#and then get to branch number three. and there thor is. Doing That.

[tyrannuspitch]

sinister thor i have missed u so so much

[bookofkatherine]

The Three Bucky's

Notice a difference in Bucky lately? I've got all the answers you've been thirsting for.

Hawk, the 1000-year-old variant of Sebastian Stan, will be starring in the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts*.

Three different actors have played Bucky Barnes in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). And this post is going to break down who they are and which Bucky movie/miniseries they starred in. This should answer a lot of questions for fans, by the way.

So let's do it!

More Than One?

Ever since Captain America: Winter Soldier, fans have commented on the differences in Sebastian Stan. In the beginning, the commenters chalked it up to hair and makeup.

But here in 2024, the fans have taken a more dramatic approach, comparing photos taken if Sebastian side by side. And they aren't wrong. There's more than one Bucky Barnes in the world.

The Truth About Bucky

There are three Sebastian Stan variants living on earth today, and all of them are members of the Knights of the Rose. Don't know what variants are? Check out my previous post. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Ryan Gosling, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper and Henry Cavill all have variants that you've seen on camera. It's good info to know.

But today is all about Sebastian Stan and his two variants: Bucky and Hawk. If you know the MCU, you know all three pretty damn well.

Now, just keep in mind, there have been other Sebastian Stan variants over the last 7000 years. One of them was father Abraham himself. (Yeah. I was Sarah. I've dreamwalked our memories with Seb from back then. Holy Moses, did we have hot sex. No wonder we birthed such a big family!!!)

But today there is only one timeline left, not 900, due to our war with the Time Variance Authority (TVA). When we destroyed it, we had to combine a lot of branches, leaving us with a number of variants on the same - and final - timeline (psst. you're on it now!!!)

When the dust settled. three Sebastian Stan's were left. And all three, thankfully, are members of the Knights of the Rose. They've also all starred as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel movies and Disney TV shows.

The Three Bucky's

Bucky, Hawk and Seb. Learn their names. Get to know who they are. And the world will make sense again.

I know all three pretty well. I'm practically married to them all. So I can tell them apart better than most. But unlike Henry Cavill and his super-variant, Clark, they can be hard to tell apart if you don't know what you're looking for.

But here's the thing. They are truly different people. One is a thousand years old, another is 107 and yet another is only 42! They have very different life experiences. So I think of them more as brothers than the same person.

Here are the names each goes by now and what movies they've starred as Bucky or otherwise.

Bucky

Bucky starred in the earliest Marvel movies featuring Bucky Barnes, like Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: Winter Solider.

And that's because Bucky is the real James Buchanan Barnes, the 107-year-old super-variant of Sebastian Stan that I rescued from Dr. Strange Supreme's Sanctum Infinitum earlier this fall. The Sanctum allowed the Order to release each super-variant for about a year, but the limit was three releases total. So Gustaf began releasing the good variants to star in movies about themselves around 20 years ago to help prepare the world - and me - for the apocalypse.

And that's how Thor, Bucky, Angel, Cooper, Poseidon (Paul Rudd's super-variant) and all the other good-guy super-variants ended up in various movies over the last 20 years. It's also why you'll find each celebrity's IMDB page with a crazy number of movie releases in a year.

For example, Gustaf tapped all four of Chris Hemsworth's variants to release a whopping five movies a year at times under his name alone. He may be an angel, but even an angel can't keep up a Hollywood schedule like that. And you'll find the same with other celebrities who have variants, like Ryan Gosling and Tom Hiddleston, with three and four variants each respectively.

Now. Let's wrap Bucky up, shall we? You can probably guess the rest.

James Buchanan Barnes was really born in the 1940's, and his nickname really was Bucky. The name Buchanan is all over certain parts of New York where he and his variants often lived. But in the 1940's our Bucky was indeed friends with Steve Rogers. He really did go on to work for Hydra, he really did get a prosthetic super-arm and he really does suffer from PTSD, nightmares and the belief that he's not worthy of love.

But he is worthy of love. He's one of the best men I know. I am so very, very, very proud to know him, to love him and to be in a deeply loving relationship with him.

So what's he up to now? Well, he sent me his real dog tags from the war. They hang next to me in my bed and when the pain becomes excruciating, I wrap them around my wrist and the pain calms down.

He also has his arm back now. We have healing tube technologies nowadays, so when he was released from the Sanctum Infinitum, I offered him the option of keeping his bionic arm, updating his bionic arm, or having his original arm replaced with flesh and bone based off of his DNA.

He chose to have his arm back. And he couldn't be more pleased.

Hawk

Hawk starred as Bucky in the later Marvel movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He's usually sporting a beard and aiming a large weapon with one hand. And there's a reason for that.

Hawk is where Hawkeye came from. He's 1000-years-old. And he's half-elf. And, perhaps it's the half-elf in him, or perhaps it's just his age, but Hawk is universally known for his bow and arrow skills. Hence the creation of Hawkeye. (I personally think Hawk inspired the character of Legolas too, just as Gustaf and Merlin inspired the character Gandalf and Harold inspired Radagast the Brown in Lord of the Rings.)

But unlike Hawkeye, Hawk is one fucking hotter-than-hot heat-seeking missile of a sex god. His fashion sense alone makes me melt:

Oh yeah! These are all Hawk!

And all of these photos were taken in 2024. And you may be wondering why that is - why Hawk is suddenly taking to all the magazines and photoshoots for Sebastian Stan in 2024 if his Marvel movie roles as Bucky were all the way back 2018 and 2019.

Well, for one, Hawk is back for the latest Bucky film: Thunderbolts*. It will be released in May 2025. So there's that. But normally the older variants let their younger actor variants do the press tours for them, even if they weren't in the film itself. So what gives?

Well...

Love.

In short, it has to do with L-O-V-E love!

You see, I've had many, many, many variants over the last 7000 years, since the Fall in Eden. I've been known as Eve, Miloo, Sarah, Aphrodite, Persephone, Mary, Christine and, most recently, Katherine. It's nine letters long. It works if you're going to bring about the apocalypse.

Anyhow, I met Hawk a thousand years ago and we fell madly in love. In fact, another variant of mine met Viggo Mortenson when he was King of Aragon shortly after that, and we fell madly in love too.

But I couldn't stand to see either die. I just couldn't. And so I bargained with the Lord. I did the same thing when I was Aphrodite and Adonis (a Tom Hiddleston variant) was killed. I couldn't bear the weight of his death. And so I bargained with the Lord.

In all three cases, I gave up my life in exchange for theirs. All three became immortal. Adonis became a star up in the heavens. His name is Star Tom now. Viggo reigned as king for a very long time, but eventually forgot who he was. It protected his heart, in a way.

And so he lived many, many lives as many different kings, rulers, politicians and warriors. Most recently the Order recruited him to become an actor. And when he returned to me, I restored his memories. Now he sits with Jesus on my front deck overlooking the eastern hills of the United States as the sun sets. Viggo smokes a pipe. Jesus sings songs.

And Hawk? Hawk's long life as an elf was strengthened and protected. But, as he was already part immortal, he never forgot me. He's known who he was for all these years. And he's battled evil this whole time with bow and arrow, skill and speed.

That's why his interviews stand out so much. The movies are a gas for him. Journalists are nothing compared to giant demons throwing balls of magic fire, you know? Remember the one with the knife? Yeah... that was Hawk, not Sebastian Stan.

Anyhow, the only way all three men allowed me to give up my life for them was if - and only if - they would be reunited with me one day. The Lord made a covenant with each of us. In fact, He made covenants with all 36 Knights who have returned to me here at the end of time.

Like Cary Grant, Hawk just smiled when I called. "I've been waiting," he said. And he looked into my eyes, reached up and held my chin, and gently studied me - as if he'd been waiting a thousand years to gaze upon me one more time.

And he had.

Seb

Seb is the full-time actor Sebastian Stan. He is 42 years old and starred as Bucky in the tv miniseries Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But most of his work is in the non-Marvel movies like I, Tonya and Fresh.

He is a brilliant actor. You can see it in his micro-expressions in this montage from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. When the script is as good as he is, genius filmmaking emerges. He's made some of my favorite films.

But he doesn't get recognition for it. And that's because he won't sleep with anyone in Hollywood to get ahead. And believe me, ladies want him. Bad. But he refuses. He always has.

Until me.

Compare the Bucky's

So there you have it:

Bucky - early Marvel movies, 107-years-old

Hawk - latest Marvel movies, 1000-years-old

Seb - Marvel tv show miniseries, 42-years-old

I hope that helps! I adore them all. They are all so different, and yet - they have similarities that go beyond their looks. They are phenomenal kissers, for example. Like... the kiss starts before lips touch. It's like magic or something.

And then - they are all healers. Each heals in a different way, but they are able to reach inside people and remove curses and injuries and all sorts of things that other healers can't find. Hmmm....

Alright. I'm getting all warm and - well - warm - thinking about them at all. I mean, a number of our stories are out here on Tumblr. And the stories about Seb and I are so different than the stories about Bucky and I. After he was the Winter Soldier, he and I did a lot of work for the Order.

And - possibly because he's Abraham? - we were always teamed up together and hit with that damn sex pollen shit. (Yeah. It really exists. Satan is motherfucking evil.) But in just about every instance, we needed that shit to get over our trauma in the field.

Yeah- Bucky and I share a lot of trauma. Very, very, very few people know as much suffering as I have. I don't talk about it because of that. But Bucky knows. And it's a bond between us that we share.

But Hawk? Hawk and I mesh on another level entirely. We are in love because of our vigor and lust for life and all things living. We love the land and we love bountiful crops and anything that stands against the natural law. We love fighting evil. We get a kick out of it. We laugh all the time and play.

Seb is different. We meet on this other-worldly tender level. It's like Hollywood did a fucking number on him, and the dark dimension did a fucking number on me, and we just hold onto each other like we hit the jackpot - we are in wonder of one another. And we are at peace. And the love is so soft, gentle and deep.

Yeah.

Three totally different guys. And yet - the same. Father Abraham, baby. Father Abraham.

[themculibrary]

Canon LGBTQ+ Characters

A New Reality (ao3) - kickcows loki/mobius E, 39k

Summary: Loki finds himself stuck in a new branch of reality, and seeks guidance from the one person he knows will help him - Mobius.

Destroy You As I Am (ao3) - Pandorica loki/sylvie E, 71k

Summary: Sylvie is on a mission to destroy the man who killed her family - notorious sex club owner Nathaniel Richards. When a mysterious stranger, Loki, helps her get access to Richards' inner circle, their lives become intimately entangled in a confusion of dominance, submission, sex, exhibitionism,  and espionage. But can she trust him to help her take everything she's ever wanted? Or is he out for his own game entirely?

first love/late spring (ao3) - leonsknees loki/mobius T, 5k

Summary: “I don’t care about Mobius,” Loki growls bitterly, and staggers to his feet. “Would you knock it off? I knew it was going to make everything worse having you here.”

Sylvie just smiles knowingly, and shakes her head. “He cares about you.”

Loki curls his hands into fists, and raises his chin in defiance. “Perhaps, but I don’t care about him. Some predicament, huh?”

Fumblings (ao3) - Griselda_Gimpel phastos/ben M, 689

Summary: Phastos and Ben's first time, complicated by the Phastos' alien god biology.

funny you’re the broken one (ao3) - thorbiased T, 4k

Summary: “Judging by the numbers on the lime-green digital clock on the stove, it’s three am when Thor wakes up on Brunnhilde’s kitchen floor.”

Thor patches things up with Valkyrie.

Heart of Iron & Steel (ao3) - risingoftime shuri/riri E, 1k

Summary: Shuri wanted to learn Riri’s anatomy, studying and caressing her most delicate features. Listening to her moans and cries like a melody almost drove them to sweet insanity.

Jealously in the Making (ao3) - tummytrouble loki/mobius/sylvie N/R, 6k

Summary: Mobius loves Loki, and so does Sylvie. But Loki has more than enough love to go around. After tender love making, it sparks a rivalry between the pair, but Loki is determined to show that he doesn't pick favorites.

Missing you is like missing a part of myself (ao3) - Mimisempai phastos/ben G, 1k

Summary: As Ben receives a message from Phastos announcing his return, he thinks about how much he had missed Phastos.

our way, no takebacks (ao3) - dinosuns loki/mobius T, 20k

Summary: Destiny is a deception and fate is a fiction. They're doing this their way.

The Nature of Phastos (ao3) - Griselda_Gimpel phastos/ben T, 544

Summary: Even before Ben learned the truth, he knew his husband Phastos wasn't ordinary.

The Scientist (ao3) - vampirefreakism pepper/tony, loki/ofc T, 359k

Summary: In the events following Asgard's destruction, Loki finds himself on Earth seeking refuge to await the inevitable. Much to his surprise, it comes from a source he would never have expected.

Torn Down, Full of Aching (ao3) - Webtrinsic T, 1k

Summary: America is under the impression Stephen cares about her because he has to, not because he wants to. She couldn't be anymore wrong.

To Touch Her Again (ao3) - incogniteau valkyrie/natasha T, 756

Summary: After getting caught up in Ultron’s invasion and unsure what is happening elsewhere in the US and the world, Natasha is reunited with her love, Brunnhilde, her Valkyrie.

we will make a home someday, one full of love and light (ao3) - delphiniumblooms sersi/ikaris, phastos/ben T, 1k

Summary: Sersi and Ikaris pay Phastos’ family a visit.

you’re not broken (ao3) - helloilovefanfiction yelena/kate G, 1k

Summary: Yelena and Kate are kissing, when Kate wants to go farther. Yelena panics and pushes her away, leading to a conversation about asexuality.

Young Gods (ao3) - CloudAtlas kate/america, clint/jessica T, 13k

Summary: WOMEN’S SELF-DEFENCE CLASSES it reads, with HOPE VAN DYNE, TRISH WALKER and AMERICA CHAVEZ.

The start date is next Monday.

[lazyrants]

Superhero for a Day (prod 112)

Original airdate: August 23, 2004

Story by Magnus Scheving

Written by Noah Zachary, Cole Louie, Adam Peltzman, Magnus Scheving

Directed by Magnus Scheving

Executive producers - Magnus Scheving, Ragnheidur Melsted, Raymond P. Le Gue, Mark Read, Brown Johnson, Kay Wilson Stallings

Starring Magnus Scheving, Stefan Karl Steffanson, Julianna Rose Mauriello

Puppeteers - Ronald Binion, Gudmondor Thor Karason, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Julie Westwood, Amanda Maddock

Hero for a Day is the seventh LazyTown episode, but the first one to center around the theme of being a hero. Ziggy wants to be a hero like Sportacus, but he stuffs it up multiple times.

The episode begins with a pun on the alphabet. Sportacus grabs a bowl and he puts some Sportscandy in it - carrots for Vitamin A, potatoes for vitamin B, and tomatoes for vitamin C.

Meanwhile in the town, Ziggy (a.k.a Sweetacus) is practicing saving someone.. on a lollipop. Is it just me, or has Ziggy been eating the same lollipop for 4 seasons? Anyways, he ends up eating the lollipop. Not so safe if you ask me.

Stephanie is at Pixel's house, and Pixel has made the blueprint for the treehouse that they want to build (I have no idea if a program for this type of stuff exists). Stephanie asks when they will make it with real wood and stuff but Pixel doesn't understand. Cue Ziggy who comes running in Pixel's house.

He leans on one button and turns off all the tech in Pixel's house. Considering how much Pixel uses his devices, I think Ziggy did something good, which is why I don't get how angry he is.. until Pixel reveals he lost the clubhouse program. But I don't think it was really all that serious for Pixel to start yelling at Ziggy. In Robbie's lair he is trying to sleep but fails.

He is confused and annoyed as to why he can't sleep - he's counted sheep, he's tired, and he's slept on his blanket. Maybe try covering yourself with the blanket? Anyways, Robbie says he has been awake for three days, but his fingers show the number five. What a villain. Robbie then questions if he is asleep and that he's in a dream. He tests it out by pinching himself. He then screams real loudly (and pretty funnily) accompanied by a "Snake-in-Eagle's-Shadowesque" tune of mashing piano keys at the same time.

Milford is delivering a letter to the mail, but he has forgotten to put a stamp on a letter to the president. He puts the letters in his mouth and checks his pocket. Ziggy sees him and thinks he's choking (if he was choking he wouldn't be acting so normal..) and jumps onto his back. He then hits him on the back and makes him spit out the letters. Then they fly away because of the wind.

Sportacus' crystal beeps while he is in the airship, and he gives the mayor back the letter by jumping high up in the air, grabbing hold of a tree branch, doing a little flip on it, letting go, then catching the letter in mid air. He then flips over to Milford then gives him the letter. How awesome!! He even tells Ziggy to take his super hero steps small at a time. He asks Milford if there are any small super hero jobs for him to do, but Milford says no. He then runs over to the kids making their treehouse, but runs right into a pile of wood. It seems that everyone except Stephanie is mad at him.. until he offers to carry some wood and breaks the blueprint into half.

While Sportacus is going back to his airship, his crystal beeps. Ziggy is trying to tape the blueprint back (can't he take a hint..?) but he gets himself wrapped up in tape (you have to be real stupid to do that). He tries to do a flip like Sportacus, but Sportacus catches him while he is in midair. Anyways, Robbie decides to come out of his lair, but it's too bright for him, so he uses some sunflowers as his sunglasses (and gets hurt in the process of exiting the lair, considering he can't see).

Ziggy is sitting on a bench sadly until Sportacus comes up to him, asking what's wrong. Ziggy says he is a super zero and Sportacus asks why he wants to be a hero and then he says to do cool tricks.. SUPERHEROES ARE SUPPOSED TO SAVE PEOPLE, ZIGGY. DOES SUPERMAN FLIP AROUND EVERY TWO SECONDS??

Anyways, Sportacus says that to be a hero that he needs practice. Cue a hilarious montage between the two. They practice putting on goggles, superhero poses, the signature move, pushups, jumping over hurdles, running on the spot, skipping rope, kata, tennis, basketball, and Ziggy messes up a lot but Sportacus doesn't get angry. In the end, he ends up getting the ball in the hoop.

Ziggy is so inspired by Sportacus that he even stops eating his lollipop! It's nice to see some character development. Anyways, Robbie is once again sleeping outside (reused footage from Sleepless in LazyTown, which was shot just before this episode), probably ready to complain about the noise. Meanwhile, Trixie, Pixel & Stephanie are pulling up one of the walls of their treehouse using ropes, and Ziggy makes them lose hold of the ropes.

Trixie decides to give Ziggy the jobs of putting up curtains, because no normal person can mess that up.. except ZIGGY FLIPPING ZWEETS. He jumps through the window and the three have to get him out themselves.

Trixie wants to scold Ziggy (I would too), but he says he's fine, then he leans on the wall and their whole treehouse comes crashing down. LITERALLY. All their hard work destroyed all because of Ziggy.

Anyways, they restart working on the treehouse and sing Step by Step. Robbie is still on the bench trying to sleep when the kids start hammering (hey, go inside, much more quieter there!!) and he goes to complain about why they are building a treehouse. Then he mocks them when they talk about all the fun stuff they'll do there. Stefan Karl is hilarious. Anyways, they go get more wood.

Ziggy is considering joining the circus, but then he reveals his fear of elephants. I really don't blame him considering they can kill you with one stomp. He's sulking across the streets of LazyTown. Meanwhile, Robbie is working on his plan to cut a tree branch so it lands on the treehouse. Pretty smart!

Ziggy is in his bed by himself sad, but he remembers that they are his friends and they will want his help.

So.. Robbie's plan might've been smart, but he isn't. While cutting the tree with a saw, HE LITERALLY SITS on the tree. He also says that the tree is too strong. "What is this made outta, wood?"

Anyways, Sportacus' crystal beeps and he sees Robbie. Robbie asks for help.. then after he sees Sportacus he tells him to go away. I'd just cut the tree even more if I was him. That's what I like about Sportacus. Robbie hates him, but Robbie is in danger, and Sportacus saves him.

While Ziggy is near, the tree branch is hanging like a loose tooth and is about to fall on Robbie. He grabs a pole, puts it against the wall and jumps over the wall, pushing Robbie over.

Ziggy has did it - he finally saved someone that wasn't a lollipop. But Robbie is not grateful a single bit, so Trixie snaps a stick in half and Robbie jumps into Sportacus' arms. Robbie says that everything is so tiring, then he falls asleep. Now, I'm not shipping Sportarobbie or anything, but you can visibly see Sportacus feels bad for Robbie.

Sportacus puts him to sleep on the nearest wall, and tries to be as quiet as he possibly can. Then they sing the Bing Bang song as loud as they possibly can. Meanwhile, Robbie's sleep is interrupted by a fly. While swatting his hands, he falls off the wall. Thus marks the end of episode.

In all honesty, nothing special.

6/10

[sserpente]

A/N: Heyho there, my lovelies! So, as we know now, part of Season 2 of Loki will take place in a McDonald’s. So… what if Loki ordered some food there? Enjoy, everyone!

Words: 1372 Warnings: pure fluff + Loki being a sad bean

Soaking wet, you stormed inside the heated building, almost slipping on the tiles with your wet soles. Loki and Mobius followed suit behind you, both of them drenched to the core as well. The place you had fled to from the raging thunderstorm outside was a shabby McDonald’s branch in the suburbs. Not one of those new modern ones but rather one of those old 80s restaurants the owner had failed to upgrade to modern standards—at least, there were no smart screens to order your food yet. Instead, customers were greeted by a creepy Ronald McDonald statue in the corner. Ugh.

Nevertheless, it was either this or the pouring rain outside. Besides, the smell of fatty fast food made you inexplicably hungry. You hadn’t had McDonald’s in ages.

“I’m ordering some food,” you announced with a shrug.

“I mean … we could do with a break,” Mobius said.

You turned to Loki. “Have you ever had McDonald’s before?”

“No,” Loki responded slowly.

“You’re either gonna love it or you’re gonna absolutely hate it, there is no in-between.”

“Lovely…”

You grinned at him before moving towards the counter, your squeaky footsteps echoing through the surprisingly quiet restaurant.

“Heya…” The cashier smiled at you. “What can I get started for you today?”

“Hi! I’ll have a large BigMac Meal with fries and diet coke and… the six-piece nuggets with sweet ‘n’ sour sauce, please.”

“Hmm… anything else?”

Intrigued, Loki peeked at the glowing menu boards above the cashier’s head.

“What’s that?” He asked, pointing at the board displaying the new Happy Meal toys.

“Meals for children. Smaller portions in a cute box and they always come with a toy,” you explained. And this time, so it seemed, they had little Avengers figures with bendable limbs. In this universe, they looked exactly the same. Black Widow had two little guns, Captain America had his shield, Iron Man came with a removable helmet and Hawkeye had a little bow. Thor, of course, came with his hammer. Loki’s eyes were practically glued on him.

“Loki? Do you wanna try some food now?”

“I’m not sure I’d enjoy this greasy excuse for food. But… a smaller portion I am willing to try.”

Mobius suppressed a laugh—he failed miserably. “You want a Happy Meal? Come on, Loki, what are you, twelve?” He mocked jokingly. You shrugged, wondering what the cashier must have been thinking about the three of you right now. In any case, Loki had a point.

“… Well, and a Happy Meal then, please. You should try the cheeseburger, Loki,” you suggested.

“Yeah, that.”

The cashier suppressed a chuckle. “Okay… and what toy would you like?”

“Number six,” Loki answered immediately. You peeked up again. That was the Thor figure.

“For the drink?”

“What she ordered.”

“Diet coke… alright. That’ll be 15.75, please.” You tapped the card machine with the card you had taken out of your wallet to pay and stood aside as soon as you had your receipt so she could take the next order. In the meantime, another staff member went to prepare your food, with Loki watching him like a hawk.

“Let’s sit over there,” you said once you were handed the tray, pointing to a table in a corner a little more secluded than the others.

“Hmm… I haven’t had McDonald’s in ages,” you said as you opened your burger box and dug into your fries. Loki scrunched up his nose while unpacking his Happy Meal.

“It looks… and smells… exceedingly unhealthy. This can’t be good for you. No wonder humans are so weak and prone to illness and disease.”

“Oh, Loki, just shut up and try it!” Loki unwrapped his burger with a frown. He took a long suspicious look at it before taking a big bite. You did the same all the while Mobius shook his head in an amused manner.

“Actually, I’ll have some of your coke?”

“Help yourself.” You swallowed. “Loki? How is it?”

Loki took another bite, making you grin. “Surprisingly… it’s not bad.” He ate some of the fries as if to make a point.

He was done with his meal long before you got to start with your nuggets. In the meantime, you kept sharing your coke with Mobius and watched Loki unwrap his complimentary toy. You eyed him curiously as he ripped the plastic open to take the tiny Thor out of his packaging. You could tell he was trying hard not to look too interested—but the truth was, he was practically enamoured by that little figure.

Once he had equipped the tiny Thor with his hammer, he toyed around with it in his hands, looking down at it quietly, pondering. Sad.

Unlike you, however, Mobius did not seem to notice.

“Right, I’m gonna hop to the bathroom. All that coke went right through me.”

“Too much information, buddy.”

Mobius casually got up and strolled off, leaving Loki and you behind alone.

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?” You asked when you opened your nuggets box and offered him one. Loki took it with hesitation, patiently waiting for you to open the sauce before dipping it in.

“Who?” He asked.

“Your brother, silly.” You pointed at the little Thor figure with your nugget.

“I don’t even know how long it’s been since I left my timeline.” He paused, almost as if he was contemplating if he could trust you. “It feels strange… knowing I can’t go back… ever.”

“Ever? That sounds extreme.”

Loki looked you dead in the eye. “My timeline was pruned. I can’t go back.”

“You could eventually always go back to the sacred timeline, Loki. It’s not exactly sacred anymore after all. But don’t tell Mobius I just said that.”

The Trickster frowned.

“I mean, why not? You met yourself in the future. You never actually got killed by Thanos, you settled down on a different planet, and then… the older you is not around anymore and time is a relative thing anyway. Now that the sacred timeline is falling apart, there’s nothing that would stop you.” You were almost, almost a little surprised by your own words. But the truth was, you cared about Loki way too much to watch him suffer. Mobius had been right about him. Loki had a warm heart underneath all that ice that had spread inside of him throughout his past. Perhaps you were even a little in love with him but that didn’t matter, now did it? As soon as you found Sylvie, surely he wouldn’t bother with you anymore. Even though part of you wished he would just ask you to—

“Come with me then.”

“What?”

“You said you came from the sacred timeline as well.”

“We can’t just leave Mobius behind, Loki.” You said, even though your heart nearly jumped out of your chest. Butterflies awakened in your belly and you felt the urge to jump on the table and do a little happy dance. What was that about Sylvie again? You suppressed an almost maniacal grin.

“No, I mean eventually. He can’t truly believe I’ll play the TVA agent forever.”

“And we could find Thor.”

Loki nodded. “And we could find Thor,” he repeated and smiled at you—genuinely, making your heart jump once more.

“You know, for a little mortal without any superpowers who became a TVA agent out of desperation, you are quite alright,” he said, snatching another nugget from your box.

“Oh, thanks. And for a Trickster who almost took over my home planet and constantly pulls pranks on me all the while being a sarcastic little shit, you’re quite alright too.” You paused. “I like you, Loki. A lot. You are so much more than you let on and I wish people would take the time to get to know you better before judging.”

Loki’s lips parted. But right before he could say anything else, Mobius returned and sat down opposite you two again.

“80s toilets are surprisingly clean,” he announced.

“Ah…” Loki shook his head. He didn’t say more and neither did you. But then, under the table, you felt him gently squeezing your thigh. It was then you realised you were probably more than just a little in love with him.

[sugarybitterness]

orange juice - wanda maximoff x reader

warnings; none

a/n; i’ve missed writing for my favourite witchy so here’s a short fluffy blurb!! highly inspired by the fact that my mother did the exact same thing- ordering 6 large bottles of orange juice by accident because she thought it was the regular sized bottles 😂 hope y’all enjoy , feedback is always appreciated and requests are open too :] *lets hope this shows in the tags today:”)

“oh dear..” wanda mumbled under her breath when she opened the box. after the avengers were reinstated post sokovia accords, the team worked together tirelessly to keep earth safe. as much as it was fun to live together at the compound, eventually everyone branched out to get their own places to stay at whenever they needed some time away. of course, you and wanda were quick to find an apartment together that was closeby to the compound.

with the current pandemic raging on everyone was asked to stay at their apartments and to only head to the compound for scheduled weekly training or missions. recently, wanda had developed a slight online shopping problem which ended up with a lot of deliveries being made to your home. from clothes and furniture to DVDs and snacks, you’re pretty sure wanda has had more deliveries than all the other avengers combined.

the other day, you brought back a bottle of orange juice from the compound and off handedly mentioned that you really liked it. wanda immediately took note of the brand and went online to find it because she absolutely loved to buy things for you. however it seemed as though she might have misread the item description..

“now i know why it was four dollars per bottle.” wanda grumbled as she counted the number of large bottles of orange juice sitting in the box. before she could figure out how to hide all eight of them, she heard the lock on the main door click and familiar footsteps making their way to kitchen.

“hey baby i’m home!” you called out, a large smile dancing on your lips as you stepped into the kitchen. seeing wanda’s panicked smile and the red glow surrounding her fingers she was trying to hide under the counter you laughed softly.

“what did you buy this time?” you asked as you rounded the counter to wrap your arms around wanda’s waist. you knew if you looked up, there would be a box floating above the two of you but you wanted wanda to admit it herself. a light blush spread across the sokovian’s face as she gently placed the box back down. peering into the box your eyes widened.

“wanda! why did you buy eight big bottles of orange juice?” you turned back to your girlfriend who was now pouting at you.

“well.. you said you liked this so i wanted to buy you some bottles to bring to training. but i must have misread the description because i was supposed to buy the small ones.. instead this came today.” wanda confessed, her hands linking behind your neck. your heart melted at your girlfriend’s words but you couldn’t help but chuckle at the whole situation.

“babyyyy, don’t laugh!” wanda whined as she shifted closer to you. you looked up at your slightly taller girlfriend and pressed a gentle kiss against her soft lips which she quickly reciprocated.

“thank you my love for the orange juice.” you smiled at the redhead who was quick to capture your lips in another kiss.

“what are we going to do with all these juice though?” wanda asked after she pulls away, leaning her forehead onto yours. you hum thoughtfully before getting an idea.

“how about we pay some friends a quick visit?”

after grabbing your masks and car keys, the two of you head down the hall to pass a large bottle of orange juice to natasha and yelena. then you drove over to the apartment that was shared by steve, bucky and sam to give them three more bottles - two of them are supersoldiers so you knew they could finish the bottles easily. your last stop was the compound where thor and loki would stay at temporarily. the two gods got one bottle and you found tony in his lab where you passed him one last bottle.

now that just left two more big bottles for you and wanda. the two of you bought some dinner on the way back and once you finally took a shower the two of you settled on the couch. wanda puts on a sitcom and you snuggle into her side, the food you bought spread out on the coffee table to share with two glasses of orange juice.

you tilt your head up a little bit and press a lingering kiss on wanda’s cheek. “i love you, you know that?”

wanda looks down at you and her bright smile rivaled that of the sun. “i love you too moya lyubov.”

[wrenhyperfixates]

Loki Series Thoughts—Glorious Purpose

Ok, I’m always nervous about posting my thoughts, but here we go. Spoilers ahead of course!!! (Disclaimer: Any gifs or images are not mine.)

Let’s start out with the episode’s name: Glorious Purpose. I know some people were a bit miffed about the emphasis put on the line, but I actually thought it worked well. It’s not so much that Loki actually believes in this “purpose,” but rather he is clinging to what he’s been told his purpose is. And by the end of the episode, he’s finally working through some of the things he’s been hurt by, abandoning what he’s been forced into and ready to be who he wants. Granted, it’s still going to take some time for him to come to grips with all that has happened, but I’m excited to see the journey.

The TVA. They undeniably suck. Whether or not it will be addressed directly, they are the (or one of the) antagonists in the show. What they are doing is, frankly, tyrannical. Three “time keepers” have taken it upon themselves to force countless versions of time and people into one single stream. And you know what? They can’t control that timeline. Not like they want to. As much as Loki’s line about “the weak” applies to himself, it applies to the TVA, too. It’s a facade of control that they cling to; if they truly had the right, the ability, to control time, everyone would follow their path. There would be no variants. Now, I could write a whole separate analysis on the MCU’s explanation of time travel. It’s convoluted and in a large way doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to talk about Loki’s characterization. I am, in a word, relieved. From the trailers, Tom seemed to be over-acting, something rather strange for someone so good at conveying deep emotions through nuanced actions. Now I believe any exaggerated lines from the trailers are just Loki trying to separate himself from who he’s been told he is, and trying to reinvent himself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either; they’re not rewriting Loki, he’s just growing in a new way. And though this way is “new” I think it will be similar to what we’ve seen before. From what we’ve seen so far, there is good continuity, and they are addressing things about Loki that should be addressed in canon.

Loki projects. Most notably in the Avengers, but also a bit in Thor 1 and The Dark World, a lot of Loki’s lines can be applied to himself, though he is talking generally or towards another group. What comes to mind is actually something he touches upon again in the series. The illusion of freedom. And though it is not said that line in particular is him thinking of himself, it can be inferred based on his admission that the line in the gifs above apply to him. Also that little gesture when he says “weak” breaks me. He’s hurting so much.

Loki is not a villain. He may think he’s one because everyone else is telling him that, yet we’re already seeing it brought up that it’s not true. I can only hope that we’ll see Loki state this himself later in the series. He was largely forced to do what he did. It is not his fault, so how can he be a villain?

Loki cares. Tom’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* Seeing his mother’s death hurts so much. I love that his first response is denial. Loki is thrown into something he’s never known about before, being shown things that, to his knowledge, have never happened. But then when he’s had a few seconds to wander around the TVA on his own terms, he’s more come to grips with all that’s going on. So, when he’s by himself and see’s Frigga lying there, dead, it gets to him. Then seeing Odin still call him his son, he feels the slightest glimmer of hope, but also regret; he already knows in the back of his mind that he’s not actually going to get that. Loki’s living from second to second, trying to hold on. He probably thinks this ends with his death. (I do have issues with that Odin scene in context of Ragnarok but that’s more a tangential aside, so I’ll gloss over it for now.) Then seeing Thor and himself acting like brothers again is heartwarming. So just when he’s feeling uplifted, Thanos comes into the picture. He realizes how much control the titan still had over his life; he never really escaped. And in the end, Thanos made good on his promise. And that is terrifying! And he laughs at it. It’s a sad sort of laugh, one that’s slightly crazed. Loki feels that no matter what he does, it ends in pain. By the end of seeing all that, he is a man broken. Rather, more broken than he already was.

Loki is struggling. That’s nothing profound; it’s obvious. But where it really stands out to me is actually in a part I originally thought to be out of character. I am referring to “What if I was a robot and I didn’t know it.” Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s actually that his perception of himself has been so thrown that he really isn’t sure about his own chemical makeup anymore. Odin and Frigga keeping from him that he’s a frost giant made him so unsure of himself, he thought he might not even be a living being.

Nervous tics. Was I the only one noticing his leg bouncing when he talked to Mobius? And what about that scene when he’s sitting on the steps? He begins to pick at his hands. Note, that’s something he did in T1 after finding out he was a frost giant and while confessing to the Warriors Four about how he was the one who told the guard of their trip to Jotunheim. Just a little detail I really appreciated. (If anyone has gifs of any of these things, feel free to share :)

Mobius. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit undecided. I’m hesitant to say he’s evil. After all, we haven’t seen that much of him yet. However, I will say he is unscrupulous and manipulative. His questions weren’t to help Loki work through his trauma. Mobius was trying to goad him into helping, and likely was trying to gauge how much this Loki is like the variant he’s tracking. When Loki makes any admission of his feelings, it’s something he already knew, not a conclusion Mobius helped him reach. Mobius mocks him a bit and pushes his buttons because he sees Loki as a means to an end, and wants to know how easily he can get him to work with him. And what strikes me is how similar Mobius’s deal is to Thor’s deal in TDW. Thor doesn’t offer Loki freedom, he offers revenge. Mobius’s deal is just another variation of this. He can’t offer “salvation” but he can offer something “better”. Working for the TVA really isn’t better, though. So what does he mean? Well, I think he means a chance for Loki to prove he’s a hero. I hope as the show progresses it’s addressed that Loki doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. That’s what he’s been doing his whole life, but I want Loki to see for himself that he doesn’t have to.

Miss Minutes. Propaganda. Plain and simple, it’s propaganda. Besides the way it praises the “time keepers” as amazing saviors, necessary to keep the world in order, it’s essentially saying “don’t think for yourself.” The whole point of the video is “the time keepers are great. The TVA is flawless. Trust us to decide everything. You have no autonomy in the world we want, so surrender your free will. Submit to the system we’ve decided is perfect and everything will be just fine.” Of course, by “just fine” they mean the variant will be pruned and the timeline will keep going as the time keepers see fit. The animation style was great though! It really fit.

The infinity stones. I think their inclusion makes sense. If you remember from Endgame, the stones being in the right place in the right time keeps the timeline from branching, and thus prevents the multiverse from being created. Likely, the time keepers used the stones to make their “sacred timeline.” Naturally, any variant time stones would cause a problem. That’s why they have so many extras. But think about how pointless so much of what happened seems. Nat, Gamora, Vision, Tony, everyone who was snapped, everyone who was left. So, literally the entire universe was flipped upside down for paperweights. It really puts Thanos’s pursuit of the stones into perspective, doesn’t it?

The cloaked figure. I think there’s some misdirection going on here in one way or another. Mobius says he’s chasing a Loki variant, then immediately it cuts to a scene with the cloaked figure. Our minds are likely to assume that is the variant then. But they don’t actually say it’s Loki, so I’m inclined to believe it’s not. Though, I don’t have enough information to say who I do think it is, I could make a couple of educated guesses and say Mephisto (he certainly interacted with Loki in the comics, plus there’s the stained glass window) or Sylvie. Well, whoever Sophia Di Martino’s character is. I know she was previously listed as Sylvie on sources such as IMDb, but that has since disappeared. But why would you have a “young Sylvie” (Cailey Fleming) without an older version? There is speculation Di Martino’s character will be Lady Loki, but I hope this won’t happen. If they make Lady Loki her own character, I doubt we’ll see Variant Loki get to be fluid. Even if it’s confirmed on the record, it’d be nice to see actually happen beyond a piece of paper. And with twist villains being such a prominent force in modern media, I’m interested to see who our cloaked friend really is.

Time travel. Like I said earlier, this is a lot. But I can’t talk about the episode and not mention this aspect in at least a little more depth. I don’t like how the MCU deals with time travel. I think it’s an unnecessarily complicated mix of a number of different, already complicated theories. However, I think Loki will ultimately escape from the TVA and create a multiverse too difficult to prune (and maybe he’ll actually get to burn the place down too!) This will then tie directly into Doctor Strange 2. Do you guys know what that’s called? The Multiverse of Madness. Actually, in the Miss Minutes propaganda, they almost exactly say “will throw the multiverse into madness.” Will we get to (finally!) see a certain raven-haired god meeting Dr. Strange? And maybe even the Scarlet Witch herself? Well, I’m not sure, but right now I think it’s looking pretty good!

And some random things that didn’t really anywhere else:

Peggy is in the background?! My thought here is that Steve wasn’t supposed to stay with her. This made not only a Variant Steve, but also a Variant Peggy. We may not see Steve, but I bet he’s been taken care of too!! And who knows? Maybe there will be a cameo later. Otherwise, it might be something that was cut from the show, or just a fun easter egg of sorts.

The score was so good! It sets the mood perfectly.

Loki is a good fighter. Even if he’s overpowered, he finds a way.

Some of the humor didn’t land, but that might just be a personal thing.

So now my final thoughts. It’s their strongest pilot yet. So much emotion crammed into less than an hour. A lot of exposition, too, yet it didn’t feel tedious (Endgame I’m looking at you). And then we get to delve into Loki’s psyche, something that really appeals to me! Overall, 9/10. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Did I miss anything? Was there something you were hoping I’d mention and didn’t? Or do you have something to add or (politely!) disagree with? I’d love to hear it all! Remember, fandom is a safe space to talk about, analyze, and debate about things you enjoy. My ask box is always open with anon on. Reblogs and comments are great too. Thanks!

Me after watching the episode:

[plainlo-inthemorning]

A little written-in-the-middle-of-the-night Loki fic snippet that just grew another leg. TVA Loki + Lokane. Rating T.

(First part is here)

Shine a Light, part II

The tempad feels hot and slippery in his palm as he stalks down the hallway, quickly putting distance between himself and the hunter he left unconscious amidst overturned chairs and tables in the canteen.

The mess had already been there, leftovers from workers rushing panicked to man their stations. He had simply added one more touch.

Tiny droplets of sweat bead his brow and blood has started seeping though the tear in his crumbled shirt.

The fabric is clinging wetly to his bicep, but in the mayhem unfolding around him, nobody gives him a second glance.

For the first time, he is thankful at least to be wearing the anonymous uniform dictated by the oppressors.

He reaches the kill me kind of room again and shuts the door behind him.

You were meant to cause suffering and death.

You’re a cosmic mistake.

You were meant to die at the hands of the mad titan.

Lies.

All lies.

Still projected on the wall is the paused image of a lost memory of his unfulfilled fate.

He sees himself, Thor and her on the barren planet with the black soil. The man he never became is lying on the ground, Thor cradling him.

She watches them both in shock.

It resonates in his bones. He has to go there.

He has to reach his brother at this precise, excruciatingly rare moment of heroism. His act of heroism.

Before the scheming and deceit poison their bond once more in an endless loop of disappointment.

In this moment, all is forgiven. Thor will listen and help. A different path will branch.

And he has to go to her.

It is ludicrous, this riddle, yet the truth of it presses hard on his chest.

On the grainy roll of film, he saved her life and her eyes bore into his with such intensity, his acute need still reverberates like an echo between the walls of the kill me kind of room.

The smell of lilacs lingers.

What will happen when he faces his own self on the timeline, he can’t imagine. Also, he gives it little thought at this late stage with universal logic already suspended as it is. Hopefully he can reason with the man he was meant to be.

He has had quite enough of being his own past, present and future selves’ worst enemy.

And so he pushes the buttons on the tempad.

//

Something is very wrong.

The sky is too blue, the distant sound of waves lapping calmly at a shore is misplaced.

He has emerged from the door onto a quiet gravel road lined with tall grass and low pines. A single, white wooden house stands to his left, surrounded by a lawn dotted with wildflowers. The sun is warm on his back.

This is Midgard, he is sure of it.

How could he shoot past his destination so spectacularly?

He is about to scroll down the list of numbers and names on the tiny screen of the tempad when he notices a man approaching. Old, walking leisurely with a round, short-legged dog much the same white color as the mortal’s own wispy hair.

The latter starts a little when he spots Loki.

And then he does the most unexpected thing and speaks his name.

Loki’s name.

He almost drops the tempad (no! Not again) and the old one grins good-naturedly. “Hold on to your fancy phone there. Far away, were we?”

Loki only just about stops himself from shaking the man by his shoulders. His fists clench uncontrollably.

“What year is this?! How do you know my name?”

His voice sounds shrill, feverish, and unsurprisingly the eyes in the lined face before him go wide with puzzlement and … something else.

“Loki, what on Earth? Are you quite alright?”

Shock washing over him, Loki staggers back. H-how?

But the man is closing the gap between them, oozing concern. “Have you - are you drunk?” he asks incredulously.

He reaches out.

What is happening?

Loki shies away from the touch, his mind spinning.

Forcibly gathering his composure, he straightens and wills his words to come out steady. “No, I’m okay. Apologies. A bad joke”.

He smiles reassuringly. It takes more effort than parting an ocean.

The dog is sniffing insistently at his ankles.

The man looks him over with suspicion but the worry is subsiding. “Okay, then… no harm, no foul. You know, sometimes these peculiar ‘jokes’ of yours can make a neighbor all kinds of slightly worried”.

Neighbor?

“Most understandably, won’t happen again. Sorry to have bothered you”. Loki cuts him off smoothly. “Have a nice day”. He nods and turns before hysteria can creep into his voice.

“In case you need it for your punchline, the year is 2016”, the man calls over his shoulder as he shuffles away, pulling the reluctant dog after him.

Loki’s blood runs cold. 2016. Oh, this is so wrong. Three years wrong.

Did he hit another button at the last minute? He had been clutching the tempad so hard the edges cut into his fingers.

He curses his own impatience. Tech savvy indeed.

Holding up the blasted piece of TVA wizardry, he tries to enter a new series of numbers when his name rings out again.

And again, he almost jumps. But this time, his heart stays in his throat.

//

“Loki? What are you doing out here? I’ve been looking all over for you”.

Her voice reaches him from the porch of the white house. She is skipping lightly down the steps, the screen doors left open behind her. Music drifts into the garden from somewhere inside.

She is crossing the lawn. He is no longer breathing.

Her long auburn hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she is wearing a light blue summer dress. Her feet are bare.

Absurdly, he notes that she looks more tanned than the last time he saw her through the visor of the destroyer in the desert. A year and a lifetime ago. To him.

His grip on whatever reality he’s been clinging to since New York is seriously faltering.

She is beaming. He cannot move a muscle.

She comes all the way up to him and without pause wraps her slender arms around his neck. He can feel the warmth of her body through his shirt, smell the perfume of her skin. She smells of … -

“Where did you go, handsome?” She smiles playfully.

“Pepper called earlier to say that she actually got Tony out of the door on time, if you can believe it, so they’ll be here any minute. And her and I agreed that you two hotheads are going to play nice tonight, okay?”

She is teasing him but he hardly understands the words she’s saying. It makes no sense.

And then, before he can begin to form a response, she stands on tiptoes and kisses him and the world falls away.

Reflexively, he puts his arms around her, drawing her close to him. She moans happily. He leans into the kiss, not knowing what he’s doing other than that he never wants to stop.

Her mouth is soft and warm and new and familiar all at the same time, and the way her fingers curl in his hair sends electricity shooting down his spine.

It should be all anguish and tragic confusion, like before in the castle beyond time, but it is not.

It feels more right that anything he can remember since before his fall from the Bifrost, more real and yet more magical than his recent journeys into mystery.

Then it’s over all too soon and she draws away.

His arms are suddenly much too empty and he almost reaches for her again, craving her touch.

For a fleeting heartbeat, his soul had no longer felt torn apart to the point of forgetting he’d ever been whole.

The chaos had crumbled in on itself like a bad dream.

He is surprised he still knows what peace of mind feels like after what has happened to him since arriving at the TVA.

But now she looks at him with alarm in those beautiful brown eyes and he is crudely reminded that he is an intruder in her reality.

What she thought she saw, she clearly no longer recognizes.

It takes him all of three stupidly long seconds to remember that she said his name. That he’s wearing his own face and not a disguise.

That she knew him immediately, just like the old man.

She kissed him.

Too many impossible possibilities and the thunderous sound of his own heartbeat (surely she can hear it too) blur his vision.

He’s only vaguely aware that he is stepping towards her, trying to say something without the faintest idea of what’s going to come out of his mouth.

If it’ll even be words.

Her eyes dart over his clothes, his face.

“Loki, what - Why are you dressed like that? Have you been gone? Is that … blood?”

She retreats further, fear building.

“Jane, I-“

Her name rolls of his tongue with a sweet-tasting intimacy like he has said it a thousand times before.

But he doesn’t get to dwell on this, nor gather his thoughts to say anything else before something abruptly lifts him off the ground and hurls his body across the road.

“How dare you touch her, beast?!”

Immediately as his back connects with the rough gravel, someone is there, a knee pushing him down, fingers closing around his throat. A sharp object presses against his chin.

There is a dangerous, unhinged growl as his attacker breathes hotly in his ear. “You will die for this!”

The man is strong and somehow blocking Loki’s own magic, but he still manages to twist his head -

And looks right up into his own eyes, nearly black with rage.

//

“Speak! What are you??”

The man with a face exactly like his presses the tip of his blade closer to Loki’s left eye. “You will show yourself right now or -“

Gathering his magic tightly around him (focus!), Loki pushes back, hard.

With a surge of energy, their bodies are separated, and the other version of him lands heavily in the middle of the road some meters away.

Both of them are on their feet with the fluid movements of two panthers ready to pounce, the other now in full armor.

He has to leave, right now, even if means leaving her which is a catastrophe that might either kill him or make him try to kill his other self if he stays here another minute.

This timeline is clearly not his own.

It cannot be.

Arm outstretched to ward off his furious twin with a shield of magic, he tries to work the tempad with one hand.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

A booming voice above their heads.

“You know, when Jane pressed the panic button just now, I thought we had an actual emergency. Not that you were preparing a little dinner show for us, Reindeer Games. Gotta be honest though, this doppelgänger stunt was never my favorite -“

“Stark!”

The variant - for he must be a variant - angrily interrupts the man in the metal suit hovering in the air.

Of course, Loki remembers him all too clearly.

What has it been, less than a week since he threw him, or a version of him, out the window of the glass tower?

“This is not my creation”, the variant hisses with venom dripping from every word. “I caught him assaulting Jane. Kissing her”.

“What?!”

Stark focuses all his attention (and one of his iron fists) on Loki. A metallic humming rises steadily from inside the suit.

“A man on a suicide mission then. Boy, did you smooch the wrong wizard’s baby-mama. He may look all domesticated and cute now, but I assure you he’s still all kinds of crazy. In fact-”.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“I know it’s asking a lot, of you in particular, Stark, but could we possibly save the personal insults till we have dealt with this right here?”

Wait, just wait.

Damn it, he can’t tap in the destination on the tempad without looking at it.

Green smoke is swirling around the hands of his other self. He knows what’s coming.

“This is your last warning, devil! I will not have you hiding behind my face as I -“

“This is my face! I’m you, you fool! Bigger things are at large here and-“ Loki falters, his silver tongue failing once more with rising predictability within what seems a disconcertingly short period of time.

Although he honestly can’t tell anymore.

“Please, take a minute -“

He can’t help but shout, sounding hopelessly desperate.

In another life, he might have felt humiliated, but letting pride dictate his emotions is no longer a luxury he can afford to indulge.

Still, the silence that follows his outburst is not nearly as long as he needs it to be.

The variant stares blankly at him, mouth slightly ajar, but Stark recovers easily, his voice now icy.

“Yeah, dude, that one might have worked better if you’d put on a clean shirt. Time to fess up real quick or we’ll have to-“

Drawing what might become his last breath, Loki looks away and down at the tempad. He presses the button. No more time to double check.

“What the?!”

Both Stark and the variant visibly flinch as the door appears.

He quickly makes for it. “I - I’m sorry. Truly, I am”. He looks to their stunned faces before turning to his exit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he registers the variant move (he has to be a variant). His mouth twists in an ugly snarl and two familiar daggers are appearing by his sides.

Before the door snaps completely shut, Loki sees Jane run up to the man and grab his arm.

“Love, no, don’t!”

He sees the slight bump under her dress that he didn’t notice before.

And then the scene disappears and he’s gone.

Part III

[imaginationintowords]

Folklore [song series]

peace

Modern Day AU! Steve Rogers x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s life throughout the years

[word count: 2265]

[a/n: sorry for the wait. it was my birthday last weekend so i was just chilling. but here it is, just in time for the anniversary of folklore's release. the final chapter of my folklore song series. i started this last fall, and it's now the end. thank you to all who read the story and commented and showed it love. you don't know how much that means to me, that people liked it so much. thank you for joining this journey with me, and I hope the ending is a nice little bow to finish it off]

Series Masterlist

Age: 27

Year: July 2021 [two weeks after engagement]

Location: New York

Two weeks after their engagement, Steve and Elizabeth were still living off of the high from their engagement.

They were currently spending some time in New York. Liz had just graduated from law school that spring, while Steve was still working at the same architect firm. That was actually also why they were in New York.

The company was opening another branch in New York. Steve was offered a promotion, but it would only be available at the New York office.

In the few years since Steve graduated, he's been excelling in the architect world. He's really made a name for himself. Last year he was named the "hottest" up and coming architect. Ever since then he's been very busy. His boss gave him the month off, to propose to Liz, and to take a tour of the new office.

Steve told Liz that they'd only move back if that's what she really wanted. Especially since she just finished law school, and she still needs to take the state bar exam. She would need to figure that out soon, because the NY state bar exam date was closing in on her.

She and Steve decided a month in NY would help them both decide if moving back would be best. If they did decide to move back Steve would already have job waiting for him. Liz on the other hand might not.

Luckily for her, Loki was currently working at a law firm in NY. He was able to get her an interview while she was in town. He couldn't promise her a position, as there were a lot of people up for the job, some had even interned there. But Liz still went to the interview giving it her best.

Loki and Scott moved to NY two years ago, both their jobs taking them there. They ended up eloping right before their move, two years after Thor and Wanda got married.

Thor and Wanda had officially been married for four years. They were also considering the move over to the east coast. Both of their families lived out there and it just made more sense to them, especially with them trying to start a family.

Family was a massive pro for Steve and Liz as well. Moving back would mean seeing their loved ones a lot more. Especially now with Poppy about to turn six, part of them felt like they were missing out on their goddaughter's life. Steve also missed Bucky.

Bucky was doing really well in his career. He's currently working as a sound engineer for a movie studio. A big step up from the local recording studio he started in.

He was currently looking for a place to move to in Manhattan. Now that Poppy was about to be six, and she was already going to school in the city, it was time they officially made the move.

Actually he's no his girlfriend had decided to move in together.

Dr. Jane Foster is a pediatric fellow. She was in her first year of fellowship at a private practice in Manhattan.

Bucky and Jane met three years ago, through Sam Wilson. Bucky was hesitant at first to date, because he's a single father, and his main priority has always been Poppy since the day she was born. But

Sam had convinced Bucky to go on just one date. One date was all it took. Bucky was immediately hooked. Same went for Jane.

Jane was incredibly understanding of Bucky's situation. And it also helped that she loved children.

Jane met Poppy four months into the relationship and since then everything has been going great for the three of them. Jane instantly fell in love with Poppy and Poppy loved Jane a lot. Bucky had truly never felt happier. When he was alone with his girls he felt complete. When Bucky brought up the idea of officially making the move, he and Jane made the decision to move in together. They were practically already living together at that point. They were all very excited about this next step in their relationship.

Steve and Elizabeth were watching Poppy for the day while Bucky and Jane worked. They decided to spend their day in the city, walking around what could possibly be their new neighborhood. Poppy was loving having them around, and talking up their ears about school and all the friends she has made.

Around lunch time Poppy started to get hungry and sleepy. They decided to stop at a café and get some lunch.

Liz went inside while Steve and Poppy sat outside. Poppy ended up falling asleep on Steve while they waited for Liz. Steve found himself thinking about the possibility of living there.

Truth be told part of him did want to move back. He genuinely missed the New York City way of living. As he relaxes into the sounds of the city, he hears his name being called out. He looks straight ahead, looking for whoever called him, or if they were calling another Steve. As his eyes scanned the crowd, he met the eyes of the last person he would ever think he would see again.

He was completely shocked.

"Peggy?" Steve questioned, as the woman stopped in front of the table.

"I thought that was you," she smiled, "Wow. You most certainly aren't 17 anymore."

Peggy checks him out, as he stayed in his seat. She wasn't being subtle about it either.

Steve cleared his throat, noticing the way Peggy was eyeing him up and down, "Well it has been a decade wince we've last seen each other."

Peggy glances at the sleeping Poppy in his lap.

"Is this your daughter?" She asks pointing at Poppy, then glancing at his left hand noticing there wasn't a ring on his finger.

"Oh, no. This is my goddaughter. She's actually Bucky's," Steve tells her.

"No way," she gasps, surprised by this information. At that moment Elizabeth walks out of the cafe with a number plaque for the table.

"Oh my gosh! Elizabeth?" Peggy greeted.

"Peggy?" Liz asked confused at this older version of Peggy Carter.

"Yeah," she smiled.

Elizabeth put the number plaque on the table, Peggy catches the shimmer of her engagement ring.

"Oh wow! Congratulations," she says grabbing Liz's left hand, "You have a really beautiful daughter. I'm so happy for you and Bucky. High school sweethearts, making it til the end."

Liz was confused, she looked at Steve, hoping he could get them out of this awkward, and slightly uncomfortable situation.

"Um actually, this isn't her daughter, and she's not engaged or married to Bucky," Steve says, "We're actually the ones engaged."

Peggy was taken by surprise at this brand new information, not expecting to hear those words come out of Steve's mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My mistake," she apologizes, embarrassed.

"Well Congratulations," she awkwardly says, glancing at her watch, "I better be on my way. But hey here's my card. I moved back a couple of months ago. But we should all get dinner and catch up. There's clearly a lot I have missed."

She hands Liz the business card and walks away.

"Well that was random," Steve awkwardly laughs.

"What are the odds," Liz says sitting across from Steve, "Didn't even know she was back."

Liz cleared her throat and tried to focus on the city around her.

Con: Peggy Carter.

Steve and Elizabeth continued on with their day. At the end of the day, they dropped Poppy off at Jane's apartment and headed to their hotel.

Throughout their day there was a slight tension between the couple, it didn't go unnoticed by the both of them. Neither could figure out what the tension was. They both knew it had to do with the sudden appearance of Peggy Carter.

They laid in their hotel bed, each with a book in their hands. Their nightly read.

Elizabeth had a hard time focusing on what she was reading. She tried to force away thoughts of Peggy Carter out of her head. She flipped the page and stopped when she noticed her engagement ring. She took a long stare at it.

"Do you regret it?" She asks, turning her head towards him.

"Regret what?" He asks putting his book down and turning to face her.

"You and Peggy breaking up," she says, "Do you regret it?"

Steve is taken back by Liz's question.

"No," he shakes his head, "I don't regret it."

"Do you ever wonder what you're life would've been like had she stayed?"

Steve ponders over the question, "Truthfully? No. Once we said our final goodbyes in London, that was it. I never once gave it another thought. I closed that chapter as soon as I boarded my flight. Not that the breakup didn't hurt. Because it did. I just knew then that she wasn't my future. I never thought I would see her again."

"But you did," Liz quietly says.

"Yeah, which was weird," he says.

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted out of the relationship to be with her," she says tearing up.

"What? No," Steve quickly says, sitting straight up, "I don't want that."

"I just mean, if you wanted to. I would completely understand. She was your first love."

"Yes, she was. But I don't love her," he says, "I know this is only coming up because we saw her today, and there's been this out of awkward tension in the air ever since. But I don't want to be with Peggy."

Liz glances down at her engagement ring again, trying to hide the tears of insecurity rolling down her face.

"Look at me," he softly says, placing his hand over her's, "I love you and only you. I asked you to marry me because you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You and only. Peggy doesn't mean anything to me. I haven't even thought of her since high school. You mean more to me than anything in this world. Especially more than some high school ex-girlfriend. You, Elizabeth are my entire world."

"Why would you even think that?" He gently asks

"Just seeing her and the way she looked at you before she realized we were engaged," she says, "She wanted you. Then my mind started to wonder if maybe that was a sign for you two to get back together. And maybe you'd realize you regret proposing to me."

"There isn't an ounce of regret in me that makes me feel like I'm making the wrong decision," he assures her, "There is no one else for me. You are it. Proposing to you wasn't for confidence. Proposing to you was the only thing I've ever felt so sure of. It was the only thing I've ever done that I didn't second guess. You are the only thing I've ever felt so sure of."

"This," he grabs her and and gestures between the both of them, "Is where I want to be for the rest of my life. This brings me a peace like no other. You are my peace."

Age: 27

Year: May 2022

Location: Somewhere in Upstate New York

"You are my peace," Steve sniffles, as he holds Elizabeth's hands, tears flowing down both of their faces as they stood up in front of their closest friends and families, reciting their vows.

"I don't think I would be where I am today without you and your continued support. I meant what I said years ago about following you wherever you went. All I ever want is to be by your side. Nothing else has ever meant to me as you do. My future doesn't exist if you're not apart of it. Nothing matters if I don't have you. Since the day we met, twenty years ago, I knew you would play such an important part in my life. We clearly aren't the same people we were then. Yet over the many years you haven't strayed away from being this kind supportive, understanding person. To know one day our future kids will have that as a mother, overwhelms me with joy and love. They will be the most luckiest kids in the world.

"You are it for me. You are my world. I know everyone says weddings and getting married is the start of a new chapter, but it doesn't really feel lie that for us. It just feel like our story is continuing. There's no end in sight. And I'll make sure of that, by being supportive, kind to you for the rest of our lives. There won't be a time where you ever have to question my love for you. Because Elizabeth Sanchez, you are love."

Elizabeth has tears streaming down her face. She didn't' care how she looked. The only person that mattered was the man standing before her, professing his never ending love for her.

The pastors signaled her, that it was now her turn to speak.

"I figured I'd try and keep it short and sweet, because you know exactly how I feel about you Steve," she begins, "There's only one thing I want to say, more so I want to thank you. Thank you for giving me love. An unconditional love that never seems to fade. Since day one of our relationship. You've been patient. You always say I'm the supportive one, but you fail to see that you are too. Even more than me. You've always been willing to drop everything, not just for me but for all the ones you love. Anyone who has Steve Rogers' love, should count themselves as being incredibly special. I am the luckiest pet one out of them all because I get to be the recipient of your love every single day. I am the one who gets to spend the rest of their life calling you my husband. My partner. My life. You've shown me a love like no other. So thank-you Steve, for loving me."

Folklore series taglist: @iheartsebandchris @perksofbeingabookworm @atomicsoulcollecto @void-imaginations @stumbleonmywords

Permanent taglist: @rosegolddivinity @definitelynotafangirl-blog1 @1awesomeash @princess-evans-addict @24kbratz @introvertatitsfinest @imagine-all-the-imagines @also-fangirlinsweden @rororo06 @getlostinyourparadise @small-death-and-codeine @bonkyboinkybucky @sincerely-kizzy @loudthoughts-softspoken @aquariuslavenderhoney @cherriesanwine @goalexis123 @sassyslytherinshai @loving-books-is-easier @katiaw2 @xoxabs88xox @osugahunnyicedtea @katierpblogg @thefridgeismybestie @maybeimkate @lou-la-lou @demirunner @celineann91 @marie1115 @fangirl-couch-potato @lokisironthrone @daughterofthenight117

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader: Road Trip ft Bucky

Guess what? I wrote another fic and I DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON. But I want Loki and Bucky to be best friends and I have a lot of Winter Soldier/Bucky feels and I needed to express them somehow so yea. But don't worry, I'll get back to the honeymoon fic, I just had to express some Bucky feels. There's like no angst in this at all, I just had to write Bucky

-

You walked into the living room and slapped a brochure onto the table between Loki and Bucky. “We’re going on a road trip!” You announced with excitement.

Loki lowered the book he had been reading and raised his eyebrow, looking down at the brochure.

“Route 66?” Bucky read aloud, “Oh man, Steve and I always talked about driving across that.”

Loki set his book down beside him, marking his page. Wistfully he added, “Thor and I once drove a distance along it. What year is it now? I think it was in the 1960s?”

You looked between the two of them bewildered, “Wait what?”

Bucky crossed his arms, “You do realize it was made in 1926, right?”

You cursed softly, grabbing the brochure from Bucky and quickly scanning it. “Am I the only one who hasn’t been to this place?”

“Sorry, love.” Loki stood, wrapping his arm around you and giving you a side hug.

Bucky chuckled, “It’s the most famous road in America, it connects the Midwest to the Pacific Ocean. You can drive the whole distance on one consistent road without branching off and get to California.”

You waved your hands emphatically, “Which is why we should go on a road trip on it! Bucky, my best friend, Loki, well duh, and you two are like, best friends. We would make the perfect trio. We would take turns on snack duty, navigation duty, and driving. Stark has the money for a convertible. Just the three of us, sailing down the road, eating, laughing, hanging out. Just friends being friends! What better a vacation than that?”

Bucky exchanged glances with Loki then the two looked back at you.

Sam and Natasha walked in at that moment.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked.

“Loki’s sweetheart, here, is trying to get us to go on a road trip along route 66.” Bucky replied.

You rolled your eyes at the pet name but smiled as Loki rested his arm on your shoulder.

Natasha nodded thoughtfully, “Yea, I’ve heard of that. Famous road, cutting through the western states, right?”

You pointed at her, “Eh? Does everyone know about this?”

“Don’t look at me.” Sam held up his hands, “Are you lot sure about this?”

“Well we haven’t made any plans, Sam.” Bucky said, also standing now.

“Plans, yet,” You corrected.

“Does Stark know that you plan on using him to finance this?” Loki queried mildly.

“He will. He always finances my plans.” You beamed up at Loki.

Loki smirked.

Sam shook his head and snorted; Bucky laughed.

“Alright, I’m game if you are.” Bucky said once he had stopped laughing.

“As you command,” Loki bowed low before you, “I will go where you go.”

“Good. I wish to go on a road trip.”

“Then I guess it’s settled. What’s the next step?”

-

Loki and Bucky stood with the bags, road trip supplies, snacks, and anything else that might be necessary for a two-to-three-week trip. Loki’s magical pockets may have been employed.

Moments later you came roaring into the lot where they were waiting, car skidding to a stop with a loud squeal of tires.

“Hello, boys.” You said, lowering your oversized sunglasses to stare over the rims to look at the two of them.

Bucky rolled his eyes at you as you popped the trunk of the car and he started tossing luggage in the back.

A tinge of pink rose on Loki’s cheeks and the back of his neck at the crop top shirt you wore, ideal for getting as much sun with the convertible top down on the long drive across the sunny plains.

Bucky sighed looking at Loki, “Alright you two love birds, you can’t be completely,” he waved his hand, “like this, the whole time or I’m getting a cab.”

Loki cleared his throat. True to form, he was wearing a black suit. “Apologies Bucky.”

“Sorry.” You mumbled.

“I’ll get snacks first. I guess Loki’s navigating then? No sense in having you switch from the driver’s seat.” Bucky jerked his chin at you.

Once everyone was settled in, you more carefully backed the dark green convertible out of the lot and took off down the road.

-

“So I thought about using a good old fashioned map to have us navigate.” You explained as you drove.

Loki looked at you aghast.

You grinned at him, “Sure, I thought it’d be fun. We could have a no phones rule, go completely electronics dead except for music.”

“You’re saying to the guy with a vibranium arm.” Bucky called from the back seat, sitting in the middle with his arms stretched out and watching the empty highway.

“Ok, almost completely.” You shot back.

“Your technology backwards planet is already bad enough as it is.” Loki muttered, resting his elbow on the door of the convertible. Despite his hair being slicked back heavily, some of it still fluttered wildly in the wind.

“Don’t you guys still ride horses everywhere?” Bucky called.

You laughed. The navigation indicated you should correct your course and you complied while Loki ignored the comment and rolled his eyes.

“Alright Bucky, snack me.” You ordered. There was a light tap to your head. “Hey!”

“Oh right, I thought you said smack me. Right, right, what do you want?”

Loki snickered and you shot him a glare before saying, “You got my favorite chips, right?”

“Of course.” Bucky passed up a travel sized package of chips to you, pre opened and you set them between your legs and began to eat as you drove.

From time to time, you’d pass one on to Loki.

“Loki, are you sure you want to wear a suit for a six hour car trip? With only breaks for bathroom stops and gas?” You glanced to the right.

Loki shrugged, “I’m comfortable.”

“Hey! It’s the Wrigley Field!” Bucky called from the backseat.

You and Loki looked in the direction Bucky was pointing. It was indeed a giant baseball stadium.

Again, Loki shrugged.

You imagined Loki had seen more impressive things in his lifetime than any sporting event humans could make, but hey, it was still neat. Reaching for the camera, you tossed it back to Bucky and indicated for him to take a picture. “We’re making a scrapbook!”

Bucky shook his head ruefully, “Alright.”

-

Over the next few hours you were on the highway and out on the real road, driving southwest. The three of you had stopped at a number of attraction spots, switched positions, gotten lost once or twice, refueled and now Bucky was driving, and you and Loki were in the back seat as the sun getting low in the sky.

You had packed a few blankets, just in case. The top of the convertible was still down, and Bucky was listening to some music that Sam had recommended, quietly nodding and humming along to it. Your eyelids felt heavy as you sat huddled in the back, the blanket wrapped tightly around you, leaning into Loki. Loki wrapped his arm around you, rubbing your bare arms through the blanket and murmuring gentle words of comfort. Between the roar of the wind, the soft lull of the music and Bucky’s singing, and Loki’s soothing words, you felt a smile spread across your face. You curled your legs up onto the seat and huddled into Loki, resting your head on his shoulder and wrapping your arms around his waist.

You were filled with your favorite snacks and drinks, tired from the hours of driving, and content to be with your best friend and well, Loki. Your heart swelled at the thought as you sank deeper into the soft material of Loki’s suit. All you could smell was him, even his hair seemed to whip around less in the wind. Maybe the blanket was holding it down. It felt so soft against your face. You wished you could stay in this moment forever, capture it with your camera and keep it in your scrapbook. Loki’s tender hands gently sliding over your thigh, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into the sensitive skin as he whispered sweet nothings to you.

The car slowed down and the wind didn’t whistle in your ears so drastically. Perhaps you had reached a town. You weren’t fully aware of your surroundings either way, too engrossed in the complexity of Loki holding you. It wasn’t the first time, and you doubted it would be the last time, but you could never stop marveling at how incredible a feeling it was.

“Love.” Loki murmured softly.

You suddenly realized you weren’t moving, though there was the vague sensation that you still were.

“We’re at the hotel.”

Bucky stood on the other side of the car door, leaning down and looking at you. He looked tired but amused. “No fair sleeping before we got here.” He said mussing up your hair. “C’mon, we got a long day tomorrow. And I am not sharing a room with you two.”

Loki tilted your head down and kissed your forehead. “Come, let’s get you some proper sleep, loathe as I am to move.”

You smiled, “That sounds nice.”

[mythologymatrix]

So you want to read… Old Norse Mythology

Where do I start?

Old Norse literature can be loosely divided into three categories: eddic poetry, skaldic poetry, and sagas. Of these, the vast majority of mythological stories come from eddic poetry, so that’s a good start!

Most eddic poetry comes from just two texts-- The Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. The Prose Edda, also known as Snorra Edda or the Younger Edda, is a set of three books by Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson in the early 13th century. The books were intended as a set of primers for Norse poets, containing the rules and tricks of poetry as well as the traditional mythology and stories which could be drawn on for storytelling and metaphor. Snorri was himself a Christian, and the view definitely shows in his work, but it is by far the most complete explanation of Norse mythology from anything close to an original source. A 1916 translation is available on sacred-texts, which is a great place to get a taste and decide if it’s for you-- start with either Gylfaginning, which takes the form of a single mythic narrative written by Snorri for the book, or Skáldskaparmal, where Snorri retells existent mythological stories.

The Poetic Edda, also known as the Elder Edda, is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily drawn from the late 13th century Codex Regius. The poems all cover different mythological stories, and are for the most part are believed to have been preserved in oral tradition from pre-Christian times (although the collection was written post-Christianisation). Generally the poems are divided into the categories of “mythological” and “heroic”, although all of them have mythological elements. A 1936 translation is available on sacred-texts, where you can have a read for free. Voluspá and Hávamál are great general starting points, or you can try Grimnismál or Lokasenna for an approachable entry point.

Translations, Editions, and other Originals

Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology is a really fun read which captures the spirit of the original mythological texts. Penguin Classics has an excellent edition of The Poetic Edda, translated by Andy Orchard; and of The Prose Edda, translated by Jesse L Byock.

The Viking Society for Northern Research has excellent editions of both Eddas in Old Norse available in PDFs, as well as a number of language textbooks, lesser-known translations, and other fun reads.

If you want to try the sagas (longer narrative stories of Norse heroes and families), The Perseus Project has an excellent collection which is available in both Old Norse and English with clickthrough translations. You can also try Jane Smiley’s collection, The Sagas of Icelanders, which is available from Penguin Classics. A few sagas of skalds, such as Egils saga, also provide an excellent entry point to the less readily accessible skaldic poetry.

Theory and Analysis

If you want to read more academic discussion of Norse mythology and literature, Larrington’s A Handbook to Eddic Poetry is a great start. You can also get a great understanding of Old Norse literature, and the world where it was written, from Clunies Ross’ Old Icelandic Literature and Society.

There is also a lot of great browsing available at norse-mythology.org.

If you want to get more into the online circles of Norse mythology and religion, a decent sampling of different approaches can be found from in the blogosphere.  @athelstein has some great breakdowns of Norse imfluences in modern culture, and you can learn a lot about modern Norse polytheism from @fjorn-the-skald. Plus you can always contact me! I’m not a Norse worshipper, but I am a witch with two degrees and counting on this topic!

Modern Interpretations

Last but not least: where’s the fun stuff at?

Okay, we all know about the Thor movies, and I’m pretty sure most of you have at least heard of Rick Riordan’s Gods of Asgard books, so I’ll try to rec some more obscure Norse fantasy and fiction.

Anything by Joanne Harris is a great read, but I would say I recommend Runemarks as a starting point and then branching out from there. The Gospel of Loki is aimed at a less YA market and is by far her most popular. Francesca Simon’s The Monstrous Child is also an excellent read.

On the saga side of things, Jackie French’s Slave Girl is a wonderful retelling of the Vinland sagas, and Tolkien fans should definitely check out his The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún.

Whilst it’s not hugely mythology-heavy, fans of classic films would definitely enjoy the vibes of 1958’s The Vikings. For a more religious focused historical classic, try The Virgin Spring (1960)-- but do heed trigger warnings.

[elwenyere]

Deck the Halls

(Steve/Tony fluff, in which the Avengers make their own holiday decorations, and it goes about as well as you would expect)

Also on AO3

“Okay,” Tony said, “I am willing to admit that putting repulsors on the Iron Man ornaments was not my best idea.”

He paused to duck as a pillow, half a molasses crinkle, and what looked suspiciously like a tranquilizer dart flew at him from three different locations in the Avengers common room.

“But I maintain,” he continued from behind the couch, “that the underlying principle of the design is both technologically sound and aesthetically adorable. Also, refs, can I get a rule check on ‘no using knock-out techniques on your teammates’?”

“If I wanted you knocked out, you’d be dreaming of sugar plums right now,” Natasha called out from somewhere behind a makeshift barricade of packages and wrapping-paper rolls. One of the tiny Iron Men buzzed over her head, sending a barrage of dime-sized repulsor blasts at a Rudolph gift bag, and Natasha shot the ornament out of the air with her Widow’s Bites.

“Also, calling in the refs is a pretty bold move,” Bruce added, “considering that the miniature murder bots guarding our Christmas tree are in flagrant violation of rules ten through fifteen.”

Bruce’s voice was slightly distorted by the walls of his blanket fort, which Steve had suggested building as an anti-Hulking measure when the first wave of ornaments flew off their branches and into attack formation. So far the strategy had proved successful, with only one close call after Thor almost collided with the fort during an enthusiastic mid-air tackle.

“Remind me never to do holiday dinners with you guys again,” Rhodey groaned. He was crouched next to Tony behind the couch opposite Steve’s, and Steve could hear the faint whir of the War Machine gauntlet as he scanned the room. “I could be falling asleep on my couch to the Vince Guaraldi Trio, and instead I’m hiding from an army of weaponized Christmas figurines.”

“When you’re subpoenaed for the inevitable senate hearing about this, just remember: it was all Steve’s fault,” Tony advised.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Steve replied, adding an eye roll that he knew Tony would hear in his voice.

It was true that Steve had been the one to suggest that they make their own decorations for the Tower this year. But it was also true that Steve’s contribution (a hand-drawn series of family holiday cards to hang on the fridge) had been the only one that hadn’t tended to produce chaos. Thor and Natasha’s idea to braid garlands had started out innocently enough. But then they’d decided to add “motivational mead” to the creative process. Ten hours later, they’d produced so many strings of spruce, holly, and taffeta that the garlands had to be looped around every available surface, twisting around lamps and chair legs until the common room looked like it was being slowly strangled to death by a festive boa constrictor. Bruce – in a complete failure to learn from the previous Halloween’s Saltwater Taffy Incident – had concocted a spiced eggnog so addictively good that each new batch he made disappeared almost immediately – setting off a cycle of recrimination and dairy-based hoarding. And Clint had stayed true to form by making an extremely explicit, themed pin-up calendar of himself, which had been quickly banned from all common areas by a 4-2 vote (“I think these poses are courageous,” Thor had explained, “considering your very small human sizes”).

“Blame is assigned by the survivors, Stark,” Natasha said evenly. Her face darted into view at one end of her barricade, next to a box wrapped in “Hulk Smash!” paper. “And if we don’t get these ornaments contained before Bruce’s chocolate pecan pie has to come out of the oven, I can’t guarantee that anyone in this room will qualify.”

“How many left, JARVIS?” Tony asked.

“Just three, sir,” the crisp voice replied. “And my sensors indicate they are all locked in a standoff with the large stuffed hedgehog on the lower floor.”

“Do I have to ask?” Rhodey muttered.

“It’s for Pepper,” Tony explained, “a running gag: she thinks it’s hilarious.”

“We should set a trap to draw out the remaining ornaments,” Steve decided. “I want eyes on the perimeter – where the hell is Clint anyway?”

As if on cue, a grappling arrow shot across the room and latched onto the side of a container of eggnog. The metal wire attached to the hook pulled taut and then retracted with a sharp twang, yanking the eggnog over their heads and back into the air vent.

“You have a problem, man!” Rhodey yelled after Clint’s feet as they slithered away from the opening in the ducts. “Get help!”

“Ah that gives me an idea!” Thor exclaimed. He popped his head up from behind the kitchen counter, where he had apparently been braiding one of the garlands into his hair. “The tiny Iron Soldiers seem determined to guard the spirit of the holidays. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage.”

“Right,” Tony agreed, “cover me.”

He stood up and strode toward the Christmas tree, gauntlet charging.

“Come out, my tiny, murderous robot sons,” Tony called, “or I’m going to turn your favorite tree into a pile of toothpicks.”

“Did you actually equip them with audio sensors? Or are you just grandstanding?” Rhodey asked.

“Kind of stepping on my moment here, Gumdrop,” Tony replied.

And whether it was because the ornaments had somehow sensed a threat to the tree or because they had successfully subdued all the stuffed animals in the vicinity, Steve’s ears suddenly picked up the low whine that meant hostile décor was incoming. As Tony held his position, Steve saw Natasha, Rhodey, and Thor leap out from cover and take aim at the three diminutive Iron Men that were shooting toward their creator’s head.

“Tony!” Steve yelled, and Tony let out a small yelp of surprise as Steve tackled him sideways onto the couch. Steve curled his body protectively around Tony’s, and he threw up his shield just in time to shelter them from the disintegrated ornaments, which fell like a shower of harmless glitter into a halo around their heads.

Steve cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks flush slightly as a chunk of armor the size of a pea pattered onto the couch next to them with a barely audible fizzle.

“My hero,” Tony smirked.

“A bit overdramatic, Rogers,” Thor observed.

“Ooooooh, Captain America!” Clint called in a high-pitched voice from a nearby vent. “You’re so dreamy. Will you sign my chest?”

A chorus of boos and a smattering of tossed cookies followed Clint’s laughing retreat back through the ducts.

“So I’m thinking the Mark II ornaments should come with a fail-safe button,” Tony mused, looking up at Steve with his head still resting in the crook of Steve’s arm.

“Tony,” Steve sighed.

“What?” Tony asked with exaggerated innocence. “I have models for the whole team. There’s even a little Cap ornament with magnets for the hug and fly.”

Steve chewed his bottom lip.

“Are you trying not to smile?” Tony asked.

“I’m trying to contain my disapproval,” Steve replied.

“You’re trying not to smile,” Tony confirmed. “Let it out, Steve. I’m objectively delightful.”

“You’re objectively a threat to national security,” Steve retorted.

“Yeah, and you love it,” Tony nodded. “That’s like…your number one turn on.”

Steve finally allowed a smile to spread across his face. In the part of his mind that was always scanning his periphery, he was aware of Natasha helping Bruce out of his blanket fort and picking a piece of lint out of his hair – her hand lingering a little longer than necessary as Bruce assured her he had a backup pie in the fridge. Rhodey and Thor were loudly concocting plans to smoke Clint out (and pointedly ignoring Clint’s own contributions from the vent above them). And in the center, as always, was Tony, who was grinning victoriously as he took in Steve’s expression.

“You’re right,” Steve told him. “I do love you.”

Tony's smile froze in momentary surprise and then softened.

“This is how you want to say that for the first time?” he asked teasingly, his hands coming up to brush at Steve’s sides just above the hem of his jeans. “On the couch, surrounded by our catcalling friends and the scorched remains of the homicidal holiday ornaments I created?”

“Yep,” Steve answered, leaning down to kiss Tony’s forehead. “I love that you make messes,” a kiss on the right cheek, “I love that you invite messes to move in,” a kiss on the left cheek, “I love that since I met you, you’ve made every mess of mine your mess too,” a final kiss – as gentle as Steve could make it – on Tony’s lips. “I love you, Tony.”

He pulled back so he could look into Tony’s eyes and watch the rapid play of emotion across his face – always too fast to track.

“I love you too, you big sap,” Tony replied, and as the team whooped and set off a round of Christmas crackers, he pulled Steve back down by the front of his Iron Man sweater.

[iam93percentstardust]

Post-endgame fix-it where steve travels back in time to cw but they put steve in a cell just like 616 and steve just tells tony everything and holds him???

Fair warning, I know nothing about 616 except that it’s confusing and I’ll probably never get into comics so I hope this was what you were looking for? I also didn’t manage to write the holding part but there’s still some nice hurt/comfort and Civil War/Endgame fix-it (timelines, ya know?)

Also on ao3 here

~

He knows the minute he walks into the cell—before, even—that, no matter what Ross says, this isn’t his Steve Rogers.

Oh it’s a Steve Rogers, for sure, but it isn’t his. The hair isn’t the same, the eyes a little bit older—and that’s something that Tony can tell just from a picture on a StarkPad so he doesn’t know how Ross couldn’t tell that from up close. Whether it’s an alternate timeline, parallel universe, or one of the many types of shapeshifting aliens Thor’s talked about, this Steve Rogers is different.

He nods his thanks at the guard who lets him in the cell and studies Steve for a moment. Steve had to have heard him come in, that super hearing must have heard his footsteps from down the hall, but he doesn’t look up, allowing him the illusion of privacy. He lets his gaze drift over the different hairstyle, the dark washed jeans that his Steve wouldn’t have been caught dead in, the humbled posture.

Definitely not his Steve. That last one clinches it. His Steve is still making videos (from Wakanda, though Tony will never admit that he knows that) about how he’d done what he thought was right and posting them to Youtube.

“So where are you from?” he asks.

Steve’s head snaps up. “Tony,” he gasps hoarsely, tears quickly filling his eyes.

“Whoa, hey,” Tony says, dropping to his knees in front of Steve. “What’s going on here, big guy?”

“You shouldn’t be on your knees for me.”

And that—that’s so far from what Tony expected he would say that he rocks back on his heels in shock. He recovers quickly enough though and he quirks a perfected press smile. “I could sit next to you if you budged over a little.”

To his surprise, Steve immediately moves, another sign yet again that this isn’t his Steve. Slowly, Tony rises enough so that he can shift to the bench, where he sits with his thigh pressed against Steve’s because it’s too small to sit apart. Steve stares down at where they’re connected like he can’t bear to tear his eyes away.

“So,” Tony begins eventually. “Timeline or universe?”

“Timeline,” Steve says quietly. “Future. Every time we go back, we create a branching timeline. Or that’s what you thought.”

“I’m in your timeline?” Tony asks. He’d thought, given Steve’s reaction to him, that he didn’t exist or—Steve’s eyes go sad and wet again and this time, Tony pieces it together. “I died in your timeline.”

Steve nods. “Saving the universe.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like me,” he quips, harkening back to their first meeting. He nudges Steve’s shoulder teasingly, expecting him to play along but that’s not what he does it all.

Instead he says earnestly, sincerely as only Steve Rogers can, “Yes, it does.”

And that just about floors him.

He’d never known that Steve thought that about him. Honestly, he’d kind of always thought that Steve just tolerated him. The Avengers needed a flier and since Thor was only on world half the time, they were stuck with Tony. He scrambles for something to say and lands on, “Why are you here?”

Steve raises one shoulder in a little shrug. “Can’t say too much without giving away the whole future but…you were right. Nat was right. Staying together was more important.”

“Why?”

“Because there are worse things coming.”

Tony stares at him for a long time, trying to figure out what could have happened that was so bad Steve came back in time to warn him. “Steve—” he starts to say and then stops because he doesn’t quite know where else to go from there.

“I lost you,” Steve whispers brokenly. “You and Nat and Viz and—” He stops too and Tony wonders who else might have died that Steve doesn’t feel he can tell him about.

“Steve, what are you doing here?”

Steve frowns. “I told you, I came to warn—”

“No, here, in this cell. You could have warned me without getting arrested, without anyone even noticing that you’re here.”

He straightens his shoulders, squaring them the way he does when he’s preparing for a fight. Now all he needs is the tensed jaw—ah, there it is. “I want to sign the Accords.”

Well, today’s just a day for surprises, isn’t it?

“You what?”

“To sign the Accords.”

“You have a timeline. One that you belong to. Don’t you think you should be there instead?”

“Bruce told me I had five seconds in that timeline, five seconds to do what I needed to do.”

“And you’re wasting them on telling me that you want to sign the Accords?” Tony asks flatly. He doesn’t understand. What could Steve possibly be getting out of this? Steve won’t be able to take his real name when he signs; there’s already a Steve Rogers in this timeline.

“I’m spending them telling you goodbye and hopefully trying to make your future better than mine,” Steve says. He sounds annoyed. Good. Maybe he’ll be more honest with him now.

“And how does you signing the Accords help with that?”

“Because, maybe, if your Steve sees me signing the Accords, he’ll decide to as well and your team will be together again so that you can fight what’s coming. Trust me, Tony, you’ll need everyone.”

“…that’s very convoluted.”

Steve tips his head back against the wall and chuckles. “Yeah, it didn’t sound too great in my head either. I’m usually better at these kinds of speeches or so I’ve been told. Look, it’s 2017, right? The new versions of the Accords are getting ready to go into place, you’re getting ready to launch your plan with Ross—”

“—Careful, he might hear you—”

“—As though you would have come in here without scrambling the cameras,” Steve points out fondly. His face somehow gets…quieter, almost. More peaceful. “I wanted to sign after I saw the new Accords.”

“You did?” Tony asks, surprised. “You do? You—fuck.”

“Yeah, it still confuses me too. I did. But I wouldn’t let go of my pride. I spent another year in hiding and that’s when everything went wrong.”

“It’s 2018 where you came from?” He shakes his head, trying to clear it. “When you came from?”

He smiles ruefully. “It’s 2023.”

Tony’s mouth forms a perfect o. That’s…that’s something. What went so badly wrong in 2018 that they’re still trying to clean it up in 2023?

“Point is,” Steve says gently, placing his hand over Tony’s. “I’d come back if you called. I always told myself that.”

“Why should I have to be the one to do it?” Tony asks sullenly.

“Because you know I won’t,” Steve replies.

He laughs because it’s true and he never thought he would meet a Steve Rogers who would admit that and because he’s a little overwhelmed. Somewhere out there, in another timeline, there’s a Tony who died because things went so badly wrong that that was the only way to save the universe. If that’s not overwhelming, then he doesn’t know what is.

He’s not entirely sure how Steve manages to do it, how he manages to slip his hand into Tony’s pocket and withdraw with the phone without him noticing, but he does. He holds it out and says, “I know you keep it fully charged all the time. I did too. Call him, Tony.”

Tony stares at the phone for a long time before he finally flips it open and dials the only number saved. It rings once—

Twice—

Tony glances to the side to tell Steve that he doesn’t think his Steve is going to pick up but somehow, Steve’s vanished, leaving him alone in the cell—

Three times—

A click—

And then a desperate, hopeful, “Tony?”

[solastia]

Sanctuary | 1

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x F!Reader

Word Count: 2,500

Summary: Your bed & breakfast has a new regular...Jeon Jungkook of BTS

A/N: So, yes it’s going to be a bit cheesy. Yes, it’s cliche. Yes, there’s a typical noona plot that’s a running theme for Jungkook. But this was literally requested and I decided that I wanted to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think. This first chapter is a little dry, imo, but it’s just a building chapter so hopefully you stick with it. Also, yes, they are speaking in Korean. I am not going to write in romanized because I hate that, and I’m not going to type in Korean then post translations at the end because I also hate that. Just imagine they are speaking in Korean to each other lmao. 

There had been no warning that your life was about to change. No unusual weather, no ambiguous fortune in a tasteless cookie, no strange feeling swirling in your gut. You’d gotten up at your usual time, eaten your usual bowl of cereal while catching up on your emails since you didn’t have any guests to cook for, and now you were taking the dog for a walk - all without a speck of difference from the numerous days before. 

This was why you were so unprepared to see huge frightened eyes pleading you for something from behind your enormous mountain lilac shrub once you’d arrived back to your bed & breakfast. So unprepared that you let out an undignified squeal and nearly slipped right onto your ass. 

Your golden retriever, Thor, was surprisingly calm and simply sniffing at the person with his tail wagging slightly. Of course, he was literally trained for this as he was your emotional support animal. He was most likely waiting for the person to give him permission to come closer. 

“What are…” you began to question, only to be interrupted by the strange sound of multiple running feet and the high-pitched screaming of a group of people. 

A terrified whimper came from the violet-flowered shrub when the voices got closer, and you began to see pieces of the puzzle coming together. 

“Guard,” you whispered to Thor, who quickly turned and plopped down in front of the bush, blocking the person from anyone’s sight. 

The group finally rounded the corner and you were shocked to see a huge crowd of mostly females with one or two guys, all wild-eyed and panting from running. One of them, a young girl with a camera looped around her neck and what looked like a BT21 hoodie, spotted you and waved. 

“Excuse me! Have you seen a guy run past here? Tall with brown hair, wearing a black face mask and a black hoodie?” 

You pretend to think. “Oh, him? Yeah, I just saw him get into a cab. Said he was going to Passionfish, I think.” 

The girl’s face lights up. “Oh!! The restaurant! Maybe he’s meeting up with the rest of the guys! Thanks!” 

“No problem. What’s the big deal though? He steal something?” 

She giggles, the shrillness piercing your ears. “As if he would. I guess you’re too old to know, but he’s famous. I’m totally going to get him to see me and I bet he’ll want to talk to me.” 

Ah. One of those. 

“Oh, cool. Good luck with that.” 

The herd runs off, their ringleader now talking on the phone and probably trying to get a ride to the restaurant. You shake your head and head towards the bush, patting Thor on the head for a job well done. 

“I think it’s safe to come out now.” 

It takes a few seconds but you finally hear a rustling as the person works their way out of the branches and…

Oh. 

Oh wow. 

You’d thought your bush dweller to be any number of things. A punk hiding from someone he stole from. Someone getting bullied. Maybe some random famous golfer that stupidly walked too far away from his entourage. 

Instead, you had Jeon Fucking Jungkook standing there looking bashful and ethereally beautiful next to the purple flowers like he’d just walked straight out of one of your dreams. Jeon Jungkook looking down at you with his hair being gently ruffled by the ocean air, his face mask drawn past his chin so you can see him clearly. Jeon Jungkook in front of your house in Pacific Grove of all places. 

You sneakily pinch yourself, hissing as your nails dig into your skin. 

Okay, so you’re not dreaming. 

“Thank you,” he says softly, his voice somehow even higher whenever he speaks English. 

You clear your throat and bust out your admittedly rusty Korean, bowing slightly. 

“You’re welcome. Are you alright?” 

His face lights up and he nods briskly. “Yes. You speak Korean?” 

“Enough. I’m not the most fluent, but I taught English there for three years after college. I know enough to get by.” 

The long breath he releases speaks of soul-deep relief, as though you’d just personally taken away all of his worries. 

“Can I use your phone? I lost mine when I was running and I got lost and couldn’t figure out where the fuck to go...I mean. Sorry.” 

You smile reassuringly, “It’s cool. I totally understand. I would have freaked too if I was being chased down by a bunch of crazies and couldn’t speak the language needed to get help. Where’s your security?” 

He scratches his head sheepishly, grinning a little. “Ah, I guess you know who I am if you’re asking about that.” 

You shrug and pet Thor, since he kept rubbing against you and whining. 

“Yeah, I saw you around while I was living there and you guys are literally everywhere now so it’s a little difficult not to know. Don’t worry, I’m not nuts and I don’t plan on telling anyone where you are or that you were even here.” 

He nods in thanks, “Sometimes they let me go out without security to just sight see and stuff, you know. Take some pictures and eat some food without a bunch of people watching me. I didn’t expect so many to recognize me here.” 

“I’m a little surprised too, to be honest. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” 

He shrugs like it’s no big deal, but you can see that he’s still reeling. 

“Anyway, come inside and you can hide out and call whoever you need to call. My name is Y/N, by the way. And yes, I’m older than you. You can call me noona if that makes you comfortable.” 

You walk towards the house, suddenly curious what he thinks of it. You probably shouldn’t care if he likes it or not, but you’ve put your everything into this place. You were proud of all the work you’ve done - most of it by your own hand, even. You’d painted the walls ivory, set the stone walkway, painted and installed the sky blue shutters. Even every flower in the now blooming garden was carefully planted and grown by you. 

“Welcome to Sanctuary,” you grin and open the front door for him, waving him ahead of you. He steps inside and Thor rushes past you both to head towards the backyard, probably to see if the bone he was working on earlier was still there. You shake your head and close the door behind you, slipping out of your sandals in the entryway.

You smile to yourself as you watch him kick off his shoes and set them off to the side, something you’d gotten used to doing yourself in Korea, but no other guest here has ever bothered. 

You observe him as he looks around curiously, judging his every expression. So far, so good. He’s probably gotten used to high-class digs these days, but you knew your place was nice enough. It was made for comfort. 

He sniffs as he looks around, his nose wiggling in a way makes you want to call him a bunny. But you don’t want to get punched so soon after meeting him, so you restrain yourself. 

“Smells nice in here.” 

“Thanks. It’s my own blend that I put together for this place. A bit of the ocean, a few homey baking scents...it’s an odd combo but works for the area.” 

You don’t mention that you like the way he smells. A little fruity, a little powdery...it was nice. 

“Oh, uh, here’s my phone. I unlocked it for you. Just relax here in the front parlor and I’ll get you something to drink. You want water, coke? Beer? I dunno...whisky?” 

He giggles and accepts the phone. “Coke is fine. Thanks.” 

“No problem.” 

You head to the kitchen and leave him to his business, wondering if you should bring him snacks too. If you busted out your supply of banana milk and banana kicks it would probably reveal that you knew way too much about him. You settle on bringing him a plate of cookies that you’d made the night before. 

You hum to yourself as you walk back to the parlor, catching him just as he’s saying goodbye to whoever he was talking to. He accepts the coke with a nod and grins as soon as he sees the plate of cookies, his impossibly wide eyes growing even larger as he looks them over. He grabs one and takes a huge bite, munching happily. 

“By the way, I fixed your wallpaper.” 

You startle and glance at him curiously, trying to remember what it had been. Oh…

“Yugyeom, really?” 

He shakes his head at you teasingly and tosses you the phone. He’s changed the wallpaper to himself. A selfie, actually, with your window that faced the ocean sitting in the background. 

“Hey, he’s adorable, okay?” 

Jungkook snorts and grabs another cookie, settling into the grey couch with a sigh. 

“My manager will be here in a little while to pick me up. Thanks again.” 

“It’s really no problem.” 

“So, you work here by yourself or…?” 

“I own the place, actually. I saved up most of my pay when I was abroad and put it together with some loans and what I managed to save up over the years. Poured pretty much everything into this place. It’s modest compared to what else you can find around here, but I love it.” 

He nods, “It’s nice. It feels safe here.” 

You smile happily, “That’s what I’m going for. Hence the name.” 

“Where did you live in Korea?” 

“Busan, actually.” 

He excitedly blurts out, “That’s where I’m from!” 

You snort, “I know. I actually taught at Baekyang middle school. Every class liked to remind me that “Jungkook went here, did you know that.” Drove me crazy.” 

He laughs, shaking his shaggy hair. “What’s your favorite place there?” 

You thought for a moment. “Probably Dadaepo beach. I liked to go make a whole day of it and go bird-watching, have a picnic on the beach, just relax. I liked that it wasn’t as packed as the other places. Reminded me of my favorite place here at home, actually, so I’d usually go whenever I felt a little homesick.” 

He nods, “I know the place. I like to go there and draw, sometimes. Not that I’m home much, anymore.” 

“Can I ask what you’re doing here, of all places?” 

He shrugs, “We were doing some work with an artist that lives around here. I can’t say what. I had some free time today, so I went exploring. I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium because I heard they have sharks, but they didn’t. I was told I could get some good shots of the ocean here, though.” 

“Ah, the great white. Poor dude died awhile ago. They still have tiger sharks and stuff, but I get it. As for pictures, try Lover’s Point Park. Best place for that, despite the name,” you laugh. 

He grins and nods, taking a sip of his drink. The two of you fall into silence as you wait for his ride. You feel maybe a tad bit shy and awkward, but not too bad. He seems perfectly content sitting there, swaying side to side as though it’s impossible for him to sit still. 

Thor finally comes back from his trip to the backyard, heading straight for Jungkook. He stops right in front of him and waits patiently. Jungkook smiles and holds out his hand, which Thor takes as permission to come near. He immediately plops his head onto Jungkook’s thighs, his tail wagging crazily. 

“He’s so nice. What’s his name?” 

“This is Thor,” you answer with a smile. “Man, he really likes you.” 

Jungkook giggles and scratches Thor’s ear. 

Suddenly, there’s a frantic knock on the front door. You frown slightly, sad that this has to end so quickly. You feel like you just came off as some boring old lady without a single interesting thing to say, despite the fact that you were only a few years older than him. Hardly ancient and not even near enough thirty to start panicking yet. You supposed, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. You’d never see him again. His group never even has concerts anywhere near you, so really, it doesn’t matter if you were memorable or not. You managed to give him some help when he needed it and that was enough. 

He stood up slowly and shuffled towards the door, ignoring it when the knock came again. He sighed and stuffed his feet into his shoes and turned to you with a small smile. 

“Thank you for your help, noona. I really appreciated it. I won’t let Manager Sejin in because I know he’ll try to make you sign stuff, but I trust you.” 

“Oh, if you want me to sign something, I will.” 

He shook his head. “It’s okay. I always feel weird making people do that anyway.” The knocking grows louder, making Jungkook frown at the door. “Guess I really need to go.” 

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Jeon Jungkook.” 

He grins and holds out his hand, his larger one engulfing yours completely when you accept his handshake. He bows over your connected hands. 

“It was nice meeting you too, Y/N.” 

He finally opens the front door himself, and you catch a glimpse of the famous Manager Sejin before Jungkook is dragging him down your stone pathway towards a tinted black SUV. You stand in the open doorway, leaning against the frame as you watch him climb in and roll down the window. He waves enthusiastically at you, smiling so much his eyes do the crinkle on the sides that never fails to make your heart flutter. You wave back despite Sejin watching you closely. You watch as the car pulls away, waiting until the last flicker of black is gone before shutting your door and leaning against it. 

So...that just happened. 

Your mind was trying hard to process everything. You couldn’t really figure out how you were supposed to feel. If you were some crazy fangirl you’d probably be screaming right now, but that didn’t feel right. Still...your heart was beating insanely fast, and your hands were still shaking. You’d hidden it fairly well while Jungkook had been here, but you’d gotten pretty good about hiding your anxiety over the years. 

You wander back to your parlor and drop into the high-backed recliner that was your favorite, Thor promptly running over and laying his head onto your lap. You slowly comb your hands through his fur and try to calm down, focusing on your breathing and Thor’s comforting presence.

Once you were calm enough, you head to your office and lose yourself in busy work. Even though you didn’t have any guests at the moment, you still had plenty of future bookings to prepare for, and there was always paperwork to do.  

You’d managed to not think about him or what had happened for a whole three hours, until your message tone beeped and you looked at your phone. There was that selfie again, with his cute smile and happy v sign...and a message from a “JK.” 

JK: Hi, Y/N Noona! I sent myself a message earlier so I could thank you properly. They tracked down my phone for me! What can I do for you? Tickets? Signed something? 

You: I don’t need anything. Just stay safe. 

JK: I’m going to figure something out on my own then! And you can’t complain! 

You: You’re very stubborn ._. 

JK: I know ;) 

Jk: I have to go. Hyung’s are giving me the look. Goodnight! Pet Thor for me. 

You: Will do. Night. 

You sigh and set down your phone, patting your cheeks, surprised and yet not to find that they are burning. You’re blushing like a middle schooler over a couple of meaningless messages! Most likely he would forget all about you by tomorrow, knowing how hectic his life is. You didn’t blame him for that, but it was sweet that he was so insistent on thanking you for something any decent person would do. 

You ruffle your hair and head to the kitchen to make dinner. It was best to just get back into your routine and move on with your life. There was no chance you’d ever see Jeon Jungkook again. 

[confusedgoldenflower]

There is No Glorious Purpose

DISCLAIMER: This is a Loki Show re-write which means I do not own the original show but some direct quotes will be used, it will not align perfectly with the cannon of the original show, and it will also be written the way I think it should have gone seeing as it was 2012 Loki who just went through Thor 1, Thanos' clutches and Avengers 1.

This is not a Loki/Sylvie or Loki-cest fic.

If you don't like, then please hit that back button and have a nice day. You don't have to agree with me, but I do expect common human decency.

For anyone remaining, please enjoy!

Chapter 1: Blue Time and Space

“Friend, I think there’s been a mistake; I am Loki of Asgard and you will regret this. I am burdened with glorious purpose, I stand at the right hand of Thanos.” The words were bitter in his mouth but then again, so was the bile that he dry-heaved up during his reconditioning.

“Yeah, yeah, come on.” B-15 waved it off, at least the letters on the helmet was the only thing pertaining to the person’s identity after they came through the yellow, rectangular prism. He watched her closely as they neared, fists clenched and fully aware of how far away the Tesseract had ended up. The cerebral recalibration the Hulk so kindly dealt him did nothing to deter him from his secret goal.

“What infinity stone conjured that?”

B-15 stopped, their own subordinates armed but waiting for their leader’s response. Then she laughed.

“No, no, it’s from the TemPad.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll see soon enough, now, come on, I don’t wanna have to give the whole spiel again.” B-15 came at him. The baton-like weapon she wielded hurt. But he was Asguardian. He also had use of his magic now with the restraints in ruins. Twin daggers parried the baton thereafter. He came close to overwhelming her more than a few times but her subordinates always stepped in.

“Agh!” It was humiliating to be overpowered by not only a simple blow to his back but also to admit it.

B-15 smiled down at him, “let’s go, and reset th-.”

“Don’t touch that!” The soldier picking up the Tesseract and staring at it like a confused child paid him no mind.

“Ok, Variant, let’s go.” B-15 slapped something on his neck, his body involuntarily jumped the opposite way. He was dragged out of the sand and towards another yellow rectangular prism. Another soldier grabbed something that resembled an old Midguardian lantern. They passed behind him and he could not manage to twist his neck enough to watch them. Then yellow.

He involuntarily gasped at the non-consensual setting change, pain flaring in a memory. A shriveled stomach flipped. But… His brows furrowed as he soundlessly analysed himself and his sadir in respect to the surroundings. I can’t feel him… I can’t hear him.

The two soldiers carrying him wasted no time in dragging him across the floor of the large room. It too reminded him of past Midguardian styles…. But he didn’t miss the Tesseract being turned to the man behind the desk.

“Where is this? Where are you taking me?”

B-15 laughed from in front of him, “your trial, Variant.”

“Why, and what is that anyway?”

Next thing he knew, he was pushed into a room with a robot, “hello?” It said something before lasering his clothes off. He gaped in horror as his fine Aguardian leather was destroyed and he was left there in the nude. The robot smiled at him in some sort of sadistic glee as his scars and healing wounds were flaunted like war-torn cadavers against his unusually pale skin. The floor disappeared.

He landed. He folded. He panted.

“Please sign this.”

His head whipped up to the man he could barely see over the stack of paperwork on the desk. A gulp, a deep breath and Loki was the vision of regal honor. Silently, he noted that he had somehow been clothed and thanked whatever power granted him that.

“What is this?”

The man looked at him with an exhausted droll stare, “everything you have ever said.” He grabbed a paper off the printer and laid it on top. Loki nodded slightly, then signed. The world blurred.

“Please step through.”

“Pardon?” The room was slow to come into focus.

“Jotnar, please step through.” Jotnar? He hadn’t noticed his glamour having failed him. The sedir he had so ardently loved and utilized and developed was a small, twisted ball in his center. He was locked in a cage.

“Wha--how…?”

“Magic is no good in the TVA, now please, step through.”

A red-eyed stare remained on the agent as Loki stepped through the unconnected threshold. Nothing happened. Another bout of vertigo and he was being told and none-too-kindly to take a number.

“For what, what is all this?” His blue hands gesticulated some as he addressed the man.

“Take. A. Number.”

Loki grit his teeth but he stepped to the small machine attached to the stakes cordoning off where the line was. He stepped into that small, simple maze. It was another large room stylized after the later American, Midguardian twentieth century. Even scrapers looked better as they drifted in the expanse of space. He slowly meandered up towards the window behind a very loud human.

“My dad is on the board of Goldman Sachs! One call and your whole job is privatized! What even is the ticket for, huh--aaaahhhhhggg!” Said human leapt out of his skin and screamed when he caught sight of the large blue alien. Red eyes merely gazed down at him without much agency.

“Howdy, welcome to the Time Variance Authority,” the bulbous screens lit up and an American, Midguardian southern drawl spoke happily through the speakers. Loki turned his attention to the screens as something finally began explaining things though his entire being made the unanimous decision that he did not like the talking orange clock.

“I'm Miss Minutes, and it's my job to catch you up before you stand trial for your crimes. So let's not waste another minute. Settle in, sharpen your pencils, and check this out. Long ago, there was a vast multiversal war. Countless unique timelines battled each other for supremacy, nearly resulting in the total destruction of...well, everything. But then, the all-knowing Time-Keepers emerged, bringing peace by reorganizing the multiverse into a single timeline, the Sacred Timeline. Now, the Time-Keepers protect and preserve the proper flow of time for everyone and everything. But sometimes, people like you veer off the path the Time-Keepers created. We call those Variants. Maybe you started an uprising, or were just late for work. Whatever it was, stepping off your path created a nexus event, which, left unchecked, could branch off into madness, leading to another multiversal war. But, don't worry, to make sure that doesn't happen, the Time-Keepers created the TVA and all its incredible workers. The TVA has stepped in to fix your mistake and set time back on its predetermined path. Now that your actions have left you without a place on the timeline, you must stand trial for your offenses. So sit tight, and we'll get you in front of a judge in no time. Just make sure you have your ticket, and you'll be seen by the next available attendant. For all time.”

The workers responded to the screen, “always.”

Out of one dark order and into another, Loki thought and forced down rising bile.

“--Hey, I asked for a ticket and he didn’t give me one! I--ahhhh!....” The loud human was hit with the shining, golden end of one of those batons and literally melted into nothingness. Loki clutched the ticket between his fingers tighter.

“Next.”

He stepped up to the window and offered up the small scrap of paper. The next while found him bound in chains yet again. He knew a Midguardian courtroom when he saw one, and the one he was shoved into was more like a morgue.

“Next case, please,” the judge said from her elevated chair, heads above anyone else, but below three ugly “modern art” heads. How could it be that he could even miss Thanos’ disgusting chin?

“Laufeyson. Variant L1130, AKA Loki Laufeyson, is charged with sequence violation 7-20-89. How do you plead?” She continued. Laufeyson, how preposterous, it sparked an itch to kill the Jotnar king again.

“Madam,” he began with all his silver tongue, “a god does not plead.”

“Are you guilty or not guilty, sir?” She was completely unfazed by his appearance, much like her underlings.

He thought for a moment, “guilty of some offense against this Sacred Timeline of yours? Absolutely not. You must have the wrong culprit.”

A brow raised at him, “oh, really? And who should we have?”

“The Avengers, I suspect. I came into possession of the Tesseract because they traveled through time--undoubtedly in some desperate play to avoid my ascent as God Ki--....” He couldn’t feel Thanos anymore, so what was the point? Wasn’t… he… free?

“That’s quite an accusation.”

“The cologne of two Iron Morta--er, Tony Starks is quite difficult to miss. They are your Time Criminals.” He opened his mouth again to bargain; to survive but….

“We’re not here to talk about the Avengers.”

“No?”

“No. That was supposed to happen, you escaping was not.”

“Pardon? According to whom?”

“The Time Keepers.”

“Ah… the three faces behind you, I presume? Do they happen to be open for conference?”

“No, they’re quite busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Dictating the proper flow of time.”

“So then, what do you do, Madam?”

“Dictate the proper flow of time according to their dictations. How do you plead?”

The silver tongue was heavy. His back sent shocks of pain through him especially after the re-injuring the soldiers dealt. Chains often found their way around his wrists and never had it hurt so much as in the last year. He closed his eyes. He may have been able to assemble those Midguardian fools the way he had intended, the time traveling proved that, but what else was left for him? Just more fire, and lies, and deceit. I had so wanted to see Asguard again.

“The court finds you guilty, and I sentence you to be reset. Next case, please!”

“I raise an objection!” Loki opened his eyes at the interruption as the judge sighs.

“You may approach the bench.”

“Hey, there, blue-raspberry.” The older human man made a shy sort of wave motion at Loki as he passed with a folder under his arm.

“If you're thinking what I think you are, it's a bad idea,” the judge addressed the man.

“Okay, I'm just chasing a hunch.”

“Anything goes sideways, it's on you.”

“Okay. I feel like I'm always looking up to you. I like it. It's appropriate.” Loki knew when he was witnessing groveling. Norns knew he had to do it enough times in his life just to save his brother’s skin.

“Who are you?” He asked after the judge permitted Loki’s custody to the newcomer. Said agent was walking Loki around some halls. Vertigo viscously hit when he tried to remember every twist and turn.

“Oh, I’m Agent Mobius, by the way,” Mobius cheerily said as he shuffled the two into an elevator.

“And you’re not taking me someplace to ‘reset’ me?”

“No, no, no, that was the place you just were. Ravon--I mean Judge Renslayer can be pretty brutal, but I’m just taking you some place to talk.”

“To talk?” His brow raised.

Mobius looked up at his blue stature without a care in the world, “yeah, and we know you love to talk. Talkie-talkie.” A hand mimed a moving mouth. His brows lowered into a slight scowl.

“We seem to have different understandings of my persons.”

“Well, I am an expert on Lokis.”

“... Loki-s?”

“Yeah. You’ll catch up.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Hard to tell, time moves differently here in the TVA.”

He was led out again and followed the human past several large openings in the wall of the narrow hallway that lead down into double-doored rooms. One, he couldn’t help but step towards. Then found himself outside of the elevator again.

“Ope, can’t do that, sorry.”

He stared at Mobius who was now several yards away, “magic and time works differently here.”

“Oh, it’s not magic,” Mobius held up a small device in his fingers, “it’s science.”

“Magic is science.” Loki stated plainly as he walked towards what he assumed Mobius was indicating as the destination, back straight.

“Haha, ok, Loki.” The agent opened the door for him. He nodded in thanks as was polite.

“Let’s get you comfortable,” Mobius stripped him of his chains and cuffs, “have a seat.”

Slowly, he did as asked. He could have wept as his back was finally rested.

“Not big on trust, are you?” Mobius asked as he snapped a sodapop can open. He rejected a second that was offered to him by the agent.

“Well?”

“Trust is a twisted road.”

“Haha, nice one, let’s make that one into a button.” Mobius began fiddling with a machine on the table they sat at in the middle of the darkened room.

“If the TVA overseas all of time and space, then how have I never heard of you before?”

“‘Cause you never needed to. You’ve always lived within your set path; the story you’re meant to play a part in.”

“I live within the path and story of my choosing,” Loki responded bitterly on impulse.

Mobius laughed again, “well, there’s the lie, Loki, it’s not your story.” Mobius looked him in the eye as the machine projected an image onto the blank wall.

“So I think we could start with a little cooperation, hm? I specialize in the pursuit of dangerous variants--particularly dangerous ones unlike you. I’ve got some questions for you, and if you answer them honestly, then maybe I can give you something you want. You wanna get outta here right? So, we’ll start there. Should you get out, what will you do?”

Would Thanos know? Of course Thanos would know…. Of course Thanos would come after him for deserting….

“Take over Midguard, AKA Earth?” Mobius interrupted the silence, “finish what you started maybe? Be king?”

The simple answer slipped off his tongue, “I was born to be a king.”

“Happily ever after then? A nice feather in your cap?”

“Then the Nine Realms. Then all of space.”

“Ooooh, ‘Loki, King of Space,’ haven’t heard that one before.”

“Mock me if you dare.”

Mobius chuckled again, “I’m not. Honestly, I’m a fan; your biggest. I guess I’m just curious why someone with such range would settle for just ruling whether it be Presidential or Kingly.”

“... The first and most oppressive lie was that of freedom, and someone will always be above while masses lie below.”

“How does that one go?” Mobius had his nose in his paperwork.

“For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. There's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken.”

“Good. Yeah. You said ‘nearly every living thing,’ so I'm guessing you don't fall into that category?”

“All of us fall into some category.”

“Oh, riddles. Love that. Anyway, a sampling of your greatest hits.”

The machine whirled and he was met again with the annoying Midguardian heroes and his brother after they bested him in New York, “if it’s all the same to you… I’ll have that drink now.”

“That just happened,” he declared.

“It's funny, for someone born to rule, you sure do lose a lot. You might even say it's in your nature.”

“The last person who said that to me did not live long enough to regret it.”

“Phil Coulson?” The clip played and Thor’s “no!” rang out.

“Didn’t the Avengers come together to literally avenge him by defeating you?”

Loki kept his face schooled diplomatically blank against the small bit of triumph he felt rising. Yes, they had come together, a force to be reckoned with especially after Loki’s clever engineering of their test-run.

“Little solace for a dead man,” he said instead.

“Do you enjoy hurting people? Making them feel small? Making them feel afraid? Making them feel little?” Mobius looked at him with an expression all too familiar from a certain one-eyed Aesir.

“Your little games won’t work on me.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I think--.”

“I know what I am.”

“A murderer?”

“A liberator.” The memory of the Other’s lightning bolt sent a shock wave through his system. He was removed from them, but he could always be put back.

“Of eyeballs maybe,” Mobius scoffed and played the clip.

“Just look at that smile, you’re enjoying it.”

Yet another clip rolled and a wealthy crowd’s screams of horror rang out. He was the center of attention. No one in that moment had attention above him… but that blue still glinted in his emerald eyes.

“Did you enjoy hurting them?”

“I don’t have to play this game; I’m a god, you dull creature.”

“Of mischief? Right… I really see that shining through.”

“No, I don’t suppose you would.”

Mobius sighed, “let’s talk about your escapes.”

“You're really good at doing awful things, and then just getting away. This is one of my favorites.”

A plane’s PA system from the 1970’s dinged, “from the flight deck, Captain William A. Scott, Northwest Orient Airlines 305, on schedule to land in Seattle. Flight time today, approximately….”

The projection showed him from an outsider’s perspective on a plane, well dressed with his hair slicked back and shades covering his eyes. His past self spoke to the flight attendant.

“Bourbon and soda?”

“Thank you,” past Loki gladly accepted the drink.

“Absolutely. Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”

“I suppose we'll find out, won't we?” A note was handed off to her and she chuckled only in social politeness. A clear misunderstanding between them.

“Uh, Miss?”

“Yes, Mr. Cooper?”

“You might want to take a look at that note,” past Loki leaned forward and whispered, looking the woman in the eye over his sunglasses, “I have a bomb.” Her smile dropped. The scene skipped to when he had emptied the plane of all other passengers and was back in the air strapping a parachute to himself.

“Oh, this is the good part,” Mobius whispered.

“See you again someday,” past Loki says, still politely as he accepts the bag of $200,00 USD from the unnerved flight attendant. He had often wondered how she had recovered from the stupid, oafish ploy; he did his best not to harm anyone but he understood how it could have been quite the scare.

Past Loki turned and walked toward the tail of the plane, “brother, Heimdall, you better be ready.” He mumbleed before jumping out and getting collected by the Bifrost.

“I can't believe you were D.B. Cooper. Come on!” Mobius moved in his seat in a way reminiscent of an excited toddler.

“I was young, and I lost a bet to Thor. Where was the TVA when I was meddling with these affairs of men?”

“We were right there with you, just surfing that Sacred Timeline. So anyway, escapes… and a little psychobabble. What is it you think you’re really running from?”

He held Mobius’ stare. Time Keeper’s approval or lackthereof seemed utterly arbitrary, and the agent’s “fan-ing” of him lacking.

“Enough of this nonsense--.” Loki moved to stand but was hit yet again by vertigo and back in the chair.

“Back in your cage. See? I can play the heavy keys too.” Mobius tapped a finger on his own neck.

“What is it that you actually want?”

“I want you to be honest about why you do what you do.”

“This,” Loki motioned a blue arm towards the projection, “means you have seen my life, yes?”

“Yup. Back and forward, and variant and not. I’ve seen it all.”

“Then you must already know.”

“All I seek is a deeper understanding of the fearsome God of Mischief. What makes Loki tick?”

“Yet you have seen my life and all variations of it.”

“I wanna hear it from the ol’ horse’s mouth.”

“The satisfaction of my own ends,” he finally settled. “Is this your psychobabble? You, the great arbiters of power in the universe.”

Mobius nodded, “yup, we are!”

“Yet my path, my story and my actions are not my own? A semblance of free will belongs to every creature.”

“Hahaha, good one buddy. Look, this one’ll fire you up.” Loki stamped out the pain he had only otherwise felt when he was dropped from the Rainbow Bridge. He stamped down it all. And oh, it was easy. Simple. It was his simpler state of being.

The projection changed to Stuttgart and the projection-surrounded square of kneeling people, “the bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power….”

“Precisely. I was... I am on the verge of acquiring everything I am owed, and when I do, it will be because I did it. Not because it was supposed to happen. Or because you or the Time Variance Authority permitted me to. Honestly, you are pathetic. You are an irrelevance. A detour. A footnote to my ascent.”

Mobius giggled and scoffed, “you done? You’re gonna start taking things seriously.”

His body tensed. But all that happened was a twist of a wrist and the projection changing. He was faced with himself, bound and chained in Asguardian restraints with his glamor intact and cheekily knocking his ankles together to fill the hall of the All Father with the ringing of the metal clanging together.

“If you hadn't picked up the Tesseract, you would have been taken to a cell on Asgard.” Mobius informed him.

“Loki,” a familiar honey voice said in the ringing silence.

This future Loki addressed the woman in beautiful clothes, “hello, Mother. Have I made you proud?”

Her face stayed grave as he continued with undetected fake cheerfulness, “please, don't make this worse.”

“This is the future?” Loki asked.

“Yup, like you mighta picked up, the TVA doesn’t just know your past, we know your whole life as it’s meant to be. Think of it as comforting.” Loki grimaced at that. Comfort? He did not know such a thing. The scene skipped and he recognised the dungeons.

“And am I not your mother?” A projection of his mother asked.

Future Loki chuckled bitterly, “no, you’re not.” Loki felt the need to claw off the blue skin.

“Hmm,” his mother responded, “always so perceptive to everyone but yourself.”

“And then the Dark Elves attack the palace, and you think you send them to Thor.” Mobius chimed again.

“You might wanna take the stairs to the left.” Future Loki says as most other prisoners are set free.

“But instead, you send them….” The image skips again and it’s to Frigga in the grasp of the hellish looking Dark Elf.

“I will never tell.” She declares before she is brutally stabbed and fades. Loki jumps up but only goes through the projection. He can’t help her. No, no, no, no. Another tick. Just another trick like all those in the last year! He would never do such a thing. He loved her.

“You lead them right to her.”

But why would he do that? He was spiteful but-.... No, the elf. Think, Loki, think! Ah, yes, the Aether must have been helping them and changed them to that form. But why Asgard? Why Frigga?!

“You’re lying,” he pants, “what led to this!? Where is she!? Do you have her?!”

“It is true. That's the proper flow of time, and it happens again and again and again because it's supposed to, because it has to! The TVA makes sure of it. And you did this to your own mother, Loki! What kind of monster does that?”

“I’m not a monster!” He shrieks, voice cracking. A chair slams into the wall. He does his best to compose himself but his breathing and heart rates are all still erratic.

“What led to this?” He motioned to the agent then the world blurs to the projected image of her dead face. Fresh pain spikes his back.

“Oops, sorry, only loops you, not the furniture. Now, why don’t you tell me, do you enjoy hurting people? Do you enjoy killing? Were you about to kill me like you killed your mother?”

He fixed red eyes on the blond nuisance, “I wouldn’t hurt her!” The stinging tears obstruct his vision, but he’s too prideful to wipe his eyes--or the society he had been raised by was.

The human met his hateful gaze, “you weren't born to be king, Loki. You were born to cause pain and suffering and death. That's how it is, that's how it was, that's how it will be. All so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves.”

Loki’s grimace was translated through his conflicted heart into an almost silent sobbing scream. A chitauri screeched as the projection showed the Midguardian protection force he had pissed off enough to coalesce.

But he wouldn’t do that to her… he wouldn’t… he couldn’t….

“What are you doing?” Loki barely registers the voice as B-15.

“My job. Is it yours to interrupt?” Mobius responds as Loki is still frozen staring at the wall, not even seeing the projection anymore.

“We have a situation.”

“Gah, there's always a situation. Don't go anywhere. And it was just getting good. Spirited!”

The doors closed.

Mother, I need to find her!

Escaping the room was easier than expected and the maze did nothing to deter his frantic heart.

“Hey,” he ducked down behind the desk the agent from earlier was manning.

“Hey, I know you. You’re the criminal with the blue box.”

“Shh,” he dragged the other down, “what’s your name?”

“Casey.”

“Give me the Tesseract back or I’ll gut you like a fish, Casey.”

“What’s a fish?”

“H-how do you not know what a fish is?”

“I’ve lived my entire life behind a desk, and I’d like to know what I’m being threatened with before I comply.”

“Do you not eat--death, Casey, violent and painful death.”

“Okay, okay, I comply, I comply, jeez.”

Casey leaned forward and pulled open a drawer of a moveable table, “this it?”

“Wha… Infinity Stones?” The stones, mostly green Time and red Aether or Reality, were jumbled together in the small space.

“Oh, actually, we get a lot of those. Yeah, some of the guys use them as paper weights.”

“The greatest power in the universe and you have them carelessly thrown about?”

“Well, we actually are outside of the universe AKA the Sacred Timeline. Pretty neat, right?” Casey’s musings as he stood up and presented another bulbous screen hanging from the ceiling were ignored as Loki closed his blue hand around the Tesseract. It was dim. So, so dim and dull and…. Lifeless. His jaw hung open.

An elevator dinged, “oh, you almost hit me, that’s so messed up!” Loki clicked the button and returned to the small room. Slowly, he pulled himself off of the floor, set the Tesseract down on the table and twisted the dial.

“Your birthright was to die!...” Future Odin gave future bound Loki a sadistic smile, “as a child, cast out into a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me.”

“If I had not fully asked for true mercy, I’d just say swing it. It’s not that I don’t love our little talks, it’s just, I don’t love them.” He found himself muttering along with his near-future self.

“Frigga is the only reason you are still alive and you will never see her again. You will spend the rest of your years in the dungeon.” He moved back with his shackled projection. That was too far, even for Odin. A flash of a red cape and eyepatched face looking down and telling him “no” passed in front of his eyes. His finger rolled on the dial.

“I love you, my sons. Remember this place. Home….” Future Odin told both Thor and him as he disappeared into energy from the cliff Loki was fairly sure belonged to Midguard. A breath caught. What… how… could it be?

It skipped forward again, “Loki, I thought the world of you, I thought we were going to fight side by side forever.” Future Thor with shorn hair and different clothes regarded future Loki--actually regarded him. Had he died? What sort of trickery could this be? He gulped around the hope in his throat.

“Maybe you're not so bad after all, brother. Maybe not…. Thank you. If you were here, I might even give you a hug.” An eyepatched Thor smiled at his future, blue leather clad self as a glass liquor stopper was thrown.

His future self caught it, “I’m here.” He smiled at the sight, that’s all I ever wanted… to be your equal, brother. He sniffled.

His life skipped forward again, “undying? You should choose your words more carefully.” Blue features immediately smoothed out and drooped in horror at the site of the purple titan. A golden gauntlet endued with infinity stones closed around his neck. His future self writhed in the air.

“You will… never… be a… god!” He flinched at the cracking of his own neck, his future self’s body falling limp instantly. No! He wouldn’t let himself die to him! He watched helplessly as his future self’s body was dropped while Thor screamed. The power stone’s magic broke up the spaceship as Thor wept over him. Purple enveloped the screen and then “END FILE.”

“Hah… hah… hah… hehehehe,” his lungs spasmed.

“Glorious purpose,” Loki sneered to no one. He collapsed gripping the Tesseract.

“Loki?... Nowhere left to run.”

“I know. Will you be ‘resetting’ or otherwise doing away with me now?” He stared into the dull blue depths of the Space Stone’s container rather than bothering to look up at the human. There wasn’t an answer.

“I am tired, Mobius.”

Knees popped as the other slowly knelt by him, “listen, I can’t offer you salvation, but maybe I can offer you something better. A fugitive Variant’s been killing our minutemen.”

“So why me?”

“The Variant we’re hunting is, well, you.”

He lifted his head, “pardon?”

[aspenforest732]

A few of you liked my other fanfic post so figured I'd share one I'm cooking up now. The Marle one is dead in the water, probably won't go back to it at least until I read Dawnshard.

Lemme know if you want more Phoenix lore. I didn't realize how much I had until I was scrolling back up through this post, and this is just on two of the 6 subraces

New one is going back to my Phoenix race, but this time it's a young Orator named Xava who climbed the ranks quickly in the Marvel universe, especially considering they lost their Listener companion I guess is the right word? Orators can only speak through the force/magic, and their speech is imbued with mind-type magics that allow them to convey meanings to groups or individuals beyond their actual words (like advanced subtext). They can also be understood by anyone and pick up languages quickly. Listeners can only hear through the force and can hear all the subtext in someone's words (yes, this is overwhelming at young ages). They can understand everyone and pick up languages quickly. Listner/Orator pairs comprise most of the operatives in a functional universe unit, usually taking an advisory role in some capacity or placing themselves in a seat of power that is deemed suitable by the Council. The pairs are bonded for life, and if one dies, the other usually retires to help the next generation due to skill gap and loss of their other half. They share a more intimate pseudo empathy/telepathy than Phoenix at large due to their bond and ability to pick up on each others' nonverbal cues.

Onto the actual story, Xava fought in a war with the TVA in one timeline, and their partner, Lexal died saving another group (only one could go and Lexal hid the underlying message that the one would die from Xava). Since they were so young, Xava decided to push forward with their career and use the skills Lexal taught them as well as supplemental training to do the work of a pair.

I originally started with a story in the aftermath of the Season finale of Loki, but then decided it would be more interesting to do one somewhat based on a fanfic I'm reading. We'll go chronologically.

Minor AU where Loki is able to harness the time stone to go back in time (haven't settled on the exact circumstances, but it's either on the statesman and Thanos has the mind stone instead of another or Loki is the one to kill him instead of Thor almost doing it in infinity war). Xava is sent due to the possibility of a new tertiary branch developing, and they go back to right after the failed coronation as Thor would be raging about going to Jotunheim.

BUT as they arrive, he's embracing Loki and Xava sees a pair who were supposed to be taking Thor to a branch 2 over. Enough moments have passed with such deviation that they've now skyrocketed away from the other branches, so sending him to the original would destabilize this one too much.

Now with a keystone pair, the three Phoenix have to work together, despite the other Orator's distaste for Xava's age and knowledge base due to their different fields of expertise (Avengers: Thor and House of Odin: Loki, respectively). The Listener is more or less a peacekeeper between the two as Xava tries to make things work smoothly but loses a lot of respect for the Orator when it's revealed he intentionally stayed in the dark about who saved his unit (Lexal).

There are a number of shenanigans I've thought up in that storyline, but it's still pretty new.

Fast forward about 5000 years, and the universe is stable enough to have endured 300 merges and is strong enough as a tertiary branch to not need representatives specifically for the keystone pair.

Xava is promoted to Ishvar (manager of timeline) and is transfered to the new trunk split (MCU, MCOU(comics), MFU(fanfiction), and now MMU(multi)) of Loki season finale. They will be working as both an Ishvar and a keystone representative due to their experience with Lokis and unusual circumstances.

Things are going pretty much according to plan with teams pouring into the universe to stabilize the trunk split while new branches rapidly form and collapse back into the trunk. This started before I watched What If?, so that would probably be considered a primary branch.

Loki returns to earth post endgame with a few must haves (AU before his appearance), forming a primary branch. Xava starts coordinating with the couple Phoenix already on earth, and things are still going pretty well, minus the mistrust sowed by their frequent consultation of a command sphere to direct movements (part of Ishvar, essentially giant collective mind database, call center, map, etc.). Then they get a Listener intern under 100 (age of puberty for phoenix). Which is the last thing they wanted right now, and they know they will royally screw up this kid if it's not sorted out.

Xava tries to figure out what's going on and reaches out to home world, only to be shortly cut off by a complete universe isolation message and every Listener screaming before falling unconscious. Homeworld is offline for the first time in Phoenix history (this is a result of my star wars fanfic tl;dr a Seer Phoenix lead a sith invasion of Homeworld, and the Council yeeted it into a different pocket dimension only taking the adults).

Now Xava can't send the kid back, who not only wasn't sent here by the Council since they would've sent a pair, but who is also linked to the SWU (Star wars). So they can hear but not understand any nonPhoenix is saying and struggle to use the magic here (enough to not be dying but not much more). They were born with the ability to hear everyone in the universe at all times (normally activated once they hit puberty), and while they have better control of it now, it's still a lot, especially before they got a translator chip.

That's pretty much where I left it since I wasn't sure where to go other than lots of meetings, a hidden message from Homeworld revealing their predictions for MMU, and discovering what the council had done. Of course, the delay in information caused the predictions to be largely useless as bringing Loki to the meeting prevented him from doing something that didn't seem vital at the time on earth.