#kept the truth and planned on using the baby for puppet king plans to keep Jotunheim under a neat control

[rivahisu107]

The Unresolved Baby Subplot Chapter 6: Of Marriage and Mikasa- And Maybe Some Chapter 69 Hints as Well

Our story has come to an end, and three years later, the world is recovering from the Rumbling, and the nation of Eldia (Paradis) has risen again as a dangerous power in the battle for survival, only without Titan powers this time. Hizuru is a strong ally, yet as for how all this happened and why Historia made her choice to keep quiet... we may never know. But she does want peace negotiations with the Alliance, so that’s a good sign she didn’t completely agree or side with Eren.

And Historia is married. But if the farmer is the father, why didn't she marry him in the first place? And why isn't he allowed a consistent face? Also on the island is a grieving Mikasa Ackerman, possibly under the protection of Hizuru. It seems that everybody in the Alliance is going back to Paradis to negotiate save for Onyonkopon, Falco, and Gabi- who had few to no ties to the island or are too young- and Levi as well, who is with them for unspecified reasons and in an unidentified region. How does all of this tie into this (conspiracy) theory of an unresolved plotline? And how does this tie back to the most important chapter to Levi and Historia’s characters?

Surprisingly, once again, the key to this all is Mikasa Ackerman.

To review, Mikasa has a scar on her arm that her mother of Azumabito heritage passed on to her as a young girl to keep secret and show to the one whom she will marry and have children with. At the time, this was a mystery, but when Hizuru pays a visit for exploitation of natural resources diplomacy, this is all revealed. 

When Hizuru arrives, there is a nice panel with these words and the two Ackermans together.

Then cut to when Kiyomi is asking if Mikasa recognizes the marking, and then this happens:

Yes. In a scene all about marriage, children, and heritage, guess who appears right next to Historia? Levi, of course! The odd thing about this is that this is the only time Levi shows up in the manga in this scene. Check out the rest of the page if you don’t believe me. He just appears... then disappears. Huh? What was that all about?

Some may criticize me for reading too much into this, but remember, even the smallest of details can turn out to be big. When Eren was talking about the Armored Titan, there was a brief cut to Reiner at the table. It’s very suspicious that this detail here was included. And the anime kept this in but with more shots of Levi watching in the background, next to Historia the whole time.

Afterwards, Historia is even more curious and gets super happy that Mikasa is her “perfect match”. This is reminding me of the whole thing with Reiner and Eren “being the same”. It’s just too bad that neither of these got properly concluded. Anyways, I find it funny that Historia is getting all chummy with the Ackerman with royal blood. 

What’s the story with Mikasa being royal? In the past, the shogun of Hizuru was an ally with the royal family on the island, and his son was friends of the family. But as the story goes after the Great Titan War:

What a tragedy! It’s awful when families are divided up in great worldwide disasters. 

I can’t help but see some of the similarities here between the shogun’s relationship with the royal family and the Ackerman clan’s history with the royal family. Both clans were on close terms with the king but unfortunately, when they spoke out again Karl Fritz’ ideology and could not be mindwiped, they were persecuted heavily and almost driven to die out completely on the island. But then by some miracle descendants of both clans came together to have Mikasa, who would be the one to end Eren. 

Now, after this chapter, Historia is stuck in the worst possible situation due to her royal blood, but she is willing to take on the Beast Titan to save her people... but then her unresolved, frustrating pregnancy happens. And with all these bits and pieces that I have put together, it would seem that Levi would be coming home to be with the woman he has been linked to and his child and marry. Unfortunately, due to the political climate on the island, the Alliance is not welcomed at home, and it has taken Historia to give protection to Jean and Connie’s families to ensure that they are welcome for peace talks. 

You see, dear readers, Mikasa’s heritage may have given us a hidden clue this whole time about why Levi and Historia are where they are. 

1. The Ackerman-Reiss connection. Kenny and Uri became friends by a miracle despite the history of the Reiss family persecuting the Ackerman clan, and despite their rough start, Levi and Historia became close enough to set up an Orphanage, and based on what I have posted here, they seem to have become very close by all evidence. 

2. Great Titan War- The Rumbling was catastrophic with 80% of the human population in the world killed. Things are a total mess outside of Paradis. In all of this, there is no way for the Alliance, including Levi, to get back home. In all of this, he has a child back on the island, just like how the shogun had a child left on the island after the Great Titan War. 

3. Secret Heritage- The child, a little girl, may not know who her true father is. The Jaeger Faction is powerful, and if they find out that the Queen has a child with a traitor who stopped the Rumbling and contributed to wiping out Titan powers, she may as well be killed off, and things in the world could become far, far worse than what they are now. 

...

At this point, you may be scratching your head and frustrated with me and how I can’t just accept that the farmer is the father because Historia is mentioned to be married. Really? Just because she marries the man doesn’t mean he’s the biological father of the child. See above for why Historia may have entered a political marriage with him. After all, he’s a former bully who redeemed himself. He may not be the man she really loves or wants to be with, but he partook in this coverup and still cared for her since the real father is trapped faraway due to the political climate. It’s a real tragedy since this pregnancy was not according to any plan but a complete accident too, so Historia probably had to make some tough decisions. The Jaeger Faction would probably grow suspicious over the puppet Queen, just as much as the MPs, for having a child and not marrying.

Besides, do you really expect me to believe that a man who doesn’t even have a consistent face to count as a character? Image created by @pas-de-deux84​. 

Slightly off topic, but another suspicious thing is that whenever Historia brought up in conversation, it’s always about “Historia and her children”, not “Historia and Jake’s children”. They can’t even name the man? Really? Are they aware of something they aren’t allowed to say out loud? Do they know or think that she got pregnant to save her skin? It’s only been the MPs, a third party, who recount anything about this whole situation directly. 

The royal family on the island has a long history of coverups: the truth about humanity outside the walls, the true king of the Walls, Historia herself at one point. Why is it impossible to believe that Historia has orchestrated a mass coverup for her own and her child’s sake? Again, this is not helped by the fact that we got no real conclusion or answers to her actions. 

And at the end of the manga, we don’t know why Levi is with Onyonkopon, Gabi, and Falco in an unspecified location either. Maybe he’s recovering from his injuries or something in a place where he and the others have been granted immunity for stopping the Rumbling. I highly doubt that it would be realistic that they are traveling the world together for fun three years after a mass genocide happens and world peace is but an idealistic illusion or even opening a tea shop. 

Here’s the best thing somebody else pointed out not related to the ship in the first place: Levi and Historia have the exact same facial expressions. Levi’s is the last one he has in the manga, and Historia’s is from when the pregnancy was revealed. For some context to Levi, to be fair, he is looking up at a plane, which likely reminds him of Hange and his other fallen comrades whom he has given meaning to in their sacrifices. But what exactly is he doing after the Rumbling? We have no idea. Does he have goals? Does he want to get back to his family? 

That’s the frustrating thing for me. Neither of them really had proper depth explicitly given to their final arcs, and neither do they have any moments where they reflect on their actions afterwards. Am I reading too much into this all? I may never know, but it’s the best I can think of. 

...

Now, I want to talk a bit about Chapter 69, the colored chapter that was released with Chapter 139. You know, the chapter where Kenny and Uri reconcile and become friends and also where Levi and Historia have their iconic moments of the punch and becoming the next Ackerman-Reiss pair. Surprisingly, whether these two were meant to be a pair or not, they both had callbacks to moments in Chapter 69. 

Levi is in the same position that Kenny was in when dying against the tree and Kenny gives his whole speech on everyone being a slave to something and how he himself was unfit to be a parent. 

But Levi has “surpassed the father”. Why? Unlike Kenny, he stopped his slavery to being the hero. He gave up on his vow. He gave true meaning to his comrades’ deaths by ending the Rumbling and ending Eren. He may not have his Ackerman strength anymore, but he truly embodied at the end what the Survey Corps stood for. He dedicated all his heart. Oh, and he smiles again.

As for Historia, in Chapter 69, she became the True Queen of the Walls, a member of the real royal family. 

Unfortunately, she has been a puppet queen for some time- until now- when the Jaeger faction has taken over the island, and she must use all her mind, strength, and resources to negotiate peace, or Eldians and the rest of the world are going to fight forever now. 

By the way, Historia isn’t present on the podium when the Jaeger Faction is rallying the support of the crowd. She’s present here, awaiting her old friends to negotiate peace. Tell me what that says about her character.

It’s all these subtle details that just make you wonder. Could Isayama have given us all the answers we need, just in secret? It’s quite the conspiracy if you ask me!

...

Bonus round. I highly recommend reading this post about some features that the child shares with Levi’s side of the Ackerman clan. 

I just love how this one image of Historia being pregnant in the anime with ridiculously long hair makes her resemble Levi’s own mother, Kuchel, who had long hair as well. And Kuchel has dark eyes here.

[hecohansen31]

Don’t Fight Fire With A Sword

Alfred The Great + Kathleen (OC)

“Bite my tongue, bide my time Wearing a warning sign Wait ‘til the world is mine”

“You should see me in a crown” by Billie Ellish.

(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!

So a few weeks ago, I had a bit of a writer block towards the ‘To Kill a King’ series, and I have to say that sadly I just felt like I couldn’t write it, but at the same time… I wanted to writ that world…

At the same time, I developed a small crush on our Alfie boy over here (l am an whore for men with long hair, don’t judge me) and I just felt like I had to do something about it.

So I created this small spin-off series to the main one, you don’t have to have read the first series to read this (although I’d suggest it), and neither you have to read this to continue the series.

It is my first ever OC insert, so please be kind!

SUMMARY:  Trying desperately to save their sister, Kathleen and Abigail slowly try their best to come up with a plan to open the eyes of king Alfred, but not everything is as easy as it seems. ... even more when feelings are involved.

WORDS: 3K

WARNINGS: Mention of Violence and Domestic Abuse, Court Plotting, Arranged Marriage, Historically Inaccurate and maybe character being a bit OOC (I am sorry for that).

Kathleen couldn’t just realize that you wouldn’t have been there anymore.

It had all hit her when she had gone back to retrieve some book from your room, shouting lovingly ‘to get your butt up’, because it was morning and you’d be missing breakfast.

It was unlike you not to be already awake, but maybe you had fallen asleep with a book over your head, which shielded you from the sun peaking through the curtains.

It had happened only once before.

But it had happened.

She had shouted your name, giggling silly till realization had hit her: you were gone.

You were in a Viking camping, scared and alone, probably under the hands of a vengeful husband, made to act like nothing more than a trophy.

She just couldn’t believe it.

She just…

She couldn’t breathe.

Abigail found her by the end of your made-up bed, empty, although your scent still stood in the air.

Her sister gently cradled her in her arms, almost motherly.

Although Abigail had been the youngest of them and had never known her mother, she acted in such a motherly way that made her much more grown up than her fourteen-year old body.

Kathleen had never known if it was that lacking of a mother figure that had imposed such a growth on her lithe body or if it was the fact that neither you or Kathleen had ever donned her with the same attention you had for each other.

Although you were a strong trio, the power claims and boundaries had been set before you by your own father and your mother’s death had only certified them.

You would have never accused Abigail of being the death of your mother, but she had been largely weighted down by the pregnancy, enough that you spent every living minute with her, ignoring the squealing baby in the crib next to her.

This had probably prompted Abigail to create a personality that would make nobody forget her, energetic and positive, completely clashing with your silent one and Kathleen’s rightful one.

And although Kathleen dreaded the thought, she almost hoped it would have been Abigail the one chosen by Ivar.

Did that make her a horrible sister?

She hadn’t even been able to stop her sister from her own unhappiness.

“… I know what you are doing here” mumbled Abigail, stealing her from her thoughts “… I also woke up thinking… wishing she was still there”.

“It smells like her” Kathleen’s voice croaked lightly, made rough by the commotion and the tears shining in her eyes as she raised her head to meet Abigail’s “… I just… two days ago she was here… and now…”.

A choked sob, forced her head down, hiding her own fault.

“… now she is a wife of a prince” completed softly Abigail, taking her hand, a steady look of gentleness on her face and for a moment Kathleen was reminded of her mother’s soft gaze “… I know that you think she is unsafe, but you heard his promise… he won’t hurt her”.

“Father did the same promise to mother, in front of our own God!” shouted back Kathleen, pushing herself closer to a trembling Abigail, who backed up lightly “… you know how fickle the world of a man is”.

“He isn’t our father” spoke Abigail, something whispered in her tone, completely aware that she wouldn’t be able to change Kathleen’s word.

“You are right” replied the older sister, adjusting herself to be sat onto your empty trunk, the only one left in the room, not a single thing reminding her of you, except the precious smell, something darker than you looked “… he is worse”.

Abigail just shook her head, huffing a loud sigh, before she turned, moving to your desk, freed of any paper that stood on it, as she also sat down, but decided to change the topic of your discourse.

Abigail would have made the perfect court wife: poised, gracious and smart enough to know when to talk back, she would have made much more of a trophy for a king.

But Kathleen couldn’t help but think that with what Ivar had in mind, he had chosen the quiet sister for a reason.

And she couldn’t still understand whether it was to humiliate the Saxons or for some genuine emotion.

The one he had seen in his eyes as he swore that he wouldn’t have hurt his sister.

‘Can you keep a promise, my prince?’ she had wanted to reply, but Heahmund had stilled her movements and words with a steely gaze, almost already saying ‘I’ll have to report this to the king’.

She had almost wanted to give him the finger and tell him to report that.

‘You are a man without honor, Heahmund, all you have is your God’ she had uttered as he had helped her out of the chariot, before her and Abigail ran to their rooms, locking themselves inside.

“… what do you think that we are to do without (Y/N)?” asked Abigail, so casually, inspecting her nails, but Kathleen could see the effort in her body to keep such a trivial pose.

“What we could do is take over this damn castle and storm the army to the camping to get back our sister” her tone held a white rage and a conviction that scared Abigail, as fear showed in her eyes and she adjusted herself to face her sibling.

“… something that we can actually do, Kathleen” the way she pronounced her name, spoke of her annoyance to the entire plan and to her desperate resistance to embrace the truth and the reality.

Again, Abigail was the mature one, if you were gone.

“I am not joking, Abigail” she commented her tone moving to sarcastic determination “… you can raise your skirts and distract the soldier, as I ran father through my…”.

“That’s murder, Kathleen” now Abigail seemed disappointed, her tone switching to an accusing one “It’s our father, Kathleen!”.

“For all I care he is no father of mine” and she had come closer to a trembling Abigail “… fathers would never sell their daughter to the best price or hit them... they should protect them…”.

Something had broken in that moment in Abigail’s eyes.

Although you and Abigail were all aware that Kathleen’s bruises weren’t because of her clumsiness, you were the sole one who knew that they were willingly inflicted as a torture by your father.

Abigail had always been kept in the shadows.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them, and Abigail seemed to simply be able to shift in her chair, showing her uneasiness, not knowing whether she should have comforted Kathleen or… simply forget about what she had just said.

“… I might have a plan” Abigail commented softly, her tone too similar to a whisper “… prince Alfred will be here tonight”.

“Those phrases just don’t match together” mumbled Kathleen, surly, sucking lightly on her bottom lip “… so I don’t think that you have a plan”.

“The only person who can exceed our father is Alfred, you know it” Abigail explained softly, uncaring of her sister’s tone “… we just need to convince him that our sister never wanted any of this”.

“… and then he’ll say the word and we’ll have our sister back in our arms” mumbled Kathleen with a silly tone, before glaring her way “… this is a very doable plan indeed”.

“I know that I am not nearly as smart as… (Y/N)” now her sister was fidgeting with her hands and Kathleen couldn’t help but realize that maybe… just maybe… she had used the wrong tone with her poor sister, who was just trying to help her “… but I am trying my best here”.

“I am sorry” commented softly Kathleen, coming closer to her, as she moved her hands onto her shoulders “… it is just… this entire thing is making me…”.

“… nervous” completed softly Abigail “… oh, I hadn’t noticed it”.

“Didn’t know you had this ‘tricky’ side to you, sister” Kathleen couldn’t help but move her lips in a silly smile.

“… well somebody had to be the ‘humorous sister’ “ also her smile was small, but it still shone, as her sister put an hand over Kathleen’s “… now let’s get breakfast, we can think about some plans to take back our sister with our stomach full”.

“That, sister, is an amazing idea”.

---

Although Abigail’s idea had distracted Kathleen for enough time to actually consider the ‘Alfred idea’ that dreading feeling of not having done enough was now mixed with the knowledge of having ignored her smaller sister.

And that she had been the one who had taken in a protector role for this entire shit.

Kathleen was basically failing greatly at being an older sister.

And this made her think about all she had always feared of becoming: her father.

She had always been constantly scared of following in her father’s footsteps, a failure to her own family with a heart of ice.

Although her father had always despised her, he had trained her to become him one day.

His wife hadn’t given him any male heirs, but he had made everything in his power to obtain his future role for his daughter, maybe adjusting a puppet king next to her, but it would have been his bloodline that ruled.

Even if he had to put on the throne the daughter he had always hated.

He had always had some kind of appreciation for you and Abigail.

You had been the one who had won him over a treaty with Vikings and Abigail was the perfect wife material, and Kathleen was surprised he wasn’t allowing any suitor to court her yet.

But he had always hated Kathleen.

She was the useless first daughter, too stubborn for a husband and too bold for his liking.

Unlike you or Abigail she didn’t back down from a fight and didn’t know when to hold herself back.

She was a thorn in his side.

And yet he had downed every small lesson onto her.

He was a cruel man, rightful in his mind and cruel in everyone else’s.

And Kathleen couldn’t help but think the same of herself.

And when she felt like that, all she could do was fight her mind till it exhausted itself and no thought appeared in it, in a blankness of it that made only her body memory guide her.

The sword Ivar had gifted back to her was beautiful, but she hadn’t been able to use it, since it almost seemed some kind of perverse deal back for her own sister.

She preferred to use the consumed wooden sword she used for practice, twirling it around with expertise, as she remembered the pose and tried out a quick fighting with an imaginary enemy.

… till it become a real enemy.

A dark-haired boy was staring at her from the threshold of her room and immediately she thought it was a simple servant, but then as she looked closer at him, she found out that he was dressed in impeccable clothes.

Definitely not a servant.

“… I… I meant no harm, princess” he spoke slowly and slowly she recognized that voice and were shocked to discover that who you had in front of you was king Alfred, having gained quite the not impressive moustache and lost his luxurious hair “… I just do think that I lost the reunion room, princess Abigail gave me precise instructions, still…”.

At the mention of Abigail, Kathleen almost huffed, lowering her sword and bowing lightly her head, before muttering a simple ‘it’s an honor, prince Alfred’.

“… I do think that you mistook the left and right, my room is on the left and the reunion room is on the right” her tone was algid and the boy seemed almost shook by it, trembling lightly, before he reassumed a tight posture.

“… ahh yeah, I must have… I am sorry, my princess again” and he made to exit but Kathleen thought that there wouldn’t be a better chance for them two to talk and to prove to Abigail that she trusted her and cared for her opinion.

“Prince Alfred, might we have a private word, later?” he seemed shocked and immediately puffed up his chest as any mate ready to court a female did, just to be shot down by another glare of yours “… about statecraft and my sister”.

“Oh, I talked with Abigail, she see…”.

“My sister, (Y/N)”.

“Ohhhhh….”.

How the hell was she supposed to save your sister with the help of this idiot.

“… I usually take a small stroll in the garden after lunch to help digestion, you should join me”.

And like that she slammed the door in his face.

She had a diplomatic date to attend.

---

“You are not the humorous sister, you are the cunning one” mumbled Kathleen as she came by Abigail in the dining room, the maids quickly excusing themselves as their meals waited steaming on the table.

“Oh c’mon! You should have expected that I wouldn’t have relented so quickly” commented Abigail, quickly moving to the table and eating a small bite of food with her own hands.

“… you should have handled Alfred” mumbled her sister sticking on the threshold of the door “… I am not good with men I have no patience for fickle things”.

“Well sadly sister, you are the older one, he’ll believe you more” she muttered softly, and Kathleen couldn’t help but be impressed by how thoughtful her younger sister could be, almost more mature than her.

Not that it took too much.

“… I’ll ruin it” she insisted, but Abigail had already started eating fiercely and even the greatest warrior would have been discouraged from distracting her from eating.

“Just look at him in the eyes, meanwhile he says how strong he is” she suggested softly, between a few bites in a very unladylike way.

“… I’ll more likely throw up”.

“Not on his polished boots”.

Kathleen let out a small laugh, before moving to sit beside the sister, gently reaching out for her hand.

“… you are a true blessing Abigail”

“… never thought you’d say that, did you?” teased her Abigail, but gripped back her hand “… now let’s practice what will happen between you”.

---

Kathleen had almost forgotten the walk as she had had too many laughs with Abigail and when the bell of memory had rung in her mind and she had rushed in the gardens, almost tripping a few maids, as Abigail followed her desperately, trying to stop her.

‘Your braid is completely disrupted! And don’t trip in …’ and Kathleen had almost fallen down the stairs indeed ‘… your skirts’.

‘I’ll adjust it as soon as I can’ she had screamed back but had barely been able to tuck in her hair before prince Alfred had also barged in her, almost crashing in her.

“Two times in a row, king Alfred, somebody will think that you are courting me” and from the blush on his face you had hit some sore spot.

“… I… I actually was expecting somebody to watch over us” he mumbled softly, adjusting his own royal robes, and you just looked up at the small tower from which Abigail was spying on you.

“Don’t worry, our loyal and just God will look at us from above” and like that you had yanked on his arm to make him start moving before your father realized your absences.

A control maniac like him would have hated it.

“… you don’t… that seems a bit insulting” he replied lightly, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you going to tell Father Peter?” you joked back “… because I was never his favorite, I constantly annoyed him with silly questions as if you are supposed to seriously stone a woman if she decides that she has enough of having one man”.

“I take it that you don’t believe in God’s rightful law”.

“I do believe in it” Kathleen mumbled, turning to look at Alfred with a stern look, one that would have put the fear of God in each man “… I just think that some of it is ridiculous”.

“… what about the one where it says that men should pluck out their eyes if they ever stare upon a woman?”.

The entire phrase took her aback.

But she hid it well, although on Alfred’s face appeared a victorious smirk.

“… you have read the Bible, good for you”

“Are you educated to such disrespect or are you simply made this way, princess Kathleen?” he spoke lightly, that hideous victorious smirk on his face lighting up his face.

And for a minute she couldn’t help but think about how handsome he looked.

“I was dropped on the head as a child” she shot back “… what is the excuse for your dullness, my king?”.

You were half-expecting him to faint for your boldness, but he simply started laughing loudly, having to crouch down to calm his breath as Kathleen almost wondered whether she should have done something.

But then again, king Alfred’s eyes caught her, this time actually making you back up at the intensity of his stare, such a genuine and natural look in the shining pools of light that Kathleen almost wondered whether he was an angel with no wings.

“… you are one of a kind, princess Kathleen” he mumbled, as his laugh disappeared from his tone in a softer one “… you ask me to meet here unattended and believe me I thought you’d try to seduce me..”.

“Don’t flatter yourself my king, I have better taste” shot immediately back Kathleen.

“… and then you insult me” he smirked, ignoring completely Kathleen’s statement and reaching softly for her hand “… you have me completely enchanted, my princess”.

And he wasn’t lying by the laughing and adoring glance he sent to her.

And for a moment Kathleen understood why women liked fickle things as men.

If they looked at them like that…

It made her feel powerful, but also comfortable…

“… I hope I have your ears, because I need to talk with you, my king”.

---

@queenboosha​ @lovelylangdonx​ @rls905​

[wnnbdarklord]

frostiron...er, prompt? if a prompt can be 1600 words

brought to you by my disney nostalgia binge on youtube last night and Tarzan's Strangers Like Me:

 AU featuring Jotun!Tony where Loki finds out he's a Frost Giant before Thor's coronation (or maybe earlier idk) while setting everything up. Without everything on Asgard being a dumpster fire because of the Odinsleep, he manages to confide in Frigga a little bit more, who just urges him to let it go, don't make waves, the usual placatory stuff. And Loki does, for a time. Except he gets curious and maybe Thor and his friends are more insufferable than usual or maybe Odin looks at him , but doesn't see him one too many times or maybe he reads something in a really old book that implies jotnar aren't the monsters everyone says they are and so he sneaks off to Jotunheim.

It creates quite a stir on Jotunheim, but they're mostly prepared to show their lost prince (though maybe they don't even tell Loki that at first so they don't scare him off) about themselves and their society. At first, Loki absolutely refuses to let go of his Aesir appearance and clothes, still stuck in his Aesir are Better Than You™ mindset.

But everything changes when ~~the fire nation attacks~~ he meets this infuriating, but really intriguing jotun, Tony (what kind of a name is that, etc. though I just had a brainwave that maybe some jotnar spent a lot more time on Earth and some of them adopted Earth naming practices). Tony doesn't give a shit what race Loki is or his status, but is really keen on getting all the knowledge Loki has on power sources and energy. Maybe he's even a little angry that this Asgardian is treating Jotunheim like this exotic vacation when the entire realm is dying and becoming even colder and more hostile because it was *Loki's* family that took the Casket of Ancient Winters away. Tony has spent his entire life learning everything he could and building everything he could to slow down the decay and save his planet. But of course he admits none of this to Loki, so he comes off as sending a lot of mixed signals. It's both refreshing and puzzling to Loki, but they nevertheless end up spending hours together, talking and debating and scienceing.

It marks the beginning of Loki truly becoming comfortable in his skin and he becomes more open to learning more. He starts spending some time in his jotun form and exploring Jotunheim.

The first time Tony sees Loki while blue is a Moment and it dropkicks him into the worst crush ever (Loki is also crushing hard, just more in denial because Asgard and prejudices). Not only is Loki smart, he's also gorgeous. And really trying to reconnect with that part of himself, Loki is starting to *care* about Jotunheim, not just himself. And it makes Tony happy that Loki is happier and more comfortable. So of course he wants to see Loki even happier. He starts taking Loki on tours of all of Jotunheim's greatest hits, but also the worst damage from the war, still there after a 1000 years.

They get even closer and fall in love, though it's anyone's guess if they actually admit it to one another. Maybe they only *just* confess and then -

And then Loki learns that he's actually Jotunheim's prince and that he'd been wanted. Maybe Laufey isn't magically accepting, because who wouldn't be pissed at what Odin did and have complicated feelings about your kid being returned so full of self hate and loathing for your entire race, but as a baby, Loki had been wanted. And Laufey is also savvy enough to not outright reject Loki. But it's hard and complicated, especially once Loki realizes Odin *knew* who Loki was, knew he hadn't been abandoned and still stole him anyway.

Loki turns to Tony for comfort and in probably the worst case of timing ever, Tony admits he'd first approached Loki in hopes of using him to get the Casket back. Tensions and emotions are high and they have an argument and then Loki just...disappears. Tony is lovesick and pining, but also determined to find out where Loki has gone. After all, Loki never used the Bifrost to get to Jotunheim, so there had to be some way to travel between realms without it. Eventually, he finds a path to Asgard. Thing is, without magic and a mage to protect people from the space in Between, travelling them is not good for your health. But Tony's piss poor at magic and most of Jotunheim's magic and mages were decimated in the war.

So Tony goes back to doing what he does best: inventing. He manages to forge an alloy that won't shatter in the cold of Jotunheim and the Between and uses one of his power sources to create the best damn armor anyone has ever seen. The arc reactor is good, but not good enough to power the whole planet. It's a stop gap. But it's excellent as a power source for the armor. And it also helps power the glamour he had one of the mages do to make him look Aesir (he doesn't want to get killed the moment he steps into Asgard).

He finds Asgard in a sort of muted chaos. First their second prince disappears for months (or years) somewhere and then returns and then their King says he's been put under some sort of curse and needs to be kept separate for everyone's safety. It keeps thundering every few days and rumors abound of Thor and the Allfather arguing ~~and the Queen has been seen crying~~. Something is Up. There's a rumor that the prince isn't even Aesir, can you imagine?

Turns out that Loki returned to Asgard and confronted Odin about all his lies and his plan to install him as a puppet king on Jotunheim. In the throne room. In front of Thor and Frigga and all the guards and even a few nobles. Odin spun the curse story and that's kept most people quiet, even convinced Thor initially. Except Odin is now acting like he doesn't even have another son and is being Weird™ and even took away Mjolnir at one point until Thor proved Worthy™.

So Tony manages to befriend Thor and get him on side with the truth. He agrees to help Tony stage a break out for Loki, who'd been confined to his rooms. Except when they do, his rooms are empty, gathering dust. Turns out Loki's been in the dungeons and in solitary confinement the whole time.

Thor wants to confront Odin, Tony is at the point of just wanting to burn all of Asgard down. Tony wants them to go get Loki immediately and break him out, fuck Odin. Thor proposes Tony go rescue Loki while he confronts Odin. Let's say Loki's cell has wards up that would alert Odin the moment someone tried to open it. Thor doesn't know how to take them down and Frigga can't publicly act against Odin.

So Tony manages to free Loki, heartfelt but brief reunion. As Tony drags Loki to escape completely, Loki stops him and says they should also go get the Casket.

"He'll never stop hunting you if you do that, Loki."

"He has already shown what he thinks of me," Loki laughs bitterly, "I will take my chances with a world that has welcomed me and wanted me."

The question in Loki's eyes is plain. Tony answers by pulling him into a kiss, brief but intense.

"Nidhogg take Odin, let's go save our people."

Cue more breaking and entering, Tony and Loki utterly demolishing the Destroyer (Tony takes a few souvenirs). When Loki grabs the Casket, the last remnants of Odin's glamour break and fall away.

The alarms have been raised, Loki and Tony have to fight their way out of the palace. They don't want to kill anyone cause it would just make tensions worse, so they manage to lose the guards but they're herded onto the bridge, where Thor catches up with them, just before they can fight Heimdall.

"I can't let you take the Casket, Loki," Thor looks pained, "It's not yours to take."

"Isn't it?!" Loki turns to face Thor fully, trusting that Tony will keep Heimdall off him. He is fully in his jotun form, red eyes blazing.

"He stole it. Like he stole..." Loki falters at the last word, but understanding dawns in Thor's eyes. And determination.

There is an explosion in the distance.

"My prince," Heimdall says, lowering his sword from its ready position, "I cannot let you do this."

"I know," Thor says and Tony takes the cue to blast Heimdall unconscious with his repulsors.

"Wha-"

"Go," Thor says over a piercing whistling, "Take the paths. I will buy you time, brother."

Mjolnir slams into Thor's palm and he crashes it down onto the bridge. Loki's eyes widen in realization as the bridge cracks beneath him. It takes Tony pulling him away for him to turn and run, opening a path as Thor slams Mjolnir on the Bifrost again and again. Odin's wrath can't follow them home anymore.

So Tony and Loki make it back to Jotunheim to all the fanfare and celebration and accolades. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that their prince would return with such fanfare after just running off like that. Most of them thought he'd abandoned them in favor of Asgard.

After the party, Tony and Loki find a quiet place to have their own proper reunion, with a proper conversation about everything. Feelings everywhere when not in a tense situation. A proper kiss and moooree. sdgkrelhg;o, I suck at smut.

~~And then the oral sex! (*said in the tone of that nun from Monty Python and the Holy Grail*)~~

this prompt's length and detail also co-sponsored by my realization that this is why I don't usually write these down