#Thor like I just found out I’ll live out my life mortal and die within decades gues sits time to ~flirt~ ;) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gingerwritess · 5 years

Note

Okay here me out tho. What if reader dies when the twins are given birth. Twins survive but mother’s gone

THIS IS AN AU. A FUCKING U. I JUST COULDNT HELP MYSELF.

ok this has birth, death, knives, mentions of suicide, overall angst

you’ve been warned

ps don’t let me write while i’m on my period oh my go s h was i craving pain or what

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You’re good at giving birth, by this point.

You don’t scream so much anymore, and by the fourth kid, it’s over in a heartbeat with little more than a good punch in the stomach.

The twins don’t cry.

That should’ve been the first sign that something was wrong.

Loki’s a bit more concerned with the fact that they were born blue—he hadn’t even touched them yet.

It’s too quiet in the grand bedroom. A couple healers clean up, washing the silent newborns and choosing to keep quiet about the fact that they’re clearly not aesir, and you sink back into your pillows.

Loki’s staring at his two baby boys.

“You look so surprised,” you whisper, but he doesn’t move—maybe he didn’t hear you. “Every time this happens, you act like you didn’t expect this.”

Still doesn’t move.

You feel empty. Something’s missing; certainly the two children that spent the past nine months in your stomach, but something more.

“Just hoping.”

Loki reaches around the healer washing the last of the two and gently presses his thumb to the ridges on the baby’s forehead.

“I had hoped, with these two.”

It’s a disembodied sensation, and you decide not to answer. There’s no point in answering; he doesn’t get any better. Each child, every time you reassure him of his uniqueness, it only lasts for a couple days.

The hatred is beaten, cut into him. You don’t blame him.

“Why aren’t they crying?”

“They seem to be extremely at peace,” one of the healers quietly answers, wrapping each baby in a snug blanket. “As I’m sure you already felt, your majesty.”

Loki nods and takes the first little bundle, tucking him in the crook of one arm. “I don’t know why. This should be immense stress on them, being thrown into a new world.”

“I can’t tell exactly why either,” the healer smiles, handing Loki the other baby. “But they seem to have found immediate peace with their surroundings.”

“Maybe it’s just...just ‘cause they’re born here,” you yawn, struggling to lift a hand to wave around the room. Your limbs are suddenly impossibly heavy—must just be the exhaustion.

Yes, it’s only the Asgardian air. Maybe your body still adjusting to a new realm—even though it’s been almost three years—or even the waves of divinity starting to be put into place.

Your body hadn’t taken well to the fruit in the first place, trying to vomit immortality right back out of your stomach. Such unnatural gifts, trying to change the course of human nature, trying to alter the cycle of your human life, you can’t reach it without some tribulation.

It’s still wrong, to try and make you live an extra five thousand years.

“I think the apples are working,” you grit out, struggling to sit up and reaching for your newborns. “I don’t feel so connected to my body anymore.”

Loki turns to blink at you, head tilting ever-so-slightly. “That’s...good.”

The healer doesn’t say anything, just keeps her head bowed and slips out the door.

“Does this feel weird to you?” Head suddenly filling with fog, you lower yourself back onto the pillows with a wince. “Why aren’t we ecstatic?”

“I’m overjoyed,” Loki smiles. It looks pained.

He presses a kiss to each of their blue foreheads and hands the twins to you, tucking them securely by your sides before leaning down to meld his lips into yours, a hand cradling your cheek.

They’re beautiful, two beautiful, blue babies, undoubtedly red eyes closed in a peaceful sleep as they breathe softly.

“We got our twins,” you whisper with a smile, gazing down at them before glancing back up at Loki. “We’ve got four kids, my king.”

“And a kingdom to rule.” He shakes his head with a quiet laugh. “I doubt I’ll even manage to have any power within the palace.”

Your laugh morphs into a yawn, throat cracking as your eyes drift shut.

“Wake me up when it’s time to feed them,” you mumble, cradling them closer to your chest. “Can’t keep my eyes open.”

“Sleep, my love.” He presses his lips to yours once more, a truer smile tugging at the corners. “You deserve a lifetime of rest, after all you’ve done.”

Two hours later the twins start squirming, red eyes opening and soft gurgles rousing Loki from his own rest.

“Darling.” He leans over and kisses you, thumb slowly stroking over your cheek. “You’re being summoned.”

You don’t move, and Loki tries again, feeling horrible for having to wake you in the first place. You haven’t slept this well in months.

The heavy wooden door creaks open and two tired pairs of eyes peek in, glittering with excitement.

“Dad?”

“Come meet your brothers,” Loki calls out quietly, a finger to his lips before pointing at your still form and waving his two other kids into the room.

Stumbling over each other to get to the bed first, Frigg prevails and clambers over you with an excited squeal, grinning down at the two little babies between you and Loki.

“Hello, babies,” she whispers in awe, brushing a finger along each of their tiny blue noses. “I’m Frigg. What’re their names, daddy?”

“We haven’t fully decided yet.” Loki picks one of them up with a grin, planting a soft kiss on his cheek before handing him to Elliot. “We’ll choose the names for certain once your mother wakes.”

“They’re blue,” Elliot points out in a hushed voice. “Are they always blue?”

“Born that way and stayed that way, so far.”

“Adorable,” he grins, hugging the baby tight against his chest.

“Can’t mommy wake up already? I want to name them!”

Shushing Frigg with a laugh, Loki places a hand on your shoulder and gently calls out to you.

No response.

Distracted by the babies, Frigg doesn’t see Elliot’s excited expression fall like a stone through water.

“Dad.”

Something is wrong. Something just spilled over, upset the balance in Elliot’s uneasy soul.

Something is very, very wrong, and Loki’s only cradling your cheek and gazing down at your sleeping form in pure adoration.

“Dad,” he repeats, panic starting to tinge the edges of his voice. “Dad, I don’t think she’s okay.”

“She’s just given birth,” Loki reassures his son, but his hand slips to your neck, thumb moving to find your pulse point. “She’s well beyond tired, after what these two did to h—”

His voice dies in his throat.

After what these two did to you? What exactly...did they do to you?

The world goes silent, dull, the golden lights in the room appearing to pulsate.

Elliot’s blinking, a deafening thud of skin on skin and drops clinging to his eyelashes, and Frigg says something he can’t hear.

“Get out.”

His lips moved, sound came out, but Loki can’t hear himself speak.

“Get out, both of you.”

Judging from the way Frigg flinched, he figures he shouted that time.

Loki’s kids scramble to their feet, set the babies back on your bed, and run out the door before he’s realised he’s standing.

You’re cold.

For the first time in the entirety of your life together, you are cold.

“Say something,” he snaps, staring at your body.

A quiet gurgle bubbles from one of the twins’ throats.

“You.”

He knows there’s no point speaking to them. Alive for less than a day, and he’s talking like they understand.

“You killed my wife.”

The twins gaze up at him, red eyes having never shed a tear and blue skin free from any stain.

He just needed to hear it said aloud.

They’re at peace. They found immediate peace with their surroundings.

“You took everything.”

Red eyes blink, tiny blue mouths yawn.

“You took her life, so you could find peace,” he hisses, dropping to his knees. “You split her in two.”

Loki refuses to accept it, but it does make some semblance of sense.

They’re already split, divided in two since the day they were conceived, two different beings trying to fuse together into one.

A half-life thanks to him, further divided when one became two.

These twins needed you, they needed more than your body could provide—only one-fourth of their entire essence actually came from him.

That leaves you to give them every drop of living power your mortal existence could create. Every breath went to them.

Loki swallows thickly, tears freezing over on his skin and shattering with the movement of every muscle.

Every ounce of immortality you’d gained went to them.

He’d tried to extend your life and his children had taken it for themselves.

“You killed my wife,” he whispers again, dragging himself to heavy feet. “You killed my wife. You killed my wife.”

The door swings open and Thor rushes in, the tearstained faces of Elliot and Frigg not daring to peek past the doorway.

Thor stops in his tracks.

Standing over your dead body, his brother is practically chanting, a man possessed as he stares at the two newborn babies bundled on the bed beside you.

“You killed my wife. Y-you killed my wife. You killed my wife. You killed m—”

“Loki.”

His gaze snaps up to meet Thor’s, and a glint of metal in Loki’s hand makes the god lunge forward and tackle him to the ground.

“Let me—”

“NO,” Thor shouts, grabbing the knife from Loki’s hand and hurling it across the room. “You’re not in your right mind, DO NOT KILL THESE CHILDREN—”

“LET ME GO,” Loki nearly screams, thrashing under his grip, fingers scrabbling for his knife again. “LET ME GO, JUST—JUST—”

His voice cracks into incoherent sobs and Frigg runs away from the doorway, having seen and heard plenty.

“Just let me die,” Loki whispers hoarsely, giving one last attempt to throw Thor off of him before going limp on the ground. “I’ve tried so many times. That knife was for me. Just let me die.”

“No.” Thor’s breathing heavily, still pinning Loki’s arms to his sides.

“Please.”

“No,” he repeats, stronger this time. “You have four children who love you. Who need you. You have a kingdom that depends on you, that looks to you as their king.”

“I have no wife,” Loki rasps, starting to struggle again. “I have no love, no wife, no love left in my life—”

“Dad.”

It’s a small voice, timid but sure.

“Please stay.” Elliot crouches by his side, nodding at Thor to release his hold on him. “Now we...we don’t have a mother.”

Loki’s body falls slack, silence fills the room for a moment, then he dissolves into sobs.

Gut-wrenching, soul-crushing sobbing, messy and wet and Elliot grabs him, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tighter than he’s ever been able to before.

“She gave me everything,” Loki chokes, clutching at his son’s shirt. “Everything I have, it’s her’s, I don’t—”

“It’s yours, dad, she gave it to you for a reason. Don’t throw us away. Please.”

“I won’t,” he promises, trying to convince himself, “I won’t.”

Several minutes pass locked in their embrace until Loki takes a shuddering breath and lets go, trying his best to compose himself.

“Don’t hide this,” Elliot whispers, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. “That’s too much to keep inside.”

Loki nods, gulping in air and shakily letting Thor help him to his feet. “F-Frigg?”

“Ran away when she saw the knife.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers in horror. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t—not them, no, no, me...”

Elliot gives him a sad, ready smile and shrugs. “Might want to tell her that.”

He nods furiously, taking a few unstable steps towards the bed. Next to your body, the two newborn twins are blinking, skin still glowing that bright blue.

And even still, through all that just happened, not a single tear has fallen from those crimson eyes.

They have you.

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hope you enjoyed, please reblog and feel free to send me ideas!

~ masterlist link in my bio ~

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas @doralupin01 @whitewitchdown @atomiccharmer @falconfeather23435 @babygirlicecream @avengrcs @vethrvolnir2 @bookgirlunicorn @wabisabigrl @myhealingstar @khaleesi-marvel @ei77777 @spacecrumbs @scarlettghost13 @rocks-are-pretty-odd @confessionsofastrugglingteen @easilydistractedwriter @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fluffyllamaswearinghats @milktearose @lcyouinhell @h0tshotholland @dontmesswithmemundane @southsidesarcasticwriter @helnik-s @lilith-akemi @fire-in-her-veinz @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mischievousbellerina @kcd15 @mellowgirl01 @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @allthingzhiddleston @scorpionchild81 @lokixme @blue-automne @galaxycharmed @devilbat @kangaroobunny @end-up-well @planetariumx @sarcsep @mrfandomtastic @amaru163 @im-way-too-many-fandoms @caswinchester2000 @kybaeza @wester-than-west @vintagesunshinebitch @adefectivedetective @poetic-nikolai @moonduhsted @kerri-masson @iamverity @innaminitus @spnbarnes @narcissxblack @woohoney @anxiousamandapanda @padmeisgay @authordreaming13 @lokisironthrone @theunknowinglys @highfuncti0ningfangirl @epicfallenismine @stubby-toe-589331 @fandomnerdsarecool @retrofantasyland @arch-venus25 @forever-trapped-in-my-dreams @littleredstarfish @marshyrebelcloud @okie–loki @atterodominatus @stfxlou @pandacookieowo

#loki x reader #loki reader insert #loki imagine #dad!loki #loki angst #loki laufeyson #loki fanfiction #loki requests #loki drabbles

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buckys-forgotten-plum · 4 years

Text

The One Who Came After

Prompt- To normal Terrans, the Tesseract was strange and confusing, no one really understood how powerful it was or what it really did. That was until you came along...

Warning- Endgame Spoilers (Does that even need to be a warning anymore?), cursing, angst, maybe smut at some point idk

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It had only been a minute since the dust had settled, since Tony had taken his last breath and was being tended to by a crowd of medics, since Thanos had taken his and was left alone. No one had the time to sit down and recuperate, to come to the realization that it was actually over. Pepper was still beside her fallen husband, along with Peter and Rhodey. Sam, Steve and Bucky were all together, making a plan to scout out all of the injured. At this point, nothing could surprise any of them, each person's soul, body and mind was drained of all feeling.

So, when a bright blue flash of light erupted a few feet away from the fallen hero, it seemed like some robotic movement to everyone as they turn and point every weapon available at the sudden movement.

“Which one of you mortals...keeps fucking... With. My. Stone,” Your breathing was labored and each word was a desperate, dry wheeze.

It took everything in your entire being to not drop down and pass out. Within a week (your worlds week anyway) the universe your world resided in had been flipped upside down three separate times. It had taken an entire unit from each planet to keep the universe from collapsing on itself, and after the third strike, they sent you out to see what in the ever living fuck was happening.

“Who are you? What do you want?” You turned to see a tall, blonde man walking towards you, a hammer and shield in hand.

“I want to know who the hell keeps trying to turn my universe inside out like it’s some kind of reversible jacket!” you growl out, meeting the strangers gaze and refusing to back down, “Don’t you dipshits know to never mess with another universes stones? W-who are you to decide what ha-happens with my world?”

The exhaustion that racked your body made it hard to focus on the figure that stood directly in front of you, and it didn’t take long for you to fall down to your knees. “You-you have no idea-” your vision blurred and you had to place a hand on the ground to steady yourself.

The man who originally approached you knelt down to your height, forgetting about the threat you might have imposed and making sure that you weren’t about to die, “Okay, okay. We can talk about this a little later, we’re all exhausted and need to deal with...things” The stranger states, glancing around at all of the injured and fallen soldiers.

“What happened here?” you ask quietly, weakly looking up into the man’s bright blue eyes.

You didn’t get to hear his reply before your consciousness slipped into the darkness.

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

“S-so, let me get this straight...” Dr. Banner mutters before looking you in the eyes, “You’re from a different universe? Dimension? Thing? That resides inside the Tesseract, and almost falls apart every time the tesseract is used?”

“Yes, I came here to stop whoever was having the bright idea to activate it every five goddamn minutes,” you mutter out groggily, fisting the burn of sleep from your eyes, “which turned out to be a pack of nimrods that, where I’m from, wouldn’t do any of this shit-“

“How’d you travel here? Get outside of the tesseract?” Steve, asked curiously, eyes squinting in suspicion.

“Some magical shit that this dude-“ you lazily motion toward the man in the red cape, “did, I’m not sure what he called it. It doesn’t matter anyways, what matters is that you stop using that stone or I’ll kill you all,”

“Trust me sweetheart, we just defeated the most powerful being in the universe, you don’t have a chance,” scoffs a man from the corner of the room, stripping himself of his red tinted goggles and placing them on a small table next to him.

“Hey bird boy, we didn’t have to fight him twice in my universe. Oh and your goggles look stupid,” you snap, glaring at the man who now looked at you with shock and anger in his gaze

You didn’t have the energy to deal with this group of random miscreants. You recognized all of them, though. Each one was a part of your world back at home, but none as important there as they are here.

“Your from an alternate dimension where Thanos didn’t win the first time?” Dr. Banner asks from his corner by a lab table.

“Um yeah. My team got to him when we found out he was the cause behind the Loki disaster in Los Angeles. We knew he would be a future threat so we didn’t let it get out of control...unlike you guys who almost let your entire universe get destroyed,” the harsh pain in your head hadn’t subsided and you really wished these bafoons would leave you alone.

“There’s a Loki in your dimension too?” You looked at the...thick...version of Thor before answering.

“Yeah Pillsbury doughboy, he’s alive and well there too. Yours isn’t though, I can tell from the emptiness radiated from your body,” your comment was thoughtless as your powers weren’t a big deal back home. Almost everyone had them, the special few were the ones who were born sterile of all supernatural genes.

The room fell into silence after your words and some of the onlookers left the room, including Thor. You were left to be stared at by Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts and a young boy who you hadn’t recognized.

“I-is Mr. Stark alive in your dimension?” The boy asked, tears falling from his has as his trembling body struggled to keep upright.

You managed the strength to get off the examination table and walk up to the poor boy, “if it makes you feel any better kid, in my universe, Tony Stark retired and is living an ordinary life with his daughter and wife in Tahoe. Has been for the last five years of his life. But let me tell you, your Tony did an immeasurable thing to save an immeasurable amount of lives. Is he still here?” You ask quietly. You felt the piercing hurt from this lost boy and easily found it within you to try and help, forgetting about the pain these people had caused your world.

“Why? What do you want with him?” Steve asked crudely, a hard stare set your way.

“I can help him. I know I might seem like a threat but tell me, what more could I do to this world that hasn’t already been done?” Your statement seemed heavy on the three pairs of eyes that followed your lumbering movements as you clumsily made the short journey to the door, “please let me help you so you can help me,”

Miss Pepper Potts was the one to move first, quickly helping you out of the room and into the quiet corridor where she proceeded to lead you to another medical room. This one was filled with machines and IV poles, all of them hooking up to one, completely broken man.

“He’s brain dead, can’t breath on his own, his heart stopped beating on its own, almost all of his bones are broken, lungs are punctured...h-he isn’t even really living right now,” Pepper choked on her words, a trembling hand covering her mouth to mask the sobs that bubbles up from her throat.

“I can help, just, be ready to catch me when I pass out,” you mumble calmly and walk up to the lifeless body.

You knew this had to be done. It would hurt but these people needed this man.

Though it was normal to have some form of powers in your universe, it wasn’t necessarily normal to have the type of powers you specifically possessed. Sure everyone had some for of mild self healing, but yours was a bit different.

“Tell me what the biggest issues with him are again,”

At this point Steve and the broken boy had entered the room and were watching from the doorway.

“I-I can’t remember it all-“ “it’s okay, just tell me the body parts and I can heal them,”

“Brain, heart, and-and his lungs,” she shot out quickly as you placed your hands on his chest and forehead.

“Okay, y/n, don’t freak out...” you mumble to yourself, “Please don’t touch either of us before it’s done. It could mess up the process,” the warning was short and you left little time after for the others to agree before a bright blue light seeped from your hands and into Tony’s body.

Pain instantly went into your brain, heart and lungs and you had to lean onto the man so you wouldn’t collapse to the floor. “Come on, come on,” you mumble and strengthen the flow of energy from your body to his.

You let out a loud groan of pain as the process finally started to work properly. You could heal anyone, anything you wanted. That’s what made you special, but there were always two sides to ones powers where you were from, and the other side of yours was taking parts of the victims injuries and moving them to your own body. You thankfully had a say of which injuries you would take on but you had to take on a certain amount for your powers to work. At this point in time you chose to take on a few broken bones and a couple of punctures to your lungs. Best to spread out the pain than focus on one area.

“Somebody. Call, Dr. Banner,” you call out the order and put your last efforts into healing the parts of his brain that were damaged the most and suddenly there was a different source of wheezing and coughing in the room.

Tony had woken up.

“Oh my god!” Pepper gasped, a trembling hand shooting out to cover her mouth.

The teenager that had remained quiet for most of your consciousness suddenly broke out into violent sobs and fell to his knees, quickly being comforted by Pepper wrapping her arms around his shaking form.

“Tony can you hear me?” Your eyes found his and it only to a moment before he shook his head, wheezing out a quiet ‘yes’.

“Alright, Alright. You’re gonna be okay, y-your gonna be fine. Stay calm, I know it f-feels weird but you can’t fight it. don’t fight it,” your words began to slur together as your consciousness started to slip away.

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A/N: yeah that’s right, i'm writing another series when I have no time or effort stored away to properly finish this or any of my other series or drafts. Please enjoy and don't forget to like, comment, and reblog!

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fandensflytrap · 3 years

Text

(( You know, using the year to research for this blog has been kind of fun in a lot of unexpected ways. ))

(( It started out with me trying to figure out more about the viking age and the local folklore of Scandinavia specifically. That’s where it all began since I wanted to better understand what I was writing.

So I start noticing a few repeating patterns cropping up; ‘’And then Chri.stianity changed this concept and we don’t know what the pre-christian context is anymore.’’

But I didn’t want to read the bible so I decided to push it aside for a while. And then I started to build a narrative around the witch hunts and demons and started to read up on Demonology and the witch hunts. And realized demonology was in large part just a thinly veiled excuse for medieval priests to be xenophobic and sexist.

And so I decided; I should probably look into that! Since so much of folklore is connected to Chr.istianity, I have demon characters, I use the witch hunts, I can’t ignore it. I might as well read the bible to understand the context behind the changes, maybe it’ll give me some answers?

It took me a while to do so, but I did it. I read the entire thing. I McFreaking did it.

Aaaaaaaaaand I learned nothing from it. I didn’t understand what I was reading, but I was... less than thrilled about what I read, no denying that. Well, ok, I learned that the devil wasn’t a part of the Old test.ament. The Old tes.tament doesn’t mention demons at all! The New Tes.tament, however, do mention demons a few times.

Sa.tan didn’t become the character they became in Ch,ristian belief before year 500 with little to no basis on what the bible said.

But the bi.ble said nothing that would clue me in on the local folklore, at least. No, I needed to go further into the history. I needed early history on Chr.istianity and how the O.rthodoxy was established and how it spread across Europe before I got some clues on that.

So I decided to look at videos published by Yale for a semester they did on how to read the old testament, to actually understand what I read. And I’m so glad that I did, holy shit, all those nuances flew right over my head as a modern atheist reader. And then their course about the historicity of the New testament. Very fascinating, actually.

It was about how the early church tried to find their footing, learned that the Ne.w-Test.ament is terribly A.nti-J.ew. That the Ch.ristian faith mainly used the Je.wish Bible to springboard a path to make their NEW RELIGION more valid in the eyes of the Romans who squinted hard at new religious movements.

Then I went down the rabbit hole of ‘’historical J.esus’’ for a bit, and that was kind of fun. Pfft. But basically, what I came to conclusion is that: J,esus might have existed, we don’t know, but for arguments sake let’s say he did. That in old Roman beliefs, and in a lot of places around the world, was that people could be raised to the status of Divinity.

A lot of roman emperors had been made Deities that way. That gods could have children with humans and those children could become gods too. That this was a thing that could happen, and was a commonly held belief that wouldn’t be difficult to understand for the average person at the time.

But since I’m getting tired of reading about Ch.ristianity, I jumped back to viking age. Which is just more Church history, electric bugaloo part 2, if we’re going to be completely fair. It’s not like there’s a lot of history to go around that’s not centered around the religious shift.

The myths are highly Chri.stianized too. So we kind of just have to take them for what they are. BUT. There are hints to the pagan past there. So I read about Seidr. (From a modern practitioner, so there was a lot of New Age themes in there, but I’ll read up more factually academic oriented book on Shamanism soon. )

But you won’t believe how many doors just learning about shamanism does to the reading of the myths. Seidr\Shamanism with a dash of Animism is the very foundation, the building blocks to the myths. One has to understand shamanism and animism in order to understand the myths on a more intimate level outside of a modern person’s perspective.

And I was so delighted to realize that for 1. Freya gets a much greater importance in the grand scheme of things. She barely has a presence in the myths, so this discovery was GREAT! 2. It sets up the world view as a much more focused way. 3. It showcases gender in a very different way from what is usually considered the ‘’popular’’ image in modern day and age. Women were practitioners, religious authorities, they would be REALLY important people in the local tribes. 4. Odin is a practitioner as well. Which, I don’t know about you, but I can dig that and the implications they bring.

Then we can move on to the demonization of pagan concepts with that as a springboard. I had this realization earlier, reading about demonology, but pagan concepts were just twisted into becoming demons for people to stop connecting with them.

Pagan holidays were changed to have a Chr.istian meaning. Jòl\Yule In Scandinavia was in January or February. Then some king decided that he wanted to move it to December to celebrate Jesus together with the rest of Europe.

Which in later years resulted in them demonized the ANCESTRAL SPIRITS who would come from the afterlife, to the mortal world, to celebrate Jòl with their living relatives. Eating the food that was left as offerings so the ancestral spirits could have their festivities, eat and drink, while the living slept.

...By turning them into criminals, suicide victims, people who hadn’t gotten baptized, those in Purgatory, and all the others the Church didn’t like. Saying that they will take your soul or kill you if you weren’t careful. Which I’m still not over.

But we can’t talk about the Christianization of the Vikings in Norway without mentioning Saint. Olav Haraldson, or Olav the Holy.

Olav was a rather interesting figure. You can literally not read up on Folklore without him popping in to say hello. So why is that?

Well, essentially, he started out as your average person, born by a king in Norway. What was then expected by the sons of a King at that time, would be to go on a viking raid, so he went to England and terrorized King Æthelred for like... 20 or so years. A king who had been dealing with Vikings terrorizing England for over 50 years.

Olav, funnily, became friends with the King. Was baptized by the King, and swore to be his loyal body guard for as long as he lived.

Then he went back to Norway, bringing with him a Bishop from England to help him make the case for Chri.stianity in Norway.

He went to all of the Kings he could gather, went to the local governmental bodies and stated his case. And it wasn’t difficult to convince the local Kings to accept Chri.stianity as they most likely had been exposed to Christianity in one way or another. Whether it’s from foreigners entering the shores along the coastal lines, or from having gone on Viking Raids\trading with others.

Olav, of course, killed people who didn’t agree with him in a good old fashioned ‘’BELIEVE OR DIE’’ crusade, but shhh.

So when he died, at the battle of Stiklestad, the Bishop he had brought with him made him a Saint. Yeah, we’re returning to that dude.

The Bishop made him a Saint for ‘’taming the vikings’’ and ‘’showing them the light’’. And so, Olav was then turned into a propaganda figure to further the Christian agenda. All with a great divine story and all, with the inclusion of tying in the story beats of Jesus’ life to his character for extra effect.

He was deemed THE ideal leader. The image of HOW a King SHOULD be. The image of a righteous man who did right before God. (Which, funnily, made the Swedes take over the throne as a consequence because no one could measure up.)

They said that when he died, his killed who had gained some injuries through the fight, was the first to notice Olav’s divinity. That his injuries had healed completely. And that once he realized he had battled and killed one of God’s chosen ones, he fled to Jerusalem to repent for his sins.

Then 1 year later after he had been buried, they dug his body up and placed it within the church Nidarosdomen. And the moment his body found its new resting place, he healed the ENTIRE TOWN from all their sickness and pain.

Yeah.

So after that, people began to use Saint Olav’s name to replace the old faith by retelling the old stories. You can pretty much in large part pinpoint where some pagan themes got altered during those retellings.

The Jotun, who were intelligent chaos spirits challenging the order the gods represented (which is... eh, the duality aspect between chaos and order is a christian concept, but it’s what we got) became stupid Christian hating Trolls. Just as an example. Some myths were basically copy pasted with his name inserted into them.

Olav took over the role of both Odin and Thor. And was considered superior to both. He was better at killing the jotuns than Thor was, so Thor gave the mantle to Olav himself...

Which got me to the Paganism side of things. Where I found a statement that went something along the lines of ‘’Maybe the Landvettir\the spirits are being hostile because of how forcefully Ch.ristianity came, forcing a new way of life. Severing people’s spirituality, their connection with nature, the spirits? And then went on to disrespect them at every turn, treating the land spirits as demons for the crimes committed by humans.

And, like... I like that, it makes a lot of sense, actually.

Moving on to a different but related topic; witch hunts and the Scandinavian Devil.

The Scandinavian devil most likely originated as a pagan concept like most things. What that original source is, we’ll never know. But what I find hilarious about the old concepts of the Devil is that they’re represented as ‘’eeeeeeeeevil’’ for...

1. Giving people money and food. 2. Gave women and other outcasts more autonomy and power. 3. Was the midwife to women who gave birth outside of wedlock. And encouraged women to kill said children, children who likely would be unwanted, would ruin her reputation, would push her out of the local community. They basically offered a late abortion through infanticide is what I’m getting at. 4. Taught people how to read and write. 5. Made people question the church’s power structure. 6. Created a space and community where outcast of the society could throw away social expectation. 7. Sexual liberation. (Though the Scandinavian devil was highly sex repulsed and fled from even sexually obscene language. This is more of a... the devil from other places in Scandinavia thing. ) 8. Taught magic. 9. Told their followers to be unpleasant and harm others who slighted them. 10. Took your soul, your heavenly ticket to paradise.

The devil wasn’t a saint, but I just find it hilarious that all of the things they did were deemed bad when in a modern context they were doing really good things.

Which then connects them to witches. The church thought women got kids with the devil. Then they realized, wait, Demons can’t get kids. It’s a succubus\incubus, who helps the devil get the kids. By using the sperm of human men, corrupting it, and then inserting it into women.

And the Succubus\Incubus is their right hand man. Yes. Logic.

And so on, so on. That’s not even touching the anti-semitism that went on during the time, but I’m focusing more on the folk lore aspect of things at the moment.

I dunno. I just find it interesting how it all connects and I’m not even half done researching everything I want to research.

#◼️ OOC #long post #I'm sorry for the ramblings but I'm just amused by everything

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realityhelixcreates · 5 years

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Lasabrjotr Chapter 13: Baited Traps and Telling Dreams

Chapters: 13/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: Nothing, I Think Relationships: Loki x Reader (But not yet) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), OFC, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Clint Barton Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending, Writer Wants to Make a Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok Joke but Never Finished the Book, Look Dude the Avengers Don’t Like You, Deal With It, Loki Makes a Hasty Declaration Summary: Loki begins his investigation, Reader deals with being injured.

“Hear me, loyal followers!” Loki addresses the gathered encampment. ”You who persevere through cold nights, you who make your devotion known with your presence! I have need of your assistance in an important matter!”

Perhaps he was laying it on a bit thick, but it had netted him the attention of every human in the camp; even the little worm he had berated before.

“Just this morning, outside the city, an attempt was made on the life of my…”He hesitated for just a moment. “My Seidkona. Perhaps some you remember her? She came out among you a month ago. This craven assailant then stole a horse, and rode back this way. He used this blade.”

Loki produced the offending weapon and held it out for inspection.

“I will not require you to throw the coward at my feet this instant; I would not expect any of you to put yourselves in that kind of danger. However, if any of you have information, I expect it to be delivered to any of the gate guards very soon. Until then, go about your business, with my blessing.”

A few of them winced at that last part, which filled him with a dark satisfaction. So there were intelligent individuals out here after all, those who might understand that the blessing of the God of Mischief may have many edges.

Let them band together or tear each other apart now; it didn’t matter. As long as he got what he was after, who cared how these mortals produced it?

He left them to their tents and fires, marching back through the city, glaring at practically everyone who approached him.

That was one possibility set in motion. Hopefully the strength of their faith would allow the campers to turn on one of their own, if one of them was really the culprit. He would see that a handsome reward would go to any of them that provided information. The camp humans hadn’t been shown any special regard so far, but keeping them firmly on the side of the gods might be more advantageous than he had previously thought. They had to know every human in the area, because they were every human in the area.

Loki made straight for the large library, where, on his orders, most of the remaining Asgardian historians were gathered. Here, he presented the blade once more, bidding them to search any sources they might have, to discover if the weapon had any known history. If it had come from within Asgard, they had the best chance of finding out.

That was the second possibility. If any of his Asgardian enemies were behind this, he would not show them mercy either. You were human, but you were under Crown protection. An attack on you was treason, and no matter how above the law some families thought they might be, he was all too willing to remind them of how wrong they were.

Now for the most annoying part. Passing the guards and entering the sparse, shrine-like computer room, he switched the machine on and entered his own password. He brought up a video call, and waited.

Tony Starks’ smug, stupid face popped up on the screen.

“Hey Thor, you need a genius today or wh-“ He noticed who he was talking to. “Oh, fuck off!”

He stormed away from the camera, quickly replaced by Pepper.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Potts.” Loki said evenly. “Good to see a professional.”

“Kiss my titanium ass!” Tony shouted from offscreen.

“Er, what can I do for you?” She asked, eyes flicking to the side as Tony began going into a full rant. “I’m sorry, it looks like I need to transfer you. One moment.”

“No, we don’t apologize to him! We do not-“

The screen blacked out for a moment, coming back online in an entirely different part of the tower.

“Hello? Who is…hm.” A familiar face and voice went from curious, to cold in no time flat. Loki smiled, but not in a friendly manner.

“Hello, Clint.” He said in a low, gentle voice. “How are you doing today?”

“I was better twenty seconds ago. What do you want?”

“I would not assume you are ignorant of what is happening in my area of the world. Why would I call?”

“Either something is rotten in the state of Asgard, or something concerns the woman you stole. So which is it? Straight talk; I don’t have the time or patience for your knotted speech, so just get to the heart of it.”

Insufferable. Why couldn’t Banner have been there? He could at least talk to Bruce. This was going to be like flinging words at a wall.

Loki explained what had happened, playing up your vulnerability, and the injustice and cowardice of your attacker. Clint had a soft heart underneath all his skill; he would want to help you, even though he had never met you.

“What I want to know is if she had any enemies among her peers that would have the means to get here. Or alternately, if you know of anyone who would make an attempt on her for being close to my brother and I.”

“Oh yeah, that’s not a huge number of possible suspects or anything. Let me just get right on that, it’s not like I have anything else to do for the rest of my life.”

“I didn’t say it had to be you specifically, but if you are volunteering…”

“I’ll see what can be done. No guarantees.” Hawkeye then abruptly ended the call.

Loki sighed at the blank screen. The only consolation was that eventually, this entire generation of humanity would die, and he might be able to make a fresh start.

Now to wait.

No, now to check on you.

*****

Loki led you gently by the hand through the most lavish building you had ever seen. There were entire gilded rooms, glowing, warm; tapestries as long as the halls, gloriously detailed in the history of Asgard. Every floor a mosaic, every pillar carved with the delicacy of lace. Foreign music floated on the air.

You felt as if you were floating as well, wrapped in loose clothing, light on your feet. Loki wouldn’t let you make any sudden moves, bidding you to just walk slowly and take in everything around you.

You were vaguely aware of a stiff feeling in your back, of your surroundings being smaller than they appeared. Loki’s scent was all around you, comforting. Here, you had no fears. In this beautiful palace, he ruled, and you were safe. No sickness, no dead fields, no evil; just tender hand-holding, and justified pride in thousands of years of Asgardian artistry.

Your clothing tangled around your legs, but you didn’t fall. A sheet? You were wearing a sheet? And bandages? You could feel them around your torso, not too tight, but enough to be noticeable.

The music changed, fading into a low hum. You had heard this before, in the medical wing. Bjarkehild had described a machine that showed everything that might be wrong with a patient. She’d called it a ’Soul Forge’, explained that what they had now was a very stripped down version of it. Like the Bifrost, it was one of the things they were slowly rebuilding, always improving upon.

Were they near the medical area of the palace? What wonders might be there? You asked if you could go see it, and Loki simply smiled and nodded.

The place he led you to was just as lovely as the rest of the palace; clean and sterile, but not lifeless, decorated in soft, calming colors. You’d spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices and hospitals over the past year, but none of them had seemed so comforting.

Loki scooped you up and placed you on one of the beds. It was so soft and warm. The sheet spread out around you. He tucked it up around your shoulders, sat down next to you, and took your hand again, under the sheet.

If only you could stay like this. Safe and unafraid. Warm. Happy. You knew it couldn’t last; you lived a life of impermanence. Once you opened your eyes, this would all be gone.

You opened your eyes to find yourself only partially correct. You were in a bed, and you were in the medical area. You were in a sheet, and wrapped in bandages. Loki was there, and he was holding your hand under the sheet.

But there was no ancient palace, no beautiful art or architecture. And unlike what you now realized was a dream, you were still filled with fear and apprehension. You drew your hand away.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Loki said, standing to hover over you, worry in his tight expression. “How do you feel?”

“Not sure yet.” You said, groggy. “What happened to me?”

“We were attacked. Some craven bastard threw a knife at you.”

“Oh. I thought it felt like getting punched by a fist made of wasps.” You said. You didn’t mention that a sneaky knife attack sounded like the kind of thing Loki would do. Perhaps it was only ‘craven’ when someone else was doing it.

“Did you hit the horse?”

Loki sighed and sat back down. “No. You actually guaranteed that wouldn’t happen. Not that I would have struck the animal anyway; my aim is always precise.”

“I messed up your throw. Sorry.”

“Oh, a bit more than that, I’m pleased to say. You performed your first feat of independent magic. Teleportation. You brought my blade right back to me. It was very tidy, but you’ve had an excellent teacher, so I expect no less.”

So smug. You would have found it endearing, if you weren’t so caught up in yourself.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought.” You said. “Don’t get me wrong, it hurts a lot, but I thought it would be more debilitating.”

“The knife did not penetrate far. Luckily, our assailant was clumsy with his throw, and left you with no more than a nasty cut. The only reason you are here right now is because dealing with a sudden injury and with sudden magic fatigue at the same time overwhelmed you. But you will be fine now. Look, I have grapes.”

He handed you a little bowl full of the green and purple fruits, which you dug into ravenously.

“I can teleport?”

“You can teleport objects, at least. Small ones. But perhaps bigger, with time. Perhaps even something as big as yourself, someday.”

“So…kinda like a little, walking Bifrost?” You wondered. Loki went silent, mouth opened, mouth closed, absorbing the idea.

“That is actually a very interesting thought. What a clever little thing you are! Look at how your value grows. A movable Bifrost would be precious indeed.”

His expression darkened.

“All the more reason to find this enemy and neutralize them. I’ve got several investigations ongoing, but for now…” He placed his hand on top of the sheet, trying to find yours underneath. You moved your hand away.

“I know I have been busy, and you’ve been cooped up like a doll in a closet. But while this threat is still looming, I intend to keep you close by. You may have to sit through some terribly boring official meetings, but at least you will not be alone. It’s either that or being locked into your room, I’m afraid.”

“Is that allowed? I’m not a dignitary or anything. Isn’t some of that stuff secret?”

Loki regarded you with some amusement. “Tell me, what is it you think royalty actually does?”

“I dunno.” You grumbled. “Top secret government stuff.”

“Ha! You think we have garden parties and eat treats all day, don’t you?”

You thought about Hamlet. Lear. Othello. All the blood, the distrust, the betrayal.

“Not exactly. I guess I just don’t know.”

“Prepare to learn. And if you get bored, you can just bring a book.”

You groaned.

*****

Loki had been right: some of these meetings were super boring. You couldn’t understand most of what was being said; only when Thor or Loki were using their ‘allspeak’ magic. Even then, you only got their parts of the conversation.

Loki had dressed you up like you were something special, but it hardly seemed to matter. The people meeting with the brothers either ignored you completely, or seemed annoyed that you were there at all, no matter how you looked. Maybe he’d just done it for his own pleasure. He had referred to you as a doll, after all.

One fellow in particular seemed very displeased to see you there, and had a lengthy-and if Loki’s expression was any indication-impertinent argument about your presence. Loki had used Allspeak the entire time. Either he wanted you to know how disgusted this man was by you, or he wanted you to know he was defending you.

“It is final, Alarr.” He said firmly. “It is not your concern.”

The man, Alarr, bristled and huffed, speaking back with obvious disrespect.

“Actually, you do.” Thor said. “He is my brother, my advisor, my second-in-command. He is your prince, and it is important that everyone remembers that, especially people with your influence. It is of utmost importance that we remain united as we rebuild. There are too many people who would see us divided.”

Alarr gesticulated broadly. You thought you heard the name Odin somewhere in the tirade.

“This is all true. However, these times are different from our golden age, and calls for a different kind of leadership. Even our father grew weary of conquering and made sincere attempts at peace. So too, will we. But it must start with tolerance for the presence of the people who were here before us. There will not be another Nornheim.”

Alar stroked his braided, blonde beard. He was clearly still displeased, but seemed to acquiesce, though he shot suspicious glances at you for the rest of the meeting. He seemed to be demanding that the camp be removed, viewing them as a safety hazard, a possible harbor for enemies.

To your relief, both king and prince believed that to be unreasonable and unnecessary. Not to mention unsustainable.

“How many Einherjar do you propose we remove from their posts and their training, to fruitlessly patrol the fens in search of itinerant humans?” Loki asked. “And by what rights do we remove citizens of this country from land that is still theirs? What measures do you suggest we take to repel them? Do we become violent toward the very people who have harbored us?”

The argument went back and forth, but Loki’s defense of the camp stuck with you. He didn’t even like the people out there. He too, had said that he considered them potentially dangerous. You didn’t see what he got out of defending them. It couldn’t be because of you, and you doubted it was simply because it was the right thing to do.

“He is literally always so unpleasant, all the time, every day.” Loki said, after Alarr had left.

“He’s of the old guard.” Thor said with a shrug. “He will get used to the new ways. There isn’t really any other choice.”

“He’s going to be trouble.” Loki warned. “He does not see me as a legitimate authority, and he barely tolerates you as one.”

“And what do you suggest then? We can’t imprison him for ‘general unpleasantness’. For one thing; we don’t have a prison.”

“What, you guys don’t have spies? Can’t you just watch over him?” You interjected. They both turned to look at you, their movements almost comically mirrored.

“Eh, never mind.” It wasn’t really your place to speak here. Who knew, maybe all their spies had been killed in the destruction of Asgard, or were trapped offworld, with no Bifrost to bring them back.

“It’s nothing you need worry yourself about.” Loki said. “You needn’t worry about anything.”

Or do anything, if the entire boring day was any indication. At least Loki and Thor got to talk to people, even get into interesting debates. You got to sit still and say nothing. You couldn’t even get really comfortable, the slash across your back twanging every time you put any kind of pressure on it.

He was probably just trying to reassure you of your safety, but the boredom was almost torture. You could have stayed locked in your room and been safe enough. At least then, you could have had a nap. But Loki insisted on keeping you within arms’ reach. The attack must have really spooked him.

You probably should have felt more conflicted about it than you did. Someone had tried to kill you! Or, at least, someone had tried to hurt one of the two of you. Loki could not be ruled out as the intended target of that knife either.

Oh, he had been so ticked off, demanding to know if you had seen the danger coming, if you had tried to protect him with your body. You had told him how stupid that was; he was thousand times tougher than you, he could take a knife without needing your help. That seemed to mollify him, but now you wondered if you should have lied and gotten yourself locked up.

Again, at least you could have taken a nap.

Loki left his chair to crouch before you.

“Are you hungry? Do you hurt?” His hand stroked down your back, causing you to wince away. “Oh, you do hurt. Do we have anything that can alleviate pain?”

“We need to stock up on some human medications for you.” Thor said. There was a sort of sparkle in his good eye as he watched his brother. “They’re completely ineffective to us, I’m afraid.”

“Er, speaking of that, I’m definitely going to need some, uh, feminine hygiene products.” You hadn’t wanted to talk about this, but there wasn’t any getting around it. “I’ve got the insert, but it takes a little while to dry everything up.”

Both brothers stared at you, baffled.

“I know what all of those words mean individually…”Loki began.

You sighed. “I think I need to talk to Bjarkehild.”

#lasabrjotr #loki x reader #loki (marvel)#thor (marvel)#tony stark #Iron Man #pepper potts #clint barton #hawkeye

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abzzz3 · 5 years

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Let Me Prove You Wrong (Part 15)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Summary: You have to make the most heart breaking decision of your life

Word Count: 1,847

Warnings: Small amounts of swearing

Author’s Note: Sorry I’ve been on hiatus. I honestly wasn’t a fan of the last chapter but so many of you are still enjoying the series so I have decided to suck it up and work out where to go from here :)

-- 2 MONTHS LATER –

“(Y/N), we need to talk”

You looked up and saw one of your colleagues, Marie, walking towards you, a somber look on their face.

“What’s the matter?” You asked

“The book is a fake”

“Which one?” Your stomach was in knots

“The Norse one from Bulgaria. Aleksander’s.”

You dropped your head onto your desk and groaned “How did you find out?” You asked

This book was your biggest accomplishment and the reason everything went to shit a few months ago. There had been absolutely no reason for anyone to believe that the book was a fake, so there had to be some undeniable proof.

“We finally got around to testing the ink and paper of it, to get the origin time and the ink is a replica of stuff that was used 300 years ago. This book should be 3,000 years old. The paper was also made only a few decades ago.”

You wanted to cry and hide from everyone, at the humiliating defeat presented before you.

“So we’re back a square one then. It makes sense I guess, he gave us the book too easily for it to be real. I’m so stupid”

“No you’re not, none of us had any idea it was a fake. There’s one other thing . . .”

You lifted your head to look up at the middle aged woman in front of you, her kind eyes watching you carefully.

“Thor is here to see you, again” She said

You’d been putting off speaking to Thor since you got back a few weeks ago. When you arrived back on Earth (you still weren’t sure how you survived) you landed in New York city with a lot of your memories missing but as the weeks followed, they all slowly came back to you and you contacted Steve for help and to let him know you were back and safe.

Thor had already gotten a hold of the Avengers though and so they were all convinced you were dead because no one had seen you for about a month. They also had no clue what actually happened because neither Loki, nor Odin would tell Thor, Sif didn’t even dare speak about it, in fear of aggravating Odin. So, once you got back to the facility and told everyone what happened, Loki was out of the good books again and you had been dodging Thor every time he showed up.

“Okay, do you mind telling him I’ll meet him in conference room C? I’ll finish this page and meet him there” You asked

“Sure thing, darling” Marie was always so kind and helpful to you, she had an absolute heart of gold.

You didn’t finish off the page you were on, instead you took the long walk to meet Thor. You didn’t have a problem with him, you just didn’t want to talk to him about your whole experience, or hear anything of Loki. Loki has had weeks to get in touch with you. The Avengers would have told Thor that you were alive, almost straight after you called Steve, who then would have told Loki and Odin, but you’ve heard nothing so it was safe to say that Loki really had move on.

You were within eyesight of the conference room, the door slightly ajar, when you heard Steve’s voice.

“Hey, (Y/N)! What are you doing down this end?” He asked, walking over to you

“I’m meeting Thor, I’ve put it off long enough and he doesn’t deserve to be ignored” You explained

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” He asked

Steve really was one of your closest friends here and ever since you had ‘come back from the dead’ he was always looking out for you.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Odin’s not here so it’s not nearly as daunting as it could be.”

He nodded and head to wherever he was going and you turned back to the conference room, taking the last 10 meters before opening the door. Thor was standing there, looking down in deep thought, until he heard you opening the door. He let out a huge sigh of relief and came towards you, pulling you into a hug without saying a word.

“You had us so worried (Y/N), why have you been ignoring me?” He asked, pulling away

“I haven’t wanted to talk about it. I nearly died because of your father, Thor, and when everyone found out I was still alive I didn’t hear a word from Loki. Do you know how much that broke my heart? Especially on top of finding out he was still married and hadn’t said a word to me about it. He led me on, just to hurt me, because that’s all he ever does.” You answered, your voice conveying distaste and heartache at the same time. You were glad Thor was still hugging you, because you really didn’t want to look his in the face as you spoke.

“Do you know how terrifying it feels to not be able to remember significant chunks of your life? I had to live like that, when I got back here.” You added

Thor pulled away to look you in the face, but kept his hands on your upper arms as some form of comfort he was trying to provide, you guessed.

“My father’s actions are inexcusable and he does regret them-“

“No he doesn’t, don’t lie to me. He hated me from day one, purely because I’m mortal. And what of Loki? What excuse do you have for him?” You snapped, now realizing that what you wanted more than anything was to hear how Loki was. Because once you did, it meant you could fully move on.

You watched Thor, waiting for an answer, as he stood there looking back at you as though you were blind to the most obvious thing.

“There’s no excuse”

Only after you heard the voice could you smell him in the room. You slowly turned around and saw Loki standing there, in the doorframe and watching you.

“Loki . . . what are you doing here?” You asked, your voice cracking

“The same thing I’ve been doing here for weeks. Trying to see you.”

“No you haven’t. Thor has.” You replied, willing yourself not to believe him and suppressing your want to hold him, because hating him was easier than the pain in your chest right now.

“I’ve been here, with him, every time he’s tried to see you. Some days it was even me as Thor, because I knew you wouldn’t agree to be in the same room as me, but you’d agree to speak with Thor.”

His explanation made perfect sense and you wanted to say sorry for not seeing him sooner, but you weren’t in the wrong. He was.

“Why did you hide her from me?” You asked, leaning against the large, glass table that was in the center of the room as your legs shook.

“Because she wasn’t in my life anymore. Sigyn did something that destroyed my trust and faith in her, so she left Asgard and we told the public her mother got sick, so she left to go spend her mother’s last years with her. There was never any intention of her ever coming back into my life, it’s just as Asgardians we cannot divorce.” He explained

You watched him as he spoke, slowly his voice began to show more and more signs of pleading for you to forgive him. He had taken a few steps into the room and was now close enough for you to take two large steps and be in his arms.

“What did she do?” You asked, if there was ever going to be any chance of you forgiving him, then he had to tell you everything

“She left me alone in that cave to have the serpent’s venom cover my body, while she had an affair with my Jotun father. She was in that cave with me, just long enough for everyone to think she would stay there with me.”

You couldn’t believe a woman so beautiful and gentle looking could do something so cruel to someone. The history books were all wrong about her, if this was the case.

“But you still hid her from me, why?” You asked again, wanting to know why he felt he couldn’t tell me about her

“Because I didn’t want to lose you. There is no way that I can marry you without being a widow, and I was convinced that if I told you that we cannot marry, you would leave” He explained

“You thought about marrying me?” You asked dumbfounded

On Earth, marrying this quickly isn’t normal, so in the eyes of Asgardians it was sure to be as though we had only ever said hello, before marrying.

“Before the events in Asgard I wasn’t sure, but after believing I had lost you forever, my one regret was not reminding you every single day how much I care for you and how I want to spend as many years as possible with you, as much as the universe would allow us”

You were speechless at Loki’s expression of his feelings. You, personally, had never thought about marrying Loki because you knew you would die long before he did and you just wanted to enjoy the time together that you would have. You weren’t sure how to respond because your mind was now whirling with all this information, unable to process it all.

“Please, say something” Loki took a cautious step towards you, his arms reaching towards you

“What do you want me to say?” You asked

“Anything, whatever you are thinking”

“We’re still back where we started.” You weren’t aware of the words coming out of your mouth until they were already there, hanging like a weight in the air “You’re a married man, and I won’t be a mistress. I won’t be the center of all of Asgard’s gossip.”

Now, Loki was speechless as this was not how he had dreamed this would go. He had hoped you would make up and agree to work this out, or at least take it day by day. Instead, you were saying to him that there would be no moving forward while Sigyn was still in the picture.

“Go home Loki, go home to your wife. I’m sure you’ve got kids somewhere too that need some attention” You said, leaving without another word

You hated yourself for the things you had just said, you wanted nothing more than to tell him that you will work through this together. That wouldn’t be true to yourself though, you had always said that no matter the person, you would not be the reason a marriage fell apart. Even with the dynamic between Loki and Sigyn, you refused to be part of the reason they couldn’t move forward. After all, neither could remarry so they were stuck with each other until the end of their days. It’s a shitty circumstance but there’s no way out of it.

@thricethechrises @marvel-fan-queen @fire-in-her-veinz @staringmoony @lokilvrr @arielletheavenger @mimijim09 @kayleighfreeman @zenithzendaya @itsasdfghjklstuff

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royal-loki · 6 years

Text

The Ship Scene on Svartalfheim - A Thorki Perspective

Thor: The Dark World has very few scenes containing Loki but the ones that we do get are very memorable. One that sticks out in particular is the scene in which Thor and Loki arrive on Svartalfheim on the Asgardian ship. There is a deep sense of tension in this scene. I’ll attempt to break it down for you and help you get a clearer understanding of their cryptic dialogue.

Loki: [on Jane] Say goodbye. Thor: Not this day! Loki: This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing! It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you’ve prized will be snatched from you. Thor: And will that satisfy you? Loki: Satisfaction is not in my nature! Thor: Surrender is not in mine!

This is the first time in the movie where Thor and Loki finally have a moment alone to have a heart to heart. Jane is asleep on the ship and her presence disappears the moment the two brothers start talking. We don’t even get a view of Jane as they have this very poignant conversation concerning her.

Let’s first summarize what led up to this point in the movie. Loki was sentenced by Odin to rot away in the dungeons. Thor goes to Midgard to visit Jane only after Heimdall tells him that there’s something wrong with her. Jane is then brought to Asgard to receive treatment for her mysterious condition but Odin wasn’t too keen on Thor helping his Midgardian girlfriend. Frigga uses her magic to visit Loki in his cell and says, “You’re always so perceptive about everyone but yourself.” Frigga is implying that Loki is not in touch with his true feelings. The Dark Elves discover that Jane possesses the Aether, and infiltrate Asgard to retrieve it. Frigga is killed in battle against Malekith. Afterward, Odin is an emotional mess and refuses to let Jane leave Asgard even if it means risking the life of every Asgardian. Thor realizes that he has to go behind the Allfather’s back and free Loki from prison so that they may bring Jane to Svartalheim to avoid risking further destruction of their kingdom. Sif and the Warriors Three warn Thor that Loki will attempt to betray him but Thor never stopped trusting Loki even after the events that transpired in the first Thor movie and The Avengers. During the climax of this film, Loki redeems himself by sacrificing his life so that Thor may save the Nine Realms from the Dark Elves.

Now that we’re all caught up, I wanted to explain a metaphor that is very overlooked in Thor: The Dark World. Once I explain it, you will be able to watch this movie with a fresh perspective and a greater appreciation for the writing. The Convergence is symbolic of Thor and Jane’s relationship. It is used as a metaphor to show that Thor and Jane only have a fleeting love and that when their small moment together is over, they will never see each other again. The: The Dark World’s plot and dialogue indicate that Thor and Jane will go their separate ways by the end of the movie.

*Side note - After reshoots, this ending was not applied until the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok but I will touch on that part later.

Thor: [to Jane] The Nine Realms travel within Yggdrasil. Orbiting Midgard much the way your planets orbit the sun, and every 5,000 years, the worlds align perfectly. And we call this The Convergence. During this time, the borders between worlds become blurred. It's possible you found one of these points. We are lucky that it remained open. Once the worlds pass out of alignment then that connection is lost.

When we first see Jane, she attempts to move on with her life by relocating to a new city and becoming open to finding love again. She is on a date with a new man. Jane seems distraught about never seeing Thor again but she has begun to accept that they won’t be together. Although Thor claims that he was busy saving the Nine Realms from marauders, there is no doubt that he could have spent a few hours on Earth to visit Jane, especially with the Bifrost repaired. Before that, Thor did not bother to even contact her, let alone visit her on Midgard. We see that Thor is sulking but he only goes to see Jane when he learns that she might be in danger.

Throughout the movie we get subtle hints about what his closest friends and family think of Thor’s love life. Odin wants Thor to marry an Asgardian, preferably Sif, and became the next King. Frigga just wants Thor to be happy and will support anyone he chooses to be with. Sif is shown to harbor hidden romantic feelings for Thor and a jealousy towards Jane. Loki shares Odin’s sentiment that being with a mortal is a waste of time because they don’t have long lifespans. Loki also tells Thor that he is better off breaking up with her now so as not to deal with the heartache later. Ultimately, Thor and Jane do break up by Thor: Ragnarok so it’s a strong possibility that the ending of Thor: The Dark World would have included that original plot line but Marvel Studios did not want to have such a melancholy superhero movie that would have contained Loki’s death and Thor breaking up with Jane.

Thor: The Dark World began to suffer from an identity crisis and the reshoots were a sign that there were big problems happening behind the scenes. For example, we know that Chris Hemsworth’s wife, Elsa, had to come in last minute for reshoots to do the end credit scene of Thor and Jane kissing on the roof. The movie also changed Loki’s death from permanent to a deception after test screenings showed the audience would not accept Loki dying. Even more surprisingly, the director, Alan Taylor, openly criticized his own film. Taylor stated that he hopes that one day there will be a director’s cut released so that he can show the audience the movie he wanted to make without interference from Marvel Studios.

Thor seems to be at conflict about whether or not he wants to be with Jane. He feels an obligation to rescue her because she helped him when he was stuck on Midgard during the events of the first Thor movie but it seems that he doesn’t have as strong feelings towards her as he thought he did. In all of the movies, Thor is shown to have a deep fondness for mortals but at the same time he treats them more like his pets rather than his equals.

During their exchange on the ship, Loki states a very perceptive line about how Thor truly feels about Jane.

Interestingly, Loki doesn’t say Thor loves Jane because he can see that Thor does not truly love her. Instead he uses the word “prized” which indicates that Thor only viewed Jane’s love as a mere triumph of attaining a Midgardian’s affection. Thor doesn’t love Jane, he just likes that she loves him. Jane is the first mortal that Thor meets on Midgard. It would seem he developed a soft spot for her because her actions helped him get Mjolnir and his powers back. However, after he returned to Asgard, he did not visit her like he promised. He also did not go see her after the battle in New York City despite the throwaway line that she is kept safe by S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor loves the people of Earth and wants to protect them. Loki has come to realize that Thor just wants mortals to love him, and this comes into play with Thor’s character flaw in the first movie, his hubris.

Thor gets upset by Loki’s truthful statement and responds back with a line that is very open to interpretation.

The vagueness of his response is deliberate. Is he implying that Loki would be happier if Jane were dead or is he saying that him being single would satisfy his brother? We can see that the movie is trying to insinuate that Thor is contemplating his love life. He realized that Loki is in love with him after the battle in New York City. Ever since Thor brought his brother back to Asgard, he has been in conflict about whether he loves Jane or Loki.

I want to interject at this point to say that the first Thor movie implies that Loki was taken from Jotunheim so he could help foster peace between the two kingdoms. It’s possible that Odin originally planned for Loki to be in an arranged marriage to Thor but then changed his mind and raised them as brothers. Thor may have come to understand this after he found out Loki’s true parentage. They have always cared deeply for each other and now that Loki has taken actions to redeem himself, Thor is torn between being more attentive to Midgard and keeping Jane’s affection or sharing a long life with Loki ruling Asgard together.

Loki also has a nuanced response that can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Let’s define “satisfaction”

Loki has felt like a monster since he found out that he was a Frost Giant. He feels that he has transgressed when he attacked Midgard even though Thanos was threatening him with death if he failed to bring him the Infinity Stones. Satisfaction is a very nuanced word and obviously the writers intended it to have a duel meaning. The most obvious one would be a “fulfillment of a need or want” but the first definition is striking in that it shows why Loki later sacrifices himself for his brother - “the payment through penance of the temporal punishment incurred by a sin” and “reparation for sin that meets the demand of divine justice”.

By Loki saying that satisfaction is not in his nature, he is telling a half truth. It’s true that Loki’s desires are always out of reach - a throne, being Thor’s equal, and gaining his father’s approval. However, he does seek satisfaction even it alludes him. Loki saves Thor and Jane from being killed and by doing so he will receive his “satisfaction” by paying penance for his sins and meeting divine justice - not Odin’s justice. Loki feels that he has wronged many people, and most of all, he has wronged Thor. When he killed Kursed, he tells him that he will see him in Hel. Loki does not believe that he will go to Valhalla to be with Frigga but to a place of punishment where all monsters are sent.

Odin sentenced Loki to live the rest of his life alone in a cell. He only saw Frigga because she used her magic behind Odin’s back to keep her son company. Before Thor broke Loki out of his prison sentence, Loki felt doomed to die there, rotting away for thousands of years and slowly going mad in the process. He knew that if they survived their fight against the Dark Elves that he would be forced to go back into the dungeons. Loki chose an honorable death rather than live the rest of his days not being able to be with the one he loved, Thor.

After Thor replies to Loki, “surrender is not in mine.” We get a very sentimental exchange between the brothers.

Thor: [about Frigga] You had her tricks, but I had her trust! Loki: Trust? Was that her last expression, trust? While you let her die? Thor: What good were you in your cell? Loki: Who put me there? WHO PUT ME THERE? Thor: YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHO! YOU KNOW DAMN WELL! [pins Loki] Thor: [lets go of Loki] She wouldn't want us to fight. Loki: Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked. Thor: [smiles] I wish I could trust you. Loki: [whispers] Trust my rage.

Just take a moment and notice how they look at each other. Thor is frustrated with Loki but empathizes with his anger of not being able to save their mother. Thor stares passionately into Loki’s eyes and then his gaze drifts to Loki’s lips. Loki has a very sexual charged expression on his face as Thor is grabbing him by the neck. Thor places his hand on Loki’s neck throughout the movies when he wants his brother to give him undivided attention or when he is showing Loki affection. Loki doesn’t break eye contact with Thor the whole time, not even for a moment. He doesn’t even try to fight off Thor’s grasp or block Thor’s fist. Loki knows that Thor would never physically hurt him. For the second time in this movie, Thor pins Loki against a wall.

When Thor states that he wishes he could trust Loki, he doesn’t really mean it. He wouldn’t have risked such an important mission if he thought Loki would actually betray him. Once again, the brothers can’t seem to communicate their true feelings for each other. The only reply that Loki could muster at that moment is “trust my rage.” On the ship, Loki brings up that Thor will never be ready to lose a loved one and in the battle that follows, Loki sacrifices his life to save Thor.

In the climax of the movie that follows shortly after this exchange, Loki rescues Jane because he thinks that it would make Thor happy. Loki then saves Thor from Kursed but then is stabbed through the chest. When Loki’s death scene was filmed, it was acted out by Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth as if Loki had truly died. We see Loki begins to apologize to Thor as Thor holds him in his arms. Then we have Loki finally confessing his true feelings before he dies.

Thor: I will tell Father you died with honor. Loki: I didn't do it for him.

A trick that writers like to employ when creating strong character bonds in their work is to write them as if they were lovers. That is why Thor and Loki seem to always have a lot of sexual tension. The way Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth portray their characters also adds to this romantic attraction between them. The constant physical touching, long eye contact, and gazes at each other’s lips are signals that people send when they are sexually attracted to each other. All the Thor movies have contained a strong chemistry between Thor and Loki but Thor: The Dark World really explores Thor’s conflict about whether to follow his mind or his heart.

Seeing Loki die in his arms pushed Thor to give up on his romantic involvement with Jane. For the rest of the movie after Loki’s death, Thor and Jane are never shown to be intimate again. Jane and her friends help Thor defeat the Dark Elves and the movie ends with Thor speaking to Loki disguised as Odin. The reshoots added the end credit scene where Thor and Jane kiss on the roof. It seemed almost trivial because Thor and Jane area have already ended their relationship by the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok

In summary, Thor: The Dark World is really about Thor trying to find out what kind of man he wants to be and what love interest he should pursue. The Convergence not only serves as the plot device for the entire movie but also the symbolism for Thor’s relationship with Jane. It is a fleeting romance that won’t serve him or Asgard in the long run. Thor only showed interest to Jane because she was the first human he met on Midgard and she helped him when he lost his powers. He did not visit her once until he found out she was in danger, and this is significant because Thor is always willing to help mortals who are in trouble but he did not go out of his way to see her before she was possessed by the Aether. Loki is Thor’s written love interest and Thor pines for Loki the whole movie. Thor finally realizes that he returns Loki’s feelings but it was too late as he thought Loki had been killed in battle. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor wears a lovelock with Loki’s hair braided into his own to show that he will be forever devoted to his lost love.

#my analysis #thor #loki #thor odinson #loki laufeyson #thor: the dark world #thor the dark world #thor2 #thor 2 #tom hiddleston #chris hemsworth #thunderfrost #thorki

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onyxfyrefly · 7 years

Text

Recuderme

By the time Tony noticed the slight tremor in his hands it was too late.

It seemed like every wannabe super villain had conspired to strike within days of each other. The team was run ragged. It didn't matter if you were a demigod, a super soldier or a mere human with a specialized skill set; eventually you had to rest. Unfortunately rest was in short supply.

The one upside, if you could call it an upside, was the constant attacks put an end to Fury's never-ending briefings. The director would collect their statements and send them on their way to get patched up and to attempt to get some sleep before the next call to assemble.

Tony was plastered on the floor of the penthouse, the cold tiles a relief to his aching joints. He was considering spending the night in his current position when a crash startled him out of his thoughts.

Craning his neck he spotted Loki kneeling on the kitchen floor. "Everything alright, babe?"

The mage swore and swiped a cloth through the mess. "A mere accident."

Tony frowned and slowly rolled over, hissing when his inflamed shoulder was jostled by the movement. He suddenly realized that Loki had not healed him after the battle. No matter how exhausted the mage was he always appeared at Tony's side the moment the armor was removed, healing various wounds while muttering about his foolish mortal.

Deciding that walking was out of the question, he began to crawl in the mage's direction. Dignity was highly overrated and it wasn't the first time he'd been in this position with Loki either.

Something wasn't sitting right with the genius. Loki did everything with grace. Whether he was fighting, cooking or just tying his shoelaces, not one movement was wasted. He did make mistakes from time to time but this incident set Tony on edge.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Loki growled and swept up the broken pieces of the mug before grabbing another from the cabinet with unnecessary force. "It was an accident. I cannot believe that you've never knocked something off of this counter before."

It took a few tries but eventually Tony managed to drag himself to his feet. He was about to make a smart remark when Loki's hands caught his attention. The elegant appendages, steady in even the most intense situation, were shaking.

Reaching across the counter, Tony caught one of the trembling hands in his own. "You're shaking. I'm going to ask this one more time: are you alright?"

The mage sighed and he seemed to deflate. His head bowed and his shoulders sank. It made him look so old yet so young at the same time."I am merely weary. I used too much energy today and am feeling the effects." The battle that day had been brutal and would have been much more bloody if Loki hadn't teleported across the battlefield like a man possessed, projecting force fields that kept both the Avengers as well as the bystanders out of harm's way.

Tony gently tugged on Loki's arm. "Come on, let's get some rest."

Loki shook his head. "I have to analyze that artifact from yesterday's battle. I didn't have time to get to it today."

"You've been with me too long, my bad habits are beginning to rub off on you."

A small smile twisted one corner of Loki's mouth. "Usually I'm the one dragging you out of the lab."

The engineer held a finger to his lips. "I can be a responsible adult when I choose. Don't tell anyone though."

The light mood faded as they entered the bedroom. Loki was too exhausted to magic away his clothing but his hands would not cooperate. After nearly ripping a clasp off in frustration he finally allowed Tony to assist him.

Typically Tony would have taken his time, kissing each piece of skin as it was bared, but tonight he undressed Loki methodically, assisted him in pulling on a worn pair of sleep pants and tucking him in to bed. Before Tony could slide beneath the sheets himself Loki was already asleep.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Perform a full body scan on Loki."

"Is there anything in particular that I am looking for?"

Tony looked down at the sleeping mage and felt something sharp twist in his gut. "Anything, everything. Send the results to my private server, the one he doesn't know about."

"What shall I name the file?"

"Please let me be wrong."

---------

JARVIS' results were frustratingly inconclusive. There was an anomaly in Loki's energy causing it to fluctuate but aside from that nothing could be found. Tony was attempting to devise a way to obtain a blood sample without Loki blowing up the tower in a fit of rage when yet another call to assemble blared.

Tony was first on the scene and scanned the area. "Where's Loki?"

"He is still at the tower, sir," replied JARVIS.

"What the hell is he doing? We need him here!" Tony twisted out of the way of a flaming projectile.

"It appears that he fell asleep in his lab and I'm having difficulty rousing him." The genius swore and dove back in to the fray.

It seemed like hours before Loki appeared looking as pale and weak as he had when Thor rescued him from Asgard's dungeons and brought him to the Avengers for safekeeping. His appearance startled Tony enough that he missed the orb flying in his direction. He slammed hard into a building and only JARVIS' intervention kept him from hitting the ground.

In an instant Loki was at his side, daggers in hand, protecting Tony until his armor recalibrated. As soon as he could stand the mage disappeared and Tony didn't have time to worry about his lover.

The battle was nearing a close when a sight made Tony's blood run cold. He watched as Loki took several staggering steps before falling to his knees. It was Tony's turn to stand guard, blasting anything that strayed too close.

As soon as Steve signaled the all clear Tony left the suit in sentry mode and knelt at Loki's side. The mage was deathly pale and shaking, barely able to support himself. "Talk to me, Lokes, what's going on?"

"I believe I am ill, Anthony. I have never felt like this before." No sooner were the words out of his mouth when he was violently sick. Tony brushed the hair back from the mage's face and held him tightly as he retched.

"Thor, get over here now! It's Loki."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the god appeared. "What ails you brother?"

Loki couldn't reply, he appeared to be on the brink of passing out.

"Get him back to the tower immediately." Thor nodded and scooped his brother in to his arms as gently as possible. In a moment he was gone and Tony only paused long enough for the armor to wrap around him before following suit. "As soon as Bruce is awake send him to the medical floor, we have a situation."

Tony had never been a patient man but he was going to go crazy while waiting on Loki's test results. He sat down gently on the edge of the bed and took the still trembling hand in his own. It felt warm, too warm, and Tony tried to ease the knot in his gut.

Finally Bruce walked in to the room and Tony wanted to be sick, he'd never seen such a despondent look on the doctor's face. Bruce pulled up a chair and let out a slow breath.

"Just spit it out."

"Tony, he's dying."

It was a good thing that Tony was sitting down because the floor suddenly fell from beneath him. He had been told that he was dying before, he knew what that felt like. But to hear that someone close to him, someone that he loved, was dying was almost too much.

"How do we fix it?"

Bruce's forehead furrowed. "Fix it?"

"I built an arc reactor and a flying suit in a cave in Afghanistan. You not only created the Hulk but you've learned to control him. We're two of the most brilliant people on the planet. If anyone can solve this problem it's us."

The scientist shook his head. "Tony, it's not like that. I've never seen anything like this. There's something attacking his cells, eating away at them. It's resistant to every antiserum I can think of." He took off his glasses and wearily rubbed at his eyes. "I'll keep working, of course, but I don't think I can stop this."

For once in his life Tony didn't have a smart reply. Bruce squeezed his shoulder and left the two in peace. How could this happen? Loki was damn near indestructible. He'd laughed off hits that would have killed a man twice over. He'd held a conversation while pulling shards of glass from his torso. He'd swallowed poison like it was candy and even asked for seconds. Now some microscopic foe was going to be his downfall? Not on Tony's watch.

Before he could stand Loki made a sound and weakly pulled on his arm. Tony twisted and tucked an errant lock of hair back. "What is it?"

Loki's eyes were glassy and unfocused when he looked up. "I'm cold."

Those two words sent Tony into a freefall. Loki was never cold, his Juton heritage saw to that. In this moment Loki's sickness became real. The love of his life was dying.

"Let's warm you up then."

Tony squeezed into the narrow bed and pulled his lover close. Loki gratefully curled in to his warmth and closed his eyes once more.

"I am not afraid."

The soft words startled Tony. "What?"

"I heard what Doctor Banner said. I have known something was not right for several days but I did not know the severity." Loki's too warm hand gently brushed Tony's cheek. "I am not afraid of dying but I do wish that I could have spent more time with you."

"Stop it. You are not going to die. You are going to live then you're going to take me to Asgard and I'm going to eat the golden apple that you've been whispering to Thor about." Tony didn't realize he was crying until a tear splashed onto Loki's cheek. "Then we're going to have the most cheesy, over the top wedding just because we can and we're going to live forever, just the two of us. We're going to travel to realms I can't pronounce and see wonders that I can't imagine and we're going to live, okay? You're going to live. You are not going to die, understand? I will fix this."

Loki nodded and weakly pulled Tony down for a kiss, tasting salt when their lips met. The mage knew his time was near but a tiny part of him hoped that he was wrong, that this wondrous man who changed his life could save it as well.

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

As soon as Thor learned of Loki's condition he disappeared, returning a few hours later with a beautiful woman in tow. Tony knew without asking that this was his mother.

Loki had been moved to their bedroom and was curled up in his favorite wing-backed chair near the window. Tony headed down to the lab to escape but his concentration was shot. He tinkered with one design or another until JARVIS announced that Frigga was asking for him.

The moment their eyes met Tony knew it was over. The queen didn't hide the fact that she had been crying and Tony could only imagine her pain.

This was the second time that she had lost her son but this time it was for good.

"You are my son's lover?"

For the first time in a long time Tony blushed. "Yes ma'am."

Her face softened slightly. "It has been centuries since I have seen my Loki so happy. Thank you."

Tony scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I never thought...I mean...I love him. I've never loved anyone like him and I doubt I ever will again." He paused to chew on his lip before plunging forward. "What's wrong with him?"

Frigga twisted her hands together in a very familiar gesture. "I haven't seen this malady since the war. Some of the Jotuns in the dungeons suddenly started falling ill and dying yet whatever affected them did not spread to the other prisoners. Our healers did what they could but they were unable to stop the disease. For a time a feared that Loki would catch it, he was so small, but it seemed to surpass him. Until now."

"What causes it?"

"We never discovered it's origins but it ravages the body until there is nothing left. Neither magic nor medicine can help. I am so sorry, Anthony."

"Why? He's your son."

"And it's you he loves. Loki does not give his love away freely. You must be someone very special to have captured his heart."

Tony nodded and swallowed against the lump in his throat. "I guess I should start packing his things. Do you know what he'll need to take with him?"

Frigga frowned. "What do you mean? Where is he going?"

"You're not taking him back to Asgard?"

"No. Why would I take him there?"

"It's his home and you're his mother. I just thought that he would like to spend the rest of his time there...with you."

The queen's smile was heartbreaking. "Loki's home is here, with you. I have said goodbye to my son and I can only pray that the fates will be kind enough to allow us to meet again in the afterlife. I have made my peace with the fact that today will be the last time I will see my son alive."

"How...uh...how long does he have?"

"Days, weeks...perhaps a month at the most. Loki is strong but I..."

Even though Tony had only known Frigga for a few hours it was natural for him to pull her in to his arms. They stood together, each attempting to soothe the other's pain, for several long minutes.

"Asgard will always be open to you, Anthony Stark. If you ever need anything do not hesitate to ask."

"Same to you, you will always be welcome in my home."

Tony watched Frigga depart and envied her strength. He wondered how she could just walk away knowing that she would never see Loki again. It was nearly impossible to leave Loki's side for a few minutes, terrified that each moment could be his last.

"Are you going to stand there all day?"

Loki's words snapped him back to reality. Tony crossed the room and sat at the mage's feet, pillowing his head on his lap. He felt fingers begin to card though his hair and against his will tears began to fall. He tried to keep silent but Loki knew he was crying. Loki always knew.

"I'm so sorry, Anthony."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I'm bringing you pain."

Tony angrily scrubbed at his eyes. "It's not fair. I can fix anything, why can't I fix this?"

"My love, it is time for you to realize that there are forces greater than you and I at work. It is time for my journey to end and I have made my peace with that. It is your turn to do the same."

"I'm not going to stop searching for a cure. I've never seen Bruce throw himself into his work like this before. And your mom is going to work with the healers on Asgard. It's been over a thousand years since they last studied this bug, maybe they'll have a breakthrough."

"Perhaps." Loki's tone was flat. As much as be wanted to believe that a cure might be discovered he knew that he was nearing his end.

"I would have said yes, you know."

Loki tilted Tony's head up. "What?"

"I asked Thor about the golden apples. He said it is basically a marriage proposal, asking someone to spend eternity with you. I would have said yes."

"Oh, Anthony."

A dozen emotions flashed through Loki's eyes at that moment as he pulled Tony towards him. The kiss was sweet but tasted of death.

"Let's do it anyway," said Tony while scrambling to his feet.

"Do what?"

"Let's get married."

It was almost comical the way Loki's eyes widened. "You are mad. I'm dying. Why would you want to marry me with the knowledge that you're going to lose me?"

"Because I love you. Because I want to call you my husband even if it is only for one day. Because I want to show the world that you're mine and I'm yours."

Loki brushed a tear from his cheek. "When did you get so sentimental?"

Tony knelt down once more. "When I met you. I know this isn't the orchard on Asgard or the rooftop restaurant that I was going to rent out but it'll have to do. Loki Friggason, will you do me the greatest honor and marry me?"

Though his throat was tight, Loki managed an answer. "Of course, you fool."

For the first time in days Tony's smile was brilliant. He kissed Loki until they were both breathless and brushed the mage's tears away.

Carefully he settled himself on Loki's lap and the two watched the bustling of the city until the sun was low in the sky.

-----------

The two were married the next day. One of the many special skills that agent Coulson possessed was that he was an ordained minister.

Only a handful of people were invited and that was exactly the way they wanted it. Despite his exhaustion, Loki was determined to stand through the ceremony. Aside from the fact that he had lost an alarming amount of weight in just a few days, he looked joyous as he exchanged rings with his new husband.

That night they made love for what they both knew was the last time. Loki was exhausted but Tony was patient and soon the two were crying out their pleasure.

Tony lay with his head on Loki's chest, listening to each precious heartbeat. His husband's ring gleamed in the dim light and he smiled despite his pain.

The chest beneath his ear rumbled and he began to relax when he realized Loki was humming. It was a tune that seemed familiar but Tony couldn't place it. The sound was comforting and for the first time since Loki's diagnosis he allowed himself to sleep.

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

The newlywed couple traveled from one side of the world to the other. Exploring other worlds was out of the question but Tony was determined to show Loki all of the wonders that Earth possessed.

Loki was stubborn and refused any assistance at first but soon it was apparent that his strength was fading. Tony had designed a wheelchair specifically for Loki using his tech so instead of rolling it hovered above the ground.

Despite the touching gesture, the wheelchair seemed to break something inside of Loki. His head sank in to his hands and he sobbed until he was sick. He wouldn't allow Tony to touch him and the genius swallowed his own sorrow as he watched his love, his husband, fall apart.

It was three days before Loki got out of bed and he was too ashamed to meet Tony's eyes as they boarded his private jet. He had composed himself by the time they landed, slipping his pain behind a mask of indifference.

Loki loved India. The sights, the culture and the wickedly spicy food eased his spirits. Tony spun wheels, gathered flags and pleaded to entities he did not believe in for a miracle.

Each day Loki was getting thinner and weaker. When he did have an appetite, which was not often, the food tended to make him sick. They both tried to hide their pain from the other but they knew each other too well.

In Sydney he began to cough. A deep, bone-wrenching cough that left his lips stained crimson as he gasped for air. The sound immediately woke Tony who rubbed his back in an attempt at comfort.

The engineer sat behind him, arms wrapped around his narrow frame, and urged him to breathe. "Just like that, babe. Can you feel my chest? Breathe with me. In and out, in and out. Just like that."

Several long minutes passed before Loki's breathing evened out and he sank weakly into Tony's embrace. Tony gently wiped his lips and brushed the lingering tears away. "Do you want me to call Bruce? Maybe he's found something."

Weakly, Loki twisted to meet his husband's eyes. "No. No more of this. I'm tired of being treated like some kind of experiment." He cupped Tony's cheek in a trembling hand. "I am dying. There is no cure, I've accepted that. I would rather spend my last days with you exploring this world, not being poked and prodded by doctor Banner."

"But...what am I supposed to do? I can't just sit around and watch you die."

"Then don't watch me die, watch me live."

--------

Tony promised that they were going to live and live they did. It was impossible to ignore Loki's condition but they both did their best to push it to the back of their minds.

Every other day there was a new sight to behold. Towering mountains, endless oceans, bustling cities...Loki drank each scene in with wonder. He spent hours weaving stories of his youth and doing his best to describe locations that Tony would never see.

He loved the sound of the ocean and often fell asleep to the lull of its roar. Tony would kiss his salt stained lips and watch him sleep, too afraid to close his eyes in case this breath was the last.

Loki was strong but even he could not out run death. Against all odds he had survived an astonishing four months. Each day he was growing thinner and weaker and he softly admitted that he was tired of fighting. They both knew that the end was close and Tony had saved the best for last.

As soon as Loki had expressed a desire to see the world Tony had commissioned cabin to be built in Svalbard, Norway. It had cost him a small fortune to have it completed in time but the look on Loki's weary face was worth it.

Most of the cabin was a specially designed glass that could withstand the extreme temperatures without cracking or fogging up. It would provide a perfect view for the night's entertainment.

"This place is beautiful but barren, why have you brought me here?"

"Just you wait, snowflake. Let's get you settled." With as much weight as he had lost, it was fairly easy to maneuver Loki out of the CAT he had rented.

Each step in the snow was agony and they had to stop twice before they even made it to the door. Inside it was blissfully warm but no matter what he tried Tony could not raise Loki's temperature. He bundled the two of them up on the couch so they had a perfect view of the sky above.

"Thank you, Anthony, for everything. I could never..."

"Hush." Tony pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "The show is about to start."

As the meager sunlight faded the sky came alive. Loki sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed Tony's hand as tightly as he could manage. "It's beautiful."

The couple watched as the sky bled from green to blue to pink and back again, the colors twisting in a hypnotic ballet. Tony felt the weak rumble of Loki's chest and smiled when he heard the familiar tune. "You never told me the name of that song."

It took Loki a long time to answer. "Recuderme. It means...it..."

Suddenly his breath was gone. He gasped and choked as he fought for air. Tony rubbed his back and urged him to breathe but he knew it was useless. Loki collapsed against him and Tony held him tightly. Part if him wanted to close his eyes until it was over while part of him was terrified to miss a single second.

He didn't have to wait long. Loki let out a sigh and that was it. He was gone.

Tony knew the exact moment that Loki died. The sky exploded in the brightest and most brilliant aurora on record that would leave scientists puzzling for decades to come. It was Loki's way of spreading a last bit of mischief as he left this world.

Tony pressed a kiss to Loki's forehead and touched his still warm cheek. He leaned close, as if sharing a final secret. "It means 'Remember Me.'"

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