#becuase they were abandoned in favor of war

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Thinking about how time lord culture would change post war, because a lot of the traditions are upheld by the houses (and possibly not even properly recorded in the matrix) and those probably didn’t do all that well in terms of making it through the war. Like if the cities with actual defenses were largely destroyed I can’t imagine most of the houses made it out okay, if they made it out at all. And so many time lords were killed, the ones keeping the traditions of their houses and chapters alive were certainly no exception. What traditions are just lost forever, or barely remembered by the people who experienced them pre war, but never actually learned the details of them because that was the job of the housekeeper or the kithriarch. And what about the outlanders and the other non time lords, their minds didn’t get recorded into the matrix, that’s for time lords (though I doubt the were able to keep up with time lord deaths in that sense either), how much knowledge and culture from them was lost because of the war

[nerdwhoauthorinserts]

Selfship AU idea 4/?

Title/Name: Asgardian!AU Genre: Action, Drama,

Selfship(s):  -Bloki (Romantic)

Trigger warnings?: -Child ab*se/General ab*se/Parental neglect/Trauma bonding/Ostracization -War/War crimes (It's Asgard, after all.) -S*icide/S*icide attempts -Kidnapping, Torture, Brainwashing (Aka What's going on with Loki before and during Avengers.) -Death/Death themes

Tropes?: -Childhood friends to lovers

Changes: -Copycat/Blake is now an Asgardian/from Asgard, rather than Earth + All the changes that come with that. -Blake Blackmore --> Brynjar Einarson -Timing of Blake's 'death' changed slightly.

Basic plot:

(It's super long, oops.)

In Asgard, long ago, there was a fairly well-of family who was close with Odin's father, Bor. The father of this family, Erik, was known as a ruthless warrior, easily and swiftly dispatching his enemies in combat. It was, however, this same ruthless behavior that eventually caused him to fall out of favor of Bor, who realized Erik was a maniac, genocidal, arrogant, and cruel. Clear in that he neglected his sons, in particular his youngest, Einar, and dedicated all his time to searching for trouble.

Erik eventually went too far one day, as, while on the battlefield, he murdered a high-ranking Asgardian soldier for no reason other than 'he got in the way'. As punishment, Bor sent Erik to the dungeons, where Erik finally realized his mistakes and wished for help and guidance from anyone who could hear him. ...The one who responded was 'Mistress Death', the embodiment of death herself. The Mistress, who had been lonely all this time, made an offer to Erik: She would use her power to get Erik out of this situation, and in exchange, Erik would give her the first son of Einar as her own. Erik agreed without a second thought.

Soon, Erik was released after Bor 'discovered' that the soldier Erik killed was 'plotting treason', revealed to him by an 'anonymous stranger'. Erik dedicated the rest of his time to his family from then on, rather than selfishly... at least, at first. Soon, though, he was back to his old ways. Violence, drinking, indulging in everything and anything he could, until he was eventually banished. Einar having been roped into most of it, witness to his father's violence and toxic self-indulgence. This was around the time Odin took the throne.

Einar's mother knew about the deal, and hoped to guide Einar to a path of life that would avoid having children, believing the 'death child' would result in Ragnarok. As Einar grew up, following in his father's footsteps and becoming violent, arrogant, and all, he grew up alongside a woman named 'Kara', who aspired to become one of the Valkyries. Kara was a woman with much potential from a well-liked family. Which was a stark contrast to Einar, who, by that point, the other Asgardians were tired of. Eventually, Kara helped Einar meet a woman he'd eventually marry, and they had a child... a baby girl. This was a relief to Einar's mother, at first, seeing as Death wanted a boy... but that relief wouldn't last long.

Kara married a man and had a daughter, too, Malin. (Thor was born around this time.) Einar's wife, at some point, ended up going mad, and was banished alongside her daughter after Einar left her. Kara left her husband soon after, meeting Einar again with Malin. Einar and Kara would eventually 'fall in love', a toxic love. From this union came Einar's first son: Brynjar. (Loki was brought to Asgard around the time Brynjar was born.)

Kara's relationship with Einar was toxic, with Kara having to abandon her asperations in order to care for the family with the help of her equally abusive parents. Einar would neglect the children just as his father did to him, and Kara would eventually fall into the habit of locking herself in their cellar and drinking into the night. Becuase of this, Malin effectively had to raise Brynjar, along with Kara's parents. What's worse: Brynjar was born with Autism and ADHD, which were both not entirely well-researched in Asgard.

Kara and Einar forbayed Brynjar from ever leaving their home, and soon, Kara's parents left. To make matters worse? Malin's father appeared and kidnapped her, fleeing Asgard in the night. Thus, Brynjar was truly alone...

For many years, it remained that way. Brynjar neglected by his parents with no escape, and when they didn't neglect him, they'd abuse him. His father leaving bruises, his mother hissing insults, and both of them emotionally tormenting him and treating him without a shred of respect.

...Then, something changed: Brynjar saw someone outside. Loki. When Loki realized what they thought was an empty house actually had someone inside, they were a bit surprised. The house was disgusting, after all. It didn't take long, however, for Loki to figure out what was going on.

Soon, they found they had a lot in common, and Brynjar began sneaking out of the house to see his friend... his only friend. Loki wasn't used to meeting someone so friendly to him, as usually, people would disrespect them outright, sometimes in front of others. Loki and Brynjar bonded over their shared loves of magic, over their familial problems, their love of books, and their love of mischief. Eventually getting to the point that they were near-inseperable. (Save for the times Brynjar had to go back inside before anyone realized he was gone, anyway.)

Time passed, years of the two spending time together. Loki even helping Brynjar to learn some magic of his own. Then Brynjar was almost killed by his father one night, while Einar was in a drunken rage. Loki was furious about this, but... nothing they did ever worked. It was like Brynjar's parents always had some kind of excuse to use that would get them out of being punished or action being taken. (Or maybe it was Death, who knows?)

This coming to a head when, one day, Loki found out that Brynjar had attempted suicide. Then, finding themself in a situation where they had to talk Brynjar down from a suicide attempt, even. As Brynjar contemplated jumping off the Bifrost bridge.

Brynjar started going without sneaking out, seeing Loki without caring about not 'being allowed' to leave at this point. It became that people started seeing Brynjar and Loki as a pair, and Thor was more than happy that his brother had a friend. ...Though when people realized this 'friend' was Brynjar, son of Einar? At that point, Einar was well-known to be violent and untrustworthy. So given how badly Asgard thought about Loki already, thoughts went from seeing them as friends, to assuming Brynjar was becoming Loki's 'evil lackey'.

Then, the events of Thor's banishment, Loki hesitantly taking the throne as Odin went into the Odinsleep. Brynjar was there to support Loki, but... then, Loki let go of the Bifrost, supposedly commiting suicide and being assumed dead. Brynjar was crushed, even more so when nobody seemed to care enough to give Loki a funeral.

Brynjar stayed away from his 'home' for weeks following Loki's death, and by the time he returned, Einar was waiting for him, despite Brynjar being a grown man by that point. Einar still treating him like a child, trying to grab him by the throat and drag him into their house again, in the same manner he had when he tried to kill Brynjar. ...Brynjar just saw red. The next thing he knew, he had a soldier's sword stabbed through his chest. Einar beaten black and blue, and the soldiers who were called, recalling his relationship with Loki, his family history, and his odd behavior, deciding to put Brynjar down like a rabid dog.

Brynjar died, but was soon face-to-face with Mistress Death herself. Mistress Death explained that Brynjar was her son, not just some Asgardian. Brynjar eventually awoke, rushing off into the night before anyone could see him. To everyone else, Brynjar's lifeless corpse had somehow disappeared. Some assuming he'd gone to Valhalla.

Brynjar used what magic he had, along with his newfound abilities as 'son of Death' to avoid detection, not sure of where else he could go. ...Simply... drifting for that entire year. Then, Loki reappeared on Earth, and Brynjar overheard this, immediately setting course for the planet using an old shortcut he remembered Loki showing him. When he arrived, he found Loki right before Iron man and Captain America could catch them. ...There was a moment of pause, as Brynjar noticed how unhealthy Loki seemed, and how out of character Loki was acting. Then, Captain and Iron man arrived on the scene, and Brynjar immediately took a defensive position, using his shapeshifting powers to try to keep them away from Loki. Loki, meanwhile, hadn't expected Brynjar to show up.

Brynjar noticed Loki's eyes. Once green, now suddenly as blue as the scepter in his hand. When captured after the scuffle with Thor and brought to the helicarrier, they were questioned separately. Brynjar was aggressive, like a cornered animal, and refusing to answer any questions. Brynjar could tell something was wrong, Loki wasn't themself, and he could tell it had something to do with that scepter. Regardless, though, he refused to leave Loki's side, remaining loyal to one of the two people who were ever truly kind to him.

After the New York fight was all over, Brynjar was determined not to let Loki be taken back to Asgard. Not yet. So, he delved into his Death-cat ability, which he had previously been too afraid of to use. Afraid he might go on a bloody rampage and become the monster many assumed he'd become. It did work, the others caught entirely off-guard by the sudden transformation. Brynjar managed to get Loki away from the city, and it was there that he could finally speak to Loki, who'd been taken out of his brainwashing by Hulk earlier.

Loki had a mixture of emotions running through them at that point. They had no idea what to say, do, or even what to think... but Brynjar was here, now. Brynjar stuck by them even after everything. It was here, after a bit of time to collect himself, that Loki finally told Brynjar everything, as they hid from the world. About being Jotun, letting go of the Bifrost, finding themself at Thanos' doorstep, being tortured for that year they'd been away, and the mind stone's manipulation that caused his eyes to turn blue.

Brynjar being the one person Loki could confide in, the one person who'd proven that Loki could trust them. Brynjar proving it again as he comforts Loki and listens to them without judgement. It's at that point they realize, almost in unison, that they care far more about each other than just 'friends'...

Random extra content:

In-canon for this AU, Brynjar is known by Earth mythology as the god of chaos, and many Earth stories assumed he was Loki's lover already. (Much like how Earth mythology assumed Loki was Thor's uncle, not his brother.)

Brynjar does not have nearly as much magic ability as Loki does. He only knows about as much as Loki was able to teach him, since nobody else was willing.