#The Big Bad Wolf Of Svartalfheim

[intergalacticstarlight]

“the sacrifices necessary to win this war... i know all too well. “ for Rose -theaccursedninth

(@theaccursedninth sent a meme! - always accepting!)

"Yeah… C'n see tha'," the blonde utters, sniffing softly as her eyes brim themselves with unshed tears. It's a hairpin response. She gulps, intimidation taking over for courage and making it entirely impossible to muster up enough facility to say more. At least not at first... She'll get there eventually.

There's a deeply rooted trust there, beckoning just beyond the slight look of disquiet on her face but even still, she keeps her distance. She takes a shaking breath through parted lips and manages to pluck up the courage to speak aloud again.

"Were they worth it, then?" Her voice squeaks with the question, but she can't help it- he's unlike anything she's seen before. It aches in her chest and her breath hitches. Even still the tears do not fall, just wobble inside of her eyelids and make everything blurry. At least that makes it easier to speak.

"The sacrifices... Were they worth it?" Her tone inflects at the end, almost as if she might be trying to convince them both that the sacrifices were worth it, and damn what she already feels on the matter.

[veliseraptor]

Current WIP Excerpts

inspired by @gaslightgallows​, because I am vain and love validation, have a line from each of my current WIPs. with a few exceptions.

there are A Lot.

Life In Reverse

Thanos stood before them, titan in truth as well as name. Loki’s heart jumped into his throat and his thoughts briefly flashed to a shattered world, fingers tearing through his mind, screaming as his being was turned inside out. Fear froze him in place, instinctive, animal. 

REMEMBER THIS COLD

Costume Porn: what it says, seriously. (Steve/Loki.)

Masquerade: Steve attends a costume ball. So does Loki.

Steve shifted nervously. “How did you know?”

“Body language,” Tony said simply. “You keep staring at him. Not that I can blame you. Guy looks unfairly good in a suit.”

“Why, thank you,” Loki said. Tony jumped, and then scowled a little.

the hills on fire for miles: The Thor: Ragnarok fic for RTC.

The woman standing in front of them was just barely illuminated by the early dawn light, but it was enough: she was hopelessly striking, lips quirked in a very faint and unpleasant smile, her eyes glittering coldly, looking from Steve to Loki.

“And you,” she said to him, “must be the youngest whelp. The failure. Which makes you…” she looked at Steve. “What does that make you?” 

Attempt #432: Someone asked for the AU where one of Doom’s Loki-clones survived. It’s gonna be bad, folks.

His first memory was a silver mask with rectangles for eyes and mouth, looking down at him. “Attempt four-hundred and thirty-two,” it said, “success.”

MCU

Into the Valley of Death Rode the Six Hundred: The “Loki wins” fic where he gloats at Steve in his spare time and then ends up fighting a war on three fronts and actually asking for help with one of them.

Steve opened his eyes to find a hand over his mouth and the strong iron smell of blood filling his nose. He sucked in a sharp breath, heart hammering into motion. “Open your mouth to cry out and I will take your tongue before you can make a sound.” Loki’s voice was low and soft, but there was something ragged and breathless there as well. “Nod if you understand.”

Strange Bedfellows: The “Clint and Loki are captured and undergo TERRIBLE SUFFERING and bond, sort of” fic. Hey, people do it for Tony/Loki I don’t see why I can’t go with it my way.

Clint Barton had observed that missions tended to go wrong in one of two ways. Either it was a gradual stacking up of problems that inevitably led to total collapse no matter how hard you tried to hold on, or it was the kind of thing where you were standing in the middle of the building and the roof fell on you.

The Priesthood of Natasha Romanov: The one where Loki declares Natasha his High Priestess. She’s not really into it, though.

She tried to tell Thor about her encounter with Loki in Berlin, but the minute she got out an “I saw” her throat closed up and then she was talking about the Berlin Art Museum with some enthusiasm, despite the fact that she hadn’t gone. A few circuitous routes met with no more success, and even hints appeared to be impossible. Whatever magic fuckery Loki had worked on her, it was thorough. 

important gangbang fic: Important Gangbang Fic.

The best thing about dropping in on Alfish parties was that by the time he arrived, most were too drunk to recognize him, or else too distracted to care.

so when the birds fly South: Loki gets beat up and Steve is the one to find him and I have no idea where this is going.

After months, months of thinking he’d been saved by that missile through the portal (irony of ironies) and then months more after he’d learned he had been mistaken, they’d run him to ground. He could run no further. Only turn and fight, and barely that, so little left in him.

Tear My Castle Down: The “Loki’s punishment is to be a slave to one of the Avengers but this time it’s Steve” fic.

Loki was shaking and pale, one hand braced on the doorframe, the other pulling at his collar, his chest heaving. Steve froze, mouth opening, and Loki half fell, grabbing his arm. “Captain,” he said, teeth chattering. “You need – you need to-”

which carries weight and always weighs the same: My Romanoff Big Bang fic, which is going to be a lot of “Natasha having interpersonal relationships” because I have interests.

Her training would have dictated that she fight until her last breath. That cornered, weaponless, and bleeding, she would go on fighting. Her training had told her they will try to seduce you, to steal your loyalties with grand promises. These are all lies. Of course, by the time Agent Clint Barton had her backed into a blind alley with nowhere to go, her loyalties were already for sale and she didn’t believe in anyone’s promises.

Subordination: Loki acquires his first dom, Sjofn. Shit is fun. Until it isn’t.

But he was a little tipsy, and a lot curious, and the way Sjofn was looking at him as though she wanted to devour him was making his whole body feel hot. Loki had lain with his fair share of women – and others – but feeling quite so pursued…that was new.

Just a Shadow Upon These Walls: Steve starts seeing a ghost. Steve starts seeing a ghost that is Loki. Things get weirder from there.

When Thor had left, Steve found a chair and sank down into it. Loki has been dead for almost two years. A day ago, Loki had been standing in Steve’s kitchen. How did he die? Steve should have asked, but he couldn’t have asked the question did he still have his eyes, couldn’t ask Thor that about his younger brother. His dead younger brother.

post Svartalfheim AU: depressed Loki goes to earth after TDW, starts running into Steve randomly, somehow this becomes Steve/Loki?? idk what

When Loki woke up, the first thing he felt was anger. It burned, sharp and fierce, because he had been cheated; he had died well, he had died loved, with Thor looking at him with something so much like care it had hurt worse than the wound in his chest. And once again, death spit him out, making a mockery of him. Of everything.

Thunderstorms: The sequel to “there’s a hell of a good universe next door” where Thor arrives.

“Steve,” Loki said, not looking away from Coulson, and then went on. “I could have slipped away from your clumsy trap at any time, or had your men fighting amongst themselves in the blink of an eye, or any number of more creative solutions. I could kill you with my bare hands right here, in this room, in – say – five seconds, perhaps less. I could probably even, if I had a mind, undermine your government until it fell to pieces.”

Steve made a faintly strangled sound that Loki ignored. “As you can see,” Loki said, sounding almost conversational, “I have not. And will not. I have little to no interest in involving myself in human politics. Unless I am mistaken, until today, you were unaware that I was here at all. It would be ideal for everyone if you chose to return to that state of affairs.”

forgive the children we once were: Bucky, who freed himself substantially earlier from Hydra’s control (during The Avengers), finds Loki, wounded and near death, after the events of Thor 2. Shenanigans ensue.

The stranger was still alive when Bucky got him into the apartment, though he looked like shit and Bucky had to hold his hand about an inch above his mouth to feel any breathing. Stupid, he thought. Gun's in the bedside table, just take care of it and dump the body. He half twitched toward the bedside table, but stopped at that. He still had questions. Dead bodies drew attention.

Sword Age, Wolf Age: the Ragnarok fic where things go a little differently when Thor comes back to Asgard.

“I have just saved your life and freed you and you would speak of what I owe you,” Loki said, starting away through the woods. “Such is the gratitude of the House of Odin.”

Someone to Watch Over You: Loki decides Steve needs a guardian angel. He doesn’t ask Steve about it. He also doesn’t expect to get labeled a sidekick.

Captain Steve Rogers, Loki had decided, was trying to get himself killed.

I’ll pull the devil down with me, one way or another: Thanos is coming. Loki doesn’t intend to take that lying down.

He stumbled out into Sanctuary, almost falling to his knees, and pried his hands away from the cube. His joints throbbed with the ache of the power filling him almost to bursting. He looked at it, glowing blue with swirls of light inside, and swallowed hard.

If this goes wrong, all the worlds will burn and it will be your fault.

keep your heart (close to the ground): the AU where Loki never invades, so the Avengers never form, and a depressed Steve and depressed Loki meet.

Lukas was leaning against the doorframe, one arm wrapped around his middle, blood covering half his face and dripping off his fingers. He smiled and there was blood on his teeth. “Hello,” he said. “Good. You still live here,” and listed forward. Steve, his thoughts spinning, caught him reflexively.

time may change me (but you can’t trace time): the fic where Loki tries to steal the Time Stone and gets stuck in a time loops. For some reason, it resets every time Steve dies.

“What did you do?” Rogers demanded.

“I have no idea,” Loki said. He was sitting in the sand and staring up at the sky, going over everything that had happened before this had started – everything he knew about the Time Stone and what it could do. He wasn’t getting anywhere.

Seams and Scars: Loki arrives on Midgard with his lips sewn shut.

Clint thought for sure he was going to die when he was slammed against the wall and those washed out, grey-green eyes met his. Clint’s eyes fixed on those gruesome black lines trickling blood. Stitches, he realized. He could see the knots. See the notch of a scar where one had torn through.

Who the hell does that? He remembered thinking, which was the last thought of his own he had before he set the spear to Clint’s heart and remade him in his image.

our history is coming to life again: The fic where a young Loki gets transplanted forward in time to post-The Dark World Earth. Things are not exactly going well for him.

“What happened,” Cap said, his voice tense.

“I’m dead, aren’t I,” was what came out of Loki’s mouth. And then he had to laugh, because obviously he wasn’t, he couldn’t be saying he was dead if he was dead, so he corrected, “was. I suppose.”

Temptation: Loki has a Steve problem.

Well, Loki thought. Well. It seemed his little problem was not solved after all. In fact, if anything, it was made worse. If he was going to imagine fucking Rogers every time he was trying to fight him-

Loki growled to himself. Damn him. Damn him and his beautiful eyelashes and beautiful eyes and sinfully beautiful mouth.

I know I’m the curséd one: Wanda and Loki, imprisoned for their magic, have to work together to escape.

He would not give in. Not to these. Not ever.

He would go mad (madder) first.

finding yourself at the end of the universe: The fic where Loki springs Steve from prison post Civil War, mostly out of spite, and they go on a dysfunctional road trip across space.

“Well,” said the last voice Steve had expected to hear. “That’s interesting.”

Steve’s eyes widened and he stared at Loki, struck dumb. Loki’s eyebrows quirked, gaze sweeping up and down. “Now why,” he murmured, “would they be keeping you down here with me? Have you been bad, Captain Rogers?”

Meet the Parents: Loki meets Sarah Rogers in the Roommates!AU.

“Offend her?” Steve’s eyebrows went up. “Why would you offend her?”

“Well,” Loki said, and stopped, searching for a diplomatic way to say I’m an addict, an asshole, and a bad influence without saying those precise words.

The Cold, the Dark, the Silence: It’s whump. That’s basically it.

His body was starting to fail. Loki could tell the signs of it in the way his hands shook, the chills that swept through him periodically. His healing had already been strained to the breaking point by his near death on Svartalfheim. Without food, with barely any water, the punishment his captors doled out in seemingly growing frustration was taking a toll.

the first steps stumbling forward: On Earth post-Ragnarok, Steve takes up secretly helping Asgardian refugees. There’s a familiar face among them.

“Thor said you were dead,” Rogers said.

“Thor is occasionally wrong about things,” Loki said. He didn’t particularly want to explain I was, sort of, but then I wasn’t, and then I took over Asgard and pretended to be my father for three years, which was actually very nice while it lasted.

escalated almost to an art: Yet another very dirty Loki/Grandmaster fic, where the Grandmaster experiments with drugging Loki in a variety of fun ways.

“You and me,” the Grandmaster said, reaching out and brushing his fingers along Loki’s jaw. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we?”

Loki wished that didn’t sound so much like a threat.

He wished the fact that it did didn’t send a thrill down his spine.

Another Fall: Loki falls from Asgard into Hela’s prison.

“Interesting,” she said. She crouched down. “Where did you come from? The old fool sealed this place unfortunately well.” Loki coughed and choked. Her nose wrinkled. “I suppose if I want to get anything out of you I’ll need to fix you first.”

NOT MCU

Darkness, Darkness: The Morgana/Gwen fic set in “The Dark Tower.”

You should have trusted me, she thinks bitterly, as Gwen’s screams turn into sobs and Morgana’s own eyes sting. I loved you, Gwen. I loved you so much.

There’s a Lesson Here, I Just Don’t Know What It Is Yet: Still need to finish this Natasha/Yelena fic, still kicking myself over using an espionage plot, why did I do that.

“I’m on assignment,” she said blandly, rocking back on her heels, perched still too close. “And you? Still dancing for the Russian government?” Dancing. Yelena wondered if that was deliberate. After their last meeting, she’d tried learning to dance, briefly, but nothing about it had suited her.

the best all lack conviction: Fenris/Anders post Dragon Age II; they bicker, a lot, and maybe make out some too, eventually. Probably I will beat them up a lot too.

The wind blew the rain in on them again and the mage groaned, hunching his shoulders. “I hate Fereldan,” he muttered. “I truly do.”

“Perhaps you should have run to Tevinter,” Fenris said snidely. The mage gave him a baleful look but, to his surprise, did not say anything. He looked so pathetic that Fenris almost felt guilty. Almost.

Witches: Morrigan/Surana femslash fic, in which Merrin Surana would like to bang Morrigan and also become her.

She was tall as all humans were tall and carrying a staff on her back. She looked down her narrow nose at Merrin, Alistair, and the rest, air one of boredom and vague distaste. She was the most magnificent thing Merrin had ever seen.

The Interim: The fic about Morgana’s journey from dying of poison to coming back to Camelot dramatically changed and set on revenge.

She struggled to understand what was going on. To work out what had happened (he poisoned me) and what was happening now. It all hurt too much, though, and all she could do was lie there and whimper and hate how weak she felt. A cool hand pushed her hair off her brow. “It’s all right, sister. You’re safe.”

how this grace thing works: The first year at Grimglass lighthouse.

Felix up and vanished into the library the second he got the chance. He probably would’ve stayed there forever without eating if I hadn’t dragged him out sometimes for meals. He said the previous virtuer had just shoved books in wherever they fit so it’d be impossible to find anything. He dithered over a lot of ways of organizing them before settling on category and author, and then he’d mutter to himself about what category this book or that one really belonged in.

[imagine-loki]

A Warrior’s Life

TITLE: A Warrior’s Life

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter Seventy-Four

AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Viking Loki coming to your village, raiding, and pillaging, before deciding there is something about you that intrigues him and deciding to take you back to Asgard with him. There, you are forced to learn a new life and language, and though you hate what has happened to you, you learn that Loki is not as bad as you think.

RATING: Mature

Maebh looked at the bed her oldest son used to occupy, Liulf looked around calling Nafi, but could not find his oldest brother, the other children had made a few jokes about not having to listen to him snore any longer on their return, but other than that, there was only sadness as they looked at anything Nafi owned. Loki stood watching Maebh, his own grief being sidetracked by hers. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the side of her face. "Staring at it won't bring him back."

"I miss him."

"He is not dead or harmed, my love, he is simply away from us, making a good life for himself. A king, who would have thought?"

"He will excel at it."

"Of course he will, he is our son."

"He knew, didn't he?"

"Maebh?"

"He knew you were not his father."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I felt it, in my stomach, there was one day, he came back from some time with Barwin, he looked at you oddly, then at Vali and the twins, he knew. That night, as I worked on getting the younger ones to bed, he made a comment, something along the lines of how we treated him the same as them, I just thought it then, that he knew, and he did."

"He did."

"Did he hate us for hiding it?"

"No, he loved us more, as you said, we treated him as one of ours, he knows he is loved."

"I never carried him, but…"

"He is ours, Ásvaldr knows the truth and he does not care either, Anna adores him, she will love him as long as he loves her."

"So many do not get that." Maebh acknowledged, "Will Danu?"

Loki stiffened. "I do not care if the Great Odin himself came from Valhalla and told me she was to wed a man, if she does not seem happy with the fit, it will not happen. My children will know the happiness I have gotten the chance to know. They will know the joy of loving their wives, of her telling them she carries their child, willingly."

"And when Danu becomes with child?"

"I will strike down the man who did so, husband or not."

A tad hypocritical, is it not?" Maebh smiled. "How is that fair, if my father had been alive could you see him doing such to you?"

"He would not be much of a man had he not at the very least threatened me."

"True, he would have probably sat you down and taken a knife before telling you if you touched another woman while I carried your child he would personally remove your manhood slowly for the dishonour."

"Good to know," Loki shuddered, not liking her supposed glee in that thought. "We need to go to Thor tomorrow, he said he has something to discuss."

"Very well," she turned and collected Liulf into her arms, "tonight I want to restore madness, the children all need to get back to routine." She stated as she brought Liulf into his crib. "I also need to speak with your mother."

"I am here my dear, how can I help?" Frigga walked into the room, having been going through the main area of the home just as Maebh had been speaking.

"Do you wish to have some space for yourself or are you happy to remain with Danu?"

"At my age, in with my granddaughter suits me better, she keeps me warm." the old woman stated.

Maebh and Loki did not argue, it was nothing worth arguing over, it was Frigga's decision to make, Danu, they knew, would gladly remain with her grandmother. "So that leaves do we keep the room bare or put Vali in there," Loki stated.

"He wants to remain with his brothers," Frigga stated knowingly, looking sadly at the room once occupied by the boy she too loved as her blood.

"He is heir to the house," Loki commented.

"That does not mean he needs to be above his brothers in any other manner." Maebh pointed out. "We will take the pelts, give an extra to Liulf, Frigga and Danu and whichever of the boys want it, though as Vali sees himself as part wolf, I can foresee he will not want it."

"We need to stop that story," Loki growled.

"On Midgard, there are special shapeshifting wolves, capable of taking the form of a human, they guard the women and the young, protecting them from both seen and unseen things, perhaps Vali is one." She smiled, ignoring Loki's grumbling. "I often think that perhaps that is how I came to know he was in trouble that day."

"If I had not…Ouch!" Loki rubbed his head before looking to either side of him, since both his wife and mother decided to slap his head at the same time. "I am after marrying my mother." he groaned.

"Indeed it would seem so," Frigga retorted. "And in such, I can already tell what Maebh wishes to say. Enough of this, he is alive, it is the past, it could have happened any, so we will no longer speak of it and continue our lives. Vali is in no manner hampered by it, he utilises the arm fully, he is somewhat of a leader to the others his age, so there is no use in even discussing it any longer, am I understood?"

"Yes, mother." Loki agreed, knowing better than to argue. He watched as Maebh settled their youngest son, his older brothers joining quickly, all of them still tired from their journey home. "Kushtrim, what is the matter?" he asked, seeing the older twin looking around somewhat lost.

"Nothing father."

"Kushtrim?" Maebh watched as Loki walked over to their middle son, kneeling in front of him, but Kushtrim would not meet his father's eye. "Do you wish to talk about it away from everyone?" the brown haired child nodded.

"Vali, make sure Danu is getting ready for bed also," Maebh instructed, giving her husband a nod as he encouraged their son to go outside with him.

They got as far as the outhouses, "What ails you son?"

"Am I a disappointment?" Loki stared open mouthed in shock at what his five-year-old was asking. "I am not as strong as Vali, nor am I as smart as Danu, I get called a cry baby and I get sea sick."

"Am I a disappointment because I was never as formidable as Thor? Do you think me a farce in his shadow?"

"But you are strong and smart."

"According to whom?"

"Everyone, the boys say it at training, that mother could never have had a ratty little think like me. I am no son of the formidable Midgardian Warrior Woman and the second son of Odin."

Loki swallowed, recalling the cruel taunts some had against him as a youth for not being as big built as his brother, for being so small and pale in comparison. "You are our son, you are as much our son as your brothers, I will never forget the day your mother birthed you, she had to be so strong to carry you both, birth you both, you think yourself weak? The moment your little body took its first breath, all knew you had come to be, for you declared to the realm that you had been born, no creature I have witnessed since has been as vocal as you. You are different to your brothers and sister, as they are different from one another, none of you are the same, five children, and not one of you alike, even in appearance, you all have taken a mix of our features." Loki chuckled, noting how indeed, you could tell his children were siblings from the eclectic mixture of their combined features, but no two were identical. "There is no shame in that, you look a lot like your mother's younger brother, why do you think she has such a fond smile when she looks at you, she is able to see him again through you."

"How come we never met her brother?"

"Sadly, your mother lost her whole family before she came here and became your mother, she never got to see them grow, you are how she will ever come to know what her brother would have looked like. It is your special gift to her in a strange way." Loki smiled sadly. "We love you Kushtrim, as you are."

"I will never amount to anything, I am below Vali."

"What have I amounted to? What will Liulf amount to? You take too great a stock in the opinion of others, you let their negative thoughts seep into you, do not allow it, rise above it, show them they are wrong."

"Am I like you, father?"

"In most ways, yes, a second son, of sorts, now that Nafi has gone to fulfil his life on Svartalfheim. I have not done badly, look around, you want for nothing, you can be as lucky should you try."

"But you have mother."

"I do not follow."

"You have mother, I do not want mother." For a moment, Loki did not fully comprehend what Kushtrim was saying. "I cannot marry my mother."

Loki laughed, "No, you cannot, she is my wife, and I do not ever want it any other way, but you will get a wife of your own."

"Will I have to kiss her?"

"It is common practice."

"Euch."

Loki laughed again, "You will not say that when you are older." He smiled knowingly. Because of intelligence of his children, he forgot some days that they were still so young, and saw the world in a far simpler manner than he did. "You are no disappointment to us, my son. If you need further proof, wait until I tell your mother your fears, she will show you how unfounded they are. But thank you for telling them to me, you can always come to me, I will never dismiss you, do you understand?"

"Yes, father."

"Now, go get some rest, you are back to training tomorrow."

*

"Dare I ask?" Maebh queried as she got into bed with her husband. Loki hummed, half asleep. "Kushtrim?"

"Our son is under the impression he is a disappointment." He felt his wife staring at him. "I, of course, rubbished such claims, but you know how he is, he is more sensitive than most his age."

"He is not as mature or as strong willed as his brothers, that does not make him a disappointment." Maebh sighed. "My poor little boy."

"Do not fret, I have him remembering that I too am not the big brother, sturdy and strong, and I am faring well."

"Faring well, Loki, you are setting him up to fail, for you have struck gold in your good fortunes." Maebh smiled as he pulled her against him before she pulled him over her. "Loki?"

"Yes?"

"I want another."

Loki's smile fell from his face, "Maebh, you are simply mourning Nafi's leaving, you have made it more than clear, no more."

"Please Loki."

"I am not filling you with a child to fill a void in yourself, if you feel the same when you have accepted our son's leaving, I will gladly put more of my children in you to grow, but until then, I do not want you resenting another child because of badly made decisions."

"I loathe your logic right now." She growled, knowing he would not be swayed.

"I do this because it is right, not because it is what I want."

"Do you want another?"

"Logically, I know you do not, but to see you, swollen again, another one of my children showing the world how greatly I adore you, Norn's I adore it."

"Does your disapproval of trying to get me with another child extend to us…Norn's yes." Maebh's question was answered by her husband filling her in one thrust.

"Do this tell you of my willingness?" Loki grinned before he began to move.

*

"Both of us?" Loki asked. "What both?"

"You and Maebh," Thor stated factually. "They asked specifically."

Maebh stood at the far side of the room, pacing. Her husband, her brother-in-law, Heimdall and other members of his council, watching her as she did so. "Who is 'they'?"

" The Lords Eoin and Diarmaid and even that King you told us of. It will be the lords that you will meet, however."

"Niall did not get to the position he is in by being foolish and dealing with situations that he may not be in the greatest position in," Maebh commented. "Where should this meeting take place, and more importantly, what is the issue he wishes discussed?"

"He wants it at your father's castle, to discuss our plans for Midgard long term, he is not happy we have a base there, he knows there is a chance we can decide to further our interests on Midgard," Heimdall explained.

Maebh looked out the window, she could see Kushtrim with boys older than him in a grouping, she noticed he was being taught to carve with them, something Vali was nowhere near learning. "My old home, on Midgardian land, where they outnumber us thousands to one, are they so foolish to think we could ever agree to such, do they think us utterly moronic? It will be Vanaheim, the outland that is in sight of there, that is where we shall meet, for if they wish to attack, they will have to sail and if they wish to sail, they will be no match for our boats, we can flee safely." She instructed.

The men looked to Thor, who nodded, agreeing with her idea, knowing none was as cunning as his brother's wife. "The children?"

"In what realm do you think I would risk any of my children in an ambush?" Maebh growled. "They remain here, safe."

"I should warn you." She turned to face the King. "They enquired to your daughter's age."

"Never." Maebh snarled.

"Over my maggot-riddled corpse." Loki rose to his feet, the chair crashing to the floor behind him.

Thor raised his hand. "Peace brother, they too asked Helga's age, but as you know, she is promised elsewhere." There was a sadness in his tone, his oldest child and only daughter had been forced as a bargaining tool with Alfheim, though she thankfully had gotten a younger man, not much older than her, who seemed to be of good heart. "It was made clear, none of your children would be used for such things."

"Has not the eldest already been bartered off?" Olaf commented. "If it prevents lives lost, why not trade off the girl?"

Fandral, Heimdall and Thor were the three between Maebh and Olaf, and all three immediately scarpered out of the way as the small woman bolted across the room at a speed that made her seem much like a blur her hand around Olaf's throat, a dagger she kept on her out and to his juggler, which was pushed up towards the surface, such was his fear. "Contrary to your pathetic opinion you filthy maggot, but I do not birth children to make your life easier. My son was offered a great life with a woman he will love with his entire being, ergo I reluctantly let him go, but I am never going to let my little girl go solely to be raped before she is old enough to even bleed, because that is what they will do simply because she is my daughter. They have done it to girls younger than her. Do you think I will allow such a fate befall my only daughter, her father's imagine but my spirit, they would have her throat slit before the end of the first night, because like me, she would never yield and they would soon realise it. No, there will be no child brought from here, not even the daughter of a wench, no child will be sacrificed, I will give them my head first." She released him once more and he fled backwards. "I will go, but only to make them understand, there is no bartering of children, not from Asgard, if they want to pawn off children, that is one thing, but ours, all of ours, are not for such a fate." there was a cheer of agreement from those gathered. "When do we leave?"

"I will send the message immediately for them to meet you on Vanaheim, give in three days to get there before you, if they decline, you can always return home," Thor stated. Nodding, Maebh looked to her husband for a moment before she left the room.

"Norn's have mercy on the creature who dares demand why little Danu is not up for debate," Fandral stated. Loki snarled before he too left. "They will tear him limb from limb."

"Maebh?" she raised her hand and Loki silenced, so she beckoned him forward. "What is he doing?" Loki pondered aloud.

"He thought himself a disappointment." Maebh scoffed. "He is at least five years younger than the next youngest." She smiled proudly. They watched as Kushtrim chiselled at a piece of wood while his instructor stood over him, simply stating how he needed to keep his eye on his work. "He is a natural."

"He has found his place." Loki smiled proudly. "He will be fine."

"You doubted it?" Maebh queried.

"No, I was simply worried."

"This will give him the confidence he requires, he will be able to deal with whatever worries him now."

"We need to protect them."

"Hence why they are not coming." Maebh continued looking ahead.

"Are you alright with coming?"

"I am," Loki looked at her in concern. "My options are to remain here and risk them assuming that Danu is for the taking, or go there and cut the tongue from the man foolish enough to suggest he or his will take her."

"I cannot promise I will have enough left for you to torture, for I want my pound of flesh also," Loki commented. "I will annihilate any who think to do anything that could place her in harm's way."

"Good, together, it will be made very clear indeed then."

[intergalacticstarlight]

🙊💬 Malekith for Rose

(@theaccursedninth from here) - (always accepting!)

"…Tormented."

The word is gritted out reluctantly through her teeth, a sheen of sweat along the brow. The serum bleeds into her nervous system and her head lulls backward, whisky browns rolling and breath hitching just so. Her heartbeat quickens and her pupils swell to the point of overpowering any color that should remain.

There is something of the wolf in her.

"A singular God, harrowing an' terrified an' left all alone on the edge'a creation.. cos'a me…"

Soft lips fall open, a shuddering breath is taken and a singular tear falls down her cheek. The remnants of a sing-song resonate around the edges of the words the blonde speaks next.

"An' when he finds out you've got me… locked away in 'ere… he's gonna tear you apaa-aa-aaart…" The blonde dissolves into giggles, leaning against the restraints of the chair that she's bound to.

[intergalacticstarlight]

✿ Malekith for Rose

(@theaccursedninth sent a meme from here) - (always accepting!)

(SEND “ ✿ ” FOR 2 HEADCANONS FOR OUR MUSES’ RELATIONSHIP.)

The first headcanon is simple: If Malekith did not exist, neither would the version of Rose Tyler that managed to find and remember him. There may be a touch of the entangled timelines to blame, but genuinely and mostly it all boils down to Rose looking into the heart of the TARDIS. The change that occurred within her was permanent, irreversible and immediate. The Bad Wolf is a mathematical certainty that is interwoven into the very equation of creation, the very same equation that can be found at the hearts of The Doctor's 'T'NA. Genetically, if The One exists then so too does The Other.

The second headcanon is a bit more complex but no less simple in nature or theory: The Doctor and Malekith are synonymous in Rose's mind, though she does fully and completely acknowledge that Malekith is not the Doctor that she knew and traveled with. This, of course, does not matter to her as she knows him just as he knew her the moment he saw her. That was all she really needed to confirm that alternate (infinite) dimensional differences be damned- that's Her Doctor, who just looks a bit different and uses a different name than the one she knew before.

She's also much, much older than she looks which does tend to help the situation quite a bit when it comes to her lack of intimidation or fear when faced with him up close and personal. She doesn't hold his darkness against him, because then she'd have to hold her own against herself and she... really would rather not.

[imagine-loki]

A Warrior’s Life

TITLE: A Warrior’s Life

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter Seventy-One

AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Viking Loki coming to your village, raiding, and pillaging, before deciding there is something about you that intrigues him and deciding to take you back to Asgard with him. There, you are forced to learn a new life and language, and though you hate what has happened to you, you learn that Loki is not as bad as you think.

RATING: Mature

“Maebh?” Loki looked around the outhouses, having already looked for his wife inside the house, but having had no luck in finding her. “Maebh?”

“Darling?” he turned to see his mother standing behind him. “Is everything alright?”

“Where is Maebh?”

“At the village, I thought she was meeting you there.” Frigga looked at him. “She took Vali and Nafi with her.”

“Right, I will return soon, I will speak with you then.”

“Is everything alright Loki?” Frigga repeated, looking at her son in concern.

“Fine, I just need to speak with Maebh with regards a matter, I will discuss it more with you when we return.” He gave a small, yet unconvincing smile and got his horse once more, mounting and turning towards the village.

*

“Mother.” Nafi held up the item that Maebh had been scouring the stalls for.

“Thank goodness, I was about to give up all hope, Vali?” Maebh walked over, to her eldest, her second in tow, giving her the small leather satchel she had bestowed on him to pay for the goods they needed. “Now, that is all you could need for training.” She smiled.

“Thank you.” Vali hopped up and down excitedly as he got his new leather gauntlets for his forearms.

“Mind them, I mean it, your father and I are not going to just get you another, they need to be too small or torn beyond repair first.” She admonished. In truth, she and Loki could well afford such purchases, but that did not mean they wished to do so for no good reason.

“Yes, mother.”

“Nafi, what do you require?”

“Nothing mother, father gave me a short sword only a few months ago.”

“Does it need sharpening?” She asked, noticing something the Danu could use.

“Yes.”

“Leave it with your father’s tonight, I will have it done by morn.”

“Fandral asked that you…”

“Stop sharpening your weapons as much, I am aware.” She smiled.

“Yeah.” Nafi half grinned, remembering when he had taken his sword to cut an opponent made of hay only for it to severe it in half.

“How is he?”

“Alright, his leg is better.”

“Good, it was a terrible misfortune he had.” She gave a small shake of her head as she recalled the terrible accident that had befallen Fandral. It was a simple hunt, but his leg got caught in a stirrup, a stag had leapt through the bushes at them, causing his horse to rear and to bolt, leaving Fandral stuck to it, pulled along the ground by his leg. He had cuts and scratches, as well as a sore head, but the worst damage was a broken ankle and knee damage, he had a temporary limp as a result, but he liked to see the good in it. He had a year off the raids and Eir’s apprentice took care of his needs, so well in fact, that she was carrying his child before they were even wed. As a result, he was now one of the more experienced teachers the boys had. “Now, we shall see how your father is fairing, shall we?” she smiled, having gotten Danu the small wraps for her long ebony hair.

“He’s doing well,” Vali replied.

“And what makes you say that?” Maebh half laughed.

“He is standing over there, looking at us.”

Vali pointed through the crowd, causing Maebh to search; sure enough, Loki was ahead of them, looking at them through the market. She gave him a small, loving smile, which he returned. “Something is troubling him.” She commented, to no one in particular, both her sons looking at her, then to their father, not able to see what she was seeing. She walked over through the stalls.

“You look as beautiful as the day we met,” Loki commented.

“You mean like I faced the depths of Hel itself?” she half scoffed. “I was covered in scratches, mud, tears, sweat and blood, remember?”

“And the moment you spat in Thor's face, I knew I would never stop loving the fire in your heart.”

“You make me sound like a dragon, not a woman.” She chuckled. “What ails you, my love?”

“We are needed to go to Svartálfheim, there are new talks required; and as Ásvaldr has come here the past two times, it is our turn to return the journey.” He informed her.

Maebh said nothing for a moment. For a few years, she worried about Loki’s return to Svartalfheim, something she knew would occur at some stage, but seeing as time went on, there had been much communication and indeed travel between the two realms, her concerns lessened, until finally, she was only concerned with the usual issues she had with her husband’s travel, the waters, the boat and marauders. “It was due to happen sooner or later.” She dismissed. “When does Thor wish for you to depart?” Loki did not meet her eye. “Immediately?” she asked, again he said nothing. “What is it Loki, just tell me.”

“I am not to go alone.”

“Obviously, that would make no sense, you would…oh no, no, no, no, no, no.” she took a step back, her head shaking side to side. “There is not an ice blocks chance in Nilfheim you are getting me onto a boat to Svartálfheim.”

“Maebh…”

“Absolutely not, the children...”

“Will come with us.” Loki finished.

“Liulf is too young.”

“Ásvaldr’s girls were younger when they fled Svartálfheim during the coup, lest you forget.”

“Why all of us though?”

“He wishes to speak to us regarding an offer.”

“What offer? Loki?” She did not like the manner in which he was talking to her.

“I think it best we go somewhere more discreet to finish this conversation.” He commented, turning to head to Thor's home, knowing she would not wait until they got back to their own.

Nafi and Vali followed their parents, looking at one another, knowing well that whatever it was, their father was trying to get their mother to a place where her fiery temperature would not be witnessed by the realm.

“Fenrir, did you hear, we have no training tomorrow?” a young boy shouted out as the family made their way through the village.

Loki stopped for a moment, looking to his second son as his friend spoke to him. “His name is not Fenrir.” He growled to Maebh as she rubbed his arm. “What was the point in our naming him if he is just to be named after a wolf but his friends?”

“Need I remind you Liulf is named after a wolf. Vali survived an attack from a wolf, of course the others are going to reference that.” she smiled, knowing that the mere mentioning of the incident could send Loki into a haze of guilt for several hours. “Think nothing of it, instead, think of whatever it is you are avoiding telling me in front of people.”

“I will never get anything past you, shall I?” Loki sighed.

“Of course not, it is one of the greatest attributes of me that you find so endearing.” She smiled. “How bad is it Loki, be honest.”

“It is not bad, just…I suppose, upsetting, realising what is ahead of us in life.” Maebh frowned, not understanding what in the realms her husband was referencing. “Boys,” Loki called his sons back to him, his gaze on Nafi, causing Maebh to eye him carefully.

“Nafi,” Just as Vali’s friend said goodbye, they turned to see Barwin walk over to his friend. Over the years, the boys remained quite close, something Loki would have preferred not to occur, but did nothing to prevent. “Did I leave a shield at your house?”

“You did, indeed.” Maebh smiled kindly, looking at her oldest son’s half-brother. “I will ensure he brings it with him tomorrow.”

Barwin gave her a big smile, having come to really like his friend’s mother, a woman his own mother only ever spoke well of. “Thank you.”

“I am sure we will have you over again soon.” Loki grinned.

“Sorry, sir,” the boy looked down slightly.

Loki frowned. “I am not voicing displeasure at that,” he assured. “We are always glad to have you.”

Barwin smiled once more. “Thank you, sir.”

“We will make sure he brings it with him,” Maebh stated as she turned to leave once more. “Until we see you again.” The boys waved their goodbyes and the family continued on.

“You could have let them speak a little longer,” Loki commented as they walked.

“No, because I need to know what is happening, why I am being brought to Svartálfheim and why you are looking at Nafi in the manner you are.” Maebh looked him in the eye as she spoke.

“Maebh…”

“What are you so concerned to tell me?” she asked almost fearfully as they walked. Loki’s facial expression told her that it could indeed be something bad.

*

“WHAT!” Maebh stared at her husband. “NO!”

“Maebh…” Thor came forward, his hands raised in a non-threatening manner.

“No. we can’t.” she looked between them.

“Maebh, be reasonable,” Loki stated sadly. “With all things considered, it is the greatest outcome for him. He…with the truth of…”

“No, he is our son.” She stated; her heartbreak obvious.

“So we leave Vali with little?” Loki argued objectively. “I do not like it either, but think of it what a life it will be for him.”

“He…he should be here, with us.” She swallowed.

“Maebh, he will be left with nothing, and you know it. Before we had Vali, Kushtrim and Liulf, we could give him more, but now, with…”

“You always said he was our son.” She snapped viciously.

“And I will always love him as such,” Loki growled back. “So much so, I want him to have the greatest life possible, even if I do not get to see him as often as I wish, to give it to him. Princess Anna is to be queen, Maebh, he…he will be king of Svartálfheim.”

“Life is more than a title.” She replied coldly, leaving the room.

“Do you need to speak with her?” Thor asked, walking next to his brother.

“No, she needs to time to process it.” Loki sighed, looking out the door his wife had walked through, knowing she would most likely be heading to find Nafi to be close to him.