#but yeah i never had any issue with the concept of thor and loki both being 'born to be kings'

[iamanartichoke]

I still don't understand the "you were both born to be kings" thing Odin said. Loki of Jotunheim presumably but then why tell a kid that and have him purposefully misinterpret it? And I've seen some argue that age had nothing to do with it but they keep reinforcing that Thor is the "first born" and I've seen interviews where they say the fact Thor is older means he's in line for the throne? Sorry for the rant but I've been trying to figure this out since like 2011.

In order to have it all make sense to me, in my head, I've always interpreted that line - and, by extension, Asgard's ruling hierarchy - to function in much the same way that real monarchies do (or have, in the past). That is, in a ruling family, the first born (son, usually, but occasionally a daughter if she had no male siblings) was automatically the heir and would take the throne in the event anything happened to the king (or queen). After the first born, the line follows chronologically so the next oldest would be second in line, the third oldest third in line, and so on.

However, if the original heir has children, then the line changes and the heir's children become second, third, etc in line, and the heir's younger siblings fall further back. If all of the blood heirs die without leaving behind children, then the throne would go to the next closest blood relative (I think) and the line would follow that family.

Depending on how patriarchal Asgard is and how far back in human history we go, if the oldest child is a girl, she falls behind the first-born son of the family. If Asgard functioned that way, then Hela would not actually have a claim to the throne above Thor - it would go to Thor, then Loki, and then Hela. (To put it in perspective, when Henry VIII died, Edward became king despite still being a child and both Mary and Elizabeth being older. Once Edward died, only then did the line go to the women - first Mary, as the older sibling, and then to Elizabeth after Mary died.) But that's just if you headcanon that Asgard was particularly patriarchal (which tbh I think it is, but that's just me).

Now, whether or not the writers/tptb intended for Asgard to work this way is unknown, but I interpret it this way bc to me, it makes the most sense and anything else becomes kinda convoluted. It would explain why Thor is first in line to be king and, as such, Odin's first choice over Loki, but it also explains the "you were born to be kings" line, if you interpret it as "you are both born royal and you both have the potential to rule, should it work out that way." To go back to the previous example (I just like the Tudor period a lot, so it's what popped into my head), if Henry VIII told Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, "you were born to rule," then he wouldn't necessarily be wrong or misleading. Each of them has the potential to rule and would be capable of doing so, should they find themselves on the throne. (And, ultimately, each of them did.) I feel like it's the same concept with Thor and Loki.

Of course, historically, what made kings and queens "legitimate" was the belief that they were chosen and appointed by God to rule, so saying "you were born for this" would imply not only the potential to rule but also the idea that being born royal meant that they had been chosen for their role by a power higher than that of humans. So, again, if there was a similar belief on Asgard - that the norns, for example, appointed Odin's bloodline to be the ruling line, then again, Odin't assertion that Thor and Loki were both born to be kings isn't wrong. They were born with royal blood and, by extension, they had been chosen by a higher power and it was their right to rule. In that sense, it doesn't matter who's older or how the line goes; what matters is that Thor and Loki are both in the line.

So that's how I have always understood it to work - but, again, this is my interpretation and there's not necessarily anything in the canon that supports it unequivocally. That being said, because I interpret it this way, I also never felt that Loki misunderstood what Odin meant when he said both sons were born to be kings. Nor do I feel that Odin was being purposefully misleading. As a royal child, Loki would know and understand how the line works and also how divine right works (assuming they've got a similar belief). To me, I always felt like it was more a matter of wanting to be seen just as worthy as Thor so that, if Loki did end up on the throne, he would get the same respect, admiration, and support as Thor would. In other words, Loki knows ("knows," at this point) that both he and Thor are of royal blood and have the ability and the right to rule, so Loki sitting on the throne shouldn't be any different or "less" than Thor sitting on it. And yet, it was different and it was different for no real reason except that Asgard - including their family and friends - viewed Loki as inherently lesser than Thor due to how different he was from Thor and from what a "man" should be, societally speaking.

If that makes sense?

[cozy-the-overlord]

Crimson Curls

Summary:  A barista at the Avengers Tower coffeeshop goes missing. Her boyfriend, prominent Avengers engineer Michael Hauer, headlines a desperate campaign to find her, aided by the support of Tony Stark and the rest of the super-powered team. But as Hauer's narrative begins to unravel, it becomes clear that a certain Asgardian prince knows more than he's telling.

Pairing: Loki x Original Female Character

Chapter 1: Disappearance

Previous chapter | Next Chapter

Word Count: 3,138

A/N:  This is definitely something born out of my obsession with true crime and missing persons cases... I'm not sure if anybody else is as interested in this concept as I am, but I had the time of my life writing this story, so I hope that translates to you in some way. 

Also, this is my first multi-chaptered fic (I know, exciting, right?!)-- part 2 should be up within the next week.

Thanks for reading!

TW: domestic violence

Read it on Ao3 

Kristine Ververs was first reported missing at 6:07 AM on Tuesday, March 17, by her boyfriend Michael Hauer. He was a bit worried, he said, because she had stormed out of their apartment the night before after a fight, and he had only just realized when he woke up that morning that she never came back. His attempts to call her led him to discover that she had left her cell phone on the kitchen counter.

The dispatcher asked him to wait at the apartment for investigators to arrive. He told her he couldn’t. He had to go to work. A bit befuddled, she asked if it was at all possible for him to wait until police arrived so they could ask him some questions.

“You don’t understand,” he said. “I work for Tony Stark.”

Michael Hauer was considered to be fairly acclaimed at the Avengers Tower. He had been one of the first engineers hired when the Tower opened, picked out by the infamous genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist himself. He spent his days in the restricted upper floors, designing and testing projects so confidential that his girlfriend didn’t even know what they were.

He had met Kristine at the Tower. She worked in the coffeeshop next to the cafeteria, where the employees of all 93 stories flocked to with bleary eyes each and every morning. Kristine was hardly the most talkative barista there (on the contrary, she appeared to make it a point to say only the bare minimum), and yet she was the girl everyone thought of when they thought of their morning brew. Her wild mane of curly red hair stood out in a crowd. Even when she wasn’t in uniform, people knew her as the coffeeshop girl.

It was unclear what she thought of this. A lot of things about Kristine were unclear—she spoke very little, and never about herself. Her coworkers often wondered why someone so shy would choose to work a job that so heavily relied on social interaction, but she managed just fine. Despite her natural demeanor, she would put on a smile and speak in that bubbly barista voice people found either endearing or irritating for the customers, and no one thought anything of it.

When she disappeared, people were shocked.

“You mean the redhead from the food court?” asked Bruce in the apartment story of the Tower when the news broke. “She’s the one?”

“Yeah,” said Tony. They were crowded around the TV, the newscaster flashing a photo of Kristine shyly smiling at the camera as the tip hotline ran across the bottom of the screen. “Poor Hauer. He was a mess. I can’t believe he even came in today.”

“I didn’t know they were dating. I don’t think he’s ever mentioned her.”

“Yeah he has,” Steve turned around in his chair to face the doctor. “He brought her to the Christmas party, remember?”

Tony frowned. “Did he?”

“Of course! I remember!” Thor lit up. “She danced with my brother!”

“Oh that’s right,” Tony chuckled. “Poor girl. She didn’t say much, did she?”

“She did strike me as a bit shy,” Steve said. “I hope it’s all a misunderstanding. Maybe she’ll be back on her own.”

But she didn’t. As the days passed with no news of Kristine Ververs, media attention snowballed around the Tower. On its own, there wasn’t much to the case, but the fact that both the missing girl and her boyfriend worked for the Avengers caught the attention of the public. It seemed so impossible. How does someone who walks among superheroes vanish without a trace?

Missing posters lined the hallway walls: HAVE YOU SEEN KRISTINE? People rushed to news stations for interviews, most of which had no connection to her beyond the fact that she sometimes made their lattes in the morning. Hauer held emotional press conferences, begging anyone with information that might lead to Kristine to come forward. Everyone looked at him differently now. The standoffish, stiff engineer that had once been considered uncomfortable to be around was now a grieving boyfriend. They sent him flowers and patted him on the back in the halls, telling him they’d be praying for his girlfriend, promising to help keep the story alive.

Although that probably wasn’t an issue. Stark himself got in front of the camera, making international news as he expressed the Avengers’ concern for the Ms. Ververs and offered to help the police in their investigation in any way they could.

The investigators would have happily accepted this help if they had found anything for Stark to help with. But the fact of the matter was that there was nothing: no clues, no sightings, not even the slightest trace that Kristine Ververs had ever left her apartment. The security cameras in the lobby showed her coming home from dinner with Hauer at 8:13 PM that Sunday night, but had no record of her exiting the building around two hours later, when Hauer saw her storm out. They considered that she may have been pulled into another room, that for some reason she left through a fire escape, but the few cameras in the hallway showed nothing and witnesses were nonexistent.

Kristine had seemingly vanished into thin air.

“Do you think there’s something supernatural at play here?” Natasha asked one day. “Like, a leftover portal from the Convergence or something?”

“Unlikely,” Bruce said. “The Convergence caused our tech to go haywire. We’d definitely be getting noticeable readings if there was a portal down the street.”

“But something like that is still possible,” Tony interjected. “What with all the crazy shit we deal with on a regular basis. Someone might have been going after Hauer—he’s one of our top engineers, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

The fact that she had left her phone was strange, as well. The screen was cracked rather badly—Hauer explained that had happened a few weeks ago when she dropped it on the bathroom tile. Her call history showed that the night she went missing she had phoned an unlisted number. The call hadn’t been long—likely, it had been cut off before the other line even had a chance to answer.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no clue as to who was on the other line. The number was so badly scrambled that it was untraceable, even with Tony’s resources. In fact, he was relatively certain that whoever she had called had been using his tech to hide their number—leading to a heightened suspicion cast upon the higher-ups at the Avenger Tower.

When after two weeks there were still no leads, Tony held another press conference to announce that he would be posting a one-million-dollar reward for any information that led to the safe return of Kristine Ververs. Hauer joined him, thanking Mr. Stark profusely and pleading once more for help from the public. In the Tower, the others watched the broadcast from the television in silence.

“Filthy weasel.”

No one had noticed Loki entering the room until he spat the words like venom, glaring at Hauer’s distressed face on the screen.

Nat frowned. “What’s your problem?”

The Asgardian made his way to the kitchen and set about boiling water, still scowling darkly. “He has the audacity to sit there and wail as though he’s the victim of some great crime,” he said. “As if he’s some tortured soul wracked with fear.”

“Brother, the woman he loves has gone missing,” Thor said. “Can you not blame him for being in pain?”

“Oh yes, he’s in such pain,” Loki rolled his eyes as he prepared a mug and teabag. “Stark is close with him, is he not? Has he asked him what it was they were quarreling over so passionately that his lady felt compelled to run out of their home in the middle of the night?” He mixed the water in the mug. “Or has no one thought to question that?” With that, he slipped down the hallway with his tea, leaving the others and their gaping expressions behind.

Loki wasn’t the first to doubt Michael Hauer’s authenticity. His neighbor, Colleen Donalds, had come forward to the police shortly after the case went public to voice her concerns. She lived across the hall from the couple, she said, and a lot of times she’d overhear their arguments. They were always incredibly one-sided. She told the police that she very rarely made out Kristine’s voice during these exchanges, but Michael’s boomed all the way down the hall. He called his girlfriend the most demeaning things, throwing out words that Colleen was ashamed to repeat. She felt sorry for Kristine.

“She’s always so quiet,” she said. “Even when I run into her when Michael’s not around, she barely says a word. I can’t believe she stays with him.”

Colleen Donalds attempted discretion. Her story was to the police and the police alone, avoiding making any direct accusations and trying to stay out of the entire situation as much as possible. Marlon Arcardi had no such interest.

“He hits her,” the couple’s next-door neighbor told the tabloid reporters. “I hear it through the walls. I’ve called the cops on him a couple times, but they never do anything about it. He was doing it the night she went missing, too. I heard the crashing. He’s a complete piece of shit.”

The magazines that hit the stands next to the grocery store checkout lines screamed in red ink: AVENGER ENGINEER RESPONSIBLE FOR GIRLFRIEND’S DISAPPEARENCE?

When questioned about it, Hauer denied all allegations. “We’d get into fights,” he said. “What couple doesn’t? It was nothing serious, and the more we focus on it, the more distracted we become from the actual issue: Kristine is missing.”

“Are you saying Mr. Arcardi is lying in his statements to the press?”

Michael Hauer shrugged bitterly. “He wants attention. He’s getting attention. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s trying to derail the investigation so he can have fifteen minutes of fame. It’s sickening, because we right now we need to be concentrating on Kristine.”

Hauer managed to skirt by on this explanation for a bit, but the investigators soon discovered that Marlon Arcardi was telling the truth—at least, about calling the cops. In the two years that Kristine and Michael had been living together, the police had been called to their apartment nine separate times: seven public disturbance calls from a smattering of different neighbors including Acardi, and shockingly, twice from Kristine herself.

The police refused to release these calls, saying only that each time there were no charges pressed. The public was left to draw their own conclusions as they called in Michael Hauer for more questioning. Suspicion began to blossom.

“If they’re this perfect, happy couple like he wants us to believe,” asked one newscaster. “Then why is she calling 911 on him? Why is she running out in the middle of the night? The whole thing is extremely concerning.”

More people began coming forward. There seemed to be no end to the neighbors who overheard crashes and cursing coming from the Hauer apartment. The baristas Kristine worked with started doing interviews as well.

“We used to have like, you know, night outs on the weekends sometimes,” said Curt Chambers, one of her coworkers. “We’d always ask Kristine, but she always had some excuse. Like, she was sick, or she already had plans, or something. I joked with her once, like ‘you can just say you don’t want to go, we won’t be offended.’ And she said something like ‘no, it’s not that. It’s just my boyfriend doesn’t like me being out too late.’ And I remember thinking that was a really weird thing to say.”

Elaine Janson, another coworker, had more to add. “Something always felt off about that relationship,” she said. “They’d come in together, and then he’d come down a couple times during the day. It was like he was checking on her. It was weird. And they always left together. If he was working late, she’d wait for him.” Elaine shrugged. “Kristine always seemed so tense when he was around. I mean, she was shy to begin with, but when Michael came by it was different.”

It was also revealed that Michael Hauer had failed two lie detector tests: one taken on March 19th, within days of his girlfriend’s disappearance, and another on March 27th.

Tony Stark was inundated with calls: from reporters, from employees, from concerned citizens, some asking if he still supported Michael Hauer in light of new allegations, others demanding that he fire him immediately. He responded in a press conference in front of the Tower.

“As of right now, I’ve been shown no evidence indicating that Michael Hauer is in any way involved in Kristine Ververs’ disappearance. If and when that evidence comes to light, we will reevaluate the situation and take appropriate steps.”

Then somebody leaked the calls.

No one was quite sure who got ahold of those tapes, but by morning they were being blasted on every single news broadcast under the sun. It was the first time that the public was hearing anything in Kristine’s own words, and it didn’t bode well for Michael Hauer.

“Can you please just send someone?” she whispered into the microphone, breath labored as she struggled to get the words out. “He’s really mad, I think he’s going to break down the door. Please, is someone coming?” In the background, a masculine voice was yelling something intelligible, clobbering at a wall.

“Does he get mad often?” the operator asked after assuring her that the police were on their way.

Kristine Ververs gulped back a sob. “He’s always mad.”

The second call didn’t even have words. A scream, the crash as the phone tumbled to the floor, more yelling, pleading, crying, pounding, the operator tracing the call and sending in a unit…

Michael Hauer was formally asked to resign from his duties at the Avengers Tower. When he refused, he was terminated.

Still, he remained steadfast in his story. “Kristine has been missing for nearly a month now,” he stated in a recording posted to social media (press conferences were out of the question now; so many people showed up to protest that he couldn’t get a word in edgewise). “On occasion, we would get into violent fights, but I would never do anything to hurt her. I loved her more than anything. Please, don’t allow my mistakes to derail the investigation. We must not lose focus.”

A tweet of the video link with the caption “You loved her?? Enough lies. Where’s the body, Michael?” shot up to over 2 million likes in a day. #WheresTheBodyMichael and #JusticeForKristine began trending. Petitions for the arrest of Michael Hauer racked up signatures by the hundreds.

On April 21st, over a month after Kristine Ververs was first reported missing, a second, more in-depth search of the Hauer apartment was conducted. They noticed some things that had been missed the first time. The door lock had recently been replaced. The television screen was scratched. But, most critically, there was kitchen knife missing from the set atop the refrigerator. When questioned, Hauer claimed he had no idea what could have happened to it.

Detection dogs were brought in. While the cadaver dogs found no sign of the presence of a corpse, two different blood hounds alerted to the scent of human blood in the kitchen area and indicated a trail leading towards hall. A sample was taken from the carpet and sent to the lab for analysis. With the help of the advanced technology offered by the Avengers Tower, it was conclusively identified as Kristine’s blood.

As if that wasn’t enough already, a few days later, on April 25th, a trash collector turned in the missing kitchen knife to the police. He said he had noticed it in a dumpster earlier that day and recognized it from the description in the paper. There were three sets of fingerprints on the handle: Michael Hauer’s, Kristine Ververs’, and an inconclusive set assumed to be the trash collector’s, despite his insistence that he was wearing gloves when he picked it up. Kristine’s DNA was found on the blade.

The public had been screaming “GUILTY!” ever since the phone recordings were released. Now, they roared.

Michael Hauer was arrested on April 29th and charged with the murder of Kristine Ververs.

It was a shocking turn of events. Technically speaking, there was still no proof that a murder had taken place: there was no body, nor any sign that one existed. And just as there was no evidence of Kristine Ververs leaving the apartment that fateful March 16th, there was no evidence of Michael Hauer leaving the apartment that night either, especially with something as cumbersome as a human corpse.

The twitter hashtag found its home in newspaper headlines: Where’s the Body, Michael?

In the penthouse of the Avengers Tower, Tony rubbed his forehead. “This is such a fucking mess.”

They were gathered once again in the living room, watching as the newscaster recapped the last month and a half, breaking news that was already known. Kristine’s picture, with her downcast cerulean eyes and her frizzy red curls, flashed across the screen once more.

Tony sighed. “He just seemed so normal. I never would have thought—”

“You think he did it?” asked Steve.

“Well, he did something,” Tony snapped. “Clearly. He’s got a history of violence, her blood’s all over the floor—”

“No one’s debating that he did something,” interjected Bruce. “But if he killed her, what happened to the body? He never left the apartment that night, and there’s no evidence that a cadaver was ever stored there”

“He’s smart! That’s why we hired him, he’s a freaking genius! He probably thought of something—”

“Thought of what?” the doctor asked, throwing up his hands. “Teleportation? How the hell did he get the body out?”

“He didn’t.”

The group turned around to find Loki lurking in the back, studying them carefully from the shadows.

Bruce was the first to find his voice. “What?”

“He didn’t remove the body, because there was no body to remove,” he said deliberately.

“But, Loki,” Thor said uncertainly. “Weren’t you convinced Hauer was a killer from the start?”

“I never said he was a killer. I said he was a filthy weasel,” Loki said. “And he is, clearly. He's a slimy, abusive, manipulative, wretch of a man, but he's not a killer—although he likely believes himself to be."

Tony frowned. "What are you talking about, Loki?"

"He cannot be labeled a killer if his victim survived his attempt on her life. Which she did,” Loki paused a moment to let his statement sink in. “Despite Michael Hauer's best efforts, Kristine Ververs is very much alive.

[realityhelixcreates]

Beta, Theta, and Me

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Avengers (Movies) Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: PG Warnings:  Relationships: Loki x Reader (But not right now) Characters: Loki(Marvel) Additional Tags:  A/B/O, Sorta, More Of An Exploration Of Life And Self Expression Within An A/B/O Framework, Loki Does What He Wants, But Loki Does Not Actually Do What He Wants, Antagonistic Bosses, Loki Has A Throne Now, But It’s Not What He Wanted

Summary:  Loki puts you to work immediately, but some of his idea of what 'work' is seems strange. 

Lunch was made nervously: it had been some time since you last had the opportunity to actually cook something on a stove, with dishes, and ingredients you had to prepare yourself. Spaghetti, you decided, was the best way to go. You knew how to make it all in one pot, which had always saved you time on dishes.

Loki didn't speak a word to you while you worked, just staring out the windows in contemplation. The view from here was oriented to the back of the building, where the fire escape was, and the dumpsters just across the street. He probably couldn't see them from this far off the ground, but you wondered if Stark hadn't put him here on purpose, as a mild insult.

It was strange to think you'd spent the last week sleeping on that fire escape, so far below him.

When you brought the meal to him, he gazed at it, unimpressed, and made no move to eat it.

“This looks incredibly messy.” He said. You should have known a prince would be prim about food. “You will have to help me eat it.”

“What?” You asked. Surely he wasn't that prim!

“I am not at present easily able to lean forward.” He explained. “I will need you to feed this to me. Do not make me repeat myself.” He added, at your hesitation. “I will need much from you that your unrefined living has apparently made you unready for. Do not sit there thinking up a sonnet about it, just do it!”

You hurriedly scooted a chair over next to him, spinning noodles into a little ball on the fork, and holding it out for him. It gave you the weird feeling of feeding a giant baby bird; you needed to get the food directly into his mouth, but you couldn't just jab, or shove.

“It is passable.” He declared after the first bite. “Just make sure not to get any of that sauce on me. Now, where is your portion?”

“Mine?” Though your stomach had been growling wildly, and your mouth watering the entire time, you hadn't cooked more than one portion. You'd still been in the headspace that told you to wait until it was safe to steal from the trash.

“I didn't know I was supposed to cook anything for me. I thought it was just supposed to be for you.” You said honestly. If you'd known, you definitely would have made a big meal for yourself.

Loki breathed a sigh. “ I suppose there is no help for it then. What use is a servant who collapses from hunger? You must take a bite yourself, after each one you give me.”

“What?” You repeated.

“Do you not hear me, or are you just that dull?” Loki asked.

“No, it's just...I've never done anything like this before.”

“Oh, I know.” Loki said. “Assigning me an incompetent servant is just one of Starks many little insults to me.”

“Sorry.” You mumbled.

“All part of the game, my dear. Stark is a fool if he thinks I cannot spin gold from dross. Now take your bite.”

You swirled a few noodles onto the fork.

“Is this sanitary?” You wondered aloud.

“Given that you came to me filthy and stinking, and I've seen you grubbing around in the garbage down there, I shouldn't have thought that would be an issue with you.”

You jerked back. He knew?

“My eyes are much better than yours. Than any humans. Even in twilight, I could see you. Oh, but humans really are a pathetic race; abandoning their own to the point that some of you apparently go feral.”

“Now that's not-”

“Not true? No? Tell me then, why are your greatest examples of so-called civilization filled with homeless, and poor, and dying? Your most advanced spaces overflowing with suffering? Your loftiest monuments to your own achievements tower over the corpses of those who were crushed in order to build them. I meant to usher in a true golden age, unlike anything humanity had ever experienced! Peace, prosperity, unity, all of the things you cannot seem to find for yourselves.”

“How many corpses for your monument?” You asked. He scowled.

“Eat the food.” He commanded. “I do not carry any diseases, and I do not fear yours.”

Huffily, you took your bite. It wasn't half bad. Could have been better, if you weren't so out of practice.

“Good girl. And now mine.”

Back and forth you went, turning a simple lunch into something uncomfortably intimate. He watched you like a predator, and you tried to distract yourself with what your paycheck would get you. Fingernail clippers. A toothbrush. Socks.

There were so many things, big and little, that you needed in order to get established.

“Are you lost, feral thing?” Loki asked, jerking you out of your thoughts. “I will be leaving the dishes to you, for obvious reasons.”

“Oh. Yeah, right. Lemmie just take care of that.”

Meal finished, you hurried to the little kitchen to do the washing up. It had been a good idea to limit the amount of dishes you'd used, because soon enough he had you out on the floor, sweeping. And then up a ladder, cleaning the windows. And then dusting. And then beating the rugs out on the balcony. And then sweeping the balcony. And, of course, cleaning the bathroom, which barely looked used.

What, did alien lordships not need to shit?

There was a separate room, which housed an actual bathtub, a huge round thing that was clearly meant to hold more than one person. You cleaned it too, though, from the thin layer of dust, it seemed that it hadn't been used either. Also in the room was a small, wooden closet, that you finally identified as a sauna, which you also cleaned.

He practically had you scrubbing the walls, before suppertime finally rolled around.

“Cook enough for yourself this time as well.” He said. “Then you may take time to yourself for the evening, though I will have one last task for you, just before I retire.”

You opted for chicken fingers and french fries, finding them both in the freezer, ready to prepare.

Loki was very unimpressed, though whether it was by the humble nature of the food, or the very concept of dipping sauces, you weren't sure. He seemed especially outraged by barbecue sauce.

“Humans have no refinement!” He complained. “A riot in the streets or a riot on the tongue, it matters not, as long as you can somehow lose yourselves in something!”

Apparently ketchup was exactly as offensive.

After dinner, you washed the dishes, then went to your apartment and lay down on the floor, in the place you intended to put your future bed. You didn't really have anything to occupy your time, so you lay there, eyes closed, waiting for dinner to digest.

You were startled awake by the sound of Loki's voice right by your ear, calling your name. You must have inadvertently dozed off. You hurried out of your apartment and into the penthouse in order to find him.

He was positioned next to a big fireplace that was decorated like something out of a fancy mountain lodge. All that was missing was a bearskin rug, and an animal head mounted above the mantel.

Loki was reading a book in a language you couldn't quite make out, and he didn't bother looking up as you approached.

“Uh, you called?”

“You heard. Good, you can hear me. Yes, there is one last task I need to to perform this evening. I need you to go into my room, remove your uniform, and lay down in my bed. Then-”

“Gonna have to stop you right there, champ!” You exclaimed. “Absolutely not! Not happening. I don't care what you say, that's not part of the job! That's never going to be part of the job, and honestly? Fuck you for thinking you can just take whatever you want from me! Did you treat your old Asgardian servants this way? Disgusting! Hey...are you laughing or choking?”

He was laughing, though it clearly pained him. You glared.

“Are you done?” He asked, once he'd gotten control of himself. “If so, then I ask that you look at me and apply a little critical thinking. Why should I desire a feral dumpster rat? And how, exactly, do you expect me to perform, when I am...like this?” He gestured to the bulky neck brace.

“Well...” That was a good point. “What was all that 'get naked and get in bed' stuff then?”

“I never said naked, I said to remove your uniform first. I want you to warm my bed up before I sleep. Just lay there for about thirty minutes, then dress and leave. It was a perfectly respectable profession on Asgard, usually undertaken by those who, for whatever reason, couldn't do much else. I don't see why it should cause so much fuss here. Do you think yourself above the task?”

“No, I can do it.” You said. “We don't really have a 'bed warmer' job here, though I wouldn't be surprised if the rich were forcing their help into positions like that. But when people tell you to do that kind of thing 'here', it's assumed to lead to other things. The upper classes seem bent on just taking whatever they want from those they have authority over, and you killed a bunch of people and wanted to take over the world. Why should I assume you're any different?”

“Because I do not come from barbarian stock, feral thing. I am the son of kings. Now go lay down. Set a timer. Reflect on how much better a master I am to have than apparently anyone else on this forsaken planet.”

You grumbled a bit, but mostly just to yourself. This had really been a hell of a day.

                                                                        *****

Loki's room was huge, but not as ostentatious as you'd thought it would be. For some reason, you had envisioned gold and jewels on everything, maybe stained glass in the windows, and you were still hung up on the idea of bearskin rugs.

The rugs here were not bears though, but intricately patterned weaves in green, yellow, and black, three colors that dominated the decor. Plush rugs and tapestries that served as curtains, blocking out nearly all outside light. His lordship must like to sleep late.

It was easy to tell what pieces of furniture came from far away Asgard, and what came from down the street Ikea. His desk, his bed, his dresser and the old fashioned chest at the foot of his bed were all heavy, solid, dark wood, with blackened metal, and green leather. The chairs and side table, however, were simple, painted plywood.

To your surprise, there was a collection of weapons scattered across the desk and dresser. There was a sword, carved with a snake, its edges dark with either corrosion or poison, a weighted net, woven with barbs, and a bow as long as you were tall, with a gorgeous leather and velvet quiver filled with black fletched, ebony arrows. And just...so many knives. From the length of your thumb, to the length of your forearm, with straight, curved, angled, and wavy blades.

Loki must not let anyone in here, for all these to still be here. You were pretty sure that if Stark knew, they'd be confiscated.

Damn, you were going to have to decide whether to keep your mouth shut or not, weren't you?

You stripped out of the loaned uniform, and slipped under the thick, velvety blankets. You'd expected that Loki would have a stupidly large bed, the best sheets the softest pillows, but where to lay? You wriggled your way to the center of the spacious bed-honestly, how many people did he expect to fit into this thing? No, maybe you didn't want to know. Royal orgies were...well, you just weren't interested.

How long had it been since you had lain in a real bed? It seemed like decades. Even then, you'd never been in a bed this luxurious. How soft and silky these sheets were! The blankets were like clouds, and the pillowcases-were they made of satin? That must be how he kept those gentle curls. No doubt it was difficult to tend to his hair with that brace on his neck.

The whole room smelled powerfully of Alpha, always just a little too strong for comfort. Maybe you just had too many negative associations with that scent, but it always made you uncomfortable. No matter how much you tried to relax here, it was keeping you on high alert.

Even when he wasn't in the room, he was still dominating. He could barely do anything on his own, but he was still such a commanding presence. Some of that was sheer regal countenance rather than pheromones. That chemical cocktail might have no effect on you, but force of personality did.

Underneath the Alpha scent was another, heavier in the bed than anywhere else. It was him, of course, the scent that would belong to him alone, Alpha or not. This one wasn't so bad. It was softer, a gentle counterpoint to the harsh Alpha smell.

Tomorrow was payday. Maybe you should get a bed? Or at least a nice futon? You should definitely get some towels, so you didn't have to drip dry every time you showered. But first you should pick up your little caches of things from around the city, if any of them were still intact. That would get you some clothes, some toiletries, a sleeping bag, even some books.

You were turning things over in your head, making lists of things to get, and in which order to do so, when you heard Loki's voice call your name again. You sat up straight in his bed, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Put on your uniform and open the door, you heard. It was like he was in the room with you. You scrambled to get dressed. Had thirty minutes already passed? That was another thing you had to do tomorrow-get your phone turned back on. You really needed access to the timer function.

He was right outside the door when you opened it, gazing at you with mild disapproval.

“That took too long.” He complained. “And your hair is a mess.”

“I was just lying down.” You said, raking a hand through your hair. “And if I was already taking too long, stopping to fix my hair would have taken even longer.”

“I don't pay you for sass, girl.” Loki sniffed.

“You don't pay me at all.” You said. “Tony Stark does, to take care of you.”

“Then take care of me. Help me into bed.”

You sensed trickery, but helped him stand anyway. He leaned his weight on you, and your body nearly buckled. Standing, wrapped in a robe, you could tell that he was thin, so how could he possibly weigh so much?

You led him to the side of his spacious bed, where he carefully flopped down and had you pull the blankets up to his shoulders.

“It is still cold.” He complained.

“Uh, well, I was in the middle of the bed.”

Loki frowned. “Pray tell, how did you think I was going to get into the middle of the bed?”

You didn't say anything. You should have thought about that, but you were just so disoriented by this new life you found yourself in.

“You are like a prey animal, just reacting to outside stimuli.” Loki pointed out. “I need you to possess wits. Go now, and find some.”

That was a dismissal, if ever you had heard one. You hurried out of his room and into yours, changed out of the Asgardian work uniform, and into the Stark uniform, then entered the elevator.

Tonight you would gather your things. Tomorrow, your apartment would be that much closer to a home.

[veliseraptor]

the endgame reaction post

I know you’ve all been waiting for it. It’s 3:30 am right now so this may not be totally coherent and I’m almost certainly going to forget things, but here goes.

HERE BE SPOILERS. LIKE, PLENTY O SPOILERS.

I went into this movie with one main question and that was “is Marvel going to stick the landing on what they did in Infinity War?” my answer?

sort of. I...didn’t dislike it? I liked parts of it a lot. but mostly my reaction, frustratingly enough, is kind of a “shrug, with a few ‘into it’ and a handful of ‘oh no thanks.’ I cried a couple different times but overall my emotional response is very...muted. 

this could be a function of my being depressed right now, but I also think it’s because this movie...just didn’t hit the right notes, for me. it did a lot of things right, technically, and it had a lot of character moments, but it felt...I don’t know, something indefinable was missing for me. 

I’m going to try to unpack that later, but let’s break things down a little.

the good

NEBULA, oh my god, Nebula in this movie was fantastic. her moments with her younger self (I’m always going to be here for older/younger self confrontations with characters with her specific brand of issues) especially, but also...in general, I felt like this movie did very well by her. and ohhhh god “you can change” “he won’t let me” my feelings. 

i’m gay for Carol’s new hair and that’s that.

WAS THAT A FUCKING FLYING HORSE? WHERE DID VAL GET A FLYING HORSE. IS THERE A FLYING HORSE FARM IN NEW ASGARD

Thor and Frigga’s conversation. I...did not like almost anything else having to do with Thor in this movie (more on that later, and I know everyone and their mother has already written about this), but that conversation was...so lovely, and I’m glad Frigga got that after her fridging in The Dark World, and the “I was raised by witches” line obscurely delighted me.

this is the SECOND time we’ve seen Loki transforming into Steve onscreen and I’m just saying that Loki being obsessed with Steve? #confirmed

also, Loki taking advantage of chaos to bolt with the Tesseract is golden and while it is seriously unclear what happened to the timelines altered by intervention (more on this later too) I’m going to assume that this means there is at least one Loki out there having the time of his goddamn life

more on this later, but there were some great Natasha moments in this movie as far as character work, and I am still very into her “five years later” hair. also lots of good Clint and Natasha stuff like we haven’t seen since the first Avengers movie, so that was nice. (the arrow necklace!!)

while I have caveats about it, the ending they gave Steve was pretty much what I was expecting and the best I could hope for, so I think that’s a solid “good”

I have absolutely no caveats about Steve giving Sam the shield, and everything about that scene passing it on was delightful, and Steve and Peggy dancing made me cry, so there’s that. 

STEVE’S WORTHY CAUSE OF COURSE HE IS

the whole concept of a time heist is super neat.

SO WE ALL SAW THAT A-FORCE TEAM SHOT, RIGHT? THAT’S SETTING US UP FOR AN A-FORCE TEAM, RIGHT?

wanda fucking wrecking thanos yes girl

the bad

the big obvious one first: the stuff with Thor. as a whole bunch of people have explained: it’s not the weight gain, it’s how his character change after the five year jump is treated. it’s the fact that roughly 75% of the character beats for him in this movie are weighted for humor, that even the emotional moment with Frigga is undermined by the “eat a salad” line, that while he gets moments with his grief they tend to be undercut for a laugh. 

also the fact that he...doesn’t get anything back? I mean, while it’s true of Bruce to a certain extent, and obviously Natasha, Thor really doesn’t have any of his losses ameliorated. Tony gets Peter back, Steve gets his life with Peggy, and Thor...? I just...it feels like his character arc in this movie wasn’t, and I’m severely uncomfortable with how much of a fatphobic undercurrent (overcurrent?) it felt like there was in his scenes.

and while I love the idea of Queen Valkyrie, it doesn’t really feel earned, and feels like it shackles her to a role where she doesn’t really fit.

the final battle felt...tacked on. it felt like there was a feeling that “oh, we need an epic battle where there’s a whole army on both sides” and I...didn’t need that? it felt like a Lord of the Rings battle in my superhero movie and something about it felt very...mmm weird. I mean, I’m almost never one for Big Final Battles With Armies (with the major exception of the ones in Lord of the Rings) and it didn’t work for me here. 

though I did enjoy “keep away with the Infinity Gauntlet”, that was a fun game.

Gamora and Nebula should have been given the chance to face Thanos again together at the very least, and preferably strike the killing blow. The fact that that was given to Tony...annoys me. I mean, I can see why they did it - they needed him to have a big hero moment for his big hero sacrifice, and it was emotionally effective (I assume, if you weren’t me), but...that victory should have belonged more principally to those two, and I’m disappointed that it didn’t.

so I guess all that “foreshadowing” in Loki’s death scene was...nothing? that was just...what it looked like? I mean okay I’m not surprised but I am disappointed

the ugly

SOMEONE DATE THOSE CARS IN THE END SCENE WITH STEVE AND PEGGY, HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN WORK, so, like, is that an alternate timeline? did Steve live a seriously down low undercover life with Peggy and that’s why it never came up that oh yeah, she was married to someone who looked exactly like Steve Rogers? how does this fit in with the Winter Soldier!Peggy? I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

basically this movie did the time travel stuff but didn’t really think all of the time travel stuff through as much as it needed to, imo. time travel plots are hard, and messy, and very quickly get confusing, and this was definitely one where they were doing some “don’t look too close!” prestidigitation to keep the holes from showing.

but I’m thinking about it and the holes are showing and I want to know how this works, are the Disney+ shows going to be alternate timelines? I assume because Vision’s going to be in one? and if Sam’s still Falcon then he’s probably not Cap in that one? BUT I DON’T KNOW it’s all very confusing.

Natasha...Natasha. I was spoiled for her dying, though I didn’t know the circumstances, and I...gah. I wrote in my notes on my phone “I wanted Clintasha BUT NOT LIKE THAT” and that’s...kind of how I feel about it? I honestly thought she was safe, is the thing. of all the characters I was worried about, she wasn’t one of them. but in retrospect...I really should’ve been. if they’re trying to shuffle the original six out of the line up then...but I felt like “surely they won’t kill their only original female Avenger, surely the optics of that...” but no, nope.

and while she wasn’t fridged per se it did feel like a lot of the energy of her death went toward providing five male characters with angst, which... [squints]

...and now I’m thinking more and if it’s been five years then all of Peter’s friends should have graduated high school. or were they not going to high school? was school suspended for five years because of the apocalypse? are we going to get fallout from this in Far From Home? 

I’M TELLING YOU THERE IS SO MUCH HERE THAT JUST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE maybe it will moving forward but...I really don’t get how they’re going to sustain this five year jump forward timeline...

GUESS WE’LL FIND OUT

basically I think what I’m coming out of this movie with is “end of an era and that makes me emotional, also there is some stuff here I like but mostly....eh” and honestly I think I’m okay with that being where I land. 

I said last year that I was going to hold off on my final verdict for Infinity War until I saw Endgame, because it seemed like they were, whatever they’d said, setting up a two movie arc. I thought there was some possibility that what they did in this movie might “save” Infinity War for me, or make me think it was worth it. 

part of the reason I don’t feel like I can say Marvel did really stick the landing here is because it didn’t. they stuck a landing. they had, like I said, a lot of the pieces in the right place. 

but I’m still feeling vaguely dissatisfied. 

[thawedpatriot]

okay, my e.ndgame thoughts are below the cut. beware, they’re somewhat incoherent at times mainly just because my brain is still trying to wrap my head around some stuff. also it’s really really long. like 3k words long. major spoilers ahead!

-okay so the whole beginning felt. really rushed, if that makes sense? like, i’m glad that tony got back to earth fairly early on but that was very sudden, having carol show up and carry the ship to the compound. however, i can’t complain too much because watching steve book it to tony’s side as he was coming off the ship gave me life. the fact that he just hovered the whole time and was there to support him and show he cares just. pleased me.

- tony had every right to blow up at steve. i mean, god, the man’s been through so much. he’s lost so much and is still recovering from everything that happened. he’s frustrated and angry and hurting and steve pressed for information too callously too soon, and it set an exhausted tony off. totally valid. and tony was right, he saw all this coming and no one listened to him, even though half of that was just bc aou was a fucking mess writing wise. but steve told him ‘together’ and because they weren’t together when shit went down, they all lost. would it have killed either of them to call during the two years they had to do so? no, probably not. that probably would’ve been a step towards working back to that ‘together’ thing. because there’s years of unresolved tension and conflict between them at this point, none of it ever got resolved between them, so it’s finally coming to a head now that they’re properly in the same room again.

- that said, the ‘you weren’t there when i needed you’ bit rubbed me the wrong way. because it was bruce who ended up calling. tony never made a call, never asked for steve’s help. never let him know he needed him, even though he had that ability to. so yes, steve is at fault here too, but it’s not 100% on him that things went down the way they did, if that makes sense.

- tony shoving the arc reactor into steve’s hand???? killed me on the spot, thanks.

- the devastation steve must be feeling when they figure out the stones are gone??? gutting. he was so sure they would be able to bring everyone back wit the stones once they’d taken care of thanos. he was so ready for a fight, so ready to get his revenge and make things right, and there just. was no fight, no way to bring his friends back. he’d lost bucky all over again, and now he’s lost sam, too. sam, who he dragged into all this. that kind of guilt festers in him for those five years, no doubt.

- i wanna know what steve did for those five years. because, yes, we see him talking in that small therapy group, but not only is he giving advice he’s not taking himself, but he’s just not shown doing much of anything else. he’s holding on to all his trauma and grief and not dealing with it, just like he’s been doing since he left the ice. so what is he doing all that time??? but also seeing him in a therapy group setting made my heart swell a little bit because you know he did that for sam. he misses his friend and is doing that for him, i will not believe anything otherwise. sam was and is so important to him.

- this is unrelated to steve but is important to me as a bi: carol’s hair looked so good i made a noise when i saw it and my friend hit me in the arm 

- god i wish we saw more of steve and nat interact. because clearly they’ve been in contact with one another for the past 5 years and that’s probably the longest running friendship he’s had going besides bucky so. it’s nice to know he didn’t lose everyone in one way or another for those 5 years. they just know each other so well and recognize the similarities between one another and i’m just really glad he wasn’t all alone all that time.

- steve is so done with everyone throughout this movie, including himself. it’s beautiful.

- sidenote, i could not take bruce seriously as a character the way he was and i don’t know why. also they did thor dirty. they did thor so dirty. he was a joke until they needed him to fight. the level of guilt and trauma thor is dealing with is immeasurable and they turned it into comic relief by leaning into fat-shaming and joking about alcoholism???? nah man, that’s not okay. not at all. address that he’s dealing with ptsd, show that he’s using unhealthy coping mechanisms, and help him. don’t make fun of him, don’t just let him keep doing that to himself, help him. the only scene in the whole movie i genuinely liked with him in it was his scene with frigga. because she took him seriously, she was willing to listen and offer advice and tell him what he needed to hear. that scene was so important.

- another sidenote, as much as i disliked p.epperony in the past, this movie made me appreciate them more. because i’ve always loved them both as individual characters, pepper potts owns my whole soul, but as a couple they were just written in a way that made me not love it as the movies went on. however, this movie really showed growth in their development as a couple, in pepper accepting tony for who he is and the needs he has to do good. also tony is an amazing father and it’s just so validating to see a character who grew up with an abusive parent break the cycle and become soft and kind in any interactions he has with his daughter. you can tell how much he loves his family, and it’s what he deserved.

- okay so i hope we can all agree the time travel science in this movie was fucked and they did a really bad job at explaining how it works. it was not clear, did not make sense, and following standard time travel laws there were a million paradoxes happening and it makes me angry. nebula killing her past self? bullshit bc she should not exist after that. steve’s whole ending??? also bullshit but i’ll get to that later because that’s an essay in itself.

- tony giving steve the shield back was such a big deal okay. the fact that tony has acknowledged that holding onto the resentment was detrimental to his own health and being was so important. we got a handshake and i really thought they were gonna go for a hug but noooo that’d be too much to ask for i guess. but steve hasn’t seen or held that thing in like 7 years it has to be nice to have it in his hands again, seeing as he always refers to it as an extension of his arm and all. and to be getting it back, nice and polished, from tony probably means a great deal to him as well.

- okay now let’s get to the actual time travel bit. steve and tony being the ones to zap back to 2012???? my god its like everything i ever wanted was handed to me on a platter. that movie was what got me on this marvel train and as even with its issues, it holds such a dear place in my heart. so you know the second that ‘2012′ popped onto the screen i was ready to combust. and then it just got better because it felt like an extension of the movie, like we were seeing deleted scenes, which was just. really nice?? 

- god okay “america’s ass” gave me so much life as dumb as the whole joke was. because tony blatantly checking out steve’s ass?? my dude thats the gayest thing i’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. but then tony commenting on how his ass looks in the suit???? i was living, okay. living. and the fact that he checked out his past self’s ass and was like ‘yeah, damn straight’ amused me greatly.

- ngl the ‘hail hydra’ bit made me uncomfy initially, but honestly i’m just gonna appreciate how clever my boy is and how stupid hydra is. his ‘i’m clever and i know it and i just outsmarted piece of shit nazis’ smile as he walked away from the elevator with the case???? priceless. i was half expecting another elevator fight but i guess that wouldn’t really make sense sfdghj

- steve fighting himself? past steve reacting to the compass appearing and getting super fucking pissed over the concept that someone might’ve taken it or something??? the fact that it was ‘bucky is alive’ that had him going full stop???? oof. also, the ‘i can do this all day’ and ‘yeah, i know’ was funny initially but oh my god is my boy exhausted. he’s so tired. he’s been fighting for decades. someone let him rest. please. 

- also unrelated, i wanna know where the fuck loki fucked off to when he grabbed the tessaract. like is this where the concept for his spinoff show comes from???? what did he do????

- steve and tony being on the same wavelength and trusting each other??? steve trusting tony wholeheartedly even if he didn’t fully know what it was tony was planning?? important. so, so important.

- steve in camp lehigh. oh my god. why did no one recognize captain america???? it’s been twenty years, sure, but y’all slapped ‘birthplace of captain america’ on your sign and there’s probably pictures of his face around in more places than peggy’s desk. you’re telling me no one would recognize him standing in the middle of the military camp??? nah, i don’t buy it. y’all had poor disguises and didn’t even get him sunglasses or anything. c’mon guys, you’re better than this.

- okay look this isn’t a tony blog but what the fuck was that scene with howard,, i understand it in terms of why they included it when looking at the narrative. because of tony’s whole ‘resentment is corrosive, didn’t like it’ thing and the need for closure on that front before his story ends, but he didn’t owe howard jack shit, let alone a ‘thank you’. that man, even if he had the best intentions and wanted tony to succeed in the future because he knew he had potential, was neglectful and abusive. he was not affectionate, he did not make tony feel as though he were loved, and it deeply affected tony as a person. the fact that he doesn’t know how far along his own wife is with their firstborn child??? big red flag right there, friends. sure, it’s good to show kids with bad relationships with their parents that its possible to work through negative emotions and resentment and move on with their lives but this was not the example to give. tony did not owe his father anything at that point. he’d moved on, made himself better, became a better father than howard was to him. i’m just. so angry about it okay.

- steve looking through the glass of peggy’s office at her, believing this was the last time he was going to see her again??? broke my heart but i called it as soon as i knew time travel was involved in this movie. i knew they’d throw a ‘steve sees her while traveling and is really sad about it’ bit in there somewhere. and i would have been content if that was it, if that was all he got. if that was the closure he got, one last glimpse of her. the fact that twenty years later she still has the picture of him, before he was captain america, on her desk??? erases any of the development and growth we know she went through in her series and whatnot, but it’s a good reminder that peggy carter was one of the few people that saw steve for who he was. she saw the skinny kid from brooklyn and knew he had what it took to be a hero, she saw him for the good man he was. she loved him for who he was. that means a great deal to steve, who no doubt struggles with the line between steve and cap a lot. but by this point, peggy would have moved on. in the series, she had moved on. erasing all of that development is detrimental to her character and i refuse it.

- seeing jarvis again was a treat. i squeaked.

- what the fuck was that with natasha??? what kind of man-pain fuel was that??? and why didn’t she get the proper funeral/mourning she deserved??? she’s been around since im2, she was the one who united the avengers, she was the first female avenger (bc they swept janet van dyne under the rug but thats a whole other rant), and that’s the end of her arc??? as soon as i saw where her and hawkeye were headed i just knew. i knew what was gonna happen and i was hissing internally. because i knew there was no way she’d be like ‘yeah you’re my best friend, you have a family, you go ahead and jump’ and on behalf of all the mcu writers i wanna apologize to all c.lint.asha shippers for the mess the mcu gave y’all. i’m so sorry j*ss fucked it up for y’all bc he wanted something for two characters no one else wanted. she deserved to be mourned. she didn’t deserve to be forgotten for like the rest of the film after that initial ‘she’s gone’. she deserved a funeral, too. steve just lost one of his closest friends???? on top of everything else he’s lost, let him express that. please.

- so back on my s.tony shit, the ‘that’s my man’ when tony nudged steve awake to hand him back his shield after the compound blew up??? not heterosexual at all. y’all aren’t even trying to hide it anymore u bastards

- STEVE ROGERS USING THE HAMMER. Y’ALL. Y’ALL. MY BOY IS WORTHY AND I KNEW IT AND THIS MEANS HE SPARED THOR IN AOU BC HE’S A COMPASSIONATE LOSER WHO DIDN’T WANT TO HURT HIS FRIEND’S PRIDE AND FEELINGS. BUT GOD THAT WAS THE COOLEST GODDAMN THING I’VE SEEN ON SCREEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. HIM USING BOTH HIS SHIELD AND THE HAMMER AT THE SAME TIME, MAKING COMBO STRIKE OUT OF IT??? USING THE LIGHTING???? MAN I CAN TELL YOU WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT I HAVE NOT SCREAMED SO LOUD IN A MOVIE THEATER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. GOD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

- all the ladies fighting together?? shielding peter???? kicking ass together??? gave me life. that was the most beautiful scene in the entire mcu,,, it made my bi heart burst,, all it was missing was nat, but it was a nice way to be like ‘this is what she started’. and seeing pepper out there as rescue was just the cherry on top okay i love her sm she’s so cool and finally fighting out there alongside tony and rhodey. my wife carol danvers is also the coolest??? not even flinching when thanos does whatever head-butt thing he was going for??? god i love my wives.

- ‘on your left’ god damn yes let sam wilson be the one to announce that they’re all back my boy deserves it. i wanted a proper reunion between steve and sam and/or bucky. we didn’t get that. we didn’t get that!!!!!! we didn’t get anything like that!!!!! steve was primarily on his own for 5 years because he lost his two best friends and we don’t get a reunion scene??? i call bullshit, marvel

- also rocket trying to shield groot with his own little body during the aerial attack??? broke my little heart??? like he just got him back and is terrified that he’ll lose him again,,,

- no one talk to me about tony stark i can’t handle it, he deserved to be happy and live a long life with his family. he deserved that happy ending, but i’m so grateful that pepper just. understood what he needed. she knew what he needed to hear and was there for him and could just ‘we’ll be okay, you can rest’. and give him that peace of mind. he did it, he saved the universe, he brought everyone back, he can rest. but god he really deserved to be able to rest with his family, happy and alive, okay.

- steve’s small exchange with bucky was like a nice reference to the first cap movie, but that was all we got. steve has spent multiple movies trying to get bucky back and help him, and we don’t even get a reunion scene and then just this one little bit of back and forth. a soft ‘i’ll miss you’, even though its technically only supposed to be seconds for them?? like,,, does that means bucky knows??? like, he has a feeling he knows what steve’s gonna do??? idk man, idk. all i do know is that they deserved better in this movie. i’m also summing up bucky’s telling sam to go talk to steve as bucky’s ‘i don’t know if i can handle that’ admission tbh.

- god bless sam wilson. between being the one to be like ‘bring him back. where is he? get him back.’ the second something seemed to go wrong with the time travel was,,, really nice. like, thank you for caring about my boy. thank you for always having his back. i love you so much sam wilson. and anyone who thinks sam shouldn’t be the one to get the shield can meet me in a back alley okay, this man has earned it, he’s the right pick for the cap mantle. the cap theme playing when he was given the shield? Iconic. did i cry whenever the cap theme played during this movie?? Absolutely.

- time travel in this movie is a fucking joke but i wanna know if steve had to see the red skull when he returned the soul stone because can you imagine??? that interaction??? like, did anyone warn him??? did anyone tell him the red skull was there or was it only implied when clint said something about a red man or whatever after coming back and being upset about natasha???? but also where did steve travel back to in order to start his new life??? were there just two caps in the universe??? one in the ice and one living his life w/ peggy???? none of it makes sense. none of it. where does the shield go/come from???? guys??? guys.

-okay now we address the end of steve’s arc. i’m gonna start by saying i see both sides of the discourse it’s stirred up. i understand the intention behind it, not wanting steve’s story to just be one big tragedy. because that’s where it was headed. if they killed him, he would have been fighting for decades on end without rest, without knowing peace, and that would’ve been it. that’s not the end people want to see for their heroes. he deserves to be able to put down the shield and rest. he deserves that ending for himself after fighting his whole life. However, the way they did it not only flattened his entire arc, but it flattened peggy’s entire character as well. she built a life in his absence, she moved on, and he knows this. he knew this, and i refuse to believe that steve would selfishly go back and disrupt that, take that away from her for the sake of his own personal happiness. that’s not steve rogers, a good and compassionate man. because think about the life he’d have to lead, knowing all he does. because if he isn’t supposed to disrupt the timeline, he has to let everything with hydra happen and infiltrate shield, something he knows peggy’s dedicated to, he has to let everything with bucky happen and be okay with not stepping in and rescuing his best friend from that horrific life/killing tony’s parents, he has to watch both tony and sharon grow up knowing everything about their lives??? (not to mention how fucking weird everything with sharon would be  considering the mcu just forgot about her after they made out in the parking lot???? sharon deserved better.) 

- this wasn’t an end of an arc, it was the flattening of an arc. he didn’t actually deal with anything that he’d been through. tws was all about how he needed to move on, peggy herself told him that the world was changing and he had to move with it instead of lingering in the past and what he lost. he was supposed to be building himself a new life, addressing what he lost and the trauma he’s been through and work through it all to push onward. that’s development. he got away with not working on himself or anything he went through, the group therapy was never actually beneficial because he didn’t take any of his advice, he clung to his emotions and grief and wasn’t able to move on and says as much. giving him this easy way out just feels lazy in my opinion. like they didn’t know what to do with him, wanted him to end up happy, and this was the only way they saw that happening because he wasn’t properly developed over the course of the mcu. i’m happy my boy ended up happy, don’t get me wrong, i was very close to sobbing over him finally getting that dance, but it was highly unsatisfactory in terms of a story and character arc.

[cali-holland]

Masterpiece- Loki One Shot

Pairing: Loki X Reader

Prompt: When Loki visits Earth 5 years prior to the events of The Dark World, he falls in love with you. He finds his way back to you when Jane discovers the Aether.

Word Count: 3000

Based on: All Too Well by Taylor Swift

FLUFF AND ANGST ALERT

~~~

“Loki, come on,” You laughed, pulling him up to your sister’s front door.

“I simply don’t understand why we must do this.” He said, giving you an innocent look.

“Because she is my sister and she wants to meet you, my boyfriend.” You straightened out the scarf on his neck as talked. Loki smiled at his title- it was something that he never thought he’d receive. Six months ago, he wanted a change from Asgard and Odin sent him to Earth, where he met you. When Loki fell for you, he fell hard; he hadn’t revealed his true identity to you, afraid that you would leave him if you knew.

“Do I look handsome now?” He gestured down to the scarf.

“You always look handsome.”

“And you always look beautiful, plaid shirt and all.” Loki smiled, leaning down to kiss you.

Your sweet moment was cut short as your sister opened her door to greet the two of you. You and Loki stepped inside as introductions were made.

“Do you want to take off your scarf too?” Your sister asked Loki as he removed his jacket. “We keep it pretty warm in here.” Loki laughed lightly, removing his scarf and handing to your sister to put away for the evening.

After dinner had passed, you were driving back upstate to your house. Your right hand rested in Loki’s as he held onto it. He silently kissed the back of your hand, causing you to look over at him.

“What is it, darling?”

“Nothing,” You smiled softly, turning back to the road ahead. You slammed on your brakes, realizing you almost ran a red light by being distracted.

“Lovely.” Loki chuckled at your abruptness.

“I was distracted by you.” You teased, “If anything, it’s your fault.”

“Oh, sure.” He turned his attention to the radio as it began playing the familiar ukulele of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love. You started to softly sing along to the peaceful song.

“You have the most beautiful voicest.” Loki said, admiringly.

“I’m nothing compared to Elvis.” You replied with a laugh.

“I don’t know about Elvis, but I know I can’t help falling in love with you.” He leaned over and pressed a short kiss to your cheek.

“Aren’t you a mushy one?” You teased, continuing to drive along the street. In that moment, everything was peaceful. You and Loki were completely happy together; the song was just the right moodsetter; and the Autumn leaves were falling down like pieces into place.

That night as you got home, you and Loki ended up drinking hot cocoa while looking over old photo albums of you. Your cheeks were red in embarrassment as you remembered your glasses stage and that cramped little twin bed you used to sleep in every night.

“That’s the smallest bed I’ve ever seen.” He chuckled.

“What? Have you never had a twin bed?” You questioned.

“No, my parents gave me a rather large bed. It could fit five people easily.”

“How big of a room would you need to do that?”

“A very big room.”

“I wish you’d take me to meet your family.” You let out a small sigh as you stood from your snuggling position on the couch.

“Darling, you know I can’t. They wouldn’t understand.”

“We could make them understand.” You replied, walking into the kitchen and opening up the refrigerator to find yourself a midnight snack.

“Y/N, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Do you know that?” Loki asked, following you and wrapping his arms around your waist.

“Now I do.” You giggled as he nuzzled his nose into the back of your neck.

“Dance with me?” He offered, letting go of your waist and pulling your hands into his.

“There isn’t any music on.” You laughed as he pulled you into a slow dance.

“Then sing to me that song from earlier.”

“Loki, I can’t-”

“Sing to me, love.” He spoke. The refrigerator light lit up his softest features as he looked down at you. Even if it was the middle of the night, you still went along and sang the Elvis hit.

“Wise men say, ‘only fools rush in’,

But I can’t help falling in love with you,

Shall I stay?

Would it be a sin,

If I can’t help falling in love with you?” You continued to sing as he hummed the song as best he could.

“You’re such a dork, but I love you.” You said as he twirled you around.

“I love you too.” He kept you close as he rested his forehead against yours. As he looked into your eyes, Loki knew he never wanted to go back to Asgard; he only wanted to stay here with you forever.

The tranquil atmosphere was lost when the sound of a raven came from the window. The moment his eyes found the raven, Loki knew his time here was over.

“Is that a raven?” You asked him, confused about the situation as he calmly walked over to the window. “Loki?” You called to him again as he wordlessly opened the window to receive a small letter attached to the bird’s foot. After a moment of silence, Loki had finished reading the letter and looked to you with sorrowful eyes.

“I have to leave.” He said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

“Leave? Leave where?” You inquired.

“Y/N, I’m not from here.”

“Loki, what’s wrong?” You reached for his hands, but he pulled away from you.

“I’m from a different world than you. I’m not from Earth.” Loki paused, “I’m Asgardian- I’m a God. I know it’s a lot to take in and you probably don’t believe-”

“Of course, I don’t believe you. That’s all myth and legend.”

“But it’s not. It’s real, I’m real. Look,” He cast an illusion towards an empty glass on the counter, filling it with water.

“That- that’s not possible.” This time, it was you stepping back from him. You shook your head as your mind attempted to grasp the concept of the man you love being someone else.

“I wanted to tell you earlier, but I couldn’t-”

“You couldn’t? You could have told me that six months ago.” You replied, now feeling betrayed.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to treat me differently.” Loki attempted to take a step towards you, which only resulting in you stepping away.

“You’ve lied to me, this entire time.”

“I didn’t mean to. Y/N, please, darling-”

“Don’t call me that.” You snapped, “Just leave. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Loki went to respond, but found his words trapped in his throat. For once, he found himself heartbroken and speechless. He quietly left your house and called for Heimdall to bring him home. Ever since that night, he found himself loathing the human race and Odin- the one who brought this all upon him by summoning him home.

~~~

5 Years Later

~~~

“I can’t believe we have no coffee.” Darcy whined throughout the apartment.

“Darcy, really, just go to the store and buy yourself some.” You told her, returning to eating your lunch.

“You know I can’t- Jane’s got all of the money.”

“I thought she pays you.”

“Yeah, but she holds onto it because she knows I’ll buy the most ridiculous things with it. And that all leads back to me not having coffee.” She dramatically threw herself on the couch.

“We’ll go out later today and I’ll buy you coffee.” You replied, playfully rolling your eyes at your friend. You felt guilty for the way you ended things and, when New York happened, you wanted to somehow find a way to reach out and apologize to him, even if he was a criminal now. That’s when you crossed paths with Jane and Darcy; Jane was furious about Thor not coming to see her when he was on Earth and you happened to run into her. Ever since, the three of you had studied space and all the different aspects of the universe, with both you and Jane trying to find your respective boys.

“It’s beeping!” Darcy shouted, startling you as she jumped up from the couch.

“What do you mean?”

“This thingy. There is something crazy happening- we need to find Jane!”

“She’s on that lunch date right now.” You said, not wanting to disturb her. She wasn’t exactly the best when Thor didn’t come by; and she was just now trying to get back out there, a year later.

“Yeah but this is important!” She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her car keys, rushing out of the apartment.

“Darcy!” You called after her, pulling on your shoes and hurrying behind her.

When you two finally made it to Jane, she looked like she was in desperate need of saving. Once Darcy told her the issue at hand, she rushed off and the three of you went to find out what was happening.

“This is crazy.” Darcy exclaimed, dropping a bottle into the portal. You and Jane stared in awe as it magically appeared to be falling from the sky.

“I don’t believe it.” Jane wandered off as she messed with the screaming device.

“Darcy, you may have discovered something incredible.” You said, watching another object go through the endless portal.

“I know, right?” She smiled, “Imagine if I had listened to you and not gotten Jane. We would have never known this existed!”

“Where is Jane?” You asked, suddenly not seeing your other friend.

“Probably off doing sciencey stuff.” Darcy shrugged nonchalantly.

After several minutes had passed, you two started to search for Jane. Darcy’s worry really began to kick in when you both found no trace of her.

“That’s it- I’m calling the police.” She huffed, pulling out her phone. The search had gone on for a few hours and now the two of you were sat on the hood of the car outside.

“Darcy? Y/N?” You heard Jane’s voice come from behind you.

“Where the hell were you?” Darcy questioned.

“You had us going crazy.” You told her.

“I was only gone for a few minutes.” She replied, confused at your worries.

“You were gone for hours, Jane.” You informed her. Darcy shrieked as rain began to fall on the three of you.

“Guys,” Jane said, looking frightened. It was raining everywhere, but a small circle where she stood. Following an abrupt roar of thunder, you three wordlessly looked towards the source of the sound.

“Whoa,” You managed to breath out, seeing Thor standing a few paces away from you all.

Your friend silently walked over to the god, staring up at him in disbelief.

“Jane,” Thor let out a small smile upon seeing her again. Darcy stifled a laugh as you both watched Jane slap him across the face.

“Sorry, I just had to make sure you were real. It’s been a very strange day.” She said. He went to say something else, only for her to slap him again. As they began to talk as a normal star-crossed couple, Darcy turned to you.

“I don’t think your wonder-boy is coming.” She said.

“I don’t believe so either. He should be in prison.” You replied. Your voice was unsteady as you were still torn between loving him and hating him.

“Well, do you wanna go meet another god? He’s obviously taken, but-” As she began to ramble, you walked towards the two of them and Darcy came bouncing along after you.

“Jane,” You spoke up, calling her attention away from Thor.

“Oh, Thor, this is Y/N.” She said, introducing you to him.

“Hi.” You stated, acting as if you had heard absolutely nothing about him from your friend.

“Hello,” He smiled at you.

“How’s space?” Darcy asked him, standing beside you.

“Space is fine.” He replied kindly, before turning to Jane, “We must go to Asgard.”

“Asgard?” You repeated.

“Ooh! Let’s go!” Darcy encouraged.

“I-” Thor started as Jane spoke up.

“Can Y/N come?” She asked. “If I am going to go, I want Y/N to come too.”

“What about me?” Darcy piped in.

“You need to find Eric and tell him what’s happening.” Jane instructed.

“Alright, Lady Y/N can come with you.” Thor said, deciding against questioning her.

“Jane, are you sure about this? It’s been five years.” You whispered in her ear.

“I’ll get you that apology.” She told you quietly, before informing Thor, “We’re ready.”

Holding onto Thor, you and Jane were taken to Asgard with the Bifrost, leaving Darcy there alone to find help. When you arrived, Thor immediately took Jane to the healers and you accompanied them, learning what was wrong with her by doing so.

Odin was not pleased when he discovered that Thor brought not one but two Midgardians to their home planet, and he was even more distraught once he realized Jane had been infected with the Aether. Thor convinced him to let Jane stay for the time being, leaving the three of you in the room with the healers once more.

“Lady Y/N, may I have a word?” Thor turned to you, gesturing to the door. You nodded and followed the god outside.

“Why is it that Jane asked for you to come?” He asked.

“I don’t-”

“You do know. You are Jane’s friend, she trusts you. Because of her, I do as well, but I want to know the real reason you are here.”

“It’s Loki.” You admitted sheepishly.

“Loki?” Thor questioned.

“About five years ago, he was on Earth for 6 months and we were close- very close.” You told him, “I know he’s a criminal, but I want to apologize to him because I’m the reason why things didn’t end well.”

“Oh,” was all he could say for a few moments. “I will speak to my brother, and I will get back to you. Stay here with Jane, I’ll be back soon.” Thor walked off down the hall, leaving you to return to Jane alone.

When Thor arrived at the dungeons, he still hadn’t formulated how he was going to ask Loki about you. He knew Loki had left for several months, but he didn’t know where to- he just knew his brother wasn’t the same when he came back.

“Ah, you’ve come to see me.” Loki said, “Something important must be happening.”

“Loki, I need to ask you something.” Thor replied, shaking his head at his brother’s teasing.

“Ask away. It’s not like I have much else to do.” He answered, casually leaning back on his bed and closing his eyes.

“Who’s Y/N?” He asked. He watched as Loki stiffened at the sound of your name and his eyes flew open sharply.

“How do you know about that?” His voice was cold, yet almost shaky.

“I met a Y/N and she told me that you two have a history.” Thor explained. “Tell me, brother, did it happen to be love?”

“Yes,” Loki replied quietly. His eyes finally met Thor’s, “The last thing she said to me was that she never wanted to see me again.”

“She’s here, and she’d like to speak with you.” He stated.

Loki swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath, “Very well then.”

Without another word, Thor exited the dungeons to find you.

“Y/N,” He spoke up upon seeing you talking with Jane.

“Yes?” You answered as you and Jane looked over at him.

“He’ll see you.” He said. Your eyes went back to your friend, who only nodded in encouragement.

“Forgive me, Lady Y/N, I had no idea you existed.” Thor informed you as you two walked to Loki.

“He didn’t tell you?” You asked quietly.

“No,” He shook his head, “But it makes sense that he’d met a girl- he wasn’t the same when he returned from that trip.”

“I’ve had this guilty weight on my shoulders for five years- I just want him to know I’m sorry.” You replied, and the god only nodded. He stopped as you two came upon the dungeons.

“I’ll leave you to discuss it alone.” Thor said, gesturing for you to continue down the dimly lit hall. You walked down the hall to find Loki in a cell, sitting on his bed.

“Loki,” Your voice quivered as you saw him for the first time in years. As he looked up at you, you could see pain in his eyes.

“I still have your scarf.” You told him after a moment of silence. You felt your voice beginning to break as you spoke. “It even still smells like you. Every time I see it, I’m reminded of you, and how much I did love you, how much I still love you. I was wrong to say those things. Maybe we just got lost in translation, but we were a masterpiece- you were my masterpiece, my everything.”

When he still didn’t say anything, you felt paralyzed as if you were just a crumpled up piece of paper lying there in front of his cell. Feeling tears in your eyes as you began to remember all the plaid shirt days and special nights, you looked down at your shoes.

“I love you too.” You heard his soft words. You lifted your head to face him, only to find him standing right on the other side of the stall with a small smile on his face. On the other side of the glass, Loki lifted up his hand and placed it against the cool material. You stepped forward, doing the same and pressing your hand to where his was. The only thing in between you was the cell wall, but, just like that you were there again, when you loved him with all of your heart, back before you’d lost the one real thing you’d ever known. You both remembered the love and the pain all too well.

~~~

Tag List: @cutefluffy89 @gorgeouslygrace @ria132love @flammy-whater @delicately-written 

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor (2011)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, three times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Three (21.42% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Eleven.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

The fun:boring ratio tilts considerably depending on audience mood and/or desire for originality; the majority of the story is generic in the extreme and can be tedious as a result, however those elements which are more unusual and intriguing arguably save the overall product. 

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Darcy asks Jane if she can turn on the radio. Jane tells Darcy to drive into the anomaly. Jane tells Darcy to stop talking about her iPod.

Female characters:

Jane Foster.

Darcy Lewis.

Sif.

Male characters:

Eric Selvig.

Odin.

Loki.

Thor.

Fandral.

Hogun.

Volstagg.

Heimdall.

Laufey.

Phil Coulson.

Clint Barton.

OTHER NOTES:

“But I supported you, Sif.” Good to know that Thor supports non-traditional gender roles, despite being such a macho cliche.

I’m really very concerned by Jane’s driving. Someone revoke her licence. 

“Son of Coul.”

Heimdall does not get enough credit for being the MVP of Asgard. 

Loki’s suggestion that maybe he’ll pay Jane a visit himself is clearly intended to goad Thor into fighting him and as such need not be taken seriously, but it’s still totally uncool. Of all the goading methods he could have used, we really didn’t need to go for the implied rape threat.

I thought they might manage a Bechdel pass between someone other than Jane and Darcy for a moment there at the end of the movie, but Frigga doesn’t actually get referred to by name in this movie, and she and Sif only talk about Thor anyway. Disappoint on both counts. I kinda also thought Jane and Darcy might do some more/better passing in general; it’s better than nothing, but the three passes they got were pretty freakin’ weak.

When it comes to uninspired, generic origin stories, this movie kinda makes Iron Man look like an innovative goldmine by comparison. ‘Arrogant man takes a humble, learns to value his power and earns it back through selflessness’, it’s...been done. A lot. And while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is watchable and not without charm, he’s not an especially charismatic actor and the predictable arc of his character doesn’t offer much scope to impress, while the typically-excellent Natalie Portman suffers a similarly bland fate with prescription-love-interest Jane Foster. The chemistry between the two is pretty nonexistent, and frankly it’s easier to believe that Jane is a slightly-amoral scientist essentially using Thor for her own gain, rather than buying that she’s becoming genuinely enamoured. If the film had leaned into the idea of Jane Foster: Amoral Scientist a little stronger, they could have built a more interesting (though less comfortable) narrative and perhaps even a more believable romance as the two bond over their shared moral learning curve. But, that would require Jane’s character to be more of a priority beyond finding excuses for her to be in Thor’s presence and develop ~feelings~, so. Not shocked they failed to deliver there.

Pretty much every person who has ever seen this movie (and probably some who’ve only read about it) agrees that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is where the fire’s at, both as an individual character and in terms of the plot he facilitates and inhabits. It’s not hard to understand why: while Thor has his dull human journey in the desert on Earth (the majority of which is spent just going places and talking to Jane and occasionally having a comedic ‘not from around here’ moment), Loki is a trickster God with magic powers living in the mythological land of Asgard and playing out a long con to win both the throne, and his adoptive father’s approval. Anything about the film that is clever or different or interesting, visually engaging, or emotionally poignant, it’s going on in Asgard, in the part of the plot where Thor is absent for the bulk of the film. Unfortunately, Thor’s absence from that thread means that we don’t get to spend nearly as much time enjoying it, and that’s why even the film’s best qualities can’t necessarily save it from the generic trash-pile. It’s easy to reach the end of the film in frustration, wondering how the Hell the strongest elements of the story (Shakespearean tragedy on alien worlds!) wound up as background noise to an unconvincing snooze-fest romance in Nowheresville, USA.

Broken into its component parts, Loki’s story isn’t that unfamiliar either; ‘jealous younger brother vies for older brother’s birthright’ has been done a fair bit (The Lion King being the most well-known example, let’s not kid ourselves), as has the juxtaposition of entitled brat vs scrappy underdog, as has ‘driven mad by envy’ and ‘power corrupts’ and pretty much any other trope being invoked in Loki’s lane. However, it works through 1. Hiddleston’s dynamic performance, 2. any and all majesty/intrigue/gravitas supplied by the setting, and 3. the additional factor of Loki discovering his adoption and true Frost Giant heritage. While it should not be ignored that Loki’s machinations for the throne predate that revelation and therefore it is neither an influence on his overarching ploy nor an excuse for him devising that ploy, Loki’s struggle with learning that his life as he’s known it was built on falsity and the way that complicates his desire to prove himself provides him some all-important nuance and pathos that gives the audience something to latch onto and identify with, even if only as empathetic understanding (one hopes that no one is going so far as to identify with the attempted genocide or the successful patricide; most of us can identify with betrayal/abandonment/daddy issues to some extent or another). Even if his ultimate decisions are plainly reprehensible, Loki’s journey to that point is littered with appreciable miseries, and that makes it an obvious emotional narrative standout compared to Thor’s paint-by-numbers excursion.

The villain narrative being the highlight of a story isn’t entirely unusual (though films in which this is unintentionally so tend also to be poorly conceived), but what’s really unfortunate is that Thor’s character motivations are not second in complexity to Loki’s; the criminally underused Heimdall is actually the next-most nuanced character around (and look at that, he’s also on Asgard and not bore-ing it up on Earth). The thing about Thor’s arc is that it’s not just predictable, it’s not just generic: it’s also barely there. We perceive the arc because we’re so familiar with the trope, but we don’t actually watch Thor learn anything, we don’t see practical signs of the degradation of his arrogance and his transformation into a wise warrior who understands restraint. Beyond causing a ruckus when he first arrives on Earth, Thor really doesn’t display any aggressive entitlement, he settles into pleasantly-strange-fish-out-of-water mode pretty much immediately, and he seems to ‘learn his lesson’ spontaneously after being told that his father is dead. He appears to mourn the implications of his inability to lift Mjolnir more than he is bothered by being told of Odin’s demise and that he can never go home; those latter revelations instead trigger his instantaneous reformation (insofar as he says the words “my father was trying to teach me something only I was too stupid to see it”) and that’s it. Confronting the destroyer and being ‘killed’ by it prompts the return of his Godhood, but refusing to shrink from a fight isn’t a change of pace for the character we saw at the beginning of the film; all in all, there’s no actual clear-cut learning in this process, there’s just a complication-free acceptance of his apparent new state of being, and that means he’s worthy of kingship now? Were they too afraid of making him dislikeable by playing out an excess of arrogance on Earth, so they softened him up immediately and in doing so, downgraded his character arc to just the concept of one rather than an actual presence? If there were more of a distinct process to his experiences on Earth, they’d be less damn boring, because we’d be following an actual story instead of just waiting for them to hit each predictable beat, and maybe they’d also generate some real characterisation of any of the Earth characters while they’re at it (instead, we have completely-useless-to-the-plot-comic-relief Darcy, and surrogate-dad-exposition-master Selvig, comprising the whole of Jane’s illustrious company). Thor’s clutch of friends back home may be a one-dimensional quartet defined almost entirely by their most obvious single descriptors (the female, the Asian, the fat guy, and...Sir Didymus), but at least they have a clear trajectory of plot-relevant motivation, even if they do become inconsequential by the end of it. Yeah, this isn’t a very good movie.

I said at the top that audience mood may be a deciding factor in the success or failure of the film, and I mean that in the sense that this is a movie that may prompt vastly different responses in the same person over different viewings; speaking for myself, I have watched it and been basically entertained and appreciative of the visuals and at least some of the characters and story elements, but I’ve also watched it and been overwhelmingly bored by the trite predictability and the flat characterisation of most of the players, and unimpressed by the soft-focus CGI of Asgard. Caught in the right mood, Thor’s inexplicable laid-back Earth persona can hit just the right note for casual comfort viewing. Caught in the wrong mood, Loki’s Asgard shenanigans feel over-hyped and not engaging enough to save the movie. Is Jane too bland, or full of shades of untapped character potential? Is Darcy funny, or painfully annoying? Is Heimdall intriguing, or too nebulous to matter? It all comes off very conditional, little of it anchored solidly or fleshed out strongly enough in-text to be considered an absolute. The plot floats, dependent on the aura of various cliches rather than categorically declaring itself in any unequivocal ways. It’s not particularly messy, so at least it has that going for it, but even that is a conditional statement. The film is rarely subtle enough to develop any depth, and the shallow invocations of the idea of a narrative arc lack the conviction necessary to make simplicity a virtue. The end result? I guess the best word for it is ‘forgettable’. 

[otterskin]

Nah, I’m afraid both are fan run (and it shows, sadly, I’ve seen head canon on there too often, and of course edits have it shifting around), which doesn’t mean they’re bad for info but they should never be a source. Always go to the Marvel Studios proof-read source if you can, which is actually pretty small but still interesting. That visual dictionary is a gold mine, I promise, as is the press releases they give out for every project (the Loki one was delightful). Those cross the desks of not only Feige but the creatives who worked on the projects.

Yes, there is a scene about Loki being a ‘bastard’, which is even referenced in Doyle’s soundtrack with the song ‘My Bastard Son’, so it was cut fairly late - but as I always say, if it weren’t filmed, it weren’t canon, and if it’s a deleted scene, it might only be a soft canon. Still, it does make me wonder if, like you say, they kept some of that material around for later investigation.

As for those theories - I’ll be honest, I hate them. Like...hate. I don’t like hating things, I try to have an affable nature, but I hate-hate-HATE them.

I like Lizardbeth so no shade meant, and did read that fic for awhile until that reveal. It felt to me like an attempt to validate Frigga as more Loki’s parent than Odin, it too easily solves much of Loki’s identity issues, and most importantly, any plot point that has Frigga being raped is one that I’m just not down with. So many things bother me about that.

As for Hela, she’s an Asgardian Supremacist. Asgard-First Lady is not gonna look outside her planet for a boyfriend. Hell, some concept art had her driving frost giants to work as slaves. Yeah, nah, that does not fit into her characterization, not to mention making Loki into Thor’s nephew is very squick and soap-opera and it feels invalidating of the very relatable relationship they have. It also swerves hard away from the adoption-by-unrelated people thing that makes Loki’s situation so sympathetic to me. (Of course adoption by relatives is still a worthy topic to explore, but that is not the scenario we have been following). It also does not line up with the timeline, as nebulous as it is.

Finally, your last paragraph is beautifully put and is something that I’d like, although I am also fine if they go the Sha-Zam! route where she didn’t want the child too; sometimes that’s the story, as harsh as it is. Or, sometimes, the adoptee just never finds out. That’s rarer these days, thank goodness, where open adoption is the default and the norm, but abandoned babies do still pop up now and again, though DNA testing has done wonders to answer the previously answerable. In any case, I’d like Loki’s mother to be her own character and person. I’d hope that she’d not be another case of ‘bland pedestal mother’ like the MCU is rife with. If she does appear, however briefly, let her have a personality, some flaws, something unique about her, let us sympathize with her and whatever led to Loki being left in that temple, whether by choice, accident, or quirk of fate. I really want Nál/Farbauti/whoever she may be to just...have a moment. I think that’s maybe the main reason why I so detest the other ‘theories’ - they are insular and suffocating, constricting the story, when, as always, I think like Stan Lee does about stories - Excelsior! Onwards, upwards, and out. Keep the story growing, meet new people, uncover the answers to mysteries and find new questions.

And as always, to anyone who’s written fanfiction with those scenarios in mind: power to you, I’ve probably read some of them, please take none of this personally, I want to be nothing but supportive.

On the paper that says his sex is fluid, does the thing directly across from it with the ??? say race/ethnicity? It's hard to read but I think that's what it says! Since it's totally possible Loki's not full Jotun could we be getting an exploration of Loki's heritage?? (*screams*)

oooooh I don't want to get my hopes up too much but DAMN that would be cool (but also I don't know, my experience with anything on there that someone else hasn't explicitly pointed out is basically *squints, gets a headache, still can't actually make it out*)

[chadnevett]

Random Thoughts! (November 14, 2017)

Another one of those random updates where it eventually just fizzles into "I did/read/listened/watch this and... I have nothing to say...?"

* Real life update: work is busy, Ryan turned four, Michelle and I have been married for five years... From that, you'd think I were a proper adult or something. Like most 'proper adults,' I usually feel like a younger version of myself who is faking his way through every single day, afraid that someone will eventually notice that I'm a fraud... Still just faking it until I make it. Some people say that you never feel like you make it.

* My bank account will soon be taking a hit with Christmas and a few personal purchases. Some new albums, the first Dan Jurgens Thor omnibus (I'd briefly deleted my Amazon order until I saw the price dropped by fifty bucks...), that Robert Rodi Thor collection, the Wildstorm 25th anniversary hardcover... It's taking a lot of willpower to not buy the Thor vs. Hulk collection, too...

* Comics I'm enjoying: Mister Miracle is all atmosphere and works quite well at that (listen to new issues with MASS:LIGHT by Murray Lightburn on -- perfect album for that comic thus far). As always, Thor is nice. I'm looking forward to Kieron Gillen's Star Wars run. Jason Aaron's run had kind of begun to spiral into "Oh yeah, I read that comic still, I guess..." territory. I'm surprised at how much I dig the new Darth Vader series. Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses is brilliant. The latest issue was one of the weirder ones... The Wild Storm and its spin-off Michael Cray are both quite good (surprise surprise).

* From the Thorsday Thoughts where I discussed Marvel Legacy #1:

So much of this comic is "Look at this concept! Won't that be cool when we tell an actual fucking story about it?" Stone Age Avengers! Diseased Celestial! Ghost Rider fighting Starbrand! A bunch of one-page teasers! Something something Fantastic Four something! Wolverine has the Mind Gem Stone (fuck you, Kevin Feige, you fucking asshole) and is back from the dead even though Old Man Wolverine has been around since pretty much when Less Old Man Wolverine died! You know how much I got from the comic that I didn't get from interviews and summaries and post-release interviews?

Dick all.

Thorsday Thoughts continues to be a weekly newsletter that I write about Thor comics every Thursday. Well, I guess not just comics soon as I have the next three weeks mapped out: Mighty Thor #700, Thor in the MCU thus far, and, then, Thor: Ragnorak, written once I get home from seeing the movie on the Thursday night it premieres... So, sign up and enjoy. Lately, I've been writing "MANGOG IS COMING" a lot. And, as you can see above, I've got some new Thor books coming in, so lots of comics to use as material. The one on Rangorak will be the first one of year two of the newsletter. It's a thing I continue to do.

* I recently read The Force by Don Winslow and Difficult Men by Brett Matin. The former was like all of The Shield crammed into a single novel and not as good. But, enjoyable. The latter is a book about TV from The Sopranos up through Breaking Bad. It was interesting and well worth the $1.25 I paid for it at Dollar Tree.

* Michelle and I have been rewatching (or, eventually in some cases, watching for the first time) some Marvel movies. She wanted to, because they're dumb and fun and enjoyable. I wanted to rewatch the four with Thor in them for Thorsday Thoughts. I'll talk about Thor more there, but this was the first time I watched it beginning to end since seeing it in theatres and it was better than I remember. The Loki stuff was better.

* That recent Joe Casey collection Annual was really great. Just my sort of thing, of course. I like how his sons each did a strip that he inked. That was a surprise. Otherwise, it collected a bunch of stuff that I didn't have already (along with a couple of text bits from issues of Sex that I do have). It's a nice contrast to his work on the Catalyst Prime books (he's got a third one starting soon...), which... well, let's see where they go. Currently, they're in that "Joe Casey obsessive/expert" territory of reading where I do it for the children. Because, some day, someone will remember me and that I'm the Joe Casey guy and ask if those books are any good and I'll feel like I should provide an answer longer than two words. I think the third one is about a Superman analogue. That could be fun. After all, Casey (co-)wrote the best Superman analogue and, then, did the most interesting year on Superman since he died.

* Related: once a year or so, I'll look on my bookshelf, see the Poptopia trade and I'll read the first issue of Casey's Uncanny X-Men run again. Someday, I'll figure that issue out and see exactly what he was going for. I haven't yet.

* Taking a break from wrestling right now... not enough time... not enough quality... Not a hard and fast rule or anything. I just haven't been making an effort to watch anything lately.

* Jim Starlin is doing more Thanos graphic novels -- with Alan Davis on art. That's both good and bad. Good for obvious reasons; bad only in the sense that, of their two books together thus far, I didn't find them to be a good match. It felt off. I love both of their work, but something about them together just doesn't work for me like it should. Not that that will stop me from buying anything and everything they do together. Maybe I'll figure it out.

* I've been wondering lately like why Coke doesn't bring New Coke back as a thing. I've never tried New Coke. I'm curious what it was like. I get that it failed and everyone hated it -- but that was as a replacement, not as an alternative version. I think it would do well in a 3-month release or something. Failing that, just give me fucking raspberry coke in bottles.

* Finally saw Machete Kills. It started as a swerve to a James Bond flick, except with Danny Trejo as Bond (which we should all be up for) and, then, it became something else, eventually ending terribly. I caught the end of the first one on TV a couple of weeks back and, man, that is the movie for 2017 if there is one. Go back and watch Machete and see how it was made for now.

* They're making a Teen Titans Go! movie. Can my son and I buy tickets yet?

That's it. I need to go wake up my wife, because she always falls asleep when she puts Ryan to bed.

[writingmaniacnerdart]

Resurrected Repartee: A Hallowed Shapes AU Chapter 2 - Photographs

These are alternative scenes and/or snippets of a developing relationship between my OC and Loki from my original fiction, Hallowed Shapes, for any shippers out there.

Basic Concept: Terra Barloc is a member of Damage Control, an organization that cleans up super messes, and frankly, all of them are kind of tired of cliches and super bulls***t. She has abilities to see “life energy” as she calls it, in the forms of symbols, and through lies and facades. That means shape-shifting and tricking her can be well, tricky. Plus, she’s addicted to caffeine since painkillers don’t have much of an affect on her, and she can’t get drunk.

What happens the first time when she meets Loki, Prince of Asgard? Well, he was invading Earth and…She tackled him, insulted him, and uh, it’s best just to read. Let’s just say these two have issues, massive issues.

So getting them into a romance, is going to be a bit of an adventure.

…Did the author mention that Terra sprays his naked rear with fire extinguisher foam because she’s tired of his literal over-dramatic a**? No? Oops, spoilers.

Barloc grunted, rubbing her eyes as energy from all people kept fading in and out of her senses at a constant rate in tune with both her pulse, and the throbbing of pain in her leg that no pain killer yet known could medicate. Cursing in her mind, she imagined at least a dozen ways to kick that blue-balled Smurf of an Asgardian ass to kingdom come. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely fair to place the blame on him for her leg getting broken, but as far as anyone knew, he was the one who invaded Earth in the first place.

Hobbling down the hallways, Bart helping her get used to her crutches, Terra winced at the sight of the construction crews and families mourning of the lives lost by the Wall. Looking down at her leg, she grit her teeth, not just from the pain in her limb, but also the hollowness in her chest. The heroes had done the best they could and what they did was exemplary work if anyone was being honest, especially under the circumstances, but so much, so many, too many had been lost. Hell, Terr was frankly shocked she hadn’t lost her life in the process as well after learning how bad some parts of the city had gotten.

“Terr?”

She shook her head at Bart. “I’m fine, just probably need my medication soon.”

He frowned, sighing. “I hate that pain meds don’t work on you.”

Her mostly brown eyes lingering on the people around the Wall, lighting candles and crying, she murmured, “I don’t think they’ll work for anyone for a while.”

Normally he’d be a smart alec, but he wisely said nothing as they made their way down to the medical facilities. There were still people recovering in there, including non-Damage Control members, since some hospitals were full. Terra made her business quick, the nurse on staff already having reached for her medicine as soon as she entered, clucking worriedly.

“Miss Barloc, you are taking medical leave soon, yes?”

“Today’s my last day before break,” Terra verified sorrowfully, feeling useless in all of the chaos. Taking the glass of water offered, she sipped her drink before swallowing the pill. Her tongue went numb and the taste was awful to the point where not only was it difficult to swallow, but she was tearing up. The medical practitioner patted her on the back, easing her along. “Ugh.”

“Sorry, but you know-”

“This stuff helps me from going crazy while my leg heals?” Terra offered. “Yeah, antipsychotics tend to do that. Still blechy though.”

The nurse frowned, “We could always try out the injectable kind?”

Terra pinched the bridge of her nose. “This drug is the only known one to work consistently and the injectable ones have been flimsy at best for some reason, even though logically they should be more efficient.”

Setting down the glass, the nurse helped her up from her seat, both being momentarily startled as Abigail called out for Barloc. “C’mon! I’ve got something to cheer us up a little!”

“As long as you don’t stress out my patients!”

“I won’t!”

The nurse steadied her. “Remember, you need your second dose later this evening, preferably six hours from now.”

“Got it,” Barloc sighed, starting to maneuver when Frank Johnson walked over and picked her up. Pouting, but relieved, she sighed. “Thanks, Fezzik.”

Snorting, he replied, “I’m not a friendly giant.”

“No, you’re our friendly giant,” Terr smiled. She blinked at the sight of being carried into the miniature theatre where presentations, staff orientations, and usually movies for the kids were shown. There was a small crowd of close friends and family Terra was acquainted with there, some smirking at her. “Now I’m very worried. What’s going on?”

Abigail stood at the front with the projector, worrying Terra more and the latter struggled to relax so as not to burn through her medication so quickly. “Abigail, what so important that you decided I had to come in here before I deliver the files?”

Abigail Dunton rolled her eyes. “One, you have a broken leg and shouldn’t be working in any case. Two, there’s something you’ve never participated in and I think you should start, or at least try gauging yourself at.”

The members around Terry began giggling and Terry felt a sense of doom hit her stomach. “I probably don’t want to know.”

“Well, remember when we talked about not judging someone by their walk or fashion sense? I realized that you don’t really look at people. And don’t get started on your whole vision thing. I mean, you don't have to objectify people necessarily, but you can at least appreciate someone’s looks, right? No matter what affiliation they have? There’s nothing particularly wrong with that you know. Things and people can just be, aesthetically pleasing.”

Really, now of all times? Then again, maybe Abigail was trying to distract them all for a few moments from all of the stress that was happening. Reluctantly surrendering for everyone else’s sake, Terra blinked, relaxing a little, but still unable to rid herself of suspicion, “Where is this going?”

“Well, we know you’re into both girls, and maybe boys, so I’ve brought in some pictures of people throughout history. I’ve only got guys right now but I’m working on girls. Some I even dug through old SHIELD files for,” Abigail explained. “Just to show you there’s no harm in liking someone’s looks.”

Barloc scowled, “I’m still not going to judge someone based on how they look, or evaluate attractiveness on-”

The picture appeared, and thankfully it was only a head shot. Still, Terry felt her eyes burn. The guy was attractive physically, much more than she expected for someone in an old photo, but there was someone off about him. Someone disturbing.

“Hot, huh?” Abigail jeered.

Terra shook her head, “I don’t like him.”

Everyone, including some of the guys who claimed not to be attracted to members of their own gender, looked confused. “Terra, are you sure? He’s considerably attractive and oh, your eyes are glowing. So even if you don’t know who he is…”

“He’s a bad guy, isn’t he?” Terra asked.

Dunton groaned, “That ruined the surprise. Yeah...It’s Stalin in his early twenties. Damn he was fine.”

Terra gaped, shrieking in horror, “He was a dictator! One of the worst in history! What the heck?!”

Abigail paled, “Okay, maybe that was a bad one to start off on. Let’s see a good guy or two. Fine, some body appreciation. And don’t worry, no need for a fig leaf...Yet.”

Barloc grit her teeth, “Yet?”

Two more photos appeared, this time of topless men. Terra recognized them though. They were from the original Star Trek series. It was Kirk and Spock that time they were practically stripped down by Nazis. The audience who had no idea of the plot began whispering questions as to why they were half naked and why Kirk had what appeared to be claw marks on his back. Terra flushed with embarrassment and the struggle from trying not to laugh as people began suggesting theories such as BDSM and something kinky. Why were so many of her friends perverts?

Abigail waved her hands. “Settle down guys. Now, as you know the original Star Trek was back in the mid to late 1960s. Here’s something you guys should know. Those two, those two are considered ripped.”

“...Huh?” Terra muttered, squinting her eyes. “Um, they’re not unattractive per se, but when I think of ripped, I think of overblown muscles like Thor.”

Frank nodded. “Well, when you think about it, lots of members in the construction crew also have muscles kind of like Kirk and Spock. It’s made through more natural means of labor while Thor and some other people like him like heroes, villains, etc, probably either work out a lot or constantly fight. Our kinds or exercise and nutrition are different, and they’ve constantly changed throughout history.”

Terry grimaced. “Yeah, but, Thor’s theoretically been around for thousands of years, as has other Asgardians. He’s ‘ripped’ by standards of today.”

“He’s also an extraterrestrial and his people have technology our people are only beginning to develop,” Abigail pointed out. “And wait, we’re supposed to be ogling people! Not coming up with theories! Quit that!”

Marie gestured. “So, yea or nay on Kirk or Spock?”

Barloc sighed, frowning and shrugging. “I don’t know. I think they’re both okay I guess? I’m sorry, Spock’s not bad looking but he reminds me too much of Namor, and Kirk...Looking at him objectively is really hard because I know him both as his character and as William Shatner. If I had to depend on looks alone, he’s all right but I’m not going to drool over him.”

“That’s better than nothing I suppose,” Abigail grunted, switching the slides out. “Okay then, let’s try some Asgardians. How about Thor first? Did you know that when SHIELD takes certain prisoners in, they do strip searches? They took in a Donald Blake and he has a fine-”

“NO!” Terra yelled. “He’s like a coworker!”

There were multiple audible sounds of disappointment. Abigail rolled her eyes, “Fine, they took in another Asgardian prisoner though-”

Terra yelped, covering her eyes and there were conflicted noises. Even without looking, Terra knew who it likely was. Loki was a controversial person in Damage Control. Many didn’t know what to make of him, but the general idea was to hate him. He was not only a villain that tried to take over the world, but his actions resulted in the deaths of many even within their organization. Yet, many people on Earth for some reason or another managed to find the terrorist attractive. Why or how Barloc could not fathom.

“Oh relax, he still has pants on.”

Barloc groaned as if in pain before looking, then tilted her head in confusion at the image. Loki was glaring furiously at the camera, clearly pissed off that he was being inspected for weapons in such a fashion. Yet, he had an odd little smirk. But, that wasn’t what confused Terra. Noticing her perplexion, Abigail asked what was wrong.

“...Do you remember when I described him as a blue-balled Satan with tattoo-like markings all over his skin?” Terra said, eyebrow twitching.

“Yeah? You also called him a Smurf and genderbent Violet Beauregarde.”

Snickers rang out and Barloc nearly choked, coughing a little, “Um, those markings? They go below the belt line.”

The amount of squealing and screeches nearly broke Barloc’s eardrums, almost sending her flailing out of her seat. She had to catch herself on one of the armrests so she wouldn't fall off from the overwhelming pitch. Damn these people should be in a musical from how loud they could be! Abigail was fanning herself, much to Barloc’s irritation and Frank elbowed Terra, teasing her slightly. What was even the big deal anyways? So what if he had markings there? They didn't make much sense. If anything, they were just confusing. What purpose did they serve?

“So, yea or nay?”

“Nay,” Barloc stated coolly without hesitation. “He’s a jerk and I don’t go for terrorist, tantruming, geriatric toddlers.”

There was some laughter and gestures that either agreed with her or indicated they liked her commentary, but Abigail looked slightly disappointed. Nevertheless, the next slides came and this time, Barloc smirked as laughter burst out. It was an image of Namor, but instead of him being nude, Abigail had stuck a paper doll dress on him with sparkles and a pretty bow. That cheered her up.

This is a canon scene from my fanfiction, edited slightly for shipping purposes. It WILL occur in Hallowed Shapes: Wednesday, Chapter 2: The Revenant’s Hiraeth.

I do NOT own any the photographs used in this. They are owned by the following:

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/young-stalin-1894-1919/

http://smong.net/2014/02/star-treks-shout-out-to-lee-kuan-yew.html

I merely used them for educational (body types) and creative (fanfiction) purposes.

PS

One of my Beta Readers really liked the idea of shipping Loki with my OC even though they're not canon in my fanfiction, Hallowed Shapes.

We're friends and while I didn't get it at first, I'm not against anyone shipping said character with other fictional characters as long as everything's consensual and/or healthy relationship-wise. Heck, I'm a little supportive because Loki's literally gender-fluid and both characters are LGBT (neither are straight) even if I don't directly ship them.

So, that being said, I originally wrote these alternative scenes of my story for their birthday.

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 21: What Only Lives in Memory

Chapters: 21/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: Mention of past sexual assault, Mention of past murder Relationships: Loki x Reader (Let’s try this again) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Reader, Brunnhilde(Marvel),  Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Here Comes Self-Reflection, Reader Had a Rough Time During the Snap, Loki Tries to Figure Himself Out Summary: Loki moves things forward, while reader reveals the past.

“Hey! Hey, you kidnapping bastard! Give me my daughter back, asshole!”

“That's about the reaction I expected, yes.” Loki said, holding on to his composure in the face of your enraged father. He was an entire ocean away, and merely a mortal man of no consequence, but there was still some intimidation involved. Loki wanted a favor from this man; information. Also, there was something...important, about not being hated by your father, specifically. “Alas, I cannot. It's isn't safe for her, I'm afraid. Her health would deteriorate once more.”

“Yeah, the spandex squad said the same thing. They said it was some kind of magic? Sounds like bullshit to me.”

“You have lived through invasions by both extraterrestrials, and robots, yet you find magic difficult to believe in?” Loki pointed out.

“Yeah, well, you can punch an alien or a robot.”

“I dare say, one can punch a sorcerer as well.”

“Oho? She's been throwing hands?”

Loki cleared his throat. “Your daughter has been...most emphatic on several points.”

Your father drew himself up with pride. “Good. You best listen. And you'd damn well better be treating her right!”

“Actually, that is why I wished to speak with you. I would like advice on how to treat her more properly. Specifically, I will be remodeling her room into a more permanent residence, and I wish to know what kind of things she likes to have in her home.”

Your father remained quiet for a few long moments.

“So she's really not coming back.” He said finally. “Damn. I know all girls eventually leave, but she just seemed happy where she was...” He sighed. “Okay, fine. If it's gotta be up to you to take care of her now, then listen up. She likes doodlin' so get her some art supplies. She likes them little fairy lights. If you're getting her decorative things, she likes birds, and seashells, and flowers. No pets. She doesn't like having little things underfoot. Get her some houseplants, but only if they have bright colors, or make flowers.”

“How about toiletries? Does she have a preference?”

“Eh, more flowery stuff. Whatever's on sale, usually, but you can do better than that, can't you? The most flowery stuff you can find. Candles or potpourri, or whatever. Uh, she likes Pokemon. Don't know how much that helps you.”

“It would help me more if I knew what that was, but I'm sure I can find out.”

“It's some video game about fantasy animals. It's easy to find. Oh, and she likes space too. Stars and constellations and stuff. Likes learnin' about what's out there.”

“Oh, I know.” Loki said, perhaps a little too confidently. Your father glared. “But not too well.” He added. “Space. It is a good subject. There is much out there.”

Silence stretched out uncomfortably.

“How is she, really?” Your father asked.

“Distressed. That is why I am doing this. A great many things have happened to her in too short a time, so I am attempting to counter them with comfort. Her illness has all but disappeared, but we must remain within a mile or so of one another, and cannot be separated for more than a few hours at that distance before she begins to deteriorate. Were you told of the assassin?”

“Yeah. I was told she wasn't badly hurt, and that you caught the bastard.”

“Correct on both counts. She suffered a cut, but it has healed completely, and he will be facing justice eventually. I may still curse him into an early grave though, no matter what his sentence ends up being. Hmm. Perhaps forget I said that.”

“Nah, no one's hearing a peep from me.” Your father fidgeted as a gray cat peeked its head into the screen. “No Momo! Get down from there. Hey look, if she's gotta stay with you from now on, there's some things you oughta know. She's got some...problems. There were some major health issues that ran in her mother's side of the family; brain tumors mostly. Took her mom and her aunt while she was still pretty young. She hadn't shown any signs of it, but two or so years ago, she had this weird episode...Started insisting that everyone was dead, and the world was ending. The doctor didn't find any evidence of tumors, but said she was acting like someone who had gone through some kind of traumatic experience. No one could figure out what happened. She was fine one day, and the next, she'd completely changed. Got way more aggressive, kinda obsessed with food, has panic attacks over some of the weirdest things. And whenever something bad happens, she goes from one hundred percent ready to fight, to meek and numb in seconds.”

“I...have observed some of those behaviors, yes.” So this was what it looked like from the outside. Someone who had survived the Snap and remembered it must seem to others as if some great change had come over them. An entire year lived like that would not leave someone the same as they had been before. It was a shame Loki could not tell him what had happened. That your father would never understand you like he did. That he didn't even truly understand you.

You were just about as alone in this world as he was, weren't you?

“So if you've got some kind of magic health care over there, just keep an eye on her brain, okay?”

“As you say. I shall keep a special watch over her mind. I appreciate you telling me this. All of this. It will be most helpful.”

“Yeah well, as long as you take good care of her, I can't complain. Still hate you though.”

Loki smiled smugly. “I would expect nothing else.”

                                                                             *****

Loki spent his time between meetings searching through various storage rooms for furnishings. He'd found a very nice rug; blue and green and silver, patterned with knotwork and ravens. Bedding was a bit more difficult: you felt the cold more keenly, and needed either more, or heavier blankets. He was having trouble finding good matches, however. He didn't just want to throw things together like some kind of motley. You weren't a peasant anymore, and you should have better.

But just for now, maybe the brick red bed set didn't clash with the green and blue that much?

In the end, he was able to gather plenty of  bird-themed items, mostly ravens, eagles, and swans, and no shortage of floral décor. He commissioned a space-themed mural for one of your walls, though he knew it would take several weeks to finish. There were very few seashells to be had, but he did manage to procure a small hand mirror that was shaped like a scallop.

Perhaps this would do for now?

He called for Saldis and two others to carry things back you your room, stood back and supervised while they laid things out. Fairy lights and Pokemon would have to wait until he figured out what they were, and where he could get them.

As the servants put everything into place, Loki was drawn to your desk, and the little stack of books there. Astronomy, of course. That made perfect sense. A history of Iceland. Good idea. The collected tragedies of Shakespeare. Good stories, all of them, but perhaps not the best reading material for someone of your delicate mental state. Ah, there it was. World mythology.

Brunnhilde said you had mentioned something about a mythology book that had led you to believe some mixed up things. Well, what did it say?

He picked up the book, leafing through it as the servants moved around him, hanging artworks on the blank walls, a pair of flower-themed lamps replacing the old one, rolling out the rug.

The temperature began to fall while he read the entry about himself, stone-faced, but radiating a quiet anger that everyone in the room could feel. The servants slowly came to a halt, staring at him in silent worry.

“Sire?” One of them finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper. His eyes snapped up from the book to look at them, and all three flinched back.

“You.” He said, pointing. “And you. Out.”

Both women hurried for the door, throwing apologetic looks over their shoulders at Saldis, who stood in place, bewildered and a little frightened.

“Saldis...Odasdottir, was it?”

“Yes, your Highness!” She squeaked.

“You can speak English.”

“Yes, your Highness! Fluently, Your Highness!”

“A useful skill. More importantly, can you read English? I trust you know not to lie to me.”

“No, Your Highness! No more than a few words! I have Roskva translate for me!”

“I see.” He snapped the book shut with a loud clap.”So you know nothing of the contents of this book?”

“No, Your Highness! Seidkona _____ asked for English language books, so I just brought back all that the library had! I don't know what any of them are about!”

“This one is full of slander.” Loki seethed. Saldis began backing away. “Written by our enemies to defame us, clearly. I will be confiscating it.”

Saldis began stammering apologies, but Loki held up a single finger to silence her. There were no lies in what she said. She was no saboteur.“If you did not know, you cannot be blamed. However, I would be alone for a time.”

She took the dismissal for what it was, vacating the room in an undisguised hurry. Loki could just barely hear Andsvarr asking her what was wrong, as he stalked to his room and threw the book into the fireplace. Drivel! A poison of words, pouring into your eyes, into your mind. No wonder you were so frightened!

God of Evil? Ridiculous! Evil wasn't something one could be a god of; it was a nebulous concept that changed from culture to culture, and across time. Anyone was capable of it, but none could rule it. And that nonsense with the horse... He didn't even know anyone named Angrboda! Where had all that come from?

He had been to Midgard once before New York, when he was a child, long before these concrete forests had sprung up in the place of the wooden ones. It had seemed like a very different world then, the storytellers weaving magic into their tales, spinning their words into decorative knots. He'd learned of the concepts of kennings and flyting from them...Was this what they had seen in him, or did it have some symbolic meaning, lost over the centuries? Did they see him as evil?

Or was it what had happened after? The burying of the old ways under the name of another god? Was that what had painted him in such a dark way? Or perhaps the author of the book had written it after the events in New York. Humanity had plenty of reason to consider him evil then, and a great many still did.

It didn't really matter right now. What mattered was that this had been influencing your perceptions of him, and now he had to reverse that. The room would be a very good start, a step in making this a real, permanent home for you. He would find out everything you needed, everything you wanted. He was a prince. He was a god! He could provide.

He sat down on his fluffy rug, watching the book slowly blacken and curl. It did matter. It mattered because it was part of the reason you weren't here. And he felt it now, now that you were gone, every minute making him more and more aware that you weren't there. There was a little, human shaped hole in the world, that only you fit into, and you were out of place.

When had you become important? He could no longer deny that you were. Honesty with the self was among the coping exercises he and Thor had had to adopt, once they realized that they absolutely had to be in this together. It was quite possibly one of the hardest things for him to do, to admit everything to himself, to open himself back up to all the emotion.

In the beginning, after he had been returned from death, all his walls had come down. Those had been hard times; he was nearly inconsolable, everything he had been through in such a short time was all there, up front. All the grieving he hadn't been able to do, all the anger and resentment, the self-loathing and loss of identity. Everything he'd never gotten the chance to heal from had all come down on him, all at once, and he'd thought he'd never stop crying again.

But once he had been given the chance to confront all those things, to work through them, to finally, properly mourn, when he'd put himself back together, and run dry of tears-and when Thor had done the same-that was when they had both decided to take the steps necessary to be better than they had been. For the people. For each other. And for themselves.

Communication with the self was easily just as difficult as communication with each other. Neither of them exactly had the hang of it yet, and it led them to mistakes like this. Mistakes like Loki believing that everything was just fine between you and himself because he wanted so badly to believe that it was. Tricking himself into thinking that your actions and reactions were those of a person in need of support and comfort from him, instead of a person who was afraid of him.

Five years ago, he would have seen it for exactly what it was, but he had been trying so hard to leave that version of himself in the past, where it belonged. He needed to be better now.

He needed to admit that you were important. He needed to understand why. You represented something to him; some kind of redemption. If he could take care of you, he could prove something to everyone, including himself. What was that thing? What did he need to prove? That he could be responsible?

That he was what he said he was. That he was worthy of being what he said he was. A Prince. A Ruler. A Leader. A Provider. A Man.

Not a monster.

He could give you everything. And he felt that you might even deserve it, you who had lost your mother, and then your world, and then your health, and then your autonomy. He could give you everything, and he kind of wanted to. But he had to step back now and take a different approach. It had to be for you, as much as it was for him.

He watched the book burn until it was an unrecognizable lump, thinking of ways to be better for you. Then he left his quarters in search of his brother. He had an idea that would set at least some of your fears at ease.

He passed Brunnhilde on the way, the Valkyrie carrying a sandwich on a plate. He stopped, then followed her.

“Is that for her?” He asked. “Because she hates that.”

“What? Well then what does she like?” Brunnhilde demanded. Loki listed a few things off the top of his head, and Brunnhilde headed back to the kitchen. “Guess I'll eat this one then. Heard you terrorized some of the maids.”

“I suspected one of them might be a saboteur. I was glad to find otherwise. I discovered a source of _____'s fear. That book you said she mentioned; I found it and I destroyed it. It will trouble none of us again.”

“That might not look good, you know. Might look like you're trying to destroy the evidence.”

“What evidence?” He sneered. “It was worthless. It was...do you even know what it said? It was like a parody, and it was deceiving her. I will find her other books.”

“You can't just curate her reading material you know.” Brunnhilde said, making another sandwich. “Not if you don't want to seem so controlling.”

Loki added a cup of skyr to the plate, and a spoon of redcurrant jam on top. “I'm not going to. I'm thinking of taking her into the nearest town, and visiting a bookstore. She can choose her own books, and not be stuck reading the same few over and over. I've already seen to her room, and so all that's left is to let her get some things of her own choice.”

Brunnhilde nodded. “That's better.”

“So, how are the Valkyries coming along? You mentioned a Buridag demonstration?” Loki asked, following her back out of the kitchens.

“About as well as can be expected for only having a year of training. There's a lot of work to be done, catching them all up. Lucky for us, most of them naturally gravitated towards combat lifestyles. The twins have a long way to go though.”

“Twins?”

“Valda and Velda. They're only about three hundred years old. They're having to start from scratch, but I can see the power in them. They're the real deal. They are also tiny children who can barely lift their own swords, and definitely can't wear armor. We can't have a demonstration without them, but there isn't much they can physically do. Maybe if I play up how important standard-bearing is, they won't put up a fuss.”

“One can hope.” Loki said with a smile. “Sibling rivalry can be a tough thing to navigate.”

“They get along well. Just because you and your brother had a rivalry for the storybooks, it doesn't mean everybody does. Speaking of, did Saga ever get back to you?”

“Yes. She's chosen fully sixteen texts to translate, and she will be doing each of them in seven languages. She's so happy. I was thinking of asking her to expedite the English translations, but I wonder if that isn't a little too selfish.”

“Well, technically, you're thinking of someone else, so it isn't 'selfish' exactly...” They stopped outside Brunnhilde's rooms. “Well, your Highness. You have some work to do, and I have some mouths to feed, so here is where we part.”

                                                                     *****

“Dinnertime!” Brunnhilde announced, and you hopped up to receive it. Everything looked very tasty this time, and you tucked in without preamble. You'd worked pretty hard again today, not quite as hard as when you were practicing magic, but hard enough. The bath had been wonderfully relaxing on your sore muscles, but had done nothing for your appetite.

You should exercise now, eh? Surely this was a good start.

“So...” Brunnhilde said. “You're not a good liar.”

“Hrm?” You asked around a bite of sandwich.

“Whatever you told Borgljot, you've been in combat before.”

“Mrm.” You said, swallowing your bite. “Well, about that...I don't know if I would call it combat exactly...and besides, I didn't lie.”

“Oh? Oh. Because it technically didn't happen?”

“Yeah. Things went to hell during the Event, you know that. I can't imagine it was a walk in the park for you either.”

“Wasn't great. You wanna talk about it?”

You stopped eating. “I never have before.”

“You never had someone who believed you before either, did you?”

“Sure didn't.” You said quietly. “It's just, you know, everyone went a little crazy I think. You can't face a devastation like that and stay totally sane. And nobody really knew what to do. The guys were a pain in my ass, but there was this one guy specifically...his wife and kid turned to dust in his arms, and I think he just went completely insane. But quietly; no one noticed. He was always very nice to me, and normally, he wouldn't hurt a fly, but...he kinda started fixating on me.”

Everywhere you were, there he was. Being helpful. Complimentary. Said you reminded him of her.

“At first I thought it was a good thing. It kept the other guys from bugging me too much. See, out of three hundred and forty of us, only about sixty-seven made it through the Event, and only about a third of those were women. Some of those guys didn't even try to pretend that they weren't being predatory. But he kept the others away, and I appreciated it. For a while.”

Never saying anything creepy, but simply always being there, always ready to help out. You never found out how he scared the other men away.

“We had to try to keep farming in order to survive, but half the seeds had turned to dust too. We probably would have been okay, if the fields hadn't died, but we had almost nothing. Everyone was desperate. I was in charge of the potatoes. Had a good patch of them growing out in the East fields. One day, when I went out to tend to them, he followed me. Guess he just...finally hit that breaking point. Came onto me, using her name. When I told him off, he full-on attacked me.”

Mad-eyed, tearing at your clothes, sobbing and crying a dead woman's name.

“He wouldn't stop, so...”

Panic gave you the strength to knock him to the ground, desperation gave you the instinct to bring the sharp edge of your garden hoe down on his head.

“So I killed him. Chopped his head in half. I know what that looks like now.”

You didn't know when you had started trembling, but it was making your voice quiver.

“You were defending yourself.” Bunnhilde said. “It's a terrible, harsh edge of reality, and a shame that you had to see it. But you came through. Not gonna say it's okay, because it's not. But you came through.”

“It's...I think my problem is that I don't even think that's the worst part.” You said. “It's that, technically, it never happened. He's fine now. He's alive, his wife, his kids, all alive and well, and going about their lives. He's just like I remember him from before it all happened; sweet and harmless. He comes in to the bakery sometimes, after our cornbread. I'm sure he worries about me, because that's just the kind of person he is.”

“Well that's-”

“I hate him.” You interrupted. “I hate him so much. I should be glad that it all got erased. I should be glad that he's not a predator, and that I'm not a murderer. But I'm just so angry! He gets to have his family, and his sanity, and his life, and go happily about his business, and I have to remember what he did! What I did! It's horrible, isn't it? I shouldn't feel like this!”

“Honestly? I feel like it would be more wrong if you didn't.” Brunnhilde reached across the distance to take your hand. “None of this should be easy to accept. How long ago was it, that Thor crashed on this planet? Seven? That's seven years for your whole world to realize that there's more people out in the universe, get attacked by those other people, get nearly wiped out by one of those other people. Then a small percentage of you has to find out that even reality itself can be malleable. And then on top of that, you, individually, have to deal with mans inhumanity to man, and that is all a terrible burden to put on such small, human shoulders.”

“I'm going to be a seidkona.” You declared. “Just as soon as I figure out how. I'm taking this as an opportunity to leave that all behind. I never have to see that guy again. I don't have to hold on to the hatred. I don't have to project it onto other people, I can start moving forward again.”

“You don't have to push.” Brunnhilde warned. “You'll burn yourself out. Set your own pace. You don't have to do everything at once, in fact, you probably shouldn't.”

“Where should I start then?” You asked. Once you had decided something, you were always full of energy and raring to go. But maybe she was right. There was a lot to do, and if you tried to do it all at once, you'd get overwhelmed.

“What all do you have to do? What tasks and goals are on your mind?” Brunnhilde asked. “and out of those, what are the simplest or easiest?”

“Um. I've got to...I've gotta learn how to use this knife. And my magic, gotta learn that. I should learn the language. Gotta be ready for the trial, I'm pretty sure I'll have to testify. Kinda torn there, I mean, I want that guy to go straight to jail forever, but I don't wanna be in the same room with him ever again? I gotta... research seidkonas. Learn about the past ones, what they did, how they worked. I gotta...I gotta go back to my room. Make up with his Highness. I have to, but also, I want to.”

“You looked at your palm. “Gotta learn more about this thing, if there is any more to learn. Gotta...Gotta yell at Beli! He's the one that spread this whole seidkona rumor around, isn't he? Only him and Loki knew; I didn't even know! And then everybody knew except for me! That is not right!”

“Oh don't yell at old Beli.” Brunnhilde said, pointing at your food. You took the hint and began eating again. “For one thing, it's a waste of breath. So, out of those things, what is easiest? What will you start with?”

“Um. Well, you'd think going back to my room and making up with Loki would be easiest, but in reality, it's terrifying. Probably can't research if I can't read the language. The trial can't be prioritized; it'll just happen when it happens. So, looks like knife is the only choice.”

“Well, there you go. I also have a suggestion. You should have a better grasp of your surroundings. If you'd like, I'll get someone to show you around. Also, if you have hobbies, you know, something you just do for fun, then you should do that a little bit.”

“...I'd like to bake something, if that's all right? I used to do that for a living, and I really enjoyed it too.”

“I'm sure that can be arranged. Let's go do that in the morning.”