#but also i love how thor was meant to be humbled and he was

[royalcommunistthor]

forever thinking how thor learned his lesson a little too well. or perhaps learned the wrong lesson in the first place. how odin wanted to teach him that his actions have consequences, above all consequences of disobeying HIM, of stepping outside that line in the sand odin drew for him but what he got instead is thor caring about people, ordinary people especially, rather than kingship and then he was " no no not like this"

[infinitystoner]

First Light

AO3 | Masterlist

Summary: Vetrnætr (Winter Nights) is a time to welcome winter and honor the gods of old. But, on the first morning of festivities, the only thing Loki wants to celebrate is you.

Pairing: Prince!Loki x Female Reader

Word count: 2.4k

Tags/Content: Fluff, Praise, Smut (Fingering, Cunnilingus, Multiple Orgasms), Established Relationship, Pre-Thor (2011), Asgard AU

Rating: Explicit; 18+

Author’s note: A belated birthday gift to my amazing friend @loki-cees-all. You are the Goddess of Patience and Mercy and I appreciate you so very much! I hope this one lives up the hype. xx

It was easy to dismiss quiet mornings on Asgard in favor of boundless nights under the stars. But you never felt more content than when the first rays of daylight bathed the kingdom in a hazy glow. Beyond frost-kissed windows, the wind whispered a tale of winter’s early arrival, and you burrowed further under the protective arm curled around your shoulders. 

Waking before Loki was a rare occurrence, and you offered up a prayer of gratitude to the Norns when you realized your lover was still slumbering beside you.

He was a being of little sleep, often arguing those bestowed with divinity had more stamina than the average Æsir, therefore requiring less rest. You disagreed.

Well, somewhat disagreed. 

You pulled your lip between your teeth as you observed evidence of the prior evening’s chaotic activities: clothing and armor were strewn about the room, pillows and pelts haphazardly adorned the hearthside, and papers from Loki’s desk littered the floor, his bookshelves standing slightly askew. Even the bedposts seemed to be off-kilter. 

Loki absolutely had the stamina of a god.   

Still, he hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately. The past few weeks preparing for Vetrnætr had taken a toll on him. Loki had been responsible for coordinating the arrival of visiting dignitaries and nobility while also leading what he’d described to you as “lighthearted diplomatic discussions” with the royal council of Vanaheim. Queen Frigga, however, had confided that he was single-handedly responsible for not only fortifying Asgard’s long-held alliance between the Vanir and Æsir but also negotiating a new trade agreement between the neighboring realms. 

You carefully tilted your face upward, committing the splendor of him in this moment to memory. Swathes of amber light illuminated the rise and fall of his chest, mapping the gentle exhales through parted lips that assured you he was alive. That he was real. That he was yours.

Your family and fellow courtiers had thought you mad when you turned down the advances of several of the Allfather’s golden warriors. But it was when you refused Thor that you’d stirred up any true semblance of trouble. Then again, the elder Odinson had attempted to court at least half the eligible maidens of Asgard, so it wasn’t that scandalous.

What everyone didn’t know then was that your heart secretly belonged to another. And even now, years later, it was hard to comprehend that he returned your affections. But he did, and he made sure you’d never have reason to doubt him.

For so long, he had existed in the shadows of those around him. Only a sacred few saw his light shining through. And once he’d revealed the whole of himself to you, how could anyone else possibly compare?

True, he could be unpredictable and disruptive, but Loki approached everything in life with an unwavering sense of humble dedication. His fidelity was one of the things you loved most about him.

“My beautiful miracle.”

You’d only meant to think it—but hearing the whisper of affection fall from your lips seemed the perfect way to commence the day. Tracing patterns across the exposed skin of Loki’s abdomen, you studied the contours of his handsome face. Long lashes fluttered against high cheekbones as his eyes darted back and forth behind closed lids.

“What is it you dream of?” you whispered, gently placing a kiss on his sternum.

“A prince dreams of many things.”

His reply caused your heart to stutter within your chest. The trickster had been awake all along, basking in the warmth of your sentimentality like a cat soaking up the sun.

“I should’ve known you were only pretending to be asleep,” you pouted as he finally cracked open his eyes to peer down at you.

“Mmm, you should have,” he said as he wrapped his hand around yours, bringing it to his lips and tenderly pressing his lips to your fingertips. “But, I did have the most interesting dream. It’s worth hearing, I assure you.” 

Loki was nothing if not convincing, and you were curious.

“Go on then. I’m listening,” you replied with a playful roll of your eyes. 

Loki cleared his throat as he fluffed the pillow under his head. Stars above. He was as dramatic as he was mischievous.

“It was the final night of Vetrnætr and the kingdom was blanketed in snow. I was  tasked with riding into the forests alone,” he said, absentmindedly trailing his fingertips  down your arm as he spoke, “to defeat a great beast with my magick.” 

His voice was impossibly alluring, much like Loki himself. Soon, you were clinging to every word—mesmerized by the magnificent man beside you. 

“I found myself in the depths of wilderness—where no other soul had dared to tread before. I, of course, was quite brave in the face of this unknown danger.” 

“Fearless, some might say,” you offered. 

He hummed in agreement, his eyes sparking with amusement. “Finally, I reached my destination. But a horde of Bilgesnipes was blocking the creature I’d come to slay.”

“Oh?” you said apprehensively. He solemnly nodded. 

“So, I conjured a simple spell to vanquish them. Imagine my surprise when I realized they were not, in fact, angry Bilgesnipes but your dreadful snores plundering into my subconscious mind.”

Your brain stuttered—did he just? Bilgesnipes?! Loki smirked at the utterly bewildered expression on your face before mimicking the way you opened your mouth in shock. You’d walked right into his little trap and he was enjoying it far too much. 

“Loki Odinson! I do not snore.” 

You sounded less defiant than you hoped, and—in a bid to get him to renege the obvious lie—you wriggled out from under his arm and tossed a pillow at his stupid, handsome face. 

“I beg to differ.” Deep, mirthful laughter rumbled in Loki’s chest. “Now, wait a minute—”

Much to his dismay, you’d moved to the edge of the bed. As you gathered one of the fur blankets around your nude form, Loki propped himself up on his elbows, those stark green eyes focusing on you with an intensity that didn’t seem justified this early in the day.

“Darling, don’t go. I was only teasing.” He grabbed your wrist, and the coolness of his fingers against your flesh sent a thrill rippling through you. “Allow me to make it up to you.” 

The offer was tempting but, with Vetrnætr on the literal horizon, you had a never-ending list of obligations to attend to.

“You know we’re both expected at the first morning feast.”

“Yes, and that is still hours from now. Come back to bed.”

“It will take me hours to get ready for the celebrations.”

Loki clicked his tongue as you shimmied off the bed. “What a shame you don’t have a skillful sorcerer at your disposal.” 

“Such misfortune,” you quipped, fingers reaching to secure the fur around your shoulders. A curse left your lips as nothing but cold air enveloped you instead. Loki shot you a wink as a wisp of seiðr danced across his palm.

“You’re not playing fair.” 

“Where there are wolf’s ears, wolf’s teeth are near.” Dimples adorned the corners of his mouth as he grinned up at you. 

“And now you’re not making any sense!” 

“So come back to bed, little fox. Please. Help me make sense of things.” 

Three thoughts inhabited your mind in this moment: a persistent chill was quickly settling in your bones and Loki’s bed was impossibly warm; applying the ceremonial makeup you were expected to wear today would take at least an hour—and having Loki glamour it on would be terribly convenient; and, finally, you were absolute shit at denying him anything. And Loki knew it.

He stretched his long legs as he awaited your submission. The action caused the silk sheets to settle low around his waist. Shadows traversed the deep V of his Adonis belt like divine brushstrokes while sunbeams highlighted the devastating muscles of his godly physique. 

You never stood a chance. 

Your pulse quickened as you propped a knee on the mattress, giving him a coy smile. “Satisfied, your highness?”

Loki inhaled as he surveyed your figure. It was easy to assume he was memorizing the smooth curves and soft dips of your body. Every imperfection, dimple, scar—he’d studied and worshiped each precious part of you. But in truth, he knew the map of your body better than he knew the wilds of Asgard—how to expertly navigate your release, to intimately claim you as his time and time again.

“Not quite.” His eyes glinted with desire as he curled his hands around your waist, guiding you to settle against the pillows. You watched in awe as he pulled the sheets over the both of you, adjusting the layers of covers and pelts as he caged you in his arms. 

“Perfect.” It was no more than a whisper. But the sense of pride that thrummed through you must have been palpable, because Loki leaned down and brushed his mouth against yours. You barely had time to inhale before his tongue was swiping over your bottom lip and then moving against your own in eager, equal measure. He was heavy on top of you as he settled between your open legs—your collective arousal evident as your bodies seamlessly slotted together. It was exhilarating and grounding and you ached for him. When you dug your fingertips into the firm swell of his ass in a silent plea for more, he broke the kiss. 

“What is it, my love?” you asked, noticing a glimmer of tears swelling in his eyes as he pulled away from you. You cupped his cheek, and his gaze flitted across your face. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” Loki took in a deep, shuddering breath before kissing you once more. Sparks of white-hot heat ignited your skin as your heart hammered in your chest. Could he sense how wildly it was beating for him? “I’m so proud of you. You know that, right?” 

How could words ever truly express that the love you possessed defied explanation, transcended comprehension, and overwhelmed every fiber of your being? How could you adequately convey that his praise was your Valhalla?

You finally managed to say, “I know,” but your response melded into a moan as Loki’s lips made contact with your nipple, rolling its twin between his thumb and forefinger. 

“You’re so good to me.” 

“So good,” you echoed, arching into his touch as Loki’s hand skimmed your curves before dipping between your legs. 

He found you slick and ready for him, and he easily slid two fingers into your cunt, his palm pushing upwards against your swollen clit. Delicious pressure built in your hips with each skillful turn of his wrist and you greedily bucked into his hand, grasping at his biceps for leverage. 

You were quickly losing yourself to the adrenaline searing through you, igniting every nerve ending like a thousand meteors shooting across the night sky. Still, you knew Loki revelled in the euphoria of your unraveling just as much as you did. He yearned to hear your small whimpers of pleasure, to feel your hands on his body and your fingers twisting in his hair as you came undone at his touch. To be connected without reservation. 

He’d once confided in you that the reassurance of your touch sparked something within him comparable only to his seiðr—you had become just as much a part of him as the ancestral magick that flowed through his very veins. Imagining a reality without either was like envisioning a world without sunlight or stars. 

“Loki. Loki.” His name was witchcraft on your lips and his fingers deftly twisted inside you in response. When he slowed his movements, you clenched around him, desperately running your hands over the broad expanse of his shoulders. His skin was damp with sweat, his muscles quivering under your fingertips.

“And so eager. Gods, you’re gorgeous when you’re about to come apart.” 

When Loki was nestled between your thighs, worshiping your body as if you were the only thing in all the Nine, time stood still. You were teetering on the edge of sweet release—right where he wanted you. A frustrated noise caught in the back of your throat as he removed his fingers, your thighs trembling as your climax began to ebb. 

“Patience.” He spoke purposefully against your heated skin, as if reciting an invocation.

“Til árs ok friðar.” Loki paused, looking up at you with eyes so full of adoration you felt as though your heart would burst. He repeated the ancient phrase. “For a good year. And peace. That is my wish for you—for us—my love.”

You were completely lost under his spell. Your only tether to reality was Loki. His forearm heavy across your midriff. His tongue flat against your clit. 

“F-faen, I’m– please,” you slurred, your chest heaving with ragged, uneven pants. 

“That’s it,” Loki coaxed. “Come undone for me.”

At his words, the overwhelming tightness in your core snapped. Your orgasm ripped through your body—your mind clearing itself of every lingering thought. The wild beat of your heart became the soundtrack of your bliss and you sobbed as the tip of his regal nose rubbed against your sensitive clit. His tongue continued to lap at the warm center of your cunt as aftershocks rolled through you, your body involuntary jerking at the overstimulation.

“Too much…”

“One more, darling. If not for me, for Asgard.” A wicked grin spread across his face—his lips and chin glistening with your arousal—before he dipped his head back between your thighs. “Consider it a royal decree.”

It was pointless to argue with him, especially when he set his mind to something. You wound your fingers into his unkempt hair, and before long, you were curling up off the bed as you juddered under his touch for the second time.

“Thank you,” you said softly as you came down from your high. Loki pressed his forehead to yours.

“A final gesture of goodwill,” he murmured, the blunt tip of his cock nudging your entrance. 

“We’ll be late to breakfast. I- I dare not disgrace your good name, my prince,” you said, gasping into his mouth as he pushed deeper inside you. You didn’t care if you missed every single celebratory banquet this week. 

“I’m honored you think so highly of me, little wife.” You groaned in unison as he bottomed out with a swirl of his hips. “But it would not be the first time we’ve vexed the House of Odin thus. Nor the last, I hope.” 

[leresq]

Recently rewatched GOTG Vol. 2 and took some notes

Rocket has no real reason for stealing the batteries other than he wanted to

Rocket can't read sarcasm unless it's explicitly shown to him. He also doesn't understand insults unless he knows what they mean. Autism coded...

Drax has to be more than strong, he's got to be superhuman at this point. He was flung around by the monster that would have killed a human instantly, survived the pressure changes of going through a jump point without exploding, and was hit around by trees like a pinball. Gamora and maybe Nebula are the only ones I can see surviving that. Speaking of which how does Quill survive being thrown around by the monster without breaking any bones?

When Gamora says "If you'd flown with what's in between your ears instead of what's in between your legs" she points to Rocket for the latter half of that statement implying he wasn't castrated by the High Evolutionary. 👀

It's implied Rocket doesn't completely understand depth and 3D space when saying Ego was a tiny man which makes sense for a raccoon but also not for the best pilot in the galaxy.

"You didn't know cuz you didn't wanna know cuz it made you rich." Is a hard ass line

I don't know much about Kurt Russell's history in acting but him as a villain is fantastic

Rocket grooms himself with his tongue!!! So kitty!!!!!!

The fact that Drax connects being an old woman to being wise means his not understanding metaphor isn't an inherent trait and it also means nobody before this point has been able to indirectly teach him what things mean.

Rocket's singing voice hunghhhh... He also runs quadrupedal by instinct

Despite having such tiny and probably fragile hands Rocket can still punch hard. The way he grabs things meant for normal hands with his little grippy paws is so adorable!!!

Drax wasn't lying when he said he was humble. Despite being a bit reckless he rarely brags about himself at all.

Even though family story time about impregnation probably is not a good idea Drax is probably the most sex positive member of the group.

Ego says he made pain receptors yet he doesn't react to anything as if it hurts at all.

Nebula never was a sadist. Thanos made her become violent because he hurt her every time she lost, so she got more and more angry. If she successfully enacted her plan of torturing Thanos I don't think she would have enjoyed it, she would be delivering a sense of justice in her eyes. She doesn't talk about that plan with fondness, she talks about it like it's a hard job that'll take a lot of willpower to complete. Who knows how many years of Thanos' abuse were quickly replaced by love and she barely resisted being healed.

When Peter successfully forms the celestial energy Ego doesn't look into his son's eyes with pride, he looks at the energy with greed. Great subtle acting.

I don't think Drax meant to insult Mantis by calling her ugly, that was just an unfortunate moment of unfiltered honesty. The fact that he quickly changes the meaning so it's some kind of compliment is impressive and adorable.

When Peter says he sees Eternity I think he sees the thing from Thor 4. Ego's plan is to reach Eternity and wish for the universe to be completely and totally his.

The contrast of the majesty Ego supposedly shows Peter and the horror of Ego's genocidal design found by Gamora and Nebula with music is perfect

The crabby puppy so cute he makes me wanna die 😍

Kraglin is so cute he's had such a hard life he just needs a warm shower and a talking Russian dog for a best friend.

The reason Mantis could put Ego to sleep when he didn't want to isn't because she's super powerful (even though she is) it's because she's part celestial and maybe Ego happened to miss a little bit of the connection to the light she has.

Life isn't about trying to make everything perfect or exactly the way you want it to, it's about diversity. That's what Ego doesn't understand.

My headcanon is that Yondu is the only one of his crew that actually cared about hygiene. He looks relatively clean compared to everybody else.

The last real goodbye Gamora and Nebula had was in Vol. 2

Baby Groot finally being nice to Drax is cute.

[still-scribblin]

Unhooking a Bra 101

decided to try my hand at writing for Steve since I've been reading so much about cevans characters. idek how ce writers ended up on my dash?! but whatever i love it lmao. a bit rusty, this is the first time i've written in a while bc college be kicking my ass. like i enrolled in a math-less field (or as little math as possible) but that apparently meant a shit ton of readings so..... 🙃

tags: pre-smut? tons of steve bashing (lovingly), and female reader ... idk this was me trying to be funny? also just decided to turn this into a multichapter fic last minute bc it was getting too long lmao

anyway, this is an excerpt. the rest is in here.

-----

He doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, of course. Super hearing had a way of making sure he knew the goings on of the lives of his agents, which served him well when it came to miniscule complaints about the office and some procedures that he could amend so his agents can focus more on saving lives and filing reports. Like last week, when Agent Alvarez muttered about a better brand of ground coffee that the whole office enjoyed when Steve put in the request for procurement.

He should have expected this really, especially from you. You had a cavalier attitude about any and all things, and you were rarely embarrassed about anything, which was how everyone on the floor knew you went commando that one time last month when you simply could not be bothered to do your laundry. You were quick to announce, very loudly, that you were wearing some sort of shorts to make up for it, much to everyone’s amusement.

Steve isn’t one to judge, and having lived in this century for a few years gave him the knowledge that women and the concept of propriety in general just wasn’t the same anymore. It was fine once he got used to it, releasing a chuckle or two himself when younger agents 'clapped back’ towards their superiors who in his opinion really did deserve to be humbled, just a bit.

It was all good.

Or, it was.

“Oh. my. Thor!” your voice wasn’t that loud, in fact, you were speaking with Agent Choi all hushed which might have been the reason Steve’s ears perked up from where he was standing by the printer just a few feet away from you two.

“That clit sucker you recommended arrived yesterday and you were right!” Maybe Steve should try and see if he can turn off the super hearing sometimes.

“I was gushing, Jisu, gushing.” But it’s too late now.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

I know Twitter isn’t real life, but it’s baffling to me how easily people have dropped Taika Waititi because of Thor Love and Thunder. They claim he’s big-headed, annoying, and unfunny, that since he’s landed a big project like MCU he’s become another dickhead director and it’s like.. the Anne Hathaway effect or some shit. It’s like the moment someone touches the MCU or Disney or whatever, their credibility and work is called into question. People go back and scrutinize shit for no reason because a movie they made might have been a bit overhyped or whatever. 

It’s fine if you don’t like Waititi’s sense of humor--I personally like it in What We Do in the Shadows and Our Flag Means Death, didn’t like it so much in Thor Ragnarok since it felt a bit too joke-y for my tastes--and it’s fine if you simply don’t jive with what he’s doing, but people need to stop discounting artists and creators as hacks or overblown because YOU don’t like them. 

Not to mention that at the end of the day he’s still Some Guy. He’s not the second coming of Christ. He is not the sole purveyor of queer rep. He will inevitably make mistakes. And as for people claiming he’s gotten a big head: There’s a reason why--it’s difficult for the human mind to remain humble when confronted with extreme fame and being bombarded with zealous fandom culture that has developed in the past two decades. I’m not saying that a big ego isn’t a problem, but you try remaining grounded when you’re constantly bombarded by messages on all the social media that you’re perfect and the greatest and blah blah blah. Only someone with the most fucked gutter-level sense of self-esteem wouldn’t be affected by that. 

I guess in the end, the MCU is poison for creative minds. God knows Disney isn’t going to let you do anything groundbreaking, and people need to stop expecting groundbreaking stuff from a franchise that is getting progressively more tired and worn out with each entry. People have MCU fatigue. Fanboys bitch and moan like always and nothing fantastic is being done with the stories, nor are the actors being directed in a way that allows them to actually feel like the characters they’re meant to play. It’s just green screens and CGI and secret scripts. 

And also-also, Taika Waititi isn’t infallible, but he’s not the worst person in the world. Also he’s not white. I’ve legit seen people on Tumblr claim he is. He’s not white. 

[lokiondisneyplus]

Most Marvel post-credit scenes hint at the future. Loki opted for a blunter approach: the God of Mischief would return in season 2.

Based on the final turn of events, there was really no other choice: Loki (Tom Hiddleston), having journeyed to the furthest point in spacetime with his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) to meet the founder of the TVA, a scientist-turned-survivor-of-multiversal-war known as He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), finds himself zapped into a new reality when his lady self slays the omnipresent being. The mind reels!

Creator Michael Waldron takes delight in the endless possibilities of Loki’s core premise. And as a veteran of Rick and Morty, he knows what anchors a mind-bending show, and what will keep Hiddleston’s character hurtling through his chaotic, rewritten future. Below, Polygon talks to Waldron about landing on the key choices of Loki season 1, what to expect from season 2, and a bit on his next project, the wrestling drama Heels, which is set to premiere on Aug. 15.

Did you know there’d be a second season of Loki from the beginning or was that choice made later in the process?

Michael Waldron: We always knew that it was a possibility. We always knew that we wanted to propel Loki and these characters out into the MCU after this, into further stories. But that didn’t really crystallize as a sure thing until we were in production and everything. And as we were really figuring out the finale.

So you were still cracking the ending as you shot the show?

There was a hiatus due to the pandemic. So things were constantly being retooled because of that. I think, by and large, everything with He Who Remains and the Sylvie-Loki conflict was always there. But that cliffhanger was the sort of thing that suddenly became a really appealing opportunity, a chance for that to lead into a second season.

What element of the series helped you crack the macro story of Loki, and made all the other pieces fall into place? Each episode almost feels like a standalone adventure, similar to Rick and Morty, but what helped it all click?

The first couple of weeks in the writers room was just laying out the individual episodes. It was very important to me that each episode stood on its own, and you could say “This is the Lamentis episode,” “This is the apocalypse moon episode,” “This is the Void episode.” I didn’t want it to just be cut up chapters and have one long continuous story. Obviously, we had to figure out the time travel for things to slot into place. I think a big idea for us was the way you get around the TVA by hiding in apocalypses. That felt like such a big, cool, exciting idea that it drove the action of episode 2, episode 3, and in a way it’s like Alioth is the ultimate apocalypse that He Who Remains is hiding behind. That sci-fi idea cracked a lot open for us. I know that after we had that I went home and I slept a little sounder.

Did adding the multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like blowing something up or expanding it, in terms of narrative possibilities?

In the same way that after the first couple Iron Man movies, and with the first Avengers, suddenly these movies were kind of going to space. Then we had Guardians. I think of the multiverse as another version of that. It’s new ground to cover, and particularly interesting because characters meeting other versions of themselves and other versions of people they know is... cool. That’s just a cool sci-fi concept! But I think with anything, as you expand outward, it only works if the humanity remains. It’s exciting to watch characters dealing with big crazy multiversal conflicts because we can see ourselves in them. I think you just have to hold on to the humanity that makes these stories work in the first place.

Did you go back to the Thor movies for Loki? Was there anything to find in the past of Marvel as you were paving the future?

Absolutely. I mean I watched them many times, contrary to what Twitter might think because I did some bits on there saying that I’ve never seen Avengers and I upset some people [laughs]. I have seen it many times. “Confirmed: Loki writer has seen Avengers and saw it before writing Loki show.”

In fact, I was watching all these movies on a loop in the writers’ room. I gleaned so much because you watch the evolution of the character. Avengers was particularly informative because our story picks up Loki right after that, but I also I found a lot of inspiration in Thor: The Dark World, a maybe sometimes maligned movie that I actually really enjoy. I just think there’s great stuff with Loki being tangentially responsible for the death of his mother, how he reacts to that. That is the start of his journey of that version of Loki’s redemption, so I was inspired by that.

What’s propelling the characters into season 2? Where are you headed in basic terms?

In season 1, you saw a lot of characters reckoning with and questioning their own glorious purpose, and that glorious purpose changing, [characters] realizing that that can change. Everybody except for Sylvie. I think she holds onto hers, which is vengeance, and to the detriment of us all, perhaps. And we’ve got a Loki who, at the top of our show, assessed himself as a villain and, I would argue, at the end of our show, has become a little bit of a hero. There’s nothing more heroic to me than fighting for the right thing and losing. You see that washing over him as he’s there back at the TVA, after Sylvie has knocked back there. And then he gets up because that is what heroes do — they keep going. So I think that you’re gonna see a Loki that looks at himself in a different way certainly that at the top of this.

Do you hope to explore more of Sylvie’s backstory in season 2?

I guess we’ll see. We certainly have our own rich backstory for her, stuff that didn’t get to make it into the show. Elissa Karasik, our episode 2 writer, wrote a lot of amazing backstory for Sylvia and everything. So those ideas exist out there.

And her version of Thor?

Tune in.

How did He Who Remains come about? Did you bring the character to Marvel or was that a character Marvel hoped to introduce?

I was pushing and our team was pushing early on in the writers’ room that it should be a version of Kang up in that Citadel, sort of fusing the mythology of He Who Remains with a little bit of the Immortus mythology. And that was a thing we were excited to do. And it became clear that it actually made sense for our story. The only way we were going to do it was if it made sense, but it was like, who had a better argument for creating the TVA to prevent other versions of themselves from existing then a guy as evil as Kang the Conqueror?

You wrote the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — did Marvel hire you for that after Loki? Does the movie feel like a continuation of the show?

Yeah, that opportunity came as we were getting ready to start production on Loki. It was a pleasure. I got to work with Sam Raimi, a hero of mine. I was in London for five months making that movie at the top of this year. We had a blast. I think that it’s a continuation in as much as ever every Marvel movie is to some extent a chapter in an ongoing story, but these things are meant to stand alone and the most important thing about Doctor Strange too is making the most kick ass Doctor Strange movie we could.

Is Loki a two-part show now or are you invested in telling a longer story with future seasons beyond season 2?

Time will tell, but I do my hope is that season 1 stands on its own. We always wanted to tell a complete story there. And in whatever the next chapter may be will stand on its own as well.

Your next show, Heels, is already on the way. We got a big preview out of Comic-Con this year, but I’m curious about the scope of this story. You’re starting with two brothers running an independent wrestling franchise, but you’ve dropped the name “Vince McMahon” a few times — is this about the building of an empire? Would you liken it to The Godfather or Breaking Bad?

I always thought about it a little bit of a Scorsese-sort-of rise, and we’ll see if there’s a fall. Starting from humble beginnings and trying to build some crazy. Wrestling was certainly not always the empire that it is and that’s what’s interesting, to watch the evolution of a family-run wrestling business from something you do in your small towns and perhaps a national, even global empire. That would be a really compelling arc for a show over the course of several seasons. I’d be excited to explore that.

What’s the most dramatically fulfilling wrestling moment you’ve witnessed? What’s the bar for the wrestling drama of Heels?

It’s gotta be Hulk Hogan turning heel in the WCW. There was an invasion storyline, these guys from WWF, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, came over and they were the bad guys. It was at a Pay-per-view and and they were beating up on the good guys that you love, and here comes Hulk Hogan in the yellow and red and he’s the hero. “The Hulk’s gonna get ‘em! The good guy’s here!” And then the Hulk just leg drops Randy Savage. That was the original Red Wedding. I just think about the boldness of turning him heel. To a little kid... I wasn’t even like a massive Hulk fan, but he was just such a mythological figure. What a chance that Hulk Hogan took as a performer, as a bankable kind of movie star at that point. That was bold, risky storytelling and it set off two years of amazing storytelling with Hogan just playing a craven, cowardly heel and just being so evil. I really respect the hell out of them for doing that. That was a great storyline.

[thevindicativevordan]

Any thoughts on Grant Morrison's Action Comics run? Beyond T shirt-and-jeans Superman being great.

That whole run reinvigorated my love of the character.

There have been numerous thoughtpieces about New 52 Superman, how he worked and how he didn't but these two entries really do a great job of summing up why Morrison's take on Superman was great. Morrison laid the foundation for a new generational Superman that DC completely fucked up and ran into the ground. I'll always be bitter about that, even if I had tapped out of reading the New 52 Superman books by the end due to how bad they got. Editorial and their idiotic mandates were what screwed over the potential of this take in my eyes.

Now I get that it wasn't to everyone's taste, but I cannot fathom how anyone could ever claim that Pre-Flashpoint Superman was better. If you liked Byrne's reboot better, your guy already got rebooted after Infinite Crisis. For someone like me who really enjoyed the Johns/Busiek era, that era's potential got spoiled after Johns & Busiek left, with New Krypton imploding and the awful Grounded taking it's place. When you get to the point where the best Superman book is the one starring Lex Luthor, it's time to reassess the franchise and figure out where the hell it went wrong.

Which is exactly what Morrison did. For this new Superman, Morrison mined all the best ideas of every Superman era to really give what I consider the ideal "base" for Superman. They also took pains to address common criticisms about Superman, working to correct his pop culture image. People have been complaining that Superman is "too perfect", "too unrelatable" for a long time, so Morrison addressed that. They gave Superman his balls back, and let him reacquire that Golden Age edge he had originally.

There are a lot of complaints you can make about Morrison's Superman, but I don't see how you could accuse this guy of being "flawless" or "bland". He definitely had a personality that you could describe, love him or hate him. Compassionate, but not a pushover. Clearly holding himself back, but unafraid to occasionally let loose. Flaws that were patently obvious, Clark had a temper here that could get him into trouble. There was a real showcase of anger here, of Superman being furious at the way people were treated by the rich and powerful, then doing something about it that I ate up.

I read this run just as I was coming into my teens and it hit perfectly for where I was in life. Did not want a Superman who would smile and tell me it gets better, I wanted a Superman who looked you in the eye and told you he felt that same anger, and then encouraged you to go out and do something about how you felt. That was what this run delivered in spades, and it expanded what I believed could be done with Superman.

While it totally blew my mind to see Superman acting this way the first time I read Morrison's Action Comics run, in retrospect it really isn't that different from how Superman has acted even under Byrne. One of the few traits I've seen carry across Superman incarnations in the comics is that he has a temper underneath that affable nature. "Don't tug on Superman's cape" as the old song goes. This run simply elevated that to the forefront of the character again, for the better in my eyes given I believe "Wrath" is Superman's Deadly Sin.

In fact, one of the strongest features of this run is that Superman gets actual character development over the course of the run, analogous to what Batman underwent in Morrison's Bat-Epic. While the Bat-Epic was merely Morrison re-canonizing Batman's entire history, and applying a retroactive character development storyline that culminated in Morrison's current Batman work, their Action Comics run had them attempt to craft something similar for Superman from scratch. What that meant was Morrison attempting to draw on the most important traits of every Superman era and incorporate those into this new take. So Superman had the Golden Age temper, compassion for the oppressed, and cockiness. The Silver Age supergenuis, proud scion of Krypton who cherished his Kryptonian nature, member of the Legion of Superheroes, and participant in stories that weren't afraid to get weird. Superman's wrestling with his place in the world, the importance of Clark Kent, and making journalism a key part of the character strike me as all being hallmarks of the Bronze Age. From Post-Crisis we got that Clark views himself as human and loves his adopted parents, considering them as equal to his birth ones.

One of the big frustrations for me with the endless origin stories for Superman, is that so many of them follow a predictable and stale formula where Clark puts on the suit and is essentially ready to go. Doesn't interfere with human affairs, is modest and humble, restrained in usage of his powers, it's like Clark has meta knowledge of what he "should" be, despite that he shouldn't have any foreknowledge of what a "superhero" should look like. He operates the same way at the start as he does in the modern day, and that's really boring to me. This Superman, because of the difference in powers and attitude, operated extremely different from his "present day" incarnation. Dangling Glenmorgan over the edge of a building isn't something a fully powered and mature Superman should do, but it works great to make his early days different and exciting to read about, it makes returning to that era something you can do different storytelling with. This run is the only time where I really cared that Superman is "supposed" to be the first superhero, because figuring out what that means here is a big part of how he develops.

We all know the common complaint that Superman is "too powerful" and that "nothing can hurt him" (funny how Thor never gets hit with those accusations), so Morrison made sure to show that this take on Superman could be beaten even if he could never be defeated. Events conspired to force Clark to use his brains as well as his powers to overcome the challenges in front of him.

Examples include him using his heat vision to fry Lex's equipment and escape the military, using his rocket ship to defeat Brainiac, and rallying the population of Metropolis to banish Vyndktvx. Not to say that Clark never used his brains before to win, but this run was very upfront and in your face about how important Clark's intellect is to triumphing over his foes. Can't take seriously the complaint that Superman is too overpowered when Morrison constantly showcased how even a very powerful Superman could get his shit wrecked by his Rogues.

Another example of Morrison addressing criticisms is Kryptonite. A lot of people poke fun at how convenient it is that pieces of Superman's homeworld follow him all the way to Earth. Isn't that a bit of an asspull? So Morrison made Kryptonite the power source of Superman's rocket, giving it a perfectly natural and believable reason both for it to end up on Earth, and for Lex & the military to get a hold of it since Pa Kent gave the military the rocket. That's still my preferred explanation for how Kryptonite ended up on Earth.

It also provides a better explanation for all the different Kryptonite variants. DC can handwave away the different types as a result of Lex experimenting or the different "forces" on Earth such as magic or the Speed Force or whatever creating the different variants. That to me is much more believable than Kryptonite travelling all across the galaxy yet still ending up on Earth somehow.

There have also been a lot of complaints about Superman's villains, and Morrison diligently set about reworking them. By far one of my favorite aspects of the run, was the villain revamps. Nimrod felt like a clean revamp of Terra-Man, making him into Superman's Kraven the Hunter struck me as a patently obvious route to go, wild no one has followed up on that or used him since. Metallo felt like a good synthesis of Johns take of him as an Anti-Superman weapon, and the sympathetic aspects of Corben's origin that are always there, I liked that Morrison didn't make him a total bastard before his transformation like Johns did. Brainiac got some sympathy added to him in that the collected worlds that were already marked for damnation, thus he was "saving" them in a fashion. Clay Ramses embodied toxicity as a wife-beater even before becoming Kryptonite Man, and I thought his backstory was a great way for Clark to still deal with "real" issues via a manner he could punch. Ramses is still the best take on Kryptonite Man. Vyndktvx felt like the greatest realization of the threat Mr. Mxyzptlk could pose should he decide to get serious since Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, plus I'm a sucker for stories where superheroes fight the Devil. Drekken and Superdoom took the only interesting aspects of Doomsday (his ability to evolve and that he can kill Superman respectively), and were much more interesting characters.

And oh my God, speaking of Superdoom, that part of Morrison's Action run has aged like fine wine. I don't know if they caught wind of DC's plans for the character, or if they were just prescient, but everything that Superdoom is playing on is still sadly all too present. What Superdoom is as a character is a condemnation of what DC keeps doing with Superman: killing him off or making him evil.

When you realize what Superdoom (demand for a more violent and "realistic" Superman) and Vyn (WB/DC) stand in for, it makes the frustration Morrison is channeling much more palpable. Those two plotlines are all DC can think of to do with the character, returning to those again and again. Endlessly attempting to recapture the high of Batman and Doomsday beating the shit out of Supes in The Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman. Overcoming these two obstacles is Superman's greatest challenge as conceived by Morrison, because both are out to corrupt and ruin the very idea of him. It's not just a physical death he faces, but a metaphysical one as well. Sadly it's a threat Superman just can't seem to lick in the real world, with more and more takes on "Evil Superman" coming.

Lois and Jimmy are great here, because Morrison actually made the investigative journalism aspect of Superman important. Lois is an active participant in the story, trying to break in to the base where Clark is being held by her father, competing with Clark for stories (I love how Morrison writes the banter between the two of them), and generally being classic Lois. Jimmy though benefitted from being positioned as a peer rather than as a kid in comparison to the two, something I wish the comics had carried forward. It looks like My Adventures With Superman is going with that interpretation at least, so I hope others do as well. Jimmy being Clark's roommate really adds to their bond, and I wish we had gotten more stories with that status quo.

Investigative reporter Clark Kent was so actively used here that it feels jarring reading other Superman runs where they tend to downplay and ignore it. Following Clark as he travels to different areas of Metropolis and actually interacts with people, instead of hovering above them as Superman, makes him feel human. Watching Clark actively pursue stories aimed at bettering peoples livelihoods, and seeing how those stories crossed with the superheroics, was one of my favorite aspects of the run. It's one unfortunately few other writers seem all that interested in, especially the New 52 writers who followed Morrison (I know editorial probably bears a lot of blame for that though).

Besides all that, this run was a lot of fun! The Legion of Superheroes showed up, their connection to Clark restored, and they got to play a big role in Clark's adventures! Krypto the Superdog! Martian colonies! Memorizing all of medicine, Superman performs a lifesaving operation! Lex using a "bullet train" to knock Clark out! 5-D imps! Rampaging robots from beyond! A Phantom Zone Halloween story! John Henry Irons suits up as Steel and kicks ass alongside Clark! Every Superman Rogue teams up to try to kill him, but Lex Luthor saves his life because that's a privilege he reserves for himself! Showcasing their trademark love for the Supermythos, Morrison took us on a tour of Superlore that demonstrated the depth and width of what could be done with Superman. Meanwhile the backups by Sholly Fisch excelled at giving us smaller, more human stories about Superman (the one where Clark meets Pa again via time travel "after" Pa has died always gives me a lump in my throat to read).

Ultimately this didn't get to be the foundation for the next generation of Superman stories as it deserved. Johns made New 52 Superman the scapegoat in Doomsday Clock for a lot of storytelling choices he did over in Justice League, something that pisses me off to no end. You want to tell me that this guy "didn't relate" to people, didn't inspire "hope"?

Like hell he didn't. This guy was Superman in every way that mattered and he deserved better than to be framed as the scapegoat for all the stupid decisions DC made about what to do with him. Greg Pak was able to do some great work with this version after Morrison, and just like how Gene Yang got a redemption work starring Superman, I hope to one day see Pak return to the character. Would love to read a Black Label Superman story by Pak that follows his take on young Superman.

All wasn't lost however. Against all odds, and Rebirth trying it's damndest to sweep everything under the rug, it looks like parts of this era have actually survived to the current Infinite Frontier era. With Morrison being heavily involved no less, both as an ideas guy and as an actual writer.

Superman & the Authority is explicitly Superman coming full circle back to the attitude displayed by his young counterpart under Morrison. Janin has outright said that the costume Clark wears here is reminiscent of the t-shirt and jeans era of Superman, and this book so far feels saturated with an energy level from Morrison I haven't seen in their work for hire since they left Action. Reaching old age and realizing he never really delivered on the high ideals of his beginnings, it's Superman putting together a team to hopefully succeed where he couldn't alone. Scathing in how it criticizes the superhero status quo, this has been extremely entertaining to read. Wish Morrison was writing 12 issues with this team, and that ultimately it will be up to PKJ to deliver on the potential is a drawback (although I've loved PKJ's Action run so far), but I'm glad to see DC finally treating Morrison and their ideas with more respect than was shown during Rebirth.

Jon meanwhile feels like an even more explicit attempt at redoing New 52 Superman. There's the updated new suit, designed to appeal to a new generation with it's streamlined look. Positioning Jon as a Superman who wants to tackle the "real" issues, with Taylor explicitly comparing him to Golden Age Superman which as I mentioned was an era Morrison tried to reincorporate into their reboot. There's the Legion of Superheroes connection which played an important role in Morrison's reboot. The rumors about Jon's sexuality are interesting, hinting that DC is willing to go outside the box with him in a way they never would with Clark. I'm excited to see what kind of Superman Jon ends up becoming, if he can deliver on the promise of the New 52 Superman all the better.

This run deserves to be remembered and to have the lessons it tried to teach respected. Probably my favorite mainline run on Superman, I hope more people come around to liking it as time goes on.

[9worldstales]

MCU Loki: Is character development what we see in episode 1 or not?

I’ve discovered there’s a debate if what happened to Loki in episode 1 can constitute character development or not so I felt like sharing my two cents about it.

So, character development.

Character development IN THIS SPECIFIC CASE refers to the changes a character undergoes over the course of a story as a result of their experiences (positive or negative) and actions (successful or unsuccessful). Change can be positive or negative as the character can improve himself but also can sink into an abyss of depravity. It’s worth to remark changes is not necessarily always triggered by something they did, it can very well be something that happened to them that caused them to change… but the point of character development, IN THIS CASE, is that there has to be a change in the character. He can’t remain the same.

So… I’ll pick Tony Stark because his situation in “Iron Man” presented plenty of parallelisms with Loki in “Loki” and not just because some like to consider Tony too a narcissist.

So, same as how Loki was taken captive by the TVA, Tony Stark too was taken captive by the Ten Rings. For three months. There Tony is forced to see how the weapons he produced were used by terrorists to kill other Americans and who called him “the most famous mass murderer in the history of America” and were honoured to have him in their hideout. They originally were meant to kill him but since they realized he could be of some use to them, they’re willing to keep him alive because they want his help, not to search a Tony Variant but to produce more weapons. Tony though, understands once they have finished using him, they would dispose of him. Tony also has the major problem of being told to have only a week of life due to the wounds he suffered.

In this part of the story Tony is just a victim, he doesn’t really get to do something, negative things are merely poured onto him.

It parallels what happens to Loki for most of episode 1.

He’s beaten, taken captive, informed he’ll be killed, his execution is postponed because they decided he could be of use, he’s told he’s a murderer, a liberator of eyeballs who wasn't born to be king but to cause pain and suffering and death, all so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves. He’s also told he caused his mother’s death. And, all right, Mobius won’t immediately tell him what he wants him for, but it’s pretty clear he wants him for something.

So, back to Tony, when we have his character growth? When he reacts to all that was poured on him and react not just by fighting back in a typical Tony style (using his brain to create something that would allow him to fight the Ten Rings and escape) but also by changing things. Once he’s back home Tony announces he won’t produce anymore weapons.

The man who said...

Tony: Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far.

...becomes the man who say...

Tony: I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability. I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be.

This evolution makes sense. It feels believable. Why is that?

Let’s go back to Tony Stark.

Tony stark didn’t mean to be ‘the most famous mass murderer in the history of America’, he was sure his work was protecting people, he didn’t realize it was used by the bad guys, likely because he just accepted his legacy of son of Howard Stark and didn’t bother to think at it any further.

When he discovers things aren’t how he assumed, after a moment of discomfort in which Yinsen had to motivate him...

Yinsen: I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains. Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it? Tony: Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week. Yinsen: Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?

...he started fighting to change them. It fits with Tony’s personality, it makes narrative sense, it’s well presented, it’s believable on a psychological standpoint (yes, a person like Tony Stark would do this) and from an empathic standpoint (yes, if I were in Tony Stark’s place I would do the same).

When Tony gives his speech in which he shows he has changed, he surprises the people who have no idea what he went through, but not the viewers. For the viewers his reaction is perfectly believable.

So why, for a part of the fandom, what happens to Loki doesn’t feel equally believable since his experience parallels Tony? Why part of the fandom feels there was no character growth at all?

Well, I can’t answer for everyone, everyone probably has his own reasons but merely by keeping up the comparison with what happened to Tony Stark we see how the thing doesn’t work the same.

A premise here, I know there will be people tempted to think Mobius is the stand in for Yinsen because Mobius is likable and, ultimately, he’ll become Loki’s friend.

He’s not.

Yinsen was held captive by the Ten Rings, his life in danger same as Tony. There’s a moment in which they even threaten him and Tony has to stand in to save Yinsen’s life.

Mobius, as far as Mobius and Loki know, is not another prisoner of the TVA, he’s there willingly. Yes, he’s operating under the false belief he has been created by the TVA but he’s not aware of it. In that moment, as far as Mobius is involved, he’s a willing operative of the TVA, someone in with authority, in control of Loki’s life...

Mobius: Mmm... Luckily, he believes in himself enough for the both of us. And, hey, if it doesn't work, I'll delete him myself. He's really arrogant.

...and the TVA is his purpose, his life and he believes it to be real.

Mobius: It's exactly the same thing. Because if you think too hard about where any of us came from, who we truly are, it sounds kinda ridiculous. Existence is chaos. Nothing makes any sense, so we try to make some sense of it. And I'm just lucky that the chaos I emerged into gave me all this... My own glorious purpose. Cause the TVA is my life. And it's real because I believe it's real.

He doesn’t feel threatened by the TVA, coerced. He’s doing what he does because he believes he’s playing the good guy.

Mobius: All that time, I really believed we were the good guys.

So no, Mobius here is not the equivalent of Yinsen, he’s the equivalent of Abu Bakaar, the guy who tells Tony he’s ‘the most famous mass murderer in the history of America’ and wants to persuade him to cooperate with the Ten Rings, in the same way Mobius wants to persuade Loki to cooperate with the TVA. Keep this in mind because it’s relevant and easy to forger since we know how things will develop in other episodes.

And okay, now let’s go back on track.

Let’s talk of the motives that caused the change in Tony Stark.

Tony is shown by Abu Bakaar something he previously wasn’t aware of, how his weapons are used to kill Americans, that, by building them, he became an accomplice in killing Americans, which was something he didn’t want, hence the change.

Loki is shown… the events of “The Avengers” which he was aware of and which, of course, doesn’t impress him much…

Loki: No. And I remember. I was there. Anything else?

…as the show didn’t play the card of the sceptre influencing him as they say in the official web. Mobius doesn’t tell Loki ‘you did this but you weren’t in control of yourself, you were manipulated by the sceptre’ no, Mobius tells him ‘you did this’ and Loki’s answer is basically ‘yeah, I know, so? Why should I care?’

So Mobius moves to the events of “Thor: The Dark World” and, more specifically, to how Loki ‘caused’ Frigga’s death.

This is something that, in theory, can work as equivalent of Tony Stark being told his weapons are used by the Ten Rings to kill Americans. Loki clearly didn’t want any harm to befall on Frigga, whom he loved dearly. We know that in “Thor: The Dark World” he sufferd a lot for her death, blamed himself and changed (or better, in the authors’ original intentions, he mostly reversed back to how he was before “Thor” but this is a topic for another meta).

For who doesn’t remember the movie in “Thor: The Dark World” after Frigga’s death Loki:

- agreed to help Thor

- brought him and Jane to Svartalfheim

- put up a show for Malekith according to Thor’s plan without betraying Thor

- protected Jane TWICE, the last time risking his own life to save hers

- stopped the Kurse from killing Thor by stabbing and killing him and, in the original plan for the movie, he was also meant to die doing so. Even if you go by the ending the movie ultimately had, Loki has protected a human, cooperated with saving the universe from the Dark Elves and saved his brother’s life instead than letting Thor get killed.

It’s quite a change from how he was in “The Avengers”.

Then great, we’ve something that could push him to change, right?

Wrong.

For start because what Mobius says had happen to Frigga in truth hadn’t happened yet and wouldn’t have happened to THIS LOKI as he wasn’t carried back on Asgard because he escaped with the Tesseract. THIS LOKI has escaped and so wouldn’t end up captive on Asgard, wouldn’t be jailed and wouldn’t be there when the Kurse would intrude in Asgard’s prisons so there’s no way he can do something that would lead to Frigga’s death. Problem solved.

We continue with the fact that Mobius can’t prove to Loki this would have happened had Loki been carried on Asgard. Let’s forget how the version of what happened he gave to Loki is wrong and misleading. Even if he’d been absolutely truthful, what he does is to show Loki a video... but how can he prove this is the future that was meant to happen and not a lie he’s telling him in order to manipulate him? Tony saw his own weapons being in the hands of the Ten Rings, one of them exploded in front of him, wounding him, he disassembled some of the others, he’s sure the Ten Rings has them. But how can Loki be sure what Mobius is telling him is true and not just an illusion? A lie?

But whatever, the series tries hard to sell us through Loki’s reaction that he believed Mobius’ words about this being true because he totally loses his cool at that scene. So, okay Loki believes so will this change him the way it changed him in “Thor: The Dark World”?

Nope.

Tony changes because he does something to actively prevent Americans from being killed by his weapons, he shuts down their production and he involves himself personally in the fight against terrorists with a weapon only he controls, the Iron Man suit.

What does Loki do to prevent Frigga’s death?

Nothing.

His attempt at escaping might have been made more urgent by this piece of info but was something Loki had tried to do from when he’s been taken to the TVA… and in the following episodes Frigga’s fate will be completely forgotten, as if Loki has stopped worrying about it entirely. When talking with Sylvie about Frigga in episode 3 he doesn’t use it as a motive to explain why he wants to gain control of the TVA, to change his mother’s fate… nor it’s something that inspire him to fight the TVA, because that role belongs to Sylvie and Sylvie only. When he’ll try to persuade the other Loki Variants to help him, again he won’t mention Frigga, just Sylvie. Frigga won’t get mentioned not even when Loki will reach The Citadel at the End of Time and Miss Minute will try to tempt him. She’ll offer him glorious power and Sylvie, nor her nor Loki will try to bargain for his mother’s life instead. No, from episode 2 onward what Loki learnt in episode 1 goes forgotten, so let’s focus solely on episode 1.

Some believe Loki in episode 1 changed because he admitted he didn’t like to hurt people, that he’s a villain and helped to cooperate with Mobius.

Mobius: Loki? Nowhere left to run. Loki: I can't go back, can I? Back to my timeline. I don't enjoy hurting people. I... I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I've had to. Mobius: Okay, explain that to me. Loki: Because it's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. Mobius: A desperate play for control. You do know yourself. Loki: A villain. Mobius: That's not how I see it. You try to use that? Loki: Oh, several times. Even an Infinity Stone is useless here. The TVA is formidable. Mobius: That's been my experience. Listen, I can't offer you salvation, but maybe I can offer you something better. A fugitive Variant's been killing our Minutemen. Loki: And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him? Mobius: That's right. Loki: Why me? Mobius: The Variant we're hunting is... you.

Only… this doesn’t really work.

Why?

Loki has tried escaping and has been forced to realize he can’t, that’s why he cooperates, that’s why he gives Mobius an answer to what he asked for...

Mobius: Do you enjoy hurting people? Making them feel small? Making them feel afraid?

... why he agrees with his accusations...

Loki: I know what I am. Mobius: A murderer? Loki: A liberator. Mobius: Of eyeballs, maybe.

...and ultimately accepts to work for the TVA.

This parallels Tony refusing to build armies for the Ten Rings, being tortured and, ultimately agreeing to build weapon for them, at least verbally. And let’s remember if it wasn’t for Yinsen’s words Tony might have given up. It’s Yinsen who encouraged him to fight back.

Yinsen: I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains. Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it? Tony: Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week. Yinsen: Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?

So this doesn’t constitute Loki changing, just accepting he’s powerless against the TVA and must play along with them. Playing along with someone isn’t something new for Loki, the episode even lampshades it.

Mobius: Well, let's start with a little cooperation. Loki: Not my forte. Mobius: Really? Even when you're wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on.

So no, him being forced to accept the TVA is powerful and therefore deciding to cooperate with them is not a change. This series sets it as a normal Loki behaviour… as well as the fact it’ll immediately turn out he intends to betray them.

Loki: Very nice. I mean, it is adorable that you think you could possibly manipulate me. I'm ten steps ahead of you. I've been playing a game of my own all along. Mobius: What, charm your way in front of the Time-Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA? Am I getting warm? A double cross by history's most reliable liar.

And what for? Power, glorious power.

Loki: I'm going to overthrow the Time-Keepers. And, uh, cards on the table, I could use a qualified lieutenant.

Loki: Oh, yeah? What about you? Your years-in-the-making plan was to tear the place down, create the ultimate power vacuum, and then just walk away. I'd never have done that.

Nothing of what happened on this episode changed what the “Loki” series claimed to be Loki’s character prior to the “Loki” series. At the end of it he’s cooperating with someone more powerful than him so that he could betray him and take the power from him, which is how this series claimed all the Lokis (except Sylvie) were.

There’s no change.

There could have been, what happened in episode 1 could have worked for Loki in the same way it worked for Tony Stark but it didn’t. The authors even stated that his friendship with Mobius started in episode 2, not in episode 1, likely when Loki believed Mobius was sticking out his neck for him and offering him his sympathy.

Loki: Okay. Why are you in there sticking your neck out for me? Mobius: I'll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want. A, because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold. And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt. Or B, I just wanna catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you. Loki: I don't need your sympathy.

So we’ve a problem.

The authors rambled more often than not on how much episode 1 changed Loki, how what they called ‘Mobius’ therapy session’ was good for him… but failed to show it in a way that would make sense with the settings set by the series.

If the series states Loki is one who, prior to arriving to the TVA, was used to cooperate when intended on wooing someone powerful he intends to betray and ends with him being willing to cooperate with the TVA after discovering it’s powerful so that he can betray it later, we go exactly back to the starting point. There’s no change, not in this episode.

His words about not enjoying to hurt people but it being merely a play feel like a forced admission of a truth he couldn’t possibly not know and his admission of being a villain isn’t followed by any genuine attempt at changing something in himself. He just acknowledged the role the TVA wanted on him… because he’s trying to woo them so that he could betray them later on.

If we want to stretch things A LOT we might assume seeing Frigga’s death worked for him in the way being told Odin died worked for Thor in “Thor”. It made him more determinate to protect the person he loved, a.k.a. Sylvie… but it stands up poorly, in part because Loki completely forget Frigga, and how she’s going to die in the TVA approved timeline, in part because, although the Loki and Sylvie love story has cute moments that make you wish you could root for them, in truth that too is poorly constructed, with Loki falling for Sylvie for hazy reasons in less than 12 hours (according to the series because she doesn’t want glorious power, according to the authors because she’s a female variant of himself), in part because… well, it doesn’t really feel consequential, it feels more like it’s me forcing such reading because I’ve heard over and over that what happened in episode 1 is supposed to matter, it’s supposed to have changed Loki somehow and so I’m grasping at straws to fit it in the story when it’s actually just forgotten.

So, the real problem is that the series doesn’t bother showing us Loki changing as a direct consequence of what happened in episode 1 in a way that’s relevant and directly consequential.

Sure, it made many happy to have Loki confirm out loud what many in the fandom already figured out, how he doesn’t enjoy hurting people, that it’s all a play.

Sure, it seems self reflection to have him admit he was a villain.

Sure, since many were deluded into thinking the people at the TVA were on the good side, it might feel like an improvement to see Loki agree to side with them.

Sure, the episode, with its parallelisms to what happened with Tony Stark, made us hope it would lead Loki to ultimately do like him.

But when all is said and done, if you look at the scenes in contest and then watch the following episodes, none of this goes anywhere and it couldn’t go anywhere.

We know originally episode 1 was planned to be very different and end just the same, with Loki accepting to cooperate with the TVA. This means the only things that were relevant in the plot that had to be in episode 1 for the series to work were Loki being captured by the TVA, being forced to acknowledge its power and accepting to work with it.

The so called and overly incensed ‘Mobius therapy session’ wasn’t something so fundamental to the plot the story NEEDED it to work and, ultimately, the story forgot it, to focus on Sylvie and on how SHE was the one who changed Loki (as well as Mobius, albeit Mobius changed him in a smaller measure) turning what happened in episode 1 into some sort of ‘Eastern egg’ for who needed to have his mind refreshed on what happened in the other movies in which Loki starred, albeit as the scenes are decontextualized, if you don’t remember well the movies, you’ll end up drawing the wrong conclusion.

It’s sad because Tom Hiddleston’s performance as he watched those scenes was great, possibly the best in the whole series, I mean I heard plenty of people who totally felt for Loki, me as well, because his pain was so raw, so palpable, and this episode just had this BEYOND HUGE amount of potential to turn Loki into another Iron Man… so it’s so very sad to see that in the end it was all dissipated like a soap bubble, never used so that Mobius and Sylvie could be the ones to cause the change in Loki. Which yes, it’s understandable as the story wanted to give them more relevance but feels like a complete waste of an otherwise good opportunity to have Loki decide for himself, due to what he had learnt, a different course in his life.

But whatever, that’s it. Sad, a waste, but that’s the story they decided to tell us, so it comes to no surprise some weren’t sold there was character development here, while they were willing to buy it in “Iron Man”. The story just didn’t build up on what happened in episode 1; it used it like a filler.

Of course though, people can have other reasons than the ones I’ve listed not to see character development. I can’t speak for everyone who didn’t see it… but I’ll say the ones I listed still could work for many.

Lastly, it’s worth to remark this doesn’t mean episode 1 isn’t enjoyable... it is. Hiddleston’s performance is so damn awesome I’ll never get tired to remark it, Wilson does great and this episode brims with potential. But the sad thing is that it remains unfulfilled, episode 1 just doesn’t deliver what he seems to promise, a change in Loki.

[terry-perry]

Satisfied

Pairing: Loki x Reader (unrequited), Thor x Reader

Warning: Unrequited love, love triangle

A/N: Based off this song

“All right, all right! That’s what I’m talking about!” 

It was needless to say that Quill had taken to the liquor earlier than most with all the noise he was making. Which included the way he over-hyped the kiss the newlyweds were sharing at the moment. Everyone just decided to laugh it off since he was still able to lift himself up from his seat to announce the evening’s next event:

“Now everyone, give it up for the Best Man; Loki Odinson!”

Loki stood up once his name was met with applause and raised his champagne in a toast while everyone else did the same. Presenting a small but genuine smile to the couple, he decided to keep his speech short and to the point.

“A toast to the groom,” he began, pointing his glass towards his brother.   

“To the groom!” The other guests mimicked.

“To the bride,” Loki directed himself to you, who was giving him that insufferable smile.

“To the bride!”

He almost forgot about everyone else for a second, so he decided to place the rest of his attention to the whole room.

“From your brother, who is always by your side,”

There was a time that title came with great disdain to it. But nowadays, it left another type of particular taste in his mouth.

“To your union, and the hope that you provide,”

Wrapping up his speech, Loki decided to steal another glance and saw the way you and Thor shared a loving look between you. A connection he’d never be familiar with.

“And may you always be satisfied...”

Years ago...

Loki could easily remember the night you walked into his life. He just might regret that night for the rest of his days. He, Thor and the rest of the Guardians had decided to visit Earth to catch up with everyone there. It was the usual get-together that also included some of the usual praise from Thor’s adoring fans while Loki stood in the background.

That night, however, brought with it an aura to the room. Like from a dream you can’t quite make sense of. At least that’s the sensation Loki could recall when it came to seeing you for the first time. You were a fresh face for the newly assembled Avengers with intelligent eyes and a lovely frame.You greeted those you knew first, a breathtaking smile on you that set Loki’s heart aflame. And when it came to his turn for a hello, he might as well have forgotten his own name with the way he sputtered at your friendliness.

He knew right away he’d never be the same thanks to you. Especially when it came to one of the first things you talked about:

“You strike me as someone who has never been satisfied,” you claimed.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Loki remarked, avoiding your eyes to stare at the way he swirled his drink.

“I’m just basing it off the way you carry yourself. You’re like me; I’m never satisfied.”

 With that, he decided to bring himself to look at you in a curious way. “Is that right?”

“I’ve never been satisfied. In more ways than one, in fact.”

A smirk crept up his face at that last statement, it becoming broader when you added a wink.

“My name is Loki Odinson,”

“Y/N L/N,” you introduced yourself, giving him your hand to shake.

Out of habit (and a little bit of wanting to see your reaction), he took it and placed a light kiss to the back of it. Loving the way you became flustered at this and giggled.

“Where, may I ask, are you from?”

Then you became flustered once more, yet with a subtle attitude to your demeanor as though having great disapproval for his question.

“It’s unimportant,” you answered, doing your best to play it off with another grin. “There’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait...”

The conversation lasted for about 2-3 minutes, but it was enough for Loki to deduce that you were someone that could match his wit and had plenty in common with him. The way you reacted to his question about your background alone was something he could easily relate to. You may have been a bit of a flirt, but he quite enjoyed your forwardness. Making him all the more willing to give whatever this was a chance.

He was tempted to take you somewhere more private where the two of you could continue this, but then he made the fatal mistake of turning to see his brother’s face from across the room. 

Thor appeared so helpless with the way his eyes stayed glued to your figure. Loki knew he was just as infatuated as he was. Though he didn’t seem like he was planning on making a move. In the past, he knew Thor’d be over with both a drink and a flirtatious line just for you. But instead he was fidgeting with a desperate gaze akin to a shy schoolboy. 

“Where are you taking me?” You asked, curious but not seeming put off by the way Loki was leading you somewhere by the arm.

“I’m about to change your life,” he replied, his playful grin making you giggle again and keep your hold of him.

“Then, by all means, lead the way...”

Loki still had much to do in order to redeem himself in the eyes of everyone he’s wronged. Though he mostly cared about being the brother he should’ve been for Thor. Despite denying it constantly, he loved him more than anything in his life. And sometimes that meant sacrificing certain things. Perhaps that was why he had to be naive and put certain thoughts aside as he looped his arm around yours and took you over to Thor:

“Thor Odinson,” Thor greeted you with a soft smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 “Of course I know who you are!” You exclaimed, your eyes lighting up for the God of Thunder. “I’ve been an admirer of yours for as long as I can remember. Thank you for all your service.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Loki mumbled, leaving the two of you with a smile that was more forced when comparing it to the others he showed off earlier that night.

Loki knew Thor like he knew his own mind; the years had humbled him so, and all he went through when it came to Thanos had done a great deal to his psyche and confidence. You would never find anyone as trusting or as kind. If Loki had told him how he felt about you, he would have stepped aside immediately and give his approval to the relationship. Though that would have been as much of a facade as the one he’d been pulling off since that fateful night. Thor deserved a win, and Loki was a lot better at lying about being fine anyway.

He would settle for fantasizing about you during restless nights; creating the romance that could’ve been, for only his eyes to see. 

At least now that you were his brother’s wife, he was able to keep you in his life. And he knew you’d be happy as Thor’s bride. Even though he also knew that he himself would never be satisfied.

[itgetsdarksometimes35]

What Lies Within

Warnings: Non con, dub con, A/B/O dynamics, kidnapping, 18+

Word Count: 2,676

Pairings: Dark/Alpha!Thor x Beta/Omega!Reader

Summary: Reader was born and raised a rejected Beta female, finding comfort in the woods. One night she stumbles across a man who can see what lies within. 

~ indicates a time change

Prompts: A/B/O woods

A/N: This is my submission to @imanuglywombat​ challenge. I enjoyed writing and I’m sorry for the day late submission. I was going to upload earlier this week but I wasn’t at home, this is my first full day at home, and I was going to upload last night but my internet was down. I won’t be at home next week either, but I will be getting some writing done for my two series and a part two to Small Price to Pay. I also will work on a few drabbles I have in mind and possibly some challenges I have coming up. Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you guys enjoy :)

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The woods are where you felt safe, the place where you went to think and blow off steam. You never had a steady life, grew up in an orphanage. Behind it was the woods that accepted you when nobody else would. 

It had been years since then and you had left the state you had once lived in, finding your place in the outskirts of the country. You could be alone, away from people who would never love you. Nobody to hurt you or hate you for not being an omega. 

You were a rare occasion, a beta female. Most men were either alphas or betas, women were all omegas. Most of the time. You were looked at as “less feminine” and most guys refused to date you because of it. It made you angry, not just for yourself, but for omegas. They were looked at as property rather than humans and they were always expected to not have a say in a situation that concerned their alpha. It made you glad you weren’t one. 

The music that was blasting from your earbuds suddenly stopped and you looked to your phone. No connection. It wasn’t too bad, you could still enjoy your walk without the voice of Adele belting in your ear. You stopped by a tree and slid down the trunk, reaching into your backpack to pull out your current read. Nature’s sounds would help calm you as you read. 

The sun was going down and the breeze was picking up as you shivered, pulling the jacket around you tighter around you. You looked to your phone and saw it dead. When did that happen you thought as you got up, dusting the dirt from your butt. You breathed in deep, oak wood and pine filled your senses. It smelt like love, like home. 

You started walking back to the trail to start your journey back home when you saw a man jogging. He had blonde hair pulled back into a man bun that sat low on his neck. He smiled when he saw you and slowed down and pulled an earbud out. No, you thought, don’t talk to me, please. 

“Evening. Nice night for a jog.” His accent was thick but you couldn’t place it. Certainly something that wasn’t native around here. 

You smiled and nodded. Men had never been kind to you. Especially alphas, and this guy was definitely an alpha. 

“What’s a young thing like you doing out here? It’s pretty dangerous.” He looked concerned but it was just an egotistical alpha wanting to be the big strong man to help. 

You put on a tight smile, trying not to start an argument. It would only make the unwanted interaction longer and a hot bath was currently calling your name. “Mhm, that’s why i was heading home now.” You turned to walk down the path but heard the loud steps of the mighty man behind you as he caught up. You could practically hear your eyes roll, didn’t this guy know how to take a hint? Alphas, they never did. 

“I can walk you.”

You took a deep breath and shook your head. “Not necessary, bud, really. I think I know how to board a bus and get back home.”

At this the man frowned. “Bus? The last bus left an hour ago. Do you need a ride?”

What? How long had you been reading? The last bus left at 8:30 and you got there at 5. No way you’d been out that long, it only felt like thirty minutes. “N-no, I’ll call someone.” That was a lie, even if your phone wasn’t dead you still had nobody. You had no family or friends. 

“No, I can’t let you wait out here in the cold. Please, I live in a cabin down that way,” he pointed to your left. “It’s not far and you can keep warm in there. Until your ride got there that is.”

You considered it a moment. You didn’t want to go with a stranger but you also didn’t want to walk an hour home in the dark and cold. Plus you could maybe call a taxi to come get you from his house. “Okay, thank you.”

The man smiled and his eyes twinkled with delight. Held out his hand to you,”My name’s Thor.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thor’s cabin was very woodsy. Taxidermied animals and brown glossy furniture attacked your vision from every direction. A fire was going in the main room and made you feel all nice and toasty. You clutched the bag on your back and turned to Thor as he kicked off his shoes. 

“Make yourself at home.” He said with a smile and the wave of his arm, referencing his humble home.  You looked down at your muddy boots but decided taking them off just to put them back on soon would be pointless, even if it meant tracking mud. He’d live. 

You cleared your throat. “Uhm, Thor, could I maybe use your phone to call a taxi? My phone died.”

Thor’s head tilted. “Wow, you better be lucky I came along and invited you back to my cabin. An omega like you would’ve been hopeless with a dead phone and no way of getting home. Better also be glad it was me and not some other savage alpha.”

His words slapped you across the face. Omega? You? No, couldn’t he smell? Or see at least? You were obviously a beta, smelled like one, talked like one, and acted like one. Clear as day. “Omega? No, I’m a beta.” You chuckled a bit. He had to be joking. 

Thor’s eyes squinted in confusion. “No, I smelled you on my jog and I smell you now. It’s faint so I see why most people would miss it, but you’re an omega. Embracing it could help the smell stand out more.”

You looked at Thor like he was crazy; did he really expect you to just believe him, a stranger, over everyone else in your life? Over yourself? 

“Yeah? And how do you know this?” You challenged, folding your arms. 

Thor scratched his fait beard with one hand before feeding the fire another log. “Where I’m from we are able to sense things easier. We’re able to look beyond the surface if you will. Sure, I can smell an omega, but I can also feel one. Everyone has a feeling to them, an underlayer, and yours screams omega while your scent is asking more of a question.” He pauses to look at you full on. “You’re not sure who you are, but there’s ways to help it.”

Thor’s eyes switch for just a second. It was so faint you’re surprised you didn’t miss it. The look was a way nobody had ever looked to you before, it was hungry. You suddenly remember the disadvantage you had, trapped in a cabin with a huge alpha, no phone, nowhere to run. You pushed your shoulders back and tried to bury the fear that crept up. 

“Hey, where’s that phone?” You completely disregard his previous statement and looked around for a phone, seeing one in the corner. You start walking to it but Thor beats you there and picking up the receiver. 

“Ah, bloody thing’s dead. Can you believe your luck?” Thor’s face split into a sinister smile, his canines on full display. Your eyes widen and your hand hurts from how hard you’re grabbing the bag on your back. 

“Oh okay. Do you maybe have a neighbor…”

“Nope.” He was stalking to you like a fox. Like an alpha does an omega.

“Mmm, well I don’t want to disturb you if you can’t help. Besides, I live so close to here I think I could easily walk home, an aunt even lives close by maybe she can take me home…” You were spewing so many lies, anything to get you out of this situation. You were backing up blindly keeping your eyes on Thor, terrified of his next move.

“Now Y/n, don’t lie now. I know you have no family, no friends. And who said you couldn’t help me?” He licked his lips, eyeing you up and down. “I think there’s plenty that you could help me with.”

“Y-you know my name.” It was more a statement than a question. “I never told you it, how do you know?”

“An alpha knows everything about his omega, darling.”

“I’m not your omega. I’m not an omega at all!” You were getting flustered, you tripped over the side of his couch and fell to the floor with a thud. Before you could crawl away, Thor had grabbed you pulling you up to him.

“You are. Let me show you.” Before you could respond or react Thor threw you on the couch and climbed on top of you. You punched at his hard chest, trying to wiggle free. 

“Thor, what are you doing? Get off me!”

“I’m showing you, my omega. Now stop struggling, you’re only making this worse for you.” He looked down and smirked at his tightening running shorts. “And harder for me.” Your stomach lunged at his innuendo. This couldn’t be happening, not to you. The girl so many boys ignored now being pursued by the hottest man you had ever seen? You had to be in some kind of twisted nightmare. 

Thor ripped your shirt from you, leaving you in rags. He fumbled with your jeans before tugging them down your legs as well, leaving you in your blush bra and panties. You moved your arms to cover yourself but Thor growled, shoving your arms to your sides. “Never cover yourself, omega. Especially not to your alpha. He deserves to see you like this, pure perfection.” 

Your stomach fluttered at his words and a voice told you to just submit. What the hell was happening to you? Thor grabbed your covered breast with his large hand and squeezed, hard. You whimpered in pain but you could feel your core start to pool. 

“Omega, I can smell you. You like it when your alpha dominates you, hmm?” Thor tweaked your nipple through your bra, eliciting a moan from your chest. He slid his other hand to your underwear, leaving goosebumps down your skin. He reaches your band and teases you, pulling the band just to let it snap back and slap you. He tracked his long fingers down to the spot that was growing wetter by the minute

Your body worked against you when he touched the spot that has been neglected for so long, bucking into his touch. Thor looked you in your eyes and smirked. “What’s wrong baby? What do you need?” You wanted to slap that smug smile right off his face. 

He pressed into your bundle of nerves harder and you arched your back, eyes rolling back. The sounds you were making were straight animalistic, nothing human left. Your hips were rolling in tandem with Thor when suddenly the feeling leaves all at once. You wine and shoot daggers at him, causing him to chuckle. “Aw, what’s wrong? You have to speak to me, omega. I have to hear you tell me what you want so I can show you what you need. 

Your eyebrows furrowed together as a war raged inside, your mind was mixing like marble as your body was ready to give in. “Please, touch me. Anyway you want, just do it.”

“That’s all I needed, my omega.” Thor ripped your bra off, joining your shirt in shredded looks. Your panties were shoved down your legs with your jeans before both were thrown in the room somewhere. You were completely nude in front of him and your skin burned with desire; body ached in emptiness. 

Thor pinched your nipple and slipped a finger into your wet cunt with ease. The burn caused you to jerk but the need was just fueled. You needed this. The desperate cries you were making would’ve made you cover your head in embarrassment, but you something primal inside told you to scream louder. Alphas liked to hear their omegas. The voice of reason sobbed out a “no, you’re a beta!” but you couldn’t hear it. And you needed more.

“Thor, please..” Thor was working at adding another finger when he looked up at you, cocking an eyebrow. 

“Patience, omega. I will give you what you want after you cum for me. Can you do that?” You nodded your head before craning your neck on the pillow. Your eyes rolled back as your hips kept in pace with Thor’s magical fingers. You wanted to cum, not just for your own pleasure, but to make Thor happy. He needed you to cum too. 

As Thor took a more vigorous tempo you felt the knot you’d come to know very well, yet this knot felt a lot more intense. Something you’d never get on your own. Your pants got more frequent and your words incoherent. Thor hit that miraculous place in you and you finally fell over the edge, screaming on your way down. 

“Good girl.” Thor smiled, still working you through your orgasm. “That’s my good girl.” Your walls squeezed around his fingers at the doting words. When he removed his fingers you whined at the emptiness. The sound of rustling clothes could be heard as your eyes were still closed, as you were still not fully recovered from your high. 

You felt a poke at your entrance and opened your eyes. Thor was stroking his cock between your slick folds as he smirked at you. Your mind finally cleared and your voice of reason slapped you internally. “Thor no, wait-” Before you could move away, Thor slammed himself into you. You screamed out in pain. Your hands shot to Thor’s chest to try to push him off as he leaned over you. 

“Thor, please-”

“Shhh. It’s okay my omega, I’ll take care of you,” You hips snapped into yours and Thor snarled in your ear. “God, you’re so tight for me.”

Your eyes started to water as he continued his assault. He reached a hand down to your clit and rubbed, causing another moan. Your mind was becoming clouded once again. 

Thor started to go faster and harder as his breath fanned over your neck. The pain was no longer there as you felt nothing but pleasure, your walls pulled at his cock in a way that had his head spinning. “Fuck, Y/n, you’re so good for me. Cum on my cock so I can cum inside this sweet cunt. So I can claim you and mate with you properly.” His words mixed with the way he hit your golden spot inside you over and over had you seeing stars. Your sweaty bodies moving in tandem with each other. One last plunge and you were spasming and clutching to Thor for dear life. Your mouth hung open as the pressure in your pussy was slowly fading. 

Thor started whining into your neck as you came down from your high as he chased his own. He grunted before his thick cock just got bigger as he swelled inside you, forcing him to stop moving as he dumped his seed deep within you. 

“Argh, fuck!” Thor yelled as he showed his teeth and ran it along your neck before sinking in. Your eyes widened and you squealed, slapping his shoulder. He pulled himself from your neck and you felt the pulse and blood drip from the two tiny holes he left. His mark. Your eyes started to droop as his claim started to flood your entire body. Thor heald you close.

“Ho-how?”

A beta can’t be claimed by an alpha. They can’t even get pregnant by one, only another beta; just as a beta male can’t get an omega pregnant, only an alpha. Thor smiled before brushing a lock of hair off of your sweaty forehead and behind your ear, the romantic gesture made your heart flutter. 

“I told you dear, you’re an omega. It just lays within.”

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@jtargaryen18​

[abonelessgod]

A Nun’s Tale: Part 2.

Please comment if you like, always love to hear your thoughts & suggestions!!!<3 

Read the previous: Expo, Part 1

Tags: @youbloodymadgenius​ @youaremyfamiliar​ @poisonous00​

TW: NSFW, Attempted rape \ assault, language.

~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~

“You asked to see me, my king?” You ask as soon as you enter the great hall. Ivar’s eyes are already on you, intense and protruding. You bite your lip and await further instructions. Ivar finishes the last bit of food in his mouth before his gloved hand waves you over, you nod and walk closer.

“Why all the formalities, Y/N? I don’t understand. I have said this many times before.” he asks, seemingly frustrated. 

Truth is, not long after you were taken, you’ve started developing complicated feelings towards your capture. You were taught to hate and fear all heathens, but after almost two years in captivity, you’ve learnt there were many shades of grey between black and white. And many sides to the Boneless King.

So the formalities were necessary to put some distance between you two, even though you knew Ivar’s broke through to you more than any other man before. But also because you weren’t the most popular face in Kattegat. Many people still thought of you as a slave, or worst, an enemy. A nun who got down on her knees in front of a makeshift cross and prayed to a different god. But Ivar allowed it and you simply tried not to shake the boat as you went about your business.

When you were alone with him, however, that’s when things became truly complicated. You’d sit together, tell stories, laugh...Ivar would drink and his lips soon became a little too loose. He ever shared a couple of secrets every now and then. He trusted you. And you did not want to become his weakness. You did not want to become the one thing his enemies could exploit to harm him.

Looking down, you didn’t say another word. Ivar put down his cup of ale and waved off his guards. “Leave us.” his words were gruff and he was clearly dissatisfied. 

“Sit down.” his voice ordered like satin over ice. You swallowed and obeyed, sitting before him.

“What seems to be the problem, Y/N?” he asked in a husky whisper, turning his body closer to you. You could smell the drink on his breath. 

“Please, my king...I...” you stutter, Ivar’s fist collides with the table surface loudly. “Do not! Call! Me! That!” he roars, causing you to flinch. Then he inhales, closing his eyes slowly. “I do not want you to act like a slave anymore. I do not want you to call me ‘my king’ and frankly I would appreciate it if you stopped following all those...Christian customs. It’s been two years, Y/N. How much longer do you think you’ll need?” Ivar spoke fluently, and when you dared to look into his eyes you realized he was saying a lot of things, things that he’d probably kept in for a long time before finally letting them all out. 

“You don’t understand.” Your voice is weak as you look away.

“Enlighten me then.” he insists.

“I have...thoughts.” you mutter. Ivar’s eyebrows immediately lift up, but he waits.

“I am not viking. I can’t look at you and have these thoughts. I can’t do all those things that you do...I...I do not want to jeopardize your status. They see the way you treat me, Ivar.” You say, eyeing the guards outside.

“They know I favor you for your interesting stories and...different point of view, Nun. You need not worry, Y/N.” Ivar says proudly with a dismissive smile.

You swallow the insult in a compliment’s disguise soundlessly. He said he merely favored you, even though you’ve just admitted to having feelings for him. After all, he is the king of heathens. A ruthless, blood thirsty king.

So what were you thinking? What did you expect? 

~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~ * ~ *** ~

The following day, Earl Frodi and his warriors decide to visit Ivar’s hall. Before nightfall a feast begins, to celebrate their visit and a new fruitful alliance. Many other Earls sit to the tables with their men, and you greet the ones you’ve met before humbly. For the past year the word of Ivar’s nun traveled all across Scandinavia and many curious pagan leaders wanted to meet a Christian in person. The ones who were not hostile but merely intrigued were allowed to hear your story, but Ivar had to be present at all times.

One of Frodi’s men had always expressed special interest in you, and since they were allowed, on more than just one occasion, to speak to you - his warrior, Erik, knew your story well enough. Whenever he was around he watched you from afar, and whenever Ivar was not around he even dared to speak to you. Erik tried to remain cordial every time - but deep down you were afraid of what he might do if he ever caught you alone.

And that night was the night.  

“Skol!” The men roared as the evening progressed. Most of the men and women were already full, sitting and laughing and telling raiding stories. Drinking held very little appeal in your eyes and so you gave Ivar a look, he nodded in mutual understanding and you got up to leave. 

Your little world was a small cabin connected to Ivar’s bedroom. It was built in a way so that the only entrance was through his bedroom. With no other doors and a very small window inside your space. In there you had your bed, your bible, a table, and whatever little belongings you’ve collected during your stay in Kattegat. 

Peeling your robes, your eyelids grew heavy, but suddenly someone’s close proximity had you back on high alert. Turning, you could see Erik smiling down on you mischievously. You could smell the ale on his breath. 

“Hello, nun.” he said gruffly before his hands grabbed your cloth, tearing at the fabric abruptly. “I’m going to fuck you now, after all this time.” he announced as the dark fabrics fell to the floor, leaving you naked and shocked. You couldn’t even cry or scream.

Erik grabbed you by the throat, then tossed you on the bed roughly. Just as he was about to climb on top if you, you screamed. A scream so loud you thought it invoked the thunder. Or maybe it didn’t. Maybe it was a coincidence. 

In the meantime, Ivar was moving restlessly on his throne in the great hall. The thunder had unsettled him. It was as if the mighty Thor was calling to him. And he could not ignore his call. 

Climbing down, he used his crutches to step away. His mobility was significantly slower, but he didn’t care. He liked walking. 

As soon as the troubled king walked into his bedroom he could hear the cries. His blood boiled, roaring in his veins as the thunder rolled and roared outside. For a split second, he was scared of what he might find in there. He recognized that voice. He cared for the nun. He might have even...

Ivar’s eyes were sharp as he studied the scene before him, Erik taking his clothes off. His favorite nun stripped bare on the bed - shaken and frightened.

“So which one is it, Y/N? Do I let him rape you now, just to prove a point...to let the people know I don’t care about you? That you are not my weakness?” Ivar asked contemptuously as he finally glimpsed at Erik, who was shocked to have been found. “Or do I kill him and save your precious...virtue?” His other question was dismissive, as if it meant so little.

But your virtue meant everything to you. And Ivar knew it too.  

[godsofhumanity]

GODHUNTER by AMY SUMIDA | REVIEW

okiee this was recommended to me by @inkleaves ^-^ uhmm so i have a LOT to say about this book. spoilers under cut.

OVERVIEW: “Godhunter” is the epithet given to a young woman named Vervain who uses witchcraft and magic to go around committing deicide in order to save humanity from gods who drain their energy to gain immortality and other godly attributes. However, when Vervain is recruited by the Norse god Thor, she finds herself in an alliance with the people she originally considered her enemies, as they work together to save the world from the maliciousness of the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli.

RATING: 2/10. i’m giving it a low rating because it doesn’t really have too much to do with mythology, but i did like its general portrayal of most deities even though this book was insanely cringey and dumb.. now, even though under the cut, i’ve kinda bashed the book quite a bit, i still have to admit that i’d be lying if i said i didn’t have fun reading it. i stayed up to 1 AM trying to finish it because i had to find out what the protag’s next stupid decision would be,, all in all, if you like trash/cringe fiction- this is for you.

WARNING: even though this book is a YA novel, I’d say there’s a definite emphasis on the adult part of “young adult”... Certain scenes and themes are inappropriate for minors.

AVAILABLE ON: pdf link here ^-^ ((i think it downloads immediately if you click))

THINGS I LIKED:

the book is cringe.

great diversity in terms of the god cast. i learned about some new deities that i was previously unfamiliar with, so that was cool

Brahma (Hindu deity) wears a Gucci belt as part of his attire ^-^

whatever Estsanatlehi and Tsohanoai (Native American deities) had going on.... they were really cute and wholesome

THOR-HORUS BROTP AGENDA!!!!!!!! everyone who follows me already knows how keen i am about this idea of all the war deities hanging out together (fite club), and this novel served up exactly that. disappointing that Huitzilopochtli wasn’t a part of it, but i am settling for Thor and Horus’ several centuries old friendship.

Horus’ falcon tattoo detail.. i LOVE the idea of the gods having their sacred animals tattooed,, it’s so awesome!!!

Pan... i liked the way he still had his little horns, and he was kinda chaotic and fun.

in general, the descriptions of the gods were so pleasant and so cool.. i really liked the way that pretty much all the gods were beautiful,, this is very much in line with my own idea of how the gods look, and i think it makes sense, because they’re meant to be charismatic, compelling beings- beings that you worship, beings that you praise- why would they be anything but beautiful? and even if they were considered ugly by other gods, that’s only in comparison to other deities.. from a human perspective,, i just can’t see how any mortal could consider a god to be anything less than perfection,, idk

in particular- i really enjoyed the descriptions of Huitzilopochtli in his debut. i know he’s a piece of shit in the novel, but i LOVED the way he was described with his war-frenzy being triggered by blood, and the way, as god of the sun, his body almost glows, and heats up as though you’re looking into the sun itself, and the only way he can cool it down is by bathing in blood... WOWOWOWOW it’s just such a neat and fantastic visual description. his physical appearance really paid tribute to Huitzilopochtli’s original domain and attributes.

i also liked the linking between Huitzilopochtli being the Father of Vampires.. links between Aztec culture and vampirism is a trope that i didn’t originally suspect, but have become exposed to quite a bit as of late,, and i think that it’s quite a clever little plot. i liked that Huitzilopochtli also debunks superstitions about the sun, garlic, crosses, holy water etc.

Huitzilopochtli as the villain. the man makes a BRILLIANT villain- his motives are very clear and also, i thought, justified, albeit unoriginal. his presence is quite terrifying, and the reader does worry for Vervain’s safety whenever she’s with him- which is good! this means that he fills out his role as a villain well. tbh,, i did love Huitzilopochtli from the moment of his debut, but he got knocked out of my books during a certain temple scene and i have some thoughts about that in the next section.

when Vervain wakes up after the temple dream with Huitzilo, and she relaxes because it was just a dream, but then she looks into the mirror and sees bite marks on her neck!!! CHILLS! now THAT was good writing- it was unexpected, and served well to navigate into the next part of the plot.

Odin and Huitzilopochtli holding a ted talk on “how to create panic and discord among the humans”, and the gods having to bring certain meals depending on what the first letter of their names were.

Vervain’s pop-culture references, and her weaponry- especially the gloves that have blades in them that get released when she swings her hand downwards. very cool, i want them.

casual appearances from Vladimir Putin (yes, i said Vladimir Putin)... i couldn’t stop laughing when i read that Huitzilo was trying to kill Putin’s daughter to instigate a war...... asdhshajdhasdjfhjdhf insane

also i know Vervain was trying to mock Huitzilo when she nicknamed him “Blue”,, but like.. that’s a really cute name and it wasn’t even insulting.. yeah, that one backfired on you Vervain... if anything, that just made it seem like she actually had affections for him and i feel like probably in part is the reason why he felt encouraged to pursue her.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE/THINGS THAT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE AND/OR CONFUSED ME:

the book is cringe.

it reads like a 15 year old’s fantasy AU where she’s a humble young woman, unextraordinary- yet somehow, she is the muse of every man’s desire. handsome, ripped gods who never wear clothes are laying themselves down at her feet,, and she is just overwhelmed by the choices before her; and all the while, she has to balance a complicated love life with her duty to save the world (since she’s the only one who can).

Vervain as a protagonist. idk how old she’s meant to be, but since the book is in first-person, and the reader is exposed to her innermost thoughts,, i’ve gotta say- she’s incredibly immature. as a protagonist, i just feel like she’s rude, pretentious, snobby.. she has no idea what “respect” even means. in every scene, she’s either fighting someone, or lusting after them (when Teharon told her off for having lascivious thoughts about him, and she simply responded with “well stop being so sexy then” i wanted to die.... WHAT is wrong with her)

i hate the way she looks down on the gods- even if you didn’t worship them, or even believed in their existence, surely you wouldn’t have the gall to lecture Hades and Persephone on how to be a good couple (especially when your advice is shit). surely you wouldn’t have the gall to say to Thor what Vervain says to him on pg 227, 4th line from the bottom, that i will not repeat here. Vervain is just too self-absorbed. i don’t hate her, but i definitely think her character is a bit,,, iffy.

relating to Vervain as the protagonist- everything just seems to happen to her.. and i know that she’s the protag, and things are meant to happen to her, but it all happens to her one after the other in succession, no breaks. it’s so easy for her... oh? Huitzilopochtli is going to kill Putin’s daughter? no worries, Vervain can read Huitzilopochtli’s thoughts! oh? the gods have never been able to transform more than half their body into their animal form? no worries, Vervain is so powerful she can force a god to change against their will! oh? Vervain is being attacked by blood-thirsty wolves? no worries, she saved the life of one werewolf and now he’s indebted to her and will literally kill himself in order to protect her! everything is easy, and nothing is a problem.

the way every male deity ever sees Vervain once and immediately wants to take her to bed. why was that a necessary aspect of her character? and also, why are the gods portrayed as such lustful beings?? it really wasn’t necessary.

Horus throwing a fit about how December 25 is his birthday and that it was stolen from him by Jesus... to quote:

“No big deal?” Horus puffed up. “I was called the Lamb of God. I had twelve apostles, and my myths spoke of my crucifixion and consequent resurrection in three days. His stories were my stories first!”

it’s fine that Horus is angry about his birthday which was i think, historically celebrated around this date- but the rest of it isn’t even true???? Horus didn’t have 12 apostles, i’m pretty sure he was also not called “Lamb of God”, and he wasn’t crucified!!! aghhhh even Thor says “It’s been so long that even you don’t remember things accurately.”

anyways.. my beef with this is the way it’s phrased so as to imply that “oh christianity just stole everything from the pagans” when this is so incredibly false and sounds like something an ill-informed person would say. you can read more about christianity, paganism and christmas here

kinda related to the previous point- the jokes about Jesus’ skin colour. i quote:

“... when Christ first became a god, he looked Jewish because those were the people he chose to align himself with. However, the Jews didn’t want him, and when Christianity spread, the white people wanted Jesus to look more like them. With the change in belief, Christ’s appearance changed. ... We used to tease him about how he looked whiter every time we saw him... Kind of like Michael Jackson...”

what the FUCK??????? seems like Sumida doesn’t understand that various ethnic groups illustrate Jesus as appearing as the local people do. Yes, obviously in a Western country, Jesus is going to look European, he’s going to look white. If you go to Japan, you will see Jesus and the rest of the gang looking pretty fucking Japanese. the point of this is NOT to erase Jesus’ Jewish ethnicity, and it is certainly not because of something like “the Jews didn’t want him”- it is because it is a way for followers to better relate to the Divine. including Christ in this story isn’t the problem- i’ve seen others do it very well. the problem is how uneducated her writing comes across.

all the gods have human jobs so that they can earn money and stuff,, which is fine- Thor, for example, owns a line of boats, which makes sense. but Pan? his job is making p*rn. now even though it’s true that everyone associates Pan with sexuality and stuff,,, this isn’t his primary role, and making Pan out to be just a playboy who has his mind in the gutter 24/7 i think is a bit of a mockery. Pan is, first and foremost, a god of the Wild. why Sumida elected to make him a p*rn manufacturer and not a wildlife conservationist is beyond me... i’m not even pagan, and i thought this creative decision was distasteful and stupid, especially because his character is actually quite light-hearted and cool.

the temple scene with Huitzilopochtli and Vervain. as i said previously, i really really liked Huitzilo’s character. he made an excellent villain. but this part?? i understand why it was done, but i HATED that it had to happen... not just because it was horrible for Vervain, but Huitzilo seemed so powerful and godly right up to that point- after which he seemed pretty pathetic- going back after Vervain after she’s rejected him countless times. she is JUST a mortal!!! c’mon Huitzilo, give it up!!! you are degrading yourself at the expense of achieving one mortal’s “love”.. the fact that he had to hypnotise her to get what he wanted AND had to achieve it through her dreams (when’s she can’t protect herself) was sooooo pathetic and disgraceful.. IMO, he committed the worst sin any person could ever commit and i just... AGHHHHHHHHH SMH WHY?!

speaking of morons- Thor. Thor just comes across to me as extremely possessive, and over-protective,, and idk how Vervain was NOT creeped out by the fact that Thor had literally been stalking her for two years before she even met him. wtf? god or not- that’s creepy. actually, i think it’s creepier because he is a god. 

Sif. i am still waiting for good media representation of thunder god Thor and his beautiful golden-haired wife Sif- i want them to be HAPPY, and i want them to be in love the way they should be! 

Persephone. i like the idea of Persephone being sweet-tempered, and kind- but in this book, she’s such a wimp??????? she totally just lets Vervain be rude to her, a goddess who’s name means “Bringer of Destruction”. also- her relationship with Hades seems toxic.. i mean,, he like tracks her? she starts stuttering when she talks to him, and gets nervous when people so much as mention his name. not to mention the fact that Persephone says that when she does go back to him, all he demands from her is a certain horizontal dance so much so that she is “sore” (<- quoting from the book here) every time she returns??????? WHAT IS HAPPENING?????????? and no one even questions it. Vervain doesn’t even question it! instead she suggests that Persephone MOVES IN with Hades permanently???? and that Hades should just start verbally saying how much he loves Persephone instead of “showing” her how much he “loves” her.....??? there are SO many issues with this.. i can’t even- *screams*

the Aphrodite-is-madly-in-love-with-Huitzilopochtli side plot. it could have been really good, but then it ends so abruptly,,, i mean.. why’d Aphrodite get done so dirty like that? Also summary of Hephaestus’ first and final scenes:

Hephaestus, entering the room: Right, what’s all this then? Vervain: Your wife is cheating on you (again) Hephaestus: Aight, i’m out *leaves and never comes back for the rest of the book*

what the HECK was the ending with Trevor?? i hate Vervain so much i can’t... okay first of all- WHY did Trevor decide to have a wolf-marriage with Vervain?? he kept on going on about how she’s so beautiful, and kind, and caring... NO SHE ISN’T TREVOR!!! i’m so mad that he would pledge himself for all eternity to this girl who doesn’t even like him in that way!!! you played yourself son

also- Thor accepts the fact that Trevor is going to have to be close by to Vervain because the terms of the marriage state that Trevor will literally die without her touch, which is VERY GENEROUS of Thor... but Vervain?? ooooh i HATE her.. she has the audacity to look at Trevor with her lecherous eyes thinking about lustful things IN THOR’S OWN BED!!!!! and then she thinks to herself “oh whoops i shouldn’t be thinking that”- yeah you’re darn right you shouldn’t be thinking that!!!! whatttt is wrong with her............. 

also- where tf did Huitzilo go??? he just gave up on trying to instigate a war and vanished?? the plot was so unresolved?????? AGH!

[regrettablewritings]

Might i request numbers 2, 11, 16 & 28 for Doctor Strange?

I sincerely hope that it’s fine that I’m only working with knowledge plucked from Doctor Strange, Thor Ragnarok, and Infinity War because that’s literally all I have to work with 😅😅 Stuff’s below the cut!

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?: There have been very few times in his life where Stephen has actually felt particularly sorry for himself. Hell, the most recent had been when he felt he wasn’t making any progress during his training in Kamar Taj. But all that quickly changed: He was able to become sure of himself, trust his instincts, and use his wits and skills to gain the upper hand. He wasn’t his old egotistical self anymore, however: He had emerged more humble, more aware and mature.

You were far from terrible, you knew this much. You were smart, funny, hard-working, and able to listen while also thinking for yourself. You had to be: Otherwise, Stephen wouldn’t have looked to you as his pupil, much less his lover. After all, Stephen himself was a man of some kind of standard. He would have to be, wouldn’t he? He went from world-renowned doctor to magic-user to Sorcerer Supreme, capable of wielding the Time Stone with ease. He helped to save the world on two separate occasions!

. . . And then there was you: You didn’t come from a particularly stellar background; you’d worked hard just to get to New York and stay afloat; you almost wanted to consider it fate or sheer dumb luck that you had not only come upon the Sanctum, but fell into its guardian’s good graces enough for him to not only offer you training, but his rather elusive love as well. And for that, you were thankful! . . . But also anxious.

Sometimes, the imposter syndrome would hit you hard. Sometimes, you felt you just weren’t able to connect with your Sling Ring properly, or focus enough to properly meditate. Sometimes, you swore that Stephen could see right through you and realize that that beautiful tapestry of potential he thought he saw in you all that time ago had a string loose. And all he would need to do was pull it to unravel and reveal to him that you weren’t anything special or anyone worth investing his precious time into.

There would even be times where the two of you would be enjoying each other’s company, sharing tea and baked goods he grabbed from the nearby deli, and your thoughts would go something like, “Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s my boyfriend . . . Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s my boyfriend . . . Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s . . . my boyfriend . . .” And suddenly, the romantic reveries would crumble into dust, leaving in their wake a trail of insecurities and questioning as to whether you actually belonged here, with him or in the Sanctum.

The blessing of having Stephen Strange as a boyfriend is that for such a snarky guy, he’s quite introspective. The curse of having Stephen Strange as a boyfriend is that for such an introspective guy, he’s not always the best with words. Soft words, that is. He does try his best, of course, but Strange just frankly isn’t the best for the soft-hearted. He may consider or actually go ahead and contemplate the different paths he could take before deciding on the proper words to say or actions to take. But eventually, he does make his move:

“Did you know that you’re my favorite person?” he asks you. You blink. The cuddling session was honestly more than enough to startle you, given that between the two of you, Stephen is the less physically forthcoming. But for him to say something so . . . sweet? You’re downright stunned! You contemplate what you should even respond with. Thanking him would be too weird, arguing would be ridiculous --

“You literally know a bunch of people who saved the world,” you blurt. You can’t see it, but you can definitely feel that cocky smirk of his.

“Mhm. I also know plenty of people and beings from across the galaxy. Different dimensions, too. And yet! You’re my absolute favorite to be with.” He gives your middle a squeeze. “And you know I don’t take that lightly; so always remember that.” He punctuates this statement with a kiss. Admittedly, part of you wants to continue snarking at him, to continue dwelling in what you’re positive must be the reality of your situation. But then it click with you: This is the reality of your situation: Stephen wanting to be with you, as you are, is reality. And there’s no other one he’d rather be in. And frankly, neither would you.

“So how often did you manipulate time just to get this right?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

11. What do they hide from one another?: It’s not exactly hidden, but it’s not exactly spoken about, either. You always suspected that Stephen would sometimes manipulate time or his ability to see into alternate realities to bring about the best outcome. Of course, he does them when it’s absolutely necessary such as in dangerous or complex situations. Thankfully, those don’t happen very often.

However, every so often, Stephen will use it for more mundane situations. He used it once to help win an argument and he honestly felt guilty about it and decided to go back and just let things progress as they were meant to, even if he wasn’t particularly excited about the outcome. The alternative was to just look into the multiple ways a situation could play out, but he still keeps quiet about this as it can still come across as cheating.

As said before, you have your suspicions but don’t talk about it. You don’t really know how to even bring it up to him. Thankfully, he seems to be doing this less . . .

(For a less serious thing he hides, rumor has it that Christine has video evidence of Stephen being forced to do karaoke at the annual holiday party. He’s buzzed enough to want the attention, but sober enough to not enjoy the means through which he must get the attention.)

As for you, it’s simply a little place you found. Nothing major, just a nice, foresty area where it’s not too warm, not too cold. Just plain pleasant and calm. You found it while using your sling ring after getting into an argument with Stephen; you just thought of a place to calm down and voila! A lush, green woodland area, quiet and away from civilization, became available to you.

You know it’s nothing serious if Stephen were to know -- you were certain he would respect your space enough to just let you have this. But for some reason, there’s a sweetness added on by it being a secret. Like it’s just completely your own little hideaway, granted to you by your own efforts and not by Stephen directing you to think about it or go there. Sure, there are times where you’re sitting along the bumpy and knotted roots of a large tree and you’re wishing it was Stephen’s softer, warm lap. But until you’re ready to bring him here and break the pureness of the forest further, this will be your Sanctum away from the Sanctum.

16. When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?: If a zombie outbreak hits, your powers are going to be kicked into overdrive. Stephen would likely try to use his powers to open portals to other planets that you two could perhaps survive on, but in the event that that’s not doable and you must remain earth-bound, you’ll both be using your sling rings to hop from place to place as necessary. Once you two get somewhere safe enough, he’s prone to attempting meditation so that he can look into alternate versions of where the two of you could possibly head. He informs you a lot more about what he sees than he did before, your input definitely mattering.

Meanwhile, you’ve always been better with defensive magic than conjuring or multiplying. If Stephen needs to focus on something, you’re not afraid to act somewhat as his bodyguard, though he’s more than capable of doing so himself. Which he is unafraid to remind you of. . . . Okay, you’re actually afraid. You’re very afraid. But you can’t let him know that. You want to be strong for him, for him to see you as competent enough to give him one less thing to worry about.

All the while, he’s trying to be even more calm and composed. This should be easy, right? He’s been through far worse. He’s literally been on a nearly endless loop of death, has actually died, and it was all good! But this . . . This, he’s not too entirely certain about. He can’t use the Time Stone and expect very many outcomes, much less ones that go perfectly in your favor. But he can’t show weakness; not now. He’s got to be there for you, you’re all one another has now.

You two can survive this, but to say there won’t be some tough decisions and potential arguments ahead would be lying.

28. Why do they get jealous?: Your jealousy doesn’t stem from how other women interact with Stephen -- he’s hardly ever even around other people in general, much less a particular type who wouldn’t respect the boundaries of another’s relationship. You’re actually jealous of his power: The fact that magic seems to come so easily to him, that he seems to need to only glance at a page of whatever and immediately have all the knowledge he needs, it’s all just frustrating to you!

Interestingly, it’s actually Stephen who gets on the defense if he thinks someone’s coming around flirting with you. He’s not insecure about his smarts and ability to hold your attention, but he does know that sometimes he can be an acquired taste even to you. So sometimes when the two of you are out for a walk or grabbing groceries are just on a simple date, he can’t help but stare down that guy whom he thinks is getting a little too chummy with you. You’re vibing way too easily together and he’s not enthused at the idea of some common schmuck putting the moves on his woman.

Of course, all Stephen needs to do is pause time for a little bit, restart it, and suddenly the dog on its walk will suddenly be at the guy’s pants, shoving his nose up his butt, looking for a hotdog wienie that just suddenly appeared in his underwear.

“What a weirdass,” Stephen will mutter as he grabs your hand, leading you away to enjoy the ice cream cone he’d just returned to you with. “Who just keeps an extra wiener in their pocket? You think he likes dogs in a weird way?”

You scowl, giving his hand an upset squeeze. “That was rude, Stephen!” you scold. But the Sorcerer Supreme is unfazed. If anything, the smirk on his face is more than amused.

“Oh, please,” he says. “You loved it.”

You grumble, deciding to focus your attention on your ice cream cone. You know it won’t hide your smile, but you can’t go feeding his ego by letting him know you like it when he gets like this over you.

Thank you for asking and for your patience!

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from anon. I loved the concept… and then I couldn’t stop writing and it went so well with some other ideas I had and it escalated and ahhh, you guys were supposed to get this Imagine three days ago. Anyway… enjoy reading! ♥ Words: 4628 (oops) Warnings: gore/blood, fluff (the combination doesn’t sound right, now does it)

Here’s an extra warning: I got a bit inspired by “Coriolanus” so there will be a very bloody and graphic scene… stuff I usually don’t write myself. As I said though, I really got inspired by the play so I just went along with it, if anything to not repeat myself with this one scene we all hate so much. It thus also might rip open the wounds Infinity War caused. Therefore, the scene will be marked with “*” at the beginning and the end in case you prefer to skip it.

-

“It’s a myth.”

“It’s not a myth. They are omens of death.” Thor argued. Grinning smugly, he leaned back and took a sip of his beer.

Tony buried his face in his hands. “You know I started believing in many things when you fell out of the sky to help us fight aliens but… there’s a line. ‘Black angels’? With shimmering wings? Please, Point Break.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know. They say only those before their imminent death can see their wings.”

“Have you ever seen an angel then?”

“No! I told you, they are omens of death. Volstagg’s father… he saw one. He swore he did. One week after, he perished.”

“Coincidence.”

Loki rolled his eyes. He had known before that mortals were ignorant and refused to face reality, Stark’s stubbornness however surprised even him. Many creatures shared their stories in the Old Norse myths, stories which his mother had told him before bed when he was a child.

Angels… omens of death. Black, shimmering wings… they said whoever saw one before death, their soul would leave their body contently… that they were of such beauty it would not compare to any other being in the nine realms. As a young boy, Loki had told Frigga he wanted to see one for himself—and Frigga chided him for wishing for such an atrocious thing.

-

Shivering, you wrapped your black coat around yourself tighter. You had bought it from a street market for little money which you had stolen from a peasant. High up in the sky, you were never cold. You were free. Those human sensations were downright irksome.

Perhaps it was your own fault you had ended up on Midgard of all places. Stranded and stripped off most of your powers, they had cast you out and forced you to live a mortal life—knowing you would never find friends on a planet inhabited by beings that would not grow half as old as you.

Perhaps you should have joined your people when they swore their allegiance to the purple titan. But you knew you would have made the wrong decision. What Thanos wanted was impossible—and you sincerely hoped he would fail. His lackeys were already spreading dread, fear and death across the planet. You had seen them lurking about, watching his evil plans unfold and wreak havoc when it was fun.

A high-pitched scream ripped you from your thoughts. Turning straight on your heel to see what had caused it, your instincts kicked in. Altruistically saving humans wasn’t high on your priority list, kicking Thanos’ monkeys’ arse, however, was. It felt good to ram your poisoned dagger into their hearts… and it least gave you some satisfaction.

You frowned when you reached the dimly lit alley, scanning the area to analyse the situation. Somebody had beaten you to it. Clenching your fists, you recognised both Tony Stark and Captain America along with a raven-haired man with a sharp jawline and the most stunning blue eyes you had ever seen—Loki, God of Mischief.

Thanos’ lackeys were nowhere in sight. Instead, what part of the Avengers… and Loki put up with was a dirty burglar who seemed to have tried to rob a young woman who was currently shaking on the cold ground like autumn leaves in the wind.

“Are you alright, Miss?” You heard Steve Rogers ask her humbly, all the while the burglar—terrified for his life—scrambled to his feet, abandoning the knife he had held. Loki rolled his eyes. With but one effortless movement, he kicked him in the stomach the moment he attempted to run and proceeded to grab his collar to lift him off the ground.

“Please, please… please don’t kill me!” The burglar whimpered. You suppressed a chuckle.

“Let him go, Reindeer Games.”

“Let him go? What did we intervene for? Mercy? I disagree…”

“Nope. FRIDAY has already saved his fingerprints and appearance. The police will get him soon enough. Now let him go. I think he peed his pants.”

Loki’s face distorted when he spotted the wet spot between the burglar’s legs. Disgusted, he did as he was told and threw him back to the ground. He swallowed thickly before hurrying away clumsily. Then, he looked up—and his blue eyes locked with yours.

Paralysed, he captured you in his both scrutinising and fascinated gaze. Your lips parted when you realised that he could see your wings. Dark, shimmering and as soft as a crow’s feather dress they framed your form—petite compared to his—and complimented both your (Y/H/C) hair and (Y/E/C) eyes. You were beautiful.

Neither of you paid attention to the young woman who had stood again by now, approaching Loki timidly. Her ‘thank you’ went unnoticed even when Steve called his name.

“Who are you?” You blinked, reluctantly tearing your eyes away from Loki’s to face Tony Stark.

“(Y/N)… my name is (Y/N). I am what other beings would refer to as… a black angel.”

Tony snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

-

One heated discussion after your confession led to another and Captain America and Iron Man—for Loki had remained completely silent—decided to take you back to the compound to speak to Thor. You did not take kindly in spilling your secret to strangers. Hundreds of years ago, humans, Asgardians and other species had hunted you down for amusement, using poison to make your wings visible and cutting them off to sell them on the black market—an ironic name, really.

But this… was different. Loki—the Loki, God of Mischief and Lies, Trickster… son of Laufey and Farbauti and Prince of Asgard—he could see your wings. Legends had been told about connections alike. They said that every living black angel in this universe served a purpose, was meant to follow a path and fulfil its destiny—and to be with one person who loved them dearly for the rest of their existence. Only those that fate chose to be a black angel’s partner would be able to see their wings—to see all of them—in their full glory and true beauty. Loki’s blue eyes were practically glued on you; and if you were not mistaken, there was a hint of panic glistening in his irises too.

Did he feel the connection, perhaps? That you seemed to have found the man your heart would likely belong to for the rest of your life? Strangely enough, you felt… oddly exposed. Only other black angels had ever been able to see your gift, unwillingly sharing it with someone you had but heard of and never met made you vulnerable… and it made you self-conscious.

“How exactly did you end up here on Earth?” Thor leaned forward, crossing his arms on the vast glass table in the middle of the conference room. Around him, the remaining Avengers which you had not officially met yet, squinted suspiciously in a desperate attempt to spot your wings as well. One of them—you believed he was called Rhodey—had even examined your back but found nothing.

“I was… banished. My own people abandoned me because I refused to join the new force.”

“Does that force answer to the name of Thanos by any chance?” Tony tossed in. You nodded.

“You have heard of him. He means to wipe out half of the universe. We have to stop him whatever it takes.”

You could feel Loki’s presence behind you. He was still silent, pacing up and down the room like a cunning predator waiting to strike.

“How do we know we can trust you?”

“You don’t. I am merely warning you. I don’t have the powers to stop him but you might. And I certainly did not ask to be invited to your humble home.” You snapped. They were hostile towards you, you could tell. Something about you unsettled them. If only you knew what it was.

-

Be that as it may, the Avengers decided to let you stay for a while. They hadn’t locked you in a room but if you were to try and leave without anyone accompanying you… then the Norns beware.

You sighed. You should have never mentioned you were a black angel, pretended to be human instead… pretended that Loki was hallucinating. His eyes had made you forget all reason. The invisible force pulling you to him was destructive. You wanted to be close to him, be with him, be there for him… lay your life, soul and heart in his hands… all the while he seemed to painstakingly ignore you.

You barely knew but you could sense that Loki was everything you could ever wish for. An intelligent, powerful, cunning and charming man, tall, blue-eyed and so outrageously handsome he even outshone his brother Thor. You had never spoken to him personally and yet, you felt like you would die for him. Now what if he never reciprocated those feelings? Tragic stories were told about black angels who found love and yet had to live without it.

At the very least, so you figured, you had access to a fully furnished kitchen tonight. It was your first warm supper in two weeks and bit more nourishing than a mere apple or a handful of nuts. It was almost midnight now and hunger had gotten the better of you… or maybe it was the prosperity of food being available to you at any time without you having to steal hard-earned money for it first.

Passing through the hallway, your tread entirely mute, you stopped dead in your tracks when you heard two familiar voices talking in the living room.

“Big… imposing… no, I did not imagine it, Thor. They were there. A pair of shimmering black wings…” Loki sounded worried, yet you could tell he was trying hard not to let it show. He had already seemed to have panicked a little when he first laid his eyes upon you.

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“How much time do you have left?”

“I don’t know, Thor.”

“Don’t you… worry, brother… I’m sure everything’s gonna work out fine.”

There was a moment of awfully painful silence. Then, somebody left.

Frowning, you knocked. You were unsure of what they had been talking about. Loki’s expression darkened when he spotted you entering the room shyly, his eyes focused on the wings on your back.

“You… seem to be avoiding me, Loki. Have I… done something?”

Loki smirked—it was bitter. Now that he had told Thor, by tomorrow… they would all know he was going to die soon.

“You have not, dear. It is not something you did. It is your purpose.” Your heart skipped a beat. You had not expected such an honest answer.

“My purpose? I don’t have a purpose here on Midgard.” His eyes were ice cold when he looked up to meet your gaze.

“You are an omen of death.”

Your lips parted. “I am… I am not.”

“No man who sees a black angel’s wings survives. I can see yours.”

“B-but… but that… you’re not going to die.”

His bitter smile returned. “We are facing Thanos. If I was doubtful about my fate before, I am no longer now.”

“Loki, that’s not what it means…” It felt like your heart was shattering, to a million tiny little pieces. He thought you were his death… no wonder he felt uneasy around you. Where had that stupid superstition come from? Why would you be an omen of death?

You longed to tell him what it really meant. Only right now, in this very moment, it did not feel right. Would he even believe you? Probably not.

“Good night, Loki.”

When you returned to your room, you sent your pillow flying through the air all the while suppressing a scream of anger.

-

The following days were equally frustrating. Loki seemed to be avoiding you at all cost and even Thor and the others only spoke to you when it was absolutely necessary. They were scared. All of them. Dreading that at some point, they might see your wings too. You had already given up attempting to explain it to them. There were much more important things to take care of.

Figuring out your own feelings, for example. It was impossible to love someone you had just met, even for black angels… right? The invisible force linking you to Loki’s body and mind was so strong it almost physically ached to not be near him. You were worried. Loki thought he was going to die. It was obvious he had a past with Thanos, one that was about to catch up with him.

You had your dagger—it was the least you could fight with to protect his life. After all, that one superstition was indeed true. Yet when you stood in front of him, the purple titan who had stolen away your people, and the black angels you had thought of as friends and family… you were terrified.

All of them were ready to fight. Man against man, woman against woman and you… somewhere in between. You had never agreed to destroy him, had never promised to help. It was not in your nature to intervene in such things; even though you would not exactly call yourself a pacifist, wars held a bitter connotation. All you cared about was Loki—even if he did not care about you.

Proudly and arrogantly, he lifted his chin in pure defiance. You could feel he was anxious. His heart was beating so fast your own almost stopped. Thanos wanted the Tesseract—and Loki was denying he was in its possession.

The whole Avengers compound had become a bloody battlefield. There was debris, there were screams and the sounds of metal clashing. Clutching your dagger tighter, you watched how Thor was hurled through the air and landed on the hard ground.

“We don’t have the Tesseract! It was destroyed on Asgard!” He growled, spitting a mouthful of blood into the grass before two of Thanos’ lackeys managed to restrain him.

Loki briefly closed his eyes, guiltily. One single moment of negligence—and enough for Thanos to grab his head forcefully and throw him on the ground before Ebony Maw’s feet.

Loki gasped in pain but the ugly sorcerer did not hesitate. He raised his hands, fingers crooked… only to send shockwaves of agony through his blood. As a Frost Giant… the heat pumping through his veins was pure torture.

“The Tesseract…” Thanos remarked, seemingly unimpressed. Your eyes widened. Loki really had it. Of course he had it.

“Please, stop…” You heard yourself whisper, the pain he felt cursing through your own body. Only yours wasn’t physical. “Stop it! The Tesseract is not here. Let him live. Whatever he has done in the past, he did it to survive, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“He disappointed me,” the titan argued. “He failed.”

“We all do. It was not his fault. Look around you. Look at your forces fighting against a bunch of mortals. If they are having difficulties defeating them now, then how would you expect Loki to do it all on his own?”

Loki’s stunning blue eyes widened upon hearing your words. He kept grunting, growling and panting as Maw intensified the spell, making you panic slightly.

“I am not merciful, little one. If I were, I wouldn’t be where I am standing now.”

“You… don’t have to be.” You swallowed. “His life in exchange for mine. I shall serve you if you let him live.”

“Why would I want your allegiance?”

“I am an angel, too.”

Thanos raised his eyebrows.

“You would give your freedom to save him? Him?”

“Yes.” Blinking frantically to scare away the tears in your eyes, you watched the titan nod slowly. With a start, Ebony Maw stopped, earning him another pant from Loki. In his ugly hands… he held the Tesseract.

“You have a good heart, little one. Unfortunately… I don’t like being lied to.”

*It happened fast, almost too fast for you to comprehend. Thanos’ sword slashed through the cold air and Loki’s neck, blood spurting from the freshly cut wound and staining his skin and armour. His blue eyes closed, the downright repulsive sounds of him choking on his own blood filling your ears.

Then, he stopped moving, the red liquid still pouring from his neck.*

You screamed, both in pain and indescribable grief when Loki’s heart stopped beating. He had been right. You had been his very personal omen of death.

-

You didn’t sleep. You didn’t eat. You didn’t speak. Thanos was gone, two Infinity stones along with him. And while the Avengers were busy figuring out a plan to stop him once and for all, you spent your time sulking away in your room, your eyes red and swollen from the many tears you shed for the man you had never had a chance to love.

You had meant to save him. Loki had trusted you to seal his fate and when you had attempted to lay down your own life so he would survive, you had caused the exact opposite. It wasn’t your fault, not really and yet… it felt like it.

It felt like your heart had been ripped in pieces, like Thor had driven his beloved hammer into your chest repeatedly and shattered all of your ribs.

Dead. You had found the one man your poor existence as a god damn black angel had made sense for, the one man who could have made you happy. And now he was dead.

You were ready to do anything to get him back. And so you were plotting.

Whether Thor was grieving, you did not know. But you had heard of Ragnarok, the destruction of his home world, of Asgard, the realm of the gods. Hela had wreaked havoc and claimed the throne. Hela, the goddess of death… Hela, who could resurrect the dead and bring them back to life.

“Tony.” Your voice carried only feinted politeness. You simply did not care how worn out he was, noodling around in his lab. Neither did you care that Thor did not even look up when you entered.

“Can I speak to Thor, please? In private?”

He was his brother. If anyone was going to help you bring Loki back, it was him. Thor had complained about having lost Loki before. That he had thought him dead before. Whether he could not accept he was truly gone this time or had simply moved on, you could not tell. But you sincerely hoped Loki was important enough for him, worthy of saving.

The God of Thunder looked up, his brows raised in surprise. Nodding mutely, he stood and left the room, allowing you to close the door to Tony’s lab behind you.

“There is a way to bring Loki back alive.” You stated straight away, swallowing thickly. Thor crossed his arms before his chest, a defensive posture.

“What do you mean?”

“Loki is not in Valhalla, his soul did not… ascend. He should have been… he would not give Thanos the Tesseract to Thanos, he was enduring torture, he… wanted to save you. All of you, stop the titan himself. That… that means…” Again, you swallowed, forcing back the tears forming in your eyes. “It means he is in Hel. I’ve been there before, black angels… we are immune to… well, it doesn’t matter. But… the goddess of death. Hela, she could…”

“No.”

“What?”

“No.” Thor repeated sternly. “Hela is my sister. She caused the destruction of Asgard, she killed my friends and hundreds of innocent Asgardians.”

“I have heard the stories… but Thor, Loki is your brother.”

“Do you truly think she will resurrect him without asking for something in return? We barely managed to banish her again, I will not risk the subjugation of the nine… the eight realms.”

Angrily, you narrowed your eyes at him, your heart pounding in your chest.

“If Thanos gets a hold of the remaining Infinity Stones, say goodbye to the entire universe. He will be ten times worse than Hela. If anyone can help you defeat him, it’s your brother. Your brother, Thor.”

Why did he hesitate? As a black angel, you had never had brothers or sisters but if you did… if you did you would love and cherish them dearly. Did Thor not love Loki? Did he not love him as much as Loki loved Thor? You could see it in his eyes. Loki had a good heart, vulnerable and tainted but good.

“Why would you want to bring him back? You don’t know him. Loki’s been dead before, if it’s true this time… it is what it is.”  Thor mumbled. “Look, (Y/N)… Loki is dead because of you. Your appearance… it was the sign… there is no way around that.”

“That’s bullshit, Thor,” you snapped. All of a sudden, the truth spilled from your lips uncontrollably. “I’m not an omen of death, who came up with this? Loki was the only one who can see my wings because he was meant to be my soul mate. I… I fell in love with him the moment I first looked him in the eye. I was going to sacrifice my life to save him, those were not empty words, you heard them!”

Thor paused. “That’s… impossible. All my life… I grew up believing black angels were deadly.”

“We can be. My blades of my daggers are drowned in poison but we do not promise death to those we show our wings to. It wasn’t my decision, Thor. Please… help me bring your brother back.” This time, you were unable to hold back your tears. Sobbing quietly, they ran over your reddened cheeks.

The God of Thunder took a deep breath.

“I can take you to the portal. The rest is up to you. But if you endanger this realm by setting Hela free, you will live with the consequences because we will kill you. I have to protect these people, (Y/N).”

Determined, you nodded. “I will make this right, Thor. I promise.”

-

The portal was a church. At least, it looked like a church. Home of the angels… you snorted. If only you could live in a richly decorated church. The more you approached, the more of the dead energy did you feel. Helheim was near.

You had a plan, of course. It was risky and bold and perhaps a bit reckless… but at least, it was a plan. Thor had held his promise and he made sure to stay until you returned—with or without Loki.

Then, with one final deep breath—for there was no reason to breathe in Helheim—you stepped over the threshold of Durham Cathedral and disappeared into nowhere, an invisible force sucking you into another realm.

The stench of death filled your nose before you had even opened your eyes again, corpses, skeletons and bloody soil staining the dark landscape. Like you had expected, your presence in the realm of the dead as a living being did not go unnoticed.

“I’ve met black angels before. But they were dead.” Hela’s voice echoed through the minging air, her blue eyes, complimented by dark coal, boring into yours.

“I came to warn you.”

“Warn me? Child… Look around you… this place is dead. What do I have to fear?”

“Thanos. He means to wipe out half of the universe. Killing half of every single living being.”

Hela raised her eyebrows, seemingly unimpressed.

“Where do you think will most of these souls go? Half the universe… crammed in one realm. Your realm.”

“The Gauntlet. He has it then.”

“And he is collecting the stones. There is a force on Midgard… across the universe to stop him. They need all the help they can get.”

It was then the goddess of death began to smile cruelly. “Who is it you want me to resurrect?”

“How familiar are you with the powers of black angels?”

Hela shrugged. “They are meant to find their soul mates, the only beings they unwillingly reveal their true nature to.” As the goddess of death, she knew a lot more than the rest of the Asgardians then.

You nodded. “My powers were taken from me when I was cast out. They will return once I am reunited with mine.” That was a lie. But if Hela was Thor’s sister, you could imagine she did not exactly take a liking into Loki. “I need you to return Loki to the living. We stop Thanos, we stop this realm from destruction. And we both know that even Helheim could not take the masses of murderers and villains once the titan snaps his fingers.”

Snarling, she turned her scrutinising gaze away from you. “Loki?” She snorted. “You know what? Take him. Take that little cockroach and leave. Hel will be better off without his smug remarks.”

You were almost surprised by how calm you managed to speak with her. The prosperity of seeing Loki again filled your broken heart with joy and love, even if the God of Mischief himself, so you imagined, would hardly feel the same.

Hela narrowed her eyes. With but a flick of his wrist, she summoned Loki like a demon. Your heart skipped a beat when you spotted him. He did not look harmed, the atrocious wound on his neck luckily gone completely.

“I was trying to sleep. Forewarn me before you—“ Loki stopped his mocking complaint mid-sentence. His lips parted when he saw you—that’s when you had already thrown yourself into his arms and buried your face in his neck, inhaling his wonderful scent and enjoying the touch of his body, beginning to heal you instantly.

“Husband…” You murmured, knowing that Hela was still watching you intently.

Loki froze. “What?”

“Just play along. Please… I’m gonna get you out of here.” You whispered mutely. Then, you timidly pressed your lips against his, triggering an explosion of chemistry between you. You almost flinched… and apparently, Loki felt the same.

Hela rolled her eyes in a disgusted manner. Clearly, she was convinced. “Leave. Make sure not to return.” She flicked her wrists once more, almost as if taking a spell on Loki—whatever had been necessary to allow him to travel through the portal and back to the living.

Confidently, you reached for his hand, a touched smile spreading on your lips when he accepted it and followed you back to Midgard and into Durham Cathedral.

“Husband?” He repeated, ignoring Thor who received him with his mouth wide open.

“There is a lot of explaining I need to do, I’m afraid.” You began apologetically.

“Indeed.” He was still holding your hand, not pulling away. It filled your chest with a cosy warmth which you had never felt before.

“You… only you can see my wings.”

“I still do.”

“You… you can because… because I am your soul mate. I never was an omen of death, Loki. I.. love you.”

The God of Mischief’s face fell.

“What you said to Thanos… you did attempt to…” You nodded quickly.

“I… I had to try. Contacting Hela, convincing her to resurrect you…”

“Thank you.” He interrupted, looking you deep in the eye. It was surprise which you found sparkling in those blue irises. Surely… never had anyone done this for him. Surely, nobody else would have done this for him. Thor still went ignored.

“I… I can understand if you… if you don’t want me to stay. I can leave. Being my soul mate, it doesn’t… it doesn’t link you to me if you don’t want to.”

Your heart jumped when Loki began to smirk mischievously... but genuinely.

“Oh no, my dear. I think I am going to keep you.”

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on KoFi! kofi.com/sserpente

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

You Asked, I Told

(Note, if this post shows up twice or massively delayed or just looks weird, it’s because it was flagged for adult content [??!] because I had a picture of Willem Dafoe’s face in a gif. I am not even kidding. Do with that information what you will. I’ve removed it and I still don’t know if/when this can be publicly viewed, I’m kind of lolling. So if you see a blocked out photo that looks like porn in your post, I swear it’s just a gif from The Lighthouse!)

Hello, amazing people. This weekend, I’m putting the final touches on my last draft of Baghdad Waltz Chapter 39, which will then go to the beta for one more round of edits. I imagine I will have the chapter posted in 1-3 weeks, which is close to record speed for me, especially since it’s around 30k words. I’m going to be talking about my writing process (at unfortunate length) for one of the asks, for those who are interested. 

Please forgive me. I’m feeling quite verbose and a little squirrely. I blame living alone during lockdown. 

It’s also Memorial Day weekend in the States, which is when we are meant to honor those who gave their lives in military service to this country. This is often confused with Veterans Day (November 11), which is honoring anyone who has served in the military and is no longer serving. This gets further confused with Armed Forces Day (rotating date, May) which is to honor those currently serving in the military. I know, super confusing. 

There’s a wide range of opinions on how Memorial Day should be commemorated, which often involves gathering with friends and family for a barbecue or some other social activity. It’s the first major holiday after a huge holiday drought throughout the late winter and spring, which often makes people look forward to it immensely. Some people feel it’s inappropriate to celebrate Memorial Day with barbecues and fond social gatherings because it’s dishonoring the memories of those who can’t be here, people don’t take time to remember those who have died, people have no idea what the day is actually for, etc. Others, even some very vocal veterans, maintain that people died so that we could be here to celebrate in freedom, so why not relish this life we have? Many offer the caveat that it’s appropriate to at least acknowledge the purpose of the day, even if it’s just in a few minutes of quiet reflection. 

Anyway, I offer this as a little food for thought for this upcoming long weekend. 

(And in case you missed it, I posted a BW Timeline for your reference.) 

Contains spoilers through Chapter 38.

[Takes deep breath]

I’m so glad that you are enjoying the read and that you’re finding it inspiring for your own work. I think my dedication to research for BW is threefold. 1) As this story evolved, I decided that I wanted to create the most realistic depictions of military, civilian, emotional, and physical life that I reasonably could. I will fully admit to lapses in this, deliberate and unintentional, because sometimes the plot just needs to go and I can’t wait around for a year-long medical discharge process for my character. 2) I’m in an academically stringent occupation, and because research is such a prominent part of my work life, it’s bled to my hobby. (IS THIS EVEN A HOBBY ANYMORE?) And 3) I get very easily and passionately obsessed with things and delight in getting “into the weeds” with a subject. Almost every research divergence usually takes me off track for at least an hour. And you will never catch me without an MTA subway map open in at least one tab.

But that wasn’t even your question! Sorry. Are you beginning to get a sense of why BW takes me so long to write?? I cannot keep my shit on track. As for the bibliography, YES! I plan to include that in my author’s note at the end. I wish I had kept better track of all of my works consulted over the past three years, but I will definitely discuss the importance of some of the main ones. I’m so thrilled that you are interested, and I’m excited to share them!

Thank you. This is such a kind thing to say, and I’m humbled and delighted to hear it, especially because our fandom is so blessed with some AMAZING fics. And asks certainly don’t have to be questions! I appreciate them all (except the flaming bag of dog shit ones, which I haven’t had in a while, hooray).

(Re: Chapter 37) Good question! I imagine Claire would want to keep the 1:1 conversation somewhat limited, as she is treating the couple as a patient rather than them as individuals. If anything, she might have somewhat superficially checked in to see if he was okay rather than dive into anything regarding the relationship with Bucky not around. That could be seen as a betrayal of trust to Bucky and could be interpreted as favoritism, which Steve craves and which Bucky is probably terrified about.

I am always pleased when people re-read and enjoy it or get new things out of it, even if it’s sometimes a re-read is a function of my slow-ass writing. I really want a story with good re-read value.

You make an excellent point about Bucky’s relationships. His friendship with Jack also had no real closure. Sometimes this is a factor of circumstance and sometimes it’s because of his avoidance, like a self-fulfilling prophesy almost. He’s learned that people betray you, either by hurting you or dying, so he creates conditions sometimes (often unwittingly) for things to go sour and end poorly, or he will simply make himself disappear so that he’s not hurt and doesn’t have to wait to see if he will be abandoned or betrayed. He’s not a guy who is good with goodbyes.

As for Thor, I totally see how it would read that way. I think Thor started out fishing for longer-term possibilities in a romantic relationship but then realized Bucky is really not a guy who is comfortable settling (which, as we can see, is true). As for why it seems more serious, one thing is that Thor still wanted Bucky in his life as a friend, possibly one with benefits. They have a lot in common, and it’s hard for veterans - and, more specifically, special operators - to find people in their lives they can relate to with these very intense life experiences. I wanted this to be a real relationship, but maybe not necessarily one that was bound to become a RELATIONSHIP. I think Bucky was very intriguing and attractive to him, and he very well may have struggled with his own vacillation between whether to take it seriously or whether to remain friends+. This can lead to mixed messages.

And we also have to remember Bucky’s notoriously unreliable narration, where he will see what he wants to see. Our perspective comes from him. We see the details he zooms in on, miss the one he ignores, view the relationship through the lens of his own contentious desire for a real relationship, even as he consistently demonstrates the lack of capacity and his fear about getting serious. I imagine Bucky has having an extremely poor ability to distinguish friendship from romance, and why wouldn’t he, given the most recent bit of history we have learned about him with Jack? He’s had a series of friendships become sexualized, and I think this affects his capacity to be discerning. Bucky’s radar for relating, whether friendships, romance, or potentially dangerous sexual situations, is terribly mis-calibrated. How confusing for him and for the people in his life. Of course, everyone is free to interpret the dynamics of any relationship however they choose. These are just some of my thoughts.

I really appreciate observations from the re-read! Thank you!

I watched the video and you are right! This is definitely a Bucky song. Bucky’s sense of self is by turns profoundly distorted and lacking in grounding, especially now that he’s not in the military. He’s been in a low key existential crisis since he was a kid and has turned to drinking and sex and war to fill this horrible void, and although I can’t speak for what the artists here intended, I certainly sensed those elements here for sure. (Also, what an interesting choice for a music video…)

Thank you for sharing! I’ll add it to the unofficial BW playlist in the author’s note, which consists of various songs people have associated with BW and shared with me.

Good question! I started off this story picturing the actors who represent the characters in the MCU, because I figured we’d be picturing that when we read the fic anyway (though my beta told me she doesn’t see them as the actors, more like artists’ renderings of the characters, which I find interesting). So when describing their physicality, I tend to refer back to the MCU, since this is technically an MCU AU. But the longer I go with the story, the murkier the resemblance feels to me, especially when I think about Bucky, IDK why. I have also been considering doing something more with BW after I finish it (i.e., converting it into a proper not-bajillion-word novel, sunk cost and whatnot), in which case I would definitely change the characters’ appearance, names, cut MCU Easter eggs, etc. So when I try to think of who these people might be in future iterations of the story, things get even more blurred in my mind when I imagine them.

I wonder how other people see them??

So, with regards to PTSD clinical teams, there is some variation across VAs in the system. Some focus more on military-related trauma, whether it’s war, military sexual trauma, accidents, etc. as a way of concentrating their services and managing supply and demand. From talking with providers in these kinds of systems, sometimes you just NEED a military-related trauma, but you can be treated for, say, a childhood trauma if it’s more pressing. Other VAs are very open in their criteria, and you can see them for pretty much any kind of trauma that qualifies diagnostically for PTSD (or sub-threshold PTSD) without question. That’s why I love the expression “If you’ve been to one VA, you’ve been to one VA.” That said, it kind of doesn’t matter what kind of PTSD clinical team is at the VA in Manhattan, because Bucky has so much military trauma that he would very likely qualify to receive services in any PTSD clinical team. They just might focus on childhood stuff (if Bucky actually let them, which is another matter entirely).

This is a great question! Thanks for asking.

I love a snarky asshole Bucky so much, and I’ve tried to temper this version of him with enough hard-earned genuineness to offset it a little bit. It’s such a tender balance with him, because if you back him too far into a corner, he’s going to let you have it. But if you give him too much space, it’s hard to pin him down and wring something honest from him. He’s definitely learned to use humor and sarcasm to deflect from painful or uncomfortable situations, and it’s a very adaptive short-term strategy that makes him both endearing and infuriating to others.

But ugh, yeah, shit gets so rough around Chapter 28/29. I don’t know how to feel when people have really strong emotional reactions to this story, because one part of me doesn’t want to contribute to the crappy feelings people may already be struggling with — especially in the times of COVID — but I don’t want to be afraid to dive into the hurt these characters are experiencing. That’s why I recommend checking in with oneself before reading to get a sense of how much emotional bandwidth is available to manage the immense problems of two people struggling so much. I also think that for some people it can be cathartic or otherwise not-bad maybe (?), based on the feedback I’ve received. I also really try hard to balance out the painful stuff with growth, even though it can be terribly difficult to locate sometimes.

In comments to folks, and here, I often talk about adjusting the ticks on your measuring stick for progress, where instead of leaps of progress over feet/meters, we may be observing things on an inch/mm scale. This story is my most sincere effort at a “recovery is not linear” narrative, which I think is so much more reflective of real life for a lot of folks than a straight upward trajectory. Humans are such creatures of habit, and the lessons these characters have learned through their lives about themselves, trust, relationships, and how to manage emotions are very deeply ingrained — often through traumatic means. These are the lessons learned the hardest, with the greatest perceived consequences for change, and it takes real courage for us to be able to try new things even once, let alone to establish a reliable pattern of behavior. This can lead to a lot of frustration for us as readers/writer, and I come from a place of this being okay, because we are encountering a parallel process with the characters, who are frustrated with each other and themselves about the same things. I do hope the pain/progress/joy ratios are not horribly out of whack most of the time. That’s another reason I like long chapters, because if this was just blips of sometimes terrible episodes in shorter form, I think it would be very challenging to not lose hope entirely.

But I’m so glad you’re finding the read meaningful, even if it’s sometimes painful and difficult.

(YES.)

And FINALLY -- (this is all soooo long, I’m so sorry.)

Oh, thank you for this question! My spreadsheet ended up getting too difficult to manage, and I actually had a small crisis six months ago about how the fic was going to end, because it just didn’t feel right. I had to scrap it and go back to the drawing board and really ask myself - what would these characters really do? Naturally, as a factor of their psychologies and circumstances, how will they bring this story to an end? Some advice I once heard about a “satisfying” ending is that it’s the place where there’s simply nothing more to say about the characters. There’s no more story to tell. I had to abandon all of my desires  and ideas for a particular ending or concerns about making people sad or happy or excited or disappointed. I know that the only ending that will be satisfying is one that makes sense for these people. Anything contrived or backward-engineer-y wouldn’t feel right to anyone. I do have a couple of specific character arc things I want to happen, so I set those down as touchstones and said, okay, what would happen next? What would Steve do with this? And what would Bucky do with this? And what would they do with the thing the other person did? I take a very psychology and prior-behavior-based approach to plotting, almost all character driven. The rest is just figuring out what is supposed to go where and how to organize it.

I’ve converted everything to a Google Doc and have a very basic outline where I write plotty-plot stuff. I also have a “garbage dump” doc where I write certain lines I want to use or certain details I want to include somewhere. When I get into a new chapter, I’ll check the dump doc as I outline and write to see if I want to pluck anything from there. I have my outline open regularly to add to it. Sometimes I write scenes out of order, dialogue first, but that’s only if I really am excited about a particular scene and cannot contain myself. Otherwise, I write completely chronologically and have no buffer. I post things as soon as I write them.

As for your specific questions, I do have a “process” for getting into my characters’ heads. It helps to know them so very well and to have a firm sense of their idiosyncrasies and patterns of behavior. As you may have noticed, they repeat their patterns all. the. time, as humans do, but I also want to have them change their behaviors a little as things go and they progress. So I may wonder what they could do a little differently, why they would WANT to behave differently, and imagine what they would need to do to change their behavior. Do they need to take breaths? Do they remember the last time some shit went down? I really try to think of the “how” and “why” of every single action - from big blowouts to eye rolls.

So once I’ve figured out what they are going to do, I try to pinpoint the associated emotions I want to highlight. This is a whole separate process, because I have to think also about their internal versus their external emotional states. Steve, for example, will often have a discrepant inside and outside, because one of the truths about his character is that he is a chronic suppressor. There is also the issue of unreliable narration and interpretation of behavior. Steve might do something in a scene, but that doesn’t mean Bucky is going to interpret it the way it was intended. I have to think about their individual filters, which often reflect their internal beliefs about themselves. Bucky is more likely to read Steve’s actions as reflections of how BUCKY feels about HIMSELF (e.g., he’s disgusted by me because I’m disgusting) rather than imagine what Steve is really thinking based on his own experiences and beliefs about Bucky. I also attempt to convey some of the more second and third layer emotions that people have in situations, rather than only highlighting the primary emotion. Sad things don’t always just make people sad. Powerful emotions, for example, might make Steve feel out of control of himself, which could generate secondary emotions for him like frustration because he’s losing control. Part of the process in the construction of the narrative is also scrubbing what I’ve written for POV, because Bucky’s word choices aren’t the same as Steve’s, and in order to try to preserve the “voice” of each character, I often have to change the words I’ve opted to use, as well as the syntax.

So, as you can see, there’s a lot of layering that is happening all the time. As for the dialogue, I have no compunction about saying the lines aloud, “acting” them to see how they sound, to get a sense of what tone I want them to say things in. Now that I think of it, I do a bit of movement-based stuff, thinking about how people sit and stand, figuring how many steps it takes to get from A-Z, what it would look like to lean against something, how it would feel on the body, etc. I try to get the most felt sense of things as I can. If I’m imagining a scene, I try to put myself in the shoes of the characters to the point where I feel the emotions, just so I can know how it reflects in my body and my mind and behavior. I have more than once gotten drunk and drunk-written drunk Bucky then gone to clean it up later, as drunk writing can generate some great content I never would have been able to come up with sober, but the form, grammar, spelling, etc. is often rubbish. I also talk a LOT to my beta about all of this stuff, and I have certain friends and acquaintances in the fandom who are my consultants for various things.

So, I’m somewhat method I guess?? Is that a thing?? I dunno. It’s not hard to do when you live and breathe a story. It’s required a deep level of interest in - quite possibly an obsession with - the characters and their lives. I adore my characters, not in a self-congratulatory way, but because they feel so real to me. So it’s a joy to plan and write -- though I do hate first drafts with a passion.

OH - I also sometimes fast-draft chapters, which I did for 39. That is, write as FAST AS YOU CAN with no regard for how shitty the writing is. I wrote 10k words in a week, which was a finished fast-draft for me, and thus I had a very good felt sense of what was going to happen in the chapter, which felt amazing. It requires intensive outlining before, and nearly every word had to be rewritten, but one of the greatest frustrations of a story for me is having blank space ahead. Re-writing is way more fun than first draft writing. I have fluffed it up twofold with higher quality content, which I did all in less than two months…!! 

-------------------------

Well, this is surely my most unnecessarily yammering YAIT in history. But I hope it at least conveys my enthusiasm for these wonderful asks! It’s so lovely to hear from all of you, even if I take an eon to get back to you. Hang in there, everyone!

@grimshady @hutchhitched​ @b0n3l3ssm1lk​ 

(And thank you to @bae-buckyaboveeverything​ for the shout out. You made my day<3)

[lov3nerdstuff]

Dark Stars {Part 9}

*Loki x OFC*

Part: 9/10

Words: 3k

Warnings: nudity, teasing, no smut tho

Summary: ~Loki could just let her die here and now. His problems would be solved and he could go back to his usual ways. But then he would forever be left with an unsolved mystery and he hated the prospect of that even more than the fear of what would happen if she lived.~

A story of what happens when Loki stumbles upon someone who is like him in every way. Only better. Oh, and they just happen save Asgard too.

A.N.: To celebrate over 1000 people following me (how insane is that?!), I decided to share the newly edited version of the very first Loki fanfiction I ever wrote! Enjoy the mischief 💚

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

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"Oh yes!" Ivy grinned. "We found the man who poisoned the city... A council member seeking revenge for his own miserable existence. He's down in the water supply system with a few of his creepy plants, and you really might want to clean that up before any of the poisoned water gets into the wrong tunnels. And you might also want to make sure there are no poisoned foods left in the palace or the city."

"What? The man's still down there? Alone?!" Thor asked in confusion, staring first at Ivy, then at Loki.

"Yeah, but he's dead, so… no need to worry about that." Ivy shrugged. "Just tell the guards to clean that mess up and you're good to go."

"I didn't think you'd get the issue sorted out this fast, really, I'm impressed. But I'm not your personal palace servant!" Thor put his arms into his sides with a frown. "You can't come here every day to tell me what to do!"

"Yeah, I'm also quite disappointed that it didn't take us longer to find him… I was hoping for a spectacular chase, an exciting adventure… while all we got was a mere 'meh'. But at least now there won't be any more people dying, so that's nice. You're welcome!" Ivy smirked to herself, and Loki chuckled.

Thor on the other hand only sighed. "Maybe if I tell father about this incident and polish it up a little in the dramatics, he might let my brother return to the palace."

"Who said I want to come back?" Loki rose his eyebrows at Thor in question, unimpressed by the thunderer's attempt to right wrongs that weren't his own.

"Oh come on, I can hardly imagine that you enjoy living down in the streets! I will talk to our father about the issue and then I will speak with you again. We shall meet tomorrow at sunset, far back in the palace gardens." Thor smiled to himself, obviously very content with his idea.

"I'm only coming back if Ivy can come with me." Loki said calmly. "Either that, or this will be the very last you see of us."

With that, Loki had taken hold of Ivy's arm and they once more disappeared in an instant, leaving Thor alone on his grand balcony.

_____

Thor sighed to himself once they were gone. He had always wanted for Loki to find someone who loved him dearly and truthfully, but now he wasn't so sure of that concept anymore. They would either heal each other from their bitterness, from their brokenness, or together they would be the end of everything Thor believed to know.

_____

"So… Going back to the palace, huh?" Ivy asked in a stained voice once they had reached the secret opening and walked over to their spot with the still dirty blankets. However, Ivy didn't feel like sitting, or resting in any way… She felt gross and bruised and thus only leaned against the cold stone wall as she came to stand next to their provisional camp.

"Don't you think a real bed would be more comfortable than freezing on a blanket every night?" Loki asked with a small laugh. "It's only going to get colder and wetter as the year passes."

"Well, I have never before minded the weather." Ivy commented with an indifferent shrug. "And right now it's still warm and comfortable… We could stay here, you know… And try to make it work." She started rubbing her face, noticing how the sweat and the dirt of the streets still lingered on her body like a second skin that clung to her physique like it clung to her mind. In addition the obvious weardowns, she still felt the gross man's hands on her skin, even if he had barely gotten the chance to touch her at all. Still, unwanted touch brought back unpleasant memories.

"This place… It's not enough. Not right now, and definitely not for an eternity." Loki spoke quietly, looking into Ivy's eyes with such positive determination that it confused her more than it pained her.

"If you think like that, then maybe I'm not enough for you either." Ivy replied calmly, but the sadness in her voice was cold and bitter like a veil of venom. She turned to look away, avoiding his eyes for she didn't want to see pity yet again, nor whatever else he had meant to say. No, Ivy was too tired to deal with his shifts of mind. If he was pulling back again now, after everything, she wouldn't stop him. Not again.

Loki on the other hand placed a gentle finger under her chin, making her look back up at him. "I think you misunderstand my words…" He leaned his head down so his forehead was touching the top of hers, his voice only a breath. "I think this place is not enough for you… I want to give you so much more than this… I want to give you everything."

Ivy's eyes fluttered shut as she tried to calm her breathing, heart echoing in her ears like thunder. "Why would you say that? I'm not like you, I don't yearn for grandness… or for a palace. I was raised on the streets, I've lived on the streets my whole life and that's also where I will die. I have no right to ask for everything. Nor do I deserve it."

Loki lifted a hand, pushing a strand of hair out of her face in a movement so tender it made her heart sigh. "You deserve it more than anybody else." His hand went from caressing her cheek, slowly trailing down to her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her delicate skin.

"How could I possibly go back to the palace with you in the knowledge of how they treated you? I saw what you saw… I felt what they made you feel. If they think you're a monster, what will they think of me? Who am I, Loki, to keep them from hurting you yet again?"

"You are my queen." He replied easily, as if speaking a universal truth. "And I am your humble servant."

It didn't take any more words for Ivy to realize that she would never in her life love something as much as she loved Loki. Not freedom, not being right… not anything.

She brought her hands up to his cheeks and pulled him against her until their lips touched at last, for a kiss so gentle it made her heart flutter and her skin tingle as if under electricity. And Loki kissed her back, softly at first, but slowly all the affection, the passion and the desperation his heart had harbored deepened the kiss to become of such an intensity it made Ivy hold onto him as the only solid thing in a crazy spinning world. The feeling of his chilled lips moving against hers cleared her mind from every worry the world had to offer and every sorrow that was left within her from the past or present. There was only a future in this kiss, a promise of light.

A small moan escaped her lips and she pressed her body against his as tightly as possible, desperate for his touch, for closeness, for comfort.

But Loki pulled away, only a few inches, to look into her darkened eyes. "This is not the right time, my love…"

"Huh?" Ivy stared at him, through a haze of emotions, frustrated at the loss of his lips on her own.

"You deserve so much more than a quick makeout on the dusty ground... You deserve to be worshiped like the goddess you are."

"I deserve you!" Ivy pouted a little, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "And I didn't think you'd be the 'taking it slow' kind of person…" She winked at him, teasing, knowing exactly how to push his buttons by now.

Loki let out a short laugh, followed by a humored smirk. "Ivy, I think you know exactly what kind of person I am. And you know that I'm not as shallow as this." The seductiveness in his voice, the way he towered over her, his eyes so dark and intense that his mere gaze on her made Ivy press her back into the stone wall behind her for support. It really wasn't fair that he was getting to play with her... But two could play at this game.

In an instant, she grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and switched their position around, pressing his back against the stone wall with her entire body weight. Sure, he probably could've freed himself, but it was the gesture that counted after all.

Loki's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise and amusement, and Ivy could've sworn they darkened even more. Hiding her grin behind another smirk, she let her hands slowly wander down from his collar, fingers brushing against his neck, over his chest, and down to the hem of his biting, tracing it with one single finger. But then she stopped abruptly, taking an entire step backwards, and thus breaking every physical contact, but not once their locked gaze.

Now it was Loki's turn to protest, at least with his eyes, for surely begging, or pouting, he deemed below his pride. And still, Ivy could tell how much their little game was affecting him, and how pissed he was at her for pulling back. But that was what payback is all about, after all.

"I think I should really get cleaned up now, if you don't mind…" She grinned at him and sauntered over to the pool, first kicking off her boots, then dropping her jacket, pants following, until she stood at the edge of the water in nothing but his shirt. For a short moment that grew longer and longer in accordance with the stretching shadows on the grass, she hesitated. And waited. The sun was gone by now, and the light breeze made her shiver involuntarily, but also sobered her mind from her pressing need for his touch. Sure, she still craved his physical affection as much as the comfort of his mere presence, but that would also mean having to reveal her body with all its flaws and scars. It wasn't like she was ashamed or shy of herself, but she didn't want him to think she was a weak for having gotten beat up so many times over… a fragile object, a doll shattered and put back together. There had been quite a few times already when people had seen her naked, but it had always been without her consent. And the memory of all those times she had been touched or hurt for the pleasure of others didn't just vanish because someone, for once, was good for her, to her.

Ivy felt ridiculous for even thinking about it; Loki was the first person who ever truly cared about her. He would never hurt her like that nor consciously act in a way that was uncomfortable to her. She smiled at the thought. He was a much nicer person than he believed himself to be.

"May I join?" Loki asked then, his voice coming from so close behind her all of a sudden that it made her jump a little.

He could tell the mood had shifted with every item of clothing she had lost, and by merely looking at her now, shivering and waiting, he knew that this was not the time nor the place indeed.

"I can leave if you want to clean yourself." He said gently, as she turned around to face him.

Ivy wrapped her arms around her still mostly covered body and observed Loki's face for a moment. He didn't look angry, or disappointed or anything that would've made her feel guilty for pulling back now. There was only understanding and sincere worry in his eyes. Love, even.

"No." Ivy heard herself say before her mind caught on. "Don't leave."

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, my love…" He said and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Whatever it is you wish for me to do, I will."

"Undress." Ivy commanded in a quiet, yet determined voice. "Without magic."

Loki lifted his eyebrows in surprise, but obeyed without another comment. He didn't try to make it any kind of seductive, or even longer than necessary… he simply took the pieces of clothing off one by one and discarded them on the ground.

Ivy watched intently, her eyes never leaving his until he was completely bare, and obviously still comfortable under his burning gaze. Only then she dared to truly look at him, taking in every inch of his being, tracing his skin with her eyes as she wished to let her hands do.

"No deceptions..." She said quietly, her voice hoarse. Loki sighed slightly, turning his back to her before doing as he was told and dropping every magic he had used to disguise the scars and wounds he had collected over the last centuries. He couldn't see her face, but he could hear a slight gasp.

To Ivy's eye, he was marvelous, in every aspect of his being. Not flawless, but perfect in a different way, a better way.

"I know… It happens when one steps onto a lot of people's feet. Which I happen to do quite often honestly." He said with a small and breathy laugh, turning back around towards Ivy, only to find her smiling almost affectionately.

"Am I that funny?" He asked, trying not to let on how insecure he truly felt about showing her the imprints his past had left on his body. It wasn't anything he had ever considered doing, as he himself felt repulsed by the many scars on his body, as he did by the ones left on his soul.

"No, you're not funny. At least not right now. I'm only very glad that you let me see." She smiled as she dropped her hands to her side, relaxing visibly under his insecure yet intent gaze.

"Well, I hardly had a choice, did I?" He chuckled, a little calmer now about his lack of covering magic, and still completely at ease with his lack of clothing. "You told me to undress and here I am now, bare to my soul and at your very mercy."

"I think I should return the favor." Ivy said in a breath and carefully pulled the shirt over her head, still reluctant to move too harshly after being pierced by a blade like a damn roast. Carelessly she dropped the piece of fabric to the ground, then turned to the side, showing him her own scars on her back and her ribcage. "See? You're not the only one."

Loki's eyes were fixed on her, taking in the beauty that was her body in the rapidly fading daylight. It pained him to see that once she had been hurt like this, but it also made him realize over and over again how strong she was for still being here, with him, with trust that he wouldn't hurt her yet again. Maybe she was stronger than him even.

Ivy enjoyed his gaze on her, despite her insecurities, and the look of absolute awe in his eyes made her feel all tingly once again and a lot more certain about her next words.

"I still wanna bath, so…" She said and held out a hand to him. "Join me?"

With a huge smile he took her hand and followed her into the freezing cold water, yet again surprised that Ivy didn't even flinch as the coldness met her heated skin. Oh, she definitely was stronger than him…

It took a few seconds before Ivy's body adjusted to the cold, but then she let go of Loki's hand and let herself fall backwards into the dark water.

The cold numbed her body just enough for it to still be bearable, and the sheer darkness and quiet around her made her smile. Being underwater was such a calming sensation… like a darkness, but without the pain. Ivy stayed like that for as long as she could, before coming back up for air at last.

"For a moment I thought you wanted to drown yourself." Loki chuckled from a few feet away.

"Nah, not today. Maybe later." She winked at him, slowly starting to rub the dirt off her skin with a sigh. This wasn't as luxurious as Loki's bathroom, but it still felt heavenly.

Finally she sighed once more in contentment when she was clean and the feeling of foreign hands was gone from her body. Once more she leaned backwards into the water, her body curving while she smoothed out her hair in an attempted to untangle it somehow. Then, having more or less succeeded, she moved through the water to stand in front of Loki. His hair was hanging around his face in wet strands and the water droplets on his skin glistened in the moonlight like he was some ancient sea creature. It looked so breathtakingly beautiful that it was almost cheesy to a certain extent. But Ivy had to smile nonetheless.

"Do you feel better now, my sweet?" Loki asked quietly, and for an answer, Ivy gently placed a hand in his neck and pulled him down into a soft kiss, which he returned just as lightly, while his hand reached around her waist, pulling her flush against his body.

"Tell me if you want me to stop." He whispered and his lips left hers, breathing kisses light as feathers down her jaw to her neck, nibbling at the soft skin while his one hand remained on her back, holding her tightly against him, leaving the other to explore the wonders of her ravishing body.

Ivy's fingers entangled in his hair on their own account, and his name spilled from her lips like a prayer as he moved to caress not only her body, but also her soul.

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Aaah this is the second to last part already! It's probably not the best steamy stuff I've written (it's definitely not), but yeah... Hope you enjoyed this nonetheless! 😊🥰