#but when Thor needs help he still shows up at Loki's cell and Loki despite being offered nothing for himself helps

[worstloki]

*wakes up in the middle of the night* no but when Loki was offering Thor the throne at the end of The Dark World as Odin he said one son wanted the throne too much while another would not take it but in that moment neither Thor nor Loki wanted the position because now both know the burdens that come with it and how Odin had ruled and Loki hadn’t ever wanted the throne for itself but to be an equal to Thor and in Thor 1 Thor had been impatient and arrogant and started a war over being denied his place as King so the phrase not only doubles over to call Thor out on flaws he now himself admits to since there is only one Odinson but it is also an open admission that he himself sitting there right now does not want the crown because he is ‘another’ and Odin’s legacy in the end, right there, right then in that scene was amounting to neither son wanting to be a part of what Odin had built through his imperialist practices (even if Thor was only just coming to terms with that) and through disregarding the lives of others and that’s something both sons, Thor included, now sees and THEN Thor replies with how he’s try to live with honour as Loki died and acknowledges them both on equal footing which is all Loki had wanted and hearing “Is that not legacy enough?” before being offered the hammer, the fr*ckin hammer that Odin had put between them to declare Thor more worthy, and Loki declines taking it from Thor because he never wanted to drag Thor down or take the throne from him but just having it was the chance to prove that he wasn’t less and it reflects how now he doesn’t even see the need to compete and he finally thinks his brother is capable of ruling well without starting wars and suddenly there’s no one who wants the dumb chair just Loki knowing that he doesn’t need to be Thor and Thor taking the time to reflect on himself and admit that the brother he knew and cared for was still there and hoping to make himself equal to Loki and Loki who still looks up to Thor and it’s the perfect complementary half to the way their developments in Thor 1/Avengers 1 had them mirroring each other and taking the place the other was in because now they’re both on the same side and they got there themselves and the words of their shared antagonist “our survival will be your legacy” apply to Thor and Loki too because Frigga died and Odin isn’t to be looked up to as a pillar of strength and what these two brothers have is a relationship that was put through the blender because of secrets and lies but neither cares for that because even when he thinks him dead Thor sees Loki’s worth and Loki knows the death effected him enough to try and change more and now Thor is rejecting his birthright and just handing it to Loki without knowing it’s him but it’s the same birthright that Loki had argued with Odin on only earlier and so you have both of them who would take up the responsibility but doesn’t see it as their place and that’s why Thor and Loki working together from the get-go when more secrets and lies came forth in Ragnarok with Odin’s actual death should have been the natural progression in both of their arcs and in reconciling their relationship they should have either shared or abolished the throne by the end of the trilogy because literally one person would want the throne and it would be Hela as a symbol for what Odin stood for which only makes Thor’s role as an inheritor of a colonial empire trying to make amends and Loki’s role as the colonized relevant again from Thor 1 and should have tied the loose ends up with Mjolnir’s destruction having no significant impact because it also stood as a symbol of the wedge drawn between Thor and Loki which they already shared sentiment enough with each other to have agreed on as not a determiner of worth and this makes Endgame even worse because Thor has fallen back on letting the hammer be an indication of worth while avoiding acknowledgement of Loki at all while also being King after the both of them already expressed no interest in having the position and they were finally so close to being seen as equals in each other’s eyes and were respecting each other and both had decided to move on from the ideas they had been raised on and only had each other left because they always end up with each other again and 

[shreddedparchment]

A Wife for Thor Pt.23

A Royal Invitation

05/02/2021

Pairing: King!Thor x Reader          Word Count: 5,960

Warnings: fluff, slight angst, language

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this one. It took me forever to get out after several life events that just couldn’t be ignored or put on the back burner. I had a lot of fun in the second half of this chapter and I hope y’all find it as entertaining as I did. Let me know what your favorite parts are! I’d love to know. As always, thanks for reblogging if you happen to do so. xoxo

Please DO NOT repost my stories on any other sites or blogs.

REBLOGS are always welcome!

The city is in celebration for three nights after you come home.

They’re not necessarily celebrating your return although that is part of why they’re happy, but the baby. The baby is already so loved. The baby is the city’s hope and future.

You can feel their exuberance when you and Thor take a walk through the city, flanked by Valkyrie with Loki on your left walking just slightly behind you.

He’s busy but smug and keeps his fingers moving swiftly across the screen of a tablet provided by Tony Stark who’d left the city taking Bruce with him back to the United States on Avengers business.

What Loki is doing, what's got him so glued to his tablet, you don’t find out until the evening of the first day of celebrations.

As your people’s cheers, laughter, and music filter in through the long wall of windows that Thor’s had thrown open to let the joviality in, Loki crosses to the long couch across from the one where you sit with Thor.

Legs thrown across his lap, Thor’s hands gently massaging your calves and feet, you lean back against the cushions that Thor set up against the arm for you.

The sitting room is long, rectangular and faces the East side of the palace. You can’t see the entire city and have more of a mountain view than on the West side where your rooms are and you can see the expanse of the ocean.

Like the rest of the palace, it’s decorated in a mixture of wood and silver steel. The chandeliers above are carefully carved and wired, the lighting kept dim. The seats are also wood but covered with soft cushions for lounging and restful naps.

There’s a slightly simpler look to this sitting room. Relaxed.

Before you’d taken your break from being Queen, you hadn’t spent much time in this part of the palace. Nothing had called to you. The garden had been the only spot you’d sought out but this sitting room is quickly becoming your favorite.

“I like it in here,” you confess, smiling at Thor who’s still squeezing your foot gently.

He smiles and meets your gaze, “Why’s that?”

“Because Jane was never in here,” Loki supplies, swiping left on his tablet then turns it to face both of you. “We’ve got more energy signatures. New ones.”

You and Thor sit up a little straighter.

“What quadrant?”

Loki purses his lips and then turns the tablet back towards himself cutting off your look at a map of the night sky.

“All of them. Whatever it is, it’s jumping around. I think perhaps they know we’re watching.”

Swallowing hard, you scoot closer to Thor, pulling one of your legs down as you twist to face Loki a little better. Thor takes hold of your thigh instead as it rests over his and wraps his other arm around your waist, eager to have you close.

Both of you haven’t stopped touching each other since your return last night.

“What does that mean? If they’re trying to confuse us, then they’re headed for us, right?”

“I won’t let anything happen to you or our little one, cherub,” Thor’s reassurance comes softly, his smile confident but soft. “Whatever this is, we’ll be ready for it. Have you sent the data to the others?”

“Sif is coming in for a debrief and we’ll send her to relay the specifics in person. It will need some explanation and Fandral will probably only skim the information if we send it to him via email.”

“We must have all of our troops trained for whatever attack is to come. I’m not going to let someone jeopardize our place here on Earth. We will protect our people but we will show the humans that we will defend them too from any threats to come,” Thor declares, his voice deep and determined, even angry.

He doesn’t like someone threatening his new home. Not after what happened to Asgard. The stress is in his eyes and you lean against him which you’re glad does what you want.

It distracts him.

“I had Stark build you a safe room. He called it a panic room, I think? So, should something happen, you’re to go in there and lock yourself in while we deal with any threat.”

You nod but push yourself back again to rest against the arm of the sofa while stretching out your legs again. It feels good and you sigh heavily as you rub your belly. Sitting scrunched up like that had been annoying.

“I have been training though. Even pregnant. At home, Loki would spar with me and help me with my technique. The short swords aren’t heavy anymore.”

Thor looks at his brother who sits smiling proudly at you before he notices the edge in Thor’s electric blue eye.

“It was all done safely. She and the baby were never in danger. I thought it was foolish to have her out there without her swords and the training to go along with them. Just because she left didn’t mean that she could slack off. Don’t give me that look. You know as well as I do that she needs to know. Even carrying your child, it’s important for her to know. One might even say especially because she's carrying the heir."

Loki’s voice grows steadily more subdued. Sad. Like a bad memory is playing itself over in his mind.

“I was too late, Loki,” Thor interjects, drawing your gaze to him too. He also looks sad. “And if you hadn’t been in that cell you’d have been long gone. Neither of us could have saved her. And you’re right. I know how important it is.”

Thor looks at you and takes your feet back in his hands, “I’m glad you trained. Once our child is born you’ll have to show me those skills of yours.”

Despite the playful nature of his taunt, you can see that he and Loki are both still in the depths of their grief. They must be thinking of their mother.

"So, these energy signatures, you still have no idea who could be causing them?"

The question is pointless. You know they don't know but it's something to say when all you can do is worry silently.

“I have theories,” Loki admits, exchanging a careful look with Thor. “But nothing concrete. Nothing that would put you at ease.”

“I don’t need to be put at ease, Loki. I need to know if there’s something to worry about. This doesn’t just affect our family but our people. If we need to warn them, we can’t be hesitant. Earth deserves a heads up, too.”

This is your job right? The voice of both your new Asgardian family and the people of Earth? This is why you were required to marry Thor.

Thor’s hand increases in strength around your foot as he tries to calm you.

���You’re right, cherub. Loki only means that there is no evidence to prove his theories so until we can find something to link these strange power surges to what he thinks it might be, then we should play this safe and hold off on raising any alarms. Isn’t that right, Loki?”

“Mm,” Loki agrees, nodding.

You frown, pulling your leg off of Thor’s lap to sit down properly and face both brothers. They sit up a little straighter in response to your own rigid back, your hands on your lap.

This isn’t right, whatever they might think.

“No,” you shake your head and watch as Loki puts his tablet down.

Thor scoots forward, reaching over to take your hand. You let him because he’s not trying to comfort you anymore. Instead, this reach is one of support and when you look at his singular eye, the patch on his empty socket gleaming softly in the dim light of the room, you can see he’s intent on listening and understanding.

If Jane has made any positive impact on you and Thor, it’s this. He’s really listening to you.

“Thor, you and the Asgardians are a unique people. You’ve all had it hard and I’m not trying to say that your struggles haven’t been difficult, but by nature, just by the very way that you all are made and born, you are stronger. It’s in your body’s makeup.

“For someone like me, if I were to jump from that open window, I would die. If you or any of the other Asgardians jumped from that window, you’d probably ache for a while, maybe a few would even get a few broken bones or cuts but they’d be superficial wounds.

“You know from experience how fragile humans are. Both of you,” the look you give Loki pulls his gaze down to his feet. “We’re unprepared for anything other than each other. We need more of a warning than you. We need time to prepare.”

It all falls into place in your head and with confidence you turn to look at Thor, turning your hand over to take his in your own hand.

With a quick squeeze, you scoot just a little closer to him, “Thor, I need to speak to the ambassadors. We need to schedule an official meeting to give them the rundown on what we’ve been doing here and what we’re keeping an eye on. Because, knowing Tony, I’m sure he hasn’t said anything to anyone outside of the compound?”

Loki sits back, crossing his legs as he shuts his tablet off, “No. Stark is as preoccupied about raising the alarm as we are. But now that you mention it, I suppose both we and he are not looking at this from a regular civilian of Earth’s point of view.”

“Y/N,” Thor calls your attention back to him, “This could backfire. We could be doing more harm than good by sharing with them the information we’ve gathered.”

You shake your head, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m jumping the gun here. The last thing I want to do is cause a panic. But I don't think that’ll happen. It’s not like we’re going to leak it onto the internet. We’re going to meet with the ambassadors and provide this information to world leaders so that they can prepare the way they see fit. Trust me, these prime ministers and presidents and kings aren’t going to just announce to their people that some alien threat is on the way. They don’t want to look out of control or unprepared.

“We need to give Earth’s humans a chance to defend themselves. Even if they end up needing our help, they deserve to know.”

Loki and Thor are silent for what feels to you like a long time. In reality, you know it must only be seconds. However, this is the first time you’ve pushed back with them. This is the first time you’re speaking on behalf of the human race.

It makes you nervous and anxious. Will they let you be Queen in this sense? Or is it all just show?

They look at each other, staring and communicating silently before Loki gets to his feet and turns his tablet back on.

“Well, if I’m to set up a meeting with the ambassadors, NATO, and the UN I should probably get started.”

Your heart explodes with pride. They’re letting you really rule! You’re making a difference. True change. Your excitement mingles with a sudden terror as you realize that your choices are going to affect what will be millions if not billions of people.

Luckily, Loki’s words also serve to distract you from your trepidation.

“Wait, Loki,” you hurry to your feet and scurry to his side before ripping the tablet from his hands and hiding it behind your back.

“Hey,” he protests, reaching around you to try and grab it.

You hurry back to Thor and instead of sitting beside him you plop yourself onto his lap and sit as close as you can to trap the tablet between your bodies.

You can hear Thor’s heart begin to pound. Aside from those kisses yesterday, this is the closest you’ve put yourself to him since you got back. He’d slept with you in your shared bedroom, but he’d laid facing you and you him, a good six inches between your bodies.

He wraps his arms around you, placing his hands along the swell of your tummy. You can almost feel him glowing with happiness.

“As eager as I am to give Earth a heads up, I also think you need a break. The energy isn’t going anywhere and the Warriors Three and Sif are on the watch. Please do me a big favor and just take a day or two? You’ve been at it like crazy since I left the palace and it would make me so happy if my baby’s Uncle Loki would take a breather. He’s gotta be strong and in tip-top shape if he’s going to keep up with his future nephew.”

“Or niece,” Thor interjects. “She’s right, Loki. Rest. We’ll get back on this in two days and you can set everything up then. The city is roaring with celebration. Go out and enjoy it. You always loved a good party.”

Loki glares at the pair of you, “Using the future prince or princess is blackmail. And if I’m out there, what will you two do?”

Thor smiles at him, reaching between your bodies to grab the tablet from where it’s hidden. He sets it aside and his other hand trails over your side before wrapping around your waist to cup your bump again.

“I’m sure my queen and I will find something to keep us occupied. Making up for lost time, perhaps?”

Your neck burns but you grin up at Loki who fixes you with a knowing smile, “Of course. How silly of me. Well, let me not keep you from reacquainting yourselves with each other. If you have need of me, I will be around. Just call.”

“Have fun, Loki,” you call after him.

As he shuts the door, Thor tilts your head to the side, pulling you back against his chest fully so that he can kiss you without prompting.

“Sleeping beside you once more was dreamlike, cherub,” Thor tells you, low and full of want.

“And what would make it more real for you?”

“Shall I show you?”

And he waits, like the jerk that he is. He literally just dangles the carrot in front of you. His hard body pressed against your back, the heat of his legs seeping through your clothes to your skin.

His hands trace tantalizing circles around your stomach but make the slightest tickles to the fold of your pelvis. You hate him!

“Oh my god, hurry up, dummy.”

That’s all the invitation he needs. In an instant you’re in his arms as he settles you on the sofa, his hands already yanking and pulling at your clothes but when your tummy is exposed, he drops to his knees and worships your pregnant body with gentility and softness.

At least until you growl and yank him up to finish what he’s started.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sheets against your skin feel soft as silk. They’re slightly sticky but that’s more to do with your own body’s sweat.

“Why are you up?” Thor’s voice is heavy with sleep.

It’s thick and rough. It makes you smile and your ears burn because he sounds delicious and you missed mornings like this.

“I’m hungry,” you admit.

Thor tumbles from the bed, dragging with him the heavier faux fur blanket that sits at the foot of your bed for decoration usually. He wraps it around his waist and pulls the cord by the door.

“I already called them, puppy,” you assure him, and he smiles sleepily at you before moving towards you.

“I missed my term of endearment. Why a dog?”

As he reaches you, you open your sheet and his eyes roam the length of your naked body before he gets all handsy and dives into the sheet with you, eventually settling his hands on your bum. No groping, just resting. Then slowly he trails his fingers up along the sides of your back up to your shoulders and back down.

It leaves your skin full of goosebumps and you shiver. He misinterprets it and instead of stopping his stroking, he uses his flat hand to create friction instead.

“It’s not a dog, it’s a puppy. They’re cute and they’re kinda, I don’t know, like...clueless?” You laugh because that’s not the word you were looking for but it’s what comes out.

“Uh, excuse me, I have plenty of clues,” Thor argues, but he doesn’t seem offended.

“That’s not the right word,” you laugh again. “I don’t know how to describe it. I just want to squeeze you and cuddle you because you’re like this big blonde golden retriever only sexier.”

Thor makes his thinking face as he tries to pull up the picture of the dog breed you just compared him to, and he nods slowly.

“I think I can live with that,” Thor smiles down at you then leans to meet your lips.

You kiss him eagerly, your bodies both humming with anticipation even though you spent the last two days--practically--in bed.

Both of you know that there’s a time when this lust might not necessarily fade but dull a bit? Then again, it is Thor and he’s ravenous for you almost all the time.

You chuckle against his lips and he pulls back to look at you.

“What has you laughing so adorably?”

You let go of the sheet and before it can fall, Thor replaces your hands with his own to hold it up around you both. With free hands you’re able to trace the length of his arms, tracing the large curves. His skin is so damn soft.

You’re still not sure if that’s a Thor thing or an Asgardian God thing? What you know is that you love it and your fingers eat it up every time you touch him.

Whatever laugh or trace of humor you had falls away as you start to really look within yourself and examine why you’re so happy.

You shove your arms underneath his and wrap your arms around him, small whisper slaps of his skin as your hands are splayed out along his wide back. You press your ear against his chest. The thud of his heart is strong and slightly speedy, probably in response to your sudden shift in mood.

The swell between both of you, the little life kicking in response to your mood pulls both your attention for a few seconds before you find your voice.

“I missed you, Thor. More than I thought I would. Way more than I ever knew I could.”

The somber tone of your voice has him giving you a nice gentle squeeze. He likes having you right there right up against him just as much as you like being there.

“Well, you were very angry with me,” Thor reminds you. “I didn’t know your face could make those expressions. That day at your home?”

You hug him tighter, staring out at the small bloom of sunrise in the distance. It’s very slightly starting to glisten on the still ocean line.

“I was angry. But it was more than that.”

“I know,” Thor kisses the top of your head. “I hurt you. What I said, I-I didn’t mean it, cherub. I promise you. It was a temporary insanity. The moment you came into that room after I said what I did, I knew that I could never go through with it. And if you’d told me that we were expecting a child-”

“I couldn’t,” you sigh, leaning back to look up at him. “In my head, if I told you then after what you'd said that I was pregnant and you chose to stay with me, I would live the rest of my life wondering whether you chose me because you really loved me or because I was finally going to give New Asgard their heir.”

Thor’s face crumbles a little, brow scrunched, mouth pulled down at the corners as he shakes his head.

“I will always choose you. Not because you are the mother of my children, but because you are the love of my life. The one I did not expect. The one that I can never chance to lose again. I’m sorry that I ever made you doubt me.”

Staring into his eye, the intensity of his gaze, you know that he means what he says. He loves you.

Even though you can’t admit it to him because your reconciliation needs all of the positivity that you can both muster, in your heart, you can’t help but wonder if you can truly trust him.

~~~~~~~~~~

The days go by like routine after the Asgardians find that they have to go back to their jobs and lives.

As much as they all love a good party, Thor and Loki included if the last two days are any indication, they know they can't keep going and must get back to life as usual.

Thor at first makes an attempt to stay with you. The last few months of being without each other makes it difficult to be apart and for Thor especially, with the baby.

He hates leaving you. He wants to be there for every kick and every shift.

His largest grievance is that he can't listen to your laugh when the baby kicks and it feels weird. This you only find out because Loki, in his annoyance with the constant trips Thor makes him do to check on you when he's in his meetings.

Although you believe Loki, you take all of these little indicators of Thor’s love with ease but with the knowledge that it might very well be fleeting.

You try not to think about it and instead just allow yourself to enjoy the fact that Thor does indeed love you and you love him too. Even if it may not be forever. Even if it can change. Even if the future is now a little less certain.

Your meeting with the ambassadors approaches quickly. It takes a month to set it up. Longer than you'd thought and it doesn't take long to understand why.

"This is the third time they've pushed the meeting back," you gripe, moving over to Loki’s computer to look over his shoulder at the surprisingly very short email.

Please inform Her Majesty, the Queen of Asgard, that we are unable to meet with her as previously scheduled this week and will be in contact as to the next available day.

Should any true trouble arise, please tell Thor that we are more than happy to meet with him.

Sincerely,

Earth AMB Mark Coates

You're seething. You've never been this angry. Never this absolutely heated. Not even with Thor and what happened with Jane can compare to the absolute rage flowing through your veins.

"They don't seem to take you seriously," Loki realizes. "Because you're a woman?"

"Partially, probably," you growl as you move back around his desk to sit in the padded armchair by the window where you'd been watching Thor visit with the Valkyrie.

He's not there anymore though and you can see Hilde and her girls relaxing a little. Adjusting their armor, laughing, sitting and talking. Now that their inspection is over they can breathe.

Why they get so nervous you don't understand. Thor’s such a fanboy. He gushes about them constantly.

"What other reason might there be?" Loki asks, rising and moving around his desk to lean against it casually, hands shoved into the inky black pockets of his slacks.

His jade vest is unbuttoned and the sleeves of his dark gray button-up folded up to his elbow.

Summer is almost here and it's getting hotter.

You don't answer right away. Hands slowly stroking your belly, trying to calm down for the baby's sake. Feeling that upset can't be good for him.

You take a long deep inhale and with a heavy sigh release the stress.

"My Queen?" Loki urges, and you smile.

Realizing he's calling you by your title to reaffirm your place among them to make you feel better, you turn your smile on him.

"You've always been my biggest supporter. You and David," your smile falters. "I miss him."

"Is he still in Baghdad?"

"Yeah. He’s in deep so, no contact. I hope he's okay."

"You know, you do have a part time Avenger as a husband and the best magician for a brother-in-law. One word and we'd be happy to assist with your lawyer's extraction."

"Which is why I don't ask. If he needs help, David will let us know. He has his panic button."

The gift had been given to you by Tony who had made it for you to press when you and Thor had been estranged. An easy way to call for Thor if something should happen.

Your brother-in-law nods.

"I suppose it would be a little like nepotism. Fine. What should I do about the misogynistic email?" Loki wonders.

"He's not exactly a misogynist. Not completely anyway. The ambassador blowing me off has more to do with me specifically than it does with me being a woman."

This seems to set Loki off more than if the ambassador was doing this because you're a woman.

"What right does he have to snub the Queen of Asgard? Doesn't he know what that might do to relations between Earth and our people?"

You shake your head, smiling because his anger makes you feel better.

"No, he doesn't. Because to the world my marriage to Thor is show. It's a necessary political move. They don't care whether Thor and I love each other and Jane and Thor’s relationship was so publicized that it’s hard for them to accept that Thor might actually love me.

"Thor went to extreme lengths to protect Jane in the past. Public displays of affection like that aren't forgotten easily.

"To the ambassadors and probably most of the world, offending me doesn't mean an offense against Thor. To them, I'm a queen in name only. No real power here."

Loki huffs through his nose, standing straight with his hands at his waist before he turns to walk back behind his desk.

He stops for a moment, thinking hard you guess, then whips around and stomps towards you before shoving his finger towards the windows.

"I know it has been a while for me, but I can very easily open another tear in space over New York. Or wherever you need me to. I might need a bit of time to locate the power and forces to do it but I will show the people.of Earth what happens when they underestimate the love of the Asgardian people for their queen."

Leaning back in your chair, you keep your arms around your bump as you watch Loki make his threat.

"That's a bit much for a dude who just thinks that my political marriage is just that, isn't it?"

You keep your face clear of amusement, because it really is very sweet of him to be so upset for you. But you can't help the small smile that stretches your lips.

He deflates, moving to other armchair across from yours and sits but leans forward with his elbows on his knees.

"It's shameless disrespect, Y/N. We cannot let them get away with it. You are Asgardian now. A slight against you is a slight against this Kingdom."

"I know, Loki. But-"

Behind Loki his office door opens. It faintly creeks and through it pokes Thor’s searching gaze.

He looks confused as he scans the room until he spots the two of you and with a little skip in his step and a wide unfettered smile, he shuts the door and moves towards you.

"Hi," you smile at him widely in reaction to the loveable look on his face.

"Hello," Thor replies, his voice low and quiet as he leans down towards you.

"You finished early today," you observe, voice just as quiet.

"You know I hate being apart," Thor whispers and presses his lips to yours.

His kiss is so soft and slow.

He pulls away too quickly and as your heart stutters, you reach up to hook your hands into the sides of his chest plate and pull him back down for another kiss.

He'd worn his full uniform today for an early meeting and the inspection of the Valkyrie. He looks so good but with his hair growing in, now just past his shoulders.

He still has the two small braids you'd worked in on the left side of his head and he looks so good, you might jump him later. If you don't pass out for an afternoon nap.

He pulls away again, this time smiling brightly.

"Will I always get this welcome if I come home early? I might have to shorten my days."

You chuckle as he moves around you and stops by a side table where Loki keeps a few weapons on display on a stand. He starts to remove his harder pieces of armor and places them aside.

"What has you looking so stern, brother?" Thor asks, keeping his back to you both as he moves onto the leather pieces that keep his chain mail from shifting.

Loki sits back, sighing heavily as he considers how much to tell Thor.

"Something I should worry about? Come. Tell me and lessen your burden."

"He's upset for me. That's all."

You hear the clink of Thor's mail as it falls on the table then he's moving around your right to squat by your chair so that he's below your eye level.

"Upset for you? Why?" His look of concern is upsetting and pleasing at the same time.

You purse your lips and look at Loki.

"It might be easier if I showed you," he says then rises and moves to his desk to get his tablet.

Thor reaches out to place his hand on your belly and you place yours over his.

He smiles at you then leans down to kiss your tummy while you run your fingers through his hair and try to ignore the utterly breathtaking and heartaching butterflies that his sweet love on your baby gives you.

"I missed you," he whispers to you.

Again, your heart stutters. He’s so easy with his words. These declarations feel so good but that little voice in the back of your head also makes your heart ache.

You just smile at him. Unable to speak when you feel like you're glowing and grieving at the same time.

"Here," Loki holds out the tablet and Thor stands then takes it.

He moves to the loveseat across from your and Loki's armchairs and plops down before reading.

You watch him, admiring the out of armor look. His black leather pants are just as hugging as they always are. His top, a dark gray long sleeve made with breathable fabric leaves no room to wonder just how defined his muscles are.

He's Asgardian perfection.

He breathes in deeply then exhales loudly, a passing shadow of rage overcoming his Godly features before he tosses the tablet at Loki lightly who catches it easily.

Thor spreads his legs a little, tapping his heels as he throws his left arm along the back of the small sofa, his other hand resting on his thigh.

"Write the bastard and tell him I'm requesting the meeting then. Then my cherub and I will both be waiting to give him both the information he needs to warn Earth and a piece of my mind."

You look down at your feet, heart pounding and stomach tumbling with nerves.

You don't want to be the reason any rifts come between New Asgard and Earth. The whole purpose of the position you hold is to protect the citizens of this city.

"Thor," you warn, turning to meet his gaze only when you know you can handle it.

"He wants me to contact him, so I will. In fact, send a raven instead. Do the works. Scroll. Seal. And when they arrive, give them a royal welcome with trumpets and a guard."

"Thor…"

"They will not disrespect you and find warm welcomes in my home. You are my wife. My Queen! Even if all they assume is between us is political agreement, they should respect the title you hold. We may not be above them, but we do outrank them an they need to know that you are not to be messed with.

"The fact that I love you only makes my resolve stronger."

"Okay. I get it, puppy. And I'm grateful to both you and Loki for standing up for me. With your tempers, no one would believe you aren't blood related. Sheesh."

You gran hold of the arms of your chair and groan only a little as you push yourself up onto your feet.

"Oof," you reach back and place your hand on your waist.

Thor’s arm immediately extends out towards you. Beckoning you to his side.

It takes you a moment but you get your footing back and move for him. As soon as you're within reach his arm is around you, helping you sit down carefully.

He doesn't let you sit back all the way. He pushes you to your left so that you'll shift and sit angled while he sits up straighter and turns to face you.

With gentle but firm hands he starts to work out the kinks and knots in your back.

Unintentionally you moan with relief. Thor’s eyes are on Loki though.

"What was your idea?"

"I offered to open another tear in space above whatever city she deemed proper. With the allowance of time to find both the power to do so and the army to lead through it."

You can't see Thor expression but when he speaks, his disapproving sounds fake.

"I'm not sure even idly that threat is in good taste. But I understand the sentiment."

"Do you really want me to make all of that fuss to make the ambassador come and meet with you?"

"Yes. I think he needs to be humbled. He may be in a position of power and my Y/N may owe her marriage to their insistence and meddling, but she is Queen and they are speakers for Earth. They would not have jobs had we not come to live here. Their disrespect of our Queen is a slight on our people.

"The moment I took Y/N under my banner is the moment she became Asgardian from the tips of her cute toes to the top of her irresistible head. And with our child on the way, they should know better."

Loki gets to his feet and moves towards the door, "Very well. One royal invitation coming right up."

As he leaves, Thor’s focus is diverted completely to you.

"Does that feel good, love?"

You only moan in return.

Thor chuckles and keeps going for a few minutes longer before you push back towards him and he lets you rest your back against his chest.

You can't be scrunched forward too long before your stomach begins to feel squished.

You look straight up at his face and he smiles.

"Hi," you tell him.

"Hello."

You smile.

"Was the massage satisfactory?"

"Mmmm, it was great. Your hands are godly, puppy."

Thor chuckles at the pun but leans forward to kiss the tip of your nose.

"And you, my sweet cherub, are a Goddess. And I will make sure you are treated as such."

[loki-hargreeves]

Loki x Reader - Thanos controls You

Warnings: angst, mentions of torture, mind-control, fighting, choking, blood and gore, more angst (it's a lot ok)

Word Count: 5,8K

Summary: After failing to deliver the Tesseract, Loki has been living in fear that Thanos will one day find him again and seek revenge. You have been missing ever since Loki was imprisoned after what he did in New York. Little did Loki know that you were with Thanos all along. During the events of Infinity War, Thanos makes you battle Loki in order to obtain the Tesseract

Author’s Note: I know Thanos doesn’t have the mind stone at the beginning of Infinity War but it’s fiction and I’m gonna do what Marvel does best, ignore canon. Let’s blame the Other’s powers, okay? Please enjoy this angsty little thing! :)

YOUR POV

“There’s room for more!” Loki yelled over the cries of scared children and their crying families. There was no way he would send a half-empty escape pod on its way to Midgard. That’s when he saw a child all by herself a little further away. She was clinging onto the wall for dear life and the ship trembled due to the impact of getting shot at. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. Dead. Loki felt sick to his stomach when he knew they were most likely dead. Thanos’ children were slaying kids and their parents heartlessly and they had the audacity to say they were being rescued. That their deaths were part of something bigger than life itself.

They viewed Thanos as a god who was being merciful even when he ripped a beating heart out of someone's chest.

Loki’s heart clenched in his chest painfully. Before it would be too late, he made his way to the tiny child and picked her up carefully. She seemed to recognize the prince but she wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she hugged Loki so she wouldn’t fall out of his grasp.

“Where’s mommy?” The girl sounded absolutely petrified.

Loki didn’t know what to say as he made his way to the pod. Once he reached it, he saw a woman by the entrance.

“You’ll be safe here,” Loki promised the child as he handed her over to the lady. That’s all he had time for as he returned to the corridor. A particularly loud blast made him stumble over his feet and he had to catch his balance by taking support from the metal wall. The lights flickered, which meant the electronics of the ship were injured. There was a strange smokey smell in the air, which lingered with the irony stench of blood.

Loki couldn’t believe this was happening. Had Thanos finally come for him? Or did Thanos somehow know of the tesseract? Either way, if Thanos succeeded, he would kill two birds with one stone. The thought of this being all his fault made Loki nauseous. Guilt was nibbling at his skin and he knew it would eat him alive in the end. He never wished for this to happen!

As he ran down the corridors frantically searching for Asgardians that needed help, he heard different kinds of cries. People were letting out guttural screams. Others were pleading for their lives. Listening to the massacre that was taking place was worse than any nightmare Loki ever recalled having. They were all drained after Ragnarok and now Thanos had found them. It was haunting how ruthless fate could be.

Footsteps began to approach Loki and they were awfully close. Too close for his liking. He was quick to grab his daggers and turn to face whoever dared try to sneak up on him. When he saw a familiar figure, he nearly dropped the blades from his hands. Seeing you there was like shock itself punched him in the face.

You were there, real and clear as day.

How long had it been since the last time he saw you?

Ever since Loki had found out about his true nature, his life had gone downhill. After he ended up with Thanos and went through pure hell with him, he had changed. During his time away from Asgard, he had only missed one person truly - you. You, who had been by his side through everything. You, who hadn’t loved him any less when you saw his deep blue skin and those crimson red eyes that in Loki’s mind resembled blood. You, who had seen him as the rightful king of Asgard when everyone else betrayed him. The light of his life, the angel that had cared for him even when he felt like a monster.

You, who hadn’t been on Asgard when Thor brought him back to face Odin in trial. Loki had spent a lot of time in his cell, alone. He waited for you to appear but you never did and no one ever told him why. They rather left him to drown in his own vicious thoughts. It wasn’t until Loki pretended to be Odin that he began to learn what had happened on Asgard during his exile.

The people at the palace loved to gossip. Some claimed you had stolen a ship and left Asgard behind for good, that living as Loki’s widow had been too hard for you. In Loki’s darkest hours, he wondered if you truly felt ashamed for being associated with him. So ashamed in fact, that you had left it all behind and started anew. Sometimes, he believed that, but it never stopped him from trying to find you. He had searched night and day but it seemed like you had vanished into thin air. It had killed him more every day living in the unknown. His only wish had been that you were okay.

Now there you were, looking like you had never left. In a moment of pure shock, Loki couldn’t even begin to comprehend how you appeared on the ship - seemingly out of nowhere. He was happy to see you, despite how appalling everything else was at that moment.

“Y/N,” Loki spoke your name softly and dared to blink. When you were still there as he opened his eyes, he felt goosebumps all over his skin.

You looked at him so innocently, but then he noticed that something was off. The look in your eyes was cold. You weren’t in your typical Asgardian gear. Instead, you were dressed in dark armour that Loki could’ve sworn he had seen before, but he didn’t know where. Nevertheless, it made him feel uneasy.

“It’s been a while, Loki,” You attempted a smile as you walked closer to him, your husband. It still counted since he had never truly died, right?

Loki didn’t stop you as you walked right up to him. His eyes never left yours. Part of him wanted to kiss you, to hold you and feel you were real, but the shrieks in the background reminded him of how dangerous everything was. The daggers disappeared from his hands and Loki held you by your shoulders. He needed to see that his hands wouldn't go right through you, that he hadn't lost it.

“You need to get off this ship, Y/N!” He told you seriously. There was profound fear in his voice.

Instead of being worried at all, you just smiled back at him.

That was so unlike you.

“Y/N, do you hear me?”

“Oh, I do,” You confirmed nonchalantly, “I’m not going anywhere. Not yet.”

A bloodcurdling cry startled Loki. They were coming closer and closer. The two of you wouldn’t be safe in that passageway for long. By now, his heart was racing with his thoughts. He felt panic settling into his bones.

Before Loki could say another word, you cupped his face rather gently. The fact that you didn’t seem disturbed by what was happening was eerie to Loki. He knew that you had a heart much bigger than anyone else he knew of. The version of you he remembered wouldn’t have been so calm. Something was terribly wrong.

“I need something,” You admitted and batted your eyelashes. Before, Loki would’ve found that quite adorable, but at that moment it was so wrong. He had been so ecstatic to see you and know you were alive, but now he almost wanted to run the other way.

“What?” Loki barely found his voice at that point. He felt sick and heartbroken. This had to be a nightmare, the worst kind.

“The Tesseract, Loki. I really need it,” You blurted it out.

Shivers ran down his spine. How did you know about it? Why did you even care? He was unsure if he could even trust you with the knowledge that he had it in his possession. Usually, he would’ve trusted you with his life without any hesitation, but you had been gone for years and returned like this, with bizarre motives.

You returned at the same time as Thanos and you were looking for the tesseract. Loki wasn’t a fool. He finally put two and two together and the realization was too arduous to believe. The idea of you and Thanos even meeting was something Loki could only see happening in his worst nightmares, but he was afraid it had already occurred. If so, he needed to hear it from you,

“Is Thanos making you do this?”

The tone of his voice seemed to offend you as you sent him a nasty glare. Your softness turned harsh and you pushed Loki against the metal wall with a loud thud. Before he could get out of the way, you grabbed your own dagger and pressed it against his neck so it was ever so slightly pressing against his exposed skin.

“He is not making me do anything. I am glad to serve the all-mighty Thanos. I won’t fail him, unlike you,” You snarled at Loki spitefully.

Never in a million years had Loki imagined this moment to happen. One where you would be fighting against each other. It was supposed to the two of you against the nine realms. Being held like that by the one person he loved more than anything was tearing his heart to shreds, but he tried not to show it.

Deep down, he knew it wasn’t truly you. He knew exactly what Thanos had done to you so you would act like this, and it only made it hurt so much more. It felt like someone was pouring salt into an open wound, and his entire body, heart and soul were wounded.

“Now give me the tesseract and we will be on our merry way,” You tried to obtain it again. This time you seemed more serious. Was it the tone of your voice or your weapon pressed against his pulse? Loki didn’t know.

“I don’t have it,” Loki lied as smoothly as he could because even thinking straight at that moment felt impossible. The world was caving in around him at supersonic speed.

You pressed the sharp edge of the blade closer to him, feeling how just a little bit more pressure would've broken his skin “You’re a great liar, my dear, but I know that’s not the truth.”

Loki didn’t want to fight you, but he didn’t see another way out. And it was good for him that you had learned most of the tricks from him. Your every move would be more easily predictable for Loki. He had to find a way to distract you.

“Why do you need it?” That was a foolish question. He knew damn well what Thanos would do if he got his dirty hands on the infinity stones.

“Why do you care?” You didn’t answer his silly question.

Suddenly, Loki grabbed your wrist tightly and yanked your arm to the side. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but Loki knew you wouldn’t go down without a fight.

At least your weapon fell out of your hand, but you knew how to defend yourself without it. So did Loki.

Loki tried to turn things around so he would have you pinned down against the wall, but you didn’t let him get that far. As he turned you around so your back was pressed firmly against his chest, you kicked your legs against the wall hard, pushing both of you back. Loki took the biggest impact as he fell on the floor, with you on top of him. Quickly, you rolled out of his grasp, turning around in one swift movement so that you were now sat on top of him, with your legs tightly against both his sides.

A powerful orb of magic grew above your fingertips and you brought it closer to Loki’s face - so close that he could feel the heat of your burning powers. The magic created an electric sensation on your skin. It felt like you pushed your fingers deep into warm sand. Toying with it was exhilarating, and seeing the astonished look on Loki’s face made it so much better. The green light of your powers cast light in his eyes, only deepening the look of disbelief that was painted all over him.

“It’s sweet that you’re trying not to hurt me,” You taunted him at that point, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you.”

“This isn’t you, Y/N,” Loki groaned. He was so sure of himself.

You tilted your head and smirked, looking at him like a cat would at a mouse. “I don’t know, Loki. It’s been a while,” You explained casually and leaned closer and closer to his face, stopping when your noses brushed against one another. By now, Loki was frozen on the spot. He was trying to come up with a plan and he felt hopeless.

“I’ve changed,” You whispered to him and felt tempted to kiss him, to taste him. Would you taste his fear? His heartbreak? You were sure it would taste sweet.

“The torture must’ve been painful,” Loki pushed his feelings aside. Yes, he felt like his heart had been ripped to shreds, but he had to do something. He had to surprise you, even if it would hurt. Words could hurt more than actions, and if Loki wanted to survive and to help you, he needed to reach the real you even if the only way to do so was cruel.

How did he know? You narrowed your eyes and surprisingly, found yourself waiting for him to continue.

"I was trained well."

"Trained?" Loki spat out harshly, "I know you're afraid. He has promised you something worse than the pain he has inflicted on you already. It won't happen. If you let Thanos continue his reign, he will not care about your loyalty!"

"Shut up!" That was too much for you. With tears brimming your eyes from anger, you put your hand over his mouth to silence him. He didn't budge and you didn't know why.

You pushed the memories aside. The painful memories of the time Thanos first found you. It was wrong to think of it as torture. No, he had shown you what you're truly capable of. It was training. Training to become a stronger person after the hell you endured on Asgard.

But now that you found yourself thinking about it, it seemed like the memories were all blurred as if you were looking into the past through a broken lens. Someone had spilt oil all over it and the pictures were warped.

"I know you have it," You needed the tesseract. "Give it to me and then this will all be over," you removed your hand from his mouth because it looked like he wanted to speak.

Loki knew that if he’d push you, your magic could burn him, but at the moment he couldn’t come up with another plan. He couldn’t just stay on the ground as people were being killed on the other side of the wall!

"Okay," Loki blurted out. Okay?

For a moment, he had you surprised which was the perfect distraction.

Loki grabbed your wrists tightly and pushed you to the side, but not quickly enough. You released your magic and it graced the side of his face, making him growl out either in pain or frustration - or both. The two of you rolled over and this time Loki was on top, holding your arms pinned above your head. You were trapped because of one mistake. You couldn't believe Loki had used the element of surprise to turn the situation upside down.

Furiously, you tried to kick your legs free, but he had you pinned down beneath him and Loki was strong. There was no point in squirming, you had to come up with another idea.

The two of you faced each other and Loki revealed his face and the damage you had done. Your magic had burned his skin and left a bloody cut on his eyebrow. It had just barely missed his eye. If he lived, it would surely leave a scar.

You flinched when a drop of his blood hit your cheek and it rolled down the side of your face.

"What are you going to do, kill me?"

Loki could never bring himself to kill you. He wouldn't be able to live with himself with your blood on his hands. No. He had other ideas. Loki remembered what it was like to be under Thanos' control. He remembered how much it hurt to even think about the torture. He had to remind you, he had to make you see that this wasn't the real you.

"This version of you, or I certainly hope so," Loki replied mysteriously. Before you could ask him to elaborate, Loki released your wrist and slammed the palm of his hand against your forehead. In a split second, you were in a different place - in your head. You could've sworn you heard him mutter "I'm sorry," before everything turned black.

It was hot, burning hot. Metal chains were attached to you and they were glowing red. Torching. You could only scream in pain as the metal sunk into your skin, your bones, your nerves. It felt like he had chained your mind and with the tiniest movement of his finger, he could make you do his dirty work.

He, Thanos, was sitting on his throne. He was the puppet master and you the puppet. He didn't look at you fondly. No. He was smiling as he watched you cry your lungs out, letting out animalistic growls as the pain got worse. It was so overwhelming that every once in a while, you would scream until you passed out. But every time, one of his children would be there to wake you up.

It was time for another round. And another. And yet another. Would it ever end?

Each time you tried to resist the chains, the strings that were sewn onto you and connected to his fingertips, it hurt more. Eventually, you learned that allowing the strings to tighten around you made it hurt less. It almost felt good, like a long embrace after a long day.

"I don't want to hurt you, my child."

Lies. You knew that all he said were nasty lies, but sometimes it was easier to believe lies than the truth.

"Make it stop!" You would beg him. How long had you been there?

You could remember Thanos touching your face gently, which was so comforting after everything you had endured. At the same time, it made you sick. You couldn't believe that the one who had caused you distress could have such a gentle touch.

"You're ready," Thanos had realized. The Other had appeared right before you and his fingertips were pressed against one another, making him look like he was deep in thought. You had no idea what they were doing, but the next thing you knew was that you no longer felt pain.

The chains, the strings, they were all invisible. It looked like you were free, but the weight of the metal was still pressed against your skin. Had you imagined it?

No,

Deep down you knew that the strings were still attached to you, but they had only made it seem like you had a choice.

"Excellent," The Other's voice surprised you. You merely blinked and you had returned to the vessel. Loki was above you and the Other was standing right there, "You found him."

The Other used his powers to push Loki off you. Shock had made your entire body numb and you couldn't scramble up to your feet. It felt like your limbs had been turned to stone and you were anchored to the floor.

Loki got up slowly with his arms raised in surrender. He was well aware of the powers the Other had and Loki wasn't going to fight him now. If he followed you for long enough, then maybe just maybe he could come up with a plan. Loki looked at you as you finally got up. As you stood next to the Other, you couldn't believe your legs carried you. Something was so wrong. You felt sick and you couldn't shake it off. It felt like something had snapped within you, but you didn't know what.

"He is waiting for you," The Other explained as he turned to walk away, most likely to wherever Thanos was waiting.

Loki had no choice but to follow, and you walked behind, making sure he didn't try to escape.

Why did Loki make you remember that? What did he think he would obtain with making you relive something so awful? It hadn't worked, right?

There he was. Thanos was standing by a hole that had been ripped into the side of the ship. Magic was keeping it sealed so the vacuum of space wouldn't suck everyone into it. But still, the emptiness of space wasn't frightening at all compared to the titan who was standing right there.

Loki swallowed thickly as he saw him again. It had been years but he remembered everything like it had happened yesterday. Seeing Thanos standing in the middle of the piles of bodies, in the room that smelled like smoke and blood, was sickening. Thanos hadn't just killed a part of Loki. He had just slaughtered these innocent Asgardians with the help of his so-called children. He had taken you.

He will make you long for something as sweet as pain

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. They had stayed true to their threats.

"I know what it’s like to lose," Thanos turned around now that he knew Loki was there. At long last. Thanos had not forgotten what Loki had failed to do, and Thanos was a man of his words.

"To feel so desperately that you’re right yet to fail, nonetheless," Thanos continued dramatically and slowly made his way closer to Loki. He saw Thor on the ground, bloodied and weak. The brother of Loki. As tempting as the idea was to torture Thor right in front of the god of mischief, Thanos had different plans. If there was only one way Loki would ever give him the tesseract, it was going to be in order to save you. You were Loki's true weakness.

"It’s frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end?" Thanos looked Loki right in the eye. He could see that Loki was afraid, yet Loki never looked away from him. He was either too proud or fearless. Thanos had liked that about Loki initially. But he had failed Thanos greatly. It had cost him infinity stones.

"Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it’s here. Or should I say I am," Thanos finished his dramatics because it was time for action, to turn the wheels and see the bigger picture. This was the end of an era and a new beginning for a different universe. In Thanos' mind, only he could bring balance and order. He gestured for you to walk up to his side.

Too afraid of the idea of what would happen if you disobeyed, you walked right up to Thanos, feeling like a fly that was willingly flying into cobwebs. When you were close enough, you kneeled and dipped your head so he wouldn't see the worry in your eyes. It wasn't there before.

"I didn't obtain the tesseract from him, but I am sure that he has it, father," You muttered quietly. Why did you say that? There was a pounding headache growing within your skull. You didn't know what was right or wrong anymore and you couldn't fight it either.

Father

Loki clenched his jaw as he followed the situation closely. Hearing that made his blood boil. He wanted to rip Thanos apart after this. Never in a million years had he imagined this, to see you pledge your alliance to Thanos, kneeling before him and respecting him. Thanos didn't deserve that. Hell, Thanos didn't even deserve to look at you. It was wrong.

At that moment, Loki worried that his trick hadn't worked. That the memories hadn't awakened anything within you. That it was all too late now. This was the end, the one thing in life that was inevitable.

"I know, my child," Thanos let out a sigh. Then he grabbed you by your jaw like he had done before, forcing you to face him. "I know he has it," He repeated and suddenly his touch turned violent. He closed his hand around your neck tightly and you gasped for air helplessly. Your hands - tiny compared to his - grabbed his fingers and you tried to pry them apart, but he was tougher than you. Panic shot through your entire body when you realized you couldn't breathe. It turned your blood to ice and your poor heart was beating so hard you were afraid it would explode.

What was he doing?

The moment he pulled you to your feet, so high that you had to stand on the tips of your toes, he spoke, "The tesseract or her life," Thanos smiled devilishly, showing no remorse. He didn't care about you. You were a pawn in his game and if you would die at his feet, he would just walk over you and carry on.

"You choose," Thanos put the weight of the world on Loki's shoulders.

Loki wanted to rescue you from that monster, but he wasn't stupid. With all of Thanos' children surrounding him, he knew that he would be dead before he could reach you. Nonetheless, it didn't mean he wouldn't try. Seeing you clawing at Thanos' hand, fighting for something as simple as air and not getting it was heartbreaking. Loki's body was trembling with hatred and hurt. Tears blurred his vision and he struggled to keep his composure.

How had it all come to this?

The thought of Thanos with the tesseract was haunting. Soon he would have all the stones and he would destroy reality as they knew it. But Loki could live with that. He couldn't live knowing you had died when he had a chance to save you. Perhaps he was selfish for choosing you over the entire galaxy, but Loki didn't care. Nothing mattered if he would lose you again.

"Alright, stop!" Loki made up his mind. "I choose her," Finally, Thanos released his grip on you and let you fall on the cold ground. Your hands wrapped around your throat gently and you coughed painfully. It took you a while to finally breathe again, which was a huge relief for both Loki and you.

And now Loki was holding the tesseract. It was so bright that it painted the space blue. It was almost too bright to look at. The power within the stone was so strong, you could sense it like heat from the sun in spring after a long and cold winter. Loki was tempted to use the tesseract to grab you and escape, but he quickly shut those thoughts away. Thanos would follow him for the end of all days.

"You...you really are the worst, brother," Thor was following the situation to the best of his abilities. He spat out blood as he watched Loki holding the cube. It made him sad. Everything they ever knew was destroyed in the name of power, pure and raw power that the tesseract could offer. Was it worth it?

Loki glanced at Thor who was too weak to even get up. He didn't care too much about what he had to say. Then he looked at you. There you were, on the ground struggling to breathe after Thanos had crushed your windpipe. There was bruising on your skin that would only deepen with time. Time that you possibly wouldn't have after this.

He saw the tears running down your face, but you didn't sob and whimper. It seemed like you were as still as stone. You couldn't bring yourself to face Loki.

"I assure you," Loki found his voice and he addressed both you and Thor with his words, "the sun will shine on us again."

What did he mean by that?

You were ashamed to tilt your gaze to see him, to see the tesseract. The damn infinity stone had ruined it all! It was why Thanos had wrecked Loki, why he had destroyed you too. Why so many people were now dead. If you had one wish that could come true, you would wish for the tesseract to be destroyed forever.

Thanos had his back turned to you. Loki was slowly but surely making his way closer to the titan, almost like he was afraid to move but he forced his body to comply. Why? Why would he trade the tesseract for your life? It seemed like whatever spell you had been under had worn off. You were free, but it was more terrifying than being under Thanos' control under these circumstances. He didn't need you, and soon enough the vessel would be blown to bits. All of you, even Loki.

Would you be able to tell him how sorry you were?

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos wasn't fond of Loki's strange choice of words.

"Well for one thing I'm not Asgardian," Loki replied quickly. It sounded a little bit witty, which was confusing. Where did the boost of confidence come from? Was he up to something?

"And for another," He continued dramatically. This time it was Thanos' turn to be confused.

"We have a Hulk."

Everything that happened after that happened so fast that you could hardly keep up with it. Loki dropped the tesseract and he leapt toward you. Thanos barely had time to turn around when a huge, green beast appeared out of nowhere and it seemed angry. It was eager to fight the titan.

Loki had you up on your feet in no time and the two of you ran away from the immediate danger. He led you to one of the many corridors on the vessel until no one could possibly see you. They were too distracted by the Hulk to even think about Loki and you. It wasn't until he was right in front of you that you could comprehend what was going on. He was kneeling on the floor and you were sat against the wall for support. Your hands were trembling so hard, it seemed like you were freezing up and you couldn't make it stop.

Loki had tricked Thanos.

He was relieved when you didn't fight him, yet he was unsure if it meant you were no longer under Thanos' control, or if you were simply too tired to fight.

He cupped your face gently and searched for answers in your expression. Back in the day, he had been able to read you like an open book.

You put your hands around his wrists and pulled him closer. You were desperate for the comfort he could bring in the midst of the living hell you were stuck in. How did he not hate you?

"I'm s- I'm sorry," You whimpered, finally cracking like a plate that had fallen on the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Shh, it's okay," Loki couldn't possibly let you apologize for what had happened. He was possibly the one person who understood exactly what you had gone through and what it was like to follow orders from that monster. There was not an ounce of judgement to be found in his heart.

What mattered now was that you were together again. You could come up with a plan, but you had to work fast. As much as Loki wanted to hold you and comfort you, to feel that you were real, he knew there wasn't enough time for that.

"We need to get off this thing," Loki's mind was running a marathon as he tried to come up with an escape plan.

"They're gonna blow it up," You explained, feeling how bad your lips were quivering as you spoke. The moment Thanos had what he came for, they would leave and destroy everything they'd leave behind.

Shivers ran down Loki's spine as he heard that. It only confirmed that you had to act quickly. Loki wasn't sure how long the Hulk could fight Thanos. Would they be able to rescue Thor? How much time did they have?

The blood in the wound you had caused on his face was beginning to dry. It looked gnarly and all you wanted was to make it all better. Knowing that you had hurt him made you sick with guilt.

"I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't w-want to fight you," You sniffled, breaking Loki's train of thought. For the first time, he felt lost. He didn't really know what to do. Were there any escape pods left?

"I know," Loki assured you. "I know that. I was in your shoes when I was on Midgard," He explained briefly, unaware whether or not you knew of it. Had Thanos talked about him to you?

A sense of impending doom weighed you two down. If this was the end, then at least you were together, right? You and Loki against the nine realms, you would face the end together if there wasn't another way out. Whenever you had pictured your final day, you had imagined something entirely different than this. You would be old together, with hundreds of stories of your shared life. You would be surrounded by people you cared about. It would be calm, the exact opposite of this.

"I love you," You needed to tell him that. Any moment could be your last. The world would cave in and you would be gone forever.

Loki hated how much that sounded like a farewell, but at the same time, it had been so long since he had last heard those three words, let alone from you. Perhaps it was sick and twisted, but it made him smile.

"I love you too," Loki was sure of it. He had never stopped loving you and he didn't think he was even capable of that.

It seemed like you acted on instinct. You found enough strength to push yourself right against Loki. There was no hesitation in your actions as you kissed him. Loki closed his eyes when he felt your trembling lips pressed against his. Your scent, still sweet and familiar despite it all, punched its way into his lungs. He held your face gently but the kiss was passionate, almost despairing.

You wanted to scream out in agony because at last, you were reunited with Loki but not in the way you imagined. You felt like the shell of the person you were before, and now you knew for a fact that Thanos had done the exact same things to Loki. That titan had killed your souls beyond repair. But all you could do was kiss Loki and hold him and hope that he could feel how sorry you were. You didn't want to let go, afraid that if you did, it would all end. Just like that.

Loki broke the kiss, and for a moment you rested your foreheads against one another like you had done so many times before. It was comforting. You both wanted to stay close like that, but you recognised that you couldn't. Letting go of each other and getting up on your weary feet was so incredibly difficult, but it had to be done.

The world around you began to glow brighter. You quickly held onto Loki, startled as the mysterious light surrounded the two of you.

Loki held his breath as he studied the warm glimmering magic that had swallowed you. In between the bright rays of light, he saw all the colours of the rainbow. Shimmering. He saw reds and blues, yellows and greens, shining brighter than the other and it changed smoothly.

The Bifrost

He didn't know how or why, but he knew for a fact that you were in the magical portal. He couldn't see beyond it anymore. He couldn't feel the floor beneath his feet. It was like he was levitating mid-air, with you tightly in his arms.

Heimdall must've conjured the forefathers, letting their powers flow through him one last time. Where to? Loki assumed that anywhere would be better than where they had been mere seconds ago.

And it was a miracle.

A/N: I think it would've made more sense for Heimdall to send Thor or Loki to earth rather than the Hulk. So that's why I ended it like that

I'd absolutely love to hear your feedback! <3

TAGS:

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[sserpente]

A/N: Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Loki, Happy Birthday to you! Let’s wish our favourite Trickster all the best! ♥ Requests from @hanzimmer and anon.

Words: 2422 Warnings: so much fluff, Asgardian!Reader

Midgard wasn’t so bad after all. You hadn’t been so sure—after all, you had heard the stories. Pollution of all kind, wars over silly things like religion and food drenched in unsaturated fats. You wrinkled your nose, hoping that Thor had organised some proper snacks for his Yule… no, you corrected yourself, his Christmas party.

He had invited his closest friends from Asgard—Heimdall, Sif, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral and you. Heimdall was the only one who, for obvious reasons, had been unable to attend. So here you were now, walking towards this huge building they called Stark Tower. You were familiar. Loki had used it to open a portal to lead an alien army to New York City.

You smiled at the thought of meeting Loki again despite of what he had done. Odin had sentenced him to remain among the mortals for a few centuries to come, serving and aiding them if need be, as an “Avenger”. You had not seen him since the day he had let himself fall into the void beneath the Bifrost, believed him dead and mourned and cried your oldest and most dearest childhood friend… and had rejoiced and hurt all at the same time when he returned and wreaked havoc on Earth.

He must have changed so much—but not enough for you to stop loving him. He had no idea, of course. You had been friends for as long as you could remember and Thor had always been around too. He had loved occupying your attention by bragging with his berserker skills wielding his hammer and creating thunder and lightning.

You suppressed a giggle. Loki and you had often sneaked off together after supper, stealing some fancy dessert and hiding somewhere in the castle so you could chat in peace. How often had you wished Loki would dare a chaste kiss then?

Looking back at it today, it made you wonder if Thor had purposely tried to keep you away from his adoptive brother. Come to think of it, he had always attempted to find a way to embarrass Loki one way or another, and often with the help of his friends who were currently walking right next to you, a little confused about the elevator technology in this realm.

When the metal doors opened again with a pling, you were not disappointed. Thor had decorated the spacious living area with all the Christmas decorations Earth had to offer. There were tinsel and baubles and other ornaments, nutcrackers and fake icicles and snow, sparkling Christmas trees, countless holiday lights blinking away, candy canes, gingerbreads and a massive Santa Clause statue.

“My friends! I’m so glad you could make it!”

The other people in the room you knew from Thor’s stories whenever he returned to Asgard to see if everything is alright. You recognised Captain America instantly due to the muscles and Hawkeye and Black Widow. The two men remaining must have been Tony Stark and the scientist who turned green when he was angry. The person you were interested in the most, however, was the god dressed in green and black next to Thor.

Your face lit up when you spotted Loki and his lips parted barely noticeably in response. You greeted Thor with a brief hug but never took your eyes off of him. Then, for a second, you took in his appearance, admiring how much more grown he looked… how much more mature and experienced. His innocence, so you realised, had vanished from his aura like damp fog in a forest.

You shivered when he spoke your name. “Good to see you.” You weren’t quite sure what he had expected from you but apparently not that you would throw yourself into his arms, pressing yourself against him as if he were a piece of wood in midst of a roaring sea.

“How are you doing, you silly Trickster?” You muttered once you managed to let go of him again, almost complaining when his hands left your body.

His smile was faint but honest, albeit there was still confusion sparkling in his eyes.

“I didn’t think you would be glad to see me.” He admitted instead of responding.

“W-why wouldn’t I be? Loki, I haven’t seen you in years. I thought I had lost you. Did Thor not tell you how the guards almost threw me in prison because they wouldn’t let me see you after New York?”

He frowned. “Not a word.”

“I almost stabbed them… I missed you.”

Loki had no chance to reply this time. Volstagg scattered forth towards the buffet, forcing you to step aside and indicating Thor must have finally started the festivities. You had barely risked a look at the buffet yourself yet but the selection of cookies, cakes and sandwiches looked indeed very promising.

The Warriors Three and Sif made sure to ignore Loki as best as they could—they had nothing to say to him anymore, after all and just like back in the old days, Thor made no move to change that. So while he was introducing them to some Midgardian Christmas traditions, you stepped aside with the fizzy drink he had handed you, quietly talking to Loki.

“Loki!” Volstagg suddenly called out, followed by a chuckle by Fandral. “You need a refill.”

You covered your own glass when they poured the same pinkish liquid (Thor had said it was ‘cotton candy liqueur’) into Loki’s who watched the scene with utter dismay. You could see Thor grinning from the corners of your eye and even Hogun was cracking a smile—Sif only rolled her eyes and one of the mortal men you did not know and had not yet made any effort to get introduced to, pressed his lips together so he would not burst out laughing. Idiots. Just leave him alone for once, will you?

“Who is who?” You asked once they had turned away again. “I recognise the redhead and the archer, and Captain America, what about the others?”

“Stark is the man to the left.” Loki said, downing almost the entire drink at once. Alcohol was supposed to numb unease, after all.

“The one with the beard?” The one who had failed to show his amusement when Volstagg clearly made Loki uncomfortable, you added mutely.

“Yes. The other is Bruce Banner.”

“The Hulk.” He nodded.

“How are they… treating you here?”

Loki snorted. “After what I have done? They seem to have forgotten I was the reason they assembled in the first place, not, however, that it was I who attempted to subjugate the planet.”

You glanced at him for a moment. “What happened, Loki? You were never like that. You never wanted a throne, you merely wanted your father to treat you and Thor as equals. Why Midgard?” Loki’s expression was pained, yet at the same time, relief flooded him. No, you were right—he had never been like that. Thor had still not realised that but here you were, his oldest friend whom he had secretly been in love with for decades, realising in a mere second that there was going on with him.

“Not here.” He shook his head slightly, making you frown. Something was up, you could tell. Something weighed heavy on his mind, tearing him down. You sighed. It was nothing new that besides Frigga before her death, no one but you ever truly bothered to listen to what Loki had to say. It had never been as important as what Thor had had to say.

Not here, he had said. Well then for now, all you could do was cheer him up a little. “What cake is that?”

Loki raised his eyebrows, irritated by the sudden change of topic. “Thor said something about marshmallows.”

“What are marshmallows?” He shrugged. “It looks really good though…” You said, a devilish grin forming on your lips. “What do you think? Let us grab that cake and get out of here?” Just like in the old times?

Loki smiled—it suited him, being this blithe. You wondered when he had last had the chance to be like that. Sneakily, you reached for some white forks (they were very light, a very cheap material, apparently) all the while Loki yoinked the cake. You made sure no one would notice before you followed him out of the vast room and took the elevator to another level where it was so quiet one could have heard a needle drop.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“My room,” he answered. “I am quite surprised they gave me one to be truly honest.”

But very apparently, their generosity had been kept within limits. Compared to his chambers back on Asgard, Loki’s room here on Midgard was pathetically small. A single bed and a desk along with a wardrobe and a tiny bedside table were the only items of furniture and to be quite frank, the room resembled a prison cell more than a proper accommodation. Unlike the rest of the Tower, there was not a single piece of Christmas decoration in here. You were almost disappointed. Surely, Loki would adore some green and gold tinsel as well. You wondered if Thor had even bothered to ask if he wanted any.

You didn’t need his permission to sit on his bed, you had never needed it back on Asgard either. Loki and you were so close you sometimes wondered why he had never tried to take you with him on his conquest. You wouldn’t have minded to be the queen of evil if only that meant you could be with him…

Loki sat down next to you, setting both your glasses aside. You grinned when you handed him a fork and you both dug into the marshmallow cake as if it was going to be your last meal.

“Oh…” You mused. “It really is good.”

“Hmm…” He confirmed.

You giggled. “I’m glad you didn’t lose your sweet tooth.”

Your heart jumped when Loki winked at you, his mouth still full of cake. You had already transformed the pretty and edible creation into an utter crumbly mess but then again, who needed those paper plates these mortals used as dishes, regardless of the cute snowmen and snowflakes on them?

“It was not the same without you, you know.” You said then.

“I bet Thor kept you occupied.”

You shook your head, the both of you still munching away.

“We barely spoke after your death, I mean… after we thought you had died… to be truly honest, I think I only tolerated Thor because he is your brother.”

Loki tilted his head. “One might think it was the other way around.”

“Yeah… that’s probably what he is telling his mortal friends right now. I meant it, Loki. I really missed you. I was heartbroken when they told me you had flung yourself down the Bifrost…”

“And then?” He interrupted. “Were you repulsed when you learned about what I did here on Midgard?”

You shook your head. “I was worried for you. You were always on my mind. Did you… Did you ever think about me?”

“Well, of course I have, I love you.” He blurted out, only to close his mouth in utter shock the fraction of a second after.

You nearly choked on the cake. “W-what did you just say?”

“N-nothing, I… I said I have been in love with you unconditionally for centuries.” Loki bit his tongue, his eyes widening. You had positively never heard him stutter before. What he was saying was true, there was no mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes, but even though your heart leaped at the thought of him reciprocating your romantic feelings, your first instinct was to figure out what had made him spill the truth like that.

Unceremoniously, you reached for his pinkish drink and gave it a smell. Yours smelled different, without a doubt.

“Oh, Loki… they’ve spiked your drink with a truth potion I believe.”

“They did what?”

“That… that must be why they snickered so much upon refilling your glass, my love. I’m glad we left, I bet they were waiting for you to make a fool of yourself.”

Loki scoffed. “Well… I did that now anyway, did I not? Perhaps you should leave, I—”

You only smiled. “I love you too, Loki.” You said, making him look up in utter surprise. The cake between you on the bed was now entirely forgotten. You brushed it aside, not caring whether the icing would stain his bed sheets.

“What?” He breathed as you crawled towards him and made yourself comfortable on his lap, feeling confident now that he had admitted his feelings for you.

And as you wrapped your hands around his neck, you smiled, touching his forehead with yours.

“Nothing you do could ever stop me from loving you, Loki. If Thor had not thrown this stupid Midgardian Yule party… I might have never seen you again.”

Loki took a deep breath. “I think I understand now what Thor meant by ‘Christmas miracles’…” He uttered in response, his lips only inches from yours. Laughing quietly, you closed the small distance between you and pressed your lips against his. It was a chaste kiss—to test the waters, get used to how it would feel and, much like you had anticipated, it stole your breath away.

“Let us leave together.” Loki suggested hoarsely when you broke apart again, his breath ghosting over your lips.

“How? Odin sentenced you to be here, with Thor. He would know—and Thor and his Avengers would come after you.”

“Oh, they will not.” He retorted, a mischievous smirk growing on his lips.

“Loki? What have you been up to again?”

“I have the Tesseract.” He revealed smugly.

“You… what? How?!”

“Shhh… keep your voice down, sweetling.”

“I’m sorry… how? It’s supposed to be on Asgard, locked in the king’s treasure chamber.”

“Well, it was. Until I took it. We could go anywhere. They will never be able to trace us.”

You bit your lower lip, excitement rushing through you. Life on Asgard was dull without Loki and you certainly did not desire to stay here on Midgard with those mortals and their strange traditions and customs. Loki’s proposal was a dream come true, at long last.

“Then let us do it.” You beamed, making him smile. “But first… we finish that cake. Leave them a goodbye present.”

Loki laughed—and you did not move off his lap again until the very last crumb of the marshmallow cake was gone.

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate it so much if you considered supporting me on Kofi! It’s either for caffeine or red wine, I’ll take both. ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

[squishneedsahero]

Dancing and Drunken Cuddles

All or Nothing

Part 2 of 1

Word Count: 2646

Uhhh idk y'all I have cravings and just need to get them out. As always no smut cause we sex repulsed up in this house babes. Anyways this is a Loki x Bucky x Reader imagine. And also the reader is a werewolf.

Like I said it's a lot and idk but I needed it to be written

A/N: Shout out to @superheroesandstardust fueling me to write this with some sweet tags on the last part.

Exhausted. That was what you were, nothing but exhausted as you lay on the floor of your containment cell. It had been an especially rough night in your wolf form, both of your boys weren't there since they had to go on a mission, and they'd figured out a way to calm you down on the nights of the full moon. It wasn't much and you were still extremely dangerous but with a combination of Loki's magic and the both of them holding you but it helped with the stress and made the transition the next morning more bearable.

So, yeah, not having them there to calm your nerves, plus an especially hard night, you couldn't bring yourself to get up off the floor. They weren't even there for you if you got up and went to your shared quarters, so, you might as well stay there until you have the energy to get up. You end up falling asleep right there on the padded floor, which made sense seeing as you didn't sleep on these nights, meaning you were up for over 24 hours at least.

You wake up around noon, sitting your head up you're surprised to see that you weren't in your cell but in your bed. From there you realize you're thoroughly trapped with two sets of arms around you, a head using your stomach as a pillow and a tangle of legs at the end of the bed. You relax your head back, letting it fall to the side, bringing you face to face with a sleeping Loki, yeah, you weren't getting out of here any time soon if your moving hadn't disturbed them at all.

It wasn't so bad to be trapped in their arms, you honestly loved it, the only problem was you were starving. When you were a werewolf all you wanted to do was eat, you couldn't do that though because humans didn't need to be eaten, but all the energy that went into transforming then trying to shred the walls of your cell as you tried to get free then transforming back, left you running on empty.

Oh so carefully you begin to untangle your legs from their's, then you begin escaping their arms. You're so focused on doing so without disturbing your two boys that you don't notice the fact that their legs once again entrap yours or that an arm you'd thought you'd gotten out from under was back around you. You keep trying, slowly growing more and more frustrated.

"She's quite cute when she's frustrated, don't you think?" you hear a voice say with a hint of a smirk to it.

"I believe she is, but she's always cute, though I do think she might begin trying to kill us if we don't let her go eat soon," the voice comes from the head on your stomach.

Your head flops back onto the pillow with a groan. "Might?" you ask with a hint of sarcasm as a hand cards through the hair on your scalp.

"Fine, love, I suppose the two of us can make do without you for a time," Loki responds in your ear as his arms remove themselves from around you.

You turn your head to look at one of the two men you loved so dearly, "thank you my trickster, it was quite difficult being without you last night."

You feel Bucky roll over on your other side and move so his head is by your's and Loki's rather than on your stomach, "hey, what about me?" he asks teasingly.

You give each of them a kiss, "yes, yes you too Bucky." You say as you get off the bed, "though I'm sure the two of you didn't miss me nearly as much since you had each other," you say with a dramatic hand to your forehead as you walk out of the room. Unfortunately for everyone else in the compound Loki's taste for theatrics had begun to rub off on you and Buck.

When you head down stairs you find everyone hanging out on the couches around a coffee table piled with pizza, you don't hesitate to grab an entire box and plop yourself down on the couch next to Nat.

"The beast as awoken I see," Tony  taunts.

Once you shoot him a glare you say, "yeah, I have and I haven't eaten yet so I suggest you shut your trap before I decide to eat something besides pizza."

"I'm sure theres a reason she's down here without those two love sick puppies Tony, on that note keep taunting her it seems like fun to watch," Clint says from his spot on the other side of Nat.

Tony shuts up after that, leaving you alone to eat. "So, how'd things go?" you ask Steve, since you always felt bad when you couldn't join them due to wolfing out. They brief you on what happened and how they all got some sleep in the quinjet, except those two boyfriend's of yours who were up all night worrying about you. That gets a smile out of you as you finish off another piece of pizza. You roll your eyes, "I told them I'd be fine," you say, blushing a bit, knowing how over protective they could be.

"My brother isn't one to leave the things he loves alone," Thor says.

"Yeah," you say softly, a smile coming to your face as you think about it, as much as Loki got on your nerves for being possessive and over protective it was cute.

"Oh, now you've done it- y/n is being sappy."

That gains Clint a glare from you. Nat jumps in to change the subject from off of your love life, since you could be just as overprotective as the other two thirds of your relationship despite you being a bit more subtle about it. "So, the three of you planning on joining us for Tony's party this evening?" she asks.

This causes you to pause, you'd been in this relationship for nearly a year now, but you all preferred to keep it quiet. So, this meant you didn't usually go to parties together since when you got the least bit tipsy you had trouble keeping your hands off of them, "not sure, I'll ask." The three of you were reformed war criminals, you weren't exactly sure how the world would take it knowing you were all in a relationship. Sure, you kept each other stable, Bucky was reformed, Loki didn't want to take over the world anymore, but you on the other hand were still dangerous even if you didn't want to be. No matter what you did you'd all always be seen as threats.

An hour later you're back in bed with your boys, "Tony's having a party this evening, do you guys want to go?" you ask.

Loki answers first from his place propped on his elbows over you and Bucky, "it's up to you two, I've always said I have no problems with going to a party and being able to show the world that you're mine."

You giggle, your heart fluttering as it always does when he calls you his, and turn your head to look at Bucky, "what about you Bucky?"

"It's been a while since I was able to go out dancing," he says, fingers combing through Loki's hair, "I'd love to spend the night doing that with my two favorite people, doll," he says to you.

You smile, "then it's settled, we'll go out tonight and let the world know that you're both mine and I'm yours," you giggle once more before leaning to kiss Bucky's stubbly cheek.

You movement opens your neck up for Loki to press a kiss to it, "that sounds perfect darling," he practically purrs. From there he turns and kisses Bucky, "right love?" he asks him.

"It does, Lo," he responds, his hand once again running through the other man's hair. A smile settles on your face, everything was perfect.

"Love," you use Bucky's pet name, "could you zip me up?" You ask hours later as you turn your back to him, after asking for help with your dress.

"Of course doll," he responds gently and you feel him run a finger up your spine before he zips up your dress that matched your eyes beautifully. His arms then settle around your waist and trap you against him, you giggle as you feel him lean down to press a kiss behind your ear.

You turn around and lock your arms around his neck, "I love you," you say softly and kiss his lips.

"Might I say, the two of you look ravishing this evening," Loki's voice says from the doorway before he comes over to join in the hug. "It's going to be quite the challenge to be sure that no one else looks at either of you."

You laugh and turn your head to look at him, "I could say the same for you darling," you free a hand to cup his cheek and give him a kiss, "I cannot keep others from looking at me, but I can tell you the only attention I want or need is yours and Buck's."

Loki turns his attention to Bucky with a slight shake of his head, "I suppose," he says running a hand through the other man's hair, "I could play nice for this evening."

Bucky laughs gently and kisses Loki, "at least for a little, you probably don't want the wolf mad at us again, especially cause last time she kicked us out of the bed for the night."

You laugh and shake your head, "that's a lie and you know it. I tried to kick you out of bed but as soon as the both of you gave me those puppy dog eyes you've perfected I let you right back in bed."

"Tsk," Loki clicks his tongue, "no worries darling, the two of us will behave," he pauses and smirks at Bucky, "until we're alone... You on the other hand, I'd be surprised if you can keep your hands off of us, y/n."

This gains a pout from you, "it's not my fault you two can't get drunk," you mutter. They both laugh at your reaction to their teasing before each one linking an arm with yours and escorting you out of the room and down to where the party was being hosted.

The room is set up magnificently, Tony knew how to host a good party, as always it would start out with some casual conversations, drinking and dancing. After the first couple hours it could then go one of two ways, elegant and royal ball like, or like a club with everyone hammered and dancing up on each other. No matter which way the party ended up going all of you always had fun with it.

The three of you weren't exactly late, but you entered after enough people arrived to cause a bit of a scene as everyone's heads turned to see you with an attractive man on each arm walk into the party. You immediately forget their teasing from a few minutes previous and let go of their arms to go get a drink from the bar. They both shake their heads, exasperated but knowing they were in for a fun night. "Might I have this dance, Love?" Loki asks, offering a hand to Bucky.

Bucky accepts the hand with a smile, he hadn't danced for reals since the 40s and he was excited, he'd always loved dancing and so had Loki. They move amazingly together, and you're more than happy to just sit and watch your two boys twirl one another around the dance floor since dancing wasn't so much your thing as it was theirs. They go on for a few songs and when they finally stop they were glowing with happiness. as they then approach you at the table where you had settled yourself with your drink.

"May I doll?" Bucky then asks you to dance and you accept before following him out to the dance floor. The night continues on like this the three of you taking turns dancing together, clearly together for everyone to see, and you of course get a little handsy later in the evening once you're a bit more than tipsy.

Finally all the guests leave and this leave the three of you and the rest of the team sitting around a table chatting and drinking some more. It's at this point that Thor brings out the Asgardian liquor dubbed "excelsior" and pours out four shot glasses, passing one to Steve, Bucky and Loki before keeping one for himself. Your two boys take the glasses offered to them, glancing at each other then you, happily zoned out across their laps, before taking the shots.

Bucky had one of your hands trapped in his and Loki was dealing with your other one that kept trying to creep up his shirt. You were lucky you were cute because you were quite the handful as drunk as you were. They weren't more than a little tipsy from the Asgardian mead they'd had access too, now the excelsior was beginning to set in for them, and let them both get drunk for once. They were still interested in talking with the others while you had given up on conversation a while before, preferring to lounge on them and keep trying to make out with them.

They were having fun with their friends and brothers so they were succeeding with ignoring you for the time being. Plus you were tired out from dancing so even if you did manage to drag them back to the room you'd only pass out after maybe a few kisses. You free your hand from Bucky's eventually to begin running it through his hair while your other hand continues to rest just under the edge of Loki's now untucked button up shirt.

Once the stronger stuff had been consumed by the two men, the three of you didn't last long remaining with the others. It had been really easy for you to get them to carry you to your bed, sure they weren't as drunk as you but now they were more than just tipsy, It had just been a matter of you pulling Bucky into an awkwardly angled kiss, since you were lying across his lap, and the hand that was resting on Loki's side moving so your fingers were just under the waistband of his pants. With that the three of you were getting off the couch, you being carried in Bucky's arms while Loki puts his arm around both of you and teleports you to your room.

Once you're in your bedroom you're suddenly motivated to move on your own, slipping out of Bucky's arms and standing on your own. You struggle with your dress for a few moments, forgetting about the zipper, before Loki rescues you. You giggle drunkenly and kiss his cheek before stripping down to your underwear, stealing one of their shirts off the chair it had been thrown over and flopping down on your side of the bed and promptly passing out. It wasn't exactly your side since you were usually in the middle but they made do, climbing in on the other side of the bed.

They organize themselves and get comfortable, letting Loki be the little spoon and Bucky the big spoon. At least until you roll over and throw an arm and a leg over top of both of them and slip your other arm and leg underneath them to make yourself the biggest of all the spoons. Somehow you're comfortable despite the fact that you are in a position similar to that of a sloth in a tree, completely wrapped around them.

[lonelyghosts-stuff]

Loki x Reader Imagine/Plot Summary Idea

Very slow burn, enemies to lovers

Disclaimer: this turned out to be MUCH longer than I planned and waivers back and forth between being a story idea to prompt others to write a full story and having fully written sections lol.

During the events of the Avengers movie y/n, a seemingly normal everyday citizen, got in the line of danger and inadvertently showed her unstable powers (im thinking something along the line of telekinesis caused by an astral power form that struck her as a teen and used her as a vessel to contain itself (it’s not necessarily alive, I guess you could equate its “sentience” to that of Doctor Strange’s cape) this power source is unstable in y/n as it needs to be controlled and flow and not suppressed, but also not overreleased or the vessel, in this case y/n could die. I’m picturing some kind of blue-ish purple mist.) which made the Avengers take note. Y/n goes into hiding because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone with her powers but the Avengers track her down and kind of have to subdue her to bring her to Stark Tower since she acted a bit brash and reckless trying to escape them believing she was a danger to everyone around her. During her time there more events of the first Avengers movie take place and she remains in a room of the tower, not necessarily being held prisoner, but more of to keep herself safe and everyone else safe. At one point Loki gets ahold of her and uses the staff to control her during which she causes a lot of damage to the city. Eventually the Avengers rescue her and what she regains control and realizes the damage she’s done she spirals into a major depression and feeling of not deserving to live. Eventually, she ends up fighting Loki, trying her best not to use her powers too brashly, also while not caring if she died in the process as she felt she deserved it. At one point she gets incapacitated and knocked unconscious, leaving the rest of the Avengers to defeat Loki and capturing him. With Loki now imprisoned and free from any of the brain altering effects the staff also had on him, he’s been informed of the effects he’s had on y/n and feels a bit guilty but not too much. He still has his wicked side to him and a desire to escape and get revenge on the Avengers and Thor. Using his range of skills in lies, illusions, manipulation, and skills in combat, he tries many times to escape, all the while slowly developing a curiosity for y/n as she struggles to contain her powers and forgive herself for the destruction. Drama occurs here and there as minor fights break out about how to handle Loki. Y/n’s unstable powers are also a strong concern for the Avengers as she could indeed cause some major damage, all the while, ever since the display of her powers when she first defended herself to when she fought Loki have spread and reached the ears of Hydra agents, intrigued by them and their potential to be weaponized. As danger continues to rise, Loki finds himself feeling sympathy for y/n, seeing their similarities: they both were seen as monsters, they both don’t know their real parents, people are pursuing them to take advantage of their powers, etc. Y/N finds herself talking to Loki quite a bit as time progresses, feeling numb and not caring if he was considered dangerous (at one point or another he tricks her into entering his cell and he restrains her and threatens her to try and use her to escape, but despite her initial panic and fear, she still feels like she deserves death and pretty much doesn’t fight back). Slowly but surely a slight, unspoken bond forms between them, nothing serious or romantic, but just a connection.

One day (maybe a time skip to after the matters of Winter Soldier? I don’t know how long that might be), when an incident arises and the Avengers are called into action and take the Quinjet, taking Loki with them, manacled, to keep an eye on him, and y/n also to make sure she’s safe, a squadron from Hydra kidnap y/n and take her away to torture her and try and weaponize her. Loki, knowing how that feels with Thanos, desperately pleads with the avengers to try and save y/n. The Avengers still distrust Loki and refuse to free him but do bring him with them on their mission to rescue Y/N just in case he could provide any insight into stopping her. Y/n gets tortured and experimented on until she feels like a shell of her former self, vulnerable to manipulation. (She doesn’t necessarily get the full on “Winter Soldier” treatment, but close). When the Avengers track her down and go to rescue her, her powers, while still unstable, have grown and she uses them more confidently and aggressively to fight. Steve, having seen this before, is hesitant to fight her knowing she’s not the one in control, but still finds himself needing to do it. The others, while not necessarily wanting to fight her either, don’t have as much care or grief with fighting her as they don’t have as much of a connection to the situation as Steve. Loki witnesses a lot of the fight from the Quinjet comms and feels a pang of guilt and remorse seeing her, reminding himself of his actions.

Eventually, the Avengers take down y/n (it takes a bit not only due to her powerful, not yet completely understood powers, but also because Steve refused to let anyone take on lethal or seriously dangerous means of taking her down) and subdue her with a magic restraining collar. Not entirely sure how to reverse the brain washing without bringing her to Wakanda, she is kept in the towers as a prisoner in a cell opposite of Loki’s. Loki continues to argue with the Avengers asking to enter her cell and to remove his manacles so he can try to remind her of her memories, but the Avengers refuse to budge until Thor steps in saying he trusts Loki’s intentions and will be standing closely by to catch Loki if he tries anything, just in case. When Loki enters the cell and is freed of his manacles, while tempted to escape, he feels compelled to try and help y/n. Grabbing her head he instills his magic inside of her mind to restore her memories, reminding her of who she is. When she comes back to herself, y/n looks shell shocked and traumatized before weeping. To everyone’s shock, Loki comforts her and reassures her it’s not her fault. Y/n then proceeds to ask Loki to kill her, shocking Loki as he feels his heart crack at the thought of how she views herself. Having seen into her mind, he witnessed the tortured she endured, he witnessed her getting her powers, he witnessed her scared when she displayed her powers on accident to protect herself, he witnesses her devastation when she realized what she had done under Loki’s control, and now under Hydra’s control. He sees how broken and alone and worthless and dangerous and hated she feels. To further shock everyone else, he takes her hands into his and assured her she’s not alone. She’s not worthless. She is brimming with potential and so much more. Her scars do not define her nor do the actions or influences of others define her. Y/n quickly and rather suddenly pulls Loki into an awkward hug, Loki not really knowing how to show or return affection or care, and despite the hug feeling cold and icy, she feels her heart warm as she calms down. Thor quickly interrupts and reattached the manacles to Loki before escorting him back into his cell (he knows Tony is most definitely watching from security cameras) before carefully approaching y/n to ensure she was okay. After confirming she is, Thor escorts her to the others to reintroduce her to them and clear the air. Y/n can’t help but stare at Loki as they leave him in his cell. She feels sorry for him but also confused as to why he helped her and embarrassed at the fact she hugged Loki, the supposedly evil god of mischief, the man who had fought her, threatened her, and even mind controlled her. It felt like too much to wrap her head around.

After getting re-accustomed to the Avengers and having her revelation with Loki, y/n began to pursue training. Aided by Thor and the others, y/n slowly gains a better control of her powers, mostly how to prevent them from going haywire and getting out of control, but she still has yet to truly understand them despite knowing the case in which led to her obtaining them in the first place. Eventually, the avengers let Loki out of his cell, but requiring him to still wear the manacles and remain within the tower. Y/n, despite Loki having helped her recover from the brain washing and even showing her genuine care, found herself still being wary of Loki, especially now that he was out of his cell. Hearing of the many times he has gone behind Thor’s back or seemingly turned a new leaf only to betray Thor again made her increasingly doubtful and hesitant to believe this Loki was truly turning around or just using her as a pawn to escape and trick them all. Of course in Loki’s mind, being out of his cell was a breath of fresh air (despite him not being allowed to leave the tower besides occasionally going to the top and standing near the helipad to watch the sun set or rise). His spirits began returning to him including his mischievous and tricky nature. However, even with these returning, he didn’t have as much of an urge to act on them. At least not while y/n was around. He almost felt obligated to resist these temptations and urges as long as y/n was around as to not dishearten her or make her doubt her own abilities to stay in control of her own powers. If he slipped up or decided to leave, y/n might lose faith in herself and reclaiming the light side and controlling her powers. He already felt responsible for the pain and guilt she has experienced due to his mind control, but he couldn’t let her feel any more. He could still sometimes picture what he saw when he looked into her memories; the torture, the experiments, the loss of her own free will and identity. He couldn’t let himself go back down the road of darkness and make her think it’s inevitable she will do the same.

Despite his restraint to not cause any serious trouble, Loki still found himself causing some trickery here and there within the tower, mostly through minor illusions he could still conjure despite the manacles (his energy levels are much higher since being out of his cell) or through his general snarky, sarcastic, and sassy attitude. The Avengers still didn’t trust him, but they did begin trusting Y/n more with her control over her powers. Y/n proved her ability to keep her own for brief periods when she trained more with Thor with her powers and with Natasha with hand to hand combat. Eventually, the day came that Nick Fury approached and inquired about y/n, her moral leanings, her powers, and the potential of recruiting her for the Avengers. Y/n felt quite overwhelmed by the whole situation but also felt honored and like she could make up for the destruction she has inadvertently under the control of others by now helping others in need. As y/n grew more confident, some of the other Avengers grew concerned. Considered with his inexperienced she was, her unstable powers and emotions, her guilt complex, and even more so that hydra and even other organizations could possible still have a target on her or even more ways to control her now that they have done it already. With all these things in mind, however, the Avengers ultimately agreed with Nick Fury to recruit y/n, after all, she might as well continue to learn how to control her powers and potentially be useful instead of self loathing and dangerous. Loki managed to peer into the minds of the others and was able to piece together their plan to recruit y/n. If that’s the case, he could potentially still escape if he was certain she would be in good care with the Avengers, despite how he still detested them. His betrayal could potentially not have as big of an impact on y/n if she grew confident in her powers and ability and worth. Who knows, maybe his betrayal could even inspire her be nothing like him or to track him down. Then, they could have a more evenly matched fight. He kept lying to himself and telling himself the last part over and over again in a desperate attempt to justify his betrayal without hurting y/n. He had no real clue as to why he cared so much about y/n. Yea they had a lot in common but she was just another puny, midguard mortal.

Eventually, a mission was announced and y/n was about to go out into the field with the Avengers for the first time. Loki debated whether or not he should try to escape now or wait for another mission in which y/n may have more confidence built up after at least one successful mission. Loki ended up wracking his brain so much with his predicament he ended up not even leaving at all and still thinking by the time they all returned. A few scratches and bruises here and there but nothing too serious. Y/n was the worst looking of them all, not because she was injured severely, in fact she was probably the third most injury free, but because of how exhausted and almost gaunt she looked. It seemed her powers take severe tolls on her mind and body when she is forced to control and concentrate them to do specific tasks and avoid letting them unleash chaos. She almost fell onto the floor as she approached one of the many couches in the immensely large leisure room in the Stark Tower. She barely caught herself before flopping onto the couch and immediately falling asleep. Despite her looking like hell, seeing y/n lie there peacefully (again, despite her rather unconventional position she fell asleep in). He could sense her mind was at peace with herself. While doubts still were present, the didn’t dominate her thoughts anymore. She was easier to read like this without walls of fear and hatred and doubt clouding her mind. It wasn’t long before Loki realized the others caught him staring and y/n as they proceeded to exchange odd and confused glances. Of course, Loki being the way he is, immediately played it off that he was just in shock of how dead she looked and wondered why they seem to hate her so much to throw her into action. To which of course Thor responded by pressing his hammer into Loki’s chest and leaving it there until Loki yielded. Loki now felt more confident that he could escape during the next mission without any regrets.

But then the next mission came around and he remained.

And then again.

And again.

And yet again.

Loki was even shocked and surprised with himself. He ended up waiting nervously for them to return from their missions, now nervous something may happen to y/n. She didn’t deserve to suffer they way she did at his hands or the hands of hydra and she definitely doesn’t deserve to get injured or worse, killed while helping others. Thor began to grow hopeful and trusting of his brother, believing he had truly turned around a new leaf and that he was proud of him. That only made things harder for Loki. His whole life as a child he was jealous of his brother and secretly looked up to him, especially when they father had favored Thor over him. Loki was determined to find a way to shake off these feelings before things got any “worse”, making it harder for him to escape without a guilty conscience.

One day, when the avengers, including y/n, were on a mission, Loki saw over the news that people were trying to attack y/n specifically a family and their friends who were affected and attacked by y/n while she was under Loki’s control. Loki was able to see her powers flowing through her and her eyes as she tried to contain them as to not cause any more damage, but then the youngest one of the family against her, a young boy of around five years old, calls her a monster. Suddenly, y/n’s heart feels like it stops and shatters. Her powers glowed brightly in her veins and into her eyes as she screamed before falling to the ground, a massive shockwave rushing out from her and knocking back everything within a square mile (fortunately for the family and friends that were confronting her and everyone else in the area, the wave seemingly went around them) purple blue mist followed the wave before curving up and angling down and plummeting directly back into y/n as she seemingly uncontrollably floated into the air. When all the power returned into her, she went limp before falling to the ground, motionless. Loki immediately made his way out of the tower, desperately trying anything to remove the manacles as he rushed to the location the news had reported the incident was occurring. Halfway there, Thor stopped him having predicted he would have tried to escape a while ago but having realized his brothers developing interest in y/n. Knowing Loki held all kinds of reality changing powers within him, Thor took a leap of faith and unlocked Loki’s manacles. For a brief second, as Loki’s powers surged through him once more, he got a sudden and powerful urge to make his escape. But then an image of y/n came into his mind. And with that, he immediately pushed aside any desire of escaping to rush to y/n with Thor on his side.

When he finally got there, y/n had been pulled up off of the ground by Tony who carried her quickly trying to get away from the apparently still present threat. It was then that the immense (insert threatening, giant beast here) emerged into sight. Almost within a second of the beasts reemergence, y/n bolted straight up out of Tony’s arms, eyes glossed over with a purple and blue hue. She walked forward to the beast seemingly in a daze, unresponsive to the avengers cries. Suddenly, the beasts attention is turned to the family from before. Y/n’s eyes come back into focus as she realizes what’s happening. Without a second thought y/n rushed in front of the family and produces an immense wall of energy, defending them from the beast. As the beast struck at the wall, it appeared as though y/n was feeling the force transmit from the wall into her. The Avengers and Loki, albeit shocked and confused as to what was happening, took advantage of this to strike at the beast with all they had. When the beast seemingly began to weaken, y/n’s wall broke down and sent her flying back with the force of one of the beasts swipes. The family, now exposed, found themselves facing death as the beast lowered in to attack. Before it could make any advance, however, y/n bloodied and staggering, made her way between the beast and the family once more. Putting in all of her energy she produced one more wall of energy right as the beast struck, this time, y/n forced the energy into the beast and sent it flying back, but it grabs her last minute too and she flies with it.

The dust settles and the beast is slayed. The family immediately gets ushered to safety by Nat and Clint as the others close in on the beast to see what remains of y/n. Lying motionless on the ground as blood streamed from her head and chest, a razor claw is stuck through her upper right side of her chest and shoulder, the beast had just barely managed to swipe at here as she forced it back. Loki immediately rushed to her said and held her, to the shock and initial protests of the others, and began creating magic runes on y/n’s exposed skin around the wound. Y/n’s slowly fluttered open before she released a sharp shriek of pain. Seeing Loki healing her was too much with everything else going on, almost feeling like a fever dream. Her vision went in and out of focus as her blood loss lessened with Loki healing her. As he did so, he carefully and slowly lifted y/n off of the beast’s claw, resulting in many painful groans and shrill exclamations from y/n, eventually making it all of the way off and allowing Loki to safely seal the wound. Both looked absolutely exhausted. Y/n with blood loss and overloading her magic, and Loki straining his magic to its extent while it still is freshly returned to him and kinda of hard to control for now. It wasn’t before long when y/n closed her eyes and fell almost motionless once again, just her chest rising and falling as she breathed deep and raspy breaths.

Immediately returning to the tower, Loki not being forced to wear his manacles for the time being as somewhat of a test trial, y/n was ushered to the medical floor to rest and be treated for any other injuries alongside the other avengers who had managed to be wounded. Loki found himself almost never leaving y/n’s side, peering into her mind and seeing her at peace, feeling as though she had made it up for what damage she had previously done. And while this made Loki secretly happy for her, it also made him somber as it was his fault to begin with. It was four days before y/n woke up. And to her surprise, the god of mischief was slumped against the wall on the ground next to her bed, asleep. Despite it undeniably being a weird site to see, y/n felt warm and fuzzy inside. Suddenly, she remembered exactly what happened and quickly nudged Loki’s shoulder to wake him up. Loki immediately sprung to his feet to get a good look at y/n, awake and moving. In a reverse turn of events, this time it was Loki who pulled y/n into a rushed hug. This time, it was just right. Y/n returned the hug and they stayed there for a bit before slowly receding back. Y/n opened her mouth to say thank you, but before she could, Loki quite suddenly and boldly said he was sorry. Sorry for everything. Sorry for hurting her and making her do things that led to her hating herself, sorry that because of him, she’s had to suffer like this. As he apologized, tears began to well up in his eyes. Y/n was taken aback before gently cupping his face and telling him it wasn’t his fault either, the power of the staff was affecting his mind too. They were both used. It was another beat of silence as they both just stared into the galaxies in each other’s eyes. They were bonded and connected more deeply than ever before in ways no one else could ever understand. Slowly, they both inched their faces closer to each other...

And kissed.

Right as the rest of the avengers showed up to see y/n.

[ladyloptr]

•The Noisy Neighbor•

Request: twt@LOKIBARBZ (So, we literally had a whole discussion over this, therefore, I’ll just make a summmary of this.) Loki moves into an apartment in NYC, recently being officiated as an Avenger after some pleading from Thor. He is comfortable in his apartment, as it’s nice and quiet, until a loud new neighbor moves in next door. He slowly goes mad, until one day he seeks to end the nonsense once and for all.

Fandom: MCU AU

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Smut, Hate-Sex, Rough-Sex, Angry-Sex, Hair Pulling, Scratching, Choking, Degradation/Name Calling.

{————}

Loki isn’t sure what he expected to be greeted with when he returned to Midgard with his older brother. After the attack on New York City, he wasn’t foolish enough to think they’d welcome him with open arms.

Then again, it’s not like he had much of a choice in coming here.

After waiting in his cell for nearly a year, he was finally placed on trial. They sentenced him to serve his punishment on Midgard, to help The Avengers in their efforts to protect their realm. Among the many different options that the Æsir courts could’ve picked, he’s merely grateful to still be alive.

The Avengers, of course, wouldn’t allow him to take up residency in the tower as a result of his last visit ending in Tony being tossed out of a window. Thankfully, Tony, at the very least, agreed to find him his own apartment somewhere nearby and pay his rent, so long as he behaves himself.

The apartment complex is very nice, and most importantly, quiet. Tony rightfully assumed that it would be wiser to house the God of Chaos in a quiet environment where he’d be least likely to interact with neighbors. The last thing they need right now is for Loki to take it upon himself to permanently silence his Midgardian neighbors for making too much noise.

For a long time, this arrangement worked. Loki typically walks to the tower with headphones in, playing an array of Norwegian music, most of it sung by the artist Aurora. Her music reminds him of home, so he is quite appreciative of her work.

Thor sometimes questions his reasoning for walking instead of teleporting, but Loki finds the walk to be very calming, considering he leaves the apartment early enough to avoid pedestrian traffic. Then late at night, he walks back to his apartment, headphones in, still somewhat aware of his surroundings. Despite what The Avengers constantly say about the city at nighttime, robbery or any kind of assault is of little concern to Loki, considering-well-he’s a literal deity.

Slowly, The Avengers began to warm up to him, with the obvious exception of Natasha and Clint, who are always suspicious of everything. Loki eventually found that he favors the company of Bucky and Wanda, as opposed to the constantly annoying presence of Tony or the self-righteousness of Steve. He also prefers to keep a fair distance from Bruce, much to Bruce’s understanding.

Nothing was amiss, everything was going pretty well.

Until, a new neighbor moves in next door.

Generally, Loki doesn’t care for the ordinary Midgardians that roam the city, he finds them to be incredibly shallow and rather dull. None of them intrigue him in the slightest, and he finds that many of them have an ornate ability to talk much, but at the same time say absolutely nothing.

However, he swears to The Norns that you, the girl who just moved in next door, have been designed specifically to get a rise out of him.

Loki has always been known for his patience and tolerance of others. Even at this chaotic stage in his life, it still truly takes much to get him to snap, but you seem to be naturally gifted at winding him up.

For one, you purposely went out of your way to introduce yourself to him. You went out of your way to bother him, when none of the other neighbors dared to acknowledged him.

Maybe if he were younger he would’ve enjoyed the attention, but now? This Loki likes not being acknowledged, he likes being left alone, and doesn’t care about whoever else is living in this apartment complex.

He doesn’t even really remember what you were saying to him, he just remembers blankly staring down at you for a few minutes and then impolitely shutting the door in your face.

(Unbeknownst to either of you, back on the Bifrost, Heimdall let out a chuckle of amusement.)

Secondly, you’re just too bloody loud. You talk loud, your footsteps are loud, and you play loud music well into the night until one of the other neighbors have to come knocking on your door to tell you to keep it down.

He overheard you rattling off to one of your neighbors in the lobby, and unsurprising to him, you’re pretty young, twenty four, just graduated from NYU, and you have a degree in fashion design-whatever that means. Loki isn’t well informed on Midgardian credentials, and he’d rather not ask Thor (who has a better grasp on degrees thanks to Jane), lest his brother misunderstand his curiosity for infatuation.

Mentally childish, cheery, loud, and obnoxious.

All the things Loki doesn’t like, compressed into one tiny person.

You make him want to turn you into a mouse whenever you’re nearby, and when you speak, sometimes he wishes he could just take a knife and cut out your vocal cords.

It’s such a shame that he finds you so attractive, if only he could tear your face off and place it on another, quieter woman.

On the flip side, you aren’t particularly fond of him either. He always comes off as rude and dismissive. You are convinced he’s the spirit of an old grumpy senior citizen wearing the skin of a beautiful young man.

So, tensions continue to escalate over the course of four months. The loud music, the loud talking, the loud everything.

He could just ask Tony to move him to another apartment complex the moment you began to stoke the fire, but he would rather not concede defeat. Eventually, you’ll be asked to move, with how loud you are and how often you inconvenience the others around you.

But, another month passes and it still hasn’t happened yet.

He’s not sure how long he can put up with this nonsense.

Six months became his limit, after you tested his patience on the wrong day.

That afternoon, Doctor Doom had infiltrated The Avengers tower looking to steal technology from Tony. Doom easily brushed aside the team’s efforts to prevent him from getting anywhere near the lab. With Thor temporarily lending his assistance to Asgard, The Avengers were without one of their strongest members. Loki eventually managed to subdue him, but his seidr was almost completely spent. He was left feeling fatigued and rather irrate.

When he finally returned to his apartment, he was greeted with some much needed peace and quiet. He fell asleep on the couch, too tired to get undressed from his armor or walk to his bedroom.

It wasn’t until you returned home late from a runway show, that his peace was interrupted. He could quite clearly hear your vain and vulgar Midgardian music playing loudly in your apartment nearby.

“I said certified freak.”

“Seven days a week.”

“Wet ass pussy.”

“Make that pull out game weak!”

Finally fed up, Loki exits his apartment, slamming the door shut behind him, and stomping to your front door. He knocks loudly and frantically, eager to get you to shut off that stupid music.

Hearing the knocking on the door, you quickly pause your music, knowing that it’s probably one of your irritated neighbors again. When you open your door, you are greeted with the sight of a scowling deity. You tilt your head and smile at him brightly. “Well, Loki, how may I help you?”

“You may help me by shutting off that incessant, vain, rhythmless dribble you call music.”

“It’s the national anthem. I am paying homage to our country’s independence.”

Loki grimaces, leaning in slightly. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“No, but I take you for someone with an old man mentality.” You raise an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not Bill Clinton in a skin suit?”

“It is one in the morning and some of us are tired.” Loki hisses. “Mortals. Always only concerned with themselves, so selfish and blind to the needs of others.”

“Selfish and blind? You’re one to talk.” You cross your arms. “Didn’t you kill like, hundreds of people when you invaded New York City because you wanted a throne?”

Loki’s eyes narrow dangerously at you, as you slowly cross into no-man’s land.

You pout and pretend to cry. “Boohoo, I am Loki, I was born into a rich family, and I was given everything I ever wanted except a throne.” You pretend to wipe your eyes. “So I killed hundreds of innocent humans because I wanted to be king.”

“You have no idea what you speak of, mortal.” Loki growls, his voice low and grave now. He steps forward, passing through your doorway. “You know nothing of me, or what I am capable of.”

“And what are you capable of, Loki?” You ask. “Besides killing hundreds of innocent people because your daddy didn’t like you, of course.”

You are caught off guard when Loki pulls the door shut behind him and locks it. He immediately pins you against the wall by your arms, and glowers down at you.

“Scared, mortal?”

“No.” You answer truthfully. “You don’t scare me anymore. If you really wanted me dead, you would’ve done it already. You’ve gone soft.”

He growls at you, and leans forward, pressing his lips against yours. You hardly have any time to react as he forces his tongue into your mouth. He’s actually surprised when you begin to fight him for dominance, your tongue aggressive pushing against his, and your teeth nibbling on his lips. Eventually, you have to give up your fight, your need for oxygen cutting your fight short.

“Such a shame, a pretty face like yours bound to someone with such an ugly personality.” Loki’s hands release your wrists and slowly travel down to grip your hips.

“Hypocrite.” You say. “Between the two of us, you’re the one with the ugliest personality.”

“You dare to speak to a god in such a way.” Loki groans lowly, grinding himself up against you. You gasp, feeling his erection pressing up against you. “I’ll have you know, where I come from, you’d be punished.”

You let your fingers get tangled in his hair and then you tug on it. You grin as he lets out a soft moan. “Are you telling me you’d like to punish me?”

“I am unsure.” His hands travel up your shirt, and cup your breast. You’re internally grateful that you decided to ditch your bra today. “I have a feeling you’d enjoy it too much.”

Loki stills as your hand travels between the two of you and gently massages the bulge in his pants. “Well, why don’t we find out?”

You yelp in surprise when Loki drags you by your arm to the kitchen. He pushes you to bend over the kitchen counter, pulls your pajama pants down, along with your panties.

A sharp gasp escapes you when he shoves two long fingers inside of you and pumps them steadily inside of you. He continues this until your wetness is practically running down your thighs.

You hear him unbuckle his belt behind you, and soon, he flips you around, so you’re now lying on your back on the counter. You close your eyes as you feel his cock pressing up against your entrance.

“I’m going to break you, fragile mortal.” Loki growls. “I’m going to break you, and relish the moment you come undone underneath me.”

You let out a chuckle, which only serves to irritate him. He enters you in one swift thrust, and you whimper as you feel him stretch you out more than you ever have before.

Loki wraps his fingers around your throat, and begins thrusting hard and fast. He hisses as you drag your nails hard against his neck.

“You should be worshipping me, mortal.” He growls. “You should feel honored that I’m here splitting your quim instead of resting, like I wanted to do.”

“Oh, fuck you spoilt rich brat!” You snap at him.

“Oh, but I am fucking you.” Loki chuckles darkly, tightening his grip around your throat. “And when I’m done, you’ll be positively ruined for any mortal man who tries to lay with you.”

“Bold of you to assume you can make me cum with that weak dick of yours.”

You let out a lewd moan when he changes his angle, his cock head brushing up against your g-spot.

“You were saying, whore?”

“Shut the fuck up. You’re the whore, coming here to fuck someone you don’t even like.”

Loki groans, watching as his cock is literally splitting your cunt. “You asked for this, you stupid girl.”

When you begin to feel a familiar tightening in your stomach, you start to claw and scratch at him, not willing to let him push you over the edge.

“Fight me all you wish to, mortal.” Loki groans in your ear. “You’re going to cum for me, whether you like it or not.”

“I hate you!” You practically scream at him.

“I hate you as well, but here we are.”

You gasp and moan as you feel the coil in your stomach snap. You are somewhat thankful that Loki choking you is preventing you from screaming at the top of your lungs. Loki grunts loudly as he falls over the edge after you, his hips stuttering to a stop as he releases inside of you.

You both stay like that for a few minute, your back on the counter and cum oozing onto your thighs, and Loki resting some of his weight on top of you.

“I might just retire in here for tonight.” Loki grumbles. “I am completely spent.”

“So tired from one round that you can’t walk back to your own apartment?” You chuckle. “You have shitty stamina for a god.”

“I was tired before I arrived here. I said this already.”

You roll your eyes. “Then you should’ve gone to sleep instead of coming here.”

“I wouldn’t have come here if you hadn’t been playing your music loud enough for Asgard to hear!” Loki snaps, biting at your neck in annoyance. You wince. “You’re an obnoxious wrench. It’s a wonder how you haven’t been asked to move elsewhere.”

“The landlord is my mother.”

Loki is silent for a few moments, now absolutely livid. The landlord is your mother?!

“I’ll be having words with your mother, then.”

You laugh. “You can try. Who do you think I got all of my obnoxious traits from?”

You hear Loki scowl next to you, and nip you on the neck again. “You Midgardian women are bothersome.”

[ghostswillunderstand]

Eternals

Directed by Chloe Zhao

 I generally don’t engage too much with the MCU fanbase these days, I generally like the majority of the films but there is definitely a slight disconnect between how I see the films and how the more ardent fans seems to. 

I first noticed this with the response to Thor: The Dark World, not a particularly great film or anything but the negative reaction to it was so confusing to me as it seemed about on the same level as its contemporaries, and it even had a couple of laudable elements(cinematography, Loki’s scene where his cell is trashed), but everyone treated it like it was some blight. The same thing happened with Iron Man 3 to even sharper effect, that film is easily one of the best films in the MCU still and yet there is a not insignificant number of fans who will decry it as one of the worst.

So when Eternals came out to a rather tepid response I did initially wonder if this was because the film was lacking or maybe the fanbase was once again rejecting something great for reasons I will just never understand.

Eternals is so good. Even going into it with some hype growing in the back of my brain(always a bad idea) I was just so enamored with this film, with its visuals and characters, with its focus on said characters finding meaning(or not) in their neverending lives, the action(when we get that prolonged moment of a Deviant constantly slamming Ikaris’ face down into the ground so he can’t eye-blast it during the big jungle fight, so good. Everything with Makkari, even better.)

Once aspect I loved and it made so incredibly happy was the rhythm of the film. I’ve complained about this so many times but superhero films(not all but certainly most) have a very real problem of reaching their crescendo in the middle of the film instead of at the climax in the third act. The need to up the stakes more often than not leads to bloated cacophonous nonsense in the end. CA: The Winter Soldier has the great freeway sequence in the middle of the film and then for the finale it is basically a disaster movie and a less than stellar showdown between Cap and Bucky. Black Panther has a lot of cool stuff in the middle, including the dramatic duel between BP and Killmonger, but then the film ends with a large messy war and a lackluster showdown between hero and villain. Having the hero and villain throwdown...just to then do it again 30 minutes later is a tricky thing to pull off well.

Eternals, by actually have a strong narrative core to it, doesn’t need to give us a first fight before the final showdown, thus allowing the climax of the film to be the big fight we want while also making it the emotional climax for the characters. It all peaks together, everything comes to ahead when it should.

I could talk for ages about the look of the film, so many images and shots that are just perfect. There is a moment where Thena is standing in the river after Gilgamesh’s death and the shot is mainly the river and its rippling and just Thena’s legs/dress. Seeing that moment was maybe the most shocking thing in the whole film, shots like that don’t appear in the MCU, if a visual like that would show up it would be used to show the reflection of a character in the water, because how can you not show your movie star every single possible moment?

But here it was a moment of pure aesthetic power. Nature and grief and time.

And there are just so many little things the film does so well, like despite the Deviants being purely CGI the film has them constantly interacting with physical space and objects(the jungle sequence is the high point for this). Or the way that even though they all care for each other none of them really understood what Sprite was going through and that her ‘betrayal’ is as much a philosophical one as it is a direct response to the way she felt cast aside. Or that Kingo stands up to Ikaris but then tells the rest that he does actually agree with Ikaris’ stance and that he won’t help them...and then he doesn’t come back for a big hero moment in the end. Or some of the edits. Gilgamesh’s ashes to Hiroshima. The volcano to the painting.

Eternals is so good. And the reaction to it is so disheartening. Like post-Matrix Revolutions Wachowskis, this is blockbuster cinema done right.

I wish the average fan cared about the filmmaking craft of what they are watching half as much as they cared about the minutiae of comic book lore.

[modernpace]

Loki x Reader chapter 7

A/N: Hello everyone. I wanna just say thank you for being patient with me, though I know you're probably frustrated with my delay... I was dealing with [trigger warning...skip to next paragraph] serious mental health issues to the point where I was suicidal. I needed some personal time to focus on my mental health, as well as my declining grades.

Safe to say I'm doing much better now. The semester is over so I can focus on writing and my job. Thank you all for your  reads. Enjoy!

________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 7:

Feeling like your presence wasn't necessary, you depart from Thor, Odin, and Jane. Odin wasn't too pleased having another mortal in Asgard and you weren't waiting to be chewed out just yet. You brushed your hand against the stone wall as you walked down the hall toward the dungeons. You round the corner and see one of the guards. Giving a small smile to him you walk past and head toward Loki's cell.

He was reclined on his bed, tossing something into the air and catching it. You feel a pang of guilt as you get closer. You never were able to ask Odin about Loki's release, but now definitely wasn't the time...not with whatever is going on with Jane. Once you reach the glass you cross your arms. He's not even trying to pretend like he's preoccupied. He's just outright ignoring you.

"If you wanted to ignore me, you could've just pretended you were reading," you sighed out.

His head tilted a bit, so he was just barely looking at you, "If I did that you'd still try to stay." He turns away and continues tossing and catching the object.

Sighing, you sit with your back facing him, "I'm really trying to be impartial with you, you know. I really am." You run a hand through your hair and shake your head. "Hell, despite all the bullshit you did to my home I'm trying to help. For Thor. For your mother."

You look up at the high ceiling and continue, "All I'm asking for is a little give. A temporary truce. I know you don't like me. And I don't necessarily like you either. But can we just put the hostility aside? Do you really want to lose the one opportunity you have to change this life sentence? To prove everyone around you wrong? That you're not pure evil? Don't you want to show your fath—Odin wrong?"

You waited but didn't expect a response. And you didn't get one, either.

"Tch, forget it," you scrunched your brows and shook your head. "I have things to take care of. We have a guest and she could use some company like her." You turn to leave when a loud banging and screaming erupt from a cell down the corridor.

The lights flicker and you round the corner to get a better idea of what's going on. Your eyes go wide as you see a huge monster banging on the cell's floor. His body was like a hot coal, and the cell began to fill up with black smoke. His cellmates fall to the ground as he beats one of them. He let out a loud roar and you felt yourself go still. Guards ran past you toward the cell, but their commands are drowned out by the creature's roars.

Run

You tried to move but your feet felt like cinder blocks. 'I can't.'

"Y/n."

Your head snapped toward the voice. Loki stood at the edge of his cell. His eyes were fierce, but his face remained indifferent. "Cast a glamour." You continued to stare at him. It felt as if you were out of your body, no longer in control, no longer aware.

"Go." He said sternly.

Your legs instantly began moving on their own, and you felt your hands begin to twitch. Loki watched as you slowly became camouflaged. Your legs picked up their pace and you began running. To where? You didn't know.

Loki said to run, so you did.

Your legs ached as you continued to push yourself. You could feel your abilities dwindle, you were so exhausted. Keep pushing. Your glamour fell and people around you yelped at your sudden appearance.

You could see Thor in the distance talking with Jane and Frigga. Just a bit more.

Your lips moved, but no sound came out.

What are you doing? Scream, Y/n! You have to warn them! You have t—

"DUNGEON! THOR!" Thor's head snapped in your direction. His smile fell as he saw your fear-ridden face. He said something to his mother and Jane, but you were still ways away. Without another second to waste, he flung Mjolnir in the direction of the dungeons.

Frigga and Jane rushed to meet you halfway. You slowed down and felt your legs go limp. You stumbled a bit but one of Frigga's guards caught you. "Are you okay?" You looked up to meet Jane's gaze. Her forehead creased and her eyes were wide.

You nodded, "There's a bigger problem right now." You gasped for air. Steve and Nat's runs didn't seem to be helping you right about now. "I have a bad feeling..." You look to Frigga, "We need to get somewhere safe." Without hesitation, Frigga nodded and ordered her guards to follow suit.

You paced in the room and Jane watched you, her face etched with worry. You were anxious, you had seen what that thing did to his cellmates. What if—

"Y/n, dear, please try to remain calm." You stopped pacing and closed your eyes. Frigga was right. You were trained for this. You need to get your shit in check or else you'll be the reason for our deaths, you thought.

You took a few deep breaths and began thinking of your happy place: the warm sun on your skin, the leaves swaying in the whistling wind, the cool, soft grass, his emerald eyes.

Your eyes shoot open. His emerald eyes?  You shake your head and force a shiver, now is not the time. You turn back to Frigga, "I think I can do it. I feel a bit stronger than before." She nods.

Shouting and the clattering of swords rang outside of the room. You cast your glamour just as everything fell silent. You quietly led Jane into a hidden corner, out of sight in case your glamour fell again. Frigga stood and cast an illusion of Jane.

The doors were pushed open and in walked a pale man with dark armor and a haunting presence. You felt yourself shiver.

"Stand down, creature." Frigga slowly walked toward him, cutlass in hand, "You may still survive this."

He casually walked toward her as well, "I have survived worse, woman."

"Who are you," she asked calmly as they stood before each other.

"I am Malekith, and I would have what is mine."

Frigga cast a glance at Illusion-Jane. Malekith took a step in the direction that Illusion-Jane ran toward. In an instant, she swung her cutlass and struck Malekith in his face. He drew his sword and they began fighting. Your mouth fell open a bit. You knew Frigga was one hell of a woman, but you didn't know she was a fighter, let alone a skilled swordswoman.

Malekith stumbled back as Frigga knocked his sword away from him. She spun and wielded the sword fiercely. She finally had the upper hand as she pushed him against the wall, with her cutlass to his throat.

Strong footsteps divert your attention and you see the monster from the dungeon now inches away from Frigga. He wrapped his arms around her neck and lifted her. You felt a slight tug toward them. Your foot stepped forward. Don't. Your job is to keep Jane out of harm's way.

'But, Frigga needs help' you argued to yourself. Stay put.

Giving into yourself you stepped back and shielded Jane from the scene. Frigga was restrained by the creature. Malekith walked toward Illusion-Jane and reached out to her. His hand went through her and she disappeared.

"Witch!" he shouted as he marched toward her. "Where is the Aether?"

A smug smile graced the Queen's face, "I'll never tell."

"I believe you."

The creature swiftly stabbed her, forcing her own cutlass through her back. You quickly covered your mouth to stop any noise from escaping. Someone cried out from the other room, but before you could look in their direction, bright white lightning shot toward Malekith and struck him in the face. The creature lifted him and made a run toward the balcony. Thor threw Mjolnir toward them, but it only hit its shoulder as they jumped. They disappeared into the clouds, but a small ship flew where they just jumped. With Mjolnir back in his hand, Thor threw it toward the ship... but it was too late. They were already gone.

Odin slowly made his way into the room, and you let your glamour fall. He approached his wife's corpse and fell to his knees, gently caressing her.

A faint cold tingly feeling enveloped your hands, and slowly washed through your body. Jane gently brushed past you and stood in front of you, giving you time to gain your own composure. Your eyes flicked to Thor, and he only met your gaze for a moment.

He had a strange look in his eyes. Something you hadn't seen in him ever before. Your stomach did a somersault and you could feel nausea arising. You needed to get out of there.

You turned and cast another glamour on yourself, not wanting to be seen. You ran from the room and didn't stop running until you found a small, dark, quiet corner. Quiet sobs escaped you as your glamour instantly fell.

'I could've stopped them. I could've helped.' you thought. 'Coward,' you mentally scolded yourself. You sobbed louder as you replayed her death. You shivered as the cold tingly sensation grew inside you.

Remember this feeling. Hold it. Never forget it.

[iamanartichoke]

This is a little Valentine’s Day fluff, kinda - for context, Loki and Brunnhilde are on a Valentine’s Day date, and they’ve left Thor to baby-sit Dagny. Thor and Dagny, of course, manage to get into trouble almost immediately. 

Dedicated to @gia-selene-baczewska, whose never-ending support and friendship have been an anchor to me for as long as I’ve been writing in this fandom. I hope you enjoy! 

- Takes place in my Beyond the Fence ‘verse; Dagny is an original character, to whom Loki is teaching magic. - 

**** 

"We should call Loki," Thor says, for about the tenth time.

"We should definitely not call Loki," Dagny counters, also for about the tenth time.

They've been locked in this back-and-forth for at least half an hour, and Thor has to wonder why he's allowing this child (she has such an innocent face, and Thor thinks to himself that that face will deceive many for years to come) to even have a say, let alone a deciding one. The obvious solution is to call Loki, but here he and Dagny sit, both cell phones untouched, a tiny black kitten with golden eyes on the floor between them.

Thor sighs and rubs a hand over his face. "The longer he stays like this, the less likely it is that you'll be able to change him back," he points out, although he has no idea if that's actually true or not. Thor's raw, elemental magic is an entirely different force than Loki's seidr, and he'd never bothered to learn much about his brother’s tricks and sleights of hand. Witchery was all it was; or so Thor once believed.

He knows better now, but recognizing his brother's immense magical skill - and how valuable it is - does not mean he understands it any more than he did in his youth. Certainly not anything as advanced as transfiguration. He’s surprised that Dagny managed to accomplish what she had. 

Dagny is flipping through the grimoire on her lap, flecks of green and blue magic dancing off the pages like dust. "That's not true," she says, without looking up. "There's no long-term damage to being turned into a cat."

"And you're certain of that?" Thor, despite himself, reaches out and runs a finger along the cat's soft skull, between its two pointed ears. Heimdall does make an adorable kitten - or, he would if he weren't currently glaring at Thor. Thor is unsure how a kitten can glare, but Heimdall is definitely doing it. He withdraws his hand.

"Almost certain," Dagny says, after too long of a pause.

"We should call Loki," Thor says.

"I can fix it," Dagny insists, and excitedly taps the page she's landed on in the grimoire. "Look, all we have to do -"

"We?"

" - is gather some sage, witch's root, and -" She frowns, peering closer at the page. "Um, cauliflower?"

"Calla lily flowers," Thor corrects, after leaning over to check for himself. "We need the nectar from a calla lily flower. You don't happen to have any on hand, do you?"

"No," Dagny admits. "But I'm sure Loki does." She shuts the grimoire and sets it aside, then gets to her feet. "Come on."

Thor rolls his eyes, but does as she asks. He scoops Heimdall - he's so tiny - into one hand, ignoring Heimdall's mewls of displeasure. "And do you have a plan for getting past Loki's wards?"

"His wards?"

"Spells. Charms," Thor clarifies. "Loki never leaves anything belonging to him unguarded. I'm willing to bet - hey, careful!"

Dagny lets out a yelp, not unlike the sound a puppy makes when its tail is stepped on.  They'd made it to the end of the hallway, where Loki's bedroom is, and Dagny had reached for the doorknob without heeding Thor's warning. A blast of green magic had thrown her backwards and into the opposite wall; Thor sets Heimdall on his shoulder before kneeling down next to the girl, shaking his head ruefully.

"Are you all right?" he asks, gaze sweeping over her, checking for any injuries.

Dagny rubs the back of her head. “Fine, but – how are we going to get the calla lily nectar if Loki’s door is, you know …” She gestures vaguely. “Temperamental?”

“We call Loki,” Thor says, yet again. He pulls Dagny to her feet, ignoring that Heimdall is now digging his claws into Thor’s bare shoulder. “If we’re lucky, Loki will agree to change Heimdall back himself and then we won’t need the nectar at all.”

Dagny wrinkles her nose and stamps one foot against the floor. “But I can do it,” she protests. “I can fix my own mistakes, I really can. How else am I supposed to learn?”

Dagny so often acts older than her age that Thor forgets that she’s on the younger end of the child spectrum. He remembers now and can’t help the hint of impatience as he replies, “You’re supposed to learn under Loki’s supervision, didn’t he tell you that?”

She scowls, sticking our her lower lip. “Maybe.”

“Definitely.” Thor pries Heimdall’s claws loose from his skin. “You also need to learn when to ask for help. You’re not an expert, Dagny. And you don’t get to be one by being stubborn about how much you can do on your own. Loki studied for a good hundred and fifty years under our mother’s guidance. You’ve been learning for one year.”  

With each of his words, Dagny seems to deflate a little more, until she’s sagging against the wall, arms folded, looking anywhere but at Thor. “I just wanted to show you – and Loki – I could do it.” Her voice is small. “That I can be good at it.”

“You are good at it, sweetheart.” Thor’s hand is bigger than Heimdall’s entire body, and he slides his fingers beneath Heimdall’s tiny kitty paws to hold him up in the air. Heimdall kicks his rear legs, which are dangling beneath him, furiously. “You got the first part of the spell right. Look. He’s a perfect kitten. No disfigurements or extra limbs or anything.”

Dagny looks at Heimdall, and then at Thor, and then back at Heimdall again. “No, I didn’t,” she admits, pushing away from the wall. “He was supposed to be a horse.”

Thor desperately tries not to smile and doesn’t succeed. Poor Heimdall. “Well, regardless, you still did good. But now it’s time to fix it, and try again – properly, that is. With Loki’s help.”

“Okay, okay.” Dagny finally relents, and they go back into her bedroom, where they’d left their phones along with the grimoire. Dagny scoops hers up, grimaces, and holds it out to Thor. “Do you think he’ll be mad?”

“Yep,” Thor says cheerfully. “But he’ll get over it, I’m sure. Besides.” He winks at her. “Since they left you in my care, it’ll be me he’s mad at, anyway.”

“True,” Dagny agrees. She trades her phone for Heimdall and begins stroking his soft fur. “You two never should have let me offer to show you a magic trick.”

“I think I can speak for both myself and Heimdall when I say, lesson learned.” Thor shrugs, shakes his head, and dials Loki’s number.

[phantomchick]

List of wips - aka struggles

Call Me A Jason Todd fic I started two years ago and still go back to poke at longingly, will the second and final chapter ever be posted? Who can know for sure.

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I tell myself that I don't need Anyone (But the truth is no one needs Me) Another Jason Todd fic I haven't completed, posted two years ago for whumptober, it was the only day of whumptober I participated in, intended to be full of Captain Atom and Jason Todd interacting during the fall out of Bludhaven getting chemo'd but he doesn't show up in the first chapter and have you ever tried to read Infinite Crisis? It's a fucking mess. With this wip I have a close to justifiable excuse in that I refuse to write without knowing the canon, and reading through all the canon that's relevant is A Task.

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The Monster in The Man A Merlin fic floating around my drafts, currently at a good bit over 5k wherein Merlin gets POSSESSED by an old enchantment gone mad. Written because a Merlin fic I read ended on a horror style cliffhanger and I couldn't handle it so I charged my way through the first 2k of a sequel and I've been adding to it ever since. Angst with a hopefully happy ending, if I ever frikking finish it.

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The Dragon Lord In the aftermath of his father's death after Merlin inherits his father's dragon lord abilities he notices some minor changes to his interactions with his friends, the thing is that Merlin is a dragon lord and unusually what he hoards is people, things might just turn out the better for it.

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Maelstrom A Naruto time travel fix it fic that wouldn't leave me alone until I got the first chapter out, ironically it has left me entirely alone since I finished the first chapter and I have no idea if inspiration for it will ever return or when that will be.

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You Don't Know Anything Long long ago in a land of asks and a time of legend @paradise-runway sent me a fic request for "one where the other Bat boys find out the circumstances of Jason's death and resurrection and their reaction?" it has been lingering in my drafts haunting me ever since, someday, someday I shall fulfill what has been promised.

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Of Curses and Covenants A longfic exploring the magical underbelly of Gotham's history, focuses on the intertwined relationship of the Wayne Family and the Zatara Family brought about by how often Waynes through the generations have ended up being cursed. I have an index of all the curses ready, the problem with this one is the plot and the story.

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Vicki Finds a Bat (temporary title) Vicki Vale stumbles upon a still alive young adult Jason Todd at a wafflehouse on the way back from snooping into Cobblepot's latest criminal schemes. Convincing the young man to go back home to his loving father might prove more of a challenge than she thinks however. (will have a happy ending if I ever fucking finish it, for now it looms in my drafts like an unhappy gargoyle)

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Hug Deficit A fic about Jason being touch starved and his family fixing it, hurt/comfort all the way, post resurrection.

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Stephanie Brown and The Mansion of Man Pain Robin Era Steph, she and Alfred have pumpkin spice lattes together, it's their thing because I say it is. Includes, Alfred raised 5 boys counting Bruce, he's not sure how to handle a little girl and Bruce trying to dad plus Steph trying her best. Would be a lot easier to write if I was any good at comedy.

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Another Time, Another Place Some twenty years or so after their death, Martha and Thomas Wayne appear in the middle of Wayne Manor's ground floor parlour room, the major problem with this? Not only are Bruce and Dick away, Alfred's on holiday in England! Which is why Jason as the eldest has been unwillingly nominated by his younger siblings to deal with the situation at hand. Martha and Thomas in this are heavily inspired by @unpretty's amazing portrayals in her fics with them.

- Queen Blackfire and the Lazarus Lord An au with Soulmate identifying marks: Jason Todd was having an okay time as de-facto leader of The Outlaws, a band of misfits and rebels with hearts of gold (or at least silver) saving the world the best they could and filling in the gaps the more straightforward heroes tended to miss while they were at it. Then he found out he was soulmates with the Alien Warrior Queen bent on declaring war on planet Earth if the Justice League didn't find her soulmate for her. Things with his friend, team mate and potential future sister in law Kori just got super awkward and the only good thing he can find about this situation is how angry (and protective? But maybe he's just imagining that) Bruce seems over the whole thing.

Side note: Kommand'r freaked out during the years Jason was 'dead' and accidentally brought peace to a huge chunk of space and intergalactic society via building up her empire after throwing herself into work to escape the grief.

- To Grasp The Hand of a Fox Naruto and Kurama travel back in time to save the world but unfortunately they land in the same moment that Kurama's just been put under a genjutsu by Madara Uchiha, Naruto has to make his way to Konoha and wake Kurama up before the villagers seal him away inside Mito. Can he save his friend in time to save them all?

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Those Winter Sundays Mcu fic. Snapshots of Tony working hard for the avengers and no one noticing. Civil War Team Iron Man.

- Salvation Rides a Solar Wind Iron Man fic in a Science fiction / Western style fic where Tony's presence is described through the eyes of the aliens he helps. Au where the war with Thanos goes very differently. The type of fic that needs like 5 multi chapter fics in a single series to truly shine, hence why I will likely never finish it.

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And We Break Away Again Jason goes back to Talia after Damian is brought back from the dead by Bruce. It's not that he begrudges his little brother his resurrection, the opposite, but he can't ignore what Bruce did to him by taking him to the magdala valley and he can't ignore what Bruce doing for Damian what he didn't do for him, (do for Dick, do for any of them besides the blood related one) means. So he decides to go back to the only person who ever seemed to understand why he wanted to avenge himself in the first place, the only person who seemed to agree that he had a right to be angry that he'd died at all, the only person he can trust to hold him together while he feels like he's falling apart that won't judge him against the heroic mold while they're at it. Not sure if this will be a oneshot or a series but we're going good Talia with this one regardless, DC's been ruining her lately but through fanfic all things are possible so fuck them.

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Fan The Flames In the aftermath of a magical fire taking hold of the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Superman is missing, can Batman and the rest of the Justice League find their friend as well as the identity of the evil arsonist before Lex Luther does it first?

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In a Whisper (In a Wish) Ichigo Kurosaki protects people, it's not just who he is, it's what he is, down to the core of his very soul. The only problem is, that a few weeks ago he sacrificed half his soul to protect the world. It aches inside where he knows something important used to be. When everyone he cares for is avoiding him and he's starting to feel more like a shadow than a person, that aches at him too and he can't help but wish, quietly, privately, painfully, to himself if no one else that things were different, that he wasn't so broken or so alone. But if wishes were fishes they'd fill a whole sea (just be careful not to whisper them within the hearing range of the Hōgyoku).

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An Honest Conversation (Is A Bitter Thing To Crave) Jason kidnaps Bruce but things don't go as Bruce expects. First of all the reason Jason was able to kidnap him was because Stephanie of all people was his insider, why would she support someone Batman knows she's only met once. And second of all the reason he's been abducted - So that Jason can drug them both with the same substance. And when Bruce asks what he's doing this for Jason only responds, "We don't trust each other enough to have a truthful conversation otherwise" and refuses to say anything more while they wait for it to kick in. What will be revealed by this forced honest encounter on both sides? -

carrying the world on thin shoulders Midoriya Izuku deserves better from literally all the adults in his life so this is part whump part hurt comfort part fix it fic that sprawls out from time to time but it's pretty bad tbh, at some point I'll probably make it neater and give it something resembling a coherent plot. Hopefully. -

Trust Issues HP fic. Harry gets dosed with a potion that's supposed to reinforce your strongest survival instinct, the person who drugged him might've intended to be helpful but said potion happened to be at extra strength and he was given what would be a normal fix for the regular version but for this one is twice the recommended amount. Great.. The biggest problem about all this - beyond his internationally wanted godfather Sirius endangering himself by hiding out in a cave near Hogsmeade against all rational advice, his best friend Ron hating him, everyone in school besides his other best friend Hermione also hating him or avoiding him and the entire Goblet of Fire problem - is that he can't bring himself to trust anyone enough to tell them what's wrong.

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Truth is Treason in the Empire of Lies A post marvel avengers story, thor pov probably, made because I like to dive into a pool of thor & loki sibling feels sometimes: Starts off as Thor regales his new human shield brothers with the story of his banishment and return to Asgard ending with Loki falling into the Void and the Avengers have some questions, questions Thor had not thought of, remarks on things that Thor doesn’t know how to explain away.  After he goes to Loki’s cell and asks him some things he becomes more and more angry despite having no one he can punch > Gets drunk and criticises Sif and The Warriors Three after they try to calm him down > mention of Loki still being underage by Aesir standards during Thor 1 seeing as Thor was being crowned due to being of age in the movie > heavy inspiration drawn from queen regnant by peaceheather. “For while the Treason I detest, the Traitor I love still.” Currently just an outline.

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Separation Split personality disorder Red Hood and Jason Todd, alternatively, Red Hood is a demon/parasite latched on to Jay. A lot of work necessary considering right now it’s currently just an idea inspired by a cool tumblr fanart.

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A Trinity of Head Wounds The dcu trinity in the aftermath of a fight against some alien invaders (or something along those lines), whump, hurt/comfort, starts with them arguing, ends with them bleeding on each other in a friendship way, whole thing should take place in a single room on the watchtower and be a oneshot so it's gotta be a short and sweet one-two gut punch with the feelings which is difficuuult.

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A Stark in The Stars an mcu fic, a really over complicated mcu fic, mostly because of Steve Roger's timeline fuckery, Tony's alive but he's not supposed to be, but so are a lot of people who were dead but aren't now you might say what with the snap and the blip. The thing is that Steve's timeline fuckery is making it so that everyone keeps getting confused between the two different timelines of events, obviously more confused the more that their characters were connected to the films/the events that were altered, the punchline of this particular fic though is that Tony's still alive and he's unaware of the timeline of events where he died. And as he's currently in space he's also unaware that everyone on Earth thinks he's dead (because why wouldn't they? he died in endgame after all). That makes this fic super tough to write because like ultimate unreliable narrator right here and not sure how to tie in the whole 'oh wait actually everyone on Earth thinks I'm dead because of the canon timelines' thing in or at what point of the story to do that at. The fuckery of it all gives me a headache. Plot is hard. Also all of that's basically background to the actual focus of most of the fic thus far which is Tony travelling around space in an Iron Man suit up until the point where it won't be background.

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Magic Chained Merlin au. When you put magic restraining cuffs on Magic himself you don't just bind him you bind all magic the world over. It is therefore, infinitely lucky that Uther Pendragon never became aware of this fact.

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A Child in The Cold bnha Midoriya deserves better also Recovery Girl and Aizawa have shit to answer for as far as I'm concerned.

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[9worldstales]

MCU: Is Loki a serial betrayal or not?

So one of the things I see often discussed in the MCU is the long, long history of deceit and betrayal that goes on between Thor and Loki that got mentioned in “Thor – Ragnarok”.

As various MCU movies and comics get mentioned, I made a list of the sources referenced so you’ll know if they might end up spoiling you. Consider yourself warned (or feel free to skip the list if it bores you).

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Movies: “Thor” (2011), “The Avengers” (2012), “Thor – The Dark World” (2013), “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015), “Thor – Ragnark” (2017), “The Avengers – Infinity War” (2018), “The Avengers – Endgame” (2019), “WandaVision” (2021)

Comics: “Thor: Son of Asgard” (2004) “Marvel's The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week” (2012)

Direct-to-video animated film: “Thor - Tales of Asgard” (2011)

Motion comics: None mentioned

Books: “Thor: heroes and villains” (2011), “Marvel Studios The first 10 years” (2018)

Novels: “Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Thor” by Alex Irvine (2015), “Thor: The Dark World Junior Novelization” by Michael Siglain (2013), “Loki – Where mischief lies” by Mackenzi Lee (2019), “The pirate angel, the talking tree and captain rabbit” by Steve Behling (2019)

Webs: None mentioned

Others: Interview “A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson”, interview “Joss Whedon told Comic-Con the question he doesn’t want us to ask ever again”, Interview “Chris Hemsworth (Thor: The Dark World)”, Interview “Tom Hiddleston Talks the Love-Hate of Loki and ‘Thor’”, Interview “Chris Hemsworth Talks Expanding Beyond Asgard, Interview “Building to THE AVENGERS 2, and More on the Set of THOR: THE DARK WORLD”, Interview “Chris Hemsworth ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Embracing the Comedy, the Thor/Loki Relationship and More”, Interview “Avengers 4 Endgame: Is Loki ALIVE? Chris Hemsworth gave a massive hint at London fan event”, Interview “Avengers stars reveal one big downside to the job”, “How Taika Waititi Made Thor: Ragnarok So Damn Funny”, Interview “How 'Thor: Ragnarok' Honors & Deviates from Its Comics Foundation”, Interview “Empire Podcast Spoiler Special: Thor: Ragnarok with Taika Waititi”, interview “Kevin Fiege Talks Iron Man 2, The Avengers and More”

So now, let’s start with a quote from Eric Pearson, one of the guys responsible for the script of “Thor - Ragnarok”.

“Thor and Loki have had so many interactions, and alliances, and betrayals. They’ve been each others’ nemesis for so long that even they’re a little exhausted by themselves. It’s almost like the fatigue of dealing with each other allows this terminator like force of Hela to just walk in. They’re divided so she conquers.” [A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson]

So, since math is an awesome thing and “Marvel Studios The first 10 years” gave us an official timeline let’s do some math.

For start the official timeline.

965: Odin adopts Loki

2011: Thor

2012: The Avengers

2013: Thor: The Dark World

2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron

2017: Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War

2022: Avengers: Endgame (actually not mentioned in the timeline but it takes place 5 years after “Avengers: Infinity War”)

Loki is adopted in 965 so he and Thor are adopted brothers by 1052 years in “Thor - Ragnarok”.

So… “Thor” takes place in 2011 and overall covers three days and, in 2 of them, Thor and Loki are on opposing sides. At the end of “Thor” Loki is believed to be dead.

In 2012 Loki shows up again in “Avengers”. Thor arrives on Earth by night and spend there what, a day? before going back to Asgard with Loki, who then spends a year in jail with Thor never visiting him before he is freed in “Thor: The Dark World”, which takes place in 2013.

It’s worth to mention in “Thor: The Dark World” Thor and Loki are allied against Malekit before Loki is believed dead again and instead rules Asgard up until 2017, when “Thor – Ragnarok” takes place.

Anyway this means that in those 1052 years they spent together Loki and Thor had been on opposing sides for 6 years… during which only 1 year was spent with Thor knowing Loki was alive and only 4 days were spent with them actively fighting each other.

But maybe those days were days of intense betrayal… so let’s sum them up.

For start let’s remember everyone that betrayal is a deliberate break of trust, of faith.

“Thor” is the one which contain most betrayal, even though some things weren’t meant to be as such at the time in which it was filmed but whatever, let’s be strict.

- Loki ruined Thor’s coronation

- Loki had Odin warned they were going to Jotunheim so that Odin came saving their lives

- Loki lied about Odin being dead and Frigga not wanting Thor back.

- After making clear he was Thor’s enemy (I mean he sent the Destroyer to ‘Ensure his brother does not return’, could he have been more explicit?) he tricked him into helping him making him believe he was dangling on the edge of the Bifrost and needed his help.

Okay, that’s a total of 4, one of which done to save everyone’s live (and it saved everyone’s life but, as I said, I’ll be strict and still count 4).

“The Avengers” despite painting Loki as the villain, has no betrayal. Loki doesn’t make any attempt to paint himself as Thor’s friend, he doesn’t even call Thor ‘brother’, he makes clear he wants Earth’s crown and he has made clear in “Thor” he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. Yes, he lies to him about sending the Tesseract away, uses an illusion to trick Thor into ending up in the cage and drop the cage on the ground and stabs Thor on surprise as they’re fighting. He however never let Thor believe they’re on the same side, I’ll say with dropping the cage he remarked how he wasn’t on Thor’s side since he wondered if the fall could kill Thor. If Thor didn’t want to get the message, this was not Loki betraying him, this was Thor refusing to listen. As for Loki surviving to a fall into the void and not warning Thor about it, that’s not betrayal either. When Loki let himself fall in the void it was a suicide attempt. His survival is a plot hole for whom Whedon didn’t really bother making up an explanation.

“Well, I can’t tell you exactly what went on because it’s this dark, dark secret that I didn’t make up yet. But, the other day, I had trouble with that because he had this very passionate Shakespearean tragedy thing going on in Thor and then I needed a villain who’s not only capable, but ready and willing and anxious to take on all these heroes. For me, he just basically went on some horrible walkabout… That was pretty much as far as I got.” [Joss Whedon told Comic-Con the question he doesn’t want us to ask ever again ]

“Avengers: Infinity War” suggested Thanos resurrected him, how is up to speculation. I wonder if it has to do with the mind stone, which somehow resurrected his mind in a way similar to how Wanda resurrected Vision. But I’m not sure Marvel really tried to figure this out beyond ‘it just happened’. Anyway Loki didn’t plan to fake his death, his survival/resurrection was accidental and he didn’t own to his family to send them a note saying ‘I’m alive’.

So we’ve a total of 0.

“Thor: The Dark World” has merely the fact that Loki again didn’t die when he was supposed to. Mind you, he was supposed to die (or if he were to survive this was meant to be a secret as the movie’s ending was meant to be very different), but then they decided to keep him alive and on the throne of Asgard for “Thor: Ragnarok”. So, he clearly was stabbed and let Thor believe the wound was fatal, then went back to Asgard, took Odin’s place, offered Thor the throne and when the latter refused, took it for himself. We can’t count the fact he told Kurse ‘You might want to take the stairs to the left’ as betrayal because, again, being jailed, he’s clearly not on Thor’s same side nor trusted. Betrayal is a break of trust from someone you believed on your side. An enemy doesn’t betray you, a friend does, and Thor stated he doesn’t view anymore Loki as his brother. We also know the action was a miscalculation on his part, he thought Kurse was merely a Marauder, a pirate, not a Dark Elf part of a Dark Elves’ invasion, and he didn’t think it would end up causing Frigga’s death, just some troubles for his father and brother who cast him in that cell and, according to the novelization, he was meant to end up regretting it short after doing it.

“The east stairs lead to the barraks. You’ll find them mostly unguarded.” Loki said and Kurse nodded, then continued on, glad for the inside information. Loki wanted revenge against Thor and Odin – he just hoped that he wasn’t getting more than he hoped for. [“Thor: The Dark World Junior Novelization”]

More explosions occurred aboveground and Loki glanced upward. “Don’t you think you ought to look into that?” he said. Thor scowled at his brother, then strode off toward the stairs. Loki watched his brother leave, a hint of guilt in his eyes. What had he done? [“Thor: The Dark World Junior Novelization”]

So okay, if we count the fact he let Thor believe him he died, and that he was Odin, we’ve a total of 2.

Which leads us to the amazing number of 6.

Now okay, betraying 1 time is 1 time too much but this is not a pattern that pervaded his whole life, this is 2 days in which Loki was not in his right mind due to pain (“Thor”) and a day in which he wanted to avoid being jailed for life as Thor has promised him he would be once they were to get back (“Thor: The Dark World”).

But, but, but, didn’t Loki betrayed and attempted to murder Thor PRIOR to “Thor”? And why aren’t I considering “Thor: Ragnarok” at all?

I mean, in addition to Loki betraying Thor for money, there’s this bit in “Thor: Ragnarok”:

Banner: Okay, can I just... A quick FYI, I was just talking to him just a couple minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill any of us.

Valkyrie: He did try to kill me.

Thor: Yes, me too. On many, many occasions. There was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, "Yeah, it's me!" And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time. [“Thor – Ragnarok”]

But the problem is to quote Wanda in“WandaVision” when her ‘brother’ talks about their shared childhood, this sort of relationship, well, ‘That’s not exactly how I remember it.’ From the previous movies, interviews, books, novels and extra material, I mean.

But let’s start with order.

So “Thor: Ragnarok”.

Remember Eric Pearson, the guy whose quote I used to start all this?

For start this guy never worked on a script with Thor and Loki previously.

The most he did was to be involved in the “Marvel's The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week” in which Thor and Loki have some cameo appearances.

So let’s hear what he has to say about Thor and Loki’s relation.

“For introductions, working on Thor’s voice was really great just because Hemsworth is great with the script. He actually pulled me aside one morning to talk to me about the Thor and Loki scenes. He pointed out, correctly so, that what I had was retreading a bit of what had already happened in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers. We needed to have their relationship exhibit the amount of awareness that it should have after the audience spent so much time with them on screen. So, the Thor and Loki stuff is also some of my favorite.” [A Talk With THOR: RAGNAROK’s Eric Pearson]

So Hemsworth informed his opinion and which opinion has Chris Hemsworth of the whole matter?

Well, his opinion on Thor’s relationship with Loki evolved as time went by… but FIRST let’s focus on how he believed it was their relationship during or prior the “Thor” movie.

“In the very first film Loki and Thor as brothers had a friendship where there was less hatred involved.” [Chris Hemsworth (Thor: The Dark World)]

It’s not terribly explicative but let’s say that they were more or less friends? So his brother wasn’t trying to murder him from childhood? He wasn’t betraying him from childhood?

According to Thom Hiddleston definitely not.

“I think Loki grows up with an older brother who he loves and respects. They play, they banter and they bash each other about, but there is a latent jealousy. Craig Kyle ‐ one of our producers ‐ always used to talk about the analogy of the quarterback and the artist. Thor is the quarterback. He’s a chip off the old block and he’s just like his dad. Loki’s problem is, maybe not his problem, but [that] he’s more drawn to the powers of intellect, magic, and the dark arts. He’s not going to be out in the fields throwing a hammer around. That’s just not where his passion lies. There’s a disconnect with Odin and there’s a disconnect with Thor. He loves them very much, but he’s not just made of the same stalk. In the course of the film there’s a big reveal both for Loki and the audience about the truth of Loki’s true lineage and who his real parents are. I think that begets any jealous that was within him towards Thor develops into a dark, cancerous rage that then becomes a destructive rage.” [“Tom Hiddleston Talks the Love-Hate of Loki and ‘Thor’”]

And the ruining of the coronation? As the movie itself said it was done because he didn’t believe his brother was ready to rule… but let’s also read this bit always from Tom Hiddleston.

“He’s certainly not an anarchist who wants to burn the house down. I think he has an inner conviction. He loves a practical joke, he loves mischief and he loves playing around. He loves starting a bonfire in the next room and hearing people scream, but nobody would be killed.” [“Tom Hiddleston Talks the Love-Hate of Loki and ‘Thor’”]

In short it wasn’t meant to cause any serious harm... same as warning his father was meant to save them. Of the 4 times in “Thor” in which Loki betrays Thor, 2 are not done with evil intentions in mind.

But maybe it’s just Tom Hiddleston?

Nope, we’ve the booklet “Thor: heroes and villains” agree with this.

“Loki is often the voice of reason to Thor’s impulsiveness and is usually relied on to talk his older brother out of sticky situation.” [“Thor: heroes and villains”]

“As Odin’s younger son, Loki has always known the throne of Asgard will never belong to him. He has, however, tried his best to be a good brother to Thor and a son Odin could be proud of.” [“Thor: heroes and villains”]

Then we’ve this in the “Thor” movie:

Sif: He may speak of the good of Asgard, but he's always been jealous of Thor.

Volstagg: We should be grateful to him, he saved our lives.

Hogun: Laufey said there were traitors in the House of Odin. A master of magic could bring three Jotuns into Asgard.

Fandral: Loki's always been one for mischief, but you're talking about something else entirely. [“Thor”]

The group suspects Loki wants to hand Asgard to the Jotuns, but up till the end of the movie Loki will have Asgard’s best interests in mind. His way to pursue them though, by destroying the Jotuns, is beyond ruthless but it’s not traitorous toward Asgard.

Also they’ve nothing against him beyond the fact he was jealous of Thor. They mention no stabbing episode, no murdering attempt no previous betrayal. Loki was jealous and they fear this had caused him to do something extreme. NOW. They’ve nothing they can use against him from the past, their suspects are based on Loki’s jealousy, the fact he’s a wizard and Laufey’s words.

Even the “Thor” novelization, which discusses their relation, doesn’t mention murder attempts prior to the Destroyer thing.

From Thor’s point of view:

“His younger brother has always been something of a mystery to him. While Thor had been eager to spread his wings, fight in battles, and go off on grand adventures, Loki had always been more hesitant. True, he had Thor’s back, but it was often only out of necessity.” [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Thor”]

From Loki’s point of view:

“Why did he always seem to get into trouble because of his older brother? Wasn’t he supposed to be the wiser one? Odin has expressly forbidden that they enter Jotunheim. Yet it wasn’t the first time Thor had done something reckless. And it wouldn’t be the first time Loki was powerless to stop him.” [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Thor”]

Loki had Thor’s back, albeit he wasn’t happy about it, Thor is the one who causes troubles, everyone knows and in the novel Loki is regularly sent by Sif and the Warriors Three to calm Thor down and make him think.

Long story short Thor and Loki seemed to be originally planned to have a relationship similar to the one they had in “Thor - Tales of Asgard” direct-to-video animated superhero film which came out in the same year as “Thor”.

So, why somehow in “Thor: Ragnarok” it morphed into the one they have in the comics “Thor: Son of Asgard” (2004) if not worse?

Well, somehow Hemsworth’s feelings shifted along the way between “Thor: The Dark World” and “Thor: Ragnarok”. He was aware of how Loki and Thor’s relationship was portrayed in the comics and this bits fits with how in “Thor: Ragnarok” he just wants to tell Loki he didn’t care anymore.

I mean I can’t say too much but I think in the comic books, you kind of roll your eyes sometimes at the amount of times that they’re back to being best friends so we wanted to keep in mind that he did just try to kill you for the seventh time, and Earth and millions of people and what have you, so… [Chris Hemsworth Talks Expanding Beyond Asgard, Building to THE AVENGERS 2, and More on the Set of THOR: THE DARK WORLD]

Without giving too much away, I didn't want to repeat that relationship either. And Tom felt the same. All of us were like, ‘What can we do again here?’ There’s a bit of reversal as far as... In the first films, a lot of the time you’re seeing Thor going, 'Come back Loki, and da-da-da-da.' [But now] there’s a feeling from Thor that’s just like, 'You know what, kid? Do what you want. You’re a screw up. So whatever. Do your thing.' [Chris Hemsworth ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, Embracing the Comedy, the Thor/Loki Relationship and More]

"Ahhh, he's like the girlfriend you break up with and they don't get the message. Like, 'You're dead, sorry, it's over,' and they're coming round to hang the new drapes. "The most poignant moments (of Thor's movies) have been with Loki." [Avengers 4 Endgame: Is Loki ALIVE? Chris Hemsworth gave a massive hint at London fan event]

Until we get to “Avengers: Infinity War” in which he makes clear he believes Loki fooled him time and time again so that he doesn’t want him back…

While the cast share an obvious camaraderie, a void remains after Tom Hiddleston’s Loki died in Infinity War. Would Hemsworth bring back his troublesome onscreen brother if he could? “No. Why would I do that?” he answers, blankly. “He fooled me time and time again. But on the personal side, I was with Tom since the beginning of this journey and I learned a lot from him.” Hemsworth pauses. “If you’re asking if Thor would bring him back, I think if he could have done he would have. But for me, I don’t know.” [Avengers stars reveal one big downside to the job]

…even if Thor would have (and of course he would have if we’ve to believe Thor’s tears in “Avengers: Infinity War” and his depression in “Avengers: Endgame” are due to Loki’s death and it’s not merely due to how ‘fun’ it is to have a depressed Thor who ends up neglecting his health by drinking too much and getting fat… because being a source of amusement isn’t really a reason why you should introduce a depressed character in a story).

So yes, maybe Pearson didn’t go to the right source of info for Thor and Loki’s relationship.

However, credits when it’s due, the scene about Loki wanting to kill Thor from childhood is not so much due to Pearson or Hemsworth but due to Waititi.

Hewitt: You know, there’s another moment I love, when they have the little huddle about Loki, and he tells the story about how Loki turned into a snake.

Waititi: Yeah, yeah.

Hewitt: And that felt improv’d.

Waititi: Yeah, there was basically- what we did about six different versions of that story, and that was just us standing around, while the cameras are rolling, while I would just feed them lines, and feed Chris ideas for some stories. I was, “Oh, do one, this one, um, say, “I was walking through a field, and I saw a lovely Turkish rug in the middle of the grass, and I love Turkish rugs, so I went to stand on it, and it was Loki, and he turned back into Loki, and it was a hole, and I fell through the hole, and was impaled in the hole, full of spikes”.”

Hewitt: *laughs*

Waititi: As I did all versions of that and I just kept going with- Yeah, the one with the snake just turned out to be the one we used. [Taika Waititi On Screenwriting: An Empire 30th Anniversary Special]

And so how did Waititi envisioned the Thor-Loki dynamics? This is how Waititi describes Thor’s live:

“To be perfectly honest, he’s a rich kid who lives in a castle in outer space. I don’t know any of those people, but I do know people who come from dysfunctional families. He barely talks to his parents — well, his mom’s dead now — his brother is trying to kill him his entire life, and he’s supposed to be king, and he doesn’t want to be a king. A lot of it is also this father-son relationship stuff of him trying to prove himself, or trying to find his own identity, and I really relate to that. My dad was a very big personality in New Zealand and in our area, and I’ve always been trying to do my own thing to separate from him, while at the same time trying to impress him. Which is the story of pretty much all guys, and probably most girls, who are choosing a parent to impress. That was my way in with him.” [“How Taika Waititi Made Thor: Ragnarok So Damn Funny”]

Why Waititi came up with such an idea for their dynamics is up to everyone’s speculation because in itself it’s not important if he actually got told about it by Hemsworth, Pearson or by Brad Winderbaum, who admitted taking inspiration from the comics for “Thor – Ragnarok”…

“I'll tell you the three things we looked at the most. We're pulling a lot stylistically from Kirby [but] we're also looking at the Walt Simonson Ragnarok arc [and]… God of Thunder, the Jason Aaron book.” [How 'Thor: Ragnarok' Honors & Deviates from Its Comics Foundation]

… if this is the result of that 1 short comic he read…

“That’s a thing about me, guys, I did not do my research.” … “I read one issue of Thor as my research. Not even a graphic novel, it was one of the thin-thin ones.” … “And by the end of it, “Hm, well, we’re not doing that”. [Empire Podcast Spoiler Special: Thor: Ragnarok with Taika Waititi]

Waititi wanted to do his own story, not a continuation of the previous movies.

“I was lucky enough they didn’t force me to acknowledge things- there were certain things in the film, like the play, which makes fun of the scene in The Dark World where Loki dies, but there’s a point to that play, sort of to recap what happened, but also to tell the audience, “This is not what you think it’s going to be, this film is not going to be a continuation of that. It’s its own thing, and what you think you expect from this film ends at this play.”” [Empire Podcast Spoiler Special: Thor: Ragnarok with Taika Waititi]

This is not the point where I discuss what I think of this idea of stepping all over the previous movies to create a ‘new Thor’ that the Russo brothers proceeded to dismantle in the next movie.

In 2010 Feige was already on board with the idea ‘the movie comes first’ and the ‘connective tissue’ is fun and very important if you want it to be.

“It's never been done before and that's kind of the spirit everybody's taking it in. The other filmmakers aren't used to getting actors from other movies that other filmmakers have cast, certain plot lines that are connected or certain locations that are connected but I think for the most part, in fact, entirely everyone was on board for it and thinks that its fun. Primarily because we've always remained consistent saying that the movie that we are making comes first. All of the connective tissue, all of that stuff is fun and is going to be very important if you want it to be. If the fans want to look further and find connections than they're there. There are a few big ones obviously, that hopefully the mainstream audience will able to follow as well. But the most important thing and I think the reason that all the filmmakers are on board is that their movies need to stand on their own. They need to have a fresh vision, a unique tone and the fact that they can interconnect if you want to follow those breadcrumbs is a bonus.” [Kevin Fiege Talks Iron Man 2, The Avengers and More]

“Thor – Ragnarok” merely took it to an extreme, retconning a lot from the original to the point some feel “Thor – Ragnarok” is a parallel universe compared to the previous 4 movies, with its own canon.

So when they needed a joke they didn’t bother checking the previous canon, they just needed a joke and so they added that scene, and it somehow got so popular it got referenced in two novels, sorta, even if in both gets ‘adapted’.

Once he was in the room, the servant girl would likely go unnoticed enough to eavesdrop – certainly less noticed than a snake, which had been his initial plan, and which was easier to imitate than an Asgardian. But snakes tended to gather attention – Thor would pick up any serpent to admire it. [“Loki- Where mischief lies”]

In “Loki – Where mischief lies” by Mackenzi Lee the stabbing isn’t included, the book only keep Thor’s fascination for snakes and his habit to pick them up… but the scene couldn’t have happened when they were children as Loki is a teen in the book and has learnt only recently to use shapeshifting magic.

In “The pirate angel, the talking tree and captain rabbit” by Steve Behling the scene is partially retconned as well.

Where in the movie is played as a clear murder attempt in the book we’ve the same story but in a different contest.

“Hey, what did I tell you about insulting our guest?” Rocket scolded, shaking his head. “If anyone’s gonna do any insulting around here, it’s gonna be me.”

Groot looked at Rocket, and enacted an impressive-albeit obnoxious-imitation of the same sneet that Rocket used on Thor just few second earlier.

“I am-“

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Rocket warned.

“Gr-“

“I mean it! You wanna have tablet privileges revocked for a week, you go right ahead and finish that though.”

If Groot had pockets, he would have showed his limbs stubbornly into them, turned around grumbling, and walked away. As it was, he didn’t, so after a moment’s stare-off with Rocket he simply muttered, “I am Groot,” then ambled away.

“He’s in an awkward phase,” Rocket said to Thor by way of explanation, turning his attention to the master control panel.

“Adolescence is never easy,” Thor said looking over Rocket’s shoulder. “I remember when Loki and I were children. Loki transformed himself into a snake, and because I really, really love snake, I went to pick it up. But the moment I did, the snake transformed back into Loki, and then he stabbed me.”

It was at least ten second before Rocket spoke. And when he finally did, he sighed and said, “Why do I have the feeling you tell this story a lot? Like, A LOT.”

Thor smiled wanly. “Maybe a few times,” he acknowledged.

“I bet this Loki gets a big kick out of it every time you tell it,” Rocket said, chuckling.

The thin smile on Thor’s face quickly fell.

“Not anymore,” were the only words Thor could manage before he turned away. [“The pirate angel, the talking tree and captain rabbit”]

While in “Thor: Ragnarok” this story seems to be a proof Loki is an homicidal maniac because it’s compared to him wanting to kill Banner and Valkyrie and therefore, despite the idea this is a joke, make the whole matter a serious business, here Loki’s actions are compared to the ones of a teenager tree wanting to insult someone else and being told not to. It seems one of those stupid things little kids do in anger, or thinking it’s just a game, without really understanding the consequences they could have (=killing someone). Thor seems to almost brag about it, as if it was a funny childhood tale about the idiotic things they did as kids, not a cautious tale against his brother and the risks of trusting him.

It’s still a story that’s clearly out of character for how Loki was meant to be PRIOR to “Thor”, but at least now it’s better inserted in the contest and can fit vaguely more with the previous canon.

But whatever, that’s it.

So, in a way, we’ve two universes, one is the Pre-Ragnarok one, in which Loki prior to Thor loved his brother and had a good relation with him, and the other is the Ragnarok one, in which Loki wanted him dead from childhood.

Both exist.

It’s something a part of the fandom is well aware of, but also something another part of the fandom is ABSOLUTELY unaware of.

I’m not going to tell you which universe you’ve to favour, if the one in which Loki loved Thor or the one in which he wanted him dead, that’s up to your personal preference.

But if you’re among the many who’re still confused about why the fandom has split opinions about the relationship between the brothers… well, that’s a summary of the history behind it all.

Honestly, with the incoming “Thor – Love and Thunder” and “Loki” series, I’ve no idea what will be the future of it all. Waititi will probably want to go back to his “Thor – Ragnarok” continuity… unless he wants to reinvent Thor all over again so we’ll get another additional universe for Strange to enjoy in his upcoming “Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness”… in addition to the universes created in “Avengers – Endgame” when the characters changed the past and the ones Loki will be creating in “Loki”.

Sorry, Doctor Strange, I guess you’ll have your hands full.

[arandompostarchive]

SALEM - Ch. 3

SAVED WORK

Summary: In all the centuries of your existence, you had never been dragged out of hiding by another god, put in a superhero team and forced to save the universe. But it seems your luck has run out.

You adjusted your skirt and sat down by the town’s pond, waiting for him to show up. It was a lovely day. Pure, sunny blue skies, with a touch of clouds. A perfect day.

He stood behind you and rested his hand on your shoulder making you jump.

“Loki, don’t do that. You scared me!” He laughed a bit before apologizing.

“I assure you that was not on purpose, my dear.” You smiled at him, leaning against his shoulder.

But that was a long, long time ago.

***

Bruce was the only one in the quinjet. You walked in and took a seat as close to the front as you could get. He immediately looked back at the entrance, waiting for everyone else to come.

“Uh, I assume something happened?” He looked over at you. He had plugged his equipment into the jet. You weren’t certain how all of it worked, but you had the basics of technology down.

“That would be a correct assumption.”

“Okay.” He sat down next to you. You weren’t completely sure if you wanted to have one of those ‘should we talk about it?’ sessions right now.

“It was Loki then? You didn’t seem psyched when Steve mentioned that part of this mission.”

You nodded slightly and Bruce continued. “Listen. I’m sure he’s coming with us. There’s no way Fury’s letting him just walk away. Whatever’s going on, you need to talk about it. To him.”

You nodded again. That would probably be best. If he managed to stay out of cell.

It wasn’t long before everyone else came aboard. Steve and Tony had given up their arguing and Tony immediately sat in the pilots seat next to Clint. Unsurprisingly, Loki was with them. He was in cuffs and was seated near the back of the jet, exactly where you thought he’d be.

He didn’t stop staring at you the entire flight home. Fortunately, it wasn’t a very long one. Part of you was thankful that you only had to go to Alaska, and not another mission in the middle of Europe.

Fury was still in the tower. You were certain Steve had made some attempt to let Fury know they had in fact found Loki. You were all called into the meeting room again. You chose to walk in slowly with Bucky. Thor, Tony and Steve were escorting Loki to what was probably a rather uncomfortable cell. For now.

You looked at Bucky. He seemed to be fairly deep in thought, while you were more worried than anything.

You cleared your throat a bit. “What do you think?”

He looked up at you with a questioning glance.

“Loki, I mean. What do you think happened.”

Bucky shook his head a bit. “I wasn’t here when he tried to take over New York, and he’s literally the god of lies but… I don’t know. I recognize that look. Like he’s certain no one will believe him. And he’s been telling Steve he’s innocent. Even Thor doesn’t seem convinced now that we literally found him in the middle of a mission from Fury.”

You nodded a bit. He was right. There was no way Steve was going to let this go.

“But what do you think?”

“I really don’t know. Thor’s pretty much the only one who ever says anything good about him.”

That was definitely true. You’d been part of the team for about a year now, and Thor was the only one out of every team member who held Loki in high regards. To be fair, no one else grew up with him.

When you got in, Fury was already in deep conversation with both Maria, Steve, Tony, and Thor. They had put Loki in a sort of holding cell. Not as bad as the one he probably would’ve been put in if it weren’t for Thor.

You knew what they were saying without even asking. Just knowing them was enough. Thor was trying to defend him, Steve and Tony weren’t having it, Maria was slightly convincing Fury to at least investigate. Just to make sure there are no alien loose ends.

You sat by Bucky in the middle of the commons. You really couldn’t blame Steve, from what you heard. Loki killed a lot of people. Thor was fairly quiet, especially for an argument about family. Normally he had so much to say about Loki. Mostly how he was upset his brother wanted nothing to do with him. Steve was the one leading this discussion.

“We can’t trust him. But we need the Tesseract, and we need an explanation. Now he doesn’t have it on him, but he probably knows where it is.”

Tony sighed, staring straight at Steve. “Well, for all we know our mystery Woman in Black has it. And she could be just about anywhere. Until it comes back to Earth or we get some kind of signal, the Tesseract could literally be anywhere in the galaxy. We need a quicker fix than that. We gotta have Loki explain himself.”

Steve did not like that answer.

“Tony we can’t trust him. Anything he says could be completely false. We can’t trust a single word out of his mouth. And Thor,” He turned to Thor, now solely addressing the god. “I hate to say it, but not even you know for sure. You’re better at it than the rest of it, but not foolproof.”

The argument continued. In all fairness, everyone had a good point. But this felt like your place to jump in.

“Let me talk to him.” You said, walking up to the group. Fury looked at you, more curious why than anything. Tony sighed a bit.

“No offence Voldemort, but you weren’t there in New York. You didn’t see him.”

“Voldemort? That’s all you got?” You laughed. He was a bit more creative than that.

“Hey I’m working on it.”

Steve sighed, “On topic please.”

“Fine, Steve. I knew him a long time ago. I know I wasn’t there, fighting him in New York, but I still lived here. I was still in New York at the time. Just not a part of the team. I didn’t see him, but I saw what happened. He’s changed a lot, but I’ve gotten good at knowing when he lies. And I know it’s not flawless, but we have next to no information here. Nothing. This is our best shot.”

They all looked at each other before Thor spoke up. “The lady is right. They used to be close. Much closer than he and I ever were. If anyone can talk to him, and I mean really talk to him, it’s her.” You smiled and nodded your thanks.

Fury looked at the group. “It’s worth a shot.” Steve and Tony nodded along, and it was decided.

Face your fears.

Tony led you to where they were keeping him. Despite him agreeing, he heavily advised against it.

“I just hope you know what your doing, kid.”

“Tony, I’m 300 years older.” He scoffed.

“Barely 290.”

He took you to the elevator then headed back to his lab. Something about making some sense out of whatever woman you saw in Alaska.

It was just an elevator ride.

Just one ride and you’d be face to face again. You held your hand over the button for at least a minute. Just wondering whether to even open it. You didn’t even notice someone come up behind you.

“Hi Ms. Salem!” Peter stood next to you and waved. You jumped a bit before smiling at him too.

“Hello Peter. And you can call me Y/n, I’ve told you this.”

He smiled back. “I know. Sorry Ms… Uh. Y/n. Are you going to see Loki?”

“Trying to at least.” You looked down a bit and noticed the books in his hands. “Working on something for school?”

He nodded a bit, looking slightly nervous. “Yeah actually. It’s a Greek history project, so I was wondering if I could have your help? I mean, after you talk to Loki or whatever. Please?” That boy always made you smile. It was sweet that he wanted to spend weekends here. It was perfect for some quality time. It usually started with some sort of project and ended with you slowly attaching more and more magnets onto Bucky’s arm. Allegedly.

“Sure Peter. I’ll have Friday let you know when I get back up.” You hit the button. Peter nodded and walked away as you stepped into the elevator. It can’t be that bad. And you can leave anytime you want. Benefits of not being in a cell.

Loki was a liar. As much as you hated it, it was just his nature. Hopefully, for once in his life he’d tell the truth.

***

[gffa]

Tagged by @generallkenobi Rules: name ten favorite characters from ten things, then tag ten people. 1. Star Wars - Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker - mmffffmmmfffff, no, you can’t make me choose!  I know it seems like I’m probably a bigger fan of Obi-Wan’s, but honestly as much time as I spend thinking about and yelling about Anakin Skywalker, I’m pretty sure they’re tied.  I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, sobs.  I love Obi-Wan because he’s what I aspire to be, someone who is reserved but shows a depth of feeling at the same time, who has his shit together even when the worst happens, he still finds a way to keep getting back up, and still is kind to the galaxy, finds the good in people. Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker is someone I see so much of myself in, all that messy noise in my head, the anxiety and depression that I read into his character, the fear of rejection that I’ve experienced on a bone-deep level, the disastrous choices he makes are ones that I feel come from a place where I understand what led him to them, and the fear of how hard it is to look within myself and really face myself, that I avoided it for a lot of years because it was too terrifying.  I trash talk him a lot and I yell about the shitty choices he made, but it’s never without the understanding that I feel I understand why he made them and why they resonate so powerfully with me. 2. Sailor Moon - Tsukino Usagi - My forever girl!  Usagi’s journey, especially in the manga, as someone who was emotionally fragile and would rather die than live without her special people, to someone who stands up and says, no, this time I’ll be the one to save them!  That her journey being told, from that fragile person to that strong person, was worth the telling, that her starting point was worthwhile, not something to be derided, that the journey itself, the back and forth progress of it, that it wasn’t just a straight line, is one that has incredible meaning to me, as someone who has struggled with similar things. 3.  Tolkien’s Legendarium - Thranduil - I was totally won over by Lee Pace’s portrayal in the movies, despite my frustration with the way he was written.  Part of it is that I’ve always loved the Elves (let me yell about how much I love Thingol, it’s ridiculous) and I love the connections he has to my favorite groups (I love the Sindarin Elves so muuuuuuch, I cry, even as I love the Noldor and Vanyar, too, like, I will fight a man for Finrod, okay, oh, and Fingolfin deserves the world!! and my problematic fave Maedhros ;__;) and I love his relationship with Legolas (or the potential of it that fandom runs with much better than the movies did), but mostly it’s that he’s a king who loves his people and chose them and they loved him in return for it. 4. Bleach - Inoue Orihime - I have a weakness for characters who doubt themselves, but find a core of strength in being kind and loving.  That Orihime has this tremendous power, that she could have been the most OP of the entire cast, but thoroughly rejected the idea of using it for violence, and instead only for healing, for kindness, cemented her as one of my forever loves.  She can be so silly and loopy and ridiculous, she can be “weak” in the way she cries and reaches out for people, she has trouble letting other people see the truth of her sometimes, but when it counted, she refused to break and instead chose to be kind.  I love her so very much. 5. Marvel - Thor - Thor is one of my favorites because the galaxy dumped a whole lot of shit on him and he refused to let it make him be less than he was.  Well, at least until Endgame, but we don’t talk about that movie.  (And even then it wasn’t that he stumbled, it was how they treated his depression, as one long joke, that makes me RRrrhhhaaggghh about it.)  He grieved for everything he lost, including his brother, but he also refused to let Loki walk all over him, that he missed his brother, wished he could trust him, but wouldn’t let Loki’s pain rewrite what actually happened.  The conversation on the skiff in Svartalfheim alone is why The Dark World is a movie I will always defend, “Who put me there [in the cell]!?”  "You damn well know who!”  YOU TELL HIM, THOR.  That care + refusing to be budged on what was right, yes, that’s my guy right there. 6. Gravitation - Yuki Eiri - As dumb as this show was (and the manga even more so, but I enjoy the show more), as much as it was a silly BL show, I loved this character for being there for me when I needed him.  Someone who had all this anger and hurt inside him, this depression that constantly ate at him, that he pushed people away because he couldn’t stand to let go of it, and it didn’t matter that there were people who loved him who wanted to help him, that a simple hug didn’t fix him, that it could help, but it couldn’t make him magically better--that was something I really needed when I watched the show.  That depression and the rage it could cause wasn’t something a hug could fix.  That he had to be willing to start opening up to people again, to risking more hurt, and that it wouldn’t be easy--I really, really needed that message at the time I got it, and I will always be thankful to that dumb show for giving it to me. 7. Steven Universe - Pink Diamond - Did you know that one of my favorite things in the world is hot mess lady characters?  I love them sooooooo much, like, you give me a lady who did questionable things but we’re still meant to find her sympathetic and her story worth telling?  I AM THERE.  And Pink just slammed her way into my heart with everything she’d faced, the terrible things the other Diamonds put her through, that she had to change on her own, that she never had a Steven there to help her, she had to realize everything by herself, and that she wasn’t perfect at it, that she hurt people in the way she stumbled forward, yet there was a person there who loved and cared deeply?  I love her forever. 8. Adventure Time - Princess Bubblegum - Nerdy science princess who is the sole possessor of a single braincell on the show and yet is just as batshit as the rest of them?  The one character who looked at all the wild shit that happened in Ooo and said, sometimes you gotta prepare for the worst or do things that aren’t nice because otherwise we’ll all die?  But never stopped caring about her people or the rest of the world and listened to others and tried her best to help?  And had this complicated, fraught relationship with Marceline which is one of the best “f/f doesn’t always have to be nice” relationships that I’ve gotten to consume?  I LOVE HERRRRR. 9. Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed - Lan Wangji - I am weak to his character type, okay!  Reserved, talented, driven up the wall by the genius brat that bugs the shit out of him but also he loves them the most in the world, and utterly devoted to them?  YEAH THAT SOUNDS LIKE MY TYPE.  Also, Wang Yibo is so good-looking in the drama, oh my god. 10. Fruits Basket - Honda Tohru - Another character who refused to let the crap piled on her make her any less kind to the world.  She goes through so much and yet never stops loving people and finding sympathy for them, she never stops reaching out her hand.  While she’s never expected to do this, she’s never obligated to do so, there are plenty of characters in the series that are understandably angry and closed off that aren’t judged for being that way, that Tohru chooses to be open and loving, no matter how much she’s hurt for it, is a wonderful counterbalance.  And I am forever grateful that she got the family she wanted, she got the guy she wanted to fall in love with, she got to meet all these people she cared about and they cared about her in return, and she was stronger in her love than any of them were in their fear, anger, or hate.  I LOVE HER FOREVER. Tagging:  DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE sobs

[buckybarnesbingo]

BBB Discord Party Round Robin

What started out as simple summary, one prompt and one sentence per person, ended up being so intriguing that we went all-out and created a fic!  Each person was given about half an hour to write up to 300 words, and the option to cross off one of their bingo squares, and this is the glorious result!

Prompts

cookies 

dragon

window cleaning

potato salad

cat stalker

sharing a bed

beach

Participants

@rebelmeg​

@fightingforcreativity​

@ladydarkphoenix-blog​

@psychiccatpanda​

@dreaminglypeach​

@ibelieveinturtles​

LiquidLightz

@menatiera​

Summary: To say that Bucky had been surprised when a FREAKING DRAGON showed up at the summer BBQ at his beach house would be an understatement. How should the ex assassin have anticipated a dragon, who seemed to have followed his cat to the BBQ? It didn't seem to be dangerous as of yet seeing as the two were happily sharing potato salad.

When Tony showed up late, he nudged Bucky, "Hey Buckaroo - I brought - WHOA! I didn't know you had a... cat."

Sure, it’s the cat that surprises you, Bucky thought, but Tony was still talking a mile a minute around the cookie in his mouth, “So, anyway, I brought that- fuck, is he your window cleaner, he’s gorgeous!”

"Window cleaning is just one of the many services I offer," the dragon said swinging it's head around to stare unblinking at Tony.

Bucky jolts back and stares at the dragon as he recognises the sound of that voice, then quickly pulls his phone out to text Steve... "where exactly are you right now?"

Steve doesn't answer his phone, obviously, but a telltale notification sound pings from somewhere inside the dragon's belly, audible through the slightly open mouth of the creature, and Bucky has to rub the base of his nose, muttering, "of fucking course you do this reveal to me after we've been sharing a bed for weeks."

And you can find the rest of the fic under the cut!

@rebelmeg

Tony, another cookie in his hand, held up a finger. “Um, excuse me, I hate to be nitpicky about weird details when Steve has apparently turned into a dragon, BUT…” he pointed at the dragon.  “Did I hear a cell phone in there? How did you manage to SWALLOW A CELL PHONE?”

Steve turned his large, scaly head in Tony’s direction, and it was amazing, he actually managed to have an extremely Steve expression on that reptilian face. “Classified.”

Tony snorted and dipped a plastic spoon into the potato salad. “You’re a lying liar who lies. And you’re going to need some very intense tech support for that phone by the time it gets… out.  And oh, ew, all of the options for how it gets out are just disgusting.”

Bucky, who had been standing there fighting the temptation to call Steve (he wanted to see what happened when the swallowed cell phone started vibrating and ringing), dragged himself back to the conversation. “Steve, I think you might wanna tell us exactly what’s going on.” He glanced at the cat that was now sitting next to Steve and very daintily licking its paws. “Maybe start with the cat?”

LiquidLightz

The dragon remained stubbornly quiet, a strange fiery blush spreading across its face.

Bucky waited him out for a full minute before he threateningly pulled out his phone and began to dial... 

"Ok, OK!"  Steve caved in as the first riffs of ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ echoed around inside of him and Bucky’s eyes widened, then narrowed dangerously as he mercifully ended the call while Tony coughed up cookie crumbs from all his cackling…  great, thanks Nat!  One more thing he would be having to explain later in excruciating detail.

Raising his huge snout skyward with a big defeated sigh, Steve let out a little spurt of fire before starting on some ridiculous explanation about how he had wanted to look good for the BBQ, so Nat suggested he go to a day spa she knows, but he had nobody to leave the cat with and so he took him along since they offered pet day care services... 

He trailed off as the laughter of everyone around him burst out in a crescendo and he leveled his steely gaze back down on them, now irritated beyond embarrassment. 

Bucky was the first one to compose himself, once Tony started making hot stone massage dragon jokes and he quickly recalled what was most pertinent here. 

"Steve, can you please get to the part where you're a dragon and if this is something you've been keeping from me or a temporary mishap?"  Bucky was not exactly sure what he'd prefer, since, well, dragons are pretty magnificent and he wouldn't mind having his own. His mind began to wander into the possible perks of a dragon boyfriend and whether Steve could fly now.

@psychiccatpanda

Dragons can scowl - that was a thing Bucky knew now.  

Steve harrumphed and glared, trying to work through his embarrassment.  “So I never actually made it to the day spa. I went to bed last night and the cat I adopted when you got Alpine - d”

“Inky?”  Bucky asked.

“No, I called him Beetle,” Steve said with a puff of steam.

“Still say Beetle’s a dumb name for a cat,” Bucky mumbled.

Tony nodded in agreement and helped himself to another cookie. “I’m gonna start the grill, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine Tony,” Bucky said and then tried to turn the conversation back to the dragon boyfriend issue. “So you slept with the cat and now you’re a dragon? Or were you a dragon before?”

“No. I’m not a dragon… well, I wasn’t,” Steve sighed. “So Beetle slept with me, sneezed… and turned into a guy named Loki. I freaked out, he got mad, and turned me into a dragon.”

From the grill, Tony said, “So where’s this guy now, Steeb?”

“I wish I knew,” Dragon Steve said miserably.

“Meow?” Alpine interjected himself and twined between the dragon’s toes and Bucky’s legs to situate himself at Tony’s feet. He looked up with wide blue eyes.

@menatiera

Steve turned his gaze to the cat. “I know, I know,” he said. “Food will be ready for you soon.”

Bucky’s eyebrow arched up. “If you tell me that you can talk to animals…”

The fiery blush somehow deepened on Steve’s dragon face. “Uh, not all animals. But cats… I think they speak a dialect of dragon, somehow, because I kinda understand them now.”

Instead of answering, Bucky decided it was a good time to stuff his mouth with two cookies at once, lest he let out a scream of excitement.

Alpine jumped on the table, and started to rub his face to Steve’s scales. He kept this up, right until Steve started to breathe heavily, and with one final tickling of his full body, Alpine threw himself off the table and ran under the cover of it.

Steve sneezed.

Several times.

With violent force.

The table turned out to be an inadequate hiding place, as it was blown away by the wind of the squeeze, along with most of the BBQ supplies, including the plates, utensils and napkins.

Tony was saved thanks to Bucky’s quick reflexes, who dragged him out of the way of a flying pitcher that was full of hot water to become Bruce’s tea later.

Steve was sniffling and scratching his snout. “Sorry,” he said nasally, then he stared at the ground. “Uh. I think the phone’s out.”

Bucky didn’t want to know. But he kind of did. “How did it get to your lung? Or is a dragon belly connected to sneezing somehow?”

Alpine slowly walked back into the scene, stepping into the dragon snot with delicate disdain, and poked the phone with his nose. He meowed a few times.

“He wants us to look at it,” Steve translated. “He says something about messages. Or notes? I’m not entirely sure. I’m not fluent in cat yet.”

@dreaminglypeach

My boyfriend the dragon isn’t fluent in cat yet, Bucky thought. How is this my life?

“Well, go on, then,” Tony encouraged, wafting his hand at the phone as Alpine curled into Steve’s side again, seeking warmth despite the fact that it’d been far too goddamn sunny all day.

“I would,” Steve said, raising one clawed… paw? Hand? Strangely enough, Bucky had no idea what the anatomy of a dragon is. “But there’s this whole no opposable thumbs issue at the moment.”

Tony looked at Bucky. Bucky looked back at Tony. Neither of them moved to pick up the phone.

“He’s your boyfriend.”

“And?”

Tony scoffed. “And that means you get to be the one playing with the phone he ate, duh.”

“I hate you,” Bucky said. “I hate both of you. And whoever this Loki jackass is, I really fucking hate him.”

Steve made a bizarre snarly noise, maybe a draconine laugh, maybe a growl, then nudged the phone in Bucky’s direction with his nose. “You know the passcode,” he said, baring a whole load of pointy teeth at him.

Dutifully, Bucky picked the disgusting thing up, wiped the slime coating it on his jeans (well, those were being burnt now), and tapped out his own date of birth to unlock it.

“Ha!” Tony said when it unlocked, peering at the screen over Bucky’s shoulder. “Stark Tech. Can’t beat it. I’d like to see an iPhone keep working after spending time inside a dragon.”

“Do we know a Valkyrie?” Bucky asked, ignoring Tony’s bragging to look at the long string of messages Steve apparently received over the last three hours. “Because she sure seems to know you, and boy is she unhappy.”

“Never heard of her,” Steve answered. “What’s she say?”

“Rogers,” Tony read, “be careful, Thor’s brother is

@ladydarkphoenix-blog 

on the loose and looking to cause trouble. Not sure what exactly but he is looking for mischief. Well that can't be good."

"Obviously not seeing as I'm now a dragon," Steve snorted in annoyance, a small puff of smoke escaping his nose.

"So how do we fix this," Bucky inquired as he sent back a text explaining the situation as it was before setting the phone down to not have to deal with the slimy mess for a moment. As the three discussed options and people they thought might be able to help, Alpine let out an angry yowl as he seemingly started floating away from where he'd been napping.

Steve let out a low rumbling growl, "don't touch him Loki or I'll eat you myself…"

Loki appeared, holding a fighting Alpine by the scruff to protect himself from claws and teeth. "Now is that any way to speak to an honored guest?"

@fightingforcreativity

“An honored guest my ass,” mumbled Bucky, pointedly ignoring the snickering coming from Tony.

“My my, so rude the company you keep, Anthony.” Loki drawled, still holding Alpine and only slightly being turned towards the three heroes. “I was just hoping my gift was well received.”

Tony sputtered at that. The assassin turned towards the other brunet, a questioning eyebrow risen. Tony, though, ignored him and started to ramble at Loki, “Serious? I hate that name. Stop calling me that, Reindeer Games! Why are you here? And what’s going on with Steve as a dragon? I mean sure, dragons are pretty cool and he’s quite a beauty like this but c’mon, Lokes, usually your mischief is directed against Thor not Steve.”

Sure, Bucky could say something about Tony obviously eyeing his dragon boyfriend up- and what a mess that was- but he was more interested in what the heck really was going on. Maybe after they figured out Loki's motive, Bucky could think about why Steve preened under Tony’s compliments.

Also, Bucky wasn’t sure what was going on at all between Loki and Tony, but by the look of it Steve had an idea. How Bucky could interpret his boyfriend’s limited facial expressions at the moment, was another mystery to be shoved in the ‘to never investigate’ box.

Before Loki could answer, the dragon rounded on him. “I told you to let him go!”

Steve’s hiss was threatening and Bucky didn’t blame Loki for gently putting Alpine back done and backing up a bit after that. “Fine. The good captain was collateral damage in my attempt at wooing.”

Everyone froze at that. 

‘Wooing? What the…?!’, Bucky thought disbelievingly. 

The first person to recover was Steve though, and cautiously the formerly blond asked, “Wooing who?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Anthony of course!”

@ibelieveinturtles

There was stunned silence as everyone gaped at Loki, then Steve started huffing, little bursts of flame spouting from his nostrils.

"Are-are you laughing at me?" Loki demanded haughtily. 

Steve shook his head. "The look on Tony’s face!" he chortled. "It's like he doesn't know whether to be flattered, insulted, or just plain horrified."

They all looked at Tony, who made an immediate attempt to control his face.

"Flattered," he said hastily, "definitely flattered but, er, I'm not sure how Pepper's gonna react."

Loki drew himself up. "It was her suggestion," he said. 

"Pepper suggested you turn me into a dragon as a courting… gift?"

Loki nodded. "She assured me you have the ego to pull it off."

Steve began to huff again and this time, both Loki and Tony glared at him.

"What?" Steve asked.

"She's not wrong," Bucky interjected in an effort to save his boyfriend from all the attention. "Also, she may have mentioned to me last week that dragons are her favourite mythical animal," he finished.

"Indeed," Loki said, smirking. "She told me she always wanted to ride a dragon."

Bucky's laughter joined Steve's draconic huffing and Tony’s expression changed.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course," Loki replied. "It is a most exhilarating activity."

Bucky stopped laughing as an idea slammed into his mind. He turned a speculative gaze in Steve's direction. Steve must have felt the weight of Bucky's gaze as the giant head turned to look at him.

"Something on your mind? Steve asked in a surprisingly quiet voice.

Bucky nodded. "That riding a dragon thing," he said.

Steve's eyes glittered. "You wanna try it out?"

"Yes."

They looked at Tony and Loki who were now standing much closer together and seemed to be deep in some sort of negotiations. 

"Climb on," Steve said. "Before Loki remembers to change me back."

Bucky scrambled up Steve's outstretched leg and settled himself in front of Steve's wings.

"Ready?" Steve rumbled, and without waiting for an answer, launched himself into the air.

Bucky whooped as they climbed. This had undoubtedly been the best BBQ ever.

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

Title: BBB Round Robin Fic Collaborators: Rebelmeg, Fightingforcreativity, Ladydarkphoenix, Psychiccatpanda, Dreaminglypeach, Ibelieveinturtles, Liquidlightz, Menatiera Squares filled:

Rebelmeg: Y2 - tech support

LiquidLightz (LLightz): B3 - spa day

Menatiera: U4 - hot water

Dreaminglypeach: B1 - sharing body heat

Ladydarkphoenix: U5 - "Don't touch him!"

Fightingforcreativity: B4 - Collateral Damage

Ibelieveinturtles: K2 - Whiplash

Ship: Stucky, hinted Stony or Stuckony, Pepperony, pre-FrostIron /FrostPepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: round robin fic, dragon Steve, animal transformation, Loki shenanigans, cats, multiple ships, hijinks and shenanigans Summary: To say that Bucky had been surprised when a FREAKING DRAGON showed up at the summer BBQ at his beach house would be an understatement. How should the ex assassin have anticipated a dragon, who seemed to have followed his cat to the BBQ? It didn't seem to be dangerous as of yet seeing as the two were happily sharing potato salad.

When Tony showed up late, he nudged Bucky, "Hey Buckaroo - I brought - WHOA! I didn't know you had a... cat."

Sure, it’s the cat that surprises you, Bucky thought, but Tony was still talking a mile a minute around the cookie in his mouth, “So, anyway, I brought that- fuck, is he your window cleaner, he’s gorgeous!”

"Window cleaning is just one of the many services I offer," the dragon said swinging it's head around to stare unblinking at Tony.

Bucky jolts back and stares at the dragon as he recognises the sound of that voice, then quickly pulls his phone out to text Steve... "where exactly are you right now?"

Steve doesn't answer his phone, obviously, but a telltale notification sound pings from somewhere inside the dragon's belly, audible through the slightly open mouth of the creature, and Bucky has to rub the base of his nose, muttering, "of fucking course you do this reveal to me after we've been sharing a bed for weeks." Word Count: 2300

[brightsun-and-darkmidnight]

See Through Me

Challenge from @the--sad--hatter! Thank you for letting me participate!

The Prompt was a song: #29 - Shatter Me by Lindsay Stirling & Lzzy Hale

Summary: Loki’s life has always had challenges but Y/N has always been there to help. Even at his lowest points.

Triggers: Depression. I tried to stay with story line of Loki’s life so cannon suicide attempt.

~ ~I hope you enjoy! ~ ~

All of Loki's life he has been dancing around harmful words of disapproval. 

Though, there was one person who accepted him, (y/n). They have always found him when his heart was overworked and needed time to reset. (Y/n) would see him and wave their hand in a slow wide motion.

Loki would force the tears away each time he saw the odd motion. The urge to smile was moderate compared to how much he wanted to scream and cry.

Loki put the energy into the happy facade. "Why do you wave like that?"

(Y/n) smiled as they sat slowly beside him. "Fast movement is best to catch the eye but slow movements are often more comforting." 

Their small, warm, and pleasant smile brought him a slight comfort. He nodded because he did not trust any other form of communication. They were right. Fast and hard is how everyone else greeted him, even with the comments on his seder.

(Y/n) would sit with him wherever he was found, either in silence or with cheerful and quiet conversations. They were often the highlights of his days. Their interactions gave Loki the strength he needed. 

After finding out he was the monster everyone feared and hated he stayed away from (y/n). Surely they would feel the same so he had to prove he was not a monster. He tried to destroy the ones of his true parentage to show he was no threat to those he knew. The people who he was around all of his life, NEEDED to know how much he was on their side. 

Loki did his best to prove he was worthy but it meant nothing.

Loki tried to destroy all of the Jotunheim, to kill the Jotuns as his entire family as once attempted...

He was still wrong despite everything everyone else has done.

To get praise from his father was met with disappointment… His heart raced in his chest, ticking faster but the pieces fell to his stomach. The weight he held in his entire being, was too much to bare.

He let go but watched as (y/n)'s horse stop on the bridge as he floated away to his death. 

Death did not welcome him, but pain certainly made its way into his life.

Pain from torture. Pain from seeing so many worlds be cut in half. Pain from knowing what he had to do to get away.

His life was shattered to nothing more to be a puppet. 

He mended himself together just to get through, his intelligence forming a team to fight against the true evil.

After everything he has done, his mere handful of deaths compared to others but he was awarded a cell.

Frigga was there for some communication, and gave him a chance at comfort in the room he would likely die in.

Loki was surprised when (y/n) was with Frigga one time.

They were allowed some time alone to talk, though it was not easy.

(Y/n) stood still to help the connection last a little longer without Frigga needing to focus more on the situation.

Loki stood staring at them. With a hard swallow he spoke.

"You should not be here."

They smiled softly. "I want to be, so I am. Loki… I am here for you as I always have been."

Loki clenched his jaw shut from fears of them changing their mind.

(Y/n) seemed to take in everything about Loki. "You are hurting...more than usual anyway." The strained smile was still oddly comforting. "Tell me… tell me anything you want."

"I want you to leave."

Loki didn't want that. He feared being left alone. However, alone ment no displays of disapproval from others. His own mind was good at replaying all the past interactions. His mind was sharp and crafty about what (y/n) would say about the truth behind his parentage.

(Y/n)'s lips faltered. "Do not lie to me. I can see you breaking."

Loki paced with a gesture towards them. "Since when have you been one to heal?"

The hurt expression on their face broke Loki's heart but he needed to push them away. They would never accept him. They were too good for him.

"If you really wanted me to leave you would look me in the eyes."

Loki halted in his pacing and turned to them.

(Y/n) met his eyes and instantly spoke. "I know you are Jotun. I see you no differently than I did as we grew up. You are Loki and to me... that is perfect."

(Y/n) turned their head and nodded. "I have to go now but please take care of yourself." They smiled, "I will have your favorite food sent with the order your mother will send later. I will see you again. Goodbye Loki."

Loki watched as (y/n) forced a smile. Their head tilt at no farewell made Loki regret not saying a simple goodbye, or anything at all, back as their image shimmered away. His tongue was heavy and the nerves were coiled tightly in his throat. His mind was focused on the fact (y/n) accepted him. His thoughts caught him at the happiness and then dragged everything to the ground to be dirtied with dissatisfaction.

Loki did not see (y/n) again and with the death of his mother he knew the possibility of seeing them were impossible. So he mourned the death of his mother as well as the severed connection to (y/n).

Loki was able to leave his cell to help Thor, but with the promise of returning to his death room was not ideal. Knowing he would have a chance to escape fueled him to pull enough pieces together to function. 

To walk through the halls was invigorating and he knew escaping was his top priority. 

Even if it meant death. 

Once again death did not welcome him but he was able to be free.

He was able to rule again.

The disguise of Odin worked well. No one noticed a thing. No one could see through him. Though with the death of Odin's wife, Frigga, everyone thought the slight personality change was grief. Loki knew better than anyone Odin would start a new war in his anger filled grief.

Loki also got to watch (y/n) perform her duties as a servant but he wished more for her than to wait on others.

As Loki was headed to his rooms for rest, well Odin's rooms, a familiar slow wave caught his attention.

Loki moved past (y/n) without a second glance.

"I know you saw me." The heartbreaking, broken and hushed yell echoed in the vast hallways.

Loki stopped and turned slowly to the approaching foot steps.

(Y/n) moved in a way that demanded his eyes. "Please talk to me."

"There is nothing to talk about."

 (Y/n) moved in his way. "I know it is you Loki."

Loki observed them and knew they had the truth in some way. "How did you know it was me?"

(Y/n)'s face lit up with a wide smile. "Odin was never one for plays showcasing how terrible he was through plays and shows. You did this to help yourself, to cope. Also, No one can hold that much pain in their heart, to have that pain shine in their eyes and still be so gentle.. I want to see you."

Loki nodded and went to a room. He sighed once he was able to be seen in his Asgardian form, it felt nice not having to be someone else.

(Y/n) smiled with a shake of their head. "I want to see you as you were always meant to look like. Because no matter what, you are always going to be Loki."

Loki waited for them to laugh at the joke but they just smiled at him.

Loki saw nothing left to loose and braced the final parts of himself to be lost.

Loki kept his eyes on (y/n) as he changed but they did nothing other than their eyes following the transition of porcelain skin that turned blue. 

(Y/n) approached him, reaching for his hands. "You are still Loki."

Of course Loki moved away. "I could hurt you."

(Y/n) did not stop but reached for his hands slowly. Once his hand was in their's they placed a kiss to his hand. "You would never hurt me. I trust you."

Tears welled in his eyes, prompting (y/n) to cup his face. They brushed their thumbs under his eyes and the dam was broken. Trails were made down his face with the lifetime of tears hidden until now. With all that happened in Loki's life -everything he had to endure to make it to this point, Loki was shattered into new pieces. With the help of (y/n) the broken pieces mended together into a beautiful mosaic and his tears helped put him together.

(Y/n) helped make him stronger than ever. They helped carry the weight of many years and then distributed everything evenly so it was easier to lift from his strong shoulders.

He was finally whole and he was no longer shattered pieces.