#so he gets to watch Loki be unfavoured or try to do things and HE KNOWS WHY

[worstloki]

something very horrifying about the concept of Thor but not Loki being told that Loki is Jotun when the brothers are old enough to understand the importance of the secret

#so he gets to watch Loki be unfavoured or try to do things and HE KNOWS WHY #but Thor can't SAY anything about it bc he's not supposed to #and Thor obviously has no way to reconcile that Loki is Jotun which means Jotun can't possibly be plain monsters #so Thor and Loki both keep badmouthing the frost giants #Thor gets to watch Loki hate on the frost giants while knowing Loki is one and idk something about that doesn't sit right with him #Thor basically gets to watch Loki fail at things and to Thor it's like 'oh yeah of course he's not as good or doesn't fit in' #he gets to watch and learn bad war stories and that's just how they learn about how horrible the Jotnar are #and i think occasionally Thor would stop to really process that fact #but most of the time Thor is just like. yeah that's a thing but it's not like it matters #even tho Loki being Jotun totally IS an important thing #he's just used to ignoring that it's not since he'd been told pretty far back #and it was apparently never relevant to their parents to inform Loki so *shrug* #ALSO ALSO Loki finding out so long after and being devastated and ''they told you of my parentage did they not?'' #but make it Thor 1 #make it happen when Loki goes to Earth to visit Thor too hjsvfdsh #Loki: I have reason to believe I'm not related to any of you by blood. #Thor: uh well that'd be a little hard wouldn't it #Loki finds out that Thor knew he was adopted/Jotun before him too #lets get that breakdown moving along

[writingfics-passingtime]

Worth It

~5100 words of tickle fluff

This fic is a little different than the others. A bit of ruthless Loki, a bit of soft Loki, a bit of ler!Loki… by proxy. Special guest Thor.

Rating: PG13

CW: overtly suggestive humour, swearing, sleep deprivation (in case it’s triggering for some)

EDIT: Part Two now posted.

“Beta test three point six. Ultra-strength cuffs. Subject is Loki of Asgard. Demigod, magical being-“

”Don‘t forget to mention incredibly charming and handsome.”

You shot Loki a look as you clicked the recorder off and picked up the cuffs from the table.

“It’s been a long while since I’ve let a woman restrain me,” Loki chided as you snapped the cuffs on. “Much less a Midgardian woman.”

You scoffed. ”You’d rather be restrained by men?”

”Depends on the man.”

”Hold still.” You rolled your eyes and shut the cuffs around his wrists, pulled the key out, then took a step back to examine how the nanotech created extra layers of security.

With all the alien threats the Avengers had faced recently, you’d decided, along with Tony and Bruce, that there needed to be a more effective way to take them in quietly. Handcuffs designed for humans simply weren’t strong enough in most cases, but maybe with Stark’s nanotech a device could be created, standard issue for Avengers, that could be used to subdue even the strongest inhuman threats.

Forever your bickering and bantering companion in the Compound, Loki couldn’t wipe the smug grin off his face from the moment you had to approach him and ask for him to submit to tests to make the cuffs work. Oh, many jokes were made. Most at your expense, most insinuating that you were enjoying this way too much.

”Not as tight as the others,” Loki commented. You two had a solid working relationship; while he was intentionally a mischievous pain in your backside at any chance he could get, he was also helpful. You’d earned his respect the second you met him and weren’t even slightly afraid of him.

You nodded and took a few steps back, “Try breaking free.”

Loki took a breath in and pulled his hands apart with all his might. The nano tech whizzed and whirred under the strain but the more he struggled the tighter it became.

”Perfect,” you breathed out and kept watching, arms crossed, one hand in front of your mouth allowing your fingers to nervously play with your lower lip.

“One moment, Agent,” Loki cautioned you before taking one last pull with all his strength. He winced a little as they fastened so tight under his strain, loosening off again when he stopped tugging.

“The tech converts the pressure of your struggle into a tightening of the metal slats,” you explained, walking forwards to admire your own creation.

“Well done,” he drawled. “They seem to work perfectly well. Now release me.”

You grinned and looked up at him playfully, “Oh, I don’t know, Loki… I kinda like you like this.”

”Ooh, Agent, say the word,” he teased right back with a grin. You chuckled and shrugged, walking around the back of him.

“You sure you can’t escape?”

“Quite sure.”

“Even if I do… this?” You reached out and poked either of his sides with a single finger. Entirely not expecting a reaction, you were shocked to see him flinch quite hard. “Oh, no way.”

”You’d be smart to release me now, Agent,” Loki chuckled good-naturedly, but there was an unconcealed tone of warning underlying the laugh.

”There’s no way you’re ticklish. I mean, come on, really?” You giggled and poked him once more on your way back to face him at his front. “You can’t expect me to let this go.”

“I’d never expect such a thing, knowing how tenacious you can be. Though, before you proceed I’d like to offer you the opportunity to consider your circumstances,” Loki deadpanned.

“Seems to me like you’re the one with unfavourable circumstances here, Your Highness.” You poked him again in the side and he flinched, hand clenching into fists beneath his bonds.

“Eh, yes,” Loki tipped his head to the side and smirked. “Although perhaps you‘d care to think in the longer-term.“

”Longer-term?”

”Namely, your strength against mine and, might you consider, whether or not you could handle what I’d do in revenge.”

You poked him in the stomach this time and he flinched harder. “I’m not afraid of you, Loki. You wouldn’t hurt me.”

He chuckled darkly, and something in the mischief of his voice struck a nerve just enough to stop you from poking him again. “Darling, of course I’d never hurt you. You’ve already crossed the line so expect some small form of recompense, but-“

”Hold on a sec-“

”-BUT,“ he cut back in, viciousness dripping from this threats, “Should you touch me one more time I will not hesitate to hold you down and find every ticklish place on your body that turns you into a pleading, writhing mess,” he chuckled again, probably at seeing your cheeks flush warm. He leaned in a little closer and winked. “Now, is that really worth it?”

You cursed yourself as you felt your cheeks heat to a flaming pink, knowing Loki could see them. He chuckled and stood back up to standing height, smirking down at you.

“Darling, if the mere threat flustered you, you don’t stand a chance against me.“

“Shut up, Loki,” you mumbled as Tony walked back into the lab and you looked over to him. “Cuffs work on demigod strength.”

Tony clapped, “Excellent! Your lab rat work here is done for the day so get going, Reindeer Games. Let us listen to Zep in peace. Uncuff ‘im Einstein.”

You nodded and slid the key into the lock, the latches opened and Loki’s hands shot out towards you. You flinched and gasped but he retracted them before he actually made contact. Grinning maliciously, he winked at you and brushed past on his way out of the lab.

Later that day, you walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and read a few chapters of a novel to give your brain a break from the nanotech. It was kind of kicking your ass, but you wouldn’t admit that. Not to Tony. It all seemed so easy to him.

You briefly paused in the doorway when you saw Loki in the kitchen, sitting at the island with a cup of tea, reading.

“I will not dirty my hands with revenge today, Agent,” he sighed, sounding a little bored. “You need not lurk in doorways.”

You rolled your eyes and walked through to grab coffee. “I told you I’m not afraid of you.”

He looked up, but his eyes were fixed on the pot in your hands. “Haven’t you had quite enough of that today?”

“Woah, coffee police,“ you scoffed, even though it was your fifth cup. “I’m on a deadline.”

”Self-imposed, I’m sure.”

You rolled your eyes again and huffed. He knew you better than most. He knew you set impossibly high standards for yourself, attempting to keep up with the likes of Stark and Banner, even Peter. As much as Loki tried to assure you, in teasing or roundabout ways, that you didn’t need to prove yourself, you couldn’t let it go.

“I’m just taking a little break,” you said quietly, holding up your book in hand and walking through to the living room.

It was quite nice, your break. You were finally feeling yourself relax a little bit, losing yourself in the storyline of the historical fiction. Then, you saw a large bearded man peak over the couch, grinning down at you.

“Hey, Thor,” you gave him a quick glance before turning back to your page, though your concentration was quickly broken by his firm hand digging his finger into your belly. Shrieking and tossing the book aside, you grabbed his hand and attempted to push it away through your giggles.

”Whahat the hell!” You squeaked when he moved his hand to pinch at your lower ribs, more desperate laughs escaping you. “THOOOOR!”

“Hello, little one,” he beamed, before faking an evil laugh and reaching his other hand over the back of the couch to join the fray.

”Cut it ouhohout!”

You squeaked and shrieked again when his fingers dug into the spaces between your ribs. As he started trying to worm them higher under where your arms were clamped at your side, you shouted “NO!” and pushed yourself off the couch, landing on the floor in a still-giggling heap. Seething and getting up to your feet, you tried your best to look angry through your blush. “What the hell was that for?!”

“Ah, come now,” he grinned and waved a hand dismissively. “You don’t need to pretend with me. I enjoy seeing you laugh!”

“Wha-… what?”

“Loki told me how much you enjoy being tickled. Nothing to be ashamed of, it’s rather adorable.”

Your mouth fell open from shock, though you had to admire the mischievousness of it. Loki certainly lived up to his title.

“I- he-… I’m gonna kill your brother,” you growled, storming from the room to go see if Loki was still at his spot at the kitchen island. He was.

“Hello, Agent. I heard quite a commotion just before. What ever was so hilarious?

“Really?” You narrowed your eyes as you approached. “You sicced your brother on me?“

He didn’t even look up from his book. Bastard. “Consider it restitution for your little game in the lab.”

“Give me a break!” You placed your hands on the counter opposite him. “I gave you a few pokes, you set a demigod on me! And you think he’s just never gonna do that again?!”

“Hmm, yes, well perhaps you should have considered the consequences.”

”I’m going to even this out,” you promised with a surge of confidence, pushing yourself from the counter and shaking your head, jaw clenched into an incredulous smile. “You watch your back.”

He laughed, sharply and cooly, finally looking up from his book. “You haven’t got the nerve. You know I’d take you within an inch of your life.”

“Try me,“ you growled.

“Ooh, this should be fun,” Loki laughed again, clearly not believing you had the gall to live up to your words. He shot a glance at the doorway then looked back down at his book. “Hello, brother.”

Your head snapped to Thor in the doorway, still smiling and wiggling his fingers at you tauntingly. “Not right now, Thor,“ you said kindly, but firmly. He laughed and dropped his hands, walking through the kitchen to his next destination. You saw Loki smirk as he turned his page. Without another word, or sound, you walked back to the couch and picked up your book to finish your break.

It was harder to concentrate now as thoughts of revenge swirled through your head. Maybe, just maybe, you could channel this into figuring out how to shrink the cuffs. Abandoning your book on the table, you raced to the kitchen to refill your coffee before rushing back to the lab.

The following day, you still hadn’t figure it out. You’d had quite literally a sleepless night. Knowing Tony and Bruce wouldn’t approve, you’d snuck back to your room before sunrise to shower and refresh, change clothes, act like you hadn’t been up all night in the lab trying to crack the equation.

Loki was an early riser, so it didn’t surprise you to see him in the kitchen when you entered. He glanced at you with a brief morning greeting, then did a double-take with a more discerning look.

“What?” You mumbled.

“Did you sleep last night?”

”Is that a fresh pot?”

He couldn’t call you on your lie if you didn’t answer the question. Checkmate, Trickster God.

Not quite meeting his eye, you took the pot and filled a large mug before taking your leave. Loki hummed disapprovingly on your way out.

You had a bad day.

You tried hard not to let it show, but the times you emerged to grab more coffee you kept your head down to make it clear you weren’t in the space to have a pleasant conversation.

No matter how hard you tried, thought, theorised… it didn’t work. It didn’t make sense. Trying to excuse some of the feelings of impending doom as lack of sleep, instead of letting your mind trick you into thinking you’d be kicked off the team for not figuring out how to shrink the cuffs, you found it harder and harder as the day went on to feel okay about yourself. It also got harder to keep track of how many coffee’s you’d drank since you last slept. You’d lost track after number eleven.

After some convincing from Bruce to come join the Friday night hangout, you hung your shoulders in defeat and dragged yourself to the living room. You took your rest on a small two-seater couch and leaned your head against the arm of it.

“Long day?” Natasha smiled, gesturing to a bottle of wine on the table to offer you a glass. You held a hand up to politely decline and nodded, pinching the bridge of your nose to relieve some tension.

“Lots of numbers that don’t make sense,” you looked up to see Bruce walk in with some takeout. “Hey, you know your theoretical physics software can be a real bitch,” you laughed. He grinned and sat himself down near Nat.

“Nothing you can’t handle.”

“I admire your faith in me.”

As more people started filtering into the room you sat up and tried to be a bit more cheerful, chipper and engaged in the conversations. Though it wasn’t quite working. Really, you kind of just wanted to crawl into bed and watch some trashy TV to regain the strength for another long night in the lab. Scrolling through the options in your head, you were brought back to reality by two large hands on your shoulders.

“You look down, little one,” Thor’s kind voice came from behind you as he squeezed your shoulders fondly.

“Just tired,” you smiled up at him. “There’s a certain piece of equipment kicking my ass a little, I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.”

“That you will. Though you still look sad.”

The playful tint in his voice immediately brought your mind back to yesterday. You looked over at the couch Thor had tickled you on and saw it filled with your teammates. The room was filled with your teammates, except for maybe three or four who were still getting dinner. Then, your eyes shot to Loki‘s tall and regal form gracing the room with his presence as he entered from the kitchen and quickly noticed the position you were in, smirking and making his way over.

“I-I’m not sad, Thor,” you smiled sweetly up at him again. “Seriously. Just tired. I only need some rest. Maybe I should-“

“Are you alright, Agent?” Loki joined Thor behind the couch and feigned concern. “You look down.”

“I’m not down, I’m- AH!” You yelped a little when Thor’s fingers met your sides, giggled bubbling over when he kept squeezing with more intent. “Wahait,” you pushed at his hands and made to stand but he pulled you back towards the couch and continued his attack.

“Well now this is adorable,“ Tony’s snarky voice boomed, drawing attention to your predicament.

“Thohor, I dohon’t- Thor plehease,” you squeaked a little when his fingers hit your lower ribs, earning a few muffled laughs from the people who were paying attention. With all the strength you could muster you pushed yourself from his fingers, from the couch and spun, holding your hands out in defence.

You knew what to say to get Thor to back off. You knew Thor couldn’t stand being publicly bested by his younger brother.

“THOR!” You panted, urging him to listen. “Loki tricked you. He told you I like being tickled to get back at me for giving him a few pokes in the lab, but he told you that to trick you.”

Thor side-eyed his smirking younger brother, then without another moment of hesitation he grabbed Loki around the bicep and pulled him to the ground with a war cry.

“Woah!” You instinctively took another step away from the brawl taking place as the brother hurled strong limbs and words at each other. You couldn’t really see what was going on, but you could deduce they were engaged in some kind of wrestling.

“Brother, UNHAND ME!” Loki’s harsh growl rose over the scuffle.

“Come, little one!” Thor called to you through grunts.

“Huh?!” Confused, you peaked over the couch to see a seething trapped Loki, pinned in a precarious position by his older and stronger brother. Thor was half sitting up, strong biceps wrapped around his younger brother’s arms to pin then behind his back. His legs hooked around Loki’s knees to immobilise him. Loki snarled and tried to thrash but he was pinned in such a way that didn’t allow it.

”THOR!” Loki bellowed and tugged on his older brother’s hold.

“Come,“ Thor breathed heavily from the scuffle, then gave a half-smirk half-grin. “Come take your revenge.”

“The girl is too smart for that,” Loki laughed and shot you a menacing stare. The look had its desired effect - you felt really hesitant about Thor’s offer.

“Don’t you want to even it out a bit?” Thor asked, tightening his hold on his squirming younger brother.

”I-... Uh…”

“Don‘t break my windows, please!” Tony called. You turned to see half the room interested in the scuffle, half in their own conversations. It wasn’t too uncommon for some kind of playful physical altercation to occur, so you figured some conversations were a bit more interesting.

“Last chance, little one,” Thor strained to hold his brother, but was clearly not at risk of being overpowered.

“I told you she’s too smart for that,” Loki scoffed, giving you a deviously warning glare.

But you saw something in that glare other than maliciousness, or a threat, or the pure mischief of Loki. You saw a tiny glimmer of unease, and you knew what you had to do. Fatigue be damned. You turned to the older Odinson.

“Hold him still, Thor.”

Loki growled a laugh and struggled again, “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“You’re right. I don’t.” Turning to Thor as you made your way around the couch, you smirked and tried to arm yourself with confidence. “Thor, you know him best. What spot will make him beg for mercy?”

“Oh-ho,” Loki snarled again as you kneeled in front of him. “You will not know the sweetness of mercy when I get my hands on you.”

That threat made you choke a bit, but you digressed. After all, Thor’s tickling wasn’t that bad. How much worse could Loki’s be?

“Well, if you’re already going to do it, there’s no reason for me to not get you now,” you shrugged teasingly, looking back up at Thor. “So where’s that spot again?”

“Try his ribcage, no a little higher,” you reached your hands out and looked to Thor for guidance as he directed you to the right place. Loki tensed and uttered more threats as he tried to pull himself away from your approaching fingers. “A little higher… there.”

You rested your fingertips on the spot and locked eyes with Loki, stone cold glare on your face.

“Looks like I do have the nerve.”

When you sprang your fingers into action, he shook, but didn’t laugh. You could see him struggling to hold it in so, with more confidence, you dug harder and spread your fingers wider, wiggling them into every gap you could find until.

”HA!” A single laugh escaped him and he threw his head back, an unwilling grin on his face. Concentrating on that same spot, you switched the method and tried pinching at his middle rib, drilling into the place where his back met his side. Then, finally, he broke.

Laughter spilled from the dark-haired Asgardian as you tickled him mercilessly. No matter how he tugged against his brother, Thor held fast and egged you on as you kept your fingers going, amused grin on your face. Moving your fingers lower to target his stomach, Loki twitched and pulled a bit more as you scrunched ten fingers against the soft fabric of his shirt, targeting the skin just above his navel.

You grinned harder as deep belly laughter erupted from Loki, marvelling at how care-free he sounded despite his position.

“This is gold,” you laughed to Thor who watched you with his own amused grin.

“He is rather sensitive, my brother. Though I must warn you, his revenge will be tenfold.”

Still confident from reducing Loki to the writhing mess he’d threatened to make you, you shrugged cockily and rolled your eyes. “Yeah, whatever. How bad can it be.”

“Oh, it can be bad,” Thor laughed, then grimaced a little. You caught his sheepish eye and slowed your hands, allowing Loki to catch his breath a little. The tiredness started creeping back in, and so did the realisation that this may have been the nail in your coffin.

“B-but not… not like bad, bad. Right?”

“Oh, Loki is truly merciless. The things he can do with his magic does not help the case of his victim,” Thor laughed a little, then his face fell when he saw your concerned look. “Surely he warned you there would be retribution.”

You retracted your hands entirely and shuffled back a little bit as Loki came down from your attack.

“Not retribution that even another god is afraid of! What’s the matter with you?!”

“FRIDAY, prepare the Funeral March.”

You whipped around to see Tony, Bruce, Nat and Steve all looking on, very amused. Even Wanda and Vision seemed to have half an ear out in the midst of their conversation.

“Why did you let me do that, Thor?!” You shoved his leg a little and your heart started pounding in your throat as Loki’s dark chuckle emerged from his hair in disarray. His eyes met yours, filled to the brim with the murky darkness of viciousness.

“Loki, I’m-“

“Oh that was a mistake,” he chuckled, pulling once more on Thor’s grip. Thor gave a noise of concern and looked around to see if anyone could also sense Loki slipping.

”Hey, uh, Einstein?“ You snapped your head back to see Tony attempting a straight face. “You might wanna run.”

“Yes,“ Loki growled, his renewed vigour helping him to begin sliding out of Thor’s hold. “Run while you can, Agent.”

“Little one, I am-“ Thor grunted and shot you an apologetic look. “I’m losing grip- UGH!” He struggled to hold his younger brother as Loki’s arms twisted and tried to pry themselves away from his grip.

You swore loudly and leapt over the couch, making a break for the door as your teammates shouted encouragement, taunts and condolences your way. As you exited through the kitchen and into the hallway you cursed yourself for being so stupid, desperately trying to remember the best places to hide in the compound. With the last burst of energy you had, you tried to pick up your pace a little. But your head spun, your legs felt like concrete.

How bad could it be? It‘s just tickling, it’s only-

”HERE HE COMES!” Some faint voice, maybe Tony’s echoed down the halls as you rounded another corner. You heard a chorus of laughter, and it all twisted your stomach into a big knot and your brain into a big exhausted mess.

You knew you couldn’t outrun him, so your only chance was to hide. He probably wouldn’t expect you to leave the compound, so maybe that was the best chance. You forgot to carry the three, you idiot. That’s why the cuffs wouldn’t shrink. To quite literally flee the scene of the crime. Or maybe you should just give up, not try to delay the inevitable. Was there something wrong with the tech? Save your energy, since you’d apparently need it.

Breaking out of the hallway in the large foyer, your mind raced as you looked at the multiple options for escape. How could you know which one to take? The nanotech doesn’t work with vibranium? It should. Maybe the stairs. The stairs seemed like a good choice.

Like blows from an opponent, waves of fatigue crashed into you one after the other as you tried to make the most simple decisions.

Where to run? All the numbers in the lab, the threats to take you within an inch of your life, why didn’t the equation work, what was Loki going to do. Which hallway, which staircase. That equation SHOULD HAVE WORKED.

Breathing deeply as a deep wave crashed over your head and seeped into your frantic and frayed brain, you sank to the floor and put your hands over your head to try to make it all quiet.

Too many options.

What would he do to you.

Too much, too many decisions, too many numbers, too-“

“Hey.”

You felt, more than heard, an underwater voice. Then you felt a presence at your side, two hands meeting yours and taking them from your ears.

You flinched and looked up to see Loki kneeling beside you.

Even in the dark you could see the concern painted across his face. His brows furrowed, he scanned your features and rubbed his thumbs over your hands soothingly.

It was all quiet, save for the sound of your breathing.

“Sweet girl, did I scare you so badly?” He spoke in a soft gravelly voice, almost laughing nervously. “This was only ever meant to be a game.”

”I can’t figure it out,” you whimpered and your head spun, falling to the side a bit. ”I can’t figure out why it didn’t work, or which hallway to take or how to escape or-or why the equation didn’t work or-I c-can’t figure it out and-”

“Come now,” Loki tried to help you to your feet but you wouldn’t budge.

“You can do it here,” you mumbled, closing your eyes. “The marble is nice and cool.”

He sighed a little and sat beside you, holding his hand under your chin and forcing your face up to be level with his. You opened your eyes and on any other day you maybe would have flinched with how close his face was to yours, but instead you let him examine your tired eyes, taking the chance to pick up the hues in his.

“When did you last sleep?”

You shrugged, looking away. “A couple days ago I think, maybe, I dunno. Seriously Loki I can take my medicine, just do it.”

“Another time, perhaps.” He moved from his knees to his feet, crouching and slinging one arm under your waist, another under your knees. As he lifted you with ease you let yourself relax in his hold. “Why have you not slept?” He asked in a way that was both gentle and firm as he walked up the stairs towards where the bedrooms were located.

“I’ve been so busy and I haven’t been tired I just... wanted to figure out the equation.”

Loki sighed and watched as you shut your eyes again, no matter how hard you fought to keep them open. The stress of work, the lack of sleep and too much coffee combined with the last burst of adrenaline you had taken run from him must have drained you completely.

“W-wait, I think I have an idea,“ you slurred from your place in his arms and struggled a bit. “I need to go to the lab.”

“Absolutely not,” Loki held you tighter against him and looked down at you with concern as you easily gave up the fight and relaxed against him once more.

“But I think I know,” you whispered before taking a deep breath.

He found your room and opened it with his elbow, careful not to hit your head on the doorframe on the way in. Not bothering to turn the lights on, he made his way over to your bed and placed you on top of it, reaching over to remove your shoes.

“Yeah, nice call,” you mumbled in your delirious state. “Mmmy feet are really ticklish so that’ssss a good call,” you slurred and turned your head on the pillow. Loki only let out a brief laugh through his nose, shaking his head and smiling despite himself. Once your shoes were on the floor he pulled back the covers underneath you, then replaced them on top.

”Rest, Agent,” he spoke low and the baritone notes of his wishes pulled at your mind.

“Nnno, I need to figure it out, I need-“ You tried to sit up but his palm met the side of your head and gently guided it back to the pillow. The last thing you heard before sleep overcame you was his rich low voice uttering some foreign tongue you did not recognise. The last thing you felt was the care with which he brushed the hair from your eyes and tucked it behind your ear. Then, sleep became you.

Loki breathed in relief when he saw he had not lost his touch using the Asgardian sleeping charm his mother had taught him. Staying a moment or two, to make sure you were not somehow faking it and would leap down to the lab the second he turned his back, he let himself brush a few more strands of hair away from your face. Then, he left you to rest.

“It’s too quiet. You didn’t kill my scientist, did you?” Tony chirped from the corner where he was pouring himself another drink, joking with his former enemy as he sauntered back into the room.

Loki smirked, dusting his sleeves. “I believe she’s learned her lesson.” He cleared his throat and picked up his glass from a side table, daring to steal a glance at Thor - who knew it was far too soon for Loki to have already completed his revenge.

“Eh, she probably needed the lightening up,” Bruce grimaced with a laugh, shrugging and leaning back into the couch.

“Yes,” Loki drawled. “I fear I may have taken all the girl’s energy. If you may, excuse her tardiness at her workstation tomorrow. She’ll need the sleep.”

There were a few laughs and sympathetic comments around the room, then the conversation quickly changed course.

Loki stole another glance at Thor as he brought his glass to his lips, taking in the smell of pure liquor. Thor was smirking knowingly, now realising he was a pawn in this little game. Truth be told, he was only happy enough to be able to facilitate his brother’s affection in some small way.

Resting his glass on his knee, finger playing with the rim, Loki sighed contently. You’d embarrassed him in front of these people, and he let you get away with it.

Oh, you were dangerous.

But as he thought about the way you’d snuggled into him, let him care for you, the small content noises you made as his sleep charm overcome you, the way he was able to be there for you - he decided, to experience all those precious things, a little embarrassment on his part was, most definitely, worth it.

#Loki tickle #Loki x reader #marvel tickle fic #marvel tickle fluff #fluff #Tickle fluff #Tickle fic #Marvel reader insert #ler!thor #lee!reader #ticklish!loki #ticklish!reader

[the-cocky-bitch]

Ok, I guess this episode of Loki was mildly improved. I only disliked a few things, like everything Loki and everything to do with him. They have really decided to make him a basic classless unfunny joke, huh. Everything about him is wrong and makes for a really tedious watch. I feel like this show will ruin Loki for any future marvel movies. He was one of the most compelling villains (and anti-heroes, on occasion), right there with Erik Killmonger and maybe Hela and Vulture. By that, I mean complex villains, who do truly horrible things and who you want to see defeated, see justice served for what they’ve done, but also some of their beliefs or motives ring true with you. Now all that complexity feels gone, or at the very least, vastly diminished.

Even his body language is wrong. I might have to rewatch the movies to compare (if this show doesn’t kill any enjoyment I have for the character), but he is usually much more agile, much more graceful and much better hidden in the shadows. True, he moves in the shadows a lot to create more drama for his showy reveals, but as the God of Chaos those dramatic reveals were part of the charm. There was a sleek style, both when moving and when attacking, almost stalking at times, his movements were more contained and inward-drawn, his body language was careful and more controlled, like someone who remained vigilant (before his mental break and megalomaniac episode, and even then it’s still there, just more obscured) and watched his back. Like someone who was used to watching his own back, even when fighting with allies. His movements here in the show feel clunky and too much over-the-top for no reason. When he fights, he is efficient, but not the cunning and contained style he used to favour, but more brute force. He is still graceful, but I don’t see anything of his predisposition to ambushes, to take out his opponents by surprise, to cleverly use distractions and illusions and slip a knife in someone’s back.

I think one of the things that threw me off the most for some reason was the repetition of the pose where both his hands are on his waist, elbows flared out and feet widely spread. What is even that? That has never been part of Loki’s body language, doesn’t fit with either his movements in the shadows, his grabs for power, his dramatic moments, or even his despondent or vengeful moments. It doesn’t fit with any of his casual body language, either. He’s always been elegant, and his movements calculated (again, unless he was in a traumatic moment, or in a power grab moment). The overuse of these encompassing and dramatic movements and poses for no reason make them lose their potency, and makes them feel so jarring every time I see them. Another thing, what’s with the constant fake laugh every time he is caught in an act (which is a lot) and he turns around to face the person who saw him this time? It’s like he expect that chuckle that is meant to sound condescending, but just comes off as fake and delusional, to what, stop people in their track? And he is subsequently stunned when, shockingly, his “brilliant” plan doesn’t work.

Also, what was that with the alcohol and getting drunk? We’ve never seen Loki drink so much, not even on Asgard in Thor 1, at the feats. We’ve seen him sip alcohol, but I rather got the impression at the time that he disdained the warriors who got so drunk and so loud and unaware, though, I admit, that might have just been disdain for the permeating warrior culture as a whole. But Loki would have never got so drunk in enemy territory. He should have reacted like Sylvie, and been on his guard and looking for openings, instead of exposing them like that. I keep expecting Loki to be looking for some advantage, some angle to play, but he just...doesn’t. He just bungles his way into messes and doesn’t even try to wriggle himself out, like we’ve seen him do (Loki always got into a lot of messes, but he also got out of a lot of them). He’s acting like a bottom-barrel version of Thor from before Thor’s punishment and subsequent growth, but even worse and without any of Thor’s good character traits. No charm when talking to people, no leadership skills, nothing. Loki also doesn’t have any motivation, nothing that particularly drives him, no complex desires, just go with the flow.

I think the writers must have been trying for Ragnarok!Loki, because that movie was so much fun and got popular real fast. But if that’s what they’re trying to do, they’re a long way off. Ragnarok!Loki was much better thought out. I felt like that was much more natural, a nice character progression for him, where he still looks after number one, but his traumas weren’t so fresh, he was free of Asgard prison and Asgardian expectations, he was having fun. Since Thor had grown, he no longer took Loki’s baits and just reacted with good humour, which forced Loki to face that he might miss the closeness he had with Thor. A lot of people have written excellent essays on why Loki in Ragnarok was brilliant, why it was so important that it was him who started the destruction of the Asgard for what the imperialistic culture had done to him, and they’ve done it much more eloquently than I ever could, so I’ll leave it at that. But all those things in Ragnarok make sense, his more light-hearted behaviour makes sense in the circumstances, and he still delivers powerful emotional moments. But here there is nothing to explain his behaviour and the emotional moments fall flat, because they’ve been trivialized and used too often.

I have a massive issue with the scene where Loki was talking about Frigga. Um, excuse me, but the line “She was good. Purely decent” is so incredibly out of place and so patently untrue, that I had to rewind the scene just to make sure I’ve heard correctly. She might have loved Loki, Loki might have loved her, and he might have softened towards her through all her visits and never giving up on him and then her death might have deeply hurt him, but I would never accept a line like that. His relationship with her might have been much better and much less complicated than his relationship with Odin, or even Thor, she might have been the one to mostly support him and teach him magic and apparently encourage him that he would be able to do anything, but still she remained silent. She remained silent about his heritage in all his years growing up, about his treatment by Odin, about the constant unfavourable comparisons with Thor. She never stopped people from talking about Jotuns as though they are monsters around Loki, even though she must have realized that it’s inevitable that he would learn the truth. She just stayed silent and/or supported Odin publicly, even if she disagreed with him in private. She only stepped up after Loki was imprisoned, that was when she finally decided she would fight for her son and won’t stop. True, Loki was deeply grieved and changed by her death, but part of that was that she died. There would have been a much longer and harder road to full reconciliation if she wanted to repair her relationship with her son that her silence damaged. So for a Loki who never experienced her finally fighting for him, relentlessly visiting him and talking with him, to say that line is absurd. He might grieve when he saw her die and learned that he led the intruders to her, that might soften his bitterness, but it is still wildly out of character for him to say Frigga was purely decent. I would have expected him to look pained, to refuse to speak of her, to say how he loves her, but everything is twisted up, how it’s incredibly complicated. If you’ve spent so long loving someone, you still love them, even when the relationship breaks, even when you hate them for what they’ve done or what they’ve been complicit to. I understand complicated feelings about family. I would have loved to see that here, Loki looking torn, simultaneously grieving for his mother, and still feeling the bitterness and betrayal of her silence. That would have given so much more complexity to him. But instead he went on to wax poetics about her without a hint of bitterness, or hurt. That was infuriating, and that’s with the fact that I actually enjoyed Frigga’s character.

#i'm going to tag this with #anti-loki show #i don't want to spoil things for people who are truly enjoying it #loki #loki show #loki spoilers #loki s01e03 #loki s01e03 spoilers #marvel #this got wayyy too long #anyway