#like i think regularly loki would be pretty fit!

[unityrain24]

always kinda funny when i see shirtless loki fanart and he's got a chiseled 8 pack. he is malnourished and has been tortured

[sserpente]

A/N: Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates! ♥ Some naughty President Loki action seems like a fitting Easter gift to me, what do you think? Also, I’m proud to announce there’s an actual Easter egg in this Imagine that may or may not have something to do with my upcoming English novel… Enjoy, everyone!

Words: 2616 Warnings: assassin!Reader, violence, dub-con, smut

One and a half million—as a deposit. That’s how much you demanded to see in your secret bank account before you had even considered going anywhere near what used to be Stark Tower and now acted as a base for him. Loki. President Loki.

You didn’t particularly care who you were supposed to kill, nor who hired you to do it. Governments were corrupted all over the world—there was not a single politician who didn’t act in his own interests rather than the people’s. You were only in it for the money.

President Loki, however… he was different. That man was a god with abilities you wouldn’t even dare dream of as a mere human. Your raised fee would reflect the danger you’d put yourself in if you accepted this mission. And then once the God of Mischief was dead, you’d be ten million dollars richer.

You were the best of the best—you got hired when the job needed to get done. You doubted that anyone else would be capable of sending Loki straight to hell. Or was it Helheim? He was a Norse god, after all. Surely, there was some eternal hellfire reserved for the likes of him.

But then again, you weren’t exactly a saint either. You murdered for money, never questioning whether the person whose life you were going to end was innocent or not. Granted, most of them were not and had red on their ledger one way or another but occasionally… occasionally, they did not deserve to die.

You were pretty certain that Loki did though. He wasn’t the worst ruler this world had ever seen but at the end of the day… he was an alien king forcing humans into submission. You wouldn’t bow to anyone, you thought, as you polished the sharp and hidden blade inside your lipstick. The job was messier when you chose it as your weapon but with Loki, you’d have to be sure. A slit throat would ensure he was truly dead and for that, you would have to get up close.

This time, your approach was going to be a little… unconventional. You had thought about it for a long time—and you had come to the conclusion that there was no other way to get into that tower without getting killed yourself before making it even anywhere near Loki.

Judy Magenta. That was the made-up name you had used to register for the escort service to receive legal identification for offering Loki… your time. It had taken quite a few naughty pictures to lure him in, along with a bought recommendation from another escort girl one of Loki’s lackeys booked regularly.

You had to admit, you did feel a little silly putting on that green glittery cocktail dress after tossing your lipstick knife into your clutch. The black high heels were a lovely touch though. You’d keep them after this job, as a trophy.

-

“You’re here to… entertain the president tonight?” The bulky bald man who escorted you to the lifts after the taxi driver dropped you off right in front of Stark Tower licked his lips when his greedy gaze travelled up and down your V-shaped cleavage.

“I am,” you gave back with a sweet smile, batting your eyelashes at him all the while you imagined kicking him in the balls until he howled for his mummy. You could tell he kept staring at your body and your rather revealing outfit during the ride up to the penthouse but, for the sake of keeping in mind you were not really an escort girl, you elected to ignore it and said nothing.

President Loki was standing at his bar surrounded by power-hungry politicians eager for his attention. Dressed in a black suit with a green tie and those golden horns on his head, he turned to face you with a glass filled with what you presumed was bourbon in his hand. He lifted his chin in a curious manner, his blue eyes narrowing just a little.

“Mr President…” the bulky bouncer began. “Uh… this is…”

“Judy. Judy Magenta. Your company for the night?” you offered. The bouncer let out a relieved breath.

“Ahh… just in time. I was just about to call it a day.” Loki’s voice was smooth, charming. He had a way with words, you had to give him that. Under different circumstances, you’d even admit that he was outrageously attractive. He was a god, after all. That must have been the reason.

You didn’t know if he’d done this before—or if he’d done it back on Asgard but at the end of the day, it didn’t matter, right? You were only doing this because it would give you the perfect opportunity to get just close enough to kill him and get this over with. Pleasure had no place here.

“Gentlemen… I will see you tomorrow. And you…” His blue eyes fixated on you, involuntarily sending shivers up and down your spine. “…why don’t you wait for me in my bedroom? I will be joining you shortly.”

You almost scoffed. So formal… if the sex was going to be anything like that… ugh. Well, most men with a big ego disappointed under the sheets.

Nodding, you made your way over to the door he pointed at and slid inside, taking in the furniture. A king-size bed with green sheets, of course, hundreds of books on shelves towering up all the way to the ceiling, and a neat desk armed with ink and a green and gold quill. It was very old-fashioned but a surprisingly comfortable room, you decided, as you threw your clutch on the bed.

You’d come prepared. Condoms, lube, even a cock ring. Whatever would tickle his fancy before you’d draw your little knife for a different kind of climax. By the time his lackeys would notice he was dead, you would be long gone. You were wearing a wig tonight as well, along with some coloured contacts to conceal your identity. Life as an assassin was a dangerous and lonely one but you were pretty used to it.

You flipped around when you heard the door open, forcing a fake smile. Loki had removed his horns now, and swapped his suit for a more comfortable outfit. In fact, he was shirtless, putting his pale but trained chest and arms on display. He wasn’t as shredded as Thor but the God of Thunder had never been your type anyway. Loki on the other hand… remember, no pleasure!

Your feigned smile widened as you turned around and moved your fake hair out of the way. “Help me undress?” You felt his presence behind you after a few silent steps, his soft fingers ghosting over your back to unzip you.

Needless to say, you had relinquished wearing any underwear tonight even though you did carry a spare pair of knickers in your clutch just in case. Once he slid the green dress off of your body and you stepped out of it, you turned back around, trailing your fingers over his abs.

“Ready for some fun, Mr President?”

“Loki will suffice, pet,” he replied. Pet? Oh, of course. Complete and utter submission. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at him and instead, took his hands in yours and started walking backwards until you could lie down on his bed, pulling him on top of you.

You had to admit, you quite enjoyed how hungrily he glared at your naked body, his blue eyes wandering over every single inch of bare skin as if he was a demon you had summoned and now aimed to please in exchange for his power. The bulge in his trousers grew quickly as he hovered above you.

“Loki,” you repeated, testing his name on your tongue. Then, you reached for your clutch on his bed, pulling out the lube.

“And what’s that when it’s at home?” he asked, eyeing the bottle in your hands suspiciously.

You smiled at him. “Lube will make this experience more enjoyable for the both of us, Loki.”

The God of Mischief frowned. You blinked at him when he began to chuckle as if you’d just told him a hilarious joke.

“I can guarantee you, we will not need it, pet.” You were about to protest when he cupped your cunt with his hand all of a sudden, two fingers lightly stroking over your outer lips. You dropped the small bottle the moment his thumb found your clit, applying just enough pressure to ignite… arousal. He knew what he was doing. You realised that the moment he bent down to pepper your neck with hot kisses and teasing licks, his digits working their magic. He had you wet and ready for him within minutes of this delicious treatment. Fuck… you were not supposed to be enjoying this!

“There we go… it seems your body thinks we don’t need your lube either…”

You gasped for air when he slid two fingers inside of you, curling them at your g-spot. Your hips were bucking up to meet his hand against your will the moment the slick sounds of him fingering you echoed through the silent bedroom.

“Oh… fuck…” That felt good. You couldn’t quite remember the last time you had taken a minute to masturbate. That… that must have been why. You hadn’t had sex in so long that Loki exploring your soaking pussy had you writhing because of your celibate lifestyle.

His dark chuckle went directly between your legs too. And it was only then you realised that his trousers had disappeared into thin air, willed away by magic. You could feel his hard length pressing against your inner thigh, eager to claim you. Much to your own surprise… you wanted him to.

“C-Condom…” you choked out panting. But your reward was Loki removing his fingers from your cunt to instead snatch your wrists and pin them down above your head to render you all but helpless beneath him.

“A condom? I don’t think so, pet…” And with that, he forced himself between your legs and used his free hand to guide himself into your waiting hole. Inch by inch, Loki pushed forward, sheathing his girth inside you until he’d claimed you to the brim. His growl made you moan as he filled you so deliciously well that you believed your pussy was made for him.

When he started moving, you almost forgot why you were here. Loki withdrew almost entirely and then began rutting into you like there was no tomorrow. He fucked the assassin right out of you—for when your eyes rolled to the back of your head, he made sure to attack your neck yet again.

Moaning, you arched your back, your breasts brushing against his bare chest with every single thrust of his and fuck, this man knew how to use his tool. Each and every stroke drove you further to what already felt like the best orgasm of your life as the sound of sex and skin slapping against skin filled the room.

“I can feel you tightening around me, pet. Cum. Beg me for my seed,” Loki growled into your ear. You wanted to disobey him—wanted to disobey that commanding tone, that entitled smugness. But you couldn’t. Loki played you like an instrument, taking that delicious climax from you whether you wanted to give it to him or not.

You came around him with a moan, your toes curling and your walls pulsing around him, doing just what he had asked you to do. Your cunt was begging for his seed. He was merciful tonight. Loki reached his own peak with a low growl only moments later, filling you up and staining your walls until it came oozing out of you.

Fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck, that arsehole had screwed you without a condom! Only now that you came back to your senses did you realise what you had let him do. Okay, don’t freak out… you can get a morning-after pill as soon as you are out the door. You’d ruin everything if you lashed out at him now. Besides… Loki was still hard—and it did not seem like he was going to tire any time soon.

-

It was three a.m. when he finally let you rest. Your pussy was sore, his cum leaking from almost all of your openings. He’d made you cum for him at least six more times before you’d lost count and now… now he was sound asleep next to you.

Time to strike.

As quiet as a mouse so you wouldn’t wake him up, you reached for your clutch that had at some point fallen to the floor, retrieving your lipstick knife. Then, you climbed on top of him, revealing the blade in the dark. You could barely make out his features with the curtains drawn but your eyes were trained to work in the shadows.

You gripped your weapon tighter, ready to slit his throat.

“I wonder…”, he mused with a start. You froze. “I wonder how much money you were offered to try.” He’s awake. “Are you going to tell me, pet?”

Your heart was beating so fast you worried it would jump straight out of your chest. Your paralysis lasted for only a second too long. By the time you reacted to finish what you’d started and kill him, he’d already overwhelmed you. Loki snatched your wrist so harshly you were forced to drop your weapon. He flipped you both over so you came to lie on the bed beneath him, his face only inches from yours. You winced when he ripped the wig off of you.

“Now… I’m impressed. You went to considerable lengths to get close to me. But you see, pet, I am the God of Mischief. I’m not easily tricked.” Cold shivers ran up and down your spine when he proceeded to call you by your real name. “But I must admit,” he went on, “that I am also a little disappointed. You know the punishment for attempted assassination of your king, do you not?”

Death. Execution. You swallowed thickly. How had he found out? He’d known. He’d known this entire time you were no real escort girl and still… he’d still fucked you! You gnashed your teeth, narrowing your eyes at him with anger usurping your growing fear.

“It’s a shame, really… you would make such a fine pet. Hmm…” He paused, burying his face in your neck and inhaling your scent deeply. “I think I’m going to keep you.”

Your eyes widened. “Kill me or let me go, Loki. I’m not playing your stupid games.”

“Oh, but you will, pet. You better get used to your new surroundings. You won’t be leaving any time soon.”

He made you moan involuntarily when he pushed inside of you without any forewarning. You hadn’t even realised he’d gotten hard again.

“Now…” he mused. “How much was it?” His lazy strokes made you even angrier—it felt good. Too fucking good.

“Ten… million,” you spat through gritted teeth.

“Ahh… well, I hope the money was worth your freedom. Because you are mine now, my little assassin.”

You wanted to punch him, scratch him and bite him, to wipe that mischievous smirk from his face. But you couldn’t. Not right now anyway—Loki kept rutting into you until you were sure to lose consciousness. My little assassin… you hated the depraved and lascivious part of you that enjoyed the idea of him keeping you as a pet.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow you’d finish your mission, right after… right after you’d let him give you another orgasm. You’d… find a way… surely…

[come-along-pond]

Ok Criminal Minds anon here... it's been a while (I've gotten into and out of CM in the last year bur I've continued watching and there's a few developments in the show that I'm curious about lmao)

1) how are you doing, it's been a while since I've visited your profile and I've missed it lol (I saw your Loki OC and am now considering watching the show so that I can understand stuff)

2) Spencer Reid is baby and I love him more than anything now

3) What was Amelia's relationship with Elle like? How did she react to the circumstances leading to her leaving the BAU??

4) I love the episode where that kid comes up to Spencer about the investigation of those murders in DC (I think the episode is called Sex Birth Death?)- how would Amelia fit into that, it's a very Spencer heavy episode- will it lead to any developments in their friendship/relationship?

5) Spencer is so cute with his "Physics magic"!! Does he regularly show off this stuff to Amelia like he was showing Penelope and JJ??

6) Emily Prentiss is amazing and i love her and I'm so happy to see that Amelia and her seem to be like besties

7) I saw the edit you made for the barn story with Amelia... very interesting and I'm honestly a lil scared for her lmao. Anything you can tell me about it???

Anyway, this is long enough of an ask, I'm watching s2 of CM rn and I might end up popping in and out of your inbox at random times about the show, if that's OK:)

Anyway, have a nice day!!

Ok Criminal Minds anon here... it's been a while (I've gotten into and out of CM in the last year bur I've continued watching and there's a few developments in the show that I'm curious about lmao)

welcome back!!! i've missed you!

1) how are you doing, it's been a while since I've visited your profile and I've missed it lol (I saw your Loki OC and am now considering watching the show so that I can understand stuff)

I’ve been busy! Super stressed ngl, and probably will be until next year lol. Ahhh, i’m so glad you like Freya! Honestly the show could do with some improvements lol, but bot fic will fix those💅🏼

2) Spencer Reid is baby and I love him more than anything now

He’s actually MY baby🤚🏻

3) What was Amelia's relationship with Elle like? How did she react to the circumstances leading to her leaving the BAU??

Okay idk how far into RITA you are, but their relationship is good! They’re definitely colleagues nor friends, but they care for eachother, if she’d stuck around they’d be besties. Amelia is STRESSED when she leaves, she hates change.

4) I love the episode where that kid comes up to Spencer about the investigation of those murders in DC (I think the episode is called Sex Birth Death?)- how would Amelia fit into that, it's a very Spencer heavy episode- will it lead to any developments in their friendship/relationship?

ooooo I haven’t watched that ep in SO LONG, but I actually didn’t write it for Amelia, so uh yeah, no developments.

5) Spencer is so cute with his "Physics magic"!! Does he regularly show off this stuff to Amelia like he was showing Penelope and JJ??

Yes!!!! Amelia finds it so cool. theres a scene in RITA dint worry

6) Emily Prentiss is amazing and i love her and I'm so happy to see that Amelia and her seem to be like besties

Emily is an icon. I adore her.

7) I saw the edit you made for the barn story with Amelia... very interesting and I'm honestly a lil scared for her lmao. Anything you can tell me about it???

Ooo, see I mainly made that as an AU, but like it’s something i’m definitely thinking about adding into the fic, it’s pretty similar to Spence’s barn story to lol…

Anyway, this is long enough of an ask, I'm watching s2 of CM rn and I might end up popping in and out of your inbox at random times about the show, if that's OK:)

Anyway, have a nice day!

Please do keep popping in I love it!!! Really excited to see how you feel about certain things and how I then make them fit around Lia in RITA

[doctortwhohiddles]

Tinhaters are pretty good at ignoring everything that doesn't fit their narrative. Like the fact that Tom has been working regularly since 2017.

Well, compared to other actors he pretty much hasn't. Things like IW or EG are a day or two of shooting. EM voicework is two or three weeks, Hamlet was three weeks, with rehearsing maybe 6 more. ES was 4 months out of 12. He does stuff, but I think that you're right by saying his fire has burnt out a bit and he enjoys it more to be with his family and friends. Can't blame him, really. I'm his age and would rather sit on the porch sipping whisky and watching the sun go down over the English hills,too.

I never said his fire has burned out. You also seemed to have forgotten about Betrayal. That took almost a full year. Not to mention Loki.

Tom worked non stop for almost 2 years. Maybe he has learned that keeping a schedule like that isn't worth it. Regular work is regular work. Especially for an actor. Again, we only know about the projects he accepted and are in pre-production. We don't know what was offered to him and what is in the works. Just because he doesn't work 10 months in a year, it doesn't mean that his career is slowing down.

[godsofhumanity]

⚝──⭒─ 30 DAY HC’S | HERMES ─⭒──⚝

HERMES | average height, leaning towards the shorter side. athletic build. short, choppy, brown hair that tends to curl. a golden band sits on his forehead with slender, mechanical, golden wings that flutter when he moves. light brown, mischievous eyes and an innocent smile. he goes nowhere without his winged sandals, and his caduceus.

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i think it's impossible to separate Hermes from mischief. in pretty much every single interpretation and adaption of the Greek gods, Hermes is always, always, always portrayed in the same way, and honestly? it's not bad.

i don't think i've got much different to say than everyone else- Hermes, in my head, is a prankster at heart. he loves jokes, whether he's the butt of them, or he's the one orchestrating it.

he loves laughter and smiling. he's playful, and mischievous, and more often than not, this gets him into light trouble.

of course, i don't think he's on Loki-levels of mischief-making, but he's definitely Olympus' resident prankster.

still, i don't think it's fair to say that he's only the class clown. i imagine Hermes to be kind-hearted, and gentle-natured.

many of the gods in Olympus are arrogant and can be stubborn at the best of times, but as the messenger of Olympus, i think Hermes is especially good at being diplomatic- i don't think he's hot-headed at all, and actually is very slow to anger or to impulsive decisions.

though he can act foolish, when it comes to serious things, i think Hermes definitely puts a lot of thought into his actions.. he considers the cause and effect carefully. i think that's the key reason why Zeus has Hermes as his messenger.

something else i've noticed about Hermes in modern media is that he tends to be depicted as a child very often,,, or at least a teenager.

i think this plays into his playful personality, but i don't think it should be mistaken for "innocence"... i think that Hermes can be deceptive and cold if he wishes- after all, he's also the god of cunning, and he's the one who gifts Pandora with the gift of lies and seductive words.

in terms of his role on Olympus, i think Hermes gets along with pretty much everyone.

his best friend, and closest brother would be Apollo i think- this fits the mythology well. Hermes has been hanging around Apollo since he first stole Apollo's cattle as a baby... and the two appear in many myths together.

after Apollo, i think Hermes would get along with Dionysus the best... this isn't a unique interpretation, but i think it makes sense given that Hermes was the one to name Dionysus, and Zeus placed Dionysus in charge of Hermes' upbringing.. so they'd be similarly-minded individuals.

though she doesn't get along with most of her step-sons, i think Hera would be surprisingly tolerant of Hermes... someone once proposed the idea to me that Hermes is the only one who truly makes an effort to butter up Hera.. and even though she knows it's lip-service, she appreciates Hermes' effort to not step on her toes.. also, she probably has to see him a lot anyways because he's always going in and out of Olympus.

Hades, i imagine, deals with Hermes the most after Zeus, given Hermes' role as a psychopomp. i think that Hades and Hermes work well together because Hermes isn't arrogant or boastful,, and though he wouldn't admit it, i think Hades enjoys Hermes' light-hearted mischief-making.

Persephone is someone else who i feel is important to mention here. Hermes, of course, plays an important role in the Persephone-rescue-mission myth, but as a psychopomp, Hermes is one of the few gods who imagine is regularly meeting up with her.

i like the idea of Persephone and Hermes having a close friendship.. i think Hermes is always looking out for Persephone especially because she seems to end up as the subject of kidnappings very often (see Hades, Pirithous).

continuing on with Hermes as a psychopomp, i think that Hermes and Thanatos get on like a house on fire... i've said before in another post (i think) that i like the idea that Thanatos, being significantly older than even Zeus, doesn't really like the Olympians very much- they're loud, and arrogant, and self-absorbed in his eyes.. there are very few Olympians whom Thanatos actually respects, but i think Hermes is one of them.

i think that Hermes has an appreciation for life, and that's something that Thanatos can agree with. i also hc Thanatos to be sort-of mischievous himself, so Hermes and him are double trouble... RIP Hades.

now, i think it was @/greekschist who shared this hc with me, but i've never been able to part with it because it's so perfect- i think that Delphin, Thanatos, and Hermes are a trio of besties. through these three, the three domains (Sea, Underworld, and Sky/Heaven) come together.. each of these three gods are "messengers" of sorts in their respective domains- Delphin is Poseidon's right-hand man/dolphin, Hermes is Zeus' chief messenger and likely most trusted member of court, and i've always pictured Thanatos as being Hades' most important subject.. after all, without Thanatos, Hades pretty much has no domain to rule over.

anyhow, so i think these three have a great friendship where they gossip and get up to no good.

so, that's pretty much all from me about Hermes.. as i said, not much different from the general consensus on Hermes haha :)

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[woodelf68]

Watched Marvel's What If episode 7, "What If Thor Were An Only Child?"

This thing is pure crack; how are people seriously coming away with the view that this is how canon!Loki would have turned out if he had been raised on Jotunheim? First of all, do you really see a defeated Jotunheim having such an easy time of it after the war that Loki was able to grow up the same sort of spoiled rich kid party frat boy as Thor did? His nature so much changed? I've read fics where he did grow up on Jotunheim, and he was still recognisably Loki in his personality, unlike his characterisation here. Secondly, the idea that canon Loki was not a runt and would have grown to giant size if Odin hadn't deliberately stunted his growth is ludicrous to me, especially the idea of Odin deliberately underfeeding Loki to keep him small. Seriously? His first instinct when faced with a crying baby was to pick it up to comfort it, do you think he would have been fine living with a constantly crying, hungry child? With people questioning what was wrong with Loki? Do you think Frigga would have put up with that kind of nonsense?

Okay, there's two points to address here: first, was Loki a runt? I believe he was. Large animals generally give birth to large babies. (I'm pretty sure that exceptions like marsupials and multiple egg-laying animals don't apply to Frost Giants.) Canon!Loki was an Aesir-sized baby, not a proportionally-sized Giant one. So the two main options seem to be 'only half Jotun' or 'runt', possibly a preemie, although movie!Loki looked like a pretty healthy, chubby baby and not a premature newborn. Nothing in this AU discounts 'only half Jotun'. First of all, I notice that the narration said that Odin gave Loki back "to his people", not "to Laufey" or "his parents". Could that have been Laufey he was being handed to? Sure, but it was an interesting choice of words. For all we know, Laufey was killed in the fighting and Loki was being handed over to someone else. We don't know if his mother was there, or if she had died or killed herself or if she had been the one to abandon an unwanted child instead of Laufey. It doesn't really matter as far as the facts go: Loki was very small for a Jotun child and he was found alone and crying in the middle of a battlefield, and very much in need of someone to pick him up and take care of him. To those people who would still argue that perhaps all Jotun babies are that small and perhaps Odin didn't know it -- do you really think that in all his years of life and interactions with the other realms that he had never seen a Jotun baby before?

Going on to point two: Could a Loki who had grown up on Jotunheim turn into a full sized giant? Well, he most certainly would not have if he'd been left to die alone in that temple. Nor would he if a war-devastated Jotunheim did not have the resources to coddle and feed an undersized infant. If runt babies regularly did not survive into adulthood, it might have become customary to leave them out to die of exposure, as a sacrifice to their gods, instead of investing all that time and care and limited food into something that would end up dying young and not giving them a return for their money, so to speak, by turning into a full grown, strong Jotun who could contribute to their society. And if Loki were of mixed parentage, there would be an equal chance of him staying small. Could movie!Loki shifting into Aesir form have ensured that he grew only to Aesir size? I'd say that yes, he never would have looked like a giant Aesir, but if it was only a matter of the shapeshift, then I feel that he should have shifted bigger when he touched the Casket and transformed? So maybe he would have remained undersized even if he'd grown up in Jotun form. But I DON'T think that movie!Loki and What If!Loki have to have the exact same set of circumstances and background given the cracky nature of the writing. Darcy marrying a duck? Frigga immediately skipping out on her comatose husband? These people cannot be compared to their movie counterparts. What is true for one doesn't have to be true for the other. And given that Marvel writers have admitted in the past to simply writing what they wanted to write without worrying about the logic of it or how it fit in with already established facts and to simply 'believe whatever you want', it's highly likely that they didn't even think about the things that people are wondering.

So let's forget about movie!Loki in this discussion and focus on What if!Loki, and how a small baby could have grown into a full-sized giant. Say Laufey HAD abandoned runt!Loki, as was customary, because it was actually uncommon for runts to survive in Jotunheim's harsh climate. Especially in the wake of a lost war, resources would be diminished. Maybe Laufey had to admit this to Odin, when Odin asked him, in front of all the other Jotnar, why he had found Laufey's son abandoned in the temple. And then what if Odin had made sure to provide the resources to make sure that Loki grew up well-nourished, so that he not only survived but thrived, and grew into a full-sized giant? What if that was why Loki and his Ice Bros seemed to be old friends of Thor? Obviously Odin had never cut off all contact with Jotunheim; in fact what if he had fostered Loki for a time until the babe had grown bigger and stronger and better able to survive on his home realm? And by then he and Thor were friends, and regularly visited each other, Loki coming to Asgard during the coldest part of the Jotun winters, and Thor visiting Jotunheim during the mildest part of their summers. If Laufey truly wanted his son to survive, he would have swallowed his pride and accepted Odin's offer of help. Or maybe, as I suggested above, it wasn't Laufey that Loki was handed back over to and raised by. Alternatively...what if Loki's giant size is actually a form he shapeshifted himself into, and one that he is so used to he maintains it without effort, as easily as he maintained his Aesir form all those years? If his 'natural' shape were smaller, it would be difficult to live where everything is sized for someone twice your size, so he chose to shift larger as a matter of convenience and to fit in better.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 18

First time reader click here

TWs/Summary: We stan ✨women in science✨. Bruce uwu. Twitter social media AU nobody asked for. Stephen and Tony are dicks and I'm not talking about their anatomy. Setting up mood for Bruce smut, ngl. PTSD makes things spicy. I'm depressed so please be kind ✌🏻💀🙃

"I really do wonder how can you two fit those egos of yours in your pants," I kept my tone forcefully casual, cheerful even. "Why don't you just fuck already?"

I was met with stunned silence. Suddenly, the room seemed far too large and the people in much too quiet, staring at me with various expressions of horror obvious in their faces. As the strange friendship began developing between me and the team, my "outbursts" - how Steve liked to call them - lessened considerably. I had no need to provoke them into giving me attention, just striking up a casual chat was enough. The Avengers were great conversationalists, to my surprise.

Tony and Stephen, when paired, were the exception. I could count on one hand the amount of times they successfully came to a conclusion without fighting like cats and dogs. It was like each man had made it a personal mission to verbally top the other, more often than not resulting in a thirty-minute shitshow ending with one storming off in a dramatic flourish. It was mind-boggling how two supremely intelligent men could not find a way to communicate efficiently without infuriating the rest of the team.

Plus me. One way or another, I was almost always around. In the beginning, it was hilarious to see the free circus but it got old really quickly when they couldn't decide on dinner or a movie, leaving the rest of us starving and bored. Or the great Cloak debate - that one lasted days and the fussy thing was so upset, it point blank refused to part from Peter for a substantial amount of time. It's pretty fucking creepy that a semi-sentient, ancient piece of outerwear watches you when you sleep - just sayin'. I personally interjected with my own snark and sass whenever Tony and Stephen got too heated, successfully drawing the attention to myself. The fight broke up and I had amazing sex with Tony later, it was a win-win scenario.

Yet, Tony and Stephen didn't stop. To me, their way of "talking" (and I use that term loosely) looked a lot like unresolved sexual tension. Stephen frequently used his greater height to tower over Tony in a childish attempt to establish dominance; the engineer was no rookie and responded with extravagant peacocking such as "subtly" tapping the bracelet that hosted his nanotech suit or parading at dinner in a $30,000 custom made designer outfit. Because Tony could.

I was pleasantly surprised when Natasha started laughing at my remark. Full-blown, belly laugh. Those were rare, coming from the Widow, her usual mirth was quiet, sophisticated, just like her. Deadly (adorable). Bucky followed suit, snorting together with Clint and Loki.

Steve looked none too pleased with me. But then again, was he ever? "Doll, don't be rude."

"Brat," Bruce said at the same time, palming his face.

"People always call me a brat. And guess what, Steve?" I popped my hip, twirling a cotton candy pink coloured Dum-Dum between my fingers. "What can you do about it? Nothing," I shrugged, leaning my head against Bruce's shoulder affectionately.

Steve just shook his head in disappointment. "Can we get back on topic? Please?"

"Captain, I think that Stark..." Strange began talking with Tony dramatically groaning in the background and I instantly tuned out the useless babble. Steve should've been smarter and revoked speaking rights from Tony and Stephen. Or asked Loki to magically render them both mute for ten minutes.

"You're not wrong," Bruce quietly whispered next to my ear. "Ten bucks says Wanda meddles and those two finally work out their frustrations," The scientist hid a grin against my head. I felt the amused, giddy energy radiating off him like a plasma beam.

"I don't even have to bet," I rolled my eyes. "If she doesn't do it, I will."

Both Tony and Stephen were throwing me equally infuriated glances. One promised me a good, hard fucking and the other saw me a short, poisonous lecture on appropriate behaviour in the nearest future - you can guess which is which. If I had it my way, I'd skip the lecture and go straight to a hot, filthy threesome with two men twice my age. I wasn't blind, Strange was hot as hell and could be decent and even nice once in a blue moon.

He could, but he wouldn't be. I wanted that raw, unadulterated lust, tension so concentrated it walked the razor's edge between violent craving and repulsion. Ever since the incident with Clint, I had this ugly mess inside of me, like a live wire about to snap. My brain was constantly racing, darting between how utterly useless I am in a group of supers and embracing my normal-ness, amplifying it by hosting game nights and spending time trying to convince people to start a dungeons and dragons campaign. Or something.

My sleep was like Swiss cheese, riddled with holes where I stayed awake for one or two hours at a time in the middle of the night after waking up sweaty, with my heart hammering out of my chest. Sometimes I dreamt of Clint's lifeless, sickly white body, sometimes the whole room flooded with blood and I couldn't stop it no matter what, there was so much of it, I drowned in it, I startled up with the taste of it in my mouth. Rarely, the worst of it came - the one where Clint was alive as millions of millions of little fluorescent, poisonous jellyfish burst out of him and he screamed and screamed and screamed...

I had PTSD. Yay, me. As if my uselessness wasn't enough of a burden, my brain decided for me that it wasn't good enough that I saved Clint and now it was punishing me for being close to a group of people who routinely saved the WORLD.

I contemplated my usual habits - going to a party, getting trashed and dancing until my legs were numb. I just wanted to shut my brain off for a moment, give it a hard reset so-to-say, but with Tony on my back like a jet-pack, I didn't doubt he'd show up to the place and drag me out of there even if I was kicking and screaming. And he was a Stark, a billionaire, so visiting my dad in Cali wouldn't be possible on my own. Tony would gas up the jet and the rest of the team would find and excuse to tag along, too. As much as I loved being the baby menace who could get away with anything, I hated the way they all herded me, like I was an actual child. I couldn't get away from myself, not even for a moment.

I had the backup-backup plan and I was going to have to execute it. Desperate times, desperate measures. "I don't doubt y'all enjoy listening to Tony and Steph flirt," The nickname escaped unmoderated from my lips before I could catch myself. "But what are we doing for Halloween? I need to know if I gotta get a costume," Bruce chuckled next to me and wrapped an arm around me, happy for the distraction. Unlike me, the scientist was obligated to listen and participate in the avengers-themed discussion. Which was difficult because the engineer and the sorcerer constantly bickered, inadvertently taking over the talk.

"Halloween?" Steve groaned.

"We should do something," Bucky side-eyed his boyfriend. "For the children." Something told me he wasn't thinking of the children, at all. The man was positively leering, probably thinking about what kind of a tight suit he could convince Steve to squeeze into.

"A party!" Tony immediately exclaimed, interrupting Stephen mid-setence.

"Tony, no," Steve stated firmly.

"Tony, YES!" Clint perked up. "A snack bar. A bar-bar."

"I will not be helping you all if you get alcohol poisoning," Stephen crossed his arms.

"So it's a party," I stated firmly, throwing a contemplating look at Wanda and Pietro. The twins looked unsure but excited. I knew I could count on fellow young people to support my decision to have fun, dance a little, drink a little. Let loose. To nail my point, I turned to Bruce with a mischievous smirk. "Fifty bucks says Stephen is too stuck up to show up in costume."

"Beg pardon?!" The sorcerer exclaimed. His eyebrows threatened to meet his hairline.

"I think you give him too little credit, Princess," Bruce winked at me and we solemnly shook hands. It was great having a fellow partner in mischief. Loki's approving smirk just sealed the deal for me.

"It's not my fault you sometimes act like you have a stick up your butt," I gave in the way of explanation, shrugging my shoulders innocently in Stephen's direction. "I'm just pointing out the obvious."

"I don't dare to imagine what's been up yours," The sorcerer retorted dryly, in an uncharacteristically childish fashion, arms still crossed. It almost looked like he was pouting.

"Tony," I simply said, leering salaciously at the man.

"Ooh, kinky," Clint reached over and we promptly high-fived each other in the wake of multiple embarrassed groans emanating around the room. "Strange, you're a boring old man, get over it."

"And you regularly end up in dumpsters, Barton," Strange retorted quickly. "Not my idea of fun."

"You wouldn't know fun if it hit you in the face!" Tony grinned triumphantly, confident in his superiority over Strange. Look at that, the team was doing the work for me and I didn't even have to try.

"I'll show you fun," Stephen retorted darkly. It was obvious the man was planning something.

"Ok, boomer," I raised my eyebrows in muted satisfaction before turning around and grabbing Bruce to drag along with me. "I'm confiscating your best scientist to amuse myself. I am bored. We will go and do actual science whilst y'all argue. Bye."

My patience had run out. We were examining the parasites we found in the murder-anthropods-from-space, codename MAFS, courtesy of yours truly, and their amazing properties to penetrate cell membranes and feed on metals in organic life forms. Without Bruce's help I understood maybe half of it but he had the patience of a saint and dutifully and understandably explained to me the finer points of studying aliens. Signing half a dozen NDAs was never more worth it.

Steve's sigh consisted of 99% suffering and 2% disappointment. Natasha face-palmed silently in the corner, clutching a mug of coffee, a poster child for existential dread.

"Wait for me," Tony whined, going for the door and promptly being stopped by Steve pointing out the team needing his input on one mission or another. The engineer sighed. "Baby girl, don't let the green mean to start any experiments without me." Tony instructed, pointing an accusatory finger in our direction.

I clutched at Bruce dramatically, feigning hurt feelings and was rewarded with a swift motion of his arms. I shrieked delightfully at being thrown over the scientist's shoulder as he hastened his pace towards the elevator, hightailing it out of there. "I'd never snitch on science daddy," I wiggled my eyebrows in Tony's direction, sticking a hand down the back pocket of Bruce's pants, dangling over his shoulder like a happy sack of potatoes.

The lab smelled strongly of alcohol and bitter chemicals, the solution that Bruce developed to ensure the optimal state of the alien pathogens. The man's genius never ceased to amaze me: Bruce came up with the needed formula in the span of a few hours while running low on sleep, post a Hulk-out session.

We put on our protective gear - "science onesies" I called them - along with a respirator and goggles and set to the segregated part of the lab where the specimens were kept under a blue light. The glass wall between Bruce's and Tony's lab was dimmed; I reflected in it, looking positively futuristic in my double-stacked white platformed boots and white hazmat suit.

"Wait," I motioned to Bruce to come over.

"Oh, right, our music," He was already half-way to being in total Science Mode. "Friday, please put on the "Get Schwifty" playlist, 60% volume."

The playlist that me and Bruce came up with for our lab sessions. The man was such an adorable dork. Thirty percent my music, thirty percent of his indie rock shit and forty percent 00's bops. In other words, utter perfection.

I finally managed to fish out my phone from my pants. "No, let's take a selfie," I struck an impressive pose and pointed the camera as Avril Lavigne sung the first verse to Sk8r Boi.

Bruce laughed but abided by the request, giving me bunny ears in the photo, tapping the fingers of his other hand on my waist to the rhythm of the song.

"He was a skater boy, she said see ya later boy!" I sang along, switching my Instagram to stories and posting the short clip of us just vibing with the caption #sciencetime, Bruce laughing openly behind his respirator. I looked cute and silly in my outfit.

"Send the video to me, I'll post it on my Twitter," Bruce requested. I indulged him then put my phone away, ready to conquer the world of microbiology. Or die trying. Science was calling...

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie

[authorofemotion]

How come you didn’t like no way home? Tell us your opinions

okay!!! warning: I did type out a very long rant. I don’t think it has any specific spoilers from No Way Home, but it does imply/allude to a couple things. I am very open to counterpoints or discussion in general, this is just my take!

Issue 1) It feels like it’s grabbing after the success of Into the Spiderverse a bit too much. In fact, since Into the Spiderverse, ALL marvel products seem like they’re trying to lean into the multiverse far past the point of originality. Wandavision, Loki, Spider-man, the upcoming Dr Strange??? They ALL deal with the multiverse. This leads into the problem of continuously raising stakes but I’ll get to THAT later.

Issue 2) The reboot of itself. Things that at first seemed like a cute nod towards the comics like the inclusion of The Daily Bugle suddenly are intrinsic to the plot. Marvel created a Spider-man franchise that fit into their expanded universe and even though some people had legitimate qualms with the way they handled it, it was doing something different with the character and owning it. That doesn’t work if, three movies in, they suddenly backpedal on everything they’ve done so far to make all the movies before and way too elevated stakes his ORIGIN STORY??? Marvel started out Homecoming (which is a good movie) AFTER his origin with references to Uncle Ben. Homecoming was for the most part his origin. They rebooted THEIR OWN CHARACTER in the SAME STORY ARC. You can’t just do that! They quite literally erased everything different about this spider-man so they could restart his character arc to be something else AS IF HE DOESNT ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED SPOT IN THE UNIVERSE AND EMOTIONAL TRAUMA

Issue 3) It was a fanfic. It was literally like watching a fanfic. Throughout it, there were regularly beats where all action would come to a standstill, even in highly charged scenes, for the characters to have SEVERAL minutes of witty banter. It was usually pretty funny (marvel is good at being funny), but it didn’t fit in with the rest of the emotional movie. It had the same problem as Far From Home with overly idiotic characters providing comic relief, and cashed in on the tropes without providing the feel-good ending fans would expect from a fanfic. So much of it was fan-service. just so much. They kept having Dr Strange show up and do father figure moments with Peter because they can’t seem to reconcile their decision to move past Iron Man. They did it with Mysterio and Happy in Far From Home, and they did it with Dr Strange in this movie, which leads to the next problem.

Issue 4) They think they’re making a tv show. The thing about all aforementioned father figures is that none of them stuck! They all were tossed aside. THIS is because of a bigger problem that is a result of the Marvel Phases. Phase 1 worked because, while all the movies were leading up towards the big battle with Thanos, each of them also stood on its own. You get the urge to go back and rewatch movies like Iron Man 2 or Thor: Ragnarok because they stand well individually! But more recent movies have fallen into the trap of each movie being just the next installment, rather than a story in its own right with nods to a more overarching plot. These installments have a sense of being episodic, while also having the pressure of expectation on them to be a big blockbuster. So, instead of doing what the older movies did, each movie now essentially becomes a filler episode for the new “main” plot where none of the stakes seem to matter because this story by itself doesn’t stand. But I have to stop myself again because the stakes will come later!!

Issue 5) It couldn’t decide what the main conflict of the movie was. Was it adjusting to life where everyone knew his identity? Was it trying to reverse a spell? Was it the moral dilemma of whether to help the villains or send them back to die? I don’t know and neither does this movie. My sister pointed out that the beginning and end are very thematically a big superhero movie, while the middle filler is clearly “monster of the week” so it feels jarring and in-genuine. Overall very thematically inconsistent.

Issue 6) the stakes. YOU SHOULDNT HAVE TO KEEP RAISING THE STAKES FOR A STORY TO KEEP THE AUDIENCE’S INTEREST. the first movie was about him wanting to move beyond smaller crime to criminal organizations but eventually deciding that neighborhood crime was better for him. then he got roped into saving the universe. uh oh! now those are pretty high stakes! we’d best raise them to sAVING THE MULTIVERSE. but people said that that wasn’t true to the vision of spider-man which hurt our feelings so we’ll put him back in his small neighborhood again at the end.

Issue 7) an emotional reaction does not equal a good movie. I laughed in the movie, and I teared up in the movie. This is because these characters were in good movies earlier and the actors are very good at selling their characters, so I am emotionally invested in the characters. This doesn’t mean that what this movie did with them was good writing, and I KNOW it’s not because I can think critically and also as soon as I left the theater I no longer felt emotional about it.

I’m just tired, because these problems keep showing up in recent Marvel movies. Therefore, to conclude, I reject modernity and all Marvel/Disney movies post-Infinity War (or mayyyybe Endgame).

[lauramkaye]

Invisible Writing: or, I’m Still Here!

So recently someone wrote me a really sweet and much appreciated feedback email. It really made my day, but one line of it kind of took me aback - they said something like “since you aren’t very active anymore” (or it might have been “since you aren’t posting much anymore” or something like that.)

And I was like... what? what are you talking about, I’m writing all the time? I mean, there were a few months when I didn’t do anything but work OT because of COVID but other than that??

And then I thought some more about what I’ve been working on recently and I realized what’s happened: I’ve been writing a ton, I just haven’t FINISHED much in a while, because all my stuff in progress is long.

I haven’t posted anything yet in 2020. I posted four things in 2019: 

A Little World Made Cunningly (just under 50,000 words, posted in chapters from November 2018 to February 2019) 

Love Vaster than Empires, Chapter 1 (just under 10,000 words, posted April 2019)

My Heart In Hiding, Chapter 13 (just under 25,000 words, posted September 2019)

Love of a Particular Kind (just under 60,000 words, posted in chapters from August 2019 to October 2019.)

So, I can see where it looks like I haven’t done anything for nearly a year! But that’s because most of what I’ve been writing is on novel or novella-length stories.

A brief digression about my personal philosophy of works in progress: in general, I don’t start posting a work until the first draft is finished. Then I post it either after beta and revisions are done (one-shots), or chapter by chapter as I finish beta and revisions for each chapter (multi-chaptered works.) The only exceptions to this are My Heart In Hiding  and Love Vaster Than Empires. My Heart In Hiding is plotted and outlined at a high level but it’s so long I’m posting it as a serialized novel; fine points in the story and in the outline change as I actually write the chapters and see how the high-level ideas work out in practice. Love Vaster Than Empires, like All Our Strength and All Our Sweetness before it, is more of a short story anthology than a single work, and I chose to publish those as chaptered works instead of single ones mostly for convenience. Pretty much anything else I write, I don’t start posting it until I know I have a complete draft done, because that way I know I’m more likely to be able to post chapters relatively regularly, since editing is generally a more predictable process for me than drafting.

Anyway, if you’ve been wondering if I’ve stopped writing fic or whatever (or just when I might post again), here is a list of the stuff I have going (this is only stuff that is both at least partially written and that I’m more or less actively working on currently. There’s more in various stages of planning.)

At the Turning of the Tide: Clint is a vampire. Phil doesn’t know. They are stupid in love and pining. Will they work something out? (I mean, I’m writing it, so duh, of course they will.) About 20K. First draft complete, currently in beta. Will probably be the first in a series because I have prequel and sequel ideas already. This will likely be the next thing I post.

Bonus snippet: He thought of it sometimes, of saying sure, I was an English longbowman and I died at Agincourt, but then I woke up again and a French swordsman kept me in thrall until I put an arrow through his heart and ran away. Or yeah, you guessed it, we’re pretty sure Nat’s immortal, there was this thing with Rasputin one time, my blood was involved, it was a whole big thing. 

Love Vaster Than Empires, Chapter 2: Phil gets Clint a Valentine’s Day surprise. (It is a surprise that Phil wears. Yes, a sexy surprise.) 10K and counting, currently being drafted. Probably next in the queue after the vamp story posts. Maybe 3/4 done.

Bonus snippet: “I’d honestly thought I had to choose,” he said. “That I was being greedy, hoping to find someone who could… fit, with all the different parts of my life. Did I really think that I could find a partner who could put up with the job and be compatible with my personality and who would also have complimentary sexual needs? I might as well wish for Captain America to rise from the bottom of the ocean and tell me he’s always dreamed of dating an older man with a ridiculous schedule and a closet full of sex toys.”

Rise the Same and Prove Mysterious: This is the modern fantasy AU novel where Phil is a dragon and Clint is a sorcerer, and they are charged with undergoing a year of magical rituals to form a permanent bond that will enable them to anchor a casting circle for SHIELD. Currently just under 30k, being drafted. I’m probably about 25% done with this one at most so it’ll be a while.

Bonus snippet: “Wow,” he said. “You’re really pretty as a dragon.” Then he realized what he’d just said. “I mean, um. Handsome? Um, deadly? Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insulting or anything.” Phil really was pretty, though, all sharp and gleam and sinuous grace, his scales a thousand subtle shades of black and gray and midnight blue, with an iridescent sheen on his wings like spilled oil. Clint kind of wanted to pet him.

Another one, from Phil’s POV: “I caught you a fish,” Phil blurted, holding it out. It didn’t seem like much, all of a sudden, not in the face of the cozy little nest—damn it, lair—that Clint had made while he was gone. He should have caught him a bighorn sheep, or a deer. Maybe a moose. Would Clint like a moose? He could go get one. Moose was a little tough, though. Better braised, and they didn’t really have any way to do that. “I mean, I can get you something else. If you don’t like it.”

And Still The Sun: this is actually the third story in the series that started with All Our Strength and All Our Sweetness. Unlike the first two, this is one long chaptered story, and it is the post-Avengers fix-it story for this universe, where instead of using Kree blood, Fury asks  Tony to consult and they wind up saving Phil using Extremis. Currently around 25k, but it’s going to be novel-length when it’s done because I have Ideas about how a Clint and Phil who were in a long-established, thriving kinky relationship would recover after the whole Loki/TAHITI thing.  Also featuring lots of Fury, Natasha, and Tony friendship stuff and SO MANY PHEELS.

Bonus Snippet: Clint stroked Phil’s torso through the thin cotton gown, feeling electrodes and wires and the bumps of his ribs. His throat ached at the evidence of how thin Phil had gotten, and his eyes stung. He turned his face into Phil’s side and breathed deep, because Phil smelled like… well, like someone who had been more or less killed and then cryogenically frozen for over a month and then nearly exploded from experimental nanobots, actually, but Clint knew what death smelled like, and Phil didn’t smell like death. Clint would take any amount of mad-science-hospital-char-stink over that.

[wxldchxld]

🍎  :    how stable is my muse’s mental health?  have they been diagnosed with any mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they have any undiagnosed mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they or should they attend therapy? 

🍇  :    how would my muse describe their childhood?  how much has it impacted the person they are now,  or will become as an adult?  around what age did they or will they start to mature,  and why?  do they wish to go back to their days as a child,  or have they embraced adulthood?  

🍌  :    is my muse inclined to help others,  or will they only do it when it benefits them,  if at all?  what makes them this way?  has it ever gotten them into trouble,  or inconvenienced them?   

🍓  :    how is my muse typically seen by others?  does it ring true to who they really are?  does their reputation matter to them? 

🥝  :    does my muse have any  ‘  unusual  ’  habits,  interests,  and  /  or talents?  do they hide it,  or are they proud of it?  

🍋  :    what kind of diet does my muse have?  do they eat regularly,  or the standard 2-3 meals a day?  do they have to be reminded to eat,  or are they likely to remind others?  do they cook,  or have others cook for them?  do they eat healthily,  or not so much? 

🍎  :    how stable is my muse’s mental health?  have they been diagnosed with any mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they have any undiagnosed mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they or should they attend therapy?

Harper is pretty neurotypical. She does have some childhood trauma relating to her father leaving and her relationship with her mother. Her mom was an active service member and this led to a lot of instability in her childhood.

See Harper's mom and her grandmother weren't on great speaking terms. Her mother never told her father about the pregnancy, and that caused a rift between them before Harper was even born. Her mother also struggled with alcoholism when Harper was younger and while Harper was never abused, her mom did make some very poor decisions and her grandmother wasn't always sympathetic, usually blaming her mom for her bad choices with money, and then getting even angrier when her mom wouldn't accept help even as they were on the verge of financial collapse. This lead to her grandmother calling DHR and some very messy fights that Harper heard.

Harper didn't walk away from her experiences with poverty and family drama unscathed. Her mom did eventually go to rehab, and her grandmother did eventually try to make amends with her before she passed.

This isn't even touching on Harper's attempt to reunite with her father and his rejection of her or her mother's rejection when she came out to her as a lesbian.

So Harper definitely needs therapy, but I don't have enough knowledge to put the name of a specific diagnosis on her other than childhood trauma.

🍇  :    how would my muse describe their childhood?  how much has it impacted the person they are now,  or will become as an adult?  around what age did they or will they start to mature,  and why?  do they wish to go back to their days as a child,  or have they embraced adulthood?

I think she would describe it as pretty average. Not necessarily pleasant all the time, but she figures everyone walks away from their childhood with some kind of problem. She is ok with talking about it, but she isn't really ok with reflecting on it for what it is. Normally when she talks about it she's very detached and purposefully cold.

I think the question about maturity is---not great? Like I could say Harper had to grow up fast and learn to do things on her own because of all the alone time she had---but that's not maturing. Even as an adult, Harper doesn't have a lot of emotional intelligence.

Beck had a lot of alone time as a kid and she has her own issues with trauma, but I do feel like her years in the wild, having her freedom and her happiness, gave her a lot of time to reflect and to grow up emotionally and to kind of decide how she at least wants to try to act.

This is in pure contrast to Harper. Harper's alone time as a kid didn't do anything but cause her more pain. Harper may not love how her mother acts, but it is one of her only models of behavior. She gained the veneer of maturity that comes with learning to suppress your feelings and get your shit done, but she had very little emotional intelligence. This is why she often resorts to yelling and mean comments when she's angry or hurt. And the fact that she essentially learned to never cry and to combat her vulnerability with anger and it helped her get where she is now in life did not help that.

All that being said no. Harper would not like to go back to being a child. She might want to go back to being a teen. At the time she had Beck, her first love, and she also had actual friends that appreciated her and liked her for who she was. That's not something she really gets anymore. Idk if it'd be enough to make her want to go back tho.

🍌  :    is my muse inclined to help others,  or will they only do it when it benefits them,  if at all?  what makes them this way?  has it ever gotten them into trouble,  or inconvenienced them?

Harper is inclined to help when and if it gets her her way and given that the payoff is good enough. She's pretty self centered and apathetic to the general plight of humanity. In Marvel verses she lives in New York at the time of Loki and the most she'll ever say about the invasion was it was an irritating distraction that caused an inconvenient amount of damage to the roads.

She WILL help the people she cares about with no boundaries though. If someone she loves has a problem or a need she will attack it tirelessly and ruthlessly. If they're in danger there is no line she won't cross to protect them. But there are very, very, VERY few people Harper would do this for. And not to sound cliché but currently all of those people are ---- well it's actually just Beck lmao.

The reason she's like this could go back to her childhood and her experience losing her grandmother but I'm honestly not sure it's that deep? Harper is kind of selfish. She dislikes most people and distances herself from them in order to not feel guilty for her selfishness. It's not a great look, but that's the current state she's in for any verse you'll meet her in. Sure this does change in stories where she has time to grow, but never enough to make her a humanitarian.

Also no this doesn't really get her into trouble. She's pretty safe on top of the world.

🍓  :    how is my muse typically seen by others?  does it ring true to who they really are?  does their reputation matter to them?

Most people see Harper as a shrewd business woman and or a downright bitch. I won't lie and say they're totally wrong, but there is a genuine person in there and her flaws are usually exaggerations of the things that are good about her mixed in with her trauma. So yes, they technically see who she really is, but they lack the context to understand her fully. And she both allows and encourages this misunderstanding because it's advantageous to her. It helps her maintain control in the business world but also in the magical one. She employs and is followed by a lot of incredibly dangerous supernatural beings. Literal thousands of vampires, witches, and werewolves do as she bids and submit to her lead in large part because they respect her power. So she kind of has to let people think she's a bitch, but honestly she kind of likes it too. She has taken the label with pride.

🥝  :    does my muse have any  ‘  unusual  ’  habits,  interests,  and  /  or talents?  do they hide it,  or are they proud of it?

She's a necromancer so... Like that's pretty weird right? Specifically her research is focused on creating the perfect vampire in hopes of one day turning herself into a vampire without losing any of her magical abilities or having to be vulnerable to "silly" things like sunlight and garlic.

She also really really likes snakes and reptiles in general.

🍋  :    what kind of diet does my muse have?  do they eat regularly,  or the standard 2-3 meals a day?  do they have to be reminded to eat,  or are they likely to remind others?  do they cook,  or have others cook for them?  do they eat healthily,  or not so much?

I think Harper genuinely tries to eat healthy. She doesn't have any like sensory issues with food and while she isn't immune to worrying about weight, also doesn't obsess over it. I mean she doesn't have to because she spends so much time and energy on working she probably couldn't gain a pound if she ate a literal weight. Magic can be very draining, and she very often gets so focused she doesn't eat for hours. Then she feels sick and doesn't want to eat anything and she sure as fuck isn't about to cook.

This was one of the great ways that she and Beck fit together. Beck loved to cook and would drop by the office or the lab with snacks (so long as she didn't have to get near anything dead or nasty) and she always made enough dinner for two even when Harper said she wouldn't be home in time. And Beck eats pretty healthy (usually) so it worked well.

She does have a cook who makes meals for her. She usually takes them for lunch and if she remembers to will take a break and eat. Harper certainly doesn't cook. She thinks it is tedious and all too often has burned something because she was trying to multitask and forgot and nearly set the penthouse on fire.

Her favorite is when she gets the chance to eat with someone else that she likes. She absolutely adores French food and has a go-to place for meet ups.

[sserpente]

A/N: Request by @sparxxy. Loved this idea! Enjoy, everyone! ♥

Words: 1409 Warnings: fluff and… falling off the roof I guess?

You should have brought your gloves. It was freezing cold, especially now that you were fiddling around with tiny cables and light bulbs on a wobbly ladder. Hypothetically, Tony could have done this in his suit and hypothetically, he wouldn’t run a risk of suffering from hypothermia in the process covered in layers of metal but if there was one thing you were both naïve and proud about, then it was setting up Christmas decoration all by yourself—and that included colourful holiday lights on the roof.

You could do this. It was fun, even more so with so much snow around you. In that hindsight, you were even okay with numb fingers.

You were so focused on setting up the lights that you never heard someone approaching you, even on the crunchy snow. But then again, Loki usually moved with the grace of a cat. Being around him felt like circling a bomb—you never knew if or when it would explode but overall, you were glad the Avengers and eventually even SHIELD had accepted the God of Mischief sticking around after Asgard was destroyed even though everyone but Thor met him with suspicion or even hostility; even you did, for the most part. With Loki, you just never knew. So while the God of Thunder had begun wearing Christmas sweaters, baking horrible gingerbread and asking every single one of the other Avengers what it was they wanted for Christmas to buy them presents with Tony’s money, Loki appeared utterly irritated by the festive season.

“What in the nine are you doing?” He asked, head tilted slightly.

You flinched, holding on to the gutter frantically to not fall off. “Geez, Loki… clear your throat or something!” The God of Mischief only chuckled. “I’m putting up the holiday lights.”

“Whatever for?” You could practically hear his frown.

“So our headquarters will look more festive?” You suggested. “Actually, can you tell me if this is straight?”

“These quarters are in the middle of nowhere. No one will be able to see it.”

“I will. Now is this straight or not?”

“I suppose it is.”

“That is not reassuring.” You retorted.

“Well, what is it supposed to look like? You are only going to injure yourself. This ladder looks rather unsafe and the rungs are frozen.”

“Yes, I know that, Loki, which is why I’m asking you if they’re straight so I don’t have to climb up here again! Don’t be such a Scrooge.” You had gotten him a present—it was nothing too fancy but you had seen him taking notes on a stack of paper he had presumably stolen from your office a lot. Apparently, Loki was quite the scholar. You usually spotted him surrounded by books whenever the Avengers didn’t make him join life-threatening missions. In this aspect, you were quite glad you were only an assistant.

Anyway, you had decided to buy Loki a beautiful notebook bound in real leather along with a fancy green and gold pen with black ink but if he kept going like that, you might reconsider giving it to him after all.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Loki frowned, making you sigh. You were done anyway. All you had to do now was climb off, switch it on with the little remote and see if you had indeed hung it up straight if Loki wouldn’t give you a proper answer.

“Scrooge is a fictional character in ‘The Christmas Carol’ and he hated Christmas. It’s written by Charles Dickens, one of the greatest—argh!” An ear-piercing scream escaped your lips, heart skipping a beat when you slipped on one of the rungs on the frozen ladder, your hands failing to grasp at the cold metal again in time. You hurtled backwards through the ice-cold air so fast you were hardly able to process you were going to kiss the hard ground and likely break your neck in the process, brazing yourself for a painful impact—which never came. Your eyes flew open when you landed in Loki’s arms instead. The God of Mischief, so you realised, must have darted forward to catch you.

Panting, you looked up at him with wide eyes, not even quite able to catch your breath in return.

“I told you so.” He said quietly. Oddly enough though, there was no scorn in his voice—quite on the contrary; you had never heard Loki speak so softly before. His warm breath ghosted over your lips as he talked, his blue eyes glued on your face, likely reddened from the cold.

“T-thank you…” You whispered. Oh Heavens… Had he always been this handsome?

Neither of you moved. Instead, you remained in your awkward position, with Loki still carrying you bridal style and his face only mere inches from yours until a thundering voice ripped you both from your weird trance.

“Loki, have you seen my gingerbread pop tarts? Oh… oh? Am I interrupting something, brother?” He asked with a sly grin. He was standing in the doorway, right underneath a mistletoe and he was holding up an empty box of pop tarts.

“No,” Loki said quickly all the while sighing and rolling his eyes. You only swallowed, finally managing to move your limbs again and struggle just a little so he would put down again. You did not fail to notice that even once your feet were on the ground again, his left hand lingered on your waist just a little bit longer than absolutely necessary—and you would be lying if you claimed it bothered you.

“If I recall it correctly, you ate them all last night.” He continued, clearly unimpressed.

“I didn’t eat all of them.” Thor raised an eyebrow. “Did you eat them?”

“No,” Loki emphasised. “I may be the God of Mischief, brother but I do not have a death wish. Perhaps you should ask one of your mortal companions. Stark likes to steal food quite regularly as far as I am concerned.”

You smirked when Thor pointed at him in a threatening manner. “I am going to rub snow in your face if I find out you’re lying.”

“You do realise I am a Frost Giant, brother?” Oh, yes, you had almost forgotten about that. That must have been the reason why he wasn’t even wearing a jacket.

“M-hm. I’ll leave you two to… whatever then.” Loki rolled his eyes once more. You could hardly complain about his reaction. Thor could be rather sneaky if only he wanted to be and the fact he had interpreted Loki basically saving your life to be something… something… well… what exactly?

You and Loki? He couldn’t possibly think you would… or would you? You cleared your throat once the God of Thunder had disappeared inside again and closed the door, if anything to not make matters even more awkward than they already were.

Then, to distract from the embarrassing situation, you finally grabbed the remote of the holiday lights and pressed the button. Dozens of little bulbs lit up at once, some green, some red, some blue, some yellow, some purple, all blinking away happily. It was beautiful—and it definitely was straight.

You hummed in silent triumph.

“I admit, it does look rather pretty.” Loki suddenly said.

“Come on, it looks amazing! Is that really the best you can do?”

He gave you languid look. But nothing could have prepared you for what he did next. “Oh, what a masterpiece you have created, my dear. This is a truly marvellous sight. You must be a sorceress to have constructed such beauty for this Midgardian holiday they call Christmas. What would the Avengers do without your talent and your skilled hands?” Sarcasm was dripping from his voice, along with a downright theatrical tone not of mockery but pure amusement and teasing.

“Okay, okay, stop it.” You laughed, wouldn’t admit, however, how your heart jumped when he called you ‘my dear’. It took you quite a while to recover from your laughing fit. And if that wasn’t enough already, Loki was actually smiling too. “I’ve got two others to hang up, one on the balcony and one on the terrace.” You announced then. “Do you… would you help me?”

There it was again. His blue eyes locked with yours, capturing you both in another moment full of tension and… fascination. Eventually, the God of Mischief nodded.

“I might as well.”

Huh. Perhaps, Christmas miracles were real after all.

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate it so much if you considered supporting me on Kofi! It’s either for caffeine or red wine, I’ll take both. ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

[imagine-loki]

Soulbonds and Fairy Dusty (Rewrite)

TITLE: Soulbonds and Fairy Dust (rewrite) CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 14/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine one of the fae has been helping the Avengers, jumping in to help them on missions and vanishing before Shield can bring her in.  Loki joins the team and convinces her to come talk to the team and consider joining before Shield takes more drastic measures. RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS:  This is a rewrite of the original work of the same name.  Also on AO3 here

Sig shied a little toward Loki when she realized the mark was lighting up.  She and Loki were drawing a lot of attention from the people passing them in the palace.  She certainly didn’t fit in as an Asgardian anymore: she was too short and her coloring was all wrong.  She weren’t sure the story had completely spread yet about what had happened to her as a child and how she had come back.  The palace could be as bad about gossip as a Midgardian high school.  

The story of the soulbond marks on Loki’s arm would spread soon.  He was one of the princes of Asgard, and while soulbonds were much more common on Asgard than elsewhere in the nine realms, they still weren’t that common. It was also strange for him to have a lady on his arm, apparently.  He’d never truly gotten over Sigyn’s loss.

“I missed you so much,” she told Loki softly as she looked up at him. Even though she’d blocked her memories of him, she knew she had been missing something and someone.  And Loki had been her family.

Loki had such a kind and carefree smile on his face that it was drawing attention too. No one expected that from the reserved prince. The prince who fancied himself the dark prince of Asgard at that.  “I missed you as well, so very much,”

“I’m assuming we’re expected for dinner,” she started softly, noting the attention they were getting and wanting to get away from it.  “Maybe we can find somewhere where fewer people will stare at us to spend our time until then?” she suggested with a smirk.  Loki liked hanging out with people about as much as she wanted to be on display for the citizens of Asgard. 

Loki nodded.  “We are expected for dinner.  Why don’t we just head to my chambers for now? No one will bother us there. Most people don’t bother me,” he said and sounded a bit mournful at that.  

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied warmly and Loki escorted her straight back to his chambers.  He didn’t want to deal with the onlookers either.  Though his carefree loving expression and the soulbond marks on their arms shocked everyone who saw them.  Sig was shy when there was too much attention on her.  Her unnatural red hair was drawing way too much attention, plus she were walking with Loki.

Loki hadn’t been seen with a lady since… Lady Sigyn.  

/It’s alright. They won’t do anything while you’re with me. Most people here consider me the Dark Prince of Asgard/ Loki reminded her when he noticed that she was shying closer to his side.

/You? A dark prince? But you’re Loki/ she replied, confused as if it were obvious that Loki was as gentle and sweet as she remembered. /Besides, I’m pretty sure they’re staring at me. Sidhe-red isn’t exactly a common hair color here, or tri colored eyes, or pointed ears/ she reminded him.  In point of fact, she completely stuck out like a sore thumb, though this used to be her home.  The fact hurt her, but she tried not to let it show. 

/You have not been on Asgard long since your absence. The people’s opinions of me have changed drastically. And you are beautiful, fae or Asgardian. There is no difference to me. Do not let their stares bother you./ he told her warmly and she heard in his telepathic voice how much he cared. 

/Well, that’s stupid of them/ she grumbled.  They used to like the polite young bookworm of a prince. Until they ended up on the wrong side of tricks anyway.  /I should be used to being stared at by now…/ she continued her grumbles.  The pair finally reached Loki’s suite and he held the door open for Sig so they could both slip inside away from all of the staring.  

“Better?” Loki asked when they were safely alone, the door closed behind them and his shields firmly in place.

Sig sighed in relief and relaxed in the gentle quiet of his cool room.  “Much better,” she agreed.  She gave him a warm smile and kicked off her shoes, curling on the couch in his sitting room with her feet tucked under her, just as she had constantly as a child.  It was a second home to her and still felt as such.  She waited a moment to see if he was going to choose asking questions or quiet reading for the afternoon’s entertainment.  

He sat on the other side of the couch and looked her over.  Apparently, he chose asking questions.  She wasn’t surprised, they had a lot to catch up on. “What happened in Underhill that called for your escape?” He asked her softly, seeming to finally find the words he was looking for.

Sig tried to think of how best to explain, especially to someone who wasn’t born or raised among the fae.  “Do you know anything about fae marriage customs?” she asked instead of jumping right into the explanation.  

Loki’s eyebrows furrowed.  He shook his head.  “I never had reason to study the fae before now,” he finally said.  That made sense, most wouldn’t study them without need and no one had known Sig had been taken by the fae. 

“Unless a lady has an arranged marriage, she has to marry the man who gets her pregnant. Whether the pregnancy was by her choice or no,” she explained softly, looking down at her lap.  “I became considered an adult and fair game for marriage and since they wanted to see if one of the changelings turned fae would breed true… I stuck it out for as long as I could, but the queen was pressuring the men of the court, so… it seemed imperative to leave.” She risked looking up for Loki’ reaction.  His eyes widened and she could see the shock on his face and he didn’t seem capable of finding words.  “So I found one of the doors out of underhill and have hidden from the fae since,”

He pondered that for a minute before he asked.  “What would happen if they found you?” He asked her gently

 She sighed.  She hadn’t wanted to tell him this part.  “Well, until earlier this afternoon they would have dragged me back to underhill kicking and screaming,” she told him softly, hesitant to explain, and she wouldn’t have explained at all until he’d accepted the soulbond on his own. She didn’t want her safety to be a deciding factor on whether he accepted the soulbond.  

He gave her a look since that wasn’t really an answer and they both knew it. “What does that mean?” He demanded.

She sighed again.  “I wasn’t going to tell you,” she hedged.  “I… didn’t want to influence you decision on whether to accept the soulbond…”

“Sigyn, tell me,” his voice was firm, the commanding tone of a prince who expected his orders to be obeyed.  

She didn’t look up at him, but raised her arm with the soulbond marks on it.  “This will keep me safe from them,” she told him softly.  “Even if we never marry, it’s enough of a bond for the fae to consider me married and off limits…” she explained, refusing to look at him. 

At the edge of her vision, she could see him nodding in acceptance. He seemed to nearly sigh in relief.  “At least being bound to me will keep you safe, old friend,” he told her warmly, and again she heard the true caring in his tone. 

“I didn’t want to seem like I was using you,” she tried to explain.  She hadn’t wanted to put any pressure on him. 

He moved and took her hands in his. “Sigyn, it’s alright. Don’t fret over this,” he reassured her gently, calmly.

She gave him a small smile.  “I just didn’t want you to think that the only reason I wanted to keep the soulbond was my own selfish one…”

He gave her a reassuring smile.  “You do not have a selfish bone in your body. Don’t worry so much,” he told her with a grin, looking much like the boy she remembered.  

She gave him a small smile in return, then her expression fell.  “How much did Mama Frigga lecture you and Thor after I was taken?” she asked him softly.  She remembered that day well.  The three of them had been told to go into the forest to find potion ingredients for Mama Frigga. Thor and Loki had gotten distracted by beating each other up over something and had promised to catch up once their argument was over.  Sigyn had been taken by the fae before they’d finished their argument.

Loki sighed heavily.  “A lot. I don’t remember mother ever being that angry before or since,”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mama Frigga angry…" she replied, trying to remember.  She had been upset and disappointed with them before, but never angry.

“It is not a pretty sight.  My mother is frightening when she’s angry,” he shuddered at the memory.  “Though we deserved it. If my oaf of a brother and I hadn’t been fighting, you would not have been taken from us,”

“Or we would’ve all been taken. They slipped past Heimdall and the Einherjar,” she reminded him logically. 

“They would have gotten what they wanted. They could have taken me rather than you,” he told her firmly and she saw the guilt he’d been carrying for centuries.  He blamed himself that she’d been taken. But the royal forest was supposed to be safe.  It had been regularly patrolled and cleared out of dangers so the princelings and their companions could play there safely. 

Sig shook her head firmly.  “That would have just been worse for everyone, especially you.  I’ve already told you that you would not have fared well among the fae, not when your true heritage was revealed, and it would have been revealed a lot faster,” she reminded him that she’d been able to break his illusions with just one sentence.  Not many could do anything similar, but they would have managed.

It was his turn to shake his head.  “I would have preferred it rather than have you taken. You didn’t deserve that,”

“No one does,” she replied. “And I wouldn’t have wished it on my worst enemy, less on my best friend,”

She saw his warm smile at being called her best friend. “I would have done anything to keep you safe. Even if it meant becoming fae,”

 “I’m still glad you didn’t have to live through that,” she told him softly.  Her eyes glazed as she remembered something. “Did anyone ever find the door to underhill?” she asked, not remembering how little he knew about the fae or underhill, but needing to know if that doorway was still open.

Loki shook his head.  “Many tried to find out where you were taken. It seems the fae magic can hide itself from even Asgardian eyes,”

She thought through her options quickly and cursed softly when she came to the obvious conclusion. “I should go seal it…” she finally said softly.

[kingneptunesthinninghead]

How much do you weigh? what a weirdly personal question

If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? sitting in the shade reading a book

Do you think you can love someone without trusting them? yes but not in a way that will ever be truly fulfilling

What’s your opinion on people who go hunting for sport? i live in a very rural area so i grew up with hunting for sport extremely normalized but once i actually developed and used my critical thinking skills i realized how morally reprehensible it is. literally just begging these people to use their brains.

Do you have a fairly fast or slow internet connection? eh its pretty fast

Have you ever been someplace tropical? florida lmao

Are you sensitive to caffeine? somewhat. i dont really consume it that much

How do you usually get around? driving myself

Have you ever been accused of being too clingy? no bc i’m generally pretty independent unless i reallyyyy like someone

What do you think about Kim Kardashian? neutral

Can you speak any French? je parle un peu français

Favorite yogurt flavor? i’m lactose intolerant so i recently tried dairy free yogurt and i hated it sooo i guess none

How much money do you have in your wallet right now? i dont have any cash in my wallet rn lol

What bottled water brand do you like? deer park or aquafina

Your favorite way to eat chocolate? brownies

How often do you listen to country music? sometimes.

Linkin Park or Avenged Sevenfold? neither

Last surgery you had? my wisdom teeth surgery

Have you ever played guitar? no but i wish i could

Is there someone in your life whose career/life choices you find immoral/unethical? Have you ever told that person your views? Do you find it difficult to support them (emotionally or otherwise) because of their choices? um i dont think so

What trait do you feel you lack that you wish you possessed? a little more confidence

Have you ever considered writing your memoirs? maybe

Do you find it difficult to stay invested in online relationships? i dont have very many online friends anymore but when i had a bunch i loved talking to them

Are you the type of person who pays close attention to the release dates of movies, music, etc., and will, for example, go see a movie or buy an album on the date it is released? If so, when is the last time you did so? only for something i really like.

Do you have any stickers on your laptop? a bunch

Would you rather have a job for which you had to go in early in the morning or one you had to stay late into the evening at? early in the morning so then i have the rest of the day to myself when i get off

Do you use any apps to track your health or medications? i have a workout app but that’s it.

Whose opinions/recommendations do you value most? my mom, sister, and my 2 best friends

If you could’ve been at any historical event, which would you have liked to witness firsthand? probably the women’s suffrage movement or the civil rights movement

Is there something that you really want to do but are afraid of doing? If so, why are you afraid of doing it?i want to tell him how i feel but i’m afraid i’ll ruin the friendship

What is something society “expects” you to do that you don’t want to do and/or don’t plan on doing? wear a tampon i’m sorry but i can’t do it

Have Jehovah's Witnesses ever come to your door? no

Are you well-known by people in your area? eh somewhat

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? no and i dont want to

What's your favourite type of bird? owls!!

What tv show(s) have you been watching currently? i’m watching loki, hsmtmts, planning to watch s2 of never have i ever, and i started one piece but i haven’t watched in a while

Have you ever dated a smoker? no but that might change😳

Do you share a middle name with any of your siblings? no

Have you ever been a member in a band? No.

Can you cry on command? If so, have you ever used it to your advantage? No.

Do you have separate emails for personal and business? i have my school email and personal email

Have you ever missed a flight? no

Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse? i think so.

Have you ever taken a ride in a convertible? i literally rode in my best friend’s convertible last night lmao

Why did you last need to use a band-aid? i dont remember

What fruit do you eat most often? bananas and clementines

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? maybe my great uncle?

Has someone ever tried to start an argument with you over Facebook? What happened? no but i’ve been in a few on insta and twitter.

Have you ever had an unusual type of milk (eg. oat, rice, almond)? i don’t straight up drink milk but i love things made with almond milk.

If you could experience life as a Disney princess for a week, which princess would you pick and why? elsa i want ice powers

When you’re at home, do you spend most of your time in your room? sometimes but normally during the day i’m in the living room with my family

If you like to sleep in late, have your parents ever told you off for doing so? No.

Do you find piercings attractive? Yep.

Do you like potato chips? Loooove 'em.

What’s the most stalker-like/creepy thing you’ve ever done? If you don’t think you’ve done anything like that, what’s the most stalker-like thing someone’s done to you? i’ve looked up a few people’s houses on zillow in my day.

Do you think it’s a double standard that a woman can hit a man and expect to get away with it, but if a man hits a woman it’s assault? absolutely, you shouldn’t hit anyone

What’s your favorite old Disney movie and favorite new Disney movie? my top 3 are princess and the frog, tangled, and frozen 2. i also love the little mermaid

Name something “trendy” or popular that you dislike. idrk

“Dirty talk” in the bedroom…love it, like it, don’t care, dislike it, or hate it? it depends on what it is. it should also be mixed with some loving or praise talk imo

What is/are your favorite type(s) of ethnic food, and what’s your favorite food within that type? i LOVE italian food specifically fettuccine alfredo and i also love asian food such as general tso’s, sweet and sour chicken, lo mein, shrimp fried rice, LUMPIA 🤤

How would you describe your relationship with your hair over the years? i’ve always liked my hair color and thickness. i always go back and forth between growing it out long and cutting it short bc i can never choose which i like more also it has lots of red undertones so i’m thinking about dyeing it a deep red

How do you feel about your SO daily/regularly checking up on a couple of his exes on social media? hypothetically it would be a red flag to me. a clear sign they haven’t moved on from the past

Do you prefer your guy to wear cologne or not? a good smelling cologne on a man will quite literally make me bust a nut.

Ladies, how important is it to you that your SO wears/would wear a wedding ring? i’d want them to unless it didnt fit or something

What was the turning point that led you to decide for or against having children? i’m very close with my family so i’ve always loved the idea of having one of my own with my future spouse

Is having your “dream” wedding really that important to have? i definitely have ideas for my wedding and i would want it to go a certain way according to our plan but in the end if things go wrong or plans change it wouldn’t matter as long as i’m marrying the loml.

Do you consider it cheating if your SO goes to a strip club and then doesn’t tell you? i wouldn’t consider it cheating if he was just watching but i would be angry that he hid it from me

How old is too old for trick-or-treating? i dont think it matters unless ur posing a danger to little children

Do you sleep with your arms over or under the covers? depends but mostly under

Do you own any t-shirts of your favorite band? i have nsync and harry styles shirts but thats it

Fries or onion rings? Fries.

True/False: you’ve had an odd dream this week. all the time but most of the time i forget them right after i wake up

Do you find tattoo sleeves attractive? depends

Do you like carving pumpkins? Yeah.

What’s an animal you want to have as a pet but can’t? i think raccoons are adorable but its kindaaaa hard to domesticate them

Have your parents ever caught you drinking? no bc my parents let me drink in the house and i’ve told them abt every time i’ve drank at college

How would you react if your celebrity crush came to your door? i would absolutely piss and shit on myself.

Has your mom/dad ever walked in on you kissing or anything more with someone? no

The person you have a crush on is drunk and goes to kiss you, you know they don’t realize what they’re doing, but do you kiss anyways? i would stop it even if i want to bc i don’t want them to regret anything and i wouldn’t want them to kiss me if they don’t like me bc it would hurt too much.

What would you prefer to get from a guy/girl: flowers, a hand written poem, a picture he drew of you or a nice night out? i would love them all but something abt a guy taking the time to write a poem for me makes me melt

Do you any shirts with any kind of images of food on them? no.

Which holiday is the most fun to decorate for? halloween

What was the first website you had an email account on? gmail

Have you ever written a fanfic? YES AHSHDH.

Tattoos or piercings? tats for sure.

What’s the last gross movie/show/video you saw? the scene where alexei breaks the inmate’s wrist in black widow is SO GROSS i cringe every time

Would you rather live in a huuuge house or a little cozy one? definitely a little cozy one

Do you have a tutor for anything? No.

Who’s the best kisser you know? i’ve only kissed one person.

Has anyone ever threatened you with a knife? No. I'd like it to stay that way.

(If you’re a girl) Has anyone ever called you "shortie" instead of girl? no and i hope they dont

Do you have a deep voice? not really

Do you play games with boys/girls, like 'hard to get’? no thats dumb

Is there a Sonic where you live? yes i’m a whore for sonic

What do you like on your pizza? pepperoni or sausage

[avengerscompound]

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard, 5

The Tower: The Queen of Asgard An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

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

Word Count: 1437

Warnings: none

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

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

Author’s Note: Written with @fanficwriter013​ and her confused mouth

Chapter 5 - Puppies!

The following morning Clint, Bucky, and Thor took the kids out to a shelter that Tony had contacted.  Apparently, there was a puppy mill that had been raided and now it was a little overloaded.  In exchange for a rather large donation, the kids were getting a private tour and allowed to pick out a puppy without it getting out to anyone outside the family.

The rest of us spent the morning at work.  I made sure I was back by lunchtime because I was super excited to see the new puppy.  I had been wanting one more than the kids.

Natasha had the same idea and we were just thinking of going and making some lunch when the kids came charging into the living room.  Bucky followed them in looking slightly amused and carrying two large dog beds.  Clint came next with his arms laden down with bags.  Finally came Thor holding two squirming puppies.  One was a tiny, black, white, and tan Cavalier King Charles spaniel with big floppy ears and the other was a dalmatian with what looked almost like a paw print on its nose.

I jumped up from the couch and clapped my hands, not able to hold in my excitement.  “Oh, no.  Tony’s going to kill us.”

“They couldn’t decide and they gave daddy Thor this big, practiced - obviously practiced - twin, puppy dog eyes, and he just caved,”  Bucky explained, putting the beds on the floor.

“Oh my goodness, you terrors,”  I said, ruffling each of their hair.  “Are you going to introduce me and mama to the puppies?”

Pietro took my hand and tugged on it while Riley bounced back to Thor like a kangaroo.  I followed after her and held my arms out for a puppy.  “You’re in so much trouble, Mister.”

Thor looked sheepish as he put the Cavalier into my arms.

“Dis one’s a…”  Riley said and looked up at Clint like he might be able to fill in the word she couldn’t quite find.

“It’s a Cavalier,”  Clint said.  “I think they want to name it Cap.  Or Colonel.  They can’t quite seem to get the word they want.”

“He’s so cute,”  I said, playing with his silky ears.  “Can either of you even say Colonel?”

“No,”  Clint laughed.  “That’s why they haven’t decided.”

I took a seat on the ground and let the puppy into my lap.  The twins came over, Riley flopping over my leg so she could pat him and Pietro lying down in front of me so that the puppy could lick his face.  “You don’t want Cap either?”

“No,”  Riley said.  “Dat’s not it.”

The puppy started to sniff at the ground and looking at it nervously.

“Buck, if we have training pads, you might wanna put them out or someone’s gonna pee on the carpet,”  I said.

Bucky immediately began rooting through the bags for the training pads and I went back to playing with the puppy’s ear.  “What about Carol?”  I asked.

Riley gave me a look like I was an idiot.

“What?”  I laughed.  “She’s a Cap and a Colonel.”

Riley shook her head firmly.

“Well what then, you say something,”  I said.

Riley shook her head again and I picked her up and started tickling her.  “What do you mean, no?”  I said as she squealed and kicked her legs.

I put her back down and held my hands out to the other puppy.  Thor put the dalmatian into my arms.  “Oh my god, they are both so cute.  Does this one have a name?”

“Get this,”  Bucky said, chuckling.  “Spotty.”

“Spotty?  Her name is Spotty?”  I asked as I patted both of them.

“Yup,”  Bucky said, popping the p.

“Oh, goodness.  What a perfect name, kiddos.”  I said, kissing the puppy’s head.

“I think they want the Cavalier to have a fancier name,”  Bucky said.

“Oh, a fancy puppy name,”  I said, playing with his ears again. “What about duke?”

Riley and Pietro shook their heads.

“What about something Norse sounding?  Like Loki’s puppy?  Fenrir.”  I said.

The twins looked at each other and Riley squeaked and nodded her head.

“You like Fenrir?  Or something like that?”  I asked.

“Like dat,”  Pietro said.

I looked up at Thor.  “Do you have any ideas.”

Thor took a seat and gave the puppy a pat while he thought.  “Perhaps Tyr would fit.”

Riley and Pietro looked from the puppy to Thor and back to the puppy again.  “Yep.  Tyr.”  Riley said.

“Welcome to the family, Tyr, and Spotty,”  I said, patting them both.  “Did you have fun picking them out?  Were there lots to choose from?”

“Wots and wots,”  Pietro said pushing his face between the puppies so they’d both lick him.

“Okay, kids.  We have to figure out where these guys are going to sleep and eat, don’t we?”  I said.

“Yeah, guys,”  Bucky agreed, moving to sit next to me and taking Tyr.  “What are we going to do with them?”

“Dey can sleep wif us,”  Riley said.

“Yeah, dat’s good.”  Pietro agreed.

Natasha started laughing and shook her head.  “Well, that’s sorted.”

“We need to make sure they get taken out regularly,”   I said.

“Every three hours at the very minimum.”  Bucky agreed.

“And we need to train them so they can sit and walk on the lead and come when we call them,”  I said.

“And they can come running with us.  And play dead.  And do yoga with Daddy Clint.”  Bucky added.

I laughed.  “Oh man, I just got the best mental image of them going under him while he’s doing bridge pose.”

“Or when he’s doing up dog, and the dog is on his back.”  Bucky chuckled.

“It’s already super adorable when the kids are there trying to join in,”  I said.

“Now the kids and the puppies,”  Bucky said as he played with Tyr’s ears.  He looked up at Clint and smiled.  “It’ll be like herding cats, Clint.”

“We should get a cat too,”  I said and both the kids started to bounce.

“Are you kidding?”  Nat asked.  “We already got two puppies.  We’re already pressing our luck.”

I sighed.  “Yeah, I guess.  With the move and going away now’s probably not the best time for a cat anyway.”

“Nope,”  Bucky said.

Tony appeared from the stairwell and stopped dead.  He looked at the puppies and then at Thor who was still sitting opposite me.  “I said one.”

“They gave Thor the puppy dog eyes,”  Clint said with a shrug.

“Who let Thor go?”  Tony said.

“The children couldn’t decide whether they wanted to stay and play with me or go and buy a puppy.  So I decided it was best if I went with them so they could do both.”  Thor said.

“In my experience, often when you expect one of something, multiples are pretty great,”  I said.

“But I wasn’t even used to the idea of one dog,”  Tony said.

“Yeah, well.  You weren’t used to the idea of one romantic partner or one kid.  But now look at you.”  I teased.

Tony narrowed his eyes at me, then broke and started laughing.  “You got me there.”  He said and sat down on the couch behind me.  “Alright kiddos, tell me about the puppies.”

The kids told them their names, while I leaned back against him and he started to play with my hair.  The puppies both passed out in a pile on Bucky’s lap while the kids were talking and when they finished Pietro climbed up on Natasha and wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled into her.

“You a little tired, bud?  Need a nap?”  Tony asked.

He shook his head and Natasha rubbed his back.  “He just wants to sit with Mama, isn’t that right?”  Natasha said.  He made a little grunt sound and patted her neck.  “And if you fall asleep on Mama that’s okay too.”

He crawled up on her so she was supporting his weight a little more.  “Think he’s going to fall asleep,”  I said.

“Not tired,”  He grumbled.

“Uh-huh.  Not tired, little one.  I think you’re exhausted.”  Natasha teased.

“Nyet, mamochka,”  Pietro said as he wriggled and seemed to burrow into her more.  I started giggled and Natasha chuckled softly and whispered something to him in Russian.  It wasn’t long until his breathing evened out.

“Three babies down, one to go,”  Clint said.

“What about you, bug?  Are you going to sleep?”  Bucky asked.

Riley shook her head and started to climb up Thor.  “Nope.”  She said.

Thor chuckled and flipped her upside down.  “She is most definitely my daughter.”

// NEXT

[justfandomwritings]

Magic and Misfortune (Loki)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Request:  “I haven’t found someone that writes as well as this for the MCU for a while😂 I’ve seen AUs where gods from different cultures are in one universe and I’ve got a little scenario in my head that sounded pretty cool. Loki x reader who’s a daughter of Zeus. If you could write something like this, that would be AWESOME! Thank you!!😊💕” - Anonymous

Notes: So... I love the idea behind this fic. Not just the request, I love the Greek myth I am reinterpreting and basing it on, and anyone familiar with this particular myth will see how well it fits with Loki. BUT I think my execution here might be a touch lacking, and I’m kinda disappointed in myself and im not sure why really, so if anyone has any opinions, ideas or constructive criticism let me know. I reserve the right to turn this into a series or make this a standalone if I decide not to write part two. It works as both.

*This fic has also not been edited and that’s part of why 

There were more than Nine Realms. A point Asgard, particularly its king, often refused to acknowledge.  

The space between the Nine and the realms beyond was enough to excuse Aesir ignorance for those not amongst the royal court. When one wasn’t dealing regularly with other realms, it was easy to imagine Asgard stood alone, or at least above the rest, and it was effortless to pretend that Odin ruled all of the known worlds. 

He was Odin, after all. He was the All-Father, the Ancient One, the Great King. The stories said he was all seeing and all knowing. The Aesir thought him a man worthy of the crown atop his head. They thought themselves without equal, above all. None held this belief more than Odin.

Tales of his great conquest of the Nine Realms had died on the lips of those few old enough to know them, and many saw him only as their benevolent lord. Few knew the stories of the wars Odin waged. Not the wars against the Jotunns, those were bedtime stories of the Aesir. The subjugation of Vanaheim; the decimation of Alfheim; the destruction of Niflheim: these were stories only for the ears of those most trusted to the King and those so persuasive and cunning that no secret was beyond their reach. 

It was Loki, therefore, who was the first to make contact with Gaia. 

They were the realms closest to the Nine. Compared with the size of the universe, Gaia was practically within arm’s reach of Midgard, so close that even humanity was aware of their existence. An accessible and fortuitous target for the supposedly all-powerful King of Asgard.

But Gaia was no Midgard, and Asgard was not so without equal as they claimed to be. Gaia was the doorstep on which Odin had paused.

Gaia was an alliance of three kings, each with their own kingdom: Olympus, ruled by Zeus; Tartarus, ruled by his brother Hades; and Arcadia, ruled by the final brother Poseidon. 

They were constantly at war with each other, but nothing united the three like an external threat over which they could display their dominance. When Odin had set foot at the base of Olympus, a truly majestic realm if there ever was one, Zeus had called on his brothers, currently warring over an insignificant, miniscule ice realm known as Hyperborea. They set aside their feud and arrived before nightfall, and Odin, upon meeting the three, had left by morning. 

As a child, upon first coming to the realization of his father’s war-riddled past, Loki had asked his father why he never told them stories of how he united the Nine Realms. Odin had told Loki that he thought violence nothing worthy of praise and that his millennia of peace with Jotunheim was far more worthy of tales than any battle. 

As a man, upon hearing the stories and seeing his father for who he truly was, Loki thought the story of being humbled at Gaia was likely the true reason Odin did not speak of conquering the Nine Realms. 

Loki knew the tale by heart, and he wanted to see the place of its birth. He wanted to see the place Odin could not claim, the place Odin accepted defeat, or at least retreat.

“Father,” Loki’s silver tongue went to work. “Perhaps, we might speak of Gaia.” He had been careful to catch the All-Father alone. It would prove easier to sway him this way, and he would not be shut down by the presence of those who were less aware than himself.

“What of it, son? They do not bother us, and we do not bother with them.” Odin dismissed offhand as he sat with his younger son in the library. 

“I would like to see the place, Father.” Loki confessed. “In part, I confess, for my own curiosity. I will never sit on the throne of the Nine Realms, and for that, I’d like to see what lies beyond the throne’s purview. Though, I suppose the greater part is in the usefulness of spying Asgard’s greatest threat.”

“Threat?” Odin eyed Loki over the top of the text he was reading. “How are they a threat?”

“There is no doubt, Father,” Loki rushed to sooth, “that you and Thor and the armies of Asgard could handle an onslaught from three oafs like the ones ruling Gaia, but even a battle against three so unskilled would still cause Asgard loses given their sheer size. Does it not worry you that one day, after you are gone, they will grow discontent to fight amongst themselves? Or worse, see us as weak without your omnipotent guidance?”

“It may be worthy of thought, but your brother has trained for such a thing. Defending the Realm Eternal is his birthright, and he will do it well.” 

“I suppose, but the lives lost…” Loki sighed and looked away contemplatively. “Though, I suppose you are correct in that. The only way to prevent such a battle entirely would be to claim the three as Asgard’s newest realms, and who’s to say such a thing is possible? We know nothing of them since your return from their shores.”

Loki watched his father from the corner of his eye. All of Asgard knew of his ‘silvertongue’, as they called it. Yet, somehow, they all allowed themselves to be goaded into his thinking. Perhaps, because he managed to convince them all that it was their thinking he was commenting on and not his own. How many times had he convinced Thor to do something so thoroughly that the God of Thunder actually thought he himself had come up with such an intelligent idea.

Odin conceded the point rather hesitantly, “We know nothing of their realms or their state. It is beyond the sight of the throne and of Heimdall.”

“Such a shame,” Loki mused. “After a millennia fighting themselves, they could be a hardened force beyond compare… or entirely obliterated and ripe for the taking… I suppose we will never know.”

If Loki could make Odin see Gaia as a place teetering between threat and opportunity, a place that could make or destroy his legacy, then surely Odin would take the bait. And if he could make that opportunity seem ripe for the taking, an opportunity to finally claim his title Lord of the Spear once more, Odin would be far too greedy to let the opportunity pass to Thor. 

Loki let the thoughts stew in his father’s head for several weeks before he dropped another line about Gaia, then weeks later made another about the conquest, and months past that another about Thor’s coming reign.

It took two years before, finally, his father had slowly, subconsciously, been worked into a desperate need to, at the bare minimum, know what Gaia was doing. And there was only one man, one spy, with a tongue that could charm any ear and magic that could open any door, whom Odin would trust with the task.

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The Bifrost was built to traverse the Nine Realms. It was possible to further its reach, but such a thing would require time and attention that Loki and Odin did not wish to draw on their endeavours. 

Loki, instead, was to walk the paths the All-Father once took to reach Gaia millennia ago. 

He took a ship, piloted and manned by him and him alone, and he went out past the Rainbow Bridge, past the Bifrost itself. On the orders of the King, Heimdall’s sure hands sent Loki to Gaia’s closest realm, Midgard. 

Midgard encompassed a solar system that encircled a star called the Sun. Only one of the planets was inhabited, a planet called Earth teaming with inferior beings who thought themselves alone in the universe. However, Loki didn’t need the help of the humans who bent the knee and called him God. Heimdall, instead, dropped his ship at the edge of the solar system, just past a planet the humans called Pluto.

From there, Loki navigated fields of asteroids and stretches of empty space, honing in on coordinates that were a thousand years out-of-date, so that he might have some starting point for his search.

It took him a matter of weeks before, looming on the horizon, Loki finally saw it. 

He docked his ship amongst others porting on an exterior wooden scaffold and approached the towering walls of Olympus. 

Magnificent marble gates, carved from a single piece of stone, loomed twentyfold over Loki’s head. Their height was such that he was sure they would conceal the entire Palace of Asgard from view if they wished. 

Chiseled into their face, by the hand of a true master, were images he could only assume were from their realm’s history. The scenes wound their way in a serpentine motion down the stone with an intricacy the likes of which Loki had never seen. The dwarves would pale if they saw such flawless craftsmanship achieved by any hand but their own. 

Much of the history presented to him was beyond his understanding, but Loki recognized the still that greeted him at eye level instantly. It was a famous tale on Midgard, one clearly founded in a kernel of truth. 

It depicted three brothers standing side by side in triumph. Each held their weapon of choice, spears with an increasing number of points progressing down the line to the final brother’s trident. The marble wasn’t inlaid with anything, yet through the natural skill of its carvers the colors of the stone seemed to convey the varying material of each blade. 

The men stood atop a form the size of a mountain but was clearly a body, decapitated, the head balanced under the right foot of the one holding the single-tipped spear. The dying face turned so it’s unseeing eyes looked down on any who approached the gate. 

Crowds, carved in a far smaller height, pushed in around the massive headless beast and cheered on their new leaders who were flanked, in the background of the depiction by a stoic group of beautiful companions. 

It was the Midgardian Kronos myth incarnate. Loki would know it anywhere. 

He wondered, mostly to himself, if the sons really had killed their father, if they had simply taken credit for his death, or if they had merely indulged in some lighthearted propaganda. None seemed implausible. 

“Who are you to approach the Gates of Zeus?” boomed a voice high atop the walls. 

Loki bowed to one knee and called out, “I am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, and I would be humbled to make acquaintance with your city.”

There was a loud scraping, and rather than parting as most gates would, the stone slab lifted from the ground only just high enough for Loki to pass under it. 

“Welcome to Olympus.” 

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“Welcome to Olympus, Prince Loki.”

It was the fourth time he had been greeted in such a way.

The first had been the gatekeeper who allowed Loki entrance. He came down from the tower at the peak of the walls via the largest ladder Loki had ever seen, a set of rails and steps carved directly into the backside of the rock leading up to their guard tower. 

The second had been the kindly older man who came to escort the prince through the pristine cobblestone streets to the palace. 

The third had been the palace guard who asked the older man to wait with Loki a moment while he saw if any member of the royal court was expecting or wished to speak with him. Loki quickly informed the soldier that this voyage was one taken merely for pleasure, and that his arrival would be expected by none. The guard came back approximately ten minutes later bringing a beautiful young woman in tow. 

She was the fourth to greet Loki, the first to do so using his title. 

Her clothing was something more appropriate for a lowly servant girl than a member of court. The dress was a dull grey made of a scratchy, shapeless material that did nothing for her body or her coloring. If not for the way she carried herself, Loki would have believed hers the facade of a lowly maid. 

As it was, shoulders high, chin up, back straight, she carried herself with the pride and respect known only to true nobility. It crossed his mind that there may be nothing to her outfit, that it may just be the style of the place; but he recalled many properly dressed ladies as he made his way to her doorstep. She certainly wasn’t lying or putting on a show for him; he would sense that. She truly did dress this way. Her garb served some different purpose, and the idea he would deduce it later was intriguing to him.

“Thank you, my lady,” Loki bowed to her as he would any peer on Asgard, airing on the side of respectful caution. “It is an honor to be welcomed in your beautiful realm.” 

The woman smiled politely and offered Loki her arm. “I am afraid that if you came to see King Zeus you will be disappointed. It is a day of council, and our King and Queen are away with their advisors and will not return until tomorrow. The palace has been left in lesser hands.”

“That is quite fine by me. I did not come for any significant purpose.” Loki looped her arm through his and allowed her to guide him into the hall. 

The palace was, like the gate, made of marble. Much of the streets and buildings he had passed walking in were similarly carved from blocks of a variety of beautiful stones, but it seemed that marble had been reserved for the rich and royal. 

“What, may I ask, brings you here if it is nothing of importance?” The woman guided him smoothly through marble hall after marble hall, winding him deeper into the depths of her domain. 

“Nothing more or less than my own curiosity,” Loki confessed. “Your people and mine have been without contact for so many centuries that there are some who believe your existence to be nothing more than myth.”

“And are you one of those?”

“Well, I am here,” Loki pointed out.

The woman nodded thoughtfully. “This is true, but you could have notions of what we were that remain to be disproven.”

“If they’ve yet to be disproven then how could I say they were myth?” Loki countered. 

A genuine smile pulled at the woman’s lips, and Loki couldn’t help but return the gesture. It was rare that he was able to have intelligent conversations with anyone beyond his mother. He knew, for certain, that Asgard was teaming with wise and intelligent men and women ripe with knowledge, but Asgard never glorified such things. Those who did have a mind usually kept it hidden.

The woman changed the subject with ease as she pulled Loki to a stop. 

“The main receiving room is here,” The door was nothing more than a beautiful, thick purple fabric, pinned or floating by some means Loki could not discern, between two columns forming the entryway. 

“Thank you, my lady.” Loki stepped to the doorway, pausing to turn back. “Might I ask your name?”

“My name is (Y/n),” 

(Y/n). Loki thought on the name as he passed through the purple curtain. 

(Y/n) was certainly not a common name in Asgard. Nor, oddly, was it a name Loki had heard in his studies. Prior to arriving on Olympus, he had been sure to read the old Midgardian lore of its people. Like the myths of the Norse, he was sure there were inaccuracies. But the stories had to come from somewhere, and Loki knew better than most that there was always some truth to be discerned even from the tallest tale. Still, there was nothing of (Y/n).

“Prince Loki!”

Mere moments later, through the curtain Loki had just passed came the most vile woman upon whom Loki had ever laid his eyes. 

It wasn’t that she was ugly; though Loki had to confess she was not at all something he would consider attractive. More, it was her presence.

The moment she walked in the door Loki found everything off-putting. The room was less grand. The floors less polished. The air less clean. 

There was a toxicity to this woman that even Loki, prided for creating chaos and mischief wherever he went, found disconcerting. 

“My lady,” Loki didn’t bow, instead greeting the newcomer head on. Something seemed wrong about showing this woman a spot so vulnerable as his neck.

The woman waved a hand, garishly bedecked in golden jewels that only made her fingers look all the more spindly and haggered. “I am Princess Eris. It is my understanding you would have no cause to know that, so I will let the informality pass.” 

“Forgive me,” Loki conceded a nod of his head but nothing more, “Princess.”

“Think nothing of it!” With what Loki could only describe as a jump, the woman flung herself on the nearest of three settees that filled much of the space in the room. “You’ll forgive me, in turn, for sending the bastard to the door to greet you. I was not expecting any royal visits in the absence of my father. I needed the time to prepare myself but did not wish to keep you waiting.”

“The girl then, (Y/n). I had not heard her name before.”

“One of my father’s many bastards,” Eris gestured to the seat opposite her. “Please join me. I apologize. Of course, she did not inform you to make yourself comfortable. She fails at a great many things.”

“The occasional mistake cannot be helped,” Loki took the seat with a well-practiced grace and perched himself on the edge. “I must say, I have heard of you, Princess Eris, in the time I spent studying the stories on Midgard. I would have thought, with your family’s notoriety I would have heard of (Y/n).”

Eris rolled her eyes, “Midgard,” and scoffed. “Yes, well you wouldn’t have heard her name there. They got a great many things wrong in their tales, those humans. (Y/n) walked among them more than all of us. She often stooped to their level, and they were quite taken with her for it. Harmonia, that was what they called her, a far prettier name than she deserved. They thought it suited her, but alas they were wrong.”

And suddenly it all made sense to Loki.

Two sisters, dueling for all eternity, constantly trying to best each other in their own way. Eris, the selfish sister loved most by her family and their father, the entitled eldest who thrived on conflict and discord, who started the Trojan War. 

He knew why Eris disconcerted him so, and now as he saw the ignorance in her eye and heard the condescension in her voice he could see and hear nothing but his brother Thor.

“Princess, might it be too much of me to ask your leave? It has been a long and lonely journey from Asgard, and it might benefit my skill of conversation if I first rested.”

“Of course!” Eris pushed to her feet and motioned back to the curtain from whence they came. “(Y/n) will be waiting in the hall. She can take you to a room.”

“You’re most kind.” And without another word, he fled.

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“Perhaps it is not my place,” (Y/n) began quietly as she walked by Loki’s side. “You do not look weary from your journey at all.”

Loki chuckled. He had a feeling he could trust this sister, if not for his own reasons than at least in his understanding of her relationship with Eris. “Well, perhaps I am not weary from the journey, but simply weary of the company.”

(Y/n) smiled, a knowing smile. “I imagine you would not be the first to tire swiftly in Eris’s presence.”

“Your sister is certainly an acquired taste.”

“She would not like to hear you say such things.” (Y/n) hedged quickly.

Loki’s eyebrow hitched up slightly. “Would she not? Surely she must at least be somewhat aware of her effects.” 

“No, I’m sure she is. I was referring to the word sister.” (Y/n) jerked at the edge of her rough-worn dress. “Queen Hera was not my mother. Unlike most of the bastards born of my father, my mother was also nobility. I could not be so easily forgotten as the others, but I am by no means loved.”

 “And how do you feel for this? Your sister, for she is whether she denies it or not, made her views very clear.”

Something dark, dangerous, flashed behind (Y/n)’s eyes. It was gone so fast that if Loki were not Loki he would not have seen her rage. “It is not my place to say. I am fortunate the Great Goddess shows me such mercies as allowing my presence here.” The voice that came from her was smooth, automatic. 

The thought flashed through Loki’s mind one last time before he made an irreversible decision. ‘Her sister is just another Thor, another Thor not protected by Odin.’ 

Loki offered (Y/n) his arm as they rounded a corner and put a wall between themselves and Eris. “Now, now, (Y/n),” his tone, for the first time since his arrival, dropped its formality and reverence, taking on its usual teasing lilt. “You cannot lie to the God of Lies, nor do you need to.”

(Y/n) hesitantly accepted his arm but remained silent for him to continue.

“Tell me what ails you, and perhaps my knack for magic and misfortune can find a worthy hand to wield it.”

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Taglist:

Forever Taglist:

@maybe-a-fangurl / @libbymouse / @petra-arkanian-1497

Marvel Taglist:

@the-high-queen / @iamverity / @darktownairspeed / @radicalstars

Loki Taglist:

@adefectivedetective / @iamverity / @kybaeza

Other people have asked to be on the taglist that I’ve forgotten. If you are one of those, please do me the favor of dropping an ask in my box with which list you’re supposed to or would like to be on. 

[bigskydreaming]

Like the thing about Loki in Norse mythology is there’s like 8000 myths about Loki just being chaotically mischievous and the other gods are like lol oh that scamp, no matter how disastrous his schemes are, their reaction is still pretty much always ‘haha oh that’s just Loki.’

EXCEPT for basically....one myth. Where Loki’s instrumental in the death of Baldur and the gods are all WHOA TOO FUCKING FAR DUDE and send him to Hel to be tormented for all eternity, leading to his ultimate escape/release in Ragnarok to end all things and lead the army of the damned and his monstrous children to pretty much...eat all the gods, destroy Asgard, and burn the World Tree all to the ground so it can all start over.

Here’s the thing though. Norse mythology spanned centuries. The tales of Loki as the mischievous trickster god were told for centuries.

However, for most of that time, the myths were told as part of oral traditions passed down generation to generation, until they were finally compiled in manuscript form in the 13th century, roughly. This is when pretty much all the sagas, as Norse myth compilations were called, are considered to have been written down for the first time, and so they included thousands of stories that had been told over hundreds of years.

They were also regional, though there was a lot of overlap, given that the Vikings traveled widely and regularly across the various parts of Scandinavia. Still, different parts of Scandinavia had their own sagas. Norway had different sagas than Denmark who had different sagas than Iceland, etc. Even though all of them featured primarily the same figures, they each had their own unique stories featuring the gods. However, very rarely did they have radically different takes on those gods.

Now what’s significant about the fact that pretty much every saga we have, where these myths were all finally written down and preserved, is from the 13th century....

Is that pretty much all of Scandinavia had converted to Christianity by the early 12th century, with active worship of the Norse gods being scattered and mostly underground from that point on.

Why is this significant?

Because it means every Norse myth we have a written recording of was not written by people who still actively worshiped those gods. Nor were they intended to be read as such at the time. 

They were written down by Christian scholars who wrote them AS stories. They were intended as collections of their regions’ cultural histories, but not by or for people who still actively believed in these stories or the figures they featured. They weren’t like....TRYING to be super accurate, is the thing. The scholars who wrote these sagas were writing down the stories that had been passed down for generations, but through the lens of people who saw them as stories their ancestors once believed, not ones that pertained to their own current worldview.

And they were writing these sagas for an audience of people who similarly believed as they believed.

Which means that inevitably, some things got ‘adjusted’ to fit the current world view, the zeitgeist of the scholars writing down the stories and that of the people who would read or have the stories read to them from thereon. Because again, they weren’t aiming for being 100% faithful to the tales as they’d been told to them. They were just treating them as stories. And what do you do when the story you’re writing down has elements that don’t make that much sense to you because they were born of and aimed a worldview that doesn’t match yours?

Well, if you’re the Christian scholars writing the Norse sagas, you ‘tweak’ those elements until they make a story that fits your worldview.

So remember how I said the various sagas were regional and had a lot of overlap but some stories were distinct to some regions and didn’t show up elsewhere?

Yeah, Ragnarok is one of those.

Thousands of sagas encompassing centuries of Norse mythology and oral traditions were written down all over the various regions of Scandinavia in the 13th century.

Ragnarok only showed up in one.

The most famous, granted, but still. Everything we’re told in Norse myths about the death of Baldur and Loki’s role in it, leading to his punishment and torment in Hel and his ultimate release and bringing forth the armies of Hel to slay the gods and end the world?

Comes from the Prose Edda and the later Poetic Edda, from Iceland.

Which had primarily converted to Christianity as far back as 1000.

Now, the Vikings? Were actually surprisingly not a big doom and gloom people. Pretty much every assumption of them as such comes from how synonymous we regard Ragnarok with their culture.

It is after all, the ultimate Judgment Day myth, isn’t it? Right up there with Christianity’s Book of Revelations. An apocalyptic end of the world scenario, a war between heaven and hell, where everything is destroyed so that the world can basically start fresh with a clean slate. Nothing old ‘deserves’ to survive, pretty much the only way for a world free of sin and evil to arise is from the ashes of the old, after everything has been cleansed with fire.

Now contrast this ‘myth’ with pretty much every other Norse myth that’s survived. Larger than life tales of grand adventures, noble quests, gods walking among mortals in disguise and heroes fighting giants and stealing from dragons.

Where the closest thing the Norse pantheon has to a devil figure is Loki, the god of mischief....not even evil, but MISCHIEF, because a far more accurate representation of the Vikings’ world view is that sometimes shit happens, because Loki the god of chaos likes to make a mess of things. And what do you do when that happens? If you’re the Vikings, you basically just shrug, go “well, that’s Loki” for you, and drink some more mead.

Loki isn’t vilified in a single myth until Ragnarok, because the Vikings didn’t hate him. And they certainly didn’t fear him. They LAUGHED at him. In nine out of ten myths, Loki ends up the subject of ridicule himself, as he has the tables turned on him or outsmarts himself

Until Ragnarok.

Which, granted, could very well be another Norse myth that was passed down generation to generation in Iceland, land of frequent volcanic eruptions and likely inspiration for Musplheim, the land of the fire giants.

BUT. Which could equally likely, and far more plausibly given the overall context of Norse mythology, simply be a story the scholar who wrote the Prose Edda made up to ‘finish off’ his saga of the world according to the Vikings, from beginning to end.

An ending his Christian audience of the times would understand and identify with a lot better than they would understand the concept of a devil-figure that existed to be LAUGHED at, to show how little the Vikings feared some mythical figure with the power to lie and deceive them....the complete opposite of the way Christians feared Satan.

Basically put....Ragnarok, for all that we think of it as the ultimate Norse myth....DOES NOT MAKE SENSE in the context of almost EVERY single other Norse myth AND in the context of how Norse society viewed the world and their place in it, or their gods and their relationship with them.

Same with Loki’s depiction in Ragnarok.

What both Ragnarok and Loki’s role in Ragnarok DO make sense in the context of, however, is in a bastardization of Christianity’s own doomsday tales of a Judgment Day, stylized to fit the trappings of Norse mythology and feature their gods instead of Christian figures.

With Loki recast in the role of the Devil, as he was the closest fit they could find to that.

And with Baldur, god of light (a Norse god who is at best a footnote in Norse myths other than Ragnarok, and certainly was never the major pantheon figure he’s assumed to be), recast in the role of the Christ figure. Whose death starts the ball rolling for Judgment Day and who is destined to return for it, to triumph over Loki/Satan and preside over the new, purified world once it’s reborn from the ashes of the old one.

Anyway, tl;dr, don’t believe the hype, Ragnarok’s probably not even an actual Norse myth but the invention of Christian writers who were like lol this would make for a great Book of Revelations fanfic AU, and Loki was almost certainly never regarded by actual Vikings as some evil, malicious world-destroyer who would lead armies of the dead at Armageddon whoops I mean Ragnarok.