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just-another-blog-of-fluff · 2 years

Text

Vulnerability

Word count: 10,100

Pairing: Loki x f!reader (pre-dating/romantic)

Warnings: violence, injury, strained past relationship with father/past verbal abuse, mourning of past loss of a parent, later gets kind of steamy (but SFW)

This was a really interesting and fun piece to write! 💚💚 I sort of love the relationship between Loki and the reader in this one 😍

Based on a few prompts: one prompt where reader has tattoos that she keeps hidden for sentimental reasons (with an added mini prompt suggestion), and another Prompt where reader doesn’t like her laugh because it’s too cute for someone who is a tough Avenger, and Loki seeks to prove it doesn’t matter.

PLEASE check out the warnings first - there's some sort of heavy content in this fic compared to most of my usual work. As always, completely SFW though!

"Steve - watch your six!"

"Got it!"

Clang.

The offending SPECTER soldier met the unforgiving edge of the iconic vibranium shield, his blaster sent catapulting from his hands as the force of the blow propelled him to the ground. Steve's blue eyes met yours for only a moment, the captain offering you a nod of thanks before you both dove back into the chaos.

A soldier rushed at you from your right. A swift planting of your non-dominant foot into the ground allowed you to aim a roundhouse kick at him before he could get his hands on you. The blow to the gut sent him reeling despite the armor covering his torso, a shout of surprised frustration barking out from beneath his black mask.

They always underestimated you. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Behind you, four more SPECTER soldiers fell victim to the broadside of Mjolnir, a lethal swinging blur in the hand of the God of Thunder. By his side, Loki effortlessly took down another three, the sharp edges of his blades finding the nearly imperceptible points of vulnerability within the soldiers' armor.

"Hey Rambo - there's an opening up ahead. We gotta get in there," Tony's voice ordered in your ear. Your eyes flitted up to the door to the research facility, catching the end result of Nat tackling a soldier to the ground as she wrestled his blaster from his hand. There was indeed a clear path, free from the hordes of soldiers still locked in combat with the other Avengers.

"Roger that." You took off sprinting toward the door, boots slamming rhythmically against the ground as you raced to catch up with the blur of red and gold metal that whizzed past your head. A blue flash of light blasted straight across your path, halting you in your tracks as a soldier opened fire at you from your left. Sunlight glinted against twirling metal just before one of Loki's daggers found its home in the soldier's abdomen, just below the breastplate of his armor. Whipping around, you saw Loki dashing in the same direction you were headed, shooting you a wink as he passed.

"You're welcome!" he called back to you. You raced after him with your renewed goal of storming the facility, scoffing as you caught up to him.

"I could've taken him!" you shot back with a grin.

"Oh, I'm certain of that."

That handsome smirk of his crossed his face, the one that always gave off the sense that he was withholding some snide or flirty comment, and you swiftly returned your attention to the door ahead of you. You couldn't be getting distracted by that in the heat of battle.

The door had already been blown open by a blast - courtesy of Tony Stark - and you and Loki ducked inside, with Bucky hot on your heels to assist. The foyer was teeming with more SPECTER soldiers dressed in black armor and black masks, already engaged in battle with Tony as he zoomed around dodging their fire and blasting right back with his outstretched palms.

Clouds of smoke billowed up around the room from the relentless blaster fire as you three late arrivals jumped into battle. Bucky's vibranium arm took hits without a scratch, and he used it as a personal shield as he charged at a cluster of three soldiers. You dove to the floor as blaster fire sailed over your head, somersaulting elegantly to a crouched position and sweeping the legs out from under the nearest soldier. Pushing yourself up onto your feet, you hooked an arm around the neighboring soldier's neck and wrenched him to the ground.

A second's lull in the attacks aimed toward you (the least threatening of the four of you present in the building by their standards) gave you the chance to glance around in search of the central communications hub. Straight ahead, a long hallway led straight to a set of double doors, behind which you could only hope was the room you were searching for.

"Checking the hallway, twelve o'clock," you muttered into your comms device as you took off in a sprint toward your destination.

"Roger that, Rambo," Tony's voice responded promptly, the echoes of the blasts bursting around the room resounding in the background. "Meet me there in sixty seconds."

You ducked low as you ran, making yourself as small as possible to evade fire. A soldier stepped out in front of you, blaster aimed straight at your face. You dodged right at the last second, the heat of the blast grazing your ear as you grabbed hold of his wrist and slammed your other forearm down against his, disarming him. You heard a shout and a thud behind you, pivoting just in time to see Loki driving his boot into another enemy's chest. You used the apparent distraction to yank on the wrist of the soldier who'd nearly blasted your head off, throwing him face-first to the floor. Loki ran by your side, completing the last leg of the sprint to the end of the hallway just as Tony unceremoniously blew the doors open.

Inside was, thankfully, a vast control panel of computers and radars that clearly indicated this was the communications hub you'd been searching for. You approached the central computer as Tony landed beside you, removing his Iron Man armor and setting it to sentry mode.

"Loki - be a dear and watch the door, will you?" you asked with mock sweetness. He rolled his eyes, grinning all the same at your cheek.

"Take your time, agent."

You got to work immediately, fingers flying furiously across the holographic keyboard as you worked your hacking magic on the enemy's electronics. A good fight was always a thrill, but this was the sort of work you really lived for. It was so satisfying, breaking past the flimsy firewalls and supposedly secure passcodes to enter into a sea of data, all available at your fingertips. Except you weren't seeking to take data this time. You were seeking to erase it.

Tony hovered over your shoulder, pointing irritatingly at the screen in front of you as though you didn't already know what you were looking for. "There - that's the SHIELD files."

"Seriously? For a group that prides themselves on being 'unseen and unheard,' seems like a rookie mistake saving your stolen files in your main hard drive..." you muttered tauntingly, making quick work of deleting the file from existence.

"Alright, good to go?" Tony urged.

"Stark - you know as well as I that we need to do a sweep to ensure there's no traces of data anywhere else in the system," you chastised, making a few additional clicks to scan the intranet.

"Remind me why I didn't decide to call you 'cyberpunk?'" Tony quipped. You glanced at him with a slight turn of your head, a half-smirk crossing your face.

"Because you know I'm a force to be reckoned with."

"Fair point. That, and you're crazy."

"Also a fair point."

"STOP!"

A hollering voice sounded, not from the door, but from the corner of the room. Your eyes flitted upward just in time to see a soldier aim his blaster straight at you. Above him, an open vent told you exactly how he’d slipped past your defenses. Unable to dodge quickly enough, you at least managed to turn your body sideways and minimize the impact as the fiery bullet skimmed across your lower ribs on its trajectory past you. Had you not twisted when you did, it most definitely would have burned a hole through your chest. Instead, it singed a hole in your shirt, sending a blinding, searing pain deep into your skin as it burned from the heat of the blast.

With a hiss of pain, your hands shot to the wound as you doubled over. Loki was on the soldier almost instantly, sending him crashing to the ground. Tony took over at the keyboard to complete the last of the sweep as Loki rushed to your side.

"You're injured."

"Yeah, no shit," you grunted through gritted teeth. Turning to Tony, you barked, "Finish scanning the system yet?"

"Just... about... done!" he responded triumphantly.

"Find anything?"

His face dropped into a scowl. "None of your business."

You snickered. "What would you do without me?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Tony activated the Iron Man suit, the metal pieces slamming in formation onto his body like a magnet. "Let's get you outta here, Rambo."

You waved him off dismissively, swallowing the gasp of pain that leapt up in your throat as you stood up straighter. "I'm fine. Let's go."

The jolting motion of each step sent a fresh wave of sharp pain through your wound, but you'd learned not to let it reflect on your face.

To show pain is to show weakness.

Your father always told you that growing up. No matter how many hits you took, he'd never let you so much as wince without reprimanding you. It was just one of the many harsh aspects of his training that you'd carried with you over the years. You supposed he had gotten you where you were, so he couldn't be blamed for his militaristic training methods.

The battle raged on in the foyer with what remained of the SPECTER soldiers guarding the interior. Loki notably stepped out ahead of you the moment you crossed through the doorway into the foyer, but you shoved your way past him to engage with a nearby soldier. You weren't going to let him shield you like that - not while you were still standing.

If you can stand, you can fight.

Your father's words once again echoed in your head. And fight, you would. Shoving the pain out of the forefront of your mind, you swung your fist in a right hook at the soldier's head, making him stumble from the impact. A hand closed around your forearm, and you nearly slapped it away before you realized it was Bucky's.

"Don't be stupid. You're injured," he scolded, gesturing to the hole seared into your shirt where your skin had been burned. You scowled, ripping your arm from his grasp.

"So I've been told. I'll be fine."

To appease your teammates, you at least began heading for the door, fighting only when necessary if a soldier hindered your progress. Tony had already jetted out, likely working to flag down the helicarrier so you could make your escape. The adrenaline of battle ebbed away at the pain, allowing you to focus on getting the hell out of there now that your mission had been completed. It seemed these SPECTER soldiers were in infinite supply - you may have been fierce, but you weren't foolish enough to think the band of heroes would be able to take down every last one of them.

Loki and Bucky were hot on your heels as you burst through the entryway to the building. Steve, Nat, and Thor were looking battle worn, Steve with a laceration to his forehead and Nat with a small burn on her shoulder where a blast likely grazed her skin. They both eyed your wound with concern, making you roll your eyes at the two of them.

"I'm fine!" you shouted as you slammed your heel into an oncoming soldier. "Let's go - the data's erased."

The deafening hum of the helicarrier approached your position as the aircraft appeared in the sky in front of you. The team bolted in unison toward it, ducking under blaster fire as the SPECTER soldiers followed in hot pursuit. The helicarrier hovered low enough to the ground to let out the boarding ramp, allowing the seven of you to hop on before rising into the sky once more. The sound of blaster fire faded into the distance as the aircraft carried you out of firing range.

Bruce appeared at the top of the boarding ramp, looking somewhat anxious with his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose and his graying brown curls mussed from dragging his own fingers through them repeatedly. Tony was the first to greet him, confirming that the mission had been successful.

"Now, take this one. She's injured," he ordered, pointing at you.

"Hey!" You scowled indignantly. "I'm just fine!"

"Your skin is torched," Steve argued, taking Tony's side. "Go. Get patched up."

"Ugh. Fine." You dragged your feet as you began to follow Bruce to the lab onboard the aircraft. Glancing back, you shouted, "Steve, you and Nat better come with. I'm not the only one who's injured."

Rolling their eyes, the pair of them followed along, knowing you would refuse help if they did.

Entering the lab, you were met with three of the team's medics who were prepared to treat your wounds. They took one look at you, deciding immediately that you would require the most intensive treatment of the three wounded and leading you to the skin regeneration table on board the ship. You reluctantly sat down on the edge of the table, glaring up skeptically at the medic who had taken on your treatment.

"I'll need you to remove your shirt," she instructed, busying herself at the control panel to the machine. Your heart jumped up into your throat at the suggestion.

"I'd rather not."

She glanced up from the computer, peering sternly at you over her spectacles. "How exactly do you propose we treat your burn, then?"

"Uh... you don't." You folded your arms defiantly across your chest. "It's just a surface wound. I'm fine."

The medic paced impatiently over to your side, kneeling down and inspecting the burn on your ribs. She clicked her tongue, shaking her head at your stubbornness. "This will quickly get infected if we do not treat it. Not to mention, it must be very painful."

"I can handle pain," you muttered bitterly under your breath. She gave you a hard look, and you threw your hands up in defeat. "Fine. Go finish programming your little machine, there."

It wasn't that you were trying to be difficult. Your mother had been a medic, so you had quite a bit of respect for their job. It was how she met your father, in fact. She’d been a SHIELD medic until her untimely death when you were only ten years old. Your father never forgave himself for not being there when the enemy stormed aboard the helicarrier that fateful day. He seemed to sort of snap after that, throwing all his efforts into his work, into training you to follow in his footsteps.

You reminded him of her, he always used to say. You wondered if that was the reason he treated you the way he did - pained by the constant memory of what he’d lost.

The real reason you were protesting so much was what was hidden underneath your shirt. Over the years, you’d accumulated a fair number of tattoos, each one easily hidden beneath your clothes and gear. It wasn’t that you were embarrassed by them - you were quite proud of them, actually - but many of them had a deep underlying meaning that you really weren’t interested in trying to explain to your teammates. It was difficult to talk about some of them. So you chose to keep them hidden, keep them close to you as a personal sentiment rather than wearing them openly as a badge of honor.

The walls of the lab were made completely of glass, which meant anyone outside of the room could easily peek inside and see you. If you made too big of a deal of it, inevitably passerby would recognize you were arguing and become more interested. So, instead, you tried to play it cool, grasping the hem of your shirt and pulling it up and over your head. You had to carefully lift it around the burn to avoid irritating it with the fabric scraping across it. Goosebumps erupted on your skin in response to the cool air of the lab as you laid down on the table in nothing but your sport bra covering your upper body. You tried not to look down at the ink staining your skin to avoid drawing attention to the markings.

The medic started up the machine, and you watched impatiently as it sprang into motion, a strip of blue light kissing the wound as your skin knit itself back together. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it wasn't the most comfortable sensation either. The biggest annoyance, though, was how long it was taking to finish. Your eyes kept flitting over to the glass wall beside you, waiting for the inevitable moment someone passed by and saw you lying there on the table with nothing to cover the colorful markings etched into your skin.

Sure enough, Loki appeared on the other side of the glass twenty minutes later.

You couldn't blame him - he probably wanted to be certain you were alright, and it was taking an awfully long time to get this wound treated. In a way, you were somewhat flattered he'd come looking for you. But when his eyes locked on your bare left side, only partially blocked by your arm, skimming over the dragon tattoo that graced your ribs, you could see the curiosity flash on his face.

For a moment, he appeared to be considering entering the lab to talk to you, to inevitably ask the questions you'd been dreading. Fortunately, the medic caught his eye, shooing him with a wave of her hand as she drew the curtain hanging beside the regeneration table to block his view.

You wished you'd noticed it was there sooner.

It took another ten minutes to heal the wound completely, a raw-looking patch of new skin left in its place. The medic inspected her work with an air of pride before finally releasing you. The moment she did, you tugged your shirt back on over your head. With a hasty ‘thank you,’ you scurried out of the lab to your quarters to replace your singed shirt with a new one.

“Are you alright?”

You shouldn’t have been as surprised to hear Loki’s voice in your doorway as you were. Glancing up as you straightened the hem of your clean shirt at your hips, you were met with a concerned-looking Asgardian, though he was clearly trying to hide it. That was one thing you appreciated most about Loki - he never spoke to you or looked at you as a fragile mortal. He learned early on how fierce you could truly be.

“All healed,” you replied with a smile. “That regeneration tech is really something.”

Loki scoffed. “We’ve no need for that sort of thing in Asgard.”

“Well some of us aren’t literal gods, Loki.”

“Ah, but you fight as though you’re immortal like one.”

There it was - that teasing little smirk of his, his blue-green eyes flashing with the internal knowledge that there was something else going through his head that he wasn’t saying out loud. You tried not to let the heat creep up in your face.

“You were awfully nosy earlier, peeking in on me getting fixed up,” you chastised teasingly. “You know, we have privacy rules in Midgardian medicine.”

“I couldn’t help myself. You’ve never shown that much skin before. Forgive me for being… intrigued.”

Ok, the heat was definitely settling in your cheeks now.

“What was that marking you have on your side?”

Ah. There it was, the inevitable question.

“It’s a tattoo,” you responded casually, breaking eye contact to look down at your hands.

“A tattoo?”

“Yes. Ink etched into skin. A sort of art form here on Midgard.”

You chanced a glance up at him, finding a genuinely curious expression on his face. It made you shift uneasily in your seat atop your bed.

“Might I see it?”

You winced, turning your head. “I’d rather not.”

“I apologize. I didn’t intend for it to sound inappropriate.”

Looking back toward him, you offered a weak smile. “No, it’s not that.” With a chuckle, you added, “When have you known me to be self-conscious?”

Loki grinned. “Never. Though, as I said - you’ve never shown that much skin before.”

You let out a slow breath. “It’s just… well, I don’t like to talk about them. My tattoos.”

“Do you not like them?”

“No, I do. It’s… they’re sort of personal to me.”

He nodded slowly, that smirk returning to his face. “Perhaps someday you’ll feel comfortable showing me?”

“Are you asking for me to get personal with you?”

He shot you a wink as he stepped backward out of the doorway. “I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Your jaw went slack as he vanished around the corner.

Loki had this way of bantering with you that toed the line between friendly and flirty for quite some time now. You never really thought much of it - just sort of chalked it up to Loki being Loki, the silver-tongued God of Mischief. Though, admittedly, you'd never seen him behave in the same way around any of the others. Still, you never took it too seriously. You couldn't lie and say you would be opposed to becoming something more with him. It just had always seemed so far out of the realm of possibility for a mortal.

But that comment... that was the first time he'd said something that alluded to the possibility that he just might feel the same way.

He began to ask you about your tattoos every so often after that. Probing you to see if you'd cave and let him see, let him in on such a personal attribute of yourself. He never pushed you too hard, of course. The idea of possibly letting him in on those parts of you was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. More and more, you found yourself wanting to share them with Loki. To let yourself be vulnerable for once in your life.

That was something your father had never taught you to do. To be vulnerable. Vulnerability was weakness to him, and so you learned to shove down everything you ever felt and pack it away in the back of your mind to avoid letting it reflect on your face, in your movements. You'd seen your teammates be openly unguarded with one another, sharing in their heartaches as they did their victories, and you longed for the ability to do the same. It had been so engrained in you to hide everything since your childhood that you weren't really sure where to start.

Loki wasn't exactly the most open-book sort of person either. Perhaps that was a good thing. You could figure it out together.

It was probably around the sixth or seventh time he’d brought it up that you finally caved.

You’d been in the fitness room back in the tower, now that the team was safely stationed back on solid ground. It was one of those rare instances that the room was otherwise empty, and you were not about to pass up that opportunity.

After only ten minutes of hitting the heavy bag, your knuckles were beginning to sting and sweat was beading on your brow from the intensity of your workout. Around the others, you typically tried to tone it back a bit, but when you were by yourself, your old training regimes came back to you.

Finally feeling satisfied with the divots you’d punched into the leather, you wiped your forehead with the back of your hand and reached down for your water bottle. Just as your fingertips touched the condensation building along the chilled plastic, the bottle suddenly slid a few feet to the left, seemingly of its own accord. But you knew better by now.

“Loki, I’m thirsty,” you griped, glancing over your shoulder at the smug-looking trickster who was now standing behind you. “Can’t you at least save your little tricks for after I get to take a sip?”

"Then it wouldn't irk you nearly as much. Where is the fun in that?"

"Is that the sole reason you came in here? To get on my nerves?" A grin pulled at your lips as you took the swig of water you'd been craving.

"Perhaps I wanted to exercise."

You waved your hand in a sweeping motion around the room. "Have at it, then."

He followed along behind you as you made your way across the gym to the pull-up bar. "But getting on your nerves is much more interesting."

"Of course it is." You plunked your water bottle down beside the mats on the hardwood, rubbing your hands together before stepping under the bar and grabbing hold with both hands. "What else are you planning to annoy me with today?"

"Oh, well that's no fun. I can't irritate you on command."

You pulled yourself effortlessly up, lifting your chin over the bar before lowering yourself down once again. "Then maybe you should go exercise."

He shrugged. "I've lost my interest. A god doesn't need to exercise anyhow."

You sniffed out a laugh, pulling yourself up over the bar again. Obviously he'd come in here with the sole purpose of talking to you. He often hovered as you did your own workouts, chatting with you and making teasing comments about your mortal need to exercise to build your strength. In return, you teased that you would become stronger than he was if he didn't start exercising himself.

You didn't mind having his company. He was the only one you'd allow to hang around you like this while you did your workouts.

"You still haven't shown me these tattoos of yours," Loki stated suddenly as you relaxed your arms to dangle from the bar. You released it in your surprise, feet slamming down onto the padded gym mat beneath you with a thump.

"What made you think of that?"

He pointed to your right hip, where a small phrase was tattooed just above your hipbone on your side, hidden underneath your shirt. "Your shirt rode up a bit just now."

"Did you read it?" you asked hesitantly. Loki shook his head.

"I couldn't see the whole thing." He flashed you his trademark smirk, the one that made you weak in the knees. "I must say, you've got me rather curious."

You grinned. "It's killing you, not knowing what they are, isn't it?"

He clicked his tongue. "You're infuriating, teasing me like that."

"And you're nosy."

"I never said I wasn't."

You sighed, pressing your tongue to the inside of your cheek as you tried to fight back a smile. "Alright. I'll show you. But I need to shower first."

"Fair enough."

You directed him to stop by your room in a half hour, heading up to wash off the sweat from your workout. Once you'd cleaned up, you tied your hair back rather than bothering to dry it all the way, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless top. You only owned a couple of those, preferring to wear shirts with sleeves to better conceal your tattoos. It always struck you how exposed you felt even just baring your shoulders. You threw a zip-up hoodie on over it, despite the fact it wasn't cold, just for the added sense of coverage of your skin.

A knock at your door sounded right at the time you'd told Loki to swing by. You opened the door and allowed him inside your room, shutting the door behind you.

This wasn't the first time he'd been in your room. He'd come by a few times in the past, usually to seek council from you when he was arguing with his brother. Although, once, he'd stopped by to check on you when you'd fallen ill with the flu. That had been a rather unexpected visit, but a pleasant one nonetheless, when he'd delivered you a bowl of hot soup after hearing Wanda say it was something Midgardians did when someone was sick.

Despite all that, it still felt foreign having him in your room today. Perhaps because you weren't sure how best to approach the reasoning behind his visit. He stood in the middle of your room, gazing at you questioningly as though trying to determine whether he should sit down or not. You motioned to the edge of your bed, inviting him to sit down beside you as you perched yourself atop your bedspread.

"Understand that you are privileged to be able to see these," you declared sternly. "I don't go around showing my tattoos to everyone."

"Are you certain you're alright with it?"

The uncertainty in his tone startled you. He had an intense look in his eyes as he gazed at you, as though trying to read your mind. Hesitantly, you nodded.

"Yes. I... trust you. It's just hard to share some of the stories behind them."

With a nervous hand, you unzipped the hoodie and shrugged it off, setting it down on the end of the bed. His eyes were immediately drawn to the words inked just below your collarbone on the right side, covered partially by your tank top sleeve. You pushed it aside and allowed him to read the phrase etched on your skin.

With pain comes strength.

"That one is in memory of my father," you explained before he could ask. "He's the reason I became a SHIELD agent."

"I'm sorry you've lost him."

You cringed at the thought that ran through your mind in response. I'm not.

"He was... difficult," you explained. You could tell Loki knew you were sugar-coating it by the skeptical raise of his brow. "He stopped being a father when my mother died. After that, he became nothing more than my instructor, my fighting coach. He... pushed me to become a SHIELD agent like he was."

"Is that what you wanted?"

"Yes... and no." You turned around to allow Loki to see the tattoo between your shoulder blades, the thin black parallel lines and circles designed to depict a circuit board. "I've always been into computers. If I'd had my choice, I'd have worked in the technology department in SHIELD. Developing new gear, programming new A.I.s, hacking into bad guys' systems from afar..."

"Why didn't you?"

"My father wanted me to be a field agent like he was. He always said the techy agents were the ones who were 'too weak to throw a punch.'"

You felt his finger suddenly tracing along the lines of the tattoo, down along your spine, and you shivered. Loki apologized and retracted his hand.

"It's alright, you can touch it. Just warn me next time, will you?" you griped, turning your head to grin at him and let him know you didn’t mind. He smirked right back, lifting his hand to the markings between your shoulders once again. The pads of his fingers were soft against the smooth skin of your back. It had been years since someone had touched your bare skin. It felt foreign to you, but it felt... nice. His touch was almost reverent as he traced along one of the sharp bending lines that bordered your shoulder blade.

"Show me another one," he requested. You felt an odd sense of loss when his fingers left your back. Turning back towards him, you shifted to point out one of the few colorful tattoos you had inked into the outside of your upper right arm, normally hidden even beneath the short-sleeved T-shirts you wore. It was a small hummingbird, with feathers of blue, green, and pink and wings flared out as though in flight.

"My mother always loved hummingbirds," you murmured, feeling a painful lump forming in your throat.

"What happened to her?" Loki asked quietly.

"Ambush. She was a medic on board the helicarrier that my dad was stationed on. They never saw it coming." You released a shuddering breath. "I was only ten, but I remember it like it was yesterday, the day my father came home and told me she was dead."

Loki placed a gentle hand on your forearm in comfort. You glanced up at him, blinking back the tears blurring your vision as you fought to keep them from spilling over. To show pain is to show weakness. You had to remind yourself again that the reason you chose the phrase along your collarbone was to rewrite those words your father used to tell you in a more positive light. With pain comes strength. You just weren't used to showing it to other people.

"My mother was killed in an ambush as well." Loki’s voice sounded heavy, laden with sadness and possibly even a touch of guilt.

"I'm sorry," you breathed, placing your hand over his where it still rested on your arm. He allowed it for a moment, then cleared his throat and lifted his hand, and you followed suit. With a watery laugh, you told him, "I do have some with happy memories, I swear."

"Go on then. Show me."

You scooted backward a bit on the bed, bending your knee and rolling up your pant leg to show him the small black anchor tattooed on your ankle. "My friend and I got matching ones when we were younger. We used to go sailing every summer. This one's small, but it hurt like hell getting it done."

"Is it often painful?"

"More like... scratchy. But this one hurt."

You let your leg drape back over the bed, shaking it a bit to unfurl your pant leg to cover your ankle once again. Loki's eyes flitted down to your hip where he'd seen your shirt ride up earlier.

"You've yet to show me that one," he urged, gesticulating toward the spot. You let out a breathy laugh through your nose, lifting the hem of your shirt to expose your right side. The words were small, and Loki leaned down a bit to read them.

"You are enough." His eyes lifted to once again meet yours, his face startlingly closer to your own now that he'd shifted closer to see the black ink scrawled across your side. A tilt of his head told you he wanted to know the story behind it. This was quite possibly the hardest story to tell, and you braced yourself for it.

"That one, I got to remind myself that no matter what harsh words my father had for me... I am not worthless."

Loki hummed thoughtfully. "I'm beginning to dislike this man more and more."

You laughed despite yourself. "I doubt you'd have gotten along with him if he were still alive. He was no-nonsense - he didn't like to joke around, always straight down to business. Maybe that's why you and I get along so well."

"Oh?"

"I was a mischievous kid, you know. Dad always hated that. For a while, it only made me try harder to get on his nerves, just to defy him." You grinned at the trickster. "I bet you were a little monster when you were a kid."

Loki let out a rumbling chuckle from deep in his chest, one that made your heart flutter in your chest. "I certainly wasn't an angel - let's leave it at that."

You let go of your shirt to let it drape back over your hip, hiding the black ink from view once again. Loki looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to show him the last one.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" You tried to look confused, biting back a teasing smirk. He saw right through it, folding his arms sternly across his chest with a grin.

"Oh, come now. You can't expect me not to ask about the one on your other side - not after I saw a part of it while you were in the lab the other day."

"You saw the whole thing!"

"Your arm was blocking it. Don't try to get out of this one, darling."

You huffed through your nose, shaking your head in defeat. In truth, this was your favorite out of all of them. It was also the largest and most intricate tattoo you had. You'd debated it for months before having it done, knowing you wanted to be certain you'd love it if you were to get something this extensive inked permanently into your skin. The fact that Loki was so curious about it made you a bit giddy to show it to him, but you simply had to tease him a bit first.

"Oh, alright. I suppose I can show you again."

You turned around to sit with your left side facing Loki, seated cross-legged on the bed. Gradually, you rolled your shirt up to the middle of your ribs, revealing the dragon tattoo you had winding up the span of your side. Various shades of blue and black ink added depth and dimension to the dragon's scales as it twisted from just above your hip to the middle of your ribs.

Loki's eyes roamed curiously over the image inked into your skin. "What's the story behind this one?"

You turned your head just slightly, enough to flash him a sly smirk. "I just like dragons."

A breathy laugh escaped his nose. "I can appreciate that." He lifted his hand hesitantly, catching your eye. "May I?"

You nodded, eyes shifting to watch his hand as he gently touched his fingertips to the bare skin overlaying your ribs, tracing along the snout and head of the dragon. It took every ounce of effort you had not to flinch at his touch. Holy hell, it tickled. It had been some time since anyone had attempted to tickle you, and you'd forgotten how terribly sensitive you were. What you hadn't forgotten was the squeaky, girlish laughter that burst out of you whenever someone managed to find a particularly weak spot. It was far from the tough façade with which you'd learned to carry yourself. So, whenever a friend happened to try to tickle you, you either withheld your reactions long enough for them to grow bored, or you scolded them into thinking you didn't want them to touch you.

But Loki's tender touch was not unwelcome. Quite the opposite, really. If only you weren't so damned ticklish, you could melt right into it. You could not let him know what he was doing to you. You knew the God of Mischief well enough to know that the moment he found out how ticklish you were, he'd go searching for the spots and pressure that might actually make you laugh those embarrassingly cutesy giggles of yours.

His fingertips glided along the dragon's spine, winding back and forth down the length of your ribs. You balled your hand into a fist and curled your toes as you willed yourself not to react. Goosebumps rose along your skin in the wake of his fingertips as they flitted down the softer skin of your side, tracing down along the dragon's tail. You let out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding the moment his finger paused at the very tip of the tail, just above your hipbone, only to suck it right back into your lungs as he reversed direction and began tracing back up the way he'd come.

"Am I tickling you?"

He had an impish lilt to his tone that made your stomach flip as your eyes darted up to meet his. You opened your mouth to deny it, and he purposely lightened his touch with the intention to make it tickle as he continued ghosting his fingertips along the image on your skin. Your hand shot to your mouth to stifle a giggle on instinct.

"Damn," you muttered, voice muffled in your palm. That godforsaken handsome smirk spread across his face, and you knew you were in trouble. You brought your arm down to cover your side, releasing your shirt in hopes it would slip down to cover your bare skin and offer a bit of protection, but it was bunched around your midsection where you'd rolled it up.

"I wasn't finished admiring your tattoo, you feisty little dragon," he scolded teasingly, his hand closing around your wrist and prying your arm from your side.

"L-Loki! You brat!" You wrenched your wrist from his grasp, only for him to catch it in his other hand as you swatted at him playfully. "N-noho! Don't you dare!"

His free hand found your side, fingers flitting ticklishly over the bare skin wrapping around toward your belly. You clapped your hand back over your mouth as another little giggle threatened to burst out, shaking your head with wide eyes at your flirtatious assailant. Loki withdrew his hand, releasing your wrist with a concerned, hesitant look on his face.

"I apologize - do you not like to be tickled?"

You lowered your hand from your mouth, tugging your shirt down on instinct but softening your expression. "No, it's not that. I just... it's embarrassing."

"You're embarrassed by being tickled?"

"By my laugh."

Loki cocked his head inquisitively. "You laugh all the time." Boastfully, he added, "I am quite funny, after all."

"You keep telling yourself that," you teased, shoving his shoulder playfully. "I don't mind my usual laugh, but... god this is embarrassing... I sort of laugh... differently when someone tickles me."

Loki's eyebrows shot up his forehead, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Now I'm very intrigued."

"Well that's a shame, because I'm not gonna- HEY!" You swatted at his hand as it darted out and pinched your ribs, barely withholding a giggle. "No, none of that! I don't want you to hear it! It's embarrassing!"

"Explain to me how your laugh can possibly be that embarrassing that you won't allow me to tickle you."

"First off, no one allows anyone to tickle them-"

"So you'd prefer I take you down by force and tickle you instead?"

Your face caught fire, and you were somewhat mortified to realize that part of the reason was because you didn't mind that idea in the slightest.

"N-not the point. AS I was saying... my ticklish laugh is... ugh, it's-squeaky-and-cutesy-and-terrible." You were surprised Loki could even understand what you said, the words came tumbling out of your mouth so fast. Based on the sly, flirty grin that crossed his face, you knew he understood every word.

"That sounds charming."

You swatted his hand away once again as he reached for your side. "That's exactly the problem! I'm not meant to be adorable! I'm a SHIELD agent - I can take guys down with my bare hands, I know how to handle nine different types of weapons-"

"And you're adorably ticklish. I don't see the problem here."

"Loki!" You hid your burning face in your hands, only to bring your arms right back down as his fingers skittered across your belly. With a non-threatening growl, you smacked his hand away once again. Truthfully, you were loving this playfulness. This sort of interaction was something you seriously lacked as a kid, your childhood stolen away from you in favor of long hours of relentless training and cruel words. Still, you weren't sure how keen you were on allowing Loki to hear your childish-sounding giggles.

"You don't need to be the tough, hardened SHIELD agent every waking hour of the day," he insisted. "In fact, I rather enjoy this softer side of you."

"Really?"

He nodded, a smirk spreading across his lips. "What's life without a bit of laughter?" he asked, experimentally squeezing your hip and earning another slap on the wrist. "Now then. I'd very much like to hear this 'squeaky and cutesy and terrible' laugh of yours. And as you so astutely stated, no one simply allows someone to tickle them..."

You laughed nervously as he caught hold of your wrist, wrenching your free arm out of his reach before he could get his hand on the other one. He tutted at you, shifting to kneel beside you on the bed so he could gain leverage to increase his efforts to capture you in his hold. His hand reached out for yours again, and you swiftly hid it behind your back.

"You are well aware this is a fruitless endeavor, attempting to evade capture." He smirked devilishly at you. "Eventually you know I'll overpower you."

Despite the fact that you weren't exactly excited about the prospect of Loki hearing your less-than-threatening bubbly giggles, you found that you trusted him completely. You trusted that he cared about you - perhaps cared for you, if you could be so fortunate - and you trusted that he would never say something hurtful to you.

You trusted him enough that when he finally did catch your other wrist and wrestle you down onto your back, you didn't fight as hard as you knew you could as he pinned your wrists beneath his knees.

"Lohoki you AHASS!" you cried, squirming under his gaze.

"You wound me, darling." He let his hands hover threateningly over your sides, knowing already that you were ticklish there at least to a lighter tough. You stiffened in anticipation of his impending attack. "Let's hear that laugh then, hmm?"

His hands latched onto both sides, kneading into the soft, sensitive skin. You sucked in a breath and squeezed your eyes shut, trying to withhold your laughter despite how horribly ticklish the sensation was. Undeterred, he let his hands wander in search of a weak spot, one hand clawing its way into the center of your belly while the other ascended your ribcage.

"Come now, darling... laugh for me," he urged teasingly, swapping his hands to dig one into the spot just below your ribs and slotting the other up under your arm. You clamped your mouth shut tight, letting out a screech of protest from deep in your throat through your nose as you kicked your heels against the mattress. He had you writhing with the gentlest scratching of his fingertips at that spot under your ribcage, and the fingers wriggling into the pliant skin beneath your arm were certainly not helping matters.

However, neither compared to the agonizingly ticklish sensation as his hand descended from your ribs to the side of your belly, about halfway between your navel and your side. Just one scratch at that spot and you were done for.

Those silly ticklish giggles poured from your lips, only increasing in speed and volume when he realized what was causing your sudden outburst of laughter and dropped his other hand to the other side of your belly. You giggled and squeaked, writhing and kicking helplessly as a fond grin spread across his face.

"There it is." Loki scratched faster at the torturous spot, his grin widening as your eyes scrunched shut and you threw your head back with desperate laughter. "I don't know what you're talking about - this is a very normal-sounding laugh."

"SHUHUT UHUP, YOHOU!"

"That's quite rude of you - I'm trying to make you feel better. The least you can do is not shout at me." He wrapped his large hands around your sides, toggling circles into those same spots on your belly with both thumbs while scratching at your sides. A giggly screech ripped through your chest as your back arched, then finally you went limp against the bedspread as your own hysterical laughter overpowered you.

But not once did you tell him to stop. Not once did you want him to stop. Sure, the sensation was overwhelming, ticklish shocks shooting through your nerves with every squeeze of his fingers into your middle. But you trusted Loki. Enough to let yourself be vulnerable with him, just as you had been when you'd explained the stories behind each of your tattoos. His touch was mischievous, but it was kind and playful, and you hadn't laughed like this in a very, very long time. Your abdominal muscles ached and your laughter was becoming breathless, but it felt good. Refreshing.

Loki relented, having succeeded in his mission to make you laugh. Your mind was fuzzy as you sat up, smoothing your hair down as your giggles slowly faded. He flashed you his smirk, and you shot him a hardly-menacing glare.

"I don't believe there is anything 'terrible' about that laugh of yours," he assured with a wink. You swatted his shoulder jokingly.

"Yohou suck," you grumbled. Then, with a glint of mischief in your eyes, you dropped your hand down to his side and swiftly pinched at the soft spot a few times. He merely stared down at your hand, unmoving, then looked up to meet your eye with an impossibly wider smirk. Your jaw dropped indignantly. "No. No way are you not ticklish."

"Not in the same way you are."

"So you are ticklish, then."

"In exactly two places, yes."

With a fierce look of determination, you brought your other hand over to dig into his lower ribs. He sighed as though you were boring him, casually taking hold of your wrists and prying them away from his sides.

"Hey!"

"As you stated earlier - no one simply allows someone to tickle them." He grinned, holding fast to your wrists as you tugged and twisted to try to free them from his grip. He was teasing you now, you knew - not doing anything but preventing you from continuing on your mission to find the two solitary places he was ticklish.

"Oh, come on!" you groaned, shifting to sit on your knees to be able to push harder against his hold. "Now I - mmph - I need to know where!"

Loki chuckled fiendishly. "I'm sorry to tell you, darling, but you're going to have to work for it."

Growling, you threw your weight forward to try to catch him off guard and knock him backward. You nearly succeeded, but he regained his balance at the last moment, suddenly shoving your wrists in retaliation and easily slamming you down onto your back once again with your arms pinned beside you. He loomed over you with a self-assured grin, gradually dragging your arms up above your head as you began protesting and laughing all at once.

"What - did you think I was going to make it easy for you, little spitfire?" He gathered your wrists in one hand, lowering the other to your right hip and slipping it up under the hem of your shirt. "Is this tattoo of yours ticklish as well?"

"How should I know- hehey!! Lohohoki!!" You let out a few giggles as his fingers swept maddeningly gently over the bare skin above your hip where the words were inked into your skin. He clicked his tongue, grinning victoriously.

"Ah, I see it is. Tell me - do the tattoos make your skin more ticklish in those spots? Or have you always been this sensitive?"

"I-hi hahate you." You twisted to evade his fingers, and rather than trying to follow you, he turned his attention to the words under your collarbone, lightly tracing his finger along the looping text. A surprised giggly shriek burst from your lips at the sensation, a stretch of skin you'd never anticipated would be ticklish and yet it was making your nerves tingle.

"This one too? Perhaps it's the ink, then?" He shot his hand down to your belly, scratching at the weak spot he'd discovered earlier and throwing you into hysterics. "Although, that wouldn't explain why this makes you laugh so hard."

Your half-hearted protests were lost beneath the sound of own laughter, amplifying when Loki released your wrists in favor of digging into the other side of your belly. Your hands grasped feebly at his wrists, then wrapped around your midsection, all failed attempts to lessen the ticklish feeling of his fingers clawing at your skin. In a last-ditch effort, you slotted your thumbs up under his arms, digging your eight fingers into the backs of his ribs.

Loki spluttered, removing his hands from your belly to sit up and shift out of reach of your fingers. But you were swift. You practically threw yourself at him, not even considering the implications as you wrapped your arms tight around him and pinned his arms to his sides. Without waiting for him to start fighting back, you latched your fingers onto those spots on the backs of his ribs and launched a ten-fingered attack.

"Pfft yohou lihittle..."

Whatever he was planning to call you, you never found out. The rumbling, deep laughter that burst from the trickster's chest was startling. You'd never heard him laugh before. Sure, he chuckled snarkily all the time, but to hear him really laugh... It was quite possibly your new favorite sound. Still, you couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease him for it.

"Ah-ha!! I found one!" you cried triumphantly, tightening your hold as he began trying to throw you off him. You squeaked as his hands found your sides and squeezed, digging your fingers into his ribs faster to deter his counterattack. You could feel his muscles weakening in your hold from his laughter. You leaned back a bit to look him in the eye, flashing him a smirk reminiscent of the mischievous god himself. "Oh-ho-ho, you're so screwed."

His eyes locked on yours for a moment, those blue-green irises practically glowing.

What happened next, you couldn't possibly have anticipated.

Loki suddenly allowed himself to fall backward, bringing you down on top of him with a surprised yelp. The shock of it made you loosen your grip, scrambling to plant your knees on either side of his hips to regain some semblance of leverage, preparing yourself for his ticklish retaliation. His hands found your hips, and you opened your mouth to begin playfully scolding him.

Anything you would have said to him was muffled against his mouth as he captured your lips with his.

For a brief moment, you stiffened, more than a bit shocked by this sudden advance. As your mind processed what was happening, you relaxed into his arms, melting as you sighed blissfully against his lips. Loki's hand slipped under the hem of your shirt, making you gasp and tense in anticipation of more tickling, but he kept his touch firm as he slid his palm along the side where the dragon tattoo adorned your skin. Your lips curled up into a grin against his, parting from him just slightly to look at him through hazy eyes.

"Is that one your favorite too?" you mumbled. That smirk that always made you weak in the knees graced his lips as he nodded, running his palm back down along your side.

"I'd like to see it again."

"Mm... later." You silenced him once again with another kiss, savoring in the taste of his lips. His hand came to rest on your hip once again, the other rising to cradle your neck as he lifted his head slightly to deepen the kiss.

There was no way of knowing how much time passed while your lips were locked with Loki's. And in all honesty, you didn't really care. Not once in the entirety of your life had anyone made you feel this good. If this was your reward for being open and vulnerable with him... well, perhaps you'd need to do it more often.

You let him kiss you until you became breathless, finally forcing yourself to part from his lips to get some air. He let his hand at your neck slide down to your shoulders as he lifted his lips to kiss along your jawline.

"You... you just kissed me to make me stop tickling you, didn't you?" you teased. He grinned, pressing one last kiss to your neck.

"It worked, did it not?" You scoffed and rolled your eyes with a laugh. "In any case, no. I kissed you because I wanted to. That was just an added bonus."

You leaned down to press gentle kisses along his jawline to return the favor, grinning as you heard his breath hitch in his chest. "You know..." you mumbled between kisses, "... you're not getting out of telling me where your other tickle spot is just by kissing me."

Loki hummed thoughtfully, lifting his head to recapture your lips with his once again. You considered scolding him for attempting to evade the question once again, but you allowed it, pressing your lips harder against his and kissing him fervently. His hands slid firmly down your sides and along your hips, coming to rest at the back of your thighs just above your knees. He let his head fall back against the mattress to break apart from your lips once again, and you barely registered the mischievous glint in his eyes in your euphoric daze.

"Why don't I just show you instead?"

Caught off guard after being lulled into a kiss-drunken trance, you didn't have time to react as you felt his fingers hook around the undersides of your knees, shifting up just a couple inches and scratching at the apparently hypersensitive patches of skin just above your knees on your inner thighs. An embarrassingly high-pitched shriek burst from your lips at the sudden sensation, collapsing against Loki and burying your face in his shoulder to muffle your desperate giggles.

"MM-HMM LOKIHI!" you squealed, trying to roll off of him. Loki held fast, his fiery fingers fluttering and sweeping along the cotton fabric of your pants covering those wretched spots above your knees. You kicked your feet against the mattress in protest, earning a laugh from the mischievous god as he finally showed you mercy. His hands left your knees so his arms could wrap tightly around your waist, squeezing you to his chest.

"It seems we have that spot in common, don't we, darling?" he murmured in your ear teasingly. You growled playfully, lifting your head to glare at him.

"I'm beginning to think that kissing me was all a ruse to be able to torment me," you scolded jestingly. He responded by rolling swiftly, pinning you on your back and gazing down with nothing but adoration in his eyes.

"There are many more reasons than that for me to want to kiss you." To emphasize, he ducked his head to kiss you once more, stealing your breath away. You laughed against his lips, drinking in his kiss for a moment before swiftly latching your hands around the backs of his knees and targeting those same spots he'd just demonstrated on you moments ago. He barked out a surprised laugh at your ticklish touch, toppling sideways onto the bed to escape your fingers. You managed to continue a moment longer before he captured your hands in his, raising them to his lips and pressing a kiss to each of your palms.

"Mm... you're no fun," you whined, eliciting an amused laugh from the trickster.

"I beg your pardon - as I recall, I just made you laugh for the last twenty minutes," he retorted with mock indignance.

"That might be an exaggeration. But, I'll let you have it."

Loki propped himself up on his elbow, reaching over and gently grasping the hem of your shirt in his hand with a pleading look in his eyes. "Might I see it again, now? I promise I won't tickle you."

Your cheeks warmed as you nodded, allowing him to slide your shirt up to reveal the dragon tattoo once again. He smoothed his palm over it with enough weight in his touch not to tickle, just as he'd promised.

"This one suits you," he declared after gazing at it a moment longer.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"It's elegant and beautiful, and yet simultaneously fiery and fierce. Much like you."

You turned his words over in your mind, a grin tugging at your lips. "You know... I never thought of it that way. I like that."

It was true - you'd honestly gotten that tattoo because you liked it. The one tattoo that had no story behind it, and yet Loki found a way to make it the most meaningful of all of them. You strove to be fiery and fierce, but you'd never thought yourself to be elegant and beautiful until Loki suggested you were. It was perfect - the perfect blend of your past and the future you were striving for.

Loki smirked as he watched you react to his words, that smirk you were beginning to love more and more each time he showed it to you. He wrapped an arm around your waist and tugged you close, eyeing your lips hungrily as your face burned under the weight of his gaze.

"Now - kiss me again, little dragon."

How could you possibly say no?

#loki x reader #loki fluff #loki tickle #ticklish!reader #tickle fluff #tickle fic #marvel tickle #loki x you #tattooed!reader #loki laufeyson #loki layfeyson x reader #loki x female reader

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plaid-shirtsandvibranium-arms · 3 years

Text

Disconnected (New Series Preview)

Full Chapter 1 has been posted. Check it on my masterlist.

Summary: Faced with a new enemy intent on causing havoc around the world, the Avengers are in need of some help. Tony volunteered a friend he said was perfect with her knowledge of explosives and technology. You were not what they expected.

Fandoms: Avengers, Marvel

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Mutant!Reader, Avengers x Mutant!Reader (platonic)

Warnings: EVENTUAL SMUT. IMPLIED SMUT. SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS. (Do not read if you are under 18), Cursing, Canon Level Violence, Blood, Gore, Mentions of Past Trauma, Abandonment Issues, Adorable Pining, Oblivious Reader, Mild Angst, Fluff

A/N: New series preview! Yay! Contrary to the angst I have been writing against Steve, he is actually my comfort character. And I am in need of comfort right now.

No permission is granted to repost my work. Tumblr is the only place I post my writing. If you see it anywhere else please report it.

Masterlist

1: Unexpected Packaging

Steve Rogers fiddled with his phone as he leaned against the conference table in the Avengers Compound, one hand on his hip and a deep crease on his brow. He was frowning down at the device like he often did. It's been years since he was thawed out and he should be used to technology by now, and he was, but innovation was so fast paced now that by the time he got the hang of one thing there were already three upgrades available. It was aggravating.

"Need help with that, old man?" Natasha smirked from the seat beside him, her legs propped up on the table while she nibbled on a chocolate bar.

He snorted, more than just used to his teammate's teasing. He glanced around, silently doing a head count before he nodded satisfied that everyone was there. Well everyone that needed to be there anyway.

Clint was snoozing on a chair, arms crossed and chin dropped to his chest. His bow sat on his lap, not having the chance yet to put his gear away after just returning from a mission. Bruce was in a corner, head bowed as he read the data on the tablet he held. His hand was alternating between scratching his beard and pulling at his hair, clearly unhappy with what he was seeing. Wanda and Vision were sat facing each other, staring adoringly at the other while having a silent discussion in their minds. A loving conversation privy only to them. In stark contrast beside them was Sam and Bucky, the former much too entertained with teasing the latter who was visibly growing more and more irritated.

He couldn't help the small quirk at the corner of his lips at the clumsy dynamic of their makeshift family. Even as they were preparing to face a new nefarious enemy, he was confident in his team. That was the reason they were all gathered there that afternoon. The Avengers were going against a new organization who was quickly making a name for themselves by strategically bombing iconic sites in multiple cities. They were succeeding so far in maintaining their anonymity and causing chaos wherever they struck. They needed help.

"Stark's late," Bucky grumbled, half because of waiting and the other half because of Sam. Their love-hate relationship was complicated at best, but there was no doubt that they had each other's back.

"Who even is he bringing?" Natasha said, immediately suspicious as is her nature. Steve was apprehensive about that too. He would take the help but he would much prefer knowing everything about a person before he trusts them with having his back.

Before theories and doubts could be thrown around, the elevator dinged signaling the arrival of Tony Stark. They saw him first through the glass walls of the conference room, walking with purpose ahead with a giddy grin on his face. What threw them off was the person who trailed behind him.

There was a confidence in your strut, your strides sure with each step even if this was your first time in the premises. Your shoulders were slumped forward just the slightest bit, in what most would misconstrue as nerves where in fact it was plain curiosity. It wasn't your physical presence that shocked them. It was the fact that you were heavily restrained.

Your hands were fully encased in a wide rounded cylinder that covered up to your forearms. The case was thick and made with black reinforced metal, impossible to get out of. A small screen was on top, blinking blue and displaying information. On your mouth was a muzzle, similar to the one they placed on Loki years ago, but wider and wound around your head.

"What the hell?" Sam voiced what everyone was thinking.

They were expecting a new teammate; perhaps a highly skilled agent like Natasha, an enhanced like Wanda, a genius like Tony. Hell, they wouldn't even be surprised if they somehow pulled out another Hulk. Whatever you were was nowhere on the list of possibilities and at that point they didn't even know a single thing about you. And Tony looked far too happy. It unnerved every single one of them.

Your head turned to face them, sensing the many eyes on you. Through the glass separating you from them, Steve locked eyes with you and the breath was knocked out of him. He couldn't see half of your face but your eyes alone were magnetic; glinting with mischief, deep with intellect, and crinkling at the corners indicating you were smiling under the muzzle.

You were trouble.

When you and Tony entered the room, Steve noted that your eyes quickly flit from one person to another. If he wasn't paying such close attention to you, he would have missed the fact that you paid more than just a cursory glance at his team. No, you had thoroughly assessed each one from head to toe and carefully catalogued what you observed. In the few seconds that your eyes almost maniacally darted across the room, you had analyzed their capabilities and calculated their threat level.

You were definitely trouble.

"Uh, Tony?" Natasha said, carefully keeping a safe distance but a discerning eye on the newcomer who was clearly dangerous to be needing such drastic binds. "What's with Loki the sequel?"

Tony looked at Natasha for a moment, confused at her reaction. Then his gaze moved through the room of superheroes, all with tense looks and poised to jump into action at a moment's notice. Then finally he looked at you literally bound and gagged but looking relaxed as you tilted your constraints up and down in an almost playful manner. He realized his mistake.

"Oh," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I realize now that this looks bad."

There was a chorus of snorts and sarcastic hums in the room while you continued to toy with your god-grade handcuffs seemingly unbothered by the barely contained animosity directed at you. Tony put his hands up a bit and stepped slightly in front of you. Natasha was the most curious at the protective gesture.

"The restraints aren't actually there to detain her," he explained carefully. "They're more for her entertainment."

The loud clang of heavy metal hitting the floor boomed through the room as the device encasing your arms disengaged. The noise had startled everyone in the room and alerted Clint who had slept through the whole introduction. He jolted awake, instinctively grabbed his quiver, and shot straight at you before anyone could even realize what he was doing.

Permanent Taglist:

@alwaysclassyeagle @closetbtstrash

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missmonsters2 · 4 years

Text

Between the Lines || II

PAIRING: Steve Rogers & Fem!Reader (Platonic) / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader / Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader x Wanda Maximoff

Summary: Vampire AU. Life has changed drastically since the 1600s. Things are always on the move, and you’ve been very careful to not get on SHIELDs radar. Living on the down-low owning a café, you’re content to live out a quiet existence. That is until the Avengers enter your life.

[Set after the New York Invasion, in CAWS, and goes up to AoU. Canon divergent after.]

Warnings: This series will contain smut(**), poly-relationship, and dark themes.

Note: Enter stage left; Natasha. I’m excite guys. Please let me know if you want to be on the taglist for this fic :)!

PART I

PART II of XX

Count: 2842

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"This is really good, how'd you know about this place?"

You grinned as you watched Steve take a massive bite from his steak, groaning slightly in delight as he did. You had ordered yourself a steak and was in the process of cutting up, eating it slowly.

"Sarah, the employee at my shop, recommended it. She says her boyfriend loves it here, so I thought it might be a great place to try. I'm glad you like it. The steak just melts, hey?"

Steve nodded as he swallowed. You thought it was funny as he was a little confused, and maybe even a little grossed out when you had gotten your steak blue rare. But if you were going to eat a steak, you might as well get it as rare as possible. The food itself tasted great, but you knew that even if you felt full, you couldn't get any of the nutrients from the meal. The venom would break down the food completely, taking nothing, and you would have to feed later on tonight.

You had also picked this restaurant because it was further from the Stark Tower. You were right that David was entirely pissed you were taking it as far as you were, but when you're alone for centuries, being around someone felt amazing.

The 'friend date' was going well. They could talk and laugh, ask questions that allowed them to get to know each other more without revealing anything too deep.

Still, something was missing, and you couldn't put your finger on it. Maybe it's been too long since you've had a human friend? Was it because everything about you guys was fake since you were both hiding things from each other?

They walked through Central Park, enjoying the beautiful weather. They were currently debating who was more iconic; Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Daniel Armstrong.

"Oh man, I might have to ban you from the café if you insist on Armstrong."

Steve laughed as he shook his head. "C'mon, he has so many classics!"

"Shh, Steve. I will hear no more of this nonsense from you," you said with a wag of your finger at him. Steve laughed softly once more, his eyes softening as they continued to walk.

Miraculously, the rest of the night continued on as normal. Steve was dropping you back at the café so you could get your car and then go relieve the babysitter you had gotten for Allison. Like a gentleman, Steve walked you to your vehicle to ensure you would get in safely.

You turned on your engine with the car starter, turning back to Steve. You did, you really did like Steve as a friend. He was funny, gentlemanly, and definitely not hard on the eyes. Yet, for some reason, you felt like you there was something off. It wasn't like you hadn't been in contact with humans before while keeping your secret. You couldn't understand.

"Thanks for coming out with me tonight," Steve said, almost too politely, and it made you chuckle.

"It was lovely," you replied, watching as Steve's eyes crinkled at the corners from smiling. You sighed wistfully. Stepping forward, you put your hand gently on Steve's cheek, tippy-toeing to kiss him softly on his cheek. His face immediately flushed red, traveling all the way up to the tips of his ears.

"Goodnight, Steve, see you later." With that, you got into your car, driving off.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"Thanks again," you said as you handed the money to the babysitter. The young lady waved it off and left. Allison was thankfully already put to the bed by the sitter, and you quietly checked on the young girl to make sure everything was fine. Once you were satisfied, you shut the door and made your way to the basement.

Down there, there was a fridge that had an electronic passcode lock on it. Once unlocked, you grabbed a bag filled with blood in it out. You used your teeth to tear the corner and tipped the bag into your mouth. After the long swig, you lowered the bag, sighing as you sat down and leaned against the freezer.

Suddenly, there was vibrating in your pocket, and you pulled the phone out, answering it without even looking.

"Hey, David."

"How'd the hangout go?" He immediately asked, a slightly disapproving tone in his voice. You didn't even dignify it with an answer. Instead, you took another mouthful of the blood bag.

"Do you have enough supply over there, David? If not, I'll send another shipment over from the hospital to you."

David makes a noncommittal sound, indicating he's fine, so you move on. "Any updates then? Not like you to call me to check on my personal life."

David snorts, "Only when I think it'll put you at risk. But, you're right. I do have something."

You sat up, readjusting yourself to sit straighter. You quickly finished your bag of blood, wiping your lips slightly.

"Got two things for you. First, I've got some intel that HYDRA has an escapee. They call him The Winter Soldier, a man with a metal arm," David says as you switch the phone to your other ear.

"Where was he last seen?"

"Europe, but it looks like he's heading towards America."

You hum. You had heard about HYDRA over the years, it was another organization that you needed to keep an eye on, lest you wanted to be caught by them. You never had to deal with them directly as to when they became a problem, Captain America came to be and 'handled' it.

Maybe that was the problem. It was difficult to be friends with Steve, knowing you couldn't talk to him about anything when you had more in common than just the average person. Was it guilt that was stopping you?

"Keep me updated on that situation. Let me know if you catch sight of him," you said, getting up to throw out the empty bag before making your way to your private bar to pour yourself a drink.

"Already surveilling. Second thing...I think I've found the descendants of Tatyana."

Your grip slipped slightly, spilling the liqueur out of your glass slightly.

"What?" You breathe out shakily.

"They're in Sokovia. I'm waiting for a little more intel to come in."

"Send me everything you have, and the second you get more," you breathe steadily, wiping the spilled liqueur and resumed your pouring.

With nothing left, David hangs up.

Tatyana...

Flashes of silk and a peal of feminine laughter passed through you. You quickly shut it out and downed your drink.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"Everyone clear on what their duties are?"

With a collective yes, Fury had ended the meeting. The aftermath of the invasion was still affecting many people. Tony had set up a foundation for families who were directly affected by the invasion and donated millions. Bruce had a side research assignment for SHIELD while helping with the cleanup when he could. Thor had left immediately with Loki, and they were unsure when he would return. Steve was doing a lot of interviews and press reviews to help the Avengers look better in the public's eye. As Nat and Clint were spies, they needed to keep unknown to the public, so Nat went back to being Pepper's PA, and Clint, well Clint left.

Steve was already leaving, thinking about heading over to the Café to see you. He didn't have anything scheduled until tomorrow, and he had a feeling after that, he would be tied up for a while. As he was walking down the hall, Natasha came up next to him and fell in step.

"Where are you heading to?" She asks casually.

"Just out."

"To the place you've been mysteriously disappearing to every day for the last two weeks?"

Steve looked surprised. "Not every day..."

He looked around to make sure no one else is there. A part of him was still wary about Natasha, but he was resolved to place his faith in her and trusted her, and she trusted him.

"I met a girl at a café two weeks ago, you know, when Bruce recommended me that book?" He says as he turned his attention back to her.

"Dating?" She says as if almost impressed by it.

Steve shook his head. "No, she doesn't know I'm Captain America. We're just friends."

"Because she doesn't see you like that?" Natasha asked.

Steve rubbed the back of his head.

"Both of us don't see each other like that."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed, but Steve waved it off. "It's fine. I'm not looking to date anyways."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but before Natasha could ask anything else, an intern interrupts them, saying she needed Steve.

Natasha stopped walking, clicked her tongue as she tapped her foot and looked at Steve walking off with the intern.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Steve wasn't able to visit You for a few days due to all the PR he had to do, but now that he was back, he planned and seeing you right away. The moment he entered, he noticed a familiar redhead sitting with you.

There Natasha was, sitting at a table with you, drink in her hand as they chatted away. He furrowed his brows and frowned as he walked over to them, grabbing their attention.

Natasha smirked at him, and he gave her a look. You called out to him, and he nodded his head at you but turned to Natasha.

"What are you doing here?"

You looked surprised as you looked between the two of them. "Oh, you know Miss Rushman here?"

"Natalie," Natasha corrected. Steve gave her another look that she shrugged off.

"We're acquaintances," she explains easily, keeping Steve's secret. You hum a small 'o,' and it's silent again. It seems almost tense for a second before Natasha gets up, stating she's got to go back to work.

"It was great meeting you, Natalie. Come by again for life-changing coffee," You bid her goodbye, getting a brief smile from the redhead.

Once Natasha is gone, you turn back to Steve, "Your acquaintance is nice."

Steve only laughed awkwardly.

He had his peaceful hour with you before leaving. When he got back to the tower, he found that it was only him, Tony, and Bruce in the building.

It wasn't until late evening that Natasha returned.

"What the hell was that today?" Steve immediately asked, catching Natasha in the common area kitchen while no one else was around. It looked like Natasha had freshly showered and changed, coming in to get a late-night snack.

Natasha sighed as she faced Steve and uncrossed her arms. "Look, I'm sorry, Steve, but I just want to make sure she's safe for you, okay?"

Steve's face softened, and he was pacified by Natasha's underlying words that she cared about him, and this came from a place of concern.

"So," he says after a moment. "What did you think?"

He watched as Natasha shifted, hesitating to tell him what she honestly thought, but with the look on his face, she knew better than to lie to him about it.

"There's something off about her," Natasha finally says, shifting her weight onto one foot and crossing her arms.

"Off about her?" Steve questions with a raise of his eyebrow. "Like...secretly..."

He had heard of Tony talking about his own past experiences before he had met Pepper. Something about aborting if it's a stage 5 clinger.

"No," Natasha replied, rolling her eyes slightly.

"I mean, she's hiding something."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There was a degree of surprise for you when Black Widow had shown up at your café. Though, you supposed it was bound to happen with Steve showing up as often as he was. You just expected it to be another Avenger.

When you heard about the Avengers Initiative starting up from David's intel, he had sent you files on the candidates. Natasha Romanoff's file, as expected, had nearly nothing in it. You got her birth name, occupation, and a really shoddy photo from a street camera.

This was going to be a problem, you thought. David really would want you to disappear if Black Widow was going to be involved. You would have to convince David that disappearing would be even more suspicious and warrant the spy to look more deeply into you if you left without a trace. You just needed to be normal because even if she tried to look you up, nothing out of the ordinary would come up anyway.

You put on a friendly face as Natasha came up to the counter. "Hello, how what can I get you today?"

"Just looking for a little pick me up, but not something that will have my hands shaking." Her voice was husky, and you licked your lips.

"Sounds like a long day," you said, starting to make the drink. You had a lot of customers who came through asking for something different like it was a bar, but you didn't mind.

There was a delicate but husky chuckle in return, "And it's not even halfway through."

"Name for the drink?"

"Natalie."

You hummed quietly, writing on the cup in a cursive font.

There wasn't much more chatting after that as you focused on making the drink. Natasha noticed right away walking in that you were beautiful, there were no physical imperfections about you. Even the way your hair fell seemed to fall perfectly in place. It was hard to place your age, but there was something youthful about you. Natasha had also noticed the strip of flour on your cheek.

"Guessing hectic day for yourself?" Natasha said, breaking the silence. She watched as your brows furrowed with your lip slightly jutted out in a pout as you looked at the redhead.

When Natasha pointed to her own cheek to mirror where it would be on you, and you quickly swiped the area with your gloved fingertip and then checked with a small laugh.

"Oh, yeah. My one and only employee has called in sick today. I'm starting to think I should hire another one."

Natasha tilted her head, "Oh, you own this place?"

"Sure do! I'm Elaine. Nice little shindig I got here, right?" You grinned, and Natasha smirked in return.

"I'll reserve my thoughts until I try the drink."

You lightly laughed, putting the finished drink in front of the redhead. "Fair enough, and not to toot my own horn, but this drink is going to give you a happiness you'll never be able to achieve anywhere else. If that's the case, this tip jar could use some friends."

Natasha gave a friendly snort, not replying as she took a sip and immediately moaned involuntarily.

"Oh shit, is there crack in this?"

You let out a burst of full laughter, the kind that reminded Natasha of a warm day in a meadow—whatever that means.

"No crack, unfortunately, but it will get you through the day without your heart going 100 miles a minute."

Natasha smiled slightly, pulling out a Benjamin and throwing it in the tip jar, clearly overpaying for the drink, but you didn't say anything and grinned.

The redhead looked around, finding a lot of shelves with books on them on the other side of the café.

"Bookstore as well? Busy, busy, I see."

You hummed, "Sort of. I don't really make people buy books here. There's a college nearby, and I have a lot of students come here. I get a lot of textbooks and then let students rent them out. They put a security deposit on the book, which is 100% refundable provided the book isn't damaged."

"Quite the lucrative business you've got going on," Natasha said, mildly impressed, and you shrugged.

"Well, I'm not too sure what an accounting major would do with an Intro to Anthropology textbook if they had to keep it, so I guess everyone wins in this situation."

Somehow after that, they had moved over to the table to continue talking, most of it being light banter.

Still, Natasha found you odd. As a master conversationalist, she recognized that you had the same skill, which meant that while you were incredibly talkative, there was nothing personal about their conversations. There was no asking where Natalie worked, or what she was doing around this neighborhood since she wasn't a regular. She could see this was not your goal to pry for information.

There was the thing with the gloves as well, but Natasha did not ask, and you did not explain even if you found Natasha staring.

After she left when Steve showed up, Natasha looked back at the café on the corner of the street.

She had to admit, she did not mind you; she was curious if anything. She could see why Steve would like hanging around you, but you did not give any vibes that indicated to Natasha that you cared all that much.

Still, Steve liked you, and Steve was family.

And she would always protect her family.

PART III

859 notes · View notes

mimsylovesloki · 3 years

Text

Episode 4-Play by Play Reactions (Spoilers)

(I accidentally spoiled a major part for myself by browsing tumblr after the episode aired but before I watched it because I’m dumb)

I’m watching this on my TV and not my phone this time so I’m excited

Previously on… the show I’ve been obsessed with months before it released. As if I need reminding lol.

Friggin marvel opening gotta remind me of Tony snapping every episode

Interesting watching this on my flatscreen cuz the show is wide screen

Oh asgard!

Little Sylvie!

Oh my gosh that would be horrifying as a kid… she just got kidnapped pretty much

“Crimes against the sacred timeline” oh for cripes sake she’s just a kid!

Oh my gosh this would be terrifying

Oh is this when Renslayer was still a hunter

Clever girl!!! She escaped before even being sentencing

There’s a lot more to Renslayer I bet

TIME KEEPERS BABY

Space lizards finna meet the business end of a pruner

Mobius yay!!!!! I’ve missed him!

And what’s so bad with different branches?

Oh is that hunter locked up?

Oh nvm

That “how?” from Mobius is the closest thing we will get to hearing him say “wow” in this show and that makes me sad.

Dawn of the Final Day

Aha iconic promo scene!

Serious Loki moment?

“The universe wants to break free so it manifests chaos like me being born the goddess of mischief.”

I don’t believe C-20 is actually dead

Soooo does Loki not still have the tesseract? Or are we gonna get a silly clown Loki moment of “OHHHH I FORGOT I HAD THIS.”

“Do you think what makes a Loki a Loki is the fact that we’re destined to lose?”

“No. We may lose. Sometimes painfully. But we don’t die. We survive.”

Please don’t romance them

This is sweet and sad

Don’t kiss please don’t

What set them off? How did they find him?

He really should have an equal amount of security

Mobius shut up.

Bad friend? Oops

Uh oh

TELL HIM THE TRUTH LOKI DO IT

Oh? Asgard?

Uh oh

Lmao

Bully Sif

Ouch

Poor Loki

Ohhhhhh lmao time loop of being beaten up by Sif… ouchie

Cmon Loki fight back.

Or break her mind lol

Loki don’t fall for it— ahhhh ok

Ouchie

Controlling woman huh

Easiest to break huh? Shut up Ravonna

Titans? (Lmao please tell me they arrested a variant Thanos)

Vampires??? Hinting at a Blade reboot????

Hunter B-15 knows something is up

Oh my gosh Loki real moment confessing to Sif “because I’m scared of being alone.”

Genuine or??? Is she gonna throw him? Poor Loki…. “You are alone. And you always will be.”

Mobius you scumbag. That’s literally torture.

Mobius shut up

Mobius shut up. You don’t know the real Loki.

Oh so even they don’t know what caused it

Now Loki is lying just to avoid being hit by Sif

Oh no. He thinks she’s gone. Loki can’t lie very well when he’s sad.

No not swooning… please don’t ship them I beg you.

Not romance please stop no.

MOBIUS SHUT THE HELL UP

Please don’t make it romantic please please please please

SHES NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND PLEASE SHUT UP

YEA LOKI TELL HIM THE TRUTH

Maybe he had a family, a life… maybe… maybe a jetskii?

Mobius shut up.

Shut up about “girlfriend”

Yea Mobius. Let it stew. You’re a liar.

That Hunter B-15 is onto something.. OH YEA SHE WAS ENCHANTED FOR A BRIEF MOMENT TOO

SHE MUST BE REMEMBERING SOMETHING

Theremin. Nice.

Odd music choice for a date I gotta say.

How much older is Owen Wilson than Gugu Mbatha Raw? (Googling) Owen Wilson is 52… Gugu is 38

Mobius is onto something. But I’m still mad at him.

“What we do here matters.” Doubt

Friendzoned

What trophy?

Oh the sword

SNEAKY MOBIUS SWITCHING THE REMOTES NYAHAHAHA

He’s not the best liar tho

For all time. Always. Doubt

She knows he’s lying.

Hunter B-15 interrogating Sylvie at Roxxcart

Yea Sylvie tell her!

FRIENDS? Please?

Oh my gosh poor Hunter B-15…

Hug?

Team up?

Yay???

Damn C-20 really is dead?

Funny with all that technology but that video looks like my old handheld game from like 2010 that I bought from Walmart.

Mobius having an existential crisis. Good.

Please stop hinting at a romance between them…

Friends yay!

Renslayer you scum…

Uh oh

Maybe he had a Jet Skii!

LOKI JUST LOST ANOTHER FRIEND

Renslayer I will revel in your demise

“But she’s just doing her job.” Shut up. She saw what Hunter C-20 said…

Loki is crying again… he just made another friend and he’s gun… HE NEEDS TO COME BACK. If Mobius is gone forever I will never forgive the TVA.

Awww she asked if he’s okay… I’m still praying only friends. Please nothing more.

What was the event? Come on Renslayer. You remember you crap hole.

Oh my. Time keepers??? Aha this IS where the stairs on the wall and a fight breaks out.

Lmao that one time keeper sounds like a dopey dog from a cartoon.

YEA HUNTER B-15 I LOVE YOU

Oh that’s how Loki gets that cut

Now he has a sword babyyyy

Renslayer I hate you

Loki help her!

Oh nvm she’s good

Child of the time keepers?

I KNEW IT

JUST ROBOT PUPPETS!!! ITS ALL A TRICK

So… who’s really in control???

Seeing Loki in this blue light… cmon give me Jötunn Loki.

Where’s hunter b-15?

Don’t confess love pease I beg you

Please please please don’t romance them. For all that is good in this world.

Oh gosh

Hug?

Please just hug

NOOOOOOOOOOOO

WHAT????

PRUNE HER DO IT

Loki?????

What???? NOOOOO

HE CANT BE GONE!!! We still haven’t gotten that scene where he has the flaming sword!!!!!!!! Pruning HAS to not kill them please!!!!!!!!!

Dammit I KNEW something would happen. They had their backs turned to them and it was too quiet.

LOKI BETTER NOT BE GONE I SWEAR TO GOD MY HEART CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH AGGHHHHHHHHH

I’ve seen him die too many damn times agahahshehhdheiebdusienenridiehehejd

And now the credit song has love in it

I really really hope they don’t have some sort of self-cest between Loki and Sylvie…

POST CREDIT SCENE WHAT????

LOKI YES

OH MY GOSH THANK GOD HES ALIVE

Gosh

MY JAW JUST DROPPED

ALL THE OTHER LOKIS

SO WHAT THE HELL DOES PRUNING DO?????

WE GOT KID LOKI, BLACK LOKI, OLD COMIC LOKI, AND EVEN A FRIGGIN CROCODILE LOKI LIKE WHAT???????

And what is black loki (I feel bad for calling him just that but I don’t know his name DX) holding? And what is old comic Loki holding?

What is this place that looks apocalyptic??? Why are they all here?

WHAT IS HAPPENING

THIS IS MY FAVORITE EPISODE YET AGGHHHHHHHHH

SO IS MOBIUS STILL ALIVE THEN????

IS EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN PRUNED STILL ALIVE?

Is each pruned person sent to a place with all the other variants of themselves???

I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS

NO WONDER TOM HIDDLESTON SAID POOR LOKI IN THESE EPISODES

My biggest concerns now are: how on earth are they going to wrap this up in only two more episodes? And PLEASE DONT ROMANCE SYLVIE AND LOKI!!! I mean, I get it… if Loki should fall in love who better than his parallel. She’s different enough from him to have it not be too weird I guess, but it’s still a variant version of him. And it seems a little too forced. Like sure a crush maybe, but don’t you dare say love when they’ve only known each other for like a couple days.

My mind is melting. I’m so glad I waited to watch this in the morning instead of at night so I could appreciate it in all its glory.

BUT NOW I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK AGGHHHHHHH

Oh and is Hunter B-15 okay? We saw her get knocked down but that was it. She didn’t appear in the rest of the fight.

AND WHO MADE THE TIME KEEPERS????

IS IT KANG? IS IT…… MEPHISTO??? WHOOOOOOOOOOOO?????

Gonna go browse tumblr to cry and reblog gifs from the episode to help me cope until next week.

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dearlazerbunny · 4 years

Text

Let it Go (Ch. 1 of ?)

Pairings: platonic avengers team x reader, potential background loki x reader

Words: 1800

Genre/Ratings: -WARNINGS- there will be an (unsuccessful) suicide attempt by reader- chapter will be explicitly marked in advance. Drug (pills) and alcohol abuse, lots of negativity and self loathing. There will be an arc, but said arc is going to start in the eleventh circle of hell and inch up from there.

Summary: *not far enough into this one to give an accurate summary, so this’ll have to be updated eventually. enjoy for now!*

If I see another ad for Frozen, I might go homicidal.

I pass at least five of them as I work through rush-hour Manhattan at a snail’s pace. Smash Hit! Instant Classic! #1 Movie in the World! Awesome. Fantastic. Happy for you, Disney. Now please, dear god, get it the fuck out of my face.

I jerk away from narrowly shoulder-checking a businessman hustling down the sidewalk, speaking rapid-fire into the phone glued to his ear. It’s like a very, very fucked up dream; everyone in the world is in on the joke, and I just didn’t get the invite. Maybe they were spying on me. Sure, it could’ve been inspired by a fairytale, but who knows? I could sue. Demand fifty percent of the profits for copyright infringement. That’d be more than enough to set me up with a cabin in Alaska, somewhere all I’d have to worry about is making friends with the polar bears.

On the subway, I notice someone has Let it Go blaring from their earbuds. No less than three little girls are wearing something blue and covered in glitter. One has a cheap blonde plait clipped into her hair, accented by a snowflake charm dangling from the end. I suppress the urge to rip it off her head.

It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I want to say. It’s not Disney-dreamy like the mouse has made it out to be, living in a palace and making magical snowmen and singing power ballads about self-acceptance and overcoming your demons. In the real world, you quell those demons with a fistful of benzodiazepines, because if you don’t, something like a car alarm or a slammed door will make spikes of ice splinter through the floor around you. It’s constantly wearing three hoodies at a time, so that way if a stranger on the seat next to you brushes your arm, they don’t immediately get third-degree frostbite. It’s getting a papercut and watching the blood freeze on the tip of your finger, then melt back to liquid when you break it off and toss it away. It’s getting hospitalized when an inner-city charity doctor takes your temperature before you can object and your body temperature is barely higher than freezing, so they pump you full of warm saline and cover you in foil blankets and all that heat makes you sick, so you have to rip the IV out of your arm and walk yourself back to your apartment in your hospital gown while dodging orderlies and strange looks from passerby at 2 AM.

The kid and her parents get off at the next stop. The subway clicks along. I try to make myself smaller as the car fills up with more people.

Maybe if they’d had Xanax in Arendelle, Elsa wouldn’t have had to deal with all that “conceal, don’t feel” bullshit. She wouldn’t be able to feel anything with all the pills and booze she’d be mainlining. Take it from me, babe, it’s a lot easier to drug those demons away. Much more effective than a song.

Something in me feels a weird flare of pride for handling this… whatever the hell it is better than a fictional cartoon princess. Then I want to laugh, because goddamn, my life is pathetic.

My meeting spot is in a back alley near Bryant Park. Some NYU kid is pawning his Klonopin for party cash, I guess. I think if you’re rich enough to be a frat boy at NYU you probably don’t need the extra fifty from your prescriptions, but whatever. I don’t have a ton of other avenues at this point.

I scan the neon bottle, then shake it open and count the pills inside. “These are only a half milligram? Fifteen.”

“Dude, we said forty.”

“Yeah, for a milligram pill. These will barely last me a week.”

“Twenty.”

“Fine.”

I don’t think the universe agrees with my choices.

The sky splits open with a shriek that balances the world on the edge of a knife. One heartbeat. Two. He and I both look up at the clear blue, unsure. Between the skyline, I see something- somethings- begin pouring from a split in the universe, ugly and black and hungry.

I wrench the bottle from the kid’s hands and run.

Run, run, run, don’t look up, don’t look back, oh jesus what the FUCK IS THIS- Midtown is a nightmare. Not from Friday traffic this time. People are scrambling, screaming and crying, trying to flee the scene. An entire side of a building gets shaved off and falls to the ground like an iceberg. A gas line broke somewhere because everything is hazy with fumes and starts shimmering rainbow colors. I round a corner, cursing and trying to keep my ratty converse on my feet as I dodge rubble and ash- don’t look up don’t look up don’t look up. I can see my breath starting to crystallize around me as my anxiety spikes, and I try to force it down. Don’t think about it. Now is so not the time for that.

In the middle of the street, six brightly clad superheroes stand with grim but determined looks on their faces. There’s Tony Stark in his mechanical suit, Captain America brandishing his shield. The star stands out like a beacon in the smoke. Cool, coolcoolcool, they’ve got this, right? They’ve totally got this. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to befineohholyshitthat’sabigalien-

I try to use an overturned car as cover. Dart to one, breathe, press my back to steel and try to shake my body back from shock, wait for a moment of silence between the chaos- run to the next pile of rubble. My footprints are outlined in frost on the cracked pavement, clean white against the ash raining from the sky. As I slam myself up against another car, heaving, I have a prime few of Captain-freaking-America bashing three ugly aliens in the face with his shield, battering them to the ground. He stops for a moment to flex his fingers, wipe some of the grime from his face.

He doesn’t see the alien rushing him from behind, mouth open and yawning in some sort of hideous grin, poised to shove a glowing blue gun against the Captain’s muscly back.

I don’t think. My feet move without my telling them to. I can taste the ash as I dart to the middle of the street, as close as I dare. The air around me is impossibly frigid. I’m not controlling anything at this point, but I can deal with that later. Hopefully.

“DUCK!” I scream as loud as I possibly can over the sound of metal and roaring monsters.

His eyes snap up to meet mine. He heard me, somehow, and then he actually heeds a random girl standing amidst the carnage and hits the deck so fast I can hear the whiplash. It’s hot enough to make my skin boil, but if I stretch my hand out and pull, I can feel something begin to crystallize in my waiting palm-

Fissures crack open in the concrete beneath me. In my hand, a thin lance of ice extends to a deadly point, too weighty for its slim frame, and while I should have all the grace and skill of an alcoholic drug addict, my aim is good enough that the alien now has an unforgiving pole of ice sticking through its breastbone. Frost creeps from the hole in its chest, discoloring its sickly black armor to a grey tint. For a moment, it's suspended in time, unmoving- then gravity takes hold and with one last nightmarish shriek it crumples to the ground in a heap.

Huh. Whaddya know. I flex my fingers, breathing hard. Take that, Elsa. Screw the power of love, I just single-handedly saved a national icon.

Said icon is picking himself up off the ground, a new layer of dust coating the front of his uniform. He looks behind him, at the ugly corpse and the ice that inexplicably hasn’t started to melt in the city’s heat. Then his eyes are on me, hard and curious.

Oh. Fuck.

Instinctively, I pull my hood up further over my head, hopefully obscuring more of my face than before. What did he see? Could he memorize my face? He knows I’m a freak show, that’s for sure. Fuck. My brain kicks in and I run, skidding over broken pavement and letting the sheer terror of a crumbling New York fuel my steps. Either we’ll all be dead by the end of this, or the strange girl with ice coming from her hands will be little more than a hazy memory after all this is said and done. I hope. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it- cold prickles on the back of my neck and pushes me back towards being just another face in the crowd.

There are over a dozen police blockades to try and control the battlefield, and between them and the rubble raining from the heavens, it takes me what feels like hours to crawl back to my underside of the city. It’s punctuated by the grinding of metal and shattering of glass and sickening cracks of lightning from Midtown, making me flinch and wring my hands deep into my sweatshirts to keep them busy with something other than frosting the ground over. Don’t think about it.

I shove my shoulder into the door, forcing it open, then close it the same way from the opposite side. I flick the locks closed, secure the ball and chains. Each one is encased in frost by the time I’m done, and the doorjamb is clogged with ice. I’m suddenly irrationally thankful that there’s only one window in the apartment. It’s a stupid comfort- those things were leveling skyscrapers, a ratty building like this would be flattened in an instant-

I wrench open the nearest drawer, sending the contents rolling. Bottles clack against each other; pills rattling against the plastic. It’s the most comforting thing I’ve heard all day. I pull one out at random, pop the lid, down it dry. In the back of my mind, the large green monster roars. I shudder and swallow another, this time chasing it with swigs from the obscenely large bottle of booze on the desk. It burns all the way down in the best way, chasing the little orange tablets and promising the sweet release of nothing.

That should last a day. Maybe more. I fall into the bed, already feeling the combo tug at my system, making me heavy and slow. Maybe Manhattan will still be standing when I wake up. Or better yet, Manhattan will still be standing, but I won’t. I’ve never been that lucky, but it never hurts to hope.

#marvel fic #marvel fanfiction #avengers fic #avengers fanfiction #avengers x y/n #avengers x oc #loki x reader #reader insert #Steve Rogers #natasha romanov #tony stark #bruce banner #Thor Odinson #clint barton #Loki Laufeyson #angst #avengers x reader

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alirhi · 3 years

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chapter 25 FINALLY yeesh...

Title: Winter's Frost Chapter: 25/? Fandom: MCU Rating: R to be on the safe side Pairing: Loki/Bucky Summary: Loki never told anyone the real reason he became so obsessed with Midgard. Much better to let them think he wanted to hurt his brother than draw their attention to the one thing in the universe that makes the God of Mischief truly vulnerable. Notes: I kinda really hate that they gender-swapped Laufey in the MCU, so now I have to do the same with Farbauti. The main reason I have a problem with this is Loki's name – it was one of the very distinctive things about him. In a rigidly patriarchal society, Loki's surname is matrilineal. I don't know if Marvel misunderstood or changed it on purpose, but they basically erased a detail that makes Loki a feminist icon. Also, I'm drawing from actual Norse mythology again, a little.

"Whoa."

"Welcome home, Your Highness."

Hiding a smile at his lover's childlike wonder, Loki nodded cordially to Heimdall. "How have things been here?"

The Guardian of the Bifrost chuckled, watching Bucky wander slowly about the room. "Tense, as I'm sure you can imagine. Your wife and mother ask after you daily."

"And what do you tell them?"

"The bridge is rainbow!" Bucky was leaning against the far wall now, peeking out at the world beyond the open door. "It's actually rainbow! And super shiny... Is it as slick as it looks? That doesn't seem safe."

"He's adorable," Heimdall murmured, making Loki cough to mask his laughter. Clearing his throat, he returned to the topic at hand and told the Prince, "I tell them that you're well, and that your brother is aiding you in clearing your name so that you may return home."

Loki snorted. "Oh, is that what Thor is doing? When I left, he was playing cards with Stark, Banner, and Miss Potts."

"If it makes you feel any better, he's losing."

"It does, actually," he admitted with a grin. "A bit."

"This is Jotunheim?" Eyes hilariously wide and never settling on one thing for more than a second, Bucky approached them. "It's not as cold as I expected."

Loki chuckled and held his arm out, pleased when his beloved immediately cuddled up to his side. "No, darling. This is Asgard."

"Asgard?! I thought-"

"We can't linger," he explained, somewhat surprised by the melancholy ache in his heart at the thought. "Heimdall has been kind enough to agree to open the Bifrost to us; I didn't want to risk harming you by teleporting between worlds after how you reacted to being transported between continents on your own world."

"I appreciate that." Bucky glanced around again, the awe and curiosity in his big blue eyes reminding Loki vividly of their daughter. Eira truly did take after her father. "That's a lot of gold. Is that actual gold, or just paint?"

The Aesir and Jotun both opted not to answer him. While Loki fought not to laugh, Heimdall reached for the Bifrost sword and told him, "Be careful, Your Highness. This isn't a fight you can win with deception."

He sighed. "Wait a moment." While the Guardian smiled and dropped his hands, Loki stepped away from Bucky and turned to face him. "I'd better show you now so you aren't shocked when we arrive."

"Show me what, Doll?" The words were barely out of his mouth before it dropped open as he watched Loki's disguise fade away. Loki tensed, seeing the look of stunned disbelief on his lover's handsome face, but Bucky quickly came back to himself and laid his fears of rejection to rest. "How in the Hell did you just get more beautiful? Are those tattoos? Or... No, they're markings. Were you born with those? They're gorgeous!"

"Y-yes." He cleared his throat, glancing helplessly at Heimdall's fond, patient smile before returning his attention to his beloved. Immediate, enthusiastic acceptance was... not exactly the response he'd been expecting. "Yes, I suppose I was born with them."

Grinning, Bucky closed the gap between them and tugged Loki into his arms. "You look good. Ready to get this over with?"

With a soft, amazed chuckle, Loki hugged his love and kissed his scruffy cheek. "You are a wonder. And yes, let's get on with it. Heimdall?"

"Be well, my Prince." As he twisted the blade and opened the bridge again, Heimdall assured him with a smile, "I'll assure your wife that she's in your thoughts, and that she will see you again soon."

"It's nice that someone there is on your side-fuck it's cold!" Bucky cringed, rubbing his hands together as his lover snorted and conjured him some warmer gloves and another jacket. "After this, we take Eira to the Caribbean, yes?"

Laughing outright at that, Loki conjured him a hat, as well. "We'll see. Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll live." He held up his left hand, looking a bit perplexed. "You know this one doesn't feel anything, right?"

The Trickster shrugged, already turning and heading away from the Bifrost site. "Take the glove off, if you wish. Honestly, I'd forgotten it was metal."

"How? I could use it as a disco ball!"

"Well, if it isn't the little Princess."

Loki stopped, shifted to female form, and smirked. "Well, some of the time." Standing straight and doing her best to ignore the unnerving height difference, she stared the guard down. "I'm here for an audience with your Queen."

"Why do I doubt that she's expecting you?"

He was staring openly at her, taking in the fur-lined Asgardian armor, the diminutive stature, the blue skin marked with swirling designs... She allowed it; after all, she'd dropped the illusion that she was Aesir on purpose, to get their attention. Small or not, under Odin's magic and then her own, she was Jotun. She belonged in this frozen wasteland about as much as she belonged in Asgard.

For the moment, she chose to ignore what a low bar that was.

"I am Loki," she reminded him as she switched back to male form. He was perfectly comfortable either way, but as a man he was a little bit taller; still tiny for a Frost Giant, but he'd take what he could get. "Son of Laufey and rightful King of Jotunheim."

The guard smirked. "King Helblindi will be quite surprised to hear that."

Loki stalled out for a moment, stunned. He'd forgotten that he actually had biological brothers, not just a very annoying adoptive one. No wonder he'd been cast aside; his father had other sons to replace the worthless runt.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned. Bucky's wide blue eyes were locked on the guard, who the flustered Prince had just belatedly recognized as his other brother, Býleistr. Visibly steeling himself for a confrontation, Bucky sucked in a deep breath and addressed their amused audience.

"Prince Loki is used to having to boast and take an offensive position to be heard. I'm sure you're familiar with Odin and his unending pomposity?" Grinning when Býleistr chuckled, he continued sweetly, "Obviously, your people are much more refined; couldn't you look past his boorish Asgardian upbringing and see that he only wants to talk to his family?"

Laughing red eyes drifted from Bucky to Loki, and Býleistr nodded. "I like this one, little brother. Very diplomatic, for a Midgardian. Come. I'm sure Mother would like to see you."

As he turned and walked away, Loki paused to gape at his lover. Bucky was lightly bouncing on his toes, though Loki wasn't sure if it was from pride or cold. Just in case, he conjured him a warmer coat and a scarf. "You truly are a wonder, James!"

"Hey, I listen when you talk!" he teased, prodding him lightly until they were both moving, hurrying after Býleistr. "I know what a total asshole Odin is. Seemed a safe bet that the people he's been oppressing for centuries would agree that he sucks."

Loki chuckled, draping an arm over the other man's broad shoulders. "I did tell you that you're brilliant. I love being proven right."

___________________________________________________ Next Masterlist

#fanfiction #loki #bucky barnes #winter's frost #mcu #avengers #thor #captain america #winter soldier #m/m #loki/bucky #sebastian stan #tom hiddleston #heimdall #idris elba

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mostfacinorous · 4 years

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A Milder March- Fluffy Robe/ PJs

From the #A Milder March prompt list:

Fluffy Robe/ PJs

As soon as he was through the door, Steve was pulling off his boots, his harness, his gauntlets and gloves and holsters and all but stripping down in the front hall.

Loki watched on, amused, until Steve was hopping about, trying to free himself and clearly frustrated by his trappings, and then Loki took pity on him and, with a twitch of his hand, relieved him of all but his underthings.

Steve straightened, crossing his arms protectively over the thin white material of his undershirt, and Loki allowed his eyes to trail appreciatively over his partner’s frame.

“Gorgeous.” He murmured.

Steve wrinkled his nose.

“I’m gross and sweaty.” He protested, turning as if to squeeze past Loki on his way to their room.

Loki licked his lips.

“You are,” he agreed. “And also gorgeous. Why don’t you have a shower-- I’ll pull out some clothes for you.”

Steve gave him a narrow eyed, suspicious look, clearly familiar with Loki’s tendency towards tricks when he got in these moods. But he nodded just the same.

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks.”

He dropped a kiss on Loki’s cheek and passed him by when Loki stepped to the side to make room.

Upon emerging from the shower, though, it became clear exactly the sort of trick Loki had had in mind.

There was a pair of simple lounge pants, soft and cotton-y, and they would be inoffensive, if not for the repeating shield motif printed across them-- interspersed with the outline of Loki’s iconic helm, all on a navy blue field.

Hardly something he could have found somewhere, which meant Loki had magicked them up himself.

Steve flushed at the blatant openness of the design. It felt almost vulnerable-- like he’d feel if they decided to lock lips in public. But that was ridiculous-- he was at home. There was no host of who knows how many cameras around. And it wasn’t like he didn’t routinely cuddle up with Loki-- and do more than cuddle, for that matter. He wasn’t ashamed of him.

Just… private.

But he was in private, and Loki wanted to see these on him so… Steve did a mental shrug and slipped them on.

They were cozy, even softer inside than they had been on the outside, and he nearly shivered with surprise at that.

There was no shirt under it-- but that was hardly a surprise. He suspected Loki went out of his way to find excuses to get Steve to walk around bare chested.

What was under it, however, was a matching blue fluffy robe. Almost comically plush, and bearing a single mark on the chest, the combined image of Loki’s helm and his shield.

He struggled less with that, and slipped it on, delighting in the feel of it against the skin of his arms and back.

He considered tying it shut; there was a means to do so, but he ran warm and he had a feeling Loki was dressing him up only to get him out of it-- an odd, sleepwear version of lingerie.

When he emerged into their bedroom, he was surprised to find it was empty, but he found Loki in the living room, curled up on the couch in a matching robe and pair of pants, though his were green.

For all Steve’s misgivings about putting on the printed pants, seeing them on Loki made some possessive part of him do a somersault.

It looked good on him. Right.

And, judging by the expression on Loki’s face, he felt much the same about Steve.

“These are nice,” Steve remarked lightly, coming to sit down next to Loki on the couch. Loki shifted to make room for him.

“I am glad you approve,” Loki murmured, sly, his lips turning up at the corners. “I certainly approve of the way they look on you.”

He scooted in closed, plastering himself against Steve’s side, his fingers finding the smooth skin of Steve’s chest through the open front of the robe.

“You should see yourself,” Steve told him, reaching up to smooth his hand over Loki’s hair, and tuck a bit of it behind his ear. “Did you have something in mind that we ought to do in these?”

Loki half shrugged against him.

“You’ve had a long day. I thought we might order food in, and just relax together. Unless you feel like doing something a little more athletic-- though I think that counts as doing something while out of these.” Loki wiggled his brows, and Steve laughed.

“No-- you’re right, I’m exhausted, and I could use the downtime. There’s something so nice about just… being surrounded by softness.”

Loki made a face.

“Well, I am hardly soft, Captain. But I am glad of it, just the same. You deserve a break, every now and again.”

“You’re perfect for me, soft or no.” Steve reassured him. “And this is greatly appreciated. Maybe after we relax a bit, I can show you just how much.”

“If not, I will accept a rain check.” Loki let him know, and pressed a kiss to Steve’s nose before handing him the remote control-- a gift, when it came to their usual watching habits-- and curled up to cuddle against him.

Steve turned on a nature documentary, and let his fingers run in little circles over Loki’s robe while he settled in and let the worries of the day wash away.

Despite his hesitance, these Pjs had been a really good idea.

#A Milder March #Stoki #Capfrost #Steve Rogers #Loki #MCU fic #That writing thing I do

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oflgtfol · 4 years

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I’m Going To Talk About Kung Fu Panda Now

as much as it pains me to say this as your local Number One Kung Fu Panda Fan, like........ kfp 3 is, not as good as 1 and 2....... but i am going to talk about it bc i do love kfp and i love talking abt kfp and so this falls under that lol

NOW LIKE, OBJECTIVELY, kfp 3 is still a great movie. it is still such a good movie especially compared to animation in recent years.

it’s just that like, kung fu panda 1 and 2 were just, SO good, they set the bar so high, so when the third movie was an objectively good movie it just... wasn’t as good as its predecessors

and i think it can really be boiled down to two things: the music and the villain, two things the kfp movies are renowned for

a lot of people point to the comedy as the reason for this movie’s downfall, and while that contributes to it i don’t think it, was the downfall? all the kung fu panda movies are kids movies with lots of comedy, even in kfp2 which was the darkest of the three. 3 definitely had a lot more comedy than 1 and 2 though, and that’s not inherently bad? it’s just that i think it was applied in the wrong places

which brings me back to... the villain.

so, kfp 1 and 2 had absolutely iconic villains. tai lung, the foreboding snow leopard who was shifu’s adoptive son and former student. he was raised with the belief that he would be named the dragon warrior, so when the moment came, and he wasnt.... well, he snapped, violently, and had to be locked away in prison for decades. he was put in a massive prison where he was the sole prisoner, guarded by 1000 soldiers, and he managed to escape with one (1) duck feather. he is violent and frightening, and ultimately he is a foil to po. while he seems like a stereotypical WAH EVIL NO REMORSE >:3 villain, he is honestly.. so much deeper than that? like his mere existence poses so many interesting questions in regards to po, his foil, and even shifu, and when you think about it its like, YEAH tai lung was evil for going around and killing people because he didnt get what he wanted BUT LIKE, he was literally raised with the belief that he would become the dragon warrior. his entire life was dedicated to that. it’s like, gifted kid syndrome but 100% worse. genuinely, what the fuck do you do with yourself when you dedicate your entire life towards something only for it to be like, oh sorry lol not you, at the last minute? especially when it was your own damn father who drilled that belief into you? his anger is absolutely justified. the only reason tai lung is a villain is just that he channeled that anger into like, homicide. his actions are not justifiable but his motives are honestly 10000% understandable and it makes him such an interesting character when you look beyond the typical smirking antagonist who kills people for fun exterior lol. and then juxtapose that with po? tai lung was raised to believe he would be the dragon warrior, meanwhile po, once named dragon warrior ~by accident~ was faced with opposition at every god damn turn. literally no one, not even himself, believed he was the dragon warrior. and beyond the character foil thing, it’s like, the way tai lung escaped from prison and how all his actions really play into that movie’s major theme of how In Trying To Escape Your Destiny, You Ultimately Fulfill it, it’s just. god it’s so good. he’s such a good villain

AND THEN kfp 2 had shen, a white peacock who, honestly, IS the villain that tai lung is often perceived to be. he had loving parents but he didnt get what he wanted so he threw a hissy fit and committed genocide. his motives are a lot weaker, but he makes up for it in sheer presence. who thought a peacock would ever be threatening or a serious villain? YET HE IS!!!!! his presence is just so big and evil... the voice actor does a great job in making him sound so shrill and bird-like as well and its like, wow that peacock voice is actually EERIE? and just, overall, the fact he’s a peacock is such a good character design. his character design and overall presence is much better than tai lung, who’s literally just like, a normal uhm “person” for this universe. shen poses a much more personal threat to po as well - honestly, physically, po and the furious five probably could’ve taken him down earlier in the movie. tai lung was more of a physical threat, but shen? well shen does pose a much bigger physical threat as well since he has his cannons, but his main power is that he’s a PSYCHOLOGICAL threat. this is the second movie, po’s had training, he’s friends with the furious five so he has them fighting alongside him, he’s secure in the belief that he is the dragon warrior and he’s confident he can take any threat. yet, shen is still a major threat - specifically, to po. i mentioned shen committed genocide? yeah, well a fortune teller foretold that a panda would be shen’s downfall, so to prevent his downfall! shen killed all the pandas. po managed to survive because his mother hid him away in the valley of peace, where he was raised by ping. po was a baby at that time, he has no memories of this.... at least, until he meets shen, and the PEACOCK PATTERN on his FEATHERS reminds po of that Fateful night (once again, who knew a peacock could be so threatening!!!!!). and po, in his flashback, cannot fight back. that’s where shen gets his power - he holds the answers to po’s past, he’s the source of all his repressed trauma. shen is a more frightening antagonist than tai lung because he holds such personal power over po. what shen doesnt have in interesting character motives, he more than makes up for in his sheer presence!!! and AGAIN, his arc ties into that overarching theme of you fulfilling your destiny in an effort to avoid it - shen killed the pandas so that no panda could bring him down, but in doing so he indirectly brought po to the valley of peace, so that po could become the dragon warrior, and thus defeat him!!!!

now....... kai in kfp3?? where do i even begin...........

okay. so. kai has i think probably the best design of all the villains. he’s got such an imposing stature, he’s even taller than tai lung, and his HORNS! very intimidating. and his whole blue/green color scheme is very sinister and adds such a cool fucking atmosphere. his chi powers are also cool and all that spirit world stuff

onto kai’s role in the narrative........... so, kai poses no personal threat to po. shen was the most personal of them, with tai lung being more general (his main threat was that oh no he’s gonna rampage the valley of peace again!) but ultimately even he still posed a more personal threat to po, in that tai lung wanted to be the dragon god damn warrior and po was in his way. but what beef does kai have with po?? lmfao . his most personal tie with po is that, before the panda genocide, the pandas taught kai and oogway how to use chi

his beef was with oogway. and we don’t ever really get to explore his relationship with oogway because well, oogway’s gone, so their relationship is being narrated to us in the future, far far removed. his character motivations are so weak. like, he was ~brothers in arms~ with oogway, and yet when kai gets a whiff of power he just, instantly turns on oogway?? instantly? and oogway barely has any qualms with sending his best friend to the spirit world? like wheres the TENSION wheres the CONFLICT where is the EMOTIONAL DRAMA... nevermind how like, little i care about ~villain is power hungry~ sorta deal... at least with tai lung wanting to be dragon warrior, he did that because his entire sense of self had depended on that. but kai? literally some nice pandas teach him a new power and he’s instantly like OH I HAVE TO USE IT TO KILL PEOPLE like where did that come from??? and when his friend is like HI MAYBE DONT KILL PEOPLE ? he wants to abuse this brand new power THAT badly that he’d turn on his best friend with no hesitation??

this literally just came to me so idk if its a good idea lol but like i think it’d be really interesting if somehow there was? some sort of corrupting power? so that when he learned chi it kinda forced him to abuse it. like the sheer intensity of how fucking wild he got the instant he learned chi is just like, thats not normal bro . plus this movie’s already pretty supernatural so like, maybe there’s something beyond his control that’s making him do this. like, like think of the mind stone in avengers 1, how loki was using it to control everyone. everyone retained their personalities and abilities but ultimately were following loki’s orders. so like, something like that controlling him. it would make him a more interesting character imo and also make the whole conflict with oogway kinda heart breaking cause here his friend isnt in control of himself, and he still has to put him in the spirit world because regardless, kai is a menace. overall it would heighten the emotional intensity and appeal i think. and also it would play really nicely into this movie’s pattern of “not being in control of yourself” a la the jade zombies stuff. and how ironic would it be if kai played puppetmaster while he himself was being controlled.. lol

and then, not only is kai just kinda a flat character period, then his narrative role as a villain is undermined? like his character design and overall presence is on the same fuckin level as shen like he is SO intimidating and they could absolutely play that up.... but then. the comedy. here’s what i was talking about with the comedy being applied poorly. because kai is simultaneously a major fucking threat who is terrorizing all of china, yet whenever he’s actually on screen no characters take him seriously? especially po and the pandas. like the part where kai was slowly uhm Killing for lack of a better word all of the kung fu masters in china and all the names just keep piling up and up until the realization that the jade palace is the last stronghold left to stop him.. that shit is so eerie . it is so eerie. and kai LITERALLY DESTROYED THE JADE PALACE LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. HE SMASHED IT TO SMITHEREENS. the look of HORROR on tigress’s face during that, the fact the oogway statue was the thing used to destroy the jade palace, the poetic cinema of that, the irony, oh my god....... it was such a gut wrenching scene. and kai is such a major villain there, you HAVE to take him seriously. but then when he gets to the panda village? he fucking monologues. and po is like “stop with the chit chat” and just generally undermining him and its to the point where like, would it be better to let kai monologue or have po not take him seriously? either decision sucks because its either the audience realizing its stupid, or its having the movie be self referential and say oh yeah we know its stupid, but by doing that then you’re saying that the villain is stupid and not to be taken seriously? and then the major fight scene with kai attacking the village, the pandas were having fun just fucking around with the jade zombies, nobody looked like they were fighting for their god damn lives?? yeah i know the point was that like oh you dont need to be a master of formal kung fu, we got this bros, we can win by just being ourselves, but LIKE? they could also still be scared for their lives??? they could still fight him like pandas but still take it seriously? because if they lost, not only would THEY die, but they are the LAST STAND against kai so all of china would be FUCKED if they were defeated!! and yet everybodys laughing and having fun during it?!?! like the stakes are set SO high and yet nobody actually acts like the stakes are high and ultimately kai as a villain is just undermined by the narrative and its so underwhelming compared to how seriously the previous 2 villains were taken and how good they were at being villains because of it....

anyway ive already been writing this for 40 minutes and im losing steam so im gonna briefly touch upon the music now.. i dont think the music is as glaring an error as kai was, but i think it contributes to it.

idk, the music in 3 just doesn’t feel as authentically Kung Fu Panda as the previous 2 movies. i think the most shocking thing was that oogway’s legacy had a fucking PIANO in it?!!?! A PIANO? i think thats the ONLY instance a piano has ever been used in this entire franchise and its genuinely just so... wrong... like it sounds good but it’s just!! oogway’s theme has always been in traditional string instruments and so to hear it in this stripped piano is just, it doesnt feel like a real part of the kfp soundtrack

and 1 and 2 reused a lot of the same musical themes while still being unique on their own, yet kfp 3 literally only ever uses oogway’s theme, and that’s at the very beginning in the one song oogway’s legacy. maybe it uses a few other previous themes but theyre used very sparingly to the point where i wouldnt be able to tell you what or when. without those overarching musical themes it just doesnt feel like an authentic kung fu panda soundtrack!!! idk its just ..... maybe this is a nit pick im making because i’ve listened to the 1 and 2 soundtracks religiously for years but it’s something i noticed and it’s a reason why i can’t really listen to 3′s soundtrack as much lol

also. kai’s theme is so good and it also contributes to that intimidating presence he has. it’s so good

BUT ALSO IT IS ? LITERALLY THE MELODY FROM IM SO SORRY BY IMAGINE DRAGONS. and it was intentionally taken from that song, it’s credited in the end credits. which also serves to make this feel not authentically kung fu panda because all the other villains had their own original themes meanwhile kai its like, yes its a good theme but it just isnt ? kung fu panda??

AND IF THEYRE GONNA SAMPLE A POP SONG FOR HIS THEME THEN LIKE. CAN THERE BE A NARRATIVE REASON FOR IT? like genuinely why the fuck was this song used. i try to wrack my brain as to why im so sorry was used nd it gives me cool ideas on how to flesh kai out as a character but those ideas just arent supported in canon so its like ??!?!?!?!?!

like again going back to that He’s Being Controlled idea, i think it would be so cool to communicate that subconsciously through this song. the reason they’d sample it is because it is a popular pop song so we all know that it goes IM SO SORRY in the main line, so having our brains fill that in... and it’d be like how subconsciously he’s still there inside and being control, meanwhile on the outside he shows no remorse and actually seems to be enjoying it and is overall just a fucking menace but there, inside! we get a brief glimpse of whats going on inside through this song!!

BUT LIKe. THATS NOT CANON? HE’S NOT BEING CONTROLLED IN CANON. AND HE SHOWS NO REMORSE FOR HS ACTIONS SO WHY IS HIS MAIN THEME SAMPLED FROM A SONG CALLED IM SO SORRY??!?!?!?

anyway im really out of steam now its been 50 minutes and i think i’ve touched upon everything i wanted to talk about.... again, this isnt to say kfp 3 is a bad movie its just that, these are the reasons why i think it’s the weakest of the franchise. it’s by no means a bad movie its just, in comparison to the perfection that kfp 1 and 2 are its just, kinda lackluster. but remove that comparison and it’s like oh fuck yeah this is a good movie. its just, frustrating, because we know how good 1 and 2 are and its like, 3 couldve been so much more bro....... but that frustration comes from a place of Love

anyway . watch all 3 kung fu panda movies now

- your local Kung Fu Panda enthusiast

#THIS IS ALMOST 3K WORDS IM GONNA FUCKING DIE #brot posts

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buckys-old-habits · 5 years

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Tinder Swipe Gone Left

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Inspiration: There was actually a tweet that I saw and loved, so I had to write it down. Because Tumblr is a mess with links, I sadly can't credit the tweet here...

Warnings: Mention of Dick Pic, Tinder (?)

A/N: I don’t have nor ever had Tinder, so I have no idea if it’s all correct what I wrote down. I did my best and did my research.

So don’t come at me. Thanks.

A sigh escapes you, eyes glued to the big screen over your head. You just wanted to go home after the holidays and now your flight got delayed for three hours.

And there goes your wishful thinking of spending your evening on your couch, snuggling into your fluffy blanket and watching some movies.

But you can’t change it and so you turn back and look through the waiting room, searching for a free seat.

You found one and flop down, groaning at the weird shape of the chair. Pulling out your phone, you send a text to your best friend to let her know that you will take a few hours more to get home again.

And then the waiting game starts. You observe the people around you and try to figure out why they are here, but you get bored quickly.

So you pull out your phone again and see the white flame icon on your screen. Tinder…

Why not?

You tap the icon and look over your matches and chats, but nothing catches your interests, you go on the hunt for some new people.

You swipe left and right, sometimes your thumb hovers over the picture and you consider it, but most times it’s just a quick movement.

Swiping another picture to the left to make it disappear into the Tinder-Nirvana, you suddenly hear a smooth voice behind you.

“Ouch. Hard no for that one?”

Perplexed you turn around and your breath catches in your throat. You know this face, the smug smile and the glimmer in his blue eyes.

You just swiped left on that guy.

And he saw.

“Oh, I… I didn’t…”, you start to stammer and the stranger musters you, his amusement prominent in his eyes.

“Cat got your tongue, darling?”, he hums and you shut your mouth, embarrassment making your cheeks heat up.

“I’m sorry”, you say quietly, but it sounds more like a question than a statement.

The stranger outstretches his hand and you take it, shaking it.

“Loki, man you just so rudely rejected.”

You cringe at his statement. You never considered it so rude that you swiped left, but that was always because you have no idea how the person behind the picture actually is or have any connection really.

Having someone like this suddenly in front of you is embarrassing, to say the least. It’s not a good feeling.

“(y/n) and I’m sorry I did that.”

He leans his chin in his hand and hums softly, watching you.

“Actually I’m not mad at that, but I’m surprised that you swiped right on the oaf looking man before me. The blond guy.”

“How long were you watching?”, you press your phone to your chest, ignoring the message that you got a match with someone.

“Since this Kevin sent you a dick pic. I heard your disgusted gasp and muttered curses and it drew me in.”

You shiver at the mention of said picture. It was just uncalled for, you just sent him a Hey and then suddenly he deemed it right to send you something like that.

“Don’t remind me”, you mumble and Loki tilts his head to the side.

“Give me your phone”, he outstretches his hand, palm up.

“Why?”, you frown and look from his hand to his face.

“Let’s have some fun, darling”, he winks and you lay your phone in his hand. He grins and taps on the chat with Kevin, typing something.

“What are you doing?”, you glance over the back of the chairs and over his shoulder, seeing what he is typing.

“Just some fun, love. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t want him to think that I’m interested”, you turn and now kneel on the chair, your hand resting on his shoulder and your eyes glued on the message Loki types out.

“Oh my god”, you hold back your laughter, but a giggle escapes you. “Loki.”

“What? He deserves it”, Loki just smiles and chuckles when the three dots appear.

You read through the message again that Loki sends Kevin.

Is that your thumb? I’m sorry, maybe you should get it checked out.

A smile plays on your lips when you see the dots disappear and another text from Kevin swoops onto your screen.

Loki huffs softly, maybe it’s even a growl when he reads the message. Your smile falls and you sigh, taking the phone from his hands.

“They always do that”, you lock your phone and Loki frowns, looking at you. “First they send something like that and suddenly you are the bad person and they start to get aggressive.”

“Phone”, he holds out his hand again and you chuckle, shaking your head.

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to worry. It’s not-”

“(Y/n), phone, now”, his playful smile was replaced by a stern frown and you unlock your phone and hand it to him again.

He turns back and shields the screen for you, while he types. You try to glance around him but to no avail.

After a while, he nods and locks your phone before holding it out for you again.

“What did you do?”, you ask and open the app again, but you see that Kevin unmatched you and you can’t see the chat anymore.

“Loki?”, you turn to the man, but he shakes his head.

“Just showed him the wrongs in his action.”

You frown, but leave it be and shove your phone in your pocket, watching Loki now.

“What brings you here?”

He chuckles at your interest and you slowly fall into a comfortable conversation. He is actually quite witty and can match your sarcasm really well.

Time flies by while you get to know each other better and you don’t notice until you glance at the clock behind Loki’s head.

Quickly you gather your things up and walk to the big departure screen again, looking for your flight and how much longer you have to stay in the terminal.

Loki followed you and stops beside you, his eyes watching you.

“So, darling. Answer me one thing”, he smiles and you hum softly, your eyes fixed on the big screen again. Glaring at it, daring it to say that your flight is delayed again.

“Why did you swipe left on me?”

You look down from the screen and meet his eyes, seeing the sincere interest masked by amusement.

“Honest answer?”

He chuckles and nods, pushing his hands into his pockets, leaning forward slightly.

“I thought that your profile was fake.”

“Fake?”, he presses a hand to his chest, a wounded look on his face, but you know that he plays it.

“Yes, fake. I mean… Look at you”, you vaguely gesture from his face to his body and he smiles.

“That hair, cheekbones, hands, and the rest. How could that not be photoshopped? And then you put the name Loki. I’m familiar with mythology, that could only have been a joke.”

He hums and mulls your statement over, nodding a bit.

“Well, I can see where you got that idea from, darling. But answer me one more question.”

You nod and he chuckles, suddenly wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you incredibly close to his body.

Your hands brace themselves on his chest and you swallow hard when you feel the warmth and lean muscles underneath the clothes.

Loki leans down to your ear and you shudder at the breath that sweeps across your skin.

“Tell me”, you can practically hear the smile in his voice and you slowly turn your head.

Now your lips are aligned with his and you flicker your eyes between his blue ones and his lips.

His smirk grows when he sees that and he brushes his lips against yours, making you chase them when he pulls back.

A low chuckle escapes him and he tuts silently.

“Now, love. Back to the question I had. Answer me this; does this feel fake?”

He leans down in a swift move and you nearly moan when his lips move against yours. Hands move around his neck and you pull him closer to you, kissing him back with passion and god… he is an amazing kisser.

You basically melt against him and he tightens his grip before he slowly pulls back and licks his lips.

“And?”, he asks and you breathe heavily, wanting to feel him again.

“Not fake”, you whisper and press a quick peck to his lips again.

“Are you sure?”, he chuckles and you lightly swat his shoulder.

“You are a troublemaker.”

“You have no idea, love.”

#loki x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #loki fanfic #reader insert #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #franca-writes

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theonewiththefanfics · 6 years

Text

At Arm’s Length (Part 4)

Part 1- Modern!AU

Part 2

Part 3

Pairing: CEO!Bucky x Reader

Genre: angst

Warnings: swearing

Word count: 1597

In the end, Y/N had to switch her phone off, the incessant ringing driving the girl mad. She didn't know what to do. On the one hand, her heart was doing summersaults from happiness, on the other, she just wanted to cry her eyes out at the simple thought of the many miles between her and Bucky. He’d done a thing neither could reverse that easily. And Y/N had enabled his actions, so she had to take at least half the blame. If the woman hadn’t agreed to the announcement party, if she hadn’t allowed him to kiss her cheek, maybe things would’ve gone differently. My Chemical Romance’s ‘Dead!’ started to blast through the little portable speaker and she could only wish to be six feet under. How Y/N was going to deal with the fallout of this situation was beyond her.

Meanwhile, Bucky was not fairing any better. He’d just confessed his love for a girl on live TV even though for the past two months she had been pushing him as far away as possible. But the guy was done. Done with running from his feelings, done with his one true love fleeing, done with being unhappy. Steve patted Bucky on the shoulder bringing the co-owner of ‘Barnes and Rogers’ back to the reality of brightly flashing lights, fancy suits and dress gowns. “That was a bold move, punk. You sure Y/N isn’t gonna come back just to rip your head off?” “Well if she does then phase one is complete- get her back to New York.” A smirk was plastered on his face while his heart stuttered. What if confessing wasn’t enough? What if any grand gesture would always be too little? Bucky was sure he’d wait forever for the Y/E/C eyed beauty, but at the same time, it didn’t mean he would simply give up in the meantime. “And what is phase two?” came the voice of Tony Stark as she sauntered up to the two men, giving the photographers a dazzling smile, proudly having linked his elbow with Pepper. “That… that I’ll figure out…” Tony hummed, extending an arm as a signal for the four to move further down the carpet. “She called me, you know.” Bucky’s head turned so fast he almost got whiplash. “And?” “And she was on the verge of a panic attack. Told her to contact you as soon as possible. So once she calms down, and hopefully gets her three brain cells working, she’ll drop a message. Heaven knows that the girl has never taken her happiness into account. Maybe this was the push she needed.” As the night went by Bucky felt his insides twist more and more with each passing moment. Y/N hadn’t called him nor sent a text message and it made him jittery. Tony, Steve and him announced the merge of ‘Stark Industries’ with ‘Barnes and Rogers’, bringing their focus on the development of prosthetics and artificial limbs. Champagne had flown, merry chatter had flittered through the air, yet all the brown-haired man could feel was nervousness, rather than the joy of this momentous occasion. “What if I totally pushed her away?” he turned to Steve, a glass of white wine sitting on a small table in front of them. “What is she just completely blocks me and never wants to see me again?” The blond sighed, chugging down the last drops of his own alcohol before meeting the gaze onto his best friend. “Listen, you just dropped an atomic bomb on a girl, who without a question is completely head over heels for you. Yet you did it on live TV, while she is away in a different country let alone a continent. You can’t expect Y/N to be completely collected after something like that.” A smaller hand rested atop his. Looking to his left he saw Natasha. The redhead was clad in a deep burgundy cocktail dress, her hair straight and framing the beauty’s face in the most complimentary way. “You did the right thing, Mister Barnes. Y/N… she didn’t even tell me or Wanda that she was moving away. And we were very close. So I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to even think about explaining this situation to her childhood friends, let alone the man she's in love with. Give her a little bit of time. If by the end of the night there is nothing, I promise to fly over there and beat some sense into that head of hers.” Bucky smiled, squeezing Nat’s hand in his bigger one as a silent thank you. But unbeknownst to everybody in the room, silent clicks of cameras immortalised the moment forever.

***

He didn’t stay at the event for much longer, the anticipation of a call or any sort of message from Y/N had become almost physically painful. And as much as he wanted to be the one to contact her first, Bucky knew he had to let the woman process what had just happened. If someone had done it to him, the man was sure, he would’ve passed out. Bucky loosened up the little black bowtie before it completely came off, the small piece of fabric discard somewhere on his beige sofa. He was just about to make himself a drink when his computer lit up, the unmistakable sound of a Skype call shattering the quiet of his house. Immediately he was by the desk, sitting in the armrest and pressing answer. There could only be one person who would wish to communicate with him during such late hours and through Skype. Y/N’s face lit up the screen and Bucky swore he felt his heart melt. It had only been a little over a week since he hadn’t seen her, yet nothing had changed. The woman’s Y/E/C eyes sparkled just as brightly, her Y/H/C hair looked just as soft and her features were just as beautiful as ever. “Doll,” he breathed out, a wide smile splitting up his face. But her reaction was completely opposite of his. “Why would you do something like that?” She sounded so small, broken even and only then did Bucky notice how there were tear streaks marking a way down her cheekbones. “Because I love you. And I’m not going to run anymore. Nor will I let you do it.” Y/N hung her head, the man’s words stinging more than they would’ve if they hadn’t been so painfully true. “You do realise what kind of a problem you just created?” “A problem? Y/N, I just said what my heart felt. I’m in love. And I simply told who I love. Is there anything wrong about it.” “No…” she huffed looking around her new room. Bucky saw a picture of him, Steve and the girl herself, set up on a nightstand, instantly wishing he was actually there with her. “Then what’s so bad about me confessing?” “Because you did it on live TV in front of millions. My phone is unusable because it keeps blowing up. You are my new boss thanks to the merging of yours and Stark's companies, and to top it all off- I’m thousands of miles away! I told you it would never work and now you’ve made a whole nation believe in this Cinderella story but Bucky… I’m not coming back… This is a permanent move. Yes, maybe I’ll have to fly over for some meetings and work stuff, but other than that…” His heart was breaking with every uttered syllable. “Buck, I’m trying to start a new life here. And unfortunately leaving you behind is a thing I have to do. Otherwise, I won’t be able to move on.” “Then you shouldn’t!” Bucky was almost shouting, angry tears rolled down his own face. “Tell me one good reason why” Y/N sat there, eyes boring into her opponent's cerulean gaze. “Because you love me.” The girl hung her head. It was a simple answer. And it was completely and utterly accurate, that is why the clenching in her heart became almost unbearable. With tears in her Y/E/C she looked up at the man. “Well, sometimes that is not enough.” “No,” Bucky shook his head. “It is enough. You’re just scared. And I get it, I completely do. I’m terrified myself, but, fuck… just give us a chance… just one chance.” He saw the conflict raging inside Y/N. It hurt him to see the woman he was utterly infatuated with, in such turmoil and pain, but maybe that is what she needed to allow them to try at least. Yet her response obliterated every piece of hope. “I’m sorry.” The call disconnected leaving Bucky to stare at the black screen of his computer and with a broken heart, thudding harshly in his chest. Instinctively he pressed the little green icon to make a call, but it didn't go through. He tried again and again, but Y/N wouldn’t pick up nor would she respond to any of the messages he sent. It was almost midnight by the time Bucky gave up, a whiskey glass clutched tightly in his palm. Blue orbs scanned the twinkling lights of New York City. He hadn’t even bothered to switch out from the suit, his expensive Calvin Klein button shirt and Hugo Boss pants still adorning the businessman’s body. Bucky ran a palm through his hair, pulling at the dark locks before abruptly he stood up, determination rushing through his body. “That's it,” Bucky placed the empty glass on the marble countertop as he moved to pack a suitcase. “I’m going to Barcelona.”

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take): @impalatobakerstreet @slender--spirit @janineabad @salty-buchanan @chrisevans1fan @dyanna-corona @chook007 @lost-and-wandering-alone @goalie-love @nerdgirljen @jediviolet @fandomly-writings @densewaffle @hawkxyes @mizzzpink @nishanki1 @misplacedorphan @dylan5573 @onespideyboi @thunderous-flower @who-cares-rn @projectxhappiness @callmebucky-doll @coal000 @killuaenthusiast @courtneychicken @sophiealiice @raquelbc2003 @watch-out-for-thorns @potentially-kinetic @thatonegirljessy99 @proxinge @bbkenna @buckysclub @ulired @fangirlofeverythingbasically @mrsalh32611 @horrorx570ximagines @the-nargles-made-me-do-it @pooslie @itsisabelanotisabella @httpmcrvel @purplebananatragedy @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @pizzarollpatrol @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @nerissa98 @happyseagrill @asguardiansoftheavengers @crazybutconfidentaf

A/N: A little bit shorter, but still :) I’m so super stressed about everything that I had an absolute meltdown last Saturday like it was bad. And I still don’t feel on the top of everything, so I know, I’m already very inconsistent, but this is a really big problem, like I’ve never felt this bad, so I might actually go and find someone to talk to, like a professional, because I’m practically to tears every night and even during the day.

P.S. tell me what you thought :)

P.S.S. if you have a request or wanna be tagged in future stories, drop a message :)

P.S.S.S. please, don’t repost without credit :)

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not-close-to-straight · 6 years

Text

Pride Parade (Avengers)

PRIDE PROMPT MASTERLIST HERE

***********************************

Every year for Pride, the Avengers turned out in full force.

Pepper lit the tower up in varying shades of rainbow, trying to capture every color of every flag at least once a day.

Random members of the team would show up at rallies and surprise the young people.

Tony had a special suit that had glitter and streamers instead of rockets, and he flew above the crowd and exploded the mess into the air. Sam fit a video to Red Wing so as he walked the parade with Valkyrie, they could get lots of footage to give to the news station.

It had taken a little convincing and a rather stern look from Pepper, but Rhodey had agreed to outfit the War Machine with the same things as Tony’s suit, and now there were two suits above the parade dropping glitter bombs and ropes of streamers and tinsel.

Steve and Bucky held hands and walked proudly down the street ahead of the Avengers float, Bucky’s arm painted rainbow colors, Steve’s shield covered in the blues and purples of the bisexual flag.

The couple had come out only last year, and despite the media shit storm, the disgusting rumours and the way some people suddenly decided that Captain America wasn’t “American” enough anymore-- Bucky and Steve never once backed down.

They wore their colors proudly, kissed publicly, and laughed off any comments.

They were in love, had been in love for damn near eighty years now, and finally they could tell the world.

Natasha wore an outfit of black and grey, while Clint wore a crisp white suit and died his hair a shocking shade of purple to show his support for Nat’s asexuality.

No one had been very surprised when Natasha came out to the group as asexual. Yes, she was something of a vixen and had a reputation of a sex kitten and Black Widow came with its own connotation, but no one on the team had even blinked the first year she wore the asexual colors. Somehow it just made sense, and Natasha had been so relieved she had actually teared up.

They had blinked SEVERAL times at Clint’s Colonel Sanders looking suit and the TERRIBLE shades of purple he had gone through before deciding on one that didn’t hurt their eyes and didn’t melt his hair, but now the couple had their outfits down perfectly and walked the parade confidently.

Thor and Jane had broken up some time ago, and even though the big blonde had been heartbroken, he still came out for Pride with the rest of the team.

Valkyrie may or may not have had something to do with Thor’s cape suddenly being varying shades of pink and purple, but she definitely cackled when the Thunder God found himself surrounded by legions of adoring fans all wearing the same colors, loudly proclaiming that “Thor was a lesbian icon” and that “even the gods love lesbians”

He just grinned, took as many selfies as they wanted, and kept right on going.

It had come out recently that Spider-Man had maybe been caught locked in a romantic embrace with a still un identified male partner, and the local high schools had lost.their.minds.

No one besides the Avengers (and Ned, and really, probably Michelle) knew that Peter was Spider-man, but the entire world knew that he was just a teenager. Most of the younger people walking the Parade were wearing a Spider-man T shirt that proclaimed “I SWING BOTH WAYS” and laughing excitedly over it.

Having a teenage superhero not be hetero was about the most encouraging thing possible, and they planned to enjoy every bit of it.

Peter of course, wore the shirt too. But the Spidey-face on his shirt was pink and blue and white, and when Tony flew over him in the Iron Man suit, he showered the poor kid with enough glitter to drown him and then went on his way, laughing over the startled ACK in his earpiece.

Loki-- no one besides Tony even knew Loki was at the parade today.

The Trickster God was walking quietly along the sidelines, resplendent as always in rich green and midnight black clothing, hair falling to their shoulders. Today Loki was in a female form, wearing a gorgeous dress and a beautiful lipstick in a stunning shade of red.

They were very quietly celebrating their own gender fluidness, smiling at all the other antics, content to be in the moment in the form they preferred.

“You look beautiful, Lo.” Tony switched to a private comm to whisper to his partner, and down on the street, Loki touched their ear and smiled up at the suit as it passed overhead.

Bruce was another quiet participant, still in the Tower in fact, too wary of the noise and crowds to venture out into the party.

But he sipped at his tea and smiled down at his teammates, and touched the rainbow pin on his lapel and celebrated in his own way.

The Parade ended with Iron Man and War Machine barrel rolling through the sky, setting off fireworks and blasting music and it was loud and disastrous and messy and wonderful.

By the time all the Avengers made it back to the Tower, they were already talking about what they would wear to the next Pride Parade, which fireworks would be better, if Clint could in fact grow his hair long enough to turn it into bright purple spikes with white tips, and Sam was bitching that it would take him weeks to get the streamers out his underwear.

This was their favorite time of the year.

*****************************

#pride parade #trans!peter parker #ace!natasha #bisexual Steve rogers #wlw #thor is a lesbian icon #gender fluid loki

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imjustthemechanic · 6 years

Text

The French Mistake

Part 1/49 - A Visitor Part 2/49 - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/49 - Cutscene Part 4/49 - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/49 - Breathless Part 6/49 - Escape at Last Part 7/49 - Fox in Socks Part 8/49 - Things Go Wrong Part 9/49 - Downey and Out Part 10/49 - Road Trip Part 11/49 - Temptation Part 12/49 - An Awful Reunion Part 13/49 - Unreality Intrudes Part 14/49 - A Call for Help Part 15/49 - Loki’s Guests Part 16/49 - Stan Lee Cameo Part 17/49 - Reassessment Part 18/49 - Midnight Invasion Part 19/49 - Elevator Fight Part 20/49 - Courage Part 21/49 - Unwelcome Back Part 22/49 - Darkest Hour Part 23/49 - They Are Here Part 24/49 - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Part 25/49 - Word of God Part 26/49 - Avengers Assembled Part 27/49 - The Houston Underground Part 28/49 - Houston has a Problem Part 29/49 - Onward and Upward Part 30/49 - The Chi’Tauri Queen Part 31/49 - Through the Wormhole Part 32/49 - Prisoners Part 33/49 - Arm’s Length Part 34/49 - A Moment’s Respite Part 35/49 - Ravagers to the Rescue Part 36/49 - What Happened to Hiddleston Part 37/49 - Haven Part 38/49 - Steve Has a Terrible Idea Part 39/49 - Can’t Be Choosers Part 40/49 - Stan Lee Cameo Redux Part 41/49 - Shipjacking Part 42/49 - The Gauntlet Thrown Part 43/49 - The Queen’s Chamber Part 44/49 - The Guardians Part 45/49 - The Nest Part 46/49 - Heroes Part 47/49 - Homeward Bound Part 48/49 - Loose Ends Part 49/49 - The Return

Not exactly happily ever after, but for the Avengers, it never is.

They stayed at the Space Center overnight, waiting for Natasha to return from California. Steve was nervous that another shipful of Chi’Tauri would come for them, but none did, and he supposed since they had the tesseract, none could. Still, he knew he wouldn’t sleep well. He wouldn’t sleep well until they were safely back in their own universe.

After having a shower and getting some pajamas on, Steve went down the hall to talk to Thor. He didn’t have to knock – Bob Downey was there ahead of him, smiling as he handed Thor a plastic shopping bag.

“I got Ghostbusters, Rush, Cabin in the Woods, Star Trek even though he’s only in it for thirty seconds, and I threw in that episode of Australian Dancing with the Stars, just for laughs,” he said.

“Thank you, Robert,” said Thor. “I’m sure Darcy and Jane will be delighted.” He looked into the bag, and then pulled out a DVD. “Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy?”

Bob grinned. “Tell them to listen to that one real careful.” He turned to Steve. “I brought some for you, too – you’ve heard of the Fantastic Four, right? They’re a thing in your world?”

“Actually,” Steve said, “I need to have a word with Thor. In private.”

Bob handed Steve another bag and nodded. “Don’t let the fans find out,” he said. “You thought that drawing of you and Bucky was bad!” He waved goodnight, and walked away with his hands in his pockets, whistling.

Steve stepped into the room and shut the door. Thor was also wearing pajamas – while Steve’s were plain striped ones an employee had loaned him, Thor’s had his own picture on them, airbrushed golden locks streaming in the wind. “Thor,” Steve said, “remember what Dr. Farinas said at dinner?”

“I do,” Thor said. “I don’t believe she meant it as a serious suggestion, but she spoke of us leaving the tesseract behind here, for the scientists of this world to use.”

“We can’t, can we?” asked Steve. He was pretty sure what the answer would be, but he needed to be sure.”

“We could, but there would be no way for us to protect it if somebody came for it again,” Thor replied. “Besides, admirable as Dr. Farinas’ desire to explore the solar system is, we cannot trust that all her fellows would share it. If there are no native infinity stones in this universe, the people of this world could create a weapon unlike any other. No, it is better to have it in our world, where we can keep watch over it.”

“I thought so,” said Steve.

Thor squeezed his shoulder. “Do not look so unhappy, Captain,” he said. “We won the day, and we have learned a great deal. Perhaps we may yet prevent the calamity the Watcher warned of.”

What had they learned, Steve wondered. They’d learned that there was a universe in which the people knew all the worst things the Avengers had ever done, and yet still looked up to them. They’d learned that Thor could wield lightning without Mjolnir, although he hadn’t figured out how. They’d learned that Spider-Man’s real name was Peter Parker and they’d learned a lot about Chi’Tauri social structure. Would any of that help them?

They’d learned that Bucky was going to be okay. That helped Steve a lot.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” said Steve.

Two days later, Natasha flew back into Houston without Scarlett, and did not volunteer any information about their meeting with Dauriac. When Steve asked her how it had gone, she shrugged.

“Could have been worse,” she said, “but it could have been a lot better. They’re both getting lawyers.”

Steve winced. “Well, from what Scarlett said, it sounds like it would have ended sooner or later anyway.”

“Yeah, but it didn’t,” said Nat. “It ended because of me. I’ve ruined marriages before, but only when I had orders to.” She shook her head. “Rosie doesn’t deserve that.”

There was nothing Steve could say to make her feel better about that, so he changed the subject. “Dr. Farinas figured out how to program the Chi’Tauri’s wormhole machine,” he said, “and Thor and Loki refilled the crystal. So any time you’re ready, we can go home.”

“Oh, good,” she said. “I’m ready now.”

The people at NASA insisted on throwing them a small goodbye party, with gifts to take home and a small brass band to play what was apparently the theme from the Avengers movies. Kevin Farinas, Colleen Hobb, and Ellen Ochoa all came to wish them well, as did Donny and Bob – and Hayley Atwell, who Steve was happy to see one more time. He’d watched her talking to Chris Evans before the actor went to the airport to meet his parents, and she’d given him a hug before he got in the taxi. Clearly they were good friends, but not lovers. That was a little disappointing, somehow, but he was glad that some version of himself got to go on knowing her.

When she came to say goodbye to him, he gave her a hug just as Chris had, and smile even as his insides clenched.

“So you managed to save the day without being a self-sacrificing wanker,” she observed as she stepped back. Was Steve imagining it, or were there tears in the corners of her eyes?

“I did have a couple of self-sacrificing wanker moments,” Steve admitted, “but every time I did, I thought about how disappointed Peggy would have been in me, and found another solution. So I mostly just ended up being disappointed in myself. I don’t like thinking I’m a coward.”

“You’re not a coward, Steve, don’t be silly!” said Hayley. “I’m just glad you’ve figured out you don’t need to destroy yourself to be a hero. Peggy would be proud of you.”

“Oh, would she?” asked Steve.

“Absolutely,” she assured him. “She was always proud of you, but she would have been prouder than usual. I think she’d also want me to give you this,” she added, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Steve would have protested, but it was the closest he would ever come to kissing Peggy again – and Hayley herself apparently wanted him to think of it that way. So he just held her against him and let it linger, trying to memorize the feel of her arms around his shoulders and the taste of her lipstick, and finally letting himself enjoy this one tiny bit of a world full of things he wanted but could never have.

“Nice!” said Musa.

Steve and Hayley broke their kiss, and both turned to look at her. She was smiling.

“I’m cool with threesomes,” she said. “The more, the merrier, right?”

Hayley shook her head. “Everything will be fine,” she promised Steve. “It always is, in the movies. Just remember that it’s possible to both save the world and live to enjoy it, and I’m sure you’ll do great.”

They climbed back into the Leviathan. Kevin was in the cockpit, tweaking the wormhole device and fitting some kind of sensor. She’d showed it to them at breakfast and had told them it would transmit readings of the shape of distorted space-time to her right up until they vanished – Steve hadn’t understood a word of it but he was sure it was important. She said goodbye again and gave everybody hugs before leaving. Then at last, with his friends on board – Thor, Loki, Natasha, and Musa – Steve guided the vessel into the air. He flew a wide circle around Houston and the Gulf coast, gaining altitude, and then touched the circle icon.

Kevin had listed a number of things that might go wrong and had suggestions for dealing with them, but there was one she hadn’t anticipated. This particular Leviathan had been through a lot in the past few days. It had been in and out of hyperspace, towed behind the ravager ship. It had busted through the walls of the space station at Haven and the Chi’Tauri mothership – the latter twice. It had been picked up and used as a projectile. It had been shot at by all kinds of weapons, its mouth welded shut, forced through fields it was never supposed to even try to penetrate, and all this on top of being retrofitted for interdimensional travel it was not designed for. The blue crackle flashed over them, and then with a loud snap, all the displays went out. Steve barely had time to think oh shit, and then could only hit the deck and cover his head as they plowed into the lawn of the Johnson Space Center. The antigravity field around the ship collapsed, and the Leviathan, no longer able to sustain its own weight, did likewise.

When things stopped falling apart all around him, Steve spent a moment focusing on his limbs to make sure he didn’t have any major injuries, and then began digging his way out of the wreck. The roof of the cockpit was layers of armor, wiring, sensors, and hologram projectors, all of which had fallen right on top of the passengers. He shoved the pieces aside until he reached the surface, where he found that Thor had also turn his way out and was dragging Natasha, bruised and weary, out of a tangle of wire. People from the buildings around them were already running to see what had happened, but Steve paid no attention to them for now. He had to find the others.

“Loki!” he shouted. “Musa! Can you hear me?”

“Over here!” A hand popped out of the wreckage. Steve went and lifted the huge metallic jaws of the Leviathan, which had fallen on top of her, and discovered her trapped between two bulkheads below it. With her pushing from below and him pulling from above, he bent them apart with a sickening metallic noise, and she squirmed out and grabbed him to pull herself to her one good leg. Not far away, Loki kicked a section of armor plating off himself and shook his leg, as if having the piece on it had cut off the circulation.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. They were all okay.

Relief couldn’t last long, though – vehicles were pulling up, people were yelling, and men and women in SWAT uniforms were surrounding them. The first helicopter that flew over had a news channel’s logo on the side, but the second was military. Within minutes, there were at least a dozen guns trained on them, and those were just the ones they could see.

Steve sighed again, and raised his hands.

Musa held on to Steve with one arm, but raised the other to show she was unarmed. “I thought you’d be more popular,” she observed.

“That’s what you get when you run off with a guy you only just met Thursday,” Natasha told her.

Twenty-four hours later, they were in the Raft.

Thor and Loki weren’t with them, of course. Loki had been carrying the tesseract, so Thor had summoned Mjolnir, which must have flown all the way from the museum in Norway to his hand, and then called for the Bifrost. The two gods vanished in an explosion of coloured light. But Steve, Natasha, and Musa had all been arrested and were now in separate cells, specially built and reinforced to hold the super-powered. This was where Clint had ended up, Steve reminded himself. And Sam. And Scott.

And Wanda. He should have sent Wanda home. He could have, and he hadn’t. She would probably have refused to go, but he could have tried.

He was sitting sullenly on his cot, stewing over that, when somebody banged on the bars. “Hey, Captain,” said a familiar voice.

Steve sat up to look. The elderly man standing outside was wearing a guard’s uniform, but he had a startlingly familiar face. “Stan Lee?” he asked, and then corrected himself – wrong universe. “Watcher?”

“Who, me?” the guard asked, and pointed to his nametag. “Nah, I’m Officer Smith.” He winked at Steve. “You’ve got a visitor.”

“Who?” asked Steve, getting to his feet. But a moment later he could hear the voice approaching, ranting away. Something about certainly not expecting him to show up out of nowhere with Romanov and Chiquita Banana…

Steve grinned, then quickly composed himself. His guest would expect him to look serious… but then Stark sauntered up, wearing an Armani suit over a t-shirt with an iguana in sunglasses on it. He pulled his glasses down his nose to peer over them, and Steve couldn’t help smiling just a little, because he knew exactly what Stark was about to say.

“Hey, Dorito.”

“Hey, Stark,” said Steve. “Believe it or not, I’m happy to see you.”

#fanfic #steve rogers #natasha romanov

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