#simply another reason loki is a main character

[steveandbuckysdaughter]

Have you ever noticed that ever since season one of What If introduced Captain Carter, she's been showing up a lot more than Sam Wilson as Captain America? I once queationed it, which pissed off some Peggy stans on this site to the point where I had to alter the tags so I wouldn't have to deal with them.

Oh yeah I did, trust me, you’re not the only one. Many Sam or Steve or Bucky stans and, yk, Peggy antis here on tumblr noticed it, but her stans are just too stubborn to accept it.

In my humble opinion, I think Peggy is simply a better character for marvel to sell as cap (and not for the right reasons), which is why Sam’s cap hasn’t appeared in 2/3 years and all of Steve’s appearances were butchered.

Steve is noble, all about freedom and doing what’s right. He was a disabled son of immigrants who knew struggle and, in his own words, didn’t like bullies no matter where they came from, which means that doing what was right to him was more important than any government, any authority. Civil War is all about this characterization of Steve, and it’s why he was the perfect man for the job.

Sam is like Steve. He is a noble man who knew struggle and suffering growing up, who lost loved ones, his place in the world the moment he chose to follow what was right instead of what was ordered to him. He was ridiculed and beaten down, and risked losing it all multiple times, but that never made him back down. Plus, to add fuel to the fire, the higher powers would have never accepted him as Captain America because he’s black, no matter if Captain America himself passed the mantle to him, they wouldn’t have accepted him and still didn’t right up to the finale of TFATWS. Sam is perfect for the job and mirrors Steve as the perfect Captain America of his time.

Peggy is… well, she’s nothing of these things.

Yes, she’s a woman, and so everyone would be expected to find sympathy for her, to root for her, but aside from her stans no one actually does. Peggy has a support system and respect, like it or not, and she was relevant. She’s arrogant, she’s headstrong, and she doesn’t go against the system because she is the system. She’s not a minority, she never knew struggle, hell, she lived a comfortable life up until the war and after. And marvel can use her more than Sam or Steve because she’s not troublesome like them, she’s not going to rebel the system if not for selfish reasons or plot points. She’s not Steve, she’s not Sam, and she shouldn’t be, but at the same time Peggy should not be a Captain that marvel should enforce in their media over and over again.

As Erskine said, “Because the strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength and knows... compassion.” And while Steve and Sam don’t know strength in the sense that Erskine disregards, Peggy does. And if anything, she resembles John Walker.

Not to mention she is no character of her own, she’s simply the mixture of some characters thrown together in a cauldron, and in addition she’s a Mary Sue. She is a villain masked as hero, one that is convenient as a character and can be thrown from side to side as if she was some Y/N insert in an avengers fanfic.

Not only she has made more appearances than the current Captain America, but she managed to insert herself in the majority of What If…’s storylines, even more than actual main characters. Like, you want to tell me people actually want yet another episode about Peggy or with Peggy being a major character instead of Wanda, Loki or the main six avengers? No one does, not even the stans with a functioning brain. But Marvel will not stop, and whatever chokehold Hayley Atwell has on them will last until she’ll be satisfied with the colonization of all the possible marvel projects.

So ultimately, to answer your question: yes, I did notice Sam is being overshadow by a dusty side character that should have stayed dead back in 2016. You’re not alone, and I’m glad I’m not either. If you scroll on my profile you’ll soon find an old post of mine from last year, during the MoM era, where I was talking about this issue, and a Peggy stan went ballistic and on a rant on how I was using Sam as an excuse to hate on Peggy and justify Stucky. (Btw nice move altering the hashtags, I’ve done it too and it’s been a blessing for me.)

Feel free to check that post and come back in the asks, I’d love to discuss that and maybe share some posts regarding the issue (if I can find them lol)

#rant #anti peggy carter #Steve rogers #sam wilson #Captain America #the falcon and the winter soldier #mcu critical #what if #what if season 2 #Ross rants

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Without forgetting that when Loki says the famous “for you”, Sylvie inhales suddenly and loudly. A somewhat unnecessary reaction, if it is not to underline something a little more special coming from the character, other than simply understanding that Loki sacrifices himself for the multiverse, since she literally verbalizes this famous understanding in the seconds that follow.

Also, it would be a little weird if Loki said "for you" in the plural, and then said "for all of us". It's quite repetitive and I feel like no one talks like that. It's as if Loki said "For all of you. For all of us." And it wouldn't make sense for "for you" to be as much for Mobius as Sylvie, therefore the equivalent of "For both of you. For all of us." Since Mobius is not considered at all in the same way as Sylvie in the framing, or he is withdrawn and in the shadows. The image suggests that Loki is looking at Sylvie and the dialogue echoing old conversations they had allows the viewer to understand that he is talking to Sylvie. But I think it's pretty obvious that Sylvie understands it too. Because if he looked at her as the image suggests, there's no reason for her to think he's talking to her as much as he is to Mobius. And once again, the plural "for you" would be the equivalent of saying "For all of you. For all of us." Which is… a bit stupid? Again… Nobody talks like that?

Just my opinion.

Yeah I agree with all of this. To me the only way it makes sense is if the 'for you' is directed solely at Sylvie, there's just too much to signify that it was to her, the parallel to the thor movie where the line was first said, with the 'for you' being directed at a singular person and the 'for all of us' directed at everyone else. The fact that it is a follow on from conversations he had with Sylvie alone and the fact that Sylvie is front and centre in that scene.

I see alot of arguments saying that well why would mobius be there if it wasn't directed at them both. My answer to this would be because he is still an important person in Loki's life. Personally I see Loki, Sylvie and Mobius as the main trio of the show, the three main characters. Loki is the centre and then you have, Sylvie the love and Mobius the best friend, both are equally important and so it was important that both be there in this final moment as Loki had this self discovery about who he really wanted to be and when he made this sacrifice. But that doesn't automatically mean that the 'for you' was directed at both of them. In the same way that both Odin and Thor are important people in Loki's life and they were both there the first time he said that line but there is still no arguing that the 'for you' in that moment was directed only at his father and not also at thor.

To me it just isn't a very logical argument to say that it has to be directed at both simply because they were both there. Whilst both relationships are important that doesn't mean that every meaningful line or act Loki does has to be directed at both all the time. And as you said if it was directed at both its him basically saying 'for all of you, for all of us' which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

But who knows maybe it was directed at both of them, I don't personally think it was, but who knows what goes on in the writers/producers/actors' heads unless they explicitly tell us, that might be the only way we'll know for sure. Or maybe there's a language out there where there is a different word for a plural you and a singular you and we can check the subtitles? I don't know on that one though. Although thinking about it some more another way it could be cleared up is if they decided to do a novelisation of season 2 like they did season 1 so we can see exactly what loki was thinking in that moment, maybe that would clear up any confusion. But for now I'm choosing to see it as the 'for you' was directed at solely Sylvie and unless I see some concrete prove to suggest otherwise that's what I'm sticking with.

#sylki #loki x sylvie #answered

[mask131]

Cold winter: Thor

THOR

Category: Norse mythology

When talking about Norse mythology, Thor is the one god one can’t miss. He was one of the biggest characters of Norse religion (and of Germanic mythology too, where he was known as Donar).

Thor is the son of Odin, king of the gods, and of Jörd, a goddess embodying the earth. He has a wife named Sif, a goddess renowned for her beautiful golden hair, but also a lover, Jarnsaxa, a jötunn who name seems to mean “iron dagger”! Thor also has three children: Thrudr (Strength), the daughter of Thor and Sif ; Magni (Mighty), son of Thor and Jarnsaxa, and Modi (Wrath). Now, the thing is that Modi and Magni are talked about together, without their mother mentioned, in the “Poetic Edda”, hinting at them possibly being twins born of the same mother – while in the Prose Edda, Modi is completely missing and there is only talk of Magni, whose mother is identified as Jarnsaxa. And if this was easy… there’s also the matter of Jarnsaxa. She is identified as a jötunn and the mother of Magni in the Prose Edda – but in the same Prose Edda, Sif, Thor’s legal divine wife, calls herself by two names… one is “rival of Jarnsaxa”, implying that the giantess is indeed a lover of her husband… and the other is actually “Jarnsaxa”. She calls herself Jarnsaxa, implying… that maybe the jötunn mother is just another identity or another personality of Sif herself. It is all a confusing and complicated matter. Note that all of three of Thor’s children are manifestations of traits of Thor himself: he was said to be the strongest of all the gods (Strength, Mighty), but also renowned as a deity prone to anger (Wrath).

Thor is said to live with Sif and his children in a hall called Bilskirnir (Lightning-crack), located in an area called Thrudheim (the realm of strength) or Thrudvangr (the power field), which is Thor’s domain in Asgard, the world of the gods. Bilskirnir is said to be one of the biggest buildings of Asgard, with 540 rooms. Thor also owns three specific items. The most well-known is his hammer, Mjölnir, his main weapons in his various battles, renowned for being the “crusher of giant skulls” thanks to how Thor kept using it to kill jötnar. With one good hit of his hammer, Thor can break an entire mountain in two ; but it can also be a tool of divine blessing as Thor demonstrates in some stories. It never misses its target, can never be lost by Thor no matter how he throws it (the hammer always “returns” to Thor’s hand, figuratively or not depending on how you interpret it), can hit as heavy as Thor desires it to be – and it even can shrink in size until becoming small enough to fit into a pocket! Crafted by dwarf masters after Loki cut Sif’s golden hair (a long story), it only has one default: its handle is too short. His second item is “Jarngreipr” (iron grippers) or Jarnglofer (iron gauntlets), a pair of iron gloves Thor needs to wield his hammer (for unknown reasons). Last but not least is Megingjörd, the “power-belt”, a belt that, when worn by Thor, doubles his already prodigious strength.

Thor’s numerous and many adventures throughout Norse mythology are mostly him wandering about, hunting/fighting/killing various monsters, ranging from hostile jötnar to Jormungandr the “world-serpent”. Always excessive and terrifying in everything he does (thanks to his prodigious strength and wild nature), he is renowned as both a prodigious eater of great appetite and the best drinker of all of the gods, able to gulp down a LOT of liquid, be it ale or sea-water. Physically he is usually recognized by three facts: one, his red hair and beard, two, his largeness, three, his eyes that are burning, fiery, fierce, fearsome – in one word, terrifying. His chariot is drawn not by horses, but by two goats: Tanngrisnir (“one that has gaps between the teeth”) and Tanngnjost (“one that grinds teeth”). Whenever Thor travels around the world, and when he needs to eat, he simply camps somewhere and kills his goats, cooking and eating their meat. He keeps however their bones preciously, because in the following morning he just has to use his magical hammer to bring them back to life in full health and shape. It is due to this unique ownership that Thor is called the “lord of goats”. Oh yes and if a chariot pulled by goats doesn’t seem impressive… one should add that when the goats starts to swiftly run, mountains burst and earth is covered in fire where the chariot passes. These goats are also the reason for the presence of two children alongside Thor: Thjalfi and Röskva, a boy and a girl, children of a peasant in whose house Thor was hosted for one night. As the poor family didn’t have enough to feed Thor, the god simply killed his goats to make a supper for everybody – but Loki, who was alongside Thor in the house, tempted Thjalfi into breaking one of the goat’s bones to suck its marrow. As a result, in the following morning, when Thor resurrected his goats, he noticed one of them was now lame due to the broken bone – and he entered a wild and furious rage. But upon seeing how terrified the humans were, he calmed down, and explaining the situation, he reclaimed as a compensation the two human children, that became his servants and companions for his future adventures.

Apparently, according to Odin, every day Thor wades through two rivers (Körmt and Örmt), and then through two more (the Kerlaugar, or Kerlaugs twain) to go to some sort of council or court held at Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, and there he sits as “judge”. There is also another fascinating myth showing Thor acting as a father: apparently during one of his travels he met a dwarf called Alviss, who is about to get married, and as they chat Thor realizes the dwarf is about to marry… Thor’s very own daughter. And Thor gets pretty angry because apparently this marriage agreement was made between the gods while he was away, and he finds the dwarf really repulsive. So to trick him, Thor reveals his identity as the father of the bride and forces the dwarf suitor to prove himself to him – by revealing all that he knows about all the different worlds he travelled in. So the dwarf, to prove himself worthy, listed at Thor his encyclopedic knowledge of everything and everyone… but as it turns out, it was just a ploy to gain time until dawn – for dwarfs turn to stone is they are touched by sunlight, and Thor kept Alviss busy enough for him not to notice the incoming sunrise. This story is one of several that actually can be used to disprove a common misconception about Thor: Thor is not stupid. Yes he is a mighty brute and a “hit-before-talking” type of guy renowned for crashing everybody’s skulls – but he is never said to be an idiot or slow-minded. In this story and others he can actually become tricky when the situation calls for it, though he is not known by nature as a cunning god ; and he is able to hold an insult-contest with Odin, which requires a lot of knowledge and intelligence (though he ultimately loses because Odin is Odin). In a similar way, yes he is a destructive and terrifying warrior prone to bursts of violence… but he is also a good god who makes his best to not frighten humans too much and usually only kills threats, dangers and evil people.

- - - - -

All of that being said… WHAT is Thor the god of?

Well… of lightning you may answer. This was an aspect of the god that was pushed hard by Marvel, but it is true that Thor is heavily associated with lightning and storms. His hall is literally called “lightning-crack”, while his name and its variants (Thor, Thunor, Thuner, Thunar) gave birth to the modern word “thunder”. It was recorded by medieval chroniclers that Thor was thought to be the god ruling the sky and was explicitly compared with the Roman Jupiter: Thor was said to be the god who ruled over lightning, thunder, winds, storms, and weather in general. Jacob Grimm, in the 19th century, for his reconstruction of Germanic mythology, pointed out all of the (then) modern expressions linking Thor/Donar to thunder: in Norwegian lightning is “Thor’s warmth”, in Swedish thunder is “Thor’s rumble”. Swedish expressions such as “the ride of the god” and “the good old fellow is taking a ride” are used when there is a storm, implying that Thor’s rides through the sky caused thunderstorms ; and the Scandinavian folk belief of trolls and giants being scared of lightning might be a leftover of Thor the jötnar-killer. Finally, in North Frisian a traditional curse is “Let the red-haired thunder see to that!”).

But fascinatingly the Romans did not associated Thor with their own thunder god Jupiter… Donar, the Germanic Thor, was associated with “Jove” (another name of Jupiter) but only by Germans in the post-Roman era and early Middle-Ages, where the sacred oaks of Donar were called “Jove trees” and the name “Thunor” became a synonym of “Jove” in texts. The Romans themselves, when they encountered the Germanic and Nordic people and identified their gods with their own, rather associated Thor with Hercules – because both were crazy-strong monster-killing heroes wielding a form of mace. We also know that Thor was considered by Nordic people and Vikings to be a sort of fertility and health god, as he was given offerings whenever there was the threat of a plague or a famine – though it might have more to be with Thor’s “protective” nature. Indeed, well after the old Norse times, well after the Roman times, all the way to the Vikings and even well into the Christian times of Nordic countries, Thor’s hammer was a very strong folkloric symbol. The stylized hammer, sometimes covered in runes, was worn as an amulet or pendant by people as a way to protect their owner, warding off evil spirits and bad things.

The name of “Thor” stayed also very popular despite the Christianization of Northern Europe, resulting in “Thor” or its variants appearing in various first names, family names and location names across ancient Norse countries. Heck, even one of the days of the English week, “Thursday” is named after Thor, as it is in truth “the day of Thunor”, Thunor being the name of Thor in Old English.

#cold winter #norse mythology #thor

[saberamane]

I love how people mistake my words as 'loving' a character that I really have no feelings for, make a whole post saying how me saying I 'like' that character under a post of another character is basically invalidating the second character and this persons views, tells me to to write them to discuss it, and then BLOCKS ME so I can't.

So acgames, since you want to make me a bad guy over YOUR misunderstanding, I shall write it here. I can't post my initial response since not only have you blocked me, but my secondary tumblr account can't see my response since I assume you deleted it in your childish tantrum.

First off, here's my response to their tags on the Alexios post, which are (asgames reblogs, Alexios of sparta, Finally someone gave alexios credit he deserved, Everyone who posts alexios content over Kassandra is my favorite person, Alexios fans-you are my fave, assassin's creed odyssey.)

As you can see, I agreed that Alexios is a great character, but that yes as acgames said, most odyssey posts are of Kassandra. I went on to say that I believe this is the case because she is 'canonically' the 'correct' protagonist (ie. from the viewpoint of ubisoft) And then went on to try and make conversation by saying I have started odyssey and picked Kassandra, not for any 'correct' reasons or anything, but merely because not many games have female lead's, so I like to choose that when it's an option. Not for any other reason. I didn't pick Kassandra because she was the 'correct' protagonist or whatever, I literally thought it had no actually plot point like in Valhalla where no matter if you picked man or woman, the main assassin is called Eivor and that's it. Didn't know Odyssey was going to have a 'the gender you didn't pick is now a 'bad guy' that you will have to spare or kill at some point in the story.'

Now, acgames's post, which I responded to trying to explain the above in a shorter format.

As you can see, they tagged me in this post where they say "I never mentioned I consider you being wrong for playing as Kassandra." Of which I did not say that...at all. "I have no idea why you feel you have to defend your point about playing as her." Which I wasn't. I was simply stating a fact. I started Odyssey. I picked Kassandra. End of story. "You should play the way you want and no one should tell you otherwise (which I am pretty sure I didn't at any rate.)" No, you didn't. And that's not what I was saying either. You took what I said the wrong way.

Their next paragraph I completely agree with. Kassandra and Alexios are both possible canon protagonists, depending on who you choose at the start. I simply said that Ubisoft basically wrote it as Kassandra being the 'canon' option, if her showing up in Valhalla means anything.

"This is what I expressed: I love people who play as Alexios because of how underrepresented he is. I see scraps of Good guy Alexios story, I show love to that, but at the same time I never throw any shade towards Kassandra players." Which is also what I expressed.

"If story has favored protagonist and underdog protagonist, who "canonically" is villian, I will always prefer underdog, because there so much less content and love shown for them and I just vibe with underdog more." My favorite characters usually are the 'bad guy'. Final Fantasy 9- Kuja. Marvel Movies- Loki (though this is... questionable?? sometimes?) Winter Soldier (Again, questionable, but he is a badass villain.) Final Fantasy 10- Seymour (Honestly love the crazy bad guy hair, and his Aeon which you can also get? Badass) Naruto- Itachi, Sasori, Deidara (And many, many more)

"So why you have to write your testimony towards (I assume) me, it's very weird to me" It wasn't a testimony, it was trying to start a conversation with a fellow AC fan and sharing my own gaming decisions. Not that it actually matters. (My mistake for trying to talk to you.)

Their tags under that post.

Not once did I try and 'pressure' you into liking Kassandra over Alexios. I was perfectly respectful, you making a passive-aggressive shit post, however, is. Again, I wasn't defending my choices. I was trying to make conversation and simply sharing my choices. I never said you hate Kassandra. Again, I have no preference to either Alexios or Kassandra, I haven't gotten that far in the story yet to really 'like' the main character yet, so you saying I prefer Kassandra over Alexios is literally you putting words in my mouth. I definitely don't see you as my role model. I'm a grown ass woman with a job and a mortgage, not some teenage girl looking for a role model to obsess over. I wasn't challenging your preferences, nor was I being 'serious'. I was making conversation.

I LITERALLY can't write you an ask with any issues I have, as you've blocked me. Very childish. I also wasn't posting my issues with you under other people's posts. I had no issues with you AT ALL until now. You're the one who created issues where there wasn't any.

In your post itself? Not really. But your tags and these comments after the fact that I can't respond to? Yeah, pretty aggressive. About something that was merely suppose to be a friendly conversation. I wasn't defending Kassandra as a character, simply stating what I chose at the beginning to start a conversation about Odyssey. Which you took issue with.

As for me saying 'You should have dm'd me' in the comments you blocked anyone else form seeing? I meant your apparent issue with me stating simply what I did in a video game. I was being nice, trying to start a convo, you came back with a passive-aggressive post about my 'defense' and 'love' for Kassandra, of which didn't happen and not what I feel for her.

"Idk, posting under alexios themed post that you prefer kass because she's female protag... I do not get what dialogue you are trying to make there, because I otherwise miss the point..." You very much have missed the point, and made yourself look like an ass doing so. I NEVER said I preferred Kassandra. I simply said that's who I picked. I can infer you probably picked Alexios then?

I wasn't making excuses to you, I was trying to explain what you obviously misread or misunderstood. Again, I do not 'love' or 'prefer' Kassandra. I really don't give a shit about her. I simply stated I picked a female protag in a game because you don't often get that choice, and you've twisted it into this bullshit. I picked female Eivor too. Are you going to say I hate male Eivor because I chose to play a female protag because I'm also a female?

And as you can see, acgames did hide/block/ or remove my 2 comments trying to explain what my original comment was about.

But that's not all! Acgames continues to go on about me and twisting my words to make themselves a victim! How fun!

For your information, I touch a lot of grass. I own a farmstead, with vegetable gardens, berry patches, starting on orchard etc. Plus flower gardens. I spend a lot of time outside. I play very little video games anymore. Because I'm a grown adult with responsibilities. In fact, saying I can't take normal discussion? Sorry, that's you. With how often your post's are 'I can't deal with people, I'm gonna be gone from tumblr for a few days.' etc. I am owning it, btw. Your the one throwing a tantrum and blocking me after making several posts saying I should send you an ask or dm about issues. And you only allow messages from people you follow? I can't contact you anyway, so why tell me to? You make all this shit up and then run away?

"Read the notes to make your own assumptions of our spat." Wasn't even a spat, and people literally can't see my two notes because you removed them. "Some people just want to start the fights..." Wasn't starting a fight, was trying to explain to you how you mistook my words. Now I'm pissed off cause you make these allegations, ask people to back you up by reading everything, then HIDE what I said so people can ONLY side with you. "I am too old for tumblr drama bullshit." But are you?? Didn't you make all of this into drama??

Like you, I am also 28, but one of us is obviously more mature than the other. It feels like there's already some bs drama going on in your life, and you mistook what I wrote and decided I was to be your punching bag. I hope you get whatever help you need, because if this is how you react to people trying to start friendly conversations with you, well... Good luck to you, because you'll never make it through life or work with this kind of attitude. And maybe put my messages back up on that post so people can actually get the full story and not just what you're selling them.

#acgames #call out #personal

[xalygatorx]

A Very Worthy Christmas 3: Stalemates in Macy’s

Christmassy bonus chapters for Worthy (posted a bit early because we're sneaking up on that time of year)!

All take place after the main story, so if you don't want spoilers, save these for a cozy, snowy day. x

Summary: Cora takes Loki out Christmas shopping.

Pairing: Loki x Fem!OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2.7k

Loki eyed Cora suspiciously as she maneuvered around their house, picking up an accordion folder she kept things called "coupons" in and proceeding to hunt down a list she'd been sporadically adding to over the past month or so.

"What are you plotting?" he asked, his suspicion apparent in his slow, drawn-out tone.

When Cora turned around, looking the picture of innocence, his wariness spiked tenfold. "What do you mean?" she asked as she shoved the folder into her purse and continued looking for her list.

"You never take me out to shop with you anymore," Loki pointed out. She had the majority of the time in their first month or so of Loki's transition to Earthly customs, but after that he'd branched off on his own to buy clothes and the like and she'd found that trying to grocery shop with him was a nightmare. It was similar to the bagel incident, but on a larger scale. "Why today?"

Cora opened her mouth to answer and then spotted her list on the breakfast bar, snatching it up like a runaway snake. "First of all, never is a strong word. And... Because."

As it turned out, that would be the most descriptive answer he got, even while she herded him outside, through the now impressive amount of snow, and to the sidewalk, where they passed multiple cabs lined up along the curb for chilly takers. "Your lack of information is…"

"Alarming?" she offered unabashedly.

"In-character," he finished instead, which earned him a heavy dose of side-eye.

After she'd finished throwing him shade, Cora passed the list over to him, which he arranged in his hands in such a way that it stayed flat for reading in the wind. "First of all, your monstrosity of a tree needs more lights than my more practically compact one," she paused to glare when he mumbled again about it not being a real tree, "and second of all, there's another Midgardian Yuletide tradition I fully intend to indulge in."

Loki glanced over at her warily. "And that would be…?"

"It's kind of a favorite of mine and probably the most widespread tradition there is for the holiday. We exchange gifts," she explained simply.

"Who is the 'we' in this context?"

"Well, anyone, really," she answered reasonably. "I should have said 'people' rather than 'we,' but the point is that it's a thing."

"A thing, hm…," he murmured as he glanced over the list, one section of which was devoted to a great many names, in his opinion, with little ideas for these traditional gifts, he supposed, jotted down alongside.

He was a little hurt to find that his name hadn't made her list, though he didn't show it. Somehow, all the same, she still sensed it, as always. "Did you think I was going to hand you a list with your presents written out all over it? Not a chance."

Loki grimaced down at her as she continued to lead them down the populated sidewalk, the both of them unconsciously weaving between civilians like minnows in a traveling school. "Am I expected to partake in this tradition of yours as well?"

Cora frowned a little as if the thought hadn't occurred to her that he'd resist one of her holiday endeavors. "Um… Well, it would be nice if you did, but you certainly don't have to."

"I wonder when it was that you received the notion that I was 'nice'."

"You see, this is why you had to watch the Grinch the other day."

Loki rolled his eyes and watched as she sidestepped in front of him to duck into something called the Christmas Tree Shoppe. His eyes narrowed on the animatronic reindeer inside the window panes alongside a statue of Santa, none of which made sense to him as he'd yet to see any other Christmas specials. The suit and hat rang a bell, however, so he figured there must be a tie-in. Loki sighed and followed her in, immediately getting lost amongst a clutter of ornament racks, stocking choices, and yard decorations. And the trees. Well, the fake trees, but the trees, they were everywhere and in all kinds of colors and sizes and themes.

He found it all rather exhausting though he'd only made the shop's acquaintance for about twenty seconds. Still, it was somehow enough time to properly lose track of his partner.

"Cora, by the Nine, where are you?" he called grumpily after he'd not managed to find her immediately.

"Marco!" called a cheery voice a few rows down.

"No. Loki. Who is this Marco?" he wondered, jealousy creeping in the pit of his stomach at the thought of some Marco fellow making him so forgettable. It dissipated when he felt her small hand on his forearm, catching him as he almost passed her by.

"It's a game. Marco Polo. Well, he's a famous historical figure, but the name is also a game kids play."

Loki's eyes narrowed a little as he disregarded the confusion influx of information. "So there is no Marco?"

She bit down a laugh at the look on his face. "No."

He nodded once and then proceeded to look down his nose at the ornaments rather pompously to bulk his ego back up, which was when Cora's attempt to keep from laughing really became trying.

A half-hour of quiet bickering and perusing later, they emerged from the shop with two bags, one for a ridiculous amount of lights and the other for ornaments and a plush Grinch that Loki had refused to part from after Cora had unthinkingly suggested he could put atop the tree in place of a star or angel. The more she thought about it, the cuter that idea sounded anyway, but she didn't say anything about it so he could continue to think that he was getting away with something.

They'd ended up in the large Macy's department store a few blocks over from their townhouse because Cora had figured they could find just about anything in that place for everyone she'd written down, Loki included; even though she'd gotten his gifts—a bunch of books she'd gone on a spree for in Books & Co., some new clothes, and a few tech toys she'd figured he might have some fun with, at least for a while—already, she still figured there might be room for some stocking stuffers. When she looked over at him to assure him they wouldn't be there long, she caught him giving her some serious side-eye. Almost her level of side-eye. "What is that look for?"

"Explain this…tradition to me again. Who exchanges these gifts?"

"Um… Whoever wants to? Mostly family, friends, and the like," Cora replied, squinting at him. "Why?"

He grimaced a little and shrugged. "Trying to understand another Midgardian activity, I suppose." He said like it was a child's make-believe game rather than doing something nice for someone else. Figured.

A woman with an armful of garments and shoeboxes barged between them sheerly out of rudeness and the look Loki shot at her back was poisonous. In a flicker of insanity, Cora wondered what it would've been like had she taken him out on Black Friday and, after a moment of consideration for how much chaos he managed to inflict just when he was bored, she decided this would have both been a disaster and a good method to score a discounted TV or computer before anyone else. Something to keep in mind, maybe…

As she entertained the thought of him freezing stores' automatic doors closed and causing a mess of confusion with his sometimes tyrannical attitude and multitude of illusions, Cora glanced over her list and started for the cosmetics and accessories, shopping with Jane in mind first. Loki followed along behind her, glaring here and there at rude—and sometimes just crowding—shoppers, but remaining surprisingly well-behaved. Cora was mulling over another thought, one she'd been pondering for some time, when Loki finally called her out on it. "Not finding what you're in search of?"

She frowned a little as she shook her head, holding a bit of soap beneath her nose as she tried to pick out one Jane might like, as she'd managed to end up at the Lush kiosk, one of her personal guilty pleasures. "Well, not quite." He continued to stare at her until she caved slowly, studying the bar in her hand as she suggested carefully, "I think… I think you should get something. For your brother."

Loki's eyes narrowed and a scowl curled his lips, which discouraged an approaching associate from approaching any further for the time being, smoothly busying herself with the facial cleansers instead. "And how could that possibly be categorized as a 'good idea'?"

"I think he'd really appreciate it," Cora continued, placing the bar she'd been holding back on its display and picking up one called “Mangnificent” instead. It smelled of mangoes, mandarin oranges, and other citrusy notes. She personally liked it, but knew Jane tended to prefer florals, so she tried again.

"I think I would never hear the end of it," he grumbled, watching the products Cora picked up and squinting at the quirky nameplates.

"In a good way," Cora insisted quietly after sniffing something called Putty For Your Hands. It smelled like oatmeal and, oddly, fabric softener.

"Doubtful," Loki growled and it was insistent enough that she knew she was out of luck for the moment. Maybe at the next stop. She ended up getting a soap called Parsley Porridge and a body butter by the name of Brazened Honey, figuring she could start a spa day theme for the new mom who probably sorely needed one.

Over the next hour or so as Cora wandered around the enormous store, she occasionally pointed out a shirt or a belt or something fun that she figured Thor might like, casually wondering aloud, "Maybe this for him?" each time. She was met with a few disgruntled reactions and then firm silences until Loki gave up and wandered off on his own just to get away from what he perceived as her meddling. She shopped alone for some time before finally happening upon him by the jewelry cases, where he was looking at the men's watch collection. She bumped his shoulder idly as she walked up to announce her presence without actually announcing anything, glancing over the trinkets under the glass and lights. "Why not?"

"Cora," he warned quietly, not taking his eyes off a gunmetal Rolex as he spoke.

"I'm not asking for much, I'm just curious," she grumbled softly, causing him to sigh as if she'd physically wounded him just enough to irritate and not debilitate. "What's the issue?"

"The 'issue'," he muttered, using the tone he generally used whenever he was mimicking her Midgardian slang, "is that even if I did procure something for my oaf of a brother, he would mock the gesture. It's a useless venture, which you would understand if you gave it some real thought."

Cora pursed her lips and said patiently, "I have given it some real thought. You know I don't just toss things like that out willy-nilly. Besides…" She paused, weighing her words before speaking them. "I have a feeling Thor will appreciate the thought. No matter what it is."

"Wishful thinking seems to be another super-ability of yours."

"I'm serious," she said firmly, not allowing him to interrupt her as she stated, "Despite everything that happened in Asgard and with Thanos before you both came to live here, you both have been disgustingly stubborn about living up to your relationship. You're brothers, blood or no, and you were starting to act like it again, too! It was…" Cora sighed. "Well, it was really great…to see that…"

Loki's jaw was tight, his teeth flush and near to gritting. However, he said and did nothing, only turned from the watch cases and began his exit from the jewelry department. It earned a sigh from Cora, but she followed along, starting to keep an eye out for the next available register so she could check out what all she'd found in his absence.

Once she'd had everything rung up and paid for it all, Cora hauled the red-starred bag off the counter, only to be intercepted when Loki walked back over to her side and slid the bag from her hands. She first felt suspicious before realizing he was being polite, even though he was clearly still irked. She murmured a thank-you, he dropped a kiss to the top of her head, and the two began their exit from the store, cutting through the hardware section on the ground floor to get out to the parking lot. Cora had her hands on the door when Loki asked behind her, "What's this?"

For a fleeting moment, she had a small heart attack, thinking he'd peeked inside the severely tissue paper-plugged shopping bag and found one of the stocking stuffers she'd bought to put in his emerald green stocking—something her grandma had made by hand and sent over a few days prior from California along with the usual treats—and there was nothing Cora hated more this time of year than ruined surprises. However, he'd stopped next to one of the doorbuster tables and Cora had to walk over to peek around him and see what he was eying.

"Um…," Cora murmured confusedly as she took in the rather bulky, industrial-looking toolbox with black shiny latches and a heavy-looking steel grey body. It was one of the biggest toolboxes she'd ever seen and likely only necessary for someone who had a wide expanse of tools like a handyman or plumber, someone who'd need the space. "It's…a toolbox."

"Is it a good one?" Loki asked, looking extremely straight-faced and almost a little uncomfortable. Cora was very confused until her eyes moved back to the box and she caught sight of the sticker on the lid, upon which was a picture of the toolbox in full use, overflowing with a wide range of tools and building implements in little bags and jars. At the forefront of the box, sticking out boldly from the corner and propping up the lid was a hammer.

Her mouth felt a little dry as she trod very, very carefully—excruciatingly so—into this new development. "I'm not an expert, but it looks like it." Her heart was putty in her chest over this man.

"Who would know?"

"Mm, probably that sales associate. He looks like he's usually up here," she said, nodding toward a middle-aged man conditioning some shelves, who wore khakis, an expensive-looking leather tool belt, and a name tag.

Loki followed her gesture and nodded once, murmuring, "I will be right back," and offering her the shopping bag before walking over to the salesman. Cora smiled slowly and glanced toward the door, finding a place to sit nearby with the red bag in her lap. She surreptitiously watched Loki and the employee walk each other around the department, Loki seeming to relax gradually as he gathered information and workshopped the idea he'd had just moments ago. She glanced away every time he turned to check on her, either fiddling with her fingernails or pretending to be looking in the bag at her purchases or at the receipt. In truth, Loki wasn't nearly so stupid as to not notice, but he somewhat appreciated her effort. At the very least, he was amused.

He ended up selecting the large grey toolbox and a tool belt like the one the associate wore. Cora had more than willingly handed over the credit card so he could pay for it himself, then they headed back down the street toward home. Cora couldn't help but smile a little about halfway down the second block, noting casually and so briefly he would never doubt that it was just in passing, "Those were good choices, he'll love them." And then she dropped the subject entirely.

Loki nodded once in reply to her flippant comment, which he knew very well was not flippant at all, but meant to reassure him. It was a game they seemed to play, and had played since they met years ago. They had tender subjects, both of them did, and the other always ended up dancing over them, like a dance over hot coals. There was never a right way to approach the other's demons, a rare few people out there handled meetings like those well, but he'd noticed over time that they'd never seemed to fail in getting close. And in all honesty, close was more than enough.

Instead of saying anything remotely resembling his strangely poetic thoughts, he stayed silent and adjusted his hold on their bags, freeing up one hand to take hers.

Next chapter: A Very Worthy Christmas 4, Adventures in Babysitting

#loki laufeyson #loki x fem!oc #loki x oc #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki fluff #thor odinson #thor movies #thor the dark world #avengers #marvel cinematic universe

[worstloki]

other characters doing exposition: boring, plain, boring, doesn't make sense, often a voiceover, biased, uninteresting,

loki doing exposition: stunning, beautiful, fun, there's salad involved, etc. etc.

#simply another reason loki is a main character #not in accordance with marvel or the tva maybe but in my heart #the Loki show #loki spoilers #loki show spoilers

[tomhiddlestonfanfic]

I Don’t Have Time for This

I Don’t Have Time for This

CHAPTER NUMBER/ONE SHOT: One shot

WHICH TOM CHARACTER: Actor Tom

PAIRING: Tom Hiddleston/Reader

GENRE: Romance, Drama

AO3-link

REQUEST: The reader and Tom are in a relationship and he is getting ready to start a new movie or play, but he either gets injured or sick (something like the flu or a broken ankle, nothing life-threatening) and that jeopardizes his ability to perform the role. He’s stressed out and worried and the reader has to take care of him whilst comforting him about the entire situation.

TAGLIST: @waddlenut @sleutherclaw​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​

I Don’t Have Time for This

“I don’t have time for this.” Those were the first words you heard Tom utter as you came into the hospital room he was sharing with three other people.

“It’s nice to see you too, darling,” you huffed amusedly and sat down beside him on the hospital bed. Tom pulled you closer towards him and brought you into a kiss.

“Of course I’m happy to see you, love,” he assured you and kept his arms around you, holding you close. “I just don’t have time for a broken ankle right now. I have so much work to do,” he explained. He seemed stressed.

“I know darling,” you sighed and gently caressed his cheek. “I’m sure it will work out somehow. It’s not like they can replace Loki with another actor for season two. You are Loki. I’m sure they’ll find a way to work around your injury.”

“I feel like such a klutz,” Tom confided in a lower voice so no one else would hear him but you.

“You were unlucky,” you told him. “It could happen to anyone.”

“But it happened to me,” Tom said with a pout. Your heart melted at how adorable he looked as he was moping around.

“I’m truly sorry that it happened to you, darling. If I could switch places with you, I would,” you told him sympathetically.

“I wouldn’t want you to,” Tom objected and sighed heavily.

“I know,” you said with a gentle smile. “But I promise, it’s going to be alright. They’ll make it work somehow. You’re the main character. You can still practice for your part, even if you won’t be able to walk without crutches for some time. They’ll simply leave out the running and action scenes until your ankle has healed. It can’t be that hard. They’re professionals after all,” you reasoned. Tom managed to smile at you.

“You might be right,” he agreed, but still seemed a bit frustrated by the situation. “I was just out for a run and then one false step and bang, it just broke. I feel like such an idiot.”

“But you’re not an idiot. You’re the smartest man I know,” you told him and he smiled at you. “You were just unlucky, that’s all.”

“Thank you darling,” Tom said and kissed you again.

Tom didn’t have to stay for long at the hospital and after a couple of hours, you were back home again. You cooked the dinner as he contacted his working colleagues to fill them in on what had happened. To judge by the look on Tom’s face after finishing his calls, it had gone better than he had anticipated.

“You were right. They’ll find a way to work around it,” Tom informed you with a smile as he stood in the door opening to the kitchen with his phone in his hand. He looked so relieved. 

“Of course I was right,” you told him confidently and walked up to kiss him. After the kiss you looked up at him with a mischievous grin.

“What?” Tom asked with a smile as he looked at you thoughtfully.

“I…” you hesitated and blushed.

“You…” Tom said in an attempt to make you finish your sentence.

“I can’t wait to see you as Loki again,” you revealed and Tom smiled knowingly at you. He knew about your weakness for Loki.

“Is that so?” he asked playfully and placed his hands on your shoulders. He lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper seductively in your ear. “Kneel.”

Your cheeks instantly grew warm and you looked up at Tom in surprise. He seemed pleased with himself as he smirked at you. He was Loki.

#loki x reader #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x male reader #tom hiddleston x female reader #tom hiddleston x gender neutral reader #loki fanfiction

[galahadenough]

I finally put together a review of Loki (TV Series). I've always been a huge Marvel fan, a huge MCU fan, but this show was horrific to me. Especially since I saw the show through to the end, I wanted to write a review for the main reviewing websites. I want this side to be heard. All it took was an immense amount of rage to get me to write reviews!

I’m planning on posting it on imdb, Rotten Tomatoes, and google reviews. So far I’ve gotten errors and issues with RT and google, and I’m hoping it doesn’t get lost on imdb. Any other places to leave reviews?

It took me a while to write this. I had to calm down a lot to make it coherent. Then I had to figure out how to condense it. I felt like a review should be my main points, but it took a lot of editing to get it down this much. (Then I had to make an edited version because google has much smaller word limits).

Thanks a lot @iamnmbr3. Your blog was the first one I found on the topic and it was a huge help. The show felt off from the first episode, but I couldn’t figure out why. Your analysis on the show really helped me to verbalize what I was feeling.

Review (except shorter on google):

As a huge MCU fan, I found the show to be intolerable. The plot was slow with way too much filler for the length of the show, and much of the filler felt purposeless. They could have deleted entire scenes or plot points without changing much if any of the story. The creators deliberately made the aesthetic average and mundane, which didn’t pair well with the underwhelming plot. The show relied heavily on slapstick humor, almost all of which was directed at the title character in a manner that encouraged laughter at his pain and stupidity. It would have been better suited for a cartoon, but it would be a cruel cartoon.

The TVA was presented as the better of two evils despite it being a totalitarian organization utilizing genocide and torture, both physical and mental. It felt very reminiscent of the book 1984 with the Thought Police, but the TVA was never truly represented as evil. Not one character opposed them as a hero or from a moral standpoint. All opposition came from a personal or self-serving motive. I’m not wanting every character to be brilliantly moralistic. That would be boring. But you don’t set up an organization like the TVA and say that they are providing a good and needed service, which was the idea the series was based on and ended on.

Mobius has a personality that is very easy to like, but he is very much complicit with the TVA. He happily 'does his job' of genocide and torture. He is Loki's captor, but we are informed he is his friend. When he isn't actively using physical or mental manipulation and torture, he is deriding and mocking him. There was nothing to indicate that they were friends outside of being told that is true. Mobius was never used as a villain by the show despite him fitting the mold well, but he also never has a redemption arc that would have made him a good hero. His reason for working against the TVA is because they lied to him, not because there is any moral reason. His change in alliances happened without much buildup, no gradual discovery throughout the series.

Sylvie felt like a caricature of a character, with very little to her personality other than grit. I was very bored with her. She was a tough, strong, and perfect character that lacked any other depth or nuance. She was called “terrifying” for being female, which felt horrifyingly sexist. She was yet another source of derision and mocking towards Loki.

Loki, the character, was very poorly written. He has always had a great deal of emotional depth that makes him interesting. He was acted with a range from extreme subtlety to riveting explosions of emotion in previous movies. His past is filled with good and bad choices, made with good and bad intentions. He was the villain who tried to be a hero and the hero who tried to be a villain. They took all that away and made him a side character in his own show who had little to no effect on the plot.

For abilities, he lacked his usual physical fighting prowess. He did very little magic, seeming awed when others used magic. His personality and mannerisms changed drastically. His gestures and expressions in this show were over the top and felt clownish, especially for a character that is known for his subtlety. He felt hyperactive and painfully eager to please everyone. His character is known for his manipulations, but his method of 'manipulation' here is to inform others that he is 'ten steps ahead' of them and is going to trick them. I don’t think that’s a good method of manipulation? Plus, the only effect he had on the plot was to slow down the other characters through his bumbling failures.

In addition, Loki was almost always the target of cruelty. This entire show felt like it was made to mock this character. They used every opportunity to tell us, and Loki, how terrible Loki is. How he is irredeemable and incapable of change. That he is a narcissist, which is inaccurate, and that any Loki is inherently untrustworthy. From birth, I suppose. Physical attacks, such as the slow-motion punch and the time loop where he was repeatedly kicked in the crotch, made me cringe. This show encouraged the enjoyment of cruelty.

As a last point, the show used the idea of representation to draw in viewers while avoiding having actual representation. The show was lauded as being good for bisexual and genderfluid representation. From what I’ve heard, the genderfluid representation was a mark on Loki’s paperwork, which you would need to pause at just the right moment to see. Plus, that makes the “terror” at a female Loki make even less sense. The bisexual representation was shown through a single word, and the character was only shown to be so when they made an entire show to mock and belittle him. That is not good representation.

I was very excited for this show, as well as for the next phase of the MCU. This has left me very disappointed and disheartened. I may not be entirely finished with the MCU, but this is the first part of the series that has killed my excitement for future releases. I get a sinking feeling when I hear about future projects now. I have enjoyed debating creative choices before, but this is not simply creative choices. It is too much cruelty, combined with poor writing and a lack of continuity.

#loki tv #loki #loki series negativity #loki series #mcu #mcu critical #review

[lovelybarnes]

saudade- l. laufeyson

pairings: loki laufeyson x reader, mentions of other loki characters warnings: loki tv show spoilers, probably tva inaccuracies, mobius being trusted even though i don’t actually trust him lol, mentions of death, tears, a little sad angst but happy ending, ooc characters?? possible mistakes because i can't read this again skjfj about: requested, DF26 with TVA Loki running into the variant of his dead spouse a/n: thank you so much for requesting! i loved writing the last scene so much

loki has narrowly avoided the tva for years, opportunities much better than this and chaos a lot more chaotic than this have already been caused and passed. so the how and why he has been taken in at this very moment- while he’s eating at one of those fast food places you used to like- is very, very unknown to him. he should know, however; you’ve explained to him the tired concept of time traveling many times before, although the most important things were told to him when he thought you a mere mortal like the rest- something you were not- and could not possibly know something he didn’t- also something very untrue.

but the reasoning for his capturing is not at the front of his mind- although close- his main objective staying on how to get out of this unknown place and go back to looking for you- whether the fragile fabrics of reality and string of the timeline fray and break or don’t. he knows it possible, having seen the avengers do something similar, so why can a god like him not?

he’s ripped many holes, and he supposes the consequences for them are finally catching up to him, a lot sooner than he’d like. in another world, he’d already have you, and, with you by his side, you both would’ve been out long before, or never captured at all. although, he supposes, in a perfect world, you never would have been taken away from him in the first place.

he knows stopping for food he didn’t even necessarily need- or, really, like- was not a smart decision. he’s realizing exactly how not-smart of a decision it was with every passing second that the fools in armor drag him along the halls. the stop wasn’t needed, much less planned, but the memories the greasy food and dirty restaurant brought were too pleasant- a break full of you in the nonstop mission to find you. he could nearly feel your fingers touching his, hear your voice urging him to at least try and your bubbled laugh when he cringes. the fizz of the soda had made him grimace like the first time, except there was no you to giggle at it.

loki nearly thinks it was worth it. nearly.

when the guard shoves him into another room, loki takes a second to examine the exits, barely noticing the man at the desk. the person next to him pushes him further, dropping the tesseract and various stolen pym particles on the desk. loki takes note of where the man puts them so he can steal them back.

the guard stops with him in front of a small elevator, pulling a lever and waiting. loki looks at them, “where am i? get me back right now, i have things i must attend to.” the guard only looks at him, and loki scoffs, “i am loki of asgard, god of mischief and trickery, believe me when i say there will be deadly consequences if you do not do what i ask.”

the guard huffs a small laugh, “i’ve heard that before. we’ll see.”

the doors in front of him part, opening to a room he’s rammed into. he looks back the guard, one foot already out when he’s suddenly back where he was, watching as the entrance closes. he senses the machine before he can have a good look at it, a claw that he’s seen too many variations of beginning to poke at the fabric on his shoulders. he swats it away, standing tall as he glares at the smiling machine. “absolutely not! this is high tech armor, only few of this exists.”

the tech on the machine turns the grin into a frown, pulling back the talons and instead extending another apparatus that scans at his clothing, removing them with a yellow glow until he’s completely bare. he looks down at himself before looking back up at the face, pointing a finger, “now what-”

his words are cut off when he falls through the opening ground, falling onto the bottom room, now dressed in an uncomfortable tan jumpsuit, orange letters reading TVA on the left breast. a bored man in front of him pushes a pile of papers to him, “please sign to verify this is everything you’ve ever said.”

loki ignores his words, pushing it back, “i need to find someone, stop the absurdity.” the man only blinks as a machine whirrs, printing a piece of paper he reaches over to take and place on top of the pile. he hands loki a pen, “sign that too.” loki frowns, “did you not hear me? i have important things to do.” the machine does it again, and the man repeats his motions and shakes the pen in his hand. “that, too.” the god only sighs in frustration and signs, slamming the pen down before he’s dropped again.

another man greets him in a monotone, not even looking at him while he reads off the clipboard in his hands, “please confirm to your knowledge that you are not a fully robotic being, were born an organic creature, and do in fact possess what many cultures would call a soul.” loki’s eyebrows furrow, “i’m not a robot- how many people don’t know?”

“thank you for confirming, move through,” he requests. loki glances at the machine in front of him before stepping through it, a small picture printing after he’s on the other side. loki catches vibrant orange and red with hints of green that overcome any other color. “through the door, please.”

-

he encounters the same guard from before with a frustrated glare, leading him to what looks like a courtroom, a woman sitting in the middle, reading off a file. “variant L4293, aka loki laufeyson-l/n, is charged with sequence violation 7-20-89. how do you plead?” loki tilts his head at her, “madam, a god- i don’t plead.”

the woman sighs tiredly, “are you guilty or not guilty?” loki’s eyes thin as he observes her. “guilty of… trying to find my wife, yes. guilty of being extremely frustrated, yes. guilty of whatever it is you’re accusing me of, no. not guilty.” loki’s hand curls, trying to use his abilities inconspicuously but dismayed to not be able to. he tries again, only to come up empty as he realizes what is happening. “magic powers are no good in the tva, mister laufeyson,” the judge says absentmindedly. “i prefer l/n,” loki diverts simply, unknowingly catching the attention of one of the attendees. the judge barely acknowledges him, about to say something else before a man jumps up, hand raised, “wait, wait- uh, i have something to add to this. before the court makes a decision.”

the judge tilts her head at the man, pursing her lips before sighing and letting him approach the bench. loki leans in to try to understand the whispers that are exchanged, ending in the judge sending one last look his way before letting him go. “the court finds you innocent- and under agent mobius’ responsibility,” she clarifies, looking at the man and watching him nod quickly. she slams her gavel and motions for the man- mobius, he assumes, to take loki. he stands and awkwardly bows, before going over to loki and raising an eyebrow, “don’t betray me,” he says, words too true to be something playful. loki’s head tilts to the side in slight confusion, watching as the man begins to walk, pausing to urge loki to follow him.

loki ignores the activity through the windows of the hall, choosing to concentrate on mobius. “why did you do that?” he wonders aloud, suspicious eyes following him as his head peeks into halls. “let’s just say it’s a favor, although you’ll be on thin ice forever.”

“favor for whom?” mobius doesn’t answer, turning a corner. loki exhales sharply before following him, continuing to pry as he briefly heeds his surroundings. the sight of a woman in a suit much like mobius’ catches his eye, her back to him but he recognizes the shape of her shoulder and the color of her hair. he looks away, pretending to concentrate on the clock thing on the television but actually chasing the overfamiliar features to a face.

the sound of your voice- something he hasn’t heard in an obscenely long time- craved for so much longer it seems like a lifetime, snaps his attention to what surely must be a cruel joke. he can tell it’s you now. you’re standing there, head tilted at the same receptionist man and chuckling exasperatedly, “come on, casey, we’ve been over this. a fish and a lion are not the same thing-”

“but a lionfish-?” casey asks, and loki is pushing away the guards already, because you’re there, you’re solid and laughing like you used to and you can’t not be real. he can distantly hear mobius’ voice telling the guards to let him go as if loki hasn’t already taken care of that, walking over to you with quick and quiet footsteps. his fingers circle around your wrist first as an assurance, and when you turn, hand still in his, eyes widening when you notice who he is, he pulls you into him completely. your arms wrap around him barely seconds later, finally registering the person in front of you as you squeeze him. “loki?” you whisper, inhaling the same familiar scent of him that you haven’t had in what seems like forever.

“i missed you so much,” he says, hands wandering over your back, touching your arms and your shoulders and your hips just to touch you. “me too- i didn’t- i thought i would never see you again.” your tears are falling on the fabric of his jumpsuit, small tearful gasps escaping your lips while you tug him as close as you can, tangling your fingers in his hair and shutting your eyes at the familiar feeling. “oh god, you’re here-”

“i missed you so much,” he repeats, and you finally notice his words, realization like electricity, making you tremble and sigh softly. “what does that mean?” you question, already fearing the answer and already knowing the effects: the mess of his usually kept hair and the red tint of his eyes, like a sheen of sadness that stains the color of the eyes you have missed for so long. loki pulls away from you only to look at your face, trace the shape of the lips he’d spent hours of the morning pressing kisses to, memorize the curve of the nose you’d scrunch in a laugh when thor was a victim to one of his tricks.

“i have been looking for you, darling,” he murmurs, fingers running over your fallen tears while you notice the shine of his eyes, the tears that enhance the love he has for you. “because i’m…” you don’t want to finish your sentence, and you can tell loki doesn’t want you to either; he scans your features, small smile peeking through the shock and grief.

“i didn’t… mobius didn’t show me that, i thought-” your eyes flicker to the man before settling back on loki, the weight of the ring he’d given you feeling lighter now that it had found its pair. the various eyes on you don’t go unnoticed, and neither does the look mobius sends to the rest of the workers, indicating for them to go back to work. the cold of loki’s skin is comforting to the touch of your warmth, and you find yourself back in the summer afternoons where you would settle with your husband to read books, rubbing cool fingers on the hot of your skin when you felt suffocated by the heat of the sun.

another tear slips from your eyes when you realize you don’t have to imagine anymore, there’s no need to search for your memories and shut your eyes for them to run over you. your lips are on his when you can’t help it anymore, eyes squeezed close and salty tears dropping from your chin when it finally settles that he’s here and he’s yours and he’ll never be gone again.

he’ll make sure of that.

#loki #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #loki friggason #loki x you #loki laufeyson x you #loki friggason x you #loki friggason x reader #loki friggason x y/n #loki laufeyson x y/n #loki x y/n #loki angst #loki hurt #loki confort #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki fic #loki laufeyson fic #loki laufeyson fanfic #loki laufeyson fanfiction #loki fluff #angsty loki #fluffy loki #angsty loki laufeyson #fluffy loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x reader comfort #loki comfort fic #loki comfort fanfic #loki comfort fanficiton

[thespoonisvictory]

this is. really random!! but i've been thinking about it a bit and i wanted to get your opinion since you're like, one of the c!wilbur experts in my eyes.

so superhero au's. what power(s) do you think fits c!wilbur?? i see some sort of charm speak given to him a lot, and while i think it fits him it is a bit overdone at this point lol. theres also ghost/phantom powers but?? those are the two main ones i see but theres probably others out there. just curious to see what you think :P

though you can ignore this since im just rambling about an au

ok ok I've wanted to answer this for so long, v excited to now.

so I do think charm speak is hands down the best power to give him, simply because it's a. nonviolent, b. relies on his already present trait of charisma, c. is powerful but unassuming, and d. lends itself to the moral quandary of whether he should be using that power and who he should be using it on.

in general picking a good superpower for a character in an au should include:

ties in to their actual personality

reflect the character's actual power level (like making niki or jack super overpowered doesn't make much sense to me, but techno being super powerful matches already existing dynamics

present an internal conflict that matches one that already exists in canon. for example, in the incredibles, violet's social anxiety and feeling unheard literally translates to her being invisible and putting up forcefields. it's similar to tying into personality, but is more related to the character's overarching internal conflict. another example would be a character who feels weak or useless having a power that might appear that way, or a character who hates something or someone having a power that matches that

charmspeak fits all of these beautifully, but, as you said, we've seen it a lot.

ghost/phantom powers akin to his origin ones are also very good, as it ties into c!wilbur's nonviolent personality cleanly, can be powerful under the right circumstances (thinking of this rly fucking cool animatic), and even lends itself to wilbur's insecurity. you could use that as an avenue for wilbur feeling like he's no good in a fight, and resolve it with him realizing that being able to go invisible/transparent could be really useful. big win!

I think those two are the best options, but here are a few others:

heartrender: gonna steal directly from leigh bardugo here, but the ability to control stuff like heart rate/emotions would be very c!wilbur imo. it's similar to charmspeak, but less direct, and still falls into the same moral problem.

prophetic vision: obviously this would have to be nerfed a lot, but I think something like being able to see a few seconds/min into the future, perhaps via touch or whatever, would fit his character well. you can have themes of paranoia, trust, even manipulation, all wrapped up in it. big fan!

illusion casting: thinking very mcu loki here, again I think the reasons are obvious. It's nonviolent, wrapped up in trickery, and relates to themes of wilbur putting walls up around himself/not being honest or showing people what they want to see

#asks #wilbur soot #this was v fun for me personally

[high-functioning-lokipath]

14 - A kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished. - Words: 1,052

Lokisses Mini-Imagine Series

Lokisses Masterlist

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️: Mentions of kidnapping and torture, allusions to sexual assault although nothing is bluntly or graphically mentioned.

"I don't want you to go."

"I don't exactly want to go on this mission myself, Loki," You whispered, snuggling into him further under the warm blankets. "But I really have no choice." Loki hummed softly, kissing your forehead.

"Still," He trailed off. "When do you have to get up?"

"Not for another half hour or so."

"Good," Loki replied. He pulled you closer to him, kissing you earnestly. "Give me more time for this," He grinned.

"Silly boy," You replied. However you did not oppose his idea and kissed him back.

2 weeks later you are seriously regretting ever getting out of bed that morning. You were terrified. It had been 2 very long weeks since they'd kidnapped you and you knew it simply wasn't possible that your distress signal had activated in time. Loki would have found you already, you reasoned.

"Well, well, well. Hello there, little girl. Feeling a bit more cooperative today?" Your kidnapper sneered as he walked in the room.

"You will never get any information from me," You replied coolly. He walked up to you, breathing down your neck, caressing your arms.

"Perhaps a little more persuasion? Everyone has their breaking points. Especially a little whore like you." You fought the urge to pull away, knowing it would only make things worse. They'd put handcuffs on you that blocked your abilities so you had no way to escape.

"No," You said firmly. With that the man threw you against the wall.

"Fine. Have it your way. Boys, you know what to do to her."

Hours later you laid on the floor close to unconsciousness. If you weren't found soon you knew you'd die. Giving into the exhaustion you thought that perhaps that would be better. At least Loki and the Avengers would be safe.

"Y/N? Y/N! Wake up! Please!" You heard a voice calling out to you but everything was fuzzy. You couldn't open your eyes or even move to reply. The voice sounded familiar, safe, but you couldn't think straight. "Sh-she's not responding. She's been injured really badly. W-we need to get her to the healers!"

"I've got her, Loki," Another voice said. "She'll be ok. Tony has the best doctors in the world back at the tower waiting."

"Ok, Steve."

When you finally woke up, the first thing you processed was Loki leaning onto the edge of your bed uncomfortably from his chair while holding your hand. The second thing you processed was the immense pain you felt from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head. You gasped harshly as the wave of pain hit you. Loki woke with a start, eyes widening in surprise when he saw you awake.

"You're awake!" He cried, smiling widely. "I'm so happy! Oh darling! I was so worried for you!" At this point he actually was crying, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

You hadn't said a word yet before the Doctor and a couple nurses came rushing in. Loki watched worriedly as they rushed around running various tests. Finally they decided that, since you lived in the Tower, you could be released as long as someone cared for you 24/7.

"We're almost there," Loki whispered to you as you rode in the elevator. He had taken it upon himself to watch over you since he was officially your boyfriend. Walking you over to the sofa in his room, he made sure you were comfortable before getting out one of your favorite t-shirts of his and a pair of sweatpants. "I thought you might be more comfortable in these," He said, holding them out to you. You took them abit hesitantly but nodded. You stood and started to pull your shirt off but Loki quickly stopped you. "Woah! Not that I don't-I-well-" He stuttered nervously, taken completely off guard at your actions. "Don't you want to change in the bathroom? Have some privacy?" You looked at him oddly but walked to the bathroom to change. Loki quickly dialled Steve on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Steve, what happened to her while they had her?"

"Well it was obvious they beat and starved her. There was probably some other form of torture but we're not sure."

"Alright," Loki sighed.

"What's wrong? Is she ok?" Steve asked worriedly.

"She's fine. I think. Just acting a little odd."

"Well let me know if you need anything."

"I will," Loki said. Once he hung up the phone he sat on the end of the bed to wait for you. When you came out he smiled brightly and held his hands out to you, inviting you over for a hug. You walked over slowly, leaning into his arms but not hugging him back. "What's wrong darling?" Tears started streaming down your face and Loki tried not to panic. "Talk to me, love," He whispered. He went to kiss your forehead but you flinched, pulling away quickly and curling up into ball on the sofa. He ran over to your side, kneeling on the floor. He wanted to reach out for you but he knew better. "Darling? Can I see what's going on?" He asked, reaching out for your head. You nodded slowly, giving him permission to look into your memories.

About 15 minutes later, Loki finally pulled away. "Oh my love," He whispered, crying himself. "I'm so sorry. You should have never had to go through that. I should have found you sooner."

"No!" You yelled, finally speaking up. "Don't-don't blame yourself."

"Well don't blame yourself either," He cautioned. You nodded slowly.

"I'll try." He held his arms open again and this time you immediately hugged him, holding him as close as possible.

"Come on. Let's get some rest." He carried you over to the bed and pulled the blankets over you. He crawled in next to you carefully and you snuggled up to him.

"Thank you, Loki," You whispered, reaching up to kiss him.

"You're ok with this?" You nodded and kissed him desperately.

"I love you, Loki, so much." You pulled him as close as you could and he chuckled.

"I love you too, Y/N," He smiled, kissing you again. "Now go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." You nodded, wrapping yourself around him tightly.

"Alright, Loki. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my love."

TAG ME IN EVERYTHING

@captain-shitty-kitties

@for-hearthand-home

@dindjarinsspouse

Loki

@lucywrites02

@delightfulheartdream

@serpentargo

@khena

@nyx2021

@kaz11283

@weasley-main-lover

@up-to-mischief

@lokislittlesigyn

@darkacademicfrom2021

@lokiwhxre

@loki-laufeyson965

@eclipsedplanet

@1marvelnerd3000

@stanknotstark

@bi-andready-tocry

@keegansakura

@chezagnes

Marvel (all characters, including Loki)

@another-crazy-fangirl

@whatafuckingdumbass

@elizabeth-reid-rp-blog

@lokislittlesigyn

@silver-lupines

@mysticunicorn7

@kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay

@thoughts-and-lovely-illusions

@lokistoriesblog

@hugsforhiddleston

#lokisses mini series #lokisses #loki #loki oneshot #loki imagine #loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki x y/n #loki x you #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki friggason

[silenceinternalmonologue]

A Review of Loki (2021)

[The following is an exact transcription of Twitter user @/diolesbian ‘s thread linked here . They gave me permission to cross-post their thread on my Tumblr. Keep in mind that this review is fairly long and quite critical of the series. I agree with this review wholeheartedly, and would be welcome to discuss it with anyone else.] 

Loki is a character who has died many times, but his own series may be his most brutal character assassination yet.

1.  Loki’s role in the series. Instead of tackling Loki's most villainous state of mind in Avengers 1, the series literally speedran through his development in the subsequent films, after which they almost entirely halted his character progression.

Because this series was set right after Avengers 1 it had the responsibility of developing Loki further in place of The Dark World and Ragnarok. In Episode 1, this development was kicked off by having Loki watch a reel of some of his defining moments in the MCU, allowing him to see his future all the way up to his death in Infinity War. Sadly, this scene ended up being the most development he received in the entire series. And arguably, this isn’t even true development but more like a speedrun of his character up until that point, serving as a simple tactic to explain why he wouldn’t be acting all dictatorial and murderous during his own series. As soon as he had been made “good” (read: docile) enough to follow along with the plot, his agency was completely thrown out. From that point on, the series wasn’t about Loki making things happen but about things happening to Loki.

Loki was supposed to be the main character, but he wasn't the protagonist in this story. In fact, he was more of a side character than we’ve ever seen him be in the MCU before, perhaps excepting IW and Endgame.

A protagonist is by definition someone whose important decisions affect the plot, whose development is followed most closely by the audience, and who is opposed by an antagonist. Loki exhibited none of these traits in this series. Especially the latter half of the story, he was reduced to simply reacting to the revelations around him, such as the reveal that the TVA members were all variants and that Kang was the true mastermind behind everything. He never truly involved himself or acted based on any of these plot points, and hardly played a key role in what was supposed to be his own story. Even in the films, where Loki is a side character, he makes choices which impact the plot to a larger extent. He almost seems more like a background character in the role of protagonist than in the parts he plays in the films.

2. The antagonist. The TVA could have worked as the perfect setting for Loki to have a new arc. It’s a thematic antithesis to who we know Loki to be. But when this Loki turns out to not be who the audience thought he was the TVA’s thematic significance falls apart as well.

In Episode 1, the TVA’s Agent Mobius enlists the help of Loki the Variant to pin down a greater foe who we are told is another, more malicious version of Loki. Order and chaos meeting in the middle, teaming up to take down an enemy, who even happens to be the protagonists’ literal evil self: that works, it sounds promising. But this dynamic is soon undermined when Loki leaves with Sylvie. Still, the benefit of the doubt is easy to grant here: a story about tricksters is bound to contain twists. But by Episode 3 the series is halfway done and the TVA has been appointed as the main antagonist again: we’ve now established villains three different times. And then the Cloud Monster At The End Of Time is introduced, and finally Kang. In other words, the Loki series has no consistent antagonist, no one to pit its main character against. And this is where we once again miss out on an enormous aspect of Loki’s potential characterization.

Protagonists are always defined by an antagonist, whether a purple Titan, a flat tire, or themself. Loki is not given anything to define his morals, motivations, or development in opposition to and this is a huge oversight. Especially given the fact that Loki has taken on the villain’s role in the past: how is the audience supposed to know that the “bad guy” is now a “good guy” if there’s no “even worse guy” to stand up against?

3. The plot. A plot should show off its MC’s strengths and match their personality. The Loki plot hardly relied on his presence at all, he didn't play a key role. The story had so little to do with Loki that it seemed as though he has barely any impact on “his” narrative.

One of the most central conflicts in the Loki series doesn’t involve him at all: it’s between Sylvie and the TVA. This plotline was a good concept overall, but its main problem is that it’s practically the only conflict in the series. Loki himself, as mentioned before, isn’t set in opposition to anything or anyone. And thanks to his relationships with Sylvie and Mobius being weakened by conflicting storytelling devices, he appears to be in a bubble by himself away from the rest of the cast for much of the story. First he follows Mobius around, then Sylvie, then he wanders aimlessly in the void before following Sylvie once again and learning that Kang is a Really Bad Guy who he should be opposed to even though by this point he has interacted so little with the story unfolding around him that the audience doesn’t even understand why he should be choosing to play the hero.

The plot and the characters both suffer by being so incredibly unrelated to each other. A series, especially an MCU one, should tell an overarching narrative through the perspective of its main character.

In the beginning of the series, when Loki was still getting his bearings in the TVA, this lack of decision-making was more understandable, especially since some of his skills were still being shown-- he discovered Sylvie was hiding in nexus events, and he made the choice to leave Mobius and follow her. But by the latter half of the series he still hasn’t had much impact on the story or taken any actions of his own, and simply allows plot points to happen to him. Just because the Loki series had to introduce the TVA and Kang didn’t mean it had to forgo telling a story about its protagonist. If Loki’s story had been intrinsically tied to the overarching plot points, if his choices had been some of the primary factors determining how events ended up taking place, the series would have succeeded in every aspect. But instead Loki is pushed aside by the plot of his own series, a plot which subsequently ends up coming across as largely hollow and pointless due to its lack of character drive.

4. Loki’s arc. One of the main reasons MCU Loki is loved is for his excellent character development across his films. TVA Loki was extremely lacking in that aspect and chances to take his character in interesting new self-aware directions were thrown away without much thought.

Throughout the MCU, Loki is on a journey with many highs and lows. He goes from a bitter and disheartened prince standing in the shadow of his brother, to a self-loathing Jotun bent on destroying his own people in a desperate attempt to win his father’s love, to a half-mad partially mind-controlled dictator with delusions of grandeur fueled by his own insecurity, to a prisoner wondering what there is left for him to lose, to a savior of Asgard’s people finally coming to accept his place in what is left of his family, to a tragic sacrificial victim who knew he had to die so the true hero might live on. That’s a hell of a journey, incidentally shown in less than TWO HOURS of screen time, and the prospect of TVA Loki embarking on an equally stimulating one, this time told over the course of over four hours and shown from his own perspective the entire way through, was exciting. But as it turned out, this relatively simple expectation went completely unmet.

For a story trying to say so much about individuality and self-acceptance, the Loki series seemed to pass by every obvious opportunity to tackle those questions.

Sylvie’s introduction seemed like a good idea at first: Loki would be able to literally bond with himself and learn to accept who he is that way, and forays could be made to explore what Loki’s personality could have been like if he grew up under different circumstances! But aside from a scene or two in Episode 3, this was not how things ended up going. Loki didn’t come to any grand or important conclusions about his identity, he didn’t choose to act differently, all that happened was a vaguely-worded confession of pseudo-romantic feelings which was cut off in the middle, made no sense, and weakened the narrative in a whole host of other ways explained elsewhere. Loki’s encounter with other versions of themself in the Void was similarly meaningless: Loki didn’t end up expressing or demonstrating a single thing he learned from meeting all of those alternate selves, despite the fact that there was potential for massive self-discovery there.

Less than 2 hours of MCU screen time portrayed Loki more coherently than this entire series. Loki is loved because of how much he changes, and it felt like he didn’t in this series. He started off lost and stayed that way throughout the entire plot.

By the end of the series, it was impossible to identify who Loki had become. He said he didn’t want a throne, but it was not obvious why not. He looked sad to be betrayed by Sylvie, but never expressed what that meant to him. He seemed afraid once Kang was unleashed, but why? Why did he care about the Sacred Timeline? What were his motivations? Throughout the series the answers to these questions became less and less obvious, culminating in the final episode which ended without a single moment of reflection or explanation as to who Loki had become. He wasn’t a villain, but only because he wasn’t murdering people. He was in some capacity a hero, for… being against Kang, probably, but once again with no explanation as to why Loki had decided to feel that way. He never seemed self-assured in his heroism, as if he hadn’t chosen the role for himself. Again, making one’s own choices that shape the narrative are what differentiates a protagonist from a side character, but Loki did not do that in this series.

5. Loki and Sylvie’s relationship. Loki and Sylvie had the potential to be a powerful duo representing the process of self-acceptance but instead they were reduced to a strange pseudo-romance.

Despite Loki’s many developments in the films, he never truly liked himself. He has been known to act extremely confident and self-righteous at times, but this is merely the opposite side of the coin containing his self-loathing and insecurity. Having him literally meet and subsequently befriend himself in Episode 3 was a move towards developing this aspect of him and potentially teaching him to finally accept himself as he truly is, but this buildup was all shattered in Episode 4 when the relationship is portrayed to have romantic undertones. Instead of a powerful struggle to accept oneself, the relationship between Loki and Sylvie becomes a twisted thing which is memeable at best (selfcest LOL amirite?) and outright damaging to both characters and the very concept of loving oneself at worst.

Ultimately, Loki and Sylvie's relationship didn’t add anything to either character’s development and actively detracted from what could have been a touching story.

Romantic love is extremely different from self love; romantic love has connotations including dating conventions and sexuality which are impossible to ignore and in this case serve as a distraction. And on top of ruining a potentially powerful storyline, this strange relationship makes both Loki and Sylvie seem out of character. Loki is once again one thousand years old and he has never even had a true friend, so why would he possibly fall for someone after knowing them for only two days? Meanwhile in Sylvie’s case, Loki’s “feelings” for her cause the audience to pay more attention to her romantic life and gestures rather than her actual character and motivations.

6. Loki’s Sexuality and Gender Fluidity. Loki’s sexuality and gender has been shown in several comic runs, and the series was advertised as featuring this representation as well. But due to several fundamental errors and problematic storytelling this also fell flat.

Sylvie’s introduction filled many fans with hope regarding the portrayal of Loki’s identity. In the MCU neither of their LGBT identities had ever been touched upon, while the series introduced a female variant of Loki and explicitly stated their sexuality. But this portrayal soon unraveled, most notably in Episode 5, in which many other Loki variants were shown but not a single one besides Sylvie was non-male. On top of that, when TVA Loki mentioned Sylvie and referred to her as “a woman Variant of us”, the other Lokis agreed that that sounded “terrifying”. Why should a genderfluid being be afraid of a version of themselves presenting as a different gender? It read as both fluidphobic not to mention strangely sexist.

The pseudo-romance between Loki and Sylvie only aggravated the situation. Not only did the nature of the “relationship” seem to follow heteronormative storytelling tropes (falling in love after a couple days of knowing each other, one party being reduced to a love interest, valuing romantic love above any other type, etc) but it also seemed distressing and offensive to many genderfluid people. A romance between a male and a female Loki, one of which doesn’t even call herself by that name, seems to be implying that an individual becomes someone else when merely presenting as a different gender, which of course isn’t at all the case. The writing wasn’t necessarily malicious here, but it was certainly ignorant and potentially even harmful. The opportunity was there to translate Loki’s powerful comic representation into the framework of the MCU, but this attempt did not succeed.

7. Loki’s characterization. Loki is a chameleon, but there are certain traits fundamental to his character. These traits were either ignored or actively mocked in the series. The audience already knew “what makes a Loki a Loki", but the series threw that knowledge away.

Episode 1’s premise of stripping Loki of everything he is used to was an intriguing setup to ensure the discovery of the core of who Loki truly is. The only problem was that this truth didn’t end up being found at all. Mobius made fun of Loki’s most defining traits, such as his habits of lying to manipulate people and acting out of a place of insecurity, which seemed to be a signal for the narrative to forbid Loki from exhibiting any of those traits from that point on in any way. This reduction in Loki’s character was reflected in everything, from his lack of humor (in the films he’s even funny while he’s taking over the world!), the underpowered way in which he fought against Sylvie (he’ll use magic to dry his clothes, but fight with a damn vacuum cleaner?) to the way that he wore the same boring outfit in every single episode-- it may sound shallow, but clothes are important when presenting a character. Every one of Loki’s looks in the films said something about him and his state of mind, and sadly that bland TVA outfit seemed to convey that Loki really was nothing more than a subservient pawn in what was supposed to be his own story. Ironically, the writing stripped Loki of everything that made him Loki, and left us with nothing but a Jotun-shaped void to be swayed by the whims and wills of the characters and plot devices surrounding him.

8. Loki’s past and abilities. This series could have elaborated on aspects of his character which had been teased at in the films and theorized about by fans, but ended up being a disappointment in this aspect as well.

Aside from Loki’s characterization and development, something else the series ignores is much of his canon story in the films. Since Thor 1, a truth that always overshadowed Loki was his Jotun heritage. He struggled with it up until the time of his death, clearly visible in his relationship with his foster family. It’s understandable that Loki was supposed to be independent from Thor in his series, but that’s no excuse for completely ignoring this central part of who Loki is. It doesn’t matter how much he goes through or how much his circumstances change, this feeling of unbelonging sits deep in Loki’s core and should have been both explored and explicitly discussed in the series. A series all about Loki was the perfect opportunity for him to finally confront and explain his relationship with his heritage, and potentially come to terms with it as well. And this isn’t even to say how cool some more insight on Loki’s Jotun inheritance could have been-- hypotheticals aren’t the point of this review, but it would have been fascinating to see Loki reacting adversely to heat like he has been hinted to in the past or even using his ice powers like he did in Thor 1.

Loki's magic was tragically underused. It felt like he was stripped of all of his magical powers even after his TVA chains had been removed, and this was never explained.

A second huge oversight is his magic. His powers are all over the place in this series. They were always a bit vague in the films, but this series was the opportunity to set that right and explain exactly what Loki was capable of as a sorcerer, especially now that the MCU has embraced magic more than it had ten years ago. But instead, Loki showcased an inexplicable lack of magic use-- again, the vacuum cleaner fight can be presented as evidence. There is a single scene in which Loki says that he learned his magic from Frigga, but no information is given as to how much he learned or why he doesn’t always favor spells. His power levels are incredibly inconsistent (he forgoes using magic when first confronted by the TVA, but is later shown using telekinesis to save himself from being literally crushed to death). And, strangest of all, there is a scene in which he tells Sylvie that he “can’t” enchant living beings. Loki, the millennium year old Trickster sorcerer god, who can hold an Infinity Stone with his bare hands, reanimate Surtur in the Eternal Flame, and trick the average person using illusions with ease, can’t cast a little enchantment? And if so, why not? The series offered precious few explanations concerning Loki’s magical abilities and instead only raised more questions. And in this way, Loki is once again relegated into the background and left with not a single shred of any new characterization or development. 

Loki contains multitudes, but the series reduced him to two dimensions.

This isn’t to mention every other facet of Loki’s story that could have potentially been explored to great success in this series-- his torture and subsequent partial mental influence at the hands of Thanos just before the events of Avengers 1 is one obvious example, as is his youth on Asgard, as are his suicidal tendencies (people don’t tend to survive falling off the Bifrost, and he knew that when he threw himself off of it), plus infinite other facets of him. Of course, it was both necessary and more interesting for this series to be its own story rather than one which lingered on past films-- but that’s not to say that none of these plot points should have come back, at least subtly, to play a role in this story. Plot points exist to be brought back later, not completely ignored. Otherwise a story may as well be written about a completely original character.

#loki #loki 2021 #loki disney+ #loki discussion #loki discourse #loki spoilers #lokius #loki x mobius #loki x sylvie #sylki #marvel #marvel discourse #loki review #mcu loki #loki series #loki season finale #loki season 1 #loki ship

[brsb4hls]

Gotta go on a small Sylvie-rant.

Not even that huge of a fan of her (but like her), but the negative reactions to that character are off the charts, really.

Imo she is a decently constructed character.

She has a relatable tragic backstory.

Her motif makes sense.

She clearly has layers.

Just think about her life: Everything gets ripped away from her as a child. She was at a very vulnerable and impressionable age when she suddenly was completely on her own, hunted and threatened and constantly surrounded by human suffering.

This is a huge pile of trauma. And she only pulled through all that because she set herself a goal. And yes, that goal wasn't healthy, but how was she supposed to find something else to keep her going? There was nothing positive in her life ever.

And her thriving on revenge, having to pull through with it and feeling empty the moment it was done is a classic trope.

(Count of Monte Christo anyone? People just don't read anymore, I guess).

While on her path to revenge Sylvie was still able to emotionally connect with Loki, which showed development.

She also did not betray him. She thought she found a partner in crime, someone to stand up with her against the injustice they both suffered. She always feared Loki could stab her in the back at any moment.

And when she is finally face to face with the one responsible for all her suffering, Loki pulls back. He had valid reasons, but Sylvie had different experiences and was to caught up in doing what she thought was the right thing- killing the bad guy.

Of course given the way she lived she didn't believe Kang and had to go through with her revenge. All that pent up anger and pain and suffering had to go somewhere.

And yet in the end she didn't leash out at Loki. They fought, yes, but more like an argument.

In the end Sylvie connected one last time with him (that kiss was fitting for both sides, they both craved contact the whole time and couldn't express or allow their needs. It worked, them being (similar to) each other, mirroring each other and giving in to that need).

Even if Sylvie in the end used it as a diversion, she got Loki out of harms way. She protected him while still going through with her plan.

She wasn't completely ruthless.

See also her interaction with hunter B15. Sylvie is a trauma survivor, not a mindless killer or simply an asshole.

And of course Sylvie and Loki react different to Kang's argumentation.

Sylvie simply cannot trust what he predicts because of her experiences. Loki had time for a bit more character development at the tva and a different backstory. Despite the trauma of finding out about his heritage Loki still had an upringing among family and friends.

Someone as isolated as Sylvie cannot suddenly leave her black and white path.

And just to put it into perspective: Loki killed people and tried to start an intergalactical war.

And we all love him as a character and acknowledge his torture and his trauma and him being manipulated.

So why doesn't this work for Sylvie?

I have the sneaking suspicion it could be something that starts with m and ends in isogyny, and then there's the additional ship war.

Yes, diverse representation would be great. And yes, I would be absolutely elated about more (or some at least) same sex kissing on screen and less tiresome het stuff (or het appearing).

But that shouldn't be mixed with the character of Sylvie.

Yes, Loki wasn't trickster Loki, we got to explore another angle. But the story the way it was told made sense, as did the motifs.

The actors put a lot of effort in and it looked all very pretty.

Tldr; it would be great if Loki-show criticsm wouldn't just mostly boil down to hating on one of the female main characters simply because she's female.

(Ravonna is an interesting and complex character too btw and I get where she comes from, but that's another post).

#loki show #loki spoilers #loki disney+ #loki laufeyson #sylvie #sylvie laufeydottir #pro sylvie #loki show positivity #sylkie maybe #kang the conqueror #ravonna renslayer #female characters in media #wank adjacent #long post #my take #loki

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

Loki’s Line About Betraying Everyone

I need to talk about this line (spoiler: I’m not happy about it). I was going to just include this in the full episode response post I’m working on, but it got long enough that I decided to make it its own.

First of all, here’s the full quote: "I betrayed everyone who ever loved me. I betrayed my father, my brother, my home. I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And that's not who I am anymore."

Y'all, I'm less emotional about it now but this line fucked me up when I first heard it. It hit me like a ton of bricks while watching the episode for the first time because I was actually doing fine and wasn't significantly bothered by anything up until that point, and then came that line and I suddenly almost felt physically ill. I actually wrote up a post about it that night but never posted it because it was essentially just a lot of screaming, so I've now taken pieces of that and formed a hopefully more coherent post (though it still contains a good amount of screaming). So, I get that the idea that Loki’s betrayed Thor over and over is a Commonly Accepted Thing. It's really a lot more complicated than that, and there are a lot of gray areas involved, but fine, I'll give them that one. But - when did Loki betray his father? When did Loki betray his home?? I’m not just mad about it, this is...a legitimate question. I mean with the father thing, I guess the only thing could be the nursing home in Ragnarok/taking the throne from him? Which is irrelevant anyway because this Loki didn’t do that and doesn't even know it happened in the main timeline?? And besides, it PALES, like, hilariously, in comparison to any one of multiple things Odin did to him before that (not counting any fanon here - just the canon things that we know of!) I am just so confused, especially about the betraying Asgard thing. WHEN? LITERALLY WHEN? Guys, there is no film in which that took place.

If I trusted the narrative, I would say the most logical thing to conclude - at least about the betraying Asgard part - is that this is a setup for Loki to later realize he actually saved Asgard by causing Ragnarok (because that's the closest thing I can think of to "betraying his home"), which could even tie into something about, idk, helping him realize he’s capable of being a hero? (or something) and it would be a good follow-up to the moment he found out about Ragnarok in episode 2, but...fuck, the way these lines were framed it really doesn't feel like anything like that is going to happen. I could be wrong, but these just didn't strike me as lines that are at any point going to be contradicted or even revisited.

And moving onto another part of the quote - "I know why I did it." Uh, I guess good for Loki for apparently knowing that...but the audience sure doesn't?? This is something we're just now being told and have not been shown at all?? I have a feeling Loki thinks he knows why but it unfortunately doesn't have anything to do with some of the biggest actual reasons, which are the abuses done to him that helped make him who he is. Even more unfortunately, I also have a feeling the creators are on roughly the same page as Loki here. So yeah, that's a real shame.

The core problem here seems to be where the writers are coming from, and @iamanartichoke worded it really well here, so I’m just going to quote her: “either the writing is being lazy by oversimplifying Loki’s motives, or it’s being deliberately misleading in order to retcon the character, or the writers genuinely believe that’s what happened, which implies a misunderstanding of Loki’s character kinda from the get-go - at least on what drives his villainy and what fuels his anger, which are pretty significant things.” I do think there’s a slight chance they were using Loki as an unreliable narrator here and the audience was supposed to pick up on the subtext (more on that at the end of this post), but I doubt it, and I think it’s very likely one or more of the options listed in the quote. 

Honestly, I can explain Loki's line about betrayal (and his general lack of acknowledgement of his own trauma/legit grievances against his family) pretty easily in-universe. It makes sense that Loki himself would frame things as him betraying everyone who's ever loved him as if they never did anything to wrong him first, or that he would try to ignore what Thanos did to him in favor of putting all the blame on himself (coping with his trauma and loss of control by denying it). Or hell, maybe he would even straight up subconsciously invent a betrayal that never even happened, like the one about his home. I can totally understand Loki seeing the events of his life that way! That all lines up with his complete lack of self-worth, and to have him 1) recognize his mistakes and take responsibility for them (which has happened at this point in the show), but then progress on to 2) realize he isn't solely to blame for literally everything, and 3) recognize the role of his family and others in understanding why he is the way he is - that would be a very satisfying arc and is the natural direction that the story should take in episode 6. The problem is, I don't think the show is going that way. I think we're either supposed to take it at face value that Loki did in fact betray everybody who ever loved him (as if Loki is a reliable narrator when he's most certainly an unreliable one), or the audience is supposed to figure out that Loki's an unreliable narrator here - but the latter won't work, because the creators have to follow through on that subtext at some point and actually do something to indicate that what Loki said wasn't 100% true, and it doesn't feel like they're going to. You can't expect your audience to put any weight on subtext or even pick up on it in the first place if you never actually confirm anything, and your audience won't know your narrator is unreliable unless you tell them. If Loki being an unreliable narrator in that specific moment was their intention, only a small subset of fans are going to pick up on it. So the way they're framing it so far, the audience is simply going to see it the same way Loki does and not realize it's incorrect. 

Unfortunately, as stated earlier, I think the most likely explanation is that the writers either don’t understand Loki, are being lazy, or are deliberately retconning. So while I take a degree of comfort in the in-universe explanation, it’s pretty damn infuriating to consider where the writer’s minds were probably at in reality, and how this set of lines is presenting Loki to the casual audience. 

Tagging @iamanartichoke and @delyth88 if you guys have any thoughts?

#loki series negativity #loki spoilers #loki tv series #loki meta #loki series speculation #kind of #journey into mystery

[bluebellhairpin]

( Notice: OKAY - The pic there says ‘The Hobbit/LOTR’ but for times sake, and my own sanity, there is none listed thus-far (same goes for the ‘other’ category’). Merci for understanding! )

So I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and I already have a blog for it ( @nemosrepost ) but that doesn’t get too much attention. Thus, here we are! 

(This was a nightmare to get done - it took weeks to get all the links and pics done up in my spare time - I hope you appreciate that.) 

They’re all sorts here, from Medieval Marvel AU’S, to Modern Attack on Titan one shots. They’re all organised via fandom, and I’ve tried my best to link and tag everything properly, but that is a difficult feat, so beware - for some it may not have worked too well.

Like my *actual* masterlist, this will be updated regularly with new fic recs, and even new characters and fandoms as I read them. All fic’s currently listed (as of November 26, 2020) are found on my reblog account. 

I’ve also tried to add in a ‘recommendation summary’ thing of each - so basically just my thoughts on the fic(s). But anyway, have fun browsing, and overall - enjoy! 

(AND also - LMAOOOO - Have fun scrolling lololololol!) - Nemo

( Pre - Warning: I am not tagging anything as NSWF, 18+, or triggering content. However some fics listed do contain such material. Please refer to the warnings or Authors Notes on each Fic before reading. Stay safe guys! I love you! ) 

Bluebellhairpin’s Masterlist 

Bucky Barnes

Knight in Rusty Armour - Medieval / A/B/O AU! Series - by @revengingbarnes Honestly I binged the first eight chapters (+ prologue) in close to one sitting. That was mostly because that was all that was published at the time. It is completed now. I love both these AU’s, and I love Bucky - win, win! 

Flowers Bloom - Soulmate AU! Series - by revengingbarnes  Another great series, and honestly I’m a slut for soulmate au’s, so this author might be coming after my heart - keep up that good work, if you know what I mean. 

The Great Build Up - Modern / Firefighter Au! One Shot - by @thottybarnes  This ones goes from cute, to hot and steamy, to angsty, and back to cute again. A one shot rollercoaster, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it. 

Maybe This Time - Mob Au! One Shot - by @propertyofpoeandbucky Okay, so if there’s one thing I like more than an mobster au, it’s adding children into the mix. Something about big bad guys going all soft for this tiny human - and then making them - and that’s called perfection. 

Whatever It Takes - Biker AU! One Shot - by @sgtjbuccky He like’s to be loud, so what. He rides a bike, so what. I what to ride him and his bike, so what. 

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @softlybarnes  I’ve never liked Bucky’s metal arm more in my entire life. Using it for a baby going through teething? A+ idea. 

Hero, Waiting - Medieval AU! One Shot -  by captain-ariel-barnes Sadly, this fic is unavailable now, and that - obviously - makes me sad. But I’m adding it her anyway because of how much I adored it. The love triangle between Bucky, Reader, and Steve was amazing, and the feelings? Phenomenal. 

Steve Rogers

If Walls Could Talk - One Shot - by propertyofpoeandbucky  I’ll recreate my original comment on this fic - ‘Ouch’. And that’s all I have to say about that. 

The End of the War - College AU! One Shot - by @redgillan There’s nothing quite like a enemies to lovers trope that’s well-written. But then throw in fight club, a jerk date, ice-cream and pizza - just read it. You’ll understand then. 

The Edge of the Water - Mermaid AU! Series - @floatingpetals I have to admit now, I haven’t read all of this yet. But I also have to say, what I have read was fantastic. Mermaids - and Mermen - they just hit different, you know? 

Pseudo Princess - Medieval AU! Series - by @shreddedparchment​ To date, it’s one of the best fics - nay - stories I’ve ever read. I’d dare to say it’s easily the length of a novel, so if you’re up for the long haul, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s worth the wait - trust me. Op obviously put a hella lot of work into it, and it shows. 

Loki Laufeyson

Loki’s Happy Ending - Series (?) - by @gingerwritess  Listen, I have been and forever will be a Loki girl. Nothing will change that. And every scrap of content Theo produces for Loki I will cradle in my palms and keep warm until they’re ready to go out into the world or whatever - point is, read this. 

Just One Quick Glance - One Shot - by @imagines-trashcan  After watching ‘Endgame’, and squealing at every moment Loki appeared on screen, only to not have him show up in the final battle - this was one of my comfort fics. 

thunderstorms. - One Shot - by @tarynkauai Naturally, Loki’s child would inherit his unease of thunderstorms. And naturally, seeing Loki as a dad makes me happy. 

Stitches - One Shot - by @lokibug​  Loki being nice. I like that. We stan. 

Quentin Beck 

The Curveball - One Shot - by @healingchurch​  Listen, this is on here for a reason. I didn’t really like Mysterio ‘cause of what he did to Peter, but hey, some people are good actors, and some write characters acting very well. 

Stephen Strange 

(Un-Named) - Imagine / One Shot - by @archieimagines​ A cocky bastard and a shy Reader, as far as I’m concerned that a one-way ticket straight to my heart. *wink wonk*.

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @whirlybirbs​  Honestly, there are multiple fics of hers on this list, and that’s because she’s a damn fine writer, and her stories are just that addictive. This one is no different. I was preparing to read more and then it ended. But all good things, right?

Crash and Burn - One Shot - by @lilyswritings​  The angst, and the angst. I cry, you cry, everyone cries. Unfortunately there is only the one part, but much to my personal joy that means I can interpret the after-ending however I want! 

Frank Castle

(Un-Named) - One Shot - by @alexsunmners​ This is just cute okay? I have no other words except this was plain and simply very, very, very nice to read, and that it makes me feel very soft right here on the inside. 

Peter Parker

Super Smooth Genius - One Shot (?) - by whirlybirbs  Back at it again with the cute, awkward, friendly, neighbourhood, Peter Parker. 

Just Don’t - Soulmate AU! One Shot - by @papel-creativo​ What’d I tell you about soulmate au’s? I can’t resist them. And of course Pete being a caring bf with his hero s/o. So nice. 

Ronan the Accuser 

Make You Proud - One Shot - by @kayleighhalliday2203​ This is justifiable because I was going through a Lee Pace faze and I found it and loved it immediately. 

Ultron

(Un-Named) - One Shot / Series - by @snarky-badger​ This I can also justify having read, because (and if you know me then you know) the robot thing ... Doesn’t bother me as much as it should. And I binged all of it on ao3, so. 

Poe Dameron

(Un-Named) - Masterlist - by propertyofpoeandbucky Okay, I know there’s a lot on this list, and it could take you a while to get through it all, but trust me - it’s worth it. Lani likes Poe, and it shows. He’s written so well. 

Dashing - One Shot / Series ? - by whirlybirbs Birbs does it again. She’s got Punchy!Reader, and if there were a legal way to get all of this Poe thing down into a written book, I’d do it. 

You Can See Me? - Modern / Ghost AU! One Shot - by @tintinwrites​ I just this this one’s really cool. And what Poe does for the reader at the end? So sweet! He would totally do that! 

Across the Hall - Modern / Nurse AU! Series - by @starryeyedstories​  It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s got tension, and a little drama - plus a smidge of angst and Corgi!BB-8. If perfection were ever made into a Modern/Nurse au Poe fic - this would be it. 

Deepest, Lightest Secrets - One Shot - by @writefightandflightclub​  It’s got the humour and overall feel  you’d expect to come from something Star Wars related - honestly I had so much fun reading it, and I’ll happily do it again. 

Levi Ackerman

Names for Him & You - One Shot - by @commanderserwin​ Again, op is one of my main sources for fic’s in this area - so there could be quite a few of them listed here. But this one? Cute as heck. 

Levi’s Secret - Modern AU! One Shot - by @theamberwriter​ This one was damn funny in my opinion. Nothing can ever be hidden from Hange for long. 

You Look So Beautiful In White - Modern AU! One Shot - by @alrightberries​ This fic, it carved out my heart, diced it, shoved it in a blender, then made it into an atomic bomb. I - I was not okay. That amount of angst shouldn’t be allowed. Read it. 

Abeille - Modern / Mafia AU! Series - by @ackermans-freedom-inc​ Honestly, this isn’t finished yet but, honestly, I’m not ready for it to finish. The heartache. The betrayal. The child. I can’t even. 

Lights - Modern AU! One Shot - by commanderserwin This was the first fic I ever read of op’s, and I couldn’t believe what I read so I went back and read it again. I can’t tell you how much I love it, or how I feel about it, so just go read for yourself and you’ll know. 

To Build a Home - Modern AU! Series - by @vennilavee​ If you’re a fan of Levi, you must go read this. It’s so detailed, and just so perfect - whenever a new part comes out I have a quick reboot before going to read it. 

Erwin Smith

One of Us - Modern AU! Miniseries - by commanderserwin I’m not going to lie, this one is here because I requested it, but also because I really liked it, and cried while reading it. So there. 

Reiner Braun

Service to the Crown - Medieval AU! Miniseries - by @present-mel​ It should probably be illegal to write Reiner or Medieval au’s this well, and yet here op is writing both. Like, McScuse me, where do you acquire such talent and can I have some? 

Toshinori Yagi

Flirting with All Might - One Shot - by @lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten​ Toshi. The great. The hero. The awkward. He’s a blond boy doing what blond boys do even if he’s a little older he’s still part of the crew.

Stitches - Villain AU / Mini Series - by @itsallmightbitch​  Okay, so I said above that I wouldn’t put warnings on these - but this time I have to. Nothing I’ve read in my whole life emmits such an amount of pure horniness - and I love it. 

Godless - Fantasy AU / One Shot - by @pleasantanathema​  Another ‘All Smite’ fic, yes, I know. But god. They’re so good. This one is another real horny one, so if you can’t tell there is a slight theme running here. And - sksksksks - this is actually from the same ‘general area’ as the Reiner fic listed above (Service to the Crown). There was a event. I read everything. 

Keigo Takami

Preening - One Shot - by @shoutaaizawas​ Literally the softest and cutest damned thing I’ve read for Keigo. No, I’m not just ‘saying’ that, it’s genuine. The feelings I get - or lack thereof due to them turning to mush - it too much for words. Honest. 

Seasonal Special - One Shot - by @keiqos​ I’ll say this now and I’ll say it first - any Hawks fics written by op are *chefs kiss*. They’re amazing. Secondly, rut!Hawks is my weakness - this fic is one of such weaknesses. 

Shouto Aizawa

(Un-Named) - Series - by @theamberwriter​ This is *technically* the second part in the series, but it’s the only part I’ve read and goddamnit, I’m in love. Hubby Aizawa. The disappearing Baby-Zawa. 

I Miss You Texts - SMAU - Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou, Nishinoya Yuu - by @briswriting​ I miss them too. They ain’t dead. I just feel like I haven’t seen them in so long.  

Little Things - Headcanons - Karasuno - by @haikyuudreaming​ Every single one makes me feel so nostalgic, and I feel so much longing. I love. I loose. I pine. I want. And yet I cannot have. I only dream.  

Cheerleader - Headcanons - Karasuno - by @imagine-101​  I want to be their cheerleader. Now I am able to be. Op, many thanks for the feeding. 

Tsukishima Kei

Cherry Wine - Single Parent AU! Series - by @bakugou-jpg​  I’m gonna head out and say that Tsukki was my first favourite Haikyuu character - then I ‘character developed’ but that only went so far as to give me more favorites. But deadass - read this and you won't regret it. 

Ukai Keishin

(Un-Named) - Ballroom/Latin Dancer AU! Headcanons - by @imagine-that-haikyuu​  I know nothing about dancing. Or ballroom dancing. But I do know I’d love to dance with Ukai. So how’s that for ‘middle ground’? 

#fic rec #masterlist #marvel x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #quentin beck x reader #stephen strange x reader #frank castle x reader #peter parker x reader #ronan x reader #ultron x reader #poe dameron x reader #levi ackerman x reader #erwin smith x reader #reiner braun x reader #karasuno x reader #tsukishima kei x reader #ukai keishin x reader

[wordynerdygurl]

Skin Deep - Part 6

Author’s Note:  Honestly, this story is nearing it’s ending.  Hard to believe that a little idea I couldn’t shake has now grown into this mini-series!  For all my die-hard homies, waiting for the next installment, I hope this is worth your while!  If you’re new here, take a look around, see if you like anything and please, let the management know if you have any questions!! As always, writing like this requires the emotional support of people and pets.  My dogs, Murphy and Winston, get me through a lot of plot bunnies just by being stalwart companions.  My husband, graciously, lets me take these flights of fancy when I probably should be paying better attention to him and his day... and some of my besties here on Tumblr make it possible for me to do this for you guys.  @sammy-jo1977​ , my sister from another mister!  Couldn’t/ Wouldn’t do it without you! To all the folks who follow me... My Minxes!  Love you all!  Stay well, be kind, and remember that Love, really does conquer all!  If you want to be a Minx, send me a note, I’ll happily add you to my tag list! Lastly, be sure to like and share anything that you see on Tumblr that catches your eye.  Creative types, we need the constant validation, you see?  Without it, like an unwatered plant, we wither on the vine and perish!  Be kind to those who help you through the day and reblog! Skin Deep Part 5 - click here for the previous chapter! Pairing:  Loki x Reader, Steve, Valkyrie & Thor all make appearances Summary:  Continued from Part 5, You and Loki put your plan into action, returning to Farmhouse.  When you encounter Steve again, you learn there’s more than two sides to this story. Warnings:  Loki’s POV and perspective, including mentions of his time under Thanos.  I’m re-writing MCU history here, but some of the main beats are the same, so look out for SPOILERS for Dark World, Ragnarok, and a touch of Infinity War.  The SNAP never happened because, reasons.  

Empathy used to seem such a human emotion.  Loki had no time for that on Asgard, not when Odin denied anything as frivolous as feeling.  Hiding in plain sight was the means to survival and if that made the young prince sneaky and sly, so be it.  By placing those parts of himself under lock and key; the parts that hurt, the ones that ached, Loki found it was safer to disconnect from others than subject himself to their suffering too.

Operating under the influence of Thanos and his minions when he held the scepter, Loki had purposefully divorced connection of any kind from his mind.  It was dangerous.  Weak.  And moreover, it allowed Loki to do what Thanos commanded without really experiencing the horror, the havoc, of his actions for himself. 

  Who could hear the screams of women when the voice of Ebony Maw subliminally chanted all the ways that one could be dismembered at Thanos’ hands should Loki fail?  What man would shed a tear after the near constant beatings doled out by Black Order members, just for the fun of it?  How could someone care about a house, a car, a city, when they no longer cared about themself? Losing the Battle for New York had consequences far beyond the destruction of property.  With Thanos’ hold over him vanquished, the walls around his heart, constructed in youth, crashed and burned like the dream of ruling Earth.  Suddenly and completely out of reserves, Loki was powerless.  And he felt everything.  The fresh hurts caused by his manipulated ambitions in the hands of Thanos. The furious feelings of his brother, the inadequacies of his character, the feeble needs that drove his wild ambition washed over him unceasingly.  Anger.  Loss.  Lunacy.  Loki learned a hard truth in that moment.  He was a monster.  A freak.  A creature beyond hope and salvation; proving his adoptive father right and his own hopeful heart wrong.  Bitterness soured the fallen prince. Endless hours in isolation on Earth, which continued in his father's house, had Loki believing he had no chance of seeing the world outside again, and it hardened his heart further.  To feel was so painful, so raw, and so humane.  Why bother anyway?  All that emoting, those high spirits, all they really did was expose you to derision.  What was grief to a goblin?  What was horror to a monster?  What was love to a villain like him?  An evil, conspiring demi-god, with a mind bent toward domination.  A damaged, destroyed, deity alone and in pieces.  Who would ever give someone like Loki Odinson a chance?  Why should they?

Turning to his mother, Loki did everything but ask for forgiveness.  In long rambling talks, her projection to his jailed person, the pair talked around ideas of guilt and innocence, of fate and fortune, of destiny versus desire, yet Loki never heard the words he needed in order to truly find peace.   

If Frigga was aware of her son’s need for absolution, Loki would never know, as their last exchange was harsh and full of anger.  Another stroke of loss, crippling now, because there was nothing Loki could do to change any of it from inside his prison cell.  No illusion could conceal the painful ache that consumed him entirely. 

Those days were dark, even for a soul as dusky hued as his own, and Loki’s thoughts followed a similar path.  If there had been a way for him to shake off this immortal coil, free himself of the burden of living, Loki would have done so and been glad.  Death was welcome compared to all this longing and heartache. But life, even a nearly immortal one, was funny. 

When Thor provided a chance at redemption, Loki snatched at it, in his own detached way.  He played hero, rescuing Jane, aiding his brother.  And if he took a bit more in the form of deposing his arrogant, aging father, who would be surprised?  He was Loki, God of Mischief, after all. Ruling the Nine Realms without the oppressive oversight of his father allowed Loki to prove himself in ways he never imagined.  And Loki wasn’t just good at it.  He was great. Of course, it helped that no one knew he was Loki.  Living disguised as Odin was often unpleasant, frequently frustrating, but entirely necessary.  Being Loki was still too difficult and likely to bring unwanted attention in the form of The God of Thunder, a thing that no one truly wanted, Loki least of all. Return Thor did, along with an unknown sister and the end of Asgard.  When confronted with the insanity of Hela’s bloodlust, Loki’s only thought was of his kingdom, now without a ruler.  He had worked too hard, too long, to see the land he cared for in the hands of an enemy, even if she called herself sister.  Opening the Bi-Frost, panicked, his mind was solely on saving those he had recently held dominion over.  They were his people, after all.  But he never reached Asgard. Swallowing his fear, Loki focused all his energy on staying alive in a new and distracting environment, initially.  What Loki found on Sakaar wasn't a new home base under a flamboyant, ineffective leader that he could control, even if that was his first design.  On Sakaar Loki found his loyalty.  

The proud, deep resonance of being Asgardian, of being an Odinson, of being capable and cool under pressure.  Sure, he had to prove himself to Thor, Valkyrie, Banner and honestly, the rest of the kingdom, but actions speak louder than words.  And through his actions on Sakkar, and by extension rescuing the people of Asgard, Loki had shown everybody his true mettle. It was on the deck of a stolen ship headed for Midgard that  Loki had made a commitment of sorts.  One that was not to the people, so recently saved or for his found family.  This time, the promise Loki intended to keep was for himself.  Loki was going to change. The problem is, a task like that takes time.  Patience.  Motivation.  It was something that Loki had to work at and it was exhausting. They say that the best things come to those who wait.  Loki was learning to wait everyday.  Having earned a place at the side of his brother, he worked tirelessly to win over the heroes of his new home planet.  Was it easy?  Hardly, but Loki wasn’t willing to compromise.  Not anymore. A life like Hela’s was not in his runes.  Loki was simply going to be better.  Not perfect.  No one could be as good hearted as Captain America, nor could one be as tech savvy as Stark.  So Loki was planning on being the best Loki he could possibly be, and that’s how he found himself going to meetings at The Avengers Tower, a mostly welcome addition to the team. Meetings weren’t all that exciting and boredom was an awful temptation for a deity devoted to mayhem.  In fact, Loki spent more time doodling in his notebook than listening to whoever was droning on about whatever part of the world needed the attention of this motley crew.  That was, until Pepper Potts hired her new assistant.  That you were polite, pretty and pert wasn’t lost on the young god.  Sitting outside Mrs. Iron Man’s office, typing away with a phone tucked under your ear, moving faster than anyone he had ever seen was certainly impressive.  You were quick witted, clever and most of all, funny. Everyone else seemed to fall under your spell without much effort on your part, something that Loki found frustratingly fascinating.  Here he was, struggling to get people to say his name without having a traumatic flashback, while you simply smiled and smarted off prettily, and had everyone singing your praises.  But Norns, were you adorable. If he thought about it, and while off planet, Loki definitely had, he could remember the moment he realized that you were the woman he wanted.  You were busy, as always, fielding phone calls and flipping through screens yet every moment your flying fingers weren’t hovering over a keyboard or pushing down telephone buttons they curled around a heart shaped charm at your throat.  Clearly, it was a habit and one that you weren’t even aware of, still - it transfixed him all the same.  Watching you from his side eye, your voice never wavering, your tone always so pleasing, and your nimble digits returning again and again to the small sigil around your neck.  “Loki?” “Huh?”  Dumbfounded at your call, those deep sea eyes blinked wildly at the sound of his name on your lips. “Hi!  Yes, Pepper can see you now.  Go ahead, she’s ready!” He rose on stiff legs, adjusting his tie, about to lie to Tony Stark’s woman all for the chance to see you in passing.  Who had he become? It started out innocent like that, but soon, Loki was having to invent excuses for being in the office so frequently.  Missing files, random visits, even going so far as to buy Tony coffee just for the thrill of seeing you.  Something needed to change, and quickly, or Loki was going to blow. On another made up errand, hanging around the executive’s high rise office, Loki was doing a bad job of pretending not to see you.  His mind was on your pouty lips as you sipped lemonade through a straw and not on the stately woman seated behind the desk. 

“Loki, you’re a man of some… style.”  Pepper said it so casually that he almost didn’t hear, his head lost in thoughts that would shame any other person. “I like to think so.”

Shutting her folder with a snap, Pepper smiled, “And you’d love to help your old friend Pepper out, right?” That got his attention, and quickly.  Loki, shoving his hands in his pockets, turned to face Pepper with a widening grin, “I feel like I’m being baited.”

“Baited?  Never!  It’s just, you’re always here and I have a… project that needs the kind of help that you can provide.”  At those words you entered the office, ready for action with a notebook and pen, eager and excited. Suddenly, it was all clear to Loki, “Pepper, no.”  

The noose closed in on the handsome god as Pepper gathered paperwork without looking his way, “Come on, it’s the Stark Homecoming Gala and the two of you will do great!  I have faith in you both.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!” “Really, Miss Potts, I simply can’t-” Stopping short, the strawberry blonde whipped around, almost nose to nose with Loki.  Shrewd and straightforward, Pepper interrupted, saying, “You’ve been dancing around my office for weeks now.  Clearly you like her and… against all the odds, she likes you too.  I’m doing you a favor and when someone does you a favor, you say “Thank You”.” “Thank you.” Nodding curtly, “You’re welcome.  Now, make yourselves comfortable, order some dinner, my treat.  And do whatever you need to make sure this is one great party!” That’s how Loki found himself sitting at a clear glass table over sweating bottles of iced tea as you discussed color themes and tablecloths.  You were shy, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you reviewed notes from previous gatherings both large and small.  His hands itched with wanting to do that job himself. “So, what do you think?”  It was the first time you had addressed him directly since coming through the door and for a moment Loki couldn’t answer.  You were too… not beautiful, that wasn’t the right word, although you were.  No, you were too open, too easy to read, and the earnestness you offered him was downright frightening. Sitting forward in the uncomfortable, yet fashionable, office furniture, Loki cleared his throat and again tugged his tie, “What I think is that you should let me take you dinner.” Dropping your eyes, your cheeks colored slightly as your fingers found that locket charm once more, “Loki, I… I don’t know-” Grabbing for your hand, suddenly afraid that you would take those shining eyes away, Loki lowered his voice and did something he never thought he would.  He begged.  “Please?  I find that you’re all I can think about.” It rushed out of him in a torrent, the way truth so often does, and he found himself unable to look you in the eye.  Loki was afraid to see rejection on your easy to read face, afraid that wanting you had cracked open the lock box holding his heart, afraid that you would see just how weak you made him.  Your fingers twined with his own as you replied, “You didn’t let me finish.  I don’t know what took you so long.” Sighing with relief, his face melting into a genuine smile, “Me either.” Over the next two months the pair of you worked tirelessly to plan and execute a perfect party.  You were inseparable during the day, heads buried together as you discussed linens and table settings, the quality of cocktail glasses, and debating over a band or a dj.  But at night, at night Loki talked about the things that haunted him in the dark.  And you loved him in spite of the awful things he had seen and done and said. Others took notice.  Loki was more lighthearted, more available.  He listened when people spoke and wasn’t constantly doodling during meetings.   Yes, Loki was learning how to love through your loving him.  If empathy had seemed too humane before, then sharing his life, his love with you, was the kind of immortality that earned someone a place in Valhalla.  It was the bravest thing Loki Odinson had ever done and he didn’t mind one bit.

The first time Loki tasted you was burned into his brain, as bright as a flash of lightning.  A firefly in a memory jar that he kept returning to, time and again.  Loki remembered what you were wearing.  He recalled exactly how the light shone in your eyes.  If he concentrated, he could tap out the rhythm of your racing pulse as he held you in his arms. It was the night of the gala.  Inviting everyone under the Stark Industries banner, up to and including the heroes tasked with saving the world, the event was a way to earn money for one of the many charities Tony supported.  The place was full of beautiful people wearing gorgeous clothes under perfect lights set to the hand crafted soundtrack you had created together.

But, Norns, he could still remember the way your eyes sparkled under the lowlights of that hall.  How your dress, simple but sophisticated, clung to the fullness of your bottom.  Low cut but somehow still modest, Loki couldn’t tear his gaze away from the promise of your curves, willing himself to find anything else as interesting as the idea of you.  

You were across the room hanging onto Tony’s every word, eyes bright and cheerfully glowing as you sipped champagne.  It made Loki want to do something grand, something suave, something that would demand your attention for his own.  Moving towards you, his tuxedo perfectly pressed and fitting better than it had any right to, Loki looked long and lean.  Each of his steps seemed to echo, even though the room was full of sound, and you turned your head as if you also heard.  Breaking away from the cluster of acolytes surrounding Iron Man, you bit into your lip as the crowd parted, moving closer together one step at a time.  It was one of the sexiest things Loki had ever witnessed. Lifting your glass in a toast, taking in the room of mingling millionaires, wealthy hangers on and Avengers, “Well, we did it!” “You did it, my dove, I just hung around and judged everyone.” “Oh stop.  I couldn’t have done it without you and you know it.”  Playfully you pushed against his shoulder and Loki took advantage, using your momentum to pull you to his side, your curvy figure flush against his own. Crooning into the shell of your ear, his lips brushing over that sensitive skin, “Somehow, love, I think you would have managed.”  Before you had time to think, Loki had melded his mouth with your own, stealing your breath along with your heart.  Loki’s feet moved in time with the music as he pulled into a dance, laughing in his arms, your cheeks hot and your head swimming. You laughing was, without question, Loki’s favorite sound.  Nothing in this world or any other came close to matching the joyful, childlike glee of that enchanting noise.  Loki memorized its melody, the rise and fall of your giggle.  He had craved it, being away for so long, and now he wanted… no, needed to hear it.  But you were the furthest thing from happy at the moment.   

"Darling, please.  We have to go."  Loki tapped his watch, shaking himself free from the memories of your previous life together and barely suppressing his irritation.

Tears filled your eyes as you whipped your arms around Thor’s mighty shoulders, his deep voice grumbly with emotion, "Take care of him, would you?  He's a jerk, but Loki is the only brother I have."

"Of course… always.  And Valkyrie, your highness, I can’t thank you enough for-"

"No need.  Loki, and by extension yourself, will always have a safe haven here in my palace."

Looking on, Loki and Thor embraced almost tenderly before crashing their heads together.  

"Stay safe, little brother."

"Be good, Thor."

Eyes on the sky, Val ignored the show of masculine emotion, chastising your plan, "You’re going to start a war, Loki."

Straight backed, Loki turned to the king, "Not on the grass of New Asgard.  I will take the fight to them, that is my vow to you."

As Loki offered his hand, Valkyrie shook it, with parting words, "Work on staying alive.  You have a tendency to worry your brother."

Solemnly nodding, "As the king commands.  Shall we?"  With that Loki laced his fingers with yours, leading you a few paces away from the people who loved him most, before summoning the magic that had you both transcending space and time.

This time when your feet touched down it was on the familiar turf of the orchard, surrounded by the scent of apple blossoms and the buzzing of happy bees.  Morning had broken and the world seemed full of promise, with the exception of that knot in your stomach.

"Are you ready?  Darling?"

"Oh… yes.  I mean, I still don't love this plan, but-"

"But it's going to work."  Only it was no longer the baritone voice of your long, lean Loki speaking.  In his place stood Nick Fury, leather duster and eye patch in place.

"If you say so!"  And you clutched your own throat as Natasha’s bored tones came out of your mouth.  The suit, skin tight but flexible, molded to your modified form.  All in all, you were comfortable, "The boots are a bit much."

"Ya think?  This jacket weighs a ton."  Pulling at his collar, "Why does he wear a turtleneck anyway?"

"Loki, this is so weird.  It feels so weird."

"Agreed, but then, why am I so turned on?"

Laughing, you shook your false red hair, hands resting on Natasha’s waist, "God, I've missed you."

"Same, dearest.  Now… let's get your necklace and some answers!"

---

 Convincing Bucky to head home had taken a lot of work, but sometime around 2 am Steve had finally seen his friend off.  The house was empty.  Steve felt the same way.

Turning the black velvet box in his pocket, fingers crushed against the fragile fabric, Steve struggled to feel anger.  When that didn't materialize he shot for sadness but even tears seemed beyond his ability.  

With a sigh, climbing the same stairs he had trudged up a hundred times before, Steve started going through the motions of bedtime.  Only tonight you weren’t there to tease him about the wildly inappropriate amount of toothpaste on his brush.  He didn’t have your light footsteps to follow to the bedside or your help with stacking all of your extra, yet entirely essential, pillows on the chair.

Someone must have changed the sheets, he thought.  There was no evidence of you and Loki’s adventurous afternoon anymore.  Steve made a mental note to thank Buck for that little piece of kindness in the morning.

Shucking his shirt, Steve sat on the mattress, a hand to his forehead.  He had lost.  Captain America had been bested.  Beaten.  And by Loki, no less.

Moonlight in silver slivers shone through the window panes, squares of light in the deep of night.  Steve was alone.  Utterly and totally alone.

And there was no one to blame but himself.

Sighing hard, Steve stood, pacing the floor to work off some of the unspendable anxiety he kept creating.  The room still had your energy, your vibe, as you liked to call it, and the feeling was a prickling itch Steve couldn’t quite satisfy.  Traces of you were everywhere and something about you leaving all of it, and him, behind was just too big to process. “Damn it.”  Even whispering sounded like thunder in the silence of your recently vacated room.  His hands, so big, so strong, smoothed along the fabric of your hanging clothes.  All that power had done nothing to help Steve get the thing he wanted. Sorting through the baubles and trinkets on your dresser, bottles of perfume he had purchased, necklaces and pins, each with a moment of memory it hurt him to recall.  Your watch ticked away the minutes as he stood, stoic and still, surrounded by the shadow of you.  In the orchard the birds were waking, their song filling the air, as morning broke in low golden rays.  Abandoning his plan for sleep, Steve watched as the light chased away the dark, casting rainbows on the floor.  The sun was reflecting off of your Grandmother’s necklace.  A pretty, ancient, carved cameo,  heart shaped locket.  He recalled his own mother owning one just like it, pictures of loved ones pressed inside, holding them as tight as history would allow. Fisting the filigree chain, winding it around his fingers as if it would somehow undo what he had done, Steve slipped it into his pocket before settling back onto the bed.  ----

At the back door to the home you so recently shared with Steve, Loki hung back, “I think this is where we split up.  You go find your treasure and me… I’m going to find some answers.” Nodding, Natasha’s signature red hair swinging, you squeezed the hand holding your own.  It no longer looked like Loki’s long fingered paw, but that was only a skin deep change.  You felt the undeniable essence of him in the press of his fingers against your own. “Be careful.” “That’s no fun, dove.” “Loki-”  You hated the way your voice broke as you said it, but there just seemed to be so much at stake and you had already lost him once. Sensing your unspoken concerns, Loki flashed you Nick Fury’s best smile, “I will.  I promise.”

“Ten minutes.” “Ten minutes.”  You watched the black coated back of your charmed paramour as he opened the shed door, hoping that he’d find something worth knowing in that place out of sight.  Inhaling deeply you twisted the doorknob as quietly as possible, letting yourself into what was once your kitchen, “What a mess.”  It was impossible not to notice the unwrapped leftovers and empty bottles littering the table.  An overturned trash barrel, crumpled beer cans littering the counter, things that Steve, your Steve, would never have tolerated.  All evidence that the grand evening he’d envisioned had been thwarted by Loki’s arrival and your collective escape.  

You started up the stairs, praising Natasha's footwear for its stealth, when you heard the toilet flush and the unmistakable shuffle of Steve’s feet on the carpet.  There was no place to hide on the wide stairwell.  It was time to see if Loki's plan was going to work.

Voice blurry, eyes rubbed red and raw, you couldn't deny that Steve looked like shit, “Bucky?  That you?  You back?”  Steve’s voice bounced around the brightening room as morning sunlight filtered through the soft sheers you had picked out for exactly this reason. Panicked, you backed into the railing with an over loud “Oof!” “Nat?  What are you doing here?  I thought you and Fury were headed to New Asgard?”  Suddenly wide awake and wondering, Steve rushed to your costumed side, eager for information. The man in front of you now bore little resemblance to the angry Avenger you had escaped from hours before.  This man had hair sticking up in odd angles from near constant finger raking.  This man had a hint of a stuffy nose and red rimmed eyes, all indicators that tears had been shed.  Now those blue eyes were scrutinizing you closely, full of concern.

“Uh… We... We got intel.  Yea, intelligence, that Loki was headed back this way.  Turned around… and uh, here we are.” One of those sandy blonde eyebrows lifted, “Natasha?”

Squaring your shoulders, channeling that cool confidence you’d see Black Widow display over and over, “Steve?”  Something about your tone of voice convinced him in a way your words couldn’t.  He visibly relaxed, those broad shoulders going slack as he asked, “Didn’t make it to Norway, then?"

Nodding a negative, you felt the unfamiliar brush of her red hair at your cheek and had to fight the urge to tuck it away, “No.  Loki’s using some sort of transporting power to move them around.  Fury suggested I keep an eye out here, in case they come back this way.” “She won’t be back, Nat.  There’s nothing for her here.”  To you, Steve sounded so sad, so removed, that you had to will yourself not to comfort the giant before you.  “That’s not true!”  It came out of you forcefully, thoughtlessly, and you saw the shock register on the Captain’s face. “That is, Fury and I… we… have reason to believe that she will come back.  They left with nothing, Steve.  She’ll need clothes… maybe some shoes… and-”  Swallowing hard, you didn’t want to give anything away, “-a necklace from her grandmother.” Steve, patting his pocket, felt the weighted chain and it’s heart shaped locket, “I don’t think-” Stepping up to his bulky form, suddenly aggressive, you started, “Never mind what you think, Captain.  We're here for a necklace...  the necklace.  Our intel suggests that your former flame might return for it and… And, I want it, with me, as a means to subdue her when she arrives." Sounding forceful and official was enough to back Steve down.  Just a touch deflated, you watched him shrug, “If that’s what you want, Nat, here-”  From his pants he pulled out the shining bauble, a trinket really, but full of sentiment and memory. Sitting in his palm, the tiny heart that held the picture of your grandmother and mother looked so small, almost unreal.  Reaching for it with wet eyes, you smiled at Steve as you lifted the charm and chain, “Thank you, Steve.  Thank you.” Nodding deeply, that golden head bobbing, “You’re welcome.”  The large grandfather clock could be heard ticking throughout the house.  The sun was gaining on the day and you, dressed as Natasha stood in silence in front of a somber Steve.  For another long beat nothing was said, then, as if sensing a shift in your conversation, Steve flashed your fake Natasha a weak smile, “I could use some breakfast.  How about you?”

“Um… sure.  Yea, ok.  Breakfast.” 

Steve started moving again, downstairs towards the cluttered kitchen when he paused, "So how did you get back so fast?  Cause that's like a 7 hour flight, even with you in the cockpit." “Steve…”  You could hear it, the whining almost pleading tone that signaled the end of Loki’s well planned charade.  That wasn’t enough to stop Steve.  He broke hard, one of those strong arms stopping you in your tracks before you could reach the lower level. “It’s clever, I have to give you guys that.  Almost perfect, really.” Panic rising, you doubled down on the ruse, struggling to keep your voice even, “I don’t know-”  Blocking you in, his body the perfect unmovable buffer, “Loki’s here too, isn’t he?” Pushing against “Steve, I… I don’t…” “Don’t lie.  You don’t have to…” “But… how-?” “You’re not mean enough to play Natasha, doll.  Not by a long shot.”

--- It was strange to be seated at the table and chairs that you and Steve had picked out together one sunny Saturday when you thought that your future was going to be Loki-less.  Your place, the one that you had imagined filling with children that had golden hair and bright blue eyes, felt like a set.  Something false and fake.  A facade, put together simply for show. Steve must have felt it too because his fingers drummed against the white washed table incessantly.  Clearly he had something on his mind.  “Steve-” “No.  No.  Please, let me just get this out, ok?” Raising an eyebrow, you waved at him to continue, nervous but interested in what the super soldier needed to explain. With a shaky inhale, running his constantly moving fingers through his golden locks, Steve caught your eye and didn’t waiver.  “When I saw you… No, that’s not right.  Let me start at the beginning. “When Loki left Earth, you… you were so sad.  It hurt me to see you so… deflated.” “Steve, I-” “You know it’s true.  When he returned to Asgard, something in you, it dimmed, and I just couldn’t allow that… Not when I felt the way I did about you. “I don’t think you realize just how incredible you are… how full of life!  And since I had already missed one chance to be with you, I knew I needed to prove that I could be the man you needed… If you forgot about Loki along the way, even better. “Only… you never did.  I waited years for you, ya know, doll?  Years.  And just when I thought there was no chance with you, Nat gave me a reason to hope. “She was your friend.  An ally.  Someone you could trust… someone I could trust.  I swear it started out that innocently, at least for me.  I just wanted to make you smile again.  But she had other plans.  Plans that came from higher up the ladder of SHIELD. “Fury, he wanted us to watch you… something about Loki being too powerful.  And-”, grabbing your hand tightly, Steve emphasized his point, “-I promise you that I had no idea about his success, or the messages he had sent to you through Nick.  Like you, I thought that Loki was gone.  Missing.  Never coming back.” “I… I believe you Steve.  I know that you didn’t do all this on your own… but what was Nick hoping you’d find out?  I knew less than nothing about what was going on!” “I think he was worried that Loki would get to you first.  That if… when Loki returned, you would be his first stop.  Then you would know about Loki’s success and, frankly, Fury’s failures.  You would also know… well, everything you know now.  That Fury had you tailed, lied to, and led on in an effort to stop Loki from out flanking him.” Frenzied and frantic, you felt anger boiling up inside of you, “But I thought Loki was gone forever.  There was no hope for him and I… and Natasha, she told me that he was dead.” “All a part of Fury’s plan to keep you neutralized and Loki away.  If Loki thought that you’d ignored his letters, that you no longer loved him, why would he come back here?  And, if that didn’t work… when Loki came back and you were with me, what else could keep him on Earth?”

Whispering with realization, “So, they used you too.” Steve sighed and buried his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt, “Don’t feel bad for me.  I let them use my love for you, let them twist it up and shape it as they needed.  Honestly, I wish I could tell you that it was for you, but it wasn’t.  It was for me.  I wanted you, so, so badly.  I didn’t care what strings were attached.  And we built a life together, you and me.  I thought I could outrun the reality of the constant monitoring and daily reports.  Telling Natasha and Nick about every word and each email.  Don’t you see, I love you… and I wanted you, however I could get you.” Shaking your head, Natasha’s red wisps flying, “That’s not love, Steve.  I don’t know what that is… but love isn’t it.” “No?”  With a loud thunk, Steve slammed a small velvet box on the table between you. “Is… Is that what I think it is?”

“Last night.  It was going to happen last night.  Our friends here, under the lights and the stars, I was going to ask you to marry me.  I still would if-” Realization hit you like a ton of bricks, “If Loki hadn’t stepped back into our lives.” “-If Loki hadn’t stepped back into your life.” It made you both laugh in a sad way, how you finished the same thought, and for a fleeting second you could see why you had allowed Captain America to sweep you off your feet.  He was a lot of things to you now, but there was a time when he had been almost everything.  The evidence of that was in the small black square that said nothing but spoke volumes. “Steve, I don’t know if I would have said yes… even without Loki’s… arrival.  I think I have always known that you and I… we are very different people.” Sitting back in his chair, his gaze still locked on your own, “I just want you to know that I’m sorry.  I’m sorry about what I’ve done… what I’ve said… How, shit, how I’ve behaved.  I could say that it was my duty.  I could tell you it was out of love, but the plain truth is that I have always been jealous of what you and Loki share.” “You’ll find it Steve.  You really will.  There’s a person out there waiting for you.  And once you’ve found them, oh Steve, you’ll see that this… what we had, it’s a shadow.  An illusion.  Because love, real love, doesn’t come with caveats and catches.  It is an undeniable force which, in my case, even the boundaries of time and space can not deny.” Something like a sob burst out of Steve, and you were surprised to see tears in his eyes, “I was so wrong.  Could you ever forgive me?” “I want to, Steve.  I really do... “  What more could you say?  Patting his hand you started to rise, “I have to go now.  Loki and I need to keep moving and I don’t want to risk running into Nick and Natasha.  At least, not yet, anyway.” “Where are you planning to go?” “To the Avenger’s Tower.  I believe I know what Mr. Fury has been planning all along.”  Loki’s strong voice entered the conversation as smoothly as his arms wrapped possessively around your waist. Steve took in the protective stance of your returned lover with a raised eyebrow, and without further comment asked Loki, “Really?  And how are you going to breach the building?  They’ll be looking for you, even with disguises…  Fury is no fool.  Plus, there’s little chance that Tony hasn’t activated a million safety and security protocols by now.” Only interested in you, Loki refused to give Steve any of his attention, “Getting in can’t be that hard!  I’ll figure it out when I get there.  Ready pet?” With a gentle push under his broad hands your feet started to move towards the door.  Loki was eager to be off and away, especially after hearing so much of Roger’s confession.  Just knowing what Steve had done, manipulating you while also convinced of his love for you;  it was enough for Loki to commit murder.  He was having quite a difficult time not tearing the good Captain’s limbs off his body. Softening his tone, Steve practically pleaded, “Loki.  Wait.  I… I can help.” Turning his attention fully to your former flame, Loki purred venomously, “You can help?  I’d love to know what entails, Captain.” “I can get you into the place and take you exactly where you need to go.  Fury’s going to hate it, but I’m tired of taking orders that hurt the people that-”  His pause was as lingering as the look he gave you, “- That I love.”  Before Loki could offer a sincerely sassy reply you grabbed his sleeve, tugging, “Um… Excuse us a minute Steve.” Pulling him down the hall of a home that felt like a familiar faced stranger, you waited until you had a bit of distance from Steve before harshly whispering, “How long were you listening?”

Serving you that small, sexy smile, Loki grinned, “Long enough.  How did you know I was there?” “You are sneaky, but even you, God of Mischief, cast a shadow.” Swinging you close enough to catch your mouth with his own, Loki pressed a sweet kiss there before answering, “A mistake I will be careful not to make again!” “The tower, huh?  That’s where you want to go?”  Grabbing you at the swell of your hips, grinding his frame against your own, “Where I want to go, my darling, is to the nearest bed, preferably naked, with you and you alone.” Your hands traced over the lapels of his borrowed leather duster, pausing only to jerk him closer by the supple fabric, “Hmm… is that so?” “Oh yes…”  Loki’s buttery grumble filled your ear as his strong hands dug into the flesh of your bottom.  For a moment you thought he’d give in to temptation, his sweet lips teasingly close to your own upturned mouth, “But-” On your toes, leaning into Loki’s sturdy, leather draped frame, you paused, “Ugh.  But?” Moving you to a safer, less kissable, arms length away, Loki sighed with the same frustration you felt, “-But, where we need to go, as soon as possible, is the Tower.” Moaning grumpily, you stepped out of the arms you longed to linger in, “I was afraid you were going to say that.” “I know it’s less than… ideal, love, but I did find something useful before the good Captain unburdened his soul this morning.” “And that is?” “Fury’s plan.  At first I couldn’t figure out exactly what he was after.  What did Fury want?  How was I involved?” Loki was dragging this out, loving how it kept you hanging onto his every word, and you rolled your eyes, “Well?  What is it?  Weapons?  War?” “All of that, yes… and… yours truly.”  That triumphant smile that filled Loki’s whole face lit up his mischievous eyes.  Tilting your head, struggling to make sense of what Loki had just told you, “What do you mean, you.  Fury wanted you… to do what, exactly?’ “Loki was going to be the patsy.” You both turned toward the sound of Steve’s baritone at the door, suddenly remembering that the Good Captain was still there and that he was waiting to see what you were going to do next.  Leaning his 100 year old bones into the doorframe, Steve crossed his arms, “The fall guy.  An example of what happens if you cross SHIELD.” “I think, my dear Mr. Rogers, that you mean, I am to be used as an example of what happens if one crosses Nick Fury.”  Loki countered, slinging an arm over your shoulder protectively. The idea was frightening.  A man like Fury had too much power, too much at his disposal.  Just knowing the lengths he had gone to in order to keep you and Loki apart was scary enough.  Making enemies of your friends.  Threatening the people you loved.  Selling your affection to Steve in an effort to control Loki.

Now, the knowledge that all of it was done in an effort to ensure that Nick Fury was the toughest guy in the galaxy, it made your stomach clench.  “What do you mean, an example?” “Unless my intelligence is flawed, I believe that Fury was going to kill me.  Is that correct, Captain?” Steve felt the weight of two sets of eyes on him.  Yours, full of fearful love and blind hope that this was all just some misunderstanding.  Innocent and naive and as lovely as he could ever remember.  Loki’s were reflecting a deeper understanding.  The kind of knowledge that only time in the trenches teaches. There was no answer from Captain Rogers.  None was needed.  Honesty, final and resolute, was out in the open.  “Look.  I know I’m not the guy you want on your side.  I’ve… I haven’t been the man I needed to be.  Not for you-”  Steve locked his bright blues onto you, offering a small smile that spoke of sadness before facing Loki, “-Or you, Loki.  But if you let me help you now, I promise that I can get you into the tower and maybe, one day, you won’t think so little of me.” 

Around you the morning gained strength.  Somewhere nearby birds chirped wildly, blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding in the modest little farmhouse and its implications on intergalactic politics.  Without  moving a muscle, Loki plainly asked you, “Do you trust him, dearest?” Squaring your shoulders, you crossed your arms, staring down the man called Captain America.  Nodding decisively, “I do.  I don’t think he’d spill everything like that only to turn on us.  He’s not so bad Loki, really.” “We’ll see about that.  For now, we trust Steve.  Ok, what’s your plan, Rogers?” --- “Hey.  I… I have one other thing to show you.”  Steve was dressed for action in his branded tactical gear, looking every inch the super soldier that Dr. Erskine envisioned. “Steve, we have to get moving.  Loki’s eager and -” “Just open it, ok?”  The envelope was thick with folded paper, the flap tucked under and not sealed.  Clearly it had spent time in and out of pockets, the edges frayed and tattered.  In exasperated curiosity you gingerly pulled the sheets free.

Shaking, your hands trembled holding the once white documents as your voice thickened, “Is this… is this what I think it is?” Cocking his head playfully, that rueful smile pulling at his full mouth, Steve almost seemed cheerful as he teased, “It’s yours.  I think something about this place has always been yours and I want you to have it.” “But-” Folding your small hands in his mighty ones, Steve squeezed gently, “It was a wedding present, or it was supposed to be.” “But we’re not getting married.” “I know.  Still-” “I can’t, Steve.  It’s yours.  Your house, your farm, your dream.” Shaking his head, disagreeing, but feeling lighter than he had in decades, Steve insisted, “Too late, I’m afraid.  It’s done.  Actually, that version of the deed has been signed since our second week here.” As realization sunk in you appraised the man changing right before your eyes, astonished but exhilarated, “Where will you go?” “I dunno.  Think I might need to be alone for a bit.  Maybe see the world… but first-” “First, we have to stop Nick Fury.”

To Be Continued... My Minxes:   @scrumptious-finicky-illusion @iamverity​ @mizfit2​ @sammy-jo1977​ @wolfsmom1​ @jessiejunebug​ @iluvsumbucky​ @unadulteratedwizardlove​ @procrastinatinglikeabitch​ @shxdowofdarkness​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @ahintofkiwistrawberry​ @alexakeyloveloki​ @rorybutnotgilmore​ @crystalizedcaramel​ @lokislittlecorner​ @capcapcapsicle @jamielea81​ @caffiend-queen​ @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​ @jenjen8675309​ @that-one-person​ @roguewraith​ @toomanystoriessolittletime​ @vodka-and-some-sass​ @just-random-obsessions​ @brokenthelovely​ @lots-of-loki​ @thefallenbibliophilequote​

#loki x reader #loki x you #you x loki #loki smut #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader #mcu smut #MCU fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction