#Thor @ Mjolnir: ''defend Jane''

[worstloki]

I understand that Jane and Thor kissing was meant to be about Jane and Thor kissing but I couldn't stop thinking about how the exact same close up camera shots was Loki and how same scenario with more emotion and

???????????

[submissiveking99]

AVENGERS

Black Widow (Heroine/Assassin)

Natasha, the Black Widow. Famous super spy who can use every weapon known to man, as well as her body, to fuffil her mission

Wasp/ Janet Van Dhyn (Heroine)

Janet, the Wasp, is one of Marvel's main heroes. Not that you would know that, of course, with how she has treated. A spunky and energetic fashion designer, with the confidence to back up the fact she has lead the Avengers once or twice.

Rescue/ Iron Woman/ Pepper Potts (Heroine)

Pepper Potts, Tony's long time assistant. Current CEO of Stark... was it Stark International, Stark Enterprises or Stark Tech Limited this month? The company had been disbanded and reformed so much just the different itterations of the company could fill multiple pages of her resume by themselves.

Using the latest Rescue Armour, Pepper has been busy dealing with Tony's messes.

Captain Carter/ Captain Britian/ Peggy Carter (Heroine)

Captain Peggy Carter. In her world she was given the Super Soldier Serum, and ended up in the future.

A serious but much more relaxed hero than Steve Roggers was, but just as compassionate.

Madame Hydra/ Viper (Villainess)

One of the generals of HYDRA, and ocasionally their leader. Sensual but dark, sadistic and evil. An honest to god sadist dommy mummy who wishes to rule the entire world.

Carol Danvers/ Ms Marvel (Heroine)

Carol Danvers was a piolet for the US military. When she was struck by some energy, her cells where mixed with the cosmic hero Captain Marvel and she became a half-kree/half-human hybrid with immense power.

She-Hulk (Heroine)

Jeniffer Walters is the cousin to the one and only Green Giant, the Hulk. Given a blood transfusion to save her life, the gamma infused blood gave Jen a Hulk form of her own. But without the psycological issues her cousin has, she is able to shift between the states at will with anger being a near zero problem with her. Jen prefers to be in her Hulk form as it makes her feel more confident and sexy

Red She-Hulk/ Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross (slash Banner) (Anti-Heroine at worst)

Betty Ross is the Red She-Hulk. Love intrest of Bruce Banner, daughter of General Thaddeus Ross, she has a lot of history with the Gamma situations.

Betty is a physical powerhouse like any and every Hulk, but her spit and blood is also acidic while she can absorb and redirect some level of energy blasted at her.

Black Panther/ Shuri of Wakanda (Heroine)

Shuri is the princess of Wakanda and a computer genius, using an artifical means to copy the abilities the Heart Shaped Herb gave her brother in order to defend Wakanda

Thor/ Lady Thor/ Jane Foster (Heroine)

Jane Foster was dying of cancer when the Hammer of Thor, Mjolnir, came to her. Thor, at the time, being unworthy. Taking the weapon in hand, Jane was worthy and so she gained the powers of her old lover. Ready to defend the realms

Lady Loki (Villainess/Anti-Heroine/Neutral)

The goddess of mischief and stories, who's alliance shifts based off her amusement and her current goals. A powerful mage and confident woman.

Amora the Enchantress (Villainess)

Enchantress is an Asgardian, the goddess of love. Her magic is some of the strongest in all of Asgard. Her beauty and her magic make any bow at her feet begging for her attention

Hela (Villainess/Neutral)

Loki's daughter and the goddess of death, a very sensual woman who wishes to expand her armies to protect her kingdom

Elektra/ Elektra Natchios (Anti-Heroine)

Elektra is of Greek descent and was trained in martial arts almost all her life.

Eventually being taken in and brainwashed by the organisation known as The Hand after she died, Elektra has had an interesting rollarcoaster of a life

White Tiger/ Ava Ayala (Heroine)

Ava gets her powers from the White Tiger Amulet she wears, a family heirloom passed through her family. A brilliant mind mixed with the powers of a savage beast

Squirrel Girl/ Doreen Green (Heroine)

Squirrel Girl is a bit of a joker character. A fun, confident girl... who's powers are that she can talk to squirrels and some slight super strength.

...

And yet she can take out the likes of Thanos. By herself. Without any effort.

Sue Storm/ Invisible Woman (Heroine)

Sue Storm is one of Marvel's leading ladies. One of the core members of the Fantastic Four, Susan Storm gained her powers when herself and the other members of the team as they where hit by cosmic rays, changed forever in some most fantastic ways.

Jessica Jones (Heroine/Private Detective)

Jessica Jones went to the same High School as Peter Parker and had a crush on him. She gained super strength and the ability to fly. She tried to be a hero called Jewel.

....

And then came the Purple Man.

And years of trauma

Jessica is now a serious detective who tries to stay away from all the cape crap. Just trying to make way in this crazy, crazy world.

Nebula (Anti-Heroine/Villainess)

The alleged Grand-Daughter of Thanos. Nebula is a scourge to the galaxy trying to prove herself to/outdo the Mad Titan no matter who, or what, is in her way

Gamora (Heroine/Anti-Heroine)

Adopted daughter of Thanos the Mad Titan, and the most deadly woman in the entire Galaxy. Gamora is a warrior in all meaning of the word.

Total Muses: 18

[aurorawest]

Controversial thought that was bugging me abt thor 4. Thor was already dealing with grief, it just seems a bit unfair that they had jane come back. just eventually to die at the end. Do u suppose they were trying to make it more of a rom com?

Honestly? Really can't stand this idea that fairness exists when it comes to fiction. There is no fair or unfair in fiction—there's only does this make a good story. I don't want everyone in fiction to get a fair shake. That's for real people. Fictional characters exist to tell a story that people want to engage with.

As far as it being unfair for Jane to return to the franchise only to die and make Thor sad—Jane's story in Thor 4 was Jane's story. It really diminishes her character to only view her through the lens of Thor. The point of Jane's death was to hammer (haha) home what a big fucking deal it was for her to wield Mjolnir, defend Asgard, and come to the rescue. The point of it was to show how worthy of Mjolnir Jane was (side note, I HATED that the reason Jane was able to pick Mjolnir up was because Thor told it to protect her). She willingly and knowingly picked Mjolnir up again knowing it would kill her because she couldn't stand by and let Gorr win.

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

July 6th - Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor

Jane Foster lost her mother to cancer at a young age and it had a profound effect on her, leading the young woman to pursue a career in medicine.  She would go on to become an accomplished oncologist and trained as a nurse assisting Doctor Donald Blake.  Blake was actually the human guise of the godly Avenger known as Thor Odinson.  

Jane and Donald ended up falling in love with one another.  Jane came to learn Donald’s true identity as Thor and their romance led to her becoming embroiled in all manner of perilous adventures.  The two eventually grew apart and Jane returned to her pursuit of a career in medicine.  She would later become the personal physician to Tony Stark.    

Some time thereafter, Jane was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.  Her prognosis was quite dire and she entered into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment.  At the time, Thor Odinson had lost confidence in his sense of being worthy to wield the magical hammer, Mjolnir.  The hammer remained on the moon where its essence telepathically reached out to Jane.  Jane was unable to resist the hammer’s call and, with the aide of Heimdall, she traveled to the moon.  There she lifted Mjolnir and was magically transformed into the Mighty Thor.  In this new form, Jane was physically enhanced and her cancer was apparently cured.  

Learning to wield Mjolnir, Jane battled Malekith the Accursed.  Odinson initially attempted to regain Mjolnir from this apparent usurper.  Upon discovering her true identity, however, Odinson accepted her as the hammer’s rightful owner and fought at her side against the various threats toward Asgard and Midgard.  

Throughout her adventures, Jane came to learn that her transformations into Thor did not cure her of her cancer; to the contrary her time as Thor actually inhibited the effects of the chemotherapy and worsened the disease.  In short, the more time Jane spent as Thor, the faster the cancer metastasized.   The threat became so severe that Dr. Strange advised that one more adventure as Thor would most likely prove fatal to Jane.  

Jane chose to sacrifice herself, becoming Thor one last time in order to defend Asgard from the threat of Mangog.  Following a fierce battle, Jane ultimately succeeded in vanquishing the villain.  She then transformed back into her human self and passed away in the arms of Odinson.            

Jane’s spirit was accepted into the halls of Valhalla where she could finally find peace.  During the War of The Realms event, however, Jane was once more called into action and asked to become a Valkyrie and defend Midgard from the Frost Giants.  

Jane has featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by actress Natalie Portman.  The mighty heroine first appeared in the pages of Journey Into Mystery #84 (1962).  

[samasmith23]

Jane Foster: Bridging the Gap Between Godhood & Humanity

The Death of the Mighty Thor is hands down one of the most thematically rich and character-centric storylines I've read from not just Jason Aaron's Thor run, but from his body of comics work as a whole!

It actually took awhile for me to fully unpack all my thoughts about this arc after I initially finished reading it, but that's only because there's just so many layers of meaning & symbolism which makes it a truly worthy finale to Jane Foster's saga as the Mighty Thor!

I stated before that Jane Foster is basically the Anti-Gorr in a previous post linked here:

After I read "The Death of the Mighty Thor" in its entirety, I realized that there was far more meaning to that initial description than I previously thought. Jane is the anti-Gorr the God Butcher not just in how she defends the gods from annihilation, but also in that unlike Gorr who was repulsed by the fact that he was becoming the very thing he despised so much, Jane Foster makes a conscious effort to bridge the gap between mortals and gods.

Jane is similar to Gorr in that she too has witnessed first hand the gods' arrogance & failure to protect those they've been sworn to uphold, and has directly suffered as a result. But where Jane ultimately differs from Gorr is that simultaneously has witnessed and recognizes the god's ability to love and protect others. This why when Odinson becomes unworthy and Jane hears Mjolnir's call in his place, she answers that call. She wields the power of Thor to not only live-up to the standards that the gods who came to her were never able to achieve, but also to provide the gods who have simultaneously failed and loved her a chance for redemption. Jane wants the gods to finally live-up to the ideals that they claimed to represent, to finally become truly worthy of the mortals who worship them.

Consequently, Jane is willing to sacrifice her own life in order to save the Asgardians from complete annihilation at the hands of the Mangog, a monster who sees only the negative traits of the gods, believing that they're incapable of self-improvement or change. Jane dies for love, whereas the Magog dies for naught but hate.

But dying is not the end of Jane Foster's story, as Aaron effectively illustrates that while suffering and dying for the sake of others can be meaningful, it's even more meaningful and important to live for yourself and others. Continuously sacrificing one's own well-being for others is a godly ideal that is unhealthy for the human body, which is demonstrated by Jane's cancer worsening every time she lifts the Mjolnir and the the transformation into Thor purges all toxins, including the chemotherapy drugs (which are essentially radioactive poison), from her body.

While Jane does more than once debate on whether or not this means she should completely cast aside her mortal half and remain as the Goddess of Thunder forever, she inherently recognizes that doing so would mean sacrificing her very humanity. And that scares her since while mortal life is painful and filled with unavoidable hardships, life simultaneously contains simple and unfathomable joys and beauties that are priceless and worthy of preserving, cherishing, and experiencing.

This is a point that was repeatedly emphasized by other characters in earlier in narrative. For instance, while Odinson recognizes that for all the happiness Jane has for provided others as a goddess, he states that she still has plenty to give by living as a mortal as well. Additionally Jane's friend and former S.H.I.E.L.D agent Rosalind Solomon makes an incredibly valid counterargument to Jane's desire to control her own fate and refusal to die due to forces outside her control like cancer. Regardless of whether or not Jane desires to die in battle protecting what she loves versus dying from cancer, dead is still dead either way.

So when Jane quite literally sacrifices her life to give the gods who failed her a second chance, in a deliberate Christ parallel she is resurrected with the assistance of Odinson, Odin and the sentient Mother Storm which previously dwelled within Mjolnir. And upon her revival Jane fully commits to living for herself and those who love her by dedicating herself to combatting her cancer with chemotherapy, while entrusting Odinson and the Asgardians to protect the realms which she had protected in their place.

"There must always be a Thor."

There must always be a Thor because Thor in all their various incarnations represents the ideal version of what a worthy god should be: a being whom continuously strives to protect others, questions and improves upon themselves, and cherishes love and humanity. A humanity which extends to not just humans and the various other races inhabiting the Ten Realms, but also to the Asgardian gods themselves, who are idealized representations of humanity. Jane recognizes the humanizing symbiosis wherein God compliments humanity, and humanity compliments God.

And while Jane is a mortal who lives up to godly standards by sacrificing herself to continuously protect & save others her mortal perspective also serves to remind the gods of their own humanity, thereby successfully bridging the gap between humanity and the divine.

Jason Aaron's run on Thor functions as an insightful inverse of real-life theological teachings for humanity to live by the god's standards, by instead teaching the gods to live by humanity's standards. In essence, Jane Foster is the anthesis to Gorr the God Butcher in that she conversely recognizes the gods as being human instead of inhuman.

And The Death of the Mighty Thor arc effectively serves as the enthralling apex of both Jane Foster & Jason Aaron's thesis on godhood.

[the-sunless-bird]

Stakes and Morals in Thor: Love and Thunder

So, I never really had a ‘goal’ in mind when I created this account. My best friend uses tumblr profusely, however, and I wanted to connect with the world she sees. But now that I’m here, I guess I want to use it to talk about media to some extent. Something that’s been nagging me for a little while, and that I want to talk about is Thor: Love and Thunder, which I watched recently with the aforementioned best friend. I know there’s a lot of opinions on marvel, MCU enjoyment/hate, but I don’t really have any interest in addressing that in particular. I just want to talk about the narrative stakes at play in the story.

 Spoilers for the movie ahead. Also, content warning for child kidnapping, child endangerment, and just general loss of loved ones.

So, for those who either haven’t seen the movie or need a recap, here’s the main relevant information.

 1.      Thor and his people, the Asgardians, have relocated to earth and set up home there following the destruction of their homeworld.

2.      Gorr, the main villain, was a fellow from a planet somewhere unstated. He devoted his life to devotion of his people’s god, but when his daughter died of the god’s negligence, he struggled to come to terms with it. Upon meeting his god, who dismissed his grief and told him he was nothing more than cattle to die in the name of a higher power, Gorr killed his own god and swore to kill all others. (This scene is actually really, really good from a general filmmaking perspective, imo, so even if you don’t like marvel it’s worth a watch).

3.      Thor, at the movie’s start, has been idly travelling the world with the Guardians of the Galaxy and helping people. He receives a distress signal early on and finds that gods across the multiverse are being murdered (by Gorr, though Thor doesn’t realize it at that point).

4.      Returning to earth, he finds his village under attack by Gorr and his shadow monsters. While defending his village, Thor encounters Gorr and they have the typical marvel chit chat. Gorr escapes and kidnaps the Asgardian children.

a.       Thor’s previous love interest, Jane Foster, also shows up and is revealed to be wielding Mjolnir with the power of the hammer. There’s a whole subplot of them reinvigorating their romantic relationship, which isn’t particularly well done in my opinion but is relevant to the climax of the film.

5.      Thor and the Asgardians convene following the kidnapping of the kids, and discuss what to do next. Thor cracks a lot of jokes, and then they decide to go get the help of the other gods to kill Gorr and save the kids.

6.      They go to get help from the gods, the other gods say that they don’t care about saving the kids, and they get into a fight, and decide to go after Gorr themselves. It’s also revealed that Gorr is going to kill all the gods using a MacGuffin.

7.      Eventually, Thor heads off to fight Gorr at the place where’s taken all the kids hostage, which is also the entrance to where he can kill all the gods (disclaimer: I skipped some stuff, but it’s not necessary for understanding the plot).

8.      Thor rescues the children, but instead of escorting them away, he gives them all superpowers and has them join him in the life-threatening fight against Gorr.

9.      Gorr, Thor, and Jane Foster end up in the magic realm where Gorr will get his wish granted. However, Thor finally decides that he can’t stop Gorr and goes to be with the dying Jane in his last moments. Gorr is overcome with grief and instead wishes for his daughter to be brought back to life. He then dies, Jane dies, and Thor is left to care for Gorr’s kid. Yet, despite so much of the story centering around protecting children, I don’t actually feel like our protagonist cares for the children- only his own life. 

Thor never gives the situation the gravity it warrants, in relation to the kids. He’s constantly cracking jokes, trying to make light of the situation. And I do think there’s something to be said about people using humor to try and struggle through the dark moments of light, but this shouldn’t be one of them. It makes him come off as insensitive and a jerk, especially to his community. Think of the stress and the terror and the grief you get when seeing an amber alert- this horrifying and primal terror of knowing someone is missing, ripped from their home and family. I get that whenever that alert pops up on my phone. Imagine if you got forty amber alerts all for people within three blocks of you. People you know, people you’ve seen grow up. That’s what Thor’s faced with, and he laughs and has a general good time despite the impending threat. That doesn’t endear us to him- it makes us feel like he’s a jerk.  When Thor finally rescues the kids, he doesn’t escort them to safety. In order to help him defeat Gorr, he gives them all powers and has them join him in the fight. Thor doesn’t treat the children kindly. He makes bad jokes and makes them afraid.  We’re never shown that the kids matter to him beyond his own life- him helping the kids doesn’t come off as selfless.

           When the final battle rolls around, Thor rescues the kids. He has an opportunity to run, but at that point, Gorr is about to kill all the gods. The gods, I will note, that we have largely seen to be disinterested in mortal affairs. Thor and Jane are, at best, exceptions to this. Thor, instead of getting the children to safety, imbues them with his power to have them join the fight against the shadow monsters and Gorr.

He is endangering their lives to protect himself and his social class. I cannot stress this enough. Thor is willing to endanger the children to protect himself and the other gods.

There is an argument to be made that random killing is bad and whatnot, but that’s not really the point I want to make here. We have yet to see evidence for the gods being kind or good or benevolent. Thor is, at best, invested enough in certain mortals to want to keep them alive. And I say this because Thor is fine killing people. If you look at any of the avenger movies or Thor: Ragnarok, Thor has a kill count.

Most of the gods are cruel and callous. Of the three named sets we’re shown, we have the sun god during Gorr’s intro (cruel), Zeus and the others (callous), and Thor and his friends (the good guys). With the exception of Jane (who was mortal before becoming a god) and Thor, the gods in the movie don’t really seem to be kind or benevolent, loving or nourishing. They’re abusive and negligent, willing to let their followers die to preserve themselves, and Thor does this too. Thor endangers the children to save himself and all the countless gods who, as far as we can tell, aren’t particularly good or kind. They don’t have the same innocence ascribed to them that the children do.

What makes Gorr decide that love is more important than hate is, specifically, Thor’s love for Jane, not his decision to save the children. Gorr’s motivation came from the way that authority figures (the gods) treat the younger generation (the children/their followers). He hasn’t been disproven- he saw Thor endanger a bunch of kids to stop him. Gorr’s change of heart never comes from him being proven wrong. He still has no proof that the gods value the lives of those ‘lesser’ than them. In the climax, Thor did the exact same thing he saw at the movie’s start- let children face mortal peril for his own preservation.

It would even be a simple change- if Gorr had sent the children away, forcing Thor to choose between saving the children and saving the gods, then the resolution relies on us demonstrating that the gods are capable of love. Of kindness. Selflessness. If Gorr is prepared to face Thor at the end, but is force to reckoned with Thor choosing the children over his own life, wouldn’t that be a far more profound and challenging perspective than Thor going to Jane only after he’s lost? 

 At the end of the day, Gorr is never proven wrong. While he’s is beaten, and the plot set him up to be the bad guy, the narrative never actually shows that he was wrong. Where is the love of the gods for their followers? The movie never shows it to us or Gorr, and that’s why I’m left struggling with the muddled mess we’re given. 

Thanks for reading.

[theredlanternavenger]

Earth-21818 Anthology

Intro:A Sight For Sore Eyes

(Timeline:2008, right after the very last scene of What if...? S1E2)

The Lost Prince of Wakanda has found his way home, and King T'Chaka throws a feast to welcome his son. However, things quickly get complicated when an unwanted guest shows up, and with things threatening to come apart at the seams, can our legendary outlaw-prince make it out alive? Sibling bonding and diplomatic talks ahoy.

Pairings:None

Installment #1:The Ravagers Of Penzance

(Timeline:2008, after What If...? S1E9)

It's been two weeks since the defeat of Ego, and the Ravagers are living their best life, stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

One day, they are summoned by the Soopreme Leader of the Talokanil Federation Of Worlds, who displays a sudden interest in them and keeps on insisting that he is NOT evil, but everyone can't help but be suspicious of him. Thankfully, T'Challa, the one and only Star-Lord, is able to reach out to him and something beautiful forms between them, but will it last?

Meanwhile, the Sovereign, jealous of the ever-thriving Federation and determined to topple it, decide that they will do anything to do so, even resort to devious methods...

Expect wacky humor, thrilling action(not really, I suck at fight scenes), nail-biting suspense and an overabundance of singing, including that of Meat Loaf.

Pairings:T'Challa/Namor, Kraglin/Prince Yan, friendships abound

Installment #2:May The Odds Be In Our Favor

(Timeline:2008, concurrent with The Ravagers Of Penzance)

After a long time spent captive by the Collector, Thor Odinson is finally freed, but now he must fulfill a certain requirement to wield Mjolnir again, and he finds himself exiled on Earth, stripped of his powers.

Met with an elderly scientist, a happy-go-lucky young woman and a multitasking genius with a mind-blowing secret, Thor goes on a life-changing journey to retrieve his hammer and regain his worthiness, mending a lot of broken bonds in the process.

Pairings:Thor/Jane, Loki/Sigyn

Installment #3:Trial By Jury

(Timeline:2009, one year after TROP)

After the short-lived war between the Federation and the Sovereign, T'Challa and his Ravager family sets sail again, this time to rescue Mantis's brother Peter Quill from Korath's former boss, Ronan The Accuser. (ignoring how the entire incident was Korath's own fault)

Accompanied by Carol Danvers, a warrior who burns as bright as Earth's sun, they infiltrate Ronan's attack base on a remote planet but are things really as bad as they seem? We'll just have to read and find out.

Pairings:Nebula/Mantis, Quill/Ronan, Taserface/OC, background T'Challa/Namor

Installment #4:Fire Flower

(Timeline:2010, two years after MTOBIOF)

Erica Flora Grey (played by Keke Palmer) is the current host of the Phoenix Force and the defender of Earth, in these trying times. When the heroes that had been captured by the Collector return to Earth safe and sound, Nick Fury, her foster father, sees the perfect opportunity to have her join a team, especially since a splinter cell of the intergalactic terrorist organization known as the Black & White is seeking to conquer Earth.

With the Avengers Initiative in motion, Erica learns to work together with her new teammates, and finds love in the process.

Pairings:Carol Danvers/OC, Steve/Tony, Thor/Jane

Interlude #1:Invincible

(Timeline:2013, roughly during the events of Iron Man 3)

A long time ago, Tony Stark and Valentina Allegra De Fontaine had a love affair, and from that union was born a son, Stellar Stark. But not too long after, Valentina left, marrying Everett Ross instead, and dumped baby Stellar on his father's doorstep.

Now eleven, Stellar learns to navigate the world around him, as well as deal with suddenly having a buncha superpowered uncles and aunts...and powers of his own. A one-shot about the origins of the Stellar Stark character from Fire Flower.

Pairings:Carol/OC, Steve/Tony, Thor/Jane, Clint/Laura, Loki/Sigyn

Installment #5:An Avenger Patchwork

(Timeline:2014, one year after Invincible)

In one universe, the Maximoff twins and the Avengers started out on hostile terms.

This is not that universe.

One day, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff gather up enough courage to escape their captors all on their own and stow away on a boat to America, hoping that they'll start a new life there. Not too long after arriving on the so-called "land of dreams", the super-twins catch the attention of the Avengers, the resident superheroes, and become faced with a two-way path:Will the twins become part of the team, or possibly become their greatest enemies?

Pairings:Steve/Tony, Carol/OC, Thor/Jane, Clint/Laura, Loki/Sigyn

Installment #6:Speedball

(Timeline:2014, one month after AAP)

The multiverse can be a strange thing. Here, instead of following in her father's footsteps as a scholar of Egyptology, Layla El-Faouly is labeled a pariah, and ostracized by her family because of her belief in extraterrestrial life. Years later, the Black & White invasion of New York vindicates her beliefs, and she is called in.

Four years later, while continuing her study of the suit worn by Jered, the strike force leader that attacked New York, Layla comes into contact with the same source that gave him powers, and gains control over kinetic energy, which brings her into contact with the Avengers...and awakens something in her. Could this be fate?

Pairings:Pietro/Layla, Steve/Tony, Thor/Jane, Carol/OC, Loki/Sigyn

Installment #7:Destroy All Weenies

(Timeline:2015, one year after AAP)

After having a nightmare of the Avengers facing the Black & White main branch and getting defeated once and for all, Tony Stark decides to build a suit of armor around the world using Jered's scepter, despite everyone's assurances that he doesn't need to. But, hey, what could possibly go wrong?

When Tony's peacekeeping program goes rogue and forms an unlikely alliance with the cult leader the Avengers had been keeping an eye on, the team might find on their hands a greater threat than ever before...if only said alliance doesn't break apart due to infighting first. On top of that, Stellar believes that his AI "brother" still has some good inside him. Could he be right, or is it just the naivete of a child?

Pairings:Steve/Tony, Carol/OC, Thor/Jane, Loki/Sigyn, Pietro/Layla, Wanda/Vision, Clint/Laura

Installment #8:Live To Rise

(Timeline:2015, two weeks after DAW)

After unsuccessfully attempting to conquer the omniverse, Earth-21818's Kang has found himself back in his own universe, in the year 2015, and finds himself a pawn in a conspiracy much lesser than he.

Swept up in the power struggle between a young scientist, his mentor, and an ex-thief, and with a super-persistent personal enemy out to get him, Kang sets out to show the world that he's not down for the count. Not yet.

Pairings:Kang/Scott, Luis/OC

Installment #9:The Panther

(Timeline:2016, seven years after TBJ)

Crown Princess Shuri is the Black Panther, the legendary protector of Wakanda and the avatar of the goddess Bast. She's also the model of a warring warrior scientist, with a license to kill and the voice of an angel. While tracking stolen vibranium, she gets lost and receives help from a mystery woman in a sparkling gown.

As the two of them travel further down the lane, they become entangled in a bigger conspiracy than either of them expected. Now Shuri must stay alive, complete the mission, and prove to her enemies that the deadliest weapon of all is a little song and dance.

Pairings:Shuri/Monica Lynne, Nakia/OC, Ayo/Aneka

(Oh, and in case you don't know, Shuri is 24 here.) (Also Bast-21818 is an African cat lady version of Cynthia Houston from the Tin Can Brothers musical Spies Are Forever.)

Installment #10:Avenger Family Matters

(Timeline:2016, one year after DAW)

With a super-family that loves him, a colorful and bright school and a stable future as young hero-in-training Starbrand, fourteen-year-old Stellar Stark can't ask for anything more.

However, the launch of the Siwa Accords, a set of legal documents designed to regulate the activities of enhanced individuals, threatens to take everything away and what's worse, his own father supports them. Things get more complicated when three new adults and another teenager enter the picture...

Pairings:Steve/Tony, Carol/OC, Thor/Jane, Loki/Sigyn, Clint/Laura, Wanda/Vision, Pietro/Layla, Stephen/Christine, Shuri/Monica Lynne, friendships abound

Interlude #2:Stellar Homecoming

(Timeline:2016, three months after AFM)

With his dads away in India for their long overdue honeymoon, Stellar is once again left alone. To make matters worse, he gets a crush on a girl in his grade, his best friend Peni Parker has requested his help in taking down a supervillain called Vulture, and homecoming is just around the corner. Can he survive school life and hero work at the same time?

Pairings:Doreen Green/OC, Peni/Michelle Jones, Ned/Betty

Installment #11:Double Trouble

(Timeline:2017, one year after AFM)

Professor Charles Xavier wishes to meet Erica's new avenging pals, and invites them over to Krakoa for a feast, but the fun time of both teams come to a screeching halt when Magneto and his daughter Lorna discover there's an evil power to overthrow, and decide to contact Xavier about it.

Now the Avengers and the X-Men have to work together for the first time, and shenanigans ensue as the two teams attempt to harmonize. Also, who are those "Masters Of Evil", really?

Pairings:Carol/OC, Steve/Tony, Wolverine/Cyclops, Thor/Jane, Loki/Sigyn, Wanda/Vision, Pietro/Layla, Storm/Forge, background Cherik

Installment #12:Hell's Comin' With Me

(Timeline:2017, undefined)

The year is 2017. The United States have fallen into the clutches of AIM, led by Ezekiel Stane, and the Avengers are barely holding on. All this happened because, in his quest of atonement, Kang The Conqueror inadvertently provided the 21st Century generation with the means to time travel, and while plotting to undo the damage he did, he once again crosses paths with his former lover, Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man.

Soon enough, Kang finds the new world is worse off than he imagined, and with the help of Scott and old and new friends, he soon plans to show AIM that he has returned, and all hell followed with him.

Pairings:Kang/Scott, Luis/OC, Yelena/Ava

Installment #13:Calling Dr. Foster

(Timeline:2018, one year after DT)

After a long period of waiting, Thor finally decides to introduce the woman he loves to his extended family on Asgard. Jane hopes things do not end in disaster, as she believes herself unworthy of a god's love, not to mention that she's pretty formidable with electricity but her power pales in comparison to Thor's.

To cheer up her future daughter-in-law, Frigga decides to grant Jane godhood and commissions a special weapon from Nidavellir for her. But some divinities aren't happy with that decision, especially some of Omnipotence City's authorities. Can Jane survive the trials and tribulations of being a goddess, and get her happy ending?

Pairings:Thor/Jane, Loki/Sigyn, Bruce/Valkyrie

Installment #14:On His Excellency's Secret Service

(Timeline:2018, concurrent with CDF)

It's T'Challa's 14th time visiting the Talokanil Federation Of Worlds, and it would turn out just like other times...if not for the fact that Yutel, the most technologically advanced planet in the Federation, has been attacked by Black & White emissaries Blastaar and Una-Rogg, the latter being a Kree warrior...which spells trouble for the Federation AND the Kree Empire.

With the Federation, the Kree and the Black & White locked in a three-way war over the Aether, a substance of unlimited power, T'Challa struggles to keep his cool and tries to solve the problem on his own rather than enlist help from his loved ones. Can the legendary Star-Lord fix everything once again, or will he fail...for the first time in his life?

Pairings:T'Challa/Namor, Quill/Ronan, Mantis/Nebula, Kraglin/Prince Yan, Taserface/OC

Finale:...And Justice For All

(Timeline:2018, three days after OHESS)

Four remarkable people. Three stories to tell. Two warring factions. One last ride. Revengeance hits home.

It was a day, a day unlike any other when it happened. Earth, Asgard, Talokan and numerous other worlds unite for one final charge against the Black & White, to save the universe once and for all.

But as things unravel, the Avengers and their allies discover that the enemy leader is not what she seems to be, and that she started an interplanetary conflict all because of...Thanos?! What the hell is going on here? Get ready for the thrilling conclusion of the Earth-21818 saga!

Pairings:T'Challa/Namor, Carol/OC, Kang/Scott, Shuri/Monica Lynne, background pairings and friendships abound

[thefilmsnob]

Thor: Love and Thunder: **1/2 out of 5

Thor: Love and Thunder is a film of many dichotomies…for better or for worse. The most obvious one is right in the title, evoking the contrast between the romantic storyline and the thunderous action. Other one’s include classic ‘good vs evil’ themes and the not-so-classic ‘male Thor and female Thor’ development. There’s even a black and white sequence. Much of this content is quite enjoyable

The same can’t be said about the stark juxtaposition of manic, candy-coated farce that takes up most of the run time and periods of dark, twisted imagery and sorrow that’s sure to cause tonal whiplash. This is one of the many aspects of the film you might find yourself hating, even though there’s still so much to love. And, suddenly, I’m feeling the urge to belt out Katy Perry’s sensational ‘Hot n Cold’.

Of course, Christian Bale can do no wrong, so naturally he’s one of the highlights of the film. He’s a tragic villain, a loving father corrupted and turned sinister and grotesque, not unlike Smeagol in the Middle-earth saga. As Gorr, he struggles to survive in a desert with his daughter, Love, in the film’s prelude. Despite their prayers to the god Rapu, Love dies, and the Necrosword offers itself to Gorr, who not only uses it to kill Rapu but vows to kill all gods with the corrupting weapon. If you didn’t already know, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a god, so that means trouble.

It also means it’s time to catch up with him and his new allies, the Guardians of the Galaxy, who’re battling strange aliens on a strange planet in an obligatory opening action sequence that’s about as obnoxious and pandering as they get in this series. With a scene that features—among several other eyerolling flourishes—Thor doing the splits to hold up two alien vehicles, writer-director Taika Waititi exhibits the worst tendencies of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his own films, projects that otherwise have much to offer. It sets the tone for a manically paced film that almost immediately whisks us away yet again once Thor learns of the God Butcher.  

We say goodbye to the Guardians but welcome a pair of oversized space goats, the locals’ reward to Thor for helping them fend off their enemy. Throughout the film these goats emit human-like, guttural screams for no apparent reason other than to induce belly laughs from the audience…which they do…several times. I did say there was lots to love about this film.

The bit about Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) stage four terminal cancer might’ve been one of those things if it wasn’t bookended so often with goofiness. Not that the MCU is a prime landing spot for heavy material to begin with, but I can think of several entries in the franchise that would be more appropriate than this one. Thankfully, the scenes themselves, isolated from the rest of the film, are quite touching and tactful. Jane refuses to succumb to this tragic fate, however, so she travels to New Asgard, the Asgardian refuge in Norway, hoping that Thor’s fractured hammer Mjolnir will heal her. Forget healing; it transforms her into another Thor, for crying out loud!

And thank God(s) for that because it’s just in time to help Other Thor, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (Waititi) defend New Asgard from Gorr in one of several forgettable action sequences. And, so, the film continues from here with the requisite team-up of disparate heroes pursuing the bad guy while engaging in banter that oscillates between amusing and irritating. That’s also an apt description of the love story between the Thors who act like nervous teenagers within a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ dynamic that never quite takes off. As usual, all the characters are still quite likable despite having all gotten oddly dopier between films.

No character is dopier than Zeus, played by an almost unrecognizable Russell Crowe with his unkept beard, doughy physique and exaggerated Greek accent. Crowe plays him as an arrogant blowhard who scoffs at our heroes’ pleas for help as he stands on his podium sporting a golden breastplate that might as well be white cloth with the stench of beer and a mustard stain. Which is ironic considering Omnipotence City, a realm that’s home to several gods of whom Zeus is the leader, is an awe-inspiring paradise among the clouds. Like ancient Greece meets Shangri-La, its cascading greenery, ornamental architecture and otherworldly physics amount to one of the film’s few stunning visuals.

That’s not unlike Bale. One of this generation’s greatest actors throws vanity to the wind as he slithers and stalks and hides in the shadows, his weathered face as pale as the robes that adorn his sinewy body. With a personality that’s by turns aggressive and eerily jocular, he recalls the infamous Pennywise the Clown. In simpler terms, he acts unhinged and resembles the undead. It’s too bad the film makers don’t fully take advantage of his character to really dissect the shortcomings of faith and religion, but that would require the impossible notion of Marvel Studios and Disney alienating much of their fanbase and sacrificing precious revenue. That’s not how you build an empire.  

Holding all the pieces of this film together is the narrator, who’s the polar opposite of Gorr. Voiced by Waititi, the unseen storyteller has a gentle, whimsical way with words and tells the story as if it were a children’s fairy tale. It’s a charming touch and describes the events of the film with humour that’s subtle and witty, a reprieve from the comedic bludgeoning you receive throughout most of the film.

Bale’s Gorr and Waititi’s narrator are two of the strongest elements that make up Thor: Love and Thunder. They just don’t belong in the same movie.

[lucianalight]

What do you think would happen if Loki never found out the truth about his origins? What if the Frost Giant had never touched him in Jotunheim? Thor is still exiled, what about Loki?

Very interesting question anon. I’m sure there must be some fics with this idea too. This is how I think things might happen:

So, Thor is banished. Odin would still fall into Odinsleep because he was close to it anyway and the events of Thor’s banishment has weakened him more. Loki still gets to be king. This time he is in a better mental state. He is clearly shaken that Odin has banished his favorite son, so he would try his best that no one realizes about him getting Jotuns to Asgard. But he won’t struggle with any identity issues and internalized racism which resulted in him making hasty and terrible decisions.

I think he would go to visit Thor and inform him of the events. He wouldn’t lie to Thor this time. He doesn’t bear as much resentment for Thor, comparing to when he realized the real reason Thor was the favorite child. He has also seen Thor not being able to lift Mjolnir, so he has time to prove himself a capable king and worthy son to Odin. He also doesn’t fear Thor killing him because he is a Jotun. So he just explain to Thor why he can’t bring him back to Asgard.

W4 and Heimdall still suspect Loki but without Loki visiting Jotunheim and hiding himself from Heimdall they would have no proof against Loki. Also without Loki closing Bifrost, no Destroyer accident would happen.

I think at this point Loki would be considering war strategies and ways to defend themselves against Jotuns. He would be a good king until Odin wakes. In this situation it would take longer for Thor to be found worthy again since Loki hasn’t sent the Destroyer after him.

The problem starts when Thor returns. Would he still want to be the king? I doubt it. He has fallen in love with Jane and has come to love Earh and wants to protect it. On the other hand Loki has proven himself a good king. So, Odin’s plans are in jeopardy. The son who he planned to be the king, doesn’t want it and the obvious choice is Loki who he had planned to make the puppet king of Jotunheim. The drama starts because Odin wouldn’t want to give Asgard’s throne to Loki and truth finally comes to light. But this time Loki isn’t alone. Hopefully Thor’s longer stay on Earth means his new friends have educated him on his racism. So Loki gets to deal with his issues with Thor by his side to support him. Misunderstandings and fights still happen by they’re going to get through this together. And hopefully this time the brothers reconcile for real.

[shieldedbythunder]

hi! i was wondering whether you have any fun headcanons between party thor and president steve. the "what if...?" animated series is just giving us endless thundershield possibilities.

Ooooh, this sounds like a fun combo!! I love all the possibilities this series has opened up.

When the Party Prince himself first arrives in Vegas, SHIELD and President Rogers are quick to convene in case of an invasion. But as the hours pass and the newcomers continue to make merry with no signs of hostility, Steve persuades Fury and Hill to let him meet with their leader as an envoy. If there's no immediate threat, there's no need to go in guns a-blazing just yet, and while Steve might be president now, he's as willing as ever to put himself on the front line to defend the Earth. And with the revelry quickly spreading and causing chaos across the planet, there isn't much time to mull over options.

So Steve's flown out to Vegas, a beacon of blinding lights and thundering music by this stage. His security guards help him push through the heaving throngs of partygoers to find the ringleader, but it's slow going between alien language barriers and the carefree tipsiness that permeates the crowd. After getting directions from a giant rock man and a talking raccoon, Steve doubts there's much that can surprise him about this Prince Thor, whatever he turns out to be.

Which makes it all the more jarring when Steve finds himself face to face with a distinctly human looking Adonis of a man, all golden hair, chiselled muscles and piercing blue eyes. Granted, said Adonis is currently taking enthusiastic part in a keg stand as the surrounding crowds cheer him on, beer spilling on his ornate armour, but still.

Thor finally climbs down, grinning and laughing as he wipes himself down with his cape, and Steve steps forward to introduce himself, gathering himself to make a good first impression. Only for Thor to sling a brawny arm around his shoulders, roaring that there's no call to be without a drink when the Party Prince is in town. It takes a moment for Steve to (reluctantly) disentangle himself and explain the situation, but once he understands everything, Thor's delighted to meet one of Earth's leaders. It is a cultural exchange trip, after all, and Thor wants to experience everything this planet has to offer, so Steve joining in sounds like a perfect idea. Any hesitation Steve feels lasts only a few scant moments with Thor's earnest blue eyes trained on him.

The next few days pass in a blur - though there are a few highlights, including extreme frisbee-baseball games with Steve's shield and Mjolnir, and long, toe-curling makeout sessions at the foam party - but eventually Steve clears his head long enough to see that things need to stop. While Thor does seem receptive and a little shamed at Steve's protests, he's just having too much fun to commit to pulling the brakes on the party. Thankfully, it's at this point that Steve meets up with Jane, aiding her in her plans to call Heimdall and trying to keep the peace between Thor and Carol once she's gone to find Frigga.

From there, things thankfully de-escalate easily enough, as Steve helps supervise cleanup efforts before Frigga reaches Earth. His presence certainly helps bolster Thor's educational cover story, Frigga looking between the two of them with a curiously approving air, but he can't help a smile of chagrin when the whole thing falls through. But even as Thor returns home with his tail between his legs, he has nothing but smiles for his new friends on Earth. Even going so far as to hope, with a bashful smile, that he and Steve can stay in contact to maintain good relations between Earth and Asgard, a request that sets a most unpresidential blush in Steve's cheeks as he happily agrees.

[ellsbclls]

Oooh also this 💋

💋  𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 , 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 —-

SEND A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF YOURSELF AND I’LL TELL YOU WHICH MARVEL SUPERHERO I WOULD CAST YOU AS!

* STORM —-

ORORO MUNROE is the most powerful mutant in the marvel franchise, as well as a fierce Wakandan defender and a loyal member of the X-Men. I was so enamored by Storm throughout my childhood, from the lightning struck hues to the long, white hair, and I can absolutely imagine you embodying a character as gorgeous, powerful, and stunning as she is!

* CRYSTAL —-

CRYSTAL, on the other hand, is a member of the royal inhuman family who was sent to earth when her home was brought to ruin. She has the ability to manipulate the four elements — water. earth. fire. air. long ago, the four na — and i think that her power set is what originally made me think of you! Not to mention that you are absolute royalty, and i could absolutely imagine you holding that sovereign decorum. regardless, she also ends up having a pretty fucked up plot with quicksilver ( who is trash incarnate in the comics ) where he endangers their human child with terrigen gas, but she makes sure that he gets his ass beat! as she should!!

* JANE FOSTER —-

I immediately thought of two characters when I thought of who you should be cast as, and JANE FOSTER was the former. A kind, intelligent nurse who falls in love with Thor and, in the later stages of her cancer diagnosis, is not only tasked with wielding Mjolnir in the god’s place, but does so fully aware of how much closer the weapon’s power brings her to death. She’s absurdly kind, and resilient, and an all around beacon of hope that you continue to exemplify — and I may or may not help that I immediately think of mythology whenever it comes to you.

* VENUS —-

As for the latter character, VENUS is an “honest to gosh siren” who claimed the title of Aphrodite after being cursed with ethereal beauty, and you’d think “but d, when Aphrodite finds out that’s she’s going around plagiarizing her title, she’s gonna turn her ass into a spider, too.” and to that I would say, THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT! but apparently, Aphrodite actually came down and appointed her the role of Aphrodite herself, and if that entire story doesn’t scream a role that you were born to play, I don’t know what does.

[fandomwriterstuff]

Quarantine Queen

Darcy was, for all intents and purposes, an extrovert. She thrived on being around people, engaging with them, all that jazz. So when Dr. Doom’s minions released a pathogen that led to the entirety of Manhattan being quarantined and sick with an extra-strength virus, she started going stir crazy.

She lived in an apartment building not too far from the Avengers Tower (where she worked in the labs). However, she barely left the tower and only slept in her apartment. She never had food stocked in the fridge. Just vodka in the freezer and some microwave meals stacked behind it.

So, when everything went into lockdown while she was asleep, she panicked.

Can I go to the grocery store? I don’t have any food.

She’d sent it in the tower group chat, hoping the resident Avengers would know more about the situation than she did.

Tin Man: What do you mean no food? You’re the one always making us come to family dinner at the tower.

She rolled her eyes and sent back: Yeah, at the tower. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a meal in my apartment.

Tin Man: I’ll have JARVIS order essentials to be sent to your apartment with no-contact delivery.

HawkDaddy: I got the sickness, please send me soup.

Darcy frowned. It had only been a day since the quarantine started, how did he get sick so fast?

Tin Man: I only send delivery to my favorites.

HawkDaddy: :(

Darcy laughed and rolled her eyes. Her friends were so weird. But then again, she was friends with a bunch of super people. She couldn’t even make friends in her apartment complex because she was never there.

She ended up pulling her knitting supplies out from under her bed to make a Mjolnir-themed sweater for Thor. There wasn’t much work she could do from home since Jane was also not in the labs.

She knitted and had Ted Lasso on in the background on the TV until six, when there was a knock on her door. She startled, dropping a stitch, but quickly recovered and hurried to look through the peephole. Nobody there. She opened the door a crack and looked around, nobody was there. But when she looked down there were about forty bags of groceries in front of her door.

She shot a text to the group.

Holy Mjolnir. That is a lot of groceries.

She added a picture of the mountain of brown paper bags in front of her door.

Tony: You’re welcome, kiddo.

Darcy smiled. Tony could be very thoughtful sometimes. As she started hauling it all inside she took a look at what ‘the basics’ meant. It included oat milk, various canned goods and frozen vegetables, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products (her favorite brand of tampons… was he a mind reader?). He’d even sent her over a tin of brownies.

So, Darcy made it a hobby to be a homebody. As long as she could pass the time, she would be okay. One day turned into two, two into three, then it had been a week, two weeks, three weeks since the quarantine started. It took Darcy three weeks to realize a few things. She’d barely changed out of her pajamas in over a week. She hadn’t showered in nine days. She hadn’t ingested anything but coffee and Ritz crackers for six days. She hadn’t answered Jane’s video calls in three days. She’d been ignoring the group text for two, as it was starting to give her heart palpitations. She hadn’t even moved from the couch to go to her bed last night and woke up with a sore back.

She didn’t notice any of this, of course, until she got another video call. Thinking it was Jane, she just swiped it, but instead of swiping to end it, she accidentally swiped to answer it.

“Fuck!” She shouted as her phone slipped from her hand and onto the rug.

“You know a ‘hello’ would have worked, too,” so that was definitely not Jane’s voice.

“Tony?” she asked as she picked up the phone and looked at the man’s face. She wished she hadn’t though, as he immediately raised an eyebrow at her.

“Have you looked in a mirror like… At all in the past several days? That crust looks several days old, mamacita,” Darcy looked down at her sweaty t-shirt and mens boxer shorts self-consciously. “I mean your face, darling. Have you washed it recently?” His tone softened and that’s when Darcy realized something was wrong. Tony wasn’t soft with her. Sarcastic, sassy, nosy, that’s how she’d describe their relationship. But it was never this sincere.

“Hold on,” her voice was scratchy with disuse and she left her phone face up on the coffee table as she hurried over to her bathroom sink.

Shit. She looked like a wreck. Her hair was a greasy mess piled on top of her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she washed her face. It was a miracle she wasn’t developing acne. After she thoroughly scrubbed the grime off her face, she went to change into other pajamas, but she was thinning out. It was weird. She couldn’t find anything that fit right on her body so she just threw on a pair of blue gingham boxers and one of Tony’s stolen band t-shirts.

“That’s a little better,” Tony spoke when she came back to her phone. “Though I would suggest getting in the shower sometime soon.” She rolled her eyes at that. Maybe.

“Why did you video call me?” She pondered as she settled back down into her couch, feeling a little cleaner.

“You haven’t answered my texts in days. I’m allowed to worry about my friends, Darcy Lewis,” he raised both eyebrows at her and she winced. “I know this quarantine has been hard on everyone, but it’s also okay to not be okay. You’re used to being around people 24/7. You even said yourself that you never eat alone.”

“I’m fine,” she shrugged. “Just used to socializing and doing work. I’m not used to sitting still.”

“Are you sure that’s all? Jane said you haven’t been answering her either.”

“Jane snitched?” She gasped and narrowed her eyes. “Who else?”

Suddenly the man looked very innocent.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he spoke calmly with a lilt to his voice.

“Who else told you they’re worried about me?” Darcy wanted to cross her arms but she was stuck holding her phone.

“Jane and Thor, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Steve-”

“How the fuck? What would they know? I don’t socialize with them outside of the tower so how the fuck would they know something was going on?” She spat, feeling a little defensive and teamed up on.

“You haven’t answered Jane’s calls, so she and Thor are concerned. Clint hasn’t seen you on X-Box live since the first week of quarantine, so he asked about you. Natasha seems to just know things, so she asked me to check in on you. Bruce knows what it’s like to have to be alone all of the time and was wondering how his favorite extrovert was doing. And Steve-”

“Go on, I’d like to hear this,” Darcy muttered. She’d had the biggest crush on Steve for the longest time, but they didn’t talk much since he didn’t work in the labs. They only socialized at family dinners and movie nights.

“He hasn’t heard you blast music in like six days,” Tony said with a quirked eyebrow. Darcy sputtered.

“What does that even mean?” She asked, throwing her free hand up.

“He lives next to you?” Tony said it like a question.

“I thought he lived at the tower,” Darcy frowned, eyeing up the wall she shared with the neighbor she’d never met.

“You- you didn’t know you lived next to Steve?” Tony asked exasperatedly. He shook his head and Darcy felt her cheeks heating. She wasn’t the most observant at times, and they’d been in quarantine for three weeks. It’s not like she was going outside. Plus, before that she was barely ever here. “This is a new level of unobservant. For someone who works in science, this is shocking.”

“It’s not that shocking,” she sputtered, scratching the back of her head. “I was barely ever here before all of this.”

“Fair, but still. For someone who has a Steve-radar, you probably could have figured it out. I mean,” he sighed. “You have the same commute. You work in the same building. When you leave movie night you go to the same place.”

“Yeah but usually I go to ang with Jane first,” Darcy felt like she had to defend herself. “I gotta go, I need to take a shower,” and with that, she cut him off and hung up with a huff. Who did he think he was, her father? Jeez.

As she stripped out of her fresh pajamas (probably not so fresh anymore since she’d been sweating nervously under Tony’s interrogative tone), she noticed even more how thin her fingers were looking, how cold she was. That was probably a bad thing.

However, the thoughts flew from her mind as she stepped into the hot spray of water and just leaned into it. It was nearly a religious experience. Or, it would have been, if she didn’t know that gods were just aliens. She took way too long in there, shampooing twice and just letting the hot water pour over her pale skin. She hadn’t been able to go outside and tan at all this summer with Jane being near a breakthrough and now with the quarantine.

All she’d done was knit and watch TV and cook. She finished Thor’s sweater and decided to knit one for all of the resident Avengers. Thor’s was maroon with little gold Mjolnirs all over it. Bruce’s was cream with little chemical structures all over it (she didn’t think he would wear a shirt with the Hulk all over it). Tony’s was black with a red and gold iron man helmet on the front and “I am Iron Man” on the back. Natasha’s was red with little knives and guns all over it. Clint’s (obviously) was purple with bows and arrows all over it, and “Legolas” on the back (Legolas was his favorite archer, how could Katniss or Merida even compare to an immortal elven archer?).

She was working on Steve’s now. He wasn’t all “apple pie America” in his free time, but she still wanted it to be cute and on theme. It was navy blue with a very complex eagle and waving american flag on it. Darcy was struggling, but she would be finished with it soon. She’d been knitting her whole life, her grandmother had taught her when she lived with her for a while.

She’d send them all out once they were done.

When Darcy finally exited the shower, fresh and smelling like roses and strawberries, she noticed she had another missed call from Jane and a few texts in the group chat. Her heart rate started ratcheting up. She could smell her deodorant in the air as she started sweating slightly. She licked her dry lips. Since when did she get anxious about group chats?

She took a look and smiled softly at her friends’ names.

Nat: I’ve come down with something. I blame Clint.

HawkDaddy: I was sick THREE WEEKS AGO. Why do you blame me?

Nat: You have a guilty face.

HawkDaddy: [download image]

Darcy quickly clicked on the attachment and giggled at Clint’s pouting face. She didn’t think before responding.

You know better than all of us that pouting is not going to sway Natasha’s opinion.

There was suddenly an influx of messages, and then Darcy remembered that she hadn’t responded in several days.

Nat: She’s right, you know.

That was the most normal response. Darcy had a feeling Natasha was the most emotionally intelligent one at the moment and didn’t want to make Darcy feel bad about falling into a depression hole.

HawkDaddy: Marceline the Vampire Queen has returned to us!

Tin Man: I think if anything, Short Stack is Princess Bubblegum.

Here’s Brucey: Darcy is Finn. She’s out here saving all of us all the time. Welcome back :)

Darcy smiled at that one. She’d convinced Clint and the scientists to watch Adventure Time.

America’s Ass: I am so confused.

America’s Ass: [download image]

Darcy laughed as she clicked on Steve’s gif. It was Lemongrab screaming ‘unacceptable.’ She didn’t know which was funnier: Steve not knowing what was going on and actually picking a gif from Adventure time, OR Steve having watched Adventure Time on his own and trolling them.

Alien of Thunder: My lightning sister has returned to the glorious group chat!

Alien of Thunder: This is cause for celebration!

Darcy sighed and smiled at her friends’ antics. Her anxiety had leveled out and she was feeling better than she had in days. First, she got to see Tony’s lovely face. Now she got to text with her friends.

However, it was time to finish Steve’s sweater.

“Friday,” she called out to the speaker in her living room. “Play ‘The Final Countdown,’” Darcy grinned a shark-like grin as she sat in her recliner and got her needles out. She could do this.

It was two more days before she called Tony again.

“What’s up stranger?” He asked when Darcy’s face popped up on the screen.

“I need to have something delivered to each of you. Can you help?” She looked over at the pile of sweaters wrapped in brown paper.

“Yeah, sure. Bruce did some tests on Steve and he seems to be immune due to his super DNA. He can pick it up and deliver it,” Tony was fiddling with a machine and Darcy nodded.

“I’ll text him then, thanks Tony!” And with that she hung up. Though she quickly shot a text to Steve.

I have a mission, should you choose to accept it.

While she waited, she decided to deep clean her room. Nothing would help her get out of her quarantine depression like summer cleaning! Once the entire apartment was vacuumed, mopped, dusted, and Lysol’d, she checked her phone again. Steve just replied.

Hit me with it.

She chuckled and sent back a picture of the stack of presents and the caption: I made something for each of you guys and I need help delivering it.

A moment later she sent another text: Tony said you were immune to the virus so I was wondering if you would help.

It only took a few minutes for Steve to reply.

Sure thing, Darcy :)

She smiled, he was genuinely one of the kindest people she’d met. He was just her type, too: tall, strong, he could swear like a sailor (not that he would let Tony know). While she was pondering her crush on the American icon, a knock sounded on her door, startling her out of her daydream and making her heart rate soar.

Hurrying over to the peephole, she let out a sigh of relief. It was Steve.

When she opened the door he looked down and smiled. When Darcy looked down, she noticed her outfit: a pair of black leggings (thankfully she had decided on pants that morning), and a “HULK SMASH” t-shirt with green and purple tie dye. Well, no use being bashful, she smiled gratefully at the man and let him in.

“I guess since you’re immune you’re allowed to come in,” she quipped and Steve chuckled.

“Thanks,” he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “What did you make?”

“It’s a surprise,” Darcy winked and Steve felt a blush creep up his neck. “I can’t tell you because I made you one, too. You can’t open yours until everyone else has theirs, too. Okay? And no peeking at theirs. And don’t look in the group chat until you open it. Got it?”

“That’s a lot of rules, Darce,” he was smiling, standing in her newly cleaned apartment and in her personal space like it was totally normal and she hadn’t been isolated for nearly a month.

“I know, but it’s an important mission,” she loaded his arms up with little brown packages and sighed when he went to leave. He turned back to her with a curious look on his face. “It’s nice being able to see somebody in person,” she shrugged and he nodded sagely.

“Well, after I go see everyone I should self-isolate for a few days to make sure I’m not carrying any germs, but maybe after we can get together and watch a movie?” He cocked his head and smiled that winning smile at her.

“That would be lovely,” Darcy couldn’t help but return his smile, and hurried to escort him out. “No peeking!” She called as he laughed his way to the stairwell. He was such a good guy.

Darcy waited anxiously as Steve made his way to the tower and the other Avengers’ abodes. It was taking a little while though… Maybe he had walked? Darcy was nervously scrolling through her Instagram feed when the first message popped up.

It was a picture of Clint’s sweater.

HawkDaddy: Oh Em Gee, Darcy. It’s PERFECT.

Darcy felt warmth blooming in her chest at the sentiment. She loved giving to people. She thrived on happiness.

She kept quiet as the pictures started coming in. Tony was next, and then Bruce (probably working in the labs together with their N95 masks on).

Tin man: Short Stack, you’ve outdone yourself.

Attached was a photo of the sweater (front and back) compared to his actual face plate. It was pretty good, if she did say so herself.

Here’s Brucey: This is perfect, Darcy.

Bruce had actually included a selfie of himself giving a thumbs up. It made a giggle bubble up out of her chest. Nat was next, including a picture of her sweater next to her favorite knife and a handgun with the message: They are very realistic, I’m impressed.

That was a good compliment, and it went straight to Darcy’s head.

Thor was next, and he sent a picture of Jane absolutely drowning in the large sweater, and then a close up of a tiny knitted Mjolnir.

Alien of Thunder: A most excellent representation of my hammer, lightning sister. I shall wear it with pride.

Last, she waited for Steve to get home and open his.

When it finally came in, Darcy giggled at the image of Steve wearing a knitted sweater with an eagle and a billowing flag, hands on his hips. It was a sight to be seen.

America’s Ass: I’ve never worn a more appropriate sweater.

Darcy finally wrote in the group chat: Quarantine phase I: Darcy gets bored and knits everyone a sweater.

She was met with ‘LOL’s and laughing face emojis. Life was good for today, nothing dark on the horizon, she’d made her friends happy, and she had an upcoming movie night with Steve.

Darcy settled in on her couch and got ready for a night of Adventure Time.

Darcy spent two days in her post-sweater-delivery happy mood. Two excellent days where she showered, ate three meals, did a workout, messaged all of her friends. But reality set in. She didn’t know when she’d see them again. She didn’t know when she could hug Jane or go back to work. She hadn’t talked to Tony or Pepper but she was still getting her biweekly paychecks. She felt guilty about that. She felt guilty that she wasn’t brainy enough to help fix the virus or strong enough to have fought Dr. Doom’s minions.

So she was laying on her side on the couch listening to sad music on day three after the delivery. She hadn’t showered or eaten yet and it was four in the afternoon. Her phone buzzed and she ignored it, content to wallow in her Star Trek fleece jumpsuit. Her phone may have buzzed a few more times, but Darcy didn’t pay attention. She was busy having some time to herself.

She did just that for another three days, and took notice again of her slimming figure.

“Who knew depression holes and not being hungry would be the thing that finally helped me lose weight?” She asked the universe.

Darcy had gotten another shipment of food and supplies, but she didn’t Lysol down her door or clean each item before using them this time.

And she would pay for it.

She woke up on the sixth day after the sweater delivery feeling oh so tired. Figuring it was due to the lack of sustenance and exercise, Darcy decided to make herself some toast. She barely made it out of her room before the dizziness hit her.

Darcy sent a text to the group.

What are the symptoms? Help a girl out.

She started getting responses immediately.

HawkDaddy: Fever, body aches, fatigue

Nat: Dizziness, lessened appetite

Tin Man: Runny nose, sinus congestion, vomiting

Darcy gulped from her position on the floor (she sat down in the doorway when she started getting dizzy).

How many do I have to have before I have to go see a doctor?

She groaned as she sent the message and pulled herself up, trudging into her kitchen. The thought of ingesting anything nauseated her, so she made her way back to the couch, where she promptly fell asleep.

She woke up at noon choking on her own snot.

“Fuck,” she got the word out before she stumbled into the kitchen to blow her nose. After she’d friction burned her nose by using napkins as tissues, she slowly walked back to the couch (thanks dizziness) to check her phone. Three missed video calls from Tony, one from Jane, and a lot of texts.

America’s Ass: Are you alright, Darcy?

That was not in the group, it was a separate message, so Darcy answered that with a message before looking at the group.

I woke up super tired, super dizzy. Was awake for five minutes before I passed out on the couch. Woke up a disgusting mess and had to blow my nose with napkins because I don’t own tissues. So no, probably not.

Then, she checked the group chat. It was basically a conspiracy theory contest to guess what had happened to Darcy over the past few hours. Had she passed out from sickness? Gotten annoyed and started ignoring them? Fell down the stairs? Gotten kidnapped?

She shook her head and looked down at Steve’s next text.

I’ll make you some soup. Drink lots of water and get lots of rest.

She smiled at the sentiment. Steve was really sweet. She did what he said and grabbed a cup of water before retreating to the couch and scrolling through her Facebook. She kept getting group texts, though, so she put her phone away and threw on some mindless TV.

Darcy woke up to a knock on her door. It startled her, but she figured it was probably Steve. Nobody else would risk coming into contact with another human being. Darcy shuffled over to the door in her fleece pajama pants and birthday hedgehog t-shirt (a classic pajama day outfit) and looked through the peephole. She was right, Steve was awaiting her.

“Hey Darce,” he smiled down at her when she opened the door. “How are you feeling?”

“Like garbage,” she muttered. “Please, come in,” he stepped inside with a Tupperware full of noodle soup. “Oh my god, you really made me soup?” She looked up at him with wide eyes and he smiled bashfully.

“Friends don’t let friends get sick and not have soup,” he laughed and Darcy turned, misty eyed, towards the kitchen. People didn’t often do nice things for her, that was her job.

“You’re a lifesaver, Steven,” she spoke once she’d gotten control of her emotions and ushered him towards the kitchen table. “Come, sit with me,” she groaned as she lowered herself into the chair. The body aches were coming in waves.

“How are you holding up?” He asked once the two were sitting and Darcy had a full bowl of steaming soup in front of her.

“Well I think I’ve definitely got the virus. Either that or I’ve got a serious case of the flu. But I got my flu shot this year so…” She trailed off and shrugged. Steve frowned and reached over to press the back of his hand against her forehead. She tried not to act startled at the contact. It had been… Some amount of weeks since she’d touched another person.

“You do feel warm, do you have a thermometer?” She shook her head at his inquiry and the frown deepened. She didn’t like making Steve frown.

“Is it even worth going to the doctor?” She sighed and slouched into her chair. “It’s not like they can do anything but tell me to ride it out.”

“They could always prescribe you something for the symptoms,” he shrugged, looking thoughtful. “Something for the dizziness and aches.”

“Maybe, I’ll consider it,” she took a careful spoonful of soup and frowned. “I can’t taste it. Why can’t I taste it?” She took another spoonful and looked up at Steve with wide eyes. “Is that a thing?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t been keeping up with the news since it doesn’t really affect me,” he trailed off with a sheepish look on his face. “I’ll ask Tony.” He whipped out his smartphone and shot a text to Tony, fingers flying over the keyboard.

“I’m so sad I can’t taste your soup,” she was full of woe. “This is a travesty,” she whined and set the spoon back down. “I wasn’t even hungry and now I can’t taste anything?” She looked up at Steve with a pout.

“You should still eat, Darcy. I know it’s not super pleasant, but you need fuel,” he offered her a sympathetic smile, and gestured for her to take another bite, which she did (albeit slowly and with less excitement). “Tony said loss of smell and taste is a common symptom,” Darcy stood abruptly, ignoring the dizziness to find her lighter and light the ocean scented candle that had been sitting on her counter for a year. She lit it without preamble and then leaned in to give it a good sniff.

“Awe, come on,” she bemoaned, looking at Steve with that rumpled kitten look that made him want to wrap her up in a blanket and cuddle her.

“No scent either, huh?” He asked and she nodded, blowing out the candle before returning to her soup. “You’ll get through this. I’d be happy to drive you to the doctor if you’re not feeling well enough to drive,” Steve offered and Darcy was struck once again by how kind this man was.

“You’re too nice, Steve. Someone’s going to snatch you up one day,” she winked conspiratorially at him. He flushed, and she smiled inwardly. “Though, I don’t have a physician. I just go to medical at the tower.”

Steve hummed in understanding. It made sense for her, she lived, ate, and worked in the tower. No need to find a physician elsewhere when she could get treated at the state of the art facilities right nearby.

“To the tower then?” He asked as Darcy took the last few bites of her soup.

“To the tower,” she confirmed.

“Would you like to go now?”

She thought for a moment.

“Let me change and grab a mask from Tony’s most recent grocery drop. And then I’ll be ready,” she wanted to rush, but moving too fast had her head spinning. So, she shuffled over to her room, one hand on the wall at all times to keep her precarious balance.

Once she was in a pair of comfy leggings and a warm sweater (this one was violet), she threw a beanie over her slightly dirty hair and slapped a mask on her face.

“I’m ready,” her voice was muffled and Steve raised his eyebrows.

“It’s summer, and you have a fever,” he was nearly chiding her and she pouted. Unfortunately, the look went unnoticed past her mask.

“I’m chilly,” she finally said and he got that worried look again.

“Come on,” he held his arm out for her to take and she latched on gratefully. The dizziness was getting to her. “I texted Tony and asked him to have someone ready at medical for us,” he spoke softly as they headed for the elevator. It was a short ride down, and not too long by the time they made it to the tower.

“Short Stack, you look severely overdressed,” Tony was also wearing a mask, maybe two by the looks of it. He eyed their linked arms and quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that about?” He wasn’t one to mince words.

“Tony, now is not the time,” Darcy grunted through her mask. “I am freezing, I am dizzy, I sneezed into this mask more than once. I need Steve to help keep me from falling over. Are we good here?” She narrowed her eyes, attempting to get her frustration across without the lower half of her face. It worked.

“Right as rain, follow me,” Darcy could see his fingers flying over his fancy phone, but couldn’t tell who he was messaging. Her phone wasn’t vibrating, so it was unlikely to be the group chat.

When they made it to medical, Steve helped Darcy into a chair and then stood there for a moment, looking out of place.

“You’re welcome to stay and sit, Steve. You could also go explore the tower or something but I am unlikely to stand up without assistance again,” she spoke quietly, and he gave her a little smile before sitting down next to her.

“Not much for me to do in the tower, what with everybody being home from work,” he shrugged. “I have been going a little stir crazy.”

“You and I both. I miss Jane and her crazy science benders. I miss all of the scientists, actually,” Darcy frowned, picking at her fingernails (a habit she’d picked up recently). “I miss family dinner nights,” she muttered and Steve nodded in agreement.

“You do make excellent dinners, and it’s nice having some off-time with the others,” he added and she smiled with her eyes.

“Thanks, Steve-o.”

It looked like he wanted to say something else (she could tell because he didn’t need to wear a mask), but doctor McCoy walked in.

“You look tired, doc,” Darcy commented. There were red lines around where his mask sat on his face, and his usually fiery eyes were dulled.

“It’s been a long few weeks, Lewis,” he countered and she nodded. “Captain Rogers,” he nodded to Darcy’s escort and the super soldier nodded back.

“Bones has been dealing with me since I moved to the tower. For all sorts of things,” Darcy explained their familiarity.

“You come here a lot?” Steve asked with a concerned laugh.

“I get into a lot of lab accidents. One time Thor hugged me too hard and bruised my ribs. Clint once fell out of the vents and onto me and gave me a head injury. For someone as robust looking as I am, I am quite fragile,” she shrugged at Steve’s bewildered look.

“Well you are only human,” Doctor McCoy noted before getting into professional mode and taking her vitals.

“Why are you called Bones?” Steve asked when he was taking Darcy’s temperature.

“It’s a nickname his college roommate gave him, you tell him doc,” Darcy smirked and the good doctor rolled his eyes.

“My wife got everything in the divorce. I got nothin left but my bones,” he sighed dramatically before announcing that she had a fever. “What other symptoms are you having?” As they got into the nitty gritty, Steve reclined in his chair and watched with interest. It seemed like Darcy had friends everywhere. In medical, in the labs, with the security team and the Avengers. Hell, he’d even seen her bring coffee down to accounting before.

“I’m gonna be straight with you, Lewis,” the doctor sighed, looking down at his notes. “There’s not much I can do for this virus but treat the symptoms and hope you ride this out. You can take this for the fever, and this for the runny nose and sneezing,” he looked up at her as he passed the post it note over. “Not much I can do for your taste, smell, and dizziness, but I’d suggest keeping in contact with your resident super soldier in case something happens,” he eyed Steve up at that, and the other man nodded his agreement. “Drink lots of water, invest in some gatorade. Don’t drink it straight, mix it half and half with water. It tastes gross but it’s better for you. Get some rest, and I suggest finding a show to binge watch until you’re feeling better.”

“Any recommendations for that, Doc?”

“I highly recommend Star Trek,” he murmured with a smile.

“And any recommendations on how to stop being so fucking depressed about this quarantine situation?” She was half joking, and the doctor chuckled.

“Damn it Lewis,” he shook his head. “I’m a doctor, not a therapist,” it actually made her laugh, and Steve was disappointed by how muffled it sounded from behind her mask.

“I’ll have to find one of those, then,” she laughed as she went to get up, holding onto the back of the chair. “Thanks for these, doc,” she waved the paper in front of her and latched onto Steve when he offered his arm again.

“Take care of yourself,” he called as the two left the room.

“He seems like a swell guy,” Steve commented and Darcy hummed.

“He is. He deserves better than what he got, but it is what it is,” she shrugged. “You ready to head home, soldier?” She looked up at him and he got the feeling she was smiling.

“Sure am,” he replied, and when they got back Darcy shooed Steve off for a little while so she could take a bath and clean up.

“Want to come over for a movie later?”

“As long as it’s not The Hunger Games again,” Steve laughed and Darcy smirked, now that her mask was off.

“What, Clint’s favorite is getting to you?”

“I’m just curious how he gets to pick every time,” Steve emphasized as he made his way to the door.

Darcy only shrugged.

“We pick based on arbitrary things. Who ate the most pop tarts this week. Who wore the least amount of yellow. Who won the prank war. Etcetera,” she shrugged.

Steve only rolled his eyes before he waved and left.

Darcy sagged. Walking around and being peppy had exhausted her. Since when did she need to recharge after socializing. When this was all over, she’d need to reacclimate to her extroverted life.

They watched Star Trek that night (the one with Chris Pine) and Darcy stayed sick for four more days. She was avidly enjoying the group chat and her Netflix subscription since she couldn’t focus enough to knit and couldn’t do much else. Steve came by often to hang out or share meals with her. Sometimes they just sat on the couch and talked. It was nice getting to know him better. She’d always had a surface relationship with him. Not in a bad way, but they were both always busy.

When she was feeling better, she knitted him a pair of comfy socks and baked him some molasses cookies in thanks. He said it wasn’t a problem, he liked spending time with her. She blushed profusely but insisted he take them.

Darcy sometimes felt so unbearably lonely and sad, feeling stuck in her own home was hard. But she checked herself and reminded herself that she was very lucky. Not everyone got to hang out with a super soldier on the daily. Someone who couldn’t get sick. It was hard to remind herself that she had it better than a lot of people. But then again, a lot of people didn’t live alone and had their families to be around. It was weird. She wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or guilty.

She talked about her conflicting feelings with Steve a week after she got better.

“I just don’t know whether I should be grateful that I have you, and that I’m not alone, or whether I should feel guilty that I still feel stuck here and lonely when I do have you. Or on the third hand, whether I should be feeling some sort of way that I haven’t picked up a new skill or started working out in the past…” She trailed off and started counting her fingers. “Nearly seven weeks?”

Steve nodded.

“Nearly seven weeks,” he said with a sigh. They were both hoping the brains of the operation would have figured out a cure or a vaccine by now. She knew they were close, but it was so hard to figure out something when you had to be so careful of working around others. “But you shouldn’t feel bad, Darcy. I mean, I feel guilty that I am not being affected the way everyone else is, but I’m still alone a lot. And I am grateful to be around you so much. I have to quarantine for everyone else’s sake in case I can carry the virus,” he shrugged. “It’s a tough situation and it’s been hard on all of us. But that doesn’t make your feelings any less valid.”

“You’re very emotionally intelligent for someone who is like… mentally around thirty,” Darcy smiled softly and Steve huffed a laugh.

“Thanks, I think. I just spent a lot of my young adult life being left out of things and having to deal with them on my own, with only Bucky,” he sighed. “You have to learn to deal with the emotional and mental side of things when physically you’re like… Five foot two and a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

Darcy let out a little laugh.

“Not relatable, dude. I mean yeah, I’m five foot three. So pretty close. But I haven’t been under a hundred pounds since middle school,” she gestured vaguely at her chest. “When I got the girls, it added like five pounds minimum,” she shook her head good naturedly and Steve chuckled.

“I couldn’t even imagine being a woman in this day and age,” he sighed.

“I couldn’t imagine being a tiny ball of rage and righteousness in the thirties and forties,” Darcy countered and they shared a laugh.

Darcy had been counting. It was July when it all started. It would be September 20th on the morrow. But Tony had texted in the group. Some students at Oxford had come up with a vaccine and were working on it with a group of American doctors and scientists.

Darcy got vaccinated in November and was back at the tower (without a mask) by December.

“Jane!” Darcy squealed when she saw her tiny boss tinkering with a machine.

“Darcy!” Unlike previous encounters where Jane would ignore her for a machine, the scientist ran over to Darcy and they embraced each other.

“Can I get in on this group hug?” Clint climbed with supreme agility from the overhead air vent.

“Naturally, you jack-booted thug,” Jane said with misty eyes and a wavering voice. The two women were suddenly enclosed in a big circle of biceps.

“I have notified Sir of the group hug. The others will be here shortly,” JARVIS spoke and Darcy giggled, happy to see all of her friends again. Soon Tony, Nat, Bruce, and Thor were all joining in. Steve walked in on it and Darcy had an idea.

“Have y’all ever heard of a cinnamon roll hug?” She broke away from the group to grab Steve’s hand and pull him towards the commotion.

“Never.”

“Nope.”

“Sounds interesting.”

She nodded at the responses. She could make it work.

“We did it in college for team bonding. Everyone hold hands and stand in a straight line,” they did as instructed, and Darcy smirked. Thor would love this.

“Thor, start rolling in. Like a cinnamon roll,” Darcy instructed and Thor rolled into Jane, hands still holding. “Now Jane, follow. And everyone roll into it,” soon they were a big circle of hands and torsos and giggles. “Now let go of your hands,” she waited a moment before giving the final instruction. “Now, hug!” They were a mess of giggles by the end of it, but with Thor at the center smiling like a dork and everyone else shaking their heads and smiling, it was worth it.

“I don’t know how you come up with this stuff,” Steve commented once it was just he and Darcy. Jane had run off to get a piece of equipment.

“I learned a lot in college, just not about anything important,” she laughed and Steve smiled down at her warmly.

“Darcy?” He asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Mmhm?” She hummed, making her way towards him.

“Now that we’re out of isolation…” He trailed off as she came to stand closer than arm’s length away from him. “Would you want to get dinner with me?” He gave her that shy half-smile and she couldn’t help but beam up at him.

“I would love nothing more.”

[sea-owl]

Theory on how Jane will get Thor’s powers: The concept of avatars are introduced who are beings that were given the powers by the gods to represent them like what Konshu did to an unnamed mercenary (Mark Spector) so in an effort to cure Jane of her cancer, he does that. Also maybe a hint that Hela has one on earth and she’s mighty disappointed in him but likes him regardless (Frank Castle)

I like the concept, but honestly I don't think Thor is going to know that Jane is wielding his powers for a quarter of the movie or half of it. Her identity is probably going to be a mystery to him for a hot minute. I also think we won't get the concept of avatars until Moon Knight which I believe releases after Love and Thunder. We've known for a while that the requirement for Thor's powers is to be worthy of them. Mjolnir was just kind of a conductor. I'm not sure time wise where Multiverse Madness falls in Love and Thunder's timeline but I do think the multiverse will be used to at the very least give us another mjolnir.

If any of the characters are going to give Jane her powers outside of complete multiverse mishap, I think it's gonna be Valkyrie with possibly the help of Sif. Now I'm completely stabbing in the dark here, but in one variation of the comics Thor becomes unworthy and Freya is the one to send mjolnir to find someone new who was worthy, I think they're gonna adapt that with Valkyrie in Freya's place.

Now again stab in the dark but here's my guess of how it starts. Russell Crow's character, Zeus, and Christan Bale's character, Gorr, start some problems with Valkyrie and the Asgardians. (Personally think Zeus is gonna be the instigator.) Valkyrie is having trouble defending against whatever threat Zeus is causing, Gorr maybe, but Thor isn't there to help defend them because he's with the Gaurdians, or he is trying to rush home to help. Through the multiverse we get a new mjolnir and I think Sif will come up with the idea of finding someone who is worthy to be the new Thor. Valkyrie will use her own abilities to set the newly found hammer to find someone new. Mjolnir finds/chooses Jane and she gains the power of Thor.

Again all guesses and theories, but it is fun to see what everone thinks.

[thesaltofcarthage]

I finally get the anger about Thor: Ragnarok

I’ll admit it: I saw it the first time in the theatre and loved it, because it seemed funny and fresh. And it was absolutely what started me on the Thorki Spiral, which I hadn’t shipped before.

It was also where I really started to get emotionally invested in the MCU, and started plumbing more of the meta depths online, and understanding the character arcs beyond the plot arcs. And of course I’ve spent two years on this blue hellsite, enjoying the GIFs and the fics and the art.

But I didn’t actually rewatch the movie.

And last night I sat down to rewatch it, and... wow.

Wow, it is really not funny.

I recall reading a defense of Taika Waititi’s choices in this film, and how he is deconstructing colonialism and puncturing the White CisHet Male Hero myth, and I totally get all that. All the NZ/Aussie voices and aboriginal cultural influences are genuinely refreshing.

But I also recall reading Waititi’s casual dismissal of the Thor comic canon, and how he viewed Thor and Loki as “rich spoiled boys whining about their problems.” How he sees Loki as an “emo goth kid” who needs to grow up. How he deliberately ignored everything which had come before. And I recall reading about Hemsworth’s boredom with Noble Thor and how he longed to do more comedy.

The problem with Ragnarok is that Waititi views the protagonists as bad guys.

Bad Guys need to be punished. They need to lose.

I was intrigued by how Odin, by way of Hela, was framed as a conqueror, and how that part of history needed to be acknowledged and rejected. But: 1) Odin was already previously presented as a bad guy because of his shit parenting 2) the narrative re-rejects that point of view by redeeming him on the cliff in Norway just before his discorporation. Odin is never punished for his conquering rampages. He never has to acknowledge what he stole, or how he hurt people or entire cultures, or make reparations. He never has to admit what he did to Loki. He just gets to melt away and join Frigga.

In Waititi’s view, the White CisHet Male Heroes who think too much of themselves and need to be taken down a peg are... Thor and Loki. The title character and the canonically queer/pan/genderfluid outsider.

Yes, Thor and Loki are played by White CisHet Male actors. That does not make both characters White CisHet Males. (And let’s be clear: while there’s a lot of White CisHet Male Privilege going around which can certainly stand to be dismantled, “White CisHet Male” isn’t automatically equivalent to “evil jackass.” Thor’s identity as a White CisHet Male doesn’t mean that by definition the narrative has to break him.)

Loki was not a conqueror in the MCU — not the way Odin was. Loki’s “conquest” was canonically forced at the hand of the actual enemy, Thanos, who tortured and brainwashed him, and was controlling him via the Mind Stone.

Loki is not a colonizer. Loki is an outsider, an Other. He may present as White Cis Male, but he doesn’t have to, and he hasn’t always. There’s the wink from Jeff Goldblum and the implication that Loki was sleeping with him to “gain his favor,” but this is presented as more of a joke on Loki than anything else. And that’s what the entire narrative does: repeatedly make Loki the butt of the joke.

Poking fun at the people in power is a well-worn narrative device. Using humor to puncture legend, to remove power from people who claimed it illegitimately and at the expense of the less powerful, is a classic function of storytelling and should absolutely be celebrated.

Mocking Thor’s pompousness? Keeping him off-balance? Cutting his hair, having him whack himself in the head with Hulk’s sparring ball? Sure, why not. Because Thor is the hero. He is the center of the narrative. He is the one who has taken power and needs to learn to live without it to grow.

Except... that was the arc of the first Thor movie. Thor is not the arrogant shitheel he used to be. And Thor doesn’t grow or change in Ragnarok. There’s no character arc. He just... blithely sails on, pursuing what he thinks is right. Granted that what he claims to be pursuing is “saving the people of Asgard,” which is a noble and selfless goal, Thor personally doesn’t change. He’s as goofy and blustery in the post-credits stinger as he is in the pre-credits scene where he’s dangling in chains.

The only moment which can remotely be framed as “change and growth” is “Are you ‘Thor, God of Hammers’?” Which, again, could have been really powerful, as Thor learned that he didn’t need the literal mark of Odin’s approval (a measure of his “worthiness”) to channel his divine powers, but it ended up being an admittedly kick-ass action scene. And he’s never shown as being utterly helpless without Mjolnir; the hammer is an excellent weapon, but not his only one.

And Loki? Loki doesn’t have power, not in the narrative sense. Loki didn’t rampage over entire realms, not of his own volition. He did not steal or kidnap. Loki was never in line for the throne; that is, again, the entire plot of the first Thor movie. Loki has nothing to puncture. Attacking someone in power to even the scales is justice. Attacking the powerless is just bullying.

Which is what it felt like Waititi was doing, over and over: bullying Loki. Dr. Strange, who has been studying sorcery for what, 18 months? can outwit Loki, who has been a seidmadr trained by the seidkona Frigga for over a thousand years? Strange sends Loki into a portal where he is falling for half an hour?

When did Loki fall last? Off the Bifrost. When he was committing suicide. When he was captured by Thanos, who then tortured him for six months.

Oh yes, that’s something to make fun of. But Waititi wouldn’t know that, would he, because he made a point of ignoring the characters’ histories.

Thor being casual, callous, even rude, to the beloved brother he thought had died in his arms years ago? Thor putting an electrical torture device on his beloved brother, the man he defended to the entire Avengers, the man he refused to surrender to Midgardian authorities, and leaving him there to suffer? Thor mocking his beloved brother, telling him he needs to change and grow? Loki is the bloody god of chaos. How is Loki the character who hasn’t grown and changed?

But Waititi wouldn’t know any of their past interactions, because he made a point of ignoring the characters’ histories.

Waititi just saw the most superficial possible reading of these two characters and assumed that they were ripe for punishment — that they needed to be reduced. Which is what he did, proudly. So when the fandom reacts and complains that he’s disrespecting beloved characters, what he hears is that we’re defending White CisHet Male Privilege.

Waititi thinks he dismantled two copies of Obidiah Stane. The fandom saw him bludgeoning Bisexual Steve Rogers, Pre- and Post-Serum. You don’t pick on the little guy. You don’t reduce your hero.

Thor and Loki’s rich and complex history, even just in the MCU, is completely ignored. It’s reduced to the throwaway line of “You faked your death” (which is not what happened) and “I mourned you! I cried for you!” and Thor’s anger that Loki managed to survive. Not relief that Loki is still alive, but offense. And if the script had explored that more — “Why did you pretend to be dead? Why did you hide in Odin’s guise? Why didn’t you find a way to let me know what happened? If you were hiding as Odin, why didn’t you act as Odin?” — I would even have bought that. There is, in fact, a lot to unpack there. But that would have meant exploring everything that happened off-screen between the Thor movies. It would have meant studying that history, acknowledging it, and expanding on it. And Waititi saw Two Spoiled Rich Kids and had no interest.

The problem with Ragnarok is not the humor, or the outsider perspective from a Maori director. The problem is that the creator chose the wrong targets. I have learned in the past two years how many fans have come to identify with Loki the outsider, and Waititi deliberately chose to remain ignorant of that aspect of the character. He created two strawman versions of the characters and proceeded to tear them apart.

I am less hopeful now for Thor: Love and Thunder than I was. I don’t know how important Jane Foster’s storyline is in the comics, but if he ignored Thor and Loki, it’s not unreasonable to imagine he’d ignore Jane’s history too. I may have defended Waititi’s Ragnarok before. I won’t do so again.

[multiverseforger]

The Enchantress' parentage is unknown, though it is known she was born in Asgard and has a sister by the name of Lorelei. Amora began learning magic as an apprentice of Karnilla, Queen of the Norns, but was eventually banished.[3] She continued learning magic on her own, notably by seducing others well versed in magic and learning their secrets. In time, Amora became one of the more powerful magic-wielders in Asgard, with her magical arsenal focused on (but not limited to) charming and mind-controlling people. Her by-then well-renowned beauty did not hinder in this.

In her first appearance, she is sent by Odin to eliminate Thor's human love interest, whom Odin sees as a distraction. She also hopes to have the thunder god for herself. She is assisted by a powerful minion — Skurge, the Executioner. The Executioner loved the Enchantress, and she strings him along with her feminine wiles, using him as her muscle.[4] She aids Loki by attempting to seduce Thor in his Don Blake identity and by sending the Executioner to kill Jane Foster, but though the Executioner traps Foster in another dimension Thor is able to bring her back by giving Skurge his hammer. When the Enchantress, angry at Skurge returning Jane, begins to turn Skurge into a tree, Skurge releases Thor from the pact in exchange for his help. Amora then tries to change Thor's hammer into a hissing serpent, but it is immune to her magic. Thor then transports the two back to Asgard.[5]

The Enchantress and the Executioner are exiled to Earth by Odin. They become members of Baron Heinrich Zemo's original Masters of Evil, the opposite number to the Avengers, a superhero team that Thor had joined. The Enchantress hypnotizes Thor into attacking the other Avengers with her own spells and a special brew, making him believe they are enemies of humanity, but Iron Man wakes Thor from his trance by reflecting sunlight into his eyes. Thor sends the Masters to another dimension through a space warp, but two issues later, the Enchantress uses a spell to send them back to Earth. She recruits Wonder Man into the Masters of Evil after paying his bail. She also meets Immortus, who helps Zemo attack the Avengers. When this attempt fails, she turns back time to prevent it from happening, though the Masters retain their memories of this event. When Immortus begins to contact the Masters, the Enchantress prevents this from happening.[6] She then joins in the Masters of Evil's final assault against the Avengers and breaks the Black Knight and Melter out of jail. She manages to escape in the end with the Executioner when the other two are transported to another dimension where their weapons rebound due to different scientific laws.[7] As a member of the Masters of Evil, the Enchantress (and Executioner) repeatedly face the Avengers. She is especially affronted by the attempts of the Scarlet Witch, a mortal, to subvert her divine spells, though she is occasionally genuinely challenged by the Scarlet Witch's mutant gifts.



Art by Alan Davis.

With the Executioner, she menaces Jane Foster again at Loki's behest.[8]

The Enchantress is also notable in that she has given other superhumans their powers. For example, she used the deceased Zemo's equipment to make a henchman of his, Erik Josten, into the original Power Man, who aids her in battling the Avengers. Her illusions and traps turn the city against the Avengers, forcing them to disband and making Power Man seem like a hero. Captain America, in disguise, corrects this by obtaining a taped confession from the Enchantress and Power Man. Power Man is able to defeat him, but the Enchantress is knocked out by gas from Hawkeye's arrow. Realizing the tape is on its way to the police, the Enchantress used her spells to teleport away.[9] The Enchantress is then recruited by the Mandarin, along with the Executioner, Swordsman, Power Man, and Living Laser for his plan for world domination. With the Executioner, she attacked the Asian sub-continent with an army of trolls, but they were defeated by Hercules and the Scarlet Witch.[10]

Amora poses as the Valkyrie and forms the Lady Liberators, which battle the male Avengers. She dupes Arkon into fighting the Avengers.[11] Amora also uses her magics to make Samantha Parrington and later Barbara Norris into the Valkyrie.[12] With the Executioner, she battles the Defenders and the Thing.[13]

With the Executioner, Amora attempts to conquer Asgard with a troll army. She also served as Loki's lieutenant in his brief rule of Asgard.[14]

During the "Secret Wars," she is placed on the villains's side, but she spurns the idea of fighting a gladiatorial game for the amusement of a higher being. She instead proposes to Thor that the two of them simply join forces, leave both heroes and villains behind, and go back home to Asgard.[volume & issue needed]

On the appearance of Amora's sister Lorelei, it is established that the two sisters have something of a strained relationship, rooted in rivalry. More than a little friction is seen between the pair, not the least due to competition over which one of them would manage to seduce Thor.[15]

The Enchantress joined the Asgardian gods and heroes in final battle against the world-ender Surtur. She establishes that she is motivated by enlightened self-interest: Surtur seeks to end the world, in which case Amora would perish.[16]



Another regular foe of Amora's is the Scarlet Witch, as seen here in The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #9. Cover art by Richard Howell and P. Craig Russell.

Soon after the Surtur War, Thor leads a number of Asgardian heroes to Hel, the realm of the death goddess Hela. The Executioner asks Thor to let him join the expedition for reasons he does not immediately reveal. In truth, he had seen the Enchantress dallying with Heimdall, and, heartbroken, Skurge wishes to lose himself in a noble cause — such as rescuing lost souls from Hela. Thor's forces accomplish their mission but need one man to guard their retreat from Hel by holding the bridge Gjallerbru. The Executioner, knowing there was no more Amora for him, chooses to be that man, giving his life so the others might flee. When Amora hears the news, to everyone's surprise, she is truly grief-stricken.[17]

After Skurge's death, Amora continues her regular hi-jinks, occasionally helping Asgard, occasionally opposing it. She aids Asgard against the evil Egyptian God Seth's legions.[18]

Lorelei later perishes as Amora refused to give her life for her sister's. The deceased Skurge (in Valhalla) rejects the Enchantress, and Amora goes on to empower the Earthman Brute Benhurst into a short-lived new Executioner to serve as her minion in Skurge's stead.[19] Amora becomes vexed with the Avenger Wonder Man and assists Thor and the Warriors Three in their quest to return Odin to the throne of Asgard. During this time, an attraction between Amora and Asgard's guardian Heimdall is explored. Amora even battles the powerful entity Nightmare on behalf of both of them as Heimdall was unable to protect himself at the time. She ultimately rejects Heimdall when she realizes that he wishes to be married and she does not.[volume & issue needed]

In Acts of Vengeance, Amora and Skurge join forces and attack Doctor Strange, only to be bested by Clea when she flies to his aid.[volume & issue needed]

Later, Thor has been spurned by his father Odin, exiled to Earth and disempowered. In this vulnerable state, Thor ends up forming a willing liaison with Amora, with the two of them living out of a loft in New York City as lovers. This status quo would remain until Thor goes missing during Heroes Reborn and is presumed dead.[20]

During Ragnarök, Amora is present with the other Asgardian deities and dwarves when Eitri and his brothers are sealed into a tomb they had carved due to the Mjolnir mold destroying them, albeit accidentally. When Surtur's forging of new Mjolnirs creates chaos, Thor attempts to fly to the skies to discern the source, but is at once struck down by a blast from a Mjolnir duplicate of Loki's; Amora is slain by the same blast, one of the first victims of Loki during this event. Neither her magic nor her inherent durability is capable of shielding her. Heimdall falls soon afterward; Amora is not seen again except, seemingly, in one of the realms of death, unable to use her magic to assist her once-lover.[volume & issue needed]

After Ragnarök, when Thor, Asgard and the other Asgardians return, Thor is manipulated by Loki into inadvertently awakening some of Thor's enemies, among them Amora, though when she was last seen, she is the victim, falling by Loki's hands and mourned by Thor and the other Asgardians. She does not return to Asgard but instead goes to attack the world tree, Yggdrasil in order to resurrect Skurge and release him from Valhalla. Amora is ultimately thwarted after Thor, Loki, and Balder convince her that she is dishonoring his memory with her actions.[21]

She has returned after Thor's resurrection, with Donald Blake - bitter about his separation from Thor and his non-existent past - offering the Enchantress his soul if she can make him a god again.[22] The resulting god is a twisted abomination, with Thor defeating the Enchantress and her new god before banishing them from Asgard, leaving Blake - reduced to a living head after his body was consumed to create the god - connected to a series of dream-weaving creatures to make him dream that he is living a full life.[23]

After this Amora was defeated by Thor and banished to the forest in Norway. She was trapped in an Odinforce barrier and stripped of her powers. Lady Deathstrike and Typhoid Mary were on a quest to find Arkea, an intelligent gestalt microorganism capable of controlling machines and people. They found Amora and offered to help her regain her powers.[24] In exchange they founded a new sisterhood to battle the X-Men, who were hunting Arkea and Lady Deathstrike. Arkea hacked the Odinforce spell and restored Amora's full powers. In exchange for this, Amora restored the physical form of the immortal mutant witch, Selene,[25] and helped Arkea resurrect Madelyne Pryor. Before the Sisterhood could add more members, the X-Men attacked and killed Arkea. Amora was ambushed by the X-Man M, who defeated her in a surprise attack. However, Madelyne Pryor swore to continue the Sisterhood, which presently has Madelyne, Selene, Lady Deathstrike, Amora, and Typhoid Mary as members.[26]

During the "AXIS" storyline, Enchantress appears as a member of Magneto's unnamed supervillain group during the fight against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form.[27] After the heroes and villains present at the battle experience a moral inversion due to the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom's attempt to bring out the Xavier in Onslaught backfiring,[volume & issue needed] Magneto recruits Enchantress as one of his new 'Avengers' to stop the now-villainous Avengers and X-Men.[volume & issue needed]

Following the "Secret Wars" storyline, she has become a member of Malekith the Accursed's Dark Council.[28] Through a spell, she takes control of the queen of the Light Elves, allowing her marriage to Malekith to happen and the conquest of their realm.[29]

During the "War of the Realms" storyline, Enchantress accompanies Malekith the Accursed in his invasion on Midgard.[30] She and Kurse fight Ghost Rider and She-Hulk until Jane Foster slams Skidbladnir into Enchantress.[31] In Uruguay, the Enchantress raises the dead, but Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, and Balder ward her off.[32]

[enchantedlokii]

Delicate

Chapter One: The Dark World

Rating: PG

Warnings: none

Characters: Loki Odinson, Thor Odinson, Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, Darcy Lewis, Ian Boothby, Odin Borson, Heimdall, Minor OC

Mentioned: Malekith, Frigga

Loki stood and watched as Thor said his goodbyes to his Midgardian friends. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest because he knew that he would soon be a prisoner again. He would be locked up in the dungeons once more. This time with nothing and no one to keep him company.

He had considered faking his death to escape his imprisonment. He had an idea to trick Thor and return to Asgard while his brother fought Malekith. He would have put a spell on Odin and taken over as king under Odin’s name. But when it came down to it, he couldn’t do it. Because he knew that Frigga would not have wanted him to do such a thing. She wanted him to change. To be good instead of evil. And he wanted nothing more than for her to be proud of him. So he would face the consequences of his actions and hope that maybe one day Odin will show him mercy.

“It is time we went home,” Thor announced as he walked back over to where Loki was waiting. He gripped the handle of Mjolnir tightly as he looked over his shoulder. Jane was standing at the front with Erik. Darcy and Ian were talking quietly between themselves a bit farther away. “Shall we call on Heimdall?”

Loki sighed and nodded, lowering his head. “I suppose so,” he replied. He didn’t look up as Thor raised his hammer and called to the Asgardian warrior. Only a few seconds passed before the familiar sensation of the Bifrost encased him and they quickly returned to Asgard.

“Odin wishes to speak with you both,” Heimdall announced, watching them with his all-seeing eyes. It was no surprise to Loki. He was a prisoner. Of course Odin would want to see him immediately. He would probably sentence him to death for his actions like he wanted to do in the first place. Frigga wasn’t there to ask for his mercy anymore.

Thor led them across the bridge towards the golden palace. He seemed tense beside Loki, and he wondered if his brother worried about him or about his own well being. Because Thor was sure to be punished too for helping Loki escape.

“Thor. Loki.”

Loki looked up at the man he had long thought to be his father. There was something like rage in his one eye. “I expected you to attempt to escape at some point,” he started, watching Loki. Then he turned to Thor. “But I am very disappointed to hear that you have helped him.”

“I did what was right,” Thor spoke. There was confidence in his voice, but Loki could hear the fear behind it. Then it registered in his weak mind that his brother was defending him, and he looked over. “Loki made a mistake, but he is still my brother and an Asgardian whether you claim him as your son or not.”

“The prisoner has ended innocent lives, Thor,” Odin replied, refusing to look at Loki. “His punishment would be death if not for Frigga’s kindness. It is only for her honor that I do not increase his punishment now.”

“He has just helped save the entire universe!” Thor protested. There was anger in his voice as he spoke. “He has proven that he has learned his lesson. End his sentence.”

“Do you not remember what happened the last time you spoke back to me?” Odin growled. Loki knew what he was referring to. He remembered that day all too well. It was that same day that he learned that he is not of Asgard.

“I remember very well,” Thor confirmed, looking over at Loki. “I learned from my punishment, and then I was allowed to return to Asgard. My punishment was lifted. Why should it not be the same for Loki?”

Odin seemed thoughtful for a moment. Loki watched him closely, trying to catch the changing emotions in his single eye. “I will not lift his punishment,” he concluded after a moment. “But perhaps we can make a deal.”

“What sort of deal?” Thor asked. Loki could see both confusion and curiosity in his blue eyes.

“Like you said, you learned from your punishment when you were banished to Midgard,” Odin started. “Perhaps your brother could benefit from the same punishment.”

Thor gave Loki a questioning look. As Loki looked in his eyes, he could see that his brother was conflicted. It was as if he wanted him to accept the offer but also wasn’t sure if was the best idea. “What do you say, Brother?”

Loki took a shaky breathe and nodded his head once. He lifted his eyes to stare at his father. “I will gratefully accept this offer, my king,” he said quietly, stepping forward to bow. “Thank you for your mercy.”

“Very well,” Odin replied. He stood and pointed his staff at Loki. “You will be stripped of your magic until you return to Asgard. Heimdall will monitor your progress and inform me when he believes you are ready.”

“Thank you, Odin,” Loki murmured, giving him another nod before turning to Thor. “And you, Brother.”

“Let me escort you,” Thor insisted. “If I may, Father.”

Odin stared at the two for a moment before nodding. “Very well.” The man stood and light came from his staff, encasing Loki with different colors. He had to hold back a scream as pain started to overwhelm him from the magic being stripped from his body. He didn’t realize that he must have blacked out until he blinked and saw Thor kneeling over him.

“Loki? Are you okay?” he asked. He was changed into Midgardian clothing and as Loki looked down he realized that he was too. “Speak to me, Brother?”

“Where are we?” Loki mumbled, moving a hand to his aching head.

Thor glanced up at a sign next to them and Loki followed his gaze. “Kentucky, it seems.”

“Is that in the United States?” he asked.

“I believe so, yes,” Thor nodded. “Can you get up? There’s a building down the road there. Perhaps they can point us to a temporary home for you.”

Loki nodded and struggled to stand with Thor’s help. They walked slowly towards the building before pushing open a door. Immediately they were overwhelmed with a thick scent of smoke. Loki heard a meow and looked towards a table to see a gray tabby cat lying on it. He then turned to look to the counter, seeing an older woman with short hair looking at them. “Can I help the two of you?” She had a thick accent that was different from any of the Midgardian he had met.

“Yes,” Thor started, walking over. “We were hoping you could help us find some temporary living arrangements. My brother here is looking to stay here for awhile.”

The woman looked from Thor to Loki before picking up her phone and dialing a number. “I’ll see what I can do.”