#maybe the pride ring has the ability to slowly expand or something

[redladydeath]

I’m curious about how big Pentagram City/the Pride Ring is exactly.

The most populous city in the world right now is Tokyo with 37.5M people, while the largest city is Chongqing, which is about the size of Austria.

150k people die a day worldwide with 61M dying per year. We don’t currently know the ratio of how many people get into heaven vs hell, but we can assume it’s probably about 25-75 based on context clues. So that means 45.7M people are arriving in hell per year and 112K per day.

We also don’t know how many people die in the extermination every year or how large the exorcist army is. Lute says she killed 275 during the most recent one, which is surprisingly low given that she’s Adam’s top exorcist. However, if we assume they kill about half of the 45.7M that arrive each year, that would mean the army would have to be about 80K strong. Then we have to account for the surviving population continuing to exponentially expand and… yeah, I can see why Hell has a overpopulation problem. There’s also the issue of 100 billion humans having existed over the past 10K years, but… yeah, okay, no more math for tonight.

[fanfictrashdump]

Queening a Pawn, 20

If you’re new: this is my procrastination fic. It is what I drabble around with when I’m being my worst self, and ignoring all my other WIPs and responsibilities! Enjoy!

X

Summary: During the Time Heist, Loki stole the Tesseract and escaped. He did not expect, however, to be pulled through a Time Loop that delivered him to a Midgard more than a decade older, wiser, and bitterer. Having just lived through his unsuccessful attack in New York, Loki must learn to live in Midgard after the defeat of Thanos (post-Endgame). The question is, who is Loki without a quest for a throne or total domination?

Pairings: Loki x OC

Warnings: language, suggestive content (I think nothing terrible), soft fluffiness, two idiots in love.

=

Loki awoke with a sharp inhale. Wild eyes hopped form place to place, taking in the moody lighting and dark woods of his own living quarters. He did not remember getting here. He certainly didn't walk, which meant that, more than likely, Banner had carried him to his room while he was unconscious. He didn't know whether or not he was OK with the idea, but the pounding in his head did not allow him to focus on the quandary. Atop the sheets, Delilah was kneeling beside him, her fingers gliding gently over the collection of scars marring his pale skin.

Despite the fact that he had awoke quite violently, she did not seem to have noticed him. Instead, she was intensely focused on prodding at the circular areas of shiny flesh. His chest felt heavy with sorrow that was not his own and a fear of the unknown prickling at his skull.

His long fingers closing around her own made her start, and she glanced up, cutting her eyes at him, instantly. A lazy smile tilted his mouth at the wide-eyed gaze. "Counting scars to see how many are new will not make you feel better, dove."

"You don't know. Maybe I'm a secret sadist."

"Oh, there is no secret about that, but I rather believe that you enjoy my pain more when it brings pleasure," he riposted without missing a beat. "I have the bite marks to prove it." Delilah did not respond. Instead, she stretched out alongside him and buried her face into the crook of his shoulder. Loki chuckled, turning his head just enough to press a kiss to her crown. "I do not die so easily, darling. Many have tried, none have succeeded."

"That's not true."

"The Titan did not kill me." He drew a finger beneath her chin to cast her eyes up to meet his. "I will always make it back to you, I swear. Even if just to die at your feet."

"Don't… don't say things like that," she mumbled, trying to blink away tears.

"Darling," he whispered, brushing her hair back away from her eyes. They were so terribly vulnerable and open and their emerald hue glinted with her tears. His heart, a part he had foolish thought dead for hundreds of years, twisted painfully. How could he keep her from feeling this way? "My purpose has never been to be safe. Even on Asgard, my well-being was unimportant in relation to the good of the realm. In some cases–"

"No."

When Loki glanced down, Delilah looked like she was livid and his eyebrows slowly rose in a surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Stop… stop talking like you don't matter."

"Love–"

Tears were streaming down her face at this point. "You fucking matter to me. If you died because you decided the greater good was more important than you I would raze the Earth in vengeance. Do you understand?"

Swallowing at the lump in his throat, he nodded.

"Say it."

"Say what, my Queen?"

"Say you're important," she demanded, heatedly. "I need to hear you say it. I know how easy it is for you to ignore what you don't acknowledge. So, say it."

"You know me far too well, I must say." Taking Delilah's hand in his, he raised it to his lips. He kissed her palm and sighed wearily, like a heavy load was set on his shoulders. "I am important, if to no one but you."

"Is that not enough?"

"On the contrary. I'll have to start taking care not to accidentally die. I'd never want you to be upset… or to raze the Earth for my sake." He continued pressing kisses to her palm, seeping in the warmth of her hand and taking solace in it. She was fiery, electric and obstinate. He adored it more than life itself. He coveted her protective nature more than he ever did a throne.

"Hey," she whispered, pulling away from the dungeon he built in his mind. "Where did you go just then? I'm sorry if I upset you."

He smiled "You could never. I just… find it hard to believe I've earned your protection and it throws me for a loop, as it were." With a groan, he sat up against the headboard, pulling her along with him. "I'll make you a promise. For as long as you wear that ring, I'll do everything in my power to come back to you. I can't guarantee I won't take stupid risks for the sake of what is right, but–"

"I'll take it." Delilah brushed his shaggy hair back, undoing knots with her fingers before grasping the dark tresses to pull him towards her. "I don't want to keep you from doing whatever it is you want. I just want you to make sure you spare a thought about whether or not you'd survive afterwards." As if remembering herself, she started. "Oh, one moment."

With another kiss, she hopped off the bed and out the door before he even had the sense to question her. The sound of the front door closing irked him enough to debate whether or not he could physically chase after her. He was Aesir and had improved healing over Midgardians, but that building had done a number on his form and every bone in his corporation ached. The door opened and closed once more before Delilah scurried into the bedroom.

She hopped back onto the bed with a giddy leap, crawling up to the head and sitting back on her heels. "So, between days six and eight of you being entirely MIA, I got antsy and sat down with Tony in his lab. I was going through some of your old files and noticed that we had data about the specific signature your magic leaves behind."

"That is interesting." It sounded like a question rather than a remark.

"That's not the point, Lo. The point is that since we could tell the specific signatures it left behind, maybe we could predict what the magic looks like. Then, if we could do that, the next logical step would be find a way to amplify it."

Loki bobbed his head side to side, weighing out the probabilities with a serious frown. "I suppose it's possible. How would you validate it?"

"Oh, we used Strange's signature as a base model. It worked well to predict his energy." Her expression brightened with the small smirk of pride blossoming at the left corner of his mouth.

"Very clever, indeed, but I am still unsure as to what it all means." For a moment, she fidgeted and the excitement that had been brimming within her a second ago is dimmed with nervousness. "Delilah?" He rarely uses her full name, so it has the desired effect of forcing her to look up, instead of her knotted hands.

"It's stupid…," she trailed off.

"That is invariably untrue. You were excited. Tell me… or perhaps show me is the appropriate request," he amended, seeing her hands twitch tighter around something.

Her fingers loosened fractionally, a golden chain tinkling through her fingers for him to see. He waited patiently for her to reveal her secrets.

"You don't really wear anything, so I didn't… I put it on a chain, but it can also clip onto your lapel or go around your wrist. It just needs to be on you somewhere."

Loki grinned excitedly, leaning forward. "Go on, show me."

With a reluctant groan, she gripped his wrist and deposited the object in his palm, immediately looking elsewhere as she burned red. Along the gold chain rested a golden ring, etched in simple geometric designs like a circuit board. It consisted of a longer circle, twisted and doubled upon itself. He could slip the two bands apart just the slightest bit to slide it onto a lapel or the chest plate of his armor. Small pin mechanisms belied the ability of pulling it apart and expanding what he now noticed were two twin snakes.

"I'm gonna go," Delilah irrupted, suddenly, flushed from head to toe and feeling awkward at his quiet contemplation. Loki pounced from bed, tackling her onto the floor before she had even made it to the bedroom threshold. Caged between his arms, he trailed kisses from her neck to her jaw until ending on her lips, giving a contented sigh when she responded in kind.

"How would you prefer me to wear it?" She shrugged, looking awkward again. He nipped at her pulse point in protest for the shift. "Certainly you had an initial design in mind." He hummed against her throat in thought. "You're practical, which is why you've added the chain. Easy to keep around, minimal effort in minding it. While on the lapel offers visual advantages, it would look out of place with the clothes I've been wearing as of late." An open-mouthed kissed burned the hollow of her throat. "And while you are all for practicality, you are also fiercely possessive. Don't bother, you know you are," he added in a haughty tone when she went to protest. "So, your initial design was for my hands–visible and apparent. The others were an afterthought."

Another nip, much more forceful landed on her collarbone and she bucked into him in surprise. He repeated the action with a growl, pressing into her. "A ring. It was a ring. I didn't want your wrist to get caught on anything, Jesus!" A moan cut through her defense. "You don't wear jewelry and I didn't want you to think I was being stupid and sentimental with a ring, so– oh god." Delilah shuddered against him as Loki hitched one of her legs over his hip.

"I love stupid and sentimental," he husked. "Our whole relationship can be described as stupid and sentimental." He pressed a kiss behind her ear. "You're going to put that ring on me and then I'm going to take you like I almost died on what should have been an easy mission. Yes?" Delilah barely nodded before Loki eased off, pulling them up to sit beside each other. With shaking hands, she freed ring from chain and slipped it over his finger. With a wicked grin, he swooped down and threw her over his shoulder, gracefully slipping onto his feet and towards the bathroom. There was a warm bath with both their names on it.

[spitefulpumpkin]

Moonshine Lake; Ch.5: Love

Mirror on AO3

Self-indulgent as hell AU fic about a boy meeting a fish creature and their unusual love story. Co-plotted with @jyagantz

Trigger Warnings: Homophobia, Bullying, Animal Cruelty, Drug Abuse, non-explicit Interspecies Sex Unbeta’d, mostly written on mobile!

They were blissfully unaware of it, but Akande and Jamison had been a couple long before they shared their first kiss. The flock at least saw it that way. Even Camilla, even though she didn't know who was her son's crush, knew Jamie was head over heels for someone. If her attitude would change, would she know that the love of her child was not human? Was her motherly strong enough for that. "I can't tell her." Jamison mused one night, Akande by his side, fixing a net with a dozen of knots.

"She will find out sooner or later. Your mother is a smart woman." "My father didn't want a queer in his family and I'm sure she would want one either." "Whatever that is. I'm sure she would not dare to push you away. She loves you." "I'm not sure if her love for me is bigger than her wish for grandchildren. Can't exactly give her that when I'm with a man, like some sissy." Akande scoffed. "You keep insisting I'm a man." "Because you are! Or you look like one..." Only now did Jamison notice the mer's hurt expression. "I'm...sorry. I forgot." "I'm well aware what I look like in the eyes of a human. You don't need to remind me." "Akande. I didn't mean to be rude." "I know. You never do." He placed his corner of the net down. "Who we are will always be a thorn in someone's eye. Best we can do is hope that the people who matter are not like that." Jamison groaned before tugging at his hair. "I'm just...scared, you know? I will go to university soon and...and what happens after that?" "We will find out, once the time comes."

Jamison opened his mouth, but closed it again when he felt a weight on his head. A group of children from the flock had snuck up on the two from behind, two carrying one who placed something akin to a crown on Jamison's head. It was like the flower crowns they had made once or twice, but this time decorated with sea shells and a redish, spiky material Jamison has never seen before. Just when he had slipped his crown off to investigate it, he saw the kids place a second one on his head as well. The mer reacted flustered, waving his arm. "Will you stop that already!" The children ran and jumped into the water of the lake to join the others. Jamison hummed quietly and smiled as he put the crown back on. "The sardines got a lot of time on their hands, hm?" Akande nodded, his face darken from being flustered. Curiously Jamison leaned over and eyed Akande's crown. "The red bits..." "Coral." Akande muttered and took the ring of plants and minerals off. "We...we put those onto bonding crowns." "Oh?" Snickering came from the lakeside and Akande tossed glares at the children like daggers. "What is a bonding?" Jamison asked. And added in his head why you would be throwing mean looks at the sardines for giving them gifts. Akande scratched a spot on his shoulder. "It's...basically it's a ritual. Some perform it when they found a new flock. Or when they want to become permanent mating partners. It's a promise, basically." Jamison felt the heat crawl up his face. "Oh. It's...so it's like, a wedding?" "It, uh. It's mostly performed in water, so yes, you might get very wet, but - " "Nooo! We humans, we got something similar! A wedding. Couples do that to get tax benefits and stuff. But originally it's a love thing, you know? To show that you want to be with your loved one until the day you die..." The mer hummed and looked quietly at the crown in his lap. "I...yeah, I guess it's kind of like that. Yes." Awkwardness fell over the scene again, the tall mer slowly shaking his head. "Have you ever thought about it?" "What do you mean?" He turned and saw Jamison had put the crown back on. Akande understood the question now. He let go a chuckle. "Have you?" "I gotta, one day. Continuing the Junkenstein legacy. Whatever that is." "A legacy or a name is not what makes a family important." Jamison nodded, going back to tying knots. Slowly Akande's large figure slipped closer to his side and as if it was second nature, Jamison leaned his head against his shoulder, seeking comfort. "Maybe I will bond you to me, one day." "No empty promises." "Have I ever broken a promise?" "Well, that one time when you promised to not laugh at me when you tried to teach me to swim, and you laughed anyway because I got scared by a fish stroking past my leg." "Hahaha, you have to admit, it was very funny though." "For you." There was a smile on Jamison's face as he nuzzled against Akande's neck, his breath tickling his gils and drawing giggling out of the big mer. The children watched them in pride.

The summer seemed to pass by too quickly. The last summer they would have together for a long time. Jamison and Akande had grown up with the knowledge they could only see each other during these precious four to five months. The rest of the year the flock, even as small as it was nowadays, would move to the oceans for the colder months. This summer was Jamison's last one before he would move away, three towns over, for his studies. He convinced his mother to send him to this school early on. His dream of becoming an engineer had only grown since then. "I will be home from July to September. It falls right into mating time." He declared one night, moving up and down in front of the old fountain, excitement filling his voice. "I will finally be able to show the world my abilities. I will finally show everyone the stuff I'm made of." Akande, too big to fit into the fountain by now, sat with crossed arms at its edge, head tilted. "You want to expand your abilities and test your knowledge with others. Admirable It always fascinated me how wound up you would get over gears and screws. I'm sure you will make a fine craftsman." Jamison stopped in his tracks, eying Akande. He has never heard that tune of voice on him. "You sound...upset." The mer glanced up, sighing quietly. "I'm just...The flock elected me as the new elder." "And?" "The others want to stay away from Adlersbrunn for a while." "...I can't blame them." Jamison had seen enough violence happening to the flock to understand. "But...you will come back, right?" "I hope so. The flock will always be the highest priority. I hope you can..." "I understand it." Jamison came up to Akande, his hands cupping the mer's cheeks, thumb stroking his scales.

"I love you." "Hmm?" Jamison's cheeks flushed. "I said, I love you, James." It was at this point that Jamison began to fight with tears, a flood of emotions suddenly hitting him. His embrace around the mer's shoulders was strong. "I love you, too, you warrior, you." And for the first time in ages, Akande had to hold back sobs.

Time apart always hurts. Now more than ever, with the boy's heart so tight in Akande's grip. The journey to the university was an oddly silent trip in the carriage, Jamison's mother being openly close to tears, while her son tried to at least keep up a facade. The university was a small building of stone, a former fortress was now a house of knowledge. Jamison liked that irony. Unlike school he had to organize himself, find himself at lectures and work day and night through books. He found interest in chemistry, especially the one the Slavic wikings practiced. This technology could be devastating in the wrong hands. When he wasn't learning in the library or listening to lectures, he was in his dorm, isolated. Fellow students tried to make him join their brotherhood, but Jamison learned early that those were often just a thinly veiled excuses to meet a bunch of knuckleheads in the night time for rants about philosophy and politics while drinking oneself in a comatose state. Of course rumors of his apparent queerness spread like wildfire. But as long as these rumors did not result in violence against him again, the student couldn't care less. No, Jamison preferred to be for himself, his dorm having turned to a mess workshop within the first two weeks. Chemicals would bubble over the low flames of burned-down candles, bits and pieces of mechanical toys lay spread around, the stench of oil and ink ever so present. The low, orange light of his room gave him comfort in the lonely hours. Often he would write his thoughts down and toss them away in a bottle, down the river, in hopes it would float down the stream to the Moonshine Lake. He would know it was from him, Jamison reasoned. Whatever soothed his soul.

Sometimes he would dream of him. Of his dark green eyes, almost black, like the lowest spot of the ocean. Of his arms, strong and covered in blue scales, ending in sharp claw that would never dare to scratch him. Of his deep voice, a soothing bass that spoke in the same rhythm as his heart beat. He'd see him in his dreams, standing knee-deep in the water by the river, walking up to beach, Jamison running towards him, catching him in his arms as if they haven't seen each other for years. He would cling onto him, feeling his wet skin against his shirt, the tender claws holding him like a precious thing. He would caress his neckline, leave kisses all over it. Feel how his claw would wander over his side, grab bits of fabric to remove it and expose pale skin to cold night air. He dreamt of how they would embrace, lying in the sand, hidden by darkness and the dunes. He wondered if he could even do that with him. Of Akande would feel comfortable to be this rough with him, pin him to the ground to stroke over his lap and thighs and draw sharp groans from the blond. Jamison would always wake up with red cheeks and scold himself. How low has he sunken to objectify Akande like this? How was he supposed to ever explain this to him?

Unknown to the student, Adlersbrunn was in tumult. A blond woman in a brown coat had spread rumors. The creatures living by the Moonshine Lake, they are not as simple as one would think. They were monsters from the deep sea, feeding off of the farmer's crops, waiting just for the right time to sneak into your house and steal your child. The town had always been aware of them, but the fear of the Unknown kept most of them away. But now that they knew, they were not scared anymore. And they would carry fire over the meadows...