#loki captor/captive

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT LOKI'S SHOES (ACTUALLY, HIS WHOLE WARDROBE)

Production costs aside, clothes tell the audience about how characters think of themselves.

Loki's shoes in the S2 finale raised a lot eyebrows, but I find them quite fitting: they are comfortable, practical, and most importantly, they are humble. The camera brings this to our attention to communicate his evolution in character.

Loki has always dressed well, often times ostentatiously. Whether he is at war, passing as a Midgardian, or held captive as an Asgardian prisoner, Loki communicates his social class and sense of superiority through clothing. For him, clothing armors his fragile sense of self and against others' opinions of him. He intends to be perceived as deadly charming but ultimately unapproachable.

His attire in the first Thor movie is roughly equal parts green and gold, signifying his royal status. His style is dressed down for his brother's misadventures in Jotenheim, yet overall both silhouettes are lofty, princely, but not hardened or threatening.

In Avengers, Loki's look has more black and leather, with exaggerated emphasis on his shoulders meant to intimidate as he assumes the role of villain. The silhouette is very hard, heavy, and edgy. Gold detailing is prevalent as well. Combined with the goat's helm, this is Loki's most pretentious outfit, which speaks to an undercurrent of low self-esteem and a compulsive need to impress. There's no mistaking he is the main antagonist of the story.

In Thor 2, Loki's attire is similar to Avengers but the overcoat is exchanged for a less bulky version (perhaps conveying he is less guarded now that the effects of the Mind Stone are no longer influencing him). Loki's role likewise pivots from the harsh lines of a villain to the more flexible edges of a reluctant villain-turned-ally. This aligns with his character arc when he protects both Jane and Thor, seemingly sacrificing himself.

In Thor 3, Loki's silhouette is streamlined even further. The overcoat is done away with in favor of what appears to be a leather doublet, pauldrons, and vambraces. Gold accents are minimal. While stylish, Loki's attire is more practical than showy, and his helm serves the dual purpose of protection as well as weaponry. At this point in his arc, Loki has become a full antihero, joining his brother's side in rescuing as many Asgardians as possible, and eventually dying in a vain bid to protect Thor from Thanos.

The TVA does something very fun and interesting in taking away Loki's ability to dress himself. Since Loki cannot use his magic in the TVA, he is forced to wear the same clothing as his captor/advocate, who eventually becomes his best friend and peer.

Perhaps, on a subconscious level, this helped Loki to feel included. We know by his pwn admission that Loki fears being alone and desperately craves a sense of belonging. At the same time, he intentionally dresses to put people at a distance, thereby protecting himself from potential rejection at the cost of isolating himself further.

When Mobius gives him that TVA jacket for the first time, Loki seems uncharacteristically pleased. It is not an attractive jacket by any means, yet he neither scoffs at it nor refuses to wear it. Instead, Loki puts it on and is content when Mobius says it looks "smart" on him. He continues to dress like Mobius and, indeed, mimic some of his mannerisms such as placing his hands on his hips. Without clothing meant to push people away, Loki opens up, has more fun, and makes friends.

Loki's choice of attire as he assumes the mantle of God of Stories (and time) is fascinating. Setting aside the clear design inspiration from the comics, Loki's silhouette is soft, remarkably so. His colors are earthy hues of green, and the only bit of flare are the light gold trimming and crown. The look brings to mind the garb of sages and wise wizards rather than royalty or warriors. He's powerful yet approachable because there is humility in his bearing. And that humility springs from a well of healthy self-worth, self-love, and a deep love for others.

The shoes are not meant to be attractive. They are meant to help him ascend the throne, nothing more.

[gunsandspaceships]

Tony Stark’s achievements

Childhood:

“Brilliant and unique mind”

At age 4 built his first circuit board

At age 6 built his first engine

Cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare

Went to college at 14

Built cool smart robots (Dum-E and U) when he was a teen

At 17 graduated summa cum laude from MIT

Polyglot

Before Afghanistan:

“Da Vinci of our time”

Became an owner and CEO of Stark Industries at 21

Successfully ran the company for decades

Advanced the world of technology, not only in weaponry and robotics but also:

created advanced AI J.A.R.V.I.S.

created holographic interface technology

created repulsor technology

Participated in charity

In and after Afghanistan:

“I’m sorry, I’m not Tony Stark”

Survived an open-heart surgery in a cave, without general anesthesia

Lived with, in fact, a debilitating wound, shrapnel, and a huge and dangerous technological device in his body for years and was willing and capable of doing not only his usual work but also being a superhero and doing all these next things...

Did not give up under torture and fought with his captors

Invented and built a miniaturized Arc Reactor, in a cave, with a box of scraps

Invented and built Iron Man armor, in the same cave, with the same box of scraps

Escaped from captivity by himself (with help from Yinsen, but without any armed assistance)

Became an expert in piloting and driving

Saved people in Gulmira

Saved a USAF pilot

Probably the best hacker in the world, was able to easily hack networks of the Pentagon, US government, AIM, and SHIELD

Fought with Iron Monger after nearly died. Defeated him and saved many lives. Was ready to die for that

Built many more different Iron Man armors

Fought terrorists between IM and IM2 (IM2 tie-in comics)

Saved a submarine crew (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

Saved a woman from a fire (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

“Stabilized East-West relations” (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home), so the world was “enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years”

Organized Stark Expo

Was able to keep Iron Man armor in his safe hands despite the government’s and HYDRA’s attempts to take it for themselves

Defeated Ivan Vanko in Monaco

(Re)Discovered a new element

 Synthesized it, by building a particle accelerator, at home

Revolutionized energy industry and science. Gave clean energy to the world

Defeated Vanko in New York with Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper and saved many lives again

Saved Peter Parker (IM2)

Made it so that the Abomination would not leave prison and join the Avengers

Built Stark/Avengers Tower powered by Arc Reactor technology

Saved Steve Rogers and many civilians in Germany from Loki

Was able to fight with Thor on equal terms

Biggest brain on Earth, arguably - in the Universe:

best scientist on the team, in SHIELD, on Earth, in the Universe

expert in nuclear, particle, and quantum physics

was able to learn very quickly – became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics in one night

Successfully tracked Tesseract by its gamma radiation with Bruce

Saved Helicarrier with the Avengers and SHIELD agents on board, almost died

Saved Rogers from a merc right after that

Fought with Chitauri, killed many of them, saved a lot of people

Was able to blow up a Leviathan by himself

Saved New York City by redirecting a nuke to the wormhole

Saved the world by destroying Thanos’ Chitauri army, almost died again

Founded The United States Department of Damage Control to clean up after battles

Rebuilt Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and gave each team member their own quarters

One of the best biologists and biomedical engineers on Earth, even if it’s not his main area of expertise:

helped Maya with Extremis back in 1999, because knew more in her own field, and even didn’t remember that

was head hunted by Aldrich Killian to work on Extremis with/instead of Maya, who was the leading expert in tissue regeneration

improved and stabilized Extremis, so it became safe regenerative technology, and with it…

cured Pepper

healed extensive injuries in his chest

invented and implanted devices for remote control of his suits (into his forearm in IM3, and most probably into his brain for Mark L armor in Infinity War)

invented build-in diagnostic system in his suits

Invented many devices for protection purposes (ex. bomb disposal)

A capable detective. Figured out the cause of explosions in IM3 on his own

Saved Pepper instead of himself by putting Mark 42 on her during the attack on his Malibu mansion

Survived the attack with a barely working prototype suit. Shot down a helicopter with a piano

Was able to fight with enhanced fire-breathing regenerating terrorists without armor and weapons in Rose Hill. In handcuffs

Knowledgeable and skilled in medicine:

saved a kid with his arc reactor in a deleted scene from IM3, selflessly pulling it out of his chest and performing defibrillation under electric shocks

knew how to recognize hyperglycemia when Harley was eating 3rd bawl of candies

closed his wound in Infinity War with nanoparticles

performed first-aid on Bruce after his snap

Built a lot of stuff from random things he bought in a store for the assault on the Mandarin's mansion. In a motel

Successfully stormed the Mandarin's mansion full of armed and huge security guys with dogs. Alone. Without his armor

Successfully escaped captivity in the Mandarin's mansion with just a few pieces of armor on

Saved all the people who fell from the Air Force One

Stormed Roxxon Norco ship with Rhodey, without a suit. With one handgun

Saved the US president

Defeated Killian and his Extremis-enhanced terrorists, saved many lives

Built quinjets

Created Iron Legion

Became the benefactor of the Avengers, provided them with everything, was a combatant, and also the team’s pilot, hacker, engineer, medic, and scientist

As an Avenger saved many lives on missions, including destroying the rest of HYDRA in AoU

With Bruce’s help created Veronica and Hulkbuster suit

Defeated a rogue Iron Legionnaire with a fork

In contrast to other team members was able to function after Wanda played with his mind

Defeated mad Hulk. Saved a lot of lives in Johannesburg

Easily hacked nuclear codes in Nexus and found J.A.R.V.I.S. “in the world’s biggest haystack”

Created advanced AI F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Many advanced AIs

Created Vision

With the Avengers defeated Ultron and his army

Evacuated people who were left in Sokovia

Saved a falling evacuation shuttle with people on it

Together with Thor saved Earth by destroying the falling Sokovia

Rebuilt Stark Compound into Avengers Compound for the team in Upstate New York

Invented several medical devices, including leg braces, blood toxicity detector

Sponsored the development of technology for psychotherapy (B.A.R.F.). Prevented it from being used for harm

Funded all the students’ projects at MIT

Did everything possible to legally, politically, and physically protect the team before, during, and after the Civil War

Was able to disarm Winter Soldier without a suit, with only one armored glove

Figured out Spider-Man’s identity

Created Spider-Man’s suits

Mentored, sponsored, and looked after Peter Parker

Saved Peter Parker (SMH). Twice

Saved the ferry from sinking

Invented nanoparticles

 “Earth’s best defender”

Went to space to save Peter, Strange and bring back Time Stone

Saved Peter Parker (IW)

Saved Strange on the Donut spaceship. Killed Ebony Maw

Cloak of Levitation chose him as his second favorite (deleted scene with Tony wearing Levi and Strange in Mark L)

Was respected by Thanos himself

Withstood when Thanos hit him with a moon

Fought Thanos, made him bleed, kept fighting even without armor

Survived a severe injury thanks to his own invention

Was able to function, tried to fix Benatar, and return home while injured and ill with an infected wound

Built a lab for Bruce and helped him to become one with Hulk (combine the best of both worlds)

Became an amazing dad

Became an expert in time travel physics

Discovered/invented (controlled) Time travel

Built a time machine

Went on Time Heist and stole Tesseract from a guarded military base

Created his own Infinity Gauntlet

Thus brought half of the universe back to existence (Bruce snapped and partially sacrificed his health, but nothing would be possible without Tony)

Saved Bruce’s arm by providing emergency medical care

Fought with Thanos again and…

Saved the whole Universe

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Loki got a lot of dialogue in 1131! The scans and the officials seem to have a lot of differences in how they translated things. And I’m curious what the original Japanese could be to get such variance.

The biggest difference seems to be on page 4. Loki says things like “But no man chooses to be chained. And I am no exception in this regard. I would rather be free.” in the official, but the scans say “Their intent wasn’t to merely catch me though. They wanted to sweep me under the rug! I’ve been praying for release ever since.”

He also says “I consider myself the strongest in all of Elbaph” in officials, and “I’m the pride of Elbaf’s immense strength” in scans. Which isn’t as big of a difference, but one implies a personal opinion and the other seems stated as fact.

Overall, Loki’s official dialogue makes him come off as, weirdly, a little more honest than the scans.

the official has it right. i think the scanlators were probably thrown off by the way that loki uses a few slightly unconventional phrasings in his dialogue; like the other line i posted about, this is another case of them being too literal.

the first line in the section you quote is だが誰も捕まることは望まねェし/daga daremo tsukamaru koto wa nozomanē shi., which the official translates correctly along the lines of "but no man wishes to be chained/captured." you can tell the official is right because the verb is passive (tsukamaru, 'to be caught') instead of active (which would be tsukamu, 'to catch').

the scanlators appear to have interpreted it as referring specifically to the desires of loki's captors (that they didn't want to (just) chain him up/catch him), when instead he's making a general statement about how no person wants to be in captivity.

the main word at issue in the second sentence is 漏れず/morezu. the verb 漏れる/moreru in its more literal sense means 'to leak out', and the zu conjugation means 'without doing ___.' so the scanlators interpreted this as a statement about the other giants wanting to not just lock loki up but suppress information about him ("without leaking (information)").

however, this is incorrect. moreru can also mean 'to be omitted' or 'to be excluded,' and in this grammatical context that's the meaning that makes more sense. so loki's statement is "i am not an exception (when it comes to not wanting to be chained up)", rather than "(they wanted to lock me up) without the information getting out."

for this other line, loki refers to himself as elbaf's number one/most 力自慢/chikarajiman, a word which means 'boasting of one's strength' (it's a combination of chikara, 'power', and jiman, 'pride/boast'). so it's a little awkward to translate no matter what, because the word implies both strength and pride about that strength. so something like 'i am the proudest of my strength in all of elbaf,' or something like that, seems more correct to me. since i haven't seen the word used in other contexts much, i'm not entirely sure what the best way to translate it would be.

[gloriousburden]

Dw about the long response!! I'm happy to read everything :) And goodness I agree on so many levels! I ended up criticizing so much I had to cut this a little short, since I often start rambling in between, but … What got to me the most were these aspects that were either treated poorly or weren’t thought of at all (You might’ve seen these already so … U don’t have to answer, again, hh ((though I am happy to hear your thoughts if you have anything to say or just thought of stuff!))):

Loki’s heritage - I … I don’t know man. I guess we don’t care he’s a frost giant. That definitely didn’t mess him up. No. Not a mention of what happened while he was exiled or when he was with Thanos. These are such big events in his life. Like, enormously big. (Also him trying to end it at the end of Thor 1... man...) It’s trauma after trauma, and in the Avengers and TDW it’s quite easy to see how they affected him too, since he is so different compared to Thor 1. And no, I don’t mean to say he was an innocent baby before ofc - you already tackled that argument on another post quite well, and I’d like to add that it’s literally how he AND Thor grew up. It’s not just Loki. Sure after the trip to Midgard Thor comes back different since he learned shit but before that?? We saw how Thor acted. They took from Odin, afterall, who participated in numerous wars - it’s obvious. They’re morally gray characters - both Loki and Thor. And what made it worse is that Thor and Odin’s wrongdoings were “justified” while the moment Loki did anything he got all types of repercussions - which all of them should’ve had really. You're putting three people together, all of them made similar mistakes but only one of them is getting yelled at. Everytime. And the other two are praised for it. Why can Thor and Odin do it and he can't? If the heroes do it it's for the greater good ... but Loki's a monster, right?

TVA and just … Sylvie and Mobius. A mess. I actually didn’t like the concept of the TVA a lot, and the whole storyline in general but I won’t get into that or else it turns too long - so I’ll just focus on these two and some of Loki’s aspects. He just … “opens up” to these guys. When he … just came from an awful background. Family trauma, him being a Jotunn (another thing they fucked up, no magic? why isn’t he blue then) and all the shit he went through with Thanos. He’s captive yet again. Like everything is just repeating - I think that’d be quite traumatic and he surely wouldn’t talk about anything with them. Also whenever he spoke about his “troubles” it just felt like it was more to explain it to the viewers rather than the characters? Like it wasn’t subtle and sometimes it just felt out of place for me. Could be that I don’t remember well, but still. What was allat. Idk how to explain, I hope you get it lol

While I won’t deny some moments with Mobius did make me grin because Owen Wilson just brings a smile to my face, it’s… Yeah, no. How is Loki already “opening up” to this guy. Why is he letting him do all of that. What’s going on. He’s one of your captors. CAPTORS. Wtf. I think you also covered this in another ask. Sorry if I'm repeating things hh

Sylvie I don’t even know how to go in that argument. I was devastated. I don’t think I have the words. Not only was everything so fast and I despised this weird toxic self-cest ship because … Wtf. Not to mention how quick it all was, they jumped to a "romantic" route after what, 1 or 2 conversations and Loki suddenly "catches feelings" for someone who's an alternate version of himself (which let's be honest it's only because they decided Sylvie was going to be a woman, but they had to mess that up too - another concept they handled HORRIBLY since Loki's gender is fluid and it shouldn't be so shocking for her to be female?? Especially to him and all Loki's variants?? Why is it even an argument!! I know I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s Disney and Marvel but fuck!! [[not even sure anymore since I read that Sylvie cannot shapeshift… Idk if it’s true, again doesn’t make any sense]]) which by itself is so illogical and makes no damn sense. Most shows just handle romance and relationships like ass and I can’t believe people actually like it. Especially since this is all … Toxic?? Not even romance. Gosh I have no words because of how messy it all was.

Also little observation, I’m a little slow and I don’t know if someone mentioned this already but right at the beginning of the series the introduction is almost symbolic in a sense, lol. He’s shown with shorter and different hair compared to the Avengers, which might seem little, don't get me wrong, but … still. Maybe I’m picky with details, however it is already a change. Then, some moments later, he’s shed of his Asgardian fit too and placed in a variant uniform. Again, obvious things. But really, they decided to just. Pick his character and make … a complete new one. It’s like making an OC after putting so many headcanons on a character that it’s not even THAT character anymore, it’s just… An OC. Definitely not voluntary, it just something I noticed lol

And clearly they show it later in the episode that it’s exactly what happens. He’s just mocked continuously, which is one thing that irked me a lot like you, because it kept going and going, it wasn’t just a moment, no, they kept going with that. What's the point of the series?? Where's the development?? None of these characters grew. None.

There’s probably more but … I don’t wanna write no more lol. I’m probably gonna start reading the comics too. They seem far more promising.

Thanks for listening again!! :D Hope you're doing well btw!!

No exactly. Loki’s heritage, a FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF HIS CHARACTER, has not ever been spoken about again unless it was to mock him. I wasn’t expecting them to full on show his Jotun form or anything of that sort, but you know what, maybe I expected them to talk about it in a non humorous manner for a second or two. Considering the fact it plays a HUGE part in who Loki is. Him only being a political pawn to Odin, instead of being a son to him as he thought, is why he is the way he is. You cannot excuse or undermine that. It is just as (if not more) important as “Ohhhh Loki’s jealous of Thor..” because it is literally the source. It’s the explanation.

There is a reason he was raised with inadequate care, and it wasn’t just because Thor was stronger physically or because he fit the image of the Asgardian ideal more than Loki did.

Loki was never meant to be loved, period. It wasn’t because of his mischievous nature. It wasn’t because of him gravitating towards magic and sharp weapons rather than brute strength. It was because when he was a baby on Jotunheim, he was taken in as a future pawn, instead of as a son to be loved despite any differences or despite how he grows up.

Getting to what you said about Thor and Odin being able to be heroes, while Loki is a villain no matter what he does… it is because Loki is only there to move the plot forward. Even if he does something reasonable, or something that could even be seen as heroic, it does not matter because he is not worthy of being seen as a hero. He’s only there to be a rival to Thor. In Odin’s eyes, he cannot be loved or praised, because the image of worthiness was always far from Loki’s own image.

The series was never meant to be about Loki. It was meant to pave the way for the Multiverse saga(?) and to introduce the next big enemy (Kang the Conqueror) but we all know how that went. You can drive yourself crazy with MANY questions like… oh, how did they forget this? How did they disregard that? Because Marvel just needed a pre-existing character to fuck up, get captured by the TVA, and everything else that happens. It’s not Loki specific, because why would Marvel ever do anything good for not only Loki but Tom Hiddleston who’s put so much care and love into playing Loki?

Why would they talk about Loki’s encounter with Thanos, the events of Avengers, the events of Thor? This is supposed to be Loki STRAIGHT OUT OF THE AVENGERS, and they didn’t talk about it besides insulting him. We didn’t get any POV from Loki. Nothing. If we didn’t get a Loki’s POV on the events he’s just gone through, why would it do him any kind of justice? WHY WOULD THEY TALK ABOUT HIS HERITAGE?

The only way the series could work, is for Loki to be dumbed the fuck down and at a disadvantage. Even if he is without his abilities/weapons, Loki is VERY intelligent. If this was ACTUALLY Loki, his ass would’ve manipulated his way out of there with EASE. Marvel has always downplayed how intelligent Loki is, of course they’d do it in a series that is supposed to uplift him. It’s only Loki that gets dumbed down in his own series.

The no magic at the TVA thing… I don’t even know man. I’m going to assume the contradiction is due to the writers forgetting/disregarding anything that’s relevant to Loki’s character once again as well as them not being able to CGI Tom Hiddleston blue for however many hours the series runs for. They could’ve at least gave some kind of bullshit excuse for it. I’ve seen some theorize that Odin’s spell was just that powerful, or that it changed Loki biologically permanently or something. I don’t really remember please forgive me lol there’s posts made by others on here with more information if you are interested. I just think of it as them not caring about Loki once again.

Please do not apologize! The reason I make posts is so I can further discuss my points with others. I love hearing from everyone, and I really appreciate this ask! Forgive me for not getting to it sooner. I’ve been busy, and also wanted to make sure all of this made sense before posting. If you want to discuss anything that I’ve previously spoken of, I genuinely would love to and would appreciate it. I’m glad that people actually listen to what I have to say lol

They had to speed run the development of every relationship in order for the plot to work out, so that’s why Loki, known for not trusting others as well as being known as someone who shouldn’t be trusted, was opening up to a complete stranger (WHO WORKS FOR AN AUTHORITY) who was holding him captive, and insulting him every chance he got.

Also the “I’ve studied every aspect of your life” thing about Mobius is so weird to me??? You did that, but do not understand Loki at all and insult him??? Asshole. I hate that guy.

The concept of the series is SO fucking stupid in the first place. Not sure if you know this, but a good chunk of the plot is a screenplay/scrapped project Michael Waldron wrote a while back. Once again, Loki was never the focus of any of this. It was not written with him in mind. He needed a strong female lead, and a “male” lead to project his own plot onto basically. They just recycled it.

“The worst guy of all time and the girl who came to kill him” [Link]

It is so fucking bad, and it makes so much sense.

Sylvie… she’s definitely a character! Like she’s played by an actress, has lines, and stuff…

There is so much to be said about her. Waldron is HORRIBLE at writing women (as you can tell by the horrendous screenplay I’ve linked) and the entire concept of her character is dumb as fuck. I believe I’ve said this before, but she’s like three pre-existing characters mashed into one to keep her unique/distinctive from Loki, YET SHE BRINGS NOTHING INTERESTING TO THE SERIES AT ALL!!! HOW ARE YOU THREE CHARACTERS, BUT SO BORING??? Can Sylvie really not shapeshift? I didn’t know that. She’s literally… a Loki. That makes no fucking sense not only because of Loki in the MCU/comics, but also because of Norse Mythology Loki. The literal origins.

About Loki’s gender/sex being fluid… they never cared about that which is why Loki (and the other variants) were so fucking baffled that Sylvie was female. Not going to lie, It kind of felt misogynistic to me. A variant of Loki being in a female form could’ve been really cool, but the MCU has to fuck up anything related to female characters.

The romance… 😃

Man, the motive behind it is so fucking stupid too. Self love, because Loki has always loved himself guys. He’s so narcissistic!!! Of course he would fall in love with a female variant of himself. Because he’s so self obsessed.

Loki, ONCE AGAIN, a character known for not trusting others, would SOOOOO fall in love with someone he just met. He’s been lied to numerous times in his life by people he loved and trusted, but it’s very logical for him to fall in love with someone who’s done nothing but belittle him for a few interactions.

He had more chemistry with that book he was reading in his cell in TDW then he did with Sylvie. (or Mobius for that matter.)

Omg yessss I ship them so hard!! That’s what they sound like. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I think that “toxic” relationships can SOMETIMES be written decently in fiction, but this… 😁

Sylvie just constantly belittles Loki, and he doesn’t even belittle or mock her back! It could’ve been playful and not one sided, but if Loki dared to belittle Sylvie the way she did to him, her entire character would make no sense and every flaw would have to be given a second thought. Something the writers would never do.

They didn’t point out each other’s flaws, it was only Sylvie pointing out Loki’s. Same thing with every other character interaction Loki had in the series. It was all about “humbling” him, and no one else. AND THE SERIES IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT HIM!

I personally do not like romance in fiction in general, but GOODNESS is the MCU exceptionally horrible at handling it.

(Changed color of the ss because it was blending in with my own text lol)

No, this… this is spot on.

I’ve always thought of this as well. It put such a bad taste in my mouth. But, at least they were honest about how the series was going to go from the beginning. The first thing they do is strip him (literally) of who he is in every way possible. His personality, his armor, and his hair isn’t even the same. No because Loki really is just a base character for their shitty story. How anyone who claims to like Loki cannot see the symbolism you mentioned, as well as him NOT BEING LIKE HIMSELF WHATSOEVER, I don’t know… it was the first thing I noticed, and when I watched the series, I had probably only watched the movies featuring him a few times. That’s how stark the difference was to me.

ALSO THIS?????

EXACTLY! IT FELT LIKE IT WAS MORE TO EXPLAIN IT TO THE VIEWERS RATHER THAN THE CHARACTERS!!!!!! That is an amazing point, and I’ve been trying to put that into words. Everything is just so fucking disconnected and unnatural feeling. The interactions are so fake. HORRENDOUS WRITING. I didn’t know it could get this bad.

Once again, so sorry for not getting to this sooner. Thank you so much for the ask, and I appreciate your thoughts! You made a lot of good points, and you don’t need to apologize for anything. Feel more than welcome to send asks any time you’d like! ❤️

[folkoreluvr]

My princely beast | chapter one

Summary: Loki and thanos have almost successfully taken over the planet and have dispensed of the earths mightiest hero’s. In the action however, Loki brings Tony’s daughter to his grand estate in the countryside, addled with guilt for his actions as he begins to break free from Thanos’ mind control.

Pairing: Loki x stark!oc

Warnings: darkish!loki, mind control, captive?, blood, violence, gore, smut

A/n: after re-reading ACOTAR and watching beauty and the beast this little scenario popped right into my head and after days of day dreaming I decided I had to write it.

I stare out of the fogged up window of my bedroom in this strange estate, I suppose I should be more relived I haven’t been thrown into some sort of dungeon or cell. Then again, my captor decided to throw my father to the cells and keep me so maybe I should be more worried. I have spent three days here and am yet to come across my captor, I’d have hope he doesn’t live here if not for the group of servants potting around the place, each with a hanging fear over their heads.

I turn around at the sound of a knocking at my door. Helga, a maid, comes in and places a plate of cookies on the desk in my new cell.

“You should eat something.” She tells me, not a suggestion but more of a command. I shake my head, pulling my soft hand away from the cool window, wiping the wet condensation on my night gown. I have been left such strange clothes, some clearly modern but most what I can only assume is Asgardian. I haven’t worn any of them, only kept onto a silk nightgown that drops to the floor in a soft pink hue and my black crew neck with the words “stark industries” printed on its front in bold white words. I see now that’s it’s probably all that’s left of my family, my legacy. The great Starks, reduced to nothing at the hands of a cruel god. “He hasn’t poisoned it.” Helga stars again with a roll of her eyes. “He’s not been here to poison it and I doubt he would bother himself with such trivial matters if you seem intent on starving yourself anyway.” I grab for the pale cream cookie with anxiousness, watching Helgas face as I eat. I try my best to keep an ounce of dignity, but I haven’t eaten in nearly three days.

“Why am I here?” I ask as I finish the cookie, desperate to grab another and scoff that one but I’ll wait until she goes. Helga surveys me as I sit on the bed, my body pulled as far into itself as possible, hands clenched into fists. Fear. Im completely petrified of why he kept me and what he plans to do to me.

“I do not know.” She tells me, a bow in her head showing her honesty. Maybe that’s worse, if his intentions aren’t clear to his servants then maybe I should try and leave, run as fast as I can and hope to find someone out here in the depths of the countryside. “You are free to leave.” Helga tells me, as if she has read to mind. “He has said that much.” I only stare at her in confusion. He must be a terrible captor if I am free to leave. Helga leaves me at that and the second the door clicks closed I grab for the plate and groan at the taste of sweet sugar.

Afterwards, I look down at myself and see the dirt clinging to my nightgown and the messy nature of my hair and decide to shower, after all it’s very unlikely anything could happen to me in there. I walk into the vast bathroom, it’s an odd mix of old time decor and the newest technology. I fiddle with the knobs until I have it running smoothly and hot and turn around to lock the door. I pull off the jumper and fold it on the shelf but the nighgown I accept is a lost cause. When the hot water begins to cascade down my throat I all but groan, savouring the feeling of warmth and comfort. The shower is fully stocked with an array of luxurious products. I grab at the soap and scrub my body red and raw, desperately trying to remove the dirt from me but it clings to me. I slide down the soaked wall of the shower and sit on the floor, bringing my knees to my chest and for the first time in three days, since I lost everything, I cry. The pattering of hard water on stone drowns out the sound of my choked out sobs, as I heave and heave, searching for breath. After a few minutes I stand back up on shaking legs and scrub at my brown locks. I pull myself away from the warmth of the water and wrap towel around myself.

I step out of the bathroom to find the sheets of my, his bed have been changed and the plate of crumbs removed. Tugging the cotton towel closer, I survey the large chest of drawers, the top is filled with underwear, a lot from my own drawers back home and some of it new. Thick cotton socks are shoved into the corner and corset like bras are lined up in a multitude of colours. I pull out one of these corsets and a pair of my own underwear and toss them on the bed. The next draw is stacked full of nightgowns - again a mix of mine and new ones. The third draw is full of soft cotton shirts and leggings, along with thick knitted jumpers. The fourth draw is the most interesting however, I pull out stacks of thick leather, noting a deep cut vest that laces at the front and black trousers, ones that would no doubt cling to me like second skin. I shove the clothes back in the drawer and wander over to the dark oak wardrobe. All the furniture looks old, worn but the appliances, such as the large tv, new. It was as if the house had been left here abandoned and my captor had claimed it, that was easily possible.

I run my hands along the soft fabrics as I chose a dress. I land on a more earthly dress in a faded green colour and toss it to the bed too. Lined up at the bottom of the wardrobe is an assortment of shoes, red bottomed stilettos, country boots, leather boots that matched the other leather apparel my captor had left for me and an array of slip on shoes. I chose black ones with a small heel and dress myself. The dress falls to my ankles, billowing lightly around me, it cuts diagonally at my shoulders, showing my collarbone. The back laces up and I wrestle with the fabric as I tug them tight, allowing the dress to cling to the curves of my body. I slip on the shoes and sneak at my door, worried I’ll find someone outside it.

I pull open the heavy wood and find an unbreathing corridor. I keep my hands clenched into fists as I walk slowly down the hallway, my head anxiously darting from left to right like the god will attack me from the shadows. I turn at the end of the hallway and find the stairs to the foyer. I scale down them anxiously, watching the door with heavy breaths. I don’t see anyone else around the house, no cooks or cleaners but the house is in perfect condition and there is no way Helga could do it all herself. Magic most likely, dark dangerous magic belonging to a darker and much more dangerous man. I reach the bottom of the stairs and contemplate going for the door and running but I have no clue where I am, no coat or food and no weapon to defend myself. That’s what I should do, find something to defend myself with. I wander the hallways in search of a kitchen, hoping to steal a cutting knife, better than nothing. I find the kitchen at last but nearly grown as I find Helga in there, preparing a large chicken with numerous spices, I see bubbling pots on the stove full of vegetables and a tray of bread rolls waiting to be cooked. It can’t all be for me. Dread settles over me as I realise he’s coming to the house, to my prison. Helga looks up at me and says nothing, going back to her cooking, the knives are on the other side of the kitchen and if she is distracted she probably won’t notice me grabbing one for the rack. Attempting to be nonchalant, I walk around the kitchen Island and towards my weapons but before I can wrap my sweating palm around a blade Helga interrupts me.

“He keeps his weapons in the armoury, it’s in the right wing, the doors down and to your right.” I don’t turn around, or move or make a noise. I can’t help but question why she would tell me such things, what motive she might have. “There’s a chest full of throwing knives and daggers, ones with sheaths.” She tells me, not looking up from the potato she is currently peeling. “You’ll cut yourself on that knife if you keep it at your chest, the smartest place to keep a knife.” Trusting Helga seems stupid but she seems to have lied about nothing else and there is nothing malicious in her tone. I retreat from the kitchen without a word and stalk down the corridors, I takes me nearly an hour to find the armoury in the maze of a house and true to her word it is full of weapons. I find a chest and prop it open, fishing out a dagger, its handle is gold and carved with runes that match the ones on the leather sheath. A large emerald stone is placed at the hilt and I turn it over in my hands, feeling the heavy weight of the metal - most likely Asgardian. I shove it down my chest and stand up. He might he furious at me for taking from him, he might even kill me but I do not care, I do not have much to live for anymore.

With the dagger safely at my chest, I retreat and head back to my room but I stop when I hear voices coming from the kitchen, I hide around the corner, recognising the quick tone of Helga and the dark growl of my captor.

“She left her room?” He asks, Helga responds in a simple yes as she chops, the sound of the knife clattering though the room. “And what did she do?” He asks her. I still, the colour draining from my face, limbs shaking.

“Came in here in search of a knife.” Helga drones, entirely uninterested. I wait in heavy silence for a negative reaction from my captor but receive none, only an interested hum. “I told her she’d have better luck in the armoury and she left, almost likely to grab a better blade.” My captor muses himself with a huff of his breath and sighs. “Interesting…” he says. “Do relay my message to her.” He asks and then he’s stalking out of the room and I press myself as far into the wall as I can go. I thank whatever good is out there and he turns and storms down the hallway, not even noticing me.

Hours later, Helga stands at my doorway again. I put down a copy of “little women” I found on one of the shelves in the room and look up at her, wondering if it has anything to do with my captor and his conversation with her.

“The prince has invited you to dine with him.” Helga tells me, no emotion in her voice. My dark eyebrows furrow in confusion at his ‘invitation’. “He wishes to disgust a deal.” She informs me, I still remain frozen upon the bed. “If I were you I’d listen to what he has to say and if things were to go awry then… run like hell.” She tells me and then she is gone, shouting down the hall to be ready for eight. I glance at the clock and see it is in an hour.

After twenty minutes of consideration, I decide I will go. I keep on the dress I’m already wearing and ignore the makeup laid out for me on the vanity unit. My hair has now dried and I decided to plait it on a wreath around my head, keeping it up and out of my face, a practical hairstyle in case things go awry.

[inkandpaperqwerty]

List: The Sequel

So, I mentioned this in my weekly post, and I actually managed to get it done this week! Below is a list of stories I haven’t posted yet but am currently working on, which is something I've done before and really enjoyed handing out to people. 

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Criminal Minds – Through the Gate – Edward has no idea what world he just woke up in, but there was a murderer, and there was blood everywhere, and he got the distinct feeling he wasn’t in Amestris anymore. Meanwhile, the BAU team is trying to figure out who this blonde boy is and how he got such advanced prosthetics. And what is this alchemy he keeps talking about? It’s like nothing they’ve ever heard before. ((This one is at 12,299 words, so it’s not that long, and I’m not entirely sure where I want to take it. Definitely going to try and get some work done on it in the coming weeks, as this is the only story from my previous list that has not been posted yet.))

Supernatural – Untitled – Xal has no idea how long he’s been enduring Heaven’s Persuasion, but it’s been a long time. He has no idea why Heaven is telling him to do what they’re telling him to do, but he knows he doesn’t trust it. He has no idea where the Winchesters are, but he knows he has to get to them. There’s a lot he doesn’t know, but at the same time, there’s a lot he does know, and maybe… if he plays his cards right… he can do a little persuading of his own. ((Part 3 of the Building Bridges series. I’ve started this one, but I haven’t gotten very far.))

Avengers – A Song by Any Other Name – Just a little oneshot set in the Restitution universe wherein Tony gives Steve, Loki, and Thor a list of songs that have some pretty nonsensical lyrics. They listen to them, and immense confusion ensues. (This one I would say is about halfway done, and it will be posted as Chapter 8 of Restitution Bonus Features.))

Supernatural & Criminal Minds – Friendship is Magic – “Now that you’re all awake, it’s time to get down to business.” The BAU team and both Winchester brothers wake up in captivity, but they don’t stay there long. Their captor releases them, gives them some resources, and reveals that the cases they’ve been working are perpetrated by both a normal human and a witch. They’ll have to work together to catch their targets, but… that’s much easier said than done. ((I don’t like this summary, but it gets the point across. I think it might be a while until you see this one because it’s turning into a very complicated, in-depth case.)) 

Supernatural – Untitled – Dean knows that hunter’s markets put monsters down. It happens all the time. He knows this. But when it’s about to happen right in front of him, it doesn’t seem to matter how unruly and violent this angel is. He has to do something to stop it. So he offers half a grand, and suddenly, he owns an angel. Only the angel isn’t grateful. Instead, it wants to kill both him and Sam—desperately—and they have to find some way to change its mind. ((I know I’ve done a lot of Slavery!Supernatural stories, but it’s a favorite of mine, and I can’t help myself. I don’t intend to make this one very long, but honestly, I have no idea where it’s going to go. We’ll have to wait and see!))

So, this is what you can expect to see in the coming days! I would love some feedback letting me know what you’re looking forward to or something you would like to see depicted in these stories I’m working on. Let me know what you think!

Also, please keep in mind that, even though I am working diligently on these stories, I am also working on getting my first book published! Cataclysm is finished and fully edited, and now we've moved on to the formatting phase. There's a lot going on, and it's bound to take away from my fanfiction exploits. Thank you so much for your patience, and thanks for reading this!

[themculibrary]

Angry Kissing Masterlist

A is for Asphyxiation (ao3) - shieldslut steve/tony E, 2k

Summary: Tony's used to messing up on missions, and he's used to an angry Captain America yelling at him for it... but this? This is new.

Angry Kiss (ao3) - thegreenwomanswalkman steve/natasha G, 794

Summary: Maybe fighting while angry isn't the best idea, but it's the best way to get over the UST between them.

Borrowed, Stolen, Sworn and Sealed (ao3) - Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1) peter/mary jane T, 4k

Summary: Every kiss Peter and MJ share is different but in the end, they all boil down in translation to the same three words.

Don't Talk Just Kiss (ao3) - Dormammu steve/tony G, 2k

Summary: Steve and Tony are at Club A, each thinking about their never realized friendship and crush on the other and that the other hates him.

Fit The Profile (ao3) - WaterHorseyBlues loki/mobius N/R, 77k

Summary: Violent attacks, attempted murder and an unclaimed inheritance. Loki's dull life is interrupted when he's unexpectedly taken as a hostage one night. Private Detective Mobius is on the case, and Loki grasps at the chance to turn his life around and hunt down the perpetrator. What at first seems like unmotivated violence caused by an untraceable ghost soon turns into something much bigger than either Loki or Mobius could have expected. Could the answer lie in Loki's past? Or is something far more sinister going on?

He Doesn't Need Me Anymore (ao3) - loricameback steve/bucky T, 690

Summary: What really happened after Steve rescued Bucky from Red Skull.

In the End in Wonderland We Both Went Mad (ao3) - snarkysweetness skye/grant M, 1k

Summary: After a mission gone awry Skye and Ward get into a very heated shouting match that has unforeseen consequences.

Let my love erase all your doubts (ao3) - Mimisempai loki/mobius M, 1k

Summary: While traveling with Loki in Asgard on a mission for the TVA, Mobius stumbles upon what appears to be a tender moment between Sif and his lover. When Loki finds him in their room, Mobius lets his jealousy take possession of him to Loki's great surprise.

Let's Hear It For Captain America! (ao3) - Magnetism_bind steve/bucky E, 5k

Summary: A missing scene from Captain America: The First Avenger

Marked For Good (ao3) - buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) steve/bucky E, 1k

Summary: Steve Rogers is noble to a fault, and that's how he manages to get himself into really dumb predicaments more often than not. Bucky Barnes is fed up. In fact, he's so fed up he decides a spanking's in order. They both end up enjoying it way more than either expect.

Nine Days Of Loki (ao3) - EarthAngelGirl30 loki/sif N/R, 74k

Summary: The Lady Sif has been given a mission. She's been sent to Midgard with orders to bring the troublesome trickster Loki, back to Asgard. He's been in hiding amongst the mortals after fleeing the realm eternal, in order to escape the wrath of Odin, as well as Thanos who still has a score to settle with him. With his magical abilities, Sif isn't able to apprehend him easily and inadvertently becomes his hostage. When their hatred of each other begins evolving into something more complicated, her integrity, loyalty and honour will be tested. Likewise, Loki even begins questioning his reasons for holding her captive in the first place. Unless she can convince him to return, Sif may end up being stranded on Midgard indefinitely, and who knows what fate may befall her captor. But with the possibility of Heimdall observing all, as she's pushed to the limit, will whatever happens on Midgard...stay on Midgard?

oh captain, my captain (ao3) - silentstreets steve/tony M, 1k

Summary: steve's angry so tony's angry and they make out wow

Staring at the Sun (ao3) - Silver17Springs yelena/kate E, 11k

Summary: After spending Christmas with the Barton family, Kate remembers the blonde assassin who left and is determined to find her and remind her that she still had people. She finds, her, but the second part doesn't go so well.

Or, the "Yelena is super fucked up and people ignore her trauma" trope where Kate Bishop gets thrown a learning curve about how to deal with a ticking bomb of a human person.

Surrounded, Surrounded (ao3) - ryry_peaches steve/bucky G, 3k

Summary: Before the battle in Wakanda, Steve and Bucky take a little time to catch up, resolve some things and remind one another what they're fighting for.

Take Me, Quake Me (ao3) - tisfan robbie/skye E, 2k

Summary: Robbie's got a demon inside him... And Daisy was never big on caution.

The Only One For Me (ao3) - scarletvisionforever wanda/vision T, 1k

Summary: PROMPT: Fighting that leads to an angry kiss~

under the neon lights (all I see is you) (ao3) - smish1 steve/bucky E, 9k

Summary: Bucky expresses some feelings with the help of karaoke, Asgardian mead and some bad decisions.

We Don't Kiss & Tell (ao3) - STARSdidathing loki/tony T, 4k

Summary: The first time it happened, they were in the middle of an argument.

[fanfic-collection]

Imagine Loki being held captive by an enemy power. After long intense negotiations he is returned him beaten, bloodied, and in chains. His captors cruelly laugh when they see your horrified response.

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Just put this together and I know I've made like 800 posts just about episode one but I've been thinking about this for the past two days and it FINALLY makes sense

I have been puzzling over the oddly intense reaction Loki had to finding the collection of Infinity Stones in the drawer. I couldn't figure out why he was so affected by it--I mean, he seems gutted. Crushed. Because of how striking it was, that response screamed "this is an important moment," and I finally have an answer as to what makes it so.

When Mobius leaves the interrogation room, Loki takes the opportunity to escape. This is after Mobius has been psychologically attacking him and both Loki's verbal and physical outbursts have done nothing. He's tried reasoning and questioning, he's tried intimidating, he's tried attacking his environment and his captor, and has even tried other methods of escape--none of these have worked. To his massive credit, Loki keeps his wits about him enough to steal the only tool he knows can get him out of there, and uses it. But though he's escaped the room, he's still in the TVA. He needs something more powerful to get him out entirely.

That's the first, and more obvious, reason that Loki responds as he does when the Tesseract is just sitting in a drawer, lumped in with a bunch of other Infinity Stones. If something that powerful is useless in the TVA, then Loki really can't get out on his own. His last method of defense--escape--is gone, and nothing else he's done has worked. He is, effectively, helpless. I understand why that would cause a pretty dramatic response.

But then he stands, shaken to his core, and says, "Is this the greatest power in the universe?" He looks almost on the verge of tears. And I just...did not get it. Why that question, and why such a strong reaction? But then I remembered: this is 2012's Loki.

Thanos brutally tortured, manipulated, and abused Loki, for who knows how long, all so that Loki could be sent to Earth to get the Tesseract. One Infinity Stone. And the TVA uses that exact stone as a paperweight. If Thanos went to such lengths, and if Loki went through so much, to try to get something that is so inconsequential to the TVA, how powerful must they be? And, the more pressing question--what must they be capable of? They have hardly been hospitable to Loki; he's been being attacked, controlled, or manipulated since the moment he arrived. And Thanos, the last person who'd controlled him, was much less powerful than they were. If Loki went through so much at his hands, what horrors would his new captors be willing to inflict?

Additionally, Loki had just been on Earth, under Thanos' influence and threat, desperately trying to get the Tesseract, that very day. This isn't something he's had time to distance himself from; this is what he's been told mere hours before that if he did not deliver it to Thanos, he would "long for something as sweet as pain". And now it's sitting in a drawer. It can't even help Loki get out of the prison he's trapped in, having gone from one form of captivity to another; it is utterly useless. It's easy to imagine what Loki must have been thinking: it wasn't worth it. How could it have been? All that suffering, all that fear, all the death and destruction and pain he had had to cause, and for this?

The moment he realized that was another huge blow to Loki's mental state. At a loss, and unable to really go anywhere else, Loki returns to the room he'd escaped from, and goes to watch the life he'd escaped from the same. In that raw state, he cries over the family he won't get to see again. Maybe that releases some of the stress he's been feeling, maybe he feels a little safer. Maybe that means something.

And then he watches himself die at Thanos' hand.

For a paperweight.

"Glorious purpose" indeed.

This is the point at which Loki recognizes that he can't go back to his original timeline (despite having said previously that he'd "like to go home"); it's the first thing he says to Mobius when he returns. It breaks him, in a way--even if he were to escape, he wouldn't have anywhere to go. Fittingly, the TVA have left him only one way forward. So, out of options, and exhausted in every way from the sheer amount he's endured over the past 24 hours, Loki presents himself as open to work with the TVA. And while I think he will still be looking for an out, he's stopped actively fighting for his freedom, because--at least for the moment--he no longer believes he could win.

[mostfacinorous]

Whumptober No. 1 A LITTLE OUT OF THE ORDINARY Loki and Steve Adverse Effects | Unconventional Restraints | "This wasn't supposed to happen"

He’d been back and forth to this realm for the last few years, but he still didn’t understand the bounds of human technology. His visit before his attempts to conquer had been so long ago, in their years, that they had gone from building with mud to living in the sky. 

Which was, he reasoned, why he had ended up in his current predicament. How was he to know they had come up with containment to hold him? How was he to suspect they had the ability to discover his weaknesses? 

Loki was sitting in the center of a round glass cage, much like the one he’d spent time in on the airship during his little invasion– only, they had modified it. It was clearly made specifically for him, now.

There was a circle on the floor that was roughly the width of a doorway across, and as long as he stayed in it, he was fine. 

Crossing it, however, caused the heat to rise, sharply and immediately, until he retreated to the circle, and it slowly cooled back down. 

And of course, due to his accursed heritage, even while in his seemingly Aesir skin, the heat would sap him of his strength, render him exhausted and weak and unable to think. 

And so now he sat, careful not to so much as nudge his foot out of the circle. He’d experimented with that– it had ended poorly. 

He had also curled up into a tiny knot of his own limbs, in an attempt to sleep. It had worked, in that he had nodded off, but at some point his body had attempted to stretch itself out, and the heat had been triggered, and he had woken, groggy and sweating and miserable. He’d stood in the circle in an attempt to dry himself, and it had taken, as near as he could tell, the better part of an hour for his cage to return to a temperature he considered comfortable. It took longer still for the sense of nausea and weakness to leave him.

He hadn’t tried sleeping again since. 

It was difficult to say how long he had been here, like this, but he knew he was exhausted. He felt his body swaying, and held himself as carefully still as he could. The last thing he needed was to pass out and end up triggering the heat while unconscious– he wasn’t entirely sure there was an upper limit on how warm it would get, and it seemed easy enough to imagine that his captors would cook him alive. 

He hadn’t seen any of them, but he assumed it was Fury, or some of his lackeys, who held him now. 

That assumption held until the door at the end of the long room opened, and lights outside of his cell turned on, allowing him to see the rest of the room for the first time. 

There were, as near as he could see, six such chambers. He was the lone occupant, though, which had been why his was the only one illuminated. 

And the people who entered were dragging along another person– a second captive to join him. The man was clearly fighting back, and took several jabs from the electrocution batons that the guards carried, for his trouble. 

He felt his stomach lurching, and stood. 

“What is it you want with me? I would bargain– for food, for rest.” 

He was soundly ignored, all of their attention on this new prisoner. Loki wondered if perhaps his cage had been sound proofed– that he was rendered mute, though he could hear them. 

They pushed the man, bound with metal bar shaped restraints on each of his limbs and a bag over his head, into the cell across from Loki’s. 

He had, in fact, a fairly clear view, which would have been of more interest if he had any reason to care. Whoever this was, whatever he had done, Loki was far more interested in their captors– and he noted, with some surprise, that they did not wear the regalia of SHIELD. They wore black plain human armor, and patches with red insignia of tentacles and skulls.

They retreated, only one of them so much as glancing in Loki’s direction before the door was closed behind them, and the greater chamber pitched back into darkness. He could see the other prisoner’s cage, though– and more importantly, could see the prisoner within. 

They had locked his limbs to the floor, spread him out as much as possible– no wonder he’d fought against it. The bag remained in place, but with the way he was thrashing back and forth, Loki doubted it would stay that way for long. 

And, of most interest to him, was the fact that Loki could hear the other prisoner. How he huffed and grunted as he strained against his bonds. 

“Can you hear me?” He asked, pitching his voice to carry as best as he could, so long deprived of water. 

The other man stropped struggling for a moment. 

“Who’s there?” He demanded, his voice rough in a way that spoke of time screaming, or strangling– fresh damage, rather than Loki’s own mere neglect.

“Another prisoner in this basement.” Loki said smoothly, unwilling to identify himself, lest he have accidentally murdered this persons family, or some such thing. He would deal with the fall out his name would cause, once they were better established as needing to aid one another. 

“Can you take this hood off of me?” The request was quieter, and Loki could hear in it the mental strain. He could sympathize; it must amplify the fear, not being able to see what was coming. 

“We are in two separate tanks. Glass. I cannot physically reach you.” 

Not a whole answer, but he had not done any overt magic yet– he’d kept his efforts to his own bodily comfort, thus far, unwilling to tempt them into cooking him again in punishment. Or worse, attempting to rob him of that power in some other way, before he could make a plan of escape. 

“And they’ve got strong magnets holding me to the floor.” The man shook his head, the bag again rustling over it. “How often do they come in?”

Loki sighed, well aware it was unwise to speak thus; they were no doubt monitoring them. 

“It has been days since I saw them. They do not bring food or drink. In fact, since I was captured, the only time they have opened that door is to bring you in.” 

He heard the shocked intake of breath, and was surprised that it was so audible. But then, the relative silence of the rest of the room had been overwhelming, before. 

“They’re starving you?” The man sounded indignant. 

“It seems likely they will be starving us, given you aren’t in a position to be able to eat.” Loki pointed out, unkindness tearing out of him in rapid response to the man’s pity. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” The man shot back, and returned to his wriggling, trying to get the hood off. It was, it seemed, wedged too far down under him, though– pinched beneath his shoulderblades, which were held flat to the floor. 

Loki sighed, regretting having snapped. He watched in silence for a while until the man gave up on his efforts and lay still.  

“I can describe to you our cells, if you like, though there is not much to describe. Both are rounded tanks, tall and glass, with lights above and tile floors below. Mine has a small circle in the middle, which I cannot leave without being punished. Yours lacks even the visual appearance of that aspect, which is lucky for you. The room beyond is dark, but there are four more cells such as ours, only unlit. There is one door. The floor outside is concrete, the floor in the hallway beyond the door is white and glossy. The men who brought you in wear black, and their identifying marks are a red skull and tentacles–”

“HYDRA.” The man answered, resignation telling Loki that he had already known as much. 

“You know them?”

“I’ve fought them before. Every time I think I’ve taken the last of them down…”

“More rise up. A hydra in practice, hence the name. Charming. And how have they captured you now?” Loki was exhausted, and it showed in his voice. How was he to fight back, to escape, against an unbeatable enemy?

“This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was trying to help a couple of kids– I’m  Captain America.” The man said next, after another long stretch, and he spoke as if embarrassed.

Understandable; he’d just admitted to being duped, bested, despite being one of Earth’s defenders. It was good after all that Loki hadn’t identified himself, then. The last thing he needed was the Captain to know that he was just one more enemy he’d failed to defeat. 

“Bad luck, Captain. It seems your SHIELD won’t be saving you this time.” 

 The Captain went quiet again, this time with a sullen, dogged sort of refusal to speak any further. 

Loki had offended him, and, at length, he realized the Captain may well have fallen asleep. 

Lucky him. 

Loki sat, and stared, and stood, and stretched, and sat again, waiting for something– anything– to change. 

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Every time I see someone say Mobius give loki a chance I want to scream. Mobius works for the Bad Guys, he takes Loki's chances away from him.

Okay let's ask this in the AU where Loki never ran away, what then? What if Loki say couldn't go through with erasing a child or what if it was a Thor variant. If he goes against the TVA then is he betraying Mobius?

Mobius manipulates and tortures and it's only because of Loki that he stops. Loki is the one who changes others for the better while everyone else just hurts Loki

Damn that last line is so true 👍 They keep hurting him but he sort of serves as a catalyst for other characters to improve themselves. It's not that he only exists to stay in the shadows as others achieve greatness, he is the one who helps them achieve it but nobody ever thanks him for it or acknowledges it.

I think Mobius was pretty clear in the series:

Loki: "Why are you in there sticking your neck out for me? "

Mobius: "I'll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want. A, because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold. And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt. Or B, I just wanna catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you."

Mobius: "This is the final step. Your last chance. [...] And don't be afraid to really lean into this work. Here's a good trick for you. Pretend your life depends on it."

What of all this screams Mobius giving him a chance? This is a captor telling his captive that unless he's useful he's going to be killed. But of course we got Loki's line of "sticking your neck out for me" which I suppose the writers included to convince the audience that Mobius is "helping" him or even siding with him when all he's doing is being a very loyal TVA agent.

Mobius doesn't give him a chance, Mobius uses him to their advantage, or do we need to remind them of this chat in the same ep...

Ravonna: "You really believe in this Variant?"

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

[trust-my-glorious-purpose]

Something about the way Brendan spoke almost lulled Loki into the thought that his Master's (captor's) ire had faded as quickly as it had come. Those honeyed words and affectionate pet name were quickly poisoned by the barely veiled threat, however. Loki's skin crawled with the way the man's lips continued to run over the sensitive and scarred expanse of his captive wrist. He willed himself to stay perfectly still, even as teeth scraped painfully against skin, the only reaction that managed to escape was a single, small twitch to signal his growing discomfort. Loki dared not meet Brendan's gaze, not wanting the eye contact to be mistaken for a challenge or defiance. He didn't even allow himself the satisfaction of taking a sigh of relief or rubbing his now stinging wrist when Brendan released him, simply settling back into his chair quietly. He had already seen the dark bruise that had blossomed on his pale skin and it made him feel sick.

"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, I'll do better." He replied, briefly raising his eyes to meet Brendan's before bowing his head. "Th-Thank you for correcting me." He was almost operating on auto-pilot at this point, simply trying to survive this conversation. He still made sure that his inflection was genuine, though, Brendan was incredibly perceptive and Loki knew that any hint of insolence or false intent would be punished accordingly. He looked at the plate of breakfast still laid out before him, the usual arrangement of foods he typically ate without issue now seeming like an insurmountable task. Despite the overwhelming thought of continuing on with breakfast, Loki managed to finish off a half-eaten sausage. Each bite, which had previously exploded with flavor, now felt devoid of any enjoyment and the very task of chewing was revolting. He swallowed down his bite, setting down his fork in favor of a sip of water. He hadn't even realized that his hand was shaking. "I think I'm still getting used to having more food. May I please take a break from eating to clean the dishes in the kitchen? I promise I'll finish my plate after I've cleaned, I don't want to make myself sick and waste what you've provided for me." While it was true that Loki was still building back his stomach's tolerance for larger meals, it was a small bid for space and an opportunity to settle his frazzled mind. He desperately hoped Brendan would allow him this small concession.

Be honest… When you had me locked in your dungeon for a year, what did you do in the time you weren’t spending with me? Did you carry on as usual or lay low? Were there times where your attention to me interfered with your life up above or vice versa?

send me “be honest…” with a question your muse has been dying to ask mine and they’ll answer truthfully.

Brendan was seated across from Loki at the kitchen table, his dark eyes fixated on the younger man. His expression was blank, unreadable, but there was a feeling in the air about him that suggested his volatile anger may have been kindled by the inquiries posed to him. "Are yeh askin' me if yeh were important enough for me tae rearrange my entire life 'round takin' care o' yeh, back when yeh were still a disobedient little pet?" he asked pointedly. There was a hint of mirth in the question, but his expression remained unchanged. His gaze suddenly moved from Loki's face then, traveling down his body to where the young man's hands were resting on the table. Without warning, he snatched one of them and brought it to his mouth, letting his lips brush against the delicate underside of Loki's wrist in a gesture that was as romantic as it was threatening. "Of course," he said at last. "I stayed as close tae my usual routines as I could, lest I rouse suspicions, but o' course adjustments had tae be made tae ensure yeh were properly looked after by me. I couldnae trust anyone else wit' your care, yeh understand. Does it please yeh tae know tha' yeh were makin' my life difficult back then, when I was still bein' sae cruel tae yeh? Surely it's the least I deserved, hmm?"

@trust-my-glorious-purpose

[gloriousburden]

I think another reason why Mobius gets so much pass and praise, and by extension the Lokius ship, is because people are projecting the real-life chemistry between Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson onto them. Remember when season one came out, and everyone was gushing ad nauseum about the chemistry between the two actors and how that translated effortlessly into the relationship between Mobius and Loki? It makes me eyeroll to this day, how everyone was just repeating things they heard the writers and directors say, and things they read from Screenrant, about the chemistry between the two, it was all about ThE ChEmIStRY. And it was like giving the shippers a green light, all systems go, that no matter what was said or done between them, it was all good because of ThE ChEMiStrY!

It's like, if enough people repeat it, and enough people believe it, it somehow becomes the truth. Now, do I believe Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson share some real-life chemistry? I guess so, from what little interaction in front of a camera I've seen, but Mobius and Loki? I don't know that I would call that chemistry....

All throughout season one, the relationship is between captor and captive. Loki is at Mobius's mercy, and Mobius constantly threatens Loki, constantly reminds Loki how easily and quickly he can be disposed of, and constantly abuses Loki, verbally and physically. Loki is in a desperate situation where he's just trying to survive, and Mobius is just getting his kicks out of it. Only after Mobius has completely torn Loki down, does he offer Loki a hand up, but it's more like a pat on the head, good worm, good cockroach, you're not completely useless. It's sickening. It's disturbing on such a deep level. It is a toxic ship if ever there was one.

So yeah, sorry for the big long rant, but I thought I'd share that with you. I agree that Mobius should get at least as much hate as Sylvie does, if not more.

NO YOU ARE SO RIGHT!! That was so one of the main reasons people began shipping them! Because even in the trailers/series content of Tom and Owen that came out before the series, everyone admired their chemistry and I remember people even cracking jokes about being so excited to ship their characters!

It doesn’t even matter if the characters themselves have good chemistry. As long as the actors do. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Honestly, as I was watching the series in 2021, I expected more people to romanticize/even sexualize the captor/captive relationship between the two. But… they didn’t at all. They put that aside and acted like they were best friends the entire time who were merely bickering, instead of one abusing the power they have over the other, and straight up abusing the other physically, emotionally, and every other possible way! That’s one of the things that freaked me out so bad. They didn’t even romanticize/sexualize their dynamic as I expected, because they instead swept it aside and acted like nothing happened! They acted like it was okay because they had moments of mere bickering and Loki “humbled” himself, so the WHOLE thing must be “playful.”

That’s how you know not even one Lokius shipper watched the series with a regard for the plot, the writing, etc…

It’s just inspiration for fanart, fanfics, etc… they’re just base characters!

“Good worm, good cockroach, you’re not completely useless.” Is so fucking spot on. God, how do they not see it?

Man, I can’t fucking stand him. Mobius really is a piece of shit and one of my main issues with that is… People act like he isn’t. If people remembered he was and consistently talked about it in the ways they acknowledge every single of of Sylvie’s flaws, well okay then. At least they understand what they’re watching and just like a character with a shitty personality. We all have.

But no. They act like he’s an angel, and has done no wrong. Like what the fuck? He’s not a good person! I don’t even act like Loki is completely a good person!

And to think that so many of these Loki series Loki “fans” thought it was funny, or even agreed with Mobius mocking the death of Frigga… I don’t know if anyone remembers this, but I remember a lot of them defending Mobius and truly thinking that Loki needed to be humbled OVER THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER. Even being grateful that Mobius did this..

Not even “Okay guys yes he should take responsibility for the events of Avengers…” (which he would’ve by serving time in the dungeons, but of course the writers had to interfere and come up with this greedy, careless bullshit 🤦🏻‍♀️) NO! But instead for the death of his mother which he had no idea of knowing would happen… They really see Loki as a punching bag to sexualize and to ship with people who hate him. If they were honest about that, I’d respect them a little more.

But they act like they want only the best for him. That they’re so happy that his character got “redeemed” and he’s no longer a “bad” person. You don’t want what’s actually best for him, you just want a quick character development so you can pretend you like a character who is morally good. It was bad when he had a mind of his own, a personality of his own, motives of his own, etc… but it’s good that he’s in a cubicle or restrained to a throne in the middle of the multiverse or whatever the fuck it is I forgot.

Loki’s character is purposefully (and sometimes not purposefully due to the ignorance/lack of care of certain writers) ambiguous/morally grey in ways, but there’s still a clear distinction…

Can’t stand that guy or his fans. At least with Sylvie, they acknowledge that she’s a piece of shit and not well written in the slightest. But Mobius can do no wrong, because he’s portrayed by Owen Wilson and because he’s a man to be shipped with Loki.

Do not apologize for the rant. I appreciate your words, and you were well spoken! I completely forgot that people shipped them when the series first came out (and even before the series came out) just based on Tom and Owen’s chemistry as actors/friends. That used to infuriate me so badly!

Actually, I wish more people would use my asks as a way to rant about the series, to gush over Loki, anything! I turned my blog into a Loki one so I could connect with others, and share my dislike of the series/my love of Loki. I’m grateful I’ve been able to connect with so many others, and I appreciate every little thing you guys have to say!! I like talking to you guys and hearing your thoughts on stuff.

[thirsty4villains]

Bound | A Loki x Reader fic

Rating: E  

Warnings: Eventual smut, human sacrifice, torture, blood and injury, violence, angst

Tags: sharing a bed, slow burn, eventual romance, fix-it, canon divergence of Avengers Infinity War/Endgame, humor, limited use of Y/N, action and adventure

Consider joining my Patreon for chapters posted before they are anywhere else and for fic requests! ヽ(•‿•)ノ

Summary:

A year has passed since the Snap. As you look to find a fresh start in life, you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. A small cult dedicated to the newly revitalized Norse religion chooses you as a sacrifice with the belief that this will give Thor and the other gods the strength to undo what Thanos has done. What you don’t know is that human sacrifices come with a powerful magic — those who are sacrificed become linked with the god they have been given to. It’s been a millennia since a human was sacrificed to one of the gods. You’ve been bound to Loki.

CHAPTER 13

The fire giants manhandled you and the rest of their captives the entire way through the ship. Your arm was sore by the way it was angled behind your back and from how tight the fire giant’s massive fist squeezed you. There was shouting, grunting, and insults bouncing off the walls from Vikings, all of whom seemed to still be ready and eager to fight. It impressed you how brave they were, considering the size and strength of your captors, and how you were on their turf now.

The ship was an incredible specimen of technology. The inside looked just as the outside did. If you didn’t know this was a ship you would have believed you were traversing a cave deep within the earth. You were surrounded by walls and a ceiling of rocks and glowing magma. However, there were key factors that indicated this was a vessel. You passed multiple consoles and other technologies that blinked or whirred.

Sweat began to bead on your forehead from the ship’s excessive heat. Excessive for a human, anyway. Breathing in the hot air was uncomfortable and made the room feel stuffy, like when you stick your head under a blanket. You hoped the fire giants possessed water, otherwise dehydration was going to come swiftly.

You and the rest of the prisoners were brought to a brig. The fire giants began shoving people behind bars; two to each cell. More Vikings yelled and swore at their captors as they were thrown inside the cells, ready to throw a punch, but the doors were closed on them before they could reach the entrance.

For some reason, you and Freya were thrown into separate cells. Solitary, unlike everyone else. Luckily, your cell was right next to hers, and though a solid wall separated you talking would not be an issue. The only problem was that noise filled the room from the commotion caused by the angry Vikings and the fire giants antagonizing them. You raised your voice so Freya could hear you through the barred front, calling the goddess’ name several times before she finally heard.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” Freya replied.

“Yes, I’m fine. My arm hurts, but I’m fine.” You paused. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“The Allfather will come for us. He will have a plan.”

As much as you wished it would, that did not ease your worries.

---

“Every moment we debate here, we lose precious time. They are leaving in under an hour!” Loki shouted at his father.

“Do you listen to any of the words that come from my mouth?!” Odin’s voice boomed. “If Freya is killed then the souls of her realm are doomed. Then they will come back here and invade again to take Valhalla’s souls. We must be cautious.”

“Caution should have never been in the cards in the first place!”

A vein in Odin’s temple looked like it was about to burst. Frigga stepped in and put a hand on the old man’s shoulder, whispering something to him. Whatever she said, Odin seemed to calm down. He looked at Loki for a moment, then turned and barked names of the most skilled warriors, who came running to their Allfather in an instant. They formed a circle and began speaking.

Frigga approached her son. “Come with me.”

The Allmother led Loki to the courtyard just outside the silver palace. They came to a building much like a gazebo that stood as the centerpiece of the area. Rose bushes and various other flora surrounded the structure. Frigga sat on the bench.

“I don’t see why we are doing this. We are losing precious time,” Loki said.

“You are too angry, my son. If you are reckless then surely they will kill Freya.”

“I don’t care about her. I don’t care about anyone in there, anyone except –”

Frigga cocked her head. In this most dire of moments there was a slight smile playing upon her lips.

“Except who?” She searched her son’s face, his worried expression, the fear and anger in his emerald eyes. “Y/N?”

Loki looked at his mother and hesitated. He let out a breath and nodded. Frigga’s eyes twinkled at his confirmation.

“Do you love her?” The Allmother asked.

“What?”

“Do you love her?”

Loki pondered her words.

“I don’t know. All I do know is that I’ve grown to care for her… as annoying as it is to admit. She helped me get here and she has believed in me even when I’m on the brink of giving up.”

Frigga rubbed her son's arm. “Then you will save her. You will find a way because you must.”

In the distance, the ship’s ignition roared. Fire blasted out the underside of the ship and singed the grass beneath it. The visitors from Muspelheim were departing. The hour had passed.

Loki’s pupils shrinked. “They’re getting away! We’ll never get her now. Valhalla doesn’t have ships…”

Frigga put her hand on Loki’s shoulder just as she did her husband and whispered in her softest voice.

“You will find a way.”

---

The ship rumbled and shook as it took to space. Some of the Vikings began to scream as everyone came to the realization of what was going on. From Freya’s cell, you heard cursing and banging against the cell doors, threatening the giants with a slow, cruel death. As for you, you held on to the bars of your cell as the g-force increased. But even as you tried to hold on and stay calm, the thrashing of the ascending ship and the increasing gravity weighing you down became too much. You felt dizzy and physically tired until eventually you could hold on no more. Your fingers slipped and your head hit the floor on the way down. Everything went black.

You awoke to a sore head and a very dry mouth. At the front of your cell sat a bowl that must have been slipped in while you were unconscious. As you peered in, the tiniest amount of water sat at the bottom. You brought the bowl to your lips and tipped upward, savoring what little it was. So, the fire giants wouldn’t let you die of thirst, not yet.

As your brain and senses creeped back online you remembered the goddess in the cell next to you.

“Freya?” You asked. Your mouth and throat were still dry, making it uncomfortable to speak but at least the brig was quiet so you didn’t have to shout. But if things were calm now, how long had the ship been in flight?

“Y/N!” The goddess shouted. “Oh, thank the Norns. I was worried the ship’s ascent made you hit your head. I wasn’t sure if you were dead. ”

The reminder made you rub the sore spot. “I did hit my head. But not fatally, thankfully. How long have we – oh....”

Suddenly you felt weak, lightheaded. The concussion must be worse than you thought. You sank to the ground to cope with the sudden discomfort. Surprisingly, the sore spot on your head didn’t throb so much as your chest did.

You felt… empty. Hollow. Like bearing the burden of a soul had been lifted. It didn’t hurt but it made you feel weak, like you might collapse if you tried to stand again. You also realized it wasn’t just your head that felt light but your whole body. It was a floating feeling, and not a pleasant one.

“Y/N?” Freya asked. You realized she had said your name six or seven times while you were dealing with this novel and uncomfortable feeling.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. Something’s wrong.” You wished Loki were here so he could use his healing magic and take away this…

Loki.

“Freya,” you spoke. “The binding magic.”

“The binding magic?” Her voice wafted from her cell. “Oh. The binding magic.”

“We’re getting further and further away from Loki. I’m too far from him.” Panic replaced your weakness. You weren’t sure if it was an improvement or not.

“This is very bad,” the goddess whispered.

“How long do I have?”

There was a pause before you heard Freya’s voice again. “I don’t know. You understand how unknowable binding magic is.”

If it was possible, you sank further into the floor, letting the reality of your circumstances sink in.

You weren’t sure if you were asking him, the universe, or something else, but with a worried voice you whispered: “Loki, where are you?”

---

You woke up the same way you had fallen asleep, curled in an upright fetal position on the hard floor. You didn’t even remember feeling sleepy. Did you nap because of your possible concussion, your weakening bond, or purely from the stress of your situation?

Although you rested, you felt physically and emotionally tired. The weak, hollow feeling wasn’t going to leave and as long as the ship trudged forward, your state was going to worsen and you didn’t know when it would become deadly.

“Freya,” you said, almost squishing your face between the bars. You noticed this was becoming a thing.

There was a cough and she answered weakly. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

Her voice was hoarse. “I think you fell unconscious again, but the fire giants came in to persuade me as they said they would.”

You felt equal parts sympathy and rage. “They hurt you?”

“Yes, but they’ll need to try harder than that. I’ll never abandon the citizens of my realm.”

“Freya, I –”

“Don’t be sorry. Sorry won’t accomplish anything.”

She was right, even though you were incredibly sorry that the fire giants had performed some kind of torture on her.

“I need to contact Loki. Is there any way you can help?”

Freya coughed a few more times before answering. Her voice sounded equal parts dry as your throat felt. She also may have been coughing from whatever they did to her.

“You could try sending a message to him. I can help you.”

Freya walked you through how to contact someone magically. It wasn’t too hard to grasp, but in the future you may lose the ability to contact Loki at all as the ship traveled further and further away. It was essentially the same as a phone call, except Loki’s words would be in your head. Long-distance telepathy.

You understood what Freya meant when you were finally able to get in contact. It was hard to hear him when you finally got through.

“Loki? Loki is that you?”

“Y/N. What’s happening, what’s going on?” His voice was spotty and muffled, like when answering a call while driving through the mountains.

“Loki. My bond is growing weaker and I can feel it. I don’t know how far away I can drift from you before…” You cleared your throat. “I’m scared.”

“I’ll find a way. I’ll get to you before ... happens.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

“I can’t conjure a portal. ... been trying. They may have some kind ... barrier, or perhaps the ship is traveling too fast.”

“The bond isn’t affecting you, is it?” you asked the god.

“No,” his voice sounded in your head. “No, we’re bonded, but you were sacrificed to me.”

He began rattling off ideas, each sounding more ludicrous and illogical than the last. Usually he was calm, cool, collected, but you could tell that Loki’s brain was stretched thin. There were no ships on Valhalla as there was no need for the warriors to travel after death, so he couldn’t try to catch up the conventional way. And since using portals failed, he was scraping the bottom of the barrel for any kind of magic that could move bodies or stop the ship.

You half-listened as he spoke and did some brainstorming of your own. Loki’s words, “we’re bonded” kept resounding in your head.

We’re bonded.

“We’re bonded.”

Loki stopped mid-sentence. “What was that?”

“We’re bonded, Loki. Do you think –” The idea seemed too good to be true, but… “Loki, do you think you can use our bond as a teleportation link?”

Loki was silent, but it was the kind of silence that said I’m listening.

“When I was sacrificed to you, the binding magic linked us and I was transported to your location. Is there any possibility we can still use it like that?”

“You are onto something.” His voice sounded distant and much more crackly. If the magic disconnected now, at least Loki had the information he needed.

“Could it work?” you asked, hopeful.

“It’s ... best bet. ... just need you ... hang on, dove.”

“I can do that.”

“... soon.”

“See you soon.”

You severed the connection, even though it was the last thing you wanted to do. It was almost painful because you didn’t know if he would succeed, if you would see him again. Your heart sank.

Were you going to see him again?

Was “see you soon” your last words to him? Tears welled in your eyes as you fixated on the thought. I should have said something more profound, you thought. I should have told him how I really feel. I should have...

Freya interrupted your train of thought, to your benefit.

“I think that could work,” she said.

“It has to,” you replied.

There was a silence before Freya spoke again. “I don’t know what changed after I left Folkvangr, but he must really love you.”

The goddess’ words stunned you into silence. You retreated back into your thoughts, replaying your conversation with Loki and thinking on Freya’s words.

---

Night had fully settled on Valhalla and Loki was working tirelessly to tap into the bond. He was tired and frustrated but motivated enough to keep going even though everything in his body told him he needed a break.

He focused on you, similarly to the focus one needs to open a portal. It couldn’t be too different, he was just tapping into a person rather than a location. It made sense; if a sacrifice is teleported to a god, surely the reverse could work. As with any door, it works both ways. The door was still open so he should be able to step through. Although, as the distance grew, the way was less akin to crossing a door and more like crawling through a mouse hole.

If only there was more information on this wretched magic, Loki thought. Ironic that this magic old as the gods themselves is still not understood.

Frigga approached her son. “Any luck?”

Loki deflated, dropping his concentration. He had the inclination to snap at Frigga for ruining his focus but waved it away. He couldn’t lose it, not now.

“No, but I’ll take any advice you can give me.”

“Y/N’s logic is sound.” She placed her hand under her chin, in thought. “But are you feeling her presence entirely?”

“Entirely?”

“That tug in your chest – the one you both feel, the one you shove down. Not just that but the emotions you shove down. You need to embrace all of it.”

“The bond is distracting… uncomfortable.”

“Is it?” Frigga inquired. “It’s uncomfortable when you get close, or touch, or kiss?”

“Perhaps distracting is the better word.”

“Then perhaps you should let it distract you.” The Allmother smiled and took her leave.

Loki watched his mother’s figure grow smaller as she retreated back to Valhalla.

“Let it distract me…” he muttered.

As much as Loki disliked the idea, his mother was a master witch. All that he learned, he learned from her. Her advice was almost never wrong.

Feel her presence entirely…

Loki closed his eyes. He focused on you as he had before. But for the first time since the bond’s creation he allowed the effect of its magic to envelope him.

The god recalled the very first time he met you, when you were in one of Sessrúmnir’s many rooms, laying in bed, and how Loki was confused as to why he was experiencing a kind of magic he hadn’t felt in millennia. Then he recalled the first time he touched you, when you couldn’t figure out how to open a portal to the dining hall so he grabbed you by your waist and did it himself. He thought about when he let go, how the feeling of your hip against his fingers lingered even after the fact. Loki also remembered cradling you above a mud puddle, tenderly moving your arm during magic lessons, holding your hand as you crossed the border from Folkvangr to Valhalla, and when you slept in the same sleeping bag. Most importantly, Loki accepted the urging and warm feelings the bond spurred on during the many times the two of you got lost in each other’s eyes and when you kissed. The god also focused on the irritation he felt when the kissing stopped.

After accepting the full force of the bond’s power, Loki thought about the feelings he knew were true about you, the genuine care he held for you. The magical bond was nice, pleasant, but its purpose is to persuade the bonded souls to couple as quickly as possible. This is why Loki rejected it. It created a sense of want, of lust, that was potent but unnatural, although he would not have turned his nose up had you given in. Sincerely, after all this time, Loki was impressed by your strength to not let the bond control you. There was no harm in indulging in it, and had you done it, all of this could have ended ages ago. But Loki respected your decision and respected your dedication to finding how to break the sacrificial magic by other means.

In fact, your obstinate devotion to learning magic was one of the first things that caught Loki’s attention. Then came your refusal to let him bulldoze you with his sarcasm and brash nature, your inquisitiveness, your humor, and the most alluring: your kind soul.

Loki concentrated on all these intense, overwhelming physical and emotional sensations. He tried lining all of it up and directing it to his goal: you.

After being separated, Loki’s bond to you felt faint; an odd feeling to adapt to considering it was always present in some capacity. However, it would not affect him. Loki would not grow weak, it was not equal in that sense. The bond would simply vanish and he could carry on as if nothing ever happened.

The bond was weakening, but Loki’s resolve wasn’t. He focused, focused, focused… And as he did so magic swelled and flowed through him.

The universe became silent and black. Then, it returned to him. Loki opened his eyes.

He was no longer on Valhalla.

[iamnmbr3]

from an in-universe perspective Mobius certainly has a strong motivation to play upon Loki’s self hatred and suicidal tendencies given that his goal is to shape Loki into a tool to help the TVA hunt down and kill another version of himself. watching a captor berate his self-hating and recently suicidal captive by telling him he is exactly as inherently monstrous as he always feared until he breaks down is probably the darkest and most horrifying scene we’ve ever had in the MCU 

[imagine-that]

Rescue me

Pairing: Loki Friggason x reader

Warnings: mentions of kidnapping, kinda angsty, a lil fluffy. (We love fluffy Loki around here lmao)

AN: this is not a request but I got this idea and it wouldn’t stop nagging at me so I took it and I RAN with it, requests coming VERY soon though

Yanking on the binds around your wrists, you wince slightly as they dig into the skin once again.

“That won’t free you. They’ve held much stronger.” The man in front of you informs you, a sly smirk playing on his lips and sending shivers down your spine.

“I’m not of any use to you, I hope you’ve realized that by now.” You growl, glaring up at him with a piercing gaze.

He chuckles, the sound one of nightmares bellowing from his throat.

“On the contrary, you are the key to getting to the god of mischief.” He says, his malicious grin growing wider as you flinch at the sound of his title. “Who knew his only weakness would be so... pathetically mortal.” He says, grabbing your roughly by the chin to make you meet his eyes.

Had your legs not been tied down, you would have kicked him, whether it be in the legs or in a much more intimate place, anywhere that would have gotten the vile creature away from you.

“He won’t do it. He won’t come for me. He’d never be that stupid.” You spat, leaning towards his face to make your message clear.

He opts to ignore your comment, leaving the room without another word.

You spend what feels like ions fighting the ropes with as much force as you can muster, still feeling the toll of the drugs they’d used to take you here (wherever here was), even with a day or two having already passed since they used it. You suspected they were sending the same kind through the vents to disorient you and to keep you weak.

You knew they more than likely wouldn’t feed you or give you water but your stomach still didn’t realize this. It continued to rumble, reminding you of your need for nutrients.

Truthfully, you’d been in worse situations. Being friends with the avengers tended to do that to a person. No, it wasn’t being starved or locked up and tied to a cold metal chair that scared you. It was the fact that you now truly knew what your boyfriend Loki felt for you and that was nothing.

There hadn’t been one sign of him coming to your rescue, nor had there been any of him sending help for you.

You wanted to plead, beg even for him to come to your aid but you refused to give them the satisfaction of hearing so through whatever mics and cameras they may have planted.

Your body ached from being in this same position for so long and you tried to prepare yourself for spending the rest of your life like this but try as you might, you couldn’t. You couldn’t will yourself to drop all hopes of Loki becoming your knight.

You licked your lips, trying to refresh them from their cracking and dried state but it was not much use.

Hours later, your captor reenters the room, two of his cronies following behind on either side. You use a minimal amount of strength to look up at him, knowing he would once again force you to if you didn’t do it yourself.

“I don’t understand! We’ve had her/him/them here for days and he hasn’t so much as threatened our lives! It doesn’t make any sense.” He cries out in frustration, gesturing angrily in your direction as he speaks.

You let out a bitter guffaw, rolling your eyes slightly. “It’s obvious you’re dimwitted but I had no idea it was to this extent.” You mutter. He glares at you furiously, outraged by your sudden show of disrespect. “Loki views me as nothing more than a plaything. He sees me as a toy and clearly, he’s grown bored with me anyway. He won’t come. The sooner you realize that the sooner we can get my murder over with.” You explain coldly.

“No. No! There’s more to it than that! We wouldn’t have just taken you on the off chance he cared for you! He does! I’ve seen it!” He insists, burying himself in denial. Any person would’ve said you should be reacting the same way, perhaps even more dramatically. You disagreed.

“He sees me as a possession. He doesn’t need me, he never has. He simply wanted to have me as a trophy for the mantle.” You reword your initial statement, the sharp words slipping through your lips slicing your heart more everytime as realization hits.

You feel the lone tear falling down your face just as he looks back to meet your eyes again. His face lights up with a monstrous grin and you immediately want to move away or at least wipe the salty tear away.

The man gently caresses your face, the rough pad of his thumb wiping the tear off your cheek. Your breath hitches in fear, terrified into not moving even an inch.

“I can see why the trickster would take an interest in you. For a mortal, you are quite attractive.” He comments, his breath hot on your face. You lean as far back as the chair allows without falling, using every bit of your strength to get away.

Just before he can do anything else to frighten you, an alarm starts blaring, high pitched and loud, causing him and his guards to stand immediately at high alert.

“Take the captive someplace safe. She/he/they needs to be intact for our deal to work.” He orders, running over to the door to investigate.

Instead of leaving you to walk on your own, the two remove you from the chair, grabbing you by an arm each and dragging you to the parcade but not before they hastily jab another dose of whatever drug it was they used on you into your exposed arm. You bite back a wince, the needle stinging as they recklessly inject it.

As they shove you into the backseat and start to drive, another car collides violently with the drivers side, sending the vehicle you’re in to a sudden halt. You release the sob of fear you’d been holding since being brought there, scared for your life.

As you begin to fade in and out of consciousness from the impact of your head hitting the front seat, the world keeps spinning, making you dizzy. The door is yanked open and what you see makes you immediately think it’s nothing more than a cruel form of torture.

“Oh my love, thank norns you are alright.” The voice murmurs, cutting your seatbelt with minimal difficulty and dragging your tired body out of the car like a rag doll.

Your first thought after the torture theory is that the drugs were causing you to hallucinate. Your next was that they somehow had the powers that the god of mischief himself did.

All these theories are tossed out the window as he lifts you into his arms and you feel the familiar mix of warmth and coolness against your skin.

“You came for me. You didn’t leave me for dead.” You murmur sleepily, trying to fight the effects of the injection.

“Of course I did my darling. I could never allow harm to come to you. I will always come for you.” He promises softly, placing a kiss on your forehead as he slips the both of you through every doorway. Suddenly he comes to a halt, making your drooping eyelids burst open and brings you back to some form of alertness.

“I see you found your mortal.” A voice says. To your dismay, it’s again a voice you recognize. This one though, is the same taunting voice you’d heard for the past two days.

You feel Loki’s muscles tense against you, holding you tighter in a protective manner. You nuzzle up to him in a mix of fear and exhaustion.

“Y/n is not a part of this war between you and me. Leave her/him/them out of this.” He orders, gently placing you on the ground to lean on the wall. You whine in protest, wanting nothing more than to be protected within his grasp.

“If only I could. She/he/they is the only thing you value worth bargaining. Without that, no one has anything of interest to you.” The man says with a grin, glancing over at your weakened figure in an almost longing manner.

Loki’s jaw tenses as he steps closer to the man, clearly ready to rip him apart in one move. If there was one thing he would never bargain with, it was your life and safety.

As you fell into a drug induced sleep on the floor, your limbs relaxing around you, Loki takes another glance in your direction, alarmed as he notices one of the mans guards grab hold of you and hold a blade to your throat.

“What is it you seek, you parasite?” Loki growls as he meets the eyes of your captor.

He grins like a madman. “The tesseract for y/n’s life.” He orders. Loki’s jaw locks in anger, unsure what he could do.

“I truly didn’t believe you’d fallen in love with a mere mortal your highness. I thought those who did were insane but seeing you actually have to think about it... well that just proves them right.” He mocks, making Loki want nothing more than to kill him.

He regains his control, his whitened knuckles relaxing as he lets out a sigh of defeat. Reaching into the pocket of his armour, he hands the glowing blue cube out of his hand and into his enemies hesitantly.

The man inspects it quickly before signalling for the minion to release you. He moves his blade and lets you go, dropping your limp body down to the floor with a harsh thud.

Loki practically seethes with anger, glaring daggers at the man as he retreats.

“You truly have become weak for this one being. How sad.” The man says, tutting his tongue as Loki reaches back over to you, his face one of worry.

“I like to believe you and your men are the weak ones for believing it is love that renders you so. You are true fools for believing I, Loki of Asgard, could ever be rendered so.” He retorts in an almost bored tone as he picks you up bridal style, cradling you in his arms as he masks his rage.

The man guffaws. “I got what I needed, you may take her/him/them and leave.” He says dismissively as he walks off into the hallways of his lair, leaving Loki alone with you.

He gently pushes strands of hair away from your face and quickly walks off to his hovercraft ship, laying you gently onto the ground, draping his emerald cloak over you. As the wind blows around you, the air helps with the effects of the drugs, making you wake up groggily.

“Loki?” You murmur, repeating yourself a moment later to overpower the wind.

“Good morning darling.” He hums, setting it to drive itself for a moment as he turns to face you. He crouches down to your level, gently but possessively kissing you on the cheek.

“How did you get us out of there?” You ask in confusion.

“With my wit and charm?” He offers jokingly. You meet his eyes, looking unimpressed. “If you must know, I had to give him the tesseract.” He admits with a huff of annoyance.

“What?! Loki, that thing is so important to you... and to the rest of the universe! Why would you do that?” You shout, your face one of concern.

“Y/n, I would have done whatever necessary to get you back. I care more for you than for anyone else in my life, except perhaps my dear mother.” He explains softly, holding your hand in his. In the palm of his godly hand, yours felt tiny.

“I’m not worth trading your most prized possession Loki. I love you for what you did but-.” You start but he places his lips against yours before you can finish.

“I thought that might be the best way to get you to stop chattering.” He says with a mischievous yet warm grin. You’d missed that more than you’d realized over the past few days.

“Anyway, you are worth all the tesseracts or magical artifacts or crowns in the world. I’d trade all of them just to keep you by my side forever my love.” He promises, kissing your knuckle as your face heats up.

“Well when you put it that way...” you say with a smile, planting your lips against his yourself.

“It also helps when you give them a fake of course.” He shrugs nonchalantly as though he hadn’t just dropped a key piece of information on you.

“You- you really deserve the title of god of mischief, you know that?” You ask in slight awe of his quick thinking.

“Of course I do but it’s nice to hear from such a lovely pair of lips.” He teases, smiling at you.

“I love you you mischievous idiot.” You giggle, grinning and squeezing his hand, still feeling groggy but a bit better being with him.

“And I love you with all my heart my darling. Always have, always will.” He whispers, holding you tight in his embrace.

He helps you to your feet, letting you regain your sense of balance as he pulls you in front of him, rested against his chest as he steers the small ship to the avengers tower, landing it gracefully.

“A bit of a show off are we?” You tease.

“My dear, it would never truly be me if I weren’t.” He teases right back, carrying you into his room.

You spend the night there, sleeping with his arms around your body.

He whispers sweet promises to protect you and guard you with his life and you take comfort in knowing that they’re all true, that you should never doubt his love and willingness to protect you at all costs. He was never going to leave you, he was your protector and rescuer, along with the love of your life, just as you were his.