#mystic Asgardian magic

[elgaberino-mcoc]

spreadsheet cleanup THROG

ComicVine: 127 issues Fandom: 90 unique appearances, 9 variants 9 video games (you read that right)

He's a personal favorite, but this is not bias: despite some downvoting this year, Throg statistically deserves to be on @MCOCwishlist

- OG

[dandelion-blues]

Bittersweet Blood

Summary:

What if Sally Jackson was actually Loki Odinson, and as a result Percy is born half Greek god and half Asgardian god?

…

"A half-blood of the eldest gods." Then, Poseidon loses all the color on his face as realization hits.

Loki sees this and says, "The prophecy doesn't say half-god it says half-blood of the eldest gods, and we are two elder gods from two different pantheons. Our child would be considered-"

"A half-blood." Poseidon finishes grimly, remembering the fates warning him, teasing him, of the fate of their unborn child.

…

This story will mainly follow the MCU's movies and Percy's quests will still happen, but they will largely be in the background. Thus, this will follow Percy and Loki as they interact in the MCU. Also, how Percy being a half-blood from two pantheons will affect him and those around him, and how different his life is growing up is as a result.

Next Chapter

Chapter 1: The Fates' Warning

Percy has known magic all his life, or well most of his life. The way the air vibrates with its whispers, and the plants live and breathe in the world's magic. Magic was all around him, and he was not exempt from the world's magic. However, he truly only gained sight when his mom showed him the realm's magic. Her own magic - green as emerald and humming with hidden power. Percy's mind was blown. He always had this itch, this sense, that he was missing something, as before he would perceive the strange and mystical and magical as a blur, a shadow to his senses, and would forget them in time, but this was what he was missing in all his first 6 years of life.

Before he was too young to understand the way he breathed and lived in magic everyday, and could potentially harm himself or others in attempting to control something he wasn't ready for, so Sally gave Percy a charm to prevent him from truly perceiving magic. If this was Asgard Percy would never have needed such a thing, but this was Midgard, or Earth. Earth, or rather humans, were not ready for a toddler to wield experimental magic. However, now Percy knew how to keep secrets, and he needed to learn his heritage, his right, to magic. It was time for Percy to learn of his Nordic heritage, for Sally is no ordinary magician, they are a deity, a god - they are Loki Sal Odinson and Sally Slyvie Odinsdottir, the child of Odin and Frigga, the sibling to Thor, and Perseus Freyr Lokison's mom.

______________

One day Loki was being mischievous as usual and felt the need to be in a feminine form and dress in a very sexy red swimsuit just to see how many heads she turned. She still kept her tall height and slim body, albeit now more feminine in form. Her face remained angular with high regal cheekbones, and small pouty lips. She, however, turned her dark black hair almond, and her emerald eyes turned turquoise that shifted to the green or blue of waters nearby in order to remain separate from her regular form.

Now she just needs a new name. Hmm, she feels like a princess, so she’ll call herself Sally. She laughed to herself, but then as she headed towards the ocean she met the most stunning man. From his tanned mediterranean skin, to hair as dark as night but still somehow glowing warmly in the sun, and eyes like the very ocean's themselves raw, powerful, and beautiful. His form is sturdy but relaxed, with muscles defined in golden armor. A well trimmed beard on a strong jaw and nose, with full lips, and high cheekbones. This man was a god, Sally was sure of it, as sure as her own mouth was hanging open.

The strange thing was the man seemed to mimic her stunned expression. Well Sally doubted that this man knew Sally was a goddess, since she sealed her magic after becoming Sally to hide her aura from even Heimdal so her father Odin wouldn't notice her, but this man still stood there starstruck.

Sally snickered, and then full blown laughed and her brown curls fell into her now swirling blue eyes. It was like those midgardians shows that she sometimes snuck out to see where it was love at first sight, and here she was trying to be the stunning one but she ended up being stunned as well.

The man’s face became pinched, wondering why Sally was laughing. Sally had to stop herself by laughing, it was unbecoming of a princess of Asgard. “S-sorry,” Sally said after her laughing petered off, “It’s just well in your golden armor and everything, and with how handsome you look, I thought ‘this man must be a god.’” Sally's face then got really red, did she just say that outloud?!

The man had a stunned expression on his face, then smiled, “I’m glad I’m not the only one who had similar thoughts as I thought ‘oh, this person must be a goddess.’ You happen to be right in your thoughts though. Tell me since you can see my armor, you must be a mortal able to see through the Mist, do you know of the Greek gods?”

Sally blushes at his compliment. Then she thought about what he was saying. He thinks Sally is a clear-sighted mortal. Maybe she can play around with him a bit, without having to worry about diplomacy.

‘The Greek pantheon,’ Sally thought surprised. Hmm while this man only appears to be in his mid twenties now, he has an aura of power around him. More so than many of the other Greek gods she had met. The only one that fell close when she attended a meeting between all the gods years ago was the arrogant fool, the king of Olympus, Zeus. Now that she thinks of it, his appearance bares a striking resemblance to Zeus with their strong features and striking eyes. Well, this man’s eyes are the everchanging greens and blues, swirling with power, like the sea. The sea! Is this man Poseidon?! The king of the seas and brother to Zeus!

Maybe she should mess with him a bit, play the foolish mortal, her need for mischief coming out to play.

“I’m quite familiar with the Greek gods, after all the monsters I see roaming this land. Now are you perhaps the king of Olympus, Zeus?” Sally asks, hiding her grin.

The man she is absolutely certain is Poseidon, sputters insulted.

Sally can’t help it but she laughs at his indignant expression, “I-I’m k-kidding, you must be the god of the seas, Poseidon.”

“You know if I didn’t find you so intriguing, I might have smited you for that. For that I must ask what your name is, so I can know that name of one so bold and beautiful.” Poseidon says teasingly with a smile.

Sally blushes again and smiles at Poseidon, “Well if you must know my name is Sally.” She grins sensually then and says, “Well if you find me so intriguing, why don’t you take me out to dinner.”

Poseidon goes to grab her hand, bowing down to kiss her hand, “With pleasure my lady.”

‘H-how can he just turn the tables like that?’ Sally thinks blushing profusely, trying to hide her face away, thinking she must look like a strawberry by now.

Poseidon laughs at her attempt to hide her blush, and holds out his hand. She laughs alongside him and grabs his hand walking alongside the beach with him.

They end up talking about their interests and likes and get to know each other along the way to their destination. Sally doesn’t reveal that she is actually a goddess, since she’s just here to have some fun, but she does tell Poseidon about her family and her adventures, and just makes them seem human. The world seems to fall away as they look into each other’s eyes and hear the enchanting tones of one another's voices. Slowly starting to fall for one another, but they take their time. They do have all the time in the world after all.

Sally ends up staying in a cabin on that very Montauk Beach, and Poseidon and her end up going on more dates and learning more and more about one another.

Sally eventually reveals that she is gender fluid when she feels more masculine again after a few dates. He doesn't change his body to match, because as Sal now, he is still playing the mortal, but wants Poseidon to know. Poseidon just smiles and accepts him, and lavishes him as a prince (even though Poseidon doesn't know yet who he really is, that he really is a prince).

Loki won't admit it, but he cried when Poseidon just accepted him. He never had the chance to really express himself before, and here was someone just casually accepting him for who he wasm

Sally though mostly stays in feminine in mind, as she won't have the chance to be a female once she returns home besides the occasional dressing up in her room, and perhaps feels the need to overcompensate subconsciously. Sally knows her time on Midgard won’t last forever, and she’ll have to return soon.

However, the summer turns to fall, and eventually winter, and Sally still stays in the cabin she bought on the Montauk beach where she first met Poseidon. She fell into a routine of pretending to be the mortal Sally Jackson (she decided on that last name when she lied and said her father's name was Jack and decided to have her last name be a homage to her Norse heritage), and spending time with Poseidon. They eventually fall into bed together, exploring their bodies together, and finding pleasure in one another.

Sally felt that her time was almost up on Midgard and she would have to return to Asgard, as she couldn’t hide from Heimdal and her father forever. She delayed it as much as possible, but now something in the air felt ominous like the Norns were warning her of something to come.

She enjoyed her time here on this planet for as long as she could, but she really didn’t want to leave. Sally fell in love with Midgard, she felt accepted and loved in a way she never felt before. Not even with her mother Frigga. As much as she tried and Sally loved and adored her mother, Frigga never truly understood her.

______________

It was when the year finally turned anew in January and it officially became the Midgardian year 1999, Sally started to feel sick. She was throwing up, and feeling light headed. What was happening to her? Gods don't get sick.

The revelation, however, came upon her shortly when she was telling one of the friends she made on Midgard how she was feeling. She still couldn't believe she made a friend! After all, Loki never had friends on Asgard, people were either too frightened by their status as prince, or thought that they were too weird and strange with their magic and interests in books instead of swords.

Sally became friends though with this person by leaning into her mischief, something no one back home ever appreciated aside from her mother Frigga. Thus, Sally pranked this fifthly scum of a human being, who wouldn’t stop hitting on her with nasty comments, to question his reality. She did this by getting all of his employees (Sally couldn’t believe he even had a job let alone employees) to agree and tell him that the sky was green, and the grass was blue, and so on and so forth. It only took a little bit of persuasion, and money, to do. Sally after all is a princess and is well forthcoming in both. One of his employees though was very enthusiastic, for she was tired of this geezer’s underhanded and sexist and racist comments, but needed the money. This happened to be Malia, a beautiful, tall Hawaiian woman with almond colored skin and dark curly hair who worked three jobs to provide for her three kids, and used to do wrestling in her free time at a gym when her husband was still alive, but had to quit to provide for her family.

Thus, Sally setup all the employees who worked at this man's laundry mat with more money than they’ve ever seen in a month for each day they worked to gaslit the fool into losing his sanity. In just a month, with employees all the more eager to come in and get back at their boss and earn some money, the walrus of a man, who stank worse than trash, cracked and ran outside yelling at people that the world was ending, and everyone was crazy. It was fantastic! All the employees cheered, and ended up making more money than they did in a whole year or years in just a month, and went on to find better jobs and do things and buy things they never were able to before after the laundry mat "unexpectedly" closed down.

Sally doesn't even remember the man's name but it seemed fitting. G-something Ugly, or something similar. Oh, it was Gabe Ugliano, but all his employees called him Smelly Gabe behind his back! Sally really hated that man after hearing and seeing more of how he treated everyone around him, and was glad that he was gone.

Malia was glad Smelly Gabe was gone too, and actually personally thanked Sally, tears in her eyes, and invited Sally into her home. She was going to lose her family’s home, and because of Sally she wasn’t, and her and her kids just wanted to show their appreciation. From then on, Sally and Malia became close friends, and could always find company in one another to talk about their struggles, or anything they needed. (Well, Sally could never bring herself to tell Malia who she truly was, for that would endanger Malia and Sally couldn’t do that to her friend.)

At least Smelly Gabe was good for something though, he got Malia and Sally to become friends after losing his sanity!

In any case, Sally lamented to her best friend Malia when they were finishing up with their food at a café about feeling sick lately and described feeling light headed, having cravings, and feeling more emotional than normal.

Malia had this look in her eyes, that she knew what was what, "Tell me, have you and your lover boy had sex in the last month or so."

Sally looked confused, "Yeah why?"

Malia shook her head, her black curly hair falling in her face, unbelieving at her friend's obliviousness, "Well, you might want to check and see if you're pregnant, sweetie." She swept her long hair back out of her face, and her brown eyes looked into Sally’s blues.

Sally looked at her friend shocked, "Pregnant?!" Sure Sally had a physical female form full time these days, but she never considered that idea that she could actually get pregnant. Heck, even her myths that she heard about her getting pregnant with Sleipnnir was actually because of accidental magic and not… what she heard in the myth. Was she really pregnant? Sally looked down at her flat stomach, thinking of Poseidon and her together all of those times.

Malia sighs, "Oh honey, it's okay. I'm a mother of three, and while kids are a lot of work, they also bring the greatest joy that I could ever have. I'll support you no matter what though, dear." Then she gains a serious expression, "And that lover boy of yours better shape up, or he can expect a beating from yours truly." Malia flexes her muscles to prove the point.

Sally's worried expression gained a small smile at her friend's antics, "I just never thought it was possible." Then she goes to hug her friend, "Thank you for everything Malia."

"Of course, hun." Malia smiles hugging Sally back, "And while I'm 99% sure you're pregnant, why don't you get a pregnancy test back at the pharmacy to make sure."

Sally's smiles and nods, "I'll see you later to tell you the news," and she heads out of the café waving goodbye to her friend not planning on going to the pharmacy, as she had other ways to test if she was pregnant.

The cold brisk air of January hits her. However, like any other time she was exposed to the cold, it doesn’t bother her, it almost seems to energize her. She never dwells on these thoughts though, how different it made her, yet again, from everyone else, as she always distracted herself from these thoughts, not wanting to accept how different she was yet again.

Sally wondered if her child would have her same disposition, if she truly is pregnant, and whether she wanted that solidarity with another being or if she wanted them to be ‘normal’.

Sally shakes her head, it doesn’t matter, she might not even be pregnant, and either way any child deserves to grow up how they wish to be and not be ostracized for being different like she was, no matter if they are like her or not.

She was still lost in similar thoughts though, and what ifs through the whole walk home, worried that by being the child's mother it would doom them to be different and ‘other’.

Even still, she always wanted to be a mother. To care and love for her own child, to be a mom.

Thus, Sally reaches her cabin, not even remembering how she got there, as she was too lost in her thoughts. Was she really pregnant? She breathed out, well only one way to find out. She reached for her magic, knowing intimately how to cast the spell she needed when she helped out in a healing center before.

Her green magic exploded out of her fingertips. The magic that she kept sealed away to hide herself bursting out of her in energizing waves. She knew she would have to hurry before the worlds of Midgard and Asgard aligned and let Heimdal see her. She casted the runes into the air, once again memorized by feeling how alive magic felt and let the runes sink into her. She waited a moment, feeling the magic buzz underneath her skin. If nothing happened then she wasn't pregnant. However, the magic alighted, and she saw green light up all around her. She really was pregnant! She jumped for joy, and proceeded to breathe in her magic one more time before she had to seal it again. The buzz was gone, but her joy radiated in the air.

Oh this is so exciting! She is going to be a mother. Is she going to have a boy or girl? You know what, Sally doesn't care just as long as they are happy and healthy. She wondered if the baby would have Poseidon's ever changing sea green eyes, or her natural emerald eyes. If the baby would take after her in magic, or perhaps the baby would be a fighter like their uncle Thor. Then, Sally's smile fell. Her baby could never go to Asgard and meet Thor, or her mother Frigga because her father Odin would never approve. Would Odin even let Sally have this baby, when not only will she be the mother and not the father, but the baby will be half Greek?!

Sally clutched her stomach protectively worrying about all the unknowns. For now though, she looked longingly at her bed. Deciding that she needed a rest first, before she dealt with reality again. She fell into her bed's comforting embraces and fell into oblivion.

______________

Loki, or rather Sal (the masculine name he came up with for Sally), woke up. Still when Loki was male in mind, he preferred Loki, but well that's a dead give away to his identity, and he couldn't have that.

In any case, Loki groaned remembering all the revelations that happened to him earlier. He really was pregnant. He looked at the clock ticking down on his nightstand, 8:00 pm. Loki breathed out, he must've been exhausted if he 'napped' for 6 hours. Loki steeled his nerves, he needed to tell Poseidon, so he prayed to Poseidon. Loki couldn't delay this anymore and lie to him especially now that they were having a baby together.

Poseidon arrived shortly after in a burst of blinding light. Loki closed his eyes more from the sheer light being emitted, than the actual danger of seeing Poseidon's divine form.

Poseidon looked to Loki frantically, hearing the distress in his tone when he prayed to him. "Sal, what's wrong?" He looked at him searching for any injuries, somehow always knowing that when Loki presented as male, even when his form didn't physically change.

This comforted Loki, in Poseidon's worrying, he in turn felt less nervous, and stated "I'm pregnant."

"W-what?" Poseidon asks, stunned. Then, gained a stupidly huge grin on his face. "That fantastic news!" However, he then thought of the prophecy about a half-blood of the eldest gods. He shut his eyes, feeling the remnants of the fates when he still held the domain of prophecy telling him of his unborn's child's doom. He already felt like mourning a child who wasn't even born. He was brought out of his spiraling condition, though, when Loli brought his hand to Poseidon's arm and looked into his eyes worryingly.

Loki breathed out, unsure why Poseidon's mood took such a drastic turn. He knew Poseidon was like the ever changing sea, from the gentle tides, to the roaring storms, and that Loki fell in love with all of him, but this was something different. However, he loved this man, and he needed to tell Poseidon who he really was.

'Yes,' Loki finally admitted to himself, 'I love Poseidon with all my heart, even though I knew it couldn't last. At least I could have him now, always in my memories, and now a piece of him forever in our child.'

Loki decided to just rip the bandaid off, thinking that the midgardian's metaphor was fitting, "My name is not not really Sal Jackson. I am Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard." He decided to transform externally to make his point clear, careful not to mess with his internal womb, his form changing back to his original wavy black hair and emerald eyes. He looked into Poseidon's eyes searchingly, waiting for rejection. His green magic briefly casted into the air before quickly receding into his skin.

To say Poseidon was shocked would be an understatement, and exclaimed, "I thought you were just an Asgardian, I didn't know you were a god."

"Now I know this looks…" Wait Loki thinks, "You knew I was an Asgardian?!"

Poseidon shakes off his shock, and rolls his eyes fondly, "My star, I knew from practically the beginning. You practically announced it when you kept calling Earth 'Midgard.' Not to mention how little you knew of basic human culture."

Loki sputters and blushes, "I thought you didn't notice."

"I'm not that oblivious!" Poseidon says offended.

Loki raises his eyebrows challengingly, saying 'sure.'

"Are you really okay with this, though?" Loki says, gesturing to himself. "Don't you hate me now?!" Loki shouts, fighting back tears and looking away.

Poseidon sighs, his heart breaking at his love fighting back tears, "I know that we were just treating this as a fun fling, but I fell in love with you. I fell in love with your smile, your mischievousness, and your tenacity. Everything about you I adore, and even though this complicates the matter with the whole inter patheon mixing, I could never hate you, my star."

Loki looks up into Poseidon's eyes, only seeing love swirling in their green depths. Loki goes to hug Poseidon, wanting to be comforted in his large arms. Poseidon accepts. "I love you too," Loki whispers to Poseidon.

They stay in each other's embrace for what feels like hours, but eventually they separate and look at one another.

Loki's face then turns perplexed, "By the way what got you all worried earlier? You almost seemed like you were mourning when I told you I was pregnant."

Poseidon looks like he's been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, if the jar happened to be Asgard's royal vaults, and the cookie was one of its most valuable treasures. He clears his throat, "Well, since I thought you were mortal before," and he continued almost inaudibly, "and there's this prophecy…"

Loki crosses his arms, "I can't hear you. Can you repeat that?"

"There might be this tiny, little bit," then Poseidon quickly rushes out, "maybe- world-ending-prophecy-about-a-half-blood-child-of-the-eldest-gods."

"What?!" Loki yells, practiced in Poseidon speech. "Tell me this prophecy now." Loki demands, his green eyes steely with controlled anger.

"It's fine love, you aren't mortal, so it shouldn't…" Poseidon trails off and gulps when he sees Loki fuming, "Umm well, it goes:

A half-blood of the eldest gods,

Shall reach Sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in endless sleep,

A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,

A single choice shall end his days,

Olympus to preserve or raze."

Loki looks terrified, his form trembling, as he processes the prophecy.

"W-what's wrong Sa-Loki?" Poseidon asks worriedly.

Loki looks into Poseidon's eyes terrified and demands, "Repeat the first line again."

Poseidon does so instantly, and processes the request. "A half-blood of the eldest gods." Then, Poseidon loses all the color on his face as realization hits.

Loki sees this and says, "The prophecy doesn't say half-god it says half-blood of the eldest gods, and we are two elder gods from two different pantheons. Our child would be considered-"

"A half-blood." Poseidon finishes grimly, remembering the fates warning him, teasing him, of the fate of their unborn child.

Notes:

While Loki is actually a fairly young god, he is still considered an elder god in his patheon.

And for anyone confused on the Sally and Loki/Sal naming, It will for the most part be Sally when female in mind, and Loki when male in mind, with Sal only coming to play in dialogue around and with people who don't know Loki's true identity going forward.

Also, I changed the expected birth year for Percy to 1999 for reasons, reasons which will work for the rough timeline I have for this fic.

Magnus Chase's gods don't exist in this universe (as I don't want to make more split personalities than necessary, and it won't work for this au). However, Magnus himself may make a cameo as a child of an Asgardian and Midgardian rather than Freyr.

Also, when this is posted on ao3, keep in mind that some changes have already been made.

Next Chapter

[space-mermaid-writing]

Consort and King [IronStrange]

Summary: Anthony Stark, King of Midgard, needs a spouse. Whether he wants one or not. So he accepts an arranged marriage with the Prince of Kamar-Taj – a man he has never met in his life to the day they are standing in front of each other at the altar, speaking their vows. Is it possible that the feeling of duty grows into something more? Will their future be happy?

Relationship: Tony Stark / Stephen Strange

Tags: arranged marriage au, royal au, strangers to husbands, enemies to lovers, slow burn, idiots in love, fluff, hurt/comfort, miscommunication, all the good stuff

Author's note: It wouldn't be a royal au without a ball. Asgard knows how to throw a party. Everyone say Hi to Loki Beta by @kvjjjjjj

Ko-fi | Read it on AO3 | Series Masterlist | Word count: 2.1k | Previous | Next

Chapter 9: Summer solstice

They received an invitation to a ball in Asgard. It happened that this year’s summer solstice fell on the same day as Queen Frigga’s birthday and she invited the leaders of all realms to attend the feast.

It was Tony and Stephen's first appearance as a married couple outside their own realm.

On the afternoon of the ball, Stephen opened a portal to the Asgardian palace. He and Tony stepped through, followed by some servants, who carried their luggage.

Although Stephen could easily portal them back home at the end of the night, they had decided to accept the extended invitation of the royal family and stay a day longer.

The ball didn’t start until the night. For now, primarily the guests were arriving – the couple spotted familiar and new faces among them – and getting assigned to their rooms. The hosts would not officially welcome them until later.

Tony and Stephen decided to take a little stroll through the gardens before getting dressed for the ball.

The palace's staff was busy with the final preparations. There was an excited buzz in the air. It was quieter in the garden. People had other things to do and so the two seemed to be the only guests out here.

They made their way past the white orchids, marveling at the looming trees that naturally bent to form an archway, leading them up the stone path. Sunlight peaked through the leaves, creating a shifting pattern under their feet.

To their left lay a fountain at the heart of the garden, water flowing gracefully from its sculpted tiers, creating a soothing symphony of splashes and ripples. At its base, the gentle spray caught the light, casting shimmering reflections on the surrounding feverfew flowers.

As they crossed the black calla lilies, Stephen pondered how they would look in the night. The Asgardian gardens were truly an experience in wondrous exploration.

“It’s funny that we hadn’t met before our wedding,” Tony mentioned and picked up a prior conversation they had had. “Even though we both have been attending Asgardian events before.”

“I have been here more often after my accident to study Seidr. It helped me understand the Mystic Arts better.”

Tony had learned that Asgard had its own kind of magic. Each of the realms actually differed in their magic. Tony had never thought about it before.

"I’ve been here on more occasions as a child with my father. He and Odin were close allies." Asgard and Midgard continued to be allied under Tony's rule, but he didn't see the need to come here as much as his father did. Tony was only moderately a fan of Odin himself. Frigga on the other hand was lovely; and he preferred talking to her.

Thor had been a friend of his since their childhood. They had fought together, laughed together, lost together.

Tony’s relationship to the second prince, Loki, on the other hand was more complicated. They had gotten off on the wrong foot the first time the two met and Tony still kinda held a grudge. Of course they had grown more mature over the years; these days he just tried to avoid Loki.

“Last time I was here solely for entertainment was the Winter Masquerade a few years ago.”

Stephen stopped and looked at him. “The one where Thor and his friend set loose the Wolpertingers in the ballroom?”

Tony turned towards him, tilting his head. “Yes.”

It had been a stupid prank, and he suspected that Loki also had a hand in it. The little animals, some kind of rabbit with wings, antlers, a tail, and fangs, were harmless, but they had caused a lot of chaos.

“I was there as well.”

“You were? Huh.” With the event being a masquerade ball, Tony hadn’t recognized a lot of people. “So maybe we have met before and just don’t know it.”

“Maybe.” Stephen looked at some of the flowers. The palace’s garden was famous for its beauty. Everyone knew the credit went to Queen Frigga, who saw personally to it.

It was weird that no one else was here. That was unusual since guests, who had already arrived, usually had nothing better to do than stroll around and marvel at the host’s palace.

Perhaps Stephen and Tony had inadvertently entered a restricted area.

Tony seemed to think something similar and in a silent agreement they strolled back towards the palace.

As they got closer, they saw Prince Loki descending the stairs from the palace to the garden. He had spotted the two Midgardians and was walking towards them, grinning broadly.

“Oh, how joyful,” Tony muttered dryly. He put on a neutral face. This was an event in the honor of Queen Frigga and he would play nice. For now.

But when he went ahead to approach Loki, Stephen grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Wait?”

Frowning, Tony looked at his husband. “What is it?”

Stephen stared intensely at the Asgardian Prince; watching him as if he were analyzing him. “Give me a second. I have to check something.”

Without another explanation, Stephen strode past him towards Loki.

Loki was now within talking range and had his arms outstretched in a welcome gesture. “I heard you arrived but I had to see it with my-…”

He didn't get any further, because with his first step forward Stephen had created a small mandala disc between his fingers and with his next step he threw it straight at the prince.

Loki looked surprised but was slow to react; the sharp edges of the magic disc sunk into his chest, before he was able to dodge it.

Loki looked down in surprise. Blood was seeping through his tunic.

“What the hell?” Tony yelled, following after his husband. “What are you doing?” He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

Stephen was just standing there, watching Loki’s body collapse onto the ground; without any remorse.

His voice had attracted the attention of a guard, who must have been patrolling somewhere in the garden nearby.

“Your Highness!” As soon as he spotted the prince on the ground, he pointed his spear at the two Midgardians.

Tony instinctively reached for the short sword he wore on his belt – it was just for representative decorative purposes, but it had to suffice for defense – and moved between his husband and the guard’s weapon. Stephen made no move to defend himself and for a moment there, Tony wondered if all of this had been an ulterior motive of the sorcerer.

But then Stephen finally spoke up. “Nice show, your Highness.” He addressed the guard.

At this point Tony was pretty sure Stephen had lost his mind. But then a golden-green shimmer went over the dead body and the guard, and both of them vanished.

“Thank you,” said a smooth voice behind them. As they turned around, Loki stepped out from between some bushes. “Did you like my death? Very authentic, not too dramatic.”

“Yes, that almost had me doubting,” Stephen admitted. “But you made a mistake with the setting. By the lack of people in the garden we’re clearly not supposed to be here. Yet you added a guard who rushed to your aid and thus had to stand nearby, while they still allowed us to wander around in this restricted area.”

“You always had an eye for details.” Loki was rather amused than offended, that his ruse had been seen through. Then, he finally turned to Tony, who had listened to their banter irritated as well as irked.

“King Stark. How joyful to see you again.”

Immediately, Tony no longer felt guilty because Loki had clearly listened in on their conversation. He resisted the urge to use his own sword after all and put it back in his belt.

“If you're also in charge of the night’s entertainment, it promises to be an eventful ball.”

“This night is all about my mother. I merely wanted to greet you two.”

“You shouldn’t have.” For real. Tony could have gone without that almost heart attack.

Without commenting on that, Loki looked back to Stephen. “I recently visited Kamar-Taj but it was rather boring without you being there.”

“I’m sure you bothered other sorcerer’s just as fine.”

Maybe Tony was just imagining it, but Stephen’s voice was almost fond. He wasn’t sure he liked it.

“They weren’t as fun as you.”

“Well, this was…something. But surely you’re still busy with the preparation for the feast,” Tony interrupted whatever this was they had going on. “We don’t want to keep you from your responsibilities.”

Fortunately, Loki took the hint. “That’s very considerate of you, King Stark.” His voice dripped with sarcasm and he eyed Tony from head to toe. Like always, he was rubbing Tony all the wrong ways. “You’re not wrong: there’s still a lot to do. I will see you later at the ball.” He saw them off with a bow. "King Stark. Consort Strange."

With a last wink and still a grin on his face, he finally left.

Tony let out a breath he didn’t realize he had held the entire time.

Then he turned towards Stephen and tipped his finger on his chest, his anger rising again. “Next time you kill a prince, warn a guy!”

His husband seemed surprised by his strong reaction, since Loki’s life had never been in danger. “If the illusion had really been him, he would have fended off my spell with ease.”

“How would I know?”

Stephen realized his mistake. “I apologize. I never wanted to worry you.” He remembered Tony’s reaction to the illusion of the prince’s death – defending his husband from the guard – and he smiled. “I’m flattered you would back me up anyway if I were to kill a prince.”

Tony didn't feel like laughing. The adrenaline was only just disappearing from his body, but he still felt on edge. “Do you think this is funny?”

“Again, I’m sorry.” Stephen reached for Tony's hand and placed it on his own chest. “Loki is... particular. He probably would have done worse if his illusion had reached us."

Tony could imagine that. That was why he didn’t like the trickster. “Still. Just… don’t do this again. Ever.”

“I promise.”

“Okay, good.” Tony accepted it for now, not wanting to carry his sour mood into the rest of the evening. They were here to celebrate. “They do have drinks here somewhere, right? I think I need one.”

Not letting go of Stephen's hand, he moved to go back inside the palace.

_________________

Finally, it was time to get changed for the ball. Tony displayed his family colors of red and gold, while Stephen stayed with blue. But he had added a red accent in the form of a cloak Tony had gifted him for this very event.

“It suits you,” the king stated, looking at his husband fondly. His previous anger was forgotten. He stepped closer to him and helped him fasten the cloak at the front. There were two brooches, mirrored in shape. One showed the Stark’s emblem, the other one Strange’s. “My colors look good on you.”

“Yeah?” Stephen was blushing a bit at the simple gesture and the compliment.

“Yes.” Tony fixed his husband’s hair – not that it was of any use. By now he knew that there was one strand in the front that refused to cooperate. So it was really just an excuse to get his finger into that soft hair.

Stephen wore the silver circlet of a prince, while on Tony’s head rested one of his crowns. Nothing too fancy but perfect for a night of drinking and dancing.

On the day of his coronation, Stephen would also receive a golden crown to prove that he was Tony’s equal.

“We should start looking for designs soon,” he muttered, more of a reminder for himself than for the sorcerer to hear.

“Oh?” Stephen tilted his head. “Don’t I get the same crown as you?”

“I mean, you can if you want to. But I had something in mind that was a little more… you.” He turned Stephen and himself to the side, drawing his husband's attention to the mirror on the wall, which showed both of them together.

It was unusual for them to see themselves standing so close to each other – at least from the outside point of view– both in their gala uniforms, adorned with jewelry and crowns. Stephen was a little taller, but Tony made up for it with his charm and demeanor.

Stephen liked what he saw. “I’d like that.” He smiled and Tony mirrored it.

“I will call the goldsmith first thing when we’re back home.”

The sorcerer nodded, but paused when he realized that when hearing ‘home’ he thought about the Stark’s palace and really meant it. It had been the first image that had come to his mind. Not Kamar-Taj.

He had finally arrived in Midgard. Not only with his life but also with his mind.

His eyes met Tony’s in the mirror.

And maybe with his heart.

_____________

Taglist: @goopierthenyou (tell me if you want to be added/removed)

[celadons-penultimate]

Marvel has such great potential in STRANGE ACADEMY. A live-action or animated adaptation alone could be a huge win, whether it closely follows the comics or not, as long as they give us the diverse, inclusive stories that JK Rowling's Wizarding World fails to.

Strange Academy's diversity is a central feature, not an "exotic" aside. It unites people across various cultures, so you see Norse runic magic, Voodoo practice, Aztec nahual lore & more, performed not just by fictional creatures, but women, people w/ melanin & LGBTQ ppl.

Strange Academy's headmaster is Dr. Jericho Drumm aka Doctor Voodoo & various fan favorites act as instructors to the young mages, to humorous effect: Wong, the Ancient One, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Nico Minoru, Agatha Harkness, Talisman, Daimon Hellstrom, etc

Strange Academy's prominent students INCLUDE:

-Zoe Laveau (zombie/necromancer/aspiring lich? & descendant of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau)

-Germán (Nahual animal mage)

-Iric & Alvi (Asgardian twin sons of Amora the Enchantress)

-Emily Bright (newcomer on an interesting path)

-Doyle (nbd, just a son of The Dread Dormammu™)

Strange Academy is set here in the United States, not another dimension or some other fictional locale; specifically, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

You get plenty of charismatic flavor & mystic color, whether you're reading about the mortal or mystical aspects of magical school life.

Rather than typical YA-style focus on a singular "chosen one" & companions, Strange Academy offers engaging ensemble narration that addresses multiple story lines w/ due respect, all while managing to offer impressively dynamic & flamboyant magical feats.

In short, if you're a fan of Marvel, a fan of magic users & a fan of YA stories that AREN'T transphobic or otherwise characterized by bigotry (whether implicit or overtly stated), you might want to set aside any...other options, in favor of Strange Academy. 😌

[hightownquccn]

POSSIBLE SIDEBLOG CREATION

Please VOTE on which one you think would be fun to play with.

Adding a little more description that I have thought out in my head. Some is canon from MCU/comics and some is the twist I want to put on the character for my portrayals*.

Agent ???. ( I still have no name for him ) former SHIELD agent. best friend of Sharon Carter. or so he likes to claim. computer genius. skinny white boy. flirt. bisexual. he's annoying but really a sweetheart. not big on field work. but he can hack.

( ? (name undecided) is a former agent of SHIELD now mini-Tony Stark minus the suit and superhero status. Coming up through the academy he somehow befriended a woman by the name of Sharon Carter when they were put on an undercover assignment together. He was mostly just the support but made a few appearances in his undercover roll when needed to support Sharon aka 'Emily'.

A bit of a nerdy genius all he has ever wanted was to feel wanted and valuable. He was loyal to SHIELD until it fell thanks to HYDRA infiltrating and finally revealing themselves. With the fall of SHIELD, he used his knowledge to freelance and made a name for himself. He has been known to take on projects to help the likes of former SHIELD-loyal agents. He is very anti-HYDRA. )

Alex. "Dove". literature professor. musician. Inhuman. pain manipulator. Guatamalan/naturalized American.

( Original mini description that may be tweaked: Alex received his nickname of Dove from his mother in what almost feels like a different time. She used to call him her little pacifist. Now a lot older ( and not necessarily a whole lot wiser ) he still holds that peace should be tried before war.

After terrogenesis, Alex discovered he now has the power to cause pain in others. It goes against a lot of what his parents taught him growing up and what he believes in...but he isn't an idiot. Sometimes if you have a gun in your face or pointed at a loved one you need to act. So as much as he hates his powers he does try and avoid it if at all possible. Known for his aversion to violence many have begun calling him the Dove. )

Steve Rogers. captain america. the first avenger. the little guy. the man out of time.

( Steve is a World War II veteran, a founding member of the Avengers, and Earth's first known superhero. Rogers grew up suffering from numerous health problems, and upon the United States' entry into World War II, he was rejected from serving in the United States Army despite several attempts to enlist. Rogers ultimately volunteered for Project Rebirth, where he was the only recipient of the Super Soldier Serum. 

Fighting in the war, he served his country before supposedly sacrificing himself in a plane crash. Decades later he was awoken from his sleep and begins to readjust to modern life. Cap is needed once again and he picked up the mantel again, joining The Avengers. He served with his fellow members for a time before eventually post The Snap 2.0 retiring. He has passed the mantel on to a man formerly known as Falcon, Sam Wilson. Now he is trying to figure out what to do with his life. )

Amora of Asgard. The Enchantress. asgardian. formerly exiled to Midgard by the Allfather. seductress. intelligent.

( Parentage unknown. While still in adolescence, she ran away to the land of the Norns and apprenticed herself to Karnilla, one of the most powerful sorceresses in all the Asgardian dimension. There she studied all the basic arts of Asgardian magic until Karnilla expelled her for being too undisciplined. She picked up further mystical skills from seducing other Asgardian mages and wizards. In time, Amora became one of the more powerful magic-wielders in Asgard, with her magical arsenal focused on (but not limited to) charming and mind-controlling people. Her by-then well-renowned beauty did not hinder in this.

Amora has always had an obsession with Thor. She has been used as a weapon by the Allfather to try and distract Thor from his love of the human, Jane Foster. But she has also done things unsanctioned by the royalty of Asgard. During one of her many attempts to make the God of Thunder hers she is caught and sentenced by the Allfather to Midgard. While there she took up the name of Sylvie Lushton. Stripped of her powers she is/was stuck in the realm until Thor is banished as well. When Loki appears they strike a deal and she regained her powers. )

KEY NOTES*

I would not play Steve as having gone back in time to rejoin Peggy. He stayed in his current timeline and lives in New York.

I play Amora as having 'Sylvie Lushton' as her mortal name in tribute to the two different women that had the title of Enchantress in the comics.

[avelera]

So I never really commented on the "Loki" show on here very much, even though I watched it, for a few reasons.

I found the first season visually beautiful but spiritually hollow and ultimately uninteresting. My connection to Loki was through his story as an Asgardian, his relationship with Thor and Odin and the others. I was prepared for the possibility that the show would focus elsewhere, by necessity, but I was always facing a similar uphill battle to liking it as I did the Winter Soldier show: the relationships I wanted to see more of (Steve/Bucky, Thor & Loki) weren't going to be there in favor of new side characters and my heart just wasn't really in it. But I gave it a chance.

The bigger issue was this: I fucking hate magical policing agencies as a plot point. Corporate organizations tasked to control time, or magic, or stop normal people from learning about magic, blah blah blah, I hate them. I find them immensely boring. Part of it is because I tried to write one once for NaNo in college! I understand the appeal! But they are just deeply, deeply boring to me as a concept. They are overplayed and tired and dull. Loki's TVA would have to have been something truly exceptional to win me over and then it was the whole point of the show and it wasn't exceptional, just the trope played straight and I just... wilted with disinterest.

I also hate mid-20th century aesthetics. Truly despise them. I hate the orange decor and the brown suits and the atomic era gigantic room-sized computers. It's kitchys and awful and I loathe it with my entire being. It repels me. So when the TVA had that aesthetic and the TVA was core to a story about a Norse god, you can perhaps begin to see the problem.

I loved Sylvie's actress. I loved the idea of Sylvie. I loathed the Sylvie plotline. Why don't we know more about what her life was like as a Loki? Did she have a relationship to the Asgardians ever? Why aren't Loki and Sylvie being constantly teased for being narcissists at best and incestuous at worst if they show any interest in each other? I loathed that romance, I found it gross and hollow and uninteresting and cheap. I was so glad when S2 seemed to drop interest in it.

Look, at a certain point, I just accepted that I'm not the target audience. It wasn't the Loki show I was hoping for, something more akin to Journey into Mystery for example. It barely acknowledged Loki's mythological roots, his actual magical abilities which on numerous occasions would have far outclassed the threats they faced with weird TVA technology, and just... look, it wasn't for me, a mythology buff. I just didn't like it or what it was going for.

This isn't to say it was bad! Just that it was absolutely stacked against my personal tastes in its aesthetic and story choices about 3/4 of the time.

But I did watch the whole thing. And I loved the visuals of the ending sequence in S2.

I hope this means if Loki returns, the door is open for a more magical, mythologically informed Loki. I hope he returns! I hope that just being on his magical time throne doesn't mean he's stuck there but that either his variants, or his ghost, or him puppeting his own variants or whatever can continue to interact with the timeline. I think it's such a magical mystical set up that it's very likely to be possible. it's magic! They can do anything!

But for the love of all the Norse gods, if I never see that hideous cliche TVA again it will be too soon. Sorry, Mobius, you were fun and charming and I loved seeing what the Lokius shippers cooked up, but I hate your work place so much it made me want to claw my own eyes out.

[roostersmustache]

Songs of Silence, One

Pairing: Loki x Original Female Character

Author's Note: Hello guys! This is totally different, as most of you are used to my Rooster fics! But, I've gotta be honest. I've been a Loki fan far longer than I've been a Bradley Bradshaw fan, and with season two of Loki out and about (I've watched it three times), I'm hyper fixating on the God of Mischief right now! So, I hope you guys enjoy, and I hope I can reach some more Loki fans out there!

Synopsis: Ingrid was born the goddess of song. Her voice was unmatched in talent. When using her voice one evening, her voice suddenly leaves her, leaving her completely mute. Seeking out help in finding her voice, she's led to a fortune teller, who offers her more than she initially bargained for.

Warnings: None of this is accurate, Swearing, adult themes, angst, possible MCU spoilers, possible Loki spoilers.

Word Count: 5.4k

Masterlist

Being born a goddess in Asgard came with lots of fabulous parties, countless gowns and jewels, and lots of mingling with the other Gods and Goddesses Asgard housed. Ingrid had been born the goddess of song, her musicality bringing peace and prosperity to Asgardians. She could heal broken hearts with her songs, put one to sleep with her songs, and compel those to her will with her songs.

She was a kind and beautiful goddess, her name even meaning "beautiful woman." Because of her kindness, she never used her compelling voice to lure those to their deaths, or have them do as she pleased. She only used her voice for good, and it brought so much harmony to Asgard.

Her talent was unmatched on every level, and Asgardians were willing to pay her thousands to teach their offspring even a sliver of what it meant to sing like her.

But she never shared the secrets of her voice.

There weren't any secrets to be shared. She was born with her gift, and never had to work to make it better. It was the epitome of a perfect voice.

So perfect that many wanted it for themselves.

Ingrid had to be cautious of who she trusted enough to get close to her. The wrong person with the right spell could take her voice from her. While no such spell was easy, magic was a well practiced craft in Asgard, and someone highly skilled in magic could, with the right research, take her voice from her.

Her talent was mystical, and she most often used it for healing purposes. For example, when a family member passed away, people would come to her and ask for a song to ease their pain. She had a way of letting the spirits sing through her, and her songs were able to make grief easier.

Ingrid was the youngest of the Gods. She was only nineteen in Midgardian years, the sons of Odin beating her by a miniscule two years.

Ingrid lived in the castle, and she saw the royals as her second family. When she was a young girl, her parents, also Gods, were killed by the Dark Elves, so she was left orphaned. Odin and Frigga took her in, and she grew up alongside Thor and Loki.

She grew up knowing her and Thor were to be married once she reached the age of twenty. Her and Thor had grew up close, but she knew, deep down, she'd never be able to love him like she was supposed to. They say everyone has their person, and she knew Thor wasn't hers. She did love him, just in a friendly way. But she knew she'd have to bear his children, so she tried to be attracted to him, but it never worked the way it was supposed to.

"You look beautiful today, my darling," Thor said as Ingrid grabbed his arm.

They were headed to a feast to celebrate their marriage, as the wedding was set to be a month away.

"Thank you, Thor," she replied, smiling at him.

When the couple entered the grand dining room, they were greeted by cheers from all the Asgardian people in attendance. Ingrid smiled, waving at her friends, and following Thor before the two took a seat at the head of the table.

"Thank you, to all my lovely people," Thor boomed, the room going quiet. "And thank you," he started, gazing over to his fiance. "To my beautiful bride-to-be for everything. I'm the luckiest man in the nine realms to get to marry you."

Everyone at the table swooned, Ingrid looking over and giving Thor a smile. He raised his glass and everyone followed suit, a toast in order.

"To love!" Thor cheered.

"To love!" Everyone else cheered.

Ingrid just raised her glass, she didn't say anything else. A part of her mourned the fact that she'd never be able to find her true love. She only hoped that one day her heart would come to love Thor the way that a lover should.

She took leisurely sips of her wine, laughing at someones joke every once and awhile. She loved the people of Asgard, and she knew it was the highest honor to become their queen, but her heart longed to love. It longed to be loved by an all consuming love, one that challenged her and thrilled her, excited her in ways she never even knew possible.

But she'd never get the chance to find it.

"What about a song from the lady?" A man said, standing up and motioning his glass towards Ingrid.

"Oh," she stuttered, caught off guard by the request.

"Yes," another man piped up. "A song from the goddess to bless her marriage!"

"I mean," she blushed. "I don't have anything prepared."

"What could the goddess of song not have prepared? Sing us something!" Another man boomed.

"I don't know, I mean, I don't really think I have it in me to sing right now," she sheepishly replied.

"Oh come on, darling," Thor smiled. "Sing us something."

"I don't really want to," she said to Thor, giving him a tight smile.

Ingrid never liked to be put on the spot, and Thor knew that. But she also couldn't deal with disappointing people, so saying no wasn't something she was good at. Thor also knew this.

"Aw how come?" Thor boomed, obviously a bit drunk, as he smiled down at her. "Bless us and our marriage with a song!"

"I don't- Thor, I didn't prepare to sing anything," she said, silently pleading with him to let it go.

"You're the goddess of song," he emphasized. "You don't need to prepare anything," he smiled.

Ingrid often had anxiety around being put on the spot, as she liked to have a sort of mental preparation. Ingrid suffered from a severe case of PTSD, which contributed to her severe anxiety.

When she lost her parents, she was ten years old. She watched as the dark elves stormed into her home and brutally murdered both of her parents in front of her. They only missed her because she hid in her parents closet.

The images of her parents being killed stayed with her, haunting her.

It's safe to say her anxiety was prominent in her life.

"Thor," she started whispering. "Everyone is looking at me, I don't think I should sing right now."

"C'mon darling, everyone loves your voice! I mean look at them," Thor said, gesturing to the group of people in the dining room, looking excitedly at their goddess of song.

"I don't want to," she said.

"Ingrid, you're the goddess of song, I don't understand-"

"The lady said she didn't want to sing, therefore she won't," a voice said from the back of the dining hall.

The voice in question came from none other than Thor's brother, Loki. Ingrid and Loki had always gotten along. He understood her traumas, since he had found out he was adopted a couple years back.

Her and Loki had grown up never too close, but never distant either. They would often just sit with each other and read in the library. He always kept to himself, but he always tried to be out of his brothers shadow as well. Ingrid had always found Loki fascinating, his magic so strong yet himself so quiet. But when he did have something to say, it was always well worded and intelligent.

When Loki spoke up, the entire dining hall went silent, and all eyes gazed to him. He was dressed in his more casual Asgardian leather, yet nevertheless eye catching. His hair was slicked back as it always was, his black curls resting on his shoulders.

"Ah, brother!" Thor announced. "How wonderful of you to join us!"

"How could I ever miss such an occasion?" He sarcastically remarked, his hand landing over his heart.

As he walked to the table to take a seat, he made eye contact with Ingrid, who mouthed a 'thank you' to him. He just nodded and smiled back at her.

The rest of the party went on as they all do; they ate, Thor and his friends had too many beers to count, and the others mingled together. Ingrid felt overwhelmed by the noise and commotion in the room, so she wandered out to the garden. The gardens were her favorite place in the castle, the flowers and plants always having a way of soothing her. Freyr always did wonders for the gardens.

Her favorite was the Dreamshade plant, an Asgard specialty. It was beautiful when it bloomed. Next to the Dreamshade plot of the garden was a beautiful wooden, white swing next to it, hung by a tree. Ingrid would often find herself out there reading.

She sat down on the swing and started to rock back and forth. She sipped on the wine she had carried with her, the liquid making her warm with each sip she took. The breeze encapsulated her, sending a chill down her spine.

She heard the boom of Thor's laughter from inside and took another swig of her wine. She was supposed to be Asgard's blushing bride, they're grateful queen to be. But instead, she's sitting in the garden, away from her own party for her own marriage, fighting back tears. She was orphaned at ten, and months after she had been taken in by the king and queen, she was betrothed to Thor. Her future had been written for her before she was old enough to fully harness the concept of true love and marriage.

And she did, she did love Thor. They had grown up together. Just as she loved Loki. But Thor never made her feel the way her friends' partners made them feel. They'd all talk about butterflies, feeling giddy. All she felt was a longing for something she didn't have.

She wished her voice could cure her own sadness.

"Ingrid?" Came the voice of Loki. He had found his way out to her at the gardens, slowly walking up to her as to not wake her.

"Loki," she gasped, breaking out of her trance. She then noticed the tears that had fallen down her face, quickly wiping them away.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, coming to sit next to her.

"I don't know," she said. "I didn't even realize I was."

"Is everything alright?"

"Nothings alright," she whispered. "I just, I feel hopeless and, I don't know. I'm sorry, I've had too much wine," she hiccuped.

"It's okay, we've all had too much wine," he grinned.

"It's good wine."

"It is indeed."

Her and Loki sat in silence. They let the breeze wash over them, and they let the smell of the flowers consume them. Ingrid was drunk, and she knew this because she felt like she could go up to Thor and tell him she didn't want to get married to him. At the end of the day, she'd never do such a thing, but the fact that it was even a thought she had confirmed the wine had done it's job.

The wine was also making her think things she shouldn't be thinking at all.

Looking over to Loki, she let her eyes wander over his smooth features, and the sharp curve of his jaw. He was sculpted perfectly, and on Midgard, they liked to say handsome men looked like "Greek Gods." Loki wasn't a Greek God, but he was a God.

Ingrid had always had a crush on Loki. He was charismatic yet smart. Funny yet serious, and mischievous at the same time. He always excited her, made her stomach knot when he teased her. He made a blush arise to her cheeks that never appeared for anyone else.

But she never let this crush get the best of her or distract her from what she was supposed to be focused on.

The wine allowed these thoughts to push through, though.

"I don't think," she started. "I don't think I wish to marry Thor."

"What?" Loki asked, his head snapping to her.

"I don't love him like that."

"I don't understand," Loki said, his brow furrowing. "You two have always been in love."

"It's been fake," she said, taking another gulp of her wine. "For me, at least."

"Ingrid-"

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you all of this. I should," she hiccups. "I should get to bed."

As she tries to stand, Ingrid's wine glass falls out of her hands, smashing on the ground. Her legs start to wobble, and before she knows it, she too is falling to the ground. Loki is at her side in an instant, catching her before her head hits the grass.

"Ingrid, darling," he gasped at her. "You've got to be more careful."

"I'm sleepy," is all that she mumbles, her eyes rolling shut.

"Okay," Loki says, hoisting her into his arms. "Lets get you to bed then."

Loki proceeded to carry her out of the garden and around the side of the castle to a side entrance, wanting to keep people from seeing them in this state together to prevent gossip. Through the corridors and up the stairs leading to her room, Ingrid was giggling at random things that she saw.

Once Loki got upstairs to her room, he carried her inside and gently placed her on the bed. She sighed contentedly when she felt her plush covers beneath her, melting into her mattress. She slowly blinked her eyes open, grinning when she noticed Loki looking down at her.

"Comfortable?" He asked.

"Yes," she sighed. "Thank you for bringing me up here."

"Of course."

"Loki?" She piped up, sitting up on her elbows. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he replied, taking a seat on her bed.

"Will everyone despise me if I don't say yes to Thor at the altar?"

She watched as Loki's expression softened, his head tilting to the side. She didn't want to cause a fuss, but she couldn't see herself living a long and prosperous life with Thor.

"Ingrid," he started. "Where is this coming from? Everyone thinks the two of you are in love."

"I've never gotten to explore any romantic interests of any kind because i've always been promised to him. But I don't love him like that. I've tried, Loki. He's not the one for me."

"I don't know if you have much of a choice, darling," Loki says, his lips flattening into a disappointed straight line. "What Odin wants, Odin gets."

"He's not the one that I want," she whispered, staring at Loki intently.

His brows furrowed and then relaxed again. Ingrid knew that her remark was suggestive, and would definitely be something she regretted saying the following afternoon. But as per the wine, it felt very appropriate to say.

"I suppose if your suitor of choice is as high of rank as a God to be king, Odin might not have as many complaints."

"He's something like that," she sighed.

Loki began to respond to her, but he was stopped by two sharp knocks on her door. She gave Loki a puzzled look, and he gave her a puzzled look back, neither one of them knowing who could be at the door.

Loki stood and went to the door to open it, and when he did, it was revealed to be Thor on the other side. Loki moved aside to let his brother in, and Thor's eyes immediately went to Ingrid.

"There you are, darling. Are you alright?"

"Yes, just sleepy," she replied, her eyes blinking slowly.

"Why did you escort my lady to her bed chambers without letting me know?" Thor asked, turning to his brother who stood silently in the corner.

"Because she was passing out in the gardens and I didn't want anyone seeing her in such a vulnerable state," Loki replied.

"Passing out in the gardens?" Thor said, whipping around to look at his bride lying on the bed, still in her evening gown.

"I've had a bit too much wine," she said, pinching her fingers in the air as an example of how much wine she's had.

"Why did you even leave to the gardens in the first place?" Thor asks.

"It was loud," she sighs.

"I'm sorry, darling. I know me and my friends can be loud at times."

"Very loud," she annunciated.

Ingrid pushed herself up off of her bed and stumbled into her closet and grabbed one of her silk nightgowns, walking back out and throwing it down on her bed. She started undoing the pins in her hair, feeling immediate relief at the release of tension in her head. The two brothers stood there watching her, and she stopped her motions to give them both a quizzical look.

"What?" She asked. "Have neither of you seen a lady get ready for bed?"

They both stuttered out sorries as they started to exit the room. Thor crossed over to Ingrid and kissed her cheek, whispering a goodnight to her. She caught Loki's eye by her door, and she gave him a small smile. He nodded back to her. The two brothers exited her room, and once she heard the door click she brushed her dress off of her shoulders.

Once she was ready, Ingrid slipped under her covers. She could still feel the alcohol coursing through her veins.

Before her parents passed away, her mother would sing her a song before bed every night. It stuck with her, and sometimes the goddess would sing it to herself before bed, just to imagine her mother there with her. Tonight was one of those nights.

Ingrid felt helpless, her marriage to Thor was rapidly approaching, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She needed her mothers advice more than anything. So Ingrid sang her song.

Nuku, nuku nurmilintu, Väsy, väsy, västäräkki Nuku nurmelle hyvälle Vaivu maalle valkialle. Lintu tuopi liinahapaijan Haapana hyvän hamehen Kaskeloinen korvatyynyn Pääskynen peäalusen Nuku, nuku nurmilintu Väsy, väsy, västäräkki Nuku nurmelle hyvälle Vaivu maalle valkialle.

Ingrid sang her song louder than she's ever sang it before. Usually she would sing it as a whisper, only to keep for herself. But she felt (probably because of the wine) that everyone needed to hear it. And everyone did hear it. Everyone in Asgard heard their goddesses song, and they heard the pain and longing in her voice as she sang. It was vulnerable, and it was beautiful.

And it lulled her and the entire kingdom to sleep.

~~

Ingrid woke the next morning to being shook by her shoulders.

As she opened her eyes, she saw Thor, Frigga, Loki, and a few castle healers surrounding her on her bed. Thor was shaking her awake, concern written all over his face. Everyone looked worried, and Ingrid looked quizzically back at them.

"What?" She asked, worried as to why everyone was so concerned about her.

"Ingrid," Thor said. "Ingrid, are you alright? We've been trying to wake you for an hour. It's one in the afternoon."

Ingrid shot up at that, looking to her clock to confirm the time. She had never slept that long. Wine wouldn't do that to her either, as she's had her fair share of drunken nights far worse than the one she had last night.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I did that," she said, but the people surrounding her just looked more confused.

"Ingrid, darling, what are you saying?" Frigga asked, taking a step closer to her."

"I'm asking-," She started, but she realized that not a single sound was coming out. "Can you not hear me?"

"Darling, we can't hear you," Thor said. "You're just moving your mouth."

All of the blood drained from Ingrid's face as it hit her all at once.

Her song.

She sang her lullaby last night in a very drunk and vulnerable state, making her an easy target. And she was loud. Everyone in the kingdom heard her sing. And someone had done the one thing she had feared.

They had taken her voice.

As soon as it clicked in her mind, her eyes locked to Loki's, and she could tell that he had made the same observation.

"Someone took her voice," he stated, his eyes never leaving hers.

"That's impossible," Thor said, standing up.

"Oh no, it's quite possible, brother," Loki stated, his hands clasped behind his back. "A strong sorcerer heard her song last night, and the vulnerability behind it, and used the right spell. Her voice is gone."

"That cannot be!" Thor boomed, pacing around the room. "Who dare strip my bride of her Godly power?"

"Thor," Frigga said, walking over and comforting her son. "Whoever did this to dear Ingrid will be punished. We will find them."

"What are we supposed to do, mother? She's a goddess, and she's lost her ability. People need her," Thor said.

"She is more than just her gift, my son. She will help her people in incredible ways without her voice."

"Mother, she is the goddess of song. Not the goddess of kindness. She is not a goddess without her voice," Thor stated, blankly.

To hear Thor say this about her, in her bedroom, made her mouth run dry. It was as if she wasn't in the room to him. It was hurtful, and she had never heard Thor speak of her in this way.

"Thor," Frigga scolded. "You know better than that."

"She is not worthy of Asgard's throne if she cannot serve her people like she so promised!" He yelled.

The room fell silent, and Ingrid drew her knees up to her chest to hug them, tears freely falling from her eyes. The only thing that could be heard throughout the room were Ingrid's quiet sniffles, and everyones eyes turned to her when they started.

Thor's eyes immediately softened when he met her teary ones, guilt racing across his face.

"Ingrid, my darling," he started, walking up to her. "I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry-"

But he was cut off by Ingrid's hand shooting up to stop him. He bounced back, hurt flashing across his eyes.

"Ingrid," he pleaded.

She shook her head in response, as no sound would leave her vocals.

"You should go," Frigga said.

"Mother," he said, looking over to Frigga.

"No, Thor. You've done enough damage, it's best for you to go."

With a sigh, and one last regretful look at Ingrid, Thor walked out of her room. Once he left, Ingrid's shoulders started to heave, sobs wracking through her body. She had just woken up, and it was so much to process. She hadn't even gotten the chance to full realize her voice had been stolen from her before the man she considered one of her best friends and was supposed to marry started hurling insults about her in her own bedroom.

Frigga sat down on her bed and pulled her into her. She combed through her hair and whispered sweet words to her to calm her down. Frigga was the closest thing Ingrid had to a mother, and she made her feel better when she needed a mom.

"We will overcome this, my darling," Frigga said. "We'll find whoever took your voice from you. You are no less of a goddess this morning than you were last night. I'm truly sorry for my sons words."

"It's okay," Ingrid said, or tried to say. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks, and just nodded back at Frigga instead.

"Loki," Frigga said, motioning for her other son. "Why don't you entertain our girl with some of your magic? Or perhaps a card game? You two used to love to play together."

Loki gave his mother a small smile and nodded his head at her.

"Of course, mother," he replied.

"Thank you, my boy. She is in need of a friend."

Frigga exited the room, along with the healers, leaving Ingrid alone with Loki. She sighed before looking at him, his eyes swiftly meeting hers. The silence was uncomfortable. There were so many things she wanted to say to him. She wanted to apologize for her actions and words last night, she wanted to confide in him about her tumultuous love life, and she wanted to tell him he was the one that she wanted. But everything would have to be left unsaid.

When they were children, Loki would often put on 'magic shows' for Ingrid. Once, Odin asked for one, and Loki told his father that they were 'only for Ingrid.' His magic entertained her, and he knew this, so each time he'd put on a show for her, he made sure he was showing his favorite tricks.

"So," Loki started, carefully taking a seat next to her on the bed. "I've been working on a new trick."

Ingrid sat up a bit at that, her interest showing. Loki took this as her go ahead.

He raised his hand in the air, palm face up, and mini fireworks started coming out of thin air in the palm of his hand. Ingrid let a smile grace her features, a laugh wanting to escape her so badly.

"It's nothing huge," the God said. "But it's pretty."

Ingrid nodded her head at him, her smile widening. He let out an airy laugh, smiling back at her. He closed his hand, making the fireworks disappear. Ingrid let her smile settle, and his did too. She felt his hand creep to hers, grabbing it in his large hand and giving it a squeeze. Loki's hands were soft. Silky smooth. Just like his voice. Ingrid looked down at their hands, and then looked back to him, her gaze questioning.

"I'm sorry for what my brother said," he started, his gaze soft upon her. "And I'm sorry for the predicament you're in."

Her gaze hardened, a blush forming on her cheeks. She had hoped she had dreamt about telling Loki about her true desires regarding her marriage, but it was evident she had confided in him.

"I've not forgotten our little talk last night," he confirmed, making the girl look away from him. "And I want to help you. I know how it feels to be burdened with something you don't want."

"How can you help?" Ingrid so badly wanted to ask. She wasn't used to not having her voice, and she didn't like it.

"And I'm sorry that you lost your voice," he continued. "You're still a goddess, Ingrid. You always will be. No one can strip you of that."

She gave him a faint smile in return, squeezing his hand back. His hands were ice cold, yet she didn't shiver away from his touch. In fact, she wanted more of his touch. Loki had always brought her comfort, but her hand in his gave her a sense of being grounded no touch had ever given her before.

Everyone knew Loki and Ingrid had a connection deeper than they understood. Loki had never been one to open up, but he had always told Ingrid everything. She too, told him her deepest secrets. They had both seen each other in their most vulnerable states, therefore creating a bond no one could understand.

She had always had feelings for the prince, but she felt naughty when she thought of acting on them. After all, she was engaged to his brother, the future king. She should be fawning over Thor, the future king of Asgard. But instead, Ingrid often found herself lusting over Loki in the shadows.

"Ingrid," Loki's voice said, but this time in her head, his silky voice sending chills down her spine. She gave him a startled look, his telepathic abilities something she wasn't used to. "You can speak back," he continued.

"This is oddly frightening," she said back, not really sure if he could hear her say that or not.

"But now you have someone to speak to," Loki's voice said, confirming he had heard her.

"I can't believe that worked," she said, looking at him wide eyed. They had never communicated telepathically to one another. She knew that he could, but she couldn't. He had obviously made it to where she could communicate back with him. She hoped he couldn't read her mind.

"I can," he said. When she looked at him, mortified, he had a small smirk playing on his lips. "I can hear everything you're thinking."

"Loki stop," she threatened. "I'm more than happy to speak with you because I need it, but I can't have you reading my mind."

"Why? Something naughty you don't want me to know?" He smirked.

Her face heated up, and at the mention of naughty thoughts, images of Loki popped into her head. She quickly willed those thoughts away, her face turning bright red out of fear he saw her thoughts of him.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, grinning at her.

"Loki, get out of my head," she warned.

"But I'm curious as to why you think of me so much," he replied.

If her face wasn't red before, it was cherry red now. She looked at him mortified, and put her head in her hands, shaking it. She was hoping that her actions were enough to get the God out of her head. His laughter rumbled throughout the room as he watched the girl in front of him, clearly in distress.

He moved to sit closer to her on the bed, and her breath hitched. She peeked an eye at him, and she saw him smirking down at her. She was feeling hot, her hands clammy and her forehead sweaty. Loki being this close to her in this state was making her feel fuzzy, and she couldn't tell if she wanted away from him or if she wanted closer to him.

"Who do you desire, my dear?" His voice still in her head, making goosebumps break out all over her body. "Who were you speaking of last night when you said you wanted someone other than Thor?"

"Loki," she said sternly, a warning. If he kept on, she didn't know how long she'd be able to hold her resolve.

"Tell me," he growled, his hand finding purchase on her thigh.

She lightly jumped at the contact, her mouth parting, the air leaving her lungs. She didn't think he felt the same about her, and the realization that he did was both thrilling and terrifying. It excited her because she had always had feelings for him, and it terrified her because of Thor.

"Of course I feel the same, Ingrid," he said, and she took in a sharp breath of air. "How could I not?"

"Because I'm marrying Thor," she said.

"I don't care. You clearly don't want to marry him."

She was at a loss for words, literally and figuratively. Loki was her greatest friend, and she worried what this would do to their relationship. She didn't know how they would go forward. She was to be married in a month and that terrified her.

"This is not how I expected my day to go," she said to him.

"Mine either," Loki chuckled, this time out loud. "I should let you rest, dear. I'm going to assist Odin in finding who stole your voice."

She just nodded at him as he stood up off the bed. She bent back down, however, caging Ingrid in between his arms, causing her to lean back onto her elbows. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and he smirked back at her. One of his hands came up and settled under her jaw, cupping her cheek. She instinctively leaned into his touch, her cheeks bright red again. He leaned forward and took his thumb across her lips, huffing out a laugh as her lips parted.

"Don't think I'll forget this talk," he drawled, his voice deep and smooth like chocolate.

She nodded back at him, swallowing the lump in her throat. He pulled her forward by the neck, and she stopped breathing as she expected his lips upon hers, her eyes fluttering shut. But instead of his lips finding hers, she felt them firmly press on her forehead.

"See you later, darling," he smirked, pulling away from her and laughing as she sat on the bed dazed and wide eyed.

She watched as he sauntered out of her room, and she let out the breath she had been holding. Her hand found her chest, and she placed it there as she slowed her rapid heartbeat. She flopped back on her bed, a small smile forming on her lips.

Maybe this month wouldn't be so bad after all.

~~

A/N: Yaaas! It's done! Lemme know what you think! Definitely more parts to come! As always, likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated! Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series!

[kiki-shortsnout]

Premise: What if Stephen and Tony were in an established relationship before the Battle of New York, and when Tony took the nuke into the wormhole he never came back? Then, years later after Stephen becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts, he's about to go off on a mission, and as he opens a portal, Tony falls out.

Current story for @the-elle-kat​

*** 

Stephen frowned at the dark shadow beyond in the portal, the destination different than what he’d conjured the portal for. Taking a step closer, he allowed his fingers to weave through the tendrils of green magic twisting around the portal, transforming his spell, manipulating the endpoint.

‘What is happening?’ Wong demanded, mouth agape as they stared into what looked like this inside of the spaceship. Stephen’s arm shook from the backlash of energy, his sling ring burning on his fingers as the hijacker drew on more energy, locking Stephen into place. Wong steadied him with hands on his shoulders, gritting his teeth as he felt the vibrations from Stephen’s hands shake his arms.

‘I don’t know. I can’t break the spell, the portal is unstable.’

‘Someone is coming through,’ Wong muttered, stepping aside to summon Tao Mandalas, ready to face the threat attempting to break through into their interdimensional plane.

Whatever it was didn’t stumble through by itself, it was flung headfirst through the portal, the shimmering image of a metallic corridor the only indication of where the threat had come from, leaving the disgusting heap of rags and stench between Wong and Stephen.

Stephen gasped through clenched teeth at the recoil of magic forcing him back, the portal closing with a sharp snap. That was Asgardian magic, Stephen realized, rushing forward to check the empty air, the scorch marks on the Sanctum floor, ensuring nothing nefarious had been etched into the fabric of their world.

‘That wasn’t Thor’s energy,’ Stephen told Wong, only giving a cursory glance back as his friend crouched down to examine the body. ‘This feels like Loki,’ he hissed, trying to get his trembles under control. ‘Thor’s been searching for him for years, and the green energy fits with his profile…careful,’ he barked out a warning as Wong shuffled closer to the wheezing creature on the floor.

‘Stephen,’ he breathed out in wonder, energy dissipating from his hands as he crouched beside their unwanted guest, hand prying back the rags. ‘This isn’t Loki.’

‘It was definitely his magic that-’ his words caught in his throat as he saw the azure light spilling over the floorboards, recognizing it as a memory from long ago. Stephen flung himself to his knees on the hardwood floor, turning the figure cautiously onto his back, letting out a low wounded sound.

‘Careful, Stephen, it might be a trick, an illusion to gain your trust,’ Wong cautioned, magic lighting his fingers as he trailed them over the body, probing gently as Stephen shoved the heel of his hand into his mouth. He couldn’t stuff the emotions back down his throat, trying not to hope, unable to breathe as Wong checked.

It can’t be.

‘It’s him,’ Wong whispered after he’d performed all of the spells he could, sitting back on his ass with a heavy thump, looking between them both in bewilderment, unbelieving what he was seeing. ‘We should summon the Avengers-’

‘No!’ Stephen shouted, flinging his hand out over the body as if that would do anything. ‘Just…please, give me a minute,’ he gasped out. ‘Let me just, please,’ he begged, bringing his trembling hands to the figure’s face, cradling it in his.

His fiancé. His fiancé who had died four years ago.

He looked awful, his face gaunt from malnourishment, purple smudges tattooed under his eyes and prominent collarbones jutting out from ashen-hued skin. Even returned from the tortures of Afghanistan he hadn’t looked like this, his scars more mental than physical, but Stephen could see them now, painted upon his skin beyond the tattered rags of the undersuit he used to wear beneath the armor.

A ragged moan exhaled through chapped lips and eyelids peeled back, revealing confused brown eyes.

‘Tony?’

[pikachugirltits]

Magic x Marvel: Idle Speculation

I have a lot of random thoughts about the upcoming Magic the Gathering x Marvel crossover, and I thought it would be neat to just ramble about them in a post, especially so I can hopefully find that post again later when the sets release and see how much I was right about. I'm just gonna bullet point this because this is kind of a stream of consciousness sort of deal:

We know that we're getting multiple "tentpole releases" a.k.a. more than one full set for this particular crossover. I'm thinking at least one is going to be a straight to Modern draftable set similar to the LotR set, but I don't think they're necessarily just doing that for all the sets. I speculate that the other (or one of the others if there's more than two) set is going to be a gimmick draft set, such as 2-Head Giant or Commander draft.

I personally am hoping one of the sets is a Commander draft set, and that our partner variant for the set goes the Stranger Things route and just creates a subset partner variant. I propose the name Team-Up, to represent the ubiquity of team up storylines in comic books. (I actually made an entire post about this but Tumblr's wonderful search function is choosing not to find it on my blog.)

Ooh, if they do go the Commander draft route they can make the Prismatic Piper equivalent a Skrull or something

I really, really want a Squirrel Girl card that makes squirrel tokens that I can jam into my Chatterfang deck. Squirrel Girl is my favorite superhero and I just want her on a card so, so badly.

I think it would be cool to have a Mjolnir equipment that in addition to its other effects also has a bit of trinket text along the lines of "equipped creature is a God in addition to its other types."

Thor and Loki and any other Asgardian that represents an actual god should have the creature type God. It already exists. Like sure, we could make Asgardian a creature type if we wanted to, but that's the coward's route.

I saw someone make a comment on Reddit about adding Hero and Villain as creature types, but I really, really hope that doesn't happen. It runs the risk of making the creature types in the set super repetitive, and we're already gonna see a lot of that from the sheer number of human characters. Sure, we'll have some mutants and aliens and robots to occasionally break things up, but it'll be much worse if the class types among cards aren't varied.

Like seriously, let's use the movie Avengers lineup. What's better...having four Human Hero cards, a God Hero, and whatever we do with the Hulk...or a Human Soldier, Human Scientist, Human Archer, Human Rogue, God Warrior, and whatever we do with the Hulk

Yeah, actually...what are we gonna do with the Hulk and related characters? In a vacuum, I would probably type the Hulk as Mutant Berserker...but for IP reasons I wouldn't be surprised if the Mutant creature type is reserved solely for characters with the X-Gene. I don't have an answer for this, just wondering...

Oh, and since I mentioned the MCU, I do want to say one thing, if they're smart they'll base the sets on the comics and not the MCU. Gives them a lot more material and characters to pull from

Booster fun treatment should lean into this and be comic book themed, but I think they would also be smart to offer some Secret Lair drops featuring alt art versions of the characters based on the MCU...if they're willing to deal with the likeness rights and whatnot.

Multiple tentpole releases does mean multiple commander precons. Some themes I could easily see them basing decks on: the Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man/Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy+other space themed characters, a deck for a bunch of the more mystical Marvel characters probably led by Dr. Strange, S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., Villains in general (from my memory Marvel doesn't really have a singular Legion of Doom type team up of its iconic villains, but I'm definitely picturing a Villains deck that tosses a bunch of iconic villains together in one deck...you could call it the Masters of Evil as a deep cut though.)

If Gambit gets a card, he should have an ability that lets you discard cards to deal damage to a target to represent Gambit throwing cards at his enemies. (This is the kind of wink at the camera stuff I love in UB products.)

Koi Boy should get a card purely because he's a canon trans man and Magic really needs some trans masc representation.

[snakesinsocks2005]

I’m so curious about your specific interpretation of Thor as someone who hyperfixated so hard on marvel at one point, especially the first two Thor movies for some reason. What is your opinion on the Thor movies actually, being as you seem to consume the animated series and comics too!

Ough believe it or not there was once a time I had very little idea about marvels comics, and solely fixated on the movies, and that's where my initial love for thor came from!

I still very much to this day Adore and wholeheartedly appreciate the first two thor movies (as admittedly boring Dark World was-) the amount of D e t a i l and work went into the costume design and the cgi and the sets and the. God just the everything... was Sooo well done. Chefs kiss.

Thor ragnarok, when it first came out in 2017? I think it was? I actually really liked! It was and still is a solid and fun movie. However looking back im kinda bitter at how it and taika kinda put the first domino (atleast in my opinion) in the downfall of the mcu.

The complete 180 on the dialogue, the writing off on sif and the w3, really just taking anything and everything thor ever had before like his family his friends his hammer his HAIR his eye his planet his culture his.well I could go on. And reading interviews on how taika thought of the previous movies and comics put a bad taste in my mouth, it was real clear he had little to no respect for the original (And Original) material, and how he was just making it more enjoyable for him specifically, no matter how it was planned to be in the start. Impulsive with good intentions middle english speaking mcu thor I miss you so much,,

I've grown up watching various marvel animated shows on Disney xd (rip) such as ultimate spider-man, hulk and the agents of smash, guardians of the galaxy, and my favourite of course Avengers assemble. After disney xd's TV channel poofed off into the void, I had to delve deeper into the mcu to get my marvel fix, and that worked for a good while. Until it was clear marvel was on a steep downslope (after endgame I kinda lost interest, I've kinda stopped keeping up with the mcu completely after quantumania and multiverse of madness. Sigh. I reckon wandavision was the last top quality thing theyve put out)

Re and rerewatching marvel shows has helped me regain interest with marvels characters, with that plain to see with thor especially (the latter half of the fourth and fifth seasons of aa im totally ignoring, seeing as how its desperately trying to mush itself into the mcus continuity sespite making No sense and just being kinda :///)

I've since then taken a greater interest in the comics, despite having no easy resources to read through any completely other than small snippets I happen to find (most of the comic pages I've seen I've reblogged on here lol)

And man!! There's such an appeal to love a character from a specific source and find out there's possibly hundreds of versions of him out there with different writers, story directions, and art styles with unique yet recognisable designs!!! (Herald of thunder from what I've seen of you you are GORGEOUS.)

As for my specific interpretation of thor and marvel overall, it's quite alot of my own indulgence and preferences sksjf. Mixing what I liked from parts of the mcu, the animated shows and the comics heaps of lore/s, it's basically a big hoge-poge au of mine.

Thor is both classified as an Alien and God because why can't he be both? There's elements to him that are very very different to humans biologically (hyper density, more efficient senses, inhuman physical capabilities, glowing eyes, glittering blood, no finger prints, etc etc) with mystic (able to sense and 'see' different energies, everything to due to his asgardian Allspeak ability, able to surive in space with no air) and asgards incredibly advanced it looks like magic tech (mjolnir!!!!!!) With lots of things a mix of the three (his ability to harness storms, lightning in particular (probably the best idea taika put in that film was having thor have magic on his own with mjolnir only serving to harness and focus it)

There's lots of other details I could write but Man is this getting long lmao

[elgaberino-mcoc]

COMBINED: Thunderstrike mantle

[good] dad Eric: ballpark top-300 prospective champs

[bad] son Kevin: outside top 616 non-champs

[good] Kevin has his fans, isn't ranked horribly worse

[good] the combined mantle numerically merits the list

Just another we didn't think needed two separate listings.

[doctorstrangereview]

Strange Tales #123

Cover Date: August 1964 On-Sale Date: May 12, 1964

Doc once again interacts with the Marvel Universe at-large. He faces a new-to-him, but not new foe. The Mighty Thor's sparring partner, Loki, visits our master sorcerer with evil intentions. Doc shares half the cover this round! His popularity must be growing. He's also got something weird going on with his hands that may be the colorist's bad decision. Doc's hands are flesh colored but his wrists are orange like his gloves. It's almost like the gloves are in multiple parts and Doc chose to wear only the gauntlet parts. However, no line creates a clear delineation between hands and possible gauntlets. The masterworks recoloring respects this odd choice. The Pocket Books reprints from 1978 did not and made them appear as regular gloves. The bottom of the splash page promises Thor putting in an appearance "drawn in the somewhat different Ditko style." Ditko is better at Kirby characters than Kirby is with Ditko characters.

Doc, enjoying a casual day (sans big cloak,) floats in his study attempting to master the art of levitation, while he is being spied on by Loki, Asgardian god of evil. At this point, Loki is pure evil and not the ambiguous, non-binary imp of today. As we've seen multiple times before, Doc isn't so hot on the security thing, mystic or physical so any magic user can peek on what's going on inside the Sanctum Sanctorum. Doc may be in the same study we've seen before, but the Sanctum's depiction has always been really inconsistent so who knows?

Loki spends several panels in long-winded exposition for the audience's sake which boils down to "I will trick Doctor Strange into stealing Thor's hammer for me!" He conjures a cool looking insect type sigil above his cauldron (which is really just a hole in the ground) and pops into Doc's Sanctum delivering Doc quite a surprise! He even dressed in odd chains for the occasion and blaming the "evil" Thor for his predicament!

Now, the Avengers have been around nearly as long as Doc has at this point and Loki has been annoying Thor for longer than that. Doc is also a highly skilled and well informed magic user. It seems to be stretching suspension of disbelief to think Doc is completely unaware of who Loki is. Yet, he seems to have never heard of Loki here. I guess no one had answered that Village Voice ad for continuity coordinator yet.

Doc's All-Purpose Amulet probes Loki's chains not suspecting that the evil he senses is Loki, not the fake Thor chains. "Dude! Only Thor's gnarly hammer can free me!" "Okay dude, but I need a piece of the hammer to cast the proper spell!" "What a coincidence! I have this little sliver of leather from the handle that I've been carrying around since the beginning of time!" "Perfect! Let's go!"

Doc throws the sliver into his own cauldron, mumbles some mumbo-jumbo and viola, a metal hand rises from the cauldron, flies off and grabs Thor's hammer. He's in mid-flight so he's got no where to go but down. Loki is able to see this and then imagines a giant version of himself standing on the earth with a giant version of the hammer, apparently unaware of the massive gravity disruption giant Loki with giant Mjolnir would cause.

Doc, using his own investigative skills and the All-Purpose Amulet sees there is no evil in that little, tiny bit of leather and realizes "It was Loki all along!" He might have been smart enough to deduce this, but not smart enough to not say it out loud. Loki's sharp ears (even though covered by his costume) catch this and he attacks Doc. Doc threatens to stop the spell which has stolen the hammer, which is probably something he should have done at that moment.

What follows is a visually spectacular battle between the two. Doc is severely outmatched by Loki, but soldiers on. There's some back and forth where Doc imprisons Loki who shrugs it off and Loki imprisons Doc who has a much more difficult time escaping. Using illusion images of himself, Doc hides in the next room, changes to his spirit form, sneaks up on Loki and cancels his "steal Thor's hammer spell."

The hand disappears and the caption reads that "time spins back, back... until, before Thor's fall finished..." Does this mean that Thor went splat? Did the spell rewind the world, like Superman in the first Christopher Reeve movie? The world may never know.

"Oh, hell!" thinks Loki, "I really need to hurry things along." Doc attempts to entrap Loki in the Purple Dimension, but that doesn't work. Doc uses the All-Purpose Amulet to throw up a shield as a last resort. Loki crouches like a monkey and uses what looks like a floppy lightning bolt to pummel Doc. It's quite a ridiculous panel! I love it!

Thor flies toward the Sanctum as Loki prepares to administer the coup-de-grace. "Damn it! Gotta go, Doc!" Loki's spirit form returns to Asgard as Thor flies by the Sanctum. We get a close-up look at Ditko's Thor. It's definitely different from the Kirby rendition, but it certainly isn't bad. In fact it's slightly more realistic.

Just wait until Kirby draws Doc again in a couple of months!

Thor's hammer stops tingling so he doesn't visit Doc but flies by the big, round Vishanti window as Doc looks out. Doc says some platitudes on how good must always triumph over evil out loud to himself and our story ends.

Well that was exciting! We get a truly one-sided battle where Doc is really overwhelmed by his foe. As a bonus, we get an Avenger guest starring. But that's really a cock-tease since he's more plot device than character. I really wish I could ask Lee and Ditko if Thor actually died in this story and was magically un-splatted. Visually, the battle between Loki and Doc is great. Ditko is getting more and more imaginative depicting magic. He is also getting lazier when it comes to backgrounds and they're mostly negative space. I suppose it helps when the funky chairs don't distract from the bolts of bedevilment. Overall, it was nice to have Doc interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe again, especially in his own series.

[dino-fart]

The Asgardian and The Alien (Oneshot)

Pairing: Asgardian!Stephen x Female!Reader

His back story and appearance is from @xenocorner​! Please follow them for more amazing Stephen Strange art!

Genre: Romance, Action

Summary: You are a superhero with powers and backstory similar to Supergirl. Your planet’s name was Aurora and it was destroyed by Thanos long ago. You and your mother made it to Earth, the only remaining survivors. She trained you and raised you to be a protector of Earth. Through your adventures you met Tony and now work closely with him. Now he calls for your help and you answer...

You were in your superhero costume which was a blue long-sleeve top with a square collar, a red waist-length cape, a gold waistline belt, blue pants, and red knee-length boots. You let your hair open so you could feel the cool breeze flow through it as you sat on the rooftop of the Avengers Tower. You were waiting for Tony to call you down to the meeting. He had told you that he was waiting on Thor and someone else to come. There was a mysterious magical enemy causing mayhem in New York City. 

He first thought it was Loki but he knew that was impossible as Thor had him locked up. You had encountered the enemy who trapped you in an electric forcefield while they got away. It took Tony and Bruce forever to help you get out. You only got a glimpse of the enemy and noticed the strange symbol on their pendant. “Hey doll, come on down!” Tony shouted from the balcony. 

You rolled your eyes at the nickname, he had to go through many nicknames before you compromised with ‘doll’. You flew down and landed on the balcony. Your cape flowed in the process as you entered the tower. “Are we ready?” You asked Tony. Two people turned around to face you, you recognized one as Thor but the other one you didn’t. 

“Fellas, this is a good friend of mine, she is the one who encountered our little...Problem.” Tony walked over to you. Thor approached you and towered over you. You looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile. 

After a brief moment of silence, Thor laughed and patted your shoulder, “I tease, mortal! Stark has told me much about you!” You stumbled a little at the force of the God of Thunder and nodded. “Oh and this is my comrade, Stephen Strangeson!” Thor gestured and the other person approached you. You couldn’t help but blush to see his handsome features. Your eyes took into his costume and the gold-plated tiara on the back of his head. 

He was dressed so regally...Was he also a prince? “A pleasure to meet you.” You smiled shyly and extended your hand to him. 

Stephen gently took it and shook your hand. He bowed his head to you, “Likewise.” Your hand was released and you couldn’t help but keep staring at him. He was so fascinating! Stephen felt his cheeks heat up at your gaze. You tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear and Tony smirked. 

“Anyway...” Tony chimed in and you snapped out of your thoughts. The four of your devised a plan to capture the enemy using you as bait. You didn’t like it but Tony reassured you that Stephen would be in the same room to help you when needed. You agreed since Stephen was an expert in the mystic arts. 

Now you and Stephen were walking alongside each other in the underground catacombs where Stephen tracked the enemy down. “So Stark had mentioned you are not from Earth...Yet you are dedicating your life to protecting it. That is quite honorable.” Stephen looked at you with a gentle smile. 

You felt your cheeks turn slightly pink and looked ahead of the path, “T-Thank you. I guess when you’re in the dark...You have to find the light...Helping people is my light.” Stephen nodded in agreement, he was in the same place when he lost the ability to use his hands. The two of you walked into a small square room and Stephen gritted his teeth as he sensed the magic in the air. There was a red glow in the room and the walls began to move quickly. 

“Watch out!” Stephen shouted and tried to come up with the spell. However, there was no need as you extended your arms out on either side of you to hold the walls back from crushing you back. You struggled and spread your legs for better balance. Stephen closed his eyes and began to cast a spell but his spell didn’t work. Fear coursed through his veins as he realized this. “Who is responsible for this?” He said in awe. 

“H-Hey Stephen...Y-You need to go!” You said struggling to push the walls back. Stephen tried to cast his spell again and when it didn’t work, you quickly grabbed him by the collar and with your incredible strength you threw him across the room toward the exit. “Go!” You shouted pressed your back against one wall and used your feet to push the other wall back. Stephen hesitated but ended up running toward the exit of the room. Stephen finally caught the enemy and discovered it was a vengeful sorcerer named Mordo. 

He had used a spell to enchant the catacombs where only his magic worked. Stephen was able to grab a shield from the tomb to defend himself but felt useful when Mordo cast a spell toward him. He was pinned down by a column and struggling to push it back from his shaky hands. Stephen failed to stop it and the column landed on his right leg. He shouted in pain and continued to try and get the debris off. 

Suddenly the column moved away from him swiftly and Stephen sighed in relief. His gaze was on you, his rescuer. You turned to Mordo and used your heat vision to emit optic heat blasts toward Mordo’s direction. Mordo dodged it and tried to attack you but you were smart enough to slice the two columns by him. The columns collapsed as did the entire catacomb. 

You charged toward Mordo and pushed him toward the collapsing catacombs. You flew up toward the ceiling and began to punch a hole into the surface quickly. While you did that, Stephen threw the dusty shield toward Mordo to knock him out. You flew down and without saying a word scooped Stephen in your arms, bridal style. “Hold on!” You said and flew rapidly toward the hole you created. 

You continued to fly far up in the sky with Stephen in your arms. “Are you okay?” You asked softly as you flew. 

“Yeah...My leg is most likely wounded but nothing a little magic can’t fix...If you want, you can...Land and I can use my magic to get us to the tower?” Stephen suggested. 

“That’s alright, Stephen, I got it.” You smiled kindly at him. 

Stephen gazed at you, your beautiful hair flowing in the wind and your determined expression to keep him safe. “Thank you.” Stephen smiled. 

You met his gaze and blushed. Your thoughts were interrupted when you nearly hit a bird. “Shit!” You shouted and flew out of the way of the feathered creature. Stephen chuckled softly and the two of you arrived back at the tower. 

You landed on the balcony and carried Stephen to the couch and set him down gently. “I’m sure Tony and Thor will be here soon. Do you need me to do anything?” You asked. 

“Are you hurt?” Stephen asked. You shook your head, partially lying. Yes, you had some scrapes and cuts but nothing that could kill you. 

Tony and Thor finally arrived at the tower and Tony smirked seeing you handing Stephen a wet cloth. “I see you two made it...My guess is our problem is solved?” Tony asked. 

“Yup!” You said confidently. 

“Thanks to her.” Stephen looked at you. Your face turned red seeing him look at you. Thor and Tony exchanged a smirk. 

“You know I think we need to check in on something real quick, we’ll be right back!” Thor said and the two of them left. You rolled your eyes seeing them leave. 

Stephen shook his head and chuckled, “Not surprising.” You turned to Stephen and gave him a curious look. 

“Sit beside me, let me check on your wounds, it’s the least I can do.” Stephen gestured. You moved to sit next to him and Stephen leaned in close to cup your cheek. His thumb hovered over your large cut and whispered something. You felt the cut seal up and your eyes met Stephen’s cerulean blue eyes. There was silence as the two of you stared into each other’s eyes. 

Stephen was the first to lean his face closer to you and gently pressed his lips against your other cheek. You closed your eyes feeling his lips and sighed happily. Stephen pulled back and gently brushed your bangs back. He smiled softly and you leaned in to peck the corner of his lips. Stephen quickly grabbed your chin before you pulled away and pressed his lips against yours firmly. 

You rested your hands on his shoulders as he kissed you deeper. Stephen pulled back from the kiss after a bit and rested his forehead against yours. You had a feeling this was going a little too fast but you didn’t care. Stephen was sweet and kind, you could feel a strong pull toward him. Stephen gently held your hand in his, “I’m...Not really sure what comes next...” 

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” You boldly asked. 

“A date?” 

“It’s probably called courtship in Asgard, I know in Aurora we called it that.” 

“Then yes, I would like to court you.” 

You smiled widely and kissed his cheek gently. You rested your forehead against his. Stephen kept your hands close and smiled softly at you, he was happy to find someone like you.  

Author’s Note: Set after the Avengers movie.

Tagging: @deepbatched, @vikingqueen28, @leonkennedyslefthand, @stewardofningishzida, @icytrickster17, @onlinecemetery, @marki-moo0, @absolute-not-original, @creamecafe, @scrubb, @nightingal3-tales, @alliethedaydreamer, @strangesthirdeye, @alexa-33, @zombiedixon89, @sunnsettee, @deliciousfestsalad, @kiaradaniell, @freyafriggafrey, @criticalroleobssedperson, @avengersfan25, @lunamoonbby, @androgynouspersonapricotfan, @foxcantswim, @namorkawaiiwife, @starkiller-queen, @kyuupidwrites, @luciamajer, @renatas10, @ayamenimthiriel, @gaiagurl05, @dipsylou, @pinkthick, @hansai, @andywinter16, @iambored24601, @3-cheese-tortellini, @cumbrbatchbenedict, @ironstrange1991, @aribas-stuff, @rianumochi, @vibaracal, @lostpirateinwonderland​​  

[space-mermaid-writing]

The witchling and the god [Loki x Witch!Reader] Chapter 28

Summary: The Avengers were looking for someone to help Loki fit in with the team. To become socially acceptable, so to speak. He had been given the choice of sitting in a cell in Asgard or serving some sort of community service probation on Midgard. The Avengers and Shield both felt that as long as Loki was on Earth, he should be under supervision. This is now your job. Why? Because you’re a witch. You’re not sure why this qualifies you, but here you are, giving it a shot. What could possibly go wrong?

Tags: Witch!Reader, Magic, Witches, slow burn, everybody lives in the tower, character development, Loki‘s redemption, Stephen Strange is a friend, Loki and Stephen are frenemies, Tony Stark is a good bro, kids love Loki, Tony has stupid nicknames for everybody, eventual smut

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Read it on AO3 | Previous | Next

Chapter’s Note: (My sister is in town and I'm STOKED! I haven't seen her in three years <3 spread the sibling love!) This story will end with a StrangeFrost friendship and you can’t stop me. Also, this one may be one of my favorite chapters. Beta by @zaria-04

Chapter 28: Confessions

The sanctums are safe places for all magic wielders, not just sorcerers of the Mystic Arts. Loki has known them since they were wooden temples and learned other ways in than through the front door. He walks through the rows of relics on display and examines them, curiously. Presumably it is not polite not to knock at the door. And he has every reason to be polite. But he’s still Loki after all and he needs to be at least a little bit dramatic.

It's not long before he hears the sound of fluttering fabric near him.

"Is that 'The Tome of Oshtur'?" Loki asks, looking at an ancient book that didn't quite fit between the other relics. "I thought it was lost."

"The very one. I found it by chance in the collection of a mage princess, and she gave it to me in thanks for my help."

At the explanation, Loki merely nods. Sounds like a regular Tuesday for a Sorcerer Supreme.

Stephen looks at him expectantly. He knows Loki hasn't come by just to chat about relics, and he's in no mood for small talk. So he waits in silence.

The Asgardian hesitates to reveal his true motives. He is not sure if it was the right decision to come here.

"Considered by the Witchling you're a friend of hers. You've known her for quite a while."

He hates that he has a hard time finding the right words, that he has to rely on Strange's help. But he is a god on an important mission.

Stephen remains silent, giving him all the time he needs. On the one hand, the sorcerer is curious to know what it is all about. On the other hand, it amuses him to see Loki struggle.

"Do you know anything about any of her encounters with witch hunters in her past?"

Stephen raises a brow. "Why don't you ask her?"

"She doesn't exactly talk to me at the moment," Loki confesses.

The sorcerer eyes him thoughtfully for a while before shaking his head. "I'm not interested in getting involved in your relationship drama." He turns away. "You know the way out."

"Please."

This single word is enough to stop Stephen right in his tracks. The sorcerer looks at him, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

Loki has clenched his hands into fists, but he stands by his word. "I messed up and I'm trying to fix it." He is angry. Mostly at himself, but also at Strange. A Sorcerer Supreme is supposed to be better and help people in need. Sure, this isn’t a magical emergency, but still. "So if you would please help me."

Stephen’s eyes soften a bit. "I noticed it’s somewhat of a delicate subject. She didn't tell me what happened, but I know trauma when I see one. My medical opinion is that she has an old psychological wound that never fully healed and that has probably ripped open with the incident around her brother."

Loki thinks about his words. It helps him only insofar as he sees his suspicions confirmed. There must be something in your past, some incident that has shaped you. And Loki has pressed his thumb right into that open wound. It's so typical of him. He has a talent for these things, except that he usually does it on purpose. But he didn't mean to hurt you this time. Not really.

"Have you told her what you feel for her?"

Loki looks up, torn from his thoughts and remembers he's still standing in the Sanctum. "No."

"Maybe you should. What I learned is that you shouldn't wait too long with it. Not if it's truly important to you. Especially in her current state."

The conversation has taken a turn Loki never expected. It’s the last thing he wants to talk about with the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Any news on the last piece of Bloodweeper?" Loki asks to change the topic and to distract it from himself. He has unwillingly shown Strange a vulnerable side of himself and he isn't sure if he's okay with that.

Fortunately Stephen takes the hint and shakes his head. "No. Negotiations are ongoing, but so far the museum is unwilling to hand over the necklace." If that remains the case, he would initiate other methods. There are ways to get the artifact without a non-magically gifted person noticing.

"Are you storing the other parts here in the Sanctum?" Loki's curiosity is piqued, but Stephen shuts it down immediately.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. I'm five seconds away from sending you into another falling dimension with those questions."

"I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice," Loki smirks and Stephen does the same.

"We'll see about that."

~~

You couldn't stand it to be in the tower and returned to your cottage, where night has already fallen. Sleep is out of the question – you aren’t tired at all – so you first clean up your kitchen - after all, the news about the fight between Thor and Loki has pulled you out of work - and then flip through some old photo albums. There are photos of you and your siblings from decades past. Some still taken with roll film, some with Polaroid, and some more recent digital prints.

Elizabeth keeps the really old pictures, portraits and sketches from before photographs were invented. There are pictures of all the siblings, even those who are no longer alive. It’s important for you not to forget what they looked like. Sometimes - like now - you feel as if you are seeing these memories from your past lives for the first time, as if it were no more than someone else's pale memory. Time does that, whispers the small voice in your head, curiously absorbing all knowledge.

Eventually, you make yourself some tea and go to bed. Tomorrow you will visit Elizabeth and Gabriel. It always helps you to talk to them if you don't feel good. It's too late for today.

You are still hurt by Loki's words as you make Eloise's order the next morning. Your sister hasn't answered your text message yet about when she's free today, so you throw yourself into work. Unfortunately, that gives you way too much time to think.

Ever since Loki and you started this relationship, he has always been gentle with you, understanding and kind. But you remember all too well how cold and venomous he was in the beginning when you first met. When you started the job at the Avenger’s. Before Loki opened up to you.

And you know that his mood is caused by the same issues as it was back then: the conflict with his father, with his home.

It's something he probably won't be able to resolve anytime soon. Things like that can last a whole lifetime. At least your lifetime, which is way shorter than his.

With his words, Loki has awakened familiar fears in you. You are just a simple human compared to him and Thor. So what are you to him? A pastime? It seemed too honest to you for that. There are real feelings involved, you're sure of it. Both on your side and on his. But how deep do they go?

It's all messed up.

You're directing some flying ingredients to the pot and stirring them in it when you notice a noise.

"That's a nice witch kitchen you got here."

You turn around and see the Sorcerer Supreme standing in your kitchen. He is wearing his blue robes, but without the cloak.

You frown at his unannounced appearance. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"I'll remember that next time." The corners of Stephen's mouth twitch upward.

With a wave of your hand, you lower the still-flying kitchen utensils onto the counter. "Is there something important you're here for? I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood for company."

"Yeah, I heard about that. So you're going to hole up here? You're going to hide when problems rise?" Stephen asks with a dark look on his face.

That's rich coming from him. The Sorcerer Supreme himself is often nowhere to be found. And anyway, you don't think he's in a position to judge. You sigh softly and turn back to your potion. It must now simmer for some time and soak in. "That reverse psychology doesn't work for me. Try being nice instead."

His next words are so soft you almost miss them. "He loves you."

You stop in your motion, your hand halfway to grasping a ladle. "Did he tell you that?" you ask in a small voice. Your mouth feels very dry all at once.

"Well, that's not quite-..."

"I'll believe that when I hear it from his own mouth," you interrupt the sorcerer rudely. You don't understand why Stephen is even getting involved in this. Maybe he's afraid Loki will start doing stupid things when you're not with him. But you're not his babysitter. And right now, you wouldn’t care even if the Asgardian set something on fire.

"I love you."

You're surprised when suddenly it's not Stephen's voice you hear but Loki's, and you whirl around. The Asgardian is standing where the sorcerer was a moment ago, in the same pose, as if it were him all along.

"And you wonder why I've trust issues."

Loki offers you an apologetic smile. "Would you have listened to me if I had come as me?"

"I don't know. Probably not," you admit. Your heart pounds loudly in your chest, "I don't know what to say…" Your thoughts are racing. Loki's unannounced visit, his confession, your argument that still lingers in your ears. The confession was exactly what you wanted to hear. But not like this. Not under these circumstances.

Contrary to his usual manner, Loki seems uncertain and waits for your reaction. But he takes the fact that you don't immediately throw him out as a good sign, and he approaches you slowly. "You once asked me if I'm not able to lie or if I choose not to lie. The truth is, I'm able to sense lies but I cannot lie myself." He stops in front of you and wants to put his arms around you and pull you to him. But he keeps his hands at his side. "There aren't many people who actually know this. I believe even Thor isn't entirely sure of it."

You glare at him. "How do I know that's true?"

"You don't." Loki's lips turn into a bitter smile. "That's the irony of it. You have to trust me."

You think about it and surprisingly you do. The Asgardian twists words to his liking, he says things you don't like, but you don't think he has ever truly lied to you. So if this is true, he just revealed his biggest secret to you. And confessed his love to you. This is a lot of trust he puts into you and you know that isn’t easy for him.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I wish I could say I didn't mean it," Loki apologizes as the pause becomes too long. "Everything you do amazes me. You have been kind and forgiving, patient with me. And I'm paying you back by taking my anger out on you, when you're the last one who had anything to do with it."

"I know," you finally say. "I know it wasn't me you were angry at. You just happen to push your finger into an old wound. One that should have healed by now."

"Please tell me what happened. When the witch hunters caught you."

And once again, Loki hits the bull's eye with his words. You consider it for a moment. It's something you've tucked away in a drawer of your brain that you never want to open again. But Loki took a step in your direction after your argument, probably two or three, and now it's up to you to take the next one.

"Do you want tea?" you ask him, because there's no way you're telling this story while standing in the middle of your kitchen. "I need some. But first, this."

You bridge the last bit to Loki and put your arms around him, burying your face in the crook of his neck. Circumstances are never what you want them to be. Maybe you should just take what you get. You're still hurt by his words, but since he came to you and apologized, you are willing to work this out.

The Asgardian hugs you tightly and exhales in relief. You feel a gentle kiss pressed onto your head and you look up to him. "You have one hell of a timing."

You smile watery and cup his face. Your hands shake and you feel the pounding of your heart all the way up into the back of your head, but you cover it up. It's a fear that always gets you when it comes to the subject you're about to approach. But it will never go away if you continue to ignore it.

"I love you too. How could I not? You're a weirdly attractive magic god from space." You mean it. Maybe it's just fitting for the both of you to confess your feelings in a situation like this. Your relationship with the Asgardian has been a hell of a ride so far.

For the first time since you've known him, maybe even in his life, Loki remains silent. He just looks at you, with a new light in his eyes, a spark you have never seen before. And with that, he says more than any word could. His fingers slide up effortlessly to caress your cheek, and he leans in to kiss you sweeter than he has ever before.

It just lasts for a few seconds, but it makes you smile.

"Now, sit down. I'll make tea."

"Yes, m’lady."

You turn to the stove and take down your potion, put a kettle of water instead on the open flame. At the same time, you levitate two cups from the cabinet to your right to the table. It’s a distraction to concentrate on this simple task and to calm your trembling hands. It almost feels like they are moving on their own, stored in your muscle memory. It's a strange feeling. But it helps you take a breath.

You owe it to Loki to tell him the story.

The tea water is ready faster than you'd like, and you fill both cups with the steaming liquid before taking a seat next to Loki. A lump has formed in your throat and you find it difficult to speak. Loki has taken your hand and waits quietly until you are ready.

"They hanged me," you finally say, your voice small. "I was lucky, though. My neck didn't break and I could use my magic to get free.

Your eyes are glued on your interlaced fingers. His are cool and it helps to keep you grounded.

"It wasn't witch hunters per se, but people from the village where I lived. I knew them all by name, had helped them whenever they needed help. It was a dark time, fear was stirred up. People were suspicious of everything they didn’t understand."

For the longest time afterwards you had seen their faces in nightmares. They had haunted you. Over the decades, they've become more and more blurred, and now you can barely remember their features. You don't know if it's because of the time that has passed or if your mind has simply repressed it.

There is a certain bitterness in your next words as you finally look at Loki. "That was 200 years ago now, and I still can't wear necklaces or even turtlenecks because it's too tight around my throat, it makes me feel like I'm suffocating." Your fingertips ghost over the sensitive skin on your neck. It's something that bothers you, a constant reminder of what happened. As if, after all this time, it still feels like they have power over you, have you trapped.

Loki remembers the day he found out you were a witch. He had grabbed you by the throat and you had reacted violently. He remembers that whenever he was in the form of a snake, you warned him not to wrap himself around your neck. You never wear anything near your neck and suddenly it all makes sense. It's so obvious that he's surprised he didn't notice it sooner. Your physical scars have healed, but the mental ones still lie raw open.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers, making a vague gesture of his hand to your neck. You understand what he means.

Your lips twist into a tentative smile and you don’t really know what to answer. "Yeah…"

Loki's hand finds yours and he squeezes it. For a while you just sit there in silence, each busy with your own thoughts. Sometimes it doesn't take many words; you probably wouldn't find any right now anyway. In the background, your potion is still bubbling, and you'll have to get to it soon.

Loki catches your gaze. "Are you still in no mood for company?"

"I'm still a bit angry at you and I've got work to do." You point to your stove. "How about we meet...," with a quick glance at your clock you calculate the time difference to New York, "...for lunch tomorrow?"

"Your wish is my command." Smiling, the Asgardian leans toward you and steals a fleeting kiss. You place a hand on the back of his neck and intensify the kiss before pushing him away from you.

"Okay, now leave, Princeling." There's no longer an edge to your voice.

________________________

The Witchling and the Princeling ♥

The god of lies not being able to lie and therefore a master of twisting the truth ← That idea kicked down the door into my head while writing and declared itself home. After finishing writing, I went through everything Loki said in this whole fic to make sure he never told a lie.

The poem from the header image: Softly my thoughts whispered invisible words. My mind was a calm chaos filled with reflection of you. I wanted to find myself and i did when I found you.

Tag List: @lokisgoodgirl @lokixryss @itsybitchylittlewitchy @yokshi-unbeliebubble @fictional-hooman @elennair @all-envy-suyu @purplekitten30 @elisadmaggiore @nothing2113 @ceo-of-stfu @moonlightreader649 @ronipiamka @fluffybunnyu @ninjarose23 @ozymdias @huntress-artemiss @sofi786 @thedistractedagglomeration @rosaline-black @msrawog @moonlightreader649 @paetonnn @eldriidd @r4inlov3r @eleniblue @eleniblue @maeisonline @marvel-love24 @sinsandguilt @kalinaselennespeaks @ohtellmelove @eleniblue @hyojin-2579 @just-someone11 @marygoddessofmischief @fall-myriad @melavoris @baebeepeach

[ancientwastedlores]

I Can See You!

ASK: Hi can you do the I Can See You from SNTV? The scenario would be like Loki and the reader being in the same mission and secretly liking each other but they can't. THANK U IN ADVANCE🫶

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A/N: It's been a while since FREED BY FATE, which I am thrilled to say did much better than I was expecting. Thank you for continuing to read my stuff, guys :') And thank you for more asks! I hope you enjoy <3

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I Can See You

Under the cloak of the New Moon, the Avengers compound hummed with an eerie energy. Asgardian Spirits danced around Loki, whispering ancient secrets as he channeled his rituals. These ceremonies blessed the compound with a magical shield, an ethereal protection against outside threats.

Yet, this shield bore a vulnerability. Each New Moon, Loki needed an hour to rejuvenate its power, leaving the compound momentarily exposed. The Avengers, ever vigilant, braced themselves during this time, knowing all too well it was when enemies might seize their chance.

You were stationed at the front door, the only entry point your enemies would never think to use. Steve, Sam, and Tony got the more complex entry points AND all the fun.

As you stood there, Chitauri weapons and your own version of the Iron Glove in hand, you paced back and forth, itching for some excitement.

From within the building, Loki's voice surged like a divine chant, causing the very foundations of the compound to quiver. A sense of awe enveloped you, his smooth baritone intoning in a language unknown to you. It swelled, filling the air, drowning out all else, until his voice was the very pulse of your existence. It felt sacred, all-consuming. You yearned to immerse yourself in this overwhelming force, to be one with its profound mysticism.

THWACK!

Snapping out of the religious experience, you turned your head to the right. What the hell was that?

Alarms blared inside the building, but Loki's voice remained strong. You got the excitement you were hoping for, after all!

You rushed inside to where Loki was, hoping nobody had the chance to reach him yet. The voice got louder as you got closer, and the sheer energy surrounding him and the spirits visiting him stopped you dead in your tracks. This is about as far as you could go - which means it's about as far as any enemy can go.

You took a position right outside this forcefield... and waited. Shouts, alarms, and sounds of guns and clanging armors indicated there were at least 50 men to contend with, but if Tony, Steve, and Sam were handling it, it meant the enemies were dropping like flies.

Suddenly, shadows flitted in the periphery. You squinted, spotting a group of infiltrators — mercenaries from the Ten Rings, wielding strange energy blades that pulsed with a sinister glow. Their aim was clear: to break Loki's concentration, shattering the protective shield.

As they advanced, you readied your Iron Glove, releasing a blinding burst of energy that knocked several of them off their feet. Above you, the sound of battle resonated through the hallways — Steve's shield clashing, Tony's repulsors firing, and Sam's wings echoing with swift movements.

In the midst of the chaos, you held your ground, determined to protect Loki. Every so often, you'd catch a glimpse of him through the chaos. Each time your eyes met, a silent understanding passed between you. He continued his incantation, the ethereal spirits swirling around him, a stark contrast to the violence outside their protective circle.

Suddenly, a massive force threw you off balance. One of the Ten Rings, stronger and more formidable than the others, had charged towards you. Just as he was about to strike, a protective green energy barrier emanated from Loki, throwing the assailant off course.

Loki's eyes locked onto yours, a mix of gratitude and something deeper, something neither of you had acknowledged before. The intensity of his gaze, coupled with the realization that you had just risked everything for him, made your heart race.

Not now... focus.

The energy barrier was enough to make the other thugs hesitate to approach you. The leader shouted at them to continue advancing, but some valued their lives more than their jobs and fled outside. Unknown to them, the Hulk was outside waiting for them, but that wasn't your problem.

The leader glared at you, his bloodied face and gleaming sword making you wonder, for a second, how hot Loki would look disheveled and dangerous.

You shook your head to get rid of those sinful thoughts. Focus.

The leader dropped his sword and reached into his pocket. The world around you stopped, and a breath hitched in your throat. He took out a small metallic object, a cube no bigger than the dice you played Monopoly with.

The cube shimmered under the dim light, emanating an aura so potent that even from a distance, its pull was undeniable. Etched runes, eerily reminiscent of the old Asgardian scripts, glowed on its sides. It was an artifact from the realm of Svartálfar, known for its potent disruptions to magic and spells.

The leader sneered, holding the cube high. "You think you're the only ones with ancient weapons?" he barked. With a swift movement, he crushed the cube in his palm, releasing a blinding pulse of energy.

The effect was immediate. Loki's chants faltered, his connection with the spirits weakened, and a violent tremor coursed through the compound. The quake threw many of the Ten Rings off balance, some being buried beneath the fallen debris. The protective barrier around Loki wavered, and he stumbled, the weight of the entire compound's shield on his shoulders proving too much to bear without his full concentration.

Loki's emerald eyes widened in panic as he saw the leader lunging at you. With a swift movement, he summoned his scepter and projected a beam of emerald energy, knocking the leader off his trajectory and away from you.

But the damage was done. The quake grew more violent, causing cracks to appear on the walls and floor of the compound. Alarms blared, warning of structural instability, and the compound risked collapsing on itself.

It was then that you felt a strong arm wrap around your waist. Without a word, Loki teleported both of you to a safer location, away from the chaos of the crumbling compound. You found yourselves on a hill overlooking the Avengers compound. Below, fires raged, and the earth trembled, but you were safe.

Tony and Sam flew above, and you could almost see the look of utter rage and confusion on Tony's face. You hoped the non-flying Avengers were safe, and almost as if she heard you, Wanda flew out, and Steve, Bucky, and Maria Hill floated out with her, enveloped in her red energy.

Loki and you panted heavily, leaning on each other for support. The magnitude of what had just transpired weighed heavily on both your minds. The cube, with its power to disrupt even the most potent of Asgardian spells, was a game-changer.

Loki looked at you, his eyes filled with a mix of relief and concern. "That cube… it's an artifact of Svartálfar. I've only heard of its existence."

You nodded, catching your breath. "And now we know what it can do."

It took everything in Loki not to pull you into his arms, and thank Odin you were unharmed. The mystical energy around him lingered, making you feel faint. You could still feel the walls shake as his chants grew louder. But now, with no Loki and no spirits on the compound, the Avengers had never been more vulnerable.

"We need to go back," you said. "I do; you stay here." "That's not happening... Loki, take me back." "Y/N, you're not a god, and you have no powers." "I'm an Avenger!" "Y/N!" "LOKI!"

You glared at him defiantly. "I'll walk there if I have to." "Then I will tie you down here."

The comment made you take a step back - his low voice and intense eyes made that comment so sexually charged you needed a minute to stabilize yourself. As if he heard your thoughts, he blushed a bright red and looked away from you.

"Could you not be so stubborn?" he asked. "The compound is literally falling apart."

Loki, taking a deep breath, realized the futility of arguing. "Very well," he sighed, offering his hand, "Together, then."

----

In a blink, you found yourselves back at the compound. The fires raged more fiercely, and the remnants of the Ten Rings mercenary group had regrouped, exploiting the compound's vulnerabilities.

Tony was in the thick of it, his red and gold suit glowing brightly against the darkness, his repulsor beams shooting enemies down like flies. But it wasn't enough. Wanda, her hands glowing with red energy, was creating barriers and tossing the mercenaries around, but she, too, was outnumbered.

"I'll handle the men," you shouted, drawing two Chitauri weapons from your side. "You get the shield back up!"

Before Loki could object, you dashed into the fray. Tony zoomed by your side, firing blasts at any mercenary that got too close. "Nice of you to join the party," he quipped.

Wanda joined forces with you, her telekinetic abilities perfectly complementing your combat skills. Together, the three of you formed an unbreakable front, pushing the invaders back.

Loki, meanwhile, rushed to the ritual site, attempting to regain his connection with the Asgardian spirits. As he began chanting, another familiar voice joined him. Thor, having sensed the disturbance, had returned. The brothers, their powers combined, created a force to be reckoned with. The chants became louder, and more potent, and the ethereal spirits returned, swirling around them.

You, Tony, and Wanda worked in perfect harmony. Using her powers, Wanda lifted groups of mercenaries into the air while Tony and you, with precision targeting, fired at them, effectively incapacitating them. Once subdued, they were effortlessly thrown into the waiting arms of the Hulk, who gleefully swatted them away like bothersome flies.

As the last of the mercenaries were dealt with, Loki and Thor's combined energies surged, the shield's power restored. The compound's tremors ceased, and an eerie calm settled.

The shield was back, stronger than ever.

-----

"We really need to find another way to charge those magical shields," Tony said, taking a swig from his glass. "An hour under a New Moon? We're practically begging to be invaded."

The party was on in the in-house bar and lounge, but Loki was nowhere to be seen. Not seeing the point in staying too long, you finished the rest of your drink and got up.

"Leaving already?" Tony asked, "Come on, it's 1 in the morning." "Yeah, but emotionally I'm 80, so I would want to be in bed by 8. Sorry."

He laughed and bid you good night, as did the others.

You made your way back to your room when Loki crossed your path.

The dim lighting of the hallway cast dramatic shadows, and Loki's silhouette stood out, his posture both regal and, strangely, vulnerable. His green eyes bore into yours, the same intensity from earlier lingering.

"You're heading to your chambers?" he asked, the question seemingly simple but with layers of emotion underneath.

"I am," you replied, meeting his gaze. "But not before I thank you."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Thank me?"

"For everything," you started. "You've been risking your life to shield this compound, putting yourself in the line of fire every New Moon."

He took a step closer, closing the gap between you two. "You risked just as much. Maybe even more," he said softly. "You could have stayed out of it. Yet, you chose to step into the fray, for me."

The air between you two was thick with unsaid words and emotions, neither of you breaking the gaze.

"I couldn't just stand by," you whispered. "Not when you were in danger."

A small smile tugged at Loki's lips. "And I couldn't imagine a world where you were harmed. Even the thought terrifies me."

Heart pounding, you took a bold step, bringing yourself right up to him. "Loki," you breathed, "I realized something tonight. With all the chaos and... watching those men trying to get to you. I-I can't ignore it anymore."

His voice was barely audible, filled with anticipation. "And what is it you can't ignore anymore?"

His maddening, magnetic energy made you feel weak, conveniently giving you an excuse to wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him towards you. You ran your hands from the nape of his neck into his hair as you lifted yourself to tiptoes and kissed him deeply. As you tugged his hair gently, his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into him, nearly crushing you.

------

MASTERLIST

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[uniiiquehecrt]

Asgardian bloodline nonny here, I'm sorry that it didn't come across that way but I was totally in agreement with you and being sarcastic towards Taika. 😊

I was genuinely curious why it would be a problem because I couldn't think of any reasons. Because Taika has so casually presented it as not being a problem. I got deceived by him lol.

I have a follow up question: IF Thor gets to have Jane back as he did in the comics and have kiddos with her, wouldn't their powers be seriously 'diluted' because their mommy is human.

Wouldn't it be better if he found another powered being like Odin found Frigga so that their baby would carry his bloodline well. And this he can still do in the next movies.

I say this as a Fosterson shipper, by the way. Just positing a scenario.

(You know better than me but I think it's mentioned somewhere in the MCU that Odin's grandfather was the first of their line who founded Asgard. Thor is only the 4th.)

LOL it's okay nonny ily 😘 I'm just bad at reading sarcasm sometimes (which is hilarious, because it's practically my second language.) <3

And hmmm... You know, I've thought about that too, and I have a couple of different ideas. Because the magic of the Asgardians - and especially the royal ones - is something I'd classify as "soft magic".

For clarification, in writing "soft magic" is classically described as the following:

"[...] one in which the “rules” of using magic aren't entirely known to the reader. There's an air of mysticism, and it leaves a lot of room for the imagination."

So... Magic as it is in Lord of the Rings, or the Force in Star Wars. Hard Magic is more like bending in Avatar: the Last Airbender. Another good example I usually hear recommended to best describe "hard magic" is Full Metal Alchemist, though I've never personally watched that show.

I'd wager then that it could go a few different ways: Half-Breed Children, One or None, and another option based partly on a loose theory of mine I'm going to ... lightly dub the 'All-Force Theory'. More info about those 3 options under the cut.

In any of the provided cases (but especially One or None or All-Force), Jane and Thor would be able to successfully be together, and Thor's line would be able to continue on and eventually keep producing. With the potential for multiple powerful Royals at the same time, conceivably. Then in that way the Royals wouldn't go extinct, and Thor would get to be happy and have a family all his own.

Which really would be sweet for him, because the guy's a bit of a chainbreaker in the mold of his family's trauma, and the idea of Thor breaking old habits and old systems he learned from Odin and Frigga that hurt him and his brother, and choosing to raise his kids and their grandkids with the sort of love and freedom he didn't get before would be absolutely wonderful for him. (assuming in this scenario he also doesn't take the throne. Though I'd think him breaking the mold and changing the direction of his family line for the better is something he would do anyways but ESPECIALLY as King of Asgard. He has every reason to build a stronger foundation for the future, and certainly has the heart and willpower to do it, and do it well.)

(...Also I do think that you're right about Buri being the first and founder of Asgard, because that's also true of actual Norse Mythos I'm half-certain. But where in the MCU they state officially, that I'm actually not sure... ;;v;; Since I know for sure it's not in the mainline Thor movies, and I haven't watched, say, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to get Sif's perspective on anything, because I don't have the time to watch every spin-off of the MCU ;; I do know they mention Bor and Buri in the Dark World Prelude comic, but as if it's not in the mainline Phase 1-3 films, then it's considered a "spin off tie in" to me, and therefore not canon. Mostly because not everyone would have read it, and therefore it's unfair for the narrative to draw upon it as a canon factor — which is why I take issue with Phase 4-6 but whatever.)

Half-Breed Children - all kids spawned by Thor with Jane would become half-breeds so to speak. This can result in either an asgardian-human child being weaker than what a royal Asgardian would be when paired with another Asgardian, OR it could result in that child being able to explore completely unique avenues of their magic, sometimes even allowing for a stronger reflection of it. (I think of characters like Inuyasha, who is able to overcome his half-brother despite being a hanyō. Not because he's physically stronger than his brother, but because he has a unique experience that fortified his resolve and allows him, most of the time, to overcome his obstacles by creative means.)

One or None - this idea follows the Legend of Korra/Avatar: the Last Airbender rules where, say, if a fire nation woman had children with an earth kingdom man, their children would either be one of the following: a non-bender (unable to bend at all), a fire bender (fire nation dominant), or an earth-bender (earth kingdom dominant.) In this case, Thor's children would either be born with or without Asgardian genes, although their mother would be a human. You either get another Asgardian, as Thor's gene is dominant despite being another species, or you don't, and you just get a human.

All-Force - this one is sort of a pet theory I have had rattling in my brain for a few months now, so you can take it or leave it really, but I did realize through watching (and rewatching, and... rewatching some more) the Thor films, and it struck me that: a.) the only Asgardians with "special powers" of some stripe (usually following a personality theme, go figure) are the Royals. (Again, this is discounting Heimdal, only bc I'm not sure what his deal is in the grand scheme of MCU!Asgardian Things. Love that man tho.) and b.) the Royals can have incredibly specific powers, but also overlapping powers all while alive at the same time. Things like Clairvoyance/Prophetic tendencies, the amplification of powers, enchantment, blah blah blah, you get the picture.

Assuming, then, that the Royal Line is the royal line because they possess great cosmic power, starting with Buri, then it COULD be argued that, in Earth-199999, the "Odinforce" is less an Odin-Force and more an All-Force, and one that ALL of the Buri line will possess. Mind you that I do have a general idea of the comics and their version of the Odinforce and how it works — namely that is must be passed on from King to King, and usually is at the former king's death. BUT the Odinforce has never been named or expanded upon whatsoever in any of MCU!Thor's media, so we can reckon with the idea that it may simply not exist in this universe, OR that it does, but that it works differently from the comics, and manifests in ALL direct-lineage Royals. For instance: Buri would have it. Pass it on to Bor. They would have incredible powers at the same time, because that is the All-Force, so to speak. Bor passed it on to Odin, and Odin passed it on to Hela and Thor who ALL three possess this particular powersource simply by being around.

Also I've noticed that Hela, and especially Odin and Thor share a lot of powers all at the same time in the MCU and I'll list some that I can think of off the top of my head:

Clairvoyance of various stripes (thor has prophetic visions/dreams, odin can see through the ravens even while he's in the Odinsleep.)

The ability to completely recharge oneself by falling into a multiple-day Sleep, though this state leaves the royal completely vulnerable (Odin's Odinsleep in 2011, and while it's technically not canon, Thor wipes out for 2 days straight in the original ending of Dark World after managing to endure the Aether. Lil' baby Odinsleep. He was a sleepy boy.)

Enchantments that can take this innate power away, as well as temporarily share one’s personal gift (Odin in 2011, Thor in L+T even though I hate that movie too)

The ability to further enhance and channel this power through the usage of a conduit weapon (odin’s spear, hela’s swords, thor’s axe)

Generally just being 10x more enhanced as a physical being compared to other Asgardians, who are already leagues beyond that of humans

Admittedly the 'All-Force' idea is, again, simply based on speculation and fan-theory, so I'm not saying this is ACTUALLY the case of how the powers work. BUT if it was the way it worked, then Thor's kids, even despite being half-breeds, would probably still end up all having their own innate abilities regardless of the fact they're not technically full Asgardian. Simply because they're a direct descendant of Thor.