#sonofthefrosthearted

[flashgotthis]

@son-of-the-frost-hearted x

“Oh no,” Flash frowned as his imagination started to go ahead and provide him with the visual of a boy getting hit by a car.

Only that it got worse to. “Wait, no,” he added with a mix of surprise and shock. “You..cut her tires! No, that’s...that’s not how you do these things. Even if she hurt you. Are you alright?!”

[ofvallianceandvillainy]

✮

✮ Have you managed to stay away from drama?

Sadly, no. In the course of 5 years of RPing on tumblr, I have been dragged into drama all the time, whether it was from my rp partners because how dare I interact with other same muse blogs as they had (mind you I wasn’t exclusive or anything with them), or drama that included me that I didn’t even know about before anons came swarming into my ask accusing me of copying other people and stealing headcanons/plot ideas/icons etc. Drama is the main reason why I quit roleplaying for 8 months. Thankfully the MCU fandom is drama free from what I managed to see.

[theadoptedprince]

Keeping Up Appearances

@son-of-the-frost-hearted

Footsteps echoed on the stairs beyond the main corridor of the dungeon. It hadn’t taken Loki long to learn the sound of the guards. Their metal boots clunked on the cold stone. His mother had delicate footsteps but whether she visited him in person or as a projection, she tended to announce herself - a clearing of the throat, or a quiet word spoken to one of the guards. These footsteps were different. Quiet. Those of someone small. A child. No...

Dread sunk into the pit of Loki’s stomach. Instantly, he drew up his facade - chairs in place, mirror righted. Every hair in place, no dark shadows under his eyes. Keeping him here was unreasonable, but letting Tyr visit him was cruel. He hadn’t even seen him, not since... Not since he’d learned of the genetic curse that had surely been passed down to his son - though the boy didn’t show it. Shame, then. That was inescapable: the shame of being a Frost Giant’s child.

“Go upstairs, Tyr,“ he said, softly. Almost as if he were telling the boy to head up to his room and make preparations for bed, nothing more. It was a simple thing to maintain an illusion of composure when everything was an illusion - he just had to keep telling himself that. Not so simple. “You shouldn’t be down here.“

[wanderingtheinbetween-blog]

((Ooh! Ooh! "Quite Me" or "Wed Me" (just talking about it) with Ethereal and Sigyn?))

((Gonna combine both ;D))

Ethereal stared at herself in the mirror before her, almost unsettled by her reflection. She wore white almost every day of her life, but this… Somehow this dress felt more blinding, more real then her.  The idea of the dress wearing her sprung to the front of her mind, and she sat down, the wide skirt swooshing around her in a cascade of grey silk and white fur.

“Sigyn… Sigyn, this is a wedding dress.”  Her voice and hands shook, as she smoothed her hair down.  Her fingers touched the cool metal of the circlet and traced the dangling crystals where they brushed against her neck.  “What are you planning?”

Sigyn grinned at her friend, bouncing Lorelei as the baby gurgled happily.  “Hey, Loki already has one already technical bastard, let’s not let this little one grow up as such too!”

Ethereal stared at Sigyn in a panic.  “He’s never said anything to me, never asked, I don’t even know if we’re considered courting, much less asked me to marry him, this isn’t something I can just spring on him because I had a baby, we weren’t being smart about it and it was my fault just as much, I’m not trying to trap anyone-”

“Do you want to be?”  She was cut off, the dark hair woman clearly amused at her outburst.

“What?”

“Do you want to be married?  Because, my friend, you sure seem like you do.”

Ethereal stared at her for a moment, before reaching out to take her daughter back.  She stared down at the baby’s bright green eyes, framed with dark lashes so unlike her own ghostly pale ones.  

“Ten years ago, I would have said no.”  She managed, after a long silence.  Her trembling had stopped once her child was in her arms, though her voice lacked her hand’s steadiness.  “I just wanted someone who wasn’t going to die on me in another fifty years.  We got along, we had fun, we were uh, sexually compatible and I have some very nice paintings above various fireplaces in my homes.

“He’s nothing like my first husband.  Halbrad was honest, loyal, relaxed, almost kind to a fault.  Honestly,” her brown furrowed.  “Almost the complete opposite of Loki.  But then he started opening up more…  I heard about his home life, the feeling of being an outsider in a place you used to feel you belong…  I hurt for him, because I lived that as well.  And the more he talked, the more I felt like I knew him, the more I realized I was falling in love, like an idiot.  I told myself I wasn’t doing that anymore.”

“It never works out that way.”  Sigyn was grinning, far too enthusiastic about this.  “If we actually loved who we thought we were supposed to, the world would be a much more boring place.”

“And you wouldn’t be dating someone with the IQ of a grape.”

The laugh that came from Sigyn’s mouth was deep and from the belly.  “Oh be nice.”  She came up behind Ethereal, armed with a brush, and began going after her hair, quickly twisting it up into elaborate braids that Ethereal hadn’t seen the likes of since wedding ceremonies between two chieftains in old Iceland.  “So when did you decide you’d marry him?  You followed Loki back from Midguard when he got himself arrested.”

“Yeah…  Probably not my brightest moment, but I was angry.  I knew all his pain, you know?  He disappeared for almost two years, and all I heard from before that was his father was possibly dying, and his brother was exiled, and even then, he was…  Nothing in anyone’s eyes.  There was so much pain wrapped up in the feeling that no matter what he did, he was never going to be enough…  And the whole frost giant thing.  I probably should have been more sympathetic there, thinking back, but he had this dramatic reveal, and all I could think of at the moment was, ‘oh, like this?’ and dropped mine too?

“That uh, was probably the night I got pregnant, thinking back on it…”  She coughed, awkwardly, but Sigyn’s eyes were sparkling as she tried not to laugh.  “Anyway, He left for two years, and come back with a plan, and even deeper betrayal.  Odin was a terrible parent.”

“Yeah he was.”  Sigyn nodded enthusiastically, trying to goad Ethereal into continuing.  She hadn’t needed to bother though, because after years of not talking, Ethereal was more or less turning into a verbal steam roller.

“He wasn’t him, though.  Not really.  Something was wrong.  He showed up at my door one night, with that scepter, and told me of his treatment at Thanos’s hands…  Gods I just wanted to take it all away.  He’s a little shit most of the time, but he didn’t deserve half of what he got dealt.  But he’ll never say it, but I don’t think he was entirely in control of himself.  He’s never wanted to lead through fear, not really.  He wanted respect.  Maybe sometimes he didn’t know what it looked like, ouch-”  She winced as Sigyn worked through a particularly large group of knots.  “But fear is too much work.  I think it’s also what became expected of him, and we all, meaning to or not, rise to meet what we are expected to do.”

“Mmhmm.”  Sigyn finished her pinning, and resettled the crown on Ethereal’s head.

“And he keeps growing.  And learning, and I don’t need someone to take care of me.  I don’t need a Halbrad anymore.  I’m still young, I just want...  An equal.”  Her eyes were worried when she looked over at her friend.  “But we’re not, not really.  I might be rich, and vaguely famous in the right circles on Midguard, but he’s a goddamn crown prince up here, and if you weren’t really accepted, how can I hope to be?”

“Mother-”  Both women turned to the small, dark hair child who had been standing in the corner of the room, unnoticed.

“Oh, Tyr!”  Sigyn grinned wider at the beaming smile the broke out across his face.  Tyr gave two thumbs up, before fleeing, leaving Ethereal very confused, and a little worried at the fact that Sigyn was practically vibrating with glee.

“Well, sister, there’s two things that you’re wrong about.  For one, our wedding dresses are a lot fancier than this.  We do dress up real nice for engagement parties, though.  Weddings take years to set a date for, especially since we don’t have any bride-ale on the ship and not really anything to brew it with.”  Sigyn took little Lorelei out of Ethereal’s unprotesting arms.  “And second, Thor and Tyr have been, uh, talking with Loki.  You’re not nobody.

“You’re going to be a princess.”

[singingintothevoid]

New Friend

Siren smirked as she leaned forward, sweeping the chips to her side of the table in a flashy, pointless gesture.

“I’m gettin’ full value outta ya buddy,” She drawled, grinning just a little wider so the points of her teeth were visible.  “Goods’ll be picked up in about fifteen hours, an’ so help me, if ya try to cheat me, there won’t be a meteor in this galaxy ya ass would be safe in.”

The blue man slumped, an impressive move given the size of his shoulders, and Siren laughed, plucking the datastick from her tablemate’s unresistant hand.  “Not that ya could!  Doubt ya got credits left for fuel!”  

In her moment of gloating, she missed her victim turn to mutter something to his bodyguard, who angrily stomped away.  Not that she had paid much attention to his presence anyway; when she was here, sizing up others was Lash and Spackle’s job.  The more she held herself as a rich, cocky brat, the less people expected of her, and the more she could get away with.  And she got away with a lot.  For example, her taunting about being cheated was so heavily hypocritical her tongue should be making clanging noises against her teeth, as Chamile was currently hanging on the ceiling, invisible, and quietly relaying the other’s hand to her over an earpiece radio.   Over at the dice table, Chirp had his antenna tucked under a hat as he quietly tilted dice for Zentara, who was flirting just enough that no one was paying any attention to the scrawny kid beside her.

But rules were things for other people.

Her opponent (he had introduced himself when he sat at her table, but she had promptly forgot and had been thinking of him as Fresh Meat all night) stood, glowering at her.  Siren just grinned wider, settling back in her chair, as Lash and Spackle stepped forward.  Meat looked like he was considering it anyway, probably because he alone was as wide as the two of them together, but decided against it in the smartest move he had made all night.  

“Run along, buddy.”  A casino bouncer had come along, and rested his hand on Meat’s shoulder.  “Computer says you don’t have enough credits left to stay.”  Meat, having been given a smaller target and the smashing realization he had, in fact, just bet away almost everything he owned and now had nearly nothing left, turned and punched the man in the face.  The bouncer didn’t budge, and Meat recoiled with what definitely looked like a broken hand.  

Siren didn’t care to stay and see how this was going to go down, and promptly sauntered off as the bouncer pulled back for his own punch and a flock of black-suited bouncers descended on the starting fight.  She didn’t feel bad.  Meat had been downright rude to the waitstaff, and that was the lowest kind of person.  Even space pirate had standards.

“Let’s get drinks.  On me.”  Siren decided, as they exited.  Hailstorm and Warhound pushed themselves to their feet from their seats next to the door and fell into step beside them.  Chamile became visible next to the two, and gave a quiet cheer.

Drinking on won money was almost always a bad idea, and last night was not the exception.  There always seemed to be even less concern with how much money was spent, and on backwater planets like this, there was some potent stuff if you had the credits for it.

Siren dragged herself out of her tank, glad she had made it in, because most of the rest of her crew were going to be useless for the rest of the day.  This way she was at least somewhat safe from the hangover, having spent the night hydrated.  She peered at herself in the mirror, tugging a brush through her hair, which was already drying, thanks to its oils.  Wasn’t much she was going to do about the circles under her eyes today, and she was already in a losing battle with the crows feet.  “We’re only thirty-eight.”  She snapped at her reflection.  “It’s bad enough we got white hair already, stop that!”

“Stress does terrible things, boss-lady.”  Shine commented from her doorway, smiling serenely.

“So it’s all y’all’s fault.”  Siren grumped.  “Noted.  Ya need somthin’?”

“Not particularly.  However, you may be interested to know that your winnings from last night have been delivered.  Also, the man you won them from who started the fight as we were leaving?  He’s going to be working at the casino until he can pay off the fine they levied against him, so we might want to avoid it for a while.”

“Go figure.”  Siren sighed dramatically.  “Was one of the only ones ‘round her we could still get in’ta.”

Shine smiled.  “Guess we’ll have to actually work a job then.”  She narrowed her eyes slightly.  “I am surprised though...  You almost never drain someone completely like that.”

“‘E was ‘n idiot.”  Siren shrugged, and yanked her coat on.  “Shouldn’ta bet more than ‘e was willin’ ta lose.”  She reflected for a moment.  “He also slapped the waitress’s ass.  I didn’t like that.”

“Hmm...”

“Anyway, where’s ‘Ailstorm?  I need someone sober ta help move shit.”

It hadn’t really occurred to Siren that when you win all “easily liquefied assets” from a man who owns slaves...  That included slaves.  But here sat the long haired man who had been behind Meat all night, with the rumpled look of someone who had spent a night sleeping on a crate.  And now he was glaring at her, holding tight to a small sack that must have held everything he owned in the world.  Siren probably looked much the same when she was dropped off in the orphanage.  

“No!”  She screeched again, jabbing one finger at the employee, who was almost straining something with the level of ‘I couldn’t give less of a shit’ attitude they were exuding.  “I don’t do slaves!  I don’t deal in ‘em, I don’t transport ‘em, and I certainly don’t win people!”

“Well, you won this one, and he can’t stay in here.  I’m obligated to make sure all your winnings get off planet with you, and that includes this...”  He glanced at his tablet.  “Theoric.  An Asgaurdian combat slave, about 900 standard years of age.  Male, and fuckin’ smells it.”  Behind him, Theoric looked massively offended, and tried to give himself a subtle sniff.  The employee closed the program, and popped the data stick out.  “His info and ownership papers are all on here.  You could give him back, but he’d just get sold to cover his old master’s debt to our casino, and the owners don’t care who buys those they sell.”  (The offended expression switched to vague panic.)

Siren stared at the man, unable to form words through her fury.  Next to her, Hailstorm was almost vibrating from his own disgust.  Pretty much everyone on her ship saw eye to eye on slavery, but that had never stopped him from going on long, angry rants about it.  

Shine stepped forward, before Hailstorm could explode, and took the stick from the man’s hand.  “Of course we’ll take him.”  She was releasing her calming pheromones, and to her (decreasing) frustration, Siren felt herself respond to them.  “I know where this place sells people.  I don’t wish that on anyone.”

“Fine.”  Siren seethed.  “Alrighty, Mr. Theoric, come aboard.  I’ll find ya a room without some weird ass bird in it, and decide whatta do with yer ass once we get off this shithole.”  She stomped back up the gangpank into her ship, waving for him to follow her.  Shine smiled apologetically at the man.  

“She’s nicer than she acts, I promise.”  She patted his shoulder as he walked past, before moving to help bring boxes into the cargo bay.

They found a room Theoric could put his stuff down on the third try.  First door had a large, blinking machine making concerning noises in it, and the second did indeed have a large, weird bird, which flew at Siren when she opened to door, shrieking wildly.

“First order of business, is you are taking a shower.”  Siren wrinkled her nose.  “I’ve lived with an unwashed crew once before, and its not ever happening again.”  She pointed out the shower room, and continued, “Once you do that, come out.  We’ll figure out getting you free.”

Theoric bolted into the shower with more enthusiasm than she expected, though he did mutter something about not stinking THAT bad.

Siren sat on what was to be Theoric’s bed, and brooded.  Slaves were documented, so that meant she had to go submit paperwork for not only his transfer to her ownership (a frustrating mess), but also for his freedom (An even more frustrating mess.)  It also wasn’t much help that she had been banned from the planet as a slave thief, a title she wore with pride.  The Goats had told her about how slave escaped on their home planet, how simple it was in comparison...  Cross the right boarder and you were generally safe.  (Actually, it had been a much more complex explanation, but there was just something about Chamile trying to explain things that made Siren lose all focus and retention)

Here, if you were stolen as a slave, your paperwork had to be stolen too, and then purchase or exchange information forged, then you would still generally have to be on the watch for bounties out on you.  And that was just if you were being stolen by another master.  Stolen to be freed?  It was easier just to find a way to fake your death.  Fake identities for ex-slaves were highly sought after, and Siren was pretty sure that’s how Zentara made most of her money.  They hopefully wouldn’t need that though, considering this was all done legit.  

Huh.

That was a weird feeling.  Though she supposed bounties were things done legitimately...  Probably...

Her musing was interrupted by Theoric coming back out, toweling his hair.  There had only been one towel in there.  Nothing she hadn’t seen before, but...

“So I suppose the “ass-gaurd” part ain’t really embraced in yer culture, huh?”  She drawled, giving it a vague inspection.  Probably in the top twenty she’d seen, and that was saying something considering how many brothels she had wandered around in.  

[ellia22]

"It is understandable that you were curious but I think you do do regard the possessions of others the way you do your own." Ellia let out a frustrated sigh but no matter how much trouble he caused she did not have the heart to remain angry with him. "You are forgiven if you can show me where the library is. Every time I look for it I end up hopelessly lost."

“Hey, look, I put the thing back, didn’t I?” Tyr protested as he backed away, hoping he was still in line with the door he’d come through. If he could just reach the doorknob, his enchanted key would have him out of reach within seconds. “Doesn’t that count for anything??”

[many-mini-mes-blog]

*pats hands* “If you can’t do this, you shouldn’t be driving a car.” ((*whispers* From son-of-the-frosthearted. Also, hello from another blog, friend! :D))

“Excuse me, child, I do not need the sass from you.”  Ethereal glared blearily up from the sidewalk.  “Who are you, anyway?”  She had been drinking, sure, but she SAT to drove.  Not being able to stand wasn’t a probably.  And honestly, even if she was about to hit someone, she could just phase through them.

((Let’s go with their first meeting for this one :P))

[ellia22]

"I can't believe that after all we've been through, you don't trust me? Ouch." ((For Princess Ellia from son-of-the-frosthearted which is a sideblog for exhaustingly-energized also hello friend it's been a long time))

“I am trying to trust you but every time I do your actions contradict your words and I am finding it very hard to believe you.” Ellia said watching him nervously. She was not one to judge people based on their herritage but even though she desperately wanted to trust him he seemed to give her way too many reasons not to.

[flashgotthis]

💚🖤 Send this to 10 bloggers you think are wonderful. Keep the game going. 🖤💚 ((We haven't interacted for a while but I adore seeing you on my dash nonetheless.))

//Awww thank you <33

(and I always have to smile when I see you too! we really need to interact again!)

[exhaustingly-energized]

RP blog MCU and MAoS RP OC Tyr Lokison. FC is Ted Allpress (for now).

((I went and did the thing. : / Feel free to stop by and say hi! Tyr doesn't bite though he does kick!))

[wanderingtheinbetween-blog]

“For once in my life, I’ve done nothing wrong!” ((Tyr no))

“That.”  She managed, “Is the most incorrect statement you have ever uttered.”  With two fingers and greatly exaggerated care, she lifted the bathroom rug.  There was a strong stench of urine, and a smoking hole in the middle.  "You brought the damn dog in the house, and if you do not housebreak it in the next week, you and it are getting banned from the house.“

[singingintothevoid]

Memory Prompts:  Siren (Pt. 2)

🐥- A memory about their children (past, present, or future)

“Kid, take a good, long look at this ship, and the fuckin’ jackasses running ‘round on it, and ask me that shit again with a straight face.  Don’t have time, or energy, for my own kids, even if I did like ‘em.  I helped raise Peter, and that’s good enough for me.  Right now, I gotta remind people to put their laundry away, have to keep dumbasses from killin’ each other over stupid shit, make sure people don’t eat junk every meal...”  Her eye twitched.  “Literally no time.  Theoric’s old owner was nose deaf, and the idiot needs to be reminded that showers exist.  Though it’s fuckin’ hard to find somewhere to wash ‘round here that doesn’t have somethin’ weird hidin’ in it.  Yes I know there’s a snake in the guest bath.  His name is Inchworm, yes it’s stupid, but I don’t argue with Lash anymore.”

👘- A memory associated with an article of clothing they have

“Why the hell were ya goin’ through my things?”  Her cheeks purpled as she yanked the lacy dress out of the boys hands.  “By gods child, yes it’s see through, because it’s an overdress, you wear a bodysuit or some shit underneath it, jackass.  Stop laughing Peter, I swear to god I will punch you in your fuckin’ face.  Yes, even when I danced, I wore shit under it, it tried to be “classy”, which I could usually pull off as long as I didn’t open my fuckin’ mouth.”  She held it up to her chest and smiled fondly, any embarrassment seemingly gone.  It was white and sheer, covered in elegant lace, with wide armed sleeves.  Reaching mid-thigh, it looked far more risque then most would imagine the captain wearing.  “Fortunately, I wasn’t hired to talk much.” “I’m still amazed you weren’t hired to punch people in the face, with all those scars on ya.”  Spackle had wandered in to find out what the yelling as about.   “You wear enough foundation up there to wall a house, scars or no scars.”  Siren shrugged, balling the dress up.  “And I did snap a few fingers, remember?”  She tossed the dress on the bed, and grabbed Tyr by the ear.  “Now don’t go diggin’ through my shit anymore, ya brat.  There’s much less innocent things, not to mention dangerous stuff, in those drawers.” 

⚔️- A memory about war

A long pause stretched after the question was asked.  “You pry too much.”  Her voice had gone harsh.  “I lead a rebellion on my home planet to try to keep other kids like me from getting burned alive.  It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t honorable, and I got the fuck out of there once I got paid.”  Siren stormed out of the room, the spine along her back raised and pulsing red. “It’s a bit of a sore point.”  Lash said quietly, watching her leave.  “She felt important, and is actually quite the hero on her homeworld now, but she’ll never go back.  Too many remains of murdered children, and the ghosts of her, ah, spawners, as she calls them, will always haunt her there.  She also knows she was just a tool, just a plot point to add to the fight of one group against another.  They offered to let her stay, give her power, a new name...  She left as soon as credits got transferred.  I wouldn’t bring it up again.” “What Lash dodging around sayin’ is that she killed her parents there.”  Tossing a ball absentmindedly, Spackle stared at the ceiling.  “They were lining up parents who had killed their children, basically those who had kids at one point, and then mysteriously didn’t.  Some could prove they hadn’t killed their kids, and those they couldn’t prove if they did or not got secluded elsewhere, and those who had...  Well, there’s some new mass graves on a nearby planet.  Her parents tried to use her to be kept out of it, said she was proof they hadn’t killed her.  Wouldn’t look at her, wouldn’t acknowledge her presence, didn’t say ‘sorry for dumpin you’...   “She killed them herself, and you could see it fuckin’ hurt to do.  Couldn’t get a word out of her for days, weeks before she smiled again.”  The two lieutenants looked uncomfortable.  “She really doesn’t like it being brought up.  Just know she always wanted a family, and have that thrown at her...  Yeah, don’t talk to her about this, and be grateful you got two parents that care about you, okay?”

🌅- A memory associated with a certain location

“Best memory of this place?”  She said slowly, frowning.  “The ship itself?  Pro’lly walkin’ into it the first time.  Such a surreal experience that was.  She wasn’t new, no way I coulda afforded that, but she was clean, and ready to fuckin’ go...  Just so exciting.  Lash ‘n Spackle at my back, ready to take on the whole damn galaxy...  Didn’t know the fuck I was doin’, but I was doin’ something.” A snort came from behind her.  “You spent almost an hour running through the place screaming like a little kid.”  Lash was smirking.  “Literally just, ‘mine mine mine mine!’ for almost an hour.” “Oh shut up.”

🌠- A time they wished upon a falling star

“Jeez, you’re sappy.  Um, okay, I didn’t really wish on that shit, but uh, when I first left the orphanage, first time on the Ravager ship, there was a meteor shower goin’ on.  Too dangerous to fly in that, so we stayed in orbit until it cleared up.  Freakin’ beautiful man.  I was seventeen, it was my first time off planet where, ya know, I wasn’t freakin’ the fuck out at the idea I was about to get brutally murdered.  The city my orphanage was in was too damn bright to have notice from the ground, but man, I must have spent the whole thing plastered against the windows.  I thought I didn’t need to wish, right?  I was already gettin’ all I had hoped for.  I just wanted off and away from that whole damn mess.  But it was second only to the time we flew through a space storm for gorgeous shit I’ve seen...  Well, while on the Ravager ship at least.”

🐕-A memory of teamwork

“I give my people shit, but they’re good people.  You gotta trust everyone to have your back ‘round here.  One person stops...  The group’s just too small for that.  Everyone’s gotta job, and it gotta get done in order to have everything work, both in ship and on the field.  Yeah, my people are fuckin’ great.  Wouldn’t trade any of ‘em away for anythin’.” “You’re being so sentimental tonight, Boss Lady.”  Jackie grinned, and there were a few chuckles around the circle.   “Oh, y’all can go suck it.  ‘M drunk, I have an excuse.  ‘Sides, y’all know I’d die for any of ya, no need to make somethin’ stupid outta it.” “Same to you, Boss.”  Jet raised his bottle, drunk sincerity making his voice quiver.  Siren beamed. “Anyway, there’s no specific memory ‘bout it.  The whole ship is teamwork.  Every job we’re hired on, e’ry day flyin’...  Ya need everyone.”  She threw her arm around Cinder, who was settled in next to her.  He looked like he was about to argue, but perhaps her words had managed to make an impact, and he merely looked away.  “Everyone is important on here.”  Siren threw back the rest of her drink.  “Every last one of ‘em.”

🐺- A memory about being alone

“There’s something about flyin’ alone that gets to me.  I spent almost a full week, when I first left the Ravagers just...  Flying.  Literally just spent all that time just bein’ happy at shit bein’ quiet.  Never was, even when people were sleepin’, no matter where you were.  People would be snorin’, stoppin’ around drunk off their asses...  Quiet was just so...  Wonderful.”  

[wanderingtheinbetween-blog]

"TYR, QUIT FUCKING AROUND AND GET OFF THE DAMN CHIMNEY!" Ethereal hollered, scowling up at her stepson. "IF YOU WANT PIE, YOU HAVE TO COME WITH US. NO PIE IF YOU STAY HERE."

Said pie was held carefully, and was the sole reason she wasn't climbing up the wall after him. The other adults were wrangling various other food items, with the exception of Loki, who was baffled by midgaurdian fatherhood, especially the crazy contraption of a baby carrier. Theoric had also lead both a gleeful and forceful distribution of Santa hats and hair pins, so any seriousness Ethereal tried to cultivate was thrown off by the jaunty, glittery thing that was clinging to her frizzy hair like a lifeline.

“For the last time, I’m busy. Go find someone else to beg for hel-…”

“….oh. Then again, perhaps I could lend a hand, if that’s what you’re offering.”

[singingintothevoid]

Memory Prompts:  Siren (Pt. 1)

🌈- A memory about when they first fell in love

“The first time?  Must have been about fifteen, I think?”  She scratched her head.  “Was about two years before the ravagers came through, yeah.  There was this Fili’ion, a beautiful bright orange, who Gram saved from the sale block.  I think it was the two mouth thing that caught my interest first, ‘cause they would sing my favorite songs, in harmony, or mushed all together.  They said it was ‘cause it made me smile, and no one had really tried to do that since I had been dropped off.  Gram wasn’t mean, but she had other things to do than try to keep a buncha orphans smilin’.  But anyway, their name was Rouched, and they were damn sweet.  Best friend I had in there, couldn’t help but love ‘em.  Don’t think they loved me like that, but it’s alright.  I was happy to take anything I could get.  Besides,” a grin crossed her face, and she elbowed the man next to her.  “Made it so I was used to waitin’, eh?”

🌋- A memory about their first heartbreak

“Heartbreak?”  She laughed, hollowly.  “Had to be when my parents told me they didn’t want me, and dumped me in an orphanage, because I was an abomination, wouldn’t it?  That was fun...”  A swirl of ink left her mouth as she whistled, whisking the bottle of booze that was making its way around the circle.  A few chugs to protests later, she passed it on, and continued.  “You know that feeling yo get, when you’ve done something exciting, and want to show your parents, ‘cause you just wanted them to be proud of you?  Yeah, it didn’t go too well.  I found I could make these little critters, and they could pick things up, and I thought it was so cool, ‘cause I had never seen anyone else do it, yeah?  Like I had seen dancers, they made wisps ‘n shit.  But hey, on my home planet, making touchable stuff obviously meant I was gonna kill everyone, and needed to be disposed of.  All that excitement got turned into bein’ locked in a room, and hustled off to be left cryin’ in an empty room, nameless, with the damn orphans feeling sorry for me.  You know your shit’s fucked when the people with dead parents look at ya an’ think ‘at least I’m not her’!”  She stomped to her feet, grabbing her own bottle from the cooler.  “Fuckin’ A man, why would you make me think of this shit again.”  She took a long pull before adding, rather morosely, “The irony is I would never have killed anyone if they hadn’t left me there, yeah?  Them leavin’ me there made it so I wound up here.”

🏠- A memory about their childhood home/where they used to live

“Oh man, if I could go back to my home planet?  Ah, it was beautiful.  You know how people say, ‘ah, I’m gonna retire to a tropical resort planet’?  They’d go to Esorta.  At least where I was born, it was just...  Warm water, so much life.  Beaches that went forever down the coast, tall trees with their green branches sproutin’ up from the water, so it was all in shade, which was good, yeah.  We burn easily, too light skinned for most places.”  She flapped her arm, the skin on it quite pale indeed.  “But you’d get this glorious ripple pattern of light comin’ through, which would catch the algae growin’ in there and turn th’ water this lilacy color...”  Her smile was wistful.  “We lived on the beaches, in these, like, cave systems.  Ya could reach most others just by walking through ‘em.  Felt like the spaceships do, honestly.  Everything connected, which was good, yeah, ‘cause we got storms a lot, and ya couldn’t get outside when there’s hurricane goin’.  I mean you could, I guess, but it was a dumb idea, man.  But the trees...  They never budged.  Maybe the storms just felt stronger when I was so teeny...  I always would wanna go play in ‘em.  Bet my parents wish they had let me, when it came out what I could do...”  Her face fell, fingers tangling in her hair.  “Woulda saved them the shame.”

📷- A memory that comes with a picture they have

“This one was great, yeah.”  She waved the long strip, smiling slightly.  “We had found this thing in a junkyard, don’t remember what we were doin’ there, but Peter called it a “photobooth”, and it apparently still worked. We crammed in there, him ‘n me, and this button made it all flashy, and we got this string of pictures, just some goofy shit.  Apparently you’re supposed to make dumb faces, he said he and ‘is momma did it before.  Look, this last one here, where Yondu stuck his head in, is my favorite.  Look at our faces!”  She giggled, her hand pressed against her lips.  “We look so startled, he managed to sneak up on us real good.  He popped his head in, yelling about how we had to leave ‘n shit, and we were so not expecting it.  Man, it was an easier time...”  Her smile turned sad.  “Now Peter’s this big hotshot an’ all, got so little time for his old family.  Proud of him, of course.  But I miss him...”

💡- A memory that comes with an object or keepsake they have

There was a snort.  “We ain’t got space on this ship for keepsakes, not with all the damn animals people keep bringin’ on!  You know we got a cow in the ship dock?  Like, there wasn’t any space left, but it was blind so Theoric felt sorry for the stupid thing.  You know what don’t move outta the way of space ships?  Blind cows, that’s what.  You gotta be so careful parkin’ in here, like it isn’t even deaf!  Just blind!  You’d THINK it would move, but apparently its goddamn self preservation was linked to it’s fuckin’ eyesight!  ...What?  Shut up, maybe the cow’s a keepsake, dickhead.”

🔪- A memory about a dangerous situation

“Kiddo, I’ve been a mercenary for almost forty years.  There’s a lot to pull from.”  She tapped her chin with her nails, thoughtfully.  “One of the jobs would be boring, honestly.  Like, there’s only so many ways it can go.  You go shoot at people, so ya get shot at, or ya try to keep others from gettin’ shot at, so people shoot at you instead, or ya break in the steal their shit, and they shoot at you.  Sometimes we try to keep things from being stolen by people who will come on in shootin’ at ya.  I’ve been shot at a lot, it doesn’t feel dangerous anymore, ya know?  Hmmm...  Oh!”  Siren’s face brightened.  “How ‘bout this?  Spackle wanted to go to this safari thing, yeah?  Like a zoo, but like, everything runs ‘round like it’s hot shit and owns the place.” “Oh boss, no, please!”  Spackle groaned, falling backward with her hands over her eyes.  Siren laughed. “Nope, shut up!  I’m telling this one.  Anyway,”  her grin got wider as she continued.  “So we go, yeah?  And they take our weapons, because there’s been an issue with poaching, ‘cause some of these fuckers are rare and some shit, and we, well.  We don’t look like high society, right?  Yeah, so we go in, and there’s all these wild things struttin’ around, and since we’re in this buggie, it’s all cool.  Well, turns out this glaxi had managed to break perimeter, and smelled Spackle.  What’s a glaxi?  It’s this giant ass dog-type thing, with a few extra legs, a mouth on it’s belly, and four tails that it grabs shit with.  Also, they’re ‘bout thirty feet tall too, so it can be some scary ass shit.  Anyway, they hate Ykonases, which is what Spackle is.  Kinda a long time competitor sorta thing, Ykonases are smarter and faster, but glaxi are giant dumb animals that eat everything they come across.  So this buggie we’re in, it’s like, maybe up to its knees?  The first ones anyway.  Holy shit, I almost pissed myself to see this thing come blasting over the hills.  Spackle is screaming, Lash is laughing, I’m just angry as fuck that we left the damn weaponry back at the ranger station.  So we turn, and just fucking floor it.  This stupid little thing, it gets maybe fifty miles an hour?  Nothin compared to the glaxi.  And it’s not that damn stable, so we hit this bump, right?  We hit it far faster than this thing is meant to, and it flips.  We all go tumbling, spilled out of the car, and Spackle just takes off.  She’s running before I get my hair out of my eyes, and the big ol’ thing just goes right after her.  Me ‘n Lash are stuck sittin’ there like “what the fuck is goin on?”  Though, Spack is our friend ‘n all, and we can’t just leave her to get eaten-” “Love you too Boss Lady.” “So we go on after.  And Spackle, I have no idea how she managed it, but she got so far up this damn giant tree near the station that it can’t reach her.  She’s up there, hissing and spitting at it, fur all on end, and it’s paying no attention to all the rangers tryin’ to shoot it down, cause it’s not supposed to fuckin’ be there.  We hurry on over, Lash pulls out one of the guns he had kept hidden, and I get my dragons goin’, and we eventually get this thing down for the count.  But the whole time, it didn’t seem to give a shit about anyone but tryin’ to eat Spackle, who has forgotten she had some of Dave’s grenades in the pockets she had for once!  All it would have taken was a good one tossed down it’s throat to kill it.” “I hate this story.”  Spackle muttered, her tail drooped over her eyes.

🎈- A memory about a time they were safe and relaxed

“Never happened.”  It was muttered around a mouthful of food.  “Seriously, what part of ‘merc for forty years’ did you not get the first time?” “Any real answer isn’t going to be PG-13 for you, kid.”  Shine had an even worse stage whisper than Lash, and Siren chucked a roll at her.  Shine dodged, grinning, as Siren sighed.   “Even in a safe place, these nerves don’t fuckin’ relax.  Closest might have been right after I left the ravagers, when I switched ships so I knew there was no chance of them findin’ me.  I went lookin’ for an ocean planet, just to see what it would be like.  Spent almost a month just bumin’ around, no jobs, no fightin’, no nothin’.  I did have to hunt for my food, but that involved a lotta fishin in this gorgeous lagoon type place...  Gods above, I need to go back there.  Now that I don’t have the fear of a giant ass ship crashin’ into my head.” “Wouldn’t have been as much to worry about if you hadn’t stolen part of it, girl.”   

📔- A memory from a journal/diary entry

“Yeah, never kept one.”  An eyeroll.  “Where would I have kept it that it wouldn’t have been found?  No one I’ve ever been around has a respect for privacy.  I can’t even shower without some asshole walkin’ into the bathroom to take a piss, there’s no way I’m putting my inner most thoughts anywhere anyone but me can get to them.”

📝- A memory of them getting to know/meeting my muse

“What do I remember?  Jeez, I remember fishing your dumbass out of the engine, that’s what I remember.  Your poor dad was freakin out, and you could tell that wasn’t something he was used to fuckin’ doing.  More blood than I like seein’ on kids, so it was a bit uncomfortable, but not nearly as much as I was used to seein’, so it evened out a bit.  What?  Kid, you might technically be older than me, but you look like twelve, and that’s all I give a fuck about.”

🔗- A memory about their proposal/wedding

“Kinda personal, ain’tcha.  I ain’t married, and I’ve never been proposed to.  The fuck would the point be?  I live on a space ship.  In space.  Who’s gonna acknowledge it?  Who’s gonna care?  It doesn’t mean anything anyway.  I don’t hold assets that government would be able to hold for a spouse anyway.  Everyone knows he takes control of the ship if I die anyway.  ...Well, if he asked, I’d say yes, ‘cause that means it meant something to the old fuck, but it’s not like it would change shit. ...Kid shut the fuck up, I am not blushing.  I don’t blush.  You’re an asshole, goodbye.”

[wanderingtheinbetween-blog]

“It’s a rather curious thing, fate.”  Hariman mused, the light of the dying star casting his face in an ominous series of shadows.  The glow that came from his eyes was much clearer here, but Ethereal didn’t bother to comment upon it.  Her butler had been shifting since this whole mess started, seeming to forget the form he had carried for the past thousand years.  She had to wonder how old he really was, that the illusion dropped so readily at distraction.  Loki’s had been unwavering until his death...  

Her throat tightened, and she dropped her gaze to the sleeping form swaddled in her arms.  Lorelei, who had been restless the whole trip here, finally settled down once the rings had picked up motion.  How inopportune, given how soon they would be off again. 

Ethereal thought she might have been tired, had she been able to feel anything at all besides a numb ache in her chest, the result of a battle between grief and terror where both sides had just given up and burned all remaining feelings.  

Hariman was still talking, unconcerned with her lack of attention.  “He will see so many outcomes, but there’s only one that was ever going to happen.  Funny how they always seem to think they have a choice.  That the strings could be broken.  What has happened was always going to happen, what they see was always going to be seen and acted on...  That’s what makes these things happen, after all.  We knew, and we wrote it out.  Like moths, these mortal sorcerers and wizards try to alter the fabric of fate, but all the holes they chew just sew themselves back together. Except the hole your mother made.”  He added as an afterthought, reaching down and gently bopping Lorelei on the nose.  She stirred for a moment, then settled back down.  

Frowning, Ethereal rocked her daughter, trying to ignore the points of light dancing in his eyes, tiny stars spinning in their galaxies, whole universes carried and watched by the man who would bring her tea and ran her households while she was away.  Even harder, she tried to ignore the ones that were winking out...

The dread was seeping back in.  Distantly, she could hear the dwarf telling Thor that whatever idiotic thing he was thinking of doing could kill him, and she wondered if Thor even cared.  If it would matter if he fell here or later...  Would it matter if she did?  Here or there, she would never see her daughter grow, and her daughter would never know her parents, never have a family...  An uncle on a suicide mission, an older brother too stubborn to stay alive in the coming mess, who took after their shared father who was also too stubborn to keep his hand hidden.  Whatever Sigyn would have been to her, it was subverted by the fact that woman would have to die before anyone could lay hand on her son. 

Hariman was watching her.

“...What can I ask of you?”  She found her voice, small in her throat.  To ask what she had to was to acknowledge too many things going wrong.  Too much pain, too much fear, too many awful truths.

“What can you?”  It wasn’t the first time he seemed to read her mind, and that half smile that was so familiar was languidly in place.  As if this was about what flowers should go in the front garden, not...

“How many can you save?”  Choked and mangled as it was, she needed to ask.

His smile deepened.  “A handful.”  Hariman held out one hand, palm up, fingers bent lightly inward.  “But not you, ma’am.  You’re too far from the fate I built.  I cannot truly touch you.”

A terrifying implication, but one to be dealt with if there was a later.

“My babies.”  No hesitation.  She had been a mother for so long, she knew nothing else anymore.

Wordlessly, his thumb and pointer curled down to his palm.  As they touched, Lorelei seemed to flash, light that wasn’t light flickering across her body.  From across the room, Tyr yelped.

“Sigyn.”  They would need a mother.

Another finger, and the women giving Tyr a pat down jumped, and give a started look around.

“Thor...”  She swallowed as another finger went down.  Hariman had just his pinkie out, curled, the daintiness of the gesture almost obscene with it’s contrast with what it represented.

Who else?  Who else did she even care about that much anymore?  Her heart had distanced itself in the past few days, retreating into the heavy isolation she had held for centuries, a shield against the loss that her life provided around every turn.  

Well, it was simple really.  She only really had one friend outside of the immediate family she had gathered around herself.

“Tony needs to live.”

The final finger folded over, and gently, Hariman tapped her forehead with his now closed fist.  A shock passed over her body, like falling in a cold pool, and Ethereal gasped, her muscles tightening in surprise as her vision went temporarily dark.  

Or no, no it hadn’t.  She was just falling into the endless space that hid behind Hariman’s eyes.  Ages and a void, the abyss of time, of bended space and reality...  She couldn’t see, because it was beyond her comprehension.  Her many long years of life flashed by in an instant, and the sun which earth circled snuffed itself out as the galaxy collapsed inward into the black hole that was it’s heart...  And elsewhere, new suns, new planets, new beings that were life beyond what they knew, sprang into being...

And Hariman blinked, turning away, and she was once again on the forge, spinning around a star that was in it’s end.  There was commotion behind her, and the power of whatever weapon was crafted behind her was radiating through out the whole place, making it shake.  

“Hmmm...”  Black hair was back in place, eyes were once again dark, and the smile lost its predatory edge.  Hariman was again, just Hariman.  “Not yet, my dear, you’ll have some time.  Remember your mother, Eva.  You are not just the frost, for you hold both sides of conflict in your soul, and if you can reach what she left you, you will give more a chance than I am allowed.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You will.  One day, you will achieve it on your own, but for now...”  He reached behind a nearby pillar, and pulled forth a staff she knew had not been there the moment before.  “A channel for your, ah, new growth.  Also, an early wedding present.”

What.  “...That fucker is still alive isn’t he.”

“As his brother said, he’s been dead before.”  Hariman winked.  “I’ll watch Lorelei, while you help save the universe.  It isn’t even yours, aren’t you such a good person?”

He took her baby from her unresisting hands, and replaced it with the staff.  

“Go on.  We’ll be waiting for you.”

Ethereal looked over at where Thor was visibly preparing to leave, Sygin, Tyr, and the obnoxious raccoon and tree person all standing next to him.  Thor gestured to her, clearly urging her to hurry up.  She tried to take one last look at her daughter, but Hariman was gone.  Home, probably, but to hers or his (where ever that may be), she did not know.

To go with Thor would be to her death, she knew for certain.  But the universe always keeps spinning.  And life after death was always a reoccurring theme, she thought, a wry smile crossing her lips.

She stepped forward, each step lightening the tightness in her chest, the staff radiating warm life through her hands, and by the time she took her place behind Tyr, next to the woman who had quickly become like a sister, she was content.

Let what may happen happen.  Ethereal was ready.