loki was my favorite character ever, i just know i would’ve been ecstatic, which i was when the first looks at season one came out.

the first red flag should’ve been when it was revealed that in loki’s tva files, his sex was labeled as “fluid” when it’s actually his gender. i remember people being skeptical and wary about it but continued to hope for the representation that the cast promised in interviews beforehand. (if anyone is able to find which interview this was in, please let me know so i could link it.)

then as the series went on for the next six weeks, hopes of there being representation dwindled. there was the line of “a bit of both” when sylvie asked if loki courted princes or princesses and he assumed it was the same for sylvie, which was SOMETHING at the time! people were happy… for the first few days or so. we quickly realized that this was probably disney’s way of telling but never showing considering their infamous prejudice against lgbt+ rep. it was quite literally the bare minimum — a throwaway line so to say that could easily be forgotten by the average viewer. i recall that lots of people were huge shippers of loki x mobius and thought that maybe, just MAYBE, there would be something more explicitly romantic between them and hey, maybe there will be in season two! but it’s disney. you can understand that there’s not a whole lot of hope.

then comes loki’s genderfluidity. to start off, the whole existence of sylvie is the most damaging. in agent of asgard, loki has confirmed that no matter how she presents, she is always loki. there’s no “female/lady loki”, it’s all JUST loki. so to change up loki’s name, bleach her hair, and contradict whether or not she IS actually loki throughout the show is… questionable.

the line of “have you ever met a woman variant?” was just insane writing. all lokis can identify/present as women if they please!!! their shapeshifting abilities give them an advantage of presentation being easy for them, but all in all, every single loki can canonically identify as a woman. when that line was delivered, all the other loki variants looked confused as if they didn’t know. loki’s genderfluidity was never at the forefront of the writers’ minds, writers that were caught to be fucking weirdos on twitter! you can find what old tweets i’m talking about on twitter… but i digress. why would the loki variants not know such an integral part of their identity?

and the KISS. THE FUCKING KISS. we’re not angry that loki kissed a female-presenting character instead of mobius like many wished, no no no that’s not the big issue because bisexuals should never have to prove their bisexuality to anyone and they can kiss whoever the hell they want. we’re angry because loki kissed a female-presenting variant of HIMSELF. all throughout the first season, the writers went out of their way to try to differentiate sylvie from loki despite sylvie having been born as a loki variant, but there’s literally no way to separate sylvie from their lineage because at the end of the day, that’s who she was born as. no amount of bleach will change that fact. (i hope i made this easy to understand; not a lot of people get why this is an issue.) and regardless of whether or not that kiss was romantic, the fact that it even HAPPENED was a slap in the face to genderfluid fans of loki, and if the leaks for season two are right, that whole thing between the two will be continued since most of the season one writers worked on season two as well.

on top of this awful rep, known abuser jonathan majors will be in season two as another kang variant. i’ve heard that marvel had bigger plans for him, but due to these allegations, they’re limiting his presence as seen in the trailer, obviously meaning that they know.

hence why i ask fans to boycott/simply not tune in for season two if you care about queer people. if you’re desperate to watch, at least don’t use disney+. just because s2d is gone doesn’t mean other websites don’t exist. i also recommend reading ‘agent of asgard’. if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me and please be respectful; your feelings about the show don’t dictate how hundreds of others feel, especially if their concerns are valid.

[alwida10]

What's your opinion on the new Loki powers from the second episode? (Energy blasts and moving shadows, as I know you don't wanna watch it -- completely understand, it's really out of sync and tries its main character like shit)

Hi dear anon! 🤗

First of all - I’m so honored by this question!! I kinda considered myself an outdated part of the fandom since I don’t watch the show anymore, and getting this ask gave me such a warm feeling!! 💚

Before I start: I said I wouldn’t watch the show, and I did not, so all I answer here is probably a bit awkward, as half-knowledge tends to be. I did. see the scene in question in the trailers and base my answer on that. If I forget anything or don’t know I’m happy to get corrected or supplemented.

I assume this is the magic we’re talking about:

I saw four types of magic: the green blast, the illusionary doubles, ripping the temped from Brad’s hand, and the shadows grabbing Brad.

In the movies, Loki has often used illusionary doubles. To me, his powers in phases 1-2 have been an integral part of his characterization. A mirror so to say. Or like a curse turned to advantage.

Loki had been stolen from Jotunheim and made something he wasn’t? -> he can appear to be someone else to a degree not even the whole population of Asgard realizes it’s him when he poses as Odin.

Loki was ignored, shut up, and silenced by his family? -> he learns to hide himself from Heimdall’s eyes, and even turn invisible to the shield agents in Thor 1.

Loki was lied to about his heritage, how people treat him, and even his future? -> he learns to forge lies so well that they become illusions that make people believe the wine turned into snakes, Loki was standing in front of them, and many more.

Loki’s rage on him being locked away and forgotten to the point only a guard lets him know Frigga died? -> his rage manifests in a shockwave that destroys everything in his cell.

There are more examples, but my point is Loki’s magic was mirroring what was done to him. It’s adaptive, and telling.

Now, regarding season 2.

Many people criticized season 1 for having Loki work too little magic. Season 2 seems to be “improved” in that regard, but my personal opinion was always a bit more complex. I do agree Season 1 had too little magic, but at the same time, I don’t think any magic is an improvement. If they introduce him doing powerful magic we haven’t seen before it will always lead to the question of why Loki didn’t use that magic against Thanos or the minutemen that arrested him in season 1.

Why didn’t he use the green energy blasts and go for a knife? Why didn’t he magically rip the prune sticks from the hands of the TVA agents and instead talk down to them from a stone? Loki’s journey in the MCU has been long and that makes adding magic incredibly complicated.

But even when we look past this, his new powers imo lack the elegance of his former powers. What does the blast connect to? It’s a push, I guess. Loki was pushed around so now he can push as well? Okay, I guess, but it’s also a very stereotypical way to use magic. The Jedi do it, the Dragonborn does it, the Witcher does it. It’s standard. I don’t think the writers put much thought into it. The same goes for the telekinesis. No worldbuilding or characterization-based explanation. Just some power many fictional characters have.

So, last but not least the shadows. I must say, the visual of the horns growing was … distracting for me. It reminded me of a snail stretching its eyes. 🙈 but of all his new powers I do like this one the best. The connection to the character is shady at best (see what I did here? Bwahaha) but at least I could see Loki trying to get out of Thor’s and Odin’s shadows by learning how to control his own.

Did this answer your question? 😊 if not, do not hesitate to put a follow-up one in my inbox!

[themculibrary]

Angry Kissing Masterlist

A is for Asphyxiation (ao3) - shieldslut steve/tony E, 2k

Summary: Tony's used to messing up on missions, and he's used to an angry Captain America yelling at him for it... but this? This is new.

Angry Kiss (ao3) - thegreenwomanswalkman steve/natasha G, 794

Summary: Maybe fighting while angry isn't the best idea, but it's the best way to get over the UST between them.

Borrowed, Stolen, Sworn and Sealed (ao3) - Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1) peter/mary jane T, 4k

Summary: Every kiss Peter and MJ share is different but in the end, they all boil down in translation to the same three words.

Don't Talk Just Kiss (ao3) - Dormammu steve/tony G, 2k

Summary: Steve and Tony are at Club A, each thinking about their never realized friendship and crush on the other and that the other hates him.

Fit The Profile (ao3) - WaterHorseyBlues loki/mobius N/R, 77k

Summary: Violent attacks, attempted murder and an unclaimed inheritance. Loki's dull life is interrupted when he's unexpectedly taken as a hostage one night. Private Detective Mobius is on the case, and Loki grasps at the chance to turn his life around and hunt down the perpetrator. What at first seems like unmotivated violence caused by an untraceable ghost soon turns into something much bigger than either Loki or Mobius could have expected. Could the answer lie in Loki's past? Or is something far more sinister going on?

He Doesn't Need Me Anymore (ao3) - loricameback steve/bucky T, 690

Summary: What really happened after Steve rescued Bucky from Red Skull.

In the End in Wonderland We Both Went Mad (ao3) - snarkysweetness skye/grant M, 1k

Summary: After a mission gone awry Skye and Ward get into a very heated shouting match that has unforeseen consequences.

Let my love erase all your doubts (ao3) - Mimisempai loki/mobius M, 1k

Summary: While traveling with Loki in Asgard on a mission for the TVA, Mobius stumbles upon what appears to be a tender moment between Sif and his lover. When Loki finds him in their room, Mobius lets his jealousy take possession of him to Loki's great surprise.

Let's Hear It For Captain America! (ao3) - Magnetism_bind steve/bucky E, 5k

Summary: A missing scene from Captain America: The First Avenger

Marked For Good (ao3) - buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) steve/bucky E, 1k

Summary: Steve Rogers is noble to a fault, and that's how he manages to get himself into really dumb predicaments more often than not. Bucky Barnes is fed up. In fact, he's so fed up he decides a spanking's in order. They both end up enjoying it way more than either expect.

Nine Days Of Loki (ao3) - EarthAngelGirl30 loki/sif N/R, 74k

Summary: The Lady Sif has been given a mission. She's been sent to Midgard with orders to bring the troublesome trickster Loki, back to Asgard. He's been in hiding amongst the mortals after fleeing the realm eternal, in order to escape the wrath of Odin, as well as Thanos who still has a score to settle with him. With his magical abilities, Sif isn't able to apprehend him easily and inadvertently becomes his hostage. When their hatred of each other begins evolving into something more complicated, her integrity, loyalty and honour will be tested. Likewise, Loki even begins questioning his reasons for holding her captive in the first place. Unless she can convince him to return, Sif may end up being stranded on Midgard indefinitely, and who knows what fate may befall her captor. But with the possibility of Heimdall observing all, as she's pushed to the limit, will whatever happens on Midgard...stay on Midgard?

oh captain, my captain (ao3) - silentstreets steve/tony M, 1k

Summary: steve's angry so tony's angry and they make out wow

Staring at the Sun (ao3) - Silver17Springs yelena/kate E, 11k

Summary: After spending Christmas with the Barton family, Kate remembers the blonde assassin who left and is determined to find her and remind her that she still had people. She finds, her, but the second part doesn't go so well.

Or, the "Yelena is super fucked up and people ignore her trauma" trope where Kate Bishop gets thrown a learning curve about how to deal with a ticking bomb of a human person.

Surrounded, Surrounded (ao3) - ryry_peaches steve/bucky G, 3k

Summary: Before the battle in Wakanda, Steve and Bucky take a little time to catch up, resolve some things and remind one another what they're fighting for.

Take Me, Quake Me (ao3) - tisfan robbie/skye E, 2k

Summary: Robbie's got a demon inside him... And Daisy was never big on caution.

The Only One For Me (ao3) - scarletvisionforever wanda/vision T, 1k

Summary: PROMPT: Fighting that leads to an angry kiss~

under the neon lights (all I see is you) (ao3) - smish1 steve/bucky E, 9k

Summary: Bucky expresses some feelings with the help of karaoke, Asgardian mead and some bad decisions.

We Don't Kiss & Tell (ao3) - STARSdidathing loki/tony T, 4k

Summary: The first time it happened, they were in the middle of an argument.

[wheelercore]

Honestly, I think there's a chance that the real big bad (tm) hasnt even been revealed yet.

Just a random thought, maybe wrong, but:

There's so many aspects of Prisoners taken and put into ST, particuarily in season 1&4. One of the most important things being that detective Loki runs through multiple suspects for the entire two and a half hour runtime before finding out it's Holly right at the very end of the movie:

The parents usually being the first suspects- as a formality Keller and his wife were questioned. Lonnie was understandably suspected for a short amount of time in s1 also, however it wasn't him.

Sexual predators in the area- again, very understandable suspects, however nothing turned up for this either. I believe this lines up very well with season 1&2 and it's SA allegories + the MF being shaped like a "spider" which is associated with "predators" in ST retroactively in s4.

Alex & Bob- obviously "different" outcasts who are victims themselves but, because they werent "normal" due to the trauma, they were suspected of having done the deed. Alex was taken very young and due to his mental disability couldn't really understand what he was doing when he brought the children to Holly. Bob had no involvement but his habit of recreating child abductions like his own made him look hella sus.

And finally the true perpetrator was Holly- aggressively normal mild mannered (ex) Christian Holly Jones who mostly kept to herself and didn't cause any problems. Part of the tight knit religious community and literally never would have raised any red flags for anyone. The lesson being here, the one Keller learned the hard way, was that the real monster was someone who was more like him than Alex and Bob ever were.

The reason why I can't reconcile Holly Jones with Henry Creel is because they are direct opposites of each other. Henry was always different and treated horribly because he wasnt "normal". He would be the scapegoat not the overlooked perp. The thing about Holly is that she was always present from the very beginning- it's just nobody suspected because she played the part of a normal member of this small community so well despite being a child murdering psychopath. Holly being that way is so integral to the message of the movie that I can't believe that the Duffers would use Prisoners as their initial inspo and so clearly reference it repeatedly in s4 only to toss out one of it's very core messages.

Henry has much more in common with Alex Jones and Bob if anything. Alex who was abducted himself at a young age and then aided Holly in abducting other children + Bob who came in as a red herring 3/4th into the movie until he committed suicide and the realization that it wasnt him after all. It lines up so well with what we've seen from Henry: introduced officially in the penultimate (not the final) season as the one stated bluntly twice to be apparently "behind it all" so much so that we have El asking Henry if it was him all along and he paused for a loooong moment before giving the tiniest nod (like, idk that was suspicious to me but maybe I'm looking too much into it).

That plus all that is left to learn about Henry's backstory that is being kept from us until s5 for whatever reason. Why is everything about Virginia kept so vague? Why is Alice so sus? How did Henry get his abilities? How does the MF play into this, if it does?

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 85: When I’m Feelin’ Blue

Chapters: 85/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: pg13

Relationships: Loki x Reader

Characters: Loki (Marvel),

Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent),

Summary: Time to wake up.

You sat, sandwiched between Sjofn and Lofn, learning how to spin wool into thread. It was a fascinating procedure, soothing, affirming, and you were just plain bad at it. Your thread was lumpy and uneven, it caught on itself, it broke. And while Sjofn assured you that it was just because you were a beginner, it still seemed like a waste of the wool.

Loki was somewhere far, far below, in the ice tunnels, preparing to wake up the sleeping pair of Frost Giants. And you were being kept far, far away from them.

You understood on a practical level. One stray limb, one accidental brush against your skin, and that was the end of you. And if the worst came to pass, and things ended in bloodshed, well Loki didn't want you anywhere near that. No, on a practical level, it was for the best that you were topside, wrestling with nothing more dangerous than tangled thread.

Emotionally though, you weren't sure it was the best course. Loki had gone down there with merely himself, Ulfrun, and a handful of einherjar. He didn't expect a fight; the only Jotnar there were a child and her nursemaid after all. But the einherjar could do more than just battle, and Loki was their lost prince. You thought you should be there though, and Thor as well, to welcome them properly, to show them the new status of Asgard, and maybe also to protect them from any danger from the inside.

The idea of integrating the Frost Giants had met with a very mixed reception. Among the youngest Asgardians, apprehension was at a low, trust in the stories they'd been told was also at a low, a result of the lies and destruction that had been revealed to them so recently. But among older Asgardians, there was a great deal of worry indeed. Even people Andsvarr's age were divided over it. After all, these Jotnar hadn't had a generation of time between them and the war, no time to move forward. They'd been preserved in the ice at the very end of it, the tragedy fresh as their frozen bodies. But they were also a child and a nurse. Not combatants. They were unlikely to have seen the battlefields, unlikely to be seeking revenge. The child might not even have understood the concept of war itself. What could she be blamed for?

Of course, there were those of any age who clung gleefully to the hatred they were given social permission to exercise. To these, the animosity was a part of a Frost Giant's nature. Child or no, it was carried in the blood.

And yet...

Since Asgardians and Frost Giants were cousins, was it not in their blood as well?

It was deep into December, and the snow piled high against the walls and windows; perfect weather for the Giants. And yet the months worth of time Asgard had had to process their origins had not been nearly enough for some. Saga's recording was freely available-in fact, it played nonstop on a screen in the museum. Ymir's Dreamscape, now much more than an ancient curiosity, had a dedicated team of scholars studying it intensely, reproducing scenes on paper, interpreting them using a transcript of your description as a base.

There were some-and there were always going to be some-who refused to believe any of it. Who were more convinced than ever that you were some sort of spy or agent sent to undermine their culture. But these were conspiracy theories you were familiar with. They would always be there, at the fringes at least. The important part was not letting them grow into fully realized movements.

To your great surprise, Gloa was not among their number.

“It makes a kind of sense.” She had said to you at one of her intermittent classes. “All kinds of Jotnar share certain characteristics, and we share many of those characteristics as well. Our shared longevity practically demands an origin close to the beginning of life in this universe. And when there are so few roots to chose from, can one really be surprised that many sprung from one? The Aesir count among Jotnar and Asgardians alone should have gotten people thinking. Then again, humans have a very high Aesir count too. You don't think...”

She trailed off, concerned disgust twisting her lips.

“No. Human evolutionary history is pretty clear on that point. We're purely from Earth, and nowhere else.” you said. “I'm pretty sure our number of Aesir comes from our high birth rate and fast generational turnover. We don't live as long, and we have more babies. More babies means more chance for Aesir. And besides, I don't think the actual percentage is that much higher than you guys, it's just that we had a massive population boom within the last hundred years, and more people are surviving to adulthood, so more human Aesir are surviving too. I'm pretty sure the percentage is the same, even if the actual numbers aren't.”

“Well, isn't that a relief.” Gloa said. “I wonder if I should join the Dreamscape Scholars? Something about the primal art is rather compelling, and I'm sure I could contribute some useful interpretations.”

You smiled right into her snooty, opinionated face.

“I'm sure you'd make a great art critic.”

Andsvarr was less easy to console.

“This child, who will she be a child with?” he lamented. “We have few enough children already, you have seen! She will already be larger than any of her peers. She cannot play with them without covering all her body, and won't that be too uncomfortable? And there will be no one who looks even remotely like her. I don't object to them being here, but can they be happy?”

“I dunno. Kids are pretty adaptable. I mean, they can seem like little monsters, but hatred is learned, and can be unlearned. Just make sure they know that she's as big as she's supposed to be, and it'll become normal to them.”

“Exposure. Yes, that might work for the young. I don't personally have much hope for the elders, but perhaps they can be held at bay. What of the humans? How do you think your people will react?”

“Ah. Well. That could be a problem for a little while at least.” you admitted. “You might have noticed, but humans can get a little weird about other people. And a lot of that weirdness is based on the color of those other people's skin. There will be a total of three individuals on the entire planet who have blue skin, and only one who can hide it.

I don't really know how that's gonna go. A lot of times, individual opinions about others are very different from societal opinions about others. Some people are concerned about you Asgardians being here, because there are enough of you to eventually become a rival to some countries or others. But less than ten, less than five Frost Giants? Most humans will probably see them as nothing more than a curiosity, which isn't really that much better. It's probably just gonna be disrespect all the way down. For a while at least. The years move fast for us, and the locals will get over it sooner or later. The rest of the world might never quite get it. But that's only if they stay indefinitely. The Bifrost will get up to full power eventually, and they can make the choice then.”

And that was simply how it was. This was the day, and everyone had been encouraged to go about their business. If anxiety was high, you hadn't noticed it yet today.

Your thread tangled once more.

Fine, maybe the anxiety was all within you.

                                                                         ******

The bodies came slowly into view, water pumping over the ice, melting it inch by inch. Their belongings had already been thawed, only a few of them salvageable after so long. There had been but a single weapon, a knife carved from the tooth of some massive, ice-dwelling leviathan.

For now, they lay in gentle repose, sleeping silent. Loki knew it wouldn't last. When they woke, this peace would end. Maybe it would have been better to let them sleep, but...they really couldn't afford to. Thor's assessment had been correct; even this frigid portion of the world was warming, the ice receding. They would wake up eventually, it was only a matter of time. It was better to have some control over when it happened, so that no further tragedies would occur.

But it was a shame, to take this peaceful sleep from them. To drag them into a world where the great Realms were so in flux. Where they would have missed the experience of an entire generation.

And perhaps, just perhaps, he was a tiny bit jealous of their slumber. They things they hadn't had to see or live through, as foolish as he knew that was. What did it mater if they hadn't seen their loss first-hand? They would still be waking up to it. It would still deeply effect their lives from now on.

Firstly, they would be trapped on this unfamiliar world, unable to go home until the Bifrost was at its full power. Surrounded by people they would view as enemies. The child might be too young to understand it, but the woman certainly would; that they were captives, and would be indefinitely.

Worse, if they ever did go home back to Jotunheim, they would be returning to a world they no longer knew. Even now, the climate was changing, the canyon effecting the planet's seasonal cycles. Their culture would be changing to match. Without a ruler of the original line, the government would have also changed. Any friends the child might have had would be adults now. A whole lifetime had been taken from her.

And this world was getting hotter and hotter. Without some kind of intervention, it would become a very inhospitable place for them to live. They didn't live on a human timescale. To them, to the Asgardians, this catastrophe was rushing up quickly.

Once the ice had melted down, the Einherjar readied themselves. Loki had handpicked each one based on reputation for unflappability and even-handedness. He would brook no mistakes here.

The child awoke first, which was not ideal, as the frightened cry she gave woke the woman directly into a protective panic. She rolled to her knees, huge arm rolling out, She caught Loki by surprise, grabbing him by the throat and shoulder. Loki signaled to the Einherjar to hold their places, feeling the icy magic stab through him.

“Madam, I'm afraid that will avail you not.” he said, the blue blossoming over his face. “I urge you to remain calm. We are not your enemy.”

She did not appear to believe him, but she had noticed the guards, and the change in Loki's complexion. She slowly released him and backed off.

“We are not combatants.” the woman said. “Whatever else you do to me, please spare the child. If Asgard knows even a shred of mercy, spend it for the sake of the child.”

“We intend no ill to either of you. You have my assurance as Crown Prince of Asgard.” Loki said solemnly, and he regarded him with bewilderment. The little girl scuttled to her side. The child couldn't have been much older than a toddler, though she still came up to his chest.

“You...do not appear to be of Asgard's royal family?” the woman asked carefully.

“It's a bit of a long story. For the moment, my name is Loki.” he watched closely for any sort of recognition. There was none.

She hadn't named him.

“Heid.” the woman said. “And this is Angrboda.”

The child, clinging shyly to Heid's scant skirt, waved once and turned her face away.

“Do you know where you are?” Loki asked.

“I believe we are still on Midgard. Unless we've been moved.”

“You have not. We are all on Midgard. The war is over. I have some...difficult news.”

“We lost. I know.” Heid said. “We had lost even before we went to sleep. Where is Asmundr?”

Loki lowered his gaze. The Jotun scout's name. They could properly label his grave now. Heid noticed his reaction, and her mouth thinned out. He didn't need to say anything else.

“So he is dead, and we are captured.” she said. This was definitely someone from a royal court. Her reactions, aside from when panicked, were very reserved. “Is there anything else? Are we to be ransomed, perhaps?”

“Would that I could make it so easy for you madam.” Ransom was honorable, at least, a confirmation of worth. “I'm afraid that you have been asleep much longer than you may understand.”

“How...how long?”

Loki took a deep breath.

“Over a thousand years.”

The child made a startled sound, but Heid just leaned back against the icy rock, red stare fixed in the tunnel roof.

“It's like a legend.” she said quietly. “Like the Ancient Ones emerging from the Blue Ice to share the wisdom of the first years. But I haven't the wisdom to share. I take it you can prove this.”

“Possibly.” Loki said. “It may be some of the good news that I can bring you. Queen Farbauti was wrong. I didn't die. I stayed small, but I lived.”

Heid leaned forward, suspicion written over her features.

“Are you trying to tell me you are the prince?”

“Who else would I be? Look at my face. Can you not see him in me?”

“How is that possible?”

Loki took the time to explain everything that he could, Odin's misunderstanding which had brought Loki to Asgard, his status as an Aesir, and Asgardian prince, Laufey's tragic slaying after a last desperate attempt at revenge-purposefully downplaying his own responsibility for that. The advancement of Midgard, the depredations of the Mad Titan, and subsequent destruction of Asgard, and relocation of its people. The loss of the Allfather, and ascension of Thor to his place. Loki's own place in the hierarchy.

“And so we are all to remain here, to live alongside the Midgardians until we have regained our space travel capabilities. Once we do, if you so wish, you may go home.”

Heid was nodding slowly, trying to take in all these huge changes.

“I see. That is all rather difficult news. But at the very least, you have finally been reunited with your wife.”

“What?” Loki asked.

[thedemolitionderby]

Ahhhh, I see.

So, you're dragonkin but fenrir is just a coping kin of yours? Being dragon is more of who you are authentically rather than the result of trauma?

The binding of Fenrir, yeah. I definitely have a deep connection, like a spiritual one, to it too. It's definitely a story I think especially queer people can relate to - the gods, authority figures, thinking you a puppy when you arrived, treating you like one, hoping that you'll integrate. But you kept getting bigger and bigger and the older you got the gods realized you were a WOLF, who was getting too intelligent and knowing too much for your own good. Your power terrified them, and your sheer strangeness and monstrous appearence made them, out of fear, bind you forever.

The authority figures you trusted betrayed you as soon as it suited them. Your best friend turned his back, biting off his hand was nothing compared to the utter heartbreak and fury you felt as the gods laughed and celebrated. Made to be bound for centuries, your only companion the thoughts of what you'd do to the gods when you were free some day.

The thing was, you weren't stupid. The only thing that made you accept to be bound was trust in the gods, but most of all in Tyr, even when you didn't trust them surely Tyr wouldn't be wrong? Its honestly heartbreaking.

The story makes me feel, among the visceral hatred and betrayal Fenrir must have felt, a profound sense of sadness. Its part of being Loki, I think, amongst relating to Fenrir's story. And I can definitely see why you are a Fenrir copingkin by your past.

Have some virtual food, 🍉🍑🍇🧇🍞

Best wishes to you. Hope things go well.

A fenrir kin! Nice to meet you. How did you discover that?

Asking because you are primarily a dragon (?) and it's quite hard for me to understand individuals who have more than 1 kintype unless they're related somewhat. To be honest it used to be I didn't understand at all but now I discovered I was a kelpie so...

It's directly related to being an incarnation of Loki for me. If it's not related I definitely have a hard time understanding so if you want to share I'd love to hear.

It’s a pleasure to meet you as well! Glad to talk to someone who’s an incarnation of Loki.

Being Fenrirkin is specifically a Copingkin I never really asked to have. Yes, I do love Norse mythology, but being a copingkin of Fenrir can be… well- a bit self destructive for me.

I had been reading a lot into the binding of Fenrir and other information on him. Parts of the story correlate uncannily. When I experience Fenrir shifts, the room felt too small and the intense desire to bite at my right hand was always prominent. I get a constant feeling of being suspicious of authority, sometimes this includes questioning and thinking I know better. But the hardest thing is the intense feeling of betrayal that comes during Fenrir shifts, especially of the ones who were treating you right.

The betrayal part comes from traumas I dealt with. The multitude of gods equating to my family always saying that each other are liars, and others who constantly betrayed my trust. Tyr can be substituted for three different people. My mother, my father or my ex. I tend to associate Tyr more with my ex due to closer similarities.

I wasn’t the best after the breakup and I did lash out viciously. The sword that is stated to hold Fenrir’s jaws open correlate to my need to scream or a need to explain to my ex how his betrayal hurt me, for how sorry I am for hurting him. The bindings are a creation of anger/rage and extreme guilt.

I have always felt a very close tie and extremely empathize with Fenrir’s story. It’s almost like a deeply rooted spiritual connection that isn’t easy to describe. My mental/perception shifts do not feel like that of a normal human. No, they’re intensified by a different sort of emotion that felt very nonhuman in nature.

As for explaining being a polykin with pretty different kintypes, it’s a bit confusing, but not impossible. My dragonself is much less destructive and almost guide like in how I behave. The pride I get when talking about strength are different levels. For my dragonself strength is something I take pride in, but I don’t feel like it’ll crumble at any moment. For my Fenrir self, if I have it questioned, I want to prove myself. This does end up that if someone I consider close to tells me that I am weak, I will break and will either shut down or lash out. Thankfully the lashing out is only internally, but it is destructive by nature.

There are specific behaviors that happen that do not correlate between my dragonself and Fenrir self. As my Fenrir self is much less shifty and is an involuntary identity that allows me to cope with betrayals.

Being a dragon comes with its own difficulties, but I tend to mentally know the difference between my Fenrir tendencies and my dragon tendencies. It all depends on how high, and how self destructive, my emotions get.

I do apologize if it’s a little incoherent. I tried my best to explain the best I could how I separated shifts and behaviors of my two animalistic kintypes. As well as explaining how I came to the conclusion.

I don’t consider myself as Fenrir Otherkin. Involuntarily identifying as and with Fenrir is purely a way of coping that I never asked for as stated above.

Hopefully this explains it enough for a general understanding

>Saiph 🐉

Edit: if you’d like further explanation or clarification, feel free to DM me or send another ask. I’m a very open person and I get good vibes from you

[lokiondisneyplus]

'Loki' takes over: Tom Hiddleston on his new TV series and a decade in the MCU

Ten years after Hiddleston first chose chaos in Thor, Marvel’s fan favorite God of Mischief is going even bigger with his time-bending Disney+ show.

Tom Hiddleston is Loki, and he is burdened with glorious purpose: After playing Thor's puckish brother for over a decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no one understands the mercurial Asgardian God of Mischief as well as the actor. He can teach an entire seminar on Loki if given the opportunity — which he actually did during pre-production on his forthcoming Disney+ show. In conversation, Hiddleston quotes lines from his MCU debut, 2011's Thor, almost verbatim, and will playfully correct you if you mistakenly refer to Asgard's Rainbow Bridge as the Bifrost, which is the portal that connects Loki and Thor's homeworld to the Nine Realms, including Midgard, a.k.a. Earth. "Well, the Bifrost technically is the energy that runs through the bridge," he says with a smile. "But nine points to Gryffindor!" And when he shows up to the photo shoot for this very digital cover, he hops on a call with our photo editor to pitch ways the concept could be even more Loki, like incorporating the flourish the trickster does whenever magically conjuring something. The lasting impression is that playing Loki isn't just a paycheck.

"Rather than ownership, it's a sense of responsibility I feel to give my best every time and do the best I can because I feel so grateful to be a part of what Marvel Studios has created," the 40-year-old Brit tells EW over Zoom a few days after the shoot and a week out from Thor's 10th anniversary. "I just want to make sure I've honored that responsibility with the best that I can give and the most care and thought and energy."

After appearing in three Thor movies and three Avengers, Hiddleston is bringing that passion to his first solo Marvel project, Loki, the House of Ideas' third Disney+ series following the sitcom pastiche WandaVision and the topical The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Led by head writer Michael Waldron (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Heels), the six-episode drama sees Hiddleston's shapeshifting agent of chaos step out from behind his brother's shadow and into the spotlight for a timey-wimey, sci-fi adventure that aims to get to the bottom of who Loki really is. "I wanted to explore slightly more complex character questions," says Waldron. "It's not just good versus bad. Is anybody all good? Is anybody all bad? What makes a hero, a hero? A villain, a villain?"  

Even though Loki — who loves sowing mayhem with his illusion magic and shapeshifting, all with a major chip on his shoulder — has never been one for introspection, the idea of building an entire show around him was a no-brainer for Marvel. When asked why Loki was one of the studio's first Disney+ shows, Marvel president Kevin Feige replies matter-of-factly, "More Hiddleston, more Loki." First introduced as Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) envious brother in Kenneth Branagh's Thor, Loki went full Big Bad in 2012's The Avengers. That film cemented the impish rogue as one of the shared universe's fan favorites, thanks to Hiddleston's ability to make him deliciously villainous yet charismatic and, most importantly, empathetic. The character's popularity is one of the reasons he's managed to avoid death many times.

"He's been around for thousands of years. He had all sorts of adventures," says Feige. "Wanting to fill in the blanks and see much more of Loki's story [was] the initial desire [for the series]."

The Loki we meet on the show is not the one who fought the Avengers in 2012 and evolved into an antihero in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok before meeting his demise at the hands of the mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. Instead, we'll be following a Loki from a branched timeline (a variant, if you will) after he stole the Tesseract following his thwarted New York invasion and escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody during the time heist featured in Avengers: Endgame. In other words, this Loki hasn't gone through any sort of redemption arc. He's still the charming yet petulant god who firmly believes he's destined to rule and has never gotten his due.

Premiering June 9, Loki begins with the Time Variance Authority — a bureaucratic organization tasked with safeguarding the proper flow of time — arresting the Loki Variant seen in Endgame because they want his help fixing all of the timeline problems he caused while on the run with the Tesseract. So there will be time travel, and a lot more of it than in Endgame. As Loki makes his way through his own procedural, he'll match wits with new characters including Owen Wilson's Agent Mobius, a brilliant TVA analyst, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Judge Renslayer. The question in early episodes is whether Loki will help them or take over.

"One of the things Kevin Feige led on was, 'I think we should find a way of exploring the parts of Loki that are independent of his relationship with Thor,' or see him in a duality or in relationship with others, which I thought was very exciting," says Hiddleston, who also serves as an executive producer on the show. "So the Odinson saga, that trilogy of films, still has its integrity, and we don't have to reopen it and retell it."

Yet, in order to understand where Loki is going, it's important to see where he came from.

Hiddleston can't believe how long he and Loki have been connected. "I've been playing this character for 11 years," he says. "Which is the first time I have said that sentence, I realize, and it [blows] my mind. I don't know what percentage that is exactly of my 40 years of being alive, but it's substantial."

His time as Loki actually goes a bit further back, to 2009 — a year after Robert Downey Jr. big banged the MCU into existence with Iron Man — when he auditioned for Thor. It's no secret that Hiddleston initially went in for the role of the titular God of Thunder, but Feige and director Kenneth Branagh thought his natural charm and flexibility as an actor made him better suited for the movie's damaged antagonist. "Tom gave you an impression that he could be ready for anything, performance-wise," says Branagh, who had previously worked with him on a West End revival of Checkov's Ivanov and the BBC series Wallander. "Tom has a wild imagination, so does Loki. He's got a mischievous sense of humor and he was ready to play. It felt like he had a star personality, but he was a team player."

Hiddleston fully immersed himself in the character. Outside of studying Loki's history in the Marvel Comics, he also researched how Loki and the Trickster God archetype appeared across mythology and different cultures. "He understood that he was already in something special [and] it was a special character in a special part of that early moment in the life of the Marvel universe where [he] also needed to step up in other ways," says Branagh, who was impressed by the emotional depth Hiddleston brought to the part, especially when it came to how isolated Loki felt in the Asgardian royal family.  

There was a lot riding on that first Thor feature. For one, no one knew if audiences would immediately latch onto a Shakespearean superhero movie partially set on an alien planet populated by the Norse Gods of legend. Second, it was integral to Feige's plans for the shared universe. Loki was supposed to be the main villain in The Avengers, which would not only mirror how Earth's mightiest heroes joined forces in 1963's Avengers #1 but also give Thor a believable reason for teaming up with Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), and the rest of the capes. Feige first clued Hiddleston into those larger plans when the actor was in L.A. before Thor started shooting.

"I was like, 'Excuse me?' Because he was already three, four steps ahead," says Hiddleston. "That took me a few minutes to process, because I didn't quite realize how it just suddenly had a scope. And being cast as Loki, I realized, was a very significant moment for me in my life, and was going to remain. The creative journey was going to be so exciting."

Hiddleston relished the opportunity to go full villain in Avengers, like in the scene where Loki ordered a crowd to kneel before him outside a German opera house: "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation," says the Machiavellian god. "The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

"I just knew that in the structure of that film, I had to lean into his role as a pure antagonist," Hiddleston recalls. "What I always found curious and complex about the way Loki is written in Avengers, is that his status as an antagonist comes from the same well of not belonging and being marginalized and isolated in the first Thor film. Loki now knows he has no place in Asgard."

Loki did find a place within the audience's hearts, though. Feige was "all in" on Hiddleston as his Loki from the beginning, but even he couldn't predict how much fans would love him. Feige recalls the reaction at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con: "Did we know that after he was the villain in two movies, he would be bringing thousands of people to their feet in Hall H, in costume, chanting his name? No, that was above and beyond the plan that we were hoping for and dreaming of." It was a dream Feige first got an inkling of a year earlier during the Avengers press tour when a Russian fan slipped past security, snuck into Mark Ruffalo's car, and asked the Hulk actor to give Hiddleston a piece of fan art she created. "That was one of the early signs there was much more happening with this quote-unquote villain."  

Despite that popularity, the plan was to kill Loki off in 2013's Thor: The Dark World, but the studio reversed course after test audiences refused to believe he actually died fighting the Dark Elves. Alas, he couldn't out-illusion death forever. After returning in Taika Waititi's colorful and idiosyncratic Thor: Ragnarok, Hiddleston's character perished for real in the opening moments of Infinity War. In typical Loki fashion, before Thanos crushed his windpipe, he delivered a defiant speech that indicated he'd finally made peace with the anger he felt toward his family.  

"It felt very, very final, and I thought, 'Okay, that's it. This is Loki's final bow and a conclusive end to the Odinson saga,'" says Hiddleston, who shot that well-earned death scene in 2017.  

But, though he didn't know it yet, the actor's MCU story was far from over.

Credit: Charlie Gray for EW

When Hiddleston returned to film two scenes in Avengers: Endgame in 2017, he had no idea where Loki portaled off to after snatching the Tesseract. "Where'd he go? When does he go? How does he get there? These are all questions I remember asking on the day, and then not being given any answers," Hiddleston recalls. To be fair, it's likely the Powers That Be didn't necessarily have answers then. While Feige can't exactly recall when the writers' room for Endgame first devised Loki's escape sequence, he does know that setting up a future show wasn't the primary goal — because a Loki series wasn't on the horizon just yet.

"[That scene] was really more of a wrinkle so that one of the missions that the Avengers went on in Endgame could get screwed up and not go well, which is what required Cap and Tony to go further back in time to the '70s," says Feige. Soon after that, though, former Disney CEO Bob Iger approached Feige about producing content for the studio's forthcoming streaming service. "I think the notion that we had left this hanging loose end with Loki gave us the in for what a Loki series could be. So by the time [Endgame] came out, we did know where it was going."

As for Hiddleston, he didn't find out about the plans for a Loki show until spring 2018, a few weeks before Infinity War hit theaters. "I probably should not have been surprised, but I was," says the actor. "But only because Infinity War had felt so final."

Nevertheless, Hiddleston was excited about returning for his show. He was eager to explore Loki's powers, especially the shapeshifting, and what it meant that this disruptive figure still managed to find a seat beside the gods in mythology. "I love this idea [of] Loki's chaotic energy somehow being something we need. Even though, for all sorts of reasons, you don't know whether you can trust him. You don't know whether he's going to betray you. You don't why he's doing what he's doing," says Hiddleston. "If he's shapeshifting so often, does he even know who he is? And is he even interested in understanding who he is? Underneath all those masks, underneath the charm and the wit, which is kind of a defense anyway, does Loki have an authentic self? Is he introspective enough or brave enough to find out? I think all of those ideas are all in the series — ideas about identity, ideas about self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and the difficulty of it."

“The series will explore Loki's powers in a way they have not yet been explored, which is very, very exciting.”

The thing that truly sold Hiddleston on the show was Marvel's decision to include the Time Variance Authority, a move he describes as "the best idea that anybody had pertaining to the series." Feige and Loki executive producer Stephen Broussard had hoped to find a place for the TVA — an organization that debuted in 1986's Thor #372 and has appeared in She-Hulk and Fantastic Four stories — in the MCU for years, but the right opportunity never presented itself until Loki came along. "Putting Loki into his own procedural series became the eureka moment for the show," says Feige.  

The TVA's perspective on time and reality also tied into the themes that Waldron, Loki's head writer, was hoping to explore. "Loki is a character that's always reckoning with his own identity, and the TVA, by virtue of what they do, is uniquely suited to hold up a mirror to Loki and make him really confront who he is and who he was supposed to be," says Waldron. Hiddleston adds: "[That] was very exciting because in the other films, there was always something about Loki that was very controlled. He seemed to know exactly what the cards in his hand were and how he was going to play them…. And Loki versus the TVA is Loki out of control immediately, and in an environment in which he's completely behind the pace, out of his comfort zone, destabilized, and acting out."

To truly dig into who Loki is, the creative team had to learn from the man who knows him best: Hiddleston. "I got him to do a thing called Loki School when we first started," says director Kate Herron. "I asked him to basically talk through his 10 years of the MCU — from costumes to stunts, to emotionally how he felt in each movie. It was fantastic."

Hiddleston got something out of the Loki school, too. Owen Wilson both attended the class and interviewed Hiddleston afterward so that he could better understand Loki, as his character Mobius is supposed to be an expert on him. During their conversation, Wilson pointedly asked Hiddleston what he loved about playing the character.

"And I said, 'I think it's because he has so much range,'" says Hiddleston. "I remember saying this to him: 'On the 88 keys on the piano, he can play the twinkly light keys at the top. He can keep it witty and light, and he's the God of Mischief, but he can also go down to the other side and play the heavy keys. And he can play some really profound chords down there, which are about grief and betrayal and loss and heartbreak and jealousy and pride.'" Hiddleston recalls Wilson being moved by the description: "He said, 'I think I might say that in the show.' And it was such a brilliant insight for me into how open Owen is as an artist and a performer.'"

Owen Wilson as Mobius and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in 'Loki.'| Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

Everyone involved is particularly excited for audiences to see Hiddleston and Wilson's on-screen chemistry. "Mobius is not unlike Owen Wilson in that he's sort of nonplussed by the MCU," says Feige. "[Loki] is used to getting a reaction out of people, whether it's his brother or his father, or the other Avengers. He likes to be very flamboyant and theatrical. Mobius doesn't give him the reaction he's looking for. That leads to a very unique relationship that Loki's not used to."

As for the rest of the series, we know that Loki will be jumping around time and reality, but the creative team isn't keen on revealing when and where. "Every episode, we tried to take inspiration from different things," says Waldron, citing Blade Runner's noir aesthetic as one example.

"Part of the fun of the multiverse and playing with time is seeing other versions of characters, and other versions of the titular character in particular," says Feige, who also declined to confirm if Loki ties into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and/or other upcoming projects.

Making Loki was especially meaningful to Hiddleston because they shot most of it during the pandemic, in late 2020. "It will remain one of the absolute most intense, most rewarding experiences of my life," he says. "It's a series about time, and the value of time, and what time is worth, and I suppose what the experience of being alive is worth. And I don't quite know yet, and maybe I don't have perspective on it, if all the thinking and the reflecting that we did during the lockdown ended up in the series. But in some way, it must have because everything we make is a snapshot of where we were in our lives at that time."

While it remains to be seen what the future holds for Loki beyond this initial season, Hiddleston isn't preparing to put the character to bed yet. "I'm open to everything," he says. "I have said goodbye to the character. I've said hello to the character. I said goodbye to the character [again]. I've learned not to make assumptions, I suppose. I'm just grateful that I'm still here, and there are still new roads to explore."

[author-morgan]

I’m curious to get your opinion on two things regarding the AC games:

1. The sequences set in modern time/the modern aspects of the stories

2. The supernatural aspects of the stories

I’m not the biggest fan of either of those facets of the games, but Odyssey and Valhalla (especially the latter) really just went too far in my opinion.

I tolerated the modern sequences in the older games with Desmond Miles. I definitely didn’t enjoy them, as they always pulled me from the game, but I understood it was a staple of the franchise. The closest I ever came to enjoying them was with Black Flag. Now, though, I just can’t stand them. I find them boring and overblown. The plot is stupidly convoluted. I don’t care about anyone other than Shaun and Rebecca, and it seems like Ubisoft just brought them in as fan service. But the whole Basim thing really just tipped me over the edge. Holy shit was that stupid. I know it’s a staple of the franchise, but I genuinely wish Ubisoft would just ditch the modern story lines and focus on the story people actually care about.

As for the supernatural elements, I think Ubisoft has just gone way off course. I don’t mind the whole Pieces of Eden thing—I actually think it’s interesting. But Ubisoft has made supernatural stuff the centerpiece of their games. It’s like they said “Well, we don’t know how to make an interesting plot, so let’s just throw in a bunch of gods and mythical creatures!” The historical basis of the AC games is what makes them so interesting, but Ubisoft is abandoning that. They’re barely even tethered to reality anymore. Valhalla just seems like a much shittier version of God of War. I want the villain to be an actual historical figure not a watered-down Loki.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. It just kinda pisses me off seeing what’s been done to the AC franchise. Odyssey and especially Valhalla just don’t seem like AC games anymore. I honestly think that if you took away the title, people would have a hard time associating the games to the franchise.

But I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

P.S. Sorry about any formatting issues, I’m on mobile.

Another essay incoming.

1. The modern storylines are not my favorite. They never have been. I’m mainly playing Assassin’s Creed to run around in different periods of history, murder people, and do sick parkour moves. While the modern-day portion has never been a personal favorite, in the end, I did not mind Desmond. He was his own fully realized character with motivations and responsibilities, and in the previous games, that worked. We had two coherent storylines running side-by-side together. Desmond’s story was fleshed out very well, and most players became emotionally invested in what happened to him, myself included. The Creed was an integral part of his story, and he was vital to the success of the early games.

Another reason why I did not mind Desmond was because of how the Animus functioned in earlier games. The user had to be descended from the historical protagonists (i.e., Desmond’s bloodline was descended from Altaïr, Ezio, the Kenways), so it put a huge emphasis on his role in fighting the Templars/Abstergo —hundreds of years had been leading up to this. That meaning began to crumble in Black Flag with someone (the player) being able to relive Edward’s memories with just Desmond’s DNA, but the family connection was still there. Then that meaning was completely lost beginning in Origins, where we are introduced to Layla, who can go around picking up anyone’s DNA and then pop on her VR Animus or jump into a portable one. The key aspect of why the Animus was so special was completely lost in that moment.

Now Layla. This is when I began to view the modern-day component as just an obstacle to overcome as quickly as possible to get back to the much more interesting historical gameplay. Layla is poorly written in my opinion. She is an awful, irritating, arrogant, and selfish character. There is barely anything likable about her and, during Odyssey especially, she got worse as the story progressed into the Atlantis DLC. The whole time during the main story, she ignores or refuses the advice and help from her friends, especially Victoria, who she later kills, and in my opinion, proves why she is an unsuitable person to be the Heir of Memories. Also, it rubs me wrong that when the Eagle Bearer hands over the Staff and dies, the first thing she does is, “oh, let me just hop into the Animus again right next to the corpse of the person I’ve been living as.” And in the end, it looks like the over two thousand years Alexios/Kass spent as the Keeper was pretty much for nothing, ouch.

When they announced Layla would still be in Valhalla, I let out a very loud, very displeased groan because I knew it would mean suffering through the modern-day parts before I could get back to being a Viking (and I hated every single Animus Anomaly too, my god). And by the end of the Valhalla, I was ready to say good riddance (and I did), but at the same time, her ending essentially negated the importance of Alexios/Kass’s story. And yes, Shaun and Rebbeca were most definitely there as fan service and reiterate that this new and ridiculous modern storyline is still somehow tied to what happened in the previous games.

At this rate, I don’t think Ubisoft even knows where the modern-day storyline is going anymore, and in general, perspective changes in RPG games just don’t work. It breaks the immersion and becomes super annoying. After the Desmond arc ended, Ubisoft should have either done away with the modern-day connection completely or rethought the design so you aren’t pulled out of the game every 5 to 10 hours to be reminded “hey, you’re actually a lady wearing a VR headset and this is still an Assassin’s Creed game.” If the games must continue to have a modern-day component, then a few cutscenes at the beginning and end should suffice.

2. The mythological aspect with the Isu has been present since the beginning of the series, and up until Odyssey was handled very well, I think. I do like the mythological aspects, to a certain degree. The backstory for this has been there and steadily growing since the first game. We knew about the First Civilization and the Great Catasphroe and that it was important, and why it the Apples of Eden and other artifacts couldn’t fall into Templar hands but then beginning with Odyssey, that direction was completely lost. I think I know what Ubisoft wants to do, but their writing and storytelling skills are not up to par with what they used to be.

It does make sense though that the Isu are seen as gods to different peoples, and that's about where things stop making sense. Just with Aletheia, her story between Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology is super convoluted and could have been better executed. Also of note, if a single Isu is meant to be a deity across several cultures, then who is the Greek and Roman equivalent of Havi, Loki, Thor, Freya? Or is Aletheia the only one with a triple persona? It doesn’t make sense, and considering the future plans for Assassin’s Creed as an online Fortnite-esque battle royale pay-to-win, I doubt a lot of these questions and plot holes will ever be answered.

I won’t even begin to discuss the issues with the actual mythologies they are using but I’m sure @mrsragnarlodbrok can tell you all about how they have misinterpreted/ruined certain aspects of the gods and nature of Norse Mythology.

3. As for the last two games not feeling like Assassin’s Creed? It’s because they aren’t. The introduction of player choice into the RPG game style effectively negated everything that made an Assassin’s Creed game feel like an Assassin’s Creed game. Odyssey was more of a way to explore the origins of a proto-Templar society with the Cult of Kosmos. And while Valhalla had assassins and a hidden blade for the protagonist, it was not centered on the brotherhood (and I quite like that Eivor did not join them, tbh) but on how the Order of Ancients began to transform and establish themselves into the Templar Order.

Odyssey and Valhalla have taken a lot of material from other games (God of War, The Witcher, and Shadow of Mordor and War, to name some of the ones that come to mind), almost to a degree where I’m asking myself how Ubisoft has gotten away with it. The mercenary system in Odyssey was a very poorly done mockery of the Nemesis System from the Shadow of Mordor games. Many of the “new” skills in Valhalla (and by the looks of it, the new DLC too) are just straight up from Shadow of War. It’s been quite some time since the Assassin’s Creed series added something fresh for the video game world, in my opinion, and at this point, Ubisoft is just milking this money cow for as long as they can. Could Ubisoft make an open-world RPG set in history? Yes. Should they have done that for the Odyssey and Valhalla? Probably, but if they slap that Assassin’s Creed logo on it and make up a poorly written storyline that somewhat connects to the golden Ezio trilogy, then it’ll sell more copies.

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

I think another part of older canon that seems to have been demoted to "made up fanon" was that Thor and Odin did in some ways mistreat Loki. I get it's complicated, Loki certainly isn't easy to communicate with at that time, but again, don't think it's fanon that Thor was dismissive of him and Odin was quite calculatingly bias. Layers, and context and character growth, yeah, but when we go back to Thor 1 it was clearly depicted as canon imo. It's such an integral part of his origin story.

there's that too. I think there's plenty of room to see it as nobody being entirely guilty or innocent, and everyone getting entrenched in unhealthy patterns of behavior in all directions despite more or less doing their best, because to some extent families are just like that. parents in particular can have all the best intentions in the world and be determined not to fuck up their own kids the way their parents fucked them up, and so...they fuck up their kids in totally new ways. which is not to say that all the ways parents fuck up their kids are totally equal with each other, because they very much aren't, but I also think there's a certain degree of inevitability to it just because we're all messy complex humans. and the Odinfam, I mean, you take all that normal stuff and multiply it by a lot just because they have so much more time to get stuck in toxic patterns, and then you put all the pressures and expectations of being the royal family on top of that, and honestly the catastrophic shitshow was probably kind of inevitable.

all the same, yeah, it does seem like there was at least some level of neglect with Loki. I mentioned in the previous ask a couple instances where Loki gets ignored while Thor and Odin take up all the oxygen in the room, and the fact that it happens at all says to me that it's a pretty established pattern of behavior. plus, I mean, the whole "I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness" thing shows that Loki sure felt overlooked even if Thor and Odin didn't realize it and weren't consciously intending to do it, and Frigga's "you and your father cast such large shadows" in the TDW deleted scene shows that she at least noticed, so like...it wasn't all in Loki's head by any means, and Thor and Odin do bear some responsibility for that.

...oh yeah and Loki's lack of shock at Thor's "know your place, brother" on Jotunheim is...also pretty telling. that's canon too.

[insanityclause]

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

EXCLUSIVE: “I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions,” says Loki’s Tom Hiddleston as the hours tick away to the finale of the Disney+ series drops early on Wednesday morning. “We’ll see where the ride goes now,” the Marvel alum adds.

As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: There’s a great line in this season’s penultimate episode where your Loki and Sylvie are stunned at watch Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki recreate Asgard to distract Alioth and you say “I think we’re stronger than we realize.” There seems to be a great resonance in the line that there’s a whole lot of Loki coming in the finale and probably more …

HIDDLESTON: I suppose it resonates with the theme that we all wanted to highlight about purpose and about meaning. Loki’s someone who’s probably been deluded by the idea that he’s burdened with glorious purpose, and that perhaps that purpose has been revealed to be fraudulent or meaningless, and maybe his self-image or the role that he has condemned himself to play is redundant.

His experiences through this story have shown him that there are actually more opportunities available to him, and you know, it speaks to this idea, like, can we change? Can we evolve, and in that evolution, is there room to grow? You know, so, I think the stronger than we realize I think is Loki finally understanding that, really, by caring for other people, that maybe there’s power in that, and I found that very touching, and the whole thing is an extraordinary dream.

DEADLINE: Speaking of an extraordinary dream, you have been playing Loki for a decade now, since the first Thor movie, We know you are going to do some voice work in the animated What If…? series, but how has it been having this series directly centering on him, in all his variants, so to speak?

HIDDLESTON: You know Dominic, I have enjoyed it so much, because I felt it was a gift and a privilege to be invited to come and sit at the table and think about what the show might be. Also, I suppose so many of the things that I’ve discovered about Loki as a character in the comics and a character in the Norse myths, in the canon, aspects that I’ve always thought were interesting, and understandably, there hasn’t been time or space in the movies to explore them.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

HIDDLESTON: Those aspects of him have been externalized and embedded into this new story about identity itself and about integrating the disparate fragment of the many selves that he is or perhaps the many selves that we are. You know, we contain multitudes. Loki certainly contains multitudes. We have met many of those multitudes, including Alligator Loki (laughs).

DEADLINE: Sounds like you’re not done with those multitudes yet. From your POV, from conversations with Kevin (Feige) is there more that you see for the character as the MCU heads into its next stages?

HIDDLESTON: Well, I certainly don’t have Kevin’s brain or encyclopedic knowledge or capacity for invention. I’ve been on the ride for a while, and it’s been the most extraordinary journey, and to have lived through different iterations, different phases of the MCU, and I’m so grateful that I’m still here, and it’s been amazing to watch. I feel that the MCU is even more expansive, is even braver, more inclusive than it’s ever been.

DEADLINE: How so?

HIDDLESTON: I think the stories are getting really exciting. Not that they weren’t before, but I think they understand that the investment of the audience is very deep, and they don’t take it for granted for a second. So, yeah, I suppose the perspective I have on how Loki might affect the ongoing course of the MCU is this idea of the multiverse. People have already understood it when Miss Minutes is introducing Loki to the TVA. She talks about the multiverse and the war and that the sacred timeline, which is reality as we know it.

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

HIDDLESTON: It raises questions of, well, maybe there are other parallel or alternate universes. Maybe there are other realities, and the possibilities there are endless. I feel that at the end of episode five, Loki and Sylvie are close to discovering the answers to the questions that they have of who is behind the TVA and that, somehow, this will provoke even more curiosity about…

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

HIDDLESTON: Well, yes, maybe, as I say, all the kind of multiple alternate realities are …it’s taken me 10 years to get a handle on this sort of mono timeline. The idea that this might be a multiverse is actually beyond my knowledge of physics.

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: (laughs) I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions. So, I’m also aware that I’m only playing him because of the audience, really. So, it’s not up to me. But I do love playing him, and every time, I seem to find new, interesting things about him. So, yeah, I’m a temporary passenger on Loki’s journey, but we’ll see. We’ll see where the ride goes now.

DEADLINE: On the ride, as the finale looms, there’s a ton of fan speculation out there and so much that people have hooked on to from the show. So, as the man at the center of it, what was your favorite part of Loki the series?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?📷I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Making your bonkers show in Atlanta as the world, as America was still in the heat of the pandemic. What was that like, because you were in production and then everything stopped and then you came back, right?

HIDDLESTON: I mean, people have used this word a lot, but it really was unprecedented. I think we did six weeks of filming before the hiatus, and then the production was suspended for four or five months, and we came back. At first, it was unfamiliar because we had to make adjustments, but the thing I remember most of all, quite honestly, is the diligence and resilience and spirit of our cast and crew.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: In that vein, you have just come off filming The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes for AppleTV+. Very different from Loki, and yet also a tale of what is real and who we are. Is that what attracted you to it on some level?

HIDDLESTON: I read it and immediately connected to it. Read the screenplay, the adaptation. It’s based on a novel by Sarah Perry, which was published in 2016 and is set at the end of the 19th century. It’s an extraordinary story about uncertainty and about our deepest fears and how sometimes our fears can distort our imaginings and how our minds can lie to us. About how we have to guard against that, and Perry sets it in this extraordinary time with a beautiful leading character of Cora Seaborne, played by Claire. Anna Symon adopted it.

There’s this community on the east coast of England who believe that an ancient beast has been awakened by an earthquake and that it’s dislodged all these fossils. But perhaps, it has also dislodged this ancient underwater monster, which has been used to explain certain unusual phenomena. This was in the era when Darwin had just been published a few decades before and people are starting to think, this Charles Darwin, he’s onto something. Still, fear spreads very quickly, and it’s a very fascinating time where science and faith are in conflict.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

HIDDLESTON: Maybe the themes are very Loki. Maybe that’s where they join up, but I’m playing a 19th century vicar who is trying to contain his community. You feel very destabilized by all these rumors. So, yeah, to go from Loki to a vicar was definitely new, a new territory.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

HIDDLESTON: Well, it’s my first significant time in Essex, where we filmed, which I feel embarrassed about. I’ve been to Essex before, but I’ve never been to the very, very eastern, most eastern coast of Essex. It’s the Blackwater Estuary, which then feeds into the River Thames, and it’s a very ancient part of England. It’s so marshy, it’s where in Great Expectations, that’s where Pip meets Magwitch for the first time. It’s all foggy and muddy and marshy and quite atmospheric and a perfect place to set a story about of uncertainty and fear and gothic romance. Clio Barnard directed it, and working with her has been amazing.

DEADLINE: You know, it occurs to me that of all the main Marvel characters, Loki has been such a constant, yet so ethereal in so many ways too. Is it jarring for you to jump back into the role with all the uncertainty it brings?

HIDDLESTON: You know, I’ve always seen it as sort of an extraordinary and surprising constant in my life for a decade. But, I don’t take it for granted because I don’t often…you know, it may end. It has actually ended, and those endings have been conclusive. I really thought a couple of years ago, after I made Avengers: Infinity War, you know, we all know what happens in that scene, and I thought, that’s it.I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

[mimisempai]

I love you too much to let you go

Summary:

Mobius says to himself that he did what he had to do to make Loki happy... fortunately he will come back to his senses and open his eyes.

Tumblr request : how about a break up and then forgiveness story?

Notes:

Honestly I never write break-ups, I am not fond making "my" characters suffer. I won't be doing it again anytime soon, but I hope I've met the challenge.

HAPPY ENDING!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32753194

1428 words - Rating G

Mobius rubbed his eyes, stretched, and slowly sat up. He reached out to the other side, out of habit. The space next to him was empty. Because Mobius did the right thing.

He stood up, walked to the bathroom and turned on the light. He looked at his reflection in the mirror without seeing it.

"I just think it's wiser to stop things before they go too far."

"We've been together for over a year, we've already gone too far." had replied Loki

"I am old and mortal. You have your whole life ahead of you and I do not wish to stand in your way. "

"In my way? But what way Mobius?" Mobius could sense the incomprehension in Loki's voice.

"I do not wish to be a burden to you."

"Mobius, how can you say that?" The voice was now pleading

"I'm saying that we should... that it's in our best interest to..."

"You're breaking up with me. Say it."

"Yes I want us to break up, before it hurts too much."

He saw Loki's features contort with anger. His gaze was as cold as ice.

"You'll thank me eventually...it's the right thing to do."

"How can I thank you when you are sacrificing me on the altar of your integrity, sacrificing our love on the altar of your fear.I thought you said I had the choice to do what I wanted with my life, but do you realize you just took that choice away from me? Who is now the scared little boy?"

Mobius answered nothing and stood in the middle of the living room until Loki walked out, closing the door, gently, without slamming it.

Mobius lived through that day and the next. The apartment was filled with Loki's absence, and Mobius spent more time at work to avoid feeling it. He told himself that Loki's things should be packed, but the thought of touching anything that evoked his presence made him sick.

"Go home!" HB ordered him when she realized that Mobius hardly ever went home and slept in his office.

"This is not my home anymore..." muttered Mobius.

"It's your fault" HB knew all about their breakup and had called Mobius an idiot more than once. "Go to sleep and especially get yourself a wash!"

"I'm sorry," Mobius said. He straightened up and went home.

Once the door was closed, he leaned on it and let himself slide against it. After a few seconds, he realized he was not alone and heard voices coming from the living room.

"Loki, did you even read all those books?" asked a voice Mobius knew. Casey.

"Almost all of them," Loki said with a tired tone, and Mobius froze, "The ones I didn't read were from Mobius, who..."

It was me who read them aloud to both of us.

"It must be nice to have someone take care of you like that."

"Yeah it is... unbelievable," Loki said, and Mobius could hear the clenching of his teeth.

"Mobius is great," Casey replied, "Everyone loves him."

"Sometimes that's not enough," Loki answered softly.

Casey didn't seem to hear him and continued, "To think that before he met you it was Loki-this or Loki-that, and even more so, after he met you it was the same. For anyone who knew Mobius, like me, it was crystal clear that he was completely dedicated to you. He had never put his head on the line for anyone like you."

"Shut up," Loki muttered. Mobius put his head in his hands.

What have I done?

"When you left, when you followed the variant, it wasn't the same. I'd never seen him like that in all the time I've known him. He hardly slept at all, until we found you."

"Mobius loves me, I know that," Loki said softly. "It's just... Like I told you, apparently that's not enough for him. It's not enough for him to fight."

"Loki," Casey continued, "I know most people think I'm an idiot. But you kept talking to me and being nice. So why are you letting him break up with you? You have to fight for him. You love each other. Everyone can see it, the young recruits when they hear about you, they call you the Time Lovers. For three days you've been a shadow of yourself."

"I'll have to find another light then," Loki blurted out.

Casey didn't respond and sighed.

Mobius decided it was time to make his presence known. He cleared his throat and walked toward the living room. "Good evening."

"Mobius!" Loki turned around. "I was, uh, packing up some stuff. I thought you'd be home later."

"I decided to come home early today."

Mobius realized that Loki was indeed a shadow of himself as Casey had said, and Mobius was to be blamed. The magnitude of his mistake was clear to him. He took a step towards Loki, then became aware of Casey's presence.

"Casey... do you-"

"I'm leaving." he paused, looked at Loki and said without letting out a sound, "Fight for it."

Loki nodded and Casey left.

Mobius waited for the front door to close.

"Loki, I'm sorry, I think I made a big mistake."

"You think?" Loki replied in a bitter tone.

"I'm sure of it. I lost faith in us for a while because I overheard a conversation that I probably shouldn't have. People were comparing us and saying how I was no good for you. That I was holding you back. I could only see my flaws, I could only see how I could possibly hurt you. I didn't realize...I didn't know...I couldn't see what I could offer you anymore." Mobius could no longer hold back his words, nor his tears, so desperate was he to convince Loki.

"I love you with all my being, Loki. Without you, nothing has any meaning, taste, flavor, light. And I realize that I am no longer able to live without you, so even if it makes me selfish, please Loki, come back to me."

Loki approached him and took his hand, "Mobius, how can you believe that you are not good for me? You trusted me when in the eyes of the universe I was anything but trustworthy, you saw the good in me when I had done nothing but evil, you made me want to become good, to become trustworthy, to become as you saw me. If you are not good for me, then no one is. How can you think you are holding me back when you have set me free and because of you I am no longer tied to the ground by my destiny." Tears were also running down Loki's cheeks. He continued, his voice trembling, "Even as you broke up with me I knew you loved me and I didn't stop loving you."

"Loki, I'm so sorry for the harm I may have done, for acting like a fool."

Loki shook his head, "You acted like a real idiot, but the harm you did was to both of us. You know, for a long time I thought I'd be the one to do the first stupid thing, to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing to make you want to leave me. I didn't think you would do it alone."

"I apologize with all my heart Loki."

Mobius took Loki's face in his hands and with his forehead against his, eyes in eyes, he said in a clear voice.

"I love you."

"For all time"

"Always."

"So we don't break up then?" joked Loki, who leaned in until his mouth was inches from Mobius'.

Mobius closed the distance then kissed Loki long and hard.

When they parted, Loki said softly, "I love you. I love everything about you. And I can't stand one more day of life without you. It's been a hell of a few days Mobius. I forgive you with all my heart but don't let this kind of thing break us up like this again. We've trusted each other since the very beginning, so trust me too when you doubt yourself."

"Thank you." whispered Mobius, exhaling with relief.

Loki took Mobius by the hand and led him to the couch, where he sat Mobius down, then got into his favorite position, his head in Mobius' lap, this time facing Mobius and wrapped his long arms around his waist before whispering against his stomach, "Don't ever do that to me again, Mobius. It was worse than the day I found out I was adopted, I thought my heart was being ripped out."

"Never again," Mobius promised, "I swear it to you." He leaned over and placed a long kiss on Loki's forehead.

They stayed like that for a long time, savoring the moment.

Their love had survived. _________

Whole series of oneshots here : X

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader: Asgardian Honeymooners pt 3

please comment, it means so much to me

-

The world outside was white as you pulled back the curtain to look out the window. Shivering at the thought of being out there, you took a sip from your mug. “It still hasn’t let up.”

Loki sat on the couch opposite the fireplace, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He held a thick book in his hands. “We will be fine, love.”

The snow had started a few hours after the two of you had fallen asleep and had rapidly turned into blizzard conditions, quickly blocking the two of you in by morning. By midafternoon it was as dark as night outside and you were bundled in warm clothes with candles placed throughout the lodge to keep the place from matching the exterior. You knew Loki wasn’t perturbed by the darkness, he was uniquely adapted to handle such storms. Both of you still avoided the subject as much as possible.

For the most part it was out of politeness. He had come to a sort of uneasy acceptance of it. A blight on himself that he did not like but acknowledged was a part of him.

On your part, when he showed that side of himself to you, a small confusing part of yourself found it beautiful. You didn’t know why, surely he was supposed to be a monster as you had been raised, and yet… and yet he was Loki, the man you loved and knew and cared for, and you welcomed him, all of him, no matter what form he may take. He had demanded you be honest with your thoughts and after much persuasion, you told him the truth. To your surprise, he had taken it rather well. In fact, he seemed, almost content with that response.

You fought the urge to shake your head ruefully at his words. He would be fine in such a storm. Loki could even see and navigate through such weather.

“Love, quit your fretting and come here.” Standing up, Loki set the book on the couch and dropped the blanket to the floor. He wore a green sweater and slacks.

You watched as he walked around the spacious room gathering pillows and blankets and all manner of cushions and began piling them on the floor in front of the couch. With a dubious expression, you watched him move around, your cocoa slowly getting colder.

Loki called over his shoulder, “Care to get me one, darling?”

“Oh, yes, right.” You blinked, coming out of your dazed reverie.

When you came back, two freshly made drinks in hand, Loki stood before his creation, hands stretched out in his signature pose, beaming with satisfaction. “Ta-dah!”

You smiled and shook your head, walking over to hand him his drink and peck him on the cheek. “It’s lovely.”

Out of the pillows and cushions and blankets, Loki had created a sort of cushion nest with space enough for two to cuddle comfortably in the center before the blazing fireplace. He had even integrated a table into the nest so that you could set your drinks down without worrying about spilling them while you got comfortable.

Loki took your drink while you crawled into the nest, then waited for you to turn and take his drink as you waited for him to settle in beside you.

“You know, I wasn’t planning on spending this whole vacation stuck inside.”

Loki shook his head, “Nor I. And yet, we make do.” He took a sip of his drink and sighed softly, “What is this?”

You shrugged. “I saw directions for it in the kitchen, it’s heavenly, is it not?”

Loki stared down at the dark liquid, “It’s as if, melted liquid chocolate. Does such a thing exist on Midgard?”

“It’s a strange place.”

He nodded slowly then shook his head trying to refocus. “Anyways. This gives me more time to read my book.”

“Oh?”

Loki reached for his book from the couch and held it up to you. For a moment the words shimmered in a strange glimmering font, unintelligible to your eyes, words you recognized as Latin. Then the power of the All-Language took hold and you were able to understand it.

Loki tilted his head down and looked up at you through long dark eyelashes, “Do you want me to read it to you?”

A slow smile spread across your face. “Of course.” You replied, leaning in closer to him that he could wrap his arm around you and hold the book in front of both of you.

With a deep intake of breath, he began to read.

You closed your eyes and pressed your ear to his chest and listened, taken away on the magical journey of words he wove with his voice. His deep vibrato rumbled in his chest and you held him tight, hugging him for dear life as you listened to him speak. The words flowed through you, to your very core as he flew through the book. At times, you tried to ignore the All-language and just listen to a language you did not understand and it was pure poetry.

Hours passed. Your cocoa cups, long emptied and cooled. The fire became smouldering embers.

It was at this time that you finally realized the relative silence.

You lifted your head slowly from Loki’s chest and looked up at him.

Loki’s head was hanging to the side, his neck slightly exposed. His arms had drooped, slowly lowering the book down onto the blanket pile and you realized how completely exposed he was.

You thought of all the times you had seen him fall asleep in his study or in the library, always poised and ready for an attack. Yet here, right now, with his neck at an angle that a dagger could slip in, or his chest so freely open for any harm…

Your heart swelled.

A small part of you might have even felt teary at the thought.

Loki’s chest rose and fell in deep, even breaths, soft quiet snorts occasionally coming from his nose and mouth as he slept. But you were pleased to see that his face was smoothe. There were no worry lines, no signs of unpleasant dreams, just a calm, peaceful, restorative sleep.

You reached for the blanket that Loki had intended to cover you and pulled it over your back. Carefully, with all the stealth you had in your capacity, you snaked over onto Loki’s lap and straddled his hips. You pressed your body against his, resting your head in the crook of his exposed neck and covering the both of you with the blanket, before wrapping your arms around him and just laying there.

“I’ll keep watch.” You whispered.

To your immense surprise, Loki did not stir. His arms merely, instinctively, moved to hold you tighter in place. Almost like he was holding some sort of comfort object. You smiled as you breathed in his intoxicating scent, always something that reminded you of wild nature, and together the two of you stayed like that.

When night truly came, he would wake and he would know you had kept watch for him. But for now, you stood your silent vigil. Or cuddled.

[silence-burns]

Please Hate Me //part 50

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine​ Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, banter, smut

Living in an apartment so full of various enchantments that you couldn't move without bumping into one certainly had its perks, but your favourite was the space enhancement that made sure the apartment could actually fit everything you wanted it to.

In their original state, both floors of the apartment weren't small on their own, but as your moving in progressed, you quickly realized that the amount of both your and Loki's belongings overran the space you'd been given. 

The solution was pretty standard and required bending only a few minor laws of physics and logic.

Whoever dared venture into your apartment now would get quite the surprise in the form of rooms that felt a little too big for the kind of space indicated by the building's construction, and doors leading to places that absolutely shouldn't be able to fit so close together and yet stubbornly did. But however much you loved the whole apartment in general, you couldn't deny that your absolute favourite part of it was the giant monstrosity of a bathtub that Loki was absolutely uncompromising about.

Laying in it now, you couldn't blame him.

The passage of time was forgotten as the two of you soaked in the scented water, kept warm for what felt like hours, and might've actually been that long. If it was up to you, you would've stayed there forever and enjoyed Loki's firm, warm body, the pleasantly dimmed lights and the few bottles of whatever Loki had hidden for special occasions.

Well, the bottles weren't there originally, but as your clean up progressed and both of you started to feel like something other than a walking biological disaster, a need for celebration rose. You weren't sure how the things progressed from the first bottle to the small pile of them on the floor by the bathtub, but you found yourself straddling Loki's lap, completely drunk and unable to move despite one of your legs going completely numb.

"Remind me to never drink with you again," you mumbled into Loki's neck. 

"I did."

"Then be more convincing…"

With your cheek plastered to him, you felt rather than heard Loki's chuckle. The rumble did unruly things to the contents of your stomach.

"I'm gonna puke."

"Please save the last of my dignity and at least aim away from me." Despite Loki's words, he didn't move a bit and if you didn't know him any better, you'd guess he was feeling similar sensations. 

With his head leaning on the tub's edge and his eyes closed, Loki was indeed fighting against the world spinning around him. The warm embrace of your body pressed into his and the water scented with jasmine were his only anchors in the chaotic mess his head tried to sort out. Truth be told, he had forgotten the full potential of the Asgardian alcohol, and especially the type he had stored for a perfect occasion. It was like a blow to all his senses, and as much as it was fun, Loki was starting to worry about his ability to ever walk out of that bathtub again. He certainly wouldn't attempt such an insanity now, with you weighing him down, so comfortably settled on his lap that you felt like an integral part of him. 

Loki tried, and failed, to convince himself it wasn't an excuse, and a pathetic one too.

"Do you think we're gonna get in trouble?" You asked, as if you knew you were on his mind.

"As petty as Odin is, I don't think he's going to execute us for stealing some alcohol…"

"I meant the stuff Thor was talking about. We kinda messed up the Moon, didn’t we?"

Loki hummed in a way that was definitely not an answer. One of his hands roamed over your exposed back, enjoying the soft curve and warm skin. The other stirred the water, making the soap bubble again and the temperature stay unchanged. Loki had to concentrate more than usual, which was partly because of the amount of alcohol consumed, and partly because his mind was slowly drifting away on soft tendrils of sleep.

"No one knows you there, and I wore my brother's face," Loki finally murmured, leaning his head back. "It'll be fine."

It, unfortunately, didn't know about those predictions, which was why It was interrupted by a certain boy's voice.

"Hey guys, are you okay?" Peter asked from the other side of the door, having let himself into the apartment. Again.

Loki groaned, even as he could feel your smile pressed to his chest. 

"We're fine," he said, louder than necessary. He winced as the sound seemed to erode his skull. 

"What about Barbara, though?" Peter was insistent. "She's scratching at the window from the outside… and I think she wants those pickles from the table?"

"You locked her outside?" You hissed, trying to look at Loki's completely innocent face, but the sudden movement only resulted in the world tilting to the side dangerously fast.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I love that bird dearly." Louder, he said to the boy, "She's only allowed to eat them outside!"

"Okay!" The answer was quick and cheerful and mercifully moving away as the boy grabbed the open jar and went outside.

Loki took a deep breath. The blessed silence once again enveloped the apartment. Through the cloud pressing on his hazy thoughts, Loki considered locking the apartment altogether. 

Another chilled bottle appeared in his hand, delightfully full and heavy. As much as he had tried to get drunk on Earth's alcohol, only the Asgardian kind seemed to do the job.

The drink burned his throat in precisely the manner he needed. It'd been so long since the two of you had a moment to yourself and could just relax without worrying about a thousand responsibilities. On most days, Loki enjoyed the kind of life he had somehow managed to secure himself. If he decided to be honest, Loki was still rather uncertain how it had happened. 

The long, curvy, and annoyingly labyrinthine road that started on the day the Avengers had decided to put him under your wing somehow ended up leading him to where he was now. Not literally, of course - as much as he loved the grand bathtub he had insisted on, Loki had in mind something grander spiritually. A place of comfort, but without the boundaries of a physical space bound to certain conditions and limitations. 

A home, but only if it could be a person. 

Loki supposed it could. Even as he drank again from the bottle, mudding his thoughts further, the philosophical conclusions he came to still felt right. 

Revelations such as these were worthy of sharing, lest they might be forever lost in one's memory. Loki wanted to share the wisdom granted to him by the unholy amount of Asgardian cider, but he had found you plastered to his chest, asleep. And drooling. 

Loki made sure the water didn't run cold as he too decided to join you in the dreams' escape. The quiet popping of the soap bubbles and the lavender scent hanging in the air lulled him quickly into a state of complete and utter comfort… 

"Brother, where are you hiding? 

…from which a rather brutish, and definitely unwelcome voice dragged him away. 

Loki started. The contents of a forgotten bottle escaped into the water. 

As the heavy steps sounded outside of the bathroom, it was clear the apartment was being searched through again. 

You swore. Loki agreed. 

"I'm going to," he hiccuped, "change him into a frog." 

"Barbara would devour him whole."

"Let them fight. He always prided himself to be a warrior."

Fortunately for Thor, even though he was not aware of the small mercy of the universe, Loki found himself too drunk to act on his words, despite his best attempts at conjuring the transformative spell.

But when his brother's thudding steps neared the bathroom again, with clear intent of dragging Loki out in whatever state he was, Loki was forced to make a very dire decision very quickly, or lest his quiet evening suffer a bitter end.

So Loki did what he had always done best, and spiced the world up with a tiny little trick.

You heard Thor approach the door, but you didn't have it in you to move and at least cover yourself up. The doorknob twisted and you heard it very well through the slight creak it always gave. Then you heard the door open - but it didn't.

Living in an apartment complex had its perks, and being able to hear your neighbors on occasion certainly wasn't one. Still, your gaze turned up when you heard a high-pitched scream and Thor's booming voice coming from the apartment above yours.

"He's going to kill you for that," you said.

"Given the vigor with which he was looking for me, I think he had a hefty list of reasons prepared already."

"That's fair."

As all good things have in common, they always come to a saddening end when you least expect them to. The conclusion that life was utterly unfair in its precipice was a natural one to come up with, even in the state of drunkenness. 

"I think it's time for us to go," Loki sighed.

A groan escaped you when the world tilted to the side. Getting out of the bathtub while completely, embarrassingly drunk was a feat that almost resulted in one broken neck and three broken limbs, but somehow both of you managed to scramble your way out. While you searched for clothes that had an annoying habit of duplicating right in front of your eyes, Thor's roars of fury sounded clear through the many walls separating you. 

You wondered if any of the neighbours would connect their unexpected guest to you.

You gave up on your search for the other sock and decided to only wear one. Trying to put it on was already hard as it was. "If you spelled all the doors in the building to lead astray, how are we getting out?"

"Don't worry," Loki hiccuped. "My brother dearest is too stupid to notice I didn't touch the windows."

You had never loved anything as much as you loved the walls in your apartment, their quiet support helping you get through the endless expanse of the living room. For reasons you elected to ignore, the swaying of the world only increased as you progressed, bumping into every single piece of furniture some idiot (most likely you the day before) had decided to put there.

"I don't think this is a good idea," you slurred when Loki opened the window, pickleless, owlless and impossibly high.

"Your intuition, my love, is right as always."

Loki managed to put his leg over the windowsill on the second try, which he deemed a great success. He also managed to get down on the other side with no life-threatening injuries, which was just as surprising.

His pride was short-lived when you tumbled down, knocking him off feet.

The few half-melted snowmen seemed to have a good laugh. The little garden was still winter-bare, and no grass cushioned the fall. Barbara, perched on top of Peter's head, hissed with obvious joy. 

The boy blinked. "Are you...sneaking out?" 

"No," Loki grunted in the same moment you said, "Yes."

Barbara ripped another pickle from the boy's hand. Life was short, especially after you died once, and there was only so much time she deemed worth looking at the two of you. She had far more pressing issues, like the impossibly narrow jar into which her head just wouldn't fit, and so left her reliant on the boy's nimble (and tasty) fingers.

"...are you sure?" The boy watched the two drunkards scramble to stand up. 

"We're just out for a walk."

"A long one."

Glass broke upstairs, followed by raised voices and what was undeniably a string of curses.

Loki looked at you. You looked at Loki. Another Loki looked at you. Unable to choose which to make eye contact with, you squinted and the two Lokis merged together—damn you were never drinking again. There was no way all of you would sneak out in time.

Barbara ripped another pickle to shreds.

"Hey, Peter," you cooed sweetly. "Do you happen to know a quiet little place to lay low for a while, my darling?"

Peter, the darling, did.

*****

A/N: Hi! I'm sorry for no chapter last week, my university is going to kill me with that graduation paper I have to work on and reasearch and realize how little do I actually know about the subject I have to get a 70-pages long paper done. Heh.

But don't worry, this story is slowly nearing its end, and even though I have little time to work on new chapters, I'm doing my best and hope you'll enjoy them. Well, my life's pretty busy right now, and it stresses me out, so I'm not sure how regular the updates will be, but I promise, I'm not giving up on this story. I'm so happy about all the support I have received for this story, and grateful for all the comments it got! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

[pencilofawesomeness]

Fics I Absolutely Adore and Would Recommend to Anyone

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long, long time, because I love reading fanworks and they deserve a lot of love and I love sharing things that I love. 

Obviously this isn’t everything, and if it’s not on this list that doesn’t mean I don’t love it, it just means I forgot at this moment. I will be adding to the list and I remember things or come across it again. (Trying to sort through my bookmarks and subscriptions is like trying to catch a fish bare-handed.) I’m also gonna shy away from the one-shots, even though I adore fun one-shots, just for the sake of organization. The list would be super long otherwise, and those are best sorted by fandom. Here... Here are just some brilliant works I want to rant about. 

Disclaimer: I say “recommend” because I would recommend these works, any time any place, but do keep in mind the story’s rating and tags and stuff. Not everything is kid-friendly.

There is absolutely no hierarchy to the list below. They are added as I add.

Fairy Dance of Death

by Catsy ( @fairydanceofdeath​ )

Fandom: Sword Art Online Word Count: 660,282 Status: ongoing

「AU reboot of the entire SAO storyline, beginning from the premise that Kayaba Akihiko was obsessed with magic and Norse Mythology rather than swords and pure melee. As a result, he created the Death Game of Alfheim Online rather than the floating castle of Aincrad—a world in which player-killing is not a crime, and the nine player races are in competition with each other to reach the top of the World Tree. Multi-POV epic following the stories of multiple canon characters throughout the game.」

If Catsy wrote the SAO light novels and anime, SAO would be among the legendary series. Fairy Dance of Death has this amazingly simple premise of making Alfheim Online, the video game from the original series’ less-than-stellar second part, the game that the main cast becomes trapped in. However, it’s so much more. They took the characters and made them characters, and everyone gets ample spotlight—even background characters that normally wouldn’t receive a second thought. It’s masterful work, and to boot, there is a lovely frame of in-game mystery and player conflict. The organization is phenomenal and I aspire to world-build the way they did. Not to mention that stakes are so much higher and this series has ripped my heart to shreds more than once. 

It has also brought me great joy, and even when I was in the dumps and didn’t want to read anything, a FDOD update made me pick up my phone and read when I otherwise wouldn’t have. It has a really special place in my heart. It updates once in a blue moon, but that’s okay. 

Even if you have never seen a single piece of Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance of Death is still a great read. In fact, it’s the Better Version of SAO, if we’re all being honest, so I would especially recommend it if you hadn’t seen the original. Or if you have. The characters are given so much love and detail, to the point where Fairy Dance of Death’s characterizations are More Canon to me than Kawahara Reki’s work. It is just a beautiful piece of fiction, and it makes you question the depravity of man on levels that SAO shied away from. 

Poisoned Dreams

by StrangeDiamond

Fandom: Genshin Impact Word Count: 82,852 Status: Complete, with a complete sequel and more to come

「 Every night now, Diluc dreams of death. Usually Kaeya's. In between these nightmares his life is falling apart. It doesn't take Kaeya long to realize that this is something much more insidious than simple bad dreams. His brother's life and sanity are on the line and there is nothing Kaeya won't do to save him. Bonus chapter added.」

In a growing fandom from a new game, StrangeDiamond swooped in and characterized these bad boys so well I think it’s canon. It really breathes life into the video game lore, and it’s an A+ depiction of awkward sibling re-bonding post-Terrible-Happenings. Poisoned Dreams can be read alone with a basic understanding of Genshin storybuilding, but StrangeDiamond has an entire group of fics and oneshots set in the same headcanon, and they integrate them really well and subtly together. Not to mention that the narrative style is really clever with making you question what is real and what is dream (a big point in this story) and the inner voices of the point-of-view characters are very compelling. 

One Word to Change the World

by AgentMalkere 

Fandom: Fairy Tail Collective Word Count: 43,988 (30 parts) Status: probably never coming back

「 In just one universe, Ultear called out to her mother instead of turning away and the fate of Fairy Tail and the world was irrevocably altered. These are glimpses of a world where a single word made all the difference.

In other words, welcome to the Butterfly Effect - Fairy Tail style. 」

It’s a really cute canon-divergent, and while the series makes no attempt to re-write Fairy Tail, it addresses the major events and just snippets in between. It does a good job at giving the vast cast ample spotlight, but it’s also an easy read. It’s special to me because it was the series that made me really pay attention to Bickslow in particular, and I respect that.

Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis

by aradian_nights 

Fandom: Attack on Titan Word Count: 399,226 Status: Complete

「 Five years ago, an accident freed Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlelt from an experiment that forced the most extraordinary powers onto them. After five years of separation, of being raised apart to be heroes by a set of three very different adults, they meet again. As they uncover the truth behind their captivity they realize being free and being heroes are sadly nothing but an illusion. 」

This wrecked me.

I still remember when I read it. It was the beginning of 2018, and I had the flu and a lot of time on my hands, so I binge-read this. It was simultaneously the best and the worst thing I have ever done, because I resonated with it so deeply there were times I was just staring up at the ceiling wondering what was real. I empathized with the characters to a level I rarely achieve, and I empathize easily. I laughed. I cried. It was amazing.

I refer to this story in conversation to this day. It handled themes published authors have only dreamed of achieving. Heck, if Dani (the author) took out the names of the AoT cast and replaced it with new ones, it could be its own stand alone novel. It is worldbuilding from the ground up, and any fandom knowledge you take in with you is used against you like a knife leveraged against your throat. Yet, no one is out of character. It’s phenomenal. I would say more, but this is something I daren’t spoil for anybody, because you must be as wrecked as I was. Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis is a level of writing I achieve to gain as a writer myself. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Life in Glass Houses

by blueskyscribe ( @blueskyscribe​ )

Fandom: Transformers (Transformers Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass) Word Count: 119,900 Status: Ongoing (maybe, I hope)

「 No one would have thought Bumblebee and Knock Out were capable of getting along, but when they're stuck in a strange new world and their only hope of survival is cooperation . . . Yeah, they're probably doomed. 」

I could be biased because Knock Out and Bumblebee are two of my favorite characters, but it really is brilliant. Two enemies, stuck together—but not in an overly cliché way. It’s the right amount of cliché, with heaps moral conflict and inner conflict and sometimes just beating each other with a broom when no one is looking. It’s also a fascinating look into what makes a character the way they are in relation to the morals they possess, and how stalwart those morals can be. I can’t help but think of this story whenever I see or write a “role reverse” or mirror-verse AU. It does an excellent job at making all of the characters engaging and their own character, despite being in a mirror-verse.

Yesterday Upon the Stair

by PitViperOfDoom ( @pitviperofdoom​ )

Fandom: My Hero Academia Word Count: 424,070 Status: Complete

「 Midoriya Izuku has always been written off as weird. As if it's not bad enough to be the quirkless weakling, he has to be the weird quirkless weakling on top of it.

But truthfully, the "weird" part is the only part that's accurate. He's determined not to be a weakling, and in spite of what it says on paper, he's not actually quirkless. Even before meeting All-Might and taking on the power of One For All, Izuku isn't quirkless.

Not that anyone would believe it if he told them. 」

As a person who normally doesn’t read these kind of minor canon divergences, especially at the time of reading, I frickin’ love this fic. In fact, I think YUTS gave me a deep appreciation for canon divergence fics. It’s MHA in all of its glory but it’s so much more, and even the parts that rehash canon give new light to the characters and their points of view. 

I had read Viper’s work before and saw Yesterday Upon the Stair filling my inbox, and then I finally watched My Hero Academia. It was one of the first MHA fics I read and it still has a very special place in my heart. I recommend this series to people who don’t even watch MHA; in fact, there are some who might prefer the darker tones and themes of heroism vs apathy to the main series. Not to mention the writing style is phenomenal, and I aspire to be that good. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Yes, tears streaming down my face crying. It is the best ghost story I have ever read.

the Vantage Point Universe

by Aggie2011 ( @aggie2011whoop​ )

Fandom: The Avengers (MCU) Collective Word Count: 1,032,651 (35 parts) Status: Ongoing (just slowed down)

「 Six months after the Loki incident, Clint isn't adjusting well. When an enemy from his days in the Army comes back to haunt him, he'll be forced to face a part of his past - and to move past Loki, if he has a hope of finding his place with the Avengers. (First of a universe created to center around Clint Barton) 」

// description taken from first installment

Have you enjoyed the MCU, especially the first-era Avengers phase, but like me, were disappointed in the fact that Hawkeye was barely there? The VP universe is for you. 

I honestly have a hard time remembering what was canon and what was VP. And if it’s not canon, it should be. The VP universe gave so much life to Clint and to Natasha and to all of SHIELD and even the rest of the Avengers. It’s just...so good. It’s completely immersive. It focuses a lot on Hawkeye and Black Widow from before the Avengers team-up, as well as after, and it all flows together so beautifully. Not to mention that I can be reading a mission that happened pre-series, so I know that they are going to live with all of their limbs, and I still sit there on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The OCs, minor as they are, that are created for this are also wonderfully done. I can’t believe Dan and Phil don’t exist in canon. Every character, canon or no, is engaging and dynamic, it is a pleasure to follow each point of view. The emotional turmoil is also handled very well, and the VP universe carries the MCU trend of humanizing its heroes and takes it so much further. 

Ghosts of the Future

by Evan Stanley ( @evanstanleyportfolio​ )

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog Word Count: comic (18 issues) Status: ongoing

「 About 200 years in the future, Silver the Hedgehog is an average kid living in San Francisco... except for his strange and terrible dreams of a dying Blue Hedgehog, a Black Hedgehog, and mysterious gems called "Chaos Emeralds". What will he do, when these "figments of his imagination" appear before him in his real life? 」

// description taken from first installment

Okay so this is the only one that isn’t an Ao3 story, but rather a comic on DeviantArt. However, it is still one of my favorite stories. Even though it takes the commonalities of Sonic canon and turns them on its head, GotF really treats the characters well. There are enough familiar world elements to create intrigue, but it is set in a completely different take of the future, so there is ample opportunity for world building and being able to engage with a completely new thing. I wish SEGA put as much love in the series (namely the games, because the comics are *chef’s kiss*) and all of its possibilities as creators like Evan Stanley do.

The friendship and family relationships in GotF are so diverse and all so fantastic to witness. It’s a keynote example of the new hero and the old veterans, and both parties are active and trying their best.

Do not be alarmed by the starting art style. Sure, it’s rough around the edges at first, but then it gets better, and then it gets gorgeous, and then you’re left there so stunned that it looks like just life canon art. And then you could be like me, blinking slowly as my small brain finally connected that this Evan Stanley is in fact the Evan Stanley. GotF is an amazing fanwork, but she also draws and writes for the Official Canon comics (the IDW ones now) and that work is also phenomenal and should be supported. 

Whirlwind

by Lynse ( @ladylynse​ )

Fandom: Danny Phantom, American Dragon: Jake Long, Miraculous Ladybug, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Word Count: 75,556 Status: Complete

「 Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny really should've expected something like this when he got that phone call from Jake. (Secret Quartet fic) 」

I have to start by saying that I adore all of Lynse’s fics, and I chose this one simply because it is one of my favorites. But it’s all fantastic, one hundred percent. I also love Mirrored, the sort-of prequel to this fic, but Whirlwind just has the chaotic pure bean energy that each of the shows bring and it foils against each other so perfectly. This is the epitome of the Secret Quartet crossover, truly.

All fandoms and all characters get ample love, and the way the reader gets to see just how badly the characters’ assumptions are going is positively wonderful. It’s so easy to fall into the “I know what’s happening and so do the characters” trap, but Lynse leaps over it gracefully and lands in greatness. The fic had me smiling like a maniac one minute, and feeling sorry for my babies the next. Wonderful. Simply fantastic!