#and Sif being a little bit silly

[abowlofsourcream]

⏳💫Switch a Loop: It’s not your Fault…💫⏳

Context: “Memory of Sailing” post!

* Everyone is at the Clock Tower.

*Siffrin seemingly went straight into bed after dinner, Bonnie followed shortly after him.

*However, the other’s stayed behind.

*They were right, Siffrin and the King are from that same island.

*They are one step closer to solving what is going on… But at what cost?

*Him choking on their own blood, being cradled by Odlie, reaching at the ceiling.

*For stars he couldn’t even see.

*Mirabelle is the first to speak…

Mirabelle: I… I shouldn’t have pushed him so much-

Isabeau: Mira, don’t even start.

*Isabeau holds both of her hands in his.

Isabeau: You couldn’t have known… None of us could…

*Odile taps the table, keeping her distance.

Odile: Yes, Mira… There is nothing you could have done.

Mirabelle: No! I should’ve have known! I should’ve known that Siffrin would have pushed themselves that hard! That even if it was killing them, he would do it!

*Tears welling up in her eyes.

Mirabelle: I… I… Just wanted to be able to helped them, like they… helped me…

*Mirabelle quietly begins to cry, Isabeau slowly pulling her into a hug.

*Odile frowns and looks away. She sighs.

Odile: I… I understand how you feel Mira… I really do.

* The two of them look at her, she continues.

Odile: You know… When Isabeau suggested having Siffrin help us with any “Unfinished Business” and how the two of us went on a “secret quest”. Do you know what we were looking for.

*The two of them looked confused, but later spooked their heads.

Odile: We were looking for a Familytale.

Isabeau: Oh yeah, you tried looking for one at the secret library… But, why are you saying this now?

*Odile nodded.

Odile: Well, It was when I figured out that he may have something to do with that disappeared island.

Mirabelle: O-Oh? How?

*Odile took a deep breath… In. And. Out.

Odile: W-well… We were talking about our upbringings… Well, I was at least- And he brought it up to comfort me.

Isabeau: Ha… Yeah, that’s Sif a’lright…

Mirabelle: Comfort you about what? I-If you don’t mind, Madame…

*Odile smiles at her.

Odile: Well, I’m actually Half-Vaugardian… Part of the reason why I’m here is to try to connect with that part of myself.

Odile: Asking you about your culture, your practices, even your food! Mirabelle, the way you were so passionate about your beliefs in the Change god… Isabeau, all of your wonderful insights of the town’s we’ve visited… Bonnie made food that I was interested in trying.

Odile: And Siffrin, knowing nothing about both Vaugarde or their own country, still comforted me.

*The two of them looked at her, quietly listening. She continued.

Odile: Ha! It’s funny… How even an old lady like me can still feel lost, hm? At least I still have Ka Bue I could returned to… A place, while not perfect, I could call home. They had nothing…

Odile: I guess part of the reason why I wanted to help him find more about the island was to repay him for his help… Or maybe the guilt, who knows.

Mirabelle: Madame… I- I never knew! You seemed so wise and sure of yourself. If anything, I thought you would have scolded me…

*Odile rest her hand on her shoulder, still smiling.

Odile: Like Isabeau says, you couldn’t have known. And… You are far more capable than you think you are and I am more than sure that you proved your worth…

*Odile awkwardly looks away.

Odile: Um… I not really good at communicating these kind of things…

*Mirabelle laughs, returning her smile.

Mirabelle: Your fine… Thank you, Odile.

Isabeau: Aww~! Group hug?

Odile: Don’t push it.

*They all laughed together.

*…

*But…

*…

[cikrovat]

wanna make a little rumble about this two funny guys, nothing much, just a rumble really, if you would read it to the end it would be cool 👉👈 but you don't have to! two hats spoilers too be ready

so, sif and loop, huh

a lot of people under my comic with this two did mentioned that I've wrote them super DID or like a system and I didn't noticed that at the time, but more I thought about it, the more I understand that I did it again

the whole idea of them being in one body is just really sells this, to be honest. with sif being in control most of the time and loop kinda existing their life together, because in fact it's their life too. they both understand that, even though loop didn't feel quiet belonging here, like they doesn't exactly deserve this life. after all - they fail, fail miserably, it's a sif who is a hero of this story in the end, but also they don't exactly get it that it's because of them sif succeeded. just a small change, a person who can listen and say something. who is changing with you, a helping hand

sif is a grounded reminder for loop that they succeeded, in a way, too. and everyone around them too

also in my hc loop and sif doesn't tell their family at first about this all, it's just.. awkward and too much information and also it's just two sifs and their problems with expressing themselves. well, they learning!! a little!! especially after this wild experience!!!

but everyone still notice that sif is sometimes can change their behavior. I see loop as someone who can be mean, they doesn't exactly afreid of showing negative emotions anymore such as anger and they WILL fight if they will see that sif or someone from their family being mistreated, or make a very nasty commentary, or anything, but very passive aggressively. Their family at first thinks that mb it's just a trauma response, wich is particularly true, but I think Odile and/or Isa would notice that there is certain pattern to Siffrin behavior and it's definitely Someone Else

In Isa case he would probably notice that this Certain Someone has very similar mannerisms with Sifrin, to how they move and act, to how they just talk. differents comes to what they talk. when sif is more lighthearted and silly, loops jokes can sometimes be a little bit on the self doubt side, and harsh to themselves, and their tone can feel a little more official

Odile would try to confront Sif a lot with little questions (because she was observing Loop and Sif sometimes act like them!!!! you think it's a coincidence?????) but she trust Sifrin to tell her if there is something wrong, (after all they had this talk), and Sif in her eyes looks much more happier (well, she has only one comparison with this one day before king but she can imagine how much worse it was + loop probably told a lot), so she understands that there is something but it's isn't bad and Sif just need time

Loop sometimes attend in the Emotional Buddies Club with Mira, too, because usually Sif makes them (they thinks it's very important for them too (it is)). and usually loop is trying to mimic siffrin a lot, but sometimes fails miserably and trails off. they still can say it's something from the loops and thing, but Mira also notice how sometimes Sif just change mid sentence because Sif just kicks Loop and let's them talk

and bonbon is just bonbon, Loop really loves spending their time with bonbon and trying all sorts of different things they cook. different NEW things.

tho not one of them can stomach the banana ever again. it's a nice fruit, but when the smell hits... they both would probably tell this story to their family, and while they would nervously giggle a little - their family would be a little in shock. just one of the horror from the loops they grew accustomed to. and their family doesn't exactly like that

also I think that loop still can matterialise their body if situation deems necessary, it was their body now, after all, and they grew quite fond of their mystic nature. but when looking at the mirror they see sifrin and themselves - they really put in question if they need any body at all

also as a fun bonus idea shadow's that I drew may be just a thing in their head, like they aren't real, they just show who is in control and who isn't. or they may be a real thing and sometimes their family would notice this funky spike shadow on the ground and , what??

haha, thank you for reading if u are here

[zer0expektation]

I rewatched Loki (and got progressively angrier), here are the highlights:

(featuring my queer analysis/rewrites hehe)

Episode 1

22:03 - “if looks could kill” Mobius ab and to Loki

22:05 - “What do you want from me?” “Well, let's start with a little cooperation.” “Not my forte” “really? Even when you’re wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on.” Mobius and Loki - GAY

24:35 - “I am smart.” “I know.” “okay…” “.. okay” actual weirdos

Episode 2

5:13 - Loki ‘reading’ Mobius’s jet ski magazine hehehehe

14:03 - “Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things.” Ravonna to Mobius as he talks about why he should be allowed to keep Loki alive

16:30 - Loki adjusting Mobius’s tie as he talks about how ‘adorable’ it is that Mobius thinks he can manipulate him, because hes a freak

24:34 - “Loki, i've studied almost every moment of your entire life” Mobius literally what is with you

24:53 - Pompeii scene my beloved

Episode 3

7:16 - “don't ever call me that” “Tech savvy?” “no, a Loki.” Sylvie and Loki silly funny sibling behaviour

22:15 - “You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-be-princesses or perhaps, another prince.” “A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” ah the beloathed line that haunts my nightmares

31:28 - “y’know, i feel like i've told you so much about me, i really don't know the first thing about you.” yeah ‘cause there is LITERALLY NOTHING TO LEARN ABOUT HER Sylvie is so badly written it actually kills me

Episode 4

7:26 - “like me being born the Goddess of Mischief” - Sylvie is arrested by the TVA for having been born a girl, and presumably that later meaning that if she wanted to she could become a Valkyrie if she wanted to - which i'm fairly certain it's mentioned that Loki wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was younger. This is actually so fucking stupid. The file on our Loki variant states that they were born with a “fluid” sex (whatever the fuck that means), and we are to assume that a lot of parts of variants are intrinsically the same between each other, so you’d assume that Sylvie would also be born with a “fluid” sex

10:07 - Loki and Sylvie are finally bonding by discussing what “makes a Loki a Loki” and Loki insisting that its their collective ability to survive - of course they have to be fucking weird about it which causes a Nexus event, because plot i guess

11:00 - i hate that we don't get to actually see Loki and Sylvie get picked up

12:39 - isn't it a little fun, a little silly, that the bad memory Loki is stuck in is Sif saying “I hope you know you deserve to be alone and you always will be”

17:17 - it's interesting however that it doesn't really hit for Loki until after hes admitted that he does things for attention because he's scared of being alone - BUT i don't like that that is probably reason that the writers had for him falling for Sylvie, him thinking that because she is like him that she has similar fears and thus wouldn't do something to lose that companionship, rather instead it would have been interesting in its use to how Loki has inexplicably grown attached to Mobius of all people (especially because it is immediately followed by Mobius coming in)

15:27 - “aren’t you supposed to be interrogating your variant pet?” r15 to Mobius

19:11 - “I'm going to miss these little tete-a-tetes.” “Me too.” mocking from Mobius, a bit more genuine from Loki

20:59 - “you like her.” Mobius to Loki about Sylvie - im going to kill myself

22:14 - “your female self” good god im going to drown myself its so bad - neither Loki nor Sylvie should be considered a male or female version of the other, because they are both NEITHER male or female, they are both “fluid” in sex - the writers clearly did not know, nor give a fuck about the queerness of Loki and the character it actually makes me want to tear my own head off

34:26 - okok, i think it's fun and a little silly that Loki has a big reaction to Mobius being pruned, one that's harder for him to conceal than the one when he's told that Sylvie’s been pruned - but also, a bit nitpicky here i know, it's really dumb that he's just standing there, he doesn't even try to reach out to Mobius to move him out of the way or anything

41:18 - the “No, i have to tell you something” & “back on lamentis…. This is new for me.” & grabbing Sylvie’s shoulders - clearly supposed to set up the idea that Loki has some-fucking-how fallen for Sylvie (which is dumb as even worse written than most straight relationships) and wants to tell her now? For some reason? HOWEVER, it could have so easily been (and would have been better) instead, him trying to tell her that he trusts her and sees her as a partner in crime and a friend. Because that's the whole thing, right? Loki is scared of being alone, and yet doesn't do friends, and doesn't do partners, because he knows that he will always be alone anyways. The nexus event is him finding solace in the fact that he will die beside a friend rather than alone like he's always known he would. But nooo selfcest is definitely better than meaningful friendships, why dont you fucking kill me for thinking otherwise. Anyways he gets pruned here anyways so L Loki, fucking loser.

Episode 5

Unrelated but where the hell did the Lokis get their clothes - like, i get Sylvie because shes been fucking off all over the timeline for a long time, but everyone in the void? Why do they have their clothes

Again it seriously kills me that Sylvie has no character - no likes, no goals outside of destroying the TVA, no self-reflection, she's the woman character that is smarter and cooler than her male counterparts because they need to be looked after in order to not be killed

Another note on this, we can get a vague idea of what Loki will want when everything is over - he jokes about wanting to rule an entire universe/timeline, but in reality everyone knows he will just want to go somewhere where he's cared about and seen as equal, somewhere where he won't be alone - but we don't know what Sylvie will want, we cant even conceive an idea, because all we know is that she wants the TVA and whoever controls it gone, and we can assume that she wanted to be a valkyrie when she was little, but we know literally nothing else about her, so we have to assume either her and Loki are going to figure out their paths together, or that she will go off to figure it out on her own and we won't hear or see her again until she has a dumb cameo I think i would respect how little we know about Sylvie if it were a “i've spent so much of my life surviving and fixated on this one thing that i haven't had time to figure out who i am as a person and what i like and what i want after its all over”, but we never get anything like this, at least in any kind of depth that would make it good The Strong Woman trope is what I was looking for

16:04 - “Have any of you met a woman variant of us?” “Sounds terrifying.” i'm going to bash my head against the wall until my brains are crawling out the other side

Whoo president Loki, aka the only version of Loki selfcest i can stand behind, because at least commit to the bit if you're gonna do it

The one black Loki is the overly aggressive one that betrays everyone first, because what else should we expect from hollywood. Fucks sake

I do adore that the Lokis have so easily adopted Mobius within their little group and how good he is at understanding all of them

30:18 - “Mobius isn't so bad” “or so good. I think that's why we get along.” “he cares about you” Sylvie and Loki 

okay, I'm not saying that they should have made Mobius the love interest, however I absolutely am saying that. I personally think that would be far more compelling than the selfcest plot, it wouldn't be out of nowhere like i'm sure some may argue because so much of this show was spent on showing that Mobius is the only person that's been able to truly understand Loki and get a good read on them and Loki views him as a friend despite it all, on the other hand i think the selfcest plotline is absolutely out of nowhere, but its not viewed as such because its portrayed as straight and thus expected, they have little to no romantic chemistry, they have had very very very few scenes where they are interacting positively with each other that aren't surrounded with the fact that they are working together because they have the same goal and are trying to survive and most of those interactions are sandwiched between arguing.  I just think this scene could have easily been about Loki acknowledging that he cares about Mobius in a way that he doesn't think he has anyone else before, Sylvie could make a call back to her mailman, and then Loki can go quiet and amongst that have the blanket thing w/o the strange glances and awkward pauses and then they can discuss betrayal and what they want to do once everything is all over

31:48 - “i dont have friends. I don't have… anyone.” Sylvie - well now you do because thats all that this will be right? :D ← the face of denial

36:47 - “looks like you got away in the end” Mobius to Loki - you are a homosexual

37:09 - the lokius hug & Loki’s face before it

40:48 - “I don't know how” “you do, because we’re the same.” Loki and Sylvie - well you dont fucking say! Gee golly! Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me, Mr. sylkie-is-selfcest-no-matter-how-you-twist-it. Good god I hate this stupid show.

Episode 6

I hate this show so so much, but i do really like when the silly mascot character that is kind of overlooked as comedic relief turns out to be a vessel for the villain, or at least are more sinister than they first seemed and they just become kind of uncanny and unsettling 

I also really like immortal characters that have been alive for so long that they are truly exhilarated by their end

33:45 - Loki having a “no stop, this isn't you ;(” moment is so funny

34:56 - the grossest moment of the show. Selfcest, ladies and gentlemen!

35:12 - i feel like it is very important to note that sylvie saying “but i'm not you” here, is NOT her denying that her and Loki are the same, just that the experience and feeling that Loki is expressing is not shared

39:49 - “Who are you? What's your name?” Mobius to Loki - sobs it's so upsetting i can't do this - imagine how much more tragic this scene would've been if Mobius was set up as the love interest shm my head stupid fucking show

End :))))

[butchviking]

your handle is butchviking but I never see you vikingposting anymore hmmmmm. fake. the people need to know what your favorite norse myth shit is.

ohhhh my god ok woagh. its definitely something about loki because surprise surprise i am obsessed with the morally grey genderbendy little trickster dude. this is crazy though why are ppl always trying 2 make me pick favourite things do people really have favourite things? i have so much i love and could never choose between.....

god. idk. i love the lokasenna even though it breaks my heart - 'remember when in ancient days we mixed our blood together, and swore we would not drink ale at any table unless it was offered to both?' and then you make his children rip each other apart in front of him and their innocent mother and bind him in their innards. i love the tale of ivaldis sons and oh my god that is SUCH a transformtive moment for loki's character - that, and the binding of fenrir, are truly the two events that set ragnarök in stone, i believe. what starts as a stupid little prank, cutting off sif's hair - mean, yes, but hardly evil - and then loki does a little bit of trickery, replaces her hair with fine gold AND brings many beautiful gifts for the gods - and what does he get for his trouble? everyone is willing to let him die. and when he once again wriggles out of it with a silly little trick of words, everyone is more than happy to stand by and laugh and mock while his mouth is sewn shut. the ending of that story is dark as hell i really do believe that changed things forever i don't think he ever forgot or ever forgave and i think that's the moment he realised these people were not his friends at all. ggrargh there's any number of things i could pick. for right now, if i had to pick just one line, one moment, i'd choose this - after baldr's death, when the deal is struck with hel that she will release him back to the living if everything in the realms will weep for him. the thought of the aesir's messengers spreading out on their journey, asking every flower and creature, every ant every lion every gazelle to please, mourn for him, it's their only hope.. and i always pictured frigg setting out on that journey too, & of those she encountered i wonder how many of them wept for him, and how many wept for her instead. and then she encounters thökk, one stubborn old giantess in a cave, the one being in existence who says "why should i weep for him? i never knew him. i never loved him." if i were 2 pick one line in the whole mythos, it would be "let hel hold what she has." i always wanted that on my gravestone. nd by the way i do NOT believe thökk was loki actually. i know thats what everyone assumes, but why? is it so hard to believe no-one else would ever refuse? whoever she was, she was right. let hel hold what she has. whats dead should stay dead. we can only go forward we can never go back.

[piepeloe]

Thor: Love and Thunder

Just got back from the new Thor movie. Movies release on Wednesdays here, so we tend to get the big ones a bit early. I'll put the spoilery stuff behind a cut, but some non-spoilery thoughts first.

It was fun. Nice, entertaining movie. Better than average for the MCU, but nothing too spectacular either. It's Ragnarok, but more so. That includes the good and the bad.

I was never bored, it moved along swiftly. There were NO typical Marvel action scenes. You know, the 3rd act CGI battle that takes way too long? Obviously there was action, some fights, but nothing too bothersome.

Lots of great music, the visuals were stunning. All the actors seemed into it. Christian bale made an excellent villain. And of course it was funny.

But. Those last two...

Gorr was an interesting antagonist, and when they let him be scary, he was terrifying. But we don't really get to see much of his rampage. We're mostly told he's doing terrible things all over the galaxy. I feel like they could have put more effort in.

It was definitely a funny movie, but like with Ragnarok, it often undercut the more serious emotional moments. The MCU as a whole does that, but it's really noticeable here. And then there are a few jokes that are just too silly for me. They don't just undercut a specific scene, or this movie, but they're so cartoonish it's hard to reconcile with the rest of the MCU.

More (spoilers) behind the cut

We get a cute montage of Thor and Jane's relationship and how it ended. It works for the movie, but I'm nerdy enough that I'm trying to fit it into the larger timeline and...?

I don't think I'm invested enough in Jane or her romance with Thor to really be that affected by her fate. The movie also just moves so swiftly through everything, there's no real time to be affected by anything tbh.

Then there's the final post credits scene, where Jane arrives in Walhalla to be greeted by Heimdall(!). Combine that with the multiverse shenanigans, and it really does feel like no character's ever truly gone, even when they die.

Children seem to be an important theme. Maybe for some people this hits harder, but I have no maternal instincts to speak of. I even just became an aunt and while my nice is great and I'm happy for my brother, I'm still mostly relieved it's not me.

So yeah, the reveal that Thor apparently wants to be a dad? Meh. And that he winds up becoming one (sort of)? Also meh. I was also a bit confused tbh, because the final scene made it seem like this was an ending for Thor, a sort of 'happy ever after'. But the mid-credits scene had Zeus swearing revenge on him, sending Hercules. And we got a 'Thor will return'. No idea how they'll manage with a little kid in tow, except maybe if she becomes one of the Young Avengers?

There's no real connection to the rest of the MCU. The gods, including Celestials, I guess. Introduction of Eternity as a being, maybe? Selvig, Darcy, Sif. The Guardians of the Galaxy. No Loki or Banner/Hulk.

It's weird, because they name all the people he lost and they mention the battle against Thanos. But they don't mention the Snap or Tony or Natasha. It's in some respects very much a Thor movie, not a Marvel one.

Sounds like I'm down on the movie, and I'm not, I enjoyed it. But I can't imagine this is one we'll be talking about for ages yet.

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Saved from scrap?

This one is interesting as a fandom barometer. Like, as far as I can make out by squinting at the meager fossil record, this story was considered a GEM by RWS fans… like, the sort of people who were kids way before TVS and way, way before the Internet, or railway worker/volunteer types who came to the books as adults. This is probably because these types were generally suckers for both the motifs of “scrapping threat” + “Edward,” plus, I'm guessing, acquiring and restoring a traction engine is one of those dreams that seems just about within reach for a mechanical geek.

By the 2000s, you see glimpses (especially waaay back in the SiF archives) of this attitude, but then as the internet fandom gets underway this story suffered a huge drop in favor.

In general, the fandom got a lot younger (a good thing! the alternative being that it dies out) and developed an appreciation for stories, even within the RWS, that aren’t just the “Thomas or Percy do something silly” or “Edward does something admirable” ones that were so heavily favored by the old fogeys. The consensus warmed up, almost season by season, to non-Awdry stories; the preference (especially for video-makers) swung strongly towards stories with more “action”; TVS expanded the cast of characters to include so many more options, most of which actually have personalities… kind of unlike Trevor. :/ Fifteen years of underage bros making hurr-durr pedophile jokes surely hasn’t helped, either.

Thus at this point I hardly ever see this story mentioned, much less praised. I was a bit surprised by the ask, tbh.

But, having since done a Season 2 rewatch, I’m ready to commit to the proposition that this one is a bit slept on! It holds its own pretty damn well against the rest of the a great season.

Let’s dive in:

1) First off, it begins with Yet Another TVS-Penned Introductory Bit. This is one of the things that Allcroft and Mitton did really well during the golden years, and I’m starting to feel they don’t get nearly enough credit for their bits of original writing. The little exchange between Thomas and Edward is so natural—you don’t need to tell us anything about their relationship when you can just show a telling lil’ glimpse like that.

Master Class in How to Shoehorn Thomas into ANYTHING and Actually Make It Work, Exhibit A

Master Class in How NOT to Shoehorn Thomas Into Anythi

From what I’ve learned on Twitter/SiF, by the way, the footage at the very beginning (before the turntable scene—“The Fat Controller works his engines hard”) was originally intended as the intro to “The Missing Coach.” After they gave that episode the axe I don’t think I would have thought to recycle it into this of all stories in a million years. But it’s really smart? A very subtle intro, but it sets up the contrast in this story between TFC’s railway and certain private, less-ethical owners…

2) ‘Kay, let’s jump ahead to the single greatest adaptational change, possibly of the entire season: Trevor’s design.

SO. MUCH. BETTER.

Red accents improve the look of virtually any steam engine. Brilliant work.

3) Yo, still talking about the visuals in both Trevor episodes… the sets are so nice? They especially stand out in the context Season 2, where to be honest the sets (David’s beloved harbor scenes excepted) are decidedly not the selling point.

But here they not only take advantage of the lush orchard setting for some welcome prettiness in a somewhat drab-looking season, but even the not-so-pretty sets and shots are very nicely-arranged… with not nearly as much wasted/empty space as you see in a lot of Clearwater footage. Look at how many shots here are either unique to this episode or the first appearance of an iconic location:

Somewhere, right now, someone is offending me, personally, by carping "durrrr they used the same layout three times just dressed differently." Yeah, yah spoiled capitalist guttersnipe! That's the amazing part! It's creative economy, and they fucking nailed it.

Bonus points for them using a cross-fade at 0:15 (! — do we ever get one of these in the Classic Series again? I’ve been wracking my brains trying to think of one). Also, the scrap train is one of the cooler consists that we get this entire season… I feel like you need some mixed goods, plus a nice flatbed of logs, before you get significantly more interesting than this:

Bonus points again for the sound of the brakes. I freakin’ love when they use that effect.

4) Story-wise you have to consider the series (book and shows) in chronological order before you fully appreciate what a jump in the threat level of the universe “Saved from Scrap” really hits us with. Prior to this, there were fears about being “sent away,” but they were very vague and undefined; if the series had ended with Henry the Green Engine, there would be no reason to read those words as anything more serious than being expelled from school. And two books earlier, Toby the Tram Engine yanked up the darkness, inasmuch the first story ends with Toby left closed in his shed, presumably forever… plus the threat of Henrietta being turned into a henhouse… and that was all “yikes” enough, to be sure. But we still hadn’t even said the S-word yet, and even “Toby and the Stout Gentleman” ends with the shed being flung open again, plus the reassurance that Toby will have more adventures after a brief, lighthearted Thomas intermission.

And that’s it… until suddenly Edward and the reader/viewer are faced with a bloke sitting in a scrapyard who literally has a date set to be “broken up.” Next week.

Shit just got real on the island of Sodor!

This really feels like the moment we stepped out of “nice lil’ kids’ bedtime stories” to start wading into the deeper waters of “strap in babe, they’re gonna be making adaptations and fanfic out of this dramatic literary series for decades.”

5) Of course it’s utterly appropriate that the main character here alongside the (presumably very young and wide-eyed) reader is Edward. This is the story where his character is distilled into its most concentrated form, imho. He’s an old and clanky engine himself, apparently he visits this scrapyard and hauls away pieces of machine corpses on the weekly, and yet—he is appalled at the idea of a not-already-broken engine being scrapped. I mean how is he this shocked? But that is not a criticism. His horror and single-minded determination to not shut up about this until Trevor is safe is just so… Edward. 💙

I’m also not sure that, up till this point, we had ever gotten a story where one of the engines can exercise some agency and do some good with it? Honestly, in many of Awdry’s stories (you can almost visibly see him unbending as the series goes on, with Enterprising Engines being the high point), the engines using free will almost always means they’re about to do something troublesome or at least silly. I mean, there are examples aplenty of “persevered until finished a hard job,” but outside of strictly their railway duties I can’t think of any earlier examples of engines wanting something and it not inevitably turning into “… but in the end the dumbass learned their lesson about engines having, hahaha, Ideas!” Even “good” mischief like Henry’s sneeze was down to the drivers.

I like to imagine someone straight-up told Awdry “Yep. More of this, please.” Because, as said, after this you start to see more and more of the engines taking some initiative (Stepney showing Duck how to lay down sand, Oliver asking Douglas for help and Douglas agreeing, Toad and Oliver conspiring to tear apart an enemy… well, maybe one of these isn’t like the others. Then again, maybe it is!)

6) I don’t agree with the sometimes-heard criticism that this is a “slow” story… as a matter of fact, they cut some of the convos from the RWS version, probably to avoid the narrative seeming too busy! It’s just that it’s pretty human-centric, rather than railway-centric. Plus it still feels way more impactful and “high-content” than the story before, despite being not nearly so “actiony.”

Anyway, I love the this human-centric aspect. Another development you can see in the Awdry stories leading up to this book is the increased emphasis on human characters—in fact, the Rev. actually stepped back from this level of human spotlighting after Edward the Blue Engine, I suppose because perhaps the series would have gotten rather cluttered if every station/town had been fleshed out in this much detail.

Which I get, but still, this story/book's worldbuilding for Wellsworth is so great, just as or more vivid than any glimpse we get of RWS’s famously bucolic Thomas’s branch line. There’s the driver and fireman (who have names), who know the Vicar, who knows Jem Cole, and they all know that they know each other, and man am I ever a sucker for fictional small-town dynamics. I could eat this up for days.

And I am super happy that a good deal of the “human stuff” was accordingly kept/filmed in the adaptation. Good vibes!

‘Course, as is becoming tradition… here is the RWS stuff that didn’t quite make it into TVS:

Okay, this was mostly all in TVS, but the begging goes down really hard here. “You have roooooommm!” points out Edward, as if that alone should be reason enough for someone to save another living being from being killed slowly and painfully, and also come to think of it where is the lie????

Honestly this story is only “simple” if you don’t think about it for two seconds. When you do, it starts to break your brain. (Also, +1 to TVS for giving Edward that albeit-slightly-odd-looking “upset” face during this exchange; Dalby illustrates this as a smiley happy scene???? Which it is not. Sorry. The Vicar might think it’s funny but he’s the only goddamn one.)

Even if the very last bit was lost, delighted that the boys made it into the adaptation. (Come to think of it, are the two naughty kids in “Old Iron” who nearly get James killed their foils/Jungian shadows? lol Anyway I forgot to take a picture of it, but the line right before this page is the boys begging their father to buy Trevor on the spot, no test-drive needed. Good lads. Distinctly less narcissistic than their old man lol she says, with an “lol” and a whimsical strikethrough to indicate that she is not taking this too seriously when actually she wanta chase after this man with a damn blowtorch.)

I am, however, disappointed that TVS cut the part (also not photographed above) where Jem gets the demo started by saying “Watch this, Reverence!” (Ironically, this refusal to portray that bit of cheek is actually part of the modern “PC” stuff that Awdry was bitching about—and yes, I am sure he did notice that omission when he got steamed up. Give 'im a lil' credit.)

Still, overall, yeah… this episode looks great and it also retains, indeed in some ways manages to enhance, the themes that make this story unique. High marks!

Certainly it blows “Bertie’s Chase” right the hell out of the wa *aaaand the network abruptly cuts to commercial*

[btsinwonderland]

A Drop of Poison - Ch. 3: The Library

A Loki fanfiction!

Previous Chapter --- Next Chapter

Full Chapter List

Chapter warnings: bit of smut at the end...

-----------------------------------

You placed your books on the nightstand and slumped onto your bed. The pillows caught your face in a soft hug and you felt the weight of the entire day sink into you. Your roommates were gone nearly all the time, working most hours of the night in the common room study area. It used to be lonely, constantly coming back to a room with three empty beds, but now you reveled in the emptiness.

He deserves it.

Professor Heimdall’s words bounced around in your mind.

He killed someone. A close friend of his father’s.

You tried picturing a younger version of your professor, whom you barely knew, being trapped in Azkaban. Is he truly a murderer? You thought about that and could not find a simple answer. Sure, he had a cold disposition. However, it was encased in a strange, jovial warmth that both intimidated and intrigued you.

His cool blue eyes entered your mind, and you wondered what sort of menacing secrets he held behind them. As awful as you tried to make him, there was something about it all that did not feel right. The way his lips subtly twitched when he threw ingredients into the cauldron and the way his eyes lit up when the students applauded him did not scream “evil” to you. You pictured his face in your vision and the fear in his eyes as the dead surrounded him. It was the face of a man trapped in a hopeless situation.

Professor Heimdall was not usually so clinical about his judgments. It surprised you he doled out such a firm statement. And to listen to him tell you that you were having silly dreams was even worse.

Freya…

Why had he uttered your name? That alone was proof enough. He needed your help. Professor Heimdall was hiding something else from you and you needed to find out what it was. Fine Heimdall, if you won’t help me, then I’ll do it myself.

You walked out of the common room and headed to the courtyard. Dusk was approaching, but there were still some students out, so your presence was not too suspicious. You walked across a couple lounging on a picnic blanket. The boy had his head in his partner’s lap. They giggled about something and took no notice of anyone else in their vicinity. You smiled at their affections wistfully.

The grass was freshly cut, and the air had a rich smell to it. You walked over to your favourite willow tree - the one that did not whomp - and sat at the trunk. There was a breeze which picked up your curly locks and moved them about your face. You tied your thick hair back and crossed your legs.

You breathed in and out, trying to remember Heimdall’s exercises. The scent of flowers in bloom distracted you for a few minutes until you could grasp some focus. It took several seconds of listening to your breath until you found yourself in a calm state. Your thoughts slipped out of your mind like water through your fingers. Your mind was empty, waiting to be filled. In this state of bored concentration, you felt the stirring of a question: What must I do?

It was the only question that floated in your mind; like a cloud drifting across a clear sky. Then you pictured something. A blurry image that slowly came into focus. It was a book, but the letters were unintelligible. It was on the shelves of the restricted section. The book was dark red, leather bound and cracked along the spine. As the image cleared, you saw the title: “Spells for the Common House Cat”.

“What the hell?” You said aloud. The vision dissolved as soon as you lost focus. You leaned back on the trunk and repeated the ridiculous title to yourself. Perhaps Heimdall was right, and it was all just a silly dream. How could this have been an important vision?

Your first impulse was to return to the common room, go to sleep and forget about the whole damned thing. Instead, you found yourself calculating how to get to the library unseen. Your impulse control was failing you as of late.

It was half an hour before it would be inappropriate to be out and about on the grounds. The sky was darkening quickly. You dashed past Skurge as he grumpily mopped the floors and slid into the library. There was a section on Magical Tax Law near the back you hid in; the books and the floor were so dusty here that you hoped no one would find you.

A few aisles away, there were students roaming the shelves.

“Come on Victoria, I can barely read anymore my eyes are going to fall out!” A low voice said.

“You’re clearly going to fail potions. We have our O.W.L.’s this year and I have to at least get Exceeds Expectations,” said a voice, higher pitched.

Fifth year potions, you thought. It was already an immensely tough course at the time with Professor Rattowl. You felt sympathy for the students.

“Have you heard, Laufeyson’s carryin’ the Slytherin name? He’s been to Azkaban,” said the boy.

The girl, Victoria, gasped. “What! How could they let him teach here?”

The boy said, “well we know how he got the job, when mum’s Headmistress, I guess they'll let anybody do it. I don’t feel safe knowing some felon is creeping around in the school.”

“Yeah, he must have done something awful to get into Azkaban,” she said.

“You know what I think?” he said.

“What?”

As their feet shuffled away, you barely caught his words. “I don’t think it’s no coincidence Rattowl bit the dust right before Laufeyson got here.”

The rest of the conversation was unintelligible whispers as you stood there like a stone and mulled over what they said. After a long silence, you heard the last student leave. The door ominously shut, and the sound echoed through the library. The flames in every lantern went out in succession. You looked out the glass windows, as moonlight was now the only natural luminance that could guide you in the dark.

Their words did not deter you from your path, though the questionable nature of Professor Rattowl’s demise was a new addition to your list of “things to investigate”. Your thoughts dispersed when you heard Skurge coming with his bucket and mop. The wheel squeaked loudly, and you thanked the bucket gods.

You darted into the restricted section. The door had a latch on it, which you carefully opened with your wand, trying not to make a sound. The restricted section was decently large, with tall shelves lining the entire wall. At the back of the area, was a cabinet where several scrolls were placed in rows of small, square cubbies. The bottom part had a cabinet just large enough for two precocious sixth year students to hide in. The doors had a large square cutout where a lattice covering was added. Lucky for those students, they could see if anyone was coming.

You smiled to yourself as you walked over to the cabinet and opened the door. On the bottom right, just above the hinge, was a carving in the wood. “Bad bitches make good witches”. You silently laughed to yourself at Valkyrie’s idea of ‘leaving a mark’.

Long tables extended across the area surrounded by uncomfortable looking wooden chairs. You walked over to the shelves and searched across the volumes for that strangely titled book about cats. Maybe you were crazy, but it was far too late to turn back now.

“Where could you be?” You whispered as your fingers traced the chains along the spine of a book that was as thick as your head.

The sound of the squeaky wheel came from a few bookcases away, and your heart fluttered nervously. You looked at the entrance to the restricted section and wondered if you could make an escape unnoticed. But it was too dangerous, so you crawled inside the bottom of the cabinet and shut the door just as Skurge came by. He was humming to himself and scanned the premises as he mopped. After a few minutes, he continued down the aisles and you no longer heard his voice.

You sighed and were about to crawl out of the cabinet when you heard voices. You went back into position and closed the door, staying absolutely still.

First you heard a woman’s voice. She was laughing in a flirty sort of way.

Then you heard another voice, deeper. “You’re a bad influence, aren’t you?” Your stomach dropped. It was Professor Laufeyson’s voice.

“Hmmm, let’s go in here, Skurge is done with his rounds.”

Was that Professor Sif? Your suspicions were confirmed when you saw Sif and Laufeyson enter the restricted section. She led him by the hand to the table in front of the cabinet where you hid. She leaned back on it and you saw her undo the clasp in her bun as Laufeyson approached her. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders seductively. The look in Laufeyson’s eyes caused a tremor through your body. You wondered if Sif was blushing as hard as you were.

Your heart rate shot up when her hand reached over to him as she unbuttoned his shirt. He ran his hand down her arm and you closed your eyes, unsure of what to do. Of all the places to be, of all the worst times.

“You are quite a minx, aren’t you?” He said in a low voice. It was almost a purr.

Your eyes snapped open to look at him. His gaze was curious and inviting. He cupped Sif’s face and when his pink tongue came out to lick his lips, you bit yours to keep from breathing too loudly.

“Only when I want to be,” she said.

They kissed. You could hear the smacking of lips and clashing of tongues. You nearly gasped and put a hand on your mouth to stop yourself. A part of you felt guilty watching such a lewd display, but you could not look away.

She slipped off her cloak to reveal a blue button up blouse and black skirt. She undid the blouse. You saw him move her hair aside and kiss her neck. He traced his tongue up her jawline and sucked on her earlobe. Dear lord, help me. You wished you were anywhere else, and yet your nipples hardened underneath your bra.

“Why my brother doesn’t see the beauty of what you are, I know not,” he said, running a hand up her stomach. She moaned a little and leaned back further so that she was sitting on the edge of the table.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” she said between breaths.

“Why don’t you show me?” He said as he pushed her down on the table and opened her blouse. You saw her breasts openly now as he walked in between her legs.

She hoisted up her skirt while he undid his pants. Your mouth was gaping open. Sif lifted herself up on her elbows so you could no longer see past Laufeyson’s belly button anymore. You moved your head up for a better view, but hit your head on the roof of the cabinet. Your heart stopped as you looked through the hatching and saw him look in your direction. Surprise flashed on his face for the briefest of seconds before he arranged his features back into an aroused state.

Professor Sif turned her head, “what was tha- “

He rammed himself into her, and she cried out with a gasp. She writhed on the table, arching her back. He placed his hands on her breasts and pinched her pink nipples as he thrust into her. You watched shamelessly, with a hand on our mouth as your body reacted to the scene. You looked up at his face and froze when you saw him looking right at you. He held her down and thrust into her with an almost violent ferocity. You felt a strange heat in your entire body as his gaze transfixed you in such a grossly inappropriate state.

He came in a short groan, eyes only leaving you once Professor Sif got up. Her skin almost glowed from the sweat and you wondered if that afterglow was always so beautiful.

“That was…” she said in a dreamy voice.

She slowly buttoned up her clothes. There was a section of hair at the back of her head that was sticking up. You might have laughed had you not been thinking about the needful look on Laufeyson’s face just before he came. It was seared into your mind and you felt your lower abdomen tighten at the thought.

The professor did up his pants and walked towards the cabinet, looking at you with an unreadable expression, eyebrows drawn in. A lock of hair fell around his temples, and he pushed it back with his hand. His abdominal muscles were clearly visible as he buttoned up his shirt. You saw the slanted lines on his hips that led to a place that you dared not imagine. Heat rippled through you at the notion.

He turned around in front of you so that all you could see were the backs of his black trousers. Was he...blocking you from view so that Professor Sif would not see? Surely not.

“Now, can you tell me where Odin’s journals are?” Professor Laufeyson said.

“What?”

“Oh, you know, there were certain…works that Odin wrote and left here. What I was talking about earlier today. Do you know where they are? I would imagine they’d be here in the restricted section. Though I have looked and there’s not much, that’s useful here.”

She straightened her shirt and looked at him. “I believe Headmistress Frigga had a cleaning done and removed several books from this section. They may be somewhere in her office now.”

“Ah, I see.” He leaned back on the cabinet.

“Is this why you wanted us to come to the library?” She scoffed. “Loki, you could have just asked if all you wanted were your father’s books,” Sif said.

Professor Sif said no more, rushing out of the restricted section and slamming the door.

Professor Laufeyson called to her, “as I recall, I came to you with a question. And you took our conversation elsewhere.” He lowered his voice then. “Nonetheless, this was far more entertaining,” he said, drumming his fingers on the surface just above you. He stepped away from the cabinet, and headed out the door without another word.

Your heart pounded in your ears. What the hell had you gotten yourself into?

[mostly-marvel-musings]

Wedding Fluff

A/N: Got this request a while back and Tumblr was giving me a hard time with this. I’m so sorry for the delay anon! I’ve tweaked it a bit here and there. Hope you like it :)

Pairing: Thor Odinson x Reader

Word count: 1730

Warnings: 18+ stuff, NSFW, Tooth-rotting fluff and SMUT!!

…

Butterflies. You felt a thousand butterflies in your belly as you stood in front of the mirror, adjusting your dress for the hundredth time. Never in your wildest dreams had you thought about this day, and yet it was all a reality now.

It was almost time!

“You look lovely, Lady (Y/L/N).” you turned to see your maid of honour Lady Sif, emerging from her changing room to yours, carrying a bridal bouquet in hand. She walked behind you and fixed your veil while giving you a reassuring smile.

Exhaling a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, you smiled back and thanked her. She was describing Asgardian wedding traditions to you, to which you were half paying attention; most of your thoughts taken up by the fact that you were about to walk down the aisle in front of hundreds of people, to be married to the love of your life.

There was a loud knock on the door and your heart almost jumped out of your ribcage. Lady Sif went to answer it and kept whispering furiously to the person on the other side. You caught a ‘you cannot be here’ before the door was pushed wide open revealing the visitor.

Thor walked in leaving Lady Sif huffing as she closed the door behind her. He spotted you and he stopped in his tracks. Eyes roamed every inch of you as he stalked closer and closer, a look of wonder, love and disbelief donning his face.

“You’re not supposed to be in here Thor.” You adjusted your posture and turned to face the mirror once again, though you were blushing a little on the inside looking at his reaction.

He stopped right behind you, arms encircled your waist as he locked eyes with you in the reflection, “I can’t leave now. You look like an angel.”

“And you’re exaggerating.” blushing crimson at this point, you dismissed him, never knowing how to take a compliment.

“The groom cannot see the bride before the ceremony, it’s considered bad luck.” You explained.

“It is a silly Midgardian tradition. And I don’t care.” He placed soft kisses up your neck and behind your ear.

“But we are on Earth.” You argued, giggling as his scruff tickled. You closed your eyes and hummed as his kisses made your nerves melt away.

Technically, you were in New Asgard which was in Tønsberg, Norway. After the destruction of Thor’s home planet, their people had settled here. It wasn’t exactly a match for Asgard, as Thor had described it, but it was home now. So the wedding was going to be a beautiful amalgamation of both the traditions.

Your reverie was broken when Lady Sif opened the door harshly and stormed in, making you break away.

“Your ten minutes is up, Thor. They’re ready for you.” She said staring pointedly at him.

After placing another kiss to your cheek, he left you alone with Lady Sif and walked out.

“Ready?”

“Yes.” You smiled widely, taking a deep breath.

…

The ceremony took place on a cliff overlooking the majestic sea. The setting, food, drinks, even the weather was picture perfect beautiful. Albeit it wasn’t on Thor’s home planet, with golden palaces, royal gardens or all his loved ones all present to share this special day with you, it was nothing short of special yet spectacular.

The reception was being held under a magnificent looking canopy, it was abuzz with music and cheerful chatter as it filled the atmosphere as the wedding progressed to your first official dance as husband and wife. The whole ‘happiest day of your life’ cliché had come true and you were pretty sure your cheeks had started to ache from smiling so much. You couldn’t help it.

The band changed the song to a slow number as you wound your arms around Thor’s torso and rest your cheek against his steady beating heart, hugging him close as you swayed from side to side.

“We did it Mr. Odinson.” You murmured with your eyes closed.

A hearty chuckle reverberated from his chest making you grin, “We did it, Mrs. Odinson.”

You lifted your face to look up at him, seeing nothing but unadulterated happiness and love swimming in his mismatched yet still dreamy eyes.

“I like the sound of that.” You whispered as you reached up to capture his lips in a kiss.

After you parted, he pressed his lips to your ear and breathed, “I can’t wait to have you all by myself tonight, my love.” The words sent shivers down your spine as anticipation for what’s to come grew stronger inside you.

…

After the festivities had ended, you could feel the exhaustion of the day starting to set in. Saying your goodbyes you began walking hand-in-hand towards your house but Thor stopped you.

“I thought the cottage was this way.” You laughed, confused as to why your now husband was facing the other way.

“I have a small surprise for you. For us.” His blue eyes shining with excitement.

He revealed nothing as you both strolled along an unfamiliar path, passers-by congratulating and blessing you on your way there. The sun was just about setting leaving the surroundings in a tranquil, gorgeous orange glow.

Thor asked you to close your eyes as you turned around a narrower path to which you obliged, you had never seen him this ecstatic in a while.

“Alright, open your eyes.”

The sight before you left an audible gasp from your mouth. A rustic yet modern looking mini castle came into view. It looked like something that had appeared right out of a fairy-tale.

“Our new home, my love. Do you like it?” he asked, voice full of hope.

Smiling widely as you fought back tears you turned to face him, “Like it? It’s perfect Thor. Let’s see it from the inside, come on.” You grabbed his hand and went in eagerly.

…

“And finally this will be our bedroom.”

After the tour of your ‘palace’, Thor opened your bedroom door. It was a huge room complete with a four-poster bed with candles placed on the side tables and all around, making the room glow in soft yellow light. Stunning.

“I still don’t think any of this is real. I have no words, I really don’t. Thank you.” you were overcome with emotion at that point, thanking your lucky stars. Turning, you walked towards him and jumped in his open arms to kiss him.

“You don’t have to thank me. I would do anything for you, my love.” He said in between kisses. He slowly walked you back towards the bed, never breaking the kiss, and sat down.

You broke the kiss to undress yourself, as much as the dress was comfortable for a wedding gown, it was time to take it off now. As you slowly stripped, your husband’s eyes grew darker with lust and need, never breaking eye contact as he too got out of his tux.

Once down to your lacy wedding lingerie, you placed your knees on either side of the bed sitting in his lap. Grabbing his face you kissed him with every ounce of love, gratitude, and adoration you had for him. He responded by wrapping his arms around you, pulling you closer to his body and kissing back with equal fervour.

He laid back on the soft mattress as it sunk down with his weight, taking you with him. A giggle escaped your mouth as the kiss turned desperate, he sloppily began ridding you of your underwear and you did the same.

Now fully naked, you sat back admiring the God underneath you as your fingers danced on the plains and dips of his broad chest. Reaching back, you grabbed his fully erect cock with your hand, biting your bottom lip as your thumb swiped over the tip, collecting pre-cum. Soft gasps and low, rough grunts coming from him made you feel powerful and proud, his wide eyes silently pleading you to quit teasing.

“What’s the rush now, darling? We got all night, don’t we?” Your voice came out surprisingly authoritative yet full of desire as your movements picked up the pace.

“And all night’s not enough.”

Suddenly he sat up, removed your hand from his cock, and grabbed your hips roughly, lifting you up and lowering your slick core over himself, making you groan in unison. He began guiding your hips into a steady pace as you held onto his shoulders.

The otherwise silent room soon filled with your collective groans and the sound of skin slapping against each other as he picked up the pace.

“I’m close.” You whispered into his shoulder as your body stiffened, feeling your orgasm approach.

“Cum for me (Y/N).” Thor encouraged as he pressed his thumb over your clit, toppling you over the edge.

You shuddered and winced at the loss of contact as he pulled out, only to lay you on the bed on your side. Taking hold of your leg and draping it over his, Thor drove into you once more, making you cry out in pleasure.

The new angle already pushing you towards your second release. Thor’s hands wandered over your body as he kept pounding into you, whispering praises in your ears. You reached your hand behind grabbing his hair and tugged on it as he littered your neck with hickeys.

He felt your walls clench and pulse around him as his hand went to rub circles on your clit once more. Writhing, you turned your head into the pillow and let out a muffled screamed as your orgasm washed over you for the second time that night.

You felt his hips falter as he grabbed you tighter and came with a loud grunt, spilling into you.

Both of you were still quivering with the after-effects of mind-blowing sex, as you managed to sit up to bring the sheets over your naked bodies. He hugged you close to his chest as your eyes began drooping, thoroughly exhausted.

After a few moments of drawing meaningless patterns on your back, Thor whispered,

“If you think I’m done with you, you’re mistaken.”

A lazy smile spread over your face as you supported yourself on your elbows to look up at him,

“Good. I’m not done with you either.”

With that, you captured his lips in a kiss once more.

…

[iamnmbr3]

And here's the thing about TVA... even if/when they are gonna be revealed as bad guys (in Phase 4 Multiverse of Madness is happening, the timecops have to go down for that), the first impression I've got is that the show presents totalitarian organization in 'funny', zany, catroonized way. I know very little about Rick and Morty, but I've heard their style of jokes can be twisted and weird. And I just think that something working for animation medium is not always good for live action. Add to that Loki's humiliation and declawing made through stupid gags... I'm starting to think Marvel made a mistake hiring those creators just for name recognition...

Yeah! Exactly! We're not supposed to find them scary or take their evil that seriously. Look at all the things they do in Avengers to villain code Loki and to present what he is doing as evil and sinister. And en even better example. Avengers 2011. The bit where Sif & the W3 come and confront Loki once he's on the throne. Loki actually hasn't done anything wrong there but the camera angles and music and character reactions etc. all cue that audience that we're supposed to view this moment as sinister. Same for lots of other villain moments in various MCU films. Even the Grandmaster, who is presented as a more fun and funny villain, is still clearly framed as being evil and in the wrong. We don't get that with the TVA.

They copied the melt stick scene from TR but whereas in TR the joke is that the GM seemed silly but he's actually dangerous, the joke in the Loki Series appears to be that Loki is scared and is making a silly face. We're not really supposed to engage with the TVA being evil because it's all part of the joke. The humor derives from what they are doing to Loki. And we're not supposed to feel bad for him or mad at the TVA. We're just suppose to laugh. Despite the fact that the TVA are the most evil villains ever in the MCU - they commit mass genocide, enslave people, torture people, surveil them without leave, commit acts of police brutality, and WANT TO ELIMINATE FREE WILL. That's very evil. But it's presented as a complete joke. That might be fine in a cartoon parody. But it feels weird here. It also robs the story of any tension.

Now that doesn't mean that the show won't engage at all with the TVA being evil. I sure hope they do! But I don't think it will be handled in the right way. We know the multiverse has to get opened up, so I suspect something along these lines might go down. I think it'll turn out that *gasp* the extremely antisemitic tropes space lizards are evil and Loki will rebel against them and decide to change his own fate because he doesn't want to be a villain anymore and instead wants to try to be better (thus retconning his complex character history and motivations and turning him into a simple villain who now wants a redemption arc) and he will probably team up with Mobius to free the timeline. He may kill his alternate self along the way or possibly they will team up (I hope!).

I don't think Mobius will be characterized as evil for what he did to Loki in this episode. It will be portrayed as tough love. I also don't think the other TVA characters we've met will be portrayed as evil even tho they and Mobius work for an incredibly evil organization. I mean we know the Renslayer actress said this is an origin story for her character so I doubt she's getting killed off, and the head writer seems to love Mobius and think he is a good guy so I doubt he'll die. Instead I think it'll be framed as them and Loki both learning from each other and becoming better. And then Loki probably leaves or maybe heads off with Mobius to deal with some new threat next season.

I don't think Mobius will be characterized as evil for what he did to Loki in this episode. It will be portrayed as tough love. I also don't think the other TVA characters we've met will be portrayed as evil even tho they and Mobius work for an incredibly evil organization. I mean we know the Renslayer actress said this is an origin story for her character so I doubt she's getting killed off, and the head writer seems to love Mobius and think he is a good guy so I doubt he'll die. Instead I think it'll be framed as them and Loki both learning from each other and becoming better. Then Loki will probably leave or maybe head off to confront some new threat with Mobius at his side so they can set up for another season.

They will probably validate the idea that Loki's experience with the TVA was positive and taught him to be a better person. The fact that Mobius's treatment of him was utterly inexcusable will be ignored. The fact that the TVA characters were part of an organization committing acts of genocide and torture and enslavement will be ignored. The framing will be that Loki was a villain up until the TVA experience "taught" him to be better and made him want to rebel against his villainous role. His motivations will be retconned to him just being a bully who feels weak and pathetic and takes it out on others to feel stronger.

I would love to be wrong.

[saintcarlyon]

TL;DR is that I dislike the idea of a woman healing/bettering a broken man through the power of love (even if she doesn’t actively love him). Sure it can happen but I don’t buy that Sylvie and Loki are able to pull that off. I’m hoping for something a little different. Getting this off my chest before the last episode drops. Spoilers for the Loki series.

Episode 3 paired the two Lokis up in an attempt to escape Lamentis and teased the possibility that Variant Loki may have fallen for Sylvie. Episode 4 then had a bizarre nexus event at the moment Sylvie reached for Loki. Mobius later berates Loki (and the viewers!) for wanting a relationship with Sylvie. But, it’s worth noting Loki himself hasn’t put into words yet what impact Sylvie or Lamentis had on him. Even his final conversation with Sylvie is a little too vague to assume it’s a confession of love. Finally, in Episode 5 there’s a scene where the two Loki variants tentatively discuss their nexus event and feelings for one another.

I personally don’t care if a Loki is in love with another Loki or just wants to engage in a bit of hedonism. Yeah, it’s totally in character! It’s delightfully silly, perverse, and probably what most of us would do if given the opportunity. What I do take issue with is the narrative trope that another person, usually a woman, is going to somehow heal a broken person through the power of love. Especially if it pushes her narrative and needs into the background. And I think the Loki series risks that as it stands right now. 

Because I can’t help but ask myself; would Sylvie or a Lady Loki have been as fleshed out if she wasn’t a romantic lead? As the only female Variant we’ve seen it detracts from Sylvie as an individual because her role has become Loki’s muse and a savior. Another question that bothers me: if the metaphor is self-love, why is the show so insistent that each and every Loki is also a very different person*? And why is Sylvie -the- one to motivate Loki to change?

Contrast her relationship to Loki with Mobius, Classic Loki, or Kid Loki. Mobius is arguably much more encouraging and receptive to Loki, barring his meltdown in Episode 4. And even after Mobius has purposefully been hurtful to Loki he makes an effort to make amends and invalidate the cruel things he said before. And Mobius is able to do this while being aware of Loki’s worst impulses. That’s a good friend! Yet the show doesn’t frame Mobius as a source of inspiration or strength for Loki. Not until the farewell hug in Episode 5. There’s also Classic Loki or Kid Loki, both have given us compelling snippets of their lives and could have given Variant Loki reasons to find compassion and love for himself. But the narrative doesn’t let that happen.

So yeah, it’s the meta that her character arc and purpose are now constrained by the framing of a romantic interest that bothers me. Sylvie seemed to have so much potential to me as a viewer when she was a potential sister or best friend to Loki. And now that they seem to be leaving harder into romance it limits her and limits Loki’s character development.

But, maybe the writers are wise to that expectation and the trope. Maybe we’ll have a scene where Sylvie rejects being Loki’s muse (I mean, she’s had a rough life, give the girl a break and more friends). Maybe we’ll see that Loki has been projecting his own desire to be noble and resourceful onto Sylvie. She may end up not being the person Loki wanted her to be and that challenges him to develop independent of her. 

And I think there are some hints this could happen! Episode 5 laid most of the groundwork for my doubts. When telling his male counterparts about Sylvie, Loki eagerly proclaims, “She needs me!” Up to this point the show has made it fairly clear that Sylvie is more than capable on her own. When she’s needed Loki’s assistance it’s usually as a direct result of his interference. Sylvie’s history as a ruthless, determined Variant is brought up by Mobius and she justifies it as for the greater good. Sylvie is much more cautious about expressing feelings for Variant Loki when they discuss their nexus event. He’s the one taking risks and looking for a future together. She literally responds with, “Maybe.” Finally, Sylvie asks Loki for reassurances that he won’t betray her. He doesn’t think to ask her for the same. So perhaps Sylvie won’t be stuck in a role of the lady love who brings out the best of a bad man,

But I suspect we’ll see this trope played straight and Sylvie will be pruned in the MCU, yet again.

*tangent: anyone else feel like the writers glossed over Loki’s sexism? He’s used gendered insults at Black Widow, implies rape as a threat in Thor, and is utterly condescending to Sif, Valkyrie, and Jane when in speaking with them. The only two women who aren’t disrespected in this manner are his mother and Hela. Unless the “terrifying” quip in Episode 5 was a callback to this.

[gildedruinsarchive]

bits and pieces of headcanons / thoughts that might get formalized one day 

thor being deeply insecure about the fact that he is useless with seiðr and struggles to control his power and not knowing how to deal with self-doubt so he‘s just kind of an asshole to loki about it 

by the time the films start,  thor’s pretty good at doing hair / makeup thanks to all the time he spends with frigga / loki / sif.  it takes him a lil bit to catch up to midgardian trends but he does!!! he curls jane’s hair alllll the time and he’s definitely done nat’s makeup too. 

the thought of thor not visiting earth since viking days kind of makes me sad because . . . can you imagine thor in the roaring twenties?? or the seventies?  i think he probably just stops visiting between 1990-2010 or whenever thor 1 is set but i am of yet . . . undecided

i write thor as someone who does not want the throne but serves as king because he feels he owes it to his people . . . the throne being a burden of responsibility more than anything else . . . but i still? am very enamored with the idea of a much much much older king thor ? and i’m not sure how to get there yet,  since i don’t want him to waltz back into asgard and be like hi val! i’m king again x but i just ??? really want to explore the differences between him and odin as king.

i just . . . like . . . i keep thinking about the donald blake storyline in the comics and the concept of thor as a doctor is so?! good?! thor using his brain instead of his brawn && getting to save lives and the operating room becoming his battlefield . . . this so does not fit into the mcu at all but i’m still enamored w/ it. like let thor’s strength be used to help.

he loves!!! making lists!!! he’s always making lists!!! silly little man!!! i adore him!!!!

biiig swiftie. had ticks to lover fest :/ is wearing the cardigan right now 

[the-final-sif]

I've been meaning to make a post like this for awhile, but I kinda,,, kept forgetting. Since I just hit my 6 month anniversary and 300k words written milestone though, this seemed like a good a time as any to introduce myself properly, as well as talk a bit about my plans for the future.

So, without further ado... Hi.

I go by Sif (and sometimes Rosae), I'm a college student, and I'm a girl (she/her). I'm a fanfiction author in my spare time, and I also do fanart sometimes. I've been publishing fanfiction online for nearly 6 years, but I've been writing since I was 8 or 9 years old. My very first fanfiction was called 'Shoppingcats' and it was a handwritten warrior cats fanficton that from what I can recall was warrior cats but all my OCs and set in a mall.

As you may have guess from my blog, I adore birds. I volunteer with raptors, and I have a pet Timneh African Gray named Cecil who I love.

I'm definitely a nerd, and I have a special place in my heart for biology. I also love sci-fi, fantasy, and I currently love BNHA because it's got such a weird and expansive world to play with as a creator.

I tend to ramble on about stuff a lot, on the internet and in real life. Despite being pretty talkative once I get on a subject, I’m actually kinda shy. I get flustered by praise very easily, which is part of the reason I can take awhile to reply to stuff. I end up reading people’s nice comments and I just,,, melt. (stares guiltily at the 2000+ unanswered comments on my A03)

Other interesting things about me as a writer include:

I 100% blame my love of hurt/comfort on Bridge to Terabithia which wrecked me as a kid. That book taught me how powerful writing can be.

I tend to write to fill a void. If can’t find anything fitting my specific craving, then I often end up writing a story to fill it instead.

I have (accidentally) won an award for my writing before.

I don’t know where my ideas/headcanons/etc come from either. They sneak up on me, latch on and then I gotta do somethin’ with the little buggers.

I type quickly, and I get intense when I’m writing. This has lead to people asking me if I’m okay/if I’m angry about something while I’m typing out anything from fics to homework assignments.

I overthink everything I’ve written ever, and a lot of my fics contain small references to stuff that I spent way too much time figuring out.

And honestly, that’s pretty much all you’ll ever need to know about me. So, now that I’ve introduced myself, I wanted to just kinda give people an update on what I’m working on + what will be released next.

This is basically my to-do list, and knowing me it’ll probably change around and get interrupted by other cool ideas I get. But you know, this is roughly what’s going to happen. Maybe.

1. A (long) commission for @wyvernspirit​ - A Hawks & Jeanist fic that I’m having a ton of fun writing. Currently at ~1/4 chapters done, and hoping to get it done this week.

2. The Forced Family AU - This is going to be my next long fic, and it’s my own take on “The Villains Got Away With Katsuki”. I’m going to be writing the entire rough draft before I start publishing, so it will have an actual goddamn update schedule unlike some of my fics.

3. The Dandelion AU - This is... This is a big project. The Dandelion AU is something I’ll talk about more once my design lineup is done, but it’s going to be a mix of comics/artwork and attached fics. I’ve been planning it out for ages and chipping away at it, but my art takes me a long time (plus finding time to draw is harder for me), so this is probably going to be my most long term project on this list.

The Dandelion AU is going to be a Dabi centric major canon rewrite... that’s mostly canon compliant. A lot of it me trying to sit down with canon and find a way to fit puzzle pieces together while making it my own. I’m still not sure when I’ll start releasing it though, I’ve got a lot left to do, so I’ll just have to see.

4. Some various one-shots that I wanna write at some point are all getting lumped in here. Some silly, some sad. Some very sad.

5. FBNAS’s Epilogue. //looks the other way while whistling as I pretend I don’t see my WIP for this one.//

6. At least 3 more follow up stories for the Katsuki Hakamata AU. Honestly probably more eventually,  but there’s 3 I wanna write out for sure. Those 3 will go into Katsuki’s Internship, him meeting and bonding with Eri, and his second year sports festival. It’ll be awhile before these are out though.

So yeah, that’s roughly what I’m going to be working on for the next,,, while. I’m really excited about a lot of the projects I’m working on, and I can’t wait to share them with y’all!

[oumiyuki]

If you could spend an entire day with Honoka, what would you do?

Just stare at her

(* >ωᴗ

If say, I just woke up and she’s at my door and we got an entire day together. We would first have a good hearty breakfast! Freshly baked bread and delicious strawberry jam to spread across them and we chow down on them while we smile and a little chatter. Honoka gushing about the bread and me gushing about the sweetness and blushy lil’ o’ me as I say “it’s extra sweeter cos I’m eating it...with you.” ///w/// kya~ hehe~

(also there’s milkshake while we eat! or tea :3 because we are both tea people)

Then we’d go on to get a start-the-day-shower, and Honoka is so sweet and saying “how bout we get in the bath together?” but I’m ..!!!! (♡´艸`)（♥￫ｏ￩♥） “No..No...I..We...We couldn’t- *cough cough cough clears throat three times four*

“Okay!” Honoka chirps and gets in the shower first and then I do too. And I’m like, we smell the same, we smell the same now. Cos we used the same shampoo and body wash, and ahhh, Honoka!! (⺣◡⺣)♡*(⺣◡⺣)♡*(⺣◡⺣)♡*

Honoka then suggests going for some outside, fresh air. I’m a bit apprehensive in thought as I’m such an indoor girl. Honoka smiles patiently and says we don’t have to if I don’t wanna. That kinda flips my switch of not wanting to hold others back. So I quickly shake my head to say “no, no! we can go out! but where to?” 0o0`

Honoka beams and takes my hand. I’m surprised I haven’t faint yet. But internal Miyuki is doing that long gasp thingy people do when they are in awe but dying but loving every single moment of what’s happening kinda gasp XD

We leave the house and end up in the grocery store and I’m wondering why we’re here but also guessing, well, to buy food! Honoka nods with that angelic smile of hers. “Let’s get food we both like to cook~”

I smile my happy-fluttery-in love smile because I LOVE home-cooked food the most. And be it, me getting a chance to have Honoka’s cooking. Or me having a chance to cook for Honoka! Or woah, we’re cooking together! I’m so hyped and in high tension now! Honokaaaa~ I love you. Let’s cook!

Halfway through lunch of me stuffing my mouth full of food, which was a feat as I couldn’t quite stop my smile. So I’m smiling and eating, looking at Honoka every moment I can instead of looking at my food. I drop the rice or ingredients at times or poke my face with the spoon and Honoka’s laughs. I think my soul ascended a bit. hehe. Honoka~ (♡´౪`♡)

Oh right, halfway through lunch I jolt out of my intoxicated with love stupor with a gasp and my expression one of worry. Honoka has a concerned look on (which I found really cute too) and asked me if everything was alright. I take a few seconds as my mind raced, before I chuckled awkwardly, “Oh no...Just thinking that I haven’t gotten my login bonus for today and to play a bit of SIF...hehe...” Rubbing my arm a little awkwardly from the nerves and silliness of this realization.

Honoka smirks. Honoka smirks! Before she grins at me lovingly. “But I’m here already.” My head shot up and face morphed in an I know! I know that’s why I’m not rushing for my phone or anything. Don’t misunderstand-

“But I would like to see what your account looks like~ Filled with...me~? Just kidding. It’s totally okay for you to have a bunch of Kotori-chan cards or Nico-chan cards. They are both really cute school idols too!” Honoka actually looked like she’d be upset if I did have more of their cards in my SIF account.

I feel my heart squeezing and thumping that much faster at how much I love Honoka. How cute she is. How amazing she is. How Honoka she is~ ♡(ŐωŐ人)

I show her my account and she goes “Woah, that’s a lot of me!” And we both chuckle at what a funny thing it is to say. I comment shyly, “But my dream is to have all of Honoka- er, I mean all of your cards...so...I’ve still got ways to go...hehe.../////”  And she adds, “But now there’s me right here with you...so you could get all the other cards you don’t have yet in reality next time!”

Honoka stays quiet after that line. I stay quiet too. Then she bounces on the spot with a clap. “Let’s finish lunch and play something~” I nod in agreement and we continued eating our Honoka and Miyuki cooked meal together~

With the dishes washed, Honoka rocks on her heels back and forth as she asks what I might like to do together. I stared at her. We’ve spent an entire morning till afternoon together already and I still feel like I’m dreaming. I’ve living a dream! ۹(ÒہÓ)۶ “Movies and cuddles?” OH MY GOSH. WAIT, WHAT DID I JUST SUGGEST. HONOKA- WITH HONOKA- I MEAN. I JUST WANNA HANG OUT MORE, NOT ANYTHING ELSE. SHE HAS KOTORI-

(which I forgot to add that Honoka would comment about how cute Kotori is in SIF and she’d see my team name “HonoKoto” and she does that endearing smile at it. And my HonoKoto heart squeals with starry eyes that HonoKoto is real (● Ò □ Ó ) ♡ ♡ ♡ )

Honoka laughs. “That sounds like something we can do after dinner. But sure! You’re so cute~”

you’re a thousand, million times cuter, Honoka!! I scream in my mind but don’t verbalize it cos she took my breath away. (⺣◡⺣)♡*

We don’t cuddle. Of course, we don’t. XD But we sat beside each other on the couch as we put family cartoons on the big screen and some rom-com on too. We laughed, we felt our heartstrings being tugged for the characters on screen and at times a bit of tears too. And it’s just so fun to talk about our opinions on the movies after each one of them. :”))))))

Dinner time was closing in. And we already decided what we were gonna have! We just can’t say no to curry! (ᗒᗨᗕ) so we put that to boil and then on our plates and mmmmm~ it’s sooooooo good!

She had this fun idea of cutting the carrots and potatoes to look like alphabets somewhat so that when we get that on our plates, we can ask each other questions starting with the letter. And it’s a funget to know each other game as we eat. Which enhanced our chat too. Our dinner lasted long with laughs and “ooohs~” as we found out more about each other.

We got back on the couch after but instead of movies, we went to have fun on youtube and also look through my folder of Muse stuff. I was a bit embarrassed but Honoka got embarrassed too with how much Honoka content I have. ///w/// hehe~ Honoka~

We stayed up for as long as we can as I childishly and determinedly not want to sleep or let Honoka go to sleep as I didn’t want the day to end via sleep like that. It was a tough challenge as me being in bed equates to sleep within seconds or a minute. Honoka herself loves sleep. So we both tried to keep up the conversation or stares and funny faces and even going “First one to sleep is pink pig plushie (think SIF SR Honoka ;))” or “First one to sleep owes the other a drink/meal”. But well, we don’t really know who fell asleep first as we both closed our eyes, our bodies laid down on bed and sleep took us.(๑>ᴗ

Morning came. But it was still dark. Honoka was awake. I blinked up at her as she rolled out of bed and brightened the morning with a smile. “Get up, Miyuki-chan~ I’ve got something to show you~” I blinked grogily, still sleepy. “Honoka...5 more-” “No!” Honoka pulls me out of bed and before I know it, I’ve brushed my teeth, put on a bit more clothes and we’re somewhere outside.

I’m more awake when Honoka says “This will be another one of our memories together.”

I look at her and then a flicker started from across the horizon, far out at the sea. Yup, she brought me to a park, to watch the sunrise. “Honoka...” My sun...

Honoka smiles as she watches the sunrise. I watched her and the sunrise. “Th-Thank you...This is beautiful...A beautiful, unforgettable memory.”

Honoka smiles bright, to me, it’s brighter than the gorgeous sunrise we just experienced. And that says a lot. (๑>ᴗ

Honoka stands and I follow. She looks a little more solemn now. “Honoka..?”

“I guess this is it.”

“Oh.” I lowered my head, staring at our feets. Honoka was wearing my slipper. “I guess...”

Honoka puts a hand on my head, a soft pat. “I hope it was a fun day for you.”

I nod vigorously, my hair being a ruffled by her hand still on my head. “It was so fun! I...I wish it didn’t have to end!”

Honoka grins from ear to ear and she whispers. “Me too.”

I looked, stared and really didn’t want to have to look away from Honoka. Ever. “...Bye bye...”

Honoka chuckes softly and takes my hand in hers like she did when we were going grocery shopping. “First, I escort you home.”

“Thank you...” I tend to never say no to escorts since I get lost easily. I should have pointed out that I wanna see her off. But well, she walked me home and we waved goodbye. I got a hug. A huge hug. A bear hug. A hug that lasted so long but just not enough.

“Goodbye, Miyuki-chan!” Honoka graces me with that huge smile that steals my heart every single time before she ran off, leaving me waving and staring in the distance.

...

What a day.

Wait. Honoka said ‘next time’! When looking at my SIF account??

Does that mean..?

She might come over for an entire day again?!

I couldn’t quite think of anything else for the rest of the day but Honoka. 

~~~~~~~~

(´∀`) Like...woah. （・ｗ・）1738 words what? (* >ω

I took a really long time to answer this Ask, but I guess you can understand why? XD I was procrastinating as I rolled in a thousand and one ideas of what I could possibly do in a day with Honoka. BUT. I guess the way about it was really to just sit and let the thoughts spill out of my head with fingers moving to type out each and every thought. An honest one, where I don’t go “but that” , “but I wanna do this” (* >ω

My sincerest and greatest thanks to you Shin-san for the Ask! It really made me think and gosh, an entire day with Honoka is such a blessing. hehe~ (*≧∀≦*)(*≧∀≦*)(*≧∀≦*)

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Of Blood and Roses

Chapter Twenty-Six

Master List  |  Loki Laufeyson Master List

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Loki x Lauren  |  Word Count: 7070 Warnings: language, mentions of spousal abuse

Lauren rested her head on her arms as she leaned against the edge of the pool in the bathroom. The twins had left her to soak after her morning exercise with Sif.

She’d fallen asleep on Loki last night in the garden, unbelievably tired after their magical dance, and woken up in their bed with her husband already up and dressed in much more formal clothing than usual. As he was standing in for Thor today, he’d thought it appropriate, and though he longed to linger over breakfast with her, duty called.

It was the first time in a week they hadn’t eaten together. Though Lauren understood, she still sighed after he left, leaving her in the capable hands of the twins. As she’d slept in thanks to the previous night's exertions, she missed her morning yoga but took the time to teach Anitra and Anneke a few beginner moves to warm and stretch the body first thing in the morning.

They’d giggled and groaned their way through it, lamented the skirts which continued to get in the way and made Lauren bite back many a snicker at the way they teased one another. Already she adored them, and though they were a few years younger, she knew she could count them as friends and confidants should she need them.

After, though flushed and a touch sweaty, the twins helped her find her way to Sif in the same training hall she’d used the previous day, but Sif was in a less than conciliatory mood. It was clear Thor leaving her behind to go off to Vanaheim without her left her disconcerted, and though Lauren wanted to tell her why Thor had insisted on going alone, she didn’t want to give up the surprise. Instead, she’d asked Sif to push her harder than Hogun had done, and after falling off the poles more times than she wanted to count, she’d asked for a reprieve and ended up sparing with the woman instead.

Lauren’s bruises had bruises, but a few of the things Nat and Bucky taught her had come in handy. No, she couldn’t climb a person and wrap her thighs around their neck like Natasha could, but one particular leg swipe had succeeded in putting Sif on her ass. Unfortunately, it hadn’t helped Sif’s mood and only affirmed for her that Lauren had been holding back.

Everything ached from her toes to her fingertips to the top of her head. But where before Lauren had walked away feeling down on herself for her lack of success, Sif’s encouragement, and then Fandral’s when the scoundrel had arrived unannounced, had her feeling hopeful. No, she wasn’t going to be able to take on Thor and win, but one day, maybe, she would at the very least give him a run for his money.

She had time. That’s what they kept telling her. She had time. Years. Centuries. Her lifetime had extended exponentially. She would get stronger, faster, smarter. Such was the way of Asgard.

Lauren still had a hard time believing it, but neither Sif or Fandral came off as false. Their encouragement was genuine, and while Natasha had never been discouraging, Lauren’s mindset during the training was still that of the abused, insecure woman who’d run away from her problems.

Now, though she had moments of doubt, Lauren knew she wasn’t all the horrible things her sister had claimed her to be. She was strong. Smart. Independent. Her kindness and compassion didn’t make her weak. Here, on Asgard, they appeared to be things people applauded as strengths.

It made her feel… strangely proud for once, and as she’d said to Loki last night, Asgard felt like home.

When the twins returned a few moments later, Lauren smiled at them. “Do y’all know what Loki’d be up to about now?”

“The court is open for petitioners today. It begins a few hours before the midday meal and continues through to well into the afternoon.”

“So long? No wonder he whined about it a little.” When they came to the edge of the pool, towel in hand, Lauren ascended without really noticing. They’d added something fragrant with mint to the bath which had done wonders on her sore muscles. It had also reduced the large black and purple welt on her hip to the yellow-green of a nearly healed bruise. “Y’all really have the best stuff here,” she giggled and lifted her arms when they wrapped her in a towel.

“Are you hungry, Lauren?” Anneke asked, already working to dry the water from her hair even as Anitra led her to sit on the bench in the center of the room.

“Not really and everythin’ hurts a lot less after that bath.” She hesitated a minute before looking at Anneke reflected in the mirror. “I’d… kinda like to see what Loki’s up to, but he didn’t ask me if I wanted to watch, and I’m not sure I’m invited-”

“Of course you’re invited!” the elder twin gasped.

Anitra nodded her agreement. “If he didn’t offer, it was likely because it can be tedious, boring, and downright stuffy. Mother made us all sit through at least one round of petitions so that we would be aware of the duty placed upon the people we would eventually serve.”

“Well, it’s unlikely I’ll ever have to do that.” Lauren shrugged, missing the exchange which took place between the twins.

“If you are going to visit the court, we’ll need to rethink your outfit. ‘Ne, the black and gold brocade?” Anneke asked.

“Oh! Yes! We were just saying how wonderful you’d look in that!” Anitra darted out the door.

“Y’all don’t have to go to all that trouble. I just want to sneak in and watch from the back, not parade down the golden mile.”

Anneke frowned at Lauren’s reflection. “Lady Lauren, if you think for one moment your husband won’t know your there or the people won’t notice your presence, you’re wrong.”

“Oh… then, maybe I shouldn’t bother. I don’t want to interrupt.”

“Nonsense!” Anneke crouched to retrieve the bottle of oil from her basket beneath the bench. “You’re going.”

A smile pulled at Lauren’s lips. “Yes, ma’am. Though it seems a bit silly to get all dolled up for this when I’m just gonna have to come back and change into ridin’ clothes at lunch.”

Anitra scoffed as she returned to the room. “We live for this! If you wanted to change six times a day, we would never complain.”

“Y’all are turnin’ me into a Barbie,” Lauren giggled.

The twins paused and blinked before frowning at Lauren. “What’s a Barbie?”

***

Dressed, made up, and thoroughly pampered, Lauren ran her hands down the front of the court outfit the twins had chosen in a little a bit of awe. After explaining what a Barbie was as best she could without pictures, it became clear the twins had grown up with something similar. They’d called it a Borghildr, and she’d been a battle maiden who they could dress in different styles of armour or costume depending on a person’s mood.

When Lauren asked if they’d had other such toys, the girls had gushed about the variety of models based on the gods and goddesses of Asgard. Frigga and Odin, Thor, Loki, Ran, Freya, and the others, though they were more for decoration and collectables than playing with, which was how Lauren had discovered that she would one day grace the shelves of some child’s bedroom.

Stunned and not a little disconcerted, she’d shyly asked the twins to keep an eye out for when it happened. Lauren would kind of like to see it, even if it made her a bit nauseous at being lauded in such a way.

Anneke and Anitra assured her it wouldn’t happen until her place on Yggdrasil was announced, so it would be a while yet.

Lauren decided it would be prudent to ignore the information as thinking about it would only make her crazy. Instead, she took a last look at herself in the mirror. The black dress moved like chiffon, light and airy around her. It’s v-neckline hinted at her cleavage while allowing her torque to gleam brightly against her skin. Sheer sleeves complimented the gold embroidery in the medallion on her back and the hem which skimmed the ground. In all honesty, Lauren had thought herself finished when the twins had turned with the floor length black coat. It was brocade, thickly worked with gold designs of curlicues and filigrees, flowers and leaves. It reminded her of the blue one Loki had created for her their first day here, apparently a standard of Asgardian wear.

While black wasn’t a colour Lauren typically wore, finding the harshness often washed her out, mixed with the thick strands of gold and the work the twins had done to her face, she thought the ensemble made her look strong and confident, or maybe she was just beginning to feel that way herself.

With her hair beautifully braided down her back and Frigga’s thin tiara on her brow, Lauren made her way out into the sitting room only to slow to a stop and frown at the four cases waiting on a table. “What are these?”

The twins giggled excitedly and skipped over to lift the lids on the first two. “The goldsmith Clareon sent these two. He heard from Ingrid, who made this,” Anneke lifted the lid on the third to reveal the costume Lauren admired from their walk during the festival, “how much you’d appreciated his work, but you hadn’t made it to his store, so he sent a sample for you to look over. Anything you want, he’s asked you to keep as a gift for your wedding.”

“Oh! Oh, I couldn’t!” But the glint of the gold jewelry was like a siren’s call, drawing her toward the beautiful sheen within the case. “And what’s this doin’ here?” she asked, placing her hand on the costume.

“The prince bought that for you. Ingrid said something about the prince and the king conspiring behind your back.”

“Those two little shits,” Lauren murmured, but couldn’t help stroking her fingers over the fabric.

Anitra gave a sharp gasping giggle of surprise and covered her mouth. “Well, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone refer to the king and his brother in such a manner.”

“I can almost guarantee their mother said it at least once.” Lauren arched a brow, then glanced at the final case. “So what’s in that one?”

“It’s from Duncan, the glass smith.”

Lauren’s heart jumped, and her hand shook as she reached for the latch on the final case. Lined in deep blue velvet, a pair of glass orbs waited. One was a soft pink with drips of peach, while the other appeared the yellow and orange of a pretty flower. Gently, she plucked out the yellow one. As soon as she touched it, the colours came alive and swirled in soft clouds and curls. Lauren held it in her palm and watched it for a moment before returning it to the case. When she lifted out the pink, the colours shifted and moved like a sunrise, rolling one over the other.

A tear tracked her cheek. “Gran is gonna love these so much.”

“No, no! No, crying!” Anneke fanned her face. “You’ll make me cry.”

“Okay.” Lauren sniffed and placed the orb back in its case. “I’m fine.” She looked up at the ceiling and fanned her face too. “Really. Totally fine.”

Anitra cleared her throat and motioned toward the first two cases. “Clareon is renowned for his work. I think that your notice and admiration, then Loki buying Ingrid’s design prompted him into putting this together. He doesn’t do that.”

“Ever,” Anneke agreed.

“He’s a dwarf from Nidavellir,” Anneke explained. “They made your crown. There truly is nothing that can compare to Dwarven created jewelry.”

Lauren moved closer and felt her heart skip a second time at taking in the beauty before her. “Oh, my stars.” Rings, bracelets, and earrings shimmered upon their black velvet lining. Multifaceted jewels caught the light and shot fire from their hearts. Each was a master of such craftsmanship they took Lauren’s breath away.

But one pair of earrings, in particular, caught her notice. Emeralds so dark a green they were nearly black crowned gold curls surrounding diamond triangles and leaves above a dangling golden disc with a thumbnail-sized diamond teardrop.

“Oh, my lady!” Anneke gasped. “Those are stunning!”

“But I shouldn’t. They've gotta be so expensive.”

Anitra shook her head. “They are, but he wouldn’t have sent them if he didn’t want you to choose them.” She lifted the earrings from their bed and held them up. “They’ll be perfect with your dress.”

“You’re sure this is alright?”

“Lady Lauren, you could take the entire case, and no one would think twice. Though Clareon may send your husband a bill if you do.”

She blushed and shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t. They’re beautiful, but I’d feel so guilty doin’ somethin’ like that.” Instead, Lauren took the earrings Anitra held and put them on. “How do I look?”

“Perfect,” the twins said at the same time.

“After I peek in on Loki, I’d love to write Mr. Clareon a note thankin’ him for his generosity.”

The twins stared at her in shock. “Really?”

“Well, yes. Why? Is that weird?”

“No! Not at all.” Anitra and Anneke exchanged a look. “We’ll show you to your study after you visit the court.”

“I have a study?” Lauren blinked at them both.

“And a parlour.”

“And a keeping room.”

Lauren could only stare. “I’m sorry. A what?”

“A keeping room.” Anneke waved her hands. “We’ll show you after you visit the court. We haven’t done so yet because the court will assume you’re ready to receive guests.”

“I’m not? Is there somethin’ wrong with me?” She wasn’t sure whether or not to be upset by that assumption.

Anneke’s eyes widened. “No! That wasn’t at all what I meant!”

Before her sister could stick her foot further in her mouth, Anitra stepped in. “We weren’t sure you’d want to receive guests and visitors when you were still so new to Asgard. The prince has spoken of getting you a tutor to help you learn our ways, and we thought you’d like to have a few lessons first before, well, the horde descends. But after last night and how you handled Nesper and his milksops, you’ll likely be fine.”

“And, we’ll be with you should you have questions,” Anneke assured her.

Lauren nodded slowly, understanding their concern. “I still don’t get the difference between a parlour and a keepin' room.”

“Well, your study will be your private space where you can receive messages and answer queries. The parlour is a place you can go to mingle in a less formal capacity with the ladies and gentlemen of the court, but the keeping room is a place you can meet those who wish to speak with you privately.”

“Ah. I see,” Lauren said, following the twins as they headed for the door.

“Still, even during a private audience, you’ll have your assistant with you.”

“I have an assistant?” How weird was that? Lauren hadn’t even met them yet.

Anitra nodded. “You will, once you choose one.”

Lauren shook her head. “I’ve been a personal assistant for four years. Never imagined I’d have one.”

“Depending what the Norns reveal about your place on Yggdrasil, you may need one,” Anneke said.

As the twins weren’t yet privy to what Loki suspected, and Lauren wasn’t about to spit it out in the middle of the hall where anyone could overhear, she let it go and let the girls lead the way to the court. But when they headed toward the same enormous doors Loki and Lauren had used previously, Lauren stopped.

She blushed and played with her rings. “Um, is there a way y’all could take me ‘round the side? I just… I don’t want to interrupt if he’s busy.”

They giggled but nodded, and led her down a side hall, through a regular sized door, and back into the vast throne room where quite a few people milled about, but not nearly as many as when she’d last been there.

Quietly, the three of them made their way forward to stand near a pillar and watch.

***

Loki despised these tediously boring proceedings. Ninety percent of the time, they were people complaining about things that didn’t need Thor’s, or in this case his, input. They were simply too inept to make the decisions on their own and wanted someone they could cast blame upon if whatever answer they were given didn’t work out as they hoped.

Still, it was part of ruling Asgard and if Thor wanted him to assume the duty, for the moment, he would. That didn’t mean he’d enjoy it, and after the morning he’d been having, he wasn’t in the mood to put up with much.

“If you continue to scowl in such a way, no one will want to approach the throne,” Volstagg said, joining Loki on his march through the throne room.

“It has been a shit morning,” Loki growled. “I left my wife warm and soft in our bed to find a stack of letters growing on my desk. Half of those appear to be written in response to my return to Asgard, all claiming I am unworthy of a second chance at happiness, but none are address with the sender's names, the cowards. It seems I’ve upset more people than previously assumed.”

“Fuck them.” The large man grunted and waved a dismissive hand. “Your Ástvinur is all the proof you need to discredit the naysayers. Throw those out and ignore them.”

He’d planned on just that, but it didn’t mean it annoyed him any less. Yet, it was the second half of the letters he was angry about. “It is the others which disconcert me. Questions as to why sons and daughters sent to Asgard for training in seiðr are being sent home with destroyed hopes and dreams.”

“What?” Volstagg frowned.

“I have yet to understand it myself. Those who are tested should be kept and trained to whatever strength their seiðr allows. Instead, they are being turned away. I don’t understand it, but I will.” Already he’d sent a raven to Svengil, Ellie’s helper, to see if the boy had suffered the same treatment. “I’ve requested three of the children return for subsequent testing. Ones I will conduct myself. Until then, I will keep this information secret.”

“Hm. It appears our Teacher is taking liberties she has not been afforded.”

“Agreed,” Loki murmured. “But until I can prove it, I cannot say anything.”

“You will figure it out.”

In a surprising turn of events, Volstagg’s faith helped offset some of his bad mood, right up until Loki arrived at the foot of the throne. He stared up at it in all its golden splendour and something rolled in his stomach. The idea of it, of sitting in that seat had once been all he could think of, but now…

He turned away and waved a hand, sending magic streaming outward. Between one heartbeat and the next, a desk and ornate chair appeared at the foot of the stairs.

“Loki?” Sif asked, appearing from the shadows as the hall began to fill. “What are you doing?”

“Standing in for Thor. Or rather, sitting.” He moved past the two warriors, nodding to Fandral when he too appeared and sat behind the desk. “Lauren is returned to our chambers?”

“I delivered her there myself. She did well this morning, but I worked her over hard. What is all this?” Sif asked, frowning as she arrived at his side.

“I have no desire to sit up there. Not anymore.” Loki waved to Ulrik, who oversaw these proceedings, to tell the man to begin.

He scurried forward, clearly surprised by Loki’s chosen position, but kept his opinion to himself as he delivered a stack of documents. “Prince Loki. When you’re ready.”

Loki stared at him in exasperation. “Do I look as if I am not ready, Ulrick?”

And thus began the most incredibly boring hour of his life since returning to Asgard. Not even the meeting of Thor’s council had been this tedious, full of droning dullards and their petty non-issues. Land disputes between inferior lords, requests for extensions on taxes when Loki had only to look at the waiting man in all his finery to know without a doubt he lied about not having the finances.

Of course, a few people grumbled about the fact he was seeing them rather than Thor, but when the first of the complaints puffed himself up and muttered about returning another day, Sif on his right and the warriors two on his left made it abundantly clear Thor had personally asked Loki to take on this task. Then, because he was feeling petty, Loki informed the man if he chose to withdraw his place in today’s petitioners, he would not be added back to the list for six months.

Gerard turned a lovely shade of puce but finally got to the point. Luckily for him, the petition placed before Loki was one he found merit in and granted the man permission to renovate what had once been the old barracks on the outskirts of Asgard to be repurposed into a theatre space for the Arts. It appeared to surprise the man, but then people had forgotten he was the God of Revelry long before he was the God of Mischief.

It sent a murmur of approval through the watching court, and Loki dismissed the man with a wave and a request to see the plans for the new building once Gerard had them in place. The idea of having Loki as a patron evidently sat better with the man than that of having him rule on the request in the first place, for Gerard bowed deeply and spouted off in a flurry of flowery prose the likes of which made Loki roll his eyes and look beseechingly up at Sif.

She had only to arch her brow and step threateningly toward Gerard to send the man scurrying away with a babble of thanks and praise for Loki’s wisdom.

Loki’s wisdom was the only thing keeping him from playing tricks to keep from being so damned bored. But, as he was Thor’s stand-in, he assumed that would be a bad idea.

Then, the soft scent tickled his nose. Quiet steps across polished floors filled his ears. The drag of skirts whispered on the air, and he turned unerringly toward Lauren. She stood hidden to one side, her hand resting upon a stone pillar while the twins appeared her ever-present shadow. They’d dressed her for court and though he hadn’t expected her to come, hadn’t thought she’d want to, seeing her as she was made his heart kick and his loins tighten.

They’d painted her eyes with gold and lined them with kohl, attaching lashes of stunning length. The green of her irises were so vibrant, he could see the emerald of them at a distance. He adored the way the twins had painted even her eyebrow, so the gold appeared a mask, giving his wife an ethereal quality, while for once, her circlet, Frigga’s favourite piece, rested on her hair and around her brow without being hidden. Anyone who looked at her could not fail to know exactly who she was dressed in black and gold like a queen.

“My prince?” Ulrik disrupted his thoughts.

“Continue, Ulrik,” Loki murmured, pulling his gaze away. She appeared content to stand aside and watch so he would let her… for now.

“Mektild, wife of Absalon, and daughter of Skuld.”

The woman came forward looking battered and bruised and had Loki straightening in his seat. A child, no more than three, clung to her skirts while another, perhaps a year, remained cradled in her arms.

He came to his feet when she stumbled and nearly fell. “What is this?” She should be under the care of a physician, not struggling up the golden mile with two small children. “Fandral, help her. Volstagg, the children.” More magic wicked from his fingers as he created a bench seat for the woman near his chair.

Fandral took her carefully by the arm, the look of gratitude on the woman’s face barely masking the fear. But when Volstagg crouched to encourage the small boy away from his mother’s feet, he refused to go. “Tis alright, boy. You’re a strong lad. We’ll get you a treat and leave your mother to talk with the prince, yes?”

He shook his head of blond curls with such violence Loki winced. Then, Lauren came through the hushed crowd and walked gracefully across the room. All eyes to turn her way. She set her hand on Volstagg’s shoulder and held out the other for the boy.

“C’mon, buddy. Your mama needs to talk to Prince Loki.”

She smiled, and the boy reached for her hand as awe filled his face — all of three years old and already under Lauren’s spell. It would have made Loki laugh if the moment hadn’t been so fraught with seriousness.

A second toss of magic had a wider divan appearing back and to the right of his desk. Lauren cast him a thankful smile and led the boy toward it, her voice quiet as she spoke to him with Volstagg following a moment later, Mektild’s babe in his arms.

Fandral gently settled the woman on the bench and hovered at her side, as disturbed as the rest of them by her appearance.

“Speak, Mektild. You have my attention,” Loki said as he lowered to the bench at her side.

“Forgive my appearance,” she whispered, clearly distraught to be in such a state, “but I feared to wait any longer.”

“Who has done this to you? Why are you here instead of with a doctor?” Loki asked, aware of the court pressing closer.

“My husband. Absalon.”

A gasp rippled through the court. Loki waved them to silence. “You have the right to divorce him, Mektild. You did not need to come here for that.”

She shook her head. “He said he would kill my babies if I tried. He is an evil man, Prince Loki. I knew if I left, he would hunt me down. He would do what he threatened. So I waited until the time was right and begged Lord Ulrik to allow me this moment. Without the throne’s support, Absalon will kill us.”

“And your father?” Surely this was a matter for her family to address.

“Dead these past five years.”

More murmurs and mutterings filled the room.

Loki continued to ignore them. “Where is he?”

“Kjell pass. We have a home in the mountains there.”

He stared at her in stunned amazement. “You came from Kjell with two children? Walked?”

She shook her head. “I stole a horse. I will pay whatever penance you deem-”

Loki cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Is the horse injured or in anyway mistreated?”

“No, my prince. Perhaps a little exhausted and underfed, I pushed her very hard to get here, but otherwise, she is healthy.”

“Then we will return the mare to her owner and explain things. I doubt they will find fault in your actions.” He looked to Fandral whose face was hard as stone. “Take five men. Bring me this Absalon.”

Fandral bowed deeply. “It will be my absolute pleasure, Prince Loki.”

Loki waved a page boy over. “Fetch Selvina. She is to see Mektild settled in a guest suite and a doctor brought to see to her injuries. She’ll require a maid to assist with the children until she is well. Have the barns check her horse and see to its care.” When he returned his attention to Mektild, there were tears in her eyes and more pouring down her face.

“Thank you, Prince Loki. Thank you.”

He nodded and patted her hand. “The law is clear. Your abuse is grounds for divorce and compensation in one form or another from your spouse. That he threatened your life and that of your children is an escalation of intent. By this time tomorrow, Mektild, you will be divorced and what lands were his will now be yours.”

“What if she lies?”

Loki slowly looked up and over at Sal. “You doubt her sincerity, Lord Sal?”

He shrugged. “There are two sides to every story.”

“And there are always people who will take the word of a man over that of a woman.”

Loki flinched. Never had he heard Lauren speak so coldly. He looked up to find her standing before the boy, her hand on his head as he clutched her skirt. “Lauren love. As I am the God of them, it is effortless for me to know if Mektild is lying. I assure you, she is not.”

“But that doesn’t seem to matter to you, Lord Sal, does it?” She prowled forward, grace and power radiating in every line of her body. “Y’all can look at her and think, what? That somehow she deserved it? That she was askin’ for it? Or maybe she’s a shrew, and this was the one time when Absalon lost his temper?” She stalked right up to Sal and glared at him, waves of anger radiating from her along with righteous indignation. “There will always be men who think a woman is lyin’ about a man raisin’ his hand to her, but there will always be women who will stand in front of her and tell you to keep your pea-brained opinions to yourself. Whatever the reason, there will never be a good enough to raise a hand to anyone you’re supposed to love and cherish. There is no excuse for abusin’ your spouse or significant other, and that goes for both men and women.”

“Well said!” Ulrik clapped approvingly, and soon others followed.

Sal’s fist slowly closed, the only sign he was angry. “It appears, princess, we keep getting off on the wrong foot.”

Lauren’s chin jacked even higher. “Perhaps your feet are just wrong, Lord Sal.”

He stepped back and bowed to her before walking away.

“I believe in givin’ people the benefit of the doubt, Lord Sal. Perhaps you should try to see the positive side of life before jumpin’ to the worst conclusion.”

He paused and looked back over his shoulder. “You are young yet, princess. One day that blush of naivete will fade. Then perhaps we can be friends.”

“Compassion isn’t naivete. It’s just compassion. And I truly hope my ability to look for the best in people never fades. I have no desire to become cynical in my maturity. It isn’t in my nature.”

Sal gave a sad smile and tilted his head before continuing into the crowd.

It was clear Lauren was upset. He could feel it, certainly, but it was the whisper of violet magic around her hands and the way her gown rippled in the unseen wind that had Loki rising swiftly to his feet to calm her.

“Lauren, my sweet. Be at ease.”

“Why must people be so hateful?” she whispered, looking up at him with such sadness in her eyes it made his heart hurt.

He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her soft skin. “Life makes people that way. Not everyone has someone as wonderful as you to keep them on track.” Loki kissed her gently on her glossy pink lips.

“I’m feelin’ really outta sorts, Loki,” she whispered.

“That’s alright, love. You did beautifully, and you look amazing. Why don’t you take some time in mother’s garden?” She’d said it made her feel at peace last night. Hopefully it would do the same today. “I can send you if you like? There are a good thirty minutes till lunch. You can sit with the Voktere for a while.”

She nodded slowly, her eyes drifting up to the half helm of horns he wore. “The twins can come and get me.”

“I will come get you and escort you to the barns. I can call a short recess to do that much.”

“Alright.” She gave a soft sigh, then smiled wickedly. “Leave the horns on, peaches.”

“Naughty,” he purred before flicking his wrist to create her exit. “Go. Find your balance, darling.”

Before she could go anywhere, she had to detach the boy from her skirts. He hadn't left her shadow for a moment when she'd stared down Sal. Lauren crouched and cupped his cherub cheeks. “Okay, Leif. You can go back to your mama now.”

“Bye bye,” he chirped, before pressing up on his toes to kiss her cheek.

Though the word came from only a few mouths the sense of awwwe filled the room. People smiled on Lauren and her gentleness, her ease with children. Nothing please Asgardians more than children, and to see Lauren so at ease with them after losing Frigga had a sense of relief lifting from the people.

Leif skipped over to his mother, Volstagg having already handed back her infant, and took her hand. “That lady's nice, mommy.”

“She certainly is,” Mektild murmured, dropping into a curtsey for Lauren and mouthing, “Thank you.”

“He's a sweet boy.” Lauren glanced at the twins.

Her maids nodded their understanding; clearly this had changed whatever plans Lauren had initially had, before stepping through the portal. It closed with a snap, and Loki turned to Ulrik while Selvina bustled forward to take charge of Mektild.

With a flick of his wrist, Loki removed the extra seating while returning to his desk. “Continue, Ulrik.”

“Yes, my prince.”

If Volstagg and Sif both smiled approvingly, Loki chose to ignore it.

***

Lauren let her fingers dangle in the water, watching the Voktere's scales gleam like that of colourful fish. They jostled one another, each looking for a stroke of her fingers, but she was lost to thoughts and didn't really notice.

Maybe the twins were right. Maybe she wasn't ready to mingle with people. It seemed like everytime she tried, she ended up speaking out on someone else's nonsense.

People were going to think her rude, or too brash. Her opinion was going to send them scurrying for the hills, but what Sal had said was just so… wrong! Mektild's face had grown so pale when he‘d spoken such words. Lauren just wanted to slap him in his too smug mouth.

The calm she'd found sitting in the garden was evaporating thanks to newfound anger, and she closed her eyes to breathe it away. One man's opinion shouldn't matter, but it often did. And if that one man was powerful in Thor's court, it could make all the difference.

Mektild deserved better than to be called a liar by someone who'd likely never had a nasty word spat at him in his life.

Little chirps of distress had her looking down at the Voktere poking their heads above the water. “It's okay. I'm fine.” But some of the flowers around her were taking on a decidedly wilted look.

Loki had said her magic appeared tied to her emotions. Being this angry and not paying attention seemed to be affecting them as well. Pushing thoughts of Sal aside, Lauren focused on the sun on her face, the creatures playing with her fingers, and the feel of the grass beneath her bare feet. It appeared she was going to have an issue keeping her shoes on when there was such nice grass to tickle her toes.

Lauren reached out and skimmed her fingers over the petals of the drooping blooms, perking them all back up with a twist of her magic.

Earth Mother magic. The idea of it both pleased and frightened her. It all seemed a tremendous responsibility, but no one seemed overly inclined to push her into it before she was ready which was good. She needed time to wrap her head around all these changes.

A rustle in the bushes caught her attention. It was only a small rustle, but there were so few animals in Asgard, any movement in the underbrush was cause for curiosity. It came a little closer, and a little closer again.

Then the Voktere were gone. One minute they were bumping her fingers, the next, vanished. Concern grew in Lauren's heart. Animals only reacted that way to a predator.

Her gaze locked on the underbrush, she reached slowly for the dagger strapped to her thigh and pulled it free. Loki's name rested on the tip of her tongue, but when the wedge-shaped black head poked out from between the green leaves, Lauren relaxed.

“Seriously, peaches? Are you tryin’ to give me a heart attack?” Lauren shoved the dagger back into its sheath. “You're really pullin’ the same stunt as with Sif?” She shook her head, but when he pulled back into the foliage, Lauren sighed. “Well, c'mon then. I'd like to know what you look like.”

A forked tongue flicked out, then the black snout followed. He slithered from within the leaves to curl in the grass at her feet.

Lauren shook her head in amazement a second time. “Ain't you just somethin’ to see. Such black scales. You're like a little piece of night layin’ in the grass.”

He rose up out of his coil, and she inhaled in awe. “Oh, peaches! Your belly scales are so pretty!” Each one shone iridescent in its stunning jewel tone.

She lowered her hand, and the snake slithered into her palm before curling around her arm. It was only a few feet long which surprised her. For some reason, she expected Loki in snake form to be far bigger. Kind of like when he went wolf, but then, hadn't he played in the woods with her as a regular sized wolf? Still, his body was warm, his scales soft, and damn if he wasn't the prettiest snake she'd ever seen.

“This is real cute, peaches, and you've made me feel better.” Lauren gently rubbed his chin and stroked a finger over his head. If a snake could preen, this one did, his forked tongue flicking against her and making Lauren giggle.

“Lauren.”

She blinked at Loki standing a few feet away. His eyes were wide with fear. “Wait… if you're there, then who's this?” Lauren asked, frowning down at the snake rubbing his head on her fingers.

“Lauren darling, I don't want to alarm you, but could you please put him down?”

Loki took another step forward only for the snake wrapped around her arm to turn and hiss at Loki so hard Lauren could see the large fangs snap down when he opened his mouth.

“Oh, my stars… Loki…” What the hell had she gotten herself into now?

A dagger appeared in his hand as he held up the other and hissed back. The two exchanged a series of snake appropriate noises, hissing and carrying on as Lauren sat very still. She wasn’t afraid she’d be bitten, after all, if the snake wanted to bite her, it could have done so already. It was just watching Loki and the snake talk to each other was fascinating.

“Well… that’s… interesting.”

She blinked at Loki. “What?”

“He says you are his, he came for you, and now he’s not going anywhere.”

Lauren looked down at the snake who proceeded to slither up her arm and wrap around her neck where he lay in a loop like a living copy of her torque. “Oh! I… um…” What in the world was she supposed to say about that? “Ha, okay?”

Loki chuckled and sat down beside her after vanishing his dagger. He reached out and ran his fingers over the snake’s scales causing her warm necklace to ripple slightly. “I was saying to Thor you would collect your own familiars in time, but I didn’t expect them to arrive so soon.”

She blinked a few times. “Familiars?”

“Earth Mother’s always have animal familiars. Ones of different talents. Some offer protection. Some comfort. Some are helpful with magic. What comes, comes. The animals are yours and will be with you for life.”

“Really?”

Loki laughed and nodded. “Of course! They come to you in the Norns time, and through quirks of your gifts their lives extend to match yours.”

“Then why were you so worried about him?” Lauren reached up and touched the snake around her throat.

“Darling,” Loki smirked and shook his head. “His kind are called the Midnight Jewel of Death for a reason. They are extremely deadly. One is almost guaranteed to die from such a viper's bite.”

“Oh!” she gasped and lightly patted the scaled body. “No biting.”

“We have come to an agreement. He is only to bite someone if they attack you or harm you. And he isn’t to eat your kitten.” A twist of his wrist had a black satchel appearing in his hand. On its face were the snakes of his symbol, entwined in gold. “And I think it best he rides in here, rather than around your throat. The fact you have a snake familiar should probably remain private for the time being.”

“I suppose. Though I think we’ll have to tell the twins.”

Loki held out his hand, and the snake unwrapped from her throat.

“So, what’s his name?” she asked.

“You should already know. You named him.”

The wicked grin breaking on his mouth had Lauren arching a brow. “I did?”

He encouraged the snake into the pouch. “Peaches.”

“Excuse me?”

“He said you called him Peaches when he first appeared. That’s now his name.”

Lauren snorted a giggle. “I have a super poisonous snake named Peaches as a familiar?”

“And you carry him in a satchel on your hip.” Loki drew her to her feet and looped the strap across her body.

“This fairy tale keeps gettin’ stranger.” She reached up and caressed the long curve of Loki's golden horn. “Good thing I’ve always liked a strange tale.”

“Very good indeed,” Loki chuckled and kissed her firmly on the mouth.

Next Chapter

[silverducks]

Avengers: Endgame

So, what can happen next to the Asgardians? Spoilers below.

Alright, so it's been driving me nuts trying to fix the way Endgame screwed over the Thor franchise. More details of just why I think that are in my other posts about Endgame, also with spoilers. But so much just didn't make sense... Like how can you fix something so riddled with plot holes? But you know what, if the actual canon can time travel and not obey it's own rules, why can't my fix it? 

And for me, a fix it isn't complete without doing *something* to fix the way they killed off Loki in IW. Because it was stupid. Not the sacrifice, Loki accepting who he was etc, but the fact that someone so clever he was coined God of Mischief and Silvertongue could think he had any chance of trying to trick Thanos and killing him with a conjured knife.

So, whilst I refuse to get my hopes up (too much) that Marvel will right the wrong they did to the Thor franchise, (and it would take an awful lot to fix the way they treated the Asgardians!) here's my idea on how they could (and very likely won't) fix it. 

But there is a Loki show confirmed, more Thor likely in GotG and a possible Thor 4, so something can happen, right?

It's pretty full of plot holes, but as the canon was too, why not?

So, Loki used the Tesseract to sneak off, creating a different timeline where Thor came looking for him. He goes off and has a bit of freedom, chills down (as this is post Avengers 1 Loki after all), then starts digging around and playing with his space stone. He uses it to go back into the main film verse timeline, (it travels through space, why not time realities too) thus causing that other timeline to end (ie, no Thor still looking for his escaped brother.) He can come back at any point, but he kinda needs something to help him in that awesome redemption arc he had, so he's kinda chaos good/neutral. 

Anyway, whenever he comes back, Loki is smart and patient, so he waits and watches his other self and kinda knows, being clever ya know, that he cannot get involved, as hard as that is. But he's also there when the Asgardian ship gets attacked (maybe he was there and helped his other self come back in the Dark World...) and then, he confronts his other self and, as there are two now (as we had two Nebula's interact, why not). They realise one has to now sacrifice themselves. Bonus if Dr Strange shows up, after seeing what had to happen, and either tells Loki at the scene with the Asgardian shipwreck, or when Loki was "falling" in that vortex Strange created for him in Ragnarok, that things have to work out just 1 way...

Anyway, there's two Loki's, they realise they must sacrifice one to push the events involving Thor in motion, so either one (I think it could work with either tbh, but slight edge on the new Loki biting the dust so we don't lose Loki's awesome redemption arc.) And that's why Loki "sacrifices" himself - he knows it's the only way, but that he actually doesn't kinda die too... (And yes, this is the kinda intricate easter eggs spanning loads of films coming together plot I wanted to be a part of Endgame.)

Anyhoo, none dead Loki has this other Tesseract, which he uses to escape, but he knows (from Dr Strange) he has to stay hidden so he does his bit from the sidelines, fighting Thanos' bad guys where he can. And it's really hard seeing his brother so broken, but he knows he has to stay away. And like all this happens in the Loki TV show.

Fast forward to the end of Endgame, maybe even GotG 3, Thor's semi found himself again and Loki can finally show up and meet Thor. And at some point this morphs into the 4th Thor film. (C'mon Marvel, you know you want to, if only for all the pronouncing Thor 4 jokes.) Causing Thor to finally stop running and get his act together. But in the time Loki's been hiding, he's been busy digging and playing with the space stone. The stone that rebuilt the Rainbow Bridge after all, and they find a way to use it - maybe even pick up that Ether stone (finally ending the question of just why Loki gave the Ether to the Collector) and they use them, and maybe another stone or two, to rebuild a proper new Asgard, in space, maybe even using elements of the old Asgard... They fight a few baddies along the way, and Asgard isn't really the same, but it's something to call their own rather than the silly, quaint fishing village as a final resting place.

So ultimately Thor 4 ends the way the Thor franchise should end, with Thor as King, Loki now happy to be a councellor at his brother's side as they continue to rebuild and regrow Asgard, because the Asgardians are like all super strong immortal beings and they need their own place in the universe. And it ends with them both looking forwards to the future with hope... Afterall, Ragnarok is also a cycle of re-birth (and perhaps an excuse for Thor yet again regressing and coming back to himself again.)

And bonus points if Jane and Sif can be there, because I just ship Thor/Jane ok. And Loki/Sif, but that's kinda just an absurd hope on top of all absurd hopes. Although Sif being part of the whole Loki TV show thing, even platonically, would be icing on the cake - maybe she's even the one to find him in his alternative timeline and helps bring things about - and why Sif was missing from Thor 3 onwards. Idk, why not given how impossible plot holes became canon in Endgame. 

And so it'll explain why Loki had so little screentime in Avengers 3 and 4, why he was so cryptic in his clues in his scene in IW (which currently make even less sense than after IW.) His whole story is being played out in the TV show, because it'll need a long time, and many side adventures etc, to pan out. And more Loki, so all good. (Although the humour and awkward feels of Loki fighting with the Avengers against Thanos would have been amazing!) And it meant that Endgame could stay about the Avengers, and Loki's part in it all explained later. And why they can just about get away with Thor's regression, because seeing his brother again and finding a way to rebuild his home and help his people enables him to make one last character development and finally become the King he is, not the King he thought he should be. (Frigga and her words of wisdom and unconditional love for him was brilliant btw, though nothing excuses Thor as the butt of the jokes.)

So there, my very inplausible, clutching at straws, never actually gonna happen, fix it for Thor and Loki and the Asgardians. And I'm sure I'll change my mind soon, but this is my idea on how things could still be ok for the Asgardians...

Another theory I just had is based on the idea I read on a post somewhere where they just catch Loki again. Therefore righting the timeline and leaving no alternative reality Loki. But for me, because he had the Tesseract and disappeared off for a while, he could have gotten up to allsorts, including living out along his time line. He could have lived all the way to the end of it, saw what happened, still had a meeting with Dr Strange so knowing he had to die and then agree to go back with Dr Strange's/ time machine whatver helpand be captured again, righting the timeline. But he left an ace up his sleeve, so he really isn't dead, and the fast forward post Endgame with meeting Thor again and rebuilding Asgard could still happen...

I do think the fact that they've confirmed Loki's TV show won't be ongoing at least adds some weight to it covering the period from him getting that Tesseract in the Endgame version of Avengers 1, to him meeting up again with Thor in a 4th Thor film...

I gotta have something to help me recover from Endgame after all. And if inplausible time travel, wibbly wobbly timey wimey can happen actually in canon, why not? 

#I need something to help me imagine it's all actually ok # Because Endgame just was not.

[odinsonsobsessed]

What The Heart Wants ~ Chapter Three

After your parents mysteriously died, you found yourself living in the very same Palace as the Princes of Asgard. Over the years, you became close with them and your feelings grew for one Prince in particular. When you thought that your feelings would never be reciprocated, you decided to move on. If only things were that simple.

Pairing: Loki/Reader || Word Count: 3.1k || Rated T

Beta’d by @fandom-and-feminism.

A/N: I know, I know you guys. Updates for this have been slow and I apologize!

It was a struggle the next morning to get up. You felt groggy and sluggish as you dressed for the match between Thor and Sif. Thinking back to last night, you suddenly felt the whole thing to be silly. Again, Thor's ego got the best of him and if he wanted to get in Sif's good graces, this wasn't the best way to do it. Because now, if he won, she'd get mad, and if she won, he'd get mad and most likely say something stupid, as per usual, and you would be stuck in the middle.

Thor was like a brother to you and Sif was the first real girl friend you ever had, she made the warriors three be nice to you when you were younger and always looked out for you like Thor and Loki had. How were you to choose between them?

You sighed as you wondered who would win. It could honestly go either way. They were both really strong, and while Thor had his lightning powers, he would never use them while sparring, it wouldn't be fair. And while his ego was large, you knew he wasn't dumb enough to cross that line.

Your mind drifted to the conversation between you and Loki, about what the best move for Thor would be. You saw the point he had been trying to make, but you just weren't sure about it. Without meaning to, you thought about what happened just after that conversation ended. The kiss you and Loki nearly had. It had kept you awake for a while as you thought about the what if's… He had had a few glasses of wine, which was the only explanation… and if you hadn't been stupid enough to speak, you probably would have gotten to kiss him. But was that necessarily a good thing? It would be a tease and you knew he'd never be yours. You had also laid there feeling jealous once again over the thought that Loki had just been cozying up with another woman just hours before. Would he be seeing her again, or was she just another one of his flings? If Frigga was talking with her, though…

“Thinking about your boyfriend?” If you weren't used to it by now, Loki's voice would have startled you as it came from behind you. You glanced at his reflection in the mirror as you brushed your long hair as it rested off of one shoulder.

“He’s not my boyfriend. Just some guy I had a nice time with last night.” You tried to come off nonchalant with him, but Loki knew you and he'd see right through it, as perceptive as he was. Except when it came to himself.

He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms as his eyebrows drew up in amusement. “I'll say. It looked like you had a great time out there on the balcony. It's a wonder I don't see him in your bed now.”

You set down the brush with a scoff, rising from your seat and turning around to glare at him.

Irritation was settling in, between your thoughts of last night, Loki's assumption, and the hangover you were trying to get through. Now was definitely not the time for him to be provoking you.

You tried to ignore the pain in your chest from the insinuation, deciding to go along with it to hide how it affected you. “And no thanks to you for that. If you hadn't stepped in when he offered to accompany me back here--” But it did bother you. Deeply. Is that what Loki thought of you? That you were easy? You weren't the one flaunting flings around on your arms like he often did. But, you wouldn't mention that. “You know what? Why am I even explaining myself to you? And what are you even doing here?” You walked past him, waving your hand toward him. “Go away.”

Loki chuckled when your hand went through his illusion, which you had expected it to. “Someone's cranky.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

“Anyway, I've come to collect you for my brother's idiotic spar, I wasn't sure if I'd have to pry you out of bed after how much you had to drink.”

You stopped rustling through your wardrobe and turned around, pursing your lips, “No more than you.”

He smirked, “I hold mine better.”

You rolled your eyes once again, turning back to grab your shoes. “Of course you do. How could I ever compare?” You asked, sarcastically.

Loki laughed, “You know, if I didn't like you, I could have you locked away for that mouth of yours.”

You slipped your shoes on and glanced at him, unphased. “Don’t be silly, your mother would never allow it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date.”

“A date? If this is his idea of a first date, then you'd better--Hey!” You walked through his illusion to leave the room, not wanting to hear anymore out of him.

He stared at your retreating form. “That was extremely rude! Hey! I'm talking to you!” He called after you, following you out into the hallway.

You replied without a glance, “No, you're not. Your magic is.”

When he didn't respond, you knew he had disappeared. You sighed, hating moments like these. They didn't happen often, but sometimes you couldn't believe the stuff that came out of Loki's mouth. And sometimes you couldn't believe the responses that came out of yours.

You met Olvir out on the training grounds as your friends gathered around to watch. You were pretty late and you swallowed down the guilt of being short with Loki after he'd tried to help you, even though he'd said a few things that riled you up.

Thor and Sif were selecting their swords and stepping into the small arena when you arrived next to Olvir. “Did I miss anything good?”

“There you are!” He murmured with a smile. “Not really, just a little friendly banter. They're just about to start.” You smiled back before turning your attention toward Thor and Sif.

“Come on, Thor… Do the right thing.” You whispered as they got into their fighting stances. You looked up briefly to see Loki stepped up to the railing opposite side of you to spectate the fight as well. You sent him an apologetic smile, mouthing, “I'm sorry.” When he nodded back, you knew things were okay. Even though it wasn't a huge deal, you couldn't help but feel relieved.

Suddenly, a large bird flew past the area, it cawed loudly, echoing around you, signaling for the two friends to start.

Thor made the first move, heading for Sif, while she waited for him. She dodged the thrust of his sword expertly then she aimed for his leg, but he quickly brought his sword down to deflect it.

The fight when on like this, their swords clashing each time, and things were going nowhere. You expected this though for the first part of the fight, their skills with a sword were damn near equally matched without help from Thor's power, even though he was used to wielding a hammer.

The only difference between them now, was that Sif was growing tired, you could tell, while Thor still had a decent amount of energy left, which showed in their movements. You bit your lip, watching nervously as Sif began to just barely dodge Thor's advances, gripping the railing tight as you watched anxiously.

Olvir put his arm around you, sensing your worry. “Don't worry, they won't get hurt.” He probably thought you feared one of them would end up in the infirmary with how hard they were fighting, but that wasn't all the case. They were much too strong and experience to put each other out like that. No, you were worried about the outcome. You didn't want any conflict between your friends.

You glanced at him, smiling in appreciation, but the crowd tore your attention away as they gasped. You watched as Thor and Sif held their swords together, in a battle of who could last longer holding the other's sword off. Sif was trying with all her might, straining to hold her sword… until Thor's sword slid off of hers unexpectedly. You watched as Thor's sword clattered to the ground and you frowned in confusion… that was odd. You glanced up quickly, seeing Loki's subtle wrist movement, which no doubt was him using magic to move Thor's sword. That explained it. With the angle their swords were at, and considering their energy levels, there's no way Thor's hold would have give out. Sif had been struggling too hard for that.

Everyone let out a sound of amusement as Sif used to opportunity to kick him in the chest and shove her sword toward his chest, the tip grazing his breastplate as she stared down at him with a smirk. “You. Lose.”

The crowd erupted in applause and you jumped, clapping your hands together. “Yeah! Way to go, Sif!” You cheered.

Your eyes briefly met Loki's before Olvir was tugging you along to go into the arena. You rushed over to Sif, giving her a fist bump, “I knew you had this. My girl!” You giggled before you moved to check on Thor. “Are you going to be alright?” You were worried he would make a scene and call for rematch, but his calmness surprised you.

“I'll be fine.” He grinned at you, with a wink closely following. You briefly wondered if he wanted to lose. Part of you wondered if he'd asked Loki to help him make him losing more believable, to take the choice from him. Maybe he wasn't as blind as you thought he was. The thought made you smile and your heart warm.

After the commotion of the match died down, you showed Olvir around the Palace, after Frigga's request. You were happy to show him around, chatting with him and getting to know him better. After he settled in and had a couple of meetings with his father and Odin about their plan for him over the next few days, he wanted to take you out, into the city.

Loki was completely against it when he found out, seeing as you rarely ever ventured out that far without his or Thor's company. But you fought him on it, telling him it was none of his business and you could take care of yourself, that Olvir was perfectly capable in keeping an eye on you himself.

And so you went. It felt good, getting out on your own, separating yourself from the castle life for a bit. Olvir took you for a stroll along a street of shops, stopping with you as you looked at trinkets, jewelry and other cool things in the windows.

Something in particular caught your eye, so you asked him to wait for you outside. You went into the shop to make your purchase, pulling out your bag of coins to give the merchant in exchange. With a big smile on your face, you exited the shop with the soft velvet pouch in your hand.

“Have you got what you wanted?” Olvir asked, falling into step beside you.

“I did. It's a present for the Queen. She's done so much for me, I saw it and I had to...”

“That's quite thoughtful of you.” He smiled, putting his arm around you. “Where shall we go next?”

The two of you walked a little further and decided to join in on the entertainment going on in the center of town. There was music and dancing, drinks and food you rarely had because it wasn't up to par for the Palace to even consider making. While you were so thankful for Odin and Frigga's generosity, you sometimes missed life in the city. There were things you didn't get to do often and places you didn't get to go because it was frowned upon or unsafe for you.

You were out pretty late, not returning until after dark. Olvir insisted on walking inside of the Palace with you to make sure you arrive safely. That and you were pretty sure he just wanted to prolong his time with you. You thought it was cute and you didn't mind it. He was a really nice guy and you enjoyed his company.

“I had a really nice time tonight.” You fidgeted with your fingers, looking up at him with a smile.

“As did I. Can I see you again? Maybe we can go riding sometime.”

You nodded, “Yes, I’d like that.”

Olvir stepped forward, cupping your cheek with one hand and placing his other on your waist as he leaned in to kiss you. Placing your hands on his shoulders, you returned the kiss, pressing your lips more firmly against his.

He pulled away with a sigh, stroking your cheek with his thumb. “I'll see you around?”

“Yeah.” You smiled, watching him leave. When you turned around to head over to see Frigga, you nearly ran into Loki.

You placed your hand over your chest as your heart nearly beat out of your ribcage. “Norns, Loki, must you always do that?”

His mouth twitched as studied your face. “Did you have fun with loverboy?” Loki's tone was mocking and you didn't have energy to deal with it, you wanted to see Frigga in a good mood.

“Yes, I did.”

“I see he settled for dropping you off here this time instead of your chambers.” He was following you, you heard his voice just behind you.

You stopped, pressing your lips into a thin line as you turned around. “Because he's a gentleman, Loki.” This again? What was going on with him? In all the years you'd been friends, he was never like this with any other guys you'd dated. He was probably just being protective of you, but you didn't like how he was going about it. It was making it harder to get over him when he acted like this, inserting himself into your business with Olvir this way.

“That's what he wants you to think, but--”

Why couldn't he just leave it be?

You didn't mean to, but you snapped. “Look, just because that's how you do things, doesn’t mean he's desperate to take me to bed!” You huffed and began to storm off, when Loki grabbed your arm, pulling you back to look at him with a glare.

“It’s not like that and you know it! Why must you always paint me to be this terribly shallow person?”

You wanted to be annoyed with him, for criticizing your choice in men and for grabbing you like that, but when you looked deep into his eyes, past the mask and the walls he threw up all the time, you saw the pain from your words. You had been kind of hard on him lately and saying things carelessly. You never stopped to think how it would affect him.

With a sigh, you apologized. “I'm sorry, Loki. You're right. But, you’ve got to stop going on about Olvir. I actually like this guy and he's not as bad as you think he is. You barely even know him. Just give him a chance, for me?”

He studied your face, as if he was thinking things over. Finally, he let go of your arm and looked away, “I'm sorry. I just… I want you to be careful. I hate seeing people take advantage of you. You're too nice to put your foot down. Except with me.” He chuckled, looking back toward you. “Always giving me a difficult time.”

“Someone has to put up with your shit.” You grinned. “Speaking of… The other day, what happened at the end of the fight, with Thor's sword, that was your doing, wasn't it?”

His eyebrows drew up. “Well… I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out.” Loki let out an embarrassed laugh. “He looked like he wanted to lose, but his pride got in the way, so I may have given him a little push. And besides, I thought about it and you were right, if Thor wants her, he's going to have to yield sometimes.”

“I don't care what anyone else might say about you, Loki. As mischievous as you are sometimes, you've got a good heart.” You put your hand on his arm, smiled at him and continued your journey to see Frigga.

She was happy to see you as always, asking about your day and how it went with Olvir.

“We had a lovely time!” You hesitated, remembering what you'd been told before. “I know I'm not supposed to go that far into town, but Olvir had his sword on him and--”

“It's alright, dear. I think you're perfectly capable in going out on your own, it's those overprotective sons of mine.” She giggled, “Go on, tell me everything!”

Smiling, you proceeded to tell her about the little party that was going on deep into town, you described the scenery you passed by and all the shops. You took out the small pouch you had gotten from one of the shops and took out a gold bracelet that had flowers etched into the band. “I saw this while I was browsing and had to get it for you.” You held it out to her and she took it.

Admiring it, she smiled and looked at you, “When I gave you some coins to spend on your outing today, I meant for you to buy yourself something, my dear.” She chuckled.

“I did! It's a matching set.” You pulled your sleeve back a little to show off your arm. “See? We both have one and it symbolizes our bond. We've spent much time together in the garden and I cherish it so much, so I thought this would be perfect.”

“Oh, it is! Come here.” Frigga pulled you into a hug. “I love it, thank you so much. You're so sweet to me.”

“You're welcome.” You gave her a light squeeze and pulled back, finishing the details of your date with Olvir. When Frigga asked what you thought of him, you gushed about the things that he said to you and how attentive he was to you and affectionate he was, putting his arm around you and holding your hand. You told her how you loved that you felt like you could be yourself around him. As you spoke, you saw something shimmer out of the corner of your eye when your gaze shifted. You could have sworn it looked a lot like Loki, light traces of green and gold fading as your eyes settled on the doorway. The thought of him possibly eavesdropping on your conversation, like he was jealous of your talk about another guy, brought a smile to your face. If only that were the case.

@fandom-and-feminism @fadingcoast @igotloki @mrshiddleston-uk @nikkalia @manager-of-mischief @catalinaacosta @jackheart180 @little-blue-popcicle @whovianwookie86-captainxev @alexakeyloveloki @spidey-bites @melodiesblue @fyeahlitaajpunk @sthorkronstrangy @kcd15 @dangertoozmanykids101 @xxloki81xx @devilbat @furstinnajoelle @exbandragirl @hiddlestonstansworld @sabine-leo

If your tag is in bold, it means I could not tag you for some reason.

Taglist is OPEN!