#GOOD SONG CHOICE THE LOKI SONG OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!!

[kasagia]

My love will never die

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/General Kirigan/The Darkling x moon summoner! reader Summary: You knew Aleksander before he was a Black Heretic, a foldmaker. You married him and promised to be by his side through thick and thin. And you never, ever regretted your choice. However, one day, your paths parted in an unfortunate way, and you both believed that the love of your lives was gone forever. After many centuries, you meet again with a man very similar to your Aleksander. And you start to wonder... maybe your love never die after all? Warning(s): ANGST, de@th mention, the reader yearns for Aleksander, and Aleksander yearns for the reader :c I USED FRAGMENT OF THE SONG "Jeg Saler Min Ganger" FROM THE SERIES "LOKI" Nonsense from me: So this is request from @morrigan-crowmwell Thank you so much, I was super excited to write this! I hope this is more or less what you asked for and that you like it.♡♡ I'm sorry it took me soooo long! ♡♡ Word count: 13k

"Aleksander Morozova! You'll be late to meet your mother!" you squealed as he stole another long kiss from you. "We don't have time for this, Sasha." you moaned, when he moved his lips to your sensitive neck.

"Nonsense… I always have time to properly say goodbye to my wife before I leave." he murmured against your skin, sucking on your weak spot behind your ear. He smiled slyly, hearing the sweet moan coming from your red lips, swollen from kissing.

Saints, he could stay in your arms for the rest of eternity.

"As much as your wife loves your goodbyes, she'd rather her mother-in-law didn't wander in the middle of one, looking for her spoiled son."

"This is how you say goodbye to your husband, lapushka? Calling him spoiled and hurting his feelings?" he asked indignantly, hovering over his beautiful wife and looking at her intently. He wanted to burn the view below him into his mind until he was back in her arms again.

"I have been "goodbye-ing" you for three hours, Aleksander. Don't you think that's enough for a 4 day trip?"

"I need at least one more hour to enjoy you." he murmured, placing more kisses on your already-marked neck.

"If Baghra finds us…" you moaned as he bit your neck gently, effectively silencing you, and got out of your head all the reasons why he should go now.

"It would be helpful if you would stop thinking about my mother while I try to kiss every inch of your gorgeous skin. Besides, don't worry about her. She likes you—sometimes even more than her own son, I have to admit. If anything, she'll blame me."

"Don't worry, sobachka (puppy), you'll always be my favourite." you smirked, flipping him onto the mattress of your bed and straddling him, marking his skin with your lips, making sure you'd give him back the same favour.

"I thought we didn't have time for this?" he purred meanly, pleased with your attention.

"Shut up and kiss me, Sasha." you demanded with an equally malicious gleam in your eyes, knowing full well how this would end. Bagra was right. You had him wrapped around your little finger. Which was good considering how many female Grishas wanted to catch his eye.

"As you wish, milaya." without a second's hesitation, he grabbed your cheek and pulled you into a kiss, pinning you back under him on the mattress.

Disappointment, as usual, overtook you after waking up from this beautiful dream. During those few centuries, flashbacks about HIM only became more frequent. Someone should hang that fool who said time heals all wounds. In your case, it only made it worse.

You'd give anything to go back a few hundred years and not let him go alone with his mother on this trip. You didn't even remember why they went to Aleksander's sister.

You had a vague memory of that day, only remembering the morning with your husband and the fragments of the Fjerdans' attack on your village.

But the moment you found out you were a moon summoner will forever be etched deep in your memories.

You helped your best friend's family and herself escape when the men attacked you. You defended yourself using all the tricks and attacks Alexander had taught you, but it wasn't enough against a band of trained soldiers.

Just as he was about to slash his sword at you, you felt heat radiating deep from your chest. You screamed, falling to your knees as light began to emit from you, blinding some soldiers and killing those close to you. The first time you've used the cut and your power.

You escaped with your friend and her brother - the last survivors, and hid in the city, pretending to be siblings who managed to survive the great fire caused by Grisha.

It was hard to pretend to hate your own people and even harder to hide your new powers. But the hardest thing was going through all this without Aleksander by your side.

You tried to contact him, search in every possible way. But the world was different back then. Your attempts in advance were doomed to failure. And you knew it. But your stupid heart made you search for your husband until the end.

And you did. Until the news of the Black Heretic, the shadow summoner, who died while creating the fold, spread across the world.

You mourned Aleksander for a long time. Your life went on, but the wound of losing your husband never healed. And you knew it wouldn't. He was your great, true love. Your end game. It was impossible to let him go, to make place in your heart for someone new.

Time passed, and everything around you slowly changed. Except you. Your friends got old, grey, and wrinkled. And you remained the same as those decades ago. Then you discovered your second curse. You were immortal.

You and Aleksander could have lived together forever if not for Shu Han's and Fjerda's people.

It was the time when you vowed to finish Aleksander's work at any cost. His sacrifice will not be in vain. You were supposed to build a Ravka safe for the Grishas. All you needed was a sun and shadow summoner.

So you waited. At any sign of the sun summoner's presence. You knew Aleksander's lineage was fine. People often spoke of the descendants of the Black Heretic. You've never come close to them. You didn't want to relive the pain that would be associated with being with a member of his family. Aleksander had no children, but his sister probably did; maybe even Baghra found someone - you weren't sure about the old woman's fate.

The past centuries have not been kind to you. But this month was fruitful in terms of good news. The sun summoner has been found, the king of Ravka was ill, and your men were on the trail of Morozova's deer.

And that's how you were on your way to meet Alina Starkov and the descendant of the Morozovas, General Kirigan.

You were supposed to change the world together - in memory of your Aleksander.

~•♤♤♤•~

Aleksander had never been in such a hurry to get home before.

He was so desperate to have you in his arms again that he even ignored all of his mother's taunts, remarks, and other snide comments. All that mattered to him now was coming home to you.

That's why he bravely endured his mother's teasing remarks as they rode horseback towards your cottage.

He was excited, only moments away from returning to the love of his life.

He missed you more than he dared admit to anyone. And he was a little ashamed of how an ordinary woman without Grisha's powers, like you, could have such power over him.

NO. You were not ordinary. You were his wife, friend, lover, support, rock, asylum, home. The only one to whom he entrusted his heart and soul voluntarily and without the slightest hesitation.

And with this gift his sister gave him, Aleksander will make sure you stay with him forever. That you'll live as long as he does. Neither of them, nor he, Baghra, nor his sister knew if this "gift" would work.

But Aleksander would be damned if he didn't try to keep you in his arms forever.

It didn't matter how many times he failed, trying to make you his equal, trying to turn you into a Grisha with similar powers to his. He was ready to do everything for you.

Aleksander sped up seeing your house. In his haste, he didn't even notice that he had lost his mother and that the scenery around him seemed to be getting darker and more frightening.

He practically leapt off his horse and raced to the door, opening it and rushing inside as fast as he could.

"Y/N?! Sweetheart, I'm home!" he shouted, expecting that as soon as you heard his voice, you would come running, throwing yourself into his arms.

But he was greeted by nothing but a terrible, deadly silence.

The scattered things in the corridor made him slightly anxious, but he dismissed his dark thoughts by saying that you were a little mess. However, after he still didn't hear any response from you, he started to worry.

He entered the living room only to find shattered furniture, an overturned bookshelf, and a broken window.

He panicked. He went mad with fear, screaming your name and running around the house like crazy, looking for you or any clues to where you might have run away.

His heart stopped when he found your battered body under an overturned wardrobe.

In the blink of an eye, he got you out from under the furniture and took you in his arms, trying to bring you back to consciousness.

"Y/N, please, Y/N, open your eyes! You can't leave me, not like that! Y/N! My sweet wife, my heart, please open your eyes!" he was shaking you in panic, begging all the saints to prove his dark suppositions wrong.

"Aleksander?" your quiet, tearful whisper both relieved him and broke his heart.

You lived. He hasn't lost you yet.

NO.

He couldn't lose you. He has to take you to the healer.

"Yes, love, it's me. Everything is fine now. I got you. Just stay with me until I get a help."

"You promised to protect me... why didn't you protect me, Aleksander? Have you stopped loving me?" your desperate whimper tore his soul in half. He began to shake all over, despising the feeling of helplessness and distress that had completely taken over him.

"What? No, I'll always love only you..." he felt your body suddenly go limp in his arms. He gripped your shoulders even tighter, shaking you in his panic attack. "Y/N? Y/N?! Y/N open your eyes! Y/N no! Don't leave me! Darling, no!" he screamed desperately in pain, burying his head in your hair and crying as he knelt on the floor and rocked with your cold body in his arms.

~•♤♤♤•~

Aleksander sprang from his bed.

The general was breathing fast, trying to calm himself after another nightmare involving you.

His beautiful wife. His epic love.

For hundreds of years, the day he lost the only love of his life played out in his nightmares in different ways. This time, his subconscious was kind enough to let him talk to you for a while. Usually, he finds your body either impaled or dismembered. He never managed to save you. With none of those dreams.

His dreams might have macabred the events of that day, but he had never, in all those hundreds of years of his life, forgotten what really happened. He has not forgotten the grief, anger, sadness, and despair that overcame him when he and Baghra found their village burned to the ground without any trace of you.

Despite his search, he still didn't know what really happened to you, and he doubted he'd ever find out the truth. If all this had happened a few years later, if he hadn't been a boy just discovering the true power growing within him then, but the man he is now, you'd never despair like that. You'd never leave him to mourn over the future you two could have if only he was more powerful.

He was trying to fool himself. Telling himself that if you survived, you would have lived a much better life than you'd lived with him by your side. What could he have given you, then? An uncertain future, living in hiding, being hunted by the king's men? You were worth much more. You were worth all the jewels and treasures of this land, safety, peace, family, and happiness. Aleksander couldn't give you that. Not then.

He couldn't remember how many sleepless nights he'd spent wishing he could meet you now, to have you by his side, when he was this powerful man who could look after you properly, who would throw the world at your feet or burn it to the ground, depending on your humour.

But every time the sun came up and he had to continue playing his new role, the bitter reality made him realise that he would never have you again. He will never feel your soft skin under his fingers again, never lose himself in those beautiful, mesmerising irises, never run his hand through your hair, never take in your wonderful, intoxicating scent, and never taste your alluring, feisty lips again.

He was alone. And he will be until the end.

Until he widens the fold and makes sure no more Grisha dies at the hands of common otkazat'sya. That none of his people will repeat your fate.

He was supposed to change the world - in memory of his Y/N.

And then, maybe fate will be kind enough to reunite him with his beloved wife on the other side.

~•♤♤♤•~

Alina Starkov was a pain in the ass.

It took the girl only 15 minutes to run away from Kirigan's Grishas and get herself into trouble. She has damn luck that you decided to follow her and rescue her sunny ass.

You disappeared as soon as you made eye contact with her after you burned the Fjerdans with your pale, white light.

You wandered through the forest, cursing under your breath at the carelessness of both sun and shadow summoners. You didn't know which was worse, the impetuous girl or the thoughtless general who just let her get away.

With helpers like that, you'll have to work twice as hard to make the fold bigger. Fate really had no mercy on you.

You stood by the river, sighing in relief as you washed the blood from your face with cold water.

Your moment of peace didn't last long, however. You sensed an additional presence—someone creeping towards you. You took out one of your daggers and braced yourself for an attack.

But the moment you turned to face your opponent, you froze.

Aleksander...

He was standing in front of you. In a black kefta, a man so like your husband that just looking at him hurts you more than any blade could. This gaze, this face, were hunting you each night, every time you closed your eyes. And now he was standing right before you.

And the worst of it all was that it wasn't your Aleksander.

Only his descendant looking just like him. A shell that resembles the only man you've ever loved.

In your rage, you attacked him first, taking out your anger on him for the saints for continuing to play you mercilessly by putting your husband's doppelgänger in your way.

But Kirigan did not give up so easily. As soon as you moved towards him, he too snapped out of his strange daze and drew his dagger as well. The clang of metal echoed across the clearing as you both tried to find the other's weak spot. Oddly enough, you both did it at the same time.

"Put that down and I'll consider whether or not to spare your life." he growled, holding your arm in a tight grip as he felt your nails digging through the skin on his hand.

"Femoral artery. You'll bleed out faster than me." you replied with a malicious smirk, ignoring his threats.

"Who are you?"

"My mother taught me better than to make friends with the stranger freak in the forest, sir. Especially when they have a dagger dangerously close to my back." you kicked him, pushing him away from you, and attacked again. The clanking of steel against each other echoed across the clearing as your daggers met halfway. You growled in frustration, pushing him away.

"Your mother should teach you not to attack everyone you meet. You may encounter someone much stronger than you." Kirigan recovered faster this time, storming at you.

You ended up in a rather uncomfortable position as you held the steel against his heart and he wrapped his arm halfway around you, pulling you close. You didn't know if you were more dissatisfied with the metal digging into your chest or with his hands on you.

"And yours that you shouldn't raise a hand against a woman. I guess they both failed."

Did you both just say the exact same thing when you first met your husband? Yes.

Will he get lenient treatment from you just because he looks like your Aleksander? Absolutely fucking no.

Taking advantage of his moment of inattention as he stared at you distractedly, you pulled out the second hidden dagger and placed it against his neck. You tried to push his hand away from you, but the man, feeling the extra-cold blade against his skin, woke up from his trance and grabbed your left hand aggressively.

He moved your blade away from his neck and pinned you to the tree, slamming your left hand hard against the trunk, making the weapon fly out of your hand and bury itself in the ground near his foot.

Kirigan pressed his dagger to your side, leaning closer to you. He stared intently into your eyes, and for a brief moment you saw longing flicker in his dark eyes, which then gave way to rage and frustration, equal to the one that exploded inside you the moment you saw him. The moment you noticed that saints still played cruel with you by creating someone so damn similar to your husband.

He has no right to have the same face and eyes as your lost love.

"What. Are. You?" he asked, pausing on each word to intimidate you and bring his face closer to yours. But you didn't care much. You have hundreds of years; nothing, especially the doppelgänger of the man you love, could scare you.

You stared at each other with hostile eyes, and for some reason (other than your dagger at his thigh), he had some sort of hatred for you as well. So much so that he didn't notice how your powers reached for each other where your skin touched.

Strangely, it felt familiar to you. HE felt familiar.

You stared into each other's eyes as you unknowingly leaned in closer. You were about to try to break free from his grip when a sudden snap of branches caught your attention.

"That's you! She saved me from the Frejdans, sir." Alina's voice pulled him out of this strange moment between you two.

You wanted to find a sun summoner. You spent several hundred years on this, but the girl had hellishly bad timing.

Kirigan moved away from you, but you both continued to aim your daggers at each other, not trusting each other for a moment. Even though Alina just admitted that you saved her life.

"Why did you do that?"

"Someone so powerful like you should recognise when they stand before their equal, general Kirigan." you sneered, glancing for a moment at the woman standing next to both of you. Fortunately, nothing happened to her. She had a few scratches, but nothing that even the most ordinary medic couldn't heal.

"And how exactly are we equal?"

You smirked mischievously as you slipped the dagger into your sheath.

You linked your hands, focusing on the warm feeling of your light coursing through your veins, and without taking your eyes off the general's, you pulled them apart, revealing a thread of white light. You spread your arms wider, causing the rays to illuminate the clearing around you.

They both stared at you in amazement as your light turned into stars, which then arranged themselves into constellations. Figures of saints ran around you until you flicked your wrist to make them disappear.

"Melinoe Petrova. Moon Summoner. I think the three of us are going to change the world together."

You watched the speechless Alina with satisfaction, but your smile faded as you shifted your gaze to Kirigan. You had some difficulty reading him, but even more so understanding the longing in his eyes.

It seems your problems with a shadowman have only just begun…

~•♤♤♤•~

Kirigan didn't trust you.

You weren't surprised by it, but you hoped it would be easier for you to manipulate him. Apparently, the descendant of Aleksander inherited family cunning and distrust.

It's been a month since your little encounter (and fight) in the woods. In the meantime, you've been living in the Little Palace with the other Grishas; you met the king and got your own fancy kefta.

Black kefta. With moons, stars, and so on.

You wouldn't care about the colour of the fabric if it didn't turn out that only Kirigan wore one. Bloody Alina was the first to find Genya and get herself a blue one. So you stayed in your black kefta, pretending the general wasn't trying to mark you as his property.

But the son of a bitch liked your look in his colours too much for you to accept it.

It didn't help that he was too much like your Aleksander, either. Many times you've held back from taunting, making snide comments, or yelling at him just because those fucking dark eyes looked at you, taking you back hundreds of years to the time when HE was by your side and looked at you like that.

The similarity between them was not only in appearance. They had a lot in common when it came to character traits. Stubborn, mischievous, prescient, well-read... sometimes, when you spent too much time in his war room, you found yourself thinking of him as your Aleksander.

So slowly, despite all your self-loathing, you fell in love with the general.

That's why you were hiding from him in the library, hoping Alina, Zoya, or anyone else would keep him busy tonight enough to forget that you were supposed to meet him after dinner.

You had to suppress that stupid feeling. He was not Aleksander. He was just your husband's doppelgänger. Just a shell of your lover.

"Mel? Are you okey?" Alina's soft, concerned whisper snapped you out of your thoughts.

"I'm fine. Another nightmare?" you asked, patting the space next to you and opening the edge of the blanket for the girl to sit with you.

Your beginnings with Alina were not colourful; the sunny girl irritated you and could easily throw you off balance. But as time passed, you became friends to the point where you comforted her after her nightmares about the fold and the deaths of her loved ones. Sometimes you would read her old Ravkan fairy tales or sneak into the kitchen for hidden sweets. In more critical situations, you would drag her outside to the gardens, where you would sit on the pier by the lake, watching it gleam in the moonlight.

In a way, you too found solace in comforting the girl. It was nice to have company after being alone for so long. Fighting your past, which was showing up in your dreams, was easier with a ray of sunshine by your side.

"No. This time I can't sleep."

"Are you bothered by overly comfortable pillows, or maybe our princess felt a pea under the mattress?" Alina snorted, shaking her head. It took her some time to realise that your sarcastic remarks were not intended to offend her but merely to make her laugh.

"I'm thinking about Mal."

"Oh yeah… your boyfriend and childhood friend, what's up with him?" you asked, slamming the book shut to turn all your attention to the black-haired girl.

"He's not my boyfriend. We are only friends." she murmured, blushing, obviously awkward at your apt comment.

"Sunshine, I can recognise the face and eyes of a woman in love. You can't hide your feelings from me."

"Well, you're not the only one with this gift. Kirigan also gives you an infatuated man's look. Don't deny it! Even Ivan can see it. I think that already half of the second army knows about their general's fondness for the moon summoner." she teased you with a cocky smirk on her face. You rolled your eyes, returning your attention to your book.

"Please, half of the Grishas look at me like that."

You knew what Alina meant. Kirigan looked to you as the solution to his fold problems - as did the other Grishas. Little did they know that instead of being their saviour, you gonna be their worst nightmare... a White Heretic.

"No, not in that way. They look at you, at us, as saints, as saviours who can destroy the fold. He admires you, not your power. And judging by the fact that you're still wearing a black kefta, he's not indifferent to you either."

You inadvertently snuggled deeper into the black material. Alina was partly right; maybe you didn't want to get involved in any romance, but it would definitely be easier to manipulate the general who is infatuated with you. You could have taken advantage of the fact that seeing you in his colours put him in a strangely pleasant mood. You've used your black clothes more than once as a weapon in your negotiations with the dark general.

"I have a black kefta because some irritatingly fast sun summoner found Genya first and got herself a dark blue one. You didn't leave me much choice, Alina."

"How sorry I am for that. By the way, Kirigan asked about you. He waits in his chambers, longing to finally see you after you've been ruthlessly ignoring him all day."

"I'm not done with you, Starkov!" you shouted after her, but the girl was already at the door, sticking her tongue out at you.

"See you in the morning, Petrova! You will tell me about your meeting with the General." she said as she walked away, slamming the library door.

"That little bitch." you muttered under your breath, wondering if you should go. You could have lied to him and said that you didn't meet Alina and forgot about your meeting. You only doubted the sun summoner's loyalty to you...

However, you started gathering your things, knowing full well that you would have to leave the library anyway.

You frowned as you heard soft footsteps behind you that probably no normal human would have heard… at least not one who hadn't lived at least a hundred years of hiding and running.

"Ivan." you greeted him without turning to face him. The man stopped, obviously surprised that you sensed his presence. However, he quickly returned to his unemotional mode.

"Miss Petrova. The General requests your presence in the war room."

"I was on my way." you replied, knowing full well that the man knew the truth. More than once, he chased you around the Little Palace at the general's behest. Fortunately, he had enough sense in his head not to make Kirigan aware that your memory was reliable and you didn't meet him only out of your own reluctance (actually, a huge desire to see him). "Alina just told me he wants to see me."

Ivan nodded and waited for you to escort you to the war room.

~•♤♤♤•~

Considering the fact that you were a regular visitor to Kirigan's war room, you should know the way to his chambers. But each time, you seemed to take a completely different route than the last time.

Ivan had to repay your elusiveness by making the longest trips to the general's room.

But this time, heartrender quickly dropped you off at his general's door and, wishing you good night, disappeared into one of the corridors.

You sighed, not wanting to face your growing infatuation and subsequent attempts to manipulate the general into carrying out your plans today.

You opened the door, entering the "vestibule". You pricked up your ears as you heard Kirigan talking to someone very familiar. Zoya.

"You used to call on me. On times like this. Your table wasn't messy, and in bed, it was me instead of these books. I can help you make it all right. Just let yourself relax." without knowing why, you wanted to go in there and interrupt whatever plan she had to seduce him. And not because you felt jealousy eating you up inside. You were supposed to be the one to lead him by the nose to do whatever you wanted. Not that windy bitch who was ruining your plan.

"I shall relax when my moon summoner comes here to help me with this. With her by my side, you don't need to worry about me anymore. I'm with the perfect helper." you chuckled internally, wanting so much to see the look on her face after he had rejected her. You figured this would be the perfect time to step in.

"Am I disturbing?" you asked as you walked inside.

If Zoya was an inferni, the general's room would probably go up in flames at the sight of you. Kirigan, on the other hand, seemed very pleased to see you. His eyes were focused only on you. And your black nightgown, over which you threw on (also the black) kefta he ordered.

"Not at all. Zoya was about to leave a few minutes ago."

"General." he said. Kirigan did not even glare at her as she bowed to him. She walked past you, giving you a hostile look, which you only smirked at.

"Didn't you forget something?" Kirigan's sharp question broke the silence between the three of you. Zoya stood immobile, as if engraved. She stared at the general for a moment, then clenched her hands into fists and bowed to you.

"Miss Petrova." she growled, then stormed out of the war room, slamming the door.

"It wasn't necessary. You'll only infuriate her more by forcing her to show me respect." you said, turning to face the general, who was suddenly right behind you. He was the only one who could sneak up on you. A skill he used extensively.

"You're the moon summoner… you'll get all the respect you deserve. I'll make sure about it." he murmured, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"You can't make people do it. Respect is something that has to be earned, something that has no meaning if it is given involuntarily." his silence surprised you. He usually answered your words with 10 of his. But now he was staring at you silently, which didn't help your already fast-beating heart. "So what do we have on the agenda today, general? Arguments about whether we really need First Army soldiers or you don't know where Loavana is."

"I know where Loavana is. I was tired then, and besides, you were the one who turned the map and misled me."

"Of course, general." you snorted, smiling teasingly. You moved to the other side of the table, tactically increasing the distance between you. "So, did you summon me for any reason other than staring at my natural glow? Because honestly, I'm getting a little bored." you said as you sat down on the table and casually reached for one of the orders he had written.

"Always impatient." he muttered, suddenly appearing in front of you and gently taking the paper from your hand.

"Always too mysterious."

"This may surprise you, but I have other things on my mind than your natural glow, little moon."

"What a shame." you murmured, placing your hand over your heart in a hurt gesture. But you became serious when you saw him staring dully at the map. "What's bothering you?"

"The Fjerdans have moved closer to our border."

"How many?" you asked, jumping off the table and turning your full attention to the distressed general.

"Several branches. Enough to get our attention and attack one of our regiments." he replied, pouring himself a glass of liquor and handing you your own.

"We need to speed up Alina's training. Before all hell breaks loose and our great king orders our troops to be divided to fight the Fjerdans. The fold case must be finally closed. Before we go to another war. For now, we have to send some of our healers and additional troops there. If there are more of Grishas there, no Fjerdan will dare attack them. They will shift their attention to the soldiers of the first army, and this will no longer be a direct problem for us." you turned to him, confused by his silence. Kirigan stared at you with a gentle, tender smile on his face and a longing, dreamy look. The silence between the two of you and the gaze he was giving you embarrassed you. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"No." he grunted, shaking his head as he blushed slightly when you caught him staring. "I just... I was fighting this war alone for so long."

This was the moment. You had to cast your net over him, surround him at his most vulnerable, and make him fall for you.

But you forgot to guard your own heart in the process...

You grabbed his hand. Your powers combined as usual when your skin touched, causing you to be enveloped in the utter darkness of his shadows, with only the white light emanating from your joined hands illuminating your faces.

"You're not alone." you whispered, afraid to break the spell between you. Afraid that the moment your voice reaches him, those damn hypnotic eyes will tear away from yours. Afraid your mind is about to scold the stupid heart that beat for the man before you. A man who, for the sake of your sanity, was too much like the husband you loved.

"I've been waiting a long time for you." he replied just as quietly, afraid to break the sanctity of the moment. Afraid it was another of his cruel dreams where he would have your dead body in his arms again. But the reality was even more brutal for him. Because the woman who stood before him, the woman who looked exactly like his wife, wasn't her at all. And that didn't stop his cold, centuries-old heart from beating for her.

"Believe me, not as long as me." you whispered. Tears began to gather in his eyes, threatening to spill out as he raised his other trembling hand and cupped your cheek. The feel of his cold hand on your face made you realise what you were doing. He was not Aleksander. He wasn't yours. And you will never be his. "I think I should go." you grunted, stepping away from him.

His shadows returned to him, as did your light. Everything has returned to normal. Except for the frantic beating of the hearts of the two of you.

"Don't forget about tomorrow's ball. We're supposed to put on a little show for the king and his nobility."

"How could I forget that we're supposed to be circus monkeys tomorrow?" you asked with a pugnacious smirk, to which he just shook his head in amusement.

"Don't let anyone else hear it. I don't want to visit you in a dungeon… however tempting you look in chains." his bold suggestion shocked you, but you decided to play on without giving him a chance to have the last word. You walked over to him and, ignoring his intense gaze, whispered in his ear with your lips brushing his earlobe.

"I'm not that easy to put in chains, general." you brushed his cheek with yours and disappeared from the war room at the speed of light.

It was something you could do. Game, flirt, chase, challenge—all kept away from any emotion other than lust. It was a game. Manipulation game. And you were going to win it. For your Aleksander and other Grishas.

~•♤♤♤•~

Your dress was so beautiful and wonderful. You admire Genya's skills, but what she did for you this time was indescribable.

With trembling hands, you smoothed the fabric of the dress around your waist, admiring the intricate embroidery of the constellations. The white and silver threads shone in the candlelight like real stars on your dark blue dress.

You didn't like getting dressed up, getting your hair up in a fancy hairstyle, or wearing those uncomfortable ball gowns. In fact, you've only worn formal clothes a few times in your life. But only twice did you feel like a true goddess, a queen. Today and on your wedding day.

"Who put that veil on you?" Baghra's grumpy tone snapped you out of your thoughts as you looked at yourself in the mirror. You had a lovely dress, even considering that neither you nor Aleksander and his mother had as much money compared to other families. But it didn't matter. Not for you. The most important was Alexander and you. And not the judgmental looks of other people. It was your day and no one could ruin it for you.

"Myself. Something's wrong?"

The woman sighed as she walked over to you and unfastened it with unusual delicacy for her, mumbling something about your blindness as she adjusted your crooked veil.

"Now. You look almost properly. You're missing one thing."

"Which is?"

She reached into the pouch strapped to her side and pulled out something shiny. She gestured for you to turn towards the mirror. You did it while watching a woman put the most beautiful necklace you've ever seen around your neck.

"Bagra is… it's wonderful. I can't…"

"Yes, you can. And you will be. I won't let that old hag gossip about my daughter looking like a poor peasant on her wedding day."

"Thank you." you whispered in a shaky voice, more concerned that the woman called you her daughter than the ridiculously expensive and beautiful necklace.

"Come on. Don't cry, or you'll turn red and scare everyone, including my son. You'd better hurry up. The boy is about to have a heart attack if you're another minute late. If it wasn't for Ulla, he would have run here 10 minutes ago."

"Did she manage to come?" you asked as she took your arm with the obvious intention of walking you down the aisle.

"Of course. That's my daughter. She wouldn't waste the opportunity to tease her crazy-in-love brother." you giggled, not missing her little smile. The woman stopped right in front of the exit door, giving you a serious look. "Y/N, are you absolutely sure you want this? You know our true origins, my boy's character, and all the dark things our family has been through. Are you absolutely sure you want to join this mess? 'Cause once we walk through that door, there's no turning back."

"I think we both know the answer to that question, Baghra."

"No. I need to hear it. Do you truly want this?"

"I dream of nothing more than marrying Aleksander, and spending my whole life with him, no matter how long or short it may be."

The woman nodded silently and opened the door.

A wide smile appeared on your face as soon as your gaze met the clearly nervous Aleksander. He calmed down the moment he saw you, an equally goofy, in-love smirk playing on his lips. And when he finally had you at arm's length, he didn't hesitate to grab your hands in his firm grip, never taking his eyes off yours for a moment.

It was just you and him. Lost in your love.

And so began your little eternity together... shorter than either of you would have liked.

You'll always remember that day, even if it was associated with bittersweet memories of your all-too-short marriage. A single tear fell from your eye. You wiped it with the sleeve of your dress.

Your hand automatically wandered under your dress, absently stroking the Baghra's necklace to which you had attached your wedding ring. The only memento of your past.

In another life, you and Aleksander could have had it all.

"Little moon? Are you ready?" Kirigan entered your room." We're going... soon." you could see in the mirror how he froze as his eyes met your reflection in the silver mirror.

You turned to him, making a sweeping movement with your skirt. You wouldn't waste your chance to be a diva. However, you yourself soon succumbed to a similar blackout as his as soon as you assumed the general's appearance.

The saints really liked to torment you.

There was no other explanation for why the man in front of you looked almost exactly like your husband on your wedding day.

Aleksander couldn't take his eyes off her. She was perfect. Ethereal, otherworldly, and breathtaking. His Y/N... No. She wasn't her. No one could be her, not even a woman with her face. Which didn't stop him from giving himself to this dream that it was his wife standing in front of him. He spent hundreds of years in suffering; maybe this one night he can afford to live in his most beautiful dreams, where SHE would still be with him.

He cleared his throat, snapping you both out of the strange, nostalgic atmosphere.

"You look amazing." you blushed as you turned back to the mirror, pretending to consider the truth of his compliment.

"Thank you. Genya makes wonderful dresses." you reached for the kefta thrown over the armchair, but the man beat you to it.

"Please, allow me." you nodded to him. You turned your back to him, waiting for him to put the kefta on your shoulders.

He smoothed it out, letting his hand brush the fabric of your bare collarbones for a moment too long. You shivered as you felt the tiny touch of his fingertips on your bare skin. Good thing the kefta covered most of your bare arms. You didn't want to give him satisfaction for how he was affecting you.

But judging by his dilated pupils, you weren't the only one who felt the attraction between the two of you.

However, you will definitely not be the one to give in to such trivial desires. He was not Aleksander. Nobody could.

"Thank you again." you murmured as you pulled away from him, smiling. You preferred to act oblivious to his advances rather than risk giving in to the lust that was evident between the two of you. Although you knew there would come a point in your little game where you'd have to seduce him a bit to lull his guard down. And you feared that moment more than entering the fold.

"Anytime, love. Shall we?" he asked, offering you his arm. "I hope you spare me at least one dance." he murmured, smiling at you with that flirty twinkle in his eyes as he kissed your hand.

Wonderfully. Now he was supposed to be your personal bodyguard for all night.

You sighed, grabbing his arm. Kirigan pulled you closer as he escorted you through the maze of corridors.

It was going to be a really tough day. - you thought, allowing yourself to steal a glance at the general who was already watching you. - Especially with those eyes so focused on me.

~•♤♤♤•~

The Kirigan left you alone for a moment just before entering the ballroom. You were to wait for him and Alina, and then the three of you were to give little shows of darkness and light.

So you waited patiently until someone bumped into you, knocking you to the floor.

"Watch where you walk!" you growled, dusting yourself off as you got up off the floor. The hooded figure stopped and turned to you. You both froze when you saw your faces.

"Y/N?" Baghra asked in disbelief. "It is impossible." she whispered, coming closer to you and catching your hand in a strong, bruising grip, only to grab your necklace later, which had slipped out from under your dress after you fell. She looked at him tenderly, shifting her gaze to you.

"Hello mom." you whispered uncertainly, fearing your mother-in-law's reaction. She liked you, it's true, but in the meantime, you managed to disappear without a trace for hundreds of years. You didn't know what your relationship was like now. But rather, neither of you could be hostile to the other.

"It's really you… But how? I… we thought you were dead, child. Where have you been all this time?"

"A little here, a little there. Forgive me for not writing or coming. I think you understand perfectly well why I didn't."

"Not even a bit, actually." she replied, confused. You frowned. You've never seen Baghra confused. It was a strange sight, to say the least, and definitely worth remembering.

"You know how dear he was... Aleksander is to me. After his death..."

"Death?" she asked. You didn't know if you misheard or if the surprise in her voice was genuine. She rather knew about his death, didn't she?

"Yes. While creating a fold." you explained, looking at her intently. But Baghra's face never betrayed anything. Not any single emotion. She tucked the necklace under your dress and grabbed your shoulders.

"Oh, my dear child. For all this time..."

"Baghra!" Kirigan's scream echoed through the empty corridor. The woman stepped back from you like she was burned, watching the general with contempt as he approached the two of you. "What are you talking about with my moon summoner? I hope she didn't bother you too much, Miss Petrova."

"Not at all. Actually…"

"I was just leaving, moi soverenyi." the woman interrupted you, giving you an enigmatic look, before she turned her back to you two. "Enjoy yourself, Miss Petrova." she threw over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Crazy woman. But he teaches the young Grisha well. What did she want from you?"

"Nothing special. She asked where I was from and what I was doing here. I don't think she's heard of the new moon summoner yet."

"Probably you are right. Let's go. We've got a show to play."

He took your hand gently and led you to the centre of the room, where Alina was already waiting for you.

You had a simple task. Kirigan summons shadows. Alina, on the other side of the room, her golden rays, and you, the white moonlight that was supposed to connect with her powers, then break up into several constellations.

A child's trick and spectacle for the common folk who treated you like toys all rolled into one.

Everything was going smoothly. Suddenly, the room was completely dark. You waited patiently for Alina's light to appear on the other side of the room. When suddenly someone approached you from behind.

"It's okay, it's me. It's just me, you're safe."

"What are you doing?" you asked as he wrapped his arms around you from behind, taking both of your hands in his.

"Don't you think this is the best place to watch the whole show?" his question confused you. You turned in his arms, miraculously seeing those bloody, dark eyes in the darkness. The mischievous sparks both made your chest feel warm and terrified. The bastard was up to something.

"I doubt it; with my light, you'll barely see Alina's trick."

"Works perfectly for me, my little moon." he whispered against your ear. You tensed as you felt his soft lips on your earlobe.

Suddenly he leaned in, the tip of his nose tracing a path from your ear down your skin, sending shivers down your spine as he inhaled your perfume and those damn distracting lips slid from your ear to your neck.

He started placing small, wet kisses there. Your brain has melted. It stopped working while the general was kissing every sensitive spot on your neck. He read your body so damn well that if it weren't for his quick reflexes and his hand over your mouth, your loud, obscene groan would have echoed in the darkness of the ballroom.

You felt the light involuntarily escape from you and thanked all the saints that you lost control just as Alina finished her part.

You tried to push the shadow summoner away from you, but your attempts were so futile (and reluctant) that you quickly gave up, focusing on doing your job with his intoxicating mouth and roaming hands on you.

The son of a bitch was lucky to stay in the shadows, unseen by anyone but you.

You internally cursed yourself for how much easier it was to do the whole trick with him around.

To your great disappointment, he moved away from you just before the grand finale. You were panting, trying to calm your wildly beating heart, and breathing as the light began to take over the ballroom.

And those fucking dark eyes and smug smirk were the first damn thing you saw when you and Alina lit up the room.

People started applauding. Kirigan came up to you and grabbed your hand, and after Alina joined you, you bowed to everyone, gathering an ovation. You glanced briefly at Kirigan, who was staring at your neck. You just hoped he didn't leave a hickey in plain sight. But judging by the way his smirk widened and the way he ran away from you as soon as you were surrounded by a crowd of people, you assumed you had a new, not-so-visible yet bruise on your skin.

You'll kill him as soon as you get your hands on him.

~•♤♤♤•~

You stand in the darkness of his war room, waiting for him to finally appear. You played with the dagger in your hands, contemplating meeting Baghra. You felt something was wrong, something was missing. The woman's behaviour both helped you and, after the general's arrival, gave you a lot to think about. She was hiding something. But what?

you sighed. If only Aleksander was here. It would save you a lot of trouble. Among other things, intimidating his doppelgänger, who started to stick to you too much - much to your tacit approval.

But you were aware that this attraction was only due to his resemblance to your Aleksander. In a few decades, Kirigan will die too. And you will be completely alone again.

The sound of his boots hitting the floor snapped you out of your thoughts. You braced yourself for an attack and jumped on him just as he flanked the door and stepped inside. You pinned him against the wall with a dagger to his neck as he gave you a surprised, amused look.

"Hello, moonlight. Do you like the ball?"

"What the hell was that?!" you growled, pressing the blade against his skin as you made a small, harmless cut.

"You put a dagger to my neck far too often, darling." he noted, frowning as droplets of blood decorated the silver metal.

"Don't change the fucking subject! You have no damn right to act like this. Lay your hand on me like that again, and I'll make sure you don't have anything to summon your shadows with, general."

"So my lips on your incredibly alluring soft skin were no problem for you, my sweet moon?" he asked maliciously, raising an eyebrow. You growled, irritated by his arrogance. You guessed you preferred it when he responded to your attack with his own dagger.

"Do that again, and you won't live to see another moment to find out."

"You forget..." he mumbled, suddenly grabbing your hand holding the blade and wrapping his other around your neck. He pinned you against the wall, making sure there was no space between you two. "That you're not the only one with power here."

"You'd better let me go, little shadow, before you unleash hell you can't stop." you growled, summoning your light, which immediately met his shadows. You fought, jostling with your powers and staring hard into each other's eyes. You weren't going to lose this fight.

"You underestimate me, darling. I'm more than able to face any of your hell."

You didn't know why, but that sentence, the confidence in his eyes, the arrogance in his voice, and the same immense need that was hiding under both yours and his mask of restraint changed something between you two.

His already dark eyes were practically taken over by black pupils that stared at you lustfully. The intoxicating smell of his perfume, the warmth of his body, and those damn big, cool hands on your hot skin only made you accept your spur-of-the-moment decision.

With his hand still tightly wrapped around your neck, you leaned forward and pressed your lips against his.

You both groaned in unison. Your only consolation in this situation was that before your hands hooked on his strong arms, holding on tightly for fear your legs would give out, you could hear his dagger first drop to the marble floor, seconds before your blade.

You only broke apart for a moment before quickly removing the other's kefta and catching the other's lips again. You fought for control, biting into the other's lip every now and then, which only met with more resistance and the will to fight. Neither you nor he were made to lose.

At one point, he grabbed you by the waist, wrapping your legs around him as he carried you to the nearest flat surface—the war table. With one flick of his hand, he swept all the maps, papers, and other stuff off him onto the floor and practically threw you onto a wooden table.

You gasped in shock as your body suddenly hit the wood, which Kirigan quickly took advantage of. He dug into your mouth, his tongue grazing yours as he tried to dominate you once again.

You growled, grabbing the back of his black shirt and tearing the fabric to get to his skin, where you didn't hesitate to leave blood crescents in the shape of your fingernails.

He hissed away from your kiss-swollen lips and bit into the same damn spot on your neck where he had dared leave a hickey before.

Aleksander...

You froze. It wasn't Aleksander. It will never be your Aleksander again. No matter how damn similar they were.

Kirigan continued to kiss your neck when you finally decided, with a heavy heart, to push him away with a gentle kick.

You both stared at each other, gasping for breath. Kirigan took a hesitant step towards you and raised his hand to gently stroke your cheek. But you jumped off the war table before his skin could touch yours and start your kissing session all over again.

You had to escape from there. As soon as possible.

"I... I should go." you mumbled, shoving past him to pick up the kefta that had been thrown on the floor by him.

"Wait a second..." he followed you but stopped the moment his eyes met yours again. You both wanted each other. You were both held back by the very same thing that attracted you in the first place.

"We have a hard day tomorrow. Make sure Ivan wakes up Alina; she's not such an early riser after all." you mumbled in panic, backing towards the door.

"Melinoe." he tried to stop you, but your hand on the doorknob was faster. You opened the door, and without looking back, you threw over your shoulder:

"Good night, general."

You ran to your room, and before anyone could stop you, you shut the door. Tears began to flow freely from your eyes as you slid to the floor.

For a moment, a fleeting little moment, you were Y/N again. You were that 20-year-old girl kissing her husband again. But Kirigan could never be Aleksander. And even if you gave him your heart, he would shatter it to pieces over time when he, like other descendants of your Aleksander, reached old age. You were doomed to be lonely. But the fact that a person with eyes, a face, and a mind so like your husband was at your fingertips wasn't helpful to your already broken soul at all.

You just wanted to have your husband in your arms again. Was it so much for the saints to accomplish? You sobbed piteously until you fell asleep on the floor from exhaustion.

Little did you know that a few floors above you, someone was also mourning their dead significant other. And he also cursed fate for putting in his path a woman so similar to the one for whom he would give everything he held dear.

One thing was certain. The longer you stayed in the presence of the other, the more you lost your mind. But neither of you was ready to deprive yourself of the toxic pleasure of seeing the living face of your beloved, lost spouse.

~•♤♤♤•~

As planned, the next day you headed towards the border with Fjerdans. Neither you nor the general spoke to you most of the way, which Alina and Baghra noticed. Yes. Baghra went with you. The general was just as shocked as you, but surprisingly, he didn't argue with the woman about her unannounced presence.

The only thing you were afraid of during this trip was crossing the land where your village used to be. Aleksander's house and yours. It also didn't help that you were supposed to be there on the exact anniversary of his death - the creation of the fold.

You thought it would be easier for you to ride a horse through the only place where you were happy, but the wave of memories flooding you did not allow you to pass by indifferently.

"You'll never catch me!" you run away from him, laughing.

"If I catch you, the game will be over. But since you're insulting my capabilities…" you yelled as you ran away when Aleksander rushed to you.

You ran along the river, looking over your shoulder every now and then to make sure your boyfriend wasn't right behind you.

Suddenly, a cloud of shadows appeared in front of you, from which your Sasha came out and grabbed you by the waist. You thrashed in his embrace, causing you both to fall to the ground, laughing.

"Aleksander! You shouldn't use it in public!" you scolded him, punching him lightly in the chest.

"We are in the middle of the forest. There are only us and some animals."

"Still it is risky for you. Don't make me tell your mother about this."

"Could you please stop threatening me with my own mother?" he groaned, throwing you off him, to which you squealed indignantly. You stared with your daggers at the man lying before you with a mischievous smirk and an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Since I found out she likes me and trusts me more than you? No, it's too funny, my grumpy shadow-man." you laughed. You rolled your eyes as you watched his expression growl. You climbed on top of him and kissed the crease that had formed between his eyebrows from your comment. "I'm soooo sorry, Sasha. You know how much I love you, right? You're the most important person in my life, Aleksander Morozova."

"And you in mine, Y/N Y/L/N." he murmured, grabbing your cheek and pulling you into a sweet, slow kiss. You purred, enjoying the feel of his lips on yours - something you'll never get tired of. He pulled away from you far too quickly. He licked his lips, looking at you nervously. You raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "Y/N... can I ask you a question?"

"Right now? I thought you gonna kiss me a little longer, but if it's so important." he chuckled, shaking his head, as he leaned down to catch your lips in a kiss again.

"Happy, lapushka?"

"Not really, but I'll try to survive a few minutes without your lips on mine." he chuckled, but you knew from the features of his face and the gentle clasping of his shoulders that something was bothering him. You just hoped he wouldn't have to leave with his mother again... "What did you want to ask me?" Aleksander cleared his throat, taking your hands in his trembling.

"You know that I love you. I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if you hadn't put that dagger to my throat five years ago right here."

"I knew I recognized this place from somewhere." you cut him off, looking around the clearing. Aleksander laughed, catching your attention again as you blushed at how stupidly you interrupted him. But it seemed to help him relax, judging by the way his hand confidently reached out to cup your cheek.

"You make me laugh. Even on the darkest, worst of days. Just one look at those wonderfully beautiful eyes is enough to completely change my mood. One word from you and all my plans and beliefs fall into oblivion. You are the light in my darkness. The only good thing that happened to me. The only person who isn't afraid of what I can do. The only person who looks at me with such adoration despite my shadows."

"You know I love them. I love all of you, Sasha. Nothing will change that." you replied with tears in your eyes, suspecting what his confession would lead to.

"I know I have nothing worth you and that the life I can offer you is nothing compared to what you deserve, but you know me better than I know myself... I would go crazy if I wasn't the only man who has the privilege of seeing your face first thing every morning and falling asleep in the presence of your beauty. I'd go crazy if someone else could be called yours..." Aleksander took a simple gold ring with a small black gem from his pocket.

You gasped, knowing full well how much money he must have spent on even such a simple engagement ring. Baghra was supposed to skin your fiancé when she figured out what he wasted their money on.

"Sasha..." you whispered, crying, moving your gaze towards him.

"Y/N, kei onolich yash (will you marry me)? Will you be my wife?" too moved to answer him, you pulled him into a kiss. You both smiled like idiots. "I'm guessing it's yes then, but I'd rather hear it from you before I tell everyone else."

"Yes. Yes, I will marry you, you idiot. You didn't have to buy me a ring, Sasha. I would say yes without it."

"I wanted to make sure you wouldn't reject me." he replied with a mischievous smirk, putting it on your finger. You huffed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. The ring sparkled in the moonlight. Your face hurts from smiling. "I promise you, Y/N one day I'll give you the prettiest, flashiest ring in all of Ravka."

"And I will still prefer the one you gave me today." you replied without a second of hesitation, pulling your fiancé into another kiss.

The Kirgian ordered a stop, which everyone accepted with gratitude. And when others Grishas dispersed to their tasks, you decided to go to the place where your house and Aleksander's once stood.

Since you were already a stupid girl, as Baghra so nicely called you, this little trip shouldn't hurt you. You'd rather be stupid and crazy—completely mad from love—than ever forget about Aleksander and move on.

And that's how you got here. By the river, close to the place where you used to be the happiest in the world, and now you were shedding a sea of tears over the life you lost.

"I will build you a palace."

"What?" you asked, giggling as you looked away from the stars to your husband lying next to you on the grass.

Sensing the movement of your head, he turned around to look at you closely. You both loved nights like these. Your hands intertwined as you both lay on the ground looking at the stars and talking about your day, your plans, and your dreams. It was a sacred ritual between the two of you that you performed at least once a week.

"A palace. For you and our future children. A safe place where we can live with our little family."

"Sasha... I don't need a palace to feel safe with you. You are my shelter. My protector. What we have now is more than enough."

"That little hut where we barely fit in with our stuff, even though we don't have much anyway? NO. You deserve all the treasures of this world, Y/N" he murmured, stroking your cheek tenderly.

You sighed, pressing your cheek against his hand, enjoying every ounce of his attention. It's been getting more and more dangerous around here lately. You seldom had time to spend together; you were too busy with the Grisha needing your help. But you didn't mind. As long as Aleksander's eyes gave you that loving, adoring look at least once a day, you were ready to face anything to get back into his waiting arms.

"I already have one." he raised an eyebrow questioningly, looking at you in surprise. You just smiled, pulling him to you by the chin and connecting your lips in a kiss. Aleksander rolled over and hovered over you, not breaking your tender kiss. You placed your hands on his cheeks and gently pulled him away, looking into his eyes. No stars in the sky could match the brilliance of his dark irises. "You are my treasure. With you by my side I want nothing more. You're all I need to be happy, Sasha." you mumbled, stroking his cheeks with your thumbs. Aleksander buried his face in your hands, closing his eyes for a moment and surrendering to this tender gesture.

"You deserve much more, milaya. And I promise, by all the saints and stars in the sky, I'll give you the world."

"Everything in time, Aleksander. Now, kiss your wife and show her how much you love her." you giggled as his long hair tickled your cheeks as he dutifully caught your lips in another sweet kiss.

"Was he really worth it?" Baghra's question cut through your sobs. You wiped your tears, not wanting to cry in front of her, and turned to face her. "Wouldn't you rather curse him for creating a fold and for leaving you than mourn the bastard that was my son? Y/N, child, you have eternity ahead of you. An eternity where you can be happy. Is Aleksander worth wasting it?" you laughed bitterly, knowing the answer to her question all too well. Nothing has changed over the centuries. And you knew nothing would change your feelings.

"You know very well that I will never know happiness again. Not without him. I've never done that in all these years."

"There had to be a moment. Even the smallest." she tried desperately to convince you. You dropped your head, remembering those few moments between you and Kirigan in Little Palace.

"There was. Next to a man who looked like him. But after a while, it dawned on me that he would never be Aleksander. Call me and think about me however you want. Pathetic child, crazy woman… But the truth is, I loved your son, Baghra, and I will always love only him. Our hearts were created by the saints as one and divided in two, placing one in Aleksander and the other in me. There is no one in the world I could love like him, with whom I could be truly happy. This type of love never dies, Baghra. Even separated by a grave."

"What if you got him back? If he was with you, but he wasn't the same man you remember?"

"It wouldn't matter. We are all changing. I know I would love him as much as I did then."

"I just hope you know what you want, child. And that maybe he'll go back to who he used to be because of you." she sighed, leaving you alone with your grief. You frowned, analysing her vague words.

It wasn't until it started to get dark that you got up from your knees and brushed the dirt off your clothes. You were about to leave when the crunch of branches caught your attention. A foolish hope rose in you and you lifted your head, only to meet your eyes with the Kirgian.

"General. I was just returning to camp." he nodded his head without a word.

Taking that as your cue to leave, you turned to take one last look at what used to be your home. You sighed tremblingly as a lone tear rolled down your cheek.

And you whistled.

It was a fragment of an old Ravkan song about lovers returning home after a long journey to throw themselves into each other's arms, longing for separation. You and Aleksander adored it. And you decided that every time one of you left home, you would whistle that particular verse that stuck in your mind.

In storm-black mountains, I wander alone

Over the glacier I make my way

A cool breeze caressed your hot (from crying) skin. But the goosebumps that formed on your arms weren't from the cold at all.

"In the apple orchard stands the maiden fair and sings, When will you come home?"

You froze. Incapable of anything but breathing. You misheard. It's just one of your stupid fantasies, your mind playing tricks on you, or another cruel dream about how you got back the man you loved. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be real.

But the man holding your arm in a tight grip and turning you around to face him felt very real. AND ALIVE.

"Sasha?" you whispered tearfully, shaking all over, and if it wasn't for his strong grip on both of your arms, you probably would have fallen to your knees in front of him long ago, unable to do anything other than stare hopefully at the man in front of you.

Aleksander's heart shuddered and threatened to burst as the pet name, unused for hundreds of years, reached his ears. In an instant, you were on his chest as he hugged you with all his might. With your ear to his heart, you listened to his beating, and for the first time in hundreds of years, you cried WITH HAPPY.

"It's me, milaya. My sweet Y/N, my moon, my heart, my wife. It's me."

You heard him through a haze, too intent on his eyes to understand anything more from his speech. It was him. Your Aleksander. All this time. He was saying something to you, but you completely ignored him as something gold around his neck shimmered in the moonlight. You pulled the chain from under his jacket, sighing as you saw his wedding ring hanging securely on his necklace. A sob of disbelief escaped you. It was really him.

His hand cupping your cheek caused your watery gaze to shift back to those dark, beloved eyes.

"No more tears, milaya. You do not have to worry. From now on, I will never leave your side again. Not for a single bloody second."

And that was enough for you.

Grabbing his hair, you pulled him closer to you to feel his lips on yours as soon as possible. It wasn't one of those soft, gentle, unhurried kisses that lovers share after they meet after some separation.

It was intense, desperate, and needy, expressing your deadly longing for each other's lips through those painful years without each other. You didn't have the strength to hold back, to pretend you didn't miss that exact feeling all those lonely nights.

It didn't matter that your tears mixed and you could taste their salty taste on each other's lips. It didn't matter that your lungs were burning for air. It didn't matter that you had already fallen to your knees, too shaken by the feeling of the other's lips, but both of you longed too much for this closeness between you to deprive yourself of the warmth of the other's body even for a millisecond. It didn't matter if your lips were too swollen to decently go back to camp and pretend nothing had happened between you two.

You sincerely doubted that you would be able to take even a step towards the camp. Not after you trembled in Aleksander's lap as his hands caressed every inch of your skin.

But the moment came when you had to pull away from each other, cursing the need for air. You rested your forehead against his, inhaling his scent and clinging to his kefta to be as close to him as possible.

You both knew that there was no way you were going to be an arm's length away from each other. And you were seriously considering sticking with him permanently. His dark cloak looked big enough for you to hide under it too.

You couldn't believe your luck. He was here. With you. You had his arms around you again as you both clung desperately to each other.

Your Aleksander. Your husband. Your loved one. Your heart.

He had you again. His wife. His soulmate. His sanity. His equal. HIS EVERYTHING.

You wanted to pull away for a moment to look at his face again, but something tugged at your neck, bringing your head to Aleksander's shoulder. You looked down. Your necklaces are tangled.

"Seriously? It couldn't have happened a month ago?" you groaned as you tried to untangle your chains. You smiled, hearing how your husband laughed carelessly for the first time in centuries, since the day he lost you. "We'll never hear the end of it from Baghra, you know about it Sasha?" you asked, resting your forehead against his as you gave up on releasing the two of you. It didn't matter that everything was against you again. At least now you finally have Aleksander with you. YOUR real Aleksander.

"She had already called me a blind fool before she made me come here. I think we'll hear a lot from her about our stupidity." he murmured. You shivered as you felt his fingertips on your neck as he untied your intertwined necklaces effortlessly. He unclasped yours and, with great delicacy, placed the ring on your finger.

"Remind me to thank your mother for making you come here later." you replied, making sure his wedding ring was on his finger as well. Maybe you won't scare all the bitches away from him, but at least you'll make it clear that he belongs only to you. After hundreds of years without him, you have the right to be territorial.

"Later?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't think I'm going anywhere other than your tent and your bed right now, do you?"

"Our bed." he murmured before grabbing you in bridal style and heading for your tent. "By the way, I must commend you for how bravely you resisted the charms of someone who wasn't me. I barely managed to kiss you properly before you pushed me away."

"I don't know what I should do to you. Slap you for groping someone who had my face, or kiss you for only being attracted to my beauty."

"You have to admit, you didn't resist me much back then, my little saint." he murmured, kissing you again. He ran his hand through your hair, pulling you all the way onto him so he could feel your weight on him. You were with him. Body and soul. And it wasn't a dream. "Let's go to that tent before I have my way with you here and now." he muttered, getting up.

"Wait." you grabbed his hand. He turned to you, giving you a questioning look as he found you still kneeling on the grass. "Before we do anything. We both agree that we are not going to destroy the fold, right?"

Aleksander held his breath. He forgot how damn perfect you were. How you fit in and understood him in every way. And only the slight ounce of control he had left was keeping him from lunging at you right now as you kneeled in front of him with those beautiful, mesmerising eyes staring at him.

But after all, Aleksander was only human. A man whose cruel fate separated him from his beloved wife for many centuries…

He pulled you close to him in one swift motion. You crashed into his chest, completely unprepared for the sudden movement, but his intoxicating lips on yours compensated for your shock.

You moaned into his mouth as he pulled away from you so as not to lose his control completely.

"Saints, you have no idea how much I've missed you, my little moon."

"I'll take it as a yes." you replied, giggling as he put his arm around you. As you'd guessed, you fit perfectly with him under his cloak. You sighed, intoxicated by his scent.

"You know so well that I'll do anything for you. The fact that our plans coincide only proves that we belong to each other. And only to each other."

"Always, Sasha. I'm yours for eternity." you replied, smiling slightly as you turned to steal a glance at him.

"And I'm yours for the rest of our lives and beyond." he murmured, kissing your forehead.

You practically ran through the camp, ignoring Baghra's knowing, malicious look and the shocked expressions of Alina, Zoya, and Ivan (at which you giggled, causing Aleksander a small, tender smile) and Fedyor's smirk. You entered his tent, laughing as you started kissing while taking off each other's clothes.

"I hope you realize we don't leave this tent for at least a week?" he asked as he laid you down on the bed. However, the bastard didn't wait for your response, stealing a kiss from you.

"They'll be looking for you, Sasha." you mumbled between your kisses and grabbed his cheeks to make him focus on something other than your lips.

"What a pity I'll be too busy with my wife to notice anyone else but her." he lowered his head to your neck, making your hands tangle in his hair. You sighed, feeling his tongue on your skin just before he gently bit you.

"I thought we had a battle to win." he suddenly stopped all his movements. He intertwined your ringed hands and cupped your cheek with the other, forcing you to look into his eyes.

"My little moon, I'll postpone any goddamn war for you. There is nothing in this world more important to me than you and never will be." he promised, pressing his lips to yours.

You moaned, enjoying the long-forgotten feeling of his skin against yours as well as knowing that your love would never die.

#aleksander morozova x reader #aleksander morozova x y/n #aleksander morozova #general kirigan #general kirigan x reader #the darkling #general kirigan x you #darkling shadow and bone #darkling #the darkling x reader #darkling x reader #the darkling x you #shadow and bone #alina starkov #angst #love #oneshot #kasagia #aleksander kirigan #kirigan x reader #baghra morozova #lost love #angst and fluff #darkling x y/n #darkling x you

[mcuchallenge]

The penultimate poll - your nominations for Day 6 of Loki week:

(many quotes didn't fit in full, see under * for the full version/continuation)

* I've been where you are. I've felt what you feel. Don't ask me how I know. All I know is I don't wanna hurt you. I don't want a throne. I just…I just want you to be okay. (both short and full versions were nominated)

** (cont) seen in myself.

*** I mean, just in case anyone ever told you different.

**** For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. There's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken.

***** what’s broken is hard. Hope is hard.

Day 5 here.

#loki #loki tv #lokiedit #tom hiddleston #marveledit #Marvel #lokitvsource #dailyloki #tuserpolly #userflor #userelysia #tuserpris #loki series #loki spoilers #loki week #polls #lokiweek2023

[angelltheninth]

MCU characters and some domestic fluff?

Domestic fluff that makes everyone feel super warm and loved, yeah!

Pairing: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Loki, Thor, Namor, Shuri, Peter Parker, Scott Lang x Reader

Tags: fluff, established relationship, domestic fluff, clothes sharing, welcome home kisses, cuddles, gifts, breakfast in bed, showering/bathing together, massages, dancing

A/N: There can never be enough fluffy goodness for these heroes.

Steve dances with you every day. Every single day he's at home he pulls you into his arms and puts on your favorite song. If you're not a good dancer he doesn't mind in the slightest, you can just lightly sway back and forth in his arms, that's more then good enough. Of course he also gives lessons, free for you. Well... maybe he will charge you in kisses and cuddles so make sure you always have enough to spare.

Steve makes sure your home is filled with pictures of the two of you. He always wants to have a photo or two of the you together when you take trips together. Or if he goes on a mission he'll take a photo of where ever he is. He has them all in an album for the two of you to fill out together as you cuddle on the couch and he always has something to write next to the photos. It also keeps him assured that every memory you made together was a happy, good and real one.

Sam likes to pick you up in a princess carry every morning and carry you out of bed. He doesn't put his shirt on when he does that, loving the way your fingers feel on his bare chest. It's also a chance for him to fluster you a little, which is adorable how something like that can still get to you after all this time together. He whispers in your ear while he carries you, telling you the plans for the rest of the day, maybe he can even take you flying later.

Natasha loves giving you massages and just in general sitting in your lap. In fact sitting in your lap is a good way to massage your shoulders, really get's the stress out. There are other methods too but you always tell her she's good with her hands, and there aren't many who mean that in a non deadly way. She chuckles every time you let out a sigh, a groan, or even a full on moan from how amazing it feels to have all that tension be taken away.

Loki is someone who likes to decorate. A lot of them are really big gifts too, the kinds that catch everyone's attention when they enter the house. Some are even confusing which he always finds funny when people try to figure out what they mean. He loves going out and buying things with you too, making the house feel like home, like he really belongs there, with you.

Thor always gets a big smile when he sees you walking around the house in his clothes. He has an abundance of big shirts, hoodies and baggy pants for you to wear. It's your personal choice of clothes pretty often too, especially when he's away because his clothes tends to feel like he's keeping you warm even when he's not there. And don't even get him started on cuddling with you when you're naked except for one of his sleeveless workout shirts.

Namor gives you all kinds of gifts. Whenever he visits you on the surface he leaves behind a little gift from the sea for you to add to your ever growing collection. He never towels off when he arrives so showers or baths together are pretty common for the two of you. Also don't expect him to wear much more then pants, if even that, or some shorts when he's staying over at your place.

Shuri likes morning cuddles and breakfast in bed. She's very busy most of the day so the morning is the best time to get some quality time with you. She lets you put your head on her lap before she bends down for a quick kiss on your chin. Hand holding is one of her favorite intimate gestures, she's always grabbing for your hand, alone or in public it doesn't matter at all.

Peter is the kind of boyfriend who never enters if he doesn't give you a kiss first. Granted sometimes the kisses are upside down because he enters through the window but it's still sweet of him. He has a habit of walking upside down on the celling when he's nervous so a kiss on the cheek always helps him calm down. Just don't be too flirty cause he might lose his balance and fall down.

Scott sneaks in a lot, which is pretty easy for him but when he does come home late and finds you awake he has the ants spell out a big sorry message for you. It's goofy but it always makes you smile at him. That smile is always quickly followed up by a big kiss from you to him, which he accepts and is more then happy to double, triple and quadruple.

#steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #sam wilson x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #loki x reader #thor x reader #namor x reader #shuri x reader #peter parker x reader #scott lang x reader #mcu x reader #marvel x reader #mcu fluff #marvel fluff #mcu imagine #marvel imagine #mcu headcanons #marvel headcanons #avengers x reader #avengers fluff #marvel mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel x you #mcu x you #marvel x gender neutral reader #mcu x gender neutral reader

[space-mermaid-writing]

The witchling and the god [Loki x Witch!Reader] Chapter 12

Summary: The Avengers were looking for someone to help Loki fit in with the team. To become socially acceptable, so to speak. He had been given the choice of sitting in a cell in Asgard or serving some sort of community service probation on Midgard. The Avengers and Shield both felt that as long as Loki was on Earth, he should be under supervision. This is now your job. Why? Because you’re a witch. You’re not sure why this qualifies you, but here you are, giving it a shot. What could possibly go wrong?

Tags: Witch!Reader, Magic, Witches, slow burn, everybody lives in the tower, character development, Loki‘s redemption, Stephen Strange is a friend, Loki and Stephen are frenemies, Tony Stark is a good bro, kids love Loki, Tony has stupid nicknames for everybody, eventual smut

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Read it on AO3 | Previous | Next

Chapter's Note: You gave me a lot of songs recommendations and it was really hard to decide, since they were all great. So I made a whole playlist with my favorite songs from you :D Some of them even went on my personal dance playlist. I finally settled on 'Be my baby' by The Ronettes for this chapter, since the lyrics fit best. But listen to whatever song you like. Beta by @zaria-04 <3

Chapter 12: Be My Baby

The night we met I knew I needed you so And if I had the chance I'd never let you go So won't you say you love me I'll make you so proud of me We'll make 'em turn their heads every place we go

You have a bowl in your hand and a wooden spoon in the other, while you move your hips to the beat of the song. On your stove are two pots, one bubbling a purple liquid, the other so far just some water. Music is coming from a stereo on the shelf. You love listening to music while you work, turning it up to full volume, because there's no one around to complain about it.

So won't you, please, be my, be my baby Be my little baby, my one and only baby Say you'll be my darlin', be my, be my baby Be my baby now, my one and only baby Wha oh oh oh

With the spoon and a practiced eye, you measure out various ingredients to mix in the bowl. Extract of Atlantic poison oak - deadly if you use it wrong, but healing if you know your way around - chamomile and birch bark… something's missing. With a swirl of your finger, a sealed jar comes flying out of a cupboard. Dried garlic. You forget the dried garlic every time, even though you've read the recipe a dozen times and know it by heart.

When you get it all together, the bowl rises into the air on its own and everything is mixed inside by an invisible hand. You have your hands free to light a match and add the flame as an ingredient.

The next verse you sing along loudly.

I'll make you happy, baby, just wait and see For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three Oh, since the day I saw you I have been waiting for you You know I will adore you 'til eternity

The mission about the artifact was almost a week ago and by now you have recovered well. Lots of sleep and delicious snacks have helped. Since you spend most of your time in the tower in New York, your work as a witch has fallen by the wayside. So you took yesterday and today off to keep up with your orders.

While the ingredients are melting, you have time for a dance solo. It's one of your favorite songs and no one is here to judge you. Barefoot, you dance around the kitchen. Your black dress is long and figure-hugging, but through the two high slits, you have enough freedom of movement. Some clichés about witches are just true. You grab the bowl out of the air and scrape the contents into the boiling water.

So won't you, please, be my, be my baby Be my little baby, my one and only baby Say you'll be my darlin', be my, be my baby Be my baby now, my one and only-...

You sense a motion from the corner of your eye and hear a chuckle. Startled, you whirl around. The knife you throw gets stuck in the door just inches away from Loki's head. As a sign that he comes in peace, he raises his arms.

"You have a bad aim," he says.

"That was just a distraction." You point down, and as Loki lowers his gaze, he notices roots entwined around his ankles and legs, keeping him from moving. It draws his attention away from you for a brief moment and you try to shake off your embarrassment at being watched by him while dancing and singing in your kitchen. Hopefully your flushed cheeks don't give you away. You wonder how long he has been standing there.

"Consider me impressed, Witchling." The grin still graces his lips and you don’t question his good mood. With a small gesture you dissolve the protection spell and free Loki from his bonds, with another one you turn off the music.

"What do you want?" you ask him. If he shows up here at your cottage, it must be important.

"Why do you humans always ask that? Why do you always think I want something from you when I just want your company?"

His words make your heart beat fast. But you remind yourself that this is part of his game. He is flattering you to avoid a direct answer. "Because you're not allowed to leave the tower without good reason."

"Ah - that's where you’re wrong," he corrects you and starts looking around curiously. He steps to a nearby shelf and eyes at the contents. "I may leave the Tower in your company. Aside from that being a useless rule because it doesn't really stop me, Stark will probably-" Your phone rings. "… contact you."

You reach for your phone, which is on a nearby table. It's an incoming video call from Tony. You pick it up while Loki looks at your stash of labeled potion bottles with interest.

"What's up, Tony?"

You see the face of the billionaire popping up. He is wearing dark sunglasses and seems focused on something else. You hear the sound of welding in the background and every few seconds his face is illuminated by a small light source in front of him. He's probably in his tech lab, you think, when you notice the dark smudges on his face.

"Did Loki show up?" he asks you.

An idea strikes you and you raise your eyebrows in wonder. "Loki? Why would he?" you ask, seemingly surprised. "I’m off work today."

This makes Tony drop his work and turn his face to the screen. He curses under his breath. "That litte..."

Just then Loki slides into view next to you. "I'm here," he announces loudly for Tony to hear. He tries to take your phone from you, but you're faster and dodge him. A brief scuffle ensues until you manage to push Loki aside and regain control of your device.

"What's going on?" Tony asks since he hears your voices but doesn't have a clear view.

"Everything's fine. I'll drop Loki back home later," you assure him before you hang up.

"Wicked minx," Loki accuses you. He stands right in front of you, as usual in your personal space. You thought you'd have to get used to it by now, but it still gives you goosebumps. In a good way. And that's bad.

"That was for startling me earlier" you promptly retort.

Loki's grin takes on something wolfish. He's long since realized that he's found a worthy opponent in you and wonders to what extent he can test the limits.

You hear a soft bubbling and remember that you still have a potion on the stove. Quickly, you step past Loki and rush to it to keep it from boiling over. It would ruin it and you’ve put a lot of work into it.

"How did you get here?" you ask Loki in passing.

"Through the portal in your room." Apparently he's decided not to leave your side today, because the Asgardian is stepping up beside you again and watching you work over your shoulder.

"You were in my room?" You scrunch your nose. You don't like that thought. Apparently you need to put a magical protection around your room in the tower. You had refrained from doing that until now because you thought it was safe enough. "How did you get in there anyway?"

"Don't insult me," Loki speaks with his usual arrogance. "The protective measures in the tower are no obstacle to me. Speaking of which, your chambers are rather spartan and not particularly tastefully decorated. I took the liberty of changing that."

Now this is really going too far! You whirl around to face him with an angry glare. "What?! Loki, if I go back and everything is green, I swear to god-…"

"I'm a god. Swear to me."

You blink and stare at him. He's thrown you off balance. It takes a few seconds for your brain to remember how to form words and you turn back to your potion. "Unbelievable," you mutter softly.

You don't see it, but Loki is very pleased with himself. You feel his presence at your back, knowing he's still standing there. You’re longing to touch him, brushing your back at his chest. You breathe in and out deeply, trying to focus on your work. You can't let the Asgardian throw you off.

It's just a game to him.

This phrase became a mantra in your head that you repeat over and over. You wish it was different, that you could be more than just friends. It pains you, but you allow the feeling in, even welcome it. It stings your heart, but in the long run it will help you overcome your feelings.

"So, why are you here?" you ask again, but this time less brusque. You need to talk to not fall into a spiral of thoughts. "I'm not complaining about it, just wondering. You've never seemed interested in my cottage before. It's a very small country. Not as luxurious as you're used to."

Not compared to his suite in the tower and even less to the palace Loki grew up in. Even if you can only imagine that one.

"Don't sell it short. It's lovely." His puffed confidence seems to scale down and his next words are almost apologetic. "I'm sorry for coming here unannounced. I don't mean to intrude if you are busy with your work." He watches you pour the brew out of the pot. You don't say anything, because you have a feeling there's more to come.

"Sometimes being in the tower can be a lot. My brother. Everything. I merely wished to escape it for a few hours."

You throw him a smile over your shoulder. "Of course, Loki, you can stay the day."

It's a big vote of trust that Loki is so honest with you. He seems relieved by your answer.

It's little nuances in his behavior, but by now you can read him pretty well. And you also understand his reasons. You have the freedom to enter and leave the tower as you wish. Loki doesn't. The residents and workers are friendly and polite to you. Not that much to him.

But the Avengers seem to open up to him. It’s going just fine with Tony. Natasha and Clint also seem to have a better opinion of him after the mission. But it's not friendship. Not even companionship, more like a polite tolerating on both sides.

Loki only has Thor - and you. And when the two of you aren't around, he spends his time alone in the suite, or at least that's what you assume. It's big and equipped with everything he needs. But he probably still feels cooped up in it. You certainly would. And Loki has been there longer than you’ve even had this job. You can't blame him for wanting to go somewhere else, see something different.

"I may ask you to help me with my work, though," you add.

"I'm at your service, Witchling."

A grin creeps onto your face as you think of how tempting that offer is. But in a different way. Luckily, you've turned your back on him and he can't see your face. "Great. Then you can get the box of bottles from under the table," you say instead, pointing at them.

He does as told while you pull a stack of labels from a drawer and label them as rheumatism medicine and with today's date. You show Loki how he can help you fill the bottles.

After everything is done, you put them in a basket.

"We're going to deliver these to a nursing home. Unless you'd rather stay here and read in the garden," you offer him. After all, he's come here to have some peace and quiet.

"I'll go with you."

"Great," you smile, then your eyes fall on his outfit. "But you should change into something casual. People here don't know about Asgardian gods nor their fashion."

With a green glow, his usual tunic and leathery pants change into dark jeans and a green shirt. You acknowledge it with a satisfied nod.

Your path takes you along the edge of a forest. It's a quiet area, you've chosen it at your home especially for that. There are not many people out here, they normally stick to the larger paths. Since today is a cloudy day, you see nobody else.

There is also a road from your cottage to the next village, but on foot it is a detour. You'll get there much faster on the narrow path.

It is a large forest with dense undergrowth. You visit it often to look for herbs or mushrooms. You know which trees are hollow and preferred by owls for nesting, where you can find feathers from them. You know the small pond fed by an underground spring where foxes and deer rest. The forest is familiar to you – you have lived here for many years and are more out in the wild than among people. Because of your work in the tower and with Loki, you no longer have the time to visit it every day. It's a nice change and you realize you've missed contact with others. To exchange more than a few words with someone and to see them more often than just every few weeks.

Sometimes you miss the quiet of nature. New York is a hectic city and even in the corridors of the Avenger Tower you always see someone. Loki is pleasant company, you find. He walks silently beside you here, carrying the basket, contemplating the landscape. It is an easy silence, one in agreement. You don't feel obliged to speak just for the sake of words, but revel in your own thoughts – yet you are not feeling alone.

"Did you grow up here?" the Asgardian asks you.

You shake your head.

"No, I'm from the mainland. We've gotten into the habit of moving every few decades so people won’t notice that we age differently." At his questioning look, you add, "My siblings and me. My sister lives in France at the moment and my brother in Canada."

"I didn't know you had siblings," Loki admits.

"We don't see each other often. My brother is a bit like yours: great laugh and always in a good mood. Not so good with hugs, thought," you smile as you think of him. You should talk to your siblings sometime soon.

"Do you prefer that kind of company?" Loki asks you hesitantly.

"It's nice, but also draining." You turn your head toward him. "I prefer your company."

"Do you now?"

"I do." No snarky remark, no witty comeback. Just a simple truth. It surprises Loki and he falls quiet for a while. You don't mind walking in silence, you are used to it when you’re with him.

"I also enjoy your company." You almost miss his reply, a quiet confession that makes you smile.

"That's good to hear." But before you can say anything else, the Asgardian suddenly stops and tilts his head.

"We're not alone," he says quietly in response to your questioning look. "Someone is following us."

You perk up, but you can't hear more than a rustling in the undergrowth. Loki takes a step between you and the trees, you feel the density of his magic increase around him as if he were gathering it.

A low growl sounds from between the trees, and it is picked up by two or three more creatures. It is menacing, but still you can’t see any beast.

–––––––––––––

Witchling Tag List: @lokisgoodgirl @lokixryss @itsybitchylittlewitchy @yokshi-unbeliebubble @fictional-hooman @elennair @all-envy-suyu @purplekitten30 @elisadmaggiore @nothing2113 @baebeepeach @ceo-of-stfu @moonlightreader649 @ronipiamka @fluffybunnyu @ninjarose23 @ozymdias @huntress-artemiss @thedistractedagglomeration @rosaline-black @sofi786 @moonlightreader649 @paetonnn @eldriidd @r4inlov3r @maeisonline @marvel-love24 @sinsandguilt @kalinaselennespeaks

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#loki x y/n #Loki x reader #loki layfeyson x you #loki laufesyon x reader #Loki x you #imagine loki #the witchling and the god #imagine marvel #mcu prompt #loki odison x reader #marvel x reader #mcu x reader #loki fanfction #slow burn #loki odinson #loki laufeyson

[nostalgia-tblr]

First Lines Meme

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Tagged by @lokiinmediasideblog

I have provided brief commentary on each of these, to share my wisdom and because I was bit bored.

Thor’s favourite thing of all, if he had to commit to a single choice, is sparring with his brother. (The Marriage Game, mostly-gen Thor thing) This isn't a very exciting first line, I admit. Oh well, there are plenty more after it as this fic is 5000 words long.

2. Sylvie never hesitates to hurt him, whether he has asked her to or not. But when he asks… oh, she revels in it then. (everybody's looking for something, the one where sylvie beats loki with a stick) I think this is quite a good opening line. It reassures the reader who decided to read Loki being beaten with a stick that, yes, the hot stick-on-Loki action is definitely here, the tags didn't lie.

3. The sounds of celebration are more than enough to cover footsteps, but Sif is always alert and difficult to sneak up on, so the touch on her shoulder is no great shock to her. (Out of Sight, sifki porn with angst in) This is an okay line, if I remember right the opening few lines were the last to be written, because I'd started with the (*ahem*) main thrust of the plot and then had to go back and get them close to each other so they could do that thrusting (and angsting).

4. His brother’s funeral has not yet taken place and already he is betrothed to the killer. (The Winter Of Our Discontent, ongoing Sylki Arranged Marriage AU) This is a fantastic first line, well done me! There's a death and a marriage on the first line! The reader can see at once why it's tagged as 'Enemies to Lovers'! It has the word 'betrothed' in it, so you know this is gonna be A Bit Faux-Historical! Oh, how concise I was!

5. This part of the story isn’t true: Loki runs after the variant – the other Loki – and he runs through the time-door just before it closes, and finds himself in another apocalypse. (In My Head I Do Everything Right, Loki series AU where everything is more horrible.) Also good - it establishes that some of the story is less true than other parts, and intrigues the reader by telling them that what they saw happen didn't happen in this version. Bold. Unusual. Exciting!

6. The other Loki finishes his drink and then finishes his story; “So while I was freed from fulfilling a few of my less well-intentioned promises, I was also trapped – I could hardly go home, could I, after all of that? So I stayed in New York and built this little empire instead.” (Match Three, Loki/Loki/Sylvie porn) Bit infodumpy and not remotely pornographic, two potentially serious flaws when the reader is in search of filth. But consider; I dealt with the backstory of this extra Loki in the first line and now we can just move the fuck on to them all fucking without much more preamble.

7. One thing Sylvie wasn’t expecting was for already-broken timelines to heal, and for those that were lost (more accurately murdered) long ago to reassert themselves somehow, and to push their way back into the ever-expanding multiverse. (one (1) returned item, practically gift-wrapped, double drabble) Not a bad attempt to explain what's going on in a story with a very limited wordcount, I feel. That limited wordcount was also strict, which will have affected the word choice here. (I can't remember any details though.)

8. Disconcertingly, River Song doesn’t play by the Doctor’s rules. (Foreshadowing, look everyone it's River Song!) Another short and strict wordcount, not a bad opening line all things considered.

9. With the clearer vision of hindsight, Thor reckons that the hammer might have been the thing that made his brother start to stumble. (Loophole, thorki fic about the perils of excessive pedantry) Oh, a flashback! Why would someone stumble with a hammer? Did he trip over it? You must read on to unravel the mystery! Therefore, a good opening line.

10. “So why haven’t you two fucked yet?” asks the Grandmaster, seemingly out of nowhere. (Love Is A Danger Of A Different Kind, sylki-on-sakaar horrible dubcon-frostmaster thing) Excellent first line, defines the existing relationship boundaries and contains a single shocking swear in a line that breaks all the usual rules of politeness. A wild and very awkward ride lies ahead, it seems to say. I'd keep reading this fic for sure!

I will now tag everyone on tumblr.

#first lines meme #fic related

[holdmytesseract]

Time to celebrate! 🥳

Now that we reached 1k followers, we gotta celebrate, right?? 😁 Here's my idea on how we are going to do that...

I'm going to open my requests again! 😁 But not just that! We have to make this special, so I hereby announce the... *drum roll*

Lyric-Drabble-Mania! 🥳

Here's how it works:

Y'all know I love music. Music is a huge part of my life. I get a lot of inspiration through music and therefore, I am going to involve it in my celebration. This is slightly inspired by @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 's Fanfic Music Festival! ☺️ I am going to reopen my requests. You are allowed to send in a line you like/love from a song. Pair this up with a character of your choice and I am going to turn it into a drabble! Sounds good? ���️

Please send me just a character, the line and the name of the song, plus the artist (so that I can give it a listen). On this way, I can let my creativity run wild. 😉

For example: Loki & 'I've been dreaming 'bout the West Coast.' (West Coast, OneRepublic)

If you have questions, feel free to ask me! ☺️

Characters I am going to write for:

☆ Loki

☆ BabyFever!Loki

☆ Daryl Dixon

☆ Will Ransome

☆ Robert Laing

☆ Jonathan Pine

☆ James Conrad

☆ Magnus Martinsson (I'd love to try to write him!)

... aaaand of course

☆ Tom Hiddleston himself!

I am super excited to do this! 😁 From now on, you've got time to submit your lyric drabble request, until I'm closing them again (probably in a day or two, we'll see ☺️)! 😁

Again, thank you all so much! ❤

Let's celebrate together! 🥳

Tagging you guys from all the taglists to let you know! ☺️

@lokisgoodgirl @lovingchoices14 @evelyn-kingsley @jennyggggrrr @acefeather2002 @lulubelle814 @vbecker10 @theaudacitytowrite @lady-rose-moon @fictive-sl0th @aagn360 @mostclevermiss @linaax @peaches1958 @simping-for-marvel @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @eleniblue @muddyorbs @kimanne723 @in-this-minute @thefemininemystiquee @hotgirlsshareaccounts @azanoni @goobysgoobers @fuseburner @alexreadz07 @sweetpeapod

#1000 followers celebration #lyric drabble mania #loki x reader #daryl dixon x reader #will ransome x reader #captain james conrad x reader #dr robert laing x reader #the baby fever au #tom hiddleston x reader #jonathan pine x reader #magnus martinsson x reader

[writingfics-passingtime]

For the mixtape drabble:

I hear a symphony + bucky or loki (ur choice)

Plsss :))

Who We Really Are

This drabble is part of JJ’s Mixtape - a mini series based on my followers’ favourite songs and characters. You can read more of them here!

Song Prompt: I Hear a Symphony

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (platonic, no pronouns used)

Word Count: 1700

CW: Mentions of relatives passing away, mentions of HYDRA/neo n*zi groups, guns, very mild violence

Note: Thank you for this beautiful song, anon. This story idea came almost immediately and I couldn’t quite imagine it with Loki but I think Bucky fit so very sweetly. Hope you like it 💜

“Thank you,” the bespectacled theatre manager gushed his thanks towards Bucky and then, in turn, to you. “Thank you both,” he nodded and smiled as much as he could, revealing lines of worry etched so deep he must have been managing people for most of his career.

“It’s no problem,” you nodded back before you all got distracted by the commotion of some beat cops hauling the suspect through the lobby and out the front door.

Bucky’s breath turned heavy next to you. He pulled his handgun from his concealed carry holster to check the rounds left; it was a sure fire sign he was uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Besides, you two weren’t even supposed to be here.

Sam Wilson had been in contact a few days before to deliver some intel on a fringe neo-Nazi group based out of Chicago that was starting to stink of HYDRA. Could be some descendants of the original genocidal maniacs, or just some wannabe badasses, but in the past year you worked together you’d never seen Bucky so restless. Which, you supposed, was the reason Cap put you both on the job.

You two were walking down the street to find food and debrief when some uniformed workers had scrambled out of a grand stone theatre building.

Then, gunshots.

You both bolted inside, fearing the worst.

It turned out to be a jilted ex-lover of one of featured performers of tonight’s symphony, who “just wanted to have a conversation” with the woman who’d left him months ago. The gunshots had thankfully been towards the roof, as a warning, as a demand for attention. The man was so distracted delivering his monologue that he barely noticed Bucky had effortlessly disarmed him… until he was on the ground with a knee against his upper back and a metal arm smooshing his cheek into the carpet.

Some real hero shit, you’d mumbled to Bucky and he’d given you some side-eye. But now that the threat was in custody, Bucky was itching to go.

“Local PD will handle it from here,” you straightened up and shifted on one foot, Bucky relaxed now knowing you two wouldn’t be stuck here. You had an important job to do.

Bucky nodded politely after being thanked again, and let his shoulders drop when the manager had walked away, now knowing you three wouldn’t be trapped in an awkward loop of gratitude and reassurance.

The recon trip you and him were on wasn’t urgent by any means but the mere thought of a HYDRA resurgence made his skin crawl. He had to admit, when Sam pointed out that The Vanishing was a good distraction, a good cover for these people to regroup, Bucky felt like he had fire ants burrowing through his veins.

He turned to leave but saw your eye catch something. “What?” He asked, snapping his holster shut with a gloved hand.

Your mouth hung slack but you quickly closed it and physically shook away some memory. “N-nothing, it’s just-” you paused and shook your head again. “Nothing,” you turned and smiled to him. “My grandfather was a concert pianist and my grandma took me to this show when I was younger. I was just a kid when they died, and I think it was one of the last times I ever stayed with them.”

Bucky saw you smile, but this was different. There was a sadness swirling in your eyes, and a longing for some piece of the past. Everything was so different now.

It was hard to admit to himself, because he was desperate to make bigger strides in the potential HYDRA investigation, but that nagging feeling whispered what he should do.

“Well, do you wanna go tonight?”

He knew it was a stupid question the second it left his lips. Of course you’d say no; you’d seen how agitated he’d been and there was no way in hell you’d let this mission be steered off-course for one more second.

As expected, you shook your head. “We’re not here for that,” you gave a firm look and started walking towards the entrance.

He caught up and matched your step, sighing, “They owe us, you know. They’d let us in for free-”

“Barnes,” you halted and turned to him, levelling him with an honest stare. “Let’s be real for a second: we keep the world safe so the public can come to shows. We don’t wear the fancy clothes and sit in the audience. That’s not who we are.” You turned and kept walking, throwing over your shoulder, “C’mon, we have a job to do.”

Bucky clenched his jaw at your stubbornness, and he internally mapped the layout of the theatre, the exits, the seats, the stage.

He knew was he needed to do.

You had no idea what he was planning.

Not even later that day, when he let himself into the room of your hotel suite. You shot a look from where you were lounging on your bed and reading through an updated dossier Cap had some analysts draw up. “You forget how to knock?”

He tossed your jacket and it landed right on top of the tablet in your hand. “Get up, we need to go.”

Your heart rate spiked. “Did something happen?” You turned and slipped on your boot, already with one arm in the sleeve of the jacket.

“We’re gonna be late,” he called from the living room. Key twinkled in his hand.

“Barnes!” You scoffed and rushed to follow him. He was already in the hallway walking towards the elevator by the time you caught up. “What’s going on? Shit, my gun’s in the-”

“You don’t need it.”

He jabbed the elevator button and it opened immediately. Your impatience manifested in you planting your feet, crossing your arms and sticking your tongue against the inside of your cheek. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and snatched your wrist just before the doors started to close, hauling you inside as you protested with more scoffs and grunts. “Hey!” He released your wrist after you shoved his shoulder. “What’s going on?”

With a decisive turn of his body, his stormy blue stare descended on you, halting the protests rising up from your belly.

“Do you trust me?”

A wave of abashment swarmed over you, because despite his behaviour he looked more gentle than you’d ever seen him.

“With my life.”

He almost smiled.

“Good,” he eased, though his voice was low and gravelly. “No more questions.”

It was several blocks of walking in silence before you put together the pieces of what must be going on. To your credit, you figured it out before the theatre came into view but still, you stopped in your tracks when it did.

“We can’t,” you protested weakly. Bucky stopped and turned to you, taking another step to turn his body into a shield from the cold-snapped wind. “Look at those people,” your hand gestured from within your jacket pocket. “We’re so underdressed.”

Bucky looked at the line of people filing into the theatre and then back to you. Worry was etched into your forehead, into the way your mouth shut tight, and how you drew your arms further into yourself. You locked eyes with him, and he nodded towards an alleyway. So you followed.

There was a fire escape and a ladder hanging down, about twelve feet off the ground, and you saw Bucky look at it.

“Oh, no way,” you smiled despite yourself. “We’re not really sneaking in, are w-woah!” You spluttered when Bucky’s hands gripped your waist, and after a few more steps he was effortlessly hoisting you up towards the ladder. You grabbed on and swung yourself up onto the metal-framed escape before clearing the way for Bucky to use his super-strength to jump up and join you. He was by your side in a second, and he’d left a dent where his vibranium fist had gripped the balustrade. You chuckled, shook your head, and challenged him, “So what now, Sergeant?”

“Follow me.”

With the natural finesse of an agent trained in reconnaissance, you followed Bucky as he led you up the escape, through a window, down a hallway, through another door that had a sign with all kinds of warnings about safety, and then onto a darkened metal walkway. The theatre was still dimly lit, alive and buzzing when you two began sneaking across the suspended tracks that housed various cables, wires and coloured lights.

A show like this wouldn’t have dramatic moving lights so you could be certain that no one would be manually operating them. Hence, you had the whole floor to yourself.

After waiting a couple of minutes for the lights to dim to near-nothing, you once again followed Bucky’s lead as he snuck towards the centre of the walkway that stretched over the middle of the audience. He took a seat, lazing his elbows around his knees, and you sat cross-legged next to him.

You didn’t really know what to say to him, but you didn’t have much of a chance; the second the music began, you were hooked in. The melodies transported you back to all those years ago.

Your hand clasped around your grandmother’s. The buzz of excitement as patrons filtered into the show. The room going dark, the music starting, your grandfather’s solo performance, the applause he got, how he was one of the stars of the show but all he wanted to do afterwards was sit in an ice cream parlour and talk about how soccer tryouts went.

Nothing could’ve prepared you for the flood of emotions that surged with the dynamics of that same piano solo, played by the hands of someone who’d never personally known the greatness that’d graced those notes before. It brought you closer, your heart pulling you into the music. You leaned in, gripping the safety rail. You couldn’t tear your eyes away. It was magnetic, melancholic, joyous in parts, vibrant and nostalgic but hopeful.

When it ended, you looked at Bucky. He was a little blurry and your eyes felt sort of strange and tender.

He shifted closer, you rested your head against his shoulder, and as the music played on you let the tears fall.

#JJ’s mixtape #Bucky x reader #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky x you #bucky barnes x you #bucky fluff #fluff? #lol #Bucky drabble #bucky one shot #marvel x you #marvel reader insert #bucky reader insert #gender neutral reader #gender neutral imagine #gender neutral insert #no y/n

[maple-seed]

I made you something 🧍🏻‍♀️

It’s nothing grand

Pls lower any and all expectations and keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times

Okay are you ready?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O6Qnor7aNgzRviMh95Nbt?si=IHPt0NeHRdCgkSp0dJWc5A

Tadaaa✨

It’s too short to be a playlist so I’m calling it a concept album for Thrown :)

- Track 1: the world from Ash’s POV

- Track 2: a song I think she’d listen to on the way to the market

-Track 3: definitely a Loki Thor and Val song

Val/Soldier Loki/ Poet Thor/King

Track 4: Loki wanting to be friends with our female lead but still not knowing how to let people in

Track 5: Loki realizing losing her is no longer a risk he’s willing to take

Track 6: just some good old fashioned pining

Track 7: Loki finally coming to terms with his feelings

Track 8: “You would be loved. Little else mattered.

He stood and looked down at you, and felt his priorities fall into place.”

Track 9: the pizza dinner scene near the end of chapter 9

And I can’t shout out chapter 9 with out my favorite line hehehe

"I think it stands to reason that he's got just as much claim to the title of God of Honesty."

Tracks 10 & 11: (I hope you like the Beatles and The Cranberries) the vibes of these songs are my predictions for how this fic will end, like the end credits at the end of a good movie, they’ll leave you with a sense wonder and a journey well traveled, the characters will live on, but you’re glad you got to spend time with them

Happy Birthday Maple 🍁

My dear, dear, Loops.

This is the first time anyone has made something inspired by a thing that I made and that alone has brought me so much joy I can't even put it to words.

More than that, I absolutely love your song choices, I love your reasons for choosing them. I love this so much!!🥰🥰🥰

I can only hope that my story makes people feel as happy and peaceful as this playlist makes me feel.

I'm going to link to this post in the Thrown masterlist, if that's ok.

(Also to anyone else reading this, today is not my birthday. I am responding to an old ask.)

#my heart

[ijuststareatstuffhereok89]

Hello lovely 💕

Since I can’t decide on a song for your Fanfic Music Festival (awesome idea btw!) you have 3 songs to choose from me, wildly different from each other, but I just listen to everything:D

- Good Days by Smoke Season

- Savior by Rise against

- Heart to break by Kim Petras

I don’t think I have to tell you who I would want in the Drabble 👀😂

Go nuts! ❤️

MCU FANFIC MUSIC FESTIVAL, ENTRY #8

"Counterclockwise"

Pairing: Loki x Middle Aged!Reader Summary: You comfort Loki after he becomes aware that life on Midgard is ageing him at mortal-speed. Word Count: 820 Content Warning: musings of aging and death

"Dearest?"

"Yes, Loki?"

"Some strange magic is about," Loki called from the den of the cottage you'd shared on Midgard for nearly twenty-five years, sheltered away from the worlds and realms that would pursue Loki and push you apart. 

You ran into the den, where Loki stood in front of the mirror above the mantle. He was observing himself, using his long, thin fingers to touch every crevice on his face, occasionally running them through his long, black hair. 

When he saw you enter the room, he bade you to come up beside him and observe what he was fearing. “I’m wrinkling,” he said, quiet concern in his voice. “And my hair is beginning to lighten?”

“You’re fine,” you insisted. “You’re just aging is all!”

Loki shook his head. “I’m Asgardian. I’m thousands of years old, I don’t age.” He said the last word as if it were the worst fathomable cuss word. 

You looked at his face, a small pang of worry for him growing in your chest. “Well, you age like the rest of us here on Earth, apparently. Maybe it’s a realm thing?” 

Loki suddenly looked horrified. “I, who have avoided death and come back from the supposed grave more times than one could count, am going to just shrivel and wither away like mortals do?”

You shrugged. “I’m not sure. We can try and find Tony and Bruce and do some tests.”

“I will not be tested like some animal,” Loki insisted. “Yet, even now, my immortal body feels as if it tires faster than it ever had before.”

Nodding, you put a comforting hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Yep, that’s aging.”

His face drained of any color it had as Loki absorb the idea that he was now aging at the same rate you were. Which meant…

“...I won’t be able to run from death forever.” He sounded as if everything he’d ever come to take for granted had suddenly abandoned him, and you could see the pride and confidence drain from him like water rolling off of skin. 

“You sound almost insulted,” you answered. “It isn’t as if you were ever entirely immortal.”

Loki looked at you, surprisingly helpless. “I…don’t want to age. I don’t want to die. Not here, not in a bed looking like an ancient hag. There is no dignity in it…no good…” He looked at you, and he suddenly felt self-conscious. “Perhaps I shouldn’t--”

“--no, please let it out to me, Loki. That’s what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years, right? Banishing the world, no longer caring about anyone but us, and turning to one another to find the good days.��� 

“Yes, but how many good days are left?” Loki said quietly. 

You were stunned. You thought that the God of Mischief, the near-immortal Asgardian, would have long accepted that death was a part of life.  “Do you need some time to yourself?” you asked. “Perhaps you want to move away from here, and slow your aging again? You have that choice, you know.”

He shook his head. “No,I wish never to go back to Asgard. I don’t want you to leave me, not now. ”

“Then I never will.”

You took his hand and put a gentle kiss on his knuckles. It was a simple gesture, but Loki was a tactile person, and you discovered over time that it was a response to being so touch-starved growing up. You could already feel his skin go warm. 

His eyes were beginning to gloss over as his mind retreated into deep thought. “What…what do you think it’s like? Death? Dying the mortal way? With no Valhalla to look towards?”

You shook your head, dismissing the musing. “Loki, it isn’t important. We still have time, you know. Years, decades, probably.”

“I’m not a young god anymore. It’s as if all of our best times have since left us. If there was a way I could go back…”

You took Loki over to the sofa and sat down with him. “That is impossible, but we can always find new good times, you know? Just us two against the realms for as long as we can fight, right?” Taking a hand, you brushed a small gray hair from Loki’s brow. “In fact, I find the prospect of letting ourselves go and doing whatever the hell we want quite invigorating. Many people feel entitled to do so after a certain age.” 

Loki finally smiled and put a head on your shoulder affectionately. “What is that Midgardian term you use for such a situation? Not giving a piss?”

“Close enough,” you laughed. “Not giving a shit.”

Nodding, Loki fiddled with your intertwined fingers. “Asgardian life doesn’t prepare you for this stage of it.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t on Asgard,” you answered. “Now, kiss me, and let’s just forget about everything else for now. Good days are still ahead of us. We just have to squint through bifocal to find them!” 

--------

@mochie85 @lokisgoodgirl @roruna @holdmytesseract @muddyorbs @xorpsbane @mischief2sarawr @fictive-sl0th @silverfire475

#loki #mcu #mcu loki #fanfiction #loki fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #mcu drabble #drabblefest #loki/reader drabble

[maebird-melody]

Tag game~

Tag someone you want to know about and/or some of your besties!

Thank you @aowyn for the tag! Tag games are so much fun. 😊

Favorite color: teal! I also love orange, but mainly because it plays nice with my skin tone. But given the choice, I’ll always choose objects that are some variation of blue-green.

Last song: Lanterns Lit by Son Lux but also technically a song I wrote myself as I listened back to my demo recording for it

Last movie: does Over the Garden Wall count if you watch it all in one sitting? Otherwise probably whatever I watched last with my parents back in August.

Currently watching: Link Click. Found it through fanart that I thought was Danny Phantom fanart. It’s very dark but fun. Also just finished Mandalorian and started Star Wars Visions season 2.

Other stuff I watched this year: the miraculous movie, rewatched Loki season 1 and OFMD season 1, Good Omens season 2, all of Boku no Hero back in March while sewing a cosplay, rewatched a lot of Clone Wars while quilting, DetCo, SpyxFamily, My Happy Marriage, RTTE, Spiderverse so many times, MLB, My Adventures with Superman (it’s so good!), Trigun, more stuff I’m sure

Shows I dropped this year: at least one show that had an interesting premise but was too much fan service. Duke of Death? I didn’t make it far idk if that’s the title

Currently reading: I follow the prepub for Ascendance of a Bookworm so I’m reading a chapter every week for that, I’m also reading The Girl in the Tower, tried reading The Cruel Prince but dropped it pretty quickly, Witch Hat Atelier, various comic books, and I’ve got a To Read pile that’s waaay too high

Currently listening to: Nothing, I’m in bed

Currently working on: too many projects. I’m writing a book (well, I’ve written a book already) that I’m also illustrating, but since I’m in 3 fan fiction events I haven’t had time to do the artwork. I have a con in 2 weeks so I’m doing minor tweaks to my Hypnos cosplay to make it more presentable

Current obsessions: low key Spider-Man is always there in the background, but I think my all-consuming hyperfixations have calmed somewhat. Current active interests are Ascendance of a Bookworm, Danny Phantom, Hades (and Hypnos specifically), and Pathfinder.

Tagging @tundra-tiger @seaglass-skies @bibliophilea @madam-buffalo @misstooni

#tag game #I love these things! #they are so fun to answer #mae muses

[mischiefmodig]

\ / The First Night(mare) \ /

It came without warning. He came without warning.

They were caught off guard ( it didn't really matter ) Their meager civilization torn already by apocalypse ( Ragnarok ) would have never stood a chance. There were no terms of surrender, no negotiation. They were forced to submit at the cost of innocent lives. He sought the stones.

Loki cornered. Surrounded. Thor at his mercy- No. This was wrong, everything was wrong. He couldn't be felled by any enemy no matter how tall they stood. The mighty Thor, the man who brought light to every life he touched - bloodied on the verge of death at his strength.

His weakness. His one and true king. His brother. ( don't kill him. )

He gave up the tesseract to save him. He thought if they could make it out, they could save those who remained and make it to safety. Heimdal fell. The agony tore through Loki as another of them was slain, mere sheep were they at the hands of these wolves.

Thor please, Thor- NO!

He attacked, Loki should have known. His greatest weakness was his desire for vengeance, to retaliate when deserved. But he was weak to the titan and caged all the same. Loki knew more than most what the price of rebellion was. He knew what this being was capable of. He'd been under his hand a mere 10 years ago ( that was no time for someone of his age. )

He had nothing left. The only thing he loved was trapped as he always had been. Freedom was the song of Loki's life. The ability to choose. The choice to rise above. To be above and prove to them all he was more than a reflection. And yet as the terror coursed through him, he knew exactly what he had left.

A choice.

He rose from hiding ( coming forth from shadows, in all of his wretched glory ) the choice he had to make was clear ( the sun would rise upon them again ) his freedom, his life mattered ( they are the sons of Odin )

Loki could be more than himself. What if he could do something right? What if he could choose to be good? He did. He would.

The image was as clear as ice. The titan stood above him. Unafraid. Unamused. Loki summoned his final fight - his final choice. Cold was the metal that enclosed his neck. The power that surged through those stones, that hand.

He felt it. Suffocating. His life forced out of him - slowly, intimately, in front of the one who loves him the most. The one Loki loved most.

He fought till his last breath. Even when he couldn't feel the nerves, his mind and heart purged of their air. He couldn't fight anymore. He couldn't breathe. His mind was leaving him ( the one thing he treasured before, now useless in his corpse ) his body dead on the floor.

Snap.

He heard his name. He couldn't do anything. Truly he was helpless. Please, Thor, forgive him. He did it all for you.

-----------------

It was the middle of the night. The moon shone brightly over the unfamiliar landscape. No ship. No wreckage. Nothing.

Loki shot out of bed, no voice escaped his dry throat ( he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe ). Covered in sweat, and covers thrown to the ground.

In and out.

In and out.

it didn't help his racing heart. The images still flashed in his mind over and over again, tears brimming in his eyes.

Alone in the darkness, he sat. No one was around ( where was Thor, he needed his brother ). His body trembled at the sensations. His hands... with shaking fingers, he touched the place.

He winced.

No. No. This was a dream. A bad omen ( an omen of what? You were not blessed with premonitions ) He raced to his bathroom, the light clearing the darkness away. He looked in the mirror and-

...

Bruises...

He touched them again. These were real ( he was proof this was no dream. )

The prince fell on his knees. This was the truth. These were not his dreams. Tears fell silently on the tiles of the floor. What had he done...? What... could he do?

These were his last memories, Loki's truth.

#( thread . ) \ / drabble . #( ic . ) \ / prince of asgard . rightful heir of jotunheim . odin son . #cw: death #cw: ptsd dream #cw: bloodshed #Timeline wise this should have been a week or so after his arrival and before the winter festival

[lucywrites02]

Lu Creative Time Challenge

I thought it would be fun to host another challenge! It's not like the challenge I did before because this one isn't limited to writing :3 Although my blog is mostly about Loki and Stephen Strange from Marvel all fandoms are welcome and everyone can participate!

You can choose from 4 cathegories (You can choose more than one!):

Writing

Drawing

Moodboard

Playlist

Deadline: no deadline! Take your time and don't feel pressured. You can join the challenge any time you want. I will make a masterlist of all the things you guys will create on August 7th, but if you post your work after that I will simply update the masterlist and add your posts!

Rules:

Pick one of the songs from the list under the cut and a character/s of your choice. (all fandoms are welcome! You can use any characters and ships as your muses)

Send me an ask with your song and the character/s.

Use a part of the song ( one line, a paragraph) and insert it into the story.

There's no limit to the word count or the format of the story- headcanons, drabbles, one shots, chat scenarios; all are welcome :)

OCs, ships, reader inserts, platonic or romantic - everything is on board

It can be any genre, but if you write or draw smut it will be rebloged on my smut blog to keep my main one minor friendly.

Remember to write down potential warnings and tag your work correctly.

Create a doodle or a sketch to recreate a scene from the song with character/s of your choice.

Choose one song to be the beginning of your story.

Create a playlist by adding more songs to continue your storyline. (you can choose other songs and you are not limited to the songs on my list)

Write a description or a summary of your playlist (Basically just tell us your story with different songs and briefly explain the plot)

Team up with a writer or a playlist creator and make a moodboard for their story.

If you don't want to work with anyone else simply create your own moodboard and if needed write a short summary of the story behind it.

Tag me in your creation/s or use the tag #lucreatives02

If you change your mind and want to switch your song or your cathegory just tell me so that I can keep the list updated.

More than one person can choose the same song.

If you want, try and challenge yourself by choosing a song you haven't heard before!

And most importantly: Have fun.

I hope I explained everything well, but if you have any questions feel free to ask!

And now to the songs! (some of them are not in English, but you can easily find translations on youtube or somewhere on the internet. I also added links)

So Good- Halsey (@lucywrites02 )

Coraline- Måneskin (@whatafuckingdumbass )

Powerless- Linkin Park

Chilldspot- Monster

People watching- Conan Gray

All too well (10 min ver.)- Taylor Swift

Someone new- Hozier

As it was- Harry Styles (@funsized-mimi )

群青 - YOASOBI

Iris- The Goo Goo Dolls (@kimoralov3 )

Midnight Love- Girl in Red

三文小説 - King Gnu

Ophelia- The Lumineers (@goldencherriess )

Is there somewhere- Halsey (@bakerstreethound )

Burning in the skies- Linkin Park (@celerrie )

Tourner Dans Le Vide- Indila (@french-vanilla-in-the-clouds )

Nobody- Mitski

Fire on Fire- Sam Smith

Santé- Stromae

Come back ...be here- Taylor Swift

1121- Halsey (@nekoannie-chan )

Red- Survive said the prophet (@wrenhyperfixates )

Niemożliwe- Kwiat Jabłoni

Lay all your ove on me- ABBA

Maniac- Conan Gray (@gaitwae )

#lucreatives02 #creative challenge #sleepover 2.0 #fandom fun #fanfiction #artists on tumblr #writers on tumblr #stephen strange x reader #loki x reader #music #writing challenge #art challenge

[marvelsimp97]

Beauty and the Beast (Loki x Reader) Part Two

Summary: (Name) grew up in a small village in Vanaheim. When she was a small child barbarian men attacked the village and most of the people remembers a beast which killed the barbarians. No one remembers where the beast came or where it disappeared. (Name) knows the beast however, like no one else. Now, after fifty years, Prince Thor of Asgard visits the village searching for a maid who wouldn't get scared of his brother and who would make sure that the younger prince would get up in time and would attend to the events and meetings he needs to. The blonde arrives right after (Name)'s father throws her out and tells her never to return. (Name) is in need of a roof above her head and money so she accepts the offer because well, she doesn't really have a choice.

Word count: 3730

Warnings: none

The two days passed quickly as you waited for Prince Thor's arrival. You spent these two days walking along the streets and looking for something you didn't know what. It was a mystery to you why and what you wanted to find. You didn't want to go yet however you knew it was time for you to move on from Vanaheim. Yes, you were born here and grew up here but nothing bonded you here anymore.

You decided to practice at Sarun's house in the guest room. Your magical voice flied around the room and the house calling birds to your window which answered you sometimes making you smile. It was noon when someone knocked on your door interrupting your song. You went for the door and opened it to welcome the visitor, who was Sarun and Thor.

'Good evening, my lady' greeted you the prince breathing a soft kiss on your knuckles. You smiled at him and let him inside with Sarun. 'Your voice is still magical, (Name).'

'Thank you, my prince, however I was only practicing' you pointed to a chair with your hand. 'Please, take a seat.'

After the prince accepted your offer you and Sarun followed his actions and took a seat in the remaining chairs. You crossed your legs your gown's soft fabric brushing against your skin as you did and placed your hands on your crossed knee.

'I came back to ask you about the job I am offering you. First of all, you still can refuse or quit during your employment, mother and I will understand' smiled at you the blonde prince with a troubled smile making you curious about the job. 'We were looking for a personal maid for my brother, Loki. I know how he is called by names throughout the Nine Realms and I know that you are aware of his actions and personality. That is why you can quit whenever you want during your employment. But recently he cannot sleep well and no one could sing beautifully enough for him from our maids. Would you like to come to the palace and accept the job?'

A long silence filled the room as you looked down on your hands clasped to your knee in thought. You had no siblings, nothing you would want to stay here for, however you could get a job here as well, no need of tolerating a cocky, sassy, self-centered, rude, smug and sometimes cruel, cold and angry prince. But you weren't the type of person to judge by the gossip you heard. They were mostly just nonsense and held no truth behind themselves. If you would accept the offer you would be able to see Asgard, see another realm, see more than what you ever could see. You could dance and attend to balls even if only just as a servant but still it would be fascinating. You sighed because you knew you were stupid.

'I accept it, my prince. What am I supposed to do as his personal maid?' you asked unsure of what that meant.

'You will make sure to get him out of bed in time for the conferences and other official events during the day. You will be the one to choose his outfit for a ball, meeting, celebration or event. You will make his bath and urge him to take a bathe if he refuses to do so. You will organize his things in his room if he makes a mess and you will bring his breakfast every morning. Your chambers will be on the other side of the corridor from his and you will get just as much supplies as a noble guest would. You can use the royal family's own library and you will dine with us. If you need to learn etiquette which you would only need to keep during an event, ball, celebration, important guest's visit, you can ask for help from the same teacher who taught me and my brother when we were young.' explained Thor with a hopeful gleam in his blue eyes.

'Well, that sounds fine to me. When will we depart, my prince?' you asked quirking your eyebrows in question.

'When you are ready' he beamed at you.

'I will pack the few things I have and we will meet in the garden, if that is fine with you' you asked politely however you made your voice show that it wasn't subject of debate. Thor nodded and went out of your room.

'So you will go... promise me one thing, (Name)' put his hands on your shoulders Sarun. 'You will send me messages of how are you or if the dark prince ate you already, okay?'

'If he eats me I will not be able to write you, Sarun' you laughed. 'And can you name a man who could defeat me in a fight verbal or nonverbal?'

'You are right, as always... but I will still be worried about you' shook his head smiling at you your best friend who you still saw as a little boy with mud and dirt all over his face and hands. You could never forget how you were before and you knew you would miss this troublesome guy. You hugged him and sighed.

'My mother told you to look out for me, did she not?' you whispered. Sarun hugged you back and pressed his cheek on the top of your head.

'Yes, she did. But you were the one who always looked out for me, (Name)' answered the raven haired. You left his house with your heart already missing him but you knew it was for the better. You could leave the job if you wanted to anytime and it sounded like it wasn't permanent.

When you arrived at the golden dome of the Bifrost, you couldn't take your eyes off of the view of the stars in the opening Heimdall looked out. You stood in awe at how beautiful it was. Back in Hemnor you couldn't see anything like this just the clouds and trees.

'Welcome, (Name) in Asgard' sounded the gatekeeper's voice from behind you on his podium.

'Nice to meet you, Heimdall' you smiled up at him as you turned to him to greet him. 'If I would not be assigned as Loki's maid, I would love to hang around here all day long. It is beautiful.'

'It is, indeed' smiled the golden eyed man back at you.

'Can I ask you something?' you asked curious as to why he knew your name. Heimdall nodded as he looked back out to the stars. 'How do you know my name?'

'You were just an infant when your mother wished to go to Vanaheim. That was the last time I met you personally or her' answered the man. Your eyes widened at that but Thor put a hand on your shoulder to tell you it was time to go.

'Have a good night, Heimdall' you said your goodbye and left the golden dome hearing him reply with a 'You too, my lady'.

You followed Thor through the fields and streets on horseback your dark grey cloak waving behind you. You pulled up the hood because of the cold wind when you started shivering. The streets were busy no matter how cold it was outside, people walking along the streets in heavy clothes and different kinds of things in their hands. You could smell cinnamon and mulled wine in the air filling your nostrils. It wasn't long to reach the palace's gates and at the sight of the blonde prince the guards opened them immediately. Thor stopped at the barns and gave his horse to a servant who led the horse in his stall as another servant did with yours.

You followed after Thor on corridors through the palace till you reached a giant pair of golden doors. You gulped when you sensed it must be the throne room. The blonde turned to you suddenly before you entered.

'Please, take down the hood. Father would be suspicious about it' smiled at you troubled the prince. You lifted your hands and pushed it back feeling the cold immediately struck you. Thor pushed the doors slightly and they opened up to reveal you to the king. You were frightened somewhere but you ordered your face to show nothing of your nervousness.

Thor led you in front of the All-Father and stopped beside you kneeling on one of his knees and pressed his right fist to his chest. You mimicked him and kept your face down not daring to look up.

'You may rise' boomed the king, making you flinch slightly but fortunately no one saw it.

'I brought her, Father' announced Thor standing up. 'Her name is (Name) and she will be the one to take care of Loki.'

'Well, get her accustomed to her chambers and what she needs to do. You may leave' said the king dismissing you both. When you were out of the throne room you sighed audibly.

'It might be frightening for you, I assume' chuckled the blonde next to you.

'It is... I grew up in a small village. I never saw any kings and queens and princes in Vanaheim before. I am afraid of acting disrespectfully towards him even if I know my place' you answered. Thor was different. You weren't afraid of him because he seemed to be one of the men you hang out with back in Hemnor. He was friendly, cheerful and didn't seem to be the one to have any ill will towards anyone.

'I understand, my lady... I only hope that you will be able to handle my brother's temper' sighed the blonde as he led you to your chambers first. You walked up to a too winged white door with golden handle. He stopped in front of it and motioned for you to open the doors. You pushed down the handle and walked inside but stopped amazed at the sight in front of you.

The room was large with a double bed pushed to one of the white walls packed with a host of fluffy cushion, opposite to the bed you saw two large, white wardrobes and in the corner was a white dressing table with an oval mirror attached to the table. On both of its sides plants were placed. In front of you were three windows elliptically giving sight to the gardens and under them were a long cushioned ledge. On your left there was a door you assumed leading to the bathroom. You turned back to the prince but saw him still standing in the corridor awkwardly. You furrowed your eyebrows.

'My prince? Would you not come in?' you asked confused. Thor cleared his throat nervously.

'That would be impolite, my lady' he said.

'Um... well then, let us go to your brother' you smiled and walked out of your room. Thor led you over to the other end of the corridor where an ebony door separated you from Loki's chambers. The wood was adorned with gold and green showing Yggdrasil. It was beautiful and you stared at it in awe. The blonde knocked on the door two times before opening it. You followed him inside but bumped in his broad back.

'Brother, I brought you your new chambermaid' called out Thor in the dark. You squinted your eyes as you tried to see something or someone in the darkness and to your surprise you noticed a person sit up in their bed.

'I told you that I do not need one' growled the dark prince. His tone was tired and you knew that his rudeness was only directed towards Thor. You put a hand on the blonde's arm and nodded.

'That is unfortunate because I am already here' you walked further inside his chambers and lit a few candles with the small magic you learnt and possessed. 'Nice to meet you, I am (Name).'

For a while Loki just looked at you stunned but his gaze turned cold and distant again. You sighed but smiled at him nonetheless. This was your advantage in every situation whenever you had to defend yourself. You could be polite and patient with the most irritating person in the Nine Realms which in your case was your father.

'At least use a title when you address me' rolled his eyes the raven haired prince, making your smile grow a little bit mischievous.

'Of course, my prince. How do you like your bath, my prince? And your tea, my prince? Do I need to ask about your schedule through the week, my prince? I would appreciate to be informed about your likes and dislikes as well as about your duties, my prince. Who was your former maid, my prince? I will definitely remember everything, my prince' your smile was sweet and playful as you saw the irritation in his eyes but something else with it. Was it amusement? This prince was definitely strange but you liked challenges. You noticed the small smirk forming on Thor's lips as he witnessed this exchange between you and his brother.

'Hm... interesting. The first time I did not make a maid cry with only my presence' hummed Loki as he got out of his bed and you could make out his lean body. He was shirtless and his pale skin covered his well-defined muscles on his torso while black silk pajama pants hugged his long legs while his bare feet tapped on the wooden floor without a sound. He walked up to you his hard blue-green gaze never leaving your (e/c) orbs until he was just inches away from you. You had to lift your head to be able to look in his eyes however you showed none of your discomfort by the position your neck was. He was tall, that was for sure.

'I keep a notebook on my desk for noting my schedule and sudden duties. You are allowed to look into it' he pointed at a brown leather covered book. 'And about the others on my desk, I have to warn you: you cannot open any of them. I am the only who can open them as long as they are on my desk.'

'What about your laundry?' you asked.

'That is not a chambermaid's duty to take care of, my lady' spoke up Thor and you just remembered that he stood in the room too. 'You will only prepare my brother's personal stuff and will grant his personal wishes like making a cup of tea. The maids who are tasked to clean up and wash our clothes will come here every third day. If there is no valuable laundry they will only clean up but you will have to tell them where to not touch or go in.'

'Understood' you smiled at the blonde brightly relieved that you didn't need to learn how to wash these expensive and sensitive clothes like silk. You were perfectly fine with taking care of the prince and you found it amusing. He was a mystery and you loved mysteries. He was the first man who wasn't taken aback or offended by your feistiness. 'Do you want me to prepare your bath for you, my prince?'

'That would be excellent' he answered with a bored expression however when you disappeared behind the bathroom door he turned to Thor. 'Where is she from? She is definitely not Asgardian. They would run away screaming their lungs out the moment they would realize where they are.'

'(Name) would hardly run away, brother. Do not expect her to be like any maid you had' smiled at Loki the blonde. 'She is a Vanir. Her voice amazes everyone however her personality piqued my interest. I knew she would not run away so easily as the other ones.'

'Her voice? She sings?' quirked an eyebrow Loki at Thor but you walked out of the bathroom and interrupted Thor in responding.

'Your bath is ready for you, my prince' you said expectantly looking at Loki to go bathe now. 'I am going to bring your breakfast... almost lunch to the time you will be all done.'

'No plum' he answered as he went to the bathroom and closed the door on himself.

'What is wrong with plum?' you mumbled confused and shrugged. 'May I ask where can I find the kitchen, my prince?'

'I could walk you around, (Name)' he answered. 'And when it is only the two of us or we are amongst good friends and close ones, you can call me Thor. No need for the title.'

'Thank you, Thor' you smiled up at him and followed him out of Loki's chambers and onto the endless lines of corridors. You could easily remember the way back to your chambers and Loki's as you passed windows and stairs and different doors. After a long silence you spoke up. 'I hope I did not frighten Loki.'

'Oh, my lady, you should not worry about that. He finds it amusing that you are so different from the Asgardian maids who never speaks or asks. I hope to change that one day during my rule however. They seem to be frightened even if I only ask them to open the window.' answered Thor saddened. You frowned.

'Does anyone harm any of them whenever they fail to do their duties? Or are they not here because of their will?' you asked straight not thinking that you were talking to a prince but he said himself: you were his friend and not just a maid.

'That is something I will only find out when I take the throne' he sighed.

'It must be a heavy burden and a lot of responsibility' you tried to change the subject.

'Do you not think it is a good thing?' he asked surprised but your gaze turned dark.

'Do you assume me to be shallow, Thor?' you asked and continued when he stayed silent. 'You must be used to the people of who can only see the wealth in it however I can imagine how much of a burden it can be. Having selfish and uncaring council members who only want to grow their own wealth, having snobby noble families looking out for title and money every attempt they have and having so many poor people with hungry mouths. It is not easy to find balance in satisfying every one of them.'

'I did not mean to offend you, (Name) however most people only see the good things in it and tells me how lucky I am' he sighed heavily.

'Then they do not have any sense of responsibility, Thor' you answered with a small smile on your lips. Soon you arrived at the kitchen after Thor showed you the library for your request, the grand dining hall where you would eat and if you ever needed to warn Loki about anything, the door leading to the gardens and his own bedchamber's doors if you needed to ever reach him. You bid your goodbyes to him at the kitchen and walked inside to get Loki's breakfast. You smiled when you didn't see any plums assuming that the cook already knew about his dislikes.

You were back in a few minutes with a silver plate of fruits, bread and some meat you couldn't recognize with jam and butter on another smaller plate. You pushed closed the doors when you noticed Loki at his desk reading something.

'Breakfast, my prince' you announced making him look up in surprise.

'You really have not run away' he spoke up in utter surprise making you chuckle.

'Thor told me that my duty is to take care of you, my prince.' you answered with a smile still on your lips.

'Thor?' he asked surprised. You cleared your throat not knowing if he would lash out at you for disrespect.

'Yes, your brother, my prince' you answered.

'He let you call him by his name?' he asked again. You nodded and walked over to place the plates on the desk before you grabbed the notebook and opened it up to see where you were needed.

'Yes, he did.' your answer was short because you were absorbed in the notebook to remember your recent week. You were a fast learner if it came to details and data like information.

'Did he tell you to call me by my name?' asked the raven haired prince already slicing bread and covered it with butter and jam. Sweet-tooth. You smiled at him peering up from the small book in your hand.

'Do you think I would call you by your name?' you quirked an eyebrow at him. His silence made you continue. 'No, he did not and I would never call you by your name without permission.'

'It is surprising that a low life like you can remember your place' he mumbled amused but surprise crept onto his handsome face when he noticed your angry glare.

'However I know I have no status or title, I still expect you to talk to me with respect unless you want to go for your breakfast and meals yourself' your anger and cold tone sent shivers down his spine however his own temper flared up you could see it in his eyes.

'I would have plenty of maids to do these things instead of you' he stood up to look down at you but it was in vain because you weren't afraid of this act. Oh, no. You were quite used to it by now knowing you could win even if you really wanted to.

'I was informed that you scared all of them away by now' you answered with a smirk on your lips. You turned around, your long (h/c) locks hitting him on his face and you walked to the door to go unpacking in your room. 'Two hours later you have a meeting with your father and the council. After that lunch will be served. Unless you have anything urgent I will be found in my bedchambers unpacking my luggage.'

And with that the door was closed behind your back hearing something hitting the door making you smirk even more. You are not going to let him use your origins against you to look down on you and have authority over you in any way.

To be continued...

#loki #loki god of mischief #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x you #mcu loki

[lokis-wager]

do you ever think about the consequences of your actions? + Odintreus

Had Atreus ever once stopped to think?

Had Odin ever once made a spontaneous decision?

Yes, and neither had ever made the right choice. Atreus found himself with a mouth full of blood, sprawling on the floor from the force of a punch. He swallowed, tasting red, his breath coming in ragged pants as he waited for the next hit.

There wasn't a next one. Odin merely stared down at the young man on the floor, then glanced at his own hand. As if he hadn't just punched Atreus in the mouth, cut his knuckles on youthful teeth.

Atreus knew better than to try to argue with his lover when they had been drinking together. And yet, he couldn't stop himself, his quick wit running much faster than his swift mind.

Atreus stood up slowly. The drink made it hard - his vision was blurring, his ears were ringing, his limbs felt heavy and tired- but he stood, and faced his Odin. "What the fuck?" He slurred, grabbing a handful of his shirt.

"I... sorry." The old man whispered, but Atreus could tell he was still on the verge of spitting fire, anger making his whole body taut. And yet, Odin held back, didn't want it all to come rushing in, or to push Atreus back to the ground.

Atreus growled. Blood was running down his chin, and Odin's blood ran down a wrinkled, pale hand. "Sorry." He mimicked coldly. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Like a broken little bird that only knows one song. You'd think that you would have learned by now to stop doing things that need apologizing, instead."

Odin cupped his face in his hands. "Loki. Loki." His voice was warm. His eye was cold. "Loki, I love you. It was an accident, a mistake. You know things are better now, better than they've ever been- "

"Loki. Sorry." Atreus called again, resting his hands on top of Odin's. "I love you, I'm sorry. Do you ever think about how I'd feel before you do something? Or how you'd feel after, at least? Something that makes you seem more human?"

Ichor didn't run for long. They were gods, and their wounds healed divinely, without a flaw. Atreus' face was clean, and Odin's hand was wrinkled again. The wooden floor below had already sucked all the blood away with a deep thirst, erasing all trace of a fight besides flared tempers and burning eyes. Blue into blue, Atreus stared, and Odin merely looked.

"Human?" He echoed strangely, and Atreus flinched. "Human... is that what you think of me? I see my father carved up, and his blood forms the ocean, and yet human is all I should strive to be? Is that the best standard you can hold me too, Jotun? Not even a touch of the divine, merely human?"

"And yet, you're worse than most of them. The evilest of all men return to dust, and you do nothing but linger." Adolescence was long for a giant, and for a god. Atreus was barely stumbling out of it now, in the span that it took for an entire human kingdom to rise and fall. But Odin was the elder god, an elder torment. He had been old before Atreus' ancestors had lived, and was older still now. After so much time, he knew not to cut his hand on his lover's teeth.

He knew what it tasted like to kiss blood from his lover's lips. Again, and again. Atreus couldn't pull away. Odin was all too used to it. The way his tongue flicked at hints of salt still clinging to his teeth made Atreus shiver. He was loved, and the blood that ran along his tongue was savored, and the healed wound on his lip was caressed.

"Older, and eviler than the worst of all men." Odin whispered. "God of gods, king of them all. And yet, still king of you, godling. King of little Jotun warriors who say they do good, and yet can't stop kissing the mouths of Asgardian butchers."

Atreus fought to keep his eyes open, to look at the man that had hurt him. He didn't even try to move away. "All-Father." The word slipped from his lips before he was kissed again. The sting of it all was gone so quickly, and the smile on Odin's mouth was already returning.

"Don't you ever think about what you're doing, Loki? The consequences of your actions? I don't like it when I hurt you. We shouldn't fight like this." A purr, a croon, and Atreus was melting into his arms.

"You're right." He murmured, closing his eyes and burying his face in Odin's scent. "Always, always right."

#loki writes stuff #odintreus #write an odintreus fic thats not about Atreus getting hit: impossible

[grassangel]

WIP WORD SEARCH GAME

Tagged by @setnet who gave me the words:

river | help | often | shimmer | interests

river, shimmer - second part of keep my visions to myself (only love you when we're playing) 13/Dhawan!Master NSFW

there is a proper mention of River Song later as well, but that's in the messy part that's half notes and half smut

The TARDIS can be capricious in what she thinks the Doctor needs or wants, sending her instead to another room rather than the one she's looking for. Today, mercifully, the TARDIS agrees with the Doctor on the direction she wants to go in, the doorway to the bathroom she wants appearing around the corner, the sound of water softly trickling through the open hexagonal door. The Doctor strides in, a wave of humidity hitting her as she steps into the chamber, soft moss springy underneath her feet and she barely pauses for a moment to kick off her boots and dress socks before walking further into the room. Her jacket gets wrenched off, tossed over a convenient tree branch, and there's an awkward moment as the Doctor extricates herself from her trousers and pants, pebbles skittering as she tries to keep her balance as the path begins its transition to rocky riverbank. The tight vest underneath the buttoned shirt is the last thing to come off, balled up and thrown onto shore as the Doctor wades further into the rushing stream that forms the network of pools in this bathroom. Sunlight shimmers over her naked skin, the false sun above reflected in the running water and all the mirrors that make up the landscape. There are thin, rectangular slivers of glass hanging from the trees like the chimes on Deva Loka, freshly cleaved rock surfaces that shine bright silver, even the trees have broad leaves that reflect the Doctor's nakedness. She pauses for a moment in front of a boulder cleaved in half to let the Master see her in all her naked glory - her curling hair, her smooth skin punctuated by the occasional mole,

help - untitled Jane/Sylvie/Loki fic set in an AU s1e3 where Sylvie and Loki end up stranded in pre-Snap Puente Antiguo, or maybe a post-S1 AU idk. All I know is I'd like to get Jane to kiss Sylvie before they time-window to somewhere else. And maybe confess she's reconsidered her feelings about Loki. Maybe.

"Are you sure she's not one of us?" Jane comes to a voice above her sounding skeptical and vaguely annoyed. It sounds more like Jane's British room-mate from undergrad than Darcy, and Jane struggles for a moment to remember where she is and why she's waking up. A second voice answers the first, deeper and further away though still close by. "She's not okay? I know her. Or of her at least." There's an insistence and strength to the second voice that makes it sound similar to the first voice, but not exactly the same. "Are you absolutely certain?" the first voice asks, still dubious, and Jane feels something brush across her forehead like fingers clearing her hair away from her face. "Because she did try to run you over when you introduced yourself. And she's wearing green." Jane's still not sure what the two people are talking about or why the colour of the flannel shirt she picked off the bedroom floor to wear this morning is important, but she does feel the need to defend her fashion choices. "Issmyfavourite." "Oh look, she's awake," the second voice says cheerily as Jane struggles to open her eyes. The first voice doesn't reply, but a cool hand does pull at her shoulder, helping Jane to sit up.

Being vertical helps and Jane manages to pry her eyelids apart to get a good look at the person in front of her. The woman is dressed mostly in black, a gold headband helping to keep her short blonde hair away from her face. Jane takes another second to register that what used to be a pair of horns erupt from the metal crossing the woman's forehead and frowns at this woman questioning the colour of the shirt she picked up from the floor this morning when Halloween is still the better part of two months away.

often - untitled 13/Dhawan!Master fic, which is mostly about what the fam hears when, in a slight AU of Spyfall part 1, the Doctor says the Master's name. No idea how it'll finish and have absolutely no idea what Graham hears (Yaz hears the alluring danger/threat, Ryan hears the love/promise, so maybe Graham hears the betrayal?)

Gallifreyan allows for nuance, it has to with twelve different tenses. A name can just be a name, a collection of syllables that personally identify an individual. Certain Time Lords change their name as often as they change their robes. But names hold meaning as well, especially in Gallifreyan, and those definitions are not so easily shed. That name, Koschei, is an old name, a dead name, a relic of a past so long ago that only the two of them stand as monuments to it. No, to use that exact name would be to desecrate the lives they've lived and disregard the choices they've made. It'd ignore the name the Master chose for themself, ignore the person they've become. So when the Doctor gapes at the presumed former MI6 agent known as 'O', the cogs slowly falling into place as his real identity slowly coalesces into realisation, the Doctor uses instead the meaning of that name: the whispered under blankets reason that had been shared with her so long ago and the declaration that secret held. The one that burns her with guilt at the memories of how she's failed to keep that long uttered promise.

interests - make friends not weapons Natasha Romanoff & Tony Stark, pre-Ultron. I am very close to getting this to a point I'm ready to publish, but it's this ending that's causing trouble by needing to have the emotional threads tie up with the symbolic threads. Brackets are bits I'm editing/writing, big spaces need something in them.

The blue shading underneath Natasha’s eyes shifts a little in response, changing the glittering green of her eyes in a movement that can't be measured by engineering to exact tolerances. An artist would have the vocabulary to describe what's just changed in Natasha's face, what has lifted ten years off of it. Tony is not an artist but he has created, and in that shift he thinks he can see the answer to his previous question. The warming smile that slides across his face in reply is [friendly, weapon to weapon, shared trauma knitting them closer than they can ever articulate.] Natasha’s smile is smooth and practised, not a genuine reflection of her [feelings] "I have some locations that might be of interest to you. [Black market suppliers. Weapons caches for terrorists, extremist groups.]"

Tagging @zahnie, @nostalgia-tblr and... idk whoever wants to do it? *looks at followers list* @starknight-dreams, @raindropsonwhiskers @mllekurtz?

Words (and variants):

snarl | gold | justice | sign | face

#answers #I am bad at this meme #words are hard #setnet

[morningstargirl666]

alicia, my beloved! would you do me a great favour and answer some of these?

🤡🛒🌌🎶🙋‍♀️💖🤗🧠 (tell me about our boy klaus)

(also i 100% rbed that post in hopes that it'll give me an excuse to pester all my writer friends with questions, mission accomplished! 😈)

🤡 - What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Ella, bestie - there's so many. I mean not all of them are laugh-out-loud funny, but they always bring a little smile to my face. I think Caroline pushes Klaus into a pool in Into Eternity? That's a good one. But I think most the more funny exchanges happen in The Big Bad Wolf. Somehow that fic turned into crack along the way and honestly it ran away from me. My OCs are just really fun to write. Probably the scene that made me laugh the most in that, was the bacon scene. With the lunar cycles. And then later on Klaus throwing Kol's phone out the car window because he caught him texting Rebekah about the new information. Scenes with Titus, Klaus' horse, and Sam's raven Loki also hit the top spots. Sorry, I just can't choose one.

🛒 - What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

Found family. Or a sense of family or brotherhood in general. I have no idea why. It's just too wholesome to leave out. Also probably an element of spookiness and horror, because I'm edgy like that, and I like my settings/characters a little dark, a little violent.

✨ - Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

Okay so there's no constellation emoji on the original ask list so I'm assuming you meant this one? I don't know, maybe I'm just blind but I can't find it.

So. A compliment.

Will you accept 'I write good'? Lmao I don't know.

🎶 - Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I actually have a few playlists on youtube that I set aside for writing. My brain is really sense-minded, so like when I put that music on it knows it's time to write. I've got a klaroline playlist, which are basically klaroline music vids, and also playlists for my fics. And then sometimes I just freestyle, listen to anything that comes on. I need to share the songs I listen to for TBBW at some point cause they are amazing. Here Come the Wolves by Lola Blanc screams Chapter 1. And then I Know Your Secrets by Tommee Profitt (feat. Liv Ash) is definitely Chapter 12. I remember listening to Running With The Wolves by Aurora for Chapter 13 a lot.

🙋‍♀️ - Do any irl people know you write fanfic?

Yes. Sort of. A close friend knows. Though I have not shared my ao3 name nor my fics and do not intend to lol.

💖 - What made you start writing? 

I actually can't remember when I didn't write in some shape or form. I've been writing since I was a small kid, in like primary school. Probably Year 4? Maybe even Year 3? I would have been like 7 maybe. I basically remember watching the movie of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and little kid me thought, oh I want to write a book! And so I started writing a book called the Dragon and the Peach. I think the plot involved a dragon called Sapphira, who like goes on this quest and eats a magical peach that makes her strong and powerful so she can defeat the villain. That story eventually evolved into a different, more complex plot as I got older, with more characters and backstories. By Year 6 I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. And then in my teens I found fanfiction and well, here I am, ten years later, still writing fanfiction lol. Nothing really made me start writing. I guess Dahl's books inspired me originally, I really loved them as a kid, but nothing made me do it. No one pushed me to do it, or said I'd be good at it. For me writing has always been a calling. I really had no choice but answer.

🤗 - What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

Read. Write. That's it. Read as much as you can, because that's the finest teacher of how to write. Literally. You'll find whatever genres and tropes you prefer to read will start popping up in your writing without even realising it. And when you do write, keep writing, even when you get writer's block - even if its 200 words per day or 200 words after weeks of nothing, at least its no longer a blank page. Write while figuring out how to plot, how to characterise, how to build up tension. Don't be ashamed of stuff you wrote a year ago because it sucks - it doesn't suck, you've just improved since then and now you can write better. It's a victory, not a defeat. And don't write for anyone else but yourself. Like I said before, writing is a calling. It's bleeding words onto a page because you have to get it out or you'll go crazy. You are your first reader. So write for you.

🧠 - Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favourite headcanon for them.

So. Klausy. Neeklous. Our boy Klaus. What headcanons do I have for him, hmm? 🤔

[I'm trying to think of one I haven't told you, it's a challenge]

Okay I have one. Not sure if I've included this in a fic yet, but a headcanon I love is that Klaus steals artwork from galleries and museums for kicks and replaces them with copies he painted before the originals are noticed as missing. The galleries and museums around the world have yet to catch on. He thinks its funny. Compulsion gets boring after the first few centuries, after all.

#asks #✨ella✨ #morningstar writes #fanfiction #ps: klaus and kol once stole an art piece while drunk #and promptly got arrested #they were too drunk to compel the authorities to let them go so elijah had to bail them out #klaus and kol never live it down #tvdu #headcanons