#like it's not MU. it's not two fully black pages. but there's not a lot there either

[applestorms]

actually. @moonlarked you wanted someone to talk about near & light as parallels? cuz uh...

ok SO, my big hot take on near is something like this: one of the most common criticisms i see about near is that he is simply too apathetic/bored/uncaring/etc, and that because he is not as emotionally invested as L, his win against light doesn't feel nearly (lol) as satisfying as it could've been. this is a view that often frustrates me, but for a very particular reason— namely, while i think it is somewhat accurate in content, i think it misses a lot of important context (and also misses a lot of the importance of light's character arc, but we'll get to that much later).

one of the most important things to remember about the wammy's kids is that, whether they like it or not, each and every one of them is defined almost entirely through their relationship to L. this is perhaps more obvious in the case of characters like BB and mello, who are very Aware of this shadow being cast upon them and react in very overt, emotional ways (e.g. becoming a literal serial killer out of seemingly pure spite & desire to be noticed, idolizing him but in a very emotionally complicated, kinda detached sorta way, etc), but it is true for Every wammy's kid, purely because of how the house itself functions. these kids are being raised to be L's successor— the greatest (and second greatest, and third greatest) detective on the planet. this is the ultimate goal hanging over every one of their heads, and it places a constant pressure on every kid there.

oftentimes, i think (perhaps both out of story and in it, as well?) people get so caught up in comparing near to L that they forget he also falls under this umbrella— only, for near, his position is slightly different because he actually somewhat succeeds at the task? like, yeah, L never gets the chance to officially call near his successor, but between the fact that he's constantly called the #1 kid at wammy's and that he. literally does actually end up becoming the new L after kira, i think it's always been pretty clear what his path was going to be.

going back to my starting point, this is one of the main ways that near makes a really good parallel to light in my mind, specifically the light that we see right at the start of the series. in both cases, near and pre-DN light, we see a kid who has succeeded at everything they've been handed, and more notably, we see a kid who is bored out of his fucking mind looking at the prospects of what he's got.

in the case of light, this is maybe a little more realistic/easy to understand— light does well in academics, he does well in sports, he does well with people. he is likely to follow in his father's footsteps with something criminal justice/police/law related, but even if he diverges from that path it likely won't be too big of a deal, as he has shown himself to be capable in enough areas that he's likely to succeed no matter what. by all measurable standards, light's doing pretty good at the start of the series. and yet— there is something so distinctly and inherently Bland about his life before he gets the DN. i've said before that light wouldn't call the DN a curse even if he wanted to, but i think in that moment when he's telling ryuk he disagrees w/ his father after visiting him in the hospital, when he says, "I've never once considered finding that notebook and gaining this power a misfortune. In fact, it's made me happier than I've ever been." (ch.22) he's still getting at something real and truthful.

again, going back to my equating of boredom with depression in this series— light's life is pretty good by all measurable standards. he has a family who loves him, presumably more than enough money to get by with a pretty cushy lifestyle, and does well, honestly better than well, in every single system he is presented with. but even so, he's still unhappy. there is something in his soul that has not yet been satisfied. he's bored of the world, bored of his place in it, how easy it all is. what the DN really offers him is a challenge, entertainment— just the same as L, and just the same as ryuk.

near similarly suffers from this kind of boredom, though it is perhaps less overtly stated than in the case of light, L, and ryuk, and less easy to catch as it is not as realistic/common. again: near basically ends up the winner of wammy's house. he is the one to take the title of L, he's declared the smartest, bestest kid at wammy's, and he gets all the power and privilege that comes with such a title. but still— he's so. fucking. bored. much to the embarrassment of mello, this shit was never really a challenge to him. it's pretty obvious that near isn't really even all that attached to the title of L— don't forget that his first real introduction to the story involves him explicitly saying that he'd be just fine working with mello as essentially co-L successors. and this is a viewpoint that he holds onto until the very end of the series, actually, claiming that he was only able to best light due to mello's sacrifice. near doesn't really give a fuck about the rat race he's been slotted into, though it's perhaps for that exact reason that he ends up winning it anyway, and getting all the responsibility that comes along.

that being said, i think there are still two main differences between light and near:

light fucks up.

near never gets past his boredom.

in the case of this first point, i do not mean to say that near never ever makes any move/judgement that could be considered a mistake— mello killing the entire SPK is the first thing that comes to mind, which i see as blood on near's hands for the same reason that L takes at least some responsibility for lind l. tailor. rather, i mean that near never makes a such a monumental fuck-up that he has to overturn his entire worldview just to account for it in the same way that light does when he accidentally kills two people w/ the DN the first time.

it's like, if you've ever known (or been) the kind of kid who always got perfect grades in school, straights A's for K-12, only to reach college and suddenly bomb their first test and have an existential crisis as their only real achievement in life is crushed into dust, then you know light yagami. only for light, it's on a whole 'nother scale, because not only does he fucking oopsie daisy kill two people, but he kills in such a context that he can mentally manipulate it back into seeming heroic. i hate to say that suffering causes character development because that's terrible advice (it's how you react to terrible circumstances that matters, imho) but to some degree, yeah, having conflicts/hard times in life is just necessary to figure shit out sometimes. near (and L, oh goddd i need to write about L properly sometime) has so many things smoothed over and handed to him, and on top of that, he's a super genius very rarely fucks anything up, at least according to base logic. he doesn't even really consider the morality of anything he's doing until light straight up asks him in a desperate bid to keep talking at the end, it's all just logic and factors to consider.

this all leads to my second point, which is that near never really gets the chance to overcome his boredom in the same way as the others. ryuk at least gets his entertainment for a couple years, and light and L (and mello) get so invested in each other and their game that it literally kills them, but near just kinda. keeps going. he keeps being L, he keeps solving cases, he does the duty he was given and enjoys his toys... and that's it. he lies around, the only one left to live, never even taking credit for the end of KIRA, never gets another haircut, and keeps the title going. what a life, for a kid who dragged a god back down to earth.

sidenote1: toys

am i reading too into things? maybe. near's toys hold a lot of significance throughout the story in more specific ways, most notably the finger puppets he uses at the very end of the story while tracking different people's/kira's actions, though you could probably read some kind of meaning into every toy he has and the ways in which he plays with them. what i want to look at here though is more the general reasoning behind playing with them in the first place— a desire for a childhood he didn't get to have? a love of games more generally? (could track with him seeing the KIRA case, or really all detective work, as just another game.) you could also read into his toys as another source for near's apathy/detachment from reality, literally breaking every notable person around him down into a doll by the end of the story, speaking a lot to how alienated he is from the world (again, very similar to both L and light, there). i don't have much more of a point to make here, just wanted to add this in somewhere since it's one of his most striking visual character traits.

sidenote2: light's arc

going back to my point at the start of this post... light's character arc.

uhh. near winning is a good thing, actually. and i don't just mean that as a moral claim— DN itself as a story isn't really concerned with trying to answer any moral questions about good or evil or the justice system, so it makes sense & is fair to me that it doesn't try all that hard to answer anything along those lines by the very end of the story. what i mean to say here is that near winning is a good thing on the level of the character arc, specifically as an end to light's arc.

i made a post a while back while mid-manga reread talking through some of the reasons why L's death can feel kind of unsatisfying/paint the second half of the story in a less interesting light (hah) for a lot of viewers, with the main point i ended up on being that L wasn't really able to win because he never really had all that clear of a win state in the first place. i still kiiind of agree with this point, though i think there's a lot more i could add to that post... anyways. point is, i bring up that post because it touches on a similar thing to what i want to talk about here: light's character arc being a tragedy.

this is more speculation on my part, but i think another part of the reason why people get turned off to DN post-L death is not just the fact that L isn't really a playable character in the game anymore, but the fact that light's character arc takes such a dramatic twist after the timeskip. i talked about this a little bit in my little ramble on light & titles (which a lot of you liked, apparently!! ty for all the lovely comments on there, i love reading what you guys have to say ^w^), but light's character arc in DN is a tragedy to me, full-stop.

tragedies to me are cyclical— revolutionary, if you will. since all stories necessitate some kind of something to take place, a tragedy to me is all about a character beginning in one point, then continually getting hit by Event, after Thing, after Event, only to end up in essentially the exact same place that they started. any character changes or development that seem to happen throughout the story are ultimately nullified by the end— the main subject does not truly grow, does not truly reflect on their actions or traumas, does not move on. two steps forward is two steps back. even ending up in a position worse than they started is sometimes better than a true tragedy, in my mind, as at least then there is some chance they may still reflect or change or grow in the future, leaving the hope that they may still overcome this new circumstance later on. a true tragedy ends in nothing meaningful ever getting the chance to truly change, at least in the case of the main subject of the story.

light's character arc in the first half of the story is an upward, underdog kind of story. yes, light has the power of a shinigami, of a supernatural force that the rest of the world doesn't even know exists— but part of the real appeal of his conflict with L is how powerful L feels in comparison, having the wealth and respect and title to command a world's worth of forces against him. fuck, even taking down naomi misora feels like an incredible hurdle overcome, a teenager managing to charm and yap and flutter his eyelashes out of a shitty situation he was only just lucky enough to stumble across in the first place, to stop someone who could've ruined his entire plan with a few words. killing L was always going to be light's greatest accomplishment when it comes to his rise to godhood, not only because of L's great power but the comparative position of light at the time that he did so— not yet an adult, not even really out of school, perhaps barely out of his parents' house.

in contrast, light's arc for the second half of the story is a downward spiral. we see all of the consequences light has been miraculously avoiding smack into him like meteors in this half, his ever-growing ego torn to shreds as he's yanked back down to earth. and in comparison to the anime, the manga really beats this point into you, dedicating the entire second half of the story to light's fall from grace as he loses his mind and loses his humanity. like, while i do kind of prefer the manga ending to the anime, i have to admit that light's death there is fucking brutal. light goes through pages, chapters, purely dedicated to near tearing him a new asshole, only end the story bloody and delirious and crawling on his knees begging a god of death to fix everything— all just to die the exact same death as everyone else he's killed. i mean, look at these fucking pages (ch.107):

(that last fucking picture of him. clawing at the sky. it always fucking gets to me.)

it hurts to read this shit!! we spend the entire first half of the story watching this dude's rise to glory, the entire time stuck inside of his head, emotionally connecting with him even if we don't really mean to or disagree with his actions or question his morality. watching his fall back down, especially after all of that, is fucking painful— an in no way does near make the process any easier. if anything, his blunt, snarky bitchery, saying all the quiet parts out loud, calling light out for being a terrible replacement L and pointing and laughing at his failures to his face, only shoves more salt in the wound, only proves just how human he has been all this time, how meaningless any of his supposed "rise to power" ever really was. light got his fifteen seconds of fame, sure— but near is armed and ready to make sure that's all he'd ever get, that the name Light Yagami would never even be associated with the position he held for so long. six years was all he got— and it was all he was ever going to get, because light yagami did not do this for humanity, he did it for himself. all near did was collect the debt that L prescribed. he fulfilled his duty as told— nothing more, and nothing less.

i just have to wonder... is this why people hate him? because he has no sympathy for the fall? maybe. i don't know.

either way, i don't think i could ever really hate him. it's a big responsibility, being the only one left behind. but near has always been the one to hold such weights on his shoulders.

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 43 - watching notes

The sun is setting on this show for me and I'm not ready to say goodbye yet 😔

(As if I will! Ha. Imma blog about nothing else the next ... probably years)

Last time on Sophie watches the untamed: We're still in the restricted section. The twin love-struck idiots of lan and wwx found the Collection of turmoil and suspect Jin Guangyao of intentionally bringing about Nie Mingjue's qui deviation.

As much as I love the "hihi. Wwx is wearing his boyfriend's underrobe" aspect of this, I also like the visual incorporation of lwj's colour scheme into wwx's clothes. (Not just through the undertone, his black tone also has slight grey seam.) It's as if now that they are finally fully committed to each other, wwx is displaying it for all the world to see

Jin Guangyao tore out a page to hide the evidence. That's not how to do that!!!

My heart is breaking for Lan Xichen. He looks like a man standing on a train track and watching the light speed towards him in horror while he's unable to move away

Feels like exactly no one on this show is getting their happy ending

*thinks about yi city and cries forever*😭😭😭

"Wangji, Jin Guangyao,in my eyes, is a totally different person from how you and other people see him." And we all know that lwj knows exactly what that's like

PARALLELS! 😭

(Sorry, I have a thing for those)

And lwj looks so pained

Thinking about it, it's now the man lwj loves against the man lxc loves (in whatever way. I still ship them. Not sure if its "canonically" romantic though). They can't both be right, so ... one of them is going to get their heart broken

Great, first the Yunmeng brothers, now the lan brothers are breaking my heart 🥺

Lwj says he's visiting "Grand Master", that's Lan Qiren right? What happened to him anyway? Haven't seen him in ages

I love how, even though it is wwx's word against jgy's right now, lan Xichen is still genuinely kind towards wwx

The whipping scars! I hadn't even thought about those anymore 😳

I'm probably going to get my heart ripped out soon, but before that

"You are not qualified to talk to me."

Sickest. Burn. Ever.

Also, no disrespect to the actor, but that's a backpfeifengesicht if I've ever seen one

(Backpfeifengesicht: "German compound word for a 'face that should be slapped'. Ex:. When GWB smirks on TV, my German friend Uwe tells me that he sees a 'Backpfeifengesicht'." Urban dictionary)

He went to burial mount after wwx was killed??? 🥺🥺🥺

I've noticed something with lwj. When he's distressed, he won't look people in the eye or not even at their faces, just in their very general direction. To me it seems like he almost... can't? Any thoughts on that? Cause I'm intrigued but I can't think about it too much right now cause I'm already writing half an essay in this commentary again 😅

Oh fuck YOU Jiggy!!!

Holy shit ... holy shit

Lan Wangji 🥺🥺🥺

He fought against everyone?

This is how he showed his grieve???

He went to the place wei Wuxian had called home and ... what? Protected or ot so they wouldn't desecrate it? To search for him? To ... what?

Oh god, Wangji! 😭

That image... I'm speechless. It's so powerful

He's half-mad with grieve and kneeling in the ruins of his dead loves home, having fought himself to exhaustion and I'm... not okay 😭😭😭

He had to repent for THREE YEARS??

Oh no, you don't

Holy ...

Holy shit

How can my heart break and be so full at the same time 💔🥺

Lan Wangji ... my love

I'm ... so proud of him and yet so sad

Here he is at his lowest, finally standing up to the orthodoxy he knows to be wrong

This is inhumane 😳

The corporal punishment of the lan sect always was but THIS

Fuck them

Or Lan Qiren specifically

That's his nephew. How can he even look at himself?

"Eradicate evil. Establish laws. Than goodness will be everlasting."

IT'S NOT THAT FUCKING EASY!!!

WHAT EVEN IS "GOODNESS"? WHOSE VERSION OF GOODNESS? DEVINE EVIL! HOW FAR REACHING INTO THE PRIVATE SVERE SHOULD THUSE LAWS BE? DOES IT STOP AT "DON'T STEAL FROM PEOPLE OR AT "DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE AT DINNER"?

what I'm saying is: there are about 200 ethical question ls being raised by this rule alone!

And now lan Wangji had 3 tears to contemplate them

Wwx asking "why would he bother ...?" BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVED YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!!

Ohhh! We're getting their parents' story 😱

Oh this IS a Lan episode 💙

So another Lan falling quickly and never looking back?

I'm sensing a pattern here 🤨

Wait what?

Let me get this straight:

Their father loved a woman who DID NOT love him back and then killed one of his teachers

(And I hope we find out why. That sounds like there is a REALLY interesting story there)

Then he takes her to cloud recess and DESPIT HER NOT LOVING HIM, marries her, fathers two children with her (um... how voluntary was that????) locks her up (as punishment for the murder?) then locks HIMSELF up and then fucks of and leaves his children with their uncle

What kind of disaster human being was their dad????

Did he do the right thing WHEN HE MARRIED AND PROBABLY RAPED A WOMAN WHO DIDN'T LOVE HIM???

NO!!!

The fuck kinda question is that ??

If you have to marry her against her will and then lock her up, guess what? That's not love, that's wanting to possess someone

I hope that maybe the connotation is different in the og Chinese,but I'm not holding out much hope

That explains why Qiren is such a lovely character through 😒

But god, my heart breaks for lwj and lxc :'(

Little Lan Wangji!!! 🥺🥺🥺

Oh darling ...

Oh no ...

Look at him look at his crooked little headband😭😭😭

He went there every month!!!

Oh Wangji 💔💔

Stubborn, steadfast, loving Wangji!

That seals it. I KNEW why he was my favourite character

He isn't so passive all the time, because he feels too little! He feels entirely too much!!! 😭😭😭

And that explains why lwj was so worried about wwx's demonic cultivation harming him!!! 😭

Oh god, it was such an old hurt for him. I had no idea 🥺🥺🥺

All of these characters need a therapist

Lxc playing the flute to what ... deal with his emotions? Express his grieve? Remeber their mother? (And god, do I want to know more about her!!) Either way, It's making me tear up 😥

"It's so difficult to determine others personalities depending on our perspective." Welcome to the human condition, my friend 💙

And that's love

I ... wish I could show you my face right now

I'm smiling through tears right now

It's so utterly beautiful

He looks so vulnerable here! With his hair (almost) down

And given what we've just learned, that's remarkable!!!

He closed himself off became the immovable stone-faced second Jade of Lan and yet, somehow, wwx wormed his way into his heart and sure, both of them needed to overcome a lot, but here they are, vulnerable and open,not letting their parent's fate decide theirs

I'm... *sniff*

I can never get enough of lwj with his hair like this!!

It's so domestic, so soft

And look at his face! 😭

And mister "alcohol is prohibited" is now serving it 😭

Oh my god this scene is so beautiful

I'm speechless

Was the second flute Jin Guangyao as well?

At this point I'm just expecting more plot-twists

He looks so young! 🥺

Both of them are exhibiting so much growth in this episode!! Wwx realising that the fact that the cultivation world had always looked for a scapegoat and that he himself was just the most convenient target, that it's not to any personal failing of his, that's HUGE!

And I'm so proud of him :')

Lwj starting to play in the distance :')

This is so utterly peaceful

My heart is bursting 😭😭😭

The music, the scenery ...

Also, both thinking they have a clean conscious!!! 😭😭😭

Again, it's them holding the same morals that's important! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me!

(But wwx still cannot drink like a normal person :D)

The contrast to lxc sitting alone couldn't be starker 😔

Wait, why are there puppets at burial mounds again?

Are we going back to burial mounds? I'm weirdly excited 😅

Aaand Jin Guangyao just proved to them that he's lying. Poor Xichen

Yup, I'm pretty sure his heart just snapped in half

Little Apple!!! I've missed him 😁

Gosh, they're laying it on thick with the domestic husband bliss this episode and I'm here for it.

I love lwj's soft smile when he looks at bunnies so much!! 🥰

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere

It's the invasion of the bunnies

Who ever is the show runner *banging pots and pans together* IT'S GAY!! cab you all hear me? These two love each other! It's G - A - Y!!! Gay!!!

Probably

Lwj's shocked look when wwx says that he's not popular with little animals, as if to say "how dare they!" :D

Holy shit ... HOW MANY SCENES CAN THEY INCLUDE IN THIS EPISODE THAT MAKE THEM LOOK SO GODDAMN MARRIED???

Is wwx sitting side saddle?

Wwx plays wangxian :')

He finally remembers how lwj recognized him :')

Sneaky, show, very sneaky :D

Wwx about to casually steal some melons, lwj *wordlessly takes out money* ^^

MIANMIAN!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

I'd given up hope that we'd see her again!!!

I'm so happy I could burst!!!

Lwj's little exasperated head-shake before he stands up from crouching behind some hay 😂

Aww, look at her family! 😍😍😍

She build her own live :')

And look at this badass woman protecting the ones she loves!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WEI WUXIAN??? You don't remember her???

You better remember my wife!!!

Aaand another freeze frame. But I'm willing to forgive it because THIS EPISODE WAS SO GODDAMN BRILLIANT!

It made me realise why I was so drawn to lan Wangji as a character. Of course he is mu favourite character! He ticks every single box

Let me explain. My favourite characters almost always share the following characteristics: seems either cold and distant or ethereal and aloof, as if they are above such puny human things like feelings™️(bonus if they're actually not human and their argument is "I'm [insert species]. We can't feel [insert emotion they are definetly feeling very strongly]"). then, over the course of the story, we (along with they themselves because they were in denial) discover that it's not that they feel too little, they feel entirely too much. They're a sea of emotions so deep that the surface is calm, but don't you dare be near them when the storm is coming because all hell will break loose. (extra bonus point if that storm involves them rebelling against the oppressive society they were born into and adhered to until then because they realise their consciousness won't allow it any longer.) afterwards they realise that making themselves vulnerable once in a while is actually a good thing and they proceed to fuck the Rebel™️ who they've secretly been in love with the entire time, a feeling they only now allow themselves to act on

The last part sadly isn't always canon, but who has ever had time for that?

You know what this episode made me realise most of all? The Lan sect are just as human as the rest of them. In fact, they seem to be especially prone to acting rashly on strong emotions. (I don't remember the exact story, but didn't the founder of the Lan sect also have some kind of tragic love story?) It should be obvious, but the impression you get is that they are so detached from their wants, so rigorous and disciplined in their righteousness, that they are almost super-human. But no. Thise 3000 and some rules? They weren't born out of some enlightened mind that had the secret of live figures out, they're a crutch. Abiding by them without question rids one of responsibility to make even the tiniest moral choice for oneself. But that won't work because a) they're bounty to contradict each other at some point and b) that's not how human beings work. They're messy and unpredictable and beautifully complicated. The way Lan Qiren choses to apply them, he completely disregards that. At that point, the rules aren't there anymore to grant a harmonious society, but simply for their own sake. (Or maybe as a wall to hide behind)

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose

I think this liveblog has been the longest so far. I'm sorry for going on so many tangents, but lwj's backstory hit me really hard. I hope you guys weren't too bored 💚

(I also apologise for the mountains of typos that probably accumulated in this post. I'm too tired to check.)

[gguksgalaxy]

Mix-Up pt. 1

Masterpost <- Prologue | Part 2 ->

Short: After joining the sorority on your new university you accidentally get roomed with a notorious frat boy called Jongdae. Pairing: Jongdae x Reader Genre: Fluff/Angst/Smut Words: 4468 Notes for Update: 25 Warnings: ppl being mean, frat boys being frat boys, really nothing.  A/n: The first part of my new series, i'm excited and had fun writing this actually. It's based on a dream i had once. Thank you to @sechens for inspiring me to write this series.

Your pov

You wrapped your hair up in a towel on top of your head, drying off your skin and rubbing some cream onto your face. The tiny bathroom was fogged up from your warm shower, but you felt properly refreshed now. After that bullshit of a hazing you needed it. You had to be at class in 3 hours, so you had enough time to rest and read a bit before going.

When you exited the shower you bumped into something, staggering back and holding onto your towel for dear life.

“Excuse me?” an unfamiliar, male, voice sounded.

You looked up, finding a boy, or man, how old was he? His hair was pitch black, eyes a dark brown, lips seemingly curled up in a smile. “Uhm, how did you get in here?”

His brows furrowed underneath his messy fringe. “I have a key, this is my room.”

You snorted. “Sure, now please get out and let me get dressed.” You though you must’ve left the door unlocked, so you pushed him aside to get into the room. “Hello, did you not hear me?” you motioned at him to leave.

He didn’t seem so amused though, and reached into his backpack to pull out a paper and hand it to you. Kim Jongdae, room 3 - 85 - N. That was your room, you were staying here. N building, 3rd floor, room 85. What the hell. “See, now there has to be some misunderstanding along to your room. But I’m tired as fuck and determined to catch at least 2 hours of sleep before I have to be in class.” He moved past you, dragging his duffle bag over the floor and flopping down onto the bed you hadn’t chosen as your own.

You snatched your clothes of your bed and grumpily went into the bathroom to get dressed. What the hell was this guy thinking? Just barging in here like he owned the place. What the fuck. His note wasn’t lying though, but yours said the same with your name. Maybe it was an administration mistake, it had to be right? You’d never get roomed with a guy, it wasn’t even allowed for as far as you knew.

When you were dressed and brushed your hair, you went back out and found your note on between your books. He was fast asleep though, one arm hanging off the bed. His lips still curled at the ends, maybe it was natural. It looked like he hadn’t showered in a few days, some kind of mess on his neck that could’ve been lipstick or food. He was wearing a dark grey sweater that was way too big on him, and light blue torn skinny jeans, maybe a bit to warm for this time of year? It was early September, and he was wearing a sweater.

It didn’t seem like he was going to wake up soon, so you decided to just let him sleep while you did your mandatory reading for today’s class. Taking small notes. It started with simple history of Psychology, a recap of what you’d learned in your bachelor.

You’d come to this university for two simple reasons. The first being that it had one of the best Psychology masters in the country, and second being that your mother had attended here when she was your age.

Your focus was broken by the sound of a phone ringing, but it wasn’t yours. Must be his then? Maybe you should go get this sorted now? But right now just going to class and doing what you had to do was more important. You weren’t going to let some guy take you out of your schedule. His phone rang again, and you sighed deeply. Then a third time, which was when you were done with it.

You got off your chair and looked over. It didn’t seem like the sound would wake him anytime soon. So you tried to find the source of it. Hoping it wasn’t somewhere on him. Maybe his bag?

It was on the floor beside the bed, stuffed full of things he’d probably need when he moved in here. You unzipped the top, the sound becoming louder. So it was somewhere in this mess. Nothing was folded, everything just thrown in there messily. The first thing you pulled out was a laptop, a MacBook Air to be precise, and books identical to the ones you had to get. He was in the same classes as you?

The next obvious thing was a leather jacket, a white one, with something on the back. You turned it over. Sigma-Mu. Of course he was one of those dicks. You’d heard of their fraternity, basically the brothers of your sorority Xi-Chi-Phi, they’re renowned for being empty minded fuck-ups though. Smart, but not using their brain for the right thing. Rough parties and lots of wild nights out with girls like you. Ha, not that you’d ever fall for one of them. You especially knew better than to date a frat guy.

“You’re really cute and all, but would you mind not touching my things?” his voice was a bit hoarse and rough from the short sleep he’d had. He looked at you with sleepy and puffy eyes, brushing his hair away.

“Your phone was ringing, it’s annoying.” You stated blankly.

He sighed and flopped onto the floor beside the bed. Rummaging through his bag to find his phone that was now ringing for the fourth time. “Here it is.” He didn’t even bother to look at it before turning it on silent. “Now can you let me sleep?”

You raised your eyebrows at him, sort of offended. “Excuse me? I wasn’t making any sort of obvious noise. It was your phone that kept me from studying.”

Jongdae, that was his name right, smirked lightly. “Most girls wouldn’t be so casual around me.”

Of course. “Your frat sign or status means zilch to me, now let me study.”

He shrugged, climbing back onto the bed. “Not saying that I was offering, I don’t do studious types like you.”

What a dick. But you weren’t going to indulge him, so you rolled your eyes and went back to your book. You felt his eyes on you, staring at you from the bed. With your jaw clenched you forced yourself to focus.

“You wouldn’t last a week with me in here.” He stated then.

You chose to ignore his cocky voice and lingering eyes and moved onto the last pages. Reid, Berkeley, Locke, Darwin, it was almost Philosophy, but you knew that they blended a bit back in the far history. Natural selection, and bananas that when you don’t see them aren’t yellow but certainly bent. Boring stuff, but easy.

When you closed your book, he was fast asleep again, tiny snores escaping his parted lips. He was attractive, for sure, moles dotting his forehead and hairline, ears jutting out cutely. But his mouth told you something else. Frat at heart.

Maybe you should just go, grab a coffee and something to eat before class. So you got up from your chair, put your laptop in your bag and took a thin coat from the hanger. For a moment you considered waking him up to let him know class was starting soon. Maybe you should try keeping him as a friend instead of an enemy.

You wouldn’t last a week with me in here. But you decided against it, and left through the front door.

***

The class started on time, and you didn’t see any of the girls you’d gotten along with from the hazing in here. You did see some older sisters sitting further up the back of the lecture hall but you preferred to sit in the front third of the class. Not completely up front, but far enough up front to concentrate.

Your lecturer, a male in his mid 30’s, was in the middle of his explanation on the banana thing from Reid when someone took place next to you.

“You know sweetheart, you could’ve just woken me up before you left. I’d have appreciated it a lot.” He sounded, and you just wanted to backhand him right there.

You gnawed at your lip, not reacting to his stupid comment, but taking a look out of the corner of your eyes to see what he was doing. He opened a container with grapes, and his laptop. Popping two in his mouth and typing away, looking up at the projector screen.

The whole 2nd half of class he was silent, paying attention and munching on grapes. It surprised you maybe, that he just quietly concentrated and listened to the lecturer. He was a fast typer, and his little container was empty quickly. Your coffee was finished too soon and you wished you’d gotten a refill halfway through the class.

When the class ended and you fully looked at him beside you, you noticed he’d taken the time to freshen himself up. There were still slight bags under his eyes, but his hair was pushed back now underneath his baseball cap. He was wearing a white shirt with a dark blue plaid shirt unbuttoned over it, still in his ripped jeans. Jongdae sneezed into his hand, and looked at you. “See something you like?”

You rolled you eyes. “Just surprised you can keep up the concentration for that long.” When you’d gathered you things in you chair you stood up, but he made no sign of moving. “We have to go, we have biological psychology in 10 minutes.”

He raised an eyebrow at you. “Are you always this snappy?���

“I around guys like you.” You grumbled, turning around to get out on the other side of the isle.  But he stopped you. “What?!” You didn’t really expect the hurt look on his face right there.

“Let’s walk to class together yeah?”

“Why would I walk with you?”

Jongdae avoided your gaze, packing his things. “I’ll buy you coffee, come on.”

The offer was tempting, and maybe you should say no, but you followed him. Up the stairs and down the hall towards your next class. “You’re so typical.”

“What?” he asked when you were in line for the coffee corner. “How am I typical.”

“Frat guy, comes in late, half asleep. Tries to flirt with a girl being cocky, realises it’s not working and tries to bribe her.”

He was silent for a little, and you tries to decipher what the print on his shirt was actually saying, but it was something with palm trees. You couldn’t complain about his clothes, he looked well in them. His backpack was slung over one shoulder and he had his wallet in his hands. There was a ring on his pointer finger, silver with some pattern on it. He apparently chose to ignore your comment. “What do you want?”

“You’re not going to expect something in return?”

“Hmm.” He smiled lightly. “Maybe notes of the things I’ve missed this morning?”

“That’s not going to be a regular thing.”

He sneezed again, and you noticed then that he might just be sick. “Yeah sure. I normally try to not miss class you know.”

“I like Latte’s with an extra shot.” You answered him, stepping out of the line to open up your bag and finding something in the little toiletry bag you kept. When he returned you handed it to him. “Here.”

Jongdae looked at the little tube in your hand like it was something weird. “I buy you coffee you give me pills?”

“It’s flu medicine.” You took your coffee from him and put the little tube in his palm. Not before nothing that his hands were warm and the skin was soft. “Just put it in your mouth and let it dissolve under your tongue. I have more at home.”

For a moment he stared at it, but then unscrewed the top and threw the contents back like taking a shot. “God it tastes disgusting.”

His face made you laugh, and you took your coffee, going in front of him to class. “Thank you.” He smiled at your gratitude, his smile was nice, the corners of his mouth going up further. “What?”

“You’re cute.”

“Don’t try that on me, it doesn’t work.”

“No really.” He chuckled. “I’m not going to try sleep with my roommate, I’m not that stupid.”

“But you are stupid?”

“From time to time.”

***

Jongdae’s pov

“Okay so what’s up with you?” Baekhyun asked him, sitting in his room. “You’re moping around a bit.”

“Flu.” He mumbled, rubbing his nose. His eyes were tired and his mind wasn’t following him. He really just wanted to go to sleep, but you were there and he hadn’t decided on what to do about it yet. On one hand he thought it might be good to room with someone who actually had their shit together and wouldn’t bring home random girls every other night. He’d moved out of the frat house for a reason.

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun flicked his forehead. “Dude?”

“Okay so, you know how I moved out this year right. To the normal dorms?”

“Yeah.” His friend took another slice of pizza from the box. “I’m rooming with Chanyeol now, but I don’t know if that’s such a great thing.”

Jongdae had roomed with Baekhyun for the past 3 years, they’d grown quite close. But he was just done with the whole shit of being at the frat house all week. “Yeah well. I got to my dorm this morning and there was a girl.”

“A girl?” The other’s eyes lit up at the comment. “They sent you a welcome gift?”

He rolled his eyes. “No.”

“Wait, your roommate was fucking someone that early? I mean morning sex I’m all for it but, not when I’m expecting my new roommate?”

“Baekhyun.” He sighed, pinching his nose. A headache was setting in and he wanted to sleep. “No, my roommate, it’s a girl.”

He laughed. “Funny.”

Jongdae shook his head. “No really, it’s a girl. She had moved in already and all that.”

Baekhyun frowned, looking at the last slice of pizza in the box. Jongdae motioned for him to take it, his stomach was done with the greasy shit. “Okay so you’re roomed with a girl, that’s great. Try and get into the good corner with her.” Baekhyun was a ladies man, he liked to play around. Not the way Chanyeol usually did, Baekhyun just had a lot of…friends on call. “Is she attractive?”

Jongdae has looked at you, the way your hair framed your face and the way your top hugged you body. “I guess.” He didn’t want Baekhyun to get too excited about this. He’d probably just call administrations tomorrow to fix it.

“You guess?”

“I mean, yeah.”

Baekhyun squinted his eyes at him. “What’s her name?”

Jongdae thought about that, and realised he hadn’t even asked your name. How could he have been that stupid? He really was out of it. “Not sure.”

“You’re telling me, you’re roomed with this hot chick, and you didn’t even ask her name? Man what happened to you over summer?” His friend sighed, tomato sauce on his cheek.

“I’m not feeling well okay.”

“What did she look like?”

He closed his eyes, laying back on his bed, describing how you looked. It wasn’t like he hadn’t paid attention to the way you walked, or brushed your hair out of your face. But Baekhyun wouldn’t let that go easily. He did mention the tattoo with the Chinese characters he saw peeking up from the back of your shirt.

“Wait, you said she had a tattoo on the back of her neck? Chinese characters?”

“Yeah, why?”

Baekhyun was smirking, a look Jongdae knew well. “Oh, I know that girl. You’re in for something man.”

“What? How so?” he knew he shouldn’t push Baekhyun on with things like this, but he was too tired to try talk around it.

“Her name is y/n, she’s two years younger than we are, spicy chick. Taking the same classes as you, very nice legs and chest. I think she works out regularly.” He hummed, standing up and moving into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Jongdae groaned when he sat up. “You know this how exactly?”

“She’s in Xi-Chi-Phi, I saw her in the hazing, you know, me and Yeol were involved in their hazing. Like Seulna and Noni were helping you guys out.”

“Wait, you’re telling me, I’m rooming with a Xi-Chick? Why…”

Baekhyun was laughing again. “You got it good man, keep her I’d say. I think she’d a nice one.”

“Uhmm, I’d rather keep my ass out of the rumours.” Thing was, each time a Sigma-Mate and a Xi-Chick hooked up it somehow got out and the rumours could last for weeks. Especially if it was more than a simple hook-up. It’s almost like becoming a celebrity couple in the school. Baekhyun was lucky his girls kept silent, Chanyeol tended to be a little less lucky in that department. But Jongdae thought you’d also not want all that attention. You’d just had to find a way to fix it without anyone finding out. “I think I’m going to go home.” He mumbled, getting up and finding his hat from the floor. Pushing his hair back, he set it into place and put his face mask back on. The flu sucked.

“We’ll see how long you last man. Do I see you on friday? At the entrance of the year party?”

“Yeah sure,”

“Jongdae man, really, you used to be so excited for these. We need you there to hype the place up.” His friend whined.

“I’ll come if you keep your mouth shut to Chanyeol about my roommate.” He shot back, smiling lightly. Chanyeol really couldn’t keep his trap shut when it came to stuff like this.

Baekhyun thought about it for a bit. “I mean it’ll only be time before someone sees you together right?”

“Just don’t tell him please.” He begged, whining a little.

“Fine fine. But you owe me Kim!”

“Yah!” jongdae called out from the door. “I’m coming to the party, that’s enough.”

Baekhyun threw something at him, and he wasn’t able to dodge it before it hit his face. He immediately threw it away with a disgusted face as soon as soon as he noticed it was one of his dirty socks. “We’ll talk about this!”

Jongdae waved him off casually before closing the door behind him.

***

When he got back to the dorm, he found you at one of the desks, bent over a book with a steaming mug of tea or coffee next to you. Arrays of coloured highlighters in a glass and a notebook open beside the book. Your hair was up messily on the top of your head, and you’d changed out of your soft striped pants and light tank top. The shirt you were now wearing was a light grey and seemed a few sizes too big. “If you’re going to stand and stare at me from there, please do close the door.”

He snapped out of it. “Sorry.” Jongdae noticed a pan with leftover food on the stove.  “You cooked?”

“Noodles.”

“Oh.” He noticed a sharp edge in your voice, but decided to shrug it off. “I’m going to take a shower okay.” Jongdae walked to his bed, coughing away the slime in his throat. There was a small packet on there, with some kind of medicine.

“It’s the rest of those pills from this morning, you should take them twice a day.” You said when he picked them up. “I emailed you the notes via the uni email.”

He nodded, mumbling a thank you before taking clothes from his bad and walking over to the bathroom. All you stuff, makeup, toothbrush, hair products, were neatly stacked and placed throughout the room. You seemed a lot more organised than he was. His body was aching, and he just wanted to sleep. The warm water soother it a bit, and he took another tube of the stuff you gave him before he brushed his teeth and put on a pair of boxers and a shirt.

For a moment he wondered if he should put on sweats, but he’d left them in his bag. Well you’d probably not even look up at him, so he just went. Not that he was shy really.

“So what are we going to do about this situation?” you asked, closing your book and turning around just as he exited. To his surprise you didn’t even give him a once over. Definitely nothing you hadn’t seen before.

He sighed. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? My head is hurting and I just want to sleep.” Jongdae flopped down on his bed, still unmade and all. “Please?”

You cocked your head to the side. “You really are sick aren’t you? When you came back before I thought you might’ve had a hangover.”

Jongdae licked his dry lips. “Well I did drink yesterday night, but not that much. I probably caught it during the hazing. With all the water and cold nights.”

You sighed, and he watched you stand up to move into the kitchen. “I’m y/n by the way. I realised I never gave you my name.”

He almost said he knew, but decided against it.

“Go to sleep, we’ll talk in the morning.” You said, shooting him a soft smile from the other side of the room. He smiled back and crept under the covers, curling up on his side and willing sleep to take him in.

***

Your pov

The next morning you woke up before him, taking out a minute to look at him sleep in his unmade bed. He looked small, curled up like that. Why were you going soft on him? He was just coming up with the flu, once he’s back to normal he’ll change again.

You quietly tried to take a shower and did your makeup, packing food for the day and the sitting down at the desk to do some reading. But a groan caught your attention.

“Morning.” He said, voice hoarse and deep.

You actually chuckled at the sound. “Hi.”

“So…”

“So what?” you turned towards him, watching his rub his eyes. His hair was falling over his forehead again, messily reaching till just above his eyes.

He moved his mouth and scrunched up his nose. “Are we calling administration this morning?”

“I could also pass by today after class, maybe that’ll be easier?”

He groaned, stretching his body on the small bed, chest bowing up. “I do meant what I said yesterday though.”

You frowned. “That you’re stupid.”

Jongdae sent you an unamused glare. “No, that you wouldn’t last a week with me in here.”

“What do you even mean by that? Have you roomed with a girl before?”

He got up, mussing his hair around and pushing it away from his eyes. “No, but I’ve been around plenty.” His shrug was casual, it annoyed you. “As I said, studios types like you, not my thing. However, I do tend to catch your eye after a while.”

“Jongdae what the fuck are you trying to even tell me?”

“Just saying, if we’d keep this it’ll be time before you develop feelings for me or something. Or we end up in bed together.”

He seemed different from yesterday after class. What even was his deal. Was he trying to scare you away, or trying to keep you here as a challenge. The former was completely unnecessary and the latter totally useless. “Your point is?”

“Nothing, jut noting.”

“Jesus christ you are all the same stuck up kind of pricks aren’t you.” You grumbled, turning your back to him and going for your earphones. If he was going to be like this you might as well cancel him out. Definitely going by the desk today, or you should make him go? “If you’d be so kind to walk to administration? Or call, I don’t care. I don’t have any obvious need to be around people like you.”

He hummed, that you heard before you turned your music on. Behind you he got up, pulled things out of his bag, and shuffled into the shower with a loud cough. All the same, frat boys. You scoffed and shook your head.

Today you had the same lecture as yesterday morning, and the first philosophy lecture. Your favourite. You were doing readings on Berkeley’s full philosophy, much more deeper than yesterday. His theory didn’t always make much sense to you since it was contradictory on it’s own, but you’d learnt to just memorise the stupid thing.

You felt a hand on the back of your chair and a warm breath fan by your ear. “So, what are you studying?” he asked, his wet hair dripping onto your shoulder.

You pulled away, pushing him back. “Philosophy, you should try it, maybe it’ll clear your mind up.”

He looked pretty shocked at the tone of your voice, eyes widening. With his hair wet, and a towel over his head he might’ve actually passed as cute. His black shirt was tight around his biceps, and you duly noted he probably worked out. “Philosophy is good, I don’t mind it. A bit too much blabbering for my liking.” He stated.

“So, you’re going to call?” you asked, pointing at his phone.

He nodded with a look you couldn’t point. “Yeah, do you have the number?”

It had to be somewhere on your desk, you found it under your file, handing it to him and watching him as he dialled the number. He put the phone to his ear and cocked his eyebrows at you with a smirk. You rolled your eyes and got up, towards the kitchen area to grab some grapes from the fridge. They were sweet, you’d always kept some around in your bag as well as snacks.

“Hi, Kim Jongdae.” He said, frowning. “I’m calling because of my room. Or well, my roommate. I think a mistake was made because I’ve been roomed with a girl. We’d like to fix it somehow and get switched or placed somewhere else.” His frown grew deeper the more he talked. You couldn’t hear the person on the other end though. “Are you sure?” he mumbled, and then his eyes grew wide. “That’s not what I’m trying to do! Can’t you check?” his voice raised, the pitch became higher, he sounded a lot different like that. Whining on the phone. “Fine, okay. Yeah, thanks.” He hung up, putting the phone down beside him.

“So?” you asked.

“They’ve made no mistakes, we’re roomed with the right person.”

Well wasn’t that nice.

@oh-beyond @yixings10 @sechens @nunchiwrites @xiubaek13 @yeollieollie @kimjongdaely @paark-haaraa @minseok-baozi @fairyyeols

[aion-rsa]

Loki Collectibles: Key God of Mischief Comics to Own for Marvel Fans

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When you really think about it, there is probably no comics character more responsible for more amazing runs of Marvel books than Asgard’s God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson. This is partly due to the secretly high concentration of outstanding Thor runs through the ages, but, as you’ll see, Loki is largely responsible on page for the birth of the shared Marvel Comics Universe, which puts their horns in a lot of different comics pies. 

Loki is about to be hotter than ever, which means that key single issues from his comics history are going to become even more collectible than before…and sound investments if you’re hoping to own some pieces of comics history that will appreciate in value over time.

Journey Into Mystery #85

Just two issues prior to this one, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby had relaunched a Twilight Zone-ey anthology book into Marvel’s home for big, booming Norse god superheroics.

Journey Into Mystery #85 continued the development of that world, and brought Thor’s trickster brother into the Marvel U. This is a fairly straightforward Marvel silver age book, with a silly plot and some stunning, boldly imaginative art from King Kirby. The costumes and characters aren’t quite settled in iconography yet, but much of what Loki will become is here in these pages. 

Journey Into Mystery #85 is massively collectible already, and will only be worth more as the show makes him more popular, but it’s also an indelible piece of comics history: Lee and Kirby are really cranking up the Marvel universe here, and you can see the green shoots of the inventiveness and brilliance that makes Kirby the greatest ever on some of these pages. If you’ve got a couple thousand bucks lying around, that is – in addition to being the first appearance of Loki, Journey Into Mystery #85 is the first appearance of Odin, Heimdall, and Balder as well. You’re looking at spending at least $2,000 for a copy, and probably a couple times that if you want one in decent shape.

Buy Journey Into Mystery #85 here.

Avengers #1

There came a day like no other, and that day set the stage for the Marvel Universe as we know it. Avengers #1 is the true birth of the shared Marvel comics world, the first time Marvel characters stopped being guest stars in other books and started existing within them, just off screen. And it’s all because of Loki. Imprisoned on the Isle of Silence by their brother, Loki uses their magic to trick the world into thinking the Hulk is rampaging. That brings together four heroes new to the world: Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp and Iron Man. Those four team up to defeat the God of Mischief, throw him in a lead tank, and then agree to work together moving forward. And the rest was history. 

Avengers #1 was always highly collectible, but it’s also extremely popular, so you’ll have lots of chances to snag a copy if you can’t afford to spend $30,000 on an authentic, quality copy from the 1960s. The book has been reprinted several times, most recently in 2016, with its original cover. And there are convention exclusive reprints with J. Scott Campbell covers (sketch and colored) that can be had for only $30.

Buy Avengers (1963) #1 here.

Thor #353

Walter Simonson may be the definitive Thor storyteller in Marvel history. His behemoth run was the foundation text for arguably the best MCU film, Thor: Ragnarok, and saw him give the defining takes on just about all of Asgard, from Thor himself all the way to minor, secondary villains like Skurge the Executioner or Lorelei. But not many characters did better under Simonson’s watch than Loki. Thor #353 is one of many high points of this run, featuring Loki and Thor fighting alongside Odin to stop Surtur’s rampage. 

Compared to earlier entries on this list, the Simonson run as a whole is MUCH more collector friendly. Thor #353 can be had in perfect condition for cheaper than many new books. In fact, you’re as likely to find this issue as part of a lot of Simonson Thor comics as you are to find it alone. And that’s great – the whole run is worth your time.

Buy Thor #353 here.

Thor (2007) #5

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a period in the early 2000s when Marvel just stopped publishing Thor comics. They ended one run with a magnificent Ragnarok, let Asgard lie dormant for almost 3 years, and then brought the Norse gods back in a big way, and nobody was more changed by that return than Loki. She returned from the post-Ragnarok nothingness as a woman in this issue, written by J. Michael Straczynski and dazzlingly drawn by Olivier Coipel. Expect this to be referenced in the new series.

Thor #5 is almost certainly underpriced as of publication. You can find copies of the regular cover for close to cover price, while the issue’s lone variant by J. Scott Campbell is going for in the $25-$40 range. This is almost certain to go up because of the show, and if Loki spends any serious screen time as a woman, it should go up by a lot. Now might be a good time to get in on the ground floor. 

Buy Thor (2007) #5 here.

Journey Into Mystery #622

No run of Loki stories has likely had a greater influence on the MCU’s take on Loki than what Kieron Gillen did with him, starting at the end of the big Siege crossover, Loki dies at the hands of The Sentry, and is immediately resurrected as a preteen version of himself. From there on, Kid Loki becomes one of the most beloved Marvel comics characters of the past decade: tricky, razor smart, self-aware, and ambiguous.

This issue in particular, with excellent pencils from Doug Brathwaite, is an incredible deep dive on who Loki is and what role they serve in the story of Asgard, and the combination of quality and intermedia importance is helping this issue do some numbers online – the second printing in particular, featuring a photo cover of Tom Hiddleston fully be-horned in his movie Loki getup, is going for between $75 and $100. That will probably calm down some after the show, but I’d bet not by a ton, considering where the story might go.

Buy Journey Into Mystery #622 here.

Young Avengers #1

Gillen’s time shepherding Kid Loki continues as the trickster teen assembles yet another cadre of Avengers. It features a team of Marvel sidekicks and legacy heroes echoing their predecessors – the children of Vision and Scarlet Witch (Wiccan and Speed) and Wiccan’s boyfriend Hulkling; Kate Bishop, the second and better Hawkeye; kid Loki; Noh-Varr, the Marvel Boy from an alternate reality; depowered mutant genius Prodigy; and alternate reality ass kicker Ms. America. 

So between it’s likely importance to the future of the MCU (this team is almost guaranteed to be the foundation of the inevitable Young Avengers MCU entry) and the staggeringly gorgeous art from Jamie McKelvie, this book is a must buy. Fortunately, there are lots of options – Marvel knew this would be a hit when it launched, so they had multiple variant covers (from both Skottie Young and Scott Pilgrim’s Bryan Lee O’Malley, as well as the now-traditional blank sketch variant). You can find original covers for a little over cover price, and variants in the $10-$25 range. The second printing of the first issue – with a black, white and blue sketch version of the O’Malley variant – can be found in that range too.

Buy Young Avengers (2013) #1 here.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #1

If Kieron Gillen’s story is about what Loki means to the story of the Marvel Universe, Al Ewing’s Loki: Agent of Asgard is about what Loki means to their own story. As Young Avengers wrapped, Kid Loki was destroyed and replaced by a Hiddlestonier older version, one obsessed with establishing their own heroism. So they cut a deal: the ruling All-Mother triumvirate in Asgard would wipe old Loki stories from Asgardian records in exchange for Loki completing missions on their behalf on Earth. Agent of Asgard is half heist comic, half deep character piece, with an evil old version of Loki being the series’ recurring villain. Ewing and artist Lee Garbett turn in a witty, fun book that has some of the finest Loki character work in all ten realms. 

Prices on this book have risen steeply of late, likely in anticipation of everything with Loki’s name on it getting hot. As such, you’ll be hard pressed to find a copy of even the first printing going for less than $15, and the real heavy hitter here – the sketch variant of Frank Cho’s Jim Steranko homaging Loki cover – is up over $200.

Buy Loki: Agent of Asgard #1 here.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #8

In this issue of Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s top-tier Marvel run, New York is under attack from Ratatoskr, the trash talking squirrel who runs messages up and down the World Tree. Squirrel Girl battles Ratatoskr’s rumor mongering with the help of Loki, Odinson, Jane Foster Thor, and SG’s roommate, Nancy Whitehead, who it turns out is the author of a great deal of Asgardian fan fiction. Only with all the Norse Gods replaced by cats. Loki, of course, finds this hilarious, and spends the rest of the story with Cat Thor’s head, and it is utterly delightful for everyone except their very frustrated brother. 

It’s not an impactful moment in Loki’s history. It does nothing to the MU’s metanarrative, and until they decide to bring in the Netflix properties and use Squirrel Girl as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage’s au pair like they did in the comics, this will have nothing to do with the MCU. So you can find this for cheaper than cover price, or as part of lots that are cumulatively MUCH cheaper than cover price. And that’s great: these Squirrel Girl stories were terrific. They’re worth every penny at twice the price.

Buy Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #8 here.

Vote Loki #1

Christopher Hastings and Langdon Foss do something interesting with Loki here: instead of using him to comment on the Marvel Universe, they use them to comment on ours. Vote Loki was a send up of American electoral politics, mocking the…ever-changing nature of the American electorate by having Loki campaign for President as an open, avowed, amoral liar. I’ll be honest, there are moments where this one still lands a little shakily, but it’s certainly improved since its unfortunate release timing (in the middle of the 2016 election). It’s smart and fun, and from the looks of the Loki trailer, probably important. 

Like everything else with Loki in the title, the market has gone a little crazy for these of late. The main covers are going for multiple times the cover price, and the variants (particularly the Valerio Schiti incentive cover for the first issue) up in the 3 and 4 figures. Wild for a book that’s this new.

Buy Vote Loki #1 here.

Thor #4

Some of these books are here because they’re brilliant investigations of comic storytelling, or deeply personal character studies of complex, multifaceted comics characters with a half century of history. And some are on here because they have a scene where Thanos tells the Norse goddess of death “It’s not you, it’s me” in the middle of a sham wedding in Hel. Thor #4 is almost at the big War of the Realms, the culmination of Jason Aaron’s nearly ten years writing Thor, and it’s an absolute blast. If you read the excellent Aaron run from start to finish, this will be one of your favorite issues. 

If you get this issue’s James Harren variant – obtainable at less than $10 – you’ll be very happy with yourself for doing it.

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Buy Thor (2018) #4 here.

The post Loki Collectibles: Key God of Mischief Comics to Own for Marvel Fans appeared first on Den of Geek.

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