#how the party set out with selfish goals and visions given to them by the very gods they want to destroy - and peter and his humanity

[zeb-z]

Thinking about how Apotheosis starts by showing a world that’s already grim - dark fantasy with wealth inequality and bored or absent gods - and it only gets worse, following a band of god slayers who start more like villains than anything. A world without sun, without justice. But still the core of its message is that there is still hope, even if you have to make it and care for it yourself. That there cannot be joy or love without the contrast of misery and loss, and that even a world slighted by the gods has worth because of the people that inhabit it. It’s dark with people and gods alike who hurt others for no reason other than to serve their own purpose, or worse just out of boredom - but there’s people who help others, too, for no other reason than for the act of kindness itself. No thought behind it, simply compassion. It feels doomed from start to finish, yet somehow we still get a happy ending - a world that’s lost everything only has everything to gain, and because there is great suffering this means the brighter times are that much more meaningful. It’s like in Lord of the Rings - there will be hope and love in spite of it all, and it’s the small things that end up making the biggest difference. It’s very “there’s still good in this world, Mr. Frodo - and it’s worth fighting for”

[fatuismooches]

omg omg how would fragile reader use foxtorre in gameplay? idk why the first thing i thought of is reader throwing it at their enemies but they wouldnt do that 😭 im suddenly thinking how their gameplay would be like, their vision, their idles, etc... IF YOU COULD PLEASE MAKE VOICELINES FOR THEM I THINK IT WOULD BE COOL

Fragile reader throws the creature onto the field to do the work for them! Depending on whether their skill is held or tapped, Foxttore will summon multiple little Puffttores that will attack enemies to heal the team or do damage, based on reader’s current HP. Using the skill also consumes a set amount of fragile reader's HP. But using their burst will let them recover HP, as they will steal a certain percentage of HP from their fellow party members. All they want to be is healthy, they can be a little selfish, no? But fragile reader isn’t that mean, they’ll grant the party members who they stole HP from a random buff (ATK, crit rate/dmg, EM, etc) so they can sit back and relax as the others fight for them. And no, they won’t steal HP from Dottore or another Harbinger on the team, that’s their beloved and their friends after all! But they can’t do elemental reactions, they don’t want that horrid thing from Celestia and even if they got one they would refuse to use it. (But I still have hope another element will be added, I cannot see Dottore using a Vision HE BETTER NOT he’s stronger than that 😞)

Their idles include pulling out Foxttore and squeezing it really tightly, and then they suddenly pause for a few seconds as they feel something fuzzy moving inside of their shirt... and then a few small Puffttores jump out of their clothes making them laugh :) Another one, i imagine they carry around a small bag to hold their necessary items (such as medication) but also to bring around a scrapbook they've made with all their memories. Lots of photos and journal entries spanning many years. They pull it out and flip through it, before sighing almost sadly and putting it away again. Their BIS weapon is the same one from centuries ago, Dottore had preserved it for all those years so they could use it once again (not really though because they wobble all over the place if you use their normal attacks)

Hello: "I am [Name]. I doubt I'll be much help to you, but I'm here now. By the way, I won't do anything I don't want to. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with Dottore."

About the Archons: "... Do not mention them in front of me... it makes me sick to my stomach, thinking about the divine. However, there is one exception - the Tsaritsa of course. She is truly the epitome of what a God should be, benevolent and kind. I may not be able to help much, but I will support her until the end. When you meet her, Traveler, I hope you will understand her goals."

About the Illness: "Ah, my sickness... it has plagued me for countless years, laying a horrible curse upon my body and mind. It's... it's been quite difficult sometimes... er, forgive me. It's hard to speak about."

"Oh... to be honest, Paimon always thought you were faking it for the Fatui's goals to some extent."

"... this is why I only confide in Dottore."

About Dottore: "My one and only... words cannot express my tenderness and love toward him. Not once has he given up on me, despite the times I've given up on myself. And he has always taken care of me, not once faltering in over four hundred years. I- I don't know what to do sometimes when faced with that information. I wish I could be... less of a burden on him... *sigh*"

About the Akademiya: "Say, does anything good come out of that school anymore? Hm? You say a brilliant mage graduated from there and is now a librarian? Well, good for her. Who would want to be associated with them anyway? And there's also a doctor who's very sick, searching for the answer to immortality? Well now... how interesting."

About the Past: "You wish to know about my past? Well, there's not too much to say. I was a regular student in the Akademiya before I met Dottore, and we fell in love... we did many things together before I... It's not like it matters anymore, being the way I am now..."

Chat - The Body: “One’s body is extremely important, yet many take it for granted. Please, make sure to treasure and love your body. It does more for you than you could ever imagine.”

Chat - Walks: "I love taking walks. It seems so normal to you but, it brings me great happiness. Especially now... I have not felt the sun caress my body or the soft breeze sweep through my hair for a long, long time. Hm? I don't mind if you come with, but... Dottore will be joining me shortly. Would you like to see him? No? Hehe."

When it Rains: "Oh no... do you have an umbrella? Dottore's going to- a-achoo!- get mad at me for not taking care of myself properly..."

Likes - Dancing: "O-oh. You saw me just now? I was just... practicing. I'm not very good at it, but dancing with Dottore as he twirls me around makes me... happy. I just need to stop tripping and falling over his feet all the time."

Nahida - About You: "You've met the Doctor's spouse? Please, would you enlighten me about them some more? I have always been extremely curious about the kind of person who would capture his attention. Hmm... I see. Still sick, are they? Perhaps Dottore sees something in them that the rest of us cannot. Though, I have to commend their spirit. Being able to wake up every day and face what's in front of them while being afflicted with such a condition... takes a strong will."

[camerinhell]

[Hazbin Hotel Meta] Hazbin MBTIs~! Get your fresh Hazbin Hotel MBTIs here~!

I feel pretty…happy and confident about these ;w; I tried to use best judgement, the canonical info we have so far (even if a bit vague, gotta take what we can get!), and took into consideration like…that I’m really trying to be as realistic as possible. I really enjoy keeping to canon and building off realistic expressions of the characters even with a lot of the interactions between them being so bombastic or humorous. This is how I like to go about my writing for them too :)  

Alastor: ESTP - Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving

Al is driven and motivated (on a base level, from what it seems) by pure stimulus. Regarding stimuli in his environment, he’s not looking to gain any philosophical or emotional insight, development or further connection to others from it; he wants to enjoy the experience in and of itself, even more so with the ability to manipulate it or those involved. Alastor wants action, entertainment, and the ability to make decisions, watch others make decisions, and watch the pieces fall where they may (long as that doesn’t lead to actual stability, peace or resolution). He enjoys engaging with others on his own terms/working a room, shaking things up and not just thinking about ‘what ifs?’, but actively creating those situations. He doesn’t want to be restricted, controlled or bored. ESTPs can tend to be impatient, self-important and prideful, have a habit of turning their noses up at others, and can be selfish. All these things definitely pertain or easily could pertain to Al.

Angel (and Cherri): ESFP - Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving

Angel and Cherri revel in dramatics and energy! They are bright, relatively warm (given…where they are, lol), sociable and like to have the spotlight on them. They take pleasure in the things around them and engaging with their surroundings. They’re enthusiastic, loud, active and want to be seen and heard. Real lives of the party that are generally supportive of their friends and unafraid to speak their minds. All this taken into account, some downfalls of their personalities are that they can react aggressively towards critique or inquiry, get bored easier than (most) other types and are easily distracted. Their empathy can also come off as superficial or insincere because of their playful, non-serious attitudes (remember, we even got to see Angel struggle with empathy and support when he was attempting to console Charlie).

Charlie: ENFJ - Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging

Charlie is the definition of an ENFJ. She is a benevolent idealist who wants to see the best in people, and honestly believes in the best in people (as we see with her dream/goal for the Happy Hazbin Hotel. She wants to inspire and be inspired. Her type is actually pretty intrinsic to the plot at large). Charlie is unbelievably selfless; her motivations and what she wishes to contribute to those and the world around her are for their betterment. She is infatuated with the thought of things but needs the assistance in executing those thoughts and dreams into reality. Weaknesses that accompany this type and definitely Charlie herself are: not thinking things through, stubbornness/lack of flexibility (particularly for themselves), and being prone to burning themselves out. From the onset of the pilot all the way until the end she’s pushing herself, having difficulty really taking advice/direction and isn’t willing to see beyond her own scope of things.

Husk: ISTP - Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving

Coming up with a likely MBTI for Husk was an enjoyable challenge! It definitely put my critical interpreting to the test and also helped me more critically assess the MBTIs for the other characters (though most of those wrote themselves/were much more apparent imo).

Husk is an avid gambler and alcoholic drinker, and these two things guided me in understanding his type. He appreciates tactile interaction and socialization on his own terms (as is required by most gambling), easily comes to decisions/conclusions from changes/information in his environment and is sensitive, for better or worse, to stimuli in his environment as many SPs are, and likely craves it actively or on a base level. Husk seems to be quietly dependable and competent/effective based off of Alastor’s (albeit humorously manipulative) words to him, which is a hallmark for ISTPs. He’s operationally a loner, but not misanthropic, just reserved/internalized unless caused to act. Some obvious issues that can arise with this MBTI and clearly would apply to Husk are: being distant or closed off, potentially risky or self-destructive behavior (yuuup~), and lacking compassion or emotional sensitivity.

Sir Pentious: ENTJ - Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging

Pentious is goal-oriented (as are most other NJs), rational, intelligent and clever (despite his loud personality and Saturday morning villain aesthetic lol). He desires order and values exacting organized, calculated plans. He’s rather assertive and craves a high degree of control in his surroundings (I mean he’s a mechanical mastermind hellbent on ruling Hell and attaining more recognition and influence, after all). Being an EN type, he has a natural charisma, and much like many charismatic types, he wants to be noticed and valued. ENTJs have a tendency to desire legacy and recognition for their accomplishments since they are born leaders who enjoy setting all the dominoes in place, this is no truer than for Sir Pen. If he is to set up a lengthy, complex far-reaching plan to exact his visions, he wants to be noted, and noted well for that. Weaknesses that tend to hinder ENTJs are being overly confident and condescending, bossy, inflexible and prone to outbursts/meltdowns. If that’s not our snek idk what is tbh.

Vaggie: ISTJ - Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging

Vaggie is logical (if fiery; which should not be confused for Feeling), perceptive (which should not be confused for Perceiving), reliable, detail-oriented and hard-working. She is incredibly dedicated and forward with her intents and expects no nonsense. ISTJs like to keep a keen eye on those in their surroundings and expect those around them to abide by the standards they set as they truly do value the tasks at hand and the well-being of those around them/those they’re in charge of or aiding. If we look at her interactions with Angel in the limo, and Alastor back at the hotel, it is super clear that she is protective personally and professionally of those under her care but also the hotel/Charlie’s endeavors. ISTJs aren’t typically noted as being the guardians and protectors, and that’s usually because others are only viewing those roles from a purely emotional standpoint. Though ISTJs still have feelings like any other human-being, they approach protecting and guarding as a matter of duty first and foremost (that they wouldn’t undertake if they didn’t care in the first place). Very Vaggie. Weaknesses that can befall people of this MBTI are: being stuck in their ways/stubborn, brash and indelicate, and being unable to compromise for/with others.

I hope I did justice to these wonderful characters and helped extrapolate on them some more! With any luck, ya’ll enjoy this and it serves as a great resource for writing these characters and their interpersonal interactions ;w;/ I know there’s no way to confirm any of this as canon, but I’d like to think it’s hopefully not too far off lol Thanks for reading~!!

[wrenchwitch-blog]

Session 1 part 2 - The Waves of Gaedren Lamm

Chuk-Chuk is a fledgling on the streets of Korvosa, lost and alone.  He has been scraping by off of scraps of food in garbage middens or buying moldy bread with coppers passersby would give.  He catches wind from another child of a man named Uncle Lamm.  For good work he will give you food and shelter.  Desperate, Chuk-Chuk finds the current fishery Uncle Lamm has set up shop in.  Open handed and begging for alms, Gaedren regards Chuk-Chuk.  ‘Well what do we have here?  A little bird has flown into my coop.  Well my boy, a child in my services needs to be able to slash a purse or pick a pocket, and you are far, far too conspicuous for that.  But don’t despair Uncle Lamm might have a use for you yet!  A distraction, now you’d be perfect for that.  Put on a show, a little song and dance for the good people.  Entrance them so the other good boys can do their work.  Well Little Sparrow, will you earn your keep?’

Hoffstead is returning from a late-night partying in the wee hours of the morning.  His family estate is one of the only things of value House Fordyce still owns.  And as Hoff enters, he sees one of his brothers skulking around the mantle in the den of this estate.  Theodore Fordyce is pale and shaking, sweating profusely as he removes the heirloom family sword from the mantle.  Hoffstead approaches and works to calm his brother.  After some back and forth, Theo admits he is suffering from withdrawal from shiver, a hallucinogenic drug one Gaedren Lamm got him hooked on.  After carefully replacing her sword, and getting his brother tucked in, Hoffstead vows he will stop Gaedren from dragging his family any further into the mud.

Aureliana is sat down for a family dinner.  Her parents, Barsalin and Vandreea turn the conversation to an arraigned marriage.  They had found what they describe as a lovely young man.  A travelling Varisian merchant, handsome, well to do, a true stand up of the traditional values her family espouses.  Auri counters, no matter how many times she tells them, she is not interested in the man, she can’t even ever remember his name.  He is so boring, and she wants to continue her studies.  Her mother counters that Aureliana is so selfish, the family has sacrificed so much for her, and they could really use the dowry... and things go silent.  That had never come up before, nor was it meant to.  Aureliana looks disgusted at the idea of her parents trying to trade her for a quick buck and starts to storm out.  As she goes her father begs, they need the money, they owe this terrible man, Gaedren Lamm so much money.  Auri now has a new goal, resolve her parent’s debt so they will get off her back.

Gymwyn Buldur wakes with a start, a crash from the main room of their house.  She gathers herself up and heads to investigate.  As she sneaks up, she sees three figures.  A blonde man wearing decades out of style noble fashion, a wiry man with greasy hair holding a knife to Bromm’s throat.  The golden haired man demands payment, they have given the dwarf more than enough time.  Bromm grunts in the negative, imploring the men to leave the violence out of it.  The armed man says that Gaedren will give no more chances, and Gymwyn springs into action.  She charges across the room, aiming right at the man’s oily nose... but she is not fast enough.  Bromm’s throat is cut, and he falls to the floor choking on blood.  In a fury she continues her attack, crushing the murderer’s nose into a bloody mess.  The tacky man shouts that there weren’t meant to be witnesses and the two men flee the scene.  Given the option to chase or try to help, Gymwyn drops to Bromm’s side, the light already fading from his eyes.  The rest for Gymwyn is a blur, but she ends up at the temple of Torag that Bromm’s sister runs.  Her only bond once again taken from her, Gymwyn describes what happened and is taken in by the dwarves.  Out of the reach of Lamm, she throws herself into her studies, working on her skills as a smith and as a cleric of Torag.

Julia is running through the streets, desperately hunting down leads.  Her beloved step-brother Gabriel has disappeared, taken by a local crime lord named Lamm.  Her investigations eventually lead her to a tengu who had until recently been one of Gaedren’s Lost Lambs.  Now taken in by the church of Shelyn.  He is able to direct her to Lamm’s current hideout.  Steeling herself with her step-father’s crimson shawl and arming herself with a battlestaff, she heads off on her first mission, the first time she will seek to harm another.  The infiltration starts well enough.  She gets in without a problem, finds her brother, picks his shackles.  She rises to flee and -WHAM- Julia is clocked in the side of the head by an iron ball.  Her sight is in double vision as she falls to the floor, she hears laughter from a figure as another looms over her.  ‘Well well well, what do we have here?  My aren’t you a pretty little thing.  I think I’ll be able to fetch a pretty penny for you my sweet.’

For Julia, the rest is a blur.  She only remembers fragments of what happened to her in the echos in her dreams.  The next thing she really concretely remembers, it is waking up in the Grey, Korvosa’s graveyard.  A grave keeper is shocked when she stirs from his shake.

Thank you to Joey, Zack, Niki, Grant, and Jay.  I fell in love with all your characters immediately.  You have done a wonderful job making a neat cadre of characters I have so many ideas for.  I am really looking forward to seeing how the campaign plays out.

[yumekuimono]

[WinterFrost] Everyone But Yourself Pt. 5/5

A/N: the big reveal! I regret nothing. *evil laugh*

there will be an epilogue to this, as well as several extras

Between Avengers missions and the night Loki crawled shivering into bed as a cat after having successfully summoned the Casket of Ancient Winters from the void of space, desperately needing Bucky’s comfort and support through what turned into a whole bad week, he barely noticed the run-up to his birthday. So it was somewhat of a surprise to wake up to JARVIS’ date display reading March 10 and realize that he was 29 years old, more or less. 98 if he wanted to be technical.

“Does Asgard celebrate birthdays?” he asked Loki on their way to the kitchen for breakfast.

“No, single years are not important when one lives for millennia. What does one do on Midgard?”

“Well, usually there’s a party with cake and people give you presents.”

“Hm.” Loki slid into his arms, kissing him until he’d nearly forgotten the conversation. “I did not get you anything. Will this do?”

Bucky laughed lightly. “This’ll do just fine.”

“Good.” Loki went back to thoroughly kissing him, steering him backwards by the hips until they hit the couch.

“You just want an excuse to make out with me,” Bucky teased, falling onto the cushions, his head tilted back over the arm. Loki straddled his lap, looking down on him from above, his face alight as he took in Bucky’s grin, thumb caressing his cheekbone.

“Do I need one?”

Bucky pushed a hand into Loki’s hair to bring their mouths back together. “Absolutely not.”

“Mm, then perhaps, I should take you back to bed with me,” Loki hummed against his lips, in between kisses. “Keep you there all day.” He moved down Bucky’s jaw with just the barest hints of tongue and teeth which Loki knew drove him crazy until he could suck gently at the hinge. Bucky sighed out a groan, pressing up into him. “I could spend hours teasing you, and another just opening you up until you cry,” Loki breathed wickedly into his ear. Bucky whined, breathless. “And then,” Loki promised, “I would make you scream.”

Bucky moaned. “D’you need an excuse?”

Loki sucked briefly on his earlobe. “Not in the slightest.”

He turned to capture Loki’s mouth again, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and tugging gently with his teeth. He palmed Loki’s ass, encouraging him to grind their hips together.

And then there was a hasty chime from JARVIS, immediately followed by a strangled noise of surprise. Both of them froze. They glanced up to find Steve standing there blushing bright red, evidently having come in from the stairs. Bucky felt his stomach plummet, his arousal snuffing out. Then Steve recognized Loki, and his eyes went even wider.

“Loki, step away from him now,” Steve ordered, his voice impressively controlled given the situation.

Bucky looked back in time to see Loki’s expression shift subtly, as if he were retreating inside himself. Something else replaced it, and Bucky got what he meant when Loki described his deception as wearing masks. It was as if another person had taken over his boyfriend’s face. Bucky hated it.

“I do not think I will.”

Steve frowned, and his fingers twitched as if for the shield. The situation was already bad, but if he called for reinforcements, it’d get even worse. Bucky sighed, and prodded Loki gently in the side.

“Get off me, kotyenok.”

Loki glanced down at him, the mask cracking just a little, and Bucky could see that behind his composure, Loki was badly frightened. He tried to look as reassuring as possible as he nodded, despite his own fear. Loki shifted off the couch then to let him stand, but stubbornly kept an arm around Bucky’s waist, pressed close to his side. Bucky put his own arm around him, squeezing his hip.

“Let us explain, Steve.”

Loki moved his hand up to Bucky’s shoulder, and he caught on a second before Loki transformed, landing on his shoulder as a cat. Loki regarded Steve, who was once again looking shocked, before picking his way across to Bucky’s other side. He never sat on his left, but suddenly Bucky got it again, and he held out his wrist with his elbow tucked into his side. Loki jumped down, shifting into his kite. He shuffled his wings once, and then flared them enough to hop off of his perch and hit the ground as a wolf. Bucky’s fingers had barely grazed his ruff before Loki straightened into his more usual form, Bucky’s arm falling naturally back around his waist.

Steve stared. “You’ve been pretending to be Bucky’s cat? And…Clint said he kept seeing a weird bird, and Sam told me he thought he’d seen a wolf once. You’ve been in the field with us, too?”

“With James,” Loki corrected.

He turned to Bucky to demand, “Did you know about this?”

Bucky was currently worried that he was going to lose Loki to Asgard and never see him again, but he still wanted to roll his eyes and say, “Duh, he’s my boyfriend.” Instead what he did was sigh again and say, “It’s kind of a long story, Stevie. What’d you come down here for in the first place?”

Steve blinked. “I— Tom’s diner is still around. I was going to take you for your birthday as a surprise.”

“Perhaps,” Loki said quietly, “I shall make the trip to Jotunheim early.”

Bucky jerked his head around to look at him, about to protest. Loki had only just regained his footing after summoning the Casket. It would be better if he waited longer to return it, but the uncertain look on his face stopped Bucky short. He pressed his lips together. “Okay. Be safe.” He leaned in to kiss Loki one more time, reminding him as they parted, “I still want my birthday present.”

Loki managed a tight smile. “Of course.”

He turned away from Bucky, walking towards the windows. Between one step and the next he was outside, soaring away with the wind ruffling his feathers. Bucky watched until Loki was out of sight, already missing him like an empty space in his heart. Then he turned back to Steve.

“Let’s go, then. I’ll explain on the way.”

 -

Loki made his way to the passage that would lead him from this Realm to Jotunheim on leaden wings. He flew through the twisted corridor before taking his Asgardian form to pick his way through the rubble that closed off the exit, emerging once more near the edge of the great crater. It had snowed recently, and Loki struggled his way through knee-deep drifts to a bit of flat ground, where he summoned the Casket of Ancient Winters from its pocket dimension. It glowed faintly blue before him, half-sunken into the snow and lighting it from within. Loki shivered, though it wasn’t the cold he minded, and with a mixture of fear and worry and dread already churning sour in his gut, he surely couldn’t feel much worse. He reached out and picked up the Casket.

He could feel the change as it happened, and he knew what he must look like. He swallowed down the self-loathing that came with the image. This was his first form, what should have been his true birthright had it not been stolen from him by centuries of lies and hatred and prejudice. He knew now that the monster he’d believed himself to be was a lie. He’d watched the Jotnar, while his spells were combing through the vastness of space, looking for the best way to return the Casket should he recover it. They were a people of survivors, shaped by the land they lived in, and no more the childhood monsters underneath his bed than any of the other people Asgard cast itself above.

If he was truthful, Odin had always treated him as though he were Jotun. Regardless of his adoption, regardless of the lies he was fed and the secrets that were kept from him, Odin had never seen beyond his own prejudice when looking at him. But Loki was no longer bound by him, or to Asgard, and he did not have to accept the caricature he’d been presented. He was himself; and he was Jotun.

And James had seen, and shivered, but touched him anyway with his metal hand, and told him he was gorgeous no matter what he looked like. Casting a spell to maintain his appearance without having to hold the Casket of Ancient Winters, Loki set off across the icy fields.

 -

Bucky sighed long through his nose, staring through the windshield. “Loki was there for me when no one else was. It’s not your fault. I wasn’t in a good place to let people in at the time, and Loki wasn’t in a place to do more than be a cat.” He chuckled quietly. “We were both kindve a mess.”

 -

Loki took himself to a region distant from the crater, where he knew there to be a fairly large band of Jotnar. Nominally, they had belonged to Laufey, but he’d learned privately, they had a greater interest in moving forwards than clinging to the remnants of a past glory. The concerns of living in a slowly dying Realm left little room for anything else. Still, they had taken in the last members of Laufey’s regime, the hunters that had survived the Bifrost, and seemed to integrate them well.

The sky was low and grey, the large snowflakes drifting down quickly picking up into flurries that obscured his vision. He was still several kilometers from his goal, traveling on foot. He could have teleported directly into the band’s shelter, but it was important that he be seen approaching. Loki trudged on through the worsening weather, acutely aware of the impression he would give: a small, mysterious stranger emerging from the storm to bestow a lost artifact with the power to restore Jotun civilization to its former heights. It was deliberately the sort of thing that would inspire tales told to future generations.

He was once again manipulating how others saw him to achieve his goals, and it made his skin feel dirty. That he was doing it to aid an entire Realm of others rather than for his own selfish motives was little consolation. How much better was he than Odin that he was coming to a Realm he did not belong to having decided what would be best for them? For all that he was Jotun by birth, the little he knew about their customs that he could be certain was not twisted by Aesir racism came from the hours he’d spent scrying to decide whom to entrust with the Casket. It was a shocking arrogance, but he saw little other choice if Jotunheim was to be able to keep the Casket away from Asgardian hands. The most he could do was have as little influence as possible in what happened after it left his possession.

That would be complicated, though, by the fact that he might not be able to return to Midgard. If James could not convince Captain Rogers to let him stay, he would need to find somewhere else to hide from Asgard. Vanaheim, Alfheim, and Nidavellir would recognize him, and he could not inhabit Svartalfheim, Muspelheim, or Niflheim. Leaving the Nine Realms would require a ship and provisions, and theft of such would be sure to get him noticed. Jotunheim was his best bet for safe refuge, although he did not relish the lies he would have to tell to remain here. They could not know his true name, nor why it was that he knew nothing of how to survive on Jotunheim and next to nothing of Jotnar culture. He needed to walk a fine line between playing mythic benefactor and leaving himself an opening to return as an ordinary, if woefully unknowledgeable, member of the band.

 -

“No I know that, Steve. You really think I’d let someone get close to me who could control my mind? I know it’s just my word on his right now, but Loki told me some stuff about that invasion.”

 -

Loki had become so used to hiding his presence from the gazes of Heimdall and Thanos, as well as from the Avengers, that he found himself uncomfortable when he suddenly became the focus of attention for the returning group of hunters that had finally spotted him. They escorted him to the band’s shelter, a large cavern system that extended into dug-out chambers in the snowpack, and at his request showed him to a private room while one of them went to fetch their leader. The room was small by Jotun standards, but Loki still felt dwarfed by the lofty ceiling and the moderate furnishings, pillows that could each serve him as a couch and great embroidered hides hanging on the walls. The floor was covered with pelts that stood out grey and white against the dark rock, and the walls were veined with a similarly-colored mineral that glowed with light.

Two women entered the room after a few moments. One of them was easily more than half again Loki’s height, while the other stood a head shorter than her companion. They took seats on the floor before him, putting them at more or less eye level. Loki remained standing.

“Greetings to you, stranger,” the shorter one began. “I am Nal, leader of this band.”

“Greetings as well,” said the other. “I am Farbauti. I speak for the remainder of Laufey’s band, that have now joined with Nal’s.”

“My greetings to you, Nal, and to you, Farbauti,” Loki replied, following their lead. He inclined his head to each in turn, realizing that he would have to introduce himself. The first name that came to mind was James’ endearment for him, and he went with it. “I am Kotye. I have traveled a great distance to bring you an item that was once lost and is now restored.”

Nal gestured for him to continue, and he summoned the Casket to his hands once again, placing it between them. Both of their eyes widened, and they leaned forwards but did not touch.

“Does Asgard know of this?” Farbauti asked sharply.

“No, it had fallen into the void of space, from whence I retrieved it. They believe it there still.”

Nal sat back, looking to Farbauti. “So this is truly the Casket of Ancient Winters?”

“Yes. I saw it often enough as consort to Laufey, and though I have not laid eyes on it since, I would not forget the appearance of the heart of this Realm.” Loki tried not to gape at her.

“This is quite the gift, then,” Nal murmured, her eyes narrowing. “With this we could restore the natural balance of the world that was disrupted by the Bifrost. The capital could be returned to its grandeur of millennia past.”

Farbauti snorted. “Those who thought Thor’s War would restore our glory have gone to the last winter. The rest of us know that Asgard will punish the least infraction with excessive force. With this we might hold our heads up once more, but to catch the eye of Asgard is to risk our own necks.”

“Very good.” Nal’s gaze drifted back to Loki. “And what of you, Kotye? Surely such a gift deserves something in return, and one with skills such as yours could be a benefit to us.”

“All I ask is that the Realm be healed, but that it also remember.”

Farbauti and Nal shared a look, and Farbauti gestured at the Casket. “You would freely give up such power? With this you could command the loyalty of the Jotnar, as Laufey once did.”

“It is not my right to wield it.” Loki smiled. “In any case, I have left my heart in another Realm, and I must return to its keeper.”

 -

“I love him. I’m in love with him, Steve.”

 -

“Will you not share meat and drink with us?” Nal asked.

Now that his mission on Jotunheim was seemingly successful, Loki’s worries about the situation on Midgard had come creeping back in and he was anxious to return. At the mention of food, however, he realized that he had not yet eaten today. He recognized it also as a symbolic gesture. If he ate with the band, he was no longer a stranger and thus was bound not to injure them without cause. Besides, he liked Nal, with her clever couched politics, and he wanted confirmation of who he suspected Farbauti to be. So despite the sickness in his stomach, he accepted.

Loki learned much about the Jotnar sitting at a meal with them, and as a stranger, they wanted to know much about him. He tried to lie as little as possible. He had traveled extensively through the Nine Realms, and it was true that there were pathways for those who knew where to look. It helped somewhat that all those who knew of his direct involvement in Thor’s coronation and war were dead, although he did not have to like that fact.

Towards the end of the meal, Nal remarked, “You have a silver tongue to rival my own, Kotye. Our lives would certainly be lesser if this was to be our only meeting.”

“Then perhaps it shall not be.”

 -

“Also, I would like it on record that you have terrible timing, Rogers. I was being promised a day of fantastic sex before you walked in.”

Steve choked on his pancakes and had to take a sip of his malt to calm the coughing.

“Although, I suppose it’s better than you walking in on us actually doing it.”

“Bucky!”

 -

Loki flew back through the spires of New York City, worry clawing at him. James was waiting for him on the roof of Avengers Tower, leaning on the railing staring out at the lowering dusk. He straightened when he saw Loki, a grin brightening his face. He took a couple steps back and waved, and he would not do that if Loki’s welcome was uncertain. Relief washed over him, and he shifted before he had quite reached head-height, dropping into James’ arms as he landed on the roof.

“You can stay,” were the first words out of James’ mouth. The second, after they had kissed with Loki’s hands in his hair, were, “Welcome home.”

Loki beamed at him. “I am glad to be home.”

James took him to their floor, saying, “Oh, wait here,” when they had reached the bedroom. Going back to the laundry closet in the hallway, he pulled their softest blanket out of the dryer. Then he draped it over Loki’s shoulders, engulfing him in warmth. Loki stared at James, incredibly touched. Then he tackled him into a hug that landed both of them on the bed.

“I love you.”

Now it was James’ turn to beam. “Love you, too.” He made them comfortable, tucking the blanket around their bodies and tangling their legs together. “So, how did your trip go?”

Loki told him everything. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of the way James listened to him.

When he was done, James said, “My only question is are you okay?”

“Better for being here,” Loki replied, smiling.

“Good,” James smiled back. “Are you ready to hear the results of my conversation with Steve now?”

“Tell me.”

“So, he’s worried about upholding Asgardian justice, since the whole reason they’d been experimenting with the Tesseract lately was because that incident in New Mexico got SHIELD and the world government scared and we don’t wanna go making enemies. But he’s also never had a problem breaking the rules when they get in the way of what he thinks is right, an’ he’ll always go for the underdog. So the upshot, since I don’t know too much about Asgardian politics, is that you can stay for now but he wants to talk to you before he makes a final decision. Only problem is, he’s always been terrible at lying to keep a secret. He’ll do his best, but eventually somebody else in this tower’s gonna notice.”

Loki nodded. “Will he speak for me?”

“Not right away? But I think he’s interested enough to argue for hearing you out.”

“That may be enough. Thor will be the biggest concern, and we must prevent him from acting before I can speak. It may be better to simply reveal my presence to everyone, and answer the Captain’s questions then.”

 -

Bucky stood nervously outside the conference room door, cradling Loki. Steve had called a team meeting at his request, and they’d waited to be the last to arrive. Loki licked his chin, and Bucky smiled at him, taking a deep breath. He walked into the room to find the Avengers ranged around the table, two seats left open at one end.

Right as he entered, Clint asked, “So what’s the meeting about, Cap, that we have to come with an ‘open mind’?”

“Well, it’s not really my meeting. It’s Bucky’s.”

All eyes swiveled to him, and he managed a half-smile. “Yeah, it’s about my cat.”

He put Loki down, who promptly transformed. “Hello again.”

If Bucky had not been so jittery that he wouldn’t have trusted himself to accurately fire a rifle on a tripod, the shocked faces of the Avengers would have been funny. He noted distractedly that Loki was wearing the shirt Bucky had given him.

Everyone seemed to start talking at once, but Thor’s voice boomed over the others as he shot to his feet, chair flying back. “Loki! What is the meaning of this?”

Loki smirked, although Bucky could see the tension around his eyes. “You really must work on your incentives. Did you truly think the promise of being returned to my cell would ensure my compliance?”

“I watched you die!” Thor stormed around the table.

“Please, that one fractured my spine in several places and I am still here.” Loki nodded at Bruce, who blanched. He slipped his thumbs out of his sleeves, flexing his fingers and not taking his eyes off of Thor. “You are quite gullible, and I did pretend to betray you. It was only fitting.”

“Have you not betrayed me by coming here, amongst my friends and shield-mates? Insinuating yourself within the protectors of this Realm? What are you planning, Loki?”

“You really should know better than to ask me that directly.”

Thor reached for Mjolnir, but before he could lift it, Loki flung a hand towards his chest, pivoted, and slammed Thor into the wall with magic, pinning him there. He stalked forward, hand extended, naked fury and hurt on his face. Thor fought to free himself, struggling in vain.

“All my life, you and your father,” Loki spat the word, “have used and discarded me, and the moment my actions are no longer under his control I am deemed a threat while you get off with a slap on the wrist and nothing changes.” Loki paused, glaring. Then, tilting his head, he asked, “Did you know Odin wanted to kill me? Did you know I asked him to?”

Thor’s eyes widened. “You…asked?”

“And Odin refused so he could remind me that he holds my life in his hands and I should be grateful because he made the benevolent decision to take me off of Jotunheim as a baby. He has never treated me differently than a monster that would eat naughty Aesir children. Tell me why I should not want to die rather than set foot on Asgard again.”

Thor struggled to speak. “That…does not change the fact that your actions have brought death and destruction across the Realms. Justice must be done for them.”

“Yes, and I’m sure you know all about my actions given that I was not present for my farce of a trial and no one was present to witness my sentencing,” Loki sneered. “If Odin truly valued justice rather than peace and quiet, would your treason have even been necessary?” He turned to look over the other Avengers then, switching hands to hold Thor up. “All of you have blood on your hands.” His gaze lingered on Bruce, then Natasha, holding her eyes. “Is it not the point of this group to redeem your debts?”

Natasha inclined her head a fraction in acknowledgement, but did not speak. Steve was frowning heavily. Clint had his arms folded, and next to him, Bruce seemed a little green around the edges. Sam was looking between Thor and Loki, while Tony looked like he was trying to figure several things out but couldn’t quite get any of them.

Thor thrashed against Loki’s magic again. “Do not fall for his words, he is planning something!”

“I thought the two of you were supposed to be brothers,” Sam spoke up.

“Yes, you do not know him as I do,” Thor insisted.

Bucky figured it was time for him to step in. Loki had switched back to Thor and was about to retort, but he stopped when Bucky took his free hand. He looked steadily at Thor, and he knew there was something disconcerting in his gaze that had not been there before HYDRA. “I know he helped me get through my nightmares and panic attacks when he didn’t have to. I know he put his freedom and his life in danger to stay with me, and he did it more than once. I know he protected me, and that he cares about me. I know he likes really dark chocolate, and art history, and Blade Runner, and drying the dishes after they’ve been washed. I know what he looks like when he’s lying. What do you know about him?”

Loki dropped Thor, folding into Bucky’s arms. Bucky held him and glared at Thor over his shoulder as he picked himself up off the ground.

“Right, family drama is all well and good,” Tony interrupted, “but why weren’t we alerted about this months ago? I scanned you, like, the first day you were here.”

Bucky answered while Loki got himself under control. “We asked JARVIS not to tell.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “JARVIS, have you been keeping things from me?” he demanded. “Have you been lying?”

“I simply did not feel that this information was urgent enough to prioritize, sir,” JARVIS replied blandly from the ceiling.

Tony clapped a hand over his heart, looking to the ceiling as though with tears in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, buddy.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Steve cleared his throat. “Right, why don’t we all sit down and discuss this without resorting to bodily harm.”

They sat, Bucky placing himself between Loki and the rest of the Avengers, and Thor returning sullenly to his seat. Tony leaned onto the table to peer at Loki’s face from around Bucky. Loki raised an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, JARVIS,” Tony said distractedly, “display footage of Loki from the invasion.” The projector in the middle of the table flickered on, showing a silent video of Loki in full armor strolling through the penthouse. “Pause that. Zoom in on his face.” He frowned between the still and Loki, before pointing triumphantly at him. “Your eyes are green.”

Loki smiled wanly. “Indeed.”

“What are you seeing, Stark?” Natasha asked.

Tony enlarged the image. “Look at this. His eyes were blue during the invasion.”

There was a collective double checking of Loki’s eye color. “That’s not the same blue as the rest of us, though,” Clint pointed out.

“I was being monitored,” Loki explained, “rather than fully controlled.” He looked at Thor. “You knew I was working for someone else.” Thor nodded grudgingly. “You did not ask if I did so willingly. My actions and surface thoughts were limited if I wanted to remain in control of my mind, but in truth I was playing both sides. I knew the invasion would never work,” he acknowledged to Tony. “I intended it not to, but I had to seem as if I believed it would.” Loki turned to Clint then. “My apologies that your enthrallment was necessary.”

Clint narrowed his eyes. “I still don’t like you.”

“That is fair.”

Bucky had already heard the answers to the questioning session that followed, albeit in a more broken up, emotionally raw manner. He interjected when it was relevant, but mostly he held Loki’s hand underneath the table. The humans were naturally disapproving of Odin’s judicial methods, but less willing not to respect Asgardian sovereignty. The conversation eventually stalled on the question of Loki’s trustworthiness. The only corroboration they had for much of what he claimed was Thor’s word, but the biases of the two were often wildly conflicting and the Avengers had no way to assess which was more accurate. It was entirely possible that Loki was manipulating them to gain sympathy in preparation to enact some scheme. Bucky was forced to bite his tongue and let it play out. He knew he was compromised where Loki was concerned.

JARVIS finally chimed to request their attention. “If I may, I have stored some footage that may be of interest in this matter. My apologies, Sergeant Barnes and Mister Laufeyson, for recording without your permission. I thought that it might eventually become necessary.”

They glanced at each other, and Steve said, “Go ahead, JARVIS.”

The AI displayed several muted videos, looping the short clips when they finished. There was one of Loki as a cat squirming into Bucky’s arms while he was having a flashback and then staying to let Bucky play with his fur, and one of him barely holding it together until Bucky got home and then sobbing in his arms. There was one of both of them relaxed and happy as they talked, and one of Loki pacing anxiously waiting for Bucky to get home, dated to his first Avengers mission. There was the first time they kissed.

Loki tightened his grip on Bucky’s hand. “Thor, how many campaigns did you lead after the Bifrost was repaired?”

Thor turned his frown from the videos to Loki. “Three. Defending the Dwarf-king Eitri, quelling the Badoon civil war, and freeing Vanaheim of the Marauders.”

“So,” Loki summarized, speaking to all of the Avengers, “I was sentenced to a life of solitary imprisonment because I acted as an agent for the Mad Titan under threat to my life and sanity; as well as because several independent groups decided to take advantage of the instability of the Nine Realms in the wake of Thor halting actions I took as the legal King of Asgard that, while I was emotionally compromised, I believed were necessary, given that Asgard’s greatest warrior was in exile and the four next best had committed treason against me, in order to end a war that Thor started. Without Frigga to plead on my behalf, were I to be returned to Asgard, Odin would not be so lenient. You may either grant me political asylum, or condemn me to death.”

Looking directly at Thor then, he asked, “Can you kill me?”

Thor dropped his gaze, unable to meet Loki’s eyes. In the end, no one spoke against Loki remaining in the Tower.

After they had all filed out of the conference room, he leaned into Bucky, trembling minutely. Bucky rubbed his back and murmured in his ear, “Hey, kotyenok. We’re okay. You did it, you’re gonna be okay.” Loki transformed, climbing into his arms as a cat and pressing bodily against him. Bucky took him to one of the armchairs in the lounge, stroking his fur and rubbing his jaw and ears. He kept at it for as long as it took for Loki to start purring, the tension of the last few hours pushed aside.

When Tony came in a while later with a smoothie concoction and found them like this, he asked, “Does this count as public indecency?”

Bucky let out an “oof” as Loki transformed back into his usual self, stretching sensuously across his lap and chest with a smirk.

“Not yet.”

Tony snorted. “Unfortunately for you, I am in a happily committed relationship.” He took a drink of his smoothie, then gestured with his cup. “So, if you’re gonna stay in the Tower, do I get to throw you out of a window? ‘Cause I gotta say, I was kinda disappointed I’d never get the chance to when Thor said you were dead.”

“I hardly think so. I have already fallen from the eightieth floor, and I have no wish to repeat the experience.”

“What, you have? How? When? It doesn’t count if I don’t know about it.”

“I was unaware of your primitive energy barrier and teleported into it.”

“JARVIS do we have footage of this?” Tony demanded.

“It is possible, sir.”

A light went on in Tony’s brain. “Wait, is that why you were annoyed with me that day?”

“We really must talk about your attempts to recreate magic via technology.”

Bucky patted Loki on the back. “Well, if you two are going to bond over the nature of space-time, I’m going down to the gym to kick Steve’s ass, since he won last time. I’ll see you later?”

Loki kissed him, grinning. “You will.”