#and also how it’s always Loki that’s the consort | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miirshroom · 7 months

Text

A perspective for contextualizing Elden Ring: Marika does not exist

Consider what gods are, in the anthropological sense. Gods do not exist except in the minds and artefacts of people who define them. Marika is a god, therefore, Marika does not exist. Paradoxically, Marika exists because Radagon believed in her.

"The modern gods right now are the things we give our attention to, the things we give our time to, because time is precious, time is what we use to worship." - Neil Gaiman, on the New Gods (American Gods)

A question asked about 4 months ago on Reddit, and which has come up a few times since then:

"What do you make of the nominal primacy of Marika but the de facto centralith of Radagon in the Golden Order? Did Radagon exist at the founding of the GO?"

What I make of it is that Radagon/the Elden Beast/the avatar of the Sun in the Lands Between devoted his time to crafting a dream woman. Attaining this is the Golden Order decreed by the Greater Will. Because that's how it's supposed to work - the ideal masculine man hasn't achieved golden perfection without marrying the perfect beautiful wife - the silver moon reflecting the light of the sun. But Marika gained a life beyond her sculptor's expectations, in becoming a woman crafted not as an ideal partner, but as an ideal self.

Radagon is Marika and has always been the Marika whose echoes are relayed by Melina. Because both Radagon and Marika are personas in the end - both are fabrications of the Elden Beast that was once sent as Envoy of the Greater Will.

"Other dimensional beings are undoubtedly amazed at what human beings will accept as human beings too. 'But it's just a stick with a person on it.'" - Also Neil Gaiman, about bees believing that painted sticks are other bees

And the Elden Beast is itself representative of the order decreed by the Greater Will. The command to become golden. The Golden Order. Something to which so much time was dedicated to following that it grew to become a god of a different magnitude itself.

Therefore, in sequence: the Elden Beast - or "Radagon" for simplicity - created Marika (with her basic characteristics copied and refined from a particular woman who did exist at some point - see Roderika for example). Radagon governed the Lands Between as Marika, for a time (see Mimic Tears, Marika's Mischief, etc for the mechanism, specifics are unimportant. Someday I'll release my queued post comparing Radagon and Loki), because a majority of the population needed to believe in Marika for her to become accepted as a god consort. Then priorities changed when Radagon realized that he liked being Marika more than being "himself", self-image began to crumble, and Radagon went to study at Liurnia how to be Marika permanently. Its all very transgender, although through a strange route that makes sense in the context of gods who do not conform to the grounded limitations of the real world.

To truely become Marika, Radagon had to be destroyed. Because being another person means not being Radagon. But in the end Marika needed to be shattered too, because she had been modelled on a Numen from outside the Lands Between and becoming her could not be anything more than shallow imitation (see Melina being used as kindling to burn the Erdtree as a metaphor for letting go of the dream maiden). So, the status of avatar of the Greater Will in the Lands Between was handed off to someone else, while the discarded shell of Radagon and Marika wait at the Erdtree to be put to rest by the Tarnished.

The revelation that "Marika is Radagon" from using Law of Regression on the statue led Goldmask to conclude that Marika should remain the Inner Order to Radagon's Outer Order. Not a persona to be worn outwardly, but something to be hidden. Jungian psuedopsychology concept of anima. The gods are no better than men. Corhyn either is or represents the monk who wanted to be a maiden so of course he's broken about it when Goldmask concludes that it is impossible and the Elden Ring should be put back exactly as it was (except now not able to be broken). It's a regression that undoes all of the progress that Radagon made studying in Liurnia where he had concluded that for the sake of becoming Marika the ring should be deconstructed and reformed into a new shape.

From a certain point of view, Radagon was at odds not with the original Marika, but with what the idea of Marika grew to become over time while he was the part of the personality that stagnated.

...and that was generally where the original response ended. But now there's DLC on the way that invites us into a dream world to learn about the origins of Marika. And there's Messmer all done up like what I'd expect from a younger Radagon. From what we know of the framing device he won't be - not literally - but this does seem to be circling around more Jungian ideas. Basically, the idea that the 'Shadow' is a part of the unconsciousness where repressed thoughts are shoved, and it is a place accessible to the anima/animus but not the persona. So, the past self of Radagon/Marika envisioned as one of their offspring and buried in the Shadowlands.

And with all the Madonna/pregnant woman imagery I have just this feeling of dread of having to untangle the Freudian pseudo-psychology mother complex stuff that's tied up in this theatrical recreation of Marika's origin.

But anyways this all is what I think about whenever Marika is called a bitch or a tyrant or etc. It's shadowboxing against an imaginary woman whose physical presence is never seen - Marika does not exist.

#Elden ring #media analysis #elden ring lore #the reason why I suspect Freud is because that name was invoked for a character in Armored Core 6 #Also my dismay when I told a friend that god = ideal self & Elden Lord = perceived self & demigods = personas #And he was like “you mean superego & id & ego?” which I don't think is exactly right but it's the pop culture thing #I get the impression that thinking 4th dimensionally to sort out all of this stuff is a major hurdle for most people

10 notes · View notes

sandraharissa · 2 years

Text

Thor and Loki’s usefulness to Odin in being heir to their respective thrones is definitely some of the main things he values them for but I get the vibe ppl only bring it up to add to the list of proof that he’s narcissistic blah blah blah, when based on how serious he treats his job and his own striving to do his job flawlessly we can tell that he has the same attitude towards himself, and likely Frigga too, it’s just that she never does anything that would make her a bad queen and likely as a woman and queen consort she doesn’t have that much responsibilities and expectations put on her, and it’s also likely the same way he was treated himself when he was heir.

And imo it’s exactly how Loki views it too, based on his speech to Sif + W3 his primary reason to disturb Thor’s coronation was that Thor was unfit to rule, conveying that he feels a deep-rooted responsibility to ppl to for example not put a guy on a throne that’d immediately start a war. He’s got to have learned this from his parents, reflecting that he really internalized the responsibility as a royal family member aka part of the government that Odin expresses many times.

That’s one of the reasons why the play scene in TR felt off to me, cos it’s ooc for Loki. Loki always wanted to prove his worth in order to prove he deserves his place in the family, and I think it partially comes from this attitude he and Odin have towards the matter, hence if Loki did succeed in doing some great deal for Asgard and very tangibly proven his worth, and he’d start getting publicly praised ect. I think it’s way more in character for Loki to find the sudden widespread positive attention from strangers awkward, he'd only find it rewarding cos it’d bring him the kind of praise from his immediate family that he always wanted, but somewhat more importantly, he’d finally live up to his own standards.

Loki was always jealous of Thor but not in the sense he wanted the throne and everything that comes with it but that he wanted to be his equal. So he always wanted private recognition and not public recognition. Part of the jealousy was that Thor fit perfectly what was expected of a prince and Loki not so much, hence ‘failing’ at being a prince. But these ppl’s identities as royals and family members are so deeply intertwined. It’s like Loki’s family never expected anything of him to prove he belongs in the family but to Loki if he’s a bad prince then he’s a bad son, with others but especially Odin showing the same attitude that him being a father and a king are inseparable. And it was all manageable being the ‘underwhelming’ prince but then he finds out he’s not even legitimate by typical rules of monarchy and he’s not even related to them and he’s actually from the race of their sworn enemies, and suddenly in his mind nothing is guaranteed, his place in the family isn’t ‘earned’ with anything and he starts fighting for it and engaging in rivalry with Thor over it. If you get rid of the competition you automatically won, if you one up Thor then you’re the more ‘accomplished’ prince and son now.

It's almost like monarchy is a bad political system or smth and part of it is that it’s inherently traumatizing to the royal family and so the nicest scene we ever get of the three interacting are the two Odin death scenes in TR where they’re just kinda chilling and Odin forgot for quite a while about being a king and just kinda doesn’t really bring this back up in their last meeting cos he’s at peace with his time as king / his time being alive being over.

#mcu #loki #odin #thor #frigga #the odinsons #loki odinson #brodinsons #loki meta #odin meta #the odinsons meta #loki odinson meta #brodinsons meta

48 notes · View notes

kinnoth · 2 years

Text

Ok so I don't think I'll be able to fully implement this bc I think it might be TOO SPICY but--

You know how languages (eg norse) have "masculine, feminine, and neuter" nouns

You know also how in many places, babies are referred to as "it" as in "it's time for baby's nap! Here's how to put it down"

You know how on Asgard, the most cutting insult is to desex someone and turn them into an "it" i.e. "take that out of my sight, it is a disgrace"

The thing I want (and have always wanted) is that the Asgardian convention for gender to be children are genderless and are then given gender as they "come of age". All children are "it" until they're either breeched and become "he/him" boys or have their hair bound and become "she/her" girls.

(this has been in the back of my mind as I have produced meta regarding Thor not fully understanding gender as a child i.e. "I wanted to be a Valkyrie" and also in explaining the whole thing where loki forcibly changes his sex and how he got away with keeping that a secret)

ANYWAY so the neuter is for children who are not fully people yet and therefore to linguistically neuter someone in an insult is grave offense and removes them from their personhood

THAT'S WHY there is a suspicion that is linguistically inherited and is always lurking on the edges of every interaction between the giants and the aesir. The giants have a single gender and therefore their language only supplies a single pronoun "they/them". This does not translate to Asgardian however, in which the only neuter pronoun in use is "it" -- for children and the desexed. When a giant talks about an aesir, it sounds like an insult; maybe if these two cultures had had more relations between them, this sort of thing could be smoothed over and cleared up, but unfortunately, the aesir were too busy with their wars and the giants were too defensively isolationist to allow for much commingling.

Anyway so Asgardian translates jotnir "they/them" into "it" but allspeech defaults all of jotnir's neuters into the masculine, so ironically if the aesir had had access to allspeech earlier in their history, the two cultures might have had an easier relation.

(here I could insert an aside about whether or not it's possible for allspeech to be politically neutral when it is a) a weapon of the colonizer and b) actually, for real, Odin's magic, a tool which he created for the use of the gods -- but that's for later)

Regardless, here's how I think loki finds out about the giants being all one gender:

Gertha, wife of frey, comes to visit loki in the jotnar settlement on vanaheim.

She genuflects to skrymir who receives her, like "hello grandfather, it has been a long while. I've come for the prince shaper, and to see how he fares" and everybody is very excited, all "Lord grith" this and "Lord grith" that

And Loki, who does not speak jotnir at this point and has been getting by with allspeech and vanir, asks angrboda as an affronted aside like "why are they calling gertha lord, she is princess consort to the king of vanaheim, she is a woman" and angrboda is just like "what's a woman?"

Loki is flabbergasted. "A woman??" And struggles to explain this basic concept and settles on "you know, like a maiden, a mother. Not a man"

Angrboda: "I said, what's that?"

Loki: stuttering, incoherent

Angrboda: "🙄you're just making up words. It's always something with you isn't it?"

Loki: "how do you not know what men and women are???"

Angroda: sighing deeply. "Ok, say those words again."

Loki, enunciating: "man." looking for a glimmer of comprehension from angrboda. "woman." Nothing, he just looks bored and annoyed. "Man."

Angrboda, looking at him: "you're just saying. The same. Word. Over. And. Over." Muttering to himself, "so fucking weird"

Loki, sotto, hissing, extremely embarrassed: "a man has a penis. A woman has a vagina"

Angrboda rolls his eyes with his entire body: "we all have a penis and a vagina, what are you talking about?"

Loki: 🤯

Angrboda: "what?"

Loki: "what???"

Angrboda, who usually doesn't give a shit about any social niceties, suddenly very condescending: "my lord, I don't think this is the appropriate setting for this sort of discussion"

Loki shuts up. Visits with gertha, who doesn't have very much to say to him, but is distantly kind. She asks if she can bring him anything from outside. Loki asks for paper, pen, and ink. She promises to deliver him some.

On the way home through the woods, Loki does not drop the subject: "I've seen you naked, in the baths, you have a penis"

Angrboda, losing patience: "this again? Listen, I know you don't have the best opinion of me, but I'm not some sort of savage. I know how to clean myself!"

Loki: "explain what that means"

Angrboda, blowing up: "what the fuck is there to explain!"

Loki, in the middle of a full on gender panic, he can feel his skin splitting again beneath his clothes: "what do you mean we all have both??"

Angrboda, not really understanding what is happening, just sensing that Loki is upset, bends down and starts drawing in the dirt: "when you need it for something, like to wash it, you pull it out. When you do don't need it for anything, like when you're walking around, you put it back in. Every child knows this--"

Loki, still gender panicking, feeling sick now: "so it's all one organ. and you use it to procreate?"

Angrboda, slowly, not sure where this is going: "yes"

Loki: "and how do you decide who will become the woman?"

Angrboda, just baffled: "what?"

Loki, loudly: "how do you decide who carries the baby?"

Angrboda, kind of scared now, doesn't like it when Loki shouts: "I don't know! You just work it out between the two of you? Is that not how the aesir decide?" A beat. "Are you ok? Are you bleeding??"

Loki, definitely bleeding: "no" just starts walking away really really fast. Angrboda thankfully does not follow him.

#internal thor tag

4 notes · View notes

muddyorbsblr · 2 years

Text

relinquish the crown part 1: terms of surrender

Masterlist

Summary: Loki will relinquish his claim to the throne to avoid bloodshed, but only if his conditions are met.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings (trust me you need these): themes of incest (he's adopted but still), arranged/forced marriage, mentions of death, Loki's definitely kinda dark in this one [let me know if i missed anything and i will update immediately]

"Brother, are you certain of your decision?" Thor sat across the table from his brother in the palace's war room, in utter disbelief of the topic under discussion. Ever since their father ascended the throne, archaic tradition was set aside for new, undeniably more brutal one: In the event that there are two heirs to the throne, a duel would commence.

How would the victor be determined? By death. Or by surrender.

Odin had decided that it was finally time to determine his heir, to definitively decide who would succeed him once he succumbs to his Asgardian mortality. Hela had not been an option since she'd been banished eons ago, leaving his two sons, Thor and Loki.

Only now the two brothers were in a room with the Allfather himself to discuss Loki's surrender. Before a duel had even begun to be planned.

"Loki, this is not a decision to be made lightly. You cannot rescind your offer once I've accepted it. Do you understand, my son?"

"I understand perfectly, Father. I will hereby relinquish my claim to the throne of Asgard if my terms are accepted."

"I will agree to whatever terms you state, Brother, if it means I do not have to face losing you in battle," Thor proclaimed. "No price is too steep. Name your terms."

"I wish to return our family's reign to its former glory. I've traversed the Nine Realms and the consensus is definite: They think our power weak ever since Father rose to the throne. At least those generations that had been around to witness its former glory for themselves. The people not only feared us, but they respected us. Now they question your leadership since you were so willing to break an age old practice, they question my claim as legitimate due to my Jotun blood. I wish to dispel any qualms about future generations."

"Loki, what are you implying?" Odin's voice had slightly raised. It was always a sore spot for him for anyone to mention the whispers of the royal family's integrity faltering ever since he'd chosen to break tradition and wed Frigga instead. "Surely you do not mean to say that--"

"Y/N." Thor's heart plummeted to the ground when he heard his brother speak your name. "Wed her to me, so that we may restore our family's reign's integrity and show the people that we know when to break, and when to keep, tradition. That we have the wisdom to do so."

"Brother there was a reason for that tradition to be abolished. So that Father and future generations may choose to who wed out of love."

"Isn't that exactly what I am doing?" Loki's face remained stoic. "I am choosing who to wed. Out of love." He looked his brother in the eye. "You said to name my terms. That no price is too steep. I will relinquish my claim to ascend Father's throne after he passes, in exchange for Y/N as my wife."

"So that you may ascend the throne with her and become King when I die?"

"I will not be King. I will be her consort. She will rule when you pass, unchallenged and with my unconditional support. As her husband."

"I did not want to lose you in battle, Brother. I still do not wish to. But Y/N will not understand any of this, that this was once our ancestry's tradition."

"She's more brilliant than you give her credit for, dear Brother." A wistful smile graced his features as he thought of you. "She's quite intelligent. I can guarantee you that our children will be a beautiful mix of your strength, Sif's ferocity, and our combined wits and wisdom. You've said it many times before: No man will ever be good enough for her. And you've also said that I am the best man you know in all the Nine Realms. I…I am not good enough for Y/N, on that we can both agree. But wouldn't you also agree that among all the men in the realms, I'll come closest?"

With a deep sigh, Thor called for the palace guards stationed outside the war room to enter. "Fetch Lady Y/N. Fetch my daughter."

A/N: If you feel uncomfortable with this story, please tell me so and I will take you off the taglist for parts 2-4, and return you to the list when I am back to writing your regular scheduled fluff.

Taglist: @lokisgoodgirl @lokischambermaid @imalovernotahater @redbluekjw @lucylaufeyson3 @thomase1 @springdandelixn @ficitve-sl0th @mochie85 @laliceee @xorpsbane @gigglingtigger @silverfire475 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @vickie5446 @salempoe @lokixryss @sinsandguilt @lokidbadguy

#loki x reader #dark!loki #dark!loki x reader #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki odinson x reader

319 notes · View notes

godsofhumanity · 3 years

Note

What’s your favorite myth and why? ( sorry if someone’s asked this before)

idk what would be my all time favourite, but these would be my top 5:

1. the horus-set contending

i love this myth so much because it's so insane. first of all, the myth tells us that Set, lord of the desert, master of disorder, murderer of Osiris, freaking loves lettuce. this absolute madlad's favourite food is LETTUCE. and even better- that love of lettuce he has ends up being his ultimate weakness because Horus is able to defeat Set by giving him lettuce. that is just.. peak mythology. absolutely fantastic. i'm not going to get into the more explicit details of the myth, but the whole horus-set fight business is WILD.

2. cronus + the castration of ouranos

i really really really love genesis-type myths where each culture comes up with their own story about how the world was made. and i really love the greek myth for this as well. the concept of having the literal heavens (Ouranos) and the earth (Gaia) as consorts is so ethereal and grand.. the imagery of such a union is amazing to think about.

for me, it's Hesiod's version of the Greek genesis that really does it. i love the way he writes and describes all the characters, particularly Cronus who is always written as being "deceitful" and "hateful". i just feel that he has a lot of character. i also like the way Gaia also quite murderous.. it's just the story of a mum and her son bonding over their plans to murder the husband/father <3 wholesome

3. loki always give 110% when it comes down to committing to roles, and ends up pregnant with sleipnir

perhaps the most infamous of the Norse myths, and rightly so. there were SO many ways Loki could have avoided getting knocked up while in horse form, but no. he just let it all happen. amazing work, Loki. anyways, i like this myth mostly just because it's hilarious and funny. i always love the myths where someone is always trying to marry Freyja and Loki has to think up insane ways to prevent said marriage from coming true. what a mind.

4. ivan and the firebird

okay, my mum used to tell us this tale when we were children, so i guess i like it because of the nostalgia associated with it. indeed, this was probably one of my first ever myths!! anyways, the Gray Wolf is a freaking hero and i love him. i like the story because i feel like it's got quite a lengthy plot to it, but also, it's just fun :)))

5. the labours of heracles

such a classic hero. this one's a favourite because the myth is just so creative. i mean, Heracles is insanely crafty and the methods by which he is able to complete each task are entertaining to read even when you're already familiar with the myth. and i guess i just like classically noble characters ^-^

#special mention- oedipus rex.. it's just a tear-jerker #call-me-gibby #asks #mytho-nerd

59 notes · View notes

dendrite-blues · 3 years

Text

Thanks to @jivewise for tagging me!

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to know better.

Three Ships: You can see my main ships pretty clearly on the blog, so how about something less common knowledge. ;p

AniObiDala, the Prequel Trash specialty! Bonus points if it’s an Empire Wins AU and Obi and Padme are Anakin’s consorts trying to pull him back from the dark side. Yeeeeep gimme the angst! Gimme the pain! I’m here for it.

Leon/Cloud, Kingdom Hearts 💕 This one goes all the way back to middle school for me, but I’ll always have fond memories of it. If anyone else remembers the fic One for the Band I will scream.

Tamaki/Kyouya from Ouran High School Host Club. Does anyone even talk about Host Club anymore? Ah well, this was my OTP for several years! It was my first real angst ship too, with the family pressures on them to get married and the common plot line of Kyouya pushing Tamaki to date Haruhi even though he’s desperately in love with Tamaki. Mmmm delicious. It gave me a taste for tragedy and hidden feelings that still manifests in my stories to this day! (And it was actually the first fic I ever wrote!)

Last song: Twisted by Missio, the ultimate Loki song. oh but Killer Queen just come on! 🥰

Last movie: you know, I actually had to think really hard about this? Usually my wife just puts things on and I either get sucked in or I play mobile games. What was the last movie I actively watched? Hrm… I think it was The Last Blockbuster, embarrassingly enough lol. It’s a really dated, cheesy documentary about the last Blockbuster in the world and their struggle to keep the doors open to a totally obsolete video rental business.

Currently reading: The Origins of Creativity by Edwardo O. Wilson. It’s a book by a bioilogist examining the history of human creativity through the lens of anthropology and the humanities. It sounds complicated but it’s written really well, really simple language and evocative metaphors to help non-scientists like me follow along. I’m enjoying it a lot!

Currently watching: What If, obviously haha. Can’t wait for this week’s A1 episode, and SO MUCH TONY to look forward to! Omg. Ecstatic. Other than that, the ongoing Jeopardy meltdown is highly entertaining. If we don’t get Lavar Burton as a permanent host, we riot! The vox “Explained” series is also a family favorite, although some episodes can trigger that pesky existential dread if you’re not careful.

Can you tell I really like nonfiction? 😅 All my answers so far are documentaries or nonfiction haha

Currently consuming: This really amazing apple honey bundt cake my wife made. It’s amazing!

Currently craving: more cake! seriously I can’t stop eating it, this is my third slice today!

@work-your-loki @ghost-bat-annon @heisconfusedaf @spectroscopes @variantoutcast @wandaloki @janetleako @simuran @bifrostiron

#fandom #memes #star wars #aniobidala #kingdom hearts #leon/cloud #ohshc #tamaki/kyouya #what if #jeopardy #explained

10 notes · View notes

myevilmouse · 3 years

Photo

Today for Trivia Tuesday @jedimordsith suggested I write about my drabble skills and give suggestions to anyone wanting to write drabbles. I recently wrote 28 drabbles for the Multifandom Drabble Exchange just for fun muwahahah. Also this is why, since I went outside the Star Wars fandom I love and live in, that I created a new pseud, Złymyszeczka, in case you were wondering what was up with that. Fandoms that I dabbled in included Supernatural, Resident Evil, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, My So-Called Life, X-Men, Wellington Paranormal, Quantum Leap, Labyrinth, Hercules (Disney), Cobra Kai, Lord of the Rings, Loki, Chronicles of Narnia, X-Files, Sherlock, Star Trek TNG, and more!

Obviously I had to separate all that multi-fandom madness from the purity of my Luke and Thrawn smut!

So please if you check me out on AO3 for Star Wars stuff (and I sincerely hope you do!), note that you want to keep the evilmouse name. I don’t plan on writing outside Star Wars fandom often, but on the rare occasions I do, it will get posted under the other name.

Back to the point:

Evilmouse’s 5 Essential Tips on Writing Drabbles

for your Trivia Tuesday, jump below the cut!

So drabbles are 100 words. Double drabbles, 200, Triple, 300, etc. A lot of people find the exactness of this word restriction daunting, so here is my first tip for writing drabbles:

1) Don’t think about the word count.

This may seem counter-intuitive, but the best way to approach a drabble is “I have to write a very short scene.” Knowing it will be short (very short!) is enough to get you to the word count, and maybe push you over 3, 10, or 20 words. That’s fine. We fix it in the editing. But if you get hung up about counting words when you are writing your drabble, you won’t write the best drabble you can!

2) Focus on a single moment.

When I say very short scene, think VERY SHORT SCENE. It may be as simple as a quick verbal exchange. It may be something you want to accomplish, i.e. a kiss, a punch. Here are a couple examples from my recent experience:

One person requested a Chronicles of Narnia/MCU crossover and listed Prince Caspian and Loki as two characters they were interested in shipping. So my goal was to write 100 words with these two characters.

What shall we focus on? 100 words isn’t enough to explain why Loki is in Narnia or why Caspian is in Asgard. You have to trust the reader to accept the premise if they click on your drabble.

What is your goal? Here, it was to get these two in a situation where a shipper will be happy with their interaction. In my case, I decided they would be trapped somewhere together and alone. That was it, that was the starting point for the drabble, which you can read here.

Another example: one person requesting a Star Wars drabble said they liked when female characters meet and interact and listed old!Leia and Asajj Ventress as favorites.

Same question: what do you want to accomplish? In this case, two characters who don’t meet in canon having that opportunity. A meeting. 100 words is our limit. Do we care why or where they are meeting? Probably not. That initial interaction is the goal. So for this one, I set what I hoped was a mysterious atmosphere and just simply wrote their initial exchange here. Trust your readers to fill in the blanks, which leads us to:

3) Let the “end” be as ambiguous as you like.

Drabbles are brief moments, as already mentioned. They don’t need a proper beginning or end, they can (and sometimes should) leave the reader asking questions or wanting more. I like writing drabbles that imply something happened next, and leave it up to the reader to decide exactly what.

In the case of the Loki/Caspian drabble, knowing that Loki can teleport, and chooses not to, implies he has some ulterior motive in lying about his powers.

In the case of Asajj & Leia, we know Asajj sent a comm to initiate the meeting but we don’t know exactly what she means by saying they will be “friends.” Is she sincere? Have some trick up her sleeve? I don’t have to know! But the moment is achieved.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t “end” a drabble if you want to. I wrote a treat for someone who wanted Sarah and Jareth to end up together when she was all grown up. So obviously the request has already dictated my ending. In that case, I had a couple goals: to tell the reader she was all grown up, to demonstrate how much has/hasn’t changed, and to make her wind up with that sexy Goblin King. Mmmm yesssss.

Each of those goals, which may have appeared difficult at first, took exactly one sentence:

Curtains fluttered, an unnatural gust summoning the ever-present metropolitan cacophony into her apartment.

We know now that Sarah has her own apartment, old enough to live alone.

“It didn’t!” she glared, injustice manifested in that indignant whine she’d retained, like most of her teenage dreams.

In the film Labyrinth, Sarah’s always saying things aren’t fair. So here we see she hasn’t quite gotten rid of that tendency to whine about injustice, and is still a dreamer at heart.

“This time,” Sarah took a deep breath, certain, “I’ll stay.”

She’s not hesitating, she’s decided, and she’s going to live happily ever after with her mystical consort (we hope).

The point here is that your drabble can be as conclusive or inconclusive as you like, and isn’t limited by the word count.

4) Edit without mercy

Yes I KNOW that is the perfect adjective for Luke’s sparkling blue eyes, but if your word count is 101, those eyes are either sparkling or blue but not both!

Once you achieve your “moment” in the drabble form, you have to check that word count and CHOP CHOP CHOP. It’s a rare thing to be under word count, but if you are lucky to be under, just add a few well-chosen adjectives and you’re done. However, if you, like most of us, have just written 123 words of perfection and want to scream because there is NO WAY you can do the same thing in 100 words, you have two options: write 77 MORE words and surrender to the double drabble, OR like I try to do, throw away the things you love until you have accomplished the same thing in 100 words.

To demonstrate this exercise, I set myself a task (because I haven’t saved drafts of my drabbles, sadly) to show you what I mean. So right now at this very instant I’m going to write a drabble about Luke Skywalker being in love with YOU. A Luke/Reader drabble, for example. Let’s go:

Everyone groaned as the briefing ended. It had gone on two hours too long for your taste, and judging by the mad rush to the exit, you weren’t alone in your assessment. As you left the conference room, you almost bumped into Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master looked as handsome as always, but rather more casual than usual, his robes nowhere in sight and dressed simply in black pants with a blue shirt.

“Excuse me,” you said, about to move past, flustered beyond belief. If only he wasn’t so kriffing good-looking… It was stupid to lust after a Jedi—any Jedi.

“Actually,” he smiled, “I was waiting here for you.”

A wave of shock, quickly followed by confusion, made you even more tongue-tied than usual.

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Have dinner with me tonight?”

OK here is where I checked the wordcount. 134 words. Ouch. Quickly we have to edit because I’m not happy with the ending either. And 134 means some serious slicing and dicing. Here’s take two:

The briefing seemed to end two hours too late, and judging by the mad rush to the exit, your colleagues agreed. Leaving the conference room, you almost bumped into Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master looked handsome as always, but more casual than usual, robes nowhere in sight, dressed in black pants and blue shirt.

“Excuse me,” you said, moving past, flustered. If only he wasn’t so kriffing good-looking… It was stupid to lust after a Jedi, but that hadn’t stopped you.

He smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Shock, quickly followed by confusion, made you even more tongue-tied than usual.

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Have dinner with me tonight?”

OK we’ve done some serious slicing and are down to 109 words. But I’m still not happy, AND we gotta cut more.

The briefing ended two hours too late, and judging by the mad rush to the exit, everyone agreed. Leaving the room, you ran into Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master looked handsome as always, but more casual than usual, no robes, just dressed in black pants and blue shirt.

“Excuse me,” you muttered, flustered. If only he wasn’t so kriffing good-looking… It was stupid to lust after a Jedi, but that hadn’t stopped you.

He smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Shock, quickly followed by confusion, made you even more tongue-tied than usual.

“Me?”

He nodded, and held out a hand. “Come with me?”

Down to 103 words now and I managed to change the ending I wasn’t crazy about at first…notice what has and hasn’t changed between these short drafts... not much in the way of story, just how it is told.

Still have to edit more…three pesky words…

Judging by the mad rush to the exit, everyone agreed that meeting had been too long. Hurrying out, you ran into Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master looked handsome as always, but more casual than usual, no robes, just dressed in black pants and blue shirt.

“Excuse me,” you muttered, flustered. If only he wasn’t so kriffing good-looking… It was stupid to lust after a Jedi, but common sense wasn’t your forte.

He smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Shock, quickly followed by confusion, made you even more tongue-tied than usual.

“Me?”

He nodded, holding out an inviting hand. “Come with me?”

Now I’ve got 101 words and I don’t want to cut it, but I have to…*waves goodbye to “kriffing”*

“Excuse me,” you muttered, flustered. If only he wasn’t so good-looking… It was stupid to lust after a Jedi, but common sense wasn’t your forte.

He smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Shock, quickly followed by confusion, made you even more tongue-tied than usual.

“Me?”

He nodded, holding out an inviting hand. “Come with me?”

So we have 100 words exactly, that imply Luke is into you and you have a future with him. From starting the drabble to finishing it, took me about 18 minutes. If you don’t pressure yourself, it doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Which brings me to tip #5

5) Don’t stress, and have fun!

Sometimes I have spent as much as two hours on a drabble, but usually no more than a half hour to get it where I want. When I do the “drabble a day” for Fictober, I try to limit myself to 15 minutes. The point is, drabbles should be fun and low stress. Don’t agonize about them! Sure, you can edit for hours to fix each word to be absolutely perfect and convey something the same but different, but you can also just achieve that glimpse into a scene, that moment, and enjoy your work!

I hope you enjoyed this and/or found it useful. If you’d like to read some of my drabbles, you can click on this #drabble tag, check out these drabble collections here and here, my story told in drabbles here, or explore my new pseud złamyszeczka for those other fandoms I mentioned. Thank you for reading!

#drabbles #drabble #myfic #fanfic #trivia tuesday #fanfic is for fun #luke x reader #luke x you #fandom #fic exchange #game of thrones #and a bunch of other fandoms #star wars #thanks jedimordsith

12 notes · View notes

scarlet--wiccan · 4 years

Note

your ideal billy/teddy duo comic (plot, character designs, artists and writers involved etc)

One thing that I've always wanted to see is a comic about Billy and/or Teddy that was produced entirely by mlm creators. Vecchio, Robles and Gracia are all gay artists who've worked with the characters on recent titles, and I'm eager to see more from them. While none of these artists have ever shown the characters in a way that exactly suits my wants, they've each demonstrated a clear personal vision of who Billy and Teddy are that I can respect. I find that Vecchio and Robles, as illustrators, both articulate a gay sensibility in their designs and are able to represent a range of gay identities and expressions with not only dignity, but real love, which is frustratingly hard to come by. Oh, also, Kevin Wada covers, because duh.

Writers are a little bit more difficult for me. I love Anthony Oliviera and I know that he's got a lot of ideas for the characters, so I'd be delighted to see anything that he might pitch. Vecchio also does write, and his creator-owned series, Sereno, is an urban superhero story in a modern fantasy setting-- something he describes as Batman Beyond meets Sailor Moon. Based on that, I think he'd do a great job telling a story about a witch and shapeshifter from New York. I know that Sina doesn't work for Marvel anymore, but I've always wished he could've done Billy and Teddy in a sweet little rom-com miniseries, or even just a single issue special. He's particularly good at writing tender, funny, and just unapologetically gay characters who signal authentic elements of our culture and community without making them cheap or laughable. That is a quality which I find essential for Billy and Teddy, and it's part of why I want more mlm creators to work with them.

If you had asked me this question last year, I would have had an easier time pitching ideas for these characters. I'm eager to see what the future holds for them, but "rulers of an interplanetary nation" was never part of my vision for how Billy and Teddy would be spending their early twenties. I did have this idea for an ongoing series about their "college years", wherein Billy would be studying magic with Wanda and Agatha, and Teddy would work part time with Carol or Alpha Flight while attending community college or learning a trade, like piercing or tattoo artistry. The idea was that they'd often spend time apart, as they'd each be focusing on their own careers and having individual storylines, but they'd always come home to each other at the end of the day and lend each other support, in ways both mundane and super-heroic.

I used to imagine that they'd stay in that nice apartment Sunspot got them, which would act as sort of a crash pad/base of operations for a revolving cast of their friends. They could convert one of the rooms into a magical sanctum for Billy, and another into a study room or art studio for Teddy. Tommy, America, Kate, or whoever could crash on their sofa whenever they're in town or need to do a team-up. Wanda could help Billy ward the apartment so that he and America are the only ones who can portal in and out, but then Loki would find a way to get around the wards and cause trouble, and there'd be a whole dramatic reunion. The whole idea could easily be adapted as a Young Avengers ongoing if you widened the focus from the main couple and treated it as an ensemble piece with individually chunked plot-arcs, much like the original series.

Unfortunately, that idea no longer holds as much water as I'd like because, for one thing, they lost that apartment and never explained why-- it seems like it was passively retconned out in between New Avengers and Death's Head. More importantly, they now live in space, with Teddy being a busy ruler of an interstellar Alliance, and Billy his prince-consort.

I would still like to explore the idea of them pursuing separate goals and working in separate fields while never being truly apart. Empyre introduced a clever plot device wherein Billy is now able to sense Teddy's location and teleport to him instantly, no matter the distance, which, I assume, works in reverse as well. This feat of magic is made possible by their marriage, which binds them symbolically and draws on the power of their love. They can go anywhere and do anything on their own, and still be together again at a moments' notice, which is super romantic and also affords them more flexibility than most superhero couples. I would still pitch a series about Billy doing magic work on Earth while Teddy does diplomacy in space, and one can always warp to the other when they need backup fighting a bad guy. They could even switch back and forth between staying on Teddy's throne-ship, and getting cozy at Billy's little Manhattan apartment when they want to get away from it all.

I guess my final answer is that I want the two of them to be fully realized, individual characters whose love is illustrated through mutual support rather than, like, being glued to each other's hips. The things that I want to see Billy doing are very far removed from the things that I want to see Teddy doing. Superhero characters tend to lose momentum when you marry them off, and superhero couples tend to fizzle when you keep them apart, but Billy and Teddy's unique strength is that they're never truly apart, and their relationship never seems to lose steam-- they've been a pair from the start, and... they're a little obsessed with each other.

The Billy story that I most want to see right now is a full Maximoff team-up. It could go in one of two directions: A) a quest to uncover Natalya's history and finally vanquish the Emerald Warlock, in which they're waylaid by Doom and other magic villains from their past, while teaming up with their magical friends around the world-- basically a sequel to Scarlet Witch; or, B) a showdown with Krakoa and a resolution of their relationship with Erik, which, best case scenario, partially reverses the Axis retcon and proves once and for all that the Maximoffs are mutants. If we got a longer series, we could actually do both plots-- they learn something about Natalya which leads them back to Erik, and the two arcs become a larger story.

The Teddy story that I most want to see is a Guardians-esque space romp with political elements featuring Teddy, Xavin and Noh-Varr as, like, a sexy-alien-boys version of the Gullwings from Final Fantasy X. Does that make sense? I don't have a great grasp on the political landscape of Marvel Space so it's a little hard for me to come up with details, but I know that the status quo has been totally upended, so there are going to be different factions and movements springing up, and likely no shortage of villains and space monsters rearing their heads when the dust of the war has fully settled. Teddy's a monarch now, but he's also been set up as this Arthurian hero-king, so I think there's still room for him to go on adventures and fight his own battles with his magic sword and, maybe, a crew of loyal space knights.

Having said aaaallll of that, I would absolutely die for a full-on fantasy adventure story with Billy and Teddy. I mean, Teddy's a king with a magic sword and his husband is a super-powerful witch. It's gotta happen. I'd actually be into them having a rematch with Mother, who is a pretty adaptable villain, in that her abilities and motives will differ depending on how she's been summoned. I'd also really like them to have a chance to go up against Sequoia directly, and on more even grounds. Quoi is such a great enemy for them because they represent the same generation of Avengers babies, and, actually, Quoi's origins are directly tied to Billy's-- their respective parents had a double wedding together. Sequoia and Teddy's arcs in Empyre paralleled and contrasted each other beautifully, but the two characters had no meaningful interactions. I want to see thems as arch rivals, and maybe, begrudgingly.... friends? Plus, I love that they're both alien princes who live in sci-fi stories, but whose aesthetics and powers are pure fantasy-- Quoi's a dryad wizard and Teddy is King Arthur, if King Arthur was a gay anthropomorphic dragon.

Anyways, that's my Wiccan+Hulkling pitch. The first arc is Billy and Teddy facing off against Sequoia in a magic forest that he's grown on his new planet, only to find out that they've been set up by Mother.

In the second arc, the three of them grudgingly team up against Mother while hashing out their shared backstories and giving Quoi, who's literally never had peers to relate to, a chance to fully come to grips with the way he was conditioned and manipulated by his father. Instead of conjuring dead parents, Mother seems to be able to summon dead children, which makes her particularly dangerous around the Cotati, Kree and Skrull, who've just emerged from a war and have countless recent dead.

In the third arc, Mother has freed R'kll and they've set their sights on Earth. Billy heads out with America and Tommy to ask Loki for advice on defeating her, while Teddy brings Sequoia before the Avengers as his charge in order to ensure that Quoi receives provisional immunity.

Loki is able to provide insight on how Mother might have been summoned and what the parameters might be for breaking the spell that's tethering her to Earth-616. It turns out that Mother is essentially holding Anelle's soul hostage and has been appearing to R'kll in her form. Mother's hold, at this point, has spread to the entire Alliance, and Teddy will have to defeat her or else she'll use it to destroy Earth and decimate his nation in the process.

Teddy recruits Wanda to help face Mother down. (side note, I'm desperate to see more of their relationship as in-laws.) Wanda agrees to work with Sequoia but insists on calling Mantis and making them talk.

The final showdown is the three boys, plus Wanda and Mantis, against Mother, R'kll, and an army of dead alien soldiers. Mantis and Wanda are able to pull Anelle's soul from Mother's grasp, but this doesn't banish her-- Mother's true anchor was R'kll, who'd been carrying Anelle's ghost in her heart ever since the destruction of Tarnax.

R'kll believes that she's always acted in the best interest of her nation, and she thought that bringing back Teddy's mother would finally make him see her way. Anelle and Teddy have a tearful reunion, but he admits that the only mother he's really mourned was the woman who raised him.

Wanda, Mantis, and Anelle, as a trio of mothers united with their lost sons, are able to reverse and seal Mother's power, which was based on lost children. They are not able to banish her, however, until R'kll steps forward and sacrifices herself, believing now that the best she can do for her nation is to rid the Alliance of the curse she brought upon it.

R'kll and Anelle begin to dissipate, but R'kll's sacrifice has called forth the spirit of Mrs. Altman, who is finally granted some closure and dignity in death by getting a chance to see how far Teddy's come and the peace that he's built in her memory.

Lots of crying! I made this sad. I'm sorry.

#young avengers #teddy altman #hulkling #wiccan #billy kaplan #empyre #robintext

38 notes · View notes

loumandivorce · 4 years

Text

Thunderiron Fic Rec

I’ve noticed that there are a depressing lack of Thunderiron shippers (it’s so pure and soft how dare) and thus I have decided to grace your presence with the ULTIMATE THUNDERIRON FIC REC.

princely duties

Thor Odinson, Crown Prince of the Realm of Asgard, Brother of Loki the Silvertongue, son to Frigga the Kind and Odin the Great, was known for a great many things.

He was known for his great looming stature, stranding tall and proud even for an Asgardian, with muscles that rippled and tensed as he walked. He was known for his illustrious hair, a thick blond mane that he'd taken a vow to never cut, braided and cascading down his shoulders in thick waves. He was known for his might on the battlefield, for the terror he struck through the heart of his enemies when he called lighting itself down to rain fire on those who dared oppose him.

He was known for being a gentle prince, for always having an ear open and the time for a pitcher of ale. He was known for the bond he had with his brother Loki - how the two of them had curled around each other at birth, his tiny fist clenched around his brother's equally tiny pinky, and never let go.

But more than any of that, Thor Odinson was known for never taking a Consort, in all his years.

Very nice, very sweet one-shot! It actually got me started on the Thunderiron pairing, so... :)

AU-gust Day 30

There’s a black cat sprawled across the windowsill, tail idly twitching as brown eyes lazily track a bumblebee buzzing around the flowers. Inside the cottage, a giant of a witch is brewing a potion of liquid luck, keeping a close eye on the fire as the potion in the cauldron slowly turns from pale silver to a warm gold.

Written by the one and only i-am-93-percent-stardust. Check out their other Thunderiron stuff too!

Annan Aldregi

"This is a very bad idea," Loki protests, as Thor leads them both down another flight of dusty steps.

The stairwell that they're navigating has, by Loki's estimate, already dropped far down past the Archives and even Stasis, where the very worst of Asgardian society is held safe. The only light they have is from the simple conjuring that Loki has wrought from his leystaff, and that's not safe by any means: the easiest way to trip any old leywards that may have lain forgotten down this pathway is to walk over them with a touch of magic.

Not that his dear brother cares, of course.

"You say that about everything," Thor retorts, not in the least worried. It's not in Thor's nature to worry about anything: it's quite possibly some sort of evolutionary flaw. Sometimes, sourly, Loki envies him: and considering their parents' wise, measured personalities, on occasion, Loki also wonders if Thor was adopted.

Very nice and well-written, it’s actually part of a two-part series.

Nevermore

“What is this?” Tony asked, after a long moment of stunned silence.

Thor looked up, grinning. The master bedroom balcony of Tony’s Malibu house had been haphazardly renovated, and now had an unplugged mini fridge, the desk from Tony’s home office without its chairs, a makeshift shelter made of repurposed shelving and towels that was starting to list heavily to the right, and a perch of highly disgruntled, pooping ravens.

“Tony! I have missed you,” Thor declared, which was the only warning Tony got before his on-and-off-and-maybe-sometimes lover strode over, hauling him a step closer with no apparent effort, kissing him hard on the mouth.

A very nice fic, also one of a two-part series.

A Little Less Competition

Written for the kmeme prompt: "Tony/Thor, AU - Genius Billionaire Playboy Rivals: Tor Odenssen/"Thor" essentially the Scandinavian equivalent to Tony Stark/Iron Man - the heir to Asgard Corp and his family fortune, he's a hedonistic engineering/robotics mastermind, with a love of Viking history and mythology, reflecting in his own version of the Iron Man gear. Somehow Thor and Tony end up meeting at some event or other, and Tony doesn't know whether to be awed, threatened, or aroused by this cocky, handsome golden-haired genius."

Featuring Tony being salty, Thor being a pining billionaire, and a Pepper who doesn’t get payed enough for this shit.

47 notes · View notes

rokkr-witness · 4 years

Text

Primordial Thurs: Ymir and Surtr

So this project started because quarantine has been keeping my kindred apart, so we’ve been doing zoom meetings to discuss some interesting themes in Norse Mythology. I haven’t cited all the references used for these but I hope I got enough of them. This particular work is going to talk about several important concepts, them being Chaos, creation and Destruction and how those concepts are represented by the Primordial Thurs Ymir and Surtr. I will say I’m not a scholar, and a good portion of this is UPG, take it or leave it.

Ymir

Ymir is the first of the giants in Norse mythology, he dates back to the primal times before Odin, Thor or any other God existed. He is created when the fires of muspelheim meet the ice and rime of niflheim in the ginnungagap, the void. He’s representative of the first shared Ancestor, but also the first “consciousness” to come out of Chaos. When referring to consciousness we do not mean sentience here. Thematically, Ymir is the personification of the chaos before creation, which is also depicted as the impersonal void of Ginnungagap. Both Ymir and Ginnungagap are ways of talking about limitless potential that isn’t actualized, that hasn’t yet become the particular things that we find in the world around us. His name means Screamer so connect that to birth, not just the birth of the womb but also the birth of the universe (the Big Bang).

According to Snorri Sturlson Ymir was suckled by the cow Audhumla for his nourishment, but whether this is a Christian literary device or not has been debated. It may be that Audhumla, who also licked Buri out of the ice, was introduced as a way to present a dichotomy in the myths, that being Buri, Ancestor of Odin as Good and lawful, and Ymir, primordial chaos as inherently Bad and therefore deserving of destruction. But we’ll get to that.

When he slept, several other giants were conceived asexually in Ymir’s hermaphroditic body, and spontaneously sprang from his legs and the sweat from his armpits. A man and a woman grew under his arms and a six headed son under his foot. Þrúðgelmir is the name of one son, who’s son Bergelmir is the only one to survive the ocean of Ymir’s blood after his slaying. This is accounted in the book Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda.

There is some suggestion that Buri might have been one of the beings created from Ymir’s body, and by extension so Bor and Bestla, the parents of Odin. I actually prefer this interpretation, because it removes the dichotomy of jotun = bad because they are inherently evil and the descendents of Buri, imposed(cultivated) order, are inherently good. With all beings originating from Ymir you have one source for creation and one "race" for lack of a better term, and it changes the designation of Aesir, Jotunar and vanir to a more tribal understanding, that being the family or group we choose to belong to.

Anyway, Ymir’s son Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem Vafþrúðnismál from the Poetic Edda. When Odin (speaking under the assumed name Gagnrad) asks who was the eldest of the Æsir or of the giants in bygone days, Vafþrúðnir answers:

"Uncountable winters before the earth was made,

then Bergelmir was born,

Thrudgelmir was his father,

and Aurgelmir his grandfather."

—Vafþrúðnismá

Odin, Vili and Ve, The divine brothers then slew Ymir and fashioned the realm of midgard from his corpse. His flesh made the earth, his bones the mountains, his blood the oceans and his brains the clouds. It is also during this creation that the Gods establish Utangard and Innangard by giving the giants the shoreline and using Ymir's eyelashes to build a wall between the rest of the Cosmos and Midgard- the realm of future humans. Through this the tribe of the Aesir, imposes the order necessary for life(as we understand it) to thrive and begins the push and pull between that order and the primordial chaos of the Giants. A push and Pull that ultimately culminates in Ragnarok.

Surtr

And that brings us to Surtr. If Ymir can be considered your primordial Rime, or Frost Thurs, then Surtr is your primordial Fire Thurs. Likewise if Ymir represents the chaos of creation, Surtr represents the Chaos of destruction and the completion of the natural life cycle. Because he is associated with the south (Muspelheim), Surtr is then associated with the idea of fire, which is common in Icelandic Norse mythology. It can be argued that the figure of Surtr was, at the very least, a local figure given over to Iceland’s relatively tumultuous volcanic geography that was incorporated in part into the larger Nordic cycle by Icelandic-born writers, but this theory has never been proven.

His Consort is Sinmora. Less is known of this figure than Surtr himself, save she possesses/is the guardian of the legendary weapon Lævateinn*. Some theories suggest Sinmora as the Same entity as Hela, but personally I find they hold very little water.

Surtr is demonized as a malevolent antagonist to the gods, positioning himself against the world as a whole. And, I want to dispense with the idea, immediately, that Surtr is inherently demonic or otherwise evil. I cannot emphasize this enough.

“If we associate Surtr with the Icelandic writers, an etin with an affinity towards fire and the volcanic landscape of their homeland, then it is easy to see how they could put a greater derogatory emphasis on the being. After all, fire is well attested to being both a savior and a potential threat to civilization, ” Marc, Axe and Plough

It is my understanding that Surtr is in Muspelheim before the worlds are created. Which makes him the perhaps oldest entity in the Northern Pantheon. (excluding some ideas that the Void itself is an entity) Surtr is the lord of Múspellsheimr and the leader of that realm. We do not know when he became the lord of Múspellsheimr, so it is fair to assume that he has always been. That Surtr has always been. This is supported by Muspell, the primordial world of fire, as the primary impetus for the creation of the universe. The interactions between Muspell and Niflheim, within the great void of Ginnungagap was what birthed the universe (Faulkes 1995: 10).

This Idea is one we see regularly, paths of Destruction as paths to rebirth, creation. It is possible that Surtr is a regular arbiter for that rebirth, and has been through the founding and destruction of several universes. What can be gathered from this is something we see regularly in Northern Traditions, the understanding that though things die, life continues, renews and grows.

Natural science does a good way of illustrating Surtr’s importance in this example.

Take Andisols for instance. These are soils that form on volcanic ash and contain volcanic glass and compounds of elements such as Fe, Al and Si. (Ions of those elements, which are released by leaching and weathering of volcanic rock, can form complexes with organic matter; in addition to an andisol’s ability to retain water, this can make for very fertile growing conditions, after it has had the chance to weather, break down and release it´s nutrients. Eruption(destruction), break down, and then growth.

Now let's stop right there for a second. There is very little information on Surtr however there are some conclusions that can be drawn with some mental gymnastics about his role at ragnarok. His role at Ragnarok is to do battle with Freyr, be victorious and cover all the realms with Fire. After Balder will return from Hel and a new cycle of life will begin.

If you look at Ymir as the beginning and Surtr as the end, and both of them in a system of chaotic creation and destruction, then Freyr, the vanic god of fertility and agriculture( one of the ways in which humans mastered the natural world), is the obvious Foe. Freyr represents creation in the system created by Odin Vili and Ve after Ymir’s slaying. To return to the primordial creation you have to remove it, you have to remove everything. And Surtr is the obvious answer to that, an ever present being that sees the same cycle completed over and over. I’d even argue that Balders return to the world of the living is christianized to reflect Christ and maybe a better ending to ragnarok is simply to return to the natural state of the cosmos, Muspelheim in the south, Niflheim in the north and the Void between them.

Conclusion

So i Started this with very little information and so have had to draw a lot of my own conclusions. Some heathens who have also written on this subject, like raven kaldera and his associates, i think over humanize Surtr and by extension Ymir in ways to make the entities more approachable. but i see that for myself as sort of counterproductive. Others like Ljossal Lodursson idk, i just don’t find that his conclusions hold up to my interpretations, that is I don’t support Audumla as an essential part of the cosmos, but that’s my UPG and so i think it’s important to remind everyone that your UPG is yours and you’ll draw your own conclusions through journey work and research. My dissatisfaction with others who follow the path of the jotnar is not a reflection of the validity or quality of their works.

How you choose to incorporate any deity is really up to you.

For myself, I like Ymir for organic inspiration, but I also just sort of feel close to him as I'm a human living on earth, obsessed with the way the universe is held together. If you accept the big bang theory as the scientific beginning of the universe there is a place you can drop ymir in there. Ymir, Screamer, Bang...you get it. I have found if you stare too long at Ymir you sorta fall in and getting out again is rather difficult. I began to feel very unconnected to other parts of my faith, including Loki the longer i stayed trying to connect to Ymir.

Surtr is sorta similar for me. When you want to start over with a clean slate he'd be the one to help you, or rather his is the power you would seek since I'm not certain I could see something omnipresent and everlasting, that is the personification of ultimate entropy as being able to offer conscious help.

I don’t think of them as meeting people or interacting with persons. Try seeing them as simply being, events or states. Powers, elements, eldritch entities beyond sentient consciousness. Like some kind of Norse Jellyfish or giant space Apatosaurus. They just are, they have functions and they are or have fulfilled them.

***

*Lævateinn

Lævateinn is etymologically considered to be a kenning for a sword (Old Norse "damage twig"[1]

Henry Adams Bellows translation:

41. Svipdag spake:

"Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,

For now the truth would I know:

What weapon can send Vithofnir to seek

The house of Hel below?"

42. Fjolsvith spake:

"Lævatein is there, that Lopt with runes

Once made by the doors of death;

In Lægjarn's chest by Sinmora lies it,

And nine locks fasten it firm."[3]

Bellows comments that Lægjarn means "Lover of Ill" and, like the name Lopt, refers to Loki

There is some suggestion that the weapon may be the misteltoe used to kill Baldur but this theory has never been proven.

More Reading

Arith Hargar- he has an excellent video on Ymir

http://www.northernpaganism.org/

a site with lots of information on various Jotnar as well as digital shrines

Raven Kaldera's Jotunbok

https://axeandplough.com/

Marc has several articles of interest- including one of the few written about Surtr

Ljossal Lodursson has written several texts on Thursatru that offer unique perspectives

#heathenry #heathen #rokkatru #asatru #norse #norse pagan #pagan #ymir #surtr

67 notes · View notes

astranne · 4 years

Text

FanFiction.net MASTERLIST

Here are the FanFiction I’ve read on FanFiction.net. Hope you’ll enjoy!

For each recommendation I’ve linked the story to the title and wrote/copied a little summary. Please remember that many stories are rated M or E, if not stronger. Read on your own risk!

justhugefangirl’s masterlist

fanfiction recommendation masterlist

Love’s Labour Found by Peanutbuttertoast1

The War may be over, but Hermione Granger's life is just starting as her true heritage is revealed. Being the Heir to the Throne of England and a real life Princess is just the beginning of Hermione's story...but how will the Wizarding World react when they learn the Golden Girl and Gryffindor Princess is really a real life Royal?

This fanfic os one of my favourites, read it already three times- I can’t. It’s perfect, okay? For me it’s perfect.

---

A Witch in Gotham by Peanutbuttertoast1

After the Second Wizarding War, a curse rips through the Magical World, leaving devastation in its wake. Hermione Granger is tasked to find the reason, and the cure before more lives are lost. Retreating into the Muggle World to start over, Hermione finds her way to Gotham City as Mia Black, Head of the Black Foundation. Her decision to help the Batman changes her life forever.

A perfect crossover- honestly, this author is perfect. As well this story. I don’t link more of the authors work but there are some other ones which are just ... perfect.

---

Mischief Managed by fringeperson

A man with black hair, green eyes and pale skin watched over a child with black hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a variant of the Elder Futhark rune Sowilo etched upon his brow.

Mischief Mastered (part of story)

---

Green Eyes and Red Hair by fringeperson

He was a practical joker with messy black hair. She was a talented woman with bright red hair. It turned out that they both had green eyes. Their daughter, when she came, was untouchable for more reasons than one. Loki-is-James, Natasha-is-Lily, Rogue-is-Fem!Harry.

I love the relationship between Loki and Natasha :)

---

Love on Her Arm by Eye Greater Than Three

During a trip to Gringotts, Hyacinthe Potter discovered she met her soulmate, William Weasley. Bill/Hyacinthe. female!Harry.

---

The Winter Witch by Kneazle

Hermione realized it began with a sense of Impending Doom and finished with a battle outside her tent. The deciding line between staying and helping Robb Stark, or returning to her universe, is getting harder to see the longer she's in Westeros. But it's a decision that she has to make, or it's one that will be made for her. Part 1 & Part 2 complete! Part 3 now ongoing.

This... is one of my favourites crossovers,,, the slowburn between Hermione and Robb,,, and it’s so fluff,,, I’m such a sucker for dark stories but this is just pureness and ugh-

---

Moratorium by Darkpetal16

Harry Potter could never be the hero. But, she might make a great villain. Satire. Parody. -COMPLETE- F!Harry Fem!Harry Gray!Harry.

Uhm- this is one of the darker fics I love. It’s very good written, cause of this I really don’t mind the ship fem!Harry x Tom Riddle

---

A Life Twice Lifed by Nemesis13

Draco Malfoy died at the venerable age of 107, and who awaited him at the crossroads? His mother? His wife? No, it had to be his eccentric former rival, eventual best friend, and far too often partner in chaos Harry Potter. Oh, and of course he had a deal to offer Draco to live his life anew, and obviously there was a caveat to it all that he wasn't privy to, damn Potters.Fem!Draco

Ahh, Drarry. How I love this ship

---

Persephone by dulce.de.leche.go

Better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path. Better still to be the consort of Hades than a part of his collection of souls. Ten years after Voldemort has won the war, Hermione reaches a breaking point and shreds the flow of time to change her future. If she can't change the world, she will change her place in it. Extremely dark Tomione/Volmione. Warnings inside.

As already written in the summary, this fic is hella dark. So if you don’t like dark fics (especially with all the warnings mentioned in the first chapters) don’t read. I still love it tho-

---

The Muddy Princess by Colubrina

Just another Pureblood!Hermione story. A hidden adoption revealed, a brother found, a new world to figure out: "What are you hoping for?" he asked as they stood ready to do the spell. "I don't know," Hermione admitted. "You?" His knuckles were white on his wand. "A sister," he said, his voice very low, "I'm hoping for a sister."

There are more stories from this author which are just- awesome and absolutly perfect, like the next ones. Since they have over 60, I won’t link every work here.

---

Lady of the Lake by Colubrina

Hermione and Draco team up after the war to overthrow the Order and take over wizarding Britain. They have plans and they'll get power, but the cost of victory may be higher than they expected and more than they can bear. Dark Dramione. COMPLETE

This is perfection. Nothing more to say.

---

Dark Cherry Chapstick by Colubrina

Hermione returns for an optional 8th year after the war and Draco Malfoy, also back at Hogwarts at his mother's request, notices she's changed. A brief dip into the 'makeover' trope AND the 'goth' trope in one fic. ONE SHOT. Dramione.

---

The Green Girl by Colubrina

Hermione is sorted into Slytherin; how will things play out differently when the brains of the Golden Trio has different friends? AU. Darkish Dramione. COMPLETE

---

The Last Peverell by animerocker 646

Being the Master of Death made life difficult, especially when you need to save all of magical Europe from inbreeding its way to extinction. At least Death was enjoying watching his Master attempt this over and over again. Harry didn't find it nearly as entertaining. Well, tenth times the charm right? (FemHarry)

---

Soft, Low, English Accent by Tsume Yuki

'God, you've got a beautiful voice.' Hariel always found it funny, that of all the things her soulmate could take note of -the messy hair, the bright green eyes, the scar- it's her voice he points out first. FemHarryxMatt

---

Bless the Broken Road by Tempestas D. Uzu

Her resolve crumbled in the face of Pietro Maximoff's scruffy good looks and warm blue eyes, and she found herself falling for another person who would be doomed to die for her selfishness. (One Shot)(fem!HarryXPietro)(cannon-divergent)(full warnings inside)

---

The Death of Natasha Romanoff by Philosophize

While helping to stop Stane, Natasha encounters a face she never thought she'd see again. Forced to deal with memories, decisions, and a life she thought she'd long left behind, will she survive the emotional upheaval, not to mention the rampaging, homicidal Stane? Or will she have to face her fears & transform herself, becoming once again what she once was? AU; fem!Harry; femslash

---

Code Of Conduct by tlyxor1

A year after the war, Gwen Potter joins SHIELD. It's a life in the shadows, and a perpetual dance with death, but for the Witch Who Won, SHIELD - and Clint Barton - is exactly what she needs. She just doesn't know it yet. AU. Clint/Gwen. Fem!Harry. Pre-MCU. Post-Hogwarts, Post OOTP. Discontinued.

It already says it’s not finished,,, but oh well- I still liked it.

---

The Almost Forgotten Marriage Contract of 1763 by worldtravellingfly

What would you do when suddenly confronted with a 200+ years old marriage contract by a teen and her lawyer? Run for the hills? Call the nice guys with the white jackets? Certainly not - agree? Well, Tony Stark always was a bit unique.

---

Some Hearts by sakurademonalchemist

Robin Black was a bound witch. However, as the new Mistress of Death she was able to break free to Asgard and prepare to reap her vengeance. What she didn't count on was falling for a certain green-eyed, silver-tongued God of Mischief or being hit by Time Sand before the war restarted. Can she make her way back to Loki, or will she be stuck on Earth? FEM HARRY! YOU WERE WARNED!

---

A Man of Honor by bloomsburry-dhazel

One day, Lyanna Stark discovers an unconscious man in the Wolfswood. Not knowing who he is, she takes him back to Winterfell where he is nurse back to health... Steve Rogers can't remember what happened to him, or how he ends up there, but he does remember who he is. He is Captain America, and somehow he has become Lyanna Stark's sworn shield.

---

The Origin of The Black Widow by The Black Shadowx

The story of how the Black Widow became to be. detailed description of her life in the Red Room and what happened when she defected. this is my own creation so if things appear that is not in the comics thats the reason. i don't things can ever be too far stretched so excuse me if it gets weird. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING TO DO WITH MARVEL . WRITTEN FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY

---

will be updated...

#masterlist #fanfiction #fanfiction.net #harry potter #marvel #dc #crossovers #got #game of thrones #honestly #why do i even put tags here #justhugefangirl recommends {📑}#fanfiction recommendation {📚}#justhugefangirl creates {🌹}

16 notes · View notes

avengerscompound · 5 years

Text

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard - 29

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 3055

Warnings: Talk of sex

Synopsis: The twins are now three and while the Avengers know that Clint and Thor are the biological father’s none of them know or care which blond, blue-eyed baby is related to which man. When Riley gets the power to control wind and it becomes evident that she is the heir to the Asgardian throne, Elly, Steve, Thor, and Tony take the twins to Asgard to train her.

Not every Asgardian is happy with their king’s choice of consort, nor the impurity of the heir’s blood. While others expect Thor to make things more official. What’s clear is, the role of Queen of Asgard is not easily filled.

Author’s Note: Written with @fanficwriter013 who is never going to get off that train.

Chapter 29: Henhalda

Sometime in the early morning some people came into Thor’s room and told us it was time to separate. We all went to our respective rooms. I woke the next morning to Clarke shaking me gently. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

“Well, you look blitzed,” she teased.

“Mmm…” I grumbled sitting up. “Did you have fun?”

“Oh, yes,” she said grinning. “Here I have breakfast for you. Eat and I’ll tell you all about it.”

As I ate breakfast she regaled me with the story of the small orgy she and Jax ended up having that included Hill, Coulson, Carol, Happy, and a bunch of the Asgardians including Sif and Hogun. She said they’d taken it to Sif’s rooms and that the other’s had all gone to bed not long after us. It sounded pretty wild even for my standards, and I was glad she had fun.

I was just finishing up with my breakfast when Loki let herself in without knocking. “Hurry it up. You reek of sex and you need to bathe before Henhalda starts properly.” She barked.

I saluted her and shoved the last piece of my food into my mouth. She shook her head and left the room, closing the door behind her.

“It’s funny because as much as Loki particularly likes anyone, she likes me. But also, I annoy the shit out of her,” I said getting up.

“Does Loki like anyone?” Clarke joked.

“She has people that go from tolerate to love. She just expresses her love differently.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Through sarcasm?”

“That and only stabbing non-fatally,” I joked. “Alright. I better go bathe then. See you in a bit.”

I went and bathed and came back to my room in a robe. Clarke had been joined by Katveil and they were talking about the party while Katveil set up her brushes and inks.

“Good morning, Elly!” The way Katveil said my name was like a little kid who had just been told they can use a curse word. A little scared they might get in trouble but excited to try the word on their tongue. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”

“So excited. I never let myself want this before now. And now I am getting it, it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.” I said taking off my robe.

“I’m so happy for you all,” she said. “Get comfortable. We are going to be here for a long time.”

I tied my hair up and lay down on my stomach and Katveil began to carefully fill in the linework she had done yesterday.

“So reflecting… do I just close my eyes and think about them?” I asked.

“We could ask you questions if that will help,” Katveil said.

“Okay, yes. That could work.” I agreed.

“Hmm… okay then,” Katveil said. “Do you have a favorite?”

I thought about the question seriously. The answer was always automatically no, but there was more to it than just yes or no. “No. But it’s different with all of them and some feel like they are more mine than others. Like Sam and Clint are like my best friends and I love being around them. Like all the time. Whereas Bruce and Tony challenge me, they push a lot, but I am very protective of them and I feel like they are mine. They don’t belong to the others the way they belong to me. But while they are mine, I feel like I am Natasha’s.”

“Huh,” Katveil said. “I haven’t really been in a relationship. So I don’t really have anything to compare that to.”

“Well, you have all the time in the world. I didn’t understand it until I was in the middle of it. And not just the polyamory stuff. But just being in love in general,” I explained.

“Oh?” Katveil asked.

“Oh yeah,” I said, smiling to myself. “Before them, I didn’t think I was the relationship type. I didn’t understand love. I didn’t understand romance. I didn’t even really trust people.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Clarke teased.

“Well, it’s true,” I snarked. “I only started up with Nat because I knew she dated other people and I couldn’t get hurt if it never got serious.”

“Huh,” Katveil said. She stopped painting for a moment and then quickly went back to it like she’d just realized what she was supposed to be doing.

“You should see this thing, Blue,” Clarke said.

“I wish that I could,” I said. “But I can tell you, being painted on feels amazing.”

“Then I’m doing my job well,” Katveil said.

“I bet Hulk is enjoying it.” I hummed, imagining him lying down and being painted on.

“Is he the Hulk?” Katveil asked.

“I think so. Bruce was having a lot of trouble handling it,” I said. “It’s a shame though, it’s so relaxing.”

“I am sure they are working with him nicely,” Katveil said.

I chuckled. “If they weren’t we’d know about it.”

Clarke cracked up. “Yeah, that would draw some attention.”

Katveil chuckled and the three of us fell into mostly silence. I relaxed, letting the brush strokes on my back ease me into a light doze.

“So…” Katveil said after a little while. “Before you said the feelings were different with each of them?”

“Yes. It’s just as much, but for each of them it feels different,” I explained. “Like with Wanda. She’s really soft and caring and she makes me feel nurtured and nurturing. I want to be quiet with her and cuddle and hold each other. With Tony, I have to keep my jealousy in check because I get a little possessive of him. He was very hurt when I met him and it’s almost like I don’t trust anyone else not to hurt him again. Natasha, it feels super white-hot most of the time, but I also know when I’m at my weakest she’ll be there to wrap me up and make me feel protected.”

“I guess that makes sense. Different people need different things,” she mused.

“Exactly. Just like that,” I said.

“Tell me about each one,” she said.

I thought about it for a moment. “I love how Bruce can be soft and shy and gently and then rough and commanding and it's me that brings though out of him. I like geeking out about biology with him. I love it when he starts talking about things and I can't even understand what he's talking about anymore.

“And with Natasha, I love how loyal she is. How protective. How wild she can get and how bossy. I love how well she reads us and can always tell exactly what we need even when we don't know it. I love that with me, she lets herself be vulnerable and afraid and she knows I don't judge her for it.”

“That’s cute,” Katveil said affectionately.

“Okay... so Clint is a big dork. I love that about him. How funny he is. How loving. How he is so good at getting people into the headspace that they can do the things they need to do. I love how up for everything he is. Even when he's doubting himself. I love that he's so so smart but he pretends he's not so people don't have their expectations of him too high. I also love that with me, he pushes boundaries he's sometimes too scared to because he trusts me so much,” I explained.

“Tony I love how smart he is, and how funny. I love watching him work and when he gets all hyper-focused on something. I love how quickly we fell even after he'd been hurt so badly. I love how much he trusts me even when he didn't know me. How even when he's so scared he doesn't know what to do, what he wants more than anything is for us to be okay and to be provided for. I love how even though he could take us to expensive restaurants all the time, he'd rather eat burgers and pizza. I love how he tells me he loves me, even when he's not using the words.”

“How does that work?” Katveil asked.

“You just have to listen to him. If you listen you can hear it,” I said.

“Okay, who’s next?” She asked.

“Alright, so Sam. Sam is somehow both the coolest and sweetest person ever. I love how he just deals with shit. It almost doesn't matter what it is. I love how open he is to people. How caring. How he just wants to help people, whether it be the superhero stuff, or just to have them feel better when they're struggling with things. I love how playful he is with me. How he teases me. I love how free he is with his affection and that he'll come to me when he's feeling very cuddly because he knows I'm always down for cuddles,” I answered. “I love how Steve is this paradox. How he's so loving and understanding and caring, but how he's also such a huge fucking dumb ass. I love how passionate he is about things that are important to him. How he really backs up the things he believes in. I love how he adapts to things. I love that he sees the best in people. That he encourages the best in them. I love that he always has his heart open. I love that he will talk to me about how he's feeling even when he won't talk to anyone else because I have no expectations of how he should be and he knows that.”

“A paradox,” Katveil repeated almost to herself.

“Bucky is such a caring and soft boy. He always puts everyone ahead of himself. He had so much bad stuff happen to him, and he blames himself so much for it. I love that he'll let himself relax with us. He can't always do it, but it's more and more every day and now it's so rare to see the tense and worried Bucky. Even though he's often that with other people. I love how loving he is. How he is slow to open his heart but when it's open you're his person. I love his sense of humor. How he teases people and banters with them. I love how he always stops to pet dogs. Clint does that too actually. It's super cute. I love how when you become Bucky’s person, he's this huge flirt.” I continued. “Wanda is my sweet soft cuddly one. She is probably the most powerful one. Even compared to Thor. But she's also so soft and so fragile. I love how nothing has made her hard. She just loves. So fiercely. I love how when I'm in bed she'll just crawl into my arms and snuggle in. I love how she's not scared of her powers. She loves them and she shows them off. I love how she's quick to reassure people. I love how much of a mother she is. You know those people who are just kinda moms? But at the same time, she's just this cute little innocent thing. I love how she just comes into my room after I finished work and curls up on my bed like a cat to talk to me while I change. I love how she's willing to need people. She doesn't see that as a weakness.”

“Aww, curls up like a cat. That’s cute,” Katveil said.

“Yes, it’s very cute. She’s my cute bean,” I hummed.

“Was that all of them?” She asked.

“You’re forgetting the reason why I’m here,” I chuckled.

She made a small squeak sound and shook her head. “Yes, the king.”

“That's him,” I teased. “You know I had been with Nat for about a year before I even met Thor. I'd heard so much about him. They used to tease me for having a crush on him when really, I think they were projecting. They loved him so much. From what I hear, he's the one that convinced them that they could all be together if that's what they wanted.”

“Yes, that’s what he does,” Katveil agreed. “He inspires.”

“Oh yeah. He definitely does. And he's there where you need him. I met him because we were attacked. They took Wanda, Bucky, and Clint. They were toying with us. I called out to Heimdall to send him to help and the others laughed at me. But he came.”

Katveil gave a small nod. “It must have been necessary.”

“Oh yeah. It was. But that's what he's like. If you need him, he's there. I love how selfless he is. How good he makes people feel about themselves. I love how when he makes you feel like the most important person in the universe when he's with you.”

“So it is like you are each a brick in a foundation,” Katveil said.

“Yeah. Exactly. That is a perfect way to put it,” I agreed.

She smiled and put her paintbrushes down. “Guess what?” She said.

“Finished my back?” I asked.

“I have,” she confirmed. “It needs time to dry fully. So I will go and have them bring lunch in. Just relax a bit longer.”

“Thank you, Kat,” I said.

She headed out into the living room and I looked over at Clarke. “How does it look?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous,” Clarke said. “Storytelling worked into it too. Well, I think.”

“Wow. Can’t wait to see it,” I said.

Katveil returned and I propped myself up on my elbows and ate the plate that was given to me. Occasionally she would touch my back gently and look at her fingers like she was testing how dry it was.

I finished my plate and Clarke took it and put it aside. “When you’re ready,” Katveil said.

“It’s dry?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “You are safe to move.”

I rolled over and sat up grabbing a glass of water and taking a long drink. “Maybe I should pee first.”

Katveil giggled. “Yes, that’s a good idea.”

I stood up. “Did you eat?”

“Did I eat?” She asked.

“Yes. Did you?” I repeated.

“The queen asks about my well being.” She said sounding shocked.

“Kat, I thought you said we were friends.” I scolded.

“Right, sorry.” She said, shaking her head. “I did eat, yes. Go… pee.”

I chuckled and grabbed the robe and went to the bathroom. When I came back I lay down and this time instead of doing the coloring, she began to fill in one of the blank spaces she had left for our symbols.

“What do you expect from the union?” Katveil asked as she did the intricate line work.

“I mean, I have been told we get our lives extended and powers. I’m glad that means that the others won’t have to face watching us grow old and die. But I think even if that wasn’t the case I’d be excited. I’m excited I get to have this thing where we get up and say to everyone, these are our people and we commit ourselves to each other.”

“So … claiming them?” Katveil asked.

“No. Not that. But not hiding and not being ashamed. Acknowledging them,” I said. “On Earth … Midgard… We were secret for so long because of the stigma of polyamory, that it is nice we get to have this. We can’t even have our relationship formally recognized there. If Tony were to die he could say we get his things, but there would be no guarantee that we’d get them.”

Katveil shook her head. “Midgard needs to stop being so repressed.”

“No argument from me,” Clarke laughed.

Katveil continued to work through the afternoon. The symbols for each person were all placed low around my hips and the insides of my thighs. Each done in that style that resembled a nordic mandella. Steve’s resembled a shield with a quill and inkwell tipped over on it. As she colored it the ink showed as bleeding colors that represented each of us into the shield. Blended into the shield was the rune Tỷr. Bucky’s was a wolf with what looked like an entire galaxy of stars in its eyes. The rune blended into it was eihwaz. Tony’s was half arc reactor, half-atom with the rune fehu. Bruce was a coin, that appeared to be in motion. On one side was the trefoil, the other side a green teddy bear. The rune that was worked into it was Ur. Clint had what looked like a cup of coffee and two arrows that were laid out into the shape of the rune nauðr, over a chevron. Natasha had her black widow symbol with a long-stemmed rose, complete with thorns. Her rune was algiz. Sam’s symbol was a feather that blended out into falcons taking flight, along with his wedged symbol and the rune raihdo. Wanda was the curved M of her logo with the rune ansus on a bleeding heart orchid. Thor’s was Mjolnir with sparks that came off her and connected with everyone else’s symbol. On the handle of Mjolnir was the rune thuisaz.

As Katveil colored, the images seemed to come to life, almost like a kind of magic ran through them. The colors seemed to be part of the story. In some places, they were bright primary colors. In others washed out watercolors. Some were metallic and shimmered in the light A thread of gold seemed to run through the whole scene connecting each part like it was a story, but while something I could vaguely understand, others I wasn’t sure about.

By the end, I was covered neck down in the artwork. Even on the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. Katveil wished me well for the wedding and said she would be in the crowd and I spent the rest of the night with Clarke. The kids came in to see me for a little while and we played games and ate dessert. They were then taken to see Bruce so he could read them their bedtime story.

When I went to sleep I was buzzing with excitement. Tomorrow was the day my life was going to change forever and I couldn’t wait.

// NEXT

136 notes · View notes

fanficwriter013 · 5 years

Text

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard - 16

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 3613

Warnings:

Author’s Note: Written with @avengerscompound (insert witty comment here.)

Chapter 16: Reunited

Our moment of relaxed contentment didn’t last too long. By the end of the same day, Thor had come clean about the Fenestare, which had led to a long argument about whether it was okay to even participate in a battle to the death, how dangerous it was, and how it put the rest of us at risk too.

Tony wanted to leave. Even the tiniest risk to the kids’ safety and he was on edge. And so far there had been a lot of those. Steve wasn’t so sure if we should leave. If Thor was so determined to do this, he wanted to be there to support him. He was very vocal about the fact that he did not think Thor should do it on moral terms.

Nothing was changing Thor’s mind though, so we spent the following day, highly strung as he prepared for the fight. Tony dragged Steve to the lab to finish the bots and Thor had made me and the kids follow him around all day. They were tired and cranky as we went back to his royal chambers. Pietro was curled up in my arms and Riley was throwing herself around in Thor’s rather dramatically when Sif stormed in.

“Why was I informed, immediately upon arrival that there is going to be a Fenestare?” She asked, squaring up to Thor and poking him in the chest. “It’s like this place doesn’t function when I’m not here.”

I couldn’t even pretend I cared about what Sif had to say about the Fenestare. I was too excited she was back. If she was back it meant the others might be here too. “Did you bring them?”

“Yes,” Sif said. “I took them to your chambers. They are settling in.”

I whined and looked at Thor. He handed me Riley and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Volstagg, could you please escort the Lady Elise to the others.”

“Of course,” Volstagg said and gestured to the door.

“And I will stay here and attempt to slap some sense into our King,” Sif said.

I followed Volstagg down to our chambers carrying both the kids and when I stepped inside I found them all looking high strung and pacing the room.

“You’re going to need to explain what’s going on fast,” Wanda said. “I’m starting to lose them.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” I said putting the kids down. They both immediately started bouncing and jogging on the spot like they wanted to run to the rest of their family but couldn’t decide who they should run to first. “Why do you guys always have to go so negative?”

“Because an alien shows up, demands we all come here, and the mind-reader immediately jumps on board,” Natasha said folding her arms in front of her. “That’s suspicious.”

“Can one of you indicate to your kids to come to them, they’re about to explode,” I said. “The rest of you take a seat.”

“Who wants Daj?” Wanda asked crouching down and opening her arms. Riley charged over to her and slammed into her. I crouched and pointed to Clint and Pietro ran over to him and immediately started scaling him.

Almost everyone took a seat in the couches. Bucky, Natasha, and Bruce couldn’t seem to settle though, and the three of them kept pacing the room.

“Okay… so, there’s been a little descension here that Thor was unaware of the extent of. A section of his people believe he was too young for the job, but originally there was no other choice but him or Loki and he was the preference. So they would make him jump through hoops and he’d do it. Only now a faction claiming there are two older siblings. They believe that the firstborn son should be ruling and not Thor and are causing some trouble. A few things have happened.” I explained as I sat forward on the couch.

“There’s a what?” Natasha asked.

“Brother. Though there has been no actual sign of him. There is a claim he was kidnapped and raised by the rulers of one of the other realms in the hope to put him in charge of Asgard and then they would rule the nine realms.” I answered.

“You said some things happened?” Bucky asked. He was flexing his metal hand and looked as close to being the soldier as I’d seen him in a long time.

“There was an attempt to kidnap and murder Riley and I,” I said. “A guard and a woman from that other realm attacked us.”

“And where are they now?” Bucky asked in a completely flat and rather terrifying tone.

“In prison. Loki has been dealing with them.”

“I want to see them.” Bucky seethed looking at the door.

“That is not a good idea,” Loki said, coming into the room followed by Fandral.

“It’s also not why you’re here,” I added.

Bucky wheeled back to me. “What? There’s more?”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “It’s about the hoops he’s having to jump. Right now he’s preparing for a fight to the death he has to participate in. Though that is also not why you’re here. When we got here, we were almost forced to … well, marry him. He has to be bonded with someone to rule if he has a child. Without telling him or us they were going to force the ceremony. He managed to get them to give us two weeks. I couldn’t do it without you guys at least knowing about it. But… and I guess I’m proposing for him right now. He’d like it to be all of you.”

“A what?” Natasha asked. “And a what?”

“Deathmatch. Wedding.” I said counting them off on my fingers. “And -” I took a breath and huffed, blowing my hair off my brow. “- the thing about the wedding is… it will mean our life expectancies change. They will all be pulled in line with Thor’s.”

“Can you boil that down just a wee bit for my dumb brain?” Clint asked as he cuddled with Pietro.

“The ceremony is called bonding. It doesn’t change the rules of the relationship. It just means we are bonded to Thor. And each other. We will have a special connection. For those of us like me who are going to get the usual 78 years most likely, we will now get closer to 5000. For Bucky, Steve, maybe you B, and you Nat. You’ll live significantly less. Plus Thor will be promised to you. You won’t ever have to worry about being alone. So… we don’t all have to do it. But he has to do it with someone. If you don’t want to that’s okay, but we all need to agree on who does and if that’s okay.”

“Is there a place I can go to punch things?” Bucky asked in a low voice.

I looked over at Loki, but Volstagg stepped forward. “Let me take you to the training arena.” He said. “Is there anyone else that would like to work out their tension?”

Natasha raised her hand. Volstagg indicated to the door with his ax and the three of them headed out together.

Sam moved over and wrapped his arm around me and I melted into him. “I missed you guys.”

“How have you been doing, sweetie?” Wanda asked rubbing my leg.

“I guess you could say I’ve been a little bit stressed,” I said.

Sam rubbed my arm and kissed the top of my head. “That’s totally understandable, princess.” He said. “You’re safe and we’re all here.”

“What about you, my darlings? Have you been having fun?” Wanda asked the kids.

“Uncle Woki has a big wibwawy,” Pietro answered.

“Yeah? How big?” Clint asked.

Pietro stretched his arms up over his head. “Is big. So many.”

“Piet, you should tell daddy about what Fandral has been teaching you,” I said.

Pietro stood up on Clint’s thighs and started jumping. “Daddy! Daddy!” He said excitedly and then started babbling so fast that it was hard to make out any words.

“Buddy. Buddy, slow down.” Clint said, holding Pietro’s hands.

“Dere’s a pony, daddy. I rided da pony.” He squealed.

“Oh, really?” Clint asked.

“Fandral was teaching him to ride while Thor taught Riley how to use her powers,” I explained.

“That sounds like a lot of fun, buddy,” Clint said, and Pietro slammed himself against him and nuzzled into his neck. “So… the immortality thing.”

“I don’t know what to do. I worry about him.” I said poking Pietro.

“Well, maybe he falls in love with an Asgardian,” Clint said. “Or maybe Earth Science can cure diseases.”

“Or maybe we have to watch him age and then die and we’ll just be stuck like this,” I said, frowning.

“Well, yeah,” Clint said and kissed the top of Pietro’s head. “I dunno. Still don’t really see it as a problem.”

“You want to do it?” I asked. “Just like that?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” I said, furrowing my brow. “It’s huge. It means a lot.”

“Why don’t you talk us through it, honey?” Sam asked.

“We’ll have to watch everyone we know die. That means probably Piet. Hill, Coulson, Scott, Rhodey, Clarke.” I said. “It means that all the shit we deal with on Earth could get worse because we will always just be there. We might stop even being able to relate to people or form proper bonds with them. They might start thinking we’re gods too.”

“Where did that fear even come from?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. Anne Rice?”

Sam chuckled and Clint shook his head. “So, fiction? Have you tried actually talking to someone who has experience with that kind of thing?” Clint asked.

“What like Thor? The god of thunder?” I snarked.

“Well, what about that guy?” Clint asked, gesturing to Fandral.

“I’m afraid I’m not a good example,” Fandral said with a small bow. “I have lived a normal life for what is expected on Asgard. I have seen my elders die but I haven’t had to outlive any of my peers. At least not in terms of watching them grow old. I’ve lost friends in battle.”

“Oh,” Clint said.

“There is a chance that young Loki here may outlive us all. The stories say there are celestials who existed before existence. There is only one known case of their death and the skull is now the homeworld of many people. Then came the All fathers. The Ice Giants came with them. They were violent and burned a path through the universe before them. Then Odin was born of the Allfathers. That was when the universe began to settle. Other worlds grew and their own life forms formed with their own life spans. But here on Asgard we live thousands of years and are revered as gods.”

“Okay, but would you choose to outlive some people by millennia if you could?” Clint asked.

Fandral approached us and took a seat next to Loki. “That seems inevitable. People die in war. I outlived the Valkyrie. My parents.”

“The what?” Clint asked.

“Valkyrie? The warrior women?” Fandral asked with a mixture of shock and disbelief. “You haven't heard of them?” When Clint shook his head, Fandral sat up straight and clapped his hands. “A story for the little prince and princess. Once upon a time, Odin was stretching his rule over the Nine Realms. There was much fighting within them and he wished to restore peace and order. He took with him an army of women who rode upon winged horses. They were the most formidable army in all the realms. All who they went up against fell. Until one day there was a great battle and they were all slain.” He explained. “I was but a child when they existed.” He leaned over and poked Pietro in the stomach. “Your father wished to be a Valkyrie when he grew up.”

“You get me a horsie wif wings?” Pietro asked.

Fandral chuckled. “That might be possible, little prince. But first, we learn on the non-winged kind.”

“Are they a different species?” Clint asked.

“That’s right,” Fandral said with a nod. “Longer lived and stronger than the typical horse on Asgard, but no match for Odin’s former steed.”

Clint furrowed his brow like he was mulling over the story. “Why would wings make them live longer?”

I snorted. “Correlation, not causation, Clint.”

“If I were to guess, I would say it was because the magic runs deeper through them,” Fandral added and turned to Loki. “What do you think, dear?”

“I think it would be a shame if I had to put a knife into your eye,” Loki said rolling his eyes and picking at his nails. “I just cleaned my blades.”

Fandral chuckled and poked Pietro in the belly. “Now, now. Your uncle is always so violent.”

Pietro giggled and wiggled in Clint’s lap.

“Where are the boys?” Sam asked.

“Thor is being chewed out by Sif. I think Steve and Tony are in the lab.” I said.

Like I had summoned him, the door opened and Thor came in with Sif, followed by the chef and his carts of food.

“Woah, magic,” I said as Riley wriggled out from Wanda’s arms and ran over to the chef.

Riley bounced on her feet as she watched the chef start sorting things out for everyone. There was a lot more food than previously, but then there were also a lot more of us.

As he was setting up, Steve, Tony, and Hogun came in.

“Oh, hey, the rest of them,” Sam said.

“Where’s Bucky and Nat?” Steve asked, looking around.

“Punching stuff,” Clint answered.

“You should give everyone their gifts,” I said as Steve scowled.

“Sure,” Tony said and went into the bedroom to find the bag.

“Sif, did you talk Thor out of it?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not, my lady,” she said. “I did try.”

Tony returned with the bag and pulled out the bow. “This is for you, Legolas.”

Clint took it and his eyes went wide. “It’s so light. Feels like I’m holding a pencil.”

“It is like mine,” Sif said. “It has a perfect balance and tension. You will like it.”

Clint tested the balance and I took the bag off Tony and dug around in it pulling out the vambrace. “I picked these for you,” I said giving them to Sam.

He took them and made a soft, pleased sound. “These are nice.” He said turning them over.

“I thought they’d match your wings if you wanted to wear them. Or they’re just pretty. So you can put them on a shelf to look at.” I said.

“They’re perfect. Thank you, princess.” He said and pulled me close nipping at my neck.

I giggled and leaned into him, passing the bag back to Tony. He went back and pulled out the gift for Bruce and gave them to him pulling him into his arms and kissing him softly before he pressed the decorative case into Bruce’s hands.

Bruce opened them and smiled for the first time since I’d seen him here. “These look interesting.”

“Thought you’d like them, Bear,” Tony said and nuzzled at Bruce’s neck.

Steve took the bag off Tony and took out Natasha and Bucky’s gifts and put them on a shelf out of the kids’ reach before bringing the whole bag over and giving it to Wanda. “Everything else in there is for you, darling.” He said.

Wanda looked at him suspiciously and then opened the bag and looked inside. “Why is it so big?”

“Some weird magic,” Steve said.

She reached in and brought out a handful of rings, necklaces, and bracelets. “There’s so much.” She said, beginning to separate each piece.

“The lady who made them wanted you to have all of them. There is a lot more in there.” Steve said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s all so beautiful,” Wanda said, smiling. “Thank you.”

Steve gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You’re very welcome.”

“Lunch is served.” The chef said.

“Is good,” Riley said from her spot at the table. A plate was already in front of her and her mouth was completely full.

“How’d you get food, bug?” Clint asked getting up with Pietro on his hip.

Riley pointed at the chef with a piece of food she was holding in her fist. “Dis guy.”

“I did hand her a plate.” The chef said. “Did I overstep, my lord?”

“Is good,” Riley said. “You my fwiend.”

The chef chuckled. “Thank you, princess. You’re my friend too.”

“I assure you, Clinton. Magnus has been working for the throne since I was a small boy. I trust him completely.”

“Even with what happened?” Clint asked.

“Yes. Magnus is loyal to us.” He said. “And a member of our household.”

Magnus bowed and took leave of the room as everyone got up and helped themselves to food. Pietro climbed up onto Clint’s head and ate things that were passed up to him as Clint sat at the table with Steve, Sam, Tony, and Bruce. Wanda and I ate at the couch with Loki while Thor seemed to pace and pick at things.

“Come here, human cat. Curl back up with me.” Wanda said, shifting so she could eat with me tucked into her side.

I curled in and picked at the food on my plate. “What would the bonding ceremony be like? What can we expect?” Wanda asked.

“Oh, we get powers. But we don’t know what they’ll be until it’s happened.” I said.

“I’ll have extra powers? Like lightning?” Wanda asked.

“They will be a reflection of both who you are and how you see yourself in your family,” Loki explained. “For example, someone who was very protective of their family might be able to create a shield that encompasses them.”

“Oh. I see. I wonder what that would mean for each of us.” Wanda said.

Loki shrugged. “Hopefully it renders this one mute.” He said gesturing to me.

I tried to stifle a laugh, ended up snorting and then broke down into peals of silent giggles.

Loki did his best to ignore me completely. “The ceremony itself involves a literal binding. A cord will be used to bind you to each other. For the number of you, I imagine it will look like a large web. Magic will be passed through it and you will take a sort of vision quest. In it, you will find where you belong within the relationship and your family. If the bonds are true and good, then you will be granted your new gift.”

“Wow. Okay.” Wanda said and took a drink as she seemed to mull over Loki’s words.

“Does she always eat like this?” Loki asked waving her hand vaguely at Riley.

I looked over and saw Riley completely covered in food and shoveling more into her mouth. “Oh, yes. She’s a hungry beast, aren’t you bug?”

She roared in response which made Wanda start giggling.

“Who raised this child to act like this?” Bruce asked.

“We did?” I said with a shrug.

“I think she needs to be recalibrated.” Sam joked.

“Daddy,” Riley said, sternly.

“Oh. You asked for it now.” Sam said, getting up.

“No, daddy!” She squealed.

“Yes, bug.” He said, grabbing her around the waist and flipping her upside down.

She flailed and squealed, kicking her legs excitedly. A soft wind began to swirl around the room.

“Just a few more minutes.” Sam teased. “You’re almost fixed.”

“Riley, control that wind, please,” Thor said. She continued kicking and squealing but the wind died right off.

“Huh,” Sam said, flipping her back over and putting her down.

“Again, daddy!” She squealed, jumping up and down.

“She got control of it after only a couple of days?” Sam asked.

Thor shook his head as Riley continued to jump up and down, tugging on Sam’s shirt. “Only sometimes. It’s important to remind her when it’s out of her control though.”

Sam caught her midjump and spun her upside down again. She squealed in delight. It was such a pure noise and she was so happy. As loud as it was with everyone here I felt at peace. Even Bruce seemed to have started to relax a little. The only stand out person, who was not beginning to calm was Thor. Time was ticking down to the Fenestare, and the stress of it seemed to be seeping out of his pored.

“Thor, are you okay?” I asked.

“As I can be.” He said in a strained tone.

“Do you want to join Wanda and I for cuddles?” I asked.

“Yes. I would most appreciate that.” He said moving over to us.

“You know he is as heavy as a horse right?” Loki asked.

“I have been under him many times, yes.” I deadpanned as I opened my arms and Thor collapsed down into them.

Loki shook his head. “I don’t know what I expected to happen when I said that.” He said. “I am old enough to know better.”

“You did kind of walk into it.” I agreed as I began to caress Thor’s hair and neck.

Riley came over and climbed up on Thor, draping herself over him like a cat and closing her eyes.

“Do you think she understands what’s happening?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“I hope she doesn’t,” Bruce said, his voice slightly strained.

Thor shifted and closed his eyes a little, and it wasn’t long before both father and daughter were snoring lightly in the pile on my lap.

// NEXT

156 notes · View notes